Book Reviews : The Political Process: Executive Bureau-Legislative Committee Relations. By J. LEIPER FREEMAN. (rev. ed. ; New York: Random House, 1965. Pp. 146. $1.95.)
| DOI | 10.1177/106591296601900125 |
| Author | William J. Crotty |
| Published date | 01 March 1966 |
| Date | 01 March 1966 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
165
1959,
when
he
begins
to
take
advantage
of
every
political
split
and
weakness
in
the
Communist
bloc
to
push
Rumania’s
independent
authority.
In
describing
the
growing
rebellion
over
the
last
five
years
the
author
has
con-
fined
himself
to
relating
the
few
known
facts
with
a
minimum
of
speculating
and
has
ignored
the
unknown
aspects
of
the
conflict.
For
example,
he
makes
no
attempt
to
analyze
the
possible
motivations
for
Gheorghui-Dej
to
change
from
a
faithful
lackey
to
a
champion
of
national
independence,
or
why
Moscow
was
willing
at
least
super-
ficially
to
accept
Rumania’s
growing
autonomy
without
even
imposing
mild
eco-
nomic
sanctions.
The
accommodating
attitude
of
Moscow
is
all
the
more
puzzling
if
the
author
is
correct
in
saying
that
&dquo;there
is
no
indication
the
Russians
under
Khrushchev
had
any
intention
of
abandoning
the
main
objective
of
Stalin’s
policy,
which
was
to
keep
the
whole
of
eastern
Europe
subservient
to
Soviet
policy.&dquo;
These
puzzles
are
essentially
avoided
in
this
short
essay.
Nevertheless
as
a
brief
and
accurate
survey
of
the
events
and
known
consequences
of
Rumania’s
defiance
this
volume
is
useful.
DAVID
T.
CATTELL
University
of
California,
Los
Angeles
The
Political
Process:
Executive
Bureau-Legislative
Committee
Relations.
By
J.
LEIPER
FREEMAN.
(rev.
ed. ;
New
York:
Random
House,
1965.
Pp.
146.
$1.95.)
This
volume
is
a
&dquo;modest&dquo;
revision
of
the
monograph
originally
published
a
decade
ago.
Essentially
the
text
has
undergone
little
change.
The
more
recent
literature
of
relevance
to
interest
groups
and
policy-making
has
been
incorporated,
events
of
the
mid-
to
late
1950’s
and
1960’s
have
been
added
for
illustrative
purposes
when
pertinent,
and
a
few
stylistic
changes
have
been
made.
The
purpose
of
the
book
and
a
key
to
its
development
is
provided
by
the
author
in
his
introductory
chapter.
&dquo;The
major
aim
[of
the
volume],&dquo;
he
indicates,
&dquo;is
to
state
systematically
the
dimensions
both
of
subsystem
relationships
to
the
larger
polit-
ical
setting
and
of
relationships
within
the
subsystems,
using
description
as
economi-
cally
as
possible
for
purposes
of
illustrating
propositions.&dquo;
Subsystem
is
defined
to
mean
&dquo;the
pattern
of
interactions
of
participants,
or
actors
[primarily
bureaucrats,
congressional
committeemen,
and
lobbyists],
involved
in
making
decisions
in
a
special
area
of
public
policy.&dquo;
While
the
research
is
based
on
the
author’s
own
observations
and
experiences,
primarily
as
an
assistant
to
the
task
force
on
Indian
problems
of
the
first
Hoover
Commission,
and
while
the
report
is
strictly
speaking
a
case
study
of
the
Bureau
of
Indian
Affairs,
the
implications
of
the
material
are
placed
consistently
within
a
broader
perspective.
Freeman
begins
by
examining
the
environmental
conditions
within
both
the
executive
and
legislative
branches
that
lead
to
a
high
degree
of
subsystem
autonomy.
The
heart
of
the
monograph,
however,
is
the
analysis
of
the
actual
operations
of
the
subsystem.
The
alternative
strategies
(and
the
costs
involved)
open
to
a
bureau
chief
in
acquiring
policy
support
from
the
Congress
are
described.
These
include:
encour-
aging
endorsements
from
top
administration
leaders;
developing
agreeable
working
relationships
with
interested
congressmen;
playing
one
congressional
committee
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