Donald F. Kettl, Can Government Earn Our Trust? (Malden, MA: Polity Press, 2017). 144 pp. $10.99 (e‐Book), ISBN: 9781509522491. Roberts, Alasdair, Can Government Do Anything Right? (Malden, MA: Polity Press, 2018). 144 pp. $8.99 (e‐Book), ISBN: 9781509521517

• Published date: 01 March 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13043
• Date: 01 March 2019

Book Reviews 291

Alfred T.-K. Ho is professor at the

School of Public Affairs and Administration

at University of Kansas. His research

focuses on budgeting and f‌inancial

management, e-government, and citizen

engagement. Besides academic research,

he has participated in projects funded

by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the

Asian Development Bank, and the Korean

Research Foundation, among others, and

has advised subnational governments in

the United States, China, and other parts of

the world on performance budgeting and

managerial reforms.

E-mail: alfredho@ku.edu

Donald F. Kettl, Can Government Earn Our Trust? (Malden,

MA: Polity Press, 2017). 144 pp. $10.99 (e-Book), ISBN:

9781509522491. Roberts, Alasdair, Can Government Do

Anything Right? (Malden, MA: Polity Press, 2018).

144 pp. $8.99 (e-Book), ISBN: 9781509521517

In an era of anti-institutionalism, rising social

tension, and growing distrust of government, these

two books provide thought-provoking analyses

about the root causes of different governance challenges

faced by Western democracies and what strategies

should be pursued to address these problems.

Both books recognize that Western democracies are in a

turbulent era. Kettl (2017) sparks readers’ interest by first

discussing the long-term trend of declining public trust

in the U.S. government since the 1950s and comparing

this trend with other OECD countries. It also

examines the consequences of distrust, such as political

polarization, tax revolts, noncompliance and corruption,

weakened support for innovation and redistribution, and

the declining legitimacy of political institutions.

Similarly, Roberts (2018) starts the book with an

opening chapter titled “Why is everyone so angry?” The

author recognizes that Western democracies are in an era

in which “power shifts within the society of states, people

move around, industries rise and fall, and technologies

Reviewed by: Alfred T.-K. Ho

University of Kansas