Public policies in contemporary contexts: national and international Tendencies*

Abstract

Organizing an edited volume is an intellectual endeavor that, when wellexecuted, results in a rich collection of perspectives, interpretations and contributions about a given subject, offering the reader valuable material for broadening their knowledge. This is the case for 'Gestão e Políticas Públicas no Cenário Contemporâneo' (Management and Public Policies in a Contemporary Context), organized by Telma Menicucci and José Geraldo Gontijo. It brings together articles by specialists and researchers from different teaching and research institutions in Brazil and abroad with experience in areas such as political science, public policy, public administration, sociology, and urban planning, among others. Throughout the 17 chapters, organized in five thematic sections, the authors introduce different frameworks, methodologies and perspectives, supplying the reader with a diversified overview of management and contemporary public policy. The first part of the edited volume brings together four chapters that look at the theoretical and empirical dimensions of governance, emphasizing different aspects of state performance and their interaction with society in the contemporary production of public policies. Jon Pierre's chapter highlights what he considers to be one of today's biggest paradoxes: the reduction of state capacity at the exact moment when society is becoming more complex. The argument developed by Pierre is that political leadership _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ *