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In this chapter, we focus on the stabilizing functions of public bureaux and examine some of the consequences attendant upon attempts to make them less hierarchical and more ‘flexible’. In so doing, we seek to evidence the ways in which what are represented as anachronistic practices in the machinery of government may actually provide political life with particular required ‘constituting’ qualities. While such practices have been negatively coded by reformers as ‘conservative’, we hope to show that their very conservatism may serve positive political purposes, not the least of which is in the constitution of what we call ‘responsible’ (as opposed to simply ‘responsive’) government. Through a critical interrogation of certain key tropes of contemporary programmes of modernization and reform, we indicate how these programmes are blind to the critical role of bureaucracy in setting the standards that enable governmental institutions to act in a flexible and responsible way.

Let us return to Nancy Cruzan's story. Hopeful that Nancy would eventually recover, her parents, Lester and Joyce Cruzan, agreed to have doctors insert a feeding tube to deliver artificial hydration and nutrition – a decision they would one day regret. Although the Cruzans visited frequently, Nancy was unable to respond to their attention. After four years had elapsed, the Cruzans concluded that Nancy would never regain consciousness and should be allowed to die.

Research on Traveller education in Ireland is limited. Internationally, studies on the education of the Traveller, Roma or Gypsy community tend to focus on educational participation and exclusion, discrimination, identity and belonging with little focus on the representation of Traveller student across different types of schools and educational settings. This chapter examines the distribution of Traveller students across mainstream and alternative education settings in Ireland, and how this distribution varies across different types of schools and centres. Using data from the Growing Up in Ireland principal survey and survey data from Irish alternative education providers (The National Youthreach Programme), it explores the concentration of Travellers in mainstream provision, in designated disadvantaged schools (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools [DEIS]) compared to non-DEIS schools, and alternative education in Ireland. Findings show a higher representation of Traveller students in schools designated disadvantaged compared to non-disadvantaged settings and greater numbers of Traveller students in large primary and, to a lesser extent, secondary schools. The findings for alternative education show that Traveller young people make up 15% of learners which is higher than their representation in the general population or the school system. There is marked regional variation with higher representation of Travellers in alternative education settings in the West of Ireland compared to other regions.

With increasing policy emphasis on inclusive education and the need to increase retention of students from Traveller backgrounds, it is perhaps an opportune time to explore the distribution of Traveller students across different school and alternative educational contexts so that educational supports can be targeted more effectively.

This chapter examines disability rights movement's rejection of a right to physician-assisted suicide (PAS). Supporters of PAS frame the right to enlist a physician's help in determining the nature and timing of one's death as a fundamental liberty interest and as a right to privacy. The disability opposition counters this with disparate impact and slippery slope arguments and stories of disability pride as a rhetorical rejection of a right it deems dangerous and discriminatory. In examining this clash of rights talk, this chapter analyzes the legal and political consequences of anti-rights rhetoric by a movement that is grounded in notions of autonomy and self-determination.

Most Americans are keenly aware of the costs political corruption extracts on system support, fiscal policies and economic development, and ultimately, government effectiveness. Among a list of 10 challenges facing the nation, the public ranks political corruption as the nation's biggest crisis Samussen (2019). Importantly, this issue cuts across partisan and demographic lines. Members of both political parties and independents consistently cite political corruption as a serious problem facing the country.

However, there is a specific kind of political corruption that is disturbing for the health of American democracy – the corruption of Congress. Most Americans appear to have little faith in lawmakers to do the right thing. Majorities believe that Congress is out of touch with average Americans, focused on the needs of special interests, and is corrupt. To be sure, political corruption severely undermines government legitimacy and weakens the development of political, economic, and social structures. This chapter considers the problem of congressional corruption including what forms it takes, where it arises, what anti-corruption reforms are needed, and what these findings mean for the future of American democracy. More specifically, this chapter will permit us to examine if and how perceptions of congressional corruption influence citizens' interactions with government and provide a better understanding of citizens' policy preferences for regulating political corruption.