The politics of bureaucratic competition: The case of natural resource policy

Many concerned with how government functions consider creating competition between bureaucracies an attractive option. Others are skeptical of what impact rival agencies have when they are operating within a political context. Reflecting these discrepant viewpoints, some scholars believe that regulators will compete vigorously for resources and responsibilities; others assert that agency members will act passively as they attempt to protect their autonomy. To assess these contrasting perspectives and determine why competitive agency structures might exist, the following analysis examines one of the classic situations where agencies can serve as functional substitutes: the relationship between the United States Forest Service and the National Park Service. The results demonstrate that agencies put far more weight on autonomy than competition. The principal advantage of functional rivalry for politicians-at least where federal lands are concerned-is to expand the choice set of alternatives available to them.

The Fog of Wartime Relocation: What Students Should Know About the Relocation of Japanese Americans During WWII

Presentation given by Georgia Southern faculty member Karen M. McCurdy and Todd T. Kunioka at Southern Political Science Association Meeting

Relocation and Internment: Civil Rights Lessons from World War II

Beginning in March 1942, three months following the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, and lasting until as many as 16 months following the end of World War II, slightly more than 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry were excluded, detained, and held in “relocation centers” by the United States government, ostensibly because they were considered a threat to national security. Nearly 70% were American citizens by birth; the rest were Japanese nationals who were legally barred from naturalization because of the de jure racist policies of the time (Daniels, Taylor, and Kitano 1991). Despite this treatment, over 1,200 individuals volunteered to serve in the U.S. armed forces while several thousand others were drafted from the relocation centers. Most served in a segregated unit in the European Theater, while others served as interpreters in the Pacific Theater, all while their families remained behind barbed wire in relocation centers. These individuals served with great distinction within some of the most highly decorated units of the U.S. Army (Crost 1994)

Re-Inventing the Forest Service

Presentation given by Todd T. Kunioka and Georgia Southern faculty members Karen M. McCurdy at the Western Political Science Association Meeting

The Fog of Wartime Relocation: What Everybody Already Knows About the Relocation of Japanese Americans During World War II, some of Which is Even Correct

Paper presentation given by Todd T. Kunioka and Georgia Southern faculty member Karen M. McCurdy at the Western Political Science Association Meeting