In The Politics of Policy Change Daniel Beland and Alex Waddan provide an insightful analysis of the major reforms enacted in the past two decades in the United States-Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Medicare, and Social Security. They describe the politics of policy reform in a lively and readable fashion and convincingly demonstrate why government is necessary to protect the well-being of all citizens. -- Jill Quadagno, Florida State University, and author of One Nation, Uninsured: Why the US Has No National Health Insurance Beland and Waddan have pulled off a major coup and written what will soon be a standard work on America's welfare state. Drawing on the insights of a generation of institutionally minded social scientists, their analysis of recent welfare, Social Security, and health care finance efforts both synthesizes and advances the discussion. It makes developments in these fields intelligible to subject specialists and the interested public alike. -- Edward D. Berkowitz, professor of history, public policy, and public administration, The George Washington University

For generations, debating the expansion or contraction of the American welfare state has produced some of the nation's most heated legislative battles. Attempting social policy reform is both risky and complicated, especially when it involves dealing with powerful vested interests, sharp ideological disagreements, and a nervous public. "The Politics of Policy Change" compares and contrasts recent developments in three major federal policy areas in the United States: welfare, Medicare, and Social Security. Daniel Beland and Alex Waddan argue that we should pay close attention to the role of ideas when explaining the motivations for, and obstacles to, policy change. This insightful book concentrates on three cases of social policy reform (or attempted reform) that took place during the presidencies of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Beland and Waddan further employ their framework to help explain the meaning of the 2010 health insurance reform and other developments that have taken place during the Obama presidency. The result is a book that will improve our understanding of the politics of policy change in contemporary federal politics.