The Politics of Institutional Reform: Katrina, Education, and the Second Face of Power

The Politics of Institutional Reform: Katrina, Education, and the Second Face of Power
ISBN-10
1108740383
ISBN-13
9781108740388
Category
Education
Pages
176
Language
English
Published
2019-09-05
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Author
Terry M. Moe

Description

In this ground breaking analysis, Terry M. Moe treats Hurricane Katrina as a natural experiment that offers a rare opportunity to learn about the role of power in the politics of institutional reform. When Katrina hit, it physically destroyed New Orleans' school buildings, but it also destroyed the vested-interest power that had protected the city's abysmal education system from major reform. With the constraints of power lifted, decision makers who had been incremental problem-solvers turned into revolutionaries, creating the most innovative school system in the entire country. The story of New Orleans' path from failure to revolution is fascinating, but, more importantly, it reveals the true role of power, whose full effects normally cannot be observed, because power has a 'second face' that is hidden and unobservable. Making use of Katrina's analytic leverage, Moe pulls back the curtain to show that this "second face" has profound consequences that stifle and undermine society's efforts to fix failing institutions.

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