ABSTRACT
In an operational sense, the notion of policy is divided between foreign and domestic policy. In the interstices of government, it is well understood that one group of people handles the dynamics of criminology, penology, gerontology, child care, family planning, and education; and another deals with interest groups, foreign relations, trade policies, and military intervention and assistance. One of the more surprising aspects of these texts is how readily they adhere to the conventional distinction between domestic and foreign policy: It is as if domestic and foreign policy were sealed monads having only cursory, if that, relationships with each other. One witnesses an avocational characteristic of policymaking, a relationship defined by its practice. Anyone can participate, the rules are virtually nonexistent. In American Social Welfare Policy, David A. Rochefort, assistant professor of political science at Northeastern University, makes a comprehensive effort to understand the politics of this new social welfare environment.
