Government Is Us 2.0

When this seminal work was originally published, the focus was on whether or not citizens should be involved in administrative governance. Today that question has been replaced by concerns about how and how much they should be involved. Currently relationships between citizens and their governments remain as, or more, complicated as they were then. Government Is Us 2.0 picks up where the previous edition left off. It addresses the bigger questions that are being asked and discussed about the relationships among and between citizens and their governments, how individuals and agencies govern, and the institutional elements that keep us from engendering long-term, socially just participatory change. The central argument of Government Is Us 2.0 is that much can be done to bridge the gulf between citizens and their governments. The chapter authors offer practical suggestions on how public administrators can productively involve citizens in government work, with steps that will increase citizens' trust in government through opportunities for direct connection and collaboration.