Democracy and the Policy Sciences

deLeon's book on the democratic aspects of public policy making is a terrific overview of the political foundations of the American rule making process. It begins with a history of the constitutional heritage of policy making and it compares several important democratic theories and intellectual traditions (Utilitarianism, Liberal Rationalism, Critical Theory as well as a section on multidisciplinary approaches).It proceeds from there to make a substantial case for the postpositivist view of participatory policy making. This is one of the more readable and provocative books on the subject. I would recommend this as a springboard for discussion in both a political science and a public policy classroom setting.