Books by "Mark D. Van Ells"
2 books found
The Politics of Veteran Benefits in the Twentieth Century
by Martin Crotty, Neil J. Diamant, Mark Edele
2020 · Cornell University Press
What happened to veterans of the nations involved in the world wars? How did they fare when they returned home and needed benefits? How were they recognized—or not—by their governments and fellow citizens? Where and under what circumstances did they obtain an elevated postwar status? In this sophisticated comparative history of government policies regarding veterans, Martin Crotty, Neil J. Diamant, and Mark Edele examine veterans' struggles for entitlements and benefits in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Taiwan, the Soviet Union, China, Germany, and Australia after both global conflicts. They illuminate how veterans' success or failure in winning benefits were affected by a range of factors that shaped their ability to exert political influence. Some veterans' groups fought politicians for improvements to their postwar lives; this lobbying, the authors show, could set the foundation for beneficial veteran treatment regimes or weaken the political forces proposing unfavorable policies. The authors highlight cases of veterans who secured (and in some cases failed to secure) benefits and status after wars both won and lost; within both democratic and authoritarian polities; under liberal, conservative, and even Leninist governments; after wars fought by volunteers or conscripts, at home or abroad, and for legitimate or subsequently discredited causes. Veterans who succeeded did so, for the most part, by forcing their agendas through lobbying, protesting, and mobilizing public support. The Politics of Veteran Benefits in the Twentieth Century provides a large-scale map for a research field with a future: comparative veteran studies.
Social Change and the Empowerment of the Poor provides insight into the local impact of a variety of federal programs funded by the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. Specifically, Mark Edward Braun's dramatic social history examines seven anti-poverty programs--Community Action Programs (CAPs)--started in Milwaukee in the 1960s. Braun's research confirms that, unlike most other cities, Milwaukee's deteriorating urban neighborhoods were transformed by these initiatives. CAPs successfully empowered Milwaukee's poor, made public officials and institutions more accountable to the needs of the poor, reformed punitive legislation, created new community-based organizations, expanded social services for people of color, and challenged elites. This book provides an excellent framework for future studies that will add to the current scholarly interest in the long-term results of CAPs. Braun simultaneously dispels the myth that CAPs were a categorical failure, and brings a provocative new voice to urban studies, social activism, policy studies and political science.