Community Matters: Challenges to Civic Engagement the 21st Century (Rowman & Littlefield, 2005), edited by Verna V. Gehring , Research Scholar and Editor, Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, addresses three perennial challenges of civic life: the making of a citizen, how citizens are to agree (and disagree), and how to define the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

The Deliberative Democracy Handbook (Jossey-Bass 2005), edited by John Gastil and Peter Levine, Deputy Director of CIRCLE and Research Scholar, Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, is the first book to bring together the best practices and thinking on citizen participation processes.

The Practice of Liberal Pluralism (Cambridge University Press, 2005) by William A. Galston, defends the theory of liberal pluralism, a theory based on three core concepts – value pluralism, political pluralism, and expressive liberty – and explores the implications of this theory for politics.

After preparing to lead a quiet life as a teacher and scholar of political theory, William A. Galston has spent the past quarter century crossing the boundaries between academia and public life, including a two-year stint as Deputy Assistant for Domestic Policy under President Clinton. Reflecting these boundary-crossings, Public Matters: Politics, Policy, and Religion in the 21st Century (Rowman & Littlefield, 2005) contains a selection of Galston's essays on politics, policy, and religion.

In Private Neighborhoods and the Transformation of Local Government (The Urban Institute Press, 2005), Robert H. Nelson reviews the history of neighborhood associations, explains the reasons for their recent explosive growth, and speculates on their future role in American society. The book examines the political and economic consequences of this basic change in the manner of American governance at the local level.

Quality of Life and Human Difference: Genetic Testing, Health Care, and Disability (Cambridge University Press, 2005) edited by David Wasserman , Jerome Bickenbach , Robert Wachbroit , brings together two important literatures for the first time. One concerns the role of quality-of-life assessments in social policy, and especially in health policy. The second concerns ethical and social issues raised by prenatal testing for disability.