One of the most important functions of government—risk management—is one of the least
well understood. Moving beyond the most familiar public functions—spending, taxation, and
regulation—When All Else Fails spotlights the government's pivotal role as a risk manager. It
reveals, as never before, the nature and extent of this governmental function, which touches
almost every aspect of economic life. In policies as diverse as limited liability, deposit
insurance, Social Security, and federal disaster relief, American lawmakers have managed a …

U ntil recently, there has been a near consensus among policymakers and scholars that the
objective of ethnic conflict management should be to support and preserve integrated,
multiethnic societies. In the last few years, however, the idea that separating the warring
populations may be the best solution to many of the most intense ethnic conflicts has been
gaining ground. Events in Bosnia have supported this trend, as observers note that the more
the warring groups have separated, the more peaceful their relations have become, while …