This book conceives federalism not as a static institutional architecture, but as a dynamic formation always in flux. This may entail processes of federalization, but in some cases also lead to de-federalization. It looks at emerging federal structures worldwide and analyses federal structures: their emergence, operation and categorization. The contributors highlight that the "emergence" of these federal structures has multiple facets, from the recognition of ethnic diversity to the use of federalism as a tool of conflict resolution. Identifying and categorizing processes of federalization and defederalization in a variety of cases, the book provides much needed empirical and theoretical discussion on emerging federal structures and the changing nature of federalism in the post-Cold War era.

The book introduces readers to the basic knowledge about changes in the political party system, which started to take place after the parliamentary elections in 2010.The introductory part introduces the basic development of the political party system in the Czech Republic, discusses the characteristics of new actors and described the two concepts used, i.e. the business firm-party and the far-right populist parties. On the basis of this introductory chapter, new political parties are introduced in more detail, namely Public Affairs, the Dawn of Direct Democracy and Freedom and Direct Democracy (associated with Tomio Okamura) and Andrej Babis's ANO movement.

A collection of state of the art reflections by fourteen leading experts in the field of multinational federalism. Seymour and Gagnon have gathered contributions from philosophers, political scientists and jurists dealing with the accommodation of peoples in countries like Belgium, Canada, Europe, Great Britain, India and Spain.

Muhtars, the lowest level elected political position in Turkey, hold an ambiguously defined place within the administrative hierarchy. They are public officials, but local citizens do not always associate them with the central government. Street-Level Governing is the first book to investigate how muhtars carry out their role-not only what they are supposed to do, but how they actually operate-to provide an ethnographic study of the state as viewed from its margins. It starts from the premise that the seeming "margin" of state administration is not peripheral at all, but instructive as to how it functions. As Elise Massicard shows, muhtars exist at the intersection of everyday life and the exercise of power. Their position offers a personalized point of contact between citizens and state institutions, enabling close oversight of the citizenry, yet simultaneously projecting the sense of an accessible state to individuals. Challenging common theories of the state, Massicard outlines how the position of the muhtar throws into question an assumed dichotomy between domination and social resistance, and suggests that considerations of circumvention and accommodation are normal attributes of state-society functioning.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world?s leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. Mark Tushnet, a world-renowned scholar of constitutional law, has excelled in extending and revising his essential introduction to comparative constitutional law. Through an analysis of topics at the cutting edge of contemporary scholarship, this authoritative study investigates constitution making, forms of constitutional review, proportionality analysis and its alternatives, and the development of a new ?transparency? branch in constitutions around the world. Throughout, the book draws upon examples from a wide range of nations, demonstrating that the field of comparative constitutional law now truly encompasses the world. New to this revised and enlarged second edition: ? Updated and extended material to encompass the developments in practice and scholarship since the original edition?s publication back in 2014? With substantial additional attention, Tushnet analyses abusive constitutionalism, the idea of the constituent power, eternity clauses and unconstitutional amendments Recent developments in weak- and strong-form constitutional review are given fresh analysis, as well as an expanded consideration of third generation rights. Addressing the key issues of constitutional design and structure, this second edition will serve as an excellent up-to-date resource for students and scholars of comparative constitutional law.

The book explores the organization, conduct and supervision of elections in emerging democracies. It covers the broad spectrum of the democratic electoral process. This project is a synthesis of the author's practical knowledge and experience in the management of elections with the United Nations and other international organizations in Africa and Asia. The author addresses election practitioners, political parties, and all other stake holders, and provides a vision for building and blending indigenous traditions and systems of election into universally accepted norms and practices.

Why are constitutionalist ideals so prominent in science fiction? Does Independence Day depict self-defence as a legal concept with absolute limits? Is international law lost in space? This innovative interdisciplinary volume represents the first exploration of the relationship between international law and cinema. From Star Wars to Werner Herzog, The Godfather to The West Wing, this book uncovers a diverse range of representations of international law and its norms in film and television. Examining the wider links between international law, cinema, and ideology, the contributions not only examine visual representations of international law, but they offer an essential insight into the functions fulfilled by these cinematic representations. Providing an extraordinary introduction to a variety of perspectives on core international legal questions, Cinematic perspectives on international law extends a valuable methodology by which international lawyers can critique the depiction of international law in film. -- .

This book offers a synthesis of the main achievements and pending challenges during the thirty years of transitional justice in Chile after Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship. The Chilean experience provides useful comparative perspectives for researchers, students and human rights activists engaged in transitional justice processes around the world. The first chapter explains the theoretical foundations of human rights and transitional justice. The second chapter discusses the main historical milestones in Chile's recent history which have defined the course of the process of transitional justice. The following chapters provide an overview of the key elements of transitional justice in Chile: truth, reparations, memory, justice, and guarantees of non-repetition.

Since ancient times, terror tactics have been used to achieve political ends and likely will continue into the foreseeable future. Preserving national security and the safety of civilian populations while maintaining democratic principles and respecting human rights requires a delicate balancing act. In democracies, monitoring that balance typically falls to the courts. Courts and Terrorism examines how judiciaries in nine separate nations have responded, not just to the current wave of Al Qaeda threats, but also to nacro-trafficking, domestic terrorism, and organized crime syndicates. Terrorism is not a new phenomenon, and even though the reactions have varied significantly, common themes emerge. This volume discusses eleven case studies and analyzes the experiences of these various nations in their battles with terrorism to reveal the judicial quandary for democratic governance and the rule of law in the twenty-first century.

This major new text by two leading authorities in the field provides a state-of-the-art assessment of what we know about voting behavior and the character, consequences and significance of elections in democratic states. Uniquely broad-ranging in scope, it shows how patterns of electoral behavior have evolved over time and also assesses the varying extents to which voters in different countries are able to affect the direction of government policies in practice.

This volume employs a comparative approach to cast light on representation and representative processes from a communications perspective. It focuses on online constituency communication, aiming to provide a perspective from which to empirically study the changes taking place in the relationship between citizens and their representatives. The (hyper)mediatisation of politics and society is here considered a relevant enabling factor, because it creates the conditions leading to change in the nature of democratic processes. The chapters discuss Podemos, the Lega, Law and Justice, and the Five-star Movement as good examples of this phenomenon. Populist and nationalist forces have emerged as bottom-up and top-down entities aiming to embody the will of the people, or to push for democratic processes to be more inclusive. Until now, however, the intersection between populist and nationalist discourses and the related question of representation have been largely ignored. By analysing the transformations that have taken place in MPs' communication practices in non-election periods, the contributors illuminate how social media is affecting MPs' communication and examine the strains in the relationship between executives and legislatures that populist and nationalist parties exploit.

In Central America, dynamic economic actors have inserted themselves into global markets. Elites atop these sectors attempt to advance a state-building project that will allow them to expand their activities and access political power, but they differ in their internal cohesion and their dominance with respect to other groups, especially previously constituted elites and popular sectors. Differences in resulting state-building patterns are expressed in the capacity to mobilize revenues from the most dynamic sectors in quantities sufficient to undertake public endeavors and in a relatively universal fashion across sectors. Historical, quantitative and qualitative detail on the five countries of Central America are followed by a focus on El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. The greatest changes have occurred in El Salvador, and Honduras has made some advances, although they are almost as quickly reversed by incentives, exemptions and special arrangements for particular producers. Guatemala has raised revenues only marginally and failed to address problems of inequity across sectors and between rich and poor.

This book facilitates civil discussion of controversial political issues. Unique to this book is a section that explains how to discuss politics without feeling angry or hostile toward people who hold different beliefs. In addition, the book provides concise and accessible debates of contemporary policy issues including gun control, immigration, the Electoral College, voting, and affirmative action. For each topic, readers are shown that opposing arguments are based on values and concerns that are widely shared by most people regardless of their political leanings. Perfect for students, professors, and citizens alike, this book promotes civility without shying away from controversy.

Understanding Third World Politics gives a comprehensive and critical introduction to the main theories that have been used to understand political change in developing countries. It examines the variety of political institutions and processes in the Third World and critical evaluates the major explanatory frameworks used by political scientists to understand them. The discussion is supported throughout by a wide range of topical case studies from around the world - including features on class in Brazil and democracy in India. The book concludes by considering the political instability that so frequently plagues poor countries and by identifying the conditions required to establish democratic stability. The fourth edition has been revised and updated throughout to take account of key political developments, including foreign interventions in the Middle East, state repression in North Africa, and the secession of South Sudan. Engagingly written, this text offers a clear and theoretically rigorous introduction to the politics of the Third World.

Between 1983 and 1987, mercenaries adopting the pseudonym GAL (Grupos Antiterroristas de Liberacion, Antiterrorist Liberation Group) paid by the Spanish treasury and relying upon national intelligence support were at war with the Basque militant group ETA (Euskadi (e)Ta Askatasuna, Basque Country and Freedom). Over four years, their campaign of extrajudicial assassinations spanned the French-Spanish border. Nearly thirty people were killed in a campaign comprised of torture, kidnapping, bombing and the assassination of suspected ETA activists and Basque refugees. This establishment of unofficial counterterrorist squads by a Spanish Government was a blatant detour from legality. It was also a rare case in Europe where no less than fourteen high-ranking Spanish police officers and senior government officials, including the Minister of Interior himself, were eventually arrested and condemned for counter-terrorism wrongdoings and illiberal practices. Thirty years later, this campaign of intimidation, coercion and targeted killings continues to grip Spain. The GAL affair was not only a serious example of a major departure from accepted liberal democratic constitutional principles of law and order, but also a brutal campaign that postponed by decades the possibility of a political solution for the Basque conflict. Counter-terror by proxy uncovers why and how a democratic government in a liberal society turned to a 'dirty war' and went down the route of illegal and extrajudicial killing actions. It offers a fuller examination of the long-term implications of the use of unorthodox counter-terrorist strategies in a liberal democracy. -- .

Cognisant of the ongoing pandemic and political turmoil across Europe, this timely book examines the growing influence of populist movements in Central and Eastern Europe. Simona Kukovic and Petr Just bring together contributions from experts working in the fields of political science and sociology to study the roots and ramifications of populism in this historically turbulent region. Developing a critical analysis of both left- and right-wing populist movements and notorious populist leaders throughout Central and Eastern Europe, the book explores the ways in which populism has spread through developed and developing countries in both established and more recent democracies. Chapters investigate the origins of nationalist populism in the region, from historical trauma and social and economic instability to the emerging crisis facing traditional parties and institutions. It further considers the progressive impact of social media as a means through which populist leaders can penetrate the political space. Positioning itself in defence of liberal democracy, the book ultimately seeks to uncover what unites and inspires the populist community emerging across Central and Eastern Europe. Contributing to the urgent scholarly debate surrounding the rise of populist leaders, political parties, and movements throughout Central and Eastern Europe, this incisive volume will be an essential read for researchers and academics invested in better understanding why the region is such a hotbed of European populism.

To what extent do courts in Latin America protect individual rights and limit governments? This volume answers these fundamental questions by bringing together today's leading scholars of judicial politics. Drawing on examples from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Bolivia, the authors demonstrate that there is widespread variation in the performance of Latin America's constitutional courts. In accounting for this variation, the contributors push forward ongoing debates about what motivates judges; whether institutions, partisan politics, and public support shape interbranch relations; and the importance of judicial attitudes and legal culture. The authors deploy a range of methods, including qualitative case studies, paired country comparisons, statistical analysis, and game theory.

The book presents the subject of the Polish political system, which, not unlike many others, is subject to dynamic political and social change. The ever-modernizing Polish state seeks ways to improve its institutions and increase coordination of crucial policies. Poland also exhibits effects symptomatic of a crisis of liberal democracy, undermining the legacy of its democratic transformation. The authors of this volume answer questions on identity of Polish systemic solutions, the nature of change in constitutionalism and the modern political system of Poland, all in the light of Polish political tradition. Moreover, they analyze the roles of various state authorities, political leadership dilemmas, the legitimization of power, and the question of Polish membership in the EU.

This book analyzes how AKP's embedded intellectuals operate as media spin doctors, exploring their transformation from passionately engaged intellectuals into apparatchiks. This project adapts a post-Soviet geography approach to the media, intelligentsia, and political discourse as derivative of authoritarian regimes to the Turkish context. It offers a fresh look at the Turkish political and intellectual scene and a comparative study of the populist-authoritarian politics of Turkey. Situated in the literature on the post-Soviet authoritarian regimes and their ways of governing, as well as their manipulation of public opinion, the book analyzes AKP-aligned intellectuals as apparatchiks. Gurpinar explores the different constellations of pro-AKP intellectuals vindicating the AKP regime from various angles, including: liberal/progressive intellectuals who initially supported the party for its liberal vistas but continued their support by twisting their progressive rhetoric; Islamist intellectuals blending their Islamism with populism; and national security intellectuals who joined after the AKP came to propagate a national security agenda. The book also provides an overview of the mechanisms of political technology, including the media landscape and its running by the AKP, intellectuals themselves as operators of political technology, and the problem of "cultural power." The book will be of interest to those studying comparative authoritarian politics, populism, political communication, and scholars of Middle East and Eastern Europe.

Offering a comparative perspective, this book examines working poverty -- those in work who are still classified as "poor." It argues that the growth in numbers of working poor in Europe is due to the transition from a Keynesian Welfare State to a 'post-fordist' model of production.

In this study, which highlights a renewed emphasis in international affairs on regional studies, the co-authors provide an assessment of the revolutionary changes in the politics and security of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

What is the Senate for and what does it do? Everyone knows what the French president, the National Assembly and political parties are for and what they do, but not the upper house. At his inauguration in October 2008, the Senate's new speaker made it his goal to make this commonplace redundant by the end of his term in 2011. It may be the least well known of the institutions of the Fifth Republic, but the Senate is an assembly based on that most particular aspect of French political culture - local government and local elus. As Paul Smith shows here, it is an institution that has evolved with the regime, sometimes in unexpected ways, and finds itself, at the end of the first decade of the 21st century, on the brink of potentially great and certainly unexpected changes in form and content.

This work, written by an expert in the politics of Mainland China and Taiwan, looks at the role the Constitution of the Republic of China has played in the development of Taiwan since 1949 and its potential influence on the People's Republic of China.The Chinese Communists conducted the first long march for the sake of the majority of Chinese people, with the victory of MAO Zedong. In the second long march, CHIANG Kai-shek and his successors tried to convert the Chinese mailand from a Communist, totalitarian system, into a democratic, prosperous one by relying on the spirit of the Republic of China (ROC) constitution and by setting itself as a good example, in gradually guaranteeing freedom and democracy. Needless to say, this march is long and difficult."Struggling Against The Chinese Communists under the Republic of China Constitution" challenges other models and theories on the study of the relationship between the ROC (Taiwan area) and mainland China or the People's Republic of China (PRC) since China became politically (as opposed to legally) divided in December 1949. Arguably, it is the ROC Constitution that has helped ROC citizens to live in a non-Communist or anti-Communist political system. Actively promoting democracy and freedom on the Chinese mainland (neidi) can further guarantee the Taiwan area's survival.The book provides valuable scholarship of interest to anyone researching the political history of China and its prospects for democratization.

This book presents solutions to problems that are total and based on thinking about how and why humans have organized themselves. It discusses how to avoid the now well-documented Holocene Extinction, propelled by climate change, wars, resource depletion, desertification, degrading knowledge quality, famine, and deterioration of societies overall. It explains why we cannot respond effectively with hedonistic, incompetent, corrupt, and anarchistic "liberal democracy" and why neither personality cult regimes can suffice.  The book offers a model of an organic social structure embodying a collective consciousness of communitarianism and Platonic-style ethos. Putting an emphasis on the re-establishment of Classical Greek virtue, it offers solutions to resolve identity politics, alienation, and meritocracy. While doing so, the author opposes the "everyone is equal" ideology to govern the section of policymakers, instead circumscribing "rights" in terms of responsibilities, prioritizing education and training to carry forth the ethos of valuing truth above materialism, and developing Durkheim's social brain via a new discipline, "sociointelligence". The book goes on to explain how underpinning these elements is a comprehensive elucidation of often misunderstood words like "liberty", "freedom", "authoritarianism", and "democracy". All of these areas are arranged and combined in uniquely describing the organic society the author deems necessary to avoid human extinction. As a result, the book presents a “new organicity�, where the emerging transhumanism seeks to transcend hydrocarbon-based life with humanly-constructed life. This book will appeal to students, researchers, and scholars of political science, philosophy, and the social sciences interested in a better understanding of complexity, democratic theory, Holocene Extinction, organic thinking, and meritocratic societies.