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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political structure & processes > Constitution, government & the state
This book brings together several scholars to examine the relationship between guerrilla insurgencies and state building. In essays covering such societies as Mozambique, Algeria, Peru, Malaysia and Sri Lanka the authors show that the rise of guerrilla insurgency can lead states to develop far-reaching programmes of social and economic modernisation or else in some cases to disintegrate from within if the challenge of modernisation proves to be beyond their capacities. The book argues that as the last phase of colonial modernisation of developing states has finished insurgencies increasingly threaten the cohesion of less developed states in a global order in which superpower patronage has largely ended.
Is there a future without civil service and civil servants? This volume concludes a large comparative project that started in 1990. The book considers the changes in the past fifteen years, and looks to the challenges facing civil servants in the 21st century: performance, globalization and legitimacy. Given the lack of attention for civil servant "systems"as specifically public sector institutionalized arrangements in a political and societal context, this study fills a clear gap.
"Global Boundaries" considers conceptual, legal and geopolitical
aspects of international borders and borderlands. It also presents
a detailed discussion of Antarctica as a case of global territorial
dispute. The articles examine issues such as: the changing role and
functions of international boundaries, peacekeeping and
peacebuilding along borders, and the future of the Antarctic
Treaty.
Is the American Dream real? Do we have a right to it, or is it just suggestion? Where did it come from? Joseph Amico, the son of Sicilian immigrants, provides the answers to these key questions in this essay on American history and politics. More importantly, he explains why the dream is in jeopardy and how it can be saved. Raised a Catholic, Amico became a skeptic of politics and government after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Later, when Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy were killed, he knew something was seriously wrong. With the war in Vietnam raging, he joined the antiwar and civil rights movements. Immersed in the politics of the day, he saw only one answer to the nation's problems: social revolution. Now, looking both at the history and present state of the US, Amico explores what is needed to for the nation to move forward--to find a better way of doing things. Our political forefathers promoted radical principles that helped the United States and its people prosper. While we can still move in that direction, it won't happen by listening to radio and television pundits who distort the views of our forefathers. We must revisit the principles that our country was founded on and let what we know to be the truth become reality. Amico, an ordinary citizen, seeks to shed some light on this complex subject so that "we the people" can claim what's rightfully ours instead of just dreaming.
This study provides an analytic framework---a theory of knowledge than identifies the kinds of structures and processes required for directing human action and the criteria for evaluating them. Eugene Meehan applies his theories empirically to the real world and provides normative approaches for his generalizations about governmental and individual policies. This theoretical study builds on his earlier works and is intended for political and social scientists and graduate students. The book opens with a description of the the author's theory of knowledgement, and then identifies how to fulfill empirical and normative requirements, and how to apply the critical apparatus to governmental actions. It examines the outlook for the future, the role of the university, and past performance. It calls for an agreed epistemological base, grounded in experience for critiquing governmental policy and behavior and improving it.
The Constitution of the United States created a representative
republic marked by federalism and the separation of powers. Yet
numerous federal judges--led by the Supreme Court--have used the
Constitution as a blank check to substitute their own views on
hot-button issues such as abortion, capital punishment, and samesex
marriage for perfectly constitutional laws enacted by We the People
through our elected representatives.
Nine well-known authors associated with the world federalist movement critique the 1995 Report of the Commission on Global Governance entitled "Our Global Neighborhood." Although the contributors manifest a variety of viewpoints, styles, and approaches, they are unanimous in condemning the Report as insufficiently imaginative and visionary. Despite repeated calls in the Commission Report for a radically new way of thinking, the substance of the Report mindlessly rubber-stamps the legitimacy of the sovereign nation-state system of today, by means of summarily and peremptorily dismissing even the possibility of a supernational government qualitatively beyond the United Nations. According to the contributors, the concept of genuine world government is sufficiently advanced, and the circumstances of the present day are conducive, so that this concept is deserving of the most careful and serious attention by the general public and the political leadership. Despite their unconventional conclusions, these essays are lucid, judicious, and commanding.
The successful maintenance of peace since 1814 made neutrality a widely popular doctrine in Sweden. Rather than a security policy in the strict sense, it has become a cornerstone of Swedish national identity. Yet, in the past decade the neutrality tradition has been called into question. This book analyzes the emergence, institutionalization, and reassessment of neutrality, of the notion of peace as a national good, from the 16th century to the present debate on NATO membership.
The book draws on original academic research to discuss the outcome of the 1997 general election in Scotland and the likely future shape of Scotland's politics. It offers the most rigorous and up-to-date assessment of Scottish electoral politics that is available, setting the 1997 Scottish result in a comparative context with the rest of Britain, and in a context of changing political attitudes and behaviour since the 1970s. The 1997 General Election ranks alongside 1945 and 1979 as a turning point in the post-war United Kingdom. The overwhelming endorsement of a Scottish Parliament in the September 1997 referendum will have dramatic implications for Scottish and British politics. This book enhances understanding of these developments and analyzes the relationship between national identity and the policy agenda as Scotland moves towards a new constitutional future.
In this insightful book, Massimo Fichera provides an original account of European integration as a process -? completed by the creation of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. The study builds upon a demonstration of how European constitutionalism has been informed by a meta-rationale, which is expressed by security and fundamental rights as discourses of power. The book uses this conceptual framework to analyse the development of the EU as a polity. Chapters cover significant recent crises, including the Eurozone, refugees, the rule of law, Brexit, and constitutional identity. These events are not only recognized as being political shocks, but more meaningful and long lasting occurrences which have had, and will continue to have, a deep impact on the development of the EU as a legal and political system. In light of this, the variety of crises that have recently affected the EU are discussed with thought given to their impact as an interlinking whole. Adeptly combining both theoretical and doctrinal analysis, this book will appeal to students and scholars of both EU law and politics as well as those interested in legal and political theory more widely. Government officials, policy makers and practitioners will also find this a stimulating read.
This work provides a philosophical framework within which the free speech clause of the Constitution's First Amendment may be understood. While much has been written on the First Amendment, this work is unique in offering an historically based thesis illuminating a point virtually ignored in the literature--the absolutist quality of the free speech clause and the philosophical dualism (words/deeds) on which it is based. Given the increasingly powerful forces favoring group rights in order to generate laws which would silence "offensive" speech, this book provides a radical challenge to the frameworks within which many such contemporary arguments are cast. It also reminds putative censors of the very special role free speech plays in any democratic community which aims to be self-governing.
When Abraham Lincoln was sworn into office, seven slave states had preemptively seceded rather than recognize the legitimacy of his election. In his first inaugural address on March 4, 1861, Lincoln replied to the secessionists and set forth a principled defense of majority rule as “the only true sovereign of a free people.” His immediate purpose was to argue against the legitimacy of a powerful minority forcibly partitioning the United States because it was dissatisfied with the results of a free, constitutionally conducted election. His wider purpose was to make the case that a deliberate, constitutionally checked majority, though by no means infallible, was the appropriate ultimate authority not only on routine political questions but even on the kind of difficult, deeply divisive questions—like the future of slavery—that could otherwise trigger violent contests.Sovereign of a Free People examines Lincoln’s defense of majority rule, his understanding of its capabilities and limitations, and his hope that slavery could be peacefully and gradually extinguished through the action of a committed national majority. James Read argues that Lincoln offered an innovative account of the interplay between majorities and minorities in the context of crosscutting issues and shifting public opinion. This story is particularly timely today as a new minority of dissatisfied voters has threatened and enacted violence in response to a valid election. Read offers the first book focused on Lincoln’s understanding of majority rule. He also highlights the similarities and differences between the threats to American democracy in Lincoln’s time and in our own. Sovereign of a Free People challenges common assumptions about what caused the Civil War, takes seriously the alternative path of a peaceful, democratic abolition of slavery in the United States, and offers a fresh treatment of Lincoln and race.
NOW A NEW YORK TIMES, WASHINGTON POST, WALL STREET JOURNAL, USA TODAY, AND PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BESTSELLER. There has never been a more important political investigation than Robert S. Mueller III's into President Donald Trump's possible collusion with Russia. His momentous findings can be found here, complete with: The 300+ pages of the historic report, as released by the Justice Department An introduction by constitutional scholar, eminent civil libertarian, and New York Times bestselling author Alan Dershowitz. The relevant portions of Title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the 1999 provisions written by former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal, which establish and regulate the powers of the special counsel. Rod Rosenstein's 2016 order appointing Robert Mueller III as special counsel and outlining the scope of his investigation. Attorney General William Barr's four-page summary of the report, as sent to Congress. Barr's explanation of the four reasons for redacting the report, and a key for identifying them in the color-coded report The wait is over. Robert Mueller, a lifelong Republican, has concluded his investigation and submitted its findings to Attorney General William Barr. Barr has told Congress that Mueller found no proof of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, and did not come to a conclusion on obstruction of justice-neither concluding the president committed a crime nor exonerating him. But Mueller's report was over 300 pages and Barr's summary was only four pages, raising questions about the conclusions of a historic investigation. Special Counsel Robert Mueller III's probe into Russian influence on the 2016 election of Donald Trump-including links between the campaign and Russian interests, obstruction of justice by President Trump, and any other matters that may have arisen in the course of the investigation-has been the focal point of American politics since its inception in May 2017. Democrats in the US House of Representatives hoped to use the report to begin impeachment proceedings, with the support of those critical of the president. Media tracked Mueller's every move, and the investigation was subject to constant speculation by political pundits everywhere. It resulted in the indictments of Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Roger Stone, and many others. President Trump and his supporters affirmed that the investigation was a "witch hunt" and the product of a plot by the political establishment-the "deep state"-to delegitimize his presidency. Mueller's findings-at least according to Barr-allowed the latter to claim victory. But now, thanks to a subpoena from House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler for the full report, a resolution from the House of Representatives to release the full report to the public (though blocked in the Senate by Mitch McConnell), and popular demand, it's time for public to judge if that is true. The Mueller investigation will join Watergate, and the Mueller Report will join the 9/11 Commission Report, the Warren Report, and the Starr Report, as one of the most important in history. The Mueller Report is required reading for everyone with interest in American politics, for every 2016 and 2020 voter, and every American. It's now available here as an affordable paperback, featuring an introduction from eminent civil libertarian, Harvard Law Professor Emeritus, and New York Times bestselling author Alan Dershowitz, who provides a constitutional, civil law-based commentary sorely needed in today's media landscape.
Rethinking the European Union draws together contributors from across Europe to reflect upon methods of conceptualising the European Union within both changing global and European contexts. Rethinking takes the themes of institutions, interests and identities as its organising framework within which each contributor offering a distinctive commentary on the EU. The outcome is a text that goes beyond an exploration of the existing methods of conceptualising the European integration process and reflects upon the nature of the EU itself.
The processes of constitutional change in America are particularly difficult to understand because of the constant interaction between the constitutional document of 1787 and the wider set of understandings and practices surrounding that document. This work is the first to examine systematically the relationship between changes initiated by constitutional amendment and changes initiated by judicial interpretations or actions of the two elected branches of government. By examining and comparing all three mechanisms of constitutional revision, Vile offers a more complex and dynamic analysis of this important constitutional issue than can be found elsewhere in the literature.
Senator Chuck Hagel has long been admired by his colleagues on both sides of the Senate floor for his honesty, integrity, and common-sense approach to the challenges of our times. The "Los Angeles Times" has praised his "bold positions on foreign policy and national security" and wondered, "What's not to like?" In "America: Our Next Chapter," Nebraska-born Hagel offers a hard-hitting examination of the current state of our nation and provides substantial, meaningful proposals that can guide America back onto the right path. In "America: Our Next Chapter," Hagel speaks the truth as he sees it--in a direct and refreshingly unvarnished manner. Basing his suggestions on thorough research and careful thought, as well as on personal insight from his years as a political insider, successful businessman, and decorated war hero, he discusses domestic issues--including the health care crisis, immigration, and Social Security and Medicare reform--and global climate change. He confronts foreign policy problems that the current administration has bungled or ignored, including China's growing economy; control of U.S. debt; India's and Pakistan's nuclear capabilities; and Iran's aggressive political, ideological, and nuclear stances. He decries the pervasive disease of third world poverty, arguing convincingly that this is where the real fight against terrorism must begin. Always true to the beliefs instilled in his childhood on the prairie, he speaks passionately about service--to one's country and to one's fellow citizens--as the path toward a renewed America. And, of course, he gives a candid examination of the debacle that is the Iraq War. A staunch Republican yet a "hero to liberals"("Time"), Hagel asks the tough questions and delivers straight answers to America's most pressing problems. "America: Our Next Chapter" is a serious, honest, and, ultimately, optimistic look at our nation's future, from an American original.
Reshaping the British Constitution provides a vigorous critique of the deformations of Britain's customary constitution and why it could not effectively stem the growth of a centralized political authority. On this foundation it provides a critical description and assessment of recent constitutional changes including devolution, House of Lords reform, human rights and the encroachment of the European Union. Nevil Johnson suggests that since the reform programme has rested on pragmatic political expediency rather than on coherent thinking about constitutional principles, it is likely to strengthen the familiar deformations of the customary constitution.
From Pulitzer Prize–winning author and esteemed presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, an invaluable guide to the development and exercise of leadership from Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. The inspiration for the multipart HISTORY Channel series Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. “After five decades of magisterial output, Doris Kearns Goodwin leads the league of presidential historians” (USA TODAY). In her “inspiring” (The Christian Science Monitor) Leadership, Doris Kearns Goodwin draws upon the four presidents she has studied most closely—Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson (in civil rights)—to show how they recognized leadership qualities within themselves and were recognized as leaders by others. By looking back to their first entries into public life, we encounter them at a time when their paths were filled with confusion, fear, and hope. Leadership tells the story of how they all collided with dramatic reversals that disrupted their lives and threatened to shatter forever their ambitions. Nonetheless, they all emerged fitted to confront the contours and dilemmas of their times. At their best, all four were guided by a sense of moral purpose. At moments of great challenge, they were able to summon their talents to enlarge the opportunities and lives of others. Does the leader make the times or do the times make the leader?
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