An examination of issues surrounding the development and future prospects of civil society in Eastern Europe. The contributions, mostly by leading East European scholars, relate the key concept of civil society to the processes that led to the collapse of communism and which bear on prospects for the establishment of a democratic order throughout the region. The development of the concept is placed in historical and comparitive context and subjected to critical scrutiny in the light of recent events in Eastern Europe. The rise of a civil society in Eastern Europe and evaluation of its future prospects is related to questions like those surrounding economic policy and reform, elite formation and leadership recruitment and the nature of the women's movement in the region. The series aims to provide theoretical insights into the dynamics of East European communism and the nature of the post-communist order.

Many consider President-Elect Obama to be the foremost orator of his generation. This Special Inauguration Edition compiles eighteen great speeches by Barack Obama and three additional contextually relevant speeches by other politicians. The book also has a brief chronology of his life, and reprints the text of the emancipation proclamation and the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments to the constitution. ***** This collection includes his speech against going to war in Iraq, his keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention (the speech that propelled him to national fame), his speech at the Jefferson-Jackson dinner, his insightful speech on race relations (responding to the Reverend Jeremiah Wright controversy) and his speech given after winning the general election. *****

Study of church and state in the United States is incredibly complex. Scholars working in this area have backgrounds in law, religious studies, history, theology, and politics, among other fields. Historically, they have focused on particular angles or dimensions of the church-state relationship, because the field is so vast. The results have mostly been monographs that focus only on narrow cross-sections of the field, and the few works that do aim to give larger perspectives are reference works of factual compendia, which offer little or no analysis.
The Oxford Handbook of Church and State in the United States fills this gap, presenting an extensive, multidimensional overview of the field. Twenty-one essays offer a scholarly look at the intricacies and past and current debates that frame the American system of church and state, within five main areas: history, law, theology/philosophy, politics, and sociology. These essays provide factual accounts, but also address issues, problems, debates, controversies, and, where appropriate, suggest resolutions. They also offer analysis of the range of interpretations of the subject offered by various American scholars. This Handbook is an invaluable resource for the study of church-state relations in the United States.

Eight political scientists offer their analyses of the political situations, institutions, and future of democracy in the regions of Western Europe, North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and the Near East, South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific, and the Soviet Union and eastern Europe. The contributors survey the movement in these regions toward or away from democracy.

The issues and controversies surrounding the creation of our federal republic--and the rights of the federal government--have reverberated through many watershed events in the 200+ years of American history. This book will help students to debate those issues as they played out in eight crises from 1787 to the beginning of the 21st century. Expert commentary and 54 primary documents contemporary to the time were carefully selected to represent a variety of views on each issue. Events range from the creation of the federal republic to the ongoing controversy over women's rights.

Primary documents include presidential letters and speeches, newspaper opinion pieces, first-person accounts and letters, Supreme Court decisions, congressional debates, statutes, resolutions, and political party platforms. A narrative introduction to the issue of federalism over American history will help students contextualize the events in context. A chronology and bibliography of books and Web sites will assist the student researcher.

Presidents, Prime Ministers and Chancellors focuses on the leadership performances of the political chief executives in the United States, Britain and Germany since the end of the Second World War. Drawing on a wide range of material, Ludger Helms provides a genuinely comparative perspective on the conditions and manifestations of executive leadership in three of the world's largest established democracies. The study looks at long-term trends in the historical development of leadership conceptions on either side of the Atlantic and examines the opportunities and limits for political leadership under different forms of democratic government. As executive leadership is understood here as an activity reaching well beyond the boundaries of the executive branch, the study is designed to mark a major contribution to the wider field of transatlantic comparative politics.

In 1911 one of every three Canadians lived in urban areas; today three out of four do. This growth has raised serious issues in urban government: How should power and authority be distributed among differing, often competing, urban interests? How can municipal governments obtain the funds they need to satisfy the increased demand for community and social services? How much should citizens participate? At a conference held in Banff on alternate forms of urban government, academics and practitioners considered these, and other pressing urban problems. Problems of change in urban government, presents the results of the conference, along with other, related essays. The contributors are Lloyd Axworthy, Meyer Brownstone, Stephen Clarkson, J.A. Johnson, James Lorimer, Allan O'Brien, T.J. Plunkett, Louise Quesnel-Ouellet, Paul Tennant, and the volume editors.

To a large extent, elite politicians, bureaucrats, and businessmen hold the fortunes of their societies in their hands. This edited volume describes how formal and informal institutions affect elite behaviour, which in turn affects corruption and the quality of government.

This book analyses the new pattern of security concerns of the Central Asian successor states. This region is said to encompass Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tadzhikistan, Kirghizstan and Turkmenistan. The main contention of the book is that the security problems of these states are similar to those that faced other 'Third World' countries after they attained independence. That is, due to the arbitrary creation of these states by external powers they lack a certain degree of societal cohesiveness arising from the fact that several ethnic communities reside within their borders. It is this so-called 'insecurity dilemma' of each of the Central Asian states that is therefore examined.

When Hong Kong is reunited with China on 1 July 1997 China will face a great challenge: to preserve the prosperity and stability that Hong Kong has achieved under the British legacy of a democratic free-enterprise system and an efficient but noninterfering government. China proposes to link its own traditionally socialist economy and communist political system with Hong Kong under a 'one country-two systems' plan. Cultural and historical forces suggest that this marriage of opposites may well succeed.

The reversion of Hong Kong to China on 1 July 1997 is an event of major historical significance. This volume examines this dramatic event from a long-term perspective against the background of earlier turning points in Hong Kong's political, economic and social history. It also explores Hong Kong's links with China and Britain in this troubled last decade of colonial rule, and offers a basis for assessing the territory's possible future as a part of the Chinese state.

This book examines the right to a neutral and detached decisionmaker as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court. This right resides in the Constitution's Fifth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment guarantees to procedural due process and in the Sixth Amendment's promise of an impartial jury. Supreme Court cases on these topics are the vehicles to understand how these constitutional rights have come alive. First, the book surveys the right to an impartial jury in criminal cases by telling the stories of defendants whose convictions were overturned after they were the victims of prejudicial pretrial publicity, mob justice, and discriminatory jury selection. Next, the book articulates how our modern notion of judicial impartiality was forged by the Court striking down cases where judges were bribed, where they had other direct financial stakes in the outcome of the case, and where a judge decided the case of a major campaign supporter. Finally, the book traces the development of the right to a neutral decisionmaker in quasi-judicial, non-court settings, including cases involving parole revocation, medical license review, mental health commitments, prison discipline, and enemy combatants. Each chapter begins with the typically shocking facts of these cases being retold, and each chapter ends with a critical examination of the Supreme Court's ultimate decisions in these cases.

Beneficial social and economic exchange relies on a certain level of trust. But trust is a delicate matter, not least in the former socialist countries where illegitimate behaviour by governments made distrust a habit. The chapters in this volume analyze the causes and the effects of the lack of social trust in post socialist countries. The contributions originated in the Collegium Budapest project on Honesty and Trust: Theory and Experience in the Light of the Post Socialist Transition. A second volume entitled, Building a Trustworthy State in Post Socialist Transition, is being published simultaneously. GABRIEL BADESCU Associate Professor of Political Science at the Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania ILDIK BARNA Research Assistant at E/tv/s Lorand University, Hungary KAREN S. COOK Ray Lyman Wilbur Professor of Sociology and the Cognizant Dean of the Social Sciences at Stanford University, California,

Building a Trustworthy State in Post Socialist Transition considers the problems and prospects for creating trustworthy and reliable public institutions in the aftermath of the transition from socialism in Central and Eastern Europe. The volume draws on the experience of those who have lived through and studied the transition and contrasts their insights with those of generalist scholars who study government accountability and democracy. The contributions originated in the Collegium Budapest project on Honesty and Trust: Theory and Experience in the Light of the Post Socialist Transition, organized by Janos Kornai and Susan Rose Ackerman. A second volume entitled, Creating Social Trust in Post Socialist Transition, is being published simultaneously. BRUCE ACKERMAN Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science atYale University, USA GEORGY GANEV Program Director for Economic Research at the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia, Bulgaria RUSSELL HARDIN Professor of Politics at New York University, USA JOEL HELLMAN Senior Adviser on Governance in the East Asia and Pacific Region at the World Bank based in Jakarta, Indonesia CYNTHIA M. HORNE Assistant Professor at the John C. White

If free and fair elections are the heart of our prized democratic system of government, the integrity of our electoral system must be beyond question. Yet all too often, flaws in the administration of our elections have undermined public confidence in the results. This volume is virtually unique in focusing closely on the procedural problems of our electoral system, including those posed by the computerization of voting systems. The author analyzes events in the electoral history of the United States (and, tangentially, of certain other nations) to reveal the particular dynamics of democratic electoral systems that permit purportedly free and fair elections to subvert rather than express the public will. Past electoral crises shedding light on our electoral deficiencies are chronicled in detail, allowing the author to diagnose systemic failures that can, he contends, be remedied in order to strengthen our democratic system. Chapters focus on current laws and procedures regarding voter registration, provisional ballots, absentee ballots, computerized voting systems, and the Electoral College. The author recommends specific reforms in all these areas that will safeguard our democratic heritage and ensure that the voice of the people is heard. The book presents often-complex material in lucid prose, illuminating issues vital to democracy. BLSystematic exploration of election administration BLHistorical and comparative perspective BLChronology BLGlossary BLAnnotated bibliography of print and electronic materials for further study

Barely a week goes by without another government U-turn and with the cost of living crisis and rising mortgage rates we really need those in charge to get it right. In this timely book Cambridge Professor Dennis C. Grube explores the pitfalls, failures and successes of those in power around the world. 'A must-read' - Sebastian Payne 'Convincing' - David Lammy MP We live in an era when we really need governments to be effective - the economy, our health and the future of the planet are at stake - but so often they can seem clueless, and their decisions leave us confused. With insight and wit, Grube explains how governments can improve their decision-making and by examining fascinating case studies he highlights the key factors that make for effective government. With the stakes higher than ever before, this original and important book is an essential read for any concerned citizen who wants to understand why governments make the wrong decisions and, crucially, what can be done about it. 'Highly original and very entertaining' - Gavin Esler 'There is a real gap for this book' - Isabel Hardman

In this illuminating examination of the Obama presidency, the contributors describe the policy directions followed, and the administration s level of success in achieving its objectives. Throughout the Obama administration, efforts were intended to alleviate the worst of the economic stress facing the nation, move the president closer to the center of the American political spectrum, and prepare for the upcoming reelection campaign, to be fought primarily on the same issues as the earlier one. The contributors present an analysis of the motivations and political thinking underlying the administration s action along with assessments of the policy consequences of the issue agenda favored and the public s reaction. The Obama Presidency is an in-depth account of one of the most intriguing and important presidencies at a time of economic crisis that goes a long way in explaining the policy decisions made and their political consequences, as well as the choices facing a nation in transition.

The Constitution is the cornerstone of American government, hailed as one of the greatest contributions of the Western Enlightenment. While many seem content simply to celebrate it, those most familiar with the document invariably find it wanting in at least some aspects.

This unique volume brings together many of the country's most esteemed constitutional commentators and invites them to answer two questions: First, what is the stupidest provision of the Constitution? "Stupid" need not mean evil. Thus, a second, related question is whether the scholar-interpreter would be forced to reach truly evil results even if applying his or her own favored theory of constitutional interpretation.

The contributors include Lawrence Alexander, Akhil Reed Amar, Jack Balkin, Philip Bobbitt, Gerard Bradley, Rebecca Brown, Steven Calabresi, Lief Carter, Christopher Eisgruber, Lawrence Sager, Marie Failinger, Daniel Farber, James Fleming, Mark Graber, Stephen Griffin, Gary Jacobsohn, Randall Kennedy, Lewis LaRue, Theodore Lowi, Earl Maltz, Michael McConnell, Matthew Michael, Robert Nagel, Daniel Ortiz, Pamela Karlen, Michael Paulsen, Robert Post, Lucas Powe, Dorothy Roberts, Jeffrey Rosen, Frederick Schauer, Michael Seidman, Suzanna Sherry, David Strauss, Laurence Tribe, Mark Tushnet, and John Yoo.

The America We Deserve is Donald Trump's position paper on the major political issues facing our country. He offers no-nonsense, populist, provocative, and dramatic solutions that no ordinary politician would dare put forward.

From Justice Department officials seizing people's homes based on mere rumors to the IRS and its master plan to prohibit the nation's self-employed from working for themselves to the perpetrators of the Waco siege, government officials are tearing the Bill of Rights to pieces. Today's citizen is now more likely than ever to violate some unknown law or regulation and be placed at the mercy of an administrator or politician hungering for publicity. Unfortunately, the only way many government agencies can measure their "public service" is by the number of citizens they harass, hinder, restrain, or jail. Already a major issue in the deliberations of the Congress that took office in January of 1995, the power and size of government is certain to be a prominent factor in the 1996 presidential elections. Lost Rights provides a highly entertaining analysis of the bloated excess of government and the plight of contemporary Americans beaten into submission by a horrible parody of the Founding Fathers' dream.

The French Constitutional Council, a quasi-judicial body created at the dawn of the Fifth Republic, functioned in relative obscurity for almost two decades until its emergence in the 1980s as a pivotal actor in the French policymaking process. Alec Stone focuses on how this once docile institution, through its practice of constitutional review, has become a meaningfully autonomous actor in the French political system. After examining the formal prohibition against judicial review in France, Stone illustrates how politicians and the Council have collaborated over the course of the last decade, often unintentionally and in the service of contradictory agendas, to significantly enhance Council's power. While the Council came to function as a third house of Parliament, the legislative work of the government and Parliament was meaningfully "juridicized." Through a discussion of broad theoretical issues, Stone then expands the scope of his analysis to the politics of constitutional review in Germany, Spain, and Austria.

Whether newly-freed slaves could be trusted to own firearms was in great dispute in 1866, and the ramifications of this issue reverberate in today's "gun-control" debate. This is the only comprehensive study ever published on the intent of the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment and of Reconstruction-era civil rights legislation to protect the right to keep and bear arms. Indeed, this is the most detailed study ever published about the intent of the Fourteenth Amendment to incorporate and to protect from state violation any of the rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, even including free speech. Paradoxically, the Second Amendment is virtually the only Bill of Rights guarantee not recognized by the federal courts as protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. Through legislative and historical records generated during the Reconstruction epoch (1866-1876), Halbrook shows the intent of the Fourteenth Amendment and of civil rights legislation to guarantee full and equal rights to blacks, including the right to keep and bear arms.

Important and insightful essays provide a penetrating assessment of Christian responses in the Nazi era.