The only book with exclusive analysis by the Pulitzer Prize–winning staff of The Washington Post, and the most complete and authoritative available.

Read the findings of the Special Counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, complete with accompanying analysis by the Post reporters who’ve covered the story from the beginning. This edition from The Washington Post/Scribner contains:

• The long-awaited Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election
• An introduction by The Washington Post titled “A President, a Prosecutor, and the Protection of American Democracy”
• A timeline of the major events of the Special Counsel’s investigation from May 2017, when Robert Mueller was appointed, to the report's delivery
• A guide to individuals involved, including in the Special Counsel’s Office, the Department of Justice, the FBI, the Trump Campaign, the White House, the Trump legal defense team, and the Russians
• Key documents in the Special Counsel’s investigation, including filings pertaining to General Michael T. Flynn, Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen, Roger Stone, and the Russian internet operation in St. Petersburg. Each document is introduced and explained by Washington Post reporters.

One of the most urgent and important investigations ever conducted, the Mueller inquiry focuses on Donald Trump, his presidential campaign, and Russian interference in the 2016 election, and draws on the testimony of dozens of witnesses and the work of some of the country’s most seasoned prosecutors.

The special counsel’s investigation looms as a turning point in American history.

The Lebanese state is structured through religious freedom and secular power sharing across sectarian groups. Every sect has specific laws that govern kinship matters like marriage or inheritance. Together with criminal and civil laws, these laws regulate and produce political difference. But whether women or men, Muslims or Christians, queer or straight, all people in Lebanon have one thing in common-they are biopolitical subjects forged through bureaucratic, ideological, and legal techniques of the state. With this book, Maya Mikdashi offers a new way to understand state power, theorizing how sex, sexuality, and sect shape and are shaped by law, secularism, and sovereignty. Drawing on court archives, public records, and ethnography of the Court of Cassation, the highest civil court in Lebanon, Mikdashi shows how political difference is entangled with religious, secular, and sexual difference. She presents state power as inevitably contingent, like the practices of everyday life it engenders, focusing on the regulation of religious conversion, the curation of legal archives, state and parastatal violence, and secular activism. Sextarianism locates state power in the experiences, transitions, uprisings, and violence that people in the Middle East continue to live.

This book looks at the options for the future development of Church establishment in the UK. The future of church establishment in our ever more pluralized society becomes increasingly urgent; topical because of the heightened appreciation of the issues raised by the presence of non-Christian religious minorities.There is a need for an authoritative understanding of the relevant constitutional law and the options for changing it. With Church establishment largely locked in the geopolitics of the late 17th century, this study examines the case for change. How should the constitution respond to an ever more pluralized society; what are the implications for the religious character of the monarchy? This book helps readers consider such questions and reach their own judgments.

Approaching the concept of Islamic constitutionalism from a comparative perspective, this thought-provoking study by Antoni Abat i Ninet and Mark Tushnet uses traditional Western political theory as a lens to develop a framework for analyzing the events known as the 'Arab Spring'. Writing with clarity and insight, the authors place Western and Arabic traditions into a constructive dialogue. They focus on whether we can develop a 'theory of revolutions' that helps us understand events occurring at divergent times at geographically separate locations. This question is meticulously analyzed through the detailed examination of specific developments relevant to the ideas of revolution and constitutionalism in several nations affected by the Arab Spring. Case studies focus on Morocco and Libya as examples of unsuccessful revolutions, as well as Tunisia and Egypt. These lead the authors to consider the nature of constitutionalism itself and the concept of illiberal but non-authoritarian constitutions: a particularly pressing concern given the prominent contemporary discussions of the role of shari'a in post-Arab Spring constitutions. The Arab Spring will offer new insights to scholars, researchers and students of law and the political sciences, in particular those focusing on theories of revolution, democracy, constitutional law, Islamic constitutionalism and legal theory.

There is no better guide than Paul Krugman to basic economics, the ideas that animate much of our public policy. Likewise, there is no better foe of zombie economics, the misunderstandings that just won't die. Arguing with Zombies is Krugman "the most hated and most admired columnist in the US" (Martin Wolf, Financial Times) at his best, turning readers into intelligent consumers of the daily news with quick, vivid sketches of the key concepts behind taxes, health care, international trade and more. In this new book, in which he builds on and expands his The New York Times columns and other writings, "the most celebrated economist of his generation" (The Economist), offers short, accessible chapters on topics including the European Union and Brexit, the fight for national health care in the United States, the financial meltdown of 2007-2008, the attack on Social Security and the fraudulent argument-the ultimate zombie-that tax cuts for the rich will benefit all.

"The FLOTUS Effect" emphasizes the import of agency on the part of Michelle Obama in relation to her politics as evidenced in her positionality and presence as the first African American woman to serve as First Lady of the United States of America. Her occupation of a previously white space and place tended to frame her as an enigma in the American mind and media. Contributors reflect on Mrs. Obama's eight years in her ceremonial position, and the ways she chose to uniquely embody her role. Hence, the result is a volume that speculates upon her evolving legacy, and the likely "effects" of what it meant to be the first African-American woman to serve in the ceremonial, yet powerful, role of FLOTUS.

Rhetoric and Governance under Trump: Proclamations from the Bullshit Pulpit analyzes the rhetoric of Donald Trump to argue that Trump's deeply illiberal rhetoric, cruel policies, corruption, disruptive foreign policy, and disdain for the rule of law makes him a textbook populist. However, his embrace of mainstream conservative policies and the culture war narratives that come with them made him a rather conventional Republican. Being more plutocrat than populist, Trump had to bridge this fundamental contradiction by employing populist and polarizing rhetoric, alongside fabricated crises, to uphold the veneer of being an anti-status quo politician. Bernd Kaussler, Lars J. Kristiansen, and Jeffrey Delbert argue that, for Trump, bullshit, confrontational politics, and fear has emerged as a vital political strategy. Through an analysis of Trump's first three years in office, the authors find that President Trump governed using a communication strategy that a) denied facts, relied heavily on bullshit, lies, and fabricated counter-narratives; b) attacked news outlets and the opposition to foster identity-based polarization in order to sideline critics and stir up factions for specific political ends; and c) dismissed legitimate criticism of policies and the conduct of the administration and the president himself as "fake news." Kaussler, Kristiansen, and Delbert argue that the repeated use of this strategy, along with a mixture of public complacency and concerted efforts on the part of his own party, has allowed Trump to work toward normalizing these lies and cover-ups throughout his tenure, only further exacerbating the highly polarized and partisan political environment in the United States. Scholars of rhetoric, communication, political science, and media studies will find this book particularly useful.

North Carolina's state constitution charts the evolution over two centuries of a modern representative democracy. In The North Carolina State Constitution, John V. Orth and Paul M. Newby provide an outstanding constitutional and historical account of the state's governing charter. In addition to an overview of North Carolina's constitutional history, it provides an in-depth, section-by-section analysis of the entire constitution, detailing the many significant changes that have been made since its initial drafting. This treatment, along with a table of cases, index, and bibliography provides an unsurpassed reference guide for students, scholars, and practitioners of North Carolina's constitution. Co-authored by Paul M. Newby, a sitting justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, the second edition includes significant constitutional amendments adopted since the date of the first edition. Almost every article was affected by the changes. Some were minor-such as the lengthening the term of magistrates-and some were more significant, such as spelling out the rights of victims of crimes. One was obviously major: granting the governor the power to veto legislation-making North Carolina's governor the last American governor to be given that power. In addition, the North Carolina Supreme Court has continued the seemingly never-ending process of constitutional interpretation. Some judicial decisions answered fairly routine questions about the powers of office, such as the governor's clemency power. Others were politically contentious, such as deciding the constitutional constraints on legislative redistricting. And one continues to have momentous consequences for public education, recognizing the state's constitutional duty to provide every school child in North Carolina with a "sound, basic education." The Oxford Commentaries on the State Constitutions of the United States is an important series that reflects a renewed international interest in constitutional history and provides expert insight into each of the 50 state constitutions. Each volume in this innovative series contains a historical overview of the state's constitutional development, a section-by-section analysis of its current constitution, and a comprehensive guide to further research. Under the expert editorship of Professor G. Alan Tarr, Director of the Center on State Constitutional Studies at Rutgers University, this series provides essential reference tools for understanding state constitutional law. Books in the series can be purchased individually or as part of a complete set, giving readers unmatched access to these important political documents.

In June 2016, the United Kingdom shocked the world by voting to leave the European Union. As this book reveals, the historic vote for Brexit marked the culmination of trends in domestic politics and in the UK's relationship with the EU that have been building over many years. Drawing on a wealth of survey evidence collected over more than ten years, this book explains why most people decided to ignore much of the national and international community and vote for Brexit. Drawing on past research on voting in major referendums in Europe and elsewhere, a team of leading academic experts analyse changes in the UK's party system that were catalysts for the referendum vote, including the rise of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), the dynamics of public opinion during an unforgettable and divisive referendum campaign, the factors that influenced how people voted and the likely economic and political impact of this historic decision.

Richard Nixon's election to the presidency in 1968 was an improbable vindication for a man branded as a loser after unsuccessful presidential and gubernatorial campaigns. Yet during the 1966 mid-term elections, he emerged as the critical figure who united the fractured Republican Party after the disastrous 1964 presidential election. Along the way, he sensed how large swaths of the American public were moving against the Democrats, and how a candidate could take advantage of this. Filling an important gap in the Nixon literature, this book explores his dynamic reinvention during the dark days of the mid-sixties-a period that mirrored his 1946-1952 rise from obscure congressman to Eisenhower's vice-president. Beginning with his 1962 press conference after losing the California governor's election and ending with his 1968 presidential victory, a far more human Nixon is revealed, unlike the familiar caricature of the shady politician and orchestrator of Watergate who would do anything to win.

*Winner of the James S. Donnelly, Sr. Prize 2022* In Ireland, 2018, a constitutional ban that equated the life of a woman to the life of a fertilised embryo was overturned and abortion was finally legalised. This victory for the Irish Repeal movement set the country alight with euphoria. But, for some, the celebrations were short-lived - the new legislation turned out to be one of the most conservative in Europe. People still travel overseas for abortions and services are not yet fully commissioned in Northern Ireland. This book traces the history of the origins of the Eighth Amendment, which was drawn up in fear of a tide of liberal reforms across Europe. It draws out the lessons learned from the groundbreaking campaign in 2018, which was the culmination of a 35-year-long reproductive rights movement and an inspiring example of modern grassroots activism. It tells the story of the 'Repeal' campaign through the lens of the activists who are still fighting in a movement that is only just beginning.

On any given day in Jordan, more than nine million residents eat approximately ten million loaves of khubz 'arabi-the slightly leavened flatbread known to many as pita. Some rely on this bread to avoid starvation; for others it is a customary pleasure. Yet despite its ubiquity in accounts of Middle East politics and society, rarely do we consider how bread is prepared, consumed, discussed, and circulated-and what this all represents. With this book, Jose Ciro Martinez examines khubz 'arabi to unpack the effects of the welfare program that ensures its widespread availability. Drawing on more than a year working as a baker in Amman, Martinez probes the practices that underpin subsidized bread. Following bakers and bureaucrats, he offers an immersive examination of social welfare provision. Martinez argues that the state is best understood as the product of routine practices and actions, through which it becomes a stable truth in the lives of citizens. States of Subsistence not only describes logics of rule in contemporary Jordan-and the place of bread within them-but also unpacks how the state endures through forms, sensations, and practices amid the seemingly unglamorous and unspectacular day-to-day.

This book offers an examination of the signature weapon of Barack Obama's presidency: his speeches. It provides an in-depth, analytical look at the words of Barack Obama through the social and cultural contexts that made the content of his speeches timeless. The book draws on the oral tradition of the Black church in order to help explain aspects of the president's speaking style and to establish a direct link between the president's words and actions.

The Iraq War of March 19, 2003 was an implausible war at the outset. We now understand that it could have been averted and never should have been waged. How and why did it begin? Who was responsible? This book offers a new perspective on the Iraq War and explains the dynamic relationships between the George W. Bush administration, the United States Congress, and the national news media. It is based on the "multiple streams model of political change" by John Kingdon, which says that if a unique combination of political, policy, and problem streams collide, under the right circumstances, they can create a window of opportunity for a shift in policy. It was the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, which set the stage for the emergence of three dynamic streams in the country. Fear, power, and a contentious political climate converged to produce not only a dramatic new foreign policy, but also a war with Iraq, a country which had not provoked or threatened the United States. Fear, power, and a tense political climate also influenced institutional behavior and exposed the failures of 1) The executive branch in the administration of George W. Bush, 2) The United States Congress and, 3) the national news media. All are designed and are differently responsible to protect the interests of the American people. Errors in judgment have happened throughout history with other administrations, with other Congresses, and with the news media. However, with regard to the Iraq War, it was a matter of degree and extent, especially for the President of the United States. Both the Congress and the news media were also experiencing colossal institutional changes, which influenced and hindered their performances. However, all were culpable in helping to create the Iraq war, which today stands as one of the longest military conflicts in United States history.

With the people of more than one hundred nations living under totalitarian or authoritarian rule, the promotion of democratic development and democratic institutions is likely to be a complex and difficult endeavor for many decades to come. In this collection of papers, eight experienced practitioners and scholars report and analyze what they have learned regarding practical complexities and difficulties. The opening chapter sets current United States' endeavors at promoting democracy into historical context, describing the American sense of mission regarding the promotion of democracy. A second chapter indicates how different authoritarian regimes require different democratizing approaches. Next, an analysis is presented to the consequences--intended and otherwise--of political aid for donor-recipient relationships. Recent efforts, particularly under Foreign Assistance Act programs, are reviewed and assessed, with special attention to the failures. Four chapters are devoted to the role of labor unions, business associations, agrarian workers' organizations, and various types of cooperatives have played in democracy promotion. A more theoretical chapter identifies the intimate connections between freedom of economic associations, political democracy, and the development of thriving market economies. The concluding chapters report on efforts to bring together a formal association of democracies; on the advantages of separating out nongovernmental from governmental programs of political aid; and on the empirical problems of program design and evaluation in the democracy promotion field.

Common law is explored as the alternative to natural rights as a means of restricting state power. The separation of powers is weighed in the balance and found wanting as a brake on state power. The underlying root of this inability is discovered in the philosophy of natural rights. Natural rights gave birth to the separation of powers, but neither the former nor the latter has been able to restrain government. This failure is highlighted in detail, and the alternative means to the same end, the common law, is brought to the fore.

These are the proceedings of the 2nd Krefeld Historical Symposium of 1987 - a meeting of 34 distinguished historians to compare the constitutional history of Germany and the USA. Interdisciplinary in approach - an encounter between legal historians and those specializing in political and social history - the emphasis is on concrete historical realities of constitutional thought in both countries. Dissimilarities between the countries are highlighted in addition to ascertaining factors common to both, to explain why their respective developments diverged. There are 12 papers included, two from each of the six sessions, published here in the original German.

Is China's rise a threat to international order? Fractured China shows that it depends on what one means by 'China', for China is not the monolithic, unitary actor that many assume. Forty years of state transformation - the fragmentation, decentralisation and internationalisation of party-state apparatuses - have profoundly changed how its foreign policy is made and implemented. Today, Chinese behaviour abroad is often not the product of a coherent grand strategy, but results from a sometimes-chaotic struggle for power and resources among contending politico-business interests, within a surprisingly permissive Chinese-style regulatory state. Presenting a path-breaking new analytical framework, Fractured China transforms the central debate in International Relations and provides new tools for scholars and policymakers seeking to understand and respond to twenty-first century rising powers. Drawing on extensive fieldwork in China and Southeast Asia, it includes three major case studies - the South China Sea, non-traditional security cooperation, and development financing-to demonstrate the framework's explanatory power.

Pay-to-Play Politics examines money and politics from different angles to understand a central paradox of American democracy: why, when the public and politicians decry money as the worst aspect of American politics, are there so few signs of change? Everyone from Hillary Clinton to Bernie Sanders to Ted Cruz complains about the corrupting role of money and politics, but money is the lifeblood of their political survival. The public, too, deplores big money politics, despite regularly reelecting the richest candidates for office. The purpose of this book is to reconcile how—against many people's wishes—the connection between money and politics has come to define American democracy. Examining the issue from the perspective of the public, the courts, big business, Congress, and the presidency, Heath Brown argues that money can often be harmful to the political process, but not always in ways we expect or in ways we can directly observe. More money does not necessarily guarantee electoral, legislative, or executive victories, but money does greatly change political access, opportunity, and trust. Without a nuanced understanding of the nature of the problem, future reforms will be misguided and fruitless. Pay-to-Play Politics concludes by making concrete recommendations for reform, including feasible ways to reach bipartisan consensus.