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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political structure & processes > Constitution, government & the state
his new offering from AP (R) teacher Karen Waples and college professor Scott Abernathy is tailor-made to help teachers and students transition to the redesigned AP (R) U. S. Government and Politics course. Carefully aligned to the course framework, this brief book is loaded with instructional tools to help you and your students meet the demands of the new course, such as integrated skills instruction, coverage of required cases and documents, public policy threaded throughout the book, and AP (R) practice after every chapter and unit, all in a simple organization that will ease your course planning and save you time. We've got you covered!
The meaning and function of law in Hannah Arendt's work has never been the subject of a systematic reconstruction. This book examines Arendt's work and reconstructs her ideas through political, legal and constitutional theory, and shows that her engagement with law is continuous as well as crucial to an adequate understanding of her political thought. The author argues that Arendt was very much concerned with the question of an adequate arrangement of law, politics and order - the so-called triad of constitutionalism. By adopting this approach, the author suggests an alternative interpretation of Arendt's thought, which sees her as thinker of political order who considers as crucial a stable and free political order in which political struggle and dissent can occur. Endorsements 'Christian Volk is one of the most original and penetrating Arendt interpreters of his generation. This book addresses some of the most misunderstood aspects of Arendtian thought - namely, her views of law and constitutionalism. Volk does away with a lot of misconceptions and guides us to a novel view of Arendt on these questions and beyond'. Seyla Benhabib, Yale University 'One could not imagine something new on Arendt these days. Too much has been written in the last decades. But this volume discloses new land and gives a fresh look at Arendt's theory of the political. A great book, and a must for every reading list'. Hauke Brunkhorst, University of Flensburg 'Hannah Arendt is famous for her unusual conception of politics, but as Christian Volk's rich and seminal study shows, Arendt's political theory goes hand in hand with a distinctive understanding of law. Volk persuasively charts the emergence of Arendt's complementary approaches to law and politics out of her analysis of the crisis of the European nation-state, and tests the power of her thought by bringing it into a fresh dialogue with an unusually wide spectrum of contemporary theorists. An impressive work that deserves the new audience it will find in this welcome translation'. Patchen Markell, University of Chicago 'Christian Volk splendidly discovers Hannah Arendt as a legal theorist. Lawyers interested in her seminal work should just read this book'. Christoph Moellers, Humboldt University Berlin 'As Christian Volk persuasively demonstrates, reading Arendt as a constitutional theorist is more than just adding another dimension to the interpretation of her work. Based on comprehensive textual evidence, he can instead show that this has important conceptual implications which shed a completely new light on the basic aspects of her overall theoretical outlook. Emphasising the procedural grounding of her understanding of democracy, it thus presents a major challenge to many widely held beliefs about Arendts work and an irresistible invitation to reinvestigate the foundations, promises and prospects of radical politics.' Rainer Schmalz-Bruns, Leibniz University of Hanover
The concept of the state has been central to the study of politics and society. Jens Bartelson examines the history of the concept, and argues that the state has largely been taken for granted as the embodiment of authority, rather than analyzed itself. He sees the state as a historically limited phenomenon, and argues that this explains the way political scientists have framed the subject they study. This book will appeal to political and social theorists, as well as philosophers of social science.
During the twentieth century, and particularly between the 1930s and 1950s, ideas about the nature of constitutional government, the legitimacy of judicial lawmaking, and the proper role of the federal courts evolved and shifted. This book focuses on Supreme Court justice Louis D. Brandeis and his opinion in the 1938 landmark case Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins, which resulted in a significant relocation of power from federal to state courts. Distinguished legal historian Edward A. Purcell, Jr., shows how the Erie case provides a window on the legal, political, and ideological battles over the federal courts in the New Deal era. Purcell also offers an in-depth study of Brandeis's constitutional jurisprudence and evolving legal views. Examining the social origins and intended significance of the Erie decision, Purcell concludes that the case was a product of early twentieth-century progressivism. The author explores Brandeis's personal values and political purposes and argues that the justice was an exemplar of neither "judicial restraint" nor "neutral principles," despite his later reputation. In an analysis of the continual reconceptions of both Brandeis and Erie by new generations of judges and scholars in the twentieth century, Purcell also illuminates how individual perspectives and social pressures combined to drive the law's evolution.
The Federalist Papers (1787-1788) is a collection of essays and articles by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison. Written in support of the recently completed Constitutional Convention, The Federalist Papers were intended to support the ratification process of the new United States Constitution. When the Constitutional Convention was completed on September 17, 1787 in Philadelphia, the newly-agreed upon Constitution was sent to the states for ratification. As opponents of a strong centralized government began attacking the Constitution in the press, Hamilton recruited Jay and Madison to contribute articles and essays in favor of Federalism to prominent journals and newspapers. Published between October 27, 1787 and May 28, 1788, The Federalist Papers were written by the three authors under the pseudonym "Publius." Although Hamilton wrote the vast majority, Madison's and Jay's contributions are still seen as essential works on the philosophy of American governance. Federalist Nos. 10 and 14, both written by Madison, are regarded as especially significant for arguing for the possibility of effectively governing an expansive republic. In Federalist No. 84, Hamilton argues against adding a Bill of Rights, a proposed compromise with Anti-Federalists that would eventually make up the first ten Amendments to the Constitution. Other important topics introduced or explained in The Federalist Papers include the doctrine of judicial review, the case for a single chief executive, and the purpose of checks and balances. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of The Federalist Papers is a classic of American political history reimagined for modern readers.
The 1970s era of rapid change, economic and social, made constant demands on the adaptability of a constitutional system. The work of the State expanded, and the expansion was at several levels, delimited by the requirements of geography. Britain's constitutional system has two aspects: one essentially theoretical, concerning such questions as the nature of sovereignty, prerogative powers, and the rights and duties of citizens; the other concerning the way in which the business of government is carried on: how people who make political decisions are chosen, how their activities are subject to checks and influence by the representatives of public interests, formal and informal. Originally published in 1974, this book deals with the second of these aspects. It identifies the changes in constitutional practice which had taken place in the previous two decades, and the trends which could be discerned at the time. It has four main sections. The first deals with the changing structure of government itself: with the recruitment of ministers, the nature of political responsibility and the changes in government departments. The second section deals with both Houses of Parliament, and particularly with the new forms of parliamentary discussion and criticism. The third deals with the process of election, including the regulation of propaganda and the use of the mass media. The final section deals with the different levels of government, including the local, the regional and the supra-national. All through the main concern is with the dynamic aspects of the political constitution. This was a really up-to-date and realistic book on British government at the time and now can be read in its historical context.
Originally published in 1968, this book set out to give a brief but complete account of the French Parliament as it had worked in practice since the advent of President de Gaulle. A number of different aspects are discussed, from the social background of the members to the debates on five sample bills, and from the strategy of pressure groups to the organisation and character of the Gaullist party (about which very little had been written). While the legal framework within which the new parliament works is comprehensively described, attention is mainly focused on a political situation transformed by the end of the Algerian war and by the speed of social change in France itself at the time. Earlier books on the Fifth Republic naturally concentrated heavily on the spectacular crises of its early years and on the exceptional personality of its president. Remarkably little, therefore, had been written on the recent development of its institutions and politics in the peacetime conditions which France had enjoyed since 1962 for the first time for over twenty years. There was a Gaullist myth that the new regime had reformed the system and, against the obstructive opposition of an Opposition which had learned nothing and forgotten nothing, had won the support of the French people for a strong democratic government on British lines. There was a corresponding Opposition myth that a ruler and party of authoritarian temper had consolidated their power by reducing parliamentary criticism to an impotent farce. Neither interpretation was wholly unfounded; neither does justice to the complex reality which this work tries to explain as fairly as possible.
Against the backdrop of South Africa's transition from apartheid, this provocative book explores the role of late twentieth-century constitutionalism in facilitating political change. While using South Africa as a case study, Klug's larger project is to investigate why there has been renewed faith in justiciable constitutions and democratic constitutionalism, despite their many flaws. This examination of South Africa's constitution-making process provides important new insights into the role of law in the transition to democracy.
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.
An avowed republican investigates the unexpected durability and potential benefits of constitutional monarchies. When he was deposed in Egypt in 1952, King Farouk predicted that there would be five monarchs left at the end of the century: the kings of hearts, diamonds, clubs, spades, and England. To date, his prediction has proved wrong, and while the twentieth century saw the collapse of monarchies across Europe, many democratic societies have retained them. God Save the Queen is the first book to look at constitutional monarchies globally, and is particularly relevant given the pro-democracy movement in Thailand and recent scandals around the British and Spanish royal families. Is monarchy merely a feudal relic that should be abolished, or does the division between ceremonial and actual power act as a brake on authoritarian politicians? And what is the role of monarchy in the independent countries of the Commonwealth that have retained the Queen as head of state? This book suggests that monarchy deserves neither the adulation of the right nor the dismissal of the left. In an era of autocratic populism, does constitutional monarchy provide some safeguards against the megalomania of political leaders? Is a President Boris potentially more dangerous than a Prime Minister Boris?
The common assumption is that the path to democratisation is, once begun, near impossible to reverse. Particularly where democratic transition has been properly consolidated conventional wisdom and empirical evidence both suggest that no democracy should follow the example of Classical Athens or Germany's Weimar Republic and return to despotism. Starting from the premise that democracies are often deeply implicated in their own downfall, Theorising Democide challenges this conventional view by showing how democratic collapse is symptomatic of the inherent logic of democracy. Democide, in some cases, can thus be understood as a kind of ideological suicide with the tenets and devices of democracy being somehow intrinsic to its own collapse. In other words democide denotes the capacity that democracy has to come undone, to risk its own safety, to take its own life while doing what it was intended to do.
This book examines the gradually increasing role of national parliaments in the European Union and asks how and why this came about. It takes Ireland as a case study, examining the relationship between Ireland's parliament (the Oireachtas) and the European Union. It also focuses sharply on parliament's role in European affairs in Ireland, a jurisdiction of strong comparative interest to the UK . It examines the evolution in national parliaments' roles, the reasons for change and the challenges that must be faced in making further progress. The book analyses Ireland's slow parliamentary adaptation to European integration, analyses the impact of the Lisbon Treaty and economic crises in accelerating reform, and identifies where improvement is still badly needed. -- .
This book examines electoral politics in the state of Punjab, India as it has evolved since the colonial period. It underlines the emergence of the state as a singular unit for electoral analysis in the last three decades. This book: Charts the common trends and developments that have dominated politics in Punjab, and those that continue to play an important role in the government of the state; Examines state parties and their leadership in the context of party alliances, campaigns and electoral verdicts; Presents a comparative study of the assembly and Lok Sabha elections held in the state after reorganisation in 1966 with the objective of highlighting differences in electoral issues taken up by the parties. An important intervention in the study of state-level politics in India, this book will be of great interest to students and researchers of politics, especially comparative politics and political institutions, political sociology and social anthropology, and South Asian studies.
Robert Mapplethorpe and Andres Serrano are now legendary, as much because of NEA support of their work as for the work itself. This is one example of what can happen when politics meets culture, and it provides an appropriate snapshot of the issues explored in this book. As in other policy areas, cultural policies develop within a particular political context, evolve as a consequence of government action or inattention, and affect a variety of publics and interests. In this volume, the contributors explore the inescapable politics accompanying public culture. Surveying the philosophical, economic, legal, and political underpinnings of cultural assistance, they articulate not only governments role in the support of the arts, but also basic questions for future cultural policy. Robert Mapplethorpe and Andres Serrano are now legendary, as much because of NEA support of their work as for the work itself. This is one example of what can happen when politics meets culture, and it provides an appropriate snapshot of the issues explored in this book. As in other policy areas, cultural policies develop within a particular political context, evolve as a consequence of government action or inattention, and affect a variety of publics and interests.Americas Commitment to Culture discusses government support of culture as a public policy area. The book focuses on the rationales underlying public support for the arts and examines the development and practice of government as an arts patron. The contributors explore the inescapable politics accompanying public culture. Surveying the philosophical, economic, legal, and political underpinnings of cultural assistance, they articulate not only governments role in the support of the arts, but also basic questions for future cultural policy.
Political realism has recently moved to the centre of debates in contemporary political theory. In this monograph, Matt Sleat presents the first comprehensive overview of the resurgence of interest in realist political theory and develops a unique and original defence of liberal politics in realist terms. Through explorations of the work of a diverse range of thinkers, including Bernard Williams, John Rawls, Raymond Geuss, Judith Shklar, John Gray, Carl Schmitt and Max Weber, the author advances a theory of liberal realism that is consistent with the realist emphasis on disagreement and conflict yet still recognisably liberal in its concern with respecting individuals' freedom and constraining political power. The result is a unique contribution to the ongoing debates surrounding realism and an original and timely re-imagining of liberal theory for the twenty-first century. -- .
Combining the by-the-bootstraps work ethic of Nikki Haley's Can't Is Not an Option with the military pluck of MJ Heger's Shoot Like a Girl, Joni Ernst's candid memoir details the rise of one of the most inspiring and authentic women in the United States Senate. The daughter of hardworking farmers in the heartland, Joni Ernst has never been afraid to roll up her sleeves and get the job done. Raised in rural Iowa, Joni grew up cleaning stalls, hauling grain, and castrating hogs. Farm life forged her work ethic. She developed grit and tenacity, attributes that would later be put to the test when she faced abuse, sexism, and harassment. First, as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army and later as an underdog candidate in the US Senate, Joni has proven to be a natural leader who proudly serves her fellow Americans. She had to learn to believe when others didn't, to raise her own voice for those who couldn't, and to silence the naysayers (even herself) to become a bold leader and a fierce advocate. In her inspiring memoir, Joni shares her struggles and the invaluable lessons she learned through hardship--on the farm, in the home, and at work. As a woman fighting for positions in the boys' clubs of the military and politics, she found strength in courage and vulnerability, becoming a role model for women everywhere. As a US Senator, Joni is well-known and respected for her fight to hold Washington accountable and her demand for bipartisanship in a time of fierce tribalism. Daughter of the Heartland tells Joni's incredible story in four parts, defined by the values she's learned along the way--leadership, service, courage, and gratitude.
During the last two decades serious attempts to alter basic constitutional structures have taken place in many industrial nations, even in those often thought to have highly stable political institutions. In some cases, such as Belgium and Spain, far-reaching constitutional changes have been put in place; in others advocates of reform have achieved only partial victories or have been entirely frustrated. In all cases, controversy over the constitution has been intense, involving basic conceptions of legitimacy, representation, sovereignty and the purposes of the state. Constitutional politics often reveals much about political life of modern societies that is obscured in day-to-day events. The results of constitutional changes can significantly affect the distribution of power, the ability to manage conflict and the outcomes of policy debates. This book explores the dynamics of constitutional politics through case studies of Spain, Belgium, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, West Germany and Eastern Europe, including Poland, prepared by leading students of these countries. Other chapters draw out the more general patterns of constitutional politics, highlighting the pressures which lead to change, and the formidable obstacles confronting them.
Debate over the meaning and purpose of the grand experiment called the United States has existed since its inception. Alexander Hamilton and James Madison worked closely together to achieve the ratification of the Constitution, which both considered essential for the survival of the United States. However, within just a few years of the Constitution's ratification, they became bitter political enemies as the pair disagreed about what the United States should be like under the new Constitution, specifically how to interpret the Constitution they both worked to create and support. Defining the Republic: Early Conflicts over the Constitution documents, through presentation of their own words, that these two essential early Americans simply had different expectations all along. Expectations that went unexamined during the frenetic times in which the Constitution was written, debated, and ratified. It is to their differences that Americans today can look in order to better understand the history of the United States, as well as current debates over politics and life in general in the country Hamilton and Madison helped to create.
Herbert Hoover rose from a rudimentary background to establish himself as a self-made millionaire and leading progressive reformer. Until the disaster that hit the nation in 1929, Hoover was known globally as the "Great Humanitarian" who had saved the lives of scores of millions of Europeans and Asians during and following WWI. As Secretary of Commerce through the twenties, the "Great Engineer" constructed, tooled, and fine-tuned the most powerful economy in the world. Hoover was celebrated as a representative product of America's rise to global domination and a formidable voice for progressivism who could finish the job in the White House. The Depression was Hoover's undoing, but historians recognize they must take account of his considerable contributions to the creation of "twentieth-century America." As we learn more of that America, Hoover makes "more sense." With due consideration of Hoover's accomplishments, one can further understand the construction of the American industrial and corporate economy, progressivism and the New Deal, and political posturing throughout the century. Equally significant, one can comprehend twentieth-century "cash-box" culture and Hoover's formidable contributions as a public servant to the commodification of American life. He endeavored to establish that all could fulfill a secure, middle-class life-in essence, achieve the "American Dream." This concept in part was created by Hoover, who also was considered one of the nation's public-relations geniuses. The political establishment continues to build upon the social and cultural foundation he laid. That foundation, while under stress, remains fundamentally sound as the nation enters the twenty-first century. The criticisms rained down upon American materialism echo dangers Hoover warned against. He subscribed to the maxim that a genuinely good society is not one premised upon material values; it is established upon a widely distributed sense of well-being grounded in service and compassion. Hoover never lost sight of the imperative of selflessness for the good of others, the nation, and oneself within an individualistically driven society rich in comforts and security. He sedulously worked to create a middle-class identity which spoke to material well-being and fundamental decency. A true believer, Herbert Clark Hoover energetically embraced the "American Promise."
States in American Constitutionalism: Interpretation, Authority, and Politics examines the often overlooked role that states have played in the development and maintenance of American constitutionalism by examining the purpose and effect of state resolutions on national constitutional meaning. From colonial practices through contemporary politics, subnational governments have made claims about what national constitutional provisions and principles ought to mean, fashioned political coalitions to back them, and asserted their authority to provoke constitutional settlement. Yet, this practice has been far from static. Political actors have altered the practice in response to their interpretive objectives and the political landscape of the day. States in American Constitutionalism explains both the development of the practice and the way each innovation to the practice affected subsequent iterations. Hays presents a series of case studies that explore the origins of the practice in colonial constitutionalism, its function in the early Republic, subsequent developments in antebellum and twentieth century politics, and contemporary practice in the first two decades of the twenty-first century. States in American Constitutionalism will be of great interest to students and academics interested in constitutional law and politics, political and constitutional development, and federalism.
The US government makes 350 pages of new laws each day, including directives of policy that limit what an individual may do at home alone or with consenting adults. Such laws are intended to make people safer, healthier, or more productive, but they often violate the Five Rights because they sacrifice personal choices to some presumed greater good. Directives of policy may include laws that violate the rights to privacy or free speech; laws restricting abortion or physician-assisted suicide; prohibitions on unhealthy foods, cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs; laws that discriminate against gays; and laws that violate property rights. Drug prohibition laws have been the most damaging. Over the past 40 years, the US population grew 50 percent while its prison population grew 1,000 percent, due mostly to antidrug laws. There are now two million Americans in jail, half of whom didn't harm, coerce, or defraud anyone. The land of the free has one twentieth of the world's population and one fifth of its prison population. Our incarceration rate is seven times that of European countries. No democracy has ever had such a large percentage of its people behind bars. Legalization of marijuana and decriminalization of other drugs would free hundreds of thousands of individuals, end prison overcrowding, and save billions of dollars now spent trying to enforce unenforceable laws. There would be less need for spying, wiretapping, and breaking down doors. Americans could stop thinking of the police as the enemy and vice-versa, permitting a renewal of respect for the Five Rights. |
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