The Dutch Reformed Church, it was said in apartheid South Africa, was the National Party at prayer, and indeed, given that the Bible was so fundamental to much of the legislation that governed the apartheid state, that apparently satirical description had the ring of truth. 'Religion in South Africa's past', writes Dhammamegha Annie Leatt has been 'saturated by politics' and politics 'saturated by religion'. So how, she asks, was it possible for a new state to found itself without religious authority? Why did the churches give up so much of their political role in the transition? How can we think about tradition and the customary in relation to secularism? How can we not? In The State of Secularism Leatt guides the reader from a history of global political secularism through an exploration of the roles played by religion and traditional authority in apartheid South Africa to the position of religion in the post-apartheid state. She analyses the negotiations relating to religion in the constitution-making process, arguing, that South Africa is both secular in its Constitution and judicial foundations and increasingly non-secular in its embrace of traditional authorities and customary law. In the final chapter Leatt turns her attention to post-apartheid South Africa, examining changing relationships between churches and the ruling African National Congress and the increasing influence of traditional leaders and evangelical Christians in an anti-liberal alliance. This book makes a tremendous contribution to the literature on postcolonial politics on the African continent. It has wonderful insights into the founding of a constitutional democracy in South African and will appeal to students in history, politics, sociology and anthropology and constitutional law.

Most accounts of Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) deal with him as a prophet of either utilitarianism or of liberal democracy. This book discusses a less familiar but very important aspect of his political thought: his theory of how government institutions should be organised in order to function as efficient and yet responsive guardians of the community's interests. It thus focuses on his programme for he executive and judicial branches of government rather than for the legislature and the electorate. Dr Hume suggests that eighteenth-century political thought was richer in ideas about government that has usually been allowed, but that Bentham's special qualities of mind enabled him to widen and deepen those ideas much further than his contemporaries could have foreseen.

"Leadership in Democracy" develops and applies an innovative leadership theory of democracy and political evolution, based upon Schumpeter's famous theories of democracy and economic entrepreneurship. The new theory is applied to the US and British democracies in an assessment of how much entrepreneurial-style, pioneering leadership occurred from the 1960s to the 1990s in the electoral, governmental, legislative, administrative and policy-advocacy sectors of democracies. The assessment leads on to a wide-ranging appraisal of the prospects for 'entrepreneurial' democracy in the twenty-first century.

From the vantage point of the 2016 presidential election and the deepening polarization of American politics in recent decades, it is striking how much more distant the Reagan-Bush era of the 1980s and early 1990s seems compared to the years that have actually passed. Whither the Republican Party of yesteryear? Like reincarnated characters from Samuel Beckett's classic play Waiting for Godot, many disillusioned conservatives in the new millennium continue to search obdurately and in vain for a leader who embodies the acclaimed leadership traits of Ronald Reagan. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of the Reagan-Bush Era contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 300 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, events, institutions, policies, and issues. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about this era.

Coverage of the Western European experience is wide-ranging in this survey of perceptions of the state, its history, and prospects in the contemporary world. The greatest post-colonial democratic state, India, is also discussed as an important comparative example. Contributions by a distinguished pan-European team of authors ensure this study's value to students and teachers of the history of ideas, political theory and European studies.

The origins of the U.S. Constitution are the source of endless debate. What did the founders intend when they drafted this monumental work? How should we interpret their formulations in the contemporary world? Is the Constitution a living, breathing document, as is so frequently said, or is it more staid in its intentions?

Comparing the writings and speeches of the founders with the authors they read, studied, and imitated, M. N. S. Sellers here identifies the central tenets of American Republicanism. What, he asks, did "republicanism" mean to the Americans who drafted and ratified the Constitution? Drawing on an impressive array of historical sources, this interdisciplinary work convincingly demonstrates that the Constitution was far less influenced by English or continental political thought than has been previously thought. Rather, Sellers argues, the Constitution is firmly rooted in classical Roman concepts of law and philosophy.

"American Republicanism" presents the primary republican narratives in their American context, providing contemporary lawyers, philosophers, and historians with a window into the attitudes and understandings that animated the Constitution. The ratification debates confirm how little in the new American conception of republicanism was still at issue in 1787 and how much Americans owed to Rome's example and the Latin authors who dominated their colonial grammar-school cirriculum.

En el contexto de los terremotos, "una réplica" describe las sacudidas que se sienten después del sismo inicial. Ningún desastre es un acontecimiento singular. Las réplicas del desastre examina los efectos duraderos del huracán María, no sólo del viento o la lluvia, sino de lo que siguió: el fracaso del Estado, el abandono social, la capitalización de la miseria humana y el trauma colectivo producto de una respuesta incompetente y fracasada.

In 1913, President Woodrow Wilson opened the nation's door to an era of reform. To help him, he brought to Washington men imbued with a progressive spirit-and in some, grudges as well! Before work on reforms got underway, two high ranking officials of the Treasury Department attacked a local bank over its banking practices. The bank officers had close ties to Wall Street; the Treasury officials were no friends of Wall Street (with scars to prove it). Aggressive bank examinations, hostile interviews, and accusatory letters ensued, eventually resulting in the bank filing an injunction against the government. But after an acrimonious court hearing, the injunction appeared to have failed. Indeed, a grand jury indicted the bank officers of perjury. In 1916, a three-week criminal trial of the bankers took place in which former Presidents Taft and Roosevelt appeared on behalf of the bankers. It was a cause celebre in the nation's capital and much of the country. When the verdict was reached it was clear "bad blood" had been spilled everywhere-and this nasty, little war had been more than just about reform.

Comparative constitutional change has recently emerged as a distinct field in the study of constitutional law. It is the study of the way constitutions change through formal and informal mechanisms, including amendment, replacement, total and partial revision, adaptation, interpretation, disuse and revolution. The shift of focus from constitution-making to constitutional change makes sense, since amendment power is the means used to refurbish constitutions in established democracies, enhance their adaptation capacity and boost their efficacy. Adversely, constitutional change is also the basic apparatus used to orchestrate constitutional backslide as the erosion of liberal democracies and democratic regression is increasingly affected through legal channels of constitutional change. Routledge Handbook of Comparative Constitutional Change provides a comprehensive reference tool for all those working in the field and a thorough landscape of all theoretical and practical aspects of the topic. Coherence from this aspect does not suggest a common view, as the chapters address different topics, but reinforces the establishment of comparative constitutional change as a distinct field. The book brings together the most respected scholars working in the field, and presents a genuine contribution to comparative constitutional studies, comparative public law, political science and constitutional history.

This collection documents, analyses, and reflects on the Icelandic constitutional reform between 2009 and 2017. It offers a unique insight into this process by providing first-hand accounts of its different stages and core issues. Its 12 substantive chapters are written by the main actors in the reform, including the Chair of the Constitutional Council that drafted the 2011 Proposal for a New Constitution. Part I opens with an address by the President of the Republic and positions the constitutional reform in its full complexity and longer-term perspective, going beyond the frequent portrayal of that process in international discussion as being solely a result of the 2008 financial crisis. Part II offers a nuanced and contextualised reflection on Iceland's innovative approach to consultation and drafting involving lay participants, including its twenty-first-century digital take on 'the people,' which attracted international attention as 'crowdsourcing.' Part III analyses the main constitutional amendment proposals, and focuses on natural resources and environmental protection, which lie at the heart of Iceland's identity. The final part reflects on the reform's wider significance and includes an interview with the current Prime Minister, who is now taking the reform forward. The volume provides a basis for reflection on a groundbreaking constitutional reform in a democratic context. This long and complex process has challenged and transformed the ways in which constitutional change can be approached, and the collection is an invitation to discuss further the practical and theoretical dimensions of Iceland's experience and their far-reaching implications.

This book examines the use of presidential power during the War on Terror. Justin DePlato joins the debate on whether the Constitution matters in determining how each branch of the federal government should use its power to combat the War on Terror. The actions and words of Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama are examined. DePlato's findings support the theory that executives use their own prerogative in determining what emergency powers are and how to use them. According to DePlato, the Presidents argue that their powers are implied in Article II of the Constitution, not expressed. This conclusion renders the Constitution meaningless in times of crisis. The author reveals that Presidents are becoming increasingly cavalier and that the nation should consider adopting an amendment to the Constitution to proffer expressed executive emergency powers.

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.

Directly elected mayors are political leaders who are selected directly by citizens and head multi-functional local government authorities. This book examines the contexts, features and debates around this model of leadership, and how in practice political leadership is exercised through it. The book draws on examples from Europe, the US, and Australasia to examine the impacts, practices, and debates of mayoral leadership in different cities and countries. Themes that recur throughout include the formal and informal powers that mayors exercise, their relationships with other actors in governance - both inside municipalities and in broader governance networks - and the advantages and disadvantages of the mayoral model. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches are used to build a picture of views of and on directly elected mayors in different contexts from across the globe. This book will be a valuable resource for those studying or researching public policy, public management, urban studies, politics, law, and planning.

This book, part of the Companions series, provides succinct yet robust definitions and explanations of core concepts and themes in relation to state power, liberties and human rights. Laid out in a user-friendly A-Z format, it includes entries from expert contributors with clear direction to related entries and further reading. It will be suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate students on a variety of courses such as Criminology, Criminal Justice, International Relations, Politics, Social Policy, Policing Studies, and Law as well as other researchers in these areas.

This book, part of the Companions series, provides succinct yet robust definitions and explanations of core concepts and themes in relation to state power, liberties and human rights. Laid out in a user-friendly A-Z format, it includes entries from expert contributors with clear direction to related entries and further reading. It will be suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate students on a variety of courses such as Criminology, Criminal Justice, International Relations, Politics, Social Policy, Policing Studies, and Law as well as other researchers in these areas.

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.