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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political structure & processes > Democracy

Judges and Democratization - Judicial Independence in New Democracies (Hardcover, 2nd edition): B.C. Smith Judges and Democratization - Judicial Independence in New Democracies (Hardcover, 2nd edition)
B.C. Smith
R3,710 Discovery Miles 37 100 Ships in 9 - 15 working days

This second edition examines judicial independence as an aspect of democratization based on the premise that democracy cannot be consolidated without the rule of law of which judicial independence is an indispensable part. It pays particular attention to the restraints placed upon judicial independence and examines the reforms which are being applied, or remain to be adopted, in order to guard against the different kinds of interference which prevent judicial decisions being taken in a wholly impartial way. Focusing on the growing authoritarianism in the new democracies of Eastern Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa, the book analyses the paradox of judicial activism arising from the independence endowed upon the judiciary and the rights bestowed on citizens by post-authoritarian constitutions. Finally, it asks how judicial accountability can be made compatible with the preservation of judicial independence when the concept of an accountable, independent judiciary appears to be a contradiction in terms. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of judicial studies, democratization and autocratization studies, constitutionalism, global governance, and more broadly comparative government/politics, human rights and comparative public law.

Nigeria's Fourth Republic, 1999-2021 - A Militarised Democracy (Hardcover): Michael Nwankpa Nigeria's Fourth Republic, 1999-2021 - A Militarised Democracy (Hardcover)
Michael Nwankpa
R3,695 Discovery Miles 36 950 Ships in 9 - 15 working days

This book reflects on Nigeria's fourth republic, the country's longest democratic period since it gained independence from Great Britain. It argues that although constitutional or political democracy has lasted for over two decades in Nigeria and seen three successful democratic changes of power, Nigeria's democracy remains largely militarised. During Nigeria's fourth republic, political and socio-economic affairs have been increasingly dominated by a pervasive military presence and ideology, which has seen a redistribution of resources and government funds away from social programmes into an increase in security budgets, weapons proliferation, and internal military interventions and occupations. This institutionalisation of violence has turned the country into a national security state where the rule of force and violence rather than dialogue and compassion reflect everyday reality. Whilst acknowledging the history of militarisation during colonial and military rule, this book makes a compelling argument for considering the distinct character of the Nigerian nation state's path to militarisation over the last 20 years of experimentation with democracy. This book's fresh insights into the fourth republic's path to militarisation will be of interest to researchers of African politics, security and development.

Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (Routledge Revivals) - A Biography (Hardcover): George Woodcock Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (Routledge Revivals) - A Biography (Hardcover)
George Woodcock
R3,507 R2,756 Discovery Miles 27 560 Save R751 (21%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Pierre Joseph Proudhon (1809-1865) is one of the most important French social theoreticians of the nineteenth century. George Woodcock's book, first published in 1956, was the first full-scale biography of Proudhon in the English language.

Proudhon's influence on the French Socialist movement was immense and he played a great part in the First International and Paris Commune, in French syndicalism and in contemporary movements for currency reform.

Proudhon's significance also reaches forward into the contemporary era, when his massive distrust of the state and his teaching of the need for world federation took on a new importance in a world threatened by the explosive rivalries of giant nationalistic states.

Minority Rights and Liberal Democratic Insecurities - The Challenge of Unstable Orders (Hardcover): Anna-Maria Biro, Dwight... Minority Rights and Liberal Democratic Insecurities - The Challenge of Unstable Orders (Hardcover)
Anna-Maria Biro, Dwight Newman
R3,706 Discovery Miles 37 060 Ships in 9 - 15 working days

This book addresses the impact of a range of destabilising issues on minority rights in Europe and North America. It brings together scholars from a range of disciplines This book will appeal to those with interests in minority rights, human rights, nationalism, law, and politics.

Anglo-American Democracy (Hardcover): Malcolm Shaw Anglo-American Democracy (Hardcover)
Malcolm Shaw
R3,906 Discovery Miles 39 060 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

This book describes the main characteristics of the British and American political systems. Whilst short, it is integrally comparative with the main emphasis on concepts. The result is a systematic and sustained Anglo-American political analysis.

Social Principles and the Democratic State (Routledge Library Editions: Political Science Volume 4) (Hardcover): R.S. Peters,... Social Principles and the Democratic State (Routledge Library Editions: Political Science Volume 4) (Hardcover)
R.S. Peters, S.I. Benn
R5,397 Discovery Miles 53 970 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

This book, originally published in 1959, makes explicit the social principles which underlie the procedures and political practice of the modern democratic state. The authors take the view that in the modern welfare state there are porblems connected with the nature of law, with concepts like rights, justice, equality, property, punishment, responsibility and liberty and which modern philosophical techniques can illuminate.

Authority and Democracy (Hardcover): April Carter Authority and Democracy (Hardcover)
April Carter
R3,903 Discovery Miles 39 030 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

This book debates the nature and functions of authority: it examines how far our inherited images of authority derive from an aristocratic and traditional order and considers which models of authority are still relevant in a democratic and rationalist society. It discusses the characteristics of the authority relationship, whether political authority differs from other kinds of authority, how authority relates to power and whether authority should be distinguished from the concept of legitimate rule.


The latter part of the book explores the relevance or irrelevance of authority in contemporary society. In particular it examines recent libertarian arguments for the rejection of all forms of authority and the special problems of creating and maintaining authority after revolution.

Direct Action and Liberal Democracy (Hardcover): April Carter Direct Action and Liberal Democracy (Hardcover)
April Carter
R3,913 Discovery Miles 39 130 Ships in 12 - 17 working days


This study focuses primarily on the nature of direct action in relation to contemporary movements, and considers the role of direct action methods in past campaigns for constitutional and social rights. Boycotts, sit-ins, obstructions, civil disobedience and other unconstitutional forms of protest are examined to see whether they necessarily lead to violence. The political conditions which encourage violence and the effects of various type of violent action are also discussed. The theoretical issues raised by direct action in a parliamentary system are also discussed.

On Justifying Democracy (Hardcover): William Nelson On Justifying Democracy (Hardcover)
William Nelson
R3,913 Discovery Miles 39 130 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

This book analyzes and assesses theories of democracy emanating from studies in a variety of disciplines, and proposes answers to a wide range of questions in moral and political philosophy, philosophy of law and democratic theory. Taken together, these answers constitute the basis for a theory that justifies political democracy.

Global Governance - Evaluating the Liberal Democratic, Chinese, and Russian Solutions (Paperback): Edward A. Kolodziej Global Governance - Evaluating the Liberal Democratic, Chinese, and Russian Solutions (Paperback)
Edward A. Kolodziej
R1,248 Discovery Miles 12 480 Ships in 9 - 15 working days

How do we prevent the next pandemic? Will governments successfully tackle climate change? Will they find ways to close the gap between the haves and have-nots and to eliminate poverty? Which solution - democratic or authoritarian - will determine the global governance of a f lawed nation-state system? This unique contribution to global studies advances a multidisciplinary theory that the governments of all human societies are the tenuous outcome of the competing solutions to the Imperatives of Order, Welfare, and Legitimacy (OWL). The OWL paradigm provides a common framework to evaluate the contrasting responses of the liberal democratic, Chinese, and Russian solutions to global governance. Underscored is the volume's contention that global governance is the overriding issue confronting nation-states and the diverse and divided peoples of what is now a global society for the first time in the evolution of the species. The volume addresses a wide spectrum of audiences, united in their shared resolve that the democracies prevail in a projected century-long struggle between democratic and authoritarian regimes to determine global governance. Scholars, teachers, students, elected officials, policy analysts, media professionals, and engaged citizens who make self-government work will profit from this visionary and provocative study.

Kenya's Uncertain Democracy - The Electoral Crisis of 2008 (Hardcover): Peter Kagwanja, Roger Southall Kenya's Uncertain Democracy - The Electoral Crisis of 2008 (Hardcover)
Peter Kagwanja, Roger Southall
R3,207 R2,597 Discovery Miles 25 970 Save R610 (19%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

The plunging of Kenya, until recently a centre of stability and growth in East Africa, into political and economic uncertainty following the general election of December 2007 is regarded as a major cause for global and African concern. It is widely accepted that the elections were deeply flawed, and that there was electoral malfeasance by all the major players. President Kibaki's rapid declaration of victory in the face of a heavily disputed election and his determination to hold on to the levers of state power precipitated a deadly crisis, communal violence and economic decline. A power-sharing deal between Kibaki and Opposition leader, Raila Odinga signed in February seems to be holding, but Kenya ranks among the worlds? growing number of democracies at-risk.

This book takes a new look at the 2007 election, the post-election crisis, the underlying interaction of ethnicity, class and political power; forced displacement, the role of international forces; and the country's power-sharing arrangement. The study will draw upon the expertise of a variety of leading experts on Kenya, and will be edited by Peter Kagwanja and Roger Southall. The overall project was based on a workshop in Nairobi on 6-7 December 2008.

This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Contemporary African Studies.

Freedom (Paperback): Sebastian Junger Freedom (Paperback)
Sebastian Junger
R416 R306 Discovery Miles 3 060 Save R110 (26%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days
It Could Happen Here - Why America Is Tipping from Hate to the Unthinkable-And How We Can Stop It (Paperback): Jonathan... It Could Happen Here - Why America Is Tipping from Hate to the Unthinkable-And How We Can Stop It (Paperback)
Jonathan Greenblatt
R309 Discovery Miles 3 090 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

“Refreshingly candid . . . Get off Instagram and read this book.†—Sacha Baron Cohen  From the dynamic head of ADL, an impassioned argument about the terrifying path that America finds itself on today—and how we can save ourselves. It’s almost impossible to imagine that unbridled hate and systematic violence could come for us or our families. But it has happened in our lifetimes in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. And it could happen here. Today, as CEO of the storied ADL (the Anti-Defamation League), Jonathan Greenblatt has made it his personal mission to demonstrate how antisemitism, racism, and other insidious forms of intolerance can destroy a society, taking root as quiet prejudices but mutating over time into horrific acts of brutality. In this urgent book, Greenblatt sounds an alarm, warning that this age-old trend is gathering momentum in the United States—and that violence on an even larger, more catastrophic scale could be just around the corner. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Drawing on ADL’s decades of experience in fighting hate through investigative research, education programs, and legislative victories as well as his own personal story and his background in business and government, Greenblatt offers a bracing primer on how we—as individuals, as organizations, and as a society—can strike back against hate. Just because it could happen here, he shows, does not mean that the unthinkable is inevitable.

Another Europe - Conceptions and practices of democracy in the European Social Forums (Hardcover): Donatella della Porta Another Europe - Conceptions and practices of democracy in the European Social Forums (Hardcover)
Donatella della Porta
R1,143 Discovery Miles 11 430 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Given the recent focus on the challenges to representative democracy, and the search for new institutions and procedures that can help to channel increasing participation, this book offers empirical insights on alternative conceptions of democracy and the actors that promote them.

With a focus on the conceptions and practices of democracy within contemporary social movements in Europe, this volume contributes to the debate on the different dimensions of democracy, especially in its participative and deliberative forms. On the basis of an in-depth analysis of European Social Forums, gathering thousands of social movement organizations and tens of thousands of activists from all Europe, the book explores the transnational dimension of democracy and addresses a relevant, and little analyzed aspect of Europeanization: the Europeanization of social movements. From a methodological point of view, the research innovates by covering a group of individuals traditionally neglected in previous studies: social movement activists. Qualitative and quantitative methods are employed to research individual motivations as well as environmental dynamics. The various chapters combine analysis of the individuals attitudes and behavior with that of the organizational characteristics, procedures and practices of democracy.

Providing a cross-national comparison on the global justice movement, the theoretical challenges of the new wave of protest and offering rich empirical data on contemporary activism, this book will appeal to students and scholars of comparative politics, sociology, political sociology, social movement studies, as well as transnational relations.

Biopolitics in Central and Eastern Europe in the 20th Century - Fearing for the Nation (Hardcover): Barbara Klich-Kluczewska,... Biopolitics in Central and Eastern Europe in the 20th Century - Fearing for the Nation (Hardcover)
Barbara Klich-Kluczewska, Joachim Von Puttkamer, Immo Rebitschek
R3,706 Discovery Miles 37 060 Ships in 9 - 15 working days

The field of biopolitics encompasses issues from health and hygiene, birth rates, fertility and sexuality, life expectancy and demography to eugenics and racial regimes. This book is the first to provide a comprehensive view on these issues for Central and Eastern Europe in the twentieth century. The cataclysms of imperial collapse, World War(s) and the Holocaust but also the rise of state socialism after 1945 provided extraordinary and distinct conditions for the governing of life and death. The volume collects the latest research and empirical studies from the region to showcase the diversity of biopolitical regimes in their regional and global context - from hunger relief for Hungarian children after the First World War to abortion legislation in communist Poland. It underlines the similarities as well, demonstrating how biopolitical strategies in this area often revolved around the notion of an endangered nation; and how ideological schemes and post-imperial experiences in Eastern Europe further complicate a 'western' understanding of democratic participatory and authoritarian repressive biopolitics. The new geographical focus invites scholars and students of social and human sciences to reconsider established perspectives on the history of population management and the history of Europe.

The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism (Hardcover): Martin Wolf The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism (Hardcover)
Martin Wolf
R795 R621 Discovery Miles 6 210 Save R174 (22%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

From the author of The Shifts and the Shocks, and one of the most influential writers on economics, a reckoning with how and why the relationship between democracy and capitalism is coming undone We are living in an age when economic failings have shaken faith in global capitalism. Political failings have undermined trust in liberal democracy and in the very notion of truth. The ties that ought to bind open markets to free and fair elections are being strained and rejected, even in democracy's notional heartlands. Around the world, democratic capitalism, which depends on the determined separation of power from wealth, is in crisis. Some now argue that capitalism is better without democracy; others that democracy is better without capitalism. This book is a forceful rejoinder to both views. It analyses how the marriage between capitalism and democracy has become so fraught and yet insists that a divorce would be an almost unimaginable calamity. Martin Wolf, one of the wisest public voices on global affairs, argues that for all its recent failings - slowing growth, increasing inequality, widespread popular disillusion - democratic capitalism, though inherently fragile, remains the best system we know for human flourishing. Capitalism and democracy are complementary opposites: they need each other if either is to thrive. Wolf's superb exploration of their marriage shows us how citizenship and a shared faith in the common good are not romantic slogans but the essential foundation of our economic and political freedom.

Environment and Democracy in the Czech Republic - The Environmental Movement in the Transition Process (Hardcover): Adam Fagan Environment and Democracy in the Czech Republic - The Environmental Movement in the Transition Process (Hardcover)
Adam Fagan
R2,852 Discovery Miles 28 520 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Since a handful of environmental activists helped to bring down the communist regime in Czechoslovakia, the arena of environmental politics has offered a valuable lens on the transition process, providing a unique insight into the contradictory and highly contingent relationship between democratisation and neo-liberalism. Environment and Democracy in the Czech Republic offers a radical perspective on the democratisation process, revealing the extent to which the consolidation of a politically efficacious and diverse civil society is far more complex than the earlier generation of commentators acknowledged. The environmental movement has not flourished under political democracy; its radical activists have been marginalized and targeted by the state, their ideologies and strategies compromised and their critical voice silenced. Yet the book concludes that whilst the mainstream environmental movement has become institutionalised and appears incapable of representing community interests, the environmental issue retains the capacity to mobilise, this time against the neo-liberal agenda of the democratic government. This definitive account of the evolution of the Czech environmental movement since 1990 offers a radical evaluation of the institutions and practice of political democracy, and challenges some of the certainties of social movement theory. Although focused on the Czech Republic, the book will undoubtedly contribute to a better understanding of the role of environmental movements within contemporary politics throughout the world. It will be welcomed by political and social scientists with an interest in Central and Eastern Europe, and academics and students with an interest in environmental politics.

The European Union and the Public Sphere - A Communicative Space in the Making? (Paperback): John Erik Fossum, Philip R... The European Union and the Public Sphere - A Communicative Space in the Making? (Paperback)
John Erik Fossum, Philip R Schlesinger
R1,082 R374 Discovery Miles 3 740 Save R708 (65%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

The European Union is often attacked for its 'democratic deficit', namely its deficiencies in representation, transparency and accountability, as well as its lack of popular support. Can these shortcomings be counteracted by the development of a viable European public sphere? This book assesses the possible formation of a communicative space that might enable and engender the creation of a transnational or a supranational public. The contributors consider the EU's democratic credentials and how well it communicates, and they also evaluate the major institutions and their links to general publics. The European Union and the Public Sphere emphasizes a 'deliberative democratic' perspective on the public sphere, addressing some key questions: * What are the prospects for a European public sphere? * Should we think in terms of the EU having a single public sphere, or are overlapping public spheres a more viable option? * What do this book's findings on the question of the public sphere tell us about the EU as a political entity? Students and scholars of European democracy, political communication, and the politics of institutions will all be greatly interested by this book.

The Politics Industry - How Political Innovation Can Break Partisan Gridlock and Save Our Democracy (Hardcover): Katherine M.... The Politics Industry - How Political Innovation Can Break Partisan Gridlock and Save Our Democracy (Hardcover)
Katherine M. Gehl, Michael E. Porter; Foreword by Mike Gallagher (R-WI), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA)
R580 Discovery Miles 5 800 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Leading political innovation activist Katherine Gehl and world-renowned business strategist Michael Porter bring fresh perspective, deep scholarship, and a real and actionable solution, Final Five Voting, to the grand challenge of our broken political and democratic system. Final Five Voting has already been adopted in Alaska and is being advanced in states across the country. The truth is, the American political system is working exactly how it is designed to work, and it isn't designed or optimized today to work for us-for ordinary citizens. Most people believe that our political system is a public institution with high-minded principles and impartial rules derived from the Constitution. In reality, it has become a private industry dominated by a textbook duopoly-the Democrats and the Republicans-and plagued and perverted by unhealthy competition between the players. Tragically, it has therefore become incapable of delivering solutions to America's key economic and social challenges. In fact, there's virtually no connection between our political leaders solving problems and getting reelected. In The Politics Industry, business leader and path-breaking political innovator Katherine Gehl and world-renowned business strategist Michael Porter take a radical new approach. They ingeniously apply the tools of business analysis-and Porter's distinctive Five Forces framework-to show how the political system functions just as every other competitive industry does, and how the duopoly has led to the devastating outcomes we see today. Using this competition lens, Gehl and Porter identify the most powerful lever for change-a strategy comprised of a clear set of choices in two key areas: how our elections work and how we make our laws. Their bracing assessment and practical recommendations cut through the endless debate about various proposed fixes, such as term limits and campaign finance reform. The result: true political innovation. The Politics Industry is an original and completely nonpartisan guide that will open your eyes to the true dynamics and profound challenges of the American political system and provide real solutions for reshaping the system for the benefit of all. THE INSTITUTE FOR POLITICAL INNOVATION The authors will donate all royalties from the sale of this book to the Institute for Political Innovation.

Beyond Nationalism and the Nation-State - Radical Approaches to Nation (Paperback): Ilker Coerut, Joost Jongerden Beyond Nationalism and the Nation-State - Radical Approaches to Nation (Paperback)
Ilker Coerut, Joost Jongerden
R1,149 Discovery Miles 11 490 Ships in 9 - 15 working days

This book centers on one fundamental question: is it possible to imagine a progressive sense of nation? Rooted in historic and contemporary social struggles, the chapters in this collection examine what a progressive sense of nation might look like, with authors exploring the theory and practice of the nation beyond nationalism. The book is written against the background of rising authoritarian-nationalist movements globally over the last few decades, where many countries have witnessed the dramatic escalation of ethnic-nationalist parties impacting and changing mainstream politics and normalizing anti-immigration, anti-democratic and Islamophobic discourse. This volume discusses viable alternatives for nationalism, which is inherently exclusionary, exploring the possibility of a type of nation-based politics which does not follow the principles of nationalism. With its focus on nationalism, politics and social struggles, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of political and social sciences.

The European Union and the Public Sphere - A Communicative Space in the Making? (Hardcover): John Erik Fossum, Philip R... The European Union and the Public Sphere - A Communicative Space in the Making? (Hardcover)
John Erik Fossum, Philip R Schlesinger
R4,373 Discovery Miles 43 730 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

The European Union is often attacked for its 'democratic deficit', namely its deficiencies in representation, transparency and accountability, as well as its lack of popular support. Can these shortcomings be counteracted by the development of a viable European public sphere?

This book assesses the possible formation of a communicative space that might enable and engender the creation of a transnational or a supranational public. The contributors consider the EU's democratic credentials and how well it communicates, and they also evaluate the major institutions and their links to general publics.

The European Union and the Public Sphere emphasizes a 'deliberative democratic' perspective on the public sphere, addressing some key questions:

- What are the prospects for a European public sphere?
- Should we think in terms of the EU having a single public sphere, or are overlapping public spheres a more viable option?
- What do this book's findings on the question of the public sphere tell us about the EU as a political entity?

Students and scholars of European democracy, political communication, and the politics of institutions will all be greatly interested by this book.

Beyond Capitalist Dystopia - Reclaiming Freedom and Democracy in the Age of Global Crises (Hardcover): Davor Dzalto Beyond Capitalist Dystopia - Reclaiming Freedom and Democracy in the Age of Global Crises (Hardcover)
Davor Dzalto
R3,842 Discovery Miles 38 420 Ships in 9 - 15 working days

This provocative book interrogates the ideology of capitalism as the "default" narrative underpinning various mainstream ideologies in the contemporary world. The book explores the genesis, structure and functioning of this ideological narrative, provides its critical assessment and outlines a possible alternative, beyond the logic of capitalism and toward a truly free and democratic society. The book takes a broad view of the major global challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, and persuasively argue that, in order to resolve any of the major global problems, from the ongoing ecological crisis to economic and geopolitical issues, we need to confront the capitalist system. To unpack the logic of contemporary capitalist ideology, and the way it structures our inter-personal and political relations, the book gives an analysis of the "end of ideology" narrative and offers a critical assessment of the ideas behind the widely used but fundamentally flawed concept of "Liberal democracy." The book revisits metaphysical foundations behind the ideology of capitalism, exposing their secular-religious dimension, and their immanent oppressiveness. Based on this deconstruction of the metaphysical foundations implicit in (Neo)Liberalism and capitalism, the book offers a way in which alternative metaphysical foundations can be constructed to allow for different socio-political and economic models that would be based on a radical affirmation of freedom and democracy, as well as human responsibility for the natural environment. Beyond Capitalist Dystopia: Reclaiming Freedom and Democracy in the Age of Global Crises will be of great interest to anyone searching for alternatives to the pervasive ideology of capitalism as well as students and researchers active in various fields in the humanities and social sciences.

Deliberative Democracy and its Discontents (Hardcover, New Ed): Jose Luis Marti, Samantha Besson Deliberative Democracy and its Discontents (Hardcover, New Ed)
Jose Luis Marti, Samantha Besson
R4,221 Discovery Miles 42 210 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Drawing on political, legal, national, post-national, as well as American and European perspectives, this collection of essays offers a diverse and balanced discussion of the current arguments concerning deliberative democracy. Its contributions' focus on discontent, provide a critical assessment of the benefits of deliberation and also respond to the strongest criticisms of the idea of democratic deliberation. The essays consider the three basic questions of why, how and where to deliberate democratically. This book will be of value not only to political and democratic theorists, but also to legal philosophers and constitutional theorists, and all those interested in the legitimacy of decision-making in national and post-national pluralistic polities.

Ramaphosa's Turn - Can He Save South Africa? (Paperback): Ralph Mathekga Ramaphosa's Turn - Can He Save South Africa? (Paperback)
Ralph Mathekga
bundle available
R385 R331 Discovery Miles 3 310 Save R54 (14%) Ships in 4 - 8 working days

Nearly two decades after he was anointed by Nelson Mandela as his successor, Cyril Ramaphosa has at last taken office as the president of South Africa. But the country Ramaphosa has inherited is very different from the rainbow nation that Mandela led in the 1990s.

The South Africa of 2018 is divided and caught in a web of state capture, corruption, poverty and despair. The Zuma years have left the country and its institutions battered and bruised.

Can Ramaphosa pull South Africa out of the quagmire and restore it to its former glory, as so many people desperately hope? Is his turn at the presidency really the beginning of a new dawn.

Ralph Mathekga answers these questions, and more, in this riveting book.

The Limits of Pure Democracy (Paperback, Rev Ed): William Hurrell Mallock The Limits of Pure Democracy (Paperback, Rev Ed)
William Hurrell Mallock
R1,368 Discovery Miles 13 680 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

The 1910s was a decade in which theories of socialism, pacifism, and collectivism flowered. Publicists and playwrights from Sidney Webb to George Bernard Shaw expressed not just belief in "utopianism" but a vigorous assault on the existing political and economic order. Less well known is how a group of Tory thinkers laid the foundations of a conservative counter-attack expressed with equal literary and intellectual brilliance. Foremost among them was W. H. Mallock. In "The Limits of Pure Democracy" he argued that the pseudo-populist leaders of the political party system promise everything but deliver only the end of parties as such. For Mallock, what starts with populism ends in dictatorship. The Russian Revolution was simply the historical outcome of utopian socialist visions that were more dedicated to destroying the present system of things than bringing about a revitalized future. Mallock's book explains how the modern free market succeeds through competition in increasing output, broadening occupational opportunities, and multiplying the numbers of skilled professionals. In contrast, welfare schemes serve to deepen poverty by spreading wealth so evenly that incentives to work decline and personal savings are eliminated. These arguments have become commonplace today. But at the time they served as an incendiary reminder that class warfare works in both directions. Mallock was a remarkably talented writer who made the case against exaggerated expectations, a nascent welfare system, and mass political parties led by oligarchs. But he also offered a case for increasing a regard for work, advancing the cause of education as a method of entering the modern world, and for retaining a sense of religious codes that define the West. Mallock's search for an understanding of popular rule coincided with his appreciation and elucidation of the limitations of the emerging plebiscitarian spirit within democracy. "The Limits of Pure Democracy" will be of interest to political scientists, intellectual historians, and economists. "W. H. Mallock" was the author of "Religion as a Credible Doctrine, The Reconstruction of Belief, The Individualist, The Heart of Life," and "A Human Document." "H. Lee Cheek, Jr." is chair, Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences and professor, Political Science and Philosophy at Brewton-Parker College, Mt. Vernon, GA. His books include "Political Philosophy and Cultural Renewal" and "Order and Legitimacy," both available from Transaction.

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