Political sociology continues to be the most significant place for the study of the relationship between society and politics. The study of political participation has always formed an important part of this research and in this volume, we present a diverse collection of works dedicated to assessing current research and future directions in the field. In the first volume of the series, Braungart suggested that political occurrences are born out of social dynamics. We find continued evidence of this.The electoral politics of society, whether unusual as presented in the symposium of the US 2000 election, or more routine, can be understood in terms of models of political participation that build on the work of political sociologists over the last 25 years. The contributors also examine political participation in the form of social and political movements, sharing the theoretical frameworks used by political sociologists to understand, describe and predict political participation. In compiling this volume we find the study of political participation to be alive and well, providing fruitful arguments and ideas for future research.

Realism remains a predominant and most debated theoretical approach in International Relations research. Whether considered a scientific and accurate reflection of world politics or as reactionary and a distortion of realities and possibilities, both realism and its structural variant continue to be a source of fruitful research—whether within the program or in its rejection. The Realism approach itself is not uniform whether in relation to its implications or methodologies. Here leading scholars provide important perspectives on the insights and directions of Realist research in some of its most interesting variants. From rational choice to case studies, from theory to practice, the contributors explore both classic tenets of Realism as the balance of power and such apparent inconsistencies as foolish policies.

In this volume a series of contributions look at the impact of direct democracy on those processes of representative democracy to raise - and answer - the question: Does direct democracy harm representative democracy?

This book explores a new way of thinking about diplomacy, warfare, trade, and collective goods that begins with the notion that key international actors project their domestic institutions onto the regional or global arena. Exploring the emergence, consolidation, and decay of international norms, the author puts forward a general argument designed to identify patterns across time and space, combining key insights from constructivist, liberal, classical realist, English School, and feminist thinking. By moving from institution to institution, each chapter presents a coherent story ranging from antiquity to the contemporary world allowing us to see not only the patterns, but also to begin to develop conjectures about other causal stories implicit in the narrative. The book will be used by scholars and students of international relations, international organization and law, security studies, political economy, historical sociology, regionalism, and a wide range of specific topics such as arms control, trade, migration, identity, and collective goods.

International Discourses of Authoritarian Populism provides 15 cutting-edge chapters probing into the diversity of present-day populist discourse from across the world. Not adhering to any particular school, the volume explores populism from a variety of disciplines and perspectives, with contributions characterized by heuristic openness as called for by the manifold manifestations of populism. The chapters balance theoretical and empirical studies, as well as quantitative and qualitative surveys and case studies, to offer readings on historical and new types of populism, and the politicians associated with these variates. Authors draw on a variety of print, digital, textual, and visual source materials to provide a close examination of the phenomena interconnected with populism including separatism (Catalexit), human rights and legal issues, debate rhetoric, and journalism, with many authors writing as insiders about the situation within their own country. Through its multi-disciplinarity, International Discourses of Authoritarian Populism provides fresh insights into the existing and potential dangers of populism, and a basis for further critical assessment and discussion. It will be a key resource for scholars and students across a range of disciplines, including sociology, political science, linguistics, media and communication studies, literary studies, and history. Moreover, it will be of special interest to professionals who deal with both national and international issues of populism.

This volume distils the themes expounded in "A Grammar of Politics" for the non-specialist reader. It is the best outline of Laski s views in his transitional period. "

Why have the economies of some developing countries fallen back while others have advanced? Why have so many stabilization and structural adjustment programs failed to deliver growth dividends? This book shows that there is a common and valid answer: political credibility defined as the predictability of the institutional rules of the game. This case is not only argued theoretically but also found to be confirmed by empirical analysis. Ten case studies pitting Latin American countries against Southeast Asian ones reveal the sources of political credibility. Economic openness is the necessary precondition, long-term reputation or democratic participation the sufficient one. Despite the seemingly superior strength of authoritarian reputation democratic control is the more successful road.

Capitalism and its Critics offers an accessible account of major theories of capitalism from the industrial revolution to the present day. The book provides a comprehensive account of the economic and social thought of key theorists from Adam Smith and Karl Marx to David Harvey and Thomas Piketty. Capitalism has long been the subject of passionate debate, and today such contestations are perhaps more timely than ever. For its advocates, capitalism brings democracy and freedom and is the cornerstone of modernity and of progress. For its critics, capitalism is based on the exploitation of labour and is responsible for the destruction of the environment as well as colonialism. Whether capitalism survives the century, or whether an alternative social system emerges, may very well determine the fate of humanity. Capitalism and its Critics gives a comprehensive critical analysis of the most important theorists of capitalism, including Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Max Weber, Joseph Schumpeter, Karl Polanyi, F.A. Hayek, J.M. Keynes, David Harvey, and Thomas Piketty. The book discusses some of the main debates about capitalism and considers alternatives in the twenty-first century. The 12 chapters are loosely chronologically organised around the main approaches and historical phases in the history of capitalism. Central themes of the book are the ideas of capitalist crisis and of tensions between democracy and capitalism in the making of modernity. A highly readable, informative and engaging text, Capitalism and its Critics is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding capitalism and its alternatives.

How Taiwan can overcome internal stresses and the threat from China.Taiwan was a poster child for the 'third wave' of global democratization in the 1980s. It was the first Chinese society to make the transition to democracy, and it did so gradually and peacefully. But Taiwan today faces a host of internal issues, starting with the aging of society and the resulting intergenerational conflicts over spending priorities. China's long-term threat to incorporate the island on terms similar to those used for Hong Kong exacerbates the island's home-grown problems. Taiwan remains heavily dependent on the United States for its security, but it must use its own resources to cope with Beijing's constant intimidation and pressure. How Taiwan responds to the internal and external challenges it faces - and what the United States and other outside powers do to help - will determine whether it is able to stand its ground against China's ambitions. The book explores the broad range of issues and policy choices Taiwan confronts and offers suggestions both for what Taiwan can do to help itself and what the United States should do to improve Taiwan's chances of success.

Russian Modernity places Imperial and Soviet Russia in a European context. Russia shared in a larger European modernity marked by increased overlap and sometimes merger of realms that had previously been treated as discrete entities: the social and the political, state and society, government and economy, and private and public. These were attributes of Soviet dictatorship, but their origins can be located in a larger European context and in the emergence of modern forms of government in Imperial Russia.

George Soros' web of influence is documented and exposed. No one else in modern politics has anywhere near the power and influence of George Soros, both domestically and internationally. Backed by the tens of billions of dollars he's accumulated throughout his career, Soros has his hand in influencing the media, activist groups, colleges, presidential elections, global elections, local U.S. politics, and much more. Soros has earned himself a reputation as a "boogeyman" character on the right, and nowhere else will you read such an extensive documentation of his influence as in this book.

This comprehensive bibliographic guide to the books, monographs, articles and editions, translations, reviews, and dissertations on this important Renaissance writer provides the much-needed, annotated research source for scholarship and criticism published between 1935 and 1985. Research published after 1985 and available in annotated or abstracted form through computer searches is cited in an appendix. Annotations cover bibliographies, biographies, general and specific criticism, and new primary materials. It is an important and significant book, sure to provide scholars with a guide through the Florentine secretary's writings for the next several decades. Peter Bondanella Professor of Italian Studies, Indiana University Those studying Niccolo Machiavelli have long endured the unavailability of a single, complete, interdisciplinary bibliographic guide to the vast number of books, articles, and reviews on the Renaissance writer and thinker who profoundly influenced the development of modern thought. This monumental bibliography provides the much-needed and comprehensive annotated research source for scholarship and criticism published on the Florentine between 1935 and 1985. To make this reference as current and complete as possible, an unannotated appendix cites research published after 1985 that is available in annotated or abstracted form through computer searches. Niccolo Machiavelli surpasses both Norsa's extensive but unannotated bibliography covering the years 1740-1935 and Fido's more recent survey which omits many articles and overlooks important studies in the social sciences especially in the last thirty years. Using a systematic, uniform, and easily accessible format, the volume, which covers more than 50 years of Machiavelli criticism, presents complete descriptions of the works with all bibliographic data. The descriptive summaries encompass the entire range of modern critical and scholarly study in all languages, including bibliographies, biographies, general and specific criticism, and new primary materials such as manuscripts. Included in this wealth of materials are books, monographs, articles, editions, translations, reviews, and dissertations. Arranged chronologically by year and alphabetically within each year the bibliography's user-friendly format includes reviews immediately following the documentation for the book or article in question. Keyed to the annotations, four separate indices (author, title, subject/name, and Machiavelli's works) enhance access to the large and varied amount of work on Machiavelli. The volume will implement the research efforts of both Machiavelli scholars and those in related general and specific fields.

The end of Stalinist Russia, China's change under Deng Xiaoping and the publication of previously unexplored documents of Marx in the MEGA2 opened a new epoch in the analysis of Marx. Marx's Discourse With Hegel is both a product and contribution to this rebirth of Marxism by its reformulation of the relationship between Hegel and Marx

In offering a wide-ranging overview of radicalism throughout the 'long' nineteenth century, from the mid eighteenth century to the aftermath of the First World War, this study contests the methods and findings of recent revisionist interpretations. Radical movements faced a more difficult task than other political formations since they sought not merely to construct an audience - to find a language which resonated with people's material needs and greivances - but to mobilise for change. Options were limited as radicals had to conform to rhetorical, organisational and cultural norms to ensure popular legitimacy and support. This volume pays particular attention therefore to contextual factors: to the changing codes and conventions of political culture and public space. Through critical engagement with revisionist and post-modernist interpretations, it throws new light on factors which often divided liberals from radicals, and indeed, radicals from themselves. This is an accessible and much-needed introduction to the new linguistic and cultural approaches to nineteenth-century popular politics.

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

France's response to the rise of European fascism during the 1930s, and subsequently to the Nazi occupation 1940-44, has been a difficult subject for the nation's historians. The consensus amongst leading French authorities on the period has been the claim that France was largely 'immune' to fascism in the 1930s, and that the Vichy regime was an aberration produced by defeat and occupation. Over the last 30 years, this position has gradually been undermined, mainly through the work of foreign scholars, but it nonetheless remains intact. This volume brings together for the first time the leading critics of the standard French interpretation, who have used these essays to refine and update their positions, or to move the debate onto new terrain.

Brian Jenkins is Research Professor in the Department of French at the University of Leeds. His doctoral thesis was on the Paris riots of February 6th 1934, and he has recently returned to the study of the French extreme Right between the world wars. He has also written extensively on French nationalism, and on theories of nationalism, notably as the author of "Nationalism in France: Class and Nation since 1789" (1990) and as co-editor of "Nation and Identity in Contemporary Europe" (1996). He is co-editor of the "Journal of Contemporary European Studies."

This book argues that although the mob and the people appear to be very separate concepts, they share a common ideological history. Hayes traces the developments undergone by the concepts of people and mob in modern European ideologies, and he examines Marx's depiction of the lumpenproletariat, Le Bon's analysis of the crowd, fascist depictions of the masses, and corporatist views of the political threat posed by the mob. He also discusses the implications of the distinction between the people and the mob for democracy providing a case study of the 1984-85 British miner's strike and reviewing the rhetoric of politicians in the new democracies of Eastern Europe.

"The People and the Mob" examines the ideological depiction of the masses from the time of the French Revolution to the democratization of Eastern Europe. During this period, Hayes explains how political activists seeking popular appeal have increasingly identified mass social groups in positive rather than negative terms, as the people rather than the mob. However, Hayes argues that although the bulk of the population has come to be identified with the people, the concept of the mob has not disappeared from political discourse, but has rather been redifined to refer to a vicious minority. The ideological significance of this concept of the mob is made clear by Hayes's examination of Marx's depiction of the lumpenproleteriat, Le Bon's analysis of the crowd, fascist propaganda, and corporatist views of society and government. Throughout his analysis, Hayes finds the concept of the mob to be closely tied to that of the people in a way that indicates ambiguous, inconsistent, or opportunist attitudes toward mass social groups. Hayes investigates the implications of such attitudes for democracy by considering political conflicts in the 1984-85 British miners' strike, and in the new democracies of Eastern Europe.

The People and the Mob explains how and why the concept of the mob has been incorporated into several forms of ideoloy that claim to speak for the people. This important finding is supported by Hayes's identification of a social analysis in which financiers and the mob are linked to each other, and separated from the people, using moral criteria of the work ethic. It is also supported by his explanation of the popular rhetorical appeal of political condemnations of the mob. Hayes shows that these rhetorical appeals and social distinctions are found in the ideology of both right and left. He demonstrates that even Marx has adopted such an ideology through his highly original interpretation of the class structure developed by Marx to explain events in France. Hayes's conclusions extend the fields of politicl theory and the history of ideas. The People and the Mob is useful to anyone interested in Marxism, crowd theory, fascism, corporatism, civil conflict in Europe, and the problems of modern democracy.

The founders of the American republic saw two motivations for individual civic participation: self-interest and civic duty. "Civic Participation in America" frames our understanding of civic and political participation the way the nation's founders did: as a human behavior powerfully influenced by institutions within society. The book examines the influence of the important macro-institutions of citizenship, political economy, and the public sphere and size of government, as well as key institutions of civic socialization such as the family, media, and education, on the motivation to participate. It argues that over time these institutions have encouraged more self-interested participation over civic duty-oriented participation.

"This book will surely be of interest not only to students in the field of comparative politics and comparative welfare regimes, but mor broadly to analysts of the complex relationship between civil society and the state." . American Journal of Sociology

"The book also provides a good overview of the historical influences that have shaped the current Swedish civil society, and offers insight into future challenges and opportunities. Rich in theoretical references, it is an essential resource in comparative studies of civil societies." . Voluntas

"Lars Tragardh's fascinating account of the Swedish model is an innovative addition to the body of scholarship on the relationship between state and civil society. The richness of the volume lies in its detailed theoretical discussion as well as extensive empirical insights on the interaction between state and civil society. The book invites the reader to be critical, reflective, and inquisitive in comprehending state-civil society interaction. This is an important book that carries the potential to attract a wide range of scholars in development studies in the social sciences and humanities...Written with sensitivity and scholarly perspicacity, the book has come on the scene at an appropriate time, especially when the issues of liberalization, privatization, globalization, participation, localization, and decentralization play a central role in influencing the contemporary political tradition of different nations." . Quarterly Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector

In the current neo-liberal political and economic climate, it is often suggested that a large and strong state stands in opposition to an autonomous and vibrant civil society. However, the simultaneous presence in Sweden of both a famously large public sector and an unusually vital civil society poses an interesting and important theoretical challenge to these views with serious political and policy implications. Studies show that in a comparative context Sweden scores very highly when it comes to the strength and vitality of its civil society as well as social capital, as measured in terms of trust, lack of corruption, and membership of voluntary associations. The "Swedish Model," therefore, offers important insights into the dynamics of state and civil society relations, which go against current trends of undermining the importance of the welfare state, and presents autonomous civic participation as the only way forward.

Lars Tragardh received his PhD in history from UC Berkeley and currently co-directs a research project concerning trust and state/civil society relations in Sweden at the Research Institute of Ersta Skondal University College in Stockholm. His most recent publications include (with co-editor Nina Witoszek) Culture and Crisis: The Case of Germany and Sweden (Berghahn Books, 2002), After National Democracy: Rights, Law and Power in America in the New Europe (Hart Publishing, 2004), and with Henrik Berggren Ar svensken manniska: Oberoende och gemenskap i det moderna Sverige (Norstedts, 2006).

Challenging assumptions regarding the strength and control of authoritarian governments in Rwanda in the decades before the 1994 genocide, Marie-Eve Desrosiers uses original archival data and interviews to highlight the complex relations between authorities, opponents, and society. Through careful, detailed analysis Desrosiers offers a nuanced assessment of the functions and evolution of authoritarianism over time, demonstrating how the governments of Rwanda's first two post-independence Republics (1962-1990) sought and often struggled to cement their rule. Whilst the deeper, lived realities of authoritarianism are generally neglected by multi-cases comparisons at the heart of comparative authoritarian studies, this illuminating survey highlights the essential, yet subtle authoritarian strategies, patterns, and forms of decay that are too often overlooked when addressing authoritarian contexts.

This book deals with the causes, nature, and impact of the divisions within the jihadi movement, and the splits between jihadis and other Islamic groups. Fault Lines in Global Jihad offers a systematic and comprehensive examination of the broad range of divisions that contribute to the weakening of the jihadi movement. It separates these divisions into two broad categories, namely fissures dividing jihadis themselves, and divisions separating jihadis from other Muslim and Islamist groups. The first part of the book covers intra-jihadi divisions, highlighting tensions and divisions over strategic, tactical, and organizational issues. The second part of the book addresses several important case studies of jihadi altercations with other Muslim and Islamist groups of non-jihadi persuasion, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, and the Shii community. More than simply an enumeration of problems and cracks within al-Qa'ida and its cohorts, this book addresses critical policy issues of relevance to the broader struggle against the global jihadi movement. The editors conclude that these divisions have and continue to weaken al-Qa'ida, but neither in an automatic nor in an exclusive fashion-for these divisions render the global jihadi movement simultaneously vulnerable and more resilient. This book will be of much interest to students of jihadism, terrorism and political violence, Islamism, security studies and IR in general.

From his beginnings as a figure on the political stage, Nicolas Sarkozy failed to conform to traditional expectations, either in his personality or a political actions. Unlike previous Presidents such Jacques Chirac or Francois Mitterrand, who underlined their attachment to their rural origins, Sarkozy was the son of a Hungarian immigrant who was brought up in a single-parent household. In contrast to Presidents like Chirac and Valery Giscard d'Estaing, who were archetypal products of the Ecole Nationale d'Administration, or Georges Pompidou and Mitterrand who were pressed from the classic intellectual mould of the French university system, Sarkozy qualified modestly as a lawyer. It is no surprise therefore that Sarkozy should have portrayed himself as the man of 'rupture'. In this collection, a host of expert contributors analyse and discuss the Presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy, how he differed from his antecedents and the legacy that his tenure had on French society and political structures. This volume is perfect for anyone interested in contemporary French politics.