In Far-Right Revisionism and the End of History: Alt/Histories, historians, sociologists, neuroscientists, lawyers, cultural critics, and literary and media scholars come together to offer an interconnected and comparative collection for understanding how contemporary far-right, neo-fascist, Alt-Right, Identitarian and New Right movements have proposed revisions and counter-narratives to accepted understandings of history, fact and narrative. The innovative essays found here bring forward urgent questions to diverse public, academic, and politically minded audiences interested in how historical understandings of race, gender, class, nationalism, religion, law, technology and the sciences have been distorted by these far-right movements. If scholars of the last twenty years, like Francis Fukuyama, believed that neoliberalism marked an 'end of history', this volume shows how the far right is effectively threatening democracy and its institutions through the dissemination of alt-facts and histories.

This book explores the complexities of what are tropical forests, what role they play not only in environmentalism but in trade, health care, and almost every facet of natural and social life for those living there and beyond. Although for most in the developed world tropical forests have gained a status of part of our world heritage, these forests are not really part of the global commons or a global public good. Developing nations maintain control over the forests within their borders and often use the forests as they see fit. The international system for mediating the issue is a fractured group of non-governmental organizations and transnational networks, often with competing views of how to manage tropical forests. Despite this seemingly grim picture, Marie-Claude Smouts is optimistic. A changing world view toward forest depletion is influencing countries both north and south. Although forests will be used commercially, it is a dynamic process that should maintain them far into the future.

This book deals with the most important developments in the study of political power over the last four decades. From the writings of the great Greek philosophers of antiquity to the present, the idea of power has been the major subject in the study of politics. Indeed, some would say it defines the very field of politics itself as a social science. Penned by the leading scholars in the field, this collection gives a broad overview of the most important issues in the study of political power, tracing the evolution of scholarly thinking about them and in doing so revealing crucial innovations therein. This will be a major contribution in the understanding of the concepts and practices of how power manifests itself across social and political contexts. This book will be of great interest to scholars, students and individuals who wish to understand the very foundations of social and political life. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Political Power, volume 14, issue 1 (2021).

This book examines the phenomenon of the independent politician, believed to be extinct in most political systems. It is very much alive and well in Ireland, and has experienced a considerable resurgence in recent years. Independents won a record number of seats in 2016 and had three ministers appointed to cabinet. This presence is very unusual from a comparative perspective, and there are more independents in the Irish parliament than the combined total in all other industrial democracies. The aim of this book is to explain this anomaly, how and why independents can endure in a democracy that is one of the oldest surviving in Europe and has historically had one of the most stable party systems. -- .

Iris Marion Young (1949-2006) was one of the most influential and innovative political theorists of her generation who had a significant impact on a wide range of topics such as democratic theory, feminist theory, and justice. She bridged many longstanding divides among political theorists, engaging in Continental and critical theory, but also insisting on the importance of normative argument: her corpus stands as a testament to the fruitfulness of engaging in both abstract theory and the 'real world' of everyday politics. This volume spans the several decades of her work, illustrating her intellectual development over time through three major areas of innovation: Gender: Maintaining that gender is both conceptually and politically meaningful, Young theorized gender in terms of structures that, in combination, position different people we call "women" in different ways, such that some women have some structures in common, without all women sharing all gendered structures in common. Justice: Young's early writings on a critical theory of justice evolved in her later and posthumously published works where she developed an account of justice that brought together her theorization of structure with her concern to respond to contemporary claims of injustice. The Politics of Difference: Young rejected universal and abstract theories of justice and maintained that justice instead required attending to the experiences of people marked by difference. This volume will prove useful to scholars and students working in the fields of critical and political theory, feminist theory, international law and public diplomacy.

- puts forward the most comprehensive assessment of the relationship between mass shootings and background checks to date. -While scholars have carried out both quantitative analyses and case studies of mass shootings on this topic, no books exist on this topic and peer reviewed articles have thus far failed to account for why a historical increase in societal armament arose in the first place, have not fully identified causal mechanisms and pathways that link mass shootings to gun purchases, and have treated the proposed causal relationship as being linear in nature. - takes a multi-methodological approach comprised of case studies, quantitative analysis, and qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to offer a transparent, well rounded inquiry on the mass shootings-background check nexus,. -provides readers with several different perspectives through which to consider the prominence of this vastly important empirical trend, and importantly, classifies the pathways, processes, and mechanisms that link mass shootings to post-shooting increases in gun purchases

This volume in the series 'Mass Dictatorship in the Twentieth Century' sees twelve Swedish, Korean and Japanese scholars, theorists, and historians of fiction and non-fiction probe the literary subject of life in 20th century mass dictatorships. Generously defined, the 'literary' in this context covers a wide spectrum of narrative forms, ranging from the commercial television documentary to popular crime fiction, and from digitally restored amateur film on DVD to the Nobel Prize winning novel. It deals with mass dictatorship regimes as far apart as Nazi Germany, Park Chung-hee's South Korea, Stalinist Russia, post-war Hungary, Mao Zedong's China, apartheid's South Africa, and Ceausescu's Romania. The interplay of analytical ideas and the transnational perspectives that this volume brings add a new dimension to our understanding of traumatic events - 'dark chapters' - in 20th century history. By focusing the immense role of imagination within a cultural discourse otherwise dominated by irrefutable facts such as the existence of Holocaust and Gulag, this volume opens new ways of thinking perceptively about trauma, power and self.

The success of fascist and communist regimes has long been explained by their ability to turn political ideology into a type of religion. These innovative essays explore the notion that all forms of modern mass-politics, including democracies, need a form of sacralization to function.

Proposes a radical break with the ways in which meta-theorising in IR has so far been understood and contributes to a more advanced understanding of the practice of (meta-)theorising. Shifts the ground away from the overwhelming concern with meta-theoretical substance to a focus on the intersection of form and content in contemporary meta-theorising. Presents a dyadic approach: a rhetoric of inquiry that investigates the diverging forms of argumentation currently present in IR meta-theorising and a conversational ethic that can help steer meta-theoretical engagements across existing divides in more productive ways.

This book comprehensively collects the thinking - over the last 25 years - of one the most important contemporary scholars in the field of ideology studies. Clearly organised, it expounds on the changing nature of the sub-discipline, its components and methods of investigation. As such, it serves the need for a general, well-informed identification and elaboration of thematic possibilities in current ideology studies and represents the most developed and productive methodological approach to the study of ideologies in the last three decades. Freeden presents ideology studies as an evolving and vibrant field, encountering and surmounting a series of challenges in its successful path towards recognition as a fully legitimate and respected branch of political theory. This book will be of key interest to students and scholars of political ideologies, political theory, political philosophy and more broadly to sociology, political science, anthropology, human geography, international studies and the humanities.

This book comprehensively collects the thinking - over the last 25 years - of one the most important contemporary scholars in the field of ideology studies. Clearly organised, it expounds on the changing nature of the sub-discipline, its components and methods of investigation. As such, it serves the need for a general, well-informed identification and elaboration of thematic possibilities in current ideology studies and represents the most developed and productive methodological approach to the study of ideologies in the last three decades. Freeden presents ideology studies as an evolving and vibrant field, encountering and surmounting a series of challenges in its successful path towards recognition as a fully legitimate and respected branch of political theory. This book will be of key interest to students and scholars of political ideologies, political theory, political philosophy and more broadly to sociology, political science, anthropology, human geography, international studies and the humanities.

What is pragmatism? Is it a means to an end, or an end in itself? Is it antithetical to ideology or morality? Arguing that pragmatism is a skill much more than an attribute, Phua examines how viewing it in this way can help achieve better foreign policy outcomes. He examines and contrasts the ways in which the United States, China and Singapore have incorporated pragmatism into their approaches to foreign policy. In doing so he debunks dualistic myths around pragmatism and ideology and promotes the view of pragmatism as a skill that can be developed. An essential primer for students, analysts and policymakers, with a fresh and practical approach to pragmatism.

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.

Impressive range of interdisciplinary scholars. Offers an original and innovative approach to IR by connecting it to civilisation studies. Timely material which should have a long shelf-life.

This book traces the factors that contributed to the success in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea and identifies the concept of familism as a major environmental factor. The government of South Korea has achieved remarkable outcomes in its COVID-19 response, despite the fact that South Korea usually promotes a family-focused investment of resources at the expense of broader social goals. The author eschews these western cultural biases in theories of crisis management and suggests that the key component of South Korea's success is not self-centered egotism of individuals but a focus on family and familism, which projects state as an extension of family. He argues that while the success in managing the COVID-19 epidemic is due to a combination of factors, familism has been a key force in driving this successful response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The book will be of interest to scholars and students of governance, crisis management, civil society, and citizen's participation in public administration, international relations, Asian studies, and cultural studies and Confucianism.

This book argues that the recent political mobilizations in Eastern Europe have been underpinned by a class struggle between a more conservative and a more radical line of contention. The latter line, the book contends, is designed by and for subaltern groups whose anti-systemic programme calls for not just the eradication of corruption, but for more participatory forms of democracy, for social justice, and for freedom from want. The former, on the other hand, is designed by powerful groups of intellectuals, for the middle classes whom the intellectuals see as the historical strata capable of advancing the 'catch-up' projects of modernization and Europeanization which they zealously champion. Based on a critical examination of recent political struggles, including a detailed case study of the 2013 protests in Bulgaria which focuses particularly on their internal antagonisms and drawing on the social theories of Antonio Gramsci and Ernst Bloch, the book provides shrewd insights into class antagonisms in political mobilizations, the distortive nature of ideological constructions and utopian longings, and the factors which propel many people to support projects for social change.

First published in 1985, The Place of Ideology in Political Life explores the concept of 'ideology' in terms of its philosophical and intellectual underpinnings. Ideology is a term much bandied about by politicians and political thinkers with very little precision employed in its use. Despite acknowledgement in the literature of political studies that ideology plays a part in political life, there exist no precise accounts of the nature of that contribution. This book attempts to take a step towards redressing the balance by determining the sense in which ideology constitutes a genuine form of understanding human relationships and the place understanding has in all political activity regardless of whether or not any particular ideology is to be approved or condemned. This concise work will be invaluable to all students of politics, philosophy of action, ethics, and history of political thought.

Spain has become a remarkable democratic laboratory in which millions of citizens are experimenting with new forms of political expression. This book examines the dynamics of this political laboratory, showing that the upheavals it is experiencing are likely in the near future to affect democracies elsewhere in the world. Examining the new means of participation that were established in fields where digital communication tools enabled the launch of novel dynamics of political action, the reader will gain access to a comprehensive analysis of the reshaping and mutation process that has affected fields such as activism, political parties and political participation. Using a case study of the Spain between 2011 and 2015, the book focuses on the changes that have taken place in politics and communication in Spain, paying particular attention to the 15M movement and its disruptive, innovative strength in all matters related to politics and communication. The chapters cover political repertoires and the hybridization of horizontal and vertical political logics; the appearance of new political parties; the establishment of monitoring mechanisms as an essential means of political expression and participation; and the subversion of rationality across media as a product of the communication strategies implemented by online political activism. Showing that Spain is not just at the forefront of democratic innovation, but that it is a political laboratory in which trials are taking place that tell us much about the future of democracy everywhere, this book will be of great use to scholars of political theory, democracy and philosophy.

This book investigates whether politics in Britain in the twenty-first century is driven more by issues of culture and identity than by "left versus right" issues of wealth distribution. Drawing from a number of opinion surveys, it explores the shifting positions of voters on both economic matters and matters of culture and identity. It finds that between 2015 and 2017 support for Britain's main political parties became much more predicated on issues of culture and identity, reflecting a radical change in how parties attract voters. In the longer-term, it suggests that issues of culture and identity have become more salient overall, possibly because of the oft-cited divide between winners and losers of globalisation. The book ends by speculating on why politics has become more polarised on these issues, rather than on the economic fallout of globalisation, and suggests that an explanation is to be found in changing forms of political communication between voters and politicians.

In this book, the author argues that the standard Marxist conceptions of the relations of nature to value, of humans to nature, and of history to time, are no longer tenable. He contends that the centrality of cultural categories, as raised by the feminist, art, and ecology movements, amongst others, is one crucial difference for the late industrial world, demanding a break from the dominant tendencies within Marxism to reduce causality to its economic factor. The book offers an approach towards a new way of thinking about these problems, and this edition has been revised to incorporate new material.

The book assesses the development of the Orban regime in Hungary after 2010 through analyzing the polity-politics-policy impacts from a perspective of populism as an ideology focusing on discourse and actual decisions. By closely scrutinizing political narratives, actual decisions and survey data, this volume offers a systematic analysis of the impact of populism on the polity-politics-policy aspects of the political in Hungary after 2010. It analyzes the uses of constitutionalism and discriminatory legalism, the changes in the quality of democracy, the government's relationship with media and journalism, its influence over the party system and EU politics, and its approach to family and cultural policies. While each chapter in the volume describes the findings in response to the corresponding literature highlighting the added value of the individual analyses, the book interprets the overall results under the notion of "smart populism" where the moral definition of "the people" allows for little political opposition, "the elite" is selected based on its multifaceted applicability for a political narrative and "the will of the people" is determined from above. The volume also suggests responses to "smart populism". The book will be of particular interest to students and scholars of democracy, party politics the rise of populism and contemporary Hungarian politics.

Compare any two political maps, one from the early twentieth century and one from the present, and you will notice that the world now contains more democracies than it used to. How and why did democracy spread around the world? How do we recognize democracies when we see them? And what does the future of democracy look like? This book shows you how to define and measure democracy, and to identify what democracies have in common. It evaluates important recent trends in democratization and the challenges that face it including: - Democratic decay - Populism, authoritarianism and the far right - Threats posed by global terrorism and sectarian violence - The rise of 'illiberal democracies' - Declining civic participation. Analysing economic development, education, industrialization and other factors, Democratization shows you the internal political, economic and social conditions that help or hinder democratization. Looking at globalization, political aid, military intervention and the 'neighbourhood'-effect, it also explains how external factors put pressure on democratic reform. Covering key theories, such as modernization and democratic peace theory, and with case studies from Indonesia to the Zapatista movement, this is the ideal text for those studying democratization for the first time.