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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political structure & processes > General
D.B. Hardeman Prize From its inception more than half a century ago and for decades afterward, the Central Intelligence Agency was deeply shrouded in secrecy, with little or no real oversight by Congress-or so many Americans believe. David M. Barrett reveals, however, that during the agency's first fifteen years, Congress often monitored the CIA's actions and plans, sometimes aggressively. Drawing on a wealth of newly declassified documents, research at some two dozen archives, and interviews with former officials, Barrett provides an unprecedented and often colorful account of relations between American spymasters and Capitol Hill. He chronicles the CIA's dealings with senior legislators who were haunted by memories of our intelligence failure at Pearl Harbor and yet riddled with fears that such an organization might morph into an American Gestapo. He focuses in particular on the efforts of Congress to monitor, finance, and control the agency's activities from the creation of the national security state in 1947 through the planning for the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961. Along the way, Barrett highlights how Congress criticized the agency for failing to predict the first Soviet atomic test, the startling appearance of Sputnik over American air space, and the overthrow of Iraq's pro-American government in 1958. He also explores how Congress viewed the CIA's handling of Senator McCarthy's charges of communist infiltration, the crisis created by the downing of a U-2 spy plane, and President Eisenhower's complaint that Congress meddled too much in CIA matters. Ironically, as Barrett shows, Congress itself often pushed the agency to expand its covert operations against other nations. The CIA and Congress provides a much-needed historical perspective for current debates in Congress and beyond concerning the agency's recent failures and ultimate fate. In our post-9/11 era, it shows that anxieties over the challenges to democracy posed by our intelligence communities have been with us from the very beginning.
Since the collapse of communism in 1989 Eastern Europe has experienced a fundamental transformation in its economic, political and social institutions. Observers of the region have often viewed the media as little more than instruments of propaganda in the hands of the party-state which can now be easily made into independent sources of communication. However, the function and effects of the media within communist and post-communist Eastern Europe have been more diverse than such generalizations would indicate.
The past half-century has seen many hopes raised and some dashed, a succession of fears and false alarms, and both triumphs and calamities that were almost entirely unexpected. This book offers a short but sweeping history of world politics since 1945: America's postwar preeminence and the hopes that attended the creation of the United Nations; the Cold War and the emergence of a volatile Third World; economic transformations and the twin threat of nuclear and cal disaster; the crumbling of the Soviet system and the short-lived promise of a peaceful, prosperous, and democratic new world. Charles L. Robertson describes these momentous changes concisely but evocatively, in an effort to show how we got here from there and what we might have learned along the way. His use of both documents and memoirs as well as scholarly sources and his avoidance of trendy theories gives this survey solid grounding. The inclusion of maps and annotated reading lists makes the book fully accessible to students and general readers.
The past half-century has seen many hopes raised and some dashed, a succession of fears and false alarms, and both triumphs and calamities that were almost entirely unexpected. This book offers a short but sweeping history of world politics since 1945: America's postwar preeminence and the hopes that attended the creation of the United Nations; the Cold War and the emergence of a volatile Third World; economic transformations and the twin threat of nuclear and cal disaster; the crumbling of the Soviet system and the short-lived promise of a peaceful, prosperous, and democratic new world. Charles L. Robertson describes these momentous changes concisely but evocatively, in an effort to show how we got here from there and what we might have learned along the way. His use of both documents and memoirs as well as scholarly sources and his avoidance of trendy theories gives this survey solid grounding. The inclusion of maps and annotated reading lists makes the book fully accessible to students and general readers.
Rules to live by from Roger Stone, master of political dark arts, advisor to Donald Trump, and subject of the award-winning documentary Get Me Roger Stone Here are the lessons of a lifetime of work helping influence America's politics and culture, learned from working for Richard Nixon and use to help make Donald J. Trump the 45th President of the United States. Roger Stone is a freedom fighter to his admirers, a dirty trickster to his detractors. He is flamboyant, outrageous, articulate, and extraordinarily well-dressed. Here he lays out the maxims that have governed his legendary career as a campaign operative for four American presidents. As a raconteur, pundit, prognosticator, and battle-scarred veteran of America's political wars, Roger Stone shares his lessons on punking liberals and playing the media, gives an inside look at his push to legalize marijuana, details how much "linen" to show at the cuff of an impeccably-cut suit, lays out how and why LBJ orchestrated the murder of JFK, and reveals how to make the truly great marinara sauce that is the foundation of Stone's legendary Sunday Gravy. Along the way, Stone dishes on the "cloak and dagger" nitty-gritty that has guided his own successes and occasional defeats, culminating in the election of the candidate he first pushed for the presidency in 1988, Donald J. Trump. First revealed in the Weekly Standard by Matt Labash and commemorated by CNN's Jeffrey Toobin, the blunt, pointed, and real-world practical Stone's Rules were immortalized in the Netflix smash hit documentary Get Me Roger Stone-part Machiavelli's The Prince, part Sun Tzu's The Art of War, all brought together with a highly-entertaining blend of culinary and sartorial advice from the Jedi Master of political dark arts. From "Attack, attack, attack!" inspired by Winston Churchill, to "Three can keep a secret, if two are dead," taken from the wall of mob boss Carlos Marcello's headquarters, to Stone's own "It is better to be infamous than to never have been famous at all," Roger Stone shares with the world all that he's learned from his decades of political jujitsu and life as a maven of high-style. From Stone's Rules for campaign management to the how-to's of an internet mobilization campaign to advice on custom tailoring to the ingredients for the perfect martini from Dick Nixon's (no-longer) secret recipe, Stone has fashioned the truest operating manual for anyone navigating the rough-and-tumble of business, finance, politics, social engagement, family affairs, and life itself.
The collapse of the Soviet Union had the simultaneous effect of demolishing the international political order of the past half-century, with consequences for all sides. Western policy makers, no less than the leaders of the region, had to reorient themselves to a new world -- knowing that their actions might impact developments in unexpected ways. This concluding volume of the International Politics of Eurasia series takes on the challenge of specifying the forces at work in the International environment of Russia and the New Independent States and gauging the impact of external actors on developments in this region. Among the topics covered are foreign and security policies; relationships with East Asian, Near Eastern, and Western States; and the impact of international economic and financial institutions, development assistance and advisory programs of various kinds, and aid organizations.
The collapse of the Soviet Union had the simultaneous effect of demolishing the international political order of the past half-century, with consequences for all sides. Western policy makers, no less than the leaders of the region, had to reorient themselves to a new world -- knowing that their actions might impact developments in unexpected ways. This concluding volume of the International Politics of Eurasia series takes on the challenge of specifying the forces at work in the International environment of Russia and the New Independent States and gauging the impact of external actors on developments in this region. Among the topics covered are foreign and security policies; relationships with East Asian, Near Eastern, and Western States; and the impact of international economic and financial institutions, development assistance and advisory programs of various kinds, and aid organizations.
For Iran the years since Ayatollah Khomeini's death have been dominated by the need for political consolidation and economic reconstruction.The book assesses the critical dilemmas of the regime both previous to and since the demise of its first spiritual leader. The vital issues of political succession and constitutional reform are addressed, contributing to an analysis of the structures and politics of power. How these have reflected upon economic policy is considered with close atttention being given to the reform policies of Rafsanjani. Foreign policy and security issues are discussed in both regional and global terms and include a study of Iranian defence strategy and its controversial re-armament drive.The final chapter examines the direction and context of all of these major policy areas, providing an analysis of whether the Islamic Republic truly represents a revolutionary alternative for the Third World or whether in fact it has developed in time to fall within a similar mould to other notable revolutions, casting by the wayside any uniquely Islamic agenda and alternatives.At the heart of this study is the belief that the Islamic regime has, since the cease-fire with Iraq, but more specifically since Ayatollah Khomeini's death passed into a new stage of development, referred to in the book as the `Second Republic'.
This is an up-to-the-minute revised edition of a text which, since its publication in 1990, has been extremely influential. The great changes of the past 18 months have entailed a comprehensive updating of the book. This edition takes account of new developments that include the independence of the Baltic states and the treaty which sparked 1991's attempted coup.
Why wasn't Islam the rallying point and battle cry of the
anti-colonial movement in the Sudan? Why did the mainstream
political parties and the first military regime maintain the
'secular' political structures of the colonial state? Why did the
influential parties opt for an 'Islamic constitution' in the 1960s?
Why did Nimeiry's regime change is course? This work attempts to
answer these and related questions.
Shlapentokh undertakes a dispassionate analysis of the ordinary functioning of the Soviet system from Stalin's death through the Soviet collapse and Russia's first post-communist decade. Without overlooking its repressive character, he treats the USSR as a "normal" system that employed both socialist and nationalist ideologies for the purposes of technological and military modernization, preservation of empire, and expansion of its geopolitical power. Foregoing the projection of Western norms and assumptions, he seeks to achieve a clearer understanding of a civilization that has perplexed its critics and its champions alike.
This reader presents over 70 case studies of policy making in Whitehall and Westminster, combining newspaper coverage, official documents, academic analysis and the recollections of participants. Simon James demonstrates the various ways in which policy originates, the way it is shaped within Whitehall, the different modes of parliamentary control, and the problems of implementation and policy review. He illustrates civil servants' part in developing policy, ministers' relations with their departments and their colleagues, and the role of the Prime Minister and cabinet. Case studies help to examine cabinet committees, the influence of pressure groups and select committees as well as the consequences of independent inquiries, the impact of the European Community and the restraining power of parliament and the courts. The case studies range from national controversies such as the pits closure crisis and the "Satanic Verses" affair, through to the hidden side of policy making, including deals struck with pressure groups in Whitehall conference and wrangling in Brussels over the tax on whisky.
This reader presents over 70 case studies of policy making in Whitehall and Westminster, combining newspaper coverage, official documents, academic analysis and the recollections of participants. Simon James demonstrates the various ways in which policy originates, the way it is shaped within Whitehall, the different modes of parliamentary control, and the problems of implementation and policy review. He illustrates civil servants' part in developing policy, ministers' relations with their departments and their colleagues, and the role of the Prime Minister and cabinet. Case studies help to examine cabinet committees, the influence of pressure groups and select committees as well as the consequences of independent inquiries, the impact of the European Community and the restraining power of parliament and the courts. The case studies range from national controversies such as the pits closure crisis and the "Satanic Verses" affair, through to the hidden side of policy making, including deals struck with pressure groups in Whitehall conference and wrangling in Brussels over the tax on whisky.
Analyses the likely future of the EU following next year's Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) which is likely to be even more significant for the future of Europe than the Maastricht Treaty. Since Maastricht it has become clear that future developments are less certain with regard to the EU and integration. The IGC will have to try and resolve tensions such as: "widening" Europe to include former communist countries whislt also trying to "deepen" Europe with increased political and economic integration; providing a framework which is acceptable to a core of countries (Benelux, Germany, France) who favour more integration and an early move to monetary union with countries such as the UK, which does not.
Interest Group Politics in America is a concise, readable, and up-to-date introduction to the study of group power. This third edition of the book gives expanded attention to the changing dynamics of power politics in America; new media venues and grassroots organizing techniques; the role of PACs, referenda, and direct action; and the perennial issue of reform.
First Published in 1997. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
This study examines the nature of two women's activist groups in Madras and their activities since 1979, focusing on their work with the media, slum issues, registration of marriages and initiation of an apprenticeship scheme. But this volume is more than a study of women and their organisations. It is a study of political processes in which women are active, an attempt to discuss women's political behaviour in male-dominated society where official bodies, as well as the academic world, pay attention to 'women's issues' but where women as political actors continue to be invisible.
This study examines the nature of two women's activist groups in Madras and their activists since 1979, focusing on their work on the media, slum issues, registration of marriages and initiation of an apprenticeship scheme. It also studies political processes in which women are involved, attempting to discuss women's political behaviour in male-dominated society where official bodies, as well as the academic world, pay attention to "women's issues" but where women as political actors continue to be invisible.
In this work, ten American and Japanese specialists offer a comprehensive analysis of one of the most dramatic developments in Asia today: the reemergence of Vietnam - not as the belligerent champion of a militant ideology and socialist causes, but as an open, friendly country seeking a respected place in the world community. Basing their observations on five years of study, visits to Vietnam, and numerous interviews with knowledgeable officials, scholars, and businessmen there and in the United States and Japan, the authors evaluate the political, economic, social, and foreign policy changes that have been taking place in Vietnam over the past decade, trace the responses of the United States and Japan, and offer a policy prescription for responding to the challenges of the future. A must read for Asian specialists.
Ten American and Japanese specialists offer a comprehensive analysis of one of the most dramatic developments in Asia today: the reemergence of Vietnam -- not as the belligerent champion of a militant ideology and socialist causes, but as an open, friendly country seeking a respected place in the world community. Basing their observations on five years of study, visits to Vietnam, and numerous interviews with knowledgeable officials, scholars, and businessmen there and in the United States and Japan, the authors evaluate the political, economic, social, and foreign policy changes that have been taking place in Vietnam over the past decade, trace the responses of the United States and Japan and offer a policy prescription for responding to the challenges of the future.
The collapse of the Soviet Union was part of a tumultuous process of imperial disintegration, new state-building, and potential imperial reconstruction unprecedented in recent decades. The daunting task of understanding the forces now in motion in Eurasia requires historical, comparative, interdisciplinary insights. This volume assembles an interdisciplinary group of scholars to construct, deconstruct, and reconstruct the Soviet empire in the context of Tsarist, Hapsburg, Ottoman, British, French and German precedents. Topics include: imperial development (Bruce Parrott and David Lake); imperial disintegration (Roman Szporluk, Soloman Wank and Michael Fry); peripheral successor states (Mark R. Bessinger, Dankwart A. Rustow, Robert I. Rotberg and Ali A. Mazrui); metropolitan successor states (S. Frederick Starr, Carole Find, Miles Kahler; and prospects (Hendrik Spruyt and Karen Dawisha).
The collapse of the Soviet Union was part of a tumultuous process of imperial disintegration, new state-building, and potential imperial reconstruction unprecedented in recent decades. The daunting task of understanding the forces now in motion in Eurasia requires historical, comparative, interdisciplinary insights. This volume assembles an interdisciplinary group of scholars to construct, deconstruct, and reconstruct the Soviet empire in the context of Tsarist, Hapsburg, Ottoman, British, French and German precedents. Topics include: imperial development (Bruce Parrott and David Lake); imperial disintegration (Roman Szporluk, Soloman Wank and Michael Fry); peripheral successor states (Mark R. Bessinger, Dankwart A. Rustow, Robert I. Rotberg and Ali A. Mazrui); metropolitan successor states (S. Frederick Starr, Carole Find, Miles Kahler; and prospects (Hendrik Spruyt and Karen Dawisha).
Think tanks are proliferating. Although they are outside of government, many of these policy research institutes are perceived to influence political thinking and public policy. This book develops ideas about policy networks, epistemic communities and policy learning in relation to think tanks.
Think tanks are proliferating. Although they are outside of government, many of these policy research institutes are perceived to influence political thinking and public policy. This book develops ideas about policy networks, epistemic communities and policy learning in relation to think tanks.
Now fully revised and updated for the second edition, this unique and authoritative account of the party systems in Eastern Europe examines their development from the revolutions of the late 1980s to the present day. The New Democracies in Eastern Europe presents a genuinely comparative perspective on the old and new party systems. Featuring detailed assessment and analysis of the situation in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, the volume draws upon research and opinion from a distinguished group of European scholars. Recognising that many of the social and political problems of the inter-war period continue to make themselves felt, the authors contend that the breakdown of the old authoritarian system was a by-product of a built-in and progressively worsening legitimacy crisis. Despite the great progress made by some East European countries, recent events confirm the view that authoritarianism has not lost its appeal. As an up-to-date and comprehensive survey of political change and development in Eastern Europe - rapidly produced to present the most recent information - this book will be welcomed by researchers, teachers and students. |
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