Vermeer's competently edited volume fills a void in the literature by focusing on mass media in congressional elections. . . . The project is well executed. The quality of the articles varies, but overall this edited collection is important because it addresses a topic which has not been covered very well. Choice Questions about the impact of media advertisements and news coverage on the democratic process are asked with increasing frequency by both the public and concerned professionals and policy-makers. Congressional campaigns and elections in particular have been the subject of much recent scholarly attention. In this volume twelve specialists explore the relationship between mass media and congressional campaigns from a variety of perspectives, covering issues ranging from ethics and ideology to newspaper and television exposure to policy information and advertisements.

This unique study focuses upon a specific component of American presidential rhetoric--how presidents depict the office--and relates that rhetorical tactic to broader questions of politics, public opinion, political symbolism, and presidential power. The work analyzes this specific rhetorical component longitudinally, examining a president's depiction of the office during the presidential campaign, throughout his term in office, and after leaving office. By presenting and analyzing generous examples of presidential rhetoric--from Lyndon Johnson through Bill Clinton--Zernicke offers a revealing look at the symbolic power of the presidency and the use of that power in political terms.

This authoritative study provides the most comprehensive analysis available of the current political, economic, and social situation in Portugal. In his introduction, Maxwell reviews the revolutionary changes of the past ten years. Several authors address the international issues, examining the nature and possible future direction of Portugal's foreign relations in general and her involvements with Spain, Africa, and Western Europe in particular. The potential benefits and disadvantages of Portugal's entry into the European Community are discussed, and the political and economic implications of Portugal's emergence as an important European power are considered. The difficult process of developing democratic institutions in a country beset by resistant social, political, and economic problems is analyzed from various perspectives. The constraints on Portugal's economy are carefully assessed. A chapter on social crisis and the state investigates the complex structure of state/society relationships and how they are affected by political polarization, severe socioeconomic inequalities, and high levels of poverty and illiteracy. Former Prime Minister Francisco Pinto Balsemao offers an inside look at the functioning of the political system and weighs prospects for the success and long term survival of democratic government in Portugal.

This book is committed to provide a holistic view of corruption in the public construction sector, a sector that has been perceived as the most corrupt in the world. Relying on the new findings achieved from a series of qualitative and quantitative studies, this book unveils the specific forms of corruption, the principal causes of corruption, and the prevailing anti-corruption strategies that are used by the current practice. Furthermore, this book provides two metrics that can assess the potential of corruption and the risk of collusion in given public construction projects, respectively. This book will enhance industry and research communities' understandings of corruption in the public construction sector. It is also informative to policy-makers and can help them come up with some more effective strategies to eliminate corruption in the public construction sector.

This book is a balanced account of the political, diplomatic, and military currents that influenced Japan's attempts to surrender and the United States's decision to drop the atomic bombs. Based on extensive research in both the United States and Japan, this book allows the reader to follow the parallel decision-making in Tokyo and Washington that contributed to lost opportunities that might have allowed a less brutal conclusion to the war. Topics discussed and analyzed include Japan's desperate military situation; its decision to look to the Soviet Union to mediate the conflict; the Manhattan Project; the debates within Truman's Administration and the armed forces as to whether to modify unconditional surrender terms to include retention of Emperor Hirohito and whether to plan for the invasion of Japan's home islands or to rely instead on blockade and bombing to force the surrender.

To a degree unique among democracies, the United States has always placed responsibility for running national elections in the hands of county, city, and town officials. "The Way We Vote" explores the causes and consequences of America's localized voting system, explaining its historical development and its impact on American popular sovereignty and democratic equality.

The book shows that local electoral variation has endured through dramatic changes in American political and constitutional structure, and that such variation is the product of a clear, repeated developmental pattern, not simple neglect or public ignorance. Legal materials, statutes and Congressional debates, state constitutional-convention proceedings, and the records of contested Congressional elections illuminate a long record of federal and state intervention in American electoral mechanics. Lawmakers have always understood that a certain level of disorder characterizes U.S. national elections, and have responded by exercising their authority over suffrage practices--but only in limited ways, effectively helping to construct our triply-governed electoral system.

Recent technological advancements have made it possible to use moderated discussion threads on social media to provide citizens with a means of discussion concerning issues that involve them. With the renewed interest in devising new methods for public involvement, the use of such communication tools has caused some concern on how to properly apply them for strategic purposes. The Handbook of Research on Using New Media for Citizen Engagement provides emerging research exploring the theoretical and practical aspects of how social media should be added to public-involvement activities such as citizen juries, public deliberation, and citizen panels. Readers will be offered insights into the critical design considerations for planning, carrying out, and assessing public-involvement initiatives. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as citizen journalism, online activism, and public discourse, this book is ideally designed for corporate professionals, broadcasters, news writers, column editors, politicians, policy managers, government administrators, academicians, researchers, practitioners, and students in the fields of political science, communications, sociology, mass media and broadcasting, public administration, and community-service learning.

On March 4, 1789, New York City's church bells pealed, cannons fired, and flags snapped in the wind to celebrate the date set for the opening of the First Federal Congress. In many ways the establishment of Congress marked the culmination of the American Revolution as the ship of state was launched from the foundation of the legislative system outlined in Article I of the Constitution.
"Inventing Congress" presents the latest scholarship on the interrelated intellectual, institutional, cultural, and political antecedents of the formation of the First Federal Congress. The first section covers the origins of the body, ranging in discussion from the question of how the founders' understanding of classical Greek and Roman republican precedent shaped their thinking, to the political lessons learned during the Continental and Confederation Congresses.
The second section concerns itself with the establishment of the First Federal Congress, examining several heretofore little-treated aspects of the most important Congress in history, including its relationship to the press, morality, the arts and sciences, and economic philosophy.
"Inventing Congress" represents the papers from the first two conferences sponsored by the United States Capitol Historical Society in its series, "Perspectives on the History of Congress, 1789-1801."

This book is the first full-length work to present debates over the constitutional amending process as a perennial theme in American political thought. Beginning with a discussion of the views of political philosophers, publicists, and legal commentators who may have influenced the views of legal change held by the American Founding Fathers, the work proceeds to look at the historical influences on and discussions surrounding the amending process that was incorporated into Article V of the U.S. Constitution. The reader will gain a new respect for the way the amending process has served and still serves as a safety valve for constitutional change in the United States without permitting ill-considered or hastily conceived modifications. This work will be of interest to political scientists, historians, and students of American studies and legal history.

Based on first-hand interviews, this is an in-depth look at the people under 35 years old who run for office in the US. Award-winning journalist John Celock interviewed over ninety young leaders across America serving in various capacities, from Vice President and Governor to Senator and County Legislator, to provide an in-depth look at the challenges of political participation for young elected officials. The interviews are complemented by extensive research to answer such questions as why do young people run for office? What personal obstacles do they face as they seek office? Does age affect policymaking? A lively work that connects academic research with practical politics, "The Next Generation" includes a range of stories, from Steven Fulop who left Goldman Sachs following 9/11 to become a Marine to Jane Swift, the first governor to give birth while in office. The thematically organized chapters offer a thorough look at the political process across the United States, providing key information for anyone interested in state and local politics, political participation, and American government.

Calabresi complains that we are "choking on statutes" and proposes a restoration of the courts and their common law function. From a series of lectures given by Calabresi as part of The Oliver Wendell Holmes Lectures delivered at Harvard Law School in March 1977.

The United States had tremendous opportunities after World War II. The nation's industrial might, geared to defeat Germany and Japan, could now be focused on domestic production. Real wages were up, the GNP was on the rise, industrial production was up, and inflation was under control. The future looked bright for the average American. But this abundance was punctuated with anxiety. Within four years of the end of the war, the Soviet Union had become the new enemy: they had the bomb and China and Eastern Europe had fallen into the Soviet sphere of influence. These two points, the abundance of the growing economy and the anxiety of the Cold War, defined the period from 1945-1960.

An assessment of the situation of Europe and German unification at the beginning of the 1990s. The author identifies fundamental issues and documents, with the use of quotations and extracts and the decisions of those directly involved. The book also identifies and describes various organizations that form Germany's "European" framework.

This book improves understandings of how and why clientelism endures in Latin America and why state policy is often ineffective. Political scientists and sociologists, the contributors employ ethnography, targeted interviews, case studies, within-case and regional comparison, thick descriptions, and process tracing.

Designed for undergraduate students, this reader combines essays on actual causes and issues that mobilize activists with theory and concepts of social mobilization. "The Global Activism Reader" is a unique collection of essays that introduce the various causes, actors, and organization of transnational mobilization to provide a broad, accessible survey of cases and theory. Beginning with concepts and definitions, the reader offers some historical perspective before focusing on contemporary transnational activism. This core section includes major causes or issue areas and specific campaigns. Readings on any given issue always include a critical or dissident voice. Weaving theory with case studies, the work discusses the environment, human rights, women's rights, arms control and disarmament, global justice and democracy, and religion. In addition, each essay features an introduction and conclusion by the editor as well as suggestions for further readings. The Reader addresses undergraduate students in political science and international relations in such courses as transnational activism, globalization, and global policy. It will allow students not only to learn about various contemporary movements, but also to develop a theoretical perspective to understand them.

This book is a unique collection of high quality articles analysing legal issues with particular regard to small states. The small states of the world differ considerably in their geography, history, political structures, legal systems and wealth. Nevertheless, because of their size, small states face a set of common challenges including vulnerability to external economic impacts such as changing trade regimes and limited ability to diversify economic activity; limited public and private sector capacity, including the legal and judicial infrastructure; a need for regional co-operation; a vulnerability to environmental changes as well as a limited ability to engage with supranational bodies and the forces of globalisation. This is the first volume of an exciting and unique new series, The World of Small States. In this work, legal experts from small jurisdictions and those with a particular interest in legal issues facing small states explore inter alia ethics in small jurisdictions, legal education and the profession in small states, the challenges facing small states with mixed legal systems, the constitutional arrangements in small states, small states as tax havens, and intellectual property and competition law issues.

This text uses the tools of narratology to analyze Reagan's presidential leadership from the perspective of storytelling, it explains how stories were used to revitalize the belief of the people in America. It examines how Reagan spun a web of stories combining beliefs to create America as an object of belief.

To the ongoing assessment of our current procedures for nominating presidential candidates, John Geer brings historical perspective, a careful evaluation of the accumulating evidence, and much good sense. The result is a book that challenges widely held beliefs and that will instruct all those with an interest in presidential nominations, whether as reporters, candidates, students, or citizens. "Stanley Kelley, Jr., Princeton University"

In a clearly written and wide-ranging study Geer] presents a wealth of data and conclusions. Using often original criteria, Geer concludes that voters in primaries are not very unrepresentative of appropriate control groups and that they base their votes on the personal characteristics of the candidates. Moreover, he demonstrates the conditions under which participation rates and information levels will be high. In the last part of the book, Geer discusses the role of the media and how the rules tend to undermine the ability of voters to cast meaningful votes. The author concludes with a call for regional primaries, for a greater role for party leaders, and for some ballot reforms. . . . Geer has produced a useful reference work that can stimulate undergraduate discussions. "Choice"

Are voters in presidential primaries truly qualified to choose the nominees? Although in recent years many concerned citizens, scholars, and writers have posed this question and much attention has been focussed on the subject, until Nominating Presidents there has not been an in-depth treatment of the qualifications of voters in presidential primaries. This groundbreaking study presents and systematically examines a formidable array of data on voters in primaries, including evidence from the 1988 presidential nomination. Geer examines survey research, aggregate data and more. To aid in the interpretation of these data, Geer develops a set of standards for assessing the qualifications of voters in presidential primaries. His findings suggest that although voters are more qualified than previous studies have shown, there are still problems using voters to nominate candidates. He therefore proposes a new system of selection that should overcome these problems. The real significance of this study, however, is not the proposed system of presidential nominations, but the detailed assessment of voters in presidential primaries.

The text is enhanced by more than twenty tables that present graphic information on subjects ranging from the influence of presidential primaries from 1912 to 1988; the ideological composition of voters in presidential primaries; causes and percent of turnout in presidential primaries; and various aspects of news media coverage, among others. Three helpful appendices define turnout variables, describe survey questions, and review the coding of open ended comments. "Nominating Presidents" will be of particular interest to those in the fields of political science and American political history as well as to students and teachers of courses in electoral behavior, campaigns and elections, and American political parties.

Sheckels provides the first book-length study of Congressional debating. The limited work on the topic in the communication discipline has argued that such debating is tedious and inconsequential. Sheckels, however, offers a new paradigm, derived from the work of Mikhail Bakhtin, that counteracts this assumption. This paradigm also counters the often unvoiced assumption that debates are inherently biopolar with the initial premise that they are instead polyphonic. The polyphony, however, goes beyond the recognition of the multiple speakers who participate and the drama they enact, to the awareness of the voices these speakers introduce within their discourse. These voices range from the words of authorities to the narratives of average Americans, from classical prosopopoeia to what Bakhtin terms stylization. Speakers also sometimes enact what Bakhtin terms double-voiced discourse; furthermore, there are moments of what Bakhtin terms carnivalesque energy. Bakhtin's work finally alerts the critic to the illusion of finalizability in Congressional debates.

After outlining this paradigm, Sheckels uses it to examine six Congressional debates, ranging in date from a 1960 Senate filibuster on a civil rights matter to the 1999 House debate on articles of impeachment and includes analyses of such flash points as the Confederate flag, sexual harassment in the military, and partial-birth abortion. These case studies reveal both the utility and the flexibility of the Bakhtinian perspective. Thoughtful analyses that will be of great interest to scholars and researchers involved with rhetoric and political communication.

In the waning moments of the 1973 session, Washington's state legislators voted salary increases for all elected officials. Charles H. Sheldon and Frank P. Weaver (who was one of the special judges) provide a unique insider's account of this important episode.