The American national debt stands at $20.49 trillion as of January 2018, or roughly $63,000 for every person in the United States. The national debt has grown six-fold in the past 25 years, and borrowing only has accelerated in recent administrations. What are the factors driving such unrestrained borrowing? Is American fiscal policy different now than in an earlier era? Is there a moral dimension to public debt and, if so, how can that dimension be measured? Public Debt and the Common Good addresses these and other questions by looking to the fiscal policy of the American states. Drawing on classical themes and the longest quantitative review of state debt in the literature, James Odom expertly integrates institutional analysis with dimensions of culture to define the parameters of political freedom in a theoretically coherent way. In doing so, Odom argues that centralization and injustice, or the incapacity for the common good, can help explain state indebtedness. Contributing to ongoing scholarly debates on public debt theory, this book will be of interest to students, scholars, and practitioners who work at the intersection of political philosophy and economics, as well as those who specialize in state public policy, state politics, and federalism more generally.

The investigation of the internal workings of interest groups opens the view on the behavioural dynamics within these organisations. By analysing their intraorganisational structures, this book explains how groups prepare to become active in the European Union and why we observe contact, conflict and cooperation of interest groups and other political actors in the European arena. The book presents four causal mechanisms which explain, on the one hand, why interest groups engage with contacts across a diverse set of political actors and, on the other hand, why some interest organisations are more actionable at the European level than others. It furthermore elaborates a typology of interest groups along intraorganisational criteria. The analysis of twelve differing case studies provides a rich empirical ground to explain how and why certain intraorganisational processes unfold within interest groups. It thereby sheds light on the behavioural organisational patterns which drive interest group agency in European multi-level politics. This book will be of key interest to students and scholars of interest groups, lobbying, European Union politics and more broadly to public policy/administration and comparative politics.

In 2009 the US House of Representatives passed legislation requiring reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 18 percent over the coming decade. Later that year, President Obama went to Copenhagen to sign a treaty requiring reductions by 50 percent over a two-decade period. The President came back with nothing: no firm commitment to reduce emissions and only a vague target to hold global temperature rises to under 2 C. How does a President who has a 75-vote majority in the House and a 19-vote majority in the Senate who has pre-approval for a treaty reducing greenhouse gas production by 18 percent not achieve a treaty with at least the minimum goal of 18 percent reductions by 2020?Others have answered the puzzle by looking at institutional designs or negotiation dynamics. This book articulates a multilevel process that starts with local politics to explain how they can influence international negotiations and why President Obama s efforts in Copenhagen were doomed to fail. Understanding the role of local private interests can help form strategies for overcoming national resistance to climate change legislation and ultimately international agreements that could change the environmentally self-destructive course we are on."

The main area of sustained populist growth in recent decades has been Western Europe, where populist parties have not only endured longer than expected, but have increasingly begun to enter government. Focusing on three high-profile cases in Italy and Switzerland - the Popolo della Liberta (PDL), Lega Nord (LN) and Schweizerische Volkspartei (SVP) - Populists in Power is the first in-depth comparative study to examine whether these parties are indeed doomed to failure in office as many commentators have claimed. Albertazzi and McDonnell's findings run contrary to much of the received wisdom. Based on extensive original research and fieldwork, they show that populist parties can be built to last, can achieve key policy victories and can survive the experience of government, without losing the support of either the voters or those within their parties. Contributing a new perspective to studies in populist politics, Populists in Power is essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as scholars interested in modern government, parties and politics.

Since the advent of the Second Republic in Italy in the mid-1990s, a new generation of politicians has announced a shift in the system toward greater governmental leadership, policy innovation, government accountability and responsiveness to the citizens. Yet in recent years government has experienced frequent crises and deadlocks, policy blockades and undisciplined parliamentary majorities. Has the attempt to change the nature of the Italian government totally failed? This book addresses this question by empirically assessing and theoretically evaluating the outcomes of the new system. It asks whether there has really been a shift toward a more majoritarian democracy and examines why alternation in power has failed to produce a more efficient and responsive government. It evaluates the connections between cabinet, parliament, parties and citizens, and in doing so, brings together diverse areas of inquiry such as government, legislative, party and public opinion studies. Drawing from comparative theory but also considering the impact of country-specific determinants, it explains the very nature of the Italian government from the point of view of its achievements and its failures. This text will be of key interest to scholars and students of government, comparative and Italian politics, and more broadly those with an interest in government, democracy and Italy.

Updated to take into account the post-war political landscape, this book, consisting of some undelivered lectures originally dating from 1929, discusses the meaning and place of liberty and freedom in a global post-war context.

Over the last twenty years, the role of national parliaments in EU affairs has gained considerable academic attention. Much of the literature, however, has focused on parliamentary scrutiny and control in EU affairs. What tends to be generally overlooked is that the parliamentary communication function is at least as important in EU politics as the control function. Democratic legitimacy depends on a vibrant public debate on political solutions and alternatives to allow citizens to make informed political (electoral) choices and to exercise democratic control. Within the EU, it is precisely the opacity of policy-making processes and the lack of public discourse that have been defined as core problems of democratic legitimacy. Here, parliaments have the potential to provide an ideal arena for the deliberation of important European issues and thus to help overcome the much-lamented distance between European policy processes and the citizens. Yet, despite parliaments' central relevance for the legitimacy of European politics, the parliamentary communication function remains so far under researched. The volume aims at filling this gap by providing both qualitative and quantitative comparative data on various communication efforts by national parliaments. This book was originally published as a special issue in the Journal of Legislative Studies.

The role of external powers and international bodies in efforts to break patterns of conflict and to install stable and durable peace settlements is well known. This book focuses on an unusual case where the sovereign state and a neighbour state help broker an agreed settlement in a disputed and conflictual region. It analyses the roles of the British and Irish governments in pursuing political stability in Northern Ireland, a disputed region of the United Kingdom over which the Irish state has had a territorial claim.

The book focuses on the changes in the British state, whose writ extends over Northern Ireland, but also the Irish state, which surrendered a strong formal but ineffective claim to jurisdiction over Northern Ireland for the reality of a significant voice in its political future. These changes ultimately facilitated the process of settlement leading to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, and the later transformation of institutions and political relations in Northern Ireland and between the UK and Ireland. It innovates by using a new oral archive of elite interviews built up over the past decade.

The authors of the various chapters address a range of dimensions in which these changes are reflected. These include new interpretations of the dynamics of the Northern Ireland conflict and in particular of the evolving British-Irish relationship, new perspectives on the positions of governments and parties, and new analyses of the contribution of cross-border contacts in two areas where consequences are likely to be indirect but profound: television broadcasting and business cooperation.

This book was published as a special issue of Irish Political Studies.

Scholars and policymakers have long known that there is a strong link between human development and spending on key areas such as education and health. However, many states still neglect these considerations in favour of competing priorities, such as expanding their armies. This book examines how states arrive at these decisions, analysing how democratic accountability influences public spending and impacts on human development. The book shows how the broader paradigm of democratic accountability - extending beyond political democracy to also include bureaucratic and judicial institutions as well as taxation and other modes of resource mobilisation - can best explain how states allocate public resources for human development. Combining cross-country regression analysis with exemplary case studies from Pakistan, India, Botswana and Argentina, the book demonstrates that enhancing human capabilities requires not only effective party competition and fair elections, but also a particular nesting of public organisational structures that are tied to taxpaying citizens in an undisturbed chain of accountability. It draws out vital lessons for institutional design and our approach to the question of human development, particularly in the less developed states. This book will be of great interest to postgraduate students and researchers in the fields of political economy, public policy, governance, and development. It also provides valuable insights for those working in the international relations field, including inside major aid and investment organisations.

Very topical, hoping to publish not long after the anniversary of the Capitol Riots. Offers multiple readings of a single event, and a variety of methodologies. Offers a strong balance between well-established paradigms for analyzing political contexts and recent theorizations of new/social media.

Recent research in Africa has shown a wide range of political systems, from small societies of wandering hunters to large states of several million people comparable with mediaeval European feudal kingdoms. In between are many societies in which a central government is lacking; the political system is based upon a balance of power between many small groups, which with their lack of classes or specialized political offices, have been called 'ordered anarchies'. First published in 1958.

Focusing on the work of Sri Lankan legislators, this book offers a model of representation in examining parliamentary systems, especially those found in the Third World. It explores an important part of legislators' responsibilities as the country seeks to decentralize its development planning.

Germany and Austria since 1814 presents an accessible overview of the distinctive historical experiences undergone by both Germany and Austria during this period. Beginning in 1814 with the Congress of Vienna and ending two centuries later with the consequences and ongoing challenges of German and European unification, this book focuses on political history and traces the development of liberal parliamentary democracy in Germany and Austria through to the modern Federal Republic of Germany and Second Austrian Republic, contextualising the Nazi period in both countries. Particular emphasis has been placed on exploring major developments, their causes, and the relationships between them.

Fully revised, this new edition has been expanded to include a new final chapter outlining developments in both Germany and Austria from 1990 to the current day, including recent elections, as well as modifications and updates to other earlier chapters.

Features include:

• Nine chapters, each analysing a distinct historical period and providing a timeline of the key events for quick reference and orientation
• Overviews of the main developments in European and World history at the beginning of each chapter, providing international context crucial to a broader understanding of historical events
• Authentic extracts from contemporary German political texts in the original language
• Topics for discussion provided in every chapter
• A guide to further reading and key internet resources for further research
• A combined glossary of German terms.

Germany and Austria since 1814" provides the essential historical context necessary for an understanding of these pivotal European countries today. It will be invaluable for undergraduate students taking courses in German, History and Area Studies.

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Subnational political units are growing in influence in national and international affairs, drawing increasing scholarly attention to politics beyond national capitals. In this book, leading Russian and Western political scientists contribute to debates in comparative politics by examining Russia's subnational politics. Beginning with a chapter that reviews major debates in theory and method, this book continues to examine Russia's 83 regions, exploring a wide range of topics including the nature and stability of authoritarian regimes, federal politics, political parties, ethnic conflict, governance and inequality in a comparative perspective. Providing both qualitative and quantitative data from 20 years of original research, the book draws on elite interaction, public opinion and the role of institutions regionally in the post-Soviet years. The regions vary on a number of theoretically interesting dimensions while their federal membership provides control for other dimensions that are challenging for globally comparative studies. The authors demonstrate the utility of subnational analyses and show how regional research can help answer a variety of political questions, providing evidence from Russia that can be used by specialists on other large countries or world regions in cross-national scholarship. Situated within broader theoretical and methodological political science debates, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Russian politics, comparative politics, regionalism and subnational politics.

This book provides a comparative study of the legislatures of small nations, states and territories, to explore the extent to which size is a factor in how they function and fulfil the roles and responsibility of a legislature. Though the physical nature and environment of states is a neglected subject in political science research, this book examines the impact of small state size on the structure and functions of legislatures and contributes to a better understanding of the interplay of physical and social factors. Focussing on legislatures in democratic nations or in territories that are parts of democratic units, the book features case studies on Malta, Bermuda, Jersey, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, the Isle of Man, Commonwealth Caribbean, Nunavut (Canada), Pacific islands, Swaziland, and Scotland. Contributors employ an interdisciplinary approach to examine both the outcomes and causes of different political mechanisms, and bring to the surface underlying correlation between small states through their analysis. Legislatures of Small States will be of interest to students and scholars of international politics, comparative politics and legislative studies.

First published in 1997, this volume discusses the conditions for contemporary and future unionism in the light of recent economic, political and managerial changes. It presents theoretical and empirical research from Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, Sweden and the United States. Part 2 provides a rich international description of threats and challenges to contemporary and future unionism. Part 3 focuses on union strategical and structural change. Part 4 is concerned with the consequences of the changing union environment for member-union relations. Magnus Sverke and the contributors here present research addressing how the changing environmental conditions affect unions and their members and demonstrate the importance of applying an international and multi-disciplinary perspective on the analysis of these issues.

This book asks the fundamental question of how new human rights issues emerge in the human rights debate. To answer this, the book focuses on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and on the case study of LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) rights. The work argues that the way in which NGOs decide their advocacy, conceptualise human rights violations and strategically present legal analysis to advance LGBTI human rights shapes the human rights debate. To demonstrate this, the book analyses three data sets: NGO written statements submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council, NGO oral statements delivered during the Universal Periodic Review and 36 semi-structured interviews with NGO staff. Data are analysed with a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches to discover what issues are most important for LGBTI networks (issue emergence) and how these issues are framed (issue framing). Along with NGO efficiency in lobbying for the emergence of new human rights standards, the book inevitably discusses important questions related to NGOs’ accountability and democratic legitimacy. The book thus asks whether the right to marry is important for LGBTI advocates working transnationally, because this right is particularly controversial among activists and LGBTI communities, especially in non-Western contexts.

David Lane outlines succinctly yet comprehensively the development and transformation of state socialism. While focussing on Russia and the countries of Eastern Europe, he also engages in a discussion of the Chinese path. In response to the changing social structure and external demands, he outlines different scenarios of reform. He contends that European state socialism did not collapse but was consciously dismantled. He brings out the West's decisive support of the reform process and Gorbachev's significant role in tipping the balance of political forces in favour of an emergent ascendant class. In the post-socialist period, he details developments in the economy and politics. He distinguishes different political and economic trajectories of countries of the former USSR, the New Member States of the European Union, and China; and he notes the attempts to promote further change through 'coloured' revolutions. The book provides a detailed account not only of the unequal impact of transformation on social inequality which has given rise to a privileged business and political class, but also how far the changes have fulfilled the promise of democracy promotion, wealth creation and human development. Finally, in the context of globalisation, the author considers possible future political and economic developments for Russia and China. Throughout the author, a leading expert in the field, brings to bear his deep knowledge of socialist countries, draws on his research on the former Soviet Union, and visits to nearly all the former state socialist countries, including China.

Presidential transitions offer the chance for new ideas, policies, and people to inhabit the White House. Transitions have triggered policy change for decades and eager interest groups have sought ways to capitalize on this often chaotic phase of US politics. President-Elect Barack Obama declared that lobbyists would be forbidden from serving his transition and issued stiff regulations and rules to limit their access to the planning for his White House. Yet even though Obama's efforts mirror previous Presidents anti-lobbyist efforts, all Presidential transitions provide certain channels of influence, and Obama himself chose the head of a powerful and politically oriented think tank, the Center for American Progress, to run his transition. New Presidents need the information, ideas, and political capital that groups possess. Thus a curious paradox. Using an innovative mixed methodology integrating a historical analysis of original documents, original interviews with over 40 interest group leaders and transition leaders, a survey of 300 interest groups and content analysis of 300 interest group letters, Lobbying the New President uncovers the politics of interest group influence during Presidential transitions. In doing so, Heath Brown asks: Was the role played by Heritage in 1980 and CAP in 2008 indicative of a pattern of influence during the transition phase? Or have Presidents effectively shielded themselves from outside influence at the earliest point of their time in office? What can we learn about the larger study of interest groups and the Presidency from a focus on the transition phase? This book is a valuable resource that goes beyond the field of presidency studies which American politics scholars as well as public policy specialists should not go without.

Laski s magnum opus, this volume outlines the history and functions of state institutions which (in the author s view) are desirable for the effective functioning of a democracy. Topics discussed include: The necessity of government; state and society; rights and power; liberty and equality; property as a theory of industrial organisation; the nature of nationalism; law as a source of authority; the functions of international organisations. "

The horrors of the past century have done little to advance appreciation for the virtues of Western civilization. Criticism of the West has mounted and the West itself has lost sight of its uniqueness. Westerners tend to endow other societies with liberal philosophy and practices. While politically profitable, this fails to educate these societies about their own civilizations' contributions to the idea of a common humanity, human rights, and the legitimacy of dissent and diversity.

John M. Headley argues for the West's uniqueness and universality, while critiquing multiculturalism's failure to recognize these special characteristics. He looks to civilization rather than to the nation-state as the source of the West's achievements, arguing that its uniqueness was evident from its beginnings.

Headley also seeks to advance the ever-contentious discussion about secularization. He sees secularization as a neutralizing force regarding the religions of other civilizations, allowing them to accept Western influence, which thus becomes universal. To understand secularization and how it operates from a naturalistic perspective, one must see civilization itself as a defining element in world affairs.

Can twenty-first century global challenges be met through the limited adaptation of existing political institutions and prevailing systemic norms, or is a more fundamental reconstitution of governing authority unavoidable? Are the stresses evident in domestic social compacts capable of undermining the fundamental policy capacity of contemporary governments? This book, inspired by the work of the distinguished scholar Peter J. Katzenstein, examines these important and pressing questions. In a period of complex political transition, the authors combine original research and intensive dialogue to build on Katzenstein's innovative insights. They highlight his seminal work on variations in domestic structures, on the role of ideologies of social partnership, on the regionally differentiated foundations of political legitimation, on diverse conceptions of "civilization," and on the idea and practice of power in a tenuous American imperium. Together, the chapters map the complex terrain upon which legitimate political authority and effective policy capacity will have to be reconstituted to address twenty-first-century global, regional and state-level challenges. The book will be of great interest to students and scholars in international organization, global governance, foreign policy analysis, and comparative politics.

This book delves into the research-policy nexus as it relates to development in Africa. It does so by examining four country-cases - Botswana, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya and Zambia - while referring to South Africa as a possible exemplar case.

The book reaffirms that the majority of governments in Africa spend less than one per cent of their GDP on research and development (R&D) despite the commitment to raise their research funding levels contained in the Lagos Plan of Action (1980). Hence, reliance on external funding for research persists on the continent. To manage research engagements and public funds, Science Granting Councils (SGCs) have been established. These institutions are held accountable for how public funds are spent and how the research they fund contributes to the advancement of society.

To-date, the SGCs and researchers have demonstrated in various ways how funded research contributes to the advancement of society. However, there appear to be differences in opinion amongst key stakeholders in terms of what constitutes research priorities as well as expectations in terms of the returns on research investments made.

This book brings to the fore the importance of research and its outcome on societal development, and reveals the stake that African governments hold in the process. The book encourages African governments to show greater commitment to providing funding for research on the continent.

This is critical if governments are to assume a lead role in the continent's development agenda. It would also set the stage for partnerships with other stakeholders, including industry and funding organisations. Researchers are also encouraged to work closely with the SGCs to ensure the valorisation of research products for societal benefit. This has a potential to unlock more funding for research in Africa which, in turn, would drive the development of the continent.

This book provides a theoretical and comparative analysis of federalism and federations in plurinational democracies, examining how states with distinct peoples and communities coexist (or not). Through a theoretical approach to democracy and federalism, and interdisciplinary analysis of plurinationality in state organization, including case studies of the UK, Russia, Canada, Belgium, India, Spain, Switzerland and Bolivia, this text assesses the possibilities and limits of federalism as a way to recognize and accommodate multinationalism in plurinational democracies. It evaluates a range of strategies used by states to support national, ethnic, linguistic or religious collectives in present-day liberal democracies. Leading scholars in the field evaluate the institutional and practical repercussions regarding the issue of recognition and accommodation of national minorities in a globalised world, through different theoretical perspectives to build up a detailed picture of problems and solutions to multinationalism. Looking both within and beyond the state, this is an invaluable examination of dilemmas and institutional challenges faced by many modern democracies. Federalism, Plurinationality and Democratic Constitutionalism will be of interest to students, researchers and scholars of democracy, nationalism, federalism and constitutionalism.

In the Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion (1992), John Zaller set out one of the most influential models of opinion formation: he presented the public as a pliable instrument of political elites, who are able to garner support simply by sending "cues" through the mass media telling Republicans or Democrats, for example, what "the" Republican or Democratic position is on a given issue. Contributors to this volume critically examine Zaller s model and its implications, empirical and normative. The introduction contrasts two different strands in Zaller s book, one of which confines the impact of media messages to politicians cues, the other of which emphasizes the impact of journalists interpretive frames. Other chapters examine whether elite domination of public opinion is desirable and assess how well Zaller s model has withstood two decades of research. Zaller himself contributes a long retrospective in which he modifies some claims, defends others, and sets out a bold new research agenda.

This book was published as a special issue of Critical Review: A Journal of Politics and Society."