Authority and Participation in a New Democracy focuses on the changes undergone by Mapai, Israel's first ruling party, during Israel's first years of independence, then analyzes the effects of these changes in relation to Israeli political culture. Bareli's main claim is that it was only during this period that a hierarchically-organized group of leaders succeeded in imposing its dominance, fostering obedience within the party and creating oligarchic characteristics in Israel's democracy. The influence of the kibbutz movement, the moshavim movement and of urban intelligentsia-- who represented the opposite political view of participatory democracy--was reduced to a minimum. This process would have a profound impact on issues of equality, on the relations between veteran Israelis and immigrants from both European and Islamic countries, and on social and civic norms.

In today's "trial by media" election campaigns, do you have to be crazy to run for higher office? Looking back over the past 25 years, Stanley Renshon provides the first comprehensive account of how the issue of character has come to dominate presidential campaigns. He traces two related but distinctive approaches to a candidate's psychology: mental health and character. Drawing on his clinical and political science training, Renshon has devised a theory which will allow the public to better evaluate the personal and leadership qualities of presidential candidates.

In an effort to understand how and why democratically elected governments evade the limitations that democratic accountability and popular participation place on them, Undoing Democracy examines how democratic rule was undermined in Nicaragua in the 1990's. David Close and Kalowatie Deonandan focus their analysis on the pact struck between the country's two main parties, the Liberals and the Sandinistas, which allowed the passage of the constitutional amendments that weakened Nicaragua's basic political institutions. The authors also consider, in detail, the country's political economy as well as the roles played by civil society, the Catholic Church, and NGOs. Undoing Democracy will sharpen our understanding of democratic transition and consolidation, and will serve as an important contribution to the literature on Nicaragua, Latin American politics, and democratization.

Bomberg argues the 'greening' of European politics and the advancement of European integration are inextricably linked and that the EU presents a strategic dilemma to Green parties. In short, how can Greens reconcile their radical, alternative politics with the EU's mainstream, traditional institutions and practices? Bomberg's analysis is based on over 100 interviews with leading green politicians, NGO members, environmental and industrial lobbyists, EU officials and MEPs. She includes appendices showing profiles of green parties in European countries, and key policy-making institutions

Bomberg argues the 'greening' of European politics and the advancement of European integration are inextricably linked and that the EU presents a strategic dilemma to Green parties. In short, how can Greens reconcile their radical, alternative politics with the EU's mainstream, traditional institutions and practices? Bomberg's analysis is based on over 100 interviews with leading green politicians, NGO members, environmental and industrial lobbyists, EU officials and MEPs. She includes appendices showing profiles of green parties in European countries, and key policy-making institutions

Political parties are the fabric of democratic politics. In 1991 a new Russia emerged after seven decades of one-party dictatorship, claiming to be on the road towards democracy. In this volume the authors analyse the many contradictions, dilemmas, and paradoxes of reconstituting free party politics and democratic rule in a severely traumatized country. Frequently from a comparative perspective they deal with a range of topics, from the behaviour of the new parties in parliament, the role of ideology in cementing party organizations, to the character and prospects of the transient Russian party system.

Political parties are the fabric of democratic politics. In 1991 a new Russia emerged after seven decades of one-party dictatorship, claiming to be on the road towards democracy. In this volume the authors analyse the many contradictions, dilemmas, and paradoxes of reconstituting free party politics and democratic rule in a severely traumatized country. Frequently from a comparative perspective they deal with a range of topics, from the behaviour of the new parties in parliament, the role of ideology in cementing party organizations, to the character and prospects of the transient Russian party system.

The first book of its kind to provide an accessible overview of the changes Citizens United brought to political campaigns and political representation, it combines rigorous academic research with many examples of ongoing trends from the campaign trail. Even though campaign finance involves complex legal issues, the book is set up to be engaging for both students of political campaigns and American politics, as well as civically engaged citizens who want to learn more about outside groups and their impact on campaigns and public policy. The book makes the case that Super PACs and dark money groups qualify as game changers of political campaigns not only because of what these groups can do independently from candidates and their increasing ability to match or even exceed candidates' financial resources, but because their actions influence the political incentives and strategies of candidates and political parties. We also point out evidence that those changes go beyond campaigns-they affect how legislators represent their constituents; how donors put pressure on lawmakers to adopt certain legislation after outside groups supported them; how the regulatory environment can benefit donors as a result of actions taken by federal agencies to repeal or dismantle existing laws; and how extreme positions by politicians can be incentivized and progress stalled when megadonors and outside groups reward political ideologues. Our hope is that this text inspires readers to draw their own conclusions about the effects the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision has had and continues to have on the inner workings of American democracy. Some may even feel moved to take action that will empower ordinary citizens who want to have more of a voice in the democratic process. Given the high stakes associated with elections and the political changes they can bring due to the highly polarized political environment we live in, we believe that this book will add value to not only courses focusing on campaigns, elections, interest groups, and political communication, but also other courses such as introductory American Government courses.

Contents:
1. Introduction, Paul Pennings and Jan-Erik Lane
PART 1: COMPARING PARTY SYSTEM CHANGE
2. Electoral Instability and Party System Change in Western Europe,Svante Ersson and Jan-Erik Lane 3. Coalitional Potential and Governmental Power,Stefano Bartolini 4. Parties, Party Systems and Policy Effects,Uwe Wagschal 5. The Triad of Party System Change: Votes, Office and Policy, Paul Pennings
PART II: CHANGE AND STABILITY IN ESTABLISHED SYSTEMS 6. Electoral and Parliamentary Aspects of Dominant Party Systems, Francoise Boucek 7. Great Britain: A Stable, but Fragile, Party System? 8. German Unification and Party System Change, Oskar Niedermayer 9. Party Sytem Change in Israel, 1949-96: A Conceptual and Typological Border_Stretching of Europe, Reuven Y. Hazan 10. Electoral Politics and Governance: Transformation of the Party System in Iceland, 1970-96, Svanur Kristjansson PART III: CHANGE AND STABILITY IN RENEWING SYSTEMS
11. Party System Change in Redemocratizing Countries, Anne Bennett 12. The End of the Beginning: The Partial Consolidation of East Central European Parties and Party Systems, Atilla Agh 13. The Logics of Party System Change in Southern Europe, Jose M. Magone

Ethno-regionalist parties are an increasingly influential political phenomenon in many Western European countries. This volume provides an exploration of the successes and failures experienced by such parties in post-war Europe, looking in detail at the fortunes of 12 regionalist parties in the Basque country, Corsica, French-speaking Belgium, Scotland, Wales, Catalonia, Flanders, Italy and South Tyrol. Using these case studies and a common conceptual framework, the contributors focus on a number of factors that influence party identity and electoral and policy success. They also address other significant areas such as how the parties operate at the European Union level, their future evolution, and the implications for the party system and the larger political system of which they are a part.

The tenth edition of this acclaimed text continues to provide a lively, comprehensive and up-to-date account of British political institutions, of the way in which they operate, and of the society in which they developed. It includes new sections on the following key areas:
* the monarchy and the House of Lords
* the 1997 general election
* the transformation of the Labour party and the demise of the Tories
* the European Union
* devolution
* the judicial system
* Northern Ireland.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203024397

Forty years before COVID-19, socialists in Britain campaigned for workers to have the right to make 'socially useful' products, from hospital equipment to sustain the NHS to affordable heating systems for the impoverished elderly. This movement held one thing responsible above all else for the nation's problems: the burden of defence spending. In the middle of the Cold War, the left put a direct challenge to the defence industry, the Labour government and trade unions. The response it received revealed much about a military-industrial state that prioritised the making and exporting of arms for political favour and profit. Looking at peace activism from the early 1970s to Labour's landslide defeat in the 1983 general election, this book examines the conflict over the cost of Britain's commitment to the Cold War and asserts that the wider left presented a comprehensive and implementable alternative to the stark choice between making weapons and joining the dole queue. -- .

This volume features key political issues for 1990s Britain: the reform of the Labour party; the use of opinion polls; the impact of the media; European integration; Scotland and regional trends; and the bases of party support.

Explores the impact interparty conflicts have on a party's coalition bargaining. Focusing on Denmark, Norway, the UK, Italy and France, the text investigates whether organizational imperatives of political parties play a role in interplay competition. The author challenges traditional views to show that the degree of centralization or decentralization of a party and the nature of the interparty conflict affects the party's elite to neutralize and pacify internal opposition. He argues that decentralized models provide a variety of ways to manage such conflict without members leaving the party or voicing dissent outside the party.

The first book to provide a much-needed analysis of the current state of the party and insight into longer term trends, "New Labour in Power" helps readers to explore both past and present in order to better understand the future.
The book explores Tony Blair's victory through both its historical context and the words of contemporary media commentators, journalists, economists and politicians, including Austin Mitchell, Peter Shore, Peter Jay, A. H. Halsey and Vernon Bogdanor. It combines historical, political and practical approaches to the questions raised by the Labour election victory and addresses core themes such as Europe, the economy, welfare, education, defense and the constitution.

An electoral system is the most fundamental element of representative democracy, translating citizen's votes into representatives' seats. It is also the most potent practical instrument available to democratic reformers. This systematic and comprehensive study describes and classifies the 70 electoral systems used by 27 democracies - including those of Western Europe, Australia, Canada, the USA, Costa Rica, India, Israel, Japan, and New Zealand - for 384 national legislative and European Parliament elections between 1945 and 1990. Using comparative and statistical analyses of these systems, Arend Lijphart demonstrates the effect of the electoral formula used, the number of representatives elected per district, electoral thresholds, and of five other key features of electoral systems on the proportionality of the election outcome, the degree of multipartism, and the creation of majority parties. In the process he reveals that electoral systems are neither as diverse nor as complex as is often assumed. Electoral Systems and Party Systems represents the most definitive treatment of the subject since Rae's classic study in 1967, based as it is on more accurate and comprehensive data (covering more countries and a longer time-span), and using stronger hypotheses and better analytical methods. The unique information and analysis it offers will make it essential reading for everyone working in the field.

From the time of the Abyssinian crisis through to the outbreak of World War II in western Europe, the British government was marked by very diverse attitudes with regard to, and adopted diverse policies towards, the fascist dictators of Europe. This work provides a complete history of the Conservative Party from 1930 to 1940 and explores its responses to the problems of fascism. It details the historical context for the foreign policy of the period and examines the historiography of the Conservative Party. The author also includes a chronological outline of the international situation between Hitler's rise to power in 1933 and the outbreak of war. Drawing on neglected sources, including little known diaries, memoirs and minutes, this book gives a new perspective on the Party's policies focusing on members of the government aside from just Chamberlain and highlights important aspects such as the controversy over national service. By exploiting new evidence and archives, the author provides alternative and original interpretations of the reactions of various elelments of the Conservative Party to the deepening international crisis.

Here is the first book to cover the history of British Liberalism from its founding doctrines in the later eighteenth century to the final dissolution of the Liberal party into the Liberal Democrats in 1988. The Party dominated British politics for much of the later nineteenth-century, most notably under Gladstone, whose premierships spanned 1868-1894, and during the early twentieth, but after the resignation of Lloyd George in 1922 the Liberal Party never held office again. The decline of the Party remains a unique phenomenon in British politics and Alan Sykes illuminates its dramatic and peculiar circumstances in this comprehensive study.

Gennady Andreevich Zyuganov is the leader of Russia's resurgent Communist Party and was Boris Yeltsin's strongest challenger in the summer 1996 presidential elections. Although his face became familiar to the world at that time, his ideas and his program were mainly a subject of speculation. This book makes Zyuganov available to American readers for the first time -- in his own words.

A former village teacher from Orel Province, Zyuganov came to Moscow in the 1980s to work in the ideology department of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and to complete doctoral work in philosophy at Moscow State University. He is a prolific writer who has rebuilt the Communist party on his vision of a Russian socialist great power. Today he leads the Communist faction in the Duma and is chairman of the united opposition movement -- the National Patriotic Union.

This volume is a compilation of Zyuganov's writings on Russia's past and present and her place in the world; Russia's fate under the leadership of Gorbachev and Yeltsin; his own vision of Russia's future under a new Communist leadership; and his reflections on the 1996 presidential election.

In this introduction to the theme of political parties, attention is given to those theoretical works that have the most direct bearing on the subject. To illustrate these theoretical ideas, the book applies comparative approaches to the British case. The book focuses on concepts which highlight various "trade offs" confronting party leadership and their impact on party behaviour. It addresses concepts that relate to competitive parties - party institutionalization, organizational models, intra-party competition, and the impact of intra-party conflicts on party behaviour. The latter aspect takes the reader through to the second part of the book, namely competitive party systems. Here, notions that pertain to multiparty electoral competition, the impact of regional integration on a party's behaviour, issue orientation, and party system change are discussed. Students taking courses on political parties should find this book a useful introduction to the basic conceptual paradigms and salient theories of the topic.

The Sinking Middle Class challenges the “save the middle class� rhetoric that dominates our political imagination. The slogan misleads us regarding class, nation, and race. Talk of middle class salvation reinforces myths holding that the US is a providentially middle class nation. Implicitly white, the middle class becomes viewed as unheard amidst supposed concerns for racial justice and for the poor. Roediger shows how little the US has been a middle class nation. The term seldom appeared in US writing before 1900. Many white Americans were self-employed, but this social experience separated them from the contemporary middle class of today, overwhelmingly employed and surveilled. Today’s highly unequal US hardly qualifies as sustaining the middle class. The idea of the US as a middle class place required nurturing. Those doing that ideological work—from the business press, to pollsters, to intellectuals celebrating the results of free enterprise—gained little traction until the Depression and Cold War expanded the middle class brand. Much later, the book’s sections on liberal strategist Stanley Greenberg detail, “saving the middle class� entered presidential politics. Both parties soon defined the middle class to include over 90% of the population, precluding intelligent attention to the poor and the very rich. Resurrecting radical historical critiques of the middle class, Roediger argues that middle class identities have so long been shaped by debt, anxiety about falling, and having to sell one’s personality at work that misery defines a middle class existence as much as fulfillment.

The study of Marxism in Britain throws light on what many historians have referred to as `the enemy within'. In this book, David Burke looks at the activities of Russian political emigres in Britain, and in particular the role of one family: the Rothsteins. He looks at the contributions of Theodore and Andrew Rothstein to British Marxism and the response of the intelligence services to what they regarded as a serious threat to security. With access to recently released documents, this book analyses the activities of early-twentieth century British Marxists and brings to life the story of a remarkable family.

After winning the vote in 1918, many thousands of working class women joined the Labour Party and Co-operative Movement. This book is about their struggle to find a place in the male world of organised labour politics. In the twenties, labour women challenged male leaders to give them equal status and support for their reform programmes, but the ideas were rejected. For most labour women, dedication to the class cause far outweighed their desire for power, and the struggle for 'women-power' was abandoned. Consequently, despite the common reform agendas of labour women and the middle class feminists of the era, a working alliance was never achieved. Labour Women uses oral and questionnaire testimony to draw a portrait of grass-roots activists. It contrasts labour women's failure to win power in the national organisations with their great achievements in community politics, poor law administration and municipal government.

Emerging as a formidable opposition party in Taiwan in 1986, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is now a major challenger on the island's political scene. This text presents a dialogue between DPP's policy-makers and the leading critics from the international scholarly community.

Emerging as a formidable opposition party in Taiwan in 1986, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is now a major challenger on the island's political scene. This text presents a dialogue between DPP's policy-makers and the leading critics from the international scholarly community.