With a public career spanning 62 years, William Gladstone dominated the Victorian political arena. He remains, however, an enigmatic figure; a high Anglican, Tory protectionist who became leader of the Liberals, a party associated with free trade and religious non-conformity. This biography examines both Gladstone and the environment in which he operated, concentrating in particular on the political and social composition of the party which he led. The author argues that the parliamentary "Gladstonian Liberals" were far from unqualified supporters of Gladstone, and that much of Gladstone's power was derived from his popularity amongst the electorate. The text concludes with an assessment of Gladstone's achievements and his political legacy.

The Trouble with America critiques the theory and practice of American government, focusing on the fatal flaws of America's core political arrangements. Institutionalized pluralism, the structural dispersal of power, generates government too weak to solve our public problems. American constitutionalism, the limitation of government power and authority, protects property rights far better than it defends our civil liberties, and it offers little or no protection for non-citizens. Capitalism is a hyper-competitive and grossly unfair economic system, which rewards pre-existing wealth far better than hard work or talent, and encourages petty materialist consumption of mostly low-quality goods, undermining taste as well as fairness. Taken together, pluralism, constitutionalism, and capitalism in America harm our society in a myriad of ways, leaving us with inadequate representation, poor leadership, social and political paralysis and irresponsibility, unrealistic self-images, and scandalously poor domestic and foreign policies. This book will prove a valuable supplement in American government courses, an alternative to the centrist material currently dominating textbooks on this subject.

Examines the decisions of US presidents to appoint judges from diverse backgrounds to federal courts In Diversifying the Courts, Nancy Scherer addresses why presidents choose-or don't choose-to diversify the federal courts by race, ethnicity, and gender. She explores how and why the issue became a bitter partisan fight in the first place, tracking the controversial history-and politics-of court diversification. Drawing on polls, political experiments, surveys and one-on-one interviews, Scherer illuminates the complicated relationship between diversity and court legitimacy. She shows us how diverse representation can positively impact perceptions of the court among women and racial minorities, while having a negative impact on the perceptions among white people and men. Ultimately, Diversifying the Courts provides insight into the impact of gender, race, and ethnicity on the courts, illuminating some of the major challenges facing the American judicial system in the years that lie ahead.

The growth and health of the social sciences owe a good deal to the generally held belief that they are socially useful, but is this really so? Do they deliver the goods they promise? In The Uses of Social Research, first published in 1982, Martin Bulmer answers these and other questions concerning the uses of empirical social science in the policy-making process, and provides an extended analysis of the main issues. This title provides a valuable introduction to the patterns of influence exercised by the social sciences on government. It shows how the results of social research feed into the political system and what models of the relationship between research and policy are most convincing. This book will be of interest to students of the social sciences.

Regional inter-governmental human rights organizations have been in operation for sometime in Europe, the Americas and Africa. These regional human rights mechanisms have proven to be useful and effective in comparison to the global human rights mechanisms available at the United Nations. The purpose of this study, first published in 2004, is to investigate the possibility of establishing a regional inter-governmental human rights mechanism in East Asia, with a focus on the contributions of nongovernmental organizations' (NGOs) to such a development.

A comprehensive history of parliament in the British Isles from the earliest times, covering all aspects of parliament as an institution. A Short History of Parliament is a comprehensive institutional history, not a political history of parliament, though politics is included where, as frequently occurred, institutional changes resulted from particular political events. It covers the English parliament from its origins, the pre-1707 Scottish parliament and the pre-1800 Irish parliament, the parliament of Great Britain from 1707 and the parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801, together with sections on the post-devolution parliaments and assemblies set up in the 1990s and on parliaments in the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands and the Irish Republic. It considers all aspects of parliament as an institution:membership of both the Lords and the Commons; constituencies, elections and franchises; where the Lords and the Commons met; how business was arranged and managed, including Speakers, the use of committees, the development of parties, lobbying and voting procedures; legal cases in the House of Lords; official recording of and reporting of business and debates; the conflict and balance of power between the two Houses; and the position of the monarch in parliament. Each section contains a chronology listing key events, suggestions for further reading and "inserts" - short anecdotes or accounts of particular figures or episodes which provide lively illustrations of parliament at work in different periods. Clyve Jones is an honorary fellow of the Institute of Historical Research. He has been editor of the journal Parliamentary History since 1986. Previously he was reader in modern historyin the University of London and collection development librarian in the Institute of Historical Research. He has published extensively on the history of the House of Lords and of the peerage in the early eighteenth century.

For a century, the most divisive question in political thought has been about the size of the state. Should it expand and take an active role in all sorts of areas of life? Or is that just meddlesome and wasteful? Those questions might have made sense in the previous century. Now, with revolutions in technology and organisational structure, and a world transformed by Covid-19, a revolution is also coming in the essential business of government - whether we like it or not. Join organisations expert Jaideep Prabhu on a tour of what's possible in government. Discover amazing initiatives in unexpected places, from India's programme to give a digital identity to a billion citizens, to a Dutch programme that lets nurses operate almost entirely without management. Or perhaps China's ominous Social Credit system is a more accurate vision what the future has in store for us. Whether you are on the political left or right, it matters whether your government does what it does fairly and well. And the game is changing...

Beyond Westminster and Whitehall provides the first comprehensive account of the range of sub-central government institutions that are responsible for the delivery of services to citizens. These bodies are the warp and weft of the British system of government and yet are all too frequently ignored. For a full understanding of British government, the study of sub-central government is of equivalent importance to that of the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, and Parliament. Westminster and Whitehall do not always get what they want. There are a great many restraints upon the actions of the centre, and central policies all too often have unintended consequences. This book, demonstrating that Britain is not a unitary state but a differentiated polity in which sub-central governments play a key role, will be essential reading for teachers and students of British politics.

From the aggressive US rhetoric against China, to the escalating trade war with tit for tat responses, and China's 2025 initiative that threatens the US global leadership in advanced technologies, tensions between the US and China (the two dominant forces of today's world) have never been higher. This book provides a timely analysis of the US-China relationship. Each model is deeply rooted in their respective histories and cultures, with both models highly successful in achieving their main goals and highly resilient over time. It explores the core misconceptions on governance, economic, social and military issues, and the root causes of these misconceptions. If China and US could close the gap by each understanding those differences and their implications, the author argues, they could work together to overcome global issues to the benefit of all. This updated paperback edition includes a new introduction covering recent events in US-China relations.

With a new preface and updated historiographical essay. Based on recent scholarship and deep research in primary sources, especially the letters and diaries of “ordinary people,� The Northern Home Front during the Civil War is the first full narrative history and analysis of the northern home front in almost a quarter-century. It examines the mobilization, recruitment, management, politics, costs, and experience of war from the perspective of the home front, with special attention to the ways the war affected the ideas, identities, interests, and issues shaping people’s lives, and vice versa. The book looks closely at people’s responses to war’s demands, whether in supporting the Union cause or opposing it, and it measures the ways the war transformed society and economy or simply reconfirmed ideas and reinforced practices already underway. As The Northern Home Front during the Civil War reveals, issues and concerns of emancipation, conscription, civil liberties, economic policies and practices, religion, party politics, war management, popular culture, and work were all part of what Lincoln rightly termed “a People’s Contest� and as much as the armies in the field determined the outcome of the nation’s ordeal by fire. As The Northern Home Front during the Civil War shows, understanding the experience of the women and men on the home front is essential to realizing Walt Whitman’s oft-quoted call to get “the real war� into the books.

This book is unique as the only book on the Portuguese parliament in English. The Portuguese parliament is a valuable case study to understand the different stages of development of a newly democratic parliament. From Legislation to Legitimation shows that, as democracy developed, the role of the Portuguese parliament changed considerably. Whereas in the first years of democracy the Assembleia da Republica was centred on its legislative role, during the second decade its legitimation role expanded, making scrutiny parliament's main function.

The Reform Act of 1867 was highly controversial at the time and has remained so. Was it an inevitable step on the road to full democracy or an irresponsible gamble by a politician desperate to win a tactical victory?

Much attention has been paid to the ongoing and unpredictable Brexit negotiations between the EU and the UK, but much less on what the absence of the UK might entail for the remaining 27 EU Member States. This book explores the range of implications for the EU after Brexit, and whether it is likely to become stronger or weaker as a result. It reviews the different attitudes on the EU's future within both the member states and the individual EU institutions, and examines the impacts of Brexit on the composition of the EU institutions and on the balance of power between the member states. It also looks at linguistic and cultural impacts, the UK's wider legacy for the EU and possible changes in EU priorities. The author concludes that Brexit has reinforced the EU's unity in the short term, but that the EU will have to confront a number of key challenges if it is to be reinforced in the longer term. This book will appeal to practitioners, scholars and students interested in EU politics and integration in general, and Brexit in particular.

The introduction of the National Government in 1931 came about due to the Wall Street Crash leading to a British Government run by members of all parties, more commonly known as a coalition government today. With public opinion split on how to deal with the financial crisis, this was initially seen as a positive step by many, but for many, the national government was not the ideal solution. Ramsay Muir was one such ex-supporter and originally published in 1936, his study aims to provide a timeline of the events happening before, during and after the original national government and how this impacted on British politics. This title will be of interest to students of Politics and Political History.

This is a book on how the U.S. and other governments have changed their thinking about energy issues over the past four decades, a change triggered by increasing concern about the role of fossil fuels in global warming and climate change, greater awareness of the risks of nuclear power, and the emergence of viable renewable energy sources. It will help understanding of how this change came about in the United States from the unique perspective of a well-placed participant and observer. It will enhance understanding of the global energy transition that is finally getting underway in the second decade of the 21st century at an accelerating, even dizzying, pace. The book's main purpose is to illustrate how the U.S. government moved along its winding path to where it is today in getting ready for a renewable energy future. Target audiences are the young people who will inherit the transition and shape its future, those in government who currently shape our public policies, and those colleagues, friends, and family members who lived through many of the times and events discussed in the book.

The Reform Act of 1867 was highly controversial at the time and has remained so. Was it an inevitable step on the road to full democracy or an irresponsible gamble by a politician desperate to win a tactical victory?

Sheffer deals with some of the oldest continuing constitutional problems confronting the American government: the judicial development of presidential war powers, potential constitutional dictatorship, and a wartime constitution. What enhances these problems is the very cryptic language presented by Article II itself. First, the generalities of Article II are read expansively enough to cover specific presidential actions, while a theory of inherent powers tends to justify the means. This combination of action and theory, Sheffer asserts, presumes that ends and means are determined only by the president. The end result is that presidential action takes on the characteristics of constitutional power. As this casebook demonstrates, in times of grave national emergency--especially war--the president acts as a constitutional dictator. There is a tacit understanding that nothing will be permitted to block the winning of the war. What is necessary, as determined by the chief executive, is done. The president must insure the national survival. Legal niceties are given little attention. Congress does not interfere with the manner in which the president conducts a war; it is a ready ally in almost everything he does, so long as he continues to be successful. As the cases demonstrate, the courts seek to avoid having to rule on the president's conduct, but, when they do rule, they usually uphold the president.

George W. Bush's presidency has helped accelerate a renewed interest in the legal or formal bases of presidential power. It is now abundantly clear that presidential power is more than the sum of bargaining, character, and rhetoric. Presidential power also inheres in the Constitution or at least assertions of constitutional powers. Judging Executive Power helps to bring the Constitution and the courts back into the study of the American presidency by introducing students to sixteen important Supreme Court cases that have shaped the power of the American presidency. The cases selected include the removal power, executive privilege, executive immunity, and the line-item veto, with particularly emphasis on a president's wartime powers from the Civil War to the War on Terror. Through introductions and postscripts that accompany each case, landmark judicial opinions are placed in their political and historical contexts, enabling students to understand the political forces that frame and the political consequences that follow from legal arguments and judgments.

This revised and updated third edition provides readers with a comprehensive description and analysis of the German political system, and of the political behaviour within the context of that system. It surveys the historical development of German politics, including the background, processes and political consequences of reunification, and recent changes to the electoral system, party system and recent Bundestag and Land elections. This authoritative yet accessible textbook presents certain specialised topics, such as the career of Angela Merkel and the Eurozone crisis, in separate sections within the relevant chapters, and provides tables for key information including election results, the membership of trade unions and lists of presidents and chancellors. The appendices include a review of significant constitutional court cases, a survey of the more important political features of each of the sixteen Lander, and the Bundestag election campaigns since 1949. Each chapter also offers suggestions for further reading. This new edition of German politics today offers a sound foundation for undergraduate courses focused on, or involving, study of the German political system. -- .

This volume deals with a range of contemporary issues in Indian and other world economies, with a focus on economic theory and policy and their longstanding implications. It analyses and predicts the mechanisms that can come into play to determine the function of institutions and the impact of public policy.

The US Constitution resists centralizing authority by granting equal power to the three branches of government, as well as the individual states. The risk inherent in the separation of powers is that the absence of a spirit of compromise can lead to the disintegration of the union. Eugene Good heart argues that the current union is in peril due to an unwillingness to cooperate on the part of contending parties. He explains how and why it has reached this point, while identifying common ground between thoughtful liberals and conservatives. Ironically, President Barack Obama, who from the outset affirmed the spirit of compromise and union, has governed in a time marked by apparently irreconcilable conflict between and within parties, and the branches of the government. Those on the extremes of the political spectrum view compromise as weakness and a lack of conviction, while those in the middle view it as necessary. Good heart argues that principle and compromise are not antagonists. He also describes the media's role in shaping and distorting public perception of political realities. Many themes that preoccupy our politics and will doubtless continue to do so in the future are addressed in this work, including gross income inequality, governmental regulation of the market, the US's role as superpower, and the relationship between liberty and equality. This book will be of interest to those concerned about contemporary political life.

Regional inter-governmental human rights organizations have been in operation for sometime in Europe, the Americas and Africa. These regional human rights mechanisms have proven to be useful and effective in comparison to the global human rights mechanisms available at the United Nations. The purpose of this study, first published in 2004, is to investigate the possibility of establishing a regional inter-governmental human rights mechanism in East Asia, with a focus on the contributions of nongovernmental organizations' (NGOs) to such a development.

Notions of land and agrarian reform are now well entrenched in post-apartheid South Africa. But what this reform actually means for everyday life is not clearly understood, nor the way it will impact on the political economy. In the Shadow of Policy explores the interface between the policy of land and agrarian reform and its implementation; and between the decisions of policy 'experts' and actual livelihood experiences in the fields and homesteads of land reform projects. Starting with an overview of the socio-historical context in which land and agrarian reform policy has evolved in South Africa, the volume presents empirical case studies of land reform projects in the Northern, Western and Eastern Cape provinces. These draw on multiple voices from various sectors and provide a rich source of material and critical reflections to inform future policy and research agendas. In the Shadow of Policy will be a key reference tool for those working in the area of development studies and land policy, and for civil society groups and NGOs involved in land restitution.