The democratic system is understood and accepted as the fairest form of government in Western countries. Nevertheless, citizens tend to critique their democratically elected rulers. Mathematical Approaches to Understanding Democracy: Emerging Research and Opportunities is an essential reference source that provides an analysis on the global political systems and provides insight on how to optimize government capabilities, citizen engagement, and educational systems. Using statistical concepts, it proposes algorithmic solutions to detect problems and provide improvement on democratic and non-democratic societies. Featuring research on topics such as political negligence, voter knowledge, political corruption, and democratic training, this book is ideally designed for governmental officials, policymakers, educators, statisticians, academicians, and researchers.

Alternately lauded as a democratic success story and decried as a flawed democracy, Indonesia deserves serious consideration by anyone concerned with the global state of democracy. Yet, more than ten years after the collapse of the authoritarian Suharto regime, we still know little about how the key institutions of Indonesian democracy actually function. This book, written by leading democracy experts and scholars of Indonesia, presents a sorely needed study of the inner workings of Indonesia's political system, and its interactions with society. Combining careful case studies with an eye to the big picture, it is an indispensable guide to democratic Indonesia, its achievements, shortcomings and continuing challenges.

This book examines urbanization and migration processes in South Asia. By analyzing the socio-economic impacts and infrastructural, environmental and institutional aspects of different conurbations, it highlights conflicts over agricultural land as well as the effects on health, education, poverty and the welfare of children, women and old people. The authors also explore issues of mobility; connectivity and accessibility of public services, and discuss the effective use of new urban-management tools, such as the concept of smart cities and urban spatial monitoring.

This book is a collection of texts on one of China's boldest social experiments in recent years: the rural reconstruction project in Bishan. The Bishan Project (2011-2016) was a rural reconstruction project in a small village Bishan, Anhui Province, China. The writings describe and criticize the social problems caused by China's over-loading urbanization process and starts a a contemporary agrarianism and agritopianism discourse to resist the modernism and developmentalism doctrine which dominated China for more than a century, answering a global desire for the theory and action of the alternative social solution for today's environmental and political crises.This practical utopian commune project ran for 6 years and caused a national debate on rural issues in China, when it was invited to be exhibited and presented abroad. This collection of writing will be of interest to artists, China scholars, architects, and the cultural community at large.

In "Reconstituting Whiteness," sociologist Jenny Irons explores the tactics and legacy of the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission, an agency of the state that existed from 1956 to 1977 and was devoted exclusively to defending and supporting the institution of segregation. Using a myriad of surveillance and public relations efforts, the commission was unique in its expanse and resistance during a time of change.
Going far beyond a mere institutional history, however, Irons uses the commission as a tool to explore the intersection of state-organized defense of white supremacy and the dramatically shifting racial constructs of the civil rights era. Ultimately, the commission failed to protect segregation, but as a state entity, it adapted racism in new terms.
"Reconstituting Whiteness" is an insightful study of the methods Mississippi state government used to move the goal posts of what was considered "decent" and "acceptable" white supremacy and racism, as it raced against time to define whiteness while the boundaries of segregation fell all around it.

Important Scarce Compilation of Mexican Laws Relating to Texas Translated and Published in 1839Reprint of the only edition. With an introduction by Joseph W. McKnight describing its compilation, translation and publication. "An indispensable collection (...) This very scarce compilation contains the first complete translation into English of the Mexican laws relating to Texas. Very valuable for historical research, the Laws and Decrees contain over 400 individual decrees, many of which are absolutely unobtainable except in Kimball. This book was indispensable for the practice of law in the Republic of Texas." -Edward Eberstadt, Texas: Being a Collection of Rare & Important Books & Manuscripts Relating to the Lone Star State 162:461

Sunni Islam has played an ambivalent role in Turkey's Kurdish conflict-both as a conflict resolution tool and as a tool of resistance. Under the Banner of Islam uses Turkey as a case study to understand how religious, ethnic, and national identities converge in ethnic conflicts between co-religionists. Gulay Turkmen asks a question that informs the way we understand religiously homogeneous ethnic conflicts today: Is it possible for religion to act as a resolution tool in these often-violent conflicts? In search for answers to this question, in Under the Banner of Islam, Turkmen journeys into the inner circles of religious elites from different backgrounds: non-state-appointed local Kurdish meles, state-appointed Kurdish and Turkish imams, heads of religious NGOs, and members of religious orders. Blending interview data with a detailed historical analysis that goes back as far as the nineteenth century, she argues that the strength of Turkish and Kurdish nationalisms, the symbiotic relationship between Turkey's religious and political fields, the religious elites' varying conceptualizations of religious and ethnic identities, and the recent political developments in the region (particularly in Syria) all contribute to the complex role religion plays in the Kurdish conflict in Turkey. Under the Banner of Islam is a specific story of religion, ethnicity, and nationalism in Turkey's Kurdish conflict, but it also tracks a broader narrative of how ethnic and religious identities are negotiated when resolving conflicts.

This volume examines European Union policy instruments affecting the urban domain through the lens of Europeanisation. Instead of looking at EU instruments that are formally consecrated to cities, theoretical public policy analysis explores the arenas and causal mechanisms that structure the encounter between the EU and urban governance. The core variables that explain change concern the status of actors' preferences and the payoffs from Europeanisation. Their combination creates a four-dimensional space. We can therefore develop a typology for the modes of Europeanisation that chimes with current theorisations on the EU modes of governance. Dossi considers four modes of Europeanisation, which he analyses to grasp the essence of EU instruments and initiatives. The eventual Europeanisation of urban systems depends on the nature of strategic interaction, not on the legal 'tools' designated explicitly for cities

This book captures Malaysia's foreign policy over the first fifty years and beyond since the date of the country's formal independence in 1957. The author provides "macro-historical" narratives of foreign policy practices and outcomes over distinct time periods under the tenures of the five prime ministers. One chapter delves into relations with immediate neighbouring states and another chapter analyses the political economy of foreign policy. A postscript deals with the transition of foreign policy beyond the fifth decade. The concluding chapter suggests that Malaysian middlepowermanship has been in the making in foreign policy practice being particularly evident since the Mahathir years. Employing a critical-constructivist approach throughout the study, the author posits that foreign policy should be appreciated as outcomes of socio-political-economic processes embedded within a Malaysian political culture. In terms of broad policy orientations, Malaysian foreign policy over five decades has navigated over the terrains of neutralism, regionalism, globalization and Islamism. However, the critical engagement of civil society in foreign policy construction remains a formidable challenge.

In June 2010, Greg Fettig began a battle that would ultimately change the course of his life. Already involved in the Tea Party movement in Indiana, he started a campaign to target an icon of Washington elitism, six-term US Senator Richard Lugar, and ultimately oust him from power. He had no idea that the eighteen-month journey ahead would be fraught with twists and turns, bribes, threats, attacks, deception, and betrayal.

An inside look into the dark underbelly of politics, "Tea Party on Safari" takes you behind the scenes of one battle in an all-out war for the heart and soul of the Republican Party. Fettig, along with fellow Tea Party patriot Monica Boyer, united under the banner of constitutional conservatism and set out to reclaim the Republican Party by purging it of RINOs-and they started with Senator Lugar.

Voting Lugar out of office remained their goal, and they pursued it with steady resolve. With Fettig and Boyer at the helm, the unified Tea Party waged the largest grass roots political campaign ever conducted in the young movement's history, seeking to send shockwaves of fear to the Washington, DC, establishment of both national political parties.

The twin categories of the state and nature collectively embody some of the most fundamental reference points around which our lives and thinking are organized. Despite their combined significance, however, the complex relationships that exist between modern states and nature remain under-theorized and are relatively unexplored. Through a detailed study of different sites, moments, and framing strategies The Nature of the State challenges the ways in which geographers and social scientists approach the study of state-nature relations. The authors analyse different instances of state-nature interaction from all over the world, considering the geo-politics of resource conflicts, the operation of natural history museums, the organizational practices of environmental departments and ministries, the regulation of genetic science, and contemporary forms of state intervention within issues of climate change. Introducing original research into the different institutional, spatial, and temporal strategies used by states to frame the natural world this book provides a critical overview of the latest political and ecological theories and addresses a wide range of pressing socio-environmental debates.

Featuring a unique storytelling approach, A Trek through American and Texas Government follows a fictional character named Champ Cove as he visits various government agencies and affiliated organizations in Texas and the United States. Through the eyes of Champ, students learn foundational information about the role and operation of state and federal government in an engaging way. Section I covers American governing foundations, political geography, political culture, the impact of demographic shifts on government, our founding governing documents, federalism, and the history of politics in American and Texan experiences. In Section II, students learn about ways to influence the political process, elections from the perspective of voters and candidates, interest groups, and political parties. Section III provides insight on the various government agencies found in the country at the local, state, national, and international levels, as well as how they might interact with one another. The final section discusses domestic policy, foreign policy, civil liberties, government fiscal policy, and political symbols. Highly educational and an entertaining read, A Trek through American and Texas Government is ideal for introductory courses in government.

This examination of the fiscal health of local governments offers a "how-to" approach to identifying and solving financial problems. It will serve as a primer for readers interested in understanding financial processes and alternatives, and as a practical guide for those who need access to fiscal measurement tools. Its principal selling point lies in its assumptions: instead of using the vocabulary and research agendas of economists (such as Musgrave, Fisher), finance scholars (Ladd/Yinger) and political scientists (Peterson/Strachota), it will appeal to readers who lack sophisticated knowledge in these areas and nevertheless need practical advice.
The book stems from the "Fiscal Health Education Program," an applied economics program at the University of Minnesota. It uses three measures of fiscal health-financial condition, trend analysis, and financial trend monitoring system-as the basis for advocating particular fiscal strategies. The book examines the tools that can be used to assess the condition of a local government's fiscal health and some of the policy causes or remedies for certain situations, as well as some of the strategies governments can pursue to maintain and improve health.
*How-to approach will appeal to readers who lack sophisticated knowledge
* Contains discussion questions and anonymous case studies of actual cities and municipalities
* Presents practical methods for identifying and solving common fiscal problems

When Michael Bloomberg handed over the city to Bill de Blasio, New York and the country were experiencing record levels of income inequality. De Blasio was the first progressive elected to City Hall in twenty years. Invoking Fiorello La Guardia's name, he pledged to improve the lives of those marginalized by poverty and prejudice. Unlike La Guardia, de Blasio did not have allies in Washington like President Franklin D. Roosevelt who could effectively support his progressive agenda. As de Blasio approached the end of his first term, the situation worsened, with Donald Trump in the White House and a Republican-controlled Congress determined to further reduce social programs that help the needy. As a result, de Blasio's mayoralty is an illuminating case study of what mayors can and cannot do on their own to address economic and social inequality. As the Democratic Party attempts to reassemble a viable political coalition that cuts across boundaries of race, class and gender, de Blasio's efforts to redefine priorities in America's largest city is instructive. Joseph P. Viteritti's The Pragmatist is the first in-depth look at de Blasioboth the man himself and his policies in crucial areas such as housing, homelessness, education, and criminal justice. It is a test case for the viability of progressivism itself. Along the way, Viteritti introduces the reader to every NYC mayor since La Guardia. He covers progressives who breathed life into the "soul of the city" before the devastating fiscal crisis of 1975 put it on the brink of bankruptcy, and those post-fiscal crisis chief executives who served during times of limiting austerity. This engaging story of the rise, fall, and rebirth of progressivism in America's major urban center demonstrates that the road to progress has been a longand continuingjourney.

As the title intimates, this title is an introduction to the study of local government finance. It is an enlightening work aimed primarily at undergraduate students studying local government and administration at universities, technikons and technical colleges. The following issues are covered: why local governments need money; the democratic tenets and principles guiding the management of local government finance; the particular roles of a council, its executive committee and the administrative authority in managing local government finance; the nature of local government property and other taxes; user charges, consumer tariffs and nominal levies as other revenue sources; features and functions of local government budgets; debt management and loans administration; inventory management; inter-governmental financial relations and external financial control.