How should political community be seen in the context of European integration? This book combines a theoretical treatment of political allegiance with a study of ordinary citizens, examining how taxi-drivers in Britain, Germany and the Czech Republic talk politics and situate themselves relative to political institutions and other citizens.

Visions of Empire explores film's function as a medium of political communication, recognizing not just the propaganda film, but the various ways that conventional narrative films embody, question, or critique established social values underlying American attitudes toward historical, social, and political events. Stephen Prince discusses Hollywood film productions of the 1980s in terms of salient political issues of the period, including anxieties about declining U.S. military power, the wars in Central America and the prospects for U.S. intervention, the legacy of the Vietnam War, and urban decay. In analyzing these images and narratives, the author also describes and evaluates the cinematic styles available in the Hollywood tradition to filmmakers who address political issues. Chapter 1 establishes the theoretical framework by considering features of the political landscape of the Reagan era. Theories about political representation and the place of ideology in film are also examined. Chapters 2 through 5 focus on the major cycles of political films. Chapter 2 examines the new Cold War films which played upon fears of the Soviet menace (Rambo, Invasion USA, Red Dawn, and Top Gun). Chapter 3 discusses the small group of films--Under Fire, Salvador, El Norte and others--that addressed the wars in Latin America and the ways they explained the origins of the conflicts and the U.S. role therein. Various histories and mythologies on film of the Vietnam War are examined in Chapter 4 as examples of the symbolic reconstruction of social memory. Chapter 5 looks at politicized science fiction films (Blade Runner, Aliens, Robocop, and Total Recall) offering critical commentaries on the pathologies of contemporary urban society and capitalism.

This 11th volume in a distinguished series represents a selection of the more significant data from the thousands of public opinion surveys conducted annually worldwide. The assembled data deal with a global range of current and continuing issues and serve as an indispensable resource for government officials, journalists, business leaders, and scholars. The volume is organized initially into Single Nation and Multi-national Surveys, each of which is subdivided into specific subject groups such as agriculture, energy, environment, religion, and more, that chart a broad range of contemporary social and political issues. Questions and accompanying tables are ordered by country and by date of the field interviewing. Alphabetical indexes including topical categories, countries in which the polls were conducted, and countries referenced in the surveys allow rapid access to the data. To facilitate longitudinal comparative research, the same subject categories have been used in each volume. As the single most important reference source for public opinion data in over 150 countries worldwide, including non-Western nations, Index to International Public Opinion, published annually since 1978, is an invaluable tool for social scientists charting changes and trends in international public opinion and a necessary addition to all libraries and research centers.

Seventy-five years after the Battle of Britain, the Few's role in preventing invasion continues to enjoy a revered place in popular memory. The Air Ministry were central to the Battle's valorisation. This book explores both this, and also the now forgotten 1940 Battle of the Barges mounted by RAF bombers.

This, the 15th annual volume of the Index, contains data from public opinion polls in more than 180 countries and regions, including 18 countries in Eastern and Central Europe. Among the highlights of this volume are significant amounts of data on such topics as economic affairs, the environment, health and medicine, international relations, and social issues and problems. A new feature is a 50-year retrospective on Changing Opinions. Among the topics presented in multinational surveys are The Maastricht Treaty, NAFTA, the health of the planet, the police, and an Ibero-American barometer. All tables contain total sample results, and many also include analysis by various population subgroups such as age, sex, level of education, etc. As the richest ongoing reference source for public opinion data, this volume and its predecessor volumes are invaluable for scholars of social, political, and economic issues, as well as for business leaders, journalists, and governmental officials.

This, the thirteenth annual volume of the Index to International Public Opinion, includes data from public opinion polls dealing with more than 145 countries and geographical regions. All tables contain total sample results, and many include analysis by various population sub-groups, such as age, sex, education, economic levels, national regions, and religion. As has been the case since the initial volume, the survey questions deal with key social, political, and economic issues of contemporary as well as historical interest. This volume contains data from surveys conducted mainly during the period Spring 1990 through Spring 1991. For trend analysis purposes, a number of time series tables are included covering a decade or more. The volume is organized by major topic categories, each of which is subdivided into more specific subject groups. Beyond the subject categorizations, the countries in which the polls were conducted are ordered alphabetically. The volume concludes with a three-part subject index. As the richest ongoing reference source for public opinion data, this volume as well as its predecessor volumes are invaluable for scholars of social, political, and economic issues, for business leaders, journalists, and government officials.

There is an elaborate and often invisible carnival that emerges alongside presidential campaigns as innumerable activist groups attempt to press their issues into mainstream political discourse. Sarah Sobieraj's fascinating ethnographic portrait of fifty diverse organizations over the course of two campaign cycles reveals that while most activist groups equate political success with media success and channel their energies accordingly, their efforts fail to generate news coverage and come with deleterious consequences. Sobieraj shows that activists' impact on public political debates is minimal, and carefully unravels the ways in which their all-consuming media work and unrelenting public relations approach undermine their ability to communicate with pedestrians, comes at the expense of other political activities, and perhaps most perniciously, damages the groups themselves.

Weaving together fieldwork, news analysis, and in-depth interviews with activists and journalists, Soundbitten illuminates the relationship between news and activist organizations. This captivating portrait of activism in the United States lays bare the challenges faced by outsiders struggling to be heard in a mass media dominated public sphere that proves exclusionary and shows that media-centrism is not only ineffective, but also damaging to group life. Soundbitten reveals why media-centered activism so often fails, what activist groups lose in the process, and why we should all be concerned.

Genocide results from the culmination of conflicts over identity. A group of people that feels threatened by extinction resorts to genocide as a pathologically defensive reaction. This poses a security dilemma that can only be broken by quelling the feelings of threat and fear that prompt mass violence. In order to prevent genocide, it is essential to understand the internal dynamics of identity conflict. It is also important to intervene at the early stages of identity conflict; the parties involved require external help to ease tensions.
In this volume, noted thinkers and practitioners of conflict management, who hail from ten different countries, present ideas on how to prevent identity issues from causing fear and escalating into genocide. They focus on measures for handling the internal dynamics of parties facing identity conflicts, as well as considerations for arranging external assistance. Contributors address the problem of outbidders, actors whose non-conciliatory attitudes put them in positions of leadership in their identity groups. Since political extremism and violence can signal resolve and commitment to a group cause, moderates give way to hardliners. Spoilers, who believe that peace undermines their interests and power, also play a key role in the dynamics of conflicts. Careful attention is necessary to select appropriate third parties who can pull conflicting parties off the course of conflict. The authors discuss the concepts and practices involved in changing structures and attitudes to ease tensions, as well as the measures interveners must take to work in the midst of conflicting groups.

This study examines the evolution and political consequences of the 2009 British MPs' expenses scandal. Despite claims of a revolution in British politics, we show how the expenses scandal had a limited, short-term impact.

This work examines the environment and events of the spring 1989 Tiananmen Square tragedy. The author argues that the mass movement, which climaxed in Beijing, can be understood only if attention is given to the external environment that provided both opportunities and constraints to the interactions of participating groups, to the shifting participants and their goals and interests, and to the historical and cultural factors which guided the behavior of those participants (on both the student and government sides). Unlike other works on this topic, The Struggle for Tiananmen describes and analyzes the movement from its inception to its end--presenting the entire process, providing information from both the authorities and non-student participants, identifying the interactions between external events and the movement, and placing the particular event in the larger context of social movements.

This work will be of interest to scholars and laymen alike in contemporary history, Chinese studies, sociology, and political science.

The opinion poll has become commonplace in politics and typically reveals public desires for greater government social welfare assistance, such as more aid for education or health care. These statistics seem to proclaim the welfare state’s enduring popularity. Though sincere, these desires largely reflect how questions are asked. Unfortunately, polls usually lack basic economic restraints. There are no costs, risks or disasters in the world of polling. Market-based solutions are routinely excluded. This book works to reveal these shortcomings and clearly demonstrates why a government ruled by the vox populi would be folly.

Money is essential to the functioning of electoral politics, yet regulating its appropriate use raises complex and controversial challenges in countries around the world. Both long-established democracies and emerging economies have been continually plagued by problems of financial malfeasance, graft, corruption, and cronyism. To throw new light on these important challenges, this book addresses three related questions: (1) what types of public policies are commonly used in attempts to regulate the role of money in politics?, (2) what triggers landmark finance reforms? and, (3) above all, what works, what fails, and why - when countries implement reforms? Checkbook Elections? presents an original theory for understanding policies regulating political finance, reflecting the degree to which laws are laissez-faire or guided by state intervention. Each chapter is written by an area specialist and collectively cover long-established democracies as well as hybrid regimes, affluent post-industrial societies (Sweden, the United States, Britain, and Japan), major emerging economies (Russia, Brazil, and South Africa) and developing societies (India and Indonesia).

A 'non-election' in terms of popular perception, the 2004 European elections in the United Kingdom nevertheless provided a fascinating snapshot of the new, far more fluid electoral trends that have been emerging since the end of the Thatcher era, with Green, Eurosceptical, regional and single issue parties all jostling for electoral space with the bigger three. Like its predecessors, this book documents the background, framework and party preparations; recounts how the campaign unfolded; analyses the results and explores the consequences of the elections in both the British and the European context.

The European elections of 1999 highlight the liberation of the “European Question” from the old left-right conflicts. This electoral geography of Europe maps an increasingly diverse world of political opinion and commitment. The increasing strength of Green parties, the continued decline of European communism, and ethno-regionalism are some of the key issues that this book explores with the hope that Europe can begin constructing a real European public space within which a strong link to citizens can be woven.

Historians have pointed to John F. Kennedy’s 1960 campaign as the first time a presidential candidate relied extensively on public opinion polls. Since then, polling has come to define American politics, and is perhaps most clearly embodied in Bill Clinton, the most poll-driven president in history. Melvin G. Holli, however, reveals that reliance on public opinion polls dates to the New Deal Era, when Franklin D. Roosevelt employed a first-generation Finnish-American named Emil Hurja to conduct polls for his 1932 and 1936 campaigns. Roosevelt’s triumph in 1932 and in 1936, as well as the spectacular 1934 Democratic congressional victory, is legendary. What few people know is the story about what happened behind the scenes: Emil Hurja was the driving force behind the Democrats during the New Deal Era. Holli restores Hurja to his rightful place American history and politics, showing us that the Washington press corps were right on target when they dubbed Hurja the “Wizard of Washington.”

The Jehovah's Witnesses endured intense persecution under the Nazi regime, from 1933 to 1945. Unlike the Jews and others persecuted and killed by virtue of their birth, Jehovah's Witnesses had the opportunity to escape persecution and personal harm by renouncing their religious beliefs. The vast majority refused and throughout their struggle, continued to meet, preach, and distribute literature. In the face of torture, maltreatment in concentration camps, and sometimes execution, this unique group won the respect of many contemporaries. Up until now, little has been known of their particular persecution.

Government agencies have tended to attempt to project favorable public images of themselves as a method of building the public support they need to survive, all the more so in times of increasingly sophisticated communications and decreasingly available financial resources. This study analyzes NASA's efforts to build political support through its public image. Throughout its tumultuous history, the space agency has carefully tailored its use of basic images: nationalism (during the Mercury era), romanticism (during the Apollo era), and pragmatism (during the Shuttle era)--to fit its prevailing political circumstances. This in-depth study will be of keen interest to scholars in political science and political communication.

Benoit provides a comprehensive analysis of presidential television spots from every campaign that used this important message form, from the 1952 campaign through the last national campaign in 1996. More than 1,600 presidential spots are analyzed, from both primary and general campaigns. Republican, Democratic, and third party candidate advertisements are analyzed. He uses the Functional Theory of Political Campaign Discourse, analyzing themes in spots as acclaims (self-praise), attacks (criticism), and defenses (responses to attacks). Themes are classified according to topic. Each of these topics is broken down further (policy: past deeds, future plans, general goals; character: personal qualities, leadership ability, ideals). Contrasts are made between spots from Republicans and Democrats as well as third parties, incumbents and challengers, and winners and losers. The spots from candidates who led, trailed, or were in close races also are contrasted. Spots are becoming more negative over time, Benoit concludes, in both primary and general campaigns. General campaigns are more negative than primary campaigns, Democrats are more negative than Republicans, and challengers are more negative than incumbents. There are no differences between winners and losers. However, candidates who trailed throughout the campaign were most negative, while candidates in close races were most positive. An important analysis for scholars and researchers in political communication and American presidential politics.

The referendum first became established with voter ratification of the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780. Other types were adopted in the nineteenth century, largely through the efforts of Progressives and Populists seeking to authorize voters to utilize the initiative-referendum and protest referendum. Certain referenda, particularly on adoption or amendment of constitutions and local government charters, are well established and non-controversial. Other referenda, the general initiative-referendum and the protest referendum, have been controversial since their inception. Zimmerman analyzes a number of general initiative and protest referendum campaigns in order to develop conclusions as to their desirability and the need for reform.

Experience with the various types of referenda reveal the need for the development of a general theory of their use, combining elements of the theory of representative democracy based on the leadership-feedback model and the theory of direct democracy based upon decision making by assembled voters. Referenda experience also reveals that certain types of referenda would be unnecessary if each state government devolved broad powers to general purpose local government. Zimmerman's analysis of the development of the 16 types of referenda and their attributes and defects will be a major resource for scholars, students, policy makers, and the general public interested in issues of local and state government effectiveness and accountability.

Exploring the extent and nature of attitudinal ambivalence on public policy issues, these essays by distinguished scholars of public opinion examine citizens' conflicting attitudes about abortion, gay rights, environmental protection and property rights, crime and the police, and church-state relations. Linking ambivalence with a complex structure of belief, the contributors link the effects of ambivalence on information processing, the formation of policy preferences, and the impact of those policy preferences on voters' decisions. Using multiple approaches to measurement and research design, this volume helps build a sturdy foundation of knowledge about the phenomenon of ambivalence and its effects on politics. The concluding chapter provides an overview of our progress in understanding the effects of ambivalence on public opinion.

This text concerns the origins, organization and method of British, American and Soviet propaganda during the 1950s. It discusses propaganda's international and domestic dimensions, and charts the development of a shared Cold War culture. The book demonstrates how the structures of propaganda which were organized at this time endured, giving shape and meaning to the remaining years of the Cold War.

This text examines the political importance of moral opposition to authoritarian rule in Chile, 1973-90, as a challenge to the government's systematic human rights' violations. It was initially led by the Catholic Church, whose primate founded an organization to defend human rights: the Vicariate of Solidarity (1976-92). The book assesses the impact of moral opposition as a force for redemocratization by tracing the history and achievements of the Vicariate. It also argues that such moral matters are often underestimated in regime transition analysis.

Rose uses excerpts from advertising campaigns and government documents obtained through access to information legislation and archival data, much of which has been recently declassified and never before published, in this first comprehensive book-length investigation of state advertising. While its focus is on Canada, the book will be of interest to researchers of communications, politics, or advertising in any nation whose government advertises.