Most communists, as any plains state patriot would have told you in the 1950s, lived in Los Angeles or New York City, not Minot, North Dakota. The Cold War as it played out across the Great Plains was not the Cold War of the American cities and coasts. Nor was it tempered much by midwestern isolationism, as common wisdom has it. In this book, David W. Mills offers an enlightening look at what most of the heartland was up to while America was united in its war on Reds. Cold War in a Cold Land adopts a regional perspective to develop a new understanding of a critical chapter in the nation's history. Marx himself had no hope that landholding farmers would rise up as communist revolutionaries. So it should come as no surprise that in places like South Dakota, where 70 percent of the population owned land and worked for themselves, people didn't take the threat of internal subversion very seriously. Mills plumbs the historical record to show how residents of the plains states - while deeply patriotic and supportive of the nation's foreign policy - responded less than enthusiastically to national anticommunist programs. Only South Dakota, for example, adopted a loyalty oath, and it was fervently opposed throughout the state. Only Montana, prodded by one state legislator, formed an investigation committee - one that never investigated anyone and was quickly disbanded. Plains state people were, however, ""highly churched"" and enthusiastically embraced federal attempts to use religion as a bulwark against atheistic communist ideology. Even more enthusiastic was the Great Plains response to the military buildup that accompanied Cold War politics, as the construction of airbases and missile fields brought untold economic benefits to the region. A much-needed, nuanced account of how average citizens in middle America experienced Cold War politics and policies, Cold War in a Cold Land is a significant addition to the history of both the Cold War and the Great Plains.

Drawing on archival sources from Czechoslovakia, Poland, East Germany, Romania and Bulgaria, Perceptions of Society in Communist Europe considers whether and to what extent communist regimes cared about popular opinion, how they obtained their information, and how it helped them implement and maintain their rule. Contrary to popular belief, communist regimes sought to legitimise their domination with minimal resort to violence in order to maintain their everyday power. This entailed a permanent negotiation process between the rulers and the ruled, with public approval of governmental policies becoming key to their success. By analysing topics such as a Stalinist musical in Czechoslovakia, workers' letters to the leadership in Romania, children's television in Poland and the figure of the secret agent in contemporary culture, as well as many more besides, Muriel Blaive and the contributors demonstrate the potential of social history to deconstruct parochial national perceptions of communism. This cutting-edge volume is a vital resource for academics, postgraduates and advanced undergraduates studying East-Central European history, Stalinism and comparative communism.

This work deals with the political transition in Spain from authoritarianism to democracy and its impact on business. It addresses the fundamental questions of how business was affected by the transition and how business, in turn, influenced the course of democratization, through collective action, and how it influenced the marketplace through the aggregate of individual business decisions. The work has a strong empirical base. Data was collected from the chief executive officers of 260 Spanish companies and the managing directors of over one hundred affiliates of the top-ranked business association, the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (the "CEOE"). The work is particularly timely in light of the transitions occurring in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Unlike many earlier political transitions to more open systems, in Latin America and Southern Europe, the dynamics of economic change concurrent with political change is getting much greater attention in the East European transitions. The East European systems are attempting simultaneous political transitions with movement from command to market economies. Some East Europeans have studied the Spanish experience to garner lessons for their own efforts.

For decades the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico and the Canadian province of Quebec have been riveted by the politics of nationalism, the question of their final status, and the protection of their local languages. In the name of cultural defense, the legislatures in San Juan and Quebec City have passed several laws focusing on protecting the vernacular. Barreto explores these two cases and challenges some general preconceived notions about nationalist movements. A common premise in ethnic conflict studies is that nationalism is caused by cultural traits, such as language or religion, or is a result of a region's subservient economic role vis-a-vis the country's core. However, Barreto contends that Puerto Rican and Quebecois elites turned to nationalism in reaction to their social marginalization and economic suppression. Anglophone elites in the U.S. and Canada established a hegemonic order making English a requirement for social and economic ascendancy. Shunned by the country's dominant group on account of their language, elites in Puerto Rico and Quebec took up the banner of nationalism attempting to establish a "counter-hegemonic" order. Thus, nationalism, Barreto contends, is an unanticipated reaction to the exclusionary attitudes and policies of one group against another. This analysis is important to political scientists, social scientists, and researchers involved with nationalism, ethnic conflict, and Puerto Rican and Canadian studies.

This provocative volume explores how and why the word "patriot" has been appropriated by those who fight against the U.S. government-sometimes advocating violence in support of their goals. Today, as in the past, some "patriot" groups in America long for a return to traditional values and believe it is their duty to stop an intrusive government from whittling away at the freedoms that define the United States. This book looks at the origins and current activities of such groups through an exploration of the dual nature of the patriot in American mythos-the unquestioning lover of the country and its policies versus the man or woman who places the founding principle of limited government above all else. Focusing on contemporary patriot groups and their impact on U.S. society, the work offers insights into factors that have contributed to the rise of such groups in the past that are again manifesting themselves. It explores the groups' motivations and justifications and shows how these groups use the emotionally powerful sentiment of patriotism to agitate for change and promote political violence. Perhaps most significant for readers is a discussion of the beliefs that divide the American public today as reflected in the ideologies of patriot groups-and what this means for the future. Addresses the wide range of "patriot" groups currently active in the United States, covering their origins and current activities and what they reveal about America's political state Profiles well-known patriot groups Discusses the political, economic, and social dynamics that perpetuate the growth of these movements Explores how and why such groups evolved from guardians of the principles of restrained government to proponents of radicalized violence against those they see as being in opposition to their beliefs Overviews the congruence of patriotism and political violence in U.S. history, such as how disillusionment in the wake of the Civil War provided fodder for the forming of the Klu Klux Klan

In and out of the Maasai Steppe looks at the Maasai women in the Maasai Steppe of Tanzania. The book explores their current plight - threatened by climate change - in the light of colonial history and post-independence history of land seizures. The book documents the struggles of a group of women to develop new livelihood income through their traditional beadwork. Voices of the women are shared as they talk about how it feels to share their husband with many co-wives, and the book examines gender, their beliefs, social hierarchy, social changes and in particular the interface between the Maasai and colonials.

This is the first original book-length study of corruption in the People's Republic of China. The work relates the corruption issue to ongoing political processes and policies of the Chinese Communist Party by examining the broader context of social transformation, consolidation, and modernization in post-1949 China. The study has a twofold goal: (1) to present fresh source material on corruption in China, much of it previously unavailable in the West; and (2) to provide an analysis of China's corruption using a novel approach--the policy outcomes perspective. More specifically, it examines three levels of policies adopted by the Chinese Communist Party (general policies, organizational policies, and anti-corruption policies) to see how certain policy patterns have affected the identification of corruption, corruption forms, and anti-corruption measures.

In settler societies, some conflicts have roots that are both ethnic and colonial in nature. These are conflicts between an indigenous ethnic group and groups and between an ethnic group and groups of settlers who have been transplanted to a territory by a colonial power as part of a colonizing effort. This study examines the role that liberal parties have played and can play in recent conflicts in Israel/Palestine, Northern Ireland, and South Africa. Typically, such parties reject the conventional wisdom of the settler population regarding the nature of the conflict. They also reject the radical thinking of the liberation movements and offer, instead, a third alternative. Mitchell hopes that this study will provide useful information for current liberal parties in Central and Eastern Europe and Israel.

Ultimately, many of the liberal party's ideas are adopted by the main settler parties, allowing for a resolution of the conflict, generally through a compromise between the liberal and indigenous positions. However, before such resolution can occur, the liberals must achieve an electoral breakthrough that gives them a minimum of between five and ten percent of votes; they must also obtain significant stable representation in parliament. Liberal leadership must be innovative, offering new solutions that depart from the conventional wisdom of both sides. Mitchell provides the most detailed account yet published on the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland. He also includes extensive information on the KwaZulu/Natal Indaba of 1986 and analysis of the electoral fortunes of the Progressive Federal Party in South Africa.

A brilliant meditation on politics, morality, and history from one of the most courageous and controversial authors of our age Renowned Eastern European author Adam Michnik was jailed for more than six years by the communist regime in Poland for his dissident activities. He was an outspoken voice for democracy in the world divided by the Iron Curtain and has remained so to the present day. In this thoughtful and provocative work, the man the Financial Times named "one of the 20 most influential journalists in the world" strips fundamentalism of its religious component and examines it purely as a secular political phenomenon. Comparing modern-day Poland with postrevolutionary France, Michnik offers a stinging critique of the ideological "virus of fundamentalism" often shared by emerging democracies: the belief that, by using techniques of intimidating public opinion, a state governed by "sinless individuals" armed with a doctrine of the only correct means of organizing human relations can build a world without sin. Michnik employs deep historical analysis and keen political observation in his insightful five-point philosophical meditation on morality in public life, ingeniously expounding on history, religion, moral thought, and the present political climate in his native country and throughout Europe.

This book examines conferences and commissions held for British colonial territories in East and Central Africa in the early 1960s. Until 1960, the British and colonial governments regularly employed hard methods of colonial management in East and Central Africa, such as instituting states of emergency and imprisoning political leaders. A series of events at the end of the 1950s made hard measures no longer feasible, including criticism from the United Nations. As a result, softer measures became more prevalent, and the use of constitutional conferences and commissions became an increasingly important tool for the British government in seeking to manage colonial affairs. During the period 1960-64, a staggering sixteen conferences and ten constitutional commissions were held for British colonies in East and Central Africa. This book is the first of its kind to provide a detailed overview of how the British sought to make use of these events to control and manage the pace of change. The author also demonstrates how commissions and conferences helped shape politics and African popular opinion in the early 1960s. Whilst giving the British government temporary respite, conferences and commissions ultimately accelerated the decolonisation process by transferring more power to African political parties and engendering softer perceptions on both sides. Presenting both British and African perspectives, this book offers an innovative exploration into the way that these episodes played an important part in the decolonisation of Africa. It shows that far from being dry and technical events, conferences and commissions were occasions of drama that tell us much about how the British government and those in Africa engaged with the last days of empire.

With an introduction by Dr. Laurence Marlow. A spectre is haunting Europe (and the world). Not, in the twenty-first century, the spectre of communism, but the spectre of capitalism. Marx's prediction that the state would wither away of its own accord has proved inaccurate, and he did not foresee the tyrannies which have ruled large parts of the globe in his name. Indeed, he would have been appalled if he had witnessed them. But his analysis of the evils and dangers of raw capitalism is as correct now as when it was written, and some of his suggestions (progressive income tax, abolition of child labour, free education for all children) are now accepted with little question. In a world where capitalism is no longer held in check by fear of a communist alternative, The Communist Manifesto (with Socialism Utopian and Scientific, Engels's brief and clear exposition of Marxist thought) is essential reading. The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844 is Engels's first, and probably best-known, book. With Henry Mayhew's London Labour and the London Poor, it was and is the outstanding study of the working class in Victorian England.

Religion and Comparative Development is the first analytical endeavor on religion and government that incorporates microeconomic modeling of democracy and dictatorship as well as empirical linkages between religious norms and the bureaucratic provision of public goods within the framework of survey data analysis and public goods experiments. Moreover, it explores the rising significance of religion in Middle East and post-Soviet politics, as well as in current migration, security and party developments in the United States and Europe alike through these lenses. This book underscores the significance of religion as a crucial factor for political development and economic transformation, suggesting that all world religions can offer pathways to peace and development through different institutional channels. With a multiplicity of methods (statistical modeling, game theory, lab-in-the-field experiments, comparative historical analysis), the author observes how religion impacts political economy and international politics, and not always negatively. This demystification of religion goes beyond the classical discussion on the role of religion in the public sphere and sets the grounds for explaining why some economies are more likely to be democracies and others dictatorships. Researchers, graduate and undergraduate students of economics and social sciences, and faculty members who are interested in cutting-edge research on economics and culture will want this book in their collection. It insights will also be useful for policy-makers, administrators, historians, and civic organizations.

"A first-rate survey of the various strands of domestic extremism, from far left to far right, that are increasingly convulsing our country. A must-read for students, scholars, officials, and others entering this important field."--Mark Potok, Southern Poverty Law Center "With contributions on areas ranging from anti-abortion extremism to modern anarchism and black nationalism, this is a fascinating study of an often neglected and vital area of American politics."--Martin Durham, author of White Rage: The Extreme Right and American Politics The American Republic was born in revolt against the British crown, and ever since, political extremism has had a long tradition in the United States. To some observers, the continued presence of extremist groups--and the escalation of their activities--portends the fragmentation of the country, while others believe such is the way American pluralism works. The word extremism often carries negative connotations, yet in 1964 Barry Goldwater famously said, "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice." Extremism in America is a sweeping overview and assessment of the various brands of bigotry, prejudice, zealotry, dogmatism, and partisanship found in the United States, including the extreme right, the antiglobalization movement, Black Nationalism, Chicano separatism, militant Islam, Jewish extremism, eco-extremism, the radical antiabortion movement, and extremist terrorism. Many of these forms of single-minded intolerance are repressed by both the state and society at large, but others receive significant support from their constituencies and enjoy a level of respectability in some quarters of the mainstream. The essays in this volume examine the relationship between these movements and the larger society, dissect the arguments of contemporary American anarchist activists, look at recent trends in political extremism, and suggest how and why such arguments resonate with a considerable number of people.

Emma Goldman is one of the most celebrated activists and philosophers of the early 20th century, admired and reviled for her anarchist ideas and vociferous support of free speech and personal liberation. A polarizing figure in life, Emma Goldman was among the first advocates of birth control for women. From 1900 to 1920 she was in and out of jail in the United States on charges of illegally promoting contraception, inciting riots in favor of her social and economic causes, and discouraging potential recruits to avoid the draft for World War I. Although Goldman initially supported the Bolshevik Revolution, the resulting Soviet Union's repressiveness caused an abrupt reversal in her opinion. Goldman's narrative is thorough yet compelling; her childhood in Russia, her emigration to the USA as a teenager, and her attraction to anarchist and social causes is told.

With a background of technological and communication innovations, socialization research, particularly as it refers to cultural and academic learning, has become increasingly connected with the business and economic aspects of global societies. Nationalism, Cultural Indoctrination, and Economic Prosperity in the Digital Age examines the doctrines that society is expected not to question, particularly the influence these beliefs have on business and the prosperity of the world as a whole. This book is an essential resource for business executives, scholar-practitioners, and students who need a multidisciplinary approach to the effects of culture on cognitive strategies and professional methodologies.

'This book was written to give an account of Socialism, Anarchism, and Syndicalism. It was completed in the early months of 1918 and before the end of the First World War was imaginable. The prospect of peace seemed remote. So much has happened since that time ...and the solutions, urgent problems and immediate hopes are no longer what they were in 1918. But the problem of preserving as much liberty as possible under Socialism is even more urgent now than then, and the greater part of what is said on this problem in this book still seems to me valid.' - Bertrand Russell, from his 1948 preface.

With the summer of 2012 marking half a century of independence for Algeria, the Algerian War has been brought into discussions in France once more, where parallels between the past and present are revealed. This analysis takes an in-depth look at the war from 1954 to 1962 and the response from the French left. Drawing from documents and interviews, it offers a full account of not only the role of the revolutionary left in giving political and practical solidarity to the Algerian liberation struggle, but also that of the Trotskyists during that period. Including a section on how the war has been reflected in fiction, this volume is sure to interest academics across various fields.