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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political structure & processes > Political leaders & leadership
"Things You Never Knew or Were Told Not to Believe" reveals facts about Abraham Lincoln that most Americans do not know and will find hard to believe. It also documents untold facts about our Civil War, American Imperialism, and the biggest con perpetrated on African Americans. It describes a second Civil War that began in 1865 and explains the genesis of public welfare and modern slavery with consequences that have made the black race a perpetual underclass. Author Robert Price documents the current war on black men and its devastating effects on black families. He believes few people know that Lincoln fought to prevent a second Civil War and its tragic lasting sectional and racial hostilities. He traces a clear history of the castration of Congress and the trashing of our Constitution by our Supreme Courts and presidents, who have assumed imperialistic powers. Price cites past and present examples of misused power and force, including the war against marriage by radical feminists and foolish restrictions on personal freedoms by religions and our government. He suggests commonsense measures to reverse the nation's course, regain lost freedoms, reduce class warfare, stop the war on the black race, and remove barriers to good racial relationships and the upward mobility of African Americans.
Mbeki was a complex figure, full of contradictions and paradoxes: a rural child who became an urban sophisticate; a prophet of Africa’s Renaissance who was also an anglophile; a committed young Marxist who, while in power, embraced conservative economic policies and protected white corporate interests; a rational and dispassionate thinker who was particularly sensitive to criticism and dissent; a champion of African self-reliance who relied excessively on foreign capital and promoted a continental economic plan – NEPAD – that was disproportionately dependent on foreign aid; and a thoughtful intellectual who supported policies on HIV/AIDS that withheld antiretroviral drugs from infected people, resulting in hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths. Thabo Mbeki is the most important African political figure of his generation and a dominant figure in South African politics for 14 years. A pan-African philosopher-king who spent two decades in exile, as president of Africa’s most industrialised state, he set out a sweeping vision of an African Renaissance. As a key liberation leader in exile, Mbeki was instrumental in his party’s anti-apartheid struggle. During the South African transition, he helped build one of the world’s most respected constitutional democracies. As president, despite some successes, he was unable to overcome South Africa’s inherited socioeconomic challenges, and his disastrous AIDS policies will remain a major blotch in his legacy. He will, however, be remembered more as a foreign policy president for his peacemaking efforts in Africa and in the building of continental institutions such as the African Union and NEPAD. This book seeks to rescue Mbeki from South African parochialism and to restore him to a pan-African pantheon.
Reaching for Utopia brings together insightful essays and profiles chronicling the remarkable political and cultural transformations of the last decade - from the fall of Gordon Brown, to the rise of Corbyn and the radical left, to Brexit. Cowley is fascinated by the men and women who are creating the history of our era as well as those who document it. He has met and interviewed nearly all the major political players shaping and changing the way we live today. The book features fascinating, wide-ranging narrative profiles of Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Ed Miliband, Jeremy Corbyn, Alex Salmond, Nigel Farage, David Cameron, George Osborne and Theresa May. Cowley is unusual in having access to party leaders and prime ministers on both the left and right. The book also features penetrating essays on writers such as George Orwell, John le Carre, Kazuo Insiguro, and Ian McEwan, personal essays, an investigation into the so-called Brexit Murder, and a striking conversation with the political philosopher Michael Sandel. Cowley is one of the most influential journalists in Britain. He is notable for being both a political and literary journalist. And he also writes about sport, especially football, and covered the 2006 World Cup in Germany for the Observer. He has been widely credited with transforming the fortunes of the New Statesman, which in 2017 has recorded its highest print circulation for nearly 40 years as well as becoming a major digital title with rapidly growing online profile. According to the European Press Prize, 'Cowley has succeeded in revitalising the New Statesman and re-establishing its position as an influential political and cultural weekly. He has given the New Statesman an edge and a relevance to current affairs it hasn't had for years.' In 2017, at the British Society of Magazine Editors awards, Cowley won the editor of the year award (politics and current affairs) for the third time. In 2018, he launched New Statesman America.
This book compares British, French, and American legislative debates on woman suffrage and women's rights. Beginning with an analysis of Tocqueville and J.S. Mill on the impact of suffrage, the book continues with analysis of floor debates, comparing gender style, the French on parity and the Americans on the ERA and concluding with modern debates.
Colin Powell epitomizes the American success story, yet his heroism is uncommon and unique. Born in New York City to Jamaican-immigrant parents, Powell entered a recently desegregated army, rising to become its highest-ranking member. He is a Republican at a time when a vast majority of African Americans consider themselves Democrats. He is one of the most famous Americans alive, yet has spent much of his professional life in behind-the-scenes positions. Beginning with his humble origins, this biography traces Powell's experiences from childhood, moving from his early days in the military through his climb to the highest echelons of power in Washington D.C. A timeline clarifies the key events in Powell's life and career, and a bibliography covers print and electronic sources for further research. This concise biography is ideal for students and general readers interested in the story behind one of America's most important and respected citizens, and the struggles an African American must face and overcome to succeed in contemporary America.
The narrative of Spiro Agnew's rise and fall has never been fully told. This compelling book tells the story of one of the most controversial, high-level politicians of recent American history and explains the importance of Agnew's life and career. Too often overlooked by students of modern conservatism, Spiro T. Agnew's political career mirrored the transformation of the Republicans from a "big tent" party to a narrower, more conservative, and ideologically purer one in the 1960s and 1970s. Spiro Agnew and the Rise of the Republican Right traces Agnew's life and career and shows how Agnew was a key figure in American politics-and documents how a powerful politician who looked to be headed to the presidency ended up having to resign from the office of the vice president in shame and fade into the shadows of political history. This political biography examines how Spiro Agnew's ideological transformation from a moderate liberal to a conservative spearheaded the rise of the Republican Right. Author Justin P. Coffey, PhD, explores the political, social, and racial aspects of Agnew's career and how he both influenced and was himself shaped by each of these parameters. This book offers an unprecedented study of Agnew's legacy in the present-day context, providing information suited for any reader interested in history or politics and filling a void in the scholarship of the rise of the conservative movement. Provides a comprehensive scholarly biography of Spiro Agnew, an important 20th-century politician who helped shape the direction of the Republican Party Presents historical information that documents how the conservatives took control of the Republican Party and caused a key shift in the party's ideology Helps explain the origins of the ideological divisions of American politics, allowing readers to better understand the current state of the two main political parties Written by the foremost expert on Agnew and an academic who specializes in recent American history
The New Deal as a Triumph of Social Work concerns the 'hand' the New Deal plays from the perspective of early American History in which government and business cooperation is assumed and economic rights are addressed collectively whereas political rights are considered individually. The New Deal reconfigures this 'ratio' of rights by folding 'social work' into the aims of government. Miller describes the vital part Frances Perkins and her personal history play in this development.
France Votes analyzes the French elections of 2012 in the context of a France and Europe in crisis. With regard to the economy, Irwin Wall describes the ways in which the country's adherence to the common currency in the Eurozone has stripped France of its freedom of manouver. France Votes shows how a European-wide economic crisis was reflected in political crisis at home and the rise of new political extremism combined with mass disaffection from politics altogether. The result of all of this, posits Wall, is that France has become a no-choice democracy.
For the Common Good showcases the insights, reflections, and recommendations of some of today's most forward-thinking and inspiring leaders, as they explore the challenges of leadership in the context of our global, 21st-century society. Featuring original essays by such luminaries as Nobel Prize winner John Hume; Leader-to-Leader Chair Frances Hesselbein; Harvard University's Howard Gardner; M.K. Gandhi Institute's Founder Arun Gandhi; poet David Whyte; and President Jimmy Carter, For the Common Good stresses the need for a new kind of leadership committed to promoting social welfare, justice, and opportunity. Against the all-too-familiar backdrop of corporate malfeasance, scandal in our religious institutions, political chicanery to serve ulterior motives, and constant reminders of the corruptive influences of power, the contributors apply their expertise in such fields as ecology, education, and conflict resolution to illuminate emerging roles and responsibilities of today's leaders. Collectively, the authors argue that because individuals, institutions, and societies are now so profoundly connected and inter-related, every decision of consequence has a ripple effect. Leaders of all stripes, including corporate executives, politicians, social activists, scientists, and educators, must display courage, integrity, humility, and the wherewithal to consider the long-term impact of their decision and actions. Most important, they must engage in dialogue and recognize that creative solutions to complex problems require collaboration across sectors and cultures to achieve common goals. The result is a provocative and multidimensional exploration of leadership in troubled and troublingtimes--but with a hopeful note that individuals and organizations will rise to the challenges.
There have been many serious abuses of presidential power in recent decades, including Watergate, the Iran-Contra scandal, and the Lewinsky affair, subsequently Americans have demonstrated renewed interest in discussing the relationship between character and political leadership. Through an investigation of the life and career of George Washington, often considered the exemplary moral president, the chapters offer a balanced scholarly contribution to this analysis. Fishman, Pederson, Rozell, and their contributors examine the legacy of Washingtons presidency. Leading political scientists and historians describe and evaluate the impact of Washington's leadership on the institution of the presidency and on those who have since occupied the Oval Office. In the contemporary era of almost endless speculation about the role of character in presidential leadership, an analysis of Washington's character and the model he established is especially germane. The chapters provide diverse interpretations of the value of understanding Washington's leadership and the character of the modern presidency. Some of the scholars conclude that Washington indeed laid the foundation for good character and strong leadership in the presidency. Others take a more critical approach and see Washington, like many of his successors, as a fallible human being who possessed both character strengths and weaknesses. The lasting value of this analysis for political scientists, historians, and other students of the American presidency is that it demonstrates the continued vibrant debate over Washington's authentic legacy to the office.
This book studies the way in which the top leadership in the Soviet Union changed over time from 1917 until the collapse of the country in 1991. Its principal focus is the tension between individual leadership and collective rule, and it charts how this played out over the life of the regime. The strategies used by the most prominent leader in each period - Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev and Gorbachev - to acquire and retain power are counterposed to the strategies used by the other oligarchs to protect themselves and sustain their positions. This is analyzed against the backdrop of the emergence of norms designed to structure oligarch politics. The book will appeal to students and scholars interested in the fields of political leadership, Soviet politics and Soviet history.
An intriguing exploration of the emotional relationship between historically significant leaders and their followers. In this wide-ranging historical exploration of transformational leadership, Popper examines why followers are influenced by leaders and what psychological dynamics exist between leaders and their subordinates, and, in the process, redefines the phenomenon of leadership. Exploring the emotional connections that bind charismatic leaders and those who support them, he contends that this multifaceted relationship is based on reciprocal need. By focusing on prominent figures throughout history who have altered the lives of their followers in profound ways, Popper shows how these leaders reinvented and disseminated value systems, for good (e.g., Nelson Mandela) and for ill (e.g., Hitler). Whether the influence of a charismatic leader is destructive and negative or constructive and positively transformative, this intriguing work argues that the reciprocal process that takes place between leader and follower is surprisingly similar. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Hitler, Charles Manson, and Jim Jones, Popper defines and explores three types of leader-follower relationships: regressive relationships, which are characterized by mutual dependence; symbolic relationships, which are rooted in symbolic meaning; and developmental-transformational relationships, which permit positive moral and emotional development. The author has written widely on leadership issues. Surveys a range of leaders, whose influence was beneficial or malign.
Edited by Robert A. Rutland and Thomas A. Mason Presidential style is an important attribute for holders of the nation's highest office, but the first volume of James Madison's presidential papers indicate that he was a reserved and unpretentious man concerned more with the substance than the style of the office. As the 1809 letters show, President Madison was besieged by office seekers and eccentric citizens who expected the chief executive to show concern for their personal problem. Ravenous politicians sought jobs for themselves and relatives. Madison personally answered at length the many testimonials from citizens' rallies and political gatherings. The domestic side of White House life--the decorating and improvement of the President's House--also forms an important segment of the documentary record. The multiplicity of presidential concerns revealed in the volume add a new perspective to our historic view of the nation's highest office.
At a crucial time in American history, John Tyler--elected vice president on the Whig ticket--became president upon the death of William Henry Harrison. The nation, after expanding across the continent, was suffering from sectional tensions, Indian conflicts, issues over slavery, and economic problems. Tyler's becoming president created a crisis for Whigs, who questioned his intentions, his past record, and his irregular political alliances. Soon, the course he set was unacceptable to both Whigs and Jacksonian Democrats. His presidency has not received the extensive scholarly study accorded many presidents. This bibliography provides an excellent beginning for those wishing to research Tyler and this critical period in American history. The definitive study of Tyler is yet to be written. Much of what has been written about him has been highly opinionated. Yet, as this bibliography reveals, primary material on Tyler is abundant. The volume presents in usable format most of the materials by and dealing with Tyler, including both secondary and primary materials. It also includes relevant information on his contemporaries and covers major works dealing with the period. It provides a good introduction to the literature of the times of Tyler.
An examination of four charismatic personalities who shaped much of the political debate in the latter half of the 20th century, this study reveals how Gandhi, Mandela, Mao, and Gorbachev led movements that remade the world through their own selfless inspiration, dynamic political leadership, and genuine moral courage. DeLuca analyzes the relationship between politics, culture, and society by focusing upon the personalities of these four figures and the ways in which they addressed issues of social change and political upheaval. Though different in terms of time and location, the problems they faced were similar, be it in their attempts to overthrow a repressive political regime or to promote economic and institutional reform within an existing system. While Gandhi's approach emphasized heightened spiritual awareness as a means of transforming the Indian people, Mandela's emphasis on a more militant form of social protest succeeded in stimulating the political energy of South Africa's black majority. Mao and GorbacheV's programs stood at opposite ends of the Marxist political spectrum. Mao made a popular revolution from below and sought to perpetuate the notions of total revolution and the complete transformation of the individual in Chinese society. Gorbachev, on the other hand, aimed to reform a stagnant Soviet system from above. Though his early initiatives engendered widespread enthusiasm, he was unable to restructure the Soviet system and ultimately found himself presiding over the collapse of the very system he had tried to revitalize.
My Journey at the Nuclear Brink is a continuation of William J. Perry's efforts to keep the world safe from a nuclear catastrophe. It tells the story of his coming of age in the nuclear era, his role in trying to shape and contain it, and how his thinking has changed about the threat these weapons pose. In a remarkable career, Perry has dealt firsthand with the changing nuclear threat. Decades of experience and special access to top-secret knowledge of strategic nuclear options have given Perry a unique, and chilling, vantage point from which to conclude that nuclear weapons endanger our security rather than securing it. This book traces his thought process as he journeys from the Cuban Missile Crisis, to crafting a defense strategy in the Carter Administration to offset the Soviets' numeric superiority in conventional forces, to presiding over the dismantling of more than 8,000 nuclear weapons in the Clinton Administration, and to his creation in 2007, with George Shultz, Sam Nunn, and Henry Kissinger, of the Nuclear Security Project to articulate their vision of a world free from nuclear weapons and to lay out the urgent steps needed to reduce nuclear dangers.
In 2000, for the first time in American political history, four former presidents were still alive after serving in the White House. This book critically and systematically examines press coverage of these four ex-presidents for three years after they left office. Through content analysis, the volume draws together the tone and major themes in press coverage of stories about Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H. Bush. The study serves as a useful historic document, depicting the private lives of these former presidents from both parties as seen through the American press. The book is a unique examination of the relationship between ex-presidents and the press. Examining the nature and scope of the relationship between the press and ex-presidents, the study assumes that although they are out of office and thus out of the limelight, ex-presidents still have powerful influence domestically and internationally. That influence makes it valuable to know how, and with what intensity, the press covers ex-presidents. This volume documents their post-White House careers through the prism of the press, enriching our understanding of life after the presidency.
This book explores the stagnation of democracy in the Western Balkans over the last decade. The author maps regional features of rising authoritarianism that mirror larger global trends and, in doing so, outlines the core mechanisms of authoritarian rule in the Balkans, with a particular focus on Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia. These mechanisms include the creation of constant crises, the use of external powers to balance outside influences, as well as state capture. The authoritarian patterns exist alongside formal democratic institutions, resulting in competitive authoritarian regimes that use social polarization to retain power. As the countries of the Western Balkans aspire, at least formally, to join the European Union, authoritarianism is often informal.
Using a variety of cases from history and today's life, the book examines character attackers targeting the private lives, behavior, values, and identity of their victims. Numerous historical examples show that character assassination has always been a very effective weapon to win political battles or settle personal scores.
In a fresh rendering of the role of leaders as healers, Forgiveness and Power in the Age of Atrocity considers love and power in the midst of personal, political, and social upheaval. Unexpected atrocity coexists alongside the quiet subtleties of mercy, and people and nations currently encounter a world in which not even the certainties of existence remain even as grace can sometimes arise under the most difficult circumstances. Ultimately, Forgiveness and Power in the Age of Atrocity is a book about the alienation and intimacy at war within us all. Ferch speaks to categorical human transgressions in the hope that readers will be compelled to examine their own prejudices and engage the moral responsibility to evoke in their own personal life, work life, and larger national communities a more humane and life-giving coexistence. In addition to a primary focus on servant leadership, the book addresses three interwoven aspects of social responsibility: 1) the nature of personal responsibility 2) the nature of privilege and the conscious and unconscious violence against humanity often harbored in a blindly privileged stance, and 3) the encounter with forgiveness and forgiveness-asking grounded in a personal and collective obligation to the well-being of humanity. Modernist and postmodernist notions of the will to meaning are considered against the philosophical notion of the will to power. The book examines the everyday existence of human values in a time when we inhabit a world filled as much with unwarranted cruelty as with the disarming nature of authentic and life-affirming love. The book asks the question: Can ultimate forgiveness change the heart of violence? In Forgiveness and Power, people are challenged not only by the work of profound thought leaders such as Mandela, Tutu, but also Simone Weil, Vaclav Havel, Emerson, Mary Oliver, Martin Luther King, Paulo Freire, bell hooks, and Robert Greenleaf. The hope of the book is that people of all ages and creeds come to a deeper understanding and of personal and collective responsibility for leadership that helps heal the heart of the world.
This essay collection is a retrospective analysis of the Washington administration's importance to the understanding of the modern presidency. Contemporary presidential scholarship gives little attention to the enormous impact that Washington's actions had on establishing the presidency. Most contemporary literature starts with 1933 and, although FDR's impact on the development of the modern institution of the presidency is undeniable, Washington's actions in office also established standards for practices that continue to this day. This analysis of the Washington presidency begins with an examination of Washington's leadership and its relevance to the modern presidency. The second group of essays looks at different aspects of presidential powers and the precedents established by the Washington administration. The third section examines Washington's press coverage, looking at the origins of Washington's image and the various myths in the press as well as the president's difficult relations with his contemporary press. A thoughtful and important corrective that will be of interest to scholars, students, and researchers involved with the American presidency and its history.
In 2015, Matteo Renzi's government continued to elicit contrasting reactions while dealing with both internal and external constraints. Some say it passed crucial reforms for economic development in fields such as the labor market, the banking system, education, and public administration, in addition to passing a new electoral law. However, others criticize the substance and, even more, the way reforms were passed by constructing variable parliamentary majorities according to the vote at hand, thus avoiding the need to build consensual decision-making relationships with interest groups and further centralizing power in the office of the prime minister. Be that as it may, the government was able to impose its own agenda in domestic affairs. Although the success of the 2015 Universal Exposition in Milan helped to bolster the image of the country, Italy continued to play a marginal role in key international areas, such as migration, European austerity policies, and the fight against terrorism. |
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