Nearly two decades after he was anointed by Nelson Mandela as his successor, Cyril Ramaphosa has at last taken office as the president of South Africa. But the country Ramaphosa has inherited is very different from the rainbow nation that Mandela led in the 1990s.

The South Africa of 2018 is divided and caught in a web of state capture, corruption, poverty and despair. The Zuma years have left the country and its institutions battered and bruised.

Can Ramaphosa pull South Africa out of the quagmire and restore it to its former glory, as so many people desperately hope? Is his turn at the presidency really the beginning of a new dawn.

Ralph Mathekga answers these questions, and more, in this riveting book.

In the summer of 2000, the most decorated soldier in Israel's history – Ehud Barak – set himself a challenge as daunting as any he had faced on the battlefield: to secure a final peace with the Palestinians. He would propose two states for two peoples, with a shared capital in Jerusalem. He knew the risks of failure. But he also knew the risks of not trying: letting slip perhaps the last chance for a generation to secure genuine peace.

It was a moment of truth.

It was one of many in a life intertwined, from the start, with that of Israel. Born on a kibbutz, Barak became commander of Israel's elite special forces, then army Chief of Staff, and ultimately, Prime Minister.

My Country, My Life tells the unvarnished story of his - and his country's - first seven decades; of its major successes, but also its setbacks and misjudgments. He offers candid assessments of his fellow Israeli politicians, of the American administrations with which he worked, and of himself. Drawing on his experiences as a military and political leader, he sounds a powerful warning: Israel is at a crossroads, threatened by events beyond its borders and by divisions within. The two-state solution is more urgent than ever, not just for the Palestinians, but for the existential interests of Israel itself. Only by rediscovering the twin pillars on which it was built – military strength and moral purpose – can Israel thrive.

Often portrayed as an inept and stubborn tyrant, South Vietnamese president Ngo Dinh Diem has long been the subject of much derision but little understanding. Philip Catton's penetrating study provides a much more complex portrait of Diem as both a devout patriot and a failed architect of modernization. In doing so, it sheds new light on a controversial regime.

Catton treats the Diem government on its own terms rather than as an appendage of American policy. Focusing on the decade from Dien Bien Phu to Diem's assassination in 1963, he examines the Vietnamese leader's nation-building and reform efforts-particularly his Strategic Hamlet Program, which sought to separate guerrilla insurgents from the peasantry and build grassroots support for his regime. Catton's evaluation of the collapse of that program offers fresh insights into both Diem's limitations as a leader and the ideological and organizational weaknesses of his government, while his assessment of the evolution of Washington's relations with Saigon provides new insight into America's growing involvement in the Vietnamese civil war.

Focusing on the Strategic Hamlet Program in Binh Duong province as an exemplar of Diem's efforts, Catton paints the Vietnamese leader as a progressive thinker trying to simultaneously defeat the communists and modernize his nation. He draws on a wealth of Vietnamese language sources to argue that Diem possessed a firm vision of nation-building and sought to overcome the debilitating dependence that reliance on American support threatened to foster. As Catton shows, however, Diem's plans for South Vietnam clashed with those of the United States and proved no match for the Vietnamese communists.

Catton analyzes the mutually frustrating interactions between Diem and the administrations of Eisenhower and Kennedy, highlighting personality and cultural clashes, as well as specific disagreements within the American government over how to deal with Diem's programs and his hostility toward American goals. Revealing patterns in this uneasy alliance that have eluded other observers, he also clarifies many of the problems, setbacks, and miscalculations experienced by the communist movement during that era.

Neither an American puppet, as communist propaganda claimed, nor a backward-looking mandarin, according to Western accounts, Catton's Diem is a tragic figure who finally ran out of time, just a few weeks before JFK's assassination and at a moment when it still seemed possible for America to avoid war.

This engaging new biography dispels many myths surrounding Nehru, and distinguishes between the icon he has become and the politician he actually was. Benjamin Zachariah places Nehru in the context of the issues of his time, including the central theme of nationalism, the impact of Cold War pressures on India and the transition from colonial control to a precarious independence. How did Jawaharlal Nehru come to lead the Indian nationalist movement, and how did he sustain his leadership as the first Prime Minister of independent India? Nehru's vision of India, its roots in Indian politics and society, as well as its viability have been central to historical and present-day views of India. Connecting the domestic and international aspects of his political life and ideology, this study provides a fascinating insight into Nehru, his times and his legacy.

In September 2009 Dmitrii Medvedev unveiled the term that was to become the defining objective of his presidency: 'modernization.' The contributors to this book, drawn from the leading scholars in Russian affairs, focus on the contested nature of the concept of modernization and the obstacles that arose in attempting to carry it out.

Published to coincide with the launch of Ron Howard's blockbuster film, and following on from the huge success of the eponymous West End and Broadway play, "Frost/Nixon" tells the extraordinary story of how David Frost pursued and landed the biggest fish of his career.

When he first conceived the idea of interviewing Richard Nixon and trying to bring the ex-President to confront his past, he was told on all sides that the project would never get off the ground. Yet in the end he succeeded, and the resulting television series drew larger audiences than any news programme ever had in the United States, before being shown all over the world.

Including hilarious tales of the people Frost encountered along the way and fascinating insights into the making of the series itself, this book provides an account of the only public trial that Nixon would ever have, and a revelation of the man's character as it appeared in the stress of twelve gruelling sessions before the cameras. Fully revised and updated with historical perspective, and including transcripts of the edited interviews, "Frost/Nixon" describes David Frost's quest to produce one of the most dramatic pieces of television ever broadcast.

In this compelling look at charismatic leaders and their leadership styles, Abraham Zaleznik asserts that leaders are either '"hedgehogs, '" who view leadership as a single-minded track driven by unwavering rules, or '"foxes, '" who""assess and re-evaluate their goals and strategies based on ever-changing factors in business, politics, and culture. Covering dynamic personalities from Dwight Eisenhower to Martin Luther King, Jr., Zaleznik draws illuminating conclusions about psycho-politics and negotiations of power and command, celebrating innovative problem-solving skills.

* Author has track record of excellent scholarship * Accessible and engaging for a wide range of undergraduate and advanced students * Book addresses key themes of an important and widely studied period

Tibet's Fate examines the issue of the political fate of Tibet. It is told by Tibetans themselves as well as by the author from his own experiences. The title is not meant to imply that the current fate of Tibet is an ultimate destiny, or even that Tibet's fate is already decided. It is only meant in the sense that if Tibet's fate is now determined, it has been determined not by the Tibetan people but by those of China. If it is to be determined by China, then Tibet's fate is indeed to be an integral part of China. However, if Tibet's fate were to be decided by the Tibetan people, if they were allowed their right to national self-determination, then it would definitely be different. Given all the criteria for independent statehood-territory, culture, language, religion and government-Tibet surely should be an independent state. Tibetan territory, defined by altitude, was the very nearly exclusively habitation of people who identified themselves as Tibetans. Those people share a distinct culture, language and religion. They had a central government that directly administered the territory of Central Tibet and indirectly that of Kham and Amdo. Had Tibetans been allowed to determine for themselves their political status; that is, if they had the right to self-determination as specified in the most fundamental documents of international law, there is no doubt that they would have chosen independence. Whatever the flaws of the Tibetan social and political systems, Tibet should have had the right to determine its own fate, and could have done so, until deprived of that right by China. The book also examines the sensitive question of the nature of the Tibetan political system and its role in the fate that has befallen Tibet. The author concludes that the Tibetan political system of Chosi Shungdrel, or the unity of religion and politics, is implicated in the failure of Tibet to maintain its independence.

Steve Itugbu, for many years a foreign policy aide to Obasanjo, draws on an extensive corpus of official documents, interviews, unpublished material and first-hand experience to explore the president's multi-faceted personality in depth. In so doing, Itugbu demonstrates that Nigeria's foreign policy has suffered through a combination of personalisation - that is subjugation to the will of Obasanjo - and the failings of bureaucratic structures. The book focuses specifically on Nigeria's decision not to intervene in Darfur in 2004, which is shown to be attributable to Obasanjo's politicking and inherent focus on shoring up his own position. Ultimately, an important opportunity for the African Union to set a precedent for humanitarian intervention was missed - a pattern which has since repeated itself across Africa. Such personalisation is common in the region, and the book therefore acts as a case study for better understanding the problems facing foreign policy making, diplomacy and leadership in Africa. Throughout, Itugbu provides a reasoned and thorough analysis of the complex and interconnected issues facing Nigeria and Africa today, and the prospects of resolving these in the future. This behind-the-scenes account of the mechanics of Nigerian foreign policy is essential reading for all students, researchers and policy makers working on Africa.

Explore the effects women have had on Congress Containing vital insights into the role women play in Congress, Women and Congress: Running, Winning, and Ruling is a unique look into the political standing of female candidates and congresswomen. Chapters written by noted political scientists consider the challenges of being a congresswoman in the male-dominated political arena, illustrate the fundamental and advanced techniques vital to winning an election, and show how congresswomen have been most effective once in office.Women and Congress brings you thoughtful discussions of: how campaign finance, speaking on the floor, introducing new legislation, and political action committees have contributed to the success of women politicians the effect of media on election outcomes, including the media's portrayal of women and the ways female candidates present themselves to the media discrimination against women in media coverage differences in the ways Democratic and Republican women view political issues the political glass ceiling (how incumbency, gender, and strategy play a role in elections) and much more

This book demonstrates how particular values and 'notions of leadership', which underpinned traditional Malay leadership, have played a crucial role in the political evolution of the modern Malaysian nation. The author discusses the nature of Malay 'notions of leadership', and considers this throughout the Malay world at the local as well as at the national level, and goes on to describe and analyse leadership from pre-independence leadership in the colonial period through the rule of Malaysia's four prime ministers. He draws on anthropology, psychology, and political and economic history to show how Malay leaders have kept within the established track of the Malay value system, responding in particular to the expectation of their people to provide a sense of national identity and unity against the complex background of the Malaysian 'mosaic', while addressing the needs of the wider multi-ethnic community.

There are few individuals in modern Spanish history that have been as thoroughly mythologized as Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera, a leading figure in the Spanish Civil War who was executed by the Republicans in 1936 and celebrated as a martyr following the victory of the Falangists. In this long-awaited translation, Joan Maria Thomas provides a measured, exhaustively researched study of Primo de Rivera's personality, beliefs, and political activity. His biography shows us a man dedicated to the creation of a fascist political regime that he aspired to one day lead, while at the same carefully distinguishing his aims from those of the Falangists and the Franco Regime.

As citizens, why do we care about the everyday life of ministers and civil servants? We care because the decisions of the great and the good affect all our lives, for good or ill. For all their personal, political, and policy failings and foibles, they make a difference. So, we want to know what ministers and bureaucrats do, why, and how. We are interested in their beliefs and practices.
In Everyday Life in British Government, a fascinating, new piece of political anthropology, R.A.W. Rhodes uncovers exactly how the British political elite thinks and acts. Drawing on unprecedented access to ministers and senior civil servants in three government departments, he answers a simple question: 'what do they do?' On the basis of extensive fieldwork, supplemented by revealing interviews, Rhodes tries to capture the essence of their everyday life, describes the ministers' and permanent secretaries' world through their own eyes, and explores how their beliefs and practices serve to create meaning in politics, policy making, and public-service delivery. Everyday Life in British Government goes on to analyze how such beliefs and practices are embedded in traditions; in webs of protocols, rituals, and languages.
The story Rhodes has to tell is dramatized through in-depth accounts of specific events to show ministers and civil servants 'in action'. He challenges the conventional constitutional, institutional, and managerial views of British governance. Instead, he describes a storytelling political-administrative elite, with beliefs and practices rooted in the Westminster model, which uses protocols and rituals to domesticate rude surprises and cope with recurrent dilemmas.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Mao Tse-tung and Genghis Khan are among the 200 well-known historical figures included in this volume. Examples of other lesser-known, yet important, individuals covered in this work are: Adolphus Gustavas, Swedish empire creator; Hatshepsut, queen of ancient Egyptian dynasty; and Jean Jaures, French socialist leader and pacifist. Each synopsis provides information on each individual's enduring impact on the common understanding of fundamental themes of human existence.

A highly original and critical introduction to the revolutionary and napoleonic conflicts. It illuminates the less well-known areas of the subject, such as the changing atttitude of the French people towards Napoleon, as well as providing a balanced account of the campaigns of Wellington and Napoleon.
Based on current historiography, this book discusses the expansion of France, the extent to which Napoleon was responsible for this success, and the events leading up to his subsequent exile. It also provides a clear examination of each of the coalitions which fought against France.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203209745

This enriching book explores a theoretical gap in international relations and the role of leader ambition. It presents the idea that some leaders transcend political constraints and as a result, they fundamentally reshape their domestic polity while introducing change to the international system.Mark Menaldo revisits what is a fundamental question in the study of international politics: the role of statesmanship in foreign affairs. He critiques prevailing realist, rational choice, and personality theories of international relations for conceiving of leadership too narrowly. This book introduces the novel theory of transformative ambition, the idea that some leaders transcend domestic and international political constraints and, as a result, fundamentally reshape their domestic polity while introducing change to the international system. Drawing on Aristotle's idea of magnanimity and Niccolo Machiavelli's lessons to princes through his examples of great founders, the author shows how leaders throughout time accomplish great goals through the force of their vision, character, and practice of statesmanship. Case studies include Otto Von Bismarck, Latin America's autocrats, Woodrow Wilson, Charles de Gaulle, and Pericles. Providing a critique of international relations theory and a critical examination of how leaders with transformative ambition change domestic and international politics, this book will appeal to leadership, politics and international relations academics and students. Contents: Introduction 1. Realism and Ambition: Otto von Bismarck Reconsidered 2. The Strategic Perspective of Leadership: Ambition as Political Survival 3. Personality and Political Ambition 4. Transformational Leadership: A Theoretical Critique 5. Aristotle's Idea of Magnanimity and Transformative Ambition 6. Pericles' Transformative Ambition (1): Regime Politics and Character 7. Pericles' Transformative Ambition (2): Democracy, Empire, and the Peloponnesian War Conclusion References Index

School Psychologists as Advocates for Social Justice explores how school psychologists promote and protect the educational rights of children, using the author's extensive experience as illustration. The roles of school psychologists have expanded from strictly assessment to advising school districts on how to improve school climate, helping schools face tragedy, and counseling students dealing with trauma. Combined with pertinent research, personal narratives describe challenges the author faced while a teacher and later as a school psychology practitioner and illustrate how necessary advocacy is in addressing the academic, behavioral, and emotional needs of students. Careful consideration is given to equity issues of disability, racism, Islamophobia, and bilingualism in schools. Combining informative personal experience with research, emphasizing the importance of children's rights within the school community, and encouraging effective advocacy with legislative leaders, this book is a necessity for both new and seasoned school psychologists.

American MARTIN YAN BTJREN BT EDWARD M. SHEPARD BOSTON ANI NEW TOKK HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY Cambridge COPYRIGHT, l888, BY EDWARD M. SHEPARD COPYRIGHT, 1899, BY EDWARD M. SHEPARD AND HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN CO. COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY CHARLES S. SHEPARD, AGNES S. HEWITT, EDWARD . HEWITT, AND RUSSELL C. LEFFINGWBLL ALL RIGHTS RESERVED PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION SINCE 1888, when this Life was originally published, the history of American Politics has been greatly enriched. The painstaking and can did labors of Mr. Fiske, Mr. Adams, Mr. Rhodes, and others have gone far to render unnecessary the caveat I then entered against the unfairness, or at least the narrowness, of the temper with which Van Buren, or the school to which he belonged, had thus far been treated in American literature, and which had prejudicially misled me before I began my work. Such a caveat is no longer necessary. Even now, when the political creed of which Jef ferson, Van Buren, and Tilden have been chief apostles in our land, seems to suffer some degree of eclipse, only temporary, it may well be be lieved, but nevertheless real, those who, like myself, have undertaken to present the careers of great Americans who held this faith need not fear injustice or prejudice in the field of American lit erature. In this revised edition I have made a few cor rections and added a few notes but the generous vi PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION treatment which has been given to the book has confirmed my belief that historic truth requires no material change. A passage from the diary of Charles Jared Ingersoll Life by William M. Meigs, 1897 tempts me, in this most conspicuous place of the book, to emphasize my observation upon one injustice often done to Van Buren. Referring, on May 6, 1844, to his letter, then just published, against the annexation of Texas, Mr. Ingersoll declared that, in view of the fact that nearly all of Van Burens admirers and most of the Democratic press were committed to the annexation, Van Buren had committed a great blunder and become fdo de se. The assumption here is that Van Buren was a poli tician of the type so painfully familiar to us, whose sole and conscienceless effort is to find out what is to be popular for the time, in order, for their own profit, to take that side. That Van Buren was politic there can be no doubt. But he was politic after the fashion of a statesman and not of a dema gogue. He disliked to commit himself upon issues which had not been fully discussed, which were not ripe for practical solution by popular vote, and which did not yet need to be decided. Mr. Inger soll should have known that the direct and simple explanation was the true one, that Van Baren knew the risk and meant to take it. His letter PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION vii against the annexation of Texas, written when he knew that it would probably defeat him for the presidency, was but one of several acts performed by him at critical periods, wherein he deliberately took what seemed the unpopular side in order to be true to his sense of political and patriotic duty. The crucial tests of this kind through which he successfully passed must, beyond any doubt, put him in the very first rank of those American statesmen who have had the rare union of politi cal foresight and moral courage. EDWARD M. SHEPARD. January, 1899. CONTENTS PA01 L AMERICAN POLITICS WHEN YAK BUBBNS CAREER BEGAN. JBFFEBSONS INFLUENCE... 1 IL EABLY TEARS. PBOFBSSIONAL LIFE . . 14 EDL STATE SENATOR ATTORNEY-GENEBAL MEMBER OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION . . 88 IV. UNITED STATES SENATOR. BBE TABUSHMTENT OF PASTIES. PABTY LEADERSHIP ... 88 V. DEMOCRATIC VIOT DBY IN 1828. GOVBENOB . 158 VI. SECBETABY OF STATE. DEFINITE FORMATION OF THE DEMOCRATIC CREED . .... 177 VIL MJNISTEB TO ENGLAND. VICB-PBESIBBNT. ELECTION TO THE PRESIDENCY .... 228 Vm. CBISIS OF 1837 282 IX. PBESIDENT. STTB-TBEASTTBY BILL . .825 X. PBBSIDBNT. CANADIAN INSURRECTION. TEXAS. SEMINOLE WAB...

What if there's a hidden dimension to Donald Trump; a sensitive, poetic side? Driven by this question, Rob Sears began combing Trump's words for signs of poetry. What he found was a revelation. By simply taking the 45th President of the United States' tweets and transcripts, cutting them up and reordering them, Sears unearthed a trove of beautiful verse that was just waiting to be discovered. This groundbreaking collection gives readers a glimpse of Trump's innermost thoughts and feelings on everything from the nature of truth, to what he hates about Lord Sugar. And it will reveal a hitherto hidden Donald, who may surprise and delight both students and critics alike. Now with seventeen all-new poems! As we lurch deeper into the Trump presidency, this timely publication also includes Sears' scholarly footnotes and introduction, in which he excavates new critical angles and insights into the President's poetry which the casual reader might initially overlook.

Perhaps the twentieth century's most revered presidents, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan could not seem more different as standard-bearers of liberal and conservative revolutions. But, as John Sloan demonstrates, they were more similar than most people suppose.

One rising out of the Great Depression and the self-defeating efforts of Herbert Hoover, the other out of the malaise of the 1970s and the failings of Jimmy Carter, both these presidents entered office with a mandate for change and oversaw a quantum shift in the national psyche. And while everyone takes their clashing visions for granted, Sloan demonstrates that these two very different presidents shared an ability to replace exhausted old leadership with a genuinely new vision.

FDR and Reagan is a study of how old regimes unravel, how new ones are constructed, and how the political system is rejuvenated. Adapting noted presidential scholar Stephen Skowronek's framework, Sloan analyzes how two iconic "reconstructive" presidents redefined the country's fundamental philosophy, priorities, and policies as he weighs their similarities, differences, and impacts. He compares their lives, core policies, and leadership traits and shows that today's politics and policies are still heavily influenced by these key presidencies.

Each of these men transformed the way Americans thought about the legitimate role of government, whether providing more security for citizens or stepping back from federal regulation. But, as Sloan reminds us, the new order never totally destroys the old-reconstructive presidents never completely eradicate the ideas and programs associated with the regime they replaced. Big business survived the New Deal, just as the welfare state weathered the Reagan Revolution.

As with other transformative presidents before them, the words and deeds of FDR and Reagan have taken on nearly mythical significance; yet Americans remain torn between the economic security offered by one and the economic freedom championed by the other. Sloan's book helps readers see through this contradiction and better understand the decisive role of presidents in promoting national progress.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 was a war long in the making and is the latest in a series of military interventions that have showcased Vladimir Putin’s deadly imperial ambitions and the ruthless and bloody strategies that serve his vision of a greater Russia. Putin’s Russia wants its empire back and it has taken the events in Ukraine for the West to finally realize it. Alex Bellamy examines the road to Ukraine 2022 and charts the path from Chechnya, Putin’s first war which helped propel him to the presidency, through to conflict in Georgia, Crimea, the South Caucasus and Syria. He shows the central role war has played in Putin’s rule and how it has helped craft a new social contract between president and people grounded in a shared vision of Russian national identity. For anyone wanting to understand the hows and whys of the war in Ukraine, Alex Bellamy’s clear and insightful analysis is a must-read.

Political corruption has traditionally been presented as a phenomenon characteristic of developing countries, authoritarian regimes, or societies in which the value system favored tacit patrimony and clientelism. Recently, however, the thesis of an inverse correlation between corruption and economic and political development (and therefore democratic "maturity") has been frequently and convincingly challenged. Countries with a long democratic tradition, such as the United States, Belgium, Britain, and Italy, have all experienced a combination of headline-grabbing scandals and smaller-scale cases of misappropriation.

In "Corrupt Exchanges," primary research on Italian cases (judicial proceedings, in-depth interviews, parliamentary documents, and press databases), combined with a cross-national comparison based on a secondary analysis of corruption in democratic systems, is used to develop a model to analyze corruption as a network of illegal exchanges. The authors explore in great detail the structure of that network, by examining both the characteristics of the actors who directly engage in the corruption and the resources they exchange. These processes of degeneration have caused a crisis in the dominant paradigm in both academic and political considerations of corruption.

The book is organized around the analysis of the resources that are exchanged and of the different actors who take part. Politicians in business, illegal brokers, Mafia members, protected entrepreneurs, and party-appointed bureaucrats exchange resources on the illegal market, altering the institutional system of interactions between the state and the market. In this complex web of exchanges, bonds of trust are established that allow the corrupt exchange to thrive. The book will serve both as a theoretical approach to a political problem of large bearing on democratic institutions and a descriptive warning of a system in peril.

The rise of presidential power poses a significant threat to America's democratic values. It is clear that the tectonic plates of the American political system are gravitating towards a model of presidential government not envisioned and, in fact, precluded by the constitutional design of the framers of the United States Constitution. As the presidency eclipses Congress, the courts in power, and public/media attention, the balance of powers has tilted. In this accessible book, leading scholars explore the reasons for and implications of the rising power of the presidency.