The 1970's witnessed the institution of political liberalism in Greece, which went hand in hand with significant social and economic advancement. Four decades later, the same country is a latter-day 'sick man of Europe'. What went wrong? And why did the more recent global crisis plunge Greece into abject misery? This study provides compelling and original answers to these questions through putting populism at center stage. By introducing new concepts, focusing on micro-mechanisms, and empirically analyzing a large variety of sources, the author shows how populism became predominant in Greek politics and contaminated all major political parties, eventually causing a major polity crisis. Besides its particular interest in the specific case of Greece, the text offers new insights about how states may fail, how populism develops at single-nation level, and what could happen when it reigns supreme. It also makes a strong statement about the corrosive power of populism on modern liberal democracy

"The Underdog in American Politics "is an original analysis of how the underdog concept applies to the Democratic Party and American politics and culture. In particular, it analyzes how the power of the underdog has shaped, and reflected, the politics of Democrats running for president. From Thomas Jefferson to Barack Obama, the author uses biography, ideology, campaign strategy and public policies to depict the many different points of contact between Democrats and underdogs. The core values of equality, fairness and non-discrimination are analyzed. The role of sympathy and empathy towards underdogs is also examined.

British Party Politics and Ideology after New Labour brings together academics and politicians to debate the intellectual roots of the ideas that currently drive the main UK political parties. With major players responding to the arguments raised in each chapter, the book will be a must-read for anyone interested in or teaching British politics.

A valuable look inside the party politics of the post-Soviet states. Anatoly Kulik and Susanna Pshizova have compiled an engaging and comprehensive cross-national study that explores the stormy political developments in the post-Soviet countries. They have gathered together essays on the formation of the various new democratic institutions of Russia, the Baltic States, Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova. The contributors are all distinguished scholars indigenous to their areas of focus; consequently, they are able to provide a true insider's perspective of the political climates of their respective lands. Kulik and Pshizova have organised the studies into seven generously detailed, nation-specific chapters that permit readers to see the individual party systems in both their sub-regional contexts as well as in their national ones. The newly independent states that appeared after the collapse of the Soviet Union faced the necessity of creating their own democratic political systems in the first months of independence. background, each country implemented its own methods of government rule: they each pursued different paths with different outcomes. It is logical to view and study the states as a group, but also necessary to see them as individual governments with individual policies and political cultures. This book is part of the Political Parties in Context series.

'New' Labour was defined in part by wide-ranging reforms to the party's internal democracy. These included changes to how candidates and leaders are selected, changes to policy making processes, and a programme of 'quotas' that transformed women's representation in the party. In the first book to analyse all these reforms in depth Meg Russell asks what motivated them, to what extent they were driven by leaders or members, and what they can teach us both about party organisational change and the nature of power relations in the Labour Party today.

The Four Faces of the Republican Party clearly describes how Republican Presidential nominating contests unfold. Its focus on party factions allows readers to understand the process and to predict who the eventual nominee will be. In particular, the authors explore why a conservative party always nominates candidates favored by the party's establishment and why evangelical conservatives always emerge as one of the two final contenders for the nomination. This book is essential reading for anyone - professor, student, journalist, consultant, or candidate - who wishes to understand, report on, or influence a Republican Presidential nomination contest.

Politicians are polarized. Public opinion is volatile. Government is gridlocked. Or so journalists and pundits constantly report. But where are we, really, in modern American politics, and how did we get there? Those are the questions that Byron E. Shafer aims to answer in The American Political Pattern. Looking at the state of American politics at diverse points over the past eighty years, the book draws a picture, broad in scope yet precise in detail, of our political system in the modern era. It is a picture of stretches of political stability, but also, even more, of political change, one that goes a long way toward explaining how shifting factors alter the content of public policy and the character of American politicking. Shafer divides the modern world into four distinct periods: the High New Deal (1932-1938), the Late New Deal (1939-1968), the Era of Divided Government (1969-1992), and the Era of Partisan Volatility (1993-2016). Each period is characterized by a different arrangement of the same key factors: party balance, ideological polarization, issue conflict, and the policy-making process that goes with them. The American Political Pattern shows how these factors are in turn shaped by permanent aspects of the US Constitution, most especially the separation of powers and federalism, while their alignment is simultaneously influenced by the external demands for governmental action that arise in each period, including those derived from economic currents, major wars, and social movements. Analyzing these periods, Shafer sets the terms for understanding the structure and dynamics of politics in our own turbulent time. Placing the current political world in its historical and evolutionary framework, while illuminating major influences on American politics over time, his book explains where this modern world came from, why it endures, and how it might change yet again.

Debates about Liberalism in imperial Germany have focused almost exclusively on the national level. This book investigates liberal politics in local government; the only sphere in which liberals had direct access to power throughout Germany. Through the study of one of Germany's most progressive cities, Frankfurt am Main, Jan Palmowski examines more generally the processes of politicization and policy formulation at the local level. He argues that in Frankfurt as elsewhere, local affairs had become politicized not around 1900, as is generally assumed, but by the 1870s. Once in power, the liberals' concern for religion, social policy, and education, as well as their skilful use of fiscal policy shows that liberals in Germany were as sophisticated as liberals in Britain or France. Even in the face of an authoritarian state structure, German liberals received and made use of freedom for renewal and reform. German liberalism was not inherently weak. Instead, the crucial problem lay in the country's complicated federal structure, which made it impossible to transfer innovations from the local level to the state and national levels.

A BARACK OBAMA AND A BILL GATES SUMMER READING PICK 2022 A NEW YORK TIMES AND WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER 'This book helped me understand modern politics better' - Bill Gates, Summer Reading Pick 2022 'Superbly researched and written' - Francis Fukuyama, The Washington Post 'It's been a long time since I learned so much from one book.' - Rutger Bregman author of Utopia for Realists 'Powerful [and] intelligent.' - Fareed Zakaria, CNN America's political system isn't broken. The truth is scarier: it's working exactly as designed. In Why We're Polarized, Ezra Klein reveals the structural and psychological forces behind America's deep political divisions, revealing how a system filled with rational, functional parts can combine into a dysfunctional whole. Neither a polemic nor a lament, this book offers a clear framework for understanding everything from Trump's rise to the Democratic Party's leftward shift to the politicisation of everyday culture. Klein shows how and why American politics polarised in the twentieth century, what that polarisation did to Americans' views of the world and one another, and how feedback loops between polarised political identities and polarised political institutions drive the system toward crisis. This revelatory book will change how you look at politics, and perhaps at yourself.

The first serious study analysing Labour's impact on Whitehall. It offers a theoretical engaged, but empirically rich account drawing from an extensive set of primary interview material to examine a 'New Labour' effect on the Civil Service, including its reforms to improve policy delivery and whether it has politicised Whitehall. It concludes by arguing that New Labour's approach to Whitehall have been part of a broader strategy to reconstitute the power of the Westminster Model.

This book presents the results of a new comparative research project on the trajectories, motivations, perceptions and attitudes of young members (aged 18-25) of 15 different European political parties in the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Norway and Hungary. The project combined a mass survey of 2919 young party members with 517 in-depth interviews.

This text examines the debates and developments about House of Lords reform since 1911, and notes that disagreements have occurred within, as well as between, the main political parties and governments throughout this time. It draws attention to how various proposals for reform have raised a wider range of constitutional and political problems.

A major study of the Communist party of Great Britain between the wars, when it adopted the military strategy of class against class, in its struggle to be the effective alternative to both the Labour Party and the TUC. This revisionary study, based on newly-discovered material in the Manchester archive of the Communist Party, shows that far from losing influence and being driven to the brink of collapse, the CPGB then consolidated its position, led national hunger marches and organized social and cultural events, while membership grew and the party developed as an effective and valued body in the pantheon of leftwing British politics.

Moreland and Steed bring an overall analysis of presidential politics in the South together with a state-by-state analysis and updated data on the 1996 presidential elections in each southern state. The 1996 elections are placed within the context of recent party and electoral developments in the South, particularly as those relate to fundamental changes in the party system and the ascendancy of the Republican Party.

The South is a region undergoing significant partisan change, and that change has substantial implications for national politics. This volume analyzes the South's role in the 1996 presidential nomination process, issues as southerners saw them in 1996, and the role of third parties in the South. The volume also analyzes the results of the 1996 presidential election in each of the eleven states of the Old Confederacy. The 1996 elections are placed within the context of recent party and electoral developments in the South, particularly as those relate to fundamental changes in the party system and the ascendancy of the Republican Party.

This volume is unique in that there is no other analysis of the 1996 elections that has a southern regional focus. This is the fourth of a series of volumes on presidential elections in the South edited by Moreland and Steed, and together these studies constitute a valuable resource for those interested in Southern politics, presidential elections, and American political parties in general.

The politics of Unionism is central to the success or failure of any political settlement in Northern Ireland. The aim of this book is to place the politics of Unionism in its proper historical context and understand its dynamics with relation to its internal structures, including identity, ideology, social structures and political parties; and its external environment, including the policy of the British and Irish governments; its relationship with Irish Nationalists and Irish Nationalism and the wider influences on the peace process such as those of the US, South Africa, and civil society.

Why do businesses contribute to political parties? Is money a universal language? Do business contributions to political parties convey different messages in different countries? This book answers these questions based on intensive case studies of Australia, Canada, and Germany, as well as data from other countries. Business money does talk politics. In liberal Australia and Canada, the competitive short-term focus of firms generated substantial demand for private goods that could help firms develop an advantage over their rivals. Thus, business financing of parties conveyed a pragmatic message: in exchange for small but certain financial benefits, contributing businesses expect, as a reciprocation, to receive special consideration of their lobbying efforts. Australia's left-right party system created an awareness of policy risk, which motivated ideological payments, but there was no ideological bias in business financing of politics in centrist Canada. In Germany's co-ordinated economy, the most important policies for firms tend to be the public goods defined, championed, and delivered by their business associations. In this context, the pragmatic motivation for contributions to political parties is weak. The combination of consensual political institutions and constrained parties means there is a very low risk of major policy change from election to election. So, there is also little interest in ideological financing of political parties. If money talks, what does it say? places business financing of political parties in the context of debates about political corruption and offers advice on political reform. Comparative Politics is a series for students, teachers, and researchers of political science that deals with contemporary government and politics. Global in scope, books in the series are characterised by a stress on comparative analysis and strong methodological rigour. The series is published in association with the European Consortium for Political Research. For more information visit: www.ecprnet.eu The Comparative Politics series is edited by Professor David M. Farrell, School of Politics and International Relations, University College Dublin, Kenneth Carty, Professor of Political Science, University of British Columbia, and Professor Dirk Berg-Schlosser, Institute of Political Science, Philipps University, Marburg.

What happened to the usage of common sense in the decision making process? In "The Invisible Man" writer James Leonard Nobles offers some new perspectives on and insightful resolutions for the challenges confronting modern society in the 21st century. And he refuses to submit to the political correctness being forced upon us by the "Powerbrokers of Hypocrisy." Through persuasive arguments and satire, Mr. Nobles takes on the "Institutions" that have betrayed the American people. He says, ""The history that is written is not always the history that was, and the truth is often hidden beneath ideological propaganda."" With candor seldom shown today, Jim openly discusses the controversial issues tearing at the hearts and souls of most decent men and women. "The Invisible Man" examines the declining social values and the consequences of our choices. For we stand at the fork of fate. One path is the end and the other path is a new beginning. Choose wisely for there is no going back.

About the Author:
Author James Leonard Nobles is a new voice from a section of the population often forgotten by society. But he represents the majority of Americans who are fed up with their government, both political parties, irresponsible corporations, and the greed of a few. Born with congenital cataracts in 1960, he knows firsthand how difficult the struggles in life can be. After dropping out of college, Jim returned at the age of 40, where he became the first college graduate in his family. Graduating in August of 2005 with a B.S. in Communications and Information Technology ("New Media"), he has been working tirelessly on "The Invisible Man" for close to four years (first year writing; last three years editing and publishing).

First past the post is one of the oldest and simplest electoral systems. The logic is simple: the candidate with the most votes wins. It is the system in place in some of the oldest democracies, most especially the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as the largest democracy, India. This is also a system that is hotly debated, and proposals for reform are often advanced.
This book addresses the following questions: What fosters or hinders reform of first past the post? When and why does reform emerge on the political agenda? Who proposes and who opposes reform? When and why do reform proposals succeed or fail? What kind of proposal tends to be put on the table? Are some types of proposal more likely to succeed? Why?
The first chapter undertakes a comparative analysis of the conditions under which reform is initiated. The following chapters investigate in detail the politics of electoral reform in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and New Zealand, the debates that take place, the proposals that are advanced, and the strategies deployed by the actors. These analyses contribute to a rich and nuanced understanding of why first past the post is often challenged and sometimes replaced.

The internet is changing the way we interact and communicate. But how is it impacting on more historically traditional institutions like the British Conservative Party? This book examines the role of specific internet technologies like ConservativeHome, Facebook, Twitter and WebCameron in the organizational culture of the Tory Party 2005-14.

The UK is going through a period of unprecedented constitutional change. There is much unfinished business, and further changes still to come. Where are these changes taking us? In this book, leading political scientists and lawyers forecast the impact of these changes on the UK's key institutions and the constitution as a whole.

The Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats each allow their members to participate in the selection of the party leader. It also examines the consequences of all-member ballots in leadership elections. It looks at how parties remove leaders, showing that each of the major British parties sought to make it harder to evict incumbents.

The global financial crisis of 2007-8 did not offer the political and economic opportunities to the left that many thought it would. As financial institutions collapsed, traditional left-wing issues were apparently back on the agenda. However, instead of being a trigger for a resurgence of the left, in many European countries left-wing parties have suffered savage electoral defeat. At the same time, the crisis has led to austerity programmes being implemented across Europe. This book brings together essays that consider ten EU member states, including all bail-out recipients and some of the main 'donor' states, in an examination of this crucial period for the left in Europe from a number of perspectives. Comparisons are presented between the various EU member states, as well as different party families of the left, from social democracy through green left to radical left. -- .

The Nature of Party Government examines relationships between governments and supporting parties on a comparative European basis. The book does so at the level of principles: there is a major conflict between governments, which should govern and parties, which being representative, wish to shape the way governments operate. The book studies relationships empirically as well: it shows that they occur on three plans, appointments, policy-making and patronage and assesses the extent of two-way influences, from parties to governments and from governments to parties.