The United States and India--the most powerful and the most populous constitutional democracies, respectively--have more in common than is apparent from a casual comparison of life in, say, Agra and Omaha. While the material circumstances of an average family in the one city may be dramatically different from the circumstances of its counterpart in the other, the political cultures that protect and sometimes encroach upon the freedoms of each family are in many ways remarkably similar. The arrogant ambitions of one of Agra's representatives in New Delhi can likely find a match in the designs of one of Omaha's legislators in Washington, D.C. So, too, could we expect to find sincere concern for their constituents in the hearts of other political figures on Capitol Hill and in the Subcontinent. In this probing critical comparison of political culture in the United States and India, Professor Brij Mohan argues that much can be learned about the parochial roots and global expansion of representative government by studying both the successes and the failures--both the promise and disappointment--of these two great experiments in constitutional democracy.

"First Person Political illuminates why people run for and serve in state legislatures from the standpoint of the legislators themselves and in a way that increases our appreciation of representative democracy. Part of the charm of this book is that it is intensely personal and, therefore, compelling."
--Karl Kurtz, co-author of "Republic on Trial: The Case for Representative Democracy"

aAt a time when public disillusionment with elected leaders and political institutions is increasing rapidly, it is refreshing to read a book that highlights the selfless nature of public service....This is a wonderful read. The book realistically portrays the various stages in a legislatoras life and the challenges one faces while in office.a
--"Perspectives on Politics"

"First Person Political fills an important void in our understanding of politicians and politics. Through a combination of surveys and the tools of the political scientist, Reeher provides for the reader both empathy and insight into what makes politicians tick at the state legislative level. We may not like what our state legislators do, but reading this work will help us understand much better who we elect and the constraints that operate on them."
--Thomas J. Volgy, author of "Politics in the Trenches: Citizens, Politicians, and the Fate of Democracy"

aAn informative, sophisticated, and entertaining book. Reeher's interviews with three sets of state lawmakers in three distinct legislatures provide candor, real food for thought, and wonderful insights. First Person Political stands as a real contribution to understanding legislative politics, the people who practice these politics, and how to gently nudge politiciansto provide candid glimpses of their world.a
--Burdett Loomis, co-author of "The Sound of Money: How Political Interest Groups Get What They Want"

In First Person Political, Grant Reeher combats the public's alienation from and distrust of politicians by putting a personal face on everyday political life. Through moving personal interviews, Reeher allows legislators to tell their own stories about how and why they came to politics, the experience of serving in their state legislature, their decisions to stay or leave, and the many trials they face in the name of public service. Reeher contends that these politicians do have the public good in mind and often suffer great personal losses for their chance to represent the people and fight for what they think is right. His research also shows that those who choose to run for office often come from a background of deep community involvement.

Reeher argues against public cynicism about our elected officials, and his profiles stir not only our praise and respect for these legislators, but also a greater belief in the democratic process itself. The excerpts from his interviews provide a rarely afforded intimate look at these politicians. What emerges from these stories is a humane and believable portrait of public servants acting on behalf of the public good, a portrait that should provide some comfort, perhaps even inspiration, for citizens concerned about the state of American democracy.

This book examines the process of Spanish integration into the European Community, from 1962 when Spain under the Franco regime applied to the European Community to 1985, when democratic Spain became a member of the EEC. It aims to prove that, first the European Community was the crucial external factor determining political change in Spain, and secondly that Europeanism was a mechanism of political change, as it was the only aim which unified the whole political spectrum from the Francoist establishment to the democratic opposition.

This volume, first published in 1984, discusses the viability of applying the 'Mediterranean model' to three countries that were transitioning to democracy, - Spain, Greece and Portugal - combining both comparative and national case-study approaches. In particular, Spain, Greece and Portugal offer comparable examples of the problems of establishing new democratic systems within relatively unstable and economically less developed environments. This title applies different theories of regime transition to the countries in question. This volume will be of interest to students of politics.

This book traces the beginning of the process of nation-formation, the struggle for independence, the hopeful beginning of the new nation-state of Indonesia only to be followed by hard and difficult ways to remain true to the ideals of independence. In the process Indonesia with its sprawling archipelago and its multi-ethnic and multi-religious nation has to undergo various types of crisis and internal conflicts, but the ideals that have been nurtured since the beginning when a new nation began to be visualized remain intact. Some changes in the interpretation may have taken place and some deviations here and there can be noticed but the literal meaning of the ideals continues to be the guiding light. In short this is a history of a nation in the continuing effort to retain the ideals of its existence.

This book, based on empirical and quantitative research, assesses the development of openness in government affairs in China. The content is divided into five parts, namely a general report, special reports, assessment reports on government transparency, reports on the openness of government in specific fields and how openness in government affairs is locally practiced. Covering the country as a whole, the general report summarizes significant aspects of openness in government affairs at all levels regarding, e.g. decision-making, law enforcement, management, service, policy interpretation and responding to public concerns. In addition, the general report reveals some current problems and provides an outline of openness in government affairs for the future. Focusing on decision-making, social assistance, environmental protection, transport, education and other fields closely related to public interest and social attention, the book subsequently summarizes a number of special works concerning openness in government affairs. Furthermore, it conducts a special study on the standardized work of openness in government affairs, which has been actively pursued by departments of the State Council and local governments. In order to provide representative coverage on openness in government affairs, the book combines innovative measures, experiences and problems, while also sharing an in-depth analysis of the difficulties involved in openness for local governments, including examples from several provinces and cities.

We may think we know Sarah Palin from all the coverage she has received in the political arena, but one-side depictions but media coverage is limited and, Sarah would even say, biased. OUR SARAH is also a bit biased since it's written by Sarah's dad and brother with contributions from many friends and colleagues--these are the people who know her--and love her--best.
Combining the appeal of Sarah Palin's bestselling book, "Going Rogue, " with the flavor of the hugely successful TV show "Sarah Palin's Alaska," here are intimate stories from Sarah's life along with a celebration of growing up in and sharing all that Alaska means to Sarah and her family. Sarah's dad and brother share great family stories of life in the last frontier--from hiking, camping, fishing, hunting and gold-mining, to marathon running, teaching and community service--first in small ways and then on a national stage. Structured around themes of family, faith, independence, resilience, character, risk-taking and adventure--here is a full and loving portrait of where Sarah Palin came from and what made her the person she is today.

Common Sense inflamed its readers and ignited the American Revolution. It was here that our constitutional form of government was first suggested. The forces that were focused and unleashed by Common Sense led directly to The Declaration of Independence. The Declaration led to the American Revolution and the United States' victory in that revolution led to the Articles of Confederation. Dissatisfaction with the Articles caused Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison to write The Federalist Papers, which then led to the United States Constitution as we know it today. Here in one volume are these cornerstones of American freedom.

This book explores the impact of Bangladesh's Local Government Act of 2009 on the functioning of the local governments or Union Parishads (UP), with a particular emphasis on people's participation and accountability. Throughout the chapters, the authors review the existing legal framework of UP and its relation to social accountability, examine how much of the social participation is spontaneous and how much is politically induced, question the success of the Citizen's Charter and Right to Information acts as mechanisms for social accountability, and present suggestions to remedy some of the problems facing people's participation and accountability in the UP. This book fills existing gaps in the discourse by adding new information to the literature on development research and legal reforms in Bangladesh, specifically in how those legal reforms have led to strengthening or weakening people's participation in local government. The target audience for this book are students and researchers in Asian studies , international development studies, and public administration, as well as practitioners working in the local governments discussed.

Any programmer working with text files needs a way to deal with Microsoft Word documents and their underlying Rich Text Format. RTF is notoriously difficult to work with, and our handy quick reference is the only book available on what many developers call this maddeningly unstructured format. Small and easy to use on the job, the RTF Pocket Guide focuses on the workhorse codes that programmers can't do without, including text style codes, paragraph formatting codes, and page formatting codes - all with many examples of real use.

This book considers the status of constitutional literacy in the United States along with ways to assess and improve it. The author argues that pervasive constitutional illiteracy is a problem for both law enforcement agencies and for ordinary citizens. Based on the author's decades of teaching in law enforcement agencies around the country, this book argues for the moral and pragmatic value of constitutional literacy and its application in twenty-first century society.

This book examines issues of race and policing through the lens of representative bureaucracy theory. According to representative bureaucracy theory, demographic correspondence between government employees and the local population can lead to more favorable outcomes for minority groups. It argues that police forces with higher minority composition will have more positive outcomes across measures such as fewer excessive force complaints and fewer fatal encounters with officers. Additionally, the book asserts that more representative forces will demonstrate responsiveness and accountability by implementing policies such as citizen review boards for excessive force complaints. It does this by first providing a brief overview of issues surrounding race and policing in America, documenting racial representation occurring in local police forces nationwide, and exploring the potential causes and consequences of underrepresentation. It concludes by discussing the implications of our findings and offer potential policy remedies and solutions that local law enforcements can pursue in order to reduce minority underrepresentation and improve policing outcomes.

Since becoming an independent country after its split from Czechoslovakia in January 1993, Slovakia's development from communism to political and economic democracy, underway when it was part of post-Communist Czechoslovakia, has been difficult and halting. Goldman starts with an analysis of the influence of a strong ethnic-based nationalism on Slovak relations with Czechs from 1918 through the Second World War and the years of Communist rule through to the breakaway from Czechoslovakia and the creation of an independent state. Goldman then examines the political, economic, socio-cultural problems and international difficulties the new Slovak state experienced as it tried to develop a democratic political system, move toward a free market economy, achieve societal unity and cohesion, and protect its interests abroad. In showing how a strong Slovak nationalism rooted in recent history has had an impact on policymaking in almost every sphere of national life, Goldman examines the roots and causes of Prime Minister Meciar's authoritarian leadership, the halting and uncertain transformation of the Slovak economy to a free market, the difficulties of governing the country's minorities, and the development of new relationships with areas of strategic as well as economic importance to Slovakia's well being as an independent state. This comprehensive and up-to-date analysis will be of great importance to scholars, students, and other researchers involved with Eastern European Studies.

For over five decades, North Korea has outlived many forecasts of collapse despite defects in its system. Origins of North Korea's Juche: Colonialism, War, and Development, edited by Jae-Jung Suh, argues that it has survived because of Juche, a unique political institution built on the simple notion of self-determination, whose meanings and limits have been shaped by Koreans' experiences with colonialism, war, and development amidst surrounding superpowers that have complicated their aspirations and plans. The authors in this volume collectively provide an historical institutionalist account of North Korean politics organized around the concept of Juche-commonly translated as self-reliance, but best understood as subjecthood or being a master of one's own fate-focusing on its role as a response to North Korea's experiences with colonialism, the Korean War, and economic development. The contributors further discuss how Juche circumscribes the evolutionary path that North Koreans can take as they negotiate contemporary challenges. North Korea, as it is now, is best understood in terms of Juche which embodies the cumulative effect of its historical experiences and responses, and its future potential and trajectory, as enabled and constrained by its conception of Juche. This collection provides fascinating insights into the politics and history of one of the world's most mysterious nations.

This is a wide-ranging comparative study of relationships between the indigenous leadership of traditional states and colonizing Europeans from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. It challenges stereotypes of despotic imperial power in Asian, African, and Pacific colonies and seeks to answer the fundamental question: how were European officials able to govern so many societies over such a long period of time? Colin Newbury examines the politics of pre-colonial state structures, their subversion by merchants and administrators, and the use made of indigenous leaders, and assesses the legacy of these colonial hierarchies.

Known as the "savior of the Union" during the Civil War, General Grant went on to serve as the 18th president of the United States from 1869-1877. This first volume of his memoirs was completed just days prior to his death from throat cancer in 1885.

This edited collection explores the role of Euroscepticism in the European Parliament (EP) elections of 2014 both in particular EU Member States and across broader regions. It shows how the "second rate" features of elections with no clear agenda-setting role facilitated the astonishing success of Eurosceptic parties while the traditionally "second order" nature of purely legislative elections amplified this outcome, giving it a quite different character than the outcome of any previous EP elections, with potential in turn to affect outcomes of later national elections as well. The chapters draw on a number of different methodological approaches and focus on different perspectives regarding how Euroscepticism played a role in the election context, investigating public opinion, party strategies and media coverage; and assessing how these elections created links to national party politics with likely consequences for electoral success of Eurosceptic parties in future national elections and referendums. This book will be of particular interest to students and scholars in the fields of European politics, voting behavior Euroscepticism.

Ulysses S. Grant (1822 - 1885) was the 18th President of the United States (1869-1877) immediately after he had fought in thw Civil War as a General, defeating the Confederate military. As President he led the Radical Republicans who attempted to remove all trace of Confederate nationalism and slavery. President Grant effectively destroyed the Ku Klux Klan in 1871. President Grant was a champion of African American equality and civil rights. This Collection of General Grant's writings include his complete and unabridged Personal Memoirs, State of the Union Address and Letters of Ulysses S. Grant to His Father and His Youngest Sister, 1857-78.

Consider the horror we feel when we learn of a crime such as that committed by Robert Alton Harris, who commandeered a car, killed the two teenage boys in it, and then finished what was left of their lunch. What we don't consider in our reaction to the depravity of this act is that, whether we morally blame him or not, Robert Alton Harris has led a life almost unimaginably different from our own in crucial respects.

In "Does Law Morally Bind the Poor? or What Good's the Constitution When You Can't Buy a Loaf of Bread?," author R. George Wright argues that while the poor live in the same world as the rest of us, their world is crucially different. The law does not recognize this difference, however, and proves to be inconsistent by excusing the trespasses of persons fleeing unexpected storms, but not those of the involuntarily homeless. He persuasively concludes that we can reject crude environmental determinism without holding the most deprived to unreasonable standards.

The Nigerian state has been oil-rich for decades, and yet perennially incapable of converting its oil resources into wealth for ordinary Nigerians. Adeoye O. Akinola tackles this "vexed" oil question by examining the political economy of efforts to deregulate the Nigerian downstream oil industry. Focusing on themes of globalization and democratization, this book considers how a resource-rich developing country like Nigeria can exploit the opportunities of globalization and navigate the pressures of democratization and the challenges of liberalization. Pairing sophisticated theoretical frameworks with firsthand accounts from actors in the oil industry, this book identifies the root causes of Nigeria's development struggles and offers practical policy solutions for successfully deregulating the oil sector. For public officials and policymakers as well as researchers, this book offers a critical new lens on the future of natural resource management in Nigeria and the Global South.

This book is the first in the world to provide a cross-national, comparative exploration of omnibus legislation. It contributes to the global debate over omnibus legislation and offers comprehensive, thorough and multifaceted coverage that concerns the fields of legislation and legisprudence, comparative law, political science, public policy and economics. Beyond its relevance for these fields, the book will support practitioners in parliaments, governments and courts, thereby impacting the actual use of omnibus legislation. A new, major and controversial reform is enacted in the middle of the night. It is buried in a massive omnibus bill hundreds of pages in length, which is rammed through the legislative process at breakneck speed. The legislators receive the final version of the bill in the very last minute, and protest that they've had no opportunity to read it in detail and know what they're voting upon. The majority party's legislative leaders, however, are unimpressed, and the law is eventually passed on the basis of strict party discipline. Though it may sound far-fetched, this scenario is all too familiar in many legislatures around the world. The legislative practice of combining numerous unrelated measures in one long bill, which is often passed via a highly expedited process, has become a matter of intense debate and criticism in many countries.