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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political structure & processes
An important work of scholarship that should be read by anyone
concerned with America's future. --Fareed Zakaria, author of The
Post-American World An urgent, historically-grounded take on the
four major factors that undermine American democracy, and what we
can do to address them. While many Americans despair of the current
state of U.S. politics, most assume that our system of government
and democracy itself are invulnerable to decay. Yet when we examine
the past, we find that the United States has undergone repeated
crises of democracy, from the earliest days of the republic to the
present. In Four Threats, Suzanne Mettler and Robert C. Lieberman
explore five moments in history when democracy in the U.S. was
under siege: the 1790s, the Civil War, the Gilded Age, the
Depression, and Watergate. These episodes risked profound--even
fatal--damage to the American democratic experiment. From this
history, four distinct characteristics of disruption emerge.
Political polarization, racism and nativism, economic inequality,
and excessive executive power--alone or in combination--have
threatened the survival of the republic, but it has survived--so
far. What is unique, and alarming, about the present moment in
American politics is that all four conditions exist. This
convergence marks the contemporary era as a grave moment for
democracy. But history provides a valuable repository from which we
can draw lessons about how democracy was eventually
strengthened--or weakened--in the past. By revisiting how earlier
generations of Americans faced threats to the principles enshrined
in the Constitution, we can see the promise and the peril that have
led us to today and chart a path toward repairing our civic fabric
and renewing democracy.
Joseph Benedict (Ben) Chifley, former train driver and Prime
Minister of Australia from 1945 to 1949, lived through two economic
depressions and two world wars. This, combined with his rural
background and commitment to the labour movement, played a major
role in the development of his internationalist perspective. Often
overlooked by historians, Chifley believed that the only way to
avoid war and economic depression was through the establishment of
international rules-based economic and collective security
institutions. These were beliefs he had held since the early 1930s.
Chifley was a prime minister with a keen interest in post-war Asia,
who understood that the old colonial order was ending. He was a
great admirer of the Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. This
book reveals the extraordinary convergence of worldviews of two
fellow internationalists, Chifley and Nehru. This convergence can
be seen in their views on the need to adjust to a changing
post-colonial world; their internationalism; their support for the
United Nations; their opposition to Western colonialism; their
anti-war attitudes and their animosity towards the American and
British Cold War framework through which the post-war world was
viewed. Historian Frank Bongiorno wrote about Julie's work on
Chifley: 'it is a tremendous achievement to produce such a new
vision of a major political figure . it is an important
contribution to Australian political, foreign policy and
intellectual history'.
Is America in the midst of an electoral transformation? What were
the sources of victory in 2020, and how do they differ from
Republican and Democratic coalitions of the past? Does the
Democratic victory signal a long-term decline for Republicans'
chances in presidential elections? Change and Continuity in the
2020 Elections attempts to answer those questions by analyzing and
explaining the voting behavior in the most recent election, as well
as setting the results in the context of larger trends and patterns
in elections studies. This top-notch author team meticulously
explains the latest National Election Studies data and discuss its
importance and impact. Readers will critically analyze a variety of
variables such as the presidential and congressional elections,
voter turnout, and the social forces, party loyalties, and
prominent issues that affect voting behavior. Readers will walk
away with a better understanding of this groundbreaking election
and what those results mean for the future of American politics.
Is America in the midst of an electoral transformation? What were
the sources of victory in 2020, and how do they differ from
Republican and Democratic coalitions of the past? Does the
Democratic victory signal a long-term decline for Republicans'
chances in presidential elections? Change and Continuity in the
2020 Elections attempts to answer those questions by analyzing and
explaining the voting behavior in the most recent election, as well
as setting the results in the context of larger trends and patterns
in elections studies. This top-notch author team meticulously
explains the latest National Election Studies data and discuss its
importance and impact. Readers will critically analyze a variety of
variables such as the presidential and congressional elections,
voter turnout, and the social forces, party loyalties, and
prominent issues that affect voting behavior. Readers will walk
away with a better understanding of this groundbreaking election
and what those results mean for the future of American politics.
'This collection is a timely survey of the role of constitutional
courts in comparative perspective - it provides an excellent
summary of developments in a range of jurisdictions, and locates
them in a broader social and political context. Among other
factors, it considers global trends toward increasing international
and regional human rights protection, increased recognition of
second and third generation rights, and trends toward
decentralization in democratic governance. It is bound to be of
broad interest to both comparative constitutional lawyers and
scholars.' - Rosalind Dixon, University of New South Wales,
Australia Constitutional review has become an essential feature of
modern liberal democratic constitutionalism. In particular,
constitutional review in the context of rights litigation has
proved to be most challenging for the courts. By offering in-depth
analyses on changes affecting constitutional design and
constitutional adjudication, while also engaging with general
theories of comparative constitutionalism, this book seeks to
provide a heightened understanding of the constitutional and
political responses to the issue of adaptability and endurance of
rights-based constitutional review. These original contributions,
written by an array of distinguished experts and illustrated by the
most up-to-date case law, cover Australia, Belgium, Finland,
France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and the
United States, and include constitutional systems that are not
commonly studied in comparative constitutional studies. Providing
structured analyses, the editors combine studies of common law and
civil law jurisdictions, centralized and decentralized systems of
constitutional review, and large and small jurisdictions. This
multi-jurisdictional study will appeal to members of the judiciary,
policy-makers and practitioners looking for valuable insights into
the case law of a range of constitutional and supreme courts in
this rapidly expanding field of constitutional adjudication. It
also serves as an excellent resource for academics, scholars and
advanced students in the fields of law, human rights and political
science. Contributors: J. Bell, E. Carolan, C. Chandrachud, A.
Kavanagh, C. Kelly, J. Lavapuro, T. Ojanen, M.-L. Paris, P.
Passaglia, A.R. Robledo, M. Rosenfeld, M. Scheinin, J. Stellios, R.
Uitz, M. Verdussen, M. Zagor
This thought-provoking collection of essays analyses the complex,
multi-faceted, and even contradictory nature of Stalinism and its
representations. Stalinism was an extraordinarily repressive and
violent political model, and yet it was led by ideologues committed
to a vision of socialism and international harmony. The essays in
this volume stress the complex, multi-faceted, and often
contradictory nature of Stalin, Stalinism, and Stalinist-style
leadership, and. explore the complex picture that emerges. Broadly
speaking, three important areas of debate are examined, united by a
focus on political leadership: * The key controversies surrounding
Stalin's leadership role * A reconsideration of Stalin and the Cold
War * New perspectives on the cult of personality Revisioning
Stalin and Stalinism is a crucial volume for all students and
scholars of Stalin's Russia and Cold War Europe.
Good leadership. Why is it so elusive? Are there successful traits
that can be transferred from one field to another, or is it a
constant application of imagination to the changing challenges? How
do you take others with you? Now more than ever we need leaders who
can be strong yet humble, bold and assertive when it counts but
have the capacity to listen and learn, who can motivate and
influence, and who can get the best out of those around them.
Twenty-five outstanding Australian leaders from diverse worlds such
as science, the police force, a netball team, a spy agency,
emergency medicine, business, politics and unionism share their
insights and lessons on the essence of inspiring leadership.
Winston Churchill (1874-1965) was one of the most inspiring leaders
of the twentieth century, and one of its greatest wits. War
reporter, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Prime Minister, Nobel
Laureate, wordplay enthusiast, he was a powerful man of many words.
Throughout his life, he moved, entertained, and sometimes enraged
people with his notorious wit and razor-sharp tongue. Consequently,
he is one of the most oft-quoted and misquoted leaders in recent
history. Now in paperback, "Churchill by Himself" is the first
fully annotated and attributed collection of Churchill
sayings--edited by longtime Churchill scholar Richard M. Langworth
and authorized by the Churchill estate--that captures Churchill's
wit in its entirety.
There has been a noticeable shift in the way the news is accessed
and consumed, and most importantly, the rise of fake news has
become a common occurrence in the media. With news becoming more
accessible as technology advances, fake news can spread rapidly and
successfully through social media, television, websites, and other
online sources, as well as through the traditional types of
newscasting. The spread of misinformation when left unchecked can
turn fiction into fact and result in a mass misconception of the
truth that shapes opinions, creates false narratives, and impacts
multiple facets of society in potentially detrimental ways. With
the rise of fake news comes the need for research on the ways to
alleviate the effects and prevent the spread of misinformation.
These tools, technologies, and theories for identifying and
mitigating the effects of fake news are a current research topic
that is essential for maintaining the integrity of the media and
providing those who consume it with accurate, fact-based
information. The Research Anthology on Fake News, Political
Warfare, and Combatting the Spread of Misinformation contains
hand-selected, previously published research that informs its
audience with an advanced understanding of fake news, how it
spreads, its negative effects, and the current solutions being
investigated. The chapters within also contain a focus on the use
of alternative facts for pushing political agendas and as a way of
conducting political warfare. While highlighting topics such as the
basics of fake news, media literacy, the implications of
misinformation in political warfare, detection methods, and both
technological and human automated solutions, this book is ideally
intended for practitioners, stakeholders, researchers,
academicians, and students interested in the current surge of fake
news, the means of reducing its effects, and how to improve the
future outlook.
Prominent scholars across the political divide and academic
disciplines analyse how the dominant political parties in Malaysia
and Singapore, United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and the
People's Action Party (PAP), have stayed in power. With a focus on
developments in the last decade and the tenures of Prime Ministers
Najib Tun Razak and Lee Hsien Loong, the authors offer a range of
explanations for how these regimes have remained politically
resilient.
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