In Looking Forward, Marifeli Perez-Stable and her colleagues imagine Cuba's future after the "poof moment"-Jorge I. Dominguez's vivid phrase-when the current regime will no longer exist. Written in an accessible style that will appeal to all interested readers, this volume does not try to predict how and when the Castro regime will end, but instead considers the possible consequences of change. Each chapter-prepared by an expert in the field-takes up a basic issue: politics, the military, the legal system, civil society, gender, race, economic transition strategies, social policy and social welfare, corruption, the diaspora, memory, ideology and culture, and U.S.-Cuba relations. The author of each chapter considers three questions: How have other new democracies handled the basic issue in question? How might Cuba's unique conditions affect this area in transition? What are the likely outcomes and alternatives for a Cuba in transition? Designed with students, policy-makers, and journalists in mind, this lively and accessible volume is an essential resource.

Politics as Radical Creation examines the meaning of democratic practice through the critical social theory of the Frankfurt School. It provides an understanding of democratic politics as a potentially performative good-in-itself, undertaken not just to the extent that it seeks to achieve a certain extrinsic goal, but also in that it functions as a medium for the expression of creative human impulses. Christopher Holman develops this potential model through a critical examination of the political philosophies of Herbert Marcuse and Hannah Arendt. Holman argues that, while Arendt and Marcuse's respective theorizations each ultimately restrict the potential scope of creative human expression, their juxtaposition - which has not been previously explored - results in a more comprehensive theory of democratic existence, one that is uniquely able to affirm the creative capacities of the human being. Yielding important theoretical results that will interest scholars of each theorist and of theories of democracy more generally, Politics as Radical Creation provides a valuable means for rethinking the nature of contemporary democratic practice.

This easy-to-use handbook presents a fascinating and fresh take on American presidential elections and makes a wide range of statistics available to serious researchers and political fanatics alike. Counting the Votes: A New Way to Analyze America's Presidential Elections isn't your typical history book about presidential elections. Nor is it like most statistical analyses of election results. What this unusual book does offer is an array of innovative statistics-campaign score (CS), potential index (PI), return on potential (ROP), and equalized vote totals (EV*EQ), among others-that provides a provocative, intriguing, and fresh perspective on past presidential candidates and campaigns. Presenting information that has never been compiled and presented before, author G. Scott Thomas provides reams of statistics for all 57 presidential elections (1789 to the present) as well as essays inspired by those races that explore new interpretations of electoral trends. The book also includes lists of outstanding political performances in 179 statistical categories in addition to complete statistical records for 289 presidential candidates. The unique information and metrics introduced in this book will be invaluable to historians, political scientists, and students who are conducting research into voting trends and will serve as additional tools for their work. Includes a "Record Book of Presidential Politics" that spotlights the best and worst performances by presidential candidates highlighted in 179 statistical rankings, identifying which nominee was the youngest, came from the smallest state, and won by the smallest margin of popular votes Written by an accomplished journalist with more than three decades of experience and who has authored four books focused on national politics Provides an alphabetical directory of the career records of 289 presidential candidates between 1789 and 2012 presented in tabular form for easy reference

This book paints 11 different portraits of the many "faces" of President George W. Bush, arguably the most controversial and fascinating modern American president, revealing the malleability of human motives and of Bush's motives in particular. George W. Bush's presidency was marred by some of the worst events in modern U.S. history: the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression, the events of September 11, 2001; the quagmire of the war in Iraq; widespread fear of terrorism; Hurricane Katrina and the government's delayed, inefficient response; and the Patriot Act, which greatly increased the government's ability to access citizens' private information. Which of Bush's characteristics, influences, or internal motivations were most responsible for this polarizing President's attitudes and decisions? This book presents 11 competing views of President George W. Bush. The Chameleon President: The Curious Case of George W. Bush does not endorse a particular view of Bush; it is up to the reader to decide which portrayal best explains the 43rd president's surprisingly complex character as well as his political legacy. The author synthesizes popular claims from various sources to provide possible explanations for Bush's seemingly contradictory characteristics. Examples of the influences considered include his intelligence, immaturity, and religious beliefs; his upbringing in West Texas; his misfortune to have been in charge during a terrorist attack and a rare natural disaster; his vice president; and his unstated agendas-political, business, and family-driven.

Introducing the Collins Modern Classics, a series featuring some of the most significant books of recent times, books that shed light on the human experience – classics which will endure for generations to come. ‘You can turn your back on a person, but never turn your back on a drug – especially when it’s waving a razor-sharp hunting knife in your eyes’ Roaring down the desert highway, Raoul Duke and his attorney Dr. Gonzo are seeking out the dark side of the American Dream. Armed with a drug arsenal of stupendous proportions, they confront casino operators, police officers and assorted Middle Americans, in surreal, chemically enhanced encounters. Hilarious, hallucinogenic and subversive, Hunter S. Thompson’s semi-autobiographical novel is a cult classic and a masterpiece of gonzo journalism. ‘A scorching epochal sensation’ Tom Wolfe

John Dube is a revered and important figure in the history of South Africa. He was a leading member of the educated African elite in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a clergyman and teacher, the founder of Ohlange Institute near Durban (where Nelson Mandela cast his vote in the first democratic elections of 1994) and the first president of the ANC. In this splendid biography, Heather Hughes traces the story of his life, uncovers much about the man and his world that has been either hidden or forgotten, and restores him to his rightful place.

Nationalist movements remain a force in contemporary American politics, regardless of political party. Recently, social issues have moved to the forefront of American society, and civilian participation in activism is at an all time high. The nationalism that the world started to experience pre-2016, but much more intently post-2016, has impacted international alliances, global strategies, and threatened the fragile stability that had been established in the post-September 11th world. Major political events in more recent times, such as the American election, have brought social issues into stark focus along with placing a spotlight on politics and nationalism in general. Thus, there is an updated need for research on the most current advances and information on nationalism, social movements, and activism in modern times. Global Politics, Political Participation, and the Rise of Nationalism: Emerging Research and Opportunities discusses the ways in which nationalism and nationalist ideologies have permeated throughout America and the international community. This work considers the rise of neo-nationalism stemming from the Tea Party in the United States, Brexit and the era of the Tory Divorce from Europe, contemporary electoral politics that are helping in the spread of nationalist policies and leaders (providing a normalization of policies that are sometimes anti-democratic), the 2020 resurgence of Black Lives Matter after the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and the role of the coronavirus pandemic in helping to shape the world order to come. This book will be ideal for activists, politicians, lawyers, political science professors and researchers, international relations and comparative politics professors and students, practitioners, policymakers, researchers, academicians, and anyone interested in the current state of global politics, nationalism, and activism in political participation.

Indonesia has long been hailed as a rare case of democratic transition and persistence in an era of global democratic setbacks. But as the country enters its third decade of democracy, such laudatory assessments have become increasingly untenable. The stagnation that characterized Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's second presidential term has given way to a more far-reaching pattern of democratic regression under his successor, Joko Widodo. This volume is the first comprehensive study of Indonesia's contemporary democratic decline. Its contributors identify, explain and debate the signs of regression, including arbitrary state crackdowns on freedom of speech and organization, the rise of vigilantism, deepening political polarization, populist mobilization, the dysfunction of key democratic institutions, and the erosion of checks and balances on executive power. They ask why Indonesia, until recently considered a beacon of democratic exceptionalism, increasingly conforms to the global pattern of democracy in retreat.

In January 2009, Barack Obama became the 44th president of the United States. In the weeks and months following the election, as in those that preceded it, countless social observers from across the ideological spectrum commented upon the cultural, social and political significance of "the Obama phenomenon." In "At this Defining Moment," Enid Logan provides a nuanced analysis framed by innovative theoretical insights to explore how Barack Obama's presidential candidacy both reflected and shaped the dynamics of race in the contemporary United States. Using the 2008 election as a case study of U.S. race relations, and based on a wealth of empirical data that includes an analysis of over 1,500 newspaper articles, blog postings, and other forms of public speech collected over a 3 year period, Logan claims that while race played a central role in the 2008 election, it was in several respects different from the past. Logan ultimately concludes that while the selection of an individual African American man as president does not mean that racism is dead in the contemporary United States, we must also think creatively and expansively about what the election does mean for the nation and for the evolving contours of race in the 21st century.

Constitutional amendments, like all laws, may lead to unanticipated and even undesired outcomes. In this collection of original essays, a team of distinguished historians, political scientists, and legal scholars led by award-winning constitutional historian David E. Kyvig examines significant instances in which reform produced something other than the foreseen result. An opening essay examines the intentions of the Constitution's framers in creating an amending mechanism and then explores unexpected uses of that instrument. Thereafter, authors focus on the Bill of Rights and subsequent amendments, addressing such subjects as criminal justice procedures, the presidential election system, the Civil War's impact on race and gender relations, the experiment in national prohibition, women's suffrage, and, finally, limits on the presidency. Together these contributions illuminate aspects of constitutional stability and evolution, challenging current thinking about reform within the formal system of change provided by Article V of the Constitution. Forcefully demonstrating that constitutional law is not immune to unanticipated consequences, the eight scholars underscore the need for care, responsibility, and historical awareness in altering the nation's fundamental law.

The study of Regal and Republican Rome presents a difficult and yet exciting challenge. The extant evidence, which for the most part is literary, is late, sparse, and difficult, and the value of it has long been a subject of intense and sometimes heated scholarly discussion. This volume provides students with an introduction to a range of important problems in the study of ancient Rome during the Regal and Republican periods in one accessible collection, bringing together a diverse range of influential papers. Of particular importance is the question of the value of the historiographical evidence (i.e. what the Romans themselves wrote about their past). By juxtaposing different and sometimes incompatible reactions to the evidence, the collection aims to challenge its readers and invite them to join the debate, and to assess the ancient evidence and modern interpretations of it for themselves.

In this rich compilation, Emeka Nwosu takes the reader to a journey of the issues that have helped to shape discourses on various aspects of the Nigerian state and society. The articles, originally published in his weekly column in the premier Nigerian daily newspaper, ThisDay, not only show his perspectives on these issues when they were written but also reveal how discussions on some of those issues have evolved over time and how they have mutated today. Journalists, especially those who maintain regular columns, are often said to write 'history in a hurry'. For experienced writers like the author whose writings are research-based, it does not mean that what they write about is factually wrong but simply that their writings are infused with the passions and emotions that attended those issues as they unfolded. This collection is therefore not only informed commentaries on some of the issues that have shaped the contour of the Nigerian state and society over the years but a good trip on the passions and emotions that attended those discourses. The articles, 66 of them, are written with remarkable candour and gusto and therefore a delight to read. They form a very important contribution to the corpus of works on Nigerian politics and society. _____________________________________ Emeka Nwosu studied political science at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and also holds a Master's degree in Industrial Relations and Personnel Management from the University of Lagos. He equally holds a certificate in journalism from the Centre for Foreign Journalists (CFJ), Reston, Virginia, USA. Mr. Nwosu who has over 20 years experience in journalism, worked for several years with the Daily Times of Nigeria, once Nigeria's flagship newspaper and rose to become the Group political editor of the paper as well as a Member of its Editorial Board. Between 1990 and 1994, he was the National Chairman, National Association of Political Correspondents. He was also the Special Assistant to the late Senate President Evan Enwerem on Media and Public Affairs (1999-2000) and Assistant Director in The Presidency (2000-2006). Besides his weekly column for ThisDay, he is also the Special Adviser to the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives on Research and Documentation

Key book in Whiteness Studies that engages with the different ways in which the last white minority in Africa to give way to majority rule has adjusted to the arrival of democracy and the different modes of transition from "settlers" to "citizens". How have whites adjusted to, contributed to and detracted from democracy in South Africa since 1994? Engaging with the literature on 'whiteness' and the current trope that the democratic settlement has failed, this book provides a study of how whites in the last bastion of 'white minority rule' in Africa have adapted to the sweeping political changes they have encountered. It examines the historical context of white supremacy and minority rule, in the past, and the white withdrawal from elsewhere on the African continent. Drawing on focus groups held across the country, Southall explores the difficult issue of 'memory', how whites seek to grapple with the history of apartheid, and how this shapes their reactions to political equality. He argues that whites cannot be regarded as a homogeneous political grouping concluding that while the overwhelming majority of white South Africans feared the coming of democracy during the years of late apartheid, they recognised its inevitability. Many of their fears were, in effect, to be recognised by the Constitution, which embedded individual rights, including those to property and private schooling, alongside the important principle of proportionality of political representation. While a small minority of whites chose to emigrate, the large majority had little choice but to adjust to the democratic settlement which, on the whole, they have done - and in different ways. It was only a small right wing which sought to actively resist; others have sought to withdraw from democracy into social enclaves; but others have embraced democracy actively, either enthusiastically welcoming its freedoms or engaging with its realities in defence of 'minority rights'. Whites may have been reluctant to accept democracy, but democrats - of a sort - they have become, and notwithstanding a significant racialisation of politics in post-apartheid South Africa, they remain an important segment of the "rainbow", although dangers lurk in the future unless present inequalities of both race and class are challenged head on. African Sun Media: South Africa