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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government
In The Political Power of Bad Ideas, Mark Schrad uses one of the
greatest oddities of modern history--the broad diffusion throughout
the Western world of alcohol-control legislation in the early
twentieth century--to make a powerful argument about how bad policy
ideas achieve international success. His could an idea that was
widely recognized by experts as bad before adoption, and which
ultimately failed everywhere, come to be adopted throughout the
world? To answer the question, Schrad utilizes an institutionalist
approach and focuses in particular on the United States, Sweden,
and Russia/the USSR.
Both studies of political power and Europeanization studies have
tended to neglect central banks. As the age of the euro reaches its
10th anniversary, it is timely to reflect on what it means for
central banks, which have been at the forefront of the
establishment of Economic and Monetary Union in the European Union.
Central banks have been caught up in a major historic political
project. What does it mean for them? What does the age of the euro
tell us about the power of central banks, their Europeanization and
whether they are coming to resemble each other more closely?
The relevance of lawyers and jurists in the process of state-building in nineteenth-century Latin America has been widely acknowledged. This collection of essays assembles a series of studies dealing with the interaction between the legal world and the wider political, economic, social and cultural processes in which the transition from colonial status to independent nationhood took place. Rather than viewing this transition as a radical transformation of judicial institutions and practices, emphasis has been put upon the continuities between those two phases. The chapters range from general overviews of both colonial and republican Spanish America to more detailed case studies of Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. contributors include: Linda Arnold, Virginia Tech; Osvaldo Barreneche, Universidad Nacional de la Plata, Argentina; Charles R. Cutter, Purdue University; Thomas H. Holloway, Cornell University; Victor M. Uribe, Florida International University.
The 2008 presidential election made American history. Yet before Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, there were other "historic firsts": Shirley Chisholm, who ran for president in 1972, and Jesse Jackson, who ran in 1984 and 1988. While unsuccessful, these campaigns were significant, as they rallied American voters across various racial, ethnic, and gender groups. One can also argue that they heightened the electoral prospects of future candidates. Can "historic firsts" bring formerly politically inactive people (those who previously saw no connection between campaigns and their own lives) into the electoral process, making it both relevant and meaningful? In Historic Firsts: How Symbolic Empowerment Changes Politics, Evelyn M. Simien makes the compelling argument that voters from various racial, ethnic, and sex groups take pride in and derive psychic benefit from such historic candidacies. They make linkages between the candidates in question and their own understanding of representation, and these linkages act to mobilize citizens to vote and become actively involved in campaigns. Where conventional approaches to the study of American political elections tend to focus on socioeconomic factors, or to study race or gender as isolated factors, Simien's approach is intersectional, bringing together literature on both race and gender. In particular she compares the campaigns of Jackson, Chisholm, Obama and Clinton, and she draws upon archival material from campaign speeches, advertising, and newspaper articles, to voter turnout reports, exit polls, and national surveys to discover how race and gender determined the electoral context for the campaigns. In the process, she reveals the differences that exist within and between various racial, ethnic and sex groups in the American political process at the presidential level.
Stem cell therapy is ushering in a new era of medicine in which we
will be able to repair human organs and tissue at their most
fundamental level- that of the cell. The power of stem cells to
regenerate cells of specific types, such as heart, liver, and
muscle, is unique and extraordinary. In 1998 researchers learned
how to isolate and culture embryonic stem cells, which are only
obtainable through the destruction of human embryos. An ethical
debate has raged since then about the ethics of this research,
usually pitting pro-life advocates vs. those who see the great
promise of curing some of humanity's most persistent
diseases.
In contemporary European societies the question of racism, linked to the politicisation of migration, is a major issue in social and political debate. Developments in a number of European societies have highlighted the volatility of this phenomenon and the ease with which racist and extreme-right political movements can mobilise around the question of immigration and opposition to cultural pluralism. The situation in countries as divergent as the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and various Scandinavian societies shows evidence of mounting racism and hostility to migrants. This volume provides a critical overview of the processes that have led to the present situation and explores some of the options for the future. Contents: Part I: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives J. Solomos and J. Wrench, Race and Racism in Contemporary Europe S. Castles, Migrations and Minorities in Europe: Perspectives for the 1990s: Eleven Hypotheses R. Miles, The Articulation of Racism and Nationalism: Reflections on European History Part II: Tendencies and Trends M. Wieviorka, Tendencies to Racism in Europe: Does France represent a unique case, or is it representative of a trend? C. Wilpert, The Ideological and Institutional Foundations of Racism in the Federal Republic of Germany E. Vasta, Rights and Racism in a New Country of Immigration: The Italian Case A. Alund and C. Schierup, The Thorny Road to Europe: Swedish Immigrant Policy in Transition T. Hammar, Political Participation and Civil Rights in Scandinavia H. Lutz, Migrant Women, Racism and the Dutch Labour Market P. Essed, The Politics of Marginal Inclusion: Racism in an Organisational Context J. Wrench and J. Solomos, The Politics and Processes of Racial Discrimination in Britain Part III: Issues and Debates T. A. van Dijk, Denying Racism: Elite Discourse and Racism A. Brah, Difference, Diversity, Differentiation: Processes of Racialisation and Gender Jan Rath, The Ideol
The "Encyclopedia" is the only resource available that focuses exclusively on the expanding role of minorities in U.S. politics. Containing more than 2,000 entries, this two-volume set is divided into four distinct sections covering African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans. It makes a broad range of information readily accessible, including historical and contemporary biographies, descriptions of major events, and coverage of important legal decisions and organizations.
Experience the powerful words of Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has spent a lifetime in service to the United States, from young lawyer fighting for the disadvantaged to Secretary of State and two-time presidential candidate. Arranged thematically, the hundreds of selections here have been drawn from her speeches, conferences, debates, interviews, books, social media posts, and more, and cover both her personal and professional lives.
Nearly three decades after the dawn of democracy, South Africa has remained a country of ‘two agricultures’. On the one hand we have a subsistence, primarily non-commercial, black farming segment. On the other hand, however, we have a predominantly commercial and white farming sector that is well-resourced and has access to domestic and international trade networks. These disparities can be traced back to South Africa’s painful history where, for decades, black farmers were on the margins of government support and also experienced land dispossession and livestock plunder. A Country of Two Agricultures focuses less on history and more on the present and the future, explaining why these disparities have persisted in the democratic era, and what it will take to overcome them. It aims to contribute to a better understanding of the variety of agricultural forces, taking into account both questions of domestic political economy and external factors, as well as to bring to light new risks and opportunities. Wandile Sihlobo offers insights into the role of agriculture in the South African economy from an agricultural economy perspective, and provides political economy insights that are rooted in the experiences of farming communities on the ground and right through the value chain. Beyond insights on the realities this book offers the government, the private sector, and anyone interested in the betterment of the South African economy, tools to grapple with this duality, and proposes a framework for bolstering the black farming segment for growth and competitiveness – and ultimately food security.
In The Arizona State Constitution, John D. Leshy provides a
comprehensive history of Arizona's constitutional development.
Adopted at the height of the progressive movement, the Constitution
contains many progressive innovations. Leshy describes these along
with the dramatic changes the state has undergone in subsequent
decades. He also includes a section-by-section commentary which
crisply discusses the evolution and interpretation of each section,
including significant court decisions. Thoroughly updated to
reflect amendments and court cases through the fall of 2012, the
second edition of The Arizona State Constitution is an essential
reference guide for readers who seek a rich account of Arizona's
constitutional evolution.
This book addresses the ethical and political questions flowing from the vastly increased possibilities to manipulate the genetic properties of organisms, including human beings. Due to the great complexity of the scientific fields involved, these questions are framed and answered mostly by scientific experts. But the new technological possibilities and social practices connected with genetic manipulation intrude into domains that for a long time have been the provenance of religious and secular worldviews and touch upon deep-seated convictions and emotions. Moreover they are strongly influenced by economic and political interests. As a consequence, questions of scientific truth and technical control are getting more and more "mixed up" with questions regarding values and interests. Against this background, this book starts from the premise that neither clinging to the idea of value-neutral, disinterested science, nor the complete abandonment of this idea in favour of postmodern relativism will be of much help here. Instead the different contributions to this book explore the idea of a 'lingua democratica' for the life sciences and sketch the contours of this notion by focusing on a broad range of conceptual and practical issues in the field of genomics.
Instant New York Times bestseller "Howard Zinn on acid or some bullsh*t like that." -Tim Heidecker The creators of the cult-hit podcast Chapo Trap House deliver a manifesto for everyone who feels orphaned and alienated-politically, culturally, and economically-by the lanyard-wearing Wall Street centrism of the left and the lizard-brained atavism of the right: there is a better way, the Chapo Way. In a guide that reads like "a weirder, smarter, and deliciously meaner version of The Daily Show's 2004 America (The Book)" (Paste), Chapo Trap House shows you that you don't have to side with either sinking ships. These self-described "assholes from the internet" offer a fully ironic ideology for all who feel politically hopeless and prefer broadsides and tirades to reasoned debate. Learn the "secret" history of the world, politics, media, and everything in-between that THEY don't want you to know and chart a course from our wretched present to a utopian future where one can post in the morning, game in the afternoon, and podcast after dinner without ever becoming a poster, gamer, or podcaster. A book that's "as intellectually serious and analytically original as it is irreverent and funny" (Glenn Greenwald, New York Times bestselling author of No Place to Hide) The Chapo Guide to Revolution features illustrated taxonomies of contemporary liberal and conservative characters, biographies of important thought leaders, "never before seen" drafts of Aaron Sorkin's Newsroom manga, and the ten new laws that govern Chapo Year Zero (everyone gets a dog, billionaires are turned into Soylent, and logic is outlawed). If you're a fan of sacred cows, prisoners being taken, and holds being barred, then this book is NOT for you. However, if you feel disenfranchised from the political and cultural nightmare we're in, then Chapo, let's go...
Do big government debts and fast rates of adding to them threaten our collective well-being? In this groundbreaking analysis, Ray Dalio, one of the greatest investors of our time and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Principles, shares the reasons behind his fears for the US debt markets, answering some of the most important market and economic questions we now face: Are there limits to debt growth? Can a big, important reserve currency country like the US really go broke? Is there such a thing as a 'Big Debt Cycle' that can tell us when to worry about debt and what to do about it? For decades, politicians, policymakers and investors have debated these questions, but the Big Debt Cycle that helps answer them is not talked about or well understood. With the US debt issue coming to a head, Dalio’s How Countries Go Broke provides the first-ever detailed analysis of the Big Debt Cycle, explaining its implications and offering a surprisingly straightforward solution to getting debt problems like those faced by the US under control. Dalio has built his career as a leading global macro investor by studying the patterns of history to develop unconventional perspectives on what’s happening in markets and economies today. It was this approach that led him, in the years leading up to the 2008 Great Financial Crisis, to study the Great Depression and other past big debt crises and use what he learned to navigate the turbulent markets successfully. By looking closely at thirty-five cases over the past 100 years when governments have gone broke and studying the mechanics behind them, Dalio has developed a first-of-its-kind template for what to watch for and what to do when the threat is as significant as his measures show that it now is. He has discussed this template with treasury secretaries and central bankers from around the world and is now sharing it with the public to help bring urgent attention to the big risks the US and a number of other countries face – and to explain how to avoid the worst-case scenario.
In 2020 the world found itself in a state of flux. A global pandemic disrupted the world order while the digital transformation of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), with its challenges and huge potential benefits, presented a fundamental paradigm shift. How are Africa’s leaders to respond, today? In a crisis, decisive leadership is imperative for the public good, but as we move beyond the pandemic and confront the changes of the 4IR, we must determine how we will adapt. What is clear is that leadership will have to be grounded in scientific and mathematical thinking and in good governance. It follows, then, that for South Africa to succeed as a nation in the 21st century we must be able to provide our people with an all-embracing education – not just science and technology but human and social sciences as well. Leading in the 21st Century presents a comprehensive overview of how the world is changing and lessons we can draw from leaders, particularly in the African context. From Charlotte Maxeke and the Rain Queen Modjadji, to Mangaliso Robert Sobukwe, Eric Molobi and Richard Maponya, there is much to learn from great leaders. The challenges of the 21st century are immense – from climate change to social media and the digital divide that deepens our understanding of inequality, particularly in the ‘new normal’. South Africa faces not only a shifting global context but a fraught local context of stagnant growth, rising unemployment and deep-seated inequality, worsened in 2020 by the national lockdown necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic. The 4IR offers solutions to many of our most pressing problems and we cannot afford to be left behind. The certainty is that the 4IR has arrived. The debates lie in how we respond to it. Tshilidzi Marwala deciphers it all, while providing a framework for navigating these shifts.
The Voices of Liberation series celebrates the lives and writings of South African and African liberation activists and heroes. The human, social and literary contexts presented in this series have a critical resonance and bearing on where we come from, who we are and how we can choose to shape our destiny. This series ensures that the debates and values that shaped the liberation movement are not lost. The series offers a unique combination of biographical information with selections from original speeches and writings in each volume. By providing access to the thoughts and writings of some of the many men and women who fought for the dismantling of apartheid, colonialism and capitalist legacy, this series invites the contemporary reader to engage directly with the rich history of the struggle for democracy and the restoration of our own identity. The title of the series has been carefully chosen as it speaks to its purpose - which is not only to make a particular voice resonate but to strengthen the voice from the South and Africa in particular. Chris Hani was a key figure in the South African liberation struggle, yet little has been written about this enigmatic leader of the SACP and Chief of Staff of Umkhonto we Sizwe. The year 2013, marks the 20 year anniversary of his assassination and HSRC Press views the publication of this book as extremely important, not only to commemorate his death but to highlight the principles and values for which he stood. As Chief of Staff of Umkhonto we Sizwe, Chris Hani was prepared to support the cessation of the armed struggle in the interests of the negotiations which would benefit the country as a whole; he represents the importance of dialogue and the relationship between identity, agency, citizenship and social action. Chris Hani believed in restoring people to their humanity and the need is now greater perhaps than ever before to hear his voice loud and clear.
After Empires describes how the end of colonial empires and the changes in international politics and economies after decolonization affected the European integration process. Until now, studies on European integration have often focussed on the search for peaceful relations among the European nations, particularly between Germany and France, or examined it as an offspring of the Cold War, moving together with the ups and downs of transatlantic relations. But these two factors alone are not enough to explain the rise of the European Community and its more recent transformation into the European Union. Giuliano Garavini focuses instead on the emergence of the Third World as an international actor, starting from its initial economic cooperation with the creation of the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in 1964 up to the end of unity among the countries of the Global South after the second oil shock in 1979-80. Offering a new - less myopic - way to conceptualise European history more globally, the study is based on a variety of international archives (government archives in Europe, the US, Algeria, Venezuela; international organizations such as the EC, UNCTAD, and the World Bank; political and social organizations such as the Socialist International, labour archives and the papers of oil companies) and traces the reactions and the initiatives of the countries of the European Community, but also of the European political parties and public opinion, to the rise and fall of the Third World on the international stage.
Based on the heart-breaking true story of Cilka Klein, Cilka's Journey is a million copy international bestseller and the sequel to the No.1 bestselling phenomenon, The Tattooist of Auschwitz In 1942 Cilka Klein is just sixteen years old when she is taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp. The Commandant at Birkenau, Schwarzhuber, notices her long beautiful hair, and forces her separation from the other women prisoners. Cilka learns quickly that power, even unwillingly given, equals survival. After liberation, Cilka is charged as a collaborator by the Russians and sent to a desolate, brutal prison camp in Siberia known as Vorkuta, inside the Arctic Circle. Innocent, imprisoned once again, Cilka faces challenges both new and horribly familiar, each day a battle for survival. Cilka befriends a woman doctor, and learns to nurse the ill in the camp, struggling to care for them under unimaginable conditions. And when she tends to a man called Alexandr, Cilka finds that despite everything, there is room in her heart for love. Cilka's Journey is a powerful testament to the triumph of the human will. It will move you to tears, but it will also leave you astonished and uplifted by one woman's fierce determination to survive, against all odds. Don't miss Heather Morris's next book, Stories of Hope. Out now.
Damn Great Empires! offers a new perspective on the works of William James by placing his encounter with American imperialism at the center of his philosophical vision. This book reconstructs James's overlooked political thought by treating his anti-imperialist Nachlass - his speeches, essays, notes, and correspondence on the United States' annexation of the Philippines - as the key to the political significance of his celebrated writings on psychology, religion, and philosophy. It shows how James located a craving for authority at the heart of empire as a way of life, a craving he diagnosed and unsettled through his insistence on a modern world without ultimate foundations. Livingston explores the persistence of political questions in James's major works, from his writings on the self in The Principles of Psychology to the method of Pragmatism, the study of faith and conversion in The Varieties of Religious Experience, and the metaphysical inquiries in A Pluralistic Universe. Against the common view of James as a thinker who remained silent on questions of politics, this book places him in dialogue with champions and critics of American imperialism, from Theodore Roosevelt to W. E. B. Du Bois, as well as a transatlantic critique of modernity, in order to excavate James's anarchistic political vision. Bringing the history of political thought into conversation with contemporary debates in political theory, Damn Great Empires! offers a fresh and original reexamination of the political consequences of pragmatism as a public philosophy.
Twenty-five years ago, when Pat Robertson and other radio and televangelists first spoke of the United States becoming a Christian nation that would build a global Christian empire, it was hard to take such hyperbolic rhetoric seriously. Today, such language no longer sounds like hyperbole but poses, instead, a very real threat to our freedom and our way of life. In "American Fascists, " Chris Hedges, veteran journalist and author of the National Book Award finalist "War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, " challenges the Christian Right's religious legitimacy and argues that at its core it is a mass movement fueled by unbridled nationalism and a hatred for the open society. Hedges, who grew up in rural parishes in upstate New York where his father was a Presbyterian pastor, attacks the movement as someone steeped in the Bible and Christian tradition. He points to the hundreds of senators and members of Congress who have earned between 80 and 100 percent approval ratings from the three most influential Christian Right advocacy groups as one of many signs that the movement is burrowing deep inside the American government to subvert it. The movement's call to dismantle the wall between church and state and the intolerance it preaches against all who do not conform to its warped vision of a Christian America are pumped into tens of millions of American homes through Christian television and radio stations, as well as reinforced through the curriculum in Christian schools. The movement's yearning for apocalyptic violence and its assault on dispassionate, intellectual inquiry are laying the foundation for a new, frightening America. "American Fascists, " which includes interviews and coverage of events such as pro-life rallies and weeklong classes on conversion techniques, examines the movement's origins, its driving motivations and its dark ideological underpinnings. Hedges argues that the movement currently resembles the young fascist movements in Italy and Germany in the 1920s and '30s, movements that often masked the full extent of their drive for totalitarianism and were willing to make concessions until they achieved unrivaled power. The Christian Right, like these early fascist movements, does not openly call for dictatorship, nor does it use physical violence to suppress opposition. In short, the movement is not yet revolutionary. But the ideological architecture of a Christian fascism is being cemented in place. The movement has roused its followers to a fever pitch of despair and fury. All it will take, Hedges writes, is one more national crisis on the order of September 11 for the Christian Right to make a concerted drive to destroy American democracy. The movement awaits a crisis. At that moment they will reveal themselves for what they truly are -- the American heirs to fascism. Hedges issues a potent, impassioned warning. We face an imminent threat. His book reminds us of the dangers liberal, democratic societies face when they tolerate the intolerant.
Protracted occupation has become a rare phenomenon in the 21st century. One notable exception is Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which began over four decades ago after the Six-Day War in 1967. While many studies have examined the effects of occupation on the occupied society, which bears most of the burdens of occupation, this book directs its attention to the occupiers. The effects of occupation on the occupying society are not always easily observed, and are therefore difficult to study. Yet through their analysis, the authors of this volume show how occupation has detrimental effects on the occupiers. The effects of occupation do not stop in the occupied territories, but penetrate deeply into the fabric of the occupying society. The Impacts of Lasting Occupation examines the effects that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories have had on Israeli society. The consequences of occupation are evident in all aspects of Israeli life, including its political, social, legal, economic, cultural, and psychological spheres. Occupation has shaped Israel's national identity as a whole, in addition to the day-to-day lives of Israeli citizens. Daniel Bar-Tal and Izhak Schnell have brought together a wide range of academic experts to show how occupation has led to the deterioration of democracy and moral codes, threatened personal security, and limited economic growth in Israel.
All of us have in our minds a cartoon image of what an autocratic state
looks like, with a bad man at the top. But in the 21st century, that
cartoon bears little resemblance to reality. Nowadays, autocracies are
run not by one bad guy, but by sophisticated networks composed of
kleptocratic financial structures, security services and professional
propagandists. The members of these networks are connected not only
within a given country, but among many countries. The corrupt,
state-controlled companies in one dictatorship do business with
corrupt, state-controlled companies in another. The police in one
country can arm, equip, and train the police in another. The
propagandists share resources―the troll farms that promote one
dictator’s propaganda can also be used to promote the propaganda of
another―and themes, pounding home the same messages about the weakness
of democracy and the evil of America. |
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