|
Showing 1 - 3 of
3 matches in All Departments
This accessible volume shines a light on how autocracy really works
by providing basic facts about how post-World War II dictatorships
achieve, retain, and lose power. The authors present an
evidence-based portrait of key features of the authoritarian
landscape with newly collected data about 200 dictatorial regimes.
They examine the central political processes that shape the policy
choices of dictatorships and how they compel reaction from policy
makers in the rest of the world. Importantly, this book explains
how some dictators concentrate great power in their own hands at
the expense of other members of the dictatorial elite. Dictators
who can monopolize decision making in their countries cause much of
the erratic, warlike behavior that disturbs the rest of the world.
By providing a picture of the central processes common to
dictatorships, this book puts the experience of specific countries
in perspective, leading to an informed understanding of events and
the likely outcome of foreign responses to autocracies.
In Latin America as elsewhere, politicians routinely face a painful
dilemma: whether to use state resources for national purposes,
especially those that foster economic development, or to channel
resources to people and projects that will help insure political
survival and reelection. While politicians may believe that a
competent state bureaucracy is intrinsic to the national good,
political realities invariably tempt leaders to reward powerful
clients and constituents, undermining long-term competence.
"Politician's Dilemma" explores the ways in which political actors
deal with these contradictory pressures and asks the question: when
will leaders support reforms that increase state capacity and that
establish a more meritocratic and technically competent
bureaucracy?
Barbara Geddes brings rational choice theory to her study of Brazil
between 1930 and 1964 and shows how state agencies are made more
effective when they are protected from partisan pressures and
operate through merit-based recruitment and promotion strategies.
Looking at administrative reform movements in other Latin American
democracies, she traces the incentives offered politicians to
either help or hinder the process.
In its balanced insight, wealth of detail, and analytical rigor,
"Politician's Dilemma" provides a powerful key to understanding the
conflicts inherent in Latin American politics, and to unlocking
possibilities for real political change.
This accessible volume shines a light on how autocracy really works
by providing basic facts about how post-World War II dictatorships
achieve, retain, and lose power. The authors present an
evidence-based portrait of key features of the authoritarian
landscape with newly collected data about 200 dictatorial regimes.
They examine the central political processes that shape the policy
choices of dictatorships and how they compel reaction from policy
makers in the rest of the world. Importantly, this book explains
how some dictators concentrate great power in their own hands at
the expense of other members of the dictatorial elite. Dictators
who can monopolize decision making in their countries cause much of
the erratic, warlike behavior that disturbs the rest of the world.
By providing a picture of the central processes common to
dictatorships, this book puts the experience of specific countries
in perspective, leading to an informed understanding of events and
the likely outcome of foreign responses to autocracies.
|
You may like...
Loot
Nadine Gordimer
Paperback
(2)
R398
R330
Discovery Miles 3 300
Loot
Nadine Gordimer
Paperback
(2)
R398
R330
Discovery Miles 3 300
|