First published in 2004, this is the fourteenth annual volume published under the auspices of the Elections, Public opinion and Parties (EPOP) specialist group of the Political Studies Association (PSA) of the United Kingdom. The 2003 September Cardiff conference was distinguished by the First Minister for Wales, Rt Hon. Rhodri Morgan AM. This is a collection of twelve papers from the conference and a reference section.

This accessible, rigorously researched and highly revealing book lifts the lid on political party membership. It represents the first in-depth study of six of the UK's biggest parties - Labour, the Conservatives, the Scottish National Party, the Liberal Democrats, UK Independence Party and the Greens - carried out simultaneously, thereby providing invaluable new insights into members' social characteristics, attitudes, activities and campaigning, reasons for joining and leaving, and views on how their parties should be run and who should represent them. In short, at a time of great pressure on, and change across parties, this book helps us discover not only what members want out of their parties but what parties want out of their members. This text is essential reading for those interested in political parties, party membership, elections and campaigning, representation, and political participation, be they scholars and students of British and comparative politics, or politicians, journalists and party members - in short, anyone who cares about the future of representative democracy.

This accessible, rigorously researched and highly revealing book lifts the lid on political party membership. It represents the first in-depth study of six of the UK's biggest parties - Labour, the Conservatives, the Scottish National Party, the Liberal Democrats, UK Independence Party and the Greens - carried out simultaneously, thereby providing invaluable new insights into members' social characteristics, attitudes, activities and campaigning, reasons for joining and leaving, and views on how their parties should be run and who should represent them. In short, at a time of great pressure on, and change across parties, this book helps us discover not only what members want out of their parties but what parties want out of their members. This text is essential reading for those interested in political parties, party membership, elections and campaigning, representation, and political participation, be they scholars and students of British and comparative politics, or politicians, journalists and party members - in short, anyone who cares about the future of representative democracy.

The new edition of this successful book provides a comprehensive and up-to-date overview and account of the changing nature of party politics in Britain today. Webb and Bale draw on models of comparative politics in conducting a wealth of new empirical analysis to map and explain the ways in which the party system has evolved, and the parties have adapted to a changing political environment. Themes covered include the nature and extent of party competition, the internal life and organizational development of parties, the varieties of party system found across the UK, and the roles played by parties within the wider political system. The book also addresses the crisis of popular legitimacy confronting the parties, as well as assessing the scope for potential reform. While parties remain central to the functioning of Britain's democracy, public disaffection with them is as high as it has ever been; reform of the system of representation and party funding is warranted, but there are unlikely to be any panaceas.

An account of innovators and inventors who have affected ll of our lives.

This book has the potential to change the way you sell and make you more successful than you ever imagined. It combines research with practical strategies that really work.The techniques given in this book, apply to anyone who sells. You'll learn how to open a relationship and turn a first-time customer into a customer for life.As a sales professional, if my goal is to make you a customer for life, my actions will reflect that. Instead of using slick gimmicks or sales formulas, you'll learn to treat the customer with integrity. The book combines research with practical strategies that really work.

Throughout the Bible there are times when the name of God is changed to reflect a characteristic of himself that He wants us to know Him by at that time. This book details twelve of those names and how we can apply them to ourselves, as well as how to use them in our prayer time.

Throughout the Bible there are times when the name of God is changed to reflect a characteristic of himself that He wants us to know Him by at that time. This book details twelve of those names and how we can apply them to ourselves, as well as how to use them in our prayer time.

Jesus is probably the most controversial person that has ever lived. You either love Him and what He stood for, or you hate Him, and all He stands for. What decision have you already made or are thinking about making? I think the next most controversial thing in history is the cross. Men have died for it, wars have been fought over it, and history cannot deny it. The symbol of that cross on that ugly hill has been woven into the fabric and the memory of the world. Just like Jesus the cross is controversial, what do you think about it? Why not read this book before you make up your mind? It could change your life....Forever.

Paul Webb is hailed by leaders in the automotive industry as a Master Sales Trainer, "second to none," and this book's practical insights and techniques have been endorsed by his top clients as "providing a challenge for readers to decide which ones to go after first.

Do you feel the need to pray but just don't know where or how to start? What better way to learn How to Pray than to learn from the original teacher, Jesus. When the disciples of Jesus asked him to teach them to pray he gave them an outline that covers all the tenets of prayer. These are Praise and Adoration of the Father, that the Kingdom of heaven would be manifested on earth, a request that His will be done, and not our own, repentance for sin, the grace to forgive others as we have been forgiven, that we be kept from temptation, and that we be protected from evil. A breakdown of this prayer, and more is included in this guide on How to Pray. There is also a guide for daily prayer that you can adapt for you and your family.

Treadmiil Repair will help you diagnose and solve most of the common problems with your treadmill. You could also save hundereds of dollars in repair bills by using the simple steps involved in the procedures outlined in the book

For Amateur And Professional Gunsmiths And Users Of Modern Firearms.

The Peacock's Children records the struggle for independence, democracy and freedom in Burma from the fall of the monarchy and the British occupation, up to the turn of the 21st century. For the initial period of the study, the author draws on valuable material concerning the British colonial period and its response to nationalist and student protests, discovered mainly in the archives of the British Library-Indian and Oriental Collection, London. Post-colonial material is complemented by the author's extensive travel and personal interviews in Burma, Thailand and Australia. The account is at times a harrowing one, underscoring the repeated dashed hopes for freedom, as well as the confusion and contradictions amongst Burmese themselves as to the right path to be followed to achieve true independence. In the Epilogue, the author brings us forward to the present. Regrettably, despite the ongoing struggle, sacrifice and bloodshed of many heroic Burmese, little seems to have changed over the past several decades, for Burmese democracy seems as elusive today as ever. An essential record and valuable reference for all concerned about the fate of this tormented country and its oppressed people.

The Presidentialization of Politics shows that the politics of democratic societies is moving towards a presidentialized working mode, even in the absence of formal institutional changes. These developments can be explained by a combination of long-term structural changes in modern politics and societies' contingent factors which fluctuate over time. While these contingent, short-term factors relate to the personalities of office holders, the overall political agenda, and the majority situation in parliament, there are several structural factors which are relatively uniform across modern nations. First, the internationalization of modern politics (which is particularly pronounced within the European Union) has led to an 'executive bias' of the political process which has strengthened the role of political top elites vis-a-vis their parliamentary groups and/or their parties. Their predominance has been amplified further by the vastly expanded steering capacities of state machineries which have severely reduced the scope of effective parliamentary control. At the same time, the declining stability of political alignments has increased the proportion of citizens whose voting decisions are not constrained by long-standing party loyalties. In conjunction with the mediatization of politics, this has increased the capacity of political leaders to by-pass their party machines and to appeal directly to voters.
As a result, three interrelated processes have led to a political process increasingly moulded by the inherent logic of presidentialism: increasing leadership power and autonomy within the political executive; increasing leadership power and autonomy within political parties; andincreasingly leadership-centred electoral processes.
The book presents evidence for this process of presidentialization for 14 modern democracies (including the US and Canada). While there are substantial cross-national differences, the overall thesis holds: modern democracies are increasingly following a presidential logic of governance through which leadership is becoming more central and more powerful, but also increasingly dependent on successful immediate appeal to the mass public. Implications for democratic theory are considered.

The sister volume to Political Parties in Advanced Industrial Democracies, this book offers a systematic and rigorous analysis of parties in some of the world's major new democracies. Drawing on a wealth of expertise and data, the book assesses the popular legitimacy, organizational development and functional performance of political parties in Latin America and postcommunist Eastern Europe. It demonstrates the generational differences between parties in the old and new democracies, and reveals contrasts among the latter. Parties are shown to be at their most feeble in those recently transitional democracies characterized by personalistic, candidate-centred forms of politics, but in other new democracies - especially those with parliamentary systems - parties are more stable and institutionalized, enabling them to facilitate a meaningful degree of popular choice and control. Wherever party politics is weakly institutionalized, political inequality tends to be greater, commitment to pluralism less certain, clientelism and corruption more pronounced, and populist demagoguery a greater temptation. Without party, democracy's hold is more tenuous. Comparative Politics is a series for scholars and students of political science that deals with contemporary issues in comparative government and politics. The General Editor is David M. Farrell, Jean Monnet Chair in European Politics and Head of School of Social Sciences, University of Manchester. The series is published in association with the European Consortium for Political Research.

Comparative Politics is a series for students and teachers of political science that deals with contemporary government and politics. The General Editors are Professor Alfio Mastropaolo, University of Turin and Kenneth Newton, University of Southampton and Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin. The series is published in association with the European Consortium for Political Research.
The sister volume to Political Parties in Advanced Industrial Democracies, this book offers a systematic and rigorous analysis of parties in some of the world's major new democracies. Drawing on a wealth of expertise and data, the book assesses the popular legitimacy, organizational development and functional performance of political parties in Latin America and post-communist Eastern Europe. It demonstrates the generational differences between parties in the old and new democracies, and reveals contrasts among the latter. Parties are shown to be at their most feeble in those recently transitional democracies characterized by personalistic, candidate-centered forms of politics, but in other new democracies--especially those with parliamentary systems--parties are more stable and institutionalized, enabling them to facilitate a meaningful degree of popular choice and control. Wherever party politics is weakly institutionalized, political inequality tends to be greater, commitment to pluralism less certain, clientelism and corruption more pronounced, and populist demagoguery a greater temptation. Without party, democracy's hold is more tenuous.