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Showing 1 - 9 of 9 matches in All Departments
After breaking free from the Bolsheviks in 1918, Estonia enjoyed independence until 1940, when the country was subsumed by the Soviet Union. Not until 1991 was Estonia able to make its next successful bid for sovereignty. In this book, Rein Taagepera traces the evolution of Estonia from prehistory to the present, when a radical turn of events in th
Take the number of seats in a representative assembly and the number of seats in districts through which this assembly is elected. From just these two numbers, the authors of Votes from Seats show that it is possible to deduce the number of parties in the assembly and in the electorate, as well as the size of the largest party. Inside parties, the vote distributions of individual candidates likewise follow predictable patterns. Four laws of party seats and votes are constructed by logic and tested, using scientific approaches rare in social sciences. Both complex and simple electoral systems are covered, and the book offers a set of 'best practices' for electoral system design. The ability to predict so much from so little, and to apply to countries worldwide, is an advance in the systematic analysis of a core institutional feature found in any democracy, and points the way towards making social sciences more predictive.
For a given electoral system, what average number and sizes of
parties and government duration can we expect? Predicting Party
Sizes is the first book to make specific predictions that agree
with world averages. The basic factors are the numbers of seats in
the assembly and in the average electoral district. While previous
models tell us only the direction in which to change the electoral
system, the present ones also tell us by how much they must be
changed so as to obtain the desired change in average number of
parties and cabinet duration. Hence, combined with known
particularities of a country, they can be used for informed
institutional design.
In his challenging new book Rein Taagepera argues that society needs more from social sciences than they have delivered. One reason for falling short is that social sciences have depended excessively on regression and other statistical approaches, neglecting logical model building. Science is not only about the empirical 'What is?' but also very much about the conceptual 'How should it be on logical grounds?' Statistical approaches are essentially descriptive, while quantitatively formulated logical models are predictive in an explanatory way. Why Social Sciences Are Not Scientific Enough contrasts the predominance of statistics in today's social sciences and predominance of quantitatively predictive logical models in physics. It shows how to construct predictive models and gives social science examples. Why Social Sciences Are Not Scientific Enough is useful to students who wish to learn the basics of the scientific method and to all those researchers who look for ways to do better social science.
After breaking free from the Bolsheviks in 1918, Estonia enjoyed independence until 1940, when the country was subsumed by the Soviet Union. Not until 1991 was Estonia able to make its next successful bid for sovereignty. In this book, Rein Taagepera traces the evolution of Estonia from prehistory to the present, when a radical turn of events in the former Soviet Union once again altered the destiny of this Baltic nation.The author explores in depth the remarkable changes in Estonia since 1980, framing his analysis within the larger picture of the Soviet Union and its demise. He also examines the issue of ethnic tensions between Estonians and Russian colonists and speculates on how unrest will affect the future of the country. Throughout his analysis, the author weaves in such key questions as: Why did Sovietization fail? How did Estonia's quest for autonomy affect Soviet dissolution? What role will the country play on the global stage? What will Estonia's future hold?
Take the number of seats in a representative assembly and the number of seats in districts through which this assembly is elected. From just these two numbers, the authors of Votes from Seats show that it is possible to deduce the number of parties in the assembly and in the electorate, as well as the size of the largest party. Inside parties, the vote distributions of individual candidates likewise follow predictable patterns. Four laws of party seats and votes are constructed by logic and tested, using scientific approaches rare in social sciences. Both complex and simple electoral systems are covered, and the book offers a set of 'best practices' for electoral system design. The ability to predict so much from so little, and to apply to countries worldwide, is an advance in the systematic analysis of a core institutional feature found in any democracy, and points the way towards making social sciences more predictive.
This is a comprehensive survey of the peoples who speak Finno-Ugric
languages and have titular republics or autonomous regions within
the post-Soviet Russian federation. Their languages have set them
apart from their Turkic and Russian neighbours, and helped preserve
their distinct identity, including their animist religious
practices. Little has previously been available in English on these
peoples, as information on the subject was screened by Soviet
censors.
In this updated edition of their renowned "The Baltic States, "
Romuald Misiunas and Rein Taagepera bring the story of Lithuania,
Latvia, and Estonia up to the 1990s. The authors describe and
analyze how the Baltic nations survived fifty years of social
disruption, language discrimination, and Russian colonialism. The
nations' histories are fully integrated and compared, and some
notable differences between them are pointed out.
In this updated edition of their renowned "The Baltic States, "
Romuald Misiunas and Rein Taagepera bring the story of Lithuania,
Latvia, and Estonia up to the 1990s. The authors describe and
analyze how the Baltic nations survived fifty years of social
disruption, language discrimination, and Russian colonialism. The
nations' histories are fully integrated and compared, and some
notable differences between them are pointed out.
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