Some blame the violence and unrest in the Muslim world on Islam itself, arguing that the religion and its history is inherently bloody. Others blame the United States, arguing that American attempts ...to spread democracy by force have destabilized the region, and that these efforts are somehow radical or unique. Challenging these views, The Clash of Ideas in World Politics reveals how the Muslim world is in the throes of an ideological struggle that extends far beyond the Middle East, and how struggles like it have been a recurring feature of international relations since the dawn of the modern European state.
This book argues that Putin's strategy for rebuilding the state was fundamentally flawed. Taylor demonstrates that a disregard for the way state officials behave toward citizens - state quality - had ...a negative impact on what the state could do - state capacity. Focusing on those organizations that control state coercion, what Russians call the 'power ministries', Taylor shows that many of the weaknesses of the Russian state that existed under Boris Yeltsin persisted under Putin. Drawing on extensive field research and interviews, as well as a wide range of comparative data, the book reveals the practices and norms that guide the behavior of Russian power ministry officials (the so-called siloviki), especially law enforcement personnel. By examining siloviki behavior from the Kremlin down to the street level, State Building in Putin's Russia uncovers the who, where and how of Russian state building after communism.
This is the first account in English of the making of Italian nationhood from the perspective of constitutional history. It tells the little-known story of the monarchy's role in this process from ...the planning of unification to the rise of fascism.
This book examines to what extent politics in Iceland have been transformed in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. The book focuses on whether the short-term sudden shock caused by the Great ...Recession has permanently transformed politics, political behaviour and the Icelandic party system or whether its effect was primarily transitory. These questions remain highly relevant to the wider field of political science, as the book examines under what circumstances sudden shocks lead to permanent changes in a political system. As such, the book situates the post-crisis Icelandic case both temporally and comparatively and evaluates to what extent the Iceland experience is reflective of broader patterns found in other Western democracies, particularly those other countries that were also hard hit by the Great Recession (e.g. Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Italy). This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of Nordic politics, Icelandic politics and society, electoral studies, political parties and party systems, representative democracy, political behaviour and more broadly to European and comparative politics.
How did democracy became entrenched in the world's largest Muslim-majority country? After the fall of its authoritarian regime in 1998, Indonesia pursued an unusual course of democratization. It was ...insider-dominated and gradualist and it involved free elections before a lengthy process of constitutional reform. At the end of the process, Indonesia's amended constitution was essentially a new and thoroughly democratic document. By proceeding as they did, the Indonesians averted the conflict that would have arisen between adherents of the old constitution and proponents of radical, immediate reform. Donald L. Horowitz documents the decisions that gave rise to this distinctive constitutional process. He then traces the effects of the new institutions on Indonesian politics and discusses their shortcomings and their achievements in steering Indonesia away from the dangers of polarization and violence. He also examines the Indonesian story in the context of comparative experience with constitutional design and intergroup conflict.
How voting behavior in Latin America is influenced by social networks and everyday communication among peers In Latin America's new democracies, political parties and mass partisanship are not deeply ...entrenched, leaving many votes up for grabs during election campaigns. In a typical presidential election season, between one-quarter and one-half of all voters—figures unheard of in older democracies—change their voting intentions across party lines in the months before election day. Advancing a new theory of Latin American voting behavior, Persuasive Peers argues that political discussions within informal social networks among family members, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and acquaintances explain this volatility and exert a major influence on final voting choices.Relying on unique survey and interview data from Latin America, the authors show that weakly committed voters defer to their politically knowledgeable peers, creating vast amounts of preference change as political campaigns unfold. Peer influences also matter for unwavering voters, who tend to have social contacts that reinforce their voting intentions. Social influence increases political conformity among voters within neighborhoods, states, and even entire regions, and the authors illustrate how party machines use the social topography of electorates to buy off well-connected voters who can magnify the impact of the payoff. Persuasive Peers demonstrates how everyday communication shapes political outcomes in Latin America's less-institutionalized democracies.
Scandal Clark, Anna
2004., 20131031, 2013, 2003, 20040101
eBook
Are sex scandals simply trivial distractions from serious issues or can they help democratize politics? In 1820, George IV's "royal gambols" with his mistresses endangered the Old Oak of the ...constitution. When he tried to divorce Queen Caroline for adultery, the resulting scandal enabled activists to overcome state censorship and revitalize reform. Looking at six major British scandals between 1763 and 1820, this book demonstrates that scandals brought people into politics because they evoked familiar stories of sex and betrayal. In vibrant prose woven with vivid character sketches and illustrations, Anna Clark explains that activists used these stories to illustrate constitutional issues concerning the Crown, Parliament, and public opinion.
Clark argues that sex scandals grew out of the tension between aristocratic patronage and efficiency in government. For instance, in 1809 Mary Ann Clarke testified that she took bribes to persuade her royal lover, the army's commander-in-chief, to promote officers, buy government offices, and sway votes. Could women overcome scandals to participate in politics?
This book also explains the real reason why the glamorous Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, became so controversial for campaigning in a 1784 election. Sex scandal also discredited Mary Wollstonecraft, one of the first feminists, after her death.
Why do some scandals change politics while others fizzle? Edmund Burke tried to stir up scandal about the British empire in India, but his lurid, sexual language led many to think he was insane.
A unique blend of the history of sexuality and women's history with political and constitutional history,Scandalopens a revealing new window onto some of the greatest sex scandals of the past. In doing so, it allows us to more fully appreciate the sometimes shocking ways democracy has become what it is today.
Europe’s future is contested between those who want to integrate further, those who prefer things to stay as they are, and those who would retreat into nationalism. These divisions impair the ...government of the European Union and weaken its ability to shoulder more responsibility for its unstable neighbourhood. This open access book analyses the EU’s evolving constitution, arguing that the lack of effective federal government lies at the heart of its problems. It recommends reforms for each EU institution, including those involving treaty change. It makes the case for a unified executive, a more legitimate legislature, and the introduction of a federal treasury and supreme court. It proposes a fresh category of affiliate membership underpinned by a new European security council that would overcome the historic division between the EU and NATO. The book is essential reading for practitioners and students of European integration.
Here, reprinted for the first time since its original publication,
is muckraking journalist Upton Sinclair's lively, caustic account
of the 1934 election campaign that turned California upside down
...and almost won him the governor's mansion. Using his "End Poverty
in California" movement (more commonly called EPIC) as a
springboard, Sinclair ran for governor as a Democrat, equipped with
a bold plan to end the Depression in California by taking over idle
land and factories and turning them into cooperative ventures for
the unemployed. To his surprise, thousands rallied to the idea,
converting what he had assumed would be another of his utopian
schemes into a mass political movement of extraordinary dimensions.
With a loosely knit organization of hundreds of local EPIC clubs,
Sinclair overwhelmed the moderate Democratic opposition to capture
the primary election. When it came to the general election,
however, his opposition employed highly effective campaign tactics:
overwhelming media hostility, vicious red-baiting and voter
intimidation, high-priced dirty tricks. The result was a resounding
defeat in November. I, Candidate tells the story of
Sinclair's campaign while also capturing the turbulent political
mood of the 1930s. Employing his trademark muckraking style,
Sinclair exposes the conspiracies of power that ensured big-money
control over the media and other powerful institutions.
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