Kategoria BISAC: Political Science >> Comparative Politics

Starting from the premise that the system of independent, sovereign, territorial states, which was the subject of political science and international relations studies in the twentieth century, has entered a transition toward something new, noted political scientist Leslie F. Goldstein examines the development of the European Union by blending comparative and historical institutionalist approaches. She argues that the most useful framework for understanding the kinds of -supra-state- formations that are increasingly apparent in the beginning of the third millennium is comparative analysis...

Despite their many similarities, Central American countries during the twentieth century were characterized by remarkably different political regimes. In a comparative analysis of Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua, James Mahoney argues that these political differences were legacies of the nineteenth-century liberal reform period. Presenting a theory of -path dependence, - Mahoney shows how choices made at crucial turning points in Central American history established certain directions of change and foreclosed others to shape long-term development.

By the...

Can religion be compatible with liberal democracy? World Religions and Democracy brings together insights from renowned scholars and world leaders in a provocative and timely discussion of religions' role in the success or failure of democracy. An essay by Alfred Stepan outlines the concept of -twin tolerations- and differentiation, and creates a template that can be applied to all of the religion-democracy relationships observed and analyzed throughout the volume. -Twin tolerations- means that there is a clear distinction and a mutual respect between political authorities and...

Can religion be compatible with liberal democracy? World Religions and Democracy brings together insights from renowned scholars and world leaders in a provocative and timely discussion of religions' role in the success or failure of democracy. An essay by Alfred Stepan outlines the concept of -twin tolerations- and differentiation, and creates a template that can be applied to all of the religion-democracy relationships observed and analyzed throughout the volume. -Twin tolerations- means that there is a clear distinction and a mutual respect between political authorities and...

This volume studies elections as a core institution of liberal democracy in the context of newly democratizing countries. Political scientist Staffan I. Lindberg gathers data from every nationally contested election in Africa from 1989 to 2003, covering 232 elections in 44 countries. He argues that democratizing nations learn to become democratic through repeated democratic behavior, even if their elections are often flawed.

Refuting a number of established hypotheses, Lindberg finds no general negative trend in either the frequency or the quality of African elections. Rather,...

This interdisciplinary collection from the Human Rights Quarterly brings together in a single volume nineteen of the most compelling articles written on women's human rights issues. For the past twenty-five years, Human Rights Quarterly has been a leading publisher of important work in human rights research, exploring the fundamental nature of human rights as defined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. By providing decision makers with insight into complex human rights issues, the journal helps to define national and international human rights policy.

This...

In the first collection of interviews with the most prominent scholars in comparative politics since World War II, Gerardo L. Munck and Richard Snyder trace key developments in the field during the twentieth century.

Organized around a broad set of themes--intellectual formation and training; major works and ideas; the craft and tools of research; colleagues, collaborators, and students; and the past and future of comparative politics--these in-depth interviews offer unique and candid reflections that bring the research process to life and shed light on the human dimension of...

Ruling But Not Governing highlights the critical role that the military plays in the stability of the Egyptian, Algerian, and, until recently, Turkish political systems. This in-depth study demonstrates that while the soldiers and materiel of Middle Eastern militaries form the obvious outer perimeter of regime protection, it is actually the less apparent, multilayered institutional legacies of military domination that play the decisive role in regime maintenance.

Steven A. Cook uncovers the complex and nuanced character of the military's interest in maintaining a facade of...

The dynamics of multi-level regulatory governance are ever-changing, not just in a North American context, but in a global one as well. Rules, Rules, Rules, Rules, clarifies the nature, causes, and dynamics of levels of regulatory governance in, or affecting, Canada. Edited by G. Bruce Doern and Robert Johnson, this collection makes conceptual and practical contributions to the debate over what kinds of principles and institutional approaches can resolve the problems of multi-level regulatory governance. This is the first text to provide an integrated discussion of key...

The Federal Court of Canada, which existed from 1875 to 1971 under the name Exchequer Court of Canada, occupies a special place in the court structure of Canada. It was founded principally to adjudicate legal disputes in which the Canadian government was involved; since its change of name in 1971 it has become primarily an administrative appeal court dealing with the review of decisions made by federal administrative tribunals in addition to its existing jurisdictions, admiralty, intellectual property, tax, and other areas. As a federal court within the nation, its very existence has...

Is the government becoming less powerful? Is it in retreat vis-a-vis a proliferation of non-governmental agencies, multinational corporations, and international organizations? The essays in this collection argue that - contrary to some private-sector populists - the state is in the best position to lead in making policy in a rapidly changing world and should retain and refine this responsibility. Examining the interaction of government, international organizations, civil society, and the private sector, the contributors show that government, far from being stagnant, is in a constant state...

Anglo-American democracy is a vital and respected political tradition. Yet surprisingly little attention is given to what exactly are its distinguishing political ideas. To understand Anglo-American democracy requires more than simply observing its abstract commitments to basic political goods of community, equality, and liberty; it requires also knowing how ideas are put into practice. Schools are places where people teach and learn; they are also institutional expressions of the principles, values, and beliefs of their political community.

Manzer's comparative political study of...

This book casts doubt on many prevailing assumptions about the complex relationship between Japan and China. Based on ten years of research in the United States, China, and Japan, the author argues that the relationship is now more dispute-prone but manageable politically, and that the twto countries are more integrated economically than in prior years. Military uncertainty persists, however, and depsite increased contact between the two nations' governments, the relationship between China and Japan remains cool.

"Gives the reader a portrayal of the social institutions of a Germanic people far richer and more exhaustive than any other available source."--from the Foreword, by Edward Peters

From the bloody clashes of the third and fourth centuries there emerged a society that was neither Roman nor Burgundian, but a compound of both. The Burgundian Code offers historians and anthropologists alike illuminating insights into a crucial period of contact between a developed and a tribal society.