Kategoria BISAC: Political Science >> Political Process - General

Does Western-style democracy make sense in the various geographic, economic, and social settings of the continent? How far toward democracy have recent liberalization movements gone? In The Fate of Africa's Democratic Experiments, Leonardo A. Villalon, Peter VonDoepp, and an international group of contributors consider the aftermath, success, failure, and future of the wave of democracy that swept Africa in the early 1990s. In some countries, democratic movements flourished, while in others, democratic success was more circumscribed. This detailed analysis of key political events in...

A sort of rough justice characterized the Pennsylvania political scene, this book argues, if we define justice in Learned Hand's words as "the tolerable accommodation of the conflicting interests of society." According to the Prologue: "Reform always has worked better in Pennsylvania as an issue-based effort, rather than a broad political movement."

According to the Epilogue: "Although 1978 was a year of intense competition, in the end--in revisions so typical of Pennsylvania--both the old and the new politics were refuted, while the comfortable middle-road was chosen." Beers...

The American Mayor offers a unique ranking of the nation's big-city mayors by expert scholars. Although the mayoralty is one of the most important political executive offices, it has escaped the kind of evaluations by which scholars have ranked American presidents. Now, thanks to Melvin Holli, we have a comparable survey of the "best" and "worst" mayors, covering some 730 mayors from the big-fifteen cities, from the beginning of the modern office in 1820 to the 1990s. The poll of historians, biographers, and social scientists produced a remarkably strong consensus.

Who were...

The American Mayor offers a unique ranking of the nation's big-city mayors by expert scholars. Although the mayoralty is one of the most important political executive offices, it has escaped the kind of evaluations by which scholars have ranked American presidents. Now, thanks to Melvin Holli, we have a comparable survey of the "best" and "worst" mayors, covering some 730 mayors from the big-fifteen cities, from the beginning of the modern office in 1820 to the 1990s. The poll of historians, biographers, and social scientists produced a remarkably strong consensus.

Who were...

We are taught in civics class that the Constitution provides for three basic branches of government: executive, judicial, and legislative. While the President and Congress as elected by popular vote are representative, can they really reflect accurately the will and sentiment of the populace? Or do money and power dominate everyday politics to the detriment of true self-governance? Is there a way to put "We the people" back into government? Ethan Leib thinks there is and offers this blueprint for a fourth branch of government as a way of giving the people a voice of their own.

While...

Miller has written extensively on the Middle East and has been an analyst with the Department of State. He is well-acquainted with the so-called Palestine Question.' The focus of the present study is upon the Palestinian cause and its less than full cooperative relationship with Jordan, Syria, and Egypt. . . . This volume is an excellent complement to Arthur Day's "East Bank/West Bank" and is useful to the serious student of Middle East politics. "Choice"

As the relationship between the United States and Latin America becomes an important focus of world attention, "The Politics of Colombia" is a welcome study of this South American country. A comprehensive analysis of the international influences on Colombian politics, as well as of the country's policymaking processes, this book will introduce the reader to one of the more important, yet least known, countries of the hemisphere.

Beginning with Brezhnev era, the author follows the course and development of Soviet leadership--examining the elements of continuity as well as change. He zeroes in on each individual leader and analyzes the economic, social, and international issues faced by each. For instance, Kelly sets the stage for Andropov's succession, discusses strategies for his succession, details Andropov's rise to power, presents the premier's time in power, and finally examines Andropov's decline. Along with pinpointing individual instances of leadership, the author covers the role of the Communist party...

Sig Mickelson, former president of CBS News and pioneer in television coverage of political events, gives an eyewitness account of Television's complicated interaction with the U.S. political system. From Whistle Stop to Sound Bite explores the origins of the relationship between television and politics and offers an analysis of the factors that led to the decline of substance in the political campaign. With a fine eye for detail and many years of political coverage experience behind him, Mickelson probes four decades of TV history and defines the changes that this new media has wrought on...

Beginning with Brezhnev era, the author follows the course and development of Soviet leadership--examining the elements of continuity as well as change. He zeroes in on each individual leader and analyzes the economic, social, and international issues faced by each. For instance, Kelly sets the stage for Andropov's succession, discusses strategies for his succession, details Andropov's rise to power, presents the premier's time in power, and finally examines Andropov's decline. Along with pinpointing individual instances of leadership, the author covers the role of the Communist party...

Since 1952, when Eisenhower's media consultants decided they could warm up the General's personality and overcome selective exposure by using short spots on television, advertising has played a major role in American presidential campaigns. By the late 1990s, candidates and their political parties spend hundreds of millions on TV ads. Political spots have become the dominant form of communication between voters and candidates.

Kaid and Johnston report the results of a systematic and thorough analysis of virtually all of the political commercials used in general election campaigns from...

This illuminating study critiques the concept of leadership as understood in the last 75 years and looks to the twenty-first century for a reconstructed understanding of leadership in the postindustrial era. More similarities in past decades were found than had been thought; the thread throughout Rost's book is that leadership was conceived of as good management. He develops a new definition and paradigm for leadership in this volume that distinguishes leadership from management in fundamental ways. The ethics of leadership from a postindustrial perspective completes the paradigm. The book...

This book tells the story of three Black men--Z. K. Matthews, Nelson Mandela, and Stephen Biko--who committed their lives to win freedom for all South Africans. Using a sociopsychological retrospective, Juckes interweaves accounts of the lives of these three men with sociopolitical developments to reveal the complex interaction that occurs between social processes and individual actors, revealing how leaders come into being and how their actions influence social developments. Each man's political character captured the demands of the time and used the available resources of his age in the...

This important new text brings together an outstanding group of international scholars to look at the current state of electoral politics around the world. Elements of the modern (or American) model of election campaigning have been adopted in many countries in recent years--including the use of mass media, the personalization of campaigns, use of public opinion polls, and a general professionalization of campaigns--and conditions would seem to favor the spread of that model. Contributors to this volume, from established democracies, new and restored democracies, and democracies facing...

This important new text brings together an outstanding group of international scholars to look at the current state of electoral politics around the world. Elements of the modern (or American) model of election campaigning have been adopted in many countries in recent years--including the use of mass media, the personalization of campaigns, use of public opinion polls, and a general professionalization of campaigns--and conditions would seem to favor the spread of that model. Contributors to this volume, from established democracies, new and restored democracies, and democracies facing...

Black conservatism is no oxymoron. Recent polls have indicated that an increasing number of black Americans identified themselves as conservatives, favoring smaller government, lower taxes, tougher crime laws, welfare reform, and personal initiative. While applauding the moral and legal victories of the Civil Rights Movement, the conservative spokespeople in this dynamic new collection reject the claims of inequities and what they consider to be the self-serving agenda of the present civil rights establishment. National leaders such as Justice Clarence Thomas and former Representative Gary...

This important new volume analyzes relations among America's minority groups, specifically the prospects of political coalitions among those usually unrelated groups: African Americans, Asian-Americans, Latinos, Jews, Arab-Americans, and Native Americans. At the end of the 20th century, the United States is faced with a situation where minority groups are no longer assimilating but rather are moving toward separate mini-societies, complete with separate languages, cultures, and economies. Even if society accepts the notion that cultural pluralism is consistent with democratic principles,...