uses and abuses of political power

Contradiction and Conflict: The Popular Church in Nicaragua

ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Sabia, Debra, PUBLISHER: University Alabama Press, Sabia examines the complex interaction of religious belief and political inspiration among internal divisions of Nicaragua's popular church. Contradiction and Conflict explores the rich history, ideology, and development of the popular church in Nicaragua. From careful assessments within the context of Nicaragua's revolutionary period (s-), this book explains the historical conditions that worked to unify members of the Christian faith and the subsequent factors that fragmented the Christian community into at least four identifiable groups with religious and political differences, contradictions, and conflicts. Debra Sabia describes and analyzes the rise, growth, and fragmentation of the popular church and assesses the effect of the Christian base communities on religion, politics, and the nation's social revolutionary experiment.

Kentucky Politics and Government: Do We Stand United?

ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Miller, Penny M., PUBLISHER: University of Nebraska Press, Penny M. Miller takes a comprehensive approach to Kentucky politics and government. She uses the details of the state's political institutions and processes, its policy issues, and its place in national politics to demonstrate the tension between Kentucky's forces of change and its inertia. Since the Civil War, geographic, economic, and cultural factional divisions have dominated the struggle for progress in the Bluegrass state. Yet Kentucky is in a state of change, and its political institutions have undergone significant transformations in the last few decades. Miller points out that the state's judicial system, long one of the nation's least-altered, has recently become one of its most innovative; the educational system has undergone radical legislative reformation, trying to escape its near last-place national ranking. The legislative branch has gained more independence and autonomy, and its relationship to the executive branch has experienced an enormous readjustment. The state has emerged from its past stereotypes of bourbon, fast horses, burley tobacco, and coal mines. Some things endure, though--political corruption, voter apathy, and an aged constitution. This book, the only comprehensive study of politics and government in Kentucky, illuminates contemporary problems within their historical context and suggests how the state's institutions, policies, politics, and people will formulate the future of Kentucky.

The Future of Democracy in America and the World: A Few

ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Schacht, James, PUBLISHER: AuthorHouse, The Future of Democracy in America and the World: A Few Possibilities makes the vast fields of modern American political philosophy and politics more accessible to both those engaged and those not engaged in these professions. Based in part on an exhaustive reading of American political philosophy and writers who have influenced American political philosophy, James Schacht explores what democracy has been in the past, what it is now, and what it can be in the future. Going as far back as the Englishman John Locke, whose writings strongly influenced Thomas Jefferson in his writing of the Declaration of Independence, he provides a comprehensive view of American political philosophy and its origins up to today, describes the institution of democracy, describes the culture associated with this institution, makes some predictions, and describes a framework for pursuing our best hope for the future.

Feminist Interp. Wollstonecraft-PR

ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Falco, Maria J., PUBLISHER: Penn State University Press, Essays in honor of the bicentennial of the publication of Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman -- a revolutionary work that argued on behalf of the political, economic, and social equality of women. Combining the liberalism of Locke and the "civic humanism" of Republicanism, Mary Wollstonecraft explored the need of women for coed and equal education with men, economic independence whether married or not, and representation as citizens in the halls of government. In doing so, she foreshadowed and surpassed her much better known successor, John Stuart Mill. Ten feminist scholars prominent in the fields of political philosophy, constitutional and international law, rhetoric, literature, and psychology argue here that Wollstonecraft, by reason of the scope and complexity of her thought, belongs in the "canon" of political philosophers along with Rousseau and Burke, her contemporaries, both of whom she strenuously engaged in political debate. These essays explore the many aspects of her thought that resound so tellingly to the modern woman, including her ground-breaking attempt to be completely self-sufficient. The final bibliographical essay outlines the changing interpretations of Wollstonecraft's work over the past two hundred years and evaluates her standing among political theorists today.

Political Economy African Fami

ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Downs, R. E., PUBLISHER: Routledge, The Political Economy of African Famine takes an unusually broad look at famine by including analyses of countries where hunger has rarely been studied and by examining African famine from both African and Western perspectives. Its concluding proposals for eradicating famine make innovative and provocative contributions to current global debates on food and nutrition. This volume explores the combination of political and economic forces that influence different levels of food supply. It begins with a discussion of famine theories, ranging from cultural ecology to neo-Marxism. Following this survey is a series of essays by anthropologists, geographers, economists and development practitioners that explores the role fo Western institutions in African famine, analyzes famine in particular countries, and documents the relationship between famine and gender.

Southern Political Party Activists: Patterns of Conflict and

ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Prysby, Charles L. / Clark, John A., PUBLISHER: University Press of Kentucky, " The South continues to be the most distinctive region in American politics. Over the last half century, Democratic dominance in the South has given way to the emergence of a truly competitive two-party system that leans Republican in presidential elections. In some ways, the region is increasingly like the rest of the country, yet even the degree of change and the speed with which it occurred give the South a distinctive air. The contributors to Southern Political Party Activists examine both the development of American political party organizations and the changing political character of the South, focusing on grassroots party activists-those who are involved in party organizations at the county level. John A. Clark is associate professor of political science at Western Michigan University. Charles L. Prysby is professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Job's Daughters: Women and Power

ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Chittister, Joan, PUBLISHER: Paulist Press, A historical/sociological review of women's powerlessness, taking Job as the prototype of the innocent victim and using May's classifications of power to find the integrative power of the future.

Artificial Intelligence and Software Engineering:

ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Partridge, Derek, PUBLISHER: AMACOM/American Management Association, The computer is a surprisingly seductive device: it tempts us with the promise of its great power, but also entices the unwary to overstep the bounds of manageable complexity. Managers, business owners, computer literate individuals, and software developers alike are all seeking an understanding of artificial intelligence (AI) and wondering what its uses might be. In this literate and easy-to-read discussion, Derek Partridge helps us understand what AI can and cannot do. Topics discussed include: -- strengths and weaknesses of software development and engineering -- the promises and problems of machine learning -- expert systems and success stories -- practical software through artificial intelligence, and more.

Leonard Bernstein: The Political Life of an American

ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Seldes, Barry, PUBLISHER: University of California Press, From his dazzling conducting debut in until his death in , Leonard Bernstein's star blazed brilliantly. In this fresh and revealing biography of Bernstein's political life, Barry Seldes examines Bernstein's career against the backdrop of cold war America--blacklisting by the State Department in , voluntary exile from the New York Philharmonic in for fear that he might be blacklisted, signing a humiliating affidavit to regain his passport--and the factors that by the mid-s allowed his triumphant return to the New York Philharmonic. Seldes for the first time links Bernstein's great concert-hall and musical-theatrical achievements and his real and perceived artistic setbacks to his involvement with progressive political causes. Making extensive use of previously untapped FBI files as well as overlooked materials in the Library of Congress's Bernstein archive, Seldes illuminates the ways in which Bernstein's career intersected with the twentieth century's most momentous events. This broadly accessible and impressively documented account of the celebrity-maestro's life deepens our understanding of an entire era as it reveals important and often ignored intersections of American culture and political power.

Marxism, China, and Development: Reflections on Theory and

ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Gregor, A. James, PUBLISHER: Transaction Publishers, "A. James Gregor's "Marxism, China, and Development" presents a comprehensive and succinct discussion of the impact of Marxist and Leninist doctrines for the development of China. With keen observations and forceful arguments, this study shows that the effects of Marxism on China have long been misinterpreted in the West."--Jrgen Domes, The Saar University"Professor Gregor's profound grasp of Marxism and other political ideas and trends of this century makes this a major contribution to the understanding of social change and the part played by ideas in political transformations."--Paul Hollnader, University of Massachusetts"A knowledgeable, informative, and analytically incisive "tour d'horizon" of Marxist and neo-Marxist thought. A fascinating work by a prominent comparativist."--J.S. Prybyla, The Pennsylvania State University

Japan and China in the World Political Economy

ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Pekkanen Saadia / Pekkanen, Saadia / Tsai, Kellee, PUBLISHER: Routledge, Two powers in East Asia today stand to define the region's economic and commercial future: Japan, which rose in a spectacular industrial burst to become at present the world's second largest economy; and China, which is rapidly advancing towards a market economy under the watchful eye of the world. While much has been made of Japan and China's particular economic institutions and developmental paths, few works analyze them in a comparative framework. Including contributions from leading academics, the text focuses on the period from the s to the onset of the s, reviewing the experiences of Japan and China across the areas of development, trade, investment, finance and technology. Drawing on a combination of official documents, economic statistics, case studies and original fieldwork, this book will give political scientists, political economists, business concerns, and policy analysts a firmer grasp of the role Japan and China stand to play in the world political economy.

The Rich Get Richer: The Rise of Income Inequality in the U.

ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Braun, Dennis D. / Braun, Denny, PUBLISHER: Wadsworth Publishing Company, This edition is a penetrating and urgent study of the increasing levels of income inequality in the United States and the world. The erosion of the middle class poses a threat to worldwide economic and political stability, as consumers and their children slowly disappear into growing rates of poverty, crime, and violence. Braun examines the economic plight of all people including those in developing nations where a tiny minority controls much of the wealth, and links this inequality to relationships between Third World nations and multinational corporations. This second edition includes new information on the working poor, Mexico and NAFTA, cross-country perceptions of inequality, mass media and political manipulation, and corporations and their overpaid CEOs.

Human Liberty and Freedom of Speech

ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Baker, C. Edwin, PUBLISHER: Oxford University Press, USA, Although an inchoate liberty theory of freedom of speech has deep roots in Supreme Court decisions and political history, it has been overshadowed in judicial decisions and scholarly commentary by the marketplace of ideas theory. In this book, Baker critiques the assumptions required by the marketplace of ideas theory and develops the liberty theory, showing its philosophical soundness, persuasiveness, and ability to protect free speech. He argues that First Amendment liberty rights (as well as Fourteenth Amendment equality rights) required by political or moral theory are central to the possibility of progressive change. Problem areas are examined, including the question of whether individual political and civil rights can in principle be distinguished from property rights, freedom of the press, and the use of public spaces for expressive purposes.

Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization

ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Solomon, Steven, PUBLISHER: Harper Perennial, Far more than oil, the control of water wealth throughout history has been pivotal to the rise and fall of great powers, the achievements of civilization, the transformations of society's vital habitats, and the quality of ordinary daily lives. Today, freshwater scarcity is one of the twenty-first century's decisive, looming challenges, driving new political, economic, and environmental realities across the globe. In "Water," Steven Solomon offers the first-ever narrative portrait of the power struggles, personalities, and breakthroughs that have shaped humanity from antiquity's earliest civilizations through the steam-powered Industrial Revolution and America's century. Meticulously researched and masterfully written, "Water" is a groundbreaking account of man's most critical resource in shaping human destinies, from ancient times to our dawning age of water scarcity. Acquista Ora

Citizens and Community: Political Support in a

ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Kornberg, Allan / Clarke, Harold D., PUBLISHER: Cambridge University Press, The related subjects of political legitimacy and system support are key theoretical concerns of students of democratic societies. They have received very little scholarly attention, however, because of the conceptual and methodological complexities they engender. In this book, the authors address these concerns through systematic multivariate analyses of the sources, distribution and consequences of variations in citizen support for key political objects in one such society, Canada. Although they do so within a comparative context, their primary focus is on Canada because it is not only one of the world's oldest democracies, but is a country that has experienced support problems that periodically have reached crisis proportions. Many of the problems facing Canada are extreme examples of difficulties that have vexed other democracies and this study helps illuminate both the conditions under which democracies in general are able to sustain themselves and those under which they could flounder. The authors demonstrate that political support has its origins in people's political socialization experiences and their judgments about the operation of key political and economic institutions and processes. They find that political support is not "of a piece" and that average citizens are able to distinguish among and ascribe different degrees of support to key political objects such as Parliament, the bureaucracy, the judiciary, parties, the system of federalism, and the national political community itself.

Phineas Redux

ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Trollope, Anthony, PUBLISHER: Oxford University Press, A gripping tale of political ambition and murder The fourth novel in Trollope's Palliser series, Phineas Redux stands on its own as a compelling work of political intrigue, personal crisis, and romantic jealousy. Phineas Finn lives quietly in Dublin, resigned to the fact that his political career is over and coming to terms with the death of his wife. He receives an unexpected invitation to return to Parliament, and jumps at the chance, whereupon old romances and rivalries are revived. When his adversary, Mr. Bonteen, is murdered, suspicion immediately falls on Finn, and his former friends and lovers seem only to add to his shame.

Global Electioneering: Campaign Consulting, Communications,

ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Sussman, Gerald, PUBLISHER: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Global Electioneering explores American-style political consulting and its spread to countries throughout the world, emphasizing the roles of communication and technology. Gerald Sussman challenges the common belief that American influence abroad is due strictly to the professionalization of politics and asserts that it is instead affected by economics, industry, and the organizational power of new communication technology.

Medieval Iceland: Society, Sagas, and Power

ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Byock, Jesse L., PUBLISHER: University of California Press, The history of medieval Europe is incomplete if it does not take Iceland into account. Jesse Byock's reassessment of medieval Iceland uses all the available sources--the medieval Icelanders' historical writings, extensive saga literature, and intricate laws--to explore the way Iceland's social order functioned.

Mysticism and Dissent: Socioreligious Thought in Qajar Iran

ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Bayat, Mangol, PUBLISHER: Syracuse University Press, This updated history examines the complex origins of religious dissent in nineteenth-century Qajar Iran (then known to Westerners as Persia), and how it provided a mood and attitude that led to far-reaching political dissent, culminating in the establishment of a new government in . Bayat extracts social and political thought from theological treatises to show how a centuries-long tradition of reform in Shia thought helped pave the way for modern secular change. She also concludes that as a result of the failed attempt of doctrinal reforms and the subsequent secularization of political thought, socioreligious conflicts were left unresolved, generating tensions that were to explode generations later.

The Making of Belize: Globalization in the Margins

ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Sutherland, Anne, PUBLISHER: Praeger, Globalization theorists predict that the forces of globalization will divide the countries of the world into a few winners and many losers. This book challenges that idea and suggests that the very margins of the global world system--where the construction of local relations and group identities within a deterritorialized, transnational political economy allows for a creative postmodernism--may become the areas of the most creative cultural activity. The difficulties facing those who are globalizing in the margins come from powerful transnational movements such as the environmental movement, the international drug trade, and migrations of people including international tourists. Ironically, instant contact with the rest of the world has created a sense of local identity that transcends the local and is truly multicultural. Belize is a diverse, multicultural society that is both cosmopolitan and deterritorialized, searching for new forms of collective expression, identity, and imagined possibilities, coming into its own as a nation at a time of increasing awareness of global social realities. Perhaps the rreatest challenge faced by Belizeans is the power of the transnational eco-colonialists who have, with missionary zeal, garnered control of land and resources and placed themselves in positions of political power. The present is an end of history for Belize and the beginning of a new era, one that is peculiarly postmodern, globalized, and creative.

Struggle for Hegemony in India : The Colonial State,

ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Joshi, Shashi, PUBLISHER: Sage Publications (CA), Struggle for Hegemony in India describes the role of the Communist Party of India during the freedom struggle () and constructs the experience of its interaction with others as well as with social and political reality. By combining the perspectives of "history from below" with "history from above," this study sharpens the reader's understanding of historical events and processes. Moreover, the author places macro-structures such as the colonial state, political parties, trade unions, and mobilizations of workers and peasants in a context of interaction and interdependence. Students of history, sociology, and political science will find this important book essential reading. "Shashi Joshi displays considerable grasp of detail without losing sight of the broad contours of her story, which is related with fluent authority. She is clearly well-grounded in Marxist literature and has placed her thesis of Communist failure within the matrix of Marxist concepts." --Asian Affairs

The Multicultural States of East Africa

ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Richards, Audrey I., PUBLISHER: McGill-Queen's University Press, What does "TRIBALISM" mean in the modern world? How does it affect the formation of political parties and the competition for office in the central governments of developing countries? What are the difficulties in modernizing local government and rural agricultural in countries where there are marked differences in language and political organization between different groups? The author examines the special political and economic problems which face the new East African states of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, taking Uganda, where she lived for five years, as a case study. Her final chapter describes the forces making for national consciousness and a sense of national identity in modern Africa, and the part played by the elite in these movements.

The Balance of Power: History and Theory

ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Sheehan, Michael / Sheehan, M., PUBLISHER: Routledge, The balance of power is one of the most fundamental concepts behind international politics and provides a structure for explaining some of the essential principles behind international relations. Yet despite its widespread importance it remains an enigma and is surrounded by controversy. "The Balance of Power" traces the evolution of the theory from the eighteenth century to the present day. It incorporates classical anlysis and recent research to give a detailed account of the concept in practice and the operation of the international system while challenging traditional views of the balance of power. Its exploration of the way the balance of power operated in key historical periods shows how the generally accepted development of the concept is based on a misunderstanding of the historical reality.

Economic Assessment of Election Programmes: Does It Make

ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Graafland, Johan J. / Ros, Arie P., PUBLISHER: Springer, In the Netherlands, the election programmes of the political parties are assessed for their economic impact by an independent economic bureau. The result of this analysis is published just before the elections take place. In this way, the voter will be protected against political parties that try to win the elections by making popular but unfounded financial promises. Economic Assessment of Election Programmes contains contributions of several distinguished economists and philosophers who consider the gains of this procedure to society. Does the analysis by the Netherlands' Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) raise the democratic quality of the elections? Can we really be confident in the tools of economics? The last section of this volume states the opinion of representatives of the political parties. This part also clarifies why political parties voluntarily participate in this process and how they perceive the role division between the political party and CPB.

Everybody Knows: Cynicism in America

ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Chaloupkia, William, PUBLISHER: University of Minnesota Press, There has never been a more cynical era in American history. Disaffection from government institutions is at an all-time high. Ordinary citizens perceive political leaders to be more manipulative and jaded than ever. In Everyday Knows, William Chaloupka scrutinizes the cynicism that is our common condition, examining both its uses in the politics of backlash and resentment and its surprisingly positive aspects. Everyday Knows traces cynicism from its classical origins but emphasizes its recent emergence in American culture and politics, following a trajectory form H. L. Mencken to Richard Nixon to Bill Clinton. Cutting neatly across ideological divisions, Chaloupka discusses the ways in which cynicism is rooted in all democratic politics, and analyzes the role of the media -- in particular, television news, political ads and speeches, and books such as E. J. Dionne's Why Americans Hate Politics and William Bennett's The Book of Virtues -- in dissecting and encouraging cynicism. Chaloupka describes mass cynicism, which permeates popular culture; outsider cynicism, which is capable of cranky, even violent disruption; and the cynicism of those in power. He argues that those who issue broad pleas for civility or a renewal of community spirit usually misunderstand the cynicism they wish to treat. He also discusses the value of a cheeky, subversive "kynicism" to evoke the lively democratic practice American society must foster.

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