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A new and comprehensive look at the reasons behind successful or failed nation buildingNation Building presents bold new answers to…
an age-old question. Why is national integration achieved in some diverse countries, while others are destabilized by political inequality between ethnic groups, contentious politics, or even separatism and ethnic war? Traversing centuries and continents from early nineteenth-century Europe and Asia to Africa from the turn of the twenty-first century to today, Andreas Wimmer delves into the slow-moving forces that encourage political alliances to stretch across ethnic divides and build national unity.Using datasets that cover the entire world and three pairs of case studies, Wimmer’s theory of nation building focuses on slow-moving, generational processes: the spread of civil society organizations, linguistic assimilation, and the states’ capacity to provide public goods. Wimmer contrasts Switzerland and Belgium to demonstrate how the early development of voluntary organizations enhanced nation building; he examines Botswana and Somalia to illustrate how providing public goods can bring diverse political constituencies together; and he shows that the differences between China and Russia indicate how a shared linguistic space may help build political alliances across ethnic boundaries.Wimmer then reveals, based on the statistical analysis of large-scale datasets, that these mechanisms are at work around the world and explain nation building better than competing arguments such as democratic governance or colonial legacies. He also shows that when political alliances crosscut ethnic divides and when most ethnic communities are represented at the highest levels of government, the general populace will identify with the nation and its symbols, further deepening national political integration.Offering a long-term historical perspective and global outlook, Nation Building sheds important new light on the challenges of political integration in diverse countries.The little known story of perhaps the most productive Congress in US history the First Federal Congress of 1789-1791…
The First Congress was the most important in US history says prizewinning author and historian Fergus Bordewich because it established how our government would actually function Had it failed--as many at the time feared it would--it s possible that the United States as we know it would not exist today The Constitution was a broad set of principles It was left to the members of the First Congress and President George Washington to create the machinery that would make the government work Fortunately James Madison John Adams Alexander Hamilton and others less well known today rose to the occasion During two years of often fierce political struggle they passed the first ten amendments to the Constitution they resolved bitter regional rivalries to choose the site of the new national capital they set in place the procedure for admitting new states to the union and much more But the First Congress also confronted some issues that remain to this day the conflict between states rights and the powers of national government the proper balance between legislative and executive power the respective roles of the federal and state judiciaries and funding the central government Other issues such as slavery would fester for decades before being resolved The First Congress tells the dramatic story of the two remarkable years when Washington Madison and their dedicated colleagues struggled to successfully create our government an achievement that has lasted to the present dayWithout Justice for All: The New Liberalism and Our Retreat from Racial Equality questions, examines, and explains the way a…
new orthodoxy of American leaders has contributed to the social stratification and inequality which plagues America today. By looking at the history of our social policies since the New Deal, as well as the status of specific policy arenas, essayists show how political shifts over the past fifty years have moved us away from a more egalitarian politics. Throughout, the book responds critically to the now conventional argument that liberalism must be reconfigured in ways that retreat from immediate identification with the interests of labor, minorities, and the poor. From a look at federal housing policy and the failure of New Deal social programs to an examination of long established public assistance programs and Affirmative Action, Without Justice for All is a timely and important contribution to the dialogue on race in modern America.What Is Democracy?
By Alain Touraine. 1997
In this sequel to A Critique of Modernity, Alain Touraine questions the social and cultural content of democracy today. At…
a time when state power is being increasingly eroded by the economic might of transnational capital, what possible value can we ascribe to a democratic idea that is defined merely as a set of guarantees against the totalitarian state?If democracy is to survive in the postcommunist world, Touraine argues, it must accomplish two urgent goals: It must somehow protect the power of the nation-state at the same time as it limits that power (for only the state has sufficient means to counterbalance the global corporate wielders of money and information); and it must reconcile social diversity with social unity and individual liberty with integration.This is not merely a philosophical problem but a dilemma whose resolution will dramatically affect the immediate future of people everywhere. If we want a resolution in democracy's favor, then it is time, in Touraine's view, for us to redefine democracy in terms of active intervention rather than mere passive institution. To preserve the power and effectiveness of our states and societies, we must make visible strides?and soon?away from a politics of particularity and toward the integration and balancing of women and minorities, of immigrants, of rich and poor. If our states become too weakened, too debased by the politics of competing identities and interest groups, we will one day find ourselves without the means to protect the very values we believe we are fighting to uphold.Is Entrepreneurship Dead?: The Truth About Startups in America
By Scott A. Shane. 2018
It s become an article of faith that American entrepreneurship is in trouble The problems are many…
lack of capital too few entrepreneurial immigrants excessive regulation an aging population slowing population growth and rising student debt But while experts across the country debate the causes and propose solutions Scott Shane explains that the data just do not fit Dismantling each of the most widely accepted theories in turn he persuasively demonstrates that while an evolving market is changing the nature of most startups entrepreneurship is actually alive and well Shane reveals how the number of incorporated startups is rising fewer startups are failing and the number of businesses backed by investors is increasing The overall picture is positive Exhaustively researched and compellingly told this book will be read and discussed for years to comeDrawing upon original sources this study provides the most comprehensive treatment to date of the issue of Armenian politicization…
and participation in the Iranian Constitutional Revolution 1905-1911 Houri Berberian traces the political economic and social situation of Armenians in the nineteenth century with a special emphasis on the Armenian provinces of the Ottoman Empire which became the focus of the Armenian revolutionary movement in the late nineteenth century and on the Russian-ruled Caucasus which became the source of the nationalist and socialist revolutionary movement Discussion of the Iranian Armenian community includes for the first time a look into the roles and activism of Iranian Armenian women Berberian explores the ideological political and pragmatic motivations of Armenians and examines the collaboration of Armenian and Iranian constitutionalists drawing attention to the ideological and military contributions of Armenians to the revolution as well as to the internal and external conflicts among Armenian activists and between Armenian and Iranian constitutionalist elements Berberian concludes with a discussion of the causes and consequences of the retreat of Armenians from Iranian politicsCaribbean Public Policy: Regional, Cultural, And Socioeconomic Issues For The 21st Century
By Jacqueline Anne Braveboy-wagner. 1997
Caribbean countries are urgently seeking to identify new moorings in the postCold War world, as they compete for investment capital…
and markets while striving for social equity, maintaining representative democracy, and preserving the environment. Contributors bring together culturally diverse viewpoints, addressing with a refreshing directness such public policy issues as regionalism and integration, the environment, labor and migration, gender, technology, and drug abuse and narcotrafficking. }Developing countries, including those in the Caribbean, are urgently seeking to identify new moorings in the postCold War world, which is characterized by complex new economic and sociopolitical challenges. Caribbean countries must now compete for investment capital and markets while striving for social equity, maintaining representative democracy, and preserving the environment.This book offers a comprehensive overview of public policy issues in the region, looking in particular at these important themes: economic policy, the regional business environment, regionalism and integration, higher education, health care, labor and migration, gender, drug abuse and narcotrafficking, the environment, telecommunications, and science and technology. The contributors, all eminent representatives from the English, Spanish, French, and Dutch Caribbean, bring together culturally diverse viewpoints and address issues with a refreshing directness, assessing realities, challenges, and possible futures of the Caribbean.As the postwar international system continues its dramatic transformation the fundamental question of what role China will play is…
becoming increasingly central Contributors to the volume focus on the developments of the post-Tiananmen years addressing the issues raised by China s expanding and increasingly complex relationships with a rapidly changing global environment They consider such questions as What is the principal challenge of post-Tiananmen foreign policy How will China cope with the call for a more peaceful equitable democratic and ecological world order How has the nexus between China and the world changed in this transition period and why What are the implications for China s future and for the future of the rest of the world Combining a broad theoretical framework with specific case studies this text tackles themes that have long puzzled Westerners Seeking the often elusive sources of Chinese foreign policy the contributors assess the relative influences of domestic and foreign factors in shaping policy goals They also examine the changes and continuities that have characterized Chinese foreign relations over the years identifying the patterns underlying China s interactions with the major global actors and its policies on specific international issues Special attention is paid to the word deed and at times word word disjuncture in Chinese foreign relations with several chapters probing the discrepancies between rhetoric and reality policy pronouncements and policy performance and intent and outcome The human-rights component of China s foreign policy and China s foreign policy options for the last decade of the century are also discussed New to this revised and updated edition of China and the World are discussions concerning Chinese foreign policies and international relations theories the relationship between China and the Third World and China s environmental diplomacyWith the end of the Cold War the attention of policymakers political activists and academics has focused on…
the factors which promote democracy and regional peace From both a theoretical and empirical perspective the contributors to this volume examine the claim that civilian domination is the only form compatible with democracy and regional peace By focusing on political values and the institutional rules of politics the authors not only dispute this claim but clarify the conditions under which a partnership between civilians and the military can help promote both The authors provide in-depth analyses of the normative and institutional aspects of the civil-military relationship to demonstrate that it is the politics of the relationship rather than its form that influences the likelihood of democracy and regional peace Their analysis provides new reasons for expecting that democracy and regional peace can proliferate in the post Cold War world As a study of civil-military relations in twelve countries across Latin America Asia and Europe Civil-Military Relations is an accessible and valuable book for policymakers academics and general readersWords That Bind: Judicial Review And The Grounds Of Modern Constitutional Theory
By John Arthur. 1995
Words That Bind presents a careful and nuanced treatment of constitutional interpretation and judicial review. By bringing constitutional theory and…
contemporary political philosophy to bear on each other, John Arthur illuminates these topics as no other recent author has.This study critically assesses the condition of Russia s political economic social legal and military institutions…
and questions the capacity of the institutions to perform the duties of a state in the modern world Has the Russian state managed to lay the institutional groundwork for long-term stability and democratic governance The consensus of the contributors to this book is grim The courts have grown increasingly complex but their ability to enhance and support democracy has remained limited State economic institutions have been unable to collect taxes pay government workers fund the healthcare system pay its soldiers or retain value in its currency Political mechanisms for resolving center-periphery conflicts remain ineffective and Russia s political institutions seem less focused on serving public interests than on enriching the power of those in powerCape Verde: Crioulo Colony To Independent Nation (Historical Dictionaries Of Africa Ser. #104)
By Richard A Lobban. 1995
The Cape Verde Islands, off the coast of Senegal, were first settled by the Portuguese in the fifteenth century. In…
this important new study, Richard Lobban sketches Cape Verdes complex history over five centuries, from its role in the slave trade through its protracted armed struggle on the Guinea coast for national independence. He offers a rich ethnography of the islands, exploring their complex ethnicity. Dr. Lobban provides a thoughtful analysis of the islands efforts to achieve economic growth and development through tourism, fishing, small-scale mining, and agricultural production and chronicles its peaceful transition from one-party rule to elections and political pluralism. The Cape Verde Islands, an Atlantic archipelago off the coast of Senegal, were first settled during the Portuguese Age of Discovery in the fifteenth century. A Crioulo population quickly evolved from a small group of Portuguese settlers and large numbers of slaves from the West African coast. In this important new study, Dr. Richard Lobban sketches Cape Verdes complex history over five centuries, from its role in the slave trade through its years under Portuguese colonial administration and its protracted armed struggle on the Guinea coast for national independence, there and in Cape Verde.Dr. Lobban offers a rich ethnography of the islands, exploring the diverse heritage of Cape Verdeans who have descended from Africans, Europeans, and Luso-Africans. Looking at economics and politics, Lobban reflects on Cape Verdes efforts to achieve economic growth and development, analyzing the move from colonialism to state socialism and on to a privatized market economy built around tourism, fishing, small-scale mining, and agricultural production. He then chronicles Cape Verdes peaceful transition from one-party rule to elections and political pluralism. He concludes with an overview of the prospects for this tiny oceanic nation on a pathway to development.The End of Normal: The Great Crisis and the Future of Growth
By James K. Galbraith. 2014
The years since the Great Crisis of 2008 have seen slow growth, high unemployment, falling home values, chronic deficits, a…
deepening disaster in Europe--and a stale argument between two false solutions, "austerity" on one side and "stimulus" on the other.Both sides and practically all analyses of the crisis so far take for granted that the economic growth from the early 1950s until 2000--interrupted only by the troubled 1970s--represented a normal performance. From this perspective the crisis was an interruption, caused by bad policy or bad people, and full recovery is to be expected if the cause is corrected. The End of Normal challenges this view. Placing the crisis in perspective, Galbraith argues that the 1970s already ended the age of easy growth. The 1980s and 1990s saw only uneven growth, with rising inequality within and between countries. And the 2000s saw the end even of that--despite frantic efforts to keep growth going with tax cuts, war spending, and financial deregulation. When the crisis finally came, stimulus and automatic stabilization were able to place a floor under economic collapse. But they are not able to bring about a return to high growth and full employment. Today, four factors impede a return to normal. They are the rising costs of real resources, the now-evident futility of military power, the labor-saving consequences of the digital revolution, and the breakdown of law and ethics in the financial sector. The Great Crisis should be seen as a turning point, a barometer of the rise of unstable economic conditions, which should be regarded as the new normal. Policies and institutions going forward should be designed, above all, modestly, to cope with this fact, maintaining conditions for a good life in difficult times.Why Honor Matters
By Tamler Sommers. 2018
A controversial call to put honor at the center of moralityTo the modern mind, the idea of honor is outdated,…
sexist, and barbaric. It evokes Hamilton and Burr and pistols at dawn, not visions of a well-organized society. But for philosopher Tamler Sommers, a sense of honor is essential to living moral lives. In Why Honor Matters, Sommers argues that our collective rejection of honor has come at great cost. Reliant only on Enlightenment liberalism, the United States has become the home of the cowardly, the shameless, the selfish, and the alienated. Properly channeled, honor encourages virtues like courage, integrity, and solidarity, and gives a sense of living for something larger than oneself. Sommers shows how honor can help us address some of society's most challenging problems, including education, policing, and mass incarceration. Counterintuitive and provocative, Why Honor Matters makes a convincing case for honor as a cornerstone of our modern society.Tyrant: Shakespeare On Politics
By Stephen Greenblatt. 2018
World-renowned Shakespeare scholar Stephen Greenblatt explores the playwright’s insight into bad (and often mad) rulers. As an aging, tenacious Elizabeth…
I clung to power, a talented playwright probed the social causes, the psychological roots, and the twisted consequences of tyranny. In exploring the psyche (and psychoses) of the likes of Richard III, Macbeth, Lear, Coriolanus, and the societies they rule over, Stephen Greenblatt illuminates the ways in which William Shakespeare delved into the lust for absolute power and the catastrophic consequences of its execution. Cherished institutions seem fragile, political classes are in disarray, economic misery fuels populist anger, people knowingly accept being lied to, partisan rancor dominates, spectacular indecency rules—these aspects of a society in crisis fascinated Shakespeare and shaped some of his most memorable plays. With uncanny insight, he shone a spotlight on the infantile psychology and unquenchable narcissistic appetites of demagogues—and the cynicism and opportunism of the various enablers and hangers-on who surround them—and imagined how they might be stopped. As Greenblatt shows, Shakespeare’s work, in this as in so many other ways, remains vitally relevant today.Business And State In Contemporary Russia
By Peter Rutland. 2001
Business and the State in Contemporary Russia is the most recent volume in the John M Olin Critical Issues…
series published by Westview in conjunction with Harvard s Davis Center for Russian Research In this latest installation contributors discuss issues as far-ranging as the dynamics of rule in contemporary Russia the banking elite the politics of the Russian media business the political economy of the Russian oil and coal industries and the causes and consequences of the August 1998 crashBrokering Peace in Nuclear Environments: U.S. Crisis Management in South Asia
By Moeed Yusuf. 2018
One of the gravest issues facing the global community today is the threat of nuclear war. As a growing number…
of nations gain nuclear capabilities, the odds of nuclear conflict increase. Yet nuclear deterrence strategies remain rooted in Cold War models that do not take into account regional conflict. Brokering Peace in Nuclear Environments offers an innovative theory of brokered bargaining to better understand and solve regional crises. As the world has moved away from the binational relationships that defined Cold War conflict while nuclear weapons have continued to proliferate, new types of nuclear threats have arisen. Moeed Yusuf proposes a unique approach to deterrence that takes these changing factors into account. Drawing on the history of conflict between India and Pakistan, Yusuf describes the potential for third-party intervention to avert nuclear war. This book lays out the ways regional powers behave and maneuver in response to the pressures of strong global powers. Moving beyond debates surrounding the widely accepted rational deterrence model, Yusuf offers an original perspective rooted in thoughtful analysis of recent regional nuclear conflicts. With depth and insight, Brokering Peace in Nuclear Environments urges the international community to rethink its approach to nuclear deterrence.Verse Mapping Acts: Feasting on the Abundance of God’s Word (Verse Mapping)
By Kristy Cambron. 2018
In this six-session video Bible study (DVD/digital video sold separately), Kristy Cambron invites you on a journey through the Gospel…
of Luke using a technique that revolutionized her time with God–Verse Mapping.If you have a deep desire to unpack the meaning of the Scriptures you’re reading but you want to do it in a simple way–then verse mapping is for you. Verse mapping includes Hebrew/Greek word studies, finding connections in Scripture, comparing Bible translations, and learning as much as you can from your time with the Holy Spirit. And it’s even better when you do it with others as a group.Simply put, verse mapping is getting real about studying Scripture. More than just reading a verse or passage, it’s about researching everything you can about what you’ve read to learn more about who God is and how He speaks into your life through His Word.What if there were no barriers to your faith journey?Take a verse mapping journey through the book of Acts and experience your own story road through Scripture!Sessions include: Intro: Verse Mapping 101The FellowshipThe UnseenMade to StandBrokenThe SavedThe FeastDesigned for use with Verse Mapping Acts Video Study 9780310090038 (sold separately).House of Trump, House of Putin offers the first comprehensive investigation into the decades-long relationship among Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin,…
and the Russian Mafia that ultimately helped win Trump the White House. It is a chilling story that begins in the 1970s, when Trump made his first splash in the booming, money-drenched world of New York real estate, and ends with Trump’s inauguration as president of the United States. That moment was the culmination of Vladimir Putin’s long mission to undermine Western democracy, a mission that he and his hand-selected group of oligarchs and Mafia kingpins had ensnared Trump in, starting more than twenty years ago with the massive bailout of a string of sensational Trump hotel and casino failures in Atlantic City. This book confirms the most incredible American paranoias about Russian malevolence. To most, it will be a hair-raising revelation that the Cold War did not end in 1991—that it merely evolved, with Trump’s apartments offering the perfect vehicle for billions of dollars to leave the collapsing Soviet Union. In House of Trump, House of Putin, Craig Unger methodically traces the deep-rooted alliance between the highest echelons of American political operatives and the biggest players in the frightening underworld of the Russian Mafia. He traces Donald Trump’s sordid ascent from foundering real estate tycoon to leader of the free world. He traces Russia’s phoenixlike rise from the ashes of the post–Cold War Soviet Union as well as its ceaseless covert efforts to retaliate against the West and reclaim its status as a global superpower. Without Trump, Russia would have lacked a key component in its attempts to return to imperial greatness. Without Russia, Trump would not be president. This essential book is crucial to understanding the real powers at play in the shadows of today’s world. A New York Times BestsellerVerse Mapping Luke: Gathering the Goodness of God’s Word (Verse Mapping)
By Kristy Cambron. 2018
In this six-session video Bible study (DVD/digital video sold separately), Kristy Cambron invites you on a journey through the Gospel…
of Luke using a technique that revolutionized her time with God–Verse Mapping.If you have a deep desire to unpack the meaning of the Scriptures you’re reading but you want to do it in a simple way–then verse mapping is for you. Verse mapping includes Hebrew/Greek word studies, finding connections in Scripture, comparing Bible translations, and learning as much as you can from your time with the Holy Spirit. And it’s even better when you do it with others as a group.Simply put, verse mapping is getting real about studying Scripture. More than just reading a verse or passage, it’s about researching everything you can about what you’ve read to learn more about who God is and how He speaks into your life through His Word.What if there were no barriers to your faith journey?Take a verse mapping journey through the Gospel of Luke and experience your own story road through Scripture!Sessions include: Intro: Verse Mapping 101She BelievedHe ObeyedWashed OverRestoredThe CryThe CallDesigned for use with Verse Mapping Luke Video Study 9780310089919 (sold separately).