Thomas Sowell sees what has happened not as a series of isolated mistakes but as a logical consequence of a vision whose defects have led to disasters in education, crime, family disintegration, and other social pathology. In this book, "politically correct" theory is repeatedly confronted with facts -- and sharp contradictions between the two are explained in terms of a whole set of self-congratulatory assumptions held by political and intellectual elites. These elites -- the anointed -- often consider themselves "thinking people," but much of what they call thinking turns out, on examination, to be rhetorical assertion, followed by evasions of mounting evidence against those assertions.

    empire today. Documenting the pretexts and lies used to justify violent intervention and maldevelopment abroad, Parenti shows how the conversion to a global economy is a victory of finance capital over democracy.As much of the world suffers unspeakable misery and the Third-Worldization of the United States accelerates, civil society is impoverished by policies that benefit rich and powerful transnational corporations and the national security state. Hard-won gains made by ordinary people are swept away.

    In this book she sets out to renew the critical program of historical materialism by redefining its basic concepts and its theory of history in original and imaginative ways, using them to identify the specificity of capitalism as a system of social relations and political power. She goes on to explore the concept of democracy in both the ancient and modern world, examining the concept's relation to capitalism.

    Korten's warnings about the growing global power of multinational corporations seem prophetic today. This new edition has been revised throughout to make it more accessible to the general reader, and features a new introduction, a new epilogue, and three new chapters. While Korten points out that the multinationals are, if anything, more powerful now than they were when he first wrote the book, he also offers reason for hope: the growth of the international Living Democracy movement opposing corporate rule. The new material in the book: Documents the consolidation since 1995 of financial and corporate power at the expense of democracy, people, communities, and the planet Looks in depth at the nature and cultural underpinnings of the burgeoning Living Democracy movement to resist corporate power Offers a vision of a what a civil society grounded in life-centered values rather than immediate financial gain might look like.

    Although the role big money plays in defining political outcomes has long been obvious to ordinary Americans, most pundits and scholars have virtually dismissed this assumption. Even in light of skyrocketing campaign costs, the belief that major financial interests primarily determine who parties nominate and where they stand on the issues—that, in effect, Democrats and Republicans are merely the left and right wings of the "Property Party"—has been ignored by most political scientists. Offering evidence ranging from the nineteenth century to the 1994 mid-term elections, Golden Rule shows that voters are "right on the money."Thomas Ferguson breaks completely with traditional voter centered accounts of party politics. In its place he outlines an "investment approach," in which powerful investors, not unorganized voters, dominate campaigns and elections. Because businesses "invest" in political parties and their candidates, changes in industrial structures—between large firms and sectors—can alter the agenda of party politics and the shape of public policy.Golden Rule presents revised versions of widely read essays in which Ferguson advanced and tested his theory, including his seminal study of the role played by capital intensive multinationals and international financiers in the New Deal. The chapter "Studies in Money Driven Politics" brings this aspect of American politics into better focus, along with other studies of Federal Reserve policy making and campaign finance in the 1936 election. Ferguson analyzes how a changing world economy and other social developments broke up the New Deal system in our own time, through careful studies of the 1988 and 1992 elections. The essay on 1992 contains an extended analysis of the emergence of the Clinton coalition and Ross Perot's dramatic independent insurgency. A postscript on the 1994 elections demonstrates the controlling impact of money on several key campaigns.This controversial work by a theorist of money and politics in the U.S. relates to issues in campaign finance reform, PACs, policymaking, public financing, and how today's elections work.

    Study of Islamic canonical decisions (Fatwas) issued in India during the last hundred years.

    From Western Europe to Africa, many existing states are either combining into larger communities or falling apart. Many of their functions are likely to be taken over by a variety of organizations that, whatever their precise nature, are not states. In this unique volume Martin van Creveld traces the story of the state from its beginnings to its end. Starting with the simplest political organizations that ever existed, he guides the reader through the origins of the state, its development, its apotheosis during the two World Wars, and its spread from its original home in Western Europe to cover the globe. In doing so, he provides a fascinating history of government from its origins to the present day. This original book will of interest to historians, political scientists and sociologists.

    Here, she approaches a similar theme in Eastern Europe after the fall of Communism, telling a series of riveting human stories to illuminate the paradox that rabid anti-Communism at times resembles Communism. In the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and the former East Germany, she talks to erstwhile dissidents now victimized because they are named in old police registers; to low-level agents accused of crimes that were not crimes when committed; and to high officials who now run things just like before. She convincingly suggests that the best antidote to Communism may be, not revenge, but "tolerance and the rule of law."

    And he demonstrates how much better off we'd be by making government much smaller. Most important, he provides a realistic blueprint for getting from where we are now to a small government and a freer, more prosperous society.

    In Selling Free Enterprise, Elizabeth Fones-Wolf describes how conservative business leaders strove to reorient workers away from their loyalties to organized labor and government, teaching that prosperity could be achieved through reliance on individual initiative, increased productivity, and the protection of personal liberty. Based on research in a wide variety of business and labor sources, this detailed account shows how business permeated every aspect of American life, including factories, schools, churches, and community institutions.

    But in his best-known work, The Concept of the Political, issued in 1927, 1932, and 1933, political considerations led him to conceal the dependence of his political theory on his faith in divine revelation. In 1932 Leo Strauss published a critical review of Concept that initiated an extremely subtle exchange between Schmitt and Strauss regarding Schmitt’s critique of liberalism. Although Schmitt never answered Strauss publicly, in the third edition of his book he changed a number of passages in response to Strauss’s criticisms. Now, in this elegant translation by J. Harvey Lomax, Heinrich Meier shows us what the remarkable dialogue between Schmitt and Strauss reveals about the development of these two seminal thinkers.Meier contends that their exchange only ostensibly revolves around liberalism. At its heart, their “hidden dialogue” explores the fundamental conflict between political theology and political philosophy, between revelation and reason­and ultimately, the vital question of how human beings ought to live their lives.  “Heinrich Meier’s treatment of Schmitt’s writings is morally analytical without moralizing, a remarkable feat in view of Schmitt’s past. He wishes to understand what Schmitt was after rather than to dismiss him out of hand or bowdlerize his thoughts for contemporary political purposes.”—Mark Lilla, New York Review of Books

    Global Issues, Third Edition is an introduction to many of the most important environmental, economic, social, and political concerns of modern life.Offers a unified perspective on a complex range of global issues in a variety of societies, both developed and developing Includes new sections on foreign aid and development assistance, terrorism, the relationship between geography and wealth and poverty, food and the overweight, and the Millennium Development Goals Features an updated and expanded section on climate change, as well as a new glossary Illustrates key topics and issues with diagrams and photographs Provides guides to further reading, media, and internet resources, and suggestions for discussing and studying the material

    Interdisciplinary and comparative in scope, it covers agenda formation and problem definition, policy making, implementation and evaluation.

    John Phillip Reid addresses the central constitutional issues that divided the American colonists from their English legislators: the authority to tax, the authority to legislate, the security of rights, the nature of law, the foundation of constitutional government in custom and contractarian theory, and the search for a constitutional settlement. Reid's distinctive analysis discusses the irreconcilable nature of this conflict—irreconcilable not because leaders in politics on both sides did not desire a solution, but because the dynamics of constitutional law impeded a solution that permitted the colonies to remain part of the dominions of George III.

    Dobrynin became the main channel for the White House and the Kremlin to exchange ideas, negotiate in secret, and arrange summit meetings. Dobrynin writes vividly of Moscow from inside the Politburo, but In Confidence is mainly a story of Washington at the highest levels.

    Volume II traces the origin and development of liberal political theory, and so the foundations for contemporary views. The work provides a readable, scholarly introduction to the great figures in Western political theory from Hobbes to Marx. Major theorists examined include Hobbes, Locke, Hume, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Burke, Mill, and Marx, not only major figures in the liberal tradition but liberal political theory's most important critics. Theorists are examined in their historical contexts, with extensive quotations allowing them to speak for themselves. Central concepts employed in their works are carefully examined, with special attention to both how they fit together to form coherent theories and how they bear on issues of contemporary concern. Major concepts examined include freedom, rights, political obligation, and revolution. Emphasizing depth rather than breadth, this work is an ideal introduction tool for instructors who have been searching for a text that combines careful exposition of important political theorists and clear, critical analysis.

    

    While drawing on particular case studies, the articles focus on the more general theoretical and normative issues raised by the accommodation of cultural differences. The authorsrepresented in this volume come from a variety of countries and disciplines, and reflect a wide range of opinion. The book explores the nature and value of cultural membership, models of cultural pluralism, individual and group rights, minority representation, immigration, and secession. A new andsubstantial essay by Will Kymlicka outlines the major issues and perspectives raised in the articles, and places them in the context of contemporary debates in political theory. The volume also includes a guide to further reading for students and researchers working in the field. Compiled by theleading political philosopher of his generation, Will Kymlicka's Rights of Minority Cultures will be of great interest to scholars of political theory, political philosophy, policy studies, ethnic studies, and law.

    Uwe Siemon-Netto exposes the myth that Luther had a connection to Hitler and the Holocaust.

    The resurgence of nationalism has led many policymakers and scholars to doubt that conquest still pays. But, until now, the cumulativity of industrial resources has never been subjected to systematic analysis. Does Conquest Pay? demonstrates that expansion can, in fact, provide rewards to aggressor nations. Peter Liberman argues that invaders can exploit industrial societies for short periods of time and can maintain control and economic performance over the long term. This is because modern societies are uniquely vulnerable to coercion and repression. Hence, by wielding a gun in one hand and offering food with the other, determined conquerors can compel collaboration and suppress resistance. Liberman's argument is supported by several historical case studies: Germany's capture of Belgium and Luxembourg during World War I and of nearly all of Europe during World War II; France's seizure of the Ruhr in 1923-24; the Japanese Empire during 1910-45; and Soviet hegemony over Eastern Europe in 1945-89. Does Conquest Pay? suggests that the international system is more war-prone than many optimists claim. Liberman's findings also contribute to debates about the stability of empires and other authoritarian regimes, the effectiveness of national resistance strategies, and the sources of rebellious collective action.

    Ted McAllister's superbly written study provides the first comprehensive comparison of their thought and its profound influence on contemporary American conservatism.Since the appearance in the 1950s of Strauss's Natural Right and History and Voegelin's Order and History, conservatives like Russell Kirk, Irving Kristol, and Allan Bloom have increasingly turned to these thinkers to support their attacks on liberalism and the modernist mindset.Like so many conservatives, Strauss and Voegelin rebelled against modernity' amorality--personified by Machiavelli, Hobbes, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, and Nietzsche--and its promotion of individualism and materialism over communal and spiritual responsibility. While both disdained the reductionist conservative label, conservatives nevertheless appropriated their philosophy, in part because it restored theology and classical tradition to the moral core of civil society.For both men, modernity's debilitating disorder revealed surprising and disturbing relations among liberal, communist, and Nazi ideologies. In their eyes, modernity's insidious virus, so apparent in the Nazi and communist regimes, lies incubating within liberal democracy itself.McAllister's thorough reevaluation of Strauss and Voegelin expands our understanding of their thought and restores balance to a literature that has been dominated by political theorists and disciples of Strauss and Voegelin. Neither reverential nor dismissive, he reveals the social, historical, political, and philosophical foundations of their work and effectively decodes their frequently opaque or esoteric thinking.Well written and persuasively argued, McAllister's study will appeal to anyone engaged in the volatile debates over liberalism's demise and conservatism's rise.

    But they are also shrines to the written word, as seen in the wealth of inscriptions on their elaborately decorated walls and ceilings. This beautifully illustrated book, featuring all new photography by distinguished photographer Carol M. Highsmith, offers readers a guide to these literary inscriptions and explains their significance. Ranging from quotations by great figures in American history, such as Jefferson and Madison, to the words of poets and philosophers from Shakespeare to Emerson, all glorify knowledge and pay debt to the book, which imparts its treasures to man. For those who have already walked the halls of the Library of Congress, as well as those who are touring them for the first time in these pages, On These Walls is a showcase of literature and art, an extraordinary portrait of an institution whose very ceilings, staircases, and doors fulfill its mission to collect and share the wisdom of all civilizations. John Y. Cole is founding director of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. He has published widely about books and libraries in society, as well as about the history of the Library of Congress. Carol M. Highsmith, a distinguished and widely published American photographer, has generously donated much of her work to the Library of Congress.

    But it has been the terror of the capitalist rulers against which an outraged majority eventually rises. Trotsky explains why the working class is the only social force capable of leading the toiling majority in overthrowing the capitalist exploiters and beginning the construction of a new society and why individual terrorism -- whatever its intention -- relegates the workers to the role of spectators and opens the workers movement to provocation and victimization.

    

    The book also argues that identities constitute a powerful constraint on the pursuit of economic interests.

    The recent postmodernist turn in anthropology has been linked to the expiation of colonial guilt. Traditional, functionalist anthropology is characteristically regarded as an accessory to the crime, and anyone critical of the relativistic claims of interpretative anthropology (as Ernest Gellner is) is likely to be charged (as he sometimes is) with being an ex post imperialist. Ernest Gellner argues that cultures are crucially important in human life as constraining systems of meaning. Cultural transition means that the required characteristics are transmitted from generation to generation, leading, he shows, to both greater diversity and to far more rapid change than is possible among species where transmission is primarily by genetic means. But the relative importance of semantic and physical compulsion needs to be explored rather than pre-judged. The weakness of idealism, which at present operates under the name of hermeneutics, is that it underplays the importance of coercion, and that it presents cultures as self-justifying and morally sovereign: this line of argument, the author demonstrates, is fundamentally flawed.

    Nor was there any great mandate for change: Only a handful of incumbents were defeated. Turnout was unchanged, too, staying for the most part within the same 36 percent to 40 percent range of all off-year elections in the past quarter century.        The difference was a fundamental change in mood. In 1998, Americans voted against what a classic 1988 editorial in The Economist called "crunchiness" and for what the magazine called "sogginess." Crunchy choices are binary; the light switch is either off or on, with clearly distinct consequences. Soggy choices represent only a marginal, perhaps imperceptible change. In the prosperous, peaceful late 1990s, Americans were comfortable with the incorrigibly soggy Bill Clinton--and deeply uncomfortable with the aggressive crunchiness of the most visible congressional Republican, Newt Gingrich. The 1998 elections--and elections are always a crunchy process--saw no significantly different partisan balance. But they did produce very different outcomes for the two party leaders.        The Almanac of American Politics 2000, which very much tends to the crunchy side, is a vital tool in assessing today's increasingly soggy political scene. No other book offers so much information plus such a clear road map to our political present and future (be it crunchy or soggy). In addition to a provocative new Introduction by Michael Barone, this completely updated edition includes:                H Insightful, colorful profiles and photographs of all 535 members of Congress and all 50 governors        H Voting records on important legislation        H Revealing descriptions of each state and congressional district with historical, economic, social, and political background information        H Congressional ratings by National Journal and a dozen influential interest groups        H Updated maps showing each congressional district, including recent redistricting changes        H 1998 election results for each member of Congress and presidential results by congressional district        H Exclusive election forecasts for every 2000 race from Washington's foremost political handicapper, Charlie Cook        H Access to the Almanac Web Edition, providing up-to-date information on key votes of the 106th Congress, results from special and interim elections, and more

    It is the first book to assess systematically the broad implications of interim governments in the establishment of democratic regimes and on the existence of states. Drawing on historical and contemporary democratization experiences, Shain and Linz, the principal authors, explore four ideal types of interim government: opposition-led provisional governments, power-sharing interim governments, incumbent-led caretaker governments, and international interim government by the United Nations. In the second part of this book, other contributors evaluate the subject further in extensive case studies.

    

    Specialists of French colonial, Vietnamese, Southeast Asia and nationalism studies will all find much of value in Goscha's provocative rethinking of the relationship between colonialism and nationalism in Indochina.First published in 1995, a revised edition of this remarkable study is now issued, augmented with new material by the author and a foreword by Eric Jennings.

    While most studies of social movements focus on single-nation studies, Donatella della Porta uses a comparative research design to analyze movements in two countries--Italy and Germany--from the 1960s to the 1990s. Through extensive use of official documents and in-depth interviews, della Porta is able to explain the actors' construction of external political reality, and to build a theory on political violence that synthesizes the various interactions among political actors.

    This volume challenges those assumptions by focusing on the question of nationalism in the work of Japanese Buddhist thinkers during and after the Pacific War. Fifteen Japanese and Western scholars offer a variety of critical perspectives concerning the political responsibility of intellectuals and the concrete historical consequences of working within a religious or philosophical tradition. The first group of essays debates the role of Zen Buddhism in wartime Japan. A second group of essays examines the political thought and activities of Nishida Kitarō, the doyen of the Kyoto school. A third group of essays questions the complicity of other philosophers of the Kyoto school in the wartime spirit of nationalism and analyzes the ideas of modernity and the modern nation-state then current in Japan. This carefully documented volume offers a wealth of information and reflection for those interested in prewar and wartime history, Zen, Japanese philosophy, and the problem of nationalism today.

    During both world wars he was an adviser to the British treasury, and his theory of government stimulation of the economy through deficit spending influenced Franklin D. Roosevelt's "New Deal" administration. The mass unemployment caused by the Great Depression inspired his most famous work, General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1935-36).Keynes first gained widespread prominence immediately following World War I, when he attended the Versailles peace conference as an economic adviser to British Prime Minister David Lloyd George. Disgusted with the harshly punitive and unrealistic provisions of the Versailles Treaty, as well as the political chicanery and general incompetence of the chief participants, he published The Economic Consequences of the Peace in 1919. This book gained a good deal of notoriety because of its withering portraits of both French premier Georges Clemenceau and U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. Keynes described Clemenceau as motivated only by shortsighted nationalistic goals and vindictiveness, which aimed at crippling Germany for generations no matter what the consequences to the rest of Europe. He found fault with Wilson for his ivory tower idealism, lack of diplomatic savvy, and unfamiliarity with the political realities of Europe. This ineffectual combination ultimately dashed his best hopes for a League of Nations and a just resolution to the war in Europe. In a point-by-point analysis Keynes makes clear the ruinous consequences of the treaty to all of Europe and proposes substantial modifications. Unfortunately, few appreciated Keynes’s prescience, and he saw his worst fears realized in the rise of Hitler and the devastation of World War II.In The End of Laissez-Faire (1926) he presents a brief historical review of laissez-faire economic policy. Though he agrees in principle that a marketplace of free individuals pursuing their own self-interest without government interference has a better chance of improving society’s economic situation than socialist alternatives, he suggests that government can play a constructive role in protecting individuals from the worst harms of capitalism’s cycles, especially as concerns unemployment. Other useful government functions are the dissemination of information relating to business conditions, encouraging savings and investment along "nationally productive channels," and forming a national policy about the size of population.Keynes’s brilliant mind and lucid writing are evident on every page. Both of these works are still well worth reading for his many stimulating ideas and profound knowledge of economics.

    Incorporating several theoretical approaches and based on many forms of empirical evidence (statistical, historical, ethnographic, and survey), The Puzzle of Strikes is unique in its broad concern with a variety of actors, theories, and forms of empirical evidence.

    This collection of essays by internationally renowned scholars of political theory from Europe and the United States explores both the concept and the reality of civil society and its institutions.

    This emphasis on influence has provided students of economics, political science, and political economy with surprisingly little theory to account for the origins of such institutions. Yet without understanding how institutions form and consequently develop influence, much of the other work lacks context. The contributors fill this void by utilizing a variety of perspectives and theoretical approaches. The twin focus of these articles on the origins of institutions and the development of institutional influence yield innovative and suggestive outcomes. Topics range from the framing of the United States Constitution to debate over the Senate at the Federal Convention; from equilibrium and social institutions to democratic stability.Contributors include Randall Calvert, Jon Elster, Avner Greif, Jack Knight, Paul Milgrom, Douglass North, William Riker, Norman Schofield, Itai Sened, and Barry Weingast.Jack Knight is Assistant Professor of Political Science, Washington University, St. Louis. Itai Sened is Assistant Professor of Political Science, Tel Aviv University.

    Its closely linked essays allow comparisons between case studies and are often themselves cross-national comparisons....The essays also comment on the meaning of globalization for social policy." —Choice "Excellent and tightly integrated articles by a group of prominent international scholars....A timely and important book, which will surely become the basic reference point for all future research on inequality and social policy." —Contemporary Sociology The social safety net is under strain in all Western nations, as social and economic change has created problems that traditional welfare systems were not designed to handle. Poverty, Inequality, and the Future of Social Policy provides a definitive analysis of the conditions that are fraying the social fabric and the reasons why some countries have been more successful than others in addressing these trends. In the United States, where the poverty rate in the 1980s was twice that of any advanced nation in Europe, the social protection system—and public support for it—has eroded alarmingly. In Europe, the welfare system more effectively buffered the disadvantaged, but social expenditures have been indicted by many as the principal cause of high unemployment. Concluding chapters review the progress and goals of social welfare programs, assess their viability in the face of creeping economic, racial, and social fragmentation, and define the challenges that face those concerned with social cohesion and economic prosperity in the new global economy. This volume illuminates the disparate effects of government intervention on the incidence and duration of poverty in Western countries. Poverty, Inequality, and the Future of Social Policy is full of lessons for anyone who would look beyond the limitations of the welfare debate in the United States.

    The only scholarly study available of this Cuban migration, this book analyzes its political dynamics and unique character. In this revised and expanded edition of With Open Arms (1988), Masud-Piloto extends the discussion with an examination of the Bush and Clinton administrations' responses to recent events in Cuba.

    Today, however, while Chinese human rights violations often make headlines and trade restrictions are periodically threatened, the relationship between the countries is considerednormalized. How has this change taken place? A solid political history of United States/Chinese foreign relations, The Practice of Power traces the change from hostility to rapprochement, to normalization in 1979, to the current mutually wary cooperation. The major diplomatic issues traversed include United States opposition to Chineserepresentation at the United Nations, the China Trade Embargo, American public opinion about China, the Sino-Soviet alliance, and China's military capabilities, both conventional and nuclear. Rosemary Foot shows how, after normalization in 1979, the United States began to move toward viewing China as less of a threat, but still resistant to certain of the norms of the current international order. Previous explanations of American relations with China, Foot argues, have dwelt toosingle-mindedly on ideas associated with the strategic triangle. Her approach embeds our understanding of the evolution of American relations with China within a wider structure of relationships at the global and domestic levels, and suggests the direction that relations between the two giants willtake into the twenty-first century.

    Mastering Space identifies the essential features of this state-centredness and suggests an optimistic alternative more in keeping with the contemporary post-Cold War climate. Drawing on recent geopolitical thinking, the authors claim that the dynamism of the international political economy has been obscured through excessive attention on the state as an unchanging actor. Dealing with such topical issues as Japan's rise to economic dominance and America's perceived decline, as well as the global impact of continued geographical change, the book discusses the role of geographical organization in the global political economy, and the impact of increasing economic globalisation and political fragmentation in future international relations. The authors identify the present time as crucial to the global political economy, and explore the possibilities of moving the world from mastering space to real reciprocity between peoples and places. John Agnew is a Professor of Geography at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University. Stuart Corbridge is a lecturer in Geography at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Sidney Sussex College.

    The books contain major writings by five of America's most distinguished political scientists and political theorists.

    media; analyze the stereotypes and misconceptions that Americans have of Arabs, Iranians, and other Middle Easterners; and discuss the far-reaching political and cultural impact of the United States on the Middle East. Focusing on the U.S. media (books, magazines, newspapers, motion pictures, television) coverage and portrayal of Arabs, Palestinians, the Intifada, Middle Eastern women, Iran, Islam, Turkey, and the Persian Gulf War, the book also examines the impact of motion picture classics on young children and the perceptions of American students relative to the Middle East.College students, educators, media professionals, policy makers, researchers, writers, and all those concerned about political communication, cross-cultural education, media effects, and international communication will find startling information about a critical topic on which very little has been written.

    During much of this same period, students of conflict have explored many questions about protest and rebellion. The Rebel's Dilemma examines what happens when one brings the full richness of collective action theories to bear on the many complex problems of collective dissent.". . . a significant contribution to the understanding of collective behavior, protest, and rebellion." --Choice"The book is interesting and thought-provoking, and its insights extend beyond the narrow subject of rebellion to help illuminate many issues related to organizing groups to undertake collective action." --Public Choice"[Lichbach's] book is monumental and pivotal. . . . [It] consolidates over three decades of research on collective action problems and sets the agenda for future studies of collective dissent and rebellion. . . . [This] book is a major step forward. It will have an enormous impact in the field of conflict studies and belongs on the shelf of anyone even casually interested in dissent, rebellion, and revolution. . . . [This] book is a major step forward. It will have an enormous impact in the field of conflict studies and belongs on the shelf of anyone even casually interested in dissent, rebellion, and revolution." --American Political Science Review"For scholars interested in game-theoretic analyses of politics . . . essential reading." --Manus I. Midlarsky, Journal of Politics"Lichbach has to be praised for providing valuable insight on the logic of collective dissent. . . ." --Political StudiesMark Irving Lichbach is Professor of Political Science, University of Colorado.

    20 illustrations.

    

    He argues for the importance of a historical perspective in political thought, engages with central concepts such as obligation, trust, and freedom of conscience, and tackles contemporary problems such as racism and humanitarian intervention. The volume provides a representative collection of work by one of the most astute political commentators writing today.

    A majority of the contributors are Africans who have held senior positions in government and in international organizations. Rather than presenting narrow case studies, the various chapters attempt to paint a very broad picture of modern Africa while they discuss several examples in sufficient detail to make them memorable. In addition to forward-looking chapters on agricultural and economic change, authors focus on the exuberance of pro-democracy movements; problems of urban poverty; agricultural change at the village level; the growth in youth violence; renewed conflicts over ethnic identity; corruption at the highest levels; population growth outstripping resources; and religious fundamentalism among both Christians and Muslims.

    Authoritarian regimes leave an imprint on society long after their leaders have been overthrown because they transform or destroy the social institutions on which a successful democracy depends. Casper concludes that redemocratization is problematic, even in countries with strong democratic traditions.

    The argument is distinctive because it pays so much attention to small and medium sized firms, and because it suggests that Germany does not have a single coherent national system of industrial governance. This social constructivist point of view presents a direct challenge to the Gerschenkronian, Schumpetarian, and Chandlerian approaches to Germany's economic history.