In July 2004, Barack Obama electrified the Democratic National Convention with an address that spoke to Americans across the political spectrum. One phrase in particular anchored itself in listeners’ minds, a reminder that for all the discord and struggle to be found in our history as a nation, we have always been guided by a dogged optimism in the future, or what Senator Obama called “the audacity of hope.” Now, in The Audacity of Hope, Senator Obama calls for a different brand of politics–a politics for those weary of bitter partisanship and alienated by the “endless clash of armies” we see in congress and on the campaign trail; a politics rooted in the faith, inclusiveness, and nobility of spirit at the heart of “our improbable experiment in democracy.” He explores those forces–from the fear of losing to the perpetual need to raise money to the power of the media–that can stifle even the best-intentioned politician. He also writes, with surprising intimacy and self-deprecating hu
This book examines Thomas Jefferson's attempt to combine respect for a fundamental constitution with the fact that no set of laws can foresee every event. His solution to this problem offers a democratic, yet strong, alternative to the more common, Hamiltonian solution. Jefferson scholars have long written of 'two Jeffersons,' one before he became president and one after he became president. The first was opposed to a strong executive, while the second embraced one out of necessity. This book challenges this account. It presents Jefferson's understanding of executive power, which, though it developed over time, pointed to an executive that was both democratic and powerful. 作者简介： Jeremy D. Bailey is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Duquesne University. He was the co-winner of the 2004 APSA E. E. Schattschneider Award for best dissertation in American politics written in 2002 or 2003.
The proliferation of international institutions and their impact has become a central issue in international relations。Why do countries comply with international agreements and how do international institutions influence national policies？Most theories focus on the extent to which international institutions can wield ’carrots and sticks’directly in their relations with states。Xinyuan Dai presents an alternative framework in which they influence national policies indirectly by utilizing non-state actors （NGOs，social movements） and empowering domestic constituencies。In this way，even weak international institutions that lack ’carrots and sticks’may have powerful effects on states。 Supported by empirical studies of environmental politics， human rights and economic and security issues，this book sheds fresh light on how and why international institutions matter。It will be of interest to students， scholars and policymakers in both international relations and international law。
From the Civil War to the present day, learn about famous spies throughout history, how they were recruited, and what really happened in some of their most daring missions in history.
The most up-to-date, incisive, and accessible reference on theAmerican presidency, with essays by the nation's leadinghistorians. An indispensable resource for the curious reader andthe serious historian alike, The American Presidency showcases someof the most provocative interpretive history being written today.This rich narrative history sheds light on the hubris, struggles,and brilliance of our nation's leaders. Coupling vivid writing withunparalleled scholarship, these insightful essays from well-knownhistorians cover every presidency from the first through theforty-third.
News that discount giant Kmart was filing for bankruptcy in early 2002 sent shockwaves through the retail community. How could a brand as widely recognized and firmly fixed in our cultural lexicon be teetering on the brink of extinction? Depending on who you talk to, Kmart’s fall from grace can be attributed to any number of factors. In the first in-depth examination of Kmart, author Marcia Layton Turner reveals the real reason behind Kmart’s troubles–bad management–and discusses how the large personalities and even larger dreams of Kmart’s misguided leaders played a significant role in transforming this once profitable retail titan into a bankrupt behemoth. Even though Kmart has emerged from bankruptcy, the truth is that the company has made a number of bad decisions throughout its forty-year history–some seemed like good decisions at the time, while others were obviously off base. But what really hurt Kmart is the fact that most of these decisions were made by rogue managers who shirked the
Does democracy reduce state repression as human rights activism, funding, and policy suggest? What are the limitations of this argument? Investigating 137 countries from 1976 to 1996, State Repression and the Domestic Democratic Peace seeks to shed light on these questions. Specifically, it finds that electoral participation and competition generally reduces personal integrity violations like torture and mass killing; other aspects of democracy do not wield consistent influences. This negative influence can be overwhelmed by conflict, however, and thus there are important qualifications for the peace proposition.
It is, as Chris Patten notes, a funny old world. And it seemsto be getting funnier by the day. The global triumph of liberaldemocracy, with the world made in America and Europe's image, hasfailed to materialize. What will take its place? Here Patten drawson his many years at the highest levels of international affairs totackle the big questions of our time - from energy shortages to thearms trade, immigration to the ascendancy of the East - offering awise, witty and surprisingly optimistic account of the worldtoday.
This book, by one of America's most intelligent and decent political writers, tells liberals how the conservative movement rose and fell, and how they could emulate its successes while avoiding its failures." —George Packer, author of Blood of the Liberals and The Assassins' Gate "No one is better than Todd Gitlin at describing the crucial dynamic through which movements gain or lose political power. Justly celebrated for his seminal work on such dynamics during the 1960s, Gitlin now explains everything that's happened since, with passion and wisdom—and happily, because of Bushism's collapse, legitimate optimism about the future." —Michael Tomasky, Editor, Guardian America "An impassioned yet realistic plea for Democrats and liberals to become more serious about politics. They would do well to follow his advice." —Alan Wolfe, Director, Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life, Boston College "A brilliant and indispensable book. Gitlin convincingly
Tony Blair has dominated British political life for more thana decade. Like Margaret Thatcher before him, he has changed theterms of political debate and provoked as much condemnation asadmiration. At the end of his era in power, this book presents awide-ranging overview of the achievements and failures of the Blairgovernments. Bringing together Britain's most eminent academics andcommentators on British politics and society, it examines theeffect of the Prime Minister and his administration on themachinery of government, economic and social policy and foreignrelations. Combining serious scholarship with clarity andaccessibility, this book represents the authoritative verdict onthe impact of the Blair years on British politics andsociety. Covers the full term of Blair's leadership of Labour ? AnthonySeldon is a recognized authority on British Prime Ministers, andTony Blair in particular ? Uniquely authoritative with a superbcollection of contributors including John Curtice, Vernon Bogdanor,Sir La
More than two thousand years after his death, Julius Caesarremains one of the great figures of history. He shaped Rome forgenerations, and his name became a synonym for "emperor" -- notonly in Rome but as far away as Germany and Russia. He is bestknown as the general who defeated the Gauls and doubled the size ofRome's territories. But, as Philip Freeman describes in thisfascinating new biography, Caesar was also a brilliant orator, anaccomplished writer, a skilled politician, and much more. Julius Caesar was a complex man, both hero and villain. Hepossessed great courage, ambition, honor, and vanity. Born into anoble family that had long been in decline, he advanced his careercunningly, beginning as a priest and eventually becoming Rome'sleading general. He made alliances with his rivals and thendiscarded them when it suited him. He was a spokesman for theordinary people of Rome, who rallied around him time and again, buthe profited enormously from his conquests and lived opulently.Eventually he
Praise for Nancy Soderberg's The Superpower Myth "A sensible, hard-headed, realistic alternative to the excesses of America's Iraq-era dealings with the world." -James Fallows, National Correspondent, The Atlantic Monthly "One of the greatest strengths of Soderberg's book is her insider's account of many of the seminal events of the 1990s. Soderberg [gives us] a bird's-eye view of such critical issues as intervention in the Balkans and Haiti and U.S. efforts to combat al Qaeda and hunt down Osama bin Laden." -Charles A. Kupchan, The Washington Post Book World "Does America Need a Foreign Policy? by Henry Kissinger, The Choice by Zbigniew Brzezinski, and The Superpower Myth by Nancy Soderberg-all of these authors have firsthand experience in government, and it shows. The Superpower Myth, which doubles as a memoir of Soderberg's years in the Clinton administration, is a history told from inside meeting rooms, full of detail about how government bureaucracies actually function
The world looks far different today than it did before theglobal financial crisis struck. Reeling from the most brutalimpacts of the recession, governments, economies, and societieseverywhere are retrenching and pushing hard for increasedprotectionism. That's understandable, but it's also dangerous,maintains global economy expert Pankaj Ghemawat in World 3.0. Leftunchecked, heightened protectionism could prevent peoples aroundthe world from achieving the true gains afforded by cross-borderopenness. Ghemawat paints a disturbing picture of what could happen--tohousehold income, availability of goods and services, and otherquality-of-life metrics--should globalization continue to reversedirection. He then describes how a wide range of players' privatebusinesses, policy makers, citizens, the press' could help openflows of ideas, people, and goods across borders, but in ways thatmaximize economic benefits for all. World 3.0 reveals how we're not nearly as globalized as we thinkwe are, and how pe
An inside look at seven of the most harrowing and significant Special Operations missions ever. Courage beyond reason. Loyalty beyond faith. Perseverance in the face of overwhelming adversity. These are just some of the qualities of the members of the U.S. Special Operation Forces. BEYOND HELL AND BACK details the seven defining Special Ops missions that have made the Special Operation Forces the best fighting unit in the world, including: THE RESCUE OF BAT-21: The largest and longest Combat Search and Rescue mission in the Vietnam War lasted 17 days and cost the lives of 13 Americans—all to rescue one man and the invaluable knowledge he alone possessed. TASK FORCE NORMANDY: Planned in secrecy and executed with flawless efficiency, Task Force Normandy was an Army/Air Force Special Operations joint op that fired the opening shots behind enemy lines in Operation Desert Storm. OPERATION EAGLE CLAW: The devastating Special Forces operation mounted to retrieve 52 American hostages in Iran
Eugene Fran?ois Vidocq was born in France in 1775 and his lifespanned the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars and the 1848revolutions. He was the Inspector Morse, the Sherlock Holmes, theJames Bond of his day. A notorious criminal, he turned policeofficer and employed a gang of ex-convicts as his detectives. Heinvented innovative criminal indexing techniques and experimentedwith fingerprinting, until his cavalier attitude towards the thinblue line forced him out of the police. So he began the world'svery first private detective agency. The cases he solved were high profile and he grew in notoriety.However, his infamy didn't prevent him from becoming a spy andmoving secretly across the dangerous borders of Europe. This is agloriously enjoyable historical romp through the eighteenth centuryin the company of the man whose influence still holds to thisday.
In this major contribution to Ideas in Context Anne McLarenexplores the consequences for English political culture when, withthe accession of Elizabeth I, imperial 'kingship' came to beinvested in the person of a female ruler. She looks at howElizabeth managed to be queen, in the face of considerable maleopposition, and demonstrates how that opposition was enacted. DrMcLaren argues that during Elizabeth's reign men were able toaccept the rule of a woman partly by inventing a new definition of'citizen', one that made it an exclusively male identity, and sheemphasizes the continuities between Elizabeth's reign and theoutbreak of the English civil wars in the seventeenth century. Asignificant work of cultural history informed by political thought,Political Culture in the Reign of Elizabeth I offers a wholesalereinterpretation of the political dynamics of the reign of QueenElizabeth.
Leadership expert Shel Leanne explains how to combine oratory, body language, and the fine art of persuasion into a seamless presentation that builds trust and stimulates action. You will come away with the skill to motivate individuals, teams, or an entire workforce to embrace your vision and put it to work. "Whether you're Republican or Democrat, this book provides useful information for anyone wanting to improve one's speaking skills...it isn't a political book, but rather one that focuses on that Obama Magic: just how does the man do it? There are a number of things Leanne addresses: things such as body language, mannerisms, alliteration, repetition, pacing, and most importantly, how to tie the speech into one's own life. One of the techniques Obama is known for is his ability to relate to his listeners by using his own life and struggles and then comparing such to that of the struggling American. One is also shown the ways in which controversy can be avoided, and dealt with in such a way that is bo
"Very little of my backstory qualifies as Hallmark Card material, but it may help you to make sense of the way I see and interpret what's going on around me." -Jack Cafferty For the millions who watch the "Cafferty File" on CNN's The Situation Room, Jack Cafferty stands for common sense-the much-needed voice of reason who skewers right-wing nut jobs and liberal eggheads alike. For years, he's voiced the views, hopes, and fears of the average American in inimitable style. Now, in It's Getting Ugly Out There, he brings that level-headed wisdom to bear on the most critical issues facing us today-and explains why Americans must take our country back from those who are harming it. "It's been a target-rich seven years for someone like me who enjoys pushing people's buttons and sticking pins in things that need pricking, from rich and fatuous celebrities offering foreign policy analysis to the latest lying Beltway blowhard impaling himself on his sword of pomposity. . . . Anyone familiar with my da
In the early 1990s, competitive elections in the Russian Federation signaled the end to the authoritarian political system dominated by a single political party. More than ten years and many elections later, a single party led by Russian President Vladimir Putin threatens to end Russia's democratic experiment. Russia's experience with new elections is not unique but it does challenge existing theories of democratic consolidation by showing that competitive elections cannot guarantee successful democratic consolidation.This book explores the conditions under which electoral competition contributes to democratic development by examining impact of elections on democratic consolidation.
This classic book is a powerful indictment of contemporary attitudes to race. By accusing British intellectuals and politicians on both sides of the political divide of refusing to take race seriously, Paul Gilroy caused immediate uproar when this book was first published in 1987. A brilliant and explosive exploration of racial discourses, There Ain't No Black in the Union Jack provided a powerful new direction for race relations in Britain. Still dynamite today and as relevant as ever, this Routledge Classics edition includes a new introduction by the author.
The Bush administration's drive to politicize the Justice Department reached a new low with the wrongful firing of seven U.S. Attorneys in late 2006. Their action has ignited public outrage on a scale that far surpassed the reaction to any of the Bush administration's other political debacles. David Iglesias was one of those federal prosecutors, and now he tells his story. Iglesias has long served in the Navy as part of the JAG corps. One of his earliest cases, about an assaulted Marine in Guantanamo Bay, became the basis for the movie A Few Good Men. When Bush chose him to become the U.S. Attorney for New Mexico, it was a dream come true. He was a core member of Karl Rove's idealized Republican Party of the future -- handsome, Hispanic, evangelical, and a military veteran. The dream came to an abrupt end when Senator Pete Domenici improperly called Iglesias, wanting him to indict high-level Democrats before the 2006 elections. When Iglesias refused, the line went dead. Iglesias was fired just weeks later. F
