Comparative politics Books

Book SynopsisAndrei P. Tsygankovis professor in the Departments of Political Science and International Relations at San Francisco State University.

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Book SynopsisThis book identifies the crucial variables as classic Japanese forms of socio-political organization: the "circles of compensation." These cooperative groupings of economic, political, and bureaucratic interests dictate corporate and individual responses to such critical issues as investment and innovation; at the micro level, they explain why individuals can be decidedly cautious on their own, yet prone to risk-taking as a collective. Kent E. Calder examines how these circles operate in seven concrete areas, from food supply to consumer electronics, and deals in special detail with the influence of Japan's changing financial system. The result is a comprehensive overview of Japan's circles of compensation as they stand today, and a road map for broadening them in the future.

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Book SynopsisIn Erik Mueggler’s powerful and imaginative ethnography, an Indigenous community in the mountains of Southwest China struggles to find its place at the margins of a nation-state. Here, people describe the period that began with the Great Leap Famine of 1958-1960 and continued through the 1990s as the “age of wild ghosts.” Their stories of this age converged on a dream of community—a bad dream, embodied in the life, death, and spectral reawakening of a local political and ritual system that expired violently under the Maoist regime. Displaying a sensitive understanding of both Chinese and the Tibeto-Burman language of this community, Mueggler explores memories of this institution, including of the rituals and poetics that once surrounded it and the bitter conflicts that came to haunt it. To exorcise “wild ghosts,” he shows, is nothing less than to re-imagine the state and its power, to trace the responsibility for violence to its morally ambiguous origins, and to articulate demands for justice and longings for reconciliation.

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Book SynopsisAll golden ages are marked by periods of spectacular cultural flourishing, scientific exploration, technological achievement and economic growth; yet no two are the same. Their beliefs, societies and place in the wider world all vary. Despite this, all previous golden ages have ended, whether it be because of external pressures or internal fracturing; too much hubris or too little wariness.Looking at seven of humanity''s greatest civilizations - ancient Athens, the Roman Republic, Abbasid Baghdad, Song China, Renaissance Italy, the Dutch Republic and the Anglosphere - historian and commentator Johan Norberg seeks to distil their strengths and shortcomings in answering the question: how do we ensure that our current golden age doesn''t end?As insightful as it is riveting, Peak Human is at once a paean to our incredible progress and a warning that we cannot afford to be complacent.

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Book SynopsisWhat if the sun truly is setting on the Western world's outsized influence over the rest of the planet? In the wake of Donald Trump's re-election, Westlessness, by former UK diplomat Dr Samir Puri is essential reading. He vividly demonstrates how in demographic, economic, military and cultural terms, we are hurtling into a far more diverse global future. Many of our certainties about the present, built on centuries of massive Western global impact, are increasingly fragile. Untold wealth is moving from the West to the East, as nations like India and Indonesia are set to reach new heights of growth and confidence. And China continues its ascent to the peak of the economic mountain - but are cracks appearing? And will the Western world, under the aegis of US global military, economic, technological and cultural power, give up its privileged position willingly?Nothing is linear and nothing is predictable. Are we prepared, personally and professionally, for

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Book Synopsis''Topical, engaging, personable, and above all, reassuring'' Dr. Jordan B. PetersonFrom host of The Rubin Report, the most-watched talk show about free speech and big ideas on YouTube right now, a roadmap for free thinking in an increasingly censored world.The left is no longer liberal.Once on the side of free speech and tolerance, progressives now ban speakers from college campuses, cancel people who aren''t up to date on the latest genders, and force religious people to violate their conscience. They have abandoned the battle of ideas and have begun fighting a battle of feelings. This uncomfortable truth has turned moderates and true liberals into the politically homeless class.Dave Rubin launched his political talk show The Rubin Report in 2015 as a meeting ground for free thinkers who realize that partisan politics is a dead end. He hosts people he both agrees and disagrees with--including those who have been dismissed, deplatTrade ReviewDave Rubin's genuine curiosity and willingness to seriously consider opinions across the political spectrum have rightly made The Rubin Report a necessary corrective to modern journalism. Don't Burn This Book charts his personal and political transformation from predictable progressive to independent and informed thinker in a manner that his readers should find topical, engaging, personable and, above all, reassuring * Dr. Jordan B. Peterson, author of 12 Rules for Life and Maps of Meaning *

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Book SynopsisNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of On Tyranny comes a stunning new chronicle of the rise of authoritarianism from Russia to Europe and America.“A brilliant analysis of our time.”—Karl Ove Knausgaard, The New YorkerWith the end of the Cold War, the victory of liberal democracy seemed final. Observers declared the end of history, confident in a peaceful, globalized future. This faith was misplaced. Authoritarianism returned to Russia, as Vladimir Putin found fascist ideas that could be used to justify rule by the wealthy. In the 2010s, it has spread from east to west, aided by Russian warfare in Ukraine and cyberwar in Europe and the United States.  Russia found allies among nationalists, oligarchs, and radicals everywhere, and its drive to dissolve Western institutions, states, and values found resonance within the West itself.  The rise of populism, the British vote against the EU, a

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Book SynopsisThe editor of Current Affairs artfully and efficiently debunks a series of common right-wing arguments.Are taxes theft? Is abortion murder? Does regulation destroy jobs? Is white privilege a lie? Conservative talking points are everywhere, and through well-funded media like Fox News, Breitbart, and YouTube's Prager University, the right has an impressive record of packaging its views for a general audience. Clearly, the left needs to do a better job of fighting back.Luckily, Current Affairs editor Nathan J. Robinson has developed a reputation as a meticulous slayer of irrational and bigoted arguments. He has tangled with the likes of Ben Shapiro, Jordan Peterson, and Charles Murray, exposing their flimsy logic and distorted facts with forensic thoroughness and savage wit. In Responding to the Right, Robinson blasts right-wing nonsense with devastating intellectual weaponry, revealing how everyone from Ann Coulter to th

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Book SynopsisThe preeminent doctor and health policy expert Ezekiel J. Emanuel gives an incisive tour of eleven health care systems across the globe, including our own, in search of whose is best—and how we can be more like them.One thing we can all agree on: the United States does not have the world’s best health care, at least not for all its citizens across fifty very different states. But which country does, and what can they teach the US?After analyzing the US and ten other countries—Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the UK—the results are in. No health care system is perfect, whether the problem is too many hospital beds in Germany or treating chronic illness in France, and some problems are shared across many countries, from addressing mental health care to containing the rising costs of chronic care. With a new coda that examines the handling of COVID-19 around the world, Dr. Emanuel offers evidence of the flaws and triumphs of health systems in the US and globally, and the lessons we can learn from each other.

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Book SynopsisA firsthand account of the shocking Tlatelolco Massacre, still denied by the Mexican government.

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Book Synopsis Two friends—a Democrat and a Republican—travel across America 'on a deeply personal journey through the heart of a divided nation . . . to find growth, hope and fundamental strength in their own lives' (Bob Woodward) and the country they love, in good times and bad. In the year before Donald Trump was elected president, Jordan Blashek, a Republican Marine, and Chris Haugh, a Democrat from Berkeley, CA, formed an unlikely friendship. Jordan was fresh off his service in the Marines and feeling a bit out of place at Yale Law School. Chris was yearning for a sense of mission after leaving Washington D.C. Over the months, Jordan and Chris's friendship blossomed not in spite of, but because of, their political differences. So they decided to hit the road in search of reasons to strengthen their bond in an era of strife and partisanship. What follows is a three-year adventure story, across forty-four states and

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Book SynopsisOn the night of October 2, 1968, there occurred a bloody showdown between student demonstrators and the Mexican government in Tlatelolco Square. At least two hundred students were shot dead and many more were detained. Then the bodies were trucked out, the cobblestones were washed clean. Detainees were held without recourse until 1971. Official denial of the killing continues even today: In the first week of February 2003, Mexico''s Education Secretary Reyes Tamiz ordered a new history textbook that mentions the massacre-Claudia Sierra''s History of Mexico: An Analytical Approach-removed from shelves and classrooms. (Public outcry led Tamiz to reverse his decision days later.) No one has yet been held accountable for the official acts of savagery. With provocative, anecdotal, and analytical prose, Taibo claims for history one more of the many unredeemed and sleepless ghosts that live in our lands.

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Book SynopsisThe human rights records of more than ninety countries and territories is put into perspective in Human Rights Watch’s signature yearly report, which, in the 2014 volume, highlighted the armed conflict in Syria, international drug reform, drones and electronic mass surveillance, and more, and also featured photo essays of child marriage in South Sudan, the cost of the Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia, and religious fighting in Central African Republic.             Reflecting extensive investigative work undertaken in 2014 by Human Rights Watch staff, in close partnership with domestic human rights activists, the annual World Report 2015 is an invaluable resource for journalists, diplomats, and citizens, and is a must-read for anyone interested in the fight to protect human rights in every corner of the globe.

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Book SynopsisThe human rights records of more than ninety countries and territories is put into perspective in Human Rights Watch''s signature yearly report. Reflecting extensive investigative work undertaken in 2015 by Human RightsWatch staff, in close partnership with domestic human rights activists, the annual World Report is an invaluable resource for journalists, diplomats, and citizens, and is a must-read for anyone interested in the fight to protect human rights in every corner of the globe.

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