Democracy Books

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Book SynopsisFoucault saw the notion of parrhesia (truth-telling) as the most important factor for how governments could and should communicate with their people and vice versa. This important collection compiles and analyses Foucault's views on parrhesia to shed new light on his ideas on the importance of truth-telling in democracies.Table of Contents1. Speaking Truth to Power and Power Speaking Truthfully 2. Power: From Productive Submission and Domination to Transformative Capacity 3. The Nature of Critique: Political not Epistemological 4. The Politics of Critique: Political Engagement and Government 5. The Nature of Parrhesia: Political Truth-Telling in Relation to Power/Knowledge/Ethics 6. The Politics of pParrhesia: The Autonomy of Democratic Politics and the Parrhesiastic Pact 7. Leadership and Community: Critique of Obedience and Democratic Paradoxes 8. Political Perspectives: Authority and the Duality of Power, Politics and Politicization

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Book SynopsisLuca Asmonti currently lectures at the University of Queensland, Australia. His research interests include Athenian democracy between the fifth and fourth centuries BC; Greek-Persian relations in the aftermath of the Peloponnesian War; and political oratory in Athens.Trade ReviewThis is a very valuable and comprehensive collection of sources for the study of the Athenian democracy. It will be of great appeal not only to students of ancient history, but also to students of political ideas. Luca Asmonti provides clear guidance on how to use the evidence, and shows us not only how the Athenian democracy came into being, and how it actually worked, but also what the people who experienced it thought about it. There is no other serious book available that does this. -- Hugh Bowden, Senior Lecturer in Ancient History, King’s College London, UKClassical Athens’ great experiment with democracy has lost none of its fascination across the last two and a half millennia. With lively and fresh translations, Dr Asmonti makes accessible a diversity of material, from literary to epigraphic, through which the complexities of that democracy — its evolution, its character and its integral relationship to Athenian culture, identity and history — are illuminated. This collection offers undergraduate students an invaluable introduction to one of the ancient world’s most challenging achievements. -- Lara O'Sullivan, Lecturer in Classics & Ancient History, The University of Western Australia, AustraliaAn excellent sourcebook that will be welcomed with great enthusiasm by teachers and students of Athenian democracy in particular and Greek history in general. This unrivalled collection of key passages from the Greek historians, poets, orators and philosophers, supplemented by a selection of original laws and decrees, reveals how Athenian democracy really worked. The user-friendly format makes this book ideal for use in big lecture halls, small discussion groups, or for individual research. Each group of sources is prefaced by an excellent introduction that sets them in their historical and political contexts, drawing attention to key themes and controversies. The extensive bibliographies that accompany each chapter encourage further exploration of the issues raised by the sources and help to make this a fantastic resource. -- Philip de Souza * School of Classics, University College Dublin, Ireland *All readers interested in the story of Athenian Democracy will find Luca Asmonti’s sourcebook accessible and extremely useful. The scope of the translated ancient sources included in the volume and their variety provide both an excellent introduction to a study of this unique form of government, and the materials for a well informed discussion of its historical importance and heritage. Contemporary debates on the nature of the political system, political activity or collective decision making are reflected in the selection and division of the sources. The book is thus relevant not only for students of ancient history, but also for a much wider audience -- Eran Almagor, Lecturer in History at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, IsraelA successful introduction to the topic of "Athenian democracy". (Bloomsbury Translation) * Sehepunkte *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: What do we mean by polis? 2: The birth of Athens and the roots of democracy 3: Draconian laws 4: Solonian laws 5: How tyranny helped the establishment of democracy 6: Cleisthenes and the birth of democracy 7: The Persian Wars and the link between democracy and the naval empire 8: Democracy and pentekontaeitia 9: Democracy and the effects of the Peloponnesian War 10: Democracy and the decline of the polis 11: Athenian democracy in the Hellenistic and Roman age Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisMurray Rothbard was known as the state''s greatest living enemy, and this book is his most powerful statement on the topic. He explains what a state is and what it is not. He shows how it is an institution that violates all that we hold as honest and moral, and how it operates under a false cover. He shows how the state wrecks freedom, destroys civilization, and threatens all lives and property and social well being, all under the veneer of "good intentions."

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Book SynopsisThe Federalist Papers is a collection of 85 articles and essays written under the pseudonym "Publius" to promote the ratification of the United States Constitution. The Federalist Papers are notable for their opposition to what later became the United States Bill of Rights. The idea of adding a Bill of Rights to the Constitution was originally controversial because the Constitution, as written, did not specifically enumerate or protect the rights of the people, rather it listed the powers of the government and left all that remained to the states and the people. Alexander Hamilton, the author of Federalist No. 84, feared that such an enumeration, once written down explicitly, would later be interpreted as a list of the only rights that people had.The first 77 of The Federalist Papers were published serially in the Independent Journal, the New York Packet, and The Daily Advertiser between October 1787 and April 1788. The original plan was to write a total of 25 essays, the work divided evenly among the three men. In the end they wrote 85 essays in the span of six months. Jay wrote five, Madison wrote 29, and Hamilton wrote the remaining 51.

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Book SynopsisDemocracy in America examines the democratic revolution Tocqueville believed had been occurring over the previous several hundred years. The primary focus of the book is an analysis of why republican representative democracy has succeeded in the United States while failing in so many other places. Tocqueville seeks to apply the functional aspects of democracy in the United States to what he sees as the failings of democracy in his native France.Democracy in America was published in two volumes, the first in 1835 and the other in 1840. It was immediately popular in both Europe and the United States, while also having a profound impact on the French population. By the twentieth century, it had become a classic work of political science, social science, and history. It is a commonly assigned reading for students at American universities majoring in the political or social sciences, and part of the introductory political theory syllabus at Cambridge, Oxford, Princeton and other institutions.This case laminate collector''s edition includes a Victorian inspired dust-jacket. 

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Book SynopsisThe aftermath of recent Kenyan elections has been marred by violence and an apparent crisis in democratic governance, with the negotiated settlement resulting from the 2007 election bringing into sharp focus longstanding problems of state and society. The broader reform process has involved electoral, judicial and security-sector reforms, among others, which in turn revolve around constitutional reforms. Written by a gathering of eminent specialists, this highly original volume interrogates the roots and impact of the 2010 constitution. It explains why reforms were blocked in the past but were successful this time around, and explores the scope for their implementation in the face of continued resistance by powerful groups. In doing so, the book demonstrates that the Kenyan experience carries significance well past its borders, speaking to debates surrounding social justice and national cohesion across the African continent and beyond.Trade ReviewThis excellent collection sets out the context required to understand the importance of implementing Kenya's new constitution, and highlights the various barriers and obstacles to achieving the same. As such, the book provides a timely contribution to academic debates, as well as a call to action for all those interested in protecting Kenya's recent constitutional gains and promoting constitutionalism. * Gabrielle Lynch, associate professor of comparative politics, University of Warwick *With helpful chapters on elite politics, the security situation, and the process of constitution making, this is essential reading for anyone who seeks a complete understanding of the "Kenya crisis" and what followed. It is not possible to understand the politics of contemporary Kenya without this back story. * Nic Cheeseman, director of the African Studies Centre, University of Oxford *Murunga, Okello and Sjögren demonstrate that as protracted, engaged and contradictory as the effort to achieve a new constitution was, its enactment marks only the next stage of a struggle that is far from over. The Struggle for a New Constitutional Order is not simply a chronicle of a bitter history; it is more tellingly a forecast of considerably more political drama to come. * Professor Joe Oloka-Onyango, Makerere University *Murunga, Okello and Sjögren - all with intimate knowledge of Kenya's struggle for democracy - have edited an epic work of the intellect. In these pages, they and the authors bring to life the tortured but vital peaks and valleys of the yearning of the Kenyan people to live free of autocracy and illiberalism. Some of the authors, like Yash Ghai, are synonymous with the making of Kenya's constitution. * Professor Makau Mutua, State University of New York Buffalo *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Towards a New Constitutional Order in Kenya - Godwin R. Murunga, Duncan Okello and Anders Sjögren Part I: Contexts and Actors in the Making of a New Constitution 1. The Protracted Transitions to the Second Republic in Kenya - Paul Tiyambe Zeleza 2. Fuelling the Violence: The Print Media in Kenya's Volatile 2007 Post-Election Violence - Sammy Gakero Gachigua 3. Mediating Kenya's Post-Election Violence: From a Peace-Making to a Constitutional Moment - E. Njoki Wamai 4. Instrumentalism and Constitution-Making in Kenya: Triumphs, Challenges and Opportunities Beyond the 2013 Elections - Raymond Muhula and Stephen Ndegwa 5. Revisiting 'The Two Faces of Civil Society' in Constitutional Reform in Kenya - Wanjala S. Nasong'o Part II: The Content, Challenges and Opportunities of a New Constitutional Order 6. Constitutions and Constitutionalism: The Fate of the 2010 Constitution - Yash Pal Ghai 7. Elite Compromises and the Content of the 2010 Constitution - Godwin R. Murunga 8. Security and Human Rights in the New Constitutional Order in Kenya - Mutuma Ruteere

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Book SynopsisDemocracy does not deliver on the things we have assumed are its natural outcomes. This, coupled with a growing sense of malaise in both new and established democracies forms the basis to the assertion made by some, that these are not democracies at all. Through considerable, impressive empirical analysis of a variety of voting methods, across twenty different nations, Roslyn Fuller presents the data that makes this contention indisputable. Proving that the party which forms the government rarely receives the majority of the popular vote, that electoral systems regularly produce manufactured majorities and that the better funded side invariably wins such contests in both elections and referenda, Fuller’s findings challenge the most fundamental elements of both national politics and broader society. Beast and Gods argues for a return to democracy as perceived by the ancient Athenians. Boldly arguing for the necessity of the Aristotelian assumption that citizens are agents whose wishes and aims can be attained through participation in politics, and through an examination of what “goods” are provided by democracy, Fuller offers a powerful challenge to the contemporary liberal view that there are no "goods" in politics, only individual citizens seeking to fulfil their particular interests.Trade ReviewA visionary thought experiment...guaranteed to make you think differently about the trillion dollar bureaucracies we call democracy today. * Forbes *There is no doubting the timeliness of Fuller’s contribution to the ongoing debates over the future of democratic government. * The European Legacy *Beasts and Gods is a timely and provocative look behind the clichés of Western politics. It recognises that government of the people, by the people, is not what our current democracies feel like to most of their citizens. Fuller returns to the roots of democracy in classical republican practice and rediscovers the sources of the renewal that is urgently required. Her optimism makes this not just a challenging book but a heartening one. * Fintan O’Toole, deputy editor, Irish Times *Fuller’s is a timely book, laying out the myriad problems with modern democracy in plain English. Anyone concerned with the lack of participation in our modern democracies must read this. * Jillian York, director of International Freedom of Expression at the Electronic Frontier Foundation *Beasts and Gods provides a fascinating contrast between democracy in theory and democracy in practice. It deconstructs the assumptions underlying representative democracy, and debunks the fiction that modern elections are “free and fair”. This provocative book draws on lessons from ancient Greece, while advocating direct democracy by decoupling economics from politics. * Marjorie Cohn, professor of law, Thomas Jefferson School of Law *Everyone interested in rethinking democracy in the digital age should read this book. The old ways of governing are dying, and Beasts and Gods offers timely and provocative ideas on how to finally make people power a reality. * Micah Sifry, author of Wikileaks and the Age of Transparency *Fuller takes the much needed leap from pointing out what’s wrong with our democracies to proposing a parallel system based on democracy’s original foundations. It’s a strong reminder that democracy is and must always be a work in progress, or it won’t be a democracy at all. * Pía Mancini, democracy activist and co-founder of DemocracyOS *Every now and then Modern society throws up someone who questions its most cherished myths. The how and why of it deserves a book in its own right. Roslyn Fuller is one such, and, in this work, she takes on a holy cow, Democracy, that the West loves to believe it invented (like all good things). She is a young scholar, but gifted with the right intuition, attitude, and talent to take it on, full frontal, from A to Z. As such the book is a refreshing, and highly timely, tour de force, putting both conventional apologetics and hoary critiques to shame. It dares us to rethink the myth, and perhaps even to, finally, infuse some real content to it – before we are all entrapped in irreversible Oligarchy. * Rajani Kanth, Harvard University *Table of ContentsIntroduction: What is Democracy? Part I 1. Democracy in Athens: People Power is Born 2. The Myth of Representation 3. Buying and Selling Elections 4. Participation: Bought In or Locked Out? 5. Modern Democracy and the International System: A Perfect Storm 6. Non-Governmental Organizations and the Civil Society Chimera 7. How Did Things Get to Be this Way? The Roman Republican System and the Founding Fathers of America Part II 8. The Way Forward: Digital Democracy 9. Disinformed is Disenfranchised: Why Taming Mass Media is a Necessary Step towards Democracy 10. Democracy and Dissent: The Balance between Individual and Community 11. Direct Democracy Today: Cutting the Gordian Knot

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Book SynopsisA team of scholars examine the radical political changes that have taken place since 1990 in eleven key countries in Africa. Radical changes have taken place in Africa since 1990. What are the realities of these changes? What significant differences have emerged between African countries? What is the future for democracy in the continent? The editors have chosen eleven key countries to provide enlightening comparisons and contrasts to stimulate discussion among students. They have brought together a team of scholars who are actively working in the changing Africa of today.Each chapter is structured around a framing event which defines the experience of democratisation. The editors have provided an overview of the turning points in African politics. They engage with debates on how to study andevaluate democracy in Africa, such as the limits of elections. They identify four major themes with which to examine similarities and divergences as well as to explain change and continuity in what happened in the past. Abdul Raufu Mustapha is University Lecturer in African Politics at Queen Elizabeth House and Kirk-Greene Fellow at St Antony's College, University of Oxford; Lindsay Whitfield is a Research Fellow at the Danish Institute of International Studies, Copenhagen.Trade ReviewA welcome addition to the scholarly and policy discourse [and] a useful initiation for students of African politics. [...] The rich contextual accounts and the strong concluding analysis make the book a must-read as a general overview of democratisation on the continent. * JOURNAL OF MODERN AFRICAN STUDIES *An insightful introduction and conclusion help the reader compare national experiences and put the cases in the context of the varied trajectories of democracy on the African continent. Highly recommended. * CHOICE *Table of ContentsForeword by Laurence Whitehead African democratisation: the journey so far - Abdul Raufu Mustapha and Lindsay Whitfield Senegal since 2000: rebuilding hegemony in a global age - Tarik Dahou and Vincent Foucher Cote d'Ivoire since1993: the risky reinvention of the nation - Francis Akindes Ghana since 1993: a successful democratic experiment? - Lindsay Whitfield Nigeria since 1999: a revolving door syndrome or the consolidation of democracy? - Abdul Raufu Mustapha Kenya since 2002: the more things change the more they stay the same - Nic Cheeseman Zambia since 1990: paradoxes of democratic transition - Miles Larmer South Africa since 1994: who holds power after apartheid? - Jeremy Seekings Mozambique since 1989: shaping democracy after socialism - Eric Morier-Genoud Rwanda & Burundi since 1994: an end to the discriminatory state? - Patricia Daley Zimbabwe since 1997: land & the legacies of war - Jocelyn Alexander Conclusion: the politics of African states in the era of democratisation - Lindsay Whitfield and Abdul Raufu Mustapha

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Book SynopsisPhilippe Van Parijs is one of the world''s leading political philosophers. In this book, he argues that the purpose of democracy should be to promote justice - we need not just democracy (in the sense of unqualified democracy) but a just democracy. Machiavelli and Rawls must be brought together. In a series of provocative and timely essays, he explores what creating such a just democratic political system would involve in order to tackle such issues as intergenerational justice, multiculturalism and linguistic diversity. He illustrates his arguments with examples drawn from the European Union and his native Belgium.

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Book SynopsisThis collection brings together some of the most significant and influential work by leading comparativist Peter Mair (1951â2011).

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Book SynopsisAn avowed republican investigates the unexpected durability and potential benefits of constitutional monarchies. When he was deposed in Egypt in 1952, King Farouk predicted that there would be five monarchs left at the end of the century: the kings of hearts, diamonds, clubs, spades, and England. To date, his prediction has proved wrong, and while the twentieth century saw the collapse of monarchies across Europe, many democratic societies have retained them. God Save the Queen is the first book to look at constitutional monarchies globally, and is particularly relevant given the pro-democracy movement in Thailand and recent scandals around the British and Spanish royal families. Is monarchy merely a feudal relic that should be abolished, or does the division between ceremonial and actual power act as a brake on authoritarian politicians? And what is the role of monarchy in the independent countries of the Commonwealth that have retained the Queen as head of state? This book suggests that monarchy deserves neither the adulation of the right nor the dismissal of the left. In an era of autocratic populism, does constitutional monarchy provide some safeguards against the megalomania of political leaders? Is a President Boris potentially more dangerous than a Prime Minister Boris?Trade Review‘At 153 pages God Save the Queen is a quick read, and Altman packs a lot into it, whizzing through the histories and current political climates of an array of countries to gain better understanding of the way monarchies have sustained themselves and evolved. … It’s the ability, in such a relatively brief space of words, to capture the breadth of diversity and nuances of modern monarchy, that makes Altman’s exploration of the phenomenon truly fascinating.’ -- Ben Pobjie * The Australian *‘This very readable little book encourages us to think more about the game of thrones and the different ways it might be played.’ -- Jeff Sparrow * The Age *‘A useful reconnaissance across a very large field of study.’ -- David McIntyre * New Internationalist *‘God Save the Queen is a book which deserves a wide readership.’ -- Bernard Whimpress * The Newtown Review of Books *

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