Democracy Books

Book SynopsisThis book presents a self-contained and accessible economic analysis of American politics. Chapters address voters, political parties, the media, Congress, the Presidency, and the Supreme Court. Maurer explains how the Framers' design usually encourages moderation – but can also veer into the kind of dangerously divisive politics we know today.Trade Review'Stephen Maurer addresses the challenge of current American political polarization by assuming the Framers of the US Constitution made accurate diagnoses of the problem but prescriptions that need updating in the light of modern social science. This approach yields insights that will intrigue students of political institutions everywhere.' Paul Seabright, Toulouse School of Economics, author of The Company of Strangers: A Natural History of Economic Life'Whither American democracy in this age of polarization? How has the institutional design of the 1780s played through the history since? How have we been theorizing about that design, and how should we be? For one thing, James Madison meet Anthony Downs. But that is not all. Steeped in theory, history, vast scholarship, and alert to current vexations, this book is an invigorating read.' David R. Mayhew, Sterling Professor of Political Science Emeritus, Yale UniversityTable of ContentsIntroduction; 1. Updating the framers; 2. The people: from individuals to communities; 3. Selling policy: political narratives & ideologies; 4. The public forum: mass media and the web; 5. Mass democracy: political parties and elections; 6. The 'extended republic': communities, states & regions; 7. Making law: the congress; 8. Implementing law: the executive; 9. Interpreting law: the courts; 10. Democracy evolving: the future of American politics.

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Book SynopsisWhile frustration with various aspects of American democracy abound in the United States, there is little agreement overor even understanding ofwhat kinds of changes would make the system more effective and increase political participation. Matthew J. Streb sheds much-needed light on all the major concerns of the electoral process in the thoroughly revised third edition of this timely book on improving American electoral democracy. This critical examination of the rules and institutional arrangements that shape the American electoral process analyzes the major debates that embroil scholars and reformers on subjects ranging from the number of elections we hold and the use of nonpartisan elections, to the presidential nominating process and campaign finance laws. Ultimately, Streb argues for a less burdensome democracy, a democracy in which citizens can participate more easily in transparent, competitive elections. This book is designed to get students of elections Trade Review"From voter ID laws to the Electoral College to redistricting to campaign finance, election law in the United States is loaded with controversy. In the latest edition of Rethinking American Electoral Democracy, Matt Streb cuts through the partisan rhetoric over how we run elections in the US, giving us evidence and reasoned argument for how to make our democracy better. You may not agree with all of his solutions, but you will admire Streb's straight talk, common sense, and logic."– Richard L. Hasen, University of California—Irvine and author of Plutocrats United: Campaign Money, the Supreme Court, and the Distortion of American Elections"Rethinking American Electoral Democracy does more than challenge students to think critically about the peculiar way in which Americans conduct their elections. It sparks students to argue about how best to fix the nation’s electoral institutions. No reader will agree with all the reforms Streb proposes—and that is precisely what makes it such an invaluable teaching tool. Assign this book and invite your students to join in a profoundly important debate about what’s wrong with American electoral democracy and how we can fix it."– Richard J. Ellis, Willamette University"Our political system is so complex and produces so much inequality that it can often be challenging to consider where a reform agenda should even begin. In this book, Streb helps to direct our attention to some of the most significant problems with the current system and proposes a sensible set of reforms that would make for a more robust and equal democratic system. It is a worthwhile read for scholars and the general public alike."– Brian Schaffner, University of Massachusetts—Amherst"By finding just the right balance of theory, empirical data, analysis, and examples, Streb has produced a text that students will find both accessible and engaging. His transparent critical approach is a refreshing contribution to the study of American electoral democracy."– Richard Holtzman, Bryant University"Matthew Streb’s latest edition of Rethinking American Electoral Democracy is an engaging and thoughtful analysis of how election rules stand in the way of a 'better, smarter democracy.' At a time when young people are increasingly disillusioned with politics, Streb offers intriguing ideas for reform. Students will appreciate Streb’s clarity and brevity. Instructors will find this book thorough and scholarly."– Rodd Freitag, University of Wisconsin-Eau ClaireTable of Contents1. Creating a Model Electoral Democracy PART I: Rethinking the Costs of Voting 2. Factors that Influence Voter Turnout 3. The Offices We Elect 4. Direct Democracy PART II: Rethinking the Mechanics of Voting 5. Ballot Laws 6. Voting Machines PART III: Rethinking National Elections 7. The Redistricting Process 8. Presidential Primaries 9. The Electoral College 10. Campaign Finance 11. Conclusion: Moving Toward a Model Electoral Democracy

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Book SynopsisBetween the end of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the new millennium, Russia went through a unique moment â genuine democracy. In this fascinating and absorbing book, Kenneth MacInnes explores not just the 1990s â when he lived and worked in Russia â but the entire history of Russian democracy, from the earliest days right up to President Putin.

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Book SynopsisExam Board: SQALevel: HigherSubject: Modern StudiesFirst Teaching: August 2018First Exam: June 2019A course textbook covering the most recent political developments and fully updated to take on board the latest SQA course assessment changes. Written specifically to match the Higher syllabus offered by the Scottish Qualifications Authority, Democracy in Scotland and the UK covers all of the topics that students will encounter in this unit of the course: UK constitutional arrangements, representative democracy and the political process, electoral systems and voting behaviour. - Questions to help monitor progress throughout the topics - Case studies and fact files to focus attention on specific areas - Assessment guides to prepare students for the final exam

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Book SynopsisParliament, and the House of Commons in particular, is increasingly held in contempt by the British public. From attending parties during the Covid-19 lockdown to taking payment for lobbying, MPs undermine their credibility by acting as if the rules they set for others should not apply to them. Still far from representative of the country they govern from the ancient and crumbling Palace of Westminster, MPs appear detached from the lives led by their constituents – conducting their business according to rules and procedures that have become too complex for many of them to understand.Hannah White offers a perceptive critique of the shortcomings of the House of Commons, arguing that the reputation of the Commons is in a downward spiral - compounded by government attempts to side-line parliament during Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic. At a time of populist challenge to representative democracy, this book is an essential rallying cry for Members of Parliament to reform the House of Commons – equipping it to fulfil its important role as a cornerstone of our democracy – or see it fade into irrelevance.Trade ReviewAs featured on BBC Radio 4's Week in Westminster, World at One and Bloomberg WestminsterOne of Sam Freedman's Books of the Year 2022'Hannah White casts an expert and forensic eye at how parliament works, or often doesn’t. Her conclusion that only a crisis will drive change is realistic - and a spur to all those who want reform, both inside and out, to act.'Ben Page, CEO, Ipsos Mori'Based on her extensive experience at the heart of parliament, Hannah White paints a compelling picture of what’s gone wrong with our democracy in general and the Palace of Westminster in particular. A decaying building housing a decayed and democratically bankrupt political system, unrepresentative of the voters’ choices, cut off from the wider country and ensnared with procedures and traditions which have no place in a modern democracy. As White so powerfully demonstrates, the UK urgently needs democratic renewal, a fairer voting system and a system of government in which people can have trust and confidence.'Caroline Lucas, Green Party MP for Brighton, Pavilion'This is an essential book for anyone who is, has been, or wants to be an MP and, in fact, anyone who wants to know why the House of Commons is held in such low regard today. Hannah White thoroughly examines why public trust in the House of Commons is now so low – perfectly encapsulated, as she points out, by the inability of MPs and Ministers to decide how to restore and renew the Palace of Westminster as it literally crumbles around them. The question for those who are elected after they’ve read the book is what is to be done about this sad state of affairs?'Baroness Nicky Morgan, Former Conservative MP'Brexit and the pandemic have shown both how important parliamentary procedure is and how ripe it is for reform. Hannah White argues persuasively that for the public to have confidence in the Commons, they should stand a chance of understanding how it works.'Karen Bradley, Conservative MP and Chair of Procedure Committee'Takes you inside parliament for a vivid explanation of how our politics works…or sometimes doesn’t work.'Adam Fleming, BBC Senior Political Correspondent'The UK parliament may not be under physical attack like the US Congress in January 2021 but it is assailed on all sides and under serious threat. Hannah White throws a light on the dangers and the ways to rescue it. Anyone who cares about parliamentary democracy should read this book.'Gary Gibbon, Political Editor, Channel 4 News'If you have ever wondered why some politicians think it’s ok to break or bend the rules or have asked yourself what it is about the culture of Westminster that allows some of its inhabitants to think of themselves as a class apart , then this is the book for you. Hannah White is one of our finest commentators on all things Westminster.'Carolyn Quinn, journalist, BBC'In her important new book, Held in Contempt, Hannah White details the parlous state of the UK parliament. She does so with the even temper and forensic skill of someone who used to be a clerk in the House of Commons and is now the deputy director of the Institute for Government.'Edward Docx, Times Literary Supplement 'British schoolchildren are sometimes taught that our democracy is 'the envy of the world.’ If this is true it is surprising that the only other European country which elects its main legislature by the British First Past the Post system is that of Belarus, the country of Vladimir Putin’s ally, Alexander Lukashenko. In Held in Contempt Dr Hannah White gets beneath the complacency that underpins much of our democratic debate and asks ‘What’s Gone Wrong With The House of Commons?’ The answer is that, rather like the Palace of Westminster itself, our political system is rooted in the past, decayed and crumbling. Lucid, provocative and extremely persuasive, if you want to know what has gone wrong with our politics, Held in Contempt argues that it is not just a few wrongheaded policies or occasionally incompetent politicians. It is a systems failure at the heart of our democracy.’Gavin Esler, broadcaster and author of How Britain Ends'Held in contempt is a book for those who care about the UK Parliament and those who do not. It is a must read for students of British politics and a good read for the public too – pacey, engaging, and clearly articulated. A former House of Commons Clerk, Hannah White makes an impassioned and substantiated argument: MPs, individually and collectively, as well as the Government should, in the face of declining trust in the institution, reflect on and change the House’s governance, the form and format of its many written and unwritten rules, and their own behaviour. The "downward spiral" must be stemmed.'Sarah Childs, Professor of Politics and Gender, University of Edinburgh'If you’re looking for a reliable account of the extent of government control over Parliament and why it is indeed excessive, try Hannah White’s Held in Contempt'George Peretz KC 'This book is essential reading for anyone who cares about the future of our parliamentary democracy. Hannah White offers an incisive account of why Parliament matters, why it is under threat, and what needs to change if we are to prevent "the inevitable decline of our key democratic institution."'Robert Saunders, Reader in British History, Queen Mary, University of London'We must hope that MPs read it. And since good governance needs an independent and effective legislature, ministers would be wise to act on it too.'Dominic Grieve, Prospect Magazine'An eloquent and impartial critique of the arcane mechanics of Westminster, Dr Hannah White’s debut book is a timely and fantastic tool for unpicking the workings of Parliament.' Karen Bradley MP, The House Magazine -- .Table of ContentsIntroduction1 Side-lined2 Unrepresentative 3 Arcane4 Exceptionalist5 Decaying Conclusion: A parliament to be proud ofReferencesIndex

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Book SynopsisDepleting democracies provides an analysis of the radical right’s interactions with mainstream parties and the effect they have on setting political agendas in sensitive areas such as minority policies and asylum regulations. It asks to what extent the radical right has changed the quality of democracy in Eastern Europe: does its electoral strength, its capacity for political blackmail and its coalition potential actually translate into impact?The book compares three groups of countries that are distinct in terms of the relevance of radical right parties: Bulgaria and Slovakia; Hungary, Poland and Romania; and the Czech Republic and Estonia. It follows a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative analysis of survey data with qualitative, comparative analysis of archival material and other texts to determine the causal role radical right parties play in influencing parties, policies and ultimately democratic quality in the seven countries.Depleting democracies advances theory on radical right actors in the political process and contributes to empirical research across the region. Its results are particularly relevant to the debate on democratic transformation and the effects of radical right parties.Table of ContentsIntroduction 1 Conceptualizing the radical right and its impact: from politics to policies to polity2 Cases and contexts: countries and parties, culture and politics3 Position shifts: radical right impact on mainstream parties4 Policy shifts: radical right impact on policies regarding minority and asylum issues 5 Polity shifts: the radical right and democratic quality in the regionConclusionAppendixIndex

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Book SynopsisNatan Sharansky believes that the truest expression of democracy is the ability to stand in the middle of a town square and express one's views without fear of imprisonment. He should know. A dissident in the USSR, Sharansky was jailed for nine years for challenging Soviet policies. During that time he reinforced his moral conviction that democracy is essential to both protecting human rights and maintaining global peace and security. Sharansky was catapulted onto the Israeli political stage in 1996. In the last eight years, he has served as a minister in four different Israeli cabinets, including a stint as Deputy Prime Minister, playing a key role in government decision making from the peace negotiations at Wye to the war against Palestinian terror. In his views, he has been as consistent as he has been stubborn: Tyranny, whether in the Soviet Union or the Middle East, must always be made to bow before democracy. Drawing on a lifetime of experience of democracy and its absence, Sharansky believes that only democracy can safeguard the well-being of societies. For Sharansky, when it comes to democracy, politics is not a matter of left and right, but right and wrong. This is a passionately argued book from a man who carries supreme moral authority to make the case he does here: that the spread of democracy everywhere is not only possible, but also essential to the survival of our civilization. His argument is sure to stir controversy on all sides this is arguably the great issue of our times.

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Book SynopsisWhat we think of as liberalism today--the top and bottom coalition we associate with President Obama--began not with Progressivism or the new deal, but rather in the wake of the post-WWI disillusionment with American society. The Revolt Against the Masses explores the inner life of American liberalism over the past 90 years, beginning with liberalism's foundational writers and thinkers--such as Herbert Croly, Randolph Bourne, H.G. Wells, Sinclair Lewis, and H.L. Mencken--who despised the new worlds of mass production, mass politics, mass culture. These liberals sought to establish a true aristocracy that would serve as a counterpoint to the debasements of modern society. It was then in the seminal 1920s, that the strong strain of snobbery and contempt for the middle class, so pervasive today in the Hamptons, the New Yorker, HBO, and the Sierra Club, first defined liberalism. Today's brand of Barack Obama liberalism has gone further, displacing the old Main Street middle class with public sector workers, crony capitalists, and those elite arbiters of style and taste Siegel calls the liberal gentry. The Revolt Against the Masses explains how this came to be and why liberals continue to insist they act on behalf of the best interests of the middle class, even if the damned fools don't know it.

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Book SynopsisWhen Europe's Great War engulfed the Ottoman Empire, Arab nationalists rose in revolt against their Turkish rulers and allied with the British on the promise of an independent Arab state. In October 1918, the Arabs' military leader, Prince Faisal, victoriously entered Damascus and proclaimed a constitutional government in an independent Greater Syria.Faisal won American support for self-determination at the Paris Peace Conference, but other Entente powers plotted to protect their colonial interests. Under threat of European occupation, the Syrian-Arab Congress declared independence on March 8, 1920 and crowned Faisal king of a 'civil representative monarchy.' Sheikh Rashid Rida, the most prominent Islamic thinker of the day, became Congress president and supervised the drafting of a constitution that established the world's first Arab democracy and guaranteed equal rights for all citizens, including non-Muslims.But France and Britain refused to recognize the Damascus government and instead imposed a system of mandates on the pretext that Arabs were not yet ready for self-government. In July 1920, the French invaded and crushed the Syrian state. The fragile coalition of secular modernizers and Islamic reformers that had established democracy was destroyed, with profound consequences that reverberate still.Using previously untapped primary sources, including contemporary newspaper accounts, reports of the Syrian-Arab Congress, and letters and diaries from participants, How the West Stole Democracy from the Arabs is a groundbreaking account of an extraordinary, brief moment of unity and hope - and of its destruction.Trade ReviewElizabeth F. Thompson has brilliantly recreated this fateful turning point in twentieth century Middle Eastern history. I thought I knew this story well. But the new details she reveals in this riveting account often left me open-mouthed. * James Barr, author of A LINE IN THE SAND *A bold and important book. Through brilliant scholarship and engaging prose, Thompson pieces together the Arab constitutional order that European imperialism shattered in the aftermath of World War I. Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand a century of conflict in the modern Middle East. * Eugene Rogan, author of THE FALL OF THE OTTOMANS *Harnessing meticulous research to careful analysis; moving among international diplomacy, personal interactions, and local politics, Thompson expertly argues that after World War I, the fate of Ottoman Arab lands was not merely contested but that radically different outcomes for independence, constitutional government, and liberal arrangements were very live possibilities, far more so than is generally remembered. * Nathan J. Brown, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University *Elizabeth Thompson, in a sweeping and magisterial argument, demonstrates that the perpetual hand-wringing in London, Paris and Washington over the lack of democracy in the Arab World is sort of like Jack the Ripper complaining about the high murder rate. Breath-taking in its moral clarity. * Juan Cole, Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History, University of Michigan *An outstanding book on the attempts by Western actors to not only reverse democracy in Syria in the early 20th century, but also to deliberately conceal the reality of this reversal. Through rich archival research, Thompson puts forward an important and fascinating corrective to conventional and longstanding accounts. -- Amaney A. Jamal, Edwards S. Sanford Professor of Politics, Princeton UniversityElizabeth Thompson has successfully combined her mastery of the immensely complex relationship between the Middle East and the West during World War I with her capacity for excellent storytelling...an essential read. -- Leila Fawaz, author of A LAND OF ACHING HEARTSThis eye-popping work of history reveals the extent to which Europe is complicit in the failure of democracy in many parts of the Middle East... A necessary work of history in an era when the region, as ever, is treated as having "ancient hatreds" at the root of its problems. The appearance of Thompson's book gives yet another important corrective to this historical myopia. -- John Freeman * Lit Hub’s Most Anticipated Books of 2020 *[A] recounting of the short-lived Syrian Arab Kingdom (comprised of the modern states of Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria) and its betrayal by Western powers... succeeds in making the case that the West's betrayal of Syria set the stage for a century of regional strife. This expertly researched account brings to life a meaningful but underexplored chapter in world history. * Publishers Weekly *An impassioned argument that the Arabs of Greater Syria who fought for the Allies in World War I, deeply committed to the Wilsonian notion of self-determination, were robbed of their chance at democracy... Thompson fashions an original, authoritative study, laying out the process of the "theft" of Syrian democracy. * Kirkus Reviews *Table of ContentsPART I: AN ARAB STATE IN SYRIA 1: Damascus: Enter the Prince 2: Aleppo: A Government and Justice for All 3: Cairo: A Sheikh Prays to an American President PART II: A CHILLY PEACE AT PARIS 4: Wooing Woodrow Wilson 5: The Covenant and the Colonial Color Line 6: A Sip of Champagne, with a Sour Aftertaste PART III: SYRIA'S DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 7: The Syrian Congress and the American Commission 8: A Democratic Uprising in Damascus 9: Revolution at the Quai d'Orsay 10: The Prince, the Sheikh, and "The Day of Resurrection" 11: Wilsonism Colonized at San Remo PART IV: THE CONSTITUTION: A CIVIL WEAPON AGAINST COLONIZATION 12: The Sheikh versus the King: A Parliamentary Revolution 13: Women's Suffrage and the Limits of Islamic Law 14: A Democratic Constitution for Christians and Muslims PART V: SYRIA'S EXPULSION FROM THE CIVILIZED WORLD 15: Battle Plans for Syria 16: The French Ultimatum and Faisal's Dissolution of Congress 17: Maysalun: The Arab State's Last Stand 18: Wilson's Ghost in Geneva Epilogue: Parting of Ways-The Liberal, the Sheikh, and the King Appendix A: Members of Congress in March 1920 Appendix B: The Syrian Declaration of Independence, March 8, 1920 Appendix C: The Syrian Constitution of July 19, 1920

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Book SynopsisResisting the Right is a handbook for surviving a far-right take-over of the United States. Today, that prospect is a frightening reality. It threatens the irreversible destruction of America’s democratic system. In a powerful and necessary intervention, Robert Edwards urges that we prepare now for this nightmarish scenario, the better to resist and transcend it. Edwards shows how a right-wing autocracy can be combatted using political action, civil disobedience, economics, cyberspace, traditional media, social media, the arts, and even our personal relationships. A former US Army intelligence officer who now works as a successful screenwriter, Edwards draws on his military training to assess “the threat,” and his storyteller’s imagination to play out likely scenarios. At a time when the future of American democracy teeters on a cliff edge, the urgency of Resisting the Right

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Book SynopsisIn this classic text, first published in 1977, Tom Nairn memorably depicts the 'slow foundering' of the United Kingdom on the rocks of imperial decline, constitutional anachronism and the gathering force of civic nationalism. Rich in comparisons between the nationalisms of the British Isles and those of the wider world, thoughtful in its treatment of the interaction between nationality and social class, The Break-Up of Britain concludes with a bravura essay on the Janus-faced nature of national identity. Postscripts from the Thatcher and Blair years trace the political strategies whose upshot accelerated the demise of a British state they were intended to serve. As a second Scottish independence referendum beckons, a new Introduction by Anthony Barnett underlines the book's enduring relevance.Trade ReviewThe most forceful and original mind to confront, demask and anatomise the British state. The perception that Great Britain was a multinational state and not a united nation had never quite been lost over the centuries, but it was Tom Nairn who almost single-handedly hammered this truth into the skull of British intellectuals and campaigners until it became - as it is today - practically uncontested by the political class -- Neal AschersonThe Break-Up of Britain is Tom Nairn's greatest book. A potent and long-lasting challenge * Scotsman *Tom Nairn pioneered critical retrospect of the United Kingdom, and scandalised people by looking forward calmly to its disintegration. This in a style of extraordinary vigour and beauty - and not least humour: writing as democratic as his own unswerving politics -- Perry AndersonTom Nairn's fundamental insight was to recognise that the United Kingdom was an imperial construct, and that the ties that once bound the people of these islands were fraying * New Statesman *More than anyone else, Tom Nairn has shaped how we think about the United Kingdom and its creaking constitutional architecture. The national conversation he started, the national journey he so profoundly shaped in his work, is far from over * Herald *Powerful and prophetic. Nairn is perhaps Britain's most perceptive and ambitious national storyteller, an audaciously creative stylist. -- New Statesman * Rory Scothorne *Combines often stunning writing with immense knowledge of literature, history, and political philosophy ... Nairn has made a priceless contribution towards a desperately needed new discourse. * The Hindu *The most significant book on British politics of the past half-century -- Anthony Barnett * openDemocracy *

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Book SynopsisDemocracy today is widely regarded as an ideal form of government. Yet in practice it sometimes seems a sham, a political puppet show in which hidden elites pull all the strings. As trust in elected representatives around the world plunges, it is no wonder that democratic revolts have erupted – from Cairo to Kiev and beyond – in an effort to ‘take back control’. In this urgent and lively history, James Miller reminds us that democracy has always generated tensions and contradictions. Through philosophical debates and violent uprisings, it has been contested, corrupted, and refined. In different times and different places – from ancient Athens to revolutionary France to post-war America – its meaning has shifted in surprising ways. For over two thousand years, the world has experimented with democracy. But can it really work – especially in complex modern societies?Trade Review‘An attractively broad and accessible account of democracy from the Greeks to the present… Particularly timely.’ * New York Review of Books *‘What makes the book compelling is its focus on colorful thinkers, activists, and political leaders who lived and breathed the democratic moment throughout history… Miller shows that democracy’s ascent is best seen not as a gradual unfolding of a political principle driven by reason and moral destiny but rather as a grand roller coaster ride of struggle, revolution, and backlash. Today’s populist outbursts look quite ordinary alongside this history.’ * Foreign Affairs *‘In this smart, tremendously readable history, Miller tackles the paradox at the centre of the democratic dream… Both challenging and accessible, this title is highly recommended.’ * Booklist, starred review *‘The strength of this book lies…in the exquisite portraits it paints of characters who stand behind the immortalized Pericles, Robespierre, and Thomas Jefferson… [Miller] forces the reader to sit up and realize that history isn’t a definitive greyed parchment beyond reproach, but actually a living force constantly capable of new interpretation and meaning in our current world… Like the ekklesia in Athens, the constituent assembly in Versailles, and the soviet in Petrograd – Can Democracy Work? offers insightful context on how our own body politic will survive these turbulent times.’ * Christian Science Monitor *‘Distinguished historian of ideas James Miller’s short history of democracy and its different meanings is both compulsive and compulsory reading for our sometimes shockingly disenchanted times. Ever optimistic, Miller remains enamoured of his native United States’s striking experiment in cosmopolitan self-governance, and stands proudly and persuasively tall for liberal – and democratic – ideals.’ -- Paul Cartledge, author of Democracy: A Life‘This is a bold, eloquent, and utterly convincing history of what democracy has meant and should mean – from the Assembly of Ancient Greece to the anti-Trump resistance. James Miller has produced one of the wisest reflections on the glories and limits of popular rule I have ever read.’ -- Michael Kazin, author of War Against War: The American Fight for Peace, 1914–1918‘At the very moment of democracy’s apparent endangerment, one of its best friends offers up the most capacious and inspiring history of it ever composed. From the Greeks to the present, Miller’s light touch and profound insight join each other on every page to make this a truly indispensable work for the present crisis.’ -- Samuel Moyn, author of Not Enough: Human Rights in an Unequal World‘No one is better qualified to wrestle with the riddle of democracy than James Miller, which is why I have been eagerly awaiting this brilliant and necessary book. Can Democracy Work? is an eloquent, clear-eyed account of democracy’s myriad challenges. This concise and compelling history deserves to be read and debated by all of us who still dare to dream of a society of equals. These pages left me feeling better prepared and reinvigorated to work toward a more democratic future.’ -- Astra Taylor, director of What is Democracy? and author of The People’s Platform‘James Miller, who has illuminated democracy’s radical possibilities, now offers some sharp reflections on how those possibilities have fared over the centuries. At a moment when the very meaning of the word is up for grabs, Miller brings us back to philosophical essentials as forged by contingency, contradiction, and human folly. Refreshing and unsettling, here is some political intelligence in a dark and confusing time.’ -- Sean Wilentz, author of The Rise of American Democracy‘This sharp, spirited, engaged intellectual history of democracy, including its recent and often loose coupling with liberalism, combines an appraisal of both inherent and situational pitfalls with an appreciation of redemptive possibilities. If democracy is protean, what matters, this rich work teaches, is the quality of our normative choices and institutional imagination.’ -- Ira I. Katznelson, Ruggles Professor of Political Science and History, Columbia University

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Book Synopsis'Tenacious, revelatory, and humane.' - Paul Theroux 'The Buried is the kind of book that you don't want to end and won't forget. With the eye of a great storyteller Peter Hessler weaves together history, reporting, memoir, and above all the lives of ordinary people in a beautiful and haunting portrait of Egypt and its Revolution.' - Ben Rhodes Winner of the The Peter Mackenzie Smith Book Prize 2021 In 2011, while revolution swept across Egypt, Peter Hessler was reporting on the everyday lives and ancient secrets of a country in turmoil. The result is this unforgettable work of literary and documentary brilliance. In The Buried, Hessler traces the human stories alongside the broader sweep of historic events: Tahrir Square, the massacres and the coup form the background, but so too do ancient cults, buried cities in the desert and dead pharaohs with huge ambitions. Most important are the people forging their lives in this world. We follow rubbish collector Sayyid; Arabic teacher Rifaat; and Manu, a translator. There are also the Chinese immigrants who have built a lingerie empire, politicians and ingenious archaeologists. Together, they raise the question: is revolution just repetition, or can things ever really change?Trade ReviewDrawing both from daily life and from interviews with highly placed political figures, the book is an extraordinary work of reportage ... Sensitive and perceptive * Wall Street Journal *It is both beautiful and heartbreaking ... Hessler has a genius for structuring a narrative. ... Every page is vivid and engaging, and each chapter packs in surprises. * Literary Review *Peter Hessler is one of the finest storytellers of his generation. -- Larissa MacFarquharAt once engrossing and illuminating ... this stakes a strong claim to being the definitive book to emerge from the Egyptian revolution. * Publishers Weekly *This is writing at its best and highly recommended for anyone interested in Egypt, modern or ancient. * Library Journal *Hessler introduces unexpected prisms of enquiry and the intimate perspective of an endlessly curious observer ... The book achieves a great deal. It provides outstanding reportage of the Arab Spring but, better yet, are Hessler's accounts of the people he encountered. ... this spirited, deeply insightful book. * Geographical *Original, richly layered, and often delightful reporting. Hessler has a sharp sense of humor, a gift for observation, a healthy skepticism, and a knack for using memorable characters and anecdotes to demonstrate larger truths . . . This is what reporting can be at its best: clear-eyed and empathetic, an addition to the historical record. * New York Review of Books *Hessler 'spin[s] golden prose from everyday lived experience ... The result is a small triumph, one of the best books yet written about the Arab spring. -- William Dalrymple * Guardian *Nuanced and deeply intelligent-a view of Egyptian politics that sometimes seems to look at everything but and that opens onto an endlessly complex place and people. * Kirkus Starred Review *Destined to become the title that all first-time visitors to Egypt are urged to pack. . . . Hessler is an extraordinary writer. * Foreign Affairs *The Buried is wonderfully impressive, not a conventional travel book at all, but the chronicle of a family's residence in Egypt, in a time of revolution - years of turmoil in this maddening place. And yet Peter Hessler remains unflustered as he learns the language, makes friends, puts up with annoyances (rats, water shortages, mendacity) and delves into the politics of the present and the ancient complexities. It is in all senses archeology - tenacious, revelatory, and humane. -- Paul TherouxThe Buried is the kind of book that you don't want to end and won't forget. With the eye of a great storyteller Peter Hessler weaves together history, reporting, memoir, and above all the lives of ordinary people in a beautiful and haunting portrait of Egypt and its Revolution. -- Ben Rhodes, author of The World As It is: A Memoir if the Obama White HouseIn The Buried, Peter Hessler brings to life the secret history of the Arab Spring, masterfully weaving together a memoir of his time in Cairo with the hidden, intimate lives of ordinary Egyptians. With lyrical prose, Hessler introduces us to a side of the Middle East we never see in news accounts: an enterprising garbage collector, a gay man skirting police repression, an Arabic language instructor nostalgic for the country's socialist past. These stories unfold on the backdrop of Egypt's 5,000-year-old history, as we learn about the parallels Egyptians draw to their pharaonic past. Witty and deeply humane, The Unburied is unlike any other book I've read about the Egyptian revolution, and stands as a remarkable testament to the country's extraordinary history and to the struggle for human freedom. -- Anand Gopal, author of NO GOOD MEN AMONG THE LIVING: America, the Taliban and the War Through Afghan EyesThe Buried ... is Mr. Hessler's closely observed, touching and at times amusing chronicle of this tumultuous time. Drawing both from daily life and from interviews with highly placed political figures, the book is an extraordinary work of reportage ... Sensitive and perceptive, Mr. Hessler is a superb literary archaeologist, one who handles what he sees with a bit of wonder that he gets to watch the history of this grand city unfold, one day at a time. * Wall Street Journal *It is both beautiful and heartbreaking ... Hessler has a genius for structuring a narrative. Here he has crafted a miraculously coherent arc out of several disparate themes ... Every page is vivid and engaging, and each chapter packs in surprises. * Literary Review *Peter Hessler is one of the finest storytellers of his generation. The beauty of his writing is subtle and cumulative-it gets under your skin. After his years in China, Hessler moved with his family to Cairo during the electric, chaotic days of protests in Tahrir Square. Through him, you come to know many Egyptians as he came to know them-casually, intimately, forming deepening ties. And through them you experience Egypt's turbulent recent history as it was happening, as it felt to live through it. -- Larissa MacFarquhar, author of STRANGERS DROWNINGPraise for The Oracle Bones 'One of the most profoundly original books about China * The Economist *A swirl of interconnecting stories and histories make up Peter Hessler's extraordinary, genre-defying second book * Daily Telegraph *[An] extraordinary survey of contemporary China...really quite unforgettable * The Observer *Praise for River Town 'Written with great clarity and affection, River Town should be read by anyone with any interest in finding the Chinese less inscrutable * The Times *If you read only one book about China, let it be this * Jonathan Mirsky *

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Book SynopsisSortition also known as random selection puts ordinary people in control of decision-making in government. This may seem novel, but it is how the original Athenian democracy worked. In fact, what is new is our belief that electoral systems are democratic. It was self-evident to thinkers from Aristotle to the Renaissance that elections always resulted in oligarchies, or rule by elites.In this distillation of a lifetime''s thinking about the history and principles of democracy, Maurice Pope presents a new model of governance that replaces elected politicians with assemblies selected by lot. The re-introduction of sortition, he believes, offers a way out of gridlock, apathy, alienation and polarisation by giving citizens back their voice.Pope's work published posthumously grew from his unique perspective as a widely travelled English classicist who also experienced the injustice of apartheid rule in South Africa. His great mind was as much at home with the history of philosophy as the mathematics of probability.Governments and even the EU have tried out sortition in recent years; the UK, France and several countries have attempted to tackle climate change through randomly selected citizens' assemblies. The city of Paris and the German-speaking community of Belgium have set up permanent upper houses chosen by lot. Several hundred such experiments around the world are challenging the assumption that elections are the only or ideal route to credible, effective government.Writing before these mostly advisory bodies took shape, Pope lays out a vision for a government entirely based on random selection and citizen deliberation. In arguing for this more radical goal, he draws on the glories of ancient Athens, centuries of use in Venice, the success of randomly selected juries and the philosophical advantages of randomness. Sortition-based democracy, he believed, is the only plausible way to achieve each element of Abraham Lincoln's call for a democratic government "of the people, by the people, for the people".

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Book SynopsisBetween the decline of the labor movement, the aftershocks of the falls of so-called "actually existing socialism," and the long exile of even social democrats from the levers of real power, we have gotten far too used to thinking of leftism as a performative exercise in expressing our political commitments rather than a serious effort to achieve left-wing goals in the real world. Cancelling Comedians While the World Burns calls for a smarter, funnier, more strategic left.

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Book SynopsisFrank Furedi examines the frequent claim that democracy is a means to an end rather than an important value in and of itself. The prevalence of this sentiment in the current era is not surprising, given that the normative foundation for democracy is fragile, and there is little cultural valuation for this outlook. Until recently, virtually every serious commentator paid lip-service to democracy. However, in recent times the classical elitist disdain for democracy and for the moral and intellectual capacity of the electorate has acquired a powerful influence over public life. Democracy Under Siege outlines the long history of anti-democratic thought, explains why hostility to democracy has gained momentum in the current era, and offers a positive affirmation of the principle and the value of democracy.

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Book SynopsisThe ongoing war in Ukraine, between freedom and totalitarianism, has been brewing since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989: the great victory of liberal democracy over communism. In recent decades, authoritarian regimes have proliferated or become emboldened – from Myanmar and North Korea to Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and, of course, China. At the same time, we have seen wildly overpriced stock markets, the emergence of decentralised finance and its associated cryptocurrencies, and the idolization of inordinately expensive things, from watches and customised trainers to rare whiskies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The decoupling of capitalism from democracy, which gathered pace in the 1990s, has fostered an economic system powered by greed alone, able to prosper in brutal dictatorships, unchecked even by the financial crisis of 2007/8. Rampant inequality, fuelled by radically increased money supply, has been the result, with a tiny fraction of the world’s population owning more than the rest put together. This inequality has incited social unrest and contributed to the undermining of faith in the institutions of the democratic state. The citizens of Western democracies have been left to the mercy of unfettered capitalism, becoming data subjects, endlessly surveilled, marshalled and polarised. Today’s extreme capitalism, promoted by Milton Friedman and others, is exemplified by its modern monopolists – Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, whose fortunes have been built on often immoral, if not illegal actions, and whose headline-grabbing antics appear to be motivated more by ego than any genuine desire to do good for humanity. In the 1990s, an understanding of social justice and an appreciation of democracy still survived, but public discourse has grown increasingly polarised and angry. The authors draw a line from the robber barons of the 1990s tech revolution to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, citing the marginalisation of democratic principles which has enabled the rise of authoritarian populists such as Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Jair Bolsonaro and, of course, Donald Trump and Boris Johnson. An unanticipated fightback in Ukraine, with support from the EU and the West, has the potential to reclaim the lost spirit of freedom inherent in liberal democracy, but will it be enough?Trade ReviewPraise for The End of Money: ‘A page-turner rich in data and steeped with evidence and insights that flow from a deep understanding of the history of financial markets . . . a must-read before you buy your next – or first – non-fungible token, Chinese banking stock or US government bond’ Professor Adrian Saville, Gordon Institute of Business Science ‘A fascinating and enjoyable read . . . interspersed with illuminating anecdotes from our recent financial history . . . makes it clear that excessive debt and extreme money creation have eroded faith in the global financial system, perhaps best symbolised by the rise of cryptocurrencies’ Michael Jordaan, business Leader and venture capitalist

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Book SynopsisA plea for bringing democracy to our lived daily experience written in lucid prose.TheSocial Life of Democracy is a response to the polarization of our times and the crisis in democracy being experienced across the world today. Drawing from B. R. Ambedkar’s view that democracy is not a form of government but more a form of society and mental disposition, this book argues that democracy needs to be seen as a form of social life that must be part of our everyday practice. Noting that the obstacles to realizing Ambedkar’s vision of democracy are both material and conceptual, philosopher Sundar Sarukkai critically examines the meaning of democratic action and the function of democracy in different domains ranging from homes to governments. He also examines its relation to labor, science, and religion, and analyzes the ethical processes that are central to democracy. Finally, clarifying the concepts of truth in politics and the ideas of freedom and choice, he persuasively argues in favor of bringing democracy into our everyday lives rather than leaving it exclusively in the domain of electoral politics. Table of ContentsPreface1.The Nature of Democracy2.The Concept of Democracya.Indian Model of Democracyb.Chinese Model of Democracyc.The Myth of the People3.Domains of Democracya.Democratic Selfb.Labourc.Science, Technology and Democracyd.Religion and Democracy4.The Ethical Processes of Democracya.Ethical Act of Votingb.Trusteeshipc.Creating an Experience of the Public5.Democracy and Trutha.Truth, Politics and Democracy6.Democracy and Freedom a.Freedom of Speechb.Freedom to Dissentc.The Problem about Freedom

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Book SynopsisOver Britain’s first century of mass democracy, politics has lurched from crisis to crisis. How does this history of political agony illuminate our current age of upheaval? To find out, journalist Phil Tinline takes us back to two past eras when the ruling consensus broke down, and the future filled with ominous possibilities – until, finally, a new settlement was born. How did the Great Depression’s spectres of fascism, bombing and mass unemployment force politicians to think the unthinkable, and pave the way to post-war Britain? How was Thatcher’s road to victory made possible by a decade of nightmares: of hyperinflation, military coups and communist dictatorship? And why, since the Crash in 2008, have new political threats and divisions forced us to change course once again? Tinline brings to life those times, past and present, when the great compromise holding democracy together has come apart; when the political class has been forced to make a choice of nightmares. This lively, original account of panic and chaos reveals how apparent catastrophes can clear the path to a new era. The Death of Consensus will make you see British democracy differently.Trade ReviewThe Times Politics Book of The Year 2022A Morning Star Best Book of 2022'Stylishly written … In the age of Brexit and “post-liberalism”, The Death of Consensus has much to communicate about how Britain has successfully navigated past moments of unnerving shift.' -- The Church Times

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Book SynopsisIn this era, when climate change is the biggest global challenge to humanity, it is crucial to investigate the relationship between humans and the environment.

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Book SynopsisThe central feature of every true lottery is that all rational evaluation is deliberately excluded. Once this principle is grasped, the author argues, we can begin to understand exactly what benefits sortition can bring to the political community. The book includes a study of the use of sortition in ancient Athens and in late medieval and renaissance Italy. It also includes commentary on the contributions to sortition made by Machiavelli, Guicciardini, Harrington and Paine; an account of the history of the randomly-selected jury; and new research into lesser-known examples from England, America and revolutionary France.

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Book SynopsisSince the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, the image projected of Northern Ireland in the mainstream media is frequently that of a newly prosperous, modern, post-conflict society - a rare example of a successful peace process. Promoted as a great place to live and work, the garden seemed to be getting rosier by the day, that is until the Stormont Assembly collapsed in 2017. Written to coincide with the twentieth anniversary of the GFA, this book argues that the seeds of recent problems were sown in the 1998 agreement. The fiasco of a Renewable Heating Incentive that overpaid participants, the lingering whiff of corruption, communities in crisis and growing poverty are all symptoms of the inherent failings of the supposed settlement. Current difficulties are more than teething problems arising from the transition from war to peace and neo-liberalism; they're the first instalment of a deeper crisis in a northern Irish state and society, which has never properly addressed the corrosive nature of sectarianism. Rather than ridding Northern Ireland of sectarianism, neo-liberalism, operating in the absence of armed conflict, has been able to accommodate and, in some instances, create a new form of sectarianism. The GFA has led to a profound democratic deficit. This book focuses on the nature of the North's new sectarian political class who are the principal beneficiaries of the GFA, but attention is also drawn to the labour movement, the plight of precarious and migrant workers, and the undermining of third sector autonomy. Behind the latter is the continuing suffering within communities still impacted by the long period of armed conflict and the evolution of republicanism and Unionism-Loyalism.Table of ContentsPrologue 3 Introduction 7 Chapter 1 - Sectarianism and Neo-Liberalism: The New Democratic Deficit 33 Chapter 2 - The Global Economy and the North of Ireland: Neo-Liberalism at Home 45 Chapter 3 - Unionism-Loyalism and the New Sectarian State 69 Chapter 4 - Northern Ireland: The Failed State 98 Chapter 5 - The Role of the "Third Sector" in Neo-Liberal Northern Ireland 124 Chapter 6 - On the Psychology of War and Conflict in the North 139 Chapter 7 - Trade Unionism in the North 150 Conclusion 163 Postscript - The Assembly Collapses 2017: The Final Curtain? 176 Bibliography 185 Acknowledgements 204 About the Authors 206

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Book SynopsisThis book charts the economic, social and political rise of the Justice and Development Party (JDP) as well as its political resilience over the last sixteen years. Going beyond the standard dichotomy debate of political Islam versus secularism, the author shows how the JDP, a political party with substantial roots in political Islam, came to power in 2002 as an outcome of the socioeconomic transformation process that started in the country in the 1980s. The book further illustrates how the party consolidated its ruling power by catering to its core constituencies via a multifaceted set of policies that gave rise to the emergence of a powerful political machine. A careful analysis of the JDP’s policy agenda highlights the discrepancy between the party's discourse and its supply of policies. Furthermore, the author shows how the party has skilfully (re-)framed its ideological stance by changing alliances, and in analysing this hybrid ideological framing she presents key underpinnings of the party that paved the way to a fundamental restructuring of the Turkish party system and establishment of a new regime that replaced the old guard. This book will be of interest to academics, graduate students and researchers interested in comparative politics, political science and sociology.Table of ContentsChapter 1 - IntroductionChapter 2 - Turkish Party System through Volatile Social and Political CleavagesChapter 3 - Game Changer: Socio-Economic Transformation and Emergence of the JDP in 2002Chapter 4 - Meeting the Demands of Ordinary People: Electoral Consolidation via Catering to its Core ConstituenciesChapter 5 - Hybrid Ideology: Anchor for Electoral Consolidation and Further Entrenchment in Turkish Society and PoliticsChapter 6 - JDP and Dominant Party System in Light of the Turkish-Ottoman/Republican-Imperial CleavageChapter 7 – Conclusion

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Book SynopsisThe Iran National Front and the Struggle for Democracy: 1949–Present explores the activities of the Iran National Front (INF). The INF is a coalition of parties, groups, and individuals and Iran’s oldest and main pro-democracy political party. This book presents a political history of the INF from 1949 to the present day. It discusses the current platform of the INF, its leadership, policies, strategies, as well as criticisms and weaknesses. The volume draws on a rich range of primary sources, INF documents, and interviews, including translated transcripts with the top leader of the INF. As it is one of the major political parties opposing the current regime in Iran, the book also examines the current situation in the country. It provides an analysis of the nature of the political systems under the Shah and the Islamic Republic.

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Book SynopsisThis book delves into the limitations of Singapore’s authoritarian governance model. In doing so, the relevance of the Singapore governance model for other industrialising economies is systematically examined. Research in this book examines the challenges for an integrated governance model that has proven durable over four to five decades. The editors argue that established socio-political and economic formulae are now facing unprecedented challenges. Structural pressures associated with Singapore’s particular locus within globalised capitalism have fostered heightened social and material inequalities, compounded by the ruling party’s ideological resistance to substantive redistribution. As ‘growth with equity’ becomes more elusive, the rationale for power by a ruling party dominated by technocratic elite and state institutions crafted and controlled by the ruling party and its bureaucratic allies is open to more critical scrutiny.Table of Contents1. Introduction: Authoritarian Governance in Singapore’s Developmental State.- 2. Singapore and the Lineages of Authoritarian Modernity in East Asia.- 3. Independence: The Further Stage of Colonialism in Singapore.- 4. Albert Winsemius and the Transnational Origins of High Modernist Governance in Singapore.- 5. Social Policy Reform and Rigidity in Singapore’s Authoritarian Developmental State.- 6. New Politics and Old Managerialism: Welcome to the New Normal.- 7. Intra-Party Dynamics in the People’s Action Party: Party Structure, Continuity and Hegemony.- 8. The Growing Challenge of Pluralism and Political Activism: Shifts in the Hegemonic Discourse in Singapore.- 9. PAP Vulnerability and the Singapore Governance Model: Findings from the Asian Barometer Survey.- 10. Aligning Media Policy with Executive Dominance.- 11. Pragmatic Competence and Communication Governance in Singapore.- 12. Legislating Dominance: Parliament and the Making of Singapore’s Governance Model.- 13. Governing Authoritarian Law: Law as Security.- 14. Conclusion: Democratising Singapore’s Developmental State.

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Book SynopsisHow can political campaigns fight back against disinformation? A decade after The Victory Lab: The Secret Science of Winning Campaigns, which Politico called “Moneyball for politics,” journalist Sasha Issenberg returns to the cutting edge of political innovation to reveal how campaigns are navigating the era’s most pressing challenge: how to win in a world awash in lies. The Lie Detectives is a lively and deep secret history of Democratic politics in the Trump years. Our main character, Jiore Craig, is a young but battle-hardened veteran of the misinformation wars, and she leads a memorable cast including LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman, whose emergence as one of the American left’s biggest donors has forced his adviser Dmitri Mehlhorn into the role of moral compass for a movement still wrestling with whether it should counter fake news by producing its own, and David Goldstein and Jehmu Greene

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Book SynopsisWhat exactly is democracy, and how do we measure it? What constitutes a high-quality democracy, and what factors increase the risk of countries moving towards dictatorship? Does democracy matter for economic development, inequality, or education policy?The study of democracy, democratisation, and autocratic politics is not only central to comparative politics, but also to other subfields of political science such as international relations and public administration as well as disciplines such as economics, sociology and history. Democracy and Dictatorship gives an updated account of the most pressing questions preoccupying democracy researchers.This comprehensive book offers an introduction to the study of democracy and autocracy. It contains chapters on the conceptualisation and measurement of democracy and regime types, a chapter on the historical development of democracy, two chapters on proposed causes of regime stability and change, notably discussing both democratisation and autocratisation, and two chapters on several important developmental and other effects of democracy and autocracy.?The book is intended for a broad audience, notably including bachelor students being introduced to these important topics in introductory courses in comparative politics, as well as others who want an accessible and up-to-date introduction to what current research tells us about democracy and autocracy as well as their causes and consequences.

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Book SynopsisIn his new book, Jack Snyder focuses his clear logic on a pressing issue of our times: nationalism.

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Book SynopsisNazmul Sultan explores Indian contributions to democratic theory, as anticolonial thinkers developed principles of peoplehood and self-rule. Indians contested British claims that the “backwardness” of the Indian people offered a democratic justification for imperial domination.Trade ReviewA brilliant demonstration of anticolonialism’s critical contributions to the history of democratic political thought. Sultan’s historically nuanced and theoretically insightful account of how the leading thinkers and activists of India’s anticolonial struggle confronted the fraught colonial legacies of democratic developmentalism and the problem of peoplehood makes an essential contribution to contemporary democratic theory. -- Jason Frank, author of The Democratic SublimeA dazzling reconstruction of how the problem of peoplehood spurred conceptual innovations in Indian anticolonial thought. Sultan demonstrates, with style and rigor, that to answer the challenge of colonialism, Indian thinkers had to reinvent the very meaning of democracy. -- Karuna Mantena, author of Alibis of EmpireAn engaging, innovative, and wide-ranging account of the way in which anticolonial thought in India creatively reconceptualized the idea of popular sovereignty. It sheds new light on the theoretical relationship between democratic legitimation and development. -- Pratap Bhanu Mehta, author of The Burden of DemocracyAn indispensable intervention to the fields of postcolonial theory and democratic theory, Waiting for the People illustrates how the colonial construction of India’s backwardness gave rise to a very distinct dilemma for anticolonial thinkers and actors. Seeking to authorize their demands for independence in the name of the people, they found that the people had not yet arrived. Traversing a range of figures and periods in the history of Indian anticolonial political thought, Sultan tracks the innovative conceptual and institutional strategies advanced in response to this dilemma of colonial peoplehood. -- Adom Getachew, author of Worldmaking after EmpireWith dazzling insight, Waiting for the People demonstrates how Indian anticolonial thinkers reimagined democracy and popular sovereignty. A sure-footed guide through the fault lines between political thought and practical politics, this highly original work shows us the global future of democratic government. -- Rohit De, author of A People’s Constitution

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Book SynopsisOne day they’ll be like us. That was once the West’s complacent assumption about countries emerging from poverty, imperial rule, or communism. But many have hardened into something very different from liberal democracy: what eminent political thinker John Keane describes as a new form of despotism. And one day, he warns, we may be more like them.Trade ReviewKeane insists that only by dissecting the new despotism’s supple, but no less shady, political techniques can we understand how it renders its subjects compliant and seemingly grateful…Rich and insightful…stands out as a major contribution to contemporary debates about democracy’s prospects. He paints an unnerving portrait of a possible global future in which democracy, in any defensible sense of the term, has been demoted and marginalized. -- William E. Scheuerman * Boston Review *A brilliant re-interpretation of tyranny…There’s scarcely a reader anywhere in the Western world who won’t read Keane’s description of this new form of tyranny without a cold chill of recognition and perhaps the fear that all this insight comes too late to help…Stands out at once as a vital book for the times. -- Steve Donoghue * Open Letters Review *Keane…has long been one of the world’s most erudite, original, astute, and passionate students of democratic politics. With this latest offering he injects one hell of a scary book into an already frenzied world…Keane’s core message is clear: we democrats may abhor these new despotisms, but we cannot afford to underestimate them…Demand[s] us to stop and take a good look at what is going on around us. -- Paul ’t Hart * Inside Story *If you ever held the assumption that despotic regimes are old-fashioned, technologically ‘backwards’ countries, where old men rule over poor and uneducated people, you are in for a ride…This book will undoubtedly shift the analytical lens through which we view despotic regimes…The new despotism is less prone to implosions reminiscent of the Soviet Union or breakdowns as witnessed in Latin America. If it is that durable, it constitutes an attractive alternative to liberal democracy. This means that the self-regard, the feeling of invincibility and the arguable complacency of such democracies are misplaced. You have been warned. -- Gergana Dimova * LSE Review of Books *[A] dire and sweeping assessment…Despotism, [Keane] warns, could be the future of democracy if people don’t wake up and confront the threat. -- Colin Woodward * Washington Monthly *Important because it brings an acute understanding of democracy to focus on its potential fate…[Keane] makes a strong case in The New Despotism for the urgent need to understand this global trend…Offers not just a lively argument with numerous examples, and a rich assembly of sources through detailed endnotes, but also a writing style that commands attention. -- Glyn Davis * Australian Book Review *This new political world is brilliantly described…His definition of the changing contours of democracy is so startling…Keane teases out the way despots—although they call themselves leaders—subvert democracy to seize power and then subvert the structures of the state to hold it. They rule not as ruthless autocrats but rather by co-opting ‘the people’ to buttress and strengthen their power. -- Nicholas Stuart * Canberra Times *An original and incisive analysis of the rise of demagogue-style leaders across large parts of the world today. New-style despotism, the author shows, is distinctive to our age—less openly violent than that of the past, but more insidious, posing a threat not just in less-developed parts of the world but to the established democracies. -- Anthony Giddens, Member of the House of Lords, United Kingdom, and Fellow of King’s College, CambridgeKeane’s short book The New Despotism—drily filleting the new threats to liberal democracy—is essential. * Australian Book Review *In these dark times for democracy, the books of John Keane bring new light, refreshing perspectives, and what we need most: hope. -- Enrique Krauze, author of Mexico: Biography of Power and Redeemers: Ideas and Power in Latin AmericaJohn Keane is right to see his book as Machiavelli’s Prince for our times. His thesis that ‘despotisms are top-down pyramids of power that defy political gravity by nurturing the willing subservience and docility of their subjects’ is a caution for all times. -- Patricia Springborg, Centre for British Studies, Humboldt University, BerlinIn his new book, John Keane, one of the world’s prominent political theorists, forcefully argues that what we witness today is not simply a crisis of democracy or the return of authoritarianism but the emergence of a new type of despotism that is more effective, more subtle, and less crazy than the despotic regimes we know—and because of this, more dangerous. -- Ivan Krastev, Permanent Fellow, Institute for Human Sciences (IWM), ViennaKeane’s key point is that today’s despotic states aren’t some kind of hybrid regime on the way to democracy, or in transition or fragile. They are a new type of political rule that’s here to stay and may even live on after the collapse of Western democracies. -- Ditte Maria Brasso Sørensen * Dagbladet Information *Explores how populist leaders across the globe are holding sway on their ‘subjects,’ and offers ideas for challenging the new despots…A seminal analysis of the aberrations of democracy and the rise of what he calls ‘the new despotism.’…Drawing on his sustained engagement with democratic institutions, Keane delineates the contours of contemporary changes in a compelling manner…The linchpin of this novel form of despotism, Keane maintains, is voluntary servitude. -- Badrinath Rao * The Wire *

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Book SynopsisDo democratic citizens have equal right to rule? Is it enough that they have equal standing before the law, or must there also be economic and social equality? Aldo Schiavone traces these questions and their diverse answers from the ancient world to the present and urges a new course to rescue democracies now suffering from excesses of inequality.Trade ReviewSchiavone has written a considered and considerable monograph, which is worthy of the magnitude of its subject-matter: equality. His knowledge of political thought is both deep and broad…and his combining of historical inquiry with conceptual work successful. -- Andreas Avgousti * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *A bold, original book—learned without ever being pedantic, engaging without being frivolous, highly personal without ever being self-referential. It takes the reader through a vast body of European literature without ever losing its way. In the end, the reader will come away with far deeper, more nuanced understanding of what ‘equality’ has come to mean over the centuries, what it should mean for us today, and what its possible future might be. -- Anthony Pagden, author of The Pursuit of EuropeSchiavone displays here extraordinary historic, legal, and philosophical knowledge, enabling him to cover the full span of Western history with great erudition. -- Roberto Esposito, author of Politics and NegationThe Pursuit of Equality in the West is one of the most richly detailed, original, and thought-provoking books I have ever read. Only Aldo Schiavone could have given us such a lucid and cogent study. -- Massimo Ciavolella, University of California, Los Angeles

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Book SynopsisEverything we think we know about populism is wrong. Donald Trump. Brexit. European right-wing extremists. All have been accused of populism. But what does this often thrown about, yet generally misunderstood, term actually mean? The real story of populism is an account of enlightenment and liberation; the story of democracy itself, of its promise of a decent life for us all. Here, acclaimed political commentator Thomas Frank takes us from the emergence of the radical left-wing US Populist Party in the 1890s, through the triumphs of reformers under Roosevelt and Truman, to the present day, reminding us how much we owe to the populist ethos. He pummels the elites, revisits the movement’s provocative politics, and declares true populism to be the language of promise and optimism. People Without Power is a ringing affirmation of a movement that, Frank shows us, is not the problem of our times, but the solution.Trade Review‘With his usual verve, Frank skewers the elite voices of condescension that vilify the egalitarian and democratic strivings of working people. In so doing, he offers a passionate defense of populism, which he reveals as a deep and wide political tradition that remains as essential as ever for the hopes of a more just and equitable society.’ -- Charles Postel, author of Equality: an American dilemma, 1866–1896‘Political commentator Frank (Rendezvous with Oblivion) urges liberals to reclaim ‘the high ground of populism’ in this fervent and acerbically witty call to action … Frank blends diligent research with well-placed snark to keep readers turning the pages. Liberals will be outraged, enlightened, and entertained.’ * Publishers Weekly *‘The author of What’s the Matter with Kansas? returns with a study of populism … [H]e argues that historically populism has been focused on expanding opportunities for all, and he sees anti-populist sentiment today as being anti-working class. That will stir debate.’ * Library Journal *‘A provocative new book that encompasses historical analysis as well as the present.’ -- Dan Shaw * Happy Magazine *‘Brilliantly written, eye-opening … From 1891 to the rise of Trumpism, Frank walks readers through a minefield of assumptions about populism’s nature and history … Throughout People Without Power, Frank takes pains to look at populism through a broad lens … His reflection on how the jeans-clad Jimmy Carter wrapped himself in populism to avoid being tagged as a socialist, liberal or conservative is spot-on.’ -- Douglas Brinkley * The Washington Post *‘Anyone looking for a compact, highly readable history of the American political movement known as populism, and the determined efforts from both right and left to squelch it, will enjoy prominent progressive journalist Thomas Frank’s People Without Power … Credit goes to Frank for this admirable effort to reclaim the noblest parts of the populist legacy and make them relevant for contemporary Americans.’ -- Harvey Freedenberg * BookPage *‘[A] sprightly crafted survey of populist philosophy over the past century as it contends with more established political forces that have considered its ideas to be backwards and undemocratic … A valuable history of an important political tradition, and what it means for the future.’ -- Ed Goedeken * Library Journal *‘[A] fervent and acerbically witty call to action … Frank blends diligent research with well-placed snark to keep readers turning the pages. Liberals will be outraged, enlightened, and entertained.’ * Kirkus Reviews *‘Rarely do I encounter progressive tracts that I enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed this book … [Takes] aim at the myth of ‘populism’ … Frank has once again written an important book, that leftists everywhere should read in order or understand the moment in which they live.’ -- Anthony Skews * Medium *Praise for Rendezvous with Oblivion: ‘Frank’s combination of insightful analysis, moral passion, and keen satirical wit make these essays both entertaining and an important commentary on the times.’ * Publishers Weekly *Praise for Listen, Liberal: ‘An astute dissection of contemporary Democratic politics that demonstrates, cogently and at times acidly, how the party lost the allegiance of blue-collar Americans.’ * Publishers Weekly *Praise for The Wrecking Crew: ‘A no-holds-barred exegesis on the naked cynicism of conservatism in America.’ STARRED REVIEW * Kirkus Reviews *Praise for Pity the Billionaire: ‘Frank's wit is as sharp as ever, and his eye for detail and his ability to capture a scene reminded me of reading zoologist Dian Fossey on a group of strange political primates.’ * The Washington Post *Praise for What’s the Matter with Kansas?: ‘Very funny and very painful … Add another literary gold star after Thomas Frank's name.’‘Frank unspools a spirited sociocultural history and historiography of populism … His prose is a joy.’ -- Stephen Phillips * The Irish Times *‘Frank describes an indigenous radical tradition that descends from Jefferson and Paine and stretches forward to Franklin Roosevelt and Martin Luther King Jr … Compelling.’ * The New York Times Book Review *‘Rousing … central to the challenge of our times … A call to arms against the plutocratic elites of both America’s main parties … Frank’s real strength lies in his energetic optimism.’ * Financial Times *‘Tom Frank does what few writers today are capable of doing — he criticises his own side.’ * Wall Street Journal *‘Deserves your attention … sees through the sides in today’s acrimonious debate on populism … The People Without Power describes meticulously how over the last 120 years, reigning elites — whether conservative, liberal, or progressive — have regularly attacked populists with the same falsehoods … It shows us that the arguments that pass for wisdom and enlightenment in some circles are really a simple rehashing of old falsehoods.’ -- Milton Ezrati * Forbes *‘A terrific book … damning … eloquently-argued . . . The People Without Power documents the furious elite propaganda response to bottom-up political movements that has recurred in uncannily similar fashion at key moments across nearly a century and a half of American history, and is firing with particular venom today.’ -- Matt Taibbi, journalist and author of Insane Clown President and Hate Inc.‘Brilliant … grand … an urgent plea to liberals and radicals alike to embrace a left populism and universalism — or keep on losing.’ * Jacobin *‘An illuminating book, the best one I've read about the sound and fury of America’s 2020 election campaign.’ -- Lewis H. Lapham, former editor of Harper’s Magazine, founder of Lapham’s Quarterly, and author of Age of Folly‘A real contribution … Frank looks forward to the day when the “liberal” elite and right-leaning populists exhaust themselves — and the Democratic Party reclaims its identity as the voice of workers.’ * City Journal *‘Smart … Thomas Frank is one of the few great American political writers, and his new book The People Without Power is one of his best, if not his most urgent and pressing … We need more Thomas Franks.’ * Splice Today *‘Provocative … powerful … Frank has delivered a defiant challenge to the antipopulist liberals more infatuated with the advice of experts and their own moral virtues than mobilising ordinary Americans on the basis of progressive values.’ * The Progressive *‘Frank brilliantly places populism in the context of seminal historic events … His provocative conclusions, about elites and the people, turn common assumptions upside down — all the better for making readers think.’ * Booklist, starred review *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Finalist for the PROSE Award in Government and Politics, Association of American Publishers""Though grounded in statistical analysis, the book is clear and readable, and it succeeds, by and large, in offering a theory and empirical analysis of how activism and the outcomes of elections are related. Pushing back against skepticism about the efficacy and purpose of protest, The Loud Minority makes an often impassioned case for viewing activism, social movements, and protest as essential elements of democratic life rather than irregular disruptions of it."---Eric Pineda, Nation

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Book SynopsisTrade Review[A] new one-of-a-kind book on the Supreme Court." * SCOTUSblog *Linda Greenhouse has long been one of the most astute observers of the U.S. Supreme Court and most trusted translators of its mysteries and traditions. This elegant and concise guide is invaluable for beginners and veteran court watchers alike. An ideal introduction to the Court for students and citizens of all ages. * Jeffrey Rosen, professor of law, George Washington University, and legal affairs editor, The New Republic *There is hardly anyone in the country, outside the Court, who knows the institution and its practices as well as Linda Greenhouse does. * Melvin I. Urofsky, author of Louis D. Brandeis: A Life *Greenhouse cogently illustrates the history, functions, composition and importance of the Supreme Court. In a slim volume that you can literally carry around in your pocket, you will find a wealth of knowledge." * Yale Daily News *[A]n amuse-bouche of a book . . . short, but pithy. After finishing this book, readers should be inspired to take up [Greenhouse's] implicit invitation to read about the Court and its impact on shaping American law in a more substantial, meatier format. * Judicature *For those interested in how cases come to be heard by the Court, the process leading to a decision and the Court's relationship with the other branches of the federal government and the public, this is an excellent way to begin. * Washington Independent Review of Books *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments Chapter One: Origins Chapter Two: The Court at Work (1) Chapter Three: The Justices Chapter Four: The Chief Justice Chapter Five: The Court at Work (2) Chapter Six: The Court and the Other Branches Chapter Seven: The Court and the Public Chapter Eight: The Court and the World Appendix 1: Article III, U.S. Constitution Appendix 2: The Supreme Court's Rules (excerpts) Appendix 3: Chart of the Justices References Further Reading Websites Index

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Book SynopsisThe United States of America has been the most powerful country in the world for over seventy years. The U.S. National Security Strategy declares, however, that the return of great power competition with Russia and China is the greatest threat to U.S. national security. Further, many analysts predict that America''s autocratic rivals will succeed in disrupting or displacing U.S. global leadership. Brilliant and engagingly written, The Return of Great Power Rivalry, Matthew Kroenig argues that this conventional wisdom is wrong. Drawing on an extraordinary range of historical evidence and the works of figures like Herodotus, Machiavelli, and Montesquieu-and cutting-edge social science research, Mattew Kroenig advances the riveting argument that democracies tend to excel in great power rivalries. He contends that democracies actually have unique economic, diplomatic, and military advantages in long-run geopolitical competitions. He considers autocratic advantages as well, but shows that these are more than outweighed by their vulnerabilities. Kroenig then shows these arguments through the seven most important cases of democratic-versus-autocratic rivalries throughout history, from the ancient world to the Cold War. Finally, he analyzes the new era of great power rivalry among the United States, Russia, and China through the lens of the democratic advantage argument. By advancing a hard-power argument for democracy, Kroenig demonstrates that despite its many problems, the U.S. is better positioned to maintain a global leadership role than either Russia or China. A vitally important book for anyone concerned about the future of global geopolitics, The Return of Great Power Rivalry provides both an innovative way of thinking about power in international politics and an optimistic assessment of the future of American global leadership.Trade ReviewThe breadth of Kroenig's historical case studies and the parsimony of his analyses help this book stand out, making it a must-read for understanding the current international environment. Essential. Upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals. * J. R. Clardie, Northwest Nazarene University, CHOICE *In Return of Great Power Rivalry, Matthew Kroenig, a rising star among the next generation of strategic thinkers, brilliantly counters the current political narrative of autocratic ascendancy and democratic decline. Drawing on historical examples of great power competition between autocracies and democracies from Ancient Greece to the Cold War, he highlights democracy's enduring, structural advantages. By underscoring the importance of strong political institutions, his reflections serve as a handbook for contemporary leaders on how to prevail in a new, and more complex, era of great power competition. * Fredrick Kempe, President and CEO, the Atlantic Council, and New York Times bestselling author of Berlin 1961: The Most Dangerous Place on Earth *Professor Kroenig makes a powerful and provocative case that the world's democracies, and especially the United States, enjoy deep and lasting advantages over their autocratic rivals. He brings to this investigation a rare combination of first-rate scholarship and a lively prose that all readers will find engaging and informative. An important work for our times. * Robert Kagan, Stephen & Barbara Friedman Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution, and New York Times bestselling author of The World America Made *In The Return of Great Power Rivalry, Professor Kroenig explains why democracies have prevailed over their autocratic rivals in the past and outlines how the United States and its democratic allies can better compete with the more sophisticated autocratic challenges we face today. This is an important book on the defining issue of our time with real implications for policymakers and scholars alike. * General James L. Jones Jr., UMSC (Ret.), Former National Security Advisor to US President Barack Obama *We already know that democracies are more humane and usually better governed than autocracies are. But despots like Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping continue to claim that their regimes are better at delivering national security and greatness in the global arena. Matthew Kroenig confronts the autocrats' claims head-on and demolishes them. In remarkably accessible and delightful written text, he mines social science theory and two-and-a-half millennia of history to show that democracies are more powerful-not just fairer and better governed-than autocracies are. At a time when the global struggle between democracy and autocracy is reaching a critical new stage, this book promises to touch nerves and influence minds from Washington to Moscow to Beijing. Policy-relevant social science at its best! * M. Steven Fish, Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley and author of Democracy Derailed in Russia: The Failure of Open Politics *In this age of widespread pessimism about the future of democracy, this book makes a powerful argument: democracy is not only better for the people, but may have the edge against autocracies in the coming great power rivalry. It is an erudite, well-argued and uplifting book. * Daron Acemoglu,, Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and co-author of Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty *Table of ContentsAlso by This Author Preface Introduction PART I. Democracy Versus Autocracy Chapter 1. The Democratic Advantage in Theory Chapter 2. The Autocratic Advantage? PART II. The Democratic Advantage in History Chapter 3. The Democratic Advantage by the Numbers Chapter 4. Athens, Sparta, and Persia Chapter 5. The Roman Republic, Carthage, and Macedon Chapter 6. The Venetian Republic and its Rivals Chapter 7. The Dutch Republic and the Spanish Empire Chapter 8. Great Britain and France Chapter 9. The United Kingdom and Germany Chapter 10. The United States and the Soviet Union PART III. The Democratic Advantage Today Chapter 11. The Russian Federation Chapter 12. The People's Republic of China Chapter 13. The United States of America PART IV. The Democratic Advantage in the Future Chapter 14. Implications for American Leadership Bibliography

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Book SynopsisDemocratic dysfunction can arise in both ''at risk'' and well-functioning constitutional systems. It can threaten a system''s responsiveness to both minority rights claims and majoritarian constitutional understandings. Responsive Judicial Review aims to counter this dysfunction using examples from both the global north and global south, including leading constitutional courts in the US, UK, Canada, India, South Africa, and Colombia, as well as select aspects of the constitutional jurisprudence of courts in Australia, Fiji, Hong Kong, and Korea.In this book, Dixon argues that courts should adopt a sufficiently ''dialogic'' approach to countering relevant democratic blockages and look for ways to increase the actual and perceived legitimacy of their decisionsthrough careful choices about their framing, and the timing and selection of cases. By orienting judicial choices about constitutional construction toward promoting democratic responsiveness, or toward countering forms of democratic monopoly, blind spots, and burdens of inertia, judicial review helps safeguard a constitutional system''s responsiveness to democratic majority understandings. The idea of ''responsive'' judicial review encourages courts to engage with their own distinct institutional position, and potential limits on their own capacity and legitimacy. Dixon further explores the ways that this translates into the embracing of a ''weakened'' approach to judicial finality, compared to the traditional US-model of judicial supremacy, as well as a nuanced approach to the making of judicial implications, a ''calibrated'' approach to judicial scrutiny or judgments about proportionality, and an embrace of ''weak strong'' rather than wholly weak or strong judicial remedies. Not all courts will be equally well-placed to engage in review of this kind, or successful at doing so. For responsive judicial review to succeed, it must be sensitive to context-specific limitations of this kind. Nevertheless, the idea of responsive judicial review is explicitly normative and aspirational: it aims to provide a blueprint for how courts should think about the practice of judicial review as they strive to promote and protect democratic constitutional values.Trade ReviewIn this masterful work, Rosalind Dixon returns judicial representation-reinforcement to center stage in our understanding of judicial review. Her theory of how judicial intervention can counteract democratic dysfunction is rooted in rich examples and a breadth and depth of comparative expertise that reflects her position as a leading scholar in the field. What makes this book of exceptional importance is its close attention to the opportunities and challenges in operationalizing responsive judicial review; Dixon speaks directly to judges in outlining how constitutional courts might function as democracy-protecting and democracy-promoting. In presenting a theory of judicial review alongside guidance for its implementation, Dixon reanimates our aspirations for courts as valued participants in achieving a society committed to democratic responsiveness. * Erin F. Delaney, Professor of Law, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law *Comprehensive in its sweep, systematic in its analysis, and yet distinctive in its focus, Rosalind Dixon's insightful book is a major contribution to the growing comparative literature on political process approaches to constitutional review. * Stephen Gardbaum, Stephen Yeazell Endowed Chair in Law, UCLA *Professor Dixon has written a landmark book on the theory of judicial review. Using excellent examples drawn from around the world, she shows how courts should modulate their decision-making in response to legal, social, and political context. Her book will become the go-to resource for the field, on which all future work will build. * David Landau, Mason Ladd Professor and Associate Dean for International Programs, Florida State University College of Law *Table of Contents1: Introduction 2: Constitutions and Constructional Choice 3: Defining Democracy and Democratic Dysfunction 4: The Scope and Intensity of Responsive Judicial Review 5: Democratic Dysfunction and the Effectiveness of Responsive Review 6: Risks to Democracy: Reverse Inertia, Democratic Backlash, and Debilitation 7: Toward Strong-Weak DS Weak-Strong Judicial Review and Remedies 8: A Responsive Judicial Voice: Building a Court's Legitimacy 9: Conclusion: Towards a New Comparative Political Process Theory

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Book SynopsisThis book defends the value of democratic participation. It aims to improve citizens' democratic control and vindicate the value of citizens' participation against conceptions that threaten to undermine it.Trade ReviewA brilliant book. The author offers a powerful reconstruction of the systematic content of a participatory conception of deliberative democracy, which she justifies with metacritical arguments that exhibit an equal measure of analytical acumen. * Jürgen Habermas, Journal of Deliberative Democracy *Trenchantly argued, ambitious, and full of surprising insights, Democracy without Shortcuts is a major contribution to contemporary democratic theory by one of the best political philosophers in the world. * Fabio Wolkenstein, Perspectives on Politics *It is hard to exaggerate the importance today of Lafont's identification and exploration of the central goal of dispelling alienation – helping citizens to own their own laws, identify with those laws, and endorse them... Her willingness to directly address the need for the justification of state coercion is what makes this book so important... Lafont's analysis is extremely valuable for today and for the future. It puts the citizen at the center and takes seriously the citizens' capacities for reflectively endorsing the laws that coerce them. * Jane Mansbridge, Journal of Deliberative Democracy *A searching and thought-provoking philosophical work on the nature of deliberation in modern democracy. * Thomas Christiano, Jus Cogens 2 *Cristina Lafont's powerful critique of deliberative minipublics strikes at the central strategy that has energized efforts to actually apply deliberative democracy to real public problems. Every effort to make deliberative democracy practical needs to take account of her critiques. * James Fishkin, Journal of Deliberative Democracy *This book makes a significant contribution to the literature defending a broadly deliberative view of democracy ... In the course of her defense she shows that judicial review need not be opposed to participatory deliberative democracy. * H. Oberdiek, CHOICE *

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewIn this timely return to an old debate, Kroenig makes the case that democratic states tend to 'do better' than other types of states in great-power rivalries...The value of the book lies in framing an important question for today: In the United States' growing competition with China, will its democracy be an advantage or a hindrance? * Foreign Affairs *The Return of Great Power Rivalry delivers on its central promise, compellingly demonstrating how and why liberal democracies have generally outperformed their autocratic counterparts throughout history, both ancient and recent. * National Review *[A] timely contribution to International Relations scholarship on the rise and fall of great powers. * Asian Affairs *The breadth of Kroenig's historical case studies and the parsimony of his analyses help this book stand out, making it a must-read for understanding the current international environment. Essential. Upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals. * J. R. Clardie, Northwest Nazarene University, CHOICE *Effective strategy requires understanding yourself and your adversaries. Matthew Kroenig provides a masterful analysis of America's democratic advantages and China's autocratic vulnerabilities. The Return of Great Power Rivalry is a must read for anyone interested in understanding the US-China rivalry and how the free world can compete to secure a better future. * H.R. McMaster, author of Battlegrounds *In Return of Great Power Rivalry, Matthew Kroenig, a rising star among the next generation of strategic thinkers, brilliantly counters the current political narrative of autocratic ascendancy and democratic decline. Drawing on historical examples of great power competition between autocracies and democracies from Ancient Greece to the Cold War, he highlights democracy's enduring, structural advantages. By underscoring the importance of strong political institutions, his reflections serve as a handbook for contemporary leaders on how to prevail in a new, and more complex, era of great power competition. * Fredrick Kempe, President and CEO, the Atlantic Council, and New York Times bestselling author of Berlin 1961: The Most Dangerous Place on Earth *Professor Kroenig makes a powerful and provocative case that the world's democracies, and especially the United States, enjoy deep and lasting advantages over their autocratic rivals. He brings to this investigation a rare combination of first-rate scholarship and a lively prose that all readers will find engaging and informative. An important work for our times. * Robert Kagan, Stephen & Barbara Friedman Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution, and New York Times bestselling author of The World America Made *In The Return of Great Power Rivalry, Professor Kroenig explains why democracies have prevailed over their autocratic rivals in the past and outlines how the United States and its democratic allies can better compete with the more sophisticated autocratic challenges we face today. This is an important book on the defining issue of our time with real implications for policymakers and scholars alike. * General James L. Jones Jr., UMSC (Ret.), Former National Security Advisor to US President Barack Obama *We already know that democracies are more humane and usually better governed than autocracies are. But despots like Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping continue to claim that their regimes are better at delivering national security and greatness in the global arena. Matthew Kroenig confronts the autocrats' claims head-on and demolishes them. In remarkably accessible and delightful written text, he mines social science theory and two-and-a-half millennia of history to show that democracies are more powerful-not just fairer and better governed-than autocracies are. At a time when the global struggle between democracy and autocracy is reaching a critical new stage, this book promises to touch nerves and influence minds from Washington to Moscow to Beijing. Policy-relevant social science at its best! * M. Steven Fish, Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley and author of Democracy Derailed in Russia: The Failure of Open Politics *In this age of widespread pessimism about the future of democracy, this book makes a powerful argument: democracy is not only better for the people, but may have the edge against autocracies in the coming great power rivalry. It is an erudite, well-argued and uplifting book. * Daron Acemoglu, , Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and co-author of Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty *

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Book SynopsisBy whatever name they are known (Parliaments, Legislatures, or Assemblies, to name but three) legislative assemblies in democratic societies face the twin challenges of institutional capacity and accountability to their citizens. In addressing these challenges, assemblies vary in the extent to which they serve the respective interests of three critical sets of actors: their members, party leaders, and voters. In this book, Shane Martin and Kaare W. Strøm identify three ideal types of democratic assemblies - the members'' assembly, the leaders'' assembly, and the voters'' assembly - and analyze national legislative assemblies in the world''s 68 most populous democracies, from Finland to Papua New Guinea, in light of these models. Based on extensive new cross-national data, they trace the implications of the three assembly types for the design, internal organization, resources, and powers of democratic national assemblies, develop indices of each assembly type, and score each of the 68 lTable of Contents1: Understanding Legislative Assemblies 2: Comparing Legislative Assemblies 3: Electing the Legislative Assembly 4: Membership and Congruence 5: Cameral Structure 6: Organization and Leadership 7: Parties in the Legislature 8: Committees 9: Lawmaking 10: The Budgetary Process 11: The Elective Function 12: Executive Oversight 13: Legislative Assembly Types 14: Incumbency and Re-Election 15: Democratic Assemblies and Contemporary Challenges

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Book SynopsisIn the Enlightenment tradition, rationality is considered well-defined. However, the author of this study argues that rationality is context-dependent, and that the crucial context is determined by decision-makers' political power. He uses a real-world Danish project to illustrate this theory.

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Book SynopsisAdvances an alternative approach to democratic reform that focuses on building institutions that empower people who have little time for politics. How do we make democracy more equal? Although in theory, all citizens in a democracy have the right to participate in politics, time-consuming forms of participation often advantage some groups over others. Where some citizens may have time to wait in long lines to vote, to volunteer for a campaign, to attend community board meetings, or to stay up to date on national, state, and local news, other citizens struggle to do the same. Since not all people have the time or inclination to devote substantial energy to politics, certain forms of participation exacerbate existing inequalities. Democracy for Busy People takes up the very real challenge of how to build a democracy that empowers people with limited time for politics. While many plans for democratic renewal emphasize demanding forms of political participation and daunting ideals oTrade Review"Elliott meets the theoretical challenges to democracy head-on and provides a workable normative model to judge real-world examples by...The theorist, the empiricist, and the activist alike will all find something of value to take away from Democracy for Busy People." * Liberal Currents *"[Elliott] devises a conception of the civic responsibilities of citizenship that is authentically democratic without being overly demanding." * New Books Network *"Highly original and thought-provoking, Elliott takes a quotidian concern—not enough hours in the day to do all that we have to do—and illuminates its implication for democracy and equal citizenship. The unequal distribution of time to do stuff—including, and especially, political stuff like voting, going to a meeting, or keeping up with the issues—has deep implications for inclusive citizenship. From the democratic significance of unequal temporal opportunity to participate in politics, Elliott builds a rich, empirically grounded, and institutionally sophisticated normative picture of how to safeguard the ideal of equal citizenship in 21st century democracies." -- Simone Chambers | University of California, Irvine"Democracy for Busy People is an important book about trade-offs. It's about the trade-offs ordinary people must make in the use of their time, and the real sacrifices of time that people must make to take part in, learn about, or even care about democratic politics. And it's about the trade-offs in institutional design that necessarily follow: how more complicated, frequent, and deliberative modes of democratic politics exclude those with less time on their hands. Kevin Elliott has made a major contribution to empirically-informed democratic theory, both in his arguments for wide-ranging reforms to favor inclusivity and reduced time demands, and in his defenses of elections, parties, and broad-based participation not only against democracy's opponents but also against its too-ambitious advocates." -- Jacob T. Levy | McGill University“Kevin Elliott offers a highly original and extremely engaging analysis of the demands of political participation and the implications for democracy. He begins by acknowledging that people are busy and only have so much time to attend to the requirements of effective democratic participation. But, unlike many who argue that the problem rests with the individual citizen, he argues quite persuasively that the problem lies in the complexity of the system itself. In doing so, he makes a compelling case that busyness is an important determinant of inequality in a democratic society and thus must be remedied as a matter of justice. Democracy for Busy People is an impressive argument that will reward the time spent reading it—regardless of how busy you are.” -- Jack Knight | Duke UniversityTable of Contents1. The Demands of Democratic Citizenship Part I: How Much Democratic Citizenship? 2. Democracy’s Floor: The Case against Apathy 3. When Does Democracy Ask Too Much? Realism and the Paradox of Empowerment 4. The Citizen Minimum: Inclusion and Stand-By Citizenship Part II: Democratic Institutions for Busy People 5. How to Democratize Elections: Annual Elections and Mandatory Voting 6. Engines of Inclusion: Political Parties in Competition 7. Putting Deliberation and Sortition in Their Place Conclusion: Too Much Democracy? Acknowledgments Appendix References Index

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Book SynopsisIn this study of democracy and its critics, the author debunks liberalism, arguing that its exaggerated ideals of authenticity, unity and community have deflected attention from the pervasive incompetence of the rule of experts. Instead, it emphasizes common interests rather than narrow disputes.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: The Yankee Way to Knowledge Pt. I: The Public and Its Problems: One More Time 1: Authenticity and the Rhetoric of Trauma 2: Romancing the Gesellschaft: Community and the Fallacy of Common Ground 3: Commensuration and Unificationism 4: Foucault's Trap 5: Pluralism, the Public, and the Problem of Knowledge 6: Democracy in America: A Thought Experiment Pt. II: Discourse across Differences 7: Epistemics 8: The Uses of Argument Fields 9: Fields as Organizations 10: A Theory of Presumption 11: Desperately Seeking Dewey 12: Epilogue: A Rhetoric for Modern Democracy Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Mobrand's study not only provides an explanation of why Korea's top-down democracy is the way it is, but also generates questions for future research on authoritarian legacies, democratic consolidation, and varieties of democracy." * Pacific Affairs *"[A] concise, compelling, and original examination." * Journal of American-East Asian Relations *"[A] sophisticated analysis of the evolution of South Korea’s democracy and its perspectives in the twenty-first century. The author demonstrates a thorough knowledge of the multiple details and nuances of internal Korean politics and a deep understanding of the international context." * European Journal of Korean Studies *

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