Democracy Books

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Book SynopsisA New York Times Book Review Editors' ChoiceA most anticipated book of 2022 at Vulture and Kirkus ReviewsA leading historian tells the story of the United States' most enduring political party and its long, imperfect, and newly invigorated quest for moral capitalism, from Andrew Jackson to Joseph Biden.The Democratic Party is the world's oldest mass political organization. But what has the party stood for through the centuries, and how has it managed to succeed in elections and govern?In What It Took to Win, the eminent historian Michael Kazin tells the story of the party's longtime commitment to promoting moral capitalism, a system that mixes entrepreneurial freedom with the welfare of workers. Yet the party that championed the rights of the white working man also vigorously protected or furthered the causes of slavery, segregation, and Native American removal. With its evolution toward a more inclusive, e

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Book SynopsisA Wall Street Journal best political book of 2023A much-needed wake-up call for the Democrats, which reveals how the party has lost sight of its core principles and endangered its political futurefrom the authors of one of the most influential political books of the 21st century (The New York Times)For decades, American politics has been plagued by a breakdown between the Democratic and Republican parties, in which victory has inevitably led to defeat and vice versa. Both parties have lost sight of the people at the center of the American electorate, leading to polarization and paralysis. In Where Have All the Democrats Gone?, John B. Judis and Ruy Teixeira reveal the tectonic changes shaping the country's current political landscape that both pundits and political scientists have missed.The Democratic Party, once the preserve of small towns as well as big cities and of the industrial working class and the newly immigrated, has aba

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Book SynopsisCynthia Kaufman is the Director of the Vasconcellos Institute for Democracy in Action at De Anza College, USA, where she also teaches Philosophy. She is the author of two books on social change Getting Past Capitalism: History, Vision, Hope (2012) and Ideas for Action: Relevant Theory for Radical Change (2003). She is a lifelong activist for social change and has worked on issues such as tenants' rights, police abuse, union organizing, international politics, and most recently climate change.Trade ReviewEveryone with a conscience should read Holding Power to Account. In this short book, Cynthia Kaufman provides both an ethics and a politics for today’s interdependent world. To live a responsible life, we must work together to create systems of “accountability democracy” to constrain those with economic and political power. * Fred Block, Research Professor of Sociology, University of California at Davis, USA *This book highlights democracy’s struggle to adapt its mechanisms of accountability to the increasing complexity of power in the modern world. Its focus on holding power to account is particularly fruitful in a time of growing executive power, outsourced services, tax havens and defunct complaints procedures. The book provides a sparkling conceptual clarification of accountability and then explores practical and effective mechanisms for use by NGO’s, campaigning organisations and political parties. * Ricardo Blaug, Associate Professor of Democracy and Political Theory, University of Westminster, UK *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. States of Irresponsibility: Rana Plaza, Accountability, and Power 2. The Ethics of Accountability Democracy 3. The Politics of Accountability Democracy 4. The Powers that need to be held to Account 5. Accountability 6. Developing Effective Accountability Mechanisms 7. Building Accountability Democracy 8. Acting Well in a Traumatized World Index

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Book SynopsisOffering a competitive strategy to defeat authoritarians' all-domain warfare, this book suggests a new combined effects and influence framework for democracies to employ before deterrence fails.Breaking new ground in this comprehensive study, retired Brigadier General Thomas A. Drohan reforms an entrenched legacy conceptcoercive compellence and deterrence. The book's framework synthesizes brute force, coercion, combined arms, and concepts of operations into combined effects and concepts of influence, including narrative warfare with cognitive exploits. The survey of competitive strategy at the beginning of the book spans a time frame from the thinking of ancient civilizations all the way to artificial intelligence, providing broad historical context for this model. The contemporary cases that test the model focus on complex competition and confrontation during the past 75 years.Combined Effect Strategy and Influence is unique in its critique of democracies' dominant paradTrade ReviewDrohan is a master strategist—a rare find among those whose expertise is capped at combining arms for operational effectiveness. Today's challenges require a broader and deeper vision and the crafting of more nuanced strategies with multiple interacting and synergistic effects. Drohan presents a primer on effects-based strategies and an outline for their application to our primary rising challenges: read and heed. * James M. Smith, Director, USAF Institute for National Security Studies (Retired); Co-Editor of China's Strategic Arsenal: Worldview, Doctrine, and Systems *To many, the end of the Cold War incorrectly implied the end of deterrence, compellence, and other coercive theories seen as incompatible with a liberal, rules-based global order. As in the 1920s and 1930s when alliances were prohibited and war had been declared illegal, the reality of conflict in Europe and East Asia shattered such optimism. Plus ça change, c’est plus la même chose. In this volume, Drohan takes a fresh and very productive look at established coercion theory and applies his expertise, sensitive as he is to cultural contexts. He calls persuasively for 'the defense and security bureaucracy to speak the language of combined effects and concepts of influence' that he deals with extensively in this important book. * Paul Viotti, Professor, University of Denver *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. How to Create Competitive Strategy Part I: The Three Natures of Effective Strategy 2. Holistic Strategy to Subsume Competitors 3. Agile Strategy to Adapt Ends, Ways, and Means 4. Asymmetric Strategy to Exploit Advantage Part II: How to Design Combined Effect Strategy and Influence 5. Combined Effect Strategy: Holistic, Agile, and Asymmetric 6. Concepts of Influence beyond Punishment and Denial Part III: Combined Effect Warfare from China, Russia, and Iran 7. China’s Centralized Control: Induced Compellence and Coercion 8. Russia’s Control by Chaos: Deterrent Compellence and Coercion 9. Iran’s Theocratic Control: Persuasive Compellence and Coercive Deterrence Part IV: Closing the Strategy Gap in an Age of AI 10. Combined Effects in U.S. National Security and Defense Strategies: Reforming Objectives 11. Combined Effect Strategy and Influence from the Ancients to AI Notes Index

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Book SynopsisThis book explores a specific aspect of modern parliamentarism: its ability to produce and organise political knowledge. The book argues that the very meaning of modern parliamentarism cannot properly be understood without considering the cognitive value which is inherent in the representative function discharged by parliaments, vis-a-vis the political community. It does so by studying the ‘encyclopaedic patterns’ underlying modern parliamentarism. Exploring the concept from ancient times to modernity, it addresses the fundamental question of the relationship between knowledge and democratic decision-making. This is a truly innovative book; challenging, provocative and asking crucial questions of how parliaments work and legislate.

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Book SynopsisThis book explores what judges do and how they perceive their roles in the context of growing dissensus over liberal democracy.Focusing on the European landscape, it asks eighteen judges how they perceive their roles when judicial independence and democracy are under pressure. The book features interviews with judges from various EU and non-EU Member States and courts, complemented by a series of academic commentaries discussing the relationship between law and politics in times of dissensus over liberal democracy. Each narrative reveals unique personal experiences and reflections, shedding light on the role of the judiciary and the rule of law in the face of contemporary challenges. While the book engages with these issues through European narratives, its findings contribute to broader debates beyond Europe and the EU.

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Book SynopsisAnne Applebaum, Garry Kasparov, Richard North Patterson, and a constellation of other thinkers make the urgent case for liberal democracy---reinvigorating its central values in an age of doubt and discord.

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Book SynopsisA simple and revolutionary toolbox to help any group create an actual and functioning democracy In this book, Marta Harnecker, with Spanish economist Jose Bartolome, shares some of her wisdom on how communities everywhere can gain empowerment. For, when impoverished people became involved in the planning process, they no longer feel like beggars demanding solutions from the state; they become the creators of their own destiny. Set out in two parts; this book first demonstrates the importance of community participants working outside a hierarchy, to allow as much decentralization as possible. The second part of the book centers on the methodology of this process: the various tasks taken on by participants and how, in planning processes over years, they are carried out.

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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