Elections and referenda / suffrage Books

Book SynopsisWith new, updated material, P. J. O'Rourke covers the whole election process from the pig pile of presidential candidates circa June 2015, through his come-to-Satan moment with Hillary and the Beginning of End Times in November 2016, to the current shape of US politics.How the Hell Did This Happen? answers the key question of the 2016 presidential election: Should we laugh or should we cry or should we hurl? (They are not mutually exclusive.)Trade ReviewO'Rourke has a nice, world-weary way with the US's present political follies... He hasn't lost his gift for the brutally effective one-liner. * Guardian *scabrously witty, inventive and rich in historical detail... O'Rourke is never less than pleasurable company. There were chapters in this book I read twice just for the fun of it... I am already looking forward to the companion volume What The Hell Happens Next? * The Times *extremely funny * Sunday Times *O'Rourke has a real eye for the vagaries of American politics and, on occasion, piercing insight. * Observer *O'Rourke has been for decades the wittiest guide to America, and the usual ingredients are packed into this volume. How the Hell Did This Happen? is scabrously witty, inventive and rich in historical detail. * The Australian *Whether you agree with him or not, P.J. writes a helluva piece. * Richard Nixon *Who better than one of America's most-respected humourists to make sense of an election in which real life frequently appeared to approach satire? * The Week *P.J. O'Rourke is like S.J. Perelman on acid. * Chris Buckley *P.J. O'Rourke was really the first to inject non-liberal hilarity into political discourse . . . But more important, he was able to yank conservatives out of the hands of the humorless and shrill, and make such writing accessible . . . He changed my life. * Greg Gutfeld *[O'Rourke] occupies a rare place among the laughing class: He has somehow avoided the orifice obsession that captivates many of its members; he identifies as Republican; and he is no mere thumb-sucker, having visited more than 40 countries to report on wars, regime changes, economic revolutions and the experience of drinking cocktails garnished with the poison sacs of cobras. * Wall Street Journal *Outspoken conservatives have long been a minority in comedy, particularly in the mainstream media, which provided an opportunity for P.J. O'Rourke, who for decades cornered the market for prominent right-wing humorists . . . If his wry essays have a mission statement . . . it's this: Starchy ­Republicanism is really, really fun. * New York Times Book Review *As a cultural analyst, O'Rourke's ability and willingness to simultaneously lampoon and celebrate himself and his generation are unequaled. * Publishers Weekly *

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Book SynopsisThe greatest obstacle to sound economic policy is not entrenched special interests or rampant lobbying, but the popular misconceptions, irrational beliefs, and personal biases held by ordinary voters. This title looks at how people who vote under the influence of false beliefs ultimately end up with government that delivers lousy results.Trade Review"The best political book this year."--Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times "Caplan thinks that democracy as it is now practiced cannot be salvaged, and his position is based on a simple observation: 'Democracy is a commons, not a market.'"--Louis Menand, The New Yorker "One of the two or three best books on public choice in the last twenty years."--Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution "Like a few recent best sellers--Freakonomics, The Tipping Point, The Wisdom of Crowds--The Myth of the Rational Voter unwraps economic theories and applies them to everyday life. Mr. Caplan's thesis, though, lacks any semblance of a compliment: The 'unwisdom of crowds' is closer to his point. He believes that the American public is biased against sensible, empirically proved economic policies about which nearly all economists agree. Voters, he says, are not just ignorant in the sense of having insufficient information. They actually hold wrong-headed and damaging beliefs about how the economy works."--Daniel Casse, The Wall Street Journal "[P]rovocative."--Elsa Dixler, New York Times Book Review "The Myth of the Rational Voter usefully extends the discussion [about democracy] by linking it with 'public choice' theory... Public choice theory faces a dilemma. A rational and self-interested person has no incentive to study political issues, as the chances of his or her determining the outcome are negligible. This has become known as 'rational ignorance'. Caplan maintains that the reality is much worse. He shows that voters are not just ignorant but systematically biased in favor of mistaken views."--Samuel Brittan, Financial Times "Caplan is right to detect a stubborn irrationality in ordinary voters and he correctly points out to his rational choice colleagues that their models are hopelessly unrealistic."--Martin Leet, Australian Review of Public Affairs "Caplan argues convincingly that irrational behaviour is pervasive among many of us today... Caplan's point, however, is that most voters are irrational. And that is worse than being ignorant... Their irrationality comes with a host of misconceptions that drive policy choices."--Fazil Mihlar, The Vancouver Sun "This engaging and provocative volume describes why democracy gives us far less than its promise. Countering existing theories of rationally ignorant voters, Caplan argues persuasively that voters are irrational, registering systematically biased beliefs--and consequently votes--against markets and other sound economy policy metrics... [T]his is a compelling book, offering readers a well-written and well-argued competing theory for why democracy fails and why we should limit what is done through the political process."--M. Steckbeck, Choice "[Caplan] argues that voters' own irrational biases, rather than flaws in the democratic process, compel voters to support policies that are not in their interest. While one may quibble with his specifics, the overall argument is convincing and applicable across a variety of fields...Forces the reader to take a second look at our nation's unshakable faith in the wisdom of the electorate."--Pio Szamel, Harvard Political Review "A brilliant and disturbing analysis of decision making by electorates that--[Caplan] documents--are perversely ignorant and woefully misinformed."--Neil Reynolds, The Globe and Mail "Scintillating... Outstanding."--Gene Epstein, Barron's Magazine "Kudos to Caplan for not wanting to leave well enough alone, but he could have given democracy more credit for diffusing--to the relatively benign act of voting--irrational and reactionary human behaviour that has in the past led to violence and war. In the meantime, it certainly would not hurt for more people to learn about the law of supply and demand."--Adam Fleisher, International Affairs "Caplan's book is a major accomplishment, which breaks new ground in our understanding of democratic politics and opens up a new research territory for further exploration."--Gene Callahan, Independent Review "[Persons] who do not grasp the lessons in Bryan's book cannot understand politics as well as persons who do grasp those lessons. Buy a copy. Read it. Ponder it. Learn."--Don Bourdreaux, Cafe HayekTable of ContentsACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix INTRODUCTION: The Paradox of Democracy 1 CHAPTER 1: Beyond the Miracle of Aggregation 5 CHAPTER 2: Systematically Biased Beliefs about Economics 23 CHAPTER 3: Evidence from the Survey of Americans and Economists on the Economy 50 CHAPTER 4: Classical Public Choice and the Failure of Rational Ignorance 94 CHAPTER 5: Rational Irrationality 114 CHAPTER 6: From Irrationality to Policy 142 CHAPTER 7: Irrationality and the Supply Side of Politics 166 CHAPTER 8: "Market Fundamentalism" versus the Religion of Democracy 182 CONCLUSION: In Praise of the Study of Folly 205 NOTES 211 REFERENCES 237 INDEX 267

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Book SynopsisBeing concerned with representation, this book is about an idea, a concept, a word. It is primarily a conceptual analysis, not a historical study of the way in which representative government has evolved, nor yet an empirical investigation of the behavior of contemporary representatives or the expectations voters have about them.Table of ContentsIntroduction The Problem of Thomas Hobbes Formalistic Views of Representation "Standing For": Descriptive Representation "Standing For": Symbolic Representation Representing as "Acting For": The Analogies The Mandate-Independence Controversy Representing Unattached Interests: Burke Representing People Who Have Interests: Liberalism Political Representation Appendix on Etymology Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThis pioneering and judicious history of foreign intervention in elections should be read by everyone who wants to defend democracy now.' Timothy Snyder, author of On TyrannyThe definitive account of covert operations to influence elections from the Cold War to 2016 and why the threat is greater than ever in 2020.Russia''s interference in 2016 marked only the latest chapter of a hidden and revelatory history. In Rigged, David Shimer tells the sweeping story of covert electoral interference past and present. He exposes decades of secret operations by the CIA, the KGB, and Vladimir Putin''s Russia to shape electoral outcomes, melding deep historical research with groundbreaking interviews with more than 130 key players, from former CIA directors to a KGB general.What Americans should make of Russia''s attack in 2016 is still hotly debated, even after the release of the Mueller Report and years of media coverage. Shimer shows that Putin''s operation was, in fact, a continuation of an oTrade Review‘This pioneering and judicious history of foreign intervention in elections should be read by everyone who wants to defend democracy now.’Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny ‘As a CIA operations officer, I served through the most complicated periods of the Cold War. David Shimer's book Rigged gives a riveting account of that traumatic period. Shimer knows why and how we engaged in covert action, and what we were up against. He also knows the policies we must modify, if we are to succeed in the 2020s. This is a truly significant book; by all means, read it.’Ambassador Donald Gregg, Former CIA Station Chief and National Security Advisor to VP George H.W. Bush ‘With clear prose and rigorous argument, David Shimer helps us understand the historical backdrop of Russia’s ongoing electoral interference. It is a sobering story – and a timely reminder of the importance of addressing the vulnerabilities and dysfunctions on which resourceful adversaries like Putin will continue to prey.’Ambassador William J. Burns, President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State ‘This is a brilliant, eye-opening, and riveting book. Shimer’s analysis of foreign interference in elections, historical and contemporary, is unmatched. It should be the baseline for any future discussions about this urgent threat to our democracy.’Jake Sullivan, Former Director of Policy Planning, State Department 'Election interference' by one country into another is a subject that inspires speculation and conspiracy theory. David Shimer's Rigged establishes the facts: when and why Russians and Americans have meddled in the politics of other countries – and of one another. Based on a wide range of sources, this book is an excellent resource for people who want to know what actually happened, and not just what was rumoured.Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Gulag: A History

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Book SynopsisThis book presents a strong and original argument about English nationalism and the ways in which it is currently transforming British politics.Trade Review... excellent new book... full of insight, and with a clarity not always present in the work of social scientists - leaves the reader in no doubt as to the growing strength of English identify... * The Daily Telegraph *An essential read for anyone interested in nationalism and the future of the union (or in understanding Brexit). * Andrew Sparrow, The Guardian *Scrupulously researched and scholarly book. * Tunku Varadarajan, Wall Street Journal *What makes the crisis of British politics so strange is that at its heart is a force that dare not speak its name: Englishness. It is at once extremely potent and hard to articulate, strongly felt but poorly understood. The work of Ailsa Henderson and Richard Wyn Jones has been crucial to the mapping of this previously murky territory and Englishness is a superb overview of the evidence they have gathered so meticulously and weighed so carefully. The English world view so subtly and intelligently probed here has consequences far beyond its own borders. No one who wants to understand those consequences can do without this terrific book. * Fintan O'Toole, The Irish Times *Lucid and heavily detailed. * David Kernek, Irish Examiner *...the authors of this book take a mature and balanced approach to what is a highly significant yet somewhat neglected issue....a work of fundamental importance... could prise open many closed minds. If the left is going win back millions of people, as it needs to, we clearly need to talk about England. * Brian Denny, Morning Star *The rise of Englishness, and its impact on British constitutional politics, has for too long been an under-explored, semi-secret, phenomenon: a spectre that dare not speak its name. But it has profound implications for the future of the United Kingdom. This book should be read by anyone — and especially every politician — who wishes to understand the forces driving British politics to its current febrile, fractured, state. It is more than an important book, it is a necessary and overdue one. * Alex Massie, The Spectator and The Sunday Times *The best book on Scottish politics that I have read in a long time. This is not as paradoxical as it sounds: it explores the inextricable tangles of Englishness, Britishness and Scottishness. It is impressive both for the sharpness of its analysis and the solidity of its empirical foundations, based on extensive social surveys carried out for the Future of England Survey. * Dennis Smith, Scottish Review *...remarkably coherent, factual and on occasion, severely to the point... Englishness makes for vitally important, if not compulsive reading. * David Marx Book Reviews *The authors provide a convincing and eloquent explanation of this politicisation of Englishness... * Ben Wellings, Australian Book Review *This book provides fresh insight into the character of English nationalism, showing how it presents not only a distinctive vision of England's role within the UK but also of Britain's place within the world. This vision has already played a key role in bringing about Brexit - and it could now prove a decisive influence as Britain debates how to adapt to the post-Brexit, post-COVID world. * Sir John Curtice, Professor of Politics, University of Strathclyde *A fascinating and subtle study, which - precisely because so challenging - should be read with great attention by all those who hope to keep the United Kingdom united. * Tom Holland, historian, biographer, and broadcaster. Author of Rubicon: The Triumph and the Tragedy of the Roman Republic, and Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind *This book gives a compelling account of English nationalism, its motivations, and discontents. For anyone concerned about the future of the United Kingdom, this is essential reading. * Philip Rycroft, Former Head of the UK Governance Group in the Cabinet Office, and Former permanent secretary of the Department for Exiting the European Union *Englishness is not only a pioneering analysis of English nationalism but a vital source for understanding the origins of Brexit and the transformation of British politics in the last few years. It is certainly a book of the first importance. * Sir Tom Devine, Sir William Fraser Professor Emeritus of Scottish History and Palaeography, the University of Edinburgh *The politics of England and the UK have been transformed in the past 20 years. This book makes a powerful case that the politics of Englishness, a force largely overlooked by academics and commentators, has been at the heart of those changes. * John Denham, Professorial Fellow on English Identity and Politics, University of Southampton *

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Book SynopsisA groundbreaking argument that the political spectrum today is inadequate to twenty-first century America and a major source of the confusion and hostility that characterize contemporary political discourse.As American politics descends into a battle of anger and hostility between two groups called left and right, people increasingly ask: What is the essential difference between these two ideological groups? In The Myth of Left and Right, Hyrum Lewis and Verlan Lewis provide the surprising answer: nothing. As the authors argue, there is no enduring philosophy, disposition, or essence uniting the various positions associated with the liberal and conservative ideologies of today. Far from being an eternal dividing line of American politics, the political spectrum came to the United States in the 1920s and, since then, left and right have evolved in so many unpredictable and even contradictory ways that there is currently nothing other than tribal loyalty holding together the many disparate positions that fly under the banners of liberal and conservative. Powerfully argued and cutting against the grain of most scholarship on polarization in America, this book shows why the idea that the political spectrum measures deeply held worldviews is the central political myth of our time and a major cause of the confusion and vitriol that characterize public discourse.Trade ReviewA short, tightly argued, question-provoking "attempt to give a more accurate conception of ideology in America and thereby correct common misunderstandings of ideology among the general public and among the intellectuals who promote these confusions," as they themselves put it in the book. * Michael E. Hartmann, Philanthropy Daily *Finally, an antidote to political despair in America. Using the best data and social science, Hyrum Lewis and Verlan Lewis show us why our current polarization is not inevitable and how it can be resolved. If you ever wondered if our nation can ever unite again, read The Myth of Left and Right today. * Arthur C. Brooks, Professor, Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School, and #1 New York Times bestselling author *Is there a timeless ideological dimension that US political life maps onto? No! This book offers a deft, spirited deconstruction of that idea. It is an enjoyable read. * David R. Mayhew, Sterling Professor of Political Science Emeritus, Yale University *This timely book challenges entrenched ways of thinking about American politics. Even if readers do not agree with the authors on every point, they cannot ignore the powerful critiques lodged here. The authors rightfully demand that we transcend simplistic understandings of political alignments that conflate party and ideology and that fail to come to terms with how the definitions of 'right' and 'left' continually evolve over time. * Frances Lee, Professor of Politics and Public Affairs, Princeton University *An insightful dissection of the misleading notion that it is possible-without severe distortion-to reduce voters and politicians to points along a one-dimensional left-right scale. * Philip E. Tetlock, Annenberg University Professor, University of Pennsylvania *The Myth of Left and Right is a quirky but much needed book for today's conversation about how to push past our differences, disagreements, and political polarization. It is scholarly but accessible and something easily read in an afternoon. While it is short, its impact hopefully will be longer, for our Country demands such a book in a time when words like "left" and "right" are not only accusatory labels we paste onto people but, as Lewis and Lewis have shown, essentially meaningless. * Lee Trepanier, Russell Kirk Center *The Myth of Left and Right is a quirky but much needed book for today's conversation about how to push past our differences, disagreements, and political polarization. * Lee Trepanier, Chair and Professor of Political Science at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama *The book is a useful instrument for stimulating much-needed thought and debate about the ideological spectrum in the US. * Choice *Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: The Myth of Left and Right Chapter 2: The Origins of Left and Right Chapter 3: The Development of Left and Right Chapter 4: The "Authentic" Left and Right Chapter 5: The Persistence of Left and Right Chapter 6: The Consequences of Left and Right Chapter 7: The Future of Left and Right Conclusion Notes Index

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewValuable on the backstory is Kevin O'Rourke's A Short History of Brexit (Pelican). As an Irish historian who divides his time between a French village and All Souls College, Oxford, O'Rourke is a quintessential Remainer; but he's not blind to the EU's supranational ambitions. -- Political Books of the Year * Prospect *He recounts the history of British involvement with Europe over the last 60 years with unique concision and clarity. He searches for the motivations behind the Brexit vote, parsing arguments that it was the inevitable result of structural economic factors, that it stemmed from a misplaced backlash against rising inequality, or that it was just a fluke brought about by political miscalculation and opportunism. Ever the professor, O'Rourke hints that all these views contain some truth. -- Andrew Moravcsik * Foreign Affairs *Crisp, clear and quietly devastating -- Fintan O'Toole * Guardian *A handy primer on the events and undercurrents that led to our present discontent -- Stephen Bush * Observer *An excellent and authoritative exploration of the roads to Brexit, one that is erudite, rigorous and highly readable -- Tony Connelly * Irish Times *Unravells the long strands of history that have led to Brexit and its current complications ... he illuminates not only the Irish problem, but the entirety of Britain's strange, ambivalent relationship with the EU -- Martha Gill * Times Literary Supplement *a very readable account of how we got here - including contemporary issues such as the financial crash and the refugee crisis, and longer-term factors such as British attitudes to free trade, parliamentary sovereignty and empire -- Gideon Rachman * Financial Times Books of the Year *

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Book SynopsisAn insightful exploration of political polling and a bold defence of its crucial role in a modern democracyTrade Review"Poll-bashing is fashionable, but G. Elliott Morris astutely exposes why they go wrong and how to fix them—to reinvigorate our democracy. The book reads like a suspenseful whodunnit, tragedy and love-story for data. Packed with surprising history, fresh insights and wise reforms, this is a landmark work that everyone who cares about society and politics must read." -- Kenneth Cukier, co-author of The New York Times bestseller Big Data"In this lively story of the struggles and successes of polling from Gallup to the present day, Morris makes a convincing case that the measurement of public opinion is a key component of modern democracy" -- Andrew Gelman, Higgins Professor of Statistics, Columbia University"In this short, valuable guide, G Elliott Morris gives us a brief history of how polls came to play such an important role in politics, and how they work." -- Sam Freedman - The Guardian"A lively new book... Polling is flawed, and some of those flaws seem unfixable. But Mr Morris’s repeated refrain is that the critics of opinion surveys overstate their case. If you think polls can mislead, just try understanding the electorate without them." -- Tim Harford - The Economist

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Book SynopsisWith Barack Obama, Ben Carson, Kamala Harris, and Donald Trump as case studies, Tracks on the Trail: Popular Music, Race, and the US Presidency sheds light on the factors that motivate candidates and constituents alike to articulate race through music on the campaign trail.Trade Review"Tracks on the Trail is a virtuosic exploration of the relationship between race, music, and our understanding of the (re)presentation(s) of power within the realm of the public discourse surrounding the US presidency. This book not only theorizes race, but looks at how it has made a direct impact in the everyday lives of individuals (of all races) within the US context. As such, this book is perfectly positioned to speak to the musicologies in a wholly unique way. At the same time, it eschews overly complicated musical discussions and jargon in favor of language that is approachable for those outside of music, as well. It is a consummate example of public musicology." - Charles D. Carson, University of Texas at Austin""Tracks on the Trail ​​explores the changing nature of political engagement through a tangential analysis of how the emergence of social media and streaming platforms widened possibilities of garnering new constituents for political candidates. It is a timely study of the ways in which music has been engaged as a means of projecting identity, policy, and ideology during presidential campaigns and administrations." - Tammy Kernodle, Miami University in OhioTable of Contents Acknowledgments Introduction: Tracks on the Trail: Popular Music, Race, and the US Presidency Chapter One: Keepin’ It Real (Respectable): Barack Obama’s Music Strategy and the Formation of Presidential Identity Chapter Two: Anatomy of a Campaign Launch: Heal, Inspire, Revive, Erase with Ben Carson Chapter Three: Kamala Harris Rap Genius? Chapter Four: Girls “Make America Great”: Singing the White Stuff for Donald Trump Chapter Five: Settling the Score: Pop Songs, Protest, and Punishment Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisWhy do citizens choose to cast blank and spoiled votes? And how do campaigns mobilizing the invalid vote influence this decision? None of the Above answers these questions using evidence from elections in eighteen Latin American democracies.Trade ReviewA wonderful example of a well-executed scholarly book that takes an interesting and misunderstood phenomenon—invalid voting—and explores both the meaning and the consequences across a wide range of contexts. Dr. Cohen is a true expert on this topic. This book showcases her deep knowledge of protest voting in Latin American elections and presents convincing evidence that the practice of invalid voting in protest is more important than many might think at first." - Carew Boulding, University of Colorado at BoulderTable of Contents Tables Figures Acknowledgments Chapter 1. Introduction: None of the Above Chapter 2. Invalid Ballots as a Protest Signal Chapter 3. Campaigning for No-one: Invalid Vote Campaigns in Latin America Chapter 4. Public Approval of Invalid Vote Campaigns Chapter 5. Predicting the Electoral Success of Invalid Vote Campaigns Chapter 6. A Tale of Two Departments: Tracing the Success of Invalid Vote Campaigns in Peru Chapter 7. The Downstream Consequences of Invalid Vote Campaigns Chapter 8. Conclusion Chapter 1 Appendix Chapter 2 Appendix Chapter 4 Appendix Chapter 5 Appendix Chapter 6 Appendix Chapter 7 Appendix Bibliography Notes Index

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Book SynopsisThe Last Suffragist Standing is an unprecedented study of a pioneering Canadian suffragist and politician and an illuminating work on the history of feminism, socialism, internationalism, and activism in Canada.Trade ReviewStrong-Boag's account of Jamieson's life deepens the appreciation of the ending of one phase of feminist activism and the passing of the torch to successor generations. -- Jane Arscott, Athabasca University * Histoire Sociale *[The Last Suffragist Standing] makes a valuable contribution to the wider historiography of women’s political activities in Canada and to British Columbia politics in general. Jamieson would undoubtedly be pleased with this study of her life and times. -- Patricia Roy, author and professor emeritus of History at the University of Victoria * The Ormsby Review *Table of ContentsIntroduction1 The Girl from the Saugeen Peninsula, 1882–19112 The New Woman as Wife, Suffragist, and Activist, 1911–183 Still Bettering the World, 1918–264 Widowed Judge and Progressive Activist, 1927–395 The Challenge of Electoral Politics, 1927–396 Suffragist in the BC Legislature, 1939–417 Legislative Veteran, 1941–458 Taking on Post-war Misogyny and Vancouver Politics, 1945–649 Faithful Social Democrat, 1945–64ConclusionPostscript from Four Granddaughters / Dorothy O’Connell, Anne Jamieson, Karen Jamieson, and Marion-Lea JamiesonNotes; Selected Bibliography; Index

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Book SynopsisThis Element examines the political maneuvers and achievements of three Black American women, Barbara Jordan, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Stacey Abrams by presenting Black women as essential to the Democratic Party's ability to win over new supporters, the growth of American democracy, and the political advancement of Black Americans in the South.

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Book SynopsisThe revised 2nd edition of this successful textbook explores Japanese politics in the postwar era from theoretical and comparative perspectives. After providing historical context, it offers an in-depth exploration of postwar political institutions, political reform in the 1990s, the policymaking process, and the politics of economic growth and stagnation. By delving into Japan's international relations, the book sheds light on Japan's security and foreign policies, and Japan's role in Asia. The textbook concludes by addressing what has changed since party alternation in 2009, the triple disaster in March 2011 and the global Covid pandemic.Themes and questions addressed throughout the text include: How and why did Japan modernize so successfully when so many other countries fell prey to colonialism and authoritarianism? What explains the Japanese economic miracle and its subsequent economic stagnation? What accounts for Japan's successful Table of Contents1. Introduction: Why Japan matters 2. The making of a modern state 3. The postwar settlement 4. The postwar political system 5. Political parties 6. Elections and electioneering 7. The economic miracle 8. Economic slowdown 9. Policymaking 10. State-society relations 11. Prime ministerial leadership 12. National security and foreign policy 13. Conclusion

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Book SynopsisExplaining Religious Party Strength explores why religious political parties are electorally successful in some countries but not in others.Drawing on insights from political science and sociology, this book argues that religious parties are typically formed for defensive reasons, reacting against state-builders' attempts to secularize public services such as education, welfare, and healthcare. Building on these findings, the author argues that the strength of religious parties is determined by the infrastructural power of the state. Weak states that fail to provide adequate public services open up space for religious communities to build a dense network of private schools, hospitals, and charities, which translates into votes for religious political parties. By contrast, strong states that provide efficient public services squeeze out private welfare providers, undermining the electoral strength of religious political parties. The author tests this theory through stTable of Contents1 Introduction 2 Religion and State Formation 3 Theorizing Religious Party Development 4 Quantitative Analysis of Religious Party Strength 5 Anticlerical State-Building in France and Italy 6 The Rise (and Fall) of Political Catholicism in Italy and France 7 Islam and Anticlerical State-Building in Twentieth-Century Egypt, Turkey, and Albania 8 Islam and Political Competition in Egypt, Turkey, and Albania 9 Conclusion

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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 SynopsisReveals how presidents deploy a rhetoric that attempts to attract many racial and ethnic groups, but ultimately directs itself to an archtypal white, Middle-American swing voter.Despite major advancements in civil rights in the United States since the 1960s, racial inequality continues to persist in American society. While it may appear that presidents do not address the topic of race, it lurks in the background of presidential political speech across a range of issues, including welfare, crime, and American identity. Using a thorough approach that places textual analysis in a historical context, One America? asks what presidents say about race, how often they say it, and to whom they say it. Nathan Angelo demonstrates how presidents attempt to use rhetoric to compose a message that will resonate with the many groups that comprise the modern party system, but ultimately those alliances cause presidents to direct most of their speeches about race to an archetypical white, Middle-American swing voter, thereby restricting the issues and solutions that they discuss. While the American demographic profile is changing, rhetoric that links American identity with racially coded concepts and appeals to white voters'' racial resentments has become ubiquitous. Angelo warns us about the possible repercussions of such tactics, noting that, while they may allow presidents to craft winning coalitions, their use continues to legitimate a system that ignores racial inequality.

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Book SynopsisBringing together a host of distinguished scholars, Michael Nelson′s The Elections of 2016 reliably delivers a nuanced analysis of yet another momentous cycle of political contests. No other single volume can expose your students to the depth of analysis and expertise in this title. Whether discussing particular races or taking a broader look at the national trends, these contributors captivate students with engaging stories and political drama, while weaving in important scholarship and expert analysis. Available mere months after the election, each chapter, written specifically for this volume, offers readers historical perspective as well as a look forward at the implications for the American political system.Trade Review"The strength is the authors’ ability to integrate political science research into readable essays that are accessible to undergraduates. Moreover, the articles—and the book—are brief, which is a virtue in an undergraduate class, and all the essays are quite good. I have assigned this book every year in my course on the presidency, and with good reason—it is consistently the best one available on this topic." -- Matthew Dickinson"Past editions of Mike Nelson’s elections series have been excellent in the immediate aftermath of the presidential election. They effectively capture the events of the campaigns and the circumstances leading up to the campaigns." -- William FieldTable of ContentsPreface The Setting: Broadening the Presidential Talent Pool---for Better and Worse - Michael Nelson The Nominations: The Road to a Much-Disliked General Election - William G. Mayer The Election: The Allure of the Outsider - Marc J. Hetherington Voting Behavior: Continuity and Confusion in the Electorate - Nicole E. Mellow The Media: Covering Donald Trump - Marjorie Randon Hershey Campaign Finance: Where Big Money Mattered and Where It Didn’t - Marian Currinder Congress: Nationalized, Polarized, and Partisan - Gary C. Jacobson The Presidency: Donald Trump and the Question of Fitness - Paul J. Quirk The Meaning of the 2016 Election: The President as Minority Leader - Andrew Rudalevige

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Book SynopsisReferendums are ubiquitous; from Brexit in the United Kingdom in 2016 to same-sex marriage in Australia in 2017 Why are referendums held at all? And when they are held, why are they won or lost? Moreover, what are the consequences of having referendums? Do they strengthen or weaken democracy? Are they mainly won or mainly lost or do they strengthen populist leaders? Or, are referendums a shield against demagogues and overeager politicians? Government by Referendum analyses why politicians sometime submit issues to the people Based on an historical analysis, but with an emphasis on the last two decades, the book shows that referendums often have been lost by powerful politicians. While sometimes used by autocrats, mechanisms of direct democracy have increasingly performed the function of democratic constitutional safeguards in developed democracies.Trade Review'Referendums are increasingly capturing the headlines. Not always for good reasons. While the referendum might have a place as a constitutional safe-guard, Professor Matt Qvortrup’s outstanding analysis shows that they can be dangerous when politicians call them for selfish and tactical reasons'.Arend Lijphart, University of California, San Diego, Author of Patterns of Democracy and former President of the American Political Science Association‘Government by Referendum… is full of interesting information and thought-provoking observations.’Chris Stafford, LSE Review of Books -- .Table of ContentsIntroduction1. The world history of referendums 2. The history of the referendum in Britain3. Brexit campaign: the anatomy of a bitter divorce battle4. The myth of populist referendumsConcluding unscientific postscriptFurther readingReferencesIndex

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Book SynopsisIn the 1890s Australian and New Zealand women became the first in the world to win the vote. Buoyed by their victories, they promised to lead a global struggle for the expansion of women’s electoral rights. Charting the common trajectory of the colonial suffrage campaigns, Distant Sisters uncovers the personal and material networks that transformed feminist organising. Considering intimate and institutional connections, well-connected elites and ordinary women, this book argues developments in Auckland, Sydney, and Adelaide—long considered the peripheries of the feminist world—cannot be separated from its glamourous metropoles. Focusing on Antipodean women, simultaneously insiders and outsiders in the emerging international women’s movement, and documenting the failures of their expansive vision alongside its successes, this book reveals a more contingent history of international organising and challenges celebratory accounts of fin-de-siècle global connection.This book is relevant to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5, Gender equality.Trade Review'Distant Sisters is fresh and necessary, a razor-sharp collection of ‘messy stories’ that warn against simplistic readings of the past to the suit the imperatives or trends of the present.'Dr Yves Rees, Sydney Review of Books 'Distant Sisters [is a] meticulous account of Australasian women’s international activism in support of women’s suffrage between 1880 and 1914'.Professor Marilyn Lake, Australian Book Review'Distant Sisters is a seamlessly and beautifully written, as well as rigorously researched, account of the intersecting ambitions, aspirations, endeavours, successes and failures of political women connected by virtue of their place in the Australasian region. It is a masterful recount of the ‘messy stories’ both underpinning and arising out of Australasian suffrage success.’Sharon Crozier-De Rosa, Women’s History Review 'Meticulously researched … this careful study allows us to see both the excitement of women who wished to be the first to achieve the franchise and the disappointments that followed. Through his thorough engagement with a range of sources Keating has illustrated the importance of cross-border connections'.Professor Barbara Brookes, History Australia 'James Keating’s Distant Sisters is … an important book … It is meticulously researched, elegantly written and skilfully organised, building on international as well as local research and eschewing simple celebratory conclusions about Australasian women’s global engagement. Thus, while acknowledging the positive achievements, it emphasises contingency, contradictions and limitations, especially in imagining an Australian identity and forging trans-Tasman cooperation.'Emeritus Professor Judith Smart, Victorian Historical Journal'In this welcome new addition to suffrage historiography, Keating … delivers a portrait of the Australasian suffrage campaign that is far from traditional. It moves the reader away from a focus on the mere mechanics of the campaign, or indeed a spotlight on its key figures, to view instead a picture that is more detailed and complex. It helps the reader understand why the history of this movement and its activists has not taken a centre-stage in the global narratives of the women’s franchise, while also highlighting the roles of some of the almost unknown or forgotten figures weaving through its history. By using a methodology that privileged spatial concepts we understand why regional issues mattered so greatly and also why ‘Indigenous voices were absent from the Australian campaigns’.'Women’s History Review -- .Table of ContentsIntroduction: Leading the empire, leading the world?1 For God and home and every land: Suffrage internationalism in the World’s Woman’s Christian Temperance Union2 ‘My heart...yearn[s] for a genuine voting Australian woman!’: Australasian suffragists and the international suffrage movement3 The business of correspondence: Politics, friendship, and intimacy in suffragists’ letters 4 Shaking hands across the seas: The Australasian women’s advocacy press5 Suffragists on tour: Exporting and narrating the female franchiseConclusionBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisLessons from the groundbreaking grassroots campaign that helped launch a new political revolution Rules for Revolutionaries is a bold challenge to the political establishment and the “rules” that govern campaign strategy. It tells the story of a breakthrough experiment conducted on the fringes of the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign: A technology-driven team empowered volunteers to build and manage the infrastructure to make seventy-five million calls, launch eight million text messages, and hold more than one-hundred thousand public meetings—in an effort to put Bernie Sanders’s insurgent campaign over the top. Bond and Exley, digital iconoclasts who have been reshaping the way politics is practiced in America for two decades, have identified twenty-two rules of “Big Organizing” that can be used to drive social change movements of any kind. And they tell the inside story of one of the most amazing grassroots political campaigns ever run. Fast-paced, provocative, and profound, Rules for Revolutionaries stands as a liberating challenge to the low expectations and small thinking that dominates too many advocacy, non-profit, and campaigning organizations—and points the way forward to a future where political revolution is truly possible.Trade ReviewPublishers Weekly- "Bond and Exley, senior advisors on the Sanders presidential campaign and the primary architects of the campaign’s national grassroots efforts, distill the organizing techniques they employed during the hard-fought Sanders-Clinton Democratic presidential primary. Bond and Exley argue convincingly that the old-school organizing techniques embodied in Saul Alinsky’s classic Rules for Radicals fall short in the 21st-century age of social media. They divide their commentary into 22 rules, illustrated by examples from the campaign. They cover basics like fund-raising, phone banking, and intraorganization communication, but the heart of their theory is 'big organizing.' The idea is that people will organize around issues that are fundamental and speak to “big target universes,” such as making public college free, or providing universal health care. Along with identifying issues that matter to lots of people, the new rules embrace a structure that gives power to volunteers. Bond and Exley also argue that good management is not counter-revolutionary and note the dangers of management by consensus. The successes of the Sanders campaign gives credibility to this new organizing paradigm, and Bond and Exley’s valuable and pragmatic road map will appeal to those interested in social change, whether they’re organizing presidential campaigns or neighborhood efforts.”“Bernie Sanders’s presidential run was a spectacular wake-up call, revealing the huge number of Americans willing to fight for radical change. That includes a great many who didn’t sign up for the political revolution this time around, which is good news: Our movements can learn how to go even bigger and broader. We can win—but only if we continue to develop the kinds of tactics, tools, and vision laid out in this vitally important book, perhaps the first to explore how to organize at the true scale of the crises we face.”--Naomi Klein, author of This Changes Everything and The Shock Doctrine“Rules for Revolutionaries is a lamppost for those who are committed to causes of community uplift, grassroots empowerment, and organizing for good. Insurgents get ready, this is the book for you.”--Nina Turner, assistant professor of African American history, Cuyahoga Community College; national surrogate, Bernie Sanders campaign; former Ohio state senator “Here’s a guide from the heart of Bernie’s grassroots movement that mobilized hundreds of thousands of volunteers. Rules for Revolutionaries is a playbook for ‘big organizing’—a melding of grassroots movement tactics with new technology. It’s a must-read for anyone who wants to take back our economy from the moneyed interests.”--Robert B. Reich, author of Saving Capitalism“If you want to change the world and the status quo, read this book. An alternate title would appropriately be: How to Make the Impossible, Possible. Prepare to be inspired.”--Assemblywoman Lucy Flores“Climate activists around the world watched Bernie’s vibrant volunteer network with envy and wondered whether we, too, could build that level of engagement absent a candidate and national election. Bond and Exley answer that question: Yes, we can! Everyone who wants to solve climate change—or any other big issue—should read this book and get started.”--Annie Leonard, Greenpeace USA“This must-read book lays down 22 ‘rules’ designed to put power in the hands of people who want to make radical social change. Becky Bond and Zack Exley have walked the walk—and they know what organizing looks like when you begin with a big, transformative demand and challenge the establishment. You win big when you ask big—and whoever wins in November, we’ll need to push for revolutionary change from Day One. Becky and Zack’s book is a vital contribution to that project!”--Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor and publisher, The Nation “If you want to understand Bernie's remarkable campaign—and more importantly, if you want to understand how to organize big, world-shaking campaigns of all kinds in the future—this is the book for you. The authors bring enormous credibility and enormous insight to a crucial task; what they describe in electoral politics goes just as much for battles like the one around the Keystone pipeline.”--Bill McKibben, New York Times bestselling author; cofounder, 350.org“Two of our generation’s most accomplished organizers share the creative tactics and technology they used to lead hundreds of thousands of people to volunteer their time to change the course of history—and how you can, too. This page-turner belongs in the hands of new and veteran organizers alike and will set the standard for how to make change in the twenty-first century.”--David Broockman, assistant professor of political economy, Stanford University“For populists who want to continue Bernie Sanders’s political revolution and win radical change, this is a book for you. In their Rules for Revolutionaries, Becky Bond and Zack Exley lay down a new marker for what mass volunteer organizing makes possible by combining emerging consumer technology and radical trust with some tried and true ‘old organizing’ tactics.”--Jim Hightower, author of Swim Against the Current“Crucial, important, strategic, urgent.”--Naomi Wolf, New York Times bestselling author of The End of America“Becky and Zack’s rules are as refreshing as Bernie’s candidacy itself. Their rules are specific enough to get started right now and flexible enough to last for the long haul of the revolution we so desperately need."--Tim DeChristopher, Bidder 70; cofounder, Climate Disobedience CenterKirkus Reviews- "Senior advisers to the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign leadership offer pointers on how to start the next movement—or perhaps continue the one they started. By some lights, Sanders should have won the Democratic Party nomination in 2016. By any measure, his ‘revolution' was an extraordinary success, taking a little-known, admitted socialist from a small New England state and propelling him to the national spotlight—and, though a half-century's age difference prevailed, capturing the hearts of countless millennials. Bond and Exley, members of a team of 'go-for-broke irregulars,' did much to propel the Sanders movement in their daily work, much of which hinged on old-fashioned principles of campaigning. As they note, 'when you look at the actual campaign results, the gold standard for moving voters in elections is a volunteer having a conversation with a voter on the doorstep or on the telephone.' How do you get volunteers inspired? How do you organize them, especially when they're working for an out-of-the-mainstream candidate and may incline to the anarchic? How do you keep the bossy ones from cowing the more sheepish among the crew? Bond and Exley, alternating chapters and anecdotes, have plenty of answers: don't ask who wants to be the leader but instead ask 'who wants to get to work.' Make everyone feel welcome. Above all, make everyone feel as if they're taking part in a historic moment, in something big. That said, the authors note, there are some necessary evils, including hiring professionals once an electoral movement gets to a cer tain momentum and courting wealthy donors. Again, they have answers: 'Puritanism is a bad thing!' they admonish, meaning there's not much room in practical politics for purity of procedure—to which they add, helpfully, that the path to change means being 'willing to throw out old practices.' A lively update of and rejoinder to Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals, which, as this book very well may do, has long offered guidance to the right as well as the left."

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Book SynopsisA Revelatory Account Of The 2020 Election—The Most Secure, Verifiable, And Transparent In American History—And The Heroes Brave Enough To Get It RightThe Big Truth illuminates a crowning achievement in America’s quest for a robust democracy in the face of slander by sore losers and opportunists. Filled with interviews of the guardians of democracy—election workers, January 6th Committee members Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming) and Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland), Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, and more—it is an overpowering counterattack against the Big Lie. CBS Chief Washington Correspondent Major Garrett and National Election Expert David Becker, the Executive Director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research, reveal why Big Lie “fraud” allegations evaporate under scrutiny. They report what actually happened in 2020 while calling out each Trumpian misdirection designed to con and beguile Americans into chasing phantom allegations of election crimes. The 2020 election was not what Trumpist deniers claim. Our political parties knew the rules and procedures. We had record turnout and few election snarls. The result: an accurate count, a seven-million-vote margin of victory, 306 electoral votes for Joe Biden, and Republican gains in congressional and state races. But then-President Trump stoked paranoia—never looking for evidence, contesting results even before anyone cast a ballot, and seeking to bend our system until it almost broke with a violent Capitol riot. The Big Lie—the true corruption of American democracy—has shaken our confidence in stable self-government. On the heels of voter-fraud claims, the Capitol siege, and damaging voting laws, the next midterm and presidential election will test our democracy more severely than at any time since the Civil War. How we react may well determine if we are led into another war against ourselves. The Big Truth debunks the 2020 election conspiracy myth once and for all, while celebrating those who held up our democracy under arguably the most intense scrutiny in American electoral history. Trade Review“A second civil war? What once was the plot device of fiction writers now seems all too thinkable. In a deeply reported look at the corrosion of American democracy, Major Garrett and David Becker see a nation on a ‘springboard’ to civil war—and describe what can be done to stop it, before it’s too late. The Big Truth is provocative and sobering, but it’s not hopeless.” —Susan Page, Washington Bureau chief, USA TODAY, and New York Times bestselling author of Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power “The Big Truth shows with precision and depth why elections—including those held in 2020 that produced President Biden and sizable down-ballot Republican gains—can and should be believed. And it challenges all political actors to step back from the abyss of election denialism, which spread like wildfire in 2020. Ultimately, The Big Truth poses the grand question we all must ask ourselves as Americans: do we really want to be a democracy, or do we just want our side to win?” —Chris Krebs, Former United States Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency “The Big Truth provides us with a compass to navigate through the minefield of partisan agendas and hyperbole that permeate our political discourse and equips us with the tools we need to identify and share truthful, trusted information. It is one of the most definitive accounts of what really happened in 2020 and essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the depths and nuances of the challenges facing our American democracy and what we can collectively do to overcome them.” —Jocelyn Benson, Michigan Secretary of State “Will America survive as a unified nation until its 300th birthday in 2076? In this urgent, timely and passionate book, Major Garrett and David Becker persuasively argue that the answer will turn on what happens between now and its 250th in 2026. With razor-sharp argument and encyclopedic command of the evidence they dismantle Donald Trump’s wild claims of 2020 fraud and document the full sweep of what they accurately call his ‘attempted coup.’” —Ron Brownstein, Senior Political Analyst at CNN and New York Times bestselling author of Rock Me on the Water: 1974—The Year Los Angeles Transformed Music, Movies, Television and Politics “If American democracy has a modern mirror, Major Garrett and David Becker hold it up and brazenly stand behind it. From its very first page, the authors argue the fragility of the American experiment and the need to defend it, connecting the past to our turbulent present. From their posts in journalism and election law, Garrett and Becker narrate the facts of the election and call out the lies perpetrated by the craven grifters seeking to undermine our democracy.” —Kyung Lah, Senior National Correspondent, CNN “Concerned that the sanctity of the 2022 midterm elections are at stake, if not democracy itself, Major Garrett, CBS’s Chief Washington Correspondent and elections expert David Becker have written one of the definitive books on the subject. Vivid, doggedly researched, and deeply important, it is a crucial work at an important time. It will be of interest to citizens of all parties and political persuasions alike.” —Jay Winik, historian and New York Times bestselling author of April 1865: The Month That Saved America and 1944: FDR and the Year That Changed History “The Big Truth shows how American democracy is threatened, even as everyone claims to be defending and protecting it. This book is a stark warning for every American who thinks that it can’t happen here, that our nation cannot turn against itself. Major Garrett and David Becker show that our union is closer to dissolving than we might think and our democracy is very much at risk. The political project of our time is to rebuild national trust and defend democracy.” —Jennifer Mercieca, award-winning historian and author of Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump "A thoughtful consideration of how and why to protect the vote—and, with it, American democracy."—Kirkus Reviews "The story of our times...Essential reading."—Anderson Cooper, anchor of CNN's Anderson Cooper 360°

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Book SynopsisIn this definitive account of the momentous In/Out referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union, Sky News Senior Political Correspondent Jason Farrell teams up with blogger and Economics and Politics teacher Paul Goldsmith to provide the definitive explanation of what led to one of the biggest shocks in political history - Brexit. The product of extensive and refreshingly frank interviews with the key players in both campaigns, coupled with a thorough exploration of the historical decisions that led to Britain's departure, How to Lose a Referendum takes us from the creation of the European Union after the Second World War to David Cameron's renegotiation in 2016 and its astonishing aftermath. It looks at what went wrong with the EU brand, the treaties and the changes and consequences that came with them, and asks why a project designed to promote peace and prosperity was ultimately so hard to defend. Along the way, Farrell and Goldsmith identify eighteen key reasons why the UK chose to leave.In each case whether it be an individual like Nigel Farage, social change such as the rise of a disaffected electorate, or the failure of the remainers' message to hit home - the authors dig deep to get to the root of the issue.Trade Review"If you want an easy explanation for why we voted for Brexit, then look elsewhere. Yes, this book is pacy and punchy. But it's also a subtle and sophisticated take on how history, chance and a cast of key players all combined to create the perfect storm that hit the UK on 23 June 2016." - Professor Tim Bale, Queen Mary University of London; "This compelling and thoughtful book tells us how and, more importantly, why Brexit happened. The drama is all there and so is the historic context of Britain's troubles with Europe. A must-read." - Adam Boulton; "I can't read enough about this topic, the absolute turning point of modern politics. This book is a very valuable volume. Well researched, well written, challenging and important." - Daniel Finkelstein; “To understand the volatility of Britain’s present political predicament, it is vital to understand the revolution that took us here. Jason Farrell and Paul Goldsmith’s How to Lose a Referendum explains, with a seventy-year historical sweep and detailed cultural context, why Britain will never be the same again, in a first-class and highly readable Brexit book like no other.” - Sam Coates, The Times

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Book SynopsisOn 18th April 2017, Theresa May stunned Britain by announcing a snap election. With poll leads of more than 20 points over Jeremy Corbyn's divided Labour Party, the first Tory landslide since Margaret Thatcher's day seemed certain. Seven weeks later, Tory dreams had turned to dust. Instead of the 100-seat victory she'd been hoping for, May had lost her majority, leaving Parliament hung and her premiership hanging by a thread. Labour MPs, meanwhile, could scarcely believe their luck. Far from delivering the wipe-out that most predicted, Corbyn's popular, anti-austerity agenda won the party 30 seats, cementing his position as leader and denying May the right to govern alone. This timely and indispensable book gets to the bottom of why the Tories failed, and how Corbyn's Labour overcame impossible odds to emerge closer to power than at any election since the era of Tony Blair. Who was to blame for the Tories' mistakes? How could so many politicians and pollsters fail to see what was coming? And what was the secret of Corbyn's apparently unstoppable rise? Through new interviews and candid private accounts from key players, political journalists Tim Ross and Tom McTague set out to answer these questions and more, piecing together the inside story of this most dramatic and important of elections.

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Book SynopsisJo Phillips and David Seymour guide the reader through the workings of government and Parliament and make a passionate case for the power of democracy. Their argument is that young people should take back control of the future, hold politicians to account and get involved.

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Book SynopsisIn the lead-up to a General Election which will be dominated by the issue of trust, this unique guide is the first political book targeted at people who say they aren't interested in politics because they no longer believe in politicians.

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Book SynopsisThis volume is a treasure trove of ideas about how to make our electoral system better less polarized, more responsive to citizens. In it, big thinkers discuss big ideas. Their analyses are rich, detailed, and incisive. This might very well turn out to be the book that launches a thousand reforms. Costas Panagopoulos, Northeastern UniversityAt this time when distrust and partisanship are too often justifications for the status quo, the authors offer evidence-based, consensus-driven, achievable proposals to improve governance in the United States. Anyone interested in reforming US democracy should start here. Derek T. Muller, Notre Dame Law SchoolIn the midst of the political ugliness that has become part of our everyday reality, are there steps that can be taken to counter polarization and extremism practical steps that are acceptable across the political spectrum? To answer that question, starting from the premise that the way our political processes are designed inevitably creates incentives for certain styles of politics and candidates, the Task Force on American Electoral Reform spent two years exploring alternative ideas for reforming key aspects of the US electoral process. The results of their work are presented in this essential book.CONTENTS: The Electoral Reform Imperative the Editors. Ballot Structures E.B. Foley. Proportional Representation L. Drutman. Why Proportional Representation Could Make Things Worse R.H. Pildes Primary Elections R.G. Boatright Presidential Nominations R.H. Pildes and F. Lee. Campaign Finance R. La Raja. Conclusion the Editors.

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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 SynopsisChapter 1: The Unusual and Unpredictable 2024 Presidential Election.- Chapter 2: How Trump Won ‘The United States of Pennsylvania'.- Chapter 3: The ‘Blue Wall’ Crumbles in Michigan and Wisconsin.- Chapter 4: North Carolina’s Bifurcated Politics.- Chapter 5: Southern Suprises: Arizona and Georgia Swing Back.- Chapter 6:  Receding Democratic Support in Nevada.- Chapter 7: New England Culture and Trump’s Failed Rebound.- Chapter 8: Campaign Narratives, Election Denial and Trump’s 2024 Election.- Chapter 9: The Battle to Become the Oldest President Ever.- Chapter 10: Electing a President in the Age of “Lawfare”.- Chapter 11: New Evidence that Concerns of Government Overreach and Racial Animus Reshaped the Republican Party and Fueled Trump’s Electoral Appeal.- Chapter 12: How the Economy Decided the Election.- Chapter 13: The Unexpectedly Modest Role of Foreign Policy in the 2024 Presidential Election.- Chapter 14: Papa Don’t Preach: Abortion in the 2024 Election.- Chapter 15: Biden Revolutionizes America’s Climate Response & Climate Change Largely Disappears in the 2024 Campaign.- Chapter 16: The End of Democratic Dominance in Presidential Elections.

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Book SynopsisSome six decades of socialisation by the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) has ingrained in a majority of Singaporeans the instinct that it is not unusual to give up certain personal liberties for the greater good as long as the PAP State ensures the material well-being of Singaporeans. The general election of 2020 (GE2020) during the COVID-19 pandemic, put this social compact between the people and the State to the test. Significant job losses, wage cuts, and an erosion of personal wealth — due to measures to counter the pandemic — cut substantially into the PAP popular vote nationally, and resulted in an unprecedented 10 candidates from the opposition Workers' Party (WP) being elected to Parliament. GE2020 confirmed the trend from GE2011, when the WP first made a breakthrough, that Singaporeans will only accept a party in moderate opposition to the PAP. This narrative differs markedly from conventional wisdom.Breakthrough 2.0 explores the aforementioned phenomena. The book analyses critically the issues surrounding parliamentary elections in Singapore. It also focuses on issues not explored by many other observers, namely voter psychology; election processes; and, party branding. A comparative analysis of election practices and processes in other jurisdictions is also employed to determine where parallels can or cannot be drawn with the situation in Singapore.The author has had direct access to personalities across the political parties. Consequently, he utilises primary sources, supported by evidence, in sketching out backstories to events which exposes certain myths that were prevailing in social media in the months running up to GE2020.

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Book SynopsisPivot or Pirouette? covers both the backstory and the aftermath of the strangest election in Canadian history, as told by an insider who was involved in the events before, during, and after the ballots were cast.In the early 1990s, a pan-Canadian coalition of Tory voters had been splintered by constitutional politics. Discontented voters flocked to new regional parties; the Conservatives attempted to turn the tide by choosing the first female prime minister, but their efforts fell flat. In the 1993 election, the party was reduced to two seats, the separatist Bloc Québécois became the official opposition, and the Reform Party swept the West. Although the shocking results seemed pivotal, ultimately the pivot turned into a full pirouette as Canadian politics returned to historical norms: new parties shake up the system but are eventually absorbed into it, bringing innovation but not transformation. You can't understand modern Canadian politics without understanding the Trade Review[Flanagan] is singularly suited to discuss this seismic election. -- J.W.J. Bowden, The Dorchester ReviewAs a research director for Reform in its foundational period and a key player in the Conservative Party under Stephen Harper, Flanagan is well placed to tell this story. The result is a well-written, first-rate election study. -- J. L. Granatstein, emeritus, York University * CHOICE Connect *Table of ContentsForeword: Turning Point Elections ... and the Case of 1993 / Gerald Baier and R. Kenneth CartyPrefaceIntroduction1 Grand Coalition2 Collapse of the Coalition3 The Contestants4 The Contest5 Aftermath6 The Punctuated Equilibrium of Canadian PoliticsAppendix 1: List of Key PlayersAppendix 2: Timeline of EventsNotes; Suggestions for Further Reading; Index

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Book SynopsisA strong case can be made that the South has had the greatest impact of any region on the transformation of U.S. politics and government. Since 1968, we have seen the demise of the solid (Democratic) South and the rise of the Republican-dominated South; the rise of the largely southern white evangelical religious right movement; and demographic changes that have vastly altered the political landscape of the region and national politics. Overriding all of these changes is the major constant of southern politics: race. Since the 1990s, the Republican Party has dominated politics in the Southern United States. Race relations were a large factor in this shift that began about a half century ago, but nonetheless, race and demographic change are once again realigning party politics in the region, this time back toward an emergent Democratic Party. Membership in the Southern Democratic Party is majority African American, Latino, and Asian, and rapidly expanding with an influx of immigrants, pTrade ReviewThe book is rich with data and contextual analysis, and these esteemed authors provide compelling evidence to support their thesis that the Southdidinfluence politics at the national level as they unpack the region's present racial dynamics, demographics, and religious identity. * J.C. Davis, University of Arkansas at Monticello, CHOICE *This isn't your grandparents' South anymore. The authors expertly highlight the profound demographic, economic, and political transformation taking place in the South in the second decade of the 21st century. The South and the Transformation of U.S. Politics will be required reading for all trying to understand southern politics in the early 21st century. * Scott E. Buchanan, author of Some of the People Who Ate My Barbecue Didn't Vote for Me *This book is a valuable resource for anyone seeking to gain insight into the contemporary world of Southern politics. Bullock et al. provide a much-needed scholarly update, focusing on the major themes of demographics, partisanship, race, and religion that undergird politics in the region. * M.V. Hood III, University of Georgia *In 1949, V.O. Key described a South that was ruled by white conservatives, whichneeded democracy, and which held the prospect for pluralist politics. Three generations later, the South is dramatically transformed as blacks and Hispanics enter politics; the cities and suburbs hold ample political power; the economy of the region diversifies and booms; and, still, yet, conservatives dominate the politics and we continue to ponder whether democracy in the South is to be had, or earned. This book needs to sit on the desk of every student of American politics, because the past still ain't even past in the South. * Keith Gaddie, The University of Oklahoma, and co-author of The Rise and Fall of the Voting Rights Act *

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Book SynopsisA new assessment on the role, influence, and limitations of the Democratic and Republican National Committees in American political development. Scholars have long debated the role and importance of the Democratic and Republican National Committees in American politics. In National Party Organizations and Party Brands in American Politics, Boris Heersink identifies a core DNC and RNC role that has thus far been missed: creating national party brands. Drawing on extensive historical case studies and quantitative analysis, Heersink argues that the DNC and RNC have consistently prioritized their role of using publicity to inform voters about their parties'' policies and priorities from the beginning of the twentieth century onwards. Both committees invested heavily in political communication tools with the goal of shaping voters'' perceptions of their parties. As Heersink shows, the DNC and RNC often have considerable freedom in determining what type of brands to promote, placing them in Trade ReviewHeersink offers a fresh and important new perspective on American political parties, challenging claims that formal party organizations are merely in service to candidates. Drawing on wide-ranging historical evidence, Heersink demonstrates national party committees have played a pivotal role in shaping their party's 'brand,' defining the party's positions and identity for voters. This impressive account will be of wide interest to students of political parties and representation. * Eric Schickler, University of California, Berkeley *The parties' national committees have long been disregarded as irrelevant. Drawing from new data on committee activities and careful case studies, Boris Heersink convincingly challenges that conventional wisdom, demonstrating that the DNC and RNC have been at the center of their respective party's battles since the early 20th century. In particular, Heersink details the ways in which the party committees seek to shape their party's all-important brands—key to the parties' democracy-enhancing roles as information shortcuts—in collaboration and competition with other party actors. An important read for scholars of American parties and elections. * Christina Wolbrecht, University of Notre Dame *American political parties are studied as organizations and as conveyors of information, but not until Boris Heersink's masterpiece have these two perspectives finally, and properly, met. In his diligent, methodologically rich, and empirically sophisticated study of national party committees, Heersink recasts the organizational development of the twentieth-century Democrats and Republicans. * Daniel Carpenter, Harvard University *Table of ContentsList of Tables List of Figures Acknowledgements Chapter 1: Introduction: National Committees and Party Brands Chapter 2: Examining DNC and RNC Party Branding Quantitatively: Presidential Control and National Committee Branding Decline Chapter 3: Building Permanently Active National Committees, 1912-1932 Chapter 4: National Committees and the New Deal, 1933-1952 Chapter 5: "We Either Have a National Party or We Do Not Have," 1953-1968 Chapter 6: Managing Mixed-Ideological Parties, 1969-1980 Chapter 7: "Reagan's Party" vs. "Recapturing the Center of American Politics," 1981-2000 Chapter 8: "Near Obscurity": The Deterioration of National Committee Branding, 2001-2016 Chapter 9: Conclusion: The Past and Future of National Committees References Index

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Book SynopsisIncreasingly, political parties have adopted not only different policies, but different sets of facts. As E.J. Fagan argues, partisan think tanks have helped create these alternate realities in their capacity as de facto formal party organizations. Through the analyses generated by aligned think tanks, political elites on both the left and right frequently offer radically different assessments of a policy''s consequences, such as the effect of tax cuts on deficits or the impact of environmental regulations on economic growth. In The Thinkers, Fagan tells the story of how partisan think tanks--such as the Heritage Foundation and Center for American Progress--displaced non-partisan experts to become the closest policy advisors to the Republican and Democratic Parties. He explores their history, how they influence policymakers, and how their influence impacts the polarization of American politics. More broadly, Fagan shows that the rise of partisan think tanks tracks closely with the increase in political polarization since the 1970s. Because they are funded and staffed by strong ideologues, partisan think tanks seek to move their party''s preferences to the left or right of center. When they are successful, parties take more extreme positions than if they had only drawn information from non-partisan sources, which increases polarization. A powerful account of the impact of partisan think tanks on American democracy, The Thinkers will reshape our understanding of the fundamental drivers of the US''s polarized political system.

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Book SynopsisNatural and Necessary Unions is a history for our time. It shows that the choice between ''union and independence'' that shapes current debates about the future of the United Kingdom in the age of Brexit is a false one. Against the countervailing currents of hegemony and fragmentation that range across centuries - from the economic dominance of southern England and the burdens of social democracy to the rise of separatist nationalisms and European integration - unionists struggled to make a union-state that would protect the independence of its citizens and communities from these wider forces. Natural and Necessary Unions tells the story of how the quest for autonomy shaped the history of three communities: Scotland, Ireland, and Northumbria. It charts the different choices these societies made about their relationships within the British Isles and in wider international society, crystallizing in the choice that must be made again between the British and European unions. From these wilTable of ContentsPreface : Conversations 1: Power and the Pursuit of Liberty: The Geopolitics of Independence 2: A Union for Independence: Scottish Autonomy and the British Idea 3: Claims of Right: Social Democracy and the Bonds of Union 4: Empire against Union: The Worlds of Scottish Nationalism 5: The Battle of the Unions: Europa and Britannia 6: Death by Misadventure: The End of Irish Independence 7: The Bonded Republic: Ireland and the Visions of Europe 8: An English Journey: The Tempting of Northumbria 9: A Well-Constructed Union: The Revival of British Politics Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe United States routinely has one of the lowest voter turnout rates of any developed democracy in the world. This book places contemporary reforms in historical context and explores how state electoral institutions have shaped voting behavior throughout the twentieth century.Trade Review"A careful and comprehensive look at the relationship between specific state-level institutions and voter turnout, How the States Shaped the Nation illuminates the importance of institutional change in shaping political behavior and will be invaluable in ongoing discussions of election reform." (Suzanne Linn, Pennsylvania State University)"

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Book SynopsisA new perspective on policy responsiveness in American government. Scholars of American politics have long been skeptical of ordinary citizens' capacity to influence, let alone control, their governments. Drawing on over eight decades of state-level evidence on public opinion, elections, and policymaking, Devin Caughey and Christopher Warshaw pose a powerful challenge to this pessimistic view. Their research reveals that although American democracy cannot be taken for granted, state policymaking is far more responsive to citizens' demands than skeptics claim. Although governments respond sluggishly in the short term, over the long term, electoral incentives induce state parties and politiciansand ultimately policymakingto adapt to voters' preferences. The authors take an empirical and theoretical approach that allows them to assess democracy as a dynamic process. Their evidence across states and over time gives them new leverage to assess relevant outcomes and trends, including tTrade ReviewNamed one of "The Best Scholarly Books of 2022": "It is easy to be pessimistic about American democracy. Elected officials appear far more interested in scoring partisan points than crafting policy that represents their constituents...Dynamic Democracy presents a powerful, data-drenched rejoinder to this line of thinking. The authors argue that, at the state level, policy has been surprisingly reflective of public preferences. Slowly but surely, as voters’ preferences change, so too have the policies of the states in which they live. In the typically staid field of quantitative American politics, Caughey and Warshaw have written a book that speaks to urgent concerns about the state of our democracy." * The Chronicle of Higher Education *"Caughey and Warshaw significantly contribute to the understanding of state governments' responsiveness to the political desires of their citizens....The authors provide an extensive and compelling analysis of the causes and shifts in public policy over a large time frame—especially recent trends, such as the ideological nationalization of partisanship." * Choice *“Dynamic Democracy is a tour de force. It puts forth the most ambitious assessment in a generation of the health of democracy in the American states. Built on an unprecedented wealth of data and using a sweeping and sophisticated empirical approach, Dynamic Democracy examines how institutions, especially political parties and elections, mediate the complex interplay between state governments and the public. It provides an optimistic yet clear-eyed appraisal: state policies reflect remarkable responsiveness to public opinion over the long term, though important gaps remain.” -- Elisabeth R. Gerber, University of Michigan“Caughey and Warshaw have revolutionized the study of public opinion and state politics, and Dynamic Democracy is their magnum opus. The book carefully and rigorously traces the trends in and relationships between opinion and policy in the states—the institutional level that in recent decades has moved from the periphery to the center of American politics. Using cutting-edge statistical tools, Caughey and Warshaw uncover new evidence that over the long term, state governments do indeed respond to the attitudes of their constituents. Dynamic Democracy is a must-read for scholars of state politics and public opinion, or anyone interested in systematic quantitative analysis of American politics.” -- Jacob M. Grumbach, University of Washington“Justice Brandeis advanced the idea of states as laboratories in 1932. But only with this landmark book have political scientists made good on the promise of elucidating democracy via the states. Harnessing new methods, Caughey and Warshaw provide a decisive portrait of the dynamics of policymaking and public opinion. Eventually, state policies come to align with public opinion, a hallmark of democratic governance. But statehouse democracy has faced potent threats: from Jim Crow exclusion, malapportionment, and gerrymandering. Comprehensive and transformative.” -- Daniel J. Hopkins, University of Pennsylvania“Dynamic Democracy is a marvelous analysis of how public opinion can translate into policy in the American states. For this task, Caughey and Warshaw collect massive amounts of data on the ideological directions of state electorates, state-level politicians, and state policies. They put it together to tell a causal story with easy-to-understand statistical analyses. Best of all is their use of the time dimension, showing how the process of democratic representation works better than you might think but often moves slowly.” -- Robert S. Erikson, Columbia UniversityTable of Contents1. Introduction 1.1 Plan of the Book 2 Measurement: Public Opinion and State Policy 2.1 The Challenge of Measurement 2.2 Data and Measures 2.2.1 Policy and Survey Data 2.2.2 Measures of State Policy and Mass Preferences 2.3 Summary 2.A Technical Appendix on Measurement Models 2.A.1 Issue-Specific Opinion 2.A.2 Ideological Summarization 2.A.3 Commonalities among the Ideological Models 3 Preferences: Partisanship and Ideology in State Publics 3.1 Partisan and Ideological Trends in the States 3.1.1 Partisanship 3.1.2 Ideology 3.1.3 Evolution and Stability 3.2 The Alignment of Ideology and Partisanship 3.3 The Ideological Nationalization of Partisanship 3.4 Summary 4 Policies: The Outputs of State Government 4.1 Trends in State Policy Ideology 4.2 Policy, Preferences, and Party 5 Parties: The Policy Effects of Party Control 5.1 Theoretical Framework 5.2 Policy Effects of Party Control 5.3 Regression Discontinuity Estimates 5.4 Dynamic Panel Estimates 5.5 How Much Does Party Control Matter? 5.6 Summary 6 Elections: Selection, Incentives, and Feedback 6.1 Selection and Incentives 6.2 National Tides and Partisanship 6.3 Partisan Selection 6.4 Candidate Positioning and Electoral Success 6.5 Collective Accountability and Negative Feedback 6.5.1 Electoral Feedback 6.6 Summary 7 Responsiveness: The Public’s Influence on State Policies 7.1 Operationalizing Responsiveness 7.2 Position Responsiveness 7.3 Policy Responsiveness 7.3.1 Heterogeneity: Era and Region 7.3.2 Mechanisms: Turnover versus Adaptation 7.3.3 Cumulative Responsiveness 7.4 Summary 8 Proximity: The Match between Preferences and Policies 8.1 Data on Policy-Specific Representation 8.2 Policy Bias 8.3 Policy Proximity 8.3.1 The Dynamics of Policy Proximity 8.4 Summary 9 Deficits: Gaps in American Democracy 9.1 The Jim Crow South 9.1.1 Racial Disparities in Representation 9.2 Legislative Malapportionment 9.3 Partisan Gerrymandering 9.4 Summary 10 Reforms: Improving American Democracy 10.1 Background on Institutional Reforms 10.1.1 Citizen Governance 10.1.2 Voting 10.1.3 Money in Politics 10.1.4 Labor Unions 10.2 The Effects of Institutional Reforms 10.3 Summary 11 Conclusion 11.1 Normative Implications 11.2 Prospects for Reform 11.3 Whither State Politics? 11.4 Implications for Future Research Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisBrexit represents potentially the single greatest economic and foreign-policy challenge to the Irish state since the Second World War. There is hardly any area of Irish life that won''t be affected.More than any other journalist, RTE''s long-time Brussels correspondent Tony Connelly has been helping the public make sense of the implications of Brexit for Ireland. Now, he tells the dramatic inside story of the Irish response to this political and economic earthquake and lays out the agenda for the uncertain years ahead.Based on extensive interviews with insiders in Dublin, London, Belfast and Brussels, Brexit and Ireland is full of insights about how the EU actually works, and of colourful and revealing stories from the corridors of power. It is a must-read for anyone who cares about Ireland''s future.''Required reading ... As Ireland navigates its way through Britain''s withdrawal and the new Europe taking shape, this fine book offers an indispensable guide to the hazards and the opportunities along the way'' Denis Staunton, Irish Times''Excellent ... It ought to be read in every European capital ... Connelly examines how Brexit will affect every part of the Irish economy'' John Bruton, Sunday TimesDefinitive ... Connelly covers the politics very well, but he also writes vividly, with colour and pace and detail, about the businesses and communities that will be affected. It''s a superb work of reporting, and a much needed one - Andrew Sparrow, Guardian''One of the most enticing aspects of Connelly''s book is his promise to tell you the inside story of the Irish response. This is delivered on ... He has an eye for human details that enrich the book: not only does he bring you into the room at Number 10 when Theresa May and Enda Kenny were engaged in the high-wire dance of working out the post-Brexit reality, but he tells you what they had for dessert ... The first-hand account of the mass mobilisation of Official Ireland''s soft and hard power after the result, as negotiations got into gear, is engrossing'' Jack Horgan-Jones, Sunday Business Post''Magisterial ... Connelly has encyclopaedic knowledge of European diplomatic processes and the political realities of the border, and is able to use them to great effect'' Donal O''Donovan, Irish Independent''I was completely absorbed by Tony Connelly''s Brexit and Ireland ... Connelly shows that the implications for the Irish Republic extend to the entire economy and its relationship with the EU'' Brendan Simms, New Statesman Books of the Year''A valuable guide through the Brexit labyrinth'' Sunday Business Post Books of the YearTrade ReviewRequired reading ... As Ireland navigates its way through Britain's withdrawal and the new Europe taking shape, this fine book offers an indispensable guide to the hazards and the opportunities along the way -- Denis Staunton * Irish Times *Excellent ... It ought to be read in every European capital ... Connelly examines how Brexit will affect every part of the Irish economy -- John Bruton * Sunday Times *Magisterial ... Connelly has encyclopaedic knowledge of European diplomatic processes and the political realities of the border, and is able to use them to great effect -- Donal O'Donovan * Irish Independent *Definitive ... Connelly covers the politics very well, but he also writes vividly, with colour and pace and detail, about the businesses and communities that will be affected. It's a superb work of reporting, and a much needed one -- Andrew Sparrow * Guardian *I was completely absorbed by Tony Connelly's Brexit and Ireland ... Connelly shows that the implications for the Irish Republic extend to the entire economy and its relationship with the EU -- Brendan Simms * New Statesman Books of the Year *One of the most enticing aspects of Connelly's book is his promise to tell you the inside story of the Irish response. This is delivered on ... He has an eye for human details that enrich the book: not only does he bring you into the room at Number 10 when Theresa May and Enda Kenny were engaged in the high-wire dance of working out the post-Brexit reality, but he tells you what they had for dessert ... The first-hand account of the mass mobilisation of Official Ireland's soft and hard power after the result, as negotiations got into gear, is engrossing -- Jack Horgan-Jones * Sunday Business Post *It's a brilliant book - very well explained and very accessible - everyone should read it. -- Eamon Dunphy * The Stand *A valuable guide through the Brexit labyrinth * Sunday Business Post Books of the Year *

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Book SynopsisThe results of a focus group research project, sponsored by the Commission of Presidential Debates and conducted during the 1992 presidential and vice presidential debates, are reported.Table of ContentsAbout the Series by Robert F. Denton Foreword by Frank Fahrenkopf, Jr. and Paul G. Kirk, Jr. Acknowledgments Researching Presidential Debates A Rationale for a Focus Group Study by Diana B. Carlin Design & Implementation of the Focus Group Study by Mitchell S. McKinney The Focus Group as a Research Tool by Beverley Davenport Sypher Structuring the Debates Debating the Debates by Elizabeth R. Lamoureux, Heather S. Entrekin, and Mitchell S. McKinney The Impact of Formats on Voter Reactions by John Meyer and Diana B. Carlin Let the People Speak: The Emergence of Public Space in the Richmond Presidential Debate by Stephen P. Depoe and Cady Short-Thompson "Children in a Sandbox:" Reaction to the Vice Presidential Debate by Jack Kay and Timothy A. Borchers Flirting with Perot: Voter Ambivalence about the Third Candidate by Mari Boor Tonn The Impact of Debates Debates as a Voter Education Tool by Michael A. Mayer and Diana B. Carlin The Presidential Debate as a Source of Citizen Disagressment by Mark S. Kuhn Debates versus Other Communication Sources: The Pattern of Information and Influence by Michael Pfau and William P. Eveland, Jr. The Gender Gap? Male and Female Reactions to the 1992 Presidential Debates by Sally J. Perkins and Gerri L. Smith The Student Voter by Julie Apker and Cary R.W. Voss Conclusions Implications for Future Debates by Diana B. Carlin Appendixes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisHow popular democracy has paradoxically eroded trust in political systems worldwide, and how to restore confidence in democratic politics Democracies across the world are adopting reforms to bring politics closer to the people. Parties have turned to primaries and local caucuses to select candidates. Ballot initiatives and referenda allow citizens to enact laws directly. Many democracies now use proportional representation, encouraging smaller, more specific parties rather than two dominant ones. Yet voters keep getting angrier. There is a steady erosion of trust in politicians, parties, and democratic institutions, culminating most recently in major populist victories in the United States, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere. Frances Rosenbluth and Ian Shapiro argue that devolving power to the grass roots is part of the problem, not the solution. Efforts to decentralize political decision-making make governments and especially political parties less effective and less able to address coTrade Review“Other political parties across the Western world have, in the past few years, experienced hostile takeovers of their own . . . Responsible Parties is one of the first books to give serious attention to the political effects of this transformation.”—Yascha Mounk, New Yorker“A trenchant and fiercely argued diagnosis of the growing pathology of representative democracy.”—John Dunn, Emeritus Professor of Political Theory and Fellow of King's College, Cambridge"Democracies that serve majorities over the long run require strong, cohesive legislative parties. Full stop. In their brilliant analysis of party systems across post-industrial democracies—steeped in the latest scholarship, animated by dramatic stories, and made urgent by the dangerous flowering of extremist parties and demagogues—Rosenbluth and Shapiro serve as expert, impassioned guides to why we must have strong parties and why, in efforts to be more representative, parties everywhere are failing democracy."—Nancy Rosenblum, Senator Joseph S. Clark Research Professor of Ethics in Politics and Government, Harvard University"One of the best books in many years on comparative democratic politics . . . compelling, courageous, and unconventional . . . A must read for anyone interested in how to restore the vitality of our democratic institutions and politics."—Richard H. Pildes, Sudler Family Professor of Constitutional Law, NYU School of Law

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Book SynopsisThis book adopts an innovative conceptualization and analytical framework to the study of anti-system parties, and represents the first monograph ever published on the topic. It features empirical research using original data and combining large-N QCA analyses with a wide range of in-depth case studies from 18 Western European countries. The book adopts a party-centric approach to the study of anti-system formations by focusing on the major turning points faced by such actors after their initial success: long-term electoral sustainability, the different modalities of integration at the systemic level and the electoral impact of transition to government. The author examines in particular the interplay between crucial elements of the internal supply-side of anti-system parties such as their organizational and ideological features, and the political opportunity structure. Anti-System Parties is a major contribution to the literature on populism, anti-establishment parties and coTrade Review"With in-depth case studies of parties in 18 Western European countries, this book offers unique insights in the life-cycle of anti-system parties. In addition, the theoretical chapters provide a detailed conceptual discussion and analytical tools to understand the barriers and opportunities faced by anti-system parties. A most useful resource for party scholars." Emilie van Haute - Chair of the Department of Political Science at the Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium."Using a sound conceptual base and a robust mixed-methods approach, which combines both in-depth case-studies and fsQCA, this book constitutes a perfect complement to Sartori’s classical work. In a time where democracy seems to be under threat more than ever before, and certainly since the inter-war period, this book helps us to resolve the mystery of both why and how anti-systemic parties have managed to stir the traditionally stable Western European cocktail. A must-read for party politics and democratization scholars alike." Fernando Casal Bertoa - Associate Professor in Comparative Politics, University of Nottingham, UK."With its focus on anti-system parties, this books looks at a very important political phenomenon of our times which characterizes today’s democracies. Zulianello’s analysis is theoretically well-rooted in the comparative politics literature. Applying a large-N QCA, the results are achieved through an innovative methodological approach." Claudius Wagemann - Professor of Political Science Methods, Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany."Zulianello’s book is a welcome improvement of the current state of conceptual analysis about anti-system parties and a rigorous application of the concept to current Western European political landscape, where anti-system parties have recently gained power in the electorate and institutions. I have little doubt It will become a necessary reading and valuable guideline for future research on the transformations of European party systems." - Filippo Tronconi – Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Bologna, Italy."Zulianello’s book offers a new typology of political parties, including a much needed reconceptualitation of "anti-system" parties able to account for their different modalities of integration and radicalisation. Uniquely, it explains variation in how anti-system parties achieve electoral sustainability following a parliamentary breakthrough. Theoretically astute and methodologically sound, it is a great addition to the available literature on party competition and the evolution of party systems and will become an inescapable point of reference for research and teaching in these areas in the years to come." - Daniele Albertazzi - Senior Lecturer in European Politics, Department of Political Science and International Studies (POLSIS), Univeristy of Birmingham, UK."Overall, Zulianello's book provides a relevant and important research on the experiences of anti-system parties after their parliamentary entry." Peter Bankov, University of GlasgowTable of Contents1. Introduction, 2. (Re)defining anti-system parties: The statics and dynamics of a revisited concept, 3. Enduring or fleeting challenges to established parties? 4. Changing interaction streams: modalities of integration and disembedding, 5. Governing between metapolitical and coalitional pressures: electoral asset or liability? 6. Epilogue: A new wave of anti-system parties in crisis-ridden Europe.

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Book SynopsisFor a long time analyses of political parties were framed within the usual context of democracy and of the historical transformation of the forms of democratic government. More recently several authors, among which eminently Peter Mair, progressively began to question the relationship between the normative definition of democratic government and the actual operation of parties. These new concerns are well epitomized by the tension between âresponsivenessâ and âresponsibilityâ that gives the title to this book.While classic democratic theory sees as desirable that parties in government (and in opposition, too) are sympathetically responsive to their supporters first and more generally to public opinion and, at the same time, responsible toward the internal and international systemic constraints and compatibilities, these two roles seem to have become more difficult to reconcile and even increasingly incompatible.The chapters of this book explTable of Contents1. Responsive and Responsible? The Role of Parties in Twenty-First Century Politics Luciano Bardi, Stefano Bartolini and Alexander H. Trechsel Section 1: The Interdependence Challenge 2. Responsible Party Government in a World of Interdependence Richard Rose 3. Testing Times: The Growing Primacy of Responsibility in the Euro Area Brigid Laffan 4. Responsible Government and Capitalism’s Cycles Dorothee Bohle Section 2: The Domestic Challenge 5. Democratic Performance of Parties and Legitimacy in Europe Hans Keman 6. The Non-Procedural Determinants of Responsiveness Leonardo Morlino and Mario Quaranta 7. The Populist Challenge Hanspeter Kriesi 8. A Question of Time: Responsive and Responsible Democratic Politics Klaus H. Goetz Section 3: Adaptation or Failure? 9. Failing Political Representation or a Change in Kind? Models of Representation and Empirical Trends in Europe Jacques Thomassen and Carolien van Ham 10. Ideology, Parties and Social Politics in Europe Maurizio Ferrera 11. ‘Stripped Down’ or Reconfigured Democracy David M. Farrell

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Book SynopsisElections are random events. From individuals deciding whether to vote, to people deciding for whom to vote, to election authorities deciding what to count, the outcomes of competitive democratic elections are rarely known until election dayor beyond. Understanding Elections through Statistics: Polling, Prediction, and Testing explores this random phenomenon from two points of view: predicting the election outcome using opinion polls and testing the election outcome using government-reported data. Written for those with only a brief introduction to statistics, this book takes you on a statistical journey from how polls are taken to how they canand shouldbe used to estimate current popular opinion. Once an understanding of the election process is built, we turn toward testing elections for evidence of unfairness. While holding elections has become the de facto proof of government legitimacy, those electoral processes may hide a dirty little secret of the governmeTrade Review"This unique book, by an author who is both a Statistician and Political Scientist, discusses the statistical theory of two important aspects of elections. The first half is an in-depth introduction to the classical statistical theory of polling, including estimators, confidence intervals, and stratified sampling. It comes complete with snippets of R code and many concrete examples, including two cases that challenged pollsters: the 2016 US presidential election and the 2016 Brexit vote. The second half concerns statistical methods for after the fact detection of fraudulent elections. It includes an in-depth treatment of methods based on the Benford distribution, but also methods based on classical regression analysis. Again numerous pieces of R code and concrete examples are provided."- E. Arthur Robinson, Jr., Professor of Mathematics, George Washington University "This book has multiple layers that provides flexibility in its use. It makes polling and the statistical issues understandable for those who have little knowledge of statistics beyond the elementary course material. It includes enough of the mathematical underpinnings so that a student wishing to delve deeper into the material has that opportunity. It treats the material with cleverness and wryness that transforms the topic, usually thought of as "dry" by many people, into an interesting and compelling read. The use of maps and real-world examples help make the issues relevant and practical. It should be required reading for anyone studying political science and polling/elections, or anyone with a methodological background wishing to understand these topics at a greater depth."- Mark Payton, Rocky Vista University"The book contains a list of 145 most recent references and a detailed index. Many exercises and appendices with mathematical derivations are given at the end of chapters. Numerous R scripts are presented throughout the whole monograph, providing ready-to-run or make-it-yourself tools for practical implementation of all the techniques. The book can be interesting not only to students in political sciences and statistical methods but to a wider audience interested to understand the results and checkup fairness of elections."- Stan Lipovetsky, Technometrics January 2021Table of Contents1. Polling 1012. Polling 3993. Combining Polls4. In-Depth Analysis: Brexit 20165. Digit Tests6. Differential Invalidation7. Considering Geography8. In-Depth Analysis: Sri Lanka since 1994

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Book SynopsisDoes participation lead citizens of democracies to invest or disinvest in democracy? How does mass participation affect political culture in countries undergoing political transition? This book examines the consequences of citizen involvement in Uganda, one among a number of countries employing the participatory model of constitutional reform.

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Book SynopsisDoes the sequence of presidential primaries affect the choices voters make?

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