Elections and referenda / suffrage Books

Book SynopsisThe struggle between the defenders of America as an exceptional nation and the forces of anti-Americanism is reaching a fever pitch. These forces have grown so large, so well-financed, so entrenched and aggressive that they must be studied closely and understood completely if America is to survive this imminent civil war.In Beyond Biden, bestselling author Newt Gingrich brings together the various strands of the movement seeking to destroy true, historic American values and replace this country with one that's imposed on us by the combined power of government and social acceptance.Now a National Bestseller!

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Book SynopsisSoon after winning the presidency in 1845, according to the oft-repeated anecdote, James K. Polk slapped his thigh and predicted what would be the ""four great measures"" of his administration: the acquisition of some or all of the Oregon Country, the acquisition of California, a reduction in tariffs, and the establishment of a permanent independent treasury. Over the next four years, the Tennessee Democrat achieved all four goals. And those milestones--along with his purported enunciation of them--have come to define his presidency. Indeed, repeated ad infinitum in U.S. history textbooks, Polk's bold listing of goals has become U.S. political history's equivalent of Babe Ruth's called home run of the 1932 World Series, in which the slugger allegedly gestured toward the outfield and, on the next pitch, slammed a home run.But then again, as Tom Chaffin reveals in this lively tour de force of historiographic sleuthing, like Ruth's alleged ""called shot"" of 1932, the ""four measures"" anecdote hangs by the thinnest of evidentiary threads. Indeed, not until the late 1880s, four decades after Polk's presidency, did the story first appear in print.In this eye-opening study, Tom Chaffin, author, historian, and, since 2008, editor of the multi-volume series Correspondence of James K. Polk, dispatches the thigh-slap anecdote and other misconceptions associated with Polk. In the process, Chaffin demonstrates how the ""four measures"" story has skewed our understanding of the eleventh U.S. president. As president, Polk enlarged his nation's area by a third--thus rendering it truly a coast-to-coast continental nation-state. Indeed, the anecdote does not record, and effectively obscures complex events, including notable failures--such as Polk's botched effort to purchase Cuba, as well as his inability to shape the terms of California's and the New Mexico territory's admission into the Union. Cuba would never enter the federal Union; and those other tasks would be left for successor presidents. Indeed, debates over the future of slavery in the United States--debates accelerated by Polk's territorial gains--eventually produced perhaps the central irony of his legacy: A president devoted to national unity further sectionalized the nation's politics, widening geopolitical fractures among the states that soon led to civil war.Engagingly written and lavishly illustrated, Met His Every Goal?--intended for general readers, students, and specialists--offers a primer on Polk and a revisionist view of much of the scholarship concerning him and his era. Drawing on published scholarship as well as contemporary documents--including heretofore unpublished materials--it presents a fresh portrait of an enigmatic autocrat. And in Chaffin's examination of an oft-repeated anecdote long accepted as fact, readers witness a case study in how historians use primary sources to explore--and in some cases, explode--received conceptions of the past.

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Book SynopsisChapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: The States and Territories in the Federal.- Chapter 3: Historical Perspective.- Chapter 4: Electoral Reforms & Innovations.- Chapter 5: Gender Politics in the States & Territories.- Chapter 6: Australian Capital Territory.- Chapter 7: New South Wales.- Chapter 8: Northern Territory.- Chapter 9: Queensland.- Chapter 10: South Australia.- Chapter 11: Tasmania.- Chapter 12: Victoria.- Chapter 13: Western Australia.- Chapter 14: Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisPart 1: Introduction.- Chapter 1: Introduction: LDP Dominance on the Edge.- Chapter 2: The 2024 Election Results: A Political Earthquake.- Part 2: Political Parties.- Chapter 3: Reasons behind the LDP's Loss in the 2024 Election.- Chapter 4: The CDP in 2024: The Legacy of the Electoral Coalition with the JCP.- Chapter 5: A Costly Coalition: Komeito's Enduring Partnership with the LDP.- Chapter 6: Why Did Public Support for the Japan Innovation Party Decline in the 2024 HR Election?.- Part 3: The Campaign.- Chapter 7: Electoral Campaigns in Japan's 2024 General Election: Signs of Structural Transformation.- Chapter 8: Policy Positions of the Candidates.- Chapter 9: How Party Manifestos Framed Political Distrust in the 2024 Election.- Chapter 10: Public Opinion and Scandals in Economic Hard Times.- Chapter 11: Social Media in the 2024 Election.- Chapter 12: Partisanship and Turnout in the 2024 General Election.- Part 4: Issues.- Chapter 13: Scandals During the Kishida Administration.- Chapter 14: Perennial Fears, Novel Responses: The Unification Church in Japan After the Abe Assassination.- Chapter 15: Increase in Women’s Representation and Candidates’ Positions on Gender Equality Issues.- Chapter 16: LGBTQ+ Rights Issues and the 2024 Japanese Election.- Chapter 17: Childcare Policy in the 2024 Election: Who Resonated with the Public Amid an Unprecedented Birthrate Decline?.- Chapter 18: Election under Inflation: LDP’s Choice of Macroeconomic Policy.- Chapter 19: Japan Decides Its Role in the Global Economy: Trade and Economic Security in the 2024 Election.- Chapter 20: Conclusion: The LDP Loses Trust and the Illusion of Invincibility.

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Book SynopsisChapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: Religion, Caste and Contingency: Electoral Politics in Uttar Pradesh.- Chapter 3: Identity Politics and Regional dynamics in the Hill States of North India: Decoding Lok Sabha Elections 2024.- Chapter 4: Odia Asmita (self-respect) and BJP’s Fortuitous Victory in Odisha’s 2024 General Elections.- Chapter 5: Hindutva Checkmated? Interplay of Religion, Caste and Identity in the 2024 Lok Sabha Election in West Bengal.- Chapter 6: Religion, Region and Immigrants: Decoding the BJP Victory in Assam in 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.- Chapter 7: Vote, Seat Share and Social Basis of BJP in South Indian States---A Retrospective Analysis of Electoral Performance.- Chapter 8: Breaking a Closed Party System: The BJP in Kerala.- Chapter 9: Do Manifestoes Matter to Indian Voters: Identity, Development and Governance in Lok Sabha Election 2024.- Chapter 10: The Role of Political Consultancy in India’s Electoral Politics (2011-24): Crisis of Party and/or Democracy.- Chapter 11: Uses of social media tools in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections in India: A Case Study of National and Regional parties.- Chapter 12: Indian National Congress in the 2024 Lok Sabha Election: Nation, Religion and Identity.

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Book SynopsisThis book offers a comparative ethnography of the contested powers that shape democratization in Ethiopia. Although multi-party elections have become the norm in Africa, relatively little is known about the significance of non-state actors such as traditional authorities in electioneering. Focusing on Ethiopia’s competitive 2005 elections, this book analyzes how customary leaders, political parties and state officials confronted and complemented each other during election time. Case studies reveal the contemporaneousness of traditional authorities in modern politics, but also how multi-party competition reproduces traditional relations of domination among ethnic groups. The book documents the importance of customary authority in selecting party candidates and providing legitimacy to political parties, but also their limitations in a country dominated by a semi-authoritarian party-state.Table of ContentsCONTENTS List of Maps, Photographs, Tables and Charts ......................................vii Notes on Contributors ...............................................................................ix List of Acronyms .........................................................................................xi Introduction Traditional Authorities and Multi-Party Elections in Ethiopia ...... 1 Kjetil Tronvoll & Tobias Hagmann Chapter 1 Electoral Politics in the Nuer Cultural Context .................31 Dereje Feyissa Chapter 2 Fishing for Votes in the Somali Region: Clan Elders, Bureaucrats and Party Politics in the 2005 Elections .........61 Tobias Hagmann Chapter 3 Family Connections: Inherited Status and Parliamentary Elections in Dawro, Southern Ethiopia .....89 Data Dea Barata Chapter 4 A Revival of Tradition? Th e Power of Clans and Social Strata in the Wolayta Elections ....111 Lovise Aalen Chapter 5 Cynicism and Hope: Urban Youth and Relations of Power During the 2005 Ethiopian Elections ....137 Daniel Mains Chapter 6 Islam and Politics: The EPRDF, the 2005 Elections and Muslim Institutions in Bale ..................165 Terje Østebø Chapter 7 ‘We Say they are Neftenya; They Say we are OLF’: A Post-Election Assessment of Ethnicity, Politics and Age-Sets in Oromiya ........................193 Charles Schaefer Chapter 8 Customary Institutions in Contemporary Politics in Borana Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia ....................221 Marco Bassi Chapter 9 Th e 2005 Elections in Maale: A Reassertion of Traditional Authority or the Extension of a Nascent Public Sphere? ........................................251 Donald L. Donham Epilogue The ‘New’ Ethiopia: Changing Discourses of Democracy ...................269 Kjetil Tronvoll Index .........................................................................................................289

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Book SynopsisUsing a range of critical perspectives, On the Question of Truth in the Era of Trump closely examines notions of “truth in crisis” leading up to and after the election of Donald Trump. The authors explore how truth is constructed along the lines of race, social class, and gender as filtered through the self-referential characteristics of social media in particular. The authors assert that the US left has shown itself inadequate to the task of confronting right wing ideologies, which have only intensified since the 2016 election, resulting in increased mobilization of white supremacist and nationalist groups. Whether underestimating Trump by downplaying the threat of his candidacy during the primaries, trivializing the concerns of women and minorities as “identity politics,” or rushing to prioritize the free speech rights of the far-right, left academics and the media have found themselves unable to use their traditional arsenal of evidence, rational discourse, and appeals to diversity of viewpoints. The authors assert that political resistance to the right is not a matter of playful use of signs and symbols or discourse alone and has to be fought directly and in solidarity. At this point, it is clear that Trump and his supporters have not just deployed relativism as a form of strategy, but have fully weaponized it against their perceived enemies: women, immigrants, minorities, LGBTQ people along with educational, scientific, and journalistic institutions. It is hoped that this in-depth, critical dissection of truth in the current political reality will assist in the project of resistance. Contributors are: Faith Agostinone-Wilson, Mike Cole, Jeremy T. Godwin, Jones Irwin, Austin Pickup, Daniel Ian Rubin, and Eric C. Sheffield.

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Book SynopsisDemocracy and Electoral Politics in Zambia aims to comprehend the current dynamics of Zambia’s democracy and to understand what was specific about the 2015/2016 election experience. While elections have been central to understanding Zambian politics over the last decade, the coverage they have received in the academic literature has been sparse. This book aims to fill that gap and give a more holistic account of contemporary Zambian electoral dynamics, by providing innovative analysis of political parties, mobilization methods, the constitutional framework, the motivations behind voters’ choices and the adjudication of electoral disputes by the judiciary. This book draws on insights and interviews, public opinion data and innovative surveys that aim to tell a rich and nuanced story about Zambia’s recent electoral history from a variety of disciplinary approaches. Contributors include: Tinenenji Banda, Nicole Beardsworth, John Bwalya, Privilege Haang’andu, Erin Hern, Marja Hinfelaar, Dae Un Hong, O’Brien Kaaba, Robby Kapesa, Chanda Mfula, Jotham Momba, Biggie Joe Ndambwa, Muna Ndulo, Jeremy Seekings, Hangala Siachiwena, Sishuwa Sishuwa, Owen Sichone, Aaron Siwale, Michael Wahman.

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Book SynopsisUsing a range of critical perspectives, On the Question of Truth in the Era of Trump closely examines notions of “truth in crisis” leading up to and after the election of Donald Trump. The authors explore how truth is constructed along the lines of race, social class, and gender as filtered through the self-referential characteristics of social media in particular. The authors assert that the US left has shown itself inadequate to the task of confronting right wing ideologies, which have only intensified since the 2016 election, resulting in increased mobilization of white supremacist and nationalist groups. Whether underestimating Trump by downplaying the threat of his candidacy during the primaries, trivializing the concerns of women and minorities as “identity politics,” or rushing to prioritize the free speech rights of the far-right, left academics and the media have found themselves unable to use their traditional arsenal of evidence, rational discourse, and appeals to diversity of viewpoints. The authors assert that political resistance to the right is not a matter of playful use of signs and symbols or discourse alone and has to be fought directly and in solidarity. At this point, it is clear that Trump and his supporters have not just deployed relativism as a form of strategy, but have fully weaponized it against their perceived enemies: women, immigrants, minorities, LGBTQ people along with educational, scientific, and journalistic institutions. It is hoped that this in-depth, critical dissection of truth in the current political reality will assist in the project of resistance. Contributors are: Faith Agostinone-Wilson, Mike Cole, Jeremy T. Godwin, Jones Irwin, Austin Pickup, Daniel Ian Rubin, and Eric C. Sheffield.

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Book SynopsisThis volume aims to provide consolidated analyses of the 2019 European elections and explanations about the future of the European party system, in a context in which the EU has to face many challenges, including the erosion of electoral support for mainstream parties and the increasing success of populist parties. The structure of the book is designed to combine the overall view on the role of elections in shaping the future European project with relevant case studies. The reader is given a perspective not only on the results of the European Parliament elections as such, but also on how these results are related to national trends which pre-exist and what kind of collateral effects on the quality of democracy they could have. Contributors include: Jan Bíba, Sorin Bocancea, Dóra Bókay, Radu Carp, József Dúró, Tomáš Dvořák, Alexandra Alina Iancu, Ruxandra Ivan, Petra Jankovská, Małgorzata Madej, Cristina Matiuța, Sergiu Mișcoiu, Valentin Naumescu, Gianluca Piccolino, Leonardo Puleo, Alexandru Radu, Mihai Sebe, Sorina Soare, Tobias Spöri, Jeremias Stadlmair, Martin Štefek, Piotr Sula, and Jaroslav Ušiak.Table of Contents List of Figures, Tables and Maps  Notes on Contributors  Introduction  Radu Carp and Cristina Matiuța Part 1: Stability, Change and Challenges for the EU Party System  1Answers and Dilemmas Following the 2019 European Elections  Valentin Naumescu  2The Demise of the Spitzenkandidaten System: decline of EU Democratization or (Euro)party Process of Adaptation?  Alexandra Alina Iancu  3Electoral Engineering for a European Demos: building European Identity through Elections  Ruxandra Ivan  4Towards a More Democratic European Union: how to Use the Elections for the European Parliament to Create a True Pan-European Constituency? Old Debates, New Challenges  Mihai Sebe  5The Citizens’ Perceptions ahead of the 2019 European Parliament Vote – The Accuracy of the Eurobarometer Democracy and Elections  Radu Carp  6The Exploitation for Populist Purposes of Difficulties in the EU – An Important Problem of the EU  Sorin Bocancea Part 2: Case Studies  7Back on Track: the French Far Right’s (Narrow) Win in the 2019 European Elections  Sergiu Mișcoiu  8Europe Up for Grabs: an Italian Perspective  Gianluca Piccolino, Leonardo Puleo and Sorina Soare  9European Parliamentary Elections in Austria “Gone Ibiza”  Tobias Spöri and Jeremias Stadlmair  10A Dress Rehearsal: european Elections in Poland before the Parliamentary Race  Piotr Sula and Małgorzata Madej  11The 2019 European Parliament Elections in Hungary  József Dúró and Dóra Bókay  12Rise of Euroscepticism in Slovak Political Parties before Election to European Parliament: case of Rise of Extremism in Slovak Society  Jaroslav Ušiak and Petra Jankovská  13Ambiguity towards the EU as a Destiny of Czech Politics: the Case of the ANO Movement  Jan Bíba, Tomáš Dvořák and Martin Štefek  14The European Elections Campaign in Romania: between Contesting and Embracing the EU  Cristina Matiuța  15A Pattern of European Parliament Elections in Romania (2007–2019)  Alexandru Radu  Conclusions  Radu Carp and Cristina Matiuța  Index

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Book SynopsisThis volume aims to provide consolidated analyses of the 2019 European elections and explanations about the future of the European party system, in a context in which the EU has to face many challenges, including the erosion of electoral support for mainstream parties and the increasing success of populist parties. The structure of the book is designed to combine the overall view on the role of elections in shaping the future European project with relevant case studies. The reader is given a perspective not only on the results of the European Parliament elections as such, but also on how these results are related to national trends which pre-exist and what kind of collateral effects on the quality of democracy they could have. Contributors include: Jan Bíba, Sorin Bocancea, Dóra Bókay, Radu Carp, József Dúró, Tomáš Dvořák, Alexandra Alina Iancu, Ruxandra Ivan, Petra Jankovská, Małgorzata Madej, Cristina Matiuța, Sergiu Mișcoiu, Valentin Naumescu, Gianluca Piccolino, Leonardo Puleo, Alexandru Radu, Mihai Sebe, Sorina Soare, Tobias Spöri, Jeremias Stadlmair, Martin Štefek, Piotr Sula, and Jaroslav Ušiak.Table of Contents List of Figures, Tables and Maps  Notes on Contributors  Introduction  Radu Carp and Cristina Matiuța Part 1: Stability, Change and Challenges for the EU Party System  1Answers and Dilemmas Following the 2019 European Elections  Valentin Naumescu  2The Demise of the Spitzenkandidaten System: decline of EU Democratization or (Euro)party Process of Adaptation?  Alexandra Alina Iancu  3Electoral Engineering for a European Demos: building European Identity through Elections  Ruxandra Ivan  4Towards a More Democratic European Union: how to Use the Elections for the European Parliament to Create a True Pan-European Constituency? Old Debates, New Challenges  Mihai Sebe  5The Citizens’ Perceptions ahead of the 2019 European Parliament Vote – The Accuracy of the Eurobarometer Democracy and Elections  Radu Carp  6The Exploitation for Populist Purposes of Difficulties in the EU – An Important Problem of the EU  Sorin Bocancea Part 2: Case Studies  7Back on Track: the French Far Right’s (Narrow) Win in the 2019 European Elections  Sergiu Mișcoiu  8Europe Up for Grabs: an Italian Perspective  Gianluca Piccolino, Leonardo Puleo and Sorina Soare  9European Parliamentary Elections in Austria “Gone Ibiza”  Tobias Spöri and Jeremias Stadlmair  10A Dress Rehearsal: european Elections in Poland before the Parliamentary Race  Piotr Sula and Małgorzata Madej  11The 2019 European Parliament Elections in Hungary  József Dúró and Dóra Bókay  12Rise of Euroscepticism in Slovak Political Parties before Election to European Parliament: case of Rise of Extremism in Slovak Society  Jaroslav Ušiak and Petra Jankovská  13Ambiguity towards the EU as a Destiny of Czech Politics: the Case of the ANO Movement  Jan Bíba, Tomáš Dvořák and Martin Štefek  14The European Elections Campaign in Romania: between Contesting and Embracing the EU  Cristina Matiuța  15A Pattern of European Parliament Elections in Romania (2007–2019)  Alexandru Radu  Conclusions  Radu Carp and Cristina Matiuța  Index

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Book SynopsisIn 2016 and 2020, the Bernie Sanders campaign gave American leftists a path towards social change through electoral politics. In order to combat neoliberal and reactionary uses of identity, the 2020 Sanders campaign combined a working-class agenda of universalist policies with various forms of social movement activism. In doing so it compromised on universalist principles and socialist radicalism in order to appeal to distinct demographic groups and win the election. Bernie Bros Gone Woke reveals how intersectional politics contributed to the failure of the Sanders campaign – a lesson that the organized left must learn if it is to challenge progressive neoliberalism and move beyond postmodern post-politics.Table of Contentsb>Acknowledgements List of Figures Introduction  1 Democratic Brocialism  2 Identity Politics Is Class Politics  3 Progressive Neoliberalism  4 Post-politics  5 Outline of the Book 1 What Does the Professional-Managerial Class Want?  1 From the New Deal to the New Democrats  2 A Stratum without an Ideology  3 The Fall of the Liberal Class and the Rise of the Far Right  4 Left Populism as Compromise Formation  5 The Wages of Wokeness 2 Bernie Beats Trump, Clinton and Obama Beat Bernie  1 Millennials Feel the Bern  2 Whose Revolution? Whose Party?  3 Malarkey 3 Elective Affinities  1 Your Candidate Here  2 I’m Bernie Sanders and I Approve This Message  3 The Difference That Universalism Makes 4 Less than Bernie  1 I Know There Is No Democracy, but I Choose to Ignore  2 I Can’t Breathe  3 Sectarians, Splitters and Fellow Travelers  4 When I Hear the Word Culture, I Reach for the Political Economy  5 Role Model Ideology Conclusion  1 The Bipartisan Endgame  2 Meanwhile, Back in Wokeville  3 Political Revolution Inside Bibliography Index

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