Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Decision making    3. Economics - Theory    4. History & Theory - General    5. Methodology    6. Political Ideologies - Democracy    7. Political Science    8. Politics / Current Events    9. Politics/International Relations    10. Rational choice theory    11. Social choice    12. Political Science / History & Theory    13. Political science & theory   

Reviews (2)

Global democracy
I went to the eye doctor years ago and told him I had problem with my right eye. He began to look at my left eye. I said to him . . . no that is not the one giving me the problem. The eye doctor became frustrated and said to me "How can I possibly know what is wrong with your right eye without looking at both . . . do you not understand that they are connected."
Good account of Iran
I have read many books on Iran. I liked this one. It is readable and very insightful. There are many new facts in it, and it interprets Iran's history from a new perspective and at times with views that are different from those commonly held. I found it to be balanced, and when it comes to democracy to provide a deep and historical view that goes beyond simple answers in media today. I recommend to anyone who wants to understand Iran. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Democracy    3. History - General History    4. Iran    5. Islam - General    6. Middle East - Iran    7. Political Ideologies - Democracy    8. Political Science    9. Politics and government    10. Politics/International Relations    11. Asian / Middle Eastern history    12. Political ideologies    13. Political structures: democracy    14. Religion & Theology | Islam    15. Religion / Islam   

Reviews (12)

Tocqueville's "Democracy" accessible and relevant
After various failed attempts to read Tocqueville's "Democracy in America," this reader-a translator and copy editor--finally found a readable and compelling version in the Mansfield/Winthrop translation.This was just after 9/11-in an attempt to understand what about America and democracy could have provoked such an attack.
Old Classic
No doubt this is a classic text, but the unqualified praise heaped on Tocqueville's insights needs to be tempered at least somewhat by the fact that they are based on a nine month visit over a hundred and seventy years ago!America--and the world--have changed over that interval.Those who wish to refashion the country on these old ideals are dreaming of a bygone world!(And we can say good riddance: as some of Tocqueville's more racist comments--especially about Native Americans--ought to suggest.)
A whole course on political science
It has been said that this is the best book about the US and the best book about democracy. Having just read it, I can say it is even more. Tocqueville reflects not only on the US or on democracy, but his comparative approach sheds light on the Europe of his times and before, on the nature of aristocracy and the inevitable democratic revolution which was on its way across the civilized world. Tocqueville was a realistic aristocrat, sometimes nostalgic for the "greatness" of yesterday, but bearing no illusions whatsoever about the feasibility of stopping democratic change. So, he sets to find out what is it about democracy that can work, and what its inherent risks are. And he decides to tour the grandest democratic experiment ever attempted by Man: the United States.Read more

Subjects:  1. Democracy    2. History & Theory - General    3. Political Ideologies - Democracy    4. Political Process - General    5. Political Science    6. Political Theory    7. Politics / Current Events    8. Politics/International Relations    9. Political Science / Practical Politics    10. Political structures: democracy    11. USA   

Reviews (16)

A Man of Our Times
One thing when you get when you read Bill Moyers is a man who speaks from his soul. This journalist and minister laments the disappearance of a free and diverse press being taken over by conglomerates that filter our information with a singular point of view.
excellent journalist, a true american patriot
fantastic book.moyers is an unbelievabel journalist and a true american citizen.he has served his country in government and in public life.a wonderful writer and excellent speaker.

He's one of our best.
Bill Moyers calls us to "the fight of our lives" with "nothing less than democracy itself at stake."
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Subjects:  1. 1993-2001    2. 2001-    3. American Journalism    4. Democracy    5. Essays    6. Government - U.S. Government    7. Iraq War, 2003    8. Journalism    9. National characteristics, Amer    10. National characteristics, American    11. Political Science    12. Politics - Current Events    13. Politics / Current Events    14. Politics and government    15. Politics/International Relations    16. Sociology    17. United States    18. Political Science / Democracy   

Subjects:  1. Civics & Citizenship    2. Democracy    3. Political Ideologies - Democracy    4. Political Science    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Politics and government    7. Politics/International Relations    8. Textbooks    9. United States    10. Political control & freedoms    11. Political structures: democracy   

Reviews (94)

Good book worth reading
I like the DailyKos, but frankly I was not optimistic that the crossover to political writing would be a good one.I was wrong...The book is well-written and well-reasoned with a lot of good ideas and commentary.

Save your money
What a complete and utter waste of time.Its obvious how these guys got dubbed the nutroots.

A Decent Effort, With Good Insights
This book starts slowly, and doesn't really take off until the second half, when one arrives at the chapter called "The Gravy Train," which critiques the consultant-oriented way of DC Democratic politics.From that chapter on, the authors do a good job of discussing the current state of electoral politics, especially at the congressional level, and how the losing paradigm is slowly yielding to the new, "netroots"-driven politics that were initiated with the Howard Dean presidential campaign in 2003.
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Subjects:  1. Blogs    2. Government - U.S. Government    3. Political Advocacy    4. Political Ideologies - Conservatism & Liberalism    5. Political Ideologies - Democracy    6. Political Process - Elections    7. Political Process - Political Parties    8. Political Science    9. Political aspects    10. Politics / Current Events    11. Politics, Practical    12. Politics/International Relations    13. United States   

Reviews (4)

bibliographic data :
Author:Jackall, Robert.
Objective, sad, but true
"Moral Mazes" is an extensive, award-winning and highly accurate sociological portrait of life in the modern corporation, an academic precursor, so to speak, of the "Dilbert" cartoon strip. Unlike many other writers on this topic, Jackall doesn't resort to Marxist rants, but rather, compares modern corporate culture to the "Protestant" work ethic most Americans are raised into. A Cynical Autopsy
Robert Jackall strings together a series of worse-case scenarios gleaned from a very limited control group of corporations.He skillfully manipulates language (e.g., calling loyalty to one's boss 'fealty') in order to deliver what he thinks is an indictment of bureaucracy.He does have some interesting things to say about the press, but this occurs near the end and comprises less than a page of material.Save your time.Read something worthwhile like Thomas Sowell's classic "A Conflict of Visions."Jackall's book is not worth the read. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business / Economics / Finance    2. Business Ethics    3. Business/Economics    4. Corporations    5. Corrupt practices    6. Ethics & Moral Philosophy    7. Executives    8. Management - General    9. Political Ideologies - Democracy    10. Political Science    11. Politics/International Relations    12. Professional ethics    13. United States    14. Business & Economics / Business Ethics    15. Economics, Finance, Business and Industry    16. Sociology | Organizations, Occupations, Work   

Reviews (13)

Outstanding Read
This is a must have for anyone who loves America and is doing their part to strengthen it.Howard Dean has had all the answers all along and even if you aren't a Dean fan, you will love his insight and point of view on the problems we face daily.Dean is hard on Dems as well as Rebublicans and wants us to know that power is ours, now we just have to use it.This book reads easily and is worth every penny.A must have.

Worn Out Lines?Maybe Some
"We need to restore the balance between corporate power and the ballot box."
Howard Dean's Manual for Reform
Howard Dean is proving himself to be one of the Democratic Party's more enduring leaders.Not yet 60, he has already served as Governor of Vermont, head of the Democratic Governors Association, a Democratic candidate for the party's 2004 presidential nomination, head of the political action committee Democracy for America, and since, February, 2005, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee.With the Democrats poised to make big gains in 2006, Dean's future relevance is likely to continue for some time.
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Subjects:  1. 2004    2. Biography    3. Election    4. Government - U.S. Government    5. Political Ideologies - Conservatism & Liberalism    6. Political Ideologies - Democracy    7. Political Science    8. Political participation    9. Politics / Current Events    10. Politics and government    11. Politics/International Relations    12. Presidential candidates    13. Presidents    14. United States    15. Political Science / General   

Reviews (7)

Testing Institutional Performance
Lijphart seeks to test which type of democratic institutions - consensus or majoritarian - performs most effectively. He tests the performance of these institutions through a statistical analysis of their relative efficiency in three broad fields: macroeconomic management, control of violence, and what he terms the "kinder and gentler" qualities of democracy (293). However, before discussing the results of Lijphart's study, it is necessary to explore what distinguishes the institutions of majoritarian and consensus systems.
Not nearly what the original was
Unfortunately not everything gets better with time. The original 1984 version of this book was stellar. An excellent introduction to comparative politics. Easily accessible to undergraduates and a useful reference for early graduates. Unfortunately the new book adds nothing to the original insights and uses surprisingly poor statistical methodology to force points when the data are simply not supportive. At times the author even admits to "arbitrarily selecting thresholds." As a result of the alarmingly poor methodology employed I can no longer use this text as a key componant of my undergraduate comparative politics courses. For graduates I would use it only as an example of what not to do.

Past his prime
Lijphart was indeed on the the most influential political scientists of his generation.Read more

Subjects:  1. Comparative government    2. Democracy    3. Political Ideologies - Democracy    4. Politics / Current Events    5. Politics/International Relations    6. Political Science / Reference    7. Political economy    8. Political structures: democracy   

Features

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Reviews (5)

Rewarding and enriching reading experience
I have been enjoying Robert Young's writing since his 1990 White Mythologies and 1995 Colonial Desire. These works are excellent critical writings covering theories of postcolonialist critics. This work (Postcolonialism: An Historical Introduction) is a magnum opus covering the entire field of postcolonial study from Colonialism, Imperialism, Neocolonialism to Postcolonialism. If there is one book you want to have on postcolonialism, this is it. Only be sure that you will be guided by Young's encyclopedic mind through difficult and even uncharted areas of study. Young is no stranger to theory and he ends his book again with a section devoted to postcolonial criticism. He does not merely recap what we already know about Foucault, Said, Bhabha, Spivak, but explores how their thoughts interrelate and often influence each other directly. What is more, he situates all of this in direct relation to the leading chapters of the volume which helps the reader maintain a broad schematic view while slowly filling in the details. I found especially rewarding his demonstration of the lines that lead from Gandhi to Nandy to Bhabha, and also the line that leads (not unproblematically) from Foucault to Edward Said. Comparisons are made between the thought of Frantz Fanon and Nandy in order to lead the reader to form a clearer understanding of Bhaba's evolving concept of hybridity. Though this book is not as literary-oriented as Young's Colonial Desire, it will prove helpful background to that work. Also very noteworthy is his attention to women's voices within postcolonialism. On the whole this volume is a very worthwhile investment and I might add, a required reading for anyone interested in postcolonialism. Although there are some areas that invite disagreement, on the whole the book is not polemical in tone but consistently factual and historical.

A new standard in the field
There are other books on postcolonialism, but this one stands head and shoulders above them.Unlike other postcolonial writers, Young does not treat postcolonialism as one long ideological debate.All the ones I've read tend to focus on the ideas of Fanon, Said, Spivak, Bhabha while ignoring the social movements and individuals whose struggles against colonialism make the discussion possible.Actually, Fanon is the exception here, but that only proves the rule.Young traces the rise of anticolonial movements and ideologies and their development into postcolonialism.As Young shows, the anticolonialists of the early 20th century didn't simply provide a starting point for later thinkers, but took positions which are still influential today. A Revolutionary History
This book is completely different in scope from any other introduction to postcolonialism. There is no other book that compares with it. What is innovative about `Postcolonialism: An Historical Introduction' is the way in which Young for the first time traces, in great detail, the historical origins of post-colonialism to the anti-colonial movements. He shows how the earliest of these began in Europe itself during the times of the great imperial expansions, but were then superseded by indigenous movements which were particularly inspired by the appearance of the first state dedicated to the overthrow of western imperialism, Bolshevik Russia. Read more

Subjects:  1. Emigration & Immigration    2. History    3. Literary Criticism    4. Literature - Classics / Criticism    5. Political Ideologies - Democracy    6. Political Science    7. Postcolonialism    8. Semiotics & Theory    9. Colonization & independence    10. Cultural studies    11. Literary studies: general    12. Political Science / History & Theory    13. Political control & freedoms   

Reviews (1)

A fresh direction in democratic theory
"Democracy is hard to love."Iris Marion Young writes these words near the beginning of INCLUSION AND DEMOCRACY (2000).The love/hate relationship many people have with democracy originates in part from a love of democracy in theory but displeasure surrounding the outcomes of democratic systems in practice.I write this review from Jamaica during a time in which the struggle for democracy has reached critical proportions.The imminent national elections will play a part in determining the future direction of this polity.Jamaica presently operates under a neo-liberal economic system.Its flirtation with democratic socialism in the 1970s, though, along with its strong ties to Cuba hinted at a potential turn to socialism at a time when revolutions in Grenada, Iran, and Nicaragua fueled the Cold War Red Scare.The failure of both communist state capitalism and neo-liberalism among developing countries before and after the fall of the Soviet Union has left open the question, "What constitutes a democracy?"Furthermore, developed nations such as the US in the post-September 11 era are questioning WHO and WHAT constitute the fabric of their democracy amid daily economic struggles and racial profiling.Read more

Subjects:  1. History & Theory - General    2. Political Ideologies - Democracy    3. Political Science    4. Politics / Current Events    5. Politics/International Relations    6. Political Science / History & Theory    7. Political science & theory    8. Political structures: democracy    9. Politics | Political Theory | Political Philosophy    10. Social groups & communities    11. Social theory   

Reviews (1)

A balanced and probing journalistic essay
Grace Livingstone has authored a balanced and probing journalistic essay of the Republic of Colombia."Inside Colombia; Drugs, Deomocracy and War," is a powerful presentation of human rights, history, the economy, the war on drugs and Colombian - American relations.Moreover, the text includes dynamic fundamental statistics that adds an important dimension to understanding the complexities of Colombia's democracy.An added bonus is a straightforward and compelling foreword by Jenny Pearce...a highly regarded author/journalist.
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Subjects:  1. Colombia    2. Drug traffic    3. Economic aspects    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History: World    7. Latin America - General    8. Latin America - South America    9. Narcotics, Control of    10. Political Ideologies - Democracy    11. Social aspects    12. Sociology - General    13. History / South America    14. Political Science-Political Ideologies - Democracy    15. Social Science-Sociology - General   

Reviews (2)

Contains interesting things, but somewhat disappointing.
I really thought this book would take a pretty broad view at constitutions and other fundamental government principles throughout the world.In the end, I wound up feeling misled and a little cheated.Fact:virtually all of this book is about the U.S. Constitution alone, and specific issues in American Constitutional law and thought.There are a handful of perfunctory mentions of other countries, but only South Africa gets more than a sentence or three:to wit, the last chapter is about a South African Constitutional Court decision holding that the government should be required to build adequate and affordable housing for children.An interesting discussion -- but too little, too late. Intelligently designing democratic institutions
First of all, I would like to say that I appreciate Cass Sunstein works a lot. Basically, I try to read everything he writes. Although here and there I would have a slightly different opinion (v.g. in free speech matters I tend to have a broader view of this fundamental right) Sunstein's books are always insightful, refreshing and profound. He has deeply influenced my view on constitutional issues.Read more

Subjects:  1. Constitutional    2. Constitutions    3. History & Theory - General    4. Law    5. Political Ideologies - Democracy    6. Politics / Current Events    7. Constitution: government & the state    8. Law / Constitutional    9. Law | Constitutional Law    10. Political structures: democracy   

Subjects:  1. Democracy    2. Employee participation    3. History & Theory - General    4. Management    5. Political Ideologies - Democracy    6. Political Science    7. Political participation    8. Politics / Current Events    9. Politics/International Relations    10. Political Science / History & Theory    11. Politics & government    12. Social & political philosophy   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (35)

Good but nothing new.
While I agree with most of what Cornell West has to say, I've also heard it all before.There's nothing really original or particularly profound in this book.What I found annoying, however, was the constant name-dropping.I know that Mr. West is a smart guy; he doesn't need to drop the names of every philosopher and the title of every great work he's ever read (and lighten up with the barrage of adjectives, too.That's just Writing 101).This seemed like a very "off-the-cuff" kind of work, both in style and content.I had expected something more.

Exceptional read but sometimes it loses its focus.
Democracy Matters is an exceptional read but sometimes it loses its focus.
Maurice's Review
The book was incredible, it tackled alot of political issues that we as americans are facing in this post 9/11 era. It isnt a typical book that just gives you the basic fluff that you read from your everyday journalist, this book gives you an immaculate conception of socratic thinking and using these ideas to bring what not only what this country needs, but also the world, and that is prosperity. Excellent read!!!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Democracy    2. Imperialism    3. International Relations - General    4. Political Ideologies - Democracy    5. Political Science    6. Politics / Current Events    7. Politics/International Relations    8. U.S. Foreign Relations    9. United States    10. History / United States / General   

Subjects:  1. Comparative government    2. Democracy    3. Political Ideologies - Democracy    4. Political Process - Elections    5. Political Science    6. Politics / Current Events    7. Politics/International Relations    8. Public Affairs & Administration    9. Voting    10. Elections & referenda    11. Political Science / General   

Reviews (1)

A thorough but dry and repetitive analysis
Although After Capitalism examines the inherent flaws in modern state capitalism with exhaustive thoroughness, the book is exceedingly boring; the crushing machine of our hierarchical society is described with the sort of prose you'd find in an instruction manual for assembling a desk.This might be excusable (it is, after all, an economic treatise) if Melman managed to turn his critique into a map for a society after capitalism but the book never quite seems to get there.There are vague and repetitive references to attempts by workers to "disalienate" themselves but Melman never explores the workers' efforts with the sort of detail he reserves for outlining the architecture of the Military-Industrial Complex.In all, the book was informative but I'm certain there are tomes out there that manage to portray a more evocative vision of a postcapitalist world. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Capitalism    2. Current Affairs    3. Economic Systems    4. Employee participation    5. Free Enterprise    6. History & Theory - General    7. Industrial management    8. International    9. Management    10. Political Ideologies - Democracy    11. Politics - Current Events    12. Politics / Current Events    13. Politics/International Relations    14. State And Industrial Organization    15. United States    16. Current Events / International