Above Politics

Above Politics PDF

Author: Gary J. Miller

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2016-05-26

Total Pages: 287

ISBN-13: 1107008751

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This book argues that bureaucracies can contribute to stability and economic development, if they are insulated from unstable democratic politics. The book will appeal to those interested in political science, economics, law, sociology, and modern political history.

Above Politics

Above Politics PDF

Author: Gary J. Miller

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2016-05-23

Total Pages: 287

ISBN-13: 1316565106

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Economic development requires secure contract enforcement and stable property rights. Normal majority-rule politics, such as bargaining over distributive and monetary policies, generate instability and frequently undermine economic development. Above Politics argues that bureaucracies can contribute to stability and economic development, but only if they are insulated from unstable politics. A separation-of-powers stalemate creates the conditions for bureaucratic autonomy. But what keeps delegated bureaucrats from being more abusive as they become more autonomous? One answer is the negotiation of long-term, cooperative relationships - that (when successful) typically bind subordinates to provide more effort in exchange for autonomy. Even more compelling is professionalism, which embeds its professional practitioners in professional norms and culture, and incidentally mitigates corruption. Financial examples are provided throughout the book, which ends with an analysis of the role played by professionalized bureaucracies during the Great Recession.

Politics of Climate Justice

Politics of Climate Justice PDF

Author: Patrick Bond

Publisher: University of Kwazulu Natal Press

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781869142216

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This is an indispensable book for anyone who seeks to understand world leaders' responses to climate change through the United Nations' Conference of the Parties (COP). Politics of Climate Justice provides the vital background and theoretical context to what happened at the COPS in Kyoto, Copenhagen, Cancun, and Durban. It explores the favored strategies of key elites from the crisis ridden global and national power blocs, including South Africa, and finds them incapable of reconciling the threat to the planet with their economies' addiction to fossil fuels. Finally, the book reveals sites of climate justice and interrogates the new movement's approach.

Game Over

Game Over PDF

Author: Dave Zirin

Publisher: The New Press

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 1595588159

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Sportscaster Howard Cosell dubbed it "rule number one of the jockocracy" sports and politics just don't mix. But in Game Over, celebrated alt-sportswriter Dave Zirin proves once and for all that politics has breached the modern sports arena with a vengeance. From the NFL lockout and the role of soccer in the Arab Spring to the Penn State sexual abuse scandals and Tim Tebow's on-field genuflections, this timely and hard-hitting new book from the "conscience of American sportswriting" (The Washington Post) reveals how our most important debates about class, race, religion, sex, and the raw quest for political power are played out both on and off the field. Game Over offers new insights and analysis of headline-grabbing sports controversies, exploring the shady side of the NCAA, the explosive 2011 MLB All-Star Game, and why the Dodgers crashed and burned. It covers the fascinating struggles of gay and lesbian athletes to gain acceptance, female athletes to be more than sex symbols, and athletes everywhere to assert their collective bargaining rights as union members. Zirin also illustrates the ways in which athletes are once again using their exalted platforms to speak out and reclaim sports from the corporate interests that have taken it hostage. In Game Over, he cheers the victories but also reflects on how far we have yet to go. Combining brilliant set pieces with a sobering overview of today's sports scene in Zirin's take-no-prisoners style, Game Over is a must read for anyone, sports fan or not, interested in understanding how sports reflect and shape society--and why the stakes have never been higher.

Transatlantic Space Politics

Transatlantic Space Politics PDF

Author: Sheng-Chih Wang

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-05-29

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 113411690X

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This book examines transatlantic politics through an analysis of 60 years of US-European strategic interaction in space. The significance of space politics for the study of transatlantic relations receives surprisingly little scholarly attention. As a theatre of interaction, transatlantic space politics reflects the vicissitudes of European and US power in the international system. An understanding of space politics is therefore vital in understanding the status and prospect of the transatlantic order. Using established IR theories, the author investigates transatlantic space politics and proposes a theoretical explanation, which is distinct from the conventional wisdom of the transatlantic security community. More specifically, he distinguishes between the constitutive and regulatory effects of the transatlantic security community, an approach rarely employed in other research in the field. Overall, this book suggests not only that the transatlantic institutional pillar requires repair, but also that the ideational factors need to be revitalised in order to consolidate the transatlantic alliance. This book will be of much interest to students of space power, transatlantic politics, strategic studies, foreign policy and IR/security studies in general.

Politics Is for Power

Politics Is for Power PDF

Author: Eitan Hersh

Publisher: Scribner

Published: 2020-01-14

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 1982116781

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A brilliant condemnation of political hobbyism—treating politics like entertainment—and a call to arms for well-meaning, well-informed citizens who consume political news, but do not take political action. Who is to blame for our broken politics? The uncomfortable answer to this question starts with ordinary citizens with good intentions. We vote (sometimes) and occasionally sign a petition or attend a rally. But we mainly “engage” by consuming politics as if it’s a sport or a hobby. We soak in daily political gossip and eat up statistics about who’s up and who’s down. We tweet and post and share. We crave outrage. The hours we spend on politics are used mainly as pastime. Instead, we should be spending the same number of hours building political organizations, implementing a long-term vision for our city or town, and getting to know our neighbors, whose votes will be needed for solving hard problems. We could be accumulating power so that when there are opportunities to make a difference—to lobby, to advocate, to mobilize—we will be ready. But most of us who are spending time on politics today are focused inward, choosing roles and activities designed for our short-term pleasure. We are repelled by the slow-and-steady activities that characterize service to the common good. In Politics Is for Power, pioneering and brilliant data analyst Eitan Hersh shows us a way toward more effective political participation. Aided by political theory, history, cutting-edge social science, as well as remarkable stories of ordinary citizens who got off their couches and took political power seriously, this book shows us how to channel our energy away from political hobbyism and toward empowering our values.

HBR Guide to Office Politics

HBR Guide to Office Politics PDF

Author: Karen Dillon

Publisher: Harvard Business Press

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 210

ISBN-13: 1625275323

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Every organization has its share of political drama: Personalities clash. Agendas compete. Turf wars erupt. But you need to work productively with your colleagues-even the challenging ones-for the good of your organization and your career. This guide will teach you how to: Build relationships with difficult people, gain allies and increase your sphere of influence, wrangle resources, move up without alienating your colleagues, avoid power games and petty rivalries, and claim credit when it's due.

The Increasingly United States

The Increasingly United States PDF

Author: Daniel J. Hopkins

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2018-05-30

Total Pages: 307

ISBN-13: 022653040X

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In a campaign for state or local office these days, you’re as likely today to hear accusations that an opponent advanced Obamacare or supported Donald Trump as you are to hear about issues affecting the state or local community. This is because American political behavior has become substantially more nationalized. American voters are far more engaged with and knowledgeable about what’s happening in Washington, DC, than in similar messages whether they are in the South, the Northeast, or the Midwest. Gone are the days when all politics was local. With The Increasingly United States, Daniel J. Hopkins explores this trend and its implications for the American political system. The change is significant in part because it works against a key rationale of America’s federalist system, which was built on the assumption that citizens would be more strongly attached to their states and localities. It also has profound implications for how voters are represented. If voters are well informed about state politics, for example, the governor has an incentive to deliver what voters—or at least a pivotal segment of them—want. But if voters are likely to back the same party in gubernatorial as in presidential elections irrespective of the governor’s actions in office, governors may instead come to see their ambitions as tethered more closely to their status in the national party.

The Authority of the Court and the Peril of Politics

The Authority of the Court and the Peril of Politics PDF

Author: Stephen Breyer

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2021-09-14

Total Pages: 113

ISBN-13: 0674269365

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A sitting justice reflects upon the authority of the Supreme CourtÑhow that authority was gained and how measures to restructure the Court could undermine both the Court and the constitutional system of checks and balances that depends on it. A growing chorus of officials and commentators argues that the Supreme Court has become too political. On this view the confirmation process is just an exercise in partisan agenda-setting, and the jurists are no more than Òpoliticians in robesÓÑtheir ostensibly neutral judicial philosophies mere camouflage for conservative or liberal convictions. Stephen Breyer, drawing upon his experience as a Supreme Court justice, sounds a cautionary note. Mindful of the CourtÕs history, he suggests that the judiciaryÕs hard-won authority could be marred by reforms premised on the assumption of ideological bias. Having, as Hamilton observed, Òno influence over either the sword or the purse,Ó the Court earned its authority by making decisions that have, over time, increased the publicÕs trust. If public trust is now in decline, one part of the solution is to promote better understandings of how the judiciary actually works: how judges adhere to their oaths and how they try to avoid considerations of politics and popularity. Breyer warns that political intervention could itself further erode public trust. Without the publicÕs trust, the Court would no longer be able to act as a check on the other branches of government or as a guarantor of the rule of law, risking serious harm to our constitutional system.

How Local Politics Shape Federal Policy

How Local Politics Shape Federal Policy PDF

Author: Sarah S. Elkind

Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 0807834890

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Focusing on five Los Angeles environmental policy debates between 1920 and 1950, Sarah Elkind investigates how practices in American municipal government gave business groups political legitimacy at the local level as well as unanticipated influence over