In Defense of Politicians

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Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1136957359
Total Pages : 218 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (369 download)

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Book Synopsis In Defense of Politicians by : Stephen K. Medvic

Download or read book In Defense of Politicians written by Stephen K. Medvic and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-03-05 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Politicians are reviled. From jokes on late-night TV talk shows to radio show rants and from public opinion polls to ubiquitous conventional wisdom—politicians are among the most despised professional class in modern society. Drawing on seminal work in political science, Stephen K. Medvic convincingly argues to the masses that this blanket condemnation of politicians is both unfair and unwarranted. While some individual politicians certainly deserve scorn for misjudgments, moral failings, or even criminal acts, the assumption that all of them should be cast in a similar light is unjustified. More importantly, that deeply cynical assumption is dangerous to the legitimacy of a democratic system of government. Politicians, as a class, deserve respect, not out of blind obedience to authority but because democratic deliberation requires it. Medvic explains how cognitive biases in the way people reason often lead us to draw unjustified conclusions of politicians in general based on the malfeasance of some. Scandals involving politicians are likely to be remembered and to serve as "evidence" of the belief that "they all do it." Most politicians, in fact, care deeply about their cities, states, and nation. But they face a trap of unrealistic and contradictory expectations from the public about how politicians should behave. Medvic, in turn, demonstrates the necessity of ambition, the utility of politics for resolving conflicts peacefully, and the value of ideology in framing political choices. In the end, citizens must learn to tolerate the inherent messiness of politics as the only viable alternative to violent conflict. In the process, we must embrace our role in the political system as well.

In Defence of Politics

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Publisher : Chicago : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 9780226120645
Total Pages : 204 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (26 download)

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Book Synopsis In Defence of Politics by : Bernard R. Crick

Download or read book In Defence of Politics written by Bernard R. Crick and published by Chicago : University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1972 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

US Defense Politics

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Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1135104387
Total Pages : 512 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (351 download)

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Book Synopsis US Defense Politics by : Harvey M. Sapolsky

Download or read book US Defense Politics written by Harvey M. Sapolsky and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-12-04 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This textbook provides an accessible overview of US defense politics for upper-level students. This new edition has been fully updated and revised, with a new chapter on intelligence and new material on unmanned drones, women in the military, the Tea Party, and other key issues. Analyzing the ways in which the United States prepares for war, the authors demonstrate how political and organizational interests determine US defense policy and warn against over-emphasis on planning, centralization, and technocracy. Emphasizing the process of defense policy-making rather than just the outcomes of that process, US Defense Politics departs from the traditional style of many existing textbooks. Designed to help students understand the practical side of American national security policy, the book examines the following key themes: US grand strategy; who joins America's military; how and why weapons are bought; the management of defense; public attitudes toward the military and casualties; the roles of the President and the Congress in controlling the military; the effects of 9/11 and the Global War on Terror on security policy, homeland security, government reorganizations, and intra- and inter-service relations. The textbook will be essential reading for students of US defense politics, US national security policy and homeland security, and highly recommended for students of US foreign policy, US public policy and public administration.

In Defense of Housing

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Publisher : Verso Books
ISBN 13 : 1804294942
Total Pages : 257 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (42 download)

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Book Synopsis In Defense of Housing by : Peter Marcuse

Download or read book In Defense of Housing written by Peter Marcuse and published by Verso Books. This book was released on 2024-08-27 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In every major city in the world there is a housing crisis. How did this happen and what can we do about it? Everyone needs and deserves housing. But today our homes are being transformed into commodities, making the inequalities of the city ever more acute. Profit has become more important than social need. The poor are forced to pay more for worse housing. Communities are faced with the violence of displacement and gentrification. And the benefits of decent housing are only available for those who can afford it. In Defense of Housing is the definitive statement on this crisis from leading urban planner Peter Marcuse and sociologist David Madden. They look at the causes and consequences of the housing problem and detail the need for progressive alternatives. The housing crisis cannot be solved by minor policy shifts, they argue. Rather, the housing crisis has deep political and economic roots—and therefore requires a radical response.

US Defense Politics

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1135980365
Total Pages : 206 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (359 download)

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Book Synopsis US Defense Politics by : Harvey M. Sapolsky

Download or read book US Defense Politics written by Harvey M. Sapolsky and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2008-08-06 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new textbook seeks to explain how US defense and national security policy is formulated and conducted. The focus is on the role of the President, Congress, political partisans, defense industries, lobbies, science, the media, and interest groups, including the military itself, in shaping policies. It examines the following key themes: US grand strategy; who joins America's military; how and why weapons are bought; the management of defense; public attitudes toward the military and casualties; the roles of the President and the Congress in controlling the military; the effects of 9/11 on security policy, homeland security, government reorganizations, and intra- and inter-service relations. The book shows how political and organizational interests determine US defense policy, and warns against the introduction of centralising reforms. In emphasizing the process of defense policy-making, rather than just the outcomes of that process, this book signals a departure from the style of many existing textbooks.

The Politics of Military Force

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Publisher : University of Michigan Press
ISBN 13 : 0472132210
Total Pages : 293 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (721 download)

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Book Synopsis The Politics of Military Force by : Frank Stengel

Download or read book The Politics of Military Force written by Frank Stengel and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2020-12-08 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Politics of Military Force examines the dynamics of discursive change that made participation in military operations possible against the background of German antimilitarist culture. Once considered a strict taboo, so-called out-of-area operations have now become widely considered by German policymakers to be without alternative. The book argues that an understanding of how certain policies are made possible (in this case, military operations abroad and force transformation), one needs to focus on processes of discursive change that result in different policy options appearing rational, appropriate, feasible, or even self-evident. Drawing on Essex School discourse theory, the book develops a theoretical framework to understand how discursive change works, and elaborates on how discursive change makes once unthinkable policy options not only acceptable but even without alternative. Based on a detailed discourse analysis of more than 25 years of German parliamentary debates, The Politics of Military Force provides an explanation for: (1) the emergence of a new hegemonic discourse in German security policy after the end of the Cold War (discursive change), (2) the rearticulation of German antimilitarism in the process (ideational change/norm erosion) and (3) the resulting making-possible of military operations and force transformation (policy change). In doing so, the book also demonstrates the added value of a poststructuralist approach compared to the naive realism and linear conceptions of norm change so prominent in the study of German foreign policy and International Relations more generally.

A World Beyond Politics?

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Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691125678
Total Pages : 228 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (911 download)

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Book Synopsis A World Beyond Politics? by : Pierre Manent

Download or read book A World Beyond Politics? written by Pierre Manent and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2013-07-21 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We live in the grip of a great illusion about politics, Pierre Manent argues in A World beyond Politics? It's the illusion that we would be better off without politics--at least national politics, and perhaps all politics. It is a fantasy that if democratic values could somehow detach themselves from their traditional national context, we could enter a world of pure democracy, where human society would be ruled solely according to law and morality. Borders would dissolve in unconditional internationalism and nations would collapse into supranational organizations such as the European Union. Free of the limits and sins of politics, we could finally attain the true life. In contrast to these beliefs, which are especially widespread in Europe, Manent reasons that the political order is the key to the human order. Human life, in order to have force and meaning, must be concentrated in a particular political community, in which decisions are made through collective, creative debate. The best such community for democratic life, he argues, is still the nation-state. Following the example of nineteenth-century political philosophers such as Alexis de Tocqueville and John Stuart Mill, Manent first describes a few essential features of democracy and the nation-state, and then shows how these characteristics illuminate many aspects of our present political circumstances. He ends by arguing that both democracy and the nation-state are under threat--from apolitical tendencies such as the cult of international commerce and attempts to replace democratic decisions with judicial procedures.

In Defense of Negativity

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Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 0226285006
Total Pages : 221 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (262 download)

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Book Synopsis In Defense of Negativity by : John G. Geer

Download or read book In Defense of Negativity written by John G. Geer and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2008-07-29 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Americans tend to see negative campaign ads as just that: negative. Pundits, journalists, voters, and scholars frequently complain that such ads undermine elections and even democratic government itself. But John G. Geer here takes the opposite stance, arguing that when political candidates attack each other, raising doubts about each other’s views and qualifications, voters—and the democratic process—benefit. In Defense of Negativity, Geer’s study of negative advertising in presidential campaigns from 1960 to 2004, asserts that the proliferating attack ads are far more likely than positive ads to focus on salient political issues, rather than politicians’ personal characteristics. Accordingly, the ads enrich the democratic process, providing voters with relevant and substantial information before they head to the polls. An important and timely contribution to American political discourse, In Defense of Negativity concludes that if we want campaigns to grapple with relevant issues and address real problems, negative ads just might be the solution.

Empire of Defense

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Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 022663292X
Total Pages : 276 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (266 download)

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Book Synopsis Empire of Defense by : Joseph Darda

Download or read book Empire of Defense written by Joseph Darda and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2019-05-23 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Empire of Defense tells the story of how the United States turned war into defense. When the Truman administration dissolved the Department of War in 1947 and formed the Department of Defense, it marked not the end of conventional war but, Joseph Darda argues, the introduction of new racial criteria for who could wage it––for which countries and communities could claim self-defense. From the formation of the DOD to the long wars of the twenty-first century, the United States rebranded war as the defense of Western liberalism from first communism, then crime, authoritarianism, and terrorism. Officials learned to frame state violence against Asians, Black and brown people, Arabs, and Muslims as the safeguarding of human rights from illiberal beliefs and behaviors. Through government documents, news media, and the writing and art of Joseph Heller, June Jordan, Trinh T. Minh-ha, I. F. Stone, and others, Darda shows how defense remade and sustained a weakened color line with new racial categories (the communist, the criminal, the authoritarian, the terrorist) that cast the state’s ideological enemies outside the human of human rights. Amid the rise of anticolonial and antiracist movements the world over, defense secured the future of war and white dominance.

Defending Politics

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Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 019964442X
Total Pages : 221 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (996 download)

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Book Synopsis Defending Politics by : Matthew Flinders

Download or read book Defending Politics written by Matthew Flinders and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012-04-26 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Citizens around the world have become distrustful of politicians, skeptical about democratic institutions, and disillusioned about the capacity of democratic politics to resolve pressing social concerns. Many feel as if something has gone seriously wrong with democracy. Those sentiments are especially high in the U.S. as the 2012 election draws closer. In 2008, President Barack Obama ran--and won--on a promise of hope and change for a better country. Four years later, that dream for hope and change seems to be waning by the minute. Instead, disillusionment grows with the Obama adminstration's achievements, or depending where you fall on the spectrum, its lack thereof. Defending Politics meets this contemporary pessimism about the political process head on. In doing so, it aims to cultivate a shift from the negativity that appears to dominate public life towards a more buoyant and engaged "politics of optimism." Matthew Flinders makes an unfashionable but incredibly important argument of utmost simplicity: democratic politics delivers far more than most members of the public appear to acknowledge and understand. If more and more people are disappointed with what modern democratic politics delivers, is it possible that the fault lies with those who demand too much, fail to acknowledge the essence of democratic engagement, and ignore the complexities of governing in the twentieth century? Is it possible that the public in many advanced liberal democracies have become "democratically decadent," that they take what democratic politics delivers for granted? Would politics appear in a better light if we all spent less time emphasizing our individual rights and more time reflecting on our responsibilities to society and future generations? Democratic politics remains "a great and civilizing human activity...something to be valued almost as a pearl beyond price," Bernard Crick stressed in his classic In Defense of Politics fifty years ago. By returning to and updating Crick's arguments, this book provides an honest account of why democratic politics matters and why we need to reject the arguments of those who would turn their backs on "mere politics" in favor of more authoritarian, populist or technocratic forms of governing.

In Defense of a Political Court

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780691007182
Total Pages : 384 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (71 download)

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Book Synopsis In Defense of a Political Court by : Terri Jennings Peretti

Download or read book In Defense of a Political Court written by Terri Jennings Peretti and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This text argues for an openly political role for the Supreme Court. The author asserts that politically motivated constitutional decision-making is not only inevitable, it is legitimate and desirable as well.

Government Is Good

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Publisher : Dog Ear Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1457506580
Total Pages : 320 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (575 download)

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Book Synopsis Government Is Good by : Douglas J. Amy

Download or read book Government Is Good written by Douglas J. Amy and published by Dog Ear Publishing. This book was released on 2011 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why a book defending government? Because for decades, right-wing forces in this country have engaged in a relentless and irresponsible campaign of vicious government bashing. Conservatives and libertarians have demonized government, attacked basic safety net programs like Medicare, and undermined vital regulations that protect consumers, investors, workers, and the environment. This book takes on this anti-government movement and shows that most of its criticisms of this institution are highly exaggerated, misleading, or just plain wrong. In reality, American government - despite its flaws - plays a valuable and indispensable role in promoting the public good. Most government programs are working well and are actually improving the lives of Americans in innumerable ways. Democratic government is a vital tool for making our world a better place; and if we want an America that is prosperous, healthy, secure, well-educated, just, compassionate, and unpolluted, we need a strong, active, and well-funded public sector. Part I: Why Government is Good. The section of the book describes how government acts as a force for good in society. One chapter chronicles a day in the life of an average middle-class American and identifies the myriad ways that government programs improve our lives. Other chapters describe the forgotten achievements of government; how government is the only way to effectively promote public values like justice and equality; and how a free market economy would be impossible without the elaborate legal and regulatory infrastructure provided by government. Part II: The War on Government. This section of the book chronicles the unrelenting assault on government being waged by conservative forces in this country. Chapters describe how cuts in social programs and rollbacks of regulations have harmed the health, safety, and welfare of millions of Americans and how these assaults have taken place on many fronts - in Congress, the administrative branch, and the federal courts, as well as on the state and local level. Also addressed: how the right's radical anti-government agenda is out of touch with the views and priorities of most Americans, and what the real truth is about government deficits. Part III: How to Revitalize Democracy and Government. There are, in fact, some problems with American government, and we need to address these if we are to restore Americans' faith in this institution. One of the main problems with our government is that it is not accountable and responsive enough to the public. Moneyed special interests too often win out over the public interest. Chapters in this section describe this problem and how we can fix it. There are several reforms - including public financing of elections - that could help our government live up to its democratic ideals. The final chapter discusses strategies for building a pro-government coalition in this country.

Irrational Security

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Publisher : JHU Press
ISBN 13 : 0801898420
Total Pages : 254 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (18 download)

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Book Synopsis Irrational Security by : Daniel Wirls

Download or read book Irrational Security written by Daniel Wirls and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2010-05-01 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 2011 Winner of the Selection for Professional Reading List of the U.S. Marine Corps The end of the Cold War was supposed to bring a “peace dividend” and the opportunity to redirect military policy in the United States. Instead, according to Daniel Wirls, American politics following the Cold War produced dysfunctional defense policies that were exacerbated by the war on terror. Wirls’s critical historical narrative of the politics of defense in the United States during this “decade of neglect” and the military buildup in Afghanistan and Iraq explains how and why the U.S. military has become bloated and aimless and what this means for long-term security. Examining the recent history of U.S. military spending and policy under presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, Wirls finds that although spending decreased from the close of the first Bush presidency through the early years of Clinton’s, both administrations preferred to tinker at the edges of defense policy rather than redefine it. Years of political infighting escalated the problem, leading to a military policy stalemate as neither party managed to craft a coherent, winning vision of national security. Wirls argues that the United States has undermined its own long-term security through profligate and often counterproductive defense policies while critical national problems have gone unmitigated and unsolved. This unified history of the politics of U.S. military policy from the end of the Cold War through the beginning of the Obama presidency provides a clear picture of why the United States is militarily powerful but “otherwise insecure.”

In Defense of Judicial Elections

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1135852693
Total Pages : 198 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (358 download)

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Book Synopsis In Defense of Judicial Elections by : Chris W. Bonneau

Download or read book In Defense of Judicial Elections written by Chris W. Bonneau and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2009-06-02 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ought judges be independent of democratic pressures, or should they be subjected to the preferences and approval of the electorate? In this book, Bonneau and Hall use empirical data to shed light on these normative questions and offer a coherent defense of judicial elections.

The Politics of Policy Making in Defense and Foreign Affairs

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780136841685
Total Pages : 356 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (416 download)

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Book Synopsis The Politics of Policy Making in Defense and Foreign Affairs by : Roger Hilsman

Download or read book The Politics of Policy Making in Defense and Foreign Affairs written by Roger Hilsman and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Systematically examining the different methods that both policy makers and scholars have used to analyze policy making and events, this new edition uses each of these different methods to analyze specific case studies. It applies the various models to seven cases: the Soviet deployment of nuclear missiles to Cuba, the U.S. decision to bomb North Vietnam, Communist China's invitation to President Nixon to visit, Nixon's acceptance of the invitation, Iran's taking of American hostages, the Iran-Contra affair, and the Gulf war against Iraq. For professionals in the fields of policy making and international relations.

The Political Economy of Defence

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Author :
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1108424929
Total Pages : 525 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (84 download)

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Book Synopsis The Political Economy of Defence by : Ron Matthews

Download or read book The Political Economy of Defence written by Ron Matthews and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-05-09 with total page 525 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A contemporary and comprehensive analysis of national and supranational defence governance in an uncertain and increasingly dangerous world. This book will appeal to policymakers, analysts, graduate students and academics interested in defence economics, political economy, public economics and public policy.

Buildup

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Buildup by : Daniel Wirls

Download or read book Buildup written by Daniel Wirls and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The eight-year Reagan presidency not only initiated the largest peacetime military buildup in American history but also altered traditional partisan alignments and revised the policy agenda of the welfare state. In his insightful book, Daniel Wirls clarifies the relationship between defense policy and domestic policy during this period of significant political change when he examines three defense policies, the political coalitions behind them, and their interactions. Wirls discusses the use of the rhetoric and resources of national security to build and maintain Reagan's conservative coalition and undermine Democratic politics; the importance of the peace movement in the mobilization of liberal opposition to the Reagan revolution; and the adoption and promotion of military reform, particularly by members of Congress, in response to the clash between the peace movement and the Reagan administration. He probes the political competition among these institutions and coalitions by examining three major defense policy initiatives--the Strategic Defense Initiative for the Reagan administration, the nuclear freeze proposal from the peace movement and the Democratic party, and the attempts by the military reform lobby in Congress to change the Pentagon's procurement practices--and he weighs the impact of those forces on the defense debate and domestic politics. Treating an inadequately developed aspect of the political process, this book will be of great interest to political scientists and historians concentrating in American domestic politics, security affairs specialists, and military historians.