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Containing almost 200 entries from 'accountability' to the 'Westminster model' the Encyclopedia of Democratic Thought explores all the ideas that matter to democracy past, present and future. It is destined to become the first port-of-call for all students, teachers and researchers of political science interested in democratic ideas, democratic practice, and the quality of democratic governance. The Encyclopedia provides extensive coverage of all the key concepts of democratic thought written by a stellar team of distinguished international contributors. The Encyclopedia draws on every tradition of democratic thought, as well as developing new thinking, in order to provide full coverage of t...
This book, exploring the making of democracy in Spain during the twenty long years before the death of Franco, seeks out the beginnings of democratic struggles at the grass roots of civil society. Rather than one more account of the transition to democracy in Spain, this is the story of the countless unsung heroes who prepared the political terrain of this transition. The story suggests that it was social needs and economic demands which spawned individual discontent and political dissent, but that the struggle itself required continual political organization and calculation. The book therefore explores the personal networks and political strategies which sustained the struggle, and reveals that their contribution to the making of democracy was often contradictory and always piecemeal. Democratic struggle is not defined by a single idea of democracy, but by myriad attempts to achieve more autonomous action and more effective forms of representation.
Examines the historic links between the civil rights movements in Northern Ireland and the US.
"Drawing on the political realities of Latin America, Foweraker proposes an innovative answer to the question of what ails democracy today"--
Collective action in modern history has come to be defined by people fighting for their rights. This study identifies the main connections made between collective action and individual rights, in theory and history, and sets out to test them in the comparative context of modernizingauthoritarian regimes in Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Spain. The study employs new evidence and innovative methods to illuminate the political relationship between social mobilization and the language of rights, and shows that the fight for rights is fundamental to the achievement of democracy. Inlarge measure it is this fight that will continue to decide the chances of democratic advance in the new millennium. This ...
A 'regional' political economy which makes its own contribution to the theory of the state.
In many areas of the world, environmental degradation in and around human settlements is undermining prospects for both socioeconomic justice and ecological sustainability. To explore the issues involved in this worldwide problem, Keith Pezzoli focuses on a dramatic instance of conflict that grew out of the unauthorized penetration of human settlements into the Ajusco greenbelt zone, a vital part of Mexico City's ecological reserve. The heart of the book is the story of what happened when residents of the Ajusco settlements fought relocation by proposing that the areas be transformed into productive ecology settlements. Pezzoli draws upon urban and regional planning theory and practice to examine biophysical as well as ethical and social sides of the story, and he uses the Mexican experience to identify planning strategies to link economy, ecology, and community in sustainable development. -- Publisher description.
Governing Latin America is a concise yet comprehensive introduction to the contemporary politics of the region. Focusing on the enduring difficulties of achieving democratic stability, it explores the conduct of government through classic concepts like authority, accountability, and participation. The book brings Latin America into mainstream, comparative politics. The book combines regional and international perspectives into an original synthesis. The book is organized around comparative topics, not particular countries. The focus is on government and the difficulties of achieving democratic stability. The approach is thematic and uses classic concepts of political science.
In Where Cultures Meet, editors Weber and Rausch have collected twenty essays that explore how the frontier experience has helped create Latin American national identities and institutions. Using 'frontier' to mean more than 'border,' Weber and Rausch regard frontiers as the geographic zones of interaction between distinct cultures. Each essay in the volume illuminates the recipro-cal influences of the 'pioneer' culture and the 'frontier' culture, as they contend with each other and their physical environment. The transformative power of frontiers gives them special interest for historians and anthropologists. Delving into the frontier experience below the Rio Grande, Where Cultures Meet is an important collection for anyone seeking to understand fully Latin American history and culture.
This book explores the process of popular mobilisation in contemporary Mexico through the experience of the country's most important popular organisation - the teachers' movement. It creates a distinctive perspective on Mexican politics and makes an interesting contribution to the study of popular or 'social' movements. This in-depth study of a popular movement in Latin America provides a richly detailed account of its organisation, leadership, strategic choices, and factional divisions. Through its innovative methods, which produce an unusual and compelling blend of fact and theory, the book uncovers the motivations and mechanisms of popular mobilization, as well as explaining its interactions with national politics in Mexico and beyond.