General Books - Page 2

On Democracy

Robert A. Dahl

List Price: $25.00 By: Yale University Press Amazon Marketplace: 29 new & used starting at $3.35

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Ideal Democracy, plain and simple 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Dahl brings up a few fascinating points in this book about the manners in which democracy is achieved and what conditions favor or disfavor democracy. He explains the system of Guardianship and the pros and cons of it (I'm under the impression that America is more of a Guardianship system than a democratic one), and points out the advantages and disadvantages of factions and interest groups which are predominant in America.

Dahl is very idealistic in his views of democracy, but he realizes this and labels one section of the book "Ideal Democracy" and another section "Actual Democracy." However, this implies to me that democracy can never be achieved. If the merits of democracy in its ideal form can never be achieved (as Dahl suggests), how can we label anything as "actual" - it seems to me that something like democracy should not be labeled "ideal" versus "actual", for it indicates that true democracy cannot be achieved.

Dahl also has a bad habit of explaining some things in too much detail and explaining others in none at all. He doesn't expand on some of the ideas presented in the book, which is a shame because these ideas are crucial in understanding his entire thesis. It would probably take a larger book than this small, 188-page study in order to fully understand his notion of democracy. He leaves much unsaid, and doesn't elaborate on certain ideas which needed expounding upon. His ideas are very simple, logical, and nothing new for the experienced poly-sci major or those very interested and knowledgeable about democracy. For those looking to learn more about it, however, "On Democracy" may be a good place to start.

Editorial Review:

In this accessible and authoritative book, one of the most prominent political theorists of the time provides a primer on democracy that clarifies what democracy is, why it is valuable, how it works, and what challenges it confronts in the future.

Notes on Democracy

H. L. Mencken

By: Octagon Books Amazon Marketplace: 1 new & used starting at $20.00

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

[Democracy] is, perhaps, the most charming form of government ever devised by man... It is based on propositions that are palpably not true and what is not true, as everyone knows, is always immensely more fascinating and satisfying to the vast majority of men than what is true...

H.L. Mencken, America's greatest journalist and critic, wrote Notes on Democracy over 80 years ago. His time, the paranoid and intolerant years of World War I, Prohibition and the Scopes trial, is strikingly like our own. Notes isn't just a blast from the past, but also a perceptive and unsentimental report on contemporary life.

Dissident Books is proud to reintroduce this gem of cynicism and clear-thinking to a new generation. Mencken performs a brilliant, merciless and often hilarious vivisection on that most holy of sacred cows: democracy. The new edition is supplemented by extensive annotations that put Mencken's words and ideas in context and expose fascinating details and nuances.

Don't even think about voting until you read this book!

How to Start Your Own Country

Erwin S. Strauss

List Price: $12.95 By: Breakout Productions Amazon Marketplace: 5 new & used starting at $15.95

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Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Tough Read, Good Book 5 out of 5 stars.
11 of 13 people found this review helpful.

I found this book to be quite entertaining, I myself started my own country with the help of this book (The Principality of Saint Corjimia). Although this book is wirtten with em' big words and all, its a great read. I also noticed you get funny looks when reading this book in public.

Outdated but accurate - and funny too! 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.

Unlike most of the projects described, this book is pretty realistic about the problems facing prospective nation founders. It contains an excellent compendium of past projects, with some amusing commentary. While the title is rather overstating the content, it does provide some decent ideas about how to go about this difficult task. The material is dated, but at least its not absurdly utopian or impractical like some of its competitors (ie Marshall Savage).

Expect humor pointed at foolish projects, some hard talk about realism, and some good ideas to get started. Don't expect a true handbook or fleshed out ideas, its a short book.

Editorial Review:

Can you really start your own country? Erwin Strauss shows you five different methods for doing just that, as well as everything you need to know about sovereignty, national defense, diplomacy, raising revenue and recruiting settlers. Includes dozens of new-country success stories. Why settle for being king of your castle when you can be king of your own country?

Polyarchy; participation and opposition,

Robert Alan Dahl

By: Yale University Press Amazon Marketplace: 1 new & used starting at $199.98

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Classic of political science that is still relevant today 5 out of 5 stars.
17 of 18 people found this review helpful.

Dahl's work, which has been cited by countless political scientists since it was first published, provides a useful framework for the examination of democracy (which is not quite equivalent to what he terms 'polyarchy'; democracy consists of a bit more than a polyarchal system). The book is particularly concerned with the two main variables of political orders: 'competition' (public contestation among various political actors) and 'participation' (defined with regards to the right to participate). Using these variables, these systems can graded based on whether they possess these qualities to a greater or lesser degree. While most modern political systems fall in a 'gray area' (they are neither perfectly competitive nor inclusive), Dahl believes that all should strive towards the ideal type, or polyarchy. Dahl goes on to outline the benefits of a polyarchal system and the various ways in which such a system can be achieved. Yet, Dahl also recognizes that the transition to polyarchy is neither inevitable nor invariably desirable. Certain conditions are needed in order for the full benefits of a polyarchy to be realized. Thus, the minimal nature of Dahl's conception allows flexibility in its application. This is why his notion of democracy, as defined through polyarchy, has been adopted time again by those engaging in the debate over democracy, including such luminaries as Samuel P. Huntington and Larry Diamond.

On the Medieval Origins of the Modern State,

Joseph Reese Strayer

By: Princeton University Press Amazon Marketplace: 15 new & used starting at $4.88

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Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

excellent and clearly written scholarly treatise 5 out of 5 stars.
18 of 21 people found this review helpful.

This book, as is well known, is a small classic among history books on Medieval Europe since its publication in the early 19seventies. There is a clear and distinct approach of rational government building in 11-14th century England and France, and how the modern state has roots shaped by the lessons and experiences of that time. Although the treatise is short, it is very clearly and concisely written. Obviously, the writer has deep knowledge of what he is talking about, and reading the book gives a stong impression that there is much more behind the analysis that he gives. The idea of more-or-less rational institutional building of government functions in middle-to late Medieval times does leave out a lot of other human elements shaping human governance at that time, while i got a distinct impression of the smoothness of the whole process overall. This seems certainly very debatable. Nevertheless, perhaps the sharp focus is what makes the book so very clear, informative and enjoyable to read. A definite must for any serious Medieval history buff...

Editorial Review:

The modern state, however we conceive of it today, is based on a pattern that emerged in Europe in the period from 1100 to 1600. Written from the experience of a lifetime of teaching and research in the field, this short, clear book is the classic work on what is known about the early history of the European state. Charles Tilly's foreword shows how Strayer's book set the agenda for a whole generation of historical analysts, not just in medieval history but also in the comparative study of state formation. William Chester Jordan's foreword addresses the scholarly and pedagogical setting within which Strayer produced his book, and how this both enhanced its accessibility and informed its focus on peculiarly English and French accomplishments in early state-building.

Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation: Southern Europe, South America, and Post-Communist Europe

Juan J. Linz, Alfred Stepan

List Price: $69.00 By: The Johns Hopkins University Press Amazon Marketplace: 3 new & used starting at $23.83

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Since their classic volume The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes was published in 1978, Juan J. Linz and Alfred Stepan have increasingly focused on the questions of how, in the modern world, nondemocratic regimes can be eroded and democratic regimes crafted. In Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation, they break new ground in numerous areas. They reconceptualize the major types of modern nondemocratic regimes and point out for each type the available paths to democratic transition and the tasks of democratic consolidation. They argue that, although "nation-state" and "democracy" often have conflicting logics, multiple and complementary political identities are feasible under a common roof of state-guaranteed rights. They also illustrate how, without an effective state, there can be neither effective citizenship nor successful privatization. Further, they provide criteria and evidence for politicians and scholars alike to distinguish between democratic consolidation and pseudo-democratization, and they present conceptually driven survey data for the fourteen countries studied.

Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation contains the first systematic comparative analysis of the process of democratic consolidation in southern Europe and the southern cone of South America, and it is the first book to ground post-Communist Europe within the literature of comparative politics and democratic theory.

"This is an important volume by two major scholars on a central topic--one of broad interest to people in comparative politics, to those interested in democracy, and to regional specialists on Southern Latin America and on Central and Eastern Europe. The book will unquestionably be a major contribution to the literature on constructing democratic governance."--Abraham F. Lowenthal, University of Southern California

Representative Government in Modern Europe

Michael Gallagher, Michael Laver, Peter Mair

List Price: $52.90 By: McGraw-Hill Companies Amazon Marketplace: 16 new & used starting at $0.81

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

European Politics 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Simply the best book on comparative West European politics. Organised by theme rather than country; but does not just cover the 'big' countries as most texts do. Excellent.

Editorial Review:

Formerly a text largely dedicated to Western Europe, this edition was skillfully revised to include substantial new material on the far-reaching changes of Eastern Europe. This expanded coverage, along with the spirited revision of the opening chapters offer students an accessible, modern guide to the politics of Europe. Unlike many rival texts in the field - which depend on a country-by-country listing of dates, places and people - this text continues to offer a richly truly comparative approach.

Models of Democracy

David Held

List Price: $45.00 By: Stanford Univ Pr Amazon Marketplace: 6 new & used starting at $30.00

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The first edition of Models of Democracy has proved immensely popular among students and specialists world-wide. In a succinct but far-reaching analysis, David Held provides an introduction to central accounts of democracy from classical Greece to the present and a critical discussion of what democracy should mean today. The second edition has been extensively revised and updated to take account of the significant transformations in world politics during the past ten years. These changes are reflected in new chapters on the impact on democracy of the fall of the Soviet empire, the prospects of the democratic nation-state in the light of the intensification of regionalization and globalization, and the future of democracy in a more global era. The second edition also takes account of the considerable scholarship in political thought in the last decade, and of the challenges it poses to our understanding of the democratic heritage. This has led to a new chapter on republicanism and to thoroughly revised or updated chapters on classical Athens, liberalism, Marxism, the competitive elitism of Weber and Schumpeter, pluralism, and the post-war polarization of democratic ideals. Like its predecessor, the second edition of Models of Democracy combines lucid exposition and clarity of expression with careful scholarship and originality making it highly attractive both to students and to experts in the field. The second edition will prove essential reading for all those interested in politics, political theory and political philosophy.

Soviet Tragedy

Martin Malia

List Price: $24.95 By: Free Press Amazon Marketplace: 22 new & used starting at $5.16

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Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Important issue 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 15 people found this review helpful.

Marxist critics of Malia try to argue that Marxism is really a fine theory, it's just that the communist revolution needed to come about in a more industrialized country like Germany, as Marx had hoped, or Britian or the US. This is such a howler. First of all, socialism failed just as badly in East Germany. The difference in average material welfare in East vs West Germany was as stark a comaprison as one could ask for. Indeed, it took the huge Berlin Wall to keep the victims in their hellish prison. Besides, didn't anybody ever think to ask Marx, if your economic system is going to be even more productive than capitalism, why is it that you need capitalism first to build up the economic base? If socialism is so great, why can't industrialization take place under it from the get go? The truth is that socialism needed capitalism to accumulate all the capital equipment so that the socialists could then live off of it for a while, all the while eating it up and leaving little or nothing for the future to live on. Capitalism produces and accumulates, socialism consumes and destroys.

Editorial Review:

A look at seventy-four years of Soviet socialism describes why socialism held such an appeal for the Russians and why the USSR remained devoted to socialism and traces the progression of the USSR's policies.

The anatomy of revolution

Crane Brinton

By: Vintage Books Amazon Marketplace: 2 new & used starting at $4.00

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Total reviews: 19 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

THE GRANDDADDY OF THE SOCIOLOGY OF REVOLUTIONS 4 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

I have always been an avid student of the great modern revolutions both as a matter of practical politics and in order to glean some insights into how they have affected human history. In short, how the ideas and practice of those revolutions have acted as nodal points on the further progress of humankind. Crane Brinton's little book was probably the first book I read that tried to put that idea into some kind of order. While some of the material in the book is dated and some has been superseded by events and further research every serious student of comparative revolutions depends in some way or another on his pioneering methodology.

Brinton took the four great revolutions of his time (the Chinese Revolution had not occurred when he originally wrote the book)-the English of the 17th century, the French and American of the 18th century and the Russian of the 20th century and drew some common conclusions from them. Here the American Revolution acted as a kind of control for viewing the others. While no one would deny that each great revolution had its own perculiarities some lessons, so to speak, can be drawn from the various experiences.

Brinton traced the role of ideas, all kinds of ideas, some fanciful some serious that accompanied the dawn of every pre-revolutionary period as those who want to make a revolution or at least change things got a hearing from layers of society that they would not have gotten in more stable times. He also noted that the old regimes had run out of steam both in ideas and personnel, as exemplified by those who ruled at the time of revolutionary upheaval.

While the spark that ignited each revolution had different causes the revolutionary process itself started out as a broad coalition of forces opposed, for various reasons, to the old regime. Then a process of differentiation occured where various more moderate or modest revolutionary types fell by the wayside or were pushed aside under pressure from the more plebian masses and those committed to see the revolution through to the end, the Cromwells, the Robsepierres and the Lenins. During the course of these changes the counter-revolution, usually aided by foreign powers, reared its head.

I want to give particular attention to the question of Thermidor- that is the point where the revolution itself loses steam. The term stems from that point in the French Revolution in 1794 where the extreme left under Robespierre was defeated by more moderate forces within his own party (the Jacobins) and while not returning back to the old regime most definitely marked the end of progressive social experimentation. This has always been a thorny question on the political left. The Bolsheviks, particularly Trotsky, in the period of decline of the Russian Revolution poured out reams of polemics on its meaning (and even its applicability to their revolution). There are various causes for Thermidor; the leadership cadre gets tired, complacent or dies defending the revolution against counter-revolution; the people who previously supported the more extreme measures act likewise; and, those who want to stop the revolution in its tracks find a voice for their frustrations.

That much is clear from Brinton. What may need some revising is the question of whether in light of the destruction of the Soviet Union in 1991-92 and the return to capitalism there and the reverses in the Chinese Revolution which place it on the road back to capitalism that the previous premise about not going back to the old regime still holds true. The only way out of that dilemma is to argue that in neither case has the situation returned to the semi-feudal state before those revolutions. In any case, while you will need to read other books on comparative revolutions this is the place to start.

Editorial Review:

A comparative history of the English, American, French and Russian revolutions. Bibliographical appendix, index.