Fault Lines Of Democratic Governance In The Americas
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Fault Lines of Democracy in Post-transition Latin America
Author | : Felipe Agüero |
Publisher | : Lynne Rienner Publishers |
Total Pages | : 432 |
Release | : 1998 |
Genre | : Political Science |
ISBN | : |
Concerns about democratization in Latin America today center not on the threat of authoritarian regression, but on the depth, quality, fairness, and completeness of democratization thus far. Large-scale economic and social reforms, stronger and more complex civil societies, and processes of integration and globalization call for new approaches in order to understand the unfolding of democracy in the region. In this context, the contributors to this volume explore the often disjunctive aspects of Latin American democracy, providing a nuanced understanding of contemporary democratic governance.
Democracy in America?
Author | : Benjamin I. Page |
Publisher | : University of Chicago Press |
Total Pages | : 400 |
Release | : 2020-04-02 |
Genre | : Political Science |
ISBN | : 022672493X |
America faces daunting problems—stagnant wages, high health care costs, neglected schools, deteriorating public services. How did we get here? Through decades of dysfunctional government. In Democracy in America? veteran political observers Benjamin I. Page and Martin Gilens marshal an unprecedented array of evidence to show that while other countries have responded to a rapidly changing economy by helping people who’ve been left behind, the United States has failed to do so. Instead, we have actually exacerbated inequality, enriching corporations and the wealthy while leaving ordinary citizens to fend for themselves. What’s the solution? More democracy. More opportunities for citizens to shape what their government does. To repair our democracy, Page and Gilens argue, we must change the way we choose candidates and conduct our elections, reform our governing institutions, and curb the power of money in politics. By doing so, we can reduce polarization and gridlock, address pressing challenges, and enact policies that truly reflect the interests of average Americans. Updated with new information, this book lays out a set of proposals that would boost citizen participation, curb the power of money, and democratize the House and Senate.
The Myth of American Democracy
Author | : Trenton Fervor |
Publisher | : iUniverse |
Total Pages | : 267 |
Release | : 2013-04 |
Genre | : Fiction |
ISBN | : 1475981007 |
In his current work, Trenton Fervor author of The Last Individual: The Ascendancy of the Sociomaniacal Mindset delivers a critical exposition of democracy and its defects. The Myth of American Democracy is an unapologetic critique of the American political system and an attempt to dismantle the mystique perpetuated to sanctify and sanction it. Fervor entreats the reader to reexamine the notion of democracy and its attendant processes absent the sophistic demagoguery and to more closely consider the actual nature of the institution, and the establishment behemoth which inhabits and advances it. The reader is encouraged to confront the myth and deception which pervade the contemporary conception of democracy, and to accept the reality that the democratic emperor is naked. Democracy today is in truth fundamentally absurd: its premise is that an ideologically coherent, consistent, and efficient social policy program can be constructed by formulating each aspect of the overall program through a process of majoritarian amalgamation of contradictory, incongruent, and confrontational views. The Myth of American Democracy is an important rebuke of conventional democratic orthodoxy which will challenge readers to reevaluate their sympathies for the system. This book is recommended reading for everyone who has wrestled with the troubling suspicion that there is something inherently dubious and defective about the democratic system.
Problems in American Democracy
Author | : Thames Williamson |
Publisher | : IndyPublish.com |
Total Pages | : 594 |
Release | : 1922 |
Genre | : Political Science |
ISBN | : |
Government Is Good
Author | : Douglas J. Amy |
Publisher | : Dog Ear Publishing |
Total Pages | : 320 |
Release | : 2011 |
Genre | : Democracy |
ISBN | : 1457506580 |
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.
America's Democratic Republic
Author | : Edward S. Greenberg |
Publisher | : Longman Publishing Group |
Total Pages | : 596 |
Release | : 2007 |
Genre | : Political Science |
ISBN | : 9780321431332 |
Written in a lively, narrative style and presenting a provocative point-of-view, this book gets to the heart of Americans' frustrations with our government. Acknowledging that cynicism tends to make people withdraw from civic life, this book examines why our government can seem so unsatisfactory, identifying the heart of the American political system: strong democratic aspirations among our citizens clashing with the republican constitutional foundations on which the country is based.DEMOCRATIC ASPIRATIONS, REPUBLICAN CONSTITUTIONAL FOUNDATIONS; POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS: A HELP OR HINDRANCE TO DEMOCRACY?; GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS; WHAT GOVERNMENT DOES: PUBLIC POLICIES.Anyone interested in understanding our government and why Americans are cynical about government.
Freedom in the World 2018
Author | : Freedom House |
Publisher | : Rowman & Littlefield |
Total Pages | : 1040 |
Release | : 2019-01-31 |
Genre | : Political Science |
ISBN | : 1538112035 |
Freedom in the World is the standard-setting comparative assessment of global political rights and civil liberties. The methodology of this survey is derived in large measure from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and these standards are applied to all countries and territories.
Living Together
Author | : Sheila Suess Kennedy |
Publisher | : |
Total Pages | : 96 |
Release | : 2019-08-09 |
Genre | : |
ISBN | : 9781089303299 |
In the United States, the 2016 election and its aftermath have exposed the persistence of significant fault-lines in American society and forced recognition of the extent to which a longtime, steady erosion of the country's democratic norms has hollowed out and corrupted this country's governing institutions.That erosion is one of a number of unprecedented social and economic challenges made more daunting by a splintered and constantly changing media landscape. Changes to journalism driven by the Internet have dramatically exacerbated the problems inherent in democratic decision-making. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United increased public recognition of-and cynicism about- the disproportionate power wielded by corporate America through lobbying, political contributions and influence-peddling. Together with the enormous and widening gap between the rich and the rest, recognition of the outsized influence of money in America's political system feeds suspicion of all government decision-making.The fundamental democratic idea is a fair fight, a contest of competing ideas, with the winners legitimized and authorized to carry out their agendas. Increasingly, however, those democratic contests have been marred by disinformation, as well as by bare-knuckled power plays and numerous mechanisms-including gerrymandering and vote suppression-through which partisans game the system. As a result, citizens' trust in government and other social institutions has dangerously diminished. Without that trust-without a widespread belief in an American "we," an overarching polity to which all citizens belong and in which all citizens are valued-tribalism thrives. Especially in times of rapid social change, racial resentments grow. The divide between urban and rural Americans widens, as does the gap between various "elites" and others. Economic insecurity and social dysfunction are exacerbated by the absence of an adequate social safety net, adding to resentment of both government and the "Other."Making matters worse, in the midst of these wrenching changes, Americans (accidentally, to be sure) elected a President incapable of recognizing, understanding or dealing with them.Citizens in 21st Century America are facing a globalized, technocratic, increasingly complex world that poses unprecedented challenges to the goal of e pluribus unum (not to mention human understanding and survival). The existential question we face is: Can government policies create a genuine "us" out of so many different/diverse "I's" and "we's"? Can policymakers use law and legislative processes to create a supportive, nourishing culture that remains true to the Enlightenment's essential insights, while modifying or discarding those that are no longer so essential? If so, how? How does this nation overcome the escalating assaults on science, reality and the rule of law and create a functioning, trustworthy democratic system?This book was written to suggest that we can answer those questions in the affirmative, if we can muster the political will, and to suggest policies that would allow that to be accomplished.