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American Exceptionalism Revisited
by Axel HadeniusAmerican Exceptionalism Revisited provides a broad overview of the various features that signify American politics. These include the upholding of an exceptional political stability, involving a particular balance between legislative, executive and judicial powers, and the permanence of a unique party system. Furthermore, special traits in the electoral realm'e. g. , voter turnout, the inflow of money, and the application of primaries'are targets of analysis. Through comparisons with conditions applying abroad, particularly in Europe and Latin America, Axel Hadenius reveals a number of new insights on American political life, both today and over time
American Exodus
by Giles SladeAs temperatures rise, declines in agricultural production and freshwater supply will diminish US carrying capacity by 2/3, and rising sea levels will impact the country's most densely populated regions. A frightening survey of what's to come, American Exodus argues that mankind can survive the coming century of climate chaos if we act quickly to preserve our shelter of last resort.
The American Experiment: The Vineyard of Liberty, The Workshop of Democracy, and The Crosswinds of Freedom (The American Experiment #1)
by James MacGregor BurnsThe Pulitzer Prize–winning author&’s stunning trilogy of American history, spanning the birth of the Constitution to the final days of the Cold War. In these three volumes, Pulitzer Prize– and National Book Award–winner James MacGregor Burns chronicles with depth and narrative panache the most significant cultural, economic, and political events of American history. In The Vineyard of Liberty, he combines the color and texture of early American life with meticulous scholarship. Focusing on the tensions leading up to the Civil War, Burns brilliantly shows how Americans became divided over the meaning of Liberty. In The Workshop of Democracy, Burns explores more than a half-century of dramatic growth and transformation of the American landscape, through the addition of dozens of new states, the shattering tragedy of the First World War, the explosion of industry, and, in the end, the emergence of the United States as a new global power. And in The Crosswinds of Freedom, Burns offers an articulate and incisive examination of the US during its rise to become the world&’s sole superpower—through the Great Depression, the Second World War, the Cold War, and the rapid pace of technological change that gave rise to the &“American Century.&”
The American Experiment: The Vineyard of Liberty, The Workshop of Democracy, and The Crosswinds of Freedom (The American Experiment #1)
by James MacGregor BurnsThe Pulitzer Prize–winning author&’s stunning trilogy of American history, spanning the birth of the Constitution to the final days of the Cold War. In these three volumes, Pulitzer Prize– and National Book Award–winner James MacGregor Burns chronicles with depth and narrative panache the most significant cultural, economic, and political events of American history. In The Vineyard of Liberty, he combines the color and texture of early American life with meticulous scholarship. Focusing on the tensions leading up to the Civil War, Burns brilliantly shows how Americans became divided over the meaning of Liberty. In The Workshop of Democracy, Burns explores more than a half-century of dramatic growth and transformation of the American landscape, through the addition of dozens of new states, the shattering tragedy of the First World War, the explosion of industry, and, in the end, the emergence of the United States as a new global power. And in The Crosswinds of Freedom, Burns offers an articulate and incisive examination of the US during its rise to become the world&’s sole superpower—through the Great Depression, the Second World War, the Cold War, and the rapid pace of technological change that gave rise to the &“American Century.&”
The American Experiment with Government Corporations (Bureaucracies, Public Administration, And Public Policy Ser.)
by Jerry MitchellThis assessment of government corporations examines their records and identifies advantages and failures. The author challenges the reader to think creatively about the government corporate form and ways to reinvent it, capitalizing on its strengths and compensating for its shortcomings.
American Extremism: History, Politics and the Militia Movement (Extremism and Democracy)
by Darren MulloyAmerican Extremism explains how at the heart of the politics practiced by the militia movement is an attempt to define the nature of 'Americanism', and shows how militia members employ the myths, metaphors and perceived historical lessons of the American Revolution, the constitutional settlement and America's frontier experience to do so. Mulloy argues that militia members' search for the 'authority of history' leads them to a position best characterized as 'ahistorical historicism', in which political interests in the present are given greater weight than the demands of a historically accurate reading of the past.With discussion of such recent events as the Oklahoma City bombing, Waco and the September 11th attacks alongside topical issues including militia conspiracy theories and the origins of Americans' right to keep and bear arms, this work provides the deepest understanding to date of the American militia movement.
An American Family: The Buckleys
by Reid BuckleyAn extraordinary and sweeping memoir of one of the most revered families in America -- the Buckleys The Buckley name is synonymous with a unique brand of conservatism -- marked by merciless reasoning, wit, good humor, and strong will. Self-made oil tycoon William F. Buckley, Sr., of Texas, and his Southern belle wife, Aloise Steiner Buckley, of New Orleans, raised a family of ten whose ideals would go on to shape the traditionalist revival in American culture. But their family history is anything but conventional. Begun in Mexico (until their father was expelled) and set against a diverse inter-national background (the children's first languages were Spanish and French) with colorful guest stars (such as Pancho Villa, and Norman Mailer), theirs was a life built on self-reliance, hard work, belief in God, and respect for all. It is no wonder the family produced nationally recognizable figures such as columnist and commentator William, Jr., New York Times bestselling satirist Christopher, and New York senator James. With charm and candor, youngest son Reid, himself the founder of the Buckley School of Public Speaking in South Carolina, tells the enormously engaging and entertaining -- sometimes outrageous -- story of a family that became the mainstay of right-wing belief in our politics and culture. An American Family is an epic memoir that at once will appeal to conservatives, liberals, and moderates alike.
An American Family: The Kennans, The First Three Generations
by George F. KennanPulitzer Prize-winning author and former statesman George F. Kennan traces his roots back more than five generations, discovering in the process a family history with all the makings of a classic American story.
American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America
by Chris HedgesTwenty-five years ago, when Pat Robertson and other radio and televangelists first spoke of the United States becoming a Christian nation that would build a global Christian empire, it was hard to take such hyperbolic rhetoric seriously. Today, such language no longer sounds like hyperbole but poses, instead, a very real threat to our freedom and our way of life. In American Fascists, Chris Hedges, veteran journalist and author of the National Book Award finalist War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, challenges the Christian Right's religious legitimacy and argues that at its core it is a mass movement fueled by unbridled nationalism and a hatred for the open society. Hedges, who grew up in rural parishes in upstate New York where his father was a Presbyterian pastor, attacks the movement as someone steeped in the Bible and Christian tradition. He points to the hundreds of senators and members of Congress who have earned between 80 and 100 percent approval ratings from the three most influential Christian Right advocacy groups as one of many signs that the movement is burrowing deep inside the American government to subvert it. The movement's call to dismantle the wall between church and state and the intolerance it preaches against all who do not conform to its warped vision of a Christian America are pumped into tens of millions of American homes through Christian television and radio stations, as well as reinforced through the curriculum in Christian schools. The movement's yearning for apocalyptic violence and its assault on dispassionate, intellectual inquiry are laying the foundation for a new, frightening America. American Fascists, which includes interviews and coverage of events such as pro-life rallies and weeklong classes on conversion techniques, examines the movement's origins, its driving motivations and its dark ideological underpinnings. Hedges argues that the movement currently resembles the young fascist movements in Italy and Germany in the 1920s and '30s, movements that often masked the full extent of their drive for totalitarianism and were willing to make concessions until they achieved unrivaled power. The Christian Right, like these early fascist movements, does not openly call for dictatorship, nor does it use physical violence to suppress opposition. In short, the movement is not yet revolutionary. But the ideological architecture of a Christian fascism is being cemented in place. The movement has roused its followers to a fever pitch of despair and fury. All it will take, Hedges writes, is one more national crisis on the order of September 11 for the Christian Right to make a concerted drive to destroy American democracy. The movement awaits a crisis. At that moment they will reveal themselves for what they truly are -- the American heirs to fascism. Hedges issues a potent, impassioned warning. We face an imminent threat. His book reminds us of the dangers liberal, democratic societies face when they tolerate the intolerant.
American Fear: The Causes and Consequences of High Anxiety (Focal Digital Camera Guides)
by Peter N. StearnsAmericans have become excessively fearful, and manipulation through fear has become a significant problem in American society, with real impact on policy. By using data from 9/11, this book makes a distinctive contribution to the exploration of recent fear, but also by developing a historical perspective, the book shows how and why distinctive American fears have emerged over the past several decades.
American Federalism: A Concise Introduction
by Larry N. GerstonUnderstanding federalism - the form of political organization that unites separate polities within an overarching political system so that all maintain their political integrity - is central to the study of democratic government in the United States. Yet, many political scientists treat federalism as a set of abstract principles or a maze of budgetary transfers with little connection to real political life. This concise and engaging book boils the discussion down to its essence: federalism is about power, specifically the tug for power among and within the various levels of government. Author Larry N. Gerston examines the historical and philosophical underpinnings of federalism; the various "change events" that have been involved in defining America's unique set of federal principles over time; and the vertical, horizontal, and international dimensions of federalism in the United States today. The result is a book examining the ways in which institutional political power is both diffused and concentrated in the United States.
American Federalism in Practice
by Michael DoonanAmerican Federalism in Practice is an original and important contribution to our understanding of contemporary health policy. It also illustrates how contentious public policy is debated, formulated, and implemented in today's overheated political environment.Health care reform is perhaps the most divisive public policy issue facing the United States today. Michael Doonan provides a unique perspective on health policy in explaining how intergovernmental relations shape public policy. He tracks federal-state relations through the creation, formulation, and implementation of three of the most important health policy initiatives since the Great Society: the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), both passed by the U.S. Congress, and the Massachusetts health care reform program as it was developed and implemented under federal government waiver authority. He applies lessons learned from these cases to implementation of the Affordable Care Act."Health policymaking is entangled in a complex web of shared, overlapping, and/or competing power relationships among different levels of government," the author notes. Understanding federal-state interactions, the ways in which they vary, and the reasons for such variation is essential to grasping the ultimate impact of federalism on programs and policy. Doonan reveals how federalism can shift as the sausage of public policy is made while providing a new framework for comprehending one of the most polarizing debates of our time.
American Federalism in Practice: The Formulation and Implementation of Contemporary Health Policy
by Michael Doonan"American Federalism in Practice" is a major contribution to our understanding of contemporary health policy in America. Always an important topic, the issue holds special currency today given the prominence of health care in todays political and economic landscape. Michael Doonan provides a unique perspective on American federalism and U. S. health policy in explaining how intergovernmental relations shape public policy in health as well as other critical areas. Doonan tracks federal-state relations through the creation, formulation, and implementation of three of the most important health policy initiatives since the Great Society: the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), both developed in Congress, and the Massachusetts health care reform program as it was developed and implemented under federal government waiver authority. Massachusetts, though not without having to face challenges, actually succeeded in lowering its uninsured rate to below two percent. Success and failure of these three programs can be traced in large part to a balance between state flexibility and accountability to meet program goals. Achieving that balance is not easy, of course, but lessons learned from previous successes --and failures --in structuring intergovernmental relations offer unique insights into national health reform and contemporary public policy. Doonan reveals how federalism can shift as the sausage of public policy is made, providing a previously missing link between federalism theory and practice. His work should change the way people think about federalism in a policy context while providing a new and useful framework through which we can view, and hopefully comprehend, some of the most important and polarizing policy debates of our time.
American Federalism Today: Perspectives on Political and Economic Governance
by Michael J. BoskinWhat are federalism's challenges and opportunities today? The framers of the US Constitution enumerated specific powers for the federal government, leaving all else under the purview of states or the people. Over time, the federal government has expanded its role, yet the American people have more trust in state and local governments that are closer to them—and where co-partisanship is often a matter of necessity. Scholars and practitioners in policymaking gathered at the Hoover Institution in September 2023 to discuss the ramifications of federalism for contemporary issues. American Federalism Today presents those conference proceedings. Renowned experts from a range of disciplines, including economics, political science, history, and law, lay out the key priorities in evaluating and reinvigorating America's federal system of governance. Among the topics they examine are infrastructure, education and healthcare financing, trust in government, and intergovernmental relations in an era of rising federal debt and unfunded state and local liabilities. Three influential governors—Mitch Daniels, Jeb Bush, and Jerry Brown—describe navigating the federalist system as they led their states through many challenges. This unique compilation draws on the remarkable expertise and experience of its contributors to probe federalism's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges in the nation's political and economic governance.
American First Ladies: Their Lives and Their Legacy
by Lewis L. GouldAn historical survey of the impact of individual First Ladies' impact on America and the American woman. A selection of each woman's own writings is given along with a commentary on her influence, and a biography of her life, and the narrative covers all the presidents' wives from Martha Washington to Hillary Rodham Clinton.
American First Ladies: Their Lives and Their Legacy
by Lewis L. GouldThis volume presents thirty-nine interpretive biographical essays on all first ladies, from Martha Washington to America's newest First Lady, Laura Bush. This new edition contains updated material on all the living First Ladies and updated bibliographies for each entry, as well as a portrait of the newest First Lady.
American Fix: Inside the Opioid Addiction Crisis—and How to End It
by Ryan HamptonNearly every American knows someone who has been affected by the opioid crisis. Addiction is a trans-partisan issue that impacts individuals from every walk of life. Millions of Americans, tired of watching their loved ones die while politicians ignore this issue. Where is the solution? Where is the hope? Where's the outrage?Ryan Hampton is a young man who has made addiction and recovery reform his life's mission. Through the wildly successful non-profit organization Facing Addiction, Hampton has been rocketed to the center of America’s rising recovery movement—quickly emerging as the de facto leader of the national conversation on addiction. He understands firsthand how easy it is to develop a dependency on opioids, and how destructive it can quickly become. Now, he is waging a permanent campaign to change our way of thinking about and addressing addiction in this country.In American Fix, Hampton describes his personal struggle with addiction, outlines the challenges that the recovery movement currently faces, and offers a concrete, comprehensive plan of action towards making America’s addiction crisis a thing of the past.
American Football and the American Way of War: The Gridiron and the Battlefield
by Daniel SukmanThis book provides the reader with a history on the linkages between American Football and the American Way of War. It provides concise summaries of aspects of tactics, operations, and strategy, as well as international relations theory using football as a metaphor to simplify the concepts. International relations theory and military strategy tend to be complicated subjects often explained with jargon that puts the average reader to sleep. A book about war and foreign policy explained through football analogies and comparisons is designed to liven the topic and explain various military theories, strategies, and concepts. War and football tend to dominate national media. War is often a topic of debate from the highest levels of government to local bars and coffeehouses. Football is the monolith of sports that blankets sports television and radio throughout the year. This book provides the reader an understanding of how military professionals formulate and execute strategy in an easily understandable manner.
American Force: Dangers, Delusions, and Dilemmas in National Security (A Council on Foreign Relations Book)
by Richard BettsWhile American national security policy has grown more interventionist since the Cold War, Washington has also hoped to shape the world on the cheap. Misled by the stunning success against Iraq in 1991, administrations of both parties have pursued ambitious aims with limited force, committing the country's military frequently yet often hesitantly, with inconsistent justification. These ventures have produced strategic confusion, unplanned entanglements, and indecisive results. This collection of essays by Richard K. Betts, a leading international politics scholar, investigates the use of American force since the end of the Cold War, suggesting guidelines for making it more selective and successful.Betts brings his extensive knowledge of twentieth century American diplomatic and military history to bear on the full range of theory and practice in national security, surveying the Cold War roots of recent initiatives and arguing that U.S. policy has always been more unilateral than liberal theorists claim. He exposes mistakes made by humanitarian interventions and peace operations; reviews the issues raised by terrorism and the use of modern nuclear, biological, and cyber weapons; evaluates the case for preventive war, which almost always proves wrong; weighs the lessons learned from campaigns in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam; assesses the rise of China and the resurgence of Russia; quells concerns about civil-military relations; exposes anomalies within recent defense budgets; and confronts the practical barriers to effective strategy. Betts ultimately argues for greater caution and restraint, while encouraging more decisive action when force is required, and he recommends a more dispassionate assessment of national security interests, even in the face of global instability and unfamiliar threats.
American Force
by Richard K. BettsWhile American national security policy has grown more interventionist since the Cold War, Washington has also hoped to shape the world on the cheap. Misled by the stunning success against Iraq in 1991, administrations of both parties have pursued ambitious aims with limited force, committing the country's military frequently yet often hesitantly, with inconsistent justification. These ventures have produced strategic confusion, unplanned entanglements, and indecisive results. This collection of essays by Richard K. Betts, a leading international politics scholar, investigates the use of American force since the end of the Cold War, suggesting guidelines for making it more selective and successful. Betts brings his extensive knowledge of twentieth century American diplomatic and military history to bear on the full range of theory and practice in national security, surveying the Cold War roots of recent initiatives and arguing that U. S. policy has always been more unilateral than liberal theorists claim. He exposes mistakes made by humanitarian interventions and peace operations; reviews the issues raised by terrorism and the use of modern nuclear, biological, and cyber weapons; evaluates the case for preventive war, which almost always proves wrong; weighs the lessons learned from campaigns in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam; assesses the rise of China and the resurgence of Russia; quells concerns about civil-military relations; exposes anomalies within recent defense budgets; and confronts the practical barriers to effective strategy. Betts ultimately argues for greater caution and restraint, while encouraging more decisive action when force is required, and he recommends a more dispassionate assessment of national security interests, even in the face of global instability and unfamiliar threats.
American Foreign Policy: Past, Present, and Future (Eleventh Edition)
by Glenn P. HastedtGlenn Hastedt’s clear and succinct introduction to the field prepares students to think about America’s changing role in the world and to develop the critical thinking skills needed to participate in the debate about the conduct and content of American foreign policy. He begins by asking “What do we mean by foreign policy and what is the national interest?” Next, Hastedt looks to the past and examines the defining experiences that have helped to shape American foreign policy today. Third, he looks at how American foreign policy is made in the current hyperpartisan political climate. Here Hastedt examines the various institutions and how they come together to make policy, as well as the policy instruments available to decision makers. And finally, he encourages students to wonder, “What’s next?” <p><p> The eleventh edition reflects the latest headlines, including more extensive discussions of hybrid warfare, cyber wars, drones, and an assessment of Obama’s foreign policy. There are new case studies on ISIS, authorization of force resolutions, women in combat, the climate agreement, the Iran nuclear agreement, Obama’s opening to Cuba, and the future of COIN. And new Historical Lessons boxes feature the War Powers Act, the integration of the military, the Kyoto Agreement, NAFTA, and Afghanistan.
American Foreign Policy: Past, Present, and Future
by Glenn P. HastedtWorld affairs are constantly in flux, so students need to be prepared not just to know what’s happening in the headlines but how to make sense of those events. Hastedt’s American Foreign Policy helps students develop the critical thinking skills needed to participate in debates about foreign relations―today and throughout their lives. Rather than focus on normative questions about what direction the country should take on the world stage, this text is designed to provide the historical and institutional context for the foreign policy process, from the governmental and civil society actors involved to the issues that comprise the conduct and content of American foreign policy. <p><p>This thirteenth edition comes at a time when Biden’s presidency is facing some of the most important foreign policy questions in a generation, from the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan to what we should do about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These issues have emerged as many of the traditional foundations in American foreign policy have been disrupted during the Trump administration, pleasing some and angering others but almost uniformly raising political tensions at home and abroad. The revision includes up-to-date coverage of the war in Ukraine, the U.S. exit from Afghanistan, health diplomacy and the response to COVID, the resurgence of great power politics, and other features of the Biden administration’s foreign policy.
American Foreign Policy: The Dynamics Of Choice In The 21st Century
by Bruce W. JentlesonA crystal-clear, engaging introduction to U.S. foreign policy by one of the leading scholars in the field. Addressing both foreign policy strategy and foreign policy politics, Bruce Jentleson―respected scholar, award-winning teacher, and foreign policy practitioner―offers students the theoretical framework, historical context, and policy analysis essential for understanding American foreign policy in the twenty-first century. Professor Jentleson focuses on foreign policy strategy and foreign policy politics and employs a four-part framework (the four Ps: Power, Peace, Prosperity, and Principles) through which students can begin to appreciate the problems and choices faced by the United States as it tries to steer a course through world events. The Fourth Edition of American Foreign Policy has been thoroughly updated with relevant political developments, including foreign policy changes instituted by the Obama administration.
American Foreign Policy and Forced Regime Change Since World War II: Forcing Freedom
by Scott WalkerThis book explores the motivations behind American military interventions in the Post-World War II era that purported to replace autocratic regimes with democratic ones. It delves into the Forced Democracy (FD) phenomenon, focusing on its intellectual roots and previous attempts to study it in the academic literature. The author examines five American interventions that attempted to replace autocratic regimes with democratic ones—The Dominican Republic, Grenada, Panama, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Each chapter includes a history of the intervention and an assessment of whether America’s intentions and actions toward that particular country were actually focused on delivering a democratic outcome.
American Foreign Policy and Its Thinkers
by Perry AndersonMagisterial account of the ideas and the figures who have forged the American Empire.Since the birth of the nation, impulses of empire have been close to the heart of the United States. How these urges interact with the way the country understands itself, and the nature of the divergent interests at work in the unfolding of American foreign policy, is a subject much debated and still obscure. In a fresh look at the topic, Anderson charts the intertwined historical development of America's imperial reach and its role as the general guarantor of capital.The internal tensions that have arisen are traced from the closing stages of the Second World War through the Cold War to the War on Terror. Despite the defeat and elimination of the USSR, the planetary structures for warfare and surveillance have not been retracted but extended. Anderson ends with a survey of the repertoire of US grand strategy, as its leading thinkers--Brzezinski, Mead, Kagan, Fukuyama, Mandelbaum, Ikenberry, Art and others--grapple with the tasks and predicaments of the American imperium today.From the Hardcover edition.