Daniel N. Nelson - Böcker

The 1980s and 1990s have witnessed a wave of democratization across the world. This trend has led to some basic questions about the future of democracy and its ability to survive. This theme is examined from two focal points—that of praxis and that of security.Major theorists such as Robert Dahl and noted democractic leaders such as former Argentine President Raul Alfonsin join forces to spell out the essential ingredients for avoiding disaster in transitional periods of post-authoritarian states. This edited collection challenges some of the existing views about democratization around the world and considers basic questions of both praxis and security. Part of this unique overview deals with practical lessons learned in various countries; part focuses on links between democracy and security. Several themes underline the work. First, that democracy cannot be made from above. Second, that the survival of democracy is directly linked to security issues. It becomes clear that the future of democracy after authoritarianism may not be as bright as thought. Excellent text for courses in world politics, democratic theory, and comparative politics.

The 1980s and 1990s have witnessed a wave of democratization across the world. This trend has led to some basic questions about the future of democracy and its ability to survive. This theme is examined from two focal points—that of praxis and that of security.Major theorists such as Robert Dahl and noted democractic leaders such as former Argentine President Raul Alfonsin join forces to spell out the essential ingredients for avoiding disaster in transitional periods of post-authoritarian states. This edited collection challenges some of the existing views about democratization around the world and considers basic questions of both praxis and security. Part of this unique overview deals with practical lessons learned in various countries; part focuses on links between democracy and security. Several themes underline the work. First, that democracy cannot be made from above. Second, that the survival of democracy is directly linked to security issues. It becomes clear that the future of democracy after authoritarianism may not be as bright as thought. Excellent text for courses in world politics, democratic theory, and comparative politics.

How do alliances, in the aggregate, "behave"? What explains the actions and performance of alliances? Within alliances, how do members' actions and performance vary, and what explains that variance? This book addresses these questions with respect to one of the world's principal alliances of the late twentieth century, the Warsaw Treaty Organization (WTO), also known as the Warsaw Pact. The author argues that though we understand a great deal about the military hardware of the Warsaw Pact, little is known about its reliability, cohesiveness, and the distribution of military burden within it--all key variables, he argues, in influencing change in alliance behavior. In each chapter he offers a new way to measure one of these variables and suggests possible explanations for variance. In addition, he examines the effect East-West relations have on cohesion and how Warsaw Pact allies have distributed the defense effort in the past. A concluding chapter is devoted to an empirical assessment of Warsaw Pact alliance behavior, combining indicators of cohesion, reliability, and burden-sharing in a general portrait of the WTO as a collective actor in international politics.

As Europe underwent extraordinary changes in 1989-1990, the continent's south-eastern region - the Balkans - began once again to draw attention for its ethnic rivalries, its political turmoil and its interstate disputes. Continuing tensions and instability have fostered images of a Balkan imbroglio where regional instability could affect all of Europe. This study offers country-specific and comparative assessments of political trends during this transitional era, placing emphasis on matters of international security, socioeconomic policy and political leadership. Also considered are the requisite conditions for democracy in the role of the military in a civil society, and the manner in which security can be achieved without overarching, hegemonic alliances.

This book addresses the questions with respect to the Warsaw Treaty Organization, also known as the Warsaw Pact. It examines the effect East-West relations have on cohesion and how Warsaw Pact allies have distributed the defense effort in the past.

As Europe underwent extraordinary changes in 1989-1990, the continent's south-eastern region - the Balkans - began once again to draw attention for its ethnic rivalries, its political turmoil and its interstate disputes. Continuing tensions and instability have fostered images of a Balkan imbroglio where regional instability could affect all of Europe. This study offers country-specific and comparative assessments of political trends during this transitional era, placing emphasis on matters of international security, socioeconomic policy and political leadership. Also considered are the requisite conditions for democracy in the role of the military in a civil society, and the manner in which security can be achieved without overarching, hegemonic alliances.

In 1973, Romanians were beginning to recognize that the regime of Nicolae Ceausescu, contrary to what his first five or six years in power seemed to imply, would bring no respite from communism. Instead, after a 1971 "mini cultural revolution" ended hope for a Bucharest "spring" and intellectual latitude was curtailed further in 1972-73, the ominous possibilities of Ceausescu were becoming evident. In 1973, I went to Romania on a dissertation research grant from the International Research and Exchanges Board. It was a year in which wide-ranging survey research was still possible. But it was also a time when historians and writers who had different ideas, or workers who gave thought to non-party union organization, felt the heavy hand of Ceausescu's Securitate. As happens to most graduate students and their field research, it was a formative experience with indelible impressions that remain today.

Among communist states, Romania is, in several respects, a unique case. Romania has been the only Warsaw Pact member to deviate consistently from Soviet foreign policy norms and, alone within Eastern Europe, to avoid oil imports from the USSR. The leadership of Nicolae Ceausescu since 1965 has, meanwhile, governed through a studious commitment to socio-economic centralization and control often reminiscent of' Stalinist orthodoxy. Intellectual freedom, artistic liberty and workers' rights have changed little relative to Poland, Hungary or the transient Prague Spring. Such international and domestic policy distinctions, as well as a record of impressive industrial growth, necessitate an effort to understand the dynamics of Romania's socio-economic and political life. This volume is meant to delineate trends in political, social and economic life which will constitute dynamic elements for the Romanian system during the 1980s and beyond. Contributors, all scholars with lengthy research experience in Romania, the Balkans and communist states generally, have sought to identify factors likely to be influential during this and ensuing decades. In that sense, this is a "predictive" volume containing not "crystal-ball gazing" but the careful identification and assessment of trends influencing Romanian foreign and domestic policies, economic and political performance, and societal transformations. By suggesting elements crucial to socio-economic and political change in Romania, we hope to make observing this intriguing communist state somewhat less haphazard and more systematic.

This book provides empirical guidance for Western assessments of WTO "reliability". It analyzes the changing Warsaw Pact alliance structure, the relationship of East European military establishments to the USSR, and the interplay of Soviet and East European security concerns.

In 1973, Romanians were beginning to recognize that the regime of Nicolae Ceausescu, contrary to what his first five or six years in power seemed to imply, would bring no respite from communism. Instead, after a 1971 "mini cultural revolution" ended hope for a Bucharest "spring" and intellectual latitude was curtailed further in 1972-73, the ominous possibilities of Ceausescu were becoming evident. In 1973, I went to Romania on a dissertation research grant from the International Research and Exchanges Board. It was a year in which wide-ranging survey research was still possible. But it was also a time when historians and writers who had different ideas, or workers who gave thought to non-party union organization, felt the heavy hand of Ceausescu's Securitate. As happens to most graduate students and their field research, it was a formative experience with indelible impressions that remain today.

In several respects, Romania is unique among communist states. It has been the only Warsaw Pact member to deviate consistently from Soviet foreign policy norms, and it remains the sole Eastern European country to avoid oil imports from the USSR. At the same time, the Romanian government is committed to orthodox socioeconomic centralization and cont

This book provides empirical guidance for Western assessments of WTO "reliability". It analyzes the changing Warsaw Pact alliance structure, the relationship of East European military establishments to the USSR, and the interplay of Soviet and East European security concerns.

There are many reasons why it is important to study local politics -- political culture, government, political process -- in Communist party states. As in all politics, local politics in Communist party states are the political articulation of the local community. This is the political arena where policies concerning local issues are formulated by the officials. This is where the officials are approached by citizens with their particular demands. This is where citizens articulate their preferences, aspirations, and values through political participation. And this is where officials, both elected and appointed, are recruited.In this volume, Daniel N. Nelson has assembled a team of international scholars to consider local politics in Communist party states including the U.S.S.R., China, Poland, Yugoslavia, and Romania. Together, they explore how local social and political forces are articulated in the national and party organizations; they also reveal how the study of comparative local politics provides vitality for the study of national politics. Rather than treating local communities as receivers and translators of national inputs, the contributors demonstrate that the local dimension and national politics mutually influence one another and illuminate the social reality in communist societies.

In a new era of global conflict involving non-state actors, At War with Words offers a provocative perspective on the role of language in the genesis, conduct and consequence of mass violence. Sociolinguistics meets political science and communication studies in order to examine interdependence between armed conflict and language. As phenomena attributed only to humans, both armed conflict and language are visible on two axes: language as war discourse, and language as a social policy subject to change by the victorious.In this unique volume, internationally known contributors provide original data and new insights that illuminate roles of text and talk in creating identities of enemies, justifications for violence, and accompanying propaganda. Incorporating contexts from around the world, this collection's topics range from a radio talk show hosts' inflammatory rhetoric to the semantic poverty of the lexicon of mass destruction. The first eight chapters discuss war texts. How does language serve as a vehicle to incite, justify, and resolve an armed conflict? Case studies from the US to China, and from Austria to Ghana detail such a progression to, through, and from war. The book's second part reflects the understanding of language as a symbol of power achieved by a victorious side in war. Five chapters discuss cases from Okinawa, Croatia, Cyprus, Palau, and Northern Ireland.Edited by a sociolinguist and a political scientist, At War with Words includes chapters by Michael Billig, Paul Chilton, Ruth Wodak and a dozen other prominent linguists and communications scholars. This book will be of interest to linguists, media scholars and political scientists, but is also accessible to any reader interested in language and war. Teachers will find particular chapters useful as course material in discourse analysis, language policy, war and peace studies, conflict resolution, mass communication, and other related disciplines.