David E. Apter – författare

Violence is a more and more ubiquitous phenomenon. In The Legitimization of Violence eight well-known specialists explore various types of violence, from ideological to fundamentalist movements, within a framework of comparative theory.

Violence is a more and more ubiquitous phenomenon. In The Legitimization of Violence eight well-known specialists explore various types of violence, from ideological to fundamentalist movements, within a framework of comparative theory.

Reconstructing the dramatic struggle surrounding the building of the New Tokyo (Narita) International Airport near Sanrizuka, this scrutiny of modern protest politics dispels the myth of corporate Japan’s unassailable success. While sensitive to the specific events they describe, the authors provide analyses of broader contemporary issues—the sources of violence in an orderly society and the problems of democratic theory in an institutional setting.Narita Airport, the largest single government project in Japan, has been the scene of intense conflict over what might be called the unfinished business of Japan as number one. Since 1965, small groups of farmers have been fighting to protect their land, first from the bulldozers, then from the environmental damage of a modern airport. They were joined in the battle by militants from New Left sects, students, and other protesters representing peace, antinuclear, and antipollution issues. Using field observation, in-depth interviewing, and firsthand experience drawn from living in the “fortresses” surrounding the airport, the authors examine the conflict and violence that ensued. They describe the confrontations from the point of view of each group of participants, pinpointing weaknesses in the Japanese political and bureaucratic systems that prolonged and heightened the struggle: the lack of effective due process, inadequate consultative mechanisms outside elite circles, and the failure of local government to represent local issues.In a broad adaptation of their findings, David Apter and Nagayo Sawa show that the problems of the Narita situation are also endemic to other industrialized countries. Their discussion of violent protest in advanced societies explores how it evolves, who is caught up in it, and the ways that governments respond. Finally, they identify the limitations of contemporary social science theories in addressing in human terms such volcanic eruptions. To overcome these shortcomings they combine several approaches—structural, experiential, and functional—and devise alternative ways to enter the day-to-day lives of the people studied.Against the State in no way diminishes the magnitude of Japan’s accomplishments. However, the authors find in the Narita protest evidence of that country’s still unfelt need to address its most abstract and pressing moral concerns. Their book raises important questions about the nature of extra-institutional protest and authority in modern states.

What does the Chinese Communist Revolution teach us about the relationship between political discourse and real experiences and events? This unique interpretation of the revolutionary process in China uses empirical evidence as well as concepts from contemporary cultural studies to probe this significant question. David Apter and Tony Saich base their analysis on recently available primary sources on party history, English- and Chinese-language accounts of the Long March and Yan’an period, and interviews with veterans and their relatives.Written by an eminent political theorist well seasoned in comparative development and an internationally recognized China scholar, and abounding in new approaches to central issues, this incisive analysis will be welcomed by social theorists and China scholars alike.

Contents: PART I:1. The African Challenge to Democracy. PART II: 2. Historical Background. 3. The Physical and Economic Environment. PART III: 4. The Traditionally Oriented System. 5. Political Organization Among the Akan. 6. Patterns of Indirect Rule. 7. The Politics of Indirect Rule. 8. Towards Autonomy Within the Commonwealth. 9. The Structures of Secular Government. 10. Patterns of Gold Coast Politics. I I. The Legislative Assembly in Action. 12. National Issues and Local Politics. PART IV: 13. Control Factors in Institutional Transfer. 14. Prospects of Gold Coast Democracy. 15. Ghana as a New Nation. Index. Originally published in 1955. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Contents: PART I:1. The African Challenge to Democracy. PART II: 2. Historical Background. 3. The Physical and Economic Environment. PART III: 4. The Traditionally Oriented System. 5. Political Organization Among the Akan. 6. Patterns of Indirect Rule. 7. The Politics of Indirect Rule. 8. Towards Autonomy Within the Commonwealth. 9. The Structures of Secular Government. 10. Patterns of Gold Coast Politics. I I. The Legislative Assembly in Action. 12. National Issues and Local Politics. PART IV: 13. Control Factors in Institutional Transfer. 14. Prospects of Gold Coast Democracy. 15. Ghana as a New Nation. Index. Originally published in 1955. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Published in the year 1973, Political Change is a valuable contribution to the field of Politics. The problem in the social sciences has been to improve the quality of the relationship between the creative and didactic sides and produce more interesting and verifiable hypotheses and propositions. The literature dealing with this problem has grown and become increasingly technical. This collection of essays are between creativity and didactics. Some are experiments in the mind, as it were plundering history for purpose. Others seek criteria for a politics of development. Still others are more analytical, seeking criteria for theory, as in the articles on political studies, and on political systems. In all, however, there is a common thread, the creation and use of intermediate categories and their applications to real-life historical or contemporary development situations.

Published in the year 1973, Political Change is a valuable contribution to the field of Politics. The problem in the social sciences has been to improve the quality of the relationship between the creative and didactic sides and produce more interesting and verifiable hypotheses and propositions. The literature dealing with this problem has grown and become increasingly technical. This collection of essays are between creativity and didactics. Some are experiments in the mind, as it were plundering history for purpose. Others seek criteria for a politics of development. Still others are more analytical, seeking criteria for theory, as in the articles on political studies, and on political systems. In all, however, there is a common thread, the creation and use of intermediate categories and their applications to real-life historical or contemporary development situations.

It is rare for a scholar to revisit the scene of earlier research with a view to evaluating how that research has stood up over time. Here David E Apter does that and more. In a lengthy new introductory chapter to this classic study of bureaucratic nationalism, he reviews the efficacy of the concepts in his original study of Uganda of almost a century ago, including some, such as consociationalism', which have entered into the mainstream of comparative politics.

It is rare for a scholar to revisit the scene of earlier research with a view to evaluating how that research has stood up over time. Here David E Apter does that and more. In a lengthy new introductory chapter to this classic study of bureaucratic nationalism, he reviews the efficacy of the concepts in his original study of Uganda of almost a century ago, including some, such as consociationalism', which have entered into the mainstream of comparative politics.

Since the 1950s David Apter and Carl Rosberg have been among the leading American scholars in African studies. In this volume they, along with other specialists in the field, explore the new configurations of African politics. With tentative efforts at a revival of democracy now taking place, it seems appropriate to reassess the theoretical debates and empirical themes that have characterised postwar Sub-Saharan African politics. Focusing on a ""new realism"" which has emerged among Africanists since the dismantling of colonial rule, the essays are presented as a corrective both to the initial euphoria informing African studies and to the later tendency to place blame for all of Africa's political and economic difficulties on the receding spectre of colonial oppression. In the introductory chapter, Apter and Rosberg point out that Sub-Saharan African has been particularly vulnerable to fluctuating truths and flights of interpretive fancy. No other continent has attracted such multiple layers of power and prejudice from the outside. Judgments and speculations about the very nature of Africanness have been common. Today everything is subject to controversy - race, ethnicity, language, religion, ideology - and all the debates are heated up by severe economic decline and the long-standing, unresolved difficulties of state formation. Crawford Young (University of Wisconsin) examines the role of nationalism in the political awakening of the area and looks at ethnicity as a possible resource rather than an obstacle to state formation. Joel D. Barkan (University of Iowa) identifies the new and emerging issues in civil society and the revival of modernisation theory in a context of accountability, Richard L. Sklar (University of California, Los Angeles) works through the inadequacies of conventional notions of markets and of bourgeoisie and proletariat and shows that neither capitalism nor socialism can be looked to for definitive solutions. Michael F. Lofchie (University of California, Los Angeles) examines the reassertion of neoclassical economic theory and evaluates new policy alternatives designed to correct distortions in African economies. The analysis by Thomas M. Callaghy (University of Pennsylvania) advocates a new balance between the needs of the state for stability and the development need for a market-driven economy. Colin Leys (Queen's University, Kingston, Canada) reviews the arguments for dependency and classical Marxism in the context of Kenya and is concerned with whether or not, however defined, the Kenyan bourgeoisie can engender capitalist growth. Michael Chege (Programme Officer in Governance and International Affairs for the Ford Foundation in Harare, Zimbabwe) examines the contrasting patterns of capitalist and socialist orientations in development in both Kenya and Tanzania under their respective presidents, and Robert M. Jackson (University of British Columbia, Vancouver) and Carl G. Rosberg conclude with an examination of how the political dyseconomy of personal rule, with its tolerance of corruption and clientelism, has undermined the viability of most new African states.

Violence has become a ubiquitous phenomenon in our world. Occurring daily across the globe, violence is sparked by diverse and complicated societal and political factors. While certain aspects of violence such as terrorism have received increasing scrutiny in recent years, violence has rarely been examined as a political phenomenon in and of itself. Emphasizing the importance of memory, narrative, and political solidarity, The Legitimization of Violence enlists illuminating case studies for comparison, within a general framework of discourse theory. Not merely a description of events, the book explores how violence evolves and takes on a life of its own, thereby enhancing our fundamental understanding of the phenomenon of political violence itself. Violence, nationalism, and politics are inextricably linked in such controversial political movements as Neo-Nazism in contemporary Germany and the Shi'ia in Lebanon. By analyzing the diverse factors which lead to violent acts, the essays in this volume address the complexity and the correlations between politics and violence. International scholars assess such groups as the Shining Path in Peru and the E.T.A. in Spain's Basque country to reveal how political violence affects the chaotic living condition of millions of people worldwide.