James W. Davis - Böcker

Widely recognized as one of the most important theorists of warfare, important strands of Carl von Clausewitz's thinking on the subject are not widely known. In the English-speaking world, few are familiar with anything other than his major, though unfinished and posthumously published, opus On War, which is available in numerous translations. Although the corpus of Clausewitz's writings on the topic of warfare is far greater, most of these texts have never been translated.In Clausewitz on Small War, Christopher Daase and James W. Davis begin to redress this unfortunate state of affairs. In this volume they have assembled and translated Clausewitz's most important texts devoted to the analysis of asymmetric, unconventional, guerrilla, and small unit warfare, including Clausewitz's Lectures on Small War, held at the Prussian War Academy in 1810 and 1811. Augmenting our understanding of Clausewitz with his early writings on Small War leads to the conclusion that asymmetric warfare is not an historical development that can be termed pre- or post-Clausewitzian as many contemporary scholars of war and military strategy argue. Rather, Clausewitz himself emerges as an early theorist of insurgency and asymmetric warfare with insights that are relevant today. The book is a must read for soldiers, military strategists, historians of war, and students of international security.

In spite of all that has been written on the U.S. presidency, no book before this has come forth in the 20th century on the president as party leader. A respected senior scholar, James W. Davis has studied the presidency for more than 40 years and has been on the campaign trail with candidates and incumbents and at national party meetings. He has written a lively text that is tailor-made for courses on the presidency, political parties, and elections. This is good reading for everyone who is interested in American government and politics and who wants to understand what makes a president a strong leader.This history and political analysis shows how presidents and political parties need each other and demonstrates why presidents must understand and be immersed in the political process to be effective. The text examines the emergence of the party leader through nominating and general election campaigns, presidential and congressional party interaction, eras of divided government, as well as the relationship between the president and the party's national committee. It also presents the role of the presidential party and of the president in his public roles and then discusses reforms that may strengthen the president as an executive and as a party leader.

This is a thoroughly revised, in-depth analysis of the American presidency by a major scholar in the field. The main goal of the text is to explain how the president's ability to implement policy is circumscribed by several major factors: *the Madisonian separation of powers; *the decentralized power structure in Congress; *the number of cross-party coalitions needed to pass legislation; *a slow-moving federal bureaucracy; and *the powerful influence of special interest groups opposed to many presidential initiatives.Included in this second edition is coverage of the first two years of the Clinton presidency and a special chapter on the emergence of the presidential branch—the White House staff—and its displacement of the cabinet and the executive departments as the foremost decision-making agents in the federal government (a unique chapter not found in other texts). Since highly unstable relations between the president and congress have become the hallmark of our national government, especially in this era of divided government, a new chapter on the president and congress has been added to the text. The growing role of the vice president, an original chapter in the first edition, has been expanded and updated to include the Gore vice presidency. The chapter on proposed reforms of the presidency received wide approval in the first edition. In the second edition special attention is devoted to the proposal to abolish the Electoral College and replace it with direct election of the president. This edition focuses heavily on the activist presidential leadership of the modern presidency, but notes its perishable nature. High presidential approval ratings, as George Bush demonstrated, cannot be stockpiled or deposited in the bank, to be drawn upon later.Along the way the author makes several major points: 1. the excessive demands that the American public imposes on its presidents threaten to turn the nation's highest office into a series of one-term presidents; 2. the decline of political parties as vehicles for mobilizing presidential support has forced the nation's chief executive to go over the heads of congress and directly to the public to solicit support for his policies; and 3. the emerging dangers of electronic democracy and national referenda and the potential rise of a plebiscitary president all pose more imminent threats to our shared powers system than most presidential-watchers have been willing to concede.

This is a thoroughly revised, in-depth analysis of the American presidency by a major scholar in the field. The main goal of the text is to explain how the president's ability to implement policy is circumscribed by several major factors: *the Madisonian separation of powers; *the decentralized power structure in Congress; *the number of cross-party coalitions needed to pass legislation; *a slow-moving federal bureaucracy; and *the powerful influence of special interest groups opposed to many presidential initiatives.Included in this second edition is coverage of the first two years of the Clinton presidency and a special chapter on the emergence of the presidential branch—the White House staff—and its displacement of the cabinet and the executive departments as the foremost decision-making agents in the federal government (a unique chapter not found in other texts). Since highly unstable relations between the president and congress have become the hallmark of our national government, especially in this era of divided government, a new chapter on the president and congress has been added to the text. The growing role of the vice president, an original chapter in the first edition, has been expanded and updated to include the Gore vice presidency. The chapter on proposed reforms of the presidency received wide approval in the first edition. In the second edition special attention is devoted to the proposal to abolish the Electoral College and replace it with direct election of the president. This edition focuses heavily on the activist presidential leadership of the modern presidency, but notes its perishable nature. High presidential approval ratings, as George Bush demonstrated, cannot be stockpiled or deposited in the bank, to be drawn upon later.Along the way the author makes several major points: 1. the excessive demands that the American public imposes on its presidents threaten to turn the nation's highest office into a series of one-term presidents; 2. the decline of political parties as vehicles for mobilizing presidential support has forced the nation's chief executive to go over the heads of congress and directly to the public to solicit support for his policies; and 3. the emerging dangers of electronic democracy and national referenda and the potential rise of a plebiscitary president all pose more imminent threats to our shared powers system than most presidential-watchers have been willing to concede.

In spite of all that has been written on the U.S. presidency, no book before this has come forth in the 20th century on the president as party leader. A respected senior scholar, James W. Davis has studied the presidency for more than 40 years and has been on the campaign trail with candidates and incumbents and at national party meetings. He has written a lively text that is tailor-made for courses on the presidency, political parties, and elections. This is good reading for everyone who is interested in American government and politics and who wants to understand what makes a president a strong leader.This history and political analysis shows how presidents and political parties need each other and demonstrates why presidents must understand and be immersed in the political process to be effective. The text examines the emergence of the party leader through nominating and general election campaigns, presidential and congressional party interaction, eras of divided government, as well as the relationship between the president and the party's national committee. It also presents the role of the presidential party and of the president in his public roles and then discusses reforms that may strengthen the president as an executive and as a party leader.

A comparative survey which discusses how national leaders in six Western democracies, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, and the United States, are nominated for the highest office in their country. The combinations of methods each country utilizes to nominate their leaders are described. The text emphasizes that most national leaders have served a long apprenticeship in various public offices—sometimes having made several attempts—before actually being nominated to the nation's highest public office. Increasingly, the text shows that opinion polls, television, and professional campaign management are playing a greater role in the leadership selection process in all six countries. This book will be of interest to upper-level college and graduate students and faculty in comparative government, political parties, and public affairs and academic as well as public libraries.

This volume examines the explanatory nesting approach in the analysis of international relations and its continuing relevance in the 21st century. International relations theory urgently needs strategies for coping with the growing complexity of the international system following the collapse of the US–Soviet bipolar stalemate, the multiple challenges to US unipolar hegemony, and the rise of powerful non-Western actors. Over the course of this book, leading scholars of international relations and diplomatic history return to an approach to explanation pioneered in the writings of the late Robert Jervis. The approach calls for nesting multiple layers of explanation--systemic, strategic, and perceptual--in an integrated causal account that is simultaneously parsimonious and nuanced. Highlighting the logic of strategic interactions under uncertainty, it also integrates the effects of psychological biases and the unintended consequences of acting in complex systems to provide explanations that are at once theoretically rigorous and rich in empirical detail. Analyzing the current state of Realist theory, signaling under conditions of uncertainty and anarchy, the role of nuclear weapons in international politics, the role of cognition and emotions in economic and foreign policy decision making, and questions of responsibility in international affairs, the authors provide a compelling guide for the future of international relations theory.This book will be of much interest to students of international relations, foreign policy, and security studies.

This volume examines the explanatory nesting approach in the analysis of international relations and its continuing relevance in the 21st century. International relations theory urgently needs strategies for coping with the growing complexity of the international system following the collapse of the US–Soviet bipolar stalemate, the multiple challenges to US unipolar hegemony, and the rise of powerful non-Western actors. Over the course of this book, leading scholars of international relations and diplomatic history return to an approach to explanation pioneered in the writings of the late Robert Jervis. The approach calls for nesting multiple layers of explanation--systemic, strategic, and perceptual--in an integrated causal account that is simultaneously parsimonious and nuanced. Highlighting the logic of strategic interactions under uncertainty, it also integrates the effects of psychological biases and the unintended consequences of acting in complex systems to provide explanations that are at once theoretically rigorous and rich in empirical detail. Analyzing the current state of Realist theory, signaling under conditions of uncertainty and anarchy, the role of nuclear weapons in international politics, the role of cognition and emotions in economic and foreign policy decision making, and questions of responsibility in international affairs, the authors provide a compelling guide for the future of international relations theory.This book will be of much interest to students of international relations, foreign policy, and security studies.

Conventional wisdom dictates that the conditions of international politics require states to pursue "tough" strategies based on threats, ruling out "soft" strategies such as reassurances or appeasement. In Threats and Promises, James W. Davis, Jr., works toward a theory of influence in international politics that recognizes the power of promises and assurances as tools of statecraft. Davis offers an analytic treatment of promises and assurances, drawing on relevant strands of international relations theory and deterrence theory, as well as cognitive and social psychology. Building on prospect theory (from cognitive psychology), he develops a testable theory of influence that suggests promises are most effective when potential aggressors are motivated by a desire to avoid loss. Davis then considers a series of case studies drawn principally from German diplomatic relations in the later nineteenth and early twentieth century.From the case studies-which focus on such issues as European stability, colonial competition, and the outbreak of the First World War-Davis shows how a blending of threats and promises according to reasoned principles can lead to a new system of more creative statecraft. While many critical analyses exist on the use of threats, there are relatively few on the use of promises. Davis argues that promises have been central to outcomes that were previously attributed to the successful use of deterrent threats, as well as the resolution of many crises where threats failed to deter aggression. Threats and Promises challenges the conventional wisdom and is an original contribution to the field of international politics.

Conventional wisdom dictates that the conditions of international politics require states to pursue "tough" strategies based on threats, ruling out "soft" strategies such as reassurances or appeasement. In Threats and Promises, James W. Davis, Jr., works toward a theory of influence in international politics that recognizes the power of promises and assurances as tools of statecraft. Davis offers an analytic treatment of promises and assurances, drawing on relevant strands of international relations theory and deterrence theory, as well as cognitive and social psychology. Building on prospect theory (from cognitive psychology), he develops a testable theory of influence that suggests promises are most effective when potential aggressors are motivated by a desire to avoid loss. Davis then considers a series of case studies drawn principally from German diplomatic relations in the later nineteenth and early twentieth century.From the case studies-which focus on such issues as European stability, colonial competition, and the outbreak of the First World War-Davis shows how a blending of threats and promises according to reasoned principles can lead to a new system of more creative statecraft. While many critical analyses exist on the use of threats, there are relatively few on the use of promises. Davis argues that promises have been central to outcomes that were previously attributed to the successful use of deterrent threats, as well as the resolution of many crises where threats failed to deter aggression. Threats and Promises challenges the conventional wisdom and is an original contribution to the field of international politics.

Following World War II, American social science research became increasingly characterized by its adherence to the scientific method. The application of the scientific method and efforts to achieve precision in the social sciences opened the doors to large research programs, particularly in political science and international relations. However, as research became less accessible to the general public, policymakers began to ignore the findings and advice given to them by political scientists. The disconnect between policy and academic debates was exacerbated by the failure of empirical research to predict important developments, such as the fall of the Soviet Union and the peaceful resolution of the Cold War. James W. Davis engages with the widespread dissatisfaction within the social sciences applying the scientific method to the study of social outcomes. Terms of Inquiry critically examines central claims and assumptions made by proponents of the scientific method in general, as well as the specific problems confronting the social sciences in particular.Davis seeks to develop a middle ground between the uncritical application of the scientific method in pursuit of empirical truths and the postmodernist assertion that there is no foundation upon which to build an edifice of social science. Although interested in fundamental questions of scientific inquiry, Davis is nonetheless concerned by the increasing irrelevance of the field of political science to the actual practice of politics. In an effort to re-link empirical research to pressing questions of public policy, Terms of Inquiry provides a much needed discussion of practical research methods in a critically important discipline.

Following World War II, American social science research became increasingly characterized by its adherence to the scientific method. The application of the scientific method and efforts to achieve precision in the social sciences opened the doors to large research programs, particularly in political science and international relations. However, as research became less accessible to the general public, policymakers began to ignore the findings and advice given to them by political scientists. The disconnect between policy and academic debates was exacerbated by the failure of empirical research to predict important developments, such as the fall of the Soviet Union and the peaceful resolution of the Cold War. James W. Davis engages with the widespread dissatisfaction within the social sciences applying the scientific method to the study of social outcomes. Terms of Inquiry critically examines central claims and assumptions made by proponents of the scientific method in general, as well as the specific problems confronting the social sciences in particular.Davis seeks to develop a middle ground between the uncritical application of the scientific method in pursuit of empirical truths and the postmodernist assertion that there is no foundation upon which to build an edifice of social science. Although interested in fundamental questions of scientific inquiry, Davis is nonetheless concerned by the increasing irrelevance of the field of political science to the actual practice of politics. In an effort to re-link empirical research to pressing questions of public policy, Terms of Inquiry provides a much needed discussion of practical research methods in a critically important discipline.