Contributions in Political Science - Böcker

Henderson examines the sophisticated motivation and control systems utilized by the North Vietnamese command. The book is based on communist documents and recorded interviews with captured Viet Cong.

The attempted Greek takeover of Cyprus, Turkey's military invasion and occupation of that country, and the Turkish arms embargo that followed during the summer of 1974 sparked a struggle over the direction of American foreign policy. Paul Y. Watanabe explores the American foreign policymaking process in general and the impact ethnic group activism can have on foreign policy formulation in particular in his two-part study Ethnic Groups, Congress, and American Foreign Policy. In Part 1, he focuses on the rise of ethnic consciousness and activism, organizational behavior and interest group politics, lobbying, congressional-executive relations, the foreign policymaking process, and national security policy. Part 2 deals with a specific example of ethnic group activity in the foreign policymaking arena--Greek American and congressional attempts to ban further military shipments to Turkey. Watanabe concludes that ethnic groups can and do make significant contributions to the formulation of foreign policy by affecting the perceptions and actions of officials in Congress and the executive branch.

This first critical examination of informal dispute processing links the institutionalization of alternatives to the court process and the ideology of informalism with the evolution of the American court system. The author connects dispute processing reform to the broader social and political context in which it developed, including the rise of judicial management in the Progressive period and the reconstruction of court unification in the 1970s. Harrington defines legal resources and their distribution in alternative dispute resolution policy before focusing on the institutionalization of this reform in a case study of a federally sponsored Neighborhood Justice Center. In conclusion, Harrington finds that the symbols of informalism and its institutions are a mere shadow of conventional legal practices.

Few organizations feature such a classic synthesis of contemporary far rightist ideas and attitudes as the Liberty Lobby. Though neglected by scholarly research in the past, the Liberty Lobby is a strong and enduring organization that propagates theories of white supremacy, anti-Semitism, and the viability of nationalism. By examining the well-developed ideology and articulate adherents of the Liberty Lobby, Mintz traces the development of the contemporary right, going beyond a general sociological description of the rightist movement or a sensationalist expose. In the context of how the Liberty Lobby differs from the more conservative network and from other far right organizations, intraright rivalry and accommodation are highlighted. Finally, Mintz explores the ideas and personalities of the people who have shaped the Lobby intellectually.

This book examines the evolution of federal disaster relief policy, assesses problems with current policy, and provides an understanding of the issues likely to be involved in future deliberations about federal policy. While examining its formulation, May describes this policy making in two different political environments: the charged atmosphere immediately following the catastrophe and, secondly, the calm between catastrophes. Local, state, and federal government conflicts are illustrated in a case study of Mount St. Helens; intergovernmental partnerships in this arena are discussed in relation to other relief efforts. May stresses the political implications of disaster relief in his analysis of the electoral benefits and influence politicians derive from their attempts to influence federal disaster relief efforts. Finally he addresses the economic considerations and future directions for federal disaster relief policy. Three distinct policy approaches and their tradeoffs provide an overview of the options for future policy making.

The Armenian terrorist movement is the subject of Michael Gunter's analysis. Beginning with an introductory overview of recent Armenian terrorist attacks against Turkish diplomats and property and perceived allies of the Turks, he then examines historical motivations and goals of the Armenian terrorist movement. Although the present wave of Armenian terrorism began only in the 1970s, Gunter traces its origins to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He outlines the so-called Armenian question which resulted in deportations and massacres of the Armenians by Turks during World War I, and questions where responsibility for the actions and reactions of the period lie. Gunter then focuses on the beginnings of the contemporary Armenian terrorism, placing special emphasis on the catalytic influence of the Lebanese Civil War and the Palestinean movement. Gunter analyzes the two main Armenian terrorist organizations in terms of tactics, transnational connections, and the question of Turkish harassment and counterterror. Finally, he draws conclusions and makes recommendations for beginning a process which might eventually terminate this dangerous and destructive state of affairs.

Stohl and Lopez argue that such developments in international aggressive policies demand more serious scholarly attention than has up to now been paid them, and they suggest a number of emerging trends that warrant examination by political scientists. Such trends include superpower deployment of the troops of regional power centers to avoid direct military action in the Third World; renewed efforts by the United States to develop counterterrorist and rapid deployment approaches; and the rise of terror bombing and related military acts even in arenas where conventional warfare is already being conducted. The editors also argue that these trends will intensify in the future.

This volume examines the dynamics of ethnic groups' attempts to influence U.S. foreign policy toward their native countries. A collection of essays by noted political scientists, the book compares and contrasts the political activities of seven ethnic groups with varying degrees of participation, influence, and success: Arab-Americans, Jewish-Americans, African-Americans, Polish-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Cuban-Americans, and Irish-Americans. Taken together, the chapters included here make an important contribution both to the study of foreign policy making and to the understanding of ethnic political behavior.

Unlike other works in the field, Intergovernmental Relations and Public Policy deals with all levels of intergovernmental relations in the United States. Following an introductory section on the intergovernmental setting of public-policy, the book explores federal-state, state-local, and federal-state-local relations. There are discussions of health and safety, natural resources and environmental regulatory policy, federal aid programs, state small community development programs, and many other areas of current concern. Each of the fifteen chapters examines a significant development in contemporary intergovernmental relations, and the authors attempt to focus on the interactions of governmental units, which have a direct effect on the making, implementation, and impact of public policy.

Immigration and refugee policies have traditionally been based on two assumptions: first, that national sovereignty implies absolute control of a country's borders and, second, that outsiders are to be admitted only when it serves the national interest. Moral or ethical concerns have not played a central role in policy formation anywhere in the world. This collection of essays challenges the traditional politically oriented position, analyzes the moral issues involved, and develops models for morally responsible immigration and refugee policies in a contemporary political setting. The editor's introduction reviews the history of U.S. immigration policy and provides a framework for considering immigration control issues. Written by leading authorities on immigration and refugee policy, this provocative volume offers an honest, sensitive exploration of some of the most difficult questions facing contemporary society. It will be of interest for studies in ethics, human rights, public policy, and political economy, as well as to general readers concerned with immigration and refugee issues.

The dismantling of the Synthetic Fuels Corporation and the shelving of scores of synfuel plant proposals have triggered a need for a searching inquiry into the reasons why the initial promise of synfuels has not been realized. In this volume a distinguished group of political scientists, policy analysts, and energy planners apply the critical tools of economic, scientific, and political analysis in an attempt to illuminate why the dream of synthetic fuels development has ended, at least temporarily. The essays collected here grapple with a variety of problems surrounding the rise and demise of synthetic fuels development in the 1970s.

Written by a group of scholars and other experts, including his campaign manager, administration officials, and government personnel, this volume offers a broad spectrum of opinion and analysis and a wealth of insider information not available in standard presidential biographies. most writers used Eisenhower's papers and other sources to good effect. Most papers are also well written and their notes quite useful. ChoiceThis volume of twenty-four new essays enriches our understanding of Eisenhower as a leader and provides valuable historical hindsight on the issues and situations he faced during his two terms as president. Written by a group of scholars and other experts, including his campaign manager, administration officials, and government personnel, it offers a broad spectrum of opinion and analysis and a wealth of insider information not available in standard presidential biographies.

In this comprehensive analysis of Hungarian political and economic developments over the past 30 years, Felkay focuses particularly on the role played by the country's long-tenured Communist leader, Janos Kadar. Basing his study on a comprehensive critical analysis of the official Hungarian press, ideological journals, relevant documents, and other statistical reports from 1956 to the present, Felkay argues that Hungary's rapid recovery from the cataclysmic events of 1956 was the direct result of Kadar's ability to overcome the alienation of his compatriots without incurring the displeasure of the Soviet Union. Felkay's reliance on primarily Hungarian Communist sources offers the reader a unique window on Kadar's political emergence as a pragmatic and unusally successful Communist leader.Felkay begins with a brief history of Hungary and Soviet-Hungarian relations to the end of World War II, setting the context for the detailed political case study which follows. Subsequent chapters detail Kadar's youth, his early involvement with the Communist party, and his installatiton by the Soviets as Hungary's leader in the wake of the 1956 uprising. Felkay demonstrates that despite the circumstances of his selection and his lack of domestic support, Kadar emerged as an effective political leader in his own right. His introduction of innovative non-Marxist structural economic reforms, Felkay shows, enabled Kadar to create one of the most efficient economic systems within the Soviet bloc. Felkay continues with chapters covering the Czechoslovak crisis of 1968, the slowing of reforms and the effects of worldwide price explosions in the early 1970s, and the mounting economic problems that have confronted Kadar and Hungary in the 1980s. The concluding chapters address the most recent developments, including Kadar's removal from office and the impact of Gorbachev's glasnost and perestroika, and predicts likely future trends. Invaluable supplemental reading for courses in comparative politics, Central European politics, and the political economy of Eastern Europe, this volume provides a more comprehensive view of Hungary's contemporary development than has yet been available.

The Burrowes book is well written and provides a balanced if familiar assessment of events. He finds fault in the East-West perspective of U.S. foreign policy in the Third World, but his call for greater assertiveness by regional groupings to control their own affairs is wishful thinking, given the divisions exhibited in this case. ChoiceWhy were so many of America's staunch allies as well as many Congressmen and opinion leaders opposed to the joint invasion of Grenada by the United States and the Caribbean neighbors of that tiny island-nation? What led to the Grenadian government crisis of 1983, and--above all--was the threat perceived by the Reagan administration real? These and related issues are explored in Reynold Burrowes' comprehensive account of the Grenada affair, a chapter in modern diplomacy and warfare that remains an enigma to many observers.

Against a historical backdrop whose origins go back to the US's acquisition of Puerto Rico in the Spanish-American War, the author examines in close detail the evolution of the statehood movement in that territory. . . . This volume will interest mostly professional scholars, graduate students, and general readers attuned to the Puerto Rican statehood issue and to such matters as ethnicity and constitutional development in societies still governed from a distant metropole- in this case, from Washington DC. The book is generally well written and readable. It contains a useful bibliography on the Puerto Rican statehood movement and a servicable index. ChoiceMelendez presents the first comprehensive treatment of the statehood movement in Puerto Rico from the nineteenth century to the present day. Broad in scope, the discussion encompasses every major aspect of annexationism--programs, ideology, politics, changing support for statehood within the United States, and the influential role of the New Progressive Party--and offers a groundbreaking comparative analysis of statehood activities, parties, and conceptions throughout the history of the movement. Throughout, Melendez places particular emphasis on major changes and transformations in the movement, enabling the student of Puerto Rican politics to construct a more comprehensive picture of the evolution of Puerto Rican annexationism than has yet been available.

In his new book, Katz offers a new reading of Karl Marx's theory of history. The book re-examines two incompatible versions of historical materialism: one ascribes the primary cause of historical development to technological progress, the other to class struggle. Katz argues that these versions are inadequate, both as interpretations of Marx's theory and as explanations of the problems of historical change. His study distinguishes three different levels of analysis. The first level is Marx's own summaries of historical materialism, which typically award causal primacy to technology. The second level is Marx's historical studies of feudalism and the transition to capitalism, where class and class struggle play a central role. The third level is the modern debate on the transition from feudalism to capitalism. The history of this transition is chosen by Katz as an empirical test of Marxian theory because it is the principal source from which Marx developed the concepts for interpreting the dynamics of crisis in modes of production. By establishing a reciprocal movement between the respective explanatory roles of technology and class struggle on the one hand, and the historical record on the other, Katz evaluates their relative contributions to an understanding of the supersession of feudalism by capitalism. The result is a reconstruction of Marx's theory of radical social change, one which is historically and theoretically more tenable.The book's first two chapters develop and contrast the two dominant principles of historical causality in Marx's work: class struggle and the development of technology. Subsequent chapters explore the history of feudalism's decline and final disintegration, and its replacement by capitalism, providing a critical analysis of Marx's theory of history. From Feudalism to Capitalism is an important new scholarly source for students of Karl Marx's social and political thought, or students enrolled in social science programs.

This splendid book offers an insight into why Iran, once assumed to have one of the most stable governments in the Middle East, crumbled so rapidly in 1979. Amjad's study attempts to answer that question by investigating the socioeconomic and political factors that led to the Iranian Revolution and to the transformation of the Iranian state from a royal dictatorship into a theocracy. The author concludes that a combination of factors such as economic mismanagement, failure of agriculture, inflation, decline in oil revenues, and political repression provided favorable conditions for the opposition to organize its forces against the Shah. Thereafter, within a few months after the overthrow of the monarchy, the religious hierarchy with the support of the traditional bourgeoisie and petit bourgeoisie was able to eliminate the liberal bourgeoisie and create a theocracy in Iran. Written in an easy-flowing narrative style, this book is finely produced and makes a valuable contribution for those interested in Iranian studies. Includes a useful glossary, an index, and an up-to-date bibliography. ChoiceThe unforeseen Iranian revolution stunned not only the Shah, but also observers around the globe. This element of the unexpected was based, as Amjad argues, on misconceptions concerning both the Shah's power and the apparent weakness and fragmentation of the opposition. This comprehensive volume provides thorough historical perspectives on the socioeconomic and political factors that precipitated the revolution and transformed the Iranian state from a royal dictatorship into a theocracy. Amjad analyzes the nature of the Iranian state in both pre- and post-revolutionary periods, looks at the kinds of changes in Iran during its transition to capitalism, and explains the rationale behind the important part played by Islam in the revolution. Particular attention is paid to the Shah's role in alienating the populace at all levels of society and to how Shi'ite Islam's militant mullahs were able, in the absence of a nationwide political organization, to lead the revolution organization, to lead the revolution. Iran's populist ideology and its priorities of creating a welfare state to provide social welfare for the poor and forming an alliance between the upper and lower classes is exhaustively detailed here.Discussions of theories of state, class, revolution, economic development, and also the impact of Islam in Iranian society and culture comprise the first three chapters. Socioeconomic development, class formation, and the transformation of the Iranian state from 1941 to 1977 form the basis for chapters four through six. Chapters seven and eight consider the effect of domestic and international social factors on the revolution and describe how a royal dictatorship was transfomred into a theocracy. This distinguished volume will prove invaluable for courses in comparative politics, international relations, the history of the modern Middle East, the history of modern Iran, and Islam and its revolution.