Social Democracy

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia under Yeltsin and Putin implemented a political system of "imitation democracy," marked by "a huge disparity between formal constitutional principles and the reality of authoritarian rule." How did this system take shape, how else might it have developed, and what are the prospects for re-envisioning it more democratically in the future? These questions animate Dmitrii Furman's Imitation Democracy, a welcome antidote to books that blandly decry Putin as an omnipotent dictator without considering his platforms, constituencies, and sources of power.

Have lawmakers helped themselves while helping the country? After the nation's financial crisis led Congress to unprecedented economic intervention, The Washington Post began an investigation that pierced the secrecy of the deeply flawed financial disclosure system that governs the 535 men and women who draft the nation's laws. Members of Congress directed millions of dollars to infrastructure projects near their residences and businesses, in some cases paving roads in front of their houses.

Democracy is, by its very nature, often rude. But there are limits to how uncivil we should be. In the 2010 edition of Rude Democracy, Susan Herbst explored the ways we discuss public policy, how we treat each other as we do, and how we can create a more civil national culture. She used the examples of Sarah Palin and Barack Obama to illustrate her case. In a new preface for this 2020 edition, the author connects her book to our current highly contentious politics and what it means for the future of democratic argument.

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Ethical leadership, steeped in integrity and fairness, matters. The future of our nation and our world depends upon the quality of America's character. In this uncompromising, absorbing look at our government and society today, Jill Long Thompson persuasively argues that we all have a meaningful role to play in shaping America's character and future. The citizenry, as well as their elected officials, are responsible for protecting fairness of participation and integrity in elections, as well as in the adoption and execution of laws.

The political landscape has never been so tumultuous: issues with the electoral college, gerrymandering, voter suppression, and a lack of representation in the polls and in our leadership have led to Americans of all ages asking, How did we get here? The power to change lies with the citizens of this great country - especially teens! Rather than pointing fingers at people and political parties, You Call This Democracy? looks at flaws in the system - and offers a real way out of the mess we are in.

Die tief verwurzelte Verflechtung von Geld und Macht ist ein Erbe, das seit der Gründung der USA besteht und zur DNA der mächtigsten Nation der Welt gehört. Dieses Buch beleuchtet, wie Superreiche, von den Gründervätern bis hin zu Elon Musk und Co. die amerikanische Politik beeinflussen und dabei gleichzeitig die Demokratie nicht nur in den USA sondern weltweit gefährden. Trotz zahlreicher Reformversuche wächst die Macht des Geldes seit Trumps Wiederwahl unaufhaltsam.

Written during the 1920s, an era that reflects much of our modern times 100 years later, this book by culture critic and scholar Mencken dissects what democracy is. The book’s three parts are “Democratic Man,” “The Democratic State” that includes a chapter on popular will and a chapter on politicians, and “Democracy and Liberty” with a section on corruption under democracy, followed by a “Coda” that discusses the future of democracy.

Famed journalist, satirist, and cultural critic Henry Louis (H. L.) Mencken is known as the chief heretic of the American civic religion for a reason. From the corruption of politicians to the dangers of mob rule, Mencken explores the pitfalls of democracy with his trademark irreverence and insight. In our age of demagogues, Notes on Democracy is as relevant today as it was nearly a century ago.

James L. Leloudis and Robert R. Korstad tell the story of race and voting rights, from the end of the Civil War until the present day. They show that battles over the franchise have played out through cycles of emancipatory politics and conservative retrenchment. When race has been used as an instrument of exclusion from political life, the result has been a society in which vast numbers of Americans are denied the elements of meaningful freedom: a good job, a good education, good health, and a good home.

In an era when democracy is at critical risk, is it reasonable to expect the education system, already buckling under the ordeal of a global pandemic, to solve the converging problems of inequality, climate change, and erosion of trust in government and science? Will more civics instruction help? In Can Schools Save Democracy? Michael J. Feuer offers a new approach to addressing these questions with a strategy for improving the process and substance of civic education.

Demokratie ist nie statisch, sondern dynamisch. Sie lebt durch die Menschen, die ununterbrochen an ihr arbeiten. Wer wüsste das besser als Michel Friedman. In einer Zeit, in der Demokratie und Menschenrechte von Extremisten und Autokraten täglich angegriffen werden und Demokratien in Teilen von illiberalen Demokraten als autoritären und totalitären Führungen übernommen wurden, ruft er dazu auf, nicht nur mutig zu diskutieren, sondern auch endlich zu handeln – zugunsten von Freiheit und Menschenrechten.

As AI and robotics eliminate jobs across the spectrum, governmental revenues will plummet while the debt increases dramatically. This crisis of limited resources on all levels - underfunded or nonexistent pensions, health problems, lack of savings, and job destruction without comparable job creation - will drive many into homelessness and produce a dramatic rise in violence as we fight over shrinking resources.

Al governo dei Paesi occidentali si alternano partiti di destra e di sinistra, eppure nulla sembra cambiare davvero per il popolo e le sue istanze. Quelli che un tempo erano schieramenti in lotta per due opposte visioni del mondo e dell'agire politico sono ormai le facce intercambiabili della stessa logica di potere.

Sie sind keine Erfindung unserer Zeit, aber es ist auffällig, wie sehr sie wieder in Mode sind: legitime Herrscher, die sich wie Despoten verhalten. Staatenlenker, die auf Gewalt setzen und willkürlich regieren. Sie sind zwar nicht durch Putsch oder Revolution an die Macht gekommen, sondern (weitestgehend) demokratisch in ihre Ämter gewählt worden, doch läuft ihr Regierungsstil letztlich auf Tyrannei hinaus.

In Democracy Lives in Darkness, Emily Van Duyn discovers and follows a secret political organization of progressive women in a conservative community in rural Texas. Its members met in secret to protect themselves from retaliation by their conservative neighbors, friends, and family. They discussed immigrant rights, women's reproductive rights, racism, and intolerance of those of different racial/ethnic and cultural backgrounds in their community. Democracy Lives in Darkness is about this group: their daily lives, their choices, and ultimately, their incubation.

Wie entsteht die Anziehungskraft von Populisten? Huub Buijssen erklärt die psychologischen Mechanismen, wann und warum Menschen auf populistische Ideen reagieren. Anhand von Beispielen aus den Niederlanden, Deutschland, Österreich und den USA zeigt er, welche Ängste und Moralvorstellungen besonders anfällig dafür machen.
Um die aktuellen politischen Entwicklungen besser zu verstehen und Gefahren zu erkennen, ist dieses Buch unverzichtbar. Die Erkenntnisse u.a.

Nell'ultimo decennio il mondo è divenuto protagonista di mutamenti politici, economici e sociali sempre più rapidi, che stanno portando alla creazione di nuove realtà politiche volte a cambiare, o addirittura stravolgere, le regole della democrazia occidentale. Una nuova generazione di élite fautrici di idee illiberali e autoritarie sta ottenendo un crescente consenso tra le masse e, dunque, una maggiore influenza. Oltreoceano, la presidenza di Trump, con il suo «America First», ha infiammato gli animi dei suprematisti bianchi.

In Consequences: The Rise of a Fractured World Order, William Priest, David Roche, and Alex Michailoff deliver an engaging, timely, and insightful analysis of identifying the sources and challenges facing liberal democracies and their ability to confront autocracies and autocratic behavior. The authors identify and address structural flaws present in both democracies and autocracies.

Überall in Europa und mit Trump auch in den USA gewinnen Rechtspopulisten massiv an Unterstützung und gefährden die liberale Demokratie. Ihr Ziel ist die schrittweise Aushöhlung der demokratischen Institutionen, um ihre eigene Agenda durchzusetzen: gegen Migration, gegen die EU, gegen die vermeintlichen »Eliten«, für einen autoritär regierten Nationalstaat, in dem die freiheitliche Rechtsordnung zunehmend ausgehebelt wird. Ihre augenöffnende Recherche zeigt unter einem Brennglas, welcher Gefahr Deutschland gegenübersteht.