A central concern about the robustness of democratic rule in new democracies is the concentration of power in the executive branch and the potential this creates for abuse. This concern is felt particularly with regard to the concentration of legislative power. Checking Presidential Power explains the levels of reliance on executive decrees in a comparative perspective. Building on the idea of institutional commitment, which affects the enforcement of decision-making rules, Palanza describes the degree to which countries rely on executive decree authority as more reliance may lead to unbalanced presidential systems and will ultimately affect democratic quality. Breaking new ground by both theorizing and empirically analyzing decree authority from a comparative perspective, this book examines policy making in separation of powers systems. It explains the choice between decrees and statutes, and why legislators are sometimes profoundly engaged in the legislative process and yet other tim
The issue of inequality has irrefutably returned to the fore, riding on the anger against Wall Street following the 2008 financial crisis and the concentration of economic and political power in the h
The emergence of the modern Middle East has been accompanied by a concentration of coercive power in the state. Although the region has encompassed numerous Mukhabarat (secret police) states, extensiv
Examines the financial control of large corporations from the Civil War to the present, arguing that a small number of large American banks exhibit the largest concentration of economic power
In The Limits of Symbolic Reform, Mark Leff examines the gap between politics and economics, between symbol and substance in the New Deal. The New Deal never lacked for controversy, and tax policy reliably aroused the fiercest of emotions. Franklin Roosevelt's celebrated tax reform proposals - presented amidst verbal barrages against 'economic royalists' and the 'unjust concentration of wealth and economic power' - signified almost nothing in terms of revenue. Cosmetic higher rates on upper-income brackets generated far less revenue than lower-profile New Deal taxes on agricultural products, liquor, and payrolls (through social security) that burdened low incomes. But while 'soak the rich' tax initiatives were economically inconsequential, they were politically crucial to the image of compassion and action projected by the New Deal. Leff's analysis clarifies the reform priorities and the balance of political and economic that produced this paradoxical New Deal tax machinery.
In this book of 1825, Samuel Hibbert (1782–1848) attempts to uncover the physical or physiological causes which might account for claims of seeing ghosts and other apparitions. Hibbert trained as a doctor, and uses anecdotal and case-study evidence to show that external physical circumstances - such as the use of stimulants, brain inflammation, hallucination during fever, or alcohol withdrawal - are most likely to be the causes of apparent sightings of supernatural phenomena. He explores the power of suggestion, whether derived from superstitions, folk tales or biblical imagery, on the imagination of the impressionable. Using the idea that the train of thought can be stimulated or depressed, and that different levels of semi-consciousness can admit of different levels of contemplation and concentration, Hibbert hypothesises that for each apparition or ghostly spectre there is a rational explanation.
Ranked societies are characterized by disparities in personal status that are often accompanied by the concentration of power and authority in the hands of a few dominant individuals. They stand between the sophistication of developed, states and the relative simplicity of most hunter-gatherer groups and early agriculturalists. In some places and times they represented relatively brief phases of transition to more complex forms of organization; in others they existed as stable forms of adaptation for thousands of years. They are thus of great interest for archaeologists seeking to understand the dynamics of cultural evolution.
The power of meditation has been harnessed for thousands of years to help build greater concentration, aid emotional stability and create a profound positive effect in your life and on your general we
The shifting meaning of race and class in the age of Trump The profound concentration of economic power in the United States in recent decades has produced surprising new forms of racialization.
The shifting meaning of race and class in the age of Trump The profound concentration of economic power in the United States in recent decades has produced surprising new forms of racialization.
Recent achievements in sunlight concentration techniques have increased the potential of solar power as a viable source of renewable energy. Through its critical analysis of current methods, Photovolt
Uses personal accounts to look at the Nazis' murder of over six million people during World War II, from Hitler's rise to power in the 1930s to the liberation of the concentration camps in 1945.
Uses personal accounts to look at the Nazis' murder of over six million people during World War II, from Hitler's rise to power in the 1930s to the liberation of the concentration camps in 1945.
Welcome to the fabled Gold Coast, that stretch on the North Shore of Long Island that once held the greatest concentration of wealth and power in America. Here two men are destined for an explosive c
Welcome to the fabled Gold Coast, that stretch on the North Shore of Long Island that once held the greatest concentration of wealth and power in America. Here two men are destined for an explosive c
Welcome to the fabled Gold Coast, that stretch on the North Shore of Long Island that once held the greatest concentration of wealth and power in America. Here two men are destined for an explosive c
Welcome to the fabled Gold Coast, that stretch on the North Shore of Long Island that once held the greatest concentration of wealth and power in America. Here two men are destined for an explosive co
Welcome to the fabled Gold Coast, that stretch on the North Shore of Long Island that once held the greatest concentration of wealth and power in America. Here two men are destined for an explosive co
Every country, every subnational government, and every district has a designated population, and this has a bearing on politics in ways most citizens and policymakers are barely aware of. Population and Politics provides a comprehensive evaluation of the political implications stemming from the size of a political unit – on social cohesion, the number of representatives, overall representativeness, particularism ('pork'), citizen engagement and participation, political trust, electoral contestation, leadership succession, professionalism in government, power concentration in the central apparatus of the state, government intervention, civil conflict, and overall political power. A multimethod approach combines field research in small states and islands with cross-country and within-country data analysis. Population and Politics will be of interest to academics, policymakers, and anyone concerned with decentralization and multilevel governance.
Every country, every subnational government, and every district has a designated population, and this has a bearing on politics in ways most citizens and policymakers are barely aware of. Population and Politics provides a comprehensive evaluation of the political implications stemming from the size of a political unit – on social cohesion, the number of representatives, overall representativeness, particularism ('pork'), citizen engagement and participation, political trust, electoral contestation, leadership succession, professionalism in government, power concentration in the central apparatus of the state, government intervention, civil conflict, and overall political power. A multimethod approach combines field research in small states and islands with cross-country and within-country data analysis. Population and Politics will be of interest to academics, policymakers, and anyone concerned with decentralization and multilevel governance.
