Politikk

The histories presented here are of a select group of US presidents, their inspired leadership characteristics, and how they may inspire us today. The traits these presidents possessed were cultivated over a lifetime of lived experience and immortalized through the power of the presidential word-speeches, letters, and addresses-which collectively represent the most transcendent documents in American history. Viewed through the lens of nuance, complication, human emotion, pathos, and drama, William Haldeman sets forth the lives of these presidents in ways to help inform our own lives, from leveraging our experience and instincts to making the right calls when they matter the most. Grounded in an interdisciplinary approach, Haldeman appeals to both scholars and general audience readers alike, offering a refreshing view of presidential leadership that not only elevates leadership as a central part of the scholarly field, but also broadly engages American presidency enthusiasts and readers of history, biography, politics, and leadership development.

Combining moment-by-moment drama with an emotional story of friendship and bravery, Escape from Kabul is also a searing insight into the captive fate of women in Afghanistan. In the twenty years since 2001, Afghan women obtained legal degrees, became judges and set out to transform their country - tackling corruption, and reducing horrifying levels of violence against women and children. These educated and powerful women led the mission to build a modern democracy that respected the rule of law and human rights. However, when Western forces withdrew in August 2021, the women judges of Afghanistan faced mortal danger. Escape from Kabul is the extraordinary, never-before-told story of their escape, and the shocking fates of those who were unable to flee. Bestselling, veteran journalist Karen Bartlett has had unique access to many of the women involved, including those in exile and the judges still trapped in Afghanistan, as well as the international network of women judges who were vital to the escape effort.

Using rare primary sources and interviews with over 80 Syrians and other experts, Marika Sosnowski explores the previously unexamined consequences of ceasefires on wartime order and statebuilding in Syria. From rebel governance to citizen and property rights, Sosnowski shows that the impact of ceasefires goes far beyond temporary halts to violence.

Lloyd Ridgeon offers an original examination of the writings of radical reformist Muslim thinker, Ahmad Qabel, whose work sought to rationalise and modernise Islamic law. With chapters covering a broad range of topics and extended translations from Qabel's writings, Ridgeon illuminates the significance of Qabel's ideas and arguments.

Why Democracy Needs the Rich challenges the prevailing narrative that wealth undermines democracy, offering a bold, thought-provoking case for the essential role of the rich in sustaining and enhancing democratic institutions. In a time when billionaires are often vilified as symbols of inequality and unchecked power, John O. McGinnis flips the script, arguing that the wealthy are not just vital contributors to innovation and economic growth but also indispensable counterbalances to the influence of other powerful groups. Drawing on history, economics, and political philosophy, McGinnis illustrates how the rich act as stabilizers in a democracy by funding civic institutions, championing diverse ideas, and driving technological progress. He reveals how wealth can counteract the sway of ideologically homogeneous elites in media, academia, and entertainment while serving as a check on the excesses of special interest groups and bureaucracies. With sharp analysis and compelling examples, this book explores the unique role of the wealthy in preserving the balance and dynamism of a free society. It highlights how their financial independence fosters ideological diversity and their investments fuel advancements that benefit all citizens, not just the elite. Far from being a defense of inequality, Why Democracy Needs the Rich is a powerful argument for understanding how wealth, in the right context, strengthens the foundations of representative democracy and fosters a more resilient, vibrant society.

In Prophetic Statesmanship: Harry V. Jaffa, Abraham Lincoln, and the Gettysburg Address, Edward J. Erler presents the lesser-known, late-life scholarship of renowned Lincoln scholar, Harry Victor Jaffa. Through a deep reading of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and Second Inaugural, Erler considers some of Jaffa's startling discoveries about Lincoln, Aquinas, Aristotle, and America's political founding--discoveries that sometimes seem to contradict Jaffa's own prior writing and often contradict the existing scholarly consensus. In 1959, Jaffa established himself as a foremost Lincoln scholar when he published Crisis of the House Divided, a revolutionary breakthrough in the understanding of Lincoln's political philosophy. But by the time Jaffa published A New Birth of Freedom (2000), he had developed a deeper understanding of what is known as the "theological-political question," the conflict between theology and politics in philosophical thought. Jaffa referred to this development as his "second sailing." Jaffa was never able to flesh out his evolving ideas about the "theological-political question," as it concerns Abraham Lincoln, while he was alive. At the behest of Jaffa, his student Edward Erler wrote this book to do just that.With his own scholarly aplomb Erler explores Jaffa's scholarship on Aristotle's presence in the American founding; Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Aquinas's surprising, shared--albeit concealed--vision of participatory government; the union of divine law and natural law in the American founding; and the primacy of prudence as supreme political virtue; among other topics. This is a book for anyone interested in the past and future of American political thought.

Independent cinema in China is not only made outside the commercial system but also without being submitted for censorship. We know that for several decades it has been the crucible out of which China's most exciting new films have flowed. The essays in this volume interrogate what else we think we know. Did it really start with Wu Wenguang and Bumming in Beijing in 1990, or can its roots be traced back much earlier? What are its aesthetics? And its ethics, including of gender and class? Where do audiences watch these films in China and how do they circulate? And, since the 2017 Film Law defined uncensored films as illegal, is independent Chinese cinema still alive? What does it mean today? And does it have a future? The essays in this anthology-many by exciting new scholars-explore these urgent questions.

First published in 1991, Social Security and Social Control (now with a new preface by the author) takes a fresh look at social security policy and demonstrates how the disciplinary effects of social security and relief programmes are more extensive, pervasive, and subtle than is commonly supposed.

'A fascinating, passionate and political case for art's world-changing power, by a fizzingly good writer' - Robert Macfarlane'A rich and broad overview of socially purposeful art. Everyone interested in social change should read it' - Brian EnoIn Acts of Resistance, Amber Massie-Blomfield writes about the artists who have treated the protest site as their canvas and contributed to movements that have transformed history - from the musicians in Auschwitz to the four-year Siege of Sarajevo, from the to ACT UP's 1989 invasion of the New York Stock Exchange, to the Niger Delta and indigenous communities in Bolivia. Including stories and artists from across the globe, including Susan Sontag, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and Claude Cahun - alongside collectives, communities, amateurs and anonymous creators who have used their art as an expression of resistance - this fascinating book asks what is the purpose of art in a world on fire? Why are artists compelled to paint, write, dance and make music, even when the odds are stacked against them? And how can artistic creation be a genuine form of political resistance?Combining cultural criticism, history and memoir, Acts of Resistance is an urgent reminder that art can make a human life more bearable, and can be a means of building the things that a person needs to survive the bleakest circumstances. It is a testament to that idea, and to the people who have risked their lives to prove it is so. While their stories are remarkable, they are also a reminder that each of us can use creativity in defense of our humanity.

WITH A FOREWORD FROM SIR ALAN BATES'Jo is an inspiration', Monica Dolan, who played Jo in the ITV drama, Mr Bates vs The Post Office'My first big discrepancy came in the shape of a £2,000 shortfall that just made no sense at all. Of all the things that kept me awake once in the thick of the nightmare that unfolded, it was being stuck in that truly incomprehensible moment where the mere touch of a button suddenly turned £2,000 into £4,000 within three minutes on that cold December night in 2003.'Jo Hamilton was one of more than 700 sub-postmasters prosecuted between 2000 and 2014 based on information from the Post Office's faulty Horizon accounting system. She was told to put right a wrong she hadn't committed and pushed to the very brink of her existence - remortgaging her house, borrowing from anyone she could in order to repay money that she hadn't taken, and questioning her own sanity. Immortalised in ITV smash hit drama, Mr Bates v The Post Office, this is Jo Hamilton's extraordinary first-hand account of how she built a Post Office that was at the very heart of her community and lost it all through no fault of her own. For the first time, beyond the headlines and the corridors of the High Court and the UK's political institutions, we will finally hear Jo's full story and the human side of this scandal as well as the untold struggle she faced during the biggest miscarriages of justice in modern history. Ultimately, this is a story of hope and the strength of community and the ability of a few to fight back against the odds.

Do you relish the thought of serving in public life, but don't know where to start? With the honesty of experience, Sergio Marchi clearly spells out all the practical steps that you need to follow.Our politics are currently suffering formidable challenges. Our national discourse has become more polarized, increasingly divisive, and notably nastier. Consequently, many people are keeping their distance from public life, rejecting a political system that they deem broken and unrepairable. Public opinion surveys consistently reveal that public cynicism is at a record high, coupled by declining voter turnout. Young people are disengaged from public life.We urgently need to find ways to renew our political culture so that the political arena can be renewed with smart, competent people who bring fresh ideas and new energy to the profession.The Honourable Sergio Marchi -- city councillor, member of Parliament, cabinet minister, and ambassador -- shares his experiences over his thirty-year political career and captures the adventures, policy decisions, and lessons learned in an effort to shed light on the inner workings of a public life -- from nomination meetings, to campaigning, to governing -- to make it easier for those interested in making a difference to take the plunge into an exciting, meaningful, and purposeful profession.

Originally published in 1978 this book clarifies the implications of significant political theories and issues of the 20th Century which affected their work. Drawing on case studies from their own experience, the contributors underline the political variables facing the community worker, whatever the context.