2. The politics of trust
John Dunn
in Locke: A Very Short Introduction
‘The Politics of Trust’ considers the nature of political authority. Locke initially feared any challenge to the authority of a monarch, because of the danger of disorder, but eventually ...
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8. Security
David J. Bodenhamer
in The U.S. Constitution: A Very Short Introduction
Armed conflict poses an imminent threat to the nation’s existence, but so does suspension of the nation’s fundamental laws. The framers wrestled with how to grant government the power to ...
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5. Representation
David J. Bodenhamer
in The U.S. Constitution: A Very Short Introduction
More than most constitutional issues, questions of representation and suffrage have exposed the fault lines of class, race, and gender in American society. Popular sovereignty was the ...
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4. Property
David J. Bodenhamer
in The U.S. Constitution: A Very Short Introduction
The Constitution of 1787 contains no broad guarantee of the right to property, but it established numerous protections for property. ‘Property’ explains that the right to property found ...
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Introduction: mass immigration, past and present
David A. Gerber
in American Immigration: A Very Short Introduction
The United States is a nation of diverse peoples bound together through an allegiance to the constitution. The Introduction looks at where the people of the United States have come from and ...
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5. Deprivations of life and liberty
Andrew Clapham
in Human Rights: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edn)
‘Deprivations of life and liberty’ considers the rights to life and liberty, which may be limited through legal restrictions designed to protect a defined legitimate objective. The human ...
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6. Balancing rights—free speech and privacy
Andrew Clapham
in Human Rights: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edn)
‘Balancing rights—free speech and privacy’ considers the human rights that have built-in limitations. The thrust of international human rights law for these rights is that limitations to ...
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The History of Childhood: A Very Short Introduction
James Marten
The History of Childhood: A Very Short Introduction describes the differing experiences of childhood across time and place, focusing on conflict, change, war, reform, and the issues and ...
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3. Human rights foreign policy and the role of the United Nations
Andrew Clapham
in Human Rights: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edn)
How are human rights put into practice? What does it mean when governments announce that their foreign policy is concerned with promoting and protecting human rights? Where is the ...
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8. Discrimination and equality
Andrew Clapham
in Human Rights: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edn)
‘Discrimination and equality’ considers the prohibited grounds of discrimination (based on age, sexuality, religion, nationality, gender, and disability); what new grounds may be emerging; ...
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Epilogue
Heather Andrea Williams
in American Slavery: A Very Short Introduction
Despite the abolition of slavery with the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, notions of black inferiority and white supremacy still persisted in both the North and the South. The ...
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Family Law: A Very Short Introduction
Jonathan Herring
Family Law: A Very Short Introduction provides insight not only into what family law is, but why it is the way it is. How have laws had to respond to social changes in family ...
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4. Who are Republicans? Who are Democrats? Who are the “others”?
L. Sandy Maisel
in American Political Parties and Elections: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edn)
‘Who are Republicans? Who are Democrats? Who are the “others”?’ looks at party affiliation and the different relationships citizens have with political parties. Most American citizens have ...
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4. Satyāgraha
Bhikhu Parekh
in Gandhi: A Very Short Introduction
‘Satyāgraha’ explains how, for Gandhi, satyāgraha, meaning civil insistence on or tenacity in the pursuit of truth, aimed to penetrate the barriers of prejudice, ill-will, dogmatism, ...
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5. The nation in history
Steven Grosby
in Nationalism: A Very Short Introduction
‘The nation in history’ investigates historical notions of nationhood. Nations are generally thought of as being relatively recent inventions, as it is believed that earlier societies did ...
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8. Politics, democracy, and law
James Gordon Finlayson
in Habermas: A Very Short Introduction
Habermas believes that traditional societies are held together by a shared ethos. Modern societies are complex, differentiated, and multicultural. Subjects consider themselves first and ...
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5. Lawyers
Raymond Wacks
in Law: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edn)
Lawyers are an essential feature of every developed legal system. Without accessible lawyers to provide citizens with competent representation, the ideals of the legal system ring hollow. ...
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4. The modern world
Steve Bruce
in Sociology: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edn)
Although we can view sociology as a disinterested intellectual discipline that stands aside from the world it observes, sociology is itself a symptom of the very things it describes. ‘The ...
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3. The people called Methodists
William J. Abraham
in Methodism: A Very Short Introduction
The initial agenda of Methodism as a renewal movement in the Church of England was ‘to reform England, especially the church, and to spread scriptural holiness throughout the land’. Like ...
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6. Equality
David J. Bodenhamer
in The U.S. Constitution: A Very Short Introduction
Equality was not an explicit core value of the Constitution, nor was it a basic condition of republican governments. The framers, living in a world based on class distinctions, rejected ...
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