Introduction
Bernard Crick
in Democracy: A Very Short Introduction
Democracy has been described as ‘an essentially contested concept’. It is one of those terms scholars can never agree on how to define because the definition itself carries with it social, ...
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Introduction
Helen Morales
in Classical Mythology: A Very Short Introduction
What is a myth? It is made up of three dimensions: lore, ideology, and pleasure. Scholars have come up with many definitions of a myth. The Introduction looks at what a myth is and its ...
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4. Democratic despotism
Harvey C. Mansfield
in Tocqueville: A Very Short Introduction
The greatest danger to democracy, according to Tocqueville, comes out of the very nature of democracy. His later analysis of American democracy identifies the replacement of the sovereignty ...
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Populism: A Very Short Introduction
Cas Mudde and Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser
What is populism? What is the relationship between populism and democracy? Populism: A Very Short Introduction presents populism as an ideology that divides society into two antagonistic ...
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2. The Classical Greeks: How to be a Citizen
Kenneth Minogue
in Politics: A Very Short Introduction
‘The Classical Greeks’ examines the structure of Greek politics and discusses the views of Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, Thucidides, and Solon. The concepts of citizenship, democracy, and ...
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6. Feminism and multiculturalism
David Miller
in Political Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction
‘Feminism and multiculturalism’ argues that the issues raised by feminists and multiculturalists about the nature of personal identity, the line between public and private life, and respect ...
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5. Critique of modernity
Bhikhu Parekh
in Gandhi: A Very Short Introduction
‘Critique of modernity’ explains how, for Gandhi, modern civilization neglected the soul, privileged the body, misunderstood the nature and limits of reason, and had no appreciation of the ...
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2. On Site
Mary Beard and John Henderson
in Classics: A Very Short Introduction
‘On Site’ describes the nineteenth-century exploration of Greece and the connections to Rome. The rediscovery of Greece was, in a way, the rediscovery of the origins of western culture as a ...
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1. Tocqueville’s democratic providence
Harvey C. Mansfield
in Tocqueville: A Very Short Introduction
Born not long after the French Revolution, ‘Tocqueville's democratic providence’ traces the influences on Tocqueville's practice of politics. Despite an aristocratic family background he ...
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9. Germany, Europe, and post-national citizenship
James Gordon Finlayson
in Habermas: A Very Short Introduction
Habermas's antipathy toward nationalism comes from a clear-sighted and nuanced appreciation of the social pre-conditions of human wrongs based on his own experiences. ‘Germany, Europe, and ...
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5. Identity in politics: promises and dangers
Florian Coulmas
in Identity: A Very Short Introduction
‘Identity in politics: promises and dangers’ concludes that identity in politics is a challenge to democratic rule rooted in the principle of self-determination. As a natural child of ...
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African Politics: A Very Short Introduction
Ian Taylor
African Politics: A Very Short Introduction explores how politics is practised on the African continent, providing an overview of the different states and their systems. It ...
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6. The vision of a non-violent society
Bhikhu Parekh
in Gandhi: A Very Short Introduction
‘The vision of a non-violent society’ examines Gandhi's principles for the good society. Gandhi believed that, since different societies had different histories and traditions, the search ...
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Modern India: A Very Short Introduction
Craig Jeffrey
India has become one of the world’s emerging powers, rivalling China in terms of global influence. Yet people still know relatively little about the economic, social, political, and ...
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1. Hope
Craig Jeffrey
in Modern India: A Very Short Introduction
India is the fastest growing major economy in the world with a large and rapidly growing middle class. It has established an identity as a major power in terms of Information Technology and ...
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1. From February to October
S. A. Smith
in The Russian Revolution: A Very Short Introduction
23 February 1917 marked the start of a chain of events that changed Russian society and politics beyond recognition. The autocracy dramatically collapsed. ‘From February to October’ charts ...
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2. The place from where we started
Bernard Crick
in Democracy: A Very Short Introduction
‘The place from where we started’ looks at the classical democracies of Greece and the Roman Republic. In ancient Greece, democracy helped create an active citizenry dedicated to public ...
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4. Comme disait M. de Tocqueville
Bernard Crick
in Democracy: A Very Short Introduction
How can democracy be prevented from degenerating into despotism? ‘Comme disait M. de Tocqueville’ details Alexis de Tocqueville's investigation into democracy in America, and his attempts ...
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4. Dictatorship and repression
Anthony W. Pereira
in Modern Brazil: A Very Short Introduction
‘Dictatorship and repression’ assesses the twenty-one-year dictatorship in Brazil from 1964 to 1985. A result of tensions in the second republic of 1945–64, the coup that created the ...
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7. Far from the perfect democracy
L. Sandy Maisel
in American Political Parties and Elections: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edn)
Americans, even those familiar with the details of the electoral process, remain convinced that American democracy represents the ideal toward which others should strive. ‘Far from the ...
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