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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4. The United Nations
Christopher S. Browning
in International Security: A Very Short Introduction
‘The United Nations’ discusses the world's primary organization of collective security. The United Nations is often seen as an entrepreneur promoting norms of good governance, upholding ...
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6. Political sovereignty and economic autonomy
Theda Perdue and Michael D. Green
in North American Indians: A Very Short Introduction
Indian history in the 20th century is about the battle for political sovereignty. In 1933 John Collier was appointed by Roosevelt to be commissioner of Indian affairs. He embraced the idea ...
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7. Whither British politics?
Tony Wright
in British Politics: A Very Short Introduction (3rd edn)
The future shape of British politics is impossible to predict. ‘Whither British politics?’ explores what happens when representative democracy collides with direct democracy and ...
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5. Constructing the Modern State
Kenneth Minogue
in Politics: A Very Short Introduction
‘Constructing the Modern State’ is concerned with the time when the medieval realm gave way to the modern state, generally thought to be during the sixteenth century. The arguments of ...
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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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4. Liberty, virtue, and citizenship
Robert Wokler
in Rousseau: A Very Short Introduction
‘Liberty, virtue, and citizenship’ looks at the model that Rousseau created for a state. Rousseau believed in the classical Greek link between politics and morality, and rejected previous ...
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1. Nations under law
Vaughan Lowe
in International Law: A Very Short Introduction
The most basic function of international law is to secure the coexistence of the world’s almost 200 sovereign States. ‘Nations under law’ explains the essential conditions of statehood ...
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3. Claiming and negotiating the Antarctic
Klaus Dodds
in The Antarctic: A Very Short Introduction
World political divisions are generally easy to define with a few exceptions where there is uncertainty. However, large parts of the Antarctic are claimed by seven states: Argentina, ...
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5. What it started
William Doyle
in The French Revolution: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edn)
The Revolution began as an assertion of national sovereignty. Nations were the new supreme source of authority in human affairs. ‘What it started’ considers the effects of the French ...
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5. On the origin of treaties
Anthony Arnull
in European Union Law: A Very Short Introduction
EU Treaties are international agreements signed and ratified by sovereign states. The EU is, therefore, a creation of international law. However, it is increasingly treated by scholars as ...
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4. The politics of slavery: prelude to the Civil War, 1844–60
Donald T. Critchlow
in American Political History: A Very Short Introduction
In the ten years following the 1844 election the entire political landscape changed, including the demise of the Whig party and the rise of a powerful new northern party, the Republican ...
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1. The politics of the Constitution, 1787–89
Donald T. Critchlow
in American Political History: A Very Short Introduction
‘The politics of the Constitution, 1787–89’ describes the drafting of the U.S. Constitution in 1787 and its ratification. The central actors were George Washington, James Madison, Benjamin ...
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3. The age of democracy, 1816–44
Donald T. Critchlow
in American Political History: A Very Short Introduction
From 1816 to 1844, the United States underwent an economic, political, and social transformation resulting in a nation of twenty-four states and three territories with a population of ...
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3. Architectures
Klaus Dodds
in Geopolitics: A Very Short Introduction (3rd edn)
The term ‘geopolitical architecture’ is used to describe the ways in which states and non-state organizations access, manage, and regulate the intersection of territories and flows, and in ...
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5. Debate
Allen C. Guelzo
in Lincoln: A Very Short Introduction
‘Debate’ describes the debates between Lincoln and Stephen Douglas leading up to the legislative elections in 1858. Although Douglas was re-elected, Lincoln had come within an ace of ...
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International Relations: A Very Short Introduction
Christian Reus-Smit
International relations affects the security, economic fortunes, rights and freedoms, and environmental well-being of all of us. The recent transformation from a world of empires to today’s ...
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1. What is international relations?
Christian Reus-Smit
in International Relations: A Very Short Introduction
International relations has traditionally focused on external relations between sovereign states. Yet not all important relations are between sovereign states and not all important politics ...
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2. The global organization of political authority
Christian Reus-Smit
in International Relations: A Very Short Introduction
‘The global organization of political authority’ examines such organization more closely, and provides a brief overview of some of the most prominent historical forms: heteronomy (think of ...
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