On the Cross Road of Polity, Political Elites and Mobilization


Book Description

This volume discusses the various interrelations that exist within and between social and political phenomena.




Platforms, Power, and Politics


Book Description

Political communication has fundamentally transformed as digital technologies have become increasingly important in everyday life. Technology platforms have become powerful political instruments for world leaders, campaigns, social movements, journalists, and non-governmental organizations. Moreover, they are essential to how people communicate about politics, encounter and share political information, and take action to pursue their political goals. This is the first textbook to center digital platforms in understanding political communication. With global examples beyond the context of Western democracies, the text reveals how digital technologies such as social media and search engines are increasingly shaping political communication in countries around the world. It shows how the core processes of political communication are being reshaped by platforms, from how elections are contested to how issues make it onto policymaking agendas. Topics covered include public opinion, journalism, strategic communication, political parties, social movements, governance, disinformation, propaganda, populism, race, ethnicity, and democratic backsliding. Full of lively examples and pedagogical features, Platforms, Power, and Politics offers an exciting and innovative new approach to political communication. It is essential reading for students of political communication and an important resource for scholars, journalists, and policymakers.




Handbook on Participatory Governance


Book Description

This Handbook concentrates on democracy beyond the traditional governmental structures to explore the full scope of participatory governance. It argues that it is a political task to turn the shift from government to governance into participatory forms, and reflects on the notion of democracy and participatory governance, and how they can relate to each other. The volume offers key examples of how governance can be turned into a participatory form.




Sanctuary Cities, Communities, and Organizations


Book Description

The term "sanctuary city" gained a new level of national recognition during the 2016 United States presidential election, and immigration policies and debates have remained a top issue since the election of Donald Trump. The battle over immigration and deportation will be waged on many fronts in the coming years, but sanctuary cities - municipalities that resist the national government's efforts to enforce immigration laws - are likely to be on the front lines for the immediate future, and social workers and others in the helping professions have vital roles to play. In this book, Melvin Delgado offers a compelling case for the centrality of sanctuary cities' cause to the very mission and professional identity of social workers and others in the human services and mental health professions. The text also presents a historical perspective on the rise of the sanctuary movements of the 1970s and 2000s, thereby giving context to the current environment and immigration debate. Sanctuary Cities, Communities, and Organizations serves as a helpful resource for human service practitioners, academics, and the general public alike.




Shaping Policy Agendas


Book Description

This fascinating book investigates the strategic importance of the production and dissemination of expertise in the activities of the international organizations (IOs) that have come to symbolize the dominance of the Western political and economic order.




Disability and International Development


Book Description

Disability and International Development provides a comprehensive overview of the key themes in the field of disability and development, including issues around identity, poverty, disability rights, education, health, livelihoods, disaster recovery and approaches to researching disability. As disability becomes increasingly prominent within the international development agenda, the need for governments and development actors to have a basic understanding of disability issues, as they seek to support disabled people to access their rights to full participation in society, has never been more acute. Drawing on a range of examples taken from around the world, this book introduces readers to the key topics and theories surrounding disability and development. The second edition of this popular textbook includes increased coverage of environmental accessibility, intersectionality, and reflections on the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on disabled people and the prospects for change in a post-pandemic environment. Written in an accessible and engaging style to suit both students and practitioners, the book includes a wide range of reflection exercises, discussion questions and further reading suggestions, making it the perfect introduction to disability and international development.




Historical Dictionary of the Green Movement


Book Description

There are very serious environmental problems facing the planet. Biodiversity loss has reached unprecedented levels. Climate change is progressing so rapidly that within this century we are likely to see substantial sea level rise. There has been dramatic loss of tropical rainforests. Plastic pollution is killing wildlife and polluting our oceans. Various movements old and new are addressing these green issues. Civil society activism has taken on new strategies with the emergence of new technologies and global networks of green activists have formed. A new generation of green activists are emerging and boldly criticizing the status quo. At the same time, in some parts of the world, green movements that looked like they were beginning to gain a political foothold or were even doing quite well are in retreat. The reasons are complex. Some suffer from lack of funding and hostile political and legal environments. Others are being attacked by populist politicians who see green activism as a threat. The second edition of Historical Dictionary of the Green Movement contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 300 cross-referenced on green movements, green politics, green trends, and major environmental agreements and events. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the green movement.




Economic Elites, Political Parties and the Electoral Arena


Book Description

This book delves into the intricate dynamics between economic elites and the political party system in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, particularly during their democratization phases in the twentieth century. It introduces a novel framework for comprehending the diverse political strategies adopted by these countries’ economic elites during this critical period. The central premise of this book is that the interplay between the cohesion of economic elites and the mobilization of popular sectors at specific historical junctures profoundly influences the nature of elite political involvement. While existing literature has extensively discussed the strategies employed by economic elites to safeguard their interests, this book takes a fresh approach by considering three primary configurations of relationships between economic elites and political parties. It explores cases where economic elites are the primary constituency of parties they have founded, as well as instances where upper-class interests are predominantly defended outside the party system through mechanisms such as the armed forces, pressure groups, and lobbying. Additionally, it examines scenarios where economic elites align themselves with parties boasting a polyclass constituency, exerting limited influence over these parties. This book goes beyond traditional analyses by proposing a theory that elucidates how the interaction between elite cohesion and popular sector mobilization determines the specific forms of elite political involvement. It also charts the historical sequences of this process, emphasizing the evolution of the causal relationship over time. To illustrate this theory, the book employs a comparative historical analysis, scrutinizing the three aforementioned cases to identify factors that account for the different forms of economic elite political participation. It discerns that the level of cohesion among economic elites and the degree of mobilization among popular sectors are pivotal factors shaping elite-party relationships.




The Contested Status of Political Elites


Book Description

Contemporary Western societies are witnessing ground-breaking social, economic and political changes at an accelerating pace. These changes are challenging the way democracy works and the role that political elites play in this system of government. Using a theoretical and empirical approach, this volume argues that political elites are urged to develop new strategies in order to achieve interest aggregation, to safeguard collective action, and to maintain elite autonomy and stability. The adaptive capacities of political elites are assessed through case studies, comparative and longitudinal analyses of their social structure, their recruitment patterns, and their attitudes. The book includes contributions from reputable scholars in the field of elite research and specialists on individual political systems across Europe and the US. It provides an analytical framework demonstrating that political elites are inevitable and potentially able to respond successfully to varying challenges. The book will be of key interest to scholars and students of political elites, democracy, comparative politics, political participation and European Politics.




Elites and People


Book Description

This volume contains an Open Access chapter. The present volume of Comparative Social Research offers a broad set of comparative studies of elites, stretching from the Arab Spring in Tunisia and Egypt to women's political leadership in Brazil and Germany, via attainment of elite positions among minorities in France and the US.