Electoral Systems and Political Context illustrates how political and social context conditions the effects of electoral rules. The book examines electoral behavior and outcomes in countries that use 'mixed-member' electoral systems – where voters cast one ballot for a party list under proportional representation (PR) and one for a candidate in a single member district (SMD). Based on comparisons of outcomes under the two different rules used in mixed-member systems, the book highlights ho...

In a realm of whimsy and wonder, Alice, a young lass, stumbles upon a peculiar hole. Curiosity compels her to venture within, leading her to a topsy-turvy world where nothing is quite as it seems. Join Alice as she encounters a cast of extraordinary characters, including a grinning cat, a mad hatter, and a queen with a fiery temper. Through her adventures, she learns valuable lessons about growing up and embracing the unknown. This enchanting tale, retold in words of one syllable, captures...

For the first time in history, the majority of the world's population lives in cities, the result of a rapid process of urbanization that started in the second half of the twentieth century. 'Megacities' around the world are rapidly becoming the scene for deprivation, especially in the global South, and the urban excluded face the brunt of what in many cases seems like low-intensity warfare.Featuring case studies from across the globe, including Latin America, the Middle East and A...

Texas Iron: Guns of the Texas Rangers is the not only the most comprehensive books ever published profiling the guns of the Texas Rangers, but it is also the only book to tackle the subject. Chapters on seldom printed Texas Ranger badges, commemoratives, documented Ranger guns and more. There are 142 historical guns featured in its 202 pages. The introduction is by famous Texas Rangers, John Aycock, and the late Joaquin Jackson.The first book to specifically address as a c...

Tailoring retirement for successful business leadersTraditional retirement planning fails to meet the needs of wealthy baby boomers, particularly those who are business leaders. There is no “one size fits all” answer.Wealth Regeneration at Retirement: Planning for a Lifetime of Leadership presents an alternative – one that acts more like a GPS. The authors, Kaycee Krysty and Bob Moser, leaders of the highly regarded Seattle-based wealth management firm, Lai...

Can democratic states transplant the seeds of democracy into developing countries? What have political thinkers going back to the Greek city-states thought about their capacity to promote democracy? How can democracy be established in divided societies? This books answers these and other fundamental questions behind the concept known as 'democracy promotion.' Following an illuminating concise discussion of what political philosophers from Plato to Montesquieu thought about the issue, the a...

Arguably the most decorated and critically acclaimed writer of today, J. M. Coetzee is a deeply intellectual writer. Yet while just about everyone who comes to Coetzee's writing is aware that the visible superstructure of his works is moved from below by a vast substructure of ideas, we are still far from grasping Coetzee's intellectual allegiances as a whole. This book sets out to examine these allegiances in ways not attempted before, by bringing leadingfigures in the philosophy of liter...

Donald Trump, Silvio Berlusconi, Marine Le Pen, Hugo Chávez—populists are on the rise across the globe. But what exactly is populism? Should everyone who criticizes Wall Street or Washington be called a populist? What precisely is the difference between right-wing and left-wing populism? Does populism bring government closer to the people or is it a threat to democracy? Who are "the people" anyway and who can speak in their name? These questions have never been more pressing.In thi...

The importance of polling public opinion is widely recognized today. Indeed, it is sometimes argued that in mass societies, polls have also become an important medium for communicating ideas and beliefs, especially since many people have become less involved in community organizations and interest groups that formerly connected them to events and issues. Polling and Public Opinion examines the impact that polls have on the thoughts and behaviour of the public.Peter M. Butl...

Acclaimed scholar Kathryn Sikkink examines the important and controversial new trend of holding political leaders criminally accountable for human rights violations.Grawemeyer Award winner Kathryn Sikkink offers a landmark argument for human rights prosecutions as a powerful political tool. She shows how, in just three decades, state leaders in Latin America, Europe, and Africa have lost their immunity from any accountability for their human rights violations, beco...

Negotiated agreements play a critical role in setting the conditions under which resource development occurs on Indigenous land. Our understanding of what determines the outcomes of negotiations between Indigenous peoples and commercial interests is very limited.With over two decades experience with Indigenous organisations and communities, Ciaran O’Faircheallaigh's book offers the first systematic analysis of agreement outcomes and the factors that shape them, based on evaluative ...