In this Eighth Edition of American Democracy in Peril, author William E. Hudson provides a perceptive analysis of the challenges our democracy faces in the current era: economic crisis, partisan gridlock, rising economic inequality, and continued military conflict in the Middle East and elsewhere. By introducing the history of democratic theory in terms of four “models” of democracy, he provides readers with a set of criteria against which to evaluate the challenges discussed later. This provocative book offers a structured, yet critical examination of the American political system, designed to stimulate students to consider how the facts they learn about American politics relate to democratic ideals.

Despite the warm reception in world capitals and favorable press coverage the cross-strait policies of Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou have received since he came into office on May 20, 2008, there is something rotten in Taipei. In just one year, the cost of closer relations with Beijing has become increasingly obvious in Taiwan, the small, officially unrecognized democracy of 23 million people, where police brutality, government meddling in the media and political persecution are reawakening the specter of its authoritarian past. In a timely collection of essays and reportage written during the last 18 months of the Chen Shui-bian administration and Ma's first year in office, Democracy in Peril offers a history of the present in Taiwan as this vibrant democracy and economic powerhouse strives for international recognition under the constant fear of Chinese invasion. It shows how the greatest threat to the nation's survival now possibly comes from within, under a government that has proven divisive and whose efforts to improve relations with China could come at an unbearable price - not only to Taiwanese, but to the entire world.

Democracy in the world is backsliding in many countries around the globe at the present time due to various reasons. Different nations may have their own particular reasons such as socioeconomic inequality, poverty, failure of checks and balances that may result in an abrupt military coup d'etat to change from democracy to tyranny. In nations where democracy failed, there were no tanks on the street. Constitution of the land remained, but elected leaders became autocrats, maintaining a veneer of democracy. America, being a nation with nearly 80 percent of Christians, has been the strongest democracy in the world who championed it as the model for the rest of the world. However, democracy in America appears to be in peril because of political bickering, partisan gridlock, and promulgation of falsities, misinformation, and faux faith by one political party. By introducing the foundational principles of democracy from the philosophical arguments of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, the author shows how and why the cornerstone of democracy in America shows signs of crumbling. The book vividly explains: Politics without God will shatter the foundation of democracy. Present political system rejects the checks and balances laid by the founding fathers. The right wing has cultivated a spirit of untruth that spreads like a wildfire. Rejecting truth by political parties and leadership is a sign of strong delusion. There is a clear moral bankruptcy in the present political sphere of our nation. The brightness of democracy in America which Tocqueville praised has been tarnished. Hypocritic and dishonest leaders should not reign, lest the people be ensnared. American politicians must register their solemn oath in heaven to act in truth. No nation can be established in one day but can shatter in one day by a despot. America must realign with God to lead the nation in truth, justice, and freedom for all. Democracy turns to tyranny when a moral man becomes amoral. With biblical prophecies and instructions, the author shows that America faces a real threat to its democracy unless it resists tyrants with all their mind, soul, and strength, which is obedience to God who can anchor the nation on its solid foundation set by the Founding Fathers. Every citizen, political and judicial leaders of the nation, are the cupbearers and the watchmen of the nation.

This book presents a novel and compelling thesis about technological risk, liberalism, and policy making in liberal societies. Opposed to most theories of risk that focus on individual decision makers and models or rational choice, this book argues that risks must be seen as intrinsically both emergent and political phenomena. As such, risks resist reduction to individual actors, events, or decisions. To fully understand and make policy for risk, then, it is necessary to recognize that risks call attention to the connections between individuals and events, to the power being exercised in the determination and distribution of risks, and to how the failure to see risks as political, emergent phenomena results in policy failure, as in instances of "Not in My Backyard" (NIMBY) controversies. Liberal societies have particular difficulty in coping with risk, due to the excessively individualistic political theory and epistemology that undergirds liberalism. Thus, seeing risks as emergent has dramatic impact on the fundamental political concepts that make up liberal political theory and operate within liberal societies. The book treats especially the concepts of consent, community, authority, rights, responsibility, identity, and political participation. The meaning of each of these ideas has been altered by modern technological risks, and coping with risk will require that liberal societies redefine what these most basic concepts of political principles are to mean in political practice and policy making.

Voter turnout was unusually high in the 2004 U.S. presidential election. At first glance, that level of participation—largely spurred by war in Iraq and a burgeoning culture war at home—might look like vindication of democracy. If the recent past is any indication, however, too many Americans will soon return to apathy and inactivity. Clearly, all is not well in our civic life. Citizens are participating in public affairs too infrequently, too unequally, and in too few venues to develop and sustain a robust democracy. This important new book explores the problem of America's decreasing involvement in its own affairs. D emocracy at Risk reveals the dangers of civic disengagement for the future of representative democracy. The authors, all eminent scholars, undertake three main tasks: documenting recent trends in civic engagement, exploring the influence that the design of political institutions and public policies have had on those trends, and recommending steps that will increase the amount and quality of civic engagement in America. The authors focus their attention on three key areas: the electoral process, including elections and the way people get involved; the impact of location, including demographic shifts and changing development patterns; and the critical role of nonprofit organizations and voluntary associations, including the philanthropy that help keep them going. This important project, initially sponsored by the American Political Science Association, tests the proposition that social science has useful insights on the state of our democratic life. Most importantly, it charts a course for reinvigorating civic participation in the world's oldest democracy. The authors: Stephen Macedo (Princeton University), Yvette Alex-Assensoh (Indiana University), Jeffrey M. Berry (Tufts), Michael Brintnall (American Political Science Association), David E. Campbell (Notre Dame), Luis Ricardo Fraga (Stanford), Archon Fung (Harvard), William

In recent years there has been growing concern about the effectiveness and legitimacy of public decision making about risk, sparked by a series of high profile issues that have made headline news. These ten essays analyse the public understanding of risk and the policy making process. BSE, vaccination, genetically modified crops and the regulation of chemicals are looked at as case studies. These essays will be of interest to general political scientists, sociologists and specialists in public policy, as well as those specifically working in the field of risk analysis.

Expanding William F. Pinar's notion of autobiography from an individual to a national scale, this book takes the reader on an inner journey to explore the fragmented condition of the post-9/11 American national psyche. It excavates the many layers of the emerging social context within which multiple, conflicting national narratives of identity compete, and uses notions of democracy, nation, and citizen as signposts of contested terrain inside a troubled nation. While reminding us that the old, enduring questions remain unresolved, the book identifies and grapples with new questions that are central to emergent visions of 'educating for democracy' in contemporary America, situated now within a frenetic post-9/11 world.

This Atlas presents the first national dataset on livelihoods and the farmers capacity to adapt to climate change in the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Maps included in the Atlas include the satisfaction of farmers’ basic needs, farmers’ access to the resources needed for innovation and the farmers’ capacity to translate innovation into action. The landscape characteristics mapped include attitudes towards livelihood-related change, economic activity, soil fertility, supporting infrastructure, food security issues, water security, institutional support and extension services, access to climate information through information and communication technologies (ICTs ), market access vis-a-vis production orientation, use of and access to agricultural inputs, livelihood diversification, and dependency on agriculture, including the rearing of livestock and fish. The dataset has been generated using an innovative method that combines participatory mapping and advanced data analysis, and which is, both in terms of technical standard and scientific innovation, state-of-the-art. The livelihood data is available online in the Land Resources Information Management System thanks to the work of two collaborating teams: "Applying seasonal climate forecasting and innovative insurance solutions to climate risk management in the agriculture sector in Southeast Asia” (De-Risk) project, implemented by CIAT; and the "Strengthening Agro-Climatic Monitoring and Information Systems (SAMIS)" project, implemented by FAO.

In Democracy and the Claims of Nature, the leading thinkers in the fields of environmental, political, and social theory come together to discuss the tensions and sympathies of democratic ideals and environmental values. The prominent contributors reflect upon where we stand in our understanding of the relationship between democracy and the claims of nature. Democracy and the Claims of Nature bridges the gap between the often competing ideals of the two fields, leading to a greater understanding of each for the other.