In this age of "total" war on terrorism, many liberals fail to recognize the dangers of adopting the methods of their enemies--of meeting propaganda with propaganda, cruelty with cruelty, and violence with violence. Other liberals reject even modest efforts to teach and regulate good citizenship, fearing that in doing so they will come to resemble their enemies. Can liberal democracy be strengthened and secured without either compromising basic liberal principles or emasculating fundamental liberal purposes? The great totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century are gone, but the need for "strong liberalism" has never been more urgent. Jason A. Scorza argues that liberalism can generate an account of citizenship responsive to such pressing contemporary challenges as political fear, political apathy, and conformist political membership. Strong Liberalism is founded on understanding thoroughly the canonical defenders of liberal democracy (John Stuart Mill, John Rawls, and Judith Shklar), moving beyond the thinking of prominent contemporary theorists (Stephen Macedo, William Galston, and Thomas Spragens), and parrying the arguments of liberalism's critics (Benjamin Barber, Michael Sandel, and Mary Ann Glendon). Scorza imparts a sharp theory of "strong liberalism" that summons liberal philosophy to the battlefield of the inner life of politics and recalls it to its own essential but often overlooked strengths: civic friendship, political courage, political self-reliance, civic toleration, and political irreverence. The theory of strong liberalism accepts that civic strength is rooted in civic pluralism. Liberal democracy is best served by the cultivation of multiple examples of good citizenship rather than by the insistence that a single, ideal civic character can be identified and universally imposed through civic education.

Russian Liberalism charts the development of liberal ideas and political organizations in Russia as well as the implementation of liberal reforms by the Russian and Soviet governments at various points in time. Paul Robinson's comprehensive survey covers the entire period from the late eighteenth century to the present day. Robinson demonstrates that liberalism has always lacked strong roots in the Russian population, being largely espoused by a narrow group of intellectuals whose culture it has reflected, and has tended toward a form of historical determinism that sees Russia as destined to become like the West. Many see the current political struggle between Russia and the West as being in part a conflict between the liberal West and an illiberal Russia. By explaining the historical causes of liberalism's failure in that country, Russian Liberalism offers an understanding of a significant aspect of contemporary international affairs. After Putin's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, understanding Russian political thought is a matter of considerable importance.

Marked by sharp ideological divisions over civil rights, Vietnam, and federal power, the 1964 presidential campaign between Democrat Lyndon Johnson and Republican Barry Goldwater proved a watershed election in American history. Although Johnson defeated Goldwater in a landslide and liberalism seemed to ride triumphant, the liberal wave crashed almost immediately and conservatives came to dominate a resurgent Republican Party in the late twentieth century. Thoroughly researched and beautifully written, this is the first historical account of this crucial election, and the transition it marked for the nation. Filled with colorful details and fascinating figures - Johnson, Goldwater, Wallace, Rockefeller, Nixon, Reagan, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., George Bush, and many more - it captures the full excitement, drama, and significance of "liberalism's last hurrah."

Social scientists and campaign strategists approach voting behavior from opposite poles. Reconciling these camps through a merger of statistics and election experience, The American Political Landscape presents a full-scale analysis of U.S. electoral politics over the last quarter-century. It explains how factors not usually considered hard data, such as personal attitudes and preferences, interact to produce an indisputably solid result: the final tally of votes. While pundits boil down elections to a stark choice between Democrat and Republican, Byron Shafer and Richard Spady explore the further significance of not voting at all. Voters can and do form coalitions around specific issues, so that simple party identification does not determine voter turnout or ballot choices. Deploying a method that maps political attitudes from 1984 to 2008, the authors describe an electorate in flux. As an old order organized around economic values ceded ground to a new one in which cultural values enjoy equal prominence, persisting links between social backgrounds and political values have tended to empty the ideological center while increasing the clout of the ideologically committed.

This book examines the values and principles that inform EU Foreign Policy, conveying an understanding of the EU as an international actor. This volume explores the implications of these values and principles on the process of the construction of the European Union identity.

Benjamin Barber is one of America's preeminent political theorists. He has been a significant voice in the continuing debate about the nature and role of democracy in the contemporary world. A Passion for Democracy collects twenty of his most important writings on American democracy. Together they refine his distinctive position in democratic theory. Barber's conception of "strong democracy" contrasts with traditional concepts of "liberal democracy," especially in its emphasis on citizen participation in central issues of public debate. These essays critique the "thin representation" of liberal democracy and buttress the arguments presented in Barber's twelve books, most recently in his well-received Jihad vs. McWorld: How Globalism and Tribalism Are Re-shaping the World. In these pieces, Barber argues for participatory democracy without dependence on abstract metaphysical foundations, and he stresses the relationship among democracy and civil society, civic education, and culture. A Passion for Democracy is divided into four sections. In the first, "American Theory: Democracy, Liberalism, and Rights," Barber addresses issues of ongoing relevance to today's debates about the roots of participatory democracy, including individualism vs. community, the importance of consent, and the irrelevance of Marxism. Essays in the second section, "American Practice: Leadership, Citizenship, and Censorship" provide a "strong democracy" critique of American democratic practice. "Education for Democracy: Civic Education, Service, and Citizenship" applies Barber's theories to three related topics and includes his much-discussed essay "America Skips School." The final section, "Democracy and Technology: Endless Frontier or End of Democracy?" provides glimpses into a future that technology alone cannot secure for democracy. In his preface, Barber writes: "In these essays ... I have been hard on my country. Like most ardent democrats, I want more for it than it has achieved, despite the fact that it has achieved more than most people have dared to want." This wide-ranging collection displays not only his passion for democracy, but also his unique perspective on issues of abiding importance for the democratic process.

The Liberal Party emerged in mid-Victorian Britain from a combination of Whigs and Peelite Tories. The party of Gladstone, Asquith and Lloyd George, it was a dominant force in Britain, and the world, at the height of the power of the British Empire. Split by Gladstone's Home Rule Bills, it nevertheless returned to power in Edwardian England and held it until after the outbreak the First World War, with Lloyd George heading a National Government from 1916-22. Riddled by internal divisions and with its traditional ground increasingly occupied by the Labour Party, the party lost ground in Parliament, becoming little more than a rump for many years. With the foundation of the Social Democrats in 1981, and their subsequent merger with the Liberals as Liberal Democrats in 1988, a modern version of the party emerged, under Paddy Ashdown and now Charles Kennedy as a significant third force in British politics.

"A well-researched and pertinent discussion of one of American liberalism's most important exponents". -- Choice. "A concise, intelligent, and highly readable study. What is fresh and extremely valuable is the flesh that Stettner puts on the bones of the old generalization about Croly and liberalism. This is a worthy addition to the literature on this important and influential American thinker". -- American Historical Review.

This book examines the effects of law's de-nationalisation by placing European law in the context of transnational law.

This book investigates how liberal parties have evolved over time as a party family, in a comparative perspective. Through a discussion of the applicability of the concept of party family to liberal parties, it gives a better picture of the development, challenges, and opportunities for liberal parties in Europe. The history of liberal parties in Europe is peculiar and the origins of the liberal family are not clearly defined. Liberal parties are still quite heterogeneous given the various meanings embraced in the idea of liberalism, including economic liberalism, cultural liberalism, progressivism, social-liberalism. Bringing together the best specialists engaged in the study of liberal parties, and with a two-levels perspective (comparative and case study), this book renews and expands our knowledge on the liberal party family in Europe. Four major themes are developed, linked to the four approaches of the concept of party family: electoral performances, participation to power, ideology and political program, and party organization. These themes are systematically developed in case studies, and in comparative chapters. Primarily aimed at scholars and students in comparative politics, this book should especially appeal to scholars in the fields of political parties and party systems, representation and elections, voting behavior, and public opinion.