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Author: Alan Ehrenhalt Publisher: Three Rivers Press ISBN: Category : History Languages : en Pages : 342
Book Description
The provocative and acclaimed book that explains why America's politicians are continually disappointing. Americans' disappointment with politics and politicians will be a recurring theme in this election year, and Ehrenhalt's book will continue to be the touchstone for much of the debate.C.
Author: Patrik Öhberg Publisher: University Press of Kansas ISBN: 0700624236 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 168
Book Description
“[T]hose people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it.” This is how writer Douglas Adams neatly expressed the common view of political ambition. And yet, it’s hard to imagine any politician getting far without it. Ambitious Politicians brings a welcome study and insight to this conundrum. Focusing first on the party-centered politics of European democracies, where career ambitions are necessarily different than those in the United States, Patrik Öhberg looks closely at what motivates those aiming at the highest level of the political hierarchy, how these motivators differ between more and less equalitarian societies, and how such ambitions play out. His book, which draws upon a uniquely extensive survey conducted by the Swedish National Election Study Program, is the first thorough study of elite politicians who aspire to the top echelons of the parliamentary system. Politicians with career ambitions have a distinct idea of representation, Öhberg finds; they display a higher degree of political self-regard and are more responsive to the wishes of the party elite in developing strategies. These findings vary among European democracies, and they differ from the traits and trajectories of political ambition in the United States. By identifying the subtleties and charting the differences, Öhberg offers a valuable lesson on whether and how representative democracies are served by politicians driven by personal ambition, or by those subverting such ambitions to the needs of party or state. Ambition, this timely book reminds us, has been crucial for political thinkers from Aristotle through the Founding Fathers to the latest candidate for higher office. Informed by history and social science theory, and grounded in a wealth of data, Ambitious Politicians expands our understanding of the important and changing role of such ambition in collective decision-making in our day.
Author: Alan Ehrenhalt Publisher: Three Rivers Press ISBN: Category : History Languages : en Pages : 342
Book Description
The provocative and acclaimed book that explains why America's politicians are continually disappointing. Americans' disappointment with politics and politicians will be a recurring theme in this election year, and Ehrenhalt's book will continue to be the touchstone for much of the debate.C.
Author: Jeffrey A. Becker Publisher: University Press of Kentucky ISBN: 0813145058 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 273
Book Description
Most Americans admire the determination and drive of artists, athletes, and CEOs, but they seem to despise similar ambition in their elected officials. The structure of political representation and the separation of powers detailed in the United States Co
Author: Linda L. Fowler Publisher: Yale University Press ISBN: 9780300049015 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 272
Book Description
How do politicians decide whether or not to run for Congress? What is involved in the winnowing process that dictates, months before the election, the choices available to voters on the ballot? Using extensive interviews and analyses of district data and opinion polls, Linda Fowler and Robert McClure argue that House elections are intelligible only if we look beyond that declared candidates to those who could have run but chose not to. Their book, set in New York’s can Congressional District during the elections of 1984 and 1986, assesses the personal and contextual factors that motivate some individuals to enter a House race and induce others to remain on the sidelines. By uncovering the hidden obstacles that line the road to Washington, Fowler and McClure reveal why only the most ambitious men and women complete the journey. Fowler and McClure contend that the cost cna complexity of competitive House races now demand a level of commitment and advance planning that only those with a highly focused desire to serve in Congress can sustain. Despite the increased presence of national parties and PACs in congressional races, they say, it is the local political context that dominates the decision to run. Within this setting, individual candidates, not party organizations develop the strategies, manage the resources, and define the alternatives in most House races. Fowler and McClure discuss how changes in American politics such as reapportionment, the redistribution of power away from Washington, and the transformation of parties and interest groups affect the nation's supply of competitive office-seekers. And they devote special attention to the recruitment of female legislators, offering insight into the continued failure of women to make significant inroads into the House of Representatives.
Author: John H. Aldrich Publisher: University of Chicago Press ISBN: 0226012751 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 401
Book Description
Since its first appearance fifteen years ago, Why Parties? has become essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the nature of American political parties. In the interim, the party system has undergone some radical changes. In this landmark book, now rewritten for the new millennium, John H. Aldrich goes beyond the clamor of arguments over whether American political parties are in resurgence or decline and undertakes a wholesale reexamination of the foundations of the American party system. Surveying critical episodes in the development of American political parties—from their formation in the 1790s to the Civil War—Aldrich shows how they serve to combat three fundamental problems of democracy: how to regulate the number of people seeking public office, how to mobilize voters, and how to achieve and maintain the majorities needed to accomplish goals once in office. Aldrich brings this innovative account up to the present by looking at the profound changes in the character of political parties since World War II, especially in light of ongoing contemporary transformations, including the rise of the Republican Party in the South, and what those changes accomplish, such as the Obama Health Care plan. Finally, Why Parties? A Second Look offers a fuller consideration of party systems in general, especially the two-party system in the United States, and explains why this system is necessary for effective democracy.
Author: Weinberg, James Publisher: Bristol University Press ISBN: 1529209161 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 232
Book Description
Exploring unique survey and interview data on the personality characteristics of British politicians, this book provides a timely psychological analysis of those individuals who pursue political careers and how they represent their constituents once elected. Focusing specifically on the Basic Human Values of more than 150 MPs as well as hundreds of local councillors, Weinberg offers original insights into three compelling questions: Who enters politics and how are they different to the general public? Do politicians’ personality characteristics matter for their legislative behaviour? Do voters really get the ‘wrong’ politicians? Taking a fresh psychological approach to issues that are predominant in political science, this book casts new light on the human side of representative democracy.
Author: David T. Canon Publisher: University of Chicago Press ISBN: 9780226092683 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 200
Book Description
The U.S. Congress is typically seen as an institution filled with career politicians who have been seasoned by experience in lower levels of political office. In fact, political amateurs have comprised roughly one quarter of the House of Representatives since 1930. The effect of amateurs' inexperience on their political careers, roles in Congress, and impact on the political system has never been analyzed in detail. Written in a lucid style accessible to the nonspecialist, David T. Canon's Actors, Athletes, and Astronauts is a definitive study of political amateurs in elections and in Congress. Canon examines the political conditions that prompt amateurs to run for office, why they win or lose, and whether elected amateurs behave differently from their experienced counterparts. Challenging previous work which presumed stable career structures and progressively ambitious candidates, his study reveals that amateurs are disproportionately elected in periods of high political opportunity, such as the 1930s for Democrats and 1980s for Republicans. Canon's detailed findings call for significant revision of our prevailing understanding of ambition theory and disarm monolithic interpretations of political amateurs. His unique typology of amateurism differentiates among policy-oriented, "hopeless," or ambitious amateurs. The latter resemble their professional counterparts; "hopeless" amateurs are swept into office by strong partisan motivations and decision-making styles of each type vary, affecting their degree of success, but each type of amateur provides a necessary electoral balance by defeating entrenched incumbents rarely challenged by more experienced politicians.
Author: Reuben Zahler Publisher: University of Arizona Press ISBN: 0816521123 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 352
Book Description
"By examining everyday life in Venezuela's post-colonial period, Reuben Zahler provides a broad perspective on conditions throughout the Americas and the tension between traditional norms and new liberal standards during Venezuela's transformation from aSpanish colony to a modern republic"--
Author: Alan Ehrenhalt
Author: Patrik Öhberg
Author: Alan Ehrenhalt
Author: Shirley Williams
Author: Jennifer L. Lawless
Author: Jeffrey A. Becker
Author: Linda L. Fowler
Author: John H. Aldrich
Author: Weinberg, James
Author: David T. Canon
Author: Reuben Zahler