Social Democracy

In Democracy in Exile, Daniel Bessner shows how the experience of the Weimar Republic’s collapse and the rise of Nazism informed Hans Speier’s work as an American policymaker and institution builder. Bessner delves into Speier’s intellectual development, illuminating the ideological origins of the expert-centered approach to foreign policymaking and revealing the European roots of Cold War liberalism.

Partisanship is a dirty word in American politics. If there is one issue on which almost everyone in our divided country seems to agree, it’s the belief that the intense loyalty within the electorate toward Democrats and Republicans is the source of our democratic ills—division, dysfunction, distrust, and disinformation. The possibilities that responsible partisanship can offer were at the heart of an important intellectual tradition that flourished in the 1950s and 1960s, one which was institutionalized through a sweeping set of congressional reforms in the 1970s and 1980s.

In recent years, the world of politics has taken a series of disastrous wrong turns. We have witnessed leaders who can't - or shouldn't be allowed to - lead, policies that are either self-serving or don't work, and world views that are corrosive or short term. Alastair Campbell's aim in But What Can I Do? is twofold: to explain why things have gone so wrong, and to show what we can to help put them right. A mix of polemic, analysis and practical advice, this is a political masterclass from a master political commentator and strategist.

In The Bill of Rights: A User's Guide, award-winning author and constitutional scholar Linda R. Monk explores the remarkable history of the Bill of Rights amendment by amendment, the Supreme Court's interpretation of each right, and the power of citizens to enforce those rights. Stories of the ordinary people who made the Bill of Rights come alive are featured throughout.

In P=dt, Outline of a Theory of Power, the author develops the historical dynamics that link hegemonic, imperial powers with tolerance of diversity and dissent from power throughout history. This relationship is expressed in the formula P = d.t. Before and after periods of crisis in two different global systems, this is a zero-sum equilibrium: P - d.t = 0.

In We’ve Got To Try, O’Rourke shines a spotlight on the heroic life and work of Dr. Lawrence Aaron Nixon and the west Texas town where he made his stand. The son of an enslaved man, Nixon grew up in the Confederate stronghold of Marshall, Texas before moving to El Paso, becoming a civil rights leader, and helping to win one of the most significant civil and voting rights victories in American history: the defeat of the all-white primary. His fight for the ballot spanned 20 years and twice took him to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In Defense of Liberal Democracy is a clarion call for today's divided time: a bold reaffirmation of the liberal democratic principles that have carried America through each crisis in its history - and can do so again. Merging expert historical, political, and economic analysis, In Defense of Liberal Democracy shows how our recent technological revolution - what high-profile economist Manuel Hinds calls the Connectivity Revolution - has led to a crisis of divisiveness.

Writing in response to our current “constitutional crisis”, New York Times best-selling author and Christian activist Jim Wallis urges America to return to the tenets of Jesus once again as the means to save us from the polarizing bitterness and anger of our tribal nation.

In the years just before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall, conservative politicians and intellectuals across Europe and America celebrated a great achievement, felt a common purpose and, very often, forged personal friendships. The euphoria quickly evaporated, the common purpose and centre ground gradually disappeared and eventually - as this book compellingly relates - the relationships soured too. Anne Applebaum traces a familiar history in an unfamiliar way, looking at the trajectories of individuals caught up in the public events of the last three decades.

Journey to a World Led by Integrity In an era marked by political disillusionment, rampant corruption, and a growing distrust in leadership, "Beyond Tyranny: Creating a World Led by Integrity" emerges as a clarion call for change. This transformative eBook invites readers on a profound journey that challenges the very foundations of governance and explores the essential qualities of ethical leadership. A Vision for Authentic Leadership Imagine a world where leaders are universally respected for their wisdom and compassion—where the highest offices are filled not by those who seek power ...

At a time when Americans are debating the future of public education, Johann N. Neem tells the inspiring story of how and why Americans built a robust public school system in the decades between the Revolution and the Civil War. It’s a story in which ordinary people in towns across the country worked together to form districts and build schoolhouses and reformers sought to expand tax support and give every child a liberal education. By the time of the Civil War, most northern states had made common schools free, and many southern states were heading in the same direction.

Government and market failures spur many citizens to practical action today. Around the globe people form renewable energy cooperatives, provide support for marginalized populations, and deliver alternative justice and care services. What motivates citizens to begin such practical problem-solving? How do they engage others? What knowledge do they generate? How do they interact with state and market actors? What risks and opportunities do they hold for contemporary democracy?

What Is America? A Nation’s Journey Through Conflict, Change, and Identity What does it mean to be American? What defines the United States—its ideals, its contradictions, its ever-evolving story? What Is America? is a sweeping, provocative exploration of the forces that have shaped the nation from its founding to the present day. This book takes readers on a journey through history, politics, culture, and social movements, examining the tensions and triumphs that have defined the American experiment. From revolution to reconstruction, civil rights to the culture wars, economic booms to...

In They Don’t Represent Us, Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig charts the way in which the fundamental institutions of our democracy, including our media, respond to narrow interests rather than to the needs and wishes of the nation’s citizenry. But the blame does not only lie with “them” - Washington’s politicians and power brokers, Lessig argues. The problem is also “us.”

In this short accessible book, leading democratic theorist Jason Brennan guides listeners through the evolution of the concept of democracy and actual democratic practice over time to help them understand the foundations of this longstanding and yet newly fragile political system. In his wide-ranging tour of the concept, Brennan will examine what democracy meant to the Greeks who first developed the concept before examining how it changed throughout European and later Western history.

There is nothing more important than beating Donald Trump in 2020, but defeating Trump is just the start of this timely book. Un-Trumping America offers readers three critical insights: first, Trump is not an aberration, but rather the logical extension of the modern Republican Party; second, how Democrats can defeat Trump in 2020; and third, preventing the likes of Trump from ever happening again with a plan to fix democracy.

Over the last decade, Britain has been rocked by a series of political revolts. In trying to make sense of this remarkable churn and change, many commentators cling to very short-term and unconvincing explanations, pointing to social media, dark money, individual leaders, or the promises made to voters. But, as acclaimed political scientist Matthew Goodwin reveals in this strikingly original study, this turbulence has been a long time in the making—and it is set to continue for many years to come.

America has seen the culmination of a long-building war on democracy being waged by a fundamentally violent and antidemocratic far-right movement that unironically calls itself the "Patriot" movement. So how did we get here? Award-winning journalist David Neiwert—who has been following the rise of these extremist groups since the late 1970s, when he was a young reporter in Idaho—explores how the movement was built over decades, how it was set aflame by Donald Trump and his cohorts, and how it will continue to attack American democracy for the foreseeable future.

America’s most popular progressive radio host and New York Times best-selling author Thom Hartmann reveals how the government and corporate America misuse our personal data and shows how we can reclaim our privacy. Most Americans are worried about how companies like Facebook invade their privacy and harvest their data, but many people don’t fully understand the details of how their information is being adapted and misused. Thom Hartmann reveals exactly how the government and corporations are tracking our every online move and using our data.

In his four years since joining the Senate, Rand Paul has risen to the forefront of the national discussion. He's being called "the most interesting man in politics" by TIME magazine. When Senator Paul believes in an issue, he reaches across the aisle to collaborate with his colleagues. He's worked with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand on an antiwar bill, a financial assistance for childcare bill, and a protection for women in the military bill.