The Oxford Handbook of Political Networks

Lineages of the Absolutist State

Perry Anderson

It begins with an enquiry into the reasons why the divergent social conditions in the more backward half of the continent should have produced political forms apparently similar to those of the more advanced West. The peculiarities, as well as affinities, of Eastern Absolutism as a distinct type of royal state, are examined. The variegated monarchies of Prussia, Austria and Russia are surveyed, and the lessons asked of the counter-example of Poland. Finally, the structure of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans is taken as an external gauge by which the singularity of Absolutism as a European phenomenon is assessed. The work ends with some observations on the special position occupied by European development within universal history, which draws themes from both Passages from Antiquity to Feudalism and Lineages of the Absolutist State together into a single argument -- within their common limits --

Mao’s Last Revolution

Roderick MacFarquhar, Michael Schoenhals

The Cultural Revolution was a watershed event in the history of the People’s Republic of China, the defining decade of half a century of communist rule. Before 1966, China was a typical communist state, with a command economy and a powerful party able to keep the population under control. But during the Cultural Revolution, in a move unprecedented in any communist country, Mao unleashed the Red Guards against the party. Tens of thousands of officials were humiliated, tortured, and even killed. Order had to be restored by the military, whose methods were often equally brutal. In a masterly book, Roderick MacFarquhar and Michael Schoenhals explain why Mao launched the Cultural Revolution, and show his Machiavellian role in masterminding it (which Chinese publications conceal). In often horrifying detail, they document the Hobbesian state that ensued. The movement veered out of control and terror paralyzed the country. Power struggles raged among Lin Biao, Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping, and Jiang Qing—Mao’s wife and leader of the Gang of Four—while Mao often played one against the other. After Mao’s death, in reaction to the killing and the chaos, Deng Xiaoping led China into a reform era in which capitalism flourishes and the party has lost its former authority. In its invaluable critical analysis of Chairman Mao and its brilliant portrait of a culture in turmoil, Mao’s Last Revolution offers the most authoritative and compelling account to date of this seminal event in the history of China.

Passion, Craft, and Method in Comparative Politics

Gerardo L. Munck, Richard Snyder

In the first collection of interviews with the most prominent scholars in comparative politics since World War II, Gerardo L. Munck and Richard Snyder trace key developments in the field during the twentieth century. Organized around a broad set of themes -- intellectual formation and training; major works and ideas; the craft and tools of research; colleagues, collaborators, and students; and the past and future of comparative politics -- these in-depth interviews offer unique and candid reflections that bring the research process to life and shed light on the human dimension of scholarship. Giving voice to scholars who practice their craft in different ways yet share a passion for knowledge about global politics, Passion, Craft, and Method in Comparative Politics offers a wealth of insights into contemporary debates about the state of knowledge in comparative politics and the future of the field. -- Margaret Keck, Johns Hopkins University

Adenauer's Germany and the Nazi Past

The Politics of Amnesty and Integration

Norbert Frei

Frei chronicles the denazification process in Adenauer's 1950s Germany. The stopping of punishment for Nazi crimes formed the crux of a policitcs of the past which, to a large degree, revoked the consequences of the previous political expurgation.

Romania

Borderland of Europe

Lucian Boia

Romania occupies a unique position on the borderland of Europe. In this engaging and informative book, the prominent Romanian writer Lucian Boia surveys the history of his native land from the Roman period to modern times, illuminating its complex culture and tumultuous history, and the diversity of its inter-ethnic relations -- sometimes conflictual but always enriching. From Count Dracula and Queen Marie to Mircea Eliade and Nicolae Ceausescu, Boia introduces us to Romania's real and imagined heroes and villains, providing among other things an enlightening account of the Communist era. He shows how the disruptions produced by Communism further held back a country whose historical late-coming had only partly been compensated for by the modernization programme upon which it had embarked in the nineteenth century. Boia argues that Romania today is a land of strong contrasts where striking differences exist between the elite and the rest of the population, and where the match is still being played out between nationalists and partisans of integration in Europe -- a country still trying to fix a contemporary identity and envision a viable future for itself. His occasionally humorous, always affectionate text concludes with a tour of the capital city of Bucharest, whose apartment blocks, palaces, boulevards and public monuments embody Romania's traditional values and contemporary contradictions.

The Spirit of Democracy

The Struggle to Build Free Societies Throughout the World

Larry Diamond

"Diamond also dissects the causes of the recent "democratic recession" in critical parts of the world, including the crime-infested oligarchy in Russia, the strong-armed pseudopopulism of Venezuela, the pathological corruption in Nigeria, and the military security state of Pakistan. He traces many of these failed and failing democracies to the curse of oil, which stifles financial and electoral accountability as well as the willingness of established democracies to hold a firm line in support of civil society."

The Oxford Handbook of Political Networks

Jennifer Nicoll Victor, Alexander H. Montgomery, Mark Lubell

Politics is intuitively about relationships, but until recently the network perspective has not been a dominant part of the methodological paradigm that political scientists use to study politics. This volume is a foundational statement about networks in the study of politics.

The Oxford Handbook of Public Policy

Michael Moran, Martin Rein, Robert E. Goodin

This is part of a ten volume set of reference books offering authoritative and engaging critical overviews of the state of political science. This work explores the business end of politics, where theory meets practice in the pursuit of public good.

Multimodal Political Networks

David Knoke, Mario Diani, James Hollway, Dimitris Christopoulos

Research on social networks has become a significant area of investigation in the social sciences, and social network concepts and tools are widely employed across many subfields within the field. This volume introduces political theorists and researchers to new theoretical, methodological, and substantive tools for extending political network research into new realms and revitalizing established domains. The authors synthesize new understandings of multimodal political networks, consisting of two or more types of social entities - voters, politicians, parties, events, organizations, nations - and the complex relations between them. They discuss ways to theorize about multimodal connections, methods for measuring and analyzing multimodal datasets, and how the results can reveal new insights into political structures and action. Several empirical applications demonstrate in great detail how multimodal analysts can detect and visualize political communities consisting of diverse social entities.

The Oxford Handbook of Urban Politics

Karen Mossberger, Susan E. Clarke, Peter John

The Oxford Handbook of Urban Politics is an authoritative volume on an established subject in political science and the academy more generally: urban politics and urban studies. The editors are all recognized experts, and are well connected to the leading scholars in urban politics. The handbook covers the major themes that animate the subfield: the politics of space and place; power and governance; urban policy; urban social organization; citizenship and democratic governance; representation and institutions; approaches and methodology; and the future of urban politics. Given the caliber of the editors and proposed contributors, the volume sets the intellectual agenda for years to come.

Advanced Introduction to Political Networks

Volker Schneider

Providing a comprehensive overview of the key fields in political network research, Volker Schneider demonstrates that relational structures play a crucial role in many areas and levels of politics and policymaking as interaction, communications, or dependency relations. Schneider expertly guides the reader from the basic concepts through to advanced methods, using empirical analysis of both local and national case studies.

The Oxford Handbook of American Political Parties and Interest Groups

L. Sandy Maisel, Jeffrey M. Berry

The Oxford Handbooks of American Politics is a set of reference books offering authoritative and engaging critical overviews of the state of scholarship on American politics. Each volume focuses on a particular aspect of the field. The project is under the General Editorship of George C. Edwards III, and distinguished specialists in their respective fields edit each volume. The Handbooks aim not just to report on the discipline, but also to shape it as scholars critically assess the scholarship on a topic and propose directions in which it needs to move. The series is an indispensable reference for anyone working in American politics. The Oxford Handbook of American Political Parties and Interest Groups is a major new volume that will help scholars assess the current state of scholarship on parties and interest groups and the directions in which it needs to move. Never before has the academic literature on political parties received such an extended treatment. Thirty chapters critically assess both the major contributions to the literature and the ways in which it has developed. With contributions from most of the leading scholars in the field, the volume provides a definitive point of reference for all those working in and around the area. Equally important, the authors also identify areas of new and interesting research. These chapters offer a distinctive point of view, an argument about the successes and failures of past scholarship, and a set of recommendations about how future work ought to develop. This volume will help set the agenda for research on political parties and interest groups for the next decade. General Editor for The Oxford Handbooks of American Politics: George C. Edwards III