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  Transformation Index BTI 2012:...

  Bertelsmann Stiftung

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  Der politische und wirtschaftliche Entwicklungsstand eines Landes ist messbar: Im internationalen Vergleich lassen sich die Leistungen politischer Entscheidungsträger und die daraus resultierenden Transformationsprozesse gegenüberstellen. 
  
  Den Entwicklungsstand in 128 Entwicklungs- und Transformationsländern dokumentiert die Bertelsmann Stiftung alle zwei Jahre in ihrem Transformationsindex: Anhand ausführlicher Ländergutachten beleuchtet der Index die Wirkung von Reformstrategien auf dem Weg zu rechtsstaatlicher Demokratie und sozialer Marktwirtschaft. Er gibt damit Akteuren in Politik, Wirtschaft, Gesellschaft und Wissenschaft wichtige Hinweise und Impulse für ihre Arbeit. Der Untersuchungszeitraum des "Transformationsindex BTI 2012. Politische Gestaltung im internationalen Vergleich" (ebenfalls als E-Book erhältlich) reicht vom Frühjahr 2009 bis zum Frühjahr 2011. 
  
  Die sieben ergänzenden Materialbände "Regional Findings" beinhalten die ausführlichen englischsprachigen Regionalüberblicke und Langfassungen der Länderberichte zu den sieben untersuchten Regionen: Ostmittel- und Südosteuropa; Lateinamerika und Karibik; West- und Zentralafrika; Naher Osten und Nordafrika; Östliches und südliches Afrika; Postsowjetisches Eurasien; Asien und Ozeanien.
  
  
  The Bertelsmann Stiftung's Transformation Index is published every two years. The global ranking measures and compares transition processes worldwide on the basis of detailed country reports. Comparing systematically the status of democracy and market economy on an international basis, the BTI also provides comprehensive data on the quality of political management in 128 transition and developing countries from 2009 to 2011.
  
  In addition to the global ranking "Transformation Index BTI 2012. Political Management in International Comparison" (also available as ebook), the seven "Regional Findings"-editions provide the long version material from the BTI-database.

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  The Populist Temptation -...

  Barry Eichengreen

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  In The Populist Temptation, the eminent economic historian Barry Eichengreen focuses on the global resurgence of populism today and places it in a deep context. Alternating between the present and earlier populist waves from modern history, he argues that populists tend to thrive most in the wake of economic downturns, when it is easy to convince the masses of elite malfeasance. Yet while there is more than a grain of truth that bankers, financiers, and "bought" politicians are responsible for the mess, populists' own solutions tend to be simplistic and economically counterproductive. There is no one solution to addressing the concerns that populists raise, but Eichengreen argues that there is an obvious place to start: shoring up and improving the welfare state so that it is better able to act as a buffer for those who suffer most during economic slumps. For example, America's patchwork welfare state was not well equipped to deal with the economic fallout that attended globalization and the decline of manufacturing in America, and that played no small part in Trump's victory. Lucidly explaining both the appeals and dangers of populism across history, this book is a must-listen for anyone seeking to understand not just the populist phenomenon, but more generally the lasting political fallout that follows in the wake of major economic crises.

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  Trust in Black America - Race...

  Shayla Nunnally

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  The more citizens trust their government, the better democracy functions. However, African Americans have long suffered from the lack of equal protection by their government, and the racial discrimination they have faced breaks down their trust in democracy. Rather than promoting democracy, the United States government has, from its inception, racially discriminated against African American citizens and other racial groups, denying them equal access to citizenship and to protection of the law. Civil rights violations by ordinary citizens have also tainted social relationships between racial groups—social relationships that should be meaningful for enhancing relations between citizens and the government at large. Thus, trust and democracy do not function in American politics the way they should, in part because trust is not color blind. Based on the premise that racial discrimination breaks down trust in a democracy, Trust in Black America examines the effect of race on African Americans' lives. Shayla Nunnally analyzes public opinion data from two national surveys to provide an updated and contemporary analysis of African Americans' political socialization, and to explore how African Americans learn about race. She argues that the uncertainty, risk, and unfairness of institutionalized racial discrimination has led African Americans to have a fundamentally different understanding of American race relations, so much so that distrust has been the basis for which race relations have been understood by African Americans. Nunnally empirically demonstrates that race and racial discrimination have broken down trust in American democracy.

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  What Is America? - Understanding...

  Jeffrey Sikkenga

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  This expertly-taught course invites you on a journey through 100 years of American conservative history.The history and development of American conservatism is as fascinating as it is complex. While conservative commentators, politicians, and pundits abound, few truly understand how the conservative movement came to be the institution it is today. Now, you can learn about this vital history in 12 thought-provoking lectures.Conservatism is not a rigid ideology; rather, as you will learn, its protean character has allowed it to adapt and survive as a major force in the history of ideas and in politics. In recent decades, conservatism has become a political force in the nation, but it took many years of building and organizing to construct the necessary institutions to do so.You will start with the beginnings of the conservative movement and its reaction to the New Deal. You will then explore the greatest figures of conservatism, from William F. Buckley and his publication of National Review, to the Barry Goldwater campaign of 1964, up through the rise of Reagan and his ensuing political influence. You will then consider the future of the conservative movement.Born from intellectual activity rather than political power, conservatives constructed a movement based around the propositions of free market economics, the preservation of tradition, and combat with communism. This is an essential course for all those seeking to gain a fuller understanding of conservatism and American political history.

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  Give Us Liberty - A Tea Party...

  Dick Armey, Matt Kibbe

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  Former Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives and leading organizer of the Tea Party movement, Dick Armey offers a Tea Party Manifesto: Give Us Liberty. Written with Matt Kibbee, President and CEO of FreedomWorks, Give Us Liberty defines the issues and agenda of the wildfire grassroots movement that is electrifying the nation, as it calls on fiscal conservatives to take back America.

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  Time to Start Thinking - America...

  Edward Luce

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  In Time to Start Thinking, Edward Luce offers an incisive and highly engaging account of America's economic and geopolitical decline. The Washington bureau chief for the Financial Times for the last four years, Luce has traveled the country interviewing public officials like Lawrence Summers and Senator Don Riegle, business leaders including Jeff Immelt and Bill Gates, as well as teachers, health care workers, and scientists. His interviews are candid and revealing: former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen told Luce about the catch-22-like situation of American defense spending: "We are borrowing money from China to build weapons to face down China." Mullen is just one of many voices who are united in their belief that America must evolve or face serious consequences. 
  Luce's research, analysis, and reporting covers areas from education to health care to politics to business and innovation. Luce frames the issues historically, comparing America today to Britain in the early-twentieth century, when U.S. inventors developed the light bulb and the internal combustion engine, usurping Britain's position as the center of research and development, while Germany took the lead in the chemicals and metallurgy industries. As a result, Britain lost its place at the top of the world's pecking order. Today, the same situation is evolving in America: Chinese and Korean scientists and innovators are becoming increasingly competitive with those in America, and companies like IBM and General Electric now employ more people outside the United States than inside it. In domestic politics, things are also dire: conversation between Republicans and Democrats has all but ceased-Barney Frank calls it "the dialogue of the deaf," and the once noisy Senate dining room, specifically designed so that members of different parties would be forced to talk to one another, is now empty most lunch hours. No surprise, when the politicians are busy talking to lobbyists and trying to raise campaign funds. 
  Meanwhile, the Pentagon has more than 2,300 different I.T. systems on which it spends more than $10 billion a year and the crippling bureaucracy in the education system leads more than a fifth of new teachers to leave their jobs within three years. 
  In what may be the smartest book yet on why and how America is broken, Luce offers a critical, nonpartisan analysis of the issues facing America today and a renowned journalist's report on a country in economic, social, and political crisis.

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