Weitere Bücher, die Sie mögen werden

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  The Picnic - A Dream of Freedom...

  Matthew Longo

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  In August 1989, a group of Hungarian activists organized a picnic on the border of Hungary and Austria. But this was not an ordinary picnic—it was located on the dangerous militarized frontier known as the Iron Curtain. Tacit permission from the highest state authorities could be revoked at any moment. On wisps of rumor, thousands of East German "vacationers" packed Hungarian campgrounds, awaiting an opportunity, fearing prison, surveilled by lurking Stasi agents. The Pan-European Picnic set the stage for the greatest border breach in Cold War history: hundreds crossed from the Communist East to the longed-for freedom of the West. 
   
   
   
  Drawing on dozens of original interviews, Matthew Longo tells a gripping and revelatory tale of the unraveling of the Iron Curtain and the birth of a new world order. Just a few months after the Picnic, the Berlin Wall fell, and the freedom for which the activists and refugees had risked imprisonment was suddenly available to everyone. But were they really free? And why, three decades since the Iron Curtain was torn down, have so many sought once again to build walls? 
   
   
   
  Cinematically told, The Picnic recovers a time when it seemed possible for the world to change. With insight and panache, Longo explores the opportunities taken—and the opportunities we failed to take—in that pivotal moment.

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  Pandemonium - Power Politics and...

  Jack Horgan-Jones, Hugh O'Connell

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  The Inside Story of Ireland's Pandemic: Every Decision, Every Player, Every Text, Every Leak
  Ireland's lockdowns were among the harshest and longest in Europe. As the state was battered by waves of disease time and again, unparalleled pressures and untold tensions emerged as the country went to war with Covid, and policymakers and politicians did battle with each other.
  How were the key decisions made? Who held all the power?
  Boasting unrivalled access to the key decision-makers and drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews and thousands of pages of documents, including confidential and unpublished material, Pandemonium reveals the moves, the power-plays and the – at times jaw-dropping – tactics of a government with the health of a nation in its hands.
  'If a movie is ever made of how Ireland responded to the Covid-19 pandemic, Pandemonium may well provide the script … You will feel as if you were in the room when key conversations happened and decisions were made.' Professor Luke O'Neill
  'Illuminates the corners of institutions usually able to operate in the dark' Fintan O'Toole
  'A page-turner … an exceptional insight' Matt Cooper
  'Unflinching and unrelenting' Dearbhail McDonald

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  Democracy Lives in Darkness -...

  Emily Van Duyn

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  In Democracy Lives in Darkness, Emily Van Duyn discovers and follows a secret political organization of progressive women in a conservative community in rural Texas. Its members met in secret to protect themselves from retaliation by their conservative neighbors, friends, and family. They discussed immigrant rights, women's reproductive rights, racism, and intolerance of those of different racial/ethnic and cultural backgrounds in their community. Democracy Lives in Darkness is about this group: their daily lives, their choices, and ultimately, their incubation. But it is also about what led them to meet in secret—the political prejudice and hostility that marginalizes and makes people afraid, and the growing political, social, and geographic cleavages that now make even mainstream dissent dangerous. 
   
   
   
  Van Duyn asks why mainstream partisans feel the need to hide their political beliefs from others, why they feel afraid of those from the opposite party, how they stay politically engaged in secret, and how this can transform them and their communities. Van Duyn challenges the assumption that the United States is a liberal democracy where ideas can be expressed freely and publicly. Rather, she suggests that democracy in the United States may exist in darkness, but, more optimistically, that it uses this darkness to move forward.

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  Danger Zone - The Coming...

  Michael Beckley, Hal Brands

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  It has become conventional wisdom that America and China are running a "superpower marathon." Yet Hal Brands and Michael Beckley pose a counterintuitive question: What if the sharpest phase of that competition is more like a decade-long sprint? 
   
   
   
  The Sino-American contest is driven by clashing geopolitical interests and a stark ideological dispute over whether authoritarianism or democracy will dominate the twenty-first century. But both history and China's current trajectory suggest that this rivalry will reach its moment of maximum danger in the 2020s. 
   
   
   
  China is at a perilous moment: strong enough to violently challenge the existing order, yet losing confidence that time is on its side. Witness its aggression toward Taiwan, its record-breaking military buildup, and its efforts to dominate the critical technologies that will shape the world's future. 
   
   
   
  The Chinese challenge will most likely prove more manageable than many pessimists currently believe—but during the 2020s, the pace of Sino-American conflict will accelerate, and the prospect of war will be frighteningly real. America, Brands and Beckley argue, will still need a sustainable approach to winning a protracted global competition.

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  Authoritarianism - A Very Short...

  James Loxton

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  Authoritarianism is one of the buzzwords of our age. But what is it exactly? This Very Short Introduction provides a comprehensive overview of the world of authoritarian regimes, including military, single-party, and personalist regimes. It considers how understandings of authoritarianism have evolved over time, as well as the curious fact that many authoritarian regimes today hold elections. Drawing on examples from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, James Loxton examines the life cycle of authoritarian regimes. How are they born? What challenges do they face during life? Why do they die? The author shows how factors such as natural resource wealth and cross-border collaboration can contribute to authoritarian durability. He also highlights the disturbing fact that even when authoritarian regimes collapse, voters often use their newfound democratic rights to send former authoritarian officials back to office.

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  Pardon Power - How The Pardon...

  Kim Wehle

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  If you've ever wondered about the constitutional basis for presidential pardons, this book explains it, offering examples from the recent and distant past. Follow constitutional law professor and popular newsroom commentator Kim Wehle through a fascinating rundown of how this executive power has been—and might be—used by American presidents.

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