Containing over 500 definitions of political theories, dogmas and phraseologies, this dictionary includes updated entries on the European Community and federalism alongside new definitions of the European Court of Justice and Central Banks, among others. Frequently-used terms in Middle-Eastern politics are explained, from Ayatollah and the Arab-Israeli wars, to fundamentalism and the Gulf War. It also includes sections on ideas that have become familiar terms over recent years, such as perestroika, glasnost, being politically correct, and Thatcherism, as well as issues that have taken on greater political significance - for example, abortion and environmentalism.
The Penguin Dictionary of International Relations holds the key to understanding the trends and events that have influenced international relations over the last decade. This completely up-to-date reference includes explanations of the dangerous developments that have affected international relations, such as ethnic cleansing and preventive war, as well as detailed entries on broader concepts and key organizations--from game theory to SALT, from Amnesty International to WHO. This is a must for students of the world who want to keep up with the ever-changing pace of foreign relations.
When it comes to the vagaries of language in American politics, its uses and abuses, its absurdities and ever-shifting nuances, its power to confound, obscure, and occasionally to inspire, William Safire is the language maven we most readily turn to for clarity, guidance, and penetrating, sometimes lacerating, wit. Safire's Political Dictionary is a stem-to-stern updating and expansion of the Language of Politics, which was first published in 1968 and last revised in 1993, long before such terms as Hanging Chads, 9/11 and the War on Terror became part of our everyday vocabulary. Nearly every entry in that renowned work has been revised and updated and scores of completely new entries have been added to produce an indispensable guide to the political language being used and abused in America today. Safire's definitions--discursive, historically aware, and often anecdotal--bring a savvy perspective to our colorful political lingo. Indeed, a Safire definition often reads like a mini-essay in political history, and readers will come away not only with a fuller understanding of particular words but also a richer knowledge of how politics works, and fails to work, in America. From Axis of Evil, Blame Game, Bridge to Nowhere, Triangulation, and Compassionate Conservatism to Islamofascism, Netroots, Earmark, Wingnuts and Moonbats, Slam Dunk, Doughnut Hole, and many others, this language maven explains the origin of each term, how and by whom and for what purposes it has been used or twisted, as well as its perceived and real significance. For anyone who wants to cut through the verbal haze that surrounds so much of American political discourse, Safire's Political Dictionary offers a work of scholarship, wit, insiderhood and resolute bipartisanship.
"Politics is no laughing matter - unless you've got Fred Metcalf's Dictionary of Humorous Political Quotations. From the wit that made Boris a contender to the best of George W. Bush, this book will have you in stitches. Bankers to bin Laden, bumper stickers to Biden, and even a few topics that don't begin with B, Metcalf has them all covered. Churchill's gravitas meets Jon Stewart's modern parody - if you have a political (or a funny) bone in your body, you need this book. I loved it!" Louise Mensch. With this brilliant anthology of mieux mots used in the theatre of politics over the centuries, Fred Metcalf has conjured an indispensable tool for both the seasoned public speaker and the armchair quotation-collector alike. Combining politics with a liberal dose of sex, drugs and Frank Zappa, Metcalf has produced a hearty panoply of memorable political rhetoric to cover any occasion - a remedy for those improvising amid impassioned response as well as those polishing their argument with the choicest of truisms.
An explosive examination of the coalition of forces that threatens the nation, from the bestselling author of American Dynasty In his two most recent bestselling books, American Dynasty and Wealth and Democracy, Kevin Phillips established himself as a powerful critic of the political and economic forces that rule—and imperil—the United States, tracing the ever more alarming path of the emerging Republican majority’s rise to power. Now Phillips takes an uncompromising view of the current age of global overreach, fundamentalist religion, diminishing resources, and ballooning debt under the GOP majority. With an eye to the past and a searing vision of the future, Phillips confirms what too many Americans are still unwilling to admit about the depth of our misgovernment.
Terms drawn from a host of different topics - the economics of trade and industry, politics and sociology, the environment and land use, planning and management - are used constantly by human geographers. This reference book provides definitions of all such terms (as well as certain historical usages still to be found in important sources) and explains the invaluable mathematical and statistical techniques that have revolutionized all the human sciences.
The Penguin Concise Dictionary of Art History has more than 1500 entries on artists and architects from ancient times to the present, setting works, movements, and styles into their cultural contexts. With entries on leading artists, from Alberti to Ingres to Wyeth; on period techniques and terms, from Action Painting to Mezzotint to X-radiography; on significant artistic influences and events, from the Armory Show to Marxism, to the cleaning of the Sistine Chapel, this is the ideal reference for high school and college students, as well as anyone interested in art.
Most issues in American political life are complex and multifaceted, subject to multiple interpretations and points of view. How issues are framed matters enormously for the way they are understood and debated. For example, is affirmative action a just means toward a diverse society, or is it reverse discrimination? Is the war on terror a defense of freedom and liberty, or is it an attack on privacy and other cherished constitutional rights? Bringing together some of the leading researchers in American politics, Framing American Politics explores the roles that interest groups, political elites, and the media play in framing political issues for the mass public. The contributors address some of the most hotly debated foreign and domestic policies in contemporary American life, focusing on both the origins and process of framing and its effects on citizens. In so doing, these scholars clearly demonstrate how frames can both enhance and hinder political participation and understanding.
