Book Description
“It’s hard to imagine any American reading this book and not seeing his country in a new, and deeply troubling, light.”—The New York Times Book Review
The United States has repeatedly asserted its right to intervene militarily against “failed states” around the globe. In this much-anticipated follow-up to his international bestseller Hegemony or Survival, Noam Chomsky turns the tables, showing how the United States itself shares features with other failed states—suffering from a severe “democratic deficit,” eschewing domestic and international law, and adopting policies that increasingly endanger its own citizens and the world. Exploring the latest developments in U.S. foreign and domestic policy, Chomsky reveals Washington’s plans to further militarize the planet, greatly increasing the risks of nuclear war. He also assesses the dangerous consequences of the occupation of Iraq; documents Washington’s self-exemption from international norms, including the Geneva conventions and the Kyoto Protocol; and examines how the U.S. electoral system is designed to eliminate genuine political alternatives, impeding any meaningful democracy.
Forceful, lucid, and meticulously documented, Failed States offers a comprehensive analysis of a global superpower that has long claimed the right to reshape other nations while its own democratic institutions are in severe crisis. Systematically dismantling the United States’ pretense of being the world’s arbiter of democracy, Failed States is Chomsky’s most focused—and urgent—critique to date.
Customer Reviews:
Very good analysis of the catastrophic U.S. foreign policy.......2007-09-19
This is my first Chomsky book. It is quite clear he is an academic and able to say the same thing in different ways (at least through out the first half of the book) but the context is nevertheless good and important- as a nation, we are "bullies" and it is ok for us to break laws but not for everyone else. He gives specific examples like treaties that have been violated and UN resolutions that we vetoed and violated too in order to protect and pursue our national security interests. And given the new generation of politicians- neoliberals and neoconservatives- it is nothing new when it comes to the Iraq War- It's all in the name of national security. We really don't care about democracy in the Middle East only that our thirst for oil is met.
The second part of the the book he clarifies the context and the meaning of the failed states. He delineates several examples after World War II in which we meddled into foreign country affairs and created "failed states"- from countries in Central America, South America, and the Middle East. Now because of our corrupt, immoral, and greedy influence, we are now more than ever looking like a failed state.
I thought he made several very good points but it was nothing new to me given that I have already read various books relating to U.S. foreign policy already. The only criticism I had was that it seemed redundant at times. Overall though, very good and recommended.
The bias of a Chompsky.......2007-09-10
Mr. Chompsky never fails me. Whenever I want to read something that makes me dislike America, I can count on Noam. His failure to be honest in this book is apparent from about page 5 onward. His positive reviews are pretty much canned and produced by the Jim Jomes style followers he courts on college campuses. I give this book only 2 stars. One star because he uses a few big words and another star because in actually writing a book and marketing it, he is contributing to capitalism. Other than that, his rhetoric is tedous.
FAILED STATES: THE ABUSE OF POWER AND THE ASSAULT ON DEMOCRACY.......2007-08-31
THIS WELL-RESPECTED AUTHOR HAS DONE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE A GREAT FAVOR WITH THIS EASILY READ, WELL DOCUMENTED BOOK. TO ADMIT THAT WE, AS AMERICANS, HAVE INDULGED IN AND ALLOWED SUCH ABUSES OF POWER IS HUMILIATING. BUT WITH THIS AWARENESS, THERE IS HOPE WE CAN CHANGE COURSE AND MOVE AWAY FROM BEING A "FAILED STATE."
Great.......2007-08-06
Well researched, well thought out. Another fine book. I will use it with my history students.
an uneasy reality.......2007-07-21
Reading Chomsky is like being sprayed in the face with a garden hose. Just as there is no question that you are now soaking wet, there is no question about what our country has become. Noam Chomsky is an excellent author who manages to get his point across with a good dose of truth and factual evidence. There is no denying what he says and it makes you fear the path our nation's leaders have chosen despite the wishes of the citizens. The author demonstrates a real need for change and gives you ideas on how to effect those changes. A quick read loaded with fact and not all that preachy. A good book to be sure.
Average customer rating:
- Calculations are only as good as your numbers
- Pants on fire?
- Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
- Very Interesting
- History as Science Fiction
|
History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
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ASIN: 2913621058 |
Book Description
Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.
Customer Reviews:
Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03
Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.
Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19
Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09
There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.
For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.
Very Interesting.......2007-03-07
It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.
History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10
Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.
I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.
Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.
Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.
I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.
This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.
Book Description
The underlying theme of the book examines the relationship of administrative agencies to democracy, in particular, how the law attempts to keep daily practices of government agencies accountable.
The book includes discussions of bureaucracy and democracy; agency discretion and the requirement of fairness; delegation; agency rulemaking, investigations and information collection; agency adjudications; and accountability through reviewability, accessibility, and liability.
For professionals practicing law, and those in the political science community.
Book Description
Offers a systematic exploration of the legal construction of American democracy. The book brings together a cluster of issues in law regulating the design of democratic institution. Employing historical, comparative, theoretical and doctrinal methods, the book explores foundational questions in the theory and practice of democracy.
Customer Reviews:
A tour de force.......1999-11-23
This is a tour de force on one of the most important yet most neglected areas of the law. I took a course from this book, and it was one of the best experiences I had in law school.
Book Description
Should the Supreme Court have the last word when it comes to interpreting the Constitution? The justices on the Supreme Court certainly seem to think so--and their critics say that this position threatens democracy. But Keith Whittington argues that the Court's justices have not simply seized power and circumvented politics. The justices have had power thrust upon them--by politicians, for the benefit of politicians. In this sweeping political history of judicial supremacy in America, Whittington shows that presidents and political leaders of all stripes have worked to put the Court on a pedestal and have encouraged its justices to accept the role of ultimate interpreters of the Constitution.
Whittington examines why presidents have often found judicial supremacy to be in their best interest, why they have rarely assumed responsibility for interpreting the Constitution, and why constitutional leadership has often been passed to the courts. The unprecedented assertiveness of the Rehnquist Court in striking down acts of Congress is only the most recent example of a development that began with the founding generation itself. Presidential bids for constitutional leadership have been rare, but reflect the temporary political advantage in doing so. Far more often, presidents have cooperated in increasing the Court's power and encouraging its activism. Challenging the conventional wisdom that judges have usurped democracy, Whittington shows that judicial supremacy is the product of democratic politics.
Book Description
Politics in America are polarized and trivialized, perhaps as never before. In Congress, the media, and academic debate, opponents from right and left, the red and the blue, struggle against one another as if politics were contact sports played to the shouts of cheerleaders. The result, Ronald Dworkin writes, is a deeply depressing political culture, as ill equipped for the perennial challenge of achieving social justice as for the emerging threats of terrorism. Yet this need not be. Dworkin, one the world's leading legal and political philosophers, identifies and defends core principles of personal and political morality that all citizens can share. He shows that recognizing such shared principles can make substantial political argument possible and help replace contempt with mutual respect. Only then can the full promise of democracy be realized in America and elsewhere.
Dworkin lays out two core principles that citizens should share: first, that each human life is intrinsically and equally valuable and, second, that each person has an inalienable personal responsibility for identifying and realizing value in his or her own life. He then shows what fidelity to these principles would mean for human rights, the place of religion in public life, economic justice, and the character and value of democracy. Dworkin argues that liberal conclusions flow most naturally from these principles. Properly understood, they collide with the ambitions of religious conservatives, contemporary American tax and social policy, and much of the War on Terror. But his more basic aim is to convince Americans of all political stripes--as well as citizens of other nations with similar cultures--that they can and must defend their own convictions through their own interpretations of these shared values.
Customer Reviews:
CORAGE.......2007-01-16
All americans should read this book. Ronald Dworkin has the corage to say the truth about the President Bush. And the truth is: YOU DID NOT HAVE DEMOCRACY.
Principles still matter.......2007-01-04
Only Dworkin can get you back to understanding just how important principles are to decision making. "Principles Matter" (his best work in my opinion), and now he applies that same logic to preserving democracy in a world where we are continously befuddled by mass media and political spin bent on stirring our emotions. Anything to keep you "tuned in" and riled.
His arguements are solid, as always. Even if you prefer other "principles", you have to respect his approach and where his values weigh in on critical decision making. Dworkin has a way of revealing to the reader just what principles he or she are applying and sometimes we come away horrified at your own logic, which, of course, we thought was flawless. This book helps us take stock of own own opinions and how we can be more constructive towards preserving the democracy we all believe we cherish. Somewhere we need a divisor to utilize against the bombardment of mass communication and political belligerence. This is an excellent beginning.
A Common Denominator for Political Debate.......2006-12-08
Having weathered another election cycle of verbal and emotional combat between the polarized "red" and "blue" electorate, one begins to wonder if there is any common ground for constructive political debate in our contentious democracy. In his new book, legal philosopher Ronald Dworkin answers in the affirmative. He believes that there are certain principles on which both sides can agree. Problems, however, arise when these principles are applied to making concrete policy decisions.
Dworkin sets forth two principles of human dignity to which all parties can agree: 1) "that each human life is intrinsically and equally valuable," and 2) "that each person has an inalienable personal responsibility for identifying and realizing value in his or her life."
These principles are highly abstract and probably most parties would disagree on their application. The improvement in political debate here lies in the fact that debates can go back to a common starting point rather than having parties try to demonize and discredit each other as if they had mutually exclusive worldviews.
In the application of these principles to the policy on torture of enemy combatants, I found Dworkin's views recognizable because they coincide with my own. The use of torture is clearly at odds with any principle of human dignity and should be condemned. However, there are extreme and unique situations where torture may extract information that could save thousands of lives. How does one balance this against human dignity? Dworkin seems to suggest that we do a cost/benefit analysis - typical of legal thinkers. And I tend to agree. However, it is a problematic area and remains unresolved.
On the issue of capital punishment Dworkin tries to show two sides of the argument. Being a liberal, he is personally against capital punishment. On the other hand, he argues that death as punishment is not at odds with human dignity. A death penalty advocate would argue that there are issues of deterence and retribution that must be observed. Again this opens the debate to other sets of issues. Where does one draw the line on human dignity?
These two examples illustrate how difficult it is to achieve a substantive political debate as opposed to the disparagement and invective that we witness today. Dworkin's principles are hard to disagree with, and he clearly illustrates the problems we get into if we deviate too far from these principles. This book is an interesting and useful contribution to the need for civilizing our current political debate.
Book Description
The laws that legislatures adopt provide a crucial opportunity for elected politicians to define public policy. But the ways politicians use laws to shape policy vary considerably across polities. In some cases, legislatures adopt detailed and specific laws in an effort to micromanage policymaking processes. In others, they adopt general and vague laws that leave the executive and bureaucrats substantial discretion to fill in the policy details. What explains these differences across political systems, and how do they matter? The authors address these issues by developing and testing a comparative theory of how laws shape bureaucratic autonomy. Drawing on a range of evidence from advanced parliamentary democracies and the U.S. States, they argue that particular institutional forms--such as the nature of electoral laws, the structure of the legal system, and the professionalism of the legislature--have a systematic and predictable effect on how politicians use laws to shape the policymaking process.
Book Description
This powerfully argued appraisal of judicial review may change the face of American law. Written for layman and scholar alike, the book addresses one of the most important issues facing Americans today: within what guidelines shall the Supreme Court apply the strictures of the Constitution to the complexities of modern life?
Until now legal experts have proposed two basic approaches to the Constitution. The first, "interpretivism," maintains that we should stick as closely as possible to what is explicit in the document itself. The second, predominant in recent academic theorizing, argues that the courts should be guided by what they see as the fundamental values of American society. Mr. Ely demonstrates that both of these approaches are inherently incomplete and inadequate. Democracy and Distrust sets forth a new and persuasive basis for determining the role of the Supreme Court today.
Ely's proposal is centered on the view that the Court should devote itself to assuring majority governance while protecting minority rights. "The Constitution," he writes, "has proceeded from the sensible assumption that an effective majority will not unreasonably threaten its own rights, and has sought to assure that such a majority not systematically treat others less well than it treats itself. It has done so by structuring decision processes at all levels in an attempt to ensure, first, that everyone's interests will be represented when decisions are made, and second, that the application of those decisions will not be manipulated so as to reintroduce in practice the sort of discrimination that is impermissible in theory.
Thus, Ely's emphasis is on the procedural side of due process, on the preservation of governmental structure rather than on the recognition of elusive social values. At the same time, his approach is free of interpretivism's rigidity because it is fully responsive to the changing wishes of a popular majority. Consequently, his book will have a profound impact on legal opinion at all levels-from experts in constitutional law, to lawyers with general practices, to concerned citizens watching the bewildering changes in American law.
Customer Reviews:
Tough Book-Interesting Idea.......2006-12-13
This is simply to say that if you are a student, and you are assigned this book, give yourself enough time to read it. It is thick, and Ely does things like stop in the middle of sentences and begin to talk to himself. It makes his idea difficult to follow. He also writes 6+ line sentences with no punctuation. It's not an impossible read, but it's not an overnight read either, FYI.
Seminal work from late scholar.......2003-11-04
One of the most cited Constitutional law scholars in legal history, John Hart Ely's book was published in 1980. The book, which earned the Order of the Coif award as the best book about law published from 1980 to 1982, focused on the role of the U.S. Supreme Court in interpreting the Constitution. He wrote that the judiciary's role was to assure democracy with an open and fair political process - without focusing solely on the original intent of the drafters of the Constitution, or inferring moral rights and values from the document's wording. Stanford Law School Dean Kathleen M. Sullivan said of the important book: "'Democracy and Distrust' is a masterpiece that combines elegant theory, raffish wit and a heartfelt search to ger the role of the Supreme Court in American democracy just right." The book angers many conservatives, who tend to believe that judges should avoid such interpretations of the Constitution, however this book, and his many other articles on Constitution law, are necessary reading for any well-read lawyer.
Juridprudence: Is there a middle ground?.......2001-07-12
This excellent little book tries to find a middle ground between the judicial activism advocated by Ronald Dworkin, for example, and the strict original intent approach eloquently defended by Robert Bork. Philosophy of jurisprudence is not always a concept easily grasped, however. In the first chapter, Ely takes us through the discussion of where and how judges drive their activist approach through the door. Ely agrees that the due process clause of the constitution is not the place where an activist jurist should hang his hat. The due process clause, he argues, is concerned strictly with procedural matters, though it can be forcefully enforced within that context. Likewise, he argues, the 14th amendment, with its equality clause and privileges and immunities clause, also has been used to broadly expand judicial oversight on a number of issues. Again, Ely dissents by arguing that the 9th amendment is the more appropriate vehicle because of the procedure issue that constrains the due process clause as well in the 14th amendment.
Judicial review must be rooted in some kind of context - but the noninterpretivist must choose, traditionally, from a long list of inadequate places: individual values of a jurist is inadequate; natural law is vague, as is moral philosophy generally; consensus is imprecise and debatable and neutral principle is damn near impossible to define. He roots his own support of Warren court in participation, which is rooted in our very notion of democracy. His phrase: "participatory responsiveness." We need not grasp at high moral claims to justify supporting civil rights, but in the simple idea that what is available to the majority, must be equally available to the minority. They must be allowed to participate equally, he seems to be arguing, a notion that is easily found in our own legal and constitutional history.
Next Ely walks us through the ways we might address specific issues within his theoretical approach, such as free speech, which need not be defended always in the broadest terms, but might be better addressed as a procedural or participatory issue - that is to say, if the court acts to limit free speech, it is best to do so through categories of unprotected speech rather than appealing to abstract rights or dangers, such as Holmes did when he spoke of imminent danger. (I hope I am following him here). He also addresses the issue of apportionment, and again seeks to have the court avoid such political entanglements by searching for the best way to allow all citizens the right to participate in our democracy - and one person, one vote became the only tenable way to do so. Ely includes in chapter 4 a short but helpful review of the constitution in which he discusses the document for what it is - not an abstract or ideological document, but rather a governing tool that seeks to protect a system, not push an ideological agenda. I wish he had added specific cases and shown how he might have handled them through his approach, particularly tough cases like abortion, for example. THe last chapter rambles a bit and is hard to follow but this is an interesting book, given that the hotly debated issue about judicial activism continues.
A true classic.......1999-10-05
John Ely's masterpiece on the the proper scope of judicial review is a must-read for anyone interested in the Supreme Court or just law in general. In short, Ely feels the Court should limit its power to assuring adequate access to the political process for all and not to giving answers to substantive issues such as abortion, affirmative action, economic rights, etc. In short, the book is a strong defense of the activism of the Warren Court (Ely clerked for Chief Justice Earl Warren and the book is dedicated to his memory). Though the emphasis on the work of the Warren Court may make the book seem a little outdated, the book is nevertheless relevant since it provides a partial justification for the abandonment of substantive due process that conservatives such as Antonin Scalia and Robert Bork have argued for in the 80's and 90's while at the same time defending certain types of judicial activism (for example, in voting rights or gay rights cases) that appeal to liberals. Though Ely's insights into constitutional law are brilliant (his corpus of law review articles from the 70's, many of which form the foundation for this book, provides some of the most well-thought arguments on many diverse areas of constitutional scholarship), his arguments are not without their weakpoints (though you may have to read the book a few times to find them- not a bad idea in any case). Specifically, the manner in which he derives his so-called "representation reinforcement" theory is problematic. It seems to be somewhat of a non sequiter to argue, as he does, that since one of the main themes of constitutional development has been the extension of access to the political process (in the form of the extension of the franchise, abolition of the federal poll tax, etc), the Court's should use such a development as a cue for how to read the Constitution. It not only seems to cheapen the amendment process, but also begs the question of why more democracy is desirable. In addition, Ely's theory of equal protection depends upon a good deal of psychology (trying to read the feelings that motivated legislators and their constituents) that sometimes leaves you scratching your head. While the arguments of the book are not perfect, it would be a mistake to think that any of them are severe enough to detract from the sum total of the wisdom contained in this unparalleled piece of legal scholarship.
One of the great law books.......1998-01-17
Professor John Hart Ely's "Democracy and Distrust" is, quite simply, one of the great books about American constitutional law. Ely's task, to come up with a cohesive and coherent theory for judicial review, is far from a simple task, and yet his writing is so smooth and easy that the task *seems* easy. It is relatively easy to summarize Ely's general theory in few words. He argues that the American process is essentially democratic and that the role of the courts should be to police that process. In particular, Ely focuses on the voting-rights amendments, the First Amendment (as speech is essential to a free and open democracy), and the protection of "discrete and insular minorities."
What is perhaps most startling about Ely's work is that, despite the fact that he comes from what may accurately be termed a liberal perspective, he rejects fundamental values as a means of making constitutional law. This rejection is particularly surprising in that so many of the liberal constitutional advances have come in the name of fundamental values. Yet Ely makes his case persuasively, listing and rejecting many of the possible bases for such values (from natural law to the judges' own values to consensus, e.g.).
"Democracy and Distrust" is an eminently accessible book for anyone with even a small background in constitutional law. Though the book would probably be beyond the ken of high-school students or college undergraduates without any exposure to legal thought, certainly no degree in law is required to understand the book. Ely aptly avoids excessive legal jargon and outlines his theory in language designed to persuade, not to impress.
If there is any criticism of "Democracy and Distrust" (and there is), it is that Ely presents his theory nearly in a vacuum. There are most assuredly other theories of judicial review, many of which are quite different from Ely's (to the point, almost, that one suspects there must be more than one Constitution to produce such disparate theories). In addition, there are clearly parts of the Constitution that are not directly concerned with democracy (the Fourth Amendment, for example, which Ely only mentions in passing), and the theory in this book cannot be comprehensive for failure to accommodate these parts of the Constitution.
For anyone with an interest in constitutional law, Ely should be required reading.
Book Description
The emergence in 1991 of the fourteen borderland post-Soviet states has been accompanied by the reforging of their national identities. Such attempts to rethink or reimagine the nation have had a major impact in reshaping the political, cultural and social lives of both national and ethnic minority groups alike. This book analyzes these national identities and explores their consequences for the borderland states, with substantive studies drawn from the Baltic states, Ukraine and Belarus, Transcaucasia and Central Asia.
Average customer rating:
- The Cold War's Over: Let's take some names
- Useful survey of US interventions
- BEST GOVERNANCE?
- Jolly good read
- A must-read for anyone interested in 20th-century history
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Democracy by Force: US Military Intervention in the Post-Cold War World (LSE Monographs in International Studies)
Karin von Hippel
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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Binding: Paperback
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Book Description
Since the end of the Cold War the United States has intervened militarily in a number of civil conflicts around the world, with varying degrees of success. This book examines four US-sponsored interventions (Panama, Somalia, Haiti and Bosnia), focusing on the vital nation-building efforts which have followed military action. The book seeks to provide a greater understanding of the successes and failures of US policy, to improve strategies for reconstruction, and to provide some insight into the conditions under which intervention and nation-building are likely to succeed.
Customer Reviews:
The Cold War's Over: Let's take some names.......2007-03-24
The Berlin Wall came crashing down in November 1989. The Cold War ended with neither a bang nor a whimper but - true to 1980s form - with a party. Two unfortunate things came about from this. One, the only 80s person more annoying than Rodney Dangerfield - David Hasselhoff - sang for freedom atop the wall. The second was the turning off the spigot of billions of dollars to prop up regimes throughout the world. What were formerly acceptable regimes as US or Soviet clients were now totally unacceptable. The New World Order of "humanitarian" and democracy based intervention had come.
While Karin von Hippel touches briefly upon why each post war intervention happened, her main focus is the success of the intervention itself. She tacitly accepts that interventions into small troubled or failed states will continue to happen. Therefore we must do our best to do it right. From Panama to Kosovo she looks find the lessons that were learned from each intervention and how such lessons can be put into practice later.
But, what is the most interesting is the lessons unlearned. If one were to take each of the lessons from Panama, Haiti, Bosnia and Kosovo and place them on a grid next to the main problems facing the US in Iraq, one sees either lessons ignored or unlearned by the new administration. Written in 1999, and therefore before the Iraq War or the issue of WMD - right or wrong - it is instructive to see that people did see the problems that could be faced in Iraq coming.
Von Hippel's style is clear and concise. Very little jargon or classic Political Science turgidness is found in this book. The small-scale, low-intensity war will be the use of the military over the next decades. It is therefore refreshing that someone is willing to look to the interventions not as to whether or not it should have happened but how could it be better? Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it. Unfortunately, this administration apparently did not read Democracy by Force.
Useful survey of US interventions.......2002-07-16
This book analyses the developments in nation-building following US-sponsored military intervention by examining the four post-Cold War cases in which both took place: Panama, Somalia, Haiti, and Bosnia.
The UN did not authorise the US intervention in Panama. President Bush launched the invasion `to restore democracy', after thirty years of supporting the drug-trafficking dictator General Noriega. As von Hippel writes, `the democracy excuse rang hollow'. 37% of the people are still below the poverty line. Its debt is 70% of its GDP. US troops are still there.
The US government intervened in Somalia in 1992-95 under what von Hippel calls `the humanitarian pretext'. The Security Council breached the UN Charter by authorising the intervention. Several thousand Somalis were killed. In the `Blackhawk down' incident in Mogadishu, 300 Somalis were killed and 700 wounded; 30% of the casualties were women and children. Intervention cost $4 billion, used 50,000 troops and worsened an already dire situation. The World Bank has no figures for the economy, but knows that the country owes exactly $2.3 billion.
Over Haiti, the Security Council again broke the UN Charter by sanctioning military intervention, for another `unique' situation `requiring an exceptional response'. Haiti was no threat to `international peace and security', so Cuba, Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela opposed intervention. The CIA funded corrupt, drug-running fascist generals, which von Hippel calls `somewhat unpredictable and bizarre', despite noting the similarity with US support for Noriega. Structural Adjustment Programs and sanctions, as usual, worsened the country's problems, causing 60% unemployment. 80% of the rural population still live below the poverty line.
The US intervention in Bosnia has produced a military protectorate, with the economy destroyed. In 1997, Serbia's unemployment rate was 50% and in the Republic of Srpska, part of Bosnia, 90%.
Von Hippel notes that foreign aid and international charity cause aid dependency. In Somalia, for instance, foreign aid funded 70% of the national budget, before the collapse. She writes that aid "tends to enrich only the elite at the expense of the masses."
Her accounts show that nations cannot be built from outside, especially not by US military intervention.
BEST GOVERNANCE?.......2001-05-24
Democracy - rule by the people - is widely considered as the central legitimating ethic of modern governance. Although definitions of democracy have shown substantial variety from one country and time period to the next, there is a consensus in today's world that good governance means democracy. Moreover, democratic states tend not to fight other democratic states, and the spread of democracy would lead to greater international security according to Democratic Peace Theory. Putting humanitarian concerns high on the agenda and ignoring state sovereignty for the promotion of democracy, after the Cold War with the disappearance of Superpower competition, the international community, especially the USA, has been involved in certain civil conflicts which, between 1990 and 1996, outpaced other types of conflicts like the ones between states. When economic sanctions or diplomatic pressures have failed, military intervention, that is to say, democracy by force, has been undertaken in these civil conflicts. After a brief discussion of the evolution in military intervention and nation-building, by examining Germany, Japan and Vietnam cases, since World War II, and after defining nation-building and democratisation elaborately and clearly, this book analyses four US-sponsored post-Cold War military interventions successively taking place in Panama, Somalia, Haiti, and Bosnia in order to evaluate what in fact has changed since 1989. Also, reader can use the maps that are on the first page of each case to see where an event occurs during studying if necessary. In each of these cases, Karin Von Hippel explains military intervention and the use of force, which often lead to peace support operations, which in turn can lead to nation-building attempts. The 1989 US invasion of Panama provides an appropriate starting point for this study as it straddles the Cold War and post-Cold War interventions. Panama case introduced the democracy rationale; that is, to oppose the repeal of democratic elections as a justification to intervene, without an obvious threat of communism. US troops also used the post-World War II plans for the reconstruction of Germany and Japan as their model for Panama. Somalia then served as a test case for a purely humanitarian crisis that did not affect the developed world. Demilitarisation was a priority in this heavily armed society. However, its failure hindered any reaction in the next major humanitarian crisis in Rwanda. Events in Somalia did not stop the US government from intervening in Haiti in 1994, due to the latter's closeness to the USA and problems related to the increased flow of refugees into Florida. Haiti then became the first case when the aim of the military intervention and the nation-building attempt were the same: to establish a democratic state. It was also the first time the UN Security Council sanctioned intervention to restore a democratically elected government. The USA considered Somalia when trying to avoid involvement in Bosnia, but was eventually pushed into acting there militarily beginning in 1995, again on humanitarian grounds, in spite of maintaining the credibility of the NATO and US leadership in Europe. Dayton may have been the most complicated nation-building mission since World War II. In the final chapter, Karin Von Hippel, first, examines the common threads linking and leading to the Panama, Somalia, Haiti, and Bosnia interventions, second, points to the lessons learned and applied within the military, in civil-military relations, and in peace support operations, and third, concludes by discussing the developments in nation-building, areas of continued concern, and how future operations might achieve greater success. Today it is believed that the democracy is the best governance. Even for the promotion of democracy, however, intervention in domestic affairs of a state may not be always necessary, and there may be other solutions to be applied as the concept of democracy is flexible, and its meaning may change from time and society to time and society. In certain cases, restoration of democracy may be only an immediate cause, and the underlying cause of intervention may be different from the promotion of democracy, such as national interest. Also, the US government does not stick to democracy in its own country although it intervenes in the internal affairs of other states for the promotion of democracy. So this study tries to legitimise certain faulty actions of the USA, and this makes this book seem far away from objectivity.
CANER SANNAV
Jolly good read.......2000-12-15
Karin von Hippel presents an excellent analysis of the US military in the post-Cold War era. She gives a intriging looks at what the future holds for the US military and what kinds of projects it is most likely to behold. She observes most of the factors causing intervention, even those not included in administration publications. Hopefully we can look forward to further editions.
A must-read for anyone interested in 20th-century history.......2000-10-03
Karin von Hippel is an up-and-coming foreign policy thinker whose academic credentials (Yale, London School of Economics)are reinforced by stints in Kenya, Somalia, Haiti and Kosovo. As a result, her examination of US military interventions in the post-Vietnam era is refreshingly clear-headed and readable, as well as being extremely smart. Von Hippel looks at four instances of US intervention--Panama, Somalia, Haiti and Bosnia--and discusses why the US got involved in those countries, whether US intervention worked, and what Americans can learn from those experiences. What I particularly liked about this book is that it's insightful and intelligent at a level academics would find satisfying. But I'm not an academic, and I found it really interesting. Definitely worth a read if you're interested in modern American history.
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