{"title":"Emerging Democracies","description":"\u003cp\u003eExplore the rise and evolution of nations navigating the complexities of democracy. This collection offers insightful perspectives on political transitions, social change, and the challenges of building new futures. Browse now!\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"ghosts-in-the-neighborhood-book-walter-hatch-9780472055760","title":"Ghosts in the Neighborhood","description":"Germany, which brutalized its neighbors in Europe for centuries, has mostly escaped the ghosts of the past, while Japan remains haunted in Asia. The most common explanation for this difference is that Germany knows better how to apologize; Japan is viewed as “impenitent.” Walter F. Hatch rejects the conventional wisdom and argues that Germany has achieved reconciliation with neighbors by showing that it can be a trustworthy partner in regional institutions like the European Union and NATO; Japan has never been given that opportunity (by its dominant partner, the U.S.) to demonstrate such an ability to cooperate. This book rigorously defends the argument that political cooperation—not discourse or economic exchange—best explains Germany’s relative success and Japan’s relative failure in achieving reconciliation with neighbors brutalized by each regional power in the past. It uses paired case studies (Germany-France and Japan-South Korea; Germany-Poland and Japan-China) to gauge the effect of these competing variables on public opinion over time. 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None of the Above answers these questions using evidence from presidential and gubernatorial elections in eighteen Latin American democracies. Author Mollie J. Cohen draws on a broad range of methods and sources, incorporating data from electoral management bodies, nationally representative surveys, survey experiments, focus groups, semi-structured interviews, and news sources.    Contrary to received wisdom, this book shows that most citizens cast blank or spoiled votes in presidential elections on purpose. By participating in invalid vote campaigns, citizens can voice their concerns about low-quality candidates while also expressing a preference for high-quality democracy. Campaigns promoting blank and spoiled votes come about more often, and succeed at higher rates, when incumbent politicians undermine the quality of elections. Surprisingly, invalid vote campaigns can shore up the quality of democracy in the short term. None of the Above shows that swings in blank and spoiled vote rates can serve as a warning about the trajectory of a country’s democracy.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51311791407377,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51311791735057,"sku":"NGR9780472056620","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/047205662X.jpg?v=1750781930"},{"product_id":"state-institutions-civic-associations-and-identity-demands-book-amy-h-liu-9780472056071","title":"State Institutions, Civic Associations, and Identity Demands","description":"While the media tends to pay the most attention to violent secessionist movements or peaceful independence movements, it is just as important to understand why there are regions where political movements for autonomy fail to develop. In neglecting regions without political movements or full-blown independence demands, theories may be partial at best and incorrect at worst.  State Institutions, Civic Associations, and Identity Demands examines over a dozen regions, comparing and contrasting successful cases to abandoned, unsuccessful, or dormant cases. The cases range from successful secession (East Timor, Singapore) and ongoing secessionist movements (Southern Philippines), to internally divided regional movements (Kachin State), low-level regionalist stirrings (Lanna, Taiwan), and local but not regional mobilization of identity (Bali, Minahasan), all the way to failed movements (Bataks, South Maluku) and regions that remain politically inert (East and North Malaysia, Northeast Thailand). While each chapter is written by a country expert, the contributions rely on a range of methods, from comparative historical analysis, to ethnography, field interviews, and data from public opinion surveys. Together, they contribute important new knowledge on little-known cases that nevertheless illuminate the history of regions and ethnic groups in Southeast Asia. Although focused on Southeast Asia, the book identifies the factors that can explain why movements emerge and successfully develop and concludes with a chapter by Henry Hale that illustrates how this can be applied globally.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51311792685329,"sku":"NGR9780472056071","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0472056077.jpg?v=1751039894"},{"product_id":"struggles-for-political-change-in-the-arab-world-book-lisa-blaydes-9780472055371","title":"Struggles for Political Change in the Arab World","description":"The advent of the Arab Spring in late 2010 was a hopeful moment for partisans of progressive change throughout the Arab world. Authoritarian leaders who had long stood in the way of meaningful political reform in the countries of the region were either ousted or faced the possibility of political if not physical demise. The downfall of long-standing dictators as they faced off with strong-willed protesters was a clear sign that democratic change was within reach. Throughout the last ten years, however, the Arab world has witnessed authoritarian regimes regaining resilience, pro-democracy movements losing momentum, and struggles between the first and the latter involving regional and international powers.  This volume explains how relevant political players in Arab countries among regimes, opposition movements, and external actors have adapted ten years after the onset of the Arab Spring. It includes contributions on Egypt, Morocco, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Algeria, Sudan, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Yemen, and Tunisia. It also features studies on the respective roles of the United States, China, Iran, and Turkey vis-à-vis questions of political change and stability in the Arab region, and includes a study analyzing the role of Saudi Arabia and its allies in subverting revolutionary movements in other countries.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51378585600273,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51378585665809,"sku":"NGR9780472055371","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0472055372.jpg?v=1751433835"},{"product_id":"autocrats-can-t-always-get-what-they-want-book-nathan-j-brown-9780472056972","title":"Autocrats Can't Always Get What They Want","description":"Discovering why autocrats may not be in total control","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51596141199633,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51596141887761,"sku":"NGR9780472056972","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0472056972.jpg?v=1751431355"},{"product_id":"troubling-state-of-india-s-democracy-book-dinsha-mistree-9780472057016","title":"The Troubling State of India's Democracy","description":"As India’s power and prominence rise on the international stage, its longstanding tradition of democracy is under threat. Since establishing a secular and democratic constitution in 1950, India has held elections at the local, state, and national levels with frequent transitions of power between opposing parties. This commitment to democracy has provided political order to a country that is twice the size of Europe and with a stunning array of social and economic divides.    Despite this rich tradition, India’s democracy faces an unprecedented threat with the rise of Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist party, the Bharatiya Janata Party. After decisively winning general elections in 2014, Modi and the BJP have pursued a range of anti-democratic policies in which the state and society are used to undermine the opposition, to stifle free speech, and to harass religious minorities. The Troubling State of India’s Democracy brings together leading scholars from around the world to assess the conditions of India’s democracy across three important dimensions: politics, specifically the state of political parties and the party system; the state, including the condition of federalism and the health of various institutions; and society, including NGOs, ethnic and religious tensions, and control of the media. Even though elements of India’s democracy seem to function—like its commitment to elections—the contributors document a disturbing trajectory, one that not only threatens to undermine India’s own stability, but could also affect the global order.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51596142215441,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51596142444817,"sku":"NGR9780472057016","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0472057014.jpg?v=1750878717"},{"product_id":"ruling-indonesia-book-marcus-mietzner-9780472078073","title":"Ruling Indonesia","description":"Joko Widodo—popularly called Jokowi—ruled Indonesia for a decade, from 2014 to 2024. The world’s fourth-largest nation and third-largest democracy, Indonesia had embarked on a messy democratic transition in the late 1990s, with the country’s ethnic and religious heterogeneity posing significant challenges to governance. Initially seen as a reformer who might challenge oligarchic structures, Jokowi was slowly but steadily seen as himself being a threat to democracy. By the time Jokowi wrapped up his presidency, he had achieved the highest approval ratings among Indonesia’s post-authoritarian presidents—and became the president with the tightest grip over Indonesia’s political elite.  Based on exclusive interviews with Jokowi and many of Indonesia’s top leaders, Ruling Indonesia shows Jokowi as a president obsessively preoccupied with his economic development agenda, subordinating all other aspects of governance to this goal. His focused approach delivered economic successes and unprecedented popularity, but also seriously undermined the health of Indonesia’s democratic institutions. Offering a holistic appraisal of his decade in office, Marcus Mietzner analyzes Jokowi’s domestic record in the context of his attempts to position Indonesia more favorably in the international competition for power and resources. Crucially, his obsession to push Indonesia closer to industrialized status while neglecting democratic development represented the ambitions and trials of many Global South leaders who are trying to juggle economic development, growing Sino-American tensions around the world, and concerns for democratic rights. As such, this book provides valuable insights into how the great power rivalry of the 21st century and the global recession of democracy are playing out in central arenas of the Global South.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":52803420258577,"sku":"NGR9780472078073","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780472078073.jpg?v=1764200106"},{"product_id":"ruling-indonesia-book-marcus-mietzner-9780472058075","title":"Ruling Indonesia","description":"Joko Widodo—popularly called Jokowi—ruled Indonesia for a decade, from 2014 to 2024. The world’s fourth-largest nation and third-largest democracy, Indonesia had embarked on a messy democratic transition in the late 1990s, with the country’s ethnic and religious heterogeneity posing significant challenges to governance. Initially seen as a reformer who might challenge oligarchic structures, Jokowi was slowly but steadily seen as himself being a threat to democracy. By the time Jokowi wrapped up his presidency, he had achieved the highest approval ratings among Indonesia’s post-authoritarian presidents—and became the president with the tightest grip over Indonesia’s political elite.  Based on exclusive interviews with Jokowi and many of Indonesia’s top leaders, Ruling Indonesia shows Jokowi as a president obsessively preoccupied with his economic development agenda, subordinating all other aspects of governance to this goal. His focused approach delivered economic successes and unprecedented popularity, but also seriously undermined the health of Indonesia’s democratic institutions. Offering a holistic appraisal of his decade in office, Marcus Mietzner analyzes Jokowi’s domestic record in the context of his attempts to position Indonesia more favorably in the international competition for power and resources. Crucially, his obsession to push Indonesia closer to industrialized status while neglecting democratic development represented the ambitions and trials of many Global South leaders who are trying to juggle economic development, growing Sino-American tensions around the world, and concerns for democratic rights. 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Drawing on original fieldwork and, in many cases, their own experience, the authors address Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and transnational activism. Conceiving of “activism” broadly as any action intended to bring about social and political change, the volume makes theoretical contributions to our understanding of the relationship between protest and democratic backsliding, engagement with new communication technologies, and this generation’s distinctive intersectional politics. 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