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The modern hospital is at once the site of healing, the locus of medical learning and a cornerstone of the welfare state. Its technological and infrastructural costs have transformed health services into one of today's fastest growing sectors, absorbing substantial proportions of national income in both developed and emerging economies. The aim of this book is to examine this growth in different countries, with a main focus on the twentieth century, and also with a backward glance to earlier shaping forces. It will explore the hospital's economic history, the relationship between public and private forms of provision, and the political context in which health systems were constructed. The collection advances the historical world map of different hospital models, ranging across Spain, Brazil, Germany, East and Central Europe, Britain, the United States and China. Collectively, these comparative cases illuminate the complexities involved in each country and bring new historical evidence to current debates on health care organisation, financing and reform.

This book examines the politics and economics of infrastructure development in Nigeria from Independence in 1960 upto 2015, and the role of good governance in promoting the socioeconomic wellbeing of citizens. Arguing for the need for transformational leadership in infrastructure development, the chapters examine policy issues and survey the various administrative, economic, and social-political reforms that have impacted infrastructure development in Nigeria. The author also discusses current national development plans and Vision 20:2020; challenges to infrastructure development, including corruption; and the future potential of a strong infrastructure network for the economy and citizens. Drawing upon his experience within government departments, as well as existing models of leadership and governance, the author explores the role of infrastructure development in promoting the wellbeing and growth of Nigeria. Combining theory with practical examples of good governance, this book will be of interest for students and researchers of political science and infrastructure development in Africa.

The editorial board introduces the issue devoted to the problem which occurred as a result of the exhausting traditional heuristic potential of political knowledge, including concepts, theoretical and methodological approaches, and ideological emphasis. The changing traditional theoretical framework questions the legitimacy of traditional political practices, the legitimacy of institutions, goals and subjects of the political process. Based on the ideas of I. Wallerstein, we are making attempts to "feel the elephant" of political reflection on the dramatically changing political reality.

The politics of the Constitution, 1787-1789 -- Contentious people and factious parties in the early Republic, 1789-1824 -- The age of democracy, 1816-1844 -- The politics of slavery : prelude to the Civil War, 1844-1860 -- Politics in war and Reconstruction, 1861-1876 -- Gilded Age frustration and the progressive response, 1877-1918 -- Affluence, Depression, and World War, 1920-1945 -- Early Cold War politics, 1945-1974 -- Tumultuous politics continued, 1974-present