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With little domestic fanfare and even less attention internationally, Japan has been reinventing itself since the 1990s, dramatically changing its political economy, from one managed by regulations to one with a neoliberal orientation. Rebuilding from the economic misfortunes of its recent past, the country retains a formidable economy and its political system is healthier than at any time in its history. Japan Transformed explores the historical, political, and economic forces that led to the country's recent evolution, and looks at the consequences for Japan's citizens and global neighbors.

Politically motivated killings have occupied a relatively marginal position as an issue of public concern in South Africa since 1994. This may reflect the provincial nature of the problem, since such killings have mainly occurred in KwaZulu-Natal, with a much smaller number occurring in Mpumalanga and even fewer recorded elsewhere. Based on a scan of documentary information, this article estimates that there have been approximately 450 political killings in KwaZulu-Natal since 1994, with most having taken place in the mid and late 1990s and just under 25% (107) since 2003. The root of the problem in KwaZulu-Natal may be the militarisation of the province during the apartheid period. Some political killings in the province continue to be linked to inter-party conflict that has roots in that time. However, political killings since the end of apartheid are mostly linked to local political rivalries and connections to criminal networks, notably in the taxi industry. Though the problem is concentrated in specific provinces it is likely to impact on political life in South Africa more broadly.

Why do some Americans feel more patriotic than others? We argue that feelings of national pride are reinforced by cues from people's political and social environments. When Americans reside in contexts that align with their values, traits, and civic orientations, they are more likely to express pride in their country. We consider both civic and ethnic pathways to patriotism. We expect that minorities and those who particularly value political equality will feel increasingly patriotic as the racial and ethnic diversity of their state climbs. For those who see politics through a partisan lens, we expect that environments defined by political competition will enhance feelings of national pride. We test our theory using data from the 2012 American National Election Studies (ANES). We find that Americans are more likely to say that they feel love for their country when they reside in political contexts congruent with their values and approach to citizenship.

Abstract. Institutional research is ready to move to the next stage, the stage, as argued by this paper, should be characterized with a more comprehensive and integrated social sciences approach. The theoretical foundation for such a move exists, as the naturel connections between political institutions and economic institutions were well addressed by North, Fukuyama, and Acemoglu; the influences of cultural heritage on the institutional choices were aldo discussed by North and Huntington. Another shift in institutional research proposed by this paper is the change from the general solutions to the specific solutions because the institutional characteristics are individualized after considering the impacts of culture heritage. Through the data analysis of World Governance Index (WGI) and other development indicators this paper presents the connections between political and economic institutions and the unique characteristics of political orders and developmental paths of a few specific groups of countries. The paper also discusses the influences of cultural heritage on the institution's choice and transformation path. Finally the paper proposes an institutional research framework.Keywords. Institutional economics, Political economy, Comparative economic system, Comparative political system, World Governance Index (WGI).JEL. O43, P26, P51.

"Augustine of Hippo is one of the most influential thinkers in the history of political thought but whose writings are among the most contested in contemporary political theory. Many critics target Augustine's pessimism, arguing that his fixation on sin and longing for the heavenly city deny the value of this-worldly politics. Rather than challenging this pessimism, many defenders parlay it for their own purposes, invoking Augustine to chasten political optimism or encourage religious citizens to withdraw from the public square. Situating Augustine within his political, rhetorical, and religious contexts and integrating insights from political theory, religious studies, theology, and philosophy, Michael Lamb aims to paint a different picture of Augustine's political thought. In particular, Lamb draws on the full range of Augustine's writings, including neglected treatises, sermons, and letters, to retrieve Augustine's idea of hope as a civic virtue, one which is neither optimistic or pessimistic. By illuminating this understudied virtue and engaging critics on their own terms, Lamb challenges prevailing interpretations of Augustinian pessimism while supplying a novel and capacious vision of Augustine's political thought"--

This article introduces the critical analysis of the links between political violence, law and memory that is discussed in the collection of articles that follows. The collection challenge common assumptions about political violence, unveil the processes, practices and discourses through which the Sovereign's violence is legitimized and the demos' violence is delegitimized, and let emerge the dynamic links between violence and law.

The notion social class attains a well-defined theoretical content in the works of the classical political economists, who defined classes on the basis of die specific income form that each category of people (class) obtains. This approach to class constitutes a first form of a "friendly merger" between political economy and sociology. When combined with the classical labor value theory, it has led to a theory of class exploitation of the laboring class by the capitalist class. As economic theory became increasingly apologetic after the "Marginalist Revolution" (setting itself the aim of justifying capitalism), the theory of class has been totally banished from the corpus of "modern (neoclassical) economic science." This paper claims that the scientific elements inherent in classical political economy's class theory were preserved by the Marxist class theory, which further revolutionized the classical approach, creating a new, purely non-economistic and non-mechanistic "relationist" class theory, and forming thus a vivid economic-sociological approach to social classes. On the basis of the Marxist approach, complex problems concerning the class structure of contemporary societies can be tackled.

"Political Trust and the "Crisis of Democracy"" published on by Oxford University Press.

Howard Dean's current bid to chair the Democratic National Committee is a test case of his political viability. It's his first political quest since a spirited speech, endlessly rebroadcast and lampooned, derailed his innovative and well-funded 2004 presidential campaign. Virtually no account of Dean's current candidacy has failed to mention his "I Have a Scream" performance and the subsequent collapse of his presidential campaign. It has seemed that the image of Dean whooping and spinning after finishing third in the Iowa caucuses is so engraved in the national consciousness that there is no chance of Dean's reputation ever recovering.

Originally published in 1991. This volume explores the combination of political and economic forces that influence different levels of food supply. The book begins with a discussion of famine theories, ranging from cultural ecology to neo-Marxism. Following this survey is a series of essays by anthropologists, geographers, economists and development practitioners that explores the role of Western institutions in African famine, analyzes famine in particular countries, and documents the relationship between famine and gender. This book takes an unusually broad look at famine by including analyses of countries where hunger has rarely been studied and by examining African famine from both African and Western perspectives. Its concluding proposals for eradicating famine make innovative and provocative contributions to current global debates on food and nutrition.