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This book analyzes public debt from a political, historical, and global perspective. It demonstrates that public debt has been a defining feature in the construction of modern states, a main driver in the history of capitalism, and a potent geopolitical force. From revolutionary crisis to empire and the rise and fall of a post-war world order, the problem of debt has never been the sole purview of closed economic circles. This book offers a key to understanding the centrality of public debt today by revealing that political problems of public debt have and will continue to need a political response. Today's tendency to consider public debt as a source of fragility or economic inefficiency misses the fact that, since the eighteenth century, public debts and capital markets have on many occasions been used by states to enforce their sovereignty and build their institutions, especially in times of war. It is nonetheless striking to observe that certain solutions that were used in the past to smooth out public debt crises (inflation, default, cancellation, or capital controls) were left out of the political framing of the recent crisis, therefore revealing how the balance of power between bondholders, taxpayers, pensioners, and wage-earners has evolved over the past 40 years. Today, as the Covid-19 pandemic opens up a dramatic new crisis, reconnecting the history of capitalism and that of democracy seems one of the most urgent intellectual and political tasks of our time.

A comprehensive history of policing from the eighteenth century onwards, which draws on largely unused police archives. Clive Emsley addresses all the major issues of debate; he explores the impact of legislation and policy at both national and local levels, and considers the claim that the English police were non-political and free from political control. In the final section, he looks at the changing experience of police life. Established as a standard introduction to the subject on its first appearance, the Second Edition has been substantially revised and is now published under the Longman.

The concept of "culture" as used in pol'al sci is considered. The concept of pol'al culture took a long time to be formulated & was first used by Gabriel A. Almond, in "Comparative Political Systems," Journal of Politics, 1956, Aug 18, 391-409. From acceptance to vulgarization was a short step, however. The advantages & limits of the concept & what it refers to are examined & difficulties in conceptual precision are identified. A macro/micro problem is found to exist in pol'al cultural analysis--ie, the polity vs the individual & the fact that the parts may be more than the whole. It is the culture which imparts meaning & even gives substantial structure to the pol'al system. Observations about the performance of a system suggest what att's are probably important in making the system operate as it does. Then the analysis must test whether the subjective factors posited as being critical for system performance do in fact exist at all among the relevant pop. Coherence in personality may provide guides to coherence among larger cultural themes. But pol'al sci theories are not sensitive to the importance of quantitative diff's in att's & sentiments, only to the necessity of "appropriate" att's existing among the critical elements. The critical hyp's must be advanced at the macro level, but there is a lack of capacity for rigor & precision on this level. The concept of culture has provided a promising way of incorporating psychol'al insights into the study of pol'al systems. But it leaves many problems unsolved. More effective ways of describing total systems & identifying what the most critical factors are in improving scholarly ability to understand & predict system performance, are needed. M. Maxfield.

Matter and Form explores the relationship between natural science and political philosophy from the classical to contemporary eras, taking an interdisciplinary approach to the philosophic understanding of the structure and process of the natural world and its impact on the history of political philosophy. It illuminates the importance of philosophic reflection on material nature to moral and political theorizing, mediating between the sciences and humanities and making a contribution to ending the isolation between them.

With 150 accessible articles written by more than 130 leading experts, this essential reference provides authoritative introductions to some of the most important and talked-about topics in American history and politics, from the founding to today. Abridged from the acclaimed "Princeton Encyclopedia of American Political History", this is the only single-volume encyclopedia that provides comprehensive coverage of both the traditional topics of U.S. political history and the broader forces that shape American politics - including economics, religion, social movements, race, class, and gender. Fully indexed and cross-referenced, each entry provides crucial context, expert analysis, informed perspectives, and suggestions for further reading. Contributors include Dean Baker, Lewis Gould, Alex Keyssar, James Kloppenberg, Patricia Nelson Limerick, Lisa McGirr, Jack Rakove, Nick Salvatore, Stephen Skowronek, Jeremi Suri, Julian Zelizer, and many more. Entries cover: key political periods, from the founding to today Political institutions, major parties, and founding documents; the broader forces that shape U.S. politics, from economics, religion, and social movements to race, class, and gender; ideas, philosophies, and movements; and, the political history and influence of geographic regions