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Congressional leadership takes place within an institution that serves two primary functions: making laws and representing citizens. Leaders play essential roles organizing the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senatethey set the schedule for debating bills and resolutions; formulate proposals to address public problems; represent their party's priorities through the media and in relations with leaders of the opposing party; support or oppose the president's initiatives in the legislative process; and build coalitions to pass legislation. The main challenge of congressional leadership is to advance the collective interests of the nation or of the leader's political party, while enabling individual members of Congress to represent their constituents. This entry describes the roles and responsibilities of congressional leaders, reviews the relevant theories for explaining congressional leadership, identifies notable congressional leaders in various historical situations, and raises key issues for further study.

Interview with Fatos Nano, Albanian Prime Minister in his fourth term on conditions caused by the economic disaster following the 1997 financial investment schemes, vendetta killings, and infiltration of foreign Islamic fundamentalists. Summaries in English and Spanish p. 475 and 489.

Students of American political thought have long noted changes in the goals pursued by colonial American communities. Relations between Americans and their communities, previously characterized by security and peaceful existence were transformed into relations grounded in economic well-being. This shift in focus had the effect of altering the relationship between individuals and their community. Obligating members to behave industriously has the effect of weakening the social, familial, religious, and political controls originally used to keep the "sinful" individual in check. These weakening ties were exacerbated by colonial developments in constitutional theory that contribute to the movement away from the religious origins of American political thought. This secularizing process paves the way for the introduction of individualism into American thinking prior to 1776.

This is a response to Gareth Jones's critique of Changing Worlds, arguing that while this critique largely misunderstands the approach taken in the book, it does raise important questions about the prospect of war in the modern world. Crucial differences are identified in the use of theological rhetoric as a means of resolving differences about the legitimacy of war in the modern world. Adapted from the source document.

Explores the Mar 2004 referenda in Taiwan, held the same day as the closely contested presidential election, through a study of the origins of the referenda, criteria included in the Referendum Act, Central Election Commission participation, & the significance of the outcomes. Skeptics believed that the referenda were introduced with ulterior motives tied to the presidential election & encouraged their followers to boycott the referenda, but with 80% of the votes cast supporting the referenda, the results may embolden President Chen Shui-bian to revise & expand the referendum legislation. The author concludes that past experience in America proves that legislatures systematically avoid responding to results of initiatives, & the results will probably be similar in Taiwan. 1 Table. L. A. Hoffman

BENSAÏD, DANIEL. Les trotskysmes. Deuxième éd. [Que sais-je?, 3629.] Presses Universitaires de France, Paris 2002. 128 pp. € 6.50.CHARPIER, FRÉDÉRIC. Histoire de l'extrême gauche trotskiste. De 1929 à nos jours. Editions 1, Paris 2002. 402 pp. € 22.00.MARIE, JEAN-JACQUES. Le trotskysme et les trotskystes. D'hier à aujourd'hui, l'ideologie et les objectifs des trotskystes à travers le monde. [Collection L'Histoire au present.] Armand Colin, Paris 2002. 224 pp. € 21.00.NICK, CHRISTOPHE. Les Trotskistes. Fayard, [Paris] 2003. 618 pp. € 23.00.The Trotskyist Fourth International went through many quarrels and splits after its foundation in 1938 – understandably, given the political and social isolation in which the movement generally functioned. Its enemies to its left and right crowded the Trotskyists into an uncomfortably narrow space. Trotskyists' intense internal discussions functioned as a sort of immune response, which could only be effective if theoretical and programmatic issues were clearly formulated. The more practical success eluded them, the more programmatic clarity served as compensation and monopolized their attention. In the name of various "isms" their passions sometimes took acute forms, while, under the surface, "ordinary" human shortcomings threw oil on the fire.

Challenges Elisabeth Carter's (2004) assertion that popular support for extreme right-wing political parties runs independent of the electoral system in place. It is argued that the effects of electoral systems must account for their impact on votes, seats, & party strategies, where Carter only considered the ballots cast. In this light, it is asserted that majoritarian electoral systems work exactly as the proponents claim to exclude extremist parties from parliaments via higher thresholds, & PR (proportional) systems afford the greatest success for extreme right political parties. Evidence from 39 countries & their 1990-2004 elections is presented in support of this, highlighting the mechanical effects in terms of number of seats gained & the votes:seats ratio. 1 Table, 3 References. J. Zendejas