Suchergebnisse

Soviet Success (1947) deals with Soviet Russia after the Second World War. The author met Stalin, Molotov and other leading personalities in Russia, and here records his conversations with them in full detail. The book looks at the destruction caused by the war, and the state of the economy and political life in its aftermath. It also is particularly informative on the family, art, literature and cultural life of Soviet Russia.

"The pressures in the social world begin with desires, perceptions of fairness, and aspirations. People see that others have access to health care, career opportunities, education, and other benefits and they do not. They see this lack of opportunity as unjust, potentially biased. This builds emotional anxiety, and these anxieties lead to attempts to influence outcomes through politics, legal remedies, and in extreme circumstances, violence. Wealth gaps, income gaps, access to food and clean water, all of the trappings of life, are viewed through a lens of justice. As people seek to socially differentiate themselves from others, even if it is not their intent, they create the perception of social superiority. This sense of superiority and potentially indifference all lead to social pressure and friction. These pressures build over time, much like natural forces create pressure, and eventually these pressures must be released. Indifference fortifies social pressures. Social empathy and a helping hand relieve the pressures"--

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- 1 Non-violence as an Imperative Goal -- 2 Capitalism, Communism and Violence -- 3 Castro, Humanism and Revolution -- 4 Marx, Engels and the Place of Violence in History -- 5 Terror and Terrorism -- Conclusions -- Bibliography -- Index

Abstract: Within the literature, there are two contrasting views about whether military interventions affect a region's stability. One body of research indicates that military interventions positively influence political stability. The other body suggests that military interventions decrease stability within a region. In response to the two contrasting views regarding the impact of military intervention on political stability, the researcher hypothesizes that military interventions undermine the conditions for political stability and that an increase in levels of military hostility will negatively affect all factors underlying political stability within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). To test these hypotheses, the researcher uses data gathered between 1984–2010, compiled by the International Country Risk Guide (ICRG) and the Militarized Interstate Dispute (MID) Project. The findings indicate that as levels of military hostility rise within MENA, religious and ethnic tensions are likely to increase, while law and order is likely to decrease. This provides further evidence that military intervention negatively affects political stability.

There are three sections to this book, each of which contains three chapters, each of which begins with three quotations. This is a systematic author. The clear structure makes the text easy to navigate and a useful index makes it easier still. The third section fulfils the promise of the title, with analyses of the rise and considerable fall of the Podemos movement in Spain and Bernie Sanders' promising but ultimately unsuccessful 2020 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in America. The second section lays the ground for these two analyses, with accounts of the political economies of Spain and America, respectively, over the 35 years or so up to the recent financial crash; a major part of the argument of the book is that the current 'populist moment' can only be properly understood by locating it in its historical context, which dates back to the neoliberal turn of the late 1970s.