In this work of daring and immersive contemporary anthropology, Carl Hoffman, who has written about the most dangerous and remote corners of the world, journeys deep inside Donald Trump's rallies seeking to understand the strange and powerful tribe that forms the president's base.
*THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER*A GUARDIAN AND SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR'An astonishing book' James O'Brien'A gripping, devastating read' Sunday TimesThe inside story of the UK's response to the pandemic from the Insight investigations unit at The Sunday TimesFailures of State recounts the extraordinary political decisions taken at the heart of Boris Johnson's government during the global pandemic.
One of the most important voices in contemporary American journalism - Independent Matt Taibbi is one of the few journalists in America who speaks truth to power - Bernie Sanders Matt Taibbi is the best polemic journalist in America - Felix Salmon NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER"e;The thing is, when you actually think about it, it's not funny.
From the best-selling author of The Commando and Born to Fight comes a fascinating investigation of modern warfare that combines methodical research and the fast-paced action of battle with the personal stories of the combatants on both sides of the line.
A SUNDAY TIMES HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017'A brilliant, compelling, propulsively written, magnificent tour de force' Simon Sebag Montefiore, Evening Standard'The second volume of what will surely rank as one of the greatest historical achievements of our age .
The magnificent new biography that revolutionizes our understanding of Stalin and his worldIn January 1928 Stalin, the ruler of the largest country in the world, boarded a train bound for Siberia where he would embark upon the greatest gamble of his political life.
How Donald Trump laid waste to American politics, culture, and social orderAfter Donald Trump's rise to power, after the 2020 presidential election, after January 6, is American politics past the point of no return?
Why populations brutalized in war elect their tormentorsOne of the great puzzles of electoral politics is how parties that commit mass atrocities in war often win the support of victimized populations to establish the postwar political order.
Why some of Asia's authoritarian regimes have democratized as they have grown richer-and why others haven'tOver the past century, Asia has been transformed by rapid economic growth, industrialization, and urbanization-a spectacular record of development that has turned one of the world's poorest regions into one of its richest.
Much of public opinion research over the past several decades suggests that the American voters are woefully uninformed about politics and thus unable to fulfill their democratic obligations.
How the actions and advocacy of diverse religious communities in the United States have supported democracy's development during the past centuryDoes religion benefit democracy?
Alexander Schuessler has done what many deemed impossible: he has wedded rational choice theory and the concerns of social theory and anthropology to explain why people vote.
How populism is fueled by the demise of the industrial order and the emergence of a new digital society ruled by algorithmsIn the revolutionary excitement of the 1960s, young people around the world called for a radical shift away from the old industrial order, imagining a future of technological liberation and unfettered prosperity.
During the 1992 presidential campaign, health care reform became a hot issue, paving the way for one of the most important yet ill-fated social policy initiatives in American history: Bill Clinton's 1993 proposal for comprehensive coverage under "e;managed competition.
A groundbreaking history of Europe's "e;new lefts,"e; from the antifascist 1920s to the anti-establishment 1960sIn the 1960s, the radical youth of Western Europe's New Left rebelled against the democratic welfare state and their parents' antiquated politics of reform.
Those who seek to accurately gauge public opinion must first ask themselves: Why are certain opinions highly volatile while others are relatively fixed?
How the politicization of the pandemic endangers our lives-and our democracyCOVID-19 has killed more people than any war or public health crisis in American history, but the scale and grim human toll of the pandemic were not inevitable.
A new model for the relationship between science and democracy that spans policymaking, the funding and conduct of research, and our approach to new technologiesOur ability to act on some of the most pressing issues of our time, from pandemics and climate change to artificial intelligence and nuclear weapons, depends on knowledge provided by scientists and other experts.
Examining the development of the process of presidential selection from the founding of the republic to the present day, James Ceaser contends that many of the major purposes of the selection system as it was formerly understood have been ignored by current reformers and modern scholars.
Vital perspectives for the divided Trump era on what the Constitution's framers intended when they defined the extent-and limits-of presidential powerOne of the most vexing questions for the framers of the Constitution was how to create a vigorous and independent executive without making him king.
How middle-class economic dependence on the state impedes democratization and contributes to authoritarian resilienceConventional wisdom holds that the rising middle classes are a force for democracy.
A bold new approach to combatting the inherent corruption of representative democracyThis provocative book reveals how the majority of modern liberal democracies have become increasingly oligarchic, suffering from a form of structural political decay first conceptualized by ancient philosophers.
An anthropologist's groundbreaking account of how Islamic religious authority is assembled through the unceasing labor of community building on the island of JavaThis compelling book draws on Ismail Fajrie Alatas's unique insights as an anthropologist to provide a new understanding of Islamic religious authority, showing how religious leaders unite diverse aspects of life and contest differing Muslim perspectives to create distinctly Muslim communities.
How the executive branch-not the president alone-formulates executive orders, and how this process constrains the chief executive's ability to act unilaterallyThe president of the United States is commonly thought to wield extraordinary personal power through the issuance of executive orders.
A comprehensive look at how violence has been used to manipulate competitive electoral processes around the world since World War IIThroughout their history, political elections have been threatened by conflict, and the use of force has in the past several decades been an integral part of electoral processes in a significant number of contemporary states.
An authoritative guide to federal democracy from two respected experts in the fieldAround the world, federalism has emerged as the system of choice for nascent republics and established nations alike.
An in-depth look into the psychology of voters around the world, how voters shape elections, and how elections transform citizens and affect their livesCould understanding whether elections make people happy and bring them closure matter more than who they vote for?
A groundbreaking look at how group expectations unify Black Americans in their support of the Democratic partyBlack Americans are by far the most unified racial group in American electoral politics, with 80 to 90 percent identifying as Democrats-a surprising figure given that nearly a third now also identify as ideologically conservative, up from less than 10 percent in the 1970s.
How political protests and activism influence voters and candidatesThe "e;silent majority"e;-a phrase coined by Richard Nixon in 1969 in response to Vietnam War protests and later used by Donald Trump as a campaign slogan-refers to the supposed wedge that exists between protestors in the street and the voters at home.
How the NRA became a political juggernaut by influencing the behaviors and beliefs of everyday AmericansThe National Rifle Association is one of the most powerful interest groups in America, and has consistently managed to defeat or weaken proposed gun regulations-even despite widespread public support for stricter laws and the prevalence of mass shootings and gun-related deaths.
How challenger parties, acting as political entrepreneurs, are changing European democraciesChallenger parties are on the rise in Europe, exemplified by the likes of Podemos in Spain, the National Rally in France, the Alternative for Germany, or the Brexit Party in Great Britain.
How voting behavior in Latin America is influenced by social networks and everyday communication among peersIn Latin America's new democracies, political parties and mass partisanship are not deeply entrenched, leaving many votes up for grabs during election campaigns.
The racist legacy behind the Western idea of freedomThe era of the Enlightenment, which gave rise to our modern conceptions of freedom and democracy, was also the height of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
A major new history of how democracy became the dominant political force in Europe in the second half of the twentieth centuryWhat happened in the years following World War II to create a democratic revolution in the western half of Europe?
A compelling account of South Africa's post-Apartheid democracyAt a time when many democracies are under strain around the world, Until We Have Won Our Liberty shines new light on the signal achievements of one of the contemporary era's most closely watched transitions away from minority rule.
An exploration of the factors behind neoliberalism's resilience in developing economies and what this could mean for democracy's futureSince the 1980s, neoliberalism has withstood repeated economic shocks and financial crises to become the hegemonic economic policy worldwide.
A leading foreign policy thinker uses Chinese political theory to explain why some powers rise as others decline and what this means for the international orderWhile work in international relations has closely examined the decline of great powers, not much attention has been paid to the question of their rise.
An incisive history of the changing relationship between democracy and capitalismThe twentieth century witnessed the triumph of democratic capitalism in the industrialized West, with widespread popular support for both free markets and representative elections.
The gripping story of an explosive turning point in the history of modern IndiaOn the night of June 25, 1975, Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency in India, suspending constitutional rights and rounding up her political opponents in midnight raids across the country.
A revealing look at how today's bureaucrats are finding their public voice in the era of 24-hour mediaOnce relegated to the anonymous back rooms of democratic debate, our bureaucratic leaders are increasingly having to govern under the scrutiny of a 24-hour news cycle, hyperpartisan political oversight, and a restless populace that is increasingly distrustful of the people who govern them.
How a hybrid Confucian-engendered form of governance might solve today's political problemsWhat might a viable political alternative to liberal democracy look like?