The goal is to record most books written or edited by the Department of Political Science faculty. We will start by entering the most recent publications first and work our way back to older books. There is a WMU Authors section in Waldo Library, where most of these books can be found.
With a few exceptions, we do not have the rights to put the full text of the book online, so there will be a link to a place where you can purchase the book.
If you are a faculty member and have a book you would like to include in the WMU book list, please contact wmu-scholarworks@wmich.edu/
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On the Basis of Race: How Higher Education Navigates Affirmative Action Policies
Lauren S. Foley
How universities can navigate affirmative action bans to protect diversity in student admissions Diversity in higher education is under attack as the Supreme Court considers the future of affirmative action, or race-conscious admissions practices, at American colleges and universities. In On the Basis of Race , Lauren S. Foley sheds light on our current crisis, exploring the past, present, and future of this contentious policy. From Brown v. Board of Education in the mid-twentieth century to the current Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill , Foley explores how organizations have resisted and complied with public policies regarding race. She examines how admissions officers, who have played an important role in the long fight to protect racial diversity in higher education, work around the law to maintain diversity after affirmative action is banned. Foley takes us behind the curtain of student admissions, shedding light on how multiple universities, including the University of Michigan, have creatively responded to affirmative action bans. On the Basis of Race traces the history of a controversial idea and policy, and provides insight into its uncertain future.
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Gender, Constitutions, and Equality: a Global Comparison
Priscilla A. Lambert and Druscilla L. Scribner
This book addresses whether the "gendering" of constitutions promotes women's equality.
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Foundations and American Political Science: The Transformation of a Discipline, 1945-1970
Emily Hauptmann
Foundations in the United States have long exerted considerable power over education and scholarly production. Although today's titans of philanthropy proclaim more loudly their desire to transform schools and universities than did some of their predecessors, philanthropic programs designed to reshape educational institutions are at least a century old. In Foundations and American Political Science , Emily Hauptmann focuses on the postwar Carnegie, Ford, and Rockefeller programs that reshaped political science. She shows how significant changes in the methods and research interests of postwar political scientists began as responses to the priorities set by their philanthropic patrons. Informed by years of research in foundation and university archives, Foundations and American Political Science follows the course of several streams of private philanthropic money as they wended their way through public universities and political science departments in the postwar period. The programs launched by the Carnegie, Ford, and Rockefeller philanthropies as well as their reception at the universities of California and Michigan steered political scientists towards particular problems as well as particular ways of studying them. The rise of statistical analyses of survey data, the decline of public administration, and persistent conflicts over the discipline's purpose and the best methods for understanding politics, Hauptmann argues, all had their roots in the ways that postwar universities responded to foundations' programs. Additionally, the new emphasis universities placed on sponsored research sparked sharp disputes among political scientists over what should count as legitimate knowledge about politics and what the ultimate purpose of the discipline should be.
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A Century of Votes for Women: American Elections since Suffrage
Kevin Corder and Christina Wolbrecht
How have American women voted in the first 100 years since the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment? How have popular understandings of women as voters both persisted and changed over time? In A Century of Votes for Women, Christina Wolbrecht and J. Kevin Corder offer an unprecedented account of women voters in American politics over the last ten decades. Bringing together new and existing data, the book provides unique insight into women's (and men's) voting behavior, and traces how women's turnout and vote choice evolved across a century of enormous transformation overall and for women in particular. Wolbrecht and Corder show that there is no such thing as 'the woman voter'; instead they reveal considerable variation in how different groups of women voted in response to changing political, social, and economic realities. The book also demonstrates how assumptions about women as voters influenced politicians, the press, and scholars.
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Counting Women's Ballots: Female Voters from Suffrage through the New Deal
Kevin Corder and Christina Wolbrecht
How did the first female voters cast their ballots? For almost 100 years, answers to this question have eluded scholars. Counting Women's Ballots employs new data and novel methods to provide insights into whether, how, and with what consequences women voted in the elections after suffrage. The analysis covers a larger and more diverse set of places, over a longer period of time, than has previously been possible. J. Kevin Corder and Christina Wolbrecht find that the extent to which women voted and which parties they supported varied considerably across time and place, challenging attempts to describe female voters in terms of simple generalizations. Many women adapted quickly to their new right; others did not. In some cases, women reinforced existing partisan advantages; in others, they contributed to dramatic political realignment. Counting Women's Ballots improves our understanding of the largest expansion of the American electorate during a transformative period of American history.
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A World at Risk
Jochanan Stenesh
Merriam Press Fiction Series First Edition 2016 Albert Einstein is alleged to have said "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." Thankfully, a catastrophic World War III has not broken out so far. However, few would disagree that the danger of it erupting has grown with the advent of the 21st century. This book of political fiction takes the reader into an imagined future by describing what might happen in the world in the next two decades. Specifically, the future is viewed via twenty-one newspaper dispatches that cover flash points and controversial issues around the globe, over the period 2020 - 2040. Author's Bio: Jochanan Stenesh is Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus, at Western Michigan University where he has had a distinguished career of teaching, research, and publishing scientific papers and books. He holds a Ph.D. degree in biochemistry from the University of California at Berkeley and had postdoctoral appointments at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, and Purdue University. In addition to his scientific books, he has authored three other books, Milestones: A Book of Days, Rot on the Vine: The Many Dark Faces of Religion and, most recently, A World at Risk. Contents Preface To Our Readers On High Alert The New Caliphate The Growling Bear Piracy's Comeuppance The Spread of Terror The Caliphate Grows Enough is Enough The Dragon Stirs Tahrir Square Reprise A Rude Awakening The Dragon Strikes The Hermit Nation Runs Amok A Landmark Decision An Environmental Update Heeding the Call The Dragon Spews Fire An Old Controversy Aftermath of a Ban Ominous Clouds Rumblings in the Himalayas A Nation in the Throes of Death
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Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict : Identities and Mobilization After 1990
Mahendra Lawoti and Susan Hangen
Identity movements, based on ethnicity, caste, language, religion and regional identity, have become increasingly significant in Nepal, reshaping debates on the definition of the nation, nationalism and the structure of the state. This book analyzes the rapid rise in ethnic and nationalist mobilization and conflict since 1990, the dynamics and trajectories of these movements, and their consequences for Nepal.
From an interdisciplinary perspective, the book looks at the roots of mobilization and conflicts, the reasons for the increase in mobilization and violent activities, and the political and social effects of the movements. It provides a historical context for these movements and investigates how identities intersect with forms of political and economic inequality. Nepal’s various identity groups - Dalits, indigenous nationalities, Madhesis and Muslims - have mobilized to different extents. By examining these diverse movements within the same time period and within a unitary state, the book illuminates which factors are more salient for the mobilization of identity groups.
Bringing together empirical contributions on key issues in identity production in a comparative perspective, the book presents an interesting contribution to South Asian studies as well as studies of nationalism and identity more broadly.
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Rawlsian Political Analysis : Rethinking the Microfoundations of Social Science
Paul Clements
In Rawlsian Political Analysis: Rethinking the Microfoundations of Social Science,Paul Clements develops a new, morally grounded model of political and social analysis as a critique of and improvement on both neoclassical economics and rational choice theory. What if practical reason is based not only on interests and ideas of the good, as these theories have it, but also on principles and sentiments of right? The answer, Clements argues, requires a radical reorientation of social science from the idea of interests to the idea of social justice.
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The Fed and the Credit Crisis
J. Kevin Corder
What was the role of the Federal Reserve System in the 2008 financial crisis as a cause of the crisis, as the most important government agency to respond, and as the center of federal efforts to prevent another crisis? J. Kevin Corder provides an incisive account of the Fed choices that contributed to the crash of 2008. Centering his analysis on the oversight of mortgage lending and the regulation/supervision of financial institutions and instruments, Corder draws out the implications of the crisis for the Fed's mission. Equally, he charts the new political and technical challenges that the system faces as the financial sector recovers.
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Mission Expansion in the Federal Home Loan Bank System
Susan M. Hoffmann and Mark M. Cassell
Studies the Federal Home Loan Bank System, how it has changed over time and why.
During the current recession, one of the worst in United States history, the federal government undertook a series of sweeping changes related to the home mortgage foreclosure crisis. These changes, in particular to the Federal Home Loan Bank System, have many implications.Mission Expansion in the Federal Home Loan Bank System draws attention to this arcane but growing public-private organizational network, focusing on expansion of its mission since its origin in 1932 and arguing that it did not contribute to the current foreclosure crisis. This timely book offers an intriguing analysis of a growing, relevant institution for those involved in public administration and public policy. (description from amazon.com)
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Federal State-Building: Challenges in Framing the Nepali Constitution
Mahendra Lawoti
This book discusses challenges in peace-building and democratization and presents guidelines for crafting a new Constitution based on the analysis of Nepal's past attempts at democratization.
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The Maoist Insurgency in Nepal: Revolution in the Twenty-First Century
Mahendra Lawoti and Anup K. Pahari
The book deals with the dynamics and growth of a violent 21st century communist rebellion initiated in Nepal by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) – CPN(M). It contextualizes and explains why and how a violent Maoist insurgency grew in Nepal after the end of the Cold War, in contrast to the decline of other radical communist movements in most parts of the world.
Scholars from diverse disciplinary backgrounds employ a wide variety of approaches and methods to unravel different aspects of the rebellion. Individual chapters analyze the different causes of the insurgency, factors that contributed to its growth, the organization, agency, ideology and strategies employed by the rebels and the state, and the consequences of the insurgency.
New issues are analysed in conjunction with the insurgency, such as the role of the Maoist student organization, Maoist's cultural troupes, the organization and strategies of the People's Army and the Royal Nepal Army, indoctrination and recruitment of rebels, and international factors. Based on original field work and a thorough analysis of empirical data, this book fills an existing gap in academic analyses of the insurgency in Nepal.
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Italian Americans : Bridges to Italy, Bonds to America
Ernest E. Rossi and Luciano Iorizzo
In this volume attesting to the Italian American influence on the United States, nine professors of Italian American studies and a curator of an ethnic museum provide original essays on the Italian American experience, using the theme bridges to Italy and bonds to America. Drawing from a wide variety of primary sources, such as census tracts, local directories, diaries, voting records, newspaper accounts, personal interviews and scholarly and polemical books and articles, the authors show how Italian Americans adapted, through work, prejudice, strife, and advancement, to the social and political life in America while still retaining an element of Italianita. Italian Americans were key components in the early years of jazz history in the 1920s and 1930s. This study adds some balance to the development of jazz by tracing the bonds that Italian Americans formed with Black musicians and their pioneering use of the guitar and violin. An obvious example of the theme of this book is a study of Italian prisoners of World War II, who were transported to the United States and settled in a camp in Texas. The author shows how they helped farmers by their work and how artists among them helped decorate a local church with paintings and murals. A comparison of the Italian and Mexican immigration to the United States shows the similarity and differences of these two groups over time. An examination of the proposition that Mexicans are like Italians is examined in detail. A bibliographical study of the "southern question" in Italian history shows the explosive forces that erupted during and after Italian unification. Italians and Italian Americans are still debating whether this incorporation of the Italian south into the kingdom of Italy was detrimental to the people who lived there and contributed to the massive emigration that followed. This study is an outgrowth of a desire by scholars to honor the passing of Professor Salvatore Mondello, coauthor of the national bestseller The Italian Americans. One of a few historians of Italian American immigration who appeared on the scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s he approached the subject with enthusiasm, passion, and a relentless search for relevant material marked by digging into primary sources, rooting out individuals who had lived through the immigrant experience and pouring over the contemporary accounts found in newspapers and magazines. Sal was one of the first to see the important link between railroads and Italian American settlements. He saw that the rail lines accelerated the Italians' movement beyond the large cities in the coastal areas. They used the railroads as the means to establish new lives in many urban and rural communities across the country.
Description from Amazon.com
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Election 2006: An American Government Supplement
John Clark and Brian F. Schaffner
The use of real examples in this election booklet, which addresses the 2006 congressional and gubernatorial races, makes the concepts covered come alive for students.
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Contentious Politics and Democratization in Nepal
Mahendra Lawoti
Contradicting the popular thesis that contentious politics generally promotes democratization, this topical book shows that some forms of contentious politics can hinder it, even as other forms strengthen democracy. It also suggests that the nature of activities--whether they are coercive or voluntary--lead to different effects on democratization. A timely addition to the literature on Nepal, it will be of interest to scholars studying democratic politics, as well as practitioners engaged in nurturing development in fledgling democracies.
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Looking Back, Looking Forward : Centralization, Multiple Conflicts, and Democratic State Building in Nepal
Mahendra Lawoti
This study examines the causes of the multiple conflicts and crises in Nepal during the 1990-2002 democratic period and develops guidelines to avoid them in the future. In that democratic period, Nepal was extremely centralized, with power concentrated in the cabinet and accessed primarily by the caste hill Hindu elite males. Overcentralization of the polity resulted in the exclusion of national, ethnic, and caste groups, as well as women, and promoted a culture of impunity. It also contributed to the growth of the Maoist insurgency and facilitated government instability, corruption, and related crises. The democratic period, however, also witnessed successful sectors. The media flourished; communities reforested the hills; economic liberalization made available more goods and services; decentralization, though limited, took power closer to the people; and social justice movements raised issues of marginalized groups. The successful sectors could perform because the central state withdrew and allowed them space to operate. However, weak accountability limited their success. Devolution or concentration of power in the hands of the central government were the respective common factors underscoring the success or failure of programs. Based on these findings, and supplemented by global experience, the monograph argues that accountability and inclusion based on identity and class should be significant criteria in restructuring the state. The state needs to devolve power to different levels, branches, and agencies of government, to different national, ethnic, caste groups, and women, and reallocate power among the state, society, and market. Accountability mechanisms must be built into all organizations that wield power. A restructured state would become effective and have a greater chance of consolidating democracy. This is the forty-third publication in Policy Studies, a peer-reviewed East-West Center Washington series that presents scholarly analysis of key contemporary domestic and international political, economic, and strategic issues affecting Asia in a policy relevant manner.
*description from amazon.com
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Social Movements and Free-market Capitalism in Latin America: Telecommunications Privatization And the Rise of Consumer Protest
Sybil Rhodes
Explores how privatization of state-owned telephone companies led to new consumer movements in Latin America.
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Election 2004: An American Government Supplement
John Clark and Brian Schaffner
ELECTION 2004 promises to be an instructionally interesting and unique supplemental booklet with analysis that includes maps, charts, and graphs. Both the presidential and congressional races will be included. Factors discussed by the authors include the unpredictable national political climate with our nation at war in an uneven economy. The use of real examples in this election booklet makes the concepts covered come alive for students.
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Towards A Democratic Nepal
Mahendra Lawoti
This book analyses the problem of the increasing political exclusion of ethnic, caste and gender groups in democratic Nepal and discusses its consequences for democracy and the stability of the country. While outlining alternative democratic institutions and proposing specific institutions that can include the diverse socio-cultural groups in Nepal, this book:
- analyses the Maoist insurgency, arguing that political exclusion was a major cause for its genesis and growth;
- examines the causes for the lack of democratic consolidation in Nepal;
- provides the first comprehensive critique of the 1990 Constitution, identifying it as an important factor leading to the political exclusion of ethnic groups;
- suggests the setting up of a new Constituent Assembly to address the social and political crisis in Nepal;
- makes important recommendations to shape an inclusive and democratic Nepal which include federalism; a powerful House of Nationalities; a proportional electoral system; affirmative action policies and reservations; declaration of a secular state; a centralized judicial review; and the protection of minority rights in the Constitution.
Overall, the author argues that unless Nepal's ruling elite become sensitive to the needs of marginalized and excluded groups, the country could witness an escalation in violence.
Highlighting a wide range of issues crucial to strengthening democracy in Nepal, this book is of interest of students and academics studying Nepal and South Asia.
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The United Nations: International Organization and World Politics
Lawrence Ziring, Robert E. Riggs, and Jack C. Plano
The fourth edition of THE UNITED NATIONS heralds an organization at the crossroads of history. This best-selling text is a comprehensive volume of all that is relevant of the United Nations system from its inception to these opening years of the millennium, analyzing the history, processes, structure and functions of the organization. While the thread of terror weaves its way through the text, every effort has been made to discuss the world organization's continuing role in assisting nations and peoples in distress from underdevelopment, from population overload, from pandemic disease, and political instability.
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Southern political party activists : patterns of conflict and change, 1991-2001
John Andrew Clark and Charles L. Prysby
" The South continues to be the most distinctive region in American politics. Over the last half century, Democratic dominance in the South has given way to the emergence of a truly competitive two-party system that leans Republican in presidential elections. In some ways, the region is increasingly like the rest of the country, yet even the degree of change and the speed with which it occurred give the South a distinctive air. The contributors to Southern Political Party Activists examine both the development of American political party organizations and the changing political character of the South, focusing on grassroots party activists-those who are involved in party organizations at the county level. John A. Clark is associate professor of political science at Western Michigan University. Charles L. Prysby is professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
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The Taft Court: Justices, Rulings, And Legacy
Peter G. Renstrom
An authoritative survey of the Taft Court, which served from 1921 to 1929, and the impact it had on the U.S. legal system, social order, economics, and politics.
• An A–Z set of entries on the people, laws, events, and concepts that are important to an understanding of the Taft Court
• A photograph of and a brief bibliography on each justice
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Pakistan: At the Crosscurrent of History
Lawrence Ziring
In this probing book, a leading defense expert gives the inside story of Pakistan, telling of a country torn apart by catastrophic civil wars, dominated by the bullish military dictatorship of General Musarraf and struggling against the growth of extremist Islam.
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The American Political Dictionary
Jack C. Plano and Milton Greenburg
1. Political Ideas. 2. The United States Constitution and the Federal Union. 3. Parties, Politics, Interest Groups, and Elections. 4. The Legislative Process: Congress and the State Legislatures. 5. The Executive: Office and Powers. 6. Public Administration: Organization and Personnel. 7. The Judicial Process: Courts and Law Enforcement. 8. Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Immigration, and Citizenship. 9. Finance and Taxation. 10. Business and Labor. 11. Agriculture, Energy, and Environment. 12. Health, Education, and Welfare. 13. Foreign Policy and National Defense. 14. State and Local Government. 15. Constitution of the United States.
