Prisms of the People

Prisms of the People PDF Author: Hahrie Han
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022674406X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Book Description
Grassroots organizing and collective action have always been fundamental to American democracy but have been burgeoning since the 2016 election, as people struggle to make their voices heard in this moment of societal upheaval. Unfortunately much of that action has not had the kind of impact participants might want, especially among movements representing the poor and marginalized who often have the most at stake when it comes to rights and equality. Yet, some instances of collective action have succeeded. What’s the difference between a movement that wins victories for its constituents, and one that fails? What are the factors that make collective action powerful? Prisms of the People addresses those questions and more. Using data from six movement organizations—including a coalition that organized a 104-day protest in Phoenix in 2010 and another that helped restore voting rights to the formerly incarcerated in Virginia—Hahrie Han, Elizabeth McKenna, and Michelle Oyakawa show that the power of successful movements most often is rooted in their ability to act as “prisms of the people,” turning participation into political power just as prisms transform white light into rainbows. Understanding the organizational design choices that shape the people, their leaders, and their strategies can help us understand how grassroots groups achieve their goals. Linking strong scholarship to a deep understanding of the needs and outlook of activists, Prisms of the People is the perfect book for our moment—for understanding what’s happening and propelling it forward.

Prisms of the People

Prisms of the People PDF Author: Hahrie Han
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022674406X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 234

Get Book Here

Book Description
Grassroots organizing and collective action have always been fundamental to American democracy but have been burgeoning since the 2016 election, as people struggle to make their voices heard in this moment of societal upheaval. Unfortunately much of that action has not had the kind of impact participants might want, especially among movements representing the poor and marginalized who often have the most at stake when it comes to rights and equality. Yet, some instances of collective action have succeeded. What’s the difference between a movement that wins victories for its constituents, and one that fails? What are the factors that make collective action powerful? Prisms of the People addresses those questions and more. Using data from six movement organizations—including a coalition that organized a 104-day protest in Phoenix in 2010 and another that helped restore voting rights to the formerly incarcerated in Virginia—Hahrie Han, Elizabeth McKenna, and Michelle Oyakawa show that the power of successful movements most often is rooted in their ability to act as “prisms of the people,” turning participation into political power just as prisms transform white light into rainbows. Understanding the organizational design choices that shape the people, their leaders, and their strategies can help us understand how grassroots groups achieve their goals. Linking strong scholarship to a deep understanding of the needs and outlook of activists, Prisms of the People is the perfect book for our moment—for understanding what’s happening and propelling it forward.

Building a New American State

Building a New American State PDF Author: Stephen Skowronek
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521288651
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 404

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Book Description
Examines the reconstruction of institutional power relationships that had to be negotiated among the courts, the parties, the President, the Congress, and the states in order to accommodate the expansion of national administrative capacities around the turn of the twentieth century.

Building Red America

Building Red America PDF Author: Thomas B. Edsall
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465003931
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 379

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Book Description
This powerful examination of the present and future of American politics, by one of America's most distinguished political journalists, reveals how the Republican Party has gained a long-term institutional advantage that allows it to shrug off apparent setbacks like the 2006 elections. Building Red America takes us deeper than any previous book into the operations of the power brokers and issues that galvanize voters.

Building Power

Building Power PDF Author: Anna Vemer Andrzejewski
Publisher: Univ. of Tennessee Press
ISBN: 1572336315
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
Introduction -- Discipline -- Efficiency -- Hierarchy -- Fellowship -- Conclusion.

Exercise of Power

Exercise of Power PDF Author: Robert M. Gates
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 1524731897
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 464

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Book Description
From the former secretary of defense and author of the acclaimed #1 bestselling memoir, Duty, a candid, sweeping examination of power, and how it has been exercised, for good and bad, by American presidents in the post-Cold War world. Since the end of the Cold War, the global perception of the United States has progressively morphed from dominant international leader to disorganized entity. Robert Gates argues that this transformation is the result of the failure of political leaders to understand the complexity of American power, its expansiveness and its limitations. He makes clear that the successful exercise of power is not limited to the ability to coerce or demand submission, but must also encompass diplomacy, strategic communications, development assistance, intelligence, technology, and ideology. With forthright judgments of the performance of past presidents and their senior-most advisers, insightful ­firsthand knowledge, and compelling insider stories, Gates’s candid, sweeping examination of power in all its manifestations argues that U.S. national security in the future will require abiding by the lessons of the past, reimagining our approach, and revitalizing nonmilitary instruments of power essential to success and security.

Who Rules America Now?

Who Rules America Now? PDF Author: G. William Domhoff
Publisher: Touchstone
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description
The author is convinced that there is a ruling class in America today. He examines the American power structure as it has developed in the 1980s. He presents systematic, empirical evidence that a fixed group of privileged people dominates the American economy and government. The book demonstrates that an upper class comprising only one-half of one percent of the population occupies key positions within the corporate community. It shows how leaders within this "power elite" reach government and dominate it through processes of special-interest lobbying, policy planning and candidate selection. It is written not to promote any political ideology, but to analyze our society with accuracy.

Building an American Empire

Building an American Empire PDF Author: Paul Frymer
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691191565
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description
How American westward expansion was governmentally engineered to promote the formation of a white settler nation Westward expansion of the United States is most conventionally remembered for rugged individualism, geographic isolationism, and a fair amount of luck. Yet the establishment of the forty-eight contiguous states was hardly a foregone conclusion, and the federal government played a critical role in its success. This book examines the politics of American expansion, showing how the government's regulation of population movements on the frontier, both settlement and removal, advanced national aspirations for empire and promoted the formation of a white settler nation. Building an American Empire details how a government that struggled to exercise plenary power used federal land policy to assert authority over the direction of expansion by engineering the pace and patterns of settlement and to control the movement of populations. At times, the government mobilized populations for compact settlement in strategically important areas of the frontier; at other times, policies were designed to actively restrain settler populations in order to prevent violence, international conflict, and breakaway states. Paul Frymer examines how these settlement patterns helped construct a dominant racial vision for America by incentivizing and directing the movement of white European settlers onto indigenous and diversely populated lands. These efforts were hardly seamless, and Frymer pays close attention to the failures as well, from the lack of further expansion into Latin America to the defeat of the black colonization movement. Building an American Empire reveals the lasting and profound significance government settlement policies had for the nation, both for establishing America as dominantly white and for restricting broader aspirations for empire in lands that could not be so racially engineered.

The Ultimate America

The Ultimate America PDF Author: Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780965832304
Category : United States
Languages : en
Pages : 246

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Book Description


Building Americas Main Seats of Power

Building Americas Main Seats of Power PDF Author: Charles River Charles River Editors
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781978291676
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description
*Includes pictures*Includes accounts of the construction of both buildings during the 19th century*Includes bibliographies for further reading*Includes a table of contents"The cornerstone was laid by Washington in 1793; the terrace was finished nearly a hundred years later, in 1891; and yet the Capitol will never be complete while the nation lasts. The impress of each succeeding generation will be found upon its walls, marking the intellectual, artistic and governmental advancement of the age. The great pile is national, American, human. On its walls is written the nation's history. Its corridors resound to the footsteps of her living heroes and sages; its every stone echoes the departed voices of her greatest dead." - George HazeltonFor over two centuries, the capital of America has been located in Washington, D.C., and among all the iconic landmarks and monuments associated with the city, nothing is as conspicuous as the Capitol, the magnificent building that houses Congress and sits on Capitol Hill at the epicenter of the city. At the same time, even though the Capitol is now one of the most recognizable buildings in the world, the image everyone is familiar with took nearly a century to achieve, indicative of its turbulent history. In fact, the Capitol was partially burned by the British during the War of 1812, and its now famous dome was still under construction while the nation fought itself during the Civil War. Moreover, it's easy to forget that the expansion of the country resulted in the addition of new Congressmen, requiring the expansion of the Capitol as the seat of the legislative branch. The history of the Capitol also serves as a reminder that the building, like the nation, both shapes and is shaped by history. There are still singed walls from the War of 1812 under the marble fa�ade, and microscopic examination could no doubt find cracks from the vibration of distant cannon fire during the Civil War. Of course, there is no way to calculate the wear and tear caused by the millions of feet that trudge through the Capitol's sacred halls each year, but through it all, the Capitol has managed to endure, just like the nation it represents.Few things in the nation's capital provide symbolism quite like the White House, the primary residence and office of the president. The instantly recognizable exterior and its location have ensured that the White House is associated as the main seat of power in the world's most powerful country. At the same time, the majesty of the White House and its tranquil setting belie its rather chaotic history, which includes being burned down by the British during the War of 1812, suffering damage during wild inaugural balls, and undergoing countless renovations. As Brian Kelly, author of Best Little Stories from the White House: More Than 100 True Stories, put it, "You could almost argue, in fact, that it wasn't finished, truly, until yesterday. And...who knows what they may do to it tomorrow, as it has undergone so many changes, additions, improvements, and even subtractions in its two-hundred-year history. The fact is, the White House we see today is not the White House of yore." Just as the interior has changed, the use of the White House has also changed considerably over time. While the White House was always intended to serve as the president's home and a place to receive dignitaries, in the early 19th century, the White House was open to the public, to the extent that people could simply call on the president. Perhaps most notably, the White House has historically been open to public tours, albeit with exceptions made based on security issues, wars, and budget issues. The availability of the public to tour the White House is a strong reminder that while it may house the president during his term, the place ultimately belongs to the people.

Superpower

Superpower PDF Author: Russell Gold
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1501163604
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
Meet Michael Skelly, the man boldly harnessing wind energy that could power America’s future and break its fossil fuel dependence in this “essential, compelling look into the future of the nation’s power grid” (Bryan Burrough, author of The Big Rich). The United States is in the midst of an energy transition. We have fallen out of love with dirty fossil fuels and want to embrace renewable energy sources like wind and solar. A transition from a North American power grid that is powered mostly by fossil fuels to one that is predominantly clean is feasible, but it would require a massive building spree—wind turbines, solar panels, wires, and billions of dollars would be needed. Enter Michael Skelly, an infrastructure builder who began working on wind energy in 2000 when many considered the industry a joke. Eight years later, Skelly helped build the second largest wind power company in the United States—and sold it for $2 billion. Wind energy was no longer funny—it was well on its way to powering more than 6% of electricity in the United States. Award-winning journalist, Russel Gold tells Skelly’s story, which in many ways is the story of our nation’s evolving relationship with renewable energy. Gold illustrates how Skelly’s company, Clean Line Energy, conceived the idea for a new power grid that would allow sunlight where abundant to light up homes in the cloudy states thousands of miles away, and take wind from the Great Plains to keep air conditioners running in Atlanta. Thrilling, provocative, and important, Superpower is a fascinating look at America’s future.