Alberta Oil and the Decline of Democracy in Canada

Alberta Oil and the Decline of Democracy in Canada PDF Author: Meenal Shrivastava
Publisher: Athabasca University Press
ISBN: 1771990295
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 437

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Book Description
In Democracy in Alberta: The Theory and Practice of a Quasi-Party System, published in 1953, C. B. Macpherson explored the nature of democracy in a province that was dominated by a single class of producers. At the time, Macpherson was talking about Alberta farmers, but today the province can still be seen as a one-industry economy—the 1947 discovery of oil in Leduc having inaugurated a new era. For all practical purposes, the oil-rich jurisdiction of Alberta also remains a one-party state. Not only has there been little opposition to a government that has been in power for over forty years, but Alberta ranks behind other provinces in terms of voter turnout, while also boasting some of the lowest scores on a variety of social welfare indicators. The contributors to Alberta Oil and the Decline of Democracy critically assess the political peculiarities of Alberta and the impact of the government’s relationship to the oil industry on the lives of the province’s most vulnerable citizens. They also examine the public policy environment and the entrenchment of neoliberal political ideology in the province. In probing the relationship between oil dependency and democracy in the context of an industrialized nation, Alberta Oil and the Decline of Democracy offers a crucial test of the “oil inhibits democracy” thesis that has hitherto been advanced in relation to oil-producing countries in the Global South. If reliance on oil production appears to undermine democratic participation and governance in Alberta, then what does the Alberta case suggest for the future of democracy in industrialized nations such as the United States and Australia, which are now in the process of exploiting their own substantial shale oil reserves? The environmental consequences of oil production have, for example, been the subject of much attention. Little is likely to change, however, if citizens of oil-rich countries cannot effectively intervene to influence government policy.

Alberta Oil and the Decline of Democracy in Canada

Alberta Oil and the Decline of Democracy in Canada PDF Author: Meenal Shrivastava
Publisher: Athabasca University Press
ISBN: 1771990295
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 437

Get Book Here

Book Description
In Democracy in Alberta: The Theory and Practice of a Quasi-Party System, published in 1953, C. B. Macpherson explored the nature of democracy in a province that was dominated by a single class of producers. At the time, Macpherson was talking about Alberta farmers, but today the province can still be seen as a one-industry economy—the 1947 discovery of oil in Leduc having inaugurated a new era. For all practical purposes, the oil-rich jurisdiction of Alberta also remains a one-party state. Not only has there been little opposition to a government that has been in power for over forty years, but Alberta ranks behind other provinces in terms of voter turnout, while also boasting some of the lowest scores on a variety of social welfare indicators. The contributors to Alberta Oil and the Decline of Democracy critically assess the political peculiarities of Alberta and the impact of the government’s relationship to the oil industry on the lives of the province’s most vulnerable citizens. They also examine the public policy environment and the entrenchment of neoliberal political ideology in the province. In probing the relationship between oil dependency and democracy in the context of an industrialized nation, Alberta Oil and the Decline of Democracy offers a crucial test of the “oil inhibits democracy” thesis that has hitherto been advanced in relation to oil-producing countries in the Global South. If reliance on oil production appears to undermine democratic participation and governance in Alberta, then what does the Alberta case suggest for the future of democracy in industrialized nations such as the United States and Australia, which are now in the process of exploiting their own substantial shale oil reserves? The environmental consequences of oil production have, for example, been the subject of much attention. Little is likely to change, however, if citizens of oil-rich countries cannot effectively intervene to influence government policy.

Orange Chinook

Orange Chinook PDF Author: Duane Bratt
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781773850252
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 464

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Book Description
In 2015, the New Democratic Party won an unprecedented victory in Alberta. Unseating the Progressive Conservatives -- who had won every provincial election since 1971 -- they formed an NDP government for the first time in the history of the province. Orange Chinook is the first scholarly analysis of this election. It examines the legacy of the Progressive Conservative dynasty, the PC and NDP campaigns, polling, and online politics, providing context and setting the stage. It highlights the importance of Alberta's energy sector and how it relates to provincial politics with focus on the oil sands, the carbon tax, and pipelines. Examining the NDP in power, Orange Chinook draws on Indigenous, urban, and rural perspectives to explore the transition process and government finances and politics. It explores the governing style of premier Rachel Notley, paying special attention to her response to the 2016 For McMurray wildfire and to the role of women in politics. Orange Chinook brings together Alberta's top political watchers in this fascinating, multi-faceted analysis.

First World Petro-Politics

First World Petro-Politics PDF Author: Laurie Adkin
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 1442699426
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 691

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Book Description
First World Petro-Politics examines the vital yet understudied case of a first world petro-state facing related social, ecological, and economic crises in the context of recent critical work on fossil capitalism. A wide-ranging and richly documented study of Alberta’s political ecology – the relationship between the province’s political and economic institutions and its natural environment – the volume tackles questions about the nature of the political regime, how it has governed, and where its primary fractures have emerged. Its authors examine Alberta’s neo-liberal environmental regulation, institutional adaptation to petro-state imperatives, social movement organizing, Indigenous responses to extractive development, media framing of issues, and corporate strategies to secure social license to operate. Importantly, they also discuss policy alternatives for political democratization and for a transition to a low-carbon economy. The volume’s conclusions offer a critical examination of petro-state theory, arguing for a comparative and contextual approach to understanding the relationships between dependence on carbon extraction and the nature of political regimes.

Code Politics

Code Politics PDF Author: Jared J. Wesley
Publisher: UBC Press
ISBN: 0774820772
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
Politics on the Canadian Prairies are puzzling. The provinces share a common landscape and history, but they have nurtured three distinct political cultures – Alberta is Canada’s bastion of conservatism, Saskatchewan its cradle of social democracy, and Manitoba its progressive centre. The roots of these cultures run deep, yet their persistence over a century has yet to be explained. Drawing on over eight hundred pieces of campaign literature, Jared Wesley reveals that dominant political parties have used one key device – rhetoric – to foster and carry forward their province’s cultural values or political code. Social Credit and Progressive Conservative leaders in Alberta emphasized freedom, whereas New Democrats in Saskatchewan stressed security. Successful politicians in Manitoba, by contrast, underscored the importance of moderation. Although the content of their campaigns differed, leaders from William Aberhart to Tommy Douglas to Gary Doer have employed distinct codes to ensure their parties’ success and shape their provinces’ political landscapes.

The Politics of Resentment

The Politics of Resentment PDF Author: Katherine J. Cramer
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022634925X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 299

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Book Description
“An important contribution to the literature on contemporary American politics. Both methodologically and substantively, it breaks new ground.” —Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare When Scott Walker was elected Governor of Wisconsin, the state became the focus of debate about the appropriate role of government. In a time of rising inequality, Walker not only survived a bitterly contested recall, he was subsequently reelected. But why were the very people who would benefit from strong government services so vehemently against the idea of big government? With The Politics of Resentment, Katherine J. Cramer uncovers an oft-overlooked piece of the puzzle: rural political consciousness and the resentment of the “liberal elite.” Rural voters are distrustful that politicians will respect the distinct values of their communities and allocate a fair share of resources. What can look like disagreements about basic political principles are therefore actually rooted in something even more fundamental: who we are as people and how closely a candidate’s social identity matches our own. Taking a deep dive into Wisconsin’s political climate, Cramer illuminates the contours of rural consciousness, showing how place-based identities profoundly influence how people understand politics. The Politics of Resentment shows that rural resentment—no less than partisanship, race, or class—plays a major role in dividing America against itself.

American Carnage

American Carnage PDF Author: Tim Alberta
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062896369
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 891

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Book Description
New York Times Bestseller “Not a conventional Trump-era book. It is less about the daily mayhem in the White House than about the unprecedented capitulation of a political party. This book will endure for helping us understand not what is happening but why it happened…. [An] indispensable work.”—Washington Post Politico Magazine’s chief political correspondent provides a rollicking insider’s look at the making of the modern Republican Party—how a decade of cultural upheaval, populist outrage, and ideological warfare made the GOP vulnerable to a hostile takeover from the unlikeliest of insurgents: Donald J. Trump. As George W. Bush left office with record-low approval ratings and Barack Obama led a Democratic takeover of Washington, Republicans faced a moment of reckoning: they had no vision, no generation of new leaders, and no energy in the party’s base. Yet Obama’s progressive agenda, coupled with the nation’s rapidly changing cultural identity, lit a fire under the right. Republicans regained power in Congress but spent that time fighting among themselves. With these struggles weakening the party’s defenses, and with more and more Americans losing faith in the political class, the stage was set for an outsider to crash the party. When Trump descended a gilded escalator to launch his campaign in the summer of 2015, the candidate had met the moment. Only by viewing Trump as the culmination of a decade-long civil war inside the GOP can we appreciate how he won the White House and consider the fundamental questions at the center of America’s current turmoil. Loaded with explosive original reporting and based on hundreds of exclusive interviews—including with key players such as President Trump, Paul Ryan, Ted Cruz, John Boehner, and Mitch McConnell—American Carnage takes us behind the scenes of this tumultuous period and establishes Tim Alberta as the premier chronicler of a political era.

Notley Nation

Notley Nation PDF Author: Sydney Sharpe
Publisher: Dundurn
ISBN: 1459736044
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
When Alberta conservatism came to an end after forty-three years with a stunning left-wing victory in 2015, it was clear that Rachel Notley and the NDP had achieved the impossible. But was this victory so unprecedented? Sydney Sharpe and Don Braid explore the NDP breakthrough and how it affected the later federal election.

Manitoba Politics and Government

Manitoba Politics and Government PDF Author: Paul Thomas
Publisher: Univ. of Manitoba Press
ISBN: 0887554016
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 461

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Book Description
Manitoba has always been a province in the middle, geographically, economically, and culturally. Lacking Quebec’s cultural distinctiveness, Ontario’s traditional economic dominance, or Alberta’s combustible mix of prairie populism and oil wealth, Manitoba appears to blend into the background of the Canadian family portrait. But Manitoba has a distinct political culture, one that has been overlooked in contemporary political studies. Manitoba Politics and Government brings together the work of political scientists, historians, sociologists, economists, public servants, and journalists to present a comprehensive analysis of the province’s political life and its careful “mutual fund model” approach to economic and social policy that mirrors the steady and cautious nature of its citizens. Moving beyond the Legislature, the authors address contemporary social issues like poverty, environmental stewardship, gender equality, health care, and the province’s growing Aboriginal population to reveal the evolution of public policy in the province. They also examine the province’s role at the intergovernmental and international level. Manitoba Politics and Government is a rich and fascinating account of a province that strives for the centre, for the delicate middle ground where individualism and collectivism overlap, and where a multitude of different cultures and traditions create a highly balanced society.

A Sales Tax for Alberta

A Sales Tax for Alberta PDF Author: Robert Laurence Ascah
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781771992992
Category : Fiscal policy
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
"The days of buoyant capital investment, jobs, and wealth are passing Alberta by as the boom-and-bust cycle runs its course and the global climate crisis becomes more acute. As the province scrambles to boost the dying oil economy and curb spending, one solution is all but ignored--a sales tax. In this collection, Alberta scholars and policy experts map out why and how a provincial sales tax should and can be implemented. Drawing on policy analysis, recent history, personal experiences, and conversations with Albertans, former politicians, and senior public servants, contributors build a decisive case for why a sales tax is a more efficient tax than corporate or personal income taxes. They examine energy revenues, household incomes, and political support as well as opportunities for improving democracy and reducing the volatility of government revenues. Finally, this volume offers recommendations on structuring a consultative review process to improve Alberta’s long-term fiscal sustainability."--

Alberta Politics Uncovered

Alberta Politics Uncovered PDF Author: Mark Lisac
Publisher: Newest Press
ISBN: 9781896300917
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 122

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Book Description
In Alberta Politics Uncovered Mark Lisac delivers a clear message that Albertans must stop believing in money and the myth of western alienation and start believing in balanced leadership. In this concise and highly readable explanation of Alberta’s government policies, Lisac examines the "balanced budget," and other current issues, and reminds Alberta voters that we all have the responsibility to hold our government accountable.