Politics Primer

[direstraits]

I'm looking for some good primers on politics. General stuff, nothing too deep please. I'm a newbie in this domain, and would appreciate any recommendations. Just looking to diversify my reading.

Thanks!

ds

[ecks]

How about Jon Stewart's A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction. If you watch the Daily Show on Comedy Central you might like this book. It pokes fun at democracy as it is today meanwhile explaining how it works very well.

[direstraits]

Thanks for the reply, ecks... there wasn't any takers for this thread for so long I thought I had to reread my An Introduction to Politics over and over again.

I'll check it out, though I'm not sure if Stewart is a little too biased for a newbie like me...

ds

[Cathy C]

Surprisingly, he's not biased much at all. He skewers both sides equally! Are you specifically looking at political primers for the United States, or the world as a whole?

[direstraits]

World as a whole, but I'd read US too. I've already got Bill's My Life in my To Get List, hoping to get a glimpse of politics from his POV.

What I'm looking for may fall also into World History, but some insights into some of the decisions that made (or making) the world it is today should be quite interesting reading.

Does Stewart talks about Republicans also or Democrats only?

ds

[Cathy C]

Originally Posted by direstraits

World as a whole, but I'd read US too. I've already got Bill's My Life in my To Get List, hoping to get a glimpse of politics from his POV.

What I'm looking for may fall also into World History, but some insights into some of the decisions that made (or making) the world it is today should be quite interesting reading.

Does Stewart talks about Republicans also or Democrats only?

ds

Okay, let me put my thinking cap on and I'll see what I can come up with. Stewart talks about both Republicans and Democrats, with a sharp edge of humor on both sides. Don't know if you've ever watched his "Daily Show" on the Comedy Channel, but he's pretty fair in his attacks.

[Clara]

Sorry, I didn't notice this thread earlier or I would have replied.

It's quite difficult to recommend a single book to such a huge subject but when I was an undergrad, I found the following really useful: Issues in World Politics, edited by Brian White, Richard Little and Michael Smith. I think there was a 2001 edition that would be the most recent. My edition covers issues such as states and statehood, regionalism, development and inequality, nationalism, peacekeeping and the environment. It's quite basic but provides a lot of food for thought.

If this isn't the sort of thing you're looking for, how about thinking about the area of the world you want to begin with and letting me know so I can give you some more suggestions. Good luck

[direstraits]

Clara... oh yes, this is something like what I'm looking for. Just think of me as someone you'd like to introduce politics to, whatever sub section of politics you yourself enjoy or are passionate about (ie. political history, middle-east politics, foreign policy, environmentalism, communism, etc). What books of that nature would appeal to a newbie like me. ecks's recommendation covers American politics. Yours cover world politics in general, pertaining to certain issues. Both are helpful.

Personally, I'm reading up on terrorism, on the history of empires, and general politics (government, constitutions, party system, etc). The general politics book that I have is too textbook-like (i.e. boring), so I'm looking for something else. I intend to dip my toes in as many varied branches of politics until I figure out what I want to concentrate on.

Thanks for your input!

ds

[Clara]

Well, my main interest is the making of foreign policy and one of my favourite books is "Constructing National Interests: The United Statesw and the Cuban Missile Crisis" by Jutta Weldes (published by the University of Minnesota Press). Weldes offers a comparison and analysis of the Crisis from the US, Cuban and Soviet perspectives and how these were represented in the decision-making processes. I found it really thought provoking because it forced me to re-examine common perceptions and the book is easy to read. If you decide to read it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

[direstraits]

I'll look it up, thanks!

ds

[direstraits]

I thought I'd just update this - I just got Politics: Second Edition by Andrew Heywood. This is even more text-bookish than the one I already have, but at least it covers more things that I'd like to find out more on.

I'm still waiting to get My Life. I've heard Bill Clinton's Keynote Speech at the BookExpo America last year and he put a great spin on it. Oh, and from what he says, there's plenty of politics there too.

ds

[Clara]

The Heywood book is very much a textbook but, as you say, it covers quite a bit. One idea is that if you see a reference cited in it for a subject you find interesting, you could then try the referenced book. This is a bit hit and miss so you might want to try libraries rather than buying at first - or buy secondhand.

Good luck with it

[Wolhay]

I'd suggest something school bookish that explains what's considered the three main branches of politics, socialism, liberalism and conservatism.

Otherwise I recommend "In Defense of Global Capitalism " (Till världskapitalismens försvar) by Johan Norberg. Globalization is a pretty hot topic today.

[novella]

Jared Diamond is the man for this. The link below is to his book Guns, Germs, and Steel. He has a newer book out on how countries choose to fail or succeed.

He looks at global history of politics through a prism that absorbs demographics, geography, natural resources, technology, ecology, and economics as driving forces, so rather than focus on political history as party politics (which is very open to noncontemporaneous interpretations), he looks at the driving mechanisms behind national decision making and political power.

I think if your interest is on global political developments, this sort of discussion may be more on point than something about US national politics or liberals v. conservatives.




http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...books&n=507846

[direstraits]

Originally Posted by Clara

The Heywood book is very much a textbook but, as you say, it covers quite a bit. One idea is that if you see a reference cited in it for a subject you find interesting, you could then try the referenced book. This is a bit hit and miss so you might want to try libraries rather than buying at first - or buy secondhand.

Good luck with it

Thanks all, for your suggestions. Clara, I did try to find some of the books you mentioned, but I seem to keep missing them. I'll probably put a reservation down and have them order it for me.

Currently the Heywood book covers what I want to know at this little step I'm taking pretty well. Soon I'll look at relationships between countries, and the dynamics that drive these relationships (North/South Korea, Taiwan/China, Pakistan/India, Middle East, etc).

Other politics stuff I've been swallowing are all American politics, due to the fact that they make so many of it available and easily accessible to everybody, which makes me wonder why my country don't do this (well, I know why, but it doesn't stop me from wanting it).

These material include the 9/11 Commission Hearings and the recent Bush vs Kerry debates.

ds