Political Science Faculty Books

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  Power versus Liberty : Madison, Hamilton, Wilson, and Jefferson

  James H. Read

  Does every increase in the power of government entail a loss of liberty for the people? James H. Read examines how four key Founders--James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, James Wilson, and Thomas Jefferson--wrestled with this question during the first two decades of the American Republic.

  Power versus Liberty reconstructs a four-way conversation--sometimes respectful, sometimes shrill--that touched on the most important issues facing the new nation: the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, federal authority versus states' rights, freedom of the press, the controversial Bank of the United States, the relation between nationalism and democracy, and the elusive meaning of "the consent of the governed."

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  The Undermining of the Sandinista Revolution

  Gary Prevost and Harry E. Vanden

  This book explores the impact of Sandinista electoral defeat and the U.S. backed Chamorro administration on the gains of the Nicaraguan revolution. Through a series of essays based on current research, seven experts on contemporary Nicaragua draw a balance sheet on the gains of the Revolution and assess the current status of the revolutionary process. The Revolution brought dramatic social, economic and political changes to Nicaragua in the 1980s, but in the wake of the electoral defeat of the FSLN in 1990, the revolution struggled to survive in the face of challenges from the Chamorro administration, the U.S. government, and the International Monetary Fund. Significant efforts to protect the revolution's achievements have been mounted, especially in grassroots organizing and by women's organizations.

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  Democracy and Socialism in Sandinista Nicaragua

  Harry E. Vanden and Gary Prevost

  Moving beyond Cold War rhetoric and stereotypical views of Third World Marxism, the authors convincingly argue that the democratic tradition and practice that was emerging in socialist Nicaragua could well serve as a model for other Third World states. They analyze concepts of democracy and the ideology of the FSLN and show that the Sandinista movement is not in any way stock Marxist-Leninism. Instead, this nationalist variant of Third World Marxism is—like most others—a function of indigenous realities.

  Vanden and Prevost demonstrate that Nicaragua has seen the establishment of at least three different forms of democracy: popular, participatory democracy (manifested in mass organizations); Western-style representative democracy (as seen in the 1984 and 1990 elections and the resultant governmental structure); and Leninist vanguardism (shown in the functioning of the FSLN itself). After showing why participatory democracy did not triumph, they conclude with an assessment of the 1990 elections and their impact on the future of democracy in Nicaragua.

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  The 1990 Elections in Nicaragua and Their Aftermath

  Vanessa Castro and Gary Prevost

  Four experts on the Nicaraguan political system examine the causes and consequences of the striking defeat of the Sandinista National Liberation Front in the 1990 Nicaraguan democratic election. Using extensive survey data, the contributors detail a variety of circumstances, beyond the strong influence of U.S. military and diplomatic interest, that led to the victory of counter-revolutionary forces in Nicaragua.

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  Cuba: A Different America

  Wilber A. Chaffee and Gary Prevost

  This well-balanced and objective work attempts to present the reality of contemporary Cuban life, particularly the social progress that the Cuban government has made over the past quarter-century. All the authors, who are from various backgrounds and have a wide range of expertise, have visited Cuba and investigated particular aspects of Cuban society.

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  Politics and Change in Spain

  Thomas Lancaster and Gary Prevost

  Focusing on coalitional decision-making, this book explains the political effects of the transformation of the Spanish regime to a constitutional monarchy following General Franco's death in 1975. Some of the questions which this volume raises are: What happened to the old coalition members? What is their role in the new regime? Do they influence the direction of Spanish democracy? If not, why not? What have been the consequences of any coalitional realignment? Which new coalition members are facilitating change and which are preventing change?