Revolutions have often occurred in poor countries. Although triumphant revolutionaries may lack the resources to assume complete responsibility for their country’s economy, they do tend to nationalize what Lenin called the “commanding heights”—those enterprises that meet the strategic needs of the polity. How these enterprises are administered is consequential, and at times decisive, for the course of revolutionary change. In Managing the Commanding Heights, Forrest D. Colburn explores the Sandinistas’ management of Nicaragua’s state enterprises, with an emphasis on the critical agrarian sector. Central to the book are three lively and instructive case studies that provide a penetrating glimpse into life in post-revolutionary Nicaragua. In analyzing these cases, Colburn explains the intentions of the Sandinista elite and links them with choices made at individual enterprises. Colburn argues that state enterprises have been politically useful but economically unsuccessful. Even with the unseen political advantages of state enterprises, the pronounced financial losses of nationalized farms and factories exacerbate the economic—and ultimately political—vulnerability of a regime already weakened by counterrevolution. The evidence demonstrates trenchant limitations to a revolutionary state’s capacity to improve popular welfare. State capacity is undermined by multiple factors: international constraints on the autonomy of post-revolutionary regimes, sheer poverty, the unintended but inevitable political manipulation of the economy, the lack of managerial ability among even well-intentioned elites, and a revolutionary mentalité that erodes rationality. These same difficulties have bedeviled other post-revolutionary regimes, notably those in Africa. Managing the Commanding Heights is essential reading for anyone interested in the dynamics of revolutionary regimes and the possibilities for radical change in poor countries. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1990.

Revolutions have often occurred in poor countries. Although triumphant revolutionaries may lack the resources to assume complete responsibility for their country’s economy, they do tend to nationalize what Lenin called the “commanding heights”—those enterprises that meet the strategic needs of the polity. How these enterprises are administered is consequential, and at times decisive, for the course of revolutionary change. In Managing the Commanding Heights, Forrest D. Colburn explores the Sandinistas’ management of Nicaragua’s state enterprises, with an emphasis on the critical agrarian sector. Central to the book are three lively and instructive case studies that provide a penetrating glimpse into life in post-revolutionary Nicaragua. In analyzing these cases, Colburn explains the intentions of the Sandinista elite and links them with choices made at individual enterprises. Colburn argues that state enterprises have been politically useful but economically unsuccessful. Even with the unseen political advantages of state enterprises, the pronounced financial losses of nationalized farms and factories exacerbate the economic—and ultimately political—vulnerability of a regime already weakened by counterrevolution. The evidence demonstrates trenchant limitations to a revolutionary state’s capacity to improve popular welfare. State capacity is undermined by multiple factors: international constraints on the autonomy of post-revolutionary regimes, sheer poverty, the unintended but inevitable political manipulation of the economy, the lack of managerial ability among even well-intentioned elites, and a revolutionary mentalité that erodes rationality. These same difficulties have bedeviled other post-revolutionary regimes, notably those in Africa. Managing the Commanding Heights is essential reading for anyone interested in the dynamics of revolutionary regimes and the possibilities for radical change in poor countries. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1990.

In recent years, the failure of the constitutional process, the difficult ratification and implementation of the Lisbon Treaty, as well as the several crises affecting Europe have revitalized the debate on the nature of the European polity and the balance of powers in Brussels. This book explains the redistribution of power in the post-Lisbon EU with a focus on the European Council. Reform of institutions and the creation of new political functions at the top of the European Union have raised fresh questions about leadership and accountability. This book argues that the European Union exhibits a political order with hierarchies, mechanisms of domination and legitimating narratives. As such, it can be understood by analysing what happens at its summit. Taking the European Council as the nexus of European political governance, contributors consider council and rotating presidencies' co-operation, rivalry and opposition. The book combines approaches through events, processes and political structures, issues and the biographical trajectories of actors and explores how the founding compromise of European integration between sovereignty and supranationality is affected by the evolving nature of this new European political model which aims to combine cooperation and integration. The European Council and European Governance will be of strong interest to students and scholars of European studies, political science, political sociology, public policy and international relations.

“A sprawling story richly textured with original material, quirky details and amusing anecdotes . . .” —Wall Street Journal “It is a cause for celebration that Yergin has returned with his perspective on a very different landscape . . . [I]t is impossible to think of a better introduction to the essentials of energy in the 21st century. The Quest is . . . the definitive guide to how we got here.” —The Financial Times This long-awaited successor to Daniel Yergin’s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Prize provides an essential, overarching narrative of global energy, the principal engine of geopolitical and economic change A master storyteller as well as a leading energy expert, Daniel Yergin continues the riveting story begun in his Pulitzer Prize–winning book, The Prize. In The Quest, Yergin shows us how energy is an engine of global political and economic change and conflict, in a story that spans the energies on which our civilization has been built and the new energies that are competing to replace them. The Quest tells the inside stories, tackles the tough questions, and reveals surprising insights about coal, electricity, and natural gas. He explains how climate change became a great issue and leads readers through the rebirth of renewable energies, energy independence, and the return of the electric car. Epic in scope and never more timely, The Quest vividly reveals the decisions, technologies, and individuals that are shaping our future.

Analyzes the leadership and strategies of three forefront military leaders from the ancient world, offers insight into the purposes behind their conflicts, and shows what today's leaders can glean from their successes and failures.