Recent tensions over the war in Iraq and ballistic missile defence triggered alarm in Canada about whether or not the United States might be prepared to make coercive linkages between issues to force changes to Canadian policies. And subsequent proposals for closer collaboration have raised questions about whether Canada is compelled to get closer to the US in order to avoid being trampled by it. The Politics of Linkage looks closely at four major bilateral disputes between the two countries to show that - contrary to some reports - the US did not resort to coercive issue-linkages. The author explains US restraint in relations with Canada, and its shifting bases over time, drawing attention to the unique social and institutional context of Canada-US bargaining. This book sheds light on one of the fundamental controversies in Canada-US relations, with important implications for every aspect of Canadian foreign and domestic policies. It is essential reading not only for students and practitioners of Canada-US relations, but also for anyone interested in Canadian politics, American foreign policy, or international diplomacy. -- Description from http://www.booktopia.com.au (Jan. 25, 2012).

Political Parties and Democratic Linkage examines how political parties ensure the functioning of the democratic process in contemporary societies. Based on unprecedented cross-national data, the authors find that the process of party government is still alive and well in most contemporary democracies.

" With the rapid deterioration of the U.S. trade balance in the 1980s, the United States was forced to finance deficits by borrowing heavily from the rest of the world. In doing so, the United States went from being the world's largest creditor country to the world's largest debtor, while Japan and West Germany experienced a rise in trade surpluses. Such a shift in international trade flows has had profound effects on the world economy. McKibbin and Sachs address a range of issues involving macroeconomic imbalances in the world economy. Through the use of a new simulation model of the world economy they explore how policy actions undertaken in one country affect the trade flows and macroeconomic patterns among the other counties. The authors show that key macroeconomic features of the 1980s can be explained by shifts in monetary and fiscal policies in the major economies and by supply shocks due to changes in oil prices. In addition to showing how the global macroeconomic experience can be understood, they focus on a number of current policy issues, including the reduction of global trade imbalances, the consequences of U.S. fiscal consolidation, the effects of an oil price shock, the implications for the U.S. economy of increases in Japanese and German fiscal spending, the effects of targeting exchange rates among the major currencies, and the gains of increased coordination of macroeconomic politics among the major economies. In several cases, their conclusions are shown to be quite different from those that form the basis of many conventional views. The authors also analyze the importance of interaction between policymakers in industrial economies and conclude by reemphasizing the need for U.S. politicians and policy experts to recognize that macroeconomic results in the U.S. now depend heavily on events abroad. "

Parties in Africa are often described as organisationally and programmatically weak. On the other hand, they mobilise substantial numbers of voters at election time. This contradiction provokes an interesting question: How do political parties in Africa relate to the society? How do they mobilise their voters and sympathisers, and which strategies do they employ? Anja Osei analyses how parties in Ghana and Senegal adapt to their local context by employing locally embedded strategies.

Few relationships have proved more pivotal in changing the course of American politics than those between presidents and social movements. For all their differences, both presidents and social movements are driven by a desire to recast the political system, often pursuing rival agendas that set them on a collision course. Even when their interests converge, these two actors often compete to control the timing and conditions of political change. During rare historical moments, however, presidents and social movements forged partnerships that profoundly recast American politics. Rivalry and Reform explores the relationship between presidents and social movements throughout history and into the present day, revealing the patterns that emerge from the epic battles and uneasy partnerships that have profoundly shaped reform. Through a series of case studies, including Abraham Lincoln and abolitionism, Lyndon Johnson and the civil rights movement, and Ronald Reagan and the religious right, Sidney M. Milkis and Daniel J. Tichenor argue persuasively that major political change usually reflects neither a top-down nor bottom-up strategy but a crucial interplay between the two. Savvy leaders, the authors show, use social movements to support their policy goals. At the same time, the most successful social movements target the president as either a source of powerful support or the center of opposition. The book concludes with a consideration of Barack Obama’s approach to contemporary social movements such as Black Lives Matter, United We Dream, and Marriage Equality.

Do Canada and the United States share a special relationship, or is this just a face-saving myth, masking dependency and domination? The Politics of Linkage cuts through the rhetoric that clouds this debate by offering detailed accounts of four major bilateral disputes. It shows that the United States has not made coercive linkages between issues. In the early Cold War years, the exercise of American power over Canada was held in check by a genuinely special diplomatic culture but since then has been held back only by interest groups and institutions. This revisionist account of Canada-US relations is essential reading for anyone interested in Canadian politics, American foreign policy, or international diplomacy.

Global history records an astonishing variety of forms of social organization. Yet almost universally, males subordinate females. How does the relationship between men and women shape the wider political order? The First Political Order is a groundbreaking demonstration that the persistent and systematic subordination of women underlies all other institutions, with wide-ranging implications for global security and development. Incorporating research findings spanning a variety of social science disciplines and comprehensive empirical data detailing the status of women around the globe, the book shows that female subordination functions almost as a curse upon nations. A society’s choice to subjugate women has significant negative consequences: worse governance, worse conflict, worse stability, worse economic performance, worse food security, worse health, worse demographic problems, worse environmental protection, and worse social progress. Yet despite the pervasive power of social and political structures that subordinate women, history—and the data—reveal possibilities for progress. The First Political Order shows that when steps are taken to reduce the hold of inequitable laws, customs, and practices, outcomes for all improve. It offers a new paradigm for understanding insecurity, instability, autocracy, and violence, explaining what the international community can do now to promote more equitable relations between men and women and, thereby, security and peace. With comprehensive empirical evidence of the wide-ranging harm of subjugating women, it is an important book for security scholars, social scientists, policy makers, historians, and advocates for women worldwide.