Two Cheers for Minority Government presents a concise, accessible analysis of the prevalence of minority governments in Canada. Using the Canadian case to reflect on the processes and procedures of the parliamentary system, Peter H. Russell explores the tendency for people in parliamentary government to prefer elections which result in one party getting a margin of seats. Russell aims to explain why a minority government is not only a likely outcome of parliamentary elections in Canada but is also, for most, the best possible outcome. He argues that the best result of parliamentary actions is for no party to end up with a majority of seats in the lower house. This makes for government that is more accountable to the people. The new edition reveals how the increasing frequency of parliamentary elections that do not result in majority governments is a positive development for democracy. Ultimately, Two Cheers for Minority Government aims to help both citizens and politicians understand and make the most of the opportunities presented by minority governments.

One of the country’s most astute legal scholars explains how American political culture disempowers ordinary citizens and makes the case for a reinvigorated democracy Americans across the political spectrum agree that our democracy is in crisis. We view our political opponents with disdain, if not terror, and an increasing number of us are willing to consider authoritarian alternatives. In Two Cheers for Politics, Jedediah Purdy argues that this heated political culture is a symptom not of too much democracy but too little. Today, the decisions that most affect our lives and our communities are often made outside the political realm entirely, as market ideology, constitutional law, and cultural norms effectively remove broad swaths of collective life from the table of collective decision. The result is a weakened and ineffective political system and an increasingly unequal and polarized society. If we wish to renew that society, we’ll need to claw back the ground that we’ve ceded to anti-politics and entrust one another with the power to shape our common life.

The new fifth edition of Canadian Politics continues the work of earlier editions in offering a comprehensive introduction to Canadian government and politics by a widely recognized and highly respected group of political scientists writing about subjects on which they are acknowledged experts. For this edition, the editors have organized the book into four sections: Part I: Citizenship, Identities, and Values; Part II: Institutions; Part III: Democracy and Representation; and Part IV: Canada in the World. The fourth section develops a focus on the diverse and increasingly important influences of globalization on the Canadian polity, the environment, and the role of Canada in the world. Of the eighteen chapters, nine are completely new, and six new authors appear, including Martin Papillon on Aboriginal governments, Peter J. Stoett on Canadian international environmental policy, and Andrew F. Cooper on Afghanistan and Canadian foreign policy. The remaining chapters have been thoroughly revised and updated.

This book gives a fresh perspective on minority governance using declassified files which challenge some of the myths surrounding the minority administrations in the 1970s, and reveals a British tradition of minority government which goes beyond that of other countries.

Fresh takes on the recession and the federal minority government.

Focusing on the years 1980-2015, Brint details the trajectory of American universities, which was influenced by evolving standards of disciplinary professionalism, market-driven partnerships, and the goal of social inclusion.

“Canada’s back” announced the victorious Liberal Party in October 2015. After almost ten years of Conservative Party rule, the Harper era in Canadian foreign policy was over, suggesting a return to the priorities of gentler, more cooperative Liberal governments. But was the Harper era really so different? And if so, why? This comprehensive analysis of Canada’s foreign policy during the Harper years addresses these very questions. The chapters, written by leading scholars and analysts of Canadian politics, provide an excellent overview of foreign policy in a number of different policy areas. They also offer differing interpretations as to whether the transition from a minority to majority government in 2011 shaped the way that the Harper Conservatives conceived of, developed, and implemented international policy. The analysis is gripping and the findings surprising, particularly the contention that the government’s shift to majority status was far less important to foreign policy under Harper than it had been under previous governments. The reasons why reveal important insights into the Harper decade of foreign policy.