...However, the decision was close and had many opinions. In “Partisan Gerrymandering and the Voting Rights Act”, Richard Forgette and John Winkle provided a historical background on the decision: “In late April 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court by a 5-4 vote affirmed the lower court judgment in Vieth and dismissed the plaintiffs' claims. On the issue of partisan gerrymandering, however, the ruling proved anything but conclusive. The significance of the ruling, it seems, now lies in its fractured set of opinions” The Justices’ split decision left the door open to reinterpreting the judiciable grounds for gerrymandering under the right circumstances. As displayed thus far, gerrymandering by Republicans has implied racial discrimination. While previous cases have...
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...vote, and usually electors are chosen based on their devotion to their party (“About the Electors”). In the general Presidential election, the population of a state votes for a slate of electors by voting for a presidential candidate: if a candidate wins the popular vote in a state, the slate of electors for the party of the candidate who won the ballot in that state will be able to attend the electoral college, whose members meet in the state capitals they represent in mid-December (“Choosing a President”). Unfortunately, this mode of selecting electors of the president is far from the intent of the creators of the Constitution. Instead of having political parties elect a slate of electors, Alexander Hamilton, a writer of the Federalist Papers and a main proponent of the Constitution during the debate over its ratification, stated matter-of-factly in Federalist 68 that the electors of the president are to be “men chosen by the people” (congress.gov), thereby implying that they are to be chosen not by a select group but by the people of each state as a whole. It is true that at present the members of the electoral college are elected by the people when people vote for presidential candidates, but in many cases the names of the electors are not even on the ballot during the general election, and the people of each state instead cast votes for the name of a presidential candidate (“About the Electors”). In such a condition as this the electors are not elected by the people, but...
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...American Government Professor: Dr. Moon Park Term Paper 03/17/15 Is United States of America a Democratic country? Democracy has been defined as a government structure which people are involved in decision making about it either directly or through by the representatives whom they have chosen by open vote. In a perfect sensing world ideal of perfect democracy could be described as all citizens are well informed in every topics of issues occurring around them such as human abuse, employment issue, foreign politics, and economy. Everyone can voice their opinion strongly on the issues and not disregard them because it is not a personal problem to them. Media and politicians would work together to inform us on the current insights for a better change, political corruption can be found easily and corrected by the power of people, and everyone who is eligible for elect do so not because it is their duty but it is because they are well-versed and determined to choose right candidate for a representation. All of this would have been a beautiful picture to paint, however it is not the type of democracy currently appear to exist in the U.S. It is tough to say that U.S is fully democratic country since that few of the researchers and sources have been arguing that democracy has not been seem to be present for the last few decades, and in fact it has been slowly changing onto an oligarchy system. As of Fall 2014 “ Research conducted by Princeton and Northwestern university found...
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...Barbara W. “Cash Cropping and Upstream-downstream Tensions: The Case of Jambi in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries”. In Southeast Asia in the Early Modern Era: Trade, Power, and Belief, edited by Anthony Reid. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1993. Baker, M. H. Sabah: The First Ten Years as a Colony. Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia Publishing House, 1965. Black, Ian. “The Ending of Brunei Rule in Sabah, 1878–1902”. Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 41, no. 2 (1968): 176–92. ———. A Gambling Style of Government: The Establishment of Chartered Company Rule in Sabah, 1878–1915. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1985. ———. “The Rundum Rebellion of 1915 in Sabah: Millenarianism and Social Protest”. Paper presented at the Seminar Sejarah dan Masyarakat Sabah [Seminar on the History and Society of Sabah], Kota Kinabalu, 12–16 August 1981. Blood, Doris E. “The Lotud”. In The Social Organization of...
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...UNIT 2 Answer Key CHAPTER 5 IV. Section 4: Party Organization A. Structure Federalism, nominating B. Organization at the National Level 1. convention 2. chairperson C. State and Local Organization 1. election, caucuses 2. wards Prereading and Vocabulary 2 1. should cut back on expensive government programs Sample definition: Conservatives believe in cutting costs and government programs. 2. came to vote Sample definition: The electorate is the group of people who are allowed to vote. 3. voted at the polling place, elementary school Sample definition: A precinct is a small area from which all the residents report to vote at one location. 4. wards 5. bipartisan 6. nominate 7. Liberals 8. resign CHAPTER 5 Section 1 Reading Comprehension 3 1. Answers for rankings will vary. Historical basis: The two-party system is rooted in the beginnings of the U.S., when the ratification of the Constitution gave rise to the first two parties. Tradition: Most Americans accept the idea of a two-party system simply because there has always been one. Electoral system: Since only one winner per office comes out of each election, voters have only two viable choices—the candidate of the party holding office or the candidate with the best chance of replacing the current officeholder. Voters tend to think of a vote for a minor party candidate as a wasted vote. Republicans and Democrats work together in a bipartisan way to write election laws to make...
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...POSITION PAPER: COMMERCIAL NUCLEAR POWER Authors Thomas B. Cochran Christopher E. Paine Geoffrey Fettus Robert S. Norris Matthew G. McKinzie Natural Resources Defense Council issue paper: october 2005 Natural Resources Defense Council issue paper Commercial Nuclear Power ABOUT NRDC NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is a national, nonprofit organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has more than 1 million members and e-activists nationwide, served from offices in New York, Washington, Los Angeles and San Francisco. For more information, visit www.nrdc.org. Copyright 2005 by the Natural Resources Defense Council. Natural Resources Defense Council issue paper Commercial Nuclear Power EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Because of the sheer magnitude and urgency of the global climate challenge, the United States must consider all forms of energy—as long as they do not otherwise undermine international and environmental security. Unfortunately, the nuclear power industry in its present state suffers from too many security, safety, and environmental exposure problems and excessive costs to qualify as a leading means to combat global warming pollution. Large-scale nuclear plants remain uneconomic to build. And while the nuclear fuel cycle emits little global warming pollution, nuclear power still poses globally significant risks that need to be further reduced, including:...
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...10.1997 Introduction ‘History’, observes Adorno, ‘is the unity of continuity and discontinuity’. Even a basic awareness to this reality should be enough to prevent anyone – especially the new sojourner into the realm of political science – from making coarse comparisons between past and present. And yet, sometimes the picture is so compelling, so painfully clear, that it simply cannot be ignored. Faced with it, all one can do is carefully explore the contours of the ancient and the new, hoping to retain enough responsibility to open his eyes to the differences when they manifest themselves. This is what the current paper sets out to do. Though hundreds of years and thousands of miles stand between 16th century Italy and 20th century Singapore, between the writings of Niccolò Machiavelli and the statecraft of Lee Kuan Yew, the similarities are extraordinary. This paper will argue that the political views and actions of Singapore’s ruling elite – more precisely, those of the country’s ‘founding father’ Lee Kuan Yew – can be powerfully interpreted through an application of Machiavellian principles. This interpretation takes place on two levels. First, the political actions of Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) can be shown to consistently reflect Machiavelli’s prescriptions for maintaining an authoritarian regime, diffusing discontent and crushing opposition. Singapore is a country where human rights have come to be seen as nonessential in the race towards national economic...
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...THE PERCEPTION OF TAXPAYERS TOWARD GOODS AND SERVICES TAX (GST) IMPLEMENTATION IN MALAYSIA CHAPTER ONE - INTRODUCTION 1.1 Backgroud of Study Malaysian taxation system is generally divided into two, which are direct taxes and indirect taxes. Indirect taxes are controlled by the Royal Malaysian Custom Department (RMCD) and it consists of four components such as excise duties, customs duty, sales tax and service tax. Direct taxes are under the control of the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (IRBM). The IRBM is responsible for all policies relating to direct taxes such as income tax of individual and business, petroleum income tax, real property expansions tax, and stamp duty. From the government perception, taxation is a vital economic tool because it can be employed to regulate the economy, to invigorate economic growth through the granting of fiscal incentives as a principal aim of implementing tax policies and to provide funds for development projects (JeyapalanKasipillai, 2005). The contribution of direct taxes and indirect taxes to government revenue in 2009 amounted to RM78.375 billion (49.4%) and RM28.129 billion (1 7.73%), respectively. This shows that taxation contributes more than 60% to the Malaysian government revenue. Recently, the Malaysian government established the implementation of goods and services tax (GST) to replace Sales Tax and Services Tax (SST). The GST plan was first raised in 1988 but at the time it was considered unnecessary because the sales...
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...TO WHICH EXTENT DOES PARTY-LIST PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION PROVIDE POLITICAL PARTICIPATION OF MINORITIES IN BENIN, GUINEA-BISSAU AND NAMIBIA? Pavel Pylypcuk, Alexandra Sidorova Aalborg University 2014 Table of contents 1. Introduction 3 I. PART 5 2. Electoral system 5 2.1. Types of electoral system 6 2.2. Proportional representation 6 2.3. Party-list proportional representation 7 II. PART 8 3. Structure of case studies 8 4. Benin 9 4.1. Historical introduction and the electoral system 9 4.2. Elections to National Assembly in years 1991-2007 10 4.3. Political parties in Benin: profile, electorate and interactions 11 4.4. Conclusion 12 5. Guinea-Bissau 13 5.1. Historical introduction and the electoral system 13 5.2. Elections to National People's Assembly in years 1994-2008 14 5.3. Political parties in Guinea-Bissau: profile, electorate and interactions 15 5.4. The electoral process in Guinea-Bissau 16 5.5. Conclusion 17 6. Namibia 18 6.1. Historical introduction and the electoral system 18 6.2. Elections to National Assembly in years 1989-2009 19 6.3. Political parties in Namibia: profile, electorate and interactions 20 6.4. The electoral process in Namibia 21 6.5. Conclusion 23 7. Final conclusion 24 8. Bibliography 26 1. Introduction Electoral systems are considered as an instrument, which can relatively quickly and effectively...
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...Federal Government Exam 1 Review: The first exam will consist of questions generated from the following review sheet. Make sure you understand each of these topics before proceeding to the test. The exam will be timed so you will not have the ability to peruse your notes or retake the exam. The exam itself will consist of 30 multiple choice questions and you will have 35 minutes to complete the exam. Federalism: The Basic elements of a Federal system of government (i.e. how is it structured/how power is shared) • Layers of gov • Equal power • Distinct powers Powers of the federal government: delegated powers, implied powers (necessary and proper clause), and concurrent powers. • Delegated Powers: (expressed/enumerated powers) powers given to the federal government directly by the constitution. Some most important delegated powers are: the authority to tax, regulated interstate commerce, authority to declare war, and grants the president role of commander and chief of the military • Implied Powers: Powers not expressed in the constitution, but that can be inferred. “Necessary and proper clause” • Concurrent powers: powers shared by both levels of government. Ex: Taxes, roads, elections, commerce, establishing courts and a judicial system • Reserved powers: powers not assigned by the constitution to the national government but left to the states or the people. Guaranteed by the 10th amendment. Include “police power”-health and public...
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...DRIVING DEMOCRACY – CHAPTER 4 9/15/2007 2:33 PM Chapter 4 Wealth and democracy Can formal democratic institutions succeed if they are built in societies with inhospitable social and economic conditions? In particular, will attempts to hold competitive elections fail to strengthen democracy in poor and divided nation states, as well as in regions such as the Middle East which are dominated by autocracy? Skeptics point to an earlier wave of institution building, when European-style parliaments were transplanted to many African societies during the era of decolonization, including in Benin and Togo, only to collapse as the military usurped their powers.1 We first need to establish the influence of certain underlying economic and social conditions on democratic consolidation before proceeding to examine the impact of powersharing institutions in subsequent chapters. As Dahl points out, where the underlying conditions are highly unfavorable, then it is improbable that democracy could be preserved by any constitutional design. By contrast, if the underlying conditions are highly favorable, then democratic consolidation is likely with almost any constitution.2 But many cases fall into the muddy middle-ground. The analysis of cross-sectional time-series data illuminates the general patterns and what conditions count, focusing upon examining the role of wealth, the size of nation states, colonial legacies, regional diffusion, and the degree of ethnic heterogeneity. Each of these...
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...National Integration and Tolerance in Georgia Introduction About this report This report draws on the results of a sociological survey, desk research, media monitoring and focus group meetings conducted in Georgia in 2006. It provides a review of the legislative framework governing the protection of persons belonging to national minorities in Georgia. It also analyses public perceptions that affect the life of these persons in Georgia as a whole and more specifically in areas where persons belonging to national minorities live in large numbers. The report was prepared in the framework of the National Integration and Tolerance in Georgia Program (NITG) by the research group of the implementing agency – the United Nations Association of Georgia (UNAG), Institute of Social Researchers (ISR) and BCG Research sociological agencies and was supported through consultation and training by the Freedom House. Purpose and Context of the Report NITG program is supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The overall goal of the program is to elaborate a National Integration Strategy and Action Plan (NISAP) on national minorities through participatory approach, to ensure legitimacy, sustainability and sense of ownership towards the document among key stakeholders. Through this process, Georgia will test innovative policies and contribute to the development of best practices as a part of a legally compliant strategy document. The project also aims to build...
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...Contents Title Page Dedication Prologue CHAPTER ONE: Republicans and Democrats CHAPTER TWO: Values CHAPTER THREE: Our Constitution CHAPTER FOUR: Politics CHAPTER FIVE: Opportunity CHAPTER SIX: Faith CHAPTER SEVEN: Race CHAPTER EIGHT: The World Beyond Our Borders CHAPTER NINE: Family Epilogue Acknowledgments About the Author Also by Barack Obama Copyright Prologue IT’S BEEN ALMOST ten years since I first ran for political office. I was thirty-five at the time, four years out of law school, recently married, and generally impatient with life. A seat in the Illinois legislature had opened up, and several friends suggested that I run, thinking that my work as a civil rights lawyer, and contacts from my days as a community organizer, would make me a viable candidate. After discussing it with my wife, I entered the race and proceeded to do what every first-time candidate does: I talked to anyone who would listen. I went to block club meetings and church socials, beauty shops and barbershops. If two guys were standing on a corner, I would cross the street to hand them campaign literature. And everywhere I went, I’d get some version of the same two questions. “Where’d you get that funny name?” And then: “You seem like a nice enough guy. Why do you want to go into something dirty and nasty like politics?” I was familiar with the question, a variant on the questions asked of me years earlier, when I’d first arrived in Chicago to work in low-income neighborhoods. It signaled a cynicism...
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...HISTORY, TENTH EDITION Published by McGraw-Hill, a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Copyright © 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Previous editions © 2008, 2003, and 1998. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning. Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside the United States. This book is printed on acid-free paper. 1234567890 QFR/QFR 10987654321 ISBN: 978-0-07-340696-1 MHID: 0-07-340696-1 Vice President & Editor-in-Chief: Michael Ryan Vice President EDP/Central Publishing Services: Kimberly Meriwether David Publisher: Christopher Freitag Sponsoring Editor: Matthew Busbridge Executive Marketing Manager: Pamela S. Cooper Editorial Coordinator: Nikki Weissman Project Manager: Erin Melloy Design Coordinator: Margarite Reynolds Cover Designer: Carole Lawson Cover Image: Albert Bierstadt, American (born in Germany), 1830–1902 Valley of the Yosemite, 1864 (detail) Oil on paperboard 30.16 × 48.89 cm (11 7/8 × 19 1/4 in.) Museum of Fine Arts, BostonGift of Martha C. Karolik for the M. and M. Karolik Collection of American Paintings, 1815–1865 47.1236 Buyer:...
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...Danksagung Ich möchte allen danken, die sich in den vergangenen Jahren die Mühe gemacht haben, sich mit meiner Dissertation, mit diesem Text, zu beschäftigen und ihn zu kommentieren. An erster Stelle sind das meine Betreuer am Europäischen Hochschulinstitut in Florenz, Klaus Eder und Friedhelm Neidhardt. Außerdem: Catherine Brice, Colin Crouch, Nora Eisermann, Bernd Giesen, Michaela Krützen, Johannes Lübking, Anne Marijnen, Gesa Marten, Jo Reichertz, Frederic Vandenberghe und Anne Will. Besonders danke ich meinem Bruder David Eisermann, der mir die nötige Zuversicht und liebevolle Unterstützung gegeben hat, die Arbeit abzuschließen. Berlin, im Oktober 2000 Jessica Eisermann Inhalt Danksagung .........................................................................................................5 Abkürzungen......................................................................................................10 Einleitung.......................................................................................................... 13 1 1.1 1.1.1 1.1.2 1.1.3 1.1.4 1.2 1.2.1 1.2.2 1.2.3 1.2.4 1.2.5 1.3 1.3.1 1.3.2 2 2.1 2.2 2.3 Das Problem der Mediengewalt........................................................... 21 Die Definition des Problems in der Öffentlichkeit .................................21 Die ordnungsgenerierende Funktion 'unterhaltender' Nachrichten ...22 Das Problem im Zusammenhang mit dem Symbol der Gewalt ........28 Das Problem im Zusammenhang mit dem Medium...
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