Suchergebnisse

Americans' trust in other Americans has been on the decline for decades. Their trust in American institutions such as business and religion is, although sometimes wavering, more resilient. Can our trust in institutions help repair our trust in each other?

Russia is in precipitous decline, which is unlikely to be reversed. This conclusion, based on the research of Russian and American experts, constitutes the bottom line of The Jamestown Foundation's project, Russia in Decline. Moreover, the tempo of Russia's decay is accelerating across virtually every fragment of its politics, economy, society and military, which renders Russia a poor candidate to survive globalization, let alone claim the mantle of a Great Power. This small volume details why Russia's spiraling into decline and disarray should keep strategists awake at night. It should also alert foreign policy, security and military planners, for whom Russia's decline will necessarily become the leitmotif of informed planning.

This collection gathers ninety-one essays written by Mike Sharpe that appeared in Challenge: The Magazine of Economic Affairs from 1973 through 2011. They deal with virtually every aspect of the U.S. and international economies. The title reflects the fact that income and wealth inequalities in the U.S. have increased to disastrous levels not seen since the 1920s. The wealthy have recaptured the power to make the rules almost unilaterally. The author also examines the decline of Europe and Russia, the problematic rise of China, and the enigmatic portent of the Arab Spring. The book begins with the stagflation of the 1970s and ends with the bust of the 2000s, clinching the case, in the author's opinion, that America has been in decline for more than three decades. The tide can be reversed if and when we are ready to use fact-based economic policies.

A brief examination of Germany's recent economic & political decline argues that the long process of reunification has fundamentally changed the country & produced a "new German" that wants to return to the security of the communist years. It is contended that Germany's high unemployment rate & poor export record can only be reversed by complementing recent reforms with new & more radical initiatives. The inadequacy of Germany's traditional social & economic model is pointed out & compared to other aggressive & dynamic global economies. The deterioration of Germany's geopolitical role; reasons for Germany's cultural decline, & the increase in anti-Americanism are examined. It is concluded that those who associate problems of the last decade with reunification have never directly experienced the miseries of communist totalitarianism. Nostalgia for lost time is seen as the "disease of a senile Germany" in which history has ended. There is a critical need for structural reforms of the political/economic system & changes in public attitudes if Germany is to be entrusted with the destiny of the New Europe. J. Lindroth

The media play a leading role in democracies. Their task is to enable citizens to make informed decisions by providing them with a balanced picture of the complex world. However, amongst journalists, the general knowledge of and interest in politics and EU affairs seems somewhat poor, which means that the media are not doing their job, and this is reflected in society. Media reporting on the EU is predominantly negative and therefore cannot give a balanced view to the public in order to promote a healthy European democracy. Instead, the changes taking place in the media landscape seem to promote entertainment and market values over political content, a development which benefits politicians suited to this arena, such as populists.

"Is Democracy in Decline? is a short book that takes up the fascinating question on whether this once-revolutionary form of government--the bedrock of Western liberalism--is fast disappearing. Has the growth of corporate capitalism, mass economic inequality, and endemic corruption reversed the spread of democracy worldwide? In this incisive collection, leading thinkers address this disturbing and critically important issue. Published as part of the National Endowment for Democracy's 25th anniversary--and drawn from articles forthcoming in the Journal of Democracy--this collection includes seven essays from a stellar group of democracy scholars: Francis Fukuyama, Robert Kagan, Thomas Carothers, Marc Plattner, Larry Diamond, Philippe Schmitter, Steven Levitsky, Ivan Krastev, and Lucan Way. Written in a thought-provoking style from seven different perspectives, this book provides an eye-opening look at how the very foundation of Western political culture may be imperiled"--

Declining stage of the Abbasid Khilafa is followed meticulously until its collapse in the fall of Baghdad to the Mongols in 1258. The full sequence of events, which had resulted in this most important event to Mesopotamia is followed and the decline in agriculture in the whole of al- Sawad during this is period, is carefully described. Agriculture had formed the main contributor to the economy and strength of the Khilafa State, but it had continuously suffered neglect and destruction during this period due to negligence of the central governments of the irrigation systems and the destruction of these systems during conflicts and revolts that became dominant during the last phase of al- Khilafa State. The large spending of the late Khalifahs and the depletion of the treasury, and their dependence on foreign military troops, who were mainly Turks, to support their rule, mark the beginning. By loss of sizable revenues, this had interacted again with the Khalifahs weakness causing more revolts and anarchy by various unsatisfied groups and by the troops themselves over their unpaid salaries. The war between al-Muntasir and his brother al- Mu'tazz over the thrown following the assassination of their father al-Mutawakkil is detailed by giving full attention to the large damages it caused to irrigation canals and flooding of large areas between Baghdad and Samarra. Following this the revolt of Zanj in Southern al- Sawad and the long conflict with the Qarmatians are then outlined by reporting the reasons and describing the consequences of those important wars in details, accounting at the same time the high costs of these wars and the extent of severe damages to population centres, cultivation lands and their irrigation works. During the Buwayhids period, the Abbasid Khlilafa experienced its worst moments as the Buwayhids did not contribute much to the welfare of the people, nor could they do much to reverse the trend of decline that was progressing. As a matter of fact they had committed their biggest mistake in tearing apart the land ownership system prevailing till that time by introducing a new form of Iqta' known as the Military Iqta's. New methods of land and crops tax collection system were introduced and thus disrupting long established procedures that were followed since the Sassanid era and had proved their success. Conflicts and wars during the Buwayhid rule and the large-scale corruption, which are fully reported here, had undermined the central power needed for the proper management of agriculture and for the well keep of the irrigation canal systems. Finally, when the Buwayhid strength was drained they were expelled under a new rising power in the Seljuks. The Seljuks proved during this period to be not much different from the Buwayhids and their Sultans kept the real power in their hands making the Khalifah a titular head of state only. The conditions of the economy was as bad as it was before, and the people complained much over the recurrent crises of extremely high food prices during these times. Worst of all the Seljuk Sultans surpassed the Buwayhids in practicing the Iqta' of the cultivated land by distributing qati'as not only to the military leaders as the Buwayhids did but they extend this to an unprecedented levels for the Seljuk Sultans had granted all the land to their Seljuk soldiers, their relatives and friends who were only Seljuks. To comprehend the magnitude of this; the number of the soldiers only in the time of Malik Shah who benefited from this system was forty six thousand horsemen; many more high ranking Seljuk persons were also entitled to qati'as under the same rules. With the passage of time the basic principle of this system were violated, and most of the beneficiaries succeeded in keeping the land as their own , used all sorts of abuses towards their farmers and even passed it in inheritance to their children. Some others encroached on neighboring qati'as, which belonged to others, and injustice and corruption became widespread. Negligence to repair these canals in so many cases leading to the permanent abandonment of land is also cited illustrated with many examples. In addition, many striking cases of failures of canals and their head works after large floods are fully described based on the reports given by contemporary writers. The details presented give an insight to the scale of the large fertile areas and the cities and towns that were badly affected and give evidence to the very low level that the State had reached during its last days after losing so much fertile lands and their agriculture. ; Validerad;2020;Nivå 1;2020-04-24 (alebob)