Foreign Policy And The Democratic Dilemmas

This book should be of interest to undergraduate students taking courses in politics and American studies.

This study challenges the belief that liberal democracy is incompatible with an effective foreign policy. The author focuses initially on the effect of democratic practices and institutions on the efficacy and wisdom of international dealings. Then he examines the pursuit and consequences of American foreign policy objectives on some of the central aspects of US democracy, including the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches, civil liberties and freedom of speech.

The process used to select judges of the Supreme Court of Canada has provoked criticism from the start. Some observers argue the process - where the prime minister has unfettered discretion - suffers from a democratic deficit, but there is also disagreement regarding alternative methods of selection. The Democratic Dilemma: Reforming Canada's Supreme Court explores the institutional features of the Court, whether the existing process used to select judges ought to be reformed, the overall legitimacy of the Court, as well as the selection and appointment processes of Supreme Court justices in other liberal democracies. This book will be of special interest to students and scholars of Canadian federalism, the judiciary, and comparative supreme courts. The Democratic Dilemma: Reforming Canada's Supreme Court is the second volume in the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations' Democratic Dilemma series. The first, The Democratic Dilemma: Reforming the Canadian Senate is edited by Jennifer Smith. Contributors include Arthur Benz (Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany), Jorge O. Bercholc (Institute of Social and Legal Research Ambrosio L. Gioja), Eugénie Brouillet (Université Laval), Erin Crandall (McGill University), Neil Cruickshank (Algoma University), F.C. DeCoste (University of Alberta), Yonatan Fessha (University of the Western Cape, South Africa), Peter W. Hogg (Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP), Eike-Christian Hornig (Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany), Allan C. Hutchinson York University), Achim Hurrelmann (Carleton University), Andrée Lajoie (Université de Montréal), Martin Manolov (Human Resources and Skills Development Canada), Aman McLeod (Rutgers University), Peter McCormick (University of Lethbridge), Peter Oliver (University of Ottawa), Yves Tanguay (CRIDAQ), Alan Trench (solicitor, England and Wales), and Nadia Verrelli (Algoma University and Queen's University).

The dominance of nationalism as ideology and the resurgence of nationalist and ethnic conflict since the end of the Cold War both demand further analysis of the complex interplay between nation, state, sovereignty and self determination. Contrary to many commentators who regard nationalism today merely as an atavistic counter-modernist experience, Cherry Bradshaw places the phenomenon of nationalism squarely within the continuing Enlightenment project and brings together political theory, history, anthropology and international relations in order to investigate the appeal and the dangers of nationalism in contemporary world politics. This is critical reading for those interested in ethics, political theory and philosophy, human rights and political sociology.