Heads Of State

More than half the nations that exist today have gained their independence since 1945. During this period over 2,300 individuals have ruled the various nations of the world; this encyclopedia offers insight into the history of individual nations through the lives of their leaders. Outstanding Academic Book

This new work of biographical reference presents succinct narrative biographies of every serving head of state and head of government. Its content covers approximately 200 countries and territories and provides over 300 biographical profiles. Each country section contains: * A brief explanation of its type of government and the roles of the head of state, the head of government and the legislature * Lists of the most recent heads of state and head of government, with dates of office * Biographical profiles of current head of state and government, and other recent incumbents of these positions who remain significant and active political leaders * A photographic section of a selection of the world's key political leaders * A full index by name, date of taking office, and source of authority.

During the last three decades, there has been a growing interest in systems that combine elements of parliamentarism and presidentialism. Despite the fact that much attention has been directed towards the semi-presidential form of government in particular, it is evident that many aspects of regime forms remain unexplored. This book systematically categorises democratic political regimes with a separate head of state and government (including regimes with a monarch and prime minister, and president and PM) globally and over a long historical period 1850–2019. It analyses how regimes with a dual executive emerge and what trajectories they follow. It also explores the stability of these regimes across time and space. An important feature of this endeavour is to address actual powers of the head of state rather than constitutional provisions.

The first half of the 20th century was perhaps the most turbulent in history. Two world wars and numerous smaller conflicts resulted in an unprecedented number of changes. Some of the leaders made an indelible mark on their nation and the world; others are scarcely remembered. Nearly 1,200 emperors, kings, queens, presidents, prime ministers, premiers, emirs, and other heads of state or government served from 1900 through 1945, and all are included in this comprehensive reference work. Each biographical profile is packed with data.

The human head has had important political, ritual and symbolic meanings throughout Andean history. Scholars have spoken of captured and trophy heads, curated crania, symbolic flying heads, head imagery on pots and on stone, head-shaped vessels, and linguistic references to the head. In this synthesizing work, cultural anthropologist Denise Arnold and archaeologist Christine Hastorf examine the cult of heads in the Andes—past and present—to develop a theory of its place in indigenous cultural practice and its relationship to political systems. Using ethnographic and archaeological fieldwork, highland-lowland comparisons, archival documents, oral histories, and ritual texts, the authors draw from Marx, Mauss, Foucault, Assadourian, Viveiros del Castro and other theorists to show how heads shape and symbolize power, violence, fertility, identity, and economy in South American cultures.

Looks at how America's presidents have been represented in a wide variety of useful household items, ranging from Washington as a thimble to Lincoln as a paper clip, with items chosen from the author's collection and most shaped as their heads.

Jack J. Kanski presents concise, illustrated books exploring the roles of the key personalities during the Second World War and their contributions in the conflict. Following on from the first five books in his A Concise Outline series, Kanski now offers readers information pertaining to the influential individuals from Great Britain, the USA and the Soviet Union, amongst others. In World War Two: Heads of State, Politicians and Collaborators Kanski divides the information into three parts: firstly describing heads of state such as Roosevelt and Emperor Hirohito, before moving on to other politicians such as Churchill and Reynaud, and finally concluding with important collaborators during the period. These books are designed as companion texts and when read together will give readers a good understanding of the important people and their contributions. Written in a reader-friendly bullet-point format accompanied by many colour images, Kanski’s latest book will act as a stepping stone for the general reader interested in World War Two.