Neo Tories

The danger to British democracy in the interwar period came from a different source to that which has thus far been assumed. It came from a network of radical conservatives who challenged the political system and sought to replace it with an authoritarian corporate state. In this book, Bernhard Dietz provides the first systematic analysis of this network and its members, which are called Neo-Tories. With strong links to the European right, yet a minority back home, this group of British conservatives are all the more fascinating today because it is on their ultimate failure that the success of British democracy rested.

Synopsis coming soon.......

Alien Invasion is the first critical look at the past eight years of Tory rule in Ontario. How did a province renowned for being middle-of-the-road suddenly embrace the forces of far-right conservatism? How have the cuts to health care, the spectre of private universities, regular public sector strikes, and the tragedy in Walkerton all come to pass? Here, 20 essays expose strategies the Harris government has previously hidden from view. Using criticism, commentary and transcripts of government seminars, Alien Invasion reveals the techniques that a group of ''whiz kids'' working for the Harris government have used to turn Ontario into a laboratory to test the theories of economists who seek greater powers for corporations by equating capitalism with freedom. In the course of restructuring Ontario in this new way, they have even succeeded in manipulating Ontarians to act against their own interests.

Has the modern Conservative Party developed a distinctive approach to the post-war welfare state? In exploring this question, this accessible book takes an authoritative look at Conservative Party policy and practice in the modern era. The book takes as its main starting point the progressive One Nation Conservative (1950-64) perspective, which endeavoured to embrace those features of the welfare state deemed compatible with the party’s underlying 'philosophy'. Attention then shifts to the neo-liberal Conservatives (1974-97), who sought to reverse the forward march of the welfare state on the grounds of its 'harmful’ economic and social effects. Finally, David Cameron’s (2005-present day) 'progressive’ neo-liberal Conservative welfare state strategy is put under the spotlight. The book’s time-defined content and broad historical thread make it a valuable resource for academics and students in social policy and politics as well as social history.

Here are the best of Kristol's now famous essays on society, religion, morals, culture, literature, education, and on the values issues which have come to define the neoconservative critique of contemporary life. These essays display the provocative ideas and style that have caused Irving Kristol to be justly regarded as the "godfather" of the conservative movement.

Characterized by global war, political revolution and national crises, the period between 1914 and 1945 was one of the most horrifying eras in the history of the West. A noted scholar of modern German history, Heinrich August Winkler examines how and why Germany so radically broke with the normative project of the West and unleashed devastation across the world. In this total history of the thirty years between the start of World War One and the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Winkler blends historical narrative with political analysis and encompasses military strategy, national identity, class conflict, economic development and cultural change. The book includes astutely observed chapters on the United States, Japan, Russia, Britain, and the other European powers, and Winkler’s distinctly European perspective offers insights beyond the accounts written by his British and American counterparts. As Germany takes its place at the helm of a unified Europe, Winkler’s fascinating account will be widely read and debated for years to come.

The Conservatives are back - but what took them so long? Why did the world's most successful political party dump Margaret Thatcher only to commit electoral suicide under John Major? Just as importantly, what stopped the Tories getting their act together until David Cameron came along? The answers are as intriguing as the questions.

In November 2008 the opposition came very close to replacing Stephen Harper with a new government. It was an astonishing few days for Canadian politics; opposition party leaders came together, announcing a formal coalition of the Liberals and the NDP, while the Bloc offered guaranteed support for the new government in the House of Commons. This came at a time of crisis. Many of the world's large financial institutions were tottering, leading to unprecedented government intervention in the U.S, the U.K. and elsewhere. Prime Minister Stephen Harper had attacked the opposition parties through a move to deny them public funding, along with other proposals which enraged them. There was no sign that he was ready to put aside his neo-conservative ideology to take action to address the worst recession in the past 50 years. Brian Topp lived through this period as the key negotiator for the NDP, and in this book he offer's a day-by-day insider's account of how the coalition was put together - and how it fell apart. Topp participated in many key meetings to get the coalition under way. His narrative is built around the words of the participants, front-line as well as backroom, as they work to establish a deal, and then try to hold on to it in the face of a withering attack from the Conservatives. Among the key players in this story are Stéphane Dion, Michael Ignatieff, Jack Layton and Dawn Black - and behind the scenes Ed Broadbent, Jean Chrétien, Roy Romanow and Allan Blakeney are active too. Ottawa insiders will learn much from this book about exactly who said and did what when from this book. More importantly, Canadians interested in federal politics will be able to get a fresh and revealing view of the way Ottawa actually works today. Coalition governments are very unusual in Canadian federal politics, but Brian Topp argues they offer a promising alternative to both hyper-centralized "majority" governments and to relatively unstable minority ones.