The Decline Of Deference

In this extraordinarily wide-ranging book, Neil Nevitte demonstrates that the changing patterns of Canadian values are connected.

In late 20th-century England, inequality was rocketing, yet some have suggested that the politics of class was declining in significance. This book addresses this claim, showing that class remained important to 'ordinary' people's narratives about social change and their own identities throughout the period 1968-2000, but in changing ways

In this history of 1950s British cinema, the authors draw extensively on previously unknown archive material to chart the growing rejection of post-war deference by both film-makers and cinema audiences.

This book investigates how international adjudicators defer to State decision-making authority, and what that reveals about the domestic-international interface.

This is the first study to demonstrate a broad shift in how citizens around the world relate to democratic politics, illustrating various manifestations of a transition from "allegiant" to "assertive" citizens.

A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER In the past few decades, legislatures throughout the world have suffered from gridlock. In democracies, laws and policies are just as soon unpicked as made. It seems that Congress and Parliaments cannot forge progress or consensus. Moreover, courts often overturn decisions made by elected representatives. In the absence of effective politicians, many turn to the courts to solve political and moral questions. Rulings from the Supreme Courts in the United States and United Kingdom, or the European court in Strasbourg may seem to end the debate but the division and debate does not subside. In fact, the absence of democratic accountability leads to radicalisation. Judicial overreach cannot make up for the shortcomings of politicians. This is especially acute in the field of human rights. For instance, who should decide on abortion or prisoners' rights to vote, elected politicians or appointed judges? Expanding on arguments first laid out in the 2019 Reith Lectures, Jonathan Sumption argues that the time has come to return some problems to the politicians.

Asks how and why anti-political sentiment has grown among British citizens over the last half-century.