Conspiracy Theory in America

Sample

Alejandro Moreno

"In Political Cleavages: Issues, Parties, and the Consolidation of Democracy, Alejandro Moreno argues that the political split between authoritarian and democratic ideologies is the main determinant of party competition in less-developed, relatively new democracies. That is, political competition is drawn between those parties that propose to further democratic consolidation and those that advocate a return to authoritarian order. Moreno compares political cleavages in new democracies (including several in Latin America) with political conflict in advanced industrial democracies, demonstrating that there are similar ideological dimensions of competition that reflect the most salient issues in society."--BOOK JACKET.

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Richard M. Dolan and Bryce Zabel

"Not a day goes by that someone, somewhere in the world does not get a reasonably clear picture of something unusual in the air. The possibility of UFO visitation becomes even more obvious when these photos and government documents are placed into context with physical evidence such as radar contacts, the innumerable personal accounts of sightings, and physical abduction. Disclosure, the formal acknowledgment by the world's governments of an extraterrestrial presence engaging the human race, is considered inevitable by some people who have studied the issue. This book explores what will happen after that disclosure."--

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Kathleen Bartoloni-Tuazon

Overview: In the spring of 1789, within weeks of the establishment of the new federal government based on the U.S. Constitution, the Senate and House of Representatives fell into dispute regarding how to address the president. Congress, the press, and individuals debated more than thirty titles, many of which had royal associations and some of which were clearly monarchical. For Fear of an Elective King is Kathleen Bartoloni-Tuazon's rich account of the title controversy and its meanings. The short, intense legislative phase and the prolonged, equally intense public phase animated and shaped the new nation's broadening political community. Rather than simply reflecting an obsession with etiquette, the question challenged Americans to find an acceptable balance between power and the people's sovereignty while assuring the country's place in the Atlantic world. Bartoloni-Tuazon argues that the resolution of the controversy in favor of the modest title of "President" established the importance of recognition of the people's views by the president and evidence of modesty in the presidency, an approach to leadership that fledged the presidency's power by not flaunting it. How the country titled the president reflected the views of everyday people, as well as the recognition by social and political elites of the irony that authority rested with acquiescence to egalitarian principles. The controversy's outcome affirmed the republican character of the country's new president and government, even as the conflict was the opening volley in increasingly partisan struggles over executive power. As such, the dispute is as relevant today as in 1789.

Sample

Francis Edwards

"A rare historical continuum in Anglo-Irish history ran from 1558 until 1612, years dominated by William and Robert Cecil, father and son. Among the significant events of these years were a number of plots and political contrivances. This book deals with eleven controversial incidents which fell out between the years 1571 and 1601. The names begin with Roberto Ridolfi and continue through John Somerville, William Parry, Anthony Babington, Richard Hesketh, William Polwhele and associates, Lopez, Edmund Yorke and Richard Williams, and Edward Squeir until Robert Devereux, second earl of Essex, in 1601. A close study of these plots helps to illustrate much that happened later in the reign of the incoming James VI of Scotland. New material, or material not so far closely investigated by scholars, is offered for consideration in a work which takes into account what has been done by authorities, recent and traditional."--BOOK JACKET.