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This book analyzes the International Olympic Committee, what makes the system work and whether it will survive in the twenty-first century considering the major changes that have taken place in sport over recent decades. ... Read more

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Robert J. Alexander traces organized labor from its origins in colonial Cuba, examining its evolution under the Republic, noting the successive political forces within it and the development of collective bargaining, culminating after 1959 in its transformation into a Stalin-model labor movement. In Castro's Cuba, organized labor has been subordinate to the Party and government and has been converted into a movement to control the workers and stimulate production and productivity instead of being a movement to defend the interests and desires of the workers.

Starting with the organization of tobacco workers and a few other groups in the last years of Spanish colonial rule, Robert J. Alexander traces the growth of the labor movement during the early decades of the republic, noting particularly the influence of three political tendencies: anarchosyndicalists, Marxists, and independents. He examines the generally unfavorable attitudes of early republican governments to the labor movement, and he discusses the first central labor body, the CNOC, which was at first under anarchist influence, and soon captured by the Communists. The role of the CNOC vis-á-vis the Machado dictatorship, including the deal with Machado in 1933 is also discussed. Alexander then looks at the unions during the short Grau San Martine nationalist regime of 1933 and the near-destruction of organized labor by the Batista dictatorship of 1934-1937; the revival of the labor movement after the 1937 deal of the Communists with Batista and the establishment of the Confederacion de Trabajadores de Cuba, as well as the struggles for power within it, resulting in a split in the CTC in 1947, with the dominance of the Autentico-party controlled group. During this period regular collective bargaining became more or less the rule. He then describes the deterioration of the Confederacion of Trabajadores de Cuba under the Batista dictatorship of 1952-1959. Alexander ends with a description of organized labor during the Castro regime: the early attempt of revolutionary trade unionists to establish an independent labor movement, followed by the Castro government's seizure of control of the CTC and its unions, and the conversion of the Cuban labor movement into one patterned after the Stalinist model of a movement designed to stimulate production and productivity—under government control—instead of defending the rights and interests of the unions' members.

Based on an extensive review of Cuban materials as well as Alexander's numerous interviews, correspondence, and conversations with key figures from the late 1940s onward, this is the most comprehensive English-language examination of organized labor in Cuba ever written. Essential reading for all scholars and students of Cuban and Latin American labor and economic affairs as well as important to political scientists and historians of the region.

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Recently, civil society has been celebrated as a solution to political apathy and cynicism towards representative democracy. This however, argues that the role of associations in and for democracy is only properly understood if we take the context into account.

The authors collected in this volume critically examine the crucial link between the associative sector and the health of democracy. Focusing on the role of context and using diverse approaches and empirical material, they explore whether there association in differing socio-political contexts can sometimes undermine rather than reinvigorate democracy.

The book features empirical and comparative studies on the effects of associative democracy focusing on Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Northern Ireland, European Union institutions and South America. It will interest student and researchers of social capital, civil society and associative democracy. ... Read more

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This volume provides an overview of the major global institutions attempting to protect the natural environment, focusing on:$linebreak$the underlying causes of global environmental problems$linebreak$the creation of global environmental institution$linebreak$the effectiveness of action undertaken by these institutions. ... Read more

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Enter a world of secret societies, a revolutionary nanotechnology, and a new financial system that saved the world from collapse ... Read more

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Timely, original, provocative, and one of the first studies of the way in which the World Bank is reinventing itself as the "Knowledge Bank."Essential for those with an interest in the future of the World Bank, the role of think tanks, and the changing nature of development.

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China's accession to the World Trade Organization marked a major milestone in the country's return to the international economic regime. However, although much research has been carried out into the economic impact of China's WTO membership, Chinese policy making processes have in the main been ignored. The Politics of China's Accession to the World Trade Organization tackles this omission by providing an "inside" look at Chinese WTO accession negotiations and establishing a systematic political economy model in analyzing Beijing's decision making mechanisms.
Grounded on a series of interviews with Chinese government officials directly involved in the policymaking process, the book argues that China's WTO policy making is a state-led, leadership driven, and top-down process. Feng explores how China's determined political elite partly bypassed and partly restructured a largely reluctant and resistant bureaucracy, under constant pressure from an increasingly globalized international.

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This book provides the reader with an overview of the World Health Organization, the key organization for international health cooperation. ... Read more

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Adams surveys the impact of transnational organizations and NGOs on Latin American politics since 1990. Latin America is offered as a prime example of the increased influence transnational authorities have over political decisions that had long been the exclusive prerogative of national governments. ... Read more

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Examines the policy stances of two major Hispanic interest groups. ... Read more

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Few scholars have systematically examined whether the world outside a state's borders can influence the prospects for democracy. Jon Pevehouse argues that regional organizations, such as the European Union and the Organization of American States, can have an important role in both the transition to, and the longevity of, democracy.Combining statistical analysis and case study evidence, Pevehouse finds that regional organizations can be a potent force for instilling and protecting democracy throughout the world. ... Read more

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