American Government or The Human Potential for Peace

American Government: Using MicroCase? ExplorIt

Author: Barbara Norrander

This Windows-compatible package includes access to MicroCase® datasets and workbook. You make your own decisions about the issues as you analyze and interpret current NES and GSS data.

Table of Contents:

Acknowledgements. Preface. Getting Started. Part I: Foundations. 1. "One Nation:" The History and Politics of Region. 2. Federalism: "A More Perfect Union." 3. "Of the People:" An Interested and Informed Public. Part II: Freedom: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights. 4. Civil Liberties: Free Speech. 5. Civil Rights: Equality. Part III: Government and the Individual. 6. Public Opinion and Political Socialization. 7. The Media. 8. Political Participation. 9. Political Parties. 10. Elections. 11. Interest Groups and PACs. Part IV: Institutions. 12. The Congress. 13. The Presidency. 14. The Bureaucracy. 15. The Courts. Appendix A: Variable Names and Sources.

The Human Potential for Peace: An Anthropological Challenge to Assumptions about War and Violence

Author: Douglas P Fry

In The Human Potential for Peace: An Anthropological Challenge to Assumptions about War and Violence, renowned anthropologist Douglas P. Fry shows how anthropology--with its expansive time frame and comparative orientation--can provide unique insights into the nature of war and the potential for peace. Challenging the traditional view that humans are by nature primarily violent and warlike, Professor Fry argues that along with the capacity for aggression humans also possess a strong ability to prevent, limit, and resolve conflicts without violence. Raising philosophy of science issues, the author shows that cultural beliefs asserting the inevitability of violence and war can bias our interpretations, affect our views of ourselves, and may even blind us to the possibility of achieving security without war. Fry draws on data from cultural anthropology, archaeology, and sociology as well as from behavioral ecology and evolutionary biology to construct a biosocial argument that challenges a host of commonly held assumptions.
The Human Potential for Peace includes ethnographic examples from around the globe, findings from Fry's research among the Zapotec of Mexico, and results of cross-cultural studies on warfare. In showing that conflict resolution exists across cultures and by documenting the existence of numerous peaceful societies, it demonstrates that dealing with conflict without violence is not merely a utopian dream. The book also explores several highly publicized and interesting controversies, including Freeman's critique of Margaret Mead's writings on Samoan warfare; Napoleon Chagnon's claims about the Yanomamo; and ongoing evolutionary debates about whether"hunter-gatherers" are peaceful or warlike. The Human Potential for Peace is ideal for undergraduate courses in political and legal anthropology, the anthropology of peace and conflict, peace studies, political sociology, and the sociology of war and violence. Written in an informal style with numerous entertaining examples, the book is also readily accessible to general readers.