{"product_id":"democratic-accountability-leif-lewin-9780674024755","title":"Democratic Accountability: Why Choice in Politics Is Both Possible and Necessary","description":"\u003cp\u003eIt is common for political leaders to claim they have no control over bad outcomes. Indeed, they often cite the arguments of political theorists and public intellectuals as to why: history rushes onward oblivious of human will; force and violence overcome political aims; globalization undermines the actions of national leaders; the bureaucracy sabotages their intentions; bad outcomes are often the unintended result of actions. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eDemocratic Accountability\u003c\/i\u003e, Leif Lewin examines these reasons and argues that they are unconvincing. He makes his case by describing and analyzing counterexamples in seven cases, including the prevention of a communist takeover in Europe after World War II, the European Union's preventing another European war, and Margaret Thatcher's taming of the bureaucracy in Britain. In a staunch defense of the possibility for meaningful and profound democratic decision making, Lewin finds that, in fact, not only do political leaders exert a good measure of control and therefore can be assigned responsibility, but the meaning of the functioning democracy is that the people hold their leaders accountable.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Leif Lewin\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0674024753\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780674024755\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Harvard University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/01\/2007\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 264\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.17lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.26h x 6.49w x 0.93d","brand":"Leif Lewin","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":46906583253247,"sku":"9780674024755","price":71.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_b09e1043-e319-418a-92b3-b8af3ded1473.jpg?v=1748770843","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/democratic-accountability-leif-lewin-9780674024755","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}