Political Handbook Of The World
Description of publication
This very large (e.g., 1,216 pages) "handbook" seems to belie its title. Nevertheless, it does cover in four to five pages the essential political information of each country in the world. It is broken down into categories of: heads of state and government, cabinet members, leaders and programs of political parties, representation in national legislatures, mass media, and the composition and activities of major intergovernmental organizations. The section on intergovernmental organizations is particularly useful for getting a comprehensive and rapid explanation of their history and obligation.
In an attempt to assess in highly compressed form the past and present politics of the global community, the editors have continued a publishing tradition under way since 1928 when the Council on Foreign Relations issued the first handbook. A major problem facing the compilers of a global compendium turns on the rendering of both geographic and proper names. Despite a number of international conferences on the subject, the problem is becoming more acute, in part because of an increasing tendency toward linguistic "nationalization"; thus, Burma is now Myanmar. In addition, throughout the Third World (particularly in Africa) Christian given names are commonly being abandoned as lingering relics of colonialism. The difficulty this makes in finding references is obvious.
In 1989, for the sixth year in a row, no newly independent territory entered the community of nations, and it appeared that the post-WWII march toward independence by the world's dependent peoples was virtually completed. At present it seems that if the post-colonial era has ended, a new period of fractionalization is under way. Thus, the Soviet Union has dissolved into 15 autonomous entities (at least for a while), Yugoslavia into 5, and Czechoslovakia and Ethiopia into 2 each.
The intergovernmental organizations selected for treatment are presented in a separate alphabetical sequence based on their official (in a few cases, customary) names in English. Where an organization is conventionally referred to by initials, these are appended to the official name. A list of member countries of most organizations is printed in the body of the relevant article; for the United Nations and its principal associated agencies, the memberships are given in Appendix C. While the editors admit the political significance of various nongovernmental organizations (particularly multinational corporations), they have limited this section to groups whose memberships are composed of more than two states, whose governing bodies meet with some degree of regularity, and which possess permanent secretariats or other continuing means for implementing collective decisions.
The handbook is broken down into the following sections:
- Preface
- Governments
- Intergovernmental Organizations
- Appendices (A - E)
- Index
To narrow the focus a bit, look at Politics in America (ISBN 087187-775-9), published by Congressional Quarterly Inc. (see also Chapters 16 and Chapter 30). If you need some assurance about its quality, listen to Roger Mudd of the "Newshour with Jim Lehrer": "I have yet to learn how to leave home without it and doubt that I will. Politics in America is always in my suitcase. It is my road map for every congressional district in the country-where to go, what to look for, and who to talk to." The book aims to shed light on the multidimensional challenge of governing America by looking at the 535 individuals of the House and Senate who work as advocates for the districts and states that elect them. The editors examine the motivations of those whose ambitions take them to Congress and the desires of the Americans who sent them there. In writing the profiles, they do not try to decide what members ought to be for or against; their goal is to explain how members express their views and to assess howeffective they are. It is, after all, a complex business to make laws for a nation of 260 million people . . . and counting.
Something to Think About
If asked, could you write an overview of the Austrian economy according to the Political Handbook of the World? Do you know why Jeane Kirkpatrick, Garrick Utley, and Felix Rohatyn, as well as being on the Board of Advisors of Foreign Affairs, are famous?
phw@bingvmb.cc.binghamton.edu
Political Handbook Of The World
Book
ISBN 0-933199-10-4
For more information, call
CSA Publications, State University of New York
Phone: (607) 777-2119
Fax: (607) 777-2117