bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Terra Incognita: Vacant Land and Urban Strategies
Authors: Luberoff David
Published: October 2005

Terra Incognita: Vacant Land and Urban Strategies. By Ann
O'M. Bowman and Michael A. Pagano. Washington, DC: Georgetown
University Press, 2004. 232 pages. $24.95.

Public policies for vacant land are among the least understood but
most important aspects of urban policy and politics. In this book, Ann
O'M. Bowman and Michael Pagano highlight important issues regarding
such land and offer useful frameworks for understanding the policies and
politics that shape its future uses. In doing so, they provide a unique
and useful perspective on land use policies and politics, which are a
key—if not the key—aspect of local policy and politics.
Separation of Powers in Practice
Authors: Dry Murray
Published: October 2005

Separation of Powers in Practice. By Tom Campbell. Stanford:
Stanford University Press, 2004. 248p. $55.00 cloth, $21.95 paper.

In his book, Tom Campbell, a former five-term member of Congress,
argues that we ought to focus on the “comparative advantage”
of each branch because by doing so, we improve the operation of American
government. “The thesis of this text is that each branch has
inherent advantages: for each branch not to use its advantage and, worse,
to allow another branch to encroach upon it dulls the mechanisms of
governmental action” (p. 58). After highlighting his case studies in
his introduction, in Part One Campbell discusses the advantages of each
branch, the rules of the legislative process, the process of statutory
construction by courts, and the judicial practice of following precedent.
In Part Two he presents 10 case studies, which exemplify his thesis.
The Democratic Constitution
Authors: Gillman Howard
Published: October 2005

The Democratic Constitution. By Neal Devins and Louis Fisher.
New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. 303p. $72.00 cloth, $19.95
paper.

For more than a quarter century, Louis Fisher has been arguing against
court-centered approaches to constitutional studies by showing how
constitutional law is “shaped both by judicial and nonjudicial
forces,” including the actions of “the elected branches, the
states, interest groups, and the general public” (p. vii). Neal
Devins joined this effort when he and Fisher coauthored Political
Dynamics of Constitutional Law (1992, 1996, 2001). With this latest
iteration, their basic storyline is still the same, although they have
added new case studies and a new normative argument about why constitution
law “should work that way” (p. vii).
Globalizing L.A.: Trade, Infrastructure, and Regional
Development
Authors: Ellison Charles
Published: October 2005

Globalizing L.A.: Trade, Infrastructure, and Regional
Development. By Steven P. Erie. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University
Press, 2004. 336p. $55.00 cloth, $21.95 paper.

Perhaps the dominant political rhetoric of our time is that which
divides society into a self-correcting market and a government, one is the
necessary and primary cause of our social ills. Government programs
designed to mitigate or solve problems, we are told, unfailingly make the
target problem worse and create additional, unforeseen problems. Better to
leave well enough alone, even if later we lack the means to travel from
our driveway to a workplace nearly one hour away on a good day.
Greasing the Wheels: Using Pork Barrel Projects to Build Majority
Coalitions in Congress
Authors: Worsham Jeff
Published: October 2005

Greasing the Wheels: Using Pork Barrel Projects to Build Majority
Coalitions in Congress. By Diana Evans. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2004. 280p. $60.00 cloth, $21.99 paper.

A variety of recent studies of American politics and public policy
focuses on the role of entrepreneurs in the agenda-setting process. While
the focus is quite often on the role of entrepreneurs as architects of
policy change, or as sources of policy disequilibrium (Frank R.
Baumgartner and Bryan D. Jones, Agendas and Instability in American
Politics, 1993; Mark Schneider, Paul Teske and Michael Mintrom,
Public Entrepreneurs: Agents for Change in American Government,
1995; Adam D. Sheingate, “Political Entrepreneurship, Institutional
Change, and American Political Development,” Studies in American
Political Development 17 [Fall 2003]: 185–203),
entrepreneurs may also work to maintain policy equilibria through the
maintenance of majority coalitions. (Although this might be the difference
between entrepreneurial and leadership activity, the former is interested
in assembling a coalition to challenge the policy status quo, while the
latter focuses on coalition maintenance in support of the status quo.)
Whether they are engaged in “creative acts of destruction”
(Joseph Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy, 1942)
or are attempting to maintain a policy equilibrium, a major factor shaping
the decision to pursue entrepreneurial activity, as well as the chances of
success of such efforts, is the perceived costs associated with assembling
a winning coalition. Successful entrepreneurs are those who are able to
overcome the collective-action problem associated with coalition
maintenance.
The Money Primary: The New Politics of the Early Presidential
Nomination Process
Authors: Altschuler Bruce E.
Published: October 2005

The Money Primary: The New Politics of the Early Presidential
Nomination Process. By Michael J. Goff. Lanham, MD: Rowman &
Littlefield, 2004. 228p. $70.00 cloth, $26.95 paper.

As the amount of money raised by those who win the major parties'
nominations for president has soared out of sight, scholars, the media,
and even the general public have become seriously concerned. Michael
Goff's book examines the “money primary,” fund-raising
before a single primary or caucus vote has even been cast. He sees it,
along with media attention and poll rankings, as crucial in determining
the viability and eventual success of candidates. The interrelatons of
these factors can be seen in his three main hypotheses. Strong
fund-raising predicts survival and “success in the early nomination
process” (p. 11). Extensive early fund-raising organization and
activity increase the possibility of success. Media coverage of these
activities forecasts candidate viability and success. In other words,
money is important not only for what it can buy but as an early indicator
of comparative candidate strength.
Negative Campaigning: An Analysis of U.S. Senate Elections
Authors: Crawley Gary L.
Published: October 2005

Negative Campaigning: An Analysis of U.S. Senate Elections.
By Richard R. Lau and Gerald M. Pomper. Lanham, MD: Rowman &
Littlefield, 2004. 177p. $26.95.

If you think that negative campaigning has come to dominate the
American electoral landscape, depresses voter turnout, is particularly
effective in winning votes, and/or is detrimental to democracy, this
book is a must read. Richard Lau and Gerald Pomper investigate a series of
questions intended to illuminate these concerns. They utilize an extensive
data set based on U.S. Senate elections from 1992 through 2002. Their
findings are often quite startling. Negative campaigning does not appear
to have the deleterious effects conventional wisdom would suggest.
Congressional Communication: Content and Consequences
Authors: Fowler Linda L.
Published: October 2005

Congressional Communication: Content and Consequences. By
Daniel Lipinski. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2004. 160p.
$29.95.

For a decade, scholars have debated the impact of rising partisanship
on the internal workings of the Congress. With the publication of Daniel
Lipinski's analysis of House members' communications to their
constituents, it appears that they also need to consider the effects of
party conflict on representation at home. Using newsletters and targeted
mailings from 1991 to 1995, as well as surveys and interviews with House
members and their staffs, Lipinski assesses the communication strategies
of a sample of 100 lawmakers and arrives at conclusions that challenge
some long-standing views about the interaction of House members and their
constituents.
For the Many or the Few: The Initiative, Public Policy, and American
Democracy
Authors: Smith Daniel A.
Published: October 2005

For the Many or the Few: The Initiative, Public Policy, and
American Democracy. By John G. Matsusaka. Chicago: The University of
Chicago Press, 2004. 206p. $29.00.

In the most recent wave of initiative use in the American states,
citizens have passed an eclectic range of ballot measures. Voters have
banned gay marriage, punished negligent doctors, prohibited the
confinement of pregnant pigs, limited the taxation and spending powers of
state governments, funded stem cell research, and ended affirmative
action. Critics of the process claim that this plebiscitary system is out
of control, with special interests dominating the process and threatening
democratic governance. Defenders, in contrast, claim that ballot measure
outcomes reflect the will of the people and are certainly more
representative of public opinion than legislative bodies.
Managing the President's Program: Presidential Leadership and
Legislative Policy Formulation
Authors: Hargrove Erwin C.
Published: October 2005

Managing the President's Program: Presidential Leadership and
Legislative Policy Formulation. By Andrew Rudalevige. Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 2002. 292p. $65.00.

This book responds effectively to a theoretical challenge with an
empirical analysis. The author addresses the proposition that successive
presidents have increasingly centralized policy development in the White
House to the detriment of the departments. The linear trend is said to be
in response to the political demands on presidents to control their own
programs. Andrew Rudalevige qualifies the theory out of existence by so
broadening it that it disappears. He supplies a rich, empirical model in
which presidents employ centralized, balanced, and decentralized
approaches for developing policy as deliberate strategies as they perceive
the different kinds of political capital and expertise involved in given
cases. He finds no linear trend at all. All presidents since Harry Truman
have used the White House to develop policies, but not to an increasing
degree. Centralization is contingent.
Educated by Initiative: The Effects of Direct Democracy on Citizens
and Political Organizations in the American States
Authors: Lascher Jr. Edward L.
Published: October 2005

Educated by Initiative: The Effects of Direct Democracy on
Citizens and Political Organizations in the American States. By
Daniel A. Smith and Caroline J. Tolbert. Ann Arbor: The University of
Michigan Press, 2004. 252p. $65.00 cloth, $22.95 paper.

Throughout the mid-1980s, empirical state-level initiative studies
were sufficiently rare that David Magleby's now classic book
(Direct Legislation: Voting on Ballot Propositions in the United
States, 1984) addressed topics as varied as the status of direct
democracy laws, the impact of various cues on voting choices, and the
readability of ballot pamphlets. Research on the initiative process
subsequently burgeoned, and direct democracy has become one of the most
widely considered aspects of state politics. Quantitative studies have
focused especially on the substantive impact of the initiative process on
public policy, as well as on the extent to which campaign contributions
influence electoral outcomes.
That Eminent Tribunal: Judicial Supremacy and the Constitution
Authors: Stephenson Jr. D. Grier
Published: October 2005

That Eminent Tribunal: Judicial Supremacy and the
Constitution. Edited by Christopher Wolfe. Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 2004. 256 p. $55.00 cloth, $19.95 paper.

“Constitutional law professors have been very upset lately with
the U.S. Supreme Court” (p. 181). So begins Keith E.
Whittington's contribution to this collection of 11 essays on the
subject of, in the words of the subtitle, “judicial supremacy and
the Constitution.” Many in the unhappy chorus mentioned by
Whittington are mainstream legal academicians who decry the conservative
judicial activism sometimes practiced by the Rehnquist Court; they long
for a robust activism in defense of liberal political values that
characterized Warren and some Burger Era rulings. But the contributors to
this book are not members of that chorus. Instead, most question or
condemn the liberal activism preferred by the legal mainstream, while a
few reject both styles of activism and hanker for a modest judicial role
characterized by editor Christopher Wolfe as “traditional judicial
review” (p. 202).
Explaining Foreign Policy: U.S. Decision-Making and the Persian Gulf
War
Authors: Hook Steven W.
Published: October 2005

Explaining Foreign Policy: U.S. Decision-Making and the Persian
Gulf War. By Steven A. Yetiv. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University
Press, 2004. 296p. $49.95 cloth, $19.95 paper.

Steven A. Yetiv faces a daunting task in this case study of the
1990–91 Persian Gulf War: applying and reconciling multiple
approaches to foreign policy analysis in a single volume. He also hopes to
clarify the historical record regarding President George H. W. Bush's
performance in the diplomatic and military clash. While this ambitious
study advances our understanding in both respects, it demonstrates how
much further the field of foreign policy analysis must still progress to
see clearly within the “black box” of state decision
making.
The Nationalization of Politics: The Formation of National
Electorates and Party Systems in Western Europe
Authors: Cooper Alice H.
Published: October 2005

The Nationalization of Politics: The Formation of National
Electorates and Party Systems in Western Europe. By Daniele Caramani.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. 347p. $75.00 cloth, $28.99
paper.

Daniele Caramani endeavors to document and explain the nationalization
of party systems in Western Europe, the process by which the localized and
territorialized politics of the nineteenth century (clientelistic politics
dominated by local personalities) was replaced by nationwide functional
alignments on the basis of class, in particular. This nationalization
process was a crucial step in the structuring of party systems in the
first century of electoral (democratic) politics. Although central to
Western European electoral developments, it has received little scholarly
attention, a gap that Caramani means to fill through empirical
verification.
Native to the Nation: Disciplining Landscapes and Bodies in
Australia
Authors: Jupp James
Published: October 2005

Native to the Nation: Disciplining Landscapes and Bodies in
Australia. By Allaine Cerwonka. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota
Press, 2004. 269p. $74.95 cloth, $24.95 paper.

It is unusual for a book on Australia to be written by an outsider and
published by an American press. This is to be welcomed. Outsiders are
often free of local myths and attitudes, which are well entrenched in
Australia, despite its character as a relatively new nation. Allaine
Cerwonka did intensive fieldwork in two inner-city suburbs of Melbourne,
Australia's second city. As a resident for 10 years in neighboring
Carlton, I found her sensitivity to the nuances of the complex areas of
East Melbourne and Fitzroy quite unusual.
Shocking Mother Russia: Democratization, Social Rights, and Pension
Reform in Russia, 1990–2001
Authors: Tannenbaum Aron
Published: October 2005

Shocking Mother Russia: Democratization, Social Rights, and
Pension Reform in Russia, 1990–2001. By Andrea Chandler.
Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2004. 260p. $60.00.

The pension system of a given state is a mirror that reflects many
dimensions of that state's political processes, political and social
values, historical experience, and economic conditions. Had Andrea
Chandler presented her analysis of Russian pension politics oriented
toward those four categories or analogous ones, her study would have been
much more understandable and would have made a greater contribution to our
understanding of post–Soviet Russian politics. Instead, Chandler
presents a mostly chronologically based account of Russian pension
politics that makes a significant contribution to the subject but one that
is harder to understand than it needs to be. The reader must tease out the
important themes, such as democratization, from a book that is more
chronological than thematic. Shocking Mother Russia is less than
the sum of its valuable parts.
Voter Turnout and the Dynamics of Electoral Competition in
Established Democracies Since 1945
Authors: Van Holsteyn Joop J. M.
Published: October 2005

Voter Turnout and the Dynamics of Electoral Competition in
Established Democracies Since 1945. By Mark N. Franklin. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2004. 294p. $70.00 cloth, $24.99 paper.

According to Mark Franklin, “As the vexing questions of
political science can be regarded as puzzles, the particular topic of
voter turnout could be called the ‘grand enchilada’ of puzzles
of political science…. [A]lmost everything about voter
turnout is puzzling, from the question of why anyone bothers to vote at
all to the question of why certain variables appear to explain voter
turnout in some circumstances but not in others.” He makes this bold
but true statement in the preface (p. xi) of his comparative study of
turnout in more than 20 established democracies since World War II. Voter
turnout is one of the more frequently studied topics in political science,
but the results of all these scholarly efforts remain rather poor and
unsatisfactory. We still know distressingly little about why some people
vote and others do not, why turnout is much higher in some countries than
in others, and why in so many countries there seems to be a steady and
irrevocable decline in turnout in national elections.
Judicial Review and Bureaucratic Impact: International and
Interdisciplinary Perspectives
Authors: Rose-Ackerman Susan
Published: October 2005

Judicial Review and Bureaucratic Impact: International and
Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Edited by Marc Hertogh and Simon
Halliday. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004. 328p. $90.00 cloth,
$39.99 paper.

The impact of judicial decisions on bureaucracy is poorly understood.
Some claim that court judgments have little or no effect. In contrast,
others worry that judges will usurp the policymaking role of the political
branches and override the expertise and experience of civil servants. As
this thoughtful and wide-ranging collection of papers demonstrates, both
claims are exaggerated.
Before Norms: Institutions and Civic Culture
Authors: Hooghe Marc
Published: October 2005

Before Norms: Institutions and Civic Culture. By Robert W.
Jackman and Ross A. Miller. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2004.
262p. $70.00 cloth, $22.95 paper.

With this volume, Robert Jackman and Ross Miller pursue a twofold
ambition. First, they want to demonstrate that most of the research on
political culture and the impact of values on political behavior can be
questioned, both on theoretical as on methodological grounds. Second, they
want to demonstrate that their theoretical model, based on the assumption
that actors optimize their behavior within durable institutional
restraints, is better able to explain what people do with regard to
politics.
Immigration and Politics in the New Europe: Reinventing
Borders
Authors: Kessler Alan E.
Published: October 2005

Immigration and Politics in the New Europe: Reinventing
Borders. By Gallya Lahav. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
334p. $75.00 cloth, $27.99 paper.

In this book, Gallya Lahav offers a nuanced account of the nascent and
dynamic Europeanization of migration policy. Moving beyond scholarship
that narrowly casts migration as a contest between supranational and
domestic constraints, Lahav depicts the prospects for collective European
migration policymaking as a product of “emergent consensual
attitudes on restrictive policies, among elites and mass publics
alike” (p. 9). By “bringing attitudes back in,” her
treatment offers a welcome complement to intergovernmentalist and
neofunctionalist accounts of migration policy and reminds readers that as
policymakers grapple with the domestic and international challenges of
contemporary immigration, cooperation may be of a negative or restrictive
sort.
Transatlantic Policymaking in an Age of Austerity: Diversity and
Drift
Authors: Korosec Ronnie L.
Published: October 2005

Transatlantic Policymaking in an Age of Austerity: Diversity and
Drift. Edited by Martin A. Levin and Martin Shapiro. Washington, DC:
Georgetown University Press, 2004. 344p. $29.95 paper.

In an age when we are aware of our increasing global connections with
one another, it is only fitting that we should observe the larger
similarities that we may share with other nations in the realm of
policymaking. In this book, editors Martin A. Levin and Martin Shapiro
argue that policymakers on both the conservative and liberal side of the
spectrum are so concerned about courting undecided voters who take a
“middle of the road” stance that they often compromise bold or
innovative policy initiatives in the name of moderation to attract these
neutral voters. To complicate matters, most governments are facing austere
conditions—which suggests that while demographic and political
forces shape policymaking, economic variables play a pivotal role as well.
The end result of this complex scenario is that policymakers are more
likely to be conformists than trailblazers.
Trust and Democratic Transition in Post-Communist Europe
Authors: Ost David
Published: October 2005

Trust and Democratic Transition in Post-Communist Europe.
Edited by Ivana Markova. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. 232p.
$65.00.

This is a frustrating volume. That trust is important to democratic
transition is its central assumption, but only the final chapter asks
whether it is true or why it should be. Instead, most of the chapters
discuss how the communist experience affected relations of trust. But some
chapters make claims about communist society that generalize solely from
the Stalinist period, while others concern the experiences of particular
countries to a point where the precise relationship to communism is left
unclear. In the end, the only unifying aspect of the book is each
chapter's discussion of some aspect of trust in relation to some
aspect of the former Soviet bloc.
Decentralization and Democracy in Latin America
Authors: Angell Alan
Published: October 2005

Decentralization and Democracy in Latin America. Edited by
Alfred P. Montero and David J Samuels. Notre Dame: University of Notre
Dame Press, 2004. 320p. $47.50 cloth, $27.50 paper.

The study of decentralization has become something of a fashion, not
least because it seems to encapsulate the process of democratization in
Latin America and the shift to a neoliberal policy framework, and because
it has been adopted by the political Left in sharp contrast to the
state-centered policies of previous decades. Decentralization has been
seen as the answer to improving the quality of popular participation in
Latin America, to improving the quality of public services, and to
improving the efficiency in the allocation of public resources.
Misplaced Distrust: Policy Networks and the Environment in France,
the United States, and Canada
Authors: Kamieniecki Sheldon
Published: October 2005

Misplaced Distrust: Policy Networks and the Environment in France,
the United States, and Canada. By Éric Montpetit. Vancouver,
BC: UBC Press, 2003. 168p. $75.00 cloth, $24.95 paper.

Given the enormous impact that agricultural practices have on the
natural environment, it is surprising that so little research has been
done on the subject. In addition to problems associated with runoff from
feedlots, farming generally requires the use of large amounts of
pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers. The chemicals that are
used in farming, if not adequately controlled, pollute the air and water
and negatively impact plants, wildlife, animals, and humans. Many
environmental scientists believe that agriculture has become too dependent
on chemicals to raise animals and grow crops and that it relies too little
on effective natural alternatives.
The Quality of Democracy: Theory and Applications
Authors: Eaton Kent
Published: October 2005

The Quality of Democracy: Theory and Applications. Edited by
Guillermo O'Donnell, Jorge Vargas Cullell, and Osvaldo M. Iazzetta.
Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2004. 288p. $55.00 cloth,
$25.00 paper.

The primary goal of this unique and compelling book is to provide the
theoretical and empirical foundations for what the authors hope will be a
new wave of interest in the quality of democracy. At the heart of the book
is a reaction against the minimalist definitions of democracy that in the
past two decades have come to dominate not just the regime literature but
also the democracy promotion work of a whole host of external donors in
what Guillermo O'Donnell calls the East and South. While more
countries have been able to sustain minimally democratic political regimes
than early pessimists feared, the paramount failings of democracy
nevertheless have been of growing concern to academics and citizens alike.
According to the argument advanced in this book, understanding the
performance of these new democracies—and identifying strategies for
strengthening democracy—requires that we move beyond regime type
“toward other spheres where political power is exercised” (p.
1). In much of Latin America, for example, political regimes experienced
democratization while many of the state's authoritarian legacies were
maintained more or less intact. In addition to conceptualizing democracy
in a richer and more complex way, the book goes on to show how this more
comprehensive view of democracy can be measured and evaluated, which it
does by describing an actual democracy audit in one important Latin
American case: Costa Rica.
Paths to Democracy: Revolution and Totalitarianism
Authors: Gill Graeme
Published: October 2005

Paths to Democracy: Revolution and Totalitarianism. By
Rosemary H. T. O'Kane. New York: Routledge, 2004. 288p. $110.00
cloth, $33.95 paper.

In this book, Rosemary O'Kane seeks to restore a political
dimension to the comparative historical analysis of paths to democracy.
Reacting against the focus upon social structure that has been so
prominent in the analysis of democratic and nondemocratic regime
trajectories, she attempts to provide an explanation of the paths to the
contemporary situations of three countries, France, Germany, and Russia.
She argues that these cases contrast with one another in ways that help to
illuminate a range of hypotheses generally accepted about the relationship
between democracy, on the one hand, and such variables as economic crisis,
economic growth, industrialization, and urbanization, on the other. In
broad terms, she sees the cases contrasting in the following ways: Russia
contrasts with France and Germany in respect to democracy, Germany with
France and Russia in respect to revolution, and France with Germany and
the Soviet Union in respect to totalitarianism.
Military Power: Explaining Victory and Defeat in Modern Battle
Authors: Kugler Richard L.
Published: October 2005

Military Power: Explaining Victory and Defeat in Modern
Battle. By Stephen Biddle. Princeton: Princeton University Press,
2004. 312p. $37.50.

Stephen Biddle has written a worthy book on the never-ending debate
over why land wars are won and lost. It contributes to the academic
literature, and his policy judgments deserve attention. He puts forth the
theory that “force employment” (i.e., doctrine for using
military forces in battle) plays a major role in determining outcomes, as
big a role as the size of contending forces and the sophistication of
their technologies. He further argues that modern employment doctrine,
which enables skilled ground forces to negate the effects of lethal fires
against them, was born in late World War I, when attackers finally
overcame entrenched defenses. A skilled operations research analyst of
tactical battles, Biddle offers a multimethod approach that combines
logical reasoning, case studies, mathematical models, statistical
analysis, and dynamic simulations. His book can be read by nonspecialists,
but many of its technical discussions (e.g., Lanchester equations) require
expert knowledge.
No End in Sight: The Continuing Menace of Nuclear
Proliferation
Authors: Harkavy Robert E.
Published: October 2005

No End in Sight: The Continuing Menace of Nuclear
Proliferation. By Nathan E. Busch. Lexington: The University Press of
Kentucky, 2004. 512p. $40.00.

This new work on the core issue of nuclear proliferation is somewhat
unique in its focus and organization. Most of the works on this subject
have a virtually standard organization involving a country-by-country
breakdown of the most recent and most likely proliferators (India,
Pakistan, Israel, Iraq, Iran, North Korea, etc.), according to their
motives (why they want to go nuclear) and their capacity to do so, either
by themselves or with the help of existing nuclear powers. The focus of
these works is, therefore, on what often is called “horizontal
proliferation,” having to do with the addition of extra members to
the “nuclear club.” Regarding the Cold War superpowers, the
United States and former USSR, there has been a largely separate
literature devoted to “vertical proliferation,” and associated
arms control measures and possibilities, in the context of nuclear
deterrence theories and concepts. The uniqueness of Nathan Busch's
book is that he combines these two genres, treating various aspects of the
nuclear programs of the long-existent large nuclear powers, as well as the
emerging nuclear programs of Iran, Iraq, North Korea, and so on as an
integrated subject.
National Governance and the Global Climate Change Regime
Authors: Durant Robert F.
Published: October 2005

National Governance and the Global Climate Change Regime. By
Dana R. Fisher. Latham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2004. 206p. $69.00
cloth, $27.95 paper.

Debate continues among scholars in a variety of disciplines over the
impact (positive, negative, or neutral) of transboundary environmental
problems on the sovereignty of nation-states, especially in the developing
world (see, for example, Karen Litfin, ed., The Greening of
Sovereignty in World Politics, 1998). Expanding this debate to
“economically advanced or postindustrial nations,” sociologist
Dana Fisher addresses three important questions in her book. First, what
is the role of the nation-state relative to other actors (civil society,
market, and scientific) in negotiating international agreements when
transnational environmental issues are involved? Second, how best can the
disparate reactions of governments to the development of these
international environmental pressures be explained? Third, how does the
interaction of international and national factors affect the substance of
international agreements?
Egalitarian Capitalism: Jobs, Incomes and Growth in Affluent
Countries
Authors: Hall Peter V.
Published: October 2005

Egalitarian Capitalism: Jobs, Incomes and Growth in Affluent
Countries. By Lane Kenworthy. New York: Russell Sage Foundation,
2004. 222p. $32.50.

Two decades of rising wage and household earnings inequality in the
world's wealthiest nations make the guiding question of Lane
Kenworthy's book both timely and important: “[M]ust
we give up on the vision of a dynamic and productive yet relatively
egalitarian form of capitalism?” (p. 1). To answer this question,
Kenworthy presents a careful comparative analysis of income inequality in
the countries of northwestern Europe, North America, and Australia during
the 1980s and 1990s. He shows that there is not necessarily a trade-off
between equality and income growth, although there may be a trade-off
between equality and some categories of employment growth. Hence, he
argues that with an updated, pro-employment version of the welfare state,
we need not give into growing disparity in advanced capitalist societies.
Whether this will be desired by all and achieved remains to be seen;
nevertheless, the book is an important antidote to the “there is no
alternative” type of thinking that pervades much contemporary
discourse on economic globalization.
Global Institutions and Social Knowledge: Generating Research at the
Scripps Institution and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission,
1900s–1990s
Authors: Campbell David F. J.
Published: October 2005

Global Institutions and Social Knowledge: Generating Research at
the Scripps Institution and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission,
1900s–1990s. By Virginia M. Walsh. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press,
2004. 208p. $50.00 cloth, $20.00 paper.

What is the interrelating link between institutions and knowledge,
primarily scientific knowledge? Conventional international relations
literature focuses typically on the impact of knowledge on institutions.
Virginia Walsh's interest, however, is to “turn the causal
arrow” by focusing on the “institutional dimension” of
knowledge creation: How do global political and economic, but also
epistemic, institutions shape knowledge generation? (pp. 4–5, 38,
128, 130). Here, the scientific disciplines qualify as epistemic
institutions (p. 34). From that point of departure, underscoring an
institutional perspective, the emphasis concentrates on the
“institutional mechanisms” through which knowledge is being
formed. Groups leverage institutional mechanisms to “generate
knowledge and fix beliefs” for the purposes of 1) establishing
common understandings, 2) repairing uncertainties, and 3) directing
inquiry by “fixing its direction” (pp. 3, 9, 38).
Men, Militarism, and UN Peacekeeping: A Gendered Analysis
Authors: Karns Margaret P.
Published: October 2005

Men, Militarism, and UN Peacekeeping: A Gendered Analysis. By
Sandra Whitworth. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2004. 225p. $49.95.

The rapid expansion in United Nations peacekeeping operations in the
1990s has inevitably led to official and scholarly scrutiny of their
efficacy and shortcomings. Sandra Whitworth offers a critical eye and
questions of gendered analysis by studying the subjects of the UN's
peacekeeping operation in Cambodia, whose presence often meant greater
insecurity as well as the (mis)conduct of soldiers from Canada—a
country historically linked to major peacekeeping contributions—in
Somalia. Using these two case studies, Whitworth highlights a basic
contradiction inherent in peacekeeping that stems from its heavy reliance
on soldiers whose training emphasizes masculine traits of violence,
homophobia, racism, and aggression, yet whose tasks as peacekeepers
require limiting violence to self-defense and providing a benign,
altruistic presence. She uses gender analysis to examine these
contradictions, to challenge peacekeeping's association with
alternatives to military violence, to show how peacekeeping forces can
increase local people's insecurity, rather than alleviating it, and
to critique the use of soldiers for missions requiring unsoldierly
skills.
Media and the Path to Peace
Authors: Kraidy Marwan M.
Published: October 2005

Media and the Path to Peace. By Gadi Wolfsfeld. New York:
Cambridge University Press, 2004. 284p. $70.00 cloth, $26.99 paper.

While the role of the mass media during conflict and war has been the
subject of numerous studies in the field of mass communications, there is
a paucity of research on mass media during peace processes. Media and
the Path to Peace is an important step in remedying this lack. A
study such as this confronts an unfortunate reality: The news media are
attracted to war and conflict, while peace processes make for paltry news
footage and thus are for the most part undercovered by the news media.
Indeed, it is Gadi Wolfsfeld's thesis that news values and peace
processes are inherently contradictory.
Proteomic Profiling of Escherichiacoli Proteins under High Cell Density Fed‐Batch Cultivation with Overexpression of Phosphogluconolactonase
Authors: Wang Yonghui , Wu Shiaw‐Lin , Hancock William S. , Trala Robin , Kessler Michelle , Taylor Alexander H. , Patel Pramatesh S. , Aon Juan C.
Published: October 2005

In this study, we used proteomics to better understand the growth on glucose of Escherichia coli in high cell density, fed‐batch cultures and the response to overexpression of plasmid‐encoded 6‐phosphogluconolactonase (PGL). Using liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray mass spectrometry, at least 300 proteins were identified in the cytosolic fraction of the six time points used to monitor the fermentation. The relative abundance changes of selected proteins were obtained by comparing the peak area of the corresponding peptides at a particular m/z (mass over charge ratio) value. During the time course of samples collected during the rapid growth achieved under batch and fed‐batch conditions, both the control and recombinant E. coli strains showed up‐regulation of proteins participating in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, particularly acetyl‐CoA synthetase (AcCoAS), malate dehydrogenase (MDH), and succinyl‐CoA synthetase (SuccCoAS). In the recombinant strain culture, fumarase was up‐regulated until 35 h after inoculation but was not in the control strain culture. In addition, the proteomic measurement detected up‐regulation of three well‐characterized binding transport proteins in both control and recombinant strains. The up‐regulation of TCA cycle enzymes is consistent with the increase in growth rate observed in the cell culture. In addition, up‐regulation of these proteins demonstrated the importance of both the pentose‐phosphate shunt and TCA cycle to the increased biosynthetic activity required by a high level protein synthesis. This study shows the potential of proteomics using shotgun sequencing (LC/MS of tryptic digests) to measure global changes in protein abundance during a fermentation process and will facilitate the development of robust manufacturing systems.
Clarification of Yeast Cell Suspensions by Depth Filtration
Authors: Chandler Martin A. , Zydney Andrew L.
Published: October 2005

Depth filtration can be very attractive for initial clarification because of low capital costs and ease of operation. However, there is currently no fundamental understanding of the effects of the filter pore size and morphology on the overall capacity and filtrate quality. The objective of this study was to examine the flux, capacity, and filtrate turbidity of a series of depth filters with different pore size ratings and multilayer structures for the filtration of yeast cell suspensions. Data were analyzed using available fouling models to obtain insights into the flux decline mechanisms. Filters with small pore size provide high filtrate quality at low capacity, with the reverse being true for the larger pore sizes. The multilayer structure of commercial depth filters leads to improved performance, although the choice of layer properties is critical. The highest capacity was achieved using a multilayer filter in which the upper layer allows significant yeast cell penetration into the filter matrix but still protects the retentive layer that is needed for a high quality filtrate.
Alkaline Protease Production by an Isolated Bacilluscirculans under Solid‐State Fermentation Using Agroindustrial Waste: Process Parameters Optimization
Authors: Prakasham R. S. , Rao Ch. Subba , Rao R. Sreenivas , Sarma P. N.
Published: October 2005

Alkaline protease production using isolated Bacillus circulans under solid‐state fermentation environment was optimized by using Taguchi orthogonal array (OA) experimental design (DOE) methodology to understand the interaction of a large number of variables spanned by factors and their settings with a small number of experiments in order to economize the process optimization. The software‐designed experiments with an OA worksheet of L‐27 was selected to optimize fermentation (temperature, particle size, moisture content and pH), nutrition (yeast extract and maltose), and biomaterial‐related (inoculum size and incubation time) factors for the best production yields. Analysis of experimental data using Qualitek‐4 methodology showed significant variation in enzyme production levels (32000–73000 units per gram material) and dependence on the selected factors and their assigned levels. Validation of experimental results on alkaline protease production by this bacterial strain based on DOE methodology revealed 51% enhanced protease production compared to average performance of the fermentation, indicating the importance of this methodology in the evaluation of main and interaction effects of the selected factors individually and in combination for bioprocess optimization.
Confocal Optical System: A Novel Noninvasive Sensor To Study Mixing
Authors: Vallejos Jose R. , Kostov Yordan , Marten Mark R. , Rao Govind
Published: October 2005

A novel confocal optical system to study mixing time in small‐scale bioreactors is presented. The system is designed to monitor fluorescence upon tracer addition from a localized confocal volume of 0.21 mL within a glass vessel. The key elements of the fluorescence‐based confocal system are a pinhole, a lens, an APD (Avalanche photodiode) detector, and light filters. The optical technique was validated by comparison with a pH‐based technique. Finally, the optical sensor was tested and a real cultivation media (i.e., spent mammalian cell media) was used to measure mixing time in a 12.5‐mL stirred transparent vessel. High accuracy, easy results interpretation, and low costs are the three most attractive characteristics of the sensor. Because of its noninvasive nature and versatility, the results suggest that the confocal system is a promising tool to perform mixing time studies in stirred vessels.
Enhanced Lycopene Productivity by Manipulation of Carbon Flow to Isopentenyl Diphosphate in Escherichia coli
Authors: Vadali Ravishankar V. , Fu Yuchun , Bennett George N. , San Ka‐Yiu
Published: October 2005

Lycopene is a useful phytochemical that holds great commercial value. In our study the lycopene production pathway in E. coli originating from the precursor isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) of the non‐mevalonate pathway was reconstructed. This engineered strain of E. coli accumulated lycopene intracellularly under aerobic conditions. As a next step, the production of lycopene was enhanced through metabolic engineering methodologies. Various competing pathways at the pyruvate and acetyl‐CoA nodes were inactivated to divert more carbon flux to IPP and subsequently to lycopene. It was found that the ackA‐pta, nuo mutant produced a higher amount of lycopene compared to the parent strain. To further enhance lycopene production, a novel mevalonate pathway, in addition to the already existing non‐mevalonate pathway, was engineered. This pathway utilizes acetyl‐CoA as precursor, condensing it to form acetoacetyl‐CoA and subsequently leading to formation of IPP. Upon the introduction of this new pathway, lycopene production increased by over 2‐fold compared to the ackA‐pta, nuo mutant strain.
Extracellular Production of Human Parathyroid Hormone as a Thioredoxin Fusion Form in Escherichia coli by Chemical Permeabilization Combined with Heat Treatment
Authors: Fu Xiang‐Yang , Tong Wang‐Yu , Wei Dong‐Zhi
Published: October 2005

A pET system encoding the fusion protein gene of thioredoxin (Trx) and human parathyroid hormone (hPTH) was introduced into Escherichia coliBL21 (DE3). Recombinant Trx‐hPTH fusion protein was expressed in soluble form in the cytoplasm of the E. colitransformant. To recover Trx‐hPTH from the E. coli culture efficiently, a novel tactic was developed by adding Triton X‐100 into the fermentation culture at the exponential growth phase of E. coli and by heat treatment of the culture at the end of the fermentation. A concentration of 1% (v/v) Triton X‐100 was added into the culture at the same time as IPTG addition after optimization. Under these conditions, addition of Triton X‐100 had little effect on the cell growth, but more than 75% of the total recombinant Trx‐hPTH was released into the fermentation broth. Also, a much higher volumetric yield of recombinant Trx‐hPTH could be obtained with protein release compared to yield without protein release. Simultaneously, owing to the highly thermal stability of Trx‐hPTH fusion protein, heat treatment of the fermentation broth at 80 °C for 15 min at the end of fermentation was employed for primary purification. Results demonstrated that heat treatment not only boosted further release of the recombinant Trx‐hPTH fusion protein into the fermentation broth but also precipitated/denatured most of the nontarget proteins released in the broth. The tactics described herein integrated the fermentation process with subsequent recovery steps and thus provided a valuable and economical method for the production of Trx‐hPTH and maybe some other Trx fusions in E. coli.
Separation of Genomic DNA from Plasmid DNA by Selective Renaturation with Immobilized Metal Affinity Capture
Authors: Cano Tony , Murphy Jason C. , Fox George E. , Willson Richard C.
Published: October 2005

In contrast to proteins, many nucleic acids can undergo reversible modification of their conformations, and this flexibility can be used to facilitate purification. Selective renaturation with capture is a novel method of removing contaminating genomic DNA from plasmid samples. Plasmid DNA quickly renatures after thermal denaturation and cooling (or alkaline denaturation followed by neutralization), whereas genomic DNA remains locally denatured after rapid cooling in mismatch‐stabilizing high ionic strength buffer. Partially denatured genomic DNA can be selectively bound to a metal chelate affinity adsorbent through exposed purine bases, while double‐stranded renatured plasmid DNA is not bound. Using this method we have readily achieved 1,000,000‐fold clearance of 71 wt % contaminating E. coli genomic DNA from plasmid samples.
Effect of Amino Acids on Acrylamide Formation and Elimination Kinetics
Authors: Claeys Wendie L. , de Vleeschouwer Kristel , Hendrickx Marc E.
Published: October 2005

The effect of amino acids other than asparagine on acrylamide (AA) formation/elimination kinetics was studied in an asparagine‐glucose model system (0.01 M, pH 6) heated at temperatures between 140 and 200 °C. Addition of cysteine or lysine to the model significantly lowered the AA yield, whereas addition of glutamine had a strong promoting effect and of alanine a rather neutral effect on the AA formation. This was also reflected by AA formation/elimination kinetics, which for all model systems studied could be modeled by two consecutive first‐order reactions. The ratio of the elimination to the formation rate constant increased from the systems to which glutamine or alanine was added, over the control model system, to the model systems that contained lysine or cysteine.
Oil Wastes as Unconventional Substrates for Rhamnolipid Biosurfactant Production by Pseudomonas aeruginosa LBI
Authors: Nitschke Marcia , Costa Siddhartha G. V. A. O. , Haddad Renato , G. Gonçalves Lireny A. , Eberlin Marcos N. , Contiero Jonas
Published: October 2005

Oil wastes were evaluated as alternative low‐cost substrates for the production of rhamnolipids by Pseudomonas aeruginosa LBI strain. Wastes obtained from soybean, cottonseed, babassu, palm, and corn oil refinery were tested. The soybean soapstock waste was the best substrate, generating 11.7 g/L of rhamnolipids with a surface tension of 26.9 mN/m, a critical micelle concentration of 51.5 mg/L, and a production yield of 75%. The monorhamnolipid RhaC10C10 predominates when P. aeruginosa LBI was cultivated on hydrophobic substrates, whereas hydrophilic carbon sources form the dirhamnolipid Rha2C10C10 predominantly.