Books by Howard J. Wiarda

This book explores the distinct tradition of social change and political development in Latin America. Looking particularly at the challenges presented by redemocratization and the new pluralism, it raises the question of whether a "distinct tradition" still remains.

This book focuses on the processes and politics of dismantling "corporate" economies and political systems in the Third World. It explores how this separation would create a move toward civil societies of free associability and democracy, as well as the limits to and pitfalls of this approach.

This book surveys all the main theories and approaches in comparative politics. It provides background on the history of the field and it includes contributions by the leading figures in the field.

This succinct overview of the political factors that condition social and economic development in Latin America is the perfect core text in courses on politics, government, social change, and transitions to democracy throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

This book presents the career stories of twenty scholars and policy practitioners to give readers an accurate and realistic view of life outside the academic world.

Since the end of the Cold War, there has been a great deal of debate about what U.S. foreign policy should be and how priorities should be reordered.

This study explores the main themes of Latin American political culture and its models of democracy and why they differ so greatly from those of the USA. It focuses on the political theory of Iberia and Latin America, and its implications for democratic development and U.S. foreign policy.

Since the 1980s a remarkable consensus has emerged in U.S. foreign policy based on three main pillars: democracy, free trade, and open markets.

Dispatches from the Frontlines analyzes some of the world's most contentious hotspots. It focuses on such compelling global issues as Third World development, the role of the state, corporatism, and foreign aid. This is a thought-provoking book for anyone interested in foreign policy, comparative politics, and international affairs.

This book examines the declining role of universities in policy generation and analyzes the increasing political influence of Washington-based institutions. This provocative new book identifies such Washington think tanks and policy shops as AEI, CSIS, and the National War College as the main generators of policy ideas.

This book analyzes the connections between international relations, comparative politics, and foreign policy. Howard J. Wiarda points out where these fields have gone astray, indicates what must be done to correct their downward trajectories, and offers probing analyses of recent political topics that re-forge the links between the three fields.

The National War College at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C., is the apex of the American system of military Professional Military Education (PME) Schools. The War College has trained such leading foreign policy specialists as former National Security Director Brent Scowcroft, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and current National Security Director James Jones. Yet, despite its prestige, not all is right at the College. There is a festering conflict between the military brass who run the school and the civilian academics who teach there. The curriculum is outdated, the courses are old-fashioned, and the college failed completely to prepare a new generation of military leaders for guerilla terrorism, a-symmetrical warfare of the kind we are now facing in Iraq and Afghanistan, and democracy-promotion and national building. In Military Brass vs. Civilian Academics at the National War College: A Clash of Cultures, Howard J. Wiarda uses his first-hand experience to examine the conflict between the two cultures, military and civilian, that coexist uneasily at the College. He also explores the issues_tenure, academic freedom, research, teaching_that divide them. While this study focuses on the National War College, what Wiarda has to say about the tensions and 'clash of culture' applies to all PME schools.

Tracing the developments in Southern and Eastern Europe, which has undergone impressive transitions to democracy, experienced vast social changes, and joined the EU and NATO, this study shows that culture, geographic location, and timing do matter. It is for students of Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, and transitions to democracy.

Argues that the foreign policy of the United States reflects the divisions and dysfunctions we see in our domestic culture and society. This text tackles such issues as ethnocentrism (our inability to understand other countries) in foreign policy as well as US efforts to extend democracy, human rights, and civil society in other countries.

Provides an introduction to the field of comparative politics. This book explores different innovative directions in the field, its main approaches, including political development, political culture, dependency theory, corporatism, indigenous theories of change, state-society relations, rational choice, and the institutionalism.

Conservative Brain Trust traces the rise, fall, and rise again of the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI). More than that, it is the story of one of Washington's leading think tanks: what it's like to work there, how Washington works, and how AEI influences policy, including policy on the controversial Iraq War. This is a wide-ranging review of the Washington think tank world, focused particularly on AEI. The book is a social science and political study of the role of think tanks in Washington policy-making and, in part, a personal memoir of the author's adventures and perceptions in seeking to link academic research and American foreign policy. What emerges is a portrait of AEI as an influential, but also troubled, think tank with access to the highest levels of the U.S. government. Irreverent as well as analytic, the author recounts his adventures and experiences in the think tank and policy worlds.

Think tanks have become increasingly important in American politics foreign policy. In the last thirty years think tanks have emerged as major actors on the political stage, comparable in influence to large interest groups, political parties, and government agencies. In the same time span these think tanks have replaced universities as the main source for new policy ideas and the background research and arguments to justify them. This book discusses think tanks in general but focuses specifically on the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) in Philadelphia. Though a smallish 'tank,' FPRI has been enormously influential, feeding its ideas into government and policy debate even at the level of presidential politics. The author discusses FPRI within the context of the growing influence of presidential politics. The author discusses FPRI within the context of the growing influence of think tanks over public policy in general and foreign policy in particular.

The puzzle or query that chiefly concerns this author is why the United States (US) and its foreign policy have such a hard time understanding cultures and societies other than their own.

What options are available now or in the future for students interested in a public policy career? How do they train, network, and advance in the field? Students, parents, professors, guidance counselors, and department chairs are often frustrated by the absence of a solid, readable book on policy careers and options. This book presents the career stories of twenty scholars and policy practitioners who have worked in Congress, the State Department, the CIA, Defense, international agencies, think tanks, the media, and major law firms-all of whom have been influential in shaping public policy-to give readers an accurate and realistic view of life outside the academic world.No other book provides this type of solid advice for young policy professionals and for older scholars considering career changes. As such, it is vital reading in guidance and department collections, and an essential addition to the personal bookshelves of individual students, scholars, and researchers.

Harvard's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs (WCFIA) is one of the nation's premier institutions for research on foreign policy, comparative politics, security policy, and international relations. It has also been an incubator of presidential advisors on foreign policy_Bob Bowie, Mac Bundy, Henry Kissinger, Zbigniew Brzezinski. In this insider and first-person book on WCFIA (formerly CFIA), Howard J. Wiarda explores Harvard's history and culture, the founding and development of WCFIA, and how this prestigious institution works. He examines the WCFIA seminar system, the fellows program, and the incredible flow of presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers, and defense ministers who flow through WCFIA on an everyday basis. He looks at the research agenda at WCFIA, how it influences foreign policy, and the 'in 'n outers' revolving door flow of WCFIA scholars and policy wonks into Washington policy-making at the highest levels. In the process the author provides revealing portraits of such eminent scholars and policy influentials as Gabriel Almond, Brzezinski, Stanley Hoffman, Sam Huntington, Kissinger, Joe Nye, Bob Putnam, Lucian Pye, Myron Wiener, and many others. This book is written in an engaging style and includes the author's own experiences at Harvard and WCFIA over a forty-year period. The book is part of a series by the author on 'Universities, Think Tanks, and War Colleges: The Changing Pattern of Foreign Policy Influence.'

This book surveys all the main theories and approaches in comparative politics. It provides background on the history of the field and it includes contributions by the leading figures in the field.

Spain and Portugal have adopted European-style democratic and political systems. Yet, their pattern of historical development, as this text demonstrates, is distinctive. The authors analyze the special features of Spanish history, including the Catholic tradition and Spanish feudalism.