Hans-Jürgen Puhle

"In From Epic to Canon, Cross discusses specific issues that illuminate central questions about the Hebrew Bible and those who created and preserved it. He challenges the persistent attempt to read Protestant theological polemic against law into ancient Israel. Cross uncovers the continuities between the institutions of kinship and of covenant which he describes as "extended kinship." He examines the social structures of ancient Israel and reveals that beneath later social and cultural accretions, the concept of covenant - as opposed to codified law - was a vital part of Israel's earliest institutions. He then draws parallels between the expression of kinship and covenant among the Israelites and that among other ancient societies, as well as in primitive societies."--BOOK JACKET.

Das Buch faßt wesentliche Erkenntnisse der Transformationsforschung der vergangenen 40 Jahre zusammen. Es präsentiert, kommentiert und diskutiert die wichtigsten politikwissenschaftlichen Ansätze, die den Übergang autokratischer in demokratische Herrschaftsordnungen zu erklären suchen. Auf dem Hintergrund dieser theoretischen Überlegungen werden die besonderen Hindernisse, Probleme und Chancen herausgearbeitet, die sich innerhalb der drei großen Transformationsetappen - der Ablösung des alten Regimes, der Institutionalisierung sowie der Konsolidierung der Demokratie - ergeben. Abschließend wird anhand von drei Beispielen Osteuropas gezeigt, warum Transformationsprozesse hin zur Demokratie erfolgreich verlaufen (Ungarn), verzögert werden (Rußland) oder scheitern (Weißrußland). Das Buch eignet sich besonders für Studenten und Interessierte, die sich einen Überblick über die Ansätze, Probleme und Ergebnisse der Transformations- und Demokratisierungsforschung verschaffen wollen.

"Though scholarly attention to democracy promotion is increasing, there is still little comparative and theoretically-based work on the protagonists of democracy promotion. This book investigates the motives that drive democracy promotion in a comparative and theoretically oriented manner, exploring how democracy promoters deal with conflicting objectives and the factors that shape their behaviour. It also addresses the more policy-oriented debate on the contemporary challenges to democracy promotion, focusing on US and German policies towards three kinds of challenges: the emergence of 'radical' leftist governments in Bolivia and Ecuador, the political rise of Islamist movements in Turkey and Pakistan, and the consolidation of (semi-)authoritarian rule in Belarus and Russia. In each case, North-Western democracy promoters have been confronted with serious conflicts of objectives between security, economic interests and democracy promotion. The analysis and comparison of such situations in which democracy promoters have to deal with competing objectives and make tough decisions provides powerful evidence as to the factors that shape democracy promotion." -- Publisher website.