Political Functions Research Articles

Self-praise in Japanese conversation

This study qualitatively examines self-praise in naturally-occurring Japanese conversations between friends. It analyses forms of self-praise, including their context dependency, sequential features, and politeness functions. Instances of self-praise were collected from a corpus and analyzed by applying a taxonomy drawn from social media communication. Self-praise in conversation showed features not hitherto discussed in studies of digital communication. Self-praise occurring in spontaneous conversation was found to be modified by numerous strategies and frequently modified in multiple layers across different domains consisting of hedges, turn-taking strategies, and narrative strategies. Highly modified forms of self-praise suggest that this speech act poses substantial face-threat in face-to-face conversation, supporting previous research findings that modesty and indirectness are salient features of Japanese politeness. Moreover, self-praise in conversations was often used successively in turn sequences and appears to play a role in politeness. Contrary to the general assumption that self-praise should be discouraged, self-praise was found to function as positive politeness, consolidating closeness between participants and enhancing face. The study raises a possibility that self-praise turn sequences and their politeness functions may relate to levels of explicitness as well as gender.

The Possibility of Progress: An Interview with Bruce Robbins

Abstract In this wide-ranging interview, Bruce Robbins reflects on themes that have long been at the center of his work, including cosmopolitanism, the political functions of literature and of literary criticism, narratives, progress, feelings, morals, class politics in general and “middle-class politics” in particular, solidarity, anti-statism, how to measure a scholarly career, and more.

Viceregalism: The Crown as Head of State in Political Crises in the Postwar Commonwealth. By H. Kumarasingham (ed.)

Cancelled hospital appointments, postponed Royal Mail and rail strikes, suspended sporting events and closed banks due to national mourning—the death of Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September 2022 had significant consequences for public life in the UK and beyond. With the disruption of the work of the parliaments of her realms (including the four parliaments of the UK and other parts of the Commonwealth such as Australia), they also reached the political arena, reminding the public that in the British constitutional monarchy the Crown is ‘an integral part of the institution of Parliament’, indeed the ‘oldest part of the system of government in this country’, as the UK Parliament’s website puts it.1 Published well before the events of September 2022, H. Kumarasingham’s new book, which appeared in the Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies Series, is devoted to the political functions of the Crown in the post-war Commonwealth. It is an important volume because the politics of and with the Crown are still among the most under-researched areas in political science, but also in history. This is hardly understandable in light of central monarchical reserve powers and the empirically describable politicizations of the monarchy from various sides. The study of the political functions and politicizations of the Crown also offers insight into the functions of modern constitutional monarchies as well as into the political culture and practices of Commonwealth member states. With such a perspective, it would be possible—and, in fact, necessary—to reinscribe the monarchy into the contemporary political history of Britain and beyond, in which it has a place, but which scholarly research has so far not illuminated enough. Significantly complementing existing, older constitutional law studies, Kumarasingham’s book now makes a substantial contribution to this. Although it is not explicitly oriented towards the new political history, the cultural history of politics or a history of political practices, it contributes significantly to these current fields of research with regard to the contemporary Commonwealth.

The Elements of International Legal Positivism

Abstract This article contains a plea for continuing attention to the elements of international legal positivism. Using the language of ‘elements’ deliberately plays on the positivist tendency to describe the legal discipline as a legal science. Yet law’s elements differ in important ways from the usual objects of scientific inquiry. Law’s method does not seek to address the structure and behaviour of the physical world, but that of a particular society with its own political polarities, structure and functions. The fact that international law inherits its positivist method from the domestic legal context therefore presents complications. While the adoption of positivism as international law’s predominant legal method was animated in part by a desire to provide international law with the imprimatur it needs to claim credibility as a legal system, it has also served as an impediment to international law’s development in a distinctive fashion from domestic law. International law’s attachment to the positivist method has at times extended to an attachment to certain presuppositions more closely associated with the development of the modern European state. This article takes the position that it is important to engage with international legal positivism on its own terms. Part I traces the lineage of three important traditions of international legal positivism (‘social thesis’ positivism, ‘system-based’ positivism and ‘teleological’ positivism) highlighting their different emphases and in doing so identifying key elements. Part II interrogates certain presuppositions sometimes associated with these traditions and considers whether it is appropriate to rethink or re-engineer these aspects in their application to the international legal system. While positivism is sometimes associated with ‘purifying’ law as a discipline, the article takes the position that the positivist method can only endure if complemented by a rich legal, political and social discourse focused on understanding its relationship to the elements of the international legal system, in particular, international law’s community, authority and functions.

Strengthening Response Toward Promoting Mental Health in India: A Narrative Review.

Mental health is an essential component of human development. It deals with human ideas and emotions, and it helps to lead a good life by paving the way for healthy minds. The absence of a healthy mind is a substantial hindrance to personal, societal, and national economic, political, and social functioning. For a long time in India, mental illness has been shrouded in stigma, ignorance, and superstition. The National Mental Health Program (NMHP) has undergone major strategic revisions throughout its existence, from instituting a district as the entity for program planning and implementation under the District Mental Health Program (DMHP) to integrating it with the National Rural Health Mission to productively scale up the program. Many researchers reviewed the program, which was also evaluated by governing and non-governmental institutions. Financial and human capital restrictions, a lack of public involvement, inefficient training, poor non-governmental organization/private cooperation, and a deficit of solid monitoring and evaluation system have all hampered the program's impact. A thorough study of the literature on India's unique mental health initiatives was conducted using particular Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) terms, including "community mental health program,""mental health project,""innovative in mental health programs," and "India,"and Boolean operators "AND/OR." The MeSH keywords used were as follows: mental health projectOR ("mental health project" [Mesh] OR "innovative in mental health programs" [Mesh]) AND community mental health program AND("community mental health program" [Mesh]), India OR ("India" [Mesh]). A preliminary search was conducted in Google Scholar and the PubMed database. A total of 55 indexed papers were found, of which 24 articles were duplicates, hence they were removedand the research eventually contained 31 investigations. Over time, it has become clear that a strong focus on community mental health is critical, and that the DMHPand NMHP, in terms of coverage and utilization of their service components, need to be strengthened. As with many other public health programs, public awareness and information, education, and communication programs must be the most important components for change to occur at the community level.Many tactics and innovations also help to democratize mental health care by allowing the integration of mental health programs into primary care, which is more equitable in the long run and leads to "good mental health for everyone."

Effects of different plant communities on fine particulate matter concentrations in green areas around Quancheng Road, Jinan

To study the effect of different plant communities on fine particulate matter PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations in green areas attached to urban roads is an important basis for improving the air pollution control function of urban green areas and optimizing the configuration of green areas, and it can provide an optimal solution for plant configuration selection. In this paper, the intersection of Quancheng Road and the front street of the provincial government in the Lixia District of Jinan City was selected as the research object, which has certain research value because of its important political and commercial functions and therefore has a large flow of people and vehicles. The CEM DT-9880 particle counter was used to measure the concentration of fine particulate matter at 1m and 2m height, respectively, and to analyze and compare the effect of different plant communities on fine particulate matter concentration and dust removal ability. The design optimization strategy of road accessory green space was proposed to regulate and improve the fine particulate matter.

Political Appeal of Religion

Much of philosophical reflections about the relations between religion and politics fall within the liberal tradition of religious restraint, which generated both the backlash of a new traditionalism and the critical turn in the study of religion. Moving beyond the real or imagined isomorphism of religion and politics, I show how the political functions of religion are closely connected to the anthropological reflections about culture and politics. The aim is to provide political theory with a new “awareness of what is missing” by revealing the deeply political significance of religion, not merely as an instrument used in political contexts for political purposes but a total political fact, which remain hidden behind the moral discourses of religious advocates, political leaders, and academic scholars.

Pedagogies of Defiance

ABSTRACT Beginning from Paulo Freire's insistence that ‘Education either functions as an instrument to bring about conformity or freedom,' we can begin to unpack the political function of Higher Education in the UK. This essay uses auto-ethnographic fragments alongside examples of marketisation and securitisation in universities, in order to consider the dissonance between the university's role in authoritarian nationalism and its embrace of the language of ‘decolonisation.' Turning to the educational power of protest as a means to develop institutional disloyalty, this essay suggests that we can draw on the lessons of anticolonial and migrant struggles to construct a pedagogy of defiance beyond the university’s limits.

Changes in Hungarian academic psychology after the end of "people's democracy".

The paper surveys the last 30 years of Hungarian academic psychology. Around 1989-1990, the time of the great social changes Hungarian psychology was rather Westernized, but still a relatively small scientific field and applied profession. The opening and liberalization of politics made psychology in Hungary a booming profession and a rich research field. Education of psychologists was spreading, and becoming more Westernized in textbook usage and reading materials. Entrance numbers at two universities with 80 students were replaced by 2010 by 6 university programs and about 8000 incoming students. The training system is a Bologna type BA + MA + PhD system, The educational booming has its own problems. As all university subjects, psychology training is also underfinanced, with high teaching loads and a move by university management towards applied areas, neglecting basic research. The research activity is characterized by a fivefold increase of English language publications coming from Hungary over a 20 years period. University research was strengthened, and competitive grant systems were introduced, whth good success aretes by psychologists. Here again, managerial thinking questions many aspects of basic research and liberalized science management. These factors are peculiar to psychology, but they do have an impact on it. The paper gives some details about one chapter of academic psychology, cognitive psychology. Institutionally, support by the Soros foundation in the 90s for the university cognitive programs had as one consequence that three departments of cognition are active in Budapest today. Another aspect of insitutional development was the series of multidisciplinary conferences in Hungary (MAKOG), and Hungarian involvement in international graduate training programs in cognitive science. The most successful cognitive group, at Central European University (5 ERC grants, publications in leading journals) is recently chased out of Hungary by anti-Western and antiliberal legal moves. This would certainly have a detrimental effect on Hungarian cognitive psychology for quite a time.

KESANTUNAN BERBAHASA SEBAGAI IMPLEMENTASI PENDIDIKAN KARAKTER PADA PEMBELAJARAN DI SMP PGRI 2 WATES KABUPATEN BLITAR: KAJIAN SOSIOLINGUISTIK ALIH KODE DAN CAMPUR KODE

Learning in schools is inseparable from code switching and code mixing related to language politeness in schools as the implementation of character education. This study uses qualitative research using recording, note-taking, free-involvement listening, and interview techniques. The research location is at SMP PGRI 2 Wates as Blitar Regency, East Java Province, as a target school in the Teaching Campus 4-year 2022 program. This study's data source is speech or communication events between teachers and students in grades VII, VIII, and IX in SMP PGRI 2 Wates. The results obtained in learning at SMP PGRI 2 Wates code switching and code is mixing in classroom learning using Javanese and Indonesian languages, the use of Javanese language for students' teachers can use Javanese Krama so that there is an influence on language politeness as the implementation of character education and strengthening the profile of Pancasila students. The function of language politeness in uploading the Javanese language to students to the teacher makes the interactions that occur while learning more fun and comfortable. Besides, the intimacy between teachers and students can be established with aspects of code-switching and code-mixing in classroom learning. The influence of linguistic politeness in learning at SMP PGRI 2 Wates cannot be separated from the Javanese culture of the Wates community, which is still attached to Javanese uploads to respect older people or people who are respected in Javanese politeness.

Decoding the linguistic functions of emoji: A discourse analysis of messenger chats

This discourse analysis aimed to investigate the different emoji and its pragmatic illocutionary forces as used in messenger chats. The study utilized the qualitative content approach in identifying the different communicative uses of the emoji as reflected and as used in the context of online discourse. This explores the different signs and symbols in the form of emoji used by interactants in their computer-mediated exchange of discourse. Data revealed that the different symbols or emojis that represent the current state of being as used by interactants in their messenger chats are: church, sick emoji, morbid, confused, sad, crying, in love, like, wave, shocked, halo, bored or sleepy , birthday, and virus emoji. The different linguistic functions reflected in the use of emoji are: expressive, interpretative, relational, politeness, emphatic, structural and referential functions. In terms of the illocutionary force, the illocutionary acts are: expressive, representative, directive and commissive. Emojis are what the modern times has to offer a different set of languages. This particular language, however, is in its infancy stage and still needs to be studied, and understood. Based on the results gathered, emojis are flexible types of languages that can either support the existing one by making more palatable on the online community or it will become the language itself in some cases. Nevertheless, the studies regarding these modern signs and symbols will prove to be fun, challenging and beneficial as it is constantly changing overtime by the course of technology.

Brandos Costumes(1975): Oppositional Filmmaking Meetsthe National Archive in Revolutionary Portugal

The article analyzes the use of archival footage in the Portuguese film Brandos Costumes (Mild Manners, 1975), directed by Alberto Seixas Santos (1936–2016). The film was shot in 1972–73, in the wake of the political opening that followed António de Oliveira Salazar's retirement, a period known as Marcelismo (1968–1974); however, it did not premier until September 1975, that is, several months after the military coup that put an end to the regime in April 1974. I identify the archival material and examine how it was incorporated into the film. Drawing on contemporaneous and more recent sources, I then discuss the film's dissonant reception and political equivocations.

Introduction: The Olympic Scholarship of John J. MacAloon

Introduction: The Olympic Scholarship of John J. MacAloon

The Role of Nature in Human Healing

In musing on what Freud would have thought about the contributions of social dysfunction to psychological pathology Paul Goodman (1991) concluded that “it would become increasingly evident to him, would it not, that cure could not depend merely on talk, revival of affect, and reconsideration, but must also pass over into practical behavior, and therefore must involve a change of the social rules so as to make such curative behavior possible” (40). One can find similar references to the importance Goodman placed on the crucial role of sociopolitical functioning in all areas of the human condition throughout his vast array of political essays, educational theories, poetry, and in the 1951 tome, Gestalt Therapy: Excitement and Growth in the Human Personality. And it was through such a search that I eventually provided myself with sufficient theoretical support for including social and political issues into the therapeutic process.The Gestalt perspective that seemed most relevant in this regard had to do with Goodman’s concept of self-formation, a psychologically dynamic process in which the momentary creations of self at any given time, are formed “OF” rather than “AT” the organism/environment boundary. To form “AT” the boundary would imply an additive dynamic in which individual entities join together. To form “OF” the organism/environmental field implies a more holistic fusing: one in which more novel, and existential gestalten are formed, ones that contain elements and interactions determining lively wholes; as such, they are capable of including social and political variables which, similar to other aspects of self-functioning, can qualify as legitimate grist for the psychotherapeutic mill.When employing such a paradigm in therapy, I will often find it important to redefine the term “political” to facilitate its integration into the treatment. I present political functioning in Gestalt-based process terminology rather than through the more formal nomenclature typically applied to political party identification. When successful, the therapy becomes free to explore inquiries such as the following: What type of sociopolitical processes do you feel would be helpful and supportive to you with respect to the work you have done here? Are there ways in which you can imagine yourself becoming active in movements or organizations that support such principles and practices?I often find this sort of inquiry most effective toward the end of therapy, in that it adds a welcomed complexity to a lot of the psychological work already accomplished. In addition, it sends off the important, yet implicit, message that indeed it is difficult if not impossible to maintain one’s sanity in an insane environment. In addition, I often find that this type of closure instills a spontaneous and comprehensive understanding of more global environmental concerns. And here again, Gestalt therapy can be useful; a factor highlighted by Theodore Roszak (1992) who, in assessing various schools of psychology that attempt to incorporate environmental awareness into their theoretical structure, believed that: “Only the Gestalt school has introduced a larger, more fully biological context for therapy that seeks to unite figure with ground, organism with environment; it is the only school that uses the concept of ecology in its theories” (304).

The Role of Nature in Human Healing

In musing on what Freud would have thought about the contributions of social dysfunction to psychological pathology Paul Goodman (1991) concluded that “it would become increasingly evident to him, would it not, that cure could not depend merely on talk, revival of affect, and reconsideration, but must also pass over into practical behavior, and therefore must involve a change of the social rules so as to make such curative behavior possible” (40). One can find similar references to the importance Goodman placed on the crucial role of sociopolitical functioning in all areas of the human condition throughout his vast array of political essays, educational theories, poetry, and in the 1951 tome, Gestalt Therapy: Excitement and Growth in the Human Personality. And it was through such a search that I eventually provided myself with sufficient theoretical support for including social and political issues into the therapeutic process.The Gestalt perspective that seemed most relevant in this regard had to do with Goodman’s concept of self-formation, a psychologically dynamic process in which the momentary creations of self at any given time, are formed “OF” rather than “AT” the organism/environment boundary. To form “AT” the boundary would imply an additive dynamic in which individual entities join together. To form “OF” the organism/environmental field implies a more holistic fusing: one in which more novel, and existential gestalten are formed, ones that contain elements and interactions determining lively wholes; as such, they are capable of including social and political variables which, similar to other aspects of self-functioning, can qualify as legitimate grist for the psychotherapeutic mill.When employing such a paradigm in therapy, I will often find it important to redefine the term “political” to facilitate its integration into the treatment. I present political functioning in Gestalt-based process terminology rather than through the more formal nomenclature typically applied to political party identification. When successful, the therapy becomes free to explore inquiries such as the following: What type of sociopolitical processes do you feel would be helpful and supportive to you with respect to the work you have done here? Are there ways in which you can imagine yourself becoming active in movements or organizations that support such principles and practices?I often find this sort of inquiry most effective toward the end of therapy, in that it adds a welcomed complexity to a lot of the psychological work already accomplished. In addition, it sends off the important, yet implicit, message that indeed it is difficult if not impossible to maintain one’s sanity in an insane environment. In addition, I often find that this type of closure instills a spontaneous and comprehensive understanding of more global environmental concerns. And here again, Gestalt therapy can be useful; a factor highlighted by Theodore Roszak (1992) who, in assessing various schools of psychology that attempt to incorporate environmental awareness into their theoretical structure, believed that: “Only the Gestalt school has introduced a larger, more fully biological context for therapy that seeks to unite figure with ground, organism with environment; it is the only school that uses the concept of ecology in its theories” (304).

MECHANISMS FOR ENSURING ESTONIA'S PERMANENT DEVELOPMENT: THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECT

The latest trends in global development actualize the problem of ecological modernization in order to ensure the sustainability of socio-economic and political functioning of modern states, creating additional opportunities for an appropriate response to possible threats. The issues of ecological modernization are key on the agenda of the EU, which seeks to demonstrate leadership in addressing it. Ecological modernization and the subsequent digitalization of the economic sphere are considered one of the most important components of sustainable development of the EU and each member state. These processes and mechanisms for their practical implementation are approved in the program The European Green Deal. The European Commission created the Recovery and Resilience Facility, which provides for the coordination of efforts of EU member states to ensure resilience and sustainability of development. The subject of the study is the content and characteristics of sustainable development in Estonia. The purpose of the scientific exploration is to identify environmental aspects and to specify mechanisms for sustainable development in Estonia. Research methodology: systematic approach, methods of analysis and generalization. Estonia has developed a long-term strategy "Estonia 2035", which defines the basic principles of sustainability and sustainable development of the state. The tools for implementing the set sustainable development goals are legislative, managerial, educational and awareness-raising. In this strategy, the priorities of sustainable development of the state are innovation and sustainability of the economy, its competitiveness in world markets, energy efficiency, digitalization of management processes, safe environment for citizens, stimulating their activity in different spheres of society. Environmental issues are a key aspect of the "Estonia 2035" strategy, which meets such sustainable development goals as rational consumption, sustainable cities and communities, combating climate change, and preserving the ecosystem. A recovery and sustainability plan, correlated with the "Estonia 2035" strategy, was presented to enhance the ability to implement the basic principles of sustainable development and obtain additional sources of funding. Estonian officials are actively engaging financial and political mechanisms to implement sustainable development. According to the plan approved by the European Commission, Estonia will receive 969.3 million euros in funding from the Recovery and Resilience Facility. They will be distributed along the following lines: ecological modernization, digitalization, economic and social sustainability. In addition, political mechanisms, in particular public diplomacy, are actively used. They are aimed at positioning environmental initiatives according to the state branding strategy and intensifying cooperation with stakeholders in the implementation of international environmental projects. Research results: sustainability and resilience of Estonia's development correlate with the need to implement environmental modernization of the economy and digitalization of management processes; implementation of the "Estonia 2035" strategy, national recovery and sustainability plan is facilitated by economic and political decision-making mechanisms at the supranational and national levels of government.

Hinduism, Belief and the Colonial Invention of Religion: A before and after Comparison

As known from the academic literature on Hinduism, the foreign, Persian word, “Hindu” (meaning “Indian”), was used by the British to name everything indigenously South Asian, which was not Islam, as a religion. If we adopt explication as our research methodology, which consists in the application of the criterion of logical validity to organize various propositions of perspectives we encounter in research in terms of a disagreement, we discover: (a) what the British identified as “Hinduism” was not characterizable by a shared set of beliefs or shared outlook, but a disagreement or debate about basic topics of philosophy with a discourse on tenets of moral philosophy anchoring the debate; and (b), the Western tradition’s historical commitment to language as the vehicle of thought not only leads to the conflation of propositions with beliefs, but to interpreting (explaining by way of belief) on the basis of the Eurocentric tradition rooted exclusively in ancient Greek philosophy. Interpretation on the basis of the Western tradition leads to the Western tradition vindicating itself as the non-traditional, non-religious, rational platform—the secular—for explaining everything—the residua are what get called religions on a global scale. This serves the political function of insulating Western colonialism from indigenous moral and political criticism. Given that Western colonialism is the pivotal event, before which South Asians just had philosophy, and after which they had religion (the explanatory residua of Eurocentric interpretation), we can ask about Hindu religious belief. This only pertains to the period after colonialism, when Hindus adopted a Westcentric frame for understanding their tradition as religious because of colonization. Prior to this, the tradition the British identified as “Hindu” had a wide variety of philosophical approaches to justification, which often criticized propositional attitudes, like belief, as irrational.

Norm localisation in the process of crafting national security strategies – the case of the Visegrád countries

ABSTRACT The article describes the process of norm localisation in the security sector by analysing the context, format and functions of national security strategies published by the Visegrád countries between 1990 and 2020. After the end of the cold war, the “Europeanisation” of the security policy of Central European took place, which included the publication of Western-style national security strategies. Nevertheless, due to national and regional particularities, such documents serve specific political and communication functions, signifying that Visegrád states localised the practice of issuing national security strategies instead of merely copying them. This process led to the diminishing practical value of such documents at the expense of their communication role in terms of belonging and hedging. The article tracks these developments through the three waves of Central European national security strategies between 1990 and 2020 through the analysis of their political context, aims and specific attributes based on various criteria. Results of the research indicate that the functions of national security strategies varied in different stages of the norm localisation process, which questions the traditional method of comparing explicit strategies through content analysis.

Pendidikan Politik Sebagai Proses Belajar Membentuk Kesadaran Politik dan Peran Kewarganegaraan

The pursuit of political education for the general public and for educated people is to function in order to raise their awareness to be actively involved in controlling, evaluating, and increasing active participation in governance and the implementation of its policies. Political education is a continuous process, through political education that must be maintained is in shaping awareness in the role of human beings and the role of citizenship. This human role enables the development of talents and abilities of each individual, in carrying out his political functions in accordance with the status and mission of life that each individual has. While the role of citizenship invites the public to take an active role through participation in the process of thinking, dialogue and political action in order to achieve progress and improvement by realizing the role of their obligations and political rights.

The Presidents and the Constitution, Vol. One: From the Founding Fathers to the Progressive Era ed. by Ken Gormley

Reviewed by: The Presidents and the Constitution, Vol. One: From the Founding Fathers to the Progressive Era ed. by Ken Gormley Robert E. Ross (bio) Keywords U.S. Constitution, Executive power, Separation of powers, Constitutional politics The Presidents and the Constitution, Vol. One: From the Founding Fathers to the Progressive Era. Edited by Ken Gormley. (New York: New York University Press, 2020. Pp. 416. Cloth $22.00.) The president maintains a unique place in the American constitutional order. Unlike Congress, the nature and scope of executive powers are not determined by constitutional powers "herein" granted. The scarcity of constitutional text detailing the duties and powers of the president has resulted in strenuous efforts to reconcile ambiguities surrounding the exercise of executive power with a constitutional system containing a written constitution. Moreover, what constitutional text there is does little to clarify or settle the limits of executive power. A prime example of this controversy is the removal power. While Article II establishes the president's ability, with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint certain officials, the Constitution is silent on the power to remove these officers. Under what conditions can a president remove an appointed official, and does he need the Senate's advice and consent to do so? How these constitutional controversies get settled is a matter for politics, where presidents are not isolated actors. The Presidents and the Constitution, edited by Ken Gormley, ambitiously tries to navigate, and detail the uneasy relationship between the president and the Constitution by paying particular attention to historical context and development rather than focusing on a specific topic of presidential power or Supreme Court cases involving executive action. Given the sheer amount of historical material, this first volume covers the first twenty-six presidents, with the promise of a second volume to complete the historical analysis. Given the extensive list of contributors to the volume, great editorial effort was made to capture an "ongoing narrative" that highlights "constitutional issues that confronted the president, helped to shape the president's time in office, or gave birth to a piece of constitutional precedent during the president's tenure" (11). This broad sweep of presidential history emphasizes the importance of politics for an executive's constitutional authority. The Constitution is not [End Page 504] self-enforcing. In the arena of unsettled constitution meaning, the document requires interpretation and application. This creates a political battle over constitutional meaning, as ambitious executives (and their allies) seek constitutional legitimacy and presidential opponents insist on constitutional restraint. More importantly, political actors must acquiesce to these constitutional interpretations for any attempt to enlarge or restrain executive power to be successful. Rightfully so, this volume highlights the complicated relationship between the three branches of government, being "bound together inextricably in this saga" (10). The meaning of the Constitution comes to life by appreciating the historical development of an ever-evolving conflict between the president, Congress, and the Court. However, not all presidents are created equal, and the political conditions within and between presidencies are often in flux. While presidents come to office with ambition to shape the presidency and constitutional regime, they must also recognize the importance of maintaining political coalitions and function within the accepted constitutional and ideological commitments of a given political regime. The amount of "energy," to use a Hamiltonian term, that can be brought to the executive is closely connected to the strength of existing political values and constitutional attachments. Even if a president wants to enact change, if the other branches of government and the electorate are strongly attached to the status quo, the president's capacity for change is confined within boundaries of these accepted political and constitutional values. However, there is expanded opportunity for the president to shape the political and constitutional landscape if his election coincides with demand for change to the prevailing values and constitutional attachments. This view of executive powers being exercised within the context of larger political change (or lack thereof) lends itself well to a historical analysis of the presidency, and The Presidents and the Constitution explicitly and implicitly brings to light this political interaction between the president, other branches of government, and the electorate. For example...