国际政治 KEY TERMS

aarthurr · 发表于 2006-8-27 19:04:35

国际政治 key terms?Paradigm derived from the Greek paradeigma meaning an example, a model, or an essential pattern; a paradigm structures thoughts about an area of inquiry.?ConstructivismA scholarly approach to inquiry emphasizing the importance of agents (people and groups) and the shared meanings they construct to define their identities, interests, and institutions—understandings that influence their international behavior.?GeopoliticsThe relationship between geography and politics and their consequences for states’ national interests and relative power.?Current history approachA focus on the description of contemporary and particular historical events rather than theoretical explanations to explain broader patterns of international relations.?TheoryA set of hypotheses postulating the relationship between variables or conditions, advanced to describe, explain, or predict phenomena and make prescriptions about how positive changes ought to be engineered to realize particular ethical principles.?Liberalism A paradigm predicated on the hope that the application of reason and universal ethics to international relations can lead to a orderly, just, and cooperative world, and that international anarchy and war can be policed by institutional reforms that empower international organizations and laws.?PoliticsTo liberal idealists, the search for agreement about shared values to foster cooperation within a global community.?IdealistsPeople inspired by the liberal theoretical tradition who believe that the pursuit of ideals like word by reducing the disorder often exhibited in world politics.?Collectively, the post-world war I liberal idealists embraced a worldview that emphasized the power of ideas in controlling global destiny, based on the following beliefs:1.?????? Human nature is essentially “good” or altruistic, and people are therefore capable of mutual aid and collaboration through reason and ethically inspired education.2.?????? the fundamental human concern for others’ welfare makes progress possible.3.?????? sinful or wicked human behavior, such as violence, is the product not of flawed people but of evil institutions that encourage people to act selfishly and to harm others.4.?????? war and international anarchy are not inevitable and war’s frequency can be reduced by strengthening the institutional arrangements that encourage its disappearance.5.?????? war is a global problem requiring collective or multilateral, rather than national, efforts to control it.6.?????? reforms must be inspired by a compassionate ethical concern for the welfare and security of all people, and this humanitarian motive requires the inclusion of morality in statecraft.7.?????? international society must reorganize itself in order to eliminate the institutions that make war likely, and states must reform their political systems so that democratic governance and civil liberties within states can protect human rights and help pacify relations among states.?Collective securityA security regime agreed to by the great powers that set rules for keeping peace guided by the principle that an act o f aggression by any state will be met by a collective response from the rest.?Kellogg-Briand PactA multilateral treaty negotiated in 1928 that outlawed war as a method for settling interstate conflicts.?Self-determinationThe principle that the global community is obligated to give nationalities their own governments.?StateA legal entity with a permanent population, a well-defined territory, and a government capable of managing sovereign authority over the nations or nationality groups living within its legal borders.?NationA collection of people who, on the basis of ethnic, linguistic, or cultural affinity, perceive themselves to be members of the same group.

aarthurr · 发表于 2006-8-27 21:55:37

?Realism A paradigm based on the premise that world politics is essentially and unchangeably a struggle among self-interested states for power and position under anarchy, with each competing state pursuing its own national interest.?RealpolitikThe theoretical outlook prescribing that countries should prepare for war in order to preserve peace.?Power The factors that enable one actor to manipulate another actor’s behavior against its preferences.?Self-help The principle that in anarchy actors must rely on themselves.?State sovereigntyUnder international law, the principle that the governments of states are subject to no higher external authority.?National interestThe goal that states pursue to maximize what is selfishly best for their country.?Behavioral scientistsScholars who apply scientific methods to the study of world politics.?NeorealismA theoretical account of states’ behavior that explains it as determined by differences in their relative power instead of by other factors, such as their values, types of government, or domestic circumstances.?Structural realismA theory that emphasizes the influence of the world power structure on the behavior of the states within the global hierarchy, defined primarily by the distribution of power.?Neotraditional realismA body of recent realist theorizing that departs from neorealism by emphasizing the motives behind states’ foreign policies more than global structure and that focuses on the internal influences on states’ external behavior instead of the global determinants of states’ foreign behavior.?DeconstructivismPostmoderm theory that the complexity of the world system renders precise description impossible, and that the purpose of scholarship is to understand actor’s hidden motives by deconstructing their textual statements.?BehavioralismAn approach to the study of international relations that emphasizes the application of scientific methods.?Postbehavioral movementAn approach to the study of international relations that calls for increased attention to the policy relevance of scientific research.?Global level of analysisAn analytical approach to world politics that emphasizes the impact of worldwide conditions on the behavior of states, nonstates and other international actors.?NeoliberalismA perspective that accounts for the way international institutions promote global change, cooperation, peace, and prosperity through collective programs for reforms.?Feminist theory A body of scholarship that emphasizes gender in the study of world politics.?Complex interdependenceA theory stressing the complex ways in which the growing ties among transnational actors make them vulnerable and sensitive to each other’s needs.?Nonstate actorsAll transnationally active groups other than states. Such as organizations whose members are states and nongovernmental organizations whose members are individuals and private groups from more than one state.?GlobalizationThe integration and growing interdependence of states through their increasing contact and trade.? This creates a single united global society within a single culture in order to the people together in a common fate, thereby reducing the capacity of states to control their national destinies.?International regimesA perspective that explains the benefits of actors supporting particular rules to regulate a specific international activity, such as disposal of toxic wastes.?Low politics The category of global issues related to the economic, social, demographic, and environmental aspects of relations between governments and people.?DeconstructionPostmodern theory postulating that the world system renders precise description impossible, and that the purpose of scholarship is to understand actor’s motives by deconstructing their textual statements.?Chaos theoryThe application of mathematical methods to identify underlying patterns in rapidly changing and seemingly unconnected relationships in order to better interpret complex reality.?Epistemology The philosophical examination of how knowledge is acquired and the analytic principles governing the study of phenomena.?Social constructivismA liberal-realist theoretical approach advocated by Alexander wendt that sees self-interested states as the key actors in world politics; their actions are determined not by anarchy but by the ways states socially “construct” and then respond to the meanings they give to power politics, so that as their definitions change, cooperative practices can evolve.?TransformationA change in? the characteristic pattern of interaction among the most active participants in world politics of such magnitude that it appears that one “international system” has replaces another.??Realism A paradigm based on the premise that world politics is essentially and unchangeably a struggle among self-interested states for power and position under anarchy, with each competing state pursuing its own national interest.?RealpolitikThe theoretical outlook prescribing that countries should prepare for war in order to preserve peace.?Power The factors that enable one actor to manipulate another actor’s behavior against its preferences.?Self-help The principle that in anarchy actors must rely on themselves.?State sovereigntyUnder international law, the principle that the governments of states are subject to no higher external authority.?National interestThe goal that states pursue to maximize what is selfishly best for their country.?Behavioral scientistsScholars who apply scientific methods to the study of world politics.?NeorealismA theoretical account of states’ behavior that explains it as determined by differences in their relative power instead of by other factors, such as their values, types of government, or domestic circumstances.?Structural realismA theory that emphasizes the influence of the world power structure on the behavior of the states within the global hierarchy, defined primarily by the distribution of power.?Neotraditional realismA body of recent realist theorizing that departs from neorealism by emphasizing the motives behind states’ foreign policies more than global structure and that focuses on the internal influences on states’ external behavior instead of the global determinants of states’ foreign behavior.?DeconstructivismPostmoderm theory that the complexity of the world system renders precise description impossible, and that the purpose of scholarship is to understand actor’s hidden motives by deconstructing their textual statements.?BehavioralismAn approach to the study of international relations that emphasizes the application of scientific methods.?Postbehavioral movementAn approach to the study of international relations that calls for increased attention to the policy relevance of scientific research.?Global level of analysisAn analytical approach to world politics that emphasizes the impact of worldwide conditions on the behavior of states, nonstates and other international actors.?NeoliberalismA perspective that accounts for the way international institutions promote global change, cooperation, peace, and prosperity through collective programs for reforms.?Feminist theory A body of scholarship that emphasizes gender in the study of world politics.?Complex interdependenceA theory stressing the complex ways in which the growing ties among transnational actors make them vulnerable and sensitive to each other’s needs.?Nonstate actorsAll transnationally active groups other than states. Such as organizations whose members are states and nongovernmental organizations whose members are individuals and private groups from more than one state.?GlobalizationThe integration and growing interdependence of states through their increasing contact and trade.? This creates a single united global society within a single culture in order to the people together in a common fate, thereby reducing the capacity of states to control their national destinies.?International regimesA perspective that explains the benefits of actors supporting particular rules to regulate a specific international activity, such as disposal of toxic wastes.?Low politics The category of global issues related to the economic, social, demographic, and environmental aspects of relations between governments and people.?DeconstructionPostmodern theory postulating that the world system renders precise description impossible, and that the purpose of scholarship is to understand actor’s motives by deconstructing their textual statements.?Chaos theoryThe application of mathematical methods to identify underlying patterns in rapidly changing and seemingly unconnected relationships in order to better interpret complex reality.?Epistemology The philosophical examination of how knowledge is acquired and the analytic principles governing the study of phenomena.?Social constructivismA liberal-realist theoretical approach advocated by Alexander wendt that sees self-interested states as the key actors in world politics; their actions are determined not by anarchy but by the ways states socially “construct” and then respond to the meanings they give to power politics, so that as their definitions change, cooperative practices can evolve.?TransformationA change in? the characteristic pattern of interaction among the most active participants in world politics of such magnitude that it appears that one “international system” has replaces another.??

ruirui · 发表于 2006-8-28 10:31:31

支持支持

ship · 发表于 2006-9-1 03:29:42

那个影印版不错，

aarthurr · 发表于 2006-9-2 22:10:59

<h2 style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: auto 0cm; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">REALISM</h2>The principle actors are states, personified unitary rational actors whose behaviour is determined by the structure of international anarchy. World politics is a self-help system involves a struggle for power between states in the pursuit of their national interests. Diplomacy is one instrument for gaining a state's objectives, but ultimately the key instrument is military force.There are traditional realist theories (see Morgenthau, Politics Among Nations), neo-realist theories (Waltz, Theory of International Politics), and soft (institutionalist) realist theories (Bull, The Anarchical Society)<h2 style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: auto 0cm; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">LIBERALISM</h2>Liberalism covers a fairly broad perspective ranging from Wilsonian Idealism through to contemporary neo-liberal theories and the democratic peace thesis. Here states are but one actor in world politics, and even states can cooperate together through institutional mechanisms and bargaining that undermine the propensity to base interests simply in military terms. States are interdependent and other actors such as Transnational Corporations, the IMF and the United Nations play a role. Some texts: Relevant chapters in David A. Baldwin (ed), Neorealism and Neoliberalism: The Contemporary Debate, and C. Kegley (ed) Controversies in International Relations: Realism and the Neoliberal Challenge. <h2 style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: auto 0cm; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">CRITICAL THEORY</h2>Critical theory posits that all theories are for someone and for some purpose. Critical theorists seek to demonstrate the connection between knowledge and practice, fact and value, and make connections between the knower and the known. Recognising knowledge is not neutral but constitutive of interests the objective is to provide a critique of traditional problem-solving positivism with a commitment to emancipation and new forms of international community conducive to freedom, cooperation, and peace. See the works of Andrew Linklater (e.g., 'The Achievements of Critical Theory', in Steve Smith, Ken Booth, and Marysia Zalewski (eds), International Theory: Positivism and Beyond).<h2 style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: auto 0cm; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">CONSTRUCTIVISM</h2>One of the main assumptions of a constructivist approach is that identities, norms, and culture play important roles in world politics. Identities and interests of states are not simply structurally determined, but are rather produced by interactions, institutions, norms, cultures. It is process, not structure, which determines the manner in which states interact. See Alexander Wendt, 'Anarchy is What States Make of It', International Organisation, 46/2, 1992.<h2 style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; MARGIN: auto 0cm; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">FEMINISM</h2>There is a number of feminist approaches to World Politics, but all share the assumption that gender is important and it makes a difference that men, not women, have written the main theories and been in control of policy-making. Realism, for example, is seen as a gendered theory, written by men to describe an aggressive world of states controlled by men. Most feminist theories of world politics share the assumption that the world would be a less competitive and less violent place if women gained dominance in positions of power (state power and relating to knowledge).

aarthurr · 发表于 2006-9-2 22:20:46

Universal Declaration of Human Rights In 1948 the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, <a href="http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html" target="_blank">http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html</a> which was an over-arching set of standards by which governments, organisations and individuals would measure their behaviour towards each other. Theories There are many ways of thinking in international relations theory, including constructivism ??In education, constructivism is an learning theory which asserts that children should be taught in a way that allows them to construct their own understandings about a subject. The purpose of the teacher is not to cover material but to help the child "uncover" the facts and ideas in a subject area. ??In art and architecture, constructivism was an artistic movement in Russia Marxism is the political practice and or social theory based on the works of Karl Marx, a nineteenth century philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary and Friedrich Engels. Marx drew on Hegel's philosophy, the political economy of Adam Smith, Ricardian economics, and 19th century French socialism to develop a critique of society which he claimed was both scientific and revolutionary. This critique achieved its most systematic (if unfinished) expression in his masterpiece, 'Capital: A Critique of Political Economy' (Das Kapital).realism The word realism is used in several of the liberal arts; particularly painting, literature, and philosophy. It is also used in international relations. In the visual arts and literature, realism is a mid-19th century movement, which started in France. The realists sought to render everyday characters, situations, dilemmas, and events; all in an "accurate" (or realistic) manner. Realism began as a reaction to romanticism, in which subjects were treated idealistically. Realists tended to discard theatrical drama and classical forms of art to depict sometimes ugly or commonplace subjects, sometimes even a moral message.liberalism Liberalism may be used to describe one of several ideologies that claims individual liberty to dissent from orthodox tenets or established authorities in political or religious matters, in contrast to conservatism and/or communitarianism. 1.?One usage of the term is for a tradition of thought, that tries to circumscribe the limits of political power, and to define inalienable individual rights. This is the most common usage outside of the United States. Realism makes several key assumptions. It assumes that the international system is anarchic Anarchy (New Latin anarchia, from Greek anarkhi, from anarkhos, without a ruler : an-, without ; see a-1 + arkhos, ruler ; see archon) is a term that has a number of different but related usages. Specific meanings <a href="http://www.yourdictionary.com/ahd/a/a0282000.html" target="_blank">http://www.yourdictionary.com/ahd/a/a0282000.html</a> include 1) absence of any form of political authority; 2) Political disorder and confusion; and 3) absence of any cohesive principle, such as a common standard or purpose.

aarthurr · 发表于 2006-9-2 22:26:26

A foreign policy is a set of political goals that seeks to outline how a particular country will interact with the other countries of the world. Foreign policies generally are designed to help protect a country's national interests, national security, ideological goals, and economic prosperity. This can occur as a result of peaceful co-operation with other nations, or through aggression, war, and exploitation.In international law and international relations, a state is a political entity possessing sovereignty, i.e. not being subject to any higher political authority. The definition of "state" in the meaning of a political subdivisions of some countries, is related as it emphasizes the intention of a confederation where these state governments are seen as possessing some powers independently of the federal government. Often these states existed before their creation of a federal régime.international organizations An international organization is an organization of international scope or character. There are two main types of international organizations: international intergovernmental organizations, whose members are sovereign states; and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which are private organizations. Generally the term international organization is used to mean international governmental organizations only. It is in this sense that the term is used in the remainder of this article. A Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) is an organization which is independent from governments and their policies. Generally, although not always, these are non-profit organizations that gain at least a portion of their funding from private sources. Because of the negative definition, (the implication that an NGO is anything that is not government), many NGOs now prefer the term Private voluntary organization (PVO).A multinational corporation (MNC) or transnational corporation is one that spans multiple nations; these corporations are often very large. Such companies have offices and/or factories in different countries. They usually have a centralised head office where they coordinate global management. \ positive In the humanities and social sciences, the term positive is used in a number of ways. One usage refers to analysis or theories which only attempt to describe how things are, as opposed to how they should be. In this sense, the opposite of positive is normative. An example would be positive, as opposed to normative, economic analysis. Positive statements are also often referred to as descriptive statements.political science Political science is the study of politics. It involves the study of structure and process in government - or any equivalent system that attempts to assure safety, fairness, and closure across a broad range of risks and access to a broad range of commons for its human charges. Accordingly, political scientists may study social institutions such as corporations, unions, and churches. The term "political science" was first coined in 1880 by Herbert Baxter Adams, a professor of history at Johns Hopkins University. economics Economics is a social science that studies human behavior and welfare as a relationship between ends socialy required and scarce means which have alternative uses (Lionell Robbins, 1935). That is, economics is the study of the trade-offs involved when choosing between alternate sets of decisions, considering collective and individual benefits. Understanding choice by individuals and groups is thus central in economics. With scarcity, choosing one alternative implies foregoing another alternative; economists refer to the best alternative forgone by taking another choice as the opportunity cost. For instance, learning one skill implies time not spent learning another. In a market setting, scarcity is often quantified by price relationships. philosophy Philosophy is the critical study of the most fundamental questions that humankind has been able to ask. Philosophers ask questions such as ??Metaphysics: What sorts of things exist? What is the nature of those things? Do some things exist independently of our perception? What is the nature of space and time? What is the nature of thought and thinking? What is it to be a person? What is it to be conscious? Is there a god?nuclear proliferation Nuclear proliferation is the spread from nation to nation of nuclear technology, including nuclear power plants but especially nuclear weapons. The primary focus of anti-proliferation efforts is to maintain control over the specialized materials necessary to build such devices because, this is the most difficult and expensive part of a nuclear weapons programme. (In the Manhattan Project,nationalism Nationalism is a concept of identity which members of a particular government, nation, society, or territory may collectively feel. Nationalists strive to create or sustain a nation based on various notions of political legitimacy. Nationalist ideologies often trace their development from the Romantic theory of "cultural identity" and/or the Liberalist argument that political legitimacy is derived from the consent of a region's population.Foreing aid is when one country helps another country through some form of donation. Usually this refers to helping out a country that has a special need caused by poverty, underdevelopment, natural disasters, armed conflicts etc. The main recievers of foreign aid are developing nations (third world countries), and the main contributors are the industrialized countries. Economic development is the development of economies of countries, presumably towards a Western model. It expresses the reasons why we have developing economies. Received economic lore, especially that of capitalism, aims at continued growth and expansion of national economies so that 'developing nations' become 'developed nations' and followers of this school deride any possibility of an economically stable state.

生而为赢 · 发表于 2006-10-22 18:37:40

Book Excerpt: 'Applebee's America' by Douglas Sosnik, Matthew Dowd and Ron Fournier In times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists. -- American social philosopher ERIC HOFFER It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but rather the one most responsive to change. -- CHARLES DARWIN William Jefferson Clinton breezed to reelection in 1996 just two years after his presidency hit the rocks with his health care reforms a bust, his relevancy in doubt, and voters so leery of his leadership that they gave Republicans control of Congress for the first time in forty years. George Walker Bush won reelection in 2004 even though a majority of Americans questioned his rationale for invading Iraq, fretted about the economy, felt the nation was headed in the wrong direction and favored Democrat John Kerry on education, health care, jobs, Social Security, and most other policies. Lloyd Hill helped build Applebee's International into the world's largest casual dining chain despite his lack of experience in the restaurant business, middling reviews of the chain's food, and the challenges of running a "neighborhood grill and bar" in 1,700 neighborhoods. Rick Warren preached to 21,000 worshipers each week, inspired countless megachurch copycats, and wrote the best-selling hardcover in U.S. history just two decades after starting his southern California ministry with no money, no church, no members, and no home. Each case makes you wonder: How did that happen? The answers are in this book, which goes behind the scenes of political campaigns, corporate boardrooms, and church services to reveal how these and other leaders succeed in an era of intense transition. Whether your product is a candidate, a hamburger, or the word of God, the challenge is the same: How do you connect with a fast-changing public and get them to buy what you're selling? But this book is not just about America's successful leaders. It's also about the people they lead. Anxious witnesses to terrorism, technological revolutions, and globalization, Americans are making seismic changes in the ways they live, work, and play -- and those choices ultimately determine how they vote, what they buy, and how they spend their Sunday mornings. People are adjusting their lifestyles for many reasons, chief among them their insatiable hunger for community, connection, and a higher purpose in life. Presidents Bush and Clinton, and Hill and Warren, figured that out, one of the many things they have in common. We'll draw lessons from the successes of these and other Great Connectors that you can apply to your next election campaign, your business or your church. It starts with their ability to touch people at a gut level by projecting basic American values that seem lacking in today's leaders and missing from the day-to-day experiences of life -- among them: empathy and optimism; strength and decisiveness; authenticity, faith, and a sense of community, belonging, and purpose. Some people would call these traits, but that term is too small for such an important concept. Hair color is a trait. Authenticity and community are values. Values are what Americans want to see in a candidate, corporation, or church before they're even willing to consider their policies and products. The choices people make about politics, consumer goods, and religion are driven by emotions rather than by intellect. That's why we call President Bush's tenacity, President Clinton's empathy, and the sense of community and purpose of Hill and Warren Gut Values. Hill wasn't just selling burgers. The presidents weren't just peddling policies. Warren wasn't just pitching the word of God. They were making Gut Values Connections. With rare exceptions, Gut Values Connections don't just happen. They are built. Chapters 1 to 3 (starting with politics, then turning to businesses and megachurches) explore the common routes taken by Presidents Bush and Clinton, and Hill and Warren, to establish Gut Values Connections and the new tools and technologies they have used to communicate them. First, they adapted to a changing public in ways that existing political, corporate, and religious institutions had not. Second, they found and targeted their audiences through strategies that predict voting/buying/church habits based on people's lifestyle choices. Who are their friends? Where do they get their information? Who do they turn to for advice? What are their hobbies? What magazines do they read? Where do they live? What car do they drive? Where and how do they shop? What do they do for vacation? What angers them? What makes them happy? What do they do for a living? These and thousands of other lifestyle questions form a vast constellation of data points that Presidents Bush and Clinton, and Hill and Warren, used to make and maintain Gut Values Connections. Each man had his own name for what Bush's team called "microtargeting." We give this critical tool a new name -- LifeTargeting -- because the strategy tracks people based on their lifestyles. We also reveal new details about how Presidents Bush and Clinton, and Hill and Warren used the targeting strategy. Third, they said the right things to the right people in the right ways. Great Connectors use every available communications channel and new technology to push out their messages. We'll share their marketing strategies, including one that is as old as mankind and more powerful than ever. GREAT CHANGEWe use the second part of the book to delve deeper into the intense societal changes that are forcing political, business, and religious leaders to adapt or perish. Change is a key word here -- rapid, bone-jarring change. Consider what we've seen in just one generation: ? Women flooding the workforce, reshaping the American family? Vast immigration, migration, and exurban sprawl? The rise of a global economy? The dawning of the infotechnology era? The worldwide war against terrorism In chapter 4, we'll explain how this crush of events has changed Americans. Tired of chasing careers and cash, many Americans entered the twenty-first century determined to rebalance their priorities and find a higher meaning in their existences. The September 11, 2001, attacks intensified these feelings. People spent more time with family and friends, took longer vacations, and sought jobs with flexible hours. They spent more time praying and volunteering. The meaning of life changed in America, or at least the meanings of money and success changed. The first years of the twenty-first century saw a rise in the number of people who said cash could do more than bring them pleasure; it could help them contribute to society, leave something to their heirs, or otherwise help their children. A growing number of Americans told pollsters that being a good parent or spouse defined success for them. GfK, a leading market research and consulting firm that has tracked public attitudes for decades in its Roper Reports consumer trends research, called this era of transformation a "recentering" of the American public. "Whatever" became "whatever matters." And "getting by" wasn't good enough when "getting a life" was possible. The "Me Generation" has given way to the era of "us." Yet life continues to grow more complicated. Global competition is forcing jobs overseas and cutting salaries, pensions, and other benefits that had defined the twentieth-century middle class, producing the first generation of Americans who fear their children will fair worse than they did. The dot-com bust wiped out the savings of middle-class Americans who had finally thought they were getting ahead. No longer are Americans' perception of the health of the economy and their consumer confidence driven by macro factors like the unemployment rate, the inflation rate, and Gross Domestic Product growth. They have become untethered to those factors as they change jobs multiple times and worry about pensions and health care. The coarsening of popular culture has fueled the belief of many people, particularly parents, that their values are out of sync with the elite. New technologies both improve and complicate the way Americans live. "Life is changing too damn fast," Cindy Moran told us one day at an Applebee's restaurant in Howell, Michigan. A single mother of two, Moran was one of the dozens of people we interviewed for this book to gauge the mood of the country. "It's not easy being the kind of mother I want to be," she said, carving a high-calorie path through a bowl of spinach dip while her daughter begged for more, "not with life stuck on fast-forward." Buffeted by change, people like Moran crave the comfort of community. They want to know their neighbors and meet people like themselves no matter where they live. They want to help improve their neighborhoods and their country. They want to belong. Chapter 5 explores how Americans are redefining the meaning of community and finding new ways to connect in an Internet-fueled expansion of civic engagement that political, business, and religious leaders are just learning to exploit. Building communities on the Internet is a potent new trend. People continue to lose faith in politicians, corporate executives, religious leaders, and the media, all of whom used to be society's public opinion leaders. In this age of skepticism and media diversification, Americans are turning to people they know for advice and direction. We call these new opinion leaders Navigators: they're otherwise average Americans who help their family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers navigate the swift currents of change. Twentieth-century technologies gave rise to the television era, and for five decades mass media had an outsized influence on the American public. New technologies are breeding niche media -- cable TV, podcasting, wireless messaging, etc. -- and returning us to a pre-TV environment in which word-of-mouth communication is the most credible and efficient way to transmit a message. With their large social networks, Navigators rule the word-of-mouth world. In chapter 6 we tell you who the Navigators are and why they're so important to political, business, and church marketers. Americans are not just changing how they live. Many are changing where they live, and the implications are enormous for would-be Great Connectors. Chapter 7 explores the impact of an increasingly self-polarizing society. The mobility, technology, and relative affluence we enjoy allow us to pick up stakes and move to communities of like-minded people. And so we see middle-class minorities and immigrants moving from cities to inner-ring suburbs; suburban white families to new exurbs; and young singles and empty nesters circling back to cities, where they're gentrifying decayed neighborhoods. Ironically, as the nation is becoming increasingly multiracial, the American people seem to be seeking more homogeneity in their lifestyle choices. It's as if life were a pickup basketball game and Americans are choosing teams. Actually, they're bigger than teams; they're tribes. In the final chapter, we sum up and look to the future. How will the country change in the next few years? How will the next generation of Great Connectors be created? Chapter 8 profiles "Generation 9/11," led by the young men and women who were in high school or college when terrorists struck New York and Washington. They are generally more civic-minded, politically active, and optimistic about the nation's future than Americans in general. Indeed, they put their baby-boomer parents to shame and remind us in more ways than one of the so-called Greatest Generation, men and women who came of age during World War II. A college student today has more in common with his or her grandparents than parents. These future leaders are off to a promising start. Their attitudes about diversity, social mobility, women in leadership, technology, institutions, and spirituality portend big change for the next wave of Great Connectors. Any leader hoping to draw lessons from this book should start first by jettisoning any preconceived notions about how to connect with voters, consumers, and churchgoers, ignoring conventional wisdom and the false assumptions of pundits. This book debunks their many myths. Our findings include: Myth 1: A company's product, a candidate's policies, or a pastor's sermons are the main appeal for most people.Reality: People are looking first for a Gut Values Connection. Myth 2: September 11, 2001, changed Americans.Reality: The attacks did hasten change, but Americans had been transforming their values and lifestyles since the mid-1990s. Myth 3: Technology has created a more disconnected nation.Reality: Americans are using new technologies to build new forms of community and civic engagement. Myth 4: The glut of information has made people more independent and less reliant on one another.Reality: The Information Age and fragmented media have caused people to turn more often to peers for advice, giving rise to Navigators. Myth 5: A vast majority of megachurch worshipers are antigay, antiabortion conservative Republicans.Reality: Few megachurches are politically active because they don't want to turn off a single potential customer. A surprisingly large portion of megachurch worshipers are Democrats and independents. Myth 6: The electorate is divided into Republican "red states" and Democratic "blue states."Reality: Americans are highly mobile and self-polarizing, so it makes more sense to categorize them by their lifestyle choices rather than arbitrary geographic boundaries. We call them Red Tribes, Blue Tribes, and Tipping Tribes. Myth 7: Republicans have a lock on exurban America, as shown by the fact that because Bush won 96 out of 100 of the fast-growing counties in 2004.Reality: Democrats can win exurbia because voters in these new, fast-growing areas are driven by their lifestyle choices and values, not partisanship. Myth 8: Americans slavishly vote their self-interest.Reality: Their idea of self-interest is more selfless than most politicians realize. Voters will turn to a candidate who reflects their Gut Values over one who sides with them on policies. Myth 9: The best indicator of how a person will vote is his voting history or views on abortion, taxes, and other issues.Reality: The key to predicting how a person will vote (or shop and worship, for that matter) is his or her lifestyle choices. To borrow and bastardize a phrase from President Clinton's 1992 campaign -- It's the Lifestyles, Stupid. Is all this change good or bad for America? The truth is, we don't know. But we do know it's inevitable. It is no time to ignore the lessons of success from Presidents Bush and Clinton, and Hill and Warren -- four imperfect men who nonetheless understood the value of community, connections, and purpose in this new social order. Great eras of change seem to occur about every seven or eight decades (a long life span) and follow a war or crises. In this post-9/11 world, the nation's leaders should pay heed to the words of Abraham Lincoln, who called on his generation to have the courage and foresight to change. "The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present," Lincoln said. "The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew." This book will help twenty-first-century American leaders think anew about the people they serve. We hope the people they serve will find comfort in knowing that there are new ways to connect, create community, and navigate change.

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