Previous studies have attested to leaders "coup-proofing" their regimes by reducing the ability or disposition of their armies to seek their removal. The following article tests the utility of these efforts. "Structural" coup-proofing such as counterbalancing is expected to reduce the ability to organize a coup plot by creating substantial…

An information-rich environment is a sharing environment with standards, rules, conventions, and ethical codes different from those created to manage the zero-sum bargains of market trading and traditional international relations. Societies must give all their people a chance at relevant education or be left behind by those that do. (MBR)

The paper traces the period 1945-65 when scholars of the American presidency changed their emphasis from the study of individual presidents to examination of the presidency itself and the powers it encompassed. The change was prompted by events such as World War II, development of the atomic bomb, and the Cold War. Evidence that mankind was…

Profiles the process of South Africa's transformation into a democracy. Outlines the many characteristics of the transition from white to majority rule, such as the attempt to achieve catharsis and bury the apartheid past through a process of amnesty and reconciliation. Describes the remaining obstacles to that transition. (MJP)

This fifth grade unit is one of a sequential learning series of the Focus on Inner City Social Studies (FICSS) project developed in accordance with the needs and problems of an urban society. A description of the project is provided in SO 008 271. As part of the fifth grade curriculum focusing on power, this six week unit examines the power base…

This teaching guide for a grade 8 social studies course presents six units on American society. The following main ideas represent the units: (1) Institutions tend to undergo continuous change (Colonial period). (2) Changes result from dissatisfaction with the status quo, and attempt to dispell the dissatisfaction (Revolutionary War period). (3)…