Scrutinizing a relatively new field of study, the Handbook of Political Party Funding assesses the basic assumptions underlying the research, presenting an unequalled variety of case studies from diverse political finance systems.

Political power is often viewed as the sole embodiment of 'socialpower', even while we recognize that social power manifests itselfin different forms and institutional spheres. This new book byGianfranco Poggi suggests that the three principal forms of socialpower - the economic, the normative/ideological and the political -are based on a group's privileged access to and control overdifferent resources. Against this general background, Poggi shows how variousembodiments of normative/ideological and economic power have bothmade claims on political power (considered chiefly as it isembodied in the state) and responded in turn to the latter'sattempt to control or to instrumentalize them. The embodiment ofideological power in religion and in modern intellectual elites isexamined in the context of their relations to the state. Poggi alsoexplores both the demands laid upon the state by the business eliteand the impact of the state's fiscal policies on the economicsphere. The final chapter considers the relationship between astate's political class and its military elite, which tends to usethe resource of organized coercion for its own ends. Forms of Power will be of interest to students and scholars ofsociology and politics.

The Government and Politics of France 4th Edition continues to provide students with a comprehensive and incisive introduction to the intricacies of French politics and government. Written by two leading authorities on the subject, this widely used textbook has been fully revised and up-dated to take into account the many changes that have occurred since the last edition was published. Coverage includes: * French political traditions * constitution and the Fifth Republic * the executive * the Parliament * parties and the party system * the Administration * interest groups * local politics * the impact of the EU.