Resources on political thinking

[Gadi Evron <ge () linuxbox org>]

Be it political communication, dirty tricks, strategy for survival, 
organizational psychology, manipulation, rhetoric, creating change or 
managing campaigns, what are good resources for learning political thinking?

I'd like to share the best of the coolest resources I found over the 
years on politics, this time from the world of television and the 
written word. A reading list of a sort.

There are numerous shows, books and resources out there. But choosing 
these was a no-brainer.

What is your favorite reference on the subject? Or a situation you 
encountered which you found fascinating?

This list is also on my blog, and will be updated with more links and 
resources:
http://gevron.livejournal.com/31847.html

Resources:

1. Yes Minister / Yes Prime Minister

This is truly one of the best British comedies of all time (voted so by 
the public, and declared so by Margaret Thatcher) and aside to being 
funny, it is also illuminating of politics.

Watching the show, you learn about how government works, get introduced 
to various topics which are still on the agenda, realize some of the 
reasons why government is so slow (civil service pushing for status quo, 
politicians pushing to stay in office).

But MOST importantly, you learn politics. You observe the machinations 
of power and how things get done (or more likely are stopped from 
getting done) by various tricks and manipulations of Sir Humphrey 
Appleby, one of the protagonists.

This is one of my favorite shows of all time and the study guide for 
debate teams world-wide. It is definitely worth you time. I'd recommend 
giving it four episodes to get used to the humour.

2. Thank You for Smoking (2005)

Thank You for Smoking is a fun movie to watch, even more than usual 
political satire. Right from the offset it sets the mood and the 
happy-go-lucky feeling doesn't leave you for the whole day. It follows 
the Tobacco industry's chief lobbyist, Nick Naylor, and how he makes the 
world go-round.

By believing that everything is dependent on perspective, and that 
everything is an opinion (rhetorical thought) the hero takes us for a 
spin in the Washington lobbying world and the quest to make cigarettes 
successful, as viewed by the original book's author.

Definitely worth a watch, no matter what genre you are usually into. You 
will be enlightened.

3. Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning, 2nd Edition

Not strictly politics, but what is political communication if not modern 
day rhetoric?

This course from TTC - The Teaching Company (video and audio are 
available) is a short introduction to rhetoric, and the best course I 
ever heard, viewed or attended. This is both due to the wonderful 
lecturing skills of professor David Zarefsky, as well as to the material 
being taught.

There are any number of books and courses on rhetoric, but if you don't 
have much time, and you want quality, get this one!

http://www.teach12.com/ttcx/CourseDescLong2.aspx?cid=4294

4. Microcosmographia Academica (Greek: "A Study of a Tiny Academic World")

This tiny book of 26 pages is nothing if not funny and illuminating. It 
is not widely known, but has a cult following of people who introduce 
the next generation to the book when the time for their initiation into 
academic politics arrives.

It was written by F. M. Cornford in 1908 to reflect on politics in 
Cambridge, but holds true outside of academia. So push through the 
inside jokes, and learn how politics works. It is also named as one of 
the muses for the writers of Yes Minister.

Download in PDF:
http://www.archive.org/details/MICROCOSMOGRAPHIA-ACADEMICA

5. Orwell conference videos

Extremely good videos on political manipulation and propaganda, from the 
60 years later conference in Orwell's honour ("THERE YOU GO AGAIN: 
Orwell Comes to America" or what Orwell didn't know), can be found here 
along with my reviews:
http://gevron.livejournal.com/25314.html

6. The Prince (Italian: Il Principe) by Niccolò Machiavelli

A lot has been said about the book by this Italian figure from history, 
and many misconceptions abound.

The Prince is a book about how things happen, change is introduced, and 
power is held. It is the advocate of Real Politik, meaning, the end 
justifies the means. But not in the horrible modern-day meaning.

Rather, Machiavelli discusses strategy. How to achieve goals by planning 
ahead and responding accordingly. The book is filled with historical 
examples to illustrate his ideas, and is a good read.

Download:
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1232

7. George Orwell

George Orwell's political satire is not about big brother, that is just 
a theme in his wonderful book 1984, which isn't about big brother, either.

His books are about language. Political language. Animal Farm is very 
short and fun, and 1984 is beyond words -- except for his.

His short essay Politics and the English Language can be found here:
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/orwell46.htm

8. Henry Kissinger

Kissinger speaks of history as someone who was there. You may dislike 
his politics and you may disagree with his choices, but he explains them 
like no other can. He illustrates political moves and why they were 
taken, contrasting them with other choices and historical examples.

I just started reading one of his books -- Diplomacy, and so far I am 
not disappointed.

9. Reframing:

- George Lakoff is an american cognitive linguist who introduced the 
world to The Political Mind. He often writes and speaks of how words 
matter, and how issues can be reframed for political victories.

Any book by him is good. His most famous is: "Don't Think of an Elephant"

Here is a good interview with him:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4142569

And a lecture on the politics of language:
http://fora.tv/2009/08/03/Politics_of_Language_George_Lakoff

- Frank Luntz (republican pollster) is a wordsmith and the person behind 
many victories by the Republican party, and is the person who came up 
with "death tax". He claims he learned his craft by reading Orwell's 1984.

His book:
"Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear"

You can listen to both Lakoff and Luntz together on the videos linked to 
above, from the Orwell conference.

- Steven Pinker is a respected cognitive researcher who is also known as 
a critic of George Lakoff. He also wrote about The Political Mind, and 
is very interesting.

Here is a short video from him on political rhetoric:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DS4xVcko9qw

10. Fun to watch:

- House of Cards: British political mini-series which demonstrates real 
politik and political thinking, although is not completely in touch with 
reality. It blew my mind.

- Wag the Dog (1997): An American movie which is a lot of fun to watch, 
and demonstrates the mind-set of politics and spin, but much like House 
of Cards, is not very much in touch with reality.

11. Edward L. Bernays on propaganda and public relations

Far be it from me to convince you to read Bernays' works when Malcolm 
Gladwell does a much better job at it than me:
http://www.gladwell.com/1998/1998_07_06_a_spin.htm

Bernay's books:

Take Your Place At The Peace Table: "a guide to strategy -- a blueprint 
for action."
http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015030659117;page=root;view=image;size=100;seq=1

Propaganda
http://www.archive.org/details/Propaganda_600

Crystallizing Public Opinion
http://alternative-x.com/store/truth_books/Bernays%20-%20Crystallizing%20Public%20Opinion.pdf
http://www.scribd.com/doc/22623693/crystallizing-public-opinion-edward-bernays

12. Saul Alinsky

I haven't yet had the time to check out his work on organizing 
communities and on radicalism, but according to this article at The 
Washington Post by Peter Slevin, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama 
certainly have:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/24/AR2007032401152.html

His books Reveille for Radicals and Rules for Radicals definitely seem 
interesting.

This list is on my blog, and will be updated with more links and resources:
http://gevron.livejournal.com/31847.html

        Gadi Evron.
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