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BOOK REVIEWS 295 unchanging disorder of Lebanon itself. That is, like the war, or wars, in Lebanon , writing about Lebanon must become dated, as so little changes fundamentally . Khalaf is poignantly aware of this when he prefaces his book by admitting "it is appropriate to ask whether anything meaningful or enlightening can be added about modernization other than the exploration of specific and concrete situations." Of course, Khalaf believes Lebanon is worthy of this reappraisal of modernization. This is where the book becomes awkward to the specialist so accustomed to the historical dismissal of modernization theories. Indeed, a book on Lebanon published in 1987 and rigorously debating modernization theory seems anachronistic, even bizarre. Part of the strangeness of the recrudescence of modernization could be due to the conflict between the skeptical outsider and the optimistic native. But the answer is simpler than that. Many of the articles in this book were reprinted, always "revised and updated," some dating as far back as 1966. The subjects—nepotism, paternalism, and so on—may not be outdated at all, but perhaps the optimistic analysis of those traditions are. Strangely, the vast majority of the citations supporting this current thesis are from the 1960s and early 1970s. Because the articles and citations comprising the book are from such disparate dates, the book is unbalanced, and the later chapters, written in the 1980s, seem to strain against recent history to maintain the earlier thesis of modernization. More crucially, the explanation supporting the possibility of uniting tradition and modernization in Lebanon, the central paradox of local community and national disunity, seems a rewording of the "mosaic" or particularist paradigms of development theory: the sectarian mosaic model is not new, and indeed Lebanon was used as the model mosaic state throughout the 1970s. Lebanon, as Khalaf comments, is unique and difficult to judge in terms ofgeneralist theories. Lebanon's Predicament may not present a new, prescriptive solution to Lebanon's predicament, but it provides a useful framework for comprehending the state and its rivalries. Khalafs greatest contribution here is to show that in its apparent disorder Lebanon has a historical and social order of the most stringent determination that is fundamentally responsible for the collapse of the state. Perhaps in proving the order of the disorder, Khalaf has created an auxiliary title: Lebanon's paradox. The Politics ofScandal: Power and Process in Liberal Democracies. Edited by Andrei S. Markovits and Mark Silverstein. Forwarded by Theodore Lowi. New York: Holmes and Meier Publishers, Inc., 1988. 275 pp. $39.50/cloth. Reviewed by Vinca Showalter, M.A. candidate, SAIS. Sex and corruption, falsehood and greed: this is the stuff modern scandals are made of. In Politics of Scandal: Power and Process in Liberal Democracies, Andrei S. Markovits and Mark Silverstein present a highly readable collection of improprieties—with a cast including prime ministers, presidents, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police— as a springboard from which to analyze the 296 SAIS REVIEW way different nations have (mis)managed the tension between the "morality of liberalism" and the "requirements of governing and statecraft." For anyone interested in comparative politics, The Politics of Scandal offers a refreshingly enjoyable reexamination of the imperfect workings of liberal democracy in today 's less-than-well-behaved world. Markovits and Silverstein define political scandal as the breach of process in the pursuit or extension of political power. Rather than any degree of personal gain sought or achieved, it is the unsanctioned application ofstate power that elevates the slippery to the scandalous. Based on this premise, the authors conclude that only in a liberal democracy, where the primacy of due process is revered, can a true political scandal take place. Only in a liberal democracy, where public scrutiny is an accepted counterpart to political activity, is there room for violation to occur. The nine democracies (and ten scandals) considered are subdivided into three broad categories: "Anglo-American" (United States, Great Britain, and Canada), "Continental" (France, Italy, West Germany, and Austria), and "NonEuropean " (Japan and Israel). Since the values of liberal democracy are most deeply etched in the conscious collective of the first category, the Anglo-American scandals have the most dramatic repercussions. Robin Gaster's lively analysis...

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