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Policing Post-Conflict Cities
by Alice HillsHow and why does order emerge after conflict? What does it mean in the context of the twenty-first century post-colonial city? From Kabul, Kigali and Kinshasa to Baghdad and Basra, people, abandoned by the state, make their own rules.With security increasingly ghettoised, survival becomes a matter of manipulation and hustling.In this book, Alice Hills discusses the interface between order and security. While analysts and donors emphasise security, Hills argues that order is much more meaningful for people's lives. Focusing on the police as both providers of order and a measure of its success, the book shows that order depends more on what has gone before than on reconstruction efforts and that tension is inevitable as donors attempt to reform brutal local policing.Policing Post-Conflict Cities provides a powerful critique of the failure of liberal orthodoxy to understand the meaning of order.
The Corporate Greenhouse: Climate Change Policy in a Globalizing World
by Doctor Yda SchreuderAs negotiations proceed for the post-Kyoto climate change regime, major obstacles stand in the path to their successful completion.The Corporate Greenhouse addresses the political economy of the climate change debate, questioning the disconnect between the current negotiation framework, based around the nation-state, and the neoliberal policies driving the world economy, organized around transnational corporations. Given the rapidly growing economic power and expanding carbon footprint of China, India and other developing economies, the debate on 'who is to blame, and who is to pay' can no longer be ignored.Carefully researched and sourced from original work and case studies, The Corporate Greenhouse explores the geopolitical division between North and South; questions the sustainability of capitalism in the current global economic environment; examines the impact of TNCs on worldwide CO2 emissions; and discusses the expected outcome of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme on corporate investment strategies.This timely book argues that treaties that fail to account properly for the activities of TNCs will preclude effective, equitable solutions to the urgent issue of global climate change.
Religion in Development: Rewriting the Secular Script
by Séverine DeneulinDevelopment practice is full of examples of the importance of religion in the lives of people in developing countries. However, religion has largely remained unexplored in development studies. This timely new book aims to fill that gap. The authors expertly review how religion has been treated in the evolution of development thought, how it has been conceptualised in the social sciences, and highlights the major deficiencies of the assumption of secularism.The book argues that development theory and practice needs to rewrite its dominant script regarding its treatment of religion, a script which has so far been heavily inscribed in the secular tradition. It puts forward an understanding of religions as traditions: that religions rest on central thesis and teachings which never cease to be re-interpreted in the light of the social, political and historical context. In addition to providing a conceptual framework for analysing the role of religion in development, the book provides numerous empirical examples drawn from the Christian and Islamic religious traditions. This comprehensive new guide to this key issue is essential for students, development thinkers and practitioners who wish to understand better the role that religion plays in development processes and outcomes.
Insecure Spaces: Peacekeeping, Power and Performance in Haiti, Kosovo and Liberia
by Doctor Marsha Henry Doctor Paul HigateIn recent times, the Blue Berets have become markers of peace and security around the globe. Yet, the iconoclastic symbol of both the Blue Beret and the Blue Helmet continue to engage the international political imagination in ways that downplay the inconsistent effects of peacekeeping missions on the security of local people.In this book, Paul Higate and Marsha Henry develop critical perspectives on UN and NATO peacekeeping, arguing that these forms of international intervention are framed by the exercise of power. Their analysis of peacekeeping, based on fieldwork conducted in Haiti, Liberia and Kosovo, suggests that peacekeeping reconfigures former conflict zones in ways that shape perceptions of security. This reconfiguration of space is enacted by peacekeeping personnel who 'perform' security through their daily professional and personal practices, sometimes with unanticipated effects.Insecure Spaces' interdisciplinary analysis sheds great light on the contradictory mix of security and insecurity that peace operations create.
Rethinking the 21st Century: 'New' Problems, 'Old' Solutions
by Doctor Rebecca Glazier Lisa Burke Caron E. Gentry Jennifer Ramos Doctor Christian EnemarkRethinking the 21st Century brings much needed context and perspective to the security problems we face today.In recent years, the 'Bush Doctrine' - that the security threats we now face are entirely unprecedented - has echoed around the world. Global security and stability is now challenged not only by states and nuclear war, but by insurgency, disease, environmental degradation and military privatisation. Yet this creates a deep sense of disconnect in the way we perceive politics, and can be dangerously stark and ahistorical.The chapters here show that, far from being a clean break, the 'new' problems faced today might actually have 'old' solutions. What can Locke tell us about terrorists? What does Bentham have to say about sanctions? What are the ethics of outsourcing war to private companies? By looking back to decades and even centuries of ethical analysis and political theory, this book provides fascinating insight into all these questions.
Contemporary Latin America: Development and Democracy beyond the Washington Consensus
by Francisco PanizzaLatin America has changed dramatically over the past few years. While the 1990s were dominated by the politically orthodoxy of the Washington Consensus and the political uniformity of centre right governments the first decade of the new century is being characterised by the emergence of a plurality of economic and political alternatives.In an overview of the history of the region over the past twenty-five years this book traces the intellectual and political origins of the Washington Consensus, assesses its impact on democracy and economic development and discusses whether the emergence of a variety of left-wing governments in the region represents a clear break with the politics and policies of the Washington Consensus. Clearly written and rigorously argued the book will be of interest to academics, students of Latin American politics and anybody interested in understanding contemporary Latin America.
The Rise of China and India in Africa: Challenges, Opportunities and Critical Interventions (Africa Now)
by Dot Keet Kwesi Aning He Wenping Fredrick Mutesa Peter Kragelund Alex Vines Sanusha Naidu Liu Haifang Sanjukta Bhattacharya Alemayehu Geda Atnafu G. Meskel Peter Draper Tsidiso Disenyana Renu Modi Linn Axelsson Professor Timothy ShawIn recent years, China and India have become the most important economic partners of Africa and their footprints are growing by leaps and bounds, transforming Africa's international relations in a dramatic way. Although the overall impact of China and India's engagement in Africa has been positive in the short-term, partly as a result of higher returns from commodity exports fuelled by excessive demands from both countries, little research exists on the actual impact of China and India's growing involvement on Africa's economic transformation.This book examines in detail the opportunities and challenges posed by the increasing presence of China and India in Africa, and proposes critical interventions that African governments must undertake in order to negotiate with China and India from a stronger and more informed platform.
Mobilizing for Democracy: Citizen Action and the Politics of Public Participation (Claiming Citizenship)
by Simeen Mahmud Frederico Menino Ranjita Mohanty Duncan Okello Meire Ribeiro Steven Robins Sandra Marina Roque Alex Shankland Lisa Thompson Samuel Egwu Fabiola Fanti Arilson Favareto Alexandre Ferraz Idaci Ferreira Jibrin Ibrahim Naila Kabeer Doctor Celestine Nyamu-MusembiMobilizing for Democracy is an in-depth study into how ordinary citizens and their organizations mobilize to deepen democracy. Featuring a collection of new empirical case studies from Angola, Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, this important new book illustrates how forms of political mobilization, such as protests, social participation, activism, litigation and lobbying, engage with the formal institutions of representative democracy in ways that are core to the development of democratic politics.No other volume has brought together examples from such a broad Southern spectrum and covering such a diversity of actors: rural and urban dwellers, transnational activists, religious groups, politicians and social leaders. The cases illuminate the crucial contribution that citizen mobilization makes to democratization and the building of state institutions, and reflect the uneasy relationship between citizens and the institutions that are designed to foster their political participation.
Moving People: Sustainable Transport Development
by Peter CoxThe local and global environmental impacts of transport are more apparent than ever before. Moving People provides an attention-grabbing introduction to the problems of transport and the development of sustainable alternatives, focusing on the often misunderstood issue of personal mobility, as opposed to freight. Re-assessing the value and importance of non-motorized transport the author raises questions about mobility in the face of climate change and energy security, particularly for the developing world.Featuring original case studies from across the globe, this book is essential for anyone studying or working in the area of environmental sustainability and transport policy.
Africa's Odious Debts: How Foreign Loans and Capital Flight Bled a Continent (African Arguments)
by Professor Léonce Ndikumana James K. BoyceIn Africa's Odious Debts, Boyce and Ndikumana reveal the shocking fact that, contrary to the popular perception of Africa being a drain on the financial resources of the West, the continent is actually a net creditor to the rest of the world. The extent of capital flight from sub-Saharan Africa is remarkable: more than $700 billion in the past four decades. But Africa's foreign assets remain private and hidden, while its foreign debts are public, owed by the people of Africa through their governments.Léonce Ndikumana and James K. Boyce reveal the intimate links between foreign loans and capital flight. Of the money borrowed by African governments in recent decades, more than half departed in the same year, with a significant portion of it winding up in private accounts at the very banks that provided the loans in the first place. Meanwhile, debt-service payments continue to drain scarce resources from Africa, cutting into funds available for public health and other needs. Controversially, the authors argue that African governments should repudiate these 'odious debts' from which their people derived no benefit, and that the international community should assist in this effort.A vital book for anyone interested in Africa, its future and its relationship with the West.
Climate Change in Africa (African Arguments)
by Camilla ToulminClimate change is a major challenge for us all, but for African countries it represents a particular threat. This book outlines current thinking and evidence and the impact such change will have on Africa's development prospects.Global warming above the level of two degrees Celsius would be enormously damaging for poorer parts of the world, leading to crises with crops, livestock, water supplies and coastal areas. Within Africa, it's likely to be the continent's poorest people who are hit hardest. In this accessible and authoritative introduction to an often-overlooked aspect of the environment, Camilla Toulmin uses case studies to look at issues ranging from natural disasters to biofuels, and from conflict to the oil industry. Finally, the book addresses what future there might be for Africa in a carbon-constrained world.
Relational Accountability: Complexities of Structural Injustice
by Joy MoncrieffeIn this insightful new book, Moncrieffe argues that the traditionally narrow interpretation of accountability obscures relationships, power dynamics, structures, processes and complexities. The relational view, in contrast, seeks to understand the ways in which people perform in their roles as social actors, and how the quality of relationships influences the character of accountability.This book will provide a grounded theoretical background to accountability, using vivid case evidence to emphasize the significance of relational approaches to accountability using empirical data (from Jamaica, Haiti, Ethiopia and Uganda). Ultimately arguing that accountability is much more than a managerial concept; rather, it is deeply social and political.The result is a unique, coherent, perspective that will both explain and 'debunk' this central developmental concept.
Globalizing Citizens: New Dynamics of Inclusion and Exclusion (Claiming Citizenship)
by Marjorie Mayo Melissa Leach Angela Alonso Rajesh Tandon Ian Scoones Saturnino M. Borras Steven Robins Peter Newell Csgr Rosalba Icaza Rebecca Cassidy Rebecca Napier-Moore Jennifer C. Franco Julie Thekkudan Linda Waldman Lyla Mehta Marcelo SaguierGlobalization has given rise to new meanings of citizenship. Just as they are tied together by global production, trade and finance, citizens in every nation are linked by the institutions of global governance, bringing new dynamics of inclusion and exclusion. For some, globalization provides a sense of solidarity that inspires them to join transnational movements to claim rights from global authorities; for others, globalization has meant greater exposure to the power of global corporations, bureaucracies and scientific experts, thus adding new layers of exclusion to already fragile meanings of citizenship.Globalizing Citizens presents expert analysis from cities and villages in India, South Africa, Nigeria, the Philippines, Kenya, the Gambia and Brazil to explore how forms of global authority shape and build new meanings and practices of citizenship, across local, national and global arenas.
Megacities: The Politics of Urban Exclusion and Violence in the Global South
by Janice Perlman Mariano Aguirre Asef Bayat Jo Beall Owen Crankshaw Robert Gay Professor Caroline Moser Susan ParnellFor the first time in history, the majority of the world's population lives in cities, the result of a rapid process of urbanization that started in the second half of the twentieth century. 'Megacities' around the world are rapidly becoming the scene for deprivation, especially in the global South, and the urban excluded face the brunt of what in many cases seems like low-intensity warfare.Featuring case studies from across the globe, including Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, Megacities examines recent worldwide trends in poverty and social exclusion, urban violence and politics, and links these to the challenges faced by policy-makers and practitioners.
The FARC: The Longest Insurgency (Rebels)
by Garry LeechGarry Leech has written the definitive introduction to the FARC, examining the group's origins, aims, and ideology, and looking at its organizational and operational structures. The book also investigates the FARC's impact on local, regional, and global politics and explores its future direction.'Rebels' is an exciting and innovative new series looking at contemporary rebel groups and their place in global politics. Written by leading experts, the books serve as definitive introductions to the individual organizations, whilst seeking to place them within a broader geographical and political framework. They examine the origins, ideology and future direction of each group, whilst posting such questions as 'When does a "rebel" political movement become a "terrorist" organization?' and 'What are the social-economic drivers behind political violence?'.Provocative and original, the series is essential reading for anyone interested in how rebel groups operate today.
Britain in Africa (African Arguments)
by Tom PorteousWhy has Africa become such an important priority for Britain's foreign policy under New Labour? What interests and values is the UK seeking to uphold by intervening? Why has aid to Africa more than tripled over the past decade? How has the UK's involvement in the War on Terror affected its efforts there?In Britain in Africa Tom Porteous seeks to answer these and other questions about Britain's role in Africa since 1997. He provides an account of the key players, the policies they constructed in the shadow of the war in Iraq and the future of Britain's engagement with the continent. This book sets out the balance sheet of what Britain has achieved, and where and why it failed in Africa.A compelling read, whose importance for international politics reaches far beyond Britain or Africa.
China in Africa (African Arguments)
by Chris AldenNowhere in the world is China's rapid rise to power more evident than in Africa. From multi-billion dollar investments in oil and minerals to the influx of thousands of merchants, labourers and cheap consumer goods, China's economic and political reach is redefining Africa's traditional ties with the international community. This book investigates the emerging relationship between China and Africa to determine whether this engagement will be that of a development partner, economic competitor or new hegemon. Alden argues that in order to understand Chinese involvement on the continent, we need to recognize the range of economic, diplomatic and security rationales behind Beijing's Africa policy as well as the response of African elites to China's entreaties. Only then can the new challenges and opportunities for Africa and the West be accurately assessed.
The Trouble with Aid: Why Less Could Mean More for Africa (African Arguments)
by Jonathan GlennieAfrica is poor. If we send it money it will be less poor. It seems perfectly logical, doesn't it? Millions of people in the rich world, moved by images on television and appalled by the miserable conditions endured by so many in other countries, have joined campaigns to persuade their governments to double aid to Africa and help put an end to such shameful inequality.It seems simple. But it isn't. In this book, Jonathan Glennie argues that, along with its many benefits, government aid to Africa has often meant more poverty, more hungry people, worse basic services and damage to already precarious democratic institutions. Moreover, calls for more aid are drowning out pressure for action that would really make a difference for Africa's poor. Rather than doubling aid to Africa, it is time to reduce aid dependency. Through an honest assessment of both the positive and negative consequences of aid, this book will show you why.
The Uncultured Wars: Arabs, Muslims and the Poverty of Liberal Thought – New Essays
by Doctor Steven SalaitaThe Uncultured Wars is a powerful indictment of dominant American liberal-left discourse. Through twelve stylish essays Steven Salaita returns again and again to his core themes of anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia and the inadequacy of critical thought amongst the 'chattering classes', showing how racism continues to exist in the places where we would least expect it.By looking at topics as diverse as 'Is Jackass Justifiable?', 'Open Mindedness on Independence Day' and 'Ambition, Terrorism and Empathy', Salaita explores why Arabs are marginalized, and who seeks to benefit from this. He goes on to make the case that Arabs and Muslims urgently need to be included in the conversations that people have about American geopolitics.Part of a long tradition of politically engaged writing, and a trailblazer in the emerging genre of Arab-American writing, this book is eminently readable and relevant to our times.
The Congo Wars: Conflict, Myth and Reality
by Doctor Thomas TurnerSince 1996 war has raged in the Congo while the world has looked away. Waves of armed conflict and atrocities against civilians have resulted in over three million casualties, making this one of the bloodiest yet least understood conflicts of recent times.In The Congo Wars Thomas Turner provides the first in-depth analysis of what happened. The book describes a resource-rich region, suffering from years of deprivation and still profoundly affected by the shockwaves of the Rwandan genocide. Turner looks at successive misguided and self-interested interventions by other African powers, including Uganda, Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia, as well as the impotence of United Nations troops. Cutting through the historical myths so often used to understand the devastation, Turner indicates the changes required of Congolese leaders, neighbouring African states and the international community to bring about lasting peace and security.
Egypt: The Moment of Change
by Joel Beinin Anne Alexander Ray Bush Sameh Naguib Aida Seif El-Dawla Ahmad El El-NaggarEgypt is at the axis of the Arab world. With the largest population, the largest industrial economy and the longest tradition of modern political activity it has profound influence across the region. But there have been few attempts to understand contemporary Egyptian society, in particular growing internal pressures for change and their implications for the Middle East and the wider world.This book is the first for over 20 years to offer and accessible examination of contemporary issues in Egypt. It offers the reader analyses of its politics, culture and society, including contributions by several Egyptian academics and activists. This unique new book addresses the turmoil created by imposition of neo-liberal economic policies, the increasingly fragile nature of an authoritarian regime, the influence of movements for democratic opening and popular participation, and the impacts of Islamism. The authors argue that Egypt has entered a period of instability during which the 'low-intensity democracy' embraced by the Mubarak regime faces multiple challenges, including demands for radical change. This unique new book assesses the ability of the state to resist the new movements and the latters' capacity to fulfill their aims.
Posthuman International Relations: Complexity, Ecologism and Global Politics
by Doctor Erika Cudworth Doctor Stephen HobdenIn this bold intervention, Cudworth and Hobden draw on recent advances in thinking about complexity theory to call for a profound re-envisioning of the study of international relations. As a discipline, IR is wedded to the enlightenment project of overcoming the 'hazards' of nature, and thus remains constrained by its blinkered 'human-centred' approach. Furthermore, as a means of predicting major global-political events and trends, it has failed consistently. Instead, the authors argue, it is essential we develop a much more nuanced and sophisticated analysis of global political systems, taking into account broader environmental circumstances, as well as social relations, economic practices and formations of political power. Essentially, the book reveals how the study of international politics is transformed by the understanding that we have never been exclusively human.An original work that is sure to provoke heated debate within the discipline, Posthuman International Relations combines insights from complexity theory and ecological thinking to provide a radical new agenda for a progressive, twenty-first century, International Relations.
The Energy Glut: The Politics of Fatness in an Overheating World
by Ian RobertsWorld-wide, over a billion adults are overweight and 300 million are officially 'obese', more than 3,000 people die every day on the world's roads and global warming and war threaten our survival as a species. The Energy Glut tells the story of energy and how our abuse of fossil fuel energy links all of these public issues as manifestations of the same fundamental planetary malaise.This exciting new book argues that the pulse of fossil fuel energy released from the ground after the discovery of oil not only started the process of catastrophic climate change, but also propelled the average human weight distribution upwards. The author presents a frightening vision of humans besieged by a food industry that uses sophisticated marketing techniques to sell mountains of energy-dense food to those who are 'functionally paralysed', with fewer opportunities to move our bodies than ever before. We see why the accumulation of body fat is a political, not a personal, problem. This insightful new work offers and appraises for the reader a set of personal and political de-carbonising strategies, but to 'tread more lightly on our world' we first need to make sense of the systemic processes, and The Energy Glut takes expert first steps in this direction.
Catastrophe: What Went Wrong in Zimbabwe?
by Richard BourneNo one in 1980 could have guessed that Zimbabwe would become a failed state on such a monumental and tragic scale.In this incisive and revealing book, Richard Bourne shows how a country which had every prospect of success when it achieved a delayed independence in 1980 became a brutal police state with hyperinflation, collapsing life expectancy and abandonment by a third of its citizens less than thirty years later.Beginning with the British conquest of Zimbabwe and covering events up to the present precarious political situation, this is the most comprehensive, up-to-date and readable account of the ongoing crisis. Bourne shows that Zimbabwe's tragedy is not just about Mugabe's 'evil' but about history, Africa today and the world's attitudes towards them.
The Rise of Evo Morales and the MAS
by Sven HartenEvo Morales is one of the world's most controversial political leaders. His story is extraordinary: poor shepherd-boy, persecuted coca grower, self-professed admirer of Ché Guevara, hero of the anti-globalization movement, and first indigenous president of modern Latin America.The story of the social movement turned political party he is a part of -- the Movimiento Al Socialismo (MAS) -- is also exceptional: originally founded as a splinter of an ultra-right party, it was given as a gift for the coca growers after they had been banned several times for spurious reasons to register their own party, and went on to become an irresistible force for indigenous rights in Bolivia.In this insightful and revealing book, Sven Harten explains the success of the MAS and its wider consequences, showing how Morales has become the symbol for a new political consciousness that has entailed de-stigmatizing indigenous identities. In many ways, the analysis of Morales's political trajectory serves as a mirror for democracy in Bolivia. It reveals the challenge of squaring the rupture with a discredited past with the continuity of democracy and the aim of representing an entire society.