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The Unknown Marx: Reconstructing a Unified Perspective
by Takahisa OishiThe Unknown Marx is an incisive critique of the way the West has revised and interpreted Marxist theory. Takahisa Oishi argues that Engels’ and Lenin’s summaries of Marx’s system have now been taken by Western societies to represent the sum total of Marx’s philosophy. By returning Marx’s original writings, Oishi reveals the essential limitations of Engels’ and Lenin’s interpretations, and presents a fresh reexamination of the theories of one of the world’s most influential political philosophers. *BR**BR*By departing from Western and Stalinist approaches to Marxism, Oishi attempts to see Marx's writing in the way Marx saw it. In doing so, Oishi gives unique insight into the essence of what we think we know about Marx, evaluating the systematic forms of interpretation which have emerged along with encroaching capitalism. An insightful, highly controversial interpretation of the grand narratives about Marx.
Rolling Back Revolution: The Emergence of Low Intensity Conflict
by Ivan MolloyIvan Molloy analyses the de-facto foreign policy strategy of Low Intensity Conflict as propagated by the United States. He recounts how LIC emerged during the Reagan Administration as a way of counteracting the legacy left by the Vietnam War, which constrained America from getting involved in direct military intervention. Part covert, part overt, LIC was developed as a low-cost and low-risk method of dealing with revolutionary movements and post-revolutionary governments (usually Marxist) considered threatening to national interests. As such, this secretive strategy was an integral component of the Iran-Contra affair, and at the heart of the Reagan Doctrine.*BR**BR*Molloy argues that LIC was a means of civilianising and privatising America's foreign policy. He reveals that LIC was always more of a political, rather than military, tool. The United States used LIC selectively in the 1980s to combat guerrilla movements and undermine targeted regimes to achieve its foreign policy objectives. The author uses Nicaragua and the Philippines as major case studies to analyse the profile of this multi-dimensional strategy as it emerged in the 1980s. He also demonstrates - using such examples as Cuba, Yugoslavia and East Timor - that this complex strategy is still evident today and even pursued by other states.
Reflections on Humanitarian Action: Principles, Ethics and Contradictions (Transnational Institute)
by Humanitarian Studies UnitHumanitarian action has become a subject for serious debate in light of recent conflicts across the globe. The debacle in Somalia, the policy of intervention in Bosnia, and domestic conflicts in the West over intervention in Kosovo have given rise to many complex questions surrounding humanitarian action. The contributors to this volume provide a systematic overview of the issues involved from a wide range of viewpoints.*BR**BR*The book examines the central problems of humanitarian action: the judicial question and the right to humanitarian assistance; the ethical framework of humanitarian action; the challenge of coordination of all the actors involved in humanitarian action; the recipients in the aid chain; the link between aid, development and emergency action; the role of the media; and a practical evaluation of Operation Lifeline Sudan.
The Politics of Money: Towards Sustainability and Economic Democracy
by Frances Hutchinson Mary Mellor Wendy OlsenClassical and radical economists have marginalised the role of money, most particularly the role of credit, in driving the machinery of accumulation and exclusion. Although critiques of capitalism from Marxist, feminist and ecological perspectives abound, The Politics of Money is unique in gathering the strengths of these differing critiques into a coherent whole. *BR**BR*The book reviews the role of money in current society through an overview of the history of money creation and a critique of the main theoretical developments in economic thought. Alternative perspectives on money are then presented through a review of a number of radical perspectives but focusing mainly on the work of Marx, Veblen and the social credit perspective of Douglas and the guild socialists.*BR**BR*The authors have drawn upon their varied expertise in economics and the social sciences to produce the foundations of a new political economy that will enable communities to reconstruct their socio-economic fabric through social and political control of money systems.
Empire of Knowledge: Culture and Plurality in the Global Economy
by Vinay LalDuring the media frenzy over the Millennium celebrations, there was hardly any mention of the fact that, for the majority of the world, there was no Millennium at all. This linear understanding of time is a specifically Western - and Christian - concept. *BR**BR*This is just one of many examples that Vinay Lal uses to demonstrate that nearly every idea which we take for granted in the west is part of a politics of ideas. Oppression is usually associated with class struggle and other forms of economic monopoly. Lal looks beyond this, deconstructing the cultural assumptions that have emerged alongside capitalism to offer a devastating critique of the politics of knowledge at the heart of all powerbroking.*BR**BR*Other topics examined are the concept of 'development', which has provided a mandate for surreptitious colonisation; and the idea of the 'nation state', something we have lived with for no more than two centuries, yet is accepted without question. Linking this to the emergence of 'international governance' through the United Nations, the US, and imperial economic bodies (such as the IMF and WTO), Lal explains how such universalism came to dominate the trajectory of Western thought.
Corporate Capitalism and Political Philosophy
by Suman GuptaCorporate capitalism is usually examined from a sociological or economic viewpoint, and this book breaks new ground in providing a thorough account of the mechanisms which define it from a philosophical perspective, revealing how these processes determine the way we live today.*BR**BR*Marxist and other left-oriented political philosophies had ideological roots that were based, sometimes incongruously, on particular economic and sociological readings of the capitalist process. Political philosophies associated with conservatism and neoliberalism have either been assimilated within capitalist discourses, or they have been designed to justify corporate capitalist processes. *BR**BR*This book re-examines these issues with an unusually dispassionate approach, providing a systematic view of contemporary corporate capitalism in all its complexity, without expecting the reader to have a specialist knowledge of sociology or economics. It clarifies the scope of political philosophy by reflecting on its own methodology and practice, and offers a controversial conclusion that within contemporary corporate capitalist modes of organisation there is actually no space left for political philosophy at all, as corporate capitalism systematically denies all political agents an ability to exercise their political will.
Contemporary Political Concepts: A Critical Introduction
by Georgina Blakeley Valerie BrysonThe language of political debate and analysis has changed dramatically in recent years. Today, both academics and practitioners have largely abandoned the vocabulary of the left and replaced it with a set of concepts that structure debate and set the political agenda. Thus, the world economy is discussed in terms of globalisation instead of international capitalism.*BR**BR*Moreover, the apparently benign concepts of civil society, citizenship and stakeholder have replaced those of class and class conflict, poverty is about social exclusion rather than exploitation, and consumer choice and worker empowerment have replaced the pursuit of class interests. In today's political climate, socialism is seen as old-fashioned or utopian. In contrast, capitalism is seen as realistic, and the 'third way' is presented as the solution to all our ills.*BR**BR*This book explores the real issues behind these catchphrases of modern politics, explaining what they mean, and offering a critique of the ideology of which they are a part.
Palestinian Refugees: The Right of Return
by Naseer AruriWith contributions from a range of international experts, including Edward W. Said, Noam Chomsky, Ilan Pappe, Alain Gresh and Norman Finkelstein, this collection examines the Palestinians' right of return. *BR**BR*Chapters cover the historical roots of the Palestinian refugee question; the rights of the refugees under international law; the special case of Lebanon; Israeli perceptions of the refugee question; the practical feasibility of the return; the role of the United States and the European Union and the Refugee Question; the value of the refugee property; the principles of compensation; and a programme for an Independent Rights Campaign.
State Crime: Governments, Violence and Corruption
by Penny Green Tony WardWhat is state crime? This book sets out the parameters of state crime and highlights the complex issues involved. The authors provide a clear chapter-by-chapter assessment of state violence, corruption, state involvement in organised and corporate crime, avoidable 'natural' disasters, torture, criminal policing, war crimes and genocide.*BR**BR*Penny Green and Tony Ward put forward a powerful argument drawing from a range of disciplines including law, criminology, human rights, international relations and political science. They develop a theoretical approach to understanding the boundaries of state crime, employing the concepts of deviance and human rights. Making distinctive use of original research and using a variety of international case-studies, this compelling book offers a fresh and sophisticated approach to this controversial and difficult subject.
Hizbu'llah: Politics and Religion (Critical Studies on Islam)
by Amal Saad-GhorayebHizbu'llah is the largest and most prominent political party in Lebanon, and one of the most renowned Islamist movements in the world. In this book, Amal Saad-Ghorayeb examines the organisation's understanding of jihad and how this, together with its belief in martyrdom, brought about the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from Lebanon in May 2000. *BR**BR*Saad-Ghorayeb explores the nature of the party's struggle against the West by studying its views on the use of violence against Westerners. Crucially, she also addresses the question of whether Hizbu'llah depicts this struggle in purely political or civilisational terms. The existential nature of the movement’s conflict with Israel is analysed and the Islamic roots of its anti-Judaism is unearthed. *BR**BR*The author explores the mechanics and rationale behind the party's integration into the Lebanese political system, and sheds light on how it has reconciled its national idenitity with its solidarity with the Muslim umma.
Youth and the State in Hungary: Capitalism, Communism and Class (Anthropology, Culture and Society)
by Laszlo KurtiYouth and the State in Hungary takes as its focus the nature of Hungary’s youth movements over the last seventy years. In a detailed ethnographic study, Laszlo Kurti examines the lives of youth workers in the Csepel district of Budapest in the context of the wider political and economic transformations witnessed during the twentieth century.*BR**BR*Kurti follows State-Youth relations from the inter-war capitalism that made peasants into workers, through the post war state socialism – ‘Stalinism’ and after – to the reintroduction of capitalism in 1990. This time frame allows an exploration of the transformations and dilemmas of youth, class, gender and ethnicity as they develop across time. *BR**BR*In the course of this study two main themes emerge: the reproduction of class in youth culture across shifting socio-economic conditions; and the mobilisation of youth movements in resistance to the state. Youth and the State in Hungary challenges the orthodox equation of youth and resistance by arguing that youth mobilisation has, in fact, served the interests of the state. Nevertheless there remains a genuine space for resistance and contestation in the reproduction of youth culture.
Ideology After Poststructuralism (Social Sciences Research Centre)
by Sinisa Malesevic Iain MacKenzieIdeology is a hotly disputed term in social and political theory. It continues to generate intellectual dispute more than 200 years after its birth in the fervour of the French Revolution. Most recently, post-structuralists such as Foucault and Deleuze launched a strident critique claiming that 'there is no such thing as ideology', creating a theoretical environment which polarises critical opinion either for or against ideology. *BR**BR*Ideology after Poststructuralism aims to end this culture of antagonism by bringing together leading scholars in the field to establish a dialogue between post-structuralism and ideology critique. For the post-structuralists there is a need to generate a sensitive account of ideology so as to bolster their claim that they have a significant contribution to make to social and political criticism. *BR**BR*For the ideology theorists there is a need to engage with the post-structuralist critique of ideology without taking the assumptions that post-structuralists have so thoroughly criticised. The essays in this book show how the intellectual posturing of recent decades has closed off debate to the detriment of both post-structuralism and ideology critique.
Reinventing Ireland: Culture, Society and the Global Economy (Contemporary Irish Studies)
by Peadar Kirby Luke Gibbons Michael CroninOver the last decade the Irish economy has experienced a period of unprecedented growth which has earned it the title Celtic Tiger. This success has been interpreted by academic commentators as marking a social and cultural transformation, what some have called the reinvention of Ireland. The essays in this book challenge the largely positive interpretation of Ireland's changing social order. *BR**BR*The authors identify the ways in which culture and society have been made subservient to the needs of the market in this new neoliberal Ireland. They draw on subversive strands in Irish history and offer a broader and more robust understanding of culture as a site of resistance to the dominant social order and as a political means to fashion an alternative future.
The Political Economy of Turkey (Third World in Global Politics)
by Zülküf AydinSince the 1970s, Turkey has faced some of the most serious crises since the Republic was established in 1923. This book analyses the political and socio-economic problems faced by Turkey in recent decades and the country's gradual integration into the global economy. *BR**BR*Social unrest, political and ethnic violence, paralysis of the state bureaucracy and other institutions, increasing foreign debt, decreasing economic growth, vast inflation and increasing unemployment have all been part of everyday life in Turkey's recent history. Zulkuf Aydin argues that this state of affairs is symptomatic of a deeper, more enduring crisis arising from the way in which Turkey has been integrated into the global economy. Looking at democracy, repression, the military, the Kurdish question and regional inequalities, civil society, human rights and Islamic fundamentalism in Turkey, he shows how Turkey has become reliant on foreign investment and international financial institutions, offering a broader critique of globalisation in this light.
Caught Between Borders: Response Strategies of the Internally Displaced
by Marc Vincent Birgitte Refslund SorensenInternally displaced persons are those who have been forced to flee their homes and who do not cross an internationally recognised border. Unlike refugees, they have no organisation to deal with their plight. Very little is known about how people respond to the experience of displacement.*BR**BR*This is the first book to put together information on the networks that people have evolved for coping in such situations. Examining those people who have become IDPs as the result of violence and war, it uses case studies from different countries, different settings and different phases of displacement. *BR**BR*The authors identify cross-cultural patterns of coping strategies, examine whether these strategies are effective and highlight to what extent they are dependent upon culture or the experience of displacement. This is a practical handbook that will help international organisations formulate their relief plans to support - rather than inadvertently damage - existing coping mechanisms. *BR**BR*Case studies include Afghanistan, Angola, Burundi, Burma, Colombia, Georgia, Sri Lanka, Serbia, Sudan and Uganda.
Researching Violently Divided Societies: Ethical and Methodological Issues
by Marie Smyth Gillian RobinsonAll societies are, to a certain extent, divided by conflicts over race, ethnicity, religion and class. However, in societies such as Britain and the United States these tensions are contained and managed by social, economic and political mechanisms. *BR**BR*This book, produced as a result of an international collaboration between researchers in Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Northern Ireland and elsewhere aims to:*BR** Provide a guide to the issues faced by researchers working in violently divided contexts; *BR** Document the insights and practice wisdom of practising researchers operating in such contexts;*BR** Afford access to the lived experience of those researchers and the ethical and methodological challenges which face them; *BR** Present accounts and analysis which illustrate a wide range of diverse experiences and perspectives on the experience of doing research in violently divided societies;*BR** Explore the involvement of the researchers with the research material and the impact of doing the research on them. *BR**BR*A range of ethical and methodological issues are covered, and the specific demands of conducting research in war-torn and divided societies has stimulated the contributors to analyse and critique issues such as the contribution of research to society, the benefit of research to respondents, and issues of objectivity – issues of concern to all researchers. However, in the often stark circumstances in which the contributors work, these issues take on an urgency and clarity that can potentially illuminate research practice generally.*BR**BR**BR*The book deals with the methodological and ethical issues arising when researching conflicts in violently divided societies where there is no consensus about policing, law and order, the impartiality of the state or indeed about the legitimacy of the state itself. With contributions from researchers who have worked in a range of very different divided societies around the world, it examines the conditions under which such inquiry is conducted and looks at the obstacles that researchers face. Researching Violently Divided Societies looks in detail at different case studies to offer a sound understanding of the most effective methodological approaches for improving responses to division and violence.*BR**BR*Chapters cover the role and function of research in divided societies in Africa; the efficacy of research in Northern Ireland; dilemmas of identification and ethnography; research by insiders and outsiders; research for empowerment in Cambodia; the role of research in managing conflicts in Nigeria; researching ethnic conflict in Post-Soviet central Asia; a first-time researcher's experience in Bosnia; the ethics of psychiatric research in war zones; and a final comparison of policy.
Marx's 'Eighteenth Brumaire': (Post)Modern Interpretations
by Mark Cowling James MartinMarx's account of the rise of Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte is one of his most important texts. Written after the defeat of the 1848 revolution in France and Bonaparte's subsequent coup, it is a concrete analysis that raises enduring theoretical questions about the state, class conflict and ideology.*BR**BR*Unlike his earlier analyses, Marx develops a nuanced argument concerning the independence of the state from class interests, the different types of classes, and the determining power of ideas and imagery in politics. In the Eighteenth Brumaire he applies his 'materialist conception of history' to an actual historical event with extraordinary subtlety and an impressive, powerful command of language.*BR**BR*This volume contains the most recent and widely acclaimed translation of the Eighteenth Brumaire by Terrell Carver, together with a series of specially commissioned essays on the importance of the Brumaire in Marx's canon. Contributors discuss its continuing significance and interest, the historical background and its contemporary relevance for political philosophy and history.
People, Peace and Power: Conflict Transformation in Action
by Diana FrancisMillions of people around the world live in countries torn apart by war, where violence and suffering are part of everyday life. Yet in all those countries there are groups of people working for peace in the midst of war, standing up for human rights and decency. What difference can they make? What can be done to support them, and to help dialogue to happen in the midst of hostility and violence?*BR**BR*This book examines these questions, focusing on the roles that ordinary people can play as peace builders in societies where violence and antagonism have become the norm, where inter-communal relationships are fractured or where institutions and the rule of law have collapsed. *BR**BR*It examines the theory and practice of conflict transformation and its relevance for different cultures and contexts. Using extensive case studies taken from practical workshops - the most frequently used form of conflict intervention - in the Balkans and around the world, it shows both the power and the complexity of such encounters.
European Union Foreign Policy: What It is and What It Does
by Hazel SmithAs the European Union is not a nation state, it is not generally perceived to have a foreign policy. However, this book argues that quite the reverse is true: that an overemphasis on procedure and structures has disguised the fact that the EU has a clear foreign policy that can be analysed in much the same way as that of the sovereign state. *BR**BR*Conventional assessments of the EU focus on the mechanisms, institutions and treaties through which policies are implemented. Smith shows how this can lead to a massive underestimation of the capacities of the EU. Rather than concentrating on how the policy of the EU is made, Smith investigates the action that it has engaged in abroad, and the nature of its diverse global interventions - in relation to the United States and the industrialised North, the various regions of the South and, most recently, its huge involvement in east and central Europe and the entire European continent. *BR**BR*Developing a pathbreaking analysis of the nature of EU foreign policy, this comprehensive account shows how the EU can be very effective indeed in promoting its own domestic interests abroad.
Bloody Sunday: Trauma, Pain & Politics (Contemporary Irish Studies)
by Patrick Hayes Jim CampbellOf all the grave crises in Northern Ireland's history, the events of Bloody Sunday are perhaps the most notorious. The subject of an independent inquiry that is the longest and most expensive the British government has ever undertaken, this yet to be resolved issue continues to be one of the most significant events in the recent history of the Troubles. *BR**BR*This book tackles the subject from a new angle that covers both the political and psychological aspects of what happened. Based on extensive interviews with families whose relatives were killed by British soldiers, it is a record of the trauma that they have suffered. Setting Bloody Sunday in social, political and historical contexts, the authors examine the events of the day itself, the aftermath, and the relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder, grief, mourning and storytelling. *BR**BR*They conclude with accounts about state and community responses to the trauma, and the impact and implications of the Saville Inquiry, which has allowed family members to express publicly their stories about the events of Bloody Sunday.
From Fear to Fraternity: A Russian Tale of Crime, Economy and Modernity
by Patricia RawlinsonOrganised crime makes good copy. Gangsters, shoot-outs and mob meetings are a staple of TV shows and media reports tend to glamorise the criminal underworld. The 'threat' from organised crime has been a high-profile concern in Western Europe and the US since the 1930s. *BR**BR*This being the case, the recent emergence of Russian and Eastern European organised crime has led to high-profile efforts to combat the new 'threat', with little understanding of what it entails. Patricia Rawlinson argues that burgeoning crime rates result not only from the failures of communism, but also from the problems of free market economies.*BR**BR*Drawing on interviews with members of the Russian criminal underworld, she argues that organised crime provides us with a barometer of economic well-being, both for Russia and for any neoliberal market economy.
NGOs and Transnational Networks: Wild Cards in World Politics
by William E. DeMarsNon-Governmental Organisations and their networks are proliferating in all regions of the world. They address every transnational issue from population to peace, human rights to species rights, genocide to AIDS. Supporters claim NGOs are effective in achieving their goals, while detractors counter that NGO power is paltry compared to governments and corporations. *BR**BR*Challenging both views, DeMars irreverently reveals the political claims implicit in every transnational NGO. They are best conceptualised, he argues, not in terms of either principles or power, but through the partners they make in transnational society and politics. NGOs and transnational networks institutionalise conflict as much as cooperation, and reshape states and societies, often inadvertently. NGOs have overthrown dictators, provided life support for collapsed states, and reengineered the family. Their historical origins contrast sharply with current realities, and show signs of radical change in the future.
Counter-Colonial Criminology: A Critique of Imperialist Reason
by Biko AgozinoThis book is about how the history of colonialism has shaped the definition of crime and justice systems not only in former colonies but also in colonialist countries. Biko Agozino argues that criminology in the West was originally tested in the colonies and then brought back to mother countries - in this way, he claims, the colonial experience has been instrumental in shaping modern criminology in colonial powers.*BR**BR*He looks at how radical critiques of mainstream criminology by critical feminist and postmodernist thinkers contribute to an understanding of the relationship between colonial experience and criminology. But he also shows that even critical feminist and postmodernist assessments of conventional criminology do not go far enough as they remain virtually silent on colonial issues. *BR**BR*Biko Agozino considers African and other postcolonial literature and contributions to counter colonial criminology, their originality, relevance and limitations. Finally he advocates a 'committed objectivity' approach to race-class-gender criminology investigations in order to come to terms with imperialistic and neo-colonialist criminology.
Breaking the South Slav Dream: The Rise and Fall of Yugoslavia
by Kate HudsonThis is a revisionist history of the rise and fall of Yugoslavia. Assessing the geopolitical and strategic reasons for its creation and dismemberment, it is an important corrective to much contemporary theorising about the destruction of the Yugoslav state.*BR**BR*Kate Hudson draws attention to the role of foreign states whose involvement in Yugoslavia did much to destabilise the region, and explains how and why this happened. *BR**BR*Tracing the state's origins from 1918 through war and the Tito years, she explains the distortion of the socialist economy resulting from Yugoslavia's unusual position between the two Cold War blocs, and the economic collapse of the 1980s as part of the US's drive for a free market. She also investigates the true causes and effects of the recent wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo and brings the book up-to-date with an analysis of Milosevic's downfall, and events in Macedonia and Montenegro.
Anti-Capitalism: A Marxist Introduction
by Lecio MoraisThis book is a collection of essays from some of the world's leading Marxist economists on the problems of globalisation and the evolution of modern capitalism. *BR**BR*With contributions from Suzanne de Brunhoff, Ellen Meiksins Wood, Ben Fine, Simon Clarke, John Holloway and John Weeks among others, it provides a cohesive critique of the weaknesses of the existing system and puts forward a new agenda for anti-capitalist thought and action. *BR**BR*Covering key issues such as globalisation, the nation state, money and finance, conflict and war, technological change, the environment, class struggle, economic crisis, capitalism in the Third World, the collapse of the USSR, and the transcendence of capitalism, this is an ideal introduction to some of the most pressing problems of our time.