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Unsocial Europe: Social Protection Or Flexploitation?
by Anne GrayHow and why are European welfare systems and the labour market changing? How do they affect the daily lives of those facing unemployment or precarious work? *BR**BR*Anne Gray shows how the idea of unemployment benefits as a right is evolving into a regime closer to American 'workfare'. She explains how this policy forces the unemployed into low paid, temporary or part-time jobs associated with the new 'flexible' labour market. Drawing on unemployed people’s own accounts of their experiences - in the UK, Germany, France and Belgium - Gray illustrates the job market as seen from the dole queue. Exploring the changing nature of work in Europe, Gray reveals why is there a shortage of full-time permanent jobs, what is to be done, and what the future holds for labour market regulation in Europe.*BR**BR*Providing clear explanations about shifts in welfare policy, this book is ideal for trade unionists, activists and students, and makes an important contribution to wider debates on globalisation and the future of work.
Married to Another Man: Israel's Dilemma in Palestine
by Ghada KarmiTwo rabbis, visiting Palestine in 1897, observed that the land was like a bride, 'beautiful, but married to another man'. By which they meant that, if a place was to be found for Israel in Palestine, where would the people of Palestine go? This is a dilemma that Israel has never been able to resolve.*BR**BR*No conflict today is more dangerous than that between Israel and the Palestinians. The implications it has for regional and global security cannot be overstated. The peace process as we know it is dead and no solution is in sight. Nor, as this book argues, will that change until everyone involved in finding a solution accepts the real causes of conflict, and its consequences on the ground. *BR**BR*Leading writer Ghada Karmi explains in fascinating detail the difficulties Israel's existence created for the Arab world and why the search for a solution has been so elusive. Ultimately, she argues that the conflict will end only once the needs of both Arabs and Israelis are accommodated equally. Her startling conclusions overturn conventional thinking - but they are hard to refute.
The Politics of Empire: Globalisation in Crisis (Transnational Institute)
by Alan Freeman Boris KagarlitskyBringing together nine leading writers and activists from around the world, this book explores the origins of a new age of Empire.*BR**BR*Writers including Walden Bello, Jayati Ghosh, Kate Hudson, Boris Kagarlitsky and Alan Freeman offer a wealth of factual evidence showing that globalisation has driven apart peoples, classes and nations, shaping and reshaping key regions of the world. Challenging the idea that it is inevitable, they argue that its economic contradictions have thrown the world order that sustained it into crisis.*BR**BR*Globalisation's opponents are shaping a new intellectual tradition. For the first time, the book brings together the critiques thrown up by resistance to globalisation, to war, and to imperialism. Free from ideology and dogma, showing how the peace and anti-globalisation movements can join forces and face the coming period of world history.
Discovering the Scottish Revolution 16921746
by Neil Davidson*Shortlisted for the Deutscher Memorial Prize 2003* *BR**BR*This book is a reassessment of Scottish politics and society in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century. Neil Davidson argues that Scotland experienced a revolution during this period that has rarely been recognised in the existing historiography. *BR**BR*Davidson explores the political and economic changes of these years, revealing how social and economic power was transferred from one class to another. He describes how Scotland was transformed from a backward and feudal economy to a new centre of emergent capitalism. *BR**BR*He traces the economic and social crisis that led to Scotland's incorporation into the Union in 1707, but argues that the Union did not lead to the transformation of Scottish society. The decisive period was instead the aftermath of the last Jacobite revolt in 1746, whose failure was integral to the survival and consolidation of British, and ultimately global capitalism.
The Myths of Zionism
by John RoseAncient, medieval and modern, this book is a critical account of the historical, political and cultural roots of Zionism. *BR**BR*Scrutinising the roots of the myths of Zionism and mobilising recent scholarship, John Rose shows how many of these stories, as with other mythologies, have no basis in fact. However, because Zionism is a living political force and these myths have been used to justify very real and political ends - namely, the expulsion and continuing persecution of the Palestinians. John Rose separates fact from fiction presenting a detailed analysis of their origins and development. This includes a challenge to Zionism's biblical claims using very recent and very startling Israeli archaeological conclusions.*BR**BR*This book shows clearly how Zionism makes many false claims on Jewish religion and history.
The Roma Cafe: Human Rights and the Plight of the Romani People
by Istvan PoganyThe plight of Eastern Europe's Roma is one of the greatest challenges facing the continent. Largely hidden, this book offers an eye-opening, poignant and intriguing analysis of the diverse problems facing Central and Eastern Europe's gypsy populations, including the largely unacknowledged legacy of the Roma Holocaust.*BR**BR*Engaging with a broad range of issues including racism, stereotyping, and political and economic transition in ex-Communist states, Istvan Pogany challenges the most common preconceptions about the Roma. He looks at the specifics of indiviual Romani lives, particularly in Hungary and Romania.*BR**BR*Highlighting the difficulties that all marginal peoples face, Pogany explains how the Roma have been devastated by the economic transition from Communism to open markets since 1989. Poverty, lack of education, as well as widespread anti-Roma discrimination and inadequate legal protection, have left the Roma facing intense hardship since the collapse of welfare states. However, this book is not just a catalogue of the challenges that the Roma face -- it is also a celebration of Roma cultures and of the acceptance of difference -- something that is more important than ever in our multicultural societies.
Slavoj Zizek: A Critical Introduction (Modern European Thinkers)
by Ian Parker'When I read Ian Parker's manuscript, I experienced an underlying solidarity: despite obvious differences, we share the same basic political concerns and visions. And this makes his critical remarks always pertinent!' Slavoj Zizek*BR**BR*'This is not simply the best critical introduction to Zizek – in a much more radical sense, this is the only critical introduction to Zizek. Parker's study is much more than an important contribution to the ongoing debate: it redefines its very terms.' Yannis Stavrakakis, author of 'Lacan and the Political'*BR**BR*'A sharp, clear and radical analysis.' Christian Ingo Lenz Dunker, Professor of Psychoanalytic Theory and Lacanian Psychoanalyst, Sao Paulo, Brazil.*BR**BR*Since the publication of his first book in English in 1989, Slavoj Zizek has quickly become one of the most widely read and contentious intellectuals alive today. With dazzling wit and tremendous creativity he has produced innovative and challenging explorations of Lacan, Hegel and Marx, and used his insights to exhilarating effect in analyses of popular culture.*BR**BR*While Zizek is always engaging, he is also elusive and even contradictory. It can be very hard to finally determine where he stands on a particular issue. Is Zizek Marxist or Post-Marxist? How seriously should we take his recent turn to Christianity?*BR**BR*Slavoj Zizek: A Critical Introduction shows the reader a clear path through the twists and turns of Zizek's writings. Ian Parker takes Zizek's treatment of Hegel, Lacan and Marx in turn and outlines and assesses Zizek's interpretation and extension of these thinkers' theories. While Parker is never hastily dismissive of Zizek's innovations, he remains critical throughout, aware that the energy of Zizek's writing can be bewitching and beguiling as well as engaging and profound.
A War on Terror: Afghanistan and After
by Paul RogersRadically assessing George W. Bush's security policy, the impact it has had on world security and the grave implications that it holds for future peace, not only in the Middle East but throughout the world come to light. *BR**BR*Moving from the war in Afghanistan and its aftermath to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, the continuing development of al-Qaida and its associates through to the war on Iraq, Rogers presents a uniquely cogent analysis of these rapid and traumatic events. In a world in which the US and other states of the Atlantic community are increasingly speaking a different language to that of the majority of the world, Paul Rogers offers a vital critical assessment of the language of dominance and control as 'the New American Century' unfolds.*BR**BR*For the US, in particular, the post-9/11 world is one in which it is essential to maintain firm control of international security, extending to pre-emptive military action. In this book, Rogers demonstrates how futile, mistaken and deeply counter-productive that belief is, and points the way to more effective routes to a more just and secure world.
Jurgen Habermas: Democracy and the Public Sphere (Modern European Thinkers)
by Luke GoodeHabermas is a hugely influential thinker, yet his writing can be dense and inaccessible. This critical introduction offers undergraduates a clear way into Habermas’s concept of the ‘public sphere’ and its relevance to contemporary society. Luke Goode’s lively account also sheds new light on the ‘public sphere’ debate that will interest readers already familiar with Habermas’s work.*BR**BR*For Habermas, the 'public sphere' was a social forum that allowed people to debate -- whether it was the town hall or the coffee house, maintaining a space for public debate was an essential part of democracy. Habermas’s controversial work examines the erosion of these spaces within consumer society and calls for new thinking about democracy today.*BR**BR*Drawing on Habermas’s early and more recent writings, this book examines the ‘public sphere’ in its full complexity, outlining its relevance to today’s media and culture. It will be of interest to students and scholars in a range of disciplines across the social sciences and humanities.
Gramsci is Dead: Anarchist Currents in the Newest Social Movements
by Richard J. Day"Inspired to contribute to the symbiotic relationship between the academic and activist worlds, Day has decided to pick up the pen instead of the Molotov cocktail. The result is this brilliant book."*BR*Ann Hansen *BR*Ann was sentenced to life imprisonment for blowing up a cruise-missile component factory, and is the author of Direct Action: The Memoirs of an Urban Guerilla*BR**BR*"If revolutionary politics are to be reconstituted for the twenty-first century, all previously existing radical traditions must not only be remade but placed in new relationships with one another. The anarchism of Richard Day’s brilliant Gramsci is Dead is not only an explosive break-out from the demoralizing horizons of contemporary social democracy, but also an exuberant intellectual dance-invitation extended to all mutant Marxists, autonomists and species-being activists eager to catch the strains of a new tune: Red Emma would be proud."*BR*Nick Dyer-Witheford, Associate Professor, University of Western Ontario and author of Cyber-Marx (1999)*BR**BR*Gramsci and the concept of hegemony cast a long shadow over radical political theory. Yet how far has this theory got us? Is it still central to feminism, anti-capitalism, anti-racism, anarchism, and other radical social movements today?*BR**BR*Unlike previous revolutionary movements, Day argues, most contemporary radical social movements do not strive to take control of the state. Instead, they attempt to develop new forms of self-organisation that can run in parallel with -- or as alternatives to -- existing forms of social, political, and economic organization. This is to say that they follow a logic of affinity rather than one of hegemony.*BR**BR*This book draws together a variety of different strands in political theory to weave together an*BR*innovative new approach to politics today. Rigorous and wide-ranging, Day introduces and interrogates key concepts. From Hegel's concept of recognition, through theories of hegemony and affinity to Hardt and Negri's reflections on Empire, Day maps academia's theoretical and philosophical concerns onto today's politics of the street. *BR**BR*Ideal for all students of political theory, Day's fresh approach combines Marxist, Anarchist and*BR*Post-structuralist theory to shed new light on the politics and practice of contemporary social*BR*movements.
The Cold War and After: Capitalism, Revolution and Superpower Politics (Critical Introductions to World Politics)
by Richard SaullThe Cold War is often presented as an international power struggle between the Soviet Union and the US. Richard Saull challenges this assumption. He broadens our understanding of the defining political conflict of the twentieth-century by stressing the social and ideological differences of the superpowers and how these differences conditioned their international behaviour.*BR**BR*Saull argues that US-Soviet antagonism was part of a wider conflict between capitalism and communism involving states and social forces other than the superpowers. The US was committed to containing revolutionary and communist movements that emerged out of uneven capitalist development.*BR**BR*In highlighting the socio-economic and ideological dimensions of the Cold War, Saull not only provides a richer history of the Cold War than mainstream approaches, but is also able to explain why revolutionary domestic transformations caused international crises. Tracing the origins of new resistance to American global power, Saull's book provides an ideal alternative perspective on the Cold War and its end.
The Pre-Emptive Empire: A Guide to Bush's Kingdom
by Saul LandauThis book is a scathing account of George W. Bush's America before and after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.*BR**BR*Saul Landau delves into the erosion of civil liberties and the proliferation of empire under the guise of pre-empting the scourge of terrorism. He reveals how Bush protects 'his' terrorists - those who perpetrate violence against Cuba, and to whom he owes his presidency. He also examines how Bush has appointed former officials to high level posts in his cabinet despite their membership in a conspiracy to sell weapons of mass destruction to Iran in the 1980s.*BR**BR*In 'declassifying' Bush's Empire, Landau dissects a post 9/11 world where deference to patriotism obliterates debate in Congress and the media. How can the notion of empire happily co-exist with the notion of a republic? In times like these, as dissenting voices are stifled and the public are denied access to the facts about their own security, Landau shows how democracy itself is under threat. He asks whether the already fragile world economy can survive in the new 'security' culture of the post-9/11 world.
Inside the U D A: Volunteers and Violence
by Colin CrawfordThis book is a unique insight into the beliefs and political ideology of the Ulster Defence Assocation (UDA) and the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF). Featuring interviews with key members of these paramilitary groups, many conducted inside the Maze prison, Colin Crawford presents a thorough analysis of Loyalism and the role that Loyalist paramilitary groups continue to play in Northern Ireland's troubles. He also provides an insider's account of the workings of state-sponsored terrorism.*BR**BR*Crawford explores these tensions and assesses the difficulties that the UDA faces in the wake of the Good Friday Agreement. He analyses the Ulster Democratic Party's failure to win seats in the 1998 elections, and he examines the conflict between those who are motivated by the profits of crime and drug trafficking, and those motivated by political ideals.*BR**BR*The book makes disturbing and often heartbreaking reading, and it marks an important step forward in understanding the Loyalist position - for it is only through improving our understanding of the experience of all citizens in Northern Ireland that lasting peace can be achieved.
The Politics of Denial: Israel and the Palestinian Refugee Problem
by Nur MasalhaThe 1948 war ended in the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes. Israeli settlers moved in to occupy their land and the Palestinian refugees found themselves expelled. Today there are nearly four million Palestinian refugees - and they want the right to go home.*BR**BR*Since 1948 Israeli refugee policy has become a classic case of denial: the denial that Zionist 'transfer committees' had operated between 1937 and 1948; denial of any wrong doing or any historical injustice; denial of the 'right of return'; denial of restitution of property and compensation; and indeed denial of any moral responsibility or culpability for the creation of the refugee problem.*BR**BR*This book analyses Israeli policies towards the Palestinian refugees as they evolved from the 1948 catastrophe (or nakba) to the present. It is the first volume to look in detail at Israeli law and policy surrounding the refugee question. Drawing on extensive primary sources and previously classified archive material, Masalha discusses the 1948 exodus; Israeli resettlement schemes since 1948; Israeli approaches to compensation and restitution of property; Israeli refugee policies towards the internally displaced ('present absentees'); and Israeli refugee policies during the Madrid and Oslo negotiations.
How America Gets Away with Murder: Illegal Wars, Collateral Damage and Crimes Against Humanity
by Michael MandelIn Kosovo, America claimed its war was a 'humanitarian intervention,' in Afghanistan, 'self-defense,' and in Iraq, it claimed the authority of the Security Council of the United Nations. Yet each of these wars was illegal according to established rules of international law. According to these rules, illegal wars fall within the category of 'supreme international crimes'. So how come the war crimes tribunals never manage to turn their sights on America and always wind up putting America's enemies - 'the usual suspects' - on trial?*BR**BR*This new book by renowned scholar Michael Mandel offers a critical account of America's illegal wars and a war crimes system that has granted America's leaders an unjust and dangerous impunity, effectively encouraging their illegal wars and the war crimes that always flow from them.
Corruption: Anthropological Perspectives (Anthropology, Culture and Society)
by Dieter Haller Cris ShoreCorruption in politics and business is, after war, perhaps the greatest threat to democracy. Academic studies of corruption tend to come from the field of International Relations, analysing systems of formal rules and institutions. This book offers a radically different perspective - it shows how anthropology can throw light on aspects of corruption that remain unexamined in international relations.*BR**BR*The contributors reveal how corruption operates through informal rules, personal connections and the wider social contexts that govern everyday practices. They argue that patterns of corruption are part of the fabric of everyday life - wherever we live - and subsequently they are often endemic in our key institutions.*BR**BR*The book examines corruption across a range of different contexts from transitional societies such as post-Soviet Russia and Romania, to efforts to reform or regulate institutions that are perceived to be potentially corrupt, such as the European Commission. The book also covers the Enron and WorldCom scandals, the mafia in Sicily and the USA, and the world of anti-corruption as represented by NGOs like Transparency International.
The Road to Al-Qaeda: The Story of Bin Laden's Right-Hand Man (Critical Studies on Islam)
by Montasser Al-ZayyatWritten by an Egyptian human rights lawyer, it is the first English-language account of the development of tensions between violent and non-violent factions in radical Islamist movements, from the perspective of an insider. It is also a biography of one of the world's most-wanted terrorists: Egyptian-born Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri. Widely recognized as the man who will take over the leadership of Al-Qaeda after Osama bin Laden, he is also the reputed architect of the Riyadh bombings in Saudi Arabia.*BR**BR*The original version of this book sold widely across the Arabic world. Reproduced in translation here, with an extensive introduction from distinguished scholar Ibrahim Abu Rabi, it stands alone as an unrivalled account of the divisions within militant Islamist ideology. The author provides insight into the internal politics of Islamic Jihad, and the radicalisation of bin Laden's deputy; he examines Zawahiri's opposition to efforts by other militant Islamists to call a ceasefire with the Egyptian authorities; and he narrates the redirection of Zawahiri's activities towards the US and Israel.*BR**BR*As an insight into one of the key minds behind Al-Qaeda this book makes unparalleled and disturbing reading. It is an important document for anyone who seeks to understand how a minority extremist ideology came to have such an impact on world events.
The Iraqi Predicament: People in the Quagmire of Power Politics
by Tareq Y. Ismael Jacqueline S. IsmaelOn February 15, 2003, over 6 million people around the world marched in protest against a threatened war on Iraq. In the light of these remarkable events, and the conflict that followed, it is now more important than ever to properly assess Iraq's role in world politics.*BR**BR*This book provides a history of Iraq, an assessment of its position in the broader political landscape, and a moving account of the day-to-day reality experienced by the Iraqi people. The authors look at Iraq's -- and Saddam Hussein's -- relations and influence in the region of the greater Middle East. They examine the role of the UN, sanctions and warfare, explaining the impact this has had on Iraq's civil population and related humanitarian questions. *BR**BR*They assess American policy towards Iraq and how this has changed since September 11, setting it within the broader context of America's involvement in the Middle East. Finally, they look at social policy within Iraq, explaining how the internal welfare system has collapsed since the Gulf War, and examining the continuing effects of depleted uranium.
Sharing the Land of Canaan: Human Rights and the Israeli-Palestinian Struggle
by Mazin B. QumsiyehThere is no more compelling and dramatic unfolding story, with more profound international ramifications, than the conflict in the Middle East. *BR**BR*Sharing the Land of Canaan is a critical examination of the core issues of the conflict that dares to put forward a radical but logical solution: that a shared state is the best way to achieve justice and peace for Israelis and Palestinians. Mazin B. Qumsiyeh, offers an overview of the issues at stake, and outlines his vision for a lasting peace based on upholding the principles of human rights for all. Tackling taboo subjects, myths and obstacles, he argues convincingly that apartheid in the form of a two-state solution is no longer a feasible way to achieve enduring peace. *BR**BR*At this critical time, when the 'road map' to peace looks more uncertain than ever, this book provides a refreshing counterpoint to the failed strategies of the past. It is a direct and accessible account of the history - and mythology - of the fabled 'Land of Canaan', which lays out hopeful ideas for the future of this truly multiethnic and multicultural region.
State Resistance to Globalisation in Cuba
by Antonio Carmona BáezHow has the government and the people of Cuba actively resisted neo-liberal globalisation? How is it that the Cuban Communist Party continues to exist? To what extent is Cuba affected by global trends and pressures?*BR**BR*Antonio Carmona Báez challenges those on the Left who romantically support the Cuban Revolution as well as those who claim that the free market is the ideal economic model for all states. Instead, he presents an intelligent account of the serious and contradictory consequences of Cuba's social, political and economic restructuring. *BR* *BR*The author revisits the history of the Cuban Revolution, and the crisis after the fall of Cuba's superpower ally, the Soviet Union, to provide answers to these questions.
Contemporary Arab Thought: Studies in Post-1967 Arab Intellectual History
by Ibrahim M. Abu-Rabi'Contemporary Arab Thought is a multifaceted book, encompassing a constellation of social, political, religious and ideological ideas that have evolved over the past two hundred years - ideas that represent the leading positions of the social classes in modern and contemporary Arab societies.*BR**BR*Distinguished Islamic scholar Ibrahim Abu-Rabi' addresses such questions as the Shari'ah, human rights, civil society, secularism and globalisation. This is complimented by a focused discussion on the writings of key Arab thinkers who represent established trends of thought in the Arab world, including Muhammad Abid al-Jabiri, Adallah Laroui, Muhammad al-Ghazali, Rashid al-Ghannoushi, Qutatnine Zurayk, Mahdi Amil and many others.*BR**BR*Before 1967, some Arab countries launched hopeful programmes of modernisation. After the 1967 defeat with Israel, many of these hopes were dashed. This book retraces the Arab world's aborted modernity of recent decades. Abu-Rabi explores the development of contemporary Arab thought against the historical background of the rise of modern Islamism, and the impact of the West on the modern Arab world.
Democracy, Parliament and Electoral Systems (Commonwealth Parliamentary Association)
by Mary Anne Griffith-TraversyThis book examines the importance of democracy as a system of government. Exploring various forms of democratic government throughout the world, the essays assess how democracy works in theory and in practice.*BR**BR*Chapters cover how to improve democracy using case studies from the Caribbean and Spain, how to make parliaments more effective through technology and the structure of parliamentary bodies. the comparative benefits of different electoral systems.*BR**BR*The contributors also examine problems thrown up by various recent elections including the American election in 2000, Sri Lanka, Poland and various African experiences.
True Mission: Socialists and the Labor Party Question in the U.S.
by Eric Thomas ChesterIn the election campaign of 2000, Al Gore and Ralph Nader polled many millions more votes than George W. Bush. Yet the US Left lost out, a casualty of the two-party system. This is a pattern which has been repeated many times over the years. The most contentious issues dividing the Left in the United States have been those related to the Democratic Party. *BR**BR*This book explores the crucial moments in US history where the stranglehold of the two-party system was nearly broken. Presenting a detailed history of Labor party politics, beginning with Henry George's campaign for mayor of New York City in 1886, proceeding to Robert La Follette's independent presidential campaign of 1924, and the Socialist party's relationship to New York's American Labor Party in the early twentieth century, Eric Chester explores the history of Left in America up to and including the Nader campaign of 2000.*BR**BR*Chester identifies key reasons why burgeoning political movements have failed. He examines the part played by trade union-based political parties. He also looks at the inabililty of populist middle-class parties to establish ideological or organisational groundings for a viable third party. Looking to the future, Chester proposes an alternative: drawing on the success of the Socialist Party at the turn of the last century, he lays out ideas for a mass-based socialist party as the only way forward towards genuinely independent politics.
Ireland Beyond Boundaries: Mapping Irish Studies in the Twenty-First Century (Contemporary Irish Studies)
by Liam Harte Yvonne WhelanThis is an an authoritative, up-to-date account of the development of Irish Studies over the past two decades. *BR**BR*The authors examine the key debates that have underpinned recent scholarship and analyse critical concerns that have shaped the subject’s remarkable growth. *BR**BR*They trace the institutional fortunes of Irish Studies in Ireland, the USA, Canada, Australia and Britain and features in-depth critical accounts of specific trends and themes within Irish historiography, literary criticism, religion, migration, music, cultural geography, sport and media culture.
Rethinking War and Peace
by Diana FrancisIs war ever a just way to resolve conflict? Diana Francis argues that it is not. With passion and eloquence, she mounts a head-on challenge to the belief that war as an institution is either necessary or effective for good.*BR**BR*Refuting the notion that human nature condemns us to perpetual carnage, she argues that we can change the ways we think and the systems we live by. In a tightly reasoned discussion of the ethics of war and peace she asserts that war is a gross denial of the core values on which peace depends, and that the Just War Theory has failed and deceived us.*BR**BR*The book explores alternative ways of confronting aggression and injustice, showing that these are neglected but well proven. Francis argues that our security can be enhanced by recognition of our shared responsibility for each other and our planet. Practical solutions require a new level of participation in public affairs. Recent events have shown that this is possible. Francis outlines the steps we must take to bring about the radical shift so urgently needed.