Political activism / Political engagement Books

Book SynopsisOver the last forty years, the landscape of the USA has been fundamentally transformed. It is partially visible in the ascendance of glittering coastal hubs for finance, infotech and the so-called `creative class’. But this is only the tip of an economic iceberg, the bulk of which lies in the darkness of the declining heartland or on the dimly lit fringe of sprawling cities. This is America’s hinterland. Drawing on his direct experience of recent popular unrest, Phil A. Neel provides a close-up and intimate view of this landscape in all its grim but captivating detail.Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Cult of the City 1 Oaths of Blood 2 Silver and Ash 3 The Iron City 4 Oaths of Water References Acknowledgements

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewI just adore this human—Naomi Klein

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Book SynopsisColin Ward and the Art of Everyday Anarchy is the first full account of Ward's life and work. Drawing on unseen archival sources, as well as oral interviews, it excavates the worlds and words of his anarchist thought, illuminating his methods and charting the legacies of his enduring influence.Colin Ward (19242010) was the most prominent British writer on anarchism in the 20th century. As a radical journalist, later author, he applied his distinctive anarchist principles to all aspects of community life including the built environment, education, and public policy. His thought was subtle, universal in aspiration, international in implication, but, at the same time, deeply rooted in the local and the everyday. Underlying the breadth of his interests was one simple principle: freedom was always a social activity.This book will be of interest to students, scholars, and general readers with an interest in anarchism, social movements, and the history of radical ideTable of ContentsIntroduction, 1. The Forward View, 2. Sapper Ward, 3. The Freedom Press Anarchists 1936–1945, 4. Building and People, 5. The Social Principle, 6. Domestic Anarchy, 7. Autonomy, 8. A Journal of Anarchist Ideas, 9. Liberal Studies, 10. The Drone’s Tale, 11. Ramshackle Independence, 12. Categorically Ward Afterword: The Everyday Anarchist

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Book Synopsis From the former heir-apparent to white nationalism, The Klansman’s Son is an astonishing memoir of a childhood built on fear, of breaking from a community of hate. When coded language and creeping authoritarianism spread the ideas of white nationalists, this is an essential book with a powerful voice. Derek Black was raised to take over the white nationalist movement in the United States. Their father, Don Black, was a former Grand Wizard in the Ku Klux Klan and started Stormfront, the internet’s first white supremacist website—Derek built the kids’ page. David Duke, was also their close family friend and mentor. Racist hatred, though often wrapped up in respectability, was all Derek knew. Then, while in college in 2013, Derek publicly renounced white nationalism and apologized for their actions and the suffering that they had caused. The majority of their family stopped speaking to them, and they d

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Book Synopsis'A fascinating, passionate and political case for art's world-changing power, by a fizzingly good writer' Robert Macfarlane 'Everyone interested in social change should read it' Brian EnoIn Acts of Resistance, Amber Massie-Blomfield writes about the artists who have treated the protest site as their canvas and contributed to movements that have transformed history - from the musicians in Auschwitz to the four-year Siege of Sarajevo, from the to ACT UP's 1989 invasion of the New York Stock Exchange, to the Niger Delta and indigenous communities in Bolivia.Including stories and artists from across the globe, alongside collectives, communities, amateurs and anonymous creators who have used their art as an expression of resistance - this fascinating book asks what is the purpose of art in a world on fire? Why are artists compelled to paint, write, dance and make music, even when the odds are stacked against them? And how can artistic creation be a genuine form of political resistance?

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Book SynopsisPadraig O'Malley's Perils & Prospects of a United Ireland presents the definitive study of the questions around the future of Northern Irish politics, including the idea of reunification. Focusing on the topics of the Northern Ireland Protocol, the Good Friday Agreement, Brexit, Unionism, Nationalism, the economics of potential reunification or continued partition, and the wide range of Northern Irish identities, this work encompasses the most up-to-date and considered review of political actions so far. A must-read for those interested in the future of Northern Ireland.Trade ReviewPadraig O'Malley's new book is a profoundly important exploration of the complexities and conundrums of untying the Gordian knot of Irish partition. I have not seen this depth of non-partisan understanding and explanation from any other analyst or advocate. That is why anyone who wants - or needs - to understand the possible endgame of Irish partition has to get this well-written book and read it carefully." Professor, the Lord Alderdice, First Speaker, Northern Ireland Assembly (1998-2004), Executive Chairman, The Changing Character of War Centre, Pembroke College, Senior Research Fellow, Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford

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Book SynopsisDafydd Iwan rose to fame with his 1960s protest songs and has been performing ever since. Welsh football’s recent adoption of his anthem 'Yma o Hyd' (Still Here) has twice taken it to No.1 in the iTunes charts. This autobiography explains more about the man, his music and his political activism.

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Book SynopsisNow back in print... This groundbreaking handbook (first published in 2015 by Oberon and now needed more than ever in the face of multiple unfolding crises) is a resource for artists, community activists and anyone wishing to harness their creativity to make change in the world. Playing for Time explores the pivotal role artists play in re-thinking the future; re-inventing and re-imagining our world at a time of systemic change and uncertainty. Playing for Time identifies collaborative arts practices emerging in response to planetary challenges, reclaiming a traditional role for artists in the community as truth-tellers and agents of change. Fifty experienced artists and activists give voice to a new narrative – shifting society’s rules and values away from consumerism and commodity towards community and collaboration with imagination, humour, ingenuity, empathy and skill. Inspired by the grass-roots Transition movement, modelling change in communities worldwide, Playing for Time joins the dots between key drivers of change – in energy, finance, climate change, food and community resilience – and ‘recipes for action’ for readers to take and try.Trade Review"Facts and figures are not enough. If humanity is to survive and thrive it must become re-enchanted with the biosphere it depends on. Playing for Time is a dance of the imagination which does that, inviting us to look at and feel differently about the world. Once read, you will care more deeply and joyously about our miracle planet and its beautiful, unlikely diversity of life." Andrew Simms: author, political economist, campaigner and co-director of the New Weather Institute; "Lucy Neal's Playing for Time is an essential resource for thinking about making work in the context of climate change. It introduced me to so many ideas, fellow artists, thinkers and makers - relationships that I treasure to this day. It's been a formative text for my development as an artist and I'm so grateful for its wisdom, warmth, openness and fluidity." Ellen McDougal, Theatre Director and Maker; "The revolution of the imagination upon which our survival depends absolutely needs artists. Artists can nurture longing, bring alternate futures to life, immerse us in possibility, help us make sense of what's unfolding around us, and can be a key ingredient in the mobilisation of communities. Playing for Time is an exhilarating collection of incredibly diverse work along the rich seam where arts meet environmentalism meets community empowerment. It helped me to see my activism as being an arts practice. I can't recommend it highly enough". Rob Hopkins, author From What Is, to What if? and founder of the Transition Town movement; “Picking up this book and flicking through its pages was both heart-warming and frustrating. Frustrating because I wondered why I hadn’t known of it the first time around (where had I been?!), and heart-warming because I recognised so many names of contributors and it’s a joy to know how far back and deep the roots of their work go. The contents of the book spill out on you, reminding us all that there is an abundance of projects, people and practices to be inspired by and to act on at this time. This is the work, all of our work and now I’ve been given a second chance to drink this book in I’m not going to let it pass me by. Thank you Lucy for this re-gifting, and for lighting up the culture-making, the practices and the call on our collective imaginations.” Cassie Robinson, Assoc. Director of Emerging Futures at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation; Co-lead of Philea’s Philanthropy in Transitions Lab; Strategy Group Member of the Funders’ Collaborative Hub; “Playing for Time... is inspirational and unputdownable, Each line, each sentence is insightful. I am excited and suddenly feel recharged...” Neelam Man Singh Chowdhry theatre artist and Professor Emeritus at Punjab University; "I wish I had read this unique book a long time ago and wholeheartedly recommend it to every changemaker on the planet! Lucy Neal has curated a remarkable collection of stories, creative tools, methods, and practices relevant for everyone trying to dismantle systemic injustices. This collective task often seems too daunting as it requires us to break with old structures and patterns including how we think, feel and act to each other and the planet. Whether it’s in schools, villages, high streets or town square, Playing for Time provides countless real-life examples of communities coming together to re-imagine more joyous futures based on compassion, abundance, and radical inclusivity. Replacing fear with fun is key to creating opportunities for solutions and positive change as we confront the devastation and social upheaval of climate & ecological breakdown." Farhana Yamin, Lawyer & Activist, Visiting Professor, University of the Arts & Honorary Fellow, Somerville College, Oxford; "We desperately need different paths to different futures; who but artists could discover them? And they could wish for no better handbook in their startlesmithing than Playing for Time, a guide through what really matters in our tumultuous times: creativity, community, and re-enchantment. A catalyst to rooting in place and in play; to remarrying future and past; to bringing our world back alive." Shaun Chamberlin, activist, educator, and creator of Surviving the Future: Culture, Carnival and Capital in the Aftermath of the Market Economy; “In this inspiring and joyful book artist and activist Lucy Neal shows us the art of the possible, how through writing, games and interventions in the urban fabric, we can create stories and living examples of the world that could be. Playing for Time is deeply participative in its creation and content - it’s a book for everyone - those of us making change and those of us who are simply hungry for new stories to live our lives by." Hilary Cottam, author of Radical Help; "Playing For Time is an example of how art and activism can, together make sense of the world, what we can do ourselves and what we can do together. The voices in this book are all important, early creative pioneers who understand that collaborating for the planet is not just a good thing to do, it is the only thing to do. ... this beautifully gathered collection of stories, insights and helpful ideas is a profound gift to us all." Alison Tickell, Director, Julie’s BicycleTable of ContentsPreface 1 Introduction 5 DRIVERS OF CHANGE 17 THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF HUMAN BEINGS AND ENERGY | PAUL ALLEN 20 RELOCALISATION AND THE TRANSITION MOVEMENT | ROB HOPKINS 27 GROWN-UP ECONOMICS | BETH STRATFORD 34 ART AND CLIMATE CHANGE | HEATHER ACKROYD 41 ART AND ACTIVISM | FARZANA KHAN, JAMES MARRIOTT, KEVIN SMITH AND JANE TROWELL OF PLATFORM 47 REDESIGNING OUR FOOD SYSTEMS | BONNIE HEWSON 55 RECLAIMING THE COMMONS | JONATHAN GORDON-FARLEIGH 60 RESTORATION OF ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITY | KATE RAWLES 65 THE PRACTICE 70 Transitional arts practice 71 THE PRINCIPLES 76 FOUR PRACTICES 82 1. Fabio Santos 82 2. Ruth Ben-Tovim 84 3. Hilary Jennings 87 4. Maria Amidu 89 PART 1 THE PRACTICE 92 LAND: GOING TO GROUND 94 Introduction: Song by Waiata Telfer 96 Going To Ground 98 Between Body and Land by Nic Green 100 Emergence Land Journey by Fern Smith 103 Beuysterous: Towards Planetary Sculpture? by Bridget McKenzie 106 Rannoch Wolf by Dougie Strang 110 HOME: BELONGING TO EARTH 112 Introduction: Art Should Be Like the Bread on the Kitchen Table by Eva Bakkeslett 114 Belonging To Earth 116 Singing in a Dark Time by Dougie Strang 118 Away From Home! The Journey of Survival and Creativity in a New World by Cedoux Kadima 120 Florilegium: Honey Flow I, II, III, IV by Amy Shelton 124 Loop: Betty, Pat, Diane, Ivy, Lyn, Bonney by Maria Amidu 127 Humility and the Superhumus by Lucy Neal 130 RITES OF PASSAGE: SEEDING NEW MYTHOLOGIES 132 Introduction: The Sacred in the Everyday by Gilly Adams 134 Seeding New Mythologies 136 Transition Through Nature by Ruth Nutter 138 The Life Cairn by Andreas Kornevall 141 Liminal by Dougie Strang 143 Ulverston Lantern Parade: Ceremony And Celebration by Sue Gill 146 FOOD GROWING: FROM EMPTY PLOTS TO FULL PLATES 150 Introduction: Radical Roots by Josiah Meldrum 152 From Empty Plots to Full Plates 154 The Edible Garden by Fabio Santos 158 Grow Sheffifield and Abundance by Anne-Marie Culhane 160 Fruit Routes by Anne-Marie Culhane 163 Seeds by Azul-Valerie Thome 165 Memories of Mr Seel’s Garden by Michelle Bastian 167 Feast on the Bridge by Clare Patey 169 ACTIVISM: CROSSING THE RIVER OF FIRE 172 Introduction: On The Tightrope Between Art and Activism: Five Promises by John Jordan 174 Graeae by Jenny Sealey 177 Creative Practice of Activism by Danielle Paffard 179 PART 2 Work-A-Thon for the Self-Employed by Ellie Harrison 181 Crossing The River of Fire 182 Shake! – Youth Voices on Art, Race, Media and Power by Farzana Khan 183 Starting From Where We Are: The Co-Operative’s Frack Free Future Campaign by Sarah Woods 189 WATER: WISHING WATER WELL 192 Introduction: Watching From The Shore by Amy Sharrocks 194 Drop in The Ocean by Jess Allen 196 Wishing Water Well 197 Treasures From the Thames by Mike D Webber 199 Delta by James Marriott 202 Message in a Bottle by Fabio Santos and Lucy Neal 204 Coral by Lynette Wallworth and Lucy Neal 206 BODY: RHYTHMS OF SENTIENT BEING 210 Introduction: Putting Your Body on the Line by Fern Smith 212 Rhythms of Sentient Being 214 Charnel House by Dougie Strang 215 Farplayer Ansuman Biswas 217 Bedside Manners by Anna Ledgard 219 Field Sensing by Anne-Marie Culhane 222 HANDS: A SHOW OF HANDS 228 Introduction: Horace’s Hands by Barnaby Stone 230 A Show of Hands 232 Craft by Hilary Jennings 232 Birdyarns by Deirdre Nelson 234 Clay Cargo by Julia Rowntree 239 Craftivist Collective by Sarah Corbett 240 WORD: CHOOSING THE STORY WE LIVE BY 246 Introduction: Words at the End of the World by Paul Kingsnorth 248 Choosing The Story We Live By 249 Diarykeepers by Anne-Marie Culhane 252 Between Ourselves: The Empathy Roadshow by Sarah Woods 254 Objection Overruled: Ecocide Trial by Heather Ackroyd 256 STREET: AT THE CROSSROADS OF POSSIBILITY 262 Introduction: Turning the Tide by Jonathan Bartlett 264 At The Crossroads Of Possibility 266 Encounters Shop by Ruth Ben-Tovim 268 The Happy Museum Project by Hilary Jennings 270 Arnold Circus by Naseem Khan 273 The Trashcatchers’ Carnival by Lucy Neal 275 RECIPES FOR ACTION AND TOOLS 280 Recipes for Action 282 LAND Ten Things You Might Want to Know When Planning A…Land Journey by Fern Smith 286 HOME Diarykeepers by Anne-Marie Culhane 290 RITES OF PASSAGE The Funeral by Gilly Adams 294 FOOD GROWING A Little Patch of Ground by Ruth Ben-Tovim 297 ACTIVISM How To Become a Cultural Activist by Eva Bakkeslett 303 Know Your Place on The Oil Road – And How to Get Off It by James Marriott 306 WATER Waterproof by Simone Kenyon and Lucy Neal 308 BODY Loss, Transition, Beginnings: Art and Metaphor as a Starting Point for Exploring Personal Experience by Anna Ledgard 313 HANDS Digging Underfoot by Julia Rowntree 317 WORD Renga: The Experience of Writing a Poem Together by Anne-Marie Culhane 312 STREET A Bit of a Do: Planning a Community Event by Sarah Woods 323 TOOLS Holding the Space by Gilly Adams 325 Story of Change by Mandy Barnett 326 The Give and Gain Process by Fabio Santos 330 Resourcing: The Heaviness of Money and How To Make It Lighter by Lucy Neal with Julia Rowntree 334 How to Keep Going Advice Gathered by Jane Trowell 338 PART 3 Reading 342 Postscript 344 Notes 350 Contributors 361 Index

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Book SynopsisA collection of the New Yorkers groundbreaking writing on race in America, including work by James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Hilton Als, Zadie Smith, and moreFrom the pages of the New Yorker comes a bold and telling portrait of Black life in America, with astonishing early work from Rebecca West's account of a lynching trial and James Baldwin's Letter from a Region in My Mind' (which later formed the basis of The Fire Next Time) to more recent writing by Toni Morrison, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Zadie Smith, Hilton Als, Jamaica Kincaid, Malcolm Gladwell, Elizabeth Alexander, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Doreen St. Félix, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Kelefa Sanneh, and more.Reaching back across the last century, The Matter of Black Lives includes a wide array of material from the New Yorker archives ranging across essays, reported pieces, profiles, criticism, and historical pieces. This book addresses everything from the arts to civil rights, matters of justice, and politics, and brings uTrade Review Praise for The Matter of Black Lives ‘An essential volume for readers interested in the Black past and present, as all readers should be’ – Publishers Weekly (starred review) Praise for The Fragile Earth ‘A must-read’ Daily Beast ‘Immersive and engaging . . . Reading three decades of essays on this important and urgent topic, one is appalled that we know so much and have repeatedly done so little with that knowledge, as well as simultaneously hopeful and skeptical that technological solutions can save us now’ Library Journal ‘Illuminating and powerful . . . a memorable book with a resounding message’ Publishers Weekly (starred review)

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“Faster Cures is a primer on inspirational leadership from the fearless, brilliant mind of Mike Milken—a great man with a sense of urgency.” — Karen Knudsen, MBA, PhD, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society “Here is the story of how Mike Milken changed the world, what it took, and why it matters. It took everything. He really did make the world healthier for all of us.” — Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google and chairman of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence “Inspirational, optimistic, and highly informative, Faster Cures gives us all hope for a brighter future. A must-read for anyone who wants to live better as they age.” — Jo Ann Jenkins, CEO of AARP “I loved the book and its insights into how Mike Milken gets things done.” — James P. Allison, PhD, 2018 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine “This is a book of hope and inspiration. It should encourage every person and organization to find their own higher purposes.” — Deepak Chopra, MD, author of The Healing Self and other bestsellers “Michael Milken understands our most promising scientific opportunities and how we should support and apply breakthrough medical approaches that can transform the lives of patients in need.” — Jennifer Doudna, PhD, winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discoveries in CRISPR gene editing “In this extraordinary and inspiring book, Michael Milken describes how he revolutionized the way research is conducted, and empowered millions with new hope and choices.” — Dean Ornish, MD, Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCSF and creator of the Ornish Lifestyle “I’ve seen Mike improve the world of health throughout the many years we’ve been friends. His accomplishments are amazing.” — Whoopi Goldberg, actress, author, and TV personality “As a relentless agent of change, Mike Milken has transformed the worlds of finance, philanthropy, and medical science.” — David Heber, MD, PhD, founding director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition “Mike Milken is the smartest person I've ever met, but I never knew his backstory. Now I do.” — Frank Luntz, PhD, TV commentator, political consultant, and pollster “Mike Milken applied competition and free-market theories to force collaboration among the world’s best scientists and doctors. The resulting breakthroughs have saved many lives.” — Maria Bartiromo, author and TV host “Mike Milken has improved the health of millions of people by funding and celebrating innovators and tirelessly advocating for change.” — Steve Case, chairman and CEO of Revolution and cofounder of AOL “Focus on patients—the full diversity of patients—sets Mike apart. This is his amazing handbook for transforming a system.” — Freda Lewis-Hall, MD, former EVP and chief medical officer of Pfizer, Inc. “No one in recent years has done more to advance the fight against serious disease.” — Andrew von Eschenbach, MD, former FDA Commissioner and former director of the National Cancer Institute

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Book SynopsisIf there was ever a time to stand up for your planet, for Mother Earth, this is the time. But what are the most pressing environmental issues affecting us today? And what actions can you, as an individual, take to combat them? If you want to know what you can do, then this is the book for you. Your Planet Needs You is the essential beginner''s guide to understanding the environment and the threats to its wellbeing. From plastic waste to pesticides, food production and chemicals, global warming to species extinction, this book covers the topics that you need to know about.With practical and positive tips, this book will show how you can be part of the solution and help make a better world, whatever age you are.Includes sections on air pollution, environmental law, fast fashion and ethical living, as well as resources such as recommended reading and lists of groups and organisations that you can get involved with.

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Book SynopsisAtal Bihari Vajpayee, a unique and patriotic Indian leader, made significant diplomatic and economic strides during his tenure as Prime Minister. Shakti Sinha's book delves into Vajpayee's decision-making process and political challenges, shedding light on his impactful initiatives and lasting legacy.

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Book SynopsisThe first biography of Dorothy Pitman Hughes, a trailblazing Black feminist activist whose work made children, race, and welfare rights central to the women’s movement.Dorothy Pitman Hughes was a transformative community organizer in New York City in the 1970s who shared the stage with Gloria Steinem for 5 years, captivating audiences around the country. After leaving rural Georgia in the 1950s, she moved to New York, determined to fight for civil rights and equality. Historian Laura L. Lovett traces Hughes’s journey as she became a powerhouse activist, responding to the needs of her community and building a platform for its empowerment. She created lasting change by revitalizing her West Side neighborhood, which was subjected to racial discrimination, with nonexistent childcare and substandard housing, where poverty, drug use, a lack of job training, and the effects of the Vietnam War were evident. Hughes created a high-quality childcare center that also off

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Book SynopsisTimor-Leste's independence was forged at a time when international developmental theory had rejected top down approaches and recognised the importance of participatory approaches. When the United Nations and a multitude of bilateral and multilateral non-government organisations arrived in Timor-Leste in 1999 it was hoped that the international intervention would at last produce a development success story. But independence also brought the realisation that dreams for an independent Timor-Leste varied, often according to the dreamer's generation. Three generations of Timorese: the political elite, a younger generation of independence activists (gerasaun foun) and today's youth of independent Timor-Leste, each bring their own experiences and face different challenges in Timor-Leste. Today stark contrasts between the values of customary life and those of the modernising world place both community leaders and young Timorese at a crossroads. The experiences of the Timorese are unique, but

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Book SynopsisThe gripping true story of a life-long forger working for the French Resistance and clandestine organizations, told to his daughter.  Subject of The New York Times documentary 'The Forger,'; winner of a World Press Photo Award and an Emmy AwardAs seen on 60 Minutes with Anderson Cooper'[An] engrossing literary debut. ... Writing in Adolfo's voice gives this suspenseful narrative candor and immediacy.' - Kirkus ReviewsReader's Choice Award –Elle Magazine, FranceWall Street Journal's Top 10 Most Anticipated Non-Fiction: Fall Books 2016'Every resistance movement had its forgers, but few have told their tales. Many, like Kaminsky, were very young technicians and chemists when they began their work. Sarah Kaminsky's affectionate rendering of her father's life, with Trade Review[An] engrossing literary debut. ... Writing in Adolfo's voice gives this suspenseful narrative candor and immediacy. - Kirkus Reviews Adolfo Kaminsky: A Forger's Life is "worthy of the best spy novels" and tells the story of Sarah Kaminsky's father, "the genius-forger who committed his know-how and convictions to serve the French Resistance during World War II, saving thousands of Jewish families, and many others over the course of 30 years for various causes around the world." - TED.com A detailed and touching story traversing a century in clandestine shadow crossings, where Adolfo's skill meant life... or death. - Liberation, France Riveting. - Haaretz, Israel Technical prowess, creativity, and self-denial drive the plot in the incredibly lucky life of Adolfo Kaminsky narrated in this exciting historical document. - Elle Magazine, France; 2010 Reader's Choice Award Undoubtedly one of the most captivating books of the season. - Paris Today A pointed, sober biography ... of one of the world's best forgers. - Der Spiegel If made into a film, the life of Adolfo Kaminsky would have the ingredients of suspense thriller, war movie, historical tragedy, intimate drama, romantic comedy and scenes of terror. - O Globo, Brazil A thrilling book. - la Repubblica Federal, Italy Kaminsky has lived, in the shadows, the brightest hours of the Resistance. - Le MondeTable of ContentsAuthor's Preface to the English EditionPrologueChapters 1 - 16EpilogueAppendix of Photographs by Adolfo Kaminsky from 1940s and 1950s Paris

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Book SynopsisThis book presents a long-term study of the activist campaign that contested the Botswana government''s much-publicized removal of the San and Bakgalagadi people from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Sapignoli''s multiple points of observation and analysis range from rural Botswana to the nation''s High Court, and a variety of United Nations agencies in their Headquarters, focusing on rights claimants and officials from NGOs, states and the United Nations as they acted on the grievances of those who had been displaced. In offering a comprehensive discussion of the San people and their claims-making through formal institutions, this book maintains a consistent focus on the increased recourse to law and the everyday experience of those who are asserting their rights in response to the encroachments of the state and the opportunities inherent in new indigenous advocacy networks.Trade Review'The legal battle waged by the San to defend their livelihoods from a history of dispossession has made their remote villages in the Central Kalahari into an epic battle-ground for elemental human rights and values. Sapignoli's meticulous account of this contest makes plain the complex mix of actors or interests in play, the daunting odds - and ever-present threat of appropriation - arraigned against her beleaguered litigants. Yet she mounts a compelling case against too simple a dismissal of the uses of insurgent lawfare: the San hunt for justice was no simple victory; but it has reshaped them as legal subjects, enabling new visions of entitlement and possibility.' John Comaroff and Jean Comaroff, Harvard University, Massachusetts'The book by Maria Sapignoli is a valuable contribution to the study of activism and social justice in Africa. Starting with the San case, the ethnographic research on which this volume is based has involved, in a creative and original way, the Kalahari villages, local NGOs, the Botswana High Court, and United Nations meetings. It is rigorous and exemplary in demonstrating the importance of comparative and multi-sited analysis, rich in generative ideas and theoretical connections that are useful for understanding the wider issues of indigenous rights, beyond the case in question.' Stefano Allovio, University of Milan'Invaluable contribution to debates on the indigenous legal turn. A powerful account of landmark litigation by San plaintiffs against Botswana after being forcibly evicted from the Kalahari. But as Maria Sapignoli explains, even a successful verdict does not ensure a favorable outcome, and may prolong rather than conclude their interactions with the legal system.' Stuart Kirsch, University of Michigan'Hunting Justice is a well-conceived, beautifully argued, and innovative study of a southern African indigenous peoples' social justice movement. In this momentous book, Maria Sapignoli assesses human rights, law and law-making, from global, regional, national and local perspectives. Places range from the United Nations to Botswana and small communities in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Drawing on court records and her own long-term fieldwork, Sapignoli focuses particular attention on the perspectives of the San and Bakgalagadi who have fought long and hard to retain their existence there and to have their rights to resources and livelihoods of their choice recognized in an African state.' Robert K. Hitchcock, University of New Mexico, and member of the board of Kalahari Peoples Fund'Sapignoli's book gives an excellent account of the complexities in the CKGR claim. It is also full of astonishing detail and up to date.' Alan Barnard, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, University of Edinburg'As indigenous peoples gain greater visibility in their demands for recognition and rights, a book detailing the situation of injustice faced by the San (Bushmen) of Botswana and how they took their claims to the national courts and the UN is a truly welcome contribution. In Sapignoli's meticulous and superbly evocative account, we are given an insider's story of how an ignored and abused people fought against expulsion from their homelands and took their cause internationally.' Julian Burger, University of Essex, and Former Coordinator, Programme on Indigenous Peoples and Minorities, UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human RightsTable of Contents1. Introduction; 2. Unsettling the Central Kalahari; 3. The 'bushman problem'; 4. Getting organized: the social lives of San NGOs; 5. The San in the United Nations; 6. The court; 7. After judgment; 8. Litigating for a way of life; 9. Conclusions.

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Book SynopsisIn theory, chemical-free sustainable agriculture not only has ecological benefits, but also social and economic benefits for rural communities. By removing farmers'' expenses on chemical inputs, it provides them with greater autonomy and challenges the status quo, where corporations dominate food systems. In practice, however, organisations promoting sustainable agriculture often maintain connections with powerful institutions and individuals, who have vested interests in maintaining the status quo. This book explores this tension within the sustainable farming movement through reference to three detailed case studies of organisations operating in rural India.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements; 1. Introduction; 2. India's agrarian crisis: a Gramscian view; 3. Embedded in power: potentials and constraints of sustainable agriculture ; 4. The Kheti Virasat Mission: people's movement or agrarian populism?; 5. The Tamil Nadu organic farmers' movement: the limits of participatory approaches; 6. The Beej Bachao Andolan: how 'grassroots' is the grassroots?; 7. Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisThis sociological study examines the religious movement Falun Gong within the context of the contentious politics literature. Using the 1989 democracy movement as a comparative case, the author explains Falun Gong's intensive grassroots mobilization, its significance for China, and its implications for understanding religious and political movements.Trade Review'Junker's incisive analysis of the two largest and most organized citizen movements in China's reform era - Falun Gong and the post-1989 democracy movement - is an invaluable resource for scholars of contentious politics and state-society relations, as well as those seeking to understand the direction of politics within the overseas Chinese diaspora.' Carl Minzner, Fordham University School of Law, New York'Becoming Activists in Global China is an extraordinarily interesting book. Employing impressive hermeneutic skills, Junker comes up with one eye-popping cultural interpretation after another. These empirical discoveries serve Junker's broader, theoretical ambition, which is to demonstrate that shared meanings - what he terms 'in-group culture' - play a much more consequential role in the formation of social movements than previous sociological thinking has allowed.' Jeffrey C. Alexander, Lillian Chavenson Saden Professor of Sociology, Yale University, Connecticut'An excellent book, meticulously researched, clearly written, and theoretically path-breaking.' David A. Palmer, author of Qigong Fever: Body, Science and Utopia in China'The book is methodologically solid, empirically nuanced, and theoretically provocative. Each page is an intellectually rewarding experience.' Rongbin Han, MobilizationTable of ContentsPart I. Thinking Comparatively: 1. Protest made in global China; 2. Comparing Falun Gong and Minyun as movements; 3. The forgotten importance of Falun Gong; Part II. The Cases: 4. Falun Gong: Qigong fad, new religion, protest movement; 5. Falun Gong's history of 'stepping forward'; 6. Overseas Minyun: democracy through bureaucracy, factionalism, and asylum brokering; Part III. Making Social Movements in Diaspora; 7. Publics, proselytizing, and protest: tactical repertoires compared; 8. Clarifying truth and saving souls; 9. Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisRiots, strikes, and protests broke out in the streets of Shanghai and Bombay (renamed Mumbai in 1995), with impressive frequency during the twentieth century. Many of the landmark protests and social movements had close connections with the neighborhoods, workplaces, and civic space of each city. By the late twentieth century, as the political geography of each city changed rapidly with the commodification of urban land, so too did the patterns of political contention. Using a comparative historical lens, Frazier chronicles the political biographies of these two metropolises and leading centers of manufacturing and finance. Debates over ideology, citizenship, and political representation took material form through clashes over housing, jobs, police violence, public space, among much else, in the lived experience of urban residents. Frazier puts contemporary debates over informal housing, eviction of inner-city residents, scarcities of manufacturing jobs, and questions of unequal citizenship in an illuminating historical context.Trade Review'Frazier reveals the power of a closely-studied, empirically-based and controlled comparison of two of Asia's 'maximum' cities over the last century. It makes for a fascinating read and embodies the best in the burgeoning field of Sino-Indian studies.' Prasenjit Duara, Oscar L. Tang Family Professor of East Asian Studies, Duke University, North Carolina'This impressive book is a tour de force account of the convergences and divergences that underpin collective protest in two of the world's great megacities: Shanghai and Mumbai. The book views contentious politics in both port cities through a comparative lens that will make scholars working on either of the two cities see them in new ways.' Prashant Kidambi, Centre for Urban History, University of Leicester'This remarkable and groundbreaking book examines contemporary Indian and Chinese urban politics and protests through a historical lens and with a focus on twentieth-century Shanghai and Bombay. It is a milestone in the comparative study of southern urbanism and politics.' Fulong Wu, Bartlett Professor of Planning, University College London'... it is worth noting that inasmuch as its empirical richness is a hallmark of Frazier's fine book, it can also present a challenge.' Prerna Singh, Comparative PoliticsTable of ContentsIntroduction; 1. Political geographies and contentious ports; 2. Nationalism and urban social movements, 1919; 3. Containing contention through nationalist movements; 4. In search of the socialist-modernist metropolis; 5. The rebellions of 1966; 6. Relocation, de-industrialization, and the politics of compensation in Mumbai; 7. Relocation, de-industrialization, and the politics of compensation in Shanghai; Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisIn 1903, Emmeline Pankhurst founded the Women''s Social and Political Union, a militant organization dedicated to achieving women''s suffrage. Its radical approach, consisting of stone-throwing, window-breaking, arson, and physical confrontation with authorities. The History of the Women''s Suffrage was written at a time when it was in the very forefront of British politics and offers an insider''s perspective on the motives and ideals that inspired its leaders and followers. When the long struggle for the enfranchisement of women is over, those who read the history of the movement will wonder at the blindness that led the Government of the day to obstinately resist so simple and obvious a measure of justice. A passionate love of freedom, a strong desire to do social service and an intense sympathy for the unfortunate, together, made the movement possible.

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Book SynopsisCanada as a Settler Colony on the Question of Palestine explores Canada-Palestine relations through a settler colonial lens. The authors argue that there are direct parallels between Canada’s settler colonial project and its support for the Israeli settler colonial dispossession of Palestinians. Chapters reflect on community politics and activism, migration, orientalism, and critical race theory. Among its unique contributions, the volume provides a fresh look at Canada’s foreign policy as informed and shaped by its own history of settler colonialism. The collection also illuminates the breadth and depth of Palestinian life in Canada. Throughout, the chapters are connected by common themes of settler colonial destruction, dispossession, segregation, and otherness, as well as accounts of people challenging those processes in search of a better and fairer world. The book will be of interest to scholars in Indigenous Studies, International Relations, Peace and Conflict Studies, Canadian Studies, Palestine Studies, and beyond. Contributors: Samer Abdelnour, Nadia Abu-Zahra, Rachad Antonius, Lina Assi, M. Muhannad Ayyash, Peige Desjarlais, Randa Farah, Azeezah Kanji, Maurice Jr. Labelle, Nadia Naser-Najjab, Emily Regan Wills, Mira Sucharov, Jeremy Wildeman. Foreword by Veldon Coburn.Trade Review"This comparative analysis of Israeli and Canadian settler colonialism is one of the most useful angles for understanding the Palestine issue. Such an approach helps us to avoid the exceptionalism that has immunized Israel from international rebuke, and it charts crucial paths for liberation and reconciliation in the future." Ilan Pappé, Director of the European Centre for Palestine Studies, University of Exeter“This book is unique in its comparative approach to the effects of settler colonialism in Canada and Israel. It is also distinguished by its highlighting of the heterogenous experiences of Palestinian-Canadians, particularly of activist and working class sectors of this community.” Sunera Thobani, University of British ColumbiaNamed one of the 100 Best Books of 2023 by The Hill Times, December 19, 2023#9 on Calgary Non-Fiction Bestsellers list, January 25, 2024Table of ContentsForeword Veldon Coburn Introduction M. Muhannad Ayyash & Jeremy Wildeman Part I: Conceptualizing Palestine-Canada Relations through the Settler Colonial Framework Chapter 1: Hyphenation and Conciliation in the Settler Colony M. Muhannad Ayyash Chapter 2: A Shared Settler Colonialism Jeremy Wildeman Part II: Settler Colonial Dispossession and Repression Chapter 3: Canada and the Palestinian refugees: Humanitarian License to Dispossess? Randa Farah & Peige Desjarlais Chapter 4: Enforcing the Settler Contract: Repression of Palestine Solidarity in Canadian Colonial Multiculturalism Azeezah Kanji Part III: Canada’s Policies and the Perpetuation of Settler-Colonial Domination Chapter 5: Canada’s Role in the People-to-People Programme: A Critical Assessment Nadia Naser-Najjab Chapter 6: Aid for Peace Revisited: A New Paradigm for Understanding Conflict and Development Nadia Abu-Zahra Part IV: Restricting the Public Debate on Palestine Chapter 7: Palestinian Images, Israeli Narratives: Radio-Canada Coverage of the 2014 War on Gaza Rachad Antonius Chapter 8: Canada’s Israel Lobby and the Palestinians Mira Sucharov Part V: Palestinian Life and Activism in Canada Chapter 9: Exclusion and Exile: The Identity of Working-class Palestinians in Canada Lina Assi & Samer Abdelnour Chapter 10: Palestinian Organizations in Ottawa: Understanding Communities in Practice Emily Regan Wills Chapter 11: Re-Presenting Palestine: Sami Hadawi and the Palestinian Revolution in Canada Maurice Jr. Labelle Conclusion: The Struggle for a Fairer Future Jeremy Wildeman

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Book SynopsisPolynesian Panthers records the Pacific rights and social activist movement in New Zealand, told by those who were there. Forming in 1971, the Polynesian Panthers sought to raise consciousness and took action in response to the racism and discrimination Pacific peoples faced in New Zealand in the 1970s and 1980s. The Panthers organised prison visit programmes and sporting and debating teams for inmates; provided a halfway-house service for young men released from prison; ran homework centres; and offered ‘people’s loans’, legal aid and food banks that catered for 600 families at their height. Drawing on interviews, memoirs, poetry, newspaper articles and critical analysis, Polynesian Panthers is a thought-provoking account of this period in New Zealand.

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Book SynopsisEmerging relatively unscathed from the banking crisis of 2008, China has been viewed as a model of both rampant success and fiscal stability. But beneath the surface lies a network of fissures that look likely to erupt into the next big financial crash. A bloated real-estate sector, roller-coaster stock market, and rapidly growing shadow-banking sector have all coalesced to create a perfect storm: one that is in danger of taking the rest of the world’s economy with it. Walden Bello traces our recent history of financial crises – from the bursting of Japan’s ‘bubble economy’ in 1990 to Wall Street in 2008 – taking in their political and human ramifications such as rising inequality and environmental degradation. He not only predicts that China might be the site of the next crash, but that under neoliberalism this will simply keep happening. The only way that we can stop this cycle, Bello argues, is through a fundamental change in the ways that we organise: a shift to cooperative enterprise, respectful of the environment, and which fractures the twin legacies of imperialism and capitalism. Insightful, erudite and passionate, Paper Dragons is a must-read for anyone wishing to prevent the next financial meltdown.Trade ReviewThis welcome critique of global finance is admirably angry. * Guardian *Paper Dragons looks at the economic dangers building up in the Chinese economy and situates them in world economic developments since the Global Financial Crisis. * Green Left *Walden Bello suggests that, while the next devastating crisis with global ramifications can strike any one of capitalism’s many nodes, the immediate threat comes from Asian giant, China. The lesson? Reform of capitalism may be the immediate call, but in the final analysis we must transform how the system works and we live our lives. * C. P. Chandrasekhar, Professor of Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University *Walden Bello argues that fragility remains within the system and points to China as the potential source of the world's next major economic crisis. He raises issues that citizens, policymakers, and financial players ignore at their peril. * Dean Baker, Co-founder and Senior Economist, Center for Economic Policy Research *Walden Bello shows how global capitalism remains structurally prone to financial crises. With clarity and conviction, Bello continues to explain reality lucidly and inspire progressive alternatives. * Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics Jawaharlal Nehru University *'Startling, revelatory, brilliant! An astonishing exposé of the frightening economic details of this moment. * Jerry Mander, author of The Capitalism Papers *'In 2008, a U.S. housing bubble careened out of control and plunged the world into a gruesome global financial crisis. Bello brilliantly lays out the case that – unless we put effective checks in place – the next financial crisis will likely erupt in China. * John Cavanagh, Director, Institute for Policy Studies *In this volume, Walden Bello demonstrates that East and Southeast Asia has been the location of multiple financial crises, despite enjoying an international reputation as a group of successful globalizers. * Manuel Montes, Senior Analyst, South Center, Geneva *Walden Bello, in this terrifying new book, explains that, if major changes are not taken, the same set of circumstances – unregulated shadow banking, runaway financial speculation and an overheated real estate bubble – are poised to take down China’s economy, and perhaps the world's with it. A very important book for this political moment. * Maude Barlow, author of Blue Future and chairperson of the Council of Canadians *A stark warning about the vulnerable state of global financial markets from one of our most acute and prescient thinkers. * Naomi Klein, author of This Changes Everything and The Shock Doctrine *'A tour de force of past and future financial crises by the globe's most astute progressive political economist. Bello puts forward a comprehensive agenda to prevent the next crisis. * Robin Broad, Guggenheim Fellow and Professor, American University *'Walden Bello brilliantly explains how our global financial system still operates as a giant casino — with China now one of the most reckless gamblers. Read this book to learn how we can tame the global financial casino — before China and other reckless gamblers cause the next crash. * Sarah Anderson, Global Economy Project Director *Walden Bello is one of the rare truly global thinkers. A must-read for those seeking prevent the next financial meltdown. * Superb.' *'Crisply and clearly written, Paper Dragons demonstrates that: "Yes, it can happen here, again and again." Politicians and lawmakers everywhere had better get a grip on finance, now. Or watch out, World! * Susan George, President of the Transnational Institute and author of How the Other Half Dies *Walden Bello is one of the foremost analysts of global economics and politics of our time. He shows that the global economy is a ticking time bomb. Erudite and eloquent, this book could not be timelier. This is a must read. * William I. Robinson, Professor of Sociology, University of California *'The question may not be if another crash will take place, but when and where will it start. Bello eschews pessimist fatalism, arguing for a broad programme of financial reforms integrated into a comprehensive programme of reforms of the real economy. Inspired and accessible … Wholeheartedly recommended! * Heikki Patomäki, Professor of World Politics, University of Helsinki, author of The Great Eurozone Crisis *Table of Contents1. Introduction: Will China be the Epicenter of the Next Financial Crisis? 2. Crisis in Wall Street and the Keynesian Response 3. Europe: Social Democracy’s Faustian Pact with Global Finance 4. Asia and Finance Capital: From the Japanese Bubble to China’s Financial Time Bomb 5. Reforming the Global Financial Architecture: Opportunities Lost, 2008-2018 6. How to Rebottle the Genie 7. Conclusion: Why Financial Reform is Not Enough

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Book Synopsis'Defying the Dragon' tells a remarkable story of audacity: of how the people of Hong Kong challenged the PRC’s authority, just as its president reached the height of his powers. Is Xi’s China as unshakeable as it seems? What are its real interests in Hong Kong? Why are Beijing’s time-honoured means of control no longer working there? And where does this leave Hongkongers themselves? Stephen Vines has lived in Hong Kong for over three decades. His book shrewdly unpacks the Hong Kong–China relationship and its wider significance—right up to the astonishing convergence of political turmoil and international crisis with Covid-19 and the 2020 crackdown. Vividly describing the uprising from street level, Vines explains how and why it unfolded, and its global repercussions. Now, the international community is reassessing relations with Beijing, just as Hong Kong’s rebellion and China’s handling of the pandemic have exposed the regime’s weakness. In a crisis that has become existential all round, what lies ahead for Hong Kong, China and the world?Trade Review'Written with honesty and integrity, [Defying the Dragon] chronicles a critical moment in Hong Kong’s history as the city prepares for an unclear future.' -- Post Magazine

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Book Synopsis**A Telegraph Best History Book 2023 and Spectator Book of the Year**The inspirational story of the ordinary people who forged the documents that saved thousands of Jewish lives in World War Two.'Powerful ... gripping ... inspiring' JONATHAN DIMBLEBYBetween 1940 and 1943, a small group of Polish diplomats and Jewish activists in Switzerland engaged in a wholly remarkable - and until now, almost completely unknown - humanitarian operation. Under the leadership of the Polish Ambassador, Aleksander Lados, they undertook a systematic programme of forging identity documents for Latin American countries, which were then smuggled into German-occupied Europe to save the lives of thousands of Jews facing extermination in the Holocaust.The Lados operation was one of the largest rescue missions of the entire war, and The Forgers tells this extraordinary story for the first time. We follow the desperate bids of Jews to obtain these life-saving documents, and their painful uncertainty over whether they will be granted protection from the Nazis' murderous fury. And we witness the quiet heroism of those who decided to act in an attempt to save thousands of lives.'Fascinating' The Times'Remarkable' Sunday Times'As gripping as it is moving' JULIA BOYD'An astonishing book' KATJA HOYERTrade ReviewThe Forgers is a well-constructed and agreeably concise book with a clear narrative drive and fascinating detail ... Moorhouse's most laudable achievement is the light he shines on Lados and his team, who saved at least 2,000 Jews from extermination. Until now, they have not received the recognition they deserve * Gerard de Groot, The Times *Among the many remarkable aspects of The Forgers is the fact that the prime movers were Poles, many of whom were notorious for antisemitism ... [Moorhouse] does well to highlight that some Poles displayed admirable compassion. * Max Hastings, Sunday Times *Roger Moorhouse, the leading historian on Poland's war, publishes a full account of Lados's efforts in an excellent book on the passport ring * Daniel Finkelstein, The Times *Absorbing... It is a story that seems not to have been told much outside the academic literature, and it is deeply researched and well reported here * Spectator *In this fascinating book, Roger Moorhouse shines a light on extraordinary, audacious and little-known rescue operation * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisIn this collection of firsthand accounts by those who knew Cesar Chavez best, a portrait of an uncommonly complex man, both driven and focused, yet humble, empathic and exceedingly principled, emerges. The reader gains an understanding of the yoke Chavez chose to place upon his own shoulders, as well as the ideals he employed to accomplish for the migrant farmworkers what many predicted would be impossible. The 45+ contributors range from the famous -- Edward James Olmos, Henry Cisneros, Martin Sheen, Coretta Scott King, Jerry Brown and others -- to members of the Chavez family, to UFW staff, to the farmworkers themselves. Illustrated by the compelling black and white photographs of George Elfie Ballis, who began photographing the farmworker movement in the 1950s.

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Book SynopsisThe biggest challenges of the twenty-first century require global solutions. Focusing on three of the most urgent problems of our time climate change, conflict, and poverty and inequality Tu Rangarangaintroduces the notion of global citizenship, and what it means to be an active citizen in today's world. If we are fundamentally linked to people around the globe by the clothes we wear, the phones we use and the resources we consume, what does this mean for the rights and responsibilities that underpin citizenship? How should we respond to the climate crisis, conflict or inequality? In the face of these daunting global crises, this book encourages reflection on the power of collective action to enhance the dignity and rights of others.Part of a series of books exploring and promoting citizenship in Aotearoa and beyond,Tu RangarangajoinsTutira Mai(2021) andTurangawaewae(2017, 2022) in combining academic rigour with an examination of how to engage as an active citizen.

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Book SynopsisAfter first occupying vacant spaces in post-stock-market-crash Auckland in the mid-1990s, public art curators Letting Space re-emerged in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis. Confronted by the thin net of social welfare, the waste of the capitalist system and the climate emergency, it brokered spaces for artists to think and act radically, outside gallery walls.This book chronicles the projects those artists drove. From a grocery store where everything was free to an ATM for depositing moods and a citizens' water-testing lab, they added to the civic dialogue at a time when public space and media were increasingly commodified and under surveillance.Written by leading New Zealand writers and thinkers, including Pip Adam and Chris Kraus, Urgent Moments demonstrates the vital role artists can play in the pressing discussions of our times.

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Book SynopsisSince the end of the Cold War, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions have been faced with multiple upheavals of interethnic violence, bloody secessions and ethnic cleansing. Up to the present, both regions are confronted with unresolved border, minority and security issues, matters of recognition, protracted traumata and claims for justice. After the fall of the iron curtain, simmering ethnic tensions turned into hot wars that created new states, new power-political hierarchies and a heritage of violence. Reaching back to the early 1990s, several international and national transitional justice measures have been applied to face these heritages and lay the foundations for a common future. For the former Yugoslavia, they range from broad criminal trials to a series of restorative justice mechanisms

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Book SynopsisIn the late 1960s, the feminist scholar Kate Millet broadly defined "politics" as arrangements of power which enable individuals collectively to assert authority over others. Taking this definition, case studies by scholars from Europe, Israel and the United States explore the gendered professional in the 20th century as she navigated arrangements of power including organised religion, emancipation movements, cultural norms and shifting forms of government to practice architecture. Additional contributions reflect upon power structures in contemporary architectural education, practice and history to propose other means of architectural knowledge, representation and professional activity.

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Book SynopsisThe courageous acts of whistleblowing that inspired the world over the past few years have changed our perception of surveillance and control in today's information society. But what are the wider effects of whistleblowing as an act of dissent on politics, society, and the arts? How does it contribute to new courses of action, digital tools, and contents? This urgent intervention based on the work of Berlin's Disruption Network Lab examines this growing phenomenon, offering interdisciplinary pathways to empower the public by investigating whistleblowing as a developing political practice that has the ability to provoke change from within.

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Book SynopsisHow is solidarity understood by the people who practice it actively and daily? What is the role of solidarity in reconciling the relationship of individuals with the collective demands of communities that fight for the rights of others? Based on a variety of anthropological, sociological, and philosophical writings as well as ethnographic research, Maria Giannoula takes an elaborated look at the emotional and spiritual aspects of political participation within an activist group in Greece in the 2010s. This study is a valuable resource for those researching social movements and alternative communities, focusing on the ways in which individuals organise their own forms of activism.

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Book SynopsisThe special issue offers an interdisciplinary approach to exploring the questions of agency of less mainstream groups in protest movements in patriarchal and authoritarian societies. The themes covered include the place of feminist and gender equality movements in democratically restricted environments, intersections between feminism and nationalism and citizenship, possibilities of right-wing feminism and pop-feminism, the role of gender in high politics and the relationship between nationality and sexuality in the context of protest movements. The journal features contributions by scholars, human rights and gender equality activists, and journalists, and facilitates a constructive and wide-ranging discussion of the recent and ongoing protest movements in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine.Trade ReviewThe real strength of Gender, Nationalism, and Citizenship in Anti-Authoritarian Protests in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine...remains the sincere and ultimately academic handling of topics too often overlooked in Slavic Studies. -- Jeanine Pfahlert, Oakland Community College * Slavic and East European Journal, 61.2 *Table of ContentsIntroduction, by Olesya Khromeychuk Articles Negotiating Protest Spaces on the Maidan: A Gender Perspective, by Olesya Khromeychuk Sexuality and Revolution in Post-Soviet Ukraine: Human Rights for the LGBT Community in the Euromaidan Protests of 2013-2014, by Tamara Martsenyuk Ethical Concerns in Activist Ethnography: The Case of Ukrainian Protest Activism in London and a Russian Female Researcher, by Darya Malyutina Between Being Witty and Being Pretty: Paradoxes of Female Political Participation in Post-Soviet Eastern Europe, by Evgenia Ivanova "I'm a Feminist, Therefore...:" The Art of Gender and Sexual Dissent in 2010s Ukraine and Russia, by Olenka Dmytryk Perspectives & Reflections Feminist Art in Russia in 2014-15: The Problem of the "Turn to the Right", by Nadia Plungian "Wait a Minute, You're a Woman!" Interview with Maria Berlins'ka, by Olesya Khromeychuk Review Article: East Europe's Women in World War II, by Iryna Kosovs'ka Reviews Francesca Stella, Lesbian Lives in Soviet and Post?Soviet Russia: Post/Socialism and Gendered Sexualities, by Cai Wilkinson Jenny Kaminer, Women with a Thirst for Destruction: The Bad Mother in Russian Culture, by Katherine Bowers Stephen Amico, Roll Over, Tchaikovsky! Russian Popular Music and Post?Soviet Homosexuality, by Catherine Baker Irina Mukhina, Women and the Birth of Russian Capitalism: A History of Shuttle Trade, by Laura A. Dean Marian J. Rubchak (ed.), New Imaginaries: Youthful Reinvention of Ukraine's Cultural Paradigm, by Dafna Rachok Russell Scott Valentino, The Woman in the Window: Commerce, Consensual Fantasy, and the Quest for Masculine Virtue in the Russian Novel, by Connor Doak Valerie Sperling, Sex, Politics, and Putin: Political Legitimacy in Russia, by Rustam Gadzhiev Jennifer Utrata, Women without Men: Single Mothers and Family Change in the New Russia, by Anna Shadrina Steven Lee Myers, The New Tsar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin, by Anders Aslund Thomas W Simons, Jr (ed.), Islam in Eurasia: A Policy Volume, by Shahram Akbarzadeh Ieva Astahovska et al (eds.), Revisiting Footnotes: Footprints of the Recent Past in the Post-Socialist Region, by Ulrike Gerhardt About the Contributors

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Book SynopsisWhat are the reasons behind, and trajectories of, the rapid cultural changes in Ukraine since 2013? This volume highlights: the role of the Revolution of Dignity and the Russian-Ukrainian war in the formation of Ukrainian civil society; the forms of warfare waged by Moscow against Kyiv, including information and religious wars; Ukrainian and Russian identities and cultural realignment; sources of destabilisation in Ukraine and beyond; memory politics and Russian foreign policies; the Kremlins geopolitical goals in its 'near abroad'; and factors determining Ukraines future and survival in a state of war. The studies included in this collection illuminate the growing gap between the political and social systems of Ukraine and Russia. The anthology illustrates how the Ukrainian revolution of 20132014, Russias annexation of the Crimean peninsula, and its invasion of eastern Ukraine have altered the post-Cold War political landscape and, with it, the regional and global power and security dynamics.Trade Review"This book explores the Ukrainian crisis using a different approach, not often seen in other works. The authors have attempted to view the Ukrainian crisis not at the level of competition between superpowers and the issue of East and West, but from a social and identity perspective. In this they have been successful. As a result, the reader gains a more thorough understanding of events and better perceives the complexities of the tensions between Ukraine and Russia and, hence, between Russia and the West...."Ghasem Torabi (2018) Revolution and War in Contemporary Ukraine. The Challenge of Change, Europe-Asia Studies, 70:2, 303-304, DOI: 10.1080/09668136.2018.1430225Table of ContentsIntroduction; The Ukrainian Revolution of 2013-2014 & the Sources of Russia's Response; Ukraine is the Epicenter of the 'World Hurricane"; Ukraine & Russia: Entangled Histories, Contested Identities, & a War of Narratives; Living with Ambiguities: Meanings of Nationalism in the Russian-Ukrainian War; Ideologies of Language in Wartime; Ukrainian Euromaidan as Social & Cultural Performance; The Annexation of Crimea: Russia's Response to Ukraine's Revolution; Russian Hegemony in the Black Sea Basin: The "Third Rome" in Contemporary Geopolitics; The Invisible Front: Russia, Trolls, & the Information War Against Ukraine; The Impact of Russia's Intervention in Ukraine on Muslim, Jewish & Baptist Communities; The Perpetual Cycle of Political Corruption in Ukraine & Post-Revolutionary Attempts to Break Through It; Police Reform: Challenges & Prospects; Epilogue; Index.

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Book SynopsisThis book deals with the Slovak National Uprising (SNP) that was launched on 29 August 1944 in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia. In the West, the uprising is an under-researched topic in the history of WWII. The Slovak state was an ally of Nazi Germany, but the uprising proved that the population did not share the regimes ideology.

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Book SynopsisMarkus Jaeger explores the coalescence of Joan Baez's work as a singer and songwriter with her endeavors as a political activist throughout the last sixty years. He illustrates an American popular singer's significance as a political activist -- for her audiences and for her opponents as well as for those victims of politically organized violence who have profited from her work. Mingling popular culture with political activism can be a helpful means to achieve non-violent societal progress: Joan Baezs work offers an excellent example for this hypothesis. Revised and updated edition, with an additional chapter on Joan Baezs artistic and political endeavours in the 2010s.Table of ContentsIntroduction; Stepping Over Boundaries: Materials, Methodology and Theory; The Kingdom of Childhood: Major Moments of the 1950s; On Refusal Without Violence: Joan Baez and Henry David Thoreau; High School Activist and Folk Music Revivalist; Post-war Fractures in Society: Joan Baez in the 1960s; A Roller Coaster Decade: Joan Baez in the 1970s; A Narcissistic Decade: Joan Baez in the 1980s; Gone from Danger: Joan Baez in the 1990s; A Lifetime Achievement: Joan Baez in the 2000s; In Times of Nasty Men: Joan Baez in the 2010s; Conclusion; Bibliography; Acknowledgements; Curriculum Vitae.

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Book SynopsisWith the rise of grassroots initiatives in urban spaces across Eastern Europe and Eurasia in recent decades, Urban Activism in Eurasia addresses three central questions: What are distinctive features and the dynamic of urban activism in contemporary post-Soviet cities? How urban civic engagement does evolve on a micro level and in larger-scale processes? How a variety of group and individuals who claim to the city space and its development find their own ways to initiate local urban change. The volume challenges the prevailing simplistic view of weak, passive and scared citizens in Eastern European and Eurasian cities, which are often seen to be predominantly shaped by neo-liberal and authoritarian structures. Instead, we argue for the vibrant diversity and dynamism in the contemporary urban civic activism in Eurasia. Employing diverse sources such as intriguing photographs, interviews with local activists and scholarly reports from the field of anthropology, urban planning, architecture, political sciences and sociology, the edited volume explores the creativity and novelty of Eurasian urban grass roots activism. Drawing on these multi-disciplinary perspectives, the volume hopes to overcome distances and trigger dialogues in several respects and realms: among the interested public, activists, ‘urban decision makers’ and scholars in East and West, North and South alike. With contributions by Andrei Semenov, Levon Abrahamian, Gayane Shagoyan, Nadia Douglas, Oleg Pachenkov, Lila Voronkova, Christian Frohlich, Lela Rekviashvili, Esma Berikishvili, David Sichinava, Alexander Formosov, Nazaket Azimli, Otto Habeck, Jonas Büchel, Carola S. Neugebauer, Olena Denysenko and Tsypylma Darieva.

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Book SynopsisFanaticism turns the world on its head. It transforms the healing prescription of a messenger of God into noxious poison. In the middle of the 19th century in Persia, the founder of the Baha''I Faith described fanaticism as a world-devouring fire. He revealed a system for overcoming fanaticism which summons us to look beyond race, gender, religion, ethnicity and nationality and see ourselves as citizens of a unified world, owing our existence to a common Creator. This declaration produced a fierce fanatical reaction in Persia, where over 20,000 people who answered the call were brutally murdered in a wave of state-sanctioned persecution. Now over a century later, millions have embraced this unifying vision. This book will help you to understand why. Especially for those concerned with the outwardly intractable conflict between Muslims, Jews, and Christians, this book offers a beacon of light in these seemingly dark and hopeless times.

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Book SynopsisIt is common knowledge that Mahatma Gandhi was shot dead in 1948 by a Hindu militant, shortly after India had both gained her independence andost nearly a quarter of her territory to the new state of Pakistan.esser known is assassin Nathuram Godse''s motive. Until now, no publication has dealt with this question, except for the naked text of Godse''s own defence speech during his trial. It didn''t save him from the hangman, but still contains substantive arguments against the facile glorification of the Mahatma. Dr Koenraad Elst compares Godse''s case against Gandhi with criticisms voiced in wider circles and with historical data known at the time or brought toight since. While the Mahatma was extolled by the Hindu masses, politicaleaders of divergent persuasions who had had dealings with him wereess enthusiastic. Their sobering views would have become the received wisdom about the Mahatma if he hadn''t been martyred. Yet, the author also presents some new considerations in Gandhi''s defence from unexpected quarters.

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