Political science and theory Books

Book SynopsisThe world is at a turning point. While globalization benefited many, it produced extremes with drastic wealth inequality, indebtedness, and political volatility among the most important. As the ground underneath globalization undergoes tectonic shifts, noisy, chaotic, and disorderly events--such as Brexit and the election of Donald Trump--are the first harbingers of a world being turned upside down.In this book, Michael O'Sullivan shows the many ways the levelling of the twenty-first century will unfold: The levelling-out of wealth between rich and poor countries; of power between nations and regions; of political accountability and responsibility between political leaders and "the people"; and of institutional power--away from central banks and defunct twentieth-century institutions such as the WTO and IMF.The Levelling comes at a crucial time in the rise and fall of nations and has special importance for Americans as our place in the world undergoes radical change--the ebbing of our influence, profound questions over our economic model, the apparent decay in our society, and turmoil in our public life-- before our very eyes.

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Book SynopsisWhen Emmanuel Macron won the presidency of France he was a political novice with a brand new party who had swept all traditional political forces aside. He quickly emerged as the strongest voice on behalf of the EU, especially once Angela Merkel announced her forthcoming retirement as Chancellor of Germany, and became a domestic radical, facing down the unions, imposing reforms and bracing France to become globally competitive.In The Last President of Europe, William Drozdiak delivers the inside story of the daunting challenges Macron has faced as the last staunch defender of Europe -- including Trump's attacks on NATO and the international order, Merkel's weakness, Italy's government of nihilists and satirists, the Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vests) protesters, the resurgence of anti-Semitism, and the endless turmoil of Brexit. His success or failure will determine the fate of a continent and the world at large, and Drozdiak brings the drama of these consequential times vividly and compellingly to life.

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Book SynopsisThe twenty-first century's great geopolitical contest has begun. A major trade war has broken out. American and Chinese naval vessels are having close encounters in the South China Sea. American congressmen and businessmen are cheering their government's public attacks on China. China is standing firm and resolute. Who will win this contest? What is at stake? And who will judge the winner?In this book, Kishore Mahbubani evaluates the two sides, and shows how China has been thinking on a global scale, launching ambitious initiatives under some of the world's most pragmatic and competent leaders. Most critically, the Chinese people have regained their cultural confidence. Chinese society is now infused with innovation and dynamism. Meanwhile, America has seen the power of its economic model badly damaged by the 2008 financial crisis. To many it is no longer the indispensable nation but an awkward interloper.The global rise of China and the relative strategic decline of the US presents a political challenge that the US has never faced before. American policymakers must shake off their complacency and launch a major strategic reboot of both domestic and foreign policies that have weakened the nation's social foundations and global standing. Otherwise, the start-up nation, barely two hundred and fifty years old, with only a quarter of China's population, cannot expect to defeat the world's oldest continuous civilization. With his trademark candor, Mahbubani delivers impartial and incisive insights on the strategic stakes and mistakes in this new great game.

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Book SynopsisOver the past decade, there have been a series of internet-linked attacks on American interests, including North Korea's retaliatory hack of Sony Pictures, China's large-scale industrial espionage, Russia's 2016 propaganda campaign, and quite a lot more. The cyber war is upon us.Former Assistant Attorney General John Carlin has been on the frontlines of America's ongoing cyber war with its enemies. In this dramatic book, he tells the story of his years-long secret battle to keep America safe, and warns us of the perils that await us as we embrace the latest digital novelties -- smart appliances, artificial intelligence, self-driving cars -- with little regard for how our enemies might compromise them. The potential targets for our enemies are multiplying: our electrical grid, our companies, our information sources, our satellites. As each sector of the economy goes digital, a new vulnerability is exposed.The Internet of Broken Things is not merely a cautionary tale, though. It makes the urgent case that we need to start innovating more responsibly. As a fleet of web-connected cars and pacemakers rolls off the assembly lines, the potential for danger is overwhelming. We must see and correct these flaws before our enemies exploit them.

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Book SynopsisWhen Andy Ngo was attacked in the streets by Antifa in the summer of 2019, most people assumed it was an isolated incident. But those who'd been following Ngo's reporting in outlets like the New York Post and Quillette knew that the attack was only the latest in a long line of crimes perpetrated by Antifa.In Unmasked, Andy Ngo tells the story of this violent extremist movement from the very beginning. He includes interviews with former followers of the group, people who've been attacked by them, and incorporates stories from his own life. This book contains a trove of documents obtained by the author, published for the first time ever.

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Book Synopsis From one of America''s most renowned dissidents and the author of Steal This Book--a new edition of the counterculture manifesto that helped stir up a revolution in the 1960s While the supremely popular Steal This Book is a guide to living outside the establishment, Revolution for the Hell of It is a chronicle of Abbie Hoffman''s radical escapades that doubles as a guidebook for today''s social and political activist. Hoffman pioneered the use of humor, theater, and surprise to change the world for the better. In Revolution for the Hell of It he gives firsthand accounts of his legendary adventures, from the activism that led to the founding of the Youth International Party ("Yippies!) to the 1968 Democratic National Convention protests ("a perfect mess") that resulted in his conviction as part of the Chicago Seven. Also chronicled is the the mass antiwar demonstration he helped lead in which over 50,000 people attempted to levitate the Pentagon using psychic energy and the time he threw fistfuls of dollar bills onto the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and watched the traders scramble. With antiwar sentiment once again on the rise and an incendiary political climate not seen since the book''s original printing, Abbie Hoffman''s voice is more essential than ever. Includes a facsimile edition of Hoffman''s rare first book, Fuck the System

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Book SynopsisWho will lead America in the years to come? Letters from Young Activists introduces America's bold, exciting, new generation of activists. These diverse authors challenge the common misconception that today's young people are apathetic, shallow, and materialistic. Aged ten to thirty-one, these atheist, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, pagan, transgender, heterosexual, bisexual, metrosexual Americans are from every type of background and ethnicity, but are united by their struggle toward a common goal. They are the inheritors of their parents' legacy from the sixties, but also have the imagination and courage to embark on new paths and different directions. In letters addressed to their parents, to past generations, to each other, to the youth of tomorrow and to their future selves, each author articulates his or her vision for the world as they work towards racial, economic, gender, environmental and global justice. As the editors write in their introduction: "From globalization to the war on terrorism and beyond, our generation is compelled to action in the midst of a rapidly changing, and unique political moment Our challenge, and yours, is to live our lives in a way that does not make a mockery of our values."

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Book SynopsisAcclaimed journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Chris Hedges is one of the great moral voices of our age. He has the rare combination of decades of experience reporting from conflict zones in Central America, the Middle East, Africa, and the Balkans, and the erudition one would expect from a student of Christian ethics and the classics at Harvard University. He prizes the truth over news and facts. And in the pursuit of truth he has risked his career even his life. I never sought to be objective," he writes. How can you be objective about death squads in El Salvador, massacres in Iraq, or Serbian sniper fire that gunned down unarmed civilians including children in Sarajevo? How can you be neutral about the masters and profiteers of war who lie and dissemble to hide the crimes they commit and the profits they make? How can you be objective about human pain? And finally, how can you be objective about those who are responsible for this suffering?" The World As It Is is a collection of Hedges essays originally published by Truthdig, the Webby award-winning progressive news website. Hedges lyrically and fearlessly dissects the most controversial issues of the day: America's wars of self-destruction in Iraq and Afghanistan, the decay of American empire (at home and abroad), Israel's ghettoization of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, and the failure of American liberalism. His essays draw on his extraordinary experiences as a journalist but also his conviction that the centres of power in America have been seized and hijacked by corporations, something the American media pays deference to. Because the press is not concerned with distinguishing truth from news, because it lacks a moral compass, it has become nothing more than courtiers to the elite, shameless hedonists of power and absurd court propagandists."Chris Hedges insists that unless we begin to stand fast around moral imperatives, ones we cannot abandon and must be willing to fight the formal systems of power to advance, we will be complicit in our self-annihilation.Trade Review"Indicative of the longtime war correspondent's experienced eye and commitment to social justice...[Hedges'] descriptions of the dangers of American 'political passivity' deserve careful consideration along with much else in these powerfully written pages" -Publishers Weekly, starred review"

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Book SynopsisAll the Kremlin's Men is a gripping narrative of an accidental king and a court out of control. Based on an unprecedented series of interviews with Vladimir Putin's inner circle, this book presents a radically different view of power and politics in Russia. The image of Putin as a strongman is dissolved. In its place is a weary figurehead buffeted--if not controlled--by the men who at once advise and deceive him.The regional governors and bureaucratic leaders are immovable objects, far more powerful in their fiefdoms than the president himself. So are the gatekeepers-those officials who guard the pathways to power-on whom Putin depends as much as they rely on him. The tenuous edifice is filled with all of the intrigue and plotting of a Medici court, as enemies of the state are invented and wars begun to justify personal gains, internal rivalries, or one faction's biased advantage.A bestseller in Russia, All the Kremlin's Men is a shocking revisionist portrait of the Putin era and a dazzling reconstruction of the machinations of courtiers running riot.

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Book SynopsisFrom Black Lives Matter to the ongoingWomen's Marches, we have had some powerful moments over the last decade that have galvanized and created new, but brief, feelings of community. Many of us, however, haven't figured out how to spark that feeling on our own, or how to build off or sustain those moments. Many of us are longing for a kind of sugar-borrowing and stoop-sitting closeness we imagine existed in the 50s. Maybe we even grew up in that environment, but we moved away from home for love, work, or adventure and we don't know how to recreate it in a new place. What so many of us are missing is the closeness that connects us and make us feel like we belong to a community.In How We Show Up, community visionary Mia Birdsong delivers a modern, timely understanding of what true, authentic family and community can look like--outside of the 2-parent, 2.5 kids norm we all have in our heads. Today we have more single parents, couples who raise children outside of marriage, and more people growing older alone. Tackling topics like creating safe spaces, creativity in community, raising children in community, and more, How We Show Up is the antidote to the social fractures we face in our nation today. By sharing stories and actionable advice, and taking cues from marginalized communities--people of color, women, LGBTQ--Mia Birdsong offers us the blueprint we need to build true community wherever we are.

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Book SynopsisThis book is designed for three classes of people: Beginners who want an introduction to philosophy; Those who have already had an introduction to philosophy and who would like to see it in action now applied to a great book written by a great philosophy, but who have never read Plato’s Republic, the most famous and influential philosophy book ever written; Those who have read Plato’s Republic before but did not understand its deepest significance. Why is Plato the best introduction to philosophy? Peter Kreeft has taught philosophy for over 50 years, including one section of a course for beginners every semester. He has tried just about everything possible, and a few new things that are impossible. He has experimented with every one of the many alternative methods available for teaching beginners. (He has A.D.D., so he easily gets bored and likes to try new things all the time.) But he has never found anything nearly as successful as Plato. Plato is the best writer in the history of philosophy. Most philosophers are dull, undramatic, abstract writers. (There are a few other exceptions besides Plato: Augustine, Pascal, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard.) But Plato wrote dramatic dialogues, in which Socrates, his famous teacher, interacts with a great variety of fools. These dialogues are like intellectual swordfights, and even though you know Socrates is going to win, they are exciting because you see his ideas come alive, like a sword in the handoff a master. Plato is a great dramatist, a great poet, and a great psychologist as well as a great philosopher. Nobody else who ever lived combined those four talents as well as Plato did. Apprenticeship to a great master is the best way to learn any art. The student will understand what philosophy is better by watching a master do it than by reading abstract definitions of it from a second-rate philosopher, or by a mere scholar. Concrete examples are always the easiest way to learn things. Plato’s dialogues are the world’s first, and still the best, concrete example of philosophizing. Kreeft introduces his students to this love affair through a great matchmaker, Plato, who is a better teacher than the student will ever meet in the land of the living. In fact, Plato still is in the land of the living. He’s still alive and kicking in his dialogues. He rubs off on those who are wise and humble enough to become a student.

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Book SynopsisAn elegant English version of La Boetie's Discourse on Voluntary Servitude, which is both a key to understanding much of Montaigne and a major piece of early modern political thought. --Timothy Hampton, Professor of French and Comparative Literature, University of California, BerkeleyTrade ReviewAn excellent translation: clear, crisp and accurate. The introduction is also a helpful contextualization of the text, Boétie's relation to Montaigne, and a brief discussion of the history of this important text on non-cooperation in the 20th-Century. I highly recommend it for courses in the history of political theory and of non-cooperation as a means of regime change. --James Tully, Department of Political Science, University of VictoriaA powerful rendition of La Boetie's soldierly prose (as Montaigne would have it). . . . With this unassuming book, the authors have not only offered a solid introduction to Étienne de La Boétie and his legacy, but also passed on to us a living document (Harry Kurz) which may yet find resonance in our own troubled times. --Jeremie Korta, Harvard University, in Sixteenth Century Journal

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Book SynopsisThe Internet in Russia is either the most efficient totalitarian tool or the device by which totalitarianism will be overthrown. Perhaps both.On the eighth floor of an ordinary-looking building in an otherwise residential district of southwest Moscow, in a room occupied by the Federal Security Service (FSB), is a box the size of a VHS player marked SORM. The Russian government's front line in the battle for the future of the Internet, SORM is the world's most intrusive listening device, monitoring e-mails, Internet usage, Skype, and all social networks.But for every hacker subcontracted by the FSB to interfere with Russia's antagonists abroad-such as those who, in a massive denial-of-service attack, overwhelmed the entire Internet in neighboring Estonia-there is a radical or an opportunist who is using the web to chip away at the power of the state at home.Drawing from scores of interviews personally conducted with numerous prominent officials in the Ministry of Communications and web-savvy activists challenging the state, Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan peel back the history of advanced surveillance systems in Russia. From research laboratories in Soviet-era labor camps, to the legalization of government monitoring of all telephone and Internet communications in the 1990s, to the present day, their incisive and alarming investigation into the Kremlin's massive online-surveillance state exposes just how easily a free global exchange can be coerced into becoming a tool of repression and geopolitical warfare. Dissidents, oligarchs, and some of the world's most dangerous hackers collide in the uniquely Russian virtual world of The Red Web.

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Book SynopsisLeading political innovation activist Katherine Gehl and world-renowned business strategist Michael Porter bring fresh perspective, deep scholarship, and a real and actionable solution, Final Five Voting, to the grand challenge of our broken political and democratic system. Final Five Voting has already been adopted in Alaska and is being advanced in states across the country.The truth is, the American political system is working exactly how it is designed to work, and it isn't designed or optimized today to work for us—for ordinary citizens.Most people believe that our political system is a public institution with high-minded principles and impartial rules derived from the Constitution. In reality, it has become a private industry dominated by a textbook duopoly—the Democrats and the Republicans—and plagued and perverted by unhealthy competition between the players. Tragically, it has therefore become incapable of delivering solutions to America's key economic and social challenges. In fact, there's virtually no connection between our political leaders solving problems and getting reelected.In The Politics Industry, business leader and path-breaking political innovator Katherine Gehl and world-renowned business strategist Michael Porter take a radical new approach. They ingeniously apply the tools of business analysis—and Porter's distinctive Five Forces framework—to show how the political system functions just as every other competitive industry does, and how the duopoly has led to the devastating outcomes we see today.Using this competition lens, Gehl and Porter identify the most powerful lever for change—a strategy comprised of a clear set of choices in two key areas: how our elections work and how we make our laws. Their bracing assessment and practical recommendations cut through the endless debate about various proposed fixes, such as term limits and campaign finance reform. The result: true political innovation.The Politics Industry is an original and completely nonpartisan guide that will open your eyes to the true dynamics and profound challenges of the American political system and provide real solutions for reshaping the system for the benefit of all.THE INSTITUTE FOR POLITICAL INNOVATIONThe authors will donate all royalties from the sale of this book to the Institute for Political Innovation.Trade ReviewNamed one of 16 New Business Books You Need to Read in 2020 by Inc. magazineAdvance Praise for The Politics Industry:"Business leaders who advocate for special interest cronyism and corporate welfare do so to the detriment of the larger business community and our country as a whole. This book shines a light on how the current political system enables those in power—both in and out of government—to stack the deck against people who start with little or nothing. The consequences extend far beyond the obvious economic waste to injustices that give rise to civil unrest and division among people that threatens the very core of our democratic republic. Whether you agree with every aspect of the proposed solutions or not, this book makes an important contribution to the conversation about how to change our political system for the better. I applaud Gehl and Porter for taking on such a crucial and timely topic." — Charles Koch, Chairman & CEO, Koch Industries and Founder, Stand Together"A noted business leader joins America's preeminent business strategist to diagnose what ails our political system and prescribe a cure. Timely indeed." — US Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah)"Gehl and Porter's powerful book is a deep and persuasive analysis of our current political dysfunction and practical steps for change. Let us hope the public and our leaders take heed." — former US Senator Evan Bayh (D-Indiana)"This book is an actual manual for how Americans can reclaim our democracy and make it work for the people rather than for the political-industrial complex. Read it and act!" — Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO, New America"Whether you are the candidate on the ballot or the citizen casting the vote, we can all learn from Gehl and Porter's blueprint to improve our democracy." — Mellody Hobson, Co-CEO and President, Ariel Investments"A revealing perspective on why our $16 billion political industry is failing the American people. The proposed solutions reflect the heart of the American ethos—innovation, determination, courage, and the will to reinvent the status quo." — Howard Schultz, Chairman Emeritus, Starbucks"Gehl and Porter deliver a stunning indictment of American politics and government. But [they] provide us with much more than analysis and diagnosis. They offer practical reforms to end this destructive political gridlock and dysfunction. This is an impassioned and timely book that deserves wide readership." — Drew Gilpin Faust, former President, Harvard University"Gehl and Porter are true experts. They provide not just analysis or endless commentary but a plan for real change—all for the better. This is a fresh look at American politics." — Bud Selig, Commissioner Emeritus, Major League Baseball"This book could not be more timely, as people in this election year reflect on the future direction of the United States. The Politics Industry makes it clear that we have to roll up our sleeves and look for new solutions to overcome political gridlock and partisanship. Our Constitution gives us the latitude to do that. The reform steps laid out here are just as "constitutional" as the current rules. They promise to unleash much-needed competition for the best leaders and policies." — Mark Schneider, CEO, Nestle

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Book SynopsisExplore all of the murder, madness and mayhem in Ancient Rome during the reign of the mad emperor, Caligula. In this book about Rome’s most infamous emperor, expert author, Stephen Dando-Collins’ chronicles all the palace intrigues and murders that led to Caligula becoming emperor, and details the horrors of his manic reign and the murderous consequences brought about at the hand of his sister Agrippina the Younger, his uncle Claudius and his nephew Nero. Skillfully researched, Dando-Collins puts the jigsaw pieces together to form an accurate picture of Caligula’s life and influences. Dando-Collins’ precise and thorough examination of the emperor’s life puts Caligula’s paranoid reign into perspective, examining the betrayals and deaths he experienced prior to his time in power and the onset of a near-fatal illness believed to have affected his mental-health.Trade Review"The short, sordid and violent life of the Roman emperor some have compared to Donald Trump."— Kirkus Review "Was Caligula really mad, bad and dangerous to know? Discover whether he deserves his infamy – or not – in this engrossing character study of the famous emperor." –Margaret George, New York Times bestselling author of The Confessions of a Young Nero and The Splendor Before the Dark "A compelling page-turner. It reads like a political thriller. Which it is. It reads like a work of investigative journalism. Which it is. It reads like a myth-busting period history. Which it is... It takes narrative history to a virtuosic level, with a timeless story extremely well told." –Ralph Benko, US columnist "There have been many biographies of Caligula, but none that have such spark and vivacity." –Manda Scott, author of the Boudica and Rome series and A Treachery of Spies, and former president of the Historical Writers Association of the UK "A marvelous book… A lively, engaging volume that is a true pleasure to read." –Professor Lee Fratantuono, Ohio Wesleyan University, author of Caligula: An Unexpected General “Caligula: The Mad Emperor of Rome is a compelling page-turner, a timeless story. It reads like a political thriller. Which it is. It reads like a work of investigative journalism. Which it is. It reads like a myth-busting period history. Which it is. The author, clearly familiar with, yet never pedantic about, all the primary sources, dispels many old libels masquerading for centuries as fake news. Meanwhile, he provides us with an abundance of documented stories so lurid as to dwarf the overhyped misdemeanors of today. Long ago I was tipped off to on an open secret: Colleen McCulloch's pulp masterpieces in Masters of Rome were so accurate as to be held in awe as a kind of quasi-history by the ‘Secret Fraternity of Latin Teachers.’ If you enjoy historical fiction you will love this historical fact of Caligula (the book, not the Emperor!). Caligula may herald the perfection of a new literary genre: "forensic history." It takes narrative history to a virtuosic level with a timeless story extraordinarily well-told." –Ralph Benko, columnist "A marvelously readable popular biography. It's studded with atmospheric, well-crafted set pieces highlighting both the excesses of this emperor's reign and his imperial milieu." –Washington Independent Review of Books "A marvelous book. Stephen Dando-Collins offers a fresh scholarly perspective on the notorious emperor Caligula that succeeds admirably in being of interest both to professional scholars of the early Roman Empire and to the general reader. This is a lively, engaging volume that is a true pleasure to read. Anyone interested in ancient Rome will want to acquire and enjoy this great new addition to the bibliography." –Dr. Lee Fratanuono, Professor of Classics, Ohio Wesleyan University, author of Caligula: An Unexpected General

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Book SynopsisA stinging critique of Western Marxism, counterposing its complicity with imperialist logic against a resurgent anti-imperialism Western Marxism: How It Was Born, How It Died, How It Can Be Reborn is a paradigm-shifting book that provides a trenchant critique of the Western left intelligentsia. It reveals how its dominant ideological orientation?characterized by defeatism, utopianism, and anti-communism?is rooted in the political economy of imperialism. Internationally acclaimed theorist Domenico Losurdo thus provides a fresh and challenging perspective on purportedly radical thinkers who have been widely promoted in the imperial core, including those affiliated with the Frankfurt School, French Theory, and operaismo, as well as Hannah Arendt, Giorgio Agamben, Michael Hardt, and Slavoj ?i?ek, among others. His critique also has wide-reaching implications for trend-setting discourses inspired by this coterie of intellectuals, from postcolonial and decolonial theory to subaltern studies and beyond. Far from being a negative undertaking, however, this book is grounded in the positive project of reigniting anti-imperialist Marxism.As a complement to the Italian edition of Western Marxism, this first-ever English translation also features the unprecedented publication of a major lecture that demystifies ?Western Marxism? and its role in imperialists? efforts to denigrate the achievements of actually existing socialism. Raising the stakes of what it means to produce critical theory, Western Marxism will surely provoke wide debate and a reevaluation of hallowed canons.

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Book SynopsisA powerful contribution to the debate on intellectual propertyKnowledge as Commons traces the historical path towards the privatization of knowledge, situating science, technology and the emergence of modern nations in a larger historical framework. Author Prabir Purkayastha asks: Do the needs of society drive science and technology? Or do developments in science and technology provide the motor force of history? Has this relationship changed over time? Purkayastha shows us that, with profit as its sole aim, capital claims to own human knowledge and its products, fencing them in with patents and intellectual property rights. Neoliberal institutions and policy diktats from the West have installed a global system in which knowledge, that limitless resource, is made artificially scarce?while limited resources such as water and clean air are treated as though they were infinite.Arguing that rapid technological change, from pharmaceuticals to electronics, should be an opportunity to deliver quicker cures, affordable access, and global cooperation in the production of knowledge, Purkayastha examines the consequences of this privatization for universities, healthcare, distributive justice, the domestic politics of developing countries, and their prospects vis-à-vis the West.

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Book SynopsisVariously considered a Taoist and a cynic, Han Fei, himself a prince, has been seen as a forerunner to Machiavelli. At the end of the Warring States, when oratory mattered hugely, Han Fei, with a stutter, was the brain and the plume of the Legalist School. From Han Fei’s oeuvre, Mingyuan Hu selects and translates two extracts encapsulating the thinking that so impressed Zheng, King of Qin, who later became the first emperor of China, and in whose prison Han Fei died drinking poison. This book is part of the Erstwhile Series.Table of ContentsGoodness and Honour Are for Ancient Times, Not for Today Rescuing a Small Power May Not Help Its Survival; Serving the Powerful May Not Be Free of Oversight

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Book SynopsisThe idea of the imagination is as evocative as it is elusive. Not only does the imagination allow us to project ourselves beyond our own immediate space and time, it also allows us to envision the future, as individuals and as collectives. The radical imagination, then, is that spark of difference, desire and discontent that can be fanned into the flames of social change. Yet what precisely is the imagination and what might make it ‘radical’? How can it be fostered and cultivated? How can it be studied and what are the possibilities and risks of doing so? This book seeks to answer these questions at a crucial time. As we enter into a new cycle of struggles marked by a worldwide crisis of social reproduction, scholar-activists Max Haiven and Alex Khasnabish explore the processes and possibilities for cultivating the radical imagination in dark times. A lively and crucial intervention in radical politics, social research and social change, and the collective visions and cultures that inspire them.Trade ReviewThe Radical Imagination offers astute insights into the ways capitalism and crisis constrain our social and political imaginaries. This is a compelling book, highly readable and full of possibility. A welcome contribution to the kinds of engaged research needed right now. * Emma Dowling, senior lecturer in sociology, Middlesex University *For Haiven and Khasnabish the "Radical Imagination" is the most important tool of resistance to neoliberal capitalism. Drawing on a breathtaking range of examples, they urge us to learn from and understand the knowledge produced within radical political movements. This impressive book is a must-read for those committed to radical social change and concerned with producing alternate worlds. * Imogen Tyler, senior lecturer of sociology, Lancaster University and author of Revolting Subjects *I deserted the academy for activism over ten years ago, but this book reminds me that there are some scholars who really do radicalize their research processes so that the university once again becomes a tool of post-capitalist struggle rather than a feather in the neoliberal crown. A timely reminder for scholars to get their hands dirty, immerse themselves in radical movements and write for change rather than academic careers. * John Jordan, artist, activist and co-founder of the direct action protest movement Reclaim the Streets. *The Radical Imagination is a fantastic resource for both social movements and the scholars who study them. It insists that social transformation requires research and that the process of research should itself be transformative. It crackles with new ideas and innovative approaches while asking that most important of questions: what would it mean for social movements to win? * Keir Milburn, lecturer in political economy and organisation, University of Leicester, and co-author of Moments of Excess: Movements, Protests and Everyday Life *Theoretically sophisticated and politically grounded, The Radical Imagination challenges us to think beyond the limits of both contemporary social movement organizing and scholarship. * Lesley Wood, assistant professor of sociology, York University *This book is an important and thought-provoking tool for activists and scholars. It is a sort of dialogical manual, bringing the reader into a conversation on what the radical imagination is and can be. While questioning, the authors suggest alternative ways of thinking about important issues, such as the meaning of success, failure, research and methodology - all from below, and grounded in the thoughts and experiences of others involved in movements. * Marina Sitrin, author of They Can't Represent Us! and Everyday Revolutions *Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Importance of the Radical Imagination in Dark Times Part I: Solidarity Research 1. The Methods of Movements: Academic Crisis and Activist Strategy 2. Convoking the Radical Imagination Part II: Dwelling in the Hiatus 3. The Crisis of Reproduction 4. Reimagining Success and Failure Part III: Making Space, Making Time 5. The Life and Times of Radical Movements 6. The Temporalities of Oppression Part IV: The Methods of Movements 7. Imagination, Strategy and Tactics 8. Towards a Prefigurative Methodology

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Book SynopsisThe actions, images and stories within films can impact upon the political consciousness of viewers, enabling their audience to imagine ways of resisting the status quo, politically, economically and culturally. But what does political theory have to say about film? Should we explore film theory through a political lens? Why might individuals respond to the political within films? This book connects the work of eight radical political theorists to eight world-renowned films and shows how the political impact of film on the aesthetic self can lead to the possibility of political resistance. Each chapter considers the work of a core thinker on film, shows its relevance in terms of a specific case study film, then highlights how these films probe political issues in a way that invites viewers to think critically about them, both within the internal logic of the film and in how that might impact externally on the way they live their lives. Examining this dialogue enables Ian Fraser to demonstrate the possibility of a political impact of films on our own consciousness and identity, and that of others.Trade ReviewIn eight stand-alone chapters, Fraser (Loughborough, UK) summarizes the political, social, economic, and moral-psychological positions of eight Continental philosophers, pairing each with a film that best exemplifies his or her theories. All are staunch opponents of neoliberal capitalism, seeking in film a means of transforming mass consciousness as a precondition for emancipatory resistance and revolution. Though some theorists conscript philosophers from the Western canon (Kant, Hume), most anchor their primary mode of analysis in poststructuralist or neo-Marxist psychoanalytic theory (e.g., Theodor Adorno, Ernst Bloch, Alain Badiou, Jacques Rancière, Slavoj Žižek). Given the philosphers' shared political orientations and focus on culture and consciousness, the conclusions Fraser reaches at the end of each chapter are somewhat repetitive. Properly instructed to see and feel what these political theorists see and feel, the art of cinema can transform an agency of mass consumption and escapist fantasy into personal and then revolutionary political emancipation. Culture underwrites politics; like poets before them, filmmakers can become the legislators for a just society. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. * CHOICE *Up to date and up to speed, Fraser’s book is an excellent introduction to the developing relationship between political theory and cinematic meaning-making. Using insights from Kant and Hume to Deleuze and Rancière, Fraser pairs major theorists with major films, working from Adorno to Žižek, from Chaplin to Chandor. Just as films make politics, so now they make political theory. -- Terrell Carver, Professor of Political Theory, University of BristolIan Fraser is one of our foremost political theorists exploring the relationships between aesthetics and politics, demonstrating how film has a powerful social significance in providing graphic and valuable exemplifications ideas and concepts developed in political philosophy. This book considers with remarkably wide-ranging agility and insight the provocative investigations of leading continental philosophers into the political imagery and radical social critique projected in such films as Chaplin's Monsiuer Verdoux, Loach's Land and Freedom and Chandor's Margin Call. -- David Boucher, Professor of Political Philosophy and International Relations, Cardiff UniversityIan Fraser is one of our foremost political theorists exploring the relationships between aesthetics and politics, demonstrating how film has a powerful social significance in providing graphic and valuable exemplifications ideas and concepts developed in political philosophy. This book considers with remarkably wide-ranging agility and insight the provocative investigations of leading continental philosophers into the political imagery and radical social critique projected in such films as Chaplin's Monsiuer Verdoux, Loach's Land and Freedom and Chandor's Margin Call. -- David Boucher, Professor of Political Philosophy and International Relations, Cardiff UniversityThrough a series of carefully chosen case studies Ian Fraser examines the relationship between cinema and political theory of (mostly left-wing) authors, such as Adorno, Benjamin, Bloch and Rancière. In a lucid way he demonstrates that films can visualise and explain ideas which are often difficult to grasp, while putting them into a test of concrete, even if fictional situations. -- Ewa Hanna Mazierska, Professor of Contemporary Cinema, University of Central LancashirePolitical theories have often been tied to the aesthetic weighting and visual rhetorics of the image, usefully bringing about tactics for political criticism in areas beyond the cinema. It is with this in mind that political theory has benefitted from film theory, and vice versa. Ian Fraser’s Political Theory and Film: From Adorno to Žižek seeks to add and contribute to contemporary efforts in this area.… At its best, this book introduces readers to a range of critical political theorists, who have in many cases written on or about film and shows the significance of their ideas for a critical interpretation of film; moreover, the book demonstrates how film criticism contributes to the exposition of core ideas in political theory. It is therefore quite accessible and helpful from a pedagogical standpoint. * Contemporary Political Theory, 2018 *Table of ContentsIntroduction / 1. Theodor Adorno: Charlie Chaplin’s Monsieur Verdoux / 2. Walter Benjamin: Ken Loach’s Land and Freedom / 3. Ernst Bloch: Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris / 4. Gilles Deleuze: Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Neighbouring Sounds / 5. Alain Badiou: Jia Zhangke’s A Touch of Sin / 6. Jacques Rancière: Gavin Hood’s Rendition / 7. Julia Kristeva: David Fincher’s Fight Club / 8. Slavoj Žižek: JC Chandor's Margin Call / 9. Cinema and the Aesthetic Self

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Book SynopsisThis book examines processes of fragmentation that have altered the social dynamics of Palestinian society since the second intifada. With a specific focus on the city of Nablus and its outer laying areas, the book details the extraordinarily personal experience of isolation - namely the physical division of communities through long-term military siege, and the ways that communities have adapted to get by despite frequently changing restrictions. Joshua Rickard shows various forms of isolation and social fragmentation, combined with the uncertainty of everyday life, that have come to characterise the existential experience of being Palestinian. More relevant than how the conditions of fragmentation have occurred is what isolation and uncertainty mean to communities that are severed from those surrounding them. Finally, this book examines the possibility for a reformation of social organisation that transcends traditional political discourses which can be seen emerging from Palestinian communities.Trade ReviewThis is a must-read book for those interested in settler colonial studies, colonial studies and post colonial studies. The book details in a smooth and comprehensive way the impact of the intertwining of colonialism and pseudo-national entity that led to the fragmentation and weakening of the Palestinian national identity after the Oslo Accords of 1993. -- Islah Jad, Associate Professor of Political Science, Birzeit University, PalestineTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Preface 1. Fragmentation and Isolation in Nablus 2. Geographical Fragmentation 3. Political Fragmentation. 4. Social Fragmentation 5. Development, Divisions, and Debt 6. From Agricultural Resilience to Food Insecurity 7. Storytelling and Making Sense of the Everyday 8. Negotiating Space and Imagery in Disoriented Landscapes 9. Conclusion Notes to Chapters Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThe 2015 election result was a disaster for progressives in British politics, delivering a majority Conservative government at Westminster. And the outlook for the next election is not auspicious either, particularly amid the aftershocks of the momentous 2016 EU referendum result and with possible boundary changes in the offing. There is a growing recognition, however, that cross-party cooperation among the progressives could reinvigorate politics and inspire a credible alternative to the Conservatives. Those who want a good society can and must work together - and, by doing so, they can deliver better answers and more inclusive government. With contributions from a broad range of left and centre-left voices - including Sian Berry, Mhairi Black, Frances O'Grady, Tim Farron, Peter Hain, Carys Afoko, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Zoe Williams and Neal Lawson - The Alternative sets out a base of core values around which progressives can unite, proposes a number of big policy ideas that embody those values and, crucially, explores an urgently needed new form of politics to achieve them.Trade Review"A thoughtful and original intervention at a time when creative thinking in politics is rare and desperately needed." - Rafael Behr, The Guardian; "The next big topic that everyone who wants a better government must embrace." - Paddy Ashdown, former Liberal Democrat leader; "A welcome shot of optimism in difficult times." - Shami Chakrabarti

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Book SynopsisContemporary art is obsessed with the politics of identity. Visit any contemporary gallery, museum or theatre, and chances are the art on offer will be principally concerned with race, gender, sexuality, power and privilege.The quest for truth, freedom and the sacred has been thrust aside to make room for identity politics. Mystery, individuality and beauty are out; radical feminism, racial grievance and queer theory are in. The result is a drearily predictable culture and the narrowing of the space for creative self-expression and honest criticism.Sohrab Ahmari's book is a passionate cri de coeur against this state of affairs. The New Philistines takes readers deep inside a cultural scene where all manner of ugly, inept art is celebrated so long as it toes the ideological line, and where the artistic glories of the Western world are revised and disfigured to fit the rigid doctrines of identity politics.The degree of politicisation means that art no longer performs its historical function, as a mirror and repository of the human spirit - something that should alarm not just art lovers but anyone who cares about the future of liberal civilisation.Trade Review"Sohrab Ahmari's polemic against the contemporary art world is angry, witty, uncompromising, and utterly unanswerable... Tremendously entertaining and thought-provoking." - Andrew Roberts, Commentary; "An elegant and necessary salvo in a new culture war." - Quillette; "An ambitious new series that tackles the controversy of the topics explored with a mixture of intelligence and forthright argument from some excellent writers." The Observer; "This short book is reminiscent of pre-novelist Tom Wolfe books like The Painted Word and From Bauhaus to Our House, which told amusing but depressing tales about lefty politics making their way into the art world, making both art and politics worse in the process." - National Review

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Book SynopsisFollowing the 1953 coup that toppled the democratically elected government of Mossadeq and restored the rule of the Shah in Iran, Mostafa Sho‘aiyan became a key figure on the country’s militant left. From a life underground he contributed significantly to the study of Iranian history and politics, and developed a unique theory of revolution. A Rebel’s Journey provides fascinating insights into the life and work of this singular theoretician. Peyman Vahabzadeh sets Sho‘aiyan’s thought in the context of his time and place, and explores how his revolutionary theory might contribute to today’s expanding movements for social justice and liberation.Trade Review‘Through a comprehensive study and analysis of Sho‘aiyan’s writings, Vahabzadeh seeks to revive his work, not merely by demonstrating his contributions to Iranian revolutionaries but by demonstrating his value as an international thinker with continued relevance. Vahabzadeh accomplishes this by engaging with Sho‘aiyan’s revolutionary theories – specifically his concepts of enlighteners, frontal politics, and rebellious thought – to suggest how they could be used by today’s Left in launching resistance against the capitalist world system.’ * Middle East Journal *‘An original intellectual, a prolific writer, a poet, a Marxist theorist, a revolutionary leader, a critical thinker, a visionary of a future that never was – what strange interpreter of dreams has Peyman Vahabzadeh unearthed from the forgotten layers of a people’s history. We once thought Mostafa Sho‘aiyan was a mirage – in this utterly brilliant work of revolutionary love you’ll learn he was for real.’ -- Hamid Dabashi, Hagop Kevorkian Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature, Columbia University‘This is an elegant and original account of the life, times, and intellectual and theoretical contributions of the Iranian revolutionary Mostafa Sho‘aiyan. It is, in particular, a timely work, emphasising Sho‘aiyan’s continuing relevance in an era of “savage, globalised capitalism”.’ -- Stephanie Cronin, Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Research Fellow, University of Oxford‘An elegiac meditation on one of the most sophisticated revolutionary political theorists of modern Iran. Meticulously researched, A Rebel’s Journey resituates Sho‘aiyan’s long-neglected oeuvre at the center of the Iranian intellectual history and the history of anti-colonial liberation struggles of the Global South.’ -- Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi, Professor of Near Eastern Studies, Princeton University‘Deeply informed and passionately engaged, this is an exceptional work of scholarship, reconstructing the life and thought of pre-revolutionary Iran’s most exceptional figure on the left… Vahabzadeh has done a wonderful job of intellectual restoration and remembering, while showing an intriguing path forward to the revolutionaries of our time.’ -- Afshin Matin-Asgari, Professor of Middle East History, California State University, Los Angeles‘An outstanding interpretive and critical overview of the vast body of Mostafa Sho‘aiyan’s writings. Peyman Vahabzadeh masterfully reveals Sho‘aiyan’s cosmopolitan and frontal theory of rebellion, and his singular and uncanonical leftism.’ -- Mojtaba Mahdavi, Professor of Political Science, University of AlbertaTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Abbreviations for Sho‘aiyan’s Major Works Note on Translation and Transliteration Introduction: Reactivating Distorted Histories 1 The Making of a Singular Revolutionary 2 Experiences and Experiments in the 1960s 3 Facing the Fadaiyan 4 On Intellectuals 5 Frontal Politics, Frontal Thinking 6 Rebellious Essence, Rebellious Action Conclusion: The Twenty-First-Century Revolutionary Theory Appendix: The Question of the People Images Bibliography Notes Index

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Book SynopsisOn 8 February 1971, Marxist revolutionaries attacked the gendarmerie outpost at the village of Siyahkal in Iran’s Gilan province. Barely two months later, the Iranian People’s Fada’i Guerrillas officially announced their existence and began a long, drawn-out urban guerrilla war against the Shah’s regime. In Call to Arms, Ali Rahnema provides a comprehensive history of the Fada’is, beginning by asking why so many of Iran’s best and brightest chose revolutionary Marxism in the face of absolutist rule. He traces how radicalised university students from different ideological backgrounds morphed into the Marxist Fada’is in 1971, and sheds light on their theory, practice and evolution. While the Fada’is failed to directly bring about the fall of the Shah, Rahnema shows they had a lasting impact on society and they ultimately saw their objective achieved.Trade Review‘A definitive history of the Iranian People’s Fada’i Guerrillas. Theoretical frameworks are interwoven with historical narrative, and riveting anecdotes are tempered by conceptual discussions. In one volume, Ali Rahnema has compiled a comprehensive guide to understanding the ideology, activities, and legacy of the Fada’is… He has masterfully told the Fada’is’ story, including their writings, their successes, and their failures, leaving readers with the impression of the Fada’is as serious, brave, influential, and ideologically driven patriots.’ * Iranian Studies *‘Ali Rahnema has produced the most comprehensive and deeply engaging narrative to date of the revolutionary left in Iran during the 1970s… A masterwork, a must-read!’ -- Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi, Professor of Near Eastern Studies, Princeton University‘Meticulous and riveting, this book works like a time-tunnel, taking us back to experience “first-hand” the dramatic heroics and painful tragedy of radical political opposition in 1960s–1970s Iran.’ * Afshin Matin-Asgari, author of Both Eastern and Western: An Intellectual History of Iranian Modernity *‘Delivers like a ray of hope… This book is an act of redemption, not just of the Iranian Marxist revolutionaries but of the spirit of the age that demanded armed uprising against tyranny.’ -- Hamid Dabashi, Hagop Kevorkian Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature, Columbia University‘Call to Arms is a significant study of Iran’s militant left in the 1960s and 1970s. By exploring a broad range of primary and secondary source material it closely examines the formation and operational dynamics of Iran’s radical opposition during the Cold War.’ -- Ali Gheissari, Professor of History, University of San Diego‘Rahnema has done the staggeringly difficult task of offering us a meticulously researched history of the life and times of the Fadaʾis in late-Pahlavi Iran.’ -- Roham Alvandi, Associate Professor of International History, London School of Economics and Political ScienceTable of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgements Introduction 1 Violence as a political option? Demonizing the armed opposition Why resort to political violence? The four Iranian Marxist theoreticians of armed struggle 2 Hasan Zia-Zarifi’s account of why armed struggle The culprit: Absolutist despotic monarchism Reflections from prison 3 Amir-Parviz Pouyan’s account of why armed struggle Literature in the service of politics Armed struggle: Rational or irrational? A necessary theoretical digression Pouyan on the necessity of armed struggle as a rational choice Refutation of the theory of survival Pouyan’s incisive impact 4 Masʿoud Ahmadzadeh’s accounts of why armed struggle Demystifying classical notions of how and when to take up arms The fruitful retreat The Debray factor: From Havana to Tehran via Mashhad Learning from the past Breaking with the old sacred cows Armed struggle by the revolutionary vanguard 5 Bijan Jazani’s accounts of why armed struggle Mysteries around What a Revolutionary Should Know To confront a monarchical military dictatorship Revolutionary intellectuals: The dynamite of the revolutionary movement Jazani’s paradoxical hints Revolutionary agents and the question of leadership in a despotic or democratic Iran 6 The Tudeh Party’s awkward tango with armed struggle Ideological rift over revolution-making Iranian students take sides The Tudeh Party’s reluctant approval of armed struggle The Tudeh Party pushes back against armed struggle Revolution means employing peaceful methods of struggle The Tudeh Party denounces armed struggle What did the revolutionary Marxists think of the Tudeh Party? 7 Monarchists, Maoists, and the Tudeh Party in unison: armed struggle is counterrevolutionary adventurism For Nikkhah the red revolution turned white Kourosh Lashaʾi’s rejection of romanticism and embrace of realism The Tudeh Party: We told you so 8 Armed struggle and Marxist canonists Historical determinism or revolutionary voluntarism? Marx and Engels: Wavering over the role of violence? Lenin on violence, unequivocal? Trotsky: Dissonance between intellectual revolutionary consciousness and backward economic conditions invites violence 9 Armed struggle and Marxist revolutionaries Mao Tse-tung’s revolutionary authority Che Guevara’s revolution-making to overthrow dictators Carlos Marighella: Unleashing violence to end dictatorial violence Marighella in Iran via Baghdad 10 Formative years of the Jazani group Jazani the entrepreneur Whence it came Student political activities First phase of the Jazani Group Jazani and The Message of University Students Second phase of the Jazani Group The political and propaganda branch The operational and military branch The military operation that should have happened but did not Ghafour Hasanpour’s networks: Recruiting behind the scenes 11 Jazani Group compromised First raids The remnants of the Jazani Group under siege Bank robberies The decision to leave the country The final nabs 12 The new Hasanpour, Ashraf, and Safaʾi-Farahani Group: Preparations and operations Picking up the broken pieces Organizing armed struggle: Three teams The first urban operations of the H-A-S Group 13 The Pouyan, Ahmadzadeh, and Meftahi Group The dissimilar but inseparable Pouyan and Ahmadzadeh Enter ʿAbbas Meftahi Pouyan’s circles at Mashhad and Tabriz Ahmadzadeh’s membership in Hirmanpour’s circle Meftahi’s Sari and Tehran circles The P-A-M Group’s military operations before Siyahkal An ethical digression: To press or not to press the trigger 14 Armed struggle in Iran: Rural or urban Theoretical positioning Ahmadzadeh gently parts with the Cuban model Jazani: Rural Iran not the ideal revolutionary base Jazani’s change of heart: Emphasis on rural/mountainous warfare 15 Merger discussions for “Iran’s revolutionary armed movement” The painful and slow process of negotiation Last hurdle: Convincing the P-A-M rank and file The mountain group’s five-month reconnaissance mission Postponements 16 The H-A-S Group hounded The beans are spilled The arrests begin The mountain team compromised 17 The Siyahkal operation Assault on the Siyahkal Gendarmerie Station on 19 Bahman The aftermath of the assault The nineteen-day odyssey of the retreating guerrillas 18 Assessing the Siyahkal strike Objectives of the Siyahkal strike: Ahmadzadeh, Ashraf, Safaʾi-Farahani Siyahkal as a military operation: Fumbles and blunders The regime’s first public response to the Siyahkal strike The Ranking Security Official’s spectacle 19 The Hamid Ashraf factor Schooling Ashraf in the eyes of fellow combatants Three years of guerrilla struggle in perspective Ashraf violent and authoritarian? 20 Hemming the guerrillas or cultivating a guerrilla culture? The Shah declares the end of terrorist activities in Iran The Golesorkhi affair Revolutionaries of the Film School of the Iranian National Television Slaying heroes: Fuel on fire 21 Jazani’s questioning of armed struggle Challenging the theory and practice of the Fadaʾis Looking for new forms of struggle Underlining the role of legal methods of struggle A matter of trade-off 22 Softly disarming armed struggle to regain the trust of the masses Step one: The correct stage in the movement Step two: Walking on two legs Step three: Iran’s paradoxical political condition, democratic and despotic Step four: The guerrillas’ conflicting remits, or unity of opposites Step five: Armed propaganda and the combined method of struggle Two interpretations of armed struggle The issue of objective conditions of revolution How long would it take the masses to join the movement? Saving the armed movement from the unhealthy leftist tendency 23 Jazani’s ideological offensive in prison Spreading the good word Open schism in prison Where did the original members of the Jazani Group stand? The secretive delinking of armed struggle from the movement The misunderstood or conflicted theoretician 24 The Fadaʾi interface, inside, outside prison Indirect interactions between Ashraf and Jazani in 1973 On the correct method of struggle: The Fadaʾis and the Star Group Summer 1974: Armed struggle as strategy and tactic has the upper hand Reading about the correct method of struggle in People’s Combat Familiarity with and reaction to Jazani’s works outside prisons 25 Fadaʾi leadership debating correct methods of struggle A discreet Jazani special issue of People’s Combat Growing a second leg? Political activities in 1976 discussions with the Marxist Mojahedin Does Ashraf take sides in May/June 1976? 26 Bird’s-eye view of armed struggle (1971–1976) The guerrillas’ persistent presence Guerrillas highlighted: Partial transparency The news blackout and the Fadaʾis’ rising success Changing tides: Expansion, exposure, and beleaguered The Fadaʾis’ relations with Libya, Palestinian groups, and the Soviet Union The shock of state terrorism Fadaʾis under attack The Fadaʾis without Ashraf 27 Guerrillas conducting the regime’s requiem Students at home beat on the drums of war University turmoil and campus guards Policy of zero tolerance The student backlash to the Golesorkhi affair Winds of change 28 The regime’s requiem: The players abroad Iranian students abroad rallying against the regime Iranian students abroad take their cue from the guerrillas Radical methods to put the Shah’s regime on the spot 29 Prelude to the Shah’s free fall The Western press reveals secrets Disdain for torture The grand anti-Shah conspiracy A last-ditch effort against the guerrilla–CISNU coalition Beating a fatal retreat Conclusion Chronology Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE PARLIAMENTARY BOOK AWARDS‘Jess Phillips writes like she talks: brilliantly. Her humour and passion shine through every page. Loved it.’ ROBERT WEBB_____________________If you’re thinking, ‘Jess who?’ then I’m glad that there was something about ‘Everywoman’ and ‘truth’ that caught your eye.Or you might already know me as that gobby MP who has a tendency to shout about the stuff I care about. Because I’m a woman with a cause, I have been called a feminazi witch, a murderer and threatened with rape. The internet attracts a classy crowd. So, speaking the truth isn’t always easy but I believe it’s worth it. And I want you to believe it too. The truth can be empowering, the truth can lead to greater equality, and the world would be incredibly boring if we let all of those people who allegedly know everything, say everything. By demanding to be heard, by dealing with our imposter syndrome, by being cheerleaders, doers not sayers, creating our own networks and by daring to believe that we can make a difference, we can. We’re women and we’re kick-ass. And that’s the truth._____________________'Joyfully candid and very funny.' Guardian'Jess Phillips knows the truth . . . and here she shows how scary and sad as well as joyful and liberating the answers can be.' Damian Barr'Everywoman has all the laughs [of Lena Dunham and Caitlin Moran] with a backbone of real glinting anger . . .there were so many funny and wise things on each page that whittling them down into a review seemed impossible.' Julie Birchill, Spectator'As fresh as mountain air amid the Westminster tumbleweed.' Metro'Arresting.' Observer_____________________This title now has a new cover and there is a chance that you may receive the edition with the old cover instead of the cover displayed here.Trade ReviewJoyfully candid and very funny. * Guardian *Lord knows we need more MPs like Jess Phillips . . . as fresh as mountain air amid the Westminster tumbleweed in this refreshingly bracing memoir. * Metro *Jess Phillips writes like she talks: brilliantly. Her humour and passion shine through every page. Loved it. -- Robert WebbThis book really is like reading a transcript of your cleverest, funniest friends talking about what’s getting their goat, at that point where the prosecco has made them sparkly and before it makes them silly. Not to denigrate the talent of Lena Dunham and Caitlin Moran but Everywoman has all the laughs theirs have with a backbone of real glinting anger, which has not had to manicure and mutate itself in order to maintain a cool media career . . . I have had to review loads of books which I couldn’t stand. This was the first which I dreaded going back to because there were so many funny and wise things on each page that whittling them down into a review seemed impossible. -- Julie Burchill * Spectator *a narrative that is by turns witty and furious -- Gaby Hinsliff * Guardian BEST POLITICAL BOOKS OF THE YEAR *

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Book SynopsisThis collection is the first of three volumes of the Complete Works devoted to the central theme of Rosa Luxemburg's life and work-revolution. Spanning the years 1897 to the end of 1905, they contain speeches, articles, and essays on the strikes, protests, and political debates that culminated in the 1905 Russian Revolution-one of the most important social upheavals of modern times. Luxemburg's near-daily articles and reports during 1905 on the ongoing revolution (which comprises the bulk of this volume) shed new light on such issues as the relation of spontaneity and organization, the role of national minorities in social revolution, and the inseparability ofthe struggle for socialism from revolutionary democracy. We become witness to Luxemburg's effort to respond to the impulses, challenges, and ideas arising from a living revolutionary process, which in turn becomes the source of much of her subsequent political theory-such as her writings on the mass strike, her strident internationalism, and her insistence that revolutionary struggle never take its eyes off of the need to transform the human personality.Virtually all of these writings appear in English for the first time (translated from both German and Polish) and many have only recently been identified as having been written by Luxemburg.Trade ReviewThe moment has clearly come for a return to Rosa Luxemburg. -- Jacqueline Rose * London Review of Books *Praise for The Letters of Rosa Luxemburg:Combining revolutionary fire, sharp polemics, biting irony, sparkling humour, broad historical vision, as well as profound humanity, intimate friendship and burning love, full of poetical images borrowed from Goethe, Mörike, Conrad Ferdinand Meyer and other Romantics, these letters are an amazing testimony of the charm and fascination of her personality. -- Michael Löwy * Critique *One of the most emotionally intelligent socialists in modern history, a radical of luminous dimension whose intellect is informed by sensibility, and whose largeness of spirit places her in the company of the truly impressive. -- Vivian Gornick * Nation *One cannot read the writings of Rosa Luxemburg, even at this distance, without an acute yet mournful awareness of what Perry Anderson once termed 'the history of possibility.' -- Christopher Hitchens * Atlantic *Luxemburg's criticism of Marxism as dogma and her stress on consciousness exerted an influence on the women's liberation movement which emerged in the late '60s and early '70s. -- Sheila Rowbotham * Guardian *Rosa goes on being our source of fresh water in thirsty times. -- Eduardo GaleanoIntrepid, incorruptible, passionate and gentle. Imagine as you read between the lines of what she wrote, the expression of her eyes. She loved workers and birds. She danced with a limp. Everything about her fascinates and rings true. One of the immortals. -- John Berger

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Book SynopsisThis book traces three decades of securitisation in Angola. As a governing strategy during war and peacetime, it muted the aspirations of those on opposing sides, distorted the state, emboldened elites and redefined the identity of Angolans. Through this lens, Paula Cristina Roque provides an original account of Angola's post-conflict state-building. Securitisation protected the interests of President dos Santos, the ruling MPLA party and the elites supporting the regime. Angola's array of security forces and infrastructure provided an alternative to a fully functioning executive, at national, provincial and local levels. The intrusive way in which any form of dissent or activism was crushed allowed the presidency to control the direction and narrative of the post-war years. But the facade of democracy, development and stability hid a very different reality for the majority of Angolans, who remained poor, disenfranchised and marginalised. Roque explores the inner workings of the intelligence services, army and presidential guard, explaining the trajectory of a survivalist and fearful regime presiding over scarcities and injustices. She shows that the survival of national security and governing elites was the highest priority. The 'shadows' held far more power than institutions, and weakened them-widening the gap between government and governed.Trade Review'Roque has achieved what few dare attempt: to reveal the true face of Angola's fiendishly opaque regime. This courageous, captivating book is a service to Angolans, who have lived too long under a reign of fear. Roque writes with the insight of a scholar. But like all good investigations her story is gripping, moving and cries out to be read urgently.' -- Tom Burgis, author of 'Kleptopia''"Governing in the Shadows" makes for very interesting reading. The material is original and, as far I know, there are no other works on the security forces in Angola. It is an important book.' -- António Tomás, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Architecture, University of Johannesburg, and author of "Amílcar Cabral: The Life of a Reluctant Nationalist"'Paula Roque delves into the subterranean world of presidential power in Angola--an opaque system of shadow government, with a vast security infrastructure and complex strategies of political preservation. A masterly contribution to scholarly work on Angolan politics.' -- Tony Hodges, author of 'Angola: Anatomy of an Oil State''Roque shines a light on Angola's decades-long "armed peace" and identifies securitisation--as discourse, strategy and infrastructure--at its shadowed heart. A deeply researched picture of an unaccountable, secretive machinery, justified by a "permanent crisis" that it both imagines and makes all too real.' -- Jocelyn Alexander, Professor of Commonwealth Studies, Department of International Development, University of Oxford'In this important book, Roque details how securitisation fuelled corruption and patronage in Angola since independence. It shows how elections in 2022 could unlock change if the dissolution of the security state is accompanied by political decentralisation and economic diversification.' -- Jakkie Cilliers, co-founder of the Institute for Security Studies, and author of 'The Future of Africa: Challenges and Opportunities'

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Book SynopsisZimbabwe's party-internal 'coup' of 2017, and deposed president Robert Mugabe's death nearly two years later, demand careful, historically nuanced explanation. How did Mugabe gain and retain power over party and state for four decades? Did the suspected and nearly real 'coups', the conspiracies behind them, and their concurrent mythomaniacal conceits ultimately, ironically, spell his near-tragic end? Has Mugabe's particular mode of power reached a finality with his own downfall, as his successors struggle more to balance Zimbabwe's political contradictions? Will the phalanxes arrayed against Mugabe's control fray further, as Zimbabwe fades? Mugabe's Legacy delves deeply into such questions, drawing on more than forty years of archival and interview-based research on Zimbabwe's political history and current precariousness. Starting with the mid-1970s, it traces how Machiavellian moves allowed Mugabe to reach the apex of the Zimbabwe African National Union's already slippery slopes, through the complexities of Cold War, regional, ideological, generational, inter- and intra-party tensions. The lessons learned by the president and the nascent ruling party then turned gradually inward, ultimately arriving at a near-collapse that may now pervade all of the country's political space. David B. Moore vividly charts this rise and fall, all the way to Zimbabwe's tenuous chaos today.Trade Review'A fascinating account and analysis of the last five decades of the country's history... this book is a must-read for scholars interested not only in Zimbabwe (or Southern Africa) but also in politics and history in general.' -- Notebooks: The Journal for Studies on Power‘It’s difficult to call to mind another book in which the author has personally interviewed such a wide range of political players, and at the same time managed to support a political and historical reconstruction spanning forty years so succinctly.’ -- Zimbabwe Review'Moore's deft and dramatic political history of Mugabe's rise and humiliating fall unpacks a tragic and continuing Animal Farm legacy. Comprehensive in its treatment of Zimbabwe's major political events and actors, this is an intriguing and timely read.' -- NoViolet Bulawayo, Zimbabwean novelist'"Mugabe's Legacy" is sharp, erudite, often funny, and full of unexpected and unusual critical insights. I enjoyed reading it.' -- Joost Fontein, Professor of Anthropology, University of Johannesburg, and co-editor of 'Legacies of Struggle in Southern & Eastern Africa''What was the impact of Mugabe's life and death? Moore's answer is a fascinating journey through power, using Gramsci to give us an original reading of how it was conquered and how rule was exercised in Zimbabwe. A must-read!' -- Isabella Soi, Department of Social and Political Science, University of Cagliari'By far the best account I've ever read of the processes and events in and around Zimbabwe over the past 40 years. A most formidable work of scholarship and a sordid and sorry tale. This is Moore at the top of his game!' -- Ian Phimister, Senior Research Professor, University of the Free State, South Africa'An entertaining and rewarding read, combining personal memoir, rigorous scholarship, and an irreverent style. Moore links the generational struggles behind the military's overthrow of Mugabe to his violent purge of radical, younger challengers during the liberation war.' -- Norma J. Kriger, author of 'Zimbabwe's Guerrilla War''Insightful, impressively knowledgeable and masterfully presented, this analysis of decades of Mugabe's manipulative leadership and his legacy is a must-read for anyone who wishes to understand the forces that have shaped ZANU-PF's turbulent history and Zimbabwe's current crisis.' -- Alois Mlambo, Emeritus Professor of History and Heritage, University of Pretoria, and co-author of 'A History of Southern Africa''What Moore does well in analysing Mugabe’s legacy is to link the passage of time, struggle and political cultural practice (exercise of power) of what in academic circles we would refer to as ‘hegemony’.' -- Takura Zhangazha'A fascinating narrative addressing long-term questions on primitive accumulation, nation-building and democratisation, and interrogating the history of nationalist politics. Drawing on archival diplomatic sources, interviews, anecdotes and rumour, this is a compelling, radical critique, with an aura of magical realism.' -- Brian Raftopoulos, scholar, activist and co-author of 'Becoming Zimbabwe'

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Book SynopsisWhat should you do when you have decided to use the drawing of lots in a procedure? What practical questions arise? What options are available? What will the details be? What advantages and disadvantages should we expect from each option? What are the risks to know and the precautions to take?The literature on sortition consists of three main genres: monographs, arguments for and against, and history of the procedure in one or more dimensions. This book stands a little apart from this framework. Its method is largely deductive and theoretical in reasoning. It has a practical purpose which is aimed at specialists as well as naïve users and interested parties: precise enough to satisfy an informed public and simple enough to be accessible to citizens and practitioners.Gil Delannoi begins with a general theory of political procedures and its relations with the typology of political regimes. Sortitive democracy is also studied as a third type distinct from the representative and direct types. Sortition is analysed through its main uses, effects, and objectives. Several detailed potential uses are proposed to political actors at the end of the book.Treating procedures like delicate flowers or rare birds is far from superfluous. To forget this aspect is to stick to generalities, to ignore crucial details.

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Book SynopsisAs we face the compounded crises of late capitalism, environmental catastrophe and technological transformation, who are the thinkers and the ideas who will allow us to understand the world we live in? McKenzie Wark surveys three areas at the cutting edge of current critical thinking: design, environment, technology and introduces us to the thinking of nineteen major writers. Each chapter is a concise account of an individual thinker, providing useful context and connections to the work of the others. The authors include: Sianne Ngai, Kodwo Eshun, Lisa Nakamura, Hito Steyerl, Yves Citton, Randy Martin, Jackie Wang, Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, Achille Mbembe, Deborah Danowich and Eduardo Viveiros de Castro, Eyal Weizman, Cory Doctorow, Benjamin Bratton, Tiziana Terranova, Keller Easterling, Jussi Parikka.Wark argues that we are too often told that expertise is obtained by specialisation. Sensoria connects the themes and arguments across intellectual silos. They explore the edges of disciplines to show how we might know the world: through the study of culture, the different notions of how we create such things, and the impact that the machines that we devise have had upon us. The book is a vital and timely introduction to the future both as a warning but also as a road map on how we might find our way out of the current crisis.Trade ReviewA provocative and compelling exploration of our digital world as it crashes towards ecological disaster. Counter-intuitive, insightful, and imaginative, Capital is Dead is a timely reminder that there are things worse than capitalism - and we may just be living through them -- Nick Snricek, co-author of Inventing the Future * [in praise of Capital is Dead] *a playbook for the Anthropocene, a set of moves and strategies extracted from an unexpected canon of texts formed by a mash-up of the Soviet avant-garde and the Californian high-tech imaginary. * Radical Philosophy [in praise of Molecular Red] *A very imaginative, historically smart, politically generative thesis . that I think we urgently need. -- Donna Haraway, author of A Cyborg Manifesto * [in praise of Molecular Red] *A wonderful book . informative and moving . a great recovery of an instructive life and literary effort. The book makes the case for a kind of political vision and action we need to recognize and enact. A true pleasure to read. -- Kim Stanley Robinson, author of the Mars Trilogy * [in praise of Molecular Red] *Wark is a fine aphorist ... Playful, angry, depressed, celebratory, this is a book for anyone not convinced that there is no alternative to the way we live now. -- Observer * [In Praise of The Beach Beneath the Streets] *McKenzie Wark opens her introduction to Sensoria by asking, 'What is the point of scholarship?' Wark's answer is that scholarship 'is about the common task of knowing the world'. This seems a sound definition as well as a worthwhile project for humanity in the twenty-first century. -- J.J. Charlesworth * ArtReview *

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Book SynopsisDecades of violence and chaos have generated a political and intellectual hysteria-ranging from imperial atavism to paranoia about invading or hectically breeding Muslim hordes-that has affected even the most intelligent in Anglo-America. In Bland Fanatics, Pankaj Mishra examines this hysteria and its fantasists, taking on its arguments and the atmosphere in which it has festered and become influential. In essays that grapple with colonialism, human rights, and the doubling down of liberalism against a background of faltering economies and weakening Anglo-American hegemony, Mishra confronts writers from Jordan Peterson and Niall Ferguson to Salman Rushdie and Ayaan Hirsi Ali. With a newly written introduction, these essays provide a vantage point from which to look seriously at the current crisis.Trade Reviewliterary iconoclast [and] maverick political thinker-edgy, sly and idiosyncratic-weaving a kind of witchcraft with the wounded frankness of prose -- (praise for Pankaj Mishra) * Financial Express *Bracing ... The first essential read of the Trump Era -- (Praise for Age of Anger) * Vogue *This important, erudite book proves the deepest roots of our inflamed moment -- (in praise of Age of Anger) * New York Times *An original attempt to explain today's paranoid hatreds ... Insightful ... Iconoclastic ... Mishra shocks on many levels -- (Praise for Age of Anger) * The Economist *A searing attack on the assumption that modernity is synonymous with progress -- (Praise for Age of Anger) * Wall Street Journal *Urgently vigorous ... It is Age of Anger's singular ambition to give the world as we have it a past, a how-we-got-here, a where-the-mistakes-lie ... The book marks an important advance in our most urgent discourse -- (Praise for Age of Anger) * The National *A bowel-churning kick in the guts ... [Pankaj Mishra's] vision is unusually broad, accommodating and resistant to categorisation. It is the kind of vision the world needs right now -- (Praise for Age of Anger) * Financial Times *The ideal writer to diagnose our current moment * Los Angeles Review of Books *Bracing and illuminating ... Mishra writes with ... style, energy and incision ... [He] dwells in the realm of ideas and emotions, which get short shrift in most accounts of global politics ... A decent liberalism would read sharp critics like Mishra and learn. * New York Times Book Review *

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Book SynopsisDemocracy is in crisis. In every major company it has been stole by elites or in the hands of strong men. In democracy's name we see a raft of policies that spread inequality and xenophobia worldwide. It is clear that democracy - the principle of government by and for the people - is not living up to its promise.In fact, real democracy- inclusive and egalitarian - has in fact never existed. In this urgent and engaging book, Astra Taylor invites us to re-examine the term. Is democracy a means or an end? A process or a set of desired outcomes? What if the those outcomes, whatever they may be - peace, prosperity, equality, liberty, an engaged citizenry - can be achieved by non-democratic means? Or if an election leads to a terrible outcome? If democracy means rule by the people, what does it mean to rule and who counts as the people? The inherent paradoxes are too often unnamed and unrecognized. But to ignore them is no longer possible. Democracy May Not Exist, but We'll Miss It When It's Gone offers a better understanding of what is possible, what we want, and why democracy is so hard to realize.Trade ReviewMoths never reach the moon, but they navigate by it; we humans may never reach democracy, Astra Taylor tells us, but we navigate by its ideals. This is a beautiful, revelatory book about ideas and how they matter in everyday life, by the only writer who could herself navigate so gracefully among factory workers, contemporary economics, and ancient Athenian history -- Rebecca Solnit, author of Men Explain Things to MeAstra Taylor is a rare public intellectual, utterly committed to asking humanity's most profound questions yet entirely devoid of pretensions and compulsively readable. Now she plunges deep into the crisis that underlies so many others: the sorry state (and the exhilarating promise) of this thing called democracy. At once richly historical and immediately relevant, this wise, lucid and unflinchingly honest book deserves to be at the center of public debate. -- Naomi Klein, author of No Is Not EnoughWhat a lot of trouble democracy has been! Over the years it's been hijacked by its enemies, its reforms have backfired, it has evaded challenges, it has refused to heed its prophets. But as Astra Taylor reminds us in this timely and sagacious book, there is no substitute. The fate of the world depends on it -- Thomas Frank, author of Listen, LiberalWhat is this thing called Democracy? Google the question and you will exceed one million hits. But for an honest and illuminating answer, read this book?every single word. Searching, lucid, visionary, Astra Taylor takes a deep oceanic dive into the history, meaning, uses, and promise of democracy?moving from Plato's Greece to Syriza's Greece, from the Global South to post-Communist East, from slavery to fascism, liberalism to neoliberalism, Occupy to the Commons. She knows what most political scientists don't: that democracy is a promise unfulfilled, and in our strivings to achieve it nothing is guaranteed. But we can't live without it. -- Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical ImaginationA brilliant, deeply learned discourse on democracy, equality, and how the second might save the first, by one of the most incisive thinkers on participatory politics today. -- Molly Crabapple, author of Brothers of the GunImpressive * New York Times *An impressive contribution to this anxious re-examination of political assumptions and practices . . .Displays considerable intellectual nimbleness -- Randall Kennedy * New York Times *A collage of people, voices, eras, and emotions-[Taylor] covers the suffering of communities as well as their triumphs in solidarity. * Vogue *Astra Taylor's new book - sequel to her brilliantThe People's Platform- is appropriately stellar. She embodies the right or rather the left sort of democratic engagement as both documentary filmmaker and critical analyst alike. Her unshakeable belief in democracy as a viable project of collective self-rule is indeed a radical act. Bring it on. -- Paul Cartledge, author of Democracy: A LifeA politically-engaged exploration, taking us far beyond the idea that democracy just means periodic elections, civil liberties...Strongly recommended * Peace News *

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Book SynopsisFrank Furedi examines the frequent claim that democracy is a means to an end rather than an important value in and of itself. The prevalence of this sentiment in the current era is not surprising, given that the normative foundation for democracy is fragile, and there is little cultural valuation for this outlook. Until recently, virtually every serious commentator paid lip-service to democracy. However, in recent times the classical elitist disdain for democracy and for the moral and intellectual capacity of the electorate has acquired a powerful influence over public life. Democracy Under Siege outlines the long history of anti-democratic thought, explains why hostility to democracy has gained momentum in the current era, and offers a positive affirmation of the principle and the value of democracy.

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Book SynopsisWhile his post-9/11 turn to the right has defined Christopher Hitchens for the last two decades, we may now be in a position to rehabilitate his long pre-9/11 career as a left-wing polemicist. Burgis reminds readers about what was best in Hitchens's writings and helps us gain a better understanding of how someone whose whole political life was animated by the values of the socialist left could have ended up holding grotesque positions on Iraq and the War on Terror. Burgis' book makes a case for the enduring importance of engaging with Hitchen's complicated legacy.

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Book SynopsisOur world is increasingly sceptical of happy endings. Notions of resistance or alternatives - of hope - seem evermore ill-fated as we resign to a slow and painful descent further into capitalism. However, from a critical position, one that does not shy away from the scale of the horror facing us, we can begin to rethink utopianism, and plot new and speculative pathways for collective escape. Through quiet acts of naysaying to the world, of nihilistic or self-destructive events, or in wider-ranging renegotiations of what’s acceptable and possible at the limits of reason, pessimism revives the possibility for radical change. It calls for a disentanglement from the world and, in so doing, offers a glimpse at the utopian impossible. Against the pernicious machinations of modern-day capitalism and a perverse optimism that sustains it, Disconsolate Dreamers explores the extent to which pessimism is compatible with a radical utopian goal - namely, a collective escape from the misery of modern existence. It shows that, in a thoroughly hopeless world devoid of rational alternatives, it is time for the Left to consider the pessimist a helpful guide out of the somnolence of capitalist realism, revealing how pessimism necessitates a radical revision of utopian alterity.

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Book SynopsisIdeology has never before been so much in evidence as a fact, and so little understood as a concept, as it is today. In this now classic work, originally written for both students and for those already familiar with the debates around the concept, the celebrated literary theorist Terry Eagleton unravels its many definitions, exploring its tortuous history from the Enlightenment to the present.A limpid account of the thought of key Marxist thinkers, as well as that of philosophers from Schopenhauer and Nietzsche to Freud and the post-structuralists, and a political reformulation of a vital set of ideas, Ideology: An Introduction is an essential text by one of our most important contemporary critics.

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Book Synopsis''This Time No Mistakes is a brilliant book... an intellectual, historical, political read with some strong themes... read it if you haven't already.'' Keir Starmer''Represents the beginning of a new, urgent debate. The era that defined economics since the end of the Cold War is now giving way to more activist governments and a very different kind of globalisation, necessitating new economic strategies. At last we are beginning to discuss what they might look like.'' New StatesmanA book that could be a blueprint for a better future - if the Labour Party takes it seriously.Will Hutton's passionate book shows how the right and left have gone wrong over the course of the last century and how we can remake a better Britain. Britain's inability to invest in itself is at the heart of our problems. The malevolent thread linking the grievous errors of the last forty-five years is the attempt to create the utopia of free markets and a minimal sta

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Book SynopsisOrganized hypocrisy is everywhere, evident in our daily lives and part of our DNA. We cannot ignore or avoid it and need to understand it as we can be unknowing participants or victims. Organized hypocrisy is the disconnect between talk, decision-making, and action by multiple actors.

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