Politics and government Books

Book SynopsisIn The Doctor Who Would Be King Guillaume Lachenal tells the extraordinary story of Dr. Jean Joseph David, a French colonial army doctor who governed an entire region of French Cameroon during World War II. Dr. David—whom locals called “emperor”—dreamed of establishing a medical utopia. Through unchecked power, he imagined realizing the colonialist fantasy of emancipating colonized subjects from misery, ignorance, and sickness. Drawing on archives, oral histories, and ethnographic fieldwork, Lachenal traces Dr. David’s earlier attempts at a similar project on a Polynesian island and the ongoing legacies of his failed experiment in Cameroon. Lachenal does not merely recount a Conradian tale of imperial hubris, he brings the past into the present, exploring the memories and remains of Dr. David’s rule to reveal a global history of violence, desire, and failure in which hope for the future gets lost in the tragic comedy of power.Trade Review“In this riveting account, Guillaume Lachenal discovers that French doctors seeking police powers and administrative control in colonial Cameroon did not lead to a health utopia, nor did these arrangements reverse decades of demographic decline in the battered colony. What they got was their own transformation into colonial governors. A superb translation of a gifted scholar and stylist, The Doctor Who Would Be King is as alive as any ethnography to social life in poorly known but much roiled parts of the French empire that once circled the globe.” -- Paul Farmer, author of * Fevers, Feuds, and Diamonds: Ebola and the Ravages of History *"An absorbing . . . account of a French colonial doctor who was handed absolute political control of an African territory the size of Switzerland in the years 1939-44. . . . It is impossible not to feel the presence of Joseph Conrad’s tale of lordly isolation and madness. It is as if, by assembling this story from archival fragments and the oral accounts of present-day residents, Mr. Lachenal is seeking to bring Dr. David back to our metropolitan gaze in much the way Conrad’s Marlow sought to bring Kurtz back from the jungle." -- Tunku Varadarajan * Wall Street Journal *“[Lachenal] leaves us at a crossroads, torn as we are today between the WHO’s proclamations about the advent of global health and the disenchantment caused by emerging microbes and the worsening of inequalities. Depending on whether one reads The Doctor Who Would Be King as a novel . . . or as an essay on contemporary biopolitics, the reader will come out of it reinvigorated or shaken, but not unscathed.” -- Anne Marie Moulin * L’Histoire *“[The Doctor Who Would Be King] is an expansive and masterful project whose major contributions are to the history of French colonialism and to historical research methodologies more broadly. . . . Readers . . . will enjoy the ride.” -- Caitlin Barker * H-Sci-Med-Tech, H-Net Reviews *“[Lachenal’s] investigation, in which dreams of grandeur, violence, and the tragedy of power are intertwined, is as fascinating as it is disturbing.” -- Laurent Lemire * L’Obs *"The Doctor Who Would Be King is a beautifully written, engrossing book that analyzes the career of a French colonial doctor in both Central Africa and Polynesia but also reflects on the thrills and pitfalls of historical research, the instability of historical narratives, and how traces of the past live on in the present. ... This superb book will be of interest to wide-ranging audiences, including historians of medicine, Africa, Polynesia, European empire, and beyond." -- Sarah Runcie * Isis *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1 Part I. The Mandated Territory of Cameroon, 1939–1944 1. A Showcase for Colonial Humanism 17 2. An Archipelago of Camps 22 3. Madame Ateba 26 4. Advocating for a Regime of Exception 31 5. A French Dream 36 6. Haut-Nyong Must Be Saved 40 7. Lessons in Medical Administration 45 8. Paradise: A Guided Tour (December 2013) 52 9. A Real-Life Experiment 58 10. The Invisible Men 63 11. Social Medicine, French-Style 69 12. Life Has Returned 75 13. Colonel David Will Become a General 84 14. The Missionaries' Nightmare 92 15. The Dark Waters of the Haut-Nyong 95 16. Rubber for the Emperor 100 17. "Here We Are the Masters" 106 18. Koch! Koch! 111 Part II. The French Protectorate of Wallis and Futuna, 1933–1938 19. King David 125 20. Uvea, Desert Island 129 21. Chronicles of the Golden Age 140 22. I te Temi o Tavite (In the Time of David) 153 23. Doctor Machete 160 24. Becoming King, Part I: Coup d'état at the Dispensary 165 25. Becoming King, Part II: The Wallisian Art of Governing 172 26. Becoming King, Part III: Kicking Custom to the Curb 178 27. Te Hau Tavite 183 28. Tavite Lea Tahi (David-Only-Speaks-Once) 190 29. Doctor Disaster 198 Part III. Epilogues 30. Afelika (Africa) 215 31. Dachau, Indochina 223 32. The Light Riots 232 Afterword: Global Health Utopias from David to COVID-19 238 Acknowledgments 245 Notes 249 Index 293

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE 2022 VICTORIA SCHUCK AWARD, GIVEN BY THE AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION Why Democratic women far outnumber Republican women in elective officesFrom Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren to Stacey Abrams and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, women around the country are running inand winningelections at an unprecedented rate. It appears that women are on a steady march toward equal representation across state legislatures and the US Congress, but there is a sharp divide in this representation along party lines. Most of the women in office are Democrats, and the number of elected Republican women has been plunging for decades. In The Partisan Gap, Elder examines why this disparity in women's representation exists, and why it's only going to get worse. Drawing on interviews with female office-holders, candidates, and committee members, she takes a look at what it is like to be a woman in each party. From party culture and ideology, to candidate recruitment and the makeup of rTrade Review"Laurel Elder's excellent book authoritatively shows how structural forces and the realignment of the parties along racial, ideological, and regional lines both promotes the advancement of Democratic women in office and hinders such opportunities for Republican women. Her approach also teaches us much about the state of the two parties in America today and makes a convincing case for why the voices of all women are needed in government. A must-read!" -- Melissa Deckman, author of Tea Party Women: Mama Grizzlies, Grassroots Leaders, and the Changing Face of the American Right"The Partisan Gap is a most comprehensive, insightful and historical exploration of partisanship and women’s quests for political office in the United States. Laurel Elder describes and explains the growth in the partisan gap in women’s election to state legislative and congressional office, with Democratic women advancing their numbers and representation while Republican women ‘s numbers have stagnated. This book expertly explains the structural forces that have reshaped the American party system resulting in this contemporary partisan gender gap." -- Barbara C. Burrell, author of The Women of 2018: The Pink Wave in the US House Elections ... and Its Legacy in 2020"In this book, Laurel Elder shines a light on a phenomenon that hasn’t received enough attention. Her meticulous documentation of the partisan gender gap in political representation establishes a new standard of scholarly excellence. It serves as a stark reminder of how much gender equality is hindered in the U.S. by the struggles of women to win elected office as members of the Republican Party." -- Brian Frederick, author of American Presidential Candidate Spouses: The Public’s Perspective"Elder’s careful analysis clarifies that the expansion of elected female Democrats is likely to be self-perpetuating and that Republicans are likely to continue electing men. An illuminating read for anyone concerned for the future of women in US electoral politics." -- T. Marchant-Shapiro, Southern Connecticut State University * Choice *

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Book SynopsisFrom the moment Captain America punched Hitler in the jaw, comic books have always been political, and whether it is Marvel''s chairman Ike Perlmutter making a campaign contribution to Donald Trump in 2016 or Marvel''s character Howard the Duck running for president during America''s bicentennial in 1976, the politics of comics have overlapped with the politics of campaigns and governance. Pop culture opens avenues for people to declare their participation in a collective project and helps them to shape their understandings of civic responsibility, leadership, communal history, and present concerns. Politics in the Gutters: American Politicians and Elections in Comic Book Media opens with an examination of campaign comic books used by the likes of Herbert Hoover and Harry S. Truman, follows the rise of political counterculture comix of the 1960s, and continues on to the graphic novel version of the 9/11 Report and the cottage industry of Sarah Palin comics. It ends with a considera

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Book SynopsisThis book highlights the role of Romani musical presence in Central and Eastern Europe, especially from Krakow in the Communist period, and argues that music can and should be treated as one of the main points of relation between Roma and non-Roma. It discusses Romani performers and the complexity of their situation as conditioned by the political situations starkly affected by the Communist regime, and then by its fall. Against this backdrop, the book engages with musician Stefan Dymiter (known as Corroro) as the leader of his own street band: unwelcome in the public space by the authorities, merely tolerated by others, but admired by many passers-by and respected by his peer Romain musicians and international music stars. It emphasizes the role of Romani musicians in Krakow in shaping the soundscape of the city while also demonstrating their collective and individual strategies to adapt to the new circumstances in terms of the preferred performative techniques, repertoire, and overalTrade ReviewPiotrowska devotes entire chapters to prized musicians and folk heroes that arose during this time. She uses their music and writing to guide their stories. Her photos of these musicians are captivating. * Lossi 36 *This is a highly significant contribution to the field of Romani music research. Its microhistorical focus on one European urban location at one particular time - Krakow during Communist rule - allows the author to reveal not just how complex (indeed, how polyphonic) but also how culturally strategic the daily activity of Romani musicians was in this context. Putting her personal familiarity with the city to good advantage, the author’s extensive research overcomes the hitherto scarce source material on Romani music-making in this period to provide herself, and us, with a richly detailed body of original material for discussion and analysis, in which the case-study of the virtuoso Romani busker Corroro in particular stands out. -- David Horn, joint editor of the Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the WorldAlready a noted authority on the presence of Romani practices in European art music since the eighteenth century, Anna G. Piotrowska now offers a richly textured, nuanced, and largely unfamiliar portrait of the Romani music making in her native Kraków under the Communist regime, contrasting the activities of the state-sponsored folkloric ensemble with those of the proliferating unofficial street bands, each devising its individual strategy of survival and each carving some independent space for itself under politically coercive circumstances. -- Karol Berger, Osgood Hooker Professor in Fine Arts, Emeritus, at the Department of Music, Stanford University, and author of Beyond Reason: Wagner contra Nietzsche (2017)A fascinating read. Well-informed and enriched by participant observation, Music, City, and the Roma Under Communism is a milestone in an interdisciplinary field, where ethnomusicology, popular music studies, oral history, and urban anthropology converge. Piotrowska’s book leads us in an investigation into the ideas of “pure” and “impure” music in Europe, where the latter is reappraised in light of the long struggle for visibility, recognition, and respect by the Romani. -- Paolo Prato, Lecturer in Italian Studies, John Cabot University, Rome, Italy, co-editor of Genres: Europe, Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World (Bloomsbury, 2017)Anna G. Piotrowska succeeds, with a brilliantly written study, to unfold the history of the Romani musicians of Kraków in a larger historical context by interrelating the Central and Eastern European developments of Roma music of cities like Vienna, Budapest and Bucharest. The main focus is on Lovara and Carpathian Romani musicians in Kraków, the cultural capital of Poland. The insight analysis of various voices is underscored by theoretical reflections on minorities in the urban environment of the communist regime from the post-war period until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. -- Max Peter Baumann, Emeritus Professor of Ethnomusicology at University of Würzburg, Germany, author of Musik im interkulturellen Kontext (2005)Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgment Prologue: In the Circle of the Official and Personal Memories Part I: City and Music 1.1. The Tradition of Music-Making in the Streets 1.2. Romani Music-Making in Central and Eastern Europe 1.3. Romani Musicians in the Cities: Vienna, Budapest and Bucharest Part II Roma and Communism 2.1. The Roma in Communistic Poland: The Case of Nowa Huta 2.2. Romani Musicians from Nowa Huta: Traditions versus New Expectations 2.3. Romani State-Supported Ensembles: On the example of ROMA from Kraków Part III The Story of Corroro 3.1. The Situation of Romani Buskers in Kraków: The Significance of the Late 1970s 3.2. The Case of Corroro: A Romani Virtuoso in Communistic Times 3.3. The Myth of a Disabled Genius Epilogue: Post-1989 Reality Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisExchange Ideologies documents the social world of Aleppo''s traders before the destruction of the city, exploring changing conceptions of commerce in Syria. Syria''s traders have been seen as embodying a timeless culture of the bazaar, or an ahistorical Islamic culture of trade. Other accounts portray them as venal figures, motivated only by profit, and commerce as a purely instrumental pursuit. Rejecting both approaches, Paul Anderson traces the diverse social structures, and notions of language, through which Aleppo''s merchants understood and construed commerce and the figure of the merchant during a period of economic liberalization in the 2000s. Rather than seeing these social structures and representations as expressions of a timeless bazaar culture, or as shaped only by Islamic tradition, Exchange Ideologies relates them to processes of politically managed economic liberalization and the Syrian regime''s attempts to ensure its own survival in the m

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Book SynopsisThis book offers the first critical engagement with the political economy of the Middle East and North Africa. Challenging conventional wisdom on the origins and contemporary dynamics of capitalism in the region, these cutting-edge essays demonstrate how critical political economy can illuminate both historical and contemporary dynamics of the region and contribute to wider political economy debates from the vantage point of the Middle East. Leading scholars, representing several disciplines, contribute both thematic and country-specific analyses. Their writings critically examine major issues in political economy—notably, the mutual constitution of states, markets, and classes; the co-constitution of class, race, gender, and other forms of identity; varying modes of capital accumulation and the legal, political, and cultural forms of their regulation; relations among local, national, and global forms of capital, class, and culture; technopolitics; the role of war in the constitution of states and classes; and practices and cultures of domination and resistance. Visit politicaleconomyproject.org for additional media and learning resources.Trade Review"A thorough and timely collection of essays by some of the top practitioners of Middle East political economy, this book lays bare the human insecurity that is at the root of much of the discontent in the region."—James Gelvin, University of California, Los Angeles"This new canonical text will open pathways for research and make the job of educators infinitely easier by reasserting the enduring value of political economy. For too long scholarship has been enchanted by the shibboleths of orientalism and modernization theory—now there is a better way. A tour de force synthesis."—Brandon Wolfe-Hunnicutt, California State University, StanislausTable of ContentsIntroduction —Joel Beinin 1. Landed Property, Capital Accumulation, and Polymorphous Capitalism: Egypt —Kristen Alff 2. State, Market, and Class: Egypt, Syria, and Tunisia —Max Ajl, Bassam Haddad, and Zeinab Abul-Magd 3. Ten Propositions on Oil —Timothy Mitchell 4. Regional Militaries and the Global Military-Industrial Complex —Shana Marshall 5. Rethinking Class and State in the Gulf Cooperation Council —Adam Hanieh 6. Capitalism in Egypt, Not Egyptian Capitalism —Aaron Jakes and Ahmad Shokr 7. State, Oil, and War in the Formation of Iraq —Nida Alahmad 8. Colonial Capitalism and Imperial Myth in French North Africa —Muriam Haleh Davis 9. Lebanon Beyond Exceptionalism —Ziad M. Abu-Rish 10. The US-Israeli Alliance —Joel Beinin 11. Repercussions of Colonialism in the Occupied Palestinian Territories —Samia Al-Botmeh

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Book SynopsisFrom the 1850s until the mid-twentieth century, a period marked by global conflicts and anxiety about dwindling resources and closing opportunities after decades of expansion, the frontier became a mirror for historically and geographically specific hopes and fears. From Asia to Europe and the Americas, countries around the world engaged with new interpretations of empire and the deployment of science and technology to aid frontier development in extreme environments. Through a century of political turmoil and war, China nevertheless is the only nation to successfully navigate the twentieth century with its imperial territorial expanse largely intact. In Birth of the Geopolitical Age, Shellen Xiao Wu demonstrates how global examples of frontier settlements refracted through China's unique history and informed the making of the modern Chinese state. Wu weaves a narrative that moves through time and space, the lives of individuals, and empires' rise and fall and rebirth, to show how the subsequent reshaping of Chinese geopolitical ambitions in the twentieth century, and the global transformation of frontiers into colonial laboratories, continues to reorder global power dynamics in East Asia and the wider world to this day.Trade Review"Wu's Birth of the Geopolitical Age is the most exciting study in the history of science, empire, and nation I have read in recent years. The book is brilliantly conceptualized, tracing the circulation and translation of geographical and agricultural sciences among the United States, Germany, Japan, and particularly China. Its central idea, geo-modernity, is an illuminating concept that will be widely referenced. Based on extensive research in multiple languages, Birth of the Geopolitical Age tells a rich narrative about a wide range of historical actors, institutions, and discourses. The book is a marvel of scholarly ambition, erudition, and compression. Despite its impressive scope, the narrative is exceptionally clear and readable. This superb book is a model study in global and comparative history. I can't wait to recommend it to every historian interested in the topic."—Fa-ti Fan, Binghamton University"By recounting the roles of academic disciplines and individual intellectuals in forming a spatial awareness of agricultural development and natural resource exploitation occurring in places distant from the corridors of power, Shellen Xiao Wu presents the pursuit of geopolitical power by economic and political elites through the construction of new forms of empire. Comparing and connecting her narrative of China's twentieth-century transformation with those in the U.S., Germany, and Japan, she offers a new global historical perspective on the emergence of China's contemporary importance."—R. Bin Wong, University of California, Los Angeles"Shellen Wu has written an eye-opening study that centers China in the history of expansion into the great inland spaces by the world powers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Readers will see the age of empire anew."—Charles S. Maier, Harvard UniversityTable of ContentsIntroduction: Why Empires Matter in the Age of the Nation-State 1. 1852 and the Afterlife of Revolutions 2. The Experimental Grounds of New Imperialism 3. In Search of New Frontiers 4. Versailles and the Birth of the Geopolitical Age 5. Rural Development and Its Discontents 6. The Devil's Handwriting 7. Cold War New Empires

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Book SynopsisBringing the study of international inequality back into the core of sociological theory, this book offers a user-friendly introduction to development and underdevelopment. In doing so, it places various approaches to the definition, measurement, and understanding of “development” against the backdrop of broader sociological debates. Schrank draws concrete examples from different regions and epochs to explore sociological thinking about development and underdevelopment informed by the latest currents in economic sociology. Across a series of chapters, he identifies relationships between mainstream and Marxist approaches to the study of international inequality; uses classical and contemporary social theory to develop a parsimonious typology of national development outcomes; addresses cross-border learning and diffusion in light of the latest developments in organization theory; considers the roles of religious, racial, and gender identities in the development process in different places and times; and portrays contemporary global challenges ‒ such as populism, pandemics, and climate change ‒ as distinctly sociological problems in need of multifaceted solutions. Enriched with expository figures, tables, and diagrams, this accessible book simultaneously distills and develops the sociological approach to the study of development and underdevelopment for both undergraduate and graduate students across the social sciences.Trade Review“Conventional economic and sociological explanations portray development as a struggle pitting people and countries against one another. Schrank pushes them aside to craft a fresh analysis of the structure and dynamics of the international economy and national development strategies. This accessible, erudite book stresses that development is both a sociocultural process and an economic and political one, showing students and scholars how future prospects for development can be viewed differently. An exciting contribution.”Woody Powell, Stanford University“Andrew Schrank surveys a kaleidoscope of influential concepts and theories while persuasively arguing for a distinctive economic sociology of development. This thorough, accessible book will be a valuable addition to both graduate and undergraduate courses, generating many stimulating class discussions.”Sarah Babb, Boston College

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Book SynopsisThe poor and working people in cities of the South find themselves in urban spaces that are conventionally construed as places to reside or inhabit. But what if we thought of popular districts in more expansive ways that capture what really goes on within them? In such cities, popular districts are the settings of more uncertain operations that take place under the cover of darkness, generating uncanny alliances among disparate bodies, materials and things and expanding the urban sensorium and its capacities for liveliness. In this important new book AbdouMaliq Simone explores the nature of these alliances, portraying urban districts as sites of enduring transformations through rhythms that mediate between the needs of residents not to draw too much attention to themselves and their aspirations to become a small niche of exception. Here we discover an urban South that exists as dense rhythms of endurance that turn out to be vital for survival, connectivity, and becoming.Trade Review“Here, urban worlds – metal scrap, unhinged concrete, electrical waste, slowdowns, and interruptions – emerge with and through secretive human connections. AbdouMaliq Simone narrates the urban as an aesthetics of promise, where the uninhabitable generates districts of improvising communities, collectively living-with, and unsettling, infrastructures of harm.”Katherine McKittrick, Queen's University, Ontario, Canada ‘A brilliant and innovative account of urban life, seen both as confined to place and at the same time enduring and generative, composed through the weaving together of different experiments, connections, gatherings and imaginaries. As ever in his work, Simone provides us with a unique perspective on the city, and a distinctive way of seeing urbanism and speculating on its social, economic and political potentials.’Colin McFarlane, Durham UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgements vi 1 The Uninhabitable 1 2 Ensemble Work 34 3 The Mechanics of Improvised Relations 59 4 Inscribing Sociality in the Dark: The Pragmatics of a Legible Home 89 5 The Politics of Peripheral Care 122 References 138 Index 147

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Book SynopsisIs it possible to abolish coercion and hierarchy and build a stateless, egalitarian social order based on non-domination? There is one political tradition that answers these questions with a resounding yes: anarchism. In this book, Carissa Honeywell offers an accessible introduction to major anarchist thinkers and principles, from Proudhon to Goldman, non-domination to prefiguration. She helps students understand the nature of anarchism by examining how its core ideas shape important contemporary social movements, thereby demonstrating how anarchist principles are relevant to modern political dilemmas connected to issues of conflict, justice and care. She argues that anarchism can play a central role in tackling our major global problems by helping us rethink the essentially militarist nature of our dominant ideas about human relationships and security. Dynamic, urgent, and engaging, this new introduction to anarchist thought will be of great interest to both students as well as thinkers and activists working to find solutions to the multiple crises of capitalist modernity.Trade Review“Why study anarchism? Carissa Honeywell’s answer is it enables us think differently and so reconfigure our social relationships. Deftly weaving canonical theory into contemporary responses to neoliberalism, she reveals how anarchists swop isolation and domination for solidarity and ecological flourishing.” Ruth Kinna, Loughborough University “This excellent book provides a clear, accessible, yet thorough and intellectually rigorous, introduction to anarchism as a concept while exploring its contemporary relevance.”Saul Newman, Goldsmiths, University of LondonTable of ContentsChapter 1 ‘The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas’Chapter 2 Freedom and AssociationChapter 3 Harm ReductionChapter 4 Until All Cages are EmptyChapter 5 Closing ThoughtsNotes

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Book SynopsisAt the heart of developed societies lies an insatiable drive for wealth and prosperity. Yet in a world ruled by free-market economics, there are always winners and losers. The benefits enjoyed by the privileged few come at the expense of the many. In this important new book, Stephan Lessenich shows how our wealth and affluence are built overwhelmingly at the expense of those in less-developed countries and regions of the world. His theory of ‘externalization’ demonstrates how the negative consequences of our lifestyles are directly transferred onto the world’s poorest. From the destruction of habitats caused by the massive increase in demand for soy and palm oil to the catastrophic impact of mining, Lessenich shows how the Global South has borne the brunt of our success. Yet, as we see from the mass movements of people across the world, we can no longer ignore the environmental and social toll of our prosperity. Lessenich’s highly original account of the structure and dynamics of global inequality highlights the devastating consequences of the affluent lifestyles of the West and reminds us of our far-reaching political responsibilities in an increasingly interconnected world.Trade Review‘A timely sociological explication of the meaning of globalization in the North: living well at the expense of others.’Göran Therborn, University of Cambridge, author of Cities of Power and The Killing Fields of Inequality ‘Lessenich, a leading German sociologist, has written an important new book on the dynamics of global inequality. His compelling and convincing theory of “externalization” illuminates how the affluent lifestyles and over-consumption of the rich few in the Global North exact their tolls outside its borders – at the expense of the many more in the Global South. This interconnection is not “natural” or “inevitable” but built into the very architecture of the world economy. That it is seemingly invisible to the wealthy birthright winners challenges our moral responsibilities to those left behind.’Timothy Patrick Moran, co-author of Unveiling Inequality: A World-Historical Perspective “A disturbing evaluation of global inequality, both a sociological analysis and a moral plea. Lessenich points to an uncomfortable truth in reminding us that the wealth of the few is not merely the result of hard work or economic productivity, but rests decisively on their strategic position in the global economy.” Deutschlandfunk“Stephan Lessenich confronts us with a reality we would prefer to ignore, one that will either force us to change the way we live or weigh on our consciences if we don’t.”Frankfurter Rundschau“This book may make for troubling reading as it sweeps away our illusions, yet at the same time it provides much-needed clarity on key issues. One of the most important books this year.”Süddeutsche Zeitung“Sets out boldly to confront forgetting”Times Higher Education 'This important book, by pointing to the deep and systemic nature of our current malaise, might just move us towards the collective, and empathic, action required [for a more just and environmentally sustainable world]. There really is no “us” and “them” any more.'The Irish Times 'Living Well at Others’ Expense unveils the social dynamics of the global village as a “zero-sum game”. The high living standards of some are only sustainable through the suffering and degradation of most others.'Resurgence & Ecologist

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Book SynopsisIt was not until 1961 that Foucault published his first major book, History of Madness. He had already been working as an academic for a decade, teaching in Lille and Paris, writing, organizing cultural programmes and lecturing in Uppsala, Warsaw and Hamburg. Although he published little in this period, Foucault wrote much more, some of which has been preserved and only recently become available to researchers. Drawing on archives in France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and the USA, this is the most detailed study yet of Foucault’s early career. It recounts his debt to teachers including Louis Althusser, Jean Hyppolite, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Jean Wahl; his diploma thesis on Hegel; and his early teaching career. It explores his initial encounters with Georges Canguilhem, Jacques Lacan, and Georges Dumézil, and analyses his sustained reading of Friedrich Nietzsche, Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger. Also included are detailed discussions of his translations of Ludwig Binswanger, Victor von Weizsäcker, and Immanuel Kant; his clinical work with Georges and Jacqueline Verdeaux; and his cultural work outside of France. Investigating how Foucault came to write History of Madness, Stuart Elden shows this great thinker’s deep engagement with phenomenology, anthropology and psychology. An outstanding, meticulous work of intellectual history, The Early Foucault sheds new light on the formation of a major twentieth-century figure.Trade Review‘Elden’s compendious coverage of Foucault’s intellectual career constitutes the contemporary apogee of scholarship on Foucault.’Mark G. E. Kelly, Western Sydney University ‘This is a work of immense scholarship. Stuart Elden provides a wealth of contextual information on Foucault’s less familiar early career.’Clare O’Farrell, Queensland University of Technology‘Stuart Elden’s comprehensive, finely crafted investigation of the early Foucault is much more than a contribution to Foucault studies. It's an exemplary guide to writing intellectual history.’Michael J. Shapiro, University of Hawai'i, ManoaTable of ContentsAcknowledgementsAbbreviations and Archival ReferencesIntroduction1. Studying Philosophy and Psychology in Paris2. Teaching at Lille and the École Normale Supérieure 3. Psychology and Mental Illness 4. Translating Binswanger and von Weizsäcker 5. Nietzsche and Heidegger 6. Madness – Uppsala to Warsaw7. Hamburg, Kant8. Defence, Publication, Reception, RevisionCoda: Towards ArchaeologyNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisChildren’s rights appear universal, inalienable, and indivisible, intended to advance young people’s interests. Yet, in practice, evidence suggests the contrary: the international framework of treaties, procedures, and national policies contains fundamental contradictions that weaken commitments to children’s real-world protections. Brian Gran helps us understand what is at stake when children’s rights are compromised. This insightful text grounds readers in core theories and key data about children’s legal entitlements. The chapters tackle central questions about what rights accrue to young people, whether they advance equality, and how they influence children’s identities, freedoms, and societal participation. Ultimately, this book shows how current frameworks hinder young people from possessing and benefiting from human rights, arguing that they function as cynical invitations to question whether we truly believe children are endowed with human rights. The Sociology of Children’s Rights offers a critical and accessible introduction to understanding a complex issue in the contemporary world, and is a compelling read for students and researchers concerned with human rights in sociology, political science, law, social work, and childhood studies.Trade Review“From whatever discipline the reader approaches this topic, they will come away with a much deeper understanding of the necessity of centering and defending children's rights in a range of aspects beyond the well-rehearsed western domains.”Social Forces“Gran's book makes an important contribution […]. This is an insightful, clearly-written and timely book that will benefit scholars, practitioners and students in the fields of human rights, sociology and law.”The International Journal of Children's Rights“I am a great admirer of Brian Gran's work. He has shown more understanding of children’s rights on an international level than any other professional I have worked with. This book will be a significant contribution to the area of children's rights.”Margrét María Sigurðardóttir, Ombudsman for Children in Iceland “A fantastic topic and beautifully written book. With the US withdrawing from the UN Human Rights Council and the World Health Organization, books like this one take on special significance. Aren't we fortunate to have Brian Gran who bridges law, political science, sociology, and human rights!”Judith Blau, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill “a thorough, yet provocative, primer on how we as societies ‘do’ children’s rights. […] The Sociology of Children’s Rights will interest and enlighten students.”International Journal of Law, Policy and The FamilyTable of ContentsIntroduction 1 What Are Children's Rights? 2 Institutions and Children's Rights 3 Children's Political Rights 4 Meanings of Children's Rights 5 What Do Children's Rights Do? What Children's Rights Are Missing? 6 What Is Right with Children's Rights? Appendix​

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Book SynopsisFrance is the most-visited country in the world. It attracts millions of tourists, most of whom come in search of beautiful architecture, good food, and fine art. But appearances can be deceptive. France is not only a place of culture and glamour; it also carries the bitter memories of violence, division and broken promises.In this arresting book, Emile Chabal, a leading specialist of contemporary France, tells the story of a paradoxical country. From the calamitous defeat by Hitler's armies in 1940 to the spectacular gilets jaunes protests, he explores the contradictions that have shaped French history over the last eighty years. The picture that emerges is one of a nation struggling to reconcile its core political values with the realities of a diverse society.Listen to the author talk about the book with Roxanne Panchasi on the New Books Network PodcastTrade Review'A refreshing and tightly written introduction to France’s recent history.'Arthur Asseraf, University of Cambridge 'In this highly polished introduction to contemporary France, Chabal combines a keen eye for detail with an admirable capacity for vivid narration and analytical generalisation. His focus on France’s modern paradoxes offers a stimulating and enjoyable point of entry into the ongoing fractures of its contemporary social and political life.'Sudhir Hazareesingh, Oxford University 'This superb analysis of how France’s current struggles--over diversity, state authority, the EU, and much else--emerged from its history since 1940 will enthrall newcomers to the subject and experts alike. A major achievement.'Herrick Chapman, New York University 'Superb… upon finishing Chabal’s France one comes away feeling that few authors could have compressed more pertinent discussion into so few pages. It is a truly remarkable book.'Art Goldhammer, Tocqueville 21'Emile Chabal's text has the great benefit of clarifying and offering up new perspectives on familiar issues... [his] reading of some of the questions posed to and by the French people is particularly stimulating in the way that it highlights the gap between a republican language that saturates the public sphere, and the political and social dynamics that have repeatedly forced it to adapt.'Emmanuel Jousse, Tocqueville 21 'The reader would be hard pressed to find a better introduction and guide to contemporary France.'Mark Thompson, History: Review of New Books'The reader will finish this synthetic, concise, and theoretically rich book armed with a narrative of French history since 1940, with an excellent list for further reading, with a snapshot of current debates in French studies and, perhaps most important, with a method to explore and explain events in France’s past, present, and future.'Evan Spritzer, Modern & Contemporary France'[D]eceptively easy to read and it makes difficult concepts accessible.'Minayo Nasiali, Modern & Contemporary France '[A] remarkable feat…. For those readers with little or no knowledge of modern and contemporary France, the book will provide an earnest and critical overview; for more knowledgeable readers there is still much to be gained from examining the multiple contradictions inherent in French society.'David Lees, Modern & Contemporary France 'manages the rare feat of combining sparkling prose with in-depth and lucid analysis of French history in the eighty years since the fall of France stunned the world…'Alice L. Conklin, H-France Review 'Whose Republic? Whose citizenship? Whose France? Such questions animate this well conceived book with its elegant and perspicacious review of key debates in French culture, politics, and society. This enjoyable survey will stimulate debate for expert readers, while also enlightening student audiences, and each chapter could easily form the basis for a lively discussion seminar.'Andrew W.M. Smith, French StudiesTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Maps Chronology Introduction: A paradoxical nation 1. Defeat and resistance 2. Colonialism and anti-colonialism 3. Grandeur and decline 4. Left and right 5. The Republic and its discontents 6. Local citizens in a global state Conclusion: An uncertain future Further reading Index

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Book SynopsisHow do Americans think about foundational political questions? Covering the full span of U.S. history, American Political Thought: An Invitation offers a lively yet sophisticated overview of the nature and dynamics of American Political Thought for students and general readers alike. Award-winning scholar Ken Kersch’s engaging introduction situates the key debates in their historical, political and cultural context. He introduces the touchstone frameworks and ideas that are both deeply ingrained and yet have been actively re-made in a country that has spent 250 years of shifting circumstances battling over their real-world implications. Covering thinkers ranging from Jefferson to Rawls, Du Bois to Audre Lorde, he examines the ambiguities of the purportedly ‘consensus’ American principles of liberty, equality, and democracy as well as addressing questions ranging from ‘What are the foundations of a legitimate political order?’ and ‘What is the appropriate role of government?’ to ‘What are the appropriate terms of full civic membership ?’ - and beyond. Politically balanced and inclusive, American Political Thought introduces the contested terrain concerning these core political questions as they were raised over the course of the USA’s often dramatic history.Trade Review"Ken Kersch manages to showcase the complexity and diversity of American political thought in a way that students and others will find easy to understand. He helps us understand the American past, realize how that past connects to the present, and imagine the possibilities for an American future. He asks fundamental questions about American politics and then makes it possible for readers to come up with their own informed answers."Susan McWilliams Barndt, Chair and Professor, Pomona College Politics Department Co-Editor, American Political Thought “Scholars and educators have long needed a fresh analysis of the development of American political thought. Drawing on his deep knowledge of the diversity of American perspectives and experiences, Ken Kersch has met that need. His account of American political thought as a tradition of contention over who does and who should wield power superbly illuminates America’s past and our deeply contentious present—in ways that can benefit our future.”Rogers M. Smith, Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania

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Book SynopsisRacism, extremism, anti-democratic sentiment – our increasingly polarized world is dominated by a type of thinking that doubts others’ positions but never its own. In a powerful challenge to fundamentalism in all its forms, Carolin Emcke, one of Germany’s leading intellectuals, argues that we can only preserve individual freedom and protect people’s rights by cherishing and celebrating diversity. If we want to safeguard democracy, we must have the courage to challenge hatred and the will to fight for and defend plurality in our societies. Emcke rises to the challenge that identitarian dogmas and populist narratives pose, exposing the way in which they simplify and distort our perception of the world. Against Hate is an impassioned call to fight intolerance and defend liberal ideals. It will be of great interest to anyone concerned about the darkening politics of our time and searching for ways forward.Trade Review‘With exemplary lucidity, passion and brevity, Carolin Emcke anatomizes a toxic political emotion – and the many insidious, even benign, forms it increasingly assumes in public life. Against Hate is an urgent and necessary book, and all those who seek a way out of our current impasse should read it.’Pankaj Mishra ‘At a time when, all over the globe, groups have mobilized around hatred of strangers, foreigners, migrants and refugees, Emcke analyses with subtlety and psychological precision the hearts and minds of those who hate. A must-read book for our times.’Seyla Benhabib, Yale University ‘Against Hate is a heartfelt and powerful argument for the defence of a democratic, pluralist society that not only tolerates but also welcomes otherness. There’s no mistaking its timeliness.’ John Foster, Medium Table of ContentsForeword 1. Visible, Invisible Love Hope Worry Hatred and Contempt, Part 1: Group-focused Hostility (Clausnitz, Saxony) Hatred and Contempt, Part 2: Institutional Racism (Staten Island, New York) 2. Homogeneous – Natural – Pure Homogeneous Original, Natural Pure 3. In Praise of the Impure Postscript Notes

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Book SynopsisHarshly exploited migrant labour plays a fundamental role in the political economy of contemporary capitalism. The abstract and utopian theorising of many liberals and leftists on the migration question often ignores or downplays patterns of displacement and brutal class dynamics, which divide and weaken working people while empowering the ruling class. In this important new book, Hannah Cross provides a sober analysis of the class antagonisms of migration in the context of the nation, social democracy, and the racialized ordering of the world. Bringing Marxist methodology and strategy to a careful analysis of existing emancipatory movements, she sets out the programmes and approaches that are needed to promote global worker solidarity and create a future in which cheap labour is no longer a mainstay of wealthy economies. This focus on the labouring classes allows her to identify some important new directions for migration in a world beyond capitalism, exploitation and injustice. This book will be essential reading for students, scholars and general readers interested in the politics and political economy of migration in a world unhelpfully caught between racist authoritarian capitalism and the wishful-thinking of contemporary left-liberalism.Trade Review“Rooting her approach in the classical Marxist tradition, Hannah Cross provides an original critique of, and alternative to, much leftist and liberal thinking on the political economy of migration into core capitalist countries. Essential reading for all progressives.”Ben Selwyn, University of Sussex “A powerful and original analysis of migration's place in contemporary capitalism. Engaging with an impressive range of leftist debates and authors – both present and past – Cross pushes us to think in new ways about borders, internationalism and class. A much-needed contribution to both Marxism and the literature on migration, and essential reading for those seeking to build a better future.”Adam Hanieh, SOAS, University of London“While the post-materialist and nationalist views on migration are both symptomatic of a left that has resigned itself to the established order, Cross’s analysis points towards the possibility of an independent left position. This left is not content with letting others set the terms of the debate, but is actively building an alternative to the non-choices the ruling class throws at us. This makes Cross’s perspective invaluable for the struggles ahead.”Counterfire “Cross’ approach provides a much-needed reorientation on the discussion around migration. By doing so, Cross effectively demonstrates why an internationalist working-class response is the key to defeating neoliberal power and creating a new world.”Review of African Political Economy “Migration Beyond Capitalism rescues an undoubtedly critical question for the twentieth-first century: the consequences of neoliberal politics over the displacement of the working class throughout the world and, more specifically, the movement from the Global South towards the North.”Marx & Philosophy Review of Books

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Book SynopsisWinner of the 2020 Pushkin House Book Prize Russia’s relationship with its neighbours and with the West has worsened dramatically in recent years. Under Vladimir Putin's leadership, the country has annexed Crimea, begun a war in Eastern Ukraine, used chemical weapons on the streets of the UK and created an army of Internet trolls to meddle in the US presidential elections. How should we understand this apparent relapse into aggressive imperialism and militarism? In this book, Sergei Medvedev argues that this new wave of Russian nationalism is the result of mentalities that have long been embedded within the Russian psyche. Whereas in the West, the turbulent social changes of the 1960s and a rising awareness of the legacy of colonialism have modernized attitudes, Russia has been stymied by an enduring sense of superiority over its neighbours alongside a painful nostalgia for empire. It is this infantilized and irrational worldview that Putin and others have exploited, as seen most clearly in Russia’s recent foreign policy decisions, including the annexation of Crimea. This sharp and insightful book, full of irony and humour, shows how the archaic forces of imperial revanchism have been brought back to life, shaking Russian society and threatening the outside world. It will be of great interest to anyone trying to understand the forces shaping Russian politics and society today.Trade Review‘This is the best treatise on contemporary Russia since John Reed’s pamphlet that shook the world one hundred years ago. Moving from the endangered Arctic to the occupied Crimea and from the politics of the body to memory wars, Medvedev reveals a political machine based on vanity, manipulation and fear of its own people. Broad-ranging in scope and mind-blowing in details, this book is a must for everyone who is concerned about Russia’s present and future.’Alexander Etkind, author of Internal Colonization: Russia’s Imperial Experience ‘Is Putin’s regime a Russian peculiarity or is it simply the Russian version of a global trend? Was it inevitable or was it accidental? If you are worried by these questions, read this passionately analytical book.’Ivan Krastev, Chairman, Centre for Liberal Strategies, Sofia ‘While there are many books about President Vladimir Putin’s Russia, there are few that nail its realities with the same combination of academic precision, acerbic wit and anger as this. Well-researched analysis might be expected of a professor of Moscow’s Higher School of Economics, but not necessarily the humour and passion that run through the striking work.’The Financial Times‘Medvedev's portrait of Russia is brilliant, wry and minutely observed -- and, like its title, often bitterly ironic.’Times Literary Supplement ‘acerbic and splendidly argumentative... dazzling.’New Internationalist"As a portrait of the cultural moment and debunking of the Kremlin’s talking points, [this] book is brilliant."Los Angeles Review of Books"A more astute, knowledgeable and eloquent guide is hard to imagine. Steeped in Russian culture and history, Mr. Medvedev is witty and sardonic in the laughter-through-tears (smekh skvoz slyozy) tradition of Russian literature. He draws on political sociology, linguistics and social psychology, yet his prose, even in translation, is sparkling."The Wall Street Journal"Professor Medvedev’s analyses will interest scholars of Russia, comparativists and international relations scholars, policy specialists, and laypersons."Terrorism and Political Violence “This book provides an explicit and composite picture of a society; the mindset of the leaders and the led; and an intimation of the future for the nation, should its governance continue its present path.”The Naval Review"[A]n illuminating and at times brilliant series of short essays on different aspects on Russian life."PRISM“a tour de force that leaves the reader open-mouthed at its sweep”Rights in Russia"darkly absorbing"The Tangential"a fascinating trip through contemporary Russia… With a brilliant analysis of Russian contemporary society and an insightful depiction of its political regime, the book is a must to anyone who is willing to grasp Russia’s recent conservative wave."ConnexeTable of ContentsPreface to the English Edition Part One: THE WAR FOR SPACE Sovereign Territory…with No Roads The Smoke of the Fatherland Sacred Ice Crimea as a Territory of the Subconscious Drum Solo Jihad in Donetsk Global Biryulyovo Seduced by Geopolitics Profession: Invader Noughts and Crosses The War with Pokémon Kremlin Firewall A Sovereignty Full of Holes Part Two: THE WAR FOR SYMBOLS The State’s Game Reserve The Elite Avenue…to Death An Ode to Shuvalov’s Dogs Missile Mania Tank Invasion Purveyors of Threats Churchill Dreamt It All Up A Racketeer with Rockets The Torch Procession Olympic Schizophrenia The Thugs’ Game The Sovereign from the Back-Streets of St Petersburg Putinism and Questions of Linguistics War of the Avatars Part Three: THE WAR FOR THE BODY Punitive Hygiene The King’s Body The Condom as a Sign of Protest The Protocols of the Elders of Sodom Test for Homophobia The ‘Miss Prison’ Contest Breaking ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ The Politics of the Female Body A 4-by-4 as a Teaching Aid A Russian Potlatch A Requiem for Roquefort The Land of Abandoned Children The Amputation of Conscience The Fiasco of ‘Operation Sochi’ Part Four: THE WAR FOR MEMORY Hysterical Revisionism The Holiday of 5 March The Oblomov and the Stoltz of Soviet Power A Bear of a Man Maidan in Moscow A Holiday without Tears Waltz of the Urals Chekists The Return of the Ghosts Tyrants Destroyed Russian Resentment The Flower Revolution Who’s Afraid of Svetlana Alexievich? The Private Nuremberg of Denis Karagodin The Battle at the River Iset Constitution Day Glossary and List of Abbreviations Notes

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Book SynopsisNow in its fourth edition, Civil Society has become a major work of reference for those who seek to understand the role of voluntary citizen action in a troubled world. Recent economic and political developments do not bode well for the theory and practice of civil society: communities are increasingly divided; inequality is on the rise; authoritarians and populists have gained a foothold even in advanced democracies; restrictions on freedom of speech and association are increasingly common and recent scandals have even reduced trust in charities. Worryingly, public spheres seem incapable of addressing these concerns. Yet, as Michael Edwards makes clear, ideas about the civil sphere can shed much light on what is happening, why, and how we might respond to polarization, privatization, and authoritarians of various stripes. Fully updated to take account of recent work on digital culture, democracy, and philanthropy, Civil Society will be required reading for anyone who is interested in creating a better world through voluntary citizen action.Trade Review"Michael Edwards' book may serve as a revitalizing factor for global citizens in taking initiatives on how to respond to some major illnesses of nowadays’ societies: authoritarianism, populism, lack of solidarity or distrust and fear from the other."Progress in Development Studies“All over the world, political systems are paralyzed by incompetence, polarization, and authoritarianism. Can voluntary organizations, engaged citizens, and intermediate associations rescue democratic participation and oversight? Michael Edwards’s book provides essential guidelines for understanding the revitalizing possibilities of civil society.”John Ehrenberg, Long Island University “This significantly updated edition provides an authoritative account of the contemporary complex relevance of civil society for the future of participatory democracy. Lucidly conceptualized and fluently written, this is required reading for twenty-first-century citizens of conscience.”Richard Falk, University of California, Santa Barbara, former United Nations Special Rapporteur“Edwards calls for more efforts to revitalise the emancipatory potential of civil society. […T]here is every reason to be sanguine about the need to have more civil society than to have less of it. This is a very necessary book.”Institutions and Economies“[A] key introduction to the concept of civil society and its different roles across countries […] relevant to a wide range of audiences, including advanced undergraduates becoming familiar with the idea of civil society, graduate students looking for a summary and assessment of key academic debates on the topic, and nonprofit leaders wanting to reflect on the overall roles played and challenges faced by their organizations and the sector.”Hans Peter Schmitz, Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership​“Civil Society remains a core reading in the field; the way it condenses the major landmarks of the literature makes it an essential in any syllabus aimed to introduce new scholars to the major theoretical developments in this area and to the challenges that the 'lived experience' of civil society imposes on said theory.” Lina Ochoa, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly "The author has not only captured the essential questions of our time (i.e., populism, polarization, privatization and bureaucratization) […] but has also confronted issues that will be only more central and relevant to the world society throughout the 21st century."Progress in Development StudiesTable of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments 1 Introduction – What’s the Big Idea? 2 Civil Society as Associational Life 3 Civil Society as the Good Society 4 Civil Society as the Public Sphere 5 Synthesis – How Do the Different Models of Civil Society Fit Together? 6 Action – So What’s to be Done? Notes References and Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisOur broken economic model drives inequality and disempowerment, lining the pockets of corporations while extracting wealth from local communities. How can we reverse this? Joe Guinan and Martin O’Neill argue for an approach that uses the power of democratic participation to drive equitable development and ensure that wealth is widely shared. They show how this model – Community Wealth Building – can transform our economic system by creating a web of collaborative institutions, from worker cooperatives to community land trusts and public banks, that empower and enrich the many, not the few. This book is essential reading for everyone interested in building more equal, inclusive, and democratic societies.Trade Review‘A new approach to economics is needed to tackle grotesque inequalities of wealth and power. Community Wealth Building offers a way for communities to confront corporate power and build a more equal and democratic economy. In this book Joe Guinan and Martin O’Neill show what inspiring action is already happening on the ground and point beyond to what is possible.’Jeremy Corbyn MP, Leader of the Labour Party ‘Change is coming, and another world is not just possible but already within reach. Joe Guinan and Martin O’Neill show how Community Wealth Building approaches can allow every community in the country to play their part in building a new economy from the ground up.’John McDonnell MP, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer ‘Joe Guinan and Martin O’Neill present a compelling vision of a more just, democratic economy in which wealth and power are more fairly shared. This book should be read by anyone who believes that a different economic order is possible and wants to know how we start to make it happen.’Ed Miliband, MP for Doncaster North and former Leader of the Labour Party ‘If you want to make the city where you live more equal and more democratic, this is the book for you. It shows what local government, institutions, and people can do to create a better world – even without the support of central government. It is at once both practical and inspiring.’Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, authors of The Spirit Level and The Inner Level ‘The Case for Community Wealth Building is an essential guide to a new and devolved economic movement that challenges forty years of neoliberalism and austerity. It articulates real progress towards a transformed and democratic economy.’Councillor Matthew Brown, Leader of Preston City Council Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgements Introduction Economic Change, Starting at the Local Level Chapter One What is Community Wealth Building? Chapter Two Taking Control: Arguing for Community Wealth Building Chapter Three Community Wealth Building and the Institutional Turn: Routes to a Democratic Economy Further Reading and Resources for Action Notes

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Book SynopsisPolitical science emerged as a response to the challenges of imperial administration and the demands of colonial rule. While not all political scientists were colonial cheerleaders, their thinking was nevertheless framed by colonial assumptions that influence the study of politics to this day. This book offers students a lens through which to decolonize the main themes and issues of political science - from human nature, rights, and citizenship, to development and global justice. Not content with revealing the colonial legacies that still inform the discipline, the book also introduces students to a wide range of intellectual resources from the (post)colonial world that will help them think through the same themes and issues more expansively. Decolonizing Politics is a much-needed critical guide for students of political science. It shifts the study of political science from the centers of power to its margins, where the majority of humanity lives. Ultimately, the book argues that those who occupy the margins are not powerless. Rather, marginal positions might afford a deeper understanding of politics than can be provided by mainstream approaches.​Trade Review"Decolonizing Politics is a necessary book as it peels back the Western assumptions about politics and political life. This is a vital text for all students of political studies."—Anthony Bogues, Brown University "This is the kind of book that unlocks doors in people's minds. Most of all, it brings new energy to the urgent quest, the world over, to challenge Western dominance of the social sciences and humanities."—Amy Niang, University of the Witwatersrand &"In Decolonizing Politics, Shilliam provides a brilliant, erudite but also accessible and enjoyable guide to how to de-center the production of our knowledge about politics. This is a 'must read' for all students of Political Science, Political Theory and International Relations."—Kimberly Hutchings, Queen Mary University of London "Written with spunk and verve, this book is the refreshing and exciting introduction that the discipline of political science has been waiting for! While revealing the imperial, racial, gendered, and class hierarchies that shaped the intellectual roots of the discipline’s core subfields and organizing concepts, the book introduces readers to anticolonial thinkers from the margins and borderlands, who offer compelling alternative routes to reimagining the human, the citizen, the path to development, and the causes of war and peace."—Catherine Lu, McGill University "This is a vital text for anyone committed to teaching Politics with honesty and rigour. Shilliam re-engages faithfully with canonical figures, such as Kant and Aristotle, confronting the constitutive dehumanising exclusions which have since been airbrushed from their theories, before introducing routes to repair by way of thinkers, such as Wynter and Anzaldúa, who imagine humanity without exclusions."—Lisa Tilley, Birkbeck, University of London "Political Science needs to be decolonized and Robbie Shilliam has done it. Crisp, clear and accessible, this book exceeds the ambition of a conventional textbook by developing and applying a decolonial method of reading across the discipline's subfields."—David L. Blaney, Macalester College "In Decolonizing Politics, Robbie Shilliam challenges Political Science to critically examine the colonial and racist logics at the foundations of the discipline. It may be an introductory text aimed at undergraduates, but I wish all mainstream political scientists dared to engage with its premise."—Times Higher Education "A valuable contribution to academic life."—Ethnic and Racial Studies "Decolonizing Politics critiques the colonial logics of four subfields of political science and reimagines each from its margins. Each chapter revolves around a theme that illuminates the history of imperiasl power and colonial rule in that part of the discipline."—International AffairsTable of Contents1. Introduction 2. Political Theory 3. Political Behavior 4. Comparative Politics 5. International Relations 6. Conclusion Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThere are few issues more contentious today than the nature and purpose of borders. Migration flows and the refugee crisis have propelled the issue of borders into the centre of political debate and revealed our moral unease more clearly than ever. Who are we to deny others access to our territory? Is not freedom of movement a basic human right, one that should be defended above all others? In this book Paul Scheffer takes a different view. Rather than thinking of borders as obstacles to freedom, he argues that borders make freedom possible. Democracy and redistributive justice are only possible with the regulation of access to territories and rights. When liberals ignore an open society’s need for borders, people with authoritarian inclinations will begin to erect them. In the context of Europe, the project of removing internal borders can therefore only be successful if Europe accepts responsibility for its external border. This timely and important book challenges conventional ways of thinking and will be of interest to everyone concerned with the great social and political issues of our time.Trade Review“Paul Scheffer is one of Europe’s most important thinkers and after Immigrant Nations it is a blessing to have another of his books in English translation. He excavates the tension between openness and identity with subtly and humanity. He explores, like few others, the light and shade of our more fragmented and diverse societies: the mingling and enrichment alongside the alienation and inequality. Above all, he recognises that embracing the benign necessity of borders is the best way of preventing them becoming walls and thus preserving our open societies.”David Goodhart, author of The Road to Somewhere: The New Tribes Shaping British Politics “You don’t have to agree with everything Paul Scheffer says to admire the way he says it. His book is fair-minded, probing, important, enlightening, and stylish. His arguments should be taken seriously by anyone interested in the problems of today’s troubled world.”Ian Buruma, writer and professor at Bard CollegeTable of ContentsTable of contents:Acknowledgements Introduction: Exploring boundaries I. The value of proximity Discovery of the world citizen Tartars in the suburbs The revenge of geography The digital shadow II. An age of migration The citizenship bonus The exodus and our conscience The critical limits reconsidered The return of the caliphate III. The state of Europe After the Pax Americana A hidden vitality Scenarios for the Union A compulsion to grand politics Notes Bibliography Index

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Book Synopsis The birth of democracies owes much to the interventions and mobilizations of ordinary people. Yet many feel as though they have inherited democratic institutions which do not deliver for the people – that a rigid democratic process has been imposed from above, with increasing numbers of people feeling left out or left behind. In this well-researched volume, leading political sociologist Donatella della Porta rehabilitates the role social movements have long played in fostering and deepening democracy, particularly focusing on progressive movements of the Left which have sought to broaden the plurality of voices and knowledge in democratic debate. Bridging social movement studies and democratic theory, della Porta investigates contemporary innovations in times of crisis, particularly those in the direction of participatory and deliberative practices – ‘crowd-sourced constitutions’, referendums from below and movement parties – and reflects on the potential and limits of such alternative politics. In a moment in which concerns increase for the potential disruption of a Great Regression led by xenophobic movements and parties, the cases and analyses of resistance in this volume offer important material for students and scholars of political sociology, political science and social movement studies.Trade Review"The biggest contribution of How Social Movements Can Save Democracy is opening a reconfiguration of social movements as actors within institutional or formal politics."LSE Review of Books"If our democracies don't improve, they may not survive. In turn, democratic innovation requires progressive social movements that champion and sustain changes to the rules by which we govern ourselves. Donatella della Porta makes clearer precisely how movement politics can fuel civic reforms to make democratic systems more worthy of that name."John Gastill, Pennsylvania State University"With characteristic insight, Donatella della Porta argues we need to look at those cases where progressive social movements have democratized our institutions. No longer “strangers at the gate,” perhaps interested in policy outcomes, social movements have intervened into matters of procedure. They have been key protagonists in innovating democratic institutions to make them deeper, more meaningful, and more participatory. Drawing on a rich and long-standing research program, the book covers fascinating cases as diverse as crowd-sourced constitutionalism in Iceland and movement-parties in Spain and Bolivia, among others. The research is clear-eyed and nuanced, and the analysis unafraid to point to both limits and potentials. This is an extremely important and needed book by one of today’s key thinkers on democracy and a poignant rejoinder to those who have responded to the democratic crisis with elitism."Gianpaolo Baiocchi, New York University "This book combines two of della Porta’s many intellectual interests – progressive social movements and democratic theory. She shows how, in this moment of serious threat to democracy, movements go beyond street politics to invent new and innovative performances. These, she argues, can enrich both democratic discourse and practice. An engaging read by one of Europe’s leading scholars of contentious politics."Sidney Tarrow, Cornell University, author of Power in MovementTable of ContentsAcknowledgments1. Democratic Innovations and Social Movements2. Crowd-Sourced Constitutionalism: Social Movements in the Constitutional Process3. Referendums from Below: Direct Democracy and Social Movements4. Movement Parties in the Great Recession5. Progressive Movements and Democratic Innovations: Some ConclusionsBibliography

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Book SynopsisOne of the most enduring ideas in economics is that unemployment is both unavoidable and necessary for the smooth functioning of the economy. This assumption has provided cover for the devastating social and economic costs of job insecurity. It is also false. In this book, leading expert Pavlina R. Tcherneva challenges us to imagine a world where the phantom of unemployment is banished and anyone who seeks decent, living-wage work can find it - guaranteed. This is the aim of the Job Guarantee proposal: to provide a voluntary employment opportunity in public service to anyone who needs it. Tcherneva enumerates the many advantages of the Job Guarantee over the status quo and proposes a blueprint for its implementation within the wider context of the need for a Green New Deal. This compact primer is the ultimate guide to the benefits of one of the most transformative public policies being discussed today. It is essential reading for all citizens and activists who are passionate about social justice and building a fairer economy.Trade Review"The Job Guarantee is the next big, common-sense idea for economic reform. Over years of dedicated work, Pavlina Tcherneva has developed and advanced the plan, and today it stands poised to complement the Green New Deal and Medicare for All as a fundamental pillar of the progressive agenda. Read about it here... and go out to help make it happen."—James K. Galbraith, The University of Texas at Austin "More than any other piece of public policy, the Job Guarantee can help us build a more equitable economy and just society. Pavlina Tcherneva has written the perfect primer for anyone interested in understanding why and how the Job Guarantee can do so much good."—Ady Barkan, Activist and organizer and author of Eyes to the Wind "Pavlina Tcherneva offers an eloquent and convincing argument for a public sector job guarantee as an economic shock absorber. Particularly valuable is her demonstration of how such a program can revitalise local communities. Beyond this, her book is an indispensable primer for advocates of a Green New Deal."—Robert Skidelsky "Tcherneva lays out the case for how we can raise the roof by lifting the floor, as we transition away from a failed and cruel economy based on an assumed percentage of unemployment. She demonstrates how a jobs guarantee can help address some of our biggest challenges, including bridging the gap to a Green New Deal and the critical conversion from a fossil-fuel economy to a sustainable future. Through her book we can see a world where everyone who wants to claim the dignity of work as their own has that right."—Sara Nelson, International President, Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIOTable of ContentsAcknowledgementsIntroduction1. A Public Option for Good Jobs2. A Steep Price for a Broken Status Quo3. The Job Guarantee: A New Social Contract and Macroeconomic Model4. But How Will You Pay for It?5. What, Where and How: Jobs, Design, and Implementation6. The Job Guarantee, the Green New Deal, and BeyondNotes

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Book SynopsisThe Scottish nationalists seek to end the United Kingdom after 300 years of a successful union. Their drive for an independent Scotland is now nearer to success than it has ever been. Success would mean a diminished Britain and a perilously insecure Scotland. The nationalists have represented the three centuries of union with England as a malign and damaging association for Scotland. The European Union is held out as an alternative and a safeguard for Scotland's future. But the siren call of secession would lure Scotland into a state of radical instability, disrupting ties of work, commerce and kinship and impoverishing the economy. All this with no guarantee of growth in an EU now struggling with a downturn in most of its states and the increasing disaffection of many of its members. In this incisive and controversial book, journalist John Lloyd cuts through the rhetoric to show that the economic plans of the Scottish National Party are deeply unrealistic; the loss of a subsidy of as much as £10 billion a year from the Treasury would mean large-scale cuts, much deeper than those effected by Westminster; the broadly equal provision of health, social services, education and pensions across the UK would cease, leaving Scotland with the need to recreate many of these systems on its own; and the claim that Scotland would join the most successful of the world's small states - as Denmark, New Zealand and Norway - is no more than an aspiration with little prospect of success. The alternative to independence is clear: a strong devolution settlement and a joint reform of the British union to modernise the UK's age-old structures, reduce the centralisation of power and boost the ability of all Britain's nations and regions to support and unleash their creative and productive potential. Scotland has remained a nation in union with three other nations - England, Northern Ireland and Wales. It will continue as one, more securely in a familiar companionship.Trade Review"Essential reading."Financial Times "Forceful"Morning Star “John Lloyd has written a personal and moving but also historically informed plea to preserve the Union between England and Scotland. His argument is not just the familiar one that the Scottish National Party understates the economic risks of independence. He also shows how little sense separation makes in the present state of Europe and the world. Best of all, his is not merely a defence of the status quo, but a call to regenerate the Union.” Niall Ferguson, Milbank Family Senior Fellow, the Hoover Institution, Stanford“John Lloyd is a shrewd, eloquent and reliable purveyor of home truths. His new book on the Scottish Question, which calls out lazy sentimentality and wishful thinking, will cause controversy as well as consternation in many quarters.” Colin Kidd, University of St Andrews “Scotland like the rest of the UK remains deeply divided following referendums on our future. The questions raised in both 2014 and 2016 remain the same. And if breaking a relationship of 40 years has proved so intractable, how much harder would be the fracture of a relationship that’s lasted more than 300 years? In a forensic examination of the arguments of both heart and head, John Lloyd makes a powerful case for building on the strengths we have rather than plunging into years of uncertainty and of lost opportunity for generations to come.” Alistair Darling, Former Chancellor of the Exchequer “Clearly written and well researched, Lloyd's book should decisively change the debate about Scottish independence.” Prospect "I have long thought of the case for Scottish independence as a solution in search of a problem... John Lloyd's excellent new book has crystallised my suspicion into a conviction." Nigel Biggar, The Critic "A devastating argument against Scottish independence" New Statesman "trenchant"Times Literary Supplement"A timely, forceful rehearsal of the painful consequences that might follow independence for Scotland, and of the virtues of union with England."The Economist - Book of the YearTable of ContentsIntroduction: Breaking Britain Chapter One: The Other Union Chapter Two: The English Speak Chapter Three: The Cash Nexus Chapter Four: The Crumbling Pillars Chapter Five: The Poisonous Elephant Conclusion: The Re-imagining of the Union

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Book SynopsisWhether understood as a long-run historical process or an intentional political project, international development transforms not only societies and economies but also key ideas about how the world works and how problems should be solved. In this compelling book, Michael Woolcock demonstrates that achieving peace and prosperity for all is supremely contingent and often contentious: the means and ends of development are often perceived as alien, unjust, and disruptive, its benefits and costs unequally borne. Many development challenges are not technical problems amenable to an expert’s solution, but require extensive deliberation to find and fit context-specific responses. Woolcock insists that it is each generation’s challenge to find shared, legitimate, and durable solutions to the moral imperative to reduce human suffering while simultaneously redressing the challenges that development success (let alone failure) inexorably brings. This skillful guide will be essential reading for students and practitioners working in this complex field, and for anyone seeking to help “make the world a better place.”Trade Review“Michael Woolcock delivers a rare combination of gifts: the enduring insights of a scholar, the practical wisdom of a practitioner, and the passion of a change-maker. For anyone on the ‘epic adventure’ of international development, this is an essential guide to how we got here, where we should go, and why we strive.”Yuen Yuen Ang, author of How China Escaped the Poverty Trap and China’s Gilded Age“More than any social researcher I know, Woolcock understands the architecture and dynamics of complex social change. His experience making pragmatic and theoretical sense of development results in a highly engaging, thoughtful, and eloquent book.”Sanjeev Sridharan, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and University of TorontoTable of ContentsPrelude – An Invitation… Chapter 1 – Navigating Our Diverging, Integrated World: The Three “Developments” Chapter 2 – Managing a Contentious World: Cooperation, Inclusion, Process Legitimacy Chapter 3 – Building a Better World: Why Some Problems Are So Much Harder Than Others Chapter 4 – Engaging an Increasingly Complex World: From What We Have to What We Need Epilogue – Putting Your Time, Talents, and Treasure to Work (for Others)

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Book SynopsisWe live in an urban age. It is well known that urbanization is changing landscapes, built environments, social infrastructures and everyday lives across the globe. But urbanization is also changing the ways we understand and practise politics. What implications does this have for democracy? This incisive book argues that urbanization undermines the established certainties of nation-state politics and calls for a profound rethinking of democracy. A novel way of seeing democracy like a city is presented, shifting scholarly and activist perspectives from institutions to practices, from jurisdictional scales to spaces of urban collective life, and from fixed communities to emergent political subjects. Through a discussion of examples from around the world, the book shows that distinctly urban forms of collective self rule are already apparent. The authors reclaim the ‘city’ as a democratic idea in a context of urbanization, seeing it as instrumental to relocating democracy in the everyday lives of urbanites. Original and hopeful, How Cities Can Transform Democracy compels the reader to abandon conventional understandings of democracy and embrace new vocabularies and practices of democratic action in the struggles for our urban future.Trade Review“The book is an inspiring testament to the power of grassroots democratic mobilisation in all its diversity. We see things in reading Beveridge and Koch that we would not see from other vantagepoints, and this too is the real strength in drawing from a plurality of methodologies in urban analysis. All students and scholars of democracy and of urbanisation will benefit from this highly significant intervention.”Jonathan Davis, Local Government Studies“This is a genuinely exciting book. With the help of fascinating case studies and confident theoretical engagement, it persuasively builds a distinctive argument around the potential, and sometimes contemporary reality, of the city as the space of transformative – democratic – politics.”Allan Cochrane, The Open University“A fresh perspective on the meaning of democracy and how and where it takes place. Beveridge and Koch provide important insights into emergent terrains of political action that will be of interest to political theorists and urbanists alike.”Theresa Enright, University of Toronto“This generative, hopeful and well-written book … of the political meaning of the city under global urbanisation could not be more timely.”LSE Review of BooksTable of Contents1. Why Cities?2. Politics through an Urban Lens3. Democracy and the City Reimagined4. Self-governing Urbanization5. Urban Publics and Citizens6. Urban Democracy and the State7. The City in the Age of UrbanizationNotes

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Book SynopsisThe Conservative Party can lay convincing claim to being the world's most successful political party, not least because it is also one of the most adaptable, often appearing to do and say pretty much whatever it takes to win. But has it now taken things too far? Since the UK voted to leave the EU back in 2016, the Tories have arguably done more than simply re-shape themselves: rather, they seem to have transformed themselves from a mainstream centre-right party into a counter-intuitive combination of radical right-wing populism, free market fundamentalism, and fiscal constraint that is arguably not only inherently unstable but also poses a threat to many of the norms of both liberal democracy and economic common sense. In this compelling and persuasively argued book, Tim Bale, one of the country's foremost experts on contemporary British politics, takes us on a rollercoaster ride through the Conservatives' fortunes over the last decade. From the bombshell Brexit referendum, through to the chaotic premierships of Theresa May, Boris Johnson, and Liz Truss, and all the way up to Rishi Sunak’s rise to power, Bale tells the fascinating tale of a party that, in just a few short years, has gone from nervous breakdown to top of the world – and back again.Trade Review‘Brings an admirable clarity to an incredible sequence of events.’Chris Mason ‘One of the most acute, witty, and historically informed observers of British politics.’Rory Stewart ‘Absolutely gripping – some of it I read through my fingers like a horror story, but I couldn't put it down!’Amber Rudd ‘A careful, immaculately constructed, balanced, and convincing account.’Andrew Marr ‘A dream book for those who relish a gripping narrative combined with illuminating analysis.’Steve Richards ‘Essential reading to understand where the Conservative party is today.’Isabel Hardman ‘A rare combination: gripping and erudite. A triumph of objectivity and pace.’Gary Gibbon ‘Tim Bale provides a masterly account of the twists and turns in the fortunes of the Conservative party since the Brexit Referendum. For anyone who wants to understand the desperate position in which the party now finds itself this book is an essential guide.’Andrew Gamble, Chair in Politics, University of Sheffield ‘Written by one of Britain's most respected experts on British politics, this timely book clearly explains the rapidly unfolding crises and political drama of Brexit and its impact on the Conservatives since 2016. Bale writes with wonderful flair and panache, and skilfully provides a highly absorbing and engaging account of recent momentous events.’Peter Dorey, Cardiff University‘A rattling good read through seven years of turmoil, full of sharp observations and telling details.’ John Rentoul, The Independent‘a fast-paced analytical narrative of the Tory party since Britain voted to leave the EU’Nick Pearce, Financial Times‘Bale’s account is utterly fascinating and deeply insightful into British politics today’Diplomatic Courier‘excellent… The author is an expert, deft and fluent guide to the story. He brings clarity of explanation to even the most tortuous twists of the tale while offering penetrating and frequently caustic commentary on the consequences, many of them never intended by their architects.’Andrew Rawnsley, The Observer‘A robust and very well written narrative history of the Tories from 2016 until now’Guardian Politics Live‘Bale has done us all a favour by painstakingly laying out the post-Brexit timeline and reminding us what an enormous mess the Conservative Party and the whole British political class made of things.’David Goodhart, The Times Literary Supplement‘Bale’s story is one of overweening ambition, repeated political misjudgment, serial dishonesty and often spectacular failure. It begs the question of what the contemporary Conservative party has become.’Financial Times‘Surely destined to win the prize as the most depressing book of the year … Read it and weep.’Bloomberg‘Saucily written … The book skillfully sketches out the Conservative Party’s ‘turmoil and transformation.'’ The Irish Times‘Tim Bale’s excellent ‘The Conservative Party after Brexit’ makes clear, there is good reason why ‘psychodrama’ has become another British political cliché, making his book a lot more enjoyable to read than the events it dissects were to live through.’LSE Review of Books‘A masterly account’Denis MacShane, The Tablet‘A thrilling, fascinating and revealing account of one of the wildest rides in British history.’Will Podmore, Morning Star‘invaluable’ Mainly Macro‘A study in claustrophobic volatility … Bale’s Westminster is an airless cocoon, where factionalism rules.’Will Lloyd, The New Statesman‘A lucid guide to Conservative disunity…In lively, journalistic prose, Bale allows the Conservatives’ record in government to speak for itself.’Jamie Maxwell, Foreign Policy ‘Bale delivers a dependable, scholarly and broadly objective account of high politics since 2016.’ The CriticTable of ContentsAcknowledgements 1: Going with the flow 2: May in her pomp (July 2016 - April 2017) 3: Hubris to nemesis (May - June 2017) 4. A bad hand played badly (June 2017 - June 2019) 5: Over before it began (June - July 2019) 6: Brexit achieved; Boris rampant (July - December 2019) 7: Pandemonium (January - December 2020) 8: Coming up for air (January - October 2021) 9: Things fall apart (October 2021 - April 2022) 10: The end of the road? (April - September 2022) Postscript Notes

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Book SynopsisBrazil has long been an enigma to outsiders. Over the last two decades alone, Latin America’s largest and most populous country has been celebrated as a vibrant new democracy with a powerful economy, and derided as a nation in complete disarray heading toward the status of a failed state. In this vibrant and smart book, Joel Wolfe tells the story of this “incomplete nation” and its two-hundred-year-old struggle to control its vast national territory and to fashion and maintain a functioning democracy against a backdrop of intense inequality, racial discrimination, and regional rivalries. From independence to the abolition of slavery, from scarring military dictatorship to the election of President Bolsonaro – the “Tropical Trump” – and his defeat by former President Lula da Silva, the author weaves a rich portrait of a country fighting against the odds to overcome the long-standing and seemingly intractable problems that have, for most of its history, hindered national unity and development.Trade Review“Wolfe deftly examines Brazil’s complicated economic and political history to explain its current opportunities and challenges. A welcome volume for the general public and specialists alike.”Todd Diacon, Kent State University“An important and lucid exploration of history, memory, and politics, Wolfe's fast-paced and engaging account shows how aspirations bolstered and ideology undermined Brazil’s two-hundred-year struggle to create a multicultural democracy.”Heather Cox Richardson, Boston College“Joel Wolfe’s excellent short history of Brazil with an emphasis on the past century is a wonderful introduction for anyone interested in this fascinating country.”Marshall C. Eakin, Vanderbilt UniversityTable of ContentsMapAcronyms, Abbreviations, and TermsAcknowledgementsIntroductionChapter 1: Tropical Liberalism (1840-1930)Chapter 2: The Failed March to Modernity (1930-1964)Chapter 3: Military Dictatorship (1964-1985)Chapter 4: Chaotic Democracy (1985-1994)Chapter 5: The Triumph of Social Democracy (1993-2010)Chapter 6: The Great Unraveling (2011-)Further Reading

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Book SynopsisIn the merciless arena of life, we are all subject to the law of the jungle, to ruthless competition and the survival of the fittest – such is the myth that has given rise to a society that has become toxic for our planet and for our and future generations. But today the lines are shifting. A growing number of new movements and thinkers are challenging this skewed view of the world and reviving words such as ‘altruism’, ‘cooperation’, ‘kindness’ and ‘solidarity’. A close look at the wide spectrum of living beings reveals that, at all times and in all places, animals, plants, microorganisms and human beings have practised different forms of mutual aid. And those which survive difficult conditions best are not necessarily the strongest, but those which help each other the most. Pablo Servigne and Gauthier Chapelle explore a vast, forgotten continent of mutual aid in order to discover the mechanisms of this ‘other law of the jungle’. In so doing, they provide a more rounded view of the world of living things and give us some of the conceptual tools we need to move beyond the vicious circle of competition and self-destruction that is leading our civilization to the verge of collapse.Trade Review‘Cooperation has, over the course of evolution, been much more productive of increasing levels of complexity than competition. There is no doubt that mutual aid is omnipresent in nature. This penetrating study by Pablo Servigne and Gauthier Chapelle, which paints a portrait of this other “law of the jungle”, is more than welcome at a time when we so badly need to foster cooperation, solidarity and benevolence in order to build a better world together.’Matthieu Ricard, author of Altruism: The Science and Psychology of Kindness"Servigne and Chappelle’s narrative is on point"Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social AnalysisTable of ContentsAcknowledgementsForeword by Alain CailléIntroduction. The age of mutual aidThe law of the jungleA potentially fatal paralysisThe emergence of another law of the jungleThe construction site of the new centuryChapter One. The history of a forgettingEverywhere, all the time, and in every colourAmong one’s peersBetween distant cousinsBetween dissimilar organizationsOur most distant ancestors, champions of mutual aid in all categoriesAll the colours of ‘symbiodiversity’We are an inextricable bundle of interdependenciesSetting the record straightWhy society hasn’t seen it - a story of mythsKropotkin, the anarchist prince swimming against the tideOur blinkered societyWhy science didn’t see it – a history of genesBefore the 1970sThe life, death and rebirth of sociobiology, 1970-2000The renaissance of the 2000sChapter Two. Spontaneous mutual aidContrary to popular belief…Where does Homo œconomicus live?What emerges in a crisis situationWhat emerges from stress and the unknownHow are we to explain these automatisms?The end of simplistic modelsA malleable automatismChapter 3. Group mechanismsThe hard core of mutual aid: reciprocityThe obligation to give backThe roots of reciprocityThe transition to the group: extended reciprocityReputation (indirect reciprocity)Rewards and punishments (enhanced reciprocity)Very large groups: invisible reciprocitySocial normsInstitutionsChapter Four. The spirit of the groupA magical moment: when the group becomes oneThe sense of securityThe sense of equalityThe sense of trustThe birth of a superorganismTowards universal principles?The ‘fundamentals’: putting them into practiceThe principles of good governanceMutual aid taken to the extremeThe dissolution of the selfCollective ecstasyGroup closureA tragic moment: when mutual aid collapsesChapter Five. Beyond the groupThe big bad wolf principleCompetition with other groupsA hostile environmentReaching a common goalCan groups provide mutual aid to each other?Overcoming competition between groupsThe same mechanisms as at the lower levelA limit on size?The opportunity of global disastersChapter Six. Since the dawn of timeThe evolution of human mutual aidAssociating to surviveA band of immature primatesThe evolution of mutual aid between peers‘There is strength in unity’: the power of group selection‘Winter is coming’: the power of the hostile environmentOther evolutionary forcesThe evolution of mutual aid between speciesNeeding the other...... sometimes it’s mutual...... and eventually you can’t do without themAgain and again the hostile environmentAn endless source of innovationMutual aid calls for mutual aidTransforming yourself in contact with othersTaking it to the next levelHow mutual aid changed the face of the worldConclusion. The new face of mutual aidMuch more than just a law of the jungleThe main principles of mutual aidTowards a new vision of mutual aidEpilogue. For which world?Are we going to kill each other?Towards another mythologyBeyond humankindAppendix. On the ‘new sociobiology’An earthquake in the land of sociobiologyThe secret had to lie in the genesThe slow betrayal of the founding fatherThe power of one manThe various evolutionary forces behind mutual aidThe origins of sociobiology: kinship selection and reciprocal altruismThe discovery of other paths: indirect reciprocity and spatial selectionTowards a more open and complex sociobiologyNotes

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Book SynopsisImages of killer robots are the stuff of science fiction – but also, increasingly, of scientific fact on the battlefield. Should we be worried, or is this a normal development in the technology of war? In this accessible volume ethicist Deane Baker cuts through the confusion over whether lethal autonomous weapons – so-called killer robots – should be banned. Setting aside unhelpful analogies taken from science fiction, Baker looks instead to our understanding of mercenaries (the metaphorical ‘dogs of war’) and weaponized animals (the literal dogs of war) to better understand the ethical challenges raised by the employment of lethal autonomous weapons (the robot dogs of war). These ethical challenges include questions of trust and reliability, control and accountability, motivation and dignity. Baker argues that, while each of these challenges is significant, they do not – even when considered together – justify a ban on this emerging class of weapon systems. This book offers a clear point of entry into the debate over lethal autonomous weapons – for students, researchers, policy makers and interested general readers.Trade Review‘In this deceptively small volume, Deane Baker brings his usual clarity and precision to the issue of the ethics of the use of lethal autonomous weapons systems.’Martin L. Cook, United States Naval War College ‘Engaging, stimulating and well researched. This is not a theoretical treatment for philosophers, but rather an informed and deeply practical exploration of the ethical arguments surrounding machines and killing.’David Whetham, Director of the Centre for Military Ethics, Kings College, LondonTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction Chapter One: Of War Dogs, Bat Bombs, Mercenaries and Killer Robots Chapter Two: Trust, Trustworthiness and Reliability Chapter Three: Control and Accountability Chapter Four: Motives and Dignity Conclusion: So Then, Should We Ban Killer Robots? Bibliography

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Book SynopsisA war’s outcome is determined by more than bullets and bombs. In our digital age, the proliferation of new media venues has magnified the importance of information – whether its content is true or purposely false – in battling an enemy and defending the public. In this book, Philip Seib, one of the world’s leading experts on media and war, offers a probing analysis of the role of information in warfare from the Second World War to the present day and beyond. He focuses on some of the thorniest issues on the contemporary agenda: When untruthful and inflammatory information poisons a nation’s political processes and weakens its social fabric, what kind of response is appropriate? How can media literacy help citizens defend themselves against information warfare? Should militaries place greater emphasis on crippling their adversaries with information rather than kinetic force? Well-written and wide-ranging, Information at War suggests answers to key questions with which governments, journalists, and the public must grapple during the years ahead. Information at war affects us all, and this book shows us how.Trade Review“Using exactly the right examples ranging from Homer to modern China’s ‘Three Warfares’, Professor Seib takes us on convincing and captivating analytic journey, proving again that Seib is today’s master at understanding how information shapes every part of our lives.”Ambassador Marc Grossman, Former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, U.S. State Department “Philip Seib shows himself yet again to be one of the most insightful observers of our contemporary age. In elegant prose, masterful use of historical vignettes, and trenchant analysis, he demonstrates how war and information are inseparable. The unrelenting information revolution and conflicts of the twenty-first century are occurring in tandem; to understand these new challenges, read this book.”William Inboden, Clements Center for National Security, The University of Texas at Austin “Seib's new book provides an array of insightful chapters describing and analyzing conflicts, when (dis)information becomes a weapon in itself.”International Journal of Communication“This book provides exceptionally timely analysis & case studies as well as a solidly grounded history...the cases capture and explain a century of turning points in the media & information's wartime role.”Media Village "An elegant and meticulously researched overview of the contemporary relationship between war and information, and the struggle for narrative control of the "conflict" story" The Foreign Service Journal“an important contribution… especially with respect to warfare in the information age.”Journalism“Combining vivid historical vignettes with trenchant analysis, [Information at War] presents an overview of the evolution of information landscape at war.”Association for Education in Journalism and Mass CommunicationTable of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Living-Room Wars 2. Competing for Information Control 3. War Information Expands 4. Social Media Go to War 5. Russia and New Dimensions of Information at War 6. From Media Manipulation to Media Literacy 7. Where We've Been, Where We're Going Selected Bibliography Notes

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Book SynopsisActivist, journalist, and visionary Claudia Jones was one of the most important advocates of emancipation in the twentieth century. Arguing for a socialist future and the total emancipation of working people, Jones’s legacy made an enduring mark on both sides of the Atlantic. This ground-breaking biography traces Jones’s remarkable life and work, beginning with her immigration to the United States and culminating in her advocacy for the emancipation of the most oppressed. Denise Lynn reveals how Jones’s radicalism was forged through confronting American racism, and how her disillusionment led to a life committed to socialist liberation. But this activism came at a cost: Jones would be expelled from the US for being a communist. Deported to England, she took up the mantle of anti-colonial liberation movements. Despite the innumerable obstacles in her way, Jones never wavered in her commitments. In her tireless resistance to capitalism, racism, and sexism, she envisioned an equitable future devoted to peace and humanity – a vision that we all must continue to fight for today.Trade Review“This book is an accessible and dynamic account of one of the most important Black communist organizers of the twentieth century. Through her examination of Jones’s intellectual brilliance, political acumen, and multifaceted life and times, Denise Lynn has made an invaluable contribution to the study of the Tradition of Radical Blackness.”Charisse Burden-Stelly, author of Black Scare/Red Scare“In this compelling, well-researched, and thoughtful biography, Denise Lynn documents how Black radical feminist Claudia Jones fundamentally shaped our politics. Jones’s ideas on the intersections of race, gender, and class left an indelible legacy.”Keisha N. Blain, Brown UniversityTable of ContentsIntroductionChapter 1: Jones Early years (1915-1936)Chapter 2: Communist Party, USA (1936-1946)Chapter 3: The Early Cold War (1945-1950)Chapter 4: Anti-Cold War and Deportation (1950-1955)Chapter 5: London (1955-1964)Conclusion

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Book SynopsisDitching the stuffy hang-ups and benighted sexual traditionalism of the past is an unambiguously positive thing. The sexual revolution has liberated us to enjoy a heady mixture of erotic freedom and personal autonomy. Right? Wrong, argues Louise Perry in her provocative new book. Although it would be neither possible nor desirable to turn the clock back to a world of pre-60s sexual mores, she argues that the amoral libertinism and callous disenchantment of liberal feminism and our contemporary hypersexualised culture represent more loss than gain. The main winners from a world of rough sex, hook-up culture and ubiquitous porn – where anything goes and only consent matters – are a tiny minority of high-status men, not the women forced to accommodate the excesses of male lust. While dispensing sage advice to the generations paying the price for these excesses, she makes a passionate case for a new sexual culture built around dignity, virtue and restraint. This counter-cultural polemic from one of the most exciting young voices in contemporary feminism should be read by all men and women uneasy about the mindless orthodoxies of our ultra-liberal era.Trade Review"This clear-sighted, compassionate book challenges the reigning sexual orthodoxy of 'anything goes', showing the many uncounted costs it imposes on women. A must-read for conservatives and feminists alike."Mary Harrington, Contributing Editor, UnHerd "In this thoughtful, timely and witty book, Louise Perry exposes the travesty of 'sex positive' feminism as neither positive nor sexy and argues for new thinking which puts women's true interests, desires and happiness at its heart."Janice Turner, Times columnist and feature writer "books such as Perry's matter […] many of her arguments — that consent is an inadequate measure of what is and is not abuse, that the valuing of sexual freedom over mutual dependency benefits the most privileged at the expense of the least, that physical strength differences between men and women matter enormously — seem to me hugely important, yet completely absent from so much of the feminism I have known."The Critic "... tackles the costs of the sexual revolution head-on... a brave and unflinching book"Nina Power, author of What Do Men Want? "This is a marvellously essential book, brilliantly argued. Perry has written the most radical feminist challenge to a failed liberal feminism."Phyllis Chesler, writer, feminist and psychologist, author of Women and Madness "Brilliantly conceived and written, this highly original book is an urgent call for a sexual counter-revolution. A book as stimulating as the splash of icy water that wakes someone from a nightmare."Helen Joyce, author of Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality "Those feminists who assume this book is not for them – give it a go. Brilliantly written, cleverly argued, packed with fascinating ideas and information: agree or disagree with the central premise, it is fresh and exciting."Julie Bindel, feminist and writer, author of ​Feminism for Women "... crisply readable polemic...."The Times "It's a combination of beliefs that will outrage almost everyone. Radical feminists, the old-guard 1960s firebrands, will agree with her on porn, but be aghast by the chapter on marriage; social conservatives will love the marriage chapter, but bristle at Perry’s approval of abortion; the new generation of liberal feminists, who have known nothing but sexual freedom, may well despise it all."The Sunday Times "clear-sighted"Suzanne Moore, The Sunday Telegraph "She's right - and courageous."Mary Kenny "urgent and daring and brave. It may turn out to be one of the most important feminist books of its time."Rachel Cooke, The Observer "... Louise Perry lobs a grenade into feminist discourse."Irish Examiner "This is a provocative book. More than once, its author says the unsayable. It makes you think, and it makes you want for a better world. It is urgent and daring and brave. It may turn out to be one of the most important feminist books of its time."Rachel Cooke, The Guardian "challenging and thought-provoking."Hugo Rifkind, The Times "... will ruffle liberal feathers all over the coop."London Magazine "Perry undeniably has a sharp eye both for the ways in which contemporary feminism risks eating itself... and for those guilty feminist moments where emotions awkwardly refuse to comply with the theoretical ideal. Any woman who has ever had what was meant to be a gloriously hedonistic no-strings fling, only to find herself anxiously checking her WhatsApps just to see if he's called, will recognise something here."Gaby Hinsliff, the New Statesman "This could be a movement in its nascent days."Prospect "[Perry's] book suggests a renewed bibliography that enables the reader to grasp the paradoxes at play within liberal feminism's theses."Lola Salem, The Critic "This 'crisply readable' polemic questions whether sexual freedom is really as liberating as it sounds"The Week "Riveting"The Spectator "Perry musters and masters the evidence. Her case is powerful, moving, and — as you may be able to tell from the tone of this piece — angering."Church Times "Arguing that young women need to protect themselves from a sexual culture that treats them as disposable, Perry urges them to draw from the accumulated wisdom of previous generations."Michelle Goldberg, The New York Times "[Perry] is writing on behalf of legions of women without PhDs or platforms, those who do not possess the ideological jargon to describe what they've endured and can only share their lived experiences."Jonathon van Maren for the European Conservative "Brave, excoriating, and magnificent."Andrew Wilson, The Gospel Coalition "Must-read"Rod Dreher, The American Conservative "The book is brave, bristling with insights, and beautifully written."National Review "significant.... Perry is to be commended for her courage."The Evangelical TimesTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Foreword by Kathleen Stock Chapter 1 Sex must be taken seriously Chapter 2 Men and women are different Chapter 3 Not all desires are good Chapter 4 Loveless sex is not empowering Chapter 5 Consent is not enough Chapter 6 Violence is not love Chapter 7 People are not products Chapter 8 Marriage is good Conclusion Listen to Your Mother Notes

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Book SynopsisThe story begins with a dream – the dream of Africa. Virgin forests, majestic mountains surrounded by savannas, vast plains punctuated with the rhythms of animal life where lions, elephants and giraffes reign as lords of nature, far from civilization – all of us carry such images in our heads, imagining Africa as a timeless Eden untouched by the ravages of modernity. But this Africa has never existed. The more we destroy nature here, the more we fantasize about it in Africa. Along with UNESCO, the WWF and other organizations, we convince ourselves that the African national parks are protecting the last vestiges of a world once untouched and wild. In reality, argues Guillaume Blanc, these organizations are responsible for naturalizing large tracts of the African continent, turning territories into parks and forcibly evicting thousands of people from the lands where they have lived for centuries. Making use of archives and oral histories, Blanc investigates this battle for a phantom Africa and the contradictory claims of nations who destroy nature at home while believing that they are protecting the natural world abroad. In so doing, they enact a new type of colonialism: green colonialism.Trade Review‘Blanc has created a masterpiece in contrasts that has much to teach us about nature conservation, “sustainable development”, power and equity on a global scale. This book deserves a spot on the shelves of every major library, a large number of policymakers’ desks and the bedside tables of many ordinary folks interested in Africa, nature conservation, social justice or the sustainable development of our planet.’Diana K. Davis, author of The Arid Lands: History, Power, Knowledge ‘Guillaume Blanc, with passion as well as thorough research, pushes his readers to think anew about the relationship between humans and animals in Africa. This book is both a valuable contribution to environmental history and an argument that needs to be taken seriously about the misconceptions that often shape international interventions in that continent.’Frederick Cooper, author of Africa since 1940: The Past of the Present“Blistering”The Financial Times “Absorbing”The Daily Maverick“[A] book that will challenge much of what the reader understands about conservation.”Sally Hayden, The Irish Times“The book challenges some otherwise comfortably held opinions, and is, at times, a harrowing and often controversial read. Recommended.”Morning Star“a searing critique of wildlife conservation in Africa”The Inquisitive Biologist“Scathing.”Foreign AffairsTable of ContentsAcknowledgements History as a Starting Point: Preface to the English Edition Introduction Chapter 1: Deconstructing our Beliefs, (Re)-thinking Nature Chapter 2: Turning Africa into Parkland (1850-1960 Chapter 3: A Special Project for Africa (1960-1965) Chapter 4: The Expert and the Emperor (1965-1970) Chapter 5: Violence Below the Surface of Nature (1970-1978) Chapter 6: The Sustainable Development Trap (1978-1996) Chapter 7: The Fiction of the Community Approach (1996-2009) Chapter 8: The Roots of Injustice (2009-2019) Conclusion Looking Ahead: Afterword Notes Index

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Book SynopsisThe proliferation of social media has provided ideal conditions in which feelings of anger and frustration can be expressed and shared, forming a deep pool of ressentiment that is being drawn upon and exploited by populist and authoritarian leaders.In his new book, Joseph Vogl shows how this dynamic is rooted in the fusing of finance capital and information in a new form of information capitalism that is reshaping the affective economy of our societies. The capital accumulation strategies of powerful new platforms and social media are pushing people into fragmented, opposing, and conflictual communities where ressentiment is nurtured and grows. The feelings of grievance and rejection generated by capitalism are redirected into attacks on migrants, foreigners, and others, thereby deflecting their critical potential, and bolstering the system that is their source. It is the cunning of ressentiment that provides the key to understanding why, despite the profusion of communication in our social media age, global finance and information capital can be neither understood nor attacked as a totalizing power.This brilliant analysis of the ways in which information capitalism is transforming the affective economy of our societies will be of great interest to anyone concerned with the forces that are shaping our societies today.Trade Review“This is an exciting exploration of the logic of information capitalism as the economics of information and finance merge and give rise to a new economization of governance and social control.”Wolfgang Streeck, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, Cologne“How the hell did we arrive at the dire predicament we are in? I can think of no other book that would provide such a succinct and lucid answer, taking into account the intertwining complexities of the last decades. It’s like a perfect horror story, describing a reality surpassing any fiction, the one we happen to be living in.”Mladen Dolar, University of Ljubljana“Capital and Ressentiment offers a thorough and complex approach to some of the most prescient issues of our contemporary condition. It displays a remarkable command of different bodies of literature, put together in an innovative manner that manages to connect seemingly disparate phenomena.”Journal of Cultural Economy“We would… highly recommend everyone interested in the contemporary transformations of the public sphere to wrestle with this valuable contribution.”OeconomiaTable of ContentsPreliminary remark 1. Monetative Power 2. The Information Standard: On the Episteme of the Finance Economy 3. Platforms 4. Control Power 5. Truth Games Excursus: Fable and Finance 6. The Cunning of Ressentiment-Driven Reason Bibliography Notes

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Book SynopsisHunting stories will usually glorify the hunters, since it is the hunters who write the stories. In this book, Dénètem Touam Bona takes up the perspective of the hunted, using the concept of marronage to highlight the lives and creativity of colonized and subjugated peoples. In a format that blends travel diary, anthropological inquiry, and philosophical and literary reflection, he narrates the hidden history of fugues – those of the runaway slave, the deserting soldier, the clandestine migrant, and all those who challenged norms and forms of control. In the space of the fugue, in the folds and retreats of dense and muggy woods, runaway countercultures appeared and spread out, cultures whose organization and values were diametrically opposed to those of colonial societies. Marronage, the art of disappearance, has never been a more timely topic: thwarting surveillance, profiling, and tracking by the police and by corporations; disappearing from databases; extending the forest’s shadow by the click of a key. In our cyberconnected world, where control of individuals in real time is increasingly becoming the norm, we need to reinvent marronage and recognize the maroon as a universal figure of resistance. Beyond its critical dimension, this book calls for a cosmo-poetics of refuge and aims at rehabilitating the power of dreams and poetry to ward off the confinement of minds and bodies.Trade Review"A brilliant exploration of the nuances, tensions, and radical possibilities of Blackness as told through the framework of fugitivity and marronage. Dénètem Touam Bona graciously invites us to cross temporal lines, geographic boundaries, and methodological conventions in this beautifully written book."Damien M. Sojoyner, University of California"Afropean anthropologist, philosopher, and art curator Dénètem Touam Bona is an original “border thinker” and “crosser” of geographic and conceptual boundaries working within a tradition of Caribbean historical poetics, notably represented by Édouard Glissant. He explores ideas of “fugue” and “refuge” in light of the experience of maroons or escaped slaves, key actors of the simultaneous expansion of freedom and industrial-scale chattel slavery in the Americas."Geoffroy de Laforcade, HumanitiesTable of ContentsForewordSeloua Luste Boulbina 1. Future of the Maroni (Forest Secession) 2. The Art of the Fugue: from fugitive slaves to refugees 3. Manhunt: spectral analysis of slavery 4. "Heroic Land": spectography of the "border" 5. Mayotte, the impossibility of an island 6. Cosmo-poetics of the Refuge 7. Lianas Dreaming Works Cited Notes Index

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Book SynopsisMost theories of modernity are based, explicitly or implicitly, on the development of Western societies since the late medieval period, but these theories are of limited value for understanding the development of societies in Asia and other parts of the world, where the process of modernization took place under different circumstances and often in a rapid and highly compressed fashion – not over centuries but in decades. Asian societies have been propelled into modernity too, but theirs is a compressed modernity, which displays very different traits. In this important book, Chang Kyung-Sup provides a systematic account of this compressed modernity and uses it to analyse the extreme social changes, complexities and imbalances found in South Korea and other East Asian societies. While these changes enabled South Korea to modernize very quickly and achieve high levels of economic growth, they also created a society that is haunted by various developmental and civilizational costs, such as endemic generational conflicts, overloaded family responsibilities and exceptionally high suicide rates. As with other societies that have experienced compressed modernity, the South Korean “miracle” is replete with extreme and contradictory social traits. This pioneering work of the nature and consequences of compressed modernity will be of great interest to students and scholars of sociology, politics and development studies, as well as anyone interested in South Korea, Asia and postcolonial societies.Trade Review“An original and fascinating work by a distinguished and globally versed Korean sociologist, critically reflecting on the societies of the multi-faceted ‘compressed modernity’ coming out of the extraordinary rise and transformation of South Korea and of East Asia.”Göran Therborn, University of Cambridge “An important view from the dynamic East Asia, this book is an excellent presentation of compressed modernity theory as a surpassing of classical modernization theory. A must-read for scholars of development and of South Korea and Asia in general.”Paget Henry, Brown University“The Logic of Compressed Modernity provides a stimulating discussion of the particularly relevant historical case of South Korea, from which Chang articulates key principles that help explain the past and orient the possible futures of “compressed” societies. I recommend brushing up on South Korea history first so that you are prepared to appreciate Chang’s eloquent theorizing from this case: the theoretical payoff is well worth it.”Social Forces “An original and fascinating work by a distinguished and globally versed Korean sociologist, critically reflecting on the societies of the multi-faceted ‘compressed modernity’ coming out of the extraordinary rise and transformation of South Korea and of East Asia.”Göran Therborn, University of Cambridge “An important view from the dynamic East Asia, this book is an excellent presentation of compressed modernity theory as a surpassing of classical modernization theory. A must-read for scholars of development and of South Korea and Asia in general.”Paget Henry, Brown University“The Logic of Compressed Modernity provides a stimulating discussion of the particularly relevant historical case of South Korea, from which Chang articulates key principles that help explain the past and orient the possible futures of “compressed” societies. I recommend brushing up on South Korea history first so that you are prepared to appreciate Chang’s eloquent theorizing from this case: the theoretical payoff is well worth it.”Social Forces“The Logic of Compressed Modernity is a culmination of Chang’s arduous effort since the last three decades to understand the phenomena of social, cultural, political and economic changes in South Korean society as seen through the lens of compressed modernity…The book will definitely be useful for anyone who wishes to understand contemporary South Korean society but also to the students and teachers of social sciences who wish to make sense of complexity of lived experiences of modernity in non-Western societies.”Millennial Asia Table of ContentsList of Figures, Tables and Illustrations Preface Part I. Compressed Modernity in Perspective Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Compressed Modernity: Constitutive Dimensions and Manifesting Units Chapter 3. Compressed Modernity in the Universalist Perspective Part II. Structural Properties of Compressed Modernity Chapter 4. Internal Multiple Modernities: South Korea as Multiplex Theater Society Chapter 5. Transformative Contributory Rights: Citizen(ship) in Compressed Modernity Chapter 6. Complex-Culturalism vs. Multiculturalism Chapter 7. Productive Maximization, Reproductive Meltdown Chapter 8. Social Institutional Deficits and Infrastructural Familialism Chapter 9. The Demographic Configuration of Compressed Modernity Part III. After Compressed Modernity Chapter 10. The Post-Compressed Modern Condition Notes References Index

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Book SynopsisAs we stand on the cusp of an AI revolution, will we see the rise of a new anti-technology extremism that threatens to dismantle the gains of modern civilization? In the first exploration of this phenomenon, Mauro Lubrano traces the origins and evolution of anti-technology violence across the globe. He identifies three main groups fuelling such resistance: insurrectionary anarchists, eco-extremists, and eco-fascists. Exploring the justifications that underlie the opposition to technology and the strategies employed to stop the machines', he shows how anti-tech extremism has emerged as a reaction to the Anthropocene an attempt to undo the epoch of human domination. The intellectual flexibility of this ideology lends itself to different causes, from the class struggle against the techno-elites to the defence of nature and white supremacy. With fears about the risks of artificial intelligence mounting and the world beset by serious polycrises', what is currently a fragmented, fringe phenomenon holds the potential for dramatic escalation.

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Book SynopsisAs US-Russian relations scrape the depths of cold-war antagonism, the promise of partnership that beguiled American administrations during the first post-Soviet decades increasingly appears to have been false from the start. Why did American leaders persist in pursuing it? Was there another path that would have produced more constructive relations or better prepared Washington to face the challenge Russia poses today? With a practitioner's eye honed during decades of work on Russian affairs, Thomas Graham deftly traces the evolution of opposing ideas of national purpose that created an inherent tension in relations. Getting Russia Right identifies the blind spots that prevented Washington from seeing Russia as it really is and crafting a policy to advance American interests without provoking an aggressive Russian response. Distilling the Putin factor to reveal the contours of the Russia challenge facing the United States whenever he departs the scene, Graham lays out a compelling way to deal with it so that the United States can continue to advance its interests in a rapidly changing world.Trade Review“Getting Russia Right is a much-needed contribution to a saner conversation about US policy toward Russia. Graham explains how and why relations with Russia fell apart and why repairing them remains a vital task. One hopes the Biden administration will pay close attention to this wise and balanced assessment.”Stephen Walt, Harvard University“At a time when Putin’s war against Ukraine leaves us enraged and determined to see him vanquished, but without a good explanation for how it all happened, along comes this gem of a book.”Robert Legvold, author of Return to Cold War“Tom Graham has distilled a lifetime of experience, study, and reflection into this analysis of how Russia–US relations reached this current dark state – and how we can emerge in a better place. It should command close attention in any debate on how to manage relations with Russia when its horrific war with Ukraine eventually ends.”John McLaughlin, Johns Hopkins University“A timely and provocative look back at US policy toward Russia after the Cold War. Tom Graham, one of America’s most respected Russian experts, pinpoints the strategic differences between the US and Russia which led us to today. This is essential reading for those who aspire to get Russia (and China) policy right.”Dan Russell, US-Russia Business Council“An explanation of what went wrong in US–Russian relations and an indictment of US post-Cold War Russia policy, which was done in by a mixture of hubris and impatience. Dealing with Russia is time-consuming and taxing, Graham argues, but ignoring it comes with its own price. This will also be true after the Ukraine war is over.”O.A. Westad, Yale University and author of The Cold War: A World History“Thomas Graham has written a book about post-Soviet Russian foreign policy that everyone with an open mind and open heart needs to read. His fundamental point could not be more pertinent to the burning question of how to deal with the current Russian war in Ukraine: that Russia’s choices on key issues, including and especially how to deal with Ukraine, are not the simple projection of pre-arranged agendas on the outside world but rather the byproduct of a complex set of interactions with that world, above all the United States. Consequently, the stabilization of Russia’s relations with the Western world requires a reexamination of Western as well as Russian policies.”Allen Lynch, University of Virginia “Thomas Graham's Getting Russia Right is a landmark book about U.S.-Russian relations, a deep analysis and set of recommendations from a leading scholar of the subject as well as a diplomat who knows this subject from the inside. This could not be a more timely or necessary book.” Michael C. Kimmage, The Catholic University of America “Incisive.” Simon Saradzhyan, Russia Matters “a comprehensive and thoughtful explanation of Russia on its own terms … Graham does an outstanding job of describing how the permanently operating features of Russian history, geography, society, and government have shaped its approach to international affairs across the centuries” Louis Sell, American Diplomacy“A thoughtful reflection on U.S.-Russia relations … full of keen insights.”National InterestTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Preface Introduction 1. The Foundations of America’s Russia Policy 2. The Clash of Worldviews 3. The Paradox of Russian Power 4. Russian National Interests and Grand Strategy 5. The Putin Factor 6. Washington’s Blind Spots and Missteps 7. What is to be Done? Epilogue Notes Index

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Book SynopsisThe world cannot address its pressing environmental problems without China. But can China be relied upon as a steadfast steward of nature, as its leaders have claimed in recent years? Prominent environmental campaigner and reporter Ma Tianjie gets to the heart of China's remarkable ecological transformation to answer this question. He takes us on a journey through the country's thirty-year struggle to clean up its rivers, clear its air and stabilize carbon emissions, drawing out the complex political impulses that have helped and hindered progress. Anchoring his storytelling in some of China's major environmental challenges - from Beijing's airpocalypse' to the cancer villages of the Huai River basin, he shows how the ideas and actions of few extraordinary individuals were critical in changing China from a heavily polluted country to a place where environmental issues are high on the agenda. The complex ecological tapestry Ma paints illuminates the key ideas, experiences and influences that have shaped China's environmental consciousness and will continue to frame the search for green China well into the twenty-first century.

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Book SynopsisSince the founding of the People’s Republic of China over 70 years ago, five paramount leaders have shaped the fates and fortunes of the nation and the ruling Chinese Communist Party: Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, and Xi Jinping. Under their leaderships, China has undergone an extraordinary transformation from an undeveloped and insular country to a comprehensive world power. In this definitive study, renowned Sinologist David Shambaugh offers a refreshing account of China’s dramatic post-revolutionary history through the prism of those who ruled it. Exploring the persona, formative socialization, psychology, and professional experiences of each leader, Shambaugh shows how their differing leadership styles and tactics of rule shaped China domestically and internationally: Mao was a populist tyrant, Deng a pragmatic Leninist, Jiang a bureaucratic politician, Hu a technocratic apparatchik, and Xi a modern emperor. Covering the full scope of these leaders’ personalities and power, this is an illuminating guide to China’s modern history and understanding how China has become the superpower of today.Trade Review“Fresh, fun, and insightful. Shambaugh has written a must-read book for understanding contemporary China.”Elizabeth C. Economy, Senior Fellow, The Hoover Institution“An engrossing mosaic of profiles that brings to life the very different men who have led China over the past decades.”Orville Schell, Director of the Center on U.S.–China Relations, Asia Society“A significant and important book from one of modern China’s leading analysts.”Kerry Brown, Director of the Lau China Institute, King’s College London “Shambaugh’s comparative leadership lens leads to some intriguing insights.”The China Quarterly“A highly readable and well-documented book by the doyen of China scholars.”Global Asia“A highly regarded and experienced specialist in the study of Chinese elite politics, Shambaugh is in his element delineating the overlaps and divergences in the leadership styles of Mao and four of his successors.”Jeffrey Wassertrom, Chancellor’s Professor of History, University of California-Irvine“In this fresh look at the interplay of cultural, psychological, and systemic factors shaping top Chinese leaders, Shambaugh explores how the idiosyncrasies of PRC rulers have intersected with broader changes in state behavior. Displaying extraordinary precision and perception, this book will long serve as a classic in leadership studies.”Cheng Li, Director, John L. Thornton China Center, The Brookings Institution, and author of Chinese Politics in the Xi Era“David Shambaugh is widely regarded as one of the world’s most astute analysts of Chinese politics, and his lucid study pays particular attention to the personalities of the five top leaders who have shaped China since the communist revolution of 1949.”Rana Mitter, The Guardian“David Shambaugh is now the doyen of China scholars. With his latest book, China’s Leaders: From Mao to Now, he brings his scholarship to the reach of lay audiences . . . a highly readable and well-documented book spanning modern China.”Nayan Chanda, Global Asia“An authoritative and highly informative introduction to the major political leaders of contemporary China.”Michael Dillon, Professor of History and Affiliate of the Lau China Centre, King’s College, London“A superb overview of the Chinese Communist Party’s seven-decade rule through profiles of five main leaders.”Bookish Asia“The book offers delightful insights that can be attributed to Shambaugh’s kaleidoscopic knowledge and his years of work as an academic in Chinese politics. Shambaugh has given students a lucid, meticulous, and very well-structured volume canvassing China’s prominent leaders.”Modern Diplomacy“a very good book indeed”SupChina“The book has a clear structure, and by emphasizing the comparison of the five leaders it is immediately clear what the book is about. Shambaugh's writing is clear and accessible, and also offers readers without much specialist knowledge on the subject a good overview of China's modern history.”China2025“A colourful and accessible introduction to China's five main leaders to date.”The Telegraph“fascinating”Asian AffairsTable of ContentsList of Boxes, Tables and Figures Preface and Acknowledgements 1. On China’s Leaders and Leadership 2. Mao Zedong: Populist Tyrant 3. Deng Xiaoping: Pragmatic Leninist 4. Jiang Zemin: Bureaucratic Politician 5. Hu Jintao: Technocratic Apparatchik 6. Xi Jinping: Modern Emperor 7. Conclusion: China’s Leaders in Perspective Notes

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisWar is urbanising. From Mosul to Mumbai, Aleppo to Marawi, the largest and most intense battles of the twenty-first century have taken place in densely populated urban areas. In the Ukraine War, Russian and Ukrainian troops have converged on urban areas, Kyiv, Mariupol, and Bakhmut, to fight brutal attritional sieges. Meanwhile the Battle of Gaza rages. Through a close analysis of recent urban conflicts and their historical antecedents, sociologist Anthony King explores the changing typography of the urban battlescape. Whilst many tactics used in urban warfare are not new, he shows how operations in cities today have coalesced into localised micro-sieges, which extend from street level and below to the airspace high above the city, as combatants fight for individual buildings, streets and districts. At the same time, digitalized social media and information networks communicate these battles to global audiences across an urban archipelago, with these spectators often becoming active participants in the fight. Fully revised and updated to include detailed examples from Ukraine and Gaza to illustrate the anatomy of twenty-first century urban warfare, the second edition of this popular text is a timely reminder of the costs and the horror of war and violence in cities. As such, it offers an invaluable interdisciplinary introduction to urban warfare in the new millennium for students of international security, urban studies and military science, as well as military professionals.

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