Search results for ""Author Frank Furedi""

Many experts believe that population growth is the greatest threat facing humanity. Others argue that the link between population growth and insecurity is unproven. This concise and provocative book discusses both sides of this debate, examining the way the arguments have changed and evolved, and questioning the assumptions of the main protagonists. Furedi argues that the western preoccupation with population growth reveals more about the internal concerns of western societies than the socio-economic development of the south. He suggests that attempts to establish a causal link between increases in population and poverty lead to a pragmatic, even manipulative approach to the issue of development. Examining a broad range of key debates and controversies - the 'population bomb' in Asia, the culture of a distinct regime of African fertility, the role of education in stabilizing population growth in Kerala - he contends that the marginalization of the goal of development is the outcome of a narrow concern with population policies. He fears that the recent shift of the population agenda towards the problems of the environment, gender equality and reproductive health is informed by a similar opportunistic pragmatism. Challenging and original, this book will be essential reading for students and specialists in development studies, sociology, and population studies, and for anyone interested in the debates surrounding world population growth.

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During the nineteenth-century vast areas of the underdeveloped world were invaded and colonised under the justification of Anti Slavery and the Civilising Mission. In this powerful analysis, Furedi demonstrates how, in the late twentieth century, the major nations of the West are again intervening in the Third World - this time legitimising their actions on new moral grounds. Furedi's multidisciplinary study examines the language, nature and origins of the new moral justification for such massive intervention. Furedi argues that, in the wake of the collapse of Soviet communism, the West now presents the Third World as the major threat to international stability, offering Western democracy and financial systems as the solution, thus providing a 'new moral imperative' for rebuilding a viable imperialist ideology. Furedi examines this new anti-Third World view and concludes that we are experiencing the rehabilitation of the imperialist ideas that are depriving post colonial societies of their own moral authority.

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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the latest chapter in a series of events that have their origins in World War One. The difficult existential questions that emerged before and during this conflict still remain unresolved. Contrary to the claim that wars are not supposed to happen in Europe or that we live in the era of the End of History, the experience of Ukraine highlights the salience of the spell of the past. The failure of the West to take its past seriously has left it confused and unprepared to deal with the current crisis. Unexpectedly fashionable claims about the irrelevance of borders and of nation states have been exposed as shallow myths. The author argues that the West’s self-inflicted condition of historical amnesia has encouraged it to disregard the salience of geo-political realities. Suddenly the once fashionable claims that made up the virtues of globalisation appear threadbare. This problem, which was already evident during the global Covid pandemic has reached a crisis point in the battlefield of Ukraine. History has had its revenge on a culture that believes that what happened in the past no longer matters. The Road To Ukraine: How the West Lost Its Way argues that overcoming the state of historical amnesia is the precondition for the restoration of global solidarity.

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The concept of Identity Crisis came into usage in the 1940s and it has continued to dominate the cultural zeitgeist ever since. In his exploration of the historical origins of this development, Frank Furedi argues that the principal driver of the ‘crisis of identity’ was and continues to be the conflict surrounding the socialisation of young people. In turn, the politicisation of this conflict provides a terrain on which the Culture Wars and the politicisation of identity can flourish. Through exploring the interaction between the problems of socialisation and identity, this study offers a unique account of the origins and rise of the Culture Wars.

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The concept of Identity Crisis came into usage in the 1940s and it has continued to dominate the cultural zeitgeist ever since. In his exploration of the historical origins of this development, Frank Furedi argues that the principal driver of the ‘crisis of identity’ was and continues to be the conflict surrounding the socialisation of young people. In turn, the politicisation of this conflict provides a terrain on which the Culture Wars and the politicisation of identity can flourish. Through exploring the interaction between the problems of socialisation and identity, this study offers a unique account of the origins and rise of the Culture Wars.

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A war is being waged against the Past. Whether it's toppling statues, decolonising the curriculum or erasing terms from our vocabulary, a cultural crusade is underway designed to render the past toxic. It is condemned as enemy territory and has become the target of venomous hate. What is at stake in provoking such a strong sense of societal shame towards Western history? In this book, Frank Furedi mounts a fierce defence of the past and calls for a fight back against the delegitimization of its ideals and accomplishments. Casting the past as a story of shamehas become a taken-for granted outlook permeating the educational and cultural life of western society from the top down. Its advocates may see it as a cultural imperative, butasociety that loses touch with its past will face a permanent crisis of identity.Squandering the wisdom provided by our historical inheritance means betraying humanity's positive achievements. Challenging this great betrayal, Furedi argues, is one

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Aimed at students of African politics and political sociologists interested in rural revolution and revolt. Although Mau Mau was militarily crushed in the mid-fifties, the struggle for land rights was only contained in Kenya's post-independence era. Kikuyu squatters on European estates who formed the backbone of this movement are the main subject of this book. Furedi breaks new ground in following the story of the participants of the rural movement during the decade after the defeat of Mau Mau. New archival sources and interviews provide exciting material on the mechanics of decolonisation and on the containment of rural radicalism in Kenya. North America: Ohio U Press; Kenya: EAEP

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Racial identity has been central to twentieth-century Western imagination. Yet, argues Frank Füredi, advocates of racial identity have long felt uncomfortable with the racialised global order they created. In The Silent War, Frank Füredi provides a radical exploration of the origins of the Anglo-American race relations industry, arguing that its emergence was driven by a conservative impulse of damage limitation; white racial fears and the internal crisis of confidence of the Anglo-American elites helping to transform racial thinking into a defensive philosophy of race relations. Füredi reveals how this shift in the conceptualisation of race is reflected in the management of international relations and demonstrates how, by the 1940s, Western powers were reluctant to openly use the discourse of race in international affairs. The Silent War examines the extent of the silent race agenda in the postwar era and helps explain why North–South affairs continue to be influenced by the issue of race.

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

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Many experts believe that population growth is the greatest threat facing humanity. Others argue that the link between population growth and insecurity is unproven. This concise and provocative book discusses both sides of this debate, examining the way the arguments have changed and evolved, and questioning the assumptions of the main protagonists. Furedi argues that the western preoccupation with population growth reveals more about the internal concerns of western societies than the socio-economic development of the south. He suggests that attempts to establish a causal link between increases in population and poverty lead to a pragmatic, even manipulative approach to the issue of development. Examining a broad range of key debates and controversies - the 'population bomb' in Asia, the culture of a distinct regime of African fertility, the role of education in stabilizing population growth in Kerala - he contends that the marginalization of the goal of development is the outcome of a narrow concern with population policies. He fears that the recent shift of the population agenda towards the problems of the environment, gender equality and reproductive health is informed by a similar opportunistic pragmatism. Challenging and original, this book will be essential reading for students and specialists in development studies, sociology, and population studies, and for anyone interested in the debates surrounding world population growth.

Read more less