Search results for ""author colin crouch""

Leading chess author Colin Crouch selects and explains over 30 sensational games, all from the new millennium. By studying battles between the world's best players, Crouch examines in detail all the key areas of modern chess. Powerful attacking and resourceful defending, bloodthirsty tactical battles, profound positional mastery, deep opening preparation and superb endgame play are all in evidence here, while Crouch also explores the ever-increasing role of computers and the way human imagination can work in harness with them. There is something for everyone in this book: aspiring players will benefit greatly from the clear explanations of the fundamentals, while stronger players will gain considerably from Crouch's deep insight and analysis in more complex positions. This book reflects the continuing changes in modern chess, and how you can use the lessons learned to great effect in your own games.

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Leading chess author Colin Crouch believes that the key to sustained chess improvement lies in the critical analysis and assessment of your own games. Each and every game you play provides a significant learning opportunity, and this opportunity should never be squandered. In this sequel to his acclaimed Why We Lose at Chess, Crouch examines what we should do to maximize our chess results and ratings, how to turn losses into draws, and draws into wins. Here he focuses on key issues such as improving decision making, how to plan after the opening, how to maintain objectivity, improving endgame skills, the psychological aspects of the game, and much more. Read this book, analyse your chess, and get ready to improve your results! *An indispensible guide to chess improvement *Key advice on planning, strategy and tactics *Covers opening, middlegame and endgame play

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In Governing Social Risks in Post-Crisis Europe, Colin Crouch mounts an impressive comparative analysis to uncover the contrasting ways in which different countries have sought to address the exacerbated social risks, both 'new' and 'old', unleashed by the financial and economic crisis. It demonstrates that growing recourse to market forms of governance in social and labour market policy is inversely related to the strength and influence of organised labour across countries and, in turn, to the degree of security provided for workers and their dependents. The three main patterns identified for governing social risks in the current era - neo-liberal, social democratic and traditional - are shown to exhibit a clear lineage reaching back to the early 20th century.'- Paul Marginson, University of Warwick, UK'Crouch's new book offers an empirically based up-to-date theory relating governance, egalitarianism, and labor market security in contemporary post-industrial societies. It provides a highly sophisticated, original assessment of modes of governance in Europe in terms of their social and economic performance, drawing on extensive comparison of European countries including the new Eastern democracies. Contrasting in particular neoliberalism and social democracy, Crouch shows that the social-democratic model of state and associational intervention in markets performs much better than its neoliberal opponent, raising the question why it is the latter rather than the former that has become the leading model for the post-crisis capitalist political economy.'- Wolfgang Streeck, Max-Planck-Institute for the Study of Societies, GermanyHow can a capitalist system reconcile its need to combine workers on uncertain incomes and conditions with consumers confident that they can spend? The approaches of different national economies to this conundrum have had varying degrees of success, as well as diverse implications for social inequality. Through the study of European societies, and comparisons with experience from the rest of the world, Colin Crouch scrutinizes this diversity, and looks at how the 2008 global financial crisis has impacted it.Crouch identifies three broad approaches that countries adopt in response to this central dilemma of a capitalist economy, and examines these across three different contexts: time, place, and the role of inclusion and exclusion. This primarily statistical study embraces all except the smallest European countries, with comparative material on Japan, Russia and the United States. Countries are grouped according to differences found in them in the roles of governance by market, state, and community.This important book will appeal to academics, policy makers and others interested in comparative employment relations, European political economy and social policy. Undergraduate and postgraduate students alike will also find this a compelling, jargon-free insight into social policy and the 2008 global financial crisis in Europe.

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In Post-Democracy (Polity, 2004) Colin Crouch argued that behind the façade of strong institutions, democracy in many advanced societies was being hollowed out, its big events becoming empty rituals as power passed increasingly to circles of wealthy business elites and an ever-more isolated political class.Crouch’s provocative argument has in many ways been vindicated by recent events, but these have also highlighted some weaknesses of the original thesis and shown that the situation today is even worse. The global financial deregulation that was the jewel in the crown of wealthy elite lobbying brought us the financial crisis and helped stimulate xenophobic movements which no longer accept the priority of institutions that safeguard democracy, like the rule of law. The rise of social media has enabled a handful of very rich individuals and institutions to target vast numbers of messages at citizens, giving a false impression of debate that is really stage-managed from a small number of concealed sources. Crouch evaluates the implications of these and other developments for his original thesis, arguing that while much of his thesis remains sound, he had under-estimated the value of institutions which are vital to the support of a democratic order. He also confronts the challenge of populists who seem to echo the complaints of Post-Democracy but whose pessimistic nostalgia brings an anti-democratic brew of hatred, exclusion and violence.

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Globalization, heralded for decades as a harbinger of prosperity, faces a huge backlash. Derided by right-wing nationalists as a ‘globalist’ plot to undermine traditional communities, and by left-wing critics as the rule of rampaging corporations, it’s become a political punching bag around the world. In this incisive book, leading commentator Colin Crouch defends globalization against its critics to the right and left. He argues that reversing the process would mean a poorer world riven by nationalistic and reactionary antagonisms. However, globalization will only be worth saving if we institute reforms to promote social solidarity and recover pride and confidence for the cities and regions that have lost out. Crouch shows that we can therefore only save globalization from itself if we transcend the nation state and subject global economic flows to democratically responsible transnational governance. Crouch provides a much-needed riposte to the delusions that risk plunging the world back into a zero-sum game of regressive economic nationalism, combining cool-headed analysis with a visionary call for a reformed and genuinely progressive globalization.

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In principle the advanced, market-driven world in which we now live is fuelled by knowledge, information and transparency, but in practice the processes that produce this world systematically corrupt and denigrate knowledge: this is the powerful and provocative argument advanced by Colin Crouch in his latest exploration of societies on the road to post-democracy. Crouch shows that executives in profit-maximizing corporations have incentives to ignore or distort knowledge, especially firms in the information business of the mass media themselves, as financial knowledge increasingly trumps the other kinds of knowledge that business needs. Firms also seek to take control of public knowledge and use it for their own ends, often at the cost of other stakeholders in society. Meanwhile the transfer of similar practices to professional public services undermines professional skills and ethics - especially when these services are out-sourced to the private sector. Attempts to extricate ourselves from these problems involve reshaping the complex and often conflicting relationships among citizens, professionals, managers and financiers. This new book by one of the most incisive critics of contemporary Western societies will be of interest to a wide range of readers, from students to policy-makers and those who work in the public and private sectors.

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This is the definitive textbook on European societies and the changes the continent has experienced in the social sphere during this century. This text is the only single-authored text covering this topic, offering a holistic yet nuanced understanding of the nature of European society and its dynamic nature. Colin Crouch draws on 40 years' experience as a researcher on European societies to explore this diversity across such key areas of life as patterns of birth and death, family, gender, migration, religion, conflict, economy and inequality. Crouch uses an astonishing wealth of empirical data to analyse how European society functions on national, international and continental levels with various state and non-state actors. Through this approach, and by recognising and accounting for the fluidity of society, and enduring influences such as globalisation and security threats, Crouch offers an important contribution to the study of Europe, and a pioneering methodology for the study of social class. This text is an essential for those wishing to be up-to-date in both the topic and the practise of scholarship. This text was designed for upper-undergraduates and postgraduates covering European Society, the Politics and/or Sociology of Europe. It will also benefit all readers studying social class to familiarise themselves with Crouch’s innovative methodology and analysis.

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Capitalism is the only complex system known to us that can provide an efficient and innovative economy, but the financial crisis has brought out the pernicious side of capitalism and shown that it remains dependent on the state to rescue it from its own deficiencies. Can capitalism be reshaped so that it is fit for society, or must we acquiesce to the neoliberal view that society will be at its best when markets are given free rein in all areas of life? The aim of this book is to show that the acceptance of capitalism and the market does not require us to accept the full neoliberal agenda of unrestrained markets, insecurity in our working lives, and neglect of the environment and of public services. In particular, it should not mean supporting the growing dominance of public life by corporate wealth. The world’s most successful mature economies are those that fully embrace both the discipline of the market and the need for protection against its negative outcomes. Indeed, a continuing, unresolved clash between these two forces is itself a major source of vitality and innovation for economy and society. But maintenance of that tension depends on the enduring strength of trade unions and other critical groups in civil society - a strength that is threatened by neoliberalism’s increasingly intolerant onward march. Outlining the principles for a renewed and more assertive social democracy, this timely and important book shows that real possibilities exist to create a better world than that which is being offered by the wealthy elites who dominate our public and private lives.

Read more less

Globalization, heralded for decades as a harbinger of prosperity, faces a huge backlash. Derided by right-wing nationalists as a ‘globalist’ plot to undermine traditional communities, and by left-wing critics as the rule of rampaging corporations, it’s become a political punching bag around the world. In this incisive book, leading commentator Colin Crouch defends globalization against its critics to the right and left. He argues that reversing the process would mean a poorer world riven by nationalistic and reactionary antagonisms. However, globalization will only be worth saving if we institute reforms to promote social solidarity and recover pride and confidence for the cities and regions that have lost out. Crouch shows that we can therefore only save globalization from itself if we transcend the nation state and subject global economic flows to democratically responsible transnational governance. Crouch provides a much-needed riposte to the delusions that risk plunging the world back into a zero-sum game of regressive economic nationalism, combining cool-headed analysis with a visionary call for a reformed and genuinely progressive globalization.

Read more less

Increasingly, employees are being falsely treated as ‘self-employed’. This phenomenon – the ‘gig economy’ – is seen as the inevitable shape of things to come. In this book, Colin Crouch takes a step back and questions this logic. He shows how the idea of an employee – a stable status that involves a bundle of rights – has maintained a curious persistence. Examining the ways companies are attacking these rights, from proffering temporary work to involuntary part-time work to ‘gigging’, he reveals the paradoxes of the situation and argues that it should not and cannot continue. He goes on to propose reforms to reverse the perverse incentives that reward irresponsible employers and punish good ones, setting out an agenda for a realistic future of secure work. Crouch’s penetrating analysis will be of interest to everyone interested in the future of work, the welfare state and the gig economy.

Read more less

In principle the advanced, market-driven world in which we now live is fuelled by knowledge, information and transparency, but in practice the processes that produce this world systematically corrupt and denigrate knowledge: this is the powerful and provocative argument advanced by Colin Crouch in his latest exploration of societies on the road to post-democracy. Crouch shows that executives in profit-maximizing corporations have incentives to ignore or distort knowledge, especially firms in the information business of the mass media themselves, as financial knowledge increasingly trumps the other kinds of knowledge that business needs. Firms also seek to take control of public knowledge and use it for their own ends, often at the cost of other stakeholders in society. Meanwhile the transfer of similar practices to professional public services undermines professional skills and ethics - especially when these services are out-sourced to the private sector. Attempts to extricate ourselves from these problems involve reshaping the complex and often conflicting relationships among citizens, professionals, managers and financiers. This new book by one of the most incisive critics of contemporary Western societies will be of interest to a wide range of readers, from students to policy-makers and those who work in the public and private sectors.

Read more less

The financial crisis seemed to present a fundamental challenge to neo liberalism, the body of ideas that have constituted the political orthodoxy of most advanced economies in recent decades. Colin Crouch argues in this book that it will shrug off this challenge. The reason is that while neo liberalism seems to be about free markets, in practice it is concerned with the dominance over public life of the giant corporation. This has been intensified, not checked, by the recent financial crisis and acceptance that certain financial corporations are ‘too big to fail'. Although much political debate remains preoccupied with conflicts between the market and the state, the impact of the corporation on both these is today far more important. Several factors have brought us to this situation: The lobbying power of firms whose donations are of growing importance to cash-hungry politicians and parties The weakening of competitive forces by firms large enough to shape and dominate their markets The moral initiative that is grasped by enterprises that devise their own agendas of corporate social responsibility Both democratic politics and the free market are weakened by these processes, but they are largely inevitable and not always malign. Hope for the future, therefore, cannot lie in suppressing them in order to attain either an economy of pure markets or a socialist society. Rather it lies in dragging the giant corporation fully into political controversy.

Read more less

In Post-Democracy (Polity, 2004) Colin Crouch argued that behind the façade of strong institutions, democracy in many advanced societies was being hollowed out, its big events becoming empty rituals as power passed increasingly to circles of wealthy business elites and an ever-more isolated political class.Crouch’s provocative argument has in many ways been vindicated by recent events, but these have also highlighted some weaknesses of the original thesis and shown that the situation today is even worse. The global financial deregulation that was the jewel in the crown of wealthy elite lobbying brought us the financial crisis and helped stimulate xenophobic movements which no longer accept the priority of institutions that safeguard democracy, like the rule of law. The rise of social media has enabled a handful of very rich individuals and institutions to target vast numbers of messages at citizens, giving a false impression of debate that is really stage-managed from a small number of concealed sources. Crouch evaluates the implications of these and other developments for his original thesis, arguing that while much of his thesis remains sound, he had under-estimated the value of institutions which are vital to the support of a democratic order. He also confronts the challenge of populists who seem to echo the complaints of Post-Democracy but whose pessimistic nostalgia brings an anti-democratic brew of hatred, exclusion and violence.

Read more less

The financial crisis seemed to present a fundamental challenge to neo liberalism, the body of ideas that have constituted the political orthodoxy of most advanced economies in recent decades. Colin Crouch argues in this book that it will shrug off this challenge. The reason is that while neo liberalism seems to be about free markets, in practice it is concerned with the dominance over public life of the giant corporation. This has been intensified, not checked, by the recent financial crisis and acceptance that certain financial corporations are ‘too big to fail'. Although much political debate remains preoccupied with conflicts between the market and the state, the impact of the corporation on both these is today far more important. Several factors have brought us to this situation: The lobbying power of firms whose donations are of growing importance to cash-hungry politicians and parties The weakening of competitive forces by firms large enough to shape and dominate their markets The moral initiative that is grasped by enterprises that devise their own agendas of corporate social responsibility Both democratic politics and the free market are weakened by these processes, but they are largely inevitable and not always malign. Hope for the future, therefore, cannot lie in suppressing them in order to attain either an economy of pure markets or a socialist society. Rather it lies in dragging the giant corporation fully into political controversy.

Read more less

Capitalism is the only complex system known to us that can provide an efficient and innovative economy, but the financial crisis has brought out the pernicious side of capitalism and shown that it remains dependent on the state to rescue it from its own deficiencies. Can capitalism be reshaped so that it is fit for society, or must we acquiesce to the neoliberal view that society will be at its best when markets are given free rein in all areas of life? The aim of this book is to show that the acceptance of capitalism and the market does not require us to accept the full neoliberal agenda of unrestrained markets, insecurity in our working lives, and neglect of the environment and of public services. In particular, it should not mean supporting the growing dominance of public life by corporate wealth. The world’s most successful mature economies are those that fully embrace both the discipline of the market and the need for protection against its negative outcomes. Indeed, a continuing, unresolved clash between these two forces is itself a major source of vitality and innovation for economy and society. But maintenance of that tension depends on the enduring strength of trade unions and other critical groups in civil society - a strength that is threatened by neoliberalism’s increasingly intolerant onward march. Outlining the principles for a renewed and more assertive social democracy, this timely and important book shows that real possibilities exist to create a better world than that which is being offered by the wealthy elites who dominate our public and private lives.

Read more less

In December 2012 Magnus Carlsen won the prestigious London Chess Classic and in doing so he became the highest-rated chess player in the history of the game, beating Garry Kasparov's 13-year-old record. Carlsen followed up this performance with another phenomenal tournament win at Wijk aan Zee, pushing his peak rating to an astronomical 2872. He didn't lose a single game in either tournament. What is Carlsen's secret? How did an already world-class player succeed in reaching this unprecedented level where he was regularly beating the world's strongest grandmasters? In this book, International Master Colin Crouch provides answers to these questions. Crouch studies Carlsen's progress in recent years and demonstrates how he learned lessons from previous setbacks, turned weaknesses into strengths, losses into draws, and draws into wins. By doing so Carlsen was able to elevate his play to a stratospheric level, but any aspiring chess player can use similar methods to improve their game. *The story of Carlsen's record-breaking performances *In-depth analysis of Carlsen's games *Learn from the World's number one player

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Two books from the Chess Secrets series brought together in one volume. Chess Secrets is a series of books which uncover the mysteries of the most important aspects of chess: strategy, attack, classical play, opening play, endgames and preparation. In each book the author chooses and deeply studies a number of great players from chess history who have excelled in a particular field of the game and undeniably influenced those who have followed. Chess Secrets: The Giants of Power Play: Learn from Topalov, Geller, Bronstein, Alekhine and Morphy by Neil McDonald. In The Giants of Power Play, Neil McDonald selects five players who have excelled in the field of 'power play' - the art of putting opponents under constant pressure. McDonald examines the contributions made by each player, their differences in approach and style, and from Morphy to Topalov, how they followed in each other's footsteps. Chess Secrets: Great Attackers: Learn from Kasparov, Tal and Stein by Colin Crouch The chess world has witnessed a great number of wonderfully gifted attacking players, geniuses who have dazzled the chess public with their brilliant masterpieces. Everyone has their own favourites, and in Chess Secrets: Great Attackers, Colin Crouch chooses three of his own: Garry Kasparov, Mikhail Tal and Leonid Stein. World Champions Kasparov and Tal need no introduction, while Stein was a highly creative and intuitive player with the ability to destroy the world's best players with his vicious attacks.

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Post-Democracy is a polemical work that goes beyond current complaints about the failings of our democracy and explores the deeper social and economic forces that account for the current malaise. Colin Crouch argues that the decline of those social classes which had made possible an active and critical mass politics has combined with the rise of global capitalism to produce a self-referential political class more concerned with forging links with wealthy business interests than with pursuing political programmes which meet the concerns of ordinary people. He shows how, in some respects, politics at the dawn of the twenty-first century returns us to a world familiar well before the start of the twentieth, when politics was a game played among elites. However, Crouch maintains that the experience of the twentieth century remains salient and it reminds us of possibilities for the revival of politics. This engaging book will prove challenging to all those who claim that advanced societies have reached a virtual best of all possible democratic worlds, and will be compelling reading for anyone interested in the shape of twenty-first-century politics.

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Increasingly, employees are being falsely treated as ‘self-employed’. This phenomenon – the ‘gig economy’ – is seen as the inevitable shape of things to come. In this book, Colin Crouch takes a step back and questions this logic. He shows how the idea of an employee – a stable status that involves a bundle of rights – has maintained a curious persistence. Examining the ways companies are attacking these rights, from proffering temporary work to involuntary part-time work to ‘gigging’, he reveals the paradoxes of the situation and argues that it should not and cannot continue. He goes on to propose reforms to reverse the perverse incentives that reward irresponsible employers and punish good ones, setting out an agenda for a realistic future of secure work. Crouch’s penetrating analysis will be of interest to everyone interested in the future of work, the welfare state and the gig economy.

Read more less

What separates the best chess players from the rest? What gives them the edge over their rivals? Chess legend Vladimir Kramnik believes it's their fighting skills and the ability to continuously find ways to keep a game alive. Colin Crouch agrees, and is fascinated that the world's strongest players seem almost unbeatable, even when games appear sharp and double-edged. In this book Crouch examines the tremendous fighting qualities of today's top grandmasters. Analysing key games from 2012, Crouch demonstrates how they give nothing away to opponents but are always alert to punish any slight errors, and crucially, how we can apply these lessons to help us in our own games. Move by Move provides an ideal platform to study chess. By continually challenging the reader to answer probing questions throughout the book, the Move by Move format greatly encourages the learning and practising of vital skills just as much as the traditional assimilation of knowledge. Carefully selected questions and answers are designed to keep you actively involved and allow you to monitor your progress as you learn. This is an excellent way to improve your chess skills and knowledge.

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The main reason why we lose at chess is no big secret: we all make unnecessary mistakes! But simply acknowledging this fact isn't enough to help us improve. The big question is, how can we eliminate these mistakes from our game, or at least keep them to an absolute minimum? Colin Crouch tackles this vital subject face-to-face. Drawing upon his considerable experience, he looks back at critical moments within games where mistakes are made, and examines how we can recognise the danger signs and avoid making impulsive decisions. The reader is constantly challenged by exercises, which provide perfect training for real over-the-board battles.

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Colin Crouch studies his favorite attacking players, and highlights all the important themes of one of the most crucial elements of the game.

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At a time when democratization and the state of democracy are at the forefront of attention in many parts of the world, this book examines the state-of-the-art on this vital political issue.Revisiting the now classical literature on neo-corporatism in light of current research and theory, the contributors illustrate the enormous influence of the 'neo-corporatist debate' on modern political science, political sociology, and political economy. Reflecting on a major part of the recent history of social science, they shed light on some of its current core concepts, such as governance, policy networks, and varieties of capitalism. The book traces the evolution of political conflicts concerning social order; from the class conflicts in Europe in the of 1970s Europe to the subsequent Latin American and Eastern European battles over democratization and democratic transition, to the debate on the 'democratic deficit' of the European Union.Paying tribute to the work of Philippe Schmitter, which bridges the themes discussed in the book and which has provided inspiration to an entire generation of social scientists, The Diversity of Democracy will be invaluable to academics, students and researchers with an interest in political science, democratic theory, European integration and the study of democratic transitions as well as Latin American and Eastern European studies.

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Two books from the Chess Secrets series brought together in one volume.Chess Secrets is a series of books which uncover the mysteries of the most important aspects of chess: strategy, attack, classical play, opening play, endgames and preparation. In each book the author chooses and deeply studies a number of great players from chess history who have excelled in a particular field of the game and undeniably influenced those who have followed.Chess Secrets: Heroes of Classical Chess: Learn from Carlsen, Anand, Fischer, Smyslov and Rubinstein by Craig Pritchett.In Heroes of Classical Chess, Craig Pritchett selects five great players whose style exemplifies classically direct, clear, energetic, tough, ambitious yet fundamentally correct chess playing attributes. Pritchett studies the major contributions they have made, compares their differing styles and discusses the critical influences they have had on the development of chess, on their peers and on all our games.Chess Secrets: The Giants of Strategy: Learn from Kramnik, Karpov, Petrosian, Capablanca and Nimzowitsch by Neil McDonaldThe chess world has been blessed with some wonderful strategists, innovators of the game with their instructive play and profound teachings. In The Giants of Strategy, Neil McDonald chooses his selection of the most prominent ones and highlights the major contributions they have made. He examines their differing approaches and styles, and from Nimzowitsch to Kramnik, how they followed in each other's footsteps. A careful study of this book will help you to understand and improve in one of the most crucial elements of the game.

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