This volume presents results from new and ongoing research efforts into the role of nonreligion in education, politics, law and society from a variety of different countries. Featuring data from a wide range of quantitative and qualitative studies, the book exposes the relational dynamics of religion and nonreligion. Firstly, it highlights the extent to which nonreligion is defined and understood by legal and institutional actors on the basis of religions, and often replicates the organisation of society and majority religions. At the same time, it displays how essential it is to approach nonreligion on its own, by freeing oneself from the frameworks from which religion is thought. The book addresses pressing questions such as: How can nonreligion be defined, and how can the "nones" be grasped and taken into account in studies on religion? How does the sociocultural and religious backdrop of different countries affect the regulation and representation of nonreligion in law and policymaking? Where and how do nonreligious individuals and collectives fit into institutions in contemporary societies? How does nonreligion affect notions of citizenship and national belonging? Despite growing scholarly interest in the increasing number of people without religion, the role of nonreligion in legal and institutional settings is still largely unexplored. This volume helps fill the gap, and will be of interest to students, researchers, policymakers and others seeking deeper understanding of the changing role of nonreligion in modern societies.

Whether you love or loathe him, no one can deny the reinvigorating effect that Nigel Farage has had upon political debate in Britain in recent years. Indeed, it is to him and his energetic leadership that UKIP owes much of its success. Positioning himself as a lone splash of colour in an era of monotone political leaders, Farage's apparent fearlessness and off-message willingness to speak his mind, while horrifying many, have offered a tonic to those who are sick to death of the usual round of sound-bite politicians. In Nigel Farage In His Own Words, journalist Andrew Liddle offers an entertaining selection of Nigel's most controversial, often laugh-out-loud funny, tell-it-like-it-is bon mots and politically incorrect public utterances, as well as some of the heated responses they have generated.

Legendary lawyer of the people, Louis Brandeis, displays his knowledge of the banking financial system and describes how it asserts staggering control over the economy of the United States. As relevant today as it was when first published in 1914, this book serves to demystify aspects of the banking system which are lost on those who are not employed within the finance sector. Explaining how banks have become a powerful oligarchy, Brandeis describes how the money trusts hold enormous and growing influence upon almost every large industry in the United States and much of the wider world. The monopolies of money trusts, and their role in controlling the economy, is described in detail. The deposits and savings of millions of ordinary Americans are put to work by the likes of J. P. Morgan who both lend to and purchase other banks and parts of companies. The trend towards small banks combining into larger entities, and the anti-competitive monopolies this entails are detailed.

This book provides a unique Pakistani perspective and understanding of a region that has not been studied extensively to date. Pakistan's Frontier Region has been at the forefront of the War on Terror since 2001. The Federally Administered Tribal Agencies (now known as merged Tribal Districts) are a critical geostrategic area for Pakistan. This work highlights key economic, political, and religious issues in the FATA-KP region in order to identify means to eradicate ongoing conflicts and integrate the region within mainstream Pakistani society. This project proposes a series of phased economic development reforms that can guide FATA's transition as an integrated territory within the rest of Pakistan. These reforms can and should encourage dimensions of indigenous economic practices, women's empowerment, the education system, food security, subsistence agriculture, and transportation and communication infrastructure where possible. These improvements can be implemented in 10+ year plans designed to organize a committed effort to develop and integrate FATA with the rest of Pakistan.

Henry A. Giroux argues that education holds a crucial role in shaping politics at a time when ignorance, lies and fake news have empowered right-wing groups and created deep divisions in society. Education, with its increasingly corporate and conservative-based technologies, is partly responsible for creating these division. It contributes to the pitting of people against each other through the lens of class, race, and any other differences that don't embrace White nationalism. Giroux's analysis ranges from the pandemic and the inequality it has revealed, to the rise of Trumpism and its afterlife, and to the work of Paulo Freire and how his book Pedagogy of Hope can guide us in these dark times and help us produce critical and informed citizens. He argues that underlying the current climate of inequity, isolation, and social atomization (all exacerbated by the pandemic) is a crisis of education. Out of this comes the need for a pedagogy of resistance that is accessible to everyone, built around a vision of hope for an alternative society rooted in the ideals of justice, equality, and freedom.

The evolution of elite personal protection units--also known as close protection units--within the former Soviet Union is one of the least examined, yet crucial political developments in this region. Due to the often-violent environment in which the political leaders of this region now operate, the need for these special military units is obvious. This study examines the similarities between these the current units and those of the Soviet past and finds that, in spite of the highly unstable nature of politics in post-communist Russia, these elite units have not intervened to the degree that many might have expected. They have, however, played a significant political role throughout the region.

These close protection forces may very well determine the success or failure of the democratization process now underway. On the other hand, establishing a Praetorian Guard within the very walls of the Kremlin may in itself portend an end to democracy. Ultimately, a complete understanding of future politics in the former Soviet Union is impossible without acknowledging the role that these modern Praetorians play in the civil-military balance.

The Sunday Times bestseller 'Substantial, meticulous, depressing, hilarious, rude ... like flipping through a grotesque highlights album of the country's downfall' Dominic Minghella 'A wickedly funny, furious, fast-paced romp through a decade of governmental failures' Rosie Holt 'Buy it for relatives who read the Daily Mail. It might work as an antidote'Jemma ForteIn 2020 the United Kingdom reached a bewildering milestone: ten successive years of Conservative rule. In that decade there were three prime ministers, each in turn described as the worst leader we ever had; ministerial resignations by the hundred; and an unrelenting stream of ineffectual, divisive bum-slurry oozing from 10 Downing Street. The Decade in Tory is an inglorious, rollicking and entirely true account of ten years of demonstrable lies, relentless incompetence, epic waste, serial corruption, official police investigations, anti-democratic practices, abuse of power, dereliction of duty and hundreds of thousands of avoidable deaths. With his signature scathing wit, Russell Jones breaks down the government's interminable failures year by year, covering everything from David Cameron's pledge to tackle inequality - which reduced UK life expectancy for the first time since 1841 - through the bewildering storm of lies and betrayals that led to Brexit, devastating education cuts, serial mismanagement of the NHS and Boris Johnson's calamitous response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It will leave you gasping and wondering: can things possibly get any worse?

Twenty Years at Hull House, by the acclaimed memoir of social reformer Jane Addams, is presented here complete with all sixty-three of the original illustrations and the biographical notes. A landmark autobiography in terms of opening the eyes of Americans to the plight of the industrial revolution, Twenty Years at Hull House has been applauded for its unflinching descriptions of the poverty and degradation of the era. Jane Addams also details the grave ill-health she suffered during and after her childhood, giving the reader insight into the adversity which she would re-purpose into a drive to alleviate the suffering of others. The process by which Addams founded Hull House in Chicago is detailed; the sheer scale and severity of the poverty in the city she and others witnessed, the search for the perfect location, and the numerous difficulties she and her fellow activists encountered while establishing and maintaining the house are detailed.