These `interventions’ are spurred by what in South Africa today is a buzz-phrase: social cohesion. The term, or concept, is bandied about with little reflection by leaders or spokespeople in politics, business, labour, education, sport, entertainment and the media. Yet, who would not wish to live in a socially cohesive society? How, then, do we apply the ideal in the daily round when diversity of language, religion, culture, race and the economy too often supersedes our commitment to a common citizenry? How do we live together rather than live apart? Such questions provoke the purpose of these interventions. The interventions – essays, which are short, incisive, at times provocative – tackle issues that are pertinent to both living together and living apart: equality/inequality, public pronouncement, xenophobia, safety, chieftaincy in modernity, gender-based abuse, healing, the law, education, identity, sport, new `national’ projects, the role of the arts, South Africa in the world. In focusing on such issues, the essays point towards the making of a future, in which a critical citizenry is key to a healthy society. Contributors include leading academics and public figures in South Africa today: Christopher Ballantine, Ahmed Bawa, Michael Chapman, Jacob Dlamini, Jackie Dugard, Kira Erwin, Nicole Fritz, Michael Gardiner, Gerhard Maré, Monique Marks, Rajend Mesthrie, Bonita Meyersfeld, Leigh-Ann Naidoo, Njabulo S. Ndebele, Kathryn Pillay, Faye Reagon, Brenda Schmahmann, Himla Soodyall, David Spurrett and Thuto Thipe.

Drawing on his unique perspective as the man responsible for the party's target seats and polling, the 133-page book gives Lord Ashcroft's view of the Conservatives' progress since their third defeat in 2005, the reasons for the party's failure to win an overall majority in 2010, and David Cameron's decision to form a coalition with the Liberal Democrats. Minority Verdict follows Lord Ashcroft's influential analysis of the 2005 election campaign, Smell the Coffee: A wake-up call for the Conservative Party, which called for the party to modernise and re-engage with voters having come to be seen as untrustworthy and out of touch. Lord Ashcroft said: "There has been speculation as to my view of the Party's performance in the election, and of David Cameron's subsequent decision to forge a coalition with the Liberal Democrats. By putting an end to speculation, Minority Verdict sets the record straight. This is a record of what I really thought at the time, and what I think now. And if there is to be a public debate about this subject, Minority Verdict represents my first and only contribution to it. I do not intend to comment beyond what is contained within its pages."

Sexual harassment in Japanese politics examines a problem that violates women's human rights and prevents a flourishing democracy. Japan fares badly in international gender equality indices, especially for female political representation. The scarcity of women in politics reflects the status of women and also exacerbates it. Based on interviews with female politicians around the country from all levels of government, this book sheds light on the sexist and sometimes dangerous environments in Japanese legislative assemblies. These environments reflect and recreate broader sexual inequalities in Japanese society and are a hothouse for sexual harassment. Like many places around the world, workplace sexual harassment laws and regulations in Japan often fail to protect women from being harassed. Even more, in the 'workplace' of the legislative council, such regulations are typically absent. This book discusses what this means for women in politics in the context of a broader culture whereby victims of sexual violence are largely silenced.

South and Southeast Asia continue to be extremely critical regions, deeply intertwined and bound in many ways by centuries of intersecting histories. As the recent experiences of rapid and transformative political and economic changes in several countries in these two regions illustrate, these changes have significant bearing on and are simultaneously affected by the legacy and continued dynamic of dominant-minority group relations. To be sure, while the dynamics of dominant-minority relations in each country are distinct and often mitigated by distinct historical conditions, the phenomenon of these dominant-minority relations, especially along ethnic and religious fault lines, are deeply consequential to many of the nations in these regions. This book, featuring eight case studies, provides a multidisciplinary and multi-layered assessment of the salience of the ethnic and religious realities in shaping various South and Southeast Asian nations. Featuring chapters on Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, this volume provides a deep appreciation of the challenges that these societies confront in integrating and/or responding to specific ethnic and/or religious based conflicts and tensions.

In ANOTHER WAY OF SEEING, Peter Gabel argues that our most fundamental spiritual need as human beings is the desire for authentic mutual recognition. Because we live in a world in which this desire is systematically denied due to the legacy of fear of the other that has been passed on from generation to generation, we exist as what he calls "withdrawn selves," perceiving the other as a threat rather than as the source of our completion as social beings. Calling for a new kind of "spiritual activism" that speaks to this universal interpersonal longing, Gabel shows how we can transform law, politics, public policy, and culture so as to build a new social movement through which we become more fully present to each other-creating a new "parallel universe" existing alongside our socially separated world and reaffirming the social bond that inherently unites us. "Peter Gabel is one of the grand prophetic voices in our day. He also is a long-distance runner in the struggle for justice. Don't miss this book " -Cornel West, The Class of 1943 Professor, Princeton University, and Professor of Philosophy and Christian Practice, Union Theological Seminary "Peter Gabel has delivered a set of unmatched phenomenological analyses of the profound alienation that pervades everyday life in America in the early 21st century. His insightful descriptions of the way things really are challenge us to open our eyes, minds and hearts to our own and one another's deepest longings, and together, to bring one another back home. ... Like a pick axe thrown ahead to anchor us all, to paraphrase one of his most evocative images, Gabel's polemic teaches and inspires us to 'think with our hearts, ' to genuinely and confidently love ourselves and our brothers and sisters on this very planet Earth, to lift ourselves and one another on the strength of our authentic Presence, and to move things forward together. Now." -Rhonda V. Magee, Professor of Law, University of San Francisco

This books provides a critical perspective on entrepreneurialism in the creative industries. Split into three sections, the book first asks the contextual question; why, at this point in time, did we arrive at such a focus on entrepreneurship in the creative industries? Examining the historical, social, cultural, economic and political background, the book places the creative industries and entrepreneurship firmly within a systemic approach to creativity and cultural production. Given this emphasis on entrepreneurship in the creative system, the second part of the book asks, what do those who want to work in the creative industries need to do to pragmatically gain an income? The practices, skills, business models and plans necessary to master in order to successfully run a business are explored in this section. The final section contains detailed case studies that reveal the lives of those who found a way to successfully gain an income in the creative industries. It highlights the practical knowledge they gathered, how they negotiated their field of endeavour, and the decisions they made in the real world. Fundamentally the book answers three questions: How and why did we get here? Given that we are here at this point in time, how do we go about being entrepreneurial? And who has managed to do this in the creative industries and how did they do it? Covering both theoretical debates in detail, and practical case studies in key sub-sectors of creative industries, this truly integrative and far-reaching volume will be of interest to students, researchers and practitioners alike.

The word 'polarization' is on the lips of every commentator today, from mainstream journalists to the left, but the significance of this widely recognised phenomenon needs far more scrutiny than it has had. The 58th volume of the Socialist Register takes up the challenge of exploring how the new polarisations relate to the contradictions that underlie them, and how far 'centrist' politics can continue to contain them. Original essays examine the multiplication of polarised national, racial, generational and other identities in the context of growing inequality in income and wealth, new forms of regional and urban antagonism, 'vaccine nationalism', and the shifting parameters of great power rivalry.

Networked communication technologies have drastically changed the relationship between States and their citizens. This fundamental shift has eased civilians' ability to access information and organise groups like never before, creating the need to re-examine existing theories. Revolutionizing the Interaction between State and Citizens through Digital Communications evaluates the relationship between governments and their constituents, and how this relationship is impacted by emerging technologies. Discussing both developed and underdeveloped nations, this book provides a comparison for the ongoing shift in societies, serving as a critical reference for legal professionals, activists, government employees, academics, and students.

In "Cuba and the Future," nine leading Cubanologists analyze the causes, nature, and scope of the Cuban crisis and assess the prospects for the future. They suggest that in spite of the severity of the crisis--which Castro himself calls the worst in the country's history--the regime may well survive, at least for the near-to-intermediate future. Although the forces undermining political stability are enormous, there are also powerful factors reinforcing the state's control.