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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political control & freedoms > General
We are here to remember what happened and to declare solemnly that ‘they’ must never do it again. But who are ‘they’? HOW TO SPOT A FASCIST is a selection of three thought-provoking essays on freedom and fascism, censorship and tolerance – including Eco’s iconic essay ‘Ur-Fascism’, which lists the fourteen essential characteristics of fascism, and draws on his own personal experiences growing up in the shadow of Mussolini. Umberto Eco remains one of the greatest writers and cultural commentators of the last century. In these pertinent pieces, he warns against prejudice and abuses of power and proves a wise and insightful guide for our times. If we strive to learn from our collective history and come together in challenging times, we can hope for a peaceful and tolerant future. Freedom and liberation are never-ending tasks. Let this be our motto: ‘Do not forget.’
The occurrence of treaties throughout the Ancient Near East has been investigated on a number of occasions, generally in order to resolve certain questions arising in the biblical field. As a result of that focus, the existence of a similar institution in a number of different cultures has not been treated as a problem in itself. Generally the existence of treaties throughout the area has been taken for granted, or a simple borrowing model has been used to explain how similar forms came to be used in different cultures. Why forms were similar across the area has not been probed. This work investigates treaty occurrences in different cultures and finds that the forms used correlate with ways of maintaining political control both internally and over vassals. Related concepts are projected in official accounts of history. Thus one can roughly distinguish threats based on power from persuasion based on benevolence and historical precedent, though various combinations of these two occur. There is a likely further connection of the means chosen to the degree of centralisation of power within the society. Underlying the local traditions is a common tradition which has to be dated to the pre-literate period. Biblical covenants fit within this pattern. The cultures treated are Mesopotamia, the Hittites, Egypt, Syrian centres and Israel.
Keeping U.S. Intelligence Effective: The Need for a Revolution in Intelligence Affairs explores whether the U.S. intelligence enterprise will be able to remain effective in today's security environment. Based on the demands currently being placed upon the intelligence community, the analysis concludes that the effectiveness of U.S. intelligence will decline unless it embarks upon an aggressive, transformational course of action to reform various aspects of its operations. In keeping with the emerging literature on this subject, the book asserts that a so-called Revolution in Intelligence Affairs is needed. The need for a Revolution in Intelligence Affairs implies that no amount of evolutionary adjustments to existing intelligence community practices will keep U.S. intelligence effective. While evolutionary reforms might be necessary, they will not be sufficient to permit the intelligence community to target successfully the various threats and emerging issues that populate today's and tomorrow's security environment.
"Every Generation Must Re-win Its Own Freedoms." And every generation must produce an individual who will insist that our freedoms under the Constitution and Bill of Rights remain unabridged by those in power. This generation has produced Gatewood Galbraith, activist, attorney, marijuana smoker, gun owner and the most successful Independent candidate for a major Office in America for several decades. Gatewood has defended individual rights in the streets, the courtrooms and on political stages around the country. He very well may be THE LAST FREE MAN IN AMERICA.
Explores current debates around religious extremism as a means to understand and re-think the connections between terrorism, insurgency and state failure. Using case studies of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq, she develops a better understanding of the underlying causes and conditions necessary for terrorism and insurgency to occur.
Environmental and human security issues are vital national security interests in African states because most citizens are engaged in daily struggles to survive. Chronic and worsening resource scarcities and degradations fuel these individual struggles, along with political conflicts among different groups vying to control and benefit from scarce resources. Thus, many observers agree on the importance of expanding the concept of national security in African states, but there is no consensus yet on the optimal approach for studying or improving environmental and human security problems. While there are books on human and environmental security, few past works focus on Africa or address the interests and concerns of researchers and practitioners working in such diverse fields as development, security, or environmental science. Even though the military is one of the most influential institutions in African countries, no published work to date has addressed issues related to when, how, or if national and foreign militaries should be involved in promoting human and environmental security. African Environmental and Human Security in the 21st Century fills this void by combining ten original studies that discuss important non-traditional security issues facing countries located in each region of Africa. This volume reflects a shared assumption that one must have case-specific knowledge, use multidisciplinary and multi-level conceptual frameworks, and have an appreciation of feasible and desirable public policies in order to understand and effectively address complex non-traditional security concerns. This is the first book to address a broad array of African environmental and human security issues. The book is intended to be used by beginning students, seasoned researchers, novice and experienced practitioners. The case studies expose the reader to past relevant research, while also identifying the main causes and consequences of different types of political conflicts fueled by human and environmental security problems. Each study also contains policy lessons, "best practices," or recommended future actions. The originality and comprehensiveness of each chapter means that the volume is likely to appeal to a wide range of readers for many years. Despite the diversity of the contributors' backgrounds, many of the conclusions and recommendations use common themes about the complex causes of human and environmental conflicts; the need to adopt longer-term time frames to evaluate the effectiveness of policy actions; and an emphasis on the importance of outside actors providing modest amounts of targeted aid to help Africans manger immediate pressing problems as well. Several authors addressed the proper role for outside agencies, such as AFRICOM and USAID, and provide caveats similar to the thrust of Maxie McFarland's cautionary concluding comments at the ISA panel; to wit, just because "the military is already doing a lot of nontraditional, human security type projects in Iraq and Afghanistan ...and just because the Army and other branches of the military] can do this type of activity, "doesn't mean you want them to do it." African Environmental and Human Security in the 21st Century is an important book for African Studies, economic development, environmental and earth science, environmental security, ecotourism, history, human security, international relations, national security and military Science Collections.
This book presents a collection of philosophical essays on freedom and tolerance in the Netherlands. It explores liberal freedom and its limits in areas such as freedom of speech, public reason, sexual morality, euthanasia, drugs policy, and minority rights. The book takes Dutch practices as exemplary test cases for the principled discussions on these subjects from the perspective of political liberalism. Indeed, the Netherlands may be viewed as a social laboratory in human tolerance. During the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s, Holland took the lead in a global emancipation process towards a society based on equal freedom. It was the first country to legalize euthanasia, soft drugs and gay marriage. In the final sections, the book examines the question of whether the political murders on the politician Pim Fortuyn and the film director Theo van Gogh, the reactions to Ayaan Hirsi Ali's film Submission, as well as the success of the populist politician Geert Wilders are signs of the end of Dutch tolerance. Although it recognizes that the political climate has taken a conservative turn, the book shows that the Netherlands still shows remarkable tolerance.
A groundbreaking volume surveying the contributions that gay and lesbian Americans have made to the democratic process. In 1969, when lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people first participated as a group in the political process, they faced an imposing array of obstacles. Everything from personal rejection and violence; state anti-sodomy laws; exclusion from the armed forces; and legal discrimination in employment, housing, credit, consumer service, and public accommodations. Nevertheless, by the end of the millennium, LGBT people had transformed themselves into a well-organized and begrudgingly respected political force. In the process, they dramatically changed laws and attitudes across the nation. This new volume tells the story of the rapid growth and remarkable successes of the LGBT movement—a record that makes it one of the most successful social movements in U.S. history and, ironically, the least studied.
This book documents what happens when people encounter public officials. It draws on multi-national Barometer surveys asking questions about corruption and bribery in 119 countries. Clear prose, tables and figures report the answers given by more than 250,000 people and the conclusion sets out six principles for reducing bribery.
A primer to terrorist financing and resourcing, this book examines what terrorist organizations must acquire in order to survive and operate, and describes the various means used to meet these needs. It observes how terrorism financing and resourcing has evolved since the beginning of the Age of Modern Terrorism and develops a seven category typology of terrorist resourcing based on how each selected strategy affects a group's operational autonomy. To illustrate this typology, case studies for each category are provided, based on actual examples drawn from the history of terrorism.
"This book...broadens our understanding of the post-World War II
confrontation between the United States and the USSR and serves as
a strong stimulus for the study of the contribution to the clash of
ideas, using documents from former Communist archives." Freedom's War is the first book to examine comprehensively the American pursuit of the liberation of Eastern Europe from the end of World War II until the failure of the Hungarian Revolution in 1956. It shows how the American vision of freedom led to interventions in Asia, Africa and Latin America, and it details the massive propaganda campaign to persuade people at home and abroad of the virtues of U.S. possession of the atomic bomb. Most significantly, Freedom's War explores in detail the most important legacy of the Cold War: the forging of a network linking government and private groups, from labor unions to women's organizations to academics in the crusade against Communism. Beginning with the declaration of the Truman Doctrine, Lucas argues that the Cold War was a total war that required the contribution of all sectors of American society. From its groundbreaking study of U.S. efforts to "liberate" Eastern Europe to its explanation of the ill-fated intervention in Vietnam, Freedom's War is an essential book for students and general readers alike.
This book engages with debates on ethnic minority and Muslim young people showing, beyond apathy and violent political extremism, the diverse forms of political engagement in which young people engage. It situates its analysis of ethnic minority young people's politics in relation to four areas of social and political change: changing patterns of citizens' democratic participation manifested in a shift towards more informal and everyday activism; the emergence of more decentred and participatory forms of governance that have pluralized the sites of political participation; shifting conceptions of identities and ethnicity and their implications for identity politics; and the significance of different scales of activism enabled by new information communication technologies. In so doing, the book identifies 'new grammars of action' among ethnic minority young people that help to explain their disaffection with mainstream politics and through which they creatively politically participate to make a difference.
Exploring the illegal drug issue in international context, this book looks at why harmonization has not already taken place at the European level. It considers the desirability and viability of harmonization, examines the conflict between repressive and liberal drug policies and applies a multi-level governance lens to the issue.
There is a cognitive deficit between the holistic vision for human and societal development in Islam and the results achieved by Muslim societies. The authors begin by looking at the Western concept of development, which in recent years has recognized the wider dimensions of human development and the role of institutions. Thus Western thinking has moved toward the Islamic vision and path of development, emphasizing human solidarity, belonging, wellbeing, sharing, concern for others, basic human entitlements, and modest living. The authors illuminate the Quranic vision and the experience of the society organized by the Prophet, which together represent the Islamic paradigm.
"This book provides a timely assessment of loyalist history, identity and community in Northern Ireland today which provides a comprehensive picture of how loyalism has reacted to changes since the Good Friday Agreement. Challenging simplistic stereotypes of loyalism, the book provides a complex multi-faceted explanation of the loyalist imagination"
In Germany, Grand Coalitions of the two major parties - the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democrats (SPD) - generally have a bad reputation. Hence, the CDU/CSU-SPD government under Angela Merkel (2005-2009) was neither the parties' nor the citizens' preferred choice, its performance was seen quite critical from the outset, and it was finished without further ado after the 2009 federal election. Has the Grand Coalition 2005-2009 been a single episode or rather a turning point for German politics? This book provides a retrospective of the first Merkel government, an analysis of the 2009 election and an account of its prospective consequences.
President Volodymyr Zelensky's message to the world - a rallying cry for us all to stand up, support Ukraine and fight for democracy. The words of a man. The message of a people. Bringing together a new introduction by Volodymyr Zelensky with his most powerful war speeches, this book recounts Ukraine's story through the words of its president. It is the story of a nation valiantly defending itself from Russian aggression. And it is the story of a people leading the world in the struggle for democracy. Above all, it is a battle cry for us all to stand up and fight for liberty. If not now, when? 'If you want to understand who we are, where we are from, what we want and where we are going, you need to learn more about who we are. This book will help you do just that.' - President Volodymyr Zelensky All President Zelensky's proceeds from this book will go to United24, his initiative to collect donations in support of Ukraine. United24 is run by the government of Ukraine. For more information, visit u24.gov.ua.
Both China and Europe have in recent years witnessed the emergence
of new migration dynamics. In China, hundreds of millions of
migrant workers help to fuel China's economic growth with their
labour whislt Europe has witnessed an increase in various new forms
of migration by people from within and without seeking refuge,
family-reunion or work.
Recent acts of terrorism and the pro-democracy unrest in the Middle East remind us how important it is to understand the relationship between violence, peace and democracy. In a challenging and insightful essay, Amartya Sen explores ideas around "organised violence" (war, genocide and terrorism) and violence against the individual. Highlighting the inadequacies of some of the widely accepted explanations for violence - including the idea that the world is experiencing a "clash of civilisations" - Sen makes a plea for a global, multilateral debate on the causes of conflict, and an understanding of the multiple identities of the individuals involved. The introductory essay draws on the findings of the Commonwealth Commission on Respect and Understanding, which was established to promote mutual communication and understanding among all faiths and communities in the Commonwealth. Its timely report, "Civil Paths to Peace," suggests that governments, media and educators - indeed, everyone - must take the time to understand the complexities around violent behaviour and its causes, without prejudging what these might be.
How do we form a connection to the ideals and institutions of public life? This connection is sometimes expressed in the language of civic engagement, public service, and commitment to the public good. While we do not lack for literature to guide us in thinking about public life, we have less to call on when our problem is not only to explore public ideals and institutions, but also to consider the nature and origin of our capacity to make a connection with and find meaning in those institutions and ideals. Levine explores the nature and origin of this capacity to form a connection and find meaning.
This volume in the series 'Mass Dictatorship in the Twentieth Century' sees twelve Swedish, Korean and Japanese scholars, theorists, and historians of fiction and non-fiction probe the literary subject of life in 20th century mass dictatorships. Generously defined, the 'literary' in this context covers a wide spectrum of narrative forms, ranging from the commercial television documentary to popular crime fiction, and from digitally restored amateur film on DVD to the Nobel Prize winning novel. It deals with mass dictatorship regimes as far apart as Nazi Germany, Park Chung-hee's South Korea, Stalinist Russia, post-war Hungary, Mao Zedong's China, apartheid's South Africa, and Ceausescu's Romania. The interplay of analytical ideas and the transnational perspectives that this volume brings add a new dimension to our understanding of traumatic events - 'dark chapters' - in 20th century history. By focusing the immense role of imagination within a cultural discourse otherwise dominated by irrefutable facts such as the existence of Holocaust and Gulag, this volume opens new ways of thinking perceptively about trauma, power and self. |
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