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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political control & freedoms > General
Recent years in America have seen Confederate monuments toppled,
statues of colonizers vandalized, and public icons commemorating
figures from a history of exploitation demolished. Some were
alarmed by the destruction, claiming that pulling down public
statues is a negation of an entire cultural heritage. For others,
statue-smashing is justified vandalism against a legacy of
injustice. Monumental Folly confronts the long-neglected questions
of our relationship with statues, icons, and monuments in public
spaces, providing a rich historical perspective on iconoclastic
violence. Organized according to specific themes that provide
insights into the erection and destruction of statues - from
religion, war, and revolution to colonialism, ideology, art, and
social justice - author Matthew Fraser examines the implications of
our monuments from the Buddhas of Bamiyan to those of Napoleon
Bonaparte, Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Vladimir Lenin, and many
more. Above all, the book endeavors to frame moments of
statue-toppling throughout history so we can better understand the
eruptions of iconoclastic violence that we are witnessing today.
Statues are erected as expressions of power, and the impulse to
destroy them is motivated by a desire to defy, reject, and
eradicate their authority. However, the symbolic power of statues
can stubbornly persist even after their destruction. This enduring
paradox - between destruction and resurrection - is at the heart of
this book. Fraser concludes with reflections that propose new ways
of thinking about our relationship with statues and monuments and,
more practically, about how we can creatively integrate their
legacy into our collective memory in a way that inclusively
enriches shared historical experience.
What is the meaning of freedom? Angela Y. Davis' life and work have
been dedicated to examining this fundamental question and to ending
all forms of oppression that deny people their political, cultural,
and sexual freedom. In this collection of twelve searing,
previously unpublished speeches, Davis confronts the interconnected
issues of power, race, gender, class, incarceration, conservatism,
and the ongoing need for social change in the United States. With
her characteristic brilliance, historical insight, and penetrating
analysis, Davis addresses examples of institutional injustice and
explores the radical notion of freedom as a collective striving for
real democracy - not something granted or guaranteed through laws,
proclamations, or policies, but something that grows from a
participatory social process that demands new ways of thinking and
being. "The speeches gathered together here are timely and
timeless," writes Robin D.G. Kelley in the foreword, "they embody
Angela Davis' uniquely radical vision of the society we need to
build, and the path to get there." The Meaning of Freedom
articulates a bold vision of the society we need to build and the
path to get there. This is her only book of speeches. "Davis'
arguments for justice are formidable...The power of her historical
insights and the sweetness of her dream cannot be denied."--The New
York Times "One of America's last truly fearless public
intellectuals." --Cynthia McKinney, former US Congresswoman "Angela
Davis offers a cartography of engagement in oppositional social
movements and unwavering commitment to justice." --Chandra Talpade
Mohanty, Women's Studies, Hamilton College "Angela Davis deserves
credit, not just for the dignity and courage with which she has
lived her life, but also for raising important critiques of a
for-profit penitentiary system decades before those arguments
gained purchase in the mainstream." --Thomas Chatterton Williams,
SFGate "Angela Davis's revolutionary spirit is still strong. Still
with us, thank goodness!" --Virginian-Pilot "Long before
'race/gender' became the obligatory injunction it is now, Angela
Davis was developing an analytical framework that brought all of
these factors into play. For readers who only see Angela Davis as a
public icon ...meet the real Angela Davis: perhaps the leading
public intellectual of our era." --Robin D. G. Kelley author of
Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original "There
was a time in America when to call a person an 'abolitionist' was
the ultimate epithet. It evoked scorn in the North and outrage in
the South. Yet they were the harbingers of things to come. They
were on the right side of history. Prof. Angela Y. Davis stands in
that proud, radical tradition." --Mumia Abu-Jamal, author of
Jailhouse Lawyers: Prisoners Defending Prisoners v. the U.S.A.
"Behold the heart and mind of Angela Davis, open, relentless, and
on time!" --June Jordan "Political activist, scholar, and author
Angela Davis confronts the interconnected issues of power, race,
gender, class, incarceration, conservatism, and the ongoing need
for social change in the U.S. in her book, The Meaning of Freedom:
And Other Difficult Dialogues." --Travis Smiley Radio Angela Y.
Davis is professor emerita at the University of California and
author of eight books. She is a much sought after public speaker
and an internationally known advocate for social justice. Robin
D.G. Kelley is the author of numerous books and a professor at the
University of Southern California.
The Freedom of Information Act, developed at the height of the Cold
War, highlighted the power struggles between Congress and the
president in that tumultuous era. By drawing on previously unseen
primary source material and exhaustive archival research, this book
reveals the largely untold and fascinating narrative of the
development of the FOIA, and demonstrates how this single policy
issue transformed presidential behaviour. The author explores the
policy's lasting influence on the politics surrounding contemporary
debates on government secrecy, public records and the public's
'right to know', and examines the modern development and use of
'executive privilege'.
The first complete account of the fiercely guarded secrets of
London's clandestine interrogation center, operated by the British
Secret Service from 1940 to 1948 Behind the locked doors of three
mansions in London's exclusive Kensington Palace Gardens
neighborhood, the British Secret Service established a highly
secret prison in 1940: the London Cage. Here recalcitrant German
prisoners of war were subjected to "special intelligence
treatment." The stakes were high: the war's outcome could hinge on
obtaining information German prisoners were determined to withhold.
After the war, high-ranking Nazi war criminals were housed in the
Cage, revamped as an important center for investigating German war
crimes. This riveting book reveals the full details of operations
at the London Cage and subsequent efforts to hide them. Helen Fry's
extraordinary original research uncovers the grim picture of
prisoners' daily lives and of systemic Soviet-style mistreatment.
The author also provides sensational evidence to counter official
denials concerning the use of "truth drugs" and "enhanced
interrogation" techniques. Bringing dark secrets to light, this
groundbreaking book at last provides an objective and complete
history of the London Cage.
"Rojek's argument is a psychological one, although his message is
political: global events build on people's needs to feel empowered
and jointly engaged in the pursuit of a higher purpose; they allow
a break from daily routines, provide an illusion of intimacy and
social membership, and create a sense of self-validation and
personal gratification. In short, participation in such events
makes us feel good. At the same time, the real effect of global
events seems to be the maintenance of global inequality and social
injustice, as well as huge profits for the organizations involved
in planning, commercializing and securing these happenings. In
sketching out this palliative function of global events from the
perspective of people's needs on the one hand, and unveiling their
puppet masters backstage on the other, Rojek's book presents a
compelling account of the role of organized events in modern
society." - Organization Studies Events dominate our screens, our
lives, and increasingly global geopolitics. Analysis of events and
their management has remained rooted in leisure and management
studies - until now. This break-through book provides an
introduction to event management, while also situating events in
questions of power and social control.
Rojek powerfully argues that events are essential elements in
corporate-state partnerships of 'invisible government' that have
revived the romance of charity as to form illusory communities,
while cloaking power imbalances and social inequalities. Events are
moving politics from the old idea of 'the personal is political' to
the new, more seductive notion that 'representation is resistance'.
Wielding rich case studies from the World Cup and the Olympics to
Live Aid, Burning Man and Mardi Gras, Rojek presents a dazzlingly
original account of communication power, social ordering and
control. It is essential reading in media & communication
studies and across the social sciences.
Respected academic Clive Hamilton realised something big was
happening when, in 2016, it was revealed that wealthy Chinese
businessmen linked to the Chinese Communist Party had become the
largest donors to both major Australian political parties. Hamilton
began to investigate the Chinese government's influence in
Australia. What he found shocked him. From politics to culture,
real estate to agriculture, universities to unions, and even in our
primary schools, he uncovered compelling evidence of the Chinese
Communist Party's infiltration of Australia. It's no exaggeration
to say the Chinese Communist Party and Australian democracy are on
a collision course. The CCP is determined to win, while Australia
looks the other way. Thoroughly researched and powerfully argued,
Silent Invasion is a sobering examination of the mounting threats
to democratic freedoms Australians have for too long taken for
granted. Yes, China is important to our economic prosperity; but,
Hamilton asks, how much is our sovereignty as a nation worth?
`Anyone keen to understand how China draws other countries into its
sphere of influence should start with Silent Invasion. This is an
important book for the future of Australia. But tug on the threads
of China's influence networks in Australia and its global network
of influence operations starts to unravel.' - Professor John
Fitzgerald, author of Big White Lie: Chinese Australians in White
Australia
From Russia’s tampering with the US election to the WannaCry hack that temporarily crippled the NHS, cyber has become the weapon of choice for democracies, dictators, and terrorists.
Cheap to acquire, easily deniable, and used for a variety of malicious purposes ― from crippling infrastructure to sowing discord and doubt ― cyberweapons are re-writing the rules of warfare. In less than a decade, they have displaced terrorism and nuclear missiles as the biggest immediate threat to international security and to democracy.
Here, New York Times correspondent David E. Sanger takes us from the White House Situation Room to the dens of Chinese government hackers and the boardrooms of Silicon Valley, piecing together a remarkable picture of a world now coming face-to-face with the most sophisticated ― and arguably most dangerous ― weapon ever invented.
The Perfect Weapon is the dramatic story of a new era of constant sabotage, misinformation, and fear, in which everyone is a target.
Throughout history and across cultures, the spy chief has been a
leader of the state security apparatus and an essential adviser to
heads of state. In democracies, the spy chief has become a public
figure, and intelligence activities have been brought under the
rule of law. In authoritarian regimes, however, the spy chief was
and remains a frightening and opaque figure who exercises secret
influence abroad and engages in repression at home. This second
volume of Spy Chiefs goes beyond the commonly studied spy chiefs of
the United States and the United Kingdom to examine leaders from
Renaissance Venice to the Soviet Union, Germany, India, Egypt, and
Lebanon in the twentieth century. It provides a close-up look at
intelligence leaders, good and bad, in the different political
contexts of the regimes they served. The contributors to the volume
try to answer the following questions: how do intelligence leaders
operate in these different national, institutional and historical
contexts? What role have they played in the conduct of domestic
affairs and international relations? How much power have they
possessed? How have they led their agencies and what qualities make
an effective intelligence leader? How has their role differed
according to the political character of the regime they have
served? The profiles in this book range from some of the most
notorious figures in modern history, such as Feliks Dzerzhinsky and
Erich Mielke, to spy chiefs in democratic West Germany and India.
How do groups of people fashion shared identities in the modern
world? Following two communities of German-speaking Mennonites, one
composed of voluntary migrants and the other of refugees, across
four continents between 1870 and 1945, this transnational study
explores how religious migrants engaged with the phenomenon of
nationalism. John P. R. Eicher demonstrates how migrant groups
harnessed the global spread of nationalism to secure practical
objectives and create local mythologies. In doing so, he also
reveals how governments and aid organizations used diasporic groups
for their own purposes - and portraying such nomads as enemies or
heroes in national and religious mythologies. By underscoring the
importance of local and religious counter-stories that run in
parallel to nationalist narratives, Exiled Among Nations helps us
understand acts of resistance, flight, and diaspora in the modern
world.
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