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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political activism > General
From the Occupy protests to the Black Lives Matter movement and
school strikes for climate action, the twenty-first century has
been rife with activism. Although very different from one another,
each of these movements has created alliances across borders, with
activists stressing that their concerns are not confined to
individual nation states. In this book, Daniel Laqua shows that
global efforts of this kind are not a recent phenomenon, and that
as long as there have been borders, activists have sought to cross
them. Activism Across Borders since 1870 explores how individuals,
groups and organisations have fostered bonds in their quest for
political and social change, and considers the impact of national
and ideological boundaries on their efforts. Focusing on Europe but
with a global outlook, the book acknowledges the importance of
imperial and postcolonial settings for groups and individuals that
expressed far-reaching ambitions. From feminism and socialism to
anti-war campaigns and green politics, this book approaches
transnational activism with an emphasis on four features:
connectedness, ambivalence, transience and marginality. In doing
so, it demonstrates the intertwined nature of different movements,
problematizes transnational action, discusses the temporary nature
of some alliances, and shows how transnationalism has been used by
those marginalized at the national level. With a broad
chronological perspective and thematic chapters, it provides
historical context, clarifies terms and concepts, and offers an
alternative history of modern Europe through the lens of activists,
movements and campaigns.
In this volume, Alessandro Grazi offers the first intellectual
biography of the Italian Jewish writer and politician David Levi
(1816-1898). In this intriguing journey through the mysterious
rites of Freemasonry and the bizarre worldviews of
Saint-Simonianism, you can discover Levi's innovative
interpretation of Judaism and its role in modernity. As a champion
of dialogue with Catholic intellectuals, Levi's importance
transcends the Jewish world. The second part of the book presents
an unpublished document, Levi's comedy "Il Mistero delle Tre
Melarancie", a phantasmagorical adventure in search of his Jewish
identity, with an English translation of its most relevant excerpt.
Recent years have seen a disturbing advance in populist and
authoritarian styles of rule and, in response, a rise in popular
activism. Strongmen, especially since the advent of fascism, have
formed their base of power in popular acclaim. But what power do
the people have in checking the rise of tyranny? In this book an
international team of experts representing several academic
disciplines examines the power relationship between peoples and
their rulers. It is among the first to study this globally as a
problem of nation states. From populism in 19th-century Latin
America to eastern Europe since the collapse of communism, to the
Arab Spring and contemporary Russia and China, the cases in this
book span five continents and twelve nations. Taken together, they
reveal how different forms of popular opposition have succeeded or
failed in unseating authoritarian regimes and expose the tactics
and strategies used by regimes to repress people power and create
an image of popular support. Analysing the causes and consequence
of the global advance of authoritarianism, The Power of Populism
and the People offers a historical comparison of popular protest,
opposition and crises over the last century to the recent rise of
populist leaders.
We live at a time when the competitive, capitalist model of action
has eclipsed all other contemporary social and economic models and
threatens the greater cooperative good of society. Neoliberalism is
an attempt to reimagine governance in an age of mass democratic
policies by its intention to inoculate capitalism against the
threat of democracy. Education for Action: A Curriculum for Social
Activists sees social action as a vital vehicle in challenging this
intense individualistic, managerial and competitive ethos. Such
action is a collective, transformative response to capitalism which
combines local activism, community development and the advocacy of
social, political and economic rights to help committed citizens
initiate, stimulate and support social change at both local and
global levels. The book explains the methods, instruments, theories
and practices that help educators encourage activists to build
power amongst concerned individuals using a curriculum that
emphasises the importance of critical theory and which is
accessible to everybody and rooted in their community. The author
also stresses the vital role of education in helping activists
resist the ideologies, actions and slogans imposed on society by
authoritarian powerholders while simultaneously regenerating
grass-roots politics and its belief in the viability of collective
solidarity and social activism.
Read the fascinating story of one of the greatest unsung figures of
the nature conservation movement, founder of the RSPB and icon of
early animal rights activism, Etta Lemon. A heroine for our times,
Etta Lemon campaigned for fifty years against the worldwide
slaughter of birds for extravagantly feathered hats. Her legacy is
the RSPB, grown from an all-female pressure group of 1889 with the
splendidly simple pledge: Wear No Feathers. Etta's long battle
against 'murderous millinery' triumphed with the Plumage Act of
1921 - but her legacy has been eclipsed by the more glamorous
campaign for the vote, led by the elegantly plumed Emmeline
Pankhurst. This gripping narrative explores two formidable heroines
and their rival, overlapping campaigns. Moving from the feather
workers' slums to high society, from the first female political
rally to the rise of the eco-feminist, it restores Etta Lemon to
her rightful place in history - the extraordinary woman who saved
the birds. ETTA LEMON was originally published in hardback in 2018
under the title of MRS PANKHURST'S PURPLE FEATHER. 'A great story
of pioneering conservation.' KATE HUMBLE 'Quite brilliant.
Meticulous and perceptive. A triumph of a book.' CHARLIE ELDER
'Shocking and entertaining. The surprising story of the campaigning
women who changed Britain." VIRGINIA NICHOLSON 'A fascinating and
moving story, vividly told.' JOHN CAREY 'A fascinating clash of two
causes: rights for women and rights for birds to fly free not adorn
suffragettes' hats. An illuminating story, provocative,
well-researched and brilliantly told.' DIANA SOUHAMI
The world is currently witnessing the emergence of a new context
for education, labor, and transformative social movements. Global
flows of people, capital, and energy increasingly define the world
we live in. The multinational corporation, with its pursuit of
ever-cheaper sources of labor and materials and its disregard for
human life, is the dominant form of economic organization, where
capital can cross borders, but people can't. Affirmative action,
democracy, and human rights are moving in from the margins to
challenge capitalist priorities of "efficiency", i.e. exploitation.
In some places, the representatives of popular movements are
actually taking the reins of state power. Across the globe new
progressive movements are emerging to bridge national identities
and boundaries, in solidarity with transnational class, gender, and
ethnic struggles. At this juncture, educators have a key role to
play. The ideology of market competition has become more entrenched
in schools, even as opportunities for skilled employment diminish.
We must rethink the relationship between schooling and labor,
developing transnational pedagogies that draw upon the myriad
social struggles shaping students' lives and communities. Critical
educators need to connect with other social movements to put a
radically democratic agenda, based on the principles of equity,
access, and emancipation, at the center of educational praxis. Many
countries in Latin America like in other continents are developing
new alternatives for the reconstruction of social projects; these
emerging sources of hope are the central focus of this book. Major
historical change always starts with people's social movement.
Democracy can be one of the best political and social systems in
the world but for it to work entails the sustainable participation
of citizens. Above all, it requires that people be informed and
critically educated since the quality of democracy depends on
quality of education. There are 2 kinds of power: money and people.
If people exercise their agency, they can be more powerful than
money. There are some organizing principles of social movements,
as: "don't do for others what they should do for themselves." Saul
Alinsky wrote: Rules for Radicals: A pragmatic primer for realistic
radicals; Mary Rogers: Cold Anger: A story of faith and power
politics; Michael Gecan: Going Public: An organizer's guide to
citizen action; and Ernesto Cortez's, Industrial Area Foundation,
are all great sources for organized activism that do work. I put
some of these principles to the test and they produced positive
results, I was a founder and president of a union at my university
and I lived my whole life as an activist and learned that, we can
do more together than alone. Now we also have a new digital war
with the Cambridge Analitica and Breitbart's fake news
manipulation; however, we also have social-justice hacktivism to
counter act it, as well as other democratic social media venues
that critical thinkers and activist use. The chapters in this book
demonstrate the importance of widening and diversifying social
movements, at the same time, emphasizes the need to build cohesive
alliances among all the different fronts. What some people think is
"impossible" can become a transformed reality, for those who dare
attempt changing the world as global citizens.
Northcott constructs a new political theology of climate change
that acknowledges the role of borders in the constitution of the
nations, and their providential ordering under God as assemblies of
persons who recognise particular duties to each other within those
borders.
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