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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political activism > Pressure groups & lobbying
In March 2016, Mosilo Mothepu was appointed CEO of Trillian Financial Advisory, a subsidiary of Gupta-linked Trillian Capital Partners. The prospect of being at the helm of a black-owned financial consultancy was electrifying for a black woman whose twin passions were transformation and empowering women. Three months later, suffering from depression and insomnia, she resigned with no other job lined up.
In October 2016, a written statement handed to Public Protector Thuli Madonsela detailing Trillian’s involvement in state capture was leaked to the media. Key to the disclosures were the removals of finance ministers Nhlanhla Nene and Pravin Gordhan from their posts due to the Guptas’ influence. Although she was not identified by name as the source of the affidavit, details of the revelations published in the
Sunday Times left no doubt in the minds of Trillian’s executives: Mothepu was the Nenegate whistleblower.
Despite fearing legal consequences, Mothepu had decided that she could not just stand by as the country burnt. Her disclosures resulted in the freezing of Trillian-associated company Regiments Capital’s assets and a High Court order for Trillian to pay back almost R600 million to Eskom. Facing criminal charges and bankruptcy, unemployed and deemed a political risk, Mothepu experienced first-hand the loneliness of
whistleblowing. The effect on her mental and physical health was devastating. Now, in Uncaptured, she recounts this troubling yet seminal chapter in her life with honesty, humility and wry humour in the hope that others who find themselves in a similar situation will follow in her footsteps and speak truth to power.
Crime and gentrification are hot button issues that easily polarize
racially diverse neighborhoods. How do residents, activists, and
politicians navigate the thorny politics of race as they fight
crime or resist gentrification? And do conflicts over competing
visions of neighborhood change necessarily divide activists into
racially homogeneous camps, or can they produce more complex
alliances and divisions? In Us versus Them, Jan Doering answers
these questions through an in-depth study of two Chicago
neighborhoods. Drawing on three and a half years of ethnographic
fieldwork, Doering examines how activists and community leaders
clashed and collaborated as they launched new initiatives, built
coalitions, appeased critics, and discredited opponents. At the
heart of these political maneuvers, he uncovers a ceaseless battle
over racial meanings that unfolded as residents strove to make
local initiatives and urban change appear racially benign or
malignant. A thoughtful and clear-eyed contribution to the field,
Us versus Them reveals the deep impact that competing racial
meanings have on the fabric of community and the direction of
neighborhood change.
Access Points develops a new theory about how democratic
institutions influence policy outcomes. Access Point Theory argues
that the more points of access that institutions provide to
interest groups, the cheaper lobbying will be, and, thus, the more
lobbying will occur. This will lead to more complex policy, as
policymakers insert specific provisions to benefit special
interests, and, if one side of the debate has a lobbying advantage,
to more biased policy, as the advantaged side is able to better
take advantage of the cheaper lobbying. This book then uses Access
Point Theory to explain why some countries have more protectionist
and more complex trade policies than other; why some countries have
stronger environmental and banking regulations than others; and why
some countries have more complicated tax codes than others. In
policy area after policy area, this book finds that more access
points lead to more biased and more complex policy. Access Points
provides scholars with a powerful tool to explain how political
institutions matter and why countries implement the policies they
do.
A critical look at how Bill Gates uses his wealth and power through the Gates Foundation to advance his own agenda and erode democratic institutions in the process.
From greedy to generous, from cold to kind-hearted, from rogue to hero, Bill Gates is an extraordinarily complex public figure. Yet over the last decade, we've reduced him to a flat caricature - a sweater-wearing, avuncular, well-meaning billionaire, who is adamantly giving away all of his money through the Gates Foundation in order to improve the lives of others.
This simplistic portrait perilously ignores the political influence that Gates has acquired through his charitable work, and the controversial ways through which he utilises it. The charity internally sets a policy agenda for how to fix the world - based on one man's worldview - then imposes this vision onto the developing world by funding groups that align with it.
Combining rich storytelling and ground-breaking reporting, The Bill Gates Problem offers readers a provocative and timely counter-narrative about one of the world's most famous figures. But more than that, this book speaks to a vital political question around economic inequality and the erosion of democratic institutions - why should the super-rich be able to transform their wealth into political power, and just how far can they go?
Caciquismo (roughly translated as "boss politics") has played a
major role in Mexican political and social life. Loosely knit
interest groups, or "caciques", of diverse character - syndicates,
farmers, left- and right-wingers, white-collar workers - have
exercised great power within Mexico's distinctive political system.
The peculiarities of Mexico's system have greatly depended on this
kind of informal politics, which combines repression, patronage,
and charismatic leadership. As such, caciquismo fits uncomfortably
within the formal analysis of laws, parties, and elections and has
been relatively neglected by academics. Though its demise has often
been predicted, it has survived, evolved, and adjusted to Mexico's
rapid post-revolutionary transformation. Incorporating the research
of historians, political scientists, sociologists, and
anthropologists, this book reevaluates the crucial role of the
cacique in modern Mexico. It suggests that caciquismo has survived
decades of change and upheaval and remains an important, if
underestimated, feature of recent Mexican politics. Contributors
include Christopher Boyer (University of Illinois at Chicago, USA),
Keith Brewster (University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK), Matthew
Butler (Queen's University, Belfast, UK), Marco Calderon (El
Colegio de Michoacan, Mexico), Maria Teresa Fernandez Aceves
(Centro de Investigaciones en Estudios Superiores en Antropologia
Social [CIESAS], Mexico), Rogelio Hernandez Rodriuez (El Colegio de
Mexico), Stephen Lewis (California State University, Chico, USA),
Salvador Maldonado Aranda (El Colegio de Michoacan, Mexico), Jennie
Purnell (Boston College, USA), Jan Rus (Tzotzil Instituto de
Asesoria Antropologica para la Region Maya, and Center for
U.S.-Mexican Studies, University of California, San Diego, USA),
Pieter de Vries (Wageningen University, Netherlands), and J.
Eduardo Zarate H (El Colegio de Mexico, Michoacan, Mexico).
You know him as the founder of Microsoft; the philanthropic,
kind-hearted billionaire who has donated endless funds to good causes
around the world. But there’s another side to Bill Gates.
In this fearless, groundbreaking investigation, Tim Schwab offers
readers a counter-narrative, one where Gates has used his monopolistic
approach in business to amass a stunning level of control over public
policy, scientific research and the news media. Whether he is pushing
new educational standards in America, health reforms in India or
industrialized agriculture in Africa, Gates’s unbridled social
experimentation has shown itself to be not only undemocratic, but also
ineffective.
All of which begs the question: why should the super rich be able to
transform their wealth into political power, and just how far can they
go?
"Annex One is an Interesting, Well-Researched and Well-Argued Book.
It Deals with Pressing Matters of Great Public Interest." A.W.
September 2018. Observations of In Defence of Justice - Israel And
The Palestinians: The Identification Of Truth O.H. 3-9-2013. "An
amazing and excellent book. Simply written producing a clear
overall picture..." P.R. 3-9-2013. "Fascinating book. I thought I
was well informed but the book clearly showed up my lack of
knowledge..." M.S. 3-9-2013. "At long last a book which properly
identifies and uses the truth against the propaganda machines of
the West that seek to undermine the nation of Israel." M.A.
15-9-2013. "Only a barrister could write such a remarkable
work...... The answer (to the) obvious question as Malcolm Sinclair
has made clear..." W.G. 19-10-2014. "I found your book riveting,
and I am sorry that it does not have a wider advertised
publication, as it should. If I were in a position to do so
financially, I would make sure it did. This book deserves far
greater publicity."
Born in Gering, Nebraska on May 2, 1920, Dale Cannady has witnessed
a dramatically changing world. Using the GI Bill to gain his
college education at the University of Washington in Seattle, Dale
rose to be Assistant City Planning Director in Portland, Oregon. My
Thoughts is the culmination of 92 years of experience and
observation.
Presidential Puppetry documents what many millions have long
suspected: secretive elites guide our government leaders. The first
book to analyze the Obama second term is also one of the first to
examine the 2012 elections. Puppetry reveals scandals and shows why
Congress, courts, and other watchdog institutions fail to report
key facts about even the biggest news makers. Puppetry unfolds like
a mystery extending over decades to the present. By the end, this
compelling narrative documented with 1,200 endnotes shows hidden
links between puppet masters, political leaders, spy agencies, and
the economic austerity now being imposed on a hapless public. By
exposing key secrets, it provides a roadmap for reform.
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