This new book explores the changing world of pressure group politics in Britain.

Pressure groups have become an integral part of the Western democratic political tradition since 1945. The 1960s saw a proliferation of social movements and single issue groups and recent environmental protests, from professional Greenpeace activists to middle-class women picketing veal exporters, have demonstrated that it is increasingly single issues that people feel strongly about as opposed to political parties. Bill Coxall examines these changes in terms of the historical development of pressure groups, their expansion into European Union lobbying and their changing strategies and responses to ideological thrusts from government.

This collection deals with the transformation of urban movements in these new social, economic and political environments.

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A corporate campaign is an organized assault on the reputation of a company that has offended some interest group. Although corporate campaigns often involve political, economic, and legal tactics, they are centered around the media, where protagonists attempt to redefine the image--and undermine the reputation--of the target company. It is a strategy most frequently employed by unions but is also employed by special interests, such as environmental or human rights groups. Sometimes it is even employed by one corporation against another. It is a rapidly growing phenomenon that is still unknown to the general public, to most academics and journalists, and is rarely understood by the corporations that find themselves on the firing line.
"The Death of a Thousand Cuts" argues and demonstrates that corporate campaigns are a distinctive phenomenon whose manifestations are today ubiquitous in both the marketplace and the media. This volume examines, in considerable detail, the history, strategy, tactics, effects, consequences, and likely future directions of the corporate campaign and of its nonlabor-based cousin, the anticorporate campaign. The book is based on ample sources and methods, among them an extensive review and analysis of media coverage, news releases, previous scholarship, union publications, campaign materials, interviews and conversations with individuals who have experienced corporate campaigns, public presentations by labor leaders and others, correspondence, Internet postings, case law summaries, documents, videotapes, and other materials. Through original data and interpretation, this book adds context and integration to these materials thus giving them new meaning.
Key features of this outstanding new book include:
* A thorough and clear explanation of what a corporate campaign is and how it differs from other more mundane "public relations" campaigns.
* A detailed examination of strategies and tactics that includes their historical development. Some of the more high profile target companies in recent years include Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Caterpillar, Campbell's Soup, Federal Express, General Dynamics, Home Depot, International Paper, K-Mart, Nike, Texaco, Walmart, Starbucks, and UPS.
* Hundreds of examples that help explain such contemporary events as the anti-sweatshop movement on college campuses, the living wage movement, and the protests against the World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, and World Bank.
* A lengthy appendix contains abbreviated descriptions of nearly 200 corporate campaigns waged by labor unions and various advocacy groups since the idea of the corporate campaign was first developed in the 1960's.

During the nuclear heyday of the post-war years, advocates of atomic power promised cheap electricity and a prosperous future. From the present, however, this promise seems tarnished by accidents, leaks and a lack of public confidence. "Mobilising Modernity" traces this journey from confidence in technology to the anxieties of the Risk Society questioning a number of conventional wisdoms en route.
Paying close attention to social, political and policy aspects throughout, this book considers:
* the nuclear moment from global collaborative project at Los Alamos to fragmented, bitterly competing projects
* the 'atomic science movement's' use of symbolic resources to win national ascendancy
* the implications of secrecy and the establishment of quasi-commercial organizations within the nuclear industry.
This fascinating study also argues for the ongoing importance of the non-violent direct action groups that flourished during the 1970s, showing their continuing influence on today's new social movements. Welsh concludes by considering the implications of this historically based account for contemporary issues of risk and trust on current policy-making.

This book studies the phenomenon of altruistic suicide which was a form of political protest. The authors investigate the self-immolation of German pastor Oskar Brusewitz and compare it with other politically motivated suicides. They portray both life and pastoral activity of Brusewitz and analyse the motives of his suicide. Furthermore, they evaluate the judgement of this tragic event by confreres in faith and other witnesses. Besides the thorough analysis of Oskar Brusewitz's case, the book inspects the genesis of self-immolation and locates it in the tradition of Buddhism and Hinduism. It depicts cases of self-immolations in Vietnam, the USA, India, Tibet, China, Iran, and particularly in Middle-Eastern Europe (Czechoslovakia, Poland and Lithuania). The analysis also covers cases of self-immolations that occurred during the Arab Spring (2011-2012) and in Bulgaria in 2013.

Legislatures have one core defining function: that of giving assent to measures that, by virtue of that assent, are to be binding on society. In practice, they have usually performed other roles as well, such as debating measures or the conduct of public affairs. They have existed for centuries. They span the globe. Most countries have one; federal states have several. Commentators throughout the 20th century have bemoaned the decline of legislatures, yet the number shows no sign of declining; if anything, the reverse and their prominence has increased in the 1990s because of developments in central and eastern Europe.

"The Anthropology of Power" presents case studies from a wide range of societies to examine the issues surrounding power and empowerment and to question whether power is actually being transferred to the powerless. This collection draws on ethnographic material from Europe, the Middle East, Australasia, Africa and the Americas exploring how traditionally disempowered groups gain influence in postcolonial and multicultural settings, from civil war to new communication technologies, from religious imperialism to transnational mining investments. It surveys the relationships between empowerment and economic development, gender and environmentalism. The contributors confront post-Foucauldian theoretical issues on the nature, distribution and balance of power, and ask whether the rhetoric of "empowerment" actually masks a lack of change in established power relations. This is a wide-ranging international collection featuring contributors from the UK, Portugal, Iceland, the Czech Republic, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Canada, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

Series Information:
ASA Monographs

Although there have been numerous publications that argue the merit of Chinese rule over Tibet, and many more that argue for Tibetan self-determination, the world has not heard many Chinese voices supporting the latter view. This book exposes the reader to just that perspective from no less famous writers and activists than Wei Jingsheng, Yan Jiaqi, Shen Tong, Wang Ruowang, and others -- many now perforce in exile or imprisoned -- whose views on Tibet were heretofore little known. Though theirs is the view of a small minority of Chinese, history may still record the publication of these essays as the first movement of a significant turning point in the history of this issue.

Although there have been numerous publications that argue the merit of Chinese rule over Tibet, and many more that argue for Tibetan self-determination, the world has not heard many Chinese voices supporting the latter view. This book exposed the reader to just that perspective from no less famous writers and activists than Wei Jingsheng, Yan Jiaqi, Shen Tong, Wang Rouwang, and others. Though theirs is the view of a small minority of Chinese, history may still record the publication of these essays as a milestone in the history of this issue.

This volume looks at informal political action which arises when conventional frameworks, such as those provided by welfare states, are in crisis or decline. At such times the usual expectations about political action may not apply, so what actually goes on? A specific emphasis on context - in particular the link between power and knowledge and public argumentation in a given setting - is used to trace the development of collective action. Key issues are addressed, such as how informal political collectives come to define their aims, what communication processes take place within them, how far their action responds to that of other political bodies, and how far these processes affect the results of what they do. Discussion is based around a range of empirical case studies, and we are shown that informal collective action is more widespread and significant than many realize, and that it often occurs in fields which appear to be non-political, such as in Swiss neighbourhoods.

In the 21st century, think tanks have become more than a buzzword in European public discourse. They now play important roles in the policy-making process by providing applied research, building networks and advocating policies. The book studies the development of think tanks and contemporary consequences in the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark and at the EU-level. A Continental think tank tradition in which the state plays a pivotal role and an Anglo-American tradition which facilitates interaction in public policy on market-like terms have shaped the development of think tanks. On the basis of a typology of think tanks, quantitative data and interviews with think tank practitioners, the interplay between state and market dynamics and the development of different types of think tanks is analysed. Although think tanks develop along different institutional trajectories, it is concluded that the Anglo-American tradition has had a significant, cross-cutting impact in Europe in recent years. The contention over the politics of think tanks runs deeper at the EU-level than in the member states and reflects disagreement over how the EU should develop in the future. This text will be of key interest to scholars, students and practitioners of political communication, public policy, European politics and comparative politics.

Interest Group Politics in America is a concise, readable, and up-to-date introduction to the study of group power. This third edition of the book gives expanded attention to the changing dynamics of power politics in America; new media venues and grassroots organizing techniques; the role of PACs, referenda, and direct action; and the perennial issue of reform.

This study examines the nature of two women's activist groups in Madras and their activities since 1979, focusing on their work with the media, slum issues, registration of marriages and initiation of an apprenticeship scheme. But this volume is more than a study of women and their organisations. It is a study of political processes in which women are active, an attempt to discuss women's political behaviour in male-dominated society where official bodies, as well as the academic world, pay attention to 'women's issues' but where women as political actors continue to be invisible.

This study examines the nature of two women's activist groups in Madras and their activists since 1979, focusing on their work on the media, slum issues, registration of marriages and initiation of an apprenticeship scheme. It also studies political processes in which women are involved, attempting to discuss women's political behaviour in male-dominated society where official bodies, as well as the academic world, pay attention to "women's issues" but where women as political actors continue to be invisible.

Many people today feel that something has gone wrong with British society and British politics. The quality of like seems to be declining. Crime soars. Traffic and pollution spiral. Mass unemployment is undiminished, while many people experience insecurity and stress at work. Growing poverty and inequality have left many of Britain's citizens excluded from mainstream society. Everywhere, the sense of community seems to be breaking down. In the world as a whole, poverty and conflict cause immense suffering and threaten the security of nations. Global environmental degradation - from the greenhouse effect to the destruction of rainforests - makes the very future of the planet uncertain. Yet the political system seems barely to register what is happening. It is hardly surprising that public disillusionment with politicians and Parliament has never been higher. The Politics of the Real World addresses these interlocking crises. Setting out the issues clearly, it explains how conventional economic and social policies are creating the problems we face, not solving them. Arguing that the British political system itself needs rejuvenating, it proposes a new direction for the UK in an increasingly globalised world.

Originally published in 1983, Agitators and Promoters in the Age of Gladstone and Disraeli brings together the lives of thousands of persons, some famous, most modest and obscure, who were joined a century ago in pursuit of causes promising, a more just world which embodied much of the life and substance of the politics of during this time of transition. The book focuses on not simply the political Establishment but the members of government and legislature with their paid functionaries and party hacks, and much of the politicised sub-elite of a generation, including some three thousand persons from many layers of Victorian life. These are the organisers and leaders, the agitators and promoters of a host of causes.

The essays in this collection focus on the reasons for and background to the emergence during the 1980s of the new farmers' movements in India. In addition to a more general consideration of the economic, political and theoretical dimensions of this development, there are case studies which cover the farmer's movements in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Karnataka.

The relationship between the Conservative Party and the trade unions has been at best uneasy and more often than not hostile. This study examines the attitudes and policies of the Conservative Party towards the trade unions from the 19th century onwards, linking these to wider political and economic circumstances and the key personalities involved. Peter Dorey shows that there has always been disagreements within the Conservative Party as to how it should deal with the trade unions. These disagreements have in large part reflected divisions within British Conservatism itself, between the paternalist, "one nation" strand which has traditionally favoured a conciliatory approach to the trade unions, and the "economic liberal/social authoritarian" strand, which has always hankered after the virtual suppression of trade unionism.

This is the extraordinary saga of the eight year campaign to prevent the destruction of Twyford Down, then the undistributed landscape backcloth to the ancient City of Winchester. The story is told by Barbara Bryant who was at the forefront of the campaign from its modest beginnings in 1985 to its infamous culmination seven years later. Twyford Down is a compelling record of every step of the campaign. It examines the UK government's role in the destruction of the Down, firstly by proposing to complete the 'missing' link in the M3 via the cutting in Twyford Down and subsequently by its intransigence in rejecting alternative solutions. It also looks at the part the campaign has subsequently played in the evolution of environmental campaigning. European legislation, which failed to protect this precious piece of English countryside, is examined, as is the political background to the campaign. The campaign for Twyford Down was lost with the construction of the final section of the M3 motorway through Twyford Down. The campaign, and the issues it raised, are not likely to be forgotten - the gaping wound in the landscape will remain as a monument to the great car economy of the second half of the 20th century.

Organizing for Collective Action investigates the political and economic behaviors of national associations, including trade associations, professional societies, labor unions, and public interest groups. It focuses upon the ways that these organizations acquire resources and allocate them to various collective actions, particularly for member services, public relations, and political action. This analysis is structured around three broad theoretical paradigms for collective action: (1) the problem of societal integration which concerns the ways that people are tied to organizations and the ways that organizations connect their members with the larger society; (2) the problem of organizational governance which considers how individuals become unified collectivities capable of acting in a coordinated manner, and (3) the problem of public policy influence which involves interactions among public and private interest groups to formulate the binding decisions under which we all must live.

In addressing a variety of significant social issues, the authors of this book show ways of communicating effectively and successfully with powerful policy making bodies in their overall efforts to improve the world in which we live. Ethnographic insights and research findings by qualitative researchers throughout the world cover such diverse topics as environmental health and safety, the dropout problem, educational reform, AIDS education, homelessness and the education of gifted children. This book then details how these socially vital findings are presented qualitatively and quantitatively through discourse which has immediate impact on sponsors and policy decision makers. The effect of this book is to show how effective communication, collaboration and advocacy with decision makers can noticeably affect today's society. It should be of interest to all practising researchers, anthropologists, educators decision makers, educationalists and sociologists.

This book presents a study of the development of the feminist movement in Britain and America during the 19th century. Acknowledging the similar social conditions in both countries during that period, the author suggests that a real sense of distinctiveness did exist between British and American feminists. American feminists were inspired by their own perception of the superiority of their social circumstances, for example, whereas British feminists found their cause complicated by traditional considerations of class. Christine Bolt aims to show that the story of the American and British women's movement is one of national distinctiveness within an international cause. This book should be of interest to students and teachers of American and British political history and women's studies.

The history of reform movements in postwar Eastern Europe is ultimately ironic, inasmuch as the reformers' successes and defeats alike served to discredit and demoralize the regimes they sought to redeem. The essays in this volume examine the historic and present-day role of the internal critics who, whatever their intentions, used Marxism as critique to demolish Marxism as ideocracy, but did not succeed in replacing it. Included here are essays by James P. Scanlan on the USSR, Ferenc Feher on Hungary, Leslie Holmes on the German Democratic Republic, Raymond Taras on Poland, James Satterwhite on Czechoslovakia, Vladimir Tismaneanu on Romania, Mark Baskin on Bulgaria, and Oskar Gruenwald on Yugoslavia. In concert, the contributors provide a comprehensive intellectual history and a veritable Who's Who of revisionist Marxism in Eastern Europe.