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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political activism > Revolutions & coups
Leveller Manifestoes (1944) is a collection of primary manifestoes
issued by the Levellers, the group which played an active and
influential role in the English revolution of 1642-49. This book
collects together rare pamphlets and tracts that are seldom
available, and certainly not in one place for ease of research.
The February Revolution, Petrograd, 1917 is the most comprehensive
book on the epic uprising that toppled the tsarist monarchy and
ushered in the next stage of the Russian Revolution. Hasegawa
presents in detail the intense drama of the nine days of the
revolution, including the workers' strike, soldiers' revolt, the
scrambling of revolutionary party activists to control the
revolution, and the liberals' conspiracy to force Tsar Nicholas II
to abdicate. Based on his previous work, published in 1981, the
author has revised, enlarged, and reinterpreted the complexity of
the February Revolution, resulting in a major and timely
reassessment on the occasion of its centennial. See inside the
book.
The Shi'i clergy are amongst the most influential political players
in the Middle East. For decades, scholars and observers have tried
to understand the balance of power between, Shi'i 'quietism' and
'activism'. The book is based on exclusive interviews with
high-profile Shi'i clerics in order to reveal how the Shi'i
clerical elite perceives its role and engages in politics today.
The book focuses on three ground-breaking events in the modern
Middle East: the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, the 2003 Iraq
War, and the 2006 July war in Lebanon. By examining the nature and
evolution of a Shi'i clerical network the book finds that, far from
there being strategic differences between 'quitest' and 'activist'
clerics, Shi'i mujtahid statesmen matured, from 1979 in Iran to
2003 Iraq, by way of a pragmatism which led to a strong form of
transnational and associated whole in Lebanon in 2006. In doing so,
the book breaks down the established, and misleading,
dichotomisation of the Shi'i clergy into 'quietists' and
'activists' and discovers that the decision of Shi'i clerical
elites to become politically active or to stay out of politics are
attributable to their ability to adapt to their political
environments.
According to renowned Marxist economist Samir Amin, the recent Arab
Spring uprisings comprise an integral part of a massive "second
awakening" of the Global South. From the self-immolation in
December 2010 of a Tunisian street vendor, to the consequent
outcries in Cairo's Tahrir Square against poverty and corruption,
to the ongoing upheavals across the Middle East and Northern
Africa, the Arab world is shaping what may become of Western
imperialism - an already tottering and overextended system.The
Reawakening of the Arab World examines the complex interplay of
nations regarding the Arab Spring and its continuing, turbulent
seasons. Beginning with Amin's compelling interpretation of the
2011 popular Arab explosions, the book is comprised of five
chapters - including a new chapter analyzing U.S. geo-strategy.
Amin sees the United States, in an increasingly multi-polar world,
as a victim of overreach, caught in its own web of attempts to
contain the challenge of China, while confronting the staying power
of nations such as Syria and Iran. The growing, deeply-felt need of
the Arab people for independent, popular democracy is the cause of
their awakening, says Amin. It is this awakening to democracy that
the United States fears most, since real self-government by
independent nations would necessarily mean the end of U.S. empire,
and the economic liberalism that has kept it in place. The way
forward for the Arab world, Amin argues, is to take on, not just
Western imperialism, but also capitalism itself.
Occupy Wall Street did not come from nowhere. It was part of a long
history of riot, revolt, uprising, and sometimes even revolution
that has shaped New York City. From the earliest European
colonization to the present, New Yorkers have been revolting. Hard
hitting, revealing, and insightful, Revolting New York tells the
story of New York's evolution through revolution, a story of
near-continuous popular (and sometimes not-so-popular) uprising.
Richly illustrated with more than ninety historical and
contemporary images, historical maps, and maps drawn especially for
the book, Revolting New York provides the first comprehensive
account of the historical geography of revolt in New York, from the
earliest uprisings of the Munsee against the Dutch occupation of
Manhattan in the seventeenth century to the Black Lives Matter
movement and the unrest of the Trump era. Through this rich
narrative, editors Neil Smith and Don Mitchell reveal a continuous,
if varied and punctuated, history of rebellion in New York that is
as vital as the more standard histories of formal politics,
planning, economic growth, and restructuring that largely define
our consciousness of New York's story.
This thought-provoking work analyzes the major debates surrounding
counterinsurgency campaigns and uncovers the internal security
problems derailing effective strategies for restoring stability. As
countries across the globe continue to adjust their security
operations to counter an increasingly volatile political landscape,
the issue of how to identify and derail a host of violent groups
remains of considerable interest. This comprehensive volume offers
an examination of the effectiveness of contemporary
counterinsurgency efforts, revealing which approaches offer the
greatest chances of success internally, regionally, and
internationally. Featuring perspectives from experts and analysts
in the field of irregular warfare and international security, this
is an unparalleled exploration of all types of insurgency from
warlordism, to piracy, to guerilla movements. The book looks beyond
the popular focus on Iraq and Afghanistan, delving into the
internal security operations of regions not normally studied.
Chapters cover goal setting and measurements for restoring
security, information operations and strategic communications
between insurgent groups and governments, and the different
approaches of governments in combating political unrest. Case
studies include movements in Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Egypt, and
South Africa. Examines the key factors that determine the use of
"hard" versus "soft" operations Features assessments on how to
measure counterinsurgency and internal security effectiveness
Describes the major controversies surrounding counterinsurgency
strategies and associated operations Analyzes the elements
impacting successful internal security operations
In May 1776 more than two hundred Indian warriors descended the St.
Lawrence River to attack Continental forces at the Cedars, west of
Montreal. In just three days' fighting, the Native Americans and
their British and Canadian allies forced the American fort to
surrender and ambushed a fatally delayed relief column. In Down the
Warpath to the Cedars, author Mark R. Anderson flips the usual
perspective on this early engagement and focuses on its Native
participants - their motivations, battlefield conduct, and the
event's impact in their world. In this way, Anderson's work
establishes and explains Native Americans' centrality in the
Revolutionary War's northern theater. Anderson's dramatic, deftly
written narrative encompasses decisive diplomatic encounters,
political intrigue, and scenes of brutal violence but is rooted in
deep archival research and ethnohistorical scholarship. It sheds
new light on the alleged massacre and atrocities that other
accounts typically focus on. At the same time, Anderson traces the
aftermath for Indian captives and military hostages, as well as the
political impact of the Cedars reaching all the way to the
Declaration of Independence. The action at the Cedars emerges here
as a watershed moment, when Indian neutrality frayed to the point
that hundreds of northern warriors entered the fight between crown
and colonies. Adroitly interweaving the stories of diverse
characters - chiefs, officials, agents, soldiers, and warriors -
Down the Warpath to the Cedars produces a complex picture, and a
definitive account, of the Revolutionary War's first Indian
battles, an account that significantly expands our historical
understanding of the northern theater of the American Revolution.
The Innocence of Roast Chicken focuses on an Afrikaans/English family in the Eastern Cape and their idyllic life on their grandparents’ farm, seen through the eyes of the little girl, Kate, and the subtle web of relationships that is shattered by a horrifying incident in the mid-1960s.
Scenes from Kate’s early life are juxtaposed with Johannesburg in 1989 when Kate, now married to Joe, a human rights lawyer, stands aside from the general euphoria that is gripping the nation. Her despair, both with her marriage and with the national situation, resolutely returns to a brutal incident one Christmas day when Kate was thrust into an awareness of what lay beneath her blissful childhood.
Beautifully constructed, The Innocence of Roast Chicken is painful, evocative, beautifully drawn and utterly absorbing.
Sankara's legacy, unclear as it may be, still lives and he remains
immensely popular. If you travel through Africa his image is
unmistakable. His picture, with beret and broad grin, is pasted on
run-down taxis and is found on the walls of local bars.
Internationally Sankara is often referred to as the `African Che
Guevara' and like his South American counterpart; it is his
perseverance, dedication and incorruptibility that appeal to the
imagination. Voices of liberation: Thomas Sankara starts with a
comprehensive timeline covering Thomas Sankara's life and major
events in the history of the continent and region. His Life section
provides the most critical and fraternal assessment of the 1980s
radical experiment within the broader history of the country, the
region and continent. His Voice section succinctly provides a
selection of Sankara's speeches, broadcasts and interviews and
gives us insight to his outlook on the world. His Legacy section
combines an almost poetic tribute to the flawed through heroic
period of Sankara's `revolution' with an incredibly relentless and
honest analysis. This is done through the story of last year's
uprising against Compaore - with haunting lessons for South Africa.
The Postscript is an indispensable update to the extraordinary
events in Burkina Faso during 2015, chiefly the resistance to the
coup in September. The authors look at Sankara's influence on the
popular movements and its wider significance for Africa.
The Reagan era is usually seen as an era of unheralded prosperity,
and as a high-watermark of Republican success. President Ronald
Reagan's belief in "Reaganomics", his media-friendly sound-bites
and "can do" personality have come to define the era. However, this
was also a time of domestic protest and unrest. Under Reagan the US
was directly involved in the revolutions which were sweeping the
Central Americas- El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala -and in
Nicaragua Reagan armed the Contras who fought the Sandinistas. This
book seeks to show how the left within the US reacted and protested
against these events. The Nation, Verso Books and the Guardian
exploded in popularity, riding high on the back of popular
anti-interventionist sentiment in America, while the film-maker
Oliver Stone led a group of directors making films with a radical
left-wing message. The author shows how the1980s in America were a
formative cultural period for the anti-Reaganites as well as the
Reaganites, and in doing so charts a new history.
This book provides an analysis of the articulation and organisation
of radical international solidarity by organisations that were
either connected to or had been established by the Communist
International (Comintern), such as the International Red Aid, the
International Workers' Relief, the League Against Imperialism, the
International of Seamen and Harbour Workers and the International
Trade Union Committee of Negro Workers. The guiding light of these
organisations was a radical interpretation of international
solidarity, usually in combination with concepts and visions of
gender, race and class as well as anti-capitalism,
anti-imperialism, anti-colonialism and anti-fascism. All of these
new transnational networks form a controversial part of the
contemporary history of international organisations. Like the
Comintern these international organisations had an ambigious
character that does not fit nicely into the traditional typologies
of international organisations as they were neither international
governmental organisations nor international non-governmental
organisations. They constituted a radical continuation of the
pre-First World War Left and exemplified an attempt to implement
the ideas and movements of a new type of radical international
solidarity not only in Europe, but on a global scale. Contributors
are: Gleb J. Albert, Bernhard H. Bayerlein, Kasper Brasken, Fredrik
Petersson, Holger Weiss.
Allegorical Bodies begins with the paradoxical observation that at
the same time as the royal administrators of late fourteenth and
early fifteenth-century France excluded women from the royal
succession through the codification of Salic law, writers of the
period adopted the female form as the allegorical personification
of France itself. Considering the role of female allegorical
figures in the works of Eustache Deschamps, Christine de Pizan, and
Alain Chartier, as well as in the sermons of Jean Gerson, Daisy
Delogu reveals how female allegories of the Kingdom of France and
the University of Paris were used to conceptualize, construct, and
preserve structures of power during the tumultuous reign of the mad
king Charles VI (1380-1422). An impressive examination of the
intersection between gender, allegory, and political thought,
Delogu's book highlights the importance of gender to the
functioning of allegory and to the construction of late medieval
French identity.
In the wake of the violent labor disputes in Colorado's two-year
Coalfield War, a young woman and single mother resolved in 1916 to
change the status quo for 'girls,' as well-to-do women in Denver
referred to their hired help. Her name was Jane Street, and this
compelling biography is the first to chronicle her defiant efforts
- and devastating misfortunes - as a leader of the so-called
housemaid rebellion. A native of Indiana, Jane Street (1887 - 1966)
began her activist endeavors as an organizer for the Industrial
Workers of the World (IWW). In riveting detail, author Jane Little
Botkin recounts Street's attempts to orchestrate a domestic mutiny
against Denver's elitist Capitol Hill women, including wives of the
state's national guard officers and Colorado Fuel and Iron
operators. It did not take long for the housemaid rebellion to make
local and national news. Despite the IWW's initial support of the
housemaids' fight for fairness and better pay, Street soon found
herself engaged in a gender war, the target of sexism within the
very organization she worked so hard to support. The abuses she
suffered ranged from sabotage and betrayal to arrests and
abandonment. After the United States entered World War I and the
first Red Scare arose, Street's battle to balance motherhood and
labor organizing began to take its toll. Legal troubles, broken
relationships, and poverty threatened her very existence. In
previous western labor and women's studies accounts, Jane Street
has figured only marginally, credited in passing as the founder of
a housemaids' union. To unearth the rich detail of her story,
Botkin has combed through case histories, family archives, and -
perhaps most significant - Street's own writings, which express her
greatest joys, her deepest sorrows, and her unfortunate dealings
with systematic injustice. Setting Jane's story within the wider
context of early-twentieth-century class struggles and the women's
suffrage movement, The Girl Who Dared to Defy paints a fascinating
- and ultimately heartbreaking - portrait of one woman's courageous
fight for equality.
Written during the Northern Ireland peace process and just before
the Good Friday Agreement, The Politics of Antagonism sets out to
answer questions such as why successive British Governments failed
to reach a power-sharing settlement in Northern Ireland and what
progress has been made with the Anglo-Irish Agreement. O'Leary and
McGarry assess these topics in the light of past historical and
social-science scholarship, in interviews of key politicians, and
in an examination of political violence since 1969. The result is a
book which points to feasible strategies for a democratic
settlement in the Northern Ireland question and which allows
today's scholars and students to analyse approaches to Northern
Ireland from the perspective of the recent past.
In recent years there has been much interest in collective memory
and commemoration. It is often assumed that when nations celebrate
a historic day, they put aside the divisions of the present to
recall the past in a spirit of unity. As Billig and Marinho show,
this does not apply to the Portuguese parliament's annual
celebration of 25 April 1974, the day when the dictatorship,
established by Salazar and continued by Caetano, was finally
overthrown. Most speakers at the ceremony say little about the
actual events of the day itself; and in their speeches they
continue with the partisan politics of the present as combatively
as ever. To understand this, the authors examine in detail how the
members of parliament do politics within the ceremony of
remembrance; how they engage in remembering and forgetting the
great day; how they use the low rhetoric of manipulation and
point-scoring, as well as high-minded political rhetoric. The book
stresses that the members of the audience contribute to the meaning
of the ceremony by their partisan displays of approval and
disapproval. Throughout, the authors demonstrate that, to uncover
the deeper meanings of political rhetoric, it is necessary to take
note of significant absences. The Politics and Rhetoric of
Commemoration illustrates how an in-depth case-study can be
invaluable for understanding wider processes. The authors are not
content just to uncover unnoticed features of the Portuguese
celebration. They use the particular example to provide original
insights about the rhetoric of celebrating and the politics of
remembering, as well as throwing new light onto the nature of party
political discourse.
Colonel Moses Hazen's 2nd Canadian Regiment was one of the first
'national' regiments in the American army. Created by the
Continental Congress, it drew members from Canada, eleven states,
and foreign forces. 'Congress's Own' was among the most culturally,
ethnically, and regionally diverse of the Continental Army's
regiments - a distinction that makes it an apt reflection of the
union that was struggling to create a nation. The 2nd Canadian,
like the larger army, represented and pushed the transition from a
colonial, continental alliance to a national association. The
problems the regiment raised and encountered underscored the
complications of managing a confederation of states and troops. In
this enterprising study of an intriguing and at times 'infernal'
regiment, Holly A. Mayer marshals personal and official accounts -
from the letters and journals of Continentals and congressmen to
the pension applications of veterans and their widows - to reveal
what the personal passions, hardships, and accommodations of the
2nd Canadian can tell us about the greater military and civil
dynamics of the American Revolution. Congress's Own follows
congressmen, commanders, and soldiers through the Revolutionary War
as the regiment's story shifts from tents and trenches to the halls
of power and back. Interweaving insights from borderlands and
community studies with military history, Mayer tracks key battles
and traces debates that raged within the Revolution's military and
political borderlands wherein subjects became rebels, soldiers, and
citizens. Her book offers fresh, vivid accounts of the Revolution
that disclose how 'Congress's Own' regiment embodied the dreams,
diversity, and divisions within and between the Continental Army,
Congress, and the emergent union of states during the War for
American Independence.
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