Since the earliest days of independence, Bolivia's foreign policy has been largely determined by geographical circumstances. This study examines the related aspects of location, accessibility, exploitation, attempted colonisation and boundary changes in Bolivia since 1825 and reviews the political and economic geography of the western, northern and southern sectors today. Dr Fifer examines Bolivia's role as a buffer state and the progressive reduction of its territory to about half of what was originally claimed in exchange, effectively, for railways and transit agreements. The consequences of the country's position in the South American interior have been no less evident in the wider context of international relations and this study also traces the influence of location in the political and commercial attitudes displayed towards Bolivia by Britain and the USA during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Finally the long-term effects of a landlocked position on the country's national growth and development are reviewed.

Jose Artigas, the national hero of Uruguay, fought in the years 1811 1820 for the creation and maintenance of an independent state on the banks of the River Plate. Dr Street's study takes Artigas as the principal figure and Uruguay as the chief state concerned, but it is also a history of the whole basin of the Plate during the period, giving proper weight to the Spanish and Portuguese influence, British commercial interests and military invasions, and the local rivalry between Montevideo and Buenos Aires. Uruguay eventually became a buffer state between the once Portuguese Brazil and the once Spanish Argentina. Dr Street shows that there had long been a feeling of Uruguayan nationalism, though this was at one time counterbalanced by a movement to federate the countries of the Plate. These tendencies, and the history of the region at this period are important in understanding the present status and relationships of Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.

This book assesses the legacy of Dick Hebdige and his work on subcultures in his seminal work, Subculture: The Meaning of Style (1979). The volume interrogates the concept of subculture put forward by Hebdige, and asks if this concept is still capable of helping us understand the subcultures of the twenty-first century. The contributors to this volume assess the main theoretical trends behind Hebdige's work, critically engaging with their value and how they orient a researcher or student of subculture, and also look at some absences in Hebdige's original account of subculture, such as gender and ethnicity. The book concludes with an interview with Hebdige himself, where he deals with questions about his concept of subculture and the gestation of his original work in a way that shows his seriousness and humour in equal measure. This volume is a vital contribution to the debate on subculture from some of the best researchers and academics working in the field in the twenty-first century.

This companion presents a kaleidoscopic view of the world of pop and rock. Expert writers follow the rise of fifteen global stars from Elvis to Public Enemy, Nirvana to the Spice Girls. They chart the changing patterns in production and consumption, and they trace the way new technologies have changed the sounds and practices of pop. Alive to areas of current debate, they also focus on issues such as race and ethnicity, politics, gender and globalization. The anthology contains profiles of major figures from the pop and rock field. But at the heart of this companion is the music itself--rock, pop, black music, dance music, world music--its impact, its power and its pleasures.

This book assesses the legacy of Dick Hebdige and his work on subcultures in his seminal work, Subculture: The Meaning of Style (1979). The volume interrogates the concept of subculture put forward by Hebdige, and asks if this concept is still capable of helping us understand the subcultures of the twenty-first century. The contributors to this volume assess the main theoretical trends behind Hebdige's work, critically engaging with their value and how they orient a researcher or student of subculture, and also look at some absences in Hebdige's original account of subculture, such as gender and ethnicity. The book concludes with an interview with Hebdige himself, where he deals with questions about his concept of subculture and the gestation of his original work in a way that shows his seriousness and humour in equal measure. This volume is a vital contribution to the debate on subculture from some of the best researchers and academics working in the field in the twenty-first century.

This book brings together historians, sociologists and social scientists to examine aspects of youth culture. The book's themes are riots, music and gangs, connecting spectacular expression of youthful disaffection with everyday practices. By so doing, Youth Culture and Social Change maps out new ways of historicizing responses to economic and social change: public unrest and popular culture.

The third edition of Media, Politics and Democracy examines the fraught debate over media influence, who wields it and what effect social and traditional media has on what we think, how we behave, and how we vote. Charting the media conglomerates of old, the alarming rise of the Tech Giants in recent decades, concerns over 'fake news', and the use of social media by political candidates, this book places contemporary anxieties into historical context and compares the response to such issues across different states and societies. Using examples from around the world, Street tackles the changing nature of political communications and brings under scrutiny the question of how a democratic society can function alongside a democratic media. Suitable for students studying politics and the media, political communications and other related fields. New to this Edition: - Completely revised and updated version of Mass Media, Politics and Democracy. - Includes a new chapter on the power of the Tech Giants. - Contains detailed accounts of the significance of figures such as Donald Trump, Rupert Murdoch and Mark Zuckerberg. - Student questions and issues for debate interspersed throughout the book.

Imagine you're the copilot of a Boeing 747. You've just learned that the captain is a psychopath and intends to crash the jumbo jet into a major American city. And you're locked out of the cockpit That's the bizarre situation faced by Shawn Rhodes, in The First Officer's Report. Ironically, all the security measures implemented since 9/11/01 only thwart his desperate efforts to save the 500 people aboard, and the thousands who will die on the ground. If that isn't bad enough, this quirky hero has been plagued by nightmares and visions, and an obsession with a stunning, mysterious flight attendant. The outcome leads to pressure on Shawn to support a dangerous expansion in the War on Terror. He gets to meet the President. But there's an uninvited guest-a suicide bomber... The First Officer's Report is written in Shawn's highly readable but unique style, in which he seems to converse one-on-one with the reader. (He invites questions, comments, and even advice by e-mail, and he will answer you ) As he works through an ongoing, mind-numbing crisis to save his passengers and crew, he continually references his extensive and practical knowledge of airplanes, piloting, and aviation lore and mishaps. His "editor," John Street, injects even more fascinating detail, which, though technically accurate, is always explained in understandable terms. The First Officer's Report is far more than just a book about flying. It mirrors current world events, and is replete with not only suspense, but subtle humor and romantic intrigue. It's set among a host of engaging characters from diverse backgrounds, and reflects the personal growth of a man forced by tragedy to completely rethink his own beliefs and values. The result is that whether you're an occasional traveler, a student pilot, an airline captain, a flight attendant, or anyone else with any interest at all in aviation or current events, you'll find this novel to be as informative as it is spellbinding.

It is common to hear talk of how music can inspire crowds, move individuals and mobilise movements. We know too of how governments can live in fear of its effects, censor its sounds and imprison its creators. At the same time, there are other governments that use music for propaganda or for torture. All of these examples speak to the idea of music's political importance. But while we may share these assumptions about music's power, we rarely stop to analyse what it is about organised sound - about notes and rhythms - that has the effects attributed to it.

This is the first book to examine systematically music's political power. It shows how music has been at the heart of accounts of political order, at how musicians from Bono to Lily Allen have claimed to speak for peoples and political causes. It looks too at the emergence of music as an object of public policy, whether in the classroom or in the copyright courts, whether as focus of national pride or employment opportunities.

The book brings together a vast array of ideas about music's political significance (from Aristotle to Rousseau, from Adorno to Deleuze) and new empirical data to tell a story of the extraordinary potency of music across time and space. At the heart of the book lies the argument that music and politics are inseparably linked, and that each animates the other.

From entertainment to citizenship reveals how the young use shows like X-factor to comment on how power ought to be used, and how they respond to those pop stars - like Bono and Bob Geldof - who claim to represent them. It explores how young people connect the pleasures of popular culture to the world at large. For them, popular culture is not simply a matter of escapism and entertainment, but of engagement too. The place of popular culture in politics, and its contribution to democratic life, has too often been misrepresented or misunderstood. This book provides the evidence and analysis that will help correct this misperception. It documents the voices of young people as they talk about popular culture (what they love as well as what they dislike), and as they reveal their thoughts about the world they inhabit. It will be of interest to those who study media and culture, and those who study politics. -- .

The third edition of Media, Politics and Democracy examines the fraught debate over media influence, who wields it and what effect social and traditional media has on what we think, how we behave, and how we vote. Charting the media conglomerates of old, the alarming rise of the Tech Giants in recent decades, concerns over 'fake news', and the use of social media by political candidates, this book places contemporary anxieties into historical context and compares the response to such issues across different states and societies. Using examples from around the world, Street tackles the changing nature of political communications and brings under scrutiny the question of how a democratic society can function alongside a democratic media. Suitable for students studying politics and the media, political communications and other related fields. New to this Edition: - Completely revised and updated version of Mass Media, Politics and Democracy. - Includes a new chapter on the power of the Tech Giants. - Contains detailed accounts of the significance of figures such as Donald Trump, Rupert Murdoch and Mark Zuckerberg. - Student questions and issues for debate interspersed throughout the book.