POLITICS/MEMOIR

Showing 1–20 of 22 results

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  Americanization and Anti-americanism: The German Encounter with American Culture after 1945

  8,400.00₹ 2,990.00₹

  The ongoing discussions about globalization, American hegemony and September 11 and its aftermath have moved the debate about the export of American culture and cultural anti-Americanism to center stage of world politics. At such a time, it is crucial to understand the process of culture transfer and its effects on local societies and their attitudes toward the United States.

  This volume presents Germany as a case study of the impact of American culture throughout a period characterized by a totalitarian system, two unusually destructive wars, massive ethnic cleansing, and economic disaster. Drawing on examples from history, culture studies, film, radio, and the arts, the authors explore the political and cultural parameters of Americanization and anti-Americanism, as reflected in the reception and rejection of American popular culture and, more generally, in European-American relations in the “American Century.”

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  Between the Avant-garde and the Everyday

  8,400.00₹ 1,990.00₹

  The wave of anti-authoritarian political activity associated with the term “1968” can by no means be confined under the rubric of “protest,” understood narrowly in terms of street marches and other reactions to state initiatives. Indeed, the actions generated in response to “1968” frequently involved attempts to elaborate resistance within the realm of culture generally, and in the arts in particular. This blurring of the boundary between art and politics was a characteristic development of the political activism of the postwar period. This volume brings together a group of essays concerned with the multifaceted link between culture and politics, highlighting lesser-known case studies and opening new perspectives on the development of anti-authoritarian politics in Europe from the 1950s to the fall of Communism and beyond.

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  Border Landscapes

  4,190.00₹ 1,250.00₹

  In this comparative, interdisciplinary study based on extensive fieldwork as well as historical sources, Janet Sturgeon examines the different trajectories of landscape change and land use among communities who call themselves Akha (known as Hani in China) in contrasting political contexts. She shows how, over the last century, processes of state formation, construction of ethnic identity, and regional security concerns have contributed to very different outcomes for Akha and their forests in China and Thailand, with Chinese Akha functioning as citizens and grain producers, and Akha in Thailand being viewed as “non-Thai” forest destroyers.

  The modern nation-state grapples with local power hierarchies on the periphery of the nation, with varied outcomes. Citizenship in China helps Akha better protect a fluid set of livelihood practices that confer benefits on them and their landscape. Denied such citizenship in Thailand, Akha are helpless when forests and other resources are ruthlessly claimed by the state. Drawing on current anthropological debates on the state in Southeast Asia and more generally on debates on property theory, states and minorities, and political ecology, Sturgeon shows how people live in a continuous state of negotiated boundaries – political, social, and ecological.

  This pioneering comparison of resource access and land use among historically related peoples in two nation-states will be welcomed by scholars of political ecology, environmental anthropology, ethnicity, and politics of state formation in East and Southeast Asia.

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  Bush’s Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W.Bush Presidential

  1,950.00₹ 660.00₹

  Praise for Bush′s Brain

  “Love him or hate him, Karl Rove is one of the most brilliant and successful political consultants of all time. In this riveting account, Wayne Slater and Jim Moore tell how he got there.” Paul Begala, CNN′s Crossfire

  “Bush′s Brain isn′t a hatchet job on George W. Bush. In fact, the two authors largely dispel the myth of Bush′s supposedly deficient IQ. But, more importantly, they lay bare the story of how Karl Rove may be the most powerful man in America. It′s a compelling story told by two veteran Texas journalists who don′t need a briefing packet to understand the men they′re writing about.” Philip Bruce, KCET/PBS Television, Los Angeles

  The most powerful individual in the United States may not be George W. Bush. It is probably Karl Rove, the President′s brilliant advisor. Who is this man and how did he acquire so much power? Having watched in awe for over fifteen years as they reported on the rise of Karl Rove, Moore and Slater expose the brutal and sometimes morally questionable, but invariably effective ways in which Karl Rove?and America′s political system actually operate.

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  Changing Faces of Citizenship

  8,400.00₹ 2,330.00₹

  In contrast to most migration studies that focus on specific “foreigner” groups in Germany, this study simultaneously compares and contrasts the legal, political, social, and economic opportunity structures facing diverse categories of the ethnic minorities who have settled in the country since the 1950s. It reveals the contradictory, and usually self-defeating, nature of German policies intended to keep “migrants” out―allegedly in order to preserve a German Leitkultur (with which very few of its own citizens still identify). The main barriers to effective integration―and socioeconomic revitalization in general―sooner lie in the country’s obsolete labor market regulations and bureaucratic procedures. Drawing on local case studies, personal interviews, and national surveys, the author describes “the human faces” behind official citizenship and integration practices in Germany, and in doing so demonstrates that average citizens are much more multi-cultural than they realize.

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  Coalition Britain

  1,690.00₹ 990.00₹

  The 2010 election has transformed the British political landscape, ushering in a coalition government for the first time since the Second World War, and breaking up the UK’s traditional pattern of two-party dominance. This book analyses the implications of this turning point in British history, looking beyond the sound and fury of the election campaign in search of the deeper causes and long-term consequences of the 2010 poll. As well as assessing the reasons for Labour’s defeat and the Conservatives’ failure to win the election outright, the book also addresses the impact of the global financial crisis and the problems facing the British economy one decade into the new century. This volume will be of interest both to academic specialists, students and the interested general reader seeking insights into the rapidly changing British political scene.

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  Comparative Peace Processes in Latin America

  2,290.00₹ 1,500.00₹

  This book is about ending guerrilla conflicts in Latin America through political means. It is about peace processes, aimed at securing an end to military hostilities in the context of agreements that touch on some of the principal political, economic, social, and ethnic imbalances that led to conflict in the first place. The book presents a carefully structured comparative analysis of six Latin American countries―Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Colombia, and Peru―which experienced guerrilla warfare that outlasted the end of the Cold War. The book explores in detail the unique constellation of national and international events that allowed some wars to end in negotiated settlement, one to end in virtual defeat of the insurgents, and the others to rage on. The aim of the book is to identify the variables that contribute to the success or failure of a peace dialogue. Though the individual case studies deal with dynamics that have allowed for or impeded successful negotiations, the contributors also examine comparatively such recurrent dilemmas as securing justice for victims of human rights abuses, reforming the military and police forces, and reconstructing the domestic economy. Serving as a bridge between the distinct literatures on democratization in Latin America and on conflict resolution, the book underscores the reciprocal influences that peace processes and democratic transition have on each other, and the ways democratic “space” is created and political participation enhanced by means of a peace dialogue with insurgent forces. The case studies―by country and issue specialists from Latin America, the United States, and Europe―are augmented by commentaries of senior practitioners most directly involved in peace negotiations, including United Nations officials, former peace advisers, and activists from civil society.

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  Fairness and Division of Labor in Market Societies

  8,400.00₹ 2,495.00₹

  Contrary to the explanations offered by the theory of non-reflexive, path-dependent institutionalism, the U.S. and the German automotive industries undertook strikingly similar patterns of industry modification under tough international competition during the 1990s, departing from their traditional national patterns. By investigating the processes of the U.S. and German adjustments, the author critically reconsiders the prevalent paradigms of political economy and comes to the conclusion that the evidence does not confirm the neoliberal paradigm. In order to better account for the recomposition of new market relations, which the author terms “converging but non-liberal” and “diverging but not predetermined” markets, he proposes an alternative model of “politics among reflexive agents,” emphasizing different kinds of problem-solving practices among those reflexive agents. He argues that different forms and regimes of market are established in the process of recomposition, in which agents reflect upon not only market rationality but also upon their own institutions, creating new norms.

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  Getting it Done

  2,730.00₹ 1,095.00₹

  n a candid memoir, Burney paints a vivid picture of leading politicians, including Pierre Trudeau using an off-colour joke to break the ice with Ronald Reagan, Colin Powell becoming upset over Canadian concerns about collateral damage in the first Gulf War, and George Bush Sr chafing at the excessive European flavour of G-7 summits.

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  Kim Jong-Il

  1,690.00₹ 650.00₹

  Kim Jong-il has been the subject of intense interest and fear in recent months. He has been demonised as ‘Dr Evil’ for his nuclear programme which puts Korea on a collision course with the US. For this reason, the world has a stake in understanding this man and his little-known country. This account aims to tell the compelling story of Kim Jong-il and the country he leads, exploring the pressing question of how he manages to hold onto power in a country that is ravaged by famine and poverty. Unravelling the myths, mysteries, and fallacies that surround this small, desperate country, this fascinating story includes rare photos of Kim Jong-il and his brutal regime.

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  Might, right, prosperity and consent

  5,900.00₹ 1,350.00₹

  This book offers an original analysis of the problem of the authority of the state in democracies. Unlike many discussions of democracy that treat authority as a problem primarily of domestic politics or normative values, this book puts the international economy at the centre of the analysis.

  This volume shows how changes in the international economy from the inter-war years to the end of the twentieth century impacted upon the success and failures of democracy. It makes the argument by considering a range of different cases, and it traces the success and failure of democracies over the past century. It includes detailed studies of democracies in both developed and developing countries, and offers a comparative analysis of their fate.

  Available in paperback for the first time, this title will appeal to all those interested in democracy, the future of the state and the impact of the international economy on domestic politics.

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  On Perpetual Peace

  8,400.00₹ 2,980.00₹

  Dieter Senghaas today is the world’s leading figure in the field of conflict research, conflict management research, and the study of the prerequisites of lasting peace. The fact that virulent conflict within what Senghaas calls the OECD world, essentially the European Union, has become unthinkable over the past half-century encourages him in the face of violent conflict in many parts of the world to be reasonably optimistic about the prospect for our planet as a whole.

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  Paint the White House Black: Barack Obama and the Meaning of Race in America

  1,590.00₹ 1,500.00₹

  Barack Obama’s election as the first black president in American history forced a reconsideration of racial reality and possibility. It also incited an outpouring of discussion and analysis of Obama’s personal and political exploits. Paint the White House Black fills a significant void in Obama-themed debate, shifting the emphasis from the details of Obama’s political career to an understanding of how race works in America. In this groundbreaking book, race, rather than Obama, is the central focus. Michael P. Jeffries approaches Obama’s election and administration as common cultural ground for thinking about race. He uncovers contemporary stereotypes and anxieties by examining historically rooted conceptions of race and nationhood, discourses of “biracialism” and Obama’s mixed heritage, the purported emergence of a “post-racial society,” and popular symbols of Michelle Obama as a modern black woman. In so doing, Jeffries casts new light on how we think about race and enables us to see how race, in turn, operates within our daily lives. Race is a difficult concept to grasp, with outbursts and silences that disguise its relationships with a host of other phenomena. Using Barack Obama as its point of departure, Paint the White House Black boldly aims to understand race by tracing the web of interactions that bind it to other social and historical forces.

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  Rethinking Japanese Public Opinion and Security: From Pacifism to Realism?

  1,750.00₹ 750.00₹

  In this book, Paul Midford engages claims that since 9/11 Japanese public opinion has turned sharply away from pacifism and toward supporting normalization of Japan’s military power, in which Japanese troops would fight alongside their American counterparts in various conflicts worldwide. Midford argues that Japanese public opinion has never embraced pacifism. It has, instead, contained significant elements of realism, in that it has acknowledged the utility of military power for defending national territory and independence, but has seen offensive military power as ineffective for promoting other goals―such as suppressing terrorist networks and WMD proliferation, or promoting democracy overseas. Over several decades, these realist attitudes have become more evident as the Japanese state has gradually convinced its public that Tokyo and its military can be trusted with territorial defense, and even with noncombat humanitarian and reconstruction missions overseas. On this basis, says Midford, we should re-conceptualize Japanese public opinion as attitudinal defensive realism.

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  The age of Obama

  1,395.00₹ 790.00₹
  The age of Obama: The changing place of minorities in British and American society by Tom Clark, Robert D. Putnam, Edward Fieldhouse

  Drawing on collaborative research from a distinguished team at Harvard and Manchester universities, ‘The age of Obama’ asks how two very different societies are responding to the tide of diversity that is being felt around the rich world. ‘Guardian’ journalist Tom Clark, Robert D. Putnam – best-selling author of ‘Bowling alone’ – and Manchester’s Edward Fieldhouse offer a wonderfully readable account. Like ‘Bowling alone’, ‘The age of Obama’ mixes social scientific rigor with accessible charts and lively arguments. It will be enjoyed by politics, sociology and geography students, as well as by anyone else with an interest in ethnic relations.

  Injustice, it turns out, still blight lives of many UK and US minorities – particularly African Americans. And there are signs the new diversity strains community life. Yet in both countries, public opinion is running irreversibly in favour of tolerance. That augurs well for the future – and suggests a British Obama cannot be ruled out.

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  The Economic Diplomacy of Ostpolitik

  8,400.00₹ 2,870.00₹

  Despite the consensus that economic diplomacy played a crucial role in ending the Cold War, very little research has been done on the economic diplomacy during the crucial decades of the 1970s and 1980s. This book fills the gap by exploring the complex interweaving of East–West political and economic diplomacies in the pursuit of détente. The focus on German chancellor Willy Brandt’s Ostpolitik reveals how its success was rooted in the usage of energy trade and high tech exchanges with the Soviet Union. His policies and visions are contrasted with those of U.S. President Richard Nixon and the Realpolitik of Henry Kissinger. The ultimate failure to coordinate these rivaling détente policies, and the resulting divide on how to deal with the Soviet Union, left NATO with an energy dilemma between American and European partners-one that has resurfaced in the 21st century with Russia’s politicization of energy trade. This book is essential for anyone interested in exploring the interface of international diplomacy, economic interest, and alliance cohesion.

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  The Europeanisation of Conflict Resolutions

  6,950.00₹ 1,590.00₹

  This book is about the EU’s role in conflict resolution and reconciliation in Europe.
  Ever since it was implemented as a political project of the post-World War II reality in Western Europe, European integration has been credited with performing conflict resolution functions. It allegedly transformed the long-standing adversarial relationship between France and Germany into a strategic partnership. Conflict in Western Europe became obsolete. The end of the Cold War further reinforced its role as a regional peace project.

  While these evolutionary dynamics are uncontested, the deeper meaning of the process, its transformative power, is still to be elucidated. How does European integration restore peace when its equilibrium is broken and conflict or the legacies of enmity persist? This book sets out to do exactly that. It explores the peace and conflict-resolution role of European integration by testing its somewhat vague, albeit well-established, macro-political rationale of a peace project in the practical settings of conflicts. The analytical lens of that of Europeanization.
  The central argument of the book is that the evolution of the policy mix, resources, framing influences and political opportunities through which European integration affects conflicts and processes of conflict resolution demonstrates a historical trend through which the EU has become an indispensable factor of conflict resolution . It begins with the pooling together of policy-making at the European level for the management of particular sectors (early integration in the European Coal and Steel Community) through the functioning of core EU policies (Northern Ireland) to the challenges of enlargement (Cyprus) and the European perspective for the Western Balkans (Kosovo). The book will be of value to academics and non-expert observers alike with an interest in European integration and peace studies.

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  The Jaguar Smile

  450.00₹ 350.00₹

  In this brilliantly focused and haunting portrait of the people, the politics, the land, and the poetry of Nicaragua, Salman Rushdie brings to the forefront the palpable human facts of a country in the midst of a revolution.

  Rushdie went to Nicaragua in 1986, harboring no preconceptions of what he might find. What he discovered was overwhelming: a culture of heroes who had turned into inanimate objects and of politicians and warriors who were poets; a land of difficult, often beautiful contradictions. His perceptions always heightened by his special sensitivity to “the views from underneath,” Rushdie reveals a land resounding with the clashes between history and morality, government and individuals. With a new preface by the author.

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  The Politics of German Defence and Security

  8,400.00₹ 1,790.00₹

  The post-Cold War era has witnessed a dramatic transformation in the German political consensus about the legitimacy of the use of force. However, in comparison with its EU and NATO partners, Germany has been reticent to transform its military to meet the challenges of the contemporary security environment. Until 2003 territorial defence rather than crisis-management remained the armed forces’ core role and the Bundeswehr continues to retain conscription. The book argues that ‘strategic culture’ provides only a partial explanation of German military reform. It demonstrates how domestic material factors were of crucial importance in shaping the pace and outcome of reform, despite the impact of ‘international structure’ and adaptational pressures from the EU and NATO. The domestic politics of base closures, ramifications for social policy, financial restrictions consequent upon German unification and commitment to EMU’s Stability and Growth Pact were critical in determining the outcome of reform. The study also draws out the important role of policy leaders in the political management of reform as entrepreneurs, brokers or veto players, shifting the focus in German leadership studies away from a preoccupation with the Chancellor to the role of ministerial and administrative leadership within the core executive. Finally, the book contributes to our understanding of the Europeanization of the German political system, arguing that policy leaders played a key role in ‘uploading’ and ‘downloading’ processes to and from the EU and that Defence Ministers used ‘Atlanticization’ and ‘Europeanization’ in the interests of their domestic political agendas.

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  Theory Now (South Atlantic Quarterly)

  980.00₹ 890.00₹

  This special issue of the South Atlantic Quarterly focuses on theory’s role in contemporary politics, reading, and critiques of literature. Although there will always be questions raised about what theory is, what it can do, and its overall efficacy, “Theory Now” argues that those questions obscure the fact that theory is, and always has been, the precondition for thought.
  This issue demonstrates what it means to engage with theory in this particular historical moment. One contributor takes a critical look at Michel Foucault’s final lectures, which have only recently been published in French, and evaluates their potential to instruct contemporary theory and politics. Another contributor contemplates Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick’s legacy and insists that the only way to read her work is to anticipate the effects it may have in the future rather than assume that interpretations of her scholarship are now settled.
  With this issue, recently appointed editor Michael Hardt inaugurates “Against the Day,” a new section composed of short essays that focus on a topic of contemporary political importanc980

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