Society & Politics

Politics has changed. For decades Britain was divided between Left and Right but united in its belief in a two-party state. Now, (read more)

Politics has changed.

For decades Britain was divided between Left and Right but united in its belief in a two-party state. Now, with nationalism resurgent and mainstream parties in turmoil, stark new divisions define the country and the centre ground is deserted. As Deputy Prime Minister of Britain's first coalition government in over fifty years, Nick Clegg witnessed this change from the inside.

Here he offers a frank account of his experiences - from his spectacular rise in the 2010 election to a brutal defeat in 2015, from his early years as an MEP in Brussels to the tumultuous fall-out of Britain's EU referendum - and puts the case for a new politics based on reason and compromise. He writes candidly about his mistakes, including the controversy around tuition fees, the tense stand-offs within government and the decision to enter coalition with the Conservatives in the first place. He also lifts the lid on the arcane worlds of Westminster and Brussels, the vested interests that suffocate reform, as well as the achievements his party made despite them. (hide)

Published for the first time in 1953, Playboy became not only the first pornographic popular magazine in America, but also came to (read more)

Published for the first time in 1953, Playboy became not only the first pornographic popular magazine in America, but also came to embody an entirely new lifestyle that took place in a series of utopian multimedia spaces, from the fictional Playboy's Penthouse of 1956 to the Playboy Mansion of 1959 and the Playboy Clubs of the 1960s. At the same time, the invention of the contraceptive pill offered access to a biochemical technique able to separate (hetero)sexuality and reproduction, troubling the traditional relationships between gender, sexuality, power, and space. In Pornotopia, Beatriz Preciado examines popular culture and pornographic spaces as sites of architectural production.

Combining historical perspectives with insights from critical theory, gender studies, queer theory, porn studies, and the history of technology, and drawing from a range of primary transdisciplinary sourcestreatises on sexuality, medical and pharmaceutical handbooks, architecture journals, erotic magazines, building manuals, and novels -- Preciado traces the strategic relationships among architecture, gender, and sexuality through popular sites related to the production and consumption of pornography: design objects, bachelor pads, and multimedia rotating beds. Largely relegated to the margins of traditional histories of architecture, these sites are not mere spaces but a series of overlapping systems of representation. They are understood here not as inherently or naturally sexual, nor as perverted or queer, but rather as biopolitical techniques for governing sexual reproduction and the production of gender in modernity. (hide)

From 1999 to 2009, Damian McBride worked at the heart of the Treasury and No10, becoming one of the most controversial political (read more)

From 1999 to 2009, Damian McBride worked at the heart of the Treasury and No10, becoming one of the most controversial political figures of the last decade, before a notorious scandal propelled him onto the front pages and out of Downing Street. In Power Trip he writes candidly about his experiences at the heart of government, and provides the first genuine insider's account of Gordon Brown's time as Chancellor and Prime Minister. He reveals the personal feuds, political plots, and media manipulation which lay at New Labour's core, and provides a fascinating, funny, and at times shocking account of how government really works.

His own journey from naive civil servant to disgraced spindoctor is also laid bare with brutal honesty. Power Trip is a riveting memoir and an eye-opening expose of politics in Britain. (hide)

It is not lost on commercial organisations that where we live colours how we view ourselves and others. That is why so many now place (read more)

It is not lost on commercial organisations that where we live colours how we view ourselves and others. That is why so many now place us into social groups on the basis of the type of postcode in which we live. Social scientists call this practice "commercial sociology".

Richard Webber originated Acorn and Mosaic, the two most successful geodemographic classifications. Roger Burrows is a critical interdisciplinary social scientist. Together they chart the origins of this practice and explain the challenges it poses to long-established social scientific beliefs such as: the role of the questionnaire in an era of "big data"the primacy of theorythe relationship between qualitative and quantitative modes of understandingthe relevance of visual clues to lay understanding. (hide)

Privacy: A Short History provides a vital historical account of an increasingly stressed sphere of human interaction. At a time when (read more)

Privacy: A Short History provides a vital historical account of an increasingly stressed sphere of human interaction. At a time when the death of privacy is widely proclaimed, distinguished historian, David Vincent, describes the evolution of the concept and practice of privacy from the Middle Ages to the present controversy over digital communication and state surveillance provoked by the revelations of Edward Snowden. Deploying a range of vivid primary material, he discusses the management of private information in the context of housing, outdoor spaces, religious observance, reading, diaries and autobiographies, correspondence, neighbours, gossip, surveillance, the public sphere and the state.

Key developments, such as the nineteenth-century celebration of the enclosed and intimate middle-class household, are placed in the context of long-term development. The book surveys and challenges the main currents in the extensive secondary literature on the subject. It seeks to strike a new balance between the built environment and world beyond the threshold, between written and face-to-face communication, between anonymity and familiarity in towns and cities, between religion and secular meditation, between the state and the private sphere and, above all, between intimacy and individualism.
(hide)

Qatar plays a crucial part in the Middle East today. With the second greatest natural gas resources in the region, Qatar's economic (read more)

Qatar plays a crucial part in the Middle East today. With the second greatest natural gas resources in the region, Qatar's economic clout is considerable. At the same time the Qatar story is replete with paradoxes: the state hosts the Al-Jazeera media network, an influential expression of Arab nationalism and anti-Americanism, while also hosting the principal US naval base in the region.

Its leaders, like Saudi Arabia's, adhere to the Wahhabi form of Sunni Islam, yet Qatar eyes its Saudi neighbours with suspicion. It is a fervent champion of the Palestinian cause, yet welcomes the Israeli Foreign Minister to present the Jewish state's case in its capital, Doha. With this groundbreaking modern history, Allen Fromherz presents a full portrait which analyses these paradoxes and Qatar's growing regional influence within a broader historical context.
(hide)

Ronald Reagan is arguably the most successful post-war American president. A transformational leader, he is broadly credited with (read more)

Ronald Reagan is arguably the most successful post-war American president. A transformational leader, he is broadly credited with renewing American prosperity after the stagflation-hit 1970s, laying the foundations for Cold War victory and bringing about the shift to the right in late-twentieth century politics. In this new biography, Iwan Morgan shrewdly assesses Reagan's considerable achievements whilst also highlighting the shortcomings that were an indisputable part of his record.

Based on extensive research, this book plots a chronological path through Reagan's life covering his upbringing; his rise and fall as a Hollywood star; his time as California governor; and his pursuit of the presidency. Morgan offers a detailed evaluation of the pragmatic conservatism that was the hallmark of Reagan's presidential leadership in domestic affairs. In the international sphere, he explains Reagan's metamorphosis from Cold War hawk to negotiator for nuclear-arms reduction, while also examining his role in the Iran-Contra scandal. (hide)

For decades, historians have perpetuated the myth of a "Churchillian" relationship between Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, citing (read more)

For decades, historians have perpetuated the myth of a "Churchillian" relationship between Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, citing their longtime alliance as an example of the "special" bond between the U.S. and Britain. But, as Richard Aldous argues in this penetrating dual biography, Reagan and Thatcher clashed repeatedly - over the Falklands war, the invasion of Grenada, and SDI and nuclear weapons - while carefully cultivating a harmonious image for the public and the media.

With the stakes enormously high, these political titans struggled to work together to confront the greatest threat of their time: the USSR. Brilliantly reconstructing some of their most dramatic encounters, Aldous draws on recently declassified documents and extensive oral history to dismantle the popular conception of Reagan-Thatcher diplomacy. His startling conclusion - that the weakest link in the Atlantic Alliance of the 1980s was the association between the two principal actors - will mark an important contribution to our understanding of the 20th century. (hide)

Why did it take the Conservative Party so long to recover power? After the landslide defeat in 1997, why was it so slow to adapt, (read more)

Why did it take the Conservative Party so long to recover power? After the landslide defeat in 1997, why was it so slow to adapt, reposition itself and rebuild its support? How did the party leadership seek to reconstruct Conservatism and modernise its electoral appeal? Of vital interest to anyone interested in British politics, this highly readable book addresses these questions through a contextualised assessment of Conservative Party politics between 1997 and 2010. It traces debates over strategy amongst the party elite and scrutinises the actions of the leadership. It also considers four particular dilemmas for contemporary Conservatism: European integration; national identity and the 'English Question'; social liberalism versus social authoritarianism; and the problems posed by a neo-liberal political economy.

The book argues that the ideological legacy of Thatcherism played a central role in framing and shaping these intraparty debates, and that an appreciation of this is vital for explaining the nature and limits of the Conservatives' renewal under Cameron. (hide)

In an age of corruption, sleaze and scandal associated with financial crisis and economic downturn across the globe, citizens want (read more)

In an age of corruption, sleaze and scandal associated with financial crisis and economic downturn across the globe, citizens want more transparency and accountability in politics. Available in paperback due to popular demand, this book examines a principal means by which this can be achieved: the regulation of lobbyists. It provides innovative insights into lobbying regulations across four continents - North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

What are these regulations about? What are the differences across the continents? How effective are the rules? How have they changed the lobbying profession? Using qualitative and quantitative analyses, the book compares and contrasts regulatory laws in the US, Canada, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Hungary, the EU, Taiwan and Australia. It examines how politicians, lobbyists and civil servants regard the legislation in place in different jurisdictions. It also considers what lessons and different 'models of regulation' can be considered and adopted by those states without lobbying rules. (hide)