Society & Politics

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.
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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)

The UK Independence Party (UKIP) is the most significant new party in British politics for a generation. In recent years UKIP and (read more)

The UK Independence Party (UKIP) is the most significant new party in British politics for a generation. In recent years UKIP and their charismatic leader Nigel Farage have captivated British politics, media and voters. Yet both the party and the roots of its support remain poorly understood.

Where has this political revolt come from? Who is supporting them, and why? How are UKIP attempting to win over voters? And how far can their insurgency against the main parties go? Drawing on a wealth of new data - from surveys of UKIP voters to extensive interviews with party insiders - in this book prominent political scientists Robert Ford and Matthew Goodwin put UKIP's revolt under the microscope and show how many conventional wisdoms about the party and the radical right are wrong. Along the way they provide unprecedented insight into this new revolt, and deliver some crucial messages for those with an interest in the state of British politics, the radical right in Europe and political behaviour more generally. (hide)

Taking the Great Rift Valley - the geological fault that will eventually tear Africa in two - as his central metaphor, Alex Perry (read more)

Taking the Great Rift Valley - the geological fault that will eventually tear Africa in two - as his central metaphor, Alex Perry explores the split between a resurgent Africa and a world at odds with its rise. Africa has long been misunderstood - and abused - by outsiders. Perry travelled the continent for most of a decade, meeting with entrepreneurs and warlords, professors and cocaine smugglers, presidents and jihadis, among many others.Opening with a devastating investigation into a largely unreported war crime in Somalia in 2011, he finds Africa at a moment of furious self-assertion.

This is a remade continent, defiantly rising from centuries of oppression to become an economic and political titan: where cash is becoming a thing of the past, where astronomers are unlocking the origin of life and where, twenty-five years after Live Aid, Ethiopia's first yuppies are traders on an electronic food exchange. Yet, as Africa finally wins the substance of its freedom, it must confront the three last false prophets of Islamists, dictators and aid workers, who would keep it in its bonds.
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The crisis of 2008 ended the illusion of a golden era in which many people imagined that prosperity and political calm would continue (read more)

The crisis of 2008 ended the illusion of a golden era in which many people imagined that prosperity and political calm would continue to spread indefinitely. In a world now racked by slowing growth and mounting unrest, how can we discern which nations will thrive and which will fail? Shaped by prize-winning author Ruchir Sharma's twenty-five years travelling the world, The Rise and Fall of Nations rethinks economics as a practical art. By narrowing down the thousands of factors that can shape a country's future, it spells out ten clear rules for identifying the next big winners and losers in the global economy.

Each rule looks at a nation's political, economic, and social conditions in real time to filter out the hype and noise. 'People Matters' shows how slow population growth is eroding economic growth, and ranks nations by how well they respond. The 'circle of life' describes the way cycles of political complacency and revolt fuel economic booms and bust.

Pub Date:07/06/2016 (hide)

Rise for you, rise for me, when you rise first you rise for she. Many women have spent their lives trying to succeed by 'making it' (read more)

Rise for you, rise for me, when you rise first you rise for she. Many women have spent their lives trying to succeed by 'making it' in a man's world. But things are changing - more and more women are realizing that this way of being is no longer sustainable.

We are experiencing a global shift which mystics through the ages have predicted: the return of the mother and the rise of the sacred feminine. Rise Sister Rise is a call to arms for women to rise up, tell their truth and lead. It is a guide to co-creating a whole new archetype for women in these awakening times - a woman who does not keep herself small in order to make others feel more comfortable, a woman who knows that she is not her body weight, her sexual partners or her career. (hide)

The Routledge Handbook of Language and Culture presents the first comprehensive survey of research on the relationship between language (read more)

The Routledge Handbook of Language and Culture presents the first comprehensive survey of research on the relationship between language and culture. It provides readers with a clear and accessible introduction to both interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary studies of language and culture, and addresses key issues of language and culturally based linguistic research from a variety of perspectives and theoretical frameworks. This Handbook features thirty-three newly commissioned chapters which cover key areas such as cognitive psychology, cognitive linguistics, cognitive anthropology, linguistic anthropology, cultural anthropology, and sociolinguistics offer insights into the historical development, contemporary theory, research, and practice of each topic, and explore the potential future directions of the field show readers how language and culture research can be of practical benefit to applied areas of research and practice, such as intercultural communication and second language teaching and learning. (hide)