Society & Politics

In politics, you begin by asking theoretically interesting questions. Sometimes statistics can help answer those questions. When (read more)

In politics, you begin by asking theoretically interesting questions. Sometimes statistics can help answer those questions. When it comes to applied statistics, students shouldn't just learn a vast array of formula-they need to learn the basic concepts of statistics as solutions to particular problems.

Peter Galderisi demonstrates that statistics are a summary of how to answer the problem: learn the math but only after learning the concepts and methodological considerations that give it context. With this as a starting point, Understanding Political Science Statistics asks students to consider how to address a research problem conceptually before being led to the appropriate formula. Throughout, Galderisi looks at problems through a lens of "observations and expectations," which can be applied to myriad statistical techniques, both descriptive and inferential. (hide)

The former Assistant to the President and Director of Communications for the Office of Public Liaison in the Trump White House provides (read more)

The former Assistant to the President and Director of Communications for the Office of Public Liaison in the Trump White House provides a jaw-dropping look into the corruption and controversy of the current administration. Few have been a member of Donald Trump's inner orbit longer than Omarosa Manigault Newman. Their relationship has spanned fifteen years - through four television shows, a presidential campaign, and a year by his side in the most chaotic, outrageous White House in history. (hide)

After seven decades of existence has the UN become obsolete? Is it ripe for retirement? As Jussi Hanhimaki proves in the second edition (read more)

After seven decades of existence has the UN become obsolete? Is it ripe for retirement? As Jussi Hanhimaki proves in the second edition of this Very Short Introduction, the answer is no. In the second decade of the twenty-first century the UN remains an indispensable organization that continues to save lives and improve the world as its founders hoped. Since its original publication in 2008, this 2nd edition includes more recent examples of the UN Security Council in action and peacekeeping efforts while exploring its most recent successes and failures.

After a brief history of the United Nations and its predecessor, the League of Nations, Hanhimaki examines the UN's successes and failures as a guardian of international peace and security, as a promoter of human rights, as a protector of international law, and as an engineer of socio-economic development. This updated edition highlights what continues to make the UN a complicated organization today, and the ongoing challenges between its ambitions and capabilities. Hanhimaki also provides a clear account of the UN and its various arms and organizations (such as UNESCO and UNICEF), and offers a critical overview of the UN Security Council's involvement in recent crises in Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine, Libya, and Syria, and how likely it is to meet its overall goals in the future.

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Recent years have witnessed an upsurge in global health emergencies-from SARS to pandemic influenza to Ebola to Zika. Each of these (read more)

Recent years have witnessed an upsurge in global health emergencies-from SARS to pandemic influenza to Ebola to Zika. Each of these occurrences has sparked calls for improved health preparedness. In Unprepared, Andrew Lakoff follows the history of health preparedness from its beginnings in 1950s Cold War civil defense to the early twenty-first century, when international health authorities carved out a global space for governing potential outbreaks.

Alert systems and trigger devices now link health authorities, government officials, and vaccine manufacturers, all of whom are concerned with the possibility of a global pandemic. Funds have been devoted to cutting-edge research on pathogenic organisms, and a system of post hoc diagnosis analyzes sites of failed preparedness to find new targets for improvement. Yet, despite all these developments, the project of global health security continues to be unsettled by the prospect of surprise.
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A renowned philosopher challenges long-held views on just wars, ethical conduct during war, why wars occur, how they alter people (read more)

A renowned philosopher challenges long-held views on just wars, ethical conduct during war, why wars occur, how they alter people and societies, and more For residents of the twenty-first century, a vision of a future without warfare is almost inconceivable. Though wars are terrible and destructive, they also seem unavoidable. In this original and deeply considered book, A.C. Grayling examines, tests, and challenges the concept of war. He proposes that a deeper, more accurate understanding of war may enable us to reduce its frequency, mitigate its horrors, and lessen the burden of its consequences.

Grayling explores the long, tragic history of war and how warfare has changed in response to technological advances. He probes much-debated theories concerning the causes of war and considers positive changes that may result from war. How might these results be achieved without violence? In a profoundly wise conclusion, the author envisions "just war theory" in new moral terms, taking into account the lessons of World War II and the Holocaust and laying down ethical principles for going to war and for conduct during war.

Published:18 Apr 2017 (hide)

Winner of The Army Historical Foundation's Distinguished Writing Award for Excellence in U.S. Army History Writing - Journals, memoirs (read more)

Winner of The Army Historical Foundation's Distinguished Writing Award for Excellence in U.S. Army History Writing - Journals, memoirs and letters, June 2008 Shortly after the launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the war in Iraq became the most confusing in U.S. history, the high command not knowing who to fight, who was attacking Coalition troops, and who among the different Iraqi groups were fighting each other.

Yet there were a few astute officers like Lt. Col. Christopher Hughes, commanding the 2d Battalion of the 327th Inf. Regiment, 101st Airborne, who sensed the complexity of the task from the beginning. In War on Two Fronts Col. Hughes writes movingly of his No-Slack battalion at war in Iraq.

Published on 31/10/2016 (hide)

Imagine a sisterhood - across all creeds and cultures. An unspoken agreement that we, as women, will support and encourage one another. (read more)

Imagine a sisterhood - across all creeds and cultures. An unspoken agreement that we, as women, will support and encourage one another. That we will remember we don't know what struggles each of us may be facing elsewhere in our lives and so we will assume that each of us is doing our best...

So begins WE: an inspiring, empowering and provocative manifesto for change. Change which we can all effect, one woman at a time. Change which provides a crucial and timely antidote to the 'have-it-all' Superwoman culture and instead focusses on what will make each and every one of us happier and more free.
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Our systems are failing. Old models - for education, healthcare and government, food production, energy supply - are creaking under (read more)

Our systems are failing. Old models - for education, healthcare and government, food production, energy supply - are creaking under the weight of modern challenges. As the world's population heads towards 10 billion, it's clear we need new approaches.

Futurologist Mark Stevenson sets out to find them, across four continents. From Brazilian favelas to high tech Boston, from rural India to a shed inventor in England's home counties, We Do Things Differently travels the world to find the advance guard re-imagining our future. At each stop, he meets innovators who have already succeeded in challenging the status quo, pioneering new ways to make our world more sustainable, equitable and humane. (hide)

It has become all too easy to disparage the role of the US government today. Many Americans are influenced by a simplistic anti-government (read more)

It has become all too easy to disparage the role of the US government today. Many Americans are influenced by a simplistic anti-government ideology that is itself driven by a desire to roll back the more democratically responsive aspects of public policy. But government has improved the lives of Americans in numerous ways, from providing income, food, education, housing, and healthcare support, to ensuring cleaner air, water, and food, to providing a vast infrastructure upon which economic growth depends.

In What American Government Does, Stan Luger and Brian Waddell offer a practical understanding of the scope and function of American governance. They present a historical overview of the development of US governance that is rooted in the theoretical work of Charles Tilly, Karl Polanyi, and Michael Mann. Touching on everything from taxes, welfare, and national and domestic security to the government's regulatory, developmental, and global responsibilities, each chapter covers a main function of American government and explains how it emerged and then evolved over time.

Published:18 Jun 2017 (hide)

'In the past, for reasons I try to explain, I've often felt I had to be careful in public, like I was up on a wire without a net. (read more)

'In the past, for reasons I try to explain, I've often felt I had to be careful in public, like I was up on a wire without a net. Now I'm letting my guard down.' - Hillary Rodham Clinton, from the introduction of What Happened For the first time, Hillary Rodham Clinton reveals what she was thinking and feeling during one of the most controversial and unpredictable presidential elections in history. Now free from the constraints of running, Hillary takes you inside the intense personal experience of becoming the first woman nominated for president by a major party in an election marked by rage, sexism, exhilarating highs and infuriating lows, stranger-than-fiction twists, Russian interference and an opponent who broke all the rules.

This is her most personal memoir yet. In these pages, she describes what it was like to run against Donald Trump, the mistakes she made, how she has coped with a shocking and devastating loss, and how she found the strength to pick herself back up afterwards. With humour and candour, she tells readers what it took to get back on her feet - the rituals, relationships and reading that got her through, and what the experience has taught her about life. (hide)