Bücher veröffentlicht von Pluto Press

It often seems that different crises are competing to devastate civilisation. This book argues that financial meltdown, dwindling oil reserves, terrorism and food shortages need to be considered as part of the same ailing system.*BR**BR*Most accounts of our contemporary global crises focus on one area, such as climate change, or the threat of terrorism, to the exclusion of others. Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed argues that the unwillingness of experts to consider crises from an interdisciplinary perspective, has resulted in their failure to understand historical events. From ecology and the environment, to political governance, the global economy and international relations, Ahmed investigates contemporary crises, not as isolated events, but as trends and processes that belong to a single global system. Ahmed posits that we are therefore not dealing with a 'clash of civilisations', as Samuel P. Huntington argued. Rather, we are dealing with a fundamental crisis of civilisation itself.

Is peace-building in Somalia possible? Devastated by a US-backed Ethiopian invasion and years of civil war, Somalia has long been without a central government, against this background of violence and instability, Somali academic Afyare Abdi Elmi, explains the multiple dimensions of the conflict, seeking a peace-building consensus.*BR**BR*Somalia is a failed state and a Muslim state, a combination the West assumes means it's a breeding ground for extremism. Coupled with the country's reputation as a piracy hotspot, this combination of internal division and outside interference makes for an intensely hostile landscape. Elmi shows that only by addressing the problem of the statelessness in the country can the long process of peace begin. He highlights clan identities, Islam and other countries in the region as the key elements in any peace-building effort; setting out a path for the international community to follow.

Over a millennium after the end of its unrivalled dominance, the spectre of Rome figures highly in western culture. This book explores what the empire meant to its subjects.*BR**BR*The idea of Rome has long outlived the physical empire that gave it form, and now holds sway over vastly more people and a far greater geographical area than the Romans ever ruled. It continues to shape our understanding of the nature of imperialism and influence the workings of the world. It is through the lens of Rome that we answer questions such as: How do empires grow? How are empires ruled? Do empires exploit their subjects or civilise them? Rejecting the simplistic narrative of military triumph followed by decline and fall, the books analyses the origins of Roman imperialism, its wide-ranging impact on the regions it conquered, and its continuing influence in debates about modern imperialism.

The Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories since 1967 has many important economic aspects that are often overlooked. In this highly original book, Shir Hever shows that understanding the economic dimensions of the occupation is crucial to unravelling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.*BR**BR*Hever rejects the premise that Israel keeps control over Palestinian territories for material gain, and also the premise that Israel is merely defending itself from Palestinian aggression. Instead, he argues that the occupation has reached an impasse, with the Palestinian resistance making exploitation of the Palestinians by Israeli business interests difficult, but the Israeli authorities reluctant to give up control.*BR**BR*With traditional economic analysis failing to explain this turn of events, this book will be invaluable for students, activists and journalists struggling to make sense of the complex issues surrounding Israel's occupation.

This is a fascinating and at times unsettling journey into the world's most populous Muslim nation as it struggles to emerge from decades of dictatorship and the plunder of its natural resources. *BR**BR*Andre Vltchek brings together more than a decade of investigative journalism in and around Indonesia to chart the recent history of the country, from the revolution which overthrew General Suharto's genocidal dictatorship in 1998 to the present day. He covers the full breadth of the country from Islamic Aceh to mostly Catholic East Timor.*BR**BR*Tracing Indonesia's current problems back to Suharto's coup and the genocide of 1965 - and the support given by the West to Suharto - Vltchek provides an intimate and deeply humane insight into the hopes and fears of Indonesia's people.*BR*

A comprehensive collection of contemporary writings on political Islam from key thinkers in the field. Includes a substantial introduction.

How can we rebel against the capitalist system? John Holloway argues that by creating, cracks, fractures and fissures that forge spaces of rebellion and disrupt the current economic order. *BR**BR*John Holloway, author of the groundbreaking Change the World Without Taking Power, sparked a world-wide debate among activists and scholars about the most effective methods of fighting capitalism from within. From campaigns against water privatisation, to simply not going to work and reading a book instead, Holloway demands we must resist the logic of capitalism in our everyday lives. Drawing on Marx's idea of 'abstract labour', Holloway develops 33 theses that will help you create, expand and multiply 'cracks' in the capitalist system.

For nearly two decades, the US and its allies have prosecuted war and aggression in Iraq. Erasing Iraq shows in unparalleled detail the devastating human cost of the war in Iraq. *BR**BR*Western governments and the mainstream media continue to ignore or play down the human costs of the war on Iraqi citizens This has allowed them to present their role as the benign guardians of Iraqi interests. The authors deconstruct this narrative by presenting a portrait of the total carnage in Iraq today. From Iraqi refugees in Syria, Jordan and the West, to civilians left behind, and other witnesses, this the story of the war told by those who experienced it firsthand.

Hollywood is often characterised as a stronghold of left-liberal ideals. In Reel Power, Matthew Alford shows that it is in fact deeply complicit in serving the interests of the most regressive US corporate and political forces.*BR**BR*Films like Transformers, Terminator: Salvation and Black Hawk Down are constructed with Defence Department assistance as explicit cheerleaders for the US military, but Matthew Alford also emphasises how so-called 'radical' films like Three Kings, Hotel Rwanda and Avatar present watered-down alternative visions of American politics that serve a similar function.*BR**BR*Reel Power is the first book to examine the internal workings of contemporary Hollywood as a politicised industry as well as scores of films across all genres. No matter what the progressive impulses of some celebrities and artists, Alford shows how they are part of a system that is hard-wired to encourage American global supremacy and frequently the use of state violence.

From the early rumblings of the French revolution, at the start of the long nineteenth century, to the fall of the Soviet bloc at the close of the short twentieth century, historian Eric Hobsbawm is possibly the foremost chronicler of the modern age.*BR**BR*Hobsbawm was a chronicler of revolutions, labour history, Empire, and conflicts; whose writings have informed the historical consciousness of scholars and general readers alike. From colonialism to capitalism, his trilogy of histories, The Age of Revolution, The Age of Capital and The Age of Empire, evidence his skill for identifying the plurality of forces at play in major historical events. Tracing his intellectual and political journey, and encompassing the extraordinary historical events that marked his life, Gregory Elliot fills an analytical gap on Hobsbawm's scholarship and Marxist historiography.

For over ten years, Race and Ethnicity in Latin America has been an essential text for students studying the region. This second edition adds new material and brings the analysis up to date.*BR**BR*Race and ethnic identities are increasingly salient in Latin America. Peter Wade examines changing perspectives on Black and Indian populations in the region, tracing similarities and differences in the way these peoples have been seen by academics and national elites. Race and ethnicity as analytical concepts are re-examined in order to assess their usefulness.*BR**BR*This book should be the first port of call for anthropologists and sociologists studying identity in Latin America.

In carefully crafted official statements, the European Union presents itself as an honest broker in the Middle East. In reality, however, the EU's 27 governments have been engaged in a long process of accommodating Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories.*BR**BR*Journalist David Cronin interrogates the relationship and its outcomes. A recent agreement for 'more intense, more fruitful, more influential co-operation' between the EU and Israel has meant that Israel has become a member state of the Union in all but name. Cronin shows that rather than using this relationship to encourage Israeli restraint, the EU has legitimised actions such as the ill-treatment of prisoners and the Gaza invasion.*BR**BR*Concluding his revealing and shocking account, Cronin calls for a continuation and deepening of international activism and protest to halt the EU's slide into complicity.

From the American Revolution, and the signing of the Declaration of Independence, to the waning popularity of the Iraq war, Philip Golub depicts the long American journey to global ascendancy. *BR**BR*Through the study of imperial identity formation, Golub shows how a culture of force and expansion has shaped American foreign policy. Taking a historical and sociological approach to his examination of the US logic of world power, he reveals how entrenched assumptions about America's primacy inhibits democratic transformation at domestic and international levels, forging a new world where America is no longer able to set the global agenda.

This book guides students as they explore how white identities are forged using both sociological and psycho-social ideas.*BR**BR*Whiteness has traditionally been seen as 'ethnically transparent' - the marker against which other ethnicities are measured. Only recently have scholars moved away from focusing on ethnic minorities and instead oriented their studies around the construction of white identities. *BR**BR*Including an excellent survey of the existing literature and original research from the UK, this book will be an invaluable guide for sociology students taking modules in race and ethnicity.

Argues that destruction of Iraqi culture was aimed at remaking Iraq into a US client state

This is an investigation into the interaction of power, money and people in Russia during the presidencies of Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev. *BR**BR*Profiling Putin's team, including his security services and pro-market economic 'reformers', Simon Pirani argues that the growth during the oil boom was one-sided. The gap between rich and poor widened. Now the boom is over, this problem has only grown.*BR**BR*As well as explaining Russia's economic trajectory, the book provides a unique account of the social movements that are working against an increasingly authoritarian government to change Russia for the better.

Maps the contemporary social world of anthropologists and its relation to the wider world in which they carry out their work.

Israel Shahak was a remarkable man. Born in the Warsaw ghetto and a survivor of Belsen, Shahak arrived in Israel in 1945. Brought up under Jewish Orthodoxy and Hebrew culture, he consistently opposed the expansion of the borders of Israel from 1967.*BR**BR*In this extraordinary and highly acclaimed book, Shahak embarks on a provocative study of the extent to which the secular state of Israel has been shaped by religious orthodoxies of an invidious and potentially lethal nature. Drawing on the Talmud and rabbinical laws, Shahak argues that the roots of Jewish chauvinism and religious fanaticism must be understood before it is too late. *BR**BR*Written from a humanitarian viewpoint by a Jewish scholar, this is a rare and highly controversial criticism of Israel that will both excite and disturb readers worldwide.

A. Sivanandan is a highly influential thinker on race, racism, globalisation and resistance. Since 1972, he has been the director of the Institute of Race Relations and the editor of Race & Class, which set the policy agenda on ethnicity and race in the UK and worldwide. Sivanandan has been writing for over forty years and this is the definitive collection of his work.*BR**BR*The articles selected span his entire career and are chosen for their relevance to today's most pressing issues. Included is a complete bibliography of Sivanandan's writings, and an introduction by Colin Prescod (chair of the IRR), which sets the writings in context.*BR**BR*This book is highly relevant to undergraduate politics students and anyone reading or writing on race, ethnicity and immigration.

This is an entirely new collection of Lenin's writing. For the first time it brings together crucial shorter works, to show that Lenin held a life-long commitment to freedom and democracy. Le Blanc has written a comprehensive introduction, which gives an accessible overview of Lenin's life and work, and explains his relevance to political thought today.Lenin has been much maligned in the mainstream, accused of viewing 'man as modeling clay' and of 'social engineering of the most radical kind.' However, in contrast to today's world leaders, who happily turn to violence to achieve their objectives, Lenin believed it impossible to reach his goals 'by any other path than that of political democracy.'

Every year, millions of the rural poor suffer from predictable and preventable seasonal hunger. This hunger is less dramatic but no less damaging than the starvation associated with famines, wars and natural disasters. Seasons of Hunger explores why the world does not react to a crisis that we know will continue year after year.*BR**BR*Seasonal hunger is caused by annual cycles of shrinking food stocks, rising prices, and lack of income. This hidden hunger pushes millions of children to the brink of starvation every year, permanently stunting their physical and cognitive development, weakening their immune systems and opening the door for killer diseases. Action Against Hunger argue that ending seasonal hunger could save millions of young lives and is key to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. This book documents seasonal hunger in four countries - India, Malawi, Mali and Myanmar - including personal stories and country-wide data which shows the magnitude of the problem. *BR**BR*The authors also find encouraging examples of interventions designed to address seasonality - initiatives led by governments, donors and NGOs, and poor people themselves - and propose a package of advocacy messages that could contribute to the global eradication of seasonal hunger. This book will be a valuable resource for journalists, policy makers, NGO members and students of development studies.

This book shows how the Arab-Israeli conflict developed by looking beyond the legality argument to the men behind the policies.*BR**BR*It argues that Zionism was adopted by the British Government in its 1917 Balfour Declaration, primarily as a way to control immigration. *BR**BR*The book places the violent reaction of the Palestinians to mass Jewish immigration in the context of Zionism, and revisits the controversies over the question of self-determination, and the partition of Palestine.*BR**BR*Arguing that Israel was created through an act of conquest and subjugation, the book concludes with a sobering analysis of the conflict arguing that neither Jews nor Arabs were to blame for starting it.

Wikiworld explores a revolution in the world of education. The way we learn is changing: institutionalised learning is transforming into new forms of critical learning and open collaboration. This book offers a historical and political framework to think about the future of learning and educational media. *BR**BR*The authors provide an overview of the use of new technologies and learning practices, and assess how the changing nature of education can lead to a more socially just future. At the same time, they place their analysis of education within a wider social and economic framework of contemporary capitalism.

Media Lens' mission is to correct the distorted vision of the liberal media. A thorn in the side of the Guardian, Independent, Channel 4 and the BBC, among many others, it is constantly under counterfire by those it attacks.*BR**BR*These responses are collected in Newspeak. They expose the arrogance and servility to power of our leading journalists and editors, starring Andrew Marr, Alan Rusbridger, Roger Alton, Jon Snow, Jeremy Bowen and even George Monbiot.*BR**BR*Packed with forensic media analysis, revealing the lethal bias in 'balanced' reporting. Even the 'best' UK media turn out to be cheerleaders for government, business and war. *BR**BR*Alongside an A-Z of BBC propaganda and chapters on Iraq and climate change, Newspeak focuses on the demonisation of Iran and Venezuela, the Israel-Palestine conflict, the myth of impartial reporting and the dark art of smearing dissidents.

Shows that outrages such as the normalisation of torture are challenging the purpose and standing of the Geneva Conventions.

A study of the Protestant community in NI. A scholarly reconstruction of cultural animosity and division in troubled society, and a valuable contribution to the resolution of conflict.

An introductory history of the Communist Party in Britain.

This book champions social movements as one of the most influential agents that shape our conceptions of human rights.*BR**BR*It argues that human rights cannot be understood outside of the context of social movement struggles. It explains how much of the literature on human rights has systematically obscured this link, consequently distorting our understandings of human rights. *BR**BR*Neil Stammers shows how human rights can be understood. He suggests that what he calls the 'paradox of institutionalisation' can only be addressed through a recognition of the importance of human rights arising out of grassroots activism, and through processes of institutional democratisation.

This book traces the essence of the Islamist Revolution from its origins in Egypt, through Najaf, Lebanon, Iran and the Iranian Revolution to today. Alastair Crooke presents a compelling account of the ideas and energy which are mobilising the Islamic world.*BR**BR*Crooke argues that the West faces a mass mobilisation against the US-led Western project. The roots of this conflict are described in terms of religious themes that extend back over 500 years. They represent clashing systems of thinking and values. Islamists have a vision for the future of their own societies which would entail radical change from Western norms. Resistance is presented as the means to force Western behaviour to change and to expose the essential differences between the two modes of thinking.*BR**BR*This is a rigourous account that traces the threads of revolution of various movements, including the influence of 'political Shi'ism' and the Iranian Revolution and its impact on Hezbollah and Hamas.

This is an introduction to the thought of the radical French thinker Felix Guattari.*BR**BR*Guattari's main works were published in the 1970s and 1980s. His background was in psychoanalysis -- he was trained by Lacan and he practised as a psychoanalyst for much of his life. He developed a distinctive psychoanalytic method informed always by his revolutionary politics.*BR**BR*Guattari was actively involved in numerous political movements, from Trotskyism to Autonomism, tackling ecological and sexual politics along the way. A true believer in collectivity, much of his work was written in collaboration, most famously with Gilles Deleuze.*BR**BR*This is also an introduction to key concepts such as schizoanalysis, transversality, a-signifying semiotics and various kinds of machine.