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World Financial Orders: An Historical International Political Economy (RIPE Series in Global Political Economy #Vol. 7)
by Paul LangleyWorld Financial Orders challenges the predominance of neo-liberalism as a mode of knowledge about contemporary world finance, and claims that it neglects the social and political bases as well as the malign consequences of change. He looks to the field of International Political Economy (IPE) to construct an alternative mode, one that critically restores society and politics. An 'historical' approach to IPE is advanced that accounts for modern world finance since the seventeenth century as a succession of structurally distinct hierarchical social orders.This book will be of interest to those working in the field of IPE and to those scholars, researchers and students from across the social sciences who seek to challenge the common-sense, neo-liberal explanation of contemporary world finance.
World Folklore for Storytellers: Tales of Wonder, Wisdom, Fools, and Heroes
by Howard J ShermanHere is a treasury of favorite and little known tales from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas, Australia, and Oceania, gracefully retold and accompanied by fascinating, detailed information of their historic and cultural backgrounds. The introduction provides an informative overview of folklore, its purpose in world cultures and in contemporary society and popular culture. Following this, the main sections of the book are arranged by tale type, covering wonder tales, hero tales, tales of kindness repaid and hope and redemption, and finally tales of fools and wise people. Each section begins by comparing the tales cross-culturally, explaining similarities and differences in the folkloric narratives. Tales from diverse cultures are then presented, introduced, and retold in a highly readable fashion.
World Food: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture and Social Influence from Hunter Gatherers to the Age of Globalization
by Mary Ellen SnodgrassThis multicultural and interdisciplinary reference brings a fresh social and cultural perspective to the global history of food, foodstuffs, and cultural exchange from the age of discovery to contemporary times. Comprehensive in scope, this two-volume encyclopedia covers agriculture and industry, food preparation and regional cuisines, science and technology, nutrition and health, and trade and commerce, as well as key contemporary issues such as famine relief, farm subsidies, food safety, and the organic movement. Articles also include specific foodstuffs such as chocolate, potatoes, and tomatoes; topics such as Mediterranean diet and the Spice Route; and pivotal figures such as Marco Polo, Columbus, and Catherine de' Medici. Special features include: dozens of recipes representing different historic periods and cuisines of the world; listing of herbal foods and uses; and a chronology of key events/people in food history.
World Food In The 1990s: Production, Trade, And Aid
by Lehman FletcherIn this book contributors from various scholarly backgrounds interpret past trends in world food trade, aid and security and propose new policy options for the 1990s. They address the problems facing the distribution of global economic growth and trade between industrialized and developing countries while exploring the effects that supply, demand, assistance programmes, foreign aid and other policy variables have on the evolving world trade and food system. This book should prove of interest to a range of scholars and policymakers dealing with food, health, human rights, Third World development, agricultural economics, international political economy and trade policy.
The World Gas Trade: A Resource For The Future
by Melvin A ConantThe proximity of vast reserves of natural gas to the great energy-consuming markets of the world, the relative environmental harmlessness of gas, and its competitive price make the use of gas increasingly attractive to an energy-hungry world. Within the next two decades we will see the use of gas and gas-related technologies expand in industrialized nations as well as among developing countries. An international group of authorities on the political economy of natural gas analyzes the key factors influencing present gas supplies and uses and looks to the future, when new logistic systems and technological advances will affect both producers and consumers. The basic political, economic, and security considerations of energy will undergo a concomitant change in response to the increased availability and affordability of gas. In most markets, government monopolies direct the gas trade; in North America there will be a renewed role for private enterprise. Japan may also find its position greatly altered; although there are at present no pipeline connections to suppliers, and Japan is currently dependent on far-away sources of liquified natural gas, the contributors predict that future gas links to East Asia are highly likely. The World Gas Trade explores the growing gas trade, anticipating that within the next several decades the foundation will have been laid for gas-fueled economies to displace oil-based economies in the world system.
The World Gone Mad: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Circumstances)
by Rae SimonsTerrorism has become one of the most pressing concerns of our day. For over a century, some radical groups have used terrorist attacks to draw attention to their causes, using violence to get their voices heard. Although the purpose of these groups is to grab the attention of a government and force it to consider their demands for change, the people caught in the middle of a terrorist attack usually know or care little about the political reasons behind the violence.
The World Health Organization: Achievements and Failures (Global Governance #4)
by Yves BeigbederThe World Health Organization (WHO) is undergoing a crisis of credibility and challenge. Having been subjected to a severe financial crisis and criticisms of its management of pandemics such as the H1N1 flu case and the outbreak of Ebola, with a new Director-General at its helm, it is an ideal time to review the WHO’s past and current achievements including on-going operations and reported failures. Whilst time is given to recurrent attacks on WHO performance, it is balanced by also highlighting the WHO’s leadership, its member states, and its influence on other actors, NGOs and business. As such, this study reviews the WHO’s actions in the most visible programmes such as SARS, H1N1, Ebola and also smallpox, malaria, onchocerciasis, polio and AIDS. The author also discusses the desirable balance between operational and normative functions and proposals for reform of the Organization.
The World Health Organization (Global Institutions)
by Kelley LeeThe World Health Organization (WHO), as the United Nations specialized agency for health, has been at the centre of international health cooperation for over sixty years. With origins dating from the nineteenth century, WHO’s mandate is the attainment by all people of the highest possible level of health. The huge challenge of fulfilling this objective has not only required high-level technical skills, but has led the organization to engage with a broad range of political and economic interests. WHO has enjoyed many high-profile successes such as the global eradication of smallpox and SARS, and ongoing campaigns against polio and other diseases. On other issues, such as essential drugs, tobacco control and diet and nutrition, efforts to tackle the broader determinants of health has brought the organization into contact with issues such as globalization, poverty, social justice and human rights. Kelley Lee analyzes the WHO’s role in international cooperation, examining its changing structures, key programmes and individuals. Of particular focus are the challenges WHO has faced in recent years given the emergence of other global health initiatives and how WHO has sought to remain effective as the "world’s health conscience" within an increasingly complex global context.
The World Health Organization between north and south
by Nitsan ChorevSince 1948, the World Health Organization (WHO) has launched numerous programs aimed at improving health conditions around the globe, ranging from efforts to eradicate smallpox to education programs about the health risks of smoking. In setting global health priorities and carrying out initiatives, the WHO bureaucracy has faced the challenge of reconciling the preferences of a small minority of wealthy nations, who fund the organization, with the demands of poorer member countries, who hold the majority of votes. In The World Health Organization between North and South, Nitsan Chorev shows how the WHO bureaucracy has succeeded not only in avoiding having its agenda co-opted by either coalition of member states but also in reaching a consensus that fit the bureaucracy's own principles and interests.Chorev assesses the response of the WHO bureaucracy to member-state pressure in two particularly contentious moments: when during the 1970s and early 1980s developing countries forcefully called for a more equal international economic order, and when in the 1990s the United States and other wealthy countries demanded international organizations adopt neoliberal economic reforms. In analyzing these two periods, Chorev demonstrates how strategic maneuvering made it possible for a vulnerable bureaucracy to preserve a relatively autonomous agenda, promote a consistent set of values, and protect its interests in the face of challenges from developing and developed countries alike.
World Heritage Craze in China: Universal Discourse, National Culture, and Local Memory
by Haiming YanThere is a World Heritage Craze in China. China claims to have the longest continuous civilization in the world and is seeking recognition from UNESCO. This book explores three dimensions of the UNESCO World Heritage initiative with particular relevance for China: the universal agenda, the national practices, and the local responses. With a sociological lens, this book offers comprehensive insights into World Heritage, as well as China’s deep social, cultural, and political structures.
World Heritage on the Ground: Ethnographic Perspectives (EASA Series #28)
by David Berliner Christoph BrumannThe UNESCO World Heritage Convention of 1972 set the contemporary standard for cultural and natural conservation. Today, a place on the World Heritage List is much sought after for tourism promotion, development funding, and national prestige. Presenting case studies from across the globe, particularly from Africa and Asia, anthropologists with situated expertise in specific World Heritage sites explore the consequences of the World Heritage framework and the global spread of the UNESCO heritage regime. This book shows how local and national circumstances interact with the global institutional framework in complex and unexpected ways. Often, the communities around World Heritage sites are constrained by these heritage regimes rather than empowered by them.
World Heritage, Urban Design and Tourism: Three Cities in the Middle East
by Luna KhirfanUrban planners and conservationists in historic cities around the world grapple with the competing interests of conservation, urban design, and economic and social development. This book offers an interdisciplinary approach to the key relationships between heritage conservation, city space design, and tourism development in historic cities, linking theory and practice in a unique way. The book offers an investigation of three Middle Eastern historic cities, Aleppo, Acre and Salt, all of which face significant challenges of heritage conservation, adaptation to contemporary needs, and tourism development. It presents practical scenarios for the conservation and design of historic urban spaces and the development of sustainable tourism, from the perspective of planners, local communities and international tourists. The author offers a comparative approach which transcends political strife and provides valuable lessons for the other cities inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List, especially those in developing countries.
A World History of Ancient Political Thought: Its Significance and Consequences
by Antony BlackThis book examines the political thought of China, Greece, Israel, Rome, India, Iran, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and also early Christianity, from prehistory to c. 200 CE. Each of these had its priorities, based on a religious and philosophical perspective. This led to different ideas about who should govern, how to govern, and what government was for. In most cultures, sacred monarchy was the norm, but this ranged from absolute to conditional authority. 'The people' were recipients of royal (and divine) beneficence. Justice, the rule of law, and meritocracy were generally regarded as fundamental. In Greece and Rome, democracy and liberty were born, while in Israel the polity was based on covenant and the law. Confucius taught humaneness, Mozi and Christianity taught universal love; Kautilya and the Chinese 'Legalists' believed in realpolitik and an authoritarian state. <p><p>The conflict between might and right was resolved in many different ways. Chinese, Greek and Indian thinkers reflected on the origin and purposes of the state. Status and class were embedded in Indian and Chinese thought, the nation in Israelite thought. On the other hand, the Stoics and Cicero saw humanity as a single unit. Political philosophy, using logic, evidence and dialectic, was invented in China and Greece, statecraft in China and India, political science in Greece. Plato and Aristotle, followed by Polybius and Cicero, started 'western' political philosophy. This book covers political philosophy, religious ideology, constitutional theory, social ethics, official and popular political culture.
A World History of Political Thought
by J. BabbIts an outstanding and innovative work with profound significance for the study of the history of political thought, providing a wide-ranging, detailed and global overview of political thought from 600 BC to the 21st century. Treating both western and non-western systems of political thought as equal and placing them as they should be; side by side.
World Hunger: 10 Myths
by Joseph Collins Frances Moore LappéFrom bestselling authors Frances Moore Lappé and Joseph Collins comes the 21st century’s definitive book on world hunger. Driven by the question, "Why hunger despite an abundance of food?" Lappé and Collins refute the myths that prevent us from addressing the root causes of hunger across the globe. World Hunger: Ten Myths draws on extensive new research to offer fresh, often startling, insights about tough questions-from climate change and population growth to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and the role of U.S. foreign aid, and more.Brimming with little-known but life-changing examples of solutions to hunger worldwide, this myth-busting book argues that sustainable agriculture can feed the world, that we can end nutritional deprivation affecting one-quarter of the world’s people, and that most in the Global North have more in common with hungry people than they thought. For novices and scholars alike, World Hunger: Ten Myths will inspire a whole new generation of hunger-fighters.
World Hypotheses: A Study in Evidence
by Stephen C. Pepper"World hypotheses" correspond to metaphysical systems, and they may be systematically judged by the canons of evidence and corroboration.In setting forth his root-metaphor theory and examining six such hypotheses—animism, mysticism, formism, mechanism, contextualism, and organicism—Pepper surveys the whole field of metaphysics. Because this book is an analytical study, it stresses issues rather than men. It seeks to exhibit the sources of these issues and to show that some are unnecessary; that the rest gather into clusters and are interconnected in systems corresponding closely to the traditional schools of philosophy. The virtue of the root-metaphor method is that it puts metaphysics on a purely factual basis and pushes philosophical issues back to the interpretation of evidence.This book was written primarily as a contribution to the field, but its plan excellently suits it for use as a text in courses in metaphysics, types of philosophical theory, or present tendencies in philosophy.
The World Imagined: Collective Beliefs and Political Order in the Sinocentric, Islamic and Southeast Asian International Societies (LSE International Studies)
by Hendrik SpruytTaking an inter-disciplinary approach, Spruyt explains the political organization of three non-European international societies from early modernity to the late nineteenth century. The Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal empires; the Sinocentric tributary system; and the Southeast Asian galactic empires, all which differed in key respects from the modern Westphalian state system. In each of these societies, collective beliefs were critical in structuring domestic orders and relations with other polities. These multi-ethnic empires allowed for greater accommodation and heterogeneity in comparison to the homogeneity that is demanded by the modern nation-state. Furthermore, Spruyt examines the encounter between these non-European systems and the West. Contrary to unidirectional descriptions of the encounter, these non-Westphalian polities creatively adapted to Western principles of organization and international conduct. By illuminating the encounter of the West and these Eurasian polities, this book serves to question the popular wisdom of modernity, wherein the Western nation-state is perceived as the desired norm, to be replicated in other polities.
The World in a Grain of Sand: Postcolonial Literature and Radical Universalism
by Nivedita MajumdarRadical universalism vs postcolonial theoryThe World in a Grain of Sand offers a framework for reading literature from the global South that goes against the grain of dominant theories in cultural studies, especially, postcolonial theory. It critiques the valorization of the local in cultural theories typically accompanied by a rejection of universal categories - viewed as Eurocentric projections. But the privileging of the local usually amounts to an exercise in exoticization of the South. The book argues that the rejection of Eurocentric theories can be complemented by embracing another, richer and non-parochial form of universalism. Through readings of texts from India, Sri Lanka, Palestine and Egypt, the book shows that the fine grained engagement with culture, the mapping of ordinary lives not just as objects but subjects of their history, is embedded in much of postcolonial literature in a radical universalism - one that is rooted in local realities, but is able to unearth in them the needs, conflicts and desires that stretch across cultures and time. It is a universalism recognized by Marx and steeped in the spirit of anti-colonialism, but hostile to any whiff of exoticism.
The World in a Selfie: An Inquiry into the Tourist Age
by Marco D'EramoA spirited critique of the cultural politics of the tourist age. Or, why we are all tourists who hate touristsWe've all been tourists at some point in our lives. How is it we look so condescendingly at people taking selfies in front of the Tower of Pisa? Is there really much to distinguish the package holiday from hipster city-breaks to Berlin or Brooklyn? Why do we engage our free time in an activity we profess to despise?The World in a Selfie dissects a global cultural phenomenon. For Marco D'Eramo, tourism is not just the most important industry of the century, generating huge waves of people and capital, calling forth a dedicated infrastructure, and upsetting and repurposing the architecture and topography of our cities. It also encapsulates the problem of modernity: the search for authenticity in a world of ersatz pleasures.D'Eramo retraces the grand tours of the first globetrotters - from Francis Bacon and Samuel Johnson to Arthur de Gobineau and Mark Twain - before assessing the cultural meaning of the beach holiday and the 'UNESCO-cide' of major heritage sites. The tourist selfie will never look the same again.
The World in Canada
by David Carment David BercusonIn response to these questions, contributors trace changes in Canada's demographic make-up, explore the relationship between domestic politics and Canadian foreign policy across the fields of diplomacy, development, defense and security, and immigration, and determine the extent to which Quebec's sensibilities to international issues differ from those of the rest of the country. The World in Canada argues that, under certain conditions, the motivation to pursue certain policy choices arises as much from domestic considerations as from the international conditions associated with them.
The World in Canada: Diaspora, Demography, and Domestic Politics
by David Carment David BercusonIn response to these questions, contributors trace changes in Canada's demographic make-up, explore the relationship between domestic politics and Canadian foreign policy across the fields of diplomacy, development, defense and security, and immigration, and determine the extent to which Quebec's sensibilities to international issues differ from those of the rest of the country. The World in Canada argues that, under certain conditions, the motivation to pursue certain policy choices arises as much from domestic considerations as from the international conditions associated with them.
The World in Conflict: Understanding the World's Troublespots
by John AndrewsIn the last decade, the USA and its allies have invaded Afghanistan; Russia has sent troops into Ukraine; Britain and France helped topple a regime in Libya; the militant group ISIS has emerged in the Middle East; and across West Africa, the quest for precious minerals has both financed and caused conflicts. Other conflicts are less bloody, but still dangerous - the nervous stand-off between India and Pakistan in Kashmir, for instance, or the continuing stalemate between nuclear-armed, totalitarian North Korea and capitalist, democratic South Korea. Can we be truly confident that these arguments will not lead to armed conflict - whether by design or by human error? In The World in Conflict, John Andrews tackles head-on the reasons why global conflict is an ever-present in our lives. He analyses today's conflicts continent by continent, considering the causes, participants, impact and likely outcomes. He looks at recently-ended wars that remain prone to intermittent fighting. And, crucially, he considers where, why and how new conflicts might erupt. This is a book for our times, an essential guide for anyone and everyone who wants to know more about the world's main danger spots and how and why war and terrorism persist - in short, how we might better understand our world in conflict.
The World in Conflict: Understanding the World's Troublespots (Economist Books)
by John AndrewsAn authoritative, incisive explanation of the causes and current status of hostilities around the world.The world today rests on increasingly unstable fault lines. From the conflict in Ukraine or fresh upheavals in the Middle East to the threats posed to humanity by a global pandemic, climate change, and natural disasters, the world's danger zones once again draw their battle lines across our hyper-connected, yet fragmented, globe. In this revised and updated fourth edition, join veteran Economist journalist John Andrews as he analyzes the old enmities and looming collisions that underlie conflict in the twenty-first century. Region by region, discover the causes, contexts, participants, and likely outcomes of every globally significant struggle now underway. From drug cartels to cyber war, this is the indispensable guide for anyone who wants to understand our perilous world.
A World in Disarray: American Foreign Policy and the Crisis of the Old Order
by Richard HaassAn examination of a world increasingly defined by disorder and a United States unable to shape the world in its image, from the president of the Council on Foreign RelationsThings fall apart; the center cannot hold. The rules, policies, and institutions that have guided the world since World War II have largely run their course. Respect for sovereignty alone cannot uphold order in an age defined by global challenges from terrorism and the spread of nuclear weapons to climate change and cyberspace. Meanwhile, great power rivalry is returning. Weak states pose problems just as confounding as strong ones. The United States remains the world’s strongest country, but American foreign policy has at times made matters worse, both by what the U.S. has done and by what it has failed to do. The Middle East is in chaos, Asia is threatened by China’s rise and a reckless North Korea, and Europe, for decades the world’s most stable region, is now anything but. As Richard Haass explains, the election of Donald Trump and the unexpected vote for “Brexit” signals that many in modern democracies reject important aspects of globalization, including borders open to trade and immigrants. In A World in Disarray, Haass argues for an updated global operating system—call it world order 2.0—that reflects the reality that power is widely distributed and that borders count for less. One critical element of this adjustment will be adopting a new approach to sovereignty, one that embraces its obligations and responsibilities as well as its rights and protections. Haass also details how the U.S. should act towards China and Russia, as well as in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. He suggests, too, what the country should do to address its dysfunctional politics, mounting debt, and the lack of agreement on the nature of its relationship with the world. A World in Disarray is a wise examination, one rich in history, of the current world, along with how we got here and what needs doing. Haass shows that the world cannot have stability or prosperity without the United States, but that the United States cannot be a force for global stability and prosperity without its politicians and citizens reaching a new understanding.
World in Transition 2: New Structures for Global Environmental Policy
by German Advisory WgbuInternational institutions and structures are crucial to the management of the global environment. The present arrangements are failing to cope adequately with the scale of the task and the demands placed on them, and alternatives are urgently needed. In this second volume of World in Transition, experts in the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WGBU) analyze the problems and set out comprehensive and persuasive policies for a successful future regime. Central to the future, it argues, will be a strengthened and more effective UN Environment Programme within an alliance organized around three main objectives of assessment, organization and funding.