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The No-Nonsense Guide to Climate Change
by Danny ChiversJust as the need for action on climate change becomes more urgent and overwhelming, the campaign to deny that humans are causing it has gained more traction. This completely new book meets the sceptics head on, offering a guide to the science, an insight into the politics of climate justice and a clear sense of the way forward.
The No-Nonsense Guide to Conflict and Peace
by Sabina Lautensach Helen Ware Deanna Iribarnegaray Peter GreenerThe twentieth century was the most bloody in history, and already conflict in this century has taken a heavy toll. Most wars are now within countries rather than between states, and often it is civilians that suffer most, especially women and children.This is an invaluable guide for students, peace groups, and activists. It examines the changing types of war, including the war on terror and ethnic conflict such as in Rwanda, the role of diplomacy and the UN, and what steps ordinary people are taking to rebuild communities. It offers ideas and inspiration for creating lasting peace.
The No-Nonsense Guide to Degrowth and Sustainability
by Wayne EllwoodThis guide explores the idea of economic growth, tracing its history and questioning why it has become so unchallengeable and powerful when unlimited growth in a finite world is ultimately impossible. It illustrates how economics based on degrowth can be turned into a positive and how we can arrive at new levels of environmental sustainability without having turning the clock back to the Dark Ages. A title for anyone interested in economics, the psychology of consumerism and progressive change.Wayne Ellwood is former co-editor of New Internationalist magazine. He is author of the No-Nonsense Guide to Globalization (over fifty thousand sold).
The No-Nonsense Guide to Democracy
by Richard SwiftFollowing the economic meltdown and the triumph of Barack Obama, have the chances of genuine democracy improved?In this updated edition of The No-Nonsense Guide to Democracy, Richard Swift explores how democracy has been constricted and deformed by economic power brokers and a self-serving political class from Birmingham to Bangalore. He considers the different tools people in power have used to manipulate democratic principles, such as freedom, to their advantage.The book includes chapter-length discussions of topics such as the economic meltdown, Barack Obama, eco-democracy, democratizing the economy, and democracy in the global south. It is also a guide to the rich diversity of forms of elected government, and it contains practical ideas for empowering today's voters around the world.Richard Swift was co-editor for the New Internationalist magazine from 1984 to 2007 and lives in Toronto. He has written and broadcast on questions of ecology and democracy for many years.
The No-Nonsense Guide to Fair Trade
by David RansomMeeting the people who grow our bananas and cocoa and make our clothes, this No-Nonsense Guide to Fair Trade tells the human story behind what we consume. <P><P>Examin-ing the global contest between "free" and "fair" trade, David Ransom argues that the key question is not whether trade should be regulated or deregulated, but whether it is to be the master or servant of the people.And as fair trade products are being turned into brands by large corporations, a new contest opens-it is no longer just a question of fair versus free, but what kind of fair trade.
The No-Nonsense Guide to Fair Trade
by Sally BlundellAn in-depth look at two decades of a movement that aims to challenge the ethical foundations of the global market.Transnational corporations look for the cheapest suppliers, while the fair trade movement insists on a premium for the producers at the start of the chain.Sally Blundell uncovers the origins of fair trade and what it is likely to become.
The No-Nonsense Guide to Global Finance
by Peter StalkerAn incisive introduction to global finance--where money comes from, the current mechanisms, and the need for control and reform. It traces the origins of money as a source of exchange and a store of value and the many weird forms it now takes--visible and invisible.The guide sets recent events into context, indicating how the flows of money directed by an unaccountable elite increasingly shape economic, political, and social activity.Peter Stalker is a former co-editor of the New Internationalist who now works as a consultant to a number of UN agencies. He is author of the No-Nonsense Guide to International Migration.
The No-Nonsense Guide to Global Media
by Peter StevenPeter Steven explores the diversity of world media, from the corporate to the independent. He introduces readers to the political economy of the major media outlets, looking at the concentration of ownership and the convergence of technologies and media functions. In doing so, he encourages us to question how the media reflects society: are we passive recipients, or do we have a part in constructing the world?Peter Steven is a freelance writer based in Toronto, Canada. He has been a film columnist for New Internationalist and The Beaver magazines, and associate editor of Jump Cut magazine.
The No-Nonsense Guide to Global Surveillance
by Robin TudgeSpying, once the province of the KGB, CIA and MI5, has become part of everyday life. Governments routinely trawl our emails, CCTV cameras follow us on every street, while state databases of our DNA become larger all the time. This book shows the extent to which Big Brother is watching us all.
The No-Nonsense Guide to Global Terrorism
by Jonathan BarkerThis is a highly accessible history of terrorism that looks at core examples from the Middle East, instances of state terrorism, and terrorist fringes of political movements. It covers the theories justifying and guiding terrorist acts and the battle of images that accompanies them.Jonathan Barker has taught political science at the universities of Toronto, Arizona, and Dar es Salam. He has researched local politics in Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, and India. His other books include Street-Level Democracy and Rural Communities under Stress.
The No-Nonsense Guide to Globalization
by Wayne EllwoodGlobalization is all around us. From the richest country to the poorest, every aspect of life is affected by global economics and communications. We all benefit...or do we?This No-Nonsense Guide to Globalization distills the arguments into a clear, concise commentary. It examines the debt trap, the acceleration of neo-liberalism and the "free trade" model, competition for energy resources, and the links between the war on terror, the arms trade, and privatization. It looks at civil society alternatives to corporate globalization and the latest trade justice initiatives.
The No-Nonsense Guide to Green Politics
by Derek WallClimate chaos and pollution, deforestation and consumerism: the crisis facing human civilization is clear enough. But the response of politicians to it has been cowardly and inadequate, while environmental activists have tended to favor single-issue campaigns rather than electoral politics.The No-Nonsense Guide to Green Politics measures the rising tide of eco-activism and awareness and explains why it heralds a new political era worldwide.Derek Wall is a former principal speaker of the British Green Party. He is the author of numerous books, including Babylon and Beyond: The Economics of Anti-Capitalist, Anti-Globalist and Radical Green Movements.
The No-Nonsense Guide to Human Rights
by Paul Gready Olivia BallSince the Declaration of Human Rights over fifty years ago, we acknowledge that universal rights exist, but what does this mean to someone who is tortured or denied education, work, or asylum? This No-Nonsense Guide to Human Rights looks at the theories of rights and universalism. It explores the difficult task of trying to protect human rights in war, the legal advances that have led to some rights abusers facing justice, and the conflicts that can occur when rights collide with culture.
The No-Nonsense Guide to International Development
by Maggie Black"Overseas aid" and "international development" are catch-all terms that cover a multitude of activities--and abuses. This guide explains what "development" actually is--and explores its political and economic roots. It shows what can happen in the name of development and argues for a more organic, social approach with those it seeks to serve as equal partners in the process. Maggie Black has written books for the Oxford University Press, UNICEF, and Oxfam. She has worked as a consultant for UNICEF, Anti-Slavery International, and WaterAid, among others, and has written for the Guardian, The Economist, and BBC World Service.
The No-Nonsense Guide to International Migration
by Peter StalkerVirtually any commodity can move around the world to satisfy demand, but human beings have far less freedom. Many would-be migrants are forced to risk life and limb traveling illegally. Yet most rich countries are short of workers, have shrinking populations, and need more immigrants. This is a timely guide to a major issue that is never far from the political headlines.Peter Stalker is a former co-editor of the New Internationalist who now works as a consultant to a number of UN agencies. He has written two books on migration for the International Labor Organization.
The No-Nonsense Guide to Tourism
by Pamela NowickaThis guide demystifies the often invisible impacts of global tourism, one of the biggest industries in the world, from labor conditions to development by stealth, to the role of elites and the cultural impacts on both the visitor and the visited.It also takes in themes such as the gap year and the role of travel and vacations in Western cultures, and examines the "happy smiling faces" syndrome and asks whether this is just a reworking of old colonial relationships. Pamela Nowicka is a journalist and consultant writing on numerous tourism and ethics subjects.
The No-Nonsense Guide to Women's Rights
by Nikki van der GaagHas the battle for women's rights been won? Not when women still make up 70 percent of the world's poor. This guide examines the advances that have been made and looks beneath the surface to find out what the reality is for women all around the world.<P><P> It shows how, in this "post-feminist" age, women's rights are still very much an issue.Nikki van der Gaag is a freelance writer, editor, and evaluator on development issues. Prior to this, she was editorial director at the Panos Institute and co-editor of the New Internationalist magazine.
The No-Nonsense Guide to World Food: New Edition
by Wayne RobertsWayne Roberts puts under the microscope a global food system that is under strain from climate change and from economic disaster.<P><P>He shows how a world food system based on supermarkets and agribusiness corporations is unsustainable and looks at new models of producing healthy food from all over the world.
The No-Nonsense Guide to World Health
by Shereen UsdinA clear yet wide-ranging introduction to the state of health worldwide, exploring the ways in which health provision is often determined by ethnicity, class, and gender. Starting with a brief history of medical progress, this guide delves into current politics of health in the contexts of big business and private health provision, media, gender, and the environment. Shereen Usdin is a medical doctor and a public health specialist. She is co-founder of the internationally acclaimed Soul City for Health and Development Communication in South Africa and works in the areas of development communication, HIV/AIDS, violence against women, and human rights.
The No-Nonsense Guide to World History
by Chris BrazierMost people's knowledge of world history is hazy and incomplete at best. This updated No-Nonsense Guide gives a full picture, revealing the hidden histories and communities left out of conventional history books--from the civilizations of Africa, Asia, and Latin America to the history of women. The new final chapter includes material on the financial crisis and the world response to climate change. Chris Brazier is co-editor at New Internationalist. His previous books include Vietnam: The Price of Peace. He is principal writer for UNICEF's The State of the World's Children report.
The No-Nonsense Guide to World Music
by Louise Gray"World music" is an awkward phrase. Used to describe the hugely multifaceted nature of a range of typically non-English-language popular music from the world over, it's a tag that throws up as many problems as it does solutions.Louise Gray's The No-Nonsense Guide to World Music attempts to go behind the phrase to explore the reasons for the contemporary interest in world music, who listens to it, and why. Through chapters that focus on specific areas of music, such as rembetika, fado, trance music, and new folk, Gray explores the genres that have emerged from marginalized communities, music in conflict zones, and music as escapism.In this unique guide, which combines the seduction of sound with politics and social issues, the author makes the case for music as a powerful tool able to bring individuals together.Louise Gray is a writer and editor whose work on music and performing arts has appeared in the New Internationalist, The Wire, The Independent on Sunday, the Guardian, and Art Review. She co-edited Sound and the City (British Council, 2007), a book exploring the changing soundworld of China.
The No-Nonsense Guide to World Population
by Vanessa BairdNo-Nonsense Guide to World Population (1/2 page) With world population passing seven billion and predicted to hit nine billion by 2050, we are in the grip of a number panic. This book explodes some of the common myths, looks at what the numbers really mean, and addresses nine topics, such as why women in most parts of the world have fewer children, what will happen to our societies as we all live longer, and how having babies relates to climate change. Vanessa Baird is co-editor at New Internationalist magazine. Her previous books include The No-Nonsense Guide to Sexual Diversity and, as compiler and editor, Eye to Eye Women.
The No-Nonsense Guide to World Poverty
by Jeremy SeabrookThis guide questions conventional thinking about wealth and poverty--is the opposite of poverty really wealth, or is it safety and sufficiency?Drawing on experience of poor people all over the world, the author gives voice to those whose views are rarely sought and shows how we all need to live more modestly to make poverty history. Jeremy Seabrook has written more than thirty books (including Travels in the Skin Trade and Children of Other Worlds), and has worked as a teacher, social worker, journalist, lecturer, and playwright. He has contributed to many magazines, including the New Statesman and The Ecologist.
The No-Nonsense Guide to the United Nations
by Maggie BlackIn the first book to distill the entire history of the United Nations into one accessible volume, Maggie Black explains how this complex organization works and explores its successes, failings, and current limitations. The book includes the creation of the UN and its early history, how it is structured, and whether it is well constituted in its functions. Black also considers possibilities for reform to make it more democratic, effective, and fit for its purpose.Maggie Black has written books for Oxford University Press, UNICEF, and Oxfam and articles for The Economist and BBC World Service. She has worked as a consultant for UNICEF and Anti-Slavery International.
The Nobel Factor: The Prize in Economics, Social Democracy, and the Market Turn
by Gabriel Söderberg Avner OfferEconomic theory may be speculative, but its impact is powerful and real. Since the 1970s, it has been closely associated with a sweeping change around the world--the "market turn." This is what Avner Offer and Gabriel Söderberg call the rise of market liberalism, a movement that, seeking to replace social democracy, holds up buying and selling as the norm for human relations and society. Our confidence in markets comes from economics, and our confidence in economics is underpinned by the Nobel Prize in Economics, which was first awarded in 1969. Was it a coincidence that the market turn and the prize began at the same time? The Nobel Factor, the first book to describe the origins and power of the most important prize in economics, explores this and related questions by examining the history of the prize, the history of economics since the prize began, and the simultaneous struggle between market liberals and social democrats in Sweden, Europe, and the United States.The Nobel Factor tells how the prize, created by the Swedish central bank, emerged from a conflict between central bank orthodoxy and social democracy. The aim was to use the halo of the Nobel brand to enhance central bank authority and the prestige of market-friendly economics, in order to influence the future of Sweden and the rest of the developed world. And this strategy has worked, with sometimes disastrous results for societies striving to cope with the requirements of economic theory and deregulated markets.Drawing on previously untapped Swedish national bank archives and providing a unique analysis of the sway of prizewinners, The Nobel Factor offers an unprecedented account of the real-world consequences of economics--and its greatest prize.