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Today animals need protecting more than ever: those bred for laboratories, zoos, and hunting, and also those reared intensively on farms. And out in the wild, animals are losing their habitats to environmental exploitation. Dispelling the myth that the protection of animals' rights is a modern, Western concern, this No-Nonsense Guide to Animal Rights explains the key issues, charts the growth of the animal rights movement, and looks at the welfare...
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The 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...
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Meeting 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. 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,...
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Globalization 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...
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Since 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...
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Science is the great intellectual adventure, but can also be an instrument of profit, power, and privilege. Wrongly used, it might yet make the twenty-first century our last. To make sense of this, we need to let go of old ideas and assumptions. This No-Nonsense Guide to Science introduces a new way of thinking about science, moving away from ideas of perfect certainty and objectivity. We must accept uncertainty and ignorance in the field, as well...
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"The terms ""overseas aid"" and ""international development"" mask confusion, contradiction, and deceit. All too often what passes for development improves life for the better-off, while actively hurting the very people the venture was meant to support. Black argues that in order to truly defend the interests of the poor we need more realism, less hypocrisy, and a more accurate picture of what is happening in development's name."
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This guide explains Islamic history, the Qur'an, sharia law, and Islam's relationship with the West. It analyzes the struggle within the faith for a more humane interpretation of the religion, issues surrounding women, democracy, and economic development, and the outlook post-9/11 and the Iraq war.
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The treatment of sexual minorities-whether lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender-varies significantly in different parts of the world. In some countries, equal rights have been achieved and progress is being made against discrimination; in others, being gay still incurs the death penalty. This guide examines all the colors of the sexual rainbow, unearths hidden histories, and looks at contributions from medicine and science. It also includes a unique...
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This 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...
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A 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...
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This 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.
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This 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,...
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Virtually 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...
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In 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...
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Has 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. 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...
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Covering fast food, organic food, junk food, institutional food, and more, this guide shows how "real food" has become increasingly scarce, with production and distribution increasingly dominated in the West by agri-business. The guide goes on to present the alternatives that are emerging based on the concept of community food security. Wayne Roberts is a leading North American writer, activist, and practitioner in community food security. An author...
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An 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...
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One of the few up-to-date works on the whole of the arms trade, this book puts the global trade in weapons in the context of history and includes recent controversial deals, as well as case studies on Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Darfur. It exposes the cynicism, bribery, and insider deals that characterize the conventional trade and the hidden world of torture.
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"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...