Millions of words have been written about the Cuban Revolution, which, to both its supporters and detractors, is almost universally understood as being won by a small band of guerillas. In this unique and stimulating book, Stephen Cushion turns the conventional wisdom on its head, and argues that the Cuban working class played a much more decisive role in the Revolution’s outcome than previously understood. Although the working class was well-organized in the 1950s, it is believed to...
Winner of the first Paul A. Baran-Paul M. Sweezy Memorial Award for an original monograph concerned with the political economy of imperialism, John Smith's Imperialism in the Twenty-First Century is a seminal examination of the relationship between the core capitalist countries and the rest of the world in the age of neoliberal globalization.Deploying a sophisticated Marxist methodology, Smith begins by tracing the production of certain iconic commodities-the T-shirt, the cup of coffee, and...
As Eve Ensler says in her inspired foreword to this book, «Jody Williams is many things—a simple girl from Vermont, a sister of a disabled brother, a loving wife, an intense character full of fury and mischief, a great strategist, an excellent organizer, a brave and relentless advocate, and a Nobel Peace Prize winner. But to me Jody Williams is, first and foremost, an activist.»<br /><br />From her modest beginnings to becoming the tenth woman—and third American woman—to receive the...
The first major battle over school choice came out of struggles over equalizing and integrating schools in the civil rights era, when it became apparent that choice could be either a serious barrier or a significant tool for reaching these goals. The second large and continuing movement for choice was part of the very different anti-government, individualistic, market-based movement of a more conservative period in which many of the lessons of that earlier period were forgotten, though choice...
In this thoroughly revised and updated edition of <i>The Activist's Handbook</i>, Randy Shaw’s hard-hitting guide to winning social change, the author brings the strategic and tactical guidance of the prior edition into the age of Obama. Shaw details how activists can best use the Internet and social media, and analyzes the strategic strengths and weaknesses of rising 21st century movements for immigrant rights, marriage equality, and against climate change. Shaw also highlights...
Extant research continues to perpetuate a myth of Sub-Saharan African countries (SSACs) as ever stuck in the past and with incurable growth maladies. However, during the years just before the great global recession some of these countries performed better than countries in other regions. What explains this turnaround? How can it be ignited everywhere in the region and made to stick? The Political Economy of Economic Performance is among a few competitors that celebrate the successes of the...
Over the last three decades, numerous radical right populist parties (RRPP) have emerged, developed, and strengthened their electoral weight in Western Europe. Yet, while several RRPP have managed to formally participate in government coalitions (such as in Italy, Austria, and Switzerland) or to informally support minority governments (such as in Denmark, and in The Netherlands) and while other RRPP have become highly visible opposition forces (such as in France, and Germany), the influence...
Vivid account and reflection on two struggles that are at the heart of the contestation of neoliberal technocracy and the state At a time of ever more accelerated and expanded development of natural and agricultural territory, in the aim of making targeted areas more profitable and controllable, there are inhabitants who oppose these projects with a firm, unwavering NO. This is the case in Notre-Dame-des-Landes in western France and in the Italian Susa Valley, where decades-long battles have...
Acclaimed examination of the British government’s complicity in torture. In this set of devastating essays, Gareth Peirce analyzes the corruption of legal principles and practices in both the US and the UK that has accompanied the ‘War on Terror’. Exploring the few cases of torture that have come to light, such as those of Guantánamo detainees Shafiq Rasul and Binyam Mohamed, Peirce argues that they are evidence of a deeply entrenched culture of impunity among those investigating presumed...