Recommendations based on "Things That Can and Cannot Be Said"
Based on your reading history, we think you will also enjoy the following books.
By Ilan Pappe,Noam Chomsky
Gaza in Crisis is Noam Chomsky's clear-sighted analysis of an area in a desperate impasse.From the targeting of schools and hospitals, to the indiscriminate use of white phosphorus, Israel's conduct in 'Operation Cast Lead' has rattled even some of its most strident supporters.In Gaza in Crisis, Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappé survey the fallout from that devastation, and place the massacre in Gaza in the context of Israel's long-standing war against the Palestinians. It is a rigorous, historically informed and much-needed analysis of the situation and will be welcomed by all those eager for Chomsky's and Pappé's insights into yet another political catastrophe.'Noam Chomsky is a global phenomenon . . . he may be the most widely read American voice on foreign policy on the planet today' The New York Times Book Review'Ilan Pappé is Israel's bravest, most principled, most incisive historian' John PilgerNoam Chomsky is the author of numerous bestselling political books, including Hegemony or Survival, Failed States, Interventions, What We Say Goes and Hopes and Prospects, all of which are published by Hamish Hamilton/Penguin. Ilan Pappé is Professor of History at the University of Exeter, co-director of the Exeter Centre for Ethno-Political Studies, director of the Palestine Studies Centre at the University of Exeter, and the author of various books, including the bestselling The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine (Oneworld).
By Erica Chenoweth, Maria Stephan
For more than a century, from 1900 to 2006, campaigns of nonviolent resistance were more than twice as effective as their violent counterparts in achieving their stated goals. By attracting impressive support from citizens, whose activism takes the form of protests, boycotts, civil disobedience, and other forms of nonviolent noncooperation, these efforts help separate regimes from their main sources of power and produce remarkable results, even in Iran, Burma, the Philippines, and the Palestinian Territories.Combining statistical analysis with case studies of specific countries and territories, Erica Chenoweth and Maria J. Stephan detail the factors enabling such campaigns to succeed and, sometimes, causing them to fail. They find that nonviolent resistance presents fewer obstacles to moral and physical involvement and commitment, and that higher levels of participation contribute to enhanced resilience, greater opportunities for tactical innovation and civic disruption (and therefore less incentive for a regime to maintain its status quo), and shifts in loyalty among opponents' erstwhile supporters, including members of the military establishment. Chenoweth and Stephan conclude that successful nonviolent resistance ushers in more durable and internally peaceful democracies, which are less likely to regress into civil war. Presenting a rich, evidentiary argument, they originally and systematically compare violent and nonviolent outcomes in different historical periods and geographical contexts, debunking the myth that violence occurs because of structural and environmental factors and that it is necessary to achieve certain political goals. Instead, the authors discover, violent insurgency is rarely justifiable on strategic grounds.
By Hein de Haas
An authoritative and myth-busting analysis that tells us 22 essential facts about migration -- and why we've been wrong about itGlobal migration is not at an all-time high.The climate emergency will not lead to mass migration.Border restrictions have actually produced more migration.These statements might sound like they completely contravene common intuition about migration - -but the facts behind the headlines reveal a different story to the ones we're often told. In this ground-breaking and revelatory book, based on over three decades of research, migration expert Professor Hein de Haas destroys the myths that politicians, interest groups and media regularly spread about immigration.Comparing trends and perspectives from Western 'destination countries' (UK, US and Europe) as well as 'origin countries' in Asia and Africa, de Haas will equip readers with essential knowledge on migration based on the best evidence and data, showing that:- smuggling does not cause illegal migration- anti-trafficking policies have made workers more vulnerable- immigrants aren't taking jobs away from native workers - they're actually the biggest net contributors to the welfare stateAbove all, How Migration Really Works will offer a new vision of migration based on facts rather than fears, and a paradigm-altering understanding of this perennially important subject.
By Arundhati Roy
FROM THE BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF MY SEDITIOUS HEART AND THE MINISTRY OF UTMOST HAPPINESS, A NEW AND PRESSING DISPATCH FROM THE HEART OF THE CROWD AND THE SOLITUDE OF A WRITER'S DESK The chant of 'Azadi!' - Urdu for 'Freedom!' - is the slogan of the freedom struggle in Kashmir against what Kashmiris see as the Indian Occupation. Ironically, it also became the chant of millions on the streets of India against the project of Hindu Nationalism. Even as Arundhati Roy began to ask what lay between these two calls for Freedom - a chasm or a bridge? - the streets fell silent. Not only in India, but all over the world. The Coronavirus brought with it another, more terrible understanding of Azadi, making a nonsense of international borders, incarcerating whole populations, and bringing the modern world to a halt like nothing else ever could. In this series of electrifying essays, Arundhati Roy challenges us to reflect on the meaning of freedom in a world of growing authoritarianism. The essays include meditations on language, public as well as private, and on the role of fiction and alternative imaginations in these disturbing times. The pandemic, she says, is a portal between one world and another. For all the illness and devastation it has left in its wake, it is an invitation to the human race, an opportunity, to imagine another world.
By William Harris
Quicksilver War is a panoramic political history of the wars that coursed through Syria and Iraq in the wake of the 'Arab Spring' and eventually merged to become a regional catastrophe: a kaleidoscopic and constantly shifting conflict involving many different parties and phases. William Harris distils the highly complex dynamics behind the conflict, starting with the brutalizing Baathist regimes in Damascus and Baghdad. He charts the malignant consequences of incompetent US occupation of Iraq and Bashar al-Assad's self-righteous mismanagement of Syria, through the implosion of Syria, and the emergence of eastern and western theatres of war focused respectively on future control of Syria and the challenge of ISIS. Beyond the immediate arena of conflict, geopolitical riptides have also been set in motion, including Turkey's embroilment in the war and the shifting circumstances of the Kurds. This sweeping history addresses urgent questions for our time. Will the world rubber-stamp and bankroll the Russian-led 'solution' in Syria, backed by Turkey and Iran? Is the 'Quicksilver War' about to reach an explosive finale? Or will ongoing political maneuvering mutate into years of further violence?
By Hein de Haas
Global migration is notat an all-time high. The climate emergency will notlead to mass migration. Border restrictions have actually produced moremigration.These statements might sound counterintuitive, or just outright wrong - but the facts behind the headlines reveal a completely different story to the ones we're often told. In this ground-breaking book, based on over three decades of research, migration expert Professor Hein de Haas destroys 22 myths that politicians, interest groups and media regularly spread about immigration. Comparing trends and perspectives from Western 'destination countries' (UK, US and in Europe) as well as 'origin countries' in Asia, Africa and Latin America, How Migration Really Worksoffers an essential new vision of migration based on facts rather than fears, and a paradigm-altering understanding of this perennially important subject.
By Paul Mason
How can we stop the spread of fascism? The author of PostCapitalism offers a guide to resisting the far right.The far right is on the rise across the world. From Modi's India to Bolsonaro's Brazil and Erdogan's Turkey, fascism is not a horror that we have left in the past; it is a recurring nightmare that is happening again—and we need to find a better way to fight it.In How to Stop Fascism, Paul Mason offers a radical, hopeful blueprint for resisting and defeating the new far right. The book is both a chilling portrait of contemporary fascism, and a compelling history of the fascist phenomenon: its psychological roots, political theories, and genocidal logic. Fascism, Mason powerfully argues, is a symptom of capitalist failure, one that has haunted us throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. History shows us the conditions that breed fascism, and how it can be successfully overcome. But it is up to us in the present to challenge it, and time is running out.From the ashes of Covid-19, we have an opportunity to create a fairer, more equal society. To do so, we must ask ourselves: what kind of world do we want to live in? And what are we going to do about it?
By Geoffrey Robertson
A revised and updated edition of Geoffrey Robertson's impassioned, this is an authoritative guide to an issue of massive global importance. He tells the dramatic story of how the human rights idea has come to dominate world politics. He reveals how human rights has penetrated the legal armour of the sovereign State. He sets out, without legal jargon, the rights of humankind in the 21st Century. And he predicts what this movement has in store - not only for tyrants and torturers, but also for the superpowers who still resist the demands for universal justice.
By Alexander Betts, Paul Collier
Europe is facing its greatest refugee crisis since the Second World War, yet the institutions responding to it remain virtually unchanged from those created in the post-war era. Going beyond the scenes of desperation which have become all-too-familiar in the past few years, Alexander Betts and Paul Collier show that this crisis offers an opportunity for reform if international policy-makers focus on delivering humane, effective and sustainable outcomes - both for Europe and for countries that border conflict zones. Refugees need more than simply food, tents and blankets, and research demonstrates that they can offer tangible economic benefits to their adopted countries if given the right to work and education. Refuge sets out an alternative vision that can empower refugees to help themselves, contribute to their host societies, and even rebuild their countries of origin.
By Hannah Arendt
A unique and fascinating look at violent political change by one of the most profound thinkers of the twentieth century and the author of Eichmann in Jerusalem and The Origins of TotalitarianismHannah Arendt’s penetrating observations on the modern world, based on a profound knowledge of the past, have been fundamental to our understanding of our political landscape. On Revolution is her classic exploration of a phenomenon that has reshaped the globe. From the eighteenth-century rebellions in America and France to the explosive changes of the twentieth century, Arendt traces the changing face of revolution and its relationship to war while underscoring the crucial role such events will play in the future. Illuminating and prescient, this timeless work will fascinate anyone who seeks to decipher the forces that shape our tumultuous age.