Politics was once regarded as an activity which could give human societies control over their fate. However, there is now a deep pessimism about the ability of human beings to control anything very much, least of all through politics. This new fatalism about the human condition claims that we are living in the iron cages erected by vast impersonal forces arising from globalization and technology: a society that is both anti-political and unpolitical, a society without hope or the means either to imagine or promote an alternative future. It reflects the disillusion of political hopes in...

In this groundbreaking book, Akbar Ahmed, one of the world's leading authorities on Islam, who has worked in the Muslim world but lives in the West, explains what is going wrong in his society by referring to Islamic history and beliefs. Employing theological and anthropological perspectives, he attempts to answer the questions that people in the West are asking about Islam: "Why do they hate us?" "Is Islam compatible with democracy?" "Does Islam subjugate women?" "Does the Quran preach violence?" These important questions are of relevance to Muslims and to non-Muslims alike. Islam Under...

'The class war is over. But the struggle for true equality has only just begun, ' Tony Blair has declared. The world indeed enters the 21st century heaving with poverty and inequality. Just three super-rich men have a net worth equal to the income of the 36 poorest countries in the world. The gap between rich and poor is also growing in the advanced economies as well. 14 million people, a quarter of the population of the United Kingdom are currently classified as poor, compared to only four million in 1979.


In this important new book, Alex Callinicos explores the meaning...

The global financial crisis of 1997-8 revealed that emerging market nations as well as the developed economies are vulnerable to the forces of globalization. It highlighted the need for the governance of the world economy to catch up with the pace and degree of integration through trade and financial markets.


This book argues passionately in favour of the benefits of free markets, despite the crisis. Coyle argues that the freedom to exchange and invest is valuable in itself, like other freedoms, and that it is also the only sure route to economic development. Further...

The global financial crisis of 1997-8 revealed that emerging market nations as well as the developed economies are vulnerable to the forces of globalization. It highlighted the need for the governance of the world economy to catch up with the pace and degree of integration through trade and financial markets.


This book argues passionately in favour of the benefits of free markets, despite the crisis. Coyle argues that the freedom to exchange and invest is valuable in itself, like other freedoms, and that it is also the only sure route to economic development. Further...

Future developments in war, armed conflict and international relations are central to our collective fate in this century. This book looks forward by considering the forces that will drive changes in military organizations, sources of conflict, the power of states and the nature of the international system.


New military technologies will alter how wars are fought and will influence the balance of power. Changes in the global environment will provide new causes of conflict and will change economic priorities. As a result, the state will survive as the key social...

At the end of the Cold War, there was much talk of a new world order in which the sovereign state would be held to democratic account, fundamental rights would be respected, and conflict would be replaced by cooperation based on the rule of law. At the start of the new millenium most of this optimism has evaporated.


This book examines why it is so difficult to improve standards of international behaviour and explores the pre-conditions for any realistic attempt to do so. It discusses three major issues that have dominated international debate over the past decade: the...

At the end of the Cold War, there was much talk of a new world order in which the sovereign state would be held to democratic account, fundamental rights would be respected, and conflict would be replaced by cooperation based on the rule of law. At the start of the new millenium most of this optimism has evaporated.


This book examines why it is so difficult to improve standards of international behaviour and explores the pre-conditions for any realistic attempt to do so. It discusses three major issues that have dominated international debate over the past decade: the...

'Community' is one of those words that feels good: it is good 'to have a community', 'to be in a community'. And 'community' feels good because of the meanings which the word conveys, all of them promising pleasures, and more often than not the kind of pleasures which we would like to experience but seem to miss.


'Community' conveys the image of a warm and comfortable place, like a fireplace at which we warm our hands on a frosty day. Out there, in the street, all sorts of dangers lie in ambush; in here, in the community, we can relax and feel safe. 'Community' stands for...

The world of international relations has changed radically in the last few years. Technological, social and political change have combined to undermine the traditional assumptions of diplomacy - in particular, the events of 11 September set in stark relief the risks and dangers.


Shaun Riordan, a former British diplomat, draws on his own experience, case studies, and current debates in international relations to assess the performance of diplomatic services and to sketch out the new diplomatic environment. Traditional diplomatic services and structures are found wanting.

The world of international relations has changed radically in the last few years. Technological, social and political change have combined to undermin...