The Beckham enigma continues. Since the publication of Cashmore's challenging social biography in 2003, the working-class kid from the East London has left Manchester and conquered the world. Undisputedly one of the world's most famous men, Beckham has transcended sport to become an all-purpose cultural icon for the twenty-first century.


What are the sources of Beckham's godlike status? Why does someone who looks good, but speaks in platitudes and does little but play football, command the adulation of the planet? By dissecting his life and setting it in context of the age...

In this pathbreaking book, one of the world's leading analysts of globalization and global governance confronts the failures of international politics in the aftermath of 9/11 and the war against Iraq. He argues that there were and are alternatives to the way the western coalitions responded to the profound challenges of mass terrorism and political violence - alternatives which can better address the roots of these challenges and deliver political and social justice.

In order to grasp this alternative, the changing structure of the global order has to be understood. To this end,...

The dreadful events of 11 September have brought Islam to the forefront of world politics. This authoritative new book provides the analysis for a far-reaching introduction to Islamic politics for those coming to the subject for the first time. This account provides a deep insight into dimensions of Muslim political life; from democracy to despots, women to world affairs and history to heresy.

Milton-Edwards offers an account of key contemporary concepts and debates that focus on the relationship between Islam and topical issues including politics, protest and opposition,...

Film and Cinema Spectatorship provides a clear and wide-ranging introduction to different debates and traditions of viewing cinema. In this new book, Jan Campbell offers a comprehensive account of the different theoretical perspectives on film and cinema spectatorship, situating these in their cultural and historical contexts. Among the perspectives covered are those of feminism, modernism and cultural studies, with chapters dedicated to important topics such as early film, stars and film aesthetics. Campbell also provides accessible explorations of the importance of key themes to film and...

Written by one of the world's leading scholars in the field, this book provides an excellent introduction to ethnic conflict in the contemporary world. In ten concise chapters, Milton Esman explores the origins of ethnic pluralism and analyses the causes and manifestations of conflicts, both peaceful and violent, involving ethnic communities across the globe. He discusses the role of outsider-governments, diasporas, international agencies, and non-government organizations in provoking and managing ethnic conflicts, and appraises methods which have proven effective for their peaceful...

In Suffering Iain Wilkinson provides a compelling sociological exploration of human suffering, and its political and moral repercussions.

Sociology is always concerned with the causes and consequences of human suffering in one form or another, yet there is no sociology of suffering per se. This book is written with the understanding that if sociology fails to attend to what suffering does to people then it is left with a severely diminished account of human experience. Wilkinson maintains that a sociological response to suffering must confront the most unsettling questions of...

The globalization of finance is widely recognised as one of the most significant features of the contemporary world. In this timely new book, Tony Porter guides students through current debates about global finance and discusses the extent to which the development of a global marketplace affects our daily lives.

He examines the complex networks of public-sector and non-governmental institutions and practices that facilitate the globalization of finance and provide an emerging set of arrangements for regulating it.

The book is both comprehensive and innovative, and...

Gender studies has become one of the core fields in the social sciences and humanities. As a result of the struggles of feminists, women are no longer hidden from history or unacknowledged in social research or cultural analysis. Over recent years, again largely because of the influence of feminism, masculinity has also increasingly been made problematic and opened up to scrutiny. Gender is thereby recognised to be central to the analysis of structures of power, the organization of social and cultural institutions, and modes of ideological control in modern societies.

This book provides a comprehensive and integrated introduction to the major debates and schools of thought in social theory today. Some thirty different selections cover the period from the turn of the century up to the present.

Classical social thought is well represented: Marx and Weber, Simmel, Mead and the Frankfurt School are among those included in this volume. The main emphasis of the text, however, is upon current social theory, its main lines of orientation, and the dominant areas of controversy and advance. Problems of method and epistemology are given some prominence;...

This volume offers an accessible and wide-ranging introduction to the history of international political thought.

Taking as its starting-point the various concepts people have used to think about differences between political communities, the book explores changing perceptions of international politics from antiquity to the twentieth century. As well as discussing well-known themes such as relations between independent sovereign states and the tension between raison d'etat and a universal code of natural law, it also examines less familiar ideas which have influenced the...