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Books on Economic, Social & Gender Issues
We also have rare and out-of-print books on Thailand,
Southeast Asia, and Laos.
DILEMMAS OF DOMINATION
: The Unmaking of the American Empireby Bello, Walden
US$ 21.00
Book order code : I 9108
About this book from the acclaimed globalization critic, a far-reaching analysis of Americas military, economic and political vulnerability. The empire seems unassailable, but the empire is weak - and precisely because of its imperial ambitions. So argues Walden Bello's provocative new book, which systematically dissects the strategic, economic and political dilemmas confronting America as a consequence of its quest for global domination. An award-winning development expert, Bello shows how, despite the enormity of the US defence budget, American forces are already overextended, a condition bound to intensify as each local Victory' breeds simmering resistance and new confrontation. He points to the empire's looming economic breakdown, the result of its gargantuan military costs, record-breaking budget deficits, and exploitative trade and investment relations with developing countries. On the political front, he warns of the bitter disillusionment mounting around the world in response to Americas failure to champion liberal democracy. Everywhere America goes, crony capitalism, hostile coercion, and gross inequalities of income eat away at expectations of justice and inclusion. A clear and prophetic examination, Dilemmas of Domination reveals a not-too-distant future in which the empires hidden weak-nesses will yield fatal challenges to American supremacy.
(London, 2005) ISBN 1-84277-693-2
256 pp., 155 x 235 mm, pbk.
PULPING THE SOUTH
: Industry Tree Plantations and the World Paper Economyby Carrere, Ricardo & Larry Lohmann
US$ 16.50
Book order code : I 7 568
Demand for paper is soaring. In its search for cheap wood to supply raw material, today's pulp and paper industry is throwing its net ever wider across the world. One of the more disturbing results is the spread of fast-growing pulpwood plantations in the forests, pastures and farmlands of the South. Contesting the industry-propagated notion that all tree-planting must be benign, this path-breaking book shows how the new plantations are contributing to improverishment of people; degradation of soil, water and biodiversity; and rural strife in countries as diverse as Chile, South Africa and Indonesia. This book's insights into the history, causes and workings of globalization in one of the world's leading industries, and alternative papermaking will be of interest to activists, environmentalists, economists, geographers and development specialists alike.
(London 1996)
288 pp., 135 x 215 mm, pbk.
LETHAL LAWS
: Animal Testing, Human Health and Environmental Policyby Fano, Alix
US$ 18.00
Book order code : I 7 809
For the past 150 years, chemicals have been tested on animals for the alleged purpose of protecting the public from their dangerous effects. Lethal Laws reveals that using animals as human surrogates is not only unethical, it is bad science. Alix Fano provides a meticulous analysis of the technical and scientific problems that have plagued animal tests for decades, but which have not been forcefully challenged until now. She shows how animal testing has been used as an alibi to allow the continued use of thousands of toxic chemicals. In a field dominated by male voices, this is a pioneering work by a woman that effectively demonstrates the causal link between animal testing and environmental degradation, and the subsequent deterioration of human health.
(London 1997)
256 pp., 135 x 215 mm, pbk.
AIDS AND MEN
: Taking Risk or Responsibility?by Foreman, Martin (Ed.)
US$ 23.00
Book order code : I 8 198
The global AIDS epidemic is driven by men. Men have more opportunity to contract and transmit HIV; men usually determine the circumstances of intercourse, and men often refuse to protect themselves and their partners. The first section of this book examines the relationship between men's actions and AIDS worldwide, the impact of those actions on men and women and initiatives designed to help men protect themselves and their partners. The second section illustrates many different aspects of the relationship-from machismo in Mexico to drug injection in Russia, from men in prison in Brazil to men living with HIV in Thailand, from men as fathers in the Ivory Coast to men who have sex with men in Kenya. Men undoubtedly take risks in relation to HIV. Whether or not they should also take responsibility for transmission of the virus, and how they can do so, are questions that cannot be easily resolved. This book offers some insights.
(London & New York 1999)
250 pp., 125 x 200 mm, pbk.
NORTH KOREA
: The paranoid Peninsulaby French, Paul
US$ 25.00
Book order code : I 9067
North Korea is not just the world's last remaining Stalinist state, it is also one of the world's most volatile flashpoints, and certainly the one that looms largest in East Asia. Paul French has provided a well-researched A-Z primer on the history, politics, culture and .even day-to-day life of North Korea.' Peter Gordon, editor, Asian Review of Books and chair, Russian Interest Group, Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce 'Paul French has written a thorough and erudite book that offers many intriguing insights into the world's most mysterious country, led by an equally mysterious regime. The book's chief merit is that the author ignores empty "axis-of-evil" rhetoric in an effort concisely to inform his reader.' Lutz Kleveman, author of The New Great Game: Blood and Oil in Central Asia
(London, 2005) ISBN 1-84277-473-5
337 pp., 155 x 235 mm, pbk.
THE INTERNATIONAL GLOSSARY ON POVERTY
by Gordon, David & Paul Spicker (Eds),
US$ 12.50
Book order code : I 8 195
This unique international glossary provides an authoritative guide to some two hundred technical terms used in contemporary scholarly research on poverty. Each entry contains definitions and explanations, followed by a select reading list of relevant journal articles and books. The glossary has been compiled by scholars in a number of countries and international agencies with the aim of sensitizing those working in various disciplines as well as policy makers to the complexity of the issues relating to poverty. A special effort has been made to include non-Western approaches and concepts with a view to facilitating comparative poverty studies. An introduction by Robert Pinker of the London school of Economics examines the current state of poverty research.
(London & New York 1999)
174 pp., 135 x 215 mm, pbk.
ANOTHER AMERICAN CENTURY?
: The United States and the World after 2000by Guyatt, Nicolas
US$ 15.00
Book order code : I 8 406
Will the United States dominate the 21st century? How does the United States see its role in the coming years? Can a single superpower make the world a safer and more just place in which to live? At the opening of the new century, the United States finds itself in an extraordinary position-in economic, military, political and cultural terms, its actions exert a profound influence far beyond its borders. Another American Century offers a roadmap to this new era of US preeminence, drawing on the experiences of the past decade to outline the effects and consequences of America's formidable power. In addition, this book looks at how US policymakers understand their role in the world, and the ideologies which enable them to pursue policies with often such disastrous consequences for people outside America. This book explores two questions: How does the US shape the rest of the world? And how does it persuade itself that its actions are just? If the 21st century is to be American, the answers will be of vital interest to everyone.
(London 2000)
280 pp. 135 x 215 mm, pbk.
TIGERS IN TROUBLE
: Financial Governance Liberation and Crises in East Asiaby Jomo, K. S. (Ed.)
US$ 13.50
Book order code : I 7 976
This important book provides a cogent critique of the nature of Southeast Asian capitalism. It argues that the crises are due not to excessive regulation, but to too much financial liberalization and a consequent undermining of monetary and fiscal governance. While recognizing some macroeconomic problems and abuses of state intervention in the region, the book also highlights the nature and implications of IMF and domestic policy responses which exacerbated the crises. It shows how the herd behavior of stock markets and injudicious official responses transformed an inevitable correction of overvalued currencies into wholesale collapse. The danger now is that the policies which built the success of Japan and the first wave of newly industrializing economies will no longer be available to the rest of the region. The analysis contained in this book raises profound questions which resonate way beyond the Asian region itself. They relate to the appropriate role of the state, the policies of the IMF and the viability of the deregulated free market capitalist model which these and other Third World countries have been encouraged to pursue.
(London & Bangkok 1998) ISBN 974-8434-59-1
272 pp., 150 x 215 mm, pbk.
COMMUNITY POWER & GRASSROOTS EMOCRACY
: The Transformation of Social Lifeby Kaufman, Michael & Harold Dilla Alfonso (Eds)
US$ 25.00
Book order code : I 7 810
The authors of the present book, in refreshing contrast to the tendency to skate over the internal divisions and stratification that characterise all communities, ask the hard questions. Of course, it is exciting if community participation can lead to social and personal empowerment, economic development and socio-political transformation. But what of the obstacles: the power of central bureaucracies, the lack of local skills and organizational experience, the impact of national and transnational structures, and social divisions? The scholars from Central America who have worked together for many years to research these and related questions in their own countries have produced a path-breaking book. Not only does the reader learn an immense amount about the strengths and weaknesses, the limits as well as potential, of community initiatives in the South, but the new social movements approach is skilfully married with resource mobilization theory to develop a more nuanced and inclusive theoretical paradigm.
(London 1997)
240 pp., 135 x 215 mm, pbk.
Sex Work in Southeast Asia
: The Place of Desire in a Time of AIDSby Law, Lisa
US$ 15.00
Book order code : I 8 431
Southeast Asian sex workers are stereotypically understood as passive victims of the political economy, and submissive to western men. The advent of HIV/AIDS only compounds this image, as sex workers come to represent the victims of, and vectors for, a deadly virus. This book is a cultural critique of HIV/AIDS prevention programmes targeting sex tourism industries in Southeast Asia. By juxtaposing practical, contemporary issues of AIDS prevention with current theories of subjectivity and identity. Sex Work in Southeast Asia posits a new place for a speaking sex worker subject. This book will be vital up-to-date research for scholars in cultural, political, social and urban geography, as well as in development and gender studies.
(London 2000)
158 pp., 155 x 235 mm, pbk.
NEO-LIBERALISM OR DEMOCRACY?
: Economic Strategy, Markets and Alternatives for the 21st Centuryby MacEwan, Arthur
US$ 19.50
Book order code : I 8 298
Is it true that there is no alternative to the neo-liberal ideology of free trade, deregulation of markets, and government abandonment of social programmes? Must we accept, in the name of globalization, the relentless pressure to reduce wages and cut social spending? Can poor countries pursue no other route to development but opening their economies to global forces? The author sets out to explore these questions. In doing so, he subjects central tenets of modern economics to trenchant criticism. He argues that current policies are delivering neither sustained economic growth nor many of the other fundamentals of people's wellbeing. He also argues that it is possible to construct a democratic economic strategy that produces growth and equity, while protecting the environment and securing local communities.
(London 1999)
267 pp., 135 x 225 mm, pbk.
THE GLOBAL TRAP
: Globalization and the Assault on Prosperity and Democracyby Martin, Hans-Peter & Harald Schumann
US$ 19.50
Book order code : I 7 872
This remarkable book explores the spread of globalization and the likely consequences for jobs and democracy. The book opens a private seminar attended by 500 chief executives of major corporations, leading politicians and intellectuals in San Francisco. The conclusions were devastating. The biggest manu-facturers, while shifting production away from the industrial countries, foresee a technological future in which only a fifth of the world current workforce will be needed. Millions will be unemployed and a growing gulf between the low paid and the well off will be the consequences. But, Martin and Schumann argue, we do not have to be mere cogs in a brutal global dynamic. Democratic power and economic prosperity do not have to give way to unstoppable technological and economic progress. The primacy of politics over the economy and the care of the state must, and can, be reasserted. A left wing view, trying to protect union power and privileged classes in some developed countries, and to prevent the shift to low labour cost countries, is the main line of the book.
(London 1997)
280 pp., 135 x 215 mm, pbk.
BRAVE NEW SEEDS
: The Threat of GM Crops to Farmersby Perriere, Brac de la, Robert Ali & Franck Seuret
US$ 15.00
Book order code : I 8 408
Farmers around the world are being pressured by half a dozen giant corporations to grow genetically engineered crops. What are the possible downsides for them? For their environment, their health, their ndependence, their traditional export crops and their access to the marketplaces of their own countries? This book, with its dialogue between farmers' representatives and experts, is a clear statement of principles that should guide governments and communities in bringing this profit-motivated deployment of scientific power under democratic control.
(London 2000)
160 pp., 135 x 215 mm, pbk.
THE ASIAN FUTURE 2
: Dialogues for Changeby Pracha Hutanuwatr and Ramu Manivannan
US$ 22.00
Book order code : I 9066
For several decades the Western model of development has been criticised forcefully within Asia. But there has been little intellectual articulation of what the alternatives might be—at micro and macro levels—from an Asian perspective. Do the various communities in Asia share anything significant beyond an abhorrence of the local effects of globalisation and Western dominance? These two volumes bring together the ideas and experiences of some of Asia's outstanding intellectuals and social activists from diverse traditions and faiths. Through in-depth interviews and dialogues, an understanding of shared spiritual, social and ecological values emerges. The fourteen contributors have each lived through political upheaval and periods of gross human rights violations. Their common ground is a passionate commitment to achieve change in society, including social justice and ecological sustainability. These are the voices of considered, engaged action and transition in Asia today.
(London, 2005) ISBN 1842773453
255 pp., 6 pp. illus., 155 x 235 mm, pbk.
THE TROUBLE WITH CAPITALISM
: An Enquiry into the Causes of Global Economic Failureby Shutt, Harry
US$ 16.50
Book order code : I 8 055
Recent instability in financial markets has dramatically shaken confidence in the global economic order. Is the current variant of "free market" capitalism really sustainable? This remarkable book-completed before the outbreak of financial turmoil in Asia-anticipates such a development and explains the underlying worldwide economic fragility it has revealed. Its disturbing findings are that the crisis stems from certain fundamental economic tendencies:
1. The growing redundancy of both labor and capital resulting from a combination of changing technologies and chronic slow growth since the 1970s;
2. The desperate struggle of organized capital to prevent its redundancy from being reflected in a fall in the price of financial assets (i.e. a market crash comparable to that of the 1930s)-by resorting to various artifical methods of sustaining market values.
3. The consequent distortion of official policy (in areas like corporate subsidies, taxation, pensions and privatization) in order to help maintain the value of capital.
This book exposes the sham of the new laissez-faire prospectus. In fact, state power and resources are increasingly being used to prop up capital while pretending that the aim is to roll back the frontiers of the state. The political impact of these tendencies, including the growing perversion of democratic processes, is also examined. The implication of the author's startling conclusion-that the maximization of profit must cease to be the main basis for allocating resources-are profound.(London & Bangkok 1998) ISBN 974-8434-64-8
238 pp., 135 x 215 mm, pbk.
THE GLOBALISATION OF FINANCE
by Singh, Kavaljit
US$ 22.00
Book order code : I 8 197
Globalization of finance has now surpassed the globalization of production and taken on a life of its own. No longer associated with flows of real resources, international trade or productive investment, but merely attracted by short-term speculative gains, these volatile financial flows make it difficult for governments to pursue independent economic policies that are inconsistent with the interests of global finance capital. This book argues that the global economy itself has become highly vulnerable. What is now needed are effective regulatory mechanisms, backed up by citizen action, to exercise social control over global finance capital. Here at last is a citizen's guide to what is happening in the rapidly changing virtual reality of big money: who the players are (Fidelity Investments, Mercury Asset Management and the other huge mutual fund managers), and the complex world of financial derivatives they trade in. Above all, what have these mega flows of hot money actually done to countries on the receiving end? Mexico yesterday, then Southeast Asia and South Korea, now Russia. Which countries tomorrow?
(London & New York 1999)
203 pp., 140 x 215 mm, pbk.
THE WOMEN, GENDER & DEVELOPMENT READER
by Visvanathan, Nalini et al. (Eds)
US$ 13.50
Book order code : I 7 848
Third World women were long the undervalued and ignored actors in the development process but are now recognized by scholars, practitioners and policy makers alike as playing a critical role. As the first compre-hensive reader for undergraduates and development practitioners, this book presents the best of the now vast body of literature that has grown up alongside this acknowledgement. The book has a guide for further reading with each chapter.(London 1997)
410 pp., 155 x 235 mm, pbk.
We also have rare and out-of-print books on Thailand, Southeast Asia, and Laos.
