No-Nonsense Guides Series

From its sudden emergence as a military force to be reckoned with in Syria and Iraq in June 2014 through its YouTube executions of hostages to its atrocious attacks in Paris in November 2015, the movement variously known as ISIS, Islamic State, and Daesh has captured the world’s horrified attention. Where did it come from and how on earth should we respond? This NoNonsense book places ISIS in the broader context of the US-led ‘war on terror’ from the Bush-Blair invasion of Iraq to Obama’s drone attacks. Bennis makes a strong case for responses that build peace and justice rather than feeding the cycle of violence and terror.

An in-depth look at two decades of a movement that aims to challenge the ethical foundations of the global market. Transnational corporations look for the cheapest suppliers, while the fair trade movement insists on a premium for the producers at the start of the chain. Sally Blundell explores the origins of fair trade and what it is likely to become in the face of growing disparities between the principles and the practice.

We were supposed to be in a ‘postfeminist’ age. But recently we’ve seen a resurgence of feminist campaigning among women (and some men). There’s a new brand of feminism: young, social media savvy, militant. But there’s also a new kind of backlash, driven by so-called fundamentalists and by increasingly overt misogyny. This book takes an international perspective on the new feminist movements.

In this updated edition of the No-Nonsense Guide to Democracy, Richard Swift explores how democracy has been constricted and deformed by economic power-brokers and a self-serving political class from Birmingham to Bangalore. The book includes chapter-length discussions of topics such as the economic meltdown, Barack Obama, eco-democracy, democratizing the economy, and democracy in the Global South. It is not only a guide to the rich diversity of forms of elected government, but it also contains practical ideas for empowering today’s voters around the world.

Spying, once solely the domain of the KGB, CIA, CSIS, and MI5, has become part of everyday life. Governments routinely trawl our emails, closed-circuit security cameras follow us in malls, office buildings, and on street corners, while databases of our DNA and other personal details become larger all the time. This No-Nonsense Guide provides a well-researched look into the history of surveillance and how the process is carried out today with the aid of technology and often, lack of express consent.

Peter Steven explores the full spectrum of communications around the world, from the mega-corporations to the citizen reporters, from the newsrooms of Washington to the film industry of Nigeria. Steven examines the continuously shifting communications landscape, with a focus on how the media is responding to declining advertising revenues, social media sites, portable devices, and Asia’s growing influence and power. With an emphasis on diverse small-scale media production that exist only through their contact with specific audiences, Steven invites us to question how the media reflects society, and he asks: are we passive recipients? Or do we play a part in constructing our world?

As the war on terror dominates world headlines and conflicts of all kinds abound, this No-Nonsense Guide provides a refreshing antidote. Can conflict be prevented? If not, how can it be contained? Drawing on the authors’ wide range of experience, from the UN to the local village, Conflict and Peace will help readers to understand why conflicts persist—and how they can be transformed.

The protection of animal rights is more than a modern, western phenomenon. In fact, there is a long history of concern for animals around the world, and it is this concern that underlies today’s animal rights movement. The No-Nonsense Guide to Animal Rights explains the key issues, charts the growth of the movement, looks at welfare and protection laws, and makes connections between animal rights and other justice struggles. A practical day-to-day guide is included to help readers understand what they can do to minimize the exploitation of animals.

The question is no longer if we should end the war on drugs but how we do it. This No-Nonsense Guide counts the human and financial cost of fifty years of drug war – and proceeds to outline a better way, looking at where drug law reform is already working, how to overcome the obstacles to reform, and what a post-drug war world might look like.

Terrorism and counter-terrorism have become key points in political talk and government policy. This No-Nonsense Guide has been revised and updated to take account of the major changes in global terrorism over the past seven years. Jonathan Barker presents a highly accessible history of terrorism that looks at examples from the Middle East and elsewhere, instances of state terrorism, and the terrorist fringes of political movements. He also delves beneath the surface, offering political and moral analysis of the causes and contexts of terrorism, the theories that justify and guide terrorist acts, and the battle of images that accompanies them.

Our inalienable human rights were enshrined over 50 years ago in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, what does that mean to someone who is tortured, denied education or work, or unable to find asylum? This No-Nonsense Guide looks at the theories of rights and universalism. It explores the difficult task of protecting human rights in times of war, the advances in international laws that have led to some rights abusers facing justice, and the conflicts that can occur when rights collide with culture. While progress is being made in some areas, millions continue to suffer. As the war on terror is drags on, the question begs to be asked: Are we willing to sacrifice hard-fought rights for so-called security?

Climate chaos and pollution, deforestation and consumerism: the crisis facing human civilization is clear enough. But the response of politicians has been cowardly and inadequate, while environmental activists have tended to favour single-issue campaigns rather than electoral politics. The No-Nonsense Guide to Green Politics measures the rising tide of eco-activism and awareness and explains why this event heralds a new political era worldwide: in the near futurethere will be no other politics but green politics.

Fully updated, this new edition of a best-selling No-Nonsense Guide examines the debt trap; the acceleration of neoliberalism and the free trade model; competition for energy resources; the links between the war on terror, the arms trade, and privatization; and the emergence of China and India as economic superpowers. Ellwood provides a full analysis of the financial crisis that began in 2007, and explores what happens when deregulation, speculation, and greed are given complete rein. In addition to his cogent analysis, Ellwood offers strategies for redesigning the global economy to better serve the public good.

“Overseas aid” and “international development” are catch-all terms that cover a multitude of activities and abuses. Building dams in India, planting treesin Burkina Faso, and rescuing street children in Brazil are images of development with which we can all identify. But what few people realize is that the terms “aid” and “development” often mask confusion, contradiction, and even downright deceit. The updated version of 2002s best-selling No-Nonsense Guide to International Development explains what “development” actually is and explores its political and economic roots in history. It shows what can happen in the name of development and argues for a more organic, social approach with those it seeks to serve as equal partners in the process.

One of the few up-to-date works on the whole of the arms trade, this No-Nonsense Guide explores not just the movement of weaponry across borders, but also the problematic activities that sustain the trade, such as espionage, government corruption, and shady taxpayer subsidies. This Guide reveals that despite Western governments’ preaching of the evils of the arms trade, they are the biggest exporters of weapons and they often sell them to repressive regimes throughout the world. This revised second edition uses the latest statistics and information available to provide a critical introduction to this most destructive business.

Science is still the great intellectual adventure, but now it is also seen as an instrument of profit, power, and privilege. Wrongly used, it might yet make the 21st century our last.To make sense of all this, we need to let go of old ideas and assumptions. In the No-Nonsense Guide to Science, Jerome Ravetz introduces the “post-normal” way of thinking about science. We are to transcend the old simplistic ideas of perfect certainty and objectivity in science–they have failed to protect people and the environment when science has gone wrong and they have enabled flat, dogmatic teaching in our schools. We must now accept that value-loading, uncertainty, and ignorance are very real parts of science, and that citizens must participate in the policies that shape its evolution. The book also includes a refreshing new look at the history of science, and concludes with a series of questions that anyone can use to start their own exploration of the present and future of science.

Virtually any commodity can move around the world to satisfy demand, but human beings have far less freedom. Many would-be migrants are forced to risk life and limb traveling illegally. Yet most rich countries are short of workers, have shrinking populations, and need more immigrants. The No-Nonsense Guide to International Migration is a timely primer to a major issue that is never far from the headlines.

The world is changing and especially so for lesbians, gays, and people who are bisexual and transgendered. In some countries, hard-won battles for equality are bearing fruit in non-discrimination legislation. In others, being gay incurs the death penalty. This No-Nonsense Guide gives an overview of sexual diversity and reveals the hidden histories of LGBTI individuals, cross-dressers, and eunuchs across the world. It traces the strange search for the scientific “source” of homosexuality, the history of homophobia, and the role that religion and politics have played in controlling sexualities. Also included is a country-by-country global survey of the laws that affect sexual minorities.

“Religion” is a term that the media often use without any clarification. But it is a loaded word that encompasses hundreds of different beliefs. Religion can be seen as a source of war and peace, love and hate, dialogue and narrow-mindedness. The globalization of communications has raised awareness of religious conversion, with more people than ever before belonging to a different religious community than their parents. The No-Nonsense Guide to Religion considers how religion has shaped our culture, and how our culture is shaping religion today.

In the first book to distill the entire history of the United Nations into one accessible volume, Maggie Black explains how this complex organization works. In doing so, she explores its successes, failings, and limitations. This No-Nonsense Guide addresses the U.N.’s creation and early history, how it is structured, and whether it can effectively fulfill its mandate. The author considers possibilities for reform to make it more democratic and efficient.

Many people like to take a break by exploring somewhere new, whether it’s with just a backpack or with a fleet of luggage. But there is more to a holiday that visiting “attractions,” sampling local foods, and napping in a hammock. Being a tourist is easy—tourism is complex. In this No-Nonsense Guide, Pamela Nowicka explores the third largest industry in the world (after oil and narcotics) and its profound economic, social, and environmental impacts. Taking the reader on a trip from the early days of travel to the first package tours and on to today’s mass tourism, she argues that without a greater commitment to equitable and sustainable practices, tourists of all stripes will continue to be part of the problem, not the solution.

In this updated edition of The No-Nonsense Guide to World Food Wayne Roberts puts under the microscope a global food system that is under strain from climate change and from economic disaster. He shows how a world food system based on supermarkets and agribusiness corporations is unsustainable and looks at new models of producing healthy food from all over the world.

Here is a clear, wide-ranging introduction to the worldwide state of human health. Starting with a brief history of modern medical progress, Shereen Usdin then untangles the knot created by poverty and globalization to show that where you live, how wealthy you are, and your gender all have a bearing on the diseases you may encounter in your lifetime—and your prospects for prevention, treatment, and ultimately, survival. Pulling no punches, Usdin also blows the whistle on the political economy of illness and how keeping people sick means more money for the pharmaceutical, tobacco, and food industries. This No-Nonsense Guide is a must-read for anyone who wants a clear sense of how healthy our global family really is.

Few people doubt the threat of climate change and the urgent need to conquer fossil fuel addiction. But can renewable sources of energy ever be sufficient to provide modern societies with a decent quality of life? This book is clear. They can. And it outlines the strategies to break the barriers to a 100% renewable world. Danny Chivers presents a compelling introduction to renewable technologies for non-technical readers (solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and ambient heat, wave and tidal, fuel crops, and energy from waste) and a roadmap to powering the world, not just sustainably, but democratically.

Why are there so many people who are poor in a world that’s richer than ever before? Something must be wrong with conventional thinking about wealth and poverty. In this No-Nonsense Guide, Jeremy Seabrook summarizes his celebrated work on the meaning of poverty and draws on the experiences of people living in poverty all over the world. Seabrook asserts that the relatively poor majority of the world’s people do not actually want to be rich—in fact, they want to be safe. Giving voice to those whose views are rarely sought, this guide shows that the answers to world poverty lie not in economic growth and wealth creation, but in a radical reframing of how much is “enough” for our daily needs.

Who was the first black queen? How much do you know about China’s history? Most people’s knowledge of world history is hazy and incomplete at best. This updated No-Nonsense Guide gives a full picture, revealing the hidden histories and communities left out of conventional textbooks – from the civilizations of Africa, Asia and Latin America to the history of women. This updated and revised edition of one of the best-selling No-Nonsense Guides includes a new chapter from the perspective of the end of the first decade of the 21st century and includes material on the financial crisis and the world response to climate change. A perfect read for someone who wants to embrace the whole of history, rather than disconnected dynasties and events–all in one slim volume.

“World music” is an awkward phrase. Used to describe the hugely multifaceted nature of a range of, typically, non-English language popular musics from the world over, it’s a tag that throws up as many problems as it does solutions. Louise Gray’s No-Nonsense Guide to World Music attempts to go behind the phrase to explore the reasons for the contemporary interest in world music: who listens to it and why? Through chapters that focus on specific areas of music, such as rembetika, fado, trance music and new folk, it explores the genres that have emerged from marginalized communities, music from conflict zones, and music as a form of escapism.

Bankers and speculators build castles in the air but when they come crashing down ordinary people have to pick up the tab. How have we made such a mess of our money system?

Globalization has an ever-increasing effect on our lives. It has made the world smaller and brought us closer together yet it can also make us more vulnerable and divided. The deregulation of finance and banking and the crisis they led to is a devastating example of the knock-on effects of globalization. This fully revised fourth edition reviews the history and complexities of globalization, examining the forces in play and whose interests they serve. And while the global exchange of people, products, plants, animals, technologies, and ideas intensifies the key question that Wayne Ellwood asks ‘how can globalization be a positive force for change?’

The idea of reducing poverty and inequality and improving health, education, and job opportunities around the world is beyond criticism. Yet, the reality of development can often be confusion, contradiction, deceit, and corruption. This fully updated third edition makes a major contribution to the ongoing debate about the effectiveness of aid and development. Drawing on a wide range of sources, from international studies to personal stories, Maggie Black brings objective analysis and valuable insights to all the key themes. And she presents a forceful argument for bringing the poor and marginalised into the heart of the process.