Books published by C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd

A highly original mix of polemic and ethnographic scholarship, exploring how South Asia's culture of road-building reflects the world's dangerous obsession with progress and growth.

In 2019, Islamic State lost its last remaining sliver of territory in Syria, and its Caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed. These setbacks seemed to herald the Caliphate''s death knell, and many now forecast its imminent demise. Yet its affiliates endure, particularly in Africa: nearly all of Islamic State''s cells on the continent have reaffirmed their allegiance, attacks have continued in its name, many groups have been reinvigorated, and a new province has emerged. Why, in Africa, did the two major setbacks of 2019 have so little impact on support for Islamic State? The Islamic State in Africa suggests that this puzzle can be explained by the emergence and evolution of Islamic State''s provinces in Africa, which it calls ''sovereign subordinates''. By examining the rise and development of eight Islamic State ''cells'', the authors show how, having pledged allegiance to IS Central, cells evolved mostly autonomously, using the IS brand as a means for accrual of power, but, in practice, receiving relatively little if any direction or material support from central command. Given this pattern, IS Central''s relative decline has had little impact on its African affiliates--who are likely to remain committed to the Caliphate''s cause for the foreseeable future.

A slave woman in 1840s America dresses as a white, disabled man to escape to freedom, while a twenty-first-century black rights activist is ΓÇÿcancelledΓÇÖ for denying her whiteness. A Victorian explorer disguises himself as a Muslim in ArabiaΓÇÖs forbidden holy city. A trans man claiming to have been assigned male at birth is exposed and murdered by bigots in 1993. Today, Japanese untouchables leave home and change their name.All of them have ΓÇÿpassedΓÇÖ, performing or claiming an identity that society hasnΓÇÖt assigned or recognised as theirs. For as long as weΓÇÖve drawn lines describing ourselves and each other, people have naturally fallen or deliberately stepped between them. What do their storiesΓÇöin life and in artΓÇötell us about the changing meanings of identity? About our need for labels, despite their obvious limitations?Lipika Pelham reflects on tales of fluidity and transformation, including her own. From Pope Joan to Parasite, Brazil to Bangladesh, London to Liberia, Passing is a fascinating, timely history of the self.

Who pulls the strings in America?

In 2018, journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered by Saudi regime operatives, shocking the international community and tarnishing the reputation of Muhammad bin Salman, the kingdomΓÇÖs young, reformist crown prince. Domestically, bin Salman''s reforms have proven divisive, and his adoption of populist nationalism and fierce repression of diverse critical voicesΓÇöreligious scholars, feminists and dissident youthΓÇöhave failed to silence a vibrant and well-connected Saudi society.Madawi Al-Rasheed lays bare the world of repression behind the crown prince''s reforms. She dissects the Saudi regime''s propaganda and progressive new image, while also dismissing Orientalist views that despotism is the only pathway to stable governance in the Middle East. Charting old and new challenges to the fragile Saudi nation from the kingdom''s very inception, this blistering book exposes the dangerous contradictions at the heart of the Son King''s Saudi Arabia.

It''s in our instant noodles and chocolate bars, our lipsticks and fuel tanks. But what even is palm oil, and how has it come to dominate our lives so completely? Jocelyn C. Zuckerman travels across four continents and back two centuries to find answers about the most widely used vegetable oil on Earth. The little oil palm fruit has played an outsized role in world history and economic development. But the multi-billion-dollar palm oil business has been built on stolen land and slave labour; it spurred colonisation and swept away lives and cultures. Today, its fires and mass deforestation generate carbon emissions to rival those of entire industrialized nations, and they''ve pushed animals like the orangutan to the brink of extinction.Combining history, travelogue and investigative reporting, Planet Palm offers an unsettling, urgent look at a global industry that has become an environmental, public health, and human rights disaster.

The Noncooperation Movement of 1920-22, led by Mahatma Gandhi, challenged every aspect of British rule in India. It was supported by people from all levels of the social hierarchy and united Hindus and Muslims in a way never again achieved by Indian nationalists. It was remarkably nonviolent. In all, it was one of the major mass protests of modern times. Yet there are almost no accounts of the entire movement, although many aspects of it have been covered by local-level studies. This volume both brings together and builds on these studies, looking at fractious all-India debates over strategy; the major grievances that drove local-level campaigns; the ways leaders braided together these streams of protest within a nationalist agenda; and the distinctive features of popular nonviolence for a righteous cause. David Hardiman's previous volume, The Nonviolent Struggle for Indian Freedom, examined the history of nonviolent resistance in the Indian nationalist movement. The present volume takes his study forward to examine the culmination of this first surge of struggle. While the campaign of 1920-22 did not achieve its desired objective of immediate self-rule, it did succeed in shaking to the core the authority of the British in India.

How has the poster child of "cradle to grave" welfare fared in recent decades, and what have the strains on Swedish society revealed about its true nature?

What does it feel like to move through a world designed to limit and exclude you? What are the joys and pains of holidays for people of colour, when guidebooks are never written with them in mind? How are black lives today impacted by the othering legacy of colonial cultures and policies? What can travel tell us about our sense of self, of home, of belonging and identity? Why has the world order become hostile to human mobility, as old as humanity itself, when more people are on the move than ever?Nanjala Nyabola is constantly exploring the world, working with migrants and confronting complex realities challenging common assumptions ΓÇô both hers and othersΓÇÖ. From Nepal to Botswana, Sicily to Haiti, New York to Nairobi, her sharp, humane essays ask tough questions and offer surprising, deeply shocking and sometimes funny answers. It is time we saw the world through her eyes.

Muhammad bin Salman Al-Saud and Muhammad bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the respective princely strongmen of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have torn up the old rules. They have spurred game-changing economic master plans, presided over vast anti-corruption crackdowns, tackled entrenched religious forces, and overseen the mass arrest of critics. In parallel, they also appear to have replaced the old ''sheikhly'' consensus systems of their predecessors with something more autocratic, more personalistic, and perhaps even analytically distinct.These are the two wealthiest and most populous Gulf monarchies, and increasingly important global powers--Saudi Arabia is a G20 member, and the UAE will be the host of the World Expo in 2021-2022. Such sweeping changes to their statecraft and authority structures could well end up having a direct impact, for better or worse, on policies, economies and individual lives all around the world. Christopher M. Davidson tests the hypothesis that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are now effectively contemporary or even ''advanced'' sultanates, and situates these influential states within an international model of autocratic authoritarianism. Drawing on a range of primary sources, including new interviews and surveys, ''From Sheikhs to Sultanism'' puts forward an original, empirically grounded interpretation of the rise of both MBS and MBZ.

ItΓÇÖs not just intelligence thatΓÇÖs going artificial! Numerous elements of our everyday life reek of inauthenticity. Even the grass we walk on and the plants we decorate our homes with demonstrate how the artificial has permeated our lives in ways we do not often give a thought to. In this issue of Critical Muslim, we explore how the artificial controls our livesΓÇöfrom the cities we live in to the online lives in which we immerse ourselves at every free moment. Challenges will be explored: AI has irrevocably changed the way we work and increased the ease with which we spend money. Notions of desire and freedom dissolve or fall by the wayside. Fake news and the lies we continue to tell ourselves give the phoney impression that everything is situation normalΓÇöyet the truth is anything but. About Critical Muslim: A quarterly publication of ideas and issues showcasing groundbreaking thinking on Islam and what it means to be a Muslim in a rapidly changing, interconnected world. Each edition centers on a discrete theme, and contributions include reportage, academic analysis, cultural commentary, photography, poetry, and book reviews.

What is the ultimate destination? Is it a place, a state of mind, or a vision of how we would like things to be? Slick airline adverts tell us itΓÇÖs the journey, not the destination, that matters--but the selfie generation is all about capturing, filtering and digitally preserving the destination, in all its Instagrammable glory. How has ΓÇÿthe destinationΓÇÖ evolved in our rapidly changing times? Whether it is a physical reality that we yearn for, a spiritual reckoning or an introspective quest to find one''s self, this issue of Critical Muslim explores what it means to want to get there, and maybe even how our original goals--even the destination--may change, wherever or whenever they may be.About Critical Muslim: A quarterly publication of ideas and issues showcasing groundbreaking thinking on Islam and what it means to be a Muslim in a rapidly changing, interconnected world. Each edition centers on a discrete theme, and contributions include reportage, academic analysis, cultural commentary, photography, poetry, and book reviews.

For many liberal commentators at the turn of the 1990s, the collapse of the Soviet Union represented a final victory for Western reason and capitalist democracy. But, in recent years, liberal norms and institutions associated with the post-Cold War moment have been challenged by a visceral and affective politics. Electorates have increasingly opted for a closing inwards of the nation-state, not just in the democratic heartlands of Europe and North America, but also on the periphery of the world economy. As the popular appeal of the ''open society'' is thrown into question, it is necessary to revisit assumptions about the permanence of its enabling political and ethical projects. Previously promoted by the US and its allies as a necessary complement to liberal capitalistculture and the globalisation of markets, humanitarian multilateralism seems to have lost strategic currency. In this collection of essays, public intellectuals, scholars, journalists and aid workers reflect on the relationship between humanitarianism and ''liberal order''. What role has humanitarianism played in processes of liberal ordering? Amidst challenges to liberal order, what are the implications for the political economy of humanitarianism, and for the practices of humanitarian agencies?

A courageously personal exploration of gender identity across Muslim cultures, from the West to South Asia. From an early age, Leyla Jagiella knew that she would be defined by two things: being Muslim and being trans. Struggling to negotiate these identities in her conservative, small hometown, she travelled to India and Pakistan, where her life was changed by her time among third-gender communities.Known as hijras in India, khwajasaras in Pakistan, these marginal communities have traditionally been politically and culturally important, respected for their supernatural powers to bless or curse, and often serving as eunuchs in Mughal IndiaΓÇÖs palaces. But under British colonialism, the hijras were criminalised and persecuted, entrenching taboos they still battle today. Among the Eunuchs reveals vastly varied interpretations of religion, gender and sexuality, illuminating how deeply culture informs our experiences. As identity becomes an ideological battlefield, Jagiella complicates binaries and dogma with her rich personal reflections. Her fascinating journey speaks to all who find themselves juggling different kinds of belonging.

In 1960 a mysterious car crash killed Albert Camus and his publisher Michel Gallimard, who was behind the wheel. Based on meticulous research, Giovanni Catelli builds a compelling case that the 46-year-old French Algerian Nobel laureate was the victim of premeditated murder: he was silenced by the KGB.The Russians had a motive: Camus had campaigned tirelessly against the Soviet crushing of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, and vociferously supported the awarding of the Nobel Prize to the dissident novelist Boris Pasternak, which enraged Moscow.Sixty years after CamusΓÇÖ death, Catelli takes us back to a murky period in the Cold War. He probes the relationship between Camus and Pasternak, the fraught publication of Doctor Zhivago, the penetration of France by Soviet spies, and the high price paid by those throughout Europe who resisted the USSR.

A new political history of the former British colony in West Africa.

Presents analysis of interrelated struggles fought in 1941-5, during the short but tragic period of Hitler's failed 'New Order', over the territory that was no longer the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Federal Peoples' Republic of Yugoslavia.

King Salman of Saudi Arabia began his rule in 2015 confronted with a series of unprecedented challenges. The dilemmas he has faced are new and significant, from leadership shuffles and falling oil prices to regional and international upheaval. 'Salman's Legacy' interrogates this era and assesses its multiple social, political, regional and international challenges. Whether Salman's policies have saved the kingdom from serious upheaval is yet to be seen, but no doubt a new kingdom is emerging. This book offers historical and contemporary insights into the various problems that persist in haunting the Saudi state. Madawi Al-Rasheed brings together well-established historians and social scientists with deep knowledge of Saudi Arabia--its history, culture and contemporary politics--to reflect on Salman's kingdom. They trace both policy continuities and recent ruptures that have perplexed observers of Saudi Arabia. This lucid and nuanced analysis invites serious reflection on the Saudi leadership's capacity to withstand the recent challenges, especially those that came with the Arab uprisings. At stake is the future of a country that remains vital to regional stability, international security, and the global economy.

A penetrating biography of the controversial Israeli Prime Minister.

Amid pervasive and toxic language, and equally ugly ideas, suggesting that migrants are invaders and human mobility is an aberration, one might imagine that human beings are naturally sedentary: that the desire to move from one''s birthplace is abnormal. As the contributors to this volume attest, however, migration and human mobility are part and parcel of the world we live in, and the continuous flow of people and exchange of cultures are as old as the societies we have built together.Together, the chapters in this volume emphasise the diversity of the origins, consequences and experiences of human mobility in the Middle East. From multidisciplinary perspectives and through case studies, the contributors offer the reader a deeper understanding of current as well as historical incidences of displacement and forced migration. In addition to offering insights on multiple root causes of displacement, the book also addresses the complex challenges of host-refugee relations, migrants'' integration and marginalisation, humanitarian agencies, and the role and responsibility of states. Cross-cutting themes bind several chapters together: the challenges of categories; the dynamics of control and contestation between migrants and states at borders; and the persistence of identity issues influencing regional patterns of migration.

This groundbreaking biography of Marshal Tito of Yugoslavia presents many startling new revelations, among them his role as an international revolutionary leader and his relationship with Winston Churchill. It highlights his early years as a Comintern operative, the context for his later politics as a leader of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). The authors argue that in the 1940s, between the dissolution of the Comintern and the rise of NAM, Tito's influence and ambition were far wider than has been understood, extending to Italy, France, Greece and Spain via the international Communist networks established during the Spanish Civil War. Klinger and Kuljis disclose for the first time the connection between Tito's expulsion from the Cominform and the Rome assassination attempt on the Italian Communist Party leader, Palmiro Togliatti--the man who had plotted to overthrow Tito. 'Tito's Secret Empire' offers a pivotal contribution to our understanding of Tito as a figure of real, rather than imagined, global significance. This dazzlingly original book will reward all those who are interested in the history of international Communism, the Cold War and the Non-Aligned Movement, or in Tito the man--one of the most significant leaders of the twentieth century.

Ilhan OmarΓÇÖs career is a collection of historic firsts: she is the first refugee, the first Somali-American and one of the first two Muslim women to serve in the United States Congress. Against a xenophobic and divisive administration, she has risen to global fame as a powerful voice in the Democratic PartyΓÇÖs new progressive chorus of congresswomen of colour.''This Is What America Looks Like'' is a tale of the aspirations, disappointments, successes and surprises in the life of an immigrant and Muslim in the US today. This is OmarΓÇÖs story told on her own terms: from a childhood in Mogadishu and four long years at a Kenyan refugee camp, to her arrival in America--penniless and speaking only Somali--and her triumphant election to the US House of Representatives.In the face of merciless slander and constant attacks from opponents in both parties, Omar continues to speak up for her beliefs. Courageous, hopeful and defiant, her memoir is marked by her irrepressible spirit, even in the darkest of times.