Books published by Pluto Press

Guardians of Power is a thought-provoking and controversial challenge to the idea that western media is unbiased, fearless and open to different ideas. *BR**BR*This book argues that a corporate media system be never be expected to tell the truth about a world dominated by corporations. It challenges the complacent view that newspapers, including the 'liberal' Guardian and the Independent, tell the truth about climate change, war and problems in society when they are profit-oriented businesses dependent on advertisers for 75% of their revenues.*BR**BR*Guardians of Power is a radical intervention which will spark debate amongst media students and journalists, and all those who believe in the values of a free and independent media.

What is the legacy of the war in Iraq?

Fascinating critique of Al Jazeera's politics, its agenda, its programmes and its treatment of the West.

Explores the experiences of women in Somalia and how they have survived the trauma of war.

Nazism is usually depicted as the outcome of political blunders and unique economic factors: we are told that it could not be prevented, and that it will never be repeated.*BR**BR*In this explosive book, Guido Giacomo Preparata shows that the truth is very different: using meticulous economic analysis, he demonstrates that Hitler's extraordinary rise to power was in fact facilitated - and eventually financed - by the British and American political classes during the decade following World War I. *BR**BR*Through a close analysis of events in the Third Reich, Preparata unveils a startling history of Anglo-American geopolitical interests in the early twentieth century. Showing that Nazism was not regarded as an aberration: for the British and American establishment of the time, it was regarded as a convenient way of destabilising Europe and driving Germany into conflict with Stalinist Russia, thus preventing the formation of any rival continental power block. In laying bare the economic forces at play in the Third Reich, Guido Giacomo Preparata identifies the key players in the British and American establishment who aided Hitler's meteoric rise.

This book examines the events of September 11th 2001, Osama bin Laden's role and the complex working of the Al Qa'ida terror network. This is the classic book on the history of the USA's involvement with Afghanistan that explains the devastating consequences of the alliance between the US government and radical Islam. Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the roots of the current international crisis.*BR* *BR*Cooley marshals a wealth of evidence - from the assassination of Sadat, the destabilisation of Algeria and Chechnya and the emergence of the Taliban, to the bombings of the World Trade Center and the US embassies in Africa. He examines the crucial role of Pakistan's military intelligence organisation; uncovers China's involvement and its aftermath; the extent of Saudi financial support; the role of 'America's most wanted man' Osama bin Laden; the BCCI connection; the CIA's cynical promotion of drug traffic in the Golden Crescent; the events in Pakistan since the military coup of October 1999; and, finally, the events of September 11th 2001 and their continuing impact on world affairs.

This study of the Tamil diaspora is one of the first full ethnographic studies of a postcolonial migrant community, and a major contribution to the study of migration, globalisation, identity politics and 'long distance' nationalism from an anthropological perspective.*BR**BR*Fuglerud's study traces the history of Tamil migration, from the arrival of the economic migrants of the 1960s to the 'asylum seekers' of the mid 1980s onwards. He draws unnerving parallels between the status of the Tamil community in Sri Lanka, as a beleaguered and persecuted minority waging a war of liberation, and as a displaced, marginalised and excluded refugee community. *BR**BR*Fuglerud argues that, in the process of displacement, particular aspects of Tamil culture - marriage, dowry, chastity and ritual - acquire a heightened significance. He examines the contradictions and inconsistencies which characterise the Tamil refugee communities, and the success of revolutionary Tamil nationalism in exile, highlighting the transnational nature of identity politics.

Cutting-edge collection on global peacebuilding and reconciliation from members of the renowned UK Centre for Peace & Reconciliation Studies.

The first radical, collective manifesto of the new decade

A damning analysis of Israel's evasion of international law

Paris, Jerusalem and Belfast are cities that are shaped by political violence, death and the injustices caused by segregated living. But divided cities are becoming places within which policy makers and politicians project an image of normality despite the facts of social injustice, victimhood and harm. *BR**BR*It is a commonly held view that the city of Belfast is emerging out of conflict and into a new era of tolerance and transformation. This book challenges this viewpoint. The authors pinpoint how international peace accords, such as the Belfast Agreement, are gradually eroded as conflict shifts into a stale and repetitive pattern of ethnically-divided competition over resources. *BR**BR*This book is a vivid portrait of how segregation, lived experience and fear are linked in a manner that undermines democratic accountability. It argues that the control of place remains the most important weapon in the politicisation of communities and the reproduction of political violence. Segregation provides the laboratory within which sectarianism continues to grow.

The book is a call to ensure policy makers facilitate children's participation in their neighbourhoods

A major work of interpretation and criticism, written over fifteen years by one of the foremost representatives of the European Marxist tradition.*BR**BR*Rosdolsky investigates the relationship between various versions of Capital and explains the reasons for Marx's successive reworkings; he provides a textual exegesis of Marx's Grundrisse, now widely available, and reveals its methodological riches. He presents a critique of later work in the Marxist tradition on the basis of Marx's fundamental distinction between 'capital in general' and 'capital in concrete reality'*BR**BR*The Making of Marx's Capital was first published in 1968 as Zur Enstehungsgeschichte des Marx'schen 'Kapital''.

This new and updated edition of David Chandler's acclaimed book takes a critical look at the way in which human rights issues have been brought to the fore in international affairs.*BR**BR*The UN and Nato's new policy of interventionism--as shown in Iraq, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo and East Timor--has been hailed as part of a new 'ethical' approach to foreign policy. David Chandler offers a rigorous critique of this apparently benign shift in international relations to reveal the worrying political implications of a new human rights discourse. He asks why the West can now prioritise the rights of individuals over the traditional rights of state sovereignty, and why this shift has happened so quickly. Charting the development of a human rights-based foreign policy, he considers the theoretical problems of defining human rights and sets this within the changing framework of international law. *BR**BR*Meticulous and compelling, From Kosovo to Kabul and Beyond offers a disturbing insight into the political implications of a human rights-led foreign policy, and the covert agenda that it conceals.

Is socialism dead since the fall of the Soviet Union? What is the way forward for the Left? This book argues that Cuba and Venezuela provide inspiration for anti-globalisation and anti-capitalist movements across the world. Another world Is possible, but only through an effective political strategy to win power on a popular and democratic basis. D. L. Raby argues that the way forward for progressives is not the dogmatic formulae of the Old Left, nor in the spontaneous autonomism of John Holloway or Tony Negri. Instead, it is to be found in new, broad and flexible popular movements with bold and determined leadership. Examining the relationship of key leaders to their people, including Hugo Chvez and the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, Raby shows that it is more necessary than ever to take power, peacefully where possible, but in all cases with the strength that comes from popular unity backed by force where necessary. In this way it is possible to build democratic power, which may or may not be socialist depending on one's definition, but which represent the real anti-capitalist alternative for the twenty-first century.

A unique interpretation of Western perceptions of Islam in the modern era

Football in Europe has undergone massive changes over the last decade. Regulating Football gets behind the headlines to look at the impact of ever increasing commercialisation and the commodification of football.*BR**BR*The essence of the book is football as it is played, refereed, managed, bought, sold and consumed: the authors capture the life and action of the game as seen from the perspective of the numerous participants and place these experiences within a sociological, economic and legal context which reflects the increasing commodification of the sport. *BR**BR*Exploring the ways in which the game is regulated, the authors question whether we have reached the point where commercial issues have superseded the club - and even the game of football itself. The role of players, agents, officials, governing bodies, and the media are all explored. The authors pay attention to levels of violence and racism both on and off the field in both the professional and amateur forms of the game.

A great resource for students of politics and economics, and anyone looking for a grounded critical approach to this broad subject.

In the past, violations of human rights were commonly portrayed as atrocities perpetrated by tyrannical dictatorships. Today, the images of torture at Abu Ghraib in Iraq, and the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, put the lie to this assumption. State violations of human rights have a global reach.*BR**BR*Tony Evan's introduction to the politics of human rights examines the impact of globalisation on global human rights. He argues that the state's role in protecting and promoting rights has been severely weakened under globalisation - and that the emerging global order may be a cause of many human rights violations. As the value of the market grows, the value of individual human rights decreases.*BR**BR*The Politics of Human Rights departs from traditional interpretations of human rights by focusing on the political economy of human rights, rather than on the philosophical or legal aspects.

This is a new edition of a classic work by one of the world's leading progressive political philosophers. Ted Honderich examines ideology and reality in British and American politics*BR*in order to establish the true distinctions of conservatism.*BR**BR*Conservatives often claim to believe in reform, but not change, to rely on instinct rather than abstract theories. So what is the conservative rationale? Does conservatism have a philosophical founding principle that unifies it?*BR**BR*Ted Honderich's search for the fundamental principle of conservatism is an enlightening one. He examines influential thinkers in the conservative tradition, from Edmund Burke and Adam Smith to Michael Oakeshott and Robert Nozick. He brings rigorous analytic philosophy to bear on the Republican party in the United States, and the Conservative party and the New Labour party in Britain.

An intriguing analysis of the diverse problems facing Europe's gypsy populations, including the largely unacknowledged legacy of the Roma Holocaust.

'While reading Tyranny of the Moment, I found myself both charmed and challenged. The subject is an important one, and Thomas Hylland Eriksen handles it with style, a light touch, and many amiable provocations.' Todd GitlinThe turn of the millennium is characterized by exponential growth in everything related to communication - from the internet and email to air traffic. Tyranny of the Moment deals with some of the most perplexing paradoxes of this new information age. Who would have expected that apparently time-saving technology results in time being scarcer than ever? And has this seemingly limitless access to information led to confusion rather than enlightenment?Eriksen argues that slow time - private periods where we are able to think and correspond without interruption - is now one of the most precious resources we have. Since we are theoretically 'online' 24 hours a day, we must fight for the right to be unavailable - the right to live and think more slowly. It is not only that working hours have become longer - Eriksen also shows how the logic of this new information technology has permeated every area of our lives. Exploring phenomena such as the internet, wap telephones, multi- channel television and email, Eriksen examines this non-linear and fragmented way of communicating to reveal how it affects working conditions in the economy, changes in family life and, ultimately, personal identity. Eriksen argues that a culture lacking a sense of its past, and therefore of its future, is effectively static. Although solutions are suggested, he demonstrates that there is no easy way out.

'Tucker is endlessly fascinating and well-informed on this little known region of Asia where the end of A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh elides surreally into Paul Theroux's Mosquito Coast.' Times Literary Supplement'Written with fluency and verve, the book has to be regarded as a standard work and is indispensable for understanding the travails of modern Burma.' John McEnery, author of Epilogue in BurmaBurma offers the first up-to-date overview and understanding of Burma's tragic armed conflict in the twentieth century. Examining the 'causes' of the war, Shelby Tucker traces the political development of the country from the occupations by the British and Japanese and eventual independence in 1942, through the army coup of 1962 led by Ne Win, which established an authoritarian state, to the pro-democracy movement of the late 1980s. Tucker examines Burma's drug trade; scrutinises Burma's civil rights record; examines the role of the Nationalist leader Aung Seng, who attempted to unite the various sections of the population; the impact of Seng's assassination and subsequent power struggles; and considers the future for a government faced with armed opposition from separatist movements among the ethnic minorities of Burma's regions.

Full account of the events of that day, and the impact its had on the families and communities involved

London's masterpiece of investigative journalism

Alain Badiou is rapidly emerging as one of the most radical and influential philosophers of our time. Badiou opposes the contemporary reduction of philosophy to nothing but a matter of language and premature announcements of the end of philosophy and thus sets himself against both analytic and continental modes of philosophy.*BR**BR*Setting the traditional platonic concerns of philosophy, truth and being, against the modern sophists of postmodernism, Badiou has articulated a powerful systematic philosophy with profound ethical and political consequences.

Hizbu'llah is the largest and most prominent political party in Lebanon, and one of the most renowned Islamist movements in the world. In this book, Amal Saad-Ghorayeb examines the organisation's understanding of jihad and how this, together with its belief in martyrdom, brought about the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from Lebanon in May 2000. *BR**BR*Saad-Ghorayeb explores the nature of the party's struggle against the West by studying its views on the use of violence against Westerners. Crucially, she also addresses the question of whether Hizbu'llah depicts this struggle in purely political or civilisational terms. The existential nature of the movement's conflict with Israel is analysed and the Islamic roots of its anti-Judaism is unearthed. *BR**BR*The author explores the mechanics and rationale behind the party's integration into the Lebanese political system, and sheds light on how it has reconciled its national idenitity with its solidarity with the Muslim umma.

A radically new critique of the regulation of abortion, drawing on feminist, legal and social theory