Paradigm Publishers
The face of imperialism.
Progressive political analyst, Parenti, (Democracy for the Few) considers US imperialism and its costs, effects, and manifestations around the globe. An outspoken critic, Parenti pulls no punches when discussing the actions of US corporate and military powers. In chapters like "Why Rulers Seek Global Dominion," "Globalization for the Few" and "The Omnipresent Arsenal" he argues persuasively against the belief that capitalism fosters democracy and urges a healthy skepticism of the dominant paradigm. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Party systems and country governance.
Authors Janda (political parties, computer methods, Northwestern U.) and Kwak (political science, Konkuk U., South Korea) provide an examination of the inner workings of political party systems and country governance. The authors begin by defining the concept of country governance and how it is measured, and follow with discussions of environmental and party system effects on governance. The book contains numerous tables and graphs and extensive end-of-chapter notes. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Power and terror; conflict, hegemony, and the rule of force, rev.ed.
Noam Chomsky, in addition to being a famed linguist, is widely known for his critiques of US foreign policy since the Vietnam era. This volume, updated and revised, collects his thinking on the so-called "War on Terror" and related issues. In essays and interviews, Chomsky draws connections between Western state violence and non-state terrorism, discusses the policy roots of anti-American hostility in the Middle East, analyzes media bias with regards to Palestine, addresses how citizens can respond to these issues, and critiques the Obama administration's approach to Iraq and the Middle East in general, among other topics (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Science, ethics, and politics; conversations and investigations.
This work is presented with the intention of demonstrating the contributions that scientific thought can make to the study of ethics. Monroe (director of the Ethics Center at the U. of California at Irvine) presents nine papers, each of which is paired with a conversation/interview with one of the paper's authors addressing the broader scientific-ethical issues raised by the paper in question. Topics include the roots of morality in evolutionary biology, the psychology of virtue, the "moral conundrum of blurred racial boundaries," the economic responsibility of parents to children, economics and climate change, ethical and scientific considerations of traumatic stress in the international context, ethics and the policy of extraordinary rendition, and gender equality in academia. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)