Thursday on New Books Week brings us titles in Politics and Human Rights.
Chains of Justice: The Global Rise of State Institutions for Human Rights
Sonia Cardenas
"Chains of Justice is an excellent account of the emergence and diffusion of national human rights institutions. Broad in its historical and geographical sweep, Cardenas's book plumbs fundamental processes of comparative and international politics to explain the global diffusion of 'horizontal self-regulation' of human rights. Her case studies vividly illustrate the fundamental trade-off many states are willing to make: good-faith self-restraint in exchange for muted external criticism. This is a gem of a book: deep, moving, and utterly persuasive." —Beth Simmons, Clarence Dillon Professor of International Affairs, Harvard University
"Chains of Justice accomplishes multiple astonishing feats. It is a must read for scholars and practitioners alike. It is accessible to newcomers to the study of national human rights institutions and, at the same time, significantly advances the knowledge of experts who have been closely examining these institutions for years. The book is packed with insights into the political conditions for creating and strengthening national institutions and the potential of these organizations to shape interactions between states and civil society. Sonia Cardenas proves, once again, that she is at the forefront of research on the origins and influence of these important institutions of accountability." —Ryan Goodman, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Professor of Law, Professor of Politics, and Professor of Sociology, New York University
Sonia Cardenas offers the most comprehensive account to date of the emergence of national human rights institutions, exploring why states create these institutions and examining their impact on contemporary human rights struggles.
Full Description, Table of Contents, and More
496 pages | 6 x 9 | 2 illus.
Hardcover | ISBN 978-0-8122-4539-4 | $79.95s | £52.00
Ebook | ISBN 978-0-8122-0893-1 | $79.95s | £52.00
A volume in the Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights series
Conflict, Crime, and the State in Postcommunist Eurasia
Svante Cornell and Michael Jonsson, Editors
"A timely and important collection that includes useful primers on the crime-conflict nexus in particular countries, many of which Western audiences know too little about." —Peter Andreas, Brown University
"An ambitious and insightful comparative examination of the illicit political economy and criminal activities in Eurasia's conflict zones." —Alexander Cooley, Barnard College
Conflict, Crime, and the State in Postcommunist Eurasia examines the emergence and evolution of a crime-conflict nexus and the relationship between ideologically motivated insurgents and profit-motivated criminal organizations in the region.
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296 pages | 6 x 9 | 1 illus.
Hardcover | ISBN 978-0-8122-4565-3 | $59.95s | £39.00
Ebook | ISBN 978-0-8122-0898-6 | $59.95s | £39.00
Democracy Without Justice in Spain: The Politics of Forgetting
Omar G. Encarnación
"Omar Encarnación has written a learned, thoughtful, and indeed humane critique of those who believe that there are universal solutions to the problem of nations coping with a recent history of conflict and oppression. His book should find readers well beyond Iberian specialists. He raises some of the most important questions of our time, and they concern us all." —Ian Buruma, author of Year Zero: A History of 1945
"A first-rate piece of scholarship that undertakes a detailed empirical analysis of a controversial and important issue, leading to a well-founded conclusion that challenges the conventional wisdom." —Richard Gunther, Ohio State University
Rather than seek retribution and reconciliation, Spain's political leaders agreed to place the Civil War and the Franco dictatorship in the past. Omar G. Encarnación examines the political factors that made possible the "politics of forgetting" and explores the advantages and consequences of democratizing without confronting the past.
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256 pages | 6 x 9
Hardcover | ISBN 978-0-8122-4568-4 | $65.00s | £42.50
Ebook | ISBN 978-0-8122-0905-1 | $65.00s | £42.50
A volume in the Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights series
Aid in Danger: The Perils and Promise of Humanitarianism
Larissa Fast
"Much has been written about the security threats to aid workers and their heroism in the face of adversity; most of it is anecdotal and apocryphal. Fast has produced one of the very few evidence-based, well-researched, and eminently readable studies of the field. This should be on the 'must read' list of every researcher, head of operations, and security director working with humanitarian aid in conflict zones." —Peter Walker, Feinstein International Center, Tufts University
"Larissa Fast critiques familiar characterizations of the aid environment and delivers a nuanced analysis of the real dangers within the contemporary humanitarian context. She makes a compelling case that a relational, humanity-based approach to thinking about security will generate behavior and outcomes more consistent with the principles on which humanitarianism rests. This is a book that should be read by students and scholars of aid as well as by practitioners." —Deborah Avant, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver
Aid in Danger explores why aid workers are attacked, kidnapped, and killed around the world and critically examines how aid agencies respond to these dangers. It addresses a timely and neglected topic, providing a unique analytical perspective on broader issues of humanitarianism and humanitarian reform.
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344 pages | 6 x 9
Hardcover | ISBN 978-0-8122-4603-2 | $75.00s | £49.00
Ebook | ISBN 978-0-8122-0963-1 | $75.00s | £49.00
A volume in the Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights series
Histories of Victimhood
Steffen Jensen and Henrik Ronsbo, Editors
"A powerful and original book that builds a fascinating and deeply disturbing picture of how ideas about victimhood are worked to carve up, categorize, rank, and order the vast and diverse panoply of human suffering and draw attention to the material and political consequences of these processes. Through its careful and sustained focus on the different actors and objects involved in the production of victimhood in a variety of contexts, Jensen and Ronsbo offer a unique and highly original contribution to scholarly understandings of victimhood and suffering." —Julia O'Connell Davidson, University of Nottingham
This volume of original essays tackles the dilemmas surrounding the ways in which victims and victimhood are socially, politically, and culturally constructed, asking: How do we recognize and acknowledge suffering without objectifying affected communities and individuals?
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328 pages | 6 x 9 | 1 illus.
Hardcover | ISBN 978-0-8122-4585-1 | $59.95s | £39.00
Ebook | ISBN 978-0-8122-0931-0 | $59.95s | £39.00
A volume in the Ethnography of Political Violence series
The Political Economy of Tanzania: Decline and Recovery
Michael F. Lofchie
"Knowledgeable and informative, The Political Economy of Tanzania accurately tracks Tanzania's progress from independence to the present time and shows the implications of the country's commitment to socialism in the 1970s and '80s." —Laurence Cockcroft, author of Global Corruption: Money, Power, and Ethics in the Modern World
Written by a leading thinker in the politics of the developing world, The Political Economy of Tanzania presents a compelling analysis of Tanzania's postindependence history. This insightful critique of development economics offers crucial lessons for scholars and policy makers with a stake in Africa's future.
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280 pages | 6 x 9 | 2 illus.
Hardcover | ISBN 978-0-8122-4590-5 | $59.95s | £39.00
Ebook | ISBN 978-0-8122-0936-5 | $59.95s | £39.00
Statebuilding from the Margins: Between Reconstruction and the New Deal
Carol Nackenoff and Julie Novkov, Editors
"An engaging and original contribution to our understanding of a critical period in American political development. By surveying a range of different policy domains within a single historical era, these essays effectively catalogue the multiple ways in which private citizens and associations leveraged and augmented the scope of state intervention."–Elizabeth Clemens, University of Chicago "The Progressive Era remains as controversial as it is vital for understanding the contemporary United States. Carol Nackenoff and Julie Novkov have orchestrated a set of rich, detailed and evocative studies on themes including prohibition, urban government, environmentalism, housing, and juvenile justice that together make for a highly original contribution to our understanding of twentieth-century America." —Daniel Carpenter, Harvard University
Statebuilding from the Margins addresses often overlooked cases of Progressive Era policy shifts in which private citizens and civic organizations forged hybrid institutions and state alliances to enact change in arenas such as Prohibition, citizenship, animal and waste management, and housing policy.
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320 pages | 6 x 9 | 3 illus.
Hardcover | ISBN 978-0-8122-4571-4 | $59.95s | £39.00
Ebook | ISBN 978-0-8122-0907-5 | $59.95s | £39.00
A volume in the American Governance: Politics, Policy, and Public Law series
Referendums and Ethnic Conflict
Matt Qvortrup
"A most impressive and crucially important contribution to the comparative and historical study of nationalism and democracy."–Arend Lijphart, former President of the American Political Science Association "A valuable and comprehensive study of a much-too-neglected subject, both for democratic theory and for conflict management." —Donald L. Horowitz, Duke University
One of the world's leading experts in referendums, Qvortrup provides a timely, intensively researched account of the history, practice, and theory of referendums on national issues. The book presents a state-of-the-art political science analysis of issues pertaining to democracy and national self-determination.
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200 pages | 6 x 9 | 2 illus.
Hardcover | ISBN 978-0-8122-4580-6 | $69.95s | £45.50
Ebook | ISBN 978-0-8122-0932-7 | $69.95s | £45.50
A volume in the National and Ethnic Conflict in the 21st Century series
