While much current research on political Islam revolves around militant Islamism, the genesis of this ideology remains little understood. A System of Life is a pioneering examination of the earliest attempt at a systematic outline of Islamist ideology, namely that proposed in the 1930s and early 1940s by the renowned Indo-Muslim intellectual Sayyid Abu'l-A'la Mawdudi. Hartung reconstructs his thought in the light of the competing ideologies at play at the time, especially his claim to recast Islam as an all-comprehensive, self-contained and inner-worldly system of life. His analysis is embedded in an understanding of the history of ideas that assumed increasingly global dimensions through colonial encounters. By showing how Mawdudi -- depicted as a major protagonist of this development - attempted to align elements of Western philosophical thought with selected traditional Islamic ideas and concepts, 'Islamism' is established as an Islamic contribution to a universalistic notion of modernity. Along with offering a detailed portrayal of Mawdudi's system of thought, Hartung also discusses the reception and modification of his ideas in the Middle East, predominantly among intellectuals of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, and among their imitators in postcolonial South Asia.

The first volume to integrate life's biological, cognitive, social, and ecological dimensions into a single, coherent framework.

Discusses how school choice, misapplied standards of accountability, the No Child Left Behind mandate, and the use of a corporate model have all led to a decline in public education and presents arguments for a return to strong neighborhood schools and quality teaching.

Based on more than three decades of observation, Robert Jervis concludes in this provocative book that the very foundations of many social science theories--especially those in political science--are faulty. Taking insights from complexity theory as his point of departure, the author observes that we live in a world where things are interconnected, where unintended consequences of our actions are unavoidable and unpredictable, and where the total effect of behavior is not equal to the sum of individual actions. Jervis draws on a wide range of human endeavors to illustrate the nature of these system effects. He shows how increasing airport security might actually cost lives, not save them, and how removing dead trees (ostensibly to give living trees more room) may damage the health of an entire forest. Similarly, he highlights the interconnectedness of the political world as he describes how the Cold War played out and as he narrates the series of events--with their unintended consequences--that escalated into World War I. The ramifications of developing a rigorous understanding of politics are immense, as Jervis demonstrates in his critique of current systemic theories of international politics--especially the influential work done by Kenneth Waltz. Jervis goes on to examine various types of negative and positive feedback, bargaining in different types of relationships, and the polarizing effects of alignments to begin building a foundation for a more realistic, more nuanced, theory of international politics. System Effects concludes by examining what it means to act in a system. It shows how political actors might modify their behavior in anticipation of system effects, and it explores how systemic theories of political behavior might account for the role of anticipation and strategy in political action. This work introduces powerful new concepts that will reward not only international relations theorists, but also all social scientists with interests in comparative politics and political theory.

This concise textbook combines Earth and biological sciences to explore the co-evolution of the Earth and life over geological time.

There are stories that can reach into our hearts and tear at them with an unrelenting force and there are others, which delve deep into our subconscious and leave an indelible mark on it. Sometimes these stories come with an unremitting feeling of hopelessness and a sadness that knows no end, while others deliver nuances of anticipation that there is still some good in the world. Beating The System: My Life in Foster Care, is the story of Marquis Williams and his turbulent childhood, as he tried desperately to figure out society while never knowing his father and having to deal with the consequences of violent outbursts from an unpredictable mother. Torn from his siblings and grandmother at the age of eight, then continuously relocated from one foster home to another, Marquis found his life almost echoing that of his wayward mother, with only the joy of the game of basketball to soothe the agonies and confusion he endured. Read his story, from being an introverted kid who just wanted to have a normal life, to developing into a well-adjusted adult making the right decisions. Beating The System: will challenge us all to take a deeper look at underserved children, and reflect on what we can do to help make a difference in others' lives, all while simultaneously changing our preconceptions of the Foster Care System.