The ending of the Cold War was supposed to increase global security and divert expenditure previously earmarked for arms purchases to more constructive ends. Instead, the arms trade has flourished. Not only conventional arms, but also police and surveillance equipment, have been provided by Western countries seeking to make a profit from conflict in unstable parts of the world. Foreign debt has remained high, development has been held back, and human rights have been systematically abused, all with the connivance of an arms trade prepared to turn a blind eye to the uses to which increasingly sophisticated weaponry is put, so long as hefty profits can be reaped. This disturbing book names the players in the arms trade and charts the impact that it has had on war, human rights, and development. The financial and trade mechanisms that permit the arms trade to continue are revealed, amid sordid tales of bribery and corruption. Gideon Burrows concludes his examination by reviewing the ways in which this trade can be controlled or even abolished.

The only up-to-date work on the global arms trade, this book puts the global trade in weapons into the context of history. It includes recent controversial deals as well as case studies on Zimbabwe, Iraq and Darfur. Veteran human rights campaigner Nicolas Gilby exposes the cynicism, bribery and secret deals which characterise this dirty - albeit legal - business.

One of the few up-to-date works on the whole of the arms trade, this No-Nonsense Guide explores not just the movement of weaponry across borders, but also the problematic activities that sustain the trade, such as espionage, government corruption, and shady taxpayer subsidies. This Guide reveals that despite Western governments' preaching of the evils of the arms trade, they are the biggest exporters of weapons and they often sell them to repressive regimes throughout the world. This revised second edition uses the latest statistics and information available to provide a critical introduction to this most destructive business.

Globalisation has become one of the most used and encompassing words over the past decade, of undeniable influence in economics, politics and activism. Globalisation is literally all around; every aspect of life is affected by a global structure of communication and economy. This fully revised and updated guide condenses this complex subject into clear, concise commentary. It examines the debt trap, the acceleration of neoliberalism, competition for energy resources, the links between the war on terror, the arms trade and the alternatives to corporate control.

Water sustains life: without it, humans cannot survive for more than a few days. And yet this precious fluid is becoming increasingly politicized as the debates about control and ownership of water itself, and of the many organizations which govern its use, gain force. Maggie Black explores the many roles water plays in human life and, as the defense of water rights looks set to become an explosive issue, provides a clear overview on the vital issues of distribution, technology, irrigation, land use and commodification.

The power and influence of the mass media grows daily, crucially affecting the way all of us see and understand each other. The No-Nonsense Guide to Global Media introduces readers to the political economy of the major mediafilm, television, radio, recording, publishing and the Internet. Peter Steven looks at the ever greater concentration of ownership and at the convergence of technologies and media functions. At the same time, he emphasizes the diversity of local media production and media around the world. The media is more than the economics of ownership and the technology of production, he stresses; it is also audiences, in all their annoying and wonderful diversity.