Since 1989 the history of Iraq has been one of the world's most traumatic. In this book, Thabit Abdullah places the Iraqi people at the centre of changes which began with the invasion of Kuwait in 1990, and ended with the current American-led occupation. Battles for control of oil, the vacuum created by Saddam Hussein's dictatorship and the devastating impact of sanctions have wreaked havoc on Iraqi society over the past two decades. Abdullah argues that current ethnic tensions and religious divisions are a response to this destruction of civil society, rather than a consequence of having 'artificial' borders, inherent in Iraq's very existence. This powerful and often moving account provides a uniquely measured insight into the recent political and social history of Iraq. It is an ideal introduction for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of this important and controversial nation.

Now available in English for the first time, Dictatorship is Carl Schmitt’s most scholarly book and arguably a paradigm for his entire work. Written shortly after the Russian Revolution and the First World War, Schmitt analyses the problem of the state of emergency and the power of the Reichspräsident in declaring it. Dictatorship, Schmitt argues, is a necessary legal institution in constitutional law and has been wrongly portrayed as just the arbitrary rule of a so-called dictator. Dictatorship is an essential book for understanding the work of Carl Schmitt and a major contribution to the modern theory of a democratic, constitutional state. And despite being written in the early part of the twentieth century, it speaks with remarkable prescience to our contemporary political concerns.

"Gender and Democracy in Cuba traces the progress of women's social and economic rights brought about by the early revolutionary government. Drawing on interviews with high-ranking Cuban officials and research gathered during visits to the island, Luciak argues that democracy cannot be successfully consolidated without the full participation of women in the political process - and the support of men - both at the party and societal levels. Gender and Democracy in Cuba also provides a foundation for understanding the evolving role of women and the meaning of democracy in the transition period of post-Castro Cuba."--BOOK JACKET.

The era between empire and communism is routinely portrayed as a catastrophic interlude in China's modern history, but this engagingly written book shows instead that the first half of the twentieth century witnessed a qualitatively unprecedented trend towards openness. Frank Dikötter argues that the years from 1900 to 1949 were characterised at all levels of society by engagement with the world, and that the pursuit of openness was particularly evident in four areas: in governance and the advance of the rule of law and of newly acquired liberties; in freedom of movement in and out of the country; in open minds thriving on ideas from the humanities and sciences; and in open markets and sustained growth in the economy. Freedom of association, freedom to travel, freedom of religion, freedom to trade and relative freedom of speech wrought profound changes in the texture of everyday life. While globalisation itself was a vector of cultural diversification, pre-existing constellations of ideas, practices and institutions did not simply vanish on contact with the rest of the world, but on the contrary expanded even further, just as much as local industries diversified thanks to their inclusion into a much larger global market. Arguably the country was at its most diverse in its entire history on the eve of World War II – in terms of politics, society, culture and the economy. Accessible to general readers, while providing an integration of ideas that will be valuable for specialists, this book presents a fresh way of approaching the history of modern China.

This accessible guide has been fully updated to take into account the Iraq War and subsequent developments, whilst retaining its character as a non-partisan and approachable text for students and interested readers alike. The twentieth century witnessed the transformation of the area known currently as Iraq from a backward region of the Ottoman Empire, to one of the most important and dynamic states in the Middle East. The rise of modern Iraq has its roots in the second half of the nineteenth century when Ottoman reforms led to gradual state modernization and increasing integration in the World Economy. British control after World War I was one of the determining factors in the establishment of the current borders of the country and the nature of its subsequent national identity. The other important factor was the highly heterogeneous nature of Iraqi society being divided along tribal, ethnic, religious, and sectarian lines. This book focuses on the interaction between the old and the new, or between continuity and change, as it is manifested in the nature of social development, nation-building, the state and the political opposition. An entirely new chapter focusing on the recent conflict has been added, and will contain sections on: The new chapter will have the following sections: The Question of American Intervention Invasion and the Fall of Saddam Looting & the Collapse of the Central State The Provisional Authority’s Reforms The Nature of the Resistance Iraq’s New Political Reality Elections and the Rise of Sectarian Parties Social-Economic Transformations The Challenge of the Future.

Abortion has remained one of the most volatile and polarizing issues in the United States for over four decades. Americans are more divided today than ever over abortion, and this debate colors the political, economic, and social dynamics of the country. This book provides a balanced, clear-eyed overview of the abortion debate, including the perspectives of both the pro-life and pro-choice movements. It covers the history of the debate from colonial times to the present, the mobilization of mass movements around the issue, the ways it is understood by ordinary Americans, the impact it has had on US political development, and the differences between the abortion conflict in the US and the rest of the world. Throughout these discussions, Ziad Munson demonstrates how the meaning of abortion has shifted to reflect the changing anxieties and cultural divides which it has come to represent. Abortion Politics is an invaluable companion for exploring the abortion issue and what it has to say about American society, as well as the dramatic changes in public understanding of women’s rights, medicine, religion, and partisanship.