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Over the past fifty years, have things been getting better or worse? Brian Martin sets out to address this big question by looking at a range of topics, from climate to feminism, from happiness to war, from deschooling to death. Along the way, he offers personal stories and assessments of key studies. This is an invitation to avoid excessive gloom and unwarranted optimism by thinking broadly about what's been going on, examining driving forces and resistance to them.

This book is a unique contribution in two ways. Firstly, it puts the focus on the least understood element of the Indian anti-colonial liberation struggle, yet the one emphasized by Gandhi himself: the constructive program, or the building up of self-governed institutions and skills, enabling real autonomy from colonial rule and local empowerment of ordinary Indians. Secondly, it goes into the empirical detail of key campaigns of the liberation struggle, showing how the constructive work in a dynamic way connected with the resistance against British colonial rule. Bob Overy gives us inspiring, incisive and well-articulated pathways for transforming Gandhi's legacy into contemporary action, notably the interdependence between programmes of constructive work and satyagraha. Across the world, I am sure, practitioners and activists, especially for social and climate justice, will benefit."

Social defence is nonviolent community resistance to aggression and repression, as an alternative to military forces. Given the enormous damage caused by military systems, social defence is an alternative worth investigating and pursuing. Since the 1980s, Jørgen Johansen and Brian Martin have been involved in promoting social defence. In this book, they provide an up-to-date treatment of the issues. They address the downsides of military systems, historical examples of nonviolent resistance to invasions and coups, key ideas about social defence, important developments since the end of the Cold War, and the role of social movements. Social defence challenges deeply embedded assumptions about violence and defence. It is also a challenge to powerful groups with vested interests in systems of organised violence, especially militaries and governments. Popular action against aggression and repression is a radical alternative - and a logical one.

From Poland 1980-89 to Algeria 2019 we can identify seven "waves" where massive civil society mobilization has successfully challenged the ruling regimes. These changes have mainly been done outside the accepted constitutional processes and civil society actors have been central driving forces. In this booklet we have taken a closer look at Benin and the changes in 1989-90. Our hope is to inspire students and colleagues to do more research on less studied unarmed regime changes. Only by studying and evaluating the experiences of the past can we better understand and help future generations in similar situations.

A book of brilliantly simple meditations, soft as water is bursting with wisdom. It is a book that can change your life and change the world. If you believe in the necessity of peace in the Nuclear Age, this book will provide new insights and energy. Charles Busch doubles down on the power of story-telling. Every story in this book has deep meaning which is fleshed by a sharp reflection on its significance for peace and justice. soft as water offers some of the most important concepts of contemporary peacebuilding for individuals and groups in a soothing yet inspiring language. Whether you are concerned with inner peace or world peace, this book is full of insightful gems.

In 2009 in Australia, a citizens' campaign was launched to silence public criticism of vaccination. This campaign involved an extraordinary variety of techniques to denigrate, harass and censor public vaccine critics. It was unlike anything seen in other scientific controversies, involving everything from alleging beliefs in conspiracy theories to rewriting Wikipedia entries. Vaccination Panic in Australia analyses this campaign from the point of view of free speech. Brian Martin describes the techniques used in the attack, assesses different ways of defending and offers wider perspectives for understanding the struggle. The book will be of interest to readers interested in the vaccination debate and in struggles over free speech and citizen participation in decision-making.

George Kent's book is an articulate and incisive analysis of the ways in which some governments actively promote the use of infant formula. They do this despite the predictable harm it does to children's health. The book is a timely and powerful reminder to governments in the rich and poor world of their obligations under international law to protect children's health and the right to food through framework legislation and the regulation of non-State actors including corporations. Effective remedies are urgently required.

This book studies examples of peace movements of the last 110 years, from the conflict between Norway and Sweden in 1905 to the debate on military intervention in Syria in 2013. It looks at the impact these movements have had on the prevention or the ending of wars. It looks at the impact these movements may have had on the prevention or the ending of wars their own governments were engaging in. - Norway-Sweden 1905 - the movement against the Vietnam war in the 1960s and early 1970s - the movement against the support of the Contras in Nicaragua in the 1980s - the peace movement of the 1980s against nuclear weapons - the case of the Women in White in Liberia in 2002-2003 - the movement against the Iraq war in 1991 - the movement against the Iraq war in 2003

In your action group, is it ever beneficial to lie to other members? When is it wise to lie to authorities? If a member of your group has done something wrong, is it better to be open about it now or keep it hidden in the hope that outsiders will never know? What are the pros and cons of infiltrating opposition groups to collect information about harmful activities? Should we wear masks at rallies? There's lots of research showing that lying is an everyday occurrence in most people's lives, and furthermore that lies can be beneficial in some circumstances. But they can also be very damaging, especially lies by authorities. The Deceptive Activist introduces key ideas about lying and deception and then provides a series of case studies in which activists need to decide what to do. There are no final answers, but it is important to address the questions.

In this world of abundant resources and huge wealth, hunger cannot be understood simply as a problem of food production. It is also a matter of human relations. Hunger grows out of widespread indifference and exploitation. The goal of ending hunger has been achieved in many places, including places where people have little money. In stable, strong communities, where people care about one another's well-being, no one goes hungry. That caring is strengthened when people work and play together. This insight tells us the direction we need to take to move toward a world without hunger. The problem of global hunger will be solved when we learn to live together well locally.

Nonviolence and Islamic Imperativesis a timely book that provides a valuable perspective to the ongoing dialogue on Islam, peace, and Islamophobia today. Chaiwat Satha-Anand offers his expertise as a peace researcher to inform readers on the history and present application of Islamic nonviolent movements, through contextual analysis of sacred texts, as well as, current examples of Islamic nonviolence in action. This perspective is vital to counter the false perception of violence in Islam. Nonviolence and Islamic Imperativesis highly relevant and critical to continuing a crucial dialogue on the subject matter.

Most people think of the world as divided into countries, and many people identify with their "own" country. Because there's nothing natural in this, governments and others need to continually encourage identification with the nation. This serves those with power and wealth. Ruling Tactics outlines the methods commonly used to foster everyday nationalism and how they can be countered. These methods are described in a range of areas, including crime, sport, language, economics, terrorism and war. This book can serve as a practical manual for recognising how thinking is oriented towards the state, and how this sort of thinking can be changed.

Worshiped by his poor followers, despised by his opponents and declared the number one threat to US interests in the Western Hemisphere by the Bush administration. This is the story of how Hugo Chávez, a poor boy raised in a mud hut in rural Venezuela, rose to global fame as he took on local elites and US hegemony. Also features an exclusive interview with Chávez and previously unreported WikiLeaks documents on US efforts to defeat Chávez and his political project.

A group of anti-conscription activists break into a prison, demanding to be jailed together with their friend already locked up because of his beliefs. Clowns from the rebel clown army mimic police sent to control political protests. Visiting Santas hand out presents taken from shop shelves without the approval of the shopping centre management. These are examples of humorous political stunts - public actions, hoaxes and happenings that confront systems of power. This book contains many amusing stories of such stunts, showing the boldness and creativity of the activists. Interviews and documents are used to show how humour can facilitate outreach, mobilisation and a culture of resistance. Humorous Political Stunts combines insights from the fields of nonviolence and humour studies and makes theoretical contributions to each area.

In this book, fully revised and updated since its first publication in 1991, Andrew Rigby addresses this gap through a detailed study of the dynamics of the first Palestinian intifada. The focus throughout is upon how Palestinians experienced the years of active resistance, both in relation to protest on the streets and in seeking to create alternative institutions and practices intended to undermine the foundations of the Israeli occupation. The hopes that drove the intifada were ultimately frustrated - not least because in the final analysis the Israeli occupation did not depend on the cooperation of the Palestinians in order to persist. In such circumstances, which have not changed fundamentally over the years, the key leverage over the occupiers continues to lie with those states and agencies upon whose support Israel depends as it continues to deny basic human rights to millions of Palestinians living under occupation.

methods of nonviolent action can be used to bring down dictators. Nonviolence Unbound shows how insights into what makes nonviolent action eff ective can be applied to four completely diff erent arenas: defending against verbal abuse, responding to online defamatory pictures, and engaging in the struggles over euthanasia and vaccination. This investigation shows how to analyse options for opposing injustice.