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1. Columbia University Press: Spring 2014

The Insect Cookbook: Food for a Sustainable Planet. Arnold van Huis (Prof of Tropical Entomology, Wageningen University), Henk van Gurp (Cooking Instructor, Rijn IJssel Hotel and Tourism School, Wageningen), and Marcel Dicke (Prof of Entomology, Wageningen University and Cornell University). NY: Columbia University Press, March 2014, 216p, $27.95. Two entomologists and a chef make the case for insects as a sustainable source of protein for humans and a necessary part of our future diet. They provide consumers and chefs with the essential facts about insects for culinary use, with recipes simple enough to make at home yet boasting the international flair of the world’s most chic dishes. Features recipes and interviews with top chefs, insect farmers, political figures, and nutrition experts. (FOOD/AGRICULTURE* SUSTAINABLE FOOD* INSECTS AS FOOD)

Creating a Learning Society: A New Approach to Growth, Development, and Social Progress. Joseph E. Stiglitz (University Prof, Columbia University; former Chair, Columbia University Committee on Global Thought; winner, 2001 Nobel Prize for Economics) and Bruce C. Greenwald (Prof of Finance and Asset Management, Columbia Business School). NY: Columbia University Press, June 2014, 680p, $34.95. An improved standard of living results from advances in technology, not from the accumulation of capital. What truly separates developed from less-developed countries is not just a gap in resources or output but a gap in knowledge. Free trade may lead to stagnation whereas broad-based industrial protection and exchange rate interventions may bring benefits—not just to the industrial sector, but to the entire economy. In fact, the pace at which developing countries grow is largely a function of the pace at which they close that gap. Stiglitz and Greenwald explain why the production of knowledge differs from that of other goods and why market economies alone typically do not produce and transmit knowledge efficiently. They provide new models of “endogenous growth” and show how well-designed government trade and industrial policies can help create a learning society, and how poorly designed intellectual property regimes can retard learning. (LEARNING SOCIETY* ECONOMY AND KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION* DEVELOPMENT AND LEARNING)

The Collapse of Western Civilization: A View from the Future. Naomi Oreskes (Prof of the History of Science, Harvard University) and Erik M. Conway (Historian of Science, California Institute of Technology). NY: Columbia University Press, July 2014, 89p (5x7”), $9.95pb. A brief work of science-based fiction that imagines an unrecognizable world devastated by climate change. Clear warnings of climate catastrophe were ignored for decades, leading to soaring temperatures, rising sea levels, and widespread drought. “In 2023, the infamous ‘year of perpetual summer,’ lived up to its name, taking 500,000 lives worldwide and costing nearly $500 billion in losses due to fires, crop failure, and the deaths of livestock and companion animals…what was anomalous in 2023 soon became the new normal.” (pp 8-9). Wealthy nations fostered a delusion that natural gas from shale could offer a “bridge to renewables.” As power plants based on gas were built, infrastructures based on fossil fuels were further locked in, global emissions continued to rise, and climate disruption accelerated. By 2060, Arctic summer ice was completely gone, and during the next decade release of Arctic methane doubled the total atmospheric carbon load. From 2073-2093, some 90% of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet melted, driving up sea level some five meters across most of the globe. The Greenland Ice Sheet began its own disintegration, adding another two meters to global sea level rise, which displaced 1.5 billion people. China, however, rapidly built new inland cities and relocated >250 million people to higher ground. “The development that the neoliberals most dreaded—centralized government and loss of personal choice—was rendered essential by the very policies that they had put in place.” (p.49) Concludes with a 10-page “Lexicon of Archaic Terms” such as “bridge to renewables, capitalism, carbon combustion complex, environment, external costs, human adaptive optimism, positivism,” etc. [NOTE: A brief but powerful critique of economists and “conservative” politicians, but not clear how China prevails while the West collapses.] (CLIMATE CHANGE IN 21st CENTURY: SCENARIO)

Survivors of Slavery: Modern-Day Slave Narratives. Laura T. Murphy (Asst Prof of English, director of the Modern Slavery Research Project, Loyola University, New Orleans). NY: Columbia University Press, March, 2014, 344p, $30pb. Slavery is not a crime confined to the far reaches of history. It continues to entrap 27 million people across the globe. Offers some 40 survivor narratives from Cambodia, Ghana, Lebanon, Macedonia, Mexico, Russia, Thailand, Ukraine, and the United States, describing the system that forces people to work without pay and against their will, under the threat of violence, with little or no means of escape. Topics covered include the need for work, punishment of defiance, and the move toward activism. Isolates the causes, mechanisms, and responses to slavery that allow the phenomenon to endure. (SLAVERY IN THE 21st CENTURY)

Foundations of the Earth: Global Ecological Change and the Book of Job. H. H. Shugart (Chair in Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia). NY: Columbia University Press, July 2014, 384p, $35. “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” God asks Job in the “Whirlwind Speech,” but Job cannot reply. Shugart explores the planetary system, animal domestication, sea-level rise, evolution, biodiversity, weather phenomena, and climate change, and calls attention to the rich resonance between the Earth’s natural history and the workings of religious feeling, the wisdom of biblical scripture, and the arguments of Bible ethicists. Offers a universal framework for recognizing and confronting the global challenges humans now face. (ENVIRONMENT AND CHRISTIANITY* ECOLOGY AND SPIRTUALITY)

Crowded Orbits: Conflict and Cooperation in Space. James Clay Moltz (Prof of National Security, Naval Postgraduate School). NY: Columbia University Press, April 2014, 240 p, $30. Space has become increasingly crowded since the end of the Cold War, with new countries, companies, and even private citizens operating satellites and becoming spacefarers. This primer on space policy from an international perspective examines space competition and cooperation while providing readers with an understanding of the basics of space technology, diplomacy, commerce, science, and military applications. Includes policy recommendations for enhanced international collaboration in space situational awareness, scientific exploration, and restraining harmful military activities. (SECURITY AND SPACE EXPLORATION * SPACE: COOPERATION AND CONFLICT)

Understanding Environmental Policy (Second Edition). Steven Cohen (Executive Director, Earth Institute, Columbia University). NY: Columbia University Press, July 2014, 240p, $34pb. Introduces a multidimensional framework for developing effective environmental policy within the United States and around the world, looking at ethical, political, technological, economic, and management aspects. Analyzes four case studies representing current challenges: 1) New York City’s garbage crisis; 2) the problem of leaks from underground storage units; 3) toxic waste contamination and the Superfund program; and 4) global climate change. Considers how our current environmental policy and problems reflect the value we place on our ecosystems, whether science and technology can solve the environmental problems they create, and what policy is necessary to reduce environmentally damaging behaviors. Also discusses hydrofracking, congestion taxes, e-waste, recent US policy changes, and developments in US and global environmental issues. (ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY TEXTBOOK* CLIMATE CHANGE)

The Assault on Social Policy (Second Edition). William Roth (Prof Emeritus of Social Welfare and Public Policy, SUNY Albany) and Susan Peters (Associate Prof Emeritus, Michigan State University). NY: Columbia University Press, July 2014, 272p, $30pb. The attack on US social policy has intensified over the past 10 years. American social policy today largely serves global corporate interests rather than the general public. Analyzes the rhetoric used to make poverty seem acceptable, shows how corporations affect the distribution of wealth and other resources, and considers the effect on disabled people, criminals, children, and health care. Increased transnational corporate power has created the need for large-scale systematic public policy changes. (SOCIAL POLICY IN U.S.: TEXTBOOK)

Alternative Economies and Spaces: New Perspectives for a Sustainable Economy. Edited by Hans-Martin Zademach and Sebastian Hillebrand (both Dept of Geography, Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Germany). Transcript-Verlag (dist by NY: Columbia University Press), March 2014, 150p, $25pb. Explores alternative modes of economic and social exchange, including credit unions, alternative currencies, sustainable consumption, and social enterprises, and their performance in relation to and beyond the economic mainstream. Also introduces a framework for transitioning to a more sustainable economic system while reconceptualizing the system itself in scholarly thinking and daily lives. (SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIES * ECONOMIC ALTERNATIVES)

Transnational Organized Crime: Analyses of a Global Challenge to Democracy. Edited by Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung (international network of 29 offices that fosters democracy and human rights) and Regine Schönenberg. Transcript-Verlag (dist by Columbia University Press), March 2014, 312p, $35pb. Transnational organized crime interferes with the everyday lives of more and more people – and represents a serious threat to democracy. By now, organized crime has become an inherent feature of economic globalization, and the fine line between the legal and illegal operation of business networks is blurred. Moreover, few experts could claim to have comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the laws and regulations governing the international flow of trade, and hence of the borderline towards criminal transactions. Contributions from 12 countries around the world by 25 experts provide a cross cultural and multi-disciplinary analysis of transnational organized crime, including a historical approach from different regional and cultural contexts. (TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME * CRIME/JUSTICE)

2. University of Pennsylvania Press: Fall 2013

Revitalizing American Cities. Edited by Susan M. Wachter (Prof of Real Estate and Finance, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania) and Kimberly A. Zeuli (Senior VP and Director of Research, Initiative for a Competitive Inner City). The City in the 21st Century Series. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, Dec 2013, 312p, $69.95 (also as e-book). Small and midsized cities played a key role in America’s Industrial Revolution as hubs for the shipping, warehousing, and distribution of manufactured products. But as the 20th century brought cheaper transportation and faster communication, these cities were hit hard by population losses and economic decline. In the 21st century, many former industrial hubs—such as Springfield, Wichita, Providence, and Columbus—are finding pathways to reinvention. With innovative urban policies and design, once-declining cities are becoming the unlikely pioneers of postindustrial urban revitalization. Explores the regional and political factors that have allowed some industrial cities to regain their footing in a changing economy, discusses national patterns and drivers of growth and decline, presents case studies and comparative analyses of decline and renewal, considers approaches to the problems that accompany the vacant land and blight common to many of the country’s declining cities, and examines tactics that cities can use to prosper in a changing economy. (CITIES * CITY REVITALIZATION IN U.S.)

Rethinking the American City: An International Dialogue. Edited by Miles Orvell (Prof of English and American Studies, Temple University) and Klaus Benesch (Prof of English and American Studies, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich). Foreword by Dolores Hayden (Yale University; former President, Urban History Association). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, Nov 2013, 232p, $45 (also as e-book). Whether struggling in the wake of postindustrial decay or reinventing themselves with new technologies and populations, cities have once again moved to the center of intellectual and political concern. Scholars from a range of disciplines examine an array of topics that illuminate the past, present, and future of cities. Topics include energy use, design, digital media, transportation systems, housing, public art, urban ruins, and futurist visions. (CITIES* CITY REVITALIZATION IN U.S.)

No Use: Nuclear Weapons and U.S. National Security. Thomas M. Nichols (Prof of National Security Affairs, U.S. Naval War College, Newport, RI). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, Dec 2013, 232p, $39.95 (also as e-book). For more than 40 years, the United States has maintained a public commitment to nuclear disarmament, and every president from Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama has gradually reduced the size of America’s nuclear forces. Yet even now, over two decades after the end of the Cold War, the US maintains a huge nuclear arsenal on high alert and ready for war. The Americans, like the Russians, the Chinese, and other major nuclear powers, continue to retain a deep faith in the political and military value of nuclear force, and this belief remains enshrined at the center of US defense policy regardless of the radical changes that have taken place in international politics. Nichols reexamines the role of nuclear weapons and their prominence in US security strategy, explains why strategies built for the Cold War have survived into the 21st century, and illustrates how America’s nearly unshakable belief in the utility of nuclear arms has hindered US and international attempts to slow the nuclear programs of volatile regimes in North Korea and Iran. (SECURITY * NUCLEAR WEAPONS QUESTIONED)

Does Regulation Kill Jobs? Edited by Cary Coglianese (Prof of Law, University of Pennsylvania), Adam M. Finkel (Executive Director, Penn Program on Regulation), and Christopher Carrigan (Asst Prof of Public Policy, George Washington University). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, Jan 2014, 312p, $49.95 (also as e-book). As millions of Americans struggle to find work in the wake of the Great Recession, politicians from both parties look to regulation in search of an economic cure. Some claim that burdensome regulations undermine private sector competitiveness and job growth, while others argue that tough new regulations actually create jobs at the same time that they provide other benefits. Individual regulations can at times induce employment shifts across firms, sectors, and regions—but regulation overall is neither a prime job killer nor a key job creator. The challenge for policymakers is to look carefully at individual regulatory proposals to discern any job shifting they may cause and then to make regulatory decisions sensitive to anticipated employment effects. Contributors recommend methods for obtaining better estimates of job impacts when evaluating regulatory costs and benefits, and assess possible ways of reforming regulatory institutions and processes to take better account of employment effects in policy decision-making. (REGULATION AND JOB-CREATION* WORK* GOVERNMENT AND EMPLOYMENT IN THE U.S.)

Human Rights and Disability Advocacy. Edited by Maya Sabatello (Center for Global Affairs, New York University) and Marianne Schulze (Human Rights Consultant, Vienna). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, Oct 2013, 320 pages, $59.95 (also as e-book). The United Nations adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) constituted a paradigm shift in attitudes and approaches to disability rights, marking the first time in law-making history that persons with disabilities participated as civil society representatives and contributed to the drafting of an international treaty. On the way, they brought a new kind of diplomacy forward: empowering nongovernmental stakeholders, including persons with disabilities, within human rights discourse. Presents perspectives from individual representatives of the Disabled People’s Organizations (DPOs), nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), indigenous peoples’ organizations, states, and national institutions that played leading roles in the Convention’s drafting process. Essays describe the nonnegotiable key issues for which they advocated, the extent of success in reaching their goals, and insights into the limitations they faced. (HUMAN RIGHTS AND DISABILITIES* DISABILITY RIGHTS)

Representation: Elections and Beyond. Edited by Jack H. Nagel (Prof Emeritus of Pol Sci, University of Pennsylvania) and Rogers M. Smith (Distinguished Prof of Pol Sci, University of Pennsylvania). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013, 352p, $75 (also as e-book). In any democracy, the central problem of governance is how to inform, organize, and represent the opinions of the public in order to advance three goals: 1) popular control over leaders, 2) equality among citizens, and 3) competent governance. Voting is emphasized as the central and essential process in achieving these goals. International scholars explore the 21st century innovations—in voting laws and practices, in electoral systems, in administrative, political, and civil organizations, and in communication processes and new technologies—that are altering how we understand democratic representation. Topics include traditional core elements of democratic representation, such as voting, electoral systems, and political parties, as well as the ways in which beliefs and preferences of citizens are influenced, expressed, and aggregated, and the effects of those methods and practices on political agendas and policy outcomes. (GOVERNMENT AND REPRESENTATION* DEMOCRACY AND VOTING* ELECTIONS: 21ST CENTURY INNOVATIONS)

Sex and International Tribunals: The Erasure of Gender from the War Narrative. Chiseche Salome Mibenge (faculty of international humanitarian law and human rights, CUNY Lehman College). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013, 248p, $55 (also as e-book). In many cases, a single rape conviction constitutes sufficient proof that gender-based violence has been mainstreamed into the prosecution of war crimes. Mibenge, a former human rights consultant in Africa, identifies cultural assumptions behind the legal profession’s claims to impartiality and universality and closely examines legal definitions of forced marriage, sexual enslavement, and the conscription of children that overlook the gendered experiences of armed conflict beyond the mass rape of women and girls. (JUSTICE AND GENDER* GENDER AND INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNALS)

3. Russell Sage Foundation: Spring 2014

Private Equity at Work: When Wall Street Manages Main Street. Eileen Applebaum (Senior Economist, Center for Economic and Policy Research, Washington; Visiting Prof, University of Leicester, UK), and Rosemary Batt (Prof of Women and Work, Industrial and Labor Relations School, Cornell University). NY: Russell Sage Foundation, May 2014, 396p, $35pb. Private equity firms have long been at the center of public debates on the impact of the financial sector on Main Street companies. Are these firms financial innovators that save failing businesses, or financial predators that bankrupt otherwise healthy companies and destroy jobs? Appelbaum and Batt evaluate original case studies and interviews, legal documents, bankruptcy proceedings, media coverage, and existing academic scholarship to assess the effects of private equity on American businesses and workers. While private equity firms have had positive effects on the operations and growth of small and mid-sized companies and in turning around failing companies, the interventions of private equity more often than not lead to significant negative consequences for many businesses and workers. Concludes with policy recommendations to curb the negative effects of private equity while preserving its constructive role in the economy. (PRIVATE EQUITY FIRMS SCRUTINIZED* FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS)

What Works for Workers? Public Policies and Innovative Strategies for Low-Wage Workers. Edited by Stephanie Luce (Assoc Prof of Labor Studies, CUNY School for Professional Studies), Jennifer Luff (Lecturer of History, Durham University), Joseph A. McCartin (Prof of History, Georgetown University), and Ruth Milkman (Prof of Sociology, CUNY Graduate Center). NY: Russell Sage Foundation, Jan 2014, 364p, $47.50pb. The majority of new jobs created in the United States today are low-wage jobs, and a fourth of the labor force earns no more than poverty-level wages. Policymakers and citizens alike agree that declining real wages and constrained spending among such a large segment of workers imperil economic prosperity and living standards for all Americans. Though many policies to assist low-wage workers have been proposed, there is little agreement across the political spectrum about which policies actually reduce poverty and raise income among the working poor. A group of social scientists evaluate the most high-profile strategies for poverty reduction, including innovative “living wage” ordinances, education programs for African American youth, and better regulation of labor laws pertaining to immigrants. Key issues include 1) labor unions’ chance to reclaim their historic redistributive role if they move beyond traditional collective bargaining and establish new ties with other community actors; 2) the Affordable Care Act, which will substantially increase insurance coverage for low-wage workers; 3) living wage that do not cover most low-wage workers; 4) California’s paid family leave program. (WORK* POVERTY AND LOW WAGES* LOW-WAGE WORKERS)

Restoring Opportunity: The Crisis of Inequality and the Challenge for American Education. Greg J. Duncan (Distinguished Prof of Education, University of California, Irvine), and Richard J. Murnane (Prof of Education and Society, Harvard Graduate School of Education). Cambridge MA: Harvard Education Press and NY: Russell Sage Foundation, Jan 2014, 200p, $26.95pb. In a time of spiraling inequality, strategically targeted interventions and supports can help schools significantly improve the life chances of low-income children. The authors offer a synthesis of recent research on inequality and its effects on families, children, and schools. They present proven initiatives that are transforming the lives of low-income children from prekindergarten through high school. All featured programs are research-tested and have demonstrated sustained effectiveness over time and at significant scale. (EDUCATION AND INEQUALITY * INEQUALITY AND SCHOOLS)

4. Rowman & Littlefield: Spring 2014

Privacy in the Age of Big Data: Recognizing Threats, Defending Your Rights, and Protecting Your Family. Theresa M. Payton (White House Chief Information Officer, 2006-2008; founder, Fortalice, LLC) and Ted Claypoole (Technology attorney, leader, Privacy and Data Management team, Womble Carlyle). Lanham MD: Rowman & Littlefield, Jan 2014, 276p, $35 (also as e-book). The devices we use to get just-in-time coupons, directions when we’re lost, and maintain connections with loved ones no matter how far away, also invade our privacy in ways we might not even be aware of. Our devices send and collect data about us whenever we use them, but that data is not safeguarded the way we assume it would be. Many of us do not know the full extent to which data is collected, stored, aggregated, and used. We are subject to a level of data collection and surveillance never before imaginable. Highlights the many positive outcomes of digital surveillance and data collection while also outlining those forms of data collection to which we may not consent, and of which we are likely unaware. Suggests the tools, behavior changes, and political actions we can take to regain data and identity security. (BIG DATA* PRIVACY AND COMMUNICATIONS)

The Rise of the U.S. Environmental Health Movement. Kate Davies (Antioch University Seattle Center for Creative Change and Clinical Assoc, Prof, School of Public Health, University of Washington). Lanham MD: Rowman & Littlefield, March 2013, 280p, $38 (also as e-book). Born in 1978 when Lois Gibbs organized her neighbors to protest the health effects of a toxic waste dump in Love Canal, New York, the movement has spread across the United States and throughout the world. By placing human health at the center of its environmental argument, this movement has achieved many victories in community mobilization and legislative reform. Davies describes the movement’s historical, ideological, and cultural roots, analyzes its strategies and successes, and focuses on ways toxic chemicals and other hazardous agents in the environment affect human health and well-being. (HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT * ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH MOVEMENT)

The Handbook of Environmental Health. Frank R. Spellman and Melissa L. Stoudt. Lanham MD: Scarecrow Press, Feb 2013, 424p, $100 (also as e-book). Environmental issues, global warming, pollution, and chemical dumping are ever present in the news. But what about the health problems these issues pose? Spellman and Stoudt identify the hazardous environmental issues and explain the science behind the dangers to our health. They also provide solutions to control the factors that harm our health. The introduction defines environmental health, its concerns, and the consequences of contamination. Topics include ecology, toxicology, epidemiology, food-borne disease, vector-borne disease, air quality, water quality, radiation, and occupational health. Each chapter begins with a vignette illustrating a problem, followed by key concepts of the topic, discussion questions, and a bibliography. (HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT* ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH)

The End of Authority: How a Loss of Legitimacy and Broken Trust Are Endangering Our Future. Douglas E. Schoen. Lanham MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014, 268p, $26 (also as e-book). A political analyst, pollster, and commentator argues that, around the world, citizens have lost faith in their political and economic institutions—leading to unprecedented levels of political instability and economic volatility. From Moscow to Brussels, from Washington to Cairo, the failure of democracies and autocracies to manage the fiscal and political crises facing us has led to a profound disquiet, spawning protest movements of the left, right, and center. Schoen analyzes the leadership crises facing democracies and autocratic governments alike; assesses why this collapse in trust happened; and offers a blueprint for how we can restore public trust in government and economic institutions in a world of division, dissension, and governments clearly lacking in responsiveness to citizen concerns. Also offers practical steps to fix democracy and rebuild international institutions. (DEMOCRACY AND TRUST* GOVERNMENT AND BROKEN TRUST)

The Small Nation Solution: How the World’s Smallest Nations Can Solve the World’s Biggest Problems. John H. Bodley (Regents Prof of Anthropology, Washington State University). Lanham MD: AltaMira Press, May 2013, 314p, $45. Argues that many contemporary global problems can be mitigated—even resolved—by reshaping the political and economic order. Central to this is the issue of scale: “Small nations can solve human problems because they are the right size, because they have the right priorities, and because if they grow too large they can segment rather than concentrate social power.” Ten million people is the rough upper limit for small nations. In documenting his solution to all manner of ills, Bodley embarks on a global tour that ranges from Scandinavia to Costa Rica, and from indigenous communities in the Americas to island peoples in the Caribbean and Pacific. A society’s size, he believes, is more important than levels of technology or ideological detail. That small societies offer advantages, particularly that of propinquity, is unquestionable, but many of the relatively small states that Bodley cites also have a long history of democratic governance. (GOVERNMENT* SMALL NATIONS)

Freedom in the World 2013: The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties. Freedom House (Washington). Lanham MD: Rowman & Littlefield, Jan 2014, 894p, $55pb (also as e-book). The Freedom House flagship survey, whose findings have been published annually since 1972, is the standard-setting comparative assessment of global political rights and civil liberties. The survey ratings and narrative reports on 195 countries and 14 territories are used by policymakers, the media, international corporations, civic activists, and human rights defenders to monitor trends in democracy and track improvements and setbacks in freedom worldwide. The political rights and civil liberties ratings are determined through a multi-layered process of research and evaluation by a team of regional analysts and eminent scholars. The analysts used a broad range of sources of information, including foreign and domestic news reports, academic studies, nongovernmental organizations, think tanks, individual professional contacts, and visits to the region. The methodology of the survey is derived in large measure from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and these standards are applied to all countries and territories, irrespective of geographical location, ethnic or religious composition, or level of economic development. The key finding: “The state of freedom declined for the eighth consecutive year in 2013,” notably in Egypt, Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey. Overall, 54 countries showed decline, while 40 countries showed gains. Notes development of “modern authoritarianism,” to cripple political opposition and flout the law. (GOVERNMENT* DEMOCRACY* FREEDOM IN THE WORLD SURVEY)

Nations in Transit 2013: Democratization from Central Europe to Eurasia. Freedom House (Washington) Lanham MD: Rowman & Littlefield, Dec 2013, 634p, $90pb. Since 1995, this series has monitored the status of democratic change from Central Europe to Eurasia, pinpointing the region’s greatest reform opportunities and challenges for the benefit of policymakers, researchers, journalists, and democracy advocates. Covering 29 countries, Nations in Transit provides comparative ratings and in-depth analysis of electoral process, civil society, independent media, national and local democratic governance, judicial framework, and corruption. The 2013 edition evaluates developments in these areas from January 1 to December 31, 2012. This report plays a critical role in monitoring democratic progress in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union and seeks to sound an early warning to policymakers. (DEMOCRACY IN CENTRAL EUROPE/EURASIA* REGIONS AND NATIONS)

5. Polity Press 2013

Sustainability. Leslie Paul Thiele (Prof of Political Science and Director of Sustainability Studies, University of Florida). Cambridge, UK: Polity Books, April 2013, 242p, $22.95pb (also as e-book). Provides a broad-ranging introduction to the concept and practice of sustainability today. Addresses the history, scope, and contested meanings of sustainability as an ethical ideal, an ascendant ideology, and a common sense approach to living in an ever more crowded world of increasingly scarce resources. Key topics include environmental health and ecological resilience, the promise and unintended consequences of technology, political and legal challenges, economic limits and opportunities, and cultural change. Sustainability requires innovation and adaptation as much as the conservation of resources. It increasingly provides a common language and goal for diverse peoples and nations. Yet the meaning of sustainability remains unsettled. (SUSTAINABILITY OVERVIEW)

Theories of Globalization. Barrie Axford (Oxford Brookes University). Cambridge, UK: Polity Books, Oct 2013, 240p, $26.95pb. This comprehensive and critical introduction to the concept of globalization draws out the common threads between competing theories, as well as pinpointing the problems that challenge our understanding of globalization. Explains key terms such as ‘globalism’ and ‘globality’, and explores central themes like capitalism, governance, culture and history. Axford’s account also sheds new light on several crucial current issues: 1) the changing shape of democracy, citizen engagement, governance, 2) issues surrounding ‘just war’ and humane intervention, and 3) problems relating to empire and post-colonialism. (GLOBALIZATION: THEORIES AND ISSUES)

Global Energy Dilemmas. Michael Bradshaw (Prof of Global Energy, Warwick Business School; Prof of Human Geography, University of Leicester). Cambridge, UK: Polity Books, Nov 2013, 240p, $26.95pb. Today’s global energy system faces two major challenges: how to secure the supply of reliable and affordable energy; and how to rapidly transform to a low-carbon, efficient, and environmentally harmless energy supply. Bradshaw explores the key aspects of the current global energy dilemma and examines how it is playing out across the major regions and countries of the world. Topics include: 1) development of the current global energy system (with a focus on energy security and the relationship between energy, economic development and climate change); and 2) four distinct global energy dilemmas in different parts of the world. Developed World: the challenge of sustaining affluence and decarbonising energy services in their high-energy economies. Post-Socialist World: facing the legacies of the centrally planned economy and the consequences of liberalization. Emerging Regions: meeting growing energy demand and coping with emissions growth. Developing World: providing universal access to modern energy services in a manner that is both economically and environmentally sustainable. (ENERGY* GLOBAL ENERGY DILEMMAS)

Climate Governance in the Developing World. David Held (Durham University), Charles Roger (University of British Columbia) and Eva-Maria Nag (London School of Economics and Political Science). Cambridge, UK: Polity Books, Aug 2013, 272p, $24.95pb. Since 2009, a diverse group of developing states that includes China, Brazil, Ethiopia and Costa Rica has been advancing unprecedented pledges to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, offering new, unexpected signs of climate leadership. These targets are now even more ambitious than those put forward by their wealthier counterparts. But what really lies behind these new pledges? What actions are being taken to meet them? And what stumbling blocks lie in the way of their realization? The authors map the evolution of climate policies in each country and examine the complex array of actors, interests, institutions and ideas that has shaped their approaches to reveal the political, economic and environmental realities that underpin the pledges made by developing states, and which together determine the chances of success and failure. (CLIMATE GOVERNANCE* DEVELOPING STATES AND CLIMATE POLICY)

The End of the American Century: From 9/11 to the Arab Spring. David Held (Master of University College and Prof of Politics and International Relations, Durham University) and Kristian Coates Ulrichsen (London School of Economics and Political Science). Cambridge, UK: Polity Books, Dec 2013, 144p, 14.95pb. Addresses the major issues at the heart of a decade of transition-- from the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 to the onset of the Arab Spring. Documents the great rebalancing of the international order and anchors it in the context of intense globalizing processes and complex global challenge. (AMERICAN CENTURY AT END)

The Global Development Crisis. Ben Selwyn (Senior Lecturer in International Relations, University of Sussex). Cambridge, UK: Polity Books, March 2014, 224p, $24.95pb. The central paradox of the contemporary world is the simultaneous presence of wealth on an unprecedented scale, and mass poverty. Liberal theory explains the relationship between capitalism and poverty as one based around the dichotomy of inclusion (into capitalism) vs exclusion (from capitalism). Within this discourse, the global capitalist system is portrayed as a sphere of economic dynamism and as a source of developmental opportunities for less developed countries and their populations. Development policy should, therefore, seek to integrate the poor into the global capitalist system. In response, Selwyn argues that class relations are the central cause of poverty and inequality within and between countries, and advocates the concept of labor-centered development. (DEVELOPMENT CRISIS)

Gridlock: Why Global Cooperation is Failing When We Need It Most. Thomas Hale (University of Oxford), David Held (Durham University), and Kevin Young (University of Massachusetts-Amherst). Cambridge, UK: Polity Books, Aug 2013, 368p, $26.95pb (also as e-book). To manage the global economy, prevent runaway environmental destruction, reign in nuclear proliferation, or confront other global challenges, we must cooperate. But at the same time, our tools for global policymaking--chiefly state-to-state negotiations over treaties and international institutions--have broken down. The result is gridlock, which manifests across areas via a number of common mechanisms. The rise of new powers representing a more diverse array of interests makes agreement more difficult. Examines these mechanisms of gridlock and pathways beyond them. (GLOBAL GRIDLOCK* WORLD GOVERNANCE BREAKDOWN)

6. Lynne Rienner Publishers: 2013-14

Responding to Genocide: The Politics of International Action. Adam Lupel (Senior Fellow, International Peace Institute) and Ernesto Verdeja (Asst Prof of Pol Sci and Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame). Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, June 2013, 299p, $22pb. What are the causes of genocide and mass atrocities? How can we prevent these atrocities or, when that is no longer possible, intervene to stop them? What are the impediments to timely and robust action? In what ways do political factors shape the nature, and results, of international responses? The authors explore these questions, examining the many challenges involved in forging effective international policies to combat genocidal violence. Topics include: Genocide Definitions; Causes of Civil War and Genocide; Detection and Early Warning; Mediation and Diplomacy in Preventing Genocide; The Role of Transnational Civil Society; Role of Regional Organizations; Role of the UN Security Council; Politics, the U.N., and the Halting of Mass Atrocities; and Developing the Political Will to Respond. (GENOCIDE* WORLD GOVERNANCE AND GENOCIDE)

Annual Review of Global Peace Operations, 2013. Center on International Cooperation (New York University). Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, Aug 2013, 475p (8 1/2” x 11”), $27.50pb. Provides comprehensive information on all current military and civilian peace operations (more than 130 missions), launched by the United Nations, by regional organizations, and by coalitions. Presents the most detailed collection of data on peace operations available. The 2013 volume includes: 1) an analysis of the strategic and political implications of shifting trends in conflict for the leadership of both civilian and military peace operations; 2) a review of the deterrent effect of peace operations; 3) a summary analysis of trends and developments in peace operations in 2012; 3) concise analyses of all peacekeeping and political missions on the ground in 2012; 4) in-depth explorations of key missions, focusing on those that faced significant challenges or underwent major developments in 2012; 5) extensive full-color maps, figures, and photographs. (SECURITY* GLOBAL PEACE OPERATIONS)

Prohibiting Chemical and Biological Weapons: Multilateral Regimes and Their Evolution. Alexander Kelle (Senior Policy Officer, Office of Strategy and Policy, Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons). Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, Oct 2013, 287p, $63. Whether in the arsenals of states or of terrorist groups, chemical and biological weapons (CBW) are increasingly seen as one of the major threats to global security. Assesses the multilateral prohibition regimes that have been established to confront the risks posed by CBW in the context of rapid scientific and technological advances. Topics covered include: Institutionalism and the CBW Prohibition Regimes; Chemical and Biological Weapons; The Biological Weapons Prohibition Regime; The Chemical Weapons Prohibition Regime; Export Controls and International Cooperation; Terrorism with Chemical and Biological Weapons; Complementing the Multilateral Conventions; and Science, Policy, and Institutional Change. (SECURITY* CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS)

US National Security: Policymakers, Processes, and Politics (5th Edition). Sam C. Sarkesian (Prof Emeritus of Pol Sci, Loyola University, Chicago), John Allen Williams (Prof of Pol Sci, Loyola University; Chair and President, Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society), and Stephen J. Cimbala (Distinguished Prof of Pol Sci, Pennsylvania State University-Brandywine Campus). Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2013, 347p, $26.50pb. The 5th edition has been updated to reflect challenges faced by the Obama administration: the choices necessary in an increasingly budget-constrained environment, the broader range of national security issues, and the evolving nature of counterinsurgency doctrine and practice. Sections discuss 1) The National Security Context (Who’s Who in the International System; The Conflict Spectrum; National Security, Nuclear Weapons, and Arms Control; The US Political System); 2) The National Security Establishment (The President and the Presidency; The Policy Triad and the National Security Council; The Military Establishment; The Intelligence Establishment); 3) The National Security System and the Policy Process (The Policy Process; The President and Congress; Empowering the People; Civil-Military Relations); 4) Looking to the Future (Long-Range Issues of National Security; Making the System Work). (U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY* SECURITY)

Introducing Global Issues (5th edition). Edited by Michael T. Snarr (Assoc Prof of Social and Political Studies, Wilmington College) and D. Neil Snarr (Prof Emeritus of Sociology, Wilmington College). Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2012, 371p, $26.50. The conflict in Libya, concerns over Iran’s nuclear program, the global recession, debates about climate change, the importance of human security, and the growing impact of technology all are reflected in this revised and updated edition. Covers the full range of global issues, from conflict and security, to the economy and economic development, to the environment. Each chapter provides an analytical overview of the issues addressed, identifies the central actors and perspectives, and outlines past progress and future prospects. Discussion questions are posed to enhance students’ appreciation of the complexities involved, and suggestions for further reading additionally enrich the text. (GLOBAL ISSUES TEXTBOOK* WORLD FUTURES)

Will This Be China’s Century? A Skeptic’s View. Mel Gurtov (Prof Emeritus of Pol Sci, Portland State University; Editor in chief, Asian Perspective). Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2013, 205p, $19.95pb. Gurtov takes issue with the widespread view that China is on the way to rivaling or even displacing the United States as the dominant world power. Serious constraints will keep the country’s leadership focused for the foreseeable future on challenges at home. China’s economic rise has exacerbated problems of social inequality, environmental degradation, official corruption, and more—and its military capabilities and ambitions are far more limited than many observers have suggested. The most productive US policy will be one of engagement on issues of common concern, rather than confrontation or containment. [NOTE: For an extensive review, see GlobalForesightBooks.org Book of the Month, Dec 2013.] (THE U.S. AND CHINA * CHINA’S CENTURY?)

Debating Human Rights. Daniel P. L. Chong (Asst Prof of Pol Sci, Rollins College). Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, April 2014, 277p, $25 (textbook binding). Even as human rights provide the most widely shared moral language of our time, they also spark highly contested debates among scholars and policymakers. When should states protect human rights? Does the global war on terror necessitate the violation of some rights? Are food, housing, and health care valid human rights? Chong examines 14 controversies in the field and presents the major arguments on both sides of each debate. Designed for classroom use, the structure of the book makes it easy for students to become familiar with the major political and legal actors in the global human rights system and to understand the practical challenges of protecting civil, political, social, and economic rights. (HUMAN RIGHTS DEBATES: TEXTBOOK)

Exploring the Global Financial Crisis. Edited by Alan W. Cafruny (Prof of International Affairs, Hamilton College) and Herman M. Schwartz (Prof of Politics, University of Virginia). Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2013, 263p, $59.95. Have the financial crisis of 2008 and the subsequent recession rearranged the basic structures of the global economy? To answer that fundamental question, the authors tackle a number of related questions: What has happened to global flows of people, goods, and capital? Will the euro and the dollar persist as global currencies? Can governments that bailed out failing banks by vastly expanding public debt manage to regain solvency, and at what political cost? Both mainstream and critical views on the central issues involved are presented. (ECONOMIC CRISIS* GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS)

Development and Underdevelopment: The Political Economy of Global Inequality (5th edition). Edited by Mitchell A. Seligson (Prof of Pol Sci, Vanderbilt University) and John T Passé-Smith (Prof of Pol Sci, University of Central Arkansas). Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2013, 461p, $28.50pb. This edition includes 14 new chapters that look even more deeply at long-term factors that help to explain the origins and current trends in the gap between rich and poor. An entirely new section focuses on natural resource and environmental issues, and the appendix of wealth and inequality indicators has been fully revised. A short introduction to each selection highlights its significance. Topics include the gap between rich and poor countries, historical origins of the gap, income inequality within nations, different views on convergence or divergence, culture and underdevelopment, world systems theory and dependency, what makes countries rich or poor, the natural resource curse, and climate change and economic growth. (DEVELOPMENT* GLOBAL INEQUALITY)

Humane Migration: Establishing Legitimacy and Rights for Displaced People. Christine G.T. Ho (School of Human and Organization Development, Fielding Graduate University) and James Loucky (Prof of Anthropology, Western Washington University). Boulder CO: Kumarian Press/Lynne Rienner, 2012, 215p, $24.95pb. Arguing that migration should be considered a human right, not a criminal act, the authors discuss why groups migrate, the obstacles that they face, and the benefits that they bring to their adopted communities. They also explore the impact of the anti-immigration rhetoric that is prevalent in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Topics include: The Humanity of Migration, Why Migration Happens during globalization, The Global Immigration Panic, Criminalizing Migrants and Containing Migration, Learning From Others and Living With Others, the Right to Move, and The Right to Be. (HUMANE MIGRATION* MIGRATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS)

Curtailing Corruption: People Power for Accountability and Justice. Shaazka Beyerle (Senior Adviser, International Center on Nonviolent Conflict and visiting scholar, Center for Transatlantic Relations, Johns Hopkins University). Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, July 2014, 325p, $25pb. How do citizens counter corruption and exact accountability from power holders? What strategic value does people power bring to the anticorruption struggle? Can bottom-up, citizen-based strategies complement and reinforce top-down anticorruption efforts? Beyerle explores how millions of people around the world have refused to be victims of corruption and become instead the protagonists of successful nonviolent civic movements to gain accountability and promote positive political, social, and economic change. Chapters discuss The Anti-Corruption Paradigm Shift, Approaches to Curbing Corruption, Blacklisting Corrupt Candidates in Korea, Digital Resistance for Clean Politicians in Brazil, Citizens Protecting an Anticorruption Commission in Indonesia, Nonviolent Resistance Against the Mafia in Italy, Community Monitoring for Postwar Transformation in Afghanistan, Citizens Against Corruption in India, Curbing Police Corruption in Uganda, etc. (CORRUPTION AND GOVERNANCE* ANTI-CORRUPTION: CITIZEN STRATEGIES)

7. Polity/Environmental Studies: 2012

The Governance of Climate Change. Edited by David Held (Prof of Political Science, London School of Economics and Political Science), Marika Theros (Research Officer, LSE Global Governance), and Angus Fane-Hervey (Ph.D. Candidate, London School of Economics and Political Science). Cambridge UK: Polity Books, April 2011, 256p, $24.95pb (also as e-book). How should we manage the types of risk posed by anthropogenic climate change? The problem is multi-faceted, and involves not only technical and policy-specific approaches, but also questions of social justice and sustainability. Contributors examine the intersection between the science, politics, economics and ethics of climate change, offer a critical new approach to thinking about climate change, and help express a common desire for a more equitable society and a more sustainable way of life. (CLIMATE CHANGE GOVERNANCE)

Disasters Without Borders: The International Politics of Natural Disasters. John Hannigan (Prof of Sociology, University of Toronto). Cambridge, UK: Polity Books, Oct 2012, 256p, $24.95pb (also as e-book). Dramatic scenes of devastation and suffering caused by disasters, such as the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami, are viewed with shock and horror by millions across the world. The less visible international politics of disaster aid, mitigation and prevention condition the collective response to natural catastrophes around the world. Hannigan argues that the global community of nations has failed time and again in establishing an effective and binding multilateral mechanism for coping with disasters, especially in the more vulnerable countries of the South. Tracing the historical evolution of this policy field from its humanitarian origins in WWI to current efforts that cast climate change as the prime global driver of disaster risk, Hannigan highlights the ongoing mismatch between the way disaster has been conceptualized and the institutional architecture in place to manage it. The confluence of four emerging trends – politicization/militarization, catastrophic scenario building, privatization of risk, and quantification-- could create a new system of disaster management wherein ‘insurance logic’ will replace humanitarian concern as the guiding principle. (DISASTER POLITICS * DISASTER MITIGATION/PREVENTION)

8. Transaction: Spring-Summer 2014

Mandate Madness: How Congress Forces States and Localities to Do Its Bidding and Pay for the Privilege. James T. Bennett (Prof of Economics, George Mason University; founder and editor, Journal of Labor Research). Piscataway NJ: Transaction Publishers, May 2014, 301p, $39.95pb (also as e-book). What do drivers’ licenses that function as national ID cards, nationwide standardized tests for third graders, the late unlamented 55 mile per hour speed limit, the outlawing of the eighteen-year-old beer drinker, and the disappearing mechanical lever voting machine have in common? Each is the product of an unfunded federal mandate: a concept that politicians of both parties profess to oppose in theory but which in practice they often find irresistible as a means of forcing state and local governments to do their bidding, while paying for the privilege. Explores the history, debate, and political gamesmanship surrounding unfunded federal mandates, examines legislative efforts to rein in or repeal unfunded federal mandates, and reviews the treatment of unfunded mandates by the federal courts. (GOVERNMENT * FEDERAL MANDATES QUESTIONED)

Hatred, Lies, and Violence in the World of Islam. Raphael Israeli (Prof of Islamic, Chinese, and Middle Eastern History, Hebrew University). Piscataway NJ: Transaction Publishers, June 2014, 358p, $39.95 (also as e-book). Examines the flood of anti-Israeli, anti-Jewish, and anti-Zionist propaganda that permeates many Muslim societies, and locates the source of this anti-Semitic sentiment in the inadequacies and insecurities of Muslim states. By demonizing and delegitimizing Israel and Jews, Israeli claims, they seek to eliminate a successful counterexample of their own failures, thus putting an end to their own “humiliation.” Case-studies illustrate the premises of this study: the Palestinians, who have a direct stake in battling Israel; Turkey, which now claims leadership of the Arab and Sunni Muslim worlds; and Shi’ite Iran, which provides a more extreme example of both hatred and disregard for fact and history while threatening to destroy Israel. (ANTI-SEMITISM* MUSLIM STATES * MIDDLE EAST)

Totalitarianism, Globalization, Colonialism: The Destruction of Civilization since 1914. Harry Redner (Reader, Monash University, Australia; Former Visiting Professor, Yale University, University of California–Berkeley, and Harvard University). Piscataway NJ: Transaction Publishers, May 2014, 353p, $44.95 (also as e-book). The century that began in 1914 with the outbreak of the First World War has been catastrophic. Over the course of that one-hundred year span, civilizations were destroyed in the Old World, the New World, and the Third World, the latter represented by China, India, and Islam. In Europe the main agent of destruction was totalitarianism; in America it was globalization, ushered in by modernity; and in the non-Western world it was colonialism, followed later by totalitarianism and globalization. Redner examines each of these processes, providing theoretical and historical accounts of their emergence. In the midst of unprecedented material affluence and organizational efficiency, one that uses advanced technologies and cutting-edge scientific knowledge, we are also sinking into an unprecedented cultural, moral, intellectual, and spiritual decline. (CIVILIZATION DESTROYED IN 20TH CENTURY* WORLD FUTURES* TOTALITARIAN* GLOBALIZATION* COLONIALISM)

Environment Reporters in the 21st Century. David B. Sachsman (Chair of Excellence in Communication and Public Affairs, University of Tennessee-Chattanooga), James Simon (Chair and Prof of English, Fairfield University), and JoAnn Meyer Valenti (Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science). Piscataway NJ: Transaction Publishers, April 2010, 256p, $45.95 (pb edition, June 2014, $24.95; also as e-book). Explores development of the environmental beat as a specialty during the last 30 years, and discusses broader trends within American journalism resulting from technological changes that challenge traditional mediums, especially newspapers and magazines. The authors review the literature, describe the results of their research, and provide in-depth accounts of environment reporters at work. Journalists mediate the constant struggle among thousands of scientists, environmental activist, corporate public relations people, and government officials. (ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISTS* JOURNALISM AND THE ENVIRONMENT)

Government Abuse: Fraud, Waste, and Incompetence in Awarding Contracts in the United States. William Sims Curry (Fellow, National Contract Management Association). Piscataway NJ: Transaction Publishers, May 2014, 249p, $54.95 (also as e-book). A certified professional contracts manager writes that government contracting is plagued by nefarious, amateurish, and criminal behavior. By awarding government contracts to corporations as compensation for lavish gifts and personal favors, the United States government fails to serve the public interest effectively and honestly. Curry identifies and categorizes multiple deficiencies in how government contractors are selected, and proposes how reforms can be instituted. Since much abuse originates from the mandated but ineffective practice of color coding rating proposals and a subjective ratings system, Curry calls for replacing the current practice with a scoring system that weighs contractor selection criteria according to government needs. (GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING FRAUD* CONTRACTING REFORM NEEDED)

Globalization: Interdependencies & Coordination. Jan-Erik Lane (Prof of Comparative Politics, University of Umea, University of Oslo, and University of Geneva). Piscataway NJ: Transaction Publishers, July 2014, 376p, $59.95 (also as e-book). Efforts at coordination between nations are at the heart of the challenges of globalization. Despite steadily growing interdependencies, individual nations still have specific interests that present obstacles to globalization. Lane analyzes four kinds of challenges to interdependency, all of which are growing in geopolitical relevance: 1) countries need to diminish their dependency on fossil fuel and shift to a reliable supply of energy; 2) environmental degradation must be addressed, because it is accelerating under the strain of earth’s population; 3) a single global market economy and its complexities must be addressed, as national economies are increasingly opened; and 4) as traditional state sovereignty weakens, foreign military intervention in both international and intra-state conflicts increases. Discusses international organizations and regionalism, reviews international law, warns against utopian hopes of global constitutionalism, and examines potential consequences of failing to address the need for coordination in efforts to address shared global challenges. (GLOBALIZATION: COORDINATION CHALLENGES* INTERDEPENDENCY AND GLOBALIZATION)

Sports, Peacebuilding and Ethics. Edited by Linda M. Johnston (Executive Director, Siegel Institute for Leadership, Ethics, and Character; Prof, Kennesaw State University; President, International Peace Research Association Foundation). Peace & Policy Series, Vol. 18. Piscataway NJ: Transaction Publishers, Feb 2014, 211p, $40pb (also as e-book). Sports can be an effective mechanism for peacebuilding, especially when incorporated into conflict-resolution programs. Such programs have been designed to bring children together in post-conflict situations with an ultimate goal of reducing future violence. To examine their effectiveness, contributors look at various aspects of culture and how they can help shape sports programs; the role of a coach in creating a culture of peace, and how this culture can fit into a peacebuilding process; the role of sports in trauma relief programs in Rwanda; the role of universities in sports; and the role of sports in the demilitarization of child soldiers. (SPORTS AND PEACEBUILDING* SECURITY)

Green Energy Economies: The Search for Clean and Renewable Energy. Energy and Environmental Policy, Vol. 10. Edited by John Byrne (Distinguished Prof of Energy and Climate Policy, University of Delaware; Chairman of the Board, Foundation for Renewable Energy and Environment) and Young-Doo Wang (Assoc Director, Center for Energy and Environmental Policy, University of Delaware). Piscataway NJ: Transaction Publishers, May 2014, 381p, $49.95pb (also as e-book). Discusses the major drivers that are shaping a new future powered by clean energy sources. Details the promises and problems of a green energy transition, explores the economic benefits that a comprehensive strategy toward a green energy economy might create, investigates how communities will be affected, suggests the social and cultural changes that are likely to result, and describes the shift toward new technologies. Concludes with policy options that support a transition to a better energy, environmental, and economic future. (GREEN ENERGY TRANSITION* RENEWABLE ENERGY)

Understanding Globalization: A Multi-Dimensional Approach. Kavous Ardalan (Prof of Finance, Marist College). Piscataway NJ: Transaction Publishers, June 2014, 301p, $54.95 (also as e-book). Discusses eight dimensions of globalization—world order, culture, the state, information technology, economics, production, development, and Bretton Woods Institutions—from the perspective of four diverse sociological paradigms: functionalist, interpretive, radical humanist, and radical structuralist. Each of these four paradigms is founded on different assumptions about the nature of social science, and each one generates useful theories, concepts, and analytical tools. Ardalan’s method facilitates distancing from one’s favored paradigm and appreciating other approaches to view globalization through new eyes. (GLOBALIZATION: ALTERNATIVE VIEWS)

Seeking Balance: Philosophical Issues in Globalization and Policy Making. A. Pablo Iannone (Prof of Philosophy, Central Connecticut State University). Piscataway NJ: Transaction Publishers, July 2014, 360p, $59.95 (also as e-book). Provides a taxonomy of globalization processes, investigates the consequences of each, and formulates a comprehensive approach for dealing with them. Focuses on concrete and current cases, from the global economic and financial issues posed by the multi-centered nature of contemporary business and technology, through the pressures of ever increasing information overload across the planet. Explores the environmental and social challenges associated with current Amazonian development and its significance to weather patterns on Earth. Iannone’s approach, while based on theoretical concerns, is grounded in highly practical applications that are global in their implications. (GLOBALIZATION ISSUES)

9. Transaction: Fall-Winter 2013

From Arab Spring to Islamic Winter. Raphael Israeli (Prof of Islamic, Chinese, and Middle Eastern History, Hebrew University). Piscataway NJ: Transaction Publishers, Sept 2013, 338p, $39.95 (also as e-book). The term “Arab Spring” associates the unrest with ideas of renewal, revival, and democratic thought and deed. While many hoped the overthrow of authoritarian leaders signaled a promising new beginning for the Arab world, Israeli argues that instead of paving a path toward liberal democracy, the Arab Spring in fact launched a power struggle. In Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Syria, and Libya, it appears that Islamic governments will fill the vacuum in leadership. It becomes increasingly clear that democratic outcomes are not on the horizon. The West seems to have abandoned its hopes for democracy and freedom in the region, instead making peace with the idea that Islamic governments must be accepted as the lesser of evil options. (MIDDLE EAST* ISLAMIC GOVERNMENTS)

Reflections on the Modern and the Global. Bruce Mazlish (Emeritus Prof of History, MIT; Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences). Piscataway NJ: Transaction Publishers, Oct 2013, 170p, $39.95 (also as e-book). Over the past 500 years, historians and other social scientists have perceived an extraordinary occurrence: the transition from the Middle Ages, via the Renaissance, to modernity. Equally remarkable has been the transition taking place in the last 50 years from modernity to globalization, a period marked by increasing interdependency and interconnectivity, as evidenced by events such as the advent of the computer. Mazlish sees modernity as strongly marked by its insistence on freedom of political and religious thought and the rights of man (later expanded to include women). Such changes did not happen all at once, but as a gradual development. While some prefer to contemplate the transition from the modern to the global as a continuous, seamless development, Mazlish argues that post-WWII developments are best understood in terms of a break or a “rupture.” The process was further accelerated by the computer revolution, the launching of artificial satellites, and the events of 1989. (WORLD FUTURES* MODERNITY * GLOBALIZATION)

Suspicious Gifts: Bribery, Morality, and Professional Ethics. Malin Åkerström (Prof of Sociology, Lund University, Sweden). Piscataway NJ: Transaction Publishers, Nov 2013, 208p, $49.95 (also as e-book). Gifts have been given and received in all eras and societies; they are part of a universal human exchange. The importance of creating and sustaining social bonds with the help of gifts is widely acknowledged by social scientists, not only from anthropological but also from economic, sociological, and political science perspectives. Contemporary anti-corruption campaigns, however, have led gifts to be viewed with ever-increasing suspicion, because it is feared that the social bonds created by gift giving may contaminate professional decision-making. Investigates the sensitive issue of gift exchanges and how they become an object of contention; considers the moral dilemmas presented by bribes and gift giving as experienced by Swedish aid workers and professionals working in the public sector, business, and adoption agencies; and highlights the tensions between strict regulations designed to prevent corruption with the human affection for the institution of gift giving. (GIFTS AND BRIBERY* CORRUPTION* ETHICS)

A Treatise on Good Robots. Edited by Krzysztof Tchon (Professor of Automation and Robotics, Institute of Computer Engineering, Control and Robotics, Wroclaw University of Technology, Poland), and Wojciech W. Gasparski (Professor Emeritus of Humanities, Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw). Piscataway NJ: Transaction Publishers, Dec 2013, 216p, $59.95 (also as e-book). Robots will become involved not only in mundane domestic tasks such as washing dishes, but also in providing health care to the disabled and companionship to the elderly. Investigates the ways emerging technologies in the fields of robotics and bio-robotics are influencing society. Considers both philosophical and technological study of robots, including what it means for robots to exist as good and moral entities, and how they benefit humans and enhance their quality of life. Contributors address artificial intelligence and social functions as well as technical matters. (ROBOTICS AND SOCIETY* ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND ETHICS)

Multi-Secularism: A New Agenda. Paul Kurtz (President, Prometheus Books and Prof Emeritus of Philosophy, State University of New York-Buffalo). Piscataway NJ: Transaction Publishers, March 2010, 271p, $45.95 (pb. Edition, Jan 2014; also as e-book). The contemporary world is witness to an intense controversy about secularism. This controversy has intensified due to the presence of fundamentalism, which challenges secular society, and the secularization of philosophical ideas and ethical values. Secularists maintain that the state should not impose a religious creed upon citizens and should respect freedom of conscience, and the right to believe or disbelieve in the prevailing orthodoxy. Kurtz argues that secularism needs to be allied to the emergence of democratic institutions that respect individual freedom and the pluralistic society. A defense of secularism entails a defense of the civic virtues of democracy, which include toleration of dissent and alternative lifestyles and the willingness to negotiate differences. Secularism will take different forms in different societies; the term multi-secularism best describes these forms. (SECULARISM EVOLVING* MULTI-SECULARISM)

Predicting the Unthinkable, Anticipating the Impossible: From the Fall of the Berlin Wall to America in the New Century. Georgie Anne Geyer (foreign correspondent; syndicated columnist, currently with Universal Press Syndicate). Piscataway NJ: Transaction Publishers, Dec 2013, 345p, $29.95p (also as e-book; first published, in 2011). Geyer argues that during this era of “indispensable power” as the “greatest power the world has known,” the United States actually had started on the road to decline. It had won the Cold War, but immediately embarked upon more Vietnam-like small wars of tremendous cost in Iraq and Afghanistan. Across the board, it is no longer paying its way, while its domestic culture is being vulgarized at every turn. Geyer explains how, when, and where these declines happened. [NOTE: This paperback edition includes a new preface by the author.] (AMERICAN PREEMINENCE CHALLENGED* AMERICAN DECLINE* WORLD FUTURES)

*****

1. University of Chicago: Spring 2014

House of Debt: How They (and You) Caused the Great Recession, and How We Can Prevent It from Happening Again. Atif Mian (Prof of Economics and Public Policy, Princeton University) and Amir Sufi (Prof of Finance, University of Chicago School of Business). Chicago IL: University of Chicago Press, May 2014, 192p, $26 (also as e-book).The Great American Recession resulted in the loss of eight million jobs between 2007 and 2009. More than four million homes were lost to foreclosures. The Great Recession and Great Depression, as well as the current economic malaise in Europe, were caused by a large run-up in household debt followed by a significantly large drop in household spending. Current policy is too heavily biased toward protecting banks and creditors. Increasing the flow of credit is disastrously counterproductive when the fundamental problem is too much debt. Excessive household debt leads to foreclosures, causing individuals to spend less and save more. Less spending means less demand for goods, followed by declines in production and huge job losses. We can end such a cycle with a direct attack on debt. More aggressive debt forgiveness after the crash helps, but we can be rid of painful bubble-and-bust episodes only if the financial system moves away from its reliance on inflexible debt contracts. The authors advocate new mortgage contracts that are built on the principle of risk-sharing. (ECONOMY* FINANCIAL CRISIS * DEBT AND RISK-SHARING)

Hope on Earth: A Conversation. Paul R. Ehrlich (Prof of Population Studies and President, Center for Conservation Biology, Stanford University) and Michael Charles Tobias (Ecologist, author, filmmaker, and President, Dancing Star Foundation). Chicago IL: University of Chicago Press, April 2014, 200p, $20 (also as e-book). We are on the verge of environmental catastrophe, as the human population continues to grow without restraint and without significant attempts to deal with overconsumption and the vast depletion of resources and climate problems it creates. For Ehrlich and Tobias, ethics involve not only how we treat other people directly, but how we treat them and other organisms indirectly through our effects on the environment. The authors break down complex social problems and discuss many controversial topics such as circumcision, religion, reproduction, abortion, animal rights, diet, and gun control. (ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHE* OVERPOPULATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT* OVERCONSUMPTION AND THE ENVIRONMENT)

Second Growth: The Promise of Tropical Forest Regeneration in an Age of Deforestation. Robin L. Chazdon (Prof of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut). Chicago IL: University of Chicago Press, May 2014, 472p, $45pb. For decades, conservation and research initiatives in tropical forests have focused almost exclusively on old-growth forests, because scientists believed that these “pristine” ecosystems housed superior levels of biodiversity. Chazdon reveals those assumptions to be largely false, bringing to the fore the previously overlooked counterpart to old-growth forest: second growth. Even as human activities result in extensive fragmentation and deforestation, tropical forests demonstrate a great capacity for natural and human-aided regeneration. Although these damaged landscapes can take centuries to regain the characteristics of old growth, regenerating—or second-growth—forests are vital, dynamic reservoirs of biodiversity and environmental services. Chapters focus on the roles these forests play in carbon and nutrient cycling, and underscore the need to conserve regenerating tropical forests in an attempt to inspire a new age of local and global stewardship. (FOREST REGENERATION* TROPICAL FORESTS)

Arresting Citizenship: The Democratic Consequences of American Crime Control. Amy E. Lerman (Asst Prof of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley) and Vesla M. Weaver (Asst Prof of African American Studies and Political Science, Yale University). Chicago IL: University of Chicago Press, April 2014, 312p, $25pb (also as e-book). Never before has the American government maintained so vast a network of institutions dedicated solely to the control and confinement of its citizens. One-third of America’s adult population has passed through the criminal justice system and now has a criminal record. Many more were never convicted, but are nonetheless subject to surveillance by the state. The broad reach of the criminal justice system has fundamentally recast the relation between citizen and state, resulting in a sizable—and growing—group of second-class citizens. From police stops to court cases and incarceration, at each stage of the criminal justice system individuals belonging to this disempowered group come to experience a state-within-a-state that reflects few of the country’s core democratic values. This contact with police, courts, and prisons decreases faith in the capacity of American political institutions to respond to citizens’ concerns and diminishes the sense of full and equal citizenship. Lerman and Weaver offer concrete proposals for reforms to reincorporate this large group of citizens as active participants in American civic and political life. (CRIME CONTROL AND CITIZENSHIP* CRIMINAL JUSTICE IN U.S. QUESTIONED)

The American Warfare State: The Domestic Politics of Military Spending. Rebecca U. Thorpe (Asst Prof of Political Science, University of Washington). Chicago IL: University of Chicago Press, April 2014, 248p, $25pb. How is it that the United States—a country founded on a distrust of standing armies and strong centralized power—came to have the most powerful military in history? Thorpe argues that there are profound relationships among the size and persistence of the American military complex, the growth in presidential power to launch military actions, and the decline of congressional willingness to check this power. The public costs of military mobilization and war, including the need for conscription and higher tax rates, served as political constraints on warfare for most of American history. But the vast defense industry that emerged from World War II also created new political interests that the framers of the Constitution did not anticipate. Many rural and semirural areas became economically reliant on defense-sector jobs and capital, which gave the legislators representing them powerful incentives to press for ongoing defense spending regardless of national security circumstances or goals. At the same time, the costs of war are now borne overwhelmingly by a minority of soldiers who volunteer to fight, future generations of taxpayers, and foreign populations in whose lands wars often take place. This new incentive structure has profoundly reshaped the balance of wartime powers between Congress and the president, resulting in a defense industry perennially poised for war and an executive branch that enjoys unprecedented discretion to take military action.(SECURITY* MILITARY SPENDING IN U.S.* WARFARE STATE IN U.S.)

The Good Project: Humanitarian Relief NGOs and the Fragmentation of Reason. Monika Krause (Dept of Sociology, Goldsmiths, University of London). Chicago IL: University of Chicago Press, May 2014, 240p, $27.50pb (also as e-book). NGOs set out to save lives, relieve suffering, and attend to basic human needs. They are committed to serving people across national borders, without regard to race, ethnicity, gender, or religion. And they offer crucial help during earthquakes, tsunamis, wars, and pandemics. But with so many ailing areas in need of assistance, how do these organizations decide where to go—and who gets the aid? Relief agencies try to help people but, in practical terms, the main focus of their work is to produce projects. Agencies sell projects to key institutional donors, and in the process the project and its beneficiaries become commodities. In an effort to guarantee a successful project, organizations are incentivized to help those who are easy to help, while those who are hardest to help often receive no assistance at all. The poorest of the world are made to compete against each other to become projects—and in exchange they offer legitimacy to aid agencies and donor governments. Explains how NGOs succeed and fail on a local and global level. (NGO HELP: EFFECTIVENESS QUESTIONED* HUMANITARIANISM AND NGOS)

American School Reform: What Works, What Fails, and Why. Joseph P. McDonald (Prof of Teaching and Learning, New York University) and the Cities and Schools Research Group. Chicago IL: University of Chicago Press, April 2014, 208p, $25pb (also as e-book). Education policy often gets so ambitious that implementing it becomes a near impossibility. Action space, however, is what takes shape when talented educators, leaders, and reformers guide the social capital of civic leaders and the financial capital of governments, foundations, corporations, and other backers toward true results. The authors explore such extraordinary collaborations and their influences on future efforts, showing that reform efforts can work, and that our schools can be made better. Specifically, McDonald and his colleagues evaluate the half-billion-dollar Annenberg Challenge launched in 1994, alongside other large-scale reform efforts that have taken place in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and the San Francisco Bay Area. (SCHOOL REFORM* EDUCATION POLICY)

Measuring Economic Sustainability and Progress. Edited by Dale W. Jorgenson (University Prof of Economics, Harvard University), J. Steven Landefeld (Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis, US Dept of Commerce), and Paul Schreyer (Deputy Chief Statistician, OECD). National Bureau of Economic Research, July 2014, 808p, $130 (also as e-book). Since the Great Depression, researchers and statisticians have recognized the need for more extensive methods for measuring economic growth and sustainability. The latest volume in the NBER’s Studies in Income and Wealth series explores collaborative solutions between academics, policy researchers, and official statisticians to some of today’s most important economic measurement challenges. Contributors extend past research on the integration and extension of national accounts to establish an even more comprehensive understanding of the distribution of economic growth and its impact on well-being, including health, human capital, and the environment. (ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY STATISTICS* WELL-BEING STATISTICS* ECONOMIC GROWTH MEASURES)

Economic Regulation and Its Reform: What Have We Learned? Edited by Nancy L. Rose (Prof of Economics, MIT). National Bureau of Economic Research, July 2014, 704p, $110 (also as e-book). The past thirty years have witnessed a transformation of government economic intervention in broad segments of industry throughout the world. Many industries historically subject to economic price and entry controls have been largely deregulated, including natural gas, trucking, airlines, and commercial banking. However, recent concerns about market power in restructured electricity markets, airline industry instability amid chronic financial stress, and the challenges created by the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act have led to calls for renewed market intervention. Chapters discuss Antitrust and Regulation; Regulatory Reform in the Airline Industry; Cable Regulation in the Internet Era; Regulating Competition in Wholesale Electricity Supply; Electricity Distribution and Transmission Networks; Telecommunications Regulation; Regulation of the Pharmaceutical-Biotechnology Industry; Regulation and Deregulation of the US Banking Industry; and Retail Securities Regulation in the Aftermath of the Bubble. (ECONOMIC REGULATION: REFORM)

The Thinking Person’s Guide to Climate Change. Robert Henson (Editor, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder CO; contributing editor, Weatherwise magazine). Boston: American Meteorological Society, April 2014, 497p, $30pb. Part 1: “The Basics” offers a primer on climate change, the greenhouse effect, and who is responsible. Part 2: “Symptoms” covers signs such as melting ice and extreme weather. Part 3: “Science” lays out what we know and how we figured it out. Part 4: “Debates and Solutions” tackles the arguments and counterarguments, what is needed to fix global warming, political solutions on the global level, and technological solutions (CCS, renewables, nuclear, efficiency). Part 5: “What Can You Do” discusses what we can do as individuals and communities to create the best possible future. Full-color illustrations offer explanations of everything from how the greenhouse effect traps heat to which activities in everyday life emit the most carbon. Special-feature boxes zoom in on locations across the globe already experiencing the effects of a shifting climate. The Guide combines years of data with recent research, including conclusions from the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In the Foreword, we are advised that “Society has reached a critical point with climate change… The choices we make over the next several years will help set the direction for civilization (and Earth’s climate) for decades and centuries to come.” (p. xi) [NOTE: A well-written and fair-minded treatment of this complex, overriding issue, assisted by a 30-page index. Highly recommended. This is an updated and expanded edition of Henson’s Rough Guide to Climate Change, previously published in the UK.] (CLIMATE CHANGE: INTRODUCTION)

Early School Leaving and Youth Unemployment. Edited by Saskia de Groof (Coordinator, P&V Foundation, Brussels) and Mark Elchardus (Prof Emeritus of Sociology, Free University in Brussels; Chairman, P&V Foundation). Amsterdam University Press, Feb 2014, 320p, $37.50pb. School dropout rates and youth unemployment top social and political agendas throughout Europe. Observers fear that educational failure and chronic joblessness will give rise to a lost generation of young people with seriously diminished prospects. Contributors explore the causes and effects of high dropout rates and youth unemployment, and suggest evidence-based strategies for combating the two problems. (YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT* SCHOOL DROPOUTS)

Making Migration Work: The Future of Labour Migration in the European Union. Edited by Jan Willem Holtslag, Monique Kremer, and Erik Schrijvers (all Scientific Council for Government Policy, Netherlands). Amsterdam University Press, May 2014, 126p, $33.50pb. Largely because of the European Union’s two-phase expansion in 2004 and 2007, labor migration across the continent has changed significantly in recent years. Notably, the EU’s policy of open borders has enabled a growing stream of workers to leave new member states in search of higher wages. As a result, the nature, scale, and direction of migration flows have changed dramatically. Explores how policy can—and should—address these changes as well as considers the future trajectory of a phenomenon that has become an increasingly sensitive political issue in many European nations. Key topics include: How to Make Migration Work?; The Global and European Neighbourhood Migration Systems: Trends, Policy Choices, Governance Challenges and a Look Ahead; Satisfying Labour Needs in an Ageing Society; Migrant Workers: Inevitability or Policy Choice?; Intra-EU Labour Mobility after Eastern Enlargement and During the Crisis: Main Trends and Controversies; Labour Migration from Central and Eastern Europe and the Implications for Integration Policy; and More Differentiated Integration Policy. (LABOR MIGRATION IN THE EU)

The Essence of Corporate Scenarios: Learning from the Shell Experience. Angela Wilkinson (Counselor for Strategic Foresight, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) and Roland Kupers (Associate Fellow, Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford). Amsterdam University Press, March 2014, 185p,
$37.50pb. In 1965, Royal Dutch Shell started experimenting with a new approach to preparing for the future. This approach, called scenario planning, eschewed forecasting in favor of plausible alternative stories. By using scenarios, Shell aimed to avoid the false assumption that the future would look much like the present—an assumption that marred most corporate planning at the time. Offers insight into the company’s innovative practice, which still has a huge influence on the way businesses, governments, and other organizations think about and plan for the future. Describes the qualities of successful scenarios, which above all must be plausible stories with logical trajectories. Wilkinson (formerly on the Shell scenario staff) and Kupers demonstrate the value of scenario planning as a sustained practice, rather than as a one-off exercise. (SCENARIO PLANNING* SHELL’S SCENARIOS)

The Domestic Sources of European Foreign Policy: Defence and Enlargement. Omar Serrano (Senior Researcher and Lecturer, University of Lucerne, Switzerland). Amsterdam University Press, Feb 2014, 200p, $56.50pb. When it comes to formulating foreign and pan-European policies, the European Union faces myriad challenges. These difficulties and their origins, with particular attention to the ways internal EU debates are influenced by domestic politics and political actors who legitimize or constrain support for shared policies. Also discusses whether a democratic deficit exists in EU foreign policy, the domestic approach to European foreign policy, security and defence policies, the Lisbon Treaty, national priorities and capabilities, statistical analysis, EU enlargement, etc. (EUROPEAN FOREIGN POLICY* SECURITY IN THE EU)

Work and Care under Pressure: Care Arrangements Across Europe. Edited by Blanche Le Bihan (Prof of Political Science, School of Public Health – EHESP, Paris), Claude Martin (Research Prof, National Center for Scientific Research and Chair of Social Care, School of Public Health – EHESP, Paris), and Trudie Knijn (Prof of Interdisciplinary Social Science and Head, Center for Social Policy and Intervention Studies, Utrecht University, Netherlands). Amsterdam University Press, Feb 2014, 200p, $37.50pb. In many European countries tensions have arisen between the demands of the labor market and the caregiving responsibilities workers must fulfill at home. Examining these tensions, the authors focus on two groups of people who must juggle work and caregiving: parents of young children who work nonstandard hours, and working adults who care for older parents. Sheds light on the social effects of national policies and the choices made by caregivers. (CAREGIVING IN THE EU* CAREGIVING AND LABOR MARKET)

Mobility in Transition: Migration Patterns after EU Enlargement. Edited by Birgit Glorius (Assoc Prof of Human Geography of Central Eastern Europe, Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany), Izabela Grabowska-Lusinska (Research Fellow, Center of Migration Research, University of Warsaw), and Aimee Kuvik (doctoral student, University of Amsterdam). Amsterdam University Press, June 2014, 332p, $49.95pb. Ten central and eastern European countries, along with Cyprus and Malta, joined the European Union in two waves between 2004 and 2007. Presents new research on the patterns of migration that resulted from the EU’s enlargement; identifies and analyzes several new groups of migrants, notably young people without family obligations or clear plans for the future; and includes case studies on migrants from Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Latvia—as well as on destination countries such as the United Kingdom and Germany. (MIGRATION TRENDS IN THE EU)

The Shame of It: Global Perspectives on Anti-Poverty Policies. Edited by Erika K. Gubrium (Asst Prof, Oslo University College, Norway), Sony Pellissery (Assoc Prof, National Law School, India University, Bangalore), and Ivar Lødemel (Prof, Oslo University College). Policy Press at the University of Bristol, Feb 2014, 256p, $42.95pb. Poverty carries a tremendous feeling of shame. However, few have let this overwhelming fact actually influence the making and implementation of anti-poverty policies. For anti-poverty policies to be truly effective, they must take into account the psychological trauma that poverty creates. Drawing on pioneering empirical research from a diverse group of countries, including the United Kingdom, Uganda, Norway, Pakistan, India, South Korea, and China, the contributors outline core principles that can bring policy makers greater sensitivity to the power of shame and, thus, the foundations for more effective ways of combating poverty. (POVERTY* ANTI-POVERTY POLICIES* SHAME AND POVERTY)

The Transport Debate (Policy and Politics in the Twenty-First Century). Jon Shaw (Prof of Geography, Plymouth University) and Iain Docherty (Prof of Public Policy and Governance, University of Glasgow). Policy Press at the University of Bristol, Feb 2014, 240p, $26pb. Explains how we have arrived at the transportation systems we have today, covering both local and global issues. Celebrates the advantages that modern transportation systems have brought, with criticism of the many poor conceptions and executions of transportation policy. Centering the study around the notion of the journey, the authors follow the fictitious Smith family on a trip, documenting the many transportation issues they face and explaining how those issues have come about, what policy trade-offs were responsible for them, and what can be done to fix them. (TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS: PROS AND CONS)

The Short Guide to Environmental Policy. Carolyn Snell (Lecturer in Social Policy, University of York) and Gary Haq (Stockholm Environment Institute, University of York). Policy Press at the University of Bristol, June 2014, 176p, $20pb. The rate and scale of environmental change caused by humans is so significant that it has warranted the ushering of a new geological epoch: the Anthropocene. More than ever, we need effective policies that address our current environmental challenges: climate change; preservation of biodiversity; shortages in food, water, and energy; and environmental equity. The Guide provides a concise introduction to environmental policies over the last 60 years, bringing together perspectives from a range of fields, including economics, sociology, politics, and social policy. Looks at the causes and effects of contemporary environmental issues, the ways different policies have addressed them, the challenges of implementing such policies, and what the future holds. (ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY HISTORY)

Understanding Global Social Policy (Second Edition). Edited by Nicola Yeates (Prof of Social Policy, Open University, Milton Keynes). Policy Press at the University of Bristol, May 2014, 368p, $36.95pb. An international team of social policy analysts examine how global social policies are constructed, and explore how the globalizing strategies of state and non-state actors intersect with social policy concerns. The second edition contains systematically updated chapters that reflect major new developments—including the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals, the Social Protection Floor, and green global social policy—as well as new chapters on global poverty and inequality, social protection, criminal justice, and education. (GLOBAL SOCIAL POLICY* POVERTY* MDG* INEQUALITY* CRIMINAL JUSTICE* EDUCATION)

The Short Guide to Urban Policy. Claire Edwards (Lecturer, School of Applied Social Studies, University College Cork, Ireland) and Rob Imrie (Chair of Sociology, Goldsmiths College, University of London). Policy Press at the University of Bristol, June 2014, 176p, $20pb. With more and more of the world’s population living in urban environments, the management of cities has posed increasing challenges to governments and policy makers. Presents the multiple ways that urban issues and problems have been defined and addressed in different places and at different times; covers initiatives that focus on social tensions to those that focus on economic development; and discusses key concerns that have characterized urban policy around the globe. (CITY MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW)

Social Inclusion and Higher Education. Edited by Tehmina N. Basit (Prof of Education and Director, Institute for Education Policy Research, Staffordshire University) and Sally Tomlinson (Emeritus Prof of Education, Goldsmiths College, London University and senior research fellow, Dept of Education, University of Oxford). Policy Press at the University of Bristol, April 2014, 325p, $45.95pb. As higher education has made deliberate strides in recent decades to become more inclusive and accessible, the number of students from non-traditional backgrounds has increased dramatically. There has been much study of the effects of higher education on previously underserved populations, showing that it can lead to higher lifetime income and higher status. But there has been little research on what happens to those students once they are in a university. Examines the problems that face non-traditional students, the resources they and their families are able to draw on, and the ways that administrators and staff can help them succeed. (HIGHER EDUCATION AND NON-TRADITIONAL STUDENTS)

Achieving Environmental Justice: A Cross-National Analysis. Karen Bell (Research Assoc, Centre for the Study of Poverty and Social Justice, University of Bristol). Policy Press at the University of Bristol, June 2014, 224p, $110. Examines environmental justice—which focuses on inclusive processes of environmental decision-making for local communities—in the United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, South Korea, China, Bolivia, and Cuba. Discusses environmental issues as they relate to a number of other topics, including race, class, industrialization, and politics, with a particular focus on the role of capitalism. (ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE)

Think Tanks in America. Thomas Medvetz (Asst Prof of Sociology, University of California, San Diego). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, March 2014, 324p, $25pb (hardcover, 2012). Over the past half-century, think tanks have become fixtures of American politics, supplying advice to presidents and policy makers, expert testimony on Capitol Hill, and convenient facts and figures to journalists and media specialists. The unsettling ambiguity of the think tank is less an accidental feature of its existence than the very key to its impact. By combining elements of more established sources of public knowledge—universities, government agencies, businesses, and the media—think tanks exert a tremendous amount of influence on the way citizens and lawmakers perceive the world, unbound by the more clearly defined roles of those other institutions. In the process, they transform the government, the press, and the political role of intellectuals. [NOTE: Other than several superficial mentions of the Worldwatch Institute, there is no recognition of any other US-based environmental think tank, let alone the scores of international research groups that are increasingly concerned with climate change and sustainability and other global problems. In other words, Medvetz is missing a lot, in this rather stilted “sociological theory of think tanks”!] (THINK TANKS IN THE U.S.)

Green Documentary: Environmental Documentary Film in the 21st Century. Helen Hughes (Senior Lecturer in Film Studies, University of Surrey). Intellect Books, July 2014, 152p, $36pb. During the first decade of the 21st century, a stunning array of documentary films focusing on environmental issues and representing the world on the brink of ecological catastrophe, has been met with critical and popular acclaim. Comments on environmental documentary filmmaking, and offers an analysis of controversial and high-profile documentary films such as Gasland, An Inconvenient Truth, Manufactured Landscapes, and The Cove. (GREEN DOCUMENTARY FILMS* ENVIRONMENT & DOCUMENTARY FILMS)

2. Routledge: Sociology 2013

Routledge Handbook of Surveillance Studies. Edited by Kirstie Ball (Reader in Surveillance and Organization, The Open University Business School), Kevin Haggerty (Editor, Canadian Journal of Sociology; Book review editor, Surveillance & Society; Prof of Sociology and Criminology, University of Alberta), David Lyon (Research Chair in Surveillance Studies; Prof of Sociology; Director, Surveillance Studies Centre, Queen’s University, Canada). NY: Routledge, Feb 2014, 460p, $61.95pb (also as e-book). Surveillance is a central organizing practice. Gathering personal data and processing them in searchable databases drives administrative efficiency, but also raises questions about security, governance, civil liberties and privacy. Surveillance is both globalized in cooperative schemes, such as sharing biometric data, and localized in the daily minutiae of social life. Explores the empirical, theoretical and ethical issues around surveillance and its use in daily life. Key topics include: surveillance and population control, policing, intelligence and war, production and consumption, new media, security, identification, regulation and resistance. (SURVEILLANCE AND SECURITY* BUSINESS AND SURVEILLANCE)

Interdisciplinarity: Reconfigurations of the Social and Natural Sciences. Edited by Andrew Barry (Prof of Political Geography, University of Oxford), and Georgina Born (Prof of Music and Anthropology, University of Oxford). NY: Routledge, June 2013, 296p, $135. The idea that research should become more interdisciplinary has become commonplace. The unprecedented complexity of problems such as climate change or the social implications of biomedicine demand interdisciplinary efforts integrating both the social and natural sciences. Offers a new approach to theorizing interdisciplinarity, showing how the boundaries between the social and natural sciences are being reconfigured; examines the current preoccupation with interdisciplinarity, particularly when associated with a transformation in the relations between science, technology and society; calls for collaboration between the natural sciences and engineering and between the social sciences, arts, and humanities. (INTERDISCIPLINARITY * METHODS)

The Treadmill of Crime: Political Economy and Green Criminology. Paul B. Stretesky (Assoc Prof of Public Affairs, University of Colorado, Denver), Michael A. Long (Asst Prof of Sociology, Oklahoma State University), and Michael J Lynch (Prof of Criminology, University of South Florida). NY: Routledge, Aug 2013, 156p, $42.95pb. Examines how the expansion of capitalism shapes environmental law, crime, and justice and discusses crime in the energy sector, release of toxic waste into the environment and its impact on ecosystems. Highlights problems of ecological disorganization for animal abuse and social disorganization. Chapter topics: Production for Green Criminology, Crimes of Ecological Withdrawals, Crimes of Ecological Additions, Ecological and Social Disorganization, Animal Abuse, Non-State Actors and Environmental Enforcement, etc. (GREEN CRIMINOLOGY* ENVIRONMENT CRIMES)

Routledge International Handbook of Green Criminology. Edited by Nigel South (Prof of Sociology; and Vice-Chancellor, University of Essex), Avi Brisman (Asst Prof of Justice Studies, Eastern Kentucky University). NY: Routledge, Dec 2012, 450p, $225. International green criminologists and scholars examine substantive issues, including: climate change, corporate criminality and impacts on the environment, environmental justice, media representations, air and water pollution, questions of responsibility and risk, wildlife trafficking, etc. Key themes include green criminology in depth (its theory, history and development), as well as methodological concerns for this area of academic interest. Features examples of environmental crimes, harms, and threats from Africa, Asia, Australia, Eastern Europe, South America, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Chapters cover topics such as: Comparing Environmental and Criminal Victimization and Considering Crime from an Eco-city Perspective; Ordinary Acts that Contribute to Ecocide: Contemporary Horizons of Green Criminology; Conservation Criminology and the “General Accident” of Climate Change; Criminogenic Consequences of Climate Change; Air Crimes and Atmospheric Justice; Criminal Liability for Oil Discharges in Navigable Waters; Food Crime -- A Green Criminology Perspective; Eco-Global Criminology and the Political Economy of Environmental Harm; Evading Responsibility for Green Harm; State-Corporate Exploitation of Race, Class, and Gender Inequality; Public Perceptions of Corporate Environmental Crime; Assessing the Impact of Economic Insecurity on Willingness to Impose Punishment for Pollution; Victimization of Women, Children and Non-Human Species Through Trafficking and Trade; How Green Criminology Can Help Us Learn From Experience and Contribute to Our Future, etc. (GREEN CRIMINOLOGY* ENVIRONMENT CRIMES)

The Routledge Handbook of International Crime and Justice Studies. Edited by Bruce Arrigo (Prof of Criminal Justice and Criminology, University of North Carolina – Charlotte), and Heather Bersot (University of North Carolina – Charlotte). NY: Routledge, Aug 2013, 696p, $225. Presents the enduring debates and emerging challenges in crime and justice studies from an international and multi-disciplinary perspective; focuses on the role that consumerism, politics, technology, and culture assume in shaping these debates and in organizing these challenges. Thematic sections include: theory, culture, and society; industries of crime and justice: systems of policing, law, corrections and punishment; the criminal enterprise; global technologies; media, crime, and culture; green criminology; political violence; public health criminology; and the political economy of crime and justice. Chapters discuss such issues as Currents of Criminological Thought; the Need for an International Feminist Criminology; International Trends and Issues in Policing; Politics of International Criminal Justice; Challenges of International Criminal Law in Addressing Mass Atrocity; Animal Cruelty and Criminal Justice in a Globalized World; Isolative Confinement: Effective Method for Behavior Change or Punishment for Punishment’s Sake?; Global White-Collar Crime; Current and Emerging Technologies Employed to Abate Crime and to Promote Security; Green Criminology and Green Victimization; What is to be Done about Environmental Crime?; Redressing Violence in Sub-Sahara Africa; Fundamentalism, Extremism, Terrorism: Commonalities, Differences and Policy Implications of ‘Blacklisting’; Crimmigration: Criminal Justice, Refugee Protection and the Securitization of Migration, etc. (CRIME/JUSTICE OVERVIEW* WHITE COLLAR CRIME)

Sentencing: Time for a Paradigm Shift. Ralph Henham (Prof of Criminal Justice, Nottingham Law School, Nottingham Trent University). NY: Routledge, July 2013, 216p, $50.95pb. Sentencing is the process through which the legitimacy of punishment is declared and justified; this social activity should be more responsive to the pluralistic needs and values of individuals and communities in contemporary society. Thus it will need to adapt to perceptions of what justice is and how it should be delivered, as well as different sensitivities and emotional responses to sentencing processes and outcomes. Calls for a profound normative understanding of the relationship between sentencing and its perception by citizens. Themes covered include the treatment of gender and race in sentencing, the future role of sentencing in criminal justice governance, and development of new criteria for evaluating sentencing within a more socially-inclusive framework. A greater focus on the relationship between penal ideology and the impact of sentencing in the wider community is essential for effective future policy-making in this area. This book is aimed at both undergraduate and postgraduate students of law, criminology, criminal justice and sociology, as well as for academics and criminal justice policymakers. (SENTENCING* CRIME/JUSTICE AND SOCIETY)

3. Georgetown University Press: Fall/Winter 2013

Water: Asia’s New Battleground. Brahma Chellaney (Prof, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi; adviser to India’s National Security Council; former appointments at Harvard University, Brookings Institution, Johns Hopkins University, and Australian National University). Washington: Georgetown University Press, Sept 2013, 400p, $21.95pb (also as e-book). The battles of yesterday were fought over land. Those of today are over energy. But the battles of tomorrow may be over water. Nowhere is that danger greater than in water-distressed Asia. Its huge population and exploding economic and agricultural demand for water make it the most water-scarce continent on a per capita basis. Many of Asia’s water sources cross national boundaries, and as less and less water is available, international tensions will rise. Studies Asia’s water politics and the relationships between fresh water, peace, and security. (WATER* ASIA’S WATER* WATER SECURITY IN ASIA)

Just War: Authority, Tradition, and Practice. Edited by Anthony F. Lang Jr. (Reader, School of International Relations, University of St. Andrews; Director, Centre for Global Constitutionalism), Cian O’Driscoll (Lecturer in international politics, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Glasgow), and John Williams (Prof of International Relations, Durham University). Washington: Georgetown University Press, Oct 2013, 336p, $34.95pb (also as e-book). The just war tradition is central to the practice of international relations, in questions of war, peace, and the conduct of war in the contemporary world. Explores questions of authority surrounding the just war tradition. Authority is critical in two key senses: 1) it is central to framing the ethical debate about the justice or injustice of war, raising questions about the universality of just war and the tradition’s relationship to religion, law, and democracy; 2) who has the legitimate authority to make just-war claims and declare and prosecute war? Such authority has traditionally been located in the sovereign state, but non-state and supra-state claims to legitimate authority have become increasingly important over the last 20 years as the just war tradition has been used to think about multilateral military operations, terrorism, guerrilla warfare, and sub-state violence. The chapters reassess authority issue’s centrality in how we can, do, and ought to think about war in contemporary global politics. (JUST WAR* SECURITY AND ETHICS* WAR: LEGITIMATE AUTHORITY)

Work and the Welfare State: Street-Level Organizations and Workfare Politics. Edited by Evelyn Z. Brodkin (Assoc Prof, University of Chicago, School of Social Service Administration) and Gregory Marston (Prof of Social Policy, School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology; Australia) Washington: Georgetown University Press, Oct 2013. 272p, $36.95pb (also as e-book). Places street-level organizations at the analytic center of welfare-state politics, policy, and management and examines efforts to change the welfare state to a workfare state by looking at on-the-ground issues in six countries: the US, UK, Australia, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands. Scholars of organizational studies investigate what really goes on in the name of workfare and activation policies and what that means for the poor, unemployed, and marginalized populations subject to these policies and reveal the critical, yet largely hidden, role of governance and management reforms in the evolution of the global workfare project. (WORK* WORKFARE VS. WELFARE)

The Future of Ethics: Sustainability, Social Justice, and Religious Creativity. Willis Jenkins (Assoc Prof of Religious Studies, University of Virginia). Washington: Georgetown University Press, Oct 2013, 304p, $34.95pb (also as e-book). Traditional religious ethics examines texts and traditions and highlights principles and virtuous behaviors that can apply to particular issues. Religious thought is significant to the development of interdisciplinary responses to sustainability issues and how this calls for a new style of religious ethics. Jenkins develops lines of practical inquiry through “prophetic pragmatism,” an approach to ethics that begins with concrete problems and adapts to changing circumstances. By integrating environmental sciences and theological ethics into problem-based engagements with philosophy, economics, and other disciplines, Jenkins illustrates the wide understanding and moral creativity needed to live well in the new conditions of human power. (SUSTAINABILITY AND RELIGION* ETHICS AND SUSTAINABILITY)

Restored to Earth: Christianity, Environmental Ethics, and Ecological Restoration. Gretel Van Wieren (Asst Prof of Religious Studies, Michigan State University). Washington: Georgetown University Press, July 2013, 224p, $29.95pb (also as e-book). Ecological restoration integrates the science and art of repairing ecosystems damaged by human activities. Despite relatively little attention from environmental ethicists, restoration projects continue to gain significance, drawing on citizen volunteers and large amounts of public funds, providing an important model of responding to ecological crisis. Projects include the massive, multi-billion dollar Kissimmee River project; restoring 25,000 acres of Everglades’ wetlands; the $30 million effort to restore selected wetlands in industrial Brownfield sites in Chicago’s south side Lake Calumet area; and the reintroduction of tall grass prairie ecosystems in various communities in the Midwest. Van Wieren examines the religious and ethical dimensions and significance of contemporary restoration practice, an ethical framework that advances the field of environmental ethics in a more positive, action-oriented, experience-based direction. (ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION* ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS* RESTAURATION AND ETHICS)

4. Georgetown University Press: Fall/Winter 2014

Cyber Blockades. Alison Lawlor Russell (Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University; Nonresident research scientist, Center for Naval Analyses). Washington: Georgetown University Press, Nov 2014, 176p, $29.95pb (also as e-book). Blockade operations in cyberspace are large-scale attacks on infrastructure or systems that aim to prevent an entire state from sending or receiving electronic data. Cyber blockades can take place through digital, physical, and/or electromagnetic means. Blockade operations have historically been considered acts of war, thus their emergence in cyberspace has significant implications for international law and for our understanding of cyber warfare. Russell defines and explains the emerging concept of “cyber blockades” and presents a unique comparison of blockade operations in five different domains—on land, at sea, in the air, in space, and in cyberspace—identifying common elements as well as important distinctions. Case studies cover cyber-attacks on Estonia in 2007 and on Georgia during the 2008 Georgia-Russia War. Includes recommendations for policymakers contemplating or confronted by such attacks. (CYBER SECURITY * CYBER BLOCKADES * SECURITY)

Health Care as a Social Good: Religious Values and American Democracy. David M. Craig (Assoc Prof of Religious Studies, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis –IUPUI). Washington: Georgetown Universtiy Press, Sept 2014, 240p, 240pb. Craig traveled across the United States to assess health care access, delivery and finance in this country to conclude that health care in the US is not a private good or a public good. Decades of public policy and philanthropic service have made health care a shared social good. Escalating health costs absorb more and more of family income and government budgets, therefore we need to create a different and more affordable community-based health care system. Community engagement around the common religious conviction that healing is a shared responsibility can help us achieve this transformation—one that will not only help us realize a new and better system, but one that reflects the ideals of American democracy and the common good. (HEALTH CARE AS A SOCIAL GOOD* COMMUNITY-BASED HELATH CARE* HEALTH AND RELIGION * HEALTH AND DEMOCRACY)

Human Dignity and the Future of Global Institutions. Edited by Mark P. Lagon (Global Politics and Security Chair, Foreign Service Program, Georgetown University; Adjunct Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations; former US ambassador at large to Combat Trafficking in Persons) and Anthony Clark Arend (Director, Foreign Service Program, Prof of Government and Foreign Service, Georgetown University). Washington: Georgetown University Press, Oct 2014, 320p, $32.95pb. In recent decades, global institutions have proliferated—from intergovernmental organizations to hybrid partnerships. The specific missions of these institutions are varied, but there seems to be a common animating principle to inform their goals: human dignity consists of the agency of individuals to apply their gifts to thrive, and requires social recognition of each person’s inherent value and claim to equal access to opportunity. Contributors examine how traditional and emerging institutions are already advancing human dignity, and then identify strategies to make human dignity more central to the work of global institutions. They explore traditional state-created entities, as well as emergent, hybrid institutions and faith-based organizations; and lay out a path for a cross-cultural dialogue on human dignity. (HUMAN DIGNITY AND INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS * WORLD GOVERNANCE AND HUMAN DIGNITY)

Mission Creep: The Militarization of US Foreign Policy. Edited by Gordon Adams (Prof, School of International Service, American University; Assoc Director for National Security and International Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 1993-1997) and Shoon Murray (Assoc Prof, American University; Director, US Foreign Policy and National Security master’s degree program). Washington: Georgetown University Press, Dec 2014, 256p, $34.95pb. Examines the question of whether the US Department of Defense (DOD) has assumed too large a role in influencing and implementing US foreign policy, which resulted in a militarization of US foreign policy. “Militarization” here entails a subtle phenomenon wherein the military increasingly becomes the primary actor and face of US policy abroad. After the Cold War, and accelerating after September 11, the United States has drawn upon the enormous resources of DOD in adjusting to the new global environment and challenges arising from terrorism, Islamic radicalism, insurgencies, ethnic conflicts, and failed states. Issues policy recommendations about how to rebalance the role of civilian agencies in foreign policy decision making and implementation. (SECURITY* MILITARIZED U.S. FOREIGN POLICY* MISSION CREEP)

5. MISCELLANEOUS PUBLISHERS

The Human Capacity for Transformational Change: Harnessing the Collective Mind. Valerie A. Brown (Emeritus Prof of Environmental Health, Australian National University) and John A. Harris (ANU Local Sustainability Project). Routledge, April 2014, 249p, $48.95pb. (www.routledge.com/9781138800632) Pressures for transformational change are growing, leading to reframing existing divisions as connecting relationship and reframing opposites as interconnected wholes. “This book offers ways and means of creating the synergies that are crucial in influencing a desired transformational change towards a just and sustainable future.” Chapters are in three parts: 1) Changing Minds: living with transformational change, the next step in human evolution, the Gaian mind: people and planet as a self-organizing system, the cybernetic mind: human social networks in cyberspace, the Herculean mind: seven challenging tasks, the collective mind: asking reflective questions; 2) Changing Society: inclusive language that hears all voices, “transformation science” as the science of change, collective governance (democracy for the next millennium), collaborative economy and gift relationships, lifelong education: learning without limits, the collective self: asking introspective questions; 3) Changing Worlds: utopian thinking in a connected world. (METHODS* TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE* COLLECTIVE MIND)

Turn Down the Heat: Confronting the New Climate Normal. Hans Joachim Schellnhuber et al. (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany). Washington: World Bank Group, Nov 2014, 320p (download at http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/11/20404287). The third report in a series, following Turn Down the Heat: Climate Extremes, Regional Impacts and the Case for Resilience (June 2013) and Turn Down the Heat: Why a 4o C World Must be Avoided (November 2012). This report, produced by a team of 45 researchers at the Potsdam Institute, with contributions by several dozen others at the World Bank, describes the growing challenges for development and poverty reduction under anthropogenic climate change in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, and Europe and Central Asia. Climate change projections are presented for each region (based on the recent Fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC) along with an assessment of projected impacts in key sectors for different warming levels, from the current baseline of 0.8oC to 2o C and 4o C above pre-industrial levels in 2100. These impacts are then discussed in relation to existing social vulnerabilities. “Climate change impacts are increasingly being experienced on all continents and across a range of human and natural systems. More severe impacts are projected with further warming, and the resulting challenges for eradicating poverty and promoting human wellbeing could be immense. If efforts and achievements in reducing greenhouse gas emissions continue at the current pace, warming levels of higher than 4o C cannot be ruled out. Recent efforts to project the effects of current national policies indicate that there is about a 40% chance of exceeding 4o C warming above pre-industrial levels by about 2100. Critically, timing is of the essence. With rising temperatures, the risk for human lives and development trajectories increase, and a number of impacts will soon be locked in for decades, if not for centuries to come.” (p.1) Warming of 4o C by 2100 would commit the world to much higher warming levels exceeding 6o C or more in the long term. Chapters discuss such topics as the global picture, trends in extreme temperatures and precipitation, aridity and water scarcity, droughts, agricultural yields, ocean acidification, ice sheet instability, socioeconomic vulnerability, Amazon rainforest dieback and tipping point, Russia’s forests as a potential tipping point, coastal infrastructure, human security, and regional development narratives. [NOTE: This report updates, expands, and amplifies the findings in Climate Change and National Security: A Country-Level Analysis edited by Daniel Moran (Georgetown University Press, April 2011; GlobalForesightBooks.org Book of the Month, March 2013), which analyses 19 countries and regions through a security lens, rather than a development lens, with a generally pessimistic outlook.] (CLIMATE CHANGE* LATIN AMERICA AND CLIMATE* MIDDLE EAST AND CLIMATE* EUROPE AND CLIMATE)

Descent Pathways (Special Issue). Edited by Joshua Floyd (Centre for Australian Foresight, Melbourne) and Richard A. Slaughter (Foresight International, Brisbane). Foresight: The Journal of Futures Studies, Strategic Thinking and Policy, 16:6, 2014, pp 485-607. Six essays that seek “to highlight the need for wider understanding of the ‘civilizational challenge’ facing humanity, as it encounters and then exceeds significant limits to growth,” proposing policies, actions, and strategies to avoid the most disastrous manifestations of “overshoot and collapse,” which could be imminent. 1) Jim Dator (University of Hawaii) revisits his 2009 formulation of “The Unholy Trinity, Plus One” (energy, environment, and economics + governance), now seen as part of a “new normal” that must be considered in the four alternative future archetypes (Grow, Collapse, Discipline, Transform) in the Anthropocene epoch where humans are the major geological/biological force; “humans are changing the world faster than we are understanding it…yet we go on changing the world” (p501); 2) Patrick Moriarty and Damon Honnery (both Monash University) argue that alternative energy is growing too slowly and faces too many problems to significantly change the energy mix in coming decades, and that technical fixes will not be sufficient to prevent climate change; rather, social change is needed for sustainability; 3) Richard A. Slaughter describes the ways that humanity is tracking towards dystopian overshoot-and-collapse futures and the parallel rise of climate change denialism that makes effective responses difficult; proposes moving from a collapse/crash/breakdown discourse to one characterized by notions of “descent” that recognize a range of factors ignored in more fatalistic accounts; also proposes a globally connected network of foresight institutions that assemble the bits and pieces of positive innovations that contribute to intelligent public policy; 4) Samuel Alexander (University of Melbourne) notes that the global industrialized economy is in “gross ecological overshoot,” but questions arguments against “voluntary simplification” made by Joseph Tainter in The Collapse of Complex Societies (1988), as a strategy to avoid collapse; 5) Ozzie Zehner (Northwestern University), author of Green Illusions (University of Nebraska Press, 2012), questions the pervasive energy production ethos and the viability of alternative energy technologies; rather, “energy reduction strategies, degrowth, economic contraction and other decline pathways remind people of their reliance on finite resources, and their own vulnerability to the imminent contraction” (p.582); 6) Joshua Floyd asserts that the narrative of industrial progress over the past 300 years is unlikely to continue serving humanity well, and that descent does not necessarily imply decline in human well-being; nor does he argue for a “simplistic return to the past.” (WORLD FUTURES* DESCENT VS. INDUSTRIAL “PROGRESS” * OVERSHOOT)

State of the World 2014: Governing for Sustainability. Worldwatch Institute (Tom Prugh and Michael Renner, Project Directors). Washington: Island Press, 2014, 294p, $23pb. The 30th annual volume in the SOTW series founded by Lester R. Brown begins with a Foreword by David W. Orr on how “we have entered the rapids of the human journey” and an Introduction by the editors on failing governance for an unsustainable planet, climate policy’s Tower of Babel, and confronting petro-power of the fossil fuel companies. The 19 essays that follow are in two sections: 1) Political Governance: sustainability and evolution, expanding ecoliteracy, obstacles to learning and action, factors contributing to eco-complacency and disbelief, digitization and sustainability, governance in the Anthropocene, governing people as members of the earth community, listening to the voices of young and future generations, advancing stewardship via the commons and human rights, making the transition to a new paradigm of governance based on respect for nature and integrated global and local citizenship (by David Bollier and Burns Weston), understanding the failure to pass US climate legislation, China’s environmental governance challenge (now at a crisis point, despite “Ecological Civilization” and “Beautiful China” as prominent slogans), assessing the outcomes of Rio+20, how local governments and their networks have become a factor in global sustainability; 2) Economic Governance: scrutinizing the corporate role in the post-2015 development agenda (so as to avoid “corporate capture”), making finance serve the real economy, climate governance and the resource curse, the political-economic foundations of a sustainable system (by Gar Alperovitz, on various emerging strategies to build a truly democratic economy), the rise of “Triple-Bottom-Line” businesses (prioritizing people and the planet, while also promoting profits; these new “public benefit corporations” consider all stakeholders rather than shareholders only), working toward energy democracy by resisting the fossil fuel agenda, trade unions and the sustainability transition. [ALSO SEE SOTW2013: Is Sustainability Still Possible? (on planetary boundaries, the sustainability metric, getting to true sustainability, building an enduring movement, etc.), SOTW2012: Moving Toward Sustainable Prosperity (on making the green economy work for all, degrowth in overdeveloped countries, global architecture for sustainability governance, population strategies to stop short of 9 billion, ecosystem services, etc.), and SOTW2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet (on ending hungers, mainstreaming ecoagriculture, the potential of vegetables, more crop per drop, post-harvest losses, etc). All of these volumes are outstanding.] (SUSTAINABILITY* GOVERNANCE)

Taking Control: Pathways to Drug Policies That Work. Global Commission on Drug Policy (Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Chair). www.GlobalCommissiononDrugs.org, Sept 2014, 45p. An update and expansion to War on Drugs: Report of the Global Commission (2011, 24p), asking policymakers to break the 50-year taboo on talking about more effective and humane ways to manage drugs. A genuine debate on new approaches is now underway, and many governments are taking action based on evidence. Past approaches based on a punitive law enforcement paradigm have failed emphatically, resulting in more violence, larger prison populations, worsened health harms, and the erosion of governance around the world. Instead, the Commission calls for policy that puts public health, community safety, human rights, and development at the center, with no one-size-fits-all reform. Five pathways to improving the global drug policy regime are proposed: 1) Put people’s health and safety first (traditional goals and measures have failed to produce positive outcomes); 2) Ensure equitable access to essential medicines and pain control (more than 80% of the world’s population carries a huge burden of avoidable pain and suffering with little or no access to opiate-based medications); 3) End the criminalization and incarceration of people who use or possess drugs (it has little or no impact on levels of drug use, while encouraging high-risk behaviors, deterring drug users from seeking treatment, and diverting law enforcement resources from focusing on serious criminality); 4) Refocus enforcement responses to drug trafficking and organized crime (re-orient the goals of supply-side away from unachievable market eradication; rely on alternatives to incarceration for non-violent, low-level participants in illegal drug markets such as farmers and couriers); 5) Regulate drug markets to put governments in control (allow and encourage diverse experiments in legally regulating currently illicit drugs, starting with cannabis, coca leaf, and some novel psychoactive substances; much can be learned from successes and failures in regulating alcohol, tobacco, and pharmaceutical drugs). Concludes that the upcoming UN General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem (UNGASS) in 2016 is “an unprecedented opportunity to review and re-direct national drug control policies and the future of the global drug control regime, so as to promote the UN mandate to ensure security, human rights, and development. [NOTE: Transformation of the drug control paradigm appears to be underway and amply justified; in turn, it will brighten prospects for both security (mentioned in passing) and sustainability (not mentioned at all). Members of the 21-person Commission include Cardoso (former President of Brazil), seven other former presidents or prime ministers (Ruth Dreifuss/Switzerland, Cesar Gaviria/Columbia, Aleksander Kwasniewski/Poland, Ricardo Lagos/Chile, George Papandreau/Greece, Jorge Sampaio/Portugal, Ernesto Zedillo/Mexico), George Shultz (former US Secretary of State), Paul Volcker (former US Federal Reserve Chair), John Whitehead (former Deputy Secretary of State and co-chair of Goldman Sachs), Louise Arbour (former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights), and Richard Branson (UK entrepreneur).] (DRUG POLICY* CRIME & JUSTICE* SECURITY* HEALTH)

Sustainability: A History. Jeremy L. Caradonna (Associate Prof of History, University of Alberta). NY: Oxford University Press Sept 2014, 331p, $27.95. (www.jeremycaradonna.com). The words “sustainable” and “sustainability” are nearly ubiquitous today, but it is hard to find books published before 1976 with these words as titles or even as keywords. After the mid-1970s, books with either word in the title took off, and now total nearly 5,000 as of 2012 (see chart, p.3). Sustainability is a buzzword, but it is not “buzzless,” as governments, communities, organizations, and individuals worldwide seek to align themselves with the basic principles of “sustainability,” creating a society that is safe, stable, prosperous, and ecologically minded. “The practices inspired by the concept of sustainability could give rise to the world’s third major socio-economic transformation,” (pp2-3, italics added) after the agricultural revolution of 10,000 years ago and the industrial revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries. This book is about the making of the sustainability “movement” in the broadest sense of the word.

“To sustainists, sustainability means planning for the future and rejecting that which threatens the lives and well-being of future generations.” (p.5) It means creating a green, low-carbon, and resilient economy that runs on renewable energy, and does not support growth that impairs the ability of humans and other organisms to live in perpetuity on Earth. And for many, it also has “a utopic dimension of decentralized forms of democracy that support peace and social justice.”

Chapters discuss early use of the terms (e.g.nachhaltig/sustainable and Nachhaltigkeit/sustainability both entered the Saxon dialect of German in the 18th century via works on sustained yield forestry), four main principles of sustainability (the interconnectedness of human society/economic/natural environment, the need to respect ecological limits or face collapse, planning wisely for the future, and localization/decentralization where possible), sources of sustainability in the early modern world, the industrial revolution and its discontents (e.g., pollution and greenhouse gases), the environmental movement and the growth of ecological wisdom in the 1960s and 1970s, ecological economics, the Club of Rome, United Nations conferences and commissions, “the first detailed blueprint for constructing a sustainable society” (Lester R. Brown’s Building a Sustainable Society, 1981), sustainability since 2000 (it ‘has gone from marginal ecological idea to mainstream movement in a surprisingly short amount of time”), a sampling of sustainability measurement tools (carbon footprint, various ecolabels, ecological footprint analysis, energy return on investment or EROI, Genuine Progress Indicator, Genuine Wealth, Happy Planet Index, Triple Bottom Line), sustainable design and green buildings, the greening of business and finance, and social sustainability (equality, social justice, ending poverty).

Concludes with discussion of 10 challenges faced by “sustainists”: creating a shared vision for the future out of multiple perspectives, moving past the unhelpful tools of neoclassical economics, facing up to impending resource shortages, harmonizing the needs of rich and poor, safeguarding ecosystem services and restoring natural capital, acknowledging climate change as a gigantic problem, acknowledging other ecological issues that threaten sustainability (species extinction, topsoil loss, desertification, endocrine disruption, overconsumption, etc.), fighting greenwashing (abuse of sustainability language) and the denial industry, galvanizing political support and political action, and financing the revolution. [NOTE: Highly recommended background, despite some superficialities (e.g. underestimating the huge number of “sustainability” organizations, while overestimating their political impact to date), and a few important missing titles from the very useful bibliography of c.300 items (e.g., the works of Hazel Henderson and Lester Milbrath). Notably, no mention is made of the “futures movement,” which embraced some of the sustainists but peaked around 1980, just as the sustainability movement began to take off. The futurists had a broader view of probable, possible, and preferable futures (often ignoring or downplaying the latter), while sustainists clearly focus on the preferable,anchored by the forecasts of the IPCC. But the range of preferred futures under the sustainability umbrella is ignored by Caradonna, who mentions the more idealized “degrowth” side but ignores the more politically palatable “green growth” advocated by the UN, OECD, World Bank, and Global Green Growth Institute (www.gggi.org).] (SUSTAINABILITY HISTORY)

Degrowth: A Vocabulary for a New Era. Edited by Giacomo D’Alisa, Federico Demaria, and Giorgos Kallas (all Research & Degrowth, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain). Routledge: Nov 2014, 220p, $40.95pb. (www.degrowth.org) “Degrowth” or “Decroissance” rejects the illusion of growth and has come to signify the desired direction of societies that will use less natural resources, abolish economic growth as a social objective, and organize to live in a radically different way. This is the first English-language book to cover the literature on degrowth, and the words that express what a degrowth society might look like: “simplicity,” “conviviality,” “care,” “the commons,” etc. The 45 brief essays are grouped in four parts: 1) Lines of Thought: bio-economics, environmental justice, steady-state economics, etc.; 2) The Core: autonomy, capitalism, commodification, dematerialization, entropy, GDP, happiness, peak oil, etc.; 3) The Action: back-to-the-landers, basic and maximum income, community currencies, cooperatives, debt audit, eco-communities, job guarantee, new economy, nowtopians, post-normal science, urban gardening, work sharing, etc.; 4) Alliances: economy of permanence, feminist economics, Ubuntu (the Nguni Bantu term for human kindness), and Buen Vivir (Latin America’s new concepts for the good life and the rights of nature). [NOTE: “Sustainability” not listed, but all of these actions and concepts support it. Research & Degrowth (R&D) has already promoted and organized five International Conferences on Degrowth (Paris/2008, Barcelona/2010, Montreal/2012, Venice/2012, and Leipzig/2014), and hopes to facilitate another conference on “Degrowth for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity” in 2016.] (SUSTAINABILITY VOCABULARY* DEGROWTH SOCIETY)

Climate Change: A Very Short Introduction (Third Edition). Mark Maslin (Prof of Physical Geography, University College London). Very Short Introductions Series. NY: Oxford University Press, Oct 2014, 187p (4.3”x6.8”), $11.95pb. The latest IPCC report (2014) presents “unequivocal” evidence for climate change. Global temperatures have risen by 0.8o C over the past 100 years, and could rise by 2.8o C to 5.4o C by 2100. Sea level has risen 22 cm in the past 100 years, and could rise by 52 cm to 98 cm, and there will be significant changes in weather patterns with more extreme climate events. This is not the end of the world as envisaged by some, “but it does mean a huge increase in misery for billions of people.” There is a strong economic argument for taking action: tackling climate change now would cost 2-3% of world GDP, as opposed to >20% if we put off action until 2050. Chapters discuss the nature of climate change, past variations in CO2, the authoritative IPCC reports (drafted by some 500 experts, with >2000 expert reviewers), climate change and the media, the evidence for climate change, the main greenhouse gases, arguments of the “skeptics”, modeling future climate, modeling uncertainty and extreme events, climate change impacts (coasts, small island states, storms and floods, heat waves and droughts, human health, biodiversity, agriculture, ocean acidification), possible climate surprises (thresholds and tipping points, melting icesheets, deep-ocean circulation, methane hydrates, Amazon dieback), the Kyoto Protocol, the disappointing Copenhagen conference (COP 15) in 2009, carbon trading, the UN’s REDD program (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation), solutions (adaptation, mitigation, alternative energy, carbon capture and storage, carbon trading and offsetting, subsidies, geoengineering), global population growth, and the broader “planetary boundaries” concept of nine boundaries (three of which have already been crossed: climate, biodiversity, and anthropogenic nitrogen and phosphorus), which provides “a current view of the state of the global environment.” [NOTE: A pocket-size overview that is especially useful for the discussion of possible surprises and planetary boundaries. Also see Robert Henson, The Thinking Person’s Guide to Climate Change (American Meteorological Society, Sept 2014, 497p, $30pb), which is longer and somewhat more popularized.] (CLIMATE CHANGE: INTRODUCTION)

Urban Protected Areas: Profiles and Best Practice Guidelines. Ted Trzyna (InterEnvironment Institute, Claremont Graduate University) and six others. Gland, Switzerland: International Union for Conservation of Nature, Global Protected Areas Programme, 2014, 110p (8x12”); www.iucn-urban.org. Describes the growing interest in urban protected areas, what they are (areas with large numbers of visitors in or at the edge of large population areas), and why they matter: to promote human health and well-being, define a city’s identity, build urban constituencies for nature conservation, offer opportunities to learn about nature and sustainability, provide ecosystem services, bolster resilience to climate change, and support the local economy with tourist income, Profiles are provided of 15 such areas in Sydney (Royal National Park), Rio de Janeiro (Tijuca National Park), Sao Paulo, Hong Kong (Country Parks), Taipei, Marseille, Mumbai, Kingston (Jamaica), Kenya (Nairobi National Park), Seoul, Gwangju (Korea), Cape Town, London’s Wetland Centre, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Concludes with 30 best practice guidelines, such as provide access for all, engender a local sense of ownership, take advantage of volunteers and support groups, control invasive species, promote connections to other natural areas, control encroachment, cast a wide net for advocates and allies, cooperate with universities, seek funding from a wide range of sources, and work to make urban protected areas national and global conservation priorities. (CITIES AND PARKS* CONSERVATION* PROTECTED AREAS)

Public Health 2030: A Scenario Exploration. Clement Bezold (Chairman, IAF), Jonathan Peck (President, IAF) and four others. Alexandria VA: Institute for Alternative Futures, May 2014, 54p (8x11”). Download at www.altfutures.org/publichealth2030. Public health is currently at the fulcrum of many of society’s greatest challenges: population health, chronic and disease, and emergency preparedness. But there are many uncertainties in the years ahead, as illustrated by four scenarios: 1) One Step Forward, Half a Step Back: public health agencies and health care slowly advance their capabilities amidst fiscal constraints; many use automation and advanced analytics, but climate change challenges continue to grow, health care costs continue to rise, and there are great variations in funding and approaches to prevention; 2) Overwhelmed, Under-Resourced: funding cuts and a hostile political context undermine the role of agencies, as public health crises grow worse and more frequent, largely due to climate change; technological and economic disparities grow, and public health institutions cannot do much about it; 3) Sea Change for Health Equity: national and local economies gradually grow, and changes in values and demographics lead to “common sense” policies and support for health equity; public health agencies evolve into “health development agencies’ that use advanced analytics and diverse partnerships to identify problems and opportunities and catalyze action to improve community health; 4) Community-Driven Health and Equity: public health agencies, partners, and local initiatives coalesce into a national web of community health-enhancing networks that exchange innovations and best practices; the US government supports legislation to create a more equitable society, and new community economic models that help households improve health and wellbeing, in the face of more intense and variable weather extremes. [NOTE: This project, involving interviews with some 40 experts and a two-day national workshop, was supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Kresge Foundation.] (PUBLIC HEALTH: FOUR SCENARIOS)