Libros de

Spark

the life of electricity and the electricity of life

A fresh look at electricity and its powerful role in life on Earth When we think of electricity, we likely imagine the energy humming inside our home appliances or lighting up our electronic devices-or perhaps we envision the lightning-streaked clouds of a stormy sky. But ...

Under the influence

putting peer pressure to work

From New York Times bestselling author and economics columnist Robert Frank, bold new ideas for creating environments that promise a brighter future Psychologists have long understood that social environments profoundly shape our behavior, sometimes for the better, often for the worse. But social influence is ...

Outside the box

How globalization changed from moving stuff to spreading ideas

From the acclaimed author of The Box, a new history of globalization that shows us how to navigate its future Globalization has profoundly shaped the world we live in, yet its rise was neither inevitable nor planned. It is also one of the most contentious ...

Unconditional equals

Why equality cannot be conditional on a shared human "nature" but has to be for all For centuries, ringing declarations about all men being created equal appealed to a shared human nature as the reason to consider ourselves equals. But appeals to natural equality invited ...

The discrete charm of the machine

why the world became digital

The genesis of the digital idea and why it transformed civilization A few short decades ago, we were informed by the smooth signals of analog television and radio; we communicated using our analog telephones; and we even computed with analog computers. Today our world is ...

Politics and pan-Africanism

diplomacy, regional economies and peace-building in contemporary Africa

Offering an examination of the diplomatic and economic regional power structures in Africa and their relationships with each other, Dawn Nagar discusses the potential and future of pan-Africanism. The three primary regional economic communities (RECs) that are recognised by the African Union as the key ...

Arctic Governance

Volume 3: Norway, Russia and Asia

The Polar North is known to be home to large gas and oil reserves and its position holds significant trading and military advantages, yet the maritime boundaries of the region remain ill-defined. In the twenty-first century the Arctic is undergoing profound change. As the sea ...

Post-conflict security in South Sudan

from liberal peacebuilding to demilitarisation

Just eight years after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and two years after gaining independence, the world's newest nation state descended once more into violence and civil war. Why have policies of liberal peacebuilding failed to bring lasting stability to the ...

Power and conflict in Russia's borderlands

the post-Soviet geopolitics of dispute resolution

As Cold War battle lines are seemingly re-drawn, Russia's various 'frozen' war zones (ongoing separatist conflicts) are often cited as particularly volatile and assumed by some Western commentators and policymakers to be 'next' on Putin's 'wish list'. But, as Helena Rytövuori-Apunen demonstrates here ...

Myanmar's Rohingya Genocide

identity, history and hate speech

The genocide in Myanmar has drawn global attention as Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi appears to be presiding over human rights violations, forced migrations and extra-judicial killings on an enormous scale. This unique study draws on thousands of hours of interviews and ...

Hybrid warfare

security and asymmetric conflict in international relations

Hybrid Warfare refers to a military strategy that blends conventional warfare, so-called 'irregular warfare' and cyber-attacks with other influencing methods, such as fake news, diplomacy and foreign political intervention. As Hybrid Warfare becomes increasingly commonplace, there is an imminent need for research bringing attention to ...

The Spectre of Afghanistan

security in Central Asia

Connecting a number of divergent perspectives on the current state of Afghanistan, this book outlines the country's past and present instability and how this impacts and is conceptualised by its neighbours as well as by international heavyweights such as Russia, China and the United ...

The battle of the Ayatollahs in Iran

the United States, foreign policy, and political rivalry since 1979

Understanding the foreign policy agenda and behavior of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a critical challenge for the world. But where do the principal Iranian regime actors come from in terms of political background, experiences and interests? Which types of ambitions or policy conflicts ...

Political advice

past, present and future

Political advice has never seemed more prominent - or more problematic. This volume of essays speaks to a contemporary concern, set in a wider historical context. Political Advice: Past, Present and Future brings several very different voices to bear on the problem of advice and influence ...

People power

why we need more migrants

Migration is one of the fundamental driving forces of change in the modern world. As regions such as the Middle East continue to experience instability, climate change is driving migration from Africa and Central Asia - these 'push factors' lead to increased migration throughout Europe. Yet ...

Freedom of expression in Islam

challenging apostasy and blasphemy laws

In Muslim countries, apostasy and blasphemy laws are defended on the grounds that they are based on Islamic Shari'a and intended to protect religion. But blasphemy and apostasy laws can be used both to suppress thought and debate and to harass religious minorities, both ...

Arab-Iranian rivalry in the Persian Gulf

territorial disputes and the balance of power in the Middle East

Iranian ambitions in the Persian Gulf and rivalries with Arab neighbours are subject to intense - and heated - speculation, controversy and debate. Here, Farzad Sharifi Yazdi scrutinises the rival Arab-Iranian claims to Bahrain, the Shatt al-Arab waterway, and the Abu Musa and Tunbs islands in the ...

White malice

the CIA and the neocolonisation of Africa

The shocking, untold story of how African independence was strangled at birth by America's systematic interference. Accra, 1958. Africa's liberation leaders have gathered for a conference, full of strength, purpose and vision. Newly independent Ghana's Kwame Nkrumah and Congo's Patrice Lumumba ...

The Middle East crisis factory

tyranny, resilience and resistance

Why is the Middle East a crisis factory, and how can it be fixed? What does the future look like for its 500 million people? And what role should the West play? Iyad El-Baghdadi and Ahmed Gatnash tell the story of the modern Middle East ...

The Empire's new clothes

the myth of the Commonwealth

In the wake of Brexit, the Commonwealth has been identifies as an important body for future british Trade and diplomacy, but few know what it actually does. How is it organised and what has held it together for so long? How important is the Queen ...