The only up-to-date work on the global arms trade, this book puts the global trade in weapons into the context of history. It includes recent controversial deals as well as case studies on Zimbabwe, Iraq and Darfur. Veteran human rights campaigner Nicolas Gilby exposes the cynicism, bribery and secret deals which characterise this dirty - albeit legal - business.
The ending of the Cold War was supposed to increase global security and divert expenditure previously earmarked for arms purchases to more constructive ends. Instead, the arms trade has flourished. Not only conventional arms, but also police and surveillance equipment, have been provided by Western countries seeking to make a profit from conflict in unstable parts of the world. Foreign debt has remained high, development has been held back, and human rights have been systematically abused, all with the connivance of an arms trade prepared to turn a blind eye to the uses to which increasingly sophisticated weaponry is put, so long as hefty profits can be reaped. This disturbing book names the players in the arms trade and charts the impact that it has had on war, human rights, and development. The financial and trade mechanisms that permit the arms trade to continue are revealed, amid sordid tales of bribery and corruption. Gideon Burrows concludes his examination by reviewing the ways in which this trade can be controlled or even abolished.
Globalisation has become one of the most used and encompassing words over the past decade, of undeniable influence in economics, politics and activism. Globalisation is literally all around; every aspect of life is affected by a global structure of communication and economy. This fully revised and updated guide condenses this complex subject into clear, concise commentary. It examines the debt trap, the acceleration of neoliberalism, competition for energy resources, the links between the war on terror, the arms trade and the alternatives to corporate control.
Religion is a term which is often used in the media and public life without any clarification. However, it is a word that encompasses hundreds of different beliefs. It is also a loaded word that has a different meaning for each person. Religion can be seen as a source of war and peace, love and hate, dialogue and narrow-mindedness. Today, thanks to the globalisation of communications, more people than ever before belong to a different religious community than their parents. This No-Nonsense Guide considers how religion has shaped culture.
The basic concepts of finance are introduced and explained in this No-Nonsense Guide. Includes information on how money is created as well as how decisions by banking and other financial service corporations determine the fate of billions of people. In today's turbulent economical climate, this guide makes for essential reading.
The In-Your-Face, Results-Focused, No-"Kumbaya" Guide to Social Media for Business! Detailed techniques for increasing sales, profits, market share, and efficiency. Specific solutions for brand-building, customer service, R & D, and reputation management. Facts, statistics, real-world case studies, and rock-solid metrics
Deception in High Places reveals the corruption endemic in Britain's biggest arms deals over the last fifty years. Based on painstaking research in government archives, collections of private and court papers and documents won by the author in a landmark Freedom of Information Tribunal against the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the book illuminates a shadow world of bribery and elite enrichment. Deception in High Places charts British government involvement in arms trade corruption and presents the fullest history yet of bribery in Britain's arms deals with Saudi Arabia. It includes the backstory of the controversial termination of a Serious Fraud Office corruption investigation following pressure by the Saudi Royal Family and the British establishment.
Green issues and politics are no longer separate entities, and as environmental issues will only become more pertinent in the future, it will dominate the political spectrum. From climate chaos to consumerism, the crisis facing human civilisation is clear. Yet the response from polticians at present is still inadequate and environmental activists focus on single campaigns rather than electoral politics. The new addition to the No-Nonsense Guides measures the rising tide of eco-activism and awareness and explains why it heralds a new politcal era worldwide.
A brutal, bloody, and at times hopeful history of the vote; a primer on the opponents fighting to take it away; and a playbook for how we can save our democracy before it’s too late—from the former U.S. Attorney General on the front lines of this fight Voting is our most important right as Americans—“the right that protects all the others,” as Lyndon Johnson famously said when he signed the Voting Rights Act—but it’s also the one most violently contested throughout U.S. history. Since the gutting of the act in the landmark Shelby County v. Holder case in 2013, many states have passed laws restricting the vote. After the 2020 election, President Trump’s effort to overturn the vote has evolved into a slow-motion coup, with many Republicans launching an all-out assault on our democracy. The vote seems to be in unprecedented peril. But the peril is not at all unprecedented. America is a fragile democracy, Eric Holder argues, whose citizens have only had unfettered access to the ballot since the 1960s. He takes readers through three dramatic stories of how the vote was won: first by white men, through violence and insurrection; then by white women, through protests and mass imprisonments; and finally by African Americans, in the face of lynchings and terrorism. Next, he dives into how the vote has been stripped away since Shelby—a case in which Holder was one of the parties. He ends with visionary chapters on how we can reverse this tide of voter suppression and become a true democracy where every voice is heard and every vote is counted. Full of surprising history, intensive analysis, and actionable plans for the future, this is a powerful primer on our most urgent political struggle from one of the country's leading advocates.
