Book Search
- Series: Global History of the Present
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Angry Nation
Turkey Since 1989
Since Turkey was catapulted back onto the world stage in 1989 it has turned into a major power broker and has developed into one the largest economies in the world. The country has, however, failed to peacefully resolve its ethnic, religious and historical conflicts. Today, as the foundations of the ethno-nationalist Kemalist state are eroding rapidly, Turkey appears to be coming to terms with the many sources of its anger, if cautiously and slowly. At this historical turning point, Turkey Since 1989: Angry Nation charts the contemporary history of Turkey by looking at the country’s erratic transformation from a military dictatorship to a maturing, if still troubled, democracy.
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Between Terror and Democracy
Algeria since 1989
Algeria’s democratic experiment is seminal in post-Cold War history. In this book Le Sueur shows that Algeria is at the very heart of contemporary debates about Islam and secular democracy. Between Terror and Democracy is a lively examination of how the fate of one country is entwined with much greater global issues.
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The Throes of Democracy
Brazil Since 1989
In the 1980s, Brazil emerged from two decades of military dictatorship and embarked on an experiment in full democracy for the first time in the nation’s history. Since then, Brazilians have sought to live up to the ideals of this experiment while negotiating dramatic economic and cultural transformations. In The Throes of Democracy Bryan McCann gives a panoramic view of this process, exploring the relationships between the rise of the political left, the escalation of urban violence, the agribusiness boom and the spread of pentecostal evangelization. Brazil remains a land marked by deep inequality, but in the last two decades the structure of that inequality has changed substantially. This is a country that remains an endlessly vital source of popular culture, now bubbling forth from different corners of the map. This book provides a fascinating introduction to one of the twenty-first century’s most significant countries.
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Impossible Peace
Israel/Palestine Since 1989
In 1993 luminaries from around the world signed the Oslo accords, a pledge to achieve lasting peace in the Holy Land. Yet, with over a thousand Israelis and nearly four times that number Palestinians killed since 2000, the oslo process is now considered ‘history’.
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Power and Contestation
India Since 1989
1989 marks the unraveling of India’s “Nehruvian Consensus” of a modern, secular nation with a selfreliant economy. Caste and religion play major roles in national politics. Global economic integration led to conflict between the state and dispossessed people, but processes of globalization have also enabled new spaces for political assertion. In a world of American Empire, India as a nuclear power has abandoned nonalignment, a shift contested by voices within. Power and Contestation shows that the turbulence and turmoil of this period are signs of India’s continued vibrancy and democracy. The book is an ideal introduction to the complex internal histories and external power relations of a major global player in the new century.
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Bipolar Orders
The Two Koreas Since 1989
North Korea has experienced severe economic deterioration and increasing international isolation, while South Korea has undergone democratization and witnessed the emergence of a vibrant consumer culture. Paradoxically, this growing gap in ideologies and material standards led to improved relations between the two countries. Why has this counterintuitive development occurred? Is north Korea really a threat, and if so, for whom? Amidst the recent tendency to repackage the last embers of the cold War as a potential frontline for the “war on terror,” this book provides a substantive, accessible and timely examination of the complex and compelling histories of the two Koreas.
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On the Move
The Caribbean Since 1989
The Caribbean stands out in the popular imagination as a “place without history,” a place which has somehow eluded modernity. In On the Move, Alejandra Bronfman argues the opposite is true; the caribbean is, and has always been, deeply engaged with the wider world. From drugs and tourism to international political struggles, these islands form an integral part of world history and of the present, and are in a constant state of economic and social flux in the face of global transformations.
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Living With Reform
China Since 1989
China is huge. China is growing more powerful. Yet China remains a great mystery to most people in the West. This contemporary history, based on the latest scholarly research, offers a balanced perspective of the continuing legacy of Maoism in the lifeways not only of China’s leaders but China’s working people. It outlines the ambitious economic reforms taken since the 1980s and shows the complex responses to the consequences of reform in China today. It shows the domestic concerns and social forces that shape the foreign policy of one of the worlds great powers. It will equip the reader to judge media reports independently and to consider the experience and values not only of the Chinese government but China’s workers, women, and minorities.
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Dictatorship, Imperialism and Chaos
Iraq Since 1989
This book is a concise, readable, yet rigorous narrative of the recent history of Iraq. It focuses on the transformations within the country, placing the people of Iraq at the centre of the changes that began with the invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and ended with the current American occupation.
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First World Dreams
Mexico Since 1989
Mexicans have long dreamt of the First World, and in recent times it has landed there with a thud. Under the guise of globalization, Mexico opened its borders, reformed its political system, and transformed its economy. The impacts have been paradoxical. A vibrant civil society is marred by human rights abuses and violent rebellion. Market reforms have produced a stable economy, economic growth and great fortunes, while devastating much of the countryside and crippling domestic producers. Mexico is today one of the world’s largest exporting nations, yet has a perpetually negative trade balance. It is a country in a perpetual state of becoming; a modern industrial democracy where human rights are respected-and a violent, fragmented place where the chasms of wealth and poverty threaten to undo the dreams of modernity.
