Benjamin Read – författare

Most social science studies of local organizations tend to focus on "civil society" associations, voluntary associations independent from state control, whereas government-sponsored organizations tend to be theorized in totalitarian terms as "mass organizations" or manifestations of state corporatism. Roots of the State examines neighborhood associations in Beijing and Taipei that occupy a unique space that exists between these concepts.Benjamin L. Read views the work of the neighborhood associations he studies as a form of "administrative grassroots engagement." States sponsor networks of organizations at the most local of levels, and the networks facilitate governance and policing by building personal relationships with members of society. Association leaders serve as the state's designated liaisons within the neighborhood and perform administrative duties covering a wide range of government programs, from welfare to political surveillance. These partly state-controlled entities also provide a range of services to their constituents. Neighborhood associations, as institutions initially created to control societies, may underpin a repressive regime such as China's, but they also can evolve to empower societies, as in Taiwan. This book engages broad and much-discussed questions about governance and political participation in both authoritarian and democratic regimes.

Most social science studies of local organizations tend to focus on "civil society" associations, voluntary associations independent from state control, whereas government-sponsored organizations tend to be theorized in totalitarian terms as "mass organizations" or manifestations of state corporatism. Roots of the State examines neighborhood associations in Beijing and Taipei that occupy a unique space that exists between these concepts.Benjamin L. Read views the work of the neighborhood associations he studies as a form of "administrative grassroots engagement." States sponsor networks of organizations at the most local of levels, and the networks facilitate governance and policing by building personal relationships with members of society. Association leaders serve as the state's designated liaisons within the neighborhood and perform administrative duties covering a wide range of government programs, from welfare to political surveillance. These partly state-controlled entities also provide a range of services to their constituents. Neighborhood associations, as institutions initially created to control societies, may underpin a repressive regime such as China's, but they also can evolve to empower societies, as in Taiwan. This book engages broad and much-discussed questions about governance and political participation in both authoritarian and democratic regimes.

Emily longs to be ordinary, but when her parents disappear, shestumbles into the secret, spooky world of the Midnight Hour. There's only one way she can rescue her parents: she must findthe courage to embrace her magic ...

The second spellbinding adventure in Benjamin Read andLaura Trinder's magical Midnight Hour series!'A fantastic magical adventure featuring a cast of Ghibli-esquecharacters, a feisty heroine and a hedgehog. I loved it.'M.G. LEONARD, author of BEETLE BOY on book 1'Fans of Nevermoor will love this'THE BOOKSELLER on book 1'I haven't enjoyed this kind of caper so much since HarryPotter' NEW STATESMAN on book 1'Pure delight' THE GUARDIAN on book 1Emily needs to work out why magic is leaking from the MidnightHour – but her shape-shifting Pooka relatives and a terrifyinghaunting aren't making things easy. Plus ... she's supposed to be grounded.Officer-in-training Tarkus and pet hedgehog Hoggins are on handto help – but if they can't work out what's going wrong,it will be the end of the midnight world ... The second critically-acclaimed book in the much-lovedMidnight Hour seriesA hilarious, spooky adventure full of genuine scaresand belly laughs! Coraline meets A Wrinkle in Time: allthe makings of a modern classicContinue the adventure with book 3, The MidnightHunt