Robert Benewick – författare

Now updated with a chapter-length afterword by the editors on theend of the Deng era and its aftermath, China in the 1990sprovides a comprehensive survey of a nation in transition. Anunderstanding of this complex process requires a multidisciplinary andmultidimensional approach, which the editors have achieved by bringingtogether experts from Britain, the United States, Europe, Australia,and Hong Kong who examine China's economic, political, military,cultural and social achievements and problems.

The difficulties China still faces are enormous, some of them of itsown making: pollution, urban sprawl, the insecurity of food supplies,the risks of political authoritarianism and the perils ofliberalisation. Its population is still growing dramatically and islikely to be 1.5 billion by 2015, three times what it was when theP.R.C. was established in 1949. But since embarking on a reformprogramme which, at the time seemed experimental and hard to reconcilewith official ideology, it has gone from being the 'sick man ofAsia' to being one of the world's largest and fastestdeveloping economies in what now looks to be a remarkably effective andwell-managed transition.

First published in 1972. Militant protest is not new to British politics, but the widespread recourse to direct action, in Britain and abroad, is unprecedented. This book was the first comprehensive examination of contemporary protest in the British context. The contributors represented leading agencies of protest as well as those academics who had made this phenomenon their special concern. The result is a unique blend of direct experience and objective reflection.

The first part of the volume covers the theoretical and historical dimensions of protest, and is followed by a detailed consideration of specific issues (Ulster, race, the Bomb, students and community action). An analysis is then made of the reaction of the State to such protest through legislative and administrative channels. The final part shows the intermediary roles of political parties, MPs, the NCCL and the mass media. The book concludes with a critical examination of the interaction between protest and representative democracy and the implications which arise from it.

Students of politics and sociology as well as political activists of all shades of opinion will find this book essential to an understanding of the bases of protest movements.

First published in 1973. Few concepts in the modern age have created more controversy in the discussion of social, moral, and political issues than that of ideology. Ever since the term was coined by Destutt de Tracy to refer to a scientific study of the origin of ideas, its meaning has undergone a series of mutation, until we have reached the stage where ideology can now be used to refer to almost any organized body of beliefs.

Amidst these changes in the meaning of the term certain common preoccupations are detectable and certain fundamental problems remain. Is human reason capable of comprehending reality ''as it is''? Or is its approach necessarily influenced by the thinker''s values, personal or class interests and personal or social prejudices? Is human reason a culturally neutral instrument or a socially acquired capacity that is unconsciously shaped by a particular historical age or society or class? There are fundamental problems too concerning the internal structure and rationale of specific ideologies such as conservatism, pluralism, and apartheid.

This title will be of great interest to students of philosophy and politics.

First published in 1972. Militant protest is not new to British politics, but the widespread recourse to direct action, in Britain and abroad, is unprecedented. This book was the first comprehensive examination of contemporary protest in the British context. The contributors represented leading agencies of protest as well as those academics who had made this phenomenon their special concern. The result is a unique blend of direct experience and objective reflection.

The first part of the volume covers the theoretical and historical dimensions of protest, and is followed by a detailed consideration of specific issues (Ulster, race, the Bomb, students and community action). An analysis is then made of the reaction of the State to such protest through legislative and administrative channels. The final part shows the intermediary roles of political parties, MPs, the NCCL and the mass media. The book concludes with a critical examination of the interaction between protest and representative democracy and the implications which arise from it.

Students of politics and sociology as well as political activists of all shades of opinion will find this book essential to an understanding of the bases of protest movements.

First published in 1973. Few concepts in the modern age have created more controversy in the discussion of social, moral, and political issues than that of ideology. Ever since the term was coined by Destutt de Tracy to refer to a scientific study of the origin of ideas, its meaning has undergone a series of mutation, until we have reached the stage where ideology can now be used to refer to almost any organized body of beliefs.

Amidst these changes in the meaning of the term certain common preoccupations are detectable and certain fundamental problems remain. Is human reason capable of comprehending reality ''as it is''? Or is its approach necessarily influenced by the thinker''s values, personal or class interests and personal or social prejudices? Is human reason a culturally neutral instrument or a socially acquired capacity that is unconsciously shaped by a particular historical age or society or class? There are fundamental problems too concerning the internal structure and rationale of specific ideologies such as conservatism, pluralism, and apartheid.

This title will be of great interest to students of philosophy and politics.