Choice Outstanding Academic Book! How pervasive is reverse discrimination in the United States today? What exactly is "affirmative action"? Fred Pincus investigates the nature and scope of reverse discrimination, questioning what effect affirmative action actually has on white men. Beginning with the early opposition to the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Pincus traces the evolution of the idea    More >

Both a history and a critique of South Africa's film industry, this book recounts the long experience of filmmaker and producer Richard Green. Green's story—especially his work in forging the film initiative New Directions Africa—is emblematic of the struggles, negotiations, and competing ideologies that faced South Africa as it emerged from apartheid. He continues to be an    More >

Using El Salvador as an example of the UN's recent multidimensional peacekeeping operations, Johnstone explores the delicate balance between the potentially conflicting goals of peace and justice. Johnstone challenges the view that these twin goals are incompatible, attributing the relative (though still incomplete) success of the Salvadoran peace process to the mutually reinforcing    More >

From the fourteenth century to the twenty-first, the passport has been one of the essential means of identification—and control—of peoples in the international system. Despite predictions that it would soon become an anachronism, it continues to be a central feature of international relations. Mark Salter’s narrative of the history of the passport adds a vital perspective to the    More >

Rights-Based Approaches to Development explores the impact of the shift from a market-based to a rights-based framework for development efforts. Drawing on their own experiences, the contributors discuss current debates, theoretical and practical concerns and achievements, and larger implications about poverty and the relationship between citizens and the state.    More >

Drawing on case histories of emergency relief programs that have successfully promoted development, Anderson and Woodrow offer guidelines for fashioning assistance programs designed to counter the effects of both natural and human-caused disasters. Arguing that relief efforts must support and enhance existing capacities, they present an analytical framework for assessing the characteristics and    More >

Conflict is dramatic. In theater, literature, story telling, and news reporting, it is a powerful mechanism that draws attention, heightens the senses and evokes emotion. Schirch argues that peacebuilding has the potential to do just the same. Examples of peacebuilding often center on the serious, rational negotiations and formal problem-solving efforts in conflict situations. Schirch argues,    More >

An assassination, the election of a new prime minister, and a fresh round of Palestinian unrest have highlighted the ongoing tensions between religious and secular Israeli Jews. Among the latter, the events have introduced fear about the onset of a new religious war and a dramatic shift in public policy. However, Ira Sharkansky notes that, while religious interests in Israel have been powerful    More >

Oyono’s third novel is the bittersweet, first-person story of Aki Barnabas, a young Cameroonian scholar who seeks to become “someone” by using the rules of the colonial system to his personal advantage. Failing in his nearly ten-year effort to win a scholarship to Paris, sacrificing his very self in a futile quest for prestige, Barnabas becomes lost at home and unwanted abroad.    More >

Following the birth of democracy in South Africa in 1994, Robben Island, once a symbol of pain, injustice, and closed spaces, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a global symbol of the commitment to democracy, tolerance, and human dignity. In the years that followed, however, conflict marred the high hopes for this cherished location. Robben Island Rainbow Dreams offers a behind-the-scenes    More >