No Nonsense Guide To The United Nations

The No-Nonsense Guide to the United Nations is virtually unique in UN literature in covering the whole of the UN system, not just the political bodies in New York. Maggie Black explains the structure and assesses the UN’s record on humanitarian relief, protection of the global commons, development, health, education, international law and human rights.

Is the world heading for a population explosion? How many people can the planet sustain? With the world's inhabitants passing the seven billion count and predicted to hit nine billion by 2050, the world is on the brink of a number panic. A new addition to this acclaimed series takes a closer look at what these numbers mean, why women in most parts of the world have fewer children, what societal changes this increase will initiate and how having babies relates to climate change.

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.

A look behind the catch-all term world music' aiming to explore the reasons for the contemporary interest in world music, who its audience is and why it has become such a popular genre. Through chapters on the many different genres that make up this multi-faceted area, the case for music as a powerful harmonising tool is aptly put forward.'

A highly accessible history of terrorism looking at core examples from the Middle East, instances of state terrorism and terrorist fringes of political movements. Covers the theories justifying and guiding terrorist acts and the battle of images that accompanies them, including: the proliferation of terrorist activities over recent years and international hotspots, the war on terror', terrorist acts carried out by states and the constraints on democracy and political and civil liberties that so often characterise the response to terrorism.'

Wayne Roberts puts under the microscope a global food system that is under strain from climate change and from economic disaster. He shows how a world food system based on supermarkets and agribusiness corporations is unsustainable and looks at new models of producing healthy food from all over the world.

Has the battle for women’s rights been won? Not when women still make up 70 percent of the world’s poor. This guide examines the advances that have been made and looks beneath the surface to find out what the reality is for women all around the world. It shows how, in this “post-feminist” age, women’s rights are still very much an issue. Nikki van der Gaag is a freelance writer, editor, and evaluator on development issues. Prior to this, she was editorial director at the Panos Institute and co-editor of the New Internationalist magazine.

Virtually any commodity can move around the world to satisfy demand, but human beings have far less freedom. Many would-be migrants are forced to risk life and limb traveling illegally. Yet most rich countries are short of workers, have shrinking populations, and need more immigrants. This is a timely guide to a major issue that is never far from the political headlines. Peter Stalker is a former co-editor of the New Internationalist who now works as a consultant to a number of UN agencies. He has written two books on migration for the International Labor Organization.