The No Nonsense Guide To International Development

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.

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.

"Overseas aid" and "international development" are catch-all terms that cover a multitude of activities – and abuses. Building dams in India, planting treesin Burkina Faso, and rescuing street children in Brazil are images of development with which we can all identify. But what few people realize is that the terms "aid" and "development" often mask confusion, contradiction, and even downright deceit. The updated version of 2002’s best-selling No-Nonsense Guide to International Development explains what "development" actually is – and explores its political and economic roots in history. It shows what can happen in the name of development and argues for a more organic, social approach with those it seeks to serve as equal partners in the process.

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.

Ball and Gready review the development of today's assumptions about human rights and introduce readers to alternative models from history and from today's human rights debate. From the material rights of citizenship to the more abstract rights of the imagination, the authors present a clear overview of today's human rights debate and prompt discussion about alternative models for the future. Splendid series of pocketable guides to issue politics...rigorously clear.' - The Guardian'

One of the few up-to-date works on the whole of the arms trade, this book puts the global trade in weapons in the context of history and includes recent controversial deals, as well as case studies on Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Darfur. It exposes the cynicism, bribery, and insider deals that characterize the conventional trade and the hidden world of torture. Nicholas Gilby led the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) in its efforts to expose the corruption at the heart of Britain's arms deals with Saudi Arabia over the past four decades. In 2008, he forced the disclosure of many documents concerning corruption in Britain's arms deals with Saudi Arabia.