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Political science

  • Auteur:
    Silversides, Ann
    Sommaire:

    Michael Lynch, the central figure of this book, was a long-time gay activist and a dynamic force in organizing an early response to the AIDS epidemic. Lynch's prescient articles in The Body Politic spoke to the gay communities of Toronto, New York, and San Francisco. His organizing efforts meant change and hope. AIDS Activist is a crisp and passionate introduction to a wide range of issues. Focusing on personal stories Silversides furnishes a snap-shot history of how the AIDS crisis unfolded and some of the heroic responses to it. Her emphasis on the politics of the gay community response makes this book unique.

  • Auteur:
    Mukbil, Huda
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    In Agent of Change, Huda Mukbil, a Black Arab-Canadian Muslim, chronicles her life as an intelligence officer in Canada's lead spy agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. Mukbil was at forefront of the fight against terrorism after 9/11, and the first such woman to join CSIS. Her mastery of five languages, to say nothing of her subject position, quickly made her a counterrorism expert and a unique and valuable contributor to the organization. She provides a riveting account of her struggle for belonging and acceptance in an agency dominated by former RCMP and police officers, and her confrontation of the new international terrorist threat. In July 2005, she was given a chance to prove her worth when she was called upon by the British Security Service, MI5, to contribute, at the highest level, to its investigations of the terrorist attacks in London. Dazzlingly written, her is an eye-opener for anyone wanting to understand how racism, misogyny, and Islamophobia undermine not only individuals, but institutions and the national interest.

  • Auteur:
    Bellett, Gerald
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    The acclaimed non-fiction international political thriller exposing the real reason for Watergate, the hidden death of Howard Hughes, and the illicit activities of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), with the CIA's worldwide pursuit of John Meier trying to expose it all, including revealing information on the Robert F. Kennedy Assassination and Critical Comments by New York Times bestselling author Jim Hougan. THE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE IN DEVELOPMENT 'MEIERGATE' IS ABOUT THE LIFE STORY OF JOHN MEIER NARRATED BY 8-TIME AUDIE AWARD WINNER ACTOR DENNIS BOUTSIKARIS (THE BOURNE LEGACY / BETTER CALL SAUL). During the Watergate hearings, one man wanted to tell a spellbound nation secrets about the Nixon White House, the CIA and Howard Hughes. He could have told them why the burglary happened but that was not what the Committee wanted to hear. To keep him from telling his secrets, he was persecuted, jailed and forced into exile in Canada. His name is John Meier; his employer was Howard Hughes; Age of Secrets is his story. Former U.S. Senate candidate John Meier had Top Secret security clearance with the U.S. Government and has been referred to in the media as the man who brought down President of the United States Richard Nixon in Watergate, the greatest political scandal in U.S. history. Meier was the right-hand man to Howard Hughes, the world's richest individual, and Meier was the first person to expose the CIA's connection to the Hughes Organization and the only person to call for a congressional hearing into the death of Howard Hughes. In the Afterword of the book, Meier sums up his politically motivated battle by saying "My story is one of a man devastated by a corrupt system. Our governments are increasingly disrespectful of basic human rights such that we can no longer legitimately call our nations democracies. I hope that this story will contribute to changing this course".

  • Auteur:
    Ross, Alexander Reid
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    US society is notoriously complacent when it comes to the rise of fascist tendencies. When Dylann Roof murdered nine black parishioners in a Charleston church, media emphasis remained superficial. Familiar narratives of insane lone wolves and Confederate flags masked the organizations that inspired Roof's act and their connections to politicians at the local, state, and federal levels throughout the South-groups like the Council of Conservative Citizens (formerly the White Citizens Council). Scratch the surface of such groups and you'll find a web of complex ties and front groups created by fascist ideologues. Trace the connections further and further back and you find yourself moving from semi-respectable organizations through darker and darker levels of fascism and hatred. Fascism is not a euphemism here. A terrifying tour of the history and influence of international neo-fascists, Against the Fascist Creep maps the connections and names the names, showing how infiltration is a conscious and secret program for white nationalist and neo-Nazi groups. Their activity has exploded since the economic crisis and they have stepped up efforts to influence both mainstream and radical groups, including anarchists. This book is a line in the sand that both identifies the creep of fascist messages, ideas, and organization throughout our society and outlines how to stop it in its tracks. Alexander Reid Ross is a contributing moderator of the Earth First! Newswire. He is the editor of Grabbing Back: Essays Against the Global Land Grab and a contributor to Life During Wartime: Resisting Counterinsurgency.

  • Auteur:
    Kahl, Colin
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    This program includes a bonus conversation with the authors. Two of America's leading national security experts offer a definitive account of the global impact of COVID-19 and the political shock waves it will have on the United States and the world order in the 21st Century. "Informed by history, reporting, and a truly global perspective, this is an indispensable first draft of history and blueprint for how we can move forward." - Ben Rhodes. The COVID-19 pandemic killed millions, infected hundreds of millions, and laid bare the deep vulnerabilities and inequalities of our interconnected world. The accompanying economic crash was the worst since the Great Depression, with the International Monetary Fund estimating that it will cost over $22 trillion in global wealth over the next few years. Over two decades of progress in reducing extreme poverty was erased, just in the space of a few months. Already fragile states in every corner of the globe were further hollowed out. The brewing clash between the United States and China boiled over and the worldwide contest between democracy and authoritarianism deepened. It was a truly global crisis necessitating a collective response-and yet international cooperation almost entirely broke down, with key world leaders hardly on speaking terms. Colin Kahl and Thomas Wright's Aftershocks offers a riveting and comprehensive account of one of the strangest and most consequential years on record. Drawing on interviews with officials from around the world and extensive research, the authors tell the story of how nationalism and major power rivalries constrained the response to the worst pandemic in a century. They demonstrate the myriad ways in which the crisis exposed the limits of the old international order and how the reverberations from COVID-19 will be felt for years to come. A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press "COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the international order, and Aftershocks is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand what that means for the future. Written by two of America's leading strategists, this ambitious and engaging book puts the pandemic in historical context and makes an important case for how, in the wake of this crisis, we can build a better international system." - Former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright

  • Auteur:
    Matas, David
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    Verbal attacks against Israel for human rights violations have turned into physical attacks against the Jewish community worldwide. How has that happened? This book attempts to explain the phenomenon. Anti-Zionists, whose primary goal is destruction of the State of Israel, use accusations of the worst forms of human rights violations against Israel to delegitimize the state. These accusations criminalize the Jewish population worldwide for actual or presumed support of the State of Israel. The contemporary international human rights system and the existence of the State of Israel are twin legacies of the Holocaust. The failure of the human rights system to prevent attacks on Israel and the Jews is an aftershock of the Holocaust.

  • Auteur:
    Goudeau, Jessica
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    "Simply brilliant, both in its granular storytelling and its enormous compassion" —The New York Times Book Review The story of two refugee families and their hope and resilience as they fight to survive and belong in America The welcoming and acceptance of immigrants and refugees has been central to America's identity for centuries—yet America has periodically turned its back at the times of greatest humanitarian need. After the Last Border is an intimate look at the lives of two women as they struggle for the twenty-first century American dream, having won the "golden ticket" to settle as refugees in Austin, Texas. Mu Naw, a Christian from Myanmar struggling to put down roots with her family, was accepted after decades in a refugee camp at a time when America was at its most open to displaced families; and Hasna, a Muslim from Syria, agrees to relocate as a last resort for the safety of her family—only to be cruelly separated from her children by a sudden ban on refugees from Muslim countries. Writer and activist Jessica Goudeau tracks the human impacts of America's ever-shifting refugee policy as both women narrowly escape from their home countries and begin the arduous but lifesaving process of resettling in Austin, Texas—a city that would show them the best and worst of what America has to offer. After the Last Border situates a dramatic, character-driven story within a larger history—the evolution of modern refugee resettlement in the United States, beginning with World War II and ending with current closed-door policies—revealing not just how America's changing attitudes toward refugees has influenced policies and laws, but also the profound effect on human lives.

  • Auteur:
    Johnstone, Rachael
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    The landmark decision R. v. Morgentaler (1988) struck down Canada’s abortion law and is widely believed to have established a right to abortion, but its actual impact is much less decisive. In After Morgentaler, Rachael Johnstone examines the state of abortion access in Canada today and argues that substantive access is essential to full citizenship for women. Using case studies, Johnstone assesses the role of both state and non-state actors in shaping access. This book affirms the need to recognize abortion as an issue fundamentally tied to women’s equality, while stressing the utility of rights claims to improve access.

  • Auteur:
    McBride, Stephen, Mahon, Rianne, Boychuk, Gerard W.
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    The 2007-08 financial crisis marked a turning point for social policy. World leaders were forced to take a position: Should they entrench neo-liberal policies in response to the crisis? Or should they implement alternative measures to challenge economics as usual? This volume explores how international organizations and nation states in Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and North America responded to the recession. Contributors examine whether social policy followed a similar trajectory across countries and regions or whether their diverse national experiences produced equally diverse solutions.

  • Auteur:
    Drake, Anna
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    Deliberative democracy - whereby people debate competing ideas before agreeing upon political action - must surely rest on its capacity to include all points of view. But how does this inclusive framework engage with activism that occurs outside of, and in opposition to, deliberative systems themselves? Activism, Inclusion, and the Challenges of Deliberative Democracychallenges the inherent contradiction of a framework that includes activism but doesn't require sustained exchange with activists, instead measuring the value of their efforts in terms of broader deliberative democratic outcomes. Through the examples of ACT UP, Black Lives Matter, and other contemporary activism, Anna Drake explores the systemic oppression that prevents activists from participating in deliberative systems as equals. Pointing to the failure of deliberative democracy to confront oppression, she develops an alternative theory of activism-as-deliberation that recognizes the normative importance of activism, making a key distinction between contributing toand deliberating with. When systemic inequalities affect people's perceptions of political legitimacy, activism cannot be meaningfully integrated. This nuanced study concludes that deliberative democrats must address activism on its own terms, external to and separate from deliberative systems that are shaped by injustices. Only then can activism's distinct democratic contribution be taken seriously.

  • Auteur:
    Botsford Fraser, Marian, Pillay, Sukanya, Roach, Kent, Boyden, Joseph
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    The Canadian Civil Liberties Association celebrates its fiftieth anniversary with this overview of its activities--sometimes quiet and sometimes strident--as a watchdog and safeguard for Canadians and their rights as citizens. Through a series of discussions and interviews, a picture of Canada over the last half-century evolves. From the Charter of Freedoms to life and death matters such as abortion and the death penalty through to public security vs. the right to privacy, and a look forward into issues concerning the next fifty years, comes a picture of Canadian society, past and present. This is a fascinating look at civil rights, of which many Canadians may be unaware or take for granted--until they are needed on a personal level. Illustrated with political cartoons and photographs.

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    Robert (Bob) Andrew Young (1950-2017) was Canada Research Chair in Multilevel Governance at the University of Western Ontario and one of Canada's most distinguished political scientists. In Across BoundariesYoung's former colleagues and students bring together contributions from his extensive network. These essays speak to Young's legacy while providing new insight into research in multilevel governance, secession, and political economy. Why and how does secession happen? How do different levels of government interact with each other? Why do some multilevel governments work better than others? What makes political extremism so virulent in today's society? These are some of the most pressing questions in political science today.These questions and research areas - secession, multilevel government, and political economy - were the focus of the writing and scholarship of Robert (Bob) Andrew Young (1950-2017), Canada Research Chair in Multilevel Governance at the University of Western Ontario and one of Canada's most distinguished political scientists. In Across BoundariesYoung's former colleagues and students bring together contributions from his extensive network, which included academics, government officials, and media personalities. These essays speak to Young's legacy while providing new insight into research in multilevel governance, secession, and political economy.Young's body of work is exemplary in its attention to concrete policy issues as well as in the breadth of his interest across many subfields of political science. Across Boundarieshonours his distinguished career and gives students, professors, and practitioners further insight into his scholarship.

  • Auteur:
    Doyle, Norman
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    Before he walked onto the political stage, Norman Doyle grew up in Avondale, Conception Bay, in a family of nine children. He followed in his father’s footsteps and made his way to New York City, where he found employment as an ironworker on the site of the World Trade Center. Later, he returned home, where his political aspirations took root. Inspired by the fiery speeches of Brian Peckford, and with the encouragement of the local ironworkers, Norman threw his hat in the ring and was elected to the House of Assembly in 1979. “Norm,” as he is affectionately known in his home province, left provincial politics in 1993 and later joined the House of Commons when he was elected as the Member of Parliament for St. John’s East in 1997. He was appointed to the Senate of Canada in 2012, the latest of many achievements in a long and illustrious political career. During his years on Confederation Hill (St. John’s) and Parliament Hill (Ottawa), Norm worked alongside other political heavyweights in the Progressive Conservative Party, and later the Conservative Party of Canada: Brian Peckford, Gerry Ottenheimer, Bill Marshall, Danny Williams, Loyola Hearn, Peter MacKay, Joe Clark, Jean Charest, and Stephen Harper. In According to Doyle, Senator Norman Doyle gives us a front-row seat to some of the greatest political battles ever fought for province and country—some which pitted Newfoundland and Labrador against Canada and put him in the difficult position of having to serve two masters at the same time. Selected by the Hill Times as one of the Best 100 Books in Politics, Public Policy, and History in 2013

  • Auteur:
    Tyson, Neil deGrasse
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    An exploration of the age-old complicity between skywatchers and warfighters, from the best-selling author of Astrophysics for People in a Hurry. In this fascinating foray into the centuries-old relationship between science and military power, acclaimed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and writer-researcher Avis Lang examine how the methods and tools of astrophysics have been enlisted in the service of war. "The overlap is strong, and the knowledge flows in both directions," say the authors, because astrophysicists and military planners care about many of the same things: multi-spectral detection, ranging, tracking, imaging, high ground, nuclear fusion, and access to space. Tyson and Lang call it a "curiously complicit" alliance. "The universe is both the ultimate frontier and the highest of high grounds," they write. "Shared by both space scientists and space warriors, it's a laboratory for one and a battlefield for the other. The explorer wants to understand it; the soldier wants to dominate it. But without the right technology'which is more or less the same technology for both parties'nobody can get to it, operate in it, scrutinize it, dominate it, or use it to their advantage and someone else's disadvantage." Spanning early celestial navigation to satellite-enabled warfare, Accessory to War is a richly researched and provocative examination of the intersection of science, technology, industry, and power that will introduce Tyson's millions of fans to yet another dimension of how the universe has shaped our lives and our world.

  • Auteur:
    British Columbia
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    "The Government of British Columbia is committed to developing new accessibility and inclusion legislation that will work to identify, remove and prevent barriers that impede the full participation of people with disabilities in their communities. Province-wide public consultations on the development of proposed legislation were held between Sept. 16 and Nov. 29, 2019...The proposed legislation would guide the development, implementation and enforcement of accessibility standards and would draw on the expertise and experience of people with disabilities. Accessibility standards could cover a variety of areas such as service delivery, education, employment, housing and the built environment, information and communication and transportation and would rely on having the appropriate mix of incentives, compliance and enforcement tools."

  • Auteur:
    Jeffrey, Gary
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    Abraham Lincoln was born in a one-room log cabin in 1809. It looked like he would be a simple farmer, but Abe loved books and read anything he could get his hands on. In time, he became a successful lawyer and started getting attention as a politician. Known as a brilliant speaker, Abe impressed enough people to become the 16th president in 1861. Unfortunately, the country was heading for civil war. The issue of slavery divided the North and South, and soon President Lincoln faced the greatest emergency in American history. Despite facing many personal tragedies and dealing with one problem on the battlefields after another, Lincoln stood tall and strong'and saved the union. This graphic retelling of Lincoln's remarkable life will fascinate young readers.

  • Auteur:
    Mitchell, Penni
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    This accessible and engaging book introduces readers to key historical events, and the women who were central to them, in the struggle for women’s equality in Canada. Four and a half decades after the report of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women, the feminist struggle is as necessary as ever — but thanks to the hard work of activist women, many forms of discrimination are a thing of the past. Beginning before the colonization of Canada by European settlers, Penni Mitchell explores gender roles within First Nations societies, where women often brokered peace agreements, oversaw property and advised leaders. She also examines the struggles of First Nations women to challenge Indian Act discrimination against women and children. Exploring the early days of colonial settlement, Mitchell notes that women were among Canada’s first administrators, and they started its first schools and hospitals. Later, women were among the first to oppose slavery, internment and racial segregation. Demanding a greater say in their country, women fought for the right to vote, attend university and divorce. They fought for child protection laws, public health clinics, minimum wages, equal pay and better working conditions. About Canada: Women’s Rights considers the ways in which women’s lives have been transformed by the legalization of birth control and abortion and the removal of patriarchal privilege from family law.

  • Auteur:
    Snider, Laureen
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    When corporations misbehave the consequences are devastating. The monetary costs of the 2008 financial crisis, a direct result of financial mismanagement, were in the trillions, and yet none of those responsible were held to account. The monetary costs of Criminal Code theft pale in comparison, and yet our prisons are filled with people who commit street theft. In order to understand why governments, regulators, unions, activists and community groups have such a difficult time preventing and sanctioning corporate criminals we must first recognize the vital role of corporate ecomic power. Focusing on crimes against workers/employees, and the environment and financial crimes, About Canada: Corporate Crime traces the ways that particular systems of government from nineteenth-century crony capitalism to neoliberalism and globalized capitalism develop policies regarding the socially harmful and illegal behaviour of corporations. This book shows why governments are reluctant to pass, enforce and administer meaningful regulation of corporations: institutions and actors with the power to put thousands of potential voters out of work, generate negative commentaries from highly respected experts, and produce critical editorials from 80 percent of Canadian media (owned and controlled, let us remember, by many of these same corporations).

  • Auteur:
    MacGuigan, Mark R.
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    Few issues have polarized Canadians and Americans as much as the abortion debate. In this thoughtful and thought-provoking reflection on the implications the law on abortion has on democracy, Mark MacGuigan brings a much-needed perspective to this controversial subject. Few people are as well qualified to do so: MacGuigan is a former law professor, minister of justice and attorney general of Canada, a Catholic, and a federal appellate-court judge.Distinguishing carefully between morality and the law, MacGuigan includes a history of the criminal law, the Catholic Church's views, and the often-ignored roles of individual conscience, freedom and responsibility in democracy. He reviews the essential debate, important case histories, and the evolving social perspectives that have attached themselves to discussions of abortion. he also includes chapters on the related issues of contraception and euthanasia.MacGuigan refers to a wide range of influential and international documents and judgements: papal encyclicals, the Wolfenden Report, Roe vs. Wade, a ruling in a case that involved Dr. Henry Morgentaler, and numerous other sources. With great candour, MacGuigan also explores how his own attitude and position have changed to the point where he now opposes any legislation limiting abortion before viability.Those who are seeking clarity of the issues and those who want to uncloud the rhetoric and the arguments should not miss reading this important work.

  • Auteur:
    Adese, Jennifer
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    In Aboriginal TM, Jennifer Adese explores the origins, meaning, and usage of the term "Aboriginal" and its displacement by the word "Indigenous." In the Constitution Act, 1982, the term's express purpose was to speak to specific "aboriginal rights". Yet in the wake of the Constitution's passage, Aboriginal, in its capitalized form, became increasingly used to describe and categorize people. More than simple legal and political vernacular, the term Aboriginal (capitalized or not) has had real-world consequences for the people it defined. Aboriginal TM argues the term was a tool used to advance Canada's cultural and economic assimilatory agenda throughout the 1980s until the mid-2010s. Moreover, Adese illuminates how the word engenders a kind of "Aboriginalized multicultural" brand easily reduced to and exported as a nation brand, economic brand, and place brand-at odds with the diversity and complexity of Indigenous peoples and communities. In her multi-disciplinary research, Adese examines the discursive spaces and concrete sites where Aboriginality features prominently: the Constitution Act, 1982; the 2010 Vancouver Olympics; the "Aboriginal tourism industry"; and the Vancouver International Airport. Reflecting on the term's abrupt exit from public discourse and the recent turn toward Indigenous, Indigeneity, and Indigenization, Aboriginal TM offers insight into Indigenous-Canada relations, reconciliation efforts, and current discussions of Indigenous identity, authenticity, and agency.

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