Consent of the networked

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M.I. Franklin

"Contemporary Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) are now an inescapable part of everyday life as well as an integral element to large scale political-economic change. In this close-up study of pioneering and longstanding Internet discussion forums, M.I. Franklin explores the practice of everyday life online. The author traces the online practices and discussion content produced by postcolonial and diasporic communities as they (re)articulate gendered, political, ethnic and cultural dimensions to life for postcolonial societies on-the-ground. In a neoliberal global era, however, possibilities for intercultural and intracultural empowerment evident in the postcolonial politics of representation of these communities have to contend with new and entrenched political-economic and sociocultural pressures from all sides. Franklin argues that these Pacific traversals in public, open cyberspace trace another possible future for the Internet; more hospitable and equitable than the one currently being put in place by large corporations." "This book will be of interest to students of international relations/international political economy, anthropology, cultural studies, science and technology studies."--Jacket.

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Ignacio Ramonet

"Ramonet offers an analysis of the fundamental global issues of today, carefully dissecting the phenomenon of neoliberal globalization, and the recent U.S.-led wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo and elsewhere. Wars of the 21st Century argues that in these times of planetary social war, civil society must reclaim its place as the key protagonist on the international political stage."--Jacket.

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Jeffrey E. Garten

No issue may be more crucial to America's standing in the world and to its ability to solve its social and economic problems at home than its widening competition with Japan and Germany. In A Cold Peace, Jeffrey E. Garten, an investment banker who has served in the White House and the State Department, shines an intense light on the growing conflicts with our two most important allies and rivals--and on the critical impact they will have on America's future. Garten explains how the often irreconcilable agendas of Washington, Tokyo, and Berlin stem from over a century of deeply held cultural, institutional, and political traditions. Whether the issue is trade, banking, technology, defense policy, immigration, or the environment, in the coming decade we could well see grueling struggles among the three countries including new forms of economic warfare, differing notions of national security, the formation of new regional empires, and destructive rivalries in global organizations. Going beyond today's headlines and sound bites, beyond the sterile debates over protectionism versus free trade, and beyond the dead-end arguments over whether America is the lone superpower or whether it is in decline, A Cold Peace reveals the most fundamental dilemmas for America in the years ahead. In a powerful analysis drawn from two decades of high-level experience in both the public and private sectors, Garten shows that the greatest threat to the United States is home grown--in our reluctance to recognize the links between our domestic and foreign policies, in our inability to see how the global rules of the game have changed, and in our failure to adopt a new mind-set not only toward Japan and Germany but toward ourselves as well.

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Christopher S. Browning

"This comprehensive volume examines the issue of Europe-making related to the post EU/NATO enlargement and the post 9/11 situation. Dual enlargement and the War on Terrorism are raising important questions for various actors in Europe, in particular what these developments will mean for the future of regional cooperation and the development of a regional subjectivity. Such concerns have been further compounded by America's distinction between 'New Europe' and 'Old Europe'." "The volume analyzes at both policy and conceptual levels how the dual enlargement and the War on Terrorism will impact on regional cooperation in northern Europe. It examines how events in northern Europe have helped shape the nature of European space, borders and governance, including how the EU, the US and Russia have each highlighted northern Europe as a special case to be utilized and learnt from in dealing with problems elsewhere in Europe and globally. Presenting original articles, the volume will appeal to scholars of regional politics as well as security, international relations theory and geopolitics."--Jacket.