In the balance of power

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Ewan Morris

"National symbols have long been highly contentious in Ireland, and they remain so today. While there have been a number of studies which have examined the role of symbols in the contemporary conflict in Northern Ireland, as yet there has been no detailed study of debates about national symbols in twentieth-century Ireland. This book fills that gap, outlining the historical background to the continuing controversy about national symbols in Ireland and shedding new light on the deep political divisions which have marked Irish society throughout this century. It focuses on the crucial period from 1922 to 1939 which saw the creation and consolidation of new governments in the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland."--Jacket.

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Richard Spilsbury

"This book shows how we know about the marchers and their experiences from primary and othr sources. It includes information on some historical detective work that has taken place, which has enabled historians to piece together they fascinating story of the civil rights marches"--Back cover.

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Richard A. Wilson

"The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was set up to deal with the human rights violations of apartheid during the years 1960-1994. However, as Wilson shows, the TRC's restorative justice approach to healing the nation did not always serve the needs of communities at a local level. Based on extended anthropological fieldwork, this book illustrates the impact of the TRC in urban African communities in the Johannesburg area. While a religious constituency largely embraced the Commission's religious-redemptive language of reconciliation, Wilson argues that the TRC had little effect on popular ideas of justice as retribution. This provocative study deepens our understanding of post-apartheid South Africa and the use of human rights discourse. It ends on a call for more cautious and realistic expectations about what human rights institutions can achieve in democratizing countries."--Jacket.

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Nigel Worden

The book examines the major issues in South Africa's history, from the colonial conquest of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, through the establishment of racism, segregation and apartheid, to the spirit of reform, resistance and repression of the 1980s and, now, in this new edition, the first democratic elections in April 1994. With the break up of institutional apartheid, perspectives on recent South African history have undergone a significant shift. Nigel Worden examines these changes and assesses developments within the new South Africa in a wide historical context, providing a sharp, analytical overview for all those interested in modern South African history and politics.