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'

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.

Today animals need protecting more than ever: those bred for laboratories, zoos, and hunting, and also those reared intensively on farms. And out in the wild, animals are losing their habitats to environmental exploitation. Dispelling the myth that the protection of animals’ rights is a modern, Western concern, this No-Nonsense Guide to Animal Rights explains the key issues, charts the growth of the animal rights movement, and looks at the welfare and protection laws. And it includes a practical day-to-day guide to what individuals can do to minimize exploitation.

"World music" is an awkward phrase. Used to describe the hugely multifaceted nature of a range of typically non-English-language popular music from the world over, it's a tag that throws up as many problems as it does solutions. Louise Gray's The No-Nonsense Guide to World Music attempts to go behind the phrase to explore the reasons for the contemporary interest in world music, who listens to it, and why. Through chapters that focus on specific areas of music, such as rembetika, fado, trance music, and new folk, Gray explores the genres that have emerged from marginalized communities, music in conflict zones, and music as escapism. In this unique guide, which combines the seduction of sound with politics and social issues, the author makes the case for music as a powerful tool able to bring individuals together. Louise Gray is a writer and editor whose work on music and performing arts has appeared in the New Internationalist, The Wire, The Independent on Sunday, the Guardian, and Art Review. She co-edited Sound and the City (British Council, 2007), a book exploring the changing soundworld of China.

“Overseas aid” and “international development” are catch-all terms that cover a multitude of activities—and abuses. This guide explains what “development” actually is—and explores its political and economic roots. 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. Maggie Black has written books for the Oxford University Press, UNICEF, and Oxfam. She has worked as a consultant for UNICEF, Anti-Slavery International, and WaterAid, among others, and has written for the Guardian, The Economist, and BBC World Service.

From coffee farms in Peru and cocoa production in Ghana to jeans manufacture in China and the Banana War of Guatemala and the Caribbean, this fully revised No-Nonsense Guide tells the human story behind the products we consume. Examining the contest between 'free' and 'fair' trade around the world, David Ransom argues that the key question is not whether trade should be regulated or deregulated, but whether it is to be the master or servant of the people.

Covering fast food, organic food, junk food, institutional food, and more, this guide shows how “real food” has become increasingly scarce, with production and distribution increasingly dominated in the West by agri-business. The guide goes on to present the alternatives that are emerging based on the concept of community food security. Wayne Roberts is a leading North American writer, activist, and practitioner in community food security. An author and columnist for NOW Magazine, he’s on the board of the Community Food Security Coalition and Food Secure Canada, and coordinates the Toronto Food Policy Council, the most respected city food group in the world.

This is a highly accessible history of terrorism that looks at core examples from the Middle East, instances of state terrorism, and terrorist fringes of political movements. It covers the theories justifying and guiding terrorist acts and the battle of images that accompanies them. Jonathan Barker has taught political science at the universities of Toronto, Arizona, and Dar es Salam. He has researched local politics in Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, and India. His other books include Street-Level Democracy and Rural Communities under Stress.

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.