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By Jacob Black-Michaud

In "COHESIVE FORCE: Feud in the Mediterranean and the Middle East," readers are taken on a gripping journey through the complex web of conflicts that have shaped the region for centuries. From ancient rivalries to modern power struggles, this book delves into the intricate dynamics at play in the Mediterranean and the Middle East.

With meticulous research and insightful analysis, the author unravels the historical, political, and cultural factors that have fueled the ongoing feud in this volatile region. Through compelling narratives and in-depth exploration, "COHESIVE FORCE" sheds light on the key players, events, and ideologies that continue to shape the destinies of nations and peoples in the Mediterranean and the Middle East.

A must-read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the turbulent forces at work in this crucial part of the world, "COHESIVE FORCE" offers a comprehensive and thought-provoking account that challenges conventional wisdom and offers fresh perspectives on one of the most contested territories on the global stage.

B. Blackwell Oxford, 1975, 270 pages

By Miguel A. Martínez López

To date, there has been no comprehensive analysis of the disperse research on the squatters’ movement in Europe. In Squatters in the Capitalist City, Miguel A. Martínez López presents a critical review of the current research on squatting and of the historical development of the movements in European cities according to their major social, political and spatial dimensions.　

Comparing cities, contexts, and the achievements of the squatters’ movements, this book presents the view that squatting is not simply a set of isolated, illegal and marginal practices, but is a long-lasting urban and transnational movement with significant and broad implications. While intersecting with different housing struggles, squatters face various aspects of urban politics and enhance the content of the movements claiming for a ‘right to the city.’ Squatters in the Capitalist City seeks to understand both the socio-spatial and political conditions favourable to the emergence and development of squatting, and the nature of the interactions between squatters, authorities and property owners by discussing the trajectory, features and limitations of squatting as a potential radicalisation of urban democracy.

London; New York: Routledge, 2019. 294p.

By Lesley Gill.

Popular Struggle, Counterinsurgency, and Human Rights in Colombia. In A Century of Violence in a Red City Lesley Gill provides insights into broad trends of global capitalist development, class disenfranchisement and dispossession, and the decline of progressive politics. Gill traces the rise and fall of the strong labor unions, neighborhood organizations, and working class of Barrancabermeja, Colombia, from their origins in the 1920s to their effective activism for agrarian reforms, labor rights, and social programs in the 1960s and 1970s. Like much of Colombia, Barrancabermeja came to be dominated by alliances of right-wing politicians, drug traffickers, foreign corporations, and paramilitary groups. These alliances reshaped the geography of power and gave rise to a pernicious form of armed neoliberalism. Their violent incursion into Barrancabermeja's civil society beginning in the 1980s decimated the city's social networks, destabilized life for its residents, and destroyed its working-class organizations. As a result, community leaders are now left clinging to the toothless discourse of human rights, which cannot effectively challenge the status quo. In this stark book, Gill captures the grim reality and precarious future of Barrancabermeja and other places ravaged by neoliberalism and violence.

Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2016. 302p.

By Steve Ratuva.

Reconceptualising Security in the Pacific. Contested Terrain provides a cutting-edge, comprehensive and innovative approach to critically analysing the multidimensional and contested nature of security narratives, justified by different ideological, political, cultural and economic rationales. This is important in a complex and ever-changing situation involving a dynamic interplay between local, regional and global factors. Security narratives are constructed in multiple ways and are used to frame our responses to the challenges and threats to our sense of safety, wellbeing, identity and survival but how the narratives are constructed is a matter of intellectual and political contestation. Using three case studies from the Pacific (Fiji, Tonga and Solomon Islands), Contested Terrain shows the different security challenges facing each country, which result from their unique historical, political and socio-cultural circumstances. Contrary to the view that the Pacific is a generic entity with common security issues, this book argues for more localised and nuanced approaches to security framing and analysis.

Canberra: National Australian University Press, 2019. 304p.