The influence of Cicero is everywhere to be found. His rhetorical writings have, over many centuries, made an inescapable impact on the history of Western culture. He impressed figures as diverse as A
Following the Congress of Vienna in 1815 the 'Congress System' became the primary system of international relations in Europe. So central was the Austrian Chancellor Metternich to the political-legal
Princely India in the 1930s and 40s enjoyed a golden age which already seems immeasurably distant from the thriving, modern nation of today. These were halcyon days of bejewelled and eccentric Maharaj
What made the West ‘western’? And has Western civilisation found modernity but lost itself? This provocative and stimulating polemic argues that western culture and civilisation have been destroyed no
The world’s 200 million Shi’i Muslims express their faith in a multiplicity of ways, united by reverence for the ahl al-bayt, the family of the Prophet. In embracing a pluralistic ethic, fourteen cent
The concept of the cyborg, or cybernetic organism, has led to notably creative explorations of the ambiguous relationship between human beings and technology. In particular, Donna Haraway argued in he
Exploring an Islamic Empire is a detailed survey of different genres of source materials, including historiographical, epigraphic, and numismatic, on Fatimid history, and as such, it represents a firs
The "war on terror" tends to circumscribe crucial developments in the Islamic world within a narrow definition of "Islamic terrorism." This partial and incomplete perspective fails to comprehend the l
The role of Islam in the state has become one of the most contentious issues in modern Middle Eastern society. It holds a central position in every public debate over constitution, law and civil right
Nineteenth-century Britain was one of the birthplaces of modern vegetarianism in the West. In 'Of Victorians and Vegetarians' James Gregory explores the relationship between this newly organized movem
Lady Isabella (Isabel) Caroline Somerset embodied social reform in the nineteenth century. The failure of her traumatic marriage to Lord Henry Charles Somerset after revelation of his homosexual affa
The contemporary world is one of contingency and risk. We face a range of social and political problems barely imaginable to previous generations. Here the technique of critical social theory is appli
Arab messengers played a vital role in the medieval Islamic world and its diplomatic relations with foreign powers. An innovative treatise from the tenth century (Rusul al-Mulik, Messengers of Kings)
The dilemmas of African development continue to haunt both African and western institutions and governments. Here Christopher Rowan offers an original interpretation of the evolving concept of partner
Since the regime of Slobodan Miloševic was spectacularly overthrown on October 5, 2000, little has been written about subsequent political developments in Serbia. The perception of Miloševi
The new model of intervention that emerged from Bosnia and Kosovo signalled a revolution in International Affairs. The crises in the Balkans revealed a new division of labor among Western states: US f
A key mechanism of apartheid in South Africa was the set of restrictions placed on the movements of Africans; in particular, African women were subject to lives of daily surveillance and highly regula
Generally remembered as a notorious diarist rather than a serious political figure, Richard Crossman’s imposing presence in Harold Wilson’s Cabinet during the 1964-1970 Labour governments proved, not
Our understanding of medieval Central and Eastern Europe is being revitalized by new directions in cultural history. Careful and detailed portraits of fourteenth- and fifteenth-century life in the reg
In these brand new interviews, twenty of the most important women artists practicing internationally but based in Britain discuss their work, their influences and their relationship with the art histo
The politics of water have taken centre stage in global concerns about sustainable development. The Governance of Water and Sanitation in Africa investigates a new mode of achieving the Millennium Dev
What is the place of young people in society today? This book presents a searching and comprehensive picture of youth, demonstrating both its diversity and singularity, and helping to dispel many of t
Islamic commercial and financial practice has not experienced the trial-and-error style of development that has characterised the development that has characterised the development of common law in t
The formation of nation-states is as much the result of developments regarding land and people, as of military and political struggle. How nationalists imagined the borders of their desired territory,
In the midst of political decline and burgeoning financial problems in the late nineteenth century, the Ottoman Empire became embroiled in a borrowing frenzy, which eventually resulted in the financi
Until the mid-twentieth century, the Dutch, with their overseas empire, had managed to stay aloof from the machinations of intra-European fighting. However, the beginning of the Cold War found them pe
`The Zayn al-Akhbar of Gardizi is a major historical source on the eastern Iranian lands during 650-1041 AD. This work is of particular importance for the histories of Samanid and Ghaznawid rule over
We live in a secular world and cinema is part of that secular edifice. There is no expectation, in modern times, that filmmakers should be believers – any more than we would expect that to be the case
The creation of Afghanistan in 1880, following the Second Anglo-Afghan War, gave an empowering voice to the Pashtun people, the largest ethnic group in a diverse country. To distil the narrative of th
Although ostensibly presented as “light entertainment,” the work of writer-director-producer Joss Whedon takes much dark inspiration from the horror genre to create a unique aesthetic and perform a cu
Perhaps no classical writer has been so consistently in vogue as Horace. Famous in his own lifetime as a close associate of the Emperor Octavian, to whom he dedicated several odes, Quintus Horatius Fl
Edward Said was an exiled individual - the 'out of place' Palestinian in the USA. He saw the consequences of the 1948 dismantling of Palestine and the establishment of Israel through his parents' expe
The Berber identity movement in North Africa was pioneered by the Kabyles of Algeria. But a preoccupation with identity and language has obscured the fact that Kabyle dissidence has been rooted in dem
The Korean diaspora living in Japan - the Zainichi - represent the only Korean migrant group that has not been granted citizenship by its host state. Yet despite being Korean nationals, with legal rig
The resonant ruins of Pompeii are perhaps the most direct route back to the living, breathing world of the ancient Romans. Two million visitors annually now walk the paved streets which re-emerged, mi
Can Sudan, one of Africa's most diverse countries, function as an Islamic state? Mahmud Muhammad Taha (1909-85) posed an original answer to this question. Taha was the charismatic leader of the `Repub
Is the EU multi-level governance system weakening the implementation of policies at a state level? It does appear that a clear gap exists between European Union level policy-making and Member State im
In the maelstrom of Napoleonic Europe, Britain remained defiant, resisting French imperial ambitions. This Anglo-French rivalry was, essentially, a politico-economic conflict for pre-eminence fought o
Security perceptions in Europe have changed drastically in the last decade due to the effects of globalization. As a result, the EU’s relations with Turkey and the security policies of the EU and Turk
