Gilbert Felipe Mireles

Gilbert Mireles explores the legendary United Farm Workers' campaign to organize laborers—predominantly Latino immigrants—in California's strawberry industry. Tracing the UFW's actions from the picking fields to the world of government offices and corporate boardrooms, Mireles shows how the very traits that made the union such a successful advocate for farm workers also  More >

Carmelo Mesa-Lago and Jorge Pérez-López

What led to the dramatic social and economic reforms introduced by Cuba's president Raúl Castro? How effective have those reforms been? And what obstacles does Castro face in overcoming the country's chronic socioeconomic woes? Cuba Under Raúl Castro addresses these questions, offering a comprehensive analysis of the president's efforts during his first six years in  More >

Michael L. Mezey

In countries as diverse as Brazil, Ecuador, France, Russia, South Africa, and the United States, presidents have come to dominate the politics and political cultures of their nations. Michael Mezey offers a comprehensive cross-national study of the presidency, tracing the historical and intellectual roots of executive power and exploring in detail the contemporary forces that have driven a turn  More >

Cath Collins, Katherine Hite, and Alfredo Joignant, editors

How do individual and collective memories of the repressive Pinochet regime affect the fabric of Chilean politics and society today? How have the politics of memory in Chile—including the official policies and symbolic representations that address the painful violations of the past—evolved over the years since Pinochet's demise? The authors of this important new book provide an  More >

Manuel Orozco

Manuel Orozco moves beyond the numbers to provide a uniquely comprehensive, historically informed overview and analysis of the complex role of migrant remittances in the global economy. How do patterns of migration and remittances differ across regions? What kinds of regulatory and institutional frameworks best support the contributions of remittances to local development? What has been the  More >

Lisa Schirch

A Global Observatory Must-Read Book in Peace and Security! Offering a systematic approach that links practical conflict-assessment exercises to the design, planning, monitoring, and evaluation of peacebuilding efforts, Conflict Assessment and Peacebuilding Planning has been carefully—and realistically—designed to enhance the effectiveness of peacebuilding practice. Lisa Schirch  More >

William Stanley

William Stanley tells the absorbing story of the UN peace operation in Guatemala's ten-year endeavor (1994-2004) to build conditions that would sustain a lasting peace in the country. Unusual among UN peace efforts because of its largely civilian nature, its General Assembly mandate, and its heavy reliance on UN volunteers to staff field offices, the mission (MINUGUA) focused initially on  More >

Bertram N. Johnson

Why do some 30 million people in the United States give money to political candidates and causes—even though most individual contributions are irrational from the perspective of a strict cost-benefit analysis? How do campaign fundraisers tap into potential donors' motivations? Exploring three decades of historical data and also drawing extensively on the insights of contemporary campaign  More >

Anthonia C. Kalu, Juliana Makuchi Nfah-Abbenyi, and Omofolabo Ajayi-Soyinka, editors

This anthology of never-before-published poems showcases a new generation of African women poets, some familiar, some just beginning their literary careers. Their rich voices belie popular stereotypes, reflecting the diversity and dynamism of their environment. As they range across topics encompassing family and personal relationships, politics, war, and the ravages of famine and disease, they  More >

Ergun Özbudun

Despite radical changes in Turkish politics since the transition to a multiparty system in the mid-1940s, the center-right parties have consistently won an electoral majority. Why? How have they managed to maintain such a firm hold in the face of social cleavages that pit modernizing, secularist state elites against a conservative and pious majority? Ergun Özbudun uses the lens of  More >