Zambia 1890-1964: The Colonial Period

Author(s): Richard Hall

Longman, London, 1976, pp. 202

Chapter 3, ‘Colonialism and the roots of African nationalism’ covers early copperbelt strikes; chapter 4 ‘Federation – genesis and exodus’, includes extensive information on developing resistance to the colour bar, to the building of the Kariba dam and eviction of local farmers, and to the Federation itself. Chapter 5 ‘The creation of Zambia’ examines final stages of resistance and political developments. His earlier book, Zambia, Pall Mall Press, 1965, pp. 375, also covered the evolving struggle in chapters 5-7.

Conflict and Democracy in Africa

Editor(s): Richard Joseph

Lynne Rienner, Boulder CO, 1999, pp. 527

Wide-ranging collection of comparative essays on democratic transitions, the state and economic and social factors. Considers developments since the early 1990s and degrees of democracy achieved (in Benin and Zambia), continuing obstacles to democracy and ‘second elections’.

Blockade: A Guide to Nonviolent Intervention

Author(s): Richard K. Taylor

Orbis Books, Maryknoll NY, 1977, pp. 175

Account of how a nonviolent fleet of canoes and kayaks blocked Pakistani shipping at East Coast ports of the USA to oppose US support for Pakistan’s repression in East Bengal. Part 2 is a manual for direct action.

Governing Without Consensus, An Irish Perspective

Author(s): Richard Rose

Faber & Faber and Beacon Press, London, 1971, pp. 567

Standard and frequently cited work by an American political scientist based in Britain. Charts the origins and development of the divided community in Northern Ireland since the foundation of the state, and considers the problems of governance it gives rise to. Includes a discussion of the civil rights movement. Sees no immediately practicable solution to the problem and draws a comparison with the race problems in the United States. The analysis is supported by data from an extensive social survey of public opinion and informal discussions with people active in Northern Ireland politics.

Frontlinhe Ukraine: Crisis in the Borderlands

Author(s): Richard Sakwa

I.B.Tauris, London and New York, 2015, pp. 220

A book by long-term academic expert on the Soviet Union/Russia, which situates coverage of Euromaidan and the subsequent local rebellions in Crimea and other parts of eastern Ukraine within a context of different cultural and ideological strands in Ukrainian society, and within the wider context of Russian-Western relations. Sakwa is very critical of Western policies after 1991 and, more recently, towards Putin, and also challenges the bias of much western reporting on the evolving Ukrainian crisis.

Lebanon's October Revolution

Author(s): Rima Majed

In: Red Pepper, 2020, pp. 28-29

This article by a sociologist at the American University of Beirut examines the movement after a year of 'struggle, crisis and destruction'. It summarizes  the causes of  the October 2019 uprising, its unprecedented scale (an estimated 2 million out of a population of 4.8 million), and its transcendance of all regional, social class and sectarian political divisions. It also notes that the protesters rejected both the political system based on 'sectarian clientelism', and the banking sector. Since October the financial crisis has intensified, leading to the rapid growth of extreme poverty. Majed argues that the lack of clear leadership of the movement, though it initially encouraged wide participation, by early 2020 meant that there was no strong organization or clear goals. This lack of focus contributed, together with growing financial hardship, political fatigue and regime violence against protesters, to undermine the movement.

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