Bristol University Press

Why are liberation and independence movements often betrayed when their leaders get into government? This question has haunted Peter Hain for decades. A lifelong activist and politician, Hain has over 50 years’ experience of battling corruption, from his early days as a freedom fighter against apartheid to his time as a UK Labour MP, cabinet minister, and sitting member of the House of Lords. He offers a gripping exploration of why movements born from the ideals of justice and freedom often succumb to bad governance and corruption once in power. Combining rigorous analysis with well-sourced evidence, this book examines global examples ranging from Africa to Latin America, Russia, the Caribbean, China and India. With the unique perspective of having navigated both the streets of protest and the corridors of power, Hain reflects on the challenges of staying true to the values of liberation struggles while confronting their disappointing outcomes. Thought-provoking and accessible, this book is an essential read for anyone engaged in the fight for a better world.

Ageing is a timebomb. We celebrate our greater longevity, yet few of us consider its consequences. This book is an important warning that unless Europeans defuse its explosive force, within two decades our societies will be devastated by it. The hard fact is that because our political economies have been built around shorter lifespans, they risk being blown apart by ageing. The pressures exerted by the over-60s, who are increasing from today's quarter of the population to a third, will upend our politics and impoverish our young. Millennials and Gen-Zers are already saddled with their elders' runaway pension and healthcare costs, but are themselves poorer and less privileged. Merritt, a veteran analyst of the European scene, traces the demographic projections that politicians of all persuasions have long ignored, and shines a harsh light on policy shortcomings that must be urgently addressed. For anyone wants a stake in our future, this book is essential reading which clarifies the political choices to be made if comparatively prosperous Europe isn't to die of old age.

Available open access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. Pathways to Sustainable Welfare critically examines how cities can address the dual challenges of climate change and sustainability while ensuring the welfare of their populations. Focused on three Swedish cities, it explores the integration of environmental and welfare concerns in local policies, urban movements and public opinions. Based on theories of inertia, emergence and transformation, it identifies factors driving or obstructing sustainable welfare advancements. This book is a crucial resource for scholars interested in sustainable transformation, urban governance and social policy. It offers frameworks and empirical evidence relevant to academics, policy makers and practitioners seeking to understand and engage in urban sustainable welfare development.

In the context of sustained economic and environmental crises, marked by extreme inequalities of wealth, rising xenophobia, racism and precarity, never has the need for a radical change of system been so pressing. This book is an invitation to think the world otherwise. The author breathes new life into socialist thought through the deployment of an intersectional lens, bringing diverse struggles for emancipation both within and outside the Global North into dialogue with one another. In doing so, he offers the kind of bold and holistic thinking the present situation calls for.