Archives de catégorie : Politics

DEMOKRATIE IM FEUER de Jonas Schaible

Rethinking climate change and democracy.

DEMOKRATIE IM FEUER
(Democracy in Flames)
by Jonas Schaible
DVA/PRH Germany, March 2023

Many people think that protecting our climate and democracy are mutually exclusive. For some, the fight against climate change is moving too slowly, while others are already feeling threatened by the prospect of an « eco-dictatorship ». In DEMOKRATIE IM FEUER, journalist Schaible shows that protecting the climate and democracy are actually prerequisites for each other. Without one, the other will become impossible. He exposes false contradictions, and argues that what we need is « climate democracy » – for the climate crisis is already starting to limit our freedoms, and we’ll only be able to save the planet by democratic means. DEMOKRATIE IM FEUER takes a new look at the relationship between democracy and climate change, and sketches an optimistic vision of a future where the two reinforce each other.

Jonas Schaible, born in 1989, is an editor at Spiegel’s Berlin office. He studied politics and media studies in Tübingen and Berlin, and graduated with a degree in journalism from Hamburg’s Henri Nannen School. He has been writing regularly about climate change and climate policy since 2018, and won the German Reporter Prize for Best Essay for his feature « Wer von Ökodiktatur spricht, hat das Problem nicht verstanden » (‘If you’re talking about eco-dictatorships you haven’t understood the problem’).

THE WORLD AFTER UKRAINE de Garry Kasparov

From renowned strategist and Russia expert, a new book on how to respond to the global crises we face today.

THE WORLD AFTER UKRAINE:
A Return to Values and the Building of a New Moral Order
by Garry Kasparov
Public Affairs, June 2023
(via The Gernert Company)

When Garry Kasparov’s 2015 book Winter is Coming predicted that Vladimir Putin would invade Ukraine, its warnings were largely ignored. But seven years later, his prophecies have come true – and it has finally shocked the West into action. America and many of its NATO allies have sent massive aid packages and defense weapons, and begun isolating Putin from his financial enablers. The effect has been powerful, and we can now begin to imagine his defeat, and what might follow it.
In THE WORLD AFTER UKRAINE, Kasparov again sees several moves ahead of the rest of us. He shows that the Ukraine crisis has brought us to a key moment: a chance to stem the rise of dictatorship across the globe. By showing the might of democracy and recommitting to a set of moral values we have allowed ourselves to ignore, we can fight back. He identifies the core tenets of this program in this book, and makes the case for how they can win the day.
Relying on his own experiences as first a Russian dissident, then an American civilian and the chairman of the Human Rights Foundation, Kasparov tells stories of oppression and autocracy across the globe, showing how they’ve been enabled by a world order that prizes strategic and financial assets above morality. He names the ideas and actions that can contain the threat of dictatorship and move us to a brighter, freer future.

Garry Kasparov is a Russian pro-democracy leader, global human rights activist, business speaker and former world chess champion. He is the author of Deep Thinking and Winter Is Coming, among other books.

JOHNSON AT 10 d’Anthony Seldon

The definitive account of Boris Johnson’s turbulent time in office by one of Britain’s leading political and social commentators.

JOHNSON AT 10
by Anthony Seldon
Atlantic, Spring 2023
(via Northbank Talent Management)

After his sudden rise to power in the summer of 2019 amid the Brexit deadlock, Boris Johnson presided over the most dramatic period of British history in almost a century. From the controversial prorogation of Parliament in August 2019 to the Conservative party’s historic landslide victory later that year, the agonising upheaval of Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic, the Afghanistan crisis, the conflict in Ukraine, and the series of devastating scandals that were ultimately Johnson’s undoing, his premiership has been more explosive than any other in living memory.
In this gripping work of contemporary history, Anthony Seldon, one of Britain’s leading political and social commentators, and co-author Raymond Newell give the first full account of Johnson’s seismic time in office from the summer of 2019 to the autumn of 2022. Based on major interviews with key aides and allies, and full of new revelations, Johnson at 10 is the definitive portrait of the most divisive prime minister since Margaret Thatcher and the latest instalment in Anthony’s bestselling ‘Prime Ministers at 10’ series.

Anthony Seldon is a British educator and historian. He is the author or editor of more than 35 books on contemporary history, politics and education, and is best known for his biographies of recent prime ministers from John Major to Theresa May. He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buckingham from 2015 to 2020. He is honorary historical adviser to 10 Downing Street, and chairs The Times Education Commission.

THE RISE OF THE NEW PURITANS de Noah Rothman

Commentary editor Noah Rothman takes aim at the “woke left,” comparing them to stern, joyless Puritans who seek to make every daily choice a matter of life or death and break society down into the saintly or sinful.

THE RISE OF THE NEW PURITANS:
Fighting Back Against Progressives’ War on Fun
by Noah Rothman
Broadside Books/HarperCollins, July 2022

In Noah Rothman’s view, the Left used to be the party of the hippies and the free spirits. Now it’s home to woke scolds and humorless idealogues. The New Puritans can judge a person’s moral character by their clothes, Netflix queue, fast food favorites, the sports they watch, and the company they keep. No choice is neutral, no sphere is private.
Not since the Puritans has a political movement wanted so much power over your thoughts, hobbies, and preferences every minute of your day. In the process, they are sucking the joy out of life.
In THE RISE OF THE NEW PURITANS, Noah Rothman explains how, in pursuit of a better world, progressives are ruining the very things which make life worth living. They’ve created a society full of verbal trip wires and digital witch hunts. Football? Too violent. Fusion food? Appropriation. The nuclear family? Oppressive.
Witty, deeply researched, and thorough, THE RISE OF THE NEW PURITANS encourages us to spurn a movement whose primary goal has become limiting happiness. It uncovers the historical roots of the left’s war on fun and reminds us of the freedom and personal fulfillment at the heart of the American experiment.

Noah Rothman is the associate editor of Commentary Magazine, author of Unjust, and an MSNBC/NBC News contributor.

THE CASE FOR CANCEL CULTURE d’Ernest Owens

From a Forbes 30 Under 30 award-winning journalist comes a critical and nuanced look at the topic of cancel culture, arguing that cancel culture has been a fundamental means of democratic expression throughout history and is a timely necessity aimed at combating systems of oppression.

THE CASE FOR CANCEL CULTURE:
Why Uncensored Accountability Liberates
by Ernest Owens
‎ St. Martin’s Press, February 2023

Cancel culture. Chances are you’ve heard about this a lot lately, but what really is it? Blacklisting celebrities? Censorship? Up until this point, this has been the general consensus in the media. But it’s time to raise the bar on our definition—to think of cancel culture less as scandal or suppression and more as an essential means of democratic expression and accountability. THE CASE FOR CANCEL CULTURE offers a fresh progressive lens in favor of cancel culture as a tool for activism and change. It will help readers reflect on and learn the long history of canceling (the Boston Tea Party was cancel culture); how the left and right uniquely equip it as part of their political toolkits; how intersections of society wield it for justice; and ultimately how it levels the playing field for the everyday person’s voice to matter. Why should we care? Because in a world where protest and free speech are being challenged by the most powerful institutions, those without power deserve to understand the nuance and importance of this democratic tool available to them. Rather than seeing cancel culture as a nasty byproduct of the digital age, it should be seen as a powerful instrument for change. Ernest Owens shows readers exactly how with examples from politics, pop culture, and his own personal experience. Readers will walk away from this first-of-its-kind exploration not despising cancel culture but embracing it as a form of democratic expression that’s always been leading the charge in liberating us all.

Ernest Owens is an award-winning journalist and CEO of Ernest Media Empire, LLC. He is the Editor at Large for Philadelphia Magazine and President of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists. He hosts the hit podcast « Ernestly Speaking! ». As an openly Black gay journalist, he has made headlines for speaking frankly about intersectional issues in society regarding race, LGBTQ, and pop culture. In 2018, he launched his growing media company that specializes in multimedia production, consulting, and communications. His versatile talent has taken him from Ghana to the White House, where he’s interviewed countless political leaders (such as Vice President Kamala Harris) to Hollywood where he’s interviewed industry heavyweights (such as Oprah Winfrey and Academy Award winning screenwriter Tarell Alvin McCraney). His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, MTV, NBC, NPR, and other prominent media outlets.