‘Defending his repertoire of prejudice’ – Alana Lentin on media coverage of Anders Behring Breivik

Alana Lentin, senior lecturer in Sociology at the University of Sussex and author of Racism and Anti-Racism in Europe, has co-written a trenchant critique of some of the reactions to Anders Behring Breivik’s massacre which are currently circulating in the media.

She notes:

Despite the fact that Anders Behring Breivik was not permitted to publicly justify his actions in public on Monday, a scrambling defence of his repertoire of prejudice is already in full swing. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Bruce Bawer, who is quoted by Breivik in his manifesto 2083: A European Declaration of Independence, emphasises his repeated warnings that a rightwing extremist may use violence to address “legitimate concerns about genuine problems”. Bawer blames mainstream politics for failing to address the corrosion of Europe by Islamicisation and multiculturalism, meanwhile The Jerusalem Post cautions that “Oslo’s devastating tragedy should not be allowed to be manipulated by those who would cover up the abject failure of multiculturalism”.

Discussing ‘The Politics of Change in Palestine’

Pluto author, Michael Bröning’s The Politics of Change in Palestine: State-Building and Non-Violent Resistance, was discussed on 6th July, at the Almedalen Week in Sweden.

Organized jointly by the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO), Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Olof Palme International Center and Arenagruppen, the book was discussed in a session focusing on “Brisk Wind in Palestine”. Following the presentation of the book’s argument, Jens Orback, Director of Olof Palme Center and former Minister for Democracy and Integration in the Swedish government shared his view of how change in Palestine could be translated into political progress. The discussion was moderated by Håkan A Bengtsson, managing director of Arenagruppen.

The Almedalen Week is an annual event taking place in the first week of July in Visby on the Swedish island Gotland. In 2011, more than 1,500 workshops and discussions were held in what has been labeled a “rock festival for politics”.

 

After the massacre: Thomas Hylland Eriksen on possible causes and consequences

Thomas Hylland Eriksen

The horrific bomb attack and massacre by Anders Behring Breivik in Norway is sure to generate a lot of commentary over the coming weeks.

Some useful reflections have come already from Thomas Hylland Eriksen, professor of social anthropology at the University of Oslo and author of numerous acclaimed books on anthropology including Small Places, Large Issues: An Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology.

Writing on Open Democracy Eriksen describes how he was at home in Oslo when the attacks began:

In the afternoon, as I was working in the garden and my son was practicing with his football, we heard a loud crash, as if lightning had struck. Dark clouds began to loom nearby. We didn’t think any more about it. Only half an hour later, however, I was rung up by a friend who asked me to turn on my computer. From then onwards, events took an increasingly dramatic turn as the afternoon gave way to evening, evening to night, and gradually the full extent of the atrocities became known.

24-hour ‘Super Sweep’ at Pluto webshop

So far 2011 has been a year of surprises…

Tyrants have fallen…

Media magnates have been humbled…

…But few would also have predicted the Pluto ‘super sweep’ sale.

That’s right, here at Archway Road a febrile mood has taken hold and we’ve gone special-offer crazy. For the next 24 hours ONLY we are offering an EXTRA 35% discount off all our books.

To take advantage of our special offer click here to activate the discount code and then shop as usual. Go wild in the aisles!

EDIT: The Super Sweep has now finished. Thanks to everyone who took advantage of this offer. Look out for more offers coming soon.

Below are some suggestions to get you started:

	Inside Al-Qaeda and the Taliban Beyond Bin Laden and 9/11 Syed Saleem Shahzad A unique insight into the post-Osama bin Laden generation of Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders from a journalist who interviewed many of them. “This is a disturbing book. … Shahzad considers the strategies of al-Qaeda and other radical Islamist movements in terms that are not often heard.” – The Times “Buy Shahzad’s book. It tells us what the Pakistani government, whose corruption and brutality Shahzad died to expose, does not want us to know.” – Charles Glass £17.99 only £10.40 Pluto site for 24 hours only!
	The Provisional IRA From Insurrection to Parliament Tommy McKearney Analyses the Provisional IRA’s formation, development, and prospects for the future. “Tommy McKearney’s story is one of those ‘must read’ books for anyone interested either in the struggle within Northern Ireland itself or in the overall relationship between England and Ireland.” – Tim Pat Coogan, former editor of the Irish Press and author of The I.R.A (1970; 2000). “If we had to choose one person who served in the ranks of the IRA to contextualize the organization’s development from revolution to reform it would be Tommy McKearney. A seasoned volunteer with considerable military and political experience McKearney knows his subject matter. In terms of both left-wing politics and IRA activism he has walked the walk. Now he explains to a wider audience the dynamics behind the IRA and in the process gives the reader a new intellectual window through which the IRA campaign can be reappraised. Any student of the IRA who does not have this book in their library will find their comprehension diminished.” – Anthony McIntyre, former IRA volunteer and ex-prisoner £13.99 only £8.12 on the Pluto site for 24 hours only!
	The State of Islam Culture and Cold War Politics in Pakistan Saadia Toor Studies Pakistan through the lens of the Cold War and the War on Terror and sheds light on the processes behind the rise of militant Islam. “A deeply informed study of Pakistan’s unfinished journey, marked by the historical suppression of its vibrant Left, Toor’s book is part of the current re-emergence of a foundation for progressive politics in Pakistan. … Read it, argue over it, and be part of the journey to renew Pakistan.” – Vijay Prashad, The Darker Nations, and (co-editor), Dispatches from Pakistan “Saadia Toor reveals a country that is nothing like the hotbed of Islamic extremism and military dictatorship we read about constantly. … This book is a powerful antidote to reactionary stereotypes of Pakistan that dominate academic research and popular media.” – David Ludden, Professor of History, New York University, author of India and South Asia: A Short History £17.99 only £10.40 on the Pluto site for 24 hours only!
	Understanding Al Qaeda – Second Edition Changing War and Global Politics Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou Updated edition of the controversial book which argues that the only way to defeat Al Qaeda it is to engage with its arguments in a serious way. “Mohamedou is a top-notch academic. In today’s world, you can’t afford to miss this book.” – Tim Sebastian, award-winning former BBC foreign correspondent and presenter of HARDtalk “Mohammad Mohamedou has written a political analysis which provides a much-needed secular understanding of Al Qaeda as one among several organised forces in a rapidly changing international arena. Unlike most writers on the subject who tend to be mesmerised by Al Qaeda’s religious discourse, Mohamedou insists on understanding the changing significance of the discourse against a historical backdrop of actions and events.” – Mahmood Mamdani, Herbert Lehman Professor of Government, Columbia University £16.99 only £9.75 on the Pluto site for 24 hours only!
	A ‘Toxic Genre’ The Iraq War Films Martin Barker Analyses the production and reception of recent Iraq war films, such as the Oscar winning The Hurt Locker. Fascinating survey of post-9/11 cinema. “A critical, multidimensional analysis of how film culture deals with war and politics. Clearly written, broadly informed, and engagingly insightful.” – Michael Parenti, author of God and His Demons and The Face of Imperialism “An excellent and original analysis of a range of films related to the war in Iraq that also makes a wider contribution to our understanding of the various pressures and shaping influences brought to bear on such productions in both Hollywood and parts of the independent sector. Lucidly argued and a model of level-headed analysis.” – Geoff King, Director of the Screen Media Research Centre at Brunel University, London £18.99 only £11.05 on the Pluto site for 24 hours only!
	The Political Economy of NGOs State Formation in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh Jude L. Fernando Explores the relationship between NGOs and capitalism, showing that supposedly progressive NGOs often promote the same policies as governments. “At last, we have a theoretically-informed and historically grounded account of one of the defining features of the contemporary world – the rise of non-governmental organisations. This book is a much-needed political economy of NGOs and development in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka that perfectly combines conceptual sophistication with careful empirical analysis, anchoring its understanding of NGOs firmly to the forces of capitalist development and the neo-liberal restructuring of the state.” – David Lewis, Professor of Social Policy and Development, London School of Economics & Political Science “Jude Fernando’s notable achievement here is to push us to be a lot more nuanced when we join in the intense debate about the value of non-governmental organizations. His grittily detailed and sophisticated comparison of myriad NGOs in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka makes us all smarter as we try to figure out under exactly what conditions NGO activities undermine or contribute to genuine democratization anywhere. This is a fine and timely book.” – Cynthia Enloe, author of Nimo’s War, Emma’s War: Making Feminist Sense of the Iraq War £19.99 only £11.37 on the Pluto site for 24 hours only!
	How to Read Foucault’s Discipline and Punish Anne Schwan and Stephen Shapiro An accessible step-by-step introduction to Foucault’s hugely influential text. Part of the ‘How to Read Theory’ series. “This is a useful and illuminating companion to Foucault’s book, and will clarify much that remains puzzling about this proteiform thinker, dispelling misunderstandings and sending the reader on new and more fruitful paths” – Fredric Jameson, William A. Lane Jr. Professor of Comparative Literature at Duke University “[A] highly readable guide to one of Foucault’s best-known but often misinterpreted works. … This book will be of great assistance to students and others looking for a clear introduction to Discipline and Punish and for pointers on its theoretical contexts.” – Clare O’Farrell, author of Michel Foucault (2005) and founding editor of Foucault Studies £12.99 only £7.47 on the Pluto site for 24 hours only!
	In Foreign Fields The Politics and Experiences of Transnational Sport Migration Thomas F. Carter Examines the lives of transnational sport migrants: players, journalists, coaches and administrators who toil far away from the sporting limelight. “This is a remarkable book. Carter explodes facile assumptions about the mobility of sports players across playing fields and national boundaries. Combining vivid prose with shrewd analysis, he follows the lives and labour of both elite and lesser-known players. In doing so, he remakes the social scientific study of globalizing sport, while challenging its scandalous neglect in the discipline of anthropology.” – Simon Coleman, Chancellor Jackman Chaired Professor, University of Toronto, and co-editor of The Discipline of Leisure “Based on more than a decade of ethnographic research in a wide variety of locations, this book make an enormous contribution to the anthropological study of sport and also to the social scientific understanding of sport more generally. In addition to vividly describing and forensically examining the lives of sport migrants as they ply their trade in ‘foreign fields’, Thomas Carter convincingly attacks his fellow anthropologists for their relative failure to appreciate the socio-cultural significance of sport. Even if they now take heed, however, Carter will remain their master for many years to come.” – Alan Bairner, Professor of Sport and Social Theory at Loughborough University, author of Sport, Nationalism, and Globalization (2001) £21.99 only £12.67 on the Pluto site for 24 hours only!

‘No Minor Matter’ – new report documents Israel’s imprisonment of Palestinian children

Writing in the Guardian, Harriet Sherwood reports on the latest findings from the Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem concerning Israel’s imprisonment of Palestinian minors.

The report, entitled No Minor Matter, reveals that over a six-year period only one out of more than 800 Palestinian children in the West Bank charged with throwing stones was acquitted.

Whilst the imprisonment of Israeli children under 14 is illegal, 34 Palestinians aged under 14 were imprisoned during this period. Many of the children arrested were taken from their families in the middle of the night and were tried in a military court.

Sherwood features the testimony of Maher Abu Hanaineh, aged 16:

Maher was arrested at night and taken for questioning at a police station in the West Bank settlement of Ariel. He said: “When we arrived [at the police station], they took us from the jeep, put us in a room and told us to sit on the floor. About half an hour later, they removed our blindfolds. Three soldiers guarded us. I was very tired and my eyes closed a few times. Every time I closed my eyes, a soldier kicked me in the legs with his heavy boots.”

Visit the Guardian to read the article in full.

A new book from Pluto, Threat: Palestinian Political Prisoners in Israel, edited by Abeer Baker and Anat Matar, brings together prisoners, ex-prisoners, lawyers and academics to analyse the political nature of imprisonment under occupation. It reveals how night raids, false imprisonment, military courts, torture in custody and detention without trial are defining features of the Palestinian experience under Israeli occupation.

You can see some of the testimonies from Palestinian children used in the B’Tselem report in this video:

Threat Palestinian Political Prisoners in Israel Edited by Abeer Baker and Anat Matar Highlights the plights of the thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israel. Includes contributions from current and former prisoners. “This is a timely and urgent volume that brings to the fore the systematic injustices endemic to the Israeli emprisonment of Palestinians. The volume not only provides extensive documentation that establishes the particular violence of the legal apparatus as it contains and disciplines arrested Palestinians, but it offers a detailed description of the widespread deviation from accepted standards of justice and procedural law. At stake throughout is the criminalisation of political protest, and this volume offers extensive evidence and analysis to resist this violent use of law.” – Judith Butler, Maxine Elliot Professor, Departments of Rhetoric and Comparative Literature, UC Berkeley “Out of the grim reality of Palestinians as a People of Prisoners and Israeli-Jews as a People of Wardens, this book offers not only nuanced information and unconventional insights, but also the feasibility of an anti-occupation, anti-colonial life of action, developed together by Palestinians and Jews.” – Amira Hass, Ha’aretz £19.99 only £17.50 on the Pluto site

Another Dead Journalist

This article was originally published online in Taki’s Magazine, July 11th. 

Charles Glass

The first email came on May 31 from London’s Pluto Press, saying that one of their authors was missing and believed to be imprisoned. The author was forty-year-old journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad, whose reporting on Pakistan and Afghanistan was famously reliable and probing. As editor of Asia Despatch and Pakistan Bureau Chief of Hong Kong’s Asia Times Online, he had broken many important stories about the two wars raging in his region: the public conflict between the US and the Taliban and the covert struggle pitting the US against its ostensible Pakistani allies. The Taliban once kidnapped him in Afghanistan and then allowed him access to their cadres as a guest.

Author Nir Rosen has said: “When Syed Saleem Shahzad talks, I listen. He is the most fearless and reliable journalist covering Pakistan and Afghanistan, and that’s why his work is read even in the halls of the Pentagon.” Shahzad should have belonged to what Graham Greene called the “non-torturable” class. Theoretically, he was immune to harassment by Pakistani government apparatchiks. But clearly he wasn’t. “According to Human Rights Watch,” Asia Times announced, “Shahzad is being held for questioning in relation to an article in the Asia Times suggesting complicity between Al Qaeda and the Pakistani Navy.” The Asia Times article alleged that the Pakistani Navy conspired with al-Qaeda to attack one of Pakistan’s own naval air facilities near Karachi. Someone seemed angry that the story got out. When Shahzad disappeared, it seemed the intelligence services had kidnapped him to torture him into revealing his sources. Their methods of discovery would not stand scrutiny in a court of law. Shahzad’s friends, whom he had already told about intelligence-service threats to his life, were justifiably worried.

Heather Brooke on the ‘collusion of the elites’

Heather Brooke, author of Your Right to Know: A Citizen’s Guide to the Freedom of Information Act, writes in the Guardian about the phone-hacking controversy and the ‘collusion between the elites of the police, politicians and the press’.

Brooke identifies the root cause of the problem as the lack of publicly available information in the UK compared to other countries, despite the Freedom of Information Act. This leads to a ‘cartel of information’. She writes:

I was amazed, having been a reporter in the US, to discover that all the public records we used routinely to conduct basic verification and investigation were off limits in the UK. Records such as criminal convictions, arrest logs, full court documents and land ownership documents were either illegal or very difficult and expensive to obtain. Even the detailed financial accounts of public bodies were unavailable.

When I tried to investigate parliamentary expenses, all the records I’d normally access in the US were secret. A five-year legal battle to access official information was ultimately ineffective, as parliament tried to retrospectively change the law so the Freedom of Information Act didn’t apply. At that point, someone on the inside sold the full database to the Daily Telegraph.

Standing in the way of control – New books from Pluto in July

We are excited to announce the publication this month of our guide to one of the great theoretical and historical books of the twentieth century. Anne Schwan and Stephen Shapiro take us through Michel Foucault’s Discipline and Punish and along the way challenge a number of common misconceptions about the book and Foucault’s theories more generally. One such misconception is Foucault’s supposed opposition to Marx. Schwan and Shapiro write, “Marx is one of the most favourably cited authorities in Discipline and Punish, and Foucault implicitly and explicitly draws on Marx’s arguments in Capital to help explain the logic of historical change.”

Foucault’s writings are vital for anyone who wants to understand how power operates. As Foucault put it in his famous debate with Noam Chomsky in 1971:

The real political task in a society such as ours, is to criticise the workings of institutions that appear to be both neutral and independent; to criticise and attack them in such a manner that the political violence that has always exercised itself obscurely through them will be unmasked, so that one can fight against them.

You can watch an extract from the debate here:

Pluto’s other titles this month provide new insights, challenge common assumptions and unearth hidden histories. In the Political Economy of NGOs Jude L. Fernando punctures the saintly aura surrounding NGOs through a critical account of their alliance with capitalism and the state in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Saadia Toor’s The State of Islam rescues Pakistan from its designation as simply a ‘hotbed of extremism’. She reveals the importance of liberal and left movements to the country’s history and how such forces can emerge again today. In In Foreign Fields Thomas F. Carter provides a fascinating ethnographic study, based on twelve years of research in three continents, into the lives of sporting professionals. Whilst the media focus on millionaire sport celebrities, Carter looks at the challenges faced by ‘transnational sport migrants’ – the majority of sporting men and women who toil far away from the limelight.

How to Read Foucault’s Discipline and Punish Anne Schwan and Stephen Shapiro An accessible step-by-step introduction to Foucault’s hugely influential text. Part of the ‘How to Read Theory’ series. “This is a useful and illuminating companion to Foucault’s book, and will clarify much that remains puzzling about this proteiform thinker, dispelling misunderstandings and sending the reader on new and more fruitful paths” – Fredric Jameson, William A. Lane Jr. Professor of Comparative Literature at Duke University “[A] highly readable guide to one of Foucault’s best-known but often misinterpreted works. … This book will be of great assistance to students and others looking for a clear introduction to Discipline and Punish and for pointers on its theoretical contexts.” – Clare O’Farrell, author of Michel Foucault (2005) and founding editor of Foucault Studies £12.99 only £11.50 on the Pluto site

The Political Economy of NGOs State Formation in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh Jude L. Fernando Explores the relationship between NGOs and capitalism, showing that supposedly progressive NGOs often promote the same policies as governments. “At last, we have a theoretically-informed and historically grounded account of one of the defining features of the contemporary world – the rise of non-governmental organisations. This book is a much-needed political economy of NGOs and development in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka that perfectly combines conceptual sophistication with careful empirical analysis, anchoring its understanding of NGOs firmly to the forces of capitalist development and the neo-liberal restructuring of the state.” – David Lewis, Professor of Social Policy and Development, London School of Economics & Political Science “Jude Fernando’s notable achievement here is to push us to be a lot more nuanced when we join in the intense debate about the value of non-governmental organizations. His grittily detailed and sophisticated comparison of myriad NGOs in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka makes us all smarter as we try to figure out under exactly what conditions NGO activities undermine or contribute to genuine democratization anywhere. This is a fine and timely book.” – Cynthia Enloe, author of Nimo’s War, Emma’s War: Making Feminist Sense of the Iraq War £19.99 only £17.50 on the Pluto site

The State of Islam Culture and Cold War Politics in Pakistan Saadia Toor Studies Pakistan through the lens of the Cold War and the War on Terror and sheds light on the processes behind the rise of militant Islam. “”A deeply informed study of Pakistan’s unfinished journey, marked by the historical suppression of its vibrant Left, Toor’s book is part of the current re-emergence of a foundation for progressive politics in Pakistan. … Read it, argue over it, and be part of the journey to renew Pakistan.” “ – Vijay Prashad, The Darker Nations, and (co-editor), Dispatches from Pakistan “Saadia Toor reveals a country that is nothing like the hotbed of Islamic extremism and military dictatorship we read about constantly. … This book is a powerful antidote to reactionary stereotypes of Pakistan that dominate academic research and popular media.” – David Ludden, Professor of History, New York University, author of India and South Asia: A Short History £17.99 only £16.00 on the Pluto site

In Foreign Fields The Politics and Experiences of Transnational Sport Migration Thomas F. Carter Examines the lives of transnational sport migrants: players, journalists, coaches and administrators who toil far away from the sporting limelight. “This is a remarkable book. Carter explodes facile assumptions about the mobility of sports players across playing fields and national boundaries. Combining vivid prose with shrewd analysis, he follows the lives and labour of both elite and lesser-known players. In doing so, he remakes the social scientific study of globalizing sport, while challenging its scandalous neglect in the discipline of anthropology.” – Simon Coleman, Chancellor Jackman Chaired Professor, University of Toronto, and co-editor of The Discipline of Leisure “Based on more than a decade of ethnographic research in a wide variety of locations, this book make an enormous contribution to the anthropological study of sport and also to the social scientific understanding of sport more generally. In addition to vividly describing and forensically examining the lives of sport migrants as they ply their trade in ‘foreign fields’, Thomas Carter convincingly attacks his fellow anthropologists for their relative failure to appreciate the socio-cultural significance of sport. Even if they now take heed, however, Carter will remain their master for many years to come.” – Alan Bairner, Professor of Sport and Social Theory at Loughborough University, author of Sport, Nationalism, and Globalization (2001) £21.99 only £19.50 on the Pluto site

Kieran Allen on TV3′s ‘Tonight with Vincent Browne’

Kieran Allen, author of Marx and the Alternative to Capitalism (Pluto Press, 2011), has appeared in a panel discussion on Ireland’s TV3 Tonight with Vincent Browne programme, originally broadcast Thursday 30th June. The show, featuring Allen, offered a 30-minute debate on the possibility of an alternative society to capitalism.

In a heated and cacophonous discussion, conversation segued between the inegalitarian distribution of wealth within society, the need for economic democracy (additional to political democracy), and the erroneous equation of authoritarian communism with the socialism as expounded upon in Allen’s book.

Browne struggled to maintain any semblance of order over the course of the half hour, hindering the emergence of a substantive debate. Nonetheless Allen managed to make a few points uninterrupted, as well as deftly extracting the usual stock arguments from the proponents of capitalism on the panel -the validity of the trickle down effect; the horrors of Stasi Germany; and the ability of capitalism to provide ‘hope’ and ‘opportunity’ to everyone.

The programme is available to watch for free online, simply follow this link.

Marx and the Alternative to Capitalism Kieran Allen An accessible and comprehensive overview of the ideas of Karl Marx that elucidates his theories and suggests crucial alternatives to capitalism. £16.99 only £15.00 on the Pluto site

Dr. Ibrahim Abu-Rabi’

It is with great sadness that Pluto Press has learned of the death of Dr. Ibrahim Abu-Rabi’ on 2nd July, in Amman, Jordan. While attending a conference in Amman he suffered a fatal heart attack, and died, aged 55.

Abu-Rabi’ published many books over the course of his life, including Islam at the Crossroads (2003), Contemporary Arab Thought (Pluto Press, 2005), and The Contemporary Arab Reader on Political Islam (Pluto Press, 2010).

Dr. Abu-Rabi’ was an advocate and active supporter of the Palestinian people, having worked closely with the Palestine Solidarity Network, among other organisations, also serving as Council of Muslim Communities Chair of Islamic Studies at the University of Alberta.

Dr. Abu-Rabi’ had a special interest in contemporary Islamic thought and movements, and the interaction between Muslims and Christians in the Muslim world. He traveled widely and believed that building bridges among faith communities is necessary in a highly globalized world.

He was warmly described by Hamid Dabashi, author of Islamic Liberation Theology: Resisting the Empire (2008) as “a singularly trustworthy source of understanding modern Arab and Islamic intellectual history…Professor Abu-Rabi has opened up a panorama of modern political thought that we scarcely knew existed.”

He will be greatly missed by both Pluto and the wider community whose work he served. We offer our sincere condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.

A full obituary can be found online on the Palestine Solidarity Network blog.