Activism Books

This work provides three studies which attempt to examine how effectively local citizen groups can challenge the existing production system and its political support. The examples include water pollution, wetlands protection, and postconsumer waste recycling. In each case, the authors directly confront the simplistic assumption that simply "thinking globally" can enhance the effectiveness of local movements. However, they suggest new models for mobilizing local citizens, using a form of "political franchising", involving the interaction between local movements, national and transnational movements, and the aggregation of organized local movements

Dr. Marshall does a great job of explaining the water problems and the grass roots efforts of activists within the Appalachian region. Though the price is kinda steep, I'd recommend this book to anyone who is interested in environmental activism.

This carefully researched history of Yucatan's 19th Century Caste War is a long overdue addition to our understanding of one of the most fascinating chapters in the turbulent history of Mexico. Don Dumond draws from a wealth of primary source documents in this comprehensive overview of the 54 year life-and-death struggle that began in 1847 as a regional rebellion of Maya campesinos living on Yucatan's eastern wilderness frontier. Events rapidly spun out of control, when early Maya success on the battlefield unleased the pent-up energy of long-simmering grievances and hatred directed towards the Spanish-speaking elite, a group the Maya still thought of as foreigners three centuries after the Spanish conquest of Yucatan. As the rebellion caught fire, more Maya communities rose up, sensing the power of the moment, transforming the uprising into a peninsula-wide race war that came close to driving the Ladino population from the land.

Dumond presents a detached and balanced description of the major players and events of the rebellion, leaving the more colorful details of the battles and the stories of heroism and personal survival to Nelson Reed, whose excellent and very readable "Caste War of Yucatan" provides the stuff of a good war story. The appeal of The Cross and the Machete, is more to the student of Mexican history or the serious history buff. Here, Dumond removes the "climax" of the 1848 Maya offensive from its unlikely pedestal, where the Maya farmer-soldiers are closing in on the final Ladino enclave around the capital, Merida, only to abandon the field of battle at the first sign of the winged insects, whose presence in the skies call them to their sacred obligation to plant corn. Rather than "divine providence" saving the Yucatecan Ladinos, touted by many writers, Dumond argues that the Maya offensive petered out at the outskirts of Merida because the campesino army had not only overextended itself, but it had failed to inspire the long-dominated Maya of the Ladino northwest to join the revolt. In this story, the less exciting historical interpretation triumpths over the myth.

The Maya offensive and Ladino recovery of 1847 through 1850 are only the beginning to what turns into a protracted struggle for survival for the rebels and their descendants, who retreat into the wilderness of the eastern and southern forests, coalescing into a number of independent Maya communities in a permanent state of war against Ladino Yucatan, and much of the time, against each other. The most important of these rebel groups, who became known as the Cruzob, found strength and inspiration from a set of "speaking crosses," which appeared in1851 in a dell containing a small spring, deep in the eastern forest. Manipulated by a small group of rebel leaders, the crosses provided guidance and hope for the rebels in their darkest days, attracting large numbers of rebel families, who created a new Maya society there, and whose aggressive military carried out spectacular raids into Yucatan, and fought to a standstill the Yucatecan and Mexican armies sent against it. A well-equipped Mexican army finally put the rebellion to an end in 1901, by which time, disease, discord and desertions had decimated the ranks of the rebels.

"The Machete and the Cross" gives a great deal of attention to the Cruzob, and other rebel groups known as "Pacificos" who had signed vague peace treaties with Mexico, but lived in mostly independent and self-contained communities far from the reach of the Ladinos. Within the ranks of the Cruzob, Dumond brings to light previously unreported factions that operated somewhat outside of the tight control of the centralized leadership. We learn, for the first time, that the Cruzob town of Tulum, on the far north coast, actually became the most important center of the cross cult after the palace revolt that cut down the ruthless Cruzob leader, Venancio Puc and his Interpreter of the Cross in the capital of Noh Cah Santa Cruz in 1864.

Finally, the role of the munitions suppliers in British Honduras, and the delicate political position the colony found itself in as a result of its policies are explored at length in this well-crafted history.

MAKING ISLAM DEMOCRATIC: SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND THE POST-ISLAMIC TURN is a key acquisition for any college-level collection strong in Middle East studies. It offers a focus on events from Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution to modern times, considering religion, politics and everyday life in the Middle East and providing a fine analysis of the contemporary Iranian revolution and its evolution. Asef Bayat is Academic Director of the International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World, and lends authority and insight to his review of the modern Middle East world.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

War is nothing but a continuation of political intercourse, with a mixture of other means."
- Karl von Clausewitz, On War

The stunning violence and repression of the Pinochet regime in Chile often overshadows the stability and economic prosperity that it was engineered to accomplish. Julia Paley's assessment that Pinochet's "repression was not the raison d'être of the military government...rather, it was a means to an end," is an accurate characterization. For when does repression and extreme violence ever exist unless to someone's advantage? In this way, the repression of the Pinochet regime becomes the modus operandi to achieve stability that Allende was unable to deliver for Chile.

General Augusto Pinochet was a hard-handed military man and likely studied Clausewitz. Clausewitz very concisely describes the mentality that guides military dictatorships. Force and the threat of force are the modus operandi of the military and therefore it follows that Pinochet would use such tactics to accomplish any goal. The influence of National Security Doctrine over the Southern Cone in the 1960s and 1970s was evident in other regimes, such as in Argentina. The military view that the democrats were selling the country down the river was a moral affront to the national identity and a threat to stability. Indeed, Allende was unable to use democratic institutions and methods to foster a healthy national economy or to promote stability. Pinochet viewed this as the failure of democracy, and a heavy hand was the only remaining option to save the nation.

However, Paley's argument seems to suggest that had there been another means that would have allowed Pinochet to implement his economic program that he would have pursued it; i.e. negotiations with Allende supporters or an economic summit of some sort. At some point the debate over whether or not the violence was the means or the end becomes a futile discussion. The more salient discussion concerns the enduring impacts on the structure of contemporary Chilean politics and economics that Pinochet continues to exert. The irony of Pinochet is that even though he was replaced more than a decade ago, he continues to shape political and economic discourse today.

The health of the Chilean economy, ironically, keeps alive the danger of Pinochet supporters claiming a moral victory of sorts. By pointing to a record of the lowest unemployment, lowest inflation, healthy exports, and stability, especially relative to Argentina, Peru, and other regional economies, supporters of the Pinochet regime have empirical evidence to justify that government's repression. It weakens the authority of Allendistas and democrats because the clear break from Allende and democracy resulted in a strong economy. In essence, Pinochet has framed the political culture in terms of an effective-ineffective dichotomy, where Pinochet's repressive regime occupies the former and Allende's democratic government occupies the latter.

In fact, Pinochet did receive justification for his economic policies from the newly elected democratic government in 1990. The pacted transition from Pinochet to Aylwin fixed the new civilian government in terms of Pinochet's 1982 constitution. In the end, Paley says, "the economic program instituted by Pinochet's regime gained legitimacy from being administered by an elected government."

The enduring lesson for Chilean politicians seems to be stability at any cost. Because democracy can be messy and uncertain, Pinochet viewed it as a threat. The signals from the United States have been unhelpful in terms of fostering democracy also. In the 1970s, Pinochet enjoyed the support of the U.S. in overthrowing Allende and leading Chile, and during the 1980s the U.S. also supported Pinochet in his campaign against the Socialist reformers. The neoliberal economic system that Pinochet constructed during the 1970s, with the support of the U.S., which has outlasted Pinochet, is the context in which democracy currently operates. But it is a very limited form of democracy. Structurally, the rollback of social programs and focus on the macroeconomic picture automatically excludes the poorest in Chile and advantages the wealthiest. This democracia con apellidos has become the new modus operandi for stability in democracy.

Paley argues that the privatization of services that has resulted from both the outright repression of Pinochet and the more subtle repression of neoliberalism essentially limits democracy. When nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) offer services to citizens, instead of the state, important decisions are beyond the scope of the public's ability to participate.

The health of the Chilean economy should be a point of pride. However, the danger of focusing on the macroeconomic picture presents for democracy and governance is the temptation to return to repression as a stabilizing force. There has been no contemporary example to demonstrate to Chileans that democracy is favorable to an exclusionary or repressive government, especially in times when stabilization is necessary. To return to Paley's argument, the raison d'être of Chilean politics, then, is stability and the modus operandi, at least in terms of Pinochet, is violent repression. Thus, we see an inherent paradox within Chilean democracy. Although Pinochet's repressive, anti-democratic regime is no longer the engine of government, through the wholesale manipulation of the structure of government, it still ensures that its paradigms and priorities are the law of the land.

A question that needs to be answered in post-Pinochet Chile is whether or not Chile can enjoy stability in a truly democratic context, and if so whether it will endeavor to do so. Currently, the macroeconomic picture is positive. From 1992 to 2002, GDP per capita rose from $9080 to 10,373; unemployment dropped nearly one percent; and the percentage of the national economy that is public debt held even. (Economist 23 June 2003). Troublesome is that the political culture of Pinochet's bureaucratic-authoritarian regime holds specter over today's political climate, which proves problematic because repression remains a temptation and a tendency for Chilean politicians, but it keeps the focus on the macroeconomic.

Pinochet in many ways was the vanguard of neoliberalism in Latin America, and since the wave of its structural adjustments has passed over the region, it is clear that governments are forced to cater toward positive macroeconomic indicators. By monitoring GDP, for example, one cannot get a clear view of individual prosperity, because Latin America is the most unequal region in the world. Therefore, the government is never truly democratic (democracia con apellidos) because so many actually fare so poorly in a healthy macroeconomic situation.

A hopeful message in Paley's book is that democratic impulses can and do grow in a democratically ambivalent political framework, even if they are not the norm. The Llareta group created a democratic space within an environment where the term "participation" had been co-opted by the state to legitimize its abdication of responsibility. Paley states, "Llareta and other social organizations in La Bandera actively contested the meaning of participation and attempted to reclaim it in the service of revitalized mobilization."

Although the impacts of Pinochet's rule are obviously still felt today, the outlook is unclear. If Chile remains as it is today, a relatively stable and prosperous country, the tendency toward Pinochet will likely be weak. However, there is a danger in this as well. Should the strength of democracy remain untested, its roots into the political culture may not grow deep, either. But, if Chile develops a history of facing crises of stability and also protecting democratic institutions, then the likelihood that democracy will endure is much greater. It seems as though, and Paley concurs on this point, the structural adjustment program requirements on Latin American nations are not democracy-friendly.

Should the international community truly wish to commit itself to fostering democracy and preventing the rise of another Pinochet in Chile, it might do well to untie the hands of political leaders who need to cater to positive macroeconomic goals. By doing so, the halting of the state's retreat will encourage more citizens to become engaged and truer stakeholders in the Chilean state. Perhaps then, democracy will be more than a marketing slogan in Chile.

Clifford Bob's The Marketing Rebellion is a valuable contribution to our understanding of the NGO sector operates. The literature on NGOs is not a particularly sophisticated one, heavily populated with self-serving and unenlightening tomes.

Bob examines the nexus between third world insurgencies and international NGOs and comes to some interesting findings.

This book is a must for those interested in the NGO sector, but also international relations as NGOs have emerged as an important players in their own right in recent years.

Harry Harmer achieves a great deal in a short space, covering the life of Martin Luther King largely by headline and the well known events of the day. The reading style of the narrator is very acceptable but not up to the standard of a professional actor. Harmer's style is factual and concise, and gives a coherent overview and analysis of King's driving religous philosophy and practical politics. Much background detail and human interest element is necessarily ommitted, but the overall effect is brisk and not too dry. King's one-line critique of Marxism is quoted to great effect. Harmer shows that King acheived the near-impossible - a radical, and radically effective, moderate political position which harnessed wide support and led to massive lasting social change for good. The proof of his rightness is strangely most evident in the opposition that King received. Neither the extreme Black Power groups who advocated violence, or the spineless wet appeasers who protested that he should temper his words and stick to preaching, came near to harnessing the lasting, positive, and effectual driving force for social justice that King did. Harmer maintains considerable objectivity throughout, and that in an area that arouses violent passion and debate to this day. He is not afraid to tackle the actions of the iniquitous vested interests of the day, for instance the role of the FBI, top politicians, and powerful white businessmen. This is a highly commendable introduction to the life and works of Martin Luther King.

This fascinating and well-written book really illuminates the
political-diplomatic struggles of the 1940s that led up to the creation of Israel. Among other things, it reveals the behind-the-scenes lobbying efforts by Zionist activists in Washington, including previously unknown relationships that conservative Zionists established with Republican legislators--at a time when most other Jewish leaders worked almost exclusively with liberal Democrats.

"Militant Zionism in America" is also chock full of intriguing episodes that I've never read about anywhere else, such as how a militant Zionist play that raised funds for the Palestine underground militias was used to put an end to discrimination against blacks in Baltimore's theaters! There are also compelling chapters on how American Zionists smuggled weapons to
the Jewish fighters in Palestine, and how the FBI spied on the Zionists for nearly a decade.

Highly recommended.

Meta Schlichting Berger was a Wisconsin wife, mother, schoolteacher, and politician at a time when women's role in public life (including their right to vote) were as contested as they were restricted. Ably edited by Kimberly Swanson, A Milwaukee Woman's Life On The Left is Meta Berger's autobiography and takes us through her transformation from a traditional wife and mother to a political activist who held elective office for thirty years. Married to Victor Berger in 1897, she saw her husband being elected to Congress as their first Socialist member. She was to eventually launch her own political campaign that would place her on the Milwaukee School Board and the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents. She was an activist in the peace and women's suffrage movements of the day, all while serving as confidant and advisor to her Congressman husband. Her husband was faced with twenty years in prison and denial of his Congressional seat because of his opposition to World War I. Meta helped him to win his eventual vindication before the United States Supreme Court. After her husband's death in 1929, Meta became even more radicalized than her husband ever was and embroiled in left-wing politics during the turbulent decade of the 1930s. A Milwaukee Woman's Life On The Left is a fascinating and informative contribution to women's studies in general, and Wisconsin history in particular.

Brown tries to delve into abolitionists' motives. The result is an overly long book full of equivocations. It's a hodge-podge, wherein on one page, he questions the abolitionists' sincerity because they objected to slavery on religious grounds and on another page he admits that they were dedicated to abolition as an end in itself. And so it goes on and on and on....very slowly and with no apparent end, or resolution, in sight.

This is a great attempt to understand how the British turned against the enslavement of Africans. It is sad to note that it took a bloody Civil War, the worse conflict involving Americans, to end slavery on these shores.