Hurst Publishers

An independent publisher of politics, history, religion and current affairs since 1969. Here you'll find facts, stats, pictures and interesting things we like. London, United Kingdom

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Luxury Living in a Failed State

Luanda, Angola—not Moscow, Tokyo, or Hong Kong—has become the world’s most expensive city for expats.

The New Yorker on the world’s most expensive city for expats, Angola’s capital city Luanda:

For dinner, Espinosa grilled steak and part of a thirty-five-pound tuna that he’d caught the previous week on the Kwanza River. When oil people leave Angola, he told me, they often sell their freezers, packed with American beef, to their successors. “People can charge ten thousand dollars for a well-stocked freezer,’’ he said. He mentioned that a friend once tried to sell him a roll of aluminum foil for a hundred and forty dollars. Espinosa grinned and rolled his eyes. “That crazy Randy,’’ he said. “In the end, I think I paid thirty dollars.’’

“T.I.A., man,’’ he said, shrugging his shoulders and using a favorite acronym: “This is Angola.”

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Does Technology Kill Distance?

Does technology kill distance? So often we hear it. The cumulative message of our news cycle, of debate about foreign and defence policy, is the fear that the global spread of ideas, capital, weapons and people makes our world ever more dangerous.

Patrick Porter takes the ‘Global Village’ myth to task on our blog.

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Dhaka: A Temporary Settlement?

The death of more than 1,100 people in the building collapse on the edge of Dhaka in April 2013 was a story of such appalling contempt for human life that it must rank among the most callous in the brutal history of industrialism.

We’ve published an excerpt from Jeremy Seabrook’s superb account of the global garment industry, The Song of the Shirt: The High Price of Cheap Garments, from Blackburn to Bangladesh.

Read the excerpt on our blog

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Peter Cole and Mary Fitzgerald were at the Frontline Club last night to talk about The Libyan Revolution and its Aftermath. If you missed it, you can watch the whole thing here.

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The China-Pakistan Axis: Asia's 'Little Understood' Relationship

China and Pakistan have been described as 'all weather friends', but the nature of their ties remains secretive. Deutsche Welle talks to analyst Andrew Small, author of The China-Pakistan Axis, about some of the most sensitive aspects of this strategic relationship.

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A change of government in Sri Lanka has raised hopes of steps towards a meaningful resolution for the country’s Tamils. Madurika Rasaratnam argues that international pressure might hold the key.

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The persistent targeting of Muslims is preventing the effective management of diversity in French society.

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Army Yes-men 'Will Keep on Losing Wars'

The Times have described High Command: British Military Leadership in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars by Christopher Elliott as 'a preview of the Chilcot inquiry' and one that 'exposes miscalculations and shortcomings by top commanders over the past decade'.

Deborah Haynes, Defence Editor at The Times, had this to say of the book:

Britain will lose more wars unless military chiefs stop agreeing to impossible missions after a decade of errors in Iraq and Afghanistan, a new book warns.

In what is effectively a preview of the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war, the book by a former senior general exposes miscalculations and shortcomings by top commanders over the past decade and warns that, without reform, the same mistakes will be repeated.

High Command, based on interviews with many of those at the helm of the military and the Ministry of Defence from the turn of the century, also identifies fundamental flaws inside the ministry that set the conditions for failure.

Meanwhile, Matthew Parris wrote about six taboo subjects we rarely talk about. Military incompetence stands last on the list:

Take a look at a review in Thursday’s Times by our defence editor, Deborah Haynes, of Christopher L Elliott’s new book: High Command: British Military Leadership in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. Elliott analyses a decade of military failure. “At the moment, the UK is bound to fall on its face,” the retired major-general said, “a coherent, thinking, ‘brain’ either does not exist in the MoD, or the circumstances of Whitehall do not allow it to flourish.”

Such open discussion is very rare in our country. An unhealthy coalition of boffins, neocons, commentators gone native and “use it or lose it” generals has all but closed down debate. But make no mistake: the Ministry of Defence is in charge here. Don’t blame the politicians. Don’t blame the poor bloody infantry. But do ask why Britain keeps making a hash of it. Or, rather, don’t, because we who believe in defence aren’t supposed talk about failure.

High Command: British Military Leadership in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars is published on 12 January.

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Everything You Wanted to Know About Islamic State

Since Islamic State hit the headlines in early 2014 the tide of articles and op-eds seeking to shed light on this little-known group has continued to rise. Our blog was no exception. As 2014 draws to a close, here's everything we've published on Islamic State—a selection which we hope provides food for thought not only on developments to date, but also on what may develop in the future.

Why Can't We Defeat ISIS? Michael Gunter and Nahro Zagros

The origins of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), how they have ruthlessly explored the weaknesses of the Syrian and Iraqi states, and why they are proving so difficult to challenge.

The Shared History of Saudi Arabia and ISIS Madawi Al-Rasheed

The participation of young Saudis in the Syrian and Iraqi conflicts is neither surprising nor an historical accident, writes Madawi Al-Rasheed.

Islamic State's Willing Executioners Simon Cottee

Islamic State’s extreme violence cannot be explained away as ‘socially determined’ behaviour. Part of the motivation is the allure of killing itself.

Turkey and the 'Islamic State' Vicken Cheterian

Turkey is notably reluctant to join a military campaign against ISIS. In fact, Ankara’s ambiguity towards the radical Islamist group has deep political as well as historical roots.

What is the Logic Behind Islamic State's Media Strategy Lina Khatib

With no mainstream media channel through which to communicate, Islamic State uses extreme acts of violence in order to attract global attention online, writes Lina Khatib.

Understanding Kobane Christopher Davidson

Christopher Davidson looks beyond the headlines to ask: what are the broader implications of the attack on Kobane?

The Gaza Trap: Why Al-Baghdadi May Yet Thank Netanyahu Jean-Pierre Filiu

Al-Baghdadi, Caliph of ‘Islamic State’, may benefit from the Gaza impasse – a danger to Israelis and Palestinians alike, writes Jean-Pierre Filiu.

Why Did Islamic State Seize Tabaqa Airbase in Syria Christopher Davidson

Was the seizure of Tabaqa Airbase by Islamic State just a part of their overall expansion, or was there another motive at play?

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Visit Original Link

Vahid Brown and Don Rassler's Fountainhead of Jihad: The Haqqani Nexus, 1973-2012 is a meticulously researched and remarkably detailed exposition of the Haqqani network’s growth and ongoing importance among Pakistani militant organizations. Beginning with an expansive history of the Haqqani family’s background, and subsequent emergence as a critical lynchpin in the Pakistani – and by extension US – anti-Soviet efforts in Afghanistan, the book goes on to cover the Haqqanis’ present operations, including its involvement in attacks on NATO, Indian, and government forces in Afghanistan.

Listen to Don Rassler's interview on the Haqqani network with Paul Knight on the New Books in Global Conflict podcast.

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Visit Original Link

July 2011 saw that rarest of events – an attempt to resolve a conflict in Africa by the redrawing of borders. It saw the birth of South Sudan as a fully fledged country after decades of conflict going back to the days of independence. It is obviously far too early to say whether this radical surgery on Sudan has been a success, and fighting has continued in various ways over the last three years, including between Juba and Khartoum. But, as James Copnall‘s terrific book A Poisonous Thorn in Our Hearts: Sudan and South Sudan’s Bitter and Incomplete Divorce (Hurst, 2014) suggests, it is not too early to see how this momentous event has affected the lives of many of those in both of the Sudans.

Check out James Copnall's interview with Nicholas Walton on the New Books in Africa Studies podcast.

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Visit Original Link

Taken in 1993, this photograph—which purports to show two boys, one Israeli and the other Palestinian, overlooking Jerusalem with their arms around each other—has become one of the most iconic images to emerge from the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Earlier this week the photo was outed as a fake; a 'symbolic illustration' in the words of the photographer. The story was covered widely—see TIME and Haaretz. While some decried the image as compromising photojournalistic ethics, others pointed out that while this image might have been staged, coexistence in the past was very real.

Menachem Klein, author of Lives in Common: Arabs and Jews in Jerusalem, Jaffa and Hebron, was interviewed on ABC Radio about a sometimes forgotten history of coexistence.

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Lack of Basic Human Rights: The Harrowing Reality

Today is Human Rights Day; a day designated by the United Nations to draw attention to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. That declaration set out 30 fundamental rights belonging to all persons. But 76 years later, the state of play of human rights across the world leaves a great deal to be desired. Gross and systemic abuses continue to be perpetrated at an alarming rate. Despite the UN and regional systems investing vast sums into protecting and promoting human rights, they are disregarded in many countries.

Rosa Freedman, author of Failing to Protect: The UN and the Politicisation of Human Rights.

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Oman and the Succession of Sultan Qaboos

Sultan Qaboos’ visit to Germany for medical reasons in July 2014 has revived concerns across Omani society for the future of the country without the ‘father of the nation.’ Read Marc Valeri's take on succession.

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Pentagon in Denial About Civilian Casualties of U.S. Airstrikes in Iraq and Syria

U.S. and allied forces have reportedly killed dozens of civilians in airstrikes while bombing the Islamic State. But the Defense Department refuses to take responsibility. 

Where does an air war leave civilians when 12 countries fly by 12 different rule books?

Read the Foreign Policy exclusive by Chris Woods, author of forthcoming book Sudden Justice: America's Secret Drone Wars. 

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#HurstHistory: The Weathervane Logo

You might've noticed that we recently reintroduced Hurst's weathervane as the publishers' logo which usually appears at the bottom of the spine.

Illustrator didn't exist when Hurst began publishing in 1969. The original logo was drawn by Christopher Hurst himself, the founder of the company, and we recently unearthed his original template – replete with felt-tip pen and Tipp-Ex. 

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The Saudi state itself was produced by an earlier version of the conflicts we are witnessing today in the Levant.

Madawi Al-Rasheed on why the participation of young Saudis in the Syrian and Iraqi conflicts is neither a surprise nor an historical accident.