Archived book reviews

Click the links through to Process North book reviews, now grouped into different categories.

Communications and media: reviews of books on ‘political rumours’, ‘false news’ and how to respond to people who believe (what we may think are) conspiracy theories; the degrading effects of insults in politics and the media as part of public discourse; and the pioneering thought of Siegfried Kracauer.

The craft of mediation & good practice in conflict resolution: the skills and approaches of ‘private peace entrepreneurs’; what causes social and political polarisation – and how to respond; solving management problems in America’s schools; attempts to dissuade young people from violence; the  work of Herbert C Kelman; and a collection on good practice when intervening in societal level conflicts

Understanding – and responding to – ‘extremism’: from Theodor Adorno to the Identitarians, and from the EDL to anti-monarchy protestors … how to tackle anti-semitism and the best ways to respond to conspiracy theories – consideration of contested issues, taking in terminology, methodology, theory and practice

Ideas & theory: on Hannah Arendt; ‘inclusive populism’, the difference between ‘bullshit and lies’; Ernesto Laclau’s ontology; and why some good people disagree with you

Places, identities, migrations: Refugees building lives in the United States (a land of inequality and a land of opportunity); Multicultural society along the M62; Why we need to talk more about racism; Wacquant’s useful concepts; tackling racism in Scotland; immigration to Scotland; refugees in twentieth century literature; a critique of British immigration policy