Book Reviews

Book Reviews

Intersectionality and LGBTIQ+ Rights: A Comparative Analysis of Iran, Turkey, and Egypt

This volume offers a rare insight into how three Muslim governments aim to micro-manage the sexuality through the rights of their population that doesn’t conform with its religious traditions. Excellent research that offers a comparative perceptiveness.” – Professor Glen Segell, University of Cambridge

“A wonderful study and a vital reading for academic researchers, think tanks, NGOs, international organizations and government bureaucracies around the globe.” – Arno Tausch, Political Scientist, Visiting Professor of Political Studies and Governance, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa

Ecology: Welcome Home

This volume contains a rich panoply of concrete examples and original phenomenological expositions. The book is an original and lucid contribution to the understanding of the critical ecological destruction we are witnessing.” To read the full review, CLICK HERE>>>. – Dr. Alphonso Lingis, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Pennsylvania State University, USA

“A fascinating polyphonic exploration of the possibilities of the work’s subtitle, “Welcome Home” (welcome back home, welcome to your home, to the hospitable place where you feel welcome), this book urges us to become sensitive and attentive to our native Earth—to think and act responsibly and ecologically in the broadest sense, authentically caring for this home so that we ourselves will truly be welcome here.” To read the full review, CLICK HERE>>>. – Dr. Naglis Kardelis, Professor, Faculty of Philosophy, Vilnius University, Lithuania

“This book combines philosophical debates concerning the prevalent conception of “reality” with a broad and principled articulation of the existential challenges confronting humanity, challenges that call for an integral consciousness beyond the ideology of progress and consumption—for a dramatic transformation of our awareness and a new path of living in harmony with the powers of nature and with the world that is our true home. ” To read the full review, CLICK HERE>>>. – Dr. Vytautas Rubavičius, LKTI – Lithuanian Culture Research Institute, Vilnius, Lithuania

Destabilizing Forces and Resilience in the Current World Crisis: Comparisons of Global Opinion Data and a Middle East Analysis

“Tausch and Neriah provide an astute analysis of the international instability that has developed in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the importance of the West’s ability to demonstrate resilience in the face of new challenges.” – Russell A. Berman, Walter A. Haas Professor in the Humanities, Stanford University, CA, USA

“How is the Western world going to defend democracy, individual freedoms, pluralistic values and the rule of law if in some Western nations more than 50% of the population is not prepared to fight for their own country? This is a very uncomfortable question but it needs to be asked. Thankfully, the study by Tausch and Neriah not only provides a much-needed strategic perspective on the current and arising trends regarding the destabilizing forces and resilience in this crisis, but also dares to ask such pressing questions.” – Dr. Ferdinand J. Haberl (Deputy Director of the Documentation Centre Political Islam, Austria), author of Jihadi Intelligence and Counterintelligence – Ideological Foundations and Operational Methods (Springer 2023), project lead and co-author of the recent KIRAS study, The Muslim Community of Vienna – Between Religion and the Rule of Law (KIRAS, 2022)

“In times of increasing openly military conflicts and global challenges posed by climate change, resilience will take on new importance for the survival of a state. This book illustrates the problem in an impressive way – well worth reading!“ – Hon. Prof. Dr. Gunther Hauser, Austrian Defense Academy, Vienna

“Also ideas become a material force as soon as they are adopted by the masses. The present study is important in this respect as it informs about ideas – and persistently wrong ideas – concerning especially the Arab world. Only correct ideas will then guarantee global peace – an important contribution in this sense.” – Prof. Dr. habil. Peter Herrmann; Research Fellow at the Human Rights Center; Law School at the Central South University, Changsha, PRC; Affiliated (among others): Max Planck Institute for Social Law (Germany); Member of the European Academy of Science and Arts

“Important data and perspectives; vital reading for the analysis of Western and Middle East security.” – Colonel (GS) Markus Reisner, Austrian Armed Forces

“When our embarrassments and fears lie, we often listen to them anyway. They thwart our gratitude, acceptance, and compassion—our goodness. They insist, “War could never happen again on the European continent”. But it did! Arno Tausch and Jacques Neriah study the destabilizing forces and resilience in the current global crisis, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, as a combination of global comparisons and a Middle East survey. We find courage from this excellently researched and written volume to strengthen our faith despite the unstable world.” – Glen Segell (University of Cambridge), author of Development, Globalization, Global Values and Security: Essays in Honor of Arno Tausch (Springer 2023), and A Defence Structure for the 21st Century (Institute of Security Policy, 2023)

“Authoritative, meticulously researched and incisive, this volume by Tausch and Neriah is a must read for those who seek to understand the turbulence of today’s current world.” – Prof Hussein Solomon, Centre for Gender and Africa Studies, University of the Free State, South Africa; Author of Directions in International Terrorism, 2021, Palgrave Macmillan; African Security in the Anthropocene, 2023, Springer

Messy Ethnography: Does Englishness Exist?

“Forrest challenges cherished orthodoxies by resurrecting a Boasian style of holistic anthropology in Messy Ethnography: Does Englishness Exist? In an important departure from traditional ethnographies of England, the author embraces contemporary British national multi-ethnicity; neglected in other ethnographies, this aspect leaves the impression that the English nation is exclusively White, middle class, and speak English. For example, Forrest examines the languages and places of birth of current residents of England, noting that Polish, not South Asian languages, is the commonest second language spoken after English. I strongly endorse this significant work for publication.” – Dr. Carole Crumley, Professor Emeritus, Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC USA

“John Forrest has an impressive publication record, and the proposed volume promises to be another well written and valuable addition to the anthropological and related literature. I endorse your publication of Messy Culture.” – Dr. Barbara Miller, Professor of Anthropology and International Affairs, George Washington University, Washington, DC USA

Farewell – Peace and Justice? A Look Back at (My) Half a Century of Political Science in Times of the Ukraine Crisis

“Arno Tausch is a scholar who developed during half a century a productive world-system perspective on global dynamics and dependencies, inequalities and exclusion as well as changing subjectivities in many different fields: Theoretically sound, methodologically innovative and empirically insightful. Tausch is a truly transnational intellectual with a clear cosmopolitan and social-liberal democratic compass, always with a healthy distance to the false comfort of Anglo-Saxon dominance in social sciences. In a way, his autobiography contains also a strong and motivating message to younger scholars: Develop a critical thinking, reflect on the highly uneven conditions of knowledge production and your position within the system – and find your own way! In Tausch´s own words: “one must always be one’s own teacher.” Today´s world is in deep trouble and needs such a thinking out of the box that contributes to understanding the “big picture.” Ulrich Brand, Professor of International Politics at the University of Vienna, Austria, and Co-Author (with Markus Wissen) of “The Imperial Mode of Living. Everyday Life and the Ecological Crisis of Capitalism”, London 2021

“Arno Tausch shares with us his intellectual biography, looking back at half a century of doing political science research in an ever-changing world. He eloquently combines his personal life and the beginning of his career and visits abroad with larger questions of the world system. A quantitatively oriented scholar, he introduces us not only to his perspectives on value surveys but circles back to basic questions of how to make sense of the global order against the backdrop of Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine.” – Farid Hafez, Class of 1955 Distinguished Visiting Professor of International Studies, Williams College,  Williamstown, MA, USA

 “Arno Tausch is in his early 70s and thus looks back in this remarkable intellectual autobiography on a life with many distinct professional phases, as a university researcher in the fields of political science and political economy, as a diplomat witnessing the dramatic phases of systemic transition in Warsaw/Poland and as a civil servant in the field of social policies. This book testifies to his inquisitive mind confronting and investigating some of the great challenges the world is and has been facing (from the problems development-underdevelopment in the 1970s, to nationalism and populism over the 2000s, up to the more recent escalation of military conflict in Europe). He employs a variety of tools of analysis in an original way (from theoretical approaches of dependencia and world systems theories, to the heterodox approaches of Kaleckian and Keynesian economics, to the use of a spectrum of empirical tools applied in particular to World Values Survey data). Interesting are also his account of interactions with many intellectual figures who influenced his work, to name just a few: Friedrich v. Hayek, Karl Deutsch, Anton Pelinka, Andre Gunder Frank, Dieter Senghaas, Kurt Rothschild and many others. The book reflects a remarkable life of an intellectual always engaged in the pressing social and political issues of the time.”  – Professor Dr. Michael Landesmann, Johannes Kepler University and Former Scientific Director, The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw) Wien, Austria

 “This is the exciting autobiography of an unorthodox scholar whose prolific writings and fine insights on an array of topics of grave importance have enriched our world. I recommend this book with enthusiasm!” – Andrei S. Markovits, Karl W. Deutsch Collegiate Professor of Comparative Politics and German Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

This book is a must to all students of political science. I also, firmly believe that professor Arno Tausch’s analysis would serve many politicians and decision makers around the world in their daily assessment as to the direction they would like to navigate to in a reality of constant tectonic confrontation between East and West. Such a concise book with so much content and reflection!” – Colonel (ret. ) Dr. Jacques Neriah, Former Head of Assessment at Israel’s Directorate of Military Intelligence, Senior Researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, and Senior Security Commentator on i24news TV Channels.

“Arno Tausch’s intellectual biography tells us the story of a political scientist who neither drifted in the waves of changing mainstreams nor put too much effort in fighting them. Instead, he explored the “sidestreams” in different areas of social sciences, from (political) “world system” theory, the (economic) concept of “long cycles” and the role of “global values” to the deeper origins of “putinism” and its terrible consequences nowadays in the Ukraine. A stimulating read.” – Stephan Schulmeister, Economic Researcher and University Lecturer, Homepage: https://stephanschulmeister.wifo-pens.at/

Random Homeostasis – On the Nature of Contingent Reality

“Utterly fascinating. Scientifically provocative. Urgently necessary. Read this book.” – William Shatner, Actor, Writer, Producer

“Tobias and Morrison have done it again! In an important sequel to their previous books, they introduce the concept of Compound Expressive Potential, which combines aspects of human history, biosemiotics, and quantum physics to propose a radically novel solution to how we view evolution, predation, and stability in ecosystems. This may well be the most important book that Tobias and Morrison have written to date, challenging our understanding of how Nature works and how humans can seamlessly fit into this world without destroying it.” – Dr. Con Slobodchikoff, Author of Chasing Doctor Dolittle: Learning the Language of Animals (St. Martin’s Press, 2012); Professor Emeritus of Biology, Northern Arizona University, CEO of Zoolingua, CEO of Animal Communications Ltd., Director, Animal Language Institute; Lead author, Prairie Dogs: Communication and Community in an Animal Society (Harvard University Press, 2009)

“Tobias and Morrison’s mastery of the sciences, philosophy, history, mathematics and the work of numerous other scholars chronicled in this masterpiece is amazing, compelling, extraordinary, articulate, engaging and, at times, very demanding…Random Homeostasis – On the Nature of Contingent Reality is a must read for all who have compassion for nature and love the children who will inherit the earth.” – Bob Gillespie, President, Population Communication

“When Albert Einstein observed the phenomenon of particles separated by great distances interacting with each other, he realized that reality is stranger than we can imagine. So it is with homeostasis, the main subject of this extraordinary far-ranging and fascinating book, one bursting with enlightening facts and the wisdom of the world’s thinkers, cultures, and history. The Authors posit that certainty is out the window, and our kindnesses must be brought to bear. In their words, “Our generation’s singular task will be to emancipate our intentions and behavior outside the perceived boundaries of gravity.” This book is not only jaw dropping and eye opening, it reminds us that while we may sometimes see ourselves as mere cogs in the wheel, without us the wheel will not turn in the right direction, if at all. This is a Michelin guide to what Jains call right thinking.– Ingrid Newkirk, Founder and President of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and its international affiliates – the largest animal rights organization in the world. A Forbes Person of the Year, Ms. Newkirk is the author of 14 books on animals, their abilities, language, and sentience, and the subject of the HBO documentary, “I Am an Animal.”

Random Homeostasis– On the Nature of Contingent Reality by Michael Charles Tobias and Jane Gray Morrison is a bold and brave book of historical significance both theoretically and practically. The book’s power is to address both the contingent nature of local and global homeostatic processes expressed in the biosphere’s co-evolutionary earth shaping power, and at the same time to explore the biological realities and dynamics of an ecosphere under unremitting assault by the power of the human species, an animal quite unlike any other…” – Roy Morrison’s books include Ecological Democracy, Sustainability Sutra; An Ecological Investigation, and his latest, The New Green Republic. Morrison is an internationally acclaimed energy expert and Managing Partner of Sun Partners Solar in the northeastern United Sates. Morrison (no relation to the co- Author, Jane) is a Fellow at the Center for Ecozoic Societies, and has coordinated China’s International Working Groups (CIWG) to develop super grid and ecological solutions (www.ciwg.net) www.EcoCivilization.info; www.SunPartnersSolar.com. He was the Founding Director of the Office for Sustainability at the Southern New Hampshire University and wrote the first law in the nation for municipal aggregation under retail electric competition.

Random Homeostasis -On the Nature of Contingent Reality, is the latest work by Tobias and Morrison. This tome presents the first theory of Anthropocene extinctions based upon a fusion of philosophical and scientific meaning. It challenges us to think where we fit in the orchestra of the cosmos and how fragile our part is in it. A great contribution.” – Melanie L. DeVore, Georgia College & State University Professor, Department of Biology & Environmental Sciences; Arizona State University, Adjunct Faculty Member, Center for Biology & Society and School of Life Sciences; University of Washington, Research Associate in Paleobotany, Burke Museum; New Jersey City University, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Adjunct Professor; University of Rwanda, Honorary Research Fellow in the Center of Excellence in Biodiversity & Natural Resource Management (CoEB-UR, CST)

“Tobias and Morrison’s book Random Homeostasis – On the Nature of Contingent Reality provides a fascinating and novel alternative to traditional theories of “punctuated equilibria” and builds a holistic theory of “random homeostasis” based upon theoretical biology, but also the humanities, social sciences and ecological metaphysics. The book is extremely well written and provides insight into the real world we live in today and tomorrow.” – Thomas Gillespie, Ph.D., Professor of Geography specializing in Geographic Information Systems, Remote Sensing and Biogeography, UCLA

Random Homeostasis by Michael Charles Tobias and Jane Gray Morrison, is a treatise on the topic of change through ecological time and space, thought, action and inaction. Fundamental to their discourse is the notion that organisms in the past have existed because contingencies allowed them to adapt and survive external challenges. But of course, times have changed, along with climate and decimation of habitat and species. Their book is a philosophical examination of “the broad discourse on general evolutionary mutations, phenotypically expressed human behaviors, and the largely inaccessible alterations to the biosphere that follow on from collision points, non-equilibrium, and the seemingly random oscillations of ecosystem mechanics.” Precognitive yet retrospective, the Authors’ literary journey brings the reader to the observation that in spite of political rhetoric, nations of the world have failed in their attempts to course correct from an impending Anthropocene tipping point because the world is hamstrung by “the political syndrome of historical sovereignties (illusory boundaries with no ecological basis) vying for power.” Random Homeostasis is a challenging work, which weaves in and out of first-person and third person reference to bring together a phenomenally wide range of analytics from quantum math to literary analysis and so much more.” – David J. Wagner, PhD, Author, American Wildlife Art; Guest Curator, and adjunct faculty at colleges and universities, and Curator of over fifty art exhibitions

To read these reviews in full, please CLICK HERE>>>>.

Undergraduate Research Perceptions and Experiences: A New Zealand Study

“At a time when the desired purposes and outcomes of a university education are under consideration due to a fluid job market and large challenges, such as climate change, Dr. Chandra’s book is timely in focusing on how students attain critical analysis skills from research experiences. Her rigorous and robust treatment of the data she collected provides an accessible lens through which to see how undergraduates interact, or not, with research within a university context. As a faculty member who works with colleagues on their teaching practices, this book will be useful in how we think about engaging our students with research.” – Billy Osteen, Associate Professor, Director of the UC Community Engagement Research Lab, Faculty of Education, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand 

“Dr. Chandra is to be congratulated on the depth and detail of her PhD research, which is fully reported in this book. Doreen has analyzed and discussed both quantitative and qualitative findings in response to the important research questions as to how undergraduate university students perceive, engage in and develop research skills as they progress through their university degree. This book should be of interest to undergraduate program developers who would like to support and foster student interest, motivation, engagement in, and efficacy for, research.” – Dr. Veronica O’Toole, Senior Lecturer, School of Educational Studies and Leadership, Faculty of Education, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

Child Mortality in Eritrea: An Overview of History and Progress

“What an author…what a subject. A must-read book on the future of Eritrea!” – E. Arefaine Berhe, Minister of Agriculture, State of Eritrea

“This well-written, fact-filled book offers a glimpse into Eritrea’s child health care system – which places the responsibility for the welfare of the child on the entire community.” – Sophia Tesfamariam, Permanent Representative of Eritrea to the United Nations

“An exhaustive and comprehensive analysis of Eritrea’s laudable success in reducing child mortality by Dr. Fikresus Amahazion – a polymath and product of Awet n’hafash.” – Ruby Sandhu, FRSA Lawyer, London

“Dr. Fikresus makes sense of a complex subject. He describes an important aspect of the story of Eritrea using one of the most valuable gauges, children. How a country treats and cares for its children tells us a whole lot about it.” – Amanuel Biedemariam, entrepreneur, community activist, and author of The History of the USA in Eritrea (2020)

Rediscovery of Society: A Post-Pandemic Reality

“Renowned scholar, Brij Mohan, is yet again at the forefront of contemporary issues in shaping a new society. Known for his critical and provocative thinking and outspokenness against injustices, he challenges the status quo of dysfunctional societies and institutional collapse. He proposes a new social contract and enlightenment that restore hope for a post-pandemic society where people have rediscovered their purpose in life. His wealth of knowledge and expertise is evident in his authoritative speaking on a new social contract that will contribute to a more just and sustainable society.” – Antoinette Lombard, Department of Social Work & Criminology, University of Pretoria, South Africa

“I always expect the best from Brij Mohan, and he always delivers. His prescient critique of the Great Society is a riveting reminder of our hubris and heresies. Search for a utopian civil society is a product of Brij Mohan’s Chekhovian imagination, which he finds globally shattered by ugly realities.” – Nayan Kanwal, Professor & Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Social Sciences and Artistic Innovations (IJSSAI), Singapore

“Social work’s philosophical maestro leads us through a sobering symphony of “institutional meltdown” of our social contract. While debilitating institutional dysfunctions in concert hit their notes to synchronize a broken society in the author’s acute unpacking of the historical erosion of American promises, he brilliantly brings readers out of despair with the post-pandemic hope of the rediscovery and reconstruction of society through social praxis and transformation. This book is a must-read for all contemporary critical thinkers and doers of social-human development who will lead our society to the “rediscovered” land of social, economic, and political freedom for all.” – Philip Hong, Professor, Loyola University Chicago

“It is clear that a reckoning is underway. After writing over twenty books on the topic, it is evident to [sic] Mohan that the current path of global social development is approaching a dead end. This book-length critique of the status quo opens a dialogue about the viability of alternate paths to sustainable and democratic models of social development that restore Enlightenment values.” – Mark W. Lusk, Professor Emeritus, IFSW Human Rights Commissioner, Department of Social Work, The University of Texas at El Paso

“Almost all political and social philosophers from Plato to Marx and beyond have dealt with various problems emanating from society in various countries with varied situations over centuries. Brij Mohan, a social analyst, theorist, and scientist has based his empirical work on two premises—that democracy is dying and there is an urgent need for a new social contract since our social institutions are faltering. The author has also used a political-historical approach to prove his point. He has discussed a case study of American and Indian societies and related them to various variables—state’s delivery of goods is the largesse trickling down to the poorest of poor, citizens facing xenophobia, oppression of various types, alienation, and so on. It is because of “fractured democratic institutions” that the post-pandemic issues began to threaten human survival. This led to economic drain at individual and state levels, fear of inequality, injustice, and a fall of economic freedom…The book was a wonderful read.” Read more here >>> – Priti Nath, Associate Professor of Political Science, Government Post Graduate College, Panchkula (affiliated to Kurukshetra University), India

The book is indeed a good piece of work which opens a dialogue about the possibility of alternate pathways to sustainable models of social development. In fact, this book is relevant and a ‘must read’ for all the educators, practitioners and scholars of social sciences who are interested to lead our society to bring about social change for social and human development in the post-pandemic situation.” Read more here >>> – Atul Pratap Singh, Professor, Department of Social Work, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar College, University of Delhi, Delhi, India

Social Entrepreneurship: Perspectives, Management and Gender Differences

“A core question about social entrepreneurship is how to socially organize in a way that people—who may be at core selfish—can find ways to express their best selves and care about others. After all, living in society is about some level of social mutuality balanced against some level of personal space, free will, self-dignity, and independence. How can the needs of the many be balanced against the needs of the individual, at scale? What method of government best enables people to thrive, with equity and inclusion and social justice? What are the best ways to set up incentives constructively? And in terms of a country’s leadership, how can they best lead and signal to enable a competitive nation? Olga Agatova’s Social Entrepreneurship: Perspectives, Management and Gender Differences (2022) captures various ways different nations and societies try to meet the needs of their peoples while competing in a zero-sum world. Leaders of countries balance a number of interests and aims…Read more at >>>– Shalin Hai-Jew, Instructional Designer/Researcher, Kansas State University. Published in C2C Digital Magazine (Fall 2022 / Winter 2023)