New Books Network

Genocide Studies August 11, 2022

Sites of Genocide

Adam Jones

Hosted by Kelly McFall

Adam Jones will be familiar to anyone interested in the field of genocide studies. He's published one of the leading textbooks in the field. He's been influential in drawing attention …

Indian Religions August 11, 2022

Sadhus in Indian Politics

Dynamics of Hindutva

Koushiki Dasgupta

Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Koushiki Dasgupta's Sadhus in Indian Politics: Dynamics of Hindutva (Sage, 2021) maps the changing face of contemporary Hindu politics, evaluating the influence of sadhus (ascetics) on the course of politics …

Political Science August 11, 2022

Stars and Shadows

The Politics of Interracial Friendship from Jefferson to Obama

Saladin Ambar

Hosted by Lilly Goren

Slavery and its lingering remnants remain a plague on the United States, continuing to foster animosity between races that hinders the understanding and connection conducive to dismantling the remains of …

Writ Large August 10, 2022

On Walter Lippmann's "Public Opinion"

A Discussion with Heidi Tworek

Heidi Tworek

Hosted by Zachary Davis

What is the role of the press in a democracy? For nearly a century, scholars, media critics, and politicians have debated this question—in a large part thanks to Walter Lippmann …

Politics & Polemics August 10, 2022

Paths of Dissent

Soldiers Speak Out Against America's Forever Wars

Andrew Bacevich and Daniel A. Sjursen

Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

Compiled by New York Times bestselling author Andrew Bacevich and retired army officer Danny A. Sjursen, Paths of Dissent: Soldiers Speak Out Against America’s Misguided Wars (Metropolitan Books, 2022) collects provocative …

Law August 10, 2022

Who Decides?

States As Laboratories of Constitutional Experimentation

Jeffrey S. Sutton

Hosted by William Domnarski

Everything in law and politics, including individual rights, comes back to divisions of power and the evergreen question: Who decides? Who wins the disputes of the day often turns on …

Genocide Studies August 9, 2022

Ideology and Mass Killing

The Radicalized Security Politics of Genocides and Deadly Atrocities

Jonathan Leader Maynard

Hosted by Miranda Melcher

In research on 'mass killings' such as genocides and campaigns of state terror, the role of ideology is hotly debated. For some scholars, ideologies are crucial in providing the extremist …

Interpretive Political and Social Science August 9, 2022

Mobilizing in Uncertainty

Collective Identities and War in Abkhazia

Anastasia Shesterinina

Hosted by Nick Cheesman

Anastasia Shesterinina begins Mobilizing in Uncertainty: Collective Identities and War in Abkhazia (Cornell University Press, 2021) with an account of Georgian troops crossing into eastern Abkhazia, in the Southern Caucasus …

The Future of . . . with Owen Bennett-Jones August 9, 2022

The Future of Political Anger

A Conversation with Mark Blyth

Mark Blyth

Hosted by Owen Bennett-Jones

Trump’s voters. The yellow jackets in France. Putin’s base in Russia. The Brexiteers. One thing all these groups have in common is anger – anger at being left behind, anger …

Middle Eastern Studies August 5, 2022

Oil, the State, and War

The Foreign Policies of Petrostates

Emma Ashford

Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Oil, the State, and War: The Foreign Policies of Petrostates (Georgetown University Press, 2022) by Dr. Emma Ashford presents a comprehensive challenge to prevailing understanding of international implications of oil …

SSEAC Stories August 5, 2022

East Timorese Politics

A New Dawn or Return to Business as Usual?

Michael Leach

Hosted by Natali Pearson

As the newest nation in Southeast Asia, Timor-Leste has been independent for just over 20 years. Timor-Leste is regularly ranked the most democratic nation in the region, and since reclaiming …

Political Science August 4, 2022

The Knowledge Polity

Teaching and Research in the Social Sciences

Paul A. Djupe, Anand Edward Sokhey, and Amy Erica Smith

Hosted by Lilly Goren

Paul A. Djupe, Anand Edward Sokhey, and Amy Erica Smith, The Knowledge Polity: Teaching and Research in the Social Sciences (Oxford UP, 2022) explores a more holistic understanding of knowledge production in …

Biography August 4, 2022

The Enigma of Clarence Thomas

Corey Robin

Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

Most people can tell you two things about Clarence Thomas: Anita Hill accused him of sexual harassment, and he almost never speaks from the bench. Here are some things they …

Economics August 4, 2022

The Effect

An Introduction to Research Design and Causality

Nick Huntington-Klein

Hosted by Peter Lorentzen

The Effect: An Introduction to Research Design and Causality (Routledge, 2021) is about methods for using observational data to make causal inferences. It provides an extensive discussion of causality and …

Indian Religions August 4, 2022

Gods in the Time of Democracy

Kajri Jain

Hosted by Raj Balkaran

In 2018 India's prime minister, Narendra Modi, inaugurated the world's tallest statue: a 597-foot figure of nationalist leader Sardar Patel. Twice the height of the Statue of Liberty, it is …

Middle Eastern Studies August 3, 2022

Second-Generation Liberation Wars

Yaniv Voller

Hosted by Dilan Okcuoglu

The formation of post-colonial states in Africa, and the Middle East gave birth to prolonged separatist wars. Exploring the evolution of these separatist wars, In Second-Generation Liberation Wars Cambridge UP, 2022),Yaniv …

Latin American Studies August 3, 2022

The New Pan-Americanism and the Structuring of Inter-American Relations

Juan Pablo Scarfi and David M. K. Sheinin

Hosted by Steven Rodriguez

In The New Pan-Americanism and the Structuring of Inter-American Relations (Routledge, 2022), David Sheinin and Juan Pablo Scarfi bring together articles that reconsider many aspects of U.S.-Latin American history. Pan-Americanism …

General History August 3, 2022

Left in the Center

The Liberal Party of New York and the Rise and Fall of American Social Democracy

Daniel Soyer

Hosted by Robert Snyder

The history of small political parties and the history of the American left are closely intertwined, especially in the book Left in the Center: The Liberal Party of New York …

Critical Theory August 1, 2022

Producing Politics

Inside the Exclusive Campaign World Where the Privileged Few Shape Politics for All of Us

Daniel Laurison

Hosted by Dave O'Brien

Who runs American politics? In Producing Politics: Inside the Exclusive Campaign World Where the Privileged Few Shape Politics for All of Us (Beacon Press, 2022), Daniel Laurison, an associate professor …

Philosophy August 1, 2022

Spying Through a Glass Darkly

The Ethics of Espionage and Counter-Intelligence

Cécile Fabre

Hosted by Robert Talisse

On its face, spying and counter-intelligence activities seem morally suspect. They tend to involve sneaking, deceiving, and manipulating, as well as various forms of betrayal, treachery, and disloyalty. Yet intelligence …