From coffee farms in Peru and cocoa production in Ghana to jeans manufacture in China and the Banana War of Guatemala and the Caribbean, this fully revised No-Nonsense Guide tells the human story behind the products we consume. Examining the contest between 'free' and 'fair' trade around the world, David Ransom argues that the key question is not whether trade should be regulated or deregulated, but whether it is to be the master or servant of the people.

A completely new investigation of the fair trade phenomenon, from its origins to what it is likely to become.

World Trade was once the exclusive preserve of big business, run by transnational corporations more powerful than governments. Now the 'free' trade they favor is the focus of public concern everywhere -- globalization and the World Trade Organization have seen to that.

The world food system is put under the microscope in this updated edition of The No-Nonsense Guide to World Food.

An in-depth look at two decades of a movement that aims to challenge the ethical foundations of the global market. Transnational corporations look for the cheapest suppliers, while the fair trade movement insists on a premium for the producersat the start of the chain. Sally Blundell explores the origins of fair trade and what it is likely to become in the face of growing disparities between the principles and the practice.

The ending of the Cold War was supposed to increase global security and divert expenditure previously earmarked for arms purchases to more constructive ends. Instead, the arms trade has flourished. Not only conventional arms, but also police and surveillance equipment, have been provided by Western countries seeking to make a profit from conflict in unstable parts of the world. Foreign debt has remained high, development has been held back, and human rights have been systematically abused, all with the connivance of an arms trade prepared to turn a blind eye to the uses to which increasingly sophisticated weaponry is put, so long as hefty profits can be reaped. This disturbing book names the players in the arms trade and charts the impact that it has had on war, human rights, and development. The financial and trade mechanisms that permit the arms trade to continue are revealed, amid sordid tales of bribery and corruption. Gideon Burrows concludes his examination by reviewing the ways in which this trade can be controlled or even abolished.

A look behind the catch-all term world music' aiming to explore the reasons for the contemporary interest in world music, who its audience is and why it has become such a popular genre. Through chapters on the many different genres that make up this multi-faceted area, the case for music as a powerful harmonising tool is aptly put forward.'