Policy Press

Political insights and biography

The actions of individuals in particular contexts can inform the wider dicussion of ideology and social justice.

This small but growing collection of biographies offers insights from people who have changed the world.

You may also be interested in our Global Social Challenge on democracy, power and governance.

Showing 1-12 of 19 items.

The Battle for Britain

Crises, Conflicts and the Conjuncture

This book addresses the UK's social, political and economic turbulence, exploring proliferating crises and conflicts, from social dissent through rentier capitalism to the looming climate catastrophe and how they have produced a deepening ‘crisis of authority’ that forms the terrain of the Battle for Britain.

Bristol Uni Press

Biographical Research and the Meanings of Mothering

Life Choices, Identities and Methods

What does mothering mean in different cultures and societies? This book extensively applies biographical and narrative research methods to mothering from international perspectives. Considering self-care, rapport, trust and self-reflection, the collection advances methodological practice in the study of mothers, carers and childless women’s lives.

Policy Press

Children, Childhoods and Global Politics

Written by an international list of contributors, this book presents highly nuanced accounts of children and childhoods across global political time. The analysis demonstrates how international relations is quite deeply invested in a particular rendering of childhood as, primarily, a time of innocence, vulnerability and incapacity.

Bristol Uni Press

The Civil Condition in World Politics

Beyond Tragedy and Utopianism

Bringing together an international team of contributors, this volume draws on international political theory and intellectual history to rethink the problem of a pluralistic world order.

Bristol Uni Press

Civil Society and Intergovernmental Negotiations at the United Nations

Exclusion Despite Inclusion

Since the Earth Summit of 1992, the UN has increased its attention toward civil society, but there has been little analysis of the resulting intergovernmental practices. This book examines the future of international organizations, multilateralism, and how forms of exclusion in civil society are subject to intergovernmental negotiations.

Bristol Uni Press
  • ForthcomingPaperbackGBP 29.99 Pre-order
  • Currently not availableEPUB

Claiming and Contesting Representation in Mexico

Meanings, Practices and Settings

Through innovative conceptual work and original case studies, the book explores important trends in Mexican politics and governance through the lens of representation, including who speaks and stands for whom, on what grounds and in what domains and the challenges they face.

Bristol Uni Press

Father and Daughter

Patriarchy, Gender and Social Science

Father and daughter provides an unique ‘insider perspective’ on two key figures in twentieth-century British social science, combining biography of Richard Titmuss and autobiography by his daughter Ann Oakley.

Policy Press

Inside Thatcher’s Monetarism Experiment

The Promise, the Failure, the Legacy

In 1979, Margaret Thatcher’s new government pursued a monetarist economic policy in response to double-digit inflation, rising unemployment and flatlining economic growth. Tim Lankester's insider’s account offers fascinating insights into one of Britain's most unsuccessful economic episodes and also examines monetarism's legacy today.

Policy Press
  • ForthcomingHardbackGBP 19.99 Pre-order
  • Currently not availableEPUBGBP 9.99

Inter-Organizational Relations and World Order

Re-Pluralizing the Debate

Bringing together a team of experts, this volume sheds new light on inter-organizational relations in world politics. It demonstrates that, just as inter-organizations relations themselves are diverse and complex, research on this topic should also be pluralistic in order to draw new and valuable results and insights.

Bristol Uni Press

A Leader-Centered Theory of Foreign Policy Change

US Foreign Policy towards Cuba under Obama

This innovative account challenges traditional views in International Relations by theorising the influence of individual leaders on foreign policy change. It examines how and why leaders shape policy, showcasing Obama's Cuba pivot as a prime example.

Bristol Uni Press
  • ForthcomingHardbackGBP 40.00 Pre-order
  • Currently not availableEPUBGBP 14.99

The Macron Régime

The Ideology of the New Right in France

This book examines Emmanuel Macron’s political career from his rise as a public figure to his time as a president. By offering a close study of his actions and ideological commitment, this book argues that, despite claims of being ideologically neutral, Macron actually represents a new form of right-wing politics in France.

Bristol Uni Press

The Passionate Economist

How Brian Abel-Smith Shaped Global Health and Social Welfare

This is the first biography of Abel-Smith. It takes a historical perspective to analyse the development of health and social welfare systems since the 1950s, exposing the critical impact of long-running debates on poverty and state responsibility, especially in Britain.

Policy Press