Book Notes
| Published date | 01 September 2003 |
| Date | 01 September 2003 |
| Author | Arne Strand |
| DOI | 10.1177/00223433030405016 |
| Subject Matter | Notes |
and Herzegovina is also useful. Media pro-
fessionals in Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia are often
accused of having replaced journalistic ethics and
professional standards with ‘patriotic journalism’
when ‘lying for the homeland’. However, the
author carefully avoids such negative stereotyping
and gives generous credit to the many media
outlets and journalists in all parts the region who
continued to defend their professional and
personal integrity, even at the highest personal
costs. The many tricks of government control
over the media, ranging from political and legal
oppression and economical strangulation to tech-
nical hindrances, are well documented. So also are
the good and bad examples of international
support to local media. Therefore, the book is rec-
ommended to anybody who wants a combination
of interesting close-ups and a general overview of
the diverse Balkan media reality.
Ivar Evensmo
Mallick, Krishna & Doris Hunter, eds, 2002.
An Antholog y of Nonviolence: Historical and Con-
temporary Voices. Westport, CT: Greenwood. xxiv
+ 302 pp. ISBN 0313318794.
The ethical, individual approach to nonviolence
predominates in this somewhat eclectic collection
of readings. Several ‘historical sources of nonvio-
lence’ are represented, such as the Bhagavad Gita,
but with little indication of how their influence
has operated in practice. Next are well-known
‘historical voices of nonviolence’ – Thoreau,
Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. – followed
by ‘contemporary voices of nonviolence’ – the
Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh and Nelson
Mandela. The section on contemporary issues
covers worthy topics, from animal liberation to
ecofeminism, but strangely has no explicit dis-
cussion of nonviolence in any of them. The final
section, ‘application of nonviolence’, includes
some case studies, such as the 1989 Chinese pro-
democracy movement. This volume could be
useful as a reader in a class designed to sensitize
students to personal ethical choices concerning
violence and nonviolence, but on its own, it gives
an inadequate picture of nonviolence as an idea
and a practice. The relatively brief introduction
to the volume concentrates on an ethical, indi-
vidual orientation, while few of the selections
themselves are given much context aside from
blurbs about the authors. The result is breadth at
the expense of focus. The bibliography, like the
rest of the book, concentrates on the ethical side
of nonviolence, but contains some sources unre-
lated to nonviolence, while omitting classics by
the likes of Gandhi and Gene Sharp, who are rep-
resented in the collection. Much more contextual
material is needed to tie this together into a
cohesive package.
Brian Martin
Nafziger, E. Wayne & Raimo Väyrynen, eds,
2002. The Prevention of Humanitarian Emergen-
cies. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. 342 pp.
ISBN 0333964381.
The editors are concerned about the increase in
the number of humanitarian crises and social
conflicts occurring in countries and regions that
have experienced long-term economic and social
crisis, where violence has become the dominant
medium of politics. They fear a further escala-
tion, unless preventative corrective measures are
introduced as a matter of urgency. Labelling
man-made disasters as complex humanitarian
emergencies (CHE), they aim to explore ways to
prevent these by addressing root causes rather
than coping with the results, including unneces-
sary suffering and economic losses. Through a
number of contributions, three different types
of strategies are discussed: international and
domestic economic responses (the latter includ-
ing economic reforms and environmental
protection), and governmental and non-
governmental strategies, including military
responses. The editors argue that the most effec-
tive approach to prevention is to address the
domestic causes of CHEs through socio-
economic development, environmental protec-
tion, addressing low income and land inequality,
securing usufruct and property rights, introduc-
ing tax reforms and financing social services.
Moreover, it is necessary to establish inclusive
and participatory political systems and account-
able public administration and political insti-
tutions. However, they argue, doing so requires
joint attention of developing countries and inter-
national agencies, to enable early and longer-
term preventive interventions and, ultimately,
development of a ‘culture of prevention’.
Acknowledging that the causes of CHEs are
multiple and complex, the editors reasonably
conclude that there is no panacea to the problem,
but rather prescribe learning from trial and error.
While that sounds reasonable, the book could
BOOK NOTES 613
07 JPR 40-5 bknts (ds) 23/7/03 8:34 am Page 613
To continue reading
Request your trial