Synopses & Reviews
The new edition of this text has been fully updated throughout and features expanded sections on issues such as global warming, biotechnology, and energy.
Global Issues is an introduction to the nature and background of some of the central issues - economic, social, political, environmental - of modern times. It will provide the basis for a stimulating course for beginning students in departments of geography, politics, sociology and environmental science.
The book opens with an overview of the complex political, cultural and natural origins of world problems and of why some nations are rich and some are poor. The author then discusses in depth such issues as population growth, hunger, the extinction of species, global warming and climatic change, ozone depletion, energy conservation, deforestation, and the misuse of technology.
Highly illustrated with diagrams and photographs, this volume contains guides to further reading, media, and internet resources, and includes suggestions for discussion and studying the material.
Review
“For the third time, Professor Seitz has produced a readable, relevant, exciting and up-to-date book that addresses many of the major issues that affect our planet and the future of our species. His ability to see the ‘big picture’ and to show how closely all these global issues interlink is his major strength and is what makes this book a ‘must read’ for anyone interested in what happens to Earth.”
David Graham, Nottingham Trent University
"This new edition is the best yet - eloquently written, thoroughly documented, and presented in such a way as to let students develop their own critical perspective. Those of us who teach development or development issues should thank Professor Seitz for continuing to put forth new editions."
Edwin G. Clausen, Daemen College
Review
"This is a very interesting book. On the one hand its range of titles suggests little out of the ordinary. On the other hand its treatment of the subject matter and the very restrained use of language make it an ideal book to use for discussions on these issues. It doesn't try to preach neither does it over-simplify. Even though the text appears to be pitched at an older audience, lower secondary students would find the text accessible. For a good overview on the pros and cons of key current issues this book is hard to beat."
TEGNews"University students, and indeed others, are shown how both the decisions that have been made - and the resulting failures and successes - and the choices that must now be faced if crucial problems are to be solved." Mervyn Richardson, International Journal of Environmental Studies
Synopsis
Global Issues is an introduction to the nature and background of some of the central issues - economic, social, political, environmental - of modern times. This new edition of this text has been fully updated throughout and features expanded sections on issues such as global warming, biotechnology, and energy.
- Fully updated throughout and features expanded sections on issues such as global warming, biotechnology, and energy.
- An introduction to the nature and background of some of the central issues - economic, social, political, environmental - of modern times.
- Covers a range of perspectives on a variety of societies, developed and developing.
- Extensively illustrated with diagrams and photographs, contains guides to further reading, media, and internet resources, and includes suggestions for discussion and studying the material.
Synopsis
Global Issues, Third Editionis an introduction to many of the most important environmental, economic, social, and political concerns of modern life.
- Offers a unified perspective on a complex range of global issues in a variety of societies, both developed and developing
- Includes new sections on foreign aid and development assistance, terrorism, the relationship between geography and wealth and poverty, food and the overweight, and the Millennium Development Goals
- Features an updated and expanded section on climate change, as well as a new glossary
- Illustrates key topics and issues with diagrams and photographs
- Provides guides to further reading, media, and internet resources, and suggestions for discussing and studying the material
About the Author
John L. Seitz is Professor Emeritus of Government at Wofford College. He earned a BA and MPA from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, and a PhD in political science from the University of Wisconsin. He has extensive first-hand experience of South Korea, Iran, Brazil, Liberia, and Pakistan. His Politics of Development was published by Blackwell in 1988. The first edition of his Global Issues has been widely used in colleges and universities in the UK, US and Canada and translated into Japanese and Portuguese.
Table of Contents
List of Plates.
List of Figures and Tables.
Foreword.
Introduction: The Creation of Global Issues.
1 Wealth and Poverty.
The Millennium Development Goals.
Development Assistance and Foreign Aid.
The Market Approach.
The State Approach.
The Civil Society Approach.
Geography and Wealth, Geography and Poverty.
Globalization.
Conclusions.
Notes.
Further Reading.
2 Population.
The Changing Population of the World.
Causes of the Population Explosion.
How Population Growth Affects Development.
How Development Affects Population Growth.
Governmental Population Policies.
The Future.
Conclusions.
Notes.
Further Reading.
3 Food.
World Food Production.
How Many are Hungry?.
Causes of World Hunger.
How Food Affects Development.
How Development Affects Food.
The Green Revolution.
Governmental Food Policies.
Future Food Supplies.
Conclusions.
Notes.
Further Reading.
4 Energy.
The Energy Crisis.
Responses by Governments to the Energy Crisis.
The Effect of the Energy Crisis on the Development Plans of Less Developed Nations.
The Relationship between Energy Use and Development.
Climate Change.
The Energy Transition.
Conclusions.
Notes.
Further Reading.
5 The Environment.
The Awakening.
The Air.
The Water.
The Land.
The Workplace and the Home.
The Use of Natural Resources.
The Extinction of Species.
The Extinction of Cultures.
Environmental Politics.
Conclusions.
Notes.
Further Reading.
6 Technology.
Benefits of Technology.
Short-Term versus Long-Term Benefits -- the Tragedy of the Commons.
Unanticipated Consequences of the Use of Technology.
Inappropriate Uses of Technology.
Limits to the “Technological Fix”.
War.
The Threat of Nuclear Weapons: A Case Study.
Conclusions.
Notes.
Further Reading.
7 Alternative Futures.
Doom.
Growth.
Sustainable Development.
Conclusions.
Notes.
Further Reading.
Appendix 1: Studying and Teaching Global Issues.
Appendix 2: Relevant Videos.
Appendix 3: Study and Discussion Questions for Students and Teachers.
Appendix 4: Relevant Internet Web Sites.
Selected Bibliography.
Index