Human society is full of would-be 'change agents', a restless mix of campaigners, lobbyists and officials, both individuals and organizations, set on transforming the world. They want to improve public services, reform laws and regulations, guarantee human rights, get a fairer deal for those on the sharp end, and achieve greater recognition for any number of issues or simply be treated with respect.

It is striking then, that universities have no Department of Change Studies, to which social activists can turn for advice and inspiration. Instead, scholarly discussions of change are fragmented with few conversations crossing disciplinary boundaries, or making it onto the radars of those actively seeking change.

How Change Happens bridges the gap between academia and practice, bringing together the best research from a range of academic disciplines and the evolving practical understanding of activists to explore the topic of social and political change. Drawing on many first-hand examples from the global experience of Oxfam, one of the world's largest social justice NGOs, as well as the author's 40 years of studying and working on international development, it tests ideas and sets out the latest thinking on what works to achieve progressive change.

This second edition adds a chapter by the LSE's Dr Tom Kirk on the rising importance of digital technology in activism, and analyses the implications of some of the darker currents of populism and shrinking civic space for those trying to bring about positive change.

This is an open access title available under the terms of a [CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International] licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations.

Society is full of would-be 'change agents'-campaigners, government officials, enlightened business people, engaged intellectuals-set on improving public services, reforming laws and regulations, guaranteeing human rights, achieving a fairer deal for those on the sharp end, and greater recognition for any number of issues. Drawing on many first-hand examples and numerous new case studies and interviews with grassroots activists and organizations around the world, as well as Oxfam's unrivalled global experience, this important book answers the question: how does change happen and how can we-governments, organizations, businesses, leaders, campaigners, employees, and ordinary citizens-make a difference?

Faces of Latin America has sold more than 50,000 copies since it first appeared in 1991, and is widely considered to be the best available introduction in English to the economies, politics, demography, social structures, environment and cultures of Latin America. Duncan Green and Sue Branford take the reader beyond the conventional media's fixation on the drug trade, corrupt politicians and military leaders, death squads, and guerrilla movements to celebrate the vibrant history and culture of Latin America's people. Faces of Latin America examines some of the key forces--from conquest and the growth of the commodity trade, military rule, land distribution, industrialization, and migration to civil wars and revolutions, the debt crisis, neoliberalism, and NAFTA--shaping the region's political and social history.

Green also analyzes the response to these transformations--the rise of freedom fighters and populists, guerrilla wars and grassroots social movements, union organizing and trade movements, liberation theology, and the women's movement, sustainable development and the fight for the rainforest, popular culture and the mass media--providing a fascinating and unparalleled portrait of the continent.

This new edition is thoroughly updated and covers recent developments in Latin America such as the growing costs of export agriculture, the rise of Brazilian manufacturing, connections between the war on drugs and the war on terror, the social costs of neoliberalism, the Argentinian default, the search for new economic models in Venezuela and elsewhere, the decline in direct U.S. military intervention in the region, growing urbanization, urban poverty and casual employment, outmigration and the importance of family remittances from abroad, rampant environmental destruction, the struggles of indigenous movements, and more.

Faces of Latin America has sold more than 50,000 copies since it first appeared in 1991, and is widely considered to be the best available introduction in English to the economies, politics, demography, social structures, environment and cultures of Latin America. Duncan Green and Sue Branford take the reader beyond the conventional media's fixation on the drug trade, corrupt politicians and military leaders, death squads, and guerrilla movements to celebrate the vibrant history and culture of Latin America's people. Faces of Latin America examines some of the key forces--from conquest and the growth of the commodity trade, military rule, land distribution, industrialization, and migration to civil wars and revolutions, the debt crisis, neoliberalism, and NAFTA--shaping the region's political and social history.

Green also analyzes the response to these transformations--the rise of freedom fighters and populists, guerrilla wars and grassroots social movements, union organizing and trade movements, liberation theology, and the women's movement, sustainable development and the fight for the rainforest, popular culture and the mass media--providing a fascinating and unparalleled portrait of the continent.

This new edition is thoroughly updated and covers recent developments in Latin America such as the growing costs of export agriculture, the rise of Brazilian manufacturing, connections between the war on drugs and the war on terror, the social costs of neoliberalism, the Argentinian default, the search for new economic models in Venezuela and elsewhere, the decline in direct U.S. military intervention in the region, growing urbanization, urban poverty and casual employment, outmigration and the importance of family remittances from abroad, rampant environmental destruction, the struggles of indigenous movements, and more.

This new edition of From Poverty to Power has been fully revised and now includes a new chapter with an in-depth analysis of the human impact of the global financial and food crises. From Poverty to Power argues that a radical redistribution of power, opportunities, and assets rather than traditional models of charitable or government aid is required to break the cycle of poverty and inequality. The forces driving this transformation are active citizens and effective states. Why active citizens? Because people living in poverty must have a voice in deciding their own destiny and holding the state and the private sector to account. Why effective states? Because history shows that no country has prospered without a state structure that can actively manage the development process. There is now an added urgency: climate change. We need to build a secure, fair, and sustainable world within the limits set by scarce resources and ecological realities.Published in association with Oxfam GB.

Superb. Combining unassailable analysis with a thorough grasp of economic and political trends, Duncan Green convincingly argues that the region is headed for even greater tragedy unless people move toward more equitable and ecologically sustainable models of economic development.
--Walden Bello, founder of Focus on the Global South
The first edition of Green's Silent Revolution, published in 1995, described the imposition of neoliberal economic models in Latin America, the role of the IMF and World Bank in enforcing them, and their consequences. In this second, revised edition, Green extends his analysis into the present, showing how the current economic meltdown in Latin America was prepared by an economic strategy that could never live up to its own claims.
The new edition was completed in a moment when the Argentinean economy is in ruins, Brazil is on the brink of collapse, riots are taking place in Uruguay, Peru, and in Paraguay, and a U.S. supported coup has just been averted in Venezuela. It will be an essential work for understanding ongoing developments in the region.

On Third World streets or First World televisions, Latin America's children are seen but seldom listened to. Child labourers, street children and shanty town kids are portrayed in the West as helpless victims, passive, big-eyed and hungry, besieged by poverty and violence. However, this text argues that if you talk to the children themselves a different picture emerges - one of children as active, energetic and resourceful fighters, struggling to improve their lives, get an education, and earn a living. The book explores the lives of children through their own eyes and voices. It argues that child participation is both a right and a necessity if child-centred social programmes are to succeed. More broadly, harnessing the energy of children could help the region tackle pressing environmental and social problems. Duncan Green talks to children across the continent, watching them at work and play, on the streets or in the home. He interviews children in Brazil, Jamaica, Peru, Columbia, Honduras and Nicaragua, as well as teachers, welfare workers and other adults involved in their lives. He provides comprehensive background research to support his findings, while photographs illustrate the text.

On Third World streets or first world televisions, Latin American children are seen but seldom listened to. Talk to the children themselves and a different picture emerges, one of children as active and resourceful fighters, struggling to improve their lives.

Society is full of would-be 'change agents'-campaigners, government officials, enlightened business people, engaged intellectuals-set on improving public services, reforming laws and regulations, guaranteeing human rights, achieving a fairer deal for those on the sharp end, and greater recognition for any number of issues. Drawing on many first-hand examples and numerous new case studies and interviews with grassroots activists and organizations around the world, as well as Oxfam's unrivalled global experience, this important book answers the question: how does change happen and how can we-governments, organizations, businesses, leaders, campaigners, employees, and ordinary citizens-make a difference?

Nicaraguans Talking uses Nicaragua as a case study raising a wide range of development and social justice issues. Since the 1979 revolution, a large proportion of the population has become involved in the search for a way out of the development trap and the Somoza dictatorship's legacy of economic and social injustice. Nicaragua has become a laboratory where many fascinating social experiments are taking place, and everyone wants to talk about them! Nicaraguans Talking allows students to look at Nicaragua through the words of its people. Extracts from over 90 interviews conducted by the author in late 1986 are supplemented by other source materials including photos, cartoons, statistical information and poetry. The book progresses largely through active learning activities, such as creative writing, investigation, role plays and group discussion. Wherever relevant, students are asked to compare Nicaragua with their own experience in Britain. Care has been taken to ensure balanced representation of men and women throughout, with activities on women's roles both in Nicaragua and Britain. Teachers are not expected to use the whole course, but to dip into different sections. For that reason the nine sections are self-contained, with word-boxes and other information accompanying the text to minimise photocopying. All material is free of copyright for classroom use. Nicaraguans Talking is written and designed principally for mixed ability work with 14-16 year olds.ln England and Wales, it has special relevance to GCSE subject areas in Geography, Modern History, Integrated Humanities, Religious Studies and Social Studies. Under the National Curriculum, it is also relevant to cross-curricular work in personal/social education, political/international awareness, interdependence and economic awareness.

Interweaving reportage, interview and analysis, this work provides an overview of Guatemala, its resilience and its suffering. It explores poverty and inequality, the guerilla war and the role of the military, and human rights abuses, especially under the curent government. It also examines the impact of political violence on Guatemala's writers, artists and indigenous culture.

This work portrays Latin America's peoples in their fight for a brighter future. It explores the region's economic crisis and the desecration of the environment. The author shows how injustice and conflict in the countryside have unleashed an exodus to the slums that encircle the major cities. He analyzes the roles of the main actors in the continent's history - both those in power and the poor majority who, through their social movements in the countryside and shanty towns, struggle for their vision of Latin America's future.

This work portrays Latin America's peoples in their fight for a brighter future. It explores the region's economic crisis and the desecration of the environment. The author shows how injustice and conflict in the countryside have unleashed an exodus to the slums that encircle the major cities. He analyzes the roles of the main actors in the continent's history - both those in power and the poor majority who, through their social movements in the countryside and shanty towns, struggle for their vision of Latin America's future.

This work portrays Latin America's peoples in their fight for a brighter future. It explores the region's economic crisis and the desecration of the environment. The author shows how injustice and conflict in the countryside have unleashed an exodus to the slums that encircle the major cities.

We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Over the bleached bones and jumbled residues of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words: too late; Martin Luther King Jr It;s time to take a new look at how to change the world. Many people taking individual actions; signing a petition, giving to charity, recycling; is important. But can it really make the difference needed to combat injustice and control a rapidly changing climate? Who really has the power to change the world? And what can you really do to help? This little book sets out some of the biggest challenges facing the world today and shows you how to use the power you have in the fight for positive change. It invites you to become part of a movement of people who believe that inequality can and should be challenged. Before its too late. The urgency of now is essential reading for development, international politics, economics, and business students, activists and campaigners, and anyone interested in globalisation or development issues. In fact it's for anyone with a questioning mind. The urgency of now is based on analysis and arguments presented in Oxfam Internationals flagship publication,

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This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.

We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.

We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

From Poverty to Power argues that a radical redistribution of power, opportunities, and assets rather than traditional models of charitable or government aid is required to break the cycle of poverty and inequality. The forces driving this transformation are active citizens and effective states. Published in association with Oxfam GB.