John Keane

Desde sus orígenes en Siria y Mesopotamia (que no en Atenas) hasta hoy, pasando por sus momentos de mayor fervor revolucionario, la democracia ha cuestionado siempre las formas estereotipadas de entender quien ha de ostentar poder y privilegios, y por que. La democracia nos invita a llevar a cabo una accion radical: considerarnos iguales y decidir por nosotros mismos sobre nuestro futuroJohn Keane rastrea como evoluciono este concepto, desde las primeras democracias asamblearias hasta nuestra democracia monitorizada, termino que hace referencia al actual sistema, en el que los politicos no responden frente a los votantes solo el dia de las elecciones, sino que se encuentran sometidos a un constante escrutinio (monitoreo). En estas paginas el lector encontrara nuevas y solidas razones para defender este valioso ideal.

The Field is John B. Keanes fierce and tender study of the love a man can have for land and the ruthless lengths he will go to in order to obtain the object of his desire. It is dominated by Bull McCabe, one of the most famous characters in Irish writing today. An Oscar-nominated adaptation of The Field proved highly successful and popular worldwide, and starred Richard Harris, John Hurt, Brenda Fricker and Tom Berenger.

El autor se plantea las obligadas preguntas que derivan de ello. ¿Cómo asentar esa sociedad civil de ámbito mundial que vemos surgir? ¿Desde abajo ''por medio únicamente de organizaciones no-gubernamentales y de acciones sociales diversas? ¿A traves de la influencia y la capacidad belica de la potencia mundial dominante: los Estados Unidos? ¿A traves de la ONU? ¿O tal vez por medio de una diversidad de estrategia politicas y sociales sensibles a los diferentes contextos? ¿Que papeles pude desempeñar una sociedad civil global en el proceso de gobierno global? ¿Puede dicha sociedad contribuir a redefinir los derechos y deberes universales de los pueblos del mundo, por encima de todas las frontereas?

Les formes de violència que han marcat el segle XX plantegen un repte intel·lectual i cívic sense precedents. En aquest panorama desolador, l’aparició de nous conflictes caracteritzats per una brutal

Desmintiendo el optimismo de quienes consideraban la violencia la antítesis de la sociedad civil y pensaban que se reduciría al mínimo en los Estados modernos, el siglo XX ha presenciado más formas de violencia que ningun otro en la historia. Incluso han hecho su aparicion conflictos carentes, en apariencia, de estructura y de logica, como si su unico objetivo fuera matar sin limites. Confrontandolas con estos hechos, John Keane analiza las teorias clasicas sobre la violencia y su insuficiencia para dar cuenta de lo que denomina "guerras inciviles": conflictos que han acabado con el monopolio de la violencia por parte de los Estados y con la antigua distincion entre crimen y guerra, ejercito y ciudadania. Por ultimo, apunta posibles medidas para controlar la violencia, pero que, en su opinion, se convertiran en meras estrategias autoritarias para mantener "la ley y el orden" mientras no se fomente la cultura civica en la sociedad civil.

John Keanes The Life and Death of Democracy will inspire and shock its readers. Presenting the first grand history of democracy for well over a century, it poses along the way some tough and timely questions: can we really be sure that democracy had its origins in ancient Greece? How did democratic ideals and institutions come to have the shape they do today? Given all the recent fanfare about democracy promotion, why are many people now gripped by the feeling that a bad moon is rising over all the worlds democracies? Do they indeed have a future? Or is perhaps democracy fated to melt away, along with our polar ice caps? The work of one of Britains leading political writers, this is no mere antiquarian history. Stylishly written, this superb book confronts its readers with an entirely fresh and irreverent look at the past, present and future of democracy. It unearths the beginnings of such precious institutions and ideals as government by public assembly, votes for women, the secret ballot, trial by jury and press freedom. It tracks the changing, hotly disputed meanings of democracy and describes quite a few of the extraordinary characters, many of them long forgotten, who dedicated their lives to building or defending democracy. And it explains why democracy is still potentially the best form of government on earth -- and why democracies everywhere are sleepwalking their way into deep trouble.

In this provocative book, John Keane calls for a fresh understanding of the vexed relationship between democracy and violence. Taking issue with the common sense view that 'human nature' is violent, Keane shows why mature democracies do not wage war upon each other, and why they are unusually sensitive to violence. He argues that we need to think more discriminatingly about the origins of violence, its consequences, its uses and remedies. He probes the disputed meanings of the term violence, and asks why violence is the greatest enemy of democracy, and why today's global 'triangle of violence ...

Revisión histórica heterodoxa de la democracia, de sus orígenes y de sus mitos fundacionales. Dividido en tres partes, este libro aborda los diferentes tipos de democracia que se han instaurado en cada epoca de la historia y sus caracteristicas. Rastrea los origenes de esta forma de organizacion en las antiguas civilizaciones de Mesopotamia. Revisa los principales ideales acerca de la naturaleza de la democracia representativa, permeada por los idearios de la ilustracion del siglo XVIII, y las formas que esta ha adoptado. Finalmente, introduce una nueva forma de democracia que se gesta a partir de la segunda mitad del siglo XX y que el autor concibe como democracia monitorizada.

DEMOCRACY HAS A LONG, EVENTFUL PAST. DOES IT HAVE A FUTURE?The roots of democracy stretch back beyond Athens to Syria- Mesopotamia and the Indian subcontinent, where citizens assemblies held privilege and power to account over 3,000 years before the French Revolution. In this timely and illuminating new global history, John Keane (one of the worlds leading political thinkers ,The Times) gets to the heart of a complex, ever-evolving ideal.Today, American-style democracy may appear to be in decline, but Keane shows that this isnt the whole story. In many places, such as Taiwan and Senegal, India and South Africa, distinctly local varieties are coming into being. Yet its impossible to ignore the proliferation of populist strongmen on every continent: the Putins and the Bolsonaros, the Trumps and Lukashenkos. Is democracy past its sell-by date, as they would have us believe? Or is it time to embrace the true, radical potential of an ancient idea?

A Moggy for MichaelOriginally published in Readers Digest and delivered to 40 million readers worldwide in 13 languages across 40 countries. Also featured in Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul.When ten-year-old Mike Cunninghams cat disappears, he does something most kids wouldnt darehe calls a pet detective, even though his father says its a waste of time.Sam wasnt just a cat. He was a gift from Mikes mother before she died six months earlier. Mike didnt cry at her funeral. He was "brave." But when Sam vanished, that quiet bravery began to crack.John KeaneAmericas first pet detectiveanswers the call. "Ive got some money saved up, almost forty dollars. Is that enough?" Mike asks. In three decades as a pet detective, Keane had been offered hundreds, even thousands, of dollars to find missing pets. But no one had ever offered him everything they had. He took the case.The search unfolds the only way real searches do: shelter visits, posters stapled to telephone poles, long walks through fog-soaked San Francisco streets, and leads that go nowhere. Then a call comes in. A gray tabby. An egg-shaped spot on his chest. Found dead in the bushes near Mikes house.Some moments force a choice: shut downor feel everything.What follows leads Keane and the boy to an eccentric Englishwoman with a house full of cats, a kitchen that smells of boiled fish bones, and grief of her own buried deep. In a cluttered pantry surrounded by "moggies," something unexpected happensand a boy finally lets himself break.This is a true story about loss, the courage it takes to feel it, and the unlikely strangers who help us find our way.

"Um livro notável. Abrange uma vasta paisagem histórica, ao mesmo tempo em que oferece profundidade intelectual. Baseia-se em pesquisa e erudição, mantendo-se acessível e envolvente. Mas, acima de tu

A lo largo de la historia, el ser humano se ha agrupado en comunidades que han desarrollado distintas formas de convivencia. Notables pensadores han teorizado y buscado establecer formas de gobierno que conduzcan el desarrollo de la vida política y social de los grupos humanos. La democracia, que por siglos ha estado presente como una forma de gobierno, se ha convertido en la organización política más relevante del mundo contemporáneo. ¿En qué radica su importancia y actualidad? ¿Cómo podemos entender mejor esta compleja forma de orden político y social? Para dar respuesta a estas preguntas John Keane analiza la historia de la democracia desde sus orígenes hasta llegar a su forma contemporánea de expresión: la democracia monitorizada. Mediante un exhaustivo trabajo que permite apreciar los aspectos estructurales de esta forma de gobierno, el autor también presenta los aspectos patológicos que la afectan y que incluso ponen en riesgo su persistencia.