John Hoffman

Is 'citizenship' still a useful concept? Can citizens - and democracy - exist independently of the state? This text provides an accessible guide to the theories and debates that surround the key political concepts of state, citizenship, and democracy today. John Hoffman reviews the modern development of these concepts from the classic texts of Marx and Weber to the post-war critiques of the feminist, multicultural and critical theorists and considers the on-going barriers to a full realisation of a democratic citizenship. By carefully considering what the state is and what it does, Hoffman shows that it is possible to respond to these critiques and challenges and 'reclaim' citizenship and democracy as inclusive and emancipatory, rather than divisive and controlling. In advancing this alternative view of a 'stateless' citizenship, Hoffman opens up new possibilities for conceiving power and society in contemporary politics today. It will be essential reading for all students of politics and sociology for whom the questions of state, nationality, power and identity remain of central importance.

GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) is global mobile data technology. More important it is a step en route to next-generation wireless, or 3G, for many networks in the US and most networks in Europe and Asia. Questions like "when can we expect European take-up of GPRS?", "what kind of roaming will the standards bodies adopt?", "what functionality will first-generation terminals provide?", or "how will GPRS change the basic business practices of GSM operators?" all need to be answered before implementations proceed. This book helps the wireless industry gets its arms around the issues with contributions from many of the pioneering companies in the mobile data industry. It equips professionals with plain English explanations of technology, markets, billing systems, terminals and management challenges.

This accessible and relevant book considers one of the central issues of international relations -- sovereignty, the set of issues involving the independence of states and their interactions with controlling authorities. John Hoffman proposes removing the nation-state from the definition of sovereignty and offers a complete overhaul of our understanding of individual action.