Peter King

In the 1950s the Dutch promised the people of West Papua (the western half of New Guinea) self-determination and eventual independence. But in 1963 Indonesia took control of the territory with the blessing of the US, the UN and Australia. In a tragic clash between two very different cultures over the next 40 years the Papuans have refused - just like the East Timorese - to 'bow to the inevitable': Indonesian occupation and assimilation into that country This book reviews the long guerilla struggle of the Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM) for a Free Papua, and traces the rise of a non-violent independence movement alongside it, the Papua Council, following the fall from power of Indonesia's military dictator, General Suharto, in 1998. The book is based on the author's extensive field research. It places the Papuan struggle in a context of failing reform within Indonesia and a politically reviving military: the feared and loathed TNI. More than ever, Indonesia needs West Papua's resource treasures - the giant Freeport copper mine, and BP's huge new natural gas field in Bintuni Bay - and the Indonesian army is ruthlessly 'defending' and exploiting these projects. However, the Papuans are equally determined to win independence. King argues passionately and persuasively that international intervention to resolve Papua's plight is essential: Australia, the US and other countries must act in concert through the UN once more, as they did in East Timor. Indonesians must be persuaded that their best interests lie not in a 'security approach' but in dialogue and negotiation with the Papuans and other disenchanted minorities.

The criminal law has often been seen as central to the rule of the eighteenth-century landed élite in England. This book presents a detailed analysis of the judicial processs - of victims' reactions, pretrial practices, policing, magistrates hearings, trials, sentencing, pardoning and punishment - using property offenders as its main focus. The period 1740-1820 - the final era before the coming of the new police and the repeal of the capital code - emerges as the great age of discretionary justice, and the book explores the impact of the vast discretionary powers held by many social groups. It reassesses both the relationship between crime rates and the economic deprivation, and the many ways that vulnerability to prosecution varied widely across the lifecycle, in the light of the highly selective nature of pretrial negotiations. More centrally, by asking at every stage - who used the law, for what purposes, in whose interests and with what social effects - it opens up a number of new perspectives on the role of the law in eighteenth-century social relations. The law emerges as less the instrument of particular élite groups and more as an arena of struggle, of negotiation, and of compromise. Its rituals were less controllable and its merciful moments less manageable and less exclusively available to the gentry élite than has been previously suggested. Justice was vulnerable to power, but was also mobilised to constrain it. Despite the key functions that the propertied fulfilled, courtroom crowds, the counter-theatre of the condemned, and the decisions of the victims from a very wide range of backgrounds had a role to play, and the criteria on which decisions were based were shaped as much by the broad and more humane discourse which Fielding called the 'good mind' as by the instrumental needs of the propertied élites.

The criminal law has often been seen as central to the rule of the 18th century landed elite in England. This book presents a detailed analysis of the judicial process - of victim's reactions, pretrial practices, policing, magistrates hearings, trials, sentencing, pardoning and punishment - using property offenders as its main focus. The period 1740-1820, the final era before the coming of the new police and the repeal of the capital code, emerges as the great age of discretionary justice, and the book explores the impact of the vast discretionary powers held by many social groups. It reassesses both the relationship betweeen crime rates and economic deprivation, and the many ways that vulnerability to prosecution varied widely across the lifecycle, in the light of the highly selective nature of pretrial negotiations. More centrally, by asking at every stage who used the law, for what purposes, in whose interests and with what effects, it opens up a number of new perspectives on the role of the law in eighteenth century social relations. The law emerges as the less the instrument of particular elite groups and more as an arena of struggle, of negotiation and of compromise. Its rituals were less controllable and its merciful moments less manageable and less exclusively available to the gentry elite than has been previously suggested. Justice was vulnerable to power but was also mobilised to constrain it. Despite the key functions that the propertied fulfilled, courtroom crowds, the counter-theatre of the condemned and the decisions of the victims from a very wide range of backgrounds had a role to play, and the criteria on which decisions were based were shaped as much by the broad and more humane discourse which Fielding called the "good mind" as by the instrumental needs of the propertied elites.

Christians have been drawn to monastic life nearly as long as Christianity has existed. Dedicating themselves to prayer, meditation, and good works, men and women in many diverse times and places have been willing to abstain from marriage, sexual relations, and personal ownership to serve God single-mindedly. In this overview of the Latin tradition, Peter King, emeritus senior lecturer of medieval history at Saint Andrew's University, leads readers quickly but deftly along the rugged monastic road from late antique Egypt to the present day, passing through spectacular expansion in medieval Europe, dissolution during the Reformation, retrenchment at the Counter Reformation, condemnation during the Enlightenment, destruction at the hands of revolutionaries, refoundation and new vigor during the nineteenth and the ecumenical twentieth centuries.

Can the state solve housing problems or does it create them? This book explores the question by combining a detailed critique of contemporary housing policy with a philisophical analysis of the role of the state and individuals. Examining the state's role as controller and funder of housing, the author contends that the state is not capable of planning and controlling a sustainable housing policy.

Major changes which have occurred since this book was first published have been included in this edition. In particular, the chapter on Germany has been substantially revised and now includes a separate section on easter Germany. The other five countries covered in the book have also witnessed changes in their business culture and these have been taken into consideration. This book examines the background to business practice in Europe of six major countries: Germany, France, Italy, the UK, Spain and the Netherlands. Each chapter tracks the commercial development of that country in the late 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, focusing on the business environment, special features affecting business, and the response to the EC's single market. The business culture section in each is divided further into business and government, business and the economy, business and the law, business and finance, business and the labour market, business and trade unions and business training, education and development. The test is organized in such a manner to enable cross-referencing between countries, and maps have been included in the new edition.