Policy Press

Activism

Activism comes in many forms all with the aim of bringing about political or social change.

The books here examine different forms of activitism across different areas and disciplines, including race, community, academic activism and activism during the COVID-19 pandemic.

You may also be interested in our Global Social Challenge on justice, law and human rights.

Showing 1-12 of 166 items.

Abolition in Social Work and Human Services

Visions, Possibilities and Challenges

The first to apply abolitionist theory from international perspectives to social work, this book explores whether social work has a future as a profession that challenges the perpetuation of unjust social structures. It questions whether it is possible for social work to become radical while it is located within the state.

Policy Press

Abolitionist Voices

Why have so many radical thinkers advocated for the abolition of prisons and punishment and why have their ideas been so difficult to communicate and garner widespread support? This book outlines the long and nuanced history of penal abolitionism and shows how these ideas have continued topicality.

Bristol Uni Press

Activist Feminist Geographies

Exploring what it means to enact feminist geography, this book joins cases of collaborative research with social justice activist movements. From Black feminist organizing in the American South to feminist geography collectives in Latin America, the book showcases activist-engaged scholarship from the global north and south.

Bristol Uni Press

Activists in the Data Stream

The Practices of Daily Grassroots Politics in Southern Europe

Available Open Access digitally under CC-BY-ND licence

This book pulls back the curtain on the link between technology and activism, showing shows how activists navigate the impact of digital media on today’s grassroots politics.

Bristol Uni Press

Advancing Children’s Rights in Detention

A Model for International Reform

Drawing on Ireland’s experience of transforming law, policy and practice and combining theory with real-life experiences, this compelling book demonstrates how a progressive rights-based approach to child detention can be implemented.

Bristol Uni Press

Advancing Health Rights and Tackling Inequalities

Interrogating Community Development and Participatory Praxis

The need for healthier, more resilient societies has never been more urgent. This timely book reveals how empowered and organized communities can lead this change. It offers policymakers, academics and activists real-world examples of organizing and collective actions from across the global North and South.

Policy Press

Agenda For Social Justice

Solutions For 2020

Examining topics from criminal justice to media concerns, environmental problems, economic problems and issues concerning sexualities and gender, the 2020 agenda provides accessible insights into some of the most pressing social problems in the United States and proposes public policy responses to those problems.

Policy Press

Alternative Societies

For a Pluralist Socialism

Bringing together a wide range of approaches and new strands of economic and social thinking from across the US, Asia, Mexico, Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, this book critically assesses the alternatives to capitalism, learning lessons from them and shows the ways forward with a convincing argument of pluralist socialism.

Bristol Uni Press

Ambivalent Activism

Working with Contradiction, Hesitation and Doubt for Social Change

What if doubt, hesitation and ambivalence weren’t barriers to activism but powerful tools for change? This bold collection reveals how activists harness complex emotions to drive movements in anti-racism, climate justice and beyond.

Bristol Uni Press

Analysing the Trust–Transparency Nexus

Multi-level Governance in the UK, France and Germany

Drawing on fieldwork from the UK, France and Germany, this volume addresses the relationship between trust and transparency in the context of multi-level governance.

Policy Press

Anarchist Cybernetics

Control and Communication in Radical Politics

Igniting a new field of scholarly inquiry, this pioneering book introduces cybernetic thinking to politics and organizational studies to explore the continuing development of the radical idea of participatory democracy within organizations.

Bristol Uni Press

The Antidote

How People-Powered Movements Can Renew Politics, Policy and Practice

The Antidote explores what we can learn from the equalisation of personal roles and relationships to make possible more participatory and liberatory policy and politics. It sets out the barriers we face and offers a route map to bring an end to the destructive effects of unfettered neoliberal ideology, economics, policy and politics.

Policy Press