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Asia is a crucial battleground for power and influence in the international system. It is also a theater of new experiments in regional cooperation that could redefine global order. Whose Ideas Matter? is the first book to explore the diffusion of ideas and norms in the international system from the perspective of local actors, with Asian regional institutions as its main focus. There's no Asian equivalent of the EU or of NATO. Why has Asia, and in particular Southeast Asia, avoided such multilateral institutions? Most accounts focus on U.S. interests and perceptions or intraregional rivalries to explain the design and effectiveness of regional institutions in Asia such as SEATO, ASEAN, and the ASEAN Regional Forum. Amitav Acharya instead foregrounds the ideas of Asian policymakers, including their response to the global norms of sovereignty and nonintervention. Asian regional institutions are shaped by contestations and compromises involving emerging global norms and the preexisting beliefs and practices of local actors. Acharya terms this perspective "constitutive localization" and argues that international politics is not all about Western ideas and norms forcing their way into non-Western societies while the latter remain passive recipients. Rather, ideas are conditioned and accepted by local agents who shape the diffusion of ideas and norms in the international system. Acharya sketches a normative trajectory of Asian regionalism that constitutes an important contribution to the global sovereignty regime and explains a remarkable continuity in the design and functions of Asian regional institutions.
Does your home tell the story of who you are? In The Things That Matter, Nate Berkus shares intimate stories from his life, introduces us to people who influenced him and helped him forge his sense of style, and opens up about the remarkable experiences that have left him forever changed, all of which find expression in how he lives today. From his most cherished flea market finds, to his beloved books and photos, to the many extraordinary mementos he’s collected in his travels, every piece defines who he’s become and what endures in his world. Berkus invites readers into his own home as well as into twelve others, including a sleek steel-and-glass high-rise that soars above Chicago, a rustic cottage in the Hudson Valley, an ultra-chic atelier that maximizes every inch of space, a Greenwich Village townhouse that holds multiple art collections, and a study in meaningful minimalism in Marfa, Texas. The distinctive interiors beautifully displayed in this book offer revealing portraits of their owners’ lives and the inspiring choices that have made them who they are today. The Things That Matter convincingly lays out Nate Berkus’s philosophy that things do matter. Our homes tell our stories, they reflect the places we’ve been and the people we’ve loved along the way—and there can be no more beautiful design for living than that. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE SEATTLE TIMES
Comparativist scholarship conventionally gives unbridled primacy to external, material interests–chiefly votes and rents–as proximately shaping political behaviour. These logics tend to explicate elite decision-making around elections and pork barrel politics but fall short in explaining political conduct during credibility crises, such as democratic governments facing anti-corruption movements. In these instances, Baloch shows, elite ideas, for example concepts of the nation or technical diagnoses of socioeconomic development, dominate policymaking. Scholars leverage these arguments in the fields of international relations, American politics, and the political economy of development. But an account of ideas activating or constraining executive action in developing democracies, where material pressures are high, is found wanting. Resting on fresh archival research and over 120 original elite interviews, When Ideas Matter traces where ideas come from, how they are chosen, and when they are most salient for explaining political behaviour in India and similar contexts.
"Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) is history's most celebrated urban critic. In addition to her classic, Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jacobs authored another half dozen influential books on urban planning, economics, and design. She was also a tireless advocate of vibrant city neighborhoods. Ideas that Matter: The Worlds of Jane Jacobs offers students, enthusiasts, and critics unprecedented insights into the work of this seminal thinker. Originally published in 1997, and continually sought after ever since, this 2011 edition includes a new introduction by distinguished urban scholar Mary Rowe. The book is a unique combination of Jacobs' own writing (including previously unpublished speeches, letters, and articles), biography, and analysis by other scholars. Arranged by topic, it sheds light both on the development of Jacobs' theories and her life. A chapter on Death and Life of American Cities reveals a debate between the author and her publisher about changing the book's title. A section on Europe includes letters home from Frankfurt, Paris, London, Venice, and other cities that shaped her sensibilities. And a chapter titled 'Ideas' offers analysis from ten contributors who examine Jacobs' thoughts on issues from population growth to urban infill, self-employment to the wealth of nations. What results is a captivating scrapbook, offering a distinctive understanding of Jacobs' most important ideas."--Publisher's website.
"I have learned the truth about the world: that it isn't as round as a tennis ball, and it isn't shaped like itself. It is shaped the way we shape it, according to the way we see it, the way we mould it to our ambitions and our destiny. I know the colour of who I am. I am a black man, running for my life, for my freedom, for opportunity born from struggle, possibility born from sacrifice. And I am running too, for my father, who never became what he hoped to be, and who never got to see what his children would one day become. 'Maverick. Leadership genius. Self-made millionaire. Dragon. The rock star of public speaking. Vusi Thembekwayo has been called many things. Join him in his inspiring journey from the township to the top echelons of South African business, to becoming one of youngest directors of a listed company and CEO of a boutique investment firm. As a 'Dragons' Den' judge and a sought-after public speaker across the globe, Vusi doesn't just talk business - he lives it. Now you can learn the secret of his success and how to shape your own destiny."--
The path to success is littered with great ideas poorly marketed. Don't let yours be one of them. "A little book with a very big message. Your idea is worth a great story, well told." SETH GODIN- Author of All Marketers Tell Stories Make Your Idea Matter is a call to action for entrepreneurs, emerging brands and anyone with a great idea, who knows that to stand out in today's noisy world they need to tell a better story. It is full of bite-sized business and brand storytelling ideas originally sparked on Bernadette Jiwa's award-winning business blog TheStoryofTelling.com. Use this book as both inspiration and guide to help you tell the best stories you can tell about your business, your ideas and the work that matters to you. You don't have to start on page one and work your way through, or even read it from front to back. Each topic stands on its own so dip in and out. Reawaken a thought or an idea you've already had. Spark new ones. Discover different ways of thinking about your business, what you do and how you tell your story. Then go make your idea matter. ADVANCE PRAISE FOR MAKE YOUR IDEA MATTER "Every story you tell is a choice, and the choices you make matter. For best results make the choice to read this book." CHRIS GUILLEBEAU- Author of The $100 Startup "Make Your Idea Matter' is a book that's easy to get into and hard to escape. Full of valuable, original, engaging content.Bernadette Jiwa has been likened to 'a female Seth Godin' and I have to agree." ROBERT GERRISH- Director of Flying Solo,Australia's Micro Business Community "The most brilliant people I have known have the rare ability to distill complexity to an essence. This is what Bernadette Jiwa does for entrepreneurs in Make Your Idea Matter." MARK SCHAEFER- Author of Return on Influence & The Tao of Twitter "If I discover one useful insight in a business book, I consider the time well spent. This surprising little book delivers them in spades!" TOM ASACKER - Author of A Clear Eye for Branding "Now is your time to make a difference, your time to be the best at what you love doing, your time to use your skills to enrich not only your own life, but the lives of each and every individual you do business with. More and more small businesses are taking impressive leads in their industries, making giant multinationals look cumbersome and unfriendly in comparison. You can do the same, and the first thing on your "to do" list should be to read this book. Bernadette has written a fantastic collection of stories to inspire, to provoke, to make you think, to generate ideas, and to bring your business to the next level.It doesn't matter if your idea has been done before, because as Bernadette rightly points out, it hasn't been done by you." DAVID AIREY - Author of Logo Design Love
Updated with stories from people who have been inspired by the original text, a guide to connecting with what matters most identifies four phrases for honoring relationships, letting go of unhealthy emotions, and living life fully.
"With readings by some of the world's great thinkers-from Plato to Gandhi, Carl Jung to Nicholas Carr, Virginia Woolf to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie-Reading the World is the only great ideas reader to offer a global perpective across eras and cultures. Selections strike a balance between western and non-western, classic and contemporary, longer and shorter, verbal and visual. The new edition features a new chapter on ethics and empathy, a new chapter on visual arguments, and new guidance on recognizing biases"--
This book is a primer on mobilizing political power to achieve enlightened goals in a democracy. This is a book about how good politicians can compromise without abandoning moral principles. This is a book that will inspire future political leaders to hold on to their idealism rather than spiral into a cynical distrust of politics and government. Rep. Dwight Evans shows us that politics is a noble art, and with enough research, hard work and knowledge of the legislative process, politics can be the art of the impossible.
