Latest books

Professor Elizabeth Thurbon: Developmental Environmentalism (2023)

Elizabeth's new book Developmental Environmentalism (Oxford University Press, 2023) provides the first comprehensive account of East Asia’s green energy shift, and is co-authored with SY Kim, H Tan and J Mathews.

The book highlights the powerful and symbiotic role of state ambition, geo-strategic competition, and capitalist market dynamics in driving forward the region’s greening efforts. We show how state actors in East Asia are engaging in a sophisticated kind of economic statecraft, strategically harnessing the capitalist market dynamics of ‘creative-destruction’ to advance their transformative green ambitions through green growth. These strategies have important implications for the future of the global green shift in an era of geostrategic rivalry.

Dr Alexander Korolev: China-Russia Strategic Alignment in International Politics (2022)

Post-Cold War China-Russia strategic cooperation has displayed significant development and become an increasingly important factor in contemporary international politics. However, there has been no theory-grounded framework and corresponding measurements that would allow an accurate and systematic assessment of the level of China-Russia alignment and its progress over time. How closely aligned are China and Russia? How to define and measure strategic alignments between states? This book bridges area studies and International Relations literature to develop a set of objective criteria to measure and explain the development of strategic alignment in post-Cold War China-Russia relations. China-Russia Strategic Alignment in International Politics establishes that on a range of criteria, China-Russia alignment has been moving towards a full-fledged alliance, showing a consistent incremental upward trend. There are strong structural incentives for furthering the China-Russia alignment. The alignment framework developed in the book is applicable to other cases of interstate strategic cooperation and enables systematic comparisons of different strategic alignments.

Associate Professor Mary Zournazi: Thinking in the World (2019)

The Reader was released in December 2019 with Bloomsbury Academic. In Thinking in the World, Jill Bennett and Mary Zournazi curate writings and conversations with some of the most influential thinkers in the world and ask them not just why we should engage with the world, but also how we might do this. Rather than simply thinking about the world, the authors examine the ways in which we think in and with the world. Whether it's how to be environmentally responsible, how to think in film, or how to dance with a non-human, the need to engage meaningfully in a lived way is at the forefront of this collection. This Reader launches Thinking in the World Book Series which Bennett and Zournazi are the editors.

Associate Professor Caroline Lenette: Arts-based methods in refugee research: Creating sanctuary (2019)

Drawn from a decade of refugee studies, this book offers a wealth of insights on arts-based methodologies. It explores exciting new prospects for participatory and culturally safe research, and will be a reference resource for researchers of all levels and community practitioners. The book tackles questions of meaningful research practice: How do people with lived experiences of forced migration—Knowledge Holders—lead the way? Can arts-based methods bring about policy and social change? And what of ethical issues? By reflecting on the strengths and limitations of four research methods (digital storytelling, photography, community music, and participatory video), readers are invited to craft their own approach to arts-based projects.

Dixie Link Gordon: Breaking Silent Codes: Across Australian and the Pacific Against Sexual Abuse and Family Violence for First Nations Women (2019)

Published by Blur Projects. Beyond a book, it's also a project on its own and was also part of an art exhibition with the City of Sydney. 

In August 2018, UNSW Arts & Social Sciences, Women's Legal Service NSW and the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence sponsored and hosted a unique forum of 42 Aboriginal, Torres Strait and Pacific Islander women intended to 'Break Silent Codes' and share stories of cultural and spiritual responses to the issue of sexual assault and family violence in communities across Australia and the Pacific. The forum provided a platform for women to discuss the ways in which community, religion, authority and family create silences around sexual assault and family violence. There are many injustices experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait and Pacific Islander communities. For a long time, it has seemed that all other matters of injustice are more important than the sexual assault and domestic violence in communities. Women experience this as a silencing of issues important to their spiritual and physical well being. Through this book, we share with you the stories of this gathering which has now become a movement of its own for First Nations women across Australia and the Pacific.

UNSW Newsroom article on this book is available here.