Books

Books by Mark Curtis

Unpeople: Britain’s Secret Human Rights Abuses

Curtis’ most recent book shows that Britain is complicit in the deaths of ten million people since 1945. These are Unpeople – those whose lives are seen as expendable in the pursuit of Britain’s economic and political goals. The book pieces together the Blair government’s “public deception campaign” on Iraq and reveals government plans to increase “information operations” directed towards the public and to embark on a new phase of global military intervention. He also reveals from the declassified British government documents the hidden history of unethical British policies, including support for the massacres in Iraq in 1963, the backing given to the rise of Uganda dictator Idi Amin and the extraordinary private support of the US in its aggression against Vietnam.

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Web of Deceit: Britain’s Real Role in the World

In this best-selling book, Mark Curtis reveals a new picture of Britain’s role in the world since 1945 and in the “war against terrorism” by offering a comprehensive critique of the Blair government’s foreign policy. Curtis argues that Britain is an “outlaw state”, often a violator of international law and ally of many repressive regimes. He reasons not only that Britain’s foreign policies are generally unethical but that they are also making the world more dangerous and unequal. The book also draws on formerly secret government documents showing the British policy of depopulating the Chagos Islands, the brutal wars in Kenya and Malaya and support for the massacres in Indonesia in 1965, among others.

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Trade For Life: Making Trade Work for Poor People

Across the world, poor people are suffering as a result of the current global trade system. The trade rules negotiated in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) cover not merely trade issues, but also investment, services, agriculture and intellectual property rights, and have been made primarily in the interests of business corporations in developed countries. This book, written for Christian Aid’s trade campaign, analyses the nature and impact of the global trade agreements and recommends how they need to change.

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The Great Deception: Anglo-American power and world order

Debunking some of the myths of post-cold war power, Mark Curtis shows how Britain remains the key supporting player in US hegemony and how far from benign this special relationship is in its impact on the rest of the world. The book analyses the nature of the special relationship in the Middle East and at the UN, the recent phenomenon of so-called “humanitarian intervention” and the reality behind the two states’ “development” agendas.

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The Ambiguities of Power: British foreign policy since 1945
Using formerly secret government documents and independent sources, this historical study
argues for a radically revised understanding of post-war British foreign policy. Curtis shows
that, contrary to the impression usually conveyed by both academic writing and press
coverage, British policy, in both intention and effect, had been far removed from the principles
it has conventionally been assumed to be based upon: the pursuit of peace, the promotion of
democracy and human rights, and the relief of poverty. The book covers the whole of the
post-war period. It examines British foreigh policy planners’ aims and interventions in a host
of developing countries, as well as looking at the special relationship with the United States.