What can comedy tell us about the politics of a nation?In this book, James Brassett builds on his prize-winning research to demonstrate how British comedy can provide intimate and vital understandings of the everyday politics of globalization in Britain.The book explores British comedy and Britain’s global politics from post-war imperial decline through to its awkward embrace of globalization, examining a wide variety of comedic mediums, such as the popular television show ...

Market life is increasingly conducted in the shadow of global events like 9/11, the Sub-Prime crisis and Brexit. Within International political economy (IPE) two broad positions can be discerned: either the event is ‘just an event’, a superficial spectacle in an otherwise straightforward story of power and hierarchy; or the event is large enough to be considered a ‘crisis’.While sympathetic to such arguments, this book develops a more performative politics of the global event, argu...

Acknowledgement of the ethical dimension of global finance is commonplace in the wake of financial crises. The sub-prime crisis and ensuing credit crunch are only the latest in a long run of global financial crises that wreak social havoc and force us to consider alternative possibilities for global finance.By defining cosmopolitanism and analysing how cosmopolitan ideas can increasingly provide an account of the governance of global finance, Brassett examines whether global financ...

This edited volume brings together scholars of comedy to assess how political comedy encounters neoliberal themes in contemporary media. Central to this task is the notion of genre; under neoliberal conditions (where market logics motivate most actions) genre becomes “mixed.” Once stable, discreet categories such as comedy, horror, drama and news and entertainment have become blurred so as to be indistinguishable. The classic modern paradigm of comedy/tragedy no longer holds, if it ever di...

When a body is found in a remote Scottish glen, DI Munro comes out of retirement to investigate. The Police chief wants everything wrapped up before the upcoming regatta, but the locals are remarkably unforthcoming with helpful information. Sassy and quick, London detective sergeant Charlotte West is roped in by DI Munro to help solve what is now a murder case. It is good police work that will unravel the truth behind the crime, but not without ruffling a few feathers first. Will the kille...

A serial killer is framing innocent people. When a young woman is found murdered in her flat, CCTV identifies a suspect. But when he is brought in for questioning, his willingness to cooperate with Munro and West raises doubts about his guilt. When another body turns up, he falls under suspicion once more. But with him off the radar, they must follow a new line of investigation…

A businessman disappears, last seen by old friends. DI Munro must cut through a densely-woven web of deceit to find out who killed him, and why. Two families have been friends for years, but resentment simmers under the surface. Despite those who are protecting their own interests, the culprit is found - leading to a wider investigation that takes them to Oslo, deep into the past of a troubled Polish man…