This landmark reference is a comprehensive, one-stop, interdisciplinary resource that examines current, critical social issues in historical and global contexts. Nearly 150 in-depth, balanced, and thought-provoking articles cover a broad range of critically important topics: the environment, health, science, the media, ethnic conflicts, poverty, and immigration.

Table of Contents

• Introduction: Global Social Issues in Perspective
• A
• Adoption
• Affirmative Action
• AIDS/HIV
• Alcohol Use and Abuse
• Animal Rights
• Antiquities Theft and Restitution
• Arms Trade
• Aviation Security
• B
• Biodiversity and Extinction
• Brain Drain and Talent Mobility
• C
• Cancer
• Capital Punishment
• Cardiovascular Disease
• Child Labor
• Children's Rights
• Climate Change
• Conservation and Recycling
• Consumer and Investor Rights and Protections
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Credit and Debt, Personal and Business
• Crime, Organized
• Crime, Violent
• Crimes Against Humanity
• Cultural, Historic, and Linguistic Preservation
• Cybercrime
• D
• Defense Spending
• Deficits and Sovereign Debt
• Deforestation
• Desertification
• Diabetes
• Digital Divide
• Disability Rights
• Domestic Violence
• Drug Abuse
• Drug Resistance
• Drug Trade
• E
• Education, Higher
• Education, Primary and Secondary
• Elections and Voting
• Energy, Alternative
• Environmental Illnesses
• Environmental Justice
• Ethnic and Religious Conflict
• F
• Failed States and Nation-Building
• Fair Trade
• Farm Policy
• Financial Crises
• Fishing and Fish Stocks
• Food and Drug Safety
• G
• Gambling
• Gastrointestinal Disease
• Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues
• Genetically Engineered Crops and Foods
• Government Corruption and Transparency
• H
• Health Care
• Hepatitis
• Homelessness
• Housing Costs, Finance, and Affordability
• Human Rights
• Hunger and Malnutrition
• I
• Identity Fraud
• Immigration, Illegal and Irregular
• Indigenous Peoples’ Rights
• Inequality, Income and Wealth
• Infant Mortality
• Influenza
• Infrastructure
• Intellectual Property Rights
• K
• Kidnapping and Hostage-Taking
• L
• Land Mines
• Law, Rule of
• Literacy
• M
• Marriage and Divorce
• Mental Health
• Migrant Labor
• Mining Issues
• Money Laundering and Illegal Transfers
• Mosquito-borne Disease
• N
• Natural Disasters, Preparedness and Response
• Neurological Disease
• Nuclear Energy
• Nuclear Proliferation
• O
• Obesity and Eating Disorders
• Oil, Economic and Political Aspects
• Oil, Environmental and Health Aspects
• Organ and Tissue Trade
• P
• Parasitic Disease
• Pesticides and Artificial Fertilizers
• Pharmaceuticals: Availability, Cost, Efficacy, and Safety
• Piracy, Maritime
• Police Corruption and Brutality
• Polio
• Pollution, Air
• Pollution, Water
• Population Growth and Demographic Issues
• Poverty
• Press, Freedom of
• Prisoners and Prisoner Rights
• Privacy
• Privatization
• Protectionism and Free Trade
• Public Health
• R
• Rape and Sexual Assault
• Refugees, Displaced Persons, and Asylum Seekers
• Regulation, Business and Financial
• Religious Freedom
• Reproductive Issues
• Respiratory Disease
• S
• Sanctions, International
• Secrecy, Government
• Self-Determination and Sovereignty
• Sex Tourism and the Sex Trade
• Sexually Transmitted Infections
• Slavery
• Social Networking
• Social Welfare
• Suicide
• T
• Taxation
• Terrorism
• Tobacco
• Torture
• Toxic Waste
• Traffic and Mass Transit
• Tuberculosis
• U
• Underground Economies
• Unemployment
• Unions and Workers’ Rights
• Urbanization
• V
• Vaccination
• W
• War Crimes
• Waste Disposal
• Water Supply and Access
• Waterborne Disease
• Wetlands
• Women's Rights
• Working Conditions
• Master Bibliography
• Books
• Web Sites