Algorithms for the People
How to put democracy at the heart of AI governance Artificial intelligence and machine learning are reshaping our world. Police forces use them to decide where to send police officers, judges to decide whom to release on bail, welfare agencies to decide which children are at risk of abuse, and Facebook and Google to rank content and distribute ads. In these spheres, and many others, powerful prediction tools are changing how decisions are made, narrowing opportunities for the exercise of judgment, empathy, and creativity. In Algorithms for the People, Josh Simons flips the narrative about how we govern these technologies. Instead of examining the impact of technology on democracy, he explores how to put democracy at the heart of AI governance. Drawing on his experience as a research fellow at Harvard University, a visiting research scientist on Facebook's Responsible AI team, and a policy advisor to the UK's Labour Party, Simons gets under the hood of predictive technologies, offering an accessible account of how they work, why they matter, and how to regulate the institutions that build and use them. He argues that prediction is political: human choices about how to design and use predictive tools shape their effects. Approaching predictive technologies through the lens of political theory casts new light on how democracies should govern political choices made outside the sphere of representative politics. Showing the connection between technology regulation and democratic reform, Simons argues that we must go beyond conventional theorizing of AI ethics to wrestle with fundamental moral and political questions about how the governance of technology can support the flourishing of democracy.
White Rural Rage
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - A searing portrait and damning takedown of America's proudest citizens--who are also the least likely to defend its core principles "This is an important book that ought to be read by anyone who wants to understand politics in the perilous Age of Trump."--David Corn, New York Times bestselling author of American Psychosis White rural voters hold the greatest electoral sway of any demographic group in the United States, yet rural communities suffer from poor healthcare access, failing infrastructure, and severe manufacturing and farming job losses. Rural voters believe our nation has betrayed them, and to some degree, they're right. In White Rural Rage, Tom Schaller and Paul Waldman explore why rural Whites have failed to reap the benefits from their outsize political power and why, as a result, they are the most likely group to abandon democratic norms and traditions. Their rage--stoked daily by Republican politicians and the conservative media--now poses an existential threat to the United States. Schaller and Waldman show how vulnerable U.S. democracy has become to rural Whites who, despite legitimate grievances, are increasingly inclined to hold racist and xenophobic beliefs, to believe in conspiracy theories, to accept violence as a legitimate course of political action, and to exhibit antidemocratic tendencies. Rural White Americans' attitude might best be described as "I love my country, but not our country," Schaller and Waldman argue. This phenomenon is the patriot paradox of rural America: The citizens who take such pride in their patriotism are also the least likely to defend core American principles. And by stoking rural Whites' anger rather than addressing the hard problems they face, conservative politicians and talking heads create a feedback loop of resentments that are undermining American democracy. Schaller and Waldman provocatively critique both the structures that permit rural Whites' disproportionate influence over American governance and the prospects for creating a pluralist, inclusive democracy that delivers policy solutions that benefit rural communities. They conclude with a political reimagining that offers a better future for both rural people and the rest of America.
The Homeowner Ideology
While homeownership has clear benefits among the impoverished, The Homeowner Ideology shows that the utility of real property rights as an economic resource are severely limited in sub-Saharan African cities. Although global poverty has declined since 1990, it remains widespread in Subsahara, the region with the highest proportion of the global population living in slums. Mainstream thinking in development studies is dominated by market fundamentalist neoclassical economics and the premise that ownership reduces poverty. Singumbe Muyeba contends that this neoliberal premise is flawed and unsupported by data within the African context. Muyeba argues that property rights function as structured idle capital on the formal market in African cities and the persistence of homeownership as the intervention of choice is explained by the influence of neoliberal ideology, intergenerational transfer of homeownership culture within the family, and the state's deliberate and active support for homeownership tenure.
Understanding American Legislatures
In this book, James M. Curry introduces legislative scholars to the value and importance of interpretive research. Understanding American Legislatures is a must-read contribution to the study of legislatures and our discourse about methods in American politics.
The Future Is Feminist
Winner of the Alf Andrew Heggoy Book Prize of the French Colonial Historical SocietyCowinner of the Nikki Keddie Book Award of the Middle East Studies Association of North AmericaThe Future Is Feminist by Sara Rahnama offers a closer look at a pivotal moment in Algerian history when Algerians looked to feminism as a path out of the stifling realities of French colonial rule. Algerian people focused outward to developments in the Middle East, looking critically at their own society and with new eyes to Islamic tradition. In doing so, they reordered the world on their own terms--pushing back against French colonial claims about Islam's inherent misogyny. Rahnama describes how Algerians took inspiration from Middle Eastern developments in women's rights. Empowered by the Muslim reform movement sweeping the region, they read Islamic knowledge with new eyes, even calling Muhammad "the first Arab feminist." They compared the blossoming women's rights movements across the Middle East and this history of Islam's feminist potential to the stifled position of Algerian women, who suffered from limited access to education and respectable work. Local dynamics also shaped these discussions, including the recent entry of thousands of Algerian women into the workforce as domestic workers in European settler homes. While Algerian people disagreed about whether Algeria's future should be colonial or independent, they agreed that women's advancement would offer a path forward for Muslim society toward a more prosperous future. Through its use of Arabic-language sources alongside French ones, The Future Is Feminist moves beyond Algeria's colonial relationship to France to illuminate its relationship to the Middle East.
Decolonial Methodologies in Social Work
This open access book offers an original exploration of how the notion of pluriversalism, an anti-colonial concept that resounds throughout many decolonial methodologies and pedagogies, underlies many current attempts to develop more just and equitable approaches to social work teaching and research. Despite its prominence in other fields, pluriversalism has never been foregrounded in any full-length study of social work. This co-edited volume does just that, and in so doing, it codifies a thriving, but otherwise diffuse, subcurrent of alternative, othered ways of researching and teaching social work. It foregrounds local knowledges while maintaining a global scope and empirically grounded perspective, and in so doing it shows how pluriversal approaches open new spaces around the world for teaching and talking about social work in a manner that is more just, culturally sensitive, and attuned to structural power relations. In that same self-critical spirit, the chapters gathered here also engage critically with the risks of cultural appropriation endemic to pluriversal approaches, themselves, appropriations that would ultimately reproduce the exploitation mechanisms they aim to resist. This is a must-read for social work students, researchers, and practitioners interested in development studies, decolonial studies, and Indigenous studies. The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the Bloomsbury Open Collections Library Collective.
Understanding American Legislatures
In this book, James M. Curry introduces legislative scholars to the value and importance of interpretive research. Understanding American Legislatures is a must-read contribution to the study of legislatures and our discourse about methods in American politics.
The New City
Cities are at once among humanity's crowning achievements and core drivers of the climate crisis. Their dependence on the outside world for vital resources is causing global temperatures to rise and wildlife habitats to shrink. But we have the opportunity to make cities more sustainable by transforming the built environment. Dickson D. Despommier proposes a visionary yet achievable plan for creating a new, self-sustaining urban landscape. He argues that we can find solutions through the concept of biomimicry: emulating successful strategies found in nature. A better city is possible if we heed the lessons that forests and trees teach about how to store carbon, grow food, collect rainwater, and convert sunlight into energy. Touring established and leading-edge technologies, The New City provides a blueprint for tomorrow's urban environment. Cities built from wood will be more resilient and less destructive than concrete and steel construction; they will also encourage reforestation, boosting carbon sequestration. Vertical farms inside city limits will supply residents with a reliable, healthy food supply. Buildings will harvest moisture from the rain and air to secure a clean water supply. Renewable energy, including not only wind, solar, and geothermal but also clear photovoltaic window glass and nonpolluting hydrogen fuel cells, will power a cleaner city. The New City delivers both a passionate call to action for halting climate change and a bold vision of the sustainable future within our grasp.
Elections in Canada
Elections serve as a reflection not only of voter choices but also of the historical and legal context of a country's governance. Emphasizing the significant influence of the electoral process, Elections in Canada examines the intricate relationships between voter preferences, historical and legal frameworks, campaign dynamics, political figures, and media platforms.Organized into five comprehensive sections, the book provides a detailed exploration of Canadian electoral processes. Beginning with a broad examination of election administration, it situates the analysis within a wider democratic and comparative context. The book outlines key institutional building blocks and the unique constitutional and legislative settings that have evolved since Confederation. It analyses national campaigns, constituency campaigns, third parties, and journalists, as well as the pivotal role of political communication, debates, and polling. Reflecting on the diverse landscape of voter participation, the book considers the engagement of women, Indigenous peoples, racialized individuals, and LGBTQ2+ communities. It sheds light on landmark cases, discussing five pivotal elections that had long-standing impacts on the development of Canadian political history.Ultimately, Elections in Canada draws on a variety of perspectives to provide politics students and instructors with a comprehensive overview of both contemporary and historical Canadian elections.
Elections in Canada
Elections serve as a reflection not only of voter choices but also of the historical and legal context of a country's governance. Emphasizing the significant influence of the electoral process, Elections in Canada examines the intricate relationships between voter preferences, historical and legal frameworks, campaign dynamics, political figures, and media platforms.Organized into five comprehensive sections, the book provides a detailed exploration of Canadian electoral processes. Beginning with a broad examination of election administration, it situates the analysis within a wider democratic and comparative context. The book outlines key institutional building blocks and the unique constitutional and legislative settings that have evolved since Confederation. It analyses national campaigns, constituency campaigns, third parties, and journalists, as well as the pivotal role of political communication, debates, and polling. Reflecting on the diverse landscape of voter participation, the book considers the engagement of women, Indigenous peoples, racialized individuals, and LGBTQ2+ communities. It sheds light on landmark cases, discussing five pivotal elections that had long-standing impacts on the development of Canadian political history.Ultimately, Elections in Canada draws on a variety of perspectives to provide politics students and instructors with a comprehensive overview of both contemporary and historical Canadian elections.
Energy Cooperation between India and the Caspian Region
The book primarily focuses on energy cooperation between India and the Caspian region states-Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Iran-which garner global attention because of their hydrocarbon reserves and transit capability. Amidst the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, this book offers a timely contribution to pertinent energy cooperation issues by examining the complex dynamics of energy security and geopolitical interests. It analyses the Caspian states' energy potential and examines the energy dynamics between India and these countries, with the objective of finding ways to ensure India's energy security through energy cooperation.This book also examines the energy politics of the countries in the Caspian region. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine positioned the region squarely within the crosshairs of geopolitical shifts. As the impact of the conflict was pronounced in the Caspian region, the book analyses the objectives of major powers and littoral states in the region and the implications of the conflict on energy politics.This volume will interest policymakers and officials interested in energy security and cooperation, particularly in India. Additionally, think tanks and strategic analysts working on geopolitics, energy security, and international relations will find this book relevant.Ngangom Dhruba Tara Singh , PhD is an Associate Fellow at the Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS) in New Delhi, an autonomous defence research and analysis body. His research interests include energy relations with focus on Caspian Sea region, connectivity, energy cooperation, and Indian foreign policy. He holds a PhD and MPhil from the Centre for Russian and Central Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and a Master's in Political Science from St. Joseph's College, Bangalore. His research papers have appeared in Air Power Journal, and Defence and Diplomacy Journal.
Feeling at Home
The home where our hopes and dreams play out is at the heart many vital political questions Housing is more than bricks and mortar. Feeling at Home grapples with the practical and emotional questions of housing - domestic labour, privacy, security, ownership, and health. Is it possible to imagine success without home ownership? Alva Gotby shows that solving the housing crisis is about much more than housing stock. It means revolutionising our everyday lives and labours.
Beyond the Badge
While many police training concepts have remained the same over the years, training options and budgets have changed. Criminal justice students and police academy leadership alike could benefit from a refreshed look at all that is possible. With Beyond the Badge: Cutting Edge Training Tactics for Modern Law Enforcement, Dr. Mark A. Lahr, PhD, developed the definitive template for a modern police training program. Lahr has worked in law enforcement for nearly four decades, much of it in training. Beyond the Badge offers a universal training concept perfect for all budgets and levels of need, helping trainers build on what works to create what today's law enforcement needs.
Framing Equality
Although a lot has been said about the stunning success of the marriage equality movement, not much is known about why the global struggle over gay marriage has varied across countries with respect to the severity of the conservative backlash and the legacy for LGBTQ equality. In this book, Omar Encarnaci籀n presents a cross-national exploration of the politics of "gay marriage wars" by looking at how gay marriage has been framed in three nations. Drawing on the campaign for same-sex marriage in Spain, the United States, and Brazil, Encarnaci籀n conceptualizes three types of framing models-legal, moral, and political. He argues that while all three models can bring the campaign to a successful conclusion, the moral framing-which views gay marriage as a gateway to "full citizenship" for gay and lesbian couples-is the most consequential for mitigating backlash and bolstering equality. Moreover, this study shows that, despite the prominence of transnationalism in the dynamics of gay rights activism, the main factors influencing the framing of gay marriage are all homegrown, including the political environment, the foundational ideals of the gay rights movement, and the activism of the forces opposing gay marriage.
Cast in a Racial Mould
First published by Ravan Press in 1985, Cast in a Racial Mould was a pioneering book. It is now republished by Wits University Press with a new foreword by Michael Burawoy and with support from the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences. Entering what Marx called the hidden abode of capitalism; the labour process; this book analyzes the nature of work and worker resistance in the metal industry which lies at the core of South Africa manufacturing industry. In an introductory chapter Webster points out that most studies of the labour process have neglected worker resistance. He challenges Braverman depiction of mass production as a juggernaut which inherently imposes progressively tighter controls on workers, and points to two forms of worker resistance which have been important in the history of South Africa foundries. Discussing the first of these in Part I, he shows how resistance to deskilling on the part of white craft moulders gave rise to a distinctive racial hierarchy of control in the foundries. Using race as a last line of defence against machinofacture assault on their craft privileges, the white moulders effectively became supervisors of semi-skilled black labour;The collapse of this form of control was precipitated by the rise, in a South African foundry context, of the second form of resistance; increasingly confident bargaining by black semi-skilled workers in the wake of mechanization and the emergence of independent black unions. This is the focus of Parts II and III of the book. The onset of popular struggle in the townships from 1976 onwards forced the state, through a process that began with the Wiehahn and Riekert commissions, to embark on an attempt to incorporate black unions in a deracialized industrial relations system. Webster analyzes the interplay between the transformation of the labour process and the crisis in the system of racial capitalism as a whole to show how worker organizations, in resisting the state incorporative strategy, have begun to develop a working class.
Storm the Ballot Box
Why Every Single Vote Matters--Especially Yours Jo-Ann Roberts thought she knew how Canadian politics worked after being a reporter for forty years. Then she ran in the 2015 federal election as a candidate, confident that all she had to do was convince people she was the best person for the job, and they would vote for her. That wasn't how it worked out. Roberts discovered there was so much she didn't know about our electoral system--especially how vulnerable it is to outside interference and manipulation by interest groups. Nor did she understand that those in power were not interested in getting everyone out to vote. Millions of Canadians are not voting, a crisis that threatens to undermine democracy. Apathy, ignorance, and frustration mean a whole generation is losing faith in the value of their vote. Jo-Ann Roberts wants to ensure that the right to vote is reinvigorated, restored, and respected. In Storm the Ballot Box, she brings her unique experience from both broadcast newsrooms and political backrooms, laying out twenty concrete steps for how to kickstart a non-violent yet powerful voting revolution, empowering Canadians to mark their X--no matter who they vote for.
We Were in It
Bringing together academics, scientists, creative writers, visual artists, lawyers, and policy makers, We Were In It is a collaborative effort to attack the problem of climate crisis from very different backgrounds and perspectives, through fiction. The fusion of scholarship, literary writing, research, and creativity allows the strengths of many forms of writing to address the unfolding crisis of our modern petrocultures. Relying on the brevity of flash fiction to reflect the ticking clock of the climate crisis, the stories contained in this collection are slick as oil but against oil. They are a speculation about the future, taking notes from the present and the past as a portal to a better world.
Digital Public Employment Services in Action
This book offers a comprehensive exploration of the ongoing digital transformation of public employment services (PES) - the most radical remaking of the welfare state in a generation. As PES shift from analogue to fully digitised services, this volume bridges the gap between technology, policy and frontline service provision. It provides a well-rounded analysis of the practical opportunities and challenges posed by digital welfare, reconnecting and reconciling technical possibilities and political ambitions with what is socially necessary as welfare systems undergo radical change.
Punishing Putin
A "masterful" (Foreign Policy), authoritative, and timely look at the unprecedented economic war the United States and its European allies are waging against Russia after Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine that "reads like a detective novel" (Nassim Nicholas Taleb)--written by a veteran journalist with unparalleled access to Western and Russian sources. Undeterred by eight years of timid US sanctions, Vladimir Putin ordered his full-scale assault on Ukraine on February 24, 2022. In the hours that followed, Western leaders weaponized economic tools to counter an unprecedented land grab by a nuclear-armed power. What unfolded was an undeniably world-changing financial experiment that risked throwing the globe into a devastating recession. The end goal was simple: to sap the strength of Putin's war machine and damage the Russian economy--once the eleventh largest on the planet. Here, veteran journalist Stephanie Baker explains in fascinating detail how this furious shadow war unfolded: its causes, how it is being executed, and its ability to affect Russia and the course of history. Punishing Putin reveals how Washington, Brussels, and London moved to seize superyachts, attempted to manipulate the global price of oil, and tried to block the sale of technology to Russia's military. The cost of the war mounted, and Baker tells the behind-the-scenes story of the decision to immobilize $300 billion in Russian central bank reserves accumulated in the West, and the fight over whether to use that pot of money for war-torn Ukraine. Baker also shows that the West, by mobilizing an army of white-collar investigators and experts on international law, has finally begun cracking down on illicit Russian money by targeting oligarchs, one superyacht at a time, and their enablers around the world. Filled with propulsive, fly-on-the-wall details, Punishing Putin takes us into the frantic backroom deliberations that led to a whole new era of carefully calculated "economic statecraft," and shows how these new strategies are radically rearranging global alliances that will influence the world order today and for generations to come.
The Struggle for Black Political Empowerment in Three Georgia Counties
American Government in Black and White
American Government in Black and White: Diversity and Democracy, Seventh Edition, is a unique introduction to American government that uses racial and ethnic equality as its underlying theme. Through the course of teaching students the standard topics about the American governmental system and politics, authors Paula D. McClain and Steven C. Tauber address issues of inequality in major facets of government including the U.S. Constitution, key American political institutions and instruments of political behavior, and the making of public policy. Using the original voices of racial and ethnic actors in our nation's history, they show students how to measure and evaluate the quest for and importance of equality in America, from its founding up to today.
The Ethnopolitics of Elections
This volume conceptualises the dynamics underlying electoral politics in ethnically divided societies. It was previously published as a special issue of Ethnopolitics.
Priced Out! Building Homes at Fair Prices, Including Future Generations
The United States can build homes and rentals at fair prices. It's possible, doable, and customers are waiting. It's not that the U.S. doesn't have the private funding. It's not that the U.S. doesn't spend enough tax money. In fact, the U.S. already spends tax money on homes at the same rate as the European nation of Austria, which has plenty of homes and rentals at fair prices. It's not that U.S. workers can't pay for their own homes and rentals out of the wages that they have right now, if the prices were fair. It's not any of those things. It's that U.S. elected officials and leaders have avoided the decision to commit to a housing inventory for the middle class and for working families of America. Upscale real estate takes over, in region after region. It's coming your way, if it hasn't already. The economic and social stakes are high. Expensive rent and high home prices take too much of the income of average earners. This is a leading root cause of rising unfair economic inequality. It makes it harder to avoid financial instability for half the nation, well into the middle class, certainly not anymore just for the poorest of the poor. This financial instability increases wider social instability, which brings social strife and personal strife. It does not have to be this way.Three real estate methods can lead to home ownership and rentals at fair prices: (1) property tax caps for average earners and seniors; (2) market-based inventory commitments for starter homes and apartments; and (3) agreements for future generations. These methods have been proven to work through many decades of real-world use. As more and more hard-working, striving people are being priced out, these decisions await.
The Social Worker's Assessment Companion
A critical resource for all social work practitioners.Designed to empower, support, and guide social workers through the complexities of assessment practice, The Social Worker's Assessment Companion is a comprehensive reference tool for students, newly qualified workers, and experienced professionals alike.This accessible, evidence-based guide covers the entire assessment process-from understanding child development and risk to writing court-ready reports with clarity and confidence. With practical templates, case examples, and structured frameworks like Signs of Safety, this book bridges theory with frontline practice.Whether you're completing a viability assessment, writing a Section 7 report, or managing complex cultural dynamics, this book gives you the language, structure, and support to assess fairly, thoroughly, and with integrity.Inside, you'll find: ✅ 15 structured chapters on essential assessment knowledge✅ Legal frameworks including the Children Act 1989 and Working Together 2018✅ Reflective supervision and self-care strategies✅ Technology, ethical practice, and safeguarding in the digital age✅ Real-world case studies and professional tools (risk matrix, observation log, genogram, and more) The Social Worker's Assessment Companion is more than a textbook-it's your go-to toolkit for compassionate, culturally competent, and high-quality practice.
