Mathematical Approaches to Understanding Democracy
The democratic system is understood and accepted as the fairest form of government in Western countries. Nevertheless, citizens tend to critique their democratically elected rulers. Mathematical Approaches to Understanding Democracy: Emerging Research and Opportunities is an essential reference source that provides an analysis on the global political systems and provides insight on how to optimize government capabilities, citizen engagement, and educational systems. Using statistical concepts, it proposes algorithmic solutions to detect problems and provide improvement on democratic and non-democratic societies. Featuring research on topics such as political negligence, voter knowledge, political corruption, and democratic training, this book is ideally designed for governmental officials, policymakers, educators, statisticians, academicians, and researchers.
Shooting the Sun Why Manipur Was Engulfed by Violence and the Government Remained Silent
The ethnic clashes that broke out in Manipur in May 2023 were ostensiblydue to Kuki opposition to the demand by the dominant Meiteis for ScheduledTribe status. Kukis, and other tribal groups, claim that this would eat into theirmeagre entitlements. In turn, the Kukis as a group have been branded 'illegalimmigrants', blamed for the proliferation of poppy cultivation, and accused of'narcoterrorism'.Conflicts between ethnic groups are not new in Manipur. But the violence in2023, which killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands, was shocking forthe sheer viciousness on display. Any effort to find explanations to this conflictonly throws up more questions.Why is there such anger in the people of the state? Is this a religious or an ethnicconflict? Why were the police and paramilitary forces-of which huge numbersare deployed in Manipur-unable to stop the violence? What role did chauvinistMeitei organizations like Arambai Tenggol play in the violence? Why did it takeseveral months for India's national leadership to break their silence on the issue?Is there really a problem of illegal immigration into Manipur from Myanmar?Who are the Kuki-Zo people? Are they to blame for the drug menace in thestate, as claimed by the Meiteis? What have the state and central governmentsdone to prevent drug trafficking in the region? Does anyone benefit from what ishappening?In this urgent book, Nandita Haksar explores with clarity and insight, and alsocourage, a complex geopolitical problem, exposing the hypocrisy of identitypolitics in Manipur, never losing sight of those that have suffered-and continueto suffer-the most in this conflict.
JP Andolan 1974 (Research Book)
"जे.पी. आंदोलन 1974" (रिसर्च बुक) संतोष सुमन, वरिष्ठ पत्रकार द्वारा लिखित, भारतीय इतिहास के एक निर्णायक क्षण, जयप्रकाश नारायण के नेतृत्व में 1974 के आंदोलन पर एक गहन अध्ययन प्रस्तुत करती है। यह पुस्तक उस ऐतिहासिक आंदोलन की कहानी कहती है जिसने उस दौर के सरकार की आपातकाल और भ्रष्टाचार के खिलाफ जनजागरण की अलख जगाई थी। लेखक ने उस समय के सामाजिक और राजनीतिक परिदृश्य का विस्तार से चित्रण किया है, जिसमें बढ़ती मुद्रास्फीति, बेरोजगारी, और राजनीतिक अक्षमता के कारण जनता में असंतोष उत्पन्न हुआ था। पुस्तक में जेपी के विचारों और उनके "संपूर्ण क्रांति" के आह्वान को विस्तार से बताया गया है, जिसमें राजनीतिक, सामाजिक और आर्थिक परिवर्तन की मांग की गई थी। संतोष सुमन ने इस आंदोलन के प्रभाव और भारतीय राजनीति ê
Timing the Future Metropolis
Timing the Future Metropolis--an intellectual history of planning, urbanism, design, and social science--explores the network of postwar institutions, formed amid specters of urban "crisis" and "renewal," that set out to envision the future of the American city. Peter Ekman focuses on one decisive node in the network: the Joint Center for Urban Studies, founded in 1959 by scholars at Harvard and MIT. Through its sprawling programs of "organized research," its manifold connections to universities, foundations, publishers, and policymakers, and its years of consultation on the planning of a new city in Venezuela--Ciudad Guayana--the Joint Center became preoccupied with the question of how to conceptualize the urban future as an object of knowledge. Timing the Future Metropolis ultimately compels a broader reflection on temporality in urban planning, rethinking how we might imagine cities yet to come--and the consequences of deciding not to.
Pleasure and Pain in Us Public Culture
Unraveling the intricate dance of pleasure and pain in contemporary American culture Mainstream news and social media often highlight presentations of pain that invite a voyeuristic, pleasurable experience, whether the result of war, disasters, crime, accidents, or other catastrophes. This collection of essays explores pleasurable pains and painful pleasures, showing how they pervade contemporary western public culture. Deploying methodologies drawn from psychoanalysis, rhetoric and communication, political theory, and visual culture, Pleasure and Pain in US Public Culture offers insightful criticisms and theories about how pleasure and pain function in public discourse, media, and everyday communication practices. The contributors provide a sample of fascinating range of news reportage, television, film and cinema, stage drama, comic performances, street art, and other forms of popular culture. The media cited and analyzed include Spike Lee's films, Afrofuturism, autoethnography, and the #MeToo movement. The collection takes up engrossing topics such as the cathartic allure of pain, ethical dilemmas surrounding public displays of suffering, and the transformative power of narratives that confront trauma. The essays also draw connections between theory and real-world outcomes, explore the implications of enjoying traumatic comedy, and link the natural world to otherwise mundane instances of interspecies violence. Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination hearings and what they suggest about witnessing trauma is also discussed. Pleasure and Pain in US Public Culture will change how a reader sees the world. It imparts a startling vision of western culture permeated by pain and pleasure.
Timing the Future Metropolis
Timing the Future Metropolis--an intellectual history of planning, urbanism, design, and social science--explores the network of postwar institutions, formed amid specters of urban "crisis" and "renewal," that set out to envision the future of the American city. Peter Ekman focuses on one decisive node in the network: the Joint Center for Urban Studies, founded in 1959 by scholars at Harvard and MIT. Through its sprawling programs of "organized research," its manifold connections to universities, foundations, publishers, and policymakers, and its years of consultation on the planning of a new city in Venezuela--Ciudad Guayana--the Joint Center became preoccupied with the question of how to conceptualize the urban future as an object of knowledge. Timing the Future Metropolis ultimately compels a broader reflection on temporality in urban planning, rethinking how we might imagine cities yet to come--and the consequences of deciding not to.
Because It’s Just and Right
In their new book, "Because It's Just And Right: The Untold Back-Story of the US Recognition of Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel and Moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem", Leonard Grunstein and Farley Weiss share the riveting political drama of how the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 was first promulgated by Senator Jon Kyl, negotiated and then passed, on a bipartisan basis, by an overwhelming majority of Congress. It also describes the arduous process for over two decades that led to its finally being implemented. The Bible, Jewish History, International and US Law, as well as legal precedents are brought to life in a way that is both enlightening and entertaining.This book is a must read for anyone seeking to understand the significance of this historic event and it's impact on US-Israel relations.David Friedman, US Ambassador to Israel from 2017-2021, also weighs in on the book, calling it "essential reading for a complete understanding of why Jerusalem is, and must always remain, the undivided, eternal capital of the Jewish State."Senator Joe Lieberman, one of the key players in enabling bipartisan support for the Act, noted: "In this book, Farley Weiss and Len Grunstein tell the dramatic story of how the United States Congress enacted legislation to move our Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem in 1995, and how twenty-three years later in 2018, it was finally moved there because, as the book's title says, it was "Just and Right."Other testimonials include those by Governor Mike Huckabee and Professor Alan Dershowitz. Senator John Kyl provided a Foreword for the book.
Bonding, Bridging, and Bypassing
Societal divisions and even violence can occur when electoral candidates appeal to race, religion, or tribe. Why do candidates make these ethnic appeals? More specifically, why do some candidates appeal to their own ethnic group while others reach out to other ethnic groups or abandon ethnic appeals altogether? To answer this question, Colm A. Fox adopted a ground-breaking, novel approach to study campaign appeals made by thousands of candidates. He collected and systematically analyzed photographs of over 25,000 election posters from campaigns across Indonesia, along with newspaper reports and interview data. The book shows how electoral rules, political party ideology, ethnic demographics, and social norms shape candidates' decisions to bond with co-ethnics, bridge across other ethnic groups, or bypass ethnicity entirely. Its findings yield not only insights as to which ethnic identities are likely to become politicized, but also prescriptions on how to curb divisive ethnic politics.
The Tech Coup
An insider offers a "forceful critique...of Big Tech's steady erosion of democracy" (The New Yorker) and describes what must be done to stop it Over the past decades, under the cover of "innovation," technology companies have successfully resisted regulation and have even begun to seize power from governments themselves. Facial recognition firms track citizens for police surveillance. Cryptocurrency has wiped out the personal savings of millions and threatens the stability of the global financial system. Spyware companies sell digital intelligence tools to anyone who can afford them. This new reality--where unregulated technology has become a forceful instrument for autocrats around the world--is terrible news for democracies and citizens. In The Tech Coup, Marietje Schaake offers a behind-the-scenes account of how technology companies crept into nearly every corner of our lives and our governments. She takes us beyond the headlines to high-stakes meetings with human rights defenders, business leaders, computer scientists, and politicians to show how technologies--from social media to artificial intelligence--have gone from being heralded as utopian to undermining the pillars of our democracies. To reverse this existential power imbalance, Schaake outlines game-changing solutions to empower elected officials and citizens alike. Democratic leaders can--and must--resist the influence of corporate lobbying and reinvent themselves as dynamic, flexible guardians of our digital world. Drawing on her experiences in the halls of the European Parliament and among Silicon Valley insiders, Schaake offers a frightening look at our modern tech-obsessed world--and a clear-eyed view of how democracies can build a better future before it is too late.
Urban Movements and Climate Change
From the social uprisings in Santiago de Chile to the radical municipalism experiments in Naples, this volume takes the reader on an intellectual journey at the frontlines across global South and global North where climate breakdown meets social innovations. While the effects of the climate crisis are becoming more extreme and tangible across the globe with every passing day, urban social movements and their radical strategies to resist climate injustice often remain concealed from sight. Contributors to this volume ask how would it be to look at the politics of urban loss-and-damage not from the highly securitized zones of climate summits, but from favelas in Rio de Janeiro, flood-prone communities in S瓊o Paulo, urban gardens in Naples, or neighborhoods resisting climate gentrification in New York City? This book explores diverse worlds and praxis of urban social movements resisting the rising tides of climate crisis and social injustice.
Movement
WINNER, 2025 GOTHAM BOOK PRIZEInsideHook: The 10 Books You Should Be Reading This NovemberA gripping account of how the automobile has failed NYC and how mass transit and a revitalized streetscape are vital to its post-pandemic recovery In 1969, as all students of New York City history think they have learned, master builder Robert Moses lost his long battle to urbanist Jane Jacobs over his planned Lower Manhattan Expressway. The ten-lane elevated expressway would have sliced across SoHo and Little Italy, demolishing historic build-ings, and displacing thousands of families and businesses. Jacobs and her neighbors defeated Moses, and as a result, New York became the only major American city with no interstate highway running through its core. Like many global cities, though, New York had spent fifty years during the first half of the twentieth century trying and failing to tame its heavily populated landscape to fit the private automobile. New York has now spent more than fifty years trying to undo those mistakes, wresting back city space for people, not cars. Movement: New York's Long War to Take Back Its Streets from the Car chronicles the earlier, less-known battles that preceded the cancellation of the Lower Manhattan Expressway: Jacobs became an example for generations of urban planners, but whose example did Jacobs emulate in an earlier victory that saved Washington Square Park? Moses may serve handily as New York's uber-villain now, but who, before him, was responsible for destroying a critical part of New York's transit system? A well respected urban writer who has focused on New York's transportation system for more than a decade, author Nicole Gelinas resumes the story where Robert Caro's landmark The Power Broker ended. Movement explores how, in the half-century leading up to the COVID- 19 pandemic, New York's re-embracement of its mass-transit system and a livable streetscape helped save the city. Gelinas tackles the 1970s environmental movement, the 1980s rebuilding of the subways, and more contemporary battles, from Mayor Bloomberg's push for more pedestrian plazas and bike lanes in the early 2000s, to transportation advocates' protests to prevent traffic deaths in the Mayor de Blasio era of the 2010s, to how New York's stewardship of its streets and subways have played a critical role during the 2020 pandemic and subsequent recovery. Introducing a cast of transportation heroes to rival Jane Jacobs (Shirley Hayes, Hazel Henderson, Richard Ravitch, Nilka Martell) and puncturing the myth of Moses as New York's anti-hero, Movement explores how New York City has helped redefine what it means to be a global city: not a place that is easy to drive through, but a place where people can take transit, walk, and bike to work, to school, or just for fun.
Climate of Contempt
Why is the United States struggling to enact policies to reduce carbon emissions? Conventional wisdom holds that the wealthy and powerful are to blame, as the oligarchs and corporations that wield disproportionate sway over politicians prioritize their short-term financial interests over the climate's long-term health. David B. Spence argues that this top-down narrative misses a more important culprit--with critical consequences for the energy transition. Climate of Contempt offers a voter-centric, bottom-up explanation of national climate and energy politics, one that pinpoints bitter partisanship as the key impediment to transitioning to a net zero carbon future. Members of Congress respond to voters whose animosity toward the opposing party makes compromise politically risky. The most powerful driver of polarization, in turn, is the mixture of ideology and social media that constitutes today's information environment, which amplifies anger, spreads half truths and falsehoods, and sows division, distorting voters' understandings of the energy transition and their fellow citizens. Spence explores the effects of polarization, partisanship, and propaganda on energy policy and considers how to build a broader climate coalition. He contends that cooperation on this crucial issue is still possible, but it will require sustained person-to-person engagement across ideological and partisan boundaries to foster a more productive dialogue. Providing a timely and incisive understanding of the politics of the energy transition, Climate of Contempt suggests new paths forward and offers hope for a net-zero future.
Fixing Social Security
How Social Security has shaped American politics--and why it faces insolvency Since its establishment, Social Security has become the financial linchpin of American retirement. Yet demographic trends--longer lifespans and declining birthrates--mean that this popular program now pays more in benefits than it collects in revenue. Without reforms, 83 million Americans will face an immediate benefit cut of 20 percent in 2034. How did we get here and what is the solution? In Fixing Social Security, R. Douglas Arnold explores the historical role that Social Security has played in American politics, why Congress has done nothing to fix its insolvency problem for three decades, and what legislators can do to save it. What options do legislators have as the program nears the precipice? They can raise taxes, as they did in 1977, cut benefits, as they did in 1983, or reinvent the program, as they attempted in 2005. Unfortunately, every option would impose costs, and legislators are reluctant to act, fearing electoral retribution. Arnold investigates why politicians designed the system as they did and how between 1935 and 1983 they allocated--and reallocated--costs and benefits among workers, employers, and beneficiaries. He also examines public support for the program, and why Democratic and Republican representatives, once political allies in expanding Social Security, have become so deeply polarized about fixing it. As Social Security edges closer to crisis, Fixing Social Security offers a comprehensive analysis of the political fault lines and a fresh look at what can be done--before it is too late.
Covid-19 and Global Inequalities
This book provides a timely autoethnography tracing the spread Covid-19 as it emerged and travelled across the world. It will appeal to an academic readership in environmental studies, health studies, cultural studies, sociology, gender studies, media and communication.
National Conciliation
In this piece of paper, the author exposes that just as political actors carry out a confrontation in favorable democratic conditions aimed at taking over the spaces of power available through the holding of elections, raising the electoral challenge before an authoritarian regime represents a strategic reality with multiple battle scenarios. The author explains, reinventing Sun Tzu, that it is mandatory to understand that if you try to use the methods of a civil organization to confront a structure that is sustained by military operations, the strategies will be confused, so eventually they will have to fail. Understanding the above, the National Conciliation proposal is based on the knowledge and management of six elements necessary to confront an authoritarian regime of a military nature, to achieve democratic emancipation, some of which have been rescued from the work of Sun Tzu., The Art of War. These elements are Tao (道), Political Climate (政治气候), Democratic Sphere (民主领域), Effective leadership (有效的领导), Electoral Strategy (选举策略), and Civil Organization (公民组织).
Not Zero
'Bravely challenging the Establishment consensus ... forensically argued' - Mail on Sunday The British government has embarked on an ambitious and legally-binding climate change target: reduce the country's greenhouse gas emissions to Net Zero by 2050. The Net Zero policy was subject to almost no parliamentary or public scrutiny, and is universally approved by our political class. But what will its consequences be? Ross Clark argues that it is a terrible mistake, an impractical hostage to fortune which will have massive downsides. Achieving the target is predicated on the rapid development of technologies that are either non-existent, highly speculative or untested. Clark shows that efforts to achieve the target will inevitably result in a huge hit to living standards, which will clobber the poorest hardest, and gift a massive geopolitical advantage to hostile superpowers such as China and Russia. The unrealistic and rigid timetable it imposes could also result in our committing to technologies which turn out to be ineffective, all while distracting ourselves from the far more important objective of adaptation. This hard-hitting polemic provides a timely critique of a potentially devastating political consensus which could hobble Britain's economy, cost billions and not even be effective.
Radically Republican Ideas
America's continued greatness and prosperity isn't guaranteed. We have serious, and in some cases existential, challenges on multiple fronts. We're in trouble economically, culturally, and from a leadership perspective. We have time to fix all of these problems, but we can't wait forever. It will take smart planning and sustained effort to maintain our nation's success.To position ourselves to thrive going forward, we need to unite behind the enduring values that have always made America great and chart a bold path for securing them far into the future. This book offers pragmatic and reality-based solutions to guide the country for the next 250 years.This book provides the missing roadmap and strategy through: Specific ambitious strategies to address the most serious and complex challenges facing us.A cultural and philosophical framework to cultivate the millions of future leaders that our nation needs.Actionable proposals for national renewal spanning economic stability, governance, education, infrastructure, contentious social issues, and foreign policy.A comprehensive, unifying plan built on our shared values and hopes for a prosperous future.Let's build on our strengths, turn our problem areas into strategic assets, and together build the future your children's children and generations to come deserve.
How to Raise a Citizen (and Why It's Up to You to Do It)
An essential guide to nurturing the next generation of responsible, informed citizens Lindsey Cormack's book, How to Raise a Citizen (And Why It's Up to You to Do It), speaks directly to an America in which civic knowledge is alarmingly sparse and many people dread politics. It's a tool for parents, educators, and anyone eager to fill this gap. In the book, Cormack offers an engaging and practical approach to discussing political issues and the inner workings of the U.S. government with children. She explains why our schools can no longer be the sites of civic education that they used to be and provides parents with strategies and necessary know-how to be able to impart these lessons to their children. From the intricacies of the voting process to the foundational principles of democracy and the significance of key government documents like the Constitution, the author demystifies complex topics with clarity and insight. You'll also find: Data about the current state of the American citizenry, our educational approaches to civics, and the risks of civic disengagement A framework for starting important political discussions at home Comprehensive explanations of American federalism and how different branches of government are responsible for different functions Strategies for navigating federal, state, and local elections How to Raise a Citizen is a roadmap to a future where political dialogue and civic engagement are not just encouraged but celebrated in our homes. With actionable advice and easy-to-understand explanations, it empowers readers to instill a sense of civic responsibility and curiosity in the young minds they influence. Perfect for parents, caregivers, educators, and anyone committed to cultivating an informed and active citizenry, this book is an indispensable resource for guiding children to understand, appreciate, and participate in the democratic process. Equip yourself with the knowledge and strategies to raise engaged citizens in today's politically charged world by adding How to Raise a Citizen to your library.
National Security Intelligence
National security intelligence is a vast, complex and intriguing topic, made doubly hard for citizens to understand because of the thick veils of secrecy that surround it.In the third edition of his authoritative introduction to the field, world-renowned intelligence expert Loch K. Johnson guides readers skilfully through this shadowy side of government. Drawing on over forty years of experience studying intelligence agencies and their activities, he explains the three primary missions of intelligence, before addressing the wider dilemmas of accountability posed by the existence of secret government organizations embedded in open, democratic societies.Recent developments examined in this new edition include the dysfunctional relationship between the White House and America's secret agencies and fresh threats to democratic societies posed by authoritarian regimes. The new edition also offers, in two separate chapters, an expanded exploration of intelligence collection and analysis as well as new insights into covert action, from the use of propaganda and political operations to the overthrow of governments and assassination plots against foreign leaders. Throughout its pages, the book unpacks the ethical dilemmas of secret activities in the quest of global political and military objectives. It also gets to grips with the inevitable mistakes that are made in assessing world events; why some intelligence officers become traitors against their own countries by spying on behalf of foreign regimes; and how spy agencies can fall into scandalous behavior, including highly intrusive surveillance and harassment against the very citizens they are meant to protect.Comprehensively revised and updated throughout, National Security Intelligence is a vital resource for anyone with an interest in how nations shield themselves against threats through intelligence organizations and operations, and how they strive for safeguards to prevent the misuse of this secret power.
Transparency in Science and the Effects on Public Policy
This book argues that, in the development of science, three principles have been used; transparency of results; transparency of procedures; financial transparency. Though the topic of transparency has been researched from various angles by many academics, none have made a comparison between the development of science in the last 350 years and the aforementioned principles. The author uniquely explains how these elements contributed to the rapid development of science and consequently that of technology and human wellbeing and suggests legislation for ensuring transparency in the public sector. In addition, this book provides numerous examples of successful new ways of using these principles in other activities in the public sector as well as possibilities of including the transparency principles from science publishing into general and internet media.
Espionage Black Book Nine
In this well-researched technical monograph, the mysterious domain of "Secret Police" is explained. Authored by an authority in the field, Dr. Henry Prunckun's work examines the historical, philosophical, and legal foundations of secret policing, shedding light on its organizational underpinnings and the methods and sources employed. Historical Overview (Chapter 2) looks into secret police forces across epochs, drawing parallels and distinctions that resonate with contemporary concerns. Philosophy and Law in Secret Policing (Chapter 3) dissects the ethical and legal complexities of clandestine operations, providing a critical lens through which to evaluate their impact on society. Organizational Underpinnings (Chapter 4) offers an enlightening perspective into the structure and functioning of secret police agencies, revealing the web of power and secrecy that characterizes them. Methods and Sources (Chapter 5) presents an analysis of the methods and information at their disposal, raising questions about surveillance, intelligence gathering, and the invasion of privacy. Societal Impacts (Chapter 6) dissects the repercussions of secret policing on society, from the erosion of civil liberties to the cultivation of fear and mistrust. Repercussions (Chapter 7) examines the consequences of secret police organizations when their actions are exposed, ranging from public outrage to international condemnation. Dr. Prunckun provides an easy-to-understand exploration of the shadowy world of secret police, offering readers a journey through history, philosophy, and contemporary issues. As an essential addition to the academic discourse on security and surveillance, this work is a testament to the power of knowledge in unveiling the truths of secret policing. This is a book that will challenge your perceptions and question established norms but will leave you with an understanding of the controversial topic of "Secret Police."
Punishing Putin
An in-depth, authoritative, and timely look at the unprecedented economic war the US and its European allies are waging against Russia after Putin's invasion of Ukraine--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 across the world, Western leaders weaponized economic tools to counter an unprecedented land grab by a nuclear-armed power. What followed was an undeniably world-changing financial experiment that risked throwing the world 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, Russian expert and 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. From seizing superyachts to manipulating the global price of oil to trying to block the sale of military technology to Russia, we learn how the White House coordinated with top officials in London and Brussels to freeze a staggering $300 billion in foreign currency reserves accumulated in the West by Russia's central bank. Mobilizing an army of white collar-crime investigators and experts on international law, Baker explores how the West has cracked 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 already radically rearranging global alliances that will influence the world order today, and for generations to come.
Ten Worlds of Welfare Capitalism
This book presents a new step farther into the twenty-first century, for the first time truly combining a comprehensive global data analysis with social policy theory development. The theory of global ideal-typical welfare regimes, also known as the "Ten Worlds of Welfare Regime Theory", as set forth earlier by Christian Aspalter, is now in this book tested empirically using a quantitative global data analysis for the first time. The strong and rich results fully vindicated the Ten Worlds Theory. All in all, about 150 countries are included in this test, measuring numerous variables on two main dimensions, i.e., povertization and inequality. The innovative approach of using a new indicator, Aspalter's Standardized Relative Performance Index, is applied, which facilitated the exact measurements of distances between relative performances of each variable, each dimension, each country, and each ideal-typical welfare regime (in relation to one another, respectively). In addition, one explanative and one normative meta-study is added to the book, to point to ways to understand and deal with the global culprit of inequality and, hence, poverty."On the backdrop of decades of comparative theoretical and empirical research we now, for the first time, have a truly global analysis of welfare regimes." ---- Peter Abrahamson, Department of Sociology, University of Copenhagen
Universal Basic Income
An accessible introduction to the simple (yet radical) premise that a small cash income, sufficient for basic needs, ought to be provided regularly and unconditionally to every citizen. The growing movement for universal basic income (UBI) has been gaining attention from politics and the media with the audacious idea of a regular, unconditional cash grant for everyone as a right of citizenship. This volume in the Essential Knowledge series presents the first short, solid UBI introduction that is neither academic nor polemic. It takes a position in favor of UBI, but its primary goal remains the provision of essential knowledge by answering the fundamental questions about it: What is UBI? How does it work? What are the arguments for and against it? What is the evidence? Karl Widerquist discusses how UBI functions, showing how it differs from other redistributional approaches. He summarizes the common arguments for and against UBI and presents the reasons for believing it is a tremendously important reform. The book briefly discusses the likely cost of UBI; options for paying for it; the existing evidence on the probable effects of UBI; and the history of UBI from its inception more than two hundred years ago through the two waves of support it received in the twentieth century to the third and largest wave of support it is experiencing now. Now more than ever, conditions in much of the world are ripe for such enthusiasm to keep growing, and there are good reasons to believe that this current wave of support will eventually lead to the adoption of UBI in several countries around the world--making this volume an especially timely and necessary read.
Terrorism in Contemporary France
This book examines radical Jihad terrorism in contemporary France and sheds light on the vicious circle of violence, based on reciprocity. Building upon the theoretical heritage of Pierre Bourdieu, the book develops a methodology and a concept of the vicious circle of violence in France, based on three pillars: actors, dynamics, and effects. Discussing the development of global terrorism between the 9/11 attacks and the launch of the European front against global terror in Spain and Great Britain, the book goes on to analyze why France has not been attacked during the 2000s and why it, in turn, became a primary target of terrorist attacks during the 2010s, with a special emphasis on communication theory and the concept of reciprocity. Studying these attacks on the international level, the book offers insights into violent acts of revenge of the radical home-grown jihadists for the French military interventions in four Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries, especially Libya and Syria. It further investigates the following growing radicalization of the Muslim community on the national level as a reason for terrorist attacks. Finally, the book sheds light on the reactions from within the French military to these developments, before closing with a presentation of the new political context after the 2022 presidential and legislative elections. Based on empirical evidence and a theoretical background this book will appeal to students and scholars of political science and international relations, as well as policy-makers and practitioners interested in a better understanding of terrorism, French politics, and communication theory.
The Political Economy of Climate Finance Effectiveness in Developing Countries
There is ample evidence that engaging developing countries on climate change mitigation would have significant, positive impacts on global climate efforts. There is much debate, however, on the most effective strategy for unlocking these low-cost mitigation opportunities. While the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) emerged as the main climate finance instrument for engaging developing countries under the Kyoto Protocol, the carbon market approach it embodied would largely be replaced by a new array of climate finance instruments based on climate funds. In The Political Economy of Climate Finance Effectiveness in Developing Countries, Mark Purdon shows that the effectiveness of climate finance instruments to reduce emissions under either strategy has depended on the interaction between prevailing ideas about how to develop a nation's economy, as well as state interests in various economic sectors. Based on multiple field visits over a decade in three countries, the author demonstrates that climate finance instruments have been more effectively implemented when the state treats them as vehicles for addressing priority development issues. Climate finance instruments were more consistently and effectively implemented in Uganda and Moldova than Tanzania, despite differences in state capacity between countries. This pattern held for the CDM, as well as subsequent instruments largely based on climate funds, such as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) and other national mitigation actions. Contributing to broader debates on international climate cooperation, Purdon's findings inform international efforts to support national climate plans and catalyze low-carbon development by emphasizing the importance of domestic politics and the state.
In Bad Faith
The religious right is gaining ground, and free expression cannot survive in its shadow. A loose coalition of theologically and politically conservative faith groups successfully pushed for the overturning of Roe vs Wade in the USA last year; in January, Pakistan extended its already harsh blasphemy laws; this August, Denmark proposed a law to make improper treatment of the Koran or the Bible a criminal offence punishable by up to two years in jail; a fast-growing group of religious conservatives allied with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently trying to neuter the country's Supreme Court. While the religions are different, they all bear a strong family resemblance. Embattlement is at the core, with followers engaged in a conflict with enemies whose values seem inimical to theirs. Identities are built around a reclamation of certain doctrines and practices of the past. These meld with the best tools of modernity and appeal to modern ideals of religious freedom. Here, though, religious freedom is enlisted to support an antidemocratic project. Free expression is lost.The Index on Censorship believes in independent reporting around the world. They have contributing editors and correspondents filing from Mexico, China, South Korea, the USA, Italy, Yemen, Iraq and Turkey.
At a Turning Point
Australia is at a much-needed turning point in work, care and family policy. Australian women, families and communities are struggling to manage the complex demands of work and care.Rapid social and demographic change, alongside new workplace, labour market trends and the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, requires a policy revamp that will allow all Australians to work, care and be cared for.In seven chapters authored by leading scholars in the field, At a Turning Point: Work, care and family policies in Australia provides a comprehensive account of key policy areas that shape the experience of work and care across the life course. These include reproductive wellbeing, paid parental leave, early childhood education and care, flexible work, elder and disability care, and equitable systems of tax and transfer payments.At a Turning Point argues that a new social contract that puts gender equality, economic security and the well-being of carers and those they care for at the centre of policy design is essential to national productivity and prosperity.It is the foundation of a good society."Here are the voices of Australia's best experts on our work and care system. Their evidence-based research tells us how to improve the lives of working carers in practical ways that narrow socio-economic and gender inequality, and increase the wellbeing of those who rely on us for care. May their ideas be heard and - more importantly - may they be acted upon for the good of our communities, workplaces and our economy. We have never needed them more.""Contemporary work and family issues addressed in contemporary language.""From the leading Australian scholars in the field, this book serves as a well-informed call-to-action for achieving a new social contract that addresses the close connections across work, family and caregiving responsibilities. It is a must-read for policymakers in Australia, and indeed, around the world.""At a Turning Point is the ideal policy book: documenting current arrangements, distilling the debates shaping public discussion and directing our thoughts to avenues for change that will make Australia a better place for all.""It is time, the editors of At a Turning Point write, to remake our society, workplaces and care infrastructure. This important book provides invaluable guidance for this urgent task, offering deep insights into the whys and hows of new policy directions needed in Australia."
It's Ok to Be Angry about Capitalism
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - A progressive takedown of the uber-capitalist status quo that has enriched millionaires and billionaires at the expense of the working class, and a blueprint for what transformational change would actually look like--with a new afterword "A clarion call against the American oligarchs . . . powerful."--The Guardian It's OK to be angry about capitalism. Reflecting on our turbulent times, Senator Bernie Sanders takes on the billionaire class and speaks blunt truths about our country's failure to address the destructive nature of a system that is fueled by uncontrolled greed and rigidly committed to prioritizing corporate profits over the needs of ordinary Americans. Sanders argues that unfettered capitalism is to blame for an unprecedented level of income and wealth inequality, is undermining our democracy, and is destroying our planet. How can we accept an economic order that allows three billionaires to control more wealth than the bottom half of our society? How can we accept a political system that allows the super rich to buy politicians and swing elections? How can we accept an energy system that rewards the fossil fuel corporations causing the climate crisis? Sanders believes that, in the face of these overwhelming challenges, the American people must ask tough questions about the systems that have failed us and demand fundamental economic and political change. This is where the path forward begins. It's OK to Be Angry About Capitalism presents a vision that extends beyond the promises of past campaigns to reveal what would be possible if the political revolution took place, if we would finally recognize that economic rights are human rights, and if we would work to create a society that provides a decent standard of living for all. This isn't some utopian fantasy; this is democracy as we should know it.
Challenges to Indian Fiscal Federalism
The principle of fiscal federalism enshrined in India's Constitution is under severe strain today. This book is a key addition to understanding the challenges involved. The authors capture the implications of the abolition of the Planning Commission, the introduction of the controversial Goods and Services Tax regime, and formulation of Terms of Reference of the 15th Finance Commission. These include the increase in vertical fiscal inequity, distortion of fairness in inter-State distribution, and erosion of policy autonomy at the level of the States. Kerala has seen a unique effort to advance the devolution process from the State level to the panchayats and municipalities. Besides taking the path-breaking decision to devolve 40 per cent of State plan funds to local government institutions, the Kerala experiment involved a mass campaign to build capacity of local government. Kerala's Finance Minister Thomas Isaac and his co-authors argue that protecting and enhancing devolution is essential for strengthening popular participation in development decision-making. This book is being published at a time when some of the State finance ministers have been leading a campaign on the need for revisiting certain Terms of Reference of the 15th Finance Commission. This involvement in a movement to reverse the tendency to erode both the fiscal and policy autonomy of the State gives the book an edge and urgency that will place it at the centre of the debate on the attack on Indian federalism.
Spies at Work
A history of The Economic League in the UK from 1917 to its collapse in 1993. In this revision of the original text, published in 1994, the continuing activity of some elements of the League's organisation is tracked into the twenty first century.
A War of a Different Kind
The radically new homeland security, military, and legal strategies developed by the United States in the months following the terrorists attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon are given comprehensive treatment in this book by a former senior Pentagon official, combat veteran, and criminal prosecutor. Stephen M. Duncan draws on a lifetime of military and legal experience to examine the many questions relating to the role of the armed forces in homeland security, including elements of constitutional and criminal law, foreign policy, tradition and custom, federal-state and inter-agency relations, and politics, as well as military strategy and operations. Among the diverse subjects the author discusses are military tribunals and the International Criminal Court, the statute governing the use of military personnel in law enforcement, defense transformation, the constitutional power of the president, and the reorganization of the government to meet the terrorist threat. Duncan also discusses the strategy and tactics used in Afghanistan and Iraq and critically evaluates the nation's political leadership before and after the 9/11 attacks. His book gives readers access to a wealth of information essential to an understanding of the full picture and at the same time puts them in the midst of policy debates to grasp the immediacy of the situation. This important and absorbing historical narrative will attract general readers as well as those with experience in national security issues, politics, and the law.
Angry Africa
"Angry Africa: A Study on Post-Colonialism and How France-Afrique Policy Led to Anti-French Coups" presents a comprehensive analysis of the complex relationship between France and its former African colonies. Authoritative and meticulously researched, this book delves into the historical, political, and economic factors that have shaped the post-colonial landscape in Africa.With a keen focus on the neocolonial France-Afrique policy, the author painstakingly examines how France's interference in African affairs has perpetuated instability, corruption, and anti-French sentiments across the continent. Drawing on extensive primary sources and scholarly literature, this study offers valuable insights into power dynamics, exploitation, and resistance in the post-colonial era.A compelling and thought-provoking work, Angry Africa illuminates colonialism's enduring legacy and underscores the urgency of reevaluating international relations between Africa and its former colonizers.
Towards a New Paradigm on Post-Truth
This book reconceptualises the idea of 'post-truth'. It does not limit the domain of post-truth to the production factories of fake news.
Migration, Culture and Identity
This book is about homemaking in situations of migration and displacement. It explores how homes are made, remade, lost, revived, expanded and contracted through experiences of migration, to ask what it means to make a home away from home. We draw together a wide range of perspectives from across multiple disciplines and contexts, which explore how old homes, lost homes, and new homes connect and disconnect through processes of homemaking. The volume asks: how do spaces of resettlement or rehoming reflect both the continuation of old homes and distinct new experiences?Based on collaborations with migrants, refugees, practitioners and artists, this book centres the lived experiences, testimonies, and negotiations of those who are displaced. The volume generates appreciation of the tensions that emerge in contexts of migration and displacement, as well as of the ways in which racial categories and colonial legacies continue to shape fields of lived experience.
Towers of Ivory and Steel
How Israeli universities collaborate in Israeli state violence against Palestinians Israeli universities have long enjoyed a reputation as liberal bastions of freedom and democracy. Drawing on extensive research and making Hebrew sources accessible to the international community, Maya Wind shatters this myth and documents how Israeli universities are directly complicit in the violation of Palestinian rights. As this book shows, Israeli universities serve as pillars of Israel's system of oppression against Palestinians. Academic disciplines, degree programs, campus infrastructure, and research laboratories all service Israeli occupation and apartheid, while universities violate the rights of Palestinians to education, stifle critical scholarship, and violently repress student dissent. Towers of Ivory and Steel is a powerful expose of Israeli academia's ongoing and active complicity in Israel's settler-colonial project.
Overload, Creep, Excess
This book locates India's flourishing internet within a complex 24-year history that has seen an unprecedented re-organization of social and political life. Three essays provide independent perspectives on a common area of inquiry, an era that witnessed a fundamental mutation of the State, its mechanisms of planning and governance, the public domain and the everyday, all mediated by digital technology, all impacting its internet. Bringing the essays together is a common timeline, which begins in the late 1970s, includes such landmarks as the Information Technology Act, the much-discussed Aadhaar biometric identification programme, the chequered career of social media, and the widespread use of internet shutdowns.
Forest Politics in Kenya's Tugen Hills
Forests are a changing environment, impacted as much by people and politics as by the species-rich diversity they contain. This book explores human-sylvan relations in the Katimok forest, Baringo highlands, Kenya, and asks us to rethink the forest beyond questions of access and control of natural resources, as a habitat where forest politics and human lives are inextricably intertwined. Tracing the development of the Katimok forest from colonial times to the present day, the author shows how - as with many forests in Africa - it has become constructed as a category and territory of nature under state control: an area both to be protected and turned into exploitable resources. For those living within and on the boundaries of the forest, this social-ecological transformation has had a significant impact. Despite now being settled outside Katimok itself, dispossessed by administrators heedless of local management practices, many former residents continue to maintain a close connection with the forest, not only to sustain their livelihoods, but also to maintain their intimate links with ancestral lands, where their stories and memories are materially inscribed and powerfully invoked. Intimate connections to the forest are revealed to be as political as the use of its resources, culminating in local claims for redress of historical dispossessions.
Social Protection in Latin America
​This book offers a comprehensive analysis of social protection in Latin America, its origins, institutions, and outcomes. The chapters are organised in three groups. The earlier chapters discuss in turn appropriate methods, an analytical framework, and core institutions. The book advocates a causal inference approach to the study of the institutions that have dominated social protection in the region: occupational insurance, individual retirement savings, and social assistance. The middle chapters study social protection's main stratification effects, focussing on stratification effects on employment, protection, and worker incorporation. The later chapters then assess social protection outcomes and identify country groupings including their evolution over time. The book, and its approach and findings, contributes to the advancement of a theory of social protection amongst late industrialisers.This is an open access book.
Policy Analysis
This text for students of politics and public policy, and for learning on the job by new policy analysts, provides a practical introduction grounded in the author's experience of working in public policy. In four concise chapters, Part I steps through doing policy analysis in practice: from clear commissioning and project planning, to doing analysis through collective thinking, to telling a compelling policy story, to peer review and quality assurance. The six chapters in Part II are a resource for reflective practice, introducing theory to address questions policy analysts confront in the course of their work. What is the purpose of politics and public policy? How do I know I am making a difference? How do I tackle working with stakeholders with different, competing, or conflicting interests? How might I navigate conflicting claims relating to identity and culture? And how can I balance responsiveness to current demands with responsibility to future generations? Every chapter closes with suggestions for group exercises and questions for individual reflection.
Nigerian Public Discourse
From beginning to the end, Nigerian Public Discourse is a poignant insider's dissection of Nigeria's hydra-headed socio-political situation. Through courageous and radical intellectual analyses, the author questions the collective dissemination of myth garnished as facts in the discourse of national enterprise, a misadventure that has negatively impacted national development. Thus, the author aims at reframing national discourses away from misconceived narratives and nebulous data brandishing in order to engender national growth and development.Issues bordering on national growth-rule of law, democracy, infrastructure, economy, constitution, judiciary, security, citizenship, civic responsibilities, labour, corruption (in all forms), and education-are raised, with the author providing a prism on how to navigate these terrains as he advances cultural realities as a way out of the woods. The author advocates appreciating the country and her institutions while not foreclosing the possibilities for improvements.Quite illuminating on nation-building, this insightful book deconstructs the intricacies of governance vis-a-vis its challenges. The author opens the readers' minds to the ignorance and misconceptions in which our concerns are rooted, and guides our outlooks as we are confronted with choices on which way to go in search of better lives and alternatives for our country.The book, presented from the viewpoints of an author who many describe as politician, lawyer, engineer, counsellor and teacher par excellence that is passionate about the Nigerian project, provides a cautionary message on how we can collectively build a country that we can be proud of. It is a call to the citizens and the government to value national co-existence and collective sharing.As a pragmatic approach to governance, every Nigerian will benefit from reading this book, and its epistemologies will be a great gain for the nation.
The Politics of Children's Rights and Representation
This open access edited volume investigates children and youth's deep entanglement in today's major global, national, and local transformations and processes: wherein they are not mere spectators and objects of transformations but instead actively shape them through various social, economic, and political representations. International contributions illuminate the problems that arise when children's rights and participation become a site of contestation and power over who represents whom, what, when, and where. The authors do not provide simple solutions, instead offering an understanding of the fundamental nature of these problems as founded in the application of rights and the nature of representation in modern society. Together, the authors emphasize that child representation must take into account the local and spatial context of how representations of children are discussed, as well as possible discrepancies between local, regional, national, and global processes.
Environmental Justice for Climate Refugees
This book explores who climate refugees are and how environmental justice might be used to overcome legal obstacles preventing them from being recognized at an international level.
Routledge Handbook of Environmental Security
The Routledge Handbook on Environmental Security provides a comprehensive, accessible and sophisticated overview of the field of environmental security.
Social Work, Social Welfare, Unemployment and Vulnerability Among Youth
Social Work, Social Welfare, Unemployment and Vulnerability Among Youth critically analyses contemporary welfare state interventions on unemployment and poverty among youth in a context of societal transformation. It also considers how we can develop future knowledge and methods in evolving welfare institutions. Young people constitute a group that is particularly exposed to high unemployment, identity and future uncertainties, economic difficulties, and educational and housing challenges. Experiences from social work and research have shown that young people often face multiple issues, which are often interlinked. In social work this is a challenge owing to little knowledge on the most pressing needs of different groups - seen from the perspective of young people themselves. The authors focus on the tension points in practice and examine policy developments around young people and welfare dynamics based on discussions and research in the Nordic countries and beyond. In doing so, this book connects research-based knowledge with the challenges social workers meet in their everyday practices. It will be of interest to all scholars, students, and professionals working within the following fields: social work, social policy, child and youth studies, and sociology.
Racism in Danish Welfare Work with Refugees
This book explores contemporary Danish relations of colonial complicity in welfare work with newly arrived refugees 1978-2016 as recursive histories that reveal new shapes and shades of racism.
