Unsustainable
A behind-the-scenes look at how corporate and financial actors enforce a business-friendly approach to global sustainability In recent years, companies have felt the pressure to be transparent about their environmental impact. Large documents containing summaries of yearly emissions rates, carbon output, and utilized resources are shared on companies' social media pages, websites, and employee briefings in a bid for public confidence in corporate responsibility. And yet, Matthew Archer argues, these metrics are often just hollow symbols. Unsustainable contends with the world of big banks and multinational corporations, where sustainability begins and ends with measuring and reporting. Drawing on five years of research among sustainability professionals in the US and Europe, Unsustainable shows how this depoliticizing tendency to frame sustainability as a technical issue enhances and obscures corporate power while doing little, if anything, to address the root causes of the climate crisis and issues of social inequality. Through this obsession with metrics and indicators, the adage that you can't manage what you can't measure transforms into a belief that once you've measured social and environmental impacts, the market will simply manage them for you. The book draws on diverse sources of evidence--ethnographic fieldwork among a wide array of sustainability professionals, interviews with private bankers, and apocalyptic science fiction--and features analyses of name-brand companies including Volkswagen, Unilever, and Nestl矇. Making the case for the limits of measuring and reporting, Archer seeks to mobilize alternative approaches. Through an intersectional lens incorporating Black and Indigenous theories of knowledge, power and value, he offers a vision of sustainability that aims to be more effective and more socially and ecologically just.
Sustaining Administrative Reform in China Through Path Dependence and Creation
This book looks into the processes sustaining the administrative reform in Chinese local government and the roles of different actors during different phases by tracing a vivid administrative reform process in Shunde district, Guangdong province between 2009 and 2014. In 2008, Chinese central government initiated a new round of large-scale, top-to-bottom administrative reform--"mega-ministry" administrative reform--to address the long-lasting administrative problems. Against this background, the reforms in Shunde government (county level) operated well and sustained for several years, which was enlarged to the administrative licensing field and hence influenced China's reforms in the following 10 years. Shunde case could allow us a better peep at the factors that contribute to the sustenance of reform. The analyses in this book find that sustenance of reform reflects, ironically, the logics of both path dependence and path creation. The past reform trajectories have created a favorable background for further reform to evolve, and a receptive ground in which exogenous forces interacted with the local reform-minded actors to create the new reform innovations. The combination of path dependence and path creation kept local reform afloat.
After the Coup
The coup in Myanmar on 1 February 2021 abruptly reversed a decade-long flirtation with economic and political freedoms. The country has since descended into civil war, the people have been plunged back into conflict and poverty, and the state is again characterised by fragility and human insecurity. As the Myanmar people oppose the regime and fight for their rights, the international community must find ways to act in solidarity. There is an urgent need for new policy settings and for practical engagement with local partners and recipient groups.The contributors to After the Coup offer timely insights into ways international actors can try to reduce the suffering of millions of citizens who are again being held hostage by a brutal and self-serving regime. Chapters analyse topics including coercive statecraft, international justice, Rakhine State (Rohingya) dynamics, pandemic weaponisation, higher education, non-state welfare and aid delivery, activism from exile, self-determination and power sharing in the National Unity Government's alternative constitution, and the roles of China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Innovative Public Participation Practices for Sustainable Urban Regeneration
This book analyzes the adoption of stakeholders' engagement in various fields and scales while providing the readers with an international outlook of the topic. In the contemporary processes of urban development, regeneration is becoming a relevant way to limit the occupation of new land and to enhance the existing spatial, social, and ecological dimensions of specific parts of the city. It generally entails the engagement of different groups of stakeholders and users at various levels--e.g., institutional and private--who carry on their own agendas while conveying a wide range of interests and values to safeguard. At the same time, despite indications of a significant increase in its implementation under various forms and in multiple contexts in the last twenty years, participatory mechanisms have not been without challenges and barriers due to several factors, including facilitators' poor negotiation and communication practices, and consequently misinterpretation of the values at stake made by the parties involved, or obstructionism and gridlocks carried on by the different stakeholders. The narrative of the collection is structured in four sections The contributions elaborate on innovative participatory patterns, how they are/might be entangled with the different stages of regeneration projects, in what measure they have contributed to the United Nations sustainability goals, and the potential matters emerging during the negotiation phases. In detail, the four sections are: 1. Public space regeneration 2. Ecological regeneration 3. Built heritage regeneration 4. Informal settlements regeneration. Finally, this book is a significant asset to urban policy makers, planners, practitioners, and researchers in the architecture and urban studies domain who aim at deepening public participation practices knowledge by comparing different experiences.
Climate Risk Screening System for Mainstreaming Adaptation into Bangladesh's National Development Budgeting
This manual discusses the process of climate risk screening/climate risk and vulnerability assessment (CRVA) mainstreamed into the project formulation and implementation system of Bangladesh.This manual uses a modified CRVA tool based on the climate risk management framework, which was developed to help assess the climate and disaster risks and vulnerability of public sector development projects in Bangladesh, and to ensure that their designs and subsequent development project proformas address significant climate change and disaster risks.
Measuring Global Migration
This book focuses on how to improve the collection, analysis and use of data on global migration.
Party Politics and the Implementation of Gender Quotas
This edited collection explores how party politics impacts the implementation of gender quotas in political representation across Europe. Contributors identify actors, institutions, and cultural legacies shape how quotas are put into practice. The volume's subtitle, Resisting Institutions, points to the myriad ways in which parties and other institutions in Europe over time have resisted the inclusion of women into politics. As voluntary party quotas and legislative quotas gained prominence, so did strategies to undermine them. At the same time, Resisting Institutions also indicates that gender equality actors have developed ways to counter such blockages and advance the cause of parity in their legislatures. 17 country cases explore the current state of quota implementation and the effects of confronting androcentric institutions.
The Cost of Voting in the American States
In the wake of Shelby County v. Holder and the January 6 Capitol insurrection, changes to election laws, policies, and especially access to voting have become a key political battleground. A central point of contention is whether new restrictive voting laws intentionally discriminate against Black and Hispanic subpopulations in the United States. Conversely, do policies that expand voting access favor Democrats and increase the possibility of election fraud?In The Cost of Voting in the American States, Michael J. Pomante II, Scot Schraufnagel, and Quan Li test these questions. The authors look specifically for systematic outcomes produced by distinctive election policies in the American states. First, they establish a competent measure of voting restrictions to begin this unraveling. The authors create a Cost of Voting Index (COVI) for the fifty states, which uses a statistical procedure to extract an underlying dimension and to determine significance from state laws based on how restrictive the polices are. The authors call the underlying dimension extracted the "cost of voting." With this measure in place, they evaluate which states have a higher cost of voting, how this cost impacts who votes, and whether there is a correlation between the cost of voting and minority populations.Using Racial Threat Theory arguments, the authors demonstrate that states with larger or growing Black and Hispanic populations have more restricted voting, and that these restrictive voting laws disproportionately demobilize these populations in predictable ways. States with a higher cost of voting also show lower minority electoral success as well as a larger gap in Black and female representation, and the authors reveal that decreasing the cost of voting does not lead to fraud or favor one party over another. The Cost of Voting in the American States makes a case for a new preclearance formula, and the COVI provides a viable approach for future election law.
The New Production of Expert Knowledge
This Open Access book offers a novel perspective on the role of quantification in the making of education utopias through an analysis of expert knowledge and its producers. Drawing on empirical findings from the European Research Council funded project 'International Organisations and the Rise of a Global Metrological Field' (METRO, 2017-2022), Education, Quantification and Utopia focuses on the ways that metrological realism has constructed a well-supported epistemic infrastructure, built on relationships and practices that go beyond the mere objectivity and reliability of numerical evidence. The book's chapters outline how the production of new forms of education expertise have led to ideational and institutional interdependencies, and ultimately the making of an intricate, fragmented and opaque knowledge and governance web.
A History of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Parties
The Scottish Unionist Party was the dominant party of inter-war Scotland, and while its electoral fortunes declined with the rise of the Labour and Scottish National parties during the 1960s, it remained a significant force in Scotland after its 1965 rebranding as the Scottish Conservative Party. More recently, it experienced a modest electoral revival under the leadership of Ruth Davidson (2011-19). Yet while aspects of the party's history have received attention from historians and political scientists, it remains relatively neglected, with most publications either out of print or out of date. Strikingly, there exists no up-to-date, accessible single-volume history of the party from its origins in the late nineteenth century until present. Furthermore, a lot of Scottish Conservative history is coloured by mythology and political prejudice. This volume, the second in a series of Scottish party histories, plugs this significant gap in the literature.
The Power of Compassion
Social welfare policy plays a crucial role in addressing the needs of individuals and communities in society. It encompasses a broad range of programs, initiatives, and legislation aimed at promoting the well-being and social justice of all citizens. As students entering the field of public policy, it is essential to grasp the fundamental concepts and principles that underpin social welfare policy.This subchapter titled "Understanding Social Welfare Policy" aims to provide students with a comprehensive overview of the multifaceted nature of social welfare policy and its significance in shaping society. By delving into the various aspects of this topic, students will gain a deeper understanding of the complex issues involved and the impact of policy decisions on individuals and communities.The chapter begins by defining social welfare policy and its objectives. It explores the historical context of social welfare policy, tracing its roots back to the Progressive Era and the New Deal in the United States. Understanding the historical development of social welfare policy is crucial to comprehend its evolution and the underlying ideologies that have shaped its current form.Next, the chapter examines the key components and principles of social welfare policy. Students will learn about the different types of social welfare programs, including income support, healthcare, education, and housing. They will also explore the principles of equity, social justice, and human rights that guide the formulation and implementation of social welfare policies.The subchapter further explores the role of various stakeholders in social welfare policy, including government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and advocacy groups. Students will gain insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by these stakeholders in influencing policy decisions and addressing the needs of vulnerable populations effectively.Moreover, the chapter discusses the impact of social welfare policy on different demographic groups, such as children, the elderly, individuals with disabilities, and minority populations. By examining the intersectionality of social welfare policy, students will gain a deeper understanding of how policies can either perpetuate or alleviate social inequalities.To enhance students' understanding, the subchapter includes real-world case studies and examples that illustrate the practical application of social welfare policy. These case studies shed light on the successes and failures of past policies, allowing students to critically analyze their implications and draw valuable lessons for future policy development.
Forced Out
2024 Outstanding Academic Title, given by Choice Reviews Features the stories of undocumented mothers who reunite with their children in the US years after fleeing violence at home Facing escalating chaos and violence in their home countries, many Central American mothers have found that a desperate flight to the north was their only choice. Many left their children behind in order to spare them the hardships of the journey. If they made it across the border without getting locked up or deported, they entered a country increasingly unwilling to recognize claims of asylum. This book features the stories of women who crossed the border without encountering immigration authorities, in some cases several times, and settled in the greater Washington, DC, area, living in the shadows for years. By centering on the voices of the women themselves, it offers an intimate look at what drove them from home and the challenges they face in reuniting years later with their children. Forced Out traces the women's evolving attitudes toward the violence embedded in institutions and everyday life in their home countries, as well as their continued vulnerability and dependence in the US. It also highlights the challenges they face in parenting children adapting to American society and learning English while living with mothers who had left them years before and become strangers to them. Rather than sensationalizing their trauma or dwelling on their vulnerability, the stories reveal the women's rich, complex inner lives, their resilience in overcoming senseless violence, and their unswerving commitment to bettering their children's lives. Clear, vivid, and impactful, this is a humbling and humane look at the state of migration to America today.
The New Production of Expert Knowledge
This Open Access book offers a novel perspective on the role of quantification in the making of education utopias through an analysis of expert knowledge and its producers. Drawing on empirical findings from the European Research Council funded project 'International Organisations and the Rise of a Global Metrological Field' (METRO, 2017-2022), Education, Quantification and Utopia focuses on the ways that metrological realism has constructed a well-supported epistemic infrastructure, built on relationships and practices that go beyond the mere objectivity and reliability of numerical evidence. The book's chapters outline how the production of new forms of education expertise have led to ideational and institutional interdependencies, and ultimately the making of an intricate, fragmented and opaque knowledge and governance web.
Entangled Ecologies as Metaphors of State Design
This book takes a unique approach to the ethnographic and analytical explorations of ecologies in the making. The core theme of the work will be the emerging anthropocene contexts that simultaneously bring unprecedented human interactions with the non-human as well as the emergence of hybrid ecologies. There will be dependence on existing literature, own ethnographic work that has already went into this, the closer introspection of immediate geographies as well as the pertinent debates. There has been a reconfiguration of meaning and nature of spaces in the context of social relations produced by neo-liberal globalization. States as they have been are transforming and are influenced by policies made beyond borders. This work is marked out by careful enquiry on ecologies in the making with the backdrop of distinct regional developmentalist trajectories as well as specific ethnography from Kerala, South-West India.
Algorithms and Automation
This volume is a critical examination of the history and impact of automation on society. It provides perspectives on the history of automation and its relationship with power, emphasizing the importance of considering the social context in which automation is developed and used.
Political Technology
'Political technology' is a Russian term for the professional engineering of politics. It has turned Russian politics into theatre and propaganda, and metastasised to take over foreign policy and weaponise history. The war against Ukraine is one outcome. In the West, spin doctors and political consultants do more than influence media or run campaigns: they have also helped build parallel universes of alternative political reality. Hungary has used political technology to dismantle democracy. The BJP in India has used it to consolidate unprecedented power. Different countries learn from each other. Some types of political technology have become notorious, like troll farms or data mining; but there is now a global wholesale industry selling a range of manipulation techniques, from astroturfing to fake parties to propaganda apps. This book shows that 'political technology' is about much more than online disinformation: it is about whole new industries of political engineering.
Only Rape! Human Rights and Gender Equality for Refugee Women
Examines the protection of refugee women and girls from rape and sexual abuse in conflict and post conflict situations Explores the role of academics and civil society in advocacy at the United Nations. Explains the process of civil society working to influence process with United Nations' bodies and how politics influence all aspects of policy formulation and implementation.
Exiting the Global Economic Superhighway
This book tackles global economic and social issues from a perspective that may seem obvious but which no author has yet taken: that we humans are living beings. In today's artificially globalized world, we have increasingly lost sight of our original humanity. Despite the serious environmental, social, and political problems we are facing, we cannot stop focusing on economic growth, efficiency, and liberalization. In doing so, we continue to make the world "slicker" and more unstable. This book identifies these conventional values and ways of thinking as the root cause underlying many of today's challenges, and it offers the perspective of a "bumpier" and more organic human existence that provides a greater sense of traction and stability. The book begins with a discussion of global systems and structures, proposing a "world with two systems" to limit the effects of artificially constructed globalization. The second part examines the modern welfare state, outlining a process to revive democracy and social capital by making social issues the business of everyday citizens. The third and final part focuses on human well-being, emphasizing physicality and the Japanese concept of kata as keys to restoring our humanity. Rather than searching for specific solutions through specialized knowledge, this book makes use of the author's broad perspective acquired through many years of public policy research and reform. It asserts that knowledge should be acquired through hands-on experience and in studies based on real-world situations, involving people at the forefront of society's challenges, whether politicians, businesspeople, scientists, craftspeople, or farmers. In both its analysis of humanity's problems and the solutions it offers, this book takes an entirely new yet utterly natural approach to steering humanity off the global economic superhighway.
The Climatization of Global Politics
This volume examines the process through which climate change is transforming global governance, as both an increasingly central issue on the international stage and an increasingly structured policy domain with its specific modes of governing, networks of actors, discourses, and knowledge practices. Collectively, the contributions aim to assess how and why climate change is becoming a dominant frame in international politics. In doing so, they also contribute to understanding the dynamics and drivers of climatization.As global warming progresses and efforts to mitigate and adapt intensify, living under a changing climate--or in a 'new climate regime' (Latour 2015)--increasingly appears as a central feature of 'our' new, and highly unequal, human condition in the Anthropocene. In other words, we firmly believe that climatization is here to stay. It is thus crucial to better understand this process, recognizing its problems and ambiguities, but also examining its transformative potential and identifying the conditions under which such potentials can be harnessed with a view to building a more effective and equitable climate politics. We think that the chapters in this book contribute to this endeavour.
The Shame of the Cities
The Shame of the Cities, is a classical and a rare book, that has been considered important throughout the human history, and so that this work is never forgotten we at Alpha Editions have made efforts in its preservation by republishing this book in a modern format for present and future generations. This whole book has been reformatted, retyped and redesigned. These books are not made of scanned copies of their original work, and hence their text is clear and readable. This remarkable volume falls within the genres of Political science Local government, Municipal government
Rehabilitation, Deradicalization, and Reintegration of Militants
This ethnographic study focuses on post-conflict rehabilitation in Pakistan's Swat valley, addressing deradicalization, rehabilitation and reintegration in the context of militancy and counter-militancy. It provides a theoretical framework for rehabilitation, emphasizing disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) and introduces the concepts of controlled environment, controlled society, and controlled rehabilitation within Swat's unique context. The book categorizes the drivers of militancy, revealing distinctions from conventional perspectives. It also assesses the challenges of reintegrating ex-combatants and explores the compatibility of restorative justice (RJ) with Pashtunwali, the traditional Pashtun legal system. The book is useful for researchers focusing Pashtun region, post-conflict interventionists, and peace and conflict scholars, this book offers valuable insights into the intricacies of this critical region's rehabilitation and counter-militancy efforts.
Social Work and Social Policy Transformations in Central and Southeast Europe
This book provides a picture of recent developments in social policy and social work in Central and Southeast Europe, especially trends after the COVID-19 pandemic, which necessitated significant welfare modifications. Through a comparative method, the book draws analytical conclusions about the interdependence between welfare state reforms and social work practices in Central and Southeast Europe and provides an overview of future perspectives regarding social policy and social service provision in this region. The book covers four EU member states (Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Croatia) and three EU candidate countries (North Macedonia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina). By critically contextualising existing welfare state categorisations, the book aims to examine the link between the welfare state reforms and implications for social work in Central and Southeast Europe. The country-based chapters of this contributed volume: outline the context in which social policy and social work have developed and map the main changes in the welfare state since the transition from socialism; elaborate the country-specific welfare state discourse and discussions, which through literature review depict the conceptual debates about the welfare state, social justice, equality, poverty, entitlements for cash transfer and services, privatization, and accessibility; indicate the key challenges in social policy and social work; and provide indications about the future perspectives of social policy and social service provision. Social Work and Social Policy Transformations in Central and Southeast Europe addresses the scarcity of literature on social policy and social work in this region. The book is primarily intended for social policy researchers and scholars, and students in social work, social policy, political science, and sociology. It is an invaluable resource for researchers from all fields of social sciences and should provoke wider academic and professional interest."The common themes of transformation, restructuring and crises, synthesized in excellent Introductory and Concluding chapters, make the book an essential source for an understanding of contemporary policies and practices, the complex role played by historical legacies, and offer a model of what a comparative policy approach should look like".--Paul Stubbs, Senior Research Fellow, The Institute of Economics, Zagreb, Croatia
The Sentimental State
With The Sentimental State, Elizabeth Garner Masarik shows how middle-class women, both white and Black, harnessed the nineteenth-century "culture of sentiment" to generate political action in the Progressive Era. While eighteenth-century rationalism had relied upon the development of the analytic mind as the basis for acquiring truth, nineteenth-century sentimentalism hinged upon human emotional responses and the public's capacity to feel sympathy to establish morally based truth and build support for improving the welfare of women and children. Sentimentalism marched right alongside women's steps into the public sphere of political action. The concerns over infant mortality and the "fall" of young women intertwined with sentimentalism to elicit public action in the formation of the American welfare state. The work of voluntary and paid female reformers during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries shaped what would become lasting collaborations between grassroots voluntary organizations and the national government. Women saw a social need, filled it, and cobbled together a network of voluntary organizations that tapped state funding and support when available. Their work provided safeguards for women and children and created a network of female-oriented programs that both aided and policed women of child-bearing age at the turn of the twentieth century. Through an examination of these reform programs, Masarik demonstrates the strong connection between nineteenth-century sentimental culture and female political action, advocating government support for infant and maternal welfare, in the twentieth century.
The Sentimental State
With The Sentimental State, Elizabeth Garner Masarik shows how middle-class women, both white and Black, harnessed the nineteenth-century "culture of sentiment" to generate political action in the Progressive Era. While eighteenth-century rationalism had relied upon the development of the analytic mind as the basis for acquiring truth, nineteenth-century sentimentalism hinged upon human emotional responses and the public's capacity to feel sympathy to establish morally based truth and build support for improving the welfare of women and children. Sentimentalism marched right alongside women's steps into the public sphere of political action. The concerns over infant mortality and the "fall" of young women intertwined with sentimentalism to elicit public action in the formation of the American welfare state. The work of voluntary and paid female reformers during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries shaped what would become lasting collaborations between grassroots voluntary organizations and the national government. Women saw a social need, filled it, and cobbled together a network of voluntary organizations that tapped state funding and support when available. Their work provided safeguards for women and children and created a network of female-oriented programs that both aided and policed women of child-bearing age at the turn of the twentieth century. Through an examination of these reform programs, Masarik demonstrates the strong connection between nineteenth-century sentimental culture and female political action, advocating government support for infant and maternal welfare, in the twentieth century.
America in Turmoil
A wonderfully readable collection of trenchant essays addressing our society's challenges and offering non-partisan solutions." -William F. Weld, Governor of Massachusetts 1991-1997 (R), and author of Mackerel by Moonlight, Big Ugly, and Stillwater"Refreshingly sensible and original, John Briggs focuses on fixing problems, not fixing blame" -Bill Richardson (D), Governor of New Mexico 2003 - 2011"Required reading for policymakers on both sides of the political divide." -Mark Halperin, American journalist, and publisher of Wide World of News"A dispatch from a more civilized discourse ... Briggs' intellectual integrity, reliance on data, and refusal to rely on received wisdom sets his columns apart, and his insightful, engaging prose clarifies complex ideas without simplifying them" -BookLife by Publishers Weekly"[Briggs] takes readers on engaging digressions into various topics, from streaming programs and movies to book reviews, economics, and national service, all with the aim of providing valuable insights to help readers think critically about the country's most pressing issues." -Readers' Favorite"America in Turmoil represents a valuable addition to the popular discourse on recent American history, politics and economics." -Seattle Book Review"A nuanced treatment of key issues affecting America, written from the perspective of a conservative (in the original meaning of that label), John DeQ. Briggs' America in Turmoil stakes out cogent and strong views on important topics." -IndieReaderAmerica in Turmoil presents a thought-provoking collection of essays by John DeQ. Briggs, a Washington lawyer and a founding editor of The Chesapeake Observer. This diverse compilation of essays, originally published as individual columns, delves into pivotal events spanning late 2019 through the tumultuous years of 2020-22. From the murder of George Floyd and the transformation of the BLM movement to the aftermath of the 2022 elections, Briggs offers a pragmatic examination of events with a focus on practical solutions rather than partisanship. His fair assessment of issues, along with readable digressions into economics, streaming programs, and more, offers a balanced view despite his New England Republican perspective. Addressing topics like inflation, immigration, cancel culture, and Afghanistan, America in Turmoil challenges readers on all sides of the political spectrum to think critically about the nation's most pressing issues. Briggs' perspective fosters a much-needed dialogue, encouraging lawmakers and citizens alike to focus on solutions rather than assigning blame. With a fair and practical lens, this collection guides readers toward understanding and addressing the complex challenges facing the United States.
Let Us Rise
In 2023, the world witnessed the rise of numerous global labour uprisings. Whether it was the unionisation wave of Starbucks workers in America, or the postal workers in England, the working class-after being treated incredibly poorly during the COVID-19 pandemic-has begun to stand up in record numbers against the exploitive practices of bosses and capitalists. The Irish working class was no exception.In this new series of Iskra chapbooks, we present writings old and new with a focus on the dynamic labor conditions of Ireland. In our inaugural volume, we showcase writings from Iceland Foods grocery workers, who have recently organised themselves, taken strike action, and occupied stores for unpaid wages. In addition to this essay from Iceland workers in the Independent Workers' Union, we have also included two relevant pieces written by the Irish trade union leader (among his many other titles), James Connolly.Even though it has been over 100 years since Connolly wrote about labor conditions in Dublin, there remains a timelessness to his work in the sense that not much, in fact, has changed. Workers continue to endure cost-of-living crises, housing crises, and labour crises.Without the replacement of capitalism by socialism, without the widescale organisation of laborers and trade unionists, these crises will continue to repeat themselves ad nauseam to the detriment of all working class peoples.It is our hope that Let Us Rise will elevate the voices and struggles of those presently engaged in labor actions across Ireland, demonstrating the link and the necessary connection between struggles old and new.
America in Turmoil
A wonderfully readable collection of trenchant essays addressing our society's challenges and offering non-partisan solutions." -William F. Weld, Governor of Massachusetts 1991-1997 (R), and author of Mackerel by Moonlight, Big Ugly, and Stillwater"Refreshingly sensible and original, John Briggs focuses on fixing problems, not fixing blame" -Bill Richardson (D), Governor of New Mexico 2003 - 2011"Required reading for policymakers on both sides of the political divide." -Mark Halperin, American journalist, and publisher of Wide World of News"A dispatch from a more civilized discourse ... Briggs' intellectual integrity, reliance on data, and refusal to rely on received wisdom sets his columns apart, and his insightful, engaging prose clarifies complex ideas without simplifying them" -BookLife by Publishers Weekly"[Briggs] takes readers on engaging digressions into various topics, from streaming programs and movies to book reviews, economics, and national service, all with the aim of providing valuable insights to help readers think critically about the country's most pressing issues." -Readers' Favorite"America in Turmoil represents a valuable addition to the popular discourse on recent American history, politics and economics." -Seattle Book Review"A nuanced treatment of key issues affecting America, written from the perspective of a conservative (in the original meaning of that label), John DeQ. Briggs' America in Turmoil stakes out cogent and strong views on important topics." -IndieReaderAmerica in Turmoil presents a thought-provoking collection of essays by John DeQ. Briggs, a Washington lawyer and a founding editor of The Chesapeake Observer. This diverse compilation of essays, originally published as individual columns, delves into pivotal events spanning late 2019 through the tumultuous years of 2020-22. From the murder of George Floyd and the transformation of the BLM movement to the aftermath of the 2022 elections, Briggs offers a pragmatic examination of events with a focus on practical solutions rather than partisanship. His fair assessment of issues, along with readable digressions into economics, streaming programs, and more, offers a balanced view despite his New England Republican perspective. Addressing topics like inflation, immigration, cancel culture, and Afghanistan, America in Turmoil challenges readers on all sides of the political spectrum to think critically about the nation's most pressing issues. Briggs' perspective fosters a much-needed dialogue, encouraging lawmakers and citizens alike to focus on solutions rather than assigning blame. With a fair and practical lens, this collection guides readers toward understanding and addressing the complex challenges facing the United States.
Big Money Unleashed
The story of how the First Amendment became an obstacle to campaign finance regulation--a history that began much earlier than most imagine. Americans across party lines believe that public policy is rigged in favor of those who wield big money in elections. Yet, legislators are restricted in addressing these concerns by a series of Supreme Court decisions finding that campaign finance regulations violate the First Amendment. Big Money Unleashed argues that our current impasse is the result of a long-term process involving many players. Naturally, the justices played critical roles--but so did the attorneys who hatched the theories necessary to support the legal doctrine, the legal advocacy groups that advanced those arguments, the wealthy patrons who financed these efforts, and the networks through which they coordinated strategy and held the Court accountable. Drawing from interviews, public records, and archival materials, Big Money Unleashed chronicles how these players borrowed a litigation strategy pioneered by the NAACP to dismantle racial segregation and used it to advance a very different type of cause.
Big Money Unleashed
The story of how the First Amendment became an obstacle to campaign finance regulation--a history that began much earlier than most imagine. Americans across party lines believe that public policy is rigged in favor of those who wield big money in elections. Yet, legislators are restricted in addressing these concerns by a series of Supreme Court decisions finding that campaign finance regulations violate the First Amendment. Big Money Unleashed argues that our current impasse is the result of a long-term process involving many players. Naturally, the justices played critical roles--but so did the attorneys who hatched the theories necessary to support the legal doctrine, the legal advocacy groups that advanced those arguments, the wealthy patrons who financed these efforts, and the networks through which they coordinated strategy and held the Court accountable. Drawing from interviews, public records, and archival materials, Big Money Unleashed chronicles how these players borrowed a litigation strategy pioneered by the NAACP to dismantle racial segregation and used it to advance a very different type of cause.
Alternative Energy
The renewable and alternative energy markets and energy policy have evolved rapidly in recent years. This fully revised and expanded third edition continues to emphasize the political, economic and social feasibility of alternative energies and adds chapters on energy storage, reforming the power grid, and AI's role in energy markets.
Alternative Energy
The renewable and alternative energy markets and energy policy have evolved rapidly in recent years. This fully revised and expanded third edition continues to emphasize the political, economic and social feasibility of alternative energies and adds chapters on energy storage, reforming the power grid, and AI's role in energy markets.
The Accountability Deficit
Written by Molly Kingsley, Arabella Skinner and Ben Kingsley, executive members of the campaigning organisation UsForThem, this book forensically exposes how UK Ministers and senior government officials were repeatedly able to make poor quality policy decisions during the pandemic period with only limited scrutiny and too often with catastrophic consequences for the lives of millions. The authors have meticulously evidenced how ethics, good governance, truth, integrity and transparency were grossly compromised during the pandemic period, and how these factors and a deficit of accountability created the conditions for what fast became an economic, social, medical, ethical and child safeguarding disaster. Danny Kruger MP provides a powerfully candid afterword.
All Roads Lead to Serfdom
Liberal democracies are under increasing pressure. Growing discontent about inequality, lack of political participation and identity have rekindled populism and a shift away from liberal values. This book argues that liberalism's reliance on a utilitarian policy framework has resulted in increased concentrations of power, restricting freedom and equality. It examines five key areas of public policy: monetary policy, private property and liability, the structure of the state, product markets and labour markets. Drawing on the German ordoliberal tradition and its founding principle of the dispersal of power, the book proposes an alternative public policy framework. In doing so, it offers a practical pathway to realign policy making with liberal ideas.
The Environment in Global Sustainability Governance
Available Open Access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. With Agenda 2030, the UN adopted wide-ranging Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that integrate development and environmental agendas. This book focuses on the political tensions between the environmental objectives and socio-economic aspects of sustainable development. The collection provides an introduction to interlinkages, synergies and trade-offs between the 'green' and other goals, such as gender equality and economic growth. It also considers related goals on cities and partnerships as crucial for implementing environmentally sound sustainability. Identifying governance failures and responsibilities, it advocates for a shift towards cooperative economics and politics for the common good.
Institutional Change and Adaptive Efficiency
Since the 1990s, neo-institutionalists have posited that 'institutions matter'. However, they overlook one important issue: the ways institutions change also matters. Numerous academic studies have identified 'good' and 'bad' institutions, but little has been written about effective methods of transforming 'bad' institutions so that they enhance economic performance. To fill this gap, this book reframes the approach of neo-institutional economics to analyze institutions' role and evolution, focusing on the interaction between the household registration (hukou) system evolution and economic transformation.The authors apply an endogenous and dynamic perspective. First, the theory of endogenous institutional change illustrates how the drivers of hukou system evolution differ in the pre-reform and reform eras. Second, the theory of adaptive efficiency evaluates the evolution of the system's institutional efficiency. Finally, the authors were able to test the impact of the hukou reform on urban economic growth by examining local experimentation, helping explain the current 'stickiness' of the system.At the heart of hukou reform lies the question of how to deal with the link between hukou and welfare provision. This book will offer policymakers a better understanding of institutional change in dynamic economic contexts, helping them enhance economic performance.
Homelessness
Homelessness is a punishing condition that inflicts unquestionable harm on those who experience it. It is also a social problem that starkly lays bare deep societal failure.As Cameron Parsell shows, society - along with the public policy measures intended to address it - treats being homeless as an identity, casting those who experience homelessness as fundamentally different from "us." To be homeless is to face daily victimization, to be a recipient of someone else's care, and to have autonomy taken away. Parsell argues that we have at our disposal the knowledge and momentum to demonstrably reduce and even end homelessness. Our first task is to confront the fact that homelessness is a relatively predictable phenomenon that disproportionately impacts people who are failed by society in myriad ways. We must respond to the problem in ways that understand and thus do not recreate the dehumanizing conditions experienced by those who are homeless. Homelessness is a choice: of how we organize society.Sketching the defining features of homelessness, this critical introduction will be a valuable resource for students studying homelessness, housing, marginality, and poverty across the social sciences and social work.
Decidim, a Technopolitical Network for Participatory Democracy
This Open Access book explains the philosophy, design principles, and community organization of Decidim and provides essential insights into how the platform works. Decidim is the world leading digital infrastructure for participatory democracy, built entirely and collaboratively as free software, and used by more than 500 institutions with over three million users worldwide. The platform allows any organization (government, association, university, NGO, neighbourhood, or cooperative) to support multitudinous processes of participatory democracy. In a context dominated by corporate-owned digital platforms, in the era of increasing social structuring via Artificial Intelligence, Decidim stands as a public or community owned platform for collective human intelligence. Yet, the project is much more than its technological features. Decidim is in itself a crossroad of the various dimensions of the networked society, a detailed practical map of its complexities and conflicts. Theauthors distinguish three general dimensions of the project: (1) the political - shedding light on the democratic model that Decidim promotes and its impact on public policies and organizations, (2) the technopolitical - explaining how this technology is democratically designed and managed to produce and protect certain political effects, and (3) the technical - presenting the conditions of production, operation, and success of the project. This book systematically covers those three levels in an academically sound, technologically consistent, and politically innovative manner. Serving as a useful resource and handbook for the use of Decidim, it will not only appeal to students and scholars interested in participatory and digital democracy but also to professionals, policy-makers, and a wider audience interested in learning more about the Decidim platform. This is an open access book.
China's Pension System
This book tells the story of how China has managed to build a national pension system that now covers most of its population and what this system holds for its future.
The Future of India's Social Safety Nets
India has learned what to do and what not to do when it comes to implementing policy to address human suffering. The COVID-19 pandemic unified the international response in similar ways, and the world has a lot to learn about key initiatives in India that have been implemented since India's independence. This open-access book includes key learnings about the conceptualization, design, and impact of social welfare programs in India spanning more than a 75-year period.The Future of India's Social Safety Nets provides a comprehensive analysis of these systems by combining insights from a wealth of interdisciplinary scholarship on social protection, economic development, and social policy. It covers India's social development in terms of three essential aspects of policy design: focus (intended beneficiaries), form (transfer modalities), and scope (developmental objectives). Highlighting the developmental achievements and shortcomings of the myriad of social welfare schemes, this book proposes a framework to foster human resilience through social protection.This is an open-access book.
The Future of India's Social Safety Nets
India has learned what to do and what not to do when it comes to implementing policy to address human suffering. The COVID-19 pandemic unified the international response in similar ways, and the world has a lot to learn about key initiatives in India that have been implemented since India's independence. This open-access book includes key learnings about the conceptualization, design, and impact of social welfare programs in India spanning more than a 75-year period.The Future of India's Social Safety Nets provides a comprehensive analysis of these systems by combining insights from a wealth of interdisciplinary scholarship on social protection, economic development, and social policy. It covers India's social development in terms of three essential aspects of policy design: focus (intended beneficiaries), form (transfer modalities), and scope (developmental objectives). Highlighting the developmental achievements and shortcomings of the myriad of social welfare schemes, this book proposes a framework to foster human resilience through social protection.This is an open-access book.
Terrorism and Counterterrorism
Terrorism and Counterterrorism introduces students to the field's main debates and helps them critically address this complex and enduring issue.
A History of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Parties
The Scottish Unionist Party was the dominant party of inter-war Scotland, and while its electoral fortunes declined with the rise of the Labour and Scottish National parties during the 1960s, it remained a significant force in Scotland after its 1965 rebranding as the Scottish Conservative Party. More recently, it experienced a modest electoral revival under the leadership of Ruth Davidson (2011-19). Yet while aspects of the party's history have received attention from historians and political scientists, it remains relatively neglected, with most publications either out of print or out of date. Strikingly, there exists no up-to-date, accessible single-volume history of the party from its origins in the late nineteenth century until present. Furthermore, a lot of Scottish Conservative history is coloured by mythology and political prejudice. This volume, the second in a series of Scottish party histories, plugs this significant gap in the literature.
The New Helots
Originally published in 1987, and now reissued with a substantial new introduction by Robin Cohen, this work argues that a major engine of capital's growth lies in its ability to find successive cohorts of quasi-free workers to deploy in the farms, mines and factories of an expanding international division of labour.
The Latino Century
An insightful investigation of how and why the two major political parties have failed to appeal to the Latino vote--the largest ethnic voting group in the country--and the impact it will have on American democracy and politics for decades to come. In 2020, Latinos became the second largest ethnic voting group in the country. They make up the largest plurality of residents in the most populous states in the union, as well as the fastest segment of the most important swing states in the US Electoral College. Fitting neither the stereotype of the aggrieved minority voter nor the traditional assimilating immigrant group, Latinos are challenging both political parties' notions of race, religious beliefs, economic success, and the American dream. Given their exploding numbers--and their growing ability to determine the fate of local, state, and national elections--you'd think the two major political parties would understand Latino voters. After all, their emergence on the national scene is not a new phenomenon. But they still don't. Republicans, not because of their best efforts but rather despite them, are just beginning to see a movement of Latinos toward the GOP. Democrats, for the moment, still win a commanding share of the Latino vote, but that share is dwindling fast. Now, in The Latino Century, veteran political consultant Mike Madrid uses thirty years of research and campaign experience at some of the highest levels on both sides of the aisle to address what might be the most critical questions of our time: Will the rise of Latino voters continue to foment the hyper-partisan and explosive tribalism of our age or will they usher in a new pluralism that advances the arc of social progress? How and why are both political parties so uniquely unprepared for the coming wave of Latino votes? And what must each party do to win those votes? By answering these questions, The Latino Century explores the true meaning of America at a time of rapid cultural change, the founding principles of self-government and individual responsibility, and one man's journey through a political party that has turned itself inside out.
Agent Link
Agent Link: The Spy Erased from History examines the life of Willaim Wolfe Weisband. It tells the story of his KGB recruitment and working with codebreakers at the top-secret Army Security Agency. The book reveals his motivations for spying, the extent of America's losses, how he was caught, and the consequences of his treachery.
Agent Link
Agent Link: The Spy Erased from History examines the life of Willaim Wolfe Weisband. It tells the story of his KGB recruitment and working with codebreakers at the top-secret Army Security Agency. The book reveals his motivations for spying, the extent of America's losses, how he was caught, and the consequences of his treachery.
Get Out the Vote
What are the most cost-effective ways to increase voter turnout? Whether the ambition is to win elections, promote civic engagement, or bolster the legitimacy of democratic institutions, this question is of enormous significance to those who run and study campaigns. Since the original edition appeared in 2004 Get Out the Vote has become the indispensable guide to understand how to mobilize voters. Combining information from their own extensive field research and the rapidly expanding number of studies conducted by a growing network of scholars and campaign consultants, Donald P. Green and Alan S. Gerber bring scientific rigor to the subject, challenging much of the conventional wisdom about what works and what doesn't in political campaigns. Updated to include the newest research and published in time for the 2024 election cycle, Get Out the Vote will again be the indispensable guide to voter mobilization for campaign managers, consultants, and activists across the political spectrum. In addition, Green and Gerber provide students an accessible introduction to campaign research methodology.
Radical Environmental Resistance
Acknowledging mounting socioeconomic inequality, a climate system in disarray, and a collapse of biodiversity that now threatens the very viability of life on earth for both present and future generations, Radical Environmental Resistance demystifies activists' ecological worldviews, their tactical motivations, and their diagnostic and prognostic framings. Providing a succinct overview of key aspects of contemporary radical environmental movements, Heather Alberro offers a brief yet in-depth look into the poorly understood aims and motivations of radical environmental activists as increasingly salient actors within global environmental politics. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with activists from a range of environmental groups as well as analysis of activist websites and print materials, chapters feature a critical discussion of the ethics and salience of radical tactics and of attempts by state, media and corporate actors to criminalize and delegitimize environmental activism. Will mainstream policy and government approaches to addressing climate and biodiversity crises amount to too little, too late? At what point, if ever, do desperate times legitimize desperate actions? Exploring the role of direct action within times of severe social and ecological upheaval, Radical Environmental Resistance evokes the rich, diverse world that radical environmental activists and indigenous environmental protectors are fighting for.
