This book provides a holistic picture of Chinese global security discourses, with a focus on macrosecuritizations. The work examines how the People's Republic of China (PRC) has aligned itself within global security discourses. This is approached through the theory of securitization, specifically by using the notion of macrosecuritization as the lens for its analysis. The book offers the first full account of Chinese macrosecuritization discourses and alignments, and it aims to discern what security speech with referent objects such as humanity, civilization, or nature has done in the domestic and international politics of China. Specifically, the work focuses on the discourses of the Cold War, anti-nuclear weapons, climate change, and the Global War on Terror, which have all been postulated in the literature as macrosecuritizations. In addition, it examines discourses with global referent objects that have been put forth by the PRC so that we can see whether its proposals for global security governance take the form of, or are legitimated through, macrosecuritization. The overall argument in the book is that the way contemporary China uses macrosecuritization discourses provides for ontological security as its position in relation to other major powers is undergoing transformation, by allowing it to maintain a consistent narrative of its international self that abides by its own set of moral values and sense of worth. This book will be of interest to students of critical security studies, Chinese politics and International Relations.
Separations and divorces have become much more common in the last 50 years. Almost half of the marriages or cohabiting relationships break up over time. To date, knowledge about the situation of divorced people immediately after divorce and over time has been limited in Switzerland. A study funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation therefore examined the consequences of divorce. The project provides a basis for planning measures to improve the situation of divorced people. The study focuses on the problems and risk constellations of people after a divorce. How have the social, economic and institutional conditions of divorce changed? What are the financial and health consequences of divorce? How often are social benefits received? Are there gender-specific differences in the effects? In order to answer these questions, comprehensive analyses were carried out based on administrative and survey data and interviews were conducted with experts from the fields of social security, family law and civil society. Divorces often lead to difficult financial situations. On average, divorced women have 30 percent less disposable income immediately after a divorce than before the divorce. Their consumption options are therefore considerably restricted. After the separation, children usually live with their mothers, who, as single parents, often live in particularly precarious income situations. For men, the loss of income is significantly lower. However, the subjective assessment of men's income situation after separation is just as poor as that of divorced women. After three to five years, divorcees are able to compensate for some of this loss of income. For women with caring responsibilities, however, this takes considerably longer. The income situation of divorced people depends largely on whether they receive or have to pay alimony. Almost half of divorced women receive maintenance payments in the first few years after the divorce, which make a significant contribution to the household income; this is particularly important if children need to be looked after. Divorce law in Switzerland has changed fundamentally since the 1990s. After a divorce, women have to support themselves much more often than earlier. This is because the courts now only award post-marital maintenance payments in exceptional cases and usually only for a limited period of time. The aim is for both former spouses to be able to support themselves again as quickly as possible (""clean break principle""). This means that women who had little or no employment before the divorce must find work quickly in order to maintain their standard of living. However, this is often not easy, especially if they have to look after children or do not have good access to the labor market. Only if their ex-husband has a substantial income, they are protected from poverty and welfare payments through maintenance payments. The change in legal practice also has an impact on the situation of men after a divorce. Men with a low income have to pay less post-marital maintenance than before and are therefore relieved of this burden. However, they can still find themselves in economic hardship if they are unable to pay their debts or are not entitled to social welfare. The social welfare authorities do not take maintenance payments into account as expenses when calculating the minimum subsistence level. This can lead to men who have to pay maintenance having to live below the minimum subsistence level.
The often precarious income situation of divorced people means that they are much more likely to rely on social benefits than other population groups. Divorced women are three times more likely to receive social benefits compared to married women and seven times more likely to receive supplementary benefits at retirement age. One in ten women receive social welfare benefits in the year following their divorce. The study shows that the division of roles in marriage influences the risk of depending on social welfare benefits after a divorce. Women who participated equally in working life during their marriage are better able to protect themselves financially. Women who worked little or not at all during the marriage find it more difficult to secure their livelihood independently. Traditional role models are still widespread among many couples.
Divorced people are exposed to severe psychosocial stress and have poorer health. Compared to married people, they suffer more frequently from chronic illnesses, experience negative emotions such as anxiety and depression more often and feel lonelier and more dissatisfied. At the time of separation, the stress caused by the challenges of the new life situation is particularly pronounced. The health situation is often already impaired before the separation. The increase in negative feelings is more pronounced among fathers during the separation process than among mothers, which can be linked to the poorer relationships with their children. The results of the study point to a clear need for action to prevent or mitigate the negative consequences of divorce. On the one hand, preventative measures are needed. This includes early information about the consequences of role sharing in couple relationships and the associated risks in the event of separation. Agreements on the division of responsibilities and financial circumstances in the event of separation, for example in marriage contracts, can also have a preventative effect and reduce conflicts in separation situations. Measures that make it possible to combine gainful employment and childcare also have a preventative effect. This includes the sufficient expansion of childcare services outside the family, which are also accessible to those on low incomes, as well as working conditions that meet the needs of families.
More psychosocial and financial support services would be important during the separation phase. Mediation services during the separation phase can help to find amicable and fair solutions and reduce conflicts. Measures such as debt rescheduling and further education programs and living grants should also be developed for people of advanced age to help them return to work or expand their employment after separation. In order to avoid poverty after separation, financial support is needed in the event of shortfalls, for example the conversion of alimony advance payments into a benefit with needs-based transitional financing of the shortfall or supplementary benefits for families. This would reduce the relevant inequalities and provide targeted relief for women and men.
European Media Systems for Deliberative Communication explores how four dimensions of national media systems – the legal framework for freedom of expression and information, media accountability, journalism and audience media usage and competencies – contribute to or are detrimental to the success of deliberative communication.
Drawing on a study of 14 European countries and their media systems, the volume provides comparative and individual perspectives to examine the social consequences of various types of media systems. By using fsQCA (fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis), the authors relate deliberative communication to the legal framework for freedom of expression and freedom of information, media accountability, journalism and media usage and media competencies. The book shows how different combinations of conditions and contexts figure as risks or opportunities that are detrimental to, or supportive of, deliberative communication, measured with an original index on a European level.
This book will interest scholars and students in communication studies, political communication, media and society, media sociology, global media studies, European Studies and journalism.
Academia is not immune to gender bias, and in many public affairs programs, inequities persist in faculty academic rank, salary, career length, job security, leadership roles, professional recognition, resource allocation, and role stereotypes. Managing Gender Inequity in Academia is the first book to provide an evidence-based guide for university administrators and faculty interested in building all-important gender equity in public affairs and related programs. Drawing on both secondary and primary data, the book offers a comprehensive perspective on public affairs faculty career paths, the obstacles to advancement in the academy, and how the COVID-19 pandemic further contributed to existing inequities. Each chapter of the book presents evidence-based research derived from interviews, surveys, existing statistics, and documents, offering guidance to public affairs programs, departments, and schools on ways to strengthen the recruitment, retention, and promotion of women in the academy. Ultimately, author Gina Scutelnicu Todoran demonstrates the ways in which gender equity can strengthen institutions of higher learning. Managing Gender Inequity in Academia is a guide for building gender equity in public affairs programs for faculty, higher education administrators, and graduate students in public affairs and related disciplines.
This open access book critically examines how discourses and policies target and exclude migrants and their families in Europe and North America along racial, gender and sexuality lines, and how these exclusions are experienced and resisted. Building on the influential notion of intersectional borderings, it delves deep into how these discourses converge and diverge, highlighting the underlying normative constructs of family, gender, and sexuality. First, it examines how radical-right and conservative political movements perpetuate exclusionary practices and how they become institutionalized in migration, welfare, and family policies. Second, it examines the dynamic responses they provoke—both resistance and reinforcement—among those affected in their everyday lives. Bringing together studies from political and social sciences, it offers a vital contribution to the expanding field of migrant family governance and exclusion and is essential for understanding the complex processes of exclusion and the movements that challenge and sustain them. It expands academic discussions on populism and the politics of exclusion by linking them to the politicization of intimacy and family life. With diverse case studies from Europe, North, and Central America, it appeals to students, academics, and policymakers, informing future mobilizations against discriminatory and exclusionary tendencies in politics and society.
This open access book offers a groundbreaking examination of the profound and lasting impacts of COVID-19 on U.S.-China relations. It covers areas such as public health, trade and supply chain challenges, people-to-people connections, shifts in public opinion, rising nationalism, anti-Asian sentiments, and strategic assessments. Since the pandemic's outbreak in late 2019, China and the United States have both suffered catastrophically. So too has the U.S.-China relationship, which was already at a historic low point before COVID-19 accelerated its deterioration. With contributions by leading and emerging scholars from both nations, the volume reflects a collaborative effort, emphasizing the importance of bilateral dialogue. As the world steps into the post-COVID era, this work offers timely insights into the potential pathways for rebuilding and redefining U.S.-China relations.
This is an open access book. Modern society is characterized by the fact of contingency, uncertainty, and ambiguity. The purpose of this book is to transform this phenomenal fact into a hopeful norm. As a clue, the book examines the concept of dignity and looks forward to a new definition. So far, the concept of dignity has been peripheral to the concerns of liberal social sciences. This book uses the concept of dignity as a source of light to illuminate the fundamental critique of liberal social sciences and philosophy. Can the theory of justice or discourse ethics truly realize the well-defined society it envisions in a fundamentally contingent, uncertain, and ambiguous situation? Can societies be inclusive of minorities relegated to the periphery with their dignity undermined? Can we resist the temptation to construct huge hierarchical stairs, forcing individuals to place themselves on one of its steps, and thus lining up different and diverse entities in along sequence, and eventually bringing about totalitarianism? This book has a three-level telescopic structure. At the very front, there is a scope of reexaming the political liberalism in the light of dignity. Behind it is a scope of reconstructing a theory of justice in modern society. Further behind it, there is a scope encompassing reflection on the methodology of liberal social sciences and philosophy. We leave it to the reader's imagination as to which scope to read this book through, and what image will emerge from the three scopes taken together. It is our hope that this book helps readers envision as a "realistic utopia" a society in which "no one is left behind," including wounded little birds.
In Computational Communication Science (CCS) researchers grapple with intricate ethical challenges arising from the collection and analysis of complex data sets often including sensitive or copyrighted data. Rooted in two opposing lines of philosophical arguments - deontology and consequentialism - we argue that CCS research is particularly difficult to be projected onto this ethical spectrum. Our study aims to empirically assess the nature and prevalence of provided arguments and influencing factors for ethical decision-making in CCS research. Through a manual content analysis of 476 CCS studies, sampled from a corpus of 22,375 collected communication science articles, we shed light on data sharing practices and ethical reflections of CCS researchers. Findings indicate large room for maneuver. The majority of studies (89.50%) chose not to share their data, while 6.93% chose to share their data either full or partially. Only 5.88% of studies explicitly addressed general ethical considerations. Ethical review processes were mentioned by 6.51% of studies, with the majority pointing at ethical procedures such as obtaining informed consent, data anonymization measures, or debriefing. This suggests that researchers in CCS prioritize context-specific ethical procedures in the absence of field-specific standards, emphasizing the importance of flexibility in addressing ethical considerations.
Wie vergleichen wir, wenn wir lesen? Und wie lesen wir, wenn wir vergleichen? Die hier versammelten Beiträge widmen sich Verknüpfungen und Interferenzen zwischen Praktiken des Vergleichens und Praktiken des Lesens. Zentral für ihre Analysen sind drei Diskursfelder, in denen Literatur vergleichend gelesen wird: die Literaturwissenschaft, die Literaturkritik und die Literatur selbst. Im Fokus steht dabei, wie Praktiken des Vergleichens zwischen diesen Feldern zirkulieren und sich auf die Lektüre von Literatur auswirken - und wie vergleichendes Lesen in diesem Prozess Literatur als epistemisches, ästhetisches oder soziales Objekt hervorbringt.
Organisationen müssen sich angesichts vielfältiger Krisen rasch und gründlich wandeln. Doch wie gelingt das unter hohem Zeit- und Handlungsdruck? Der Marsch durch die Institutionen endet oft an versperrten Türen der Struktur oder Kultur. Statt an ihnen nur zu rütteln, können unkonventionelle und subversive Praktiken neue Tore zur Transformation öffnen. Was wäre also, wenn die Lösung darin bestünde, die Regeln zu brechen, die unsere Lebensgrundlagen gefährden?
Der aktuelle Bericht an den Club of Rome "Earth-for-All" ruft zu fünf Kehrtwenden und einer ökonomischen Neuorientierung auf, um die Erde noch zu retten. Wie diese realisiert werden können, wird dabei weniger thematisiert. Eine Gruppe Studierender geht nun weiter: In zehn inspirierenden Essays diskutieren sie konkrete Maßnahmen, um die Kehrtwenden zu erreichen. Auch wenn deren Ausgestaltung komplexer ist als die Formulierung der Ziele, lautet die Botschaft: Machbare Lösungen sind da! Nun ist es an der Zeit, sie umzusetzen. Dieses Buch ist eine Einladung an alle, nach Lösungen zu suchen und aktiv am Wandel mitzuarbeiten.
Über das eigene Lebensende autonom bestimmen zu können, ist der Wunsch vieler Menschen. Höchste Gerichte in Deutschland und Österreich erkennen das Recht auf assistierten Suizid als eine Form des selbstbestimmten Sterbens an. In der Schweiz tragen Sterbehilfeorganisationen zu einer breiteren Akzeptanz bei. Wie aber ist die Suizidhilfe ethisch zu rechtfertigen? Und wie soll die emergente Praxis geregelt und gelebt werden? Die Beiträger*innen widmen sich diesen Fragen aus interdisziplinärer Perspektive. Sie beleuchten dabei vor allem das Problem der Freiverantwortlichkeit eines Suizidwunschs sowie neu entstehende Vulnerabilitäten und analysieren so die soziokulturellen Herausforderungen für eine gute Versorgung am Lebensende.
In Kenya, technology entrepreneurs and makers have to employ their work and emotions in order to re-script their peripheral positionalities within technocapitalism and make Kenya a place for technology development. Based on ethnographic research in makerspaces and co-working spaces in Nairobi, Alev Coban argues that postcolonial technology entrepreneurship is neoliberal and inherently political work. Technology developers, narratives, prototypes, and digital fabrication tools unite to achieve ambiguous Kenyan futures of technocapitalist market integration and decolonial emancipation in order to foster national well-being and disentangle Kenya from exploitative global structures.
Kritische Relationalität interveniert in Ordnungen des Denkens, die Kritik als Operation des Trennens und Auseinanderhaltens entworfen und damit die modernen Dualismen von Menschlichem und Nicht-Menschlichem, Subjekten und Objekten, Organischem und Technischem, Natur und Kultur geprägt haben. Ausgehend von multiplen, verschränkten Krisen suchen die Beiträge dieses Bandes konkrete Szenen auf, in denen das kritische Potenzial von Verbindungen und Verstrickungen anschaulich wird. Das Ausloten von Relationalität wird dabei zu einem analytischen Modus, der für die Produktivität von Verbindungen sensibilisiert und zugleich ihre differenziellen Dimensionen anerkennt.
