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"Fifty years after the publication of Eric Wolf's celebrated Peasant Wars of the Twentieth Century, and forty years after the publication of his path-breaking Europe and the People Without History, this book offers a much-needed critical assessment and update of Wolf's contribution to the study of the peasantry and its relationship to capitalism, the state, and imperialism. This book provides a comprehensive evaluation of Wolf's premises, methodology and understanding of the peasantry, and its relationship to the rise of capitalism and the modern state. The authors analyse Wolf's theoretical approach, and, by building on his work in Europe and the People Without History especially, argue their own position in relation to the dynamics of the peasantry in relation to capitalism, state, class, and imperialism. Further, the text aims to answer the agrarian question more widely, focusing on agrarian society and the political role of the peasantry in contested transitions to capitalism and to modes beyond capitalism. This requires, the authors argue, an analysis of class struggle and of the resources, material and discursive, that different classes can bring to bear on this struggle. Based on well-founded theoretical premises, the book focuses on the contested rise of capitalism in the global North, the development of core-periphery relations in the global political economy, and the place of the peasantry in these dynamics. The book presents case studies of transitions to agrarian capitalism in the British Isles, France, Germany, Japan, and the USA. This book complements a 'companion' volume addressing peasant dynamics in the global South. The book will be of great interest to students and researchers in the areas of peasant studies, rural politics, agrarian studies, development and political ecology"--

"In this companion volume to Peasants, Capitalism, and the Work of Eric R Wolf: Reviving Critical Agrarian Studies, the authors further develop their thinking on agrarian transitions to capitalism, the development of imperialism, and the place of the peasantry in these dynamics, with special reference to the global South in an era of politico-ecological crisis. This book seeks to elaborate further the authors' approach to the agrarian question, utilising a new theoretical approach to understand the dynamics of the peasantry, and peasant resistance, in relation to capitalism, state, class, and imperialism in the global South. Focusing on the political role of the peasantry in contested transitions to capitalism and to modes of production beyond capitalism, the book contends that an understanding of these dynamics requires an analysis of class struggle and of the resources, material and discursive, that different classes can bring to bear on this struggle. The book focuses on the rise of capitalism in the global South within the context of imperial subordination to the global North, and the place of the peasantry in shaping and resisting these dynamics. The book presents case studies of contested transitions to agrarian capitalism in Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, and South Asia. It also examines the case of transition to a post-capitalist mode of production in Cuba. The book concludes with an assessment of the nature of capitalism and imperialism within the contemporary politico-ecological crisis, and the potential role of the peasantry as agent of emancipatory change towards social and environmental sustainability. This book will be of great interest to students and researchers in the areas of peasant studies, rural politics, agrarian studies, development and political ecology"--

Trends in fertility transition -- Estimation of China's low fertility rates in 2000-2010 -- China's fertility trends in the period from 2006 to 2017 -- How low is China's fertility rate -- Structural shifts in fertility rate -- Quantum effect and tempo effect of fertility -- Intermediate fertility variables -- Counterfactual fertility trends -- The two-child policy and fertility -- Demographic trends under the two-child policy -- Labor supply -- Ageing population -- Impacts of the two-child policy on demand for maternal and child health services -- The impact of the two-child policy on preschool and school-age populations and the demand for teachers -- Pro-natalist policies in developed countries and their effects.

'The book the NHS has always deserved' Andrew Marr'A sensational and much-needed book . . . thorough, scholarly and above all readable' Chris van Tulleken--------------------------------------------------How does our National Health Service really work, and what does that mean for our future?Since its foundation in 1948, the NHS has come to define our national identity, making history (and the headlines) again and again - from cutting edge discoveries like the first 'test tube baby', to its heroic response to the Coronavirus crisis. But the NHS has also become a battleground for some of the fiercest political contests of our time, perceived either as a national treasure, or as a lumbering piece of state machinery in need of renovation.In Fighting for Life, bestselling journalist Isabel Hardman cuts through the sentimentality and sloganeering on all sides of the political spectrum. Packed with gripping stories from the people at the beating heart of this venerated institution - its nurses, its doctors, its patients and the politicians who decide its fate - this is the essential book for understanding our NHS, and who we are as a nation

"Nazmul Sultan explores Indian contributions to democratic theory, as anticolonial thinkers developed principles of peoplehood and self-rule. Indians contested British claims that the "backwardness" of the Indian people offered a democratic justification for imperial domination."--

"Metapolitics, Algorithms and Violence argues that we need a more fine-grained approach to understand contemporary far-right violence - an approach that takes language and cultural production in a digital economy seriously. The book underlines the importance of socio-political, economic, historical and technological context in understanding the rise of the new right. More concretely, based on a digital ethnographic approach, it argues that we should understand this violence and the contemporary rise of new far-right practices and actors in relation to the theoretical renewal of 'La Nouvelle Droite' in the 20th century; the 'democratization' of New Right metapolitics in the 21st century as a result of the rise of digital media; and the development of a layered, transnational and polycentric New Right cultural niche in which far-right activists and terrorists produce identity, discourse, digital cultures and practices. This work will be an engaging and necessary read for researchers interested in social media, digital culture, far-right politics, extremism and terrorism"--

"Trade Protectionism in an Uncertain and Interconnected Global Economy argues that in a global context dominated by economic uncertainty and interdependencies, the mechanisms that have fueled the diffusion of trade liberalisation under the World Trade Organization (preferential trade agreements and global value chains) can also become channels for protectionism (based on less observable non-tariff or murkier measures). Countries have changed the way they respond to protectionism, which impacts bilateral relations. The author explores why and how increased global trade interconnectivity has also become a channel for new forms of trade protectionism, and especially how this impacts the developing world. These counterintuitive dynamics constitute the newest wave in the literature on trade interdependence. Previous research on trade policy has often concentrated on just one aspect of the effects of an interconnected global economy: the more political and economic linkages countries build amongst themselves, the fewer tensions they will generate across borders. From a trade policy perspective, this causal claim has held steady for many decades. This book bridges academic analysis with trade policymaking and offers a roadmap for the kinds of commercial policy reforms that will be essential for the successful revival of world markets post-COVID-19. This book will appeal to postgraduates, researchers, and academics interested in international political economy, comparative political economy, development, business, and all those with a particular interest in Latin American trade policy dynamics. It will also be of interest to trade policy scholars, practitioners, and readers with an interest in how governments, firms, and regions around the developing world transition into more knowledge-intensive activities."