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Introduction: It's the institutions -- Part 1. A Tamed Democracy -- Part 2. An Elected King with the Name of President -- Part 3. Two Parties with Narrow Agendas -- Part 4. Either Internal Anger or External Fear -- Part 5. A Future in Hope -- Conclusion.

"This book examines the policy, ideology and politics of Xi Jinping, State President and General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and China's 'Ruler for life'. Through comparisons with former CCP leaders, including Deng Xiaoping, it assesses whether, having abandoned many of the key precepts of the Era of Reform and the Open Door, the conservative supreme leader's restitution of Maoist standards might enable China to sustain economic growth and project hard and soft power worldwide. The book also examines whether the Communist Party will succeed in retaining the support of 1.4 billion Chinese in the face of unprecedented challenges in the economic and geopolitical arenas. It also provides a comprehensive picture of Xi's rise to power; his AI-assisted and "legalistic" surveillance and control mechanisms; China's evolving economic system; Xi's foreign and national-security policies; and the implications of the 20th Party Congress of October 2022 from both domestic and foreign perspectives. Being amongst the first books in English on the ambitious and multi-faceted agendas that Xi has laid out taking China up to the early 2040s, this will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars of Chinese studies, China-U.S. relations, East Asian politics and Contemporary Asian history"--

"An accessible and engaging introduction to the critical study of popular culture, which provides students with the tools they need to make sense of the popular culture that inundates their everyday lives. This textbook centers media ecology and equipment for living to introduce students to important theories and debates in the field. Each chapter engages an important facet of popular culture, ranging from the business of popular culture to communities, stories, and identities, to the simulation and sensation of pop culture. The text explains key terms and features contemporary case studies throughout, examining aspects such as memes and trends on social media, cancel culture, celebrities as influencers, gamification, 'meta' pop culture and personalized on-demand music. The book enables students to understand the complexity of power and influence, providing a better understanding of the ways pop culture is embedded in a wide range of everyday activities. Students are encouraged to reflect on how they consume and produce popular culture and understand how that shapes their sense of self and connections to others. Essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students of media studies, communication studies, cultural studies, popular culture, and other related subjects"--

"This book explores the relationship between China and international norms through the lens of The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Presenting seven case studies, highlighting China's interaction with international norms through the BRI. The case studies each reveal that the normative function of the networks built under the BRI are limited and contain noticeable variations between domestic norms and international ones in China resulting in implementation gaps between rhetoric and deeds. Unlike current literature on this issue, which is scattered in terms of topics covered and methodology used, it constructs a holistic theoretical/methodological framework which can be utilised to study a State's position toward different international standards. In light of China's increasing international influence and proactive and assertive foreign policy this study will be of interest to officials and practitioners involved in foreign policy and international cooperation, and to student and scholars of global development and international relations"--

All businesses operate under a set of rules - laws and regulations - that occasionally require updating. Improving these 'rules of the competitive game' can, sometimes, be vital for a business or industry to survive. Strategy Beyond Markets explains how the rules of the competitive game are changed, and what role the business sector can play in this change. Through the analysis of case studies, a new discipline called Strategy Beyond Markets is presented. It studies how business regulations-taxes, subsidies, compliance rules, production and marketability standards, licensing requirements-come about, and why they take certain forms. This discipline helps businesses operate effectively in the politico-regulatory arenas where the rules of the competitive game are made. Strategy Beyond Markets complements, but is fundamentally different from, the traditional discipline of Competitive Strategy.

Explaining political-administrative relations in policymaking: An analytical framework -- Regime change and Principal Official Accountability System -- Reform impact: 2002-2005 -- Reform impact and Political Appointment System: 2005-2012 -- Causal paths to varied political-administrative relations in policymaking -- Implications for political-administrative relations in policymaking: 2012-2022.

"A comprehensive and critical introduction to understanding the Korean Wave (Hallyu) as a transnational media phenomenon. This book provides an accessible introduction to the Korean Wave - the rapid growth of local cultural industries and the global popularity of Korean popular culture over the past thirty years - providing historical, political, economic, and socio-cultural context to its initial rise and enduring popularity. Jin explores the transnational cultural flows of Hallyu across a variety of products and digital technologies - from television dramas, film, and K-pop to online games, and webtoons - and explains the process of cross-media convergence and the socio-political contexts behind the Hallyu phenomenon. He also explores how overseas fans and audiences advance K-pop fandom as social agents in different geo-cultural contexts. The book concludes by discussing if Hallyu can become a sustainable global popular culture beyond a fan-based regional cultural phenomenon. Each chapter features detailed contemporary case studies and discussion questions to enhance student engagement. This is essential reading for students of Media and Communication, Cultural Studies, Korean Studies and Asian Studies, particularly those taking classes on popular culture and media, media and globalization, Korean popular culture, and East Asian culture."

Cover -- Half Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Note on contributors -- Introduction -- Part I Politics of Sectarianism -- Chapter 1 The Iraqi protests: Sliding into the abyss? (Jinan S. Al-Habbal) -- Chapter 2 Taif at thirty: October 17 as thawra .ala al-.istishraq (Madonna Kalousian) -- Chapter 3 Carl Schmitt's ineffectual exceptionalism in the case of Syria (Samuel Peter Mace) -- Part II Regional Dynamics and Proxies -- Chapter 4 The deal of discontent: Saudi Arabia, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the nuclear deal (Olivia Glombitza) -- Chapter 5 Securitization of Shi'a to 'violization': A response to the Arab Spring in Bahrain (Samira Nasirzadeh) -- Chapter 6 Bridging ethno-religious divides by proxy? Non-state sponsorship and sectarianism in the case of the Syrian Democrati -- Chapter 7 Saudi Arabia's rhetorical construction of the Houthis as an Iranian proxy (Maria-Louise Clausen) -- Chapter 8 Sectarianism and civil wars in the MENA region (Francesco Belcastro) -- Part III De-Sectarianization -- Chapter 9 Iran's soft power in the Gulf from the Islamic revolution to post-Intra-Gulf crisis and prospects for de-sectarianiza -- Chapter 10 Political and discursive de-sectarianization: Re-ordering Saudi foreign and domestic policy-making (Umer Karim) -- Chapter 11 Institutional faith-based diplomacy and de-sectarianization in the Middle East: How to understand the role of Al-Azh -- Conclusion (Samira Nasirzadeh, Elias Ghazal and Eyad Alrefai) -- Index.

"Handbook of Artificial Intelligence for Smart City Development: Management Systems and Technology Challenges covers the whole journey of the development of Smart Cities, from the foundations to the usage of technologies, including the challenges and issues that policymakers and technologists may face during the concept, development, management, and implementation stage. The book also covers sustainable strategies and safety measures and offers real-life cases, advancements in manufacturing approaches for Smart Cities which includes AI technologies such as big data analytics, blockchain, machine learning, and fault diagnostics"--

"Being Human: Genocide and Hospitality in Kurdistan-Iraq examines the Iraqi Ba'th state and the al-Anfal operations as one of the twentieth century's ultimate acts of the destruction of humanity. It remains the first and only crime of state in the Middle East to be tried under the 1948 UN Genocide Convention, the 1950 Nuremberg Principles, and the 1969 Iraqi Penal Code, and to be recognized as genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in Baghdad between 2006-2007. Being Human gathers together social sciences, humanities, and the arts to understand modern state violence and its afterlife. It is a work of anthropological hospitality, returning to the violence of political modernity only to turn to human survivors' hospitality, infinite pursuit of justice, and acts of translation-testimonial narratives, law, politics, archive, poetry, artworks, museums, memorial and symbolic cemeteries in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq"--

"Developing countries worldwide have been embarking on 'smart cities' programmes using new technology solutions to improve public services. Faced with severe problems of the digital divide, poverty, unemployment, inequality, and financial and social exclusion, these cities have to negotiate hard in order to reach their goals. This book examines urban governance, digital divide, poverty, unemployment, financial and social exclusion and presents a theoretical perspective on inclusive cities, urbanization, migration, slums and affordable housing. The book aims at formulating and implementing an agenda for inclusive, equitable, and sustainable urban development in tune with the UN-SDGs, the New Urban Agenda of Habitat III, and India's new national urban missions. It probes into the scope of adopting inclusionary urban planning, zoning, and housing, financing inclusive city development and poverty alleviation through municipal finance reforms using findings and lessons from detailed field studies of Indian cities. It also suggests an Agenda for Slum-free and Poverty-free cities in an attempt to make these cities more people-focused, humane and inclusionary. This book will be of interest to scholars and researchers of political science, policy studies, public administration, urban studies, urban planning and management, urban sociology and geography, besides being of interest to policy researchers, community workers, grass roots researchers, policy makers, and sociologists"--