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"Defensive Federalism presents an original contribution to the field of federalism and multinational democracies, exploring the concept of defensive federalism as a protection of self-government against the "tyranny of the majority". The empirical evidence on federal and regional polities often shows critical imbalances in the territorial division of powers beyond what has been formally established in the constitutional rules. This volume highlights the rights, institutions, decision-making processes, and procedural rules that can protect and develop the practical political, economic, and cultural powers of federated and regional entities, especially those linked to territorial national minorities. The authors focus on federalism as a safeguard of self-rule, as well as a set of institutional and procedural rules to avoid the territorial dimension of the "tyranny of the majority". They answer two fundamental questions: How is it possible to design new stable and fairer federal agreements between national minorities and majorities where there is no single ideal solution? Is there a need for a new kind of "defensive federal model" for approaching national pluralism in liberal democracies? This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of federalism, national diversity, and democracy, as well as policymakers and practitioners in both public and private institutions"--

Managing Digital Records in Africa draws on the research work of the InterPARES Trust (ITrust) project that investigated interrelated archival issues focusing on legal analysis, infrastructure, trust, authentication, and education within the African context. This research-focused book provides a legal analysis and systematic assessment of how African institutions manage digital records in four countries (i.e., Botswana, Kenya, South Africa, and Zimbabwe). It also examines the extent to which records are managed using Internet-based applications, trust in such records, and digital record authentication to support the auditing process. Finally, it provides a curriculum analysis in digital records at institutions of higher learning in 38 African countries. The book's case studies illustrate the threads of discussion, which span the ITrust domains of legislation, infrastructure, authentication, trust, and education in archives and records management. The book can be used as a premier reference source by private and public organizations, researchers, educators, archivists, records managers, and postgraduate students to make informed decisions about digital records, records management systems, cloud-based services, authenticating records, and identifying universities on the continent that offer archival programmes. The book may also find expression to practitioners in other fields such as law and auditing.

Managing Digital Records in Africa draws on the research work of the InterPARES Trust (ITrust) project that investigated interrelated archival issues focusing on legal analysis, infrastructure, trust, authentication, and education within the African context. This research-focused book provides a legal analysis and systematic assessment of how African institutions manage digital records in four countries (i.e., Botswana, Kenya, South Africa, and Zimbabwe). It also examines the extent to which records are managed using Internet-based applications, trust in such records, and digital record authentication to support the auditing process. Finally, it provides a curriculum analysis in digital records at institutions of higher learning in 38 African countries. The book's case studies illustrate the threads of discussion, which span the ITrust domains of legislation, infrastructure, authentication, trust, and education in archives and records management. The book can be used as a premier reference source by private and public organizations, researchers, educators, archivists, records managers, and postgraduate students to make informed decisions about digital records, records management systems, cloud-based services, authenticating records, and identifying universities on the continent that offer archival programmes. The book may also find expression to practitioners in other fields such as law and auditing.

Im Internet generieren wir täglich Daten, die wir oft für harmlos halten - unsere Likes, unseren Standort oder unseren Browser-Verlauf. Doch Firmen, die diese Daten besitzen, können mittels KI-Algorithmen intime Informationen daraus ableiten: Leiden wir an psychischen Krankheiten? Missbrauchen wir Substanzen? Sind wir reich oder arm? Solche Algorithmen werden dazu verwendet, Menschen automatisiert unterschiedlich zu behandeln: wenn es um den Preis für eine Versicherung geht, die Auswahl von Bewerber:innen bei Einstellungsverfahren, Entscheidungen über Kreditvergabe oder Einreisemöglichkeiten. Die Kombination von Big Data und KI bringt derzeit eine neue Technologie der Bevölkerungsverwaltung hervor. Sie führt zu einer neuen Form der Macht in unseren Gesellschaften, zu der wir alle durch unsere Daten beitragen und die wir deshalb kritisch und ethisch diskutieren müssen. On the Internet, we generate data every day that we often think is harmless - our Likes, our location or our browser history. But companies that own this data can use AI algorithms to derive intimate information from it. Do we suffer from mental illness? Do we abuse substances? Are we rich or poor? Such algorithms are used to treat people differently in an automated way - when it comes to the price of insurance, the selection of applicants in hiring processes, decisions about credit or immigration. The combination of Big Data and AI is currently producing a new technology of population management. This development leads to a new form of power in our societies, to which we all contribute through our data and which we therefore need to discuss critically and ethically

This book dissects the reproductive intentions and behaviours of the one-child generation cohort in China, situated in the wider context of changing family life patterns and gendered lenses. Demonstrating that the one-child family is still favoured by the one-child generation, this book uncovers the socioeconomic dimensions and mechanisms of family relations underlying young people's decision-making processes. It also incorporates individual considerations and experiences of childbearing from over 50 interviews to contribute to the development of China's social policy. Whereas men's childbearing beliefs were relatively unexplored in the literature, the author included male interviewees to better reflect gender differences in relation to childbearing, employment and family. Analysing the relationship between life routine and the desire (or lack thereof) to increase China's population, the author argues that the current childbearing policy fails to accommodate the needs and demands of young people, thus limiting the uptake of China's new policy. Shibei Ni is an assistant professor in the Department of Demography, Research Institute of Social Development at the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in China. Her research interest focuses on reproduction, family practice, intergenerational relations and gender. For her PhD research she was awarded the Research Mobility Program Award by World University Network (WUN)

"This book provides an in-depth analysis of the role of regional integration in the contemporary Caribbean, challenging the value of the neoliberal ideology that permeates regionalism discourse. The book asks what value neoliberal regionalism holds for the Caribbean, when its economic goals of efficiency and competitiveness serve to actively marginalize small states within the global community. Presenting an alternative framework for assessing success, the book investigates how the Caribbean community (CARICOM) can confront new challenges and perform a more developmental function, centring economic transformation and a more democratic process. The book also explores long-standing challenges with implementing regional decisions at the national level and the absence of avenues for citizens to influence the direction of the integration movement. It explores these themes against the backdrop of the global pandemic and the climate crisis which underscore the fragility of Caribbean economies, their high levels of indebtedness, weak social security systems, and their marginality, Bringing together decades of research from one of the world's foremost scholars on the subject, this book will be essential reading for researchers of the Caribbean specifically, and for those with an interest in regionalism more generally, across the fields of political economy, international relations, history, geography, economics and global development."

"The study of the effects of risk relates to the extension of time and the permutations and combinations of events in their progressive unravelling. The notion of modernity, an evolutionary justification for a turbulent array of hazards, drives rapid change, the majority of which is irreversible. Wars bring about irreversible change, which has far-reaching consequences for future generations. We start to grasp the impact of these shifts as we experience them through time, and we research, write about, and learn from them. Understanding the impact of post-war change requires contemplation. The aim to develop stronger post-war communities necessitates a reflection on how conflicts have separated mankind and how humanity's nature might be used to serve others. The plans that are made and the decisions taken, especially by those in positions of influence, carry greater weight in terms of the speed at which risks to humanity evolve if not addressed in time, along with their corresponding effects. As we journey through age and experience our own wars, we can choose to blindfold our way through time or rise above with strength to reach out to others, a process which in truth brings about self-actualisation."

"This book provides an in-depth analysis of the role of regional integration in the contemporary Caribbean, challenging the value of the neoliberal ideology that permeates regionalism discourse. The book asks what value neoliberal regionalism holds for the Caribbean, when its economic goals of efficiency and competitiveness serve to actively marginalize small states within the global community. Presenting an alternative framework for assessing success, the book investigates how the Caribbean community (CARICOM) can confront new challenges and perform a more developmental function, centring economic transformation and a more democratic process. The book also explores long-standing challenges with implementing regional decisions at the national level and the absence of avenues for citizens to influence the direction of the integration movement. It explores these themes against the backdrop of the global pandemic and the climate crisis which underscore the fragility of Caribbean economies, their high levels of indebtedness, weak social security systems, and their marginality, Bringing together decades of research from one of the world's foremost scholars on the subject, this book will be essential reading for researchers of the Caribbean specifically, and for those with an interest in regionalism more generally, across the fields of political economy, international relations, history, geography, economics and global development"--

This open access book offers a detailed study of the foundation and expansion of the Dutch Cape Colony to ask why certain regions in the global south became European settler societies from the 16th century onwards. Examining the different factors that led to the creation of the Cape Colony, Erik Green reveals it was a gradual process, made up of ad hoc decisions, in which the agency of indigenous peoples played an important role. He identifies the drivers behind settler expansion, explores the effect of inequality on long-term economic development and examines the relationship between settlers and the colonial authorities, asserting that they should not be treated as one homogenous group with shared economic interests. Assessing specific characteristics of the Cape Colony, such as the proposition it was a slavery economy, and comparing key insights of this study with the historiography of other settler colonies, Creating the Cape Colony demonstrates the need to revise our understanding of how settler economies operated, and to rethink the long-term legacies of settler colonialism. The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 license on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by The Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation grant.

"This book provides an in-depth analysis of the role of regional integration in the contemporary Caribbean, challenging the value of the neoliberal ideology that permeates regionalism discourse. The book asks what value neoliberal regionalism holds for the Caribbean, when its economic goals of efficiency and competitiveness serve to actively marginalize small states within the global community. Presenting an alternative framework for assessing success, the book investigates how the Caribbean community (CARICOM) can confront new challenges and perform a more developmental function, centring economic transformation and a more democratic process. The book also explores long-standing challenges with implementing regional decisions at the national level and the absence of avenues for citizens to influence the direction of the integration movement. It explores these themes against the backdrop of the global pandemic and the climate crisis which underscore the fragility of Caribbean economies, their high levels of indebtedness, weak social security systems, and their marginality, Bringing together decades of research from one of the world's foremost scholars on the subject, this book will be essential reading for researchers of the Caribbean specifically, and for those with an interest in regionalism more generally, across the fields of political economy, international relations, history, geography, economics and global development"--

Every organization faces diffi cult decisions when managing risk and the potential consequences of its manifestation. For a more thorough outlook on risk, organizations should also evaluate and engage with its advantages. Organizational Risk Management: Managing for Uncertainty and Ambiguity covers a series of perspectives that represent both causal and interpretative frameworks. These perspectives shed light on how organizational structures and processes adapt amid a complex, dynamic organizational environment in an effort to manage and exploit the accompanying risks of that environment. This volume will oftentimes challenge the expectation for and utility of clarity in crisis situations, thereby favoring uncertainty and ambiguity as the necessary conditions to exploit organizational risk and explore opportunities that rely on interpretation, learning, and knowledge among individuals. The ultimate objective of Organizational Risk Management: Managing for Uncertainty and Ambiguity is to promote discussion among practitioners and organizational scholars who venture to understand organizational risk. Setting such a goal is to essentially practice what this volume shall inevitably preach: engage one another in order to proactively monitor and respond to risk. Strengthening ties along the bridge between practice and science will be a welcomed consequence of this volume.

Who decides what criteria are used to determine who can become Swiss? Which imaginaries of Swissness are mobilised in the context of naturalisation? Why is Swiss naturalisation policy so restrictive in international comparison? These questions are addressed in the exhibition Naturalisation, developed jointly by the Musée gruérien and the University of Neuchâtel. The exhibition examines the naturalisation procedure in the Gruyère region, and the symbolism associated with it, by combining reconstructions of the procedure with ethnographic and photographic documentation. It allows the public to live the experience of the candidates to naturalisation and to discover the point of view of the decision-makers, while being invited to take a reflective look at the naturalisation system put in place by the authorities. This book is the catalogue of the exhibition. In the first part, it proposes different framings and deepenings through essays by specialists from the social sciences, the museal area and photography. The second part presents the reflections discussed in the exhibition and a documentation of the naturalisation process in the form of images and ethnographic documents. Both documentary and reflective, this publication is a scientific and artistic contribution to the societal debate on naturalisation and the place given to diversity in Switzerland.

Temporary international relocation initiatives (TIRIs) for artists and cultural workers are a form of international solidarity. Yet they are embedded in a context shaped by colonial history and global North-South power dynamics. In this report, the authors draw on the experiences of relocated artists as well as those of team members within TIRIs and host organisations to examine if TIRIs are currently equipped to identify power asymmetries, injustice, discrimination and racism at individual, institutional and structural levels and to effectively mitigate them. Finally, they develop holistic practical recommendations for greater equity and justice as well as an anti-racist approach for TIRIs and host organisations. This report addresses decision-makers and teams in TIRIs and host organisations, arts institutions, funders and policymakers. Both recognizing the existence of structural, systemic and individual injustice, racism and discrimination, and contributing to their eradication requires discomfort and constant self-reflection. Therefore, this report is an exercise in sitting with discomfort. The authors see this discomfort as a catalyst for change processes - an engine to sustain pressure to enact this change that cannot simply be dissolved by individual action. The full report can be downloaded here: https://doi.org/10.17901/akbp1.22.2022

"Latin American Relations with the Middle East surveys the dealings of ten Latin American and Caribbean states - Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Peru, Mexico, Uruguay, and Venezuela - with the Middle East. This volume examins these states' external behavior at both an empirical and conceptual level. Empirically, authors seek to examine Latin American and Caribbean foreign policies towards the Middle East in four dimensions: diplomatic attention; trade and investment (including the energy issue); development cooperation; security matters/intelligence, and relationship with multilateralism (Iran, Palestine, and Syria). Case studies are selectively deployed to observe the influence of unfavorable circumstances that have increased since 2015, such as domestic turmoil, wars, economic crisis, ideological bias, and international constraints. Conceptually, the book enhances the theoretical framework for understanding Southern countries' foreign policies, through fomenting dialogue with Latin American and Caribbean regional literature on foreign policy. Authors inquire about how decision-making processes occur, and uncover how influential actors help to test the main hypotheses of Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA). Forging essential new paths of inquiry, this book is a must read for researchers of International Relations, Foreign Policy, South-South Relations, Latin American Politics and Middle Eastern Politics"--

This book traces the emergence of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) from 1955 to 1963 amid the broader reshaping of the institutional architecture of post-war Europe. It considers the ill-fated Free Trade Area (FTA) proposal, the subsequent creation of EFTA, and the resulting division of Western Europe into two distinct trading blocs. At its core, the book provides an international history of a formative moment of post-war and European integration history, and explores the intense technical discussions among European states as they grappled with the prospect of deeper economic and political unity. It thus provides the first detailed analysis combining the FTA and EFTA negotiations, considering both state and non-state actors. Drawing on archives from Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and the US, as well as the records of the OEEC and EFTA, it examines the decision-making processes of those intimately involved as well as the institutional settings within which they were forced to reconcile their positions. At a key moment of contemporary European friction, the book offers a dialogue between the past and those trying to make sense of events that continue to shape Europe today.