Suchergebnisse

"This book provides an insightful analysis and holistic account of the process of the formation of de facto states in the post-Soviet area. Looking beyond the stereotype of mere puppet subjects, the author explores the contemporary operation of separatist regions in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Transnistria, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Donbass to understand the motives and mechanisms for their emergence and their instrumentalization in the politics of great powers. Using policy documents, quantitative data, and political statements she explores the historical origins of the area and its operation during the Soviet era, armed separatist conflicts and their implications, and the actions of the United Nations, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, European Union, Commonwealth of Independent States, and the role of powers such as the Russian Federation and the US. The research contributes to the debate on the significance of de facto states for regional security and their potential for national identity building. It will be of interest to scholars and students of the Russia and the Post-Soviet Area in International Relations and Nation-Building"--

"This book examines the role legal rules play in the resolution of disputes in transboundary river basins. When states fail to resolve disputes over shared water resources, many cast such failures on inadequate or ineffective legal rules. With this view in mind, this book examines the role that legal rules do, and can, play in aiding the peaceful settlement of disputes and furthering cooperation between different parties. Building on the interactional theory of law, the book formulates three analytical frameworks: the effect of norm-generating processes, the effects of water-related agreements and/or arrangements in the basins, and the effect of international water. It uses these frameworks to assess the role of law in the processes of cooperation and peaceful settlement of disputes on transboundary river basin by drawing on four illustrative case studies: the Jordan River Basin, the Nile River Basin, the Mekong River Basin and the Indus River Basin. In doing so, the book presents a unique perspective on the multi-functional role of legal rules in those processes. Tapping into the global discussion on water security and water-related conflicts, this book stimulates readers to explore broader or interdisciplinary perspectives for understanding water-related issues. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars interested in water resource management, water law, environmental politics, conflict resolution and sustainable development more generally"--

"This volume outlines Max Weber's comparative-historical sociology of 'interpretive understanding' (verstehen) in a manner that clarifies his complex mode of analysis and multicausal focus. Presenting the central features of his methodology, it offers a series of chapters that demonstrate the analytic strengths of his research strategies through discussions of his major works and overarching concerns, including the origins of the American political culture and the longevity of its civic sphere as well as the multiple causes behind the unique historical pathways taken by great civilizations. Indeed, through a summary of Weber's causal procedures and their application by reference to his own empirical studies, Max Weber's Sociology maintains an orientation to both his 'big picture' themes and his rigorous manner of analysis. In so doing, it demonstrates the capacity of Weber's sociology to ground firmly both "ideal-type" theorizing and empirically-oriented investigations. This volume will appeal to scholars throughout the social sciences with interests in the American civic sphere, political and economic cultures in general, the West's uniqueness, "the Protestant ethic thesis," sociological theory, the multiple ways that civilizations arise and develop, and the diverse twists and turns of Weber's comparative-historical sociology"--

Translocality, Entrepreneurship and Middle Class Across Eurasia is a comprehensive, multi-sited ethnography about the unfolding of capitalism across Eurasia and the advent of a new middle class since the late Soviet era. Based on extensive fieldwork, the book follows three generations of ethnic Kyrgyz in three distinct eras and sites: The early bazaar traders of Novosibirsk (Russia), the post-2000 middlemen operating in Guangzhou (China) and the new entrepreneurs' who have emerged at home in Kyrgyzstan around 2015. The book advocates translocality as an innovative concept to better understand the dialectic of mobility and emplacement in contemporary livelihoods and value chains that transgress not only political borders, but also less tangible socio-cultural boundaries. Through this lens, the chapters forcefully demonstrate how ways of business-making align or conflict with notions of ethnic belonging, diaspora, sociability or gender, in and in-between various locations. Proposing the imaginary of commercial journeys, the book documents the aspirations, adjustments and struggles of an emergent middle class, whose neoliberal subjectivity is inspired by a flexible entrepreneurial spirit of Kyrgyzness', and who navigate in a market environment that recently has been shifting towards more actor diversification, service orientation and rule-based formalization. This book will be of interest particularly to scholars in the fields of (economic) anthropology, post-socialist studies, migration, mobility and area studies with a focus on Central Asia and Eurasia.

"This book is based on the premise that understanding fascism is crucial for defeating it. Understanding and Countering Fascist Movements suggests fascism must be understood according to two "dimensions." First, fascism is a social movement seeking power, always already connected to sources of power. Hence, fascism cannot be defeated by policing it as a crime problem, nor therapeutically treating it as a pathology of mental health. Second, fascists have cognitive and emotional needs they are seeking to fulfill through their participation in the movement, but the presence of these motivations must be held in tension with the fact that fascists are responsible for their choices and that these individual motivations also exist in a wider social context of capitalism and systems of supremacy. The book opens by examining some psychological elements of recruitment and disengagement from fascist movements, before addressing broader social narratives, concluding with the limitations of an approach that is grounded in the national security state that relies on individualized, perpetrator-centered interventions. Rejecting centrist paradigms that see fascism as "extremism" or "accelerationism," Braune argues that fascism must be addressed in its specificity and uniqueness as an ideology and movement. Ultimately, she argues, fascism can only be defeated by countervailing social movements that not only demand radical social change but offer alternative spaces of belonging, community care, and the search for meaning. Understanding and Countering Fascist Movements is a philosophical contribution to antifascist theory and practice that will be appreciated by academics, students, and activists concerned about fascism today"--

Drawing on empirical work and secondary analysis from the UK and Finnish construction industries, this book contributes a deep-rooted analysis of construction industry harms that originate from corporate-industrialstate processes. The UK context arguably represents a classic neoliberal' system categorised by privatisation of services and minimal regulation, whereas Finland broadly provides a social democratic' alternative with its relatively strong national regulation and public sector oversight of industry. These concepts interlink strongly with the notion of state-corporate crime, since this perspective shifts attention away from individualistic explanations for crime and harm towards symbiosis between states and corporations. This book argues that existing explanations based on organised crime and individual rogues' are insufficient to account for the wider range and subtlety of harms that occur in construction, and therefore offers a unique perspective into organisational, industry, and state dynamics in this sector. An accessible and compelling read, this book will appeal to students and scholars of criminology, sociology, organized crime, and those interested in harms in the construction industry.

"Every year thousands of college students apply for and receive federally guaranteed loans to fund their educations in the United States. The loans are managed by nongovernmental entities - Sallie Mae, College Ave Student Loans - that indirectly implement the public goal of affordable higher education. Put another way, the US Department of Education relies on these nongovernmental entities for implementation of public policy via third parties. Where this kind of indirect implementation occurs, and how it differs from direct implementation, is the focus of this book, introducing readers to the theory and practice of third-party governance. It helps students understand market-oriented tools such as contracting, networks, public-private partnerships and other collaborative governance mechanisms that make up the repertoire of third-party governance. This background is, in turn, key to understanding modern governance arrangements all over the world. Author Jessica Terman explores the 'whys' behind government and the market, alongside the theories behind when one or both should be used. The book is filled with case studies exploring the issues at play in third-party governance, including transaction costs and the practices that mitigate transaction costs, as well as the advent of networks and how they have changed the governance structure of public policy implementation. Taking a jargon-free approach, the book is written as a primer on third-party governance, introducing readers to the ways that government is structured and the factors that influence contemporary policy implementation. Third-Party Governance will be required reading on courses related to public administration, public policy, and governance and collaboration"--

"Lacan and Capitalist Discourse explores the political and theoretical connections between the Covid-19 Pandemic and Capitalism, unravelling the direct consequences of Lacan's thesis of so-called "Capitalist Discourse". Jorge Alemán provides an account of neoliberalism, its mechanisms to produce subjectivities and the new modes of the political far Right. The book begins with the problem of a possible exit from capitalism, continuing to consider the possibilities of mourning and the active production of a new Left. Alemán engages deeply with a range of thinkers: primarily Lacan, but also Heidegger, Marx, Laclau, Foucault, Butler, Badiou, Althusser, and others, in making his case. Lacan and Capitalist Discourse will be of great interest to psychoanalysts and to academics of psychoanalytic and Lacanian studies, cultural theory, philosophy and political thought"--

The essays in this edited volume seek to understand the regional and international ramifications of the wave of protest demonstrations that swept across West Asia and North Africa in the early 2010s, both on the ground and online. Dissatisfaction with political repression and corruption, economic difficulties and inequities, and a desire for freedom and democracy all played a role in the Arab Spring uprisings. It deposed long-standing dictatorships, ushering in a period of insecurity and instability that would have long-term consequences for the region's political economy and international relations. Although the protests have ended, the legacy of that turbulent era will live on, most notably in the acceleration of regional change and transformation. Print edition not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Bhutan)

This book considers competing memory politics in European border towns after the First and Second World Wars. In the twentieth century Europe's borders shifted dramatically in the wake of war, and towns were often moved from one state to another despite their physical locations remaining unchanged. Urban spaces adapted to incorporate new place names, monuments, and requirements, overlaid onto the cultural heritage of previous settlers. This book investigates how the memories of different ethnic groups compete and sometimes contest with each other in the town's space, using the case studies of Vyborg/Viipuri in present-day Russia, Klaipda/Memel in Lithuania, Szczecin/Stettin in Poland, Flensburg in Germany, Trieste in Italy, and Rijeka/Fiume in Croatia. The book considers how public memories are built and how old traditions are moulded to new forms in urban settings. Drawing on perspectives from across borderland, urban, and memory studies, this book will be an important resource for researchers with an interest in Europe, and in how urban memories are constructed and contested.

"Evaluation in the Post-Truth World explores the relationship between the nature of evaluative knowledge, the increasing demand in decision-making for evaluation and other forms of research evidence, and the post-truth phenomena of anti-science sentiments combined with illiberal tendencies of the present day. Rather than offer a checklist on how to deal with post-truth, the experts found herein wish to raise awareness and reflection throughout policy circles on the factors that influence our assessment and policy-related work in such a challenging environment. Journeying alongside the editor and contributors, readers benefit from three guiding questions to help identify specific challenges but tools to deal with such challenges: How are policy problems conceptualized in the current political climate? What is the relationship between expertise and decision-making in today's political circumstances? How complex has evaluation become as a social practice? Evaluation in the Post-Truth World will be benefit evaluation practitioners at the program and project levels, as well as policy analysts and scholars interested in applications of evaluation in the public policy domain"--

"This book aims to change the way we think about politics, talk about politics, and vote. It does this in two ways. First, it shows it's impossible for a Republican, Democrat, or voter in any political party to possess a significant level of knowledge of facts that would help their party secure or maintain political power. It calls this knowledge "political knowledge" and shows how unfeasible it is for anyone to have it. Second, it explains how we might best be politically engaged, given that we have virtually no political knowledge. To argue that it is impossible for any person to possess a significant amount of political knowledge, the book depends on two empirically verified facts. The first is that we have virtually no means of acquiring political information except by believing what other people say. The second is that, when people start talking about politics, they become highly unreliable. They're very likely to say false things when voicing political opinions because they employ a belief forming process that psychologists call "identity protective cognition." This is a type of reasoning aimed, not at truth, but at preserving one's membership in some identity-defining group. In combination, these two observations cast serious doubt on all of our political beliefs. As the book explains, however, the proper response to this doubt is not to simply avoid politics. Rather the best response is a kind of humble but real engagement with politics that constantly manifests one's awareness that one is, at best, making educated guesses rather than speaking and acting from knowledge"--

"Through a wide range of international and interdisciplinary case studies, this book develops the notion of legacy, and in particular, 'living legacy'- that is, it explores power relations in the context of time as a means to considering and challenging social injustice. Legacies of social injustice are very frequently erased, denied or declared redundant. Framed by the concept of 'legacy', this book does not conceive legacy as simply referring to relics of the past, or to cultural heritage practices and artifacts. Instead, the book focuses upon 'living legacies', understood as ongoing, actively engaged in the re-constitution of power relations, and influential in the development of alternative political imaginaries. Through a variety of studies from many different contexts-including Indigenous trauma in Australia, displacement in Beirut, women travellers in Scotland, and heteronormativity in Hollywood-the book draws not only upon historiographic, sociological, legal, political, cultural and other disciplinary approaches, but also specifically makes use of feminist and postcolonial perspectives. Foregrounding the legacies of inequality and marginalisation, it contributes to a re-thinking of power and social change in ways that together suggest potential means for unsettling and reimagining such legacies. This book will appeal to an interdisciplinary range of readers with interests and concerns in the broad area of social justice, but especially to those working in sociolegal studies, sociology, gender studies, indigenous studies and politics"--

"The book explores the politics of immigration in Australia through an in-depth study of the 'new generation' of young Korean migrants in Melbourne. States with high rates of immigration such as Australia can determine who enter their societies, but some migrants, such as younger Koreans, can determine how and where they live due to desirable attributes such as their skills, education, and adaptability. The book uses Albert Hirschman's 'exit, voice, and loyalty' schema to explore the choices available to such new and would-be citizens, especially when faced with economic, social, and/or political decline in their host society. Through in-depth interviews, the book explores if young Koreans were most attracted to the options of staying in Australia (loyalty), changing it from within (voice), or leaving (exit). The most common experience among younger Koreans, the book finds, is loyalty: most respondents express satisfaction with their lives in Australia and want to make it their home. These findings reveal how a particular group of migrants negotiates their citizenship with a would-be host society. By extension, the book illustrates the range and degree of strategies available to other migrants and would-be migrants, and how they might secure their livelihoods and well-being at a time of greater restrictions on international migration. This book will be of interest to scholars of multiculturalism and immigration history in Australia, citizenship and migration and Korean Studies"--