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"This book examines the growing phenomenon of armed banditry in Nigeria and its implication for national security. Nigeria's bandit conflict and deepening security crisis is fuelled by the existence of vast ungoverned trans-border spaces where various non-state armed groups operate unhindered and outside of the law, engaging in various forms of transnational crime. This book explores the activities of these groups to assess the nature and significance of banditry as a complex threat to security. It does so against the backdrop of reports of increased bandit attacks on farms, markets, mining sites, villages and rural communities, and the rising tide of violent crimes in Nigeria, especially the northern region. The book analyses the factors that are responsible for the emergence of banditry as a recent national and transnational security threat and outlines the contemporary dynamics of Nigeria's banditry crisis and how it can be mitigated. This book will be of interest to researchers and students in the field of African Studies, International Relations, Security and Strategic Studies, Political Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, as well as policymakers and practitioners interested in complex security threats and their implications in Nigeria and beyond"--

"This book is about building and maintaining involved, sustainable, and inclusive communities from the ground up during a period of unprecedented growth and global change. It explains the concepts and principles of community and sustainability, giving readers a framework of sustainable community planning to put into practice. Written to help communities identify and reconnect their true essence to their ecological setting with the objectives of raising their quality of life by increasing social, environmental, and economic sustainability. Those with an interest in community, sustainability, and leadership will benefit from the forward-thinking approach the authors present"--

"Ideas of Europe is a critical essay reassessing the founding myths of Europe and the making of a European identity from Antiquity to the present age. Antonelli argues that the intrinsic fragility and precarious nature of the perceived geographical entity of Europe has been compensated by the creation of a strong and wide European cultural identity, which has embraced Latin tradition as interpreted and appropriated by Germanic, Romance, Slavonic as well as Greek and Byzantine cultures to form the European cultural space as we know of today. The development of a creative relationship between antiquity and modernity, and the birth of a European Literature have created a 'time' of and for Europe. The method used throughout the book is rigorously historical-philological on the one hand, while on the other it is enriched through critical dialogue with the great authors of the European tradition - from the classical Greek-Latin figures to the men of letters and philosophers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This critical history of the cultural representations of Europe is a vital text for readers from across the humanities and social sciences who are interested in cultural history and in the values of Europe"--

"Pathways to Violence Against Migrants traces the different pathways, or combinations of causal mechanisms, that lead from non-violent opposition to migration into anti-migrant violence. Applying the conceptual apparatus of social movement studies (frames, relations, opportunities and collective emotions), the book develops six distinct sequences of causal mechanisms. These show how violence can develop through rapid processes of moral outrage and far right mobilisation, through long processes of uneven demobilisation and escalation, or independently of any nonviolent protest at all. The six pathways are developed through a comparative, mixed-methods study of 81 cases of anti-migrant violence in Sweden between 2012 and 2017. The cases involve various actors (ranging from unorganised youth gangs and village associations to neo-Nazi organisations) as well as very different types and intensities of violence (from death threats to arson attacks and bombings). Demonstrating the diversity of pathways to violence in a restricted setting and against a restricted category of targets, the book argues strongly against reducing the causes of violence to individual pathology, to ideological "extremism", or to any single explanatory model. This book will be of interest to researchers of political violence, the far right, anti-migrant politics, racism, and social movements"--

"This book examines "Rhetorical Children" as visible and vocal communicators, shaping public discourse on contentious social issues related to organized labor, civil rights, gun violence, and climate change. This book explores four key social movement case studies: the 1903 Mother Jones-led March of the Mill Children to reform child labor laws, the 1963 Dr Martin Luther King Jr.-led Children's Crusade to end segregation, the 2018 Parkland student-led March for Our Lives movement to end gun violence, and the ongoing struggle for climate change mitigation led by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. Through these case studies, the book outlines three rhetorical strategies, namely children's ability to activate adults' moral obligation; to invoke threats to natality and lost childhood; and to disrupt social order. It enables readers to better understand Rhetorical Children and the rhetorical tools required for social movements. Assessing the powerful role children play in shaping public discourse, this book will be of interest to students and scholars in the field of Communication Studies, Rhetoric, Public Address, Social Movements and Cultural Studies"--

This book examines ISIS' media propaganda machine. The book focuses on case studies that have been largely understudied in relation to ISIS' media production. Empirically, it offers new insights into how ISIS uses its media production to disseminate its extremist ideology by focusing on video games, educational apps, Dark Web sites, and offline billboards. The book argues that despite all the discussion about how ISIS has disappeared or even died, the terrorist group's daily activities on the Dark Web show that they are still thriving and disseminating their propaganda in more than 20 different languages, and effectively functioning as an international news organization. Using a mixed-method research approach, the book offers a multilayered understanding of media content and fills a major gap in the literature, especially in relation to the use of educational apps and the Dark Web. This book will be of much interest to students of media and communication studies, terrorism and counterterrorism, Middle Eastern politics, and international relations.

The Limits of Destalinization in the Soviet Union (1986) examines the forms, aspects and significance of the phenomenon of rehabilitation in the Soviet Union between 1953 and 1980, when victims of Stalin's terror were released from camps or posthumously rehabilitated. It describes the political manipulation of the selection of victims qualified for rehabilitation and reinstatement in the Communist Party, and reviews the formal and juridical procedures, as well as looking at the way in which the commemoration of the victims was handled in propaganda and historiography.

First published in 1970, Economics of Socialism covers all aspects of socialist economics: planning, profit, production and growth, investment, consumption, labor and land. The author then goes on to discuss pricing, money and banking, fiscal policy and control, and both domestic and foreign trade and international economic cooperation. The book is introduced by a background chapter on the socialist economic system, models of the socialist economy, the reforms, and the new socialist economics. It ends with a singularly objective comparison of socialist and capitalist economies and seeks to answer the question of whether the two systems are indeed converging. The book is based on socialist sources published in the Eastern European countries, which Professor Wilczynski has studied in the original, and which he is able to interpret against a first-hand knowledge of the countries concerned. He also provides a considerable apparatus which will be useful to students: a full glossary of socialist economic terms and extensive references for further reading in English. This is an interesting historical reference work for scholars and researchers of Soviet economics and Russian economics.

"Roberts presents a rigorous and accessible assessment of the Intellectual Dark Web's origins, shared philosophy, cultural importance and limitations. Since the mid-2010s, the Intellectual Dark Web (IDW) has been an unprecedented cultural and intellectual phenomenon. Using primarily podcasts and youtube videos, a new generation of public intellectuals has appeared, loosely coalesced and gaining a vast global audience"--

The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Politburo (1992) is the definitive history and political analysis of this institution. Extensive use of new Soviet sources permitted the authors to provide a comprehensive analysis of the way in which the Politburo operated and a sociological examination of its membership. The history of the Politburo is presented in a lucid and rigorous account that charts its development from creation by Lenin in 1919 to sidetracking by Gorbachev in 1990: an organization that, as the authors state, subjected the whole of the USSR to its ruthless dictatorship, but itself bowed time and again to the leader of its own making'.

This book analyses the Islamic State's (IS) media and governance strategy from a critical media and cultural studies perspective. It deploys Deleuze and Guattari's concept of assemblage and Foucault's theories of dispositif (dispositive, apparatus) and biopower to understand the ways in which IS governed its subjects during the tenure of its so-called caliphate'. This theoretical triangulation is used to situate the group as more than just a terrorist organisation, but rather as a more amorphous force with proclivities toward governance. The analysis of globally fluid and conjunctive terrorist strategies executed through media, governance and conduct, as part of and produced by IS's dispositif, manifests in the group's epistemology, discourse and social ontology. To analyse these processes, the book deploys a dispositif analysis of official IS administrative documents, media produced by the group's English-language media wing (al-Hayat Media Center), and IS Twitter activity, including the use of nonhuman bots. In doing so, it seeks to reveal the resonance between IS's media and governmental discourses, develop dispositif theory, and to argue for more context-specific formulations of biopolitics. This book will be of much interest to students of Critical Terrorism Studies, social theory, media theory and International Relations.

The United States and China are each actively pursuing development of a Blue Economy to promote greater marine, maritime, and naval capabilities through moreinnovative,sustainable and environmentally friendly means. This book examines China's approach to developing a Blue Economy, compares China's efforts to developments in the United States, analyses prospects for cooperation, and competition, and outlines strategic implications arising from China's linkage of the Blue Economy development concept to its Maritime Silk Road initiative. An understanding of the Blue Economy as it is being pursued in China and the Indo-Pacific region is extremely relevant for academics, industry professionals, and government officials. Features Describes in detail the development of the Blue Economy concept in China over time Includes geostrategic analysis based on the author's extensive research and explains the implications of China's Blue Economy strategy for the Indo-Pacific region Discusses timely and important topics of interest to government, industry, and academic experts, both present and future Adds value to the studies, interdisciplinary collaborations, and expertise on a complex issue of strategic, technological, and economic concern Clarifies the linkages among Blue Economy, environmental and sustainable development andrecognizes the importance of understanding the Blue Economy concept at a global scale This book is written for everyone interested in Blue Economy studies, those who study and practice international relations, environmental policy and development, marine policy and governance,maritime and naval strategy, international and Asian affairs, as well as Indo-Pacific security matters.

"Living with Energy Poverty: Perspectives from the Global North and South expands our collective understanding of energy poverty and deepens our recognition of the phenomenon by engaging with the lived experiences of energy-poor households across different contexts. Understanding the lived experience of energy poverty is an essential component in the design of any effort to alleviate what is fundamentally a deep-rooted, multi-faceted, wickedly complex problem. This requires a nuanced understanding of the causal factors and the research methods that can respond to the flexible spatial and temporal nature of the condition, as well as its well-being and justice implications. Drawing together the expertise and connectedness of authors from the Global South and North, this book presents novel approaches to understanding the often hidden forms of domestic energy deprivation. Case studies from twenty countries provide critical perspectives on this phenomenon, while analysing the policy practices, government strategy, and sustainability implications of divergent manifestations. The book takes a multidimensional perspective, challenging the bias towards energy production and service provision, which often do not align with the aspirations and realities of energy households across global contexts, thus facilitating a useful dialogue on the nature of energy poverty. The book is a timely source for policymakers, practitioners, and scholars seeking fresh, diverse insights into the everyday reality of energy poverty and wanting to better understand the challenges a people-centred, just energy transition can present"--

"This book attempts to answer the question "what on earth is the Marxist political philosophy?" The author discusses Karl Marx's vision of the good life and the good society, focusing in particular on the interrelationship between property and justice. Strictly speaking, the subject of the present book should not be placed within an a priori conceptual framework, which essentially focuses on academic notions of the good society, good government and justice. However, for the purposes of this book, Marxist political philosophy, namely communism, is already embodied in two aspects. This book argues that it is the noisy and confusing modern political philosophy that obscures the actualisation of human nature unfolded by the Marxist political philosophy before us. The book will be essential reading for students and scholars of philosophy, Marxism, Chinese studies and Chinese Marxist philosophy"--

"This book assesses landmark empirical studies and court cases of state capture, corruption, and fraud in South Africa's public sector. Bringing together some of the best minds in the subject, the book pushes critical thinking to interrogate interventions that could stamp out and stop the rot of corruption in society. The book investigates the behaviours of officials and politicians engaging in acts of corruption and considers how state institutions have been captured and corrupted by these people. Considering South Africa's historical and regional context, the book also considers the role of watchdogs, auditors and public opinion. In suggesting mechanisms for combating and preventing corruption, the book ultimately advocates for long-lasting preventive interventions instead of the current short-lived and costly approaches to combatting corruption. Combining original empirical studies, case law examination, and desk research, this book will be of interest to researchers and policymakers working on governance, corruption, law, public administration and ethics"--