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"Good governance, at present, is a widely used term. Bangladesh has maintained a steady economic growth rate. This book explores the governance situation in Bangladesh and highlights some of the key strategies to deal with the issues related to governance. The civil society of Bangladesh plays a crucial function in the institutionalization of democracy. Additionally, the NGOs, a key component of civil society, have continued to be enthusiastically involved in the rural community progress programs to enhance the well-being of the vulnerable people in rural areas. Moreover, the book also contains an analysis of Bangladesh's governance situation from good governance. Good governance is essential in Bangladesh because there is ongoing concern about the state's authority, the public sector's failure to meet citizens' needs and demands, the continuation of corrupt and inefficient public services, and an unfavorable business environment stifling the private sector's development. Finally, the idea of e-governance is discussed in this book. The advancements in Internet Technology (IT) can enhance service delivery efficiency. To satisfy the growing needs of today's citizens, the government has come under pressure to become more efficient and transparent. This book, it is hoped, will be helpful for those policymakers, researchers, students, and academics interested in learning about the governance situation in Bangladesh"--

The Qing dynasty office purchase system ( juanna ), which allowed individuals to pay for appointments in the government, was regarded in traditional Chinese historiography as an inherently corrupt and anti-meritocratic practice. It enabled participants to become civil and military officials while avoiding the competitive government-run examination systems. Lawrence Zhang's groundbreaking study of a broad selection of new archival and other printed evidence-including a list of over 10,900 purchasers of offices from 1798 and narratives of purchase-contradicts this widely held assessment and investigates how observers and critics of the system, past and present, have informed this questionable negative view. The author argues that, rather than seeing office purchase as a last resort for those who failed to obtain official appointments via other means, it was a preferred method for wealthy and well-connected individuals to leverage their social capital to the fullest extent. Office purchase was thus not only a useful device that raised funds for the state, but also a political tool that, through literal investments in their positions and their potential to secure status and power, tied the interests of official elites ever more closely to those of the state

This edited collection examines women journalists experiences and obstacles in South Africa's (SA) democracy. They exercise power, and add a vital diversity, but they are routinely harassed in the online social media space of big tech companies such as Twitter and Facebook by populist and corrupt politicians and their supporters. Using SA as the case study, this book examines attempts to curb women journalists freedom combining theory and first-hand accounts. The target audience for the book includes scholars of political philosophy, gender, media, communications, NGOs, media freedom activists and journalists. Glenda Daniels is Associate Professor in Media Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, SA. She is author of Power and Loss in South African Journalism: news in the age of social media (2020); Fight for Democracy: the ANC and media in South Africa (2012) and co-author of Glass Ceilings: women in South African Media Houses, 2018 (2018). Kate Skinner is Executive Director of the Association for Independent Publishers, SA. She has been a media freedom activist, researcher and policy analyst for the last 25 years and has worked in the unions, NGOs, government and the media industry to build a diverse, independent media sector.

"Once the beehive coke oven was perfected in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, the coal and coke industry began to flourish and supply other fledgling industries with the fuel they needed to succeed. The thrust of this growth came from Henry Clay Frick, who opened his first coal mines in the Morgan Valley of Fayette County in 1871. There, he helped lead the industry, making it the major developmental force in industrial America. This book traces the birth and growth of the early coal and coke industry from 1870 to 1920, primarily in Fayette and Westmoreland Counties. Beyond Frick's importance to the industry, other major topics covered in this history include the lives and struggles of the miners and immigrants who worked in the industry, the growth of unions and the many strikes in the region, and the attempts to clean the surrounding waterways from the horrific pollution that resulted from industrial development. Perhaps the most significant fact is that this book uses primary sources contemporary with the golden age of the coal and coke industry. That effort offers an alternative view and helps repair the common portrayal of Frick as corrupt by showing his work as that of an industrial genius."

"Where can a tin of tuna buy you clean clothes? Which British education system struggles with 50% illiteracy? Where do teetotal Muslims attend AA meetings? Where is it easier to get 'spice' than paracetamol? Where does self-harm barely raise an eyebrow? Welcome to Her Majesty's Prison Service, a creaking and surreal world that has been left to rot for decades in the shadows of polite society. Like most people, documentary-maker Chris Atkins didn't spend much time thinking about prisons. But after becoming embroiled in a dodgy scheme to fund his latest film, he was sent down for five years. His new home would be HMP Wandsworth, one of the oldest, largest, and most dysfunctional prisons in Europe. Horrifying, moving, and darkly funny, this is the unvarnished depiction of what he found. With a cast of characters ranging from wily drug dealers to corrupt screws to senior officials bent on endless (and fruitless) reform, this is the reality behind the locked gates. Full of incredible and hilarious stories, A Bit of a Stretch reveals the true scale of our prison crisis and why it is costing us all."--Book jacket

"Accountability is a crucial feature of every successful democratic system, and the failure to develop functioning mechanisms of accountability has undermined democratic consolidation efforts worldwide. This book advances the idea that reliable tools to hold officials accountable are essential for democratic governance and that one of the key threats to accountability comes from corrupt practices, especially when they are integrated - or normalized - in the day-to-day activities of institutions. It evaluates the successes and failures of institutions, politicians, political parties, bureaucracies, and civil society by focusing on the experiences of contemporary Ukraine. While the book details the case of Ukraine, the topic is directly relevant for countries that have experienced democratic backsliding and those that are at risk. Normalizing Corruption addresses several interconnected questions about the development of accountability in its chapters: Under what circumstances do incumbents lose elections? How well do party organizations encourage cohesive behavior? Is executive authority responsive to inquiries from public organizations and other government institutions? How can citizens influence government actions? Do civil servants conduct their duties as impartial professionals, or are they beholden to other interests? The research builds upon extensive fieldwork, data collection, and data analysis conducted since 1999"--

The Egyptian Revolution of 2011 began with immense hope, but was defeated in two and a half years, ushering in the most brutal and corrupt regime in modern Egyptian history. How was the passage from utmost euphoria into abject despair experienced, not only by those committed to revolutionary change, but also by people indifferent or even hostile to the revolution? In Martyrs and Tricksters, anthropologist and Cairo resident Walter Armbrust explores the revolution through the lens of liminality - initially a communal fellowship, where everything seemed possible, transformed into a devastating limbo with no exit. To make sense of events, Armbrust looks at the martyrs, trickster media personalities, public spaces, contested narratives, historical allusions, and factional struggles during this chaotic time. Armbrust shows that while martyrs became the primary symbols of mobilization, no one took seriously enough the emergence of political tricksters. Tricksters appeared in media - not the vaunted social media of a "Facebook revolution" but television - and they paved the way for the rise of Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi. In the end Egypt became a global political vanguard, but not in the way the revolutionaries intended. What initially appeared as the gateway to an age of revolution has transformed the world over into the age of the trickster.

"Whilst corruption and organized crime have been widely researched, they have not yet been specifically linked to sport, Corruption, Mafia Power and Italian Soccer offers an original insight into this new research area. Adopting a psycho-social approach based mainly on Pierre Bourdieu's praxeology, the book demonstrates that corruption and the mafia presence in Italian soccer reflect the Italian socio-political and economic system itself. Supported by interviews with security agency officials, anti-corruption organisations and anti-mafia organisations, and analysing empirical data obtained from a case study of 'Operation Dirty Soccer', this important study explains why mafia groups are involved in soccer, what the links are to political corruption, and what might be done to control the problem. It also examines the mechanisms that make it possible for mafia groups and affiliates to enter the football industry and discusses how mafia groups exploit and corrupt Italian football. This is important reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students, researchers and academics working in the areas of sociology, criminology, policing, anthropology, sociology of sport, sport deviance, sport management and organised crime. It is also a valuable resource for practitioners in the football industry"--

Niccolo Machiavelli lived in a fiercely competitive world, one where brute wealth, brazen liars and ruthless self-promoters seemed to carry off all the prizes; where the wealthy elite grew richer at the expense of their fellow citizens. In times like these, many looked to crusading religion to solve their problems, or they turned to a new breed of leaders - super-rich dynasties like the Medici or military strongmen like Cesare Borgia; upstarts from outside the old ruling classes. In the republic of Florence, Machiavelli and his contemporaries faced a choice: should they capitulate to these new princes, or fight to save the city's democratic freedoms? Be Like the Fox follows Machiavelli's dramatic quest for political and human freedom through his own eyes. Masterfully interweaving his words with those of his friends and enemies, Erica Benner breathes life into his penetrating, comical, often surprising comments on events. Far from the cynical henchman people think he was, Machiavelli emerges as his era's staunchest champion of liberty, a profound ethical thinker who refused to compromise his ideals to fit corrupt times. But he did sometimes have to mask his true convictions, becoming a great artist of fox-like dissimulation: a master of disguise in dangerous times

Acknowledgements -- Contents -- Chapter 1 Introduction -- Abstract -- Degraded and Poor Imagery: Adding Impact -- Structure and Scope -- References -- Chapter 2 They Shoot Pixels Don't They? Killing Pixels from Patriot Games to Collateral Murder and Call of Duty -- Abstract -- Transmission Vérité, Poor Images, and Digitized Death -- Hot, Cold, and Fatal -- Collateral Murder, Videogames, and Defamiliarization -- Capture and Kill -- References -- Chapter 3 Performing Murder on Live Television and Social Media -- Abstract -- I Filmed the Shooting See Facebook -- Don't Look Now-Avoiding or Promoting Notoriety and the Will-to-Representation -- Performance Killing on Camera -- Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 4 Rethinking the Aesthetics of Terror Videos -- Abstract -- The Islamic State, Social Media, and the Visual Aesthetic of Brutality -- Hardly Hollywood -- Conclusion: Pixelated Simulacra -- References -- Chapter 5 The Aesthetics of Sousveillance: Redacted (2007) -- Abstract -- Sousveillance Aesthetics -- Sousveillance: Empowerment and Violence -- Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 6 Splats and Splashes: The Drone Warfare Genre and Digitally Mediated Trauma -- Abstract -- The Drone Warfare Genre -- The Drone Warfare Genre: 'Bodies and Places' -- Aesthetics of an Attack: Setting up and Exploding -- Digital Death and Vicarious Trauma -- Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 7 Conclusion -- Abstract -- The Legacy of Corrupt Imagery -- The Contemporary Legacy -- References -- Index

How can citizens best protect themselves from the arbitrary power of abusive spouses, tyrannical bosses, and corrupt politicians? 'Exit Left' makes the case that in each of these three spheres the answer is the same: exit. By promoting open and competitive markets and providing the information and financial resources necessary to enable exit, the book argues that this can empower people's voices and offer them an escape from abuse and exploitation. This will advance a conception of freedom, viz. freedom as non-domination (FND), which is central to contemporary republican thought. Neo-republicans have typically promoted FND through constitutional means (separation of powers, judicial review, the rule of law, and federalism) and participatory ones (democratic elections and oversight), but this book focuses on economic means, ones that have been neglected by contemporary republicans but were commonly invoked in the older, commercial-republican tradition of Alexander Hamilton, Immanuel Kant, and Adam Smith. Just as Philip Pettit and other neo-republicans have revived and revised classical republicanism, so this book will do the same for commercial republicanism. This revival will enlarge republican practice by encouraging greater use of market mechanisms, even as it hews closely to existing republican theory

The 2010's was a critical period in the continuing, established trend of the spread of democracy worldwide: from the Arab Spring countries of Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Yemen to the unfolding turmoil of Myanmar and Ukraine, by way of the upheavals in Burkina Faso, Senegal and Ivory Coast, social mobilisation against autocratic, corrupt, or military regimes has precipitated political transitions that are characteristic of "democratisation." This book examines the state of democratisation theory and practice that reopens and revives the democratic transition debate, exploring the factors that lead to the demise of autocracy, the pathways and processes of change, and the choice for an eventual consolidation of democracy. For all its insights and shortcomings, the framework of transitology - a body of literature that has comparatively and through case-study analysis, examined common patterns, sequences, crises and outcomes of transitional periods - has been largely eschewed. The essays, written by international democratisation specialists, tackle the series of questions raised by a body of literature that remains highly useful to understand contemporary political turbulence and transformation, considering numerous crucial issues. This work will be of key interest to scholars, students and practitioners of governance, democratisation, comparative politics, international relations, political science and more broadly, history. --

"In 2014, Greg Orman made headlines with his historic Independent run for the U.S. Senate in Kansas. Voters gravitated to Orman's campaign in unprecedented numbers, challenging the entrenched dominance of the two major parties over American politics. In 'A Declaration of Independents' Orman describes how hyper-partisanship, division, and a win-at-all-costs environment in Washington have created a toxic culture of self-interest that has left average Americans behind. Orman makes a persuasive case that without fundamental change, our standard of living, our status in the world, and the very existence of the middle class are at risk. His withering critique of our ruling partisan duopoly explains why voters are choosing unconventional candidates in increasing numbers -- from his own 2014 Senate race to the nation's 2016 presidential campaign. Taking direct aim at the corrupt practices that keep the two parties in power despite historically low approval ratings, Orman argues . . . that the system is rigged for the benefits of special interests who buy access to power. Drawing on his own journey to a political independence, Orman lays out a plan for taking back our government by rejecting party politics and embracing a new Independent approach." -- Dust jacket

1. Introduction -- 2. Does an employment protection law matter? A panel data analysis of selected OECD countries, 1985-2012 -- 3. Network of legal citations: an analysis of some supreme court decisions on land acquisition in India -- 4. Surrogacy Contracting and Intermediation -- 5. Sharecropping in theory and practice: a selective review -- 6. Trade in Intermediate Goods, Endogenous Growth and Intellectual Property Rights -- 7. Multi-market Firms and Export Quota: Effects of Withdrawal of the Multi-Fiber Arrangement -- 8. Does foreign aid corrupt? : A theoretical note -- 9. Public-private Partnerships and Governance -- 10. Principles of Allocating Development Grant at Sub-National Level in India: A Suggested Methodology -- 11. Fiscal rule and social sector spending: A study of north east India -- 12. An Analysis on Impact of Employment Generation Policies on Rural Women in West Bengal, India -- 13. Poverty in Best Bengal: a review of recent performance and programmes -- 14. The Impact of MGNREGS on Rural Households: Evidence from a Quasi-Experiment -- 15. Does parental education have any role to play on female child disadvantage?. 16. School attendance and employment of youth in India: Convergence across caste and religious groups? -- 17. Adverse Effect of Bio-mass Fuel use on Pregnancy Outcome in Rural India.

Watching the Indonesian Elections 2014 -- CONTENTS -- FOREWORD -- INTRODUCTION -- 1. THE GUBERNATORIAL RACE IN JAKARTA: BACKGROUND AND IMPLICATIONS -- 2. INDONESIAN PARTIES STRUGGLE FOR ELECTABILITY -- 3. WHO WILL BE INDONESIAN PRESIDENT IN 2014? -- 4. INDONESIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION FORCING REJUVENATION OF PARTIES -- 5. RESISTING DEMOCRACY: FRONT PEMBELA ISLAM AND INDONESIA'S 2014 ELECTIONS -- 6. GETTING TO KNOW THE CONTESTANTS OF THE 2014 INDONESIAN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS -- 7. A SNAPSHOT OF THE CAMPAIGNING IN INDONESIA'S 2014 LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS -- 8. UNPACKING THE RESULTS OF THE 2014 INDONESIAN LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS -- 9. INDONESIA'S 2014 LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS: THE DILEMMAS OF "ELEKTABILITAS" POLITICS -- 10. THE ISLAMIC FACTOR IN THE 2014 INDONESIAN ELECTIONS -- 11. VOTE-BUYING IN INDONESIA'S 2014 ELECTIONS: THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN -- 12 GAP NARROWS BETWEEN CANDIDATES IN INDONESIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS -- 13. ANALYSING THE ECONOMIC PLATFORMS IN THE INDONESIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION -- 14. INDONESIAN ISLAMIC PARTIES AFTER THE 2014 ELECTIONS: DIVIDED AND SELF-CENTRED -- 15. SAFEGUARDING INDONESIA'S PLURALISM: AN ESSENTIAL TASK FOR JOKO WIDODO -- 16. JOKOWI'S KEY ECONOMIC CHALLENGE: IMPROVING FISCAL POLICY FOR EQUITABLE GROWTH -- 17. CROSSING THE RIVER WHILE AVOIDING THE STONES: JOKOWI'S RUN-UP TO THE PRESIDENCY -- 18. POST-ELECTIONS INDONESIA: TOWARDS A CRISIS OF GOVERNMENT? -- EPILOGUE. JOKOWI'S FIRST MONTHS: COMPROMISE CABINET, SUBSIDY CUTS, AND CORRUPT COALITION.