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"This volume seeks to develop new narratives on China's alternative policy and challenges policy makers on gender, regional, income and wage inequalities among rural migrant workers in China. The book also looks at China's social, environmental, economic and governance policies aimed at implementing a sustainable financial and corporate system for a prosperous society. The argument that China follows 'capitalism or socialism with Chinese characteristics' emanates from the Eurocentric ideological narratives based on 'varieties of capitalism' and 'national socialism'. This book attempts to move away from the duality of ideological criticism and dichotomous defence of China based on the ideological prisms of capitalism or socialism. It rejects the flawed analysis of both sides of the ideological divide. For all its limitations within the world capitalist system, China's achievements can't be undermined. The attempt to undermine Chinese achievements is a process and a strategy to delegitimise the Chinese state, the Communist Party of China, the Chinese success story, and to hide the available alternatives from the experience of The Chinese Way. The book will be a great read to students, researchers and scholars of Chinese studies, political economy, development studies and those interested in China's economic and public policies in general"--

"China has arguably the largest community of Australian studies in the world. However, not much is known about this phenomenon, including its emergence, rationale, interests, influences, and the implications for strategic Australia-China engagement in a region of increasing challenge and uncertainty. This volume unpacks how Australia is taught, learned, researched, communicated, and promoted in the Asian giant as well as its largest trade partner. In doing so, it penetrates the representation and essence of this phenomenon to seek both the 'Australianness' and the 'Chineseness' in it. This volume collects contributions from a group of leading and emerging Chinese and Australian scholars--who are members and insiders of this community--to jointly debate on this intellectual entity and its significant influences and implications. Produced at a critical moment of commemorating half a century of China-Australia diplomatic relations and four decades of formalised Australian studies in China, this volume provides an up-to-date, comprehensive, and insightful examination of this Australia-China engagement. It will be of interest to scholars, students, policymakers, and general readers in areas of Australian studies, Chinese studies, Asia-Pacific studies, China-Australia relations, and international relations"--

"This book examines the importance of flat ontologies for law and sociolegal theory. Associated with the emergence of new materialism in the humanities and social sciences, the elaboration of flat ontologies challenges the binarism that has maintained the separation of culture from nature, and the human from the nonhuman. Although most work in legal theory and sociolegal studies continues to adopt a non-flat, anthropocentric and immaterial take on law, the critique of this perspective is becoming more and more influential. Engaging the increasing legal interest in flat ontologies, this book offers an account of the main theoretical perspectives, and their importance for law. Covering the work of the five major theorists in the area - Gabriel Tarde, Bruno Latour, Manuel DeLanda, Karen Barad and Graham Harman - the book aims to encourage this interest, as well as to explicate the important problems of and differences between these perspectives. Flat ontologies, the book demonstrates, can offer a valuable new perspective for understanding and thinking about law. This book will appeal mainly to scholars and students in legal theory and sociolegal studies; as well as others with interests in the posthumanist turn in philosophy and social theory"--

"This edited volume will be the first book examining the art history of China's socialist period from the perspective of modernism, modernity, and global interactions. The majority of chapters are based on newly available archival materials and fresh critical frameworks/concepts. By shifting the frame of interpretation from socialist realism to socialist modernity, this study reveals the plurality of the historical process of developing modernity in China, the autonomy of artistic agency, and the complexity of an art world conditioned, yet not completely confined, by its surrounding political and ideological apparatus. The unexpected global exchanges examined by many of the authors in this study and the divergent approaches, topics, and genres they present add new sources and insights to this research field, revealing an art history that is heterogeneous, pluralistic and multi-layered. The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, art and politics, and Chinese studies"--

Originally published in 1989, this book reviews the history of maritime control measures from before the First World War and provides a critical examination of both the objectives of maritime power and the concepts of disarmament, peace zones, parity, verifiability and peaceful co-existence. It argues that the objectives or maritime power are not necessarily incompatible with international security and that strategic deterrence can contribute to improved security. Limitation measures, it is argued, can in some cases be double-edged, endangering other security fields and having a destabilizing effect. The book stresses the need for non-absolute solutions in order to achieve a reasonable level of security and makes proposals for both structural and confidence-building measures along those lines

Water policy in United States is one of the most complex topics in the field of public policy. This book, a comparative study of Texas, California, and Alabama's drought response, provides for the first time a common framework for analysis to investigate how water scarcity and droughts have interacted with various state-level factors to produce a wide degree of variance in policy innovations. Using Toddi Steelman's (2010) conceptual framework, the authors examine multiple variables that impact water policy innovation, while showing how one policy solution does not fit all. They expertly demonstrate divergence in water policies due to the environmental cultures, water distribution, and structures in each case, despite similar drought conditions. As water is increasingly stressed in the future, the ability to draw on lessons learned by these states will provide valuable insight to other entities that face droughts and water shortages. The Drought Dilemma is a must read for all those looking for recommendations for the construction of drought policy, as well as future approaches to understand comparative state drought policy.

"This book provides a quantitative and qualitative overview of the overall impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa's (BRICS countries) capacity to re-shape global climate governance and explore areas for mutual cooperation. BRICS countries account for nearly 40% of the total world population and are thus intrinsic to the global efforts and results for Agenda 2030, the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement and beyond. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic does not at first appear to be directly related to BRICS' policies to address climate change, but it has influenced the pace and nature of climate action due to the loss of human and financial capital. This book examines this correlation and raises awareness of the COVID-19 pandemic's impacts and potential solutions on BRICS' climate strategies. Drawing on case studies from each country, the authors use examples from urban governance, energy transitions strategy, foreign investment and more to illustrate how COVID-19 has negatively or positively impacted climate data and draw wider conclusions about the long-term climate policies that may be implemented. This volume will be of great interest to students and scholars of climate change, environmental politics and governance and global development studies"--

"This book focuses on India's anti-colonial politics which Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) brought into the mainstream of nationalist thinking. It browses through the entire corpus of Tagore's writings in the genres of poetry, fiction, and essays, to glean both used and hitherto unused/un-translated writings that illumine Tagore's gender consciousness and (proto)feminist thought and empathy, presenting it in a wholly new light. It teases out Tagore's original views on India's industrial-capitalist development and his views on the roles of applied scientists and engineers in it to highlight his critique of the nature of science teaching in colonial India. The volume also delineates Tagore's Upanişadic ecologism that creatively evoked anticolonialism and patriotism. Lucid and topical, the book will be indispensable for students and researchers in the fields of comparative literature, history, political science, international relations, and sociology at all levels, and anybody interested in literary criticism and cultural studies"--

This book explores the psychological-cultural dimension of the United States-Canada relationship by analyzing how each country has viewed the other. Drawing on a wide range of data, including primary sources, secondary literature, and survey research, the methodology is historical/analytical, seeking to explicate and understand how Americans and Canadians, and their elites, have viewed one another from the moment they were launched on separate trajectories, why they developed and held such ideas, and what consequences these images had for the bilateral relationship between the countries. American and Canadian images of the other have deep roots and are, in many respects, recognizably the same today as they were many decades ago. Moreover, even when anchored to important realities of the other, such images influence the perception and interpretation of events, and actions taken by the other. How Americans and Canadians have viewed each other, the sources of these ideas, the way they have been influenced by each country's domestic politics and place within the international system, and the consequences for their bilateral relationship are among the questions examined. Interdisciplinary in approach, the book will appeal to scholars and students of political science, international relations, and history.

"This book answers why democracy has failed to deliver effective solutions to income inequality problems over the last four decades, and if democracy can offer solutions to various increases in inequality in the future. It also addresses what elements are necessary for democracy to serve as an effective alternative for addressing inequality issues. Historical experiences over the past 40 years, including the global financial crisis, not only underscore the need for fresh perspectives on income inequality in economics but also question the ability of democracy to continue providing alternatives for addressing the escalating forms of inequality. Seo and Kang's response to these inquiries diverge from conventional research in several significant ways. Primarily, what sets this research apart from existing studies is its intensified focus on income inequality as a product of the complex interplay between the political and economic domains, rather than a standalone examination of income inequality in isolation. Through a political economy perspective, this book argues that income inequality and income redistribution are shaped by the institutions, policies, and laws generated by the political system, with their formation and nature being determined by the power distribution among socio-political groups. A useful resource not only to researchers who study political phenomena in the field of economics, but also to scholars who study economic phenomena in the field of politics. Furthermore, it will be particularly intriguing for policymakers concerned with issues of inequality and income redistribution"--

First published in 1979, Political Identity in South Asia deals with the relationship between language, religion and political identity. Political identity is a broader concept than that of nationalism which it embraces, and the contributors are concerned with a wide range of political phenomena in South Asia. Primary attention is paid to linguistic and religious factors in the making of political identities and the formulation of new political demands, but the operation of these factors is seen as being conditioned and, in some cases, determined by grander political and economic forces. Within this framework, three papers are particularly concerned with Muslims in South Asia, and three with southern India, where language has played an important part. Two papers are studies of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and one is concerned with tribal populations in India. The volume is completed by two more general essays on the subject of political identity. This book will be of interest to students of sociology, history, South Asian studies and ethnic studies.

"The book surveys processes of party development in the context of the ten years of democratic change in post-communist eastern Europe. It examines the capacity of the former ruling parties to attract contemporary voters and their role in contributing to the consolidation of the new democratic regimes. Attention is paid to key comparative processes of party development in terms of the professionalization of party activity, aspects of party system institutionalization, major dimensions of institutional and electoral development, and party finances.

"This book explores Soviet-North Korean relations during the Cold War (1945-1991). Based on many primary documents and sources (including Russian and Korean), it reveals how the influence of the Soviets on Pyongyang diminished during the course of the Cold War, from overwhelming at the time of the foundation of North Korea, to negligible at the time of collapse of the USSR. The book delves into the early history and foundation of North Korea, the August Plenum and the adaptation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the Sino-Soviet split. It covers topics previously neglected in previous studies on North Korea, such as the preparations and waging of the Korean War, Kim Il-sung's road to political independence, the widespread mockery of North Korean propaganda by Soviet citizens and the Soviet origins of the design of the North Korean flag. This book will be a valuable resource to students and scholars of North Korea, Russian Studies, the Cold War and Communism"--

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a peer-review mechanism, reviewing all 193 UN Member States' protection and promotion of human rights. After ten years of the existence of the UPR mechanism, this collection examines the effectiveness of the UPR, theoretical and conceptual debates about its modus operandi, and the lessons that can be drawn across different regions/states to identify possible improvements. The book argues that despite its limitations, the UPR mechanism with its inclusive, cooperative, and collaborative framework, is an important human rights mechanism with the potential to evolve over time into an effective cooperative tool for monitoring human rights implementation. Divided into three parts, the first part focuses on exploring a variety of theoretical approaches to understanding the UPR mechanism. The second part examines specific human rights themes and the relationship between the UPR mechanism and other international mechanisms. Finally, the third part questions implementation and the ways in which states/regional groupings have engaged with the UPR mechanism and what lessons can be learned for the future. The volume will be a valuable resource for researchers, academics, and policymakers working in the area of international human rights law, international organizations, and international relations. We would like to acknowledge the UPR Academic Network (UPRAN) for bringing together the experts on this project and the University of Stirling for providing funds to facilitate open access dissemination for parts of this output.

"Rarely in the short history of liberal-democratic government has a primer on basic liberal-democratic values and institutions been more needed than now. Popular discontent, even anger, with democratic governments has grown steadily over the past twenty years. And not since the 1930s have citizens and their elected officials been so baffled about their respective roles in the maintenance of both democratic governments and liberal economies. This book attempts to address this growing need. Especially written as a primer for courses in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE), it has introductory chapters on all three main disciplines. It also has chapters on the rule of law and on three important public-policy areas: Corruption, Climate, and Civil Society. Individual topics discussed include free and fair elections, populism, responsible government, republican and Westminster systems of government, regulated free markets, the Great Recession of 2008, globalization, greenwashing, identity politics, academic freedom, utilitarianism, social contract theory, positive and negative liberty, and the good life. Historically informed, The Ethics and Economics of Liberal Democracies: Foundations for PPE is sure to be of interest to students who are interested in public-policy work, as well as those who are interested in both the theory and practice of democratic government"--