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This book is a documentary record of the statements and debates that defined the formative period of a movement that has affected modern politics and history more than any other. It is generally acknowledged that not only were the theoretical problems faced by Russian Marxists during this period more complex than those encountered elsewhere but that they also brought to the resolution of these problems an originality and intellectual rigour second to none in the Marxist tradition. As predominantly a movement of intellectuals during these years they achieved a level of articulation and sophistication unsurpassed in the literature of Marxism, and that makes them such a rewarding subject of study. Plekhanov, Akselrod, Lenin, Struve, Martov, Trotsky, Luxemburg and Kautsky all feature in both celebrated and little-known texts alongside anonymous pamphleteers and writers of resolutions, editorials, flysheets and programmes

The matrix of deep-rooted social, political, sectarian, and patriarchal structures in Lebanon necessitates the introduction of a nuanced understanding of 'backlash' that veers away from definitions of the notion that apply mostly in Western contexts. This article proposes a contextualised definition of backlash for Lebanon and frames it by unpacking the structural flaws found in the very way Lebanese society is constructed, and in power relations within the country's familial structures. It also discusses the different forms of anti-feminist backlash observed in the country over the past few years, focusing on three axes: systemic violence, tactical backlash, and atomised backlash. Explored through case studies ranging from the hostile sectarian system against women in politics to radical religious groups, this article explores how backlash in this context diverges from the conceptualisations of backlash in existing literature.

Extant literature has not fully accounted for the changes underway in China's perspectives on the ethical risks of artificial intelligence (AI). This article develops a community-of-practice (CoP) approach to the study of Chinese policymaking in the field of AI. It shows that the Chinese approach to ethical AI emerges from the communication of practices of a relatively stable group of actors from three domains—the government, academia, and the private sector. This Chinese CoP is actively cultivated and led by government actors. The paper draws attention to CoP configurations during collective situated-learning and problem-solving among its members that inform the evolution of Chinese ethical concerns of AI. In so doing, it demonstrates how a practice-oriented approach can contribute to interpreting Chinese politics on AI governance. (J Contemp China / GIGA)

The ecological crisis is one of the greatest challenges humanity faces in this century. Climate change and ecosystem degradation pose real threats to the future of life on the planet. However, despite global security and survival being key themes in the study of international relations, environmental issues have remained on the sidelines of the discipline in recent decades. This reality seems to be changing with the publication of an increasing number of works that seek to rethink the discipline and the practice of world politics through the lens of ecology. These works call for a political transformation to address the crisis and challenge the traditional institutionalist approach dominant in the literature, which focuses on the analysis of intergovernmental cooperation and the effectiveness of international environmental institutions, such as the United Nations (UN) climate and biodiversity regimes.

The emerging political economy literature on dictatorial media politics rationalizes the cross-country variation in media freedom by dictators' demand for truthful information. Since a dictator can always punish the media for their truth-telling ex post, concerns of being punished could induce self-censorship and undermine the dictator's promise to media freedom. We study a formal model that brings the dictator's commitment problem to the fore, and characterize situations in which the commitment problem is especially severe. Our analysis suggests that neglecting self-censorship would lead to underestimating the amount of missing information in autocracies as well as overestimating the autocrats' level of tolerance for criticisms and authoritarian responsiveness. Based on the comparative statics, we contend that the variation in media outlets' quality and penetration can be leveraged to recover missing information due to self-censorship.

Abstract
This article explores the anthropological and social scientific literature on sea level rise and coastal erosion, examining questions of time, the human dimensions of seawalls, tensions over relocation and retreat, and the politics of finance. This includes insights from the author's research in Baja California Sur, Mexico, and along the California coast in the United States, where locally based experiences illustrate not only the challenges of rising seas and erosion, but also the importance of addressing these issues, sooner rather than later, through the critical lenses of anthropology. Overall, this article explores how anthropologists and other social scientists have critically examined the issues, processes, and tensions that shape global coastal responses, and points to directions for future research and engagement with sea level rise, eroding coasts, and humanity's future along the edge of the sea.

AbstractWe examine the use of forced confinement and isolation to limit the spread of COVID-19 in Ontario prisons and jails. Drawing on interview data, we illustrate how a reliance on forced confinement and isolation has exacerbated harms experienced by prisoners in relation to physical, mental, and social health. Through discourse analysis of grey literature, we then discuss the politics and governance of carceral institutions during the pandemic, focusing on how practices of isolation were legitimized during the pandemic, despite recent rulings establishing isolation and segregation as torture. We close by arguing that the case of isolation during the pandemic is one example which highlights the systemic and ongoing nature of rights violations in Canadian prisons and jails. To address these harms, we must shift focus away from reform and towards decarceration.

Classic spatial theory expects parties to converge on the same ideological position given certain assumptions. Many of these assumptions fail to hold in most countries, which may account for why this prediction frequently fails to materialise. Due to a unique combination of institutions, Australia presents the best chance for the theory to work: all votes must flow to either of the two major parties, parties approximate unitary actors, and elections see turnout as high as any democracy. If convergence should happen anywhere, it should be in Australia, and many argue that Australian parties indeed fulfil this prediction. However, in contrast to much of the literature, we do not find Australian politics to be unusually centrist. Based on five measures of ideology, we do not find convincing evidence that Australia's party system is any more convergent than any other.

In India, the politics of hope around slum relocation is created through claims that it would improve living standards of the poor and vulnerable families. Families, however, are not a unitary entity whose members are affected by relocation in the exact same ways. Motivated by the sets of feminist literature that problematize the family as a locus of both cooperation and conflict, and displacements as a gendered process, this article examines how forced relocation alters labor market engagements of (relocated) women, and why. Using an in-depth fieldwork-based case study of slums and a resettlement colony in Delhi, it elucidates if relocation-led sociospatial changes are reproducing gendered vulnerabilities in the city. Through that, my work underscores the need to transform the current policy into one that is gender sensitive and, hence, truly inclusive. JEL Classification: J46, R11, O20, P10

Although research has questioned the stability of identities, we know little about identity change. I examine a political event as a driver of identity change, namely the Brexit vote. I contend that the act of voting, choosing between two options, boosts the European and British identity underlying the vote choice. I test whether the increased identification with Europe or Britain comes with a reduction in the other identity. Using British Election Study panel data in a two-way fixed-effects design, I show that voting to remain increases identification with Europe but voting to leave does not increase British identification for Leavers. However, voting has no impact on how Remainers identify with Britain or Leavers identify with Europe. The results contribute to the growing literature on the link between politics and identities.

AbstractAbortion is a divisive issue in American politics. Studies analyzing attitudes toward abortion have found that abortion attitudes are relatively stable over time compared with attitudes on other issues and that religiosity and partisanship are key factors influencing abortion attitudes. Recent research has also found a role for benevolent sexism in abortion attitudes. This article expands on the literature and examines the role of hostile sexism—dislike toward women who are seen as usurping men's authority—in attitudes about abortion in the United States. Using data from the 2012, 2016, and 2020 American National Election Studies, we find that hostile sexism is significantly related to abortion attitudes, even after controlling for theoretically relevant covariates such as partisanship, ideology, religiosity, and sociodemographic variables. As hostile sexism increases, people are more likely to express pro-life attitudes rather than pro-choice attitudes.

This article explores the politics of humanitarian assistance in the aftermath of the Second World War, by examining the act of framing certain groups of Jewish refugees as "infiltrees", in the context of the British occupation zone of Germany, and the Bergen-Belsen DP camp more specifically. Based on archival sources and the available literature, it dissects this legal categorisation to help understand who the different individuals categorised as infiltrees were, the wider political conjuncture that informed this framing, and the real consequences felt by those who were framed as such. This article demonstrates the extent to which the attribution of legal categories to those on the move, with tangible effects for those individuals, represents a deeply politicised practice in Europe, which has been operating at least since the first half of the twentieth century, and which continues today.

Linking society and politics has been one of political parties' key functions in democracies around the world. Groups within political parties, like factions, auxiliary organisations and territorial party branches, have been important for parties to build such linkages because they help incorporate voters', members' and elites' interests. However, although intra-party groups have figured prominently in many studies, scholars often encountered difficulties when seeking to distinguish between them. Missing conceptual clarity is consequential because it has made communicating results across studies difficult and thus posed an obstacle to accumulating knowledge. This review brings together the literature on factionalism and party organisation to enhance conceptual clarity. Groups' organisational pervasiveness and flexibility allow distinguishing between factions, camps, auxiliary organisations and party branches. The article ends with suggestions for how to put the typology to work.

AbstractChallenging the assumptions of the principal‐agent theory, the recent bureaucratic politics literature contends that politicians do not necessarily have weaker capacities and bureaucrats are not necessarily bad apples. What this means for the delegation decision remains underexplored, particularly regarding how legislative capacity and bureaucratic reputation jointly affect delegation. We examine this issue with a trust perspective and a survey experiment of city mayors. Treating bureaucratic reputation as individual trustworthiness and perceived legislative capacity as institutional trustworthiness, we find they interact in complex ways in influencing delegation. When bureaucratic reputation is high, perceived legislative capacity is not associated with delegation. Perceived legislative capacity matters only when bureaucratic reputation is low, and high capacity relates to greater delegation willingness than when capacity is not considered. The findings have implications for studies on delegation, discretion, and bureaucratic reputation.

Abstract
Prevailing scholarly literature generally suggested the significance of an externally empowered oversight agency to ensure the public accountability of the police. As an electoral democratic regime, Taiwan's model of police oversight is characterized by the parallel existence of both internal and external investigative bodies. The Control Yuan is a constitutionally empowered 'super ombudsman' to monitor the integrity management of civil servants including the police. This thematic research studies the reflection of 'insiders'—the Control Yuan members who have taken part in police misconduct hearings, on this mechanism that is uncommon in western democracies. Paradoxically, the respondents generally questioned the effectiveness of this powerful establishment with both abundant human resources and legal authorization. The technical competence among investigators and party politics in agenda setting are also perceived as structural limitations of the current mechanism.