This book offers a rigorous and historically grounded analysis of Black women's political thought, activism, and institutional engagement across six decades. This book begins with 1965-a pivotal year in which the Voting Rights Act fundamentally transformed political participation for African Americans and, notably, the year Kamala Harris was born. This temporal convergence serves as the book's organizing framework, illustrating how the expansion of voting rights and the evolution of Black feminist politics created the conditions that made Harris's Vice Presidency possible. Drawing on political science, history, gender studies, and Black feminist theory, the chapters trace major developments in U.S. political life from 1965 to 2025. Topics include the interventions of Michelle Wallace, Ntozake Shange, and Alice Walker, as well as the implications of the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill hearings for understanding gendered political vulnerability. The analysis also engages the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations, showing how contemporary movements-including Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, and the resistance to book bans-extend a longer tradition of Black feminist political critique. The text foregrounds key analytical concepts such as linked fate and Black feminist epistemology, making it an essential resource for scholars and students of American politics, African American studies, and feminist theory. By situating Kamala Harris's Vice Presidency within a broader historical trajectory, the book demonstrates that Black feminist political behavior is indispensable to understanding the development of modern U.S. democracy.

With each edition of Black Feminist Politics, Duchess Harris solidifies its position as an essential and enduring text that affirms the vital importance of using a Black Feminist analysis to interpret US politics, society, and culture.

Crystal M. Moten, author of Continually Working: Black Women, Community Intellectualism and Economic Justice in Postwar Milwaukee

From Risk to Resilience challenges how decisions are made in an era defined not only by climate disruption, but by systemic uncertainty. Traditional risk models rely on historical data and stable assumptions. Yet across infrastructure, financial markets, and national systems, these foundations are breaking down, creating a widening gap between modeled risk and real-world uncertainty.

Sharron L. McPherson introduces The Resilience Method (TM), a decision-grade framework that enables governments, investors, and infrastructure leaders to assess whether systems, assets, and communities will remain viable over time. Moving beyond risk mitigation, she reframes resilience as a strategic discipline for operating under uncertainty.Drawing on three decades of experience across finance, law, and policy, and fieldwork across five continents, she connects complex risk signals to real-world decisions. This is a practical framework for navigating volatility, allocating capital with greater confidence, and building systems that endure.

This landmark volume offers the first comprehensive demographic examination of family transformation in contemporary India, situating the country's evolving landscape within the Second Demographic Transition (SDT) framework. It reveals a family system in flux, caught between deep-rooted collectivist traditions and rising individual aspirations. Grounded in extensive primary research, including unique, large-scale surveys across India, the book offers a thoughtful, data-driven analysis of how shifting family dynamics and evolving models of family-building are impacting vulnerable populations. These include women managing the "second shift," children shaped by diverse family structures, the elderly facing the erosion of care networks, and families bearing the responsibility of caring for disabled members. It navigates critical topics from transformations in nuptial bonding and cohabitation patterns among the urban educated to shifting childbearing practices and evolving marriage markets. What distinguishes this treatise is its capture of the fundamental dialectic: the tension between the "golden cage" of traditional marriage and the shadows of the SDT, rising age at marriage, marital dissolution, and individual self-actualisation, unfolding within persistent familial obligation and their impact on women's status and economic empowerment. Weaving macro-level data with rich micro-level evidence, the volume illuminates both winners and losers of this transition, offering indispensable insights for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners worldwide.

This Open Access book argues for a more prominent position on political and policy agendas for European population ageing. In the coming two decades, ageing populations will put significant pressure on pension systems, budgets, and economies in the European Union. Increasingly close integration between EU member states through political ties, trade and a common currency, means ageing in one country will have a direct impact on other member states. The book sketches four potential risks with cross-border implications: economic stagnation within the EU, high national debts and divergence, upward pressure on inflation, and socio-political tension within and between member states. In the report European Aging in Focus. Dealing with Pension and Budgetary Risks, the Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) outlines three policy directions to anticipate and mitigate these risks: anticipate an ageing European Union and prepare society for it; steer at the EU level towards ageing-resilient socio-economic and pension policies; and protect at the national level against potential negative consequences of European ageing. While this book has a specific focus on the position of the Netherlands within an ageing Europe, it is of interest to policy makers and researchers across Europe interested in population ageing, associated pension and budgetary risks, and particularly in potential effects of these risks across national borders.

This book highlights the interdisciplinary nature of entrepreneurship in today's rapidly changing global landscape. Written by leading scholars and industry experts, it examines how ethnicity shapes entrepreneurial practices among indigenous communities in Namibia. Drawing on diverse theoretical frameworks and real-world insights from local leaders, it offers a unique cultural perspective on entrepreneurship.

The volume explores how indigenous entrepreneurs balance modern economic demands with deep-rooted cultural values, while addressing the challenges and opportunities they face. By foregrounding authentic voices, it contributes to a deeper understanding of indigenous entrepreneurship. This book is an essential resource for researchers, students, practitioners, and communities interested in indigenous business and development.

This proceedings volume offers the latest developments in information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the tourism and hospitality industry. Feature papers presented at the International Federation of IT and Travel & Tourism (IFITT)'s 33rd Annual ENTER International e-Tourism Conference held in Breda, The Netherlands, this book demonstrates the breadth and maturity of contemporary eTourism research with strong focus on AI including large language models (LLMs), GenAI as a research instrument, AI-driven personalization, and the ethical implications of automation. The volume further emphasizes digital ecosystems and governance, with research on smart destinations, digital distribution, blockchain adoption, ICT lifecycles in tourism SMEs, and city metrics.

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) continue to revolutionize travel, tourism, and hospitality. Over 30+ years, the ENTER eTourism conference has been at the forefront of providing insight on the use and impact of new technologies for travel, tourism and hospitality practitioners and researchers. However, the rapid development and deployment of new developments, including generative AI (GenAI), service robotics, IoT, and Extended Realities (XR) technologies, among others, call for a rapid and careful reassessment of ICT in tourism, particularly including ethical and societal considerations.

Bridging the gap between visionary research and practical implementation to foster resilient tourism systems that serve businesses, communities, and the planet, this book is valuable to scholars, researchers, students, and practitioners in tourism and hospitality.

This book offers a historical review of globalization, an in-depth analysis of its current crises, along with predictions and practical prescriptions for its future development. Drawing on comparative studies of political and financial systems, economic models, intellectual cultures and ideologies, scientific and technological development, and crises management (pandemic, environment, etc.,), it argues that it's necessary to build a new form of globalization which is more conducive to global peace and prosperity. Also this book discusses how the Covid-19 pandemic is a watershed event that will have a significant impact on the future course of globalization. The strict lockdown policies implemented across the world highlight the threat that pandemics can pose to globalization, and have amplified the voices advocating Sino-American decoupling. However, the author is confident that it will lead to an alternative form of globalization instead by highlighting the need for greater international cooperation when facing health crises on a global scale.

This book tells the story of how residents of Iitate village and volunteers from across Japan came together to address the many complex issues that followed the Fukushima nuclear disaster.It outlines challenges faced by every rural village: producing the food and energy needed by unsustainable, increasingly disaster-prone cities; maintaining their rich cultures despite depopulation and aging, and having the autonomy of their communities removed by the centralisation of power in capital regions, especially in the wake of crisis. The disaster caused an unprecedented situation, never experienced in Fukushima, Japan or anywhere else. There were no real experts anywhere in the world with experience in such a revitalization project - and official successes were limited. Responsibility fell to the people, who independently initiated collaborative efforts to address not only issues of contamination monitoring and decontamination, but also complex issues of healthcare, agriculture, forestry, trade, business innovation, and ultimately the revitalization of livelihoods and the village community. The book takes a practical, every day, scientific and human approach to discuss how humans might once again co-exist with nature in the context of fundamental shifts in human civilization, learning from Iitate village. It serves as a model for 21st century local revitalization movements, pioneering ways to create new public spaces for action, to overcome problems of modernity and to move toward coexistence with nature. The work will appeal to disaster management experts, and students and scholars in disaster studies, city planning, environmental science, nuclear energy, Japan studies, international relations and sociology.

This open access book presents a comprehensive exploration of resilient innovation and innovation for resilience within the context of the PR China Belt & Road Initiative (BRI). By integrating insights from diverse stakeholders, it offers a fresh perspective on enhancing resilience through innovation while promoting sustainable practices and advanced innovation solutions for enhancing resilience..
The innovative approach proposes collaborative frameworks that leverage existing initiatives in standardization, research, and international cooperation as foundational elements for building resilience. This book aims to create a network of innovation centers along the BRI, fostering international collaboration and knowledge exchange.
Covering a wide range of innovation and resilience related topics, the content includes assessments, regulations, risk management, and the role of critical infrastructures and the society in enhancing resilience. It is designed for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners interested in the intersection of innovation, sustainability, and international cooperation.
Key features of the book include:
1. Collaborative Insights: Contributions from a diverse array of experts and stakeholders, providing a multifaceted view of resilience in innovation.
2. Practical Frameworks: Actionable suggestions for implementing resilient innovation strategies, supported by case studies.
3. Strategic Relevance: Aligns with current global challenges, offering timely insights into the role of innovation in addressing systemic risks and enhancing sustainability.
This book is an essential resource for anyone looking to understand and contribute to the future of resilient innovation both along the Belt & Road Initiative and in a broader international context.

Pain in Relation: On Causality, Chronicity, and (Crip) Evidence argues that the dominant stories circulating within contemporary US culture are marked by seemingly contradictory certainties: pain is at once subjective yet universal; that pain makes life unlivable and can be overcome with perseverance. These certainties graft onto pained people into impossible imperatives: the imperatives to live "despite" our pain and to defend the value of lives imagined to be compromised "because of" it. Alyson Patsavas outlines the harm these imperatives cause and draws on feminist, queer, and disability theory to offer alternative frameworks for making sense of and relating to pain.

The study fleshes out "crip autotheory" and experiments with evidencing practices, using anecdotes, journal entries, personal reflections, list-making, and photography to map "cripistemologies of pain," or critical, disability-informed experiential ways of knowing pain. Equal parts cultural critique, intimate portrait of pained life, and commentary, Pain in Relation invites readers to challenge what they think they know about pain and explore new ways of relating to pain, pained life, and the futures we imagine for pained people.

This book offers a comprehensive and accessible introduction to risk management in financial institutions, with a strong focus on contemporary challenges such as market volatility, liquidity pressures, and financial technology. By integrating traditional banking risks with emerging challenges, the book supports both students and professionals seeking accessible insights into banking risk, regulation, and modern financial practice.

The book begins by outlining the structure and functioning of financial markets and institutions, before moving into key areas of risk measurement, including interest rate, market, and liquidity risk. It then explores emerging themes such as fintech and operational risk. The later chapters focus on practical risk management tools, including capital adequacy, derivatives, securitisation, and prudential regulation across major economies.

European Union policy on rural development and EU research programmes aim to help rural areas of the EU meet the wide range of economic, environmental and social challenges of the 21st Century. However, the challenges facing rural areas of Europe, and their people, remain significant and highly affected by the crises of our current era. This contributed volume comprises 12 research studies, exploring the intersection of research, policy and innovation strategy across the diverse rural regions of the Europe Union.

Conducted in different countries, these studies point to the challenges that lie at the heart of strategic planning in public policy. The book ultimately supports an EU vision for future rural development, digitalisation, sustainability planning and innovation strategy. It is not only a source of data on the problems faced by local communities in different European countries, but offers suggestions for practical use of bottom-up and multiactor perspective for policy-making, business development and community engagement at local, regional and national level. It will be of great interest to scholars and students of rural development, innovation strategy, the agricultural sector and EU policy.

This book, the second volume of The Synergistic Effect of Sustainable Business Practices on Human Capital and Economic Performance, extends the research and insights of the first volume by focusing on the intersection of human capital development, economic performance, and sustainable business strategy. In an era of rapid technological advancement, shifting workforce expectations, and intensified ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) imperatives, organizations face the challenge of integrating sustainability not only into operational practices but also into the management and development of their human assets. This volume explores how strategic workforce management, employee engagement, and organizational learning contribute to sustainable economic outcomes at the firm, industry, and national levels. The book will covers theoretical frameworks linking sustainability, human capital, and economic performance, research Findings on the role of human resources in achieving sustainability-driven competitive advantage, case studies from diverse industries and geographies illustrating best practices in integrating HR strategy with sustainability objectives, policy implications for governments and international agencies in promoting sustainable and inclusive economic growth and future-oriented discussions on the Future of Work, workforce digitalization, and the skills required in a sustainable economy.

By combining perspectives from economics, human resource management, and sustainability science, this volume will serves as a valuable reference for academics, practitioners, and policymakers seeking to understand and leverage the synergies between people and profit in driving sustainable corporate performance.

This book focuses on the innovative startup ecosystem within universities which combines research and practice from emerging and transitioning economies, offering a comprehensive look at how universities, governments, and communities co-create robust entrepreneurial ecosystems. With a special focus on Southeast Asia and Africa, the book explores how academic institutions can become launchpads for entrepreneurial ventures, especially in contexts where resources are limited but innovation is thriving. Spanning diverse themes such as regulatory challenges, incubation models, funding gaps, technology transfer, and regional development, this book includes empirical case studies and critical reflections that unpack the enabling and inhibiting factors shaping university-driven entrepreneurship. From Jakarta's slum-based MSME incubation models to encrypted funding platforms in the digital age and from policy governance in South Africa to market access frameworks in Cambodia, each chapter offers grounded insights with global relevance.

What distinguishes this work is its interdisciplinary and practice-oriented approach, combining policy analysis, grassroots documentation, institutional theory, and field-based strategies. It presents an accessible yet scholarly lens through which stakeholders such as academics, policymakers, ecosystem builders, and startup founders can explore how innovation ecosystems can be cultivated even in low-resource settings. The reader will benefit from a comparative perspective on what works in diverse institutional and cultural contexts and from actionable insights into designing inclusive and resilient innovation systems. The book aims to inspire universities and policymakers to reimagine their role as knowledge producers and strategic actors driving local development, youth empowerment, and sustainable entrepreneurship.

Contrary to what German historians often claim, the avant-garde movements of the early 20th century did not peter out or even fail. Although the Nazi dictatorship destroyed the Bauhaus, Dada, and their legacy in Germany in the 1930s, it also triggered a wave of emigration. Many of those who were displaced went to the United States, where they contributed to the avant-gardization of the art world, and where subsequent generations were able to continue developing the project that had remained unfinished in Europe.

Walter Benjamin coined the term "politicization of art" to describe the efforts of avant-garde artists who opposed the "aestheticization of politics" by fascism. The cultural centers of the United States succeeded in picking up on the impetus of activist art practices. This study examines the characteristic differences between the art worlds on both sides of the Atlantic, which arose as a result of historical developments and continue to exist to this day.

This edited volume offers a major reappraisal of contemporary hermeneutics through the lens of African philosophy. Moving beyond a text-centered model of interpretation, it shows how African hermeneutic traditions have reconfigured hermeneutics from within by engaging orality, myth, art, the lived body, memory, postcolonial history, and the search for a non-imperial universal. Across seventeen chapters, the book reconstructs the main currents of African hermeneutics from ancient interpretive traditions to ecological wisdom, narrative subjectivity, cultural restitution, and biblical interpretation. Its central claim is that meaning is never simply given: it is historically, symbolically, and practically mediated. This volume appeals to researchers and students; it brings African philosophy into dialogue with phenomenology, critical theory, theology, anthropology, and literary studies. It makes an original contribution to debates on interpretation, decolonization, and universality.

This book asks what peace means when the state wages war against its own citizens in the name of security in the war on drugs. Set in Rio de Janeiro, a deeply unequal city where life chances are shaped by race, class, gender and neighbourhood, it questions whose peace is protected, and at whose expense. Tracing the historical racialisation, marginalisation and criminalisation of the favelas, the book shows how this has resulted in complex forms of hybrid governance involving criminal groups, police and the state. It conceptualizes urban violence in Rio as a form of performative, necropolitical state war-making, where a discourse of security sustains deadly and inefficient operations in the favelas. In this violent context, the book explores favela peace formation as a grassroots alternative, in which residents construct new forms of nonviolent politics and envision more just and peaceful futures, offering important insights for rethinking and decolonizing peace.

This volume is part of?Decentring the History of Reading, a two-volume project that rethinks the history of reading from a Central European perspective. Focusing on sources and contexts often overlooked in Western European models, the case studies show how reading practices developed in a multilingual, politically contested, and institutionally regulated environment. Covering the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century, the contributions in the first volume explore readers' engagement with print amid Enlightenment reforms, confessional tensions, emerging national movements, and the rise of the working class.

A case-study approach highlights the diversity of reading practices across social groups, linguistic communities, and institutional settings. Particular attention is given to the interplay between cultural policies and movements-education, censorship, nation-building-and everyday reading. Under conditions of limited access and shifting hierarchies, reading emerges as a practice of negotiation, appropriation, social engagement and participation. The volume offers fresh perspectives on the formation of modern reading cultures and will interest scholars of book history, literary and cultural studies, and the social life of texts.

Russia's devastating invasion of Ukraine in 2022 is a manifestation of a wider phenomenon: Russia's new, post-Soviet imperialism. This book provides a theoretically informed, critical account of Russian imperialism that is attentive to the interplay between economy and ideology, coercion and hegemony, structure and agency. While economic developments go a long way toward explaining the reemergence of Russia's imperialist impulses in the twenty-first century, a purely economic logic cannot account for the dramatic shift in Russian imperialism beginning with the annexation of Crimea and the instigation of a separatist insurgency in the Donbas. Nor can objective geopolitical developments, such as US and NATO military deployments, provide an adequate explanation for this shift. Instead, this book shows how the Kremlin's reaction to the Maidan revolution was rooted in the ideological consolidation of the previous years: the emergence of a total ideology that designates the West as Russia's eternal enemy and Ukraine as the West's geopolitical pawn. Ilya Budraitskis and Ilya Matveev examine Russian foreign policy and the Kremlin's project to remake the Russian people to better serve its imperialist agenda.

How can a small democracy resist the influence of a powerful authoritarian neighbor? Taiwan is frequently praised for its successful economic development and peaceful transition to democracy, serving as a model for other developing countries. However, it faces substantial challenges, both from internal political divisions and external geopolitical pressures. Taiwan's political landscape is shaped by several significant cleavages: national identity and ethnic disparities, economic inequality and class conflict, and generational and cultural differences. The greatest challenge to Taiwan's democracy comes from the influence of China, which has exploited these cleavages through economic leverage, propaganda, and political interference.

Under the heavy influence of Beijing's sharp power, Taiwan's democracy often faces threats of regression. Whenever China escalates its tactics, Taiwan's civil society has mobilized in response, playing a crucial role in resisting Beijing's strategies and defending democratic institutions. Thung-Hong Lin examines case studies - such as the 2014 Sunflower Movement, the 2019 support for the Hong Kong protests, and recent social movements in 2024 - to demonstrate how Taiwan's vibrant civil society is a key source of democratic resilience. This book also situates Taiwan's struggle within the broader context of US-China relations, showing how global geopolitics over the past half-century has shaped the island's destiny.