This edited volume discusses non-state actors as agents of foreign policy. It questions whether non-state actors can act as foreign policy makers and if the contemporary role of non-state actors constitutes a theoretical challenge to foreign policy. Chapters demonstrate the impact of non-state entities through the lenses of their direct role as decision-makers, with examples drawn from the African continent, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. Arguing for the necessity of approaching foreign policy in a broader frame, beyond the scope of the state and the individual, the book fills a gap in the literature and creates a closer nexus between area studies and foreign policy. This volume will be of interest to both academics and practitioners across the fields of international relations, foreign policy analysis, and area studies.

This book is the first systematic effort to investigate the ramifications of the introduction of the Spitzenkandidaten process for the appointment of the President of the European Commission. It does so by examining the first two applications of the Spitzenkandidaten process from an historical, legal and political perspective. Although this process has spurred vibrant debate regarding its impact on EU elections and the EU political system, it has yet to be comprehensively analysed by scholars. Addressing this important gap, the book provides a conceptual framework for analysing the impact of the Spitzenkandidaten process, takes stock of its internal, inter-institutional and constitutional repercussions, and assesses its future prospects. Interdisciplinary in nature, the book touches on several important themes, including European elections, EU policy making, leadership, legitimacy, supranationalism and European integration. Published to coincide with the 2024 European Parliament election, it will appeal to scholars and students of the politics of European integration, public administration, governance, European politics and EU constitutional law.

This book presents the reality of democratic reversals and waves of coups cutting through Africa, explores the political economy of coups, and through a case study approach, provides a nuanced analysis of the negative impacts of coups in Africa, and interrogates the roles of African regional organisations in curtailing coups and foreign powers in distorting the security architecture of African states, particularly in the Sahel region. It proffers sustainable policy templates for political development, professionalism of the military, and the subsequent withdrawal of the military from African politics. Apart from its policy relevance, it will serve as a resource pool for researchers working in the area of African political development, peace and security, and security sector reforms. With the incremental exit of France from the Sahel, the book will also offer a nuanced perspective on the 'scramble for the soul' of the Sahel by non-Western powers, such as China, Russia, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia.

This book examines the nature of conflict in Africa vis-a-vis the African Union (AU) peace and security architecture in Africa. It focuses on the intense campaign 'Silencing the Guns by 2020' since 2013, one of the flagship projects of Agenda 2063 to achieve a conflict-free continent by AU. It analyses various causes of conflict in Africa using case studies to pursue the causality and dynamics of these conflicts, which often point to the intersectionality of historical legacies of colonialism and neo-colonialism. It further examines the interplay of factors such as resource curse, resource exploitation, election-induced violence, political violence, incessant and interminable challenges of social justice, oppression, contemporary governance, and leadership dynamics. It also focuses on the application and integration of conflict and gender for analytical reflection. In the quest for a "Peaceful and secure Africa", this book examines the different mechanisms to prevent, manage, and resolve conflicts on the continent, and the challenges thereof. It probes and investigates by asking critical questions about continental conflict dynamics and peace architectures which warrants in-depth inquiry and interrogation.

Building on Frederic Lemieux's previous work exploring how Western state surveillance and intelligence activities have drastically adapted to new domestic and global challenges, this second edition expands on additional dimensions of intelligence and surveillance activities conducted in modern societies.

Featuring new chapters on inter-agency cooperation at both national and international levels, cyber intelligence (CI), the link between intelligence and police cooperation, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and international operations, counterterrorism, and intelligence activities conducted by the United States since September 11, 2001, Lemieux also includes several updates to existing chapters, including the role of AI in intelligence analysis. Delving into how counterterrorism operations have profoundly changed how intelligence activities are conducted by integrating new technologies, new partnerships, and raising new ethical dilemmas, the author also expands on the intelligence operations undertaken in cyberspace to describe the emerging cyber intelligence field.

Offering a compelling understanding of contemporary state surveillance dynamics, this second edition is a timely update that lands at the critical intersection of cutting-edge technology and international security.

This book investigates language choices in different domains among Syrian Arab Muslim families who came to Malaysia after war broke out in their country. It focuses on how Syrian Heritage Language (HL), Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), Classical Arabic (CA), and other languages that might be spoken by these families were maintained and/or shifted from the time these families came to Malaysia until the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most works on Syrian community in Malaysia are focused on social and humanitarian issues; none has explored how Syrians in Malaysia are managing their language use in connection with day-to-day communication and integration. As the Syrian community in Malaysia adapts by learning the host language, their mother language/s might experience a shift. The way the minority communities view their mother language by prioritizing or deprioritizing its use in the family milieu are factors that contribute to language maintenance and language shift (LMLS). As such, this book provides insights on how Syrian parents are managing their own and their children's language/s, along with the language of the host country.

Advocating for the reintroduction of natural areas and biodiverse green spaces within our cities, Urban Resilience stems from the two years' experience living and teaching ecological planning in Turkey. What is resilience? What does it mean practically to design resilient cities?

Demonstrating that the expansion of the ecological footprint of urban areas is no longer sustainable, Stefano Salata underscores that authentic resilience in urban planning necessitates embracing the reduction and de-sealing of urban surfaces, which he advocates for as the sole viable means of confronting the challenges posed by climate change. Providing a fresh methodological outlook on urban adaptation, Salata introduces a novel approach to understanding resilience, streamlining the key components of knowledge that urban planners need to acquire in order to effectively address the challenges posed by climate change. Supplemented with short personal reflections on Turkish space and society, this study explores the societal significance of embracing a new cultural paradigm characterized by reduced consumerism.

Taking the Turkish case as a pioneering testing ground, Salata substantiates the potential of resilient approaches for urban transformation, affording us the opportunity to evaluate the efficacy of various solutions across the globe.

Latin America has been a major focal point for analysis of the global class war over land and labor. Taking the region as a useful window for understanding the conditions generated by the global advance and dynamics of free market and corporate capitalism at play all over the world, Henry Veltmeyer scrutinizes the shifting dynamics of class struggle in Latin America against the background of neoliberalism.

With a central focus on the left and right swings of the electoral politics pendulum, this is an up-to-date, detailed study of the historic rise and ravages of capitalism and the forces of both development and resistance that it generates in its mission to accumulate capital under any social and environmental cost. Based on decades of research and experience and several recent sojourns to diverse sites of class struggle in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador and Mexico, Veltmeyer provides the knowledge needed to challenge the machinations of both the international capitalist class and the ruling class closer to home.

Challenging centuries-old systems and barriers as the only study on the contemporary dynamics of the class struggle within the context of this region, this text fights back against the homogenous tides of class and capitalism to envision a richly diverse continent with more to offer than ever. It is compelling reading for scholars and students specializing in the politics and sociology of development, international political economy, political ecology, and Latin American studies.

From the shaping of new homelands in the Cherokee Nation to the export of sand from Cambodia to shore up urban expansion in Singapore, The Social Lives of Land reveals the dynamics of contemporary social and political change.

The editors of this volume bring together contributions from across multiple disciplines and geographic locations. The contributions showcase novel theoretical and empirical insights, analyzing how people are living on, with, and from their land. From Mozambique to India, Indonesia, Ecuador, and the colonial United States, the scholars in this collection uncover histories and retell stories with a focus on the lived experiences of rural and urban land dispossession and repossession.

Contributors: Kati Alvarez, Clint Carroll, Flora Lu, Richard Mbunda, Gregg Mitman, Paul Nadasdy, Robert Nichols, Andrew Ofstehage, Laura Schoenberger, Kirsteen Shields, Emmanuel Sulle, Erik Swyngedouw, Gabriela Valdivia, Katherine Verdery, Callum Ward, Ciara Wirth, Emmanuel King Urey Yarkpawolo