In recent decades a significant 'transnational' turn has occurred in German Studies, with the role of India in German cultural history becoming a growing area of interest, yet there are serious challenges to the historian within this. Although teleological perspectives on India as part of the historical 'fate' of Germany appear to be losing ground, the notion of a 'German fascination' with India remains central to many approaches. 'Fascination,' though, proves to be an elusive concept, and often more descriptive than analytical. But how, then, do we account for the strikingly intensive confrontation with Indian culture in Germany without falling back into general and inadequately nuanced arguments? This edited collection seeks to explore such questions and open up a more thorough analysis of the German-Indian connection.

This book delves into the compatibility of Islam with liberal values, engaging in a comparative analysis of Islamic moral language and John Rawls's liberal democratic ideas. Rawls, a prominent modern liberal political philosopher, posits that diverse moral and religious doctrines in a pluralistic society should align with the principles of a liberal democratic political culture. The author shares Rawls's assumptions and maps out a spectrum of Islamic orthodoxy positions to assess the plausibility of reconciling Islamic doctrines with a liberal political order. While acknowledging that such compatibility is not the mainstream outlook, the book argues that it's feasible through reasonable interpretations of Islamic sources.

The central question addressed is the realism of observant Muslims endorsing a liberal democratic state from within their doctrinal tradition. By examining a range of Islamic orthodoxy positions, the book demonstrates that Muslims can theoretically find Islamic reasons, rooted in acceptable interpretations of divine sources, to justify their commitment to a liberal state. Furthermore, it provides moral reasons and strategies for the liberal state to address incompatible Islamic doctrines, ensuring Muslims can maintain religious practices without an Islamic political authority. This theoretical framework offers insights for future empirical and theoretical studies on Muslims navigating pluralistic liberal societies, making it a vital contribution to the discourse on Islam and liberalism.

How do spatial dynamics and narrated identities shape each other? How do the ongoing processes of inclusion and exclusion construct individual and group self-perceptions within the Kuwaiti and Jordanian societies?

In this book, the author explores these questions through a spatial lens, examining the evolving narrated identities within Kuwait and Jordan. The monograph contributes to MENA studies, Middle Eastern history, nationalism, minority studies, late Ottoman studies, post-colonialism, national and transnationalism, and the history of epistemology.

For many years, historians have not given due attention to the relations between the Nordic countries and Israel. As a consequence, the existing body of research on this topic is almost entirely conducted by scholars from the social sciences, especially international relations and conflict resolution studies, a fact that has led to an overemphasis on their occasional interstate political disputes. This book offers a fresh and exciting historical analysis of their relations during the three decades following Israel's establishment in 1948, focusing on their connection points and mutual influences in various fields. Furthermore, it is mapping Israel geographically according to the traces of diverse Nordic-Israeli initiatives throughout the years.

In recent years, scholarship on Nordic studies has yielded new research areas regarding the influence of these countries on other parts of the world, and vice versa. Nordic policies, attitudes and experience have been analyzed in the framework of knowledge circulation, and this in turn sparked a renewed scholarly interest in the Nordic model(s). The book fits into this stream of research by arguing that close historical investigation helps to construct, and sometimes also deconstruct, the fluid definition of the Nordic model(s). By focusing on the intersection between Israel studies and Nordic studies, it provides insights into the complex, yet fascinating relations that developed between these countries since the mid twentieth-century.

This book is a personal narrative chronicling the life and experiences of Shireen Hunter, an Iranian woman who came of age during a transformative era in Iran's history. It begins by spanning the tumultuous aftermath of World War II to the pivotal 1979 revolution, providing a poignant account of the profound impact of these historical events on the author's life.

The book delves into the multifaceted consequences of the reformist period that began in the 1960s. They enabled Shireen to enter the diplomatic service, but also cast a shadow of adversity over her family. Ultimately, the reforms contributed to internal divisions that ignited the 1979 revolution.

The book then explores Shireen's immigrant experience in the USA, where she assumed the role of an "ethnic expert" in the volatile arena of Middle East politics. It candidly recounts challenges she faced in maintaining intellectual integrity while earning a livelihood, highlighting the precariousness of being on the right side of controversial issues.

The book does not offer definitive solutions to specific problems. Yet it resonates with contemporary international security and developmental challenges and offers insights that remain relevant in today's complex global landscape.

With its multifaceted narrative encompassing Iran's social and political history, women's studies, immigrant experiences, and a personal perspective on critical junctures in U.S.-Iranian relations, this book appeals to a diverse readership. It provides a unique window into "lived" experiences and analytical reflections of an individual who has traversed the intersections of history, identity, and diplomacy, offering invaluable insights into both past and present.

This is the first wide-ranging analysis of Alain Badiou's use, development and transformation of the concept of history. Despite the wealth of perspectives now available on how social and cultural practices take shape, historicism still appears to be the most dominant. The Militant Historian examines this primacy and reveals how Badiou's work offers a radical riposte.
Exploring key texts in Badiou's oeuvre and how his philosophical ideas disrupt dominant conceptions of history and the role of the historian, Kerry William Purcell addresses how these ideas could transform our approaches to the historical and what it means to 'do history' as a meaningful endeavour. Adopting a chronological approach to Badiou's work, each chapter explores specific conceptual developments in his writing and how they lend themselves to a reconsideration of the subject who speaks history. From these new and disruptive modes of doing emerges the figure of the militant historian - a role with the potential to impact how we practice history outside the narrow strictures of academic life.

This book questions the epistemological foundations of education in the Anthropocene. It reviews a body of evidence that strongly supports the view that the Earth's systems are emerging into an epoch known as the Anthropocene. This volume examines a number of concepts including the political ecology and the modes of veridiction in the Anthropocene as well as philosophy, anthropology and history of the concept of courage and the humanities. It champions forward-looking educational initiatives and presents a new philosophy on education for the Anthropocene.

The concept of the Anthropocene extends to many fields of sciences. It is now anchored in a multidisciplinary scientific literature and recognized by both sides of the ideological and political battle of the 21st century, on which several controversies are grafted in a complex way. It also has a strong anthropological consistency: what kind of humans do we want to become? The author explores how the recognition of the crisis helps to see the history of humanity with unexpected freshness. This work contributes to an epistemological and paradigmatic reflection on the foundations of education in the Anthropocene epoch. The author has seized on the biogeophysical ruptures of the Anthropocene to develop a pedagogical and anthropological reflection in a stimulating and creative way. This volume is of interest to researchers of the Anthropocene, as well as to scholars in ecology, social sciences, pedagogy, and philosophy.

This book offers an in-depth exploration of the early history of Palestine, providing a rigorous analysis of pivotal events and underlying dynamics. The study begins with examining the emergence of Zionist movements and their proposals, the period of Ottoman governance in the Levant, and the influence of Western imperialism, concluding with the critical era surrounding the Second World War, specifically from 1939 to 1948.

The following four chapters adopt a chronological and analytical approach to address topics of lasting significance. These chapters critically examine the development of ideological currents originating from early Zionist initiatives, the progression of Jewish settlement projects in Palestine from 1891 to 1917, and their contemporary relevance. Furthermore, they investigate the international political responses to the Palestine issue during the First and Second World Wars, with particular emphasis on the interactions between the Zionist movement and Western imperialism.

In the final section, the book scrutinizes the foundational principles of the Zionist movement and the challenges encountered by the Arab population during the interwar period, offering valuable insights into the complex socio-political realities of the time.

This book examines the relationship between Britain and Oman since the end of the Second World War up until the Iranian revolution. Particular focus is given to the political and economic development of the state, together with Britain's various overt and covert interventions, principally in the three decades between 1945 and 1975. The author addresses themes which have previously been unexplored in the literature on Oman and British Imperialism in the Arabian Peninsula, such as the establishment of the Sultan's Armed Forces, and the impact of the oil industry. The book shows that Sultan Said bin Taymur (r. 1932-1970) enjoyed considerable 'agency' in his relations with the British who found it very difficult to persuade him to implement economic development and establish relations with his neighbours. Britain's relations with successive sultans were deliberately concealed, including the contribution of special forces in fighting Oman's insurgencies.

It is widely argued that when Qaboos bin Said became Sultan in 1970, a 'renaissance' occurred, however many newly discovered documents have called this into question. They reveal how an inexperienced Sultan came to power with covert British support, and Whitehall's direction of the war in Dhofar from afar. These documents highlight the extent of British intelligence cooperation and psychological warfare planning to counter the insurgents in Dhofar. However, as this book demonstrates, the Sultan also relied on non-British advisors, known as the 'mafia', to secure financial assistance and establish diplomatic ties across the Middle East. Finally, the book details how British defence assistance continued well beyond the retreat from empire in the Persian Gulf.

In this major open access contribution to Global South urban studies, Tanzil Shafique offers a new way of knowing and engaging with the most common urban environment in the Global South - informal settlements, or "slums".

Informal settlements house more than a billion people now and will house three billion people by 2050. Yet they remain marginalised in urban theory and practice, and most projects to improve them fail due to a lack of knowledge of the ongoing processes that build them.

Through a detailed case study of Karail, the largest informal settlement in Bangladesh, Shafique offers ground-breaking insights into the production of informal urbanism through a brand-new approach rooted in deep ethnography and spatial mapping. Shafique explores, for the first time, the many different desires of settlement-dwellers and how these drive everyday urban change. He also offers brilliantly innovative recommendations for the policy-making, upgrading and management of both existing and future informal settlements.

Written in an engaging narrative that weaves local stories with theoretical insight, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in international development, urban studies, sociology, and architecture.

The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the University of Sheffield.

The long-lasting political instability in Afghanistan since the Soviet Union invasion in 1979 has displaced millions of Afghans, both internally and internationally. Despite their growing numbers, the challenges that Afghan refugees encounter in public institutions and everyday interaction with members of their host countries have remained largely uninvestigated. This research thus explores perceived institutional violence against Afghan refugees in Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden. The semi-structured interviews provide evidence on the occurrence of perceived verbal violence, and differential and poor treatment in institutions. The quantitative analysis lends empirical evidence to the extent, factors, grounds, and consequences of institutional verbal violence, institutional failure, everyday discrimination, and sense of belonging. Permanent residence, school education, age, having children, country of residence, citizenship, and employment were identified as factors significantly affecting the experiences and perceptions of respondents. Respondents reported negative experiences mostly in institutions that often deal with migration and asylum matters. Legal status, ethnic origin, religion, unemployment, appearance, and lower language proficiency seem to be the main grounds for institutional violence.

This book sheds light on the complex and controversial realm of Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) and their impact on international security. The rise of PMSCs as key participants in the security arena has sparked debates worldwide, challenging the traditional monopoly on violence held by nation-states.

Structured meticulously, Chapter One introduces the rise of PMSCs, focusing on Australia as a case study for their effect on state control and accountability. Chapter Two examines historical PMSC development and case studies, revealing global implications for regulation and oversight. Chapter Three builds a theoretical framework for analyzing the Australian case, and Chapters Four and Five scrutinize Australia's government and PMSC industry, uncovering deficiencies in regulatory mechanisms and human rights abuses. In Chapter Six, implications on security outsourcing and regulation are explored, culminating in a thought-provoking conclusion in Chapter Seven.

This book is a crucial resource for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the challenges posed by PMSCs in the realm of international security.

This book, a sequel to a well-received book titled "Bridging Peace and Sustainability Amidst Global Transformations," delves deeper into the entwined roots of peace and sustainability and emphasizes their interdependence. How are peace and sustainability interconnected, and what key factors define the relationship between them? These questions were examined at the NERPS 2024 conference in Hiroshima and are central to our narrative. In this book, we explore the synergy of peace and sustainability through theoretical frameworks and real-world examples.We recognize that while the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has acknowledged the link between peace and sustainability, a significant gap remains. Too often, efforts to promote peace and sustainability run parallel, never intertwining, losing the chance to bolster each other. We argue for merging the peace and sustainability agendas to confront contemporary challenges, calling for action to enhance and take advantage of their mutual reinforcement. Through diverse perspectives, this collection illuminates the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of this nexus, serving as a guide for policymakers, a reference for researchers, and a catalyst for dialogue among sectors committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

This open access book argues that Japan-ROK security relations were formed in the process of adjusting the threat perception gap and policy conflict between the two countries. Conventional analyses using a "cooperation or conflict" dichotomy are too limited to capture the complex coordination of interests that security relations entail. In comparison, this book focuses on how, as they interacted on security concerns, Japan and the ROK had different threat perceptions and foreign policy orientations that resulted in friction over the means and methods of responses and shines a light on the changes apparent in the adjustment process. The author aims to elucidate how Japan and the ROK approached security cooperation over the period from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s. As Japan and the ROK looked to reconcile the differing political positions involved in these security and detente requirements, they explored and began to show new developments in bilateral security cooperation. This book provides a new perspective on Japan-ROK security relations and through this lens a broader view of international relations in East Asia. It also proves useful in understanding bilateral cooperation in the security field following the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries.