This book offers a geneaological understanding of the condition of our time by reconstructing the complex story of the transition from the "cyclical time" of the classic era to the "linear and infuturant time" of the modern world. Time is therefore understood not as a simple vector, but as a trans-political form par excellence, which involves the fundamental philosophical and political categories of the modern constellation: beginning with the concepts of progress, revolution, liberation, and alternative.

Arguing that the process of secularization (in its broadest sense) is dependent on the modern notion of cumulative and irreversible time-together with the temporalization of history-Power and Secularization constitutes a conceptual history that will appeal to scholars of social and political theory and philosophy with interests in intellectual history and the genealogical method.

This book analyses the impact of external actors, primarily the European Union (EU) and Russia, on democratisation and authoritarian tendencies in Ukraine and Turkey. The war in Ukraine will continue to affect patterns of cooperation and confrontation in the Black Sea region for years to come, critically undermining Russia as a viable alternative partner for deeper political and economic integration, but also revealing that the EU has only partially succeeded in stabilising its neighbourhood. In this volume, international contributors consider future EU and Russian strategy in the region and the impact on domestic and foreign policy in two countries seen by the EU as "disputed Europeans". The book will appeal to those working on Eastern Europe and the Middle East, the EU and Russia, scholars of international relations, democratisation studies, East European politics and area studies, and Eurasian studies. It is also aimed at foreign policy analysts, journalists, policymakers and diplomats.

2024 has been a year of change, elections and political upheaval throughout the world. The UK General Election is just one of many prompts for analysis about the collective challenges we face and how best to address them. In these key moments, social scientists play an important role as part of wider multidisciplinary efforts to identify effective, equitable and affordable policy solutions.

This report provides a social science lens on eight contemporary UK policy challenges, to equip political parties and broader civil society with an understanding of the breadth of evidence that the social sciences can bring. Our contributors comprised a blend of academics and practitioners, including people who have served as ministers and as senior officials within government, resulting in a range of perspectives on policy challenges from different and sometimes competing standpoints.

Whilst this report does not make specific policy recommendations, we have documented five overarching areas of consensus, from the expert contributions, for improving the intersections of evidence, practice and policy - which we encourage the UK Government to consider.

• In setting cross-cutting missions, the UK Government will benefit from policymaking processes and infrastructures which incorporate a broad range of evidence in ways that are transparent and robust.

• The new UK Government would benefit from a more joined-up approach to policymaking.

• Greater attention to the evidence base underpinning controversial and contentious policy areas could lead to calmer and more reasoned deliberation.

• There is still significant scope for policy innovation by drawing on successful practice from the devolved nations and regions.

• Policy development and discourse should include adequate space and time for social and societal elements to be fully explored.

The Routledge Handbook of Disaster Response and Recovery covers the two post-disaster stages of the disaster cycle and presents am extensive and cutting-edge overview of their many considerations.

Organized into two parts, Response and Recovery, this handbook details the history, theories, methods, debates, and emerging issues in the stages of response and recovery. Using a transdisciplinary approach, the myriad topics examined in this handbook include search and rescue, myths related to disaster response, technological methods for response, recovery among vulnerable populations, and the intersection of disasters and mental health. Contributors discuss these issues both globally as well as country- and disaster-specific.

This book is an essential guide and reference not only for scholars engaged in disaster research, but also for undergraduate and graduate students, policy makers, disaster managers, international and supranational agencies, and humanitarian and volunteer organizations engaged in disaster management.

Texas pride, like everything else in the state, is larger than life. So, too, perhaps, are the state's challenges. Lone Star Tarnished approaches public policy in the nation's most populous "red state" from historical, comparative, and critical perspectives. The historical perspective provides the scope for asking how various policy domains have developed in Texas history.

In each chapter, Cal Jillson compares Texas public policy choices and results with those of other states and the United States in general. Finally, the critical perspective allows readers to question the balance of benefits and costs attendant to what is often referred to as "the Texas way" or "the Texas model" and to assess the many claims of Texas's exceptionalism.

Through Jillson's lively and lucid prose, students are well equipped to analyse how Texas has done and is doing compared to selected states and the national average over time and today. This text is aimed at students and professors of Texas politics who want to stress history, political culture, and public policy.

New to the Fifth Edition

• Fully updated to include the most recent Texas elections and political events
• Covers the 2023 legislative session
• Highlights new population data, with projections forward to 2050, recently released by the U.S. Census and the Texas State Data Center
• Explores the dramatic increases in Texas oil and gas production and their impact on global and U.S. prices and on the profitability and the viability of many Texas producers in light of the recent plunge in prices
• All figures and tables include the most recent data available

Nineteen Black women in political science share their personal and professional journeys, shedding light on the state of the discipline-and how it needs to change.

This volume brings to the fore Black women's experiences of, and contributions to, political science-a field that never intended to view them as subjects worthy of study and certainly not as professors. Disrupting Political Science demonstrates how Black women blend creative resistance and self-care to overcome obstacles and navigate the discipline's hegemonic demands. Representing a range of career stages and types of institutions, the nineteen contributors share stories of trauma and triumph, as well as concrete guidance rooted in Black feminist literature and reports on the profession. A witty, searing, sometimes heart-wrenching catalyst to reimagine political science, Disrupting Political Science is essential reading for everyone in the discipline and for faculty and administrators across the university committed to recruiting and retaining Black women.

From call-and-response chants to the noise of pots and pans, protests are often defined by their sounds. In this book, Justin Eckstein argues that this is not merely the result of catchy slogans; it is due to sound's ability to hold those in power accountable. Sound Tactics highlights how, in a world grappling with the uncertainty of emergent digital practices, social movements utilize the rhetorical power of sound.

Eckstein uses the waveform as a metaphor for the persuasive potential of sound. Examining the case studies of the March for Our Lives protest, Howard University's #HUResist movement, and the Casseroles protest in Montreal, Eckstein demonstrates how changes to the immediacy, intensity, and immersiveness of sound can affect the power of an argument. The collective use of sound in these case studies conveys the unity of the protesters in their demand for change and underlines the strength of their argument to those in power.

More than just the written word spoken aloud, sound has unique layers of added meaning-it can convey length of time, demand attention, and signal disapproval. Eckstein's study unpacks those layers for scholars and students as well as activists interested in deploying sound for change.

How Mayor Ray Flynn's leadership and a coalition of activists transformed Boston, challenging established powers and setting new precedents for urban governance

The Battle for Boston captures the remarkable era under Mayor Ray Flynn, whose election in 1983 marked the beginning of a profound shift in the city's political and social landscape. Don Gillis, a Flynn senior advisor, chronicles the inspiring journey of a city that dared to challenge the entrenched power brokers-including developers, landlords, and banking industry leaders-through powerful grassroots campaigns.
Gillis provides a vivid portrayal of the political dynamics and the coalition of community organizers, neighborhood leaders, and residents that played a pivotal role in rejecting the business-backed growth machine and the city's historically divisive racial politics. This book charts the strategic battles fought within the corridors of power and on the streets and highlights the substantial impact these movements had on the city's governance and power dynamics.
In a historic turn, in 2021, Michelle Wu became the first woman, person of color, and Asian- American elected Mayor of Boston. Wu's victory on a similarly progressive platform as Flynn underscores the enduring relevance of his legacy, signaling a hopeful future for more inclusive and effectively governed cities.
The Battle for Boston poses a critical inquiry: Can cities truly embrace progressivism and govern effectively in the twenty-first century? This qualitative narrative study is a testament to the possibility of such governance, driven by the indomitable spirit of those who strive for a fair and equitable society.

Essays on the security challenges faced by African states.

The central concern that shapes this edited volume is the nature of the African state. Contributors point to an interesting intersection of domestic and external issues that is framed as a glocalized security situation. Individual chapters shed new insights on conflict drivers through case studies on Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Mali, Nigeria, and Somalia, as well as broader issues on the nature of African states. Arguments pivot on three issues, which show the intersection of the domestic and external forces that render the African state as a glocal problem: (a) the colonial roots of the state, (b) problems of governance, and (c) international and regional security imperatives. By problematizing the African state and connecting the security challenges of African states to colonialism, patrimonial rule, and geopolitical security issues, African States brings forth a new way of examining African states through the notion of glocalized security.

Elena Atanassova-Cornelis, Yoichiro Sato, Tom Sauer, and their contributors examine the implications of the shifts in power for the regional security order, as the longterm relative decline of the US standing in the global hierarchy of power is more pronounced than ever due to the challenges it faces from the rising China in Asia and the reviving Russia in Europe.

The world is in disarray, and the balance of power is shifting, which results in enhanced tensions and wars, including on the territory of Europe. The complexity of the international order that prevails today possibly misleads us toward viewing everything in terms of a bipolar competition, as predicted by systemic-level realism. While membership of the multilateral NATO Alliance expands in Europe in light of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, China's assertive behavior in Asia has produced numerous strategic alignments that are short of a formal alliance involving Asian states, the US, and European countries. 'Hedging' strategies are commonly found in Asian states' approaches to security, working against the bifurcation of powers. Contrarily, European entries into alignments in the 'Indo-Pacific' have demonstrated the inseparability of security in Asia from security in Europe through the shared thread of 'engaging the US'. Whether China defines its challenge against the US in regional or global terms also has differing implications for the evolution of the international system. This book, with contributions by Asian, European, and North American experts, provides an overview of the two regions' differing alignment paths in comparative and inter-regional perspectives.

The book is a valuable resource for academics, researchers, practitioners, and policy analysts interested in European and Asia-Pacific security, as well as international and regional security issues.

This important new textbook provides a concise and practice-oriented introduction to the workings of the humanitarian sector and the key contemporary debates surrounding it.

The number of people around the world in need of humanitarian action and protection is at its highest figure in decades; yet at the same time, the humanitarian system is facing numerous problems and undergoing fundamental reforms. This book invites us to tackle these challenges head on, addressing the increasing complexity of humanitarian crises and the implications for humanitarian principles and standards as well as the management of humanitarian projects. Expansive in scope, the book covers:

• The sector's historical foundations and the need to decolonise
• The main types of crises and sectors of humanitarian response
• State and non-state actors and institutions
• The key rules, norms, and project management approaches
• Key trends and challenges, including access, innovation, and anticipation

The book also covers important debates on localisation, inclusive programming, and the decolonisation of the humanitarian system. This exciting new textbook will be an important read for students looking for a comprehensive introduction, as well as for practitioners wanting to stimulate critical thinking and enhance their practical skills.

This book examines the debate over private security contractors, using historical and contemporary cases, including several non-Western examples.

Since the end of the Cold War, security privatization has grown in its geographical outreach, breadth, and scope. This pervasive expansion of the private military and security market warrants a systematic investigation of commercial actors' involvement in the variety of tasks associated with the provision of violence, ranging from combat to vessel protection and cybersecurity. Combining theoretical and empirical approaches, the essays in this volume provide a historical investigation into private force that extends beyond Europe and the United States.

By focusing on recent developments, such as the extensive involvement of Russian mercenaries in Ukraine, new evidence from the Global South, and the added historical depth given to the study of commercial providers of warfare, this volume questions the endurance of norms like the mercenary taboo and the state monopoly of violence. In doing so, it sheds new light on the past, present, and future of private security.

This book will be of much interest to students of private security studies, military studies, security studies, and international relations.

This book analyses how the European Union (EU) has dealt with crises and conflicts, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Iran's nuclear dispute and Syria's civil war, to understand the peculiar nature of its role in international security. Rather than focusing on the institutional set-up of the EU's foreign and security policy, the authors look at the 'outer' world, concentrating on crises and conflicts impinging on Europe's security. They argue that the EU and its member states' policies are constrained by systemic factors such as acute geopolitical rivalries and the fragmentation of regional governance systems, as well as by multi-source internal contestation of policies across member states. Hence, building on pragmatist-informed analysis they show that the EU's actorness in international security is first and foremost constituted by interactions with its domestic and systemic context, and as such it should be understood as a 'relational power'.

This volume will be of great use to scholars and students of International Relations, European Studies, Security, Conflict and Peace Studies, and Diplomacy Studies seeking to deepen their understanding of the subject.

The Military Metaverse explores the impact that the Metaverse is having today on how the world's militaries procure, maintain, train, plan, and fight, and how the Metaverse presents new challenges and opportunities for future conflict.

The military were early adopters of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality technologies and wider simulation systems. Before 2010 they were one of the few sectors that could afford the technology, and millions of military R&D dollars went into developing and understanding these technologies. However, as the democratisation of Metaverse technologies has happened over the past decade, there is a danger that militaries have been overtaken and caught short, encumbered with often costly legacy systems, sold and maintained by prime contractors, while the gaming and consumer market has cheaper and more innovative and agile systems. This book provides a history of the use of Metaverse technologies in the military, particularly in the areas of design, maintenance, training, planning, and operations. It then examines the current state of the art in these areas and the opportunities that are available from the current generation of consumer-driven approaches. The drivers for, challenges to, and paths towards an enterprise approach to the Military Metaverse are then presented. The book explores the military use of social virtual worlds, of early work done by defence and security organisations in worlds such as Second Life, and how such environments could become important for intelligence as well as influence operations in the future. Finally, the book will consider what war in the Metaverse might look like, in terms of both in-world activities and the impact of cyber-war on the Metaverse itself.

This book should be of interest to all militaries across the world, the industries that support them, and those in academia and the wider public with an interest in the military and defence.

The conservation of built heritage implies constant intervention. One form of intervention is reconstruction, which, in the context of disasters, usually tries to bring buildings and places back to their previous state and is contested in heritage discourses. This book challenges reconstruction as a replica to physically preserve damaged built heritage by critically examining a context of constant change resulting from earthquakes - Chile - advocating for the digital record to be an analytical basis for design, following the principles embedded in historical domestic architecture.

Beyond monumental heritage, the focus is on the living heritage of the historical settlements of Tarapaca, Zuniga, and Lolol, built with local resources and sustainable techniques. The book proposes re-construction as an alternative methodology, based on 3D-laser-scanning, photography, and questionnaires, to analyse the as-built condition of earthquake-affected buildings, consider risk mitigation, and recognise adaptation to earthquakes and subsequent reconstructions. This is relevant for seismic-prone areas and built heritage at risk in general.

This book is aimed at researchers, academics, and practitioners in architectural conservation and is also a valuable resource for authorities and stakeholders involved in post-earthquake scenarios.

The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.