This book assumes that "women's empowerment" is a social movement aimed at producing political, economic and social change. It traces the changing relationship among three unprecedented trends experienced in the "developing world" since 1950: declining levels of mortality and fertility, socioeconomic development, and women's empowerment. It offers two policy analyses of the contemporary relationship of these three trends. One for the 30 countries that in 2021 still have TFRs above 4, and another for the 34 countries that currently have below replacement level fertility. This analysis highlights a new 21st century fact: over-ardent neo-Malthusian population controllers are no longer the greatest threat to women's reproductive rights. That place has been assumed by over-ardent pronatalist population controllers in low fertility countries.

This open access book provides a comparative analysis of the deployment of the military in domestic operations, the use of the armed forces during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the impact of that deployment on civil-military relations in 26 countries worldwide. The book examines the legal and constitutional regulations under which the military can serve in domestic roles, and the extent of domestic deployment before the COVID-19 pandemic. It focuses on the roles in which the military served during the pandemic, the resources available, and the readiness and effectiveness of the military response. The volume addresses whether or not the pandemic response was securitized, the extent of civilian oversight and control, the accountability measures in place, and the impact of the COVID-19 deployment on the military's image. The volume captures the lessons learnt from the COVID-19 deployment and the implications for future force design, structure, and organizational transformation. Since almost all countries used their military in some capacity to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, this volume offers an opportunity to compare use of the armed forces to provide domestic humanitarian assistance and disaster response.

The edited volume titled "Decoding the Chessboard of Asian Geopolitics: Asian Powerplay in South Asia, Central Asia, and West Asia" offers a distinctive examination of the power rivalries within the Asian region. It highlights the significant influence of extra-regional powers on South Asia's political, economic, foreign policy, and security landscapes. This volume also delves into the intricate power dynamics in Central Asia and West Asia. In light of recent global transformations, Asia emerges as a formidable entity that not only confronts the challenges of uncertainty but also plays a pivotal role in shaping contemporary geopolitics. Comprising 22 chapters, this volume provides a critical analysis of both internal and external factors influencing Asian Powerplay. It emphasizes the significance of the Indo-Pacific region, the Non-Alignment Movement, and the concept of multipolarity. Furthermore, it addresses various issues from traditional security to human security across four distinct sectors.The scholars of International Relations, Defence Studies, Political Science, Strategic Studies, Journalism, Peace and conflict Studies,etc., will be benifited by this volume across the globe. This book is part of a two-volume set and the other volume in this set delves into the geopolitical dynamics and power relations in East and Southeast Asia and the Global North.

A panoramic history of Japan's iconic mountain from the Ice Age to the present

Mount Fuji is everywhere recognized as a wonder of nature and enduring symbol of Japan. Yet behind the picture-postcard image is a history filled with conflict and upheaval. Violent eruptions across the centuries wrought havoc and instilled fear. Long an object of worship, Fuji has been inhabited by deities that changed radically over time. It has been both a totem of national unity and a flashpoint for economic and political disputes. And while its soaring majesty has inspired countless works of literature and art, the foot of the mountain is home to military training grounds and polluting industries. Tracing the history of Fuji from its geological origins in the remote past to its recent inscription as a World Heritage Site, Andrew Bernstein explores these and other contradictions in the story of the mountain, inviting us to reflect on the relationships we share with the nonhuman world and one another.

Beautifully illustrated, Fuji presents a rich portrait of one of the world's most celebrated sites, revealing a mountain forever in the making and offering a meditation on the ability of landscape both to challenge and inspire.

Listening to peace. When social scientists, publicists and teachers approach the problem of peace, they pay special attention to the causes of violence and war. Recently, however, insights into the causes of peace have gained broad resonance. The question is which factors, individually and in their interaction, are sustainably conducive to peace. Aesthetic dimensions of a peace order, however, usually remain underexposed, although the problem of peace can be impressively conveyed through images of peace. The fact that the essays in this book explain that access to various dimensions of peace through musical and compositional contributions can also be illuminating: Which peace-relevant problems have composers addressed in their works? Striking examples are explained. They are all to be found in the offerings of classical, i.e. value-retaining music of the past five centuries.

- A unique book on peace education

- For teachers and students in peace research and in music studies

- Written by one of the co-founders of peace research in Germany

- A key background book for peace concerts

- A musical appeal for peace

Teaching Security Studies examines a range of ways to teach traditional approaches to security, critical approaches to security, war and ethnic conflict, and non-traditional security threats such as climate change, migration, organised crime and terrorism. It offers concrete guidance to lecturers, including how to bridge the teacher-student gap while keeping control of the classroom and garnering respect. Chapters discuss a range of subject-specific teaching approaches, assessment methods, flexible seminar activities and study questions. Ultimately, this book provides instructors with the knowledge and confidence to build a comprehensive syllabus, become more effective teachers and lead students through complex subject areas within security studies.

Theoretically pluralistic, this book is an invaluable resource for established instructors, newer faculty and postgraduate teaching assistants who teach security studies, international relations, politics and public policy.

This book forms an important part of the current revival of the debate around the category of historical epistemology. The term "historical epistemology" designates a methodology or research program aimed at building a historically informed theory of knowledge and/or a history of science and technology that enhances its epistemological aspects. This book offers an original panorama of the French debate surrounding the emergence and consolidation of the intellectual program of historical epistemology over a period ranging from the end of the 19th century to the second half of the 20th century. The first section of this book sets out to reconstruct sociologically and historically the processes of circulation of ideas - both nationally and internationally - that constituted the conditions of possibility for the emergence of the very idea of historical epistemology in the French intellectual context. The second section aims instead to highlight the main theoretical positions - both epistemological and historiographical - that would make it possible to trace a relative unity of intent among the authors who make up the canon of historical epistemology (in their oppositional relationship to other intellectual trends). Particular attention is also paid to defining a "minor canon" of this tradition, represented by what is known as "mathematical thought". The third part of the volume focuses instead on reconstructing the anthropological, sociological and political perspectives underlying the methodology employed by authors belonging to historical epistemology. The three parts combined make for a uniquely broad yet focused book that is of interest to historians, philosophers and scientists alike.

The relationship between colonial pluralism and nationalist civil war in former British colonies

Why do some communities fight civil wars over national self-rule while others do not? In Legacies of British Rule, Matthew Lange offers insight into this question through a rigorous multimethod and comparative analysis that pinpoints the combined impact of precolonial statehood and British colonialism. During transitions from empire to nation-state, postcolonial officials in places with large and long-standing precolonial states commonly try to build a unified nation around the dominant community in ways that discriminate against and exclude smaller communities. While such national chauvinism can fuel reactions leading to nationalist civil war, a history of British colonialism intensifies these reactions by increasing sensitivity to national chauvinism and empowering communities to act. Consequently, nationalist civil wars are three times more common in former British colonies than in other former overseas colonies.

And yet, Lange finds that British colonialism exerts a very different effect on places with a limited history of precolonial statehood; in an environment with little national chauvinism, British colonialism deters nationalist civil war by promoting more inclusive postcolonial states that strengthen plurinationalism and limit fear and anger over reduced communal autonomy. Lange's account provides valuable new insights into the roots of nationalist civil war, broad patterns of conflict, and the mixed effects of colonialism and pluralism.

How extreme polarization undermines the advantages that democracies have when formulating foreign policy

Polarization is a defining feature of politics in the United States and many other democracies. Yet although there is much research focusing on the effects of polarization on domestic politics, little is known about how polarization influences international cooperation and conflict. Democracies are thought to have advantages over nondemocratic nations in international relations, including the ability to keep foreign policy stable across time, credibly signal information to adversaries, and maintain commitments to allies. Does domestic polarization affect these "democratic advantages"? In this timely book, Rachel Myrick argues that polarization reshapes the nature of constraints on democratic leaders, which in turn erodes the advantages democracies have in foreign affairs.

Drawing on a range of evidence, including cross-national analyses, observational and experimental public opinion research, descriptive data on the behavior of politicians, and interviews with policymakers, Myrick develops metrics that explain the effect of extreme polarization on international politics and traces the pathways by which polarization undermines each of the democratic advantages. Turning to the case of contemporary US foreign policy, Myrick shows that as its political leaders become less responsive to the public and less accountable to political opposition, the United States loses both reliability as an ally and credibility as an adversary. Myrick's account links the effects of polarization on democratic governance to theories of international relations, integrating work across the fields of international relations, comparative politics, and American politics to explore how patterns of domestic polarization shape the international system.

This book introduces a novel model to explain how the co-design and co-delivery of ocean science knowledge and solutions is influenced by ocean stakeholders with asymmetric power and resources, policy incentives and ocean conflict, ocean narratives, different knowledge systems, security concerns, principles, formal and informal rules, and communication competences. Using the International Collaboration in Ocean Science model as a basis, the book advances with three lines of inquiry: ontological security of ocean science participants, the Ocean Decade and human well-being, and strategic narratives about international collaboration in ocean science. Through these, Carolijn van Noort shows the enabling and constraining conditions of co-creating ocean knowledge and solutions. Theoretically novel, the book provides a compelling framework for scholars to study ocean science collaboration

Hybrid threats have been defined in various ways by different security actors, with their scope continuously expanding to encompass emerging insecurities within the evolving security environment. As an umbrella term encompassing a wide spectrum of threats with complex and multidimensional features, the notion of hybrid threats remains inherently vague and amorphous. This lack of clarity presents significant challenges for policymakers, who must constantly identify potential dangers, anticipate risks, and formulate effective responses to safeguard their polities and populations. Consequently, a persistent sense of insecurity has become a defining characteristic of the current European security landscape.

This 'new normal' of European security is characterised by a series of '(un)known unknowns' that fall under the elusive concept of hybrid threats. However, rather than accepting this evolving security paradigm at face value, this study calls for a critical examination of its underlying assumptions, core concepts, and broader political implications. It argues that the hybrid threat narrative demands a re-evaluation of what security means in contemporary Europe and how it is operationalised.

Moreover, the study underscores the expansive nature of the hybrid threat framework, which has the potential to include virtually any domain - ranging from education and technology to research and public infrastructure - thereby contributing to the securitisation of all aspects of social and political life. This expansive and ambiguous framing raises important questions about the limits of security and allocation of resources, carrying considerable implications for democratic governance in Europe.

Dr Zeynep Arkan is an Associate Professor of International Relations at Hacettepe University (Ankara) and a Visiting Fellow at the OEsterreichisches Institut fuer Internationale Politik (Vienna). She holds a BSc from Middle East Technical University (Ankara), an MA from Exeter University (Exeter), and a PhD from the University of Kent (Canterbury).

This book explores criminal threat to commercial security and the problem of the ethical control of political and criminal risk alongside and in the absence of government. Theoretically, it links ethics to geopolitics and political economy. Security Ethics: Commerce and Crime in a Polycentric World builds from well-known thinkers, but not theorists typically found in books of applied ethics and security studies. Chapters include Francisco de Vitoria's account of just war applied to pirates; John Locke on dignity and the illegal trade in body parts; David Hume on community justice combatting cartels; Adam Smith on luxury and knockoffs; Bakunin and anarchist gunrunning; Johan Huizinga on play and crime; David Ross on corporate obligation in the face of partizan risk to hotel security; Carl Schmitt on geography and smuggling; Aurel Kolnai on privilege and corporate secrets; and David Petraeus, author of The US Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, respecting ecotage and commercial legitimacy.

This book investigates the limits and possibilities of mismatch theories in evolutionary medicine, a topic that has not yet received much attention in philosophy. Mismatch explanations are part of a broader attempt to establish evolutionary thinking as a foundation for human medicine. Although mismatch explanations are well-established in ecology to account for extinction risks, the ongoing attempts to transfer them into human medical contexts are riddled with conceptual and ethical problems. This book offers a comprehensive analysis of the theoretical presuppositions as well as the normative implications associated with mismatch theorizing in evolutionary medicine

Chapters present narratives on statecraft, law and violence relating to geopolitical borders, adopting cultural and historical perspectives. An array of esteemed specialists examine political imaginaries of border security and identify methodological innovations that will enhance future scholarly work in the field. They highlight regional and global problems tied to borders, looking at issues such as sovereignty, citizenship, security, migration and social justice. Ultimately, it illustrates that metaphorical borders delineating identity and culture are as real as any political, economic or social boundary.

Border Studies: A Multidisciplinary Approach draws on perspectives from geography, political science, international relations, history, social anthropology, law and economics, making this an invigorating read for scholars in these fields. Practitioners in politics, government, international relations and law will also greatly benefit from its unique insights.

This book explores the future of African-European relations with a focus on achieving equity in a global context. Drawing on the expertise of policymakers, institutional stakeholders, scholars, and practitioners from both the global south and the global north, this contributed book offers unique insights into successful cooperation strategies between Africa and Europe.

By offering case studies and clear perspectives, the book covers topics such as the implementation of public policies, the role of culture and languages, judicial independence, e-governance, technical cooperation and project management, energy crisis, economic growth, and global health. Moving beyond conventional development rhetoric and geopolitical divides, this book creates a common narrative for fostering an equitable global society.

This book goes beneath the general development rhetoric, exploring the underlying dynamics of African-European societies, their local practices, and cultures. It also critically examines the post-pandemic global health architecture and the energy crisis from an African-European perspective. Additionally, it includes a dedicated chapter on the influential role of culture in shaping African-European relations.

This volume provides a comprehensive analysis of the 2024 elections to the European Parliament, the first to be held since Brexit, COVID, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It offers a clear, concise and timely appraisal of the key issues raised in the elections both at the EU level and in each of the Member States. Part 1 begins with an overview of how controversial holding elections to a supranational EU parliament was in1979, before exploring how the changing dynamics and challenges of political engagement in the EU were addressed in 2024 following the Conference on the Future of Europe. Strategies to mobilise voters, the role of supranational European parties and manifestos in 2024 are examined. Part 2 focuses on the elections in the twenty-seven Member States. Each chapter puts the elections of the state into context. The electoral rules, election campaigns, turnout and results, and the implications for domestic and EU level politics are outlined and evaluated. The book concludes with an assessment of what the results may indicate for democracy in the EU.

Flourishing Fasts is the first book in any language to explore the history of the Zhaijiao, commonly translated as "vegetarian sects," that originated in southeastern China during the Ming and Qing dynasties and are still active in contemporary Taiwan. Combining historical analysis and ethnographic fieldwork, Nikolas Broy reveals the entangled nature of the Zhaijiao-and other Chinese sectarian groups-within their socioreligious environment. Conventionally considered nonconformist dissenters or lay Buddhists, the Zhaijiao in fact embody one intersection of the "Three Teachings" of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism and manifest aspects of local religious life and universal salvationist teachings. Not limited to everyday religious rites such as worshiping local gods, conducting initiation festivals, and performing ritual services for nonmembers, the Zhaijiao also serve as institutions around which social and political life are centered-for example through mobilizing local resources for public enterprises or articulating property rights vis-a-vis the state.

In this wide-ranging discussion that covers practices, religious symbols and teachings, mythological narratives, moral values, architecture, and material culture over more than four hundred years, Broy situates the Zhaijiao at the very core of local societies and shows how they actively engage in political, economic, legal, and cultural affairs.

This book offers critical commentary and passionate analysis on the implications of Hindutva, capitalism, and imperialism for the everyday lives of working people and the planet. The emergence of the alliance between Hindutva politics and corporate capitalism during the latter half of the twentieth century significantly shaped society, state and governments aligning it with the demands of global capitalism and its imperialist hegemony. The collaboration and contestation between Hindutva, capitalism, imperialism, and other reactionary forces shape the nature of the state, government, culture, politics and society in India and beyond. The book provides an auto ethnographic and alternative analysis based on reflections on the realities of everyday lives and experiences of the past and present of this unholy trinity and its global implications.

Leading experts investigate digital innovations, policies and regulations in Europe, also by contrast with parallel developments in other jurisdictions such as the US, to reveal the imaginaries, visions, and expectations underpinning the so-called 'European way' to digital innovation. Engaging with ongoing debates about digital regulation, governance, values and ethics, the volume examines how 'Europe' is re-imagined and recast, or contested and unmade, alongside the emergence of novel digital worlds, and ultimately investigates the mutual reconfigurations of information and power in modern knowledge-intensive societies.

Project Europe is an essential resource for scholars and students of Science & Technology Studies (STS), European politics and policy, and cognate disciplines in the Social Sciences & the Humanities. Presenting both theoretical analyses and empirical case studies, it is also beneficial to policymakers and practitioners in regulation and governance, digital technology law and public policy.

This book presents a comprehensive analysis of China's evolving security engagement in Africa, a dimension often overshadowed by earlier studies focusing on economic and political aspects. As China's global ambitions expand, its involvement in African security-across bilateral, regional, and multilateral levels has intensified, challenging its longstanding principle of non-interference. The book explores why China is shifting from a policy of non-interference to one of 'non-indifference' and details the actions supporting this change. Employing neoclassical realist theory, it examines systemic factors, domestic influences, and the role of President Xi Jinping in shaping China's security strategy. By adopting a three-dimensional approach to Sino-Africa relations and categorizing the reasons for China's policy shift into strategic culture, superpower ambitions, operational motives, and reputational concerns, the book offers fresh insights into China's security diplomacy. It contributes to the broader discourse on China's changing stance and its implications for international relations, highlighting the need for attention in both academic and policy circles.

This book offers a new approach to the way in which biologists evaluate both the explanations they give of biological phenomena and those they would like to pursue. Departing from current scholarship on explanation, it draws out a cluster of virtues which unifies some biological explanations and, in turn, captures part of what makes the life sciences distinctive: integrative promise. With case studies drawn from a wide variety of historical and empirical domains (such as big data biology, model organisms, and natural history), as well as theoretical connections to a number of other areas in the philosophy of science (including mechanism, science and values, and scientific modeling), this work creates a new lens which helps us understand why contemporary life science takes the structure that it does. It provides insight for readers in philosophy and history of science, as well as biologists interested in the theoretical structure and future of their field.