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Campus Rape Culture: Identity and Myths
by Jennifer L. HuckThis book looks at rape myths and rape culture within the university environment, examining the development of social identities in the creation and support of such culture. Building on a four-year research project, this book demonstrates how an understanding of rape culture and of the falsity of rape myths amongst students and staff at university is often at odds with an understanding of the degree to which sexual assaults take place, and of why they take place. This book explores how traditionally held beliefs of sex roles between men and women, poor conceptions of consent processes, lack of available data, and an inability to see the full continuum of sexual assault limit the knowledge of sexual assaults inside the university community. Taken together the studies demonstrate how socialized social identities of masculinity and femininity hold power in how consent, sexual assaults, and sexual behaviors manifest through cultural values of rape myths and hook-ups. Universities are challenged to examine their sexual assault programming in connection to Title IX and beyond to create educational opportunities about rape culture and rape myths suitable for their students, faculty, and staff. Written in a clear and direct style, this is essential reading for all those engaged in research about rape culture, sexual assault, and violence against women.
Campus Sexual Assault: College Women Respond
by Lauren J. GermainA 2014 report issued by the White House Council on Women and Girls included the alarming statistic that one in five female college students in the United States experience some form of campus sexual assault. Despite more than fifty years of anti-rape activism and over two decades of federal legislation regarding campus sexual violence, sexual assault on American college and university campuses remains prevalent, underreported, and poorly understood. A principal reason for this lack of understanding is that the voices of women who have experienced campus sexual assault have been largely absent from academic discourse about the issue.In Campus Sexual Assault, Lauren J. Germain focuses attention on the post–sexual assault experiences of twenty-six college women. She reframes conversations about sexual violence and student agency on American college campuses by drawing insight directly from the stories of how survivors responded individually to attacks, as well as how and why peers, family members, and school, medical, and civil authorities were (or were not) engaged in addressing the crimes.Germain weaves together women's narratives to show the women not as victims per se but as individuals with the power to overcome these traumatic experiences.
Campus Sexual Assault: College Women Respond
by Lauren J. GermainA 2014 report issued by the White House Council on Women and Girls included the alarming statistic that one in five female college students in the United States experience some form of campus sexual assault. Despite more than fifty years of anti-rape activism and over two decades of federal legislation regarding campus sexual violence, sexual assault on American college and university campuses remains prevalent, underreported, and poorly understood. A principal reason for this lack of understanding is that the voices of women who have experienced campus sexual assault have been largely absent from academic discourse about the issue.In Campus Sexual Assault, Lauren J. Germain focuses attention on the post–sexual assault experiences of twenty-six college women. She reframes conversations about sexual violence and student agency on American college campuses by drawing insight directly from the stories of how survivors responded individually to attacks, as well as how and why peers, family members, and school, medical, and civil authorities were (or were not) engaged in addressing the crimes.Germain weaves together women's narratives to show the women not as victims per se but as individuals with the power to overcome these traumatic experiences.
Campus Sexual Assault: A Reference Handbook (Contemporary World Issues)
by Alison E. HatchThis invaluable reference text thoroughly examines the alarming epidemic of campus sexual assault, including a discussion of laws, high-profile cases, controversies, and proposed solutions.From the assault of a high school girl by a multitude of her peers in Steubenville, Ohio, to the alleged gang rape at the University of Virginia, the ongoing and serious problem of sexual violence at U.S. educational institutions is well established. These horrific attacks continue in spite of the Title IX probe launched by the Obama administration in order to hold schools more accountable. Campus Sexual Assault: A Reference Handbook addresses the difficult questions about the widespread incidence of sexual assault among high school and college students. Written to be highly accessible to high school and undergraduate students, general readers, as well as individuals interested in the campus rape discourse, the book covers the background history of sexual assault on college campuses, discusses how laws regarding sexual assault and the cultural understanding of the crime have evolved over time, and outlines some of the highest-profile cases of sexual assault at U.S. schools. A perspectives chapter presents testimonials from those who by profession or experience have insight into the problem of sexual assault, giving voice to a Title IX investigator, a college counselor, a sexual assault nurse, and individuals who have been sexually assaulted. Readers will come away with a deeper appreciation of the gravity of the problem of campus sexual assault and grasp the causes of this societal issue to intelligently consider proposed solutions.
Campus Sexual Assault: A Reference Handbook (Contemporary World Issues)
by Alison E. HatchThis invaluable reference text thoroughly examines the alarming epidemic of campus sexual assault, including a discussion of laws, high-profile cases, controversies, and proposed solutions.From the assault of a high school girl by a multitude of her peers in Steubenville, Ohio, to the alleged gang rape at the University of Virginia, the ongoing and serious problem of sexual violence at U.S. educational institutions is well established. These horrific attacks continue in spite of the Title IX probe launched by the Obama administration in order to hold schools more accountable. Campus Sexual Assault: A Reference Handbook addresses the difficult questions about the widespread incidence of sexual assault among high school and college students. Written to be highly accessible to high school and undergraduate students, general readers, as well as individuals interested in the campus rape discourse, the book covers the background history of sexual assault on college campuses, discusses how laws regarding sexual assault and the cultural understanding of the crime have evolved over time, and outlines some of the highest-profile cases of sexual assault at U.S. schools. A perspectives chapter presents testimonials from those who by profession or experience have insight into the problem of sexual assault, giving voice to a Title IX investigator, a college counselor, a sexual assault nurse, and individuals who have been sexually assaulted. Readers will come away with a deeper appreciation of the gravity of the problem of campus sexual assault and grasp the causes of this societal issue to intelligently consider proposed solutions.
Campus Sexual Violence: A State of Institutionalized Sexual Terrorism
by Sarah Prior Brooke A. de HeerCampus Sexual Violence: A State of Institutionalized Sexual Terrorism conceptualizes sexual violence on college campuses as a form of sexual terrorism, arguing that institutional compliance and inaction within the neoliberal university perpetuate a system of sexual terrorism. Using a sexual terrorism framework, the authors examine a myriad of examples of campus sexual violence with an intersectional lens and explore the role of the institution and the influence of neoliberalism in undermining sexual violence prevention efforts. The book utilizes Carole Sheffield’s five components of sexual terrorism (ideology, propaganda, amorality, perceptions of the perpetrator, and voluntary compliance) to describe how the "ivory tower stereotype" and adoption of neoliberal values into education contribute to an environment where victimization is painfully common. Cases such as those from Michigan State University and Baylor University are used as examples to highlight institutional culpability and neoliberal value systems within higher education, as well as illustrating the pervasiveness of rape culture that contributes to a system of sexual terrorism. Crucially, the book focuses on systems of inequality and oppression, and uses an intersectional perspective that recognizes victimization experienced by multiple marginalized groups including women, LGBTQ+, and racially minoritized people. Building on campus violence research and institutional harm research, the authors define campus sexual violence as a serious social problem based in structural inequality and advocate for civic responsibility at the institutional level and the development of institutional advocates. Weaving together theoretical and practical perspectives, the book will be of great interest to students and scholars of sociology, criminal justice, women’s and gender studies, social/political policy, victimology, and education. It will also be of use to those working in higher education administration and other student life and student health professions.
Campus Sexual Violence: A State of Institutionalized Sexual Terrorism
by Sarah Prior Brooke A. de HeerCampus Sexual Violence: A State of Institutionalized Sexual Terrorism conceptualizes sexual violence on college campuses as a form of sexual terrorism, arguing that institutional compliance and inaction within the neoliberal university perpetuate a system of sexual terrorism. Using a sexual terrorism framework, the authors examine a myriad of examples of campus sexual violence with an intersectional lens and explore the role of the institution and the influence of neoliberalism in undermining sexual violence prevention efforts. The book utilizes Carole Sheffield’s five components of sexual terrorism (ideology, propaganda, amorality, perceptions of the perpetrator, and voluntary compliance) to describe how the "ivory tower stereotype" and adoption of neoliberal values into education contribute to an environment where victimization is painfully common. Cases such as those from Michigan State University and Baylor University are used as examples to highlight institutional culpability and neoliberal value systems within higher education, as well as illustrating the pervasiveness of rape culture that contributes to a system of sexual terrorism. Crucially, the book focuses on systems of inequality and oppression, and uses an intersectional perspective that recognizes victimization experienced by multiple marginalized groups including women, LGBTQ+, and racially minoritized people. Building on campus violence research and institutional harm research, the authors define campus sexual violence as a serious social problem based in structural inequality and advocate for civic responsibility at the institutional level and the development of institutional advocates. Weaving together theoretical and practical perspectives, the book will be of great interest to students and scholars of sociology, criminal justice, women’s and gender studies, social/political policy, victimology, and education. It will also be of use to those working in higher education administration and other student life and student health professions.
Camus and the Challenge of Political Thought: Between Despair and Hope (Global Political Thinkers)
by P. HaydenAlbert Camus was a formative artist, writer and public figure whose work defies conventional labels, and whose legacy is controversial but substantial. His distinctive contribution to modern ethical and political thought remains far from settled. Camus and the Challenge of Political Thought comprehensively yet concisely explores how Camus's compelling ideas of absurdity and rebellion emerged, how his complex political engagements and positions developed, and how his conception of an ethics of limits and measure retains a vital, contemporary resonance in an era of unsettling global politics. Drawing upon the full range of Camus's notebooks, novels, plays and philosophical essays, Hayden shows Camus to be an original political thinker of human dignity and freedom whose life and work sought to navigate between the twin dangers of idealistic optimism and nihilistic despair.
Camus’s L’Etranger: Fifty Years on
by Adele KingThese essays on L'Etranger celebrate its continuing influence throughout the world. Contributors come from Algeria, Samoa, India, Russia, France, Britain and the United States. Included are essays by prominent French and English-language authors for whom the novel has been an influential expression of contemporary sensibility. Other essays include feminist interpretations of Meursault, studies of Camus's narrative form, and explorations of the Algerian setting of the novel. Comparative studies show Camus's relation to the New Novel, to Greene and Orwell, to Jules Roy, and to Sartre.
Can Academics Change the World?: An Israeli Anthropologist's Testimony on the Rise and Fall of a Protest Movement on Campus (EASA Series #39)
by Moshe ShokeidMoshe Shokeid narrates his experiences as a member of AD KAN (NO MORE), a protest movement of Israeli academics at Tel Aviv University, who fought against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, founded during the first Palestinian Intifada (1987-1993). However, since the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin and the later obliteration of the Oslo accord, public manifestations of dissent on Israeli campuses have been remarkably mute. This chronicle of AD KAN is explored in view of the ongoing theoretical discourse on the role of the intellectual in society and is compared with other account of academic involvement in different countries during periods of acute political conflict.
Can Any Mother Help Me?
by Jenna BaileyIn 1935, a young woman wrote a letter to Nursery World magazine, expressing her feelings of isolation and loneliness. Women from all over the country experiencing similar frustrations wrote back. To create an outlet for their abundant ideas and opinions they started a private magazine, The Cooperative Correspondence Club. The deep friendships formed through its pages ensured the magazine continued until 1990, fifty-five years after the first issue was put together.
Can College Level the Playing Field?: Higher Education in an Unequal Society
by Sandy Baum Michael McPhersonWhy higher education is not a silver bullet for eradicating economic inequality and social injusticeWe often think that a college degree will open doors to opportunity regardless of one’s background or upbringing. In this eye-opening book, two of today’s leading economists argue that higher education alone cannot overcome the lasting effects of inequality that continue to plague us, and offer sensible solutions for building a more just and equitable society.Sandy Baum and Michael McPherson document the starkly different educational and social environments in which children of different races and economic backgrounds grow up, and explain why social equity requires sustained efforts to provide the broadest possible access to high-quality early childhood and K–12 education. They dismiss panaceas like eliminating college tuition and replacing the classroom experience with online education, revealing why they fail to provide better education for those who need it most, and discuss how wages in our dysfunctional labor market are sharply skewed toward the highly educated. Baum and McPherson argue that greater investment in the postsecondary institutions that educate most low-income and marginalized students will have a bigger impact than just getting more students from these backgrounds into the most prestigious colleges and universities.While the need for reform extends far beyond our colleges and universities, there is much that both academic and government leaders can do to mitigate the worst consequences of America’s deeply seated inequalities. This book shows how we can address the root causes of social injustice and level the playing field for students and families before, during, and after college.
Can College Level the Playing Field?: Higher Education in an Unequal Society
by Sandy Baum Michael McPhersonWhy higher education is not a silver bullet for eradicating economic inequality and social injusticeWe often think that a college degree will open doors to opportunity regardless of one’s background or upbringing. In this eye-opening book, two of today’s leading economists argue that higher education alone cannot overcome the lasting effects of inequality that continue to plague us, and offer sensible solutions for building a more just and equitable society.Sandy Baum and Michael McPherson document the starkly different educational and social environments in which children of different races and economic backgrounds grow up, and explain why social equity requires sustained efforts to provide the broadest possible access to high-quality early childhood and K–12 education. They dismiss panaceas like eliminating college tuition and replacing the classroom experience with online education, revealing why they fail to provide better education for those who need it most, and discuss how wages in our dysfunctional labor market are sharply skewed toward the highly educated. Baum and McPherson argue that greater investment in the postsecondary institutions that educate most low-income and marginalized students will have a bigger impact than just getting more students from these backgrounds into the most prestigious colleges and universities.While the need for reform extends far beyond our colleges and universities, there is much that both academic and government leaders can do to mitigate the worst consequences of America’s deeply seated inequalities. This book shows how we can address the root causes of social injustice and level the playing field for students and families before, during, and after college.
Can Democracy Survive in the 21st Century?: Oligarchy, tyranny, and ochlocracy in the age of global capitalism
by Ronald M. GlassmanThis book analyzes the many threats to democracy that exist in the 21st century and tries to understand how democracy can survive economic, social and political crises. It focuses on issues of oligarchy, tyranny, totalitarianism, and ochlocracy. It discusses how these forms of governance manifested themselves in ancient and medieval worlds, and how socio-economic transitions in the 21st century have created conditions that increasingly pose similar threats to modern democracy. The author discusses broad transitions in the contemporary world: economic transition to advanced, high technology capitalism; cultural transition from traditional religious and family values to norms focusing on racial equality, gender and transgender equality and liberation, and multiculturalism; also, transition from the traditional religious worldview to rational-scientific worldview, and from religious morality to secular humanist ethics. These taken together undergird the political transition from traditional authority, involving monarchy and aristocracy, to rational-legal authority, involving constitutional law and democratic participation. The book shows, through extensive country discussions, that whenever these transitions become difficult, undemocratic forms of governance may emerge and override democracy. Authored by an expert in the field, this book touches upon an especially topical theme in the contemporary world and is of interest to a wide readership across the social sciences, from researchers and students to discerning laypersons.
Can Fixing Dinner Fix the Planet? (Johns Hopkins Wavelengths)
by Jessica FanzoHow can consumers, nations, and international organizations work together to improve food systems before our planet loses its ability to sustain itself and its people?Do we have the right to eat wrongly?As the world's agricultural, environmental, and nutritional needs intersect—and often collide—how can consumers, nations, and international organizations work together to reverse the damage by changing how we make, distribute, and purchase food? Can such changes in practice and policy reverse the trajectories of the biggest global crises impacting our world: the burden of chronic diseases, the consequences of climate change, and the systemic economic and social inequities that exist within and among nations?Can Fixing Dinner Fix the Planet? is a clarion call for both individual consumers and those who shape our planet's food and environmental policies that:• describes the often destructive path that foods take from farms and seas through their processing, distribution, marketing, purchasing and waste management sites• explores the complex web of factors impacting our ability to simultaneously meet nutritional needs, sustain biodiversity and protect the environment• raises readers' food and environmental literacy through an engaging narrative about Fanzo's research on five continents along with the work of other inspiring global experts who are providing solutions to these crises• empowers readers to contribute to immediate and long-term changes by informing their decisions in restaurants, grocery stores, farmers markets, and kitchens
Can Fixing Dinner Fix the Planet? (Johns Hopkins Wavelengths)
by Jessica FanzoHow can consumers, nations, and international organizations work together to improve food systems before our planet loses its ability to sustain itself and its people?Do we have the right to eat wrongly?As the world's agricultural, environmental, and nutritional needs intersect—and often collide—how can consumers, nations, and international organizations work together to reverse the damage by changing how we make, distribute, and purchase food? Can such changes in practice and policy reverse the trajectories of the biggest global crises impacting our world: the burden of chronic diseases, the consequences of climate change, and the systemic economic and social inequities that exist within and among nations?Can Fixing Dinner Fix the Planet? is a clarion call for both individual consumers and those who shape our planet's food and environmental policies that:• describes the often destructive path that foods take from farms and seas through their processing, distribution, marketing, purchasing and waste management sites• explores the complex web of factors impacting our ability to simultaneously meet nutritional needs, sustain biodiversity and protect the environment• raises readers' food and environmental literacy through an engaging narrative about Fanzo's research on five continents along with the work of other inspiring global experts who are providing solutions to these crises• empowers readers to contribute to immediate and long-term changes by informing their decisions in restaurants, grocery stores, farmers markets, and kitchens
Can Gun Control Work? (Studies in Crime and Public Policy)
by James B. JacobsFew schisms in American life run as deep or as wide as the divide between gun rights and gun control advocates. Awash in sound and symbol, the gun regulation debate has largely been defined by forceful rhetoric rather than substantive action. Politicians shroud themselves in talk of individual rights or public safety while lobbyists on both sides make doom-and-gloom pronouncements on the consequences of potential shifts in the status quo. In America today there are between 250 and 300 million firearms in private hands, amounting to one weapon for every American. Two in five American homes house guns. On the one hand, most gun owners are law-abiding citizens who believe they have a constitutional right to bear arms. On the other, a great many people believe gun control to be our best chance at reducing violent crime. While few--whether gun owner or anti-gun advocate--dispute the need to keep guns out of the wrong hands, the most important question has too often been dodged: What gun control options does the most heavily armed democracy in the world have? Can gun control really work? The last decade has seen several watersheds in the debate, none more important than the 1993 Brady Bill. That bill, James B. Jacobs argues, was the culmination of a strategy in place since the 1930s to permit widespread private ownership of guns while curtailing illegal use. But where do we go from here? While the Brady background check is easily circumvented, any further attempts to extend gun control--for instance, through comprehensive licensing of all gun owners and registration of all guns--would pose monumental administrative burdens. Jacobs moves beyond easy slogans and broad-brush ideology to examine the on-the-ground practicalities of gun control, from mandatory safety locks to outright prohibition and disarmament. Casting aside ideology and abstractions, he cautions against the belief that there exists some gun control solution which, had we the political will to seize it, would substantially reduce violent crime. In Can Gun Control Work?, James B. Jacobs, one of our most fearless commentators on intractable social problems, has given us the most sober and even-handed assessment of whether gun control can really be made to work.
Can I tell you about Parkinson's Disease?: A guide for family, friends and carers
by Lydia Corrow Alan M. HultquistMeet Nikolai - a man with Parkinson's disease. Nikolai invites readers to learn about Parkinson's from his perspective, helping them to understand how Parkinson's affects his daily life and why some tasks can be especially challenging for him. He also gives advice on how to help someone with Parkinson's when they have difficulties with physical movements and memory. This illustrated book is full of useful information and will be an ideal introduction for children from the age of 7, as well as older readers. It will help family, friends and carers better understand and explain the condition, and will be an excellent starting point for group discussions.
Can I tell you about Parkinson's Disease?: A guide for family, friends and carers (PDF)
by Alan M. Hultquist Lydia CorrowMeet Nikolai - a man with Parkinson's disease. Nikolai invites readers to learn about Parkinson's from his perspective, helping them to understand how Parkinson's affects his daily life and why some tasks can be especially challenging for him. He also gives advice on how to help someone with Parkinson's when they have difficulties with physical movements and memory. This illustrated book is full of useful information and will be an ideal introduction for children from the age of 7, as well as older readers. It will help family, friends and carers better understand and explain the condition, and will be an excellent starting point for group discussions.
Can Islam Be French?: Pluralism and Pragmatism in a Secularist State
by John R. BowenCan Islam Be French? is an anthropological examination of how Muslims are responding to the conditions of life in France. Following up on his book Why the French Don't Like Headscarves, John Bowen turns his attention away from the perspectives of French non-Muslims to focus on those of the country's Muslims themselves. Bowen asks not the usual question--how well are Muslims integrating in France?--but, rather, how do French Muslims think about Islam? In particular, Bowen examines how French Muslims are fashioning new Islamic institutions and developing new ways of reasoning and teaching. He looks at some of the quite distinct ways in which mosques have connected with broader social and political forces, how Islamic educational entrepreneurs have fashioned niches for new forms of schooling, and how major Islamic public actors have set out a specifically French approach to religious norms. All of these efforts have provoked sharp responses in France and from overseas centers of Islamic scholarship, so Bowen also looks closely at debates over how--and how far--Muslims should adapt their religious traditions to these new social conditions. He argues that the particular ways in which Muslims have settled in France, and in which France governs religions, have created incentives for Muslims to develop new, pragmatic ways of thinking about religious issues in French society.
Can Islam Be French?: Pluralism and Pragmatism in a Secularist State (PDF)
by John R. BowenCan Islam Be French? is an anthropological examination of how Muslims are responding to the conditions of life in France. Following up on his book Why the French Don't Like Headscarves, John Bowen turns his attention away from the perspectives of French non-Muslims to focus on those of the country's Muslims themselves. Bowen asks not the usual question--how well are Muslims integrating in France?--but, rather, how do French Muslims think about Islam? In particular, Bowen examines how French Muslims are fashioning new Islamic institutions and developing new ways of reasoning and teaching. He looks at some of the quite distinct ways in which mosques have connected with broader social and political forces, how Islamic educational entrepreneurs have fashioned niches for new forms of schooling, and how major Islamic public actors have set out a specifically French approach to religious norms. All of these efforts have provoked sharp responses in France and from overseas centers of Islamic scholarship, so Bowen also looks closely at debates over how--and how far--Muslims should adapt their religious traditions to these new social conditions. He argues that the particular ways in which Muslims have settled in France, and in which France governs religions, have created incentives for Muslims to develop new, pragmatic ways of thinking about religious issues in French society.
Can Journalism Be Saved?: Rediscovering America's Appetite for News
by Rachel Davis MerseyThis book challenges the once-dominant social responsibility model and argues that a new, "individual-first" paradigm is what will allow journalism to survive in today's crowded media marketplace.By some measures, it would seem that print journalism is dying. Journalism recently suffered one of its worst circulation declines in years: a drop of more than ten percent in the a six month period ending September 30, 2009. The Rocky Mountain News in Denver, CO, closed its doors in 2009—after it dominated the AP awards in 2008, and was lauded for an investigative expose on unfair treatment of former nuclear workers. Even the New York Times and the Washington Post are experiencing financial trouble. But print advertising revenue still trumps online advertising revenue ten-fold. Is there hope yet for traditional journalism?This book reviews the complicated challenge facing journalism, tracing its 19th-century community-oriented origins and documenting the vast expansion of the news business via blogs and other Internet-enabled outlets, user-generated content, and news-like alternatives. The author argues that a radical shift in mindset—striving to meet each individual's demands for what he wants to know—will be necessary to save journalism.
Can Journalism Be Saved?: Rediscovering America's Appetite for News
by Rachel Davis MerseyThis book challenges the once-dominant social responsibility model and argues that a new, "individual-first" paradigm is what will allow journalism to survive in today's crowded media marketplace.By some measures, it would seem that print journalism is dying. Journalism recently suffered one of its worst circulation declines in years: a drop of more than ten percent in the a six month period ending September 30, 2009. The Rocky Mountain News in Denver, CO, closed its doors in 2009—after it dominated the AP awards in 2008, and was lauded for an investigative expose on unfair treatment of former nuclear workers. Even the New York Times and the Washington Post are experiencing financial trouble. But print advertising revenue still trumps online advertising revenue ten-fold. Is there hope yet for traditional journalism?This book reviews the complicated challenge facing journalism, tracing its 19th-century community-oriented origins and documenting the vast expansion of the news business via blogs and other Internet-enabled outlets, user-generated content, and news-like alternatives. The author argues that a radical shift in mindset—striving to meet each individual's demands for what he wants to know—will be necessary to save journalism.
Can Latin America Compete?: Confronting the Challenges of Globalization
by J. Haar J. PriceCan Latin America compete? Many argue that the macroeconomic and trade reforms of the 1990s merely put a handsome coat of paint over education, labour, judicial, and administrative reforms that remain incomplete. This book identifies ten factors that most influence the competitiveness of Latin American nations and will shape their economic futures.
Can Russia Modernise?: Sistema, Power Networks And Informal Governance (PDF)
by Alena V. LedenevaIn this original, bottom-up account of the evolution of contemporary Russia, Alena Ledeneva seeks to reveal how informal power operates. Concentrating on Vladimir Putin's system of governance - referred to as sistema - she identifies four key types of networks: his inner circle, useful friends, core contacts and more diffuse ties and connections. These networks serve sistema but also serve themselves. Reliance on networks enables leaders to mobilise and to control, yet they also lock politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen into informal deals, mediated interests and personalised loyalty. This is the 'modernisation trap of informality': one cannot use the potential of informal networks without triggering their negative long-term consequences for institutional development. Ledeneva's perspective on informal power is based on in-depth interviews with sistema insiders and enhanced by evidence of its workings brought to light in court cases, enabling her to draw broad conclusions about the prospects for Russia's political institutions.