Browse Results

Showing 20,426 through 20,450 of 20,563 results

Prioritization Theory and Defensive Foreign Policy: Systemic Vulnerabilities in International Politics

by Hanna Samir Kassab

This book studies systemic vulnerabilities and their impact on states and individual survival. The author theorizes that the structure of the international system is a product of the distribution of capabilities and vulnerabilities across states. States function or behave in terms of these systemic threats. The author examines a number of specific case-studies focusing on military, economic, environmental, political and cyber vulnerabilities, and how different states are impacted by them. Arguing that current attempts to securitize these vulnerabilities through defensive foreign policies are largely failing, the books makes the case for prioritizing economic development and human security.

India's Climate Change Identity: Between Reality and Perception (PDF)

by Samir Saran Aled Jones

This book presents a new and innovative approach to understanding the dynamics of international climate change negotiations using India as a focal point. The authors consider India’s negotiating position at multilateral climate negotiations and its focus on the notion of ‘equity’ and its new avatar ‘climate justice’. This book delves into the media’s representation of India as a rural economy, a rising industrial power, a developing country, a member of the 5 emerging economies (BRICS), and a country with severe resource security issues, in order to examine the diverse and at time divergent narratives on India’s national identity in the context of policy formulation. Those researching such diverse fields as international development, politics, economics, climate change, and international law will find this book offers useful insights into the motivations and drivers of a nation’s response to climate change imperatives.

India's Climate Change Identity: Between Reality and Perception

by Samir Saran Aled Jones

This book presents a new and innovative approach to understanding the dynamics of international climate change negotiations using India as a focal point. The authors consider India’s negotiating position at multilateral climate negotiations and its focus on the notion of ‘equity’ and its new avatar ‘climate justice’. This book delves into the media’s representation of India as a rural economy, a rising industrial power, a developing country, a member of the 5 emerging economies (BRICS), and a country with severe resource security issues, in order to examine the diverse and at time divergent narratives on India’s national identity in the context of policy formulation. Those researching such diverse fields as international development, politics, economics, climate change, and international law will find this book offers useful insights into the motivations and drivers of a nation’s response to climate change imperatives.

The Political Economy of Agricultural Booms: Managing Soybean Production in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay

by Mariano Turzi

This book offers an in-depth analysis of the political economy of soybean production in Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, by identifying the dominant private and public actors and control mechanisms that have given rise to a corporate-driven, vertically integrated system of regionalized agricultural production in the Southern Cone of South America. The current agricultural boom surrounding soybean production has been aided by aggressive new agro-technologies, including biotechnology, leading to massive organizational changes in the agricultural sector and a significant rise in the power of special interest groups and corporations. Despite having similar initial production conditions, the pattern of economic activity surrounding soybean production in Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, continues to be largely determined by the needs of the multinational corporations involved, rather than national considerations of comparative advantage. The author uses these findings to argue that the new international model of agricultural production empowers chemical and trading multinational companies over national governments.

The Political Economy of Agricultural Booms: Managing Soybean Production in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay

by Mariano Turzi

This book offers an in-depth analysis of the political economy of soybean production in Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, by identifying the dominant private and public actors and control mechanisms that have given rise to a corporate-driven, vertically integrated system of regionalized agricultural production in the Southern Cone of South America. The current agricultural boom surrounding soybean production has been aided by aggressive new agro-technologies, including biotechnology, leading to massive organizational changes in the agricultural sector and a significant rise in the power of special interest groups and corporations. Despite having similar initial production conditions, the pattern of economic activity surrounding soybean production in Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, continues to be largely determined by the needs of the multinational corporations involved, rather than national considerations of comparative advantage. The author uses these findings to argue that the new international model of agricultural production empowers chemical and trading multinational companies over national governments.

Lobbying in the European Parliament: The Battle for Influence

by Maja Kluger Dionigi

This book explains when and how interest groups are influential in the European Parliament, which has become one of the most important lobbying venues in the EU. Yet we know little about the many ways in which interest groups and lobbyists influence parliamentary politics. The author offers insights on four key cases of lobbying, based on the analysis of EU documents, lobbying letters, and 150 interviews. She argues that lobbying success depends on a number of factors, most notably the degree of counter-lobbying, issue salience, and committee receptiveness. These factors are brought together in the framework of “Triple-I” - interests, issues, and institutions – to determine the success or failure of lobbying. This book will be of use to students and scholars interested in EU politics and governance, EU decision-making, and interest group politics, along with policy-makers and practitioners.

Lobbying in the European Parliament: The Battle for Influence

by Maja Kluger Dionigi

This book explains when and how interest groups are influential in the European Parliament, which has become one of the most important lobbying venues in the EU. Yet we know little about the many ways in which interest groups and lobbyists influence parliamentary politics. The author offers insights on four key cases of lobbying, based on the analysis of EU documents, lobbying letters, and 150 interviews. She argues that lobbying success depends on a number of factors, most notably the degree of counter-lobbying, issue salience, and committee receptiveness. These factors are brought together in the framework of “Triple-I” - interests, issues, and institutions – to determine the success or failure of lobbying. This book will be of use to students and scholars interested in EU politics and governance, EU decision-making, and interest group politics, along with policy-makers and practitioners.

Smart Growth Entrepreneurs: Partners in Urban Sustainability

by Erik Solevad Nielsen

This book examines smart growth entrepreneurs—innovators in government, development companies, architectural firms, and other organizations, who coalesce to shift policies and markets toward green planning and building practices. Cities across the world are trying to manage their population and economic growth by implementing the design principles of Smart Growth and New Urbanism, developing green buildings that are compact, mixed-use, and in close proximity to transit services. How do innovators, governments, and markets interact in this planning and development process? The book profiles smart growth entrepreneurs and their projects in both Southern California and the suburbs of Portland, Oregon. The author highlights the unique obstacles, political and economic, that these actors encounter and details the centrality of markets and regulations in sustainable urban development.

Smart Growth Entrepreneurs: Partners in Urban Sustainability

by Erik Solevad Nielsen

This book examines smart growth entrepreneurs—innovators in government, development companies, architectural firms, and other organizations, who coalesce to shift policies and markets toward green planning and building practices. Cities across the world are trying to manage their population and economic growth by implementing the design principles of Smart Growth and New Urbanism, developing green buildings that are compact, mixed-use, and in close proximity to transit services. How do innovators, governments, and markets interact in this planning and development process? The book profiles smart growth entrepreneurs and their projects in both Southern California and the suburbs of Portland, Oregon. The author highlights the unique obstacles, political and economic, that these actors encounter and details the centrality of markets and regulations in sustainable urban development.

Ecological Political Economy and the Socio-Ecological Crisis

by Martin P. Craig

Critically synthesising a range of disparate literatures and debates, this book asks what is at stake in mounting a decisive response to the ‘socio-ecological crisis’ - a crisis of humanity’s relationship with the rest of nature that places social life as we know it in jeopardy. Martin Craig proposes that political economists within and beyond the field of political ecology make an indispensable contribution to the diagnosis of this crisis and the formulation of prescriptions for its resolution. In a wide-ranging yet concise exposition, he assess the fraught relationship between capitalist societies and the biosphere of which they are a part, and urges a renewed emphasis on political-economic structure and strategy when considering responses to the crisis. The result is a proposal for a critical yet inclusive research enterprise – 'ecological political economy' – within which a wide variety of researchers can readily participate.

Ecological Political Economy and the Socio-Ecological Crisis

by Martin P. Craig

Critically synthesising a range of disparate literatures and debates, this book asks what is at stake in mounting a decisive response to the ‘socio-ecological crisis’ - a crisis of humanity’s relationship with the rest of nature that places social life as we know it in jeopardy. Martin Craig proposes that political economists within and beyond the field of political ecology make an indispensable contribution to the diagnosis of this crisis and the formulation of prescriptions for its resolution. In a wide-ranging yet concise exposition, he assess the fraught relationship between capitalist societies and the biosphere of which they are a part, and urges a renewed emphasis on political-economic structure and strategy when considering responses to the crisis. The result is a proposal for a critical yet inclusive research enterprise – 'ecological political economy' – within which a wide variety of researchers can readily participate.

Sustainability Politics and Limited Statehood: Contesting the New Modes of Governance

by Alejandro Esguerra Nicole Helmerich Thomas Risse

The contributors to this book critically examine the performance of new modes of governance in areas of limited statehood, drawing on a range of in-depth case studies on issues of climate change, biodiversity, and health. The Paris Agreement for Climate Change or the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) rely on new modes of governance for implementation. New modes of governance such as market-based instruments, public-private partnerships or stakeholder participation initiatives have been praised for playing a pivotal role in effective and legitimate sustainability governance. Yet, do they also deliver in areas of limited statehood? States such as Malaysia or the Dominican Republic partly lack the ability to implement and enforce rules; their domestic sovereignty is limited. Exploring this perspective on governance, the authors demonstrate that areas of limited statehood are not ungoverned or ungovernable spaces. The book elaborates how and under what conditions new modes of governance emerge in areas of limited statehood, and examines their relative effectiveness.

Sustainability Politics and Limited Statehood: Contesting the New Modes of Governance

by Alejandro Esguerra Nicole Helmerich Thomas Risse

The contributors to this book critically examine the performance of new modes of governance in areas of limited statehood, drawing on a range of in-depth case studies on issues of climate change, biodiversity, and health. The Paris Agreement for Climate Change or the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) rely on new modes of governance for implementation. New modes of governance such as market-based instruments, public-private partnerships or stakeholder participation initiatives have been praised for playing a pivotal role in effective and legitimate sustainability governance. Yet, do they also deliver in areas of limited statehood? States such as Malaysia or the Dominican Republic partly lack the ability to implement and enforce rules; their domestic sovereignty is limited. Exploring this perspective on governance, the authors demonstrate that areas of limited statehood are not ungoverned or ungovernable spaces. The book elaborates how and under what conditions new modes of governance emerge in areas of limited statehood, and examines their relative effectiveness.

The Politics of Power: EU-Russia Energy Relations in the 21st Century

by Lars-Christian U. Talseth

This book sheds new light on the complex EU-Russia relationship, by providing the first comprehensive account of the EU-Russia Energy Dialogue. The author examines why Moscow and Brussels have failed to cooperate in this crucial area of interdependence. By invoking constructivism and Mikhail Bakhtin’s concept of dialogue, and drawing on dozens of interviews with Russian and European officials, Talseth argues that the Energy Dialogue was unsuccessful because its interlocutors failed to come up with a common narrative for cooperation. Evidence suggests that the collapse of the Energy Dialogue was not pre-determined and initially there was a great deal of optimism and goodwill. Ultimately, the outcome of the Energy Dialogue was shaped by the unfolding time-space of Russo-European relations.

The Politics of Power: EU-Russia Energy Relations in the 21st Century

by Lars-Christian U. Talseth

This book sheds new light on the complex EU-Russia relationship, by providing the first comprehensive account of the EU-Russia Energy Dialogue. The author examines why Moscow and Brussels have failed to cooperate in this crucial area of interdependence. By invoking constructivism and Mikhail Bakhtin’s concept of dialogue, and drawing on dozens of interviews with Russian and European officials, Talseth argues that the Energy Dialogue was unsuccessful because its interlocutors failed to come up with a common narrative for cooperation. Evidence suggests that the collapse of the Energy Dialogue was not pre-determined and initially there was a great deal of optimism and goodwill. Ultimately, the outcome of the Energy Dialogue was shaped by the unfolding time-space of Russo-European relations.

The Politics Of The Environment: Ideas, Activism, Policy (PDF)

by Neil Carter

The continuous rise in the profile of the environment in politics reflects growing concern that we may be facing a large-scale ecological crisis. The new edition of this highly acclaimed textbook surveys the politics of the environment, providing a comprehensive and comparative introduction to its three components: ideas, activism and policy. Part I explores environmental philosophy and green political thought; Part II considers parties and environmental movements; and Part III analyses policy-making and environmental issues at international, national and local levels. This second edition has been thoroughly updated with new and revised discussions of many topics including the ecological state, ecological citizenship, ecological modernisation and the Greens in government and also includes an additional chapter on 'Globalisation, Trade and the Environment'. As well as considering a wide variety of examples from around the world, this textbook features a glossary, guides to further study, chapter summaries and critical questions throughout.

Green Parties In Transition: The End Of Grass-roots Democracy? (PDF)

by E. Gene Frankland Benoit Rihoux Paul Lucardie

When green parties emerged in the 1980s, not only did they question established ideas about nature and economic growth, they also challenged the 'iron law' of Roberto Michels that all parties inevitably follow a similar path towards informal concentration of power and oligarchy. Grass-roots democracy was both an ideological tenet and an organizational project for practically all green parties. These days the greens have lost their glamour and innocence. They have grown up and even joined governing coalitions in several countries. Did they leave grass-roots democracy by the roadside on the way to power? This book investigates to what extent green parties have remained true to their identity or have been transformed. Country specialists analyze the development of green parties in 14 countries across the world - not only Western Europe but also Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. These analyses also offer clues on broader questions about party types and party change in contemporary democracies.

Green Parties In Transition: The End Of Grass-roots Democracy?

by E. Gene Frankland Benoit Rihoux Paul Lucardie

When green parties emerged in the 1980s, not only did they question established ideas about nature and economic growth, they also challenged the 'iron law' of Roberto Michels that all parties inevitably follow a similar path towards informal concentration of power and oligarchy. Grass-roots democracy was both an ideological tenet and an organizational project for practically all green parties. These days the greens have lost their glamour and innocence. They have grown up and even joined governing coalitions in several countries. Did they leave grass-roots democracy by the roadside on the way to power? This book investigates to what extent green parties have remained true to their identity or have been transformed. Country specialists analyze the development of green parties in 14 countries across the world - not only Western Europe but also Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. These analyses also offer clues on broader questions about party types and party change in contemporary democracies.

Geographies Of Exclusion: Society And Difference In The West

by David Sibley

Images of exclusion characterised western cultures over long historical periods. In the developed society of racism, sexism and the marginalisation of minority groups, exclusion has become the dominant factor in the creation of social and spatial boundaries. Geographies of Exclusion seeks to identify the forms of social and spatial exclusion, and subsequently examine the fate of knowledge of space and society which has been produced by members of excluded groups. Evaluating writing on urban society by women and black writers the author asks why such work is neglected by the academic establishment, suggesting that both practices which result in the exclusion of minorities and those which result in the exclusion of knowledge have important implications for theory and method in human geography. Drawing on a wide range of ideas from social anthropology, feminist theory, sociology, human geography and psychoanalysis, the book presents a fresh approach to geographical theory, highlighting the tendency of powerful groups to purify' space and to view minorities as defiled and polluting, and exploring the nature of difference' and the production of knowledge.

The truest form of patriotism' (PDF)

by Heloise Brown

This text explores the pervasive influence of pacifism on Victorian feminism. Drawing on previously unused source material, it provides an account of Victorian women who campaigned for peace and the many feminists who incorporated pacifist ideas into their writing on women and women's work.

The History Of The London Water Industry, 1580-1820 (PDF)

by Leslie Tomory

Beginning in 1580, a number of competing London companies sold water directly to consumers through a large network of wooden mains in the expanding metropolis. This new water industry flourished throughout the 1600s, eventually expanding to serve tens of thousands of homes. By the late eighteenth century, more than 80 percent of the city's houses had water connections--making London the best-served metropolis in the world while demonstrating that it was legally, commercially, and technologically possible to run an infrastructure network within the largest city on earth. In this richly detailed book, historian Leslie Tomory shows how new technologies imported from the Continent, including waterwheel-driven piston pumps, spurred the rapid growth of London's water industry. The business was further sustained by an explosion in consumer demand, particularly in the city's wealthy West End. Meanwhile, several key local innovations reshaped the industry by enlarging the size of the supply network. By 1800, the success of London's water industry made it a model for other cities in Europe and beyond as they began to build their own water networks. The city's water infrastructure even inspired builders of other large-scale urban projects, including gas and sewage supply networks. The History of the London Water Industry, 1580-1820 explores the technological, cultural, and mercantile factors that created and sustained this remarkable industry. Tomory examines how the joint-stock form became popular with water companies, providing a stable legal structure that allowed for expansion. He also explains how the roots of the London water industry's divergence from the Continent and even from other British cities was rooted both in the size of London as a market and in the late seventeenth-century consumer revolution. This fascinating and unique study of essential utilities in the early modern period will interest business historians and historians of science and technology alike.

The Ashgate Research Companion To Heritage And Identity (PDF)

by Brian Graham Peter Howard

Heritage represents the meanings and representations conveyed in the present day upon artifacts, landscapes, mythologies, memories and traditions from the past. It is a key element in the shaping of identities, particularly in the context of increasingly multicultural societies. This Research Companion brings together an international team of authors to discuss the concepts, ideas and practices that inform the entwining of heritage and identity. They have assembled a wide geographical range of examples and interpret them through a number of disciplinary lenses that include geography, history, museum and heritage studies, archaeology, art history, history, anthropology and media studies. This outstanding companion offers scholars and graduate students a thoroughly up-to-date guide to current thinking and a comprehensive reference to this growing field.

The Great Transition: Climate, Disease And Society In The Late Medieval World (PDF)

by Bruce M. S. Campbell

In the fourteenth century the Old World witnessed a series of profound and abrupt changes in the trajectory of long-established historical trends. Transcontinental networks of exchange fractured and an era of economic contraction and demographic decline dawned from which Latin Christendom would not begin to emerge until its voyages of discovery at the end of the fifteenth century. In a major new study of this 'Great Transition', Bruce Campbell assesses the contributions of commercial recession, war, climate change, and eruption of the Black Death to a far-reaching reversal of fortunes from which no part of Eurasia was spared. The book synthesises a wealth of new historical, palaeo-ecological and biological evidence, including estimates of national income, reconstructions of past climates, and genetic analysis of DNA extracted from the teeth of plague victims, to provide a fresh account of the creation, collapse and realignment of Western Europe's late medieval commercial economy.

EcoGothic (International Gothic Series)

by Andrew Smith William Hughes

This book will provide the first study of how the Gothic engages with ecocritical ideas. Ecocriticism has frequently explored images of environmental catastrophe, the wilderness, the idea of home, constructions of 'nature', and images of the post-apocalypse – images which are also central to a certain type of Gothic literature. By exploring the relationship between the ecocritical aspects of the Gothic and the Gothic elements of the ecocritical, this book provides a new way of looking at both the Gothic and ecocriticism. Writers discussed include Ann Radcliffe, Mary Shelley, Ambrose Bierce, Algernon Blackwood, Margaret Atwood, Cormac McCarthy, Dan Simmons and Rana Dasgupta. The volume thus explores writing and film across various national contexts including Britain, America and Canada, as well as giving due consideration to how such issues might be discussed within a global context.

University engagement and environmental sustainability (Universities and Lifelong Learning)

by Patricia Inman

Universities have a key role to play in contributing to environmental development and combating climate change. The chapters within this volume detail the challenges faced by higher education institutions in considering environmental sustainability, and provide both a broad view of university engagement and a detailed examination of various projects. As part of this series in association with the Place and Social Capital and Learning (PASCAL) International Observatory, the three key PASCAL themes of place management, lifelong learning and the development of social capital are considered throughout the book. While universities have historically generated knowledge outside of specific local contexts, this book argues that it is particularly important for them to engage with the local community and to consider diverse perspectives and assets when looking at issues within an ecological context. The chapters in this volume provide new perspectives and frames of reference for transforming universities by engaging in the development of resilient communities.

Refine Search

Showing 20,426 through 20,450 of 20,563 results