Dimensions peculiar to urban life, such as high population density, proximity to power centers, heterogeneity of residents in terms of class and ethnicity, susceptibility to political action, and tensions between rich and poor, have considerable impact on educational policies. Important studies have been conducted on urban conditions in the developed world, but few studies on education in Third World cities have appeared. This volume looks at urban problems related to education cross-nationally, beginning with a careful definition of what is distinctly urban in educational settings. Chapters on trends and issues, bureaucratic dynamics, disparities and inequities, goals, neighborhood movements, politics, and the experience of women and marginal students round out this internationally contributed volume.

The author investigates the agenda for transformation in contemporary African development studies: policy studies, strategic studies, international relations and economic diplomacy. With a focus on the capacity dimension, he proposes critical policy and action-oriented recommendations on how to overcome present and future emergencies in Africa.

This timely Handbook collates a range of evidence from top scholars in the field to help readers understand who microfinance reaches, how it helps, and why clients come back. It offers updated views on important concepts that enable a broader framework for understanding poverty and the corresponding financial needs of poor households. Chapters cover recent findings on social impacts, the role of gender, fairness of interest rates, financial resilience in emergencies, and financial education, to provide a thorough coverage of key areas of the field. The Handbook focuses on delivery mechanisms for financial services including group liability lending, agent banking, and digital finance, as well as the special role of value chain finance and insurance for smallholder agriculture. The case studies from both developed and developing countries and regions, illustrating the novel aspects of the link between microfinance, financial inclusion and development will make this a critical read for economics and development studies scholars. The practitioner views on the role of microfinance included in the Handbook will also make this a relevant and useful read for policy makers and practitioners in the area

Every political system, either developed or adopted, has an impact on the structure of society and the level of development. This book analyzes the evolution and nature of political institutions and their effect on Africa's development. The challenges Africa face in developing viable institutions are not limited to the adoption of foreign institutions, but are also rooted in domestic norms that define society itself. Sometimes, these challenges have to do with the incompatibility between foreign and domestic institutions. The fundamental issue then is to understand the African societies, cultures, and other dynamics that have ensured stability in the past and that need to be recognized when adopting contemporary foreign institutions. This comprehensive text examines three key issue areas in Africa: politics, society, and economy. It demonstrates how the lack of consideration for domestic norms and societal realities explain the weaker institutions and lack of development on the African continent. The chapters examine critical issues such as gender, ethnicity and constitution development, legitimacy and the state, the correlation between abundant resources and instability, the dilemmas of political dynasties, international economic regimes and Africa's economy, and more. Featuring many case studies, including Kenya, South Africa, Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, Morocco, Togo, DRC, Ethiopia, Rwanda, the book provides some explanation of underdevelopment in Africa, linking the historical and colonial realities that hinder democratic consolidation to contemporary African politics, society and economy.

In what ways and senses does religion endure? In what ways has development failed Africa? How can we build effective African politics from below? These are some of the questions explored in this volume, which seeks to analyze the shifting and complex sets of relationships that exist between religion, politics and development in Africa. Modernist and secularist thinking has long predicted that religion would be rendered irrelevant, to be sidestepped, ignored or eliminated. However, this is not the case in 21st century Africa. Religion plays an increasingly important role in politics and development. This volume captures the dynamism and power of religion in Africa. In doing so it aims to move beyond narrow conceptualisations of 'politics' and 'development' and public and private spaces in order to uncover the meaning of modern religion in Africa and the many ways it is embedded in millions of Africans' everyday struggles to survive, sustain themselves and make sense of the modern world.

This book honors the memory of Tony Atkinson, who made significant contributions to the rigorous study of income inequality, poverty, and redistribution. These essays presented, covering a span of over 30 years of research and scholarship, have been at the forefront of distributional analysis, and many of them are of prime importance for contemporary developments in the real-valued measurement of poverty and inequality, with particular reference to the concepts of fuzzy poverty assessment, vulnerability, heterogeneity/multidimensionality, unit consistency, sub-group decomposability, and dominance criteria. While all of these articles have been previously published-singly or with co-authorship-in a number of professional journals or distinguished edited volumes, this book is greatly enriched by a substantial introductions by the authors, which place the contributions in context, highlights their inter-connectedness, and relates them to the work of Tony Atkinson and other scholars. This book is of intrinsic value to welfare analysts, as well as being a tribute to a very great scholar by a fellow economist.

This book offers a conceptual framework for the critical understanding of the present socio-environmental conflicts. It reflects on the evolution of subject and thought, a shift in environmental thinking triggered by the development of eco-territorial conflicts and the social responses given to the environmental question. Bringing together 40 years of the authors writing and research, the book explores the transition from ecological economics and historical materialism to ecological Marxism. It unpacks the forging of political ecology from value theory in political economy, to ecological distribution and ecologies of difference; a transition to an environmental rationality grounded in the ontology of diversity, a politics of difference and an ethics of otherness. This evolution in thinking gives consistency to a theoretical discourse able to respond to the territorial conflicts generated by the radicalization of the environmental question as a key social issue of our times. The book is a call to respond to the urgent challenge of reversing the tendency towards the entropic death of the planet and to building a sustainable world order.

This book examines how the Calais Jungle posed and addressed the European Question. The issue of who and what counts as European was articulated through this makeshift camp. The book argues that the Jungle acquired meaning as a localised struggle to define territory, borders, rights and refugees in Europe. Henri Lefebvre's spatial triad is used as a framing device for analysis. Discourses of tropicality are shown to produce the Jungle in terms of a postcolonial space of exception. This representational space fused bodies and environment in racialised ways. Attention is then drawn to assemblages that gave rise to political subjectivity, which partially elided a Eurocentric prism of rights. Here, the book explores how a 'right to the jungle' was generated via relations between refugees, aid workers and material objects-constituting the Jungle as a space of representation. Finally, intimate life in, and beyond, the Jungle is examined as a spatial practice that contests the EU border regime.

This book tackles the question of how tourism development and suitable policies can be used to promote sustainable development in Low-Density Territories (LDTs). The respective chapters, written by prominent experts, identify the problems associated with LDTs; highlight the comparative advantages of these territories with regard to tourism; propose methodologies for assessing the impact of tourism; and present case studies on the application of sustainable policies in tourism. Given its scope, it will be especially interesting for academics and researchers investigating LDTs and sustainable tourism, and for policymakers interested in developing these territories. LDTs represent an economic challenge, especially because most of them are home to an increasingly ageing population unable to pursue economic development. In these territories, tourism is emerging as an excellent opportunity to promote innovative dynamics, to lure investment, and to attract new people. However, it is important to promote sustainable tourism, which preserves the environment and communities' quality of life. The Chapter "Tourism, immigrants and lifestyle entrepreneurship: The (In)coming of people as a key factor for sustainability of low-density territories - A case study in Portugal" is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

The Asia and the Pacific SDG Progress Report 2022 analyses regional and subregional progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets. This publication applies a measurement framework developed by ESCAP to identify progress gaps and acceleration requirements at goal, target and indicator levels. On chapter 3 (Vulnerabilities and the pandemic: Risk of widening disparities), the report was developed in cooperation with UN agencies; ILO, IOM, UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNODC, and UNWomen. The following topics are introduced in the report: Chapter 1 - Regional overview Chapter 2 - Around Asia-Pacific: Diverse progress across subregions Chapter 3 - Vulnerabilities and the pandemic: Risk of widening disparities Chapter 4 - Unpacking the SDG data gaps

This collection of essays breaks new ground in the comparative study of ethnic and racial minorities by showing that there is a common ground shared by those in advanced industrial democracies that differentiates them from Third World and communist countries. The study offers a unique synthesis of diverse views by those who have focused on long-established or ethnoregional minorities and those who have studied recent immigrant populations. The analysis of ethnic tolerance, political factors, and conflict resolution considers why ethnic and racial conflict and disadvantage endure, pointing to ways that societies are organized economically and politically and linked into the international political economy. Students and experts in comparative and minority politics, ethnic and Black studies, and sociology will benefit from the observations and conclusions about the operations of economic and political markets and how they heighten ethnic and racial inequality. The general introduction and conclusion offer theoretical overviews and point to social science paradigms concerning the role of ethnic and racial minorities in the advanced industrial democracies. Noted contributors examine immigration policy and ethnic tolerance; minorities, politics, and the state; political consciousness, organization and participation; and conflict resolution and public policy. A lengthy reference list is given. This volume will be of great interest to interdisciplinary audiences in political science, sociology/social problems, and ethnic and black studies.

Many of the central issues faced by EU Foreign Policy - such as state fragility, illegal migration and environmental degradation - are challenges of global development. For European policymakers the increasing importance of development as an external relations priority will demand the refinement of existing instruments and the testing of new approaches. This book addresses debates on how the EU manages various modes of governance in development policymaking, its engagement with other global actors and the effectiveness of its policy formulation and implementation. Given the restrictions of policymaking in an environment characterised by uncertainty, difficulty and complexity, the contributions to this volume explore decision-making and implementation across a wide range of issue-areas with the objective of highlighting choices that could improve the coherence, and thus the effectiveness, of European policy for global development.

What do we mean by 'gifts' in International Relations? Can foreign aid be conceptualized as a gift? Most foreign aid transactions are unilateral and financially unreciprocated, yet donors expect to benefit from them.Previous research dealing with foreign aid has analyzed the main donor motives and interests in providing financial support. This book offers an in-depth analysis of the invisible political or social 'exchange' taking place between recipient countries and donors when a grant agreement is signed. Focusing on Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Israel - the main beneficiaries of Western foreign aid - the book uses gift theories and theories of social exchange to show how international social bonds are shaped by foreign aid and in what ways recipient countries are obliged to return the 'gift' they receive. Foreign aid is a means of buying 'stability' or 'democracy' in the region but Beata Paragi is interested here to understand the actual feasibility of Western assistance. Looking at the context of the Arab Spring, the book examines how aid impacts on a recipient country's domestic political events such as war, the quest for self-determination, the struggle against occupation and the fight for dignity. An original contribution to Middle East Studies and International Relations, the research presents an alternative interpretation of foreign aid and show how external funds interact with local developments and realities.

This book takes a new approach on understanding causes of extreme poverty and promising actions to address it. Its focus is on marginality being a root cause of poverty and deprivation. Marginality is the position of people on the edge, preventing their access to resources, freedom of choices, and the development of capabilities. The book is research based with original empirical analyses at local, national, and local scales; book contributors are leaders in their fields and have backgrounds in different disciplines. An important message of the book is that economic and ecological approaches and institutional innovations need to be integrated to overcome marginality. The book will be a valuable source for development scholars and students, actors that design public policies, and for social innovators in the private sector and non-governmental organizations. "

The author focuses on the research-policy nexus in development studies, highlighting reciprocal orientations and interactions between the domains of social research and of policy and politics. He looks at instances where these domains are complementary and geared towards common objectives, but also with others marked by opposing rationales.

The politics of international debt have received increasing attention in recent years. However, discussion of the politics of money has focused on Latin American and 'third' world countries. So far there has been little treatment of the politics of scarce money and of money as a political category in relation to 'advanced' countries. The central theme of the book is the limitations and constraints on state action which arise from the relation between the (nation) state and the global flow of money.

This book provides an in-depth analysis of the influence of public policy on sex selection. Three Asian countries were chosen for the comparative policy analysis, namely South Korea, India and Vietnam that share in common a historical legacy of son preference, high levels of sex imbalances and active policy response to curbing the growing demographic masculinization of their nations. The research based on the data collected from field work in the three countries shows that despite the adoption of very similar anti-sex selection policies the outcomes have been markedly different for each of the three countries. These unexpected diverse outcomes are explained partly by their different historical and cultural contexts, and partly to the different social, political and economic institutions and dynamics. This monograph offers careful and detailed explanations of both within and across country diversities in policy outcomes, pointing to the importance and the limits of cross-national policy learning and adoption, and raising questions about the efficacy of international organizations' current approaches to global policy and knowledge transfer.

The world's leading experts contribute to our understanding of regional innovation, cluster formation and the factors that influence regional productivity and innovative performance. The text improves our understanding of the reasons why, how and where innovation clusters emerge, as well as the factors that determine their respective success or failure. In doing so, it provides a timely and comprehensive picture on innovation, location, networks and clusters as important means in an environment of intensifying interregional competition. The book is written for professional researchers as well as for students and practitioners in politics, business and consultancy.

This book provides detailed insights into how space and its applications are, and can be, used to support the development of the full range and diversity of African societies, as encapsulated in the African Union's Agenda 2063. Like previous books in the "Southern Space Studies" series, it focuses on the role of space in supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals in Africa, but it covers an even more extensive array of relevant and timely topics addressing all facets of African development. It demonstrates that, while great achievements have been made in recent years in terms of economic and social development, which has lifted many of Africa's people out of poverty, there is still much that needs to be done to fulfill the basic needs of Africa's citizens and afford them the dignity they deserve: to this end space is already being employed in diverse fields of human endeavor to serve Africa's goals for its future, but there is much room for further incorporation of space systems and data. Providing a comprehensive overview of the role space is playing in achieving Africa's developmental aspirations, the book is of great interest to both students and professionals in fields such as space studies, international relations, governance, social and rural development, and many others.

This book offers a comprehensive comparative perspective on the increasingly significant development cooperation activities of the BRICS. Providing a powerful set of insights into the drivers for engagement within each country, it brings together leading experts from Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and OECD countries. The authors review the empirical evidence for the BRICS' modes of development cooperation and their geographical reach, and explore the historical background and patterns of international development engagement of each country. They also present a cutting-edge analysis of the broader geopolitical shifts, distinctive ideologies and normative discourses that are influencing and informing their engagement in increasingly ambitious joint projects such as the New Development Bank. This collection is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the rapidly changing landscape of international development.

Sociology in Portugal provides the first English-language account of the history of sociology in Portugal from 1945 to the present day. Banned by the fascist regime until 1974, the institutionalization of sociology as an academic discipline came relatively late. Understanding academic disciplines as institutionalized struggles over meaning, Filipe Carreira da Silva gives a genealogy of sociology in Portugal from its origins in the political-administrative interstices of a dictatorship, through the 'cyclopean moment' of the political revolution of April 1974, which brought about its swift institutionalization and subsequent consolidation in the new democratic regime, to the challenges posed by internationalization since the 1990s. Attempts to define Portugal itself, he demonstrates, have been at the heart of these struggles. Analyzing agents, institutions, contexts, instruments and ideas, Carreira da Silva shows in fascinating detail how the sociological understanding of Portugal evolved from that of a developing society in the 1960s, to that of a modernizing European social formation in the 1980s, to the post-colonial or post-imperial Portugal of today.

This volume reviews Africa's past experiences of social policy, with an eye on the future. Contributions examine a range of social policy issues around health care, education, the labour market and social welfare, and highlight important conceptual and policy issues for rebuilding Africa. What stands out from these studies is how well the post-colonial nationalist leaders understood the positive links between social policy and economic development, and the significance of economic and social policy for nation building.

""Etuk has been indefatigable in his profound determination for African revolution as admonished not only in this piece but also in his other works.""
-Adams O. Adah, Founder of Impart Africa, author of Service

As Africa begins her journey into the twenty-fi rst century, the citizens ask: how can we survive? In "Listen Africans A Revolution is Coming," author Emma Samuel Etuk addresses the question of revolution-a fundamental change to the basic fabric of society-and its historical manifestations.

Through thorough research, Etuk presents strong arguments about the need for change in the social, political, economic, and religious life of Africans. He contends that an array of issues has brought the continent to this point, including broken promises by administrators and governments; poverty and widespread hunger; angry youth and unemployment; official corruption, insensitivity, and kleptocracy; tyranny, despotism, and dictatorships; state-sponsored terrorism; infrastructural decay; and environmental pollution. As Etuk uses these examples and makes a call for a revolution, he provides a backdrop by discussing the following:
Origin of revolutions Necessity for an African revolution Theological basis for a revolution Five kinds of revolutions Lessons learned from the six major revolutions of the past Preparation for a revolution

Etuk maintains that change is necessary in life and that it is up to the Africans to decide what kind of revolution they should adopt in order to affect change on their continent.

This book explores the role of horizontal inequalities - inequalities that exist between ethnic, religious or racial groups - as a source of violent conflict. This study shows how political, economic and cultural status inequalities have contributed to conflict, drawing on econometric evidence and in-depth studies of West Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. It points the way to policies which would reverse inequality and thus reduce the risk of conflict.