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Books > Law > Jurisprudence & general issues > Foundations of law
Why divisions have deepened and what can be done to heal them. As
one part of the global democratic recession, severe political
polarization is increasingly afflicting old and new democracies
alike, producing the erosion of democratic norms and rising
societal anger. This volume is the first book-length comparative
analysis of this troubling global phenomenon, offering in-depth
case studies of countries as wide-ranging and important as Brazil,
India, Kenya, Poland, Turkey, and the United States. The case study
authors are a diverse group of country and regional experts, each
with deep local knowledge and experience. Democracies Divided
identifies and examines the fissures that are dividing societies
and the factors bringing polarization to a boil. In nearly every
case under study, political entrepreneurs have exploited and
exacerbated long-simmering divisions for their own purposes-in the
process undermining the prospects for democratic consensus and
productive governance. But this book is not simply a diagnosis of
what has gone wrong. Each case study discusses actions that
concerned citizens and organizations are taking to counter
polarizing forces, whether through reforms to political parties,
institutions, or the media. The book's editors distill from the
case studies a range of possible ways for restoring consensus and
defeating polarization in the world's democracies. Timely,
rigorous, and accessible, this book is of compelling interest to
civic activists, political actors, scholars, and ordinary citizens
in societies beset by increasingly rancorous partisanship.
How globalized information networks can be used for strategic
advantage.Until recently, globalization was viewed, on balance, as
an inherently good thing that would benefit people and societies
nearly everywhere. Now there is growing concern that some countries
will use their position in globalized networks to gain undue
influence over other societies through their dominance of
information and financial networks, a concept known as 'weaponized
interdependence'. In exploring the conditions under which China,
Russia, and the United States might be expected to weaponize
control of information and manipulate the global economy, the
contributors to this volume challenge scholars and practitioners to
think differently about foreign economic policy, national security,
and statecraft for the twenty-first century. The book addresses
such questions as: What areas of the global economy are most
vulnerable to unilateral control of information and financial
networks? How sustainable is the use of weaponized interdependence?
What are the possible responses from targeted actors? And how
sustainable is the open global economy if weaponized
interdependence becomes a default tool for managing international
relations?
Referendums have become an undeniably important, and perhaps
inescapable, peacemaking tool in contemporary peace processes. As
such, understanding the ways in which referendum outcomes are
shaped by peace negotiations is vital. Drawing upon two case
studies, Amaral presents an empirically rich comparative analysis
of the Annan Plan in Cyprus and the Good Friday Agreement in
Northern Ireland. She examines the negotiations, offering new
interview material with key political and civil figures involved in
the peace negotiations and referendum campaigns in both cases.
Amaral argues that referendums are unsuitable for traditional
secretive and exclusionist peace negotiations that fail to engage
and educate the public. They rather require inclusive negotiations
that involve a broad spectrum of political stakeholders and civil
society at the early stages of the process. This collaborative
approach can allow referendums to positively shape societies in
conflict and be a crucial step toward lasting peace.
For centuries, since the Roman Empire’s adoption of Christianity,
the continent of Europe has been perceived as something of a
Christian fortress. Today, the increase in the number of Muslims
living in Europe and the prominence of Islamic belief pose
questions not only for Europe’s religious traditions but also for
its constitutional make up. This book examines these challenges
within the legal and political framework of Europe. The volume’s
contributors range from academics at leading universities to former
judges and politicians. Its twenty chapters focus on constitutional
challenges, human rights with a focus on religious freedom, and
securitisation and Islamophobia, while adopting supranational and
comparative approaches. This book will appeal not merely to law
students in the United Kingdom and the European Union, but to
anyone involved in diplomacy and international relations, including
political scientists, lobbyists, and members of NGOs. It explores
these contested relationships to open up new spaces in how we think
about religious freedom and co-existence in Europe and the crucial
role that Islam has had, and continues to have, in its development.
National identity and liberal democracy are recurrent themes in
debates about Muslim minorities in the West. Britain is no
exception, with politicians responding to claims about Muslims'
lack of integration by mandating the promotion of 'fundamental
British values' including 'democracy' and 'individual liberty'.
This book engages with both these themes, addressing the lack of
understanding about the character of British Islam and its
relationship to the liberal state. It charts a gradual but decisive
shift in British institutions concerned with Islamic education,
Islamic law and Muslim representation since Muslims settled in the
UK in large numbers in the 1950s. Based on empirical research
including interviews undertaken over a ten-year period with
Muslims, and analysis of public events organized by Islamic
institutions, Stephen Jones challenges claims about the isolation
of British Islamic organizations and shows that they have
decisively shaped themselves around British public and
institutional norms. He argues that this amounts to the building of
a distinctive 'British Islam'. Using this narrative, the book makes
the case for a variety of liberalism that is open to the expression
of religious arguments in public and to associations between
religious groups and the state. It also offers a powerful challenge
to claims about the insularity of British Islamic institutions by
showing how the national orientation of Islam called for by British
policymakers is, in fact, already happening.
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