Microregionalism and World Order is a pioneering work on the least understood aspect of regionalism. Leading specialists analyze the form microregionalism takes in different parts of the world, including the Americas, Asia Pacific, and Africa. By illustrating the complex relationship among the political, economic, and social dimensions of microregionalism, the book seeks to contribute to the theoretical debate on regionalism as well as to provide new empirical insights.

European integration can no longer be understood as a west European experiment mainly focused on functional and economic policy cooperation. The issues addressed include security and defense, as well as core concerns of European society. This volume explores three interlocking dimensions of integration; functional, territorial, and affiliational. Each dimension influences how countries across the continent engage with European integration. This first volume in the One Europe or Several? series identifies the agenda of research program, funded by the British Economic and Social Research Council.

Contemporary scholars place the rural-urban divide at the center of individual identity in China. This interdisciplinary collection traces the development and distinctions between urban and rural life and the effect on the Chinese sense of identity from the 16th century to the present day. It provides a daunting example of the influence that political ideology may exert on an individual's sense of place.

Of the enormous number of books published on the Arab-Israeli conflict, most focus on its history or the political dimensions of the current peace process. None, however, has provided an in-depth look at the relationship between those who shape the events and the Western journalists who cover them. In this bold new study, Mohammed A. el-Nawawy explores the ways in which government officials try to manipulate the news media, how the reporters contend with such interference, the professional and newsmaking roles of the journalists, and how their demographic and educational backgrounds influence their coverage of this crucial time and place. Through interviews with 168 Western correspondents--94 in Israel and 74 in Egypt--who, together, represent more than 88 percent of the whole population of foreign correspondents in the Middle East, the author provides an invaluable source of information on the day-to-day activities of reporters in the region, as well as their interactions with government officials.

Spatial Econometrics is a rapidly evolving field born from the joint efforts of economists, statisticians, econometricians and regional scientists. The book provides the reader with a broad view of the topic by including both methodological and application papers. Indeed the application papers relate to a number of diverse scientific fields ranging from hedonic models of house pricing to demography, from health care to regional economics, from the analysis of R&D spillovers to the study of retail market spatial characteristics. Particular emphasis is given to regional economic applications of spatial econometrics methods with a number of contributions specifically focused on the spatial concentration of economic activities and agglomeration, regional paths of economic growth, regional convergence of income and productivity and the evolution of regional employment. Most of the papers appearing in this book were solicited from the International Workshop on Spatial Econometrics and Statistics held in Rome (Italy) in 2006.

This book is a significant gathering of ideas on the subject of modern Chinese literature and culture of the past several years. The essays represent a wide spectrum of new approaches and new areas of subject matter that are changing the landscape of knowledge of modern and contemporary Chinese culture: women's literature, theatre (performance), film, graphic arts, popular literature, as well as literature of the Chinese diaspora. These phenomena and the approaches to them manifest four interconnected trajectories for new scholarship in the field: the rewriting of literary history, the emergence of visual culture, and the quotidian apocalypse--the displacement of revolutionary romanticism and realism as central paradigms for cultural expression by the perspective of private, everyday experience.

The second edition of this book presents the most comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of population trends and patterns in Singapore since its foundation in 1819 to the present day. Separate chapters are devoted to population growth and distribution, changing population structure, mortality trends and differentials, marriage trends and patterns, divorce trends and patterns, family planning, abortion and sterilization, incentive and disincentive measures, fertility trends and differentials, immigration policies and programmes, migration, labour force and future population trends. The strength of the book lies in the author's deep familiarity with the subject acquired through some personal involvement in the compilation of demographic statistics as well as the formulation of population policies for the country.

A cross-disciplinary anthology on contemporary Kashmir by academics from Jammu and Kashmir, the first such volume to appear. The book offers a panorama of key cultural concerns of Jammu and Kashmir today, incorporating analysis of military, cultural, religious, and social aspects of the society and polity.

"Scrubbing behind their refrigerators, manicuring their lawns, reciting the pledge of allegiance in rainy parking lots, the people of Beltway mold their community with precision and grace. Firm in their convictions about what makes up a decent place to live, and fierce in their efforts to protect this place from the forces that threaten it, Beltway's residents have found in Kefalas a sharp-eyed yet sympathetic interpreter of their behavior, their homes, and their dreams. Ethnography rarely penetrates this deeply."--Wendy Griswold, author of "Bearing Witness

"The perspective of working or lower-middle class whites on issues of race and culture is often ignored, misunderstood or treated with contempt by social scientists. Kefalas's perceptive portrayal and penetrating analysis of a white working-class neighborhood in Chicago provides an important and much needed contrast. In this well-written book, Kefalas advances our understanding of the socioeconomic insecurities of ordinary white Americans in a changing urban world and shows how these insecurities influence their world views and efforts to provide meaning and order in their daily lives."--William Julius Wilson, author of "The Bridge over the Racial Divide

"Not since Jonathan Rieder's "Canarsie has an urban ethnographer presented as nuanced an examination of the defended working-class neighborhood and its inhabitants. Kefalas's meticulous Chicago fieldwork argues that her subjects rise above the old racial order as they fight against crime and other threats. "Working-Class Heroes will provoke endless seminar discussion and debate, and ongoing research. It establishes its author as an important new voice in urbanethnography."--Mitchell Duneier, author of "Sidewalk and "Slim's Table

""Working Class Heroes is an important and original contribution because it demonstrates very convincingly how the stable white lower-middle class defines its identity and its status through its environment and how group boundaries are shaped by ecological factors. As defenders of civilization living in an imperiled world, the workers Kefalas studied believe an immaculate household, a well-maintained property, a clean and safe neighborhood, and a righteous nation are worth living and fighting for. Her skillful ethnography truly captures the complexity of their cultural world and clarifies neglected aspects of the cultural dimension of inequality."--Michele Lamont, author of "The Dignity of Working Men: Morality and the Boundaries of Race, Class, and Immigration

This first English edition of The China Economy Yearbook, edited by standout economists Liu Guoguang, Wang Luolin and Li Jingwen, includes leading economic studies from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, and other economic research institutions in China. The articles in the yearbook investigate the Chinese economy in the past year from various perspectives, ranging from decision making at the macro level to key industries at the medium level, including real estate, foreign trade, the automotive industry, financing, and investment. This volume also includes special chapters on the economies of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao. "The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Yearbooks" are co-publications of Brill and Social Sciences Academic Press (China).

This theoretically rooted and research-based book provides insights on the JESSICA funding model which - unlike the traditional non-repayable aid - focuses on supporting sustainable urban development projects in a repayable and recyclable way. Looking through the lens of the JESSICA financial engineering mechanism used in urban transformation, it examines the functioning and performance thereof and formulates policy recommendations for the future. The aim of this volume is to contribute to a deeper understanding of the JESSICA sustainable funding model by exploring its repayable assistance mechanism to support sustainable urban development projects. The authors make several noteworthy contributions to the literature on EU cohesion policy and shed light on the use of the repayable instruments within public interventions, while providing, for the first time, a critical analysis of the JESSICA sustainable funding model from the holistic perspective which is especially relevant for supporting sustainable urban development. Financial Engineering in Sustainable Funding of Urban Development in the EU provides policy-significant findings that are important for EU cohesion policy in the field of repayable assistance to be reinvested in the long term in urban and regional transformation.

This book narrates the battles, conquests and diplomatic activities of the early Muslim fighters in Syria and Iraq vis-a-vis their Byzantine and Sasansian counterparts. It is the first English translation of one of the earliest Arabic sources on the early Muslim expansion entitled Futuh al-Sham (The Conquests of Syria). The translation is based on the Arabic original composed by a Muslim author, Muhammad al-Azdi, who died in the late 8th or early 9th century C.E. A scientific introduction to al-Azdi's work is also included, covering the life of the author, the textual tradition of the work as well as a short summary of the text's train of thought. The source narrates the major historical events during the early Muslim conquests in a region that covers today's Lebanon, Israel, Palestinian Territories, Jordan, Syria, Turkey and Iraq in the 7th century C.E. Among these events are the major battles against the Byzantines, such as the Battles of Ajnadayn and al-Yarmuk, the conquests of important cities, including Damascus, Jerusalem and Caesarea, and the diplomatic initiatives between the Byzantines and the early Muslims. The narrative abounds with history and Islamic theological content. As the first translation into a European language, this volume will be of interest to a wide range of readership, including (Muslim and Christian) theologians, historians, Islamicists, Byzantinists, Syrologists and (Arabic) linguists.

For centuries, Africa's Upper Guinea Coast region has been the site of regional and global interactions, with societies from different parts of the African continent and beyond engaging in economic trade, cultural exchange, and various forms of conflict. This book provides a wide-ranging look at how such encounters have continued into the present day, identifying the disruptions and continuities in religion, language, economics, and various other social phenomena that have resulted. These accounts show a region that, while still grappling with the legacies of colonialism and the slave trade, is both shaped by and an important actor within ever-denser global networks, exhibiting consistent transformation and creative adaptation.

This book questions our perceptions of China. It is argued that what is commonly understood to be 'China' is, in large part, a collage of images. These images - created and manipulated by individuals and groups within the boundaries of the Chinese state in order to pursue their own social, economic and political ambitions - have been accepted, elaborated upon, strengthened and made legitimate by European and American social scientists and by other professional commentators on China. If shaped or strongly conditioned by these images, policies towards China are likely to prove either inappropriate or dangerous.

This book investigates the EU's regional growth dynamics and, in particular, the reasons why peripheral and socio-economically disadvantaged areas have persistently failed to catch up with the rest of the Union. It shows that the capability of the knowledge-based growth model to deliver its expected benefits to these areas crucially depends on tackling a specific set of socio-institutional factors which prevents innovation from being effectively translated into economic growth. The book takes an eclectic approach to the territorial genesis of innovation and regional growth by combining different theoretical strands into one model of empirical analysis covering the whole EU-25. An in-depth comparative analysis with the United States is also included, providing significant insights into the distinctive features of the European process of innovation and its territorial determinants. The evidence produced in the book is extensively applied to the analysis of EU development policies.

When Why Has Japan 'Succeeded'? (1982) was published, Japan was still a country of "capitalism from above". For the past ten years the country's economy has faltered and declined. It is turning towards 'capitalism from below' despite Japan's weak democracy. This directional change is investigated through a variety of standpoints, using an in-depth knowledge of the Japanese ethos, national history, educational background, as well as the sociology of the Japanese economy and business world. The author offers a long-term forecast for the future of Japan.

Do racial minorities in the United States assimilate to American values and institutions, or do they retain ethnic ties and cultures? In exploring the Japanese American experience, Lon Kurashige recasts this tangled debate by examining what assimilation and ethnic retention have meant to a particular community over a long period of time. This is an inner history, in which the group identity of one of America's most noteworthy racial minorities takes shape. From the 1930s, when Japanese immigrants controlled sizable ethnic enclaves, to the tragic wartime internment and postwar decades punctuated by dramatic class mobility, racial protest, and the influx of economic investment from Japan, the story is fraught with conflict.
The narrative centers on Nisei Week in Los Angeles, the largest annual Japanese celebration in the United States. The celebration is a critical site of political conflict, and the ways it has changed over the years reflect the ongoing competition over what it has meant to be Japanese American. Kurashige reveals, subtly and with attention to gender issues, the tensions that emerged at different moments, not only between those who emphasized Japanese ethnicity and those who stressed American orientation, but also between generations and classes in this complex community.

The Asia Annual 2011 focuses on the various aspects of democracy in the Asian context. The chapters in this volume reflect diverse perceptions, adopting an interdisciplinary approach, which enhance the discussions and reveal a plethora of opinions and outlooks. The collection of essays has been arranged primarily in terms of 'regions' (in the geopolitical sense). The volume brings together contributions from leading experts and 'area specialists' who offer special insights and critiques on crucial issues and questions related to the central theme of democracy in their respective 'regions/areas' of specialisation. The intention is to submit an inclusive volume concerning the idea of democracy in Asia. It strives to offer an exhaustive analysis that could prove to be valuable for those who are absorbed in Asian studies. The essays contend with wide-ranging debates on varied aspects related to the processes of democracy and democratisation from the Asian geopolitical space and contemplate on problems arising from the pressures associated with movements for democracy. The authors in their accounts also raise crucial questions regarding the viability as well as the consequences of external efforts at stimulating democracy and the setting up of imported models of democracy. The inherent emphasis is on both the intrinsic distinctiveness of the regions as well as the considerable commonalities, which inspire comparative analyses in general and in the context of democracy/democratisation in particular.

This book has its focus on the dynamics of oligopoly games. Several contributions show how easily the unique Nash equilibria in some most traditional oligopoly models may lose stability, giving way to complex phenomena, such as periodic/chaotic processes, and to multi stability of coexistent attractors. The bifurcations producing these phenomena are studied by means of recently accumulated global methods, based on the use of critical curves. These tools are explained in a separate methodological chapter. The book also contains some historical background of the present theory. In this way the book becomes suitable also as an advanced text for industrial organisation courses. The various models presented in the book focus both classical Cournot types, and Hotelling`s "ice cream vendor" problems, including location choice. The author list comprises some of the most prolific contributors to current dynamic oligopoly modelling.

With a population of now over 1.3 billion people, any change in China's social environment is bound to have dramatic impact. The China Society Yearbook (2006) provides analysis of and commentary on social issues in contemporary China, broken down into chapters on different aspects of China's social development, including change in social structure, population growth, employment, standard of living and education. The Yearbook provides detailed insight into the vast changes in Chinese society since the foundation of the People's Republic of China and the Mao period, the effects of the country's ongoing reform and liberalization process on its social makeup, the main aims of the 11th Five-Year Plan, and the daunting problems that China's economic and social planners face as their country's economy adapts to a free market system, while raising the standard of living and generating employment for its burgeoning work force. Also included are in-depth comparisons of the country's different social groups, including its 120 million migrant workers, as well as descriptions of social development in different areas of China's vast hinterland, where economic development varies greatly from that of the economically and socially upwardly-mobile coastal crescent. Compiled and edited by top sociologists of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), this collection of current research and analysis represents some of the most pioneering and influential articles by social science scholars in the People's Republic of China. "The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Yearbooks" are co-publications of Brill and Social Sciences Academic Press (China).

This collection brings together seventeen essays by well-known feminist scholars across the disciplines that make up Renaissance Studies. It forms an accessible introduction to the ways in which feminism has replaced the universal, abstract 'Renaissance Man' of traditional scholarship with strategies for the analysis of the conceptual work of gender in the formation of European modernity.