Against easy framings of hijras that render them marginalized, Saria shows how hijras makes the normative Indian family possible. The book also shows that particular practices of hijras, such as refusing to use condoms or comply with retroviral regimes, reflect not ignorance or irresponsibility but rather a specific idiom of erotic asceticism arising in both Hindu and Islamic traditions. This idiom suffuses the densely intertwined registers of erotics, economics, and kinship that inform the everyday lives of hijras and offer a repertoire of self-fashioning distinct from the secularized accounts within the horizon of public health programmes and queer theory. Engrossingly written and full of keen insights, the book moves from the small pleasures of the everyday laughter, flirting, and teasing to impossible longings, kinship networks, and economies of property and of substance in order to give a fuller account of trans lives and of Indian society today.

From rethinking feminist archives, to inserting postpornography in academia, to approaching sex toys from a transpositive perspective, to dismantling the foundations of techno-capitalism, the areas of inquiry in this book are lenses through which to explore the relationships between genders, bodies and technologies. All the various chapters work to reimagine the body as a hybrid, malleable and subversive source of potentiality. These essays offer readers road maps for unimagined and uncharted social scapes: the relationship between bodies-technologies-genders means working within a space of monstrosity. Through this embodied discomfort the book questions existing techno-social norms, and imagines tranfeminist futures. Contributors are: Carlotta Cossutta, Valentina Greco, Arianna Mainardi, Stefania Voli, Lucia Egana Rojas, Ludovico Virtu, Angela Balzano, Obiezione Respinta, Elisa Virgili, Rachele Borghi, and Diego Marchante "Genderhacker".

The neoliberal policy response to the crisis in Ghana did not succeed in reversing the economic decline in both the medium and long term. In fact, quite the opposite, rather than undoing the economic decline, Frimpong argues that the policy prescriptions further weakened the country's ability to develop. This is because the policies intentionally and unintentionally encouraged factors that destabilised the possibility of the real productive assets to earn commensurate returns to facilitate the flow of capital to the real sectors to ensure the survival of industrial enterprises. Rising profit in the financial sector incentivised financial capitalist to divert capital into financial assets at the expense of productive investment, further decelerating the pace of real capital accumulation in the country.

This collection of essays explores the complex relationship between religion and multiculturalism and the role of the state and law in the creation of boundaries. Western secular democracies are composed of increasingly religiously diverse populations. The idea of "multiculturalism" was formed as a constructive response to this phenomenon, but, in many areas of the globe, support for multiculturalism is challenged by attempts to preserve the cultural and legal norms of the majority.
The State of Israel offers a particularly pertinent case study, and is a central focus of this collection. The contributors to this volume address the concepts of religious difference and diversity, as well as the various ways in which states and legal systems understand and respond to them. Mappingthe Legal Boundaries of Belonging shows that, as a consequence of a purportedly secular human rights perspective, state laws may appear to define religious identity in a way that contradicts the definition found within a particular religion. Both state and religion make the same mistake, however, if they take a court decision that emphasizes individual belief and practice as a direct modification of a religious norm: the court lacks the power to change the internal authoritative definition of who belongs to a particular faith. Similarly, in the pursuit of a particular model of social diversity, the state may adopt policies that imply a particular private/public distinction foreign to some religious traditions.
This volume, which includes contributions from leading scholars in the field, will be an invaluable resource to anyone seeking to understand the legal meaning and impact of religious diversity.

The book offers a comprehensive overview of social security in the Balkan states. Social security is presented from a broad perspective as a mechanism that addresses human needs, provides protection against social risks, reduces social tensions and secures peace. Various sectors of social policy, pension systems, health care systems, disability insurance, labor policy as well as social risks, such as poverty and unemployment, have been analyzed from historical, economic, political, sociological and security perspective. The book also offers recommendations for improving the level of social security in the region. Contributors are: Maja Bacovic, Agata Domachowska, Dorota Domalewska, Tomasz Ferfecki, Afet Mamuti, Katerina Mitevska Petrusheva, Natalija Perisic, Kire Sharlamanov, Katerina Veljanovska Blazhevska, and Marzena Zakowska.

In Migrant Organising: Community Unionism, Solidarity and Bricolage, Emma Martin-Diaz and Beltran Roca explore recent developments in community unionism and solidarity networks among migrant workers in a post-Fordist context characterised by transnationalism and global chains. The contributions in this edited book describe different types of trade union strategies toward migrant workers and the rise of solidarity and bricolage initiatives in situations in which conventional union organising cannot succeed. Cases from Germany, Spain, Italy and Argentina reveal that the transformation of work, the rise of global chains and the intensification of international migrations are the basis of new forms of union and extra-union intervention. Contributors include: Beltran Roca, Emma Martin-Diaz, Simone Castellani, Mark Bergfeld, Juan Pablo Aris-Escarcena, Giulia Borraccino, Paula Dinorah Salgado, Alicia Reigada, Giuseppe D'Onofrio and Jon Las Heras.

The Impacts of Climate Change: A Comprehensive Study of Physical, Biophysical, Social and Political Issues presents the very real issues associated with climate change and global warming and how it affects the planet and everyone on it. From a physical perspective, the book covers such topics as population pressures, food issues, rising sea-levels and coastline degradation, and health. It then goes on to present social impacts, such as humanitarian issues, ethics, adaptation, urban issues, local action, and socio-economic issues. Finally, it addresses the political impacts, such as justice issues and politics of climate change in different locations. By offering this holistic review of the latest impacts of climate change, the book helps researchers to better understand what needs to be done in order to move toward renewable energy, change societal habits, and move toward sustainable development.

This groundbreaking comparative study rediscovers the socialists of Russia's borderlands, upending conventional interpretations of working-class politics and the Russian Revolution. Researched in eight languages, Revolutionary Social Democracy challenges long-held assumptions by scholars and activists about the dynamics of revolutionary change.

What Politics? Youth and Political Engagement in Africa examines the diverse experiences of being young in today's Africa. It offers new perspectives to the roles and positions young people take to change their life conditions both within and beyond the formal political structures and institutions. The contributors represent several social science disciplines, and provide well-grounded qualitative analyses of young people's everyday engagements by critically examining dominant discourses of youth, politics and ideology. Despite focusing on Africa, the book is a collective effort to better understand what it is like to be young today, and what the making of tomorrow's yesterday means for them in personal and political terms. Contributors are: Ehaab Abdou, Abebaw Yirga Adamu, Henni Alava, Paivi Armila, Randi Ronning Balsvik, Jesper Bjarnesen, THora Bjoernsdottir, Jonina Einarsdottir, Tilo Gratz, Nanna Jordt Jorgensen, Marko Kananen, Sofia Laine, Naydene de Lange, Afifa Ltifi, Ivo Mhike, Claudia Mitchell, Relebohile Moletsane, Danai S. Mupotsa, Elina Oinas, Henri Onodera, Eija Ranta, Mounir Saidani, Mariko Sato, Loubna H. Skalli, Tiina Sotkasiira, Abdoulaye Sounaye, Leena Suurpaa, and Mulumebet Zenebe. What Politics? Youth and Political Engagement in Africa is now available in paperback for individual customers.

Lifespan Development: Biopsychosocial Perspectives provides students with complete explorations of each developmental stage of the lifespan, beginning with conception and concluding with an examination of successful aging. The book presents human development theory and research within a biopsychosocial framework, presenting information regarding biological, psychological, and social functioning during each significant period of the lifespan. The first chapter of the text presents readers with an introduction to human development, addressing the meaning of age and aging, the four key principles of human development, the social factors that influence the study of human development, and more. The succeeding chapters progress in step with the human lifespan, beginning with conception and prenatal development, moving through infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, and concluding with chapters devoted to later life. The biopsychosocial perspective of the text emphasizes the transactional nature of biological, psychological, and social influences on the developing individual with a focus on positive development and the implications on health and wellness. It emphasizes the applied nature of the biopsychosocial perspective. Each chapter begins with a real-life scenario, challenging students to take the perspectives of individuals and practitioners dealing with issues at every stage of development. Designed to provide readers with a holistic understanding of the complex progression of human life and aging, Lifespan Development is an ideal text for courses in psychology and human development.

The public space of democracies is constructed in a context that is marked by the digital transformation of the economy and society. This construction is carried out primarily through deliberation. Deliberation informs and guides both individual and collective action. To shed light on the concept of deliberation, it is important to consider the rationality of choice; but what type of rationality is this? References to economic reason are at once widespread, crucial and controversial. This book therefore deals with arguments used by individuals based on the notions of preferential choice and rational behavior, and also criticizes them. These arguments are examined in the context of the major themes of public debate that help to construct the contemporary public space: "populism", social insurance, social responsibility and environmental issues. Economic Reason and Political Reason underlines the importance of the pragmatist shift of the 2000s and revisits, through the lens of this new approach, the great utilitarian and Rawlsian normative constructs that dominated normative political economics at the end of the 20th century. Alternative approaches, based on the concept of deliberative democracy, are proposed and discussed.

The Cultural Political Economy of the Construction Industry in Turkey analyses the growth of the popularity of the 'Justice and Development Party' (official acronym: AK Parti or AKP) of Turkey's president Erdogan, through the lens of the construction sector. It provides a comprehensive analysis of the question of hegemony and the electoral success of the AKP - despite frequent economic downturns and ferocious political conflicts including a coup d'etat attempt and rekindled armed struggles. In this book, Ismail Doga Karatepe critically examines the AKP's ability to satisfy the needs and wishes of different social classes and groups. By taking the construction sector as an example, the book analyses these in the context of the changes in the urban landscape of modern Turkey.