This volume examines how urban stakeholders in China - particularly city governments and social actors - tackle China's urban environmental crisis. The volume's case studies speak to important interdisciplinary themes such as new tools and instruments of urban green governance, climate change and urban carbon consumption, green justice, digital governance, public participation, social media, social movements, and popular protest. It lays out a unique theoretical framework for examining and discussing urban green governance. The case studies are based on extensive fieldwork that examines governance failures, challenges, and innovations from across China, including the largest cities. They show that numerous policies, experiments, and reforms have been put in place in China - mostly on a pragmatic basis, but also as a result of both strategic policy design, civil participation, and protest. The book highlights how China's urban governments bring together diverse programmatic building blocks and instruments, from China and elsewhere. Written by experts and researchers from different disciplines at leading universities in China and the Nordic countries in Europe, this volume will be of interest to researchers and students who are interested in Chinese politics, especially urban politics, governance issues, and social movements. Both students and teachers will find the theoretical perspectives and case studies useful in their coursework.The unique green governance perspective makes this a work that is empirically and theoretically interesting for those working with urban political and environmental studies and urbanization worldwide.

Around the same time that Richard J. Daley governed Chicago, greasing the wheels of his notorious political machine during a tenure that lasted from 1955 to his death in 1976, Anthony "Dutch" Hamann's "reform" government centralized authority to similar effect in San Jose. In light of their equally exclusive governing arrangements--a similarity that seems to defy their reputations--Jessica Trounstine asks whether so-called bosses and reformers are more alike than we might have realized.
Situating her in-depth studies of Chicago and San Jose in the broad context of data drawn from more than 240 cities over the course of a century, she finds that the answer--a resounding yes--illuminates the nature of political power. Both political machines and reform governments, she reveals, bias the system in favor of incumbents, effectively establishing monopolies that free governing coalitions from dependence on the support of their broader communities. Ironically, Trounstine goes on to show, the resulting loss of democratic responsiveness eventually mobilizes residents to vote monopolistic regimes out of office. Envisioning an alternative future for American cities, Trounstine concludes by suggesting solutions designed to free urban politics from this damaging cycle.

This book presents narratives of the social use of space in the divided city of Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina. Through the narratives of movement in the city, the work demonstrates how residents engage informally with conflict transformation through new movement and use of spaces. This book will appeal across the social sciences, and in particular to students, academics, and researchers in the fields of peace and conflict studies, political sociology, and human geography.

"New York Unbound "is a critical examination of the problems and prospects of New York City as it approaches the twenty-first century and a call to arms for a new infusion of energy and creativity in charting its future. As the authors take stock of the city's remarkable resources, they build the argument that the wellsprings of New York's continuing prosperity reside not in further regulation, taxation, subsidization, and political intransigence, but rather in the release of market forces as the stimulant to further growth and greater prosperity and opportunity.

From the creation of better housing to the streamlining of social services, the lessons proffered in New York Unbound will have implications not only for the future of the world's greatest city, but for every city attempting to grapple with the challenges of the future.

The book examines the pattern of non-farm development at the national level and identifies the correlates and determinants of occupational diversification for the major states. It is one of the few studies that unravels the dynamic processes associated with growth and development at the sub-national level; wherein it elucidates changes in rural employment pattern and its implications for urban growth. The book fills a crucial gap in current research, notably, an understanding of conditions that enable large villages to assume an urban character. By providing micro-level study of census towns to capture the nuances of the dynamic situation in the countryside, the book would offer useful insights and provide reference material on the social and economic impacts of urban growth, thereby satisfying the needs of students, researchers and practitioners of regional economics, rural development, and sustainable urbanization. The book is the outcome of financial support received under the Research Programme Scheme of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi, India.

Die Grundsteuer ist Gegenstand langjahriger Reformdiskussionen. Ob sie sich daruber hinaus auch in den Immobilienpreisen kapitalisiert, wurde bislang nur unzureichend fur den deutschen Immobilienmarkt untersucht, wohingegen fur den US-amerikanischen Immobilienmarkt die Kapitalisierungsforschung weit aufgestellt ist. Fur die Immobilienmarkte Bremen und Niedersachsen wird jeweils eine Regressionsanalyse durchgefuhrt, um zu uberprufen, ob sich oeffentliche Leistungen und Grundsteuerbelastung in den Immobilienwerten kapitalisieren. Weiterhin dienen das Governance-Konzept und die Neue Institutionenoekonomik als erweiterte Analyseinstrumente des Kapitalisierungsprozesses im Hinblick auf Dynamiken von Akteuren und Institutionen sowie auf Reformauswirkungen.

Mit Verabschiedung der Verbraucherkreditrichtlinie 2008/48/EG hat der europaische Gesetzgeber nunmehr auch im Verbraucherkreditrecht ein europaweites Widerrufsrecht eingefuhrt. Die Autorin beleuchtet die Ausgestaltung dieses Widerrufsrechts und vergleicht sie mit den Widerrufsvorschriften der Fernabsatzrichtlinie fur Finanzdienstleitungen, der Verbraucherrechterichtlinie, der Timesharing-Richtlinie und dem Entwurf eines Gemeinsamen Referenzrahmens. Dabei untersucht sie die Frage, ob das Widerrufsrecht der Verbraucherkreditrichtlinie der Verbraucherschutzkonzeption der ubrigen europaischen Widerrufsrechte folgt und unterbreitet Vorschlage fur eine weitere Rechtsangleichung des Widerrufsrechts unter Einbeziehung des Verbraucherkreditrechts.

Die Dynamik von Inklusion und Exklusion ist in vielen gesellschaftlichen Bereichen wirksam. Kulturelle Konflikte, politische Spannungen sowie mediale Identitats- und Fremdheitskonstruktionen erzeugen gesellschaftliche Spaltungen und verhindern, dass Menschen an politischen Entscheidungen, Bildungsprozessen, sozialer Sicherheit und Wohlstand partizipieren koennen. Mit welchen Methoden die komplexen Ursachen von Exklusion erklart werden koennen, welche Loesungsansatze unterschiedliche wissenschaftliche Disziplinen entwickeln und inwiefern Prozesse gesellschaftlicher Veranderung angestossen werden koennen, ist Thema der in diesem Band versammelten Beitrage.

The 2014 killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, ignited nationwide protests and brought widespread attention police brutality and institutional racism. But Ferguson was no aberration. As Colin Gordon shows in this urgent and timely book, the events in Ferguson exposed not only the deep racism of the local police department but also the ways in which decades of public policy effectively segregated people and curtailed citizenship not just in Ferguson but across the St. Louis suburbs. Citizen Brown uncovers half a century of private practices and public policies that resulted in bitter inequality and sustained segregation in Ferguson and beyond. Gordon shows how municipal and school district boundaries were pointedly drawn to contain or exclude African Americans and how local policies and services-especially policing, education, and urban renewal-were weaponized to maintain civic separation. He also makes it clear that the outcry that arose in Ferguson was no impulsive outburst but rather an explosion of pent-up rage against long-standing systems of segregation and inequality-of which a police force that viewed citizens not as subjects to serve and protect but as sources of revenue was only the most immediate example. Worse, Citizen Brown illustrates the fact that though the greater St. Louis area provides some extraordinarily clear examples of fraught racial dynamics, in this it is hardly alone among American cities and regions. Interactive maps and other companion resources to Citizen Brown are available at the book website.

In imperial China, workers drawn from the local populace performed many of the basic functions of local administration. Standing between the rulers and the ruled, these men mediated in both directions. McKnight's study concentrates on the nature of this village-level subbureaucratic activity in the Sung period; it sheds new light on the emergence of early Chinese society while providing a background against which to assess social changes during later dynasties.

This book compares urban finances in cities located in two different South Asian countries and assesses their fiscal health. It uses simulation to estimate the required augmentation in financial resources by the urban local bodies (ULBs) to reach a level of city development that is significantly better compared to existing levels. The book provides a systematic analysis of the fiscal health of two city corporations in Bangladesh, viz. Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC); and one city corporation in the Indian state of West Bengal viz. Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC). The choice of city corporations was based on the shared history and the similarity of heritage, culture, topography and socio-economic conditions. Both DNCC and DSCC as well as the KMC have a high population density, which puts immense pressure on the service delivery provided by these corporations of basic services such as water supply, sanitation facilities, street lighting, drainage and sewerage and waste disposal. This is compounded by poor fiscal health of the ULBs. Using primary data collected through surveys and personal interviews and information obtained from official documents, the book estimates fiscal gaps of the ULBs and undertakes simple simulations to estimate potential revenue enhancements and expenditure requirements to deliver services at the internationally acceptable standards. It highlights under-exploited sources of revenue which can be better realized and also identifies untapped revenue sources that can be easily introduced, in order to significantly enhance city revenues. The book is an excellent resource not only for researchers studying this topic, but also for policy makers and urban planners, particularly those from developing countries having to deal with burgeoning cities with high migrant population density.

Featuring a unique storytelling approach, A Trek through American and Texas Government follows a fictional character named Champ Cove as he visits various government agencies and affiliated organizations in Texas and the United States. Through the eyes of Champ, students learn foundational information about the role and operation of state and federal government in an engaging way. Section I covers American governing foundations, political geography, political culture, the impact of demographic shifts on government, our founding governing documents, federalism, and the history of politics in American and Texan experiences. In Section II, students learn about ways to influence the political process, elections from the perspective of voters and candidates, interest groups, and political parties. Section III provides insight on the various government agencies found in the country at the local, state, national, and international levels, as well as how they might interact with one another. The final section discusses domestic policy, foreign policy, civil liberties, government fiscal policy, and political symbols. Highly educational and an entertaining read, A Trek through American and Texas Government is ideal for introductory courses in government.

Das voelkergewohnheitsrechtliche Interventionsverbot ist seit jeher ein unverzichtbares Element des internationalen Friedenssicherungssystems. Trotz seiner unbestrittenen Wichtigkeit ist unklar, welche Handlungsweisen gegenwartig von dem Verbot umfasst sind. Aufbauend auf eine umfassende Auswertung der Staatenpraxis seit 2011 untersucht die Autorin, unter welchen Voraussetzungen Regierungen und Oppositionsbewegungen in Burgerkriegen voelkerrechtsgemass unterstutzt werden durfen. Angesichts der Schneise der Verwustung, die sich seit Beginn des "Arabischen Fruhlings" durch die betroffenen Lander erstreckt, hinterfragt die Autorin die kontemporare rechtliche Relevanz des Interventionsverbots.

A pioneer in the field of Russian and Soviet studies in the West, Alfred J. Rieber's five decade career has focused on increasing our understanding of the Russian Empire from Peter the Great to the coming of the First World War. The Imperial Russian Project is a collection of Rieber's lifetime of work, focusing on three interconnected themes of this time period: the role of reform in the process of state building, the interaction of state and social movements, and alternative visions of economic development. This volume contains Rieber's previously published, classic essays, edited and updated, as well as newly written works that together provide a well-integrated framework for reflection on this topic. Rieber argues that Russia's style of autocratic governance not only reflected the personalities of the rulers but also the challenges of overcoming economic backwardness in a society lacking common citizenship and a cohesive ruling class. The Imperial Russian Project reveals how during the nineteenth century the tsar was obliged to operate within a changing and more complex world, reducing his options and restricting his freedom of action.

This accessible text summarizes and explains the structure of British local government, focusing on key changes introduced during the Thatcher/Major years and initiatives implemented by the current Labour administration. While offering a detailed discussion of these policies, the book examines how local government has sought to respond in a proactive way to a range of important social, political and economic changes.

Readers are introduced to local government as a lively and complex site of political engagement. British local government is set in a wider political, social and theoretical context. Throughout, the authors argue that the attempt by the Thatcher and Major administrations of 1979-97 to push local government into the role of merely administrating centrally defined policies was largely short-circuited. While outlining and explaining these changes and their effects, the authors argue that far from being defenceless victims of central government, local authorities devised numerous strategies to protect their independent policy-making role. The authors go on to examine the proposals for change introduced by the Labour government and assess their implications for local government in the twenty-first century.

This book will be essential reading for lecturers and students of local government, politics, public policy and urban policy, as well as practitioners.

The classic book on the way American government agencies work and how they can be made to work better -- the "masterwork" of political scientist James Q. Wilson (The Economist) In Bureaucracy, the distinguished scholar James Q. Wilson examines a wide range of bureaucracies, including the US Army, the FBI, the CIA, the FCC, and the Social Security Administration, providing the first comprehensive, in-depth analysis of what government agencies do, why they operate the way they do, and how they might become more responsible and effective. It is the essential guide to understanding how American government works.

This book discusses the forms and dynamics of political processes in rural India with a special emphasis on West Bengal, the nation's fourth-most populous state. West Bengal's political distinction stems from its long legacy of a Left-led coalition government for more than thirty years and its land reform initiatives. The book closely looks at how people from different castes, religions, and genders represent themselves in local governments, political parties, and in the social movements in West Bengal. At the same time it addresses some important questions: Is there any new pattern of politics emerging at the margins? How does this pattern of politics correspond with the current discourse of governance? Using ethnographic techniques, it claims to chart new territories by not only examining how rural people see the state, but also conceiving the context by comparing the available theoretical frameworks put forward to explain the political dynamics of rural India.

Between 1956 and 1967, justice was for sale in Oklahoma's highest court and Supreme Court decisions went to the highest bidder. One lawyer, O. A. Cargill, grew rich peddling influence with the justices; a shady company, Selected Investments, protected its illegal practices with bribes; and Supreme Court justice N. S. Corn, one of two justices who would ultimately serve time in prison, cheated his partners in crime and stashed vast amounts of ill-gotten cash in a locker at his golf course. Author Lee Card, himself a former judge, describes a system infected with favoritism and partisanship in which party loyalty trumped fairness and a shaky payment structure built on commissions invited exploitation. From petty corruption at the lowest level of the trial bench to large-scale bribery among Supreme Court justices, Card follows the developing scandal, introducing the bit players and worst offenders, the federal prosecutors who exposed the scheme, and the politicians who persuaded skeptical Oklahoma voters to adopt constitutional reforms. On one level, Corruption and Reform is a compelling story of true crime and punishment set in the capitol of an agricultural, oil-producing, conservative state. But on a deeper level, the book is a cautionary tale of political corruption - and the politics of restoring integrity, accountability, and honor to a broken system.

Unsere Demokratien stehen vor grossen politischen Herausforderungen, nicht zuletzt durch populistische Bewegungen und die Ruckkehr nationalistischer Trugbilder. Die Autoren des Bandes befragen das kritische philosophische, emanzipatorische Denken der Existentialisten Sartre, Camus und Beauvoir nicht nur in ihrem Zwiegesprach miteinander, sondern auch mit Vorlaufern, Wegbereitern, Nachfolgern wie Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Arendt, Foucault und Butler und Gegnern wie Schmitt.

Cultural Agents Reloaded: The Legacy of Antanas Mockus systematically reflects on the practices and legacy of one exceptional cultural agent, Antanas Mockus, twice Mayor of Bogota, Colombia. His accomplishments bear witness to the potential of creative, symbolic practices as a trigger for social change. His failures, in turn, demonstrate what happens when cultural agency and epistemic legitimacy take divergent paths. Mockus's example motivates us to further revise and sharpen our understanding of what cultural agency is in the present day by bringing into focus some of the most formidable challenges that public humanities face when they travel South and struggle to become genuinely global.

Die 15. Entwicklungspolitischen Hochschulwochen, die Sudwind Salzburg in Kooperation mit der Universitat Salzburg durchfuhrte, nahmen das "Europaische Jahr fur Entwicklung" (2015) zum Anlass, die Herausforderung "Entwicklung" aufzugreifen und einer interdisziplinaren Analyse zu unterziehen. Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter entwicklungspolitischer Organisationen und Initiativen, der Universitat Salzburg sowie weiterer wissenschaftlicher Einrichtungen, die bei den Entwicklungspolitischen Hochschulwochen mitwirkten, setzen sich in ihren Beitragen mit verschiedenen Fragestellungen (Klimawandel, Migration, Globalisierung, Freihandelsabkommen, Krisen und Konflikte) auseinander. Die Beitrage dieses Bandes wollen zu einer kritischen Bewusstseinsbildung beitragen und Wege aufzeigen, die angesichts drangender globaler Probleme "Zukunft entwickeln".

Ist der Islamische Staat (IS) ein Terrornetzwerk, eine Guerillaorganisation oder doch ein Staat? Dieses Buch beantwortet die Frage, indem es hinter die Fassade des Kalifats blickt: Es zeigt auf, wer die Entscheidungstrager des IS sind und nach welcher Ideologie und Strategie sie denken und handeln. Zudem betrachtet es den Aufbau der Organisationsstruktur und der transnationalen Vernetzung. Auf Grundlage der Ergebnisse diskutiert diese Studie am Ende ebenfalls potentielle Gegenmassnahmen. Durch eine systematisch-kritische Analyse und Auswertung der wichtigsten Fachliteratur zum IS filtert dieses Werk die zuverlassigen Informationen uber den Akteur heraus, sodass am Ende ein umfangreiches Gesamtbild prasentiert wird. Vor dem Hintergrund der Terrorismusforschung verortet die Studie den IS als einen Hybrid aus Terror-und Guerillaorganisation.