In The Political Power of Bad Ideas, Mark Schrad uses one of the greatest oddities of modern history--the broad diffusion throughout the Western world of alcohol-control legislation in the early twentieth century--to make a powerful argument about how bad policy ideas achieve international success. His could an idea that was widely recognized by experts as bad before adoption, and which ultimately failed everywhere, come to be adopted throughout the world? To answer the question, Schrad utilizes an institutionalist approach and focuses in particular on the United States, Sweden, and Russia/the USSR.
Conventional wisdom, based largely on the U.S. experience, blames evangelical zealots for the success of the temperance movement. Yet as Schrad shows, ten countries, along with numerous colonial possessions, enacted prohibition laws. In virtually every case, the consequences were disastrous, and in every country the law was ultimately repealed. Schrad concentrates on the dynamic interaction of ideas and political institutions, tracing the process through which concepts of dubious merit gain momentum and achieve credibility as they wend their way through institutional structures. He also shows that national policy and institutional environments count: the policy may have been broadly adopted, but countries dealt with the issue in different ways.
While The Political Power of Bad Ideas focuses on one legendary episode, its argument about how and why bad policies achieve legitimacy applies far more broadly. It also extends beyond the simplistic notion that "ideas matter" to show how they influence institutional contexts and interact with a nation's political actors, institutions, and policy dynamics.

In the spring of 1989, Chinese workers and students captured global attention as they occupied Tiananmen Square, demanded political change, and then experienced a tragic crackdown at the hands of the Chinese army. Months later, East German civilians rose up nonviolently, bringing down the Berlin Wall and dismantling their regime. Although both movements used the tactics of civil resistance, their outcomes were different. In Nonviolent Revolutions, Sharon Erickson Nepstad examines these two movements, along with citizen uprisings in Panama, Chile, Kenya, and the Philippines. Through a comparative approach that includes both successful and failed cases, she analyzes the effects of movements' strategies along with the counter-strategies that regimes developed to retain power. Nepstad concludes that security force defections have a significant influence on revolutionary outcomes since those regimes that maintained troop loyalty were the least likely to collapse. Through a close analysis of these cases, she explores the reasons why soldiers defect or remain loyal and the conditions that increase the likelihood of mutiny. She also examines the impact of international sanctions, arguing that they sometimes harm movements by generating new allies for authoritarian leaders or by shifting the locus of power from local civil resisters to international actors. In conclusion, Nepstad finds that the dynamics of nonviolent revolution are not adequately captured by theories that have largely been derived from studies of armed struggles. Nonviolent Revolutions offers insights into the distinctive challenges that civil resisters face and it explores the reasons why some of these insurrectionary movements failed. As this form of struggle has increased in recent years-with the explosion of "color revolutions " in Serbia, Georgia, Ukraine, Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan and Burma-this book provides a valuable new framework for understanding civil resistance and nonviolent revolt.

How, if at all, do Muslims and non-Muslims differ? The question spurs spirited discussion among people the world over, in Muslim and non-Muslim lands alike, but we still lack answers based on sound empirical evidence. This book engages a set of the biggest issues using rigorous methods and data drawn from around the globe. It reveals that in some areas Muslims and non-Muslims differ less than is commonly imagined, and shows that Muslims are not unusually religious or inclined to favor the fusion of religious and political authority. Nor are Muslims especially prone to mass political violence. Yet in some areas Muslims and non-Muslims diverge: Gender inequality is more severe among Muslims, Muslims are unusually intolerant of homosexuality and other controversial behaviors, and democracy is rare in the Muslim world. Other areas of divergence bear the marks of a Muslim advantage: Violent crime and class-based inequities are less severe among Muslims than non-Muslims. Committed to discovering social facts rather than either stoking prejudices or stroking political sensibilities, Are Muslims Distinctive? represents the first major scientific effort to assess how Muslims and non-Muslims differ-and do not differ-in the contemporary world. Its findings have vital implications for human welfare, interfaith understanding, and the foreign policies of the United States and other Western countries.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. David P. Forsythe presents a compelling introduction to international human rights in a political context. He stresses the difficulties of interjecting human rights into foreign policy and international politics, while recognising the considerable progress that has been made over time. Focusing on international organizations, states, corporations, and private advocacy groups, Forsythe addresses key themes including war, migration, climate change, and slavery. Key features include: a multidisciplinary approach that draws on findings in political science, law, diplomacy, history, and economics discussion of a broad range of both traditional and contemporary topics from the United Nations to the internet and pandemics an assessment of the progress made in promoting human rights and humanitarian ideas, and how these ideas translate into tangible improvements for human dignity. Adopting a politically realistic and historically informed perspective, this Advanced Introduction will be a valuable resource for students of human rights, international relations, and political science.

The rise of China is the most significant development in world affairs in this generation. No nation in history has risen as quickly or modernized as rapidly as has China over the four decades. This sixth edition of The China Reader chronicles the diverse aspects of this transition since the late-1990s. It is comprehensive in scope and draws upon both primary Chinese sources and secondary Western analyses written by the world's leading experts on contemporary China. Perfectly suited as both a textbook for students as well as for specialists and the public alike, the volume covers the full range of China's internal and external developments. During the past three decades China dramatically modernized its economy and taken a positon as one of the two major powers in the world. Its mega-economy has skyrocketed to being the second largest in the world, and will soon surpass the United States on aggregate. The physical transformation of the country has been extraordinary to witness, with infrastructure development unparalleled in human history. Modern cities featuring futuristic architecture have literally risen from farmland across the country. As China has developed domestically, it has also taken its place as a major power on the world stage. Whether in its relations with other powers-the United States, Russia, and European Union-with its neighbors in Asia or other countries across the world, China is now a major factor in international relations. Its businesses are "going global" and its people are establishing their footprint from Antarctica to outer space. For all its newfound prowess, China's rise has not been a smooth process. Domestically, the nation's juggernaut economy has produced numerous negative social and environmental side-effects. Its political system remains anachronistic and authoritarian, with substantial repression. Externally, Beijing's rapid military modernization and regional territorial claims have alarmed China's neighbors. Its relationship with the United States is complex and increasingly strained. And its "soft power" remains limited. Still, the rise of China is the story of the current era. The China Reader is a perfect window into the complexities of this historic process.

In an age of intolerance where religious persecution is widespread, Barbara Ann Rieffer-Flanagan explores how societies can promote freedom of religion or belief as a fundamental right of citizens Examining the extent of religious persecution throughout the world, this cutting-edge book explores mechanisms to address religious intolerance and develop religious freedom, outlining the necessary factors to measure progress on the protection of this fundamental human right. Chapters explore how freedom of religion or belief can be institutionalized in dispositions, laws, and policies through efforts which limit negative depictions of the religious (or non-religious) Other in public discourse. Rieffer-Flanagan demonstrates how reforms that enhance the ability of civil society actors to operate can also promote freedom of religion or belief, and how states and IGOs can support these efforts. Ultimately, this innovative book proves that reforms must be continually nurtured for freedom of religion or belief to exist in society. With interview-based research and a diverse range of regional case studies, this will be a vital resource for students and scholars of philosophy, religion, human rights law and political science. Considering the role of leaders in the promotion of religious tolerance, the book will also prove invaluable to policymakers concerned with human rights and freedom of religion or belief.

"The Eagle and the Elephant" shows how economic engagement directly affects how the United States cooperates with India on strategic issues. Through case studies of major efforts, including civil nuclear cooperation, services outsourcing, antiterrorism, and electricity generation and the environment, Raymond E. Vickery Jr. presents both successful and unsuccessful instances of complex collaborations between the two nations.

Vickery draws on his own experience in the Commerce Department and as an economic consultant. Buttressed by information from official sources, journalistic accounts, and interviews, he offers new insight into the interplay of legislative and executive branch officials, policy proponents, business and nonprofit organizations, and activists.

Vickery explores how the United States employs commercial diplomacy as only one component of an overall economic engagement in the formation and implementation of foreign policy. This interaction, Vickery argues, has the potential to increase intergovernmental confidence and cooperation in areas vital to both countries and to world security and peace.

Expansive and engaging, this book investigates the fluidity of sites of power and authority in global politics. Examining the key shifts and turns of politics in globally oriented spaces since the end of the Cold War, contributions from leading scholars explore the continually shifting parameters of global governance. The book assesses how, in this ever-evolving global space, norms and rules are constantly being challenged and new technologies are altering the scope and uses of political power. Chapters explore these reconfigurations of authority, power, and territoriality, critically analysing the implications of the rise of multiple states as powerful actors in the international system, dissecting the dominant discourse on the securitization of migration and displacement, and assessing the growing divide between legality and legitimacy in world politics. In demonstrating how expectations of legitimacy in governance structures and processes have become more pronounced, the book ultimately exposes the limitations in the transformative potential of the liberal international order. Offering interdisciplinary perspectives on critical world order challenges, this wide-ranging book is an essential resource for scholars of international relations, international law, political theory, critical security studies, and migration studies. It will also be of particular interest to practitioners working in intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations.

With the US and China competing for trade, influence, minerals, and technology, Africa is on the front line of a power struggle. But is the continent just a prize to be fought over? This book argues otherwise.

Experts from different fields show how African countries can avoid picking sides and assert their own strategic independence, even in a time of global chaos.

This illuminating monograph examines analytical and practical aspects of the relationship between international law and international politics, providing a comprehensive analysis of the foundations on which both the international legal system and international politics rest. With an interdisciplinary perspective, Alexander Orakhelashvili compares and contrasts the methods of international legal reasoning with international relations as a discipline, focusing on timeless and central issues that connect the past, present and future. The book examines, through the use of both disciplines' methodology, some more specific areas such as public authority, global space, and peace, with the overall outcome that political contempt towards the international legal system could have unexpected and costly adverse political consequences. Examining a broad range of theories and literature, International Law and International Politics will be an invigorating read for academics, students and practitioners of international law, international relations, politics, and diplomacy.

The Beauty Trade takes seriously the frequently maligned and trivialized beauty economy, just as it has become one of the most important worldwide industries. Through the lens of beauty products, practices, and ideas of youth in Guadalajara, Mexico, the book analyzes whether and how beauty norms are changing in relation to the globalizing beauty economy. It looks at who benefits and who loses from beauty globalization and what this means for gender norms among youth. Weaving together fascinating ethnographic research on beauty practices, global political economy, and feminist analysis, the book presents a feminist analysis of the global economy of beauty. Rather than a sign of frivolity, the beauty economy is intimately connected to youth's social and economic development. Cosmetic makeovers have become a modern rite of passage for girls, enabling social connections and differentiations, as well as entrepreneurial activities. The global beauty economy is a phenomenon generated by young people, mostly women, laboring in, teaching, and consuming beauty. Globalization in the beauty economy is a phenomenon propelled by youth, eager for belonging and originality, using every mechanism at their disposal to look good. Contrary to popular wisdom, globalization in the beauty economy is not homogenizing beauty standards to a Western ideal; it is diversifying beauty standards. The Beauty Trade explains how globalization, combined with youth's desires for uniqueness, is enabling the spread of a diversity of beauty cultures, including alternative visions of gender appropriate looks and behavior.

Scholars have argued that the end of the Cold War and the War on Terror have radically changed the context of war and defense, diminished the role of nation-states in favor of multi-lateral defense activities, and placed a new focus on human security. International peacekeeping has superseded the traditional act of war-making as the most important defense strategy among wealthy, liberal-democratic nations. And, per UN Security Council Resolution 1325, adopted in 2000, all member nations must consider the needs of women and girls during repatriation, resettlement, and post-conflict reconstruction efforts.
Gender, Sex, and the Postnational Defense looks at the way that a postnational defense influenced by SC 1325 and focused on human security affects gender relations in militaries. Interestingly, despite the successful implementation of gender mainstreaming in training, the number of women involved in military peacekeeping remains low. Contradicting much of the gender mainstreaming literature, Annica Kronsell shows that increasing gender awareness in the military is a more achievable task than increasing gender parity.
Employing a feminist constructivist institutional approach, Kronsell questions whether military institutions can ever attain gender neutrality without confronting their reliance on masculinity constructs. She further questions whether "feminism" must always be equated with anti-militarism or if military violence committed in the name of enhancing human security can be performed according to a feminist ethics. Kronsell builds her theoretical argument on a case study of Sweden and the E.U.

This book provides a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the nature, content and scope of the rules regulating the use of force in international law as they are contained in the United Nations Charter, customary international law and international jurisprudence. The book's scope is broad and covers the prohibition on the threat or use of force; the use of force in self-defence; the use of force as part of the United Nations collective security system; the use of force by regional organisations; the use of force in peacekeeping operations; the use of force for humanitarian purposes; the use of force by invitation; armed reprisals; the use of force by and against non-State actors; and the use of force in cyberspace. The book takes an insightful look at the rules regulating the use of force as they are called upon to apply to changing and challenging circumstances such as the emergence of non-State actors, security risks, new technologies and moral considerations. Its arguments balance the interests of stability and change in order to enhance international law's regulatory potential regarding the use of force. This book is an important resource for students and scholars of international law, the use of force and collective security and for practitioners involved in the interpretation and application of these legal frameworks.

This illuminating book analyses energy transitions, carbon dioxide emissions and the security of energy supply in Mediterranean countries. Unpacking the history of energy transitions, from coal to oil and natural gas, and from non-renewable to renewable energy sources, Silvana Bartoletto offers a comparative approach to the major trends in energy consumption, production, trade and security in Mediterranean countries in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.   Chapters illustrate the key similarities and differences between Mediterranean countries that have influenced energy supply and consumption patterns. Tracing economic convergence in the last century and highlighting its impact on energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, this timely book offers critical insights into the problems of energy dependency and security in areas of political turmoil, as well as crucial insights into the future of the energy crisis. It concludes with a look to the future of energy consumption in the age of climate change and the slow but critical transition to renewable sources.   Enlightening and provocative, this book is key reading for scholars of political science and economics engaged with energy production and consumption, as well as those studying climate change. Its historical insights and overview of significant energy trends will also be useful for policymakers and climate scientists.

This authoritative book examines the power of multinational corporations (MNCs) to exert influence in global politics. Focusing on the actions and motivations of MNCs, it explores how they attempt to shape the political issues that affect them. Combining theoretical perspectives with analyses of enlightening case studies, the contributors consider key areas in which MNCs seek to exert political influence such as environmental sustainability, social conflicts and corporate tax avoidance, as well as in specific industries including mining, shipping and consulting. They also illustrate the mechanisms used by MNCs to exert influence in a wide range of policy fields at multiple territorial levels, discussing how they interact with states, intergovernmental organizations and civil society, as well as how they coordinate their activities with other parts of the business community. The book concludes that MNCs enjoy certain basic privileges in society and politics due to their preponderant economic position and their key role in the processes of globalization, but action is necessary to sustain this role. MNCs in Global Politics will be critical reading for academics and students of politics, international relations and political economy, particularly those with an interest in globalization and governance. Its exploration of specific case studies will also be beneficial for policy-makers.

Grounds of Judgment reopens the question of consular jurisdiction and extraterritoriality in China and Japan. The book combines recent findings in Qing history on the nature of ethnicity and law with the history of the treaty ports in both China and Japan, especially Shanghai, Yokohama and Nagasaki. Extraterritoriality was not implanted into East Asia as a ready-made product, but developed in a dialogue with local precedents, local understandings of power, and local institutions, which are best understood within the complex triangular relationship between China, Japan and the West. A close reading of treaty texts and other relevant documents suggests that a Qing institution for the adjudication for Manchu-Chinese disputes served as the model for both the International Mixed Court in Shanghai and the extraterritorial arrangements in Sino-Japanese Treaty of Tianjin in 1871. The adaptability of Qing legal procedure provided for a relatively seamless transition into the treaty port era, which would have momentous consequences for China's national sovereignty in the twentieth century. There was no parallel to this development in the Japanese case. Instead, Japanese authorities chose not to integrate consular courts and mixed courts into the indigenous legal order, and as a consequence, consular jurisdiction remained an alien body in the Japanese state, and Japanese policymakers were determined to keep it that way.