Africa Reimagined is a passionately argued appeal for a rediscovery of our African identity. Going beyond the problems of a single country, Hlumelo Biko calls for a reorientation of values, on a continental scale, to suit the needs and priorities of Africans. Building on the premise that slavery, colonialism, imperialism and apartheid fundamentally unbalanced the values and indeed the very self-concept of Africans, he offers realistic steps to return to a more balanced Afro-centric identity.

Historically, African values were shaped by a sense of abundance, in material and mental terms, and by strong ties of community. The intrusion of religious, economic and legal systems imposed by conquerors, traders and missionaries upset this balance, and the African identity was subsumed by the values of the newcomers. Biko shows how a reimagining of Africa can restore the sense of abundance and possibility, and what a rebirth of the continent on Pan-African lines might look like. This is not about the churn of the news cycle or party politics – although he identifies the political party as one of the most pernicious legacies of colonialism. Instead, drawing on latest research, he offers a practical, pragmatic vision anchored in the here and now.

By looking beyond identities and values imposed from outside, and transcending the divisions and frontiers imposed under colonialism, it should be possible for Africans to develop fully their skills, values and ingenuity, to build institutions that reflect African values, and to create wealth for the benefit of the continent as a whole.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences 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. This thought-provoking introduction provides an incisive overview of dignity law, a field of law emerging in every region of the globe that touches all significant aspects of the human experience. Through an examination of the burgeoning case law in this area, James R. May and Erin Daly reveal a strong overlapping consensus surrounding the meaning of human dignity as a legal right and a fundamental value of nations large and small, and how this global jurisprudence is redefining the relationship between individuals and the state. Key features include: Analyses of cases from a range of jurisdictions all over the world A history of the shift of the concept of dignity from a philosophical idea to a legally enforceable right Discussion of dignity as a value and a right in different major legal contexts, and its roots in African, Asian, European and Islamic traditions. This Advanced Introduction will be invaluable to scholars and students of law, particularly those interested in human rights, looking to understand this emerging area of law. It will inform lawyers, judges, policymakers and other advocates interested in how dignity and the law can be used to protect everyone, including the most vulnerable among us.

Despite the empowering pride culture that has evolved globally in the past half-century, the LGBTQAI+ community continues to face widespread discrimination. They are often subjected to cruelty and discrimination and are the bearers of a heavy psychological burden and frustration that stems from not coming out and expressing their concerns freely. Today, the invisibility of this community and its concerns have become enormous challenges for the world as their interests often go unrepresented and unaddressed by governments due to various barriers. Global LGBTQ+ Concerns in a Contemporary World: Politics, Prejudice, and Community considers the harsh realities of the LGBTQAI+ community and draws attention to key issues such as violation of their rights and disparities in access to basic amenities such as healthcare, employment, and security. Covering key topics such as inclusion, mental health, queer communities, and human rights, this reference work is ideal for activists, advocates, politicians, sociologists, gender studies specialists, policymakers, government officials, industry professionals, researchers, scholars, academicians, practitioners, instructors, and students.

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".

At a time when states are increasingly hostile to the international rights regime, human rights activists have turned to non-state and sub-state actors to begin the implementation of human rights law. This complicates the conventional analysis of relationships between local actors, global norms, and cosmopolitanism. The contributions in this open access collection examine the "lived realities of human rights" and critically engage with debates on gender, sexuality, localism and cosmopolitanism, weaving insights from multiple disciplines into a broader call for interdisciplinary scholarship informed by practice. Overall, the contributors argue that the power of human rights depends on their ability to be continuously broadened and re-imagined in locales around the world. It is only on this basis that human rights can remain relevant and be effectively used to push local, national and international institutions to put in place structural reforms that advance equity and pluralism in these perilous times. The eBook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com.

Human rights are at a crossroads. This book considers how these rights can be reconstructed in challenging times, with changes in the pathways to the realization of human rights and new developments in human rights law and policy, illustrated with case studies from Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Contesting Human Rights traces the balance between the dynamics of diffusion, resistance and innovation in the field. The book examines a range of issues from the effectiveness of norm-promotion by advocacy campaigns to the backlash facing human rights advocates. The expert contributors suggest that new opportunities at and below the state level, and creative contests of global governance, can help reconstruct human rights in the face of modern challenges. Critical case studies trace new pathways emerging in the United Nations' Universal Periodic Review, regional human rights courts, constitutional incorporation of international norms, and human rights cities. With its innovative approach to human rights and comprehensive coverage of global, national and regional trends, Contesting Human Rights will be an invaluable tool for scholars and students of human rights, global governance, law and politics. It will also be useful for human rights advocates with a keen interest in the evolution of the human rights landscape. Contributors include: G. Andreopoulos, C. Apodaca, P.M. Ayoub, A. Brysk, P. Elizalde, A. Feldman, M. Goodhart, C. Hillebrecht, P.C. McMahon, S. Meili, M. Mullinax, A. Murdie, B. Park, W. Sandholtz, M. Stohl

In a digitally connected world, the question of how to respect, protect and fulfil human rights has become unavoidable. Uniting research from scholars and practitioners, this contemporary Handbook offers new insights into well-established debates surrounding digital technologies by framing them in terms of human rights. An international group of expert contributors explore the issues posed by the management of key Internet resources, the governance of its architecture, the role of different stakeholders, the legitimacy of rule-making and rule-enforcement, and the exercise of international public authority over users. Highly interdisciplinary, the Handbook draws on law, political science, and international relations, as well as computer science and science and technology studies in order to engage with human rights aspects of the digitally connected world. The chapters examine in depth current topics relating to human rights and security, internet access, surveillance, automation, trade, and freedom of expression. This comprehensive and engaging Handbook will be vital reading for both researchers and students in law, human rights, international politics, international relations and technology studies. Policy-makers seeking an understanding of the state of human rights in technology will also find this book a highly useful resource. Contributors include: W. Benedek, D. Bigo, D. Brodowski, G. Contissa, P. de Hert, M. Dunn Cavelty, T. Engelhardt, B. Farrand, M I. Franklin, M.I. Ganesh, M. Graham, S. Horth, L. Jasmontaite, R.F. Jorgensen, C. Kavanagh, M.C. Kettemann, D. Korff, G. Lansdown, E. Light, S. Livingstone, A. Millikan, J.A. Obar, G. Sartor, G. Sobliye, A. Third, M. Tuszynski, K. Vieth, B. Wagner, T. Wetzling, M. Zalnieriute

The New York Times bestselling author of My Grandmother's Hands surveys the deteriorating political climate and presents an urgent call for action to save ourselves and our countries. In The Quaking of America, therapist and trauma specialist Resmaa Menakem takes readers through a step-by-step program of somatic practices addressing the growing threat of white-supremacist political violence. Through the coordinated repetition of lies, anti-democratic elements in American society are inciting mass radicalization, violent insurrection, and voter suppression, with a goal of toppling American democracy. Currently, most pro-democracy American bodies are utterly unprepared for this uprising. This book can help prepare us--and, if possible, prevent more destructiveness. This preparation focuses not on strategy or politics, but on mental and emotional practices that can help us: Build presence and discernment Settle our bodies during the heat of conflict Maintain our safety, sanity, and stability under dangerous circumstances Heal our personal and collective racialized trauma Practice body-centered social action Turn toward instead of on one another The Quaking of America is a unique, perfectly timed, body-centered guide to each of these processes.

'This work has come at an important time in the wake of the so-called Arab spring when the fluctuating patterns of state-citizen relations were rethought with varying success. Looking at citizenship in the region from multi-disciplinary and content related perspectives, this collection of essays discusses the variety of ways in which citizenship operates - and is thought about - in the contemporary Middle East and beyond. In looking at the contested dimensions of citizenship, this book is an important and timely work for anyone interested in the processes by which what it means to be a citizen is made and remade.' - Rachel M. Scott, Virginia Tech, US The Middle East is currently undergoing its most dramatic transition since World War I. The political order, both within individual countries and on the regional level, has been in turmoil ever since the Arab Uprisings in 2011. Analysts are struggling to identify conceptual frameworks that capture the complex nature of the developments that we observe. The Middle East in Transition demonstrates how citizenship understood as a social contract between citizens and the state is a key factor in current political crises in the region. The book analyzes three distinct dimensions of citizenship in the Middle East: the development of citizenship in specific countries, including Morocco, Israel Turkey and Iraq; Islam and the writings of twentieth-century Islamic thinkers; and the international dimension of citizenship, particularly regarding EU policies towards the region and the rights of Syrian refugees. This timely book provides a comprehensive insight into the current implications of the changing relationships between the citizen and the state in the Middle East. Discussing the topic with clarity and detail, it will be essential reading not only for researchers but also for policy makers and government officials. Contributors include: S. Ahmadou, Z. Alsabeehg, Z. Babar, S.I. Bergh, N.A. Butenschon, L.C. Frost, B. Ince, M. Kanie, R. Meijer, V.M. Moghadam, Z. Pall, S. Saeidi, R.H. Santini, P. Seeberg, M.M. Shteiwi

On the first day of February 2021, Myanmar's military grabbed power in a coup d'etat, ending a decade of reforms that were supposed to break the shackles of military rule in Myanmar. Protests across the country were met with a brutal crackdown that shocked the world but were a familiar response from an institution that has ruled the country with violence and terror for decades. Return of the Junta is a detailed account of the ways that Myanmar's military - the Tamatdaw - has maintained control over its people despite a decade of supposed reform. In this detailed account, drawing on first-hand accounts from activists, jouralists and politicians, Oliver Slow explores the measures the military has used to keep hold of power and the motivations of those now rising up against its rule. The book asks the question: what needs to be done to remove the military from power in Myanmar once and for all?

'Walvin synthesises this complex global history with skill and ingenuity. Freedom is beautifully written and clearly organised . . . thought-provoking, rich in detail and imbued with an emotional intelligence that pushes us to imagine what slave life meant, especially during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.' J. R. Oldfield, University of Hull, Family & Community History, Vol. 22/3, October 2019 'A wide-ranging history of resistance during the Atlantic slave trade that reminds us how captives fought their miserable fates every step of the way.' David Olusoga, BBC History Magazine 'A sobering reminder of the trade's cruelty and scope . . . but also, through resistance, rebellion and riots, the power of individual people to change the world against the odds.' History Revealed In this timely and very readable new work, Walvin focuses not on abolitionism or the brutality and suffering of slavery, but on resistance, the resistance of the enslaved themselves - from sabotage and absconding to full-blown uprisings - and its impact in overthrowing slavery. He also looks that whole Atlantic world, including the Spanish Empire and Brazil. In doing so, he casts new light on one of the major shifts in Western history in the past five centuries. In the three centuries following Columbus's landfall in the Americas, slavery became a critical institution across swathes of both North and South America. It saw twelve million Africans forced onto slave ships, and had seismic consequences for Africa. It led to the transformation of the Americas and to the material enrichment of the Western world. It was also largely unquestioned. Yet within a mere seventy-five years during the nineteenth century slavery had vanished from the Americas: it declined, collapsed and was destroyed by a complexity of forces that, to this day, remains disputed, but there is no doubting that it was in large part defeated by those it had enslaved. Slavery itself came in many shapes and sizes. It is perhaps best remembered on the plantations - though even those can deceive. Slavery varied enormously from one crop to another- sugar, tobacco, rice, coffee, cotton. And there was in addition myriad tasks for the enslaved to do, from shipboard and dockside labour, to cattlemen on the frontier, through to domestic labour and child-care duties. Slavery was, then, both ubiquitous and varied. But if all these millions of diverse, enslaved people had one thing in common it was a universal detestation of their bondage. They wanted an end to it: they wanted to be like the free people around them. Most of these enslaved peoples did not live to see freedom. But an old freed man or woman in, say Cuba or Brazil in the 1880s, had lived through its destruction clean across the Americas. The collapse of slavery and the triumph of black freedom constitutes an extraordinary historical upheaval - and this book explains how that happened.

The concept of supranational European citizenship has become one of the core concepts of the EU?s unique polity. It has, however, been one of the most difficult to actualise. This book examines the challenges of, and barriers to, exercising full citizenship rights for European citizens and considers how they might best be overcome. Drawing on cutting-edge research from interdisciplinary areas of study, this book examines the key issues surrounding EU citizenship. Reflecting on the diversity of European societies, it identifies, analyses and compares the many barriers that citizens face to fully exercising their rights. With chapters examining key issues from migration to democratic governance and social rights, Moving Beyond Barriers critically analyzes concepts of citizenship and the way that EU citizenship is politically, legally, economically and socially institutionalised, and elaborates alternatives to the current paths of realising EU citizenship. Citizenship issues feature prominently in the European policy-making agenda and the insights offered by this book will be of benefit to those with an interest in EU law, social and public policy and administration. Policy-makers and practitioners will also benefit from the reflections on citizenship and the practical guidance on how to move beyond current issues regarding EU citizenship. Contributors include: B. Anderson, W. Bakker, V. Baricevic, F. Cheneval, S. de Vries, D. di Micco, O. Eberl, M. Ferrin, M.-P. Granger, M. Hoogenboom, E. Ioriatti, T. Knijn, N. Kosti, D. Levi-Faur, M. Naldini, M. Prak, E. Pulice, M. Seeleib-Kaiser, S. Seubert, I. Shutes, M. van der Kolk, F. van Waarden, S. Walker, P. Wallis