Our contemporary world is plagued by a deep crisis that threatens the survival of our species and the planet. In the midst of this dire situation, we are being misled to believe by transnational corporations, governments, mainstream media networks and spin doctors that neoliberal capitalism has all the answers and can overcome any crisis. But can more of the same and a blind faith in capitalism save our world? Many are not convinced and there is a crucial awakening taking place. The rise of transnational activism, the World Social Forum, the Arab Spring, Occupy, the Climate Justice Movement and a post-neoliberal left affirm the need for alternatives to global neoliberal capitalism. A crucial idea and practice emerging from this ferment is the solidarity economy alternative. This book brings together contributions from leading thinkers and practitioners supporting the solidarity economy alternative in South Africa, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Italy and the United States. For the first time there is an attempt to clarify, rather than codify, meanings of the solidarity economy, emphasise crucial theoretical concepts at work in the emergent solidarity economy, and highlight situated movement-building experiences and ways in which the anti-capitalist logic of the solidarity economy can be constituted from below. This book is for anyone concerned about democracy, transformative politics and emancipatory utopian alternatives. 'The Solidarity Economy Alternative propagates the radical impulse of democracy from below while affirming ethical values and principles like social justice. This book is an excellent guide to this powerful idea and an invaluable resource for activists in South Africa and beyond.' Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, patron of the Democracy from Below Campaign, South Africa, and former deputy Minister of Defence and Minister of Health 'A brilliant, contemporary effort to reconstruct, on a new basis, the transformative anti-capitalist vision. It is an immensely valuable, empirically grounded contribution to a fundamentally important debate.' Peter Evans, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley, author of Embedded Autonomy: States and Industrial Transformation Vishwas Satgar is a senior lecturer in international relations at the University of the Witwatersrand. He is a political activist and chairs the board of the Cooperative and Policy Alternative Centre.

This unique Research Handbook offers an overview of contemporary electronic government and digital public administration and management, encouraging innovative inquiry and exploring new avenues for research in the field. Bringing together international scholars and researchers, the book illustrates the broad and changeable technological context of public organizations, public services and governance from a range of theoretical and methodological perspectives. Chapters investigate key developments in information technology, including social media, big data, cyberinfrastructure and blockchain technologies, and investigate their implications for the traditional goals and values of public administration and management. Examining timely subjects of discussion, including data sharing, public service transactions and trust, citizen engagement and tribal governances, chapters illustrate the global dimensions of technological governance in a variety of settings, including Brazil, Nepal, South Africa, the US, and Small Island Developing States. Representing global scholarship in the field, this Research Handbook is critical reading for scholars and researchers exploring the latest developments in e-governments, as well as graduate students in public management and administration. Public sector managers and policymakers will also benefit from its practical insights into utilizing information tech.

This timely book examines the imminent dangers to European stability: the socio-economic crisis of global production that has reinforced structural inequalities; the climate crisis and its associated environmental degradation; and the onset and fallout of Covid-19. Placing the triple crisis in the context of EU, European and global geographies, it introduces a new conceptual framework to describe continuing systemic crisis and change in the EU. Based on a rich and varied array of source material, Attila Agh offers a new insight into the future of European politics through twin conceptual pillars: 'Awaking Europe', which describes a Re-United Europe that brings together its key regions; and 'Emerging Europe', which refers to the upgrading of EU mechanisms to shape Europe as a global player through multilateralism. Presenting an integrative analysis of the triple crisis and its management, it describes and dissects the overarching creative crisis of the EU and the major direction of the Union's strategy for renewal. Incisive and provocative, this book is critical reading for scholars and researchers in political science, European studies and economics, particularly those focusing on EU economic policy and the relationships between global powers. It will also benefit policymakers looking for innovative approaches to social investment and sustainable development.

Conceptualising the new phenomenon of constitutional crowdsourcing, this incisive book examines democratic legitimacy, participation, and decision-making in constitutions and constitutionalism. It analyses how the wider population can be given a voice in constitution-making and in constitutional interpretation and control, thus promoting the exercise of original and derived constituent power. Chapters investigate the complex relationship and potential relationships between crowdsourcing, democratic constitutionalism and the network society, exploring the strengths and weaknesses of crowdsourcing in this area. This thought-provoking book concludes that constitutionalism is further strengthened because the democratic legitimacy of the constitutional text is reinforced via this mechanism. Antoni Abat i Ninet conceives constitutional crowdsourcing as an epistemic response, an opportunity to place the people at the heart of constitutionalism in the new digital era. Engaging and accessible, Constitutional Crowdsourcing will be of benefit to students and scholars of legal theory, constitutional and administrative law, political science and constitutions. Its forward-looking aspect will also appeal to public officers seeking a better understanding of the potential impact of constitutional crowdfunding.

Exploring and updating the controversial debates about the relationship between democracy and development, this Research Handbook provides clarification on the complex and nuanced interlinkages between political regime type and socio-economic development. Distinguished scholars examine a broad range of issues from multidisciplinary perspectives across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. Analysing the relationship between political regime types, including varieties of democracies and autocracies, and broader development indicators, chapters cover economic growth, poverty and human development, inequality, corruption, conflict, human rights, and environmental sustainability. The Research Handbook examines longstanding and unresolved debates in the field over the past 60 years, as well as investigating contemporary issues of rising global inequalities, the resurgence of authoritarian populism, and the crisis of liberal democracy. Thorough and invigorating, this will be an essential read for social science scholars and students, particularly those studying sociology, politics, economics and global development studies. Policy makers and government officials dealing with foreign affairs and international development will appreciate the detailed case studies the Research Handbook offers.

William Shakespeare and 21st-Century Culture, Politics, and Leadership examines problems, challenges, and crises in our contemporary world through the lens of William Shakespeare's plays, one of the best-known, most admired, and often controversial authors of the last half-millennium. As perhaps the most oft-cited author in the West outside of the Judeo-Christian Bible, Shakespeare has often been considered a sage, providing manifold insights into our shared human qualities and experiences across time and geography. The editors and authors of this accessible book leverage the now global scope of that sibylline reputation to explore what the Bard might tell us about ourselves, our politics, our leaders, and our societies today. The chapters are written with critical rigor and will appeal to scholars and students in leadership and literary studies but are accessible to non-Shakespeare experts. Anyone looking to explore the ongoing relevance of Shakespeare's work will find this volume enlightening and entertaining.

Taking a multidisciplinary approach to the dynamics of political and economic decentralization in contemporary regimes, this comprehensive Handbook offers a critical examination of how the decentralization of governance affects citizen well-being. Expert contributors provide an analysis of theoretical developments and empirical approaches in the study of decentralization, exploring how decentralization is conceptualized and measured. Chapters examine central topics including how the degree and type of decentralization varies over time and across countries, how political decentralization affects the behaviour of parties and voters, and the social and economic consequences of decentralizing power. Offering a comparative perspective, the Handbook utilizes insightful international case studies from Latin America, North America, Western Europe and Asia. Attention is also paid to the impact of the Great Recession of 2008 and the Covid-19 pandemic on intergovernmental relations. This Handbook will be a valuable resource for scholars and students of political geography and geopolitics, regulation and governance, and international politics. It will also be useful for practitioners in these fields who are interested in decentralization.

This innovative book explores think tanks from the perspective of critical policy studies, showcasing how knowledge, power and politics intersect with the ways in which think tanks intervene in public policy. Expert contributors offer multidisciplinary analyses of the history of policy advice and expertise and highlight recent examples of how think tanks navigate public debates, political arenas and the backstage of decision-making. They provide an overview of historical developments in the emergence and evolution of think tanks and consider how current think tanks produce policy narratives and exercise influence through the power of ideas. Focusing on institutional structures and social forces, chapters explain how national and transnational think tank landscapes are organized and how think tanks shape knowledge production infrastructure in different governance contexts. The book concludes that evaluating this infrastructure is crucial for ensuring that policy discourse serves collective interests and inclusive policy learning in diverse democratic polities. This book's evaluation of the impact of think tanks on expertise, democracy and social justice, while utilizing rigorous empirical research, will be useful for scholars and students of public policy, political theory and public administration and management. It will also be beneficial for think tankers and policy analysts.

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. Providing a comprehensive account of America's constitutional framework, this Advanced Introduction examines how U.S officials carry out America's foreign policy objectives through diplomacy, trade agreements, secretive covert actions, and the use of military force. Loch K. Johnson delivers an invigorating examination of ethical and legal aspects of American foreign policy as well as providing a new perspective on topics such as domestic politics, diplomacy and policymaking. Key Features include: Analysis of the international setting for U.S. foreign policy activities Examination of foreign policy decision making from domestic, individual and international settings. Discussion of the relationship between the United States and other nations, international organizations, and various global factions. Concise and timely, this Advanced Introduction will be a beneficial read to foreign policy, American studies and international relations students and researchers. This will also be a key resource for military academies and organizations seeking a better understanding of the position of the United States in global affairs.

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. Providing a comprehensive account of America's constitutional framework, this Advanced Introduction examines how U.S officials carry out America's foreign policy objectives through diplomacy, trade agreements, secretive covert actions, and the use of military force. Loch K. Johnson delivers an invigorating examination of ethical and legal aspects of American foreign policy as well as providing a new perspective on topics such as domestic politics, diplomacy and policymaking. Key Features include: Analysis of the international setting for U.S. foreign policy activities Examination of foreign policy decision making from domestic, individual and international settings. Discussion of the relationship between the United States and other nations, international organizations, and various global factions. Concise and timely, this Advanced Introduction will be a beneficial read to foreign policy, American studies and international relations students and researchers. This will also be a key resource for military academies and organizations seeking a better understanding of the position of the United States in global affairs.

The Fall of Boris Johnson is the explosive inside account of how a prime minister lost his hold on power. From Sebastian Payne, Director of Onward and former Whitehall Editor for the Financial Times. Winner at the 2022 Parlimentary Book Awards A New Statesman, The Times, Daily Mail and FT Book of the Year 'Revelatory' - The Daily Telegraph 'Delicious detail' - The Times Boris Johnson was touted as the saviour of the country and the Conservative Party, obtaining a huge commons majority and finally "getting Brexit done". But within three short years, he was deposed in disgrace, leaving the country in crisis. Sebastian Payne tells the essential behind-the-scenes story, charting the series of scandals that felled Johnson: from the blocked suspension of Owen Paterson, through partygate and the final death blow: the Chris Pincher allegations. This is the full narrative of the betrayals, rivalries and resignations that resulted in the dramatic Conservative coup – and set in motion those events that saw the party sink to catastrophic new lows. With unparalleled access to those who were in the room when key decisions were made, Payne tells of the miscalculations and mistakes that led to Boris Johnson’s downfall. This is a gripping and timely look at how power is gained, wielded and lost in Britain today. 'Genuinely page-turning' - Andrew Marr 'Entertaining and illuminating' - Tim Shipman

Georges Sada was one of Saddam's top generals and foremost military advisors. A truth-teller in a government that made the truth dangerous. A devout Christian in a Muslim country. And a man who would stand up for what was right―even at the risk of his own life.

In this eye-opening expose, General Sada shares his bizarre yet amazing journey as an insider to one of history's most sinister regimes. He also, for the first time, reveals the disturbing truth about Saddam's plots to destroy Israel, hide weapons of mass destruction and overtake the Arab world. As an eye witness to history, Sada paints a painfully truthful picture of Hussein and his country that is at once personal and alarming, truthful and compelling, candid and sobering. It is a story guaranteed to send shock waves around the world.

Russian Politics Today: Stability and Fragility provides an accessible and nuanced introduction to contemporary Russian politics at a time of increasing uncertainty. Using the theme of stability versus fragility as its overarching framework, this innovative textbook explores the forces that shape Russia's politics, economy, and society. The volume provides up-to-date coverage of core themes - Russia's strong presidency, its weak party system, the role of civil society, and its dependence on oil and gas revenues - alongside path-breaking chapters on the politics of race, class, gender, sexuality, and the environment. An international and diverse team of experts presents the most comprehensive available account of the evolution of Russian politics in the post-Soviet era, providing the tools for interpreting the past and the present while also offering a template for understanding future developments.

Introducing the Collins Modern Classics, a series featuring some of the most significant books of recent times, books that shed light on the human experience – classics which will endure for generations to come. ‘You can turn your back on a person, but never turn your back on a drug – especially when it’s waving a razor-sharp hunting knife in your eyes’ Roaring down the desert highway, Raoul Duke and his attorney Dr. Gonzo are seeking out the dark side of the American Dream. Armed with a drug arsenal of stupendous proportions, they confront casino operators, police officers and assorted Middle Americans, in surreal, chemically enhanced encounters. Hilarious, hallucinogenic and subversive, Hunter S. Thompson’s semi-autobiographical novel is a cult classic and a masterpiece of gonzo journalism. ‘A scorching epochal sensation’ Tom Wolfe

This thought-provoking book conceptualizes the importance of civil society and citizenship in building a sustainable and participatory democracy. It considers the ways in which networks and organizations promoting common interests contribute to this mediating space between the public and private spheres, examining the impacts of the diversity of values and attitudes held by these organizations. Taking a normative position, Thomas P. Boje argues for the importance of social justice and civility in an active, liberating, equitable and participatory society. He presents a series of ideas for democratic involvement and emancipation through civil society organizations, as well as societal institutions more generally. This innovative book concludes with a detailed discussion of the conditions required for a participatory democratic system in which all citizens are involved in the planning, decision-making and implementation of crucial decisions influencing the development of an equitable society. This timely book will be an illuminating read for students and scholars seeking to understand the role of civil society and real participatory democracy in liberal democracies. It will also be a key resource for policy makers, professionals and activists wishing to become more informed about conditions for participatory democracy and activism.

'With their fascinating synthesis of two fields of study, leadership and sexuality, editors James Beggan and Scott Allison provide a forum for scholars to investigate two concepts that have long shaped human behavior and captured both academic interest and the curiosity of the general public. In addition to its appeal to academics, this cross-disciplinary book will interest anyone who has ever had a boss, been on a date, or contemplated an office romance.' -Robert Giacalone, John Carroll University, US Although both leadership and sexuality are important and heavily researched topics, there is little work that addresses the interaction of the two areas. Leadership and Sexuality: Power, Principles, and Processes is a scholarly synthesis of leadership principles with issues related to sexuality and sexual policy-making. The authors' multi-disciplinary analysis of the topic examines sexuality in the context of many different kinds of leadership, exploring both the good and the bad aspects of leadership and sexuality. These integrated topics are examined through three broad areas of study. The first involves individuals who become leaders in sexual domains by advancing new views of human sexuality. The second involves problems that leaders of businesses and other institutions must address as a result of issues related to human sexuality, including sexual harassment and sexually-based discrimination in the workplace. The third area involves understanding how being a leader influences sexual desire and sexual attraction, and may impact the course of workplace romance and the expression of sexuality. Written to be accessible to both laypeople and scholars, this book will appeal to academics and scientists interested in human sexuality as well as many related disciplines, including psychology, sociology, leadership studies, heroism science, political science, religion, and economics. Contributors: S.T. Allison, J.K. Beggan, L. Dwight, O. Efthimiou, J. Fyke, S. Huss, K. Lucas, S. Pichler, C. Pitzulo, C. Shakeshaft, W.R. Stayton, M.B. Stone, B. Trisler, E. Turley

This book explores developments in the social legitimacy of present-day European welfare states since the banking crisis of 2008. It analyses how the welfare attitudes of Europeans have been influenced by economic recession and consequent welfare reforms, as well as reactions to on-going debates around welfare. Utilising cross-national perspectives, the book analyses the differences and similarities in welfare attitudes of Europeans between 2008 and 2016. It highlights popular welfare attitudes towards different groups of society, including migrants, the elderly and unemployed, exploring if and why specific practices and policies would meet popular resistance or approval. Social policy and sociology scholars will find this book helpful, as the cross-national analysis provides new insights into the contextual drivers of welfare attitudes. It will also be useful to policy-makers and practitioners working in Europe offering analysis of welfare preferences, evaluations and perceptions. Contributors include: H. Chung, L. de Blok, S. Delespaul, B. Ebbinghaus, M.A. Eger, H. Ervasti, J. Gale, D. Gugushvili, A. Haugsgjerd, S. Kumlin, T. Laenen, C.A. Larsen, B. Meuleman, J. Mewes, E. Naumann, E. Politi, F. Roosma, C. Staerkle, W. van Oorschot

The approach adopted in the first four editions has been retained, namely that administrative law is a specialized branch of constitutional law and that a sound knowledge of constitutional law and a thorough understanding of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 are prerequisites for an understanding of administrative law.

Within these pages James K. Beggan puts forward a novel approach to understanding sexual harassment by high value superstars in the workplace. The approach integrates ideas derived from evolutionary theory, utility theory, sexual scripting theory and research on the regulation of emotion. Besides providing a better understanding of the phenomenon, the book aims to contribute to the development of better techniques to prevent sexual harassment. Recently, credible allegations of sexual misconduct against high profile figures have dominated the news. Sexual harassment has become an important issue for leaders and those who study leadership. The author presents a new approach to understanding sexual harassment in the #MeToo era that integrates research from a diverse range of areas typically ignored by researchers. Ideas derived from this new approach are used to propose more effective methods for the elimination of sexual harassment in the workplace. The book also addresses how efforts to prevent sexual harassment may interfere with the free expression of sexuality and ultimately threaten the rights of the individual. Academics and journalists interested in understanding sexual harassment, including graduate students, and undergraduates enrolled in upper division specialized courses in gender relations will find this book to be innovative and informative.

The end of apartheid in South Africa broke down political barriers, extending to all races the formal rights of citizenship, including the right to participate in free elections and parliamentary democracy. But South Africa remains one of the most economically polarized nations in the world. In The politics of necessity, Elke Zuern forcefully argues that working toward greater socioeconomic equality - access to food, housing, land, jobs - is crucial to achieving a successful and sustainable democracy. Drawing on interviews with local residents and activists in South Africa's impoverished townships during more than a decade of dramatic political change, Zuern tracks the development of community organizing and reveals the shifting challenges faced by poor citizens. Under apartheid, township residents began organizing to press the government to address the basic material necessities of the poor and expanded their demands to include full civil and political rights. However, in discouraging dissent and failing to reduce economic policy, South Africa's new democracy has continued to disempower the poor. By comparing movements in South Africa to those in other African and Latin American states, this title identifies profound challenges to democratization. Zuern asserts the fundamental indivisibility of all human rights, showing how protest movements that call attention to socioeconomic demands, though often labelled a threat to democracy, offer significant opportunities for modern democracies to evolve into systems of rule that empower all citizens.

In the middle of 2019, Rishi Sunak was an unknown junior minister in the local government department. Seven months later, at the age of thirty-nine, he was Chancellor of the Exchequer, grappling with the gravest economic crisis in modern history. Michael Ashcroft's new book charts Sunak's ascent from his parents' Southampton pharmacy to the University of Oxford, the City of London, Silicon Valley - and the top of British politics. It is the tale of a super-bright and hardgrafting son of immigrant parents who marries an Indian heiress and makes a fortune of his own; a polished urban southerner who wins over the voters of rural North Yorkshire - and a cautious, fiscally conservative financier who becomes the biggest-spending Chancellor in history. Sunak was unexpectedly promoted to the Treasury's top job in February 2020, with a brief to spread investment and opportunity as part of Boris Johnson's levelling-up agenda. Within weeks, the coronavirus had sent Britain into lockdown, with thousands of firms in peril and millions of jobs on the line. As health workers battled to save lives, it was down to Sunak to save livelihoods. This is the story of how he tore up the rulebook and went for broke.

In Dead Presidents, public radio host and reporter Brady Carlson takes readers on an epic trip to presidential gravesites, monuments, and memorials from sea to shining sea. With an engaging mix of history and contemporary reporting, Carlson explores the death stories of our greatest leaders, and shows that the ways we memorialize our presidents reveal as much about us as they do about the men themselves.