Focusing on East Asia, this collection explores the paradox of functional regional cooperation in the areas of humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and UN Peacekeeping operations, in a context of increasing regional tensions and threats. East Asia - comprising the states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea - is facing a range of human, traditional, climate and ideational threats. In addressing some of these threats particularly those arising from climate induced disasters this region has been able to develop some ad-hoc cooperative practices that, according to functional logics of regional integration, could lead to longer term sustained coordinated responses and even regional partnerships. Similarly, the region is increasingly contributing to UN peacekeeping operations where these states also cooperate in the context of an UN-led mission. Yet, despite the potential for these interactions to lead to greater regional integration and coordinated action in responding to a range of security threats, these interactions are increasingly taking place in a context of animosity both between regional powers and with extra-regional powers. This edited collection explores these functional interactions and posits conclusions about the potential for longer term sustained coordinated action. These papers engage with a range of theoretical approaches in explaining the patterns of relations that are present in the region in relation to humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and UN peacekeeping operations. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the Australian Journal of International Affairs.

This book investigates the formation, configuration and consolidation of elites amongst Kenya's Maasai. The Maasai ethnic group is one of the world's most anthropologized populations, but research tends to focus on what appears to be their dismal situation, analysing how their culture hinders or challenges modern ideas of economic and political development. This book instead focuses on the Maasai men and women who rise to the position of elites, overcoming the odds to take on positions as politicians, professors, CEOs, and high-end administrators. The twenty-first century has seen new opportunities for progression beyond the social reproduction of family wealth, with NGOs, missionaries, tourists and researchers providing new sources of global capital flows. The author, who is Maasai herself, demonstrates the diverse local, national, and global resources and opportunities which lead to social mobility and elite formation. The book also shows how female elites have been able to navigate a patriarchal society in their journey to attaining and maintaining elite status. This book will be of interest to researchers across the fields of anthropology, political science, international development, sociology, and African studies.

This volume responds to the challenges posed by the rapid developments in satellite TV and digital technologies, addressing media ethics from a global perspective to discuss how we can understand journalism practice in its cultural contexts. An international team of contributors draw upon global and non-Western traditions to discuss the philosophical origins of ethics and the tension that exists between media institutions, the media market and political/ideological influencers. The chapters then unveil the discrepancies among international journalists in abiding by the ethics of the profession and the extent to which media ethics are understood and applied in their local context/environment. Arguing that the legitimacy of ethics comes not from the definition per se, but from the extent to which it leads to social good, the book posits this should be the media's raison d'etre to abide by globally accepted ethical norms in order to serve the common good. Taking a truly global approach to the question of media ethics, this volume will be an important resource for scholars and students of journalism, communication studies, media studies, sociology, politics and cultural studies.

BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) represents one of the most diverse regions of the world. Providing a unique link between South Asia and Southeast Asia, it brings together 1.5 billion people and a combined GDP of $2.7 trillion. This volume focuses on issues related to connectivity, commerce, and security challenges facing BIMSTEC. It studies BIMSTEC's relevance as an inter-governmental organization in the changing international milieu. The volume discusses the necessity of connectivity to enhance Bay solidarity and analyses the political, strategic and security concerns that restrain commercial connectivity. It also looks at the Bay of Bengal region as a zone of competition-and possible collaboration-between the littoral countries and major powers involved in the region. Comprehensive and topical, this volume will be an essential read for scholars and researchers of international relations, South Asian studies, foreign policy, diplomacy, Southeast Asian studies, defence and strategic affairs, maritime studies, international trade, regional cooperation, and political studies.

War and Peace in Contemporary India examines the importance of institutions and the role played by international actors in crucial episodes of India's strategic history. The contributions trace India's tryst with war and peace from immediately before the foundation of the contemporary Indian state, to the last military conflict between India and Pakistan in 1999. The focus of the chapters included in this edited volume is as much on India as it is on Pakistan and China, its opponents in war. The chapters offer a fresh take on the creation of India as a regional military power, and her approach to War and Peace in the post-independence period. Importantly, it advances the broader work on Indian strategic history during the Cold War and after, an otherwise under-studied intellectual landscape. The book offers fresh insights based on archival work, as well as a closer conceptual reading of Indian, British and American decision making at times of war and peace in contemporary India. This book will be of great interest to scholars, researchers and students interested in strategic studies, diplomatic and military history, international diplomacy, as well as Indian history and politics. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Strategic Studies.

Autocracies not only resist the global spread of democracy but are sources of autocratic influence and pressure. This book presents a conceptual model to understand, assess, and explain the promotion and diffusion of authoritarian elements. Employing a cross-regional approach, leading experts empirically test the concept of authoritarian gravity centers (AGCs), defined as "regimes that constitute a force of attraction and contagion for countries in geopolitical proximity." With an analysis extending across Latin America, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Asia, these AGCs are shown to be effective as active promoters (push) or as neutral sources of attraction (pull). The authors contend that the influence of exogenous factors, along with international and regional contexts for the transformation of regime types, is vital to understanding and analyzing the transmission of autocratic institutional settings, ideas, norms, procedures, and practices, thus explaining the regional clustering of autocracies. It is the regional context in which external actors can influence authoritarian processes most effectively. Authoritarian Gravity Centers is a vibrant and comprehensive contribution to the growing field of autocratization, which will be of great interest to undergraduate and postgraduate students of comparative area studies, illiberalism, international politics, and studies of democracy.

Originally published in 1982, written at a time when Scotland was emerging from a recession, it offered a comprehensive appraisal of the Scottish economy. The book shows that long-term regional problems had not gone away and that the presence of North Sea oil was not a guarantee of future economic health in Scotland. A major theme of the work is the key role of government expenditure in the (then) recent restructuring of the Scottish economy. Many of the issues discussed remain pertinent today, as Scotland once again discusses the future shape of its economy and political identity.

Originally published in 1980, this book gives a concrete description of the development of Scottish companies and Scottish capital through the 20th Century, based on empirical study. The study begins with the major companies of 1904-5 and examines their history and subsequent development. The top companies in a number of periods are also examined and the study concludes with an investigation of the major companies of 1973-4 and their response to the (then) recent oil developments. The book uses both detailed company histories and broad historical interpretations as sources drawing the data together into chronologically ordered sections. Its focus is on the companies and people which make up the system of Scottish capital, seen as a relatively distinct system with its own characteristics and its own pattern of development within the British system.

The year 2020 went down in economic history due to the dramatic and drastic changes in economic and social conditions that resulted from the outbreak of the global pandemic of COVID-19. This book offers a multi-level narrative about the pandemic, written from national and international perspectives, enabling the authors to construct several macro- and mega-scenarios. The book consists of six chapters. Four of them discuss the process of the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Europe in 2020, i.e. the directions and dynamics of the spread and its socioeconomic consequences, and provide a comparative analysis of fiscal and monetary packages employed by Europe, with an emphasis on Eastern European countries. The remaining two chapters contain forecasts and scenarios. The fifth chapter, dedicated to forecasts, provides readers with a comprehensive description of possible consequences of any epidemic leading to severe social losses such as high percentages of infected and dead, limited interpersonal contacts as a result of lockdown, a lowered level of general individual and social well-being, as well as economic losses, for example a decline in production as a result of the collapse of aggregate demand and a reduction in the supply capacity of the economy, consequently slowing down the pace of capital accumulation. The sixth, final chapter describes possible scenarios of the spread of the pandemic in Poland and Ukraine, depending on measures taken by the governments of those countries. The Socioeconomic Impact of COVID-19 on Eastern European Countries is designed as a practical reference for scholars, researchers and policymakers. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Poland in a Colonial World Order is a study of the interwar Polish state and empire building project in a changing world of empires, nation-states, dominions, protectorates, mandates, and colonies. Drawing from a wide range of sources spanning two continents and five countries, Piotr Puchalski examines how Polish elites looked to expansion in South America and Africa as a solution to both real problems, such as industrial backwardness, and perceived issues, such as the supposed overrepresentation of Jews in "liberal professions." He charts how, in partnership with other European powers and international institutions such as the League of Nations, Polish leaders made attempts to channel emigration to South America, to establish direct trade with Africa, to expedite national minorities to far-away places, and to tap into colonial resources around the globe. Puchalski demonstrates the intersection between such national policies and larger processes taking place at the time, including the internationalist turn of colonialism and the global fascination with technocratic solutions. Carefully researched, the volume is key reading for scholars and advanced students of twentieth-century European history.

This book explores the emergence and assertion of Africa as a significant actor and stakeholder in global affairs and the transformation of the India-Africa relationship. Beginning from this strategic perspective, the book presents an in-depth exploration of India-Africa partnership in all its critical dimensions. It delineates the historical backdrop and shared colonial past to focus on and contextualise the evolution of the India-Africa engagement in the first two decades of the 21st century. The book scrutinises the unfolding international competition in Africa in depth, which includes global actors such as the EU, US, and Japan, among others, focusing especially on China's growing influence in the region. Further, it dissects objectively the continental, regional and bilateral facets of India-Africa relations and offers a roadmap to strengthen and deepen the relationship in the coming decade. This volume will be very useful for students and researchers working in the field of international relations, foreign policy, governance, geopolitics, and diplomacy.

This book critically examines dominant ceremonial practices in Sri Lanka. It presents key ideas and symbolic systems that exist to this day, in similar shapes or in different guises. It looks at issues such as misfortunes caused by demons (yaksa dosa), an important ceremonial practice known as the puna-yagaya, ideas pertaining to spirit possession, trance, and mediums. It also deals with classical Ayurvedic theories of disease, urban ceremonial practices such as cases of the apotheoses from demon to divinity, as well as multiple forms of Buddhist ceremonial practices that are part of the Sri Lankan consciousness and have found their way into public cultural performances in Sri Lanka. As a comprehensive volume on ceremonial practices in Sri Lanka, this work will be useful for scholars and researchers in cultural studies, sociology, social-anthropology, and particularly those interested in myths and rituals in South Asia.

This book presents the first systematic critical exploration of the philosophical and political thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi and Sri Aurobindo, both pioneers of modern Indian thought. Bringing together experts from across the world, the volume examines the thoughts, ideas, actions, lives and experiments of Mahatma Gandhi and Sri Aurobindo on themes such as radical politics and human agency; ideals of human unity; social practices and citizenship; horizons of sustainable development and climate change; inclusive freedom; conceptions of swaraj; interpretations of texts; Sri Aurobindo's views on Indian culture; integral yoga; transformative leadership; Anthropocene and alternative planetary futures. The book discusses the contemporary legacies and works of the two influential thinkers. It offers insights into historical, philosophical, theoretical, literary and sociological questions that establish the need for transdisciplinary dialogues and the relevance of their visions towards future evolution. This book will be useful to scholars and researchers of political science, Indian political thought, comparative politics, philosophy, Indian philosophy, sociology, anthropology, modern Indian history, peace studies, cultural studies, religious studies and South Asian studies.

In a major challenge to African philosophy, this book demonstrates the importance of the universalisation question for every committed African philosopher. Rooted in Africa's colonial legacy, the universalisation question challenges the African thinker to show how authentically African philosophical concepts and phenomena can be universally applicable in a globalising world. In this highly original book, the author inserts the philosophy of consolationism into African philosophical discourse, constructing a unique philosophical system that is at once African and universally relevant. The book engages major African and Western philosophers of diverse ideological leanings in a compelling dialogue that announces the future of world philosophy as one of interculturality, in which a common philosophical horizon is forged out of the cultural diversities of the world for the edification of humanity in a continually changing world. This book will be an important read for researchers in the fields of African Studies, intercultural philosophy, philosophy of mind, and existentialism.

This handbook, - presents an authoritative account of the development of movements, thoughts, and policies of OBCs (Other Backward Classes) in India, - is a comprehensive work on the politics of identity and plurality of experiences of OBCs in India, and is the first of its kind, - will be essential reading for scholars and researchers of exclusion and discrimination studies, diversity and inclusion studies, Global South Studies, affirmative action, sociology, Indian political history, Dalit Studies, political sociology, public policy, development studies, and political studies.

The book covers Indian agricultural development from the colonial to the present period. It examines how ruling class political ideology determined the agricultural policies from colonial rule. It considers both quantitative and qualitative aspects in all periods: colonial period to pre-green revolution phase, post-green revolution phase (early and late stages) and post-globalisation phase after 1991. India has achieved the ability to maintain food security, through enough food grain buffer stocks to meet the enormous public distribution system. But, with India's entry into WTO in 1994, euphoria has been created among all types of farmers to adopt commercial crops like cotton cost-intensive inputs. Even food grain crops are grown through use of costly irrigation and chemicalised inputs. But they lacked remunerative prices, and so farmers began to commit suicides, which crossed 3.5 lakh. Government of India attributed this agrarian crisis to the technology fatigue and gave scope for second green revolution (GR-II). GR-I was achieved by public sector enterprise, whereas the GR-II as gene revolution is a result of private sector enterprise/MNCs. There is fear that opening up of the sector may lead to handover of the family farms to big agri-multinationals. GOI's proposal to double farmers' income by 2022 is feasible only when the problems, being faced by small, marginal and tenant farmers, are addressed in agricultural marketing, credit and extension services. Now, it is time to go for suitable forms of cooperative/collective agriculture, as 85 percent of total cultivators are the small and marginal farmers. This book is co-published with Aakar Books, New Delhi. Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the print versions of this book in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

1. This is a comprehensive book dealing with cultural history of Ayurveda Medicine. 2. The book has rich archival material and extensive primary data from the field. 3. With popularity of alternative medicine, Yoga and emergence of indigenous studies, this book will have a good market in both UK and USA.

1) This book presents the women's perspective of displacement through literature, culture and societal experiences in South Asia. 2) It attempts to fill the gap in the existing literature on women & displacement and, women & rehabilitation. 3) This book will be of interest to departments of South Asian studies and cultural studies across UK and USA.

This book is a detailed analysis of the food scarcity and epidemics among the womenfolk and other vulnerable sections of society in colonial Orissa. Its major significance lies in the fact that the food crisis, mass exodus and adverse sex ratio continue to raise questions in the contemporary world. Studies of such experiences help in re-designing strategies to meet the challenges arising from natural disasters, wars, pandemics, besides poverty and uncertain production outcomes. The study of Orissa Famine of 1866 explodes the myth upheld by the colonial administrators that women died at a lower rate than men in famines, because they could easily adapt to food scarcity and were supposedly less prone to infectious diseases. Evidence based on historical, sociological and biological factors showed that increasing male migration, much of it, leading to high mortality, explains the change in sex ratio during the colonial period. This work also shows that many of today's consumption preferences, linguistic usages and cultural habits of people, carry traces of cataclysmic experiences. This book also highlights the fact that most famines are the result of policy failures and, are often rooted in structural inequalities with serious consequences for women, lower castes and the poor alike. Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

This book analyzes the practice of local-level participatory planning and budgeting and its impact on gender responsive budgeting (GRB) in Bangladesh. The book offers a conceptual framework that brings into focus the contribution of successful participatory budgeting practice to ensure GRB - the examination of whether men and women fall under existing income and expenditure patterns differently. It suggests that the ideas of participatory budgeting and GRB should be evolving together to provide a concrete idea to address gender needs. The book provides a theoretical explanation that contributes to the consolidation of the practice of GRB at the local government level through participatory budgeting. Conceptualizing the process of participatory budgeting and GRB in the context of Bangladesh, the book will be of interest to researchers in the field of Development Studies, Political Science, Public Administration, and Gender, as well as Asian Studies, in particular, South Asian Studies.

This book, - presents a comprehensive overview of the contemporary experiences of democracy in India. It explores the modes by which democracy as an idea, and as a practice, is interpreted, enforced, and lived in India's current political climate. - employs 'case studies' as a methodological vantage point to evolve an innovative conceptual framework for the study of democracy in India. - is a key critical intervention on contemporary politics in South Asia, and will be essential reading for scholars and researchers of political studies, political science, political sociology, comparative government and politics, sociology, social anthropology, public administration, public policy, and South Asia studies.

This book explores Nigeria's progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, presenting key country-specific lessons, as well as providing innovative solutions and practices which are transferrable to other emerging economies. Despite all of Nigeria's potential, and substantial oil revenues, poverty remains widespread and the country faces many challenges. The contributors to this book provide comparative historical and contemporary analysis of the main challenges for achieving progress in the SDGs, and make recommendations for the most effectives ways of developing, adopting, disseminating and scaling them. Starting with the conceptualisation and evolution of the SDGs, the book goes on to consider the goal on ending poverty, and the urgent need to combat climate change and its impacts. The book also reflects on the role of business and taxation, and the cultural and societal dimensions of the SDGs, including education, gender, and the role of the church. Overall, the book focuses on knowledge/implementation gaps and the role of collaborative partnerships and disruptive technologies in implementing the framework in general. This book will be of interest to scholars, policy makers and practitioners of sustainable development and African studies, as well as those with a particular interest in Nigeria.

Globally climate-induced disasters have been impacting marginalised communities' lives, livelihood and gendered relations. This book explores the effects of Cyclone Aila (as a result of climate change) in 2009 on the rural livelihoods and gendered relations of two ethnically distinct forest communities - Munda, an indigenous group, and Shora, a Muslim group - dwelling near the Sundarbans Forest in Bangladesh. Examining the cyclone's medium- to long-term impacts on livelihoods and comparative aspects of gendered relations between these two contrasting communities, this book addresses a gap in current critical development studies. It adopts an ethnographic research design and analyses the alterations to livelihood activities and reconfiguration of gender relations within the Munda and Shora communities since 2009. The study primarily contends that post-Aila, livelihoods and gendered relations have been substantially transformed in both communities, making the case that the improvement of local infrastructure, as an important part of the geographical location, has noticeably progressed the living conditions and livelihoods of some members of the Munda and Shora communities. Connecting climate-induced changes with the construction and alteration of gendered livelihood patterns, the book will be of interest to a wide range of academics in the fields of Asian Studies, Sociology of Environment, Social Anthropology, Human Geography, Gender and Cultural Studies, Human Geography, Disaster Management and Forestry and Environmental Science.

Africans living in the diaspora have a unique position as potential agents of change in helping to address Africa's political and socioeconomic challenges. In addition to sending financial remittances, their multiple, hybrid identities in and out of geographical and psychocultural spaces allow them to play a role as cultural and political ambassadors to foster social change and sustainable development back in their African homelands. However, this hybrid position is not without challenges, and this book reflects some of the conundrums faced by members of the diaspora as they negotiate their relationships with their home countries. The author uses her lived experiences and empirical research to ask: are members of the diaspora conduits of Western cultural hegemony at the cost of their traditional preservation and meaningful development in Africa? How does the Western media's portrayal of Africa as the "Dark Continent" in the 21st century influence their decision-making process to invest back home? How could African nations' governments manage their relationships with citizens abroad to motivate them to invest in their home countries? How do some citizen-residents in Africa and African Diaspora communities perceive each other in the context of Africa's development? How could the African Diaspora collaborate with citizen-residents across growth sectors to impact Africa's development? The book hopes to inspire agents of change within the diaspora and features diverse African entrepreneurs' success stories and their experiences of tackling these challenges. The book will be of interest to aspiring entrepreneurs, researchers across African studies, and the expanding and vibrant field of diaspora research.

The expectations of European planners for the gradual disappearance of national borders, and the corresponding prognoses of social scientists, have turned out to be over-optimistic. Borders have not disappeared - not even in a unified and predominantly peaceful Europe - but rather they have changed, become more varied and, in a certain sense, mobile, taking on an important role in the everyday lives of more people than ever before. Furthermore, it is now widely accepted that borders do not just hinder communication and the formation of relationships, but also channel and prefigure them in a positive way. Presenting a number of studies of everyday life in European borderlands, this book addresses the multifarious and complex ways in which borders function as both barriers and bridges. Focusing on 'established' Western European borderlands - with the exception of three contrasting cases - the book attempts a turn from conflict to harmony in the study of borderlands and thus examines the more mundane manifestations of border life and the complex, often unconscious motives of everyday cross-border practices. The collection of chapters demonstrates that even in the case of 'open' political borders, the border remains an enduring factor that is not adequately described as either a problematic barrier or a desirable bridge. The studies look at bordering processes, not only approaching them from different disciplinary angles - sociology, anthropology, geography, history, political science and literary studies - but also choosing different scales and making comparisons that range from different borders of one country to the reactions and attitudes of different individuals in a single borderland village.