• This fourth edition has been updated throughout to discuss the global Middle Ages, medieval slavery, climate change and intercontinental pandemics and European exchange with Africa, the Americas and Asia to provide students with a broader understanding of the medieval period which looks beyond the usual European boarders reflecting the new trends in teaching and research. • Chapter summaries have been added to each chapter to support students' understanding of the topics, and the glossary has been fully updated to give modern students the confidence and language to discuss medieval history. • This book provides a political, economic, cultural, and social history of Medieval Europe and the world it existed within, it is divided into four chronological parts containing thematic chapters which provide students and lecturers with an essential foundation in the history of Medieval Europe. • The book is full colour throughout and is supported by pedagogical features within the book, such as primary source boxes. This book ensures that students with little or no prior knowledge of the subject are guided through the material in an engaging way. • The start of each chapter includes a historiography summary box providing students with an overview of the key debates for each theme, providing lecturers and students with a comprehensive historiographical summary, perfect to get students up to speed before class. • Signposting throughout the book highlights key subjects and debates that students should be aware of, ensuring that students can easily navigate through the book in their independent learning and in class.

• This fourth edition has been updated throughout to discuss the global Middle Ages, medieval slavery, climate change and intercontinental pandemics and European exchange with Africa, the Americas and Asia to provide students with a broader understanding of the medieval period which looks beyond the usual European boarders reflecting the new trends in teaching and research. • Chapter summaries have been added to each chapter to support students' understanding of the topics, and the glossary has been fully updated to give modern students the confidence and language to discuss medieval history. • This book provides a political, economic, cultural, and social history of Medieval Europe and the world it existed within, it is divided into four chronological parts containing thematic chapters which provide students and lecturers with an essential foundation in the history of Medieval Europe. • The book is full colour throughout and is supported by pedagogical features within the book, such as primary source boxes. This book ensures that students with little or no prior knowledge of the subject are guided through the material in an engaging way. • The start of each chapter includes a historiography summary box providing students with an overview of the key debates for each theme, providing lecturers and students with a comprehensive historiographical summary, perfect to get students up to speed before class. • Signposting throughout the book highlights key subjects and debates that students should be aware of, ensuring that students can easily navigate through the book in their independent learning and in class.

The mass media are playing an increasingly central role in modern political life that expands beyond their traditional function as mediators between the world of politics and the citizens. This volume explores the extent and circumstances under which the media affects public policy; whether the political impact of the media is confined to the public representation of politics or whether their influence goes further to also affect the substance of political decisions. It provides an in-depth understanding of the conditions under which the media might, or might not, play a role in the policy process and what the nature of their influence is. Bringing together conceptual and methodological approaches from both political science and communications studies, this book presents an interdisciplinary perspective. It presents empirical evidence of the processes involved in the interaction between mass communication and policy and features case studies from Western Europe and the US and across different policy fields. The book will be of interest to students of public policy, political communication and comparative politics.