Adorno's Gamble offers a startling reinterpretation of the evolution of Theodor W. Adorno's thought, usually seen as a mix of critical Marxism, Freudian psychoanalysis, aesthetic modernism, and Jewish tradition. Mikko Immanen argues for another, previously unacknowledged source of Adorno's thinking on instrumental reason, dialectic of enlightenment, and frailty of democracy: the intellectual underpinnings of Germany's "conservative revolutionary" movement of the 1920s.

In a dramatic reappraisal of the leading light of the Frankfurt School, Immanen follows Adorno's path of philosophical development from the late Weimar era through years in exile to the postwar period, establishing his debt to thinkers of radical conservative bent. In particular, he focuses on Adorno's enduring, and daring, effort to harness two of the most infamous works from this tradition-Oswald Spengler's Decline of the West and Ludwig Klages's The Spirit as Adversary of the Soul-and to repurpose their reactionary teachings for emancipatory ends.

Adopting a comparative approach and proposing a novel explanatory framework, chapters tackle key theoretical and methodological issues in government stability research. Improta's findings highlight the destabilising role of certain cabinet types, as well as the impact of coalition agreements, the constructive vote of no-confidence, and parliamentary fragmentation. The book outlines promising avenues for future research, emphasising the need to consider the effects of instability on voter perceptions of democratic quality.

Presenting a fresh perspective on political durability, this book is an essential read for students and academics in political science, comparative politics, public administration and management, and regulation and governance. Its practical recommendations also make this an invaluable resource for political advisors and policymakers.

This book sets out to provide a clearer picture of the movement and directionality of polyethnic rights - or immigrant-centered multiculturalism, as it is more commonly known - following recent shifts to the left in government (i.e., victories of left-parties, inclusion of left-parties in coalition governments, increase in left parties' presence in parliament, defeat of far-right parties and right-wing populists). In so doing, it aims to understand the near and longer-term prospects of multicultural policy, multicultural discourse, demographic multiculturalism, and laws and regulations related to the immigration process in the 21st century and in an increasingly complex ideological environment. The book comprises case studies of multicultural developments in eight countries - Sweden, Canada, Aotearoa New Zealand, Switzerland, Germany, the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom - all of which have recently (2014-2024) experienced a shift to the left in national level politics, albeit in different ways and to varying degrees. In addition to understanding what has happened to multicultural policy and discourse in recent years, the book also sets out to identify the conditions under which multiculturalism is more or less likely to mend after a shift to the left in government. The book's overall aim is to see whether there is a future for multiculturalism in an increasingly ideologically complex environment or whether the victories of the political right, the rise of populism, the resurgence of anti-immigrant racism, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the changing nature of minority mobilization have irreversibly altered the course of multicultural affairs.

The book maps the strategic competition between the U.S. and China, its history, and the contemporary outlook of their armed forces. It analyses the wars fought by each of these forces, their military operations, operations other than war, and draws up a comparative analysis between the military doctrines of both nations. The author examines the implications of American and Chinese military doctrine and the varying degrees of cooperation, competition, and potential conflict in the Western Pacific.

Finally, the book argues for possibilities of cooperation between the two superpowers and suggests ways of minimising potential future conflict. The volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of international relations, military and strategic studies, and Asian studies.

The issues that are the most and the least divisive in Russia

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 created a new Russia, with new territorial boundaries and new political and economic systems. The hybrid political economy that emerged incorporated commitments to markets and democracy that were undermined by the state's economic interventions and authoritarian restrictions.

In this book, Paul Chaisty and Stephen Whitefield argue that the hybridity of the post-Soviet system provided a strong basis for the consolidation of Russian public opinion-and for the management of contestation so that it did not threaten the system itself. Drawing on almost thirty years of original public opinion research in Russia, Chaisty and Whitefield also find, however, that the territorial dimension of Russia's postcommunist transformation has disrupted public support for the hybrid political economy. In particular, they trace the reopening of system-level disagreement between system supporters and system opponents to the nationalist turn in Russian politics that culminated in the 2014 annexation of Crimea and the reactivation of Soviet identities.

How Russians Understand the New Russia provides the first longitudinal study of Russian public opinion on the system of political and economic power that replaced communism. It offers unique insights into how Russian citizens have adapted their views of the new Russia, identifying the issues that are the most-and the least-divisive. Chaisty and Whitefield track Russian public opinion on a broad range of policy questions, discuss the political importance of both voting and not voting and consider problems of nation-building and national identity. Finally, they weigh the impact of the Ukraine war on Russia's hybrid system, and whether consolidation or further contestation is more likely.

Through the prism of the first comprehensive account of RT, the Kremlin's primary tool of foreign propaganda, Russia, Disinformation and the Liberal Order sheds new light on the provenance and nature of disinformation's threat to democracy. Interrogating the communications strategies pursued by authoritarian states and grassroots populist movements, the book reveals the interlinked nature of today's global media-politics pathologies.

Stephen Hutchings, Vera Tolz, Precious Chatterje-Doody, Rhys Crilley, and Marie Gillespie provide a systematic investigation into RT's history, institutional culture, and journalistic ethos; its activities across multiple languages and media platforms; its audience-targeting strategies and audiences' engagements with it; and its response to the war in Ukraine and associated bans on the network. The authors' analysis challenges commonplace notions of disinformation as something that Russia brings to the West, where passive publics are duped by the Kremlin's communications machine, and reveals the reciprocal processes through which Russia and disinformation infiltrate and challenge the liberal order.

Russia, Disinformation and the Liberal Order provides provocative insights into the nature and extent of the challenge that Russia's propaganda operation poses to the West. The authors contend that the challenge will be met only if liberals reflect on liberalism's own internal tensions and blind spots and defend the values of open-minded impartiality.

Open access edition funded by UKRI and the University of Manchester.

This open access volume addresses major challenges in research policy and provides advice on how to approach them. With chapters designed as accessible policy briefs, the book serves as an essential resource for new actors in research policy. It offers evidence-based recommendations on approaching research governance, funding, and evaluation challenges by covering these topics:

• Identifying and facilitating high quality research
• Evaluating transdisciplinary research quality
• Evaluating societal impact
• The dilemmas of grant peer review
• How citations relate to research quality
• Reforming research assessment
• The use of metrics in academic recruitment
• Quality criteria and concentration of research funding
• Balancing basic and external research funding
• Designing performance-based research funding systems
• Strategic steering of research at universities
• The consequences of paying to publish

Each chapter combines research with practical advice and provides an overview of the state-of-the-art in research on the specific topic, as well as references for further reading.

In Shades of Blue, Felix Krawatzek, Friedemann Pestel, Rieke Trimcev, and Gregor Feindt investigate the political project of "Europe" as it oscillates between the extremes of expectations of an ever-wider integration and fear of disintegration. The authors interrogate and chart the space between these polarities by tracking the many competing conceptions of Europe in European public discourse and relate these meanings to national, regional, and ideological divisions.

Based on qualitative discourse analyses of newspaper articles from six European Union member states between 2004 and 2023, Shades of Blue shifts how we think about Europe's integration and disintegration and offers a new perspective on Europeanization. With twelve debates chronicling Europe's past and discussing the implications for Europe's future, these authors uncover how politicians, intellectuals, and journalists negotiate European senses of belonging. Shades of Blue moves beyond the binaries of hope and despair to uncover a more nuanced picture of Europe.

This book analyzes the legacy of the first Trump administration on a variety of different fronts. Whether it was the extensive use of Twitter, the tendency to express controversial, and often dubious views, or to even slander foreign leaders, Trump was a disruptive president. The presidency of Donald Trump raises questions for political scientists and researchers. How consequential was he? While he garnered much attention both in and out of the White House, how much of his legacy remains? The authors in this book address these questions with essays that cover an array of issues related to his tenure in office, and the years since. The chapters provide a broad analysis of the legacy of the Trump presidency, focusing on all aspects of his presidency and representing multiple perspectives across the partisan and disciplinary divides. Additionally, the contributions in this book aim to (re-)assess the Trump legacy in light of the subsequent efforts by his successor to undo much of the policies embraced by and implemented during the Trump years.

A guide to the art of reviewing scholarly books, with strategies and suggestions

Scholarly book reviews should be enjoyable-both to write and to read. All too often, though, they offer little more than chapter-by-chapter summaries. In this comprehensive handbook, Steven Gump offers an encouraging guide to crafting valuable reviews of scholarly books in the humanities and social sciences. Readers learn how to write engaging, respectful reviews that make intellectual contributions of their own. With extensive experience in both writing and editing scholarly book reviews, Gump walks prospective reviewers through the process of selecting a book to review, identifying a venue to publish the review, reading and annotating the book, and writing a review that is tailored to the audience of the target venue, with the possibility of dissemination to popular outlets beyond the core field.

Alongside this practical advice, Gump offers a generous philosophy of scholarly book reviewing that considers the roles of book reviews and the responsibilities of book reviewers within the broader scholarly ecosystem. Readers learn how to uplift the voices and contributions of authors, how to prepare the next generation of reviewers (including undergraduates or graduate students), and how to elevate an unjustly underestimated genre. Ultimately, this essential guide brings into renewed focus the joys of reading scholarly works, engaging with intellectual ideas, and writing incisively.

Adopting an international comparative perspective, authors examine common and differing features of various states to show how these features pertain to local autonomy, as well as what impacts derive from local government configurations. Chapters cover 57 countries situated on six continents over a span of 31 years, including almost all member states of the European Union, Council of Europe and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The authors define local autonomy as a multifaceted concept which can be measured through legal, functional, financial, organizational, administrative and central-or-regional-access dimensions. With fresh empirical data and findings on local autonomy, they capture its evolving nature.

Dynamics and Issues of Local Autonomy is an essential read for scholars of public administration, regulation and governance, public policy and political science. Providing a better understanding of the factors that influence local autonomy and its implications for governance and service delivery, this book is a vital resource for practitioners and policymakers alike.

Why efforts to moderate harmful content on social media fail to stop extremists

Content moderation on social media has become one of the most daunting challenges of our time. Nowhere is the need for action more urgent than in the fight against terrorism and extremism. Yet despite mass content takedowns, account suspensions, and mounting pressure on technology companies to do more, hate thrives online. Safe Havens for Hate looks at how content moderation shapes the tactics of harmful content producers on a wide range of social media platforms.

Drawing on a wealth of original data on more than a hundred militant and hate organizations around the world, Tamar Mitts shows how differing moderation standards across platforms create safe havens that allow these actors to organize, launch campaigns, and mobilize supporters. She reveals how the structure of the information environment shapes the cross-platform activity of extremist organizations and movements such as the Islamic State, the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, and QAnon, and highlights the need to consider the online ecosystem, not just individual platforms, when developing strategies to combat extremism.

Taking readers to the frontlines of the digital battleground where dangerous organizations operate, Safe Havens for Hate sheds critical light on how governments and technology companies grapple with the tension between censorship and free speech when faced with violence, hate, and extremism.

Chapters cover the three main pillars of open government; transparency, participation and collaboration; and delineate their practical applications in a wide array of policy domains. Authors expand on the progress of open government implementation and evaluate emerging trends, such as blockchain technology, user-centered design and user experience, as well as mis- and disinformation. This Research Handbook highlights the impact of open government initiatives and creates a better understanding of their various components and results, and the interplay between the two.

This is an essential reference for academics, researchers and students of public policy, administration, regulation and governance. It is also of great interest to policymakers and governmental actors interested in innovation and emergent technologies, and how these are applicable to global policies and open governments.

Key Features of this third edition:

• Examples from both Western and Central Eastern European administrative systems
• In-depth empirical analysis paired with case studies of administrative systems and reform trajectories to enhance students' comparative interest, knowledge and skills
• Accounts of recent reforms and institutional changes, such as digitalization in public administration, as well as the major trends of public sector modernization in an era of multiple crises

This revised textbook is an indispensable resource for students, researchers and lecturers of political and administrative sciences, public management and the wider social sciences. It is also of great interest to policymakers, NGOs, administrators and public CEOs interested in systems reform in Europe as well as the major trends of public sector modernization in an era of multiple crises.

This book investigates a forgotten chapter of history: the role of Italian sciences within the child study movement. Between the 1880s and the First World War, children became the focus of unprecedented professional and scientific interest in Europe and the United States. The bodies and psyches of children, their care and growth, their development, 'normal' and 'abnormal', intelligence, and moral sense, constituted a new field of research. Italy, which had just become a nation, also took part in this international movement: on the study of the child, a substantial part of the Italian ruling class launched itself, with a mixture of enthusiasm, hope and concern, on the frontier between different areas of knowledge. Using a broad spectrum of sources, this book offers the first overview of the Italian scientific movement of child study.

Written by a team of experienced teachers and researchers in Peace Studies, this book assesses the field of peace and conflict research from its origins to the present day. It introduces influential concepts and theories, and examines the processes and dynamics of peacebuilding. Using case studies from around the globe, the book discusses a range of key topics in Peace Studies, such as: the meanings of peace; the causes of violent political conflict; peace processes and peace agreements; international peace and security; peace activism and the role of civil society; human rights, transitional justice, and reconciliation; asylum, migration and borders; gender, war, and peace; sustainable development and peace; religion, conflict, and peace; arts, sport, and peace; and peace education. The book will be of interest to scholars and students in peace studies, international relations, security studies, war and conflict studies, conflict transformation, as well as anyone interested in the research and practice of peace.

Suffering Victory recounts the commitment of Soviet liberal intellectuals to democratic transition during the effervescent period of perestroika and in the first years of post-Soviet Russia to the rise of Boris Yeltsin and the dissolution of the USSR. Guillaume Sauve argues that late Soviet liberalism was mainly nourished by the legacy of humanistic socialism, combining Enlightenment ideals and Romantic aspirations, and concludes that the distinguishing feature is its assumed moralism.

After encouraging the concentration of power in the hands of the Russian president and an enlightened elite, liberal intellectuals undermined their own democratic project and were pushed aside from decision-making, while being rejected by most of the population for having supported a course of reforms that did not fulfill its promises. As Suffering Victory shows, the success of Russia's liberal intellectuals against the Communist Party came at the price of a decline deeper and more lasting than in most post-communist countries. Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the fate of late Soviet liberals sheds crucial light on the prospects of liberal reforms in Russia today.

The Humanities and Public Administration presents a comprehensive analysis of how fields such as historiography, philosophy, religious studies, and the fine arts can shed light on under-explored aspects of administrative phenomena. Reflecting critically and systematically on the applications of these subject areas, chapters present exciting new approaches to understanding international public administration and public policy. Authors also emphasise the wider benefits of connecting the humanities as a whole to the study of social sciences.

This pioneering book is a vital read for academics and students in public administration and management, public governance, and public policy. It provides an illuminating insight into the interdisciplinary nature of both public administration and the humanities for all those interested in these fields.

How the entertainment narrative of upward mobility distorts the harsh economic realities in America

In an age of growing wealth disparities, politicians on both sides of the aisle are sounding the alarm about the fading American Dream. Yet despite all evidence to the contrary, many still view the United States as the land of opportunity. The American Mirage addresses this puzzle by exposing the stark reality of today's media landscape, revealing how popular entertainment media shapes politics and public opinion in an increasingly news-avoiding nation.

Drawing on an eclectic array of original data, Eunji Kim demonstrates how, amid a dazzling array of media choices, many Americans simply are not consuming the news. Instead, millions flock to entertainment programs that showcase real-life success stories, such as American Idol, Shark Tank, and MasterChef. Kim examines how shows like these leave viewers confoundingly optimistic about the prospects of upward mobility, promoting a false narrative of rugged individualism and meritocracy that contradicts what is being reported in the news.

By taking seriously what people casually watch every day, The American Mirage shows how rags-to-riches programs perpetuate the myth of the American Dream, glorifying the economic winners, fostering tolerance for income inequality, and dampening support for redistributive policies that could improve people's lives.