The EU's international environment is increasingly characterized by power politics, great-power rivalry, ideological contestation and war. This has challenged the liberal-internationalist identity that has been at the heart of the EU since its birth. This book examines how the EU has responded to these new realities. It analyses the introduction of a flurry of concepts including European sovereignty, strategic autonomy, civilization, responsibility and strategic compass, and asks whether these signal a reconsideration of foreign policy objectives, a new strategic orientation or possibly a paradigm shift.

The book develops a theoretical framework on policy paradigms, worldviews, grand strategy, strategic narratives and the drivers of institutional change followed by chapters on the anti-liberal challenge, the evolution of the EU framework of ideas, the search for grand strategy and strategic autonomy, the response to Russian aggression and imperial thinking, and continuity and change in EU unity, working groups, green leadership and strategic communication.

Afscharian analyses the main proponents and opponents of European social integration, examining policy frameworks, the welfare state and social policy principles. He provides insight into ideational struggles in the EU, covering party conflict and opposing political alliances within the European Commission. Chapters set an agenda for how stalemates in European integration can be overcome, presenting an in-depth exploration of the history of European unemployment insurance as a key example. The book lauds the individuals who are determined to realise a disruptive vision of a Europe that protects its citizens, considering what this means for the future of European integration at large.

Ideas of Social Europe is an essential guide for scholars, academics and students in political science, social policy, sociology and economics. Its advocacy for a stronger social Europe, coupled with its theoretical and empirical approach, will also greatly benefit political strategists, policy organisations, think tanks and policy advisors.

The Military Balance has been published since 1959. The 2025 edition provides an open-source assessment of the armed forces and equipment inventories of over 170 countries, with accompanying defence economics data. In addition to detailed country data, The Military Balance includes graphics to illustrate defence personnel, equipment and procurement developments. It assesses important defence issues, by region, including Russia's continuing invasion of Ukraine, the diverse range of ballistic and cruise missiles used by the Houthis, and developments in defence industrial production. The accompanying wallchart focuses on China's armed forces, detailing selected unit locations and assessing the status of important aspects of PLA modernisation. The book draws on the breadth of data in the Military Balance+ online database. The Military Balance and Military Balance+ are indispensable sources of information for those involved in defence and security policymaking, analysis and research.

This topical book outlines how civil society has been promoted globally since the 1980s, as NGOs advance development cooperation, democratization, and neoliberal third-sector service production. Salmenkari studies the outcomes of these processes in China, where civil society promotion met strong localizing forces rising from NGO activists' own values, governmental regulation, and local society. Evaluating various forms of Chinese self-organizing, she discusses the social omissions of Chinese environmental NGO agendas, Confucian ties in global translations, gay self-organizing, and the idea and practice of Minjian. The book identifies complexities within Chinese civil society and how it navigates academia, global partnerships, social exclusions and alternative values, analyzing how these conflicting positions influence Chinese politics and society.

Global Ideas, Local Adaptations is an essential guide for students and academics in Asian politics and policy, social policy, globalization and development studies, and political sociology. Its invaluable insights will also greatly benefit NGO practitioners and policymakers in civil society and development.

Entries by leading specialists delve into the history of the animal law movement, the science exploring animal welfare and animal sentience, and ethics, law, and politics. They also examine the relationship between animals and artificial intelligence and discuss how human responsibility for animals manifests economically and socially, including through insurance and civil and criminal liability.

The Elgar Concise Encyclopedia of Animal Law is a vital resource for students and scholars in animal studies, criminal law, and law and society, as well as lawyers and policymakers. The contributions are also invaluable to animal advocates and to lawyers working in a variety of contexts, including for government agencies and non-profit organisations.

Key Features:

• Includes 119 doctrinal entries covering a variety of practice and doctrinal areas
• Brings together over 135 experts from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia and Europe
• Provides comprehensive and timely coverage of laws governing and affecting animals across the globe

Leading experts in the field explore how policy domains, institutions and instruments have evolved, and assess the levels of policy competence between the EU and its member states. They analyse how the transformation of EU governance has been influenced by security threats and economic disequlibria that endanger individual civil liberties and prosperity. The Handbook also provides useful insight into the prevalence of multilevel governance within the EU, from local to global structures, and outlines how the conflicting preferences of member states can impede global governance.

The Handbook of European Union Governance is an enlightening read for students and academics in economics, law and political science. It is also a valuable toolkit for educators and policymakers in global politics and security.

This book, part of a two-volume exploration, examines the trajectory of India-China relations, spanning from the making of a common border to the events leading to the 1962 war. Relying on vast Chinese, Indian, as well as western sources, the study provides a detailed exegesis of the nature of conflict covering over a century of political contours in the British India, Manchu China, Republican China and finally the Republic of India and Peoples Republic of China. This includes the British as well as Manchu aggression in Tibet and the ensuing diplomatic manoeuvrability between various stakeholders, resulting in conclusion of various conventions and boundaries including the contentious McMahon Line and shifting line alignments of the Chinese in the Western Sector of India-China border. The domestic socio-political and economic climate as well as the equations that resulted from the Cold War between India and China have been looked into and analysed reflecting the Chinese and well as Indian perspectives. The special case of Sino-Pak entente and India-China rivalry in Asia as a whole has been analysed vis-a-vis their security concerns.

Shari`a, Citizenship, and identity in Aceh presents both an ethnographic and a sociohistorical account of identity making among both the Muslim majority population and different minority groups in Aceh, Indonesia.

Diverging from previous studies on majority-minority group relations in a predominantly Muslim country that tend to engage solely with one group's experiences, Shari`a, Citizenship, and Identity in Aceh argues that the majority and minority groups in Aceh, Indonesia, have interactively and mutually created conceptions of identity and recognition that have significant implications on the experience of citizenship in the region. The authors provide not only a narrative of majority-minority group encounters in a variety of issues, but also a wide-ranging account of struggles from both the Muslim majority and non-Muslim minority groups for recognition of their own identity in the public space. To what extent do minority groups feel that they belong to Aceh's communal identity, which is mostly Islamic? And what kind of citizenship is in place when minorities feel marginalized living under Aceh's Islamic rules?

Shari`a, Citizenship, and Identity in Aceh debunks the concept of citizenship by way of deploying the concept of the politics of recognition against the politics of the dominant culture theory. It looks further at how equal citizenship in a democratic political system has been negotiated and compromised, and how the politics of dominant culture has caused a sense of shared ownership to be largely deficient and vague in Aceh.

This volume offers a cross-disciplinary exploration of Alasdair MacIntyre's provocative approach to governance, drawing on insights from philosophy, economics, sociology, business ethics, and organizational studies. The chapters explore how MacIntyre's theory is applied to diverse institutional contexts, including education, medicine, and technology, addressing contemporary challenges in governance and ethical decision-making.

Bringing together well-known scholars from the 16th Annual Conference of the International Society for MacIntyrean Enquiry (ISME) at the University of Navarra, this book critically examines the role of governing institutions in shaping practices and traditions. It highlights MacIntyre's distinction between practices and institutions, addressing how these concepts influence ethical governance, leadership, and community-building in today's complex societal landscapes.

Contributors explore key themes such as the development of virtues within institutions, the ethical challenges of artificial intelligence, the moral foundations of education, and the governance of professions like medicine and land management. This volume also engages with contemporary issues, offering practical insights for fostering ethical decision-making and community participation in an increasingly technocratic world.

MacIntyre and the Practice of Governing Institutions is an essential resource for scholars of political philosophy, ethics, and governance, as well as for practitioners looking to navigate the ethical challenges posed by modern institutions. By examining how MacIntyre's thought applies to real-world issues, this book provides both theoretical depth and practical strategies for promoting human flourishing through virtuous governance.

Analyzing a breadth of topics, including biodiversity, marine protected areas and maritime zones, the Encyclopedia reflects increased global attention on the polar regions, their resources, environment, and governance. Covering the Antarctic, Arctic and adjacent polar regions, entries identify landmark international legal frameworks, such as the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, and discuss the environmental implications of climate change. Leading specialists in the field address historic legal issues and controversies, and highlight recent developments and conflicts.

The Elgar Concise Encyclopedia of Polar Law is an essential resource for students and scholars in environmental law, international law and what is now a distinctive polar law. Its breadth of invaluable insights will also greatly benefit international lawyers and polar officials.

Key Features:

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• Combines legal reviews of historical and contemporary issues
• Over 140 entries from renowned specialists in the field of polar law
• Provides clear and succinct introductions to both established and emerging subtopics in the field
• Covers the legal systems of prominent polar states, including Australia, Canada, Russia and the United States

Re-Defining Terrorism examines the emergence of the counter-radicalisation agenda in the UK and internationally. Offering original insights into counter-radicalisation's extensive effects, Itoiz Rodrigo Jusue offers a complete and innovative examination of the development of counter-radicalisation discourses and policies.

Outlining (counter)radicalisation as a new technology of governance embedded in the production and promotion of particular mentalities, conducts, identities, and subjectivities, the chapters investigate the transformations that the figure of the terrorist has gone through since the early 2000s and stresses the role of the media in the (re)production of new imaginaries of terror. Based on a large amount of rich qualitative data, the author shows how vocabularies and narratives of (counter)radicalisation are disseminated in popular culture establishing new lens through which terrorism and political violence are comprehended and acted upon in the UK and beyond.

Breaking fresh ground where the counter-radicalisation (and counter-extremism) agenda is still a relatively new and developing phenomenon in the UK and globally, this is compelling reading for policymakers, practitioners, undergraduate and post-graduate students and scholars across disciplines including critical studies on terrorism; criminology; media and communication studies; cultural studies; gender studies; social policy; and peace and conflict studies.

This book sets out to develop a policy design process that is more inclusive by creating space for emotions and feelings. Rather than focus solely on expert knowledge, it places the fears and hopes of citizens at the heart of policy design, to facilitate meaningful interactions between policymakers and the citizens they serve. Focusing particularly on evidence from Thailand, but drawing on case studies from around the world, the book argues that empathetic policy design is crucial to foster social learning and better-informed policies. It also focuses on how emotions can be incorporated into policy design, and how policymakers of the future might use these design processes to create and implement policies that will benefit all. The book will appeal to all those interested in public policy and policy design.

This book offers an in-depth exploration of the European Union's cooperation with non-EU countries on readmission and return, as central components of EU migration policy. It delves into the differences between formal and informal agreements and the factors influencing return rates, critically assessing the 'effectiveness' of cooperation in this contentious policy field. Through a comparative analysis of 57 non-EU countries, the book enhances our understanding of why certain countries cooperate on readmission and/or return. Countries geographically closer to the EU are more dependent and, thus, conclude readmission agreements more often. For countries in Africa and Asia, EU incentives and pressure play a bigger role and influence the cooperation together with domestic administrative capacities and bilateral readmission agreements and closer existing relations. Formal or informal readmission cooperation has a limited impact on return rates with non-EU countries beyond the Eastern neighbourhood. This comprehensive work is an essential reading for academics, policymakers, and policy advocates interested in EU external migration cooperation and the broader dynamics of international migration policy.

This book examines the history of sociology in India. It delves into the origin, growth, and development of Sociology. It traces its trajectory alongside the nation's social, cultural, and intellectual landscape. The chapters examine the diverse strands of sociological thought, the evolving issues, and emerging trends across different regions and domains of Indian society. The chapters cover topics, such as the debates of colonialism and nationalism to the contemporary challenges of liberalization, globalization, and climate change. It engages with pressing issues from digital sociology, environmental movements, agrarian issues, political sociology, Dalit movement, indigenizing sociology, gerontology, and migration to gender studies and sustainable development from both theoretical and empirical perspectives. With its rich discussions, the book provides a key read for academics, students, policymakers as well as researchers in areas such as sociology, anthropology, gender studies, and development study.