In an era marked by global crises, political polarization, and contested truths, literature has re-emerged as a vital space for ethical reflection and legal imagination. This interdisciplinary volume explores how contemporary political authors engage with pressing societal issues-ranging from political power, democracy, dictatorship, colonization, sexual freedom, artificial intelligence to historical memory-while navigating the boundaries of artistic freedom and public responsibility.
Bringing together scholars from law, literature, philosophy, and sociology, the book examines the triangular relationship between author, text, and reception. It investigates how fiction can function as a site of dissent, normativity, and legal discourse, and how authors negotiate their roles as public intellectuals in a media-saturated world.
With case studies on writers such as Juli Zeh, Robert Menasse, Shida Bazyar, Kazuo Ishiguro, Michel Houllebecq, Guenther Grass, Dave Egger, Svetlana Alexievich, Boualem Sansal, Jean-Philippe Pleau, and others, this volume offers a timely and critical contribution to debates on freedom of expression, the ethics of authorship, and the political power of literature.

This book offers a rigorous and accessible examination of missing persons that moves beyond the dominant true crime focus on serial killers, cold cases, and unexplained disappearances. Drawing on years of fieldwork, more than 220 interviews and surveys with first responders, and analysis of over 20,000 missing persons reports, it reveals missingness as a continuum shaped by everyday life events, structural vulnerabilities, and institutional responses, as well as rare cases of serious harm. The book examines who goes missing and why, how media and true crime shape public understanding, and how police, search and rescue volunteers, families, and communities work to locate the missing. It also looks forward, asking what prevention might look like if missing persons were treated as a sustained social priority rather than episodic mystery. Bridging research, practice, and public engagement, this book makes a distinctive contribution by shifting the conversation from fascination to responsibility, and from reactive searching to systemic understanding, prevention, and care.

This book addresses the critical challenge of educational equity and innovation in Southern Africa's low-resource contexts, where traditional educational models often fail to meet local needs and circumstances. The work examines how communities, educators, and institutions in countries such as South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Tanzania, and Lesotho are developing transformative educational solutions by leveraging indigenous knowledge systems, local resources, and culturally responsive pedagogies. Rather than viewing resource constraints as insurmountable barriers, this book positions community assets as catalysts for educational innovation that can inform global practices. The subject encompasses multiple interconnected domains: technology-enhanced learning adapted for low-infrastructure environments, community-based educational initiatives, indigenous knowledge integration, policy frameworks for educational equity, and sustainable educational development models. By focusing specifically on Southern Africa, the book provides deep contextual analysis while contributing to broader conversations about decolonizing education and creating more inclusive learning environments globally.

This book proposes a shift in early higher education instruction, examining why novice ESP students in EFL contexts benefit from focused attention to recurrent academic language functions, rather than being expected to grasp complex, discipline-specific genres from the outset. Motivated by challenges such as the Bologna reform, the spread of English-Medium Instruction (EMI), and increasingly diverse student profiles, the authors draw on Cognitive Discourse Functions (CDFs), taking the position that attention to these cognitive operations and their linguistic realisations can help make academic expectations more accessible to learners who are still developing both disciplinary knowledge and academic language, while scaffolding rhetorical flexibility and genre awareness.

The book provides an empirical exploration of the emergence and realisation of CDFs in undergraduate writing across a range of disciplines. It will be of particular interest to researchers in applied linguistics and language education, especially those working in ESP and EMI contexts.

While most scholarship on rights of nature in the international context has focused on comparison of national legal developments, this book offers an original and in-depth analysis of the intersection between rights of nature and the foundational principles of international law. By doing so, it contributes a distinctive and relevant perspective to the academic literature on international legal theory and environmental governance.

Despite the growing population and significant natural resources of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), economies in that region currently represent only 2% of global GDP. Finished goods are imported to Africa from the US, Europe, China and Japan, while commodities remain the primary export. Addressing this balance must be the primary focus of initiatives to foster economic growth and development across the region in the coming years. However, there is currently a lack of intellectual discourse that incorporates diverse firm-level and institutional-level theories, as well as the stakeholder perspective, to explain the transformation of Sub-Saharan Africa into a production economy. This two-volume edited work brings together scholars of business in Africa and economic transformation to discuss topics including the knowledge economy, inter-regional relations, supply chains, the informal economy, the service sector and more, creating a broad and probing analysis of Africa's potential for transformation and strategies to achieve it.

This second volume explores the relationship between institutions and sectoral productivity in SSA, emphasising the need for policies that integrate informal economy players into the formal structure to enhance socio-economic development. The volume suggest that strong governance, aligned policies, and the inclusion of informal sector innovations are crucial for improving productivity and achieving sustainable economic transformation in SSA. It will be of interest to scholars of business in Africa, international business, developing economies, business strategy and innovation.

Standard corporate evaluation approaches are improved by trendy innovation, especially as it concerns technological scale up and environmental issues such as digital networking or ESG compliance. Whereas traditional firm appraisal follows institutional guidelines and best practices, frontier research still must define the boundaries of these trendy issues, linking a strong theoretical background to practical advances that still need fine-tuning. This revised book, written by an academic who is also a senior consultant, combines theoretical rigor with practical insights, providing an innovative framework for researchers, evaluators, managers, and practitioners.

The contemporary geopolitical order is marked by profound instability: international law appears fractured and largely ineffective, might is often right as power prevails over principle. This book identifies one fundamental reason for the apparent gangsterish anarchy- lack of enforcement power for international institutions and the primary premise of international law being that of an effectively absolute national sovereignty. Drawing on the political philosophies of Hobbes and Kant this books advances a bold proposal: the creation of a supranational world authority endowed with genuine enforcement powers. Such an authority would require states to cede voluntarily limited aspects of sovereignty essential for sustaining global peace and addressing shared interdependent challenges. Far from being utopian, this vision finds precedent in and could be modelled upon the European Union, whose supranational institutions offer both lessons and cautionary tales for designing a global framework.

The book can be a starting point for a truly innovative and in our day much needed reflection on the future of geopolitical relations; and it sketches how a worldwide political cooperation, concretely inspired by values of solidarity and peace might be put in place. This book will be of interest to scholars of political theory, of international relations and of international law as well as political leaders and policy-makers the world over who are seeking truly lasting peace and prosperity.

This handbook brings together experts by lived experience, educators, practitioners and researchers to present a transformative, neuro-inclusive approach to social work. Emphasizing the importance of developing and implementing neuroaffirmative perspectives in social work education, practice, and research, it advocates for neuro-inclusive and equitable social work practice with neurodivergent people who access social work services and those who provide them.

This groundbreaking volume delves into critical themes, including the role of neurodivergent social workers, the impact of systemic conditions, epistemic injustice, and the importance of culturally sensitive community-informed research. Offering recommendations, reflexive activity and frameworks, this handbook is essential reading and an invaluable resource for students, educators, academics, practitioners and researchers in social work and related professions.

This book argues for the positionality of the spirituality of queer Black women through the construction of an ecocosmological spiritual framework.

Conceptualizing the decolonial, Tomeka C. Jacobs travels through space, place, and time to rediscover the parts of queer Black women that have been quieted due to cisheteronormative, patriarchal, hegemonic, misogyny, and misogynoir systems of domination. She reflects on what it means to engage the decolonial through a theological and interdisciplinary lens, which includes epistemology, pedagogy, and ontology. Ecocosmological Spirituality of Southern Queer Black Women: (Re)Membering and Reconnecting Identity serves as a love letter to queer Black women who have often been overlooked in both academic and cultural milieus. Using queer autoethnography and decolonial methods, this book takes the reader on a journey of becoming. Jacobs presents themes of belonging, identity, healing, pain, joy, disconnection, reconnection, and the practice of (re)membering in the ecocosmological sphere. As an art form, she relies on scholars from disciplines beyond the scope of theology to address theological concerns and conscious positioning. This book is a call to unlearn, disconnect, deconstruct, and then (re)member, reconnect, and construct in life-giving, life-affirming, and life-altering ways.

This book examines the prospects and challenges of administering elections in Nigeria during the Fourth Republic. It highlights persistent flaws in the electoral process-lack of transparency, fairness, accountability, and popular participation-rooted in historical and systemic issues. The authors explore these problems from multiple perspectives, addressing the historical antecedents of Nigeria's democratic journey and proposing reforms to strengthen credibility. Key discussions include election observation and monitoring, the role of media, and the introduction of technology in voting systems. The book also analyzes the influence of incumbency on electoral outcomes and the complexities of party politics, such as ethnic and religious sentiments and intra-party conflicts during primaries. Additionally, it reflects on how practices from the military era continue to shape electoral manipulation. By combining historical insight with contemporary analysis, the book offers a comprehensive understanding of Nigeria's electoral challenges and pathways toward reform.

In 1955, Georges Bataille's Prehistoric Painting: Lascaux; or, The Birth of Art was published. It was the first comprehensive survey of the Lascaux cave, with lavish color photographs, and immediately translated into English for the international market. Bataille's text drew on concepts he had developed over the past thirty years, creating in the process one of the strangest publications on prehistoric art to ever be printed. This book is the first thorough contextualization of Bataille's work on Lascaux, positioning it within the vibrant post-War intellectual scene in France, and demonstrating how the concept of prehistory was a cornerstone of his thoughts from the late 1940's until his passing in 1962. Georges Bataille; or, The Birth of Art is an essential read for those interested in the connection between prehistory and Bataille's understanding of universal history, eroticism, expenditure, the birth of the sacred, and art making.

Organizations confronting the technological disruption brought by Artificial Intelligence (AI) face unprecedented ethical issues and ethical dilemmas. Among others, risks of dehumanization and stakeholders' enhanced vulnerabilities, require a comprehensive ethical strategy based on responsibility and accountability. This book asks how organizations can identify AI related ethical risks, evaluate AI ethical impact and perform ethical decision making upon AI design, deployment and use.

This book adopts the humanistic approach to management as a theoretical framework, which assesses business models and organizations according to their impact on human well-being and flourishing. This approach allows organizations to harness the opportunities for human capabilities that AI brings, without incurring ethical harms and negative impacts. Through the humanistic framework, organizations can align strategic and operational decisions regarding AI with social and environmental goals, with considerations beyond mere compliance and risk management. This book will be of great interest to scholars and students of business ethics, CSR and technology management, as well as to practitioners involved in AI ethical management.

This book explores the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and higher education, focusing on its ethical implications, global impact, and effects on academic integrity. It examines how AI is transforming teaching, learning, and institutional practices worldwide, while raising pressing ethical and practical questions. Through a multidisciplinary lens, the chapters provide in-depth analysis of AI's influence on higher education, combining theoretical perspectives with real-world applications. Case studies from diverse global contexts, including Morocco and the wider MENA region, illustrate how AI innovations can accelerate or reshape educational systems. The book also highlights the democratization of learning, challenges to traditional academic hierarchies, and opportunities for international collaboration. Designed for students, educators, researchers, and policymakers, this volume offers clear, engaging insights into AI's evolving role in higher education, bridging research and practice, and fostering informed dialogue about the future of global academic systems.

This Open Access book, the first volume in a two-part series on quantum technology governance, provides a systematic examination of the legal and regulatory dimensions of quantum technologies, offering an original contribution to the emerging discourse on quantum governance. It distinguishes itself as one of the first comprehensive analyses to explore how quantum technologies intersect with existing legal frameworks, addressing the implications of quantum advancements for law, policy, and regulatory practice. The work examines how developments in quantum computing, cryptography, and sensing challenge established approaches to intellectual property, cybersecurity regulation, export controls, and public international law, while identifying pathways for adapting and strengthening existing governance structures. It highlights how the non-classical features of quantum technologies stress-test conventional legal doctrines and require interpretive flexibility, anticipatory policymaking, and evidence-based regulatory strategies rather than wholesale reform. Grounded in developments through 2025, the volume equips policymakers with analytical tools to navigate legal uncertainty, balance innovation with risk, and address regulatory gaps in areas such as cybersecurity and export controls, while fostering coordinated responses at national and international levels. The book equips scholars, policymakers, and practitioners with conceptual and practical insights to evaluate the evolving interplay between technological innovation, security, and legal order in the quantum era. With an interdisciplinary perspective, it advances understanding of how legal and regulatory systems can respond to the technical and governance challenges posed by quantum technologies.

This book offers a critical diagnosis of higher education's decline under neoliberal capitalism. Drawing on political philosophy, critical theory, and educational thought, the book explores how market-driven metrics have eroded academic freedom, tenure, and the humanities, while undermining the democratic values of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Di Leo interrogates the ideological and structural failures of contemporary academe and proposes acts of resistance as a path forward. This book reframes the university as a site of struggle between democratic education and neoliberal obsolescence. This book is essential reading for scholars of higher education, critical pedagogy, and political theory seeking to understand the twilight of academic life and imagine what might follow its collapse.

This is a ground-breaking volume on the role of religion as a major force of cohesion across the Indian Ocean region.

A diverse range of experts present a case for conceptualizing religion as an enabler of not only shared religious identities throughout the Indian Ocean world, but multiple shared identities mediated through religion, particularly as religion intersects with other manifestations of human society in this part of the world. This theme is explored through six major religious traditions, many of which originated in the Indian Ocean region, and all of which have played major roles throughout its history and to the present day. These traditions include Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. With this breadth and coverage of these traditions and their role in unifying communities from East Africa to Western Australia (including those belonging to nations north of that expanse of ocean), this book is a pioneering work on the multi-religious identities of the region.

This book explores the intricate dynamics of sustainable consumption, focusing on the gap between consumer perceptions and actual impact. Despite widespread endorsement of sustainability, high-impact behaviors remain underadopted and misperceived. Through a unique blend of systematic literature review, qualitative interviews, and a comprehensive survey of the Italian population, the authors investigate the barriers and drivers of sustainable consumption. They pay particular attention to the perceived impact and sacrifices associated with transformative shifts in consumption patterns, offering a nuanced understanding of sustainable decision-making.

Key concepts include consumer misperceptions, behavioral barriers, and the cultural narratives shaping sustainability discourses in Italy. The authors provide original insights into the psychological traits influencing sustainable choices, making this book a must-read for those interested in aligning consumer behavior with high-impact sustainable practices. By uncovering the misalignments between intentions and behaviors, the book contributes to climate action debates and offers actionable insights for policymakers and practitioners.

Ideal for scholars, educators, and policymakers, this book is a valuable resource for anyone interested in promoting effective climate engagement strategies. It is particularly relevant for those in marketing, consumer behavior, psychology, and environmental studies, offering evidence-based insights to lower perceived barriers and encourage high-impact behaviors.

The Sociology of the Stranger examines estrangement as a pervasive human experience, arguing that the figure of the stranger has been insufficiently theorized as a central social type.
By drawing on phenomenology, ethnomethodology, dramaturgical analysis, Kwang-ki Kim reinterprets the stranger as a key to understanding contemporary dynamics such as globalization, dislocation, and social adaptation. Rather than being marginal, the stranger is shown to be constitutive of both social life and sociological inquiry, offering a model for authenticity, reconciliation, and homecoming. Highlighting how sociologists themselves often occupy the stranger's position, this book is essential reading across the humanities and social sciences, revealing how the figure of the stranger illuminates dynamics of dislocation, adaptation, and the search for home in an age of transformation.

"The best weapons no longer fire bullets." - Sean McFate

Innovation strategies have become the most critical tool for shaping geopolitical influence!

In this thought-provoking book, Edoardo Giglio, a leading expert in cyber and strategic risk management, delves into the transformative power of innovation strategies in shaping the modern geopolitical landscape. As traditional military might gives way to technological prowess, this book reveals how countries can compete and collaborate within the global innovation ecosystem.

Through detailed case studies, Giglio explores the innovation strategies of over a dozen countries, examining their successes and failures. From Israel's tech-driven defense mechanisms to Ukraine's innovative responses amidst conflict, these examples illustrate how nations leverage technology for geopolitical influence. The book also highlights the dire consequences for countries that remain outside this ecosystem, using North Korea and certain African nations as cautionary tales.

Giglio makes the case that belonging to the global innovation ecosystem is crucial for rapid modernization and international relevance. He showcases how small countries can rival major powers through strategic investment in technology, research, and education. By fostering mutual progress, these nations can achieve remarkable growth and stability.

The book is informed by Giglio's extensive experience advising top international organizations and governments. Each chapter is packed with insights on the integration of innovation strategies into national policies, offering readers practical lessons on navigating the information age.

With global conflicts underscoring the need for innovative approaches, the book is a timely and essential read. It inspires a hopeful mindset of global collaboration and shared responsibility, advocating for a future where innovation leads the way. Through a blend of expert analysis and real-world examples, this book provides a comprehensive understanding of how technology and innovation are reshaping global power dynamics.