The Evolution of the Jola Ethnic Group traces how globalization, imperial formations, religious movements, and postcolonial state-making have reshaped Jola/Diola communities in Foni and Casamance across Senegal, The Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau. Combining international relations, comparative politics, and political anthropology, the book links ritual life (initiation, masquerade, music), agrarian economies, migration, and gender to conflict dynamics, authoritarian rule, elections, and human rights. It situates Jola history within the rise of regional empires, the trans-Atlantic slave trade and resulting depopulation, and French and British colonial policies that imposed borders and reconfigured local institutions. The study reconstructs egalitarian, acephalous forms of authority; examines responses to Christian missions and Islamic jihad; and explains how many Jola selectively integrate new religious practices with longstanding traditions. It offers a sustained account of the Casamance rebellion and its humanitarian consequences, and traces the emergence of Jola actors in national politics in Senegal and The Gambia. A dedicated chapter analyzes the 2016 Gambian presidential election using original survey evidence and multinomial logistic regression to weigh economic evaluations, ethnicity, and human-rights concerns in voter choice. With a glossary and an ethics note on consent and permissions, the volume provides a source-rich, teaching-ready contribution for scholars and graduate students in international studies, African politics, political anthropology, and the study of religion.

This book examines the recurrent instability of Guinea-Bissau by shifting attention from party politics to the cultural frameworks that shape political ideas. It argues that locally embedded understandings-centered on the phenomenon of spirit-children (crianca-iran)-inform how the country's political community is imagined, who counts as a political actor, and how exclusion is normalized within the political order. The book challenges liberal assumptions about personhood, rationality, and citizenship, and advances an analysis of ontological pluralism in political life. The book positions the Bissau-Guinean state as an artifice in which formal institutional canons intersect with customary norms to produce a hybrid political space characteristic of postcolonial governance. This institutional-ideational mismatch helps explain recurrent unrest and governance fragility in Guinea-Bissau and resonates with dynamics in other West African and postcolonial contexts where state formation, belief systems, and political authority remain unevenly aligned.

Combining comparative political theory with African philosophy of the human, the book offers a decentered, decolonial account of power that prioritizes non-conventional practices as political affairs. It contributes to debates in African politics, political anthropology, political philosophy, and postcolonial studies on state-society relations, institutional hybridity, and the ontology of personhood. This book will be of interest to scholars and students concerned with governance in fragile states, the limits of liberal institutionalism, political ideas, and the role of cosmology, belief, and customary authority in contemporary African political orders.

This book is about power in Nigerian politics. It is a profound analysis of the social forces in the power equation based on the South and the North power blocs. It illuminates the roots, materialisation, reproduction, and control of power in the Lugardian architecture that is Nigeria. The book takes readers into the changing dynamics of power and the processes leading up to the 2023 General Elections that saw the emergence of a southerner as President of the most populous country in Africa. Through this analysis, the book explains the role of the colonial and post-colonial elite in the structure of political power in Nigeria. This work articulates in brilliant brevity the nature of power in Nigeria. It is a crucial hands-on account that will aid both local and international scholars in their work.

This research explores how performances, particularly songs, dance, cultural games and other participatory art forms can be harnessed as tools for cultural memory reconstruction, and social transformation in conflict-affected communities, particularly amongst children. Using the case of Northern Nigeria and the Boko Haram insurgency, the study examines how dislocated cultural memories among displaced children and communities can be reconstructed through community-based performances. Drawing from theories of cultural sustainability, performance studies, and memory studies, the research highlights how performance spaces become sites of healing, dialogue, and identity reconstruction. It also underscores the potentials of co-creative initiatives and participatory arts to bridge generational gaps, promote indigenous knowledge, and foster resilience in the face of conflict-driven and forceful dislocation.

The study contributes to scholarship by demonstrating that artistic and cultural practices are not only aesthetic expressions but also critical interventions in post-conflict recovery and peacebuilding. It argues for integrating cultural performance into education, psychosocial support, and heritage-related initiatives, positioning community video and related arts as essential in shaping individual and collective memory, cultural continuity, and sustainable peace.

Strategic communication plays a vital role in shaping societies, businesses, and governance structures across Africa. With diverse cultural, linguistic, and political landscapes, strategic communication practices vary widely across regions. This book explores how communication professionals, organizations, and policymakers navigate these unique contexts to develop effective strategies. This edited volume aims to provide an in-depth analysis of strategic communication practices across Africa, with a particular focus on how cultural, economic, and political factors influence communication strategies in different regions. The book will serve as a resource for academics, practitioners, and students interested in understanding the complexities of strategic communication in Africa.

This book examines the nexus between livelihood capital and resilience across Africa, offering a regional perspective on how people cope with climate change, conflict, and economic uncertainty. Drawing on the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework, it explains how natural, human, social, physical, and financial capital interact to shape absorptive, adaptive, and transformative capacities. Through a comparative analysis of North, East, West, Central, and Southern Africa, the book shows that resilience is context specific, shaped by governance systems, ecological conditions, and access to resources.

By integrating case studies with policy analysis, the book highlights pathways for strengthening resilience through inclusive governance and strategic investment in livelihood assets. It emphasizes that resilience is not merely survival, but the ability to bounce forward toward equitable and sustainable futures. Through a synthesis of regional lessons and proffering practical recommendations, the book serves as a valuable resource for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers engaged in development and climate adaptation across diverse social and ecological contexts in Africa.

This book uncovers the untold story behind one of the most significant episodes in the history of German-Israeli relations, revealing how Chancellor Helmut Kohl orchestrated Germany's approval and financing of the first Dolphin-class submarines for Israel. A process driven by security interests, alliance politics and Germany's lasting responsibility following the Shoah. Drawing on newly examined archival material, the book illustrates how the Gulf War, US pressure and Germany's own identity converged to produce a precedent-setting decision that reshaped bilateral ties for decades.

This book explores anti-Westernism in Turkey by locating it in historical, ideological, and political contexts. It examines how anti-Westernism has evolved from the early period of Turkish modernization to the present day. The book traces admiration, scepticism, and resistance in the Turkish attitude toward the West through a historical and ideological account of Turkish politics. Through contributions from experts, overarching themes such as sovereignty, security, and memory are analysed in a way to explain how historical grievances as reinvented by political actors representing different ideological dispositions converge to shape a negative attitude in Turkey toward the West.

This book offers a comprehensive analysis of Gandhi's visionary approach to conflict resolution, highlighting the enduring relevance of his ideas in today's world. Contributions from a diverse group of leading experts from India and abroad provide fresh perspectives on the theoretical and practical frameworks for ethical, non-violent conflict resolution. Gandhi's multifaceted approach emphasizes ethical action, non-violence (ahimsa), and the profound connection between satyagraha (non-violent resistance) and swaraj (self-rule). This book addresses contemporary issues of violence and conflict, focusing on the ethical and psychological dimensions of Gandhi's philosophy. It fills a notable gap in existing conflict resolution literature. This book appeals to readers across various disciplines, including philosophy, political science, history, cultural studies, and peace studies. Engaging deeply with Gandhi's principles, it offers valuable, practical guidance for those seeking peaceful solutions to conflicts in the modern era.

Divided Korea: Understanding Unification Narratives examines how different visions of Korean unification have been formed and contested across history, politics, and culture. From Cold War propaganda to digital diplomacy, or from South Korea's democratic reforms to North Korea's Juche ideology, the volume illustrates how unification is regarded as both hope and threat, promise and peril. By comparing Korea with other divided societies such as Germany and Cyprus, the book shows how narratives shape diplomacy, identity, and the prospects for reconciliation.

Timely and distinctive, this volume offers new insights into persistent geopolitical divides and is helpful for scholars, students, policymakers, and anyone interested in the future of the Korean peninsula.

This book examines the key development challenges facing the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) of the Caribbean and the Pacific, focusing on livelihoods and state security and stability in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It provides a comprehensive overview by exploring six broad and interrelated themes: state capacity to provide basic services (such as health, water, education, electrification); migration, remittances and aid; climate change adaptation, biodiversity and environmental hazards; agriculture and fisheries; tourism and economic diversification; state solidity and stability (with attention to gender, equity and the politics of governance).

The book traces how threats to the livelihoods of island households, especially for those literally and metaphorically living on the edge, are linked to overseas decisions, events and shocks, ranging from cyclones to migration policies, resort chains, drug trafficking, warfare, and commodity supply chains. It also shows how enthusiasm for a secure blue economy has required new approaches to national development, regional cooperation and global statecraft, particularly as China exported its maritime Belt and Road Initiative. As a new geopolitical order emerges and climate change continues, this book provides crucial insights into how small island states are building effective development pathways.

This volume adopts the perspectives of historical hermeneutics and technological anthropology to explore the cultural evolution of Wushu. Drawing extensively on classical historical sources, excavated manuscripts, unearthed martial-arts artifacts, and a method of mutual corroboration between textual narratives and historical materials, it traces the development of Wushu from the prehistoric cultural era through the practices of the Sui, Tang, and Five Dynasties.

The study charts how Wushu transformed from its origins in hunting and warfare into a culturally embedded system-a "meta-history" that integrates moral cultivation, aesthetic expression, ritual functions, and educational value. Illustrated with a rich array of rare images sourced from ancient Chinese cultural relics-including prehistoric murals, artifacts from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods, Han Dynasty stone carvings, and Dunhuang murals-the book offers both scholarly depth and documentary significance.

Designed for researchers in historical and cultural studies, scholars of Wushu, and general history enthusiasts, this volume combines academic rigor with accessibility, presenting a comprehensive view of the early development of Chinese martial culture.

This volume, the third in A General History of Chinese Wushu, offers a historically substantiated and analytically focused account of the development of Wushu from 1900 to 1949, a period characterized by accelerated political and social transformation. Integrating historical narrative with theoretical reflection, the study reconstructs the evolution of Wushu's institutional forms, functional orientations, and cultural meanings during the late Qing, Republican era, and the founding moment of the People's Republic of China.
The volume draws extensively on primary materials-contemporary news reportage, archival documents, technical manuals, and memoirs of practitioners-to present a critical and evidence-based analysis of Wushu's modernization. It foregrounds the methodological value of correlating empirical data with conceptual interpretation, thereby providing a rigorous framework for understanding the reconfiguration of traditional martial practices in response to new national, military, and educational imperatives.
Balancing academic precision with the clarity needed for historical reconstruction, the volume serves as an authoritative reference for scholars in Chinese history, cultural studies, sports history, and related fields. It elucidates how Wushu transitioned from a traditional mode of self-defense and physical cultivation to a modern sport, revealing the broader ethos of national self-strengthening that shaped China's early twentieth-century sociocultural landscape.

This monograph examines Choson Dynasty's Zun Zhou Si Ming (Revering the Zhou and Longing for the Ming) during the period of 1637-1800, after Choson entered tributary relations with the Qing. It shows how the royal family, Confucian scholars, and Ming-loyalist descendants continued to affirm Ming legitimacy through practices such as ritual commemoration of Ming emperors, covert use of Ming reign-titles, and the compilation of Ming-centered historical writings, alongside related material and institutional expressions. Framing these phenomena within Choson "Little China" self-positioning, the study integrates concepts of Choson mainstream cultural mentalities such as the concept of orthodoxy, Sinophilia, Sadae (serving the great), and the Hua-Yi distinction. It offers a reinterpretation of Qing- Choson relations during the Qing Dynasty.

This volume, the fourth in A General History of Chinese Wushu, presents a scholarly examination of the development, institutionalization, and expanding global influence of Wushu from the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 to the First National Wushu Working Conference in 1982. Through a synthesis of historical narrative and conceptual analysis, the study reconstructs the policies, organizational reforms, and cultural dynamics that shaped modern Wushu during this formative period.
Drawing on significant historical materials and documentary evidence, the volume analyzes how Wushu evolved under new political and social conditions, how its contemporary forms were constructed, and how it progressively entered the sphere of international cultural exchange. With a balance of academic rigor and clarity, the work offers both a substantive reference for scholars in history, culture, and sports humanities, and an informative resource for general readers interested in the modern transformation of Chinese martial culture.
The volume elucidates the trajectory through which Wushu became aligned with national strategies of physical culture, mass sport, and international outreach, thereby revealing the progressive, pioneering, and innovative spirit that has characterized China's sporting development since 1949.

This volume, the fifth in A General History of Chinese Wushu, offers a comprehensive and empirically grounded account of the development of Chinese Wushu from the First National Wushu Working Conference in 1982 to 2019. Integrating historical narrative with theoretical interpretation, the study reconstructs nearly four decades of institutional transformation, policy evolution, and cultural practice, presenting a panoramic view of Wushu's modernization in the post reform era.
Drawing extensively on primary sources-event reportage, memoirs, interviews, and official documents-the volume provides a critically informed analysis of how Wushu transitioned from a traditional Chinese sport to a standardized, scientific, and increasingly internationalized modern undertaking. The work underscores the methodological value of correlating empirical evidence with conceptual inquiry, offering scholars a rigorous framework for understanding contemporary Wushu's organizational and cultural reconfiguration.
Balancing academic precision with narrative clarity, the volume serves both as an authoritative reference for researchers in history, culture, sports studies, and the humanities, and as an informative resource for readers interested in modern martial culture. It reveals how Wushu's development reflects the broader progressive, pioneering, and innovative spirit that has characterized China's sporting trajectory since 1949.

This volume-the second in A General History of Chinese Wushu and one of the most substantively grounded works of its kind-offers a comprehensive portrait of Wushu during the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties. Drawing on both macro historical narratives and meticulous textual analysis, it provides an in depth examination of Wushu's artistic and theoretical systems, its routines, boxing styles, and diverse traditions, fully demonstrating the discipline's maturity and flourishing in the imperial era.

Combining the rigor of academic scholarship with the vividness of historical storytelling, this volume serves as a valuable reference for researchers in history, culture, sports studies, and the humanities, while remaining accessible to general readers interested in Chinese martial culture. Through this work, readers will gain insight into the intricate ways Wushu intersected with political, military, economic, and cultural developments, and experience the enduring charm of its techniques-techniques shaped by history, infused with artistry, and refined through centuries of cultural evolution.

This book provides an in-depth study of traditional Confucian concepts of women, the emergence of the "New Woman," and contemporary female gender roles in China. Rich and detailed in content, it combines macro-level analysis with specific case studies, tracing the evolution of gender perceptions of women in Chinese society over three millennia while exploring the social ecology of modern Chinese women. Drawing on perspectives from the ancient Chinese classic I Ching (or Yijing), the author delves into the various ritual and ethical constraints imposed on women to consolidate men's dominant social power following the establishment of the patriarchal system. With social development and progress, feminist ideas began to emerge and gain momentum, challenging Confucian gender norms and enabling the expression of women's liberation and self-worth. This has prompted a reexamination of female gender roles. The book offers novel arguments, profound insights, and rigorous analysis, supported by an extensive range of references. It systematically outlines the historical evolution of gender concepts in Chinese society over the past three thousand years and examines the social dynamics shaping contemporary Chinese women. As an academic monograph with a rigorous structure and incisive perspectives, it holds significant scholarly value and practical relevance.

This book takes us beneath the banality of business as usual where technoscientific professionals routinely make judgments that impact the lives of others. Be it the safety of engineered systems, the speed and accuracy of medical diagnoses, or the wellbeing of animals subject to genetic modification, mindful, ethical choices contribute to the society we want to live in.

In these decision making moments, professionals working in laboratories, clinics, offices and data centers weigh what constitutes ethical action in the face of ambiguity and uncertainty. This navigation is highly social and messy. The impact may be distant in time and geography and, as our cases show, professionals don't always get it right. Making ethical choices in a given context is not readily codified, which is a critical observation in the context of escalating trends to automate decision making.

We show how engineers, doctors, nurses, synthetic biologists, and other technoscientific professionals work through conflicting values, complex social organization, and societal expectations, grasping always for a hold on the potentially big consequences of everyday decisions.

This book calls for a critical and expanded engagement between Taiwan studies and global Cold War studies, especially in cultural and historical terms. While Taiwan studies scholars have long challenged traditional Cold War frameworks for understanding Taiwan's history and culture, sustained dialogues with global cultural Cold War studies remain relatively peripheral. By foregrounding Taiwan as a central site of inquiry, this book not only enables new dialogues with Cold War studies, but also demonstrates how Taiwan's unique cultural and historical complexities are vital to rethinking the global cultural Cold War. Building on as well as further complicating the "Cold War-Decolonization Nexus" framework often used to study cultural productions from U.S. allies in Asia, this book argues that to "de-Cold War" Taiwan is to see Taiwan as a subject and to ask questions about Taiwanese subjectivity through sustained inquiry and analysis of cultural and historical situations. Through interdisciplinary interventions, this volume rereads Taiwan's Cold War past beyond and beneath dominant narratives of authoritarianism, Confucianism, Americanism, ethnic stereotypes, and Indigeneity, foregrounding lived experience, complexity, and inventiveness across local, transpacific, and global contexts.

The primary aim of this book is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the intricate relationship between development challenges and the rise of radicalism in the Global South. By exploring the historical, political, and socio-economic contexts that shape these dynamics, the book seeks to uncover the underlying causes that fuel radical ideologies and movements in regions often marginalized in global discourse. At its core, the book aspires to challenge conventional security-focused narratives by emphasizing the structural inequities and governance failures that create fertile ground for radicalism.

This edited book offers an in-depth analysis of the educational experiences and strategies of Japanese families in cross-border marriages across six countries in East and Southeast Asia: South Korea, Taiwan, China, Thailand, the Philippines, and Singapore. Chapters examine how these families address the challenges of cultural identity, educational decision-making and social integration in their home and host countries. The case studies incorporate the perspectives of both the immigrant and host-country spouse, providing a comprehensive examination of how families make educational decisions for children and negotiate the social, economic and cultural conditions prevailing in the places of origin, domicile or destination. The book also sheds light on Japanese male immigrants and brings into focus matters concerning gender roles in cross-border marriages, and the education of children in these marriages. It will be of interest to academics and advanced students in the areas of sociology of education, migration studies and anthropology.