This open access book offers the first thorough analysis of the role of civil defense in NATO security discourse and development over the years, pinpointing critical junctures and historical events. Its novel contribution is the analysis of NATO's adoption and implementation of resilience as policy, a strategic concept, and later as a new body, the resilience committee. It explores how resilience shapes the role of civil defense and becomes a natural part of national defense and international security, and provides new insights into the knowledge of this contested concept and its adaptability once it enters a security discourse.

In terms of policy implications, one of the book's key contributions is its careful examination of the intricate roles ascribed by civil administration, civil society, market actors, and the broader populace. By explicitly addressing the social and political dynamics that have shaped NATO both historically and in the present day, it aims to ignite vital conversations around the implications of military alliances on democracy, accountability, and their influence over the internal political affairs of member states. This sheds light on the interconnectedness of these elements and encourages readers to critically reflect on the power structures at play and their far-reaching effects.

This book offers a comprehensive and interdisciplinary exploration of the complex relationship between innovation, law, and security in the context of dual use technologies in space. As space activities expand rapidly, technologies developed for civilian purposes increasingly carry potential military or strategic applications, creating both opportunities and significant governance challenges. This volume examines these dynamics, providing a holistic understanding of the risks and benefits associated with dual use in space exploration and utilization.

At its core, the book brings together perspectives from legal scholarship, engineering, international relations, and ethics to unpack the multifaceted nature of dual use technologies. It traces the evolution of international space law and regulatory frameworks, while also addressing technological advancements such as dual use satellites and innovations for space debris mitigation. In parallel, it explores the geopolitical implications of these technologies, highlighting how they influence global power structures, cooperation, and competition in outer space.

The volume also engages with critical ethical questions surrounding dual use applications, including issues of responsibility, transparency, and the societal impact of emerging space technologies. Through a combination of case studies, historical analysis, and forward-looking insights, it provides a nuanced perspective on how innovation in space can be governed responsibly.

By bridging disciplinary boundaries, this book aims to support informed decision-making and foster dialogue among policymakers, legal practitioners, engineers, and academics. It ultimately contributes to the development of robust frameworks for managing dual use technologies, ensuring that space innovation advances in a manner that is secure, ethical, and aligned with global interests.

This open access book from the Migration and Food Security (MiFOOD) Network addresses food security, health, and wellbeing among migrants and refugees who faced heightened vulnerability during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a blend of survey data, personal narratives, and compelling images, it illustrates the consequences of the pandemic for migrants and refugees from Afghanistan, the DRC, Ghana, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe, living in the destination countries of Canada, South Africa, Ecuador, and Qatar. The contributors focus on four themes: the food security and health implications of public health responses to COVID-19; the impact of these measures on marginalised refugees and migrants in urban settings; gender differences in accessing food and food-related programs; and key policy lessons for vulnerable populations in times of crisis. This book will be useful to academics, students, and stakeholders engaged with migrant and refugee communities, as well as policymakers seeking actionable insights. While focused on COVID-19, its insights are relevant for future public health emergencies.

Advocates for an approach to Christian end-times, not as the anticipation of particular futures, but as a way to inhabit the existential crises of our present, the 'times of extinction' in which we live

Public environmental concern has turned to the so-called "sixth mass extinction event" currently underway. The interdisciplinary field of extinction studies was established to increase our cultural understanding of that phenomenon, but hitherto there has been little engagement with religious faith and practice. This book stages the first conversation between extinction studies, Christian theology, and continental philosophy. It does so by reimagining eschatology-traditionally the study of "the last things" in Christian faith-for times of extinction.

Against an assumption that Christian belief in the end is essentially either about awaiting a final apocalyptic catastrophe or hoping for a final restoration of creation, the book argues that these are in fact the dubious hallmarks of what secular culture offers in precarious times. Christianity, by contrast, can offer plural conceptions of "ends" and "endings" whose purpose is not to exclusively or even primarily to anticipate the future, but rather to heighten the ethical, political, and existential significance of the present.

This work of re-imagining eschatology requires engaging some familiar theological sources in new light, ranging from St Augustine to eco-feminist theology. Its philosophical interlocutors are drawn from the continental tradition, bringing the insights of existentialism, phenomenology, and critical theory as indispensable lenses by which to reconceive the meanings of end-times.

The book will be essential reading to those in the environmental humanities and extinction studies curious about theology, and to scholars of theology and religion concerned about extinction, and planetary crises more broadly. It will appeal to those responding to the extinction crisis in different ways-political activists, educators, faith leaders-who wish to explore how religious and secular faith shape our thinking about the multiple crises of our present age.

Presidential scandals draw our attention for a variety of reasons. Whether they concern sex, money, or power, the shock of scandals stresses the political system and shows in stark relief how the boarders of power that define the presidency and other institutions can expand and contract. Understanding how presidents try to manage political scandals in the modern era provides a unique vantage point on the power of individual presidents, the institution of the presidency, and the larger political environment.

In this expanded second edition of Presidents and Political Scandal, Richard Barberio applies his development of the concept of "backfire," or the creation of a faux scandal to misdirect attention from the original scandal, to illustrate how the technique was fully implemented by Trump. Is the use of the backfire specific to the president or is it more the function of the political system at the time? This book uses a case study format overlaid with an analytical framework to investigate these and related questions that are important to both scholars and to students studying the presidency.

Russia's devastating invasion of Ukraine in 2022 is a manifestation of a wider phenomenon: Russia's new, post-Soviet imperialism. This book provides a theoretically informed, critical account of Russian imperialism that is attentive to the interplay between economy and ideology, coercion and hegemony, structure and agency. While economic developments go a long way toward explaining the reemergence of Russia's imperialist impulses in the twenty-first century, a purely economic logic cannot account for the dramatic shift in Russian imperialism beginning with the annexation of Crimea and the instigation of a separatist insurgency in the Donbas. Nor can objective geopolitical developments, such as US and NATO military deployments, provide an adequate explanation for this shift. Instead, this book shows how the Kremlin's reaction to the Maidan revolution was rooted in the ideological consolidation of the previous years: the emergence of a total ideology that designates the West as Russia's eternal enemy and Ukraine as the West's geopolitical pawn. Ilya Budraitskis and Ilya Matveev examine Russian foreign policy and the Kremlin's project to remake the Russian people to better serve its imperialist agenda.

Die Arbeit untersucht die ungeklaerte materielle Reichweite des Herkunftslandprinzips in den Geltungsbereichen der ECRL und des DSA im Vergleich zur Reichweite des Sendestaatprinzips der AVMD-RL. Zudem werden die Auswirkungen des Herkunftslandprinzips im DSA auf die landesrechtliche Regulierung von Medienintermediaeren in Deutschland behandelt und bestehende regulatorische Spielraeume im Rahmen des MStV, JMStV, JuSchG und NetzDG analysiert. Beide Fragen sind dringlich, da der DSA als unmittelbar anwendbare Verordnung gilt und Vorrang gegenueber entgegenstehendem Landesrecht in Deutschland hat.

John Lehman is a legendary figure in American naval history. He was one of the youngest people ever to serve as Secretary of the Navy and arguably the most-powerful holder of that office. While the President and Secretary of Defense determine defense policy in the United States, it is up to the military services to implement it. The secretary of each service - the "man in the middle," as one Air Force Secretary put it - represents the higher-level civilian leadership to the military. Lehman filled this role unlike anyone who came before (or after) him. He reversed the decline in the size of the Navy after the Vietnam War, oversaw the Navy's expansion to almost 600 ships during the defense buildup of the Reagan era, and promoted an offensive maritime strategy against the Soviet Union. Drawing from recently declassified sources, private archives, and interviews with dozens of Lehman's contemporaries, Anand Toprani offers a fresh perspective on the Navy during the last decade of the Cold War. By exploring how Lehman confronted his major challenges, from applying naval power against a continental power to reforming an inefficient system for designing and procuring new weapons that has produced a smaller and more-expensive military, this book gives readers vital insights into contemporary defense policy, as national-security leaders confront similar problems today.

Fresh insights from a unique new data set inform understanding of Pakistan's strategic thinking

Is Pakistan an aggressive, revisionist state-or a deeply insecure one whose choices reflect anxiety as much as ambition? Outside observers and many scholars have assumed the former, attributing Pakistan's behavior to a strategic culture defined by hostility and risk acceptance. But this conclusion has rested on surprisingly thin evidentiary foundations, often relying on narrow samples of Pakistani sources to showcase continuity while overlooking debate, adaptation, and change.

Insecurity and Ambition seeks to remedy this by using a unique new data set of Pakistan's official and semiofficial strategic literature to examine how ideas, culture, and external pressures shape how the country's strategic thinkers talk about the goals, threats, and strategies that it should adopt as it confronts an uncertain world. Edited by Christopher Clary and Sameer Lalwani, the book features insights from leading and rising scholars, ensuring a balance of local and international perspectives on the most pressing contemporary security issues.

Scholars and practitioners of South Asian security and international relations from various research traditions will gain fresh insights into how Pakistan views India, United States-Pakistan relations, Pakistan's shift toward China, Pakistan's nuclear program, the climate crisis in South Asia, and more.

This open access volume employs case studies in selected African countries to investigate the emergence and evolution of sustainable entrepreneurship within the continent. Utilizing a comparative approach, it integrates management, neo-institutional, and entrepreneurship theories to fully understand the meanings and practices of sustainable entrepreneurship across diverse African contexts. Though often viewed as homogenous, entrepreneurship practices in Africa exhibit variations shaped by cultural beliefs. Contributions explore three streams: individual (vision, emotion, rationality, and values and norms), organizational (entrepreneurial orientation, MSP, internal culture, routines), and context (opportunities, industry culture, isomorphisms). Drawing insights from experiences in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Morocco, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, this book is a valuable resource for researchers and policymakers focusing on the development of sustainable entrepreneurship in Africa.

This open access book examines timely issues of integrated, international, and harmonized longitudinal research on child development and wellbeing. It describes the unique approach of the Growing up in Digital Europe (GUIDE) study, which is rooted in robust scientific inquiry and provides a solid evidence base for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers focused on child development in a digital world. Chapters employ a parallel structure, including background on each GUIDE topic as well as a summary of the current state of, future directions in, and recommendations for additional research. The book offers several select case studies that provide synergy and coherency across the chapters.

Key areas of coverage include:

• Holistic understanding of child wellbeing.
• Child development in the digital age.
• Child-centered research approaches.
• Cross-national harmonized questionnaire development.
• Potential for data linkage and biological data.
• Ethical considerations in an age of digital data.
• Fieldwork best practices, including translation.
• Sampling frames across diverse jurisdictions.

Growing up in Digital Europe is a must-have resource for researchers, professors, and graduate students as well as policy makers, educators, and related professionals in developmental, clinical child, and school psychology, family studies, clinical social work, migration studies, health psychology, economics, and all related disciplines.

This book examines three scenarios of decarbonization to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of allocating carbon pollution-free sources across sectors (uses). For this purpose and looking at the EU target, the LSCOA (levelized social cost of abatement), the abatement speed (AS) and the cost of the avoided carbon cumulation (COACC) are estimated. The main conclusion is that accelerating the use of pollution-free sources in contestable end uses before the electricity supply is fully decarbonized is inefficient and ineffective compared to prioritizing their allocation to power generation, whether through renewables or carbon capture utilization and storage. Therefore, policies should focus first on decarbonizing the electricity supply. Only once this has largely been achieved, a deep penetration of pollution-free sources into contestable end uses (both "less difficult to abate and "hard to abate") should be promoted. Following this sequence leads to lower abatement costs and reduced carbon accumulation, minimizing the cost of avoided carbon accumulation in the atmosphere. Otherwise, indiscriminate acceleration risks slowing down the overall energy transition and undermining climate objectives (including limiting global warming). Regarding the specific decarbonization pathways, direct electrification emerges as the preferable carrier, whereas hydrogen is justified as feedstock for e-fuels supply, including imports from Middle East and North Africa countries.

This offer of leading-edge thinking reframes the debate on national security at the dawn of the Third Space Age

During the First Space Age, President Eisenhower rallied democracies to defend freedom while preserving peace at a time when the hydrogen bomb and intercontinental ballistic missiles threatened humanity. Nearly seventy-five years later, the world stands on the cusp of a third era of space exploration, where space is simultaneously a domain for warfighting, diplomacy, science, and commerce.

Waging Peace in Orbit pays tribute to Eisenhower's multidimensional political-economic approach to national security while offering leading-edge thinking about the dawn of today's Third Space Age. While other volumes critique individual space strategies, this book uses a wider lens, adapting the Pathways to Peace framework laid out in Hans Morgenthau's classic Politics among Nations. By enlisting leading experts, this comprehensive volume examines defense strategy, space commercialization, scientific exploration, legal norms, and war planning, providing a holistic understanding of modern issues in space.

Waging Peace in Orbit enlarges the debate on space security in increasingly crowded orbits for policymakers, members of the military, national security professionals, scholars, and students interested in security studies and space policy.

This book offers an analysis of reward-based crowdfunding based on empirical case studies and gift exchange theory. Reward-based crowdfunding projects aim to produce products that, in addition to their consumer value, also have value in terms of promoting a good cause. Supporters of the projects receive non-financial rewards for their financial contributions. The main rewards are the products of the projects. The book shows that the key to understanding reward-based crowdfunding lies in a three-way relationship between consumption, connection to a cause of deeper meaning, and belonging to a community of like-minded people. The connection between purchase and donation, between consumption and commitment, is thus established by the fact that supporters act as consumers on the one hand, but on the other hand associate a deeper meaning with the object of consumption, which motivates them to engage more strongly with this object than with 'normal' products. The book is aimed at social, media and economic scientists who are interested in the phenomena of the sharing economy, crowdsourcing and crowdfunding.

This book is an edited and annotated translation of Karl Renner's seminal Der Kampf der OEsterreichischen Nationen um den Staat (1902). Its main topics - national diversity within states and its possible accommodation - occupy the minds of academia and wider society today as much as they did in the multinational Habsburg Empire at the beginning of the 20^th century. The central question of this book, i.e. how different nationalities can peacefully - and on equal footing - co-exist within the boundaries of the same state, has not lost its salience over the course of the hundred and twenty-three years since it was written. If anything, it has only grown in importance and urgency across a world where the nation-state remains a prevalent form of political organisation.