The re-election of Donald Trump has illustrated in spectacular fashion the extent to which politics all over the world is in a state of continual flux. Old political configurations and parties are under unprecedented strain, with new forces, particularly on the hard right, challenging the status quo everywhere.

Rejecting stale analyses based on moralistic panics about 'populism' or social media, political commentator Steve Davies shows how we are going through a deep-seated process of realignment rooted in underlying structural trends. We are transitioning, he argues, from an era where the key political division was over the economic structure of society to one where the primary division is between a vision rooted in national identity and sovereignty, and an essentially post-national cosmopolitanism. This change upends the ideological and electoral alliances that have structured our political systems for decades.

No-one who wishes to truly understand the crises currently roiling the political status quo can afford to miss this stunning panoramic analysis of how this process works and how it is playing out across the world, from the USA and Germany to Argentina and India, and beyond.

This book describes the urgent need of modern humanity to renew and reinforce an open attitude to the complexity of life, above all by embracing its intrinsic indeterminacy, rather than attempting futilely to control its evolution. Oblivious to this ever-more urgent necessity, seduced by the speed and virality of digital pattern recognition, computing, and artificial simulation of human thought, society has reverted to a linear, deterministic concept of reality, under the belief that everything can be measured and managed, and that error and unpredictability will soon be eliminated from our lives and organizations. Consequently, choices and responsibilities have been delegated to technology, artificial intelligence and algorithms, even in educational institutions, which are now preoccupied with teaching mere skills and know-how, thus committing the fatal error of confusing artificial, mechanical, complicated systems with living, complex, adaptive systems.

This volume is intended not only for complexity/social scientists, philosophers and students, but to the curious from all walks of life. It calls for learning to inhabit complexity, while recognizing and participating in its interdependent, interconnected, interactive systems of relationships. Dominici reveals the futility of endeavoring to control the uncontrollable or observe the unobservable, showing how self-organization and emergence, triggered from the smallest and most modest elements, impact the entire system.

This open access book examines international law from a critical perspective, at a time when some would say that it is under an existential threat. The modern international institutions - collective security through the UN, the monetary order of the Bretton Woods system, and trade liberalisation anchored in the World Trade Organization - are all contested. Several of the contributions explore whether international lawyers might want to consider positioning themselves in opposition to this wave of contestation. While some aspects of the global system may be ripe for reform, the world stands at a crossroads: will an emerging multipolar order lead to greater instability, or might it fulfill some of the aspirations expressed in earlier critiques?

The volume is structured around six central themes: critical doctrinalism, constructing and redefining identities, the role of scholars, the politics of historicising international law, international law as an instrument and a part of warfare, and reconsidering hegemony, imperialism, and colonialism.

The aim is to deepen the understanding of what is at stake in the current state of the international world order. As such, the book is intended for scholars, students, and the general public. It is published in tribute to Pal Wrange, Professor in International Law at the Faculty of Law of Stockholm University.

Mark Klamberg is a Professor in International Law at the Faculty of Law of Stockholm University in Sweden.

Katinka Svanberg is a Senior University Lecturer in International Law and LL.D. from Stockholm University in Sweden.

Love Roennelid is a Senior Associate Lecturer in International Law at the Faculty of Law of Stockholm University in Sweden.

This book addresses the pressing challenges of the twenty-first century-an era marked by crises and uncertainty-by advocating for anthropology's vital role in fostering compassionate intercultural dialogue and promoting harmonious coexistence between humanity and the non-human world. Through a collection of thought-provoking essays, it explores how non-Western perspectives, particularly Chinese methodologies, can enrich anthropological practice and help transcend the limitations imposed by Western-centric paradigms. Rather than replacing one form of ethnocentrism with another, the book calls for a more balanced and inclusive conversation across cultures.

Within this framework, anthropology is reimagined not merely as the interpretation or writing of culture, but as an active process of cultural communication, negotiation, and reconciliation. True intercultural understanding, the book argues, can only be achieved when diverse cultural subjects engage in dialogue on equal footing-making the "doing" of anthropology a collaborative and transformative endeavor.

Available open access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.

Today's political debates are fiercely polarized. But looking beyond the headlines, this book shows that ordinary citizens hold much more nuanced, less divided views.

Drawing on rich survey data and group discussions, this work maps four major areas of conflict: migration, climate change, diversity, and economic justice.

Across these conflicts, most citizens take positions that are middle-of-the-road, contradictory, or undecided. It is only certain 'trigger points' - like gendered pronouns or refugee admissions - that predictably ignite tensions and deep disagreement.

Political entrepreneurs know this and weaponize trigger points for their agenda. Yet the real key to contemporary conflicts, the book argues, lies in social inequality.

This is a vital work that maps today's political landscape without sensationalism, offering a fresh lens on public debate.

This book offers an interdisciplinary perspective, combining international relations, communication, and sociology, to examine "China's rise" from 2013 to 2022. It frames China as a communicative subject and uses diplomacy, economics, and culture to convey this rise to global audiences. The book builds a comprehensive framework to analyze how China's rise is communicated under current world order, explores related practices, and assesses international perceptions and misperceptions. It further investigates the roots of these misunderstandings through historical patterns of great power ascents, global shifts, and the Western-dominated communication order. The book concludes by identifying the uniqueness of China's rise and offers strategic recommendations for enhancing both international politics and international communication.

As the global balance of power shifts, the US-China relationship stands at the heart of the world's most pressing geopolitical questions. This book offers a fresh lens for understanding that relationship, spanning the dramatic arc from 1945 to 2020. Moving beyond the usual power-based explanations, it applies Role Theory to reveal how national self-conceptions-how leaders see their country's place in the world-shape both cooperation, conflict and order. From the battlefields of Korea to Nixon's historic handshake in Beijing, from post-Cold War accommodation to today's mounting tensions, the book uncovers the role-driven logic behind decades of US-China interactions. Drawing on leaders' speeches and diplomatic exchanges, it highlights how domestic politics, regime type, and security ideas mould each nation's role on the global stage. Richly researched and sharply argued, this volume is essential reading for scholars, students, and policymakers seeking to grasp the forces redefining the Indo-Pacific order.

This book provides fresh insight into multilateral diplomacy, revealing how informal cooperation-not just formal mechanisms -drives EU foreign policy success. Drawing on interviews with diplomats and analysis of critical cases, including sanctions against Russia and Ukraine response coordination, this groundbreaking study exposes the essential role of behind the scenes negotiations and informal coalitions.

From defence cooperation mechanisms like Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) to the naval Operation Irini, the book demonstrates how informality compensates for institutional rigidity, enabling swift decision-making in crisis situations. It directly speaks to international relations scholars, diplomats and policy makers seeking to understand how global governance functions in practice.

In an era defined by shifting global dynamics, this book explores the transformative partnership between two of Asia's most influential democracies. This volume delves into the strategic convergence of India and Japan, examining their collaborative efforts to address pressing geopolitical, technological, and societal challenges in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. From the bustling connectivity corridors of Northeast India to the sustainable energy initiatives driving net-zero ambitions, this book unpacks the multifaceted India-Japan relationship. It highlights their shared vision for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, bolstered by robust defense collaborations, cutting-edge technology transfers, and innovative approaches to sustainable development. Chapters explore critical topics such as infrastructure development, renewable energy partnerships, artificial intelligence cooperation, and the Blue Economy, while addressing societal challenges like rural revitalization, healthcare infrastructure, and waste management. The book also examines how cultural and business exchanges, alongside feminist foreign policies, strengthen bilateral ties and foster regional stability.Through rigorous analysis and case studies, this book reveals how India and Japan are not only navigating their own national priorities but also shaping a resilient, multipolar world order. This book showcases the power of strategic alliances in building a sustainable and inclusive future.

Ubuntu, a Bantu word that became the first term from an Indigenous language to enter a political constitution, is host to many meanings: 'humanity', 'fraternity', 'compassion', and even ''forming a community'. According to Souleymane Bachir Diagne, all these conceptions come together in the art of making the community better and in the understanding of humanity as a task to be fulfilled. Ubuntu dissolves tribalism, leaving in its stead an embrace of the plural within universality. In this book Diagne recounts how Ubuntu became a dynamic philosophical concept whose humanist potential would rise to the urgent challenge of dismantling apartheid and healing its ravages.

This theme is also an opportunity for Diagne to retrace his own intellectual trajectory and venerable career, from his childhood in Saint-Louis in West Africa to his present life in New York. The discussion ranges over diverse topics such as postcolonialism, the defence of humanism, the rejection of identity politics, existentialism, and African philosophies. An intellectual autobiography in the form of an engrossing conversation with the historian Francoise Blum, this slim volume is a fascinating portrait of one of our foremost contemporary philosophers and distinguished thinkers in black or Africana studies.

Roberto Esposito's poetic and historically layered new book draws on a famous, and famously opaque, passage from the Old Testament to shed light on the vision of self and domination that has profoundly shaped western identity and left its mark on western culture.

These ten lines from Genesis tell the tale of Jacob wrestling with a mysterious adversary on a riverbank. But who exactly is Jacob wrestling with - the divine? Evil personified? Absolute otherness? Or his deepest, most subconscious self, repressed and projected? Who, in other words, is the adversary, and what is the enigmatic conflict that binds the two in perpetual conflict? Interchangeable and yet never resolved, these entwined adversaries speak to our great desire to come face to face with personal truth, even if only for an instant, while coming to terms with its impermanence.

Casting a wide net, Esposito connects his reading of Jacob and the Angel to the fundamental relationship between self and adversary inherited by the modern West and explores the extraordinary influence this story has had on western culture, from philosophy and theology to literature, politics and art.

This book examines how algorithms are reshaping security and criminal justice, revealing their profound social and political implications. From intelligence agencies and police forces to courtrooms, tools like facial recognition are redefining how security is imagined and enacted worldwide. Yet, alongside promises of efficiency and objectivity, these systems frequently fail-exposing tensions around their epistemic authority and legitimacy. Focusing on biometric data and cases like Clearview AI in the United States, the book unpacks the entanglements between security professionals, legal actors, and algorithmic systems, showing how these technologies gain stability even amid errors and disputes. Drawing on Critical Security Studies, Science and Technology Studies, and feminist critiques of technoscience, it offers a multidimensional analysis of "algorithmic reason," its narratives of "better justice" or "enhanced security," and the ethical and political challenges they generate. A vital resource for scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and anyone concerned with the societal impacts of emerging technologies.

This open access volume examines current threats to democracy with a focus on Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. These small democracies face unique challenges from climate change, hybrid security threats, and geopolitical tensions. The book examines how these nations have adapted their institutions and practices to withstand disinformation campaigns, cyberattacks, and economic coercion, while also addressing environmental issues such as extreme weather and biodiversity loss.

Part of the two-volume "Democratic Resilience in the Baltics," Volume 2, "Societal Resilience as a Defence Force," presents societal resilience as an element of national defense, drawing lessons from global conflicts and offering practical strategies for building resilient societies.

The two volumes offer valuable lessons for other small democracies and larger states alike, highlighting the importance of resilience in safeguarding democratic institutions in an increasingly unstable world.

Our earth's supply of natural resources is depleting while mountains of waste are piling up. Killing two birds with one stone, scientists recommend a transformation towards a circular economy. Nevertheless, explicit regulation to implement such an economic model is still missing. With due regard to the global scope of the increasing this issue, the question arises whether relevant rules on these issues can be extracted from existing international law. This book examines if an integrated analysis of different fields of international law leads to an implicit obligation for states to undertake a transition towards a circular economy. By assessing the related provisions under international environmental law as well as under human rights law, it aims to reveal if they imply a mandatory economic shift. The analysis will differentiate between relevant provisions concerning the issue of resource depletion on the one hand, and the current law governing waste management on the other hand. In a second step, the environmental and social demands will be balanced with the states' sovereignty in order to determine if an implicit obligation to transform the economy can be detected.

This book is about the dramatic changes that the world is witnessing in its attitude toward the past. For the first time in many generations, ordinary citizens around the globe have burst into disputes about history that were previously the province of politicians and scholars. These people are demolishing monuments, creating new myths for themselves and restoring the memory of names long forgotten. Everyone needs a past to build on, and people are no longer satisfied with history written without their participation. Politicians sense this demand and are experimenting with the past themselves-making it an instrument of political conflict and sacrificing it to their interests. The author of this study brings to bear many examples of America's "culture wars," a phenomenon that offers very interesting comparisons with Europe's "memory wars" and recent Russian conflicts over the past.

In the fast evolving field of maritime education and training "Simulations in Maritime Education and Training: A Companion for Simulator Instructors" offers a comprehensive book to support maritime simulator instructors in delivering high-quality training in simulated environments. The book adopts a practical approach to teaching and learning within maritime education and training, equipping instructors with the necessary tools and knowledge to excel in their vital role of educating future generations of seafarers towards the high-standards of safety and good seamanship that applied to work at sea. Through the integration of evidence-based teaching methods, the latest simulator technology, and a deepened understanding of professional development, the book aims to contribute to strengthening maritime instructors' professional approach to teaching and learning in simulated environments. Serving as a reliable resource, this book offers practical advice and encourages a commitment to excellence in maritime training, making it an invaluable resource for those dedicated to the safety and success of seafarers worldwide.

This book is a follow-up to The Changing Legal Framework for Services of General Interest in Europe - Between Competition and Solidarity. The contributions in the current book take stock of the developments regarding such services. Furthermore, key concepts and principles relevant to contemporary issues are explored.

Confirming the significance of Services of General Interest (SGIs) in EU law, the earlier volume concluded that the concept contributes to shaping a framework for the functioning of public services that balances the benefits of competition with the principles of solidarity. This volume aims to take stock of and critically assess recent noteworthy developments. To that end, the analysis focuses on developments in healthcare, digitalization, and sustainability.

Over the years, numerous SG(E)I cases have emerged in the healthcare sector, reflecting its central role in national social welfare systems, while the digitalisation transition has also significantly impacted modern societies, not expcepting SGIs. In light of the pressing global challenges, sustainability is now a key priority, and its implications for SGIs are likewise examined.

This edited volume is aimed at academics, practitioners, government officials and policymakers dealing with EU affairs.

Narine Ghazaryan is an Assistant Professor of International and European Law in the Department of International and European Law of the Faculty of Law of the Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Johan van de Gronden is a professor of European Law in the Department of International and European Law of the Faculty of Law of the Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands and State Counsellor in extraordinary service at the Dutch Council of State.

Simon Tans is a Lecturer in Environmental Law at the Law Group at Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands.

Marc Veenbrink is an Assistant Professor of European Law in the Department of International and European Law of the Faculty of Law of the Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

This volume offers a rigorous and comprehensive examination of the legal and institutional frameworks shaping space activities across Latin America. Through a series of country-specific analyses-including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Uruguay-it explores the evolution of national space programs, regulatory reforms, and international collaborations that define the region's approach to outer space governance.
The book also highlights the pivotal role of the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Universities and Institutions that Research on Space Technology, Policy and Law (ReLaCa Espacio), underscoring its contribution to academic dialogue and regional integration in space law.
Bringing together the historical context, policy analysis, and legal insights, the book highlights the strategic importance of Latin America's growing presence in the global space community. It highlights the region's commitment to the peaceful, responsible and sustainable use of outer space, as well as its capacity to contribute meaningfully to international space law and governance.

The Practice of Law and International Arbitration in the Age of Artificial Intelligence provides a timely and practical examination of how AI is reshaping the practice of law and the conduct of international arbitration. It analyses the impact of machine learning, natural language processing, and automation tools on legal reasoning, arbitral decision-making, and dispute resolution procedures. The book addresses ethical, procedural, and regulatory challenges while highlighting opportunities for efficiency, access to justice, and innovation in legal practice. By bridging theory with practice, it offers insights for lawyers, arbitrators, academics, policymakers, and students seeking to understand the transformative role of AI in dispute resolution. This concise and accessible volume is designed to serve as a reference for professionals and an introduction for those entering the field, ensuring relevance across jurisdictions and disciplines.

This book contains a selection of the very best papers from the Philosophy of AI (PhAI, formerly PT-AI), one of the leading regular conferences in the field of Philosophy of AI. The field finds itself in a moment of massive growth and change, and this book presents highly innovative, cutting-edge research by top scholars. The philosophy of AI is more and more intertwined with the ethics of AI and it now has both a deep impact on society, and on philosophy itself. Containing chapters on classic issues such as machine agency, regulation or bias, as well as new ones like large language models (LLMs), machine agency, creativity and the general ability to have mental states, this volume is of great interest to those interested in philosophy of AI and its impact on society.

This book presents a contractualist theory of intergenerational justice that avoids deficiencies in existing IGJ theories, e.g., the non-identity problem and the under-defining of "generations." The inability of social contract theory to provide a thorough accounting of justice between generations has been called an embarrassment and rightly so. That said, serious attempts have been made from a variety of contract perspectives to rectify the approach's shortcomings in the area of intergenerational justice. One of the most prominent contract theorists, John Rawls, attempted to address justice between generations in his theory via his just savings principle, but both versions of it were met with stinging criticism. As the climate crisis, among other challenges, presses the issue of justice for future generations, the authors believe that intergenerational justice is something that social contract theory should and can address. Specifically, they present a Rawlsian approach that begins with a clarified understanding of what is meant by "generations," and proceeds from there to modify generational knowledge constraints in the original position. The authors then draw upon the concept of indirect reciprocity to round out an argument for a Rawlsian principle of justice between generations: intergenerational fair equality of opportunity. They then apply their intergenerational justice theory to five major public policy areas.