We live in an age of counterrevolution. Liberal elites around the world are weaponising their fascistic narratives, creating political enemies of the 'other' as a means of consolidating even more power and wealth. While scapegoating minorities is nothing new, we have never seen it happen quite like this before.

Today, global capitalism is financialised, tech-driven and violently mercantilist. This collection of essays from leading researchers reveals new forms of the radical right, neo-nationalism, authoritarian neoliberalism, illiberalism and democratic backsliding.

Looking beyond the simplistic headlines, they reveal the deep systemic shifts that have been building for decades. Exploring India, Eastern Europe, the US, Argentina, Germany and more, Backlash draws the systemic connections between these seemingly nationalist movements, providing crucial information for those on the left looking for weaknesses in the terrifying rise of the right.

Since much of this pressure currently comes from the political right, it is an apt moment to bring together and analyse the rich theoretical arguments that those on the philosophical and intellectual right have produced since the French Revolution, in order to make sense of the current political moment. This book provides this with a collection of essays from writers from across the globe, situated in a variety of disciplines, including history, law, political science and computing, whose contributions trace the roots of the conservative critique of liberalism and predict its trajectory.

A valuable toolkit for scholars and students interested in the relationship between conservatism and liberalism, this book is a vital one for those in the disciplines of political science, philosophy, history, law and sociology.

The Philosophy of Role-Playing Games: Art, Inquiry, and Ritual explores how role-playing games (RPGs) serve as immersive laboratories for exploring identity, ideology, and self-discovery. By weaving together interdisciplinary insights from current RPG scholars with the theories of philosophical giants in fields such as pragmatism, aesthetics, epistemology, and metaphysics, Albert R. Spencer sheds light on the unique aesthetic of this medium and the transformative moments that generations of players have experienced. Combining thought-provoking analysis with practical case studies, Spencer explains how the agency of the players and the authority of the Gamemaster (GM) cooperatively interact with the rules and dice to simulate the immersive collaborative worlds that they build and explore.

The Philosophy of Role-Playing Games appeals to GMs, players, designers, students, and scholars interested in how RPGs operate not only as entertainment but as transformative spaces for self-exploration, philosophical insights, spiritual experiences, and the fostering of close-knit communities

This open access book argues that existing scholarship on animism, with its focus on harmony, often overlooks a fundamental tension: that the same forces that sustain collective life also demand individual sacrifice. Rather than treating disasters as discrete events, the authors examine how vital forces flow between human communities and natural environments. They introduce the concept of anima, a force that is both generative and destructive, flowing from the wild into human communities.

In Japan, the relationship between humanity and nature has been irreversibly altered. In the age of catastrophic modernity, from the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to the Fukushima nuclear accident, the environment can no longer be understood through traditional frameworks. This is not the unspoiled wilderness of the past, nor is it the ancient landscape of traditional animism
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Drawing on detailed case studies from Japan's transformed landscapes, polluted seas, contaminated forests, and post-disaster zones, this open access volume re-examines the work of influential Japanese thinkers such as Minakata Kumagusu and Isozaki Arata. The contributors explore how contemporary artists, activists, and communities develop animic thoughts and practices that emerge not from pristine nature but from environments bearing the scars of industrial development and disaster. Moving beyond simple critiques of modernity, the book proposes an anima philosophica: a new framework for understanding how communities engage with environmental forces that transcend human control yet demand ongoing negotiation.

The book reveals how animic forces operate in contexts ranging from wartime memorial practices to environmental disasters, from artistic interventions to community rituals. It offers new tools for navigating our precarious relationship with a world where nature, technology, and humanity are deeply and dangerously intertwined.

The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the Bloomsbury Open Collections Library Collective.

Bridging the gap between theory and practice, chapters explore whether blockchain can truly transform public governance and under what conditions its adoption can be successful. It examines blockchain's potential to enhance transparency, accountability, and efficiency in areas such as public finance, healthcare, education, identity management, and regulatory compliance. Contributors analyze both the opportunities and challenges of integrating blockchain into governance structures, addressing key managerial, regulatory, and technical considerations. Through real-world case studies, chapters investigate the specific institutional, technological, and organizational conditions required for meaningful impact. They detail a roadmap for leveraging blockchain effectively in public governance, ultimately helping decision-makers to navigate its complexities and maximize its potential.

Multidisciplinary in scope, this Handbook is a crucial resource for scholars and students of public policy, innovation and technology, and governance. It is also a beneficial read for policymakers and practitioners in public administration and management for its discussion of the pressing policy challenges associated with the use of blockchain in the public sector.

Editors Maria Schiller and Peter Scholten bring together global experts in public policy, governance, and political science to examine the challenges facing policymakers. They explore the interrelationship between international and national migration policy and politics, the variations in policies when considering different types of migration, and the diverse actors and dynamics in migration policymaking. The Handbook concludes with a reflective section on the field's development and its significance for public policy studies.

This Handbook is a vital reference for scholars and researchers in the fields of public policy and governance, political science, and migration and integration studies. Policymakers and practitioners from NGOs and international organizations will also benefit from this Handbook's theoretical and practical insights.

Guillaume Fontaine and Iris Geva-May assess the range of research designs employed in CPA, drawing on examples from different policy areas and countries to investigate the main challenges of using multi-methods for comparison. Their analysis advances understanding of comparative analytical studies, overcoming the divide between quantitative and qualitative approaches. Chapters cover the epistemology and methodology of CPA, the methods associated with probabilistic frameworks, and those aligned with deterministic frameworks. The book ultimately connects research and practice to provide guidance on how best to study contemporary policy at the cross-national, national and sub-national level.

Comparative Policy Analysis is an essential resource for students and academics interested in public policy design, analysis and administration. It is also an important read for policy-makers seeking insight into evidence-based decision making.

As myths of progress and modernisation collapse in the relentless polycrisis of our time, how do we strengthen other plots-in community, practice and struggle? How do we come together as movements for earthcare?

This book weaves stories, proposals, and analyses around a key domain of living reproduction in crisis: agriculture. Looking at peasant, indigenous, and transecofeminist practices, it formulates another plot on how we want to sustain life collectively-beyond progress, plantation, and patriarchy.

Recovering and repurposing old and new technologies, and breaking down the division between rural and urban, the ground is made fertile for growing other futures. Alongside writers like Ursula Le Guin and Octavia Butler, this work of radical political theory raises critical questions about technology and storytelling, as matters of care and community.

Contributors highlight several opportunities presented by the increased use of digital co-production, such as reducing information asymmetry, improving co-design, making participation more inclusive, and enhancing scalability. They also draw attention to various risks, from the potential reduction of physical interaction to the rejection of responsibility and reinforced inequalities. Chapters explore the challenges and contradictions of digital co-production as a distinct mode of interaction between public services and citizens. Synthesising key insights, the book ultimately recommends ways in which digital co-production can be managed most effectively by discussing a range of tools and methods, including artificial intelligence, behavioural nudging and digital platforms.

This book is a valuable resource for scholars and students in the fields of public administration and management studies. Practitioners, especially those in public administrations experimenting with digital participation, will also greatly benefit from this book.

More than 40 contributing authors present crucial pedagogical reflections, practical insights, and approaches across a wide range of contexts, providing educators with a toolkit to navigate the challenges of teaching political communication in this political climate. Across two parts, Teaching Political Communication first explores foundational political issues to lay a foundation for navigating politics in the classroom, then focuses on practical applications to aid teaching and learning. This includes the use of collaborative inquiry, experiential learning, public speaking, simulations, digital technology, and much more.

This is an essential resource for those teaching higher education courses in political communication, and politics and public policy more broadly. It is also an enlightening read for students and academics interested in research methods, teaching methods, international relations, and sociology.

In this book, Henry A. Giroux addresses the attacks on student protesters speaking up against the war on Gaza, and connects this with wider attacks on critical education and democracy. He details the ongoing scholasticide taking place in Palestine, the systematic attacks by the Israeli military on schools, teachers and museums, and argues that they represent the extreme endpoint of a broader, insidious campaign aimed at crushing dissent across universities in the United States, Europe, and beyond. Books are banned, student protesters face police brutality, faculty are purged, history is whitewashed, and faculty are restricted from teaching certain content in the classroom.

Throughout the book he draws links between authoritarianism and education, the war on youth, the politics of higher education, the politics of mass media, as well as what he has termed "organized forgetting". He closes the book by arguing that we live in an era where historical amnesia has been weaponized, where many young people are denied the histories that allow them to narrate their own experiences and assert modes of self-reflection they can claim as their own.

A guide for both everyday readers and policymakers on using creativity and knowledge to imagine the best, prepare for the worst and live with surprise.

Widespread pessimism and fear of the future are everywhere. With times to come often seeming threatening and uncertain, this book offers new perspectives and fresh ways of thinking. Futurologist Florence Gaub shows that everyone can influence what lies ahead--in their personal or professional life, or in society. Her ideas are for those who refuse to be paralysed by fear, instead seeing the future as a space full of possibilities.

Gaub explores how humanity's visions of tomorrow have changed throughout history; she explains what the future is, how it works, what disruptions may arise and how to fix them. She draws on insights from neuroscience, psychology and philosophy to show how humans conceive and construct the future, as individuals and as a society.

A bestseller in Germany, this smart, snappy handbook of ideas is an antidote to passive fatalism. It challenges our lack of faith in our own ability to shape what is to come, or how it will affect our lives. After all, we're the only beings who can imagine the future in such detail that we can actually create it. Gaub is a brilliant guide to rediscovering that gift.

The Originary Structure (La struttura originaria) (1958) is the foundation of Italian philosopher Emanuele Severino's thought, the starting point that establishes and recognizes the essential tenets of the incontrovertibility and necessity of the 'truth of being'.

The first book written by Severino, it lays out the logical structure that underlies the philosophical development of his thought for the next six decades. According to Severino himself, it constitutes 'the ground as part of which all his subsequent writings receive their own meaning' - first and foremost because it aims to articulate the structure of the appearing and meaning of everything that is and appears, according to a logic that should prove itself to be unable to be refuted by any (non)philosophical discourse. This book presents the fundamental determinations of a philosophical discourse that cannot be refuted, to the extent that any such refutation would itself be grounded in the discourse to be refuted. It is on the basis of this logical structure that Severino is able to exhibit the necessity of his most challenging claim - that of the eternity of every being.

One of the most singular philosophical works written in the 20th century, this book plays an irreplaceable role in the system of Severino's writings.

Published with the kind support of SEPS (Segretariato Europeo per le Pubblicazioni Scientifiche).

Leading international scholars explore the meta-theoretical presuppositions of social research, along with entries spanning diverse topics including among others the role of art, artificial intelligence, digitalization and oral history. The Encyclopedia traces the evolution of historical research within the field, while highlighting contemporary digital, longitudinal, militant ethnography and other innovations. It promotes methodological pluralism and multi-method research, combining quantitative and qualitative strategies in its investigation of social phenomena and processes.

This Concise Encyclopedia is a valuable resource for scholars, students and researchers across the social sciences looking to orient themselves in this important field.

Key Features:

• Adopts flexible and interdisciplinary perspectives
• Contains 46 accessible and highly informative entries
• Engages with constructive debates about different methodological approaches
• Covers both broad and specialized topics

This timely book sets out an agenda for social science research on political trust, confronting contemporary conceptual, theoretical, and empirical problems. It grapples with the breakdown of reliance on political systems in democratic societies, exploring why many people perceive politicians and public administrators as corrupt and unconcerned about the public interest.

Expert authors present a concise overview of political trust, providing empirical and conceptual contributions with global coverage. They demonstrate how citizens' beliefs about their governments and leaders can impact the resilience, breakdown, or emergence of democracy. Chapters examine how politicians are seen as unwilling to address urgent problems ranging from global climate change to local poverty and social injustices. Authors investigate political support and institutional confidence through the lens of wavering trust and the increase of autocratic regimes. Guiding future scholarship, this book addresses important questions and indicates key avenues for research.

A Research Agenda for Political Trust is a vital resource for scholars and students of political theory and public policy, as well as sociology and the broader social sciences. Practitioners and policymakers in regulation, governance, and public administration and management will also benefit from its valuable insights.

This updated second edition presents nationalism as the most important social force shaping the ways in which people live their lives. It explains the formative influence of nationalism in the public spheres of politics and the economy, as well as the private spheres of emotional wellbeing and mental illness. In this new edition, Liah Greenfeld adds the discussion of civilization to concepts addressed in the original edition, providing an original, meaningful, logical definition of the concept, and allowing for a reliable delineation of the three civilizations coexisting in the world today: the monotheistic one, the Indic, and the Sinic. She explains how nationalism is modified by the civilizational background. Basing its conclusions on over 35 years of original comparative historical research, this book bears the characteristic Liah Greenfeld imprint: fact-based discussion, logical rigor, unexpected connections, and an exceptionally wide range of issues woven together to explain the way we live now.

Key features of the second edition include:

• preface addressing the spread of nationalism into China and India
• updated reading lists, directing students and scholars towards useful resources for further in-depth study

Rethinking Populism highlights the divisive nature of populism, exploring the economic, social, and political dynamics fueling its rise and success. It tackles key facets of the field, including questions of identity, recognition, and the disruptions associated with globalization, financialization, digitalization, and skill-biased technological change. Chapters address populism's endurance and past failures, offering diverse case studies that underscore the dynamics which engender populist mobilization. Betz illustrates how nativism, culture wars, gender, and emotions such as nostalgia and resentment are drivers of contemporary radical right-wing populism.

The book is an essential resource for students and academics in political science, political theory, economics, sociology, and cultural history. It is also of interest to policymakers and practitioners involved in international politics and public policy.

Democracy and despotism live closer together than you'd expect-this briskly astute book reveals why that should alarm us all.

We live in troubled times, marked by a sinister trend threatening democracy everywhere: the triumph of despotism not only in countries like Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia, but also in states run by popularly elected demagogues-Trump, Erdogan and Netanyahu.

Leading political thinker John Keane shows why this new despotism defies the laws of political gravity. Instead of relying exclusively on fear or force, it fosters a strange, pseudo-democratic type of government, led by rulers skilled in winning public loyalty through election-rigging, legal trickery, corruption, weaponised lying and talk of enemies. And alarmingly, the new despots hunt in packs.

But what's so good about democracy? In bold, energetic prose, Keane explains that it's much more than popular self-government based on free and fair elections. Democracy is the collective insistence that unaccountable power is always dangerous-and that democratic institutions are our best weapon against demagogues and despots.

While global justice is a hot topic in political philosophy, the place of children and children as a particular group of agents has been largely ignored. This book explores global justice for children from the perspective of the capability approach.

The capability approach provides a fruitful normative foundation for exploring the issue of global justice for children. To spell this out, it is necessary to address the questions of the currency of justice, its principles, and the allocation of responsibility, and to show that all children have a moral claim to the capabilities and functionings they require for a sufficiently good life. The first chapters are devoted to the status of children in political philosophy and to methodological considerations. The next chapters then argue that developing capabilities and functionings constitute the appropriate currency of global justice. The discussion then turns to the question of the principle of global justice, advocating a sufficiency principle that recognizes different thresholds in order to secure a sufficiently good life for all children. Finally, the concluding chapters address the question of responsibility for justice. Here, the book develops a theory of differentiated responsibility, which distributes responsibilities among various agents.

Global Justice for Children will be of interest to researchers and students working in social and political philosophy, ethics, philosophy of childhood and development studies.

Contributors illustrate how private international law can provide solutions to some of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century, including war and armed conflicts, rule of law backsliding, protection of human rights in global supply chains, climate change and sustainability. Through doctrinal and normative analyses, they explore the structural and conceptual changes necessary to mitigate the effects of these crises. The book advocates for a re-evaluation of private international law's traditional role, proposing a reconceptualisation that highlights its potential to resolve global issues and achieve justice.

This book is an essential read for scholars and students of private international law, and international law more widely. It is also beneficial to practitioners in these fields, particularly those working in international civil procedure.