This book examines the relationship between artificial intelligence and public policy in Africa. Bringing together academics and experts from multiple governance sectors, it assesses the ways in which AI is being utilised to achieve policy goals, the challenges and opportunities it presents, and how it is being governed. The book adopts a multidisciplinary approach, drawing on insights from political science, law, economics, data science, linguistics and engineering, to explore how national AI strategies are being adapted in different governance sectors across the continent. These include areas such as public safety, economic growth, electoral administration and public accountability. Attention is also given to feminist approaches to AI, and the likelihood of realising responsible AI for future public policy and governance in Africa. Practical policy recommendations are also highlighted, making this an important book for both practitioners and academics interested in African governance, public policy and AI.

As rigorous scientific and philosophical discourse circulated during the Enlightenment, aided by the Republic of Letters, a revolutionary understanding of gender emerged that would impact nation building in Europe and the Americas. In From Virile to Sterile, Adriana Novoa analyzes the cosmopolitan citizens of this metaphysical republic?an international community of scholars and literary figures?and the first universal modern male identity it established. By the end of the eighteenth century, she reveals, men’s role in society had fundamentally changed. This “man of letters” possessed a masculinity that was learned and shared―different from the warrior model of the past. The modern man represented a new notion of patriotism linked to knowledge and institutions that promoted intellectual dynamism, change, and self-transformation. For a conservativism that despised radical liberalism and its science, this new masculinity was degenerate and villainous, a sign of extinction and sterility. The virile man was stable and unchanging, his authority rooted in continuity and stability. Novoa explores this complex gendering of science, modernity, and civilization in Argentina during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and how a universal characterization of masculinity shaped the politics of the River Plate Viceroyalty and later the creation of the Argentine Republic.

This book offers a distinctive approach to policy analysis and a refreshing and politically engaged way of thinking about policy. It clearly articulates a Foucault-influenced poststructural perspective on policy and policy analysis for researchers, students and policy makers. As a "guide to practice", the book introduces a critical analytical approach to policy analysis called ‘What’s the Problem Represented to be?’ (WPR). Instead of treating policy as simply the government’s best efforts to address?problems, this analytic strategy highlights how policies produce ‘problems’ as particular sorts of problem and how governing takes place through these problematisations. First published in 2016, the book describes the conceptual and theoretical underpinnings of the WPR approach to policy analysis in a detailed and accessible manner.? It features examples of application of the approach with topics as diverse as obesity, economic policy, migration, drug and alcohol policy, and gender equality.

?In this second edition, the authors centralise a complementary analytic strategy for poststructural policy analysis?poststructural interview analysis (PIA). This edition integrates this material as a new chapter which sets out PIA as a novel approach to poststructural interview analysis and includes examples of PIA applications. The new chapter provides excellent guidance to undertake interview analysis in a manner congruent with the poststructural precepts set out in the book.?

Drawing upon extensive nationwide research in Hungary, this volume investigates how social media platforms operate as new spaces for local political interaction, community-building, and public discourse, and assesses their implications for democratic practices. At its core, this work seeks to answer fundamental questions about the nature, scale, and impact of local political engagement online. Our analysis spans micro-level interactions among individuals, meso-level storytelling agents such as community pages and political figures, and the broader context in which these dynamics unfold. Particular attention is paid to the role of political considerations, especially to how the interests of national political actors are reflected in and serve to energize local, social media-based publics. By offering detailed insights into Hungary's local social media landscape, it provides a broader understanding of the evolving role digital platforms play in shaping contemporary civic life, ultimately informing discussions about the future of community and political engagement in an increasingly digital world.

This book chronicles the pivotal transformations in the United States from 2001 to 2021, with a particular focus on its evolving global image, internal political dynamics, and economic landscape. The phrase "the long two decades" describes a period characterized by a succession of four major crises that profoundly impacted American society and politics: the 9/11 attacks, the invasion of Iraq, the Great Recession, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Intriguingly, these contemporary crises parallel four significant events of the 20th century?Pearl Harbor, the Vietnam War, the Great Depression, and the Spanish Flu?that similarly reshaped the nation’s political and social landscape. The book provides historical contexts, examines the duration of these crises, and explores their aftermath effects on American society, while also underscoring the unique differences among them.

Western Europe 2026 is the 28th edition of this single-source reference work. It comprises well-informed commentaries and up-to-date statistical and directory information, which combine to provide an impartial and comprehensive guide. This new edition has been thoroughly revised and updated to incorporate the latest facts and developments in the region.

Western Europe 2026 is divided into three sections:

General Survey - This offers an overall perspective on the region, with essays from acknowledged experts providing analysis of the region's social, political and economic issues. Fully revised and new essays explore and assess European Union challenges; economic perspectives in Western Europe and the European Union; European foreign, security and defence policies; climate change action; the challenges of internal and external migration; the far right in Western Europe; and overtourism in the region.

Country Surveys - Individual chapters offer a comprehensive overview of each country in the region. A section detailing the country's physical and social geography is complemented by a map, a chronology offering swift access to important dates and events, and comprehensive essays commissioned from leading authorities on the recent history and economy of the country. This is followed by a detailed statistical survey containing the latest available statistics for population, health and welfare, agriculture, industry, finance, trade, transport, tourism, communications media and education, and by an extensive directory of contact names and addresses, e-mail and internet addresses and essential information regarding the constitution, government, election commissions, political organizations, diplomatic representation, the judiciary, religion, the press, publishers, broadcasting and communications, finance, trade and industry, defence and education. A bibliography is also included for further reading.

Regional Information - This section provides information on research institutes studying Western Europe, and select bibliographies of periodicals and books covering regional issues.

Countries and territories included in this edition

Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Finland, Aland Islands, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Svalbard, Jan Mayen, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Gibraltar, Vatican City.

This Handbook offers a state-of-the-art overview and comprehensive analysis of the emerging field of cyber diplomacy. During the last twenty years a complex cyber ecosystem has been emerging that is increasingly challenged at various levels, in different domains and by a variety of actors. Core issues range from cyber (dis)- information warfare and frequent cyberattacks on critical infrastructure to sophisticated cybercriminals penetrating systems for income or simply securing rights online. Such challenges are not only of a strictly technical nature, but have also important social, economic, legal and geopolitical implications. This broad policy agenda can neither simply be addressed by states alone nor by traditional diplomats that practice or engage in negotiations over securing cyberspace, whether this is in relation to regulations, norms, rules or indeed technologies that can provide security and preserve fundamental rights and freedoms on the Internet. Developments in practice and in theory require more complex conceptualisation and understanding of cyber diplomacy: of what it is, of who practices it where and how? The Handbook seeks to contribute to the wider question on how cyber diplomacy might have affected and changed the tools and approaches of diplomacy itself and might influence the study of diplomacy in the future.

This book provides a useful framework for addressing the various aspects of current Asia-Europe relations, including examinations of power transitions and geopolitics, values, and pragmatism, climate change and sustainability, technology and innovation, and infrastructure and connectivity. It discusses the current state of affairs, the future of these relations, and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the two regions. In modern times, developments in infrastructure, such as transportation and communication technologies, have enhanced these regions' connectivity. Yet, other geopolitical forces and power transitions are also influencing the stability of European-Asian alliances, sometimes in uncertain directions, particularly as competition between China and the United States disrupts the global order. The book also considers the impact of the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict, in relation to Europe-Asia diplomacy. The book pivots on two fundamental questions: How can the two regions bridge their differences and cooperate to meet common challenges? And what opportunities-and challenges-arise for deeper political and economic integration in doing so? A valuable resource for scholars, policymakers, and those interested in future of Asia-Europe relations, this book is a novel resource for researchers in political science and international relations, sustainability studies, sociocultural studies, and all areas relating to Asian and European regionalism.

China and the Global South in a Contested World Order is a timely and thought-provoking exploration of China’s growing influence across the Global South. From the Belt and Road Initiative to China’s rising power in Africa and Southeast Asia, this book explores China’s vision of a new world order and its unique approach to “true ?multilateralism”. Through compelling case studies and fresh insights such as China’s underexplored provincial diplomacy, it reveals the shared challenges, opportunities, competition, cooperation and untapped potential between China and the Global South. The author calls for deeper collaboration between China and the Global South to harness their collective potential in an era of global crises and shifting power dynamics. This book offers essential understanding of how this relationship is shaping the future of global change.

This book provides a comprehensive exploration of the European Union's trade policy and its external perception, incorporating a post-colonial perspective and utilizing a hermeneutic analysis of an extensive media dataset. It responds to the scholarly, educational, and practical demands for a deeper grasp of the intricate dynamics at the crossroads of trade, sustainable development, and identity development.

The research delves into the EU's identity as a global normative trading entity, examining systemic, identity-related, and specific-issue dimensions. By focusing on bilateral trading connections with former European colonies, the study advances a fresh decentering agenda within the realm of EU foreign policy and international relations. This agenda incisively questions the EU's Eurocentric standpoint, communications, and behaviours in its external interactions, notably with past colonies of EU member states, particularly in the context of global trade. This is timely giventhe new geopolitical context, with increased ideological rivalries while urgently demanding international cooperation to channel the effects of climate change.

Leveraging the concept of perceptions and framing, the research presents innovative insights substantiated by meticulous empirical observations. Consequently, this study enriches our comprehension of the EU's function and challenges as a trading entity and illuminates the intricacies of its interaction with Southeast Asian nations, contributing valuable wisdom to the domain of international relations.

This comprehensive survey of the countries of East and South-East Asia, Australia and New Zealand, along with 22 Pacific islands, fully revised to reflect current economic and political developments, is an essential resource for the Asia-Pacific region. Calendar of Political Events A calendar of events provides a convenient reference guide to the year's main political developments. General Survey Written by leading experts, this collection of essays provides incisive analysis of regional issues. Country Surveys Individual chapters on each country containing: ? essays on geography, history and the economy ? an economic and demographic survey of the latest available statistics on population, health and welfare, agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, industry, finance, trade, transport, tourism, communications and education ? a comprehensive directory of names and contact details covering the most significant political, financial and commercial institutions ? a country-specific bibliography. An entire section is dedicated to the Pacific islands, including specially commissioned essays examining the contemporary politics of the islands, their economies, security concerns and the environmental issues confronting them. Regional Information ? includes all major international organizations active in the region, their aims, activities, publications and principal personnel ? a detailed survey of major commodities in Asia and the Pacific ? a directory of research institutes specializing in the region ? select bibliographies of books and periodicals covering the Asia-Pacific region ? an index of regional organizations

Addressing Climate Risk in Coastal Urban Areas of East and Southeast Asia provides an in-depth exploration of the multifaceted challenges posed by climate hazards in coastal urban areas of East and Southeast Asia. It addresses interconnections between climate science, physical climate threats, engineering solutions, financial impacts and strategies for resilience. With contributions from leading experts, the book presents a collaborative and multidisciplinary approach for tackling physical climate risk, combining scientific knowledge with practical solutions.

The book is divided into three parts, covering:

• analysis of key issues and pain points in tackling physical climate risk from the perspectives of meteorological, engineering and financial sectors
• a methodology integrating principles of resilience, climate change science and financial risk assessment to provide a comprehensive framework for enhancing resilience
• a range of case studies that offer practical examples of state-of-the-art approaches, demonstrating how theoretical concepts can be applied in real-world situations.

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding and tackling the complex challenges posed by climate hazards in East and Southeast Asia's coastal urban areas. It serves as a valuable resource for researchers, practitioners and decision-makers in each sector, helping them to plan, design, operate, and manage their assets under uncertainty.

This book explores the little known root cause and nature of the Cyprus conflict;fills the huge gaps that have been, over time, airbrushed out of Cyprus’s postcolonial
history; traces the UN led settlement process from 1964 to 2025, sharing Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot positions at the talks; evaluates the performance?of the UN in Cyprus; identifies the key reasons that have contributed to the failure of the talks; and sheds light on the needs of an equality-based, fair and sustainable?settlement in the critical/strategic geography that Cyprus finds itself.

This is an open access book. This volume critically examines challenges in the field of current and future military technology from a transdisciplinary lens. It helps objectify the debate around the development of Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS). The volume offers a differentiated, informed and open approach to military artificial intelligence (AI) applications in the public realm, in politics and in the military itself. The contributions weigh the risks that artificially intelligent automation, like any new technology, brings, against technological innovation and progress. They address the issues of testing new technologies, implementing them socially and reflecting on their use, along with questions of unintended consequences of such technologies. The volume is divided into three parts. The first discusses perspectives on AI; how AI systems are understood by the public, by soldiers, and in cultural discourses. The focus is on (but not limited to) military applications. The second part focuses on the challenges and changes posed by the use of AI in military conflicts and addresses issues of how to deal with them. The third part examines the communication challenges posed by the implementation of AI in the military and the associated opportunities and risks.

This highly topical and timely volume is for researchers and students across disciplines who have an interest in military technology and those interested in AI and new technology.

The purpose of this book is to evaluate the current international order and its efficiency and ability to achieve and maintain peace and justice through the philosophical debate on the foundation theories of state and order. Adding non-western perspectives and theories to the debate to make it more inclusive in a colorful papyrus, it is comprehensive and truly international with the inclusion of wider range of civilizations and much wider scope of history. A papyrus is able to ?widen the scope of the international relations theory as a discipline to cope with the profound changes in the order and reflect the thoughts of the new rising powers and global south, with the inclusion of ancient Arab, Egyptian, and Chinese philosophies and ideas on the order and its purpose, function, efficiency, and raison d’etre, along with the ancient Greek philosophies of Aristotle and Plato and the classics of the social contract theorists and others.

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The use of directives is as a valuable tool of the administrative presidency. Less is known however about their use within the United States political system of separate and shared powers where presidents do not act alone. Their directives may be in lieu of legislation or a request to Congress for support while the Supreme Court, through their decisions may help or hinder executive action. Meanwhile, within their own separate institution, presidents must rely on the federal bureaucracy to carry out their orders. This book explores the use of directives to shape race policy within this framework. Principally, this book systematically examines the use of race-related presidential directives - executive orders, memoranda, and proclamations - from Presidents Nixon to Biden and finds that presidents of both parties share more similarities than differences. The expansive time frame of this book provides an opportunity to consider the origins of presidential policy on race to the Supreme Court's decision to end affirmative action in higher education which signaled the need for a significant shift in race policy moving forward.

Collecting the ideas of a dozen young scholars, this book investigates the symbiotic relationships among globalization, diaspora, foreign policy, sustainability, and the profound psychological effects that ensue. This synthesis of diverse disciplines paints a vivid portrait of our interconnected world, offering a nuanced understanding of the challenges and opportunities including sustainability and climate issues. Readers are taken on a journey through the complex shade of diaspora, unravelling the significant role played by global communities in bridging cultural divides and fostering international networks. The examination of foreign policy dynamics provides insights into how nations navigate the evolving global terrain, responding to the interconnected challenges of the 21st century. This book will be of interest to scholars of globalization, diaspora, and those seeking visions of the future.

Contesting Feminism and Media Culture in Contemporary Russia: From Celebrities to Anti-war Activists examines how Russian discourses on feminism have been informed by fast-evolving, cross-border, transcultural, and trans-local media flows, which have both diversified and fragmented the spectrum of feminism in the region.

The book takes a multidisciplinary approch to Russian feminisms, including an examination of Russian politics and culture, the ideology of glamour, celebrity culture, and mass media, with a particular focus on online social networks - using a set of case studies involving high-profile feminist media personalities, social media influencers, and micro-celebrities appropriating feminist agenda, and online grassroot responses to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Contesting Feminism and Media Culture in Contemporary Russia: From Celebrities to Anti-war Activists will be of interest to both undergraduate and graduate students of media and communication, area, international relations, gender, and cultural studies.

The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons (CC-BY) 4.0 license.

The Public Policy Process is essential reading for anyone trying to understand the process by which public policy is made.

Explaining clearly the importance of the relationship between theoretical and practical aspects of policymaking, this book gives a thorough overview of the people and organisations involved in the process. Changes to the complexity of the problems faced everywhere and to the way populist approaches to policymaking are emerging make new thinking essential about how the policy process is examined across the globe.

Key features and updates:

• Detailed discussion of challenges to effective policymaking in turbulent times, with special emphasis on crises and populism.
• Improved discussions about critical issues, such as governance, bureaucracy, global policies and artificial intelligence, among others.
• New material relating to countries from the Global South and unequal democracies.
• Further attention to comparative international examples from Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia.

This text is essential reading for students of public policy, public administration and management, as well as more broadly highly relevant to related courses in health and nursing, social welfare, environment, economics, development and local government.

This book explores the effects of Artificial Intelligence (AI) across different disciplines. As AI applications continue to progress, serious concerns arise about effectively protecting the copyright of items they produce. Each country views AI as an author while maintaining rights differently, resulting in the compelling necessity for an international dialogue on legal standards. The present copyright framework does not provide sufficient solutions for AI authorship intricacies and raises doubts about classic notions of invention and source. The distinctions show an increasing demand for a global legal system that can address the unique characteristics of AI-generated content. Investigating legal policies for AI-created works underscores the critical demand for a copyright approach that accounts for human involvement. Recognizing the actual owner and the original creator is complicated when AI operates with substantial control. Present statutes fail to clarify the complexities linked to human artistic contributions. The rationale behind developing a single system is based on valuing AI-produced material as a unique category of intellectual property. As AI becomes more significant in creative fields, legal dialogues must also be similarly enhanced. The approaches considered in the book strive to build improved regulations that represent the progress in AI technology and the basic concepts of copyright. The book goes on to propose a consistent policy model to confront AI obstacles related to intellectual property and would be a valuable read for policy makers and AI enthusiasts alike.

This book, based on in-depth field interviews, takes a fresh look at the phenomenon of diaspora communities exercising 'soft power' in the context of the Indian American diaspora in the US. By using an interdisciplinary approach, it marks a departure from the traditional study that measures the effectiveness of soft power sources by their popularity. Instead, it acknowledges the matrix of socio-economic and political factors, both internationally and domestically, which contribute towards the evolution of diaspora as a source of soft power. It focuses on how demography, policies and structural changes led to the evolution of an Indian American networking/strategic elite class. Exploring their participation in political fundraising and subsequent penetration into US foreign policymaking circles, this book analyses the foreign policy-related advocacy campaigns carried out by them and contributes to diaspora studies, foreign policy, international relations and political science.

This book adopts a regional approach to understanding 2024 presidential election outcomes. Quantitative and qualitative analysis examines electoral outcomes in the Midwest, Southwest, Southeast, and Northeast, enriching contextual understandings of the national results and illuminating nuances in public opinion, voter behavior, and party politics. From this foundation, the book aspires to be the most comprehensive assessment of prominent issues in the 2024 campaign. Scholars examine seven key issues to understand how these issues affected the 2024 campaign and how the campaign affected public opinion and policymaking toward these issues.

Chapter 9 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution BY-NC-ND 4.0 license via link.springer.com.

Chapter "How Concern with Government Overregulation and Racial Animus Reshaped the Republican Party and Fueled Trump's Electoral Appeal" is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License via Springerlink.

This book explores neoliberalism's emergence as a global ideology, contextualizing its rise within the broader capitalist restructuring that followed the decline of the Keynesian state. Understanding the ideological dimension is challenging due to the difficulties in defining it and tracing its connections across domestic, European, and global contexts. The book aims to address this complexity by examining a case of the Italian left, analyzing the labor and education policies of the Prodi (1996) and Renzi (2013) governments. This is made possible through interviews with politicians, journalists, and trade unionists. Within this transformation, Renzi's era symbolized the final victory of neoliberal culture over the political culture(s) that had animated the left until that point. The future of the left will depend on its ability to reckon with this legacy and to recover an independent vision capable of countering the growth of nationalist right-wing movements in Europe and globally.