Bristol University Press

Structural racism has impacted the lives of African Americans in the United States since before the country’s founding. Although the country has made some progress towards a more equal society, political developments in the 21st century have shown that deep divides remain. The persistence of inequality is an indicator of the stubborn resilience of the institutions that maintain white supremacy.

To bridge our divides, renowned political scientist Terri Givens calls for ‘radical empathy’ - moving beyond an understanding of others’ lives and pain to understand the origins of our biases, including internalized oppression.

Deftly weaving together her own experiences with the political, she offers practical steps to call out racism and bring about radical social change.

Leading migration researcher Louise Ryan’s topical and intersectional book provides rich insights into migrants’ social networks.

It draws on more than 200 interviews with migrants who followed various transnational routes in every decade since the 1940s, in order to build valuable longitudinal perspectives and comparisons. With a particular focus on London, it charts how social networks are formed and sustained, how trust is developed and how social support is accessed, and explores the key opportunities and obstacles that migrants encounter.

This is a seminal fusion of migration studies and social network analysis that casts new light on both subjects, essential for those interested in immigration, ethnicity, diversity and inequalities.

Racism has deep roots in both the United States and Europe. This important book examines the past, present, and future of racist ideas and politics. It describes how policies have developed over a long history of European and White American dominance of political institutions that maintain White supremacy.

Givens examines the connections between immigration policy and racism that have contributed to the rise of anti-immigrant, radical-right parties in Europe, the rise of Trumpism in the US, and the Brexit vote in the UK. This book provides a vital springboard for people, organizations, and politicians who want to dismantle structural racism and discrimination.

Today's complex research challenges demand effective teams, yet researchers rarely receive training in teamwork skills crucial for collaborative success.

This book fills that gap, outlining theory and providing practical actions that equip researchers with tools to build and sustain effective teams. Drawing on organizational psychology, team science and the authors’ own experience, it offers concrete practices for fostering collaborative innovation, managing diverse perspectives and achieving high-impact outcomes.

An essential reading for researchers, administrators and facilitators seeking to build high-performing teams, this indispensable resource enables researchers to effectively work across different disciplines and sectors to meet the evolving demands of funded research.

Crime research has grown substantially over the past decade, with a rise in evidence-informed approaches to criminal justice, statistics-driven decision-making and predictive analytics. The fuel that has driven this growth is data – and one of its most pressing challenges is the lack of research on the use and interpretation of data sources.

This accessible, engaging book closes that gap for researchers, practitioners and students. International researchers and crime analysts discuss the strengths, perils and opportunities of the data sources and tools now available and their best use in informing sound public policy and criminal justice practice.

There has recently been a global resurgence of demands for the acknowledgement of historical and contemporary wrongs, as well as for apologies and reparation for harms suffered.

Drawing on the histories of injustice, dispossession and violence in South Africa, this book examines the cultural, political and legal role, and value of, an apology. It explores the multiple ways in which ‘sorry’ is instituted, articulated and performed, and critically analyses its various forms and functions in both historical and contemporary moments. Bringing together an interdisciplinary team of contributors, the book’s analysis offers insights that will be invaluable to global debates on the struggle for justice.

EPDF and EPUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.

What does it mean to love a healthcare system?

It is often claimed that the UK population is unusually attached to its National Health Service, and the last decade has seen increasingly visible displays of gratitude and love. While social surveys of public attitudes measure how much Britain loves the NHS, this book mobilises new empirical research to ask how Britain loves its NHS.

The answer delves into a series of public practices – such as campaigning, donating and volunteering within NHS organisations – and investigates how attitudes to the NHS shape patient experience of healthcare. Stewart argues that these should be understood as practices of care for, and contestation about the future of, the healthcare system.

This book offers a timely critique of both the potential, and the dysfunctions, of Britain’s complex love affair with the NHS.

Recent years have seen the rapid spread of far-right movements across the globe. Far beyond Donald Trump, these movements are reshaping the physical world in ways that pose danger to everyone, regardless of their politics.

But how is this happening, and why with such speed? The shocking answer turns out to be aggrieved manhood gone viral, disguised as right-wing populism.

Taking a fresh approach to global politics, Wronged and Dangerous refocuses divisions towards shared human interests. If you care about our common future, discover new ways to engage with the challenges of our time.

Renowned criminologist Mike Hough illuminates the principles and practices of good policing in this important analysis of the police service’s legitimacy and the factors, such as public trust, that drive it.

As concern grows at the growth in crimes of serious violence, he challenges conventional political and public thinking on crime and scrutinises strategies and tactics like deterrence and stop-and-search. Contrasting ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ approaches to policing and punishment, he offers a fresh perspective that stresses the importance of securing normative compliance.

For officers, students, policy makers and anyone who has an interest in the police force, this is a valuable roadmap for ethical policing.

With debate about police ethics intensifying, this stimulating book considers afresh the fundamental role of officers and their relations with society.

• It is a comprehensive and up-to-date introduction to ethical policing, taking a moral philosophical perspective to the evidence base and literature on the subject.

• Leading contemporary thinker Dominic Wood tackles the ethical issues of policing as a matter of compliance and discipline and reviews them in the context of contemporary challenges in policing and the wider criminal justice framework.

• From the parameters of moral policing to the role of human rights and to embedding ethics within police operations, this is a thorough overview of the subject of police ethics and legitimacy, and a springboard for further research and analysis.

A timely contribution to discussions about the police and their legitimacy, this is essential reading for all those studying, teaching and leading the profession.

How have powerful Americans convinced their fellow citizens to support policies beneficial only to the wealthy? Why have so many given up on public education, safe food and safe streets, living wages – even on democracy itself?

Kill it to Save it lays bare the hypocrisy of US political discourse by documenting the story of capitalism’s triumph over democracy.

As the Progressive Left tries to understand how President Trump came to power, Corey Dolgon documents his historical, political and cultural road map. Dolgon argues that American citizens now accept policies that destroy the public sector and promote political stories that feel right “in the gut”, regardless of science or facts.

Covering the post-Vietnam era to present day, Dolgon dismantles US common sense cultural discourse and explains why the endless crisis in US policy will continue until American citizens recognize what has been lost, and in whose interest.

In this second edition of a bestselling book, the authors’ unique, holistic and radical perspective on participatory practice has been updated to reflect advances made in the past decade, the impact of neoliberalism and austerity, and the challenges of climate change and the pandemic.

Bridging the divide between community development ideas and practice, over half of this innovative book comprises new content with updated features including:

• reflective questions

• key points highlighted throughout each chapter

• a glossary of terms

The authors argue that transformative practice begins with everyday stories about people’s lives and that practical theory generated from these narratives is the best way to inform both policy and practice.

This long-awaited new edition will be of interest to academics and community-based practitioners working in a range of settings, including health and education.

Abolitionist thought visualizes a world without prisons – or a radical reduction or transformation of prisons and punishment. This fascinating book explores the abolitionist ideas of key early socialists and anarchists, writing from the late 18th to the early 20th centuries. It considers how these radical thinkers can provide insights into our present condition, both by highlighting the harms of punishment and by pointing to inspiring alternatives to current policy and practice.

By examining their calls for the ending of legal coercion, domination and repression, the book shows how the ideas of early socialists and anarchists can assist those engaging in emancipatory struggles against penal and social injustice today.

Climate Justice in Action celebrates the activism and adaptations of Eastern Africa, one of the most climate vulnerable regions of the world. Contributions from activists and researchers highlight diverse innovations and efforts to curb environmental catastrophe through transforming social inequalities and addressing root causes. The book amplifies community voices and intersectional approaches that integrate environmental sustainability with social and climate justice.

The book highlights the direct actions and policy changes taking place in Eastern Africa today to address the pressing challenges of erratic weather, forced displacement, disasters and energy and food insecurity. It includes case studies on African concepts of climate justice and resistance, youth activism in Uganda and Kenya, climate displacement in Somalia, sexual and reproductive health in Zimbabwe and environmental graffiti in Sudan.

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.

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

This book offers a compelling look at how unarmed civilian protection (UCP) practitioners work to enhance the level of security experienced by local Palestinians, supporting community-based resistance to rocketing levels of dispossession and ethnic-cleansing in the occupied West Bank.

Drawing on first-hand field research, the authors reveal the daily realities of providing a protective presence against violence and displacement. Crucially, the book highlights the vital role of international UCP solidarity networks in supporting local efforts and examines what difference they can make in the face of increasing levels of settler-violence. It is essential reading for those seeking practical pathways for nonviolent action and global solidarity.

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

Exploring Russia’s grassroots aid for Ukrainian refugees via Telegram, this book reveals how digital media fuels both solidarity and division. It offers a rare look at participation under authoritarianism, introducing a new lens on collective action in crises.

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

What happens when schools can no longer bind society together?

In an era of growing segregation, this book explores how Swedish schools and municipalities work to counteract inequality and foster civil inclusion. Through detailed case studies of school closures, mergers and new openings, the authors trace how local actors try to achieve “civil repair” – to strengthen equality and rebuild cohesion through education.

Drawing on rich ethnographic research, the book reveals the tensions between policy ideals and on-the-ground realities in a marketised school system. These findings speak not only to Sweden but to broader challenges in education systems across Europe and North America.

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

From parenting and pilgrimage to activism and mourning, this thought-provoking book explores how digital connection—and disconnection—shapes the emotional texture of our lives.

Using the concept of ‘affective atmospheres’, the authors examine the feelings that emerge in the interactions between people, platforms and places. Drawing on rich, real-world examples, it explores how digital media infuse our homes, beliefs, rituals and politics with emotion, tension and meaning.

A timely exploration of the emotional labour of online life, this book offers fresh insights into how we feel our way through digital culture.

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

How are urban social movements engaging in local politics to tackle the multiple crises in Europe?

This timely volume explores how grassroots actors across eleven European cities forge new forms of solidarity and enact citizenship at local scales. Drawing on rich ethnographic research, it examines how activists and communities challenge neoliberal isolation and marginalization through collective practices, ranging from community kitchens to tenant organizing. Bridging research on migration, housing and care, the book investigates how everyday urban struggles are reshaping political practices and reimagining democracy. It offers essential insights for scholars and practitioners of social justice, citizenship and urban politics.

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

What happens to sexual and gender identities when crossing borders under duress?

This book offers an unprecedented account of how forced migration shapes the lives of queer Iranian individuals. Tracing movements from Iran through transition countries to Western resettlement, the book explores how identities are expressed, negotiated, silenced and reimagined along the way. Engaging de/postcolonial theory and participatory methods, the authors centre the voices of non-heterosexual and non-cisnormative Iranians in exile.

This is an essential study for scholars of sexuality, migration and Middle Eastern studies seeking to understand queerness in global displacement.

How can sociological thinking help us make sense of today’s biggest global challenges?

In what is understood as ‘an age of crisis’, headlines are dominated by topic such as climate change, migration, radicalisation and inequality. These topics are core to sociology, yet sociological insights are drowned out in public debate frequently dominated by technological optimism, economic rhetoric or polarising politics.

This accessibly written textbook centres the sociological voice. It demonstrates how evidence-based, critical perspectives can illuminate the causes, interconnections and possible solutions to some of the most urgent issues of our time.

Each chapter is crafted to support students new to sociology, guiding them to think critically and make connections between complex global problems. Key pedagogical features include:

• Clear statements of key messages at the start of each chapter;

• Bold-highlighted definitions of sociological terms with minimal jargon;

• ‘Focus point’ boxes with data, case studies or visual insights;

• Suggested sources for further exploration, including videos and online media.

Essential reading for undergraduate students and anyone working in policy, advocacy or social change—offering the tools to think critically, act thoughtfully and engage with today’s most pressing global challenges.

This timely and critical volume calls for a fundamental rethinking of how human trafficking is understood and addressed. Bringing together voices of survivors, activists, practitioners and researchers, this collection interrogates why countless interventions by governments, NGOs and international bodies continue to fail.

Merging lived experience with critical scholarship, it offers fresh perspectives on the deep-rooted structural issues that fuel human trafficking such as poverty, racism, patriarchy and neoliberalism. The collection poses transformative ideas to reshape global anti-trafficking responses toward real, lasting justice and change.

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

Since the UK’s dramatic departure from the European Union, student mobility has become a frontline issue in the reshaping of higher education.

This book investigates how cross-border movement into and out of the UK has been transformed in the wake of Brexit. Drawing on extensive empirical data, the book explores changing mobility patterns, the rise of new infrastructures and the politics surrounding schemes like Turing. It critically examines how government policies and stakeholder responses are redefining international education.

This is vital resource for researchers, policymakers and practitioners navigating the evolving landscape of global student mobility.

Almost a third of children in Britain today live in poverty. Levels of deprivation in the UK are now higher than at any point in recent history. But how did we get here – and what can be done to turn the tide?

In Impoverished, Joanna Mack traces the roots of Britain's poverty crisis to decades of political choices that have left millions unable to withstand the turmoil of the 2020s.Drawing on four decades of pioneering research, Mack offers a clear-eyed analysis of how Britain’s social contract has been undermined – and what it will take to rebuild it. She sets out bold, practical strategies to create a fairer society, alongside pro-poor policies to protect the most vulnerable from the impacts of climate change. Urgent, evidence-based and forward-looking, Impoverished is a blueprint for renewal.

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

This groundbreaking volume exposes the systematic violence embedded within the UK's asylum system as experienced by unaccompanied children and young people.

Drawing on innovative participatory research methodology, the authors reveal how 'hostile environment' policies create devastating 'tipping points' that transform bureaucratic processes into acts of structural violence. Through rigorous legal analysis and compelling empirical evidence, this essential text challenges readers to confront the profound human cost of hostile immigration policy while offering concrete strategies for trauma-informed reform. It is an urgent call for systemic change that will resonate with academics, policy makers and practitioners across law, social work, migration studies and human rights.

A wide-ranging look at football’s powerful but controversial governing body.

Football is the world’s most popular sport and truly a global phenomenon. As a result, it attracts huge sums of money from its advertisers, sponsors and broadcasters, including FIFA, the sport’s international governing body. So, given its decidedly chequered history, the question of what FIFA is for is crucial to the game’s future.

Examining the organisation’s successes such as the explosion of interest in the women’s game, alongside its failures and continuing crises over corruption and ethics, Alan Tomlinson asks: what will it take for FIFA to truly live up to its own mission of integrity, fair play and accessibility?

Conventional research methods often marginalise the voices of those most affected by the issues being studied, limiting the potential for meaningful, transformative change. In education, health, social care, community development and many other fields, there is a growing need for research that is inclusive, accessible and responsive to real-world complexity.

This textbook offers a comprehensive introduction to co-operative inquiry: a participatory research methodology grounded in collaboration, reflection and shared knowledge creation. Acting as a how-to guide and companion text, it supports readers in designing and conducting ethical, practice-based research that draws on lived experience as much as professional expertise. The authors demonstrate how co-operative inquiry can integrate action research and mixed methods to produce both nuanced and authentic insights.

With guidance from leading experts and emerging voices in the field, this book is an essential resource for ethical researchers at every career stage. It equips readers with the confidence, tools and inspiration to generate impactful, equity-driven knowledge.

A new perspective on the role of the market, and its future place in society.

Markets are apparently straightforward: they connect buyers to sellers. But their operation is complex, depending on places, things, networks and performances. Belief in markets is a cultural and political ideology. They are a means of governance in modern society, linked to individualistic self-responsibility.

But markets also have a darker side. Not everything should be for sale. Markets wield political power; they benefit those who already have resources; they impair collective action; they can be exploitative. As well as asking what markets are for, this book asks who they are for and what needs to change if they are to enable us to thrive in the 21st century.

This accessible introduction to planning law covers England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in equal depth. Linking legal principles to real-world planning practice, it shows how planning law shapes our built environment.

Fully updated to reflect the latest legislative changes, this second edition explores key topics such as governance, environmental assessment and major infrastructure projects. It features:

- recommended reading lists;

- illustrative photographs;

- case study text boxes.

Designed for students of planning, law and property-related fields, this textbook provides the essential knowledge of the legal and regulatory framework you’ll need in practice. Whether you're studying planning law for the first time or looking for a concise reference, this is your go-to guide.

Available open access digitally under CC-BY 4.0

This book shares insights from the Healthy Ageing Challenge, bringing research, policy and practice together to create age-friendly homes, workplaces and communities.

Spanning co-design with older people, business collaboration and innovations in design, work, housing, culture and health, it explores the real-world impact of ageing research and the opportunities for business in developing an ageing market.

From age-friendly homes to climate-resilient communities, the book provides a rich evidence base for healthier, more connected lives.

This book examines how global humanitarian systems shape partnerships in education in emergencies. Focusing on the Syrian refugee crisis and the education response in Lebanon, it reveals how colonial legacies, structural racism and the marketization of aid enable Global North actors to dictate policies and practices, while marginalizing local voices and knowledge. Yet in moments of crisis, community-led initiatives and smaller partnerships proved to be agile and responsive.

Rather than offering celebratory accounts of “partnership,” the book draws on rigorous research to foreground the structural inequities that constrain them—while also pointing to possibilities for more just, community driven alternatives. A vital resource for scholars, practitioners and policy makers, it offers concrete pathways for reshaping humanitarian practice to support sustainable, responsive education for refugee learners.

A deeply researched look at the debate around immigration policy, and possible paths forward.

Does political rhetoric on immigration policy match what is actually happening on the ground? Why do well-intentioned plans fail? Could immigration policy be done better?

This book explores what immigration policy seeks to achieve and why so many people end up unhappy with the outcome. Drawing on decades of research and examples from high-income countries around the world, it exposes the unavoidable trade-offs governments face, and the impacts of their choices on people and communities.

It reveals how we got here, why the policy challenge is so difficult, and how we get to a better place.

How might vulnerability be rethought beyond its traditional associations with weakness and reimagined as the basis of solidarity?

Across the world, there are unprecedented numbers of dispossessed people; rights and resources are increasingly inaccessible to those who need them most, and the responsibilities we have to one another are continually undermined and exploited.

Referencing three sets of social relations – breathing, grieving and appearing, this book examines how recognition of our shared but always socially situated vulnerability could be the basis for organizing our lives in ways that better support relationality, solidarity and care, now and for the future.

This book exposes the strategies that make migrants’ lives unliveable and explores their resistance to this violence. Drawing on years of research across Europe, the author captures the lived reality of asylum seekers, refugees and other marginalised migrants, including their struggles with constant evictions, detention, push-backs, deportations and violence.

Blending feminist, intersectional and decolonial perspectives, the book reframes exhaustion as both a tool of governance and a site of struggle. By amplifying neglected voices and envisioning politics grounded in solidarity, care and friendship, this is a powerful call to rethink how movement, borders and resistance are understood.

This book poses a straightforward set of questions: What is happening to trust in our democracies? Where is it faltering and where is it stable? And among which groups is this taking place? To answer these, the book assesses the state of trust in established democracies in the twenty-first century.

It looks beyond political trust in government to examine confidence in a wide range of institutions, including courts, universities and the media. This broader view reveals not a uniform collapse but a patchwork of outcomes. In many places, citizens still report moderate or high trust in government, while confidence in other institutions often remains strong.

The findings challenge crisis-driven narratives. While trust has eroded in some nations, especially the United States, in many others it has stayed steady for decades. This book invites readers to move beyond the drama of crisis narratives and towards a richer reality in which trust is not vanishing wholesale, but shifting unevenly across countries and institutions.

Practitioners and managers in child protection often struggle to focus on the needs of children and families in the face of ever-expanding bureaucracy.

This book brings together authors from across Europe to explore the strategies and solutions that promote doing things right by those in need rather than to the letter of procedure. It argues that more flexible, community/relationship/partnership-based approaches are required to meet the needs of parents and children experiencing difficulties and risk of harm.

Essential reading for academics, practitioners, managers and policy makers in social work and child welfare, it contributes to the development of reflective thinking and spotlights the potential of co-production and co-creation.

Focusing on inward foreign direct investment (FDI) screening, this book provides an in-depth analysis of how European states’ economic interactions with China have become a security issue.

Based on 100 interviews with scholars, journalists, policy makers, and politicians from across Europe, the book underscores the importance of the policy making process that led to the adoption of investment screening in European nations for the development of the EU's economic security approach. The book details how the economic security shift in Europe is attributed to changes such as China’s growing economic presence, the persistence of non-market practices, the loss of competitiveness, and the use of economic statecraft.

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

How do international climate and energy organizations survive and thrive despite powerful contestation? This analysis reveals how the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) maintain legitimacy when key players like the United States withdraw from global agreements.

Using qualitative research including interviews and participant observation, this book unveils the 'norm for climate change action'—a powerful principle that transforms contestation into reinforcement of international climate governance. In doing so, it demonstrates how opposition doesn't destroy these organizations but paradoxically strengthens their role in global climate action.

How can diversity be practiced without reinforcing the very inequalities it aims to dismantle?

In this book, Maddy Janssens and Chris Steyaert address this pressing question by critically examining the assumptions behind current diversity initiatives and turning to critical practice theory and queer theory for novel insights. Through imaginative concepts, inspiring illustrations, and an integrative case study within the dance world, the authors articulate the ‘conditions of possibility’ for a fresh, impactful alternative. This book advocates for a shift from individual efforts to collective practices, proposing a politics of organizational worldmaking oriented at multiplicity – a practicing of diversity that aspires to transformative change into livable and just work lives.

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is recurrently depicted as an enterprise that unites humanity in a common pursuit of a more just and sustainable world. But how is this enterprise pursued on a planet that is enormously unequal? Drawing on biopolitical theory and rich empirical data from different contexts around the world, this book explores how ESD is unpacked depending on whether people are rich or poor.

The book demonstrates how ESD is adapted to the lifestyles and living conditions of different populations. The implication of this depoliticized sensitivity to local ‘realities’, the book argues, is that inequality becomes accommodated and that different responsibilities are assigned to rich and poor. Ultimately, the book considers alternatives to this biopolitical divide.

Healthcare for transgender people is in crisis. Many of the problems stem from bureaucracies within the health system, limiting conceptualizations of sex and gender, and the requirement for a diagnosis of ‘gender dysphoria’.

This book presents a unique argument for full demedicalization of transness as a crucial step towards removing existing barriers to good healthcare. Resisting the current norm of separating sex and gender, it also argues for an understanding of them as necessarily interlinked and co-constructed.

By elevating trans voices and experiences, this book offers a new perspective on transness, medicalization and research methodologies to help trans people, practitioners and policy makers better understand the barriers faced by trans people when seeking healthcare.

Bringing concepts from critical transitional justice and peacebuilding into dialogue with education, this book examines the challenges youth and their teachers face in the post-conflict settings of Bougainville and Solomon Islands.

Youth in these places must reconcile with the violent past of their parents’ generation while also learning how to live with people once on opposing ‘sides'. This book traces how students and their teachers form connections to the past and each other that cut through the forces that might divide them. The findings illustrate novel ways to think about the potential for education to assist post-conflict recovery.

To mitigate climate, biodiversity, and public health crises, the global agrifood system needs radical change. The Global North remains central to agrifood innovation but new players in the South, especially Brazil and China, will increasingly determine its pace and direction.

Investigating climate-controlled agriculture and alternatives to animal proteins, John Wilkinson shows that trade, investment, and innovation in agrifood is reorienting to the South. As the global population becomes increasingly urban, he skilfully illustrates the connections between social movements and technological innovation – and the need for consumer acceptance of new food habits.

This book traces the process of producing testimonio with the children of the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA), an insurgent group during Peru’s internal war (1980–2000). It examines how the group navigates post-war struggles over memory while dealing with the ‘children of terrorists’ stigma.

Drawing on a cycles of inquiry approach, the book theorizes three movements for memory work: a realist presentation of testimonial narratives, a ‘politics of memory’ engaging with the conditions of production and a ‘poetics of memory’ that troubles memory, voice and representation for qualitative inquiry in post-war contexts.

Challenging the notion of war-torn countries as pure devastation, the author invites readers to see them as sites of knowledge and creativity, with much to offer for education, peace studies and social justice research.

Education is considered central to social mobility and, following a drive to raise learners’ aspirations, an ‘aspiration industry’ has emerged.

However, the desire to leave school early should not be regarded as evidence of students lacking ambition. This book traces the emergence of the aspiration industry and argues that to have ambitions that do not require qualifications is different, but not wrong.

Reviewing the performance of six schools in England, their Ofsted reports and responses, it evaluates underpinning assumptions of what makes an effective school. This book critically examines neo-liberal education policy developments, including the 1988 Education Reform Act, and the political discourse around changing explanations of education ‘failure’ with the rise in the marketisation of education.

Embodying Irish Abortion Reform has been shortlisted for the 2025 BSA Philip Abrams Memorial Prize.

Offering a unique perspective, this book explores the lived, embodied and affective experiences of reproductive rights activists living under, and mobilizing against, Ireland’s constitutional abortion ban.

Through qualitative research and in-depth interviews with activists, the author exposes the subtle influence of the 8th Amendment on Irish women and their (reproductive) bodies, whether or not they have ever attempted to access a clandestine abortion.

It explains how the everyday embodied practices, bodily labours and affective experiences of women and gestating people were shaped by the 8th amendment and through the need to ‘prepare’ for crisis pregnancies. In addition, it reveals the integral role of women’s bodies and emotions in changing the political and social landscape in Ireland, through the historical transformation of the country’s abortion laws.

Today drag has an unprecedented mass cultural appeal. Reaching far beyond traditional queer venues and audiences into the mainstream, it has evolved into a booming industry worth millions of dollars.

Drag is art, politics, lifestyle and entertainment all in one. Yet, studies examining its market value as a product, brand or consumption practice remain scarce. This interdisciplinary collection fills that void, exploring the intersection of drag and markets.

Written by an international group of scholars exploring cases from Europe, Asia and the US, this will be a key resource for anyone curious about drag’s social, political and economic impact.

How can we help children make a difference, allowing them to shape their communities, locally and globally? Drawing on a rich blend of academic research and case studies, Alison Body critically examines societal structures, including education, communities and cultural narratives, that shape children's understanding of active, philanthropic citizenship.

Children as Change-Makers calls for a reimagining of philanthropy as a form of participatory citizenship, advocating for a philanthropic ecosystem framed by justice, solidarity and collective action. It serves as a roadmap for all stakeholders – from individuals to institutions – to empower children as agents of positive social change, fostering a more just world for generations to come.

It is impossible to view the news at present without hearing talk of crisis.

This timely book looks at how three major crises – the economy, pandemic and climate – are related to the crisis of work, making it more precarious, intense and unequal.

Providing an original and critical synthesis of recent trends in the field, expert scholars offer a programme for transcending the crisis of work.

Offering a timely contribution to understanding the important issues facing the world, this book presents an important new way of thinking about work in contemporary societies.

Why have so many radical thinkers advocated for the abolition of prisons and punishment? And why have their ideas been so difficult to popularize or garner the political will for change? This book outlines several different approaches to penal abolitionism and showcases their calls for the ending of legal coercion, domination, and repression.

This exciting and innovative edited collection shows how abolitionist ideas have continued topicality and relevance in the present day and how they can collectively help with devising new ways of thinking about social problems, as well as suggesting alternatives to existing penal policies, practices and institutions.

Pension policy in the UK and US is designed on the assumption that people make informed financial decisions, consistently invest in pensions and manage diverse portfolios. Deviating from this is often deemed irresponsible and irrational. However, this assumption overlooks uncontrollable factors like caring duties, employment breaks or income limitations. Even when individuals act as expected, unpredictable market shifts can hinder long-term planning.

This book redefines deviations to “rational behaviour” as logical responses to a dysfunctional system. Challenging existing theoretical discussions and policy approaches, it proposes a fresh perspective on rationality when it comes to financial practices and policy.

Creative research methods for data generation have expanded over recent decades and researchers are eager to take a creative approach to data analysis.

It is challenging to bring creativity into data analysis while retaining a systematic, rigorous, and ethical approach. Written by experts in the field, this handbook addresses these challenges. The chapters adapt analytical techniques in creative ways for novice and expert researchers. Existing and novel methods from analysis of quantitative data to embodied, performative, visual, written, arts-based, and collaborative analysis are featured with case examples that are transferable across disciplines.

This collection offers a definitive practical guide to creative data analysis.

A rich and enlightening study of Chinese international relations, this book examines Chinese world ordering before the West as both intellectual history and institutional practices in deep world history. It shows how engaging China’s historical pursuit of ordering the world can contribute to our search for global foundations of international thought.

Offering a distinctive English School perspective, this volume is a call to put studies of Chinese international relations in their proper historical context. It argues that such an approach leads to a better understanding of Chinese ideas and statecraft and contends that reimagining the international is indispensable for a fruitful pursuit of knowledge production in the construction of global IR.

Looking at how austerity has become embedded in institutional practices, this book offers new critical insights into the uneven geographies created by austerity.

Reflecting on the spatially and socially uneven impacts of austerity on individuals and families, Julie MacLeavy shows how the ‘new normal’ of post-welfare state governance will negatively condition life chances, even in better economic times. She considers the political, economic and social developments that have led us to the present moment and shows how the rhetoric of austerity has pushed social inequality and uneven development off the political agenda.

This book aims to revitalise the link between social justice and labour law through exploring the issue of personhood and the 'subject' of the law.

Rodgers argues that incorporating a more 'relational' notion of self into labour law not only provides a fresh normative perspective through which to evaluate existing labour laws, but will also make us more able to respond to labour market 'shocks' and labour market change into the future, including the introduction of AI.

It is only by embedding relationality into our law that can we really respect the humanity of workers and construct a legal framework through which social justice can be achieved at work.

What does it mean for the social sciences to take colonialism seriously – not just as an issue of the past, but in terms of its continuing consequences in the present? While calls to decolonize the curriculum are increasing, few resources show what this means in terms of the everyday categories and concepts of the social sciences. This textbook addresses that gap by rethinking key themes—migration, citizenship, inequality, and the environment—through a critical engagement with colonial histories.

Developed from the Connected Sociologies Curriculum Project (CSCP) and written by scholars committed to transforming their teaching and research, the book challenges long-standing assumptions and provides practical, classroom-ready resources. It enables teachers and students to approach familiar topics from new angles, opening space for more rigorous and inclusive debates.

Pedagogical and distinctive features include:

• Structured chapters with learning objectives, summaries, discussion questions and reading lists;

• Thematic case studies that complement conceptual chapters;

• Links to rich digital resources, including videos and teaching tools from CSCP, Global Social Theory and Discover Society;

• Ready-made materials adaptable for undergraduate and sixth-form teaching.

Together, it makes an essential guide for anyone seeking to broaden the scope and depth of social science education.

What role does journalism play in shaping how we understand climate change and the planet we live on?

This thought-provoking book explores how media systems have helped construct our idea of the “human” Earth, from early nature reporting to today’s digital climate dashboards. Drawing on insights from the humanities and social sciences, it offers a fresh look at how news, data and storytelling influence public thinking in the age of the Anthropocene.

Building on the work of influential thinkers, the book asks how journalism can evolve to meet the demands of a rapidly changing world.

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

Do our tools for knowing about the world actually obscure important knowledge?

This book uncovers how knowledge infrastructures—including satellite tracking, climate models, machine learning and citizen science apps—shape our understanding of contemporary crises. Rooted in logics of resource assessment, these systems often reinforce extractive thinking, even when intended to protect.

Beaulieu calls for a radical focus on relations to reimagine liveable futures: from monitoring and measuring to fostering connection, care and interdependence.

Drawing on science and technology studies and feminist critique, this book offers tools for transforming data practices, designing more responsive interfaces and building better infrastructures of survival.

EPUB and EPDF available open access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), commonly called the New Silk Road, is a huge infrastructure project currently revitalising or creating new trading routes and large developments across the globe. It is estimated to cost up to US$8 trillion and impact more than 65% of the world’s population.

This book explores the unequal ways this controversial project is altering livelihoods, places and the environment. From road building projects in Nairobi to grassroots environmental activism in Thailand, researchers from the Global North and South analyse the real-world impacts of this unprecedented project, bringing together critical geography and political ecology approaches.

For many centuries, Asia had been the apex of human civilization, home to the greatest concentrations of wealth, power and population. Yet by the mid-twentieth century, in the aftermath of colonialism and war, much of the continent was mired in poverty and underdevelopment.

This book tells the sweeping story of Asia’s modern resurgence: how globalization, supply chains and market-led integration powered unprecedented economic growth and lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty. It explores the creativity, energy and resilience that made this possible, while examining the dark side of that success: new geopolitical and nationalistic tensions that threaten to unravel this progress.

As Asia stands at a crossroads, facing both extraordinary opportunity and escalating risk, this timely analysis offers insight into the forces shaping its future. Drawing on history, economics and geopolitics, it is a call for thoughtful leadership to ensure that peace and prosperity rather than conflict and division define the next chapter of Asia’s story.

Despite global advances in children’s rights, young people are routinely disregarded, overpowered and excluded. This persistent discrimination – known as adultism – permeates family life, education, urban design, legal systems and political discourse.

In this groundbreaking book, the authors provide a comprehensive introduction to adultism from an academic perspective while also emphasising its practical implications. Drawing on rich, real-world examples and research, they analyse it as a systemic form of discrimination, exploring how it evolved and is reproduced through language, institutions and everyday practices.

Timely, accessible and urgent, this book offers a vision for resistance and transformation, outlining how adultism can be challenged – by both adults and young people – to co-create a more equitable future.

Understanding Contemporary Childhood introduces students to the ways in which childhood is socially constructed by a range of social, cultural and political forces. Accessibly written and assuming no prior knowledge, it outlines key social theories to show how ideas and approaches are influenced by different ways of understanding children and society and how this creates childhoods which can differ markedly from previous generations.

With chapter guides, help with written assignments and suggestions for further reading, the book:

• Provides an accessible, yet critical account of established theories of childhood, such as the importance of attachment, emphasis on learning and the role of play;

• Explores crucial emerging issues, including transgender rights, the rise of misogyny, social media influences and the impact of the climate crisis; and

• Will equip students with practical study skills guidance to critically engage with ideas about how society shapes childhood today.

Whether new to the subject or deepening your critical perspective, this book equips readers with the tools to understand and interrogate the complex realities of childhood in the 21st century.

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

This book offers a comprehensive analysis of why and when member states threaten to withdraw from regional international organizations (RIOs).

A unique dataset covers over 120 exit threats across RIOs from all world regions. The book explains variation as a result of limited specific and diffuse support, such as the inability to exert influence or prevail under majority decision-making, as well as a lack of democratic socialization. With nationalism and populism on the rise, this timely study unpacks crucial pressure points in international institutions, offering invaluable insights into how they can maintain stability in the face of internal contestations.

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

As an outcome of the European Green Deal, European Climate Pact Ambassadors (ECPAs) were established to promote climate action within their networks at both a local and an EU level. This book focuses on the volunteers who commit to the role of ECPA and unpacks who steps up, how they advocate for policy change and what they experience along the way.

Bridging political sociology, policy analysis and multi-level governance, the book offers a rare insight into EU-level civic participation.

Globally, social workers are committed to human rights and challenging unjust social structures. However, their close ties to the state often reinforce such systems of oppression.

The first to apply abolitionist theory from international perspectives to social work, this book examines this contradiction, exploring whether social work can embrace radical change while operating within state structures. Bringing together scholars from the United States, Canada, England, Ireland, Scotland, Finland, Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, it explores alternatives for addressing issues such as child protection, mental health, violence against women, drug use, violent extremism, homelessness and Indigenous sovereignty.

Essential reading for academics, researchers, students, human service practitioners and social activists, this book interrogates the implications of social work’s complicity with systems that perpetuate oppression and social injustice.

From the US to Europe and beyond, diversity and inclusion efforts are increasingly being caught in the crossfire of a culture war. As the backlash against ‘DEI’ grows, fairness and dignity are being reframed as divisive – rather than just smart business. So how did we get here, and what can we do about it?

Very few of us are skilled in inclusion, hoping it will be enough to be ‘nice’. However, this optimistic attitude can turn would-be allies into passive bystanders. This book is for anyone who wants to support equality: inside are tools and practical guidance to help navigate complexity, challenge complacency and take meaningful action.

Despite growing recognition of fathers’ involvement in family life, dominant narratives still marginalise men’s caring roles. Caring Fathers in the Global Context addresses a pressing gap in our shared understanding: how care is practised and experienced by men across diverse cultural, social and policy settings.

Drawing on wide-ranging, international research, this timely edited collection offers a rich, comparative exploration of how men become ‘caring fathers’ and the pathways leading to this. It connects fatherhood studies with care scholarship to provide new theoretical and empirical insights into how care is shared, negotiated and made meaningful in everyday life.

A vital and interdisciplinary resource for anyone studying families and social change, this book invites readers to rethink care, masculinity and intergenerational relationships in a rapidly changing world.

Pride events have become a powerful global symbol of LGBTQIA+ visibility, celebrated in settings ranging from urban centres to remote villages across the Global North and South.

Drawing on decolonial theories, this book examines the complex relationship between Pride and modernity while addressing pressing issues such as accessibility, grassroots activism and environmental sustainability in a post-pandemic era. Challenging Eurocentric narratives of progress, modernity and human rights, the author introduces the concept of ‘Kaleidoscope Modernities’ to reveal the diverse meanings Pride embodies worldwide.

Essential for understanding the shifting landscapes of LGBTQIA+ rights and cultures, this book offers a bold, fresh perspective.

Between August 2022 and July 2024, GMB Union membership at Amazon’s BHX4 Coventry warehouse skyrocketed, with 37 days of strike action resulting in a 28.5% pay rise. Yet despite this, the union narrowly lost a ballot that would have forced Amazon to grant formal recognition.

Based on ethnographic research and reflective essays from worker-leaders and organizers, this book offers a rich case study of the factors contributing to the union’s successes and setbacks. It provides a practical organizing model applicable beyond Amazon, offering strategies to engage the workforce, sustain support and develop leadership. An essential toolkit for those navigating the complexities of evolving labour practices, with particular relevance for precarious workers and workplaces where access is limited.

Despite Nigeria’s critical position in African security, academics and policymakers globally often overlook the gravity of its security challenges. This book examines Nigeria’s survival and its implications on international security.

It uses the Nigerian case to contribute to a broader understanding of how great powers relate with small powers, such as most African states. The Nigerian case contributes to the body of literature that integrates small/minor powers into realist studies in International Relations. The empirical and theoretical contributions offer insights for developing more effective policies to address the security challenges outlined in the book.

Affirmative action in US college admissions has inspired fierce debate as well as several US Supreme Court cases. In this significant study, leading US professors J. Scott Carter and Cameron D. Lippard provide an in-depth examination of the issue using sociological, policy and legal perspectives to frame both pro- and anti-affirmative action arguments, within past and present Supreme Court cases.

With affirmative action policy under constant attack, this is a crucial book that not only explains the state of this policy but also further deconstructs the state of race and racism in American society today.

EPDF and EPUB available open access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.

Money is central to capitalism and to our many sustainability crises. Could we remake money so as to advance sustainable economies and fair societies? A growing number of scholars, politicians and activists think we can, and they are doing it from the bottom up.

This book examines how grassroots groups, municipalities and radical crypto-entrepreneurs are remaking money by designing and organising complementary currencies. It argues that in their novel ideas and governance practices lie the key for building green and inclusive economies.

Engaging imaginatively with the future of money, this accessible book will appeal to anyone interested in constructing a more sustainable and just world.

In recent years, UN agencies, global tech corporations, states and humanitarian NGOs have invested in advanced technologies from smart borders to digital identities to manage migratory movements. These are surveillance technologies that have intensified the militarization of borders and became a testing ground for surveillance capitalism.

This book shows how these technologies reproduce structural inequalities and discriminative policies. Korkmaz reveals the way in which they grant extensive powers to states and big tech corporations to control communities.

Unpacking the effects of surveillance capitalism on vulnerable populations, this is a much-needed intervention that will be of interest to readers in a range of fields.

Available open access digitally under a CC-BY-NC-ND license.

This book examines the significance of both historical and contemporary inequality in shaping diplomatic disagreements in international relations.

The author demonstrates that the North-South divide has endured into the 21st century by drawing on three decades of data measuring the foreign policy positions of states on divisive global issues, including new text-based measures of international priorities within the United Nations General Assembly. This divide reflects the dissatisfaction of many states of the Global South with the post-Cold War international order, owing to historical legacies of unequal development.

Wide-ranging and rigorous, this new empirical investigation demonstrates the ongoing relevance of material inequality for international politics and the multilateral system.

A truly welcoming and inclusive city is not just an aspiration—it is essential to the future of our increasingly diverse urban societies.

Yet too often, policy and practice lack the theoretical and research foundations needed for meaningful and effective implementation.

This book bridges this gap, offering an interdisciplinary framework grounded in empirical research and case studies from 12 UK cities and international partners. Engaging with key governance challenges, it explores how cities define and implement welcoming policies across multiple sectors.

Moving beyond critique, this book provides a constructive, action-oriented approach to integration and social cohesion. It will be essential reading for UK policy makers, regional leaders and scholars from sociology and political science to migration studies and urban governance.

A century after the state's foundation, Ireland faces an acute homelessness crisis with families and children increasingly affected. This book uncovers how decades of housing policy, financial decisions and social factors have shaped today’s housing insecurity. It is the first to take a historical approach, tracing the roots of homelessness back to key policy decisions taken over the past century.

By understanding how we got here, it offers crucial insights into breaking the cycle. Essential reading for policy makers, scholars and anyone concerned about Ireland’s housing future, with lessons for other jurisdictions, this book reveals why solving homelessness requires rethinking how we build and fund housing.

Britain’s national identity continues to be shaped by its imperial past and its journey towards accepting a truly multiracial, multicultural and multifaith future. In the wake of Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic and intense political and cultural upheaval, questions of race, education and belonging persist in their urgency.

This new edition of the seminal text explores Britain’s shifting identity from empire to a modern nation. It examines race, politics, education and national identity in a time of turbulent change. With fresh insights on the pandemic, leadership crises and culture wars, it critically assesses Britain’s evolving place in the world.

Including developments from 2019 onwards, this updated edition offers vital new chapters on the era from Johnson to Starmer, Black Lives Matter, the Sewell Report and the changing face of educational policy under successive ministers. It provides a sharp, comprehensive and timely analysis of how race and education intersect with Britain's ongoing search for identity.

Truth is for striving at, for the sake of good collective action.

With new media technologies, it seems that falsehoods can spread faster and further than ever. And with new norms of public discourse, while being caught in a lie would once end a politician’s career, today it is shrugged off, which has profound implications for democracy. Does the truth no longer matter?

This optimist’s guide to truth argues that the problem of truth is an ancient one. It contends that truth is the best device we have for coordinating collective decisions and actions, and that, while the truth itself is perpetually elusive, the concept of truth as a target ideal to strive for is supremely useful. If we do not strive for truth, our decisions will be risky at best, often foolish and sometimes disastrous. This longstanding problem will not be solved with modern technology or regulations, but with measures we must all apply: mindfulness, humility, cooperation and optimism.

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

Solar power is a renewable technology with huge benefits for both the Global North and South – but with an unavoidable byproduct: waste. This book – the first to examine the off-grid solar industry in Kenya – questions the technology’s sustainability and is based on ethnographic fieldwork with the independent repair workers at the sharp end of the solar revolution.

Declan Murray proposes that, rather than imposing an external blueprint, energy development projects in the Global South should adopt the approach of the ‘bricoleur’ – which means learning from past experiences, drawing on resources at hand and prioritising function over form. He concludes with realistic and practical solutions to the problems of solar product breakdown, disposal, repair and recycling.

Traditional governance in education often struggles to accommodate the dynamic and evolving interactions between cognitive, emotional and socio-cultural factors that shape learning.

This book introduces Pragmatic Adaptive Leadership, a systems-based approach that equips leaders and researchers with the tools to develop adaptive models of educational change. Drawing on social theory and complexity science, the authors provide practical frameworks for shaping future-orientated decision-making and policy development that meets learners where they are.

Essential reading for school leaders, policy makers, educators and researchers of learning sciences, this book offers vital tools for complexity-informed leadership.

In 2022, Faith In Nature became the first company to appoint Nature to its board of directors, giving the natural world a voice and a vote in every decision and redefining the meaning of corporate responsibility. Nature’s Boardroom offers a behind-the-scenes look at this groundbreaking initiative, outlining how businesses can embed ‘Nature governance’ into their organisations.

Simeon Rose, Brand Director at Faith In Nature and co-creator of Nature on the Board, shares the story of how this bold idea took shape, the challenges and insights gained, and why more companies should follow suit.

Offering simple, practical tools for businesses, sustainability professionals and entrepreneurs, this book is a call to action for rethinking the relationship between business and the natural world.

Despite its huge public profile, surprisingly little is known about child protection work. Discussion focuses on failures that result in children dying, or on what social workers cannot do, due to bureaucratic pressures and limited time. This book examines in detail how social workers can use the time they do have to relate to children and families, make child protection work and create meaningful change.

Featuring:

• Detailed examination of real-world child protection work and family experiences based on original research;

• A new vocabulary for understanding and improving social work and relationship-based practice;

• New insights into how to provide effective staff support and supervision;

• Original integration of psychoanalytic and sociological perspectives; and

• Practical tools for navigating challenges such as working with infants and managing hostile relationships.

Sure to become a classic social work text, this book explores how helpful relationships are made and sustained, and how they can be made better. It provides a new ‘forward-facing’ approach, with practical and theoretical insights into how, and under what organisational conditions, relationship-based practice and child protection can be made to work.

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

Post growth and degrowth scholars argue that we cannot reduce CO2 emissions fast enough to keep global warming below 2 degrees while continuing economic growth. We face a choice: either we innovate how to scale down production and consumption equitably, or we risk severe environmental and social consequences.

Yet the role of innovation remains largely unexplored within contemporary post growth debates. This book fills that gap, examining the narratives, processes, and practices needed to break free from the growth imperative.

It offers a bridge for understanding the far-reaching implications of technological and scientific advancements in a society that challenges economic growth as its central focus.

Mobile apps have transformed how we live, work and connect – but at what cost?

This book examines the immense power Apple and Google wield over society, arising from their control of app stores as well as mobile operating systems and browsers. With the EU’s new Digital Services Act defining their influence as a potential “systemic risk,” Konrad Kollnig unpacks the implications for competition, privacy and regulation.

Offering a clear roadmap for scholars as well as policy-makers, this book not only reveals the hidden risks of app ecosystems but also outlines practical solutions for ensuring fairer digital markets.

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

Images can play a key role in communication – but climate change imagery can be formulaic and narrow in perspective. Going beyond polar bears and wildfires, this book is a manifesto for opening up the visual discourse on climate.

Rather than portraying scenarios that can be remote from many people’s lives, Saffron O’Neill shows how images can be powerful tools to engage viewers and enable them to connect different issues together. With engaging case studies and practical advice throughout, the book shows how visuals can represent climate change in more diverse, equitable, inclusive and responsible ways.

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

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted economies and upended lives – but did it also open the door to more inclusive policies?

Focusing on both attitudinal and institutional repercussions of the pandemic, and transcending Western-centric narratives and case studies, this book asks the question: has the COVID-19 pandemic facilitated the adoption of more generous and inclusive social policies in Southeast Asia?

Combining original survey data with qualitative policy analysis in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, this concise yet rigorous volume challenges long-held beliefs and provides a comparative framework for understanding welfare change in politically and economically varied contexts. Valuable reading for anyone seeking to understand how crises can reshape public expectations and state responses.

Available open access digitally under CC-BY licence.

How is political change claimed and recognized? How is it attached to actors and transferred between them? This volume gives a new account of a mechanism that is celebrated in liberal discourse but trickier in practice: the performance and uptake of examples.

Bringing together thinkers from different disciplines and places, this book considers the networks of reception and emulation within which a political act can become an example, circulating beyond the bounds of identities, norms, and ideologies. Tracing short- and long-term interactions among aspirational, dissident, and establishment performances, the volume reveals exemplarity to be a shaping force in global politics.