5 Politics, Sociology eBooks

Managing Democracy in the Digital Age: Internet Regulation, Social Media Use, and Online Civic Engagement By Dr. Julia Schwanholz, Dr. Todd Graham, Prof. Dr. Peter-Tobias Stoll
International Security in the Asia-Pacific: Transcending ASEAN towards Transitional Polycentrism By Alan Chong
Bauxite Mining in Africa: Transnational Corporate Governance and Development By Dr. Johannes Knierzinger
Party Responses to the EU in the Western Balkans: Transformation, Opposition or Defiance? By Dr. Marko Stojić
Eli J. Finkel, "The All-or-Nothing Marriage: How the Best Marriages Work"

*Managing Democracy in the Digital Age: Internet Regulation, Social Media Use, and Online Civic Engagement By Dr. Julia Schwanholz, Dr. Todd Graham, Prof. Dr. Peter-Tobias Stoll

English | PDF | 2017 (2018 Edition) | 268 Pages | ISBN : 3319617079 | 4.53 MB
In light of the increased utilization of information technologies, such as social media and the ‘Internet of Things,’ this book investigates how this digital transformation process creates new challenges and opportunities for political participation, political election campaigns and political regulation of the Internet. Within the context of Western democracies and China, the contributors analyze these challenges and opportunities from three perspectives: the regulatory state, the political use of social media, and through the lens of the public sphere.
The first part of the book discusses key challenges for Internet regulation, such as data protection and censorship, while the second addresses the use of social media in political communication and political elections. In turn, the third and last part highlights various opportunities offered by digital media for online civic engagement and protest in the public sphere. Drawing on different academic fields, including political science, communication science, and journalism studies, the contributors raise a number of innovative research questions and provide fascinating theoretical and empirical insights into the topic of digital transformation.

*International Security in the Asia-Pacific: Transcending ASEAN towards

Transitional Polycentrism By Alan Chong
English | PDF | 2017 (2018 Edition) | 430 Pages | ISBN : 3319607618 | 4.09 MB
This volume argues that international security in the Asia-Pacific lends itself to contradictory analyses of centrifugal and centripetal trends. Transitional polycentrism is intrinsically awkward as a description of the security of states and their populations; it implies the loosening of state control and the emergence of newly asserted authority by mixed constellations of intergovernmental organizations and non-state actors.
It implies a competition of agendas: threats to the integrity of borders and human security threats such as natural disasters, airliner crashes, and displacement by man-made pollution and food scarcity. Conversely, polycentrism could also imply a return to a more neo-realist oriented international order where great powers ignore ASEAN and steer regional order according to their perceived interests and relative military superiority. This book embraces these contradictory trends as a foundation of analysis and accepts that disorder can also be re-described from the perspective of studied detachment as polycentric order.

*Bauxite Mining in Africa: Transnational Corporate Governance and Development By Dr. Johannes Knierzinger

English | PDF | 2017 (2018 Edition) | 280 Pages | ISBN : 3319527053 | 4.44 MB
This book deals with the consequences of the inclusion of African states and communities in the global aluminium chain. The so-called “New Scramble for Africa” of the 2000s illustrated how seriously African living conditions are affected by continuous cycles of boom and bust, and how strongly the quality of life currently depends on the investment decisions and corporate social responsibility policies of transnational corporations.
Taking the example of the global production network of bauxite and aluminium, the author focuses on the socio-political aspects of this dependency, which he achieves through the conducting of a series of interviews with various involved parties.

*Party Responses to the EU in the Western Balkans: Transformation, Opposition or Defiance? By Dr. Marko Stojić

English | PDF | 2017 (2018 Edition) | 297 Pages | ISBN : 3319595628 | 3.52 MB
This book examines how European issues have played out in Serbian and Croatian party politics since 2000, in the context of significant challenges brought by European integration of the Western Balkans.
It provides a comprehensive analysis of how political parties in these countries have determined and shifted their positions on the EU, by exploring the effect and interaction of party ideology and strategy, position within the party system, relations with the general public and voters as well as transnational party linkages. The author argues that the particular nature of European issues, closely related to crucial identity and statehood dilemmas in these post-conflict societies, largely determined party stances on the EU, feeding significant Eurosceptic sentiments. At the same time, a number of core parties underwent a rapid pro-EU conversion, pragmatically responding to internal and external incentives in the context of dynamic electoral competition and strong EU presence, and aimed at maximising their chances of securing executive office. The book will be of interest to advanced students and scholars in the fields of comparative politics, Western Balkan politics, and EU studies.

*Eli J. Finkel, "The All-or-Nothing Marriage: How the Best Marriages Work"

ISBN: 052595516X | 2017 | EPUB | 297 pages | 10.70 MB
"After years of debate and inquiry, the key to a great marriage remained shrouded in mystery. Until now…"
—Carol Dweck, author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
Eli J. Finkel's insightful and ground-breaking investigation of marraige clearly shows that the best marriages today are better than the best marriages of earlier eras. Indeed, they are the best marriages the world has ever known. He presents his findings here for the first time in this lucid, inspiring guide to modern marital bliss.
The All-or-Nothing Marriage reverse engineers fulfilling marriages—from the "traditional" to the utterly nontraditional—and shows how any marriage can be better.
The primary function of marraige from 1620 to 1850 were food, shelter, and protection from violence; from 1850 to 1965, the purpose revolved around love and companionship. But today, a new kind of marraige has emerged, one oriented toward self-discover, self-esteem, and personal growth. Finkel combines cutting-edge scientific research with practical advice; he considers paths to better communication and responsiveness; he offers guidance on when to recalibrate our expectations; and he even introduces a set of must-try "lovehacks."
This is a book for the newlywed to the empy nester, for those thinking about getting married or remarried, and for anyone looking for illuminating advice that will make a real difference to getting the most out of marriage today.