Political Science books

Tourism and travel have been with us since time immemorial. However, with the onset of the industrial age and the use of railways, ships, motorcars, and aeroplanes, travelling possibilities—for both business and pleasure, domestic and international—were transformed. The annals of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) provide us with unmatched insights into this fascinating story, yet these archives have never been exhaustively exploited.  The History of the World Tourism Organization takes us on a unique journey to explain how tourism has burgeoned between the early twentieth century and now. Drawing on the UNWTO’s regularly published tourism statistics, this book provides comprehensive discussions of the consequences of an unhindered flow of tourists; the consequent protection of natural assets; the safeguarding of tourism resources; how frontier formalities affect this sector; how tourism impacts on world trade; and the promotion of tourism to countries in economic decline. Collectively, these investigations offer an impartial understanding of modern tourism and its effects.  This definitive overview of this major intergovernmental organization is a must-read for students and scholars of tourism and hospitality, and it is of interest to anyone concerned with the past, present, and future of this ever-evolving and fundamentally human practice.

In Europe and other developed countries, much of the population live in small and medium sized towns. For many such places the pursuit of growth is no longer a viable strategic option. As the ability of small towns to compete with larger cities for private investment and government support diminishes, the number trapped in a spiral of long-term decline grows. Beginning with a brief overview of the global context, highlighting that urban shrinkage and decline is a widespread problem, Schlappa and Nishino illustrate how small towns can generate sustainable forward strategies in contrasting institutional contexts by fostering co-production, adjusting public facilities and right sizing the urban area. The analytical tools and practical examples provided by Schlappa and Nishino are relevant for political and administrative decisionmakers, leaders of civil society and business organisations in developing locally appropriate, creative and robust strategies to shrink smart and re-grow smaller.

The COVID-19 pandemic struck as a global problem, a virus spreading without respect for territorial boundaries. National responses to mitigate the multi-dimensional effects provoked by the pandemic have been varied. What factors within federal systems could be related to the success or failure of their attempts to face this crisis? How have political leaders been performing in the intergovernmental arena, along with subnational levels of government? American Federal Systems and COVID-19 analyzes five American federations – Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States – and how they have responded to a complex intergovernmental problem (CIP) such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Using an analytical model based on two dimensions – institutional design and political agency – this study shows how the combination between federal design and political leadership stances can develop different policy responses to face the challenge of the COVID-19. American Federal Systems and COVID-19 expands the current theoretical and empirical lens and learn what effective and ineffective actions implemented, giving essential insight to face boundary-spanning intergovernmental complex problems whose effects are very unlikely to cease anytime soon.

The promises, dreams and hopes of architects for future cities are now inextricably linked to climate change. Architects, Sustainability and the Climate Emergency: A Political Ecology chronicles how architects have shaped their ideas of the city—and sustainability—as knowledge of the climate emergency has unfolded. Have architects responded to the climate crisis too slowly? Describing a political ecology of architecture, Peter Raisbeck draws on architectural history, theory and practice, and the climate imaginaries of architects themselves. This exploration indicates how architects have viewed the climate emergency and positions architecture alongside the politics of climate and development studies. Raisbeck questions to what degree the traditional agency of architects leads to a political authority isolated from nature, human-environment systems and the nonhuman ecological subjects rapidly approaching tipping points. The fluidity of the climate emergency itself and its unfolding relationship to architectural knowledge suggests that new approaches, agencies and subjectivities are urgently required. As architects struggle to respond to the climate emergency, this book is an important and timely contribution to sustainability, climate and development debates. Architects, Sustainability and the Climate Emergency: A Political Ecology is a necessary provocation of a critical topic.

Artificial Intelligence and Global Security: Future Trends, Threats and Considerations brings a much-needed perspective on the impact of the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in military affairs. Experts forecast that AI will shape future military operations in ways that will revolutionize warfare. That is why there is an urgent need to consider the potential ethical and moral consequences related to enabling AI to make decisions that will shape the future world.  This book masterfully presents a vision of a future that is replete with integrated networks of artificial intelligence that are designed to both defend and attack nations. Artificial Intelligence and Global Security: Future Trends, Threats and Considerations has rendered a major service to those interested in the impact of artificial intelligence technologies and its contribution to the evolution and revolution in military warfare. It also explores the implications of AI for the individual, for personal identity, for society, and for global security; it examines the impact of AI on Just War Theory; and it offers diverse perspectives on the consequences of the integration of AI in our daily lives and society.

Efficient waste management is crucial for a sustainable future. However, due to population growth and the threat of global climate change, systems of urban waste management are under increasing pressure. For the waste sector, the prospect of transitioning to a circular economy presents an opportunity to promote organizational changes and improve performance, as well as contribute to a more sustainable world. Through the examination of case studies of municipalities and waste management firms across Europe, this book provides an overview of the most innovative best practices in urban waste management. The authors analyze the development and results of collection methods, tariff-setting systems, collaborations with partners and providers, recycling policies, and employees’ and stakeholders’ engagement programs. Given the complexity of urban waste management procedures, analysis is multidisciplinary, encompassing management, environmental and sociological perspectives. Providing an overview of opportunities for knowledge sharing and transfer among firms and municipalities to help them promote best practice, this book is a valuable reference for managers and policy makers in urban waste management.

Reactions to the Coronavirus pandemic have escalated the pre-existing tensions between the US and China and among different Western nations. Confrontations between political globalists and mercantilist nationalists - between supporters of the rules-based international order and proponents of overt protectionism - are fueling ever-stronger international resentments.  Coupling argumentative rigor with a pragmatic, plainspoken approach, Phil Mullan charts out a novel, democratic way past dangerous and self-defeating confrontations towards a future of open international collaboration based on popular participation within nation states. With its clear-eyed assessment of the opportunities and challenges of a more interconnected world - an assessment in which the economic internationalisation underpinning globalisation theories is neither romanticised nor vilified - Beyond Confrontation sets a judicious tone for the big geopolitical themes of our times.

Big data and its accompanying technological ecosystems have had a dramatic impact on business, politics and society. At the same time, the very nature of big data, a term that originates from computer science discourse, often remains opaque to research communities in other disciplines as well as to practitioners. Considering the pervasive impact of big data across a number of issues and domains, clearer insight into its functions and practical application is needed. Through a unique blend of case studies and critical analysis, Big Data and Decision-Making: Applications and Uses in the Public and Private Sector examines how big data influences contemporary societies in decision-making processes, strategy setting and overall performance. Covering topics ranging from data privacy to AI, big data in healthcare, SMEs, tourism and smart cities, contributors offer a critical appraisal of lessons learnt in the process of harnessing the promise inherent in big data. Big Data and Decision-Making: Applications and Uses in the Public and Private Sector breaks down the concept of big data to reveal how it has become integrated into the fabric of both public and private domains, as well as how its value can ultimately be exploited. To this end, its contributors call for the building of bridges between the computer science-driven debate on big data and research taking place in social sciences and management.

Biopolitics at 50 Years: Founding and Evolution explores the study of biology and politics through the prism of fifty years of experience presenting current research that illustrates the nature and evolution of biopolitics. Containing substantive chapters that address many issues using different methodologies, Biopolitics at 50 Years draws on different theoretical perspectives to advance the field. Beginning with a reflection on the origin and scholarly emphasises of biopolitics and concludes with future prospects in the field, this 13th volume of Research in Biopolitics explores the broad scale theoretical consideration of politics based on evolutionary factors affecting the political realm physiological factors affecting political behavior, public policy issues affected by biology and how human nature affects outcomes of policy making.

Brexit Negotiations after Article 50: Assessing Process, Progress and Impact brings together contributors from academia, politics and practice to discuss and debate the progress (or lack of) to date since the Prime Minister, Theresa May, enacted the Article 50 process to leave the EU on 29th March 2017.  This collection is split into two key areas of inquiry. The first section explores the process of Brexit and the multifaceted aspects of the Article 50 process, examining the arguments for and against membership of the European Union. The second section develops the arguments within the first section by providing thematic chapters on the likely impact of Brexit on particular sectors of the UK economy, namely: the financial services sector; SMEs and related supply chain issues; and, the automotive sector (as an emblematic sector for UK manufacturing).  The book will make a unique contribution to the debate on Brexit as it brings together academics and practitioners from both a 'Remain' and 'Leave' persuasion,  including Sir Bernard Jenkin, MP, economist Vicky Pryce and philosopher AC Grayling.