Other books that might interest you

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  Urban Governance and Renewal -...

  Lyric Vale

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  In the complex architecture of city-making, governance represents the invisible framework that shapes urban development, mediates competing interests, and determines whose voices influence the evolution of metropolitan spaces. Beyond physical infrastructure and economic dynamics, the political dimensions of urban environments—the policies, power structures, and institutional arrangements that guide development decisions—profoundly shape the trajectory of cities and the lived experiences of their inhabitants. This comprehensive exploration delves into the intricate domains of Urban Policy and Governance, The Politics of Urban Development, and Urban Renewal, examining how formal and informal power systems determine which neighborhoods flourish, which communities face displacement, and how the benefits and burdens of urban change are distributed. 
  The narrative of urban governance is fundamentally a story of contested visions, where multiple stakeholders—from elected officials and corporate interests to community organizations and marginalized populations—engage in complex negotiations over the future of shared urban spaces. By examining the historical evolution, contemporary challenges, and emerging paradigms of urban governance, this book illuminates how policy frameworks, political processes, and renewal strategies reflect deeper power dynamics and ideological perspectives about what cities should be and whom they should serve. Readers will journey through diverse urban contexts—from the boardrooms where development decisions are made to the grassroots movements that challenge established power structures—discovering how governance approaches have evolved from top-down interventions to more collaborative, participatory models that recognize the plurality of urban stakeholders.

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  Who Are the Russians?

  Alla Sergueeva

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  “An exceptional study. The author of the book has had the audacity to approach Russian chaos... armed with her desire to prove that the country is by no means a madhouse but simply an immense space, difficult to access for the outsider who is unfamiliar with Russian traditions, history and mentality.” Lyubova Klobukova, Izvestia. 
   
  “Alla Sergueeva’s book is highly topical. The author loves Russia, cares about its people, is proud of its history, culture and science.” Vladimir Nogovsky, Russian Thought.
   
  Should a foreigner accept an invitation to the Russian baths? How many glasses of vodka should you drink in one go before trying to refuse? Why do Russians endure life at great sacrifice? What is “Russian happiness” made of? And above all, what’s new in 21st-century Russia?
  Over the past fifteen years, the “mysterious Slavic soul” has undergone unprecedented metamorphosis. It was time to draw up an exhaustive inventory of the new way of life and psychology of the Russians.

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  The EqualVoice Mindset - How to...

  Stefan Mair, Annabella Bassler

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  So that gender equality doesn't go unnoticed
  
  In Switzerland, 72% of media coverage focuses on men. Globally, this figure rises to 82%, according to the Global Media Monitoring Project 2021. The aim of EqualVoice is to increase the visibility of women, create more female role models and give women and men an equal voice. In 2019, the media company Ringier launched the EqualVoice initiative in Zurich. Today, EqualVoice and its partners reach millions of users and its technology is used across Europe.
  
  This book tells the story of a movement that has become a benchmark for greater diversity: What milestones has it reached? What setbacks has it faced? How did the heated internal debates unfold? And what lessons can be learned — for the media industry and for other companies and movements?

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  Trauma Tresses and Truth -...

  Lyzette Wanzer

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  Black women continue to have a complex and convoluted relationship with their hair. 
   
   
   
  From grammar and high schools to corporate boardrooms and military squadrons, Black and Afro Latina natural hair continues to confound, transfix, and enrage members of White American society. Why, in 2022, is this still the case? Why have we not moved beyond that perennial racist emblem? And why are women so disproportionately affected? 
   
   
   
  Why does our hair become most palatable when it capitulates, and has been subjugated, to resemble Caucasian features as closely as possible? Who or what is responsible for the web of supervision and surveillance of our hair? Who in our society gets to author the prevailing constitution of professional appearance? 
   
    
   
  Particularly relevant during this time of emboldened White supremacy, racism, and provocative othering, this work explores how writing about one of the still-remaining systemic biases in schools, academia, and corporate America might lead to greater understanding and respect.

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  Russia's Road to War with...

  Samir Puri

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  "We don't yet know where the current battle is headed. But Puri's 'first cut' will help us greatly in fathoming how we got here." – Patrick Porter, Professor of International Security, University of Birmingham
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  When Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, many in the West were left stunned at his act of brutal imperialism. To those who had been paying attention, however, the warning signs of the bloodshed and slaughter to come had been there for years.
  Tracing the relationship between the two countries from the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 to Putin's invasion in 2022, what emerges from this gripping and accessible book is a portrait of a nation caught in a geopolitical tug of war between Russia and the West. While Russia is identified as the sole aggressor, we see how Western bodies such as the EU and NATO unrealistically raised Ukraine's expectations of membership before dashing them, leaving Ukraine without formal allies and fatally exposed to Russian aggression.
  As a former international observer, Samir Puri was present for several of the major events covered in this book. He uses this experience to ask honestly: how did we get here? Why does Vladimir Putin view Ukraine as the natural property of Russia? Did the West handle its dealings with these countries prudently? Or did it inflame the tensions left amidst the ruins of the Soviet Union? Were there any missed opportunities to avert the war? And how might this conflict end?

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  Aliens - The Chequered History...

  Paul Dowswell

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  The welcome given to refugees from fascist Europe is part of our fond nostalgia for Britain's role in the Second World War, nestling in our imagination next to images of evacuees clutching teddy bears, and milkmen picking their way through bomb rubble during the Blitz. But there is a darker side to this story. Then, as now, there was great suspicion, resentment and fear towards new arrivals, much of it kindled by the tabloid press. Then, as now, politicians dealt with a reluctance to accommodate refugees by hiding behind bureaucratic hurdles and obfuscation.
  Many of the 10,000 Kindertransport children who arrived here in the late 1930s have warm memories of the kindness they were shown, but half a million refugees were refused entry and most of them died as a result. And those who were accepted found their troubles far from over. While Britain fearfully awaited invasion in 1940, 30,000 Jews were interned as 'enemy aliens' and some were sent off to the colonies on dangerous and sometimes fatal voyages. Nor were Jews the only refugees clamouring for the thin gruel of public sympathy. Those fleeing fascism and civil war elsewhere in Europe found that whether they were met with kindness or hostility depended on the locals' political affiliations and newspapers of choice.
  Interweaving personal testimonies with historical sources, Paul Dowswell casts a fresh eye on the wartime era, painting a vivid picture of what life was really like for Britain's refugees.

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