In the absence of external security threats—and especially given that most of the EU member states are also members of NATO—what explains the European Union's commitment to a distinct, common security policy? What justifies channeling funds from cash-strapped European governments to finance that policy?  Ranging from the early post -Cold War years to the present, Stephanie    More >

Through case studies of two prison systems—the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Dutch prison system—Arjen Boin identifies the challenges and opportunities that confront public managers who want to reorient correctional policy and make prisons more effective. Crafting Public Institutions contrasts the two prison systems to show how focused leadership—or its    More >

Is Nigeria, with its vast wealth in both human and natural resources, on the path to realizing its enormous potential? Or is it in danger of becoming a failed state? Crafting the New Nigeria considers the challenges that the country's leadership now faces, offering rich—and sobering—analyses of Nigeria's current political and economic systems.    More >

The term "global civil society" has become a catchphrase of our times. But efforts to define and interpret what global civil society actually is have led to ambiguity and dispute. The authors of Creating a Better World present illustrative cases of groups within civil society—from the Seattle and Genoa protesters to transnational grassroots movements such as Slum/Shack Dwellers    More >

This imaginative and ambitious book takes issue convincingly with common conceptions about the relationship—or lack of relationships—among race, nationalism, and religion. Manzo sets the modern nation-state in historical, global, and philosophical context to support three key themes. First, she argues that the theoretical literature on nations and nationalism is limited by a too-ready    More >

Creating Credibility provides concrete approaches to assessing and enhancing the legitimacy and accountability of civil society organizations—so that they can reach their full potential in contributions to governance and problem solving.    More >

Seldom do we notice, let alone explicitly acknowledge, that public policies set distinct parameters for gender. But as Creating Gender compellingly demonstrates, in reality governments do use policy—to legitimize and support some gender-based behaviors, while undermining others. Looking in depth at the case of welfare reform, but considering a wide range of policy arenas, the authors    More >

Managing ethnic nationalism within the People's Republic of China has become increasingly challenging. As new reforms widen economic disparities between minorities and the Han majority, even the most assimilated of minorities, the Zhuang, have begun to demand special treatment from the central government. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officially recognized the sixteen million Zhuang as    More >

How have politicians, planners, and power brokers deployed—or not—notions of creativity across the history of African cities from the colonial era to the present? The contributors to Creative Cities in Africa address this question as they frame critical approaches to architecture and urbanism and explore new and alternative forms of writing, thinking, and making the city.    More >

The first of its kind for any sport in South Africa: a cricket love story of epic dimensions, full of sometimes shocking details. Cricket and Conquest fundamentally revises long-established foundational narratives of early South African cricket,  reaching beyond whites-only mainstream histories to integrate at every stage and in every region the experiences of black, as well as women,    More >