The contemporary world has reached a pivotal moment of escalating injustices and apocalyptic risks, but also of unprecedented opportunities. Mounting pressures of social and ecological problems are met by a confluence of intellectual trends that allow the questioning of entrenched assumptions and the unleashing of a forward-oriented sociological imagination. In Global Sociology and the Struggles for a Better World, a diverse collection of international experts explore contemporary trends, alternative visions, and new directions for sociological research, raising issues that reflect the complexity of challenges facing future projects on a shared planet. Topics include: Global Inequality Multipolar Globalization Climate Change Contentious Politics and Social Movements Feminist and Indigenous Perspectives in Latin America An African-centred approach to Knowledge Production Post-Islamist Democracy Based on the revised papers of the Opening and Closing Plenaries of the Third ISA Forum of Sociology in Vienna, Austria, July 2016, which Markus Schulz organized on the theme "The Futures We Want: Global Sociology and the Struggles for a Better World."

This critical analysis of long-term trends and recent developments in world systems examines such questions as: Will the cycles of boom and bust, peace and war of the past 500 years continue? Or have either long-term trends or recent changes so profoundly altered the structure of world systems that these cycles will end or take on a less destructive form? The noted international contributors to this volume examine the question of future dominance of the core global systems and include comprehensive discussions of the economic, political and military role of the Pacific Rim, Japan and the former Soviet Union.

"Raquel Sosa Elízaga has assembled an incredibly complete set of analyses of inequality written by a range of scholars about a wide range of issues. Incomparable essential reading." - Immanuel Wallerstein, Senior Research Scientist, Sociology, Yale University Over recent decades, living conditions in poorer countries have deteriorated, leaving us faced with the present phenomenon of global inequality. Arguably the biggest challenge of the 21st Century is the confrontation and eventual elimination of the processes of structural inequality that affect these millions of human beings today. Facing an Unequal World tackles and critically examines key issues and challenges for global sociology across these interrelated themes: The dimensions of inequality and the configurations of structural inequalities and structures of power Conceptions of justice in different historical and cultural traditions Conflicts on environmental justice and sustainable futures The social injuries of inequality, and overcoming inequalities Written by a selection of international key sociologists and academics, this is a valuable resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students, and researchers in sociology alike.

Why is the World Bank so successful? How has it gained power even at moments in history when it seemed likely to fall? This pathbreaking book is the first close examination of the inner workings of the Bank, the foundations of its achievements, its propensity for intensifying the problems it intends to cure, and its remarkable ability to tame criticism and extend its own reach. Michael Goldman takes us inside World Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C., and then to Bank project sites around the globe. He explains how projects funded by the Bank really work and why community activists struggle against the World Bank and its brand of development. Goldman looks at recent ventures in areas such as the environment, human rights, and good governance and reveals how—despite its poor track record—the World Bank has acquired greater authority and global power than ever before. The book sheds new light on the World Bank’s role in increasing global inequalities and considers why it has become the central target for anti-globalization movements worldwide. For anyone concerned about globalization and social justice, Imperial Nature is essential reading.

This edited collection highlights the diversity and reach of global leisure studies and global leisure theory. It explores the impact of globalization on leisure, and the sites of resistance and accommodation found in local, virtual and global leisure spaces. Unlike any other collection on leisure studies, Global Leisure and the Struggle for a Better World is truly representative of the diversity of the large and growing leisure scholarship across the globe. It demonstrates how researchers in leisure studies and sociology of leisure are applying complex theory to their work, and how a new theory of global leisure is emerging.

This edited book considers social systems as self-organizing structures that reproduce new structural elements endowed with certain functional connections. The authors analyze innovative processes in social systems, leading to the sustainable convergence of knowledge and the emergence of technologies that improve the level of material well-being in society. The book summarizes research results in the field of digitalization and reveals deep connections with social problems. In addition, the book presents a whole array of innovative research on social systems management and the application of knowledge and intelligence to the solution of social problems. The contributing scholars and practitioners reflect on various types of social systems and assess the influence of disruptive factors from natural and coupled human-natural environments, discussing possible mechanisms for their neutralization. Sustainable development of social systems is among the most important tasks facing the contemporary world. The contributed book highlights challenges to the sustainability of social systems, draws sociotechnical images of the future world order generated by the rapid development of intellectual technologies, and critically analyzes promising concepts for more sustainable social future. Among the discussed topics in the book are social governance, digital economy, technological landscapes, social systems modeling and simulation, cyber-social systems, knowledge-based innovation systems, complex processes in social systems, institutional arrangements, and other advancing research areas. The high-quality and original studies presented in the book appeal to those interested in broadening their perspectives on complexity science, complex social systems research, complex systems management, advanced technological development in social systems, etc. Since the book is rich with well-thought theories, advanced research approaches, and interdisciplinary research results, it becomes a great source of new ideas and insights on complex social systems.

Global Problems, Global Solutions: Prospects for a Better World approaches social problems from a global perspective with an emphasis on using one’s sociological imagination. Perfect for instructors who involve students in research, this text connects problems borne by individuals to regional, global and historical forces, and stresses the importance of evidence in forming opinions and policies addressing social issues. The book introduces readers to the complexities of the major problems that confront us today such as violent conflict, poverty, climate change, human trafficking and other issues that we encounter in our lives. It book concludes with a chapter on politics and government, underscoring the need for good governance at all levels–and cooperation among many layers of government–to build a better world.