The twenty-first century has witnessed disaffection and protest across Eurasia and West Asia, triggering debates questioning the state of governance as well as looking at a redefinition of the ‘arc of crisis.’ By and large, there have been two major viewpoints, one which emphasises the aspect of ‘failed states’ and the other that focuses on technology as the prime instigator and motivator for the protests. Even as the Arab Uprisings are commonly acknowledged as an upshot of a succession of protests as well as the “colour revolutions” across Eurasia and West Asia, the after effects have been incessant with the Maidan in Ukraine and intermittent protests in Turkey. The causative factors have been as diverse as climate change and its adverse impact, economic inequalities fed by a process of globalisation which caters to certain sections of society, social grievances of marginalised sections who feel politically, socially or culturally deprived and a general failure to address critical issues in an apt way. While the nature of the protests has been as varied as the reaction of authorities to the protest, there has been a tendency to review the replication of the protests across states in the region. The world today is increasingly observing and partaking in local and global acts of protest and solidarity that entail visual, aural, and behavioural articulations by demonstrators as effective ways of making claims, reclaiming spaces, and condemning invasive situations. The volume analyses relations between the state and such protests by exploring the construction of protest movements, and probing the background, nature and specificity of dissent. Protest movements and counter-movements have been examined and analysed. The purpose is to understand and interpret the moments and episodes associated with movements, capturing, disseminating and transmuting the images and symbols of protest. Chapters in the volume enquire about and debate on whether contemporary protesters are consolidating upon and intensifying prior repertoires of dissent.

Despite more than a decade of rapid economic development, rising living standards, and large-scale improvements in infrastructure and services, China's western borderlands are awash in a wave of ethnic unrest not seen since the 1950s. Through on-the-ground interviews and firsthand observations, the international experts in this volume create an invaluable record of the conflicts and protests as they have unfolded—the most extensive chronicle of events to date. The authors examine the factors driving the unrest in Tibet and Xinjiang and the political strategies used to suppress them. They also explain why certain areas have seen higher concentrations of ethnic-based violence than others. Essential reading for anyone struggling to understand the origins of unrest in contemporary Tibet and Xinjiang, this volume considers the role of propaganda and education as generators and sources of conflict. It links interethnic strife to economic growth and connects environmental degradation to increased instability. It captures the subtle difference between violence in urban Xinjiang and conflict in rural Tibet, with detailed portraits of everyday individuals caught among the pressures of politics, history, personal interest, and global movements with local resonance.

Constructed around seven extensively contextualized case studies, Trajectories of State Formation across Fifteenth-Century Islamic West-Asia offers a critical trans-dynastic understanding of the socio-political histories and historiographies of the Sultanates of Cairo and of the Timurid, Turkmen and early Ottoman

This is an open access book. The start of the 21st century has seen the world shaken by protests, from the Arab Spring to the Yellow Vests, from the Occupy movement to the social uprisings in Latin America. There are periods in history when large numbers of people have rebelled against the way things are, demanding change, such as in 1848, 1917, and 1968. Today we are living in another time of outrage and discontent, a time that has already produced some of the largest protests in world history. This book analyzes almost three thousand protests that occurred between 2006 and 2020 in 101 countries covering over 93 per cent of the world population. The study focuses on the major demands driving world protests, such as those for real democracy, jobs, public services, social protection, civil rights, global justice, and those against austerity and corruption. It also analyzes who was demonstrating in each protest; what protest methods they used; who the protestors opposed; what was achieved; whether protests were repressed; and trends such as inequality and the rise of women’s and radical right protests. The book concludes that the demands of protestors in most of the protests surveyed are in full accordance with human rights and internationally agreed-upon UN development goals. The book calls for policy-makers to listen and act on these demands.

Bestselling author and eminent foreign policy scholar Zbigniew Brzezinski's classic book on American's strategic mission in the modern world. In The Grand Chessboard, renowned geostrategist Zbigniew Brzezinski delivers a brutally honest and provocative vision for American preeminence in the twenty-first century. The task facing the United States, he argues, is to become the sole political arbiter in Eurasian lands and to prevent the emergence of any rival power threatening our material and diplomatic interests. The Eurasian landmass, home to the greatest part of the globe's population, natural resources, and economic activity, is the "grand chessboard" on which America's supremacy will be ratified and challenged in the years to come. In this landmark work of public policy and political science, Brzezinski outlines a groundbreaking and powerful blueprint for America's vital interests in the modern world. In this revised edition, Brzezinski addresses recent global developments including the war in Ukraine, the re-emergence of Russia, and the rise of China.

This comprehensive study of Russian electoral politics shows the vulnerability of Putin's regime as it navigates the risks of voter manipulation.