Taking back control? States and state systems after globalization The era of hyperglobalization once hailed as the 'end of history' was characterised by boundless capitalist expansion. The neoliberal revolution gave rise to a politics of scale aimed at the centralization and unification of states and state systems: the replacement of national with global governance or, in Europe, of the nation-state with a supranational superstate, the European Union. The 'New World Order' proclaimed by the United States in the wake of the Soviet collapse proved to be ungovernable by democratic means. Instead, it was ruled through a combination of technocracy and mercatocracy, failing spectacularly to provide for political stability, social legitimacy and international peace. Marked by a series of economic and institutional crises, hyperglobalization gave rise to various kinds of political countermovements that rebelled against and ultimately stopped the upward transfer of state authority in its tracks. This book analyses the ongoing tug-of-war between the forces of globalism and democracy, of centralization and decentralization, and unification and differentiation of states and state systems, and how they are tied to the advance of global capitalism and the prospects for its social and democratic regulation. Exploring the possibility for states and the societies they govern to take back control over their collective fate, the book is an attempt at a renewed theory of the state in political economy. Inspired by the work of Karl Polanyi and John Maynard Keynes, it discusses the potential outlines of a state system allowing for democratic governance within and peaceful cooperation between sovereign nation-states.

This book explains why multistakeholder partnerships are needed to solve societal problems in the 21st century. It identifies global problems and contexts where multistakeholder partnerships are currently in use and offers numerous case examples of such partnerships to help readers grasp their nature and operation.

Examines the forces for change, analyzes their impact over the course of the next twenty-five years, and shares a vision of the social, economic, and political conditions of the future.

This volume focuses on the ethical significance of human rights, aiming at contributing to a universal culture of human rights with deep roots and wide horizons. Its purpose, scope and rationale are reflected in the three-part structure of the manuscript. Part I has a broad introductory historical, theoretical and legal character. Part II submits that an Ethics of Human Rights is best understood as an Ethics of Recognition of human worth, dignity and rights. Moreover, it is argued that human worth consists in the perfectibility of the human species, rooted in its semiotic nature, to be accomplished through the perfecting of human beings, for which the right to education is key. In Part III, the main legal and political outcomes of the Human Rights Revolution are described and answers to the most lasting and common criticisms of human rights are provided. To conclude, the human stature of the Big Five drafters of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is profiled and the priority that should be recognized to human rights education is highlighted. Some appendices supplement the manuscript. While making a case for the high value and liberating power of the idea and ideal of human rights, objections, controversies and uncertainties are not at all overlooked and emerging issues are explored. The diversity of content of this volume meets many needs of the typical syllabus for a human rights course.

The OECD Science, Technology and Innovation Outlook 2018 is the twelfth edition in a series that biennially reviews key trends in science, technology and innovation (STI) policy in OECD countries and a number of major partner economies. The 14 chapters within this edition look at a range of ...

"Digital Design provides a modern approach to learning the increasingly important topic of digital systems design. The text's focus on register-transfer-level design and present-day applications not only leads to a better appreciation of computers and of today's ubiquitous digital devices, but also provides for a better understanding of careers involving digital design and embedded system design. The book's key features include: An emphasis on register-transfer-level (RTL) design, the level at which most digital design is practiced today, giving readers a modern perspective of the field's applicability. Yet, coverage stays bottom-up and concrete, starting from basic transistors and gates, and moving step-by-step up to more complex components. Extensive use of basic examples to teach and illustrate new concepts, and of application examples, such as pacemakers, ultrasound machines, automobiles, and cell phones, to demonstrate the immediate relevance of the concepts. Separation of basic design from optimization, allowing development of a solid understanding of basic design, before considering the more advanced topic of optimization. Flexible organization, enabling early or late coverage of optimization methods or of HDLs, and enabling choice of VHDL, Verilog, or SystemC HDLs. Career insights and advice from designers with varying levels of experience. A clear bottom-up description of field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). About the Author: Frank Vahid is a Professor of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of California, Riverside. He holds Electrical Engineering and Computer Science degrees; has worked/consulted for Hewlett Packard, AMCC, NEC, Motorola, and medical equipment makers; holds 3 U.S. patents; has received several teaching awards; helped setup UCR's Computer Engineering program; has authored two previous textbooks; and has published over 120 papers on digital design topics (automation, architecture, and low-power).