The first full-length exposition of what it terms a global city-global risks nexus, this volume crosses disciplinary boundaries to draw upon research from Security Studies; Geography; Sociology; and Urban Studies. Innovative in its approach integrating theories about Global Cities with those positing a Global Risk Society, Yee-Kuang Heng positions this research in the midst of two concurrent global trends that will gain more significance in coming years. The world is experiencing the consequences of not only rapid globalisation, but also urbanization. In 2008, the UN declared that more than half the world’s population was now urban. At the same time, highly connected global cities like New York, London, Tokyo and Singapore also face rapidly spreading global risks such as pandemics and financial crises. Unique in developing a typology of global risks that threaten a global city like Singapore, beyond its Asian focus, the book also draws out thematic and policy lessons pertinent to other global cities. ’Global cities’ do not simply materialize. They are dependent on a range of stakeholders at various levels that produce and re-produce its command and control capabilities, in the face of global risks. Singapore’s experiences managing global risks in the financial; aviation; and maritime domains are common concerns shared by many countries and cities that have, or aspire to develop, similar critical infrastructure.

Risk Society and School Educational Policy explores the impact of risk society on policy in the US, UK and Australia through both practical and theoretical perspectives. The book develops an in-depth understanding of risk society itself, and guides the reader in applying this knowledge to the problem of how this impacts policy and practice in school education. Drawing on work by Ulrich Beck and Anthony Giddens, Rodwell explores the development of risk society as a field of interest, discussing its history, contemporary significance and links with neoliberalism, school education, and both mainstream and social media. He also examines its impact on government policies and the practical implications of how this impacts the educational experiences of children around the globe today. A book for policy professionals, researchers, academics and postgraduate students interested in Education Studies, Theory and Policy, and International and Comparative Education, Risk Society and School Educational Policy is the first international academic monograph published in the field.

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary. This book provides a critical assessment of key areas of urban scholarship. In twelve stimulating chapters, expert contributors examine a range of important pressing topics from sustainability and gentrification to feminist interventions and globalization to security and food issues. Six more regionally informed expert reviews examine recent urban research in sub-Saharan Africa, South America, East Asia, the Middle East, Australia and Eastern Europe. The chapters provide polemical assessments and signposts for future research. The book will be an indispensable and accessible guide to urban research across the globe.

In How to Build a Global City, Michele Acuto considers the rise of a new generation of so-called global cities—Singapore, Sydney, and Dubai—and the power that this concept had in their ascent, in order to analyze the general relationship between global city theory and its urban public policy practice. The global city is often invoked in theory and practice as an ideal model of development and a logic of internationalization for cities the world over. But the global city also creates deep social polarization and challenges how much local planning can achieve in a world economy. Presenting a unique elite ethnography in Singapore, Sydney, and Dubai, Acuto discusses the global urban discourses, aspirations, and strategies vital to the planning and management of such metropolitan growth. The global city, he shows, is not one single idea, but a complex of ways to imagine a place to be global and aspirations to make it so, often deeply steeped in politics. His resulting book is a call to reconcile proponents and critics of the global city toward a more explicit engagement with the politics of this global urban imagination.

Aljunied examines how the Singaporean government developed a comprehensive state–society strategic relationship by ‘securitising’ vital policy areas because of Singapore’s vulnerability as a global city state. In the twenty-first century, the Singaporean government has strategically renewed an existing form of authoritarian rule by ‘militarising’ national security governance. The main objective is to widen and deepen state power. Senior military-trained civilian political leaders and bureaucrats use military personnel, command and control, terminology and strategy of war to deal with non-traditional security challenges leading to the state’s further domination over civil liberty and civil society. Aljunied analyses the information and communication, health and climate–environment sectors. The case studies highlight the way the Singaporean government has used varying forms of political engagement, surveillance and legislation to limit civil liberty and inhibit the development of civil society. This book is a valuable resource for researchers and students of Singapore Studies as well as for the readers of Security Studies with an interest in the global–local nexus in a small state context. It is a pioneering scholarly study on the national security framework and the use of non-traditional security discourse to strengthen state power and social stability at the expense of political liberalism.

This edited volume addresses the accomplishments, prospects and challenges of regional integration processes on the African continent. Since regional integration is a process that ebbs and flows according to a wide range of variables such as changing political and economic conditions, implications and factors derived from the vagaries of migration and climate change, it is crucial to be cognizant with how these variables impact regional integration initiatives. The contributors discuss the debates on Pan-Africanism and linking it with ongoing discourses and policies on regional integration in Africa. Other aspects of the book contain some of the most important topic issues such as migration, border management and the sustainable development goals. This content offers readers fresh and innovative perspectives on various aspects of sustainable development and regional growth in Africa.

On the Korean peninsula, there exist two sovereign states—the Republic of Korea (ROK or South Korea) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea)—both of whom hold separate membership at the United Nations. This book discusses the construction of "one Korea" and highlights the potential benefits of unification for the Koreans and the international community. Arguing that Korean unification is intrinsically international in nature, the authors outline how the process and outcome would impact upon the policies of the four major powers—the U.S., China, Russia, and Japan. In addition, the authors highlight the possible far-reaching repercussions of unification on the political and economic dynamics of Northeast Asia. Making a case for the two Koreas and interested powers to plan and orchestrate their acts for sustained peace and gradual unification on the Korean peninsula, this book examines the Korean question and the related issue of peace building in Northeast Asia from a global perspective. It will be of interest to students and scholars researching politics and international relations.