Set in 1971, The Z Affair follows the story of Philip Trent, an ex-soldier turned government agent, working for an organization known as the 'Outfit', tasked with rooting out insurrection against the United Kingdom. In a time of anarchy and unrest, stirred up by unseen forces, Trent returns from West Berlin with crucial information about a plot targeting the U.K. Assigned to uncover the instigators of the conspiracy, Trent embarks on a perilous mission, aided by his lady friend and courtes...

Set in 1972, The Ban Affair continues the story of Philip Trent. No longer a government agent, he is a private detective in the West Midlands, working with his new lady friend Christine. He is drawn back into his previous life to investigate his ex, Camille, in Bucharest. This leads to a world he knows—espionage, violence, intrigue, romance, and treachery. He tracks down the mysterious Mr Ban in Hong Kong and uncovers a plot with implications for the world. The book is set over 50 years ag...

This title was first published in 2001: Despite the fact that environmental directives are one of the strongest areas of policy decreed by the EU, it has a much poorer record when it comes to actual implementation of these policies. Instead of focusing on the traditional state-centrist accounts, this book compares two subnational regions within the EU, Scotland and Bavaria, and their role in the policy process. The author offers a multi-layered implementation map which highlights three mai...

More than two thousand years ago Stoicism revealed a way of living with less suffering and more happiness.Even though the Ancient Stoics lived a long time ago they had startling insights into the human condition which have lasted until this day.Stoicism sought answers to questions such as "how can I be more happy?" or "what is the purpose of life?" and much more...However it has often been misunderstood as being uncaring or avoiding any pleasures. T...

The shifting nature of employment practice towards the use of more precarious work forms has caused a crisis in classical labour law and engendered a new wave of regulation. This timely book deftly uses this crisis as an opportunity to explore the notion of precariousness or vulnerability in employment relationships.Arguing that the idea of vulnerability has been under-theorised in the labour law literature, Lisa Rodgers illustrates how this extends to the design of regulation for ...

Regional Planning provides a comprehensive introduction to the concepts and theory of regional planning in the UK. Drawing on examples from throughout the UK, it provides students and practitioners with a descriptive and analytical foundation for understanding this rapidly changing area of planning.The book includes four main sections covering:the context and history of regional planningtheoretical approachesevolving practicefutu...

This book analyses the planning and policy world of major infrastructure as it is moving now in Europe and the UK. Have some countries managed to generate genuine consensus on how the large changes are progressed? What can we learn from the different ways countries manage these challenges, to inform better spatial planning and more intelligent political steering?Case studies of the key features of policy and planning approaches in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK ...

How are metropolitan regions governed? What makes some regions more effective than others in managing policies that cross local jurisdictional boundaries? Political coordination among municipal governments is necessary to attract investment, rapid and efficient public transit systems, and to sustain cultural infrastructure in metropolitan regions. In this era of fragmented authority, local governments alone rarely possess the capacity to address these policy issues alone.This book ...

In Conflicts in the Knowledge Society, Sebastian Haunss demonstrates how conflicts relating to the international system of intellectual property have resulted in new cleavages in the knowledge society. Furthermore, he argues that new collective actors have emerged from these conflicts with the ability to contest the existing dominant order. With a focus on political opportunity structures, collective action networks and framing strategies, he combines a theoretical discussion of social cha...

Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is a regulatory requirement for development across Europe, North America, Australasia and elsewhere, yet understanding the legal aspects is challenging. This comprehensive guide provides that understanding in a clear and straightforward way.The introduction considers SEA and the law, explaining what SEA is, why it is needed, how it works and why it is required, as well as examining the role of the law. Part One provides an overview of intern...

Since the 1980s, the process of European economic integration, within a wider context of globalization, has accelerated employment change and placed a new premium on ‘flexible’ forms of work organization. The institutions of employment relations, specifically those concerning collective bargaining between employers and trade unions, have had to adapt accordingly. The Transformation of Employment Relations focuses not just on recent change, but charts the strategic choices that hav...

Bringing together the work of economists and sociologists in research programmes in a number of European institutions concerned with development, this collection analyses how social institutions contribute to an understanding of development. It shows how labour markets, labour relations and employment patterns respond to institutional forces, and thereby shape development paths and determine how different groups benefit from economic growth.