China, the world's most populous nation, has always exerted great influence on the traditional kingdoms and modern states of Southeast Asia. Today, history and culture continue to shape the modern relationship.In this concise volume, Martin Stuart-Fox charts the history of relations between China and Southeast Asia across two millennia, examining patterns of diplomacy, commercial networks, and migration, and explaining how these have varied over time. He shows how China's tradition...

Laos has the smallest population, the weakest military, and despite rapid economic growth in recent years, one of the lowest levels of per capita income in mainland Southeast Asia. Yet a glance at the map reveals its strategic location, between China and Cambodia and Thailand and Vietnam. As Laos was formerly a crossroads for trade routes, the socialist government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic seeks to transform the country into a prosperous crossroads at the heart of this rapidl...

Religion has a significant effect on how Europeans feel about the European Union (EU) and has had an important impact on how people voted in the UK’s ‘Brexit referendum’. This book provides a clear and accessible quantitative study of how religion affects Euroscepticism and political behaviour.It examines how religion has affected support for EU membership since the UK joined the European Economic Community, through to the announcement of the Brexit referendum in 2013, to the refer...

Laos is the smallest state in terms of population, the weakest militarily, and the least developed economically in mainland Southeast Asia. Yet a glance at the map shows how strategically it is positioned, between Thailand and Vietnam and between Cambodia and China. As in the past Laos was a crossroads for trade routes, so in the future it will be a crossroads for communications in this rapidly developing region. It is even possible to anticipate that the greatness of Laos in the past may ...

'A radio play by Christopher William Hill is something to look forward to with pleasure' - Radio TimesIt's the late 1930s, and even on the remote island of St Martin's in the Isles of Scilly war seems inevitable. But the islanders have their own battles to contend with, stuck on a rock flung 27 miles out into the Atlantic with only their natural grit and gallows humour to see them through.When a stranger in a suit arrives on the island, th...

Welfare states vary across nations and change over time. And the balance between markets and government; free enterprise and social protection is perennially in question. But all developed societies have welfare states of one kind or another - they are a fundamental dimension of modern government. And even after decades of free-market criticism and reform, their core institutions have proven resilient and popular. This Very Short Introduction describes the modern welfare state, ex...

This intellectually rigorous introduction to international law encourages readers to engage with multiple aspects of the topic: as 'law' directing and shaping its subjects; as a technique for governing the world of states and beyond statehood; and as a framework within which several critical and constructivist projects are articulated. The articles situate international law in its historical and ideological context and examine core concepts such as sovereignty, jurisdiction and the state. ...

Now in its fifth edition, Politics: The Basics explores the systems, movements and issues at the cutting edge of modern politics. A highly successful introduction to the world of politics, it offers clear and concise coverage of a range of issues and addresses fundamental questions such as:• Why does politics matter?• Why obey the state?• What are the key approaches to power?• How are political decisions made?• What are the current issues af...

This book introduces a historical perspective on the emergence and development of social welfare. Starting from the familiar ground of 'the family', it traces some of the crucial historical roots and desires that fed the development of social policy in the 19th and 20th centuries around education, the family, unemployment and nationhood. By aiming to discover the link between past and present, it shows that social problems are socially constructed in specific contexts and that there are di...

The political economy of the Irish welfare state provides a fascinating interpretation of the evolution of social policy in modern Ireland, as the product of a triangulated relationship between church, state and capital.Using official estimates, Professor Powell demonstrates that the welfare state is vital for the cohesion of Irish society with half the population at risk of poverty without it. However, the reality is of a residual welfare system dominated by means tests, with a tw...

The Third Edition of this widely adopted textbook has been thoroughly revised and offers an authoritative and up-to-date coverage of the key theories, concepts and issues in social policy. The lively and readable text has been designed to provide students with the essential tools to gain a clear understanding of the theoretical debates surrounding the discipline.The book is organized into three parts:• Part One offers a detailed but accessible critique of m...

Peace processes are mostly very fragile. This engagingly written book takes a bold new approach to the topic by beginning from the premise that sociology can identify those factors that help to stabilize them.The book draws a distinction between the political and social dimensions of peace processes, arguing that each is dependent on the other. Consideration of the social peace process, neglected in conventional treatments of the subject, is made central to this volume. While compl...