While much of the scholarship on superhero narratives has focused on the heroes themselves, Batman’s Villains and Villainesses: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Arkham’s Souls takes into view the depiction of the villains and their lives, arguing that they often function as proxies for larger societal and philosophical themes. Approaching Gotham’s villains from a number of disciplinary backgrounds, the essays in this collection highlight how the villains’ multifaceted backgrounds, experie...

This comprehensive text analyzes the foreign policies of eighteen countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. First assessing the state of the discipline, the introduction develops a common framework that compares the relevant explanatory weight of foreign policy determinants at the individual, state, and international level for each country. Case studies include the major regional powers such as Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina, as well as less-studied players such as the Dominican Republi...

China’s rise is changing the dynamics of the international system. Middle Powers and the Rise of China is the first work to examine how the group of states referred to as “middle powers” are responding to China’s growing economic, diplomatic, and military power. States with capabilities immediately below those of great powers, middle powers still exercise influence far above most other states. Their role as significant trading partners and allies or adversaries in matters of regional secur...

Comparative politics often involves testing of hypotheses using new methodological approaches without giving sufficient attention to the concepts which are fundamental to hypotheses, particularly the ability of these concepts to ‘travel’. Proper operationalising requires deep reflection on the concept, not simply establishing how it should be measured. Conceptualising Comparative Politics – the flagship book of Routledge’s series of the same name – breaks new ground by emphasising...