This book aims to enrich the thinking and discussion in relation to the importance that citizenship, immigration, rights and private laws play in the modern world. This is in a time when social cohesion and national identity is being challenged. It will explore the impact these laws have had on Australia, European Union (EU) and Slovenia. Identity and social cohesion are contested concepts and can invoke different responses. The challenges states and the EU are likely to face in retaining and even strengthening their respective identities and social cohesion from continued geopolitical shocks, security, economic volatility and environmental degradation is likely to be formidable. These alone pose some of the most complex political and policy issues facing the world. The EU can be held up as a polity that, has developed an identity and level of cohesion, while allowing member states to retain their national identities. It has, to date, also been successful in managing the rise of nationalism. However, that has come under threat in recent times. Thus, the very foundations of liberal democracy could be diluted from the impact of these challenges. Moreover, the basic foundations of rights have, in part, already been diluted from the rise of terrorism (which is acceptable), however, the geopolitical differences pose a significant challenge, in, and of themselves.

This book features reflections by scholars and practitioners from diverse religious traditions. It posits that the global challenges facing humanity today can only be mastered if humans from diverse faith traditions can meaningfully collaborate in support of human rights, reconciliation, sustainability, justice, and peace. Seeking to redress common distortions of religious mis- and dis-information, the book aims to construct interreligious common ground ‘beyond the divide’. Organised into three main sections, the book features sixteen conceptual, empirical, and practice-informed chapters that explore spirituality across faiths and cultures. Chapter 1 delineates the state of the art in relation to interfaith engagement, Chapters 2–8 advance theoretical research, Chapters 9–12 discuss empirical perspectives, and Chapters 13–16 showcase field projects and recount stories and lived experiences. Comprising works by scholars, professionals, and practitioners from around the globe, Interfaith Engagement Beyond the Divide: Approaches, Experiences, and Practices is an interdisciplinary publication on interreligious thought and engagement: Assembles a curated collection of chapters from numerous countries and diverse religious traditions; Addresses interfaith scholarship and praxis from a range of interdisciplinary perspectives; Comprises interfaith dialogue and collaborative research involving authors of different faiths; Envisions prospects for peace, interreligious harmony in diversity, and a world that may be equitably and enduringly shared. The appraisal of present and future challenges and opportunities, framed within a context of public policy and praxis, makes this interdisciplinary publication a useful tool for teaching, research, and policy development. Chapter 16 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

What is national identity? Can we forge a new kind of national identity that responds to the challenges of globalization, and other deep-seated changes? Montserrat Guibernau answers these and other compelling questions about the future of national identity.

Slovenia's transition from a constituent federal republic within Yugoslavia to an independent nation-state has not been the trouble-free process long represented in the academy and in the press. On the contrary, its status as both a test case and best case for postsocialist transition and European Union accession served to smooth over troubling outcomes of its independence. Toby M. Applegate argues that the very process of accession to the EU coupled with early mistakes by Slovenia's political leadership created human rights problems of two different kinds: an almost expected exclusion of people and an unusual way of establishing sovereignty as a nation-state. Critical questions arise: What does it mean to be a small sovereign state that wants to stand on its own but, in order to do so, must lose a portion of that newly-earned sovereignty? And does losing that portion of sovereignty protect human rights in light of the European Union's own purported goals as protector of such rights? These questions are particularly salient in light of contemporary independence movements elsewhere in the European Union. This book has a large cross-disciplinary appeal and should be read by political philosophers, political scientists, sociologists, geographers, and policy experts.

"The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic marks the most significant, singular global disruption since World War II, with health, economic, political, and security implications that will ripple for years to come." -Global Trends 2040 (2021) Global Trends 2040-A More Contested World (2021), released by the US National Intelligence Council, is the latest report in its series of reports starting in 1997 about megatrends and the world's future. This report, strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, paints a bleak picture of the future and describes a contested, fragmented and turbulent world. It specifically discusses the four main trends that will shape tomorrow's world: - Demographics-by 2040, 1.4 billion people will be added mostly in Africa and South Asia. - Economics-increased government debt and concentrated economic power will escalate problems for the poor and middleclass. - Climate-a hotter world will increase water, food, and health insecurity. - Technology-the emergence of new technologies could both solve and cause problems for human life. Students of trends, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, journalists and anyone eager for a glimpse into the next decades, will find this report, with colored graphs, essential reading.

This book provides a unique and intriguing insight into current debates concerning the relationship between nation and state as well as the political management of international image in today's Europe through an examination of debates on nation branding and the Eurovision Song Contest. Europe is a contested construct and its boundaries are subject to redefinition. This work aims to advance critical thinking about contemporary nation branding and its relationship to, and influence on, nation building. In particular it focusses on key identity debates that the Eurovision Song Contest engendered in Estonia in the run-up to EU accession. The Eurovision Song Contest is an event which is often dismissed as musically and culturally inferior. However, this work demonstrates that it has the capacity to shed light on key identity debates and illuminate wider socio-political issues. Using a series of in-depth interviews with political elites, media professionals and opinion leaders, this book is a valuable contribution to the growing field of research on nation branding and the Eurovision Song Contest.

This edition of Global Trends revolves around a core argument about how the changing nature of power is increasing stress both within countries and between countries, and bearing on vexing transnational issues. The main section lays out the key trends, explores their implications, and offers up three scenarios to help readers imagine how different choices and developments could play out in very different ways over the next several decades. Two annexes lay out more detail. The first lays out five-year forecasts for each region of the world. The second provides more context on the key global trends in train.

Research explores cultural policies and specific policy tools aimed at working with heritage dissonance and heritage related conflicts created for and implemented within the region of South East Europe (SEE) with the aim of contributing to reconciliation, mutual understanding and peace-building. The research analyses four distinctive cases which worked with heritage dissonance developed within and for the SEE region (the transnational nomination for UNESCO World Heritage List of Stećaks, medieval tombstones by the Ministries of Culture of Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina; the regional exhibition Imagining the Balkans: Identities and Memory in the Long 19th Century involving.

Bestselling author and eminent foreign policy scholar Zbigniew Brzezinski's classic book on American's strategic mission in the modern world. In The Grand Chessboard, renowned geostrategist Zbigniew Brzezinski delivers a brutally honest and provocative vision for American preeminence in the twenty-first century. The task facing the United States, he argues, is to become the sole political arbiter in Eurasian lands and to prevent the emergence of any rival power threatening our material and diplomatic interests. The Eurasian landmass, home to the greatest part of the globe's population, natural resources, and economic activity, is the "grand chessboard" on which America's supremacy will be ratified and challenged in the years to come. In this landmark work of public policy and political science, Brzezinski outlines a groundbreaking and powerful blueprint for America's vital interests in the modern world. In this revised edition, Brzezinski addresses recent global developments including the war in Ukraine, the re-emergence of Russia, and the rise of China.

A lucid philosophical, theoretical, and practical guide to the creation of an authentic and realistic interpretation of heritage. Demonstrates how sensitivity and ethical approaches can be developed to present the actual history of concentration camps, atrocities, disease, death, and oppression without alienating the observer. Contains planning goals and advice to produce a thoughtful and sympathetic response and lasting understanding of the fate and consequences of real peoples and historic events.