The last decade has seen the EU beset by crisis and Covid-19 has presented yet another threat to its existence. Luuk van Middelaar assesses the EU's response and how it has been shaped by it.

Collective Securitisation and Security Governance in the European Union presents an integrated theory of collective securitisation – a theoretical foundation for explaining how the process of collective securitisation sustains and makes effective an identifiable system of regional security governance. The volume demonstrates the empirical utility of collective securitisation in the EU security space through a set of structured case studies focusing on the collective securitisation of terrorism, cyberspace, migration, energy, health and climate change. The contributions to this collection address three questions: Under what conditions does collective securitisation occur? How does collective securitisation affect the scope and domains of EU security governance? And how does collective securitisation explain the emergence of the EU system of security governance? This volume breaks new ground in the field of EU security studies and provides a theoretical orientation that contributes to our understanding of how and why the EU has developed as a security actor in the 21st century. Developing and testing the theory of collective securitisation with reference to some of the most pressing contemporary security issues, Collective Securitisation and Security Governance in the European Union will be of great interest to scholars of the European Union and Security Studies. The chapters were originally published as a special issue of West European Politics.

Borders are both a door and a bridge. Because they are operating at a critical juncture between security expectations and intense cross-border exchanges, they appear to be Janus-faced. To some, they are demarcating lines that call for extensive protection and a regime of strict closure. To others, they are a gateway to transnational opportunities and their opening should be carefully but liberally managed. The very same paradox affects the regions located alongside borders, that is the borderlands or frontier zones. Borderlands can be simultaneously depicted as epitomizing the growth of mutually beneficial transnational ties and as offering a privileged but bleak glimpse into the importation of international threats into domestic politics. Partly due to the discrepancy between their premises, borderlands studies and security studies have virtually no dialogue. Security studies remain focused on the discriminatory function of the border while borderlands studies document the social dynamics of cross border societies. Against this backdrop, the ambition and originality of Securitized Borderlands lie in its aim to theoretically and empirically fill the gap between security studies—that remain focused on the discriminatory function of the border, and borderlands studies—that document the social dynamics of cross border societies. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Borderlands Studies.

COVID-19 is the most severe pandemic the world has experienced in a century. This book analyses major legal and regulatory responses internationally to COVID-19, and the impact the pandemic has had on human rights and freedoms, governance, the obligations of states and individuals, as well the role of the World Health Organization and other international bodies during this time. The authors examine notable legal challenges to public health measures enforced during the pandemic, such as lockdown orders, curfews, and vaccine mandates. Importantly, the book contextualizes the legal analysis by examining the broader social and economic dimensions of risks posed by the pandemic. The book considers how COVID-19 impacted the operation of the criminal justice system, civil litigation concerning negligently caused deaths and business losses arising from contractual breaches, consumer protection litigation, disciplinary regulation of health practitioners, coronial inquests and other investigations of unexpected deaths, and occupational health and safety issues. The book reflects on the role of the law in facilitating the remarkable scientific and epidemiological achievements during the pandemic, but also the challenges of ensuring the swift production and equitable distribution of treatments and vaccines. It concludes by considering the possibilities that the legal and regulatory responses to this pandemic have illuminated for effectively tackling future global health crises.

Reimagining the Nation presents a clear look at the current state of critical nationalism studies, highlighting contemporary debates and offering paths for future work in the field. Accessible yet theoretically rich, it shows how we can think about nationhood beyond binary or even broader cosmopolitan ideals, drawing on cutting-edge critical research in citizenship, urban studies, and cultural studies, and drawing examples and theoretical inspiration from Southeast Asian studies. Above all, it sets out to resist the all-pervading ethno-nationalist assumptions that continue to underpin a world system organized into nation-states.

Based on theoretical developments in research on world-systems analysis, transnational migration, postcolonial and decolonial perspectives, whilst considering continuities of inequality patterns in the context of colonial and postcolonial realities, Global Inequalities Beyond Occidentalism proposes an original framework for the study of the long-term reproduction of inequalities under global capitalism. With attention to the critical assessment of both Marxist and Weberian perspectives, this book examines the wider implications of transferring classical approaches to inequality to a twenty-first-century context, calling for a reconceptualisation of inequality that is both theoretically informed and methodologically consistent, and able to cater for the implications of shifts from national and Western structures to global structures. Engaging with approaches to the study of class, gender, racial and ethnic inequalities at the global level, this innovative work adopts a relational perspective in the study of social inequalities that is able to reveal how historical interdependencies between world regions have translated as processes of inequality production and reproduction. As such, it will be of interest to scholars of sociology, political and social theory and anthropology concerned with questions of globalisation and inequality.

This timely volume seeks to examine two of the most pertinent current challenges faced by asylum seekers in gaining access to international refugee protection: first, the obstacles to physical access to territory and, second, the barriers to accessing a quality asylum procedure – which the editors have termed 'access to justice'. To address these aims, the book brings together leading commentators from a range of backgrounds, including law, sociology and political science. It also includes contributions from NGO practitioners. This allows the collection to offer interdisciplinary analysis and to incorporate both theoretical and practical perspectives on questions of immense contemporary significance. While the examination offers a strong focus on European legal and policy developments, the book also addresses the issues in different regions (Europe, North America, the Middle East, Africa and Australia). Given the currency of the questions under debate, this book will be essential reading for all scholars in the field of asylum law.

This Commentary provides an article-by-article summary of the TEU, the TFEU, and the Charter of Fundamental Rights, offering a quick reference to the provisions of the Treaties and how they are interpreted and applied in practice. Written by a team of contributors drawn from the Legal Service of the European Commission and academia, the Commentary offers expert guidance to practitioners and academics seeking fast access to the Treaties and current practice. The Commentary follows a set structure, offering a short overview of the Article, the Article text itself, a key references list including essential case law and legislation, and a structured commentary on the Article itself. The editors and contributors combine experience in practice with a strong academic background and have published widely on a variety of EU law subjects.