This book offers a novel approach to mapping the people and organisations working in EU affairs, allocating much of the volume to a discussion of non-EU institutional representation in Brussels. Complementary to this, a distinct section focuses on those entities situated in EU capitals connected with EU policy dynamics. The intention of the book is to describe each sector within Brussels’ eco-system, including statistics and numbers, but also to have practical examples of organisations that are represented in EU affairs. The second part of the book is dedicated to interviews with relevant influencers from within the Brussels scene. This publication is a working tool for experts in EU affairs, academics and students. It could also be an interesting read for those seeking a job in EU affairs, as well as entrepreneurs, who want to set up a sustainable business.

′When the next generation of public affairs practitioners look back to the beginning of the 21st century they will recognise the Handbook of Public Affairs as the cornerstone text on which global practice came to be based′ - Tom Spencer, Executive Director, European Centre for Public Affairs ′Excelling in the practice of corporate public affairs in the 21st century will necessitate bringing together two competencies: possessing a solid professional foundation base don time-tested principles, and having the ability to reach beyond the basics by adapting the best current thinking, practices, and models available. Professionals can enhance both competencies by reading the Handbook of Public Affairs′ - Brian Hawkinson, Director Center for Public Affairs Management/Public Affairs Council Washington ′Understanding the imperatives of stakeholders and special interest groups in the public domain is of increasing importance to leaders in both business and politics. However, knowing how to influence these imperatives, and design communications to proactively affect change, is a well sought-after commodity. Public affairs professionals not only understand these dynamics, but constantly strive to ensure continuous improvement in the counsel they provide and in the results they deliver. As more and more people in business, government, NGO and not-for-profit sectors are seeking out the services of public affairs practitioners, this Handbook will help readers gain a better appreciation for strategies and tactics that comprise successful public affairs campaigns′ - Chris Benedetti, President, Public Affairs Association of Canada ′The Handbook is a landmark development in the field of Public Affairs, bringing together in a single volume contributions from key academics and practitioners in the field. It offers a comprehensive overview of the field for the first time and is an essential reference book to underpin practice, teaching and research in the discipline′ - Professor Andrew Lock, Leeds University Business School ′The Handbook of Public Affairs is a comprehensive guide to best knowledge and practices in the field. Everyone – from business school deans to chief executive officers to seasoned public affairs executives – can find information in the Handbook of Public Affairs to help them achieve their reputation- and public policy-related goals′ - Douglas G. Pinkham, President, Public Affairs Council ′For years, there has been a glaring lack of substantive academic literature to underpin the development of the public affairs profession. Throughout his distinguished career, Craig Fleisher has made a vast contribution to filling that void. In the Handbook of Public Affairs, Craig and his co-editor Phil Harris, have brought together the best minds in the field from around the globe to create a text that will surely support the development of new programs and new careers for the public affairs practitioners of tomorrow′ - Randall Pearce, General Manager Ipsos Mackay Public Affairs, Sydney ′The Handbook of Public Affairs will be a valuable resource for the growing number of public affairs practitioners who seek to balance an appreciation of the global evolution of their profession with the ′hands-on′ reality of applying core concepts and theories to their organisation′s management practices′ - Alexis Lindsay, Director, The Centre for Corporate Public Affairs (Australia) Public Affairs and particularly government relations/lobbying, have evolved in recent years from a tactic adopted by organizations to amend occasional legislation to become a managerial strategy to achieve competitive advantage. At the fore-front of research and practice in Public Affairs, this Handbook draws upon the expertise of leading figures in the field to provide a comprehensive overview of a huge growth area in organisations′ strategic thinking. Articles evoke pan-national experience and are organised into four sections to help readers navigate issues and draw comparisons. Sections cover: - investigation into the development and meaning of Public Affairs - the management and practice of Public Affairs within organisations - global case studies - an overview of scholarly developments.

While there is growing interest in participatory research to address issues around environmental sustainability, the focus of analysis tends to be on the results or products of the research rather than the processes involved. Addressing this gap, the authors draw on their experience of specific mapping techniques, based on different systemic concepts and theories, that have helped facilitate, explore and capture different understandings of the relationships, perspectives and boundaries within situations involving environmental sustainability. The development of visual mapping techniques is explained and practical case studies describe their application in environmental sustainability projects, from working with farmers and their networks to using visual mapping with indigenous communities and managing coastal environments. Each case study provides a ‘real world’ project example from researchers with extensive experience of using these techniques to research different aspects of environmental sustainability over several decades.

This book explores the transformative role of social media in fostering reconciliation in the former Yugoslavia, a region still grappling with unresolved conflicts and ethnic divides. Focusing on platforms like YouTube and TikTok, it highlights how Balkan influencers blend personal storytelling with commercial outreach to promote interethnic understanding. The study employs digital ethnography and narrative analysis to reveal the intricate dynamics between human actors and algorithms, uncovering how social media facilitate grassroots reconciliation initiatives. The author critiques traditional reconciliation efforts driven by political elites and emphasises the potential of bottom-up approaches enabled by social media. It presents the concept of “algorithmic reconciliation”, where social media algorithms inadvertently foster interethnic collaborations and create transnational online communities. By examining the economic and cultural practices of influencers, the book illustrates how digital platforms can serve as modern arenas for peacebuilding. This book is primarily aimed at undergraduates and postgraduates in social history, digital media studies, and peace studies, but will also be relevant to academics, policymakers, and anyone interested in the intersection of technology and social change.

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations.There is a broad consensus across European states and the EU that social and economic inequality is a problem that needs to be addressed. Yet inequality policy is notoriously complex and contested. This book approaches the issue from two linked perspectives. First, a focus on functional requirementshighlights what policymakers think they need to deliver policy successfully, and the gap between their requirements and reality. We identify this gap in relation to the theory and practice of policy learning, and to multiple sectors, to show how it manifests in health, education, and gender equitypolicies. Second, a focus on territorial politics highlights how the problem is interpreted at different scales, subject to competing demands to take responsibility. This contestation and spread of responsibilities contributes to different policy approaches across spatial scales. We conclude thatgovernments promote many separate equity initiatives, across territories and sectors, without knowing if they are complementary or contradictory. This outcome could reflect the fact that ambiguous policy problems and complex policymaking processes are beyond the full knowledge or control ofgovernments. It could also be part of a strategy to make a rhetorically radical case while knowing that they will translate into safer policies. It allows them to replace debates on values, regarding whose definition of equity matters and which inequalities to tolerate, with more technicaldiscussions of policy processes. Governments may be offering new perspectives on spatial justice or new ways to reduce political attention to inequalities.

This book is for students and researchers across the social sciences who are planning, conducting and disseminating research on sustainability-related issues. Real-world sustainability problems cross many boundaries, and this is the first book to guide students and practitioners through the practical and theoretical challenges of doing interdisciplinary research in this vital and emerging area. Researching Sustainability contains many in-depth, 'hands on' accounts by expert contributors, providing real-life examples and lessons that can be put to use immediately. Coverage includes: the general challenges that sustainability presents to researchers, including frictions between sustainability and scientific tradition; complexity; research paradigms; interdisciplinarity; social-environmental interactions; and ethical concerns. a host of social science based research methods and approaches. Each chapter presents a different method; its challenges and suitability for different situations; an in-depth example of the method in action; insights and lessons. dissemination of sustainability research findings, including influencing policy, communicating with school children and working with the media. The book concludes with a critical synthesis of issues and methods examined in the book together with a discussion of future research pathways. This book is an essential tool for students, researchers and practitioners in planning, implementing and evaluating their sustainability research.

This book describes and critically addresses the innovations and shifts made in the revision of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) adopted by the European Parliament and Council in 2018. Reflecting on European Union regulation and policy practice in all its Member States, the book’s unique approach places in-depth case study topics against the broader theoretical background. Taking a Europe-wide angle, an international team of authors focuses on key aspects of the AVMSD: the expansion of its scope to include video-sharing-platforms such as YouTube; the update of the rules for commercial communications; the first attempt for harmonized, minimal requirements at EU level regarding transparency of media ownership; new rules to ensure that video-on-demand services offer, invest in, and prioritise European content; the obligation on television distributors and smart TV manufacturers to pass on broadcasters’ signal without any interference, alteration or modification; and, the formalisation and consolidation of new forms of collaboration among national regulatory authorities. This thorough analysis of the cornerstone of European media policy makes this edited collection a crucial reference for scholars and students of media and cultural industries, media law and policy, European and EU media policy, and technology studies.

The European higher education sector is moving online, but to what extent? Are the digital disruptions seen in other sectors of relevance for both academics and management in higher education? How far are we from fully seizing the opportunities that an online transition could offer? This insightful book presents a broad perspective on existing academic practices, and discusses how and where the move online has been successful, and the lessons that can be learned.