This book argues that the weakness of civil society in the post-Soviet Caucasus is a result not only of post-communist political and economic problems, but also of the effects of historical legacies. These influence both formal and informal civil societies and weaken the countries' ability to facilitate democratisation.

This book explores the following: What is the art of power? What is the art of French power? How did Charles de Gaulle understand and assert power, establishing the Fifth Republic and breaking centuries of political instability? How well or poorly have his successors wielded the art of French power to define, defend, or enhance French interests?

These critical essays bring together prominent scholars in the social sciences to consider the diverse nature of the legacy of Pierre Bourdieu in contemporary social theory. In offering a range of perspectives on the continuing relevance of Bourdieu’s sociology, the essays of this volume examine Bourdieu’s relationship to both classical and contemporary social theory. This collection constructs an intellectual bridge between French-speaking and English-speaking accounts of Bourdieu’s work.

This book is a volume in the Penn Press Anniversary Collection. To mark its 125th anniversary in 2015, the University of Pennsylvania Press rereleased more than 1,100 titles from Penn Press's distinguished backlist from 1899-1999 that had fallen out of print. Spanning an entire century, the Anniversary Collection offers peer-reviewed scholarship in a wide range of subject areas.

In The China Paradox: At the Front Line of Economic Transformation, Harvard University-based historian of modern China and business strategist Dr. Paul G. Clifford documents the twists and turns of China’s dramatic and unforeseen rise over the last four decades. He sheds light on the delicate and fragile balance of forces at the heart of the success of China’s hybrid model, explaining how the ruling Communist Party boldly led the nation’s economic reforms as the surest way to preserve its grip on political power. Five years after this book was first published, much has changed within China and in its relationship with the world. This second edition provides extensive fresh new material. It explains how China has raised its game, moving from a catch-up mode to technological innovation in some areas, while still languishing in technology dependence in other respects. Earlier, China had shown signs that its driving spirit was faltering with its sails flapping. Under Xi Jinping, renewed energy has been injected. But at the same time Xi and his party have strongly reinforced their control across society and the economy, posing the question of whether Xi’s New Era in fact marks a retreat from the reforms. This second edition contains two new chapters. One profiles Huawei, a national champion in advanced technology. Another focuses on China’s frictions with the world which have been fueled by a perception that its technology progress threatens US global dominance, coupled with China’s human rights record. In addition, against a background of the challenges faced by Alibaba and other firms, there is analysis of this watershed in China’s private sector’s autonomy. There is also extensive new insight into Xi Jinping’s rule. As it celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2021, the Chinese Communist Party displays strong optimism over its continued governance of China. But that should not mask the longer-term risks to China’s development and stability if its hybrid model continues to unravel as reforms are abandoned in favor of heightened autocracy.

Jeet Kune Do is a modern system of self-defence based on the teachings and philosophy of Bruce Lee, the King of Kung Fu. JKD is built on Simplicity, Directness, Efficiency and Speed. It encapsulates all four fighting distances (Kicks, Boxing, Close Combat and Ground Combat) and uses specific Strategies, Concepts and Principles. JKD is constantly developing and encompasses the dangers of modern life, so that, after the early demise of its founder, it lives on through his friend and heir Dan Inosanto. This book serves to teach from level 1 to 3, although it introduces other developing areas. It is useful for any interested reader, who is involved in understanding a realistic method of self defence developed by Bruce Lee. It also serves as a support for every sportsperson and Martial Artist. Style is totally irrelevant, as Jeet Kune Do can be used for or against any style, freely using the motto "using no way as a way". "Having no limitation as limitation" Bruce Lee.

An in-depth examination of the economic and social transition from slavery to capitalism during Reconstruction At the center of the upheavals brought by emancipation in the American South was the economic and social transition from slavery to modern capitalism. In Between Slavery and Capitalism, Martin Ruef examines how this institutional change affected individuals, organizations, and communities in the late nineteenth century, as blacks and whites alike learned to navigate the shoals between two different economic worlds. Analyzing trajectories among average Southerners, this is perhaps the most extensive sociological treatment of the transition from slavery since W.E.B. Du Bois's Black Reconstruction in America. In the aftermath of the Civil War, uncertainty was a pervasive feature of life in the South, affecting the economic behavior and social status of former slaves, Freedmen's Bureau agents, planters, merchants, and politicians, among others. Emancipation brought fundamental questions: How should emancipated slaves be reimbursed in wage contracts? What occupations and class positions would be open to blacks and whites? What forms of agricultural tenure could persist? And what paths to economic growth would be viable? To understand the escalating uncertainty of the postbellum era, Ruef draws on a wide range of qualitative and quantitative data, including several thousand interviews with former slaves, letters, labor contracts, memoirs, survey responses, census records, and credit reports. Through a resolutely comparative approach, Between Slavery and Capitalism identifies profound changes between the economic institutions of the Old and New South and sheds new light on how the legacy of emancipation continues to affect political discourse and race and class relations today.