Results by title

Fabricating the People boldly proposes post-representational governance that reframes the practice of modern democracy and reinvents the role of public administration.

Since the 1960s, hostility and mistrust toward the U.S. government has risen precipitously. At the same time, the field of public administration has wrestled with its own crisis of legitimacy. What is at the root of current antigovernment sentiment? Conventionally, two explanations for this problem persist. Some see it primarily in moral terms, a deficit of Constitutional or democratic values in government. Others emphasize government’s performance failures and managerial inefficiency.

Thomas J. Catlaw departs from both explanations in this groundbreaking study and demonstrates that the current crisis of government originates in the uncritical manner in which we have accepted the idea of “the People.” He contends that this unifying, foundational concept—and the notion of political representation it entails—have failed. While illuminating some of our most pressing social and political problems, Catlaw shows how the idea of the People, far from serving to unify, relies in fact on a distinctive logic of exclusion. True political power is the power to determine what constitutes the normal, natural life of the electorate. Today, the exclusionary practices that once made up or fabricated the People are increasingly contested. In turn, government and political power now appear more invasive, less legitimate, and our shared reality appears more fragmented and disconnected.

In order to address this crisis and reinvigorate democracy, Catlaw argues, we must accept as bankrupt the premise of the People and the idea of representation itself. Fabricating the People boldly proposes post-representational governance that reframes the practice of modern democracy and reinvents the role of public administration.

Female Body Image and Beauty Politics in Contemporary Indian Literature and Culture is the first volume to analyze the myriad conceptualizations of South Asian women’s body issues in film, literature, advertising, and other media. Showing how body image and self-identity are constructed in contemporary neoliberal India, the editors and contributors theorize issues of body image vis-à-vis Indian womanhood while touching upon political, socio-economic, and cultural parameters.

Influences from the colonial period through the age of the internet and globalization have reinforced Eurocentric ideals about femininity and womanhood. This long overdue volume addresses the pressures of beautification that Indian women face as they struggle with body acceptance and are often denied pride in their natural bodies.

Contributors: Annika Taneja, Anurima Chanda, Aratrika Bose, Kavita Daiya, Ketaki Chowkhani, Nishat Haider, Samrita Sinha, Shailendra Kumar Singh, Shubhra Ray, Sucharita Sarkar, Sukshma Vedere, Swatie, Tanupriya, Turni Chakrabarti, and the editors.

The fall of communism promised a new era of European governance – open, accountable, efficient administration – across Central and Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans. Three decades later, that promise feels yet to be fulfilled. From Communism to European Governance traces why. The book reconstructs the genesis, institutionalisation, and implementation of the European Commission’s support for domestic administrative reform in Romania (EU member), Serbia (EU candidate), and Moldova (EU neighbour), from 2000 to 2020. The findings challenge both optimistic narratives of EU-driven transformation and sceptical claims of external impotence. While EU engagement has strengthened legal frameworks, strategic planning, and administrative capacity, the depth and sustainability of reform depend on domestic ownership, credible incentives, and the resilience of political commitment. At a moment when EU enlargement has returned to the centre of European geopolitics, this is an essential read for scholars and policymakers engaged in governance reform across Europe and its neighbourhood.