'Rethinking Environmental Governance' brings to light the pluralistic views, diverse forces, and multiple realities (re)shaping formal and informal decision-making structures, processes, and power interplay in environmental governance. Linking socio-economic drivers with the evolution of cultural norms, the (re)shaping of institutional arrangements, and ever-changing power relations, the book looks at processes of institutional emergence across spatio-temporal scales. Through case study illus...

This book presents the first-ever English translation of 'The Open Door to Hidden Paganism', one of the earliest and most detailed studies of South Indian Hinduism. Written in 1651 by Abraham Rogerius, a Dutch East India Company clergyman and missionary, it offers an unexpectedly balanced account of the customs and traditions of the South Indian Brahmins. This made it a cornerstone of early European Indology.

In addition to the Dutch original, this edition includes a full English translation...

Spanning Malaysia’s post-independence period, and using the repression-mobilization nexus as a key theoretical framework, this study outlines how its Christian community delicately and simultaneously defends its religious rights without being construed as anti-Islam in the face of state-led “Islamization”. By primarily focusing on the 1980s to the contemporary period, while considering subnational differences between East and West Malaysia, this study charts the changes in the community...

Between 1848 and 1914, around 5,800 Swiss Mercenaries enlisted in the Dutch Colonial Army (KNIL) to fight in the Dutch East Indies, now modern-day Indonesia. This book traces the paths of these mercenaries beyond the boundaries of the Dutch Empire, shedding light on the intricacies of nineteenth-century military labour markets. It delves deep into their social backgrounds, motivations, intimate relationships, and their role in the violent expansion of the colonial empire. In doing so, it unve...

International Studies aims to understand the global complexities of the world in which we live today. Central in these complexities is the position of the human individual, who is both an actor and reactor in global events. This textbook introduces three I's – interests, identities, ideas – that provide a framework to understand human behaviour in today's world. The role of people is further elaborated in the three spatial dimensions of the local, regional, and global level. This gives In...

'Rethinking Ostia' presents an archaeological and spatial approach to Roman urbanism, focused on Rome's port city. It takes the reader along the route of a 'spatial investigation', offering a fresh look and detailed insights into the past society and the built environment of this port town. Following a scaled approach, the book examines different aspects of Ostia's urban landscape, applying Space Syntax's methods for spatial analysis to the urban neighbourhood of one city block - Insula IV ii...

Over the last few decades, western archaeology increasingly abandoned its 'ivory tower' in order to investigate, negotiate and develop its position and role in global society. The way in which we deal with other peoples views in the interpretation of archaeological materials, the way in which we integrate our narratives and practices with other heritage demands,and the way in which we deal with power differences in both these processes; all are challenging issues when undertaking archaeologic...

Between 1966 and 1980, the War History Office of the National Defense College of Japan (now the Center for Military History of the National Institute for Defense Studies) published the 102-volume "Senshi Sosho" (War History Series). These volumes give a detailed account of the operations of the Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Second World War. Volume 3 of the series, "The Invasion of the Dutch East Indies", describes in depth the campaign to gain control over ...

This book presents three of the works of Abduʾl-Bahā, son of the founder of the Bahāʾi Faith, dealing with social and political issues.

In ‘The Secret of Divine Civilization’ (1875) Abduʾl-Bahā supports the administrative and broader social reforms of Mirzā Hosayn Khān, but looks mainly for organic reform through the efforts of Iranian intellectuals to waken and educate the masses. In this work, Abduʾl-Bahā gives virtuous and progressive Islamic clerics a leading role among th...

Dat de Nederlanders in de zeventiende eeuw in Azië aan een koloniaal rijk bouwden weet iedereen. Het is veel minder bekend dat hetzelfde ook in het Atlantische gebied gebeurde. In Tussen honger en zwaard laat Wim Klooster zien dat het Atlantische imperium van de Republiek een grote verscheidenheid aan regio’s omvatte: de Afrikaanse Goudkust, eilanden in het Caribisch gebied, een lange strook langs de Noordamerikaanse oostkust en Brazilië. Dit imperium was niet alleen het werk van Nederlan...