bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Form and Individuation in Aristotle
Authors: Whiting Jennifer
Published: December 2023

The chapter argues against traditional readings of Aristotle according to which he recognizes only one form for each infima species and so treats matter as a metaphysical (as distinct from epistemological) principle of individuation in the sense that an individual’s matter is what makes it numerically distinct from conspecific individuals. It defends a reading according to which each member of a species has its own numerically distinct form, one that serves both to distinguish it from other members of the same species and to determine the conditions for its existence and persistence over time. Different conceptions of individual forms are described, and one according to which matter is in a sense included in the form is ascribed to Aristotle.
Living Bodies
Authors: Whiting Jennifer
Published: December 2023

The chapter seeks to resolve a puzzle raised by J. L. Ackrill: can Aristotle consistently maintain both that matter is the substratum of generation and destruction (in the sense that it is what persists throughout, first acquiring and then losing form) and that the soul is the form and the essence of the body (also called the matter) to which it belongs? The answer lies in Aristotle’s distinction between “functional” and “compositional” matter. The living body and its functionally defined parts—e.g., eyes defined by their capacity to see—cannot exist in the absence of the capacities that define them: a detached “eye” is an eye only in name. But the elements out of which such parts are composed are not so defined and can thus persist in the absence of such capacities: a corpse, lacking the capacities it once had, is only “homonymously” a body of the relevant kind.
Hylomorphic Virtue
Authors: Whiting Jennifer
Published: December 2023

The chapter rejects the standard reading of Nicomachean Ethics I.13 as dividing the human soul as such into four parts (a rational part, with theoretical and practical subparts, and non-rational part, with nutritive and desiderative subparts). Careful reading suggests that Aristotle thinks properly ordered souls conform to the tripartite division in his scientific works and that four parts occur only when (as in akratic and other non-virtuous agents) desire (the matter) is not “fully mastered” by form (practical reason). The chapter defends this general picture of moral development by appeal to Aristotle’s cosmology (where the superlunary world provides a unitary norm, with no opposition between form and matter) and his embryology (where male offspring, in which the matter is “fully mastered” by the male principle, are the norm, but female offspring come to be when the matter, not being fully mastered, retains some degree of efficient-causal autonomy).
Scenario
Authors: Visger Mark A.
Published: December 2023

This chapter presents a scenario that highlights international legal issues posed by the acquisition, storage, use, and targeting of large quantities of data ("big data") in military operations below and above the armed conflict threshold. Produced in consultation with the U.S. Army Cyber Institute at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, the scenario is based on realistic real-world possibilities. The purpose of the scenario is to provoke and inspire analysis by other contributing authors. It also serves as a set of facts on which contributing authors may base their legal discussions. The scenario is intended to highlight some of the key international legal issues, including those from regimes including the jus ad bellum, international human rights law, the law of armed conflict, and the law of state responsibility.
Attacking Big Data as a Use of Force
Authors: Kilovaty Ido
Published: December 2023

Since the advent of cyber operations, international law has operated on the assumption that state actors are not prohibited from breaching each other’s systems to manipulate, and potentially destroy, digital data. This assumption is based on the common understanding that international law does not make acts of harm to data illegal. However, with decreasing storage costs and the emergence of large quantities of data, this assumption is increasingly questioned by both states and scholars. This chapter seeks to challenge the assumption that all data is created equal. The current legal state of affairs affords states carte blanche to hack each other’s computer systems and networks regardless of the type of data being targeted (personal vs. non-personal) and its volume (a single file vs. an entire database). Indeed, such action may lead to criminal charges initiated by the targeted state, but internationally, states rarely face any consequences or condemnation. This chapter will argue that international law, generally, should treat Big Data differently from “small” data. More specifically, this chapter is focused on jus ad bellum questions pertaining to cyber operations against Big Data. Given the increasing volume of sensitive and personal data compromised by states, both pre-conflict and during conflict, the equilibrium between sovereignty (a state’s freedom of action in cyberspace) and the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data ought to change.
How to Dress the Part
Authors: Rodríguez-Alegría Enrique
Published: December 2023

Colonizers dressed almost exclusively in Spanish clothing and they barely owned any Indigenous clothes. Still, the probate inventories reveal that they wore a lot of Spanish fashions made by Indigenous people or with Indigenous cloth, and they held the quality of those clothes in high esteem. In contrast with well-known descriptions of opulent fashions and clothing in Mexico City in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, however, colonizers in the sixteenth century wore a lot of clothes that were old, tattered, or mended. They also owned very little in terms of jewelry, and some of it was made by Indigenous people. The findings point to an early adoption of cloth and clothing made by Indigenous people but into Spanish fashions, and to changes over time in terms of the lived experience of wearing clothes in colonial Mexico.
Conclusion
Authors: Rodríguez-Alegría Enrique
Published: December 2023

The conclusion sets aside discussions of theory and empirical evidence, and brings together observations from the previous chapters to present a description of the material worlds of colonial Mexico City during the sixteenth century. It provides a discussion of the wealth of colonizers, and the coins and receipts they used to create wealth; of the houses of colonizers and the different Indigenous technologies used to build them; of the furniture used by colonizers to seek distinction and to create alliances with Indigenous people; of the food and pottery that colonizers imported or adopted from Indigenous people; of the Spanish fashions that they wore, and the Indigenous people who made a good portion of those clothes; and of the tools colonizers imported and the sociotechnical systems they formed with Indigenous people. By taking Indigenous power into account, the chapter presents a new vision of the material world in sixteenth-century Mexico City.
Contexts and Means for Interpreting Spinoza
Authors: Özbey Sonya N.
Published: December 2023

This chapter examines some of the key characteristics of the “natural philosophy” of Spinoza’s milieu, particularly the aspiration to secure universal access to certain indubitable truths about the world. It situates Spinoza’s penchant for engaging in mathematico-mechanical modeling of nature within his own intellectual context. Furthermore, the chapter delves into the pedagogical features of Spinoza’s works. Despite the common depiction of Spinoza as a thinker who decenters the human perspective by paying attention to humans’ situatedness in the natural world, the chapter reveals a thinker who is primarily committed to uplifting mankind by disseminating fundamental truths about their existence in nature.
Zhuangzi and the Happy Fish
Authors: Özbey Sonya N.
Published: December 2023

Chapter 5 examines some of the well-known passages in the Zhuangzi, where the likes and dislikes of different beings are compared. It analyzes the ways in which the text mobilizes curiosity about different beings’ tastes and preferences to both blur and affirm a human-animal binary—which, I argue, destabilizes one’s distinctions and groupings even more than a consistent denial of the binary. In the end, what unites these passages is a concern to develop sensitivity to a multiplicity of different vantage points, which results in a greater degree of efficacious action. The chapter also explores the implications that this heightened awareness of each other’s differences has for human bonding and human solidarity.
Spinoza’s Serpentine Worries
Authors: Özbey Sonya N.
Published: December 2023

Through an examination of key passages in Spinoza’s Ethics, chapter 6 demonstrates that cross-species communication of affects can also be taken in a completely different direction from the one in the Zhuangzi. In the Ethics, the differences among various beings are discussed within the framework of an exhortation to distance “ourselves” from those whose affects and preferences are deemed to be different from “ours.” Whereas part of this attitude derives from Spinoza’s association of animality with lower intellectual and affective powers, his related commitment to cementing human society also gives way to an “us versus them” split. Within this disjunctive approach, animality either features as a literal threat to human flourishing (especially if one starts empathizing with animals’ suffering) or as a trope for disorder and violence.
Conclusion
Authors: Özbey Sonya N.
Published: December 2023

Whether presented as sociopolitical goals or as fundamental assumptions about the world and human beings’ place in it, notions of regularity, order, and stability prove to be key in weaving together descriptive and normative discourses of the human-animal binary. Also crucial is the way we imagine the nature of unarranged worlds, namely, “the state of nature” and “distant antiquity.” As the contrast between Spinoza and the Zhuangzi suggests, gloomy versus sunny imageries of humanity and animality in distant pasts are as much about what orderliness and institutional governmentality represent as they are about one’s attitude toward the “logic of scarcity,” which anticipates competition over resources. The conclusion thus reflects on this key question: To what extent is the fear of social disorder traceable to the elites’ fear of the poor and their projection of an “animal-like” competitive antagonism on the rest of society?
Conclusion
Authors: Özbey Sonya N.
Published: December 2023

That conceptions of animality are often tied to those of humanity and social difference is an oft-mentioned observation in critical animality studies. While the interplay between the categories of animality, gender, descent, and ability is undeniable, our analyses of discussions of these themes in Spinoza’s oeuvre and the Zhuangzi demonstrate that the precise reach of the human-animal binary is not always straightforward. The conclusion to Part V discusses the fact that liberatory or oppressive representations of different undervalued groups do not always inflect each other in neatly discernible ways, nor do they always relate to representations of animality directly. While this does not undo the conceptual commingling of human and animal realities, it does reveal further sites of exploration for critical human-animal studies.
Introduction
Authors: Gohdes Anita R.
Published: December 2023

The first chapter of this book sets the stage by tracing the development of global Internet penetration across different types of government and showing that autocratic governments have been catching up to their democratic counterparts. It then discusses how cyber controls—technologies that enable online censorship and surveillance—are now part and parcel of repressive states’ strategies aimed at maintaining and increasing their authority. In reflecting on recent research highlighting the pervasiveness of cyber controls, it then motivates the book’s central research question: Have cyber controls affected the nature of traditional, violent, forms of state repression and, if so, how? The remainder of the chapter offers a brief summary of the argument, the empirical approach taken to answer the question and concludes with a plan of the book.
Online controls and repression in Syria
Authors: Gohdes Anita R.
Published: December 2023

The chapter provides an overview and brief history of digital politics and repression in Syria. It commences with pre-conflict digital politics and then briefly recounts the conflict’s initial trajectory, paying special attention to the unprecedented role social media played in mediating and amplifying the dynamics of violence. The chapter continues with a discussion of the data and methodological approach that form the basis of studying online controls and regime violence in Syria. It highlights the innovations in measurement and estimation of repression, using fine-grained documentation on atrocities committed by the Syrian regime. It concludes with an outlook of the next two chapters, by summarizing the empirical approach used to analyze the relationship between cyber controls and repression in Syria at both the national and regional level.
Global evidence
Authors: Gohdes Anita R.
Published: December 2023

This chapter presents a global comparative analysis of the relationship between Internet outages and state repression. Due to the covert nature of digital surveillance, the global analysis focuses on Internet shutdowns as the observable implication that can most reliably be measured across different countries and time. Taking into account the most important determinants for violent state repression, the results show that nationwide disruptions of the Internet are associated with higher levels of state-ordered repression
Mapping Texts
Authors: Stoltz Dustin S. , Taylor Marshall A.
Published: December 2023

Mining is the dominant metaphor in computational text analysis. When mining texts, the implied assumption is that analysts can find kernels of truth-they just have to sift through rubbish first. In this book, Stoltz and Taylor encourage text analysts to work with a different metaphor in mind: that of mapping. When mapping texts, the goal is not necessarily to find these meaningful needles in the haystack, but instead to create reductions of the text to document patterns. Just like with cartographic maps, though, the type and nature of the textual map is dependent on a range of decisions on the part of the researcher. Creating reproducible workflows is therefore critical for the text analyst. Mapping Texts offers a practical introduction to computational text analysis with step-by-step guides on how to conduct actual text analysis workflows in the R statistical computing environment. The focus is on social science questions and applications, with data ranging from fake news and presidential campaigns to Star Trek and pop stars. The book walks the reader through all facets of a text analysis workflow-from understanding the theories of language embedded in text analysis all the way to more advanced and cutting-edge techniques. The book should prove useful not only to social scientists, but anyone interested in conducting text analysis projects.
Extended Inductive
Authors: Stoltz Dustin S. , Taylor Marshall A.
Published: December 2023

Inductive analysis entails finding latent groupings of texts (or text units) or relations between texts (or text units) without preconceived notions about those groupings or relations. This chapter continues down this path by extending our core methods to more complex and involved techniques: inferential topic modeling, structural topic modeling, word embeddings, and document similarities.
Extended Deductive
Authors: Stoltz Dustin S. , Taylor Marshall A.
Published: December 2023

Deductive analysis entails searching for a meaning in our corpora. Researchers commonly hand-label a manageable random sample of documents, using these labels to build classifiers, validate classifications, or both. Here, we’ll discuss using labels to build classifiers (i.e. supervision) and use these labels to validate classifications. We’ll also explore using pretrained models to classify documents and using inference with text networks as a way to test relational hypotheses with texts.
Reservoir hosts
Authors: Salkeld Dan , Hopkins Skylar , Hayman David
Published: December 2023

Pathogens exist within host communities where some host species act as important reservoirs of infection. In some cases, pathogens are maintained by a single wildlife host reservoir species or population, as with leprosy and armadillos. In many other cases, pathogens are transmitted among multiple host species, which vary in their competency as reservoir hosts. When many reservoir host species exist, low competency hosts may cause a dilution effect, but it is difficult to predict where and when dilution may occur. Overall, it can be difficult to determine which reservoir host species are the most important for maintaining transmission in the host community. Host community models that aim to describe the different roles of interacting species can be a valuable way to understand local pathogen dynamics, especially when considering the oft-overlooked interactions of non-reservoirs.
Infectious diseases in ecosystems
Authors: Salkeld Dan , Hopkins Skylar , Hayman David
Published: December 2023

Most disease ecology studies focus on a single host and a single parasite species, but disease dynamics occur in complex ecosystems with multiple pathogens, hosts, and non-host species. When a pathogen strongly impacts one species, it can have rippling effects up and down food webs. These cascading effects have occasionally been documented with serendipitous long-term data and careful experiments, several of which are described in this chapter. Additionally, when parasites interact within the host species, disease outcomes for co-infected hosts may be better or worse than single parasite infections. This chapter describes parasites with an ecosystem-level perspective, and these insights can be used to decide how best to control pathogen transmission (for the benefit of hosts) or to conserve parasite biodiversity (for the benefit of parasites and ecosystems).
The Banking Union: From the Past to the Future
Authors: Alexander Kern
Published: December 2023

This chapter analyses the Banking Union’s institutional and legal structure and considers the future challenges and institutional and legal gaps that remain for it to promote a more stable European banking sector. In doing so, the chapter discusses how the ECB’s role as a bank supervisor is evolving in response to EU legislation that requires banks to identify and manage environmental and social risks. This chapter also critically analyses the institutional design of the Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM) and the legal principles governing the SRM’s use of resolution tools, such as bail-in. This chapter also discusses some of the fiscal implications of the SRM that arise because of the creation of the Single Resolution Fund (SRF) that can be drawn upon to pay for bank resolutions. The SRF consists of mandatory levies on covered banks and other financial institutions that is expected to grow to €66 billion in 2024 and, in the meantime, will be supplemented by funding from the resolution funds of SRM Member States along with a taxpayer subsidized fiscal guarantee by these states. This chapter considers the Banking Union’s legal and institutional framework, and its efficacy in managing future challenges and financial risks that arise from macroprudential systemic risks and environmentallly unsustainable economic activity, along with the geo-political challenges involving the use of financial sanctions.
EU Fiscal Coordination: Past and Present
Authors: Estella Antonio
Published: December 2023

There are three main rules of fiscal governance that are inside the EU’s institutional realm, and two other rules that are outside the EU’s institutional framework. The three rules inside the EU’s institutional realm are the 3 per cent deficit and the 60 per cent public debt limits; the close to balance or in surplus rule; and the no bail-out clause. The two rules that are outside the EU’s legal framework are the structural deficit rule of 0.5 per cent GDP and the rule that Eurozone Member States will be rescued if the euro is at stake. Lawyers’ honest efforts to come up with a coherent interpretation of this regulatory jumble remain just that; the fact of the matter is that all these rules form an incoherent whole. As a result, a criterion must be set in order to give pre-eminence to some of them over others. This chapter argues that this criterion should be credibility, and analyses it in detail.
Never Waste A Good Crisis: On The Emergence of an EU Fiscal Capacity
Authors: Amtenbrink Fabian , Markakis Menelaos
Published: December 2023

The European sovereign debt crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic have arguably led to a transformation of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) that is ongoing, albeit this was almost always not reflected in the text of the EU Treaties. The measures adopted in response to the two crises were either aimed at or nevertheless had the effect of addressing some of the glaring omissions in the EMU framework. The question that this contribution seeks to answer is whether the two crises have given European integration a significant and lasting impulse towards a greater fiscal capacity or even a fiscal union in the Euro area. To this end, the benchmark is first defined: what exactly is meant by fiscal capacity and fiscal union, as well as what instruments are linked thereto (section II). Thereafter, a brief account is given of the status quo prior to the two crises (section III). This is followed by an analysis of the measures taken in response to the sovereign debt crisis and, subsequently, the Covid-19 pandemic (section IV). It will be argued that, while certainly not providing a permanent solution to the EMU’s shortcomings, the measures that were taken to address the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic are geared towards the (temporary) increase of the budgetary capacity of the EU on the basis of centralized debt issuing, and include crisis management tools that specifically aim to deal with asymmetric shocks. The two major crises may have given European integration a significant impulse towards a greater fiscal capacity by contributing to its major building blocks, notably in light of what these measures may foreshadow. We conclude with a forward-looking discussion on the other, missing elements for the creation of a greater fiscal capacity and a more complete fiscal union, whilst noting that risk-sharing mechanisms in the EMU remain work in progress (section V).
EU Budget and Spending Powers
Authors: Fasone Cristina
Published: December 2023

This chapter is structured as follows. It first deals with the constitutional principles shaping the EU budget, examining whether the principles of fiscal federalism are amongst them. Secondly, it analyses the EU expenditures, considering how their composition has evolved over time and how the interinstitutional balance on the relevant decisions has changed. Thirdly, it critically assesses the expenditures’ cycle, focusing on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), on the annual budget’s adoption, its execution, and discharge. Finally, the chapter concludes with an overview of the main innovations introduced by NextGenerationEU in relation to the EU budget and expenditures, reflecting on the input and the direction of evolution they can bring to fiscal federalism in the Union.
Fiscal Union by other Means?
Authors: Hinarejos Alicia
Published: December 2023

When considering fiscal integration in the European Union, the picture that emerges is a piecemeal one: an incomplete framework with only certain elements in place. This is a multi-level system with very unequal distribution of fiscal powers between the EU and national levels. What are the consequences of this incomplete framework, this unequal distribution of fiscal powers within EMU? We know that central fiscal tools (from the centre’s own spending power, to intergovernmental transfers, or the use of central taxation as an automatic equalizing mechanism) are essential in addressing imbalances and challenges such as economic shocks. Yet these are precisely the sorts of tools that the EU does not have, or not to an effective degree. After the Euro area sovereign debt crisis, this meant a turn to other, more limited mechanisms—an attempt to address these challenges through other means, including strengthening budgetary discipline and surveillance or creating funds for financial assistance. These actions also include the adoption of non-standard measures of monetary policy by the European Central Bank (ECB), on which this chapter focuses. The analysis will show how these actions fit within the framework of an incomplete fiscal union, and how they represent, in part, an attempt to plug some of the gaps in fiscal integration. While these actions seem justified and have been considered legal by the Court of Justice of the EU, this chapter will also discuss the concerns and constitutional conflict to which these actions have given and continue to give rise.
Introduction
Authors: Beeley Philip , Hollings Christopher
Published: December 2023

The tremendous growth of the mathematical sciences in the Europe of the early modern period was reflected contemporaneously in an increasingly sophisticated level of practical mathematics in fields such as merchants’ accounts, instrument making, teaching, navigation, and gauging. Mathematics in many ways shaped the knowledge culture of the age, extending through the Industrial Revolution to the nineteenth century. In this first chapter, we set the scene for the varied examples of practical mathematics that follow in the remaining essays. We begin with a preliminary discussion of the example of seventeenth-century England before moving out into the wider contexts covered by this book. We summarize the contents of the following chapters and draw out common themes.
Introduction
Authors: Wang Yuan
Published: December 2023

The introduction briefly situates the work in the context of Sino-African relations and African politics literatures. It then details the phenomenon of the growing presence of China in Africa, and lays out the essential research puzzle: Why do projects that are similar in nature develop along very different trajectories in different African states? This empirical puzzle about railway functionality sheds light on the varying state effectiveness in achieving policy objectives. The chapter lays out the often overlooked aspect in China-Africa structural asymmetry: African agency, in particular how African political leaders can be the central factor that determines Sino-African cooperative projects. The introduction also briefly discusses the research methods of process tracing, and outlines what is to come in the rest of the manuscript.
Struggle to reconstruct
Authors: Wang Yuan
Published: December 2023

Chapter 4 continues the theme of political championship and project delivery by tracing the process of the Chinese-sponsored Benguela railway in Angola. Throughout its initiation between 2003 and 2006 and its construction from 2006 to 2017 to its present operation, the railway lacked former President Dos Santos’ commitment. This chapter explains the rationale behind this lack of political commitment by showing that Angola’s rich resource endowment allows it to maintain a highly coherent centralized state. The Benguela railway was not strategically salient to the Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (MPLA) administration, whose survival was dependent on the cohesion and loyalty of the elites combined with their resource endowment and patronage systems. The chapter also briefly shows that with similar bureaucratic and Chinese factors, the Kilamba Kiaxi project, which provided housing for ministerial employees and MPLA loyalists, was protected from failure thanks to the championship of the president.
Big brother and small boy?
Authors: Wang Yuan
Published: December 2023

Chapter 5 engages with the broader Sino-African relations and the dependency–extraversion debate. It explores how and why African actors, particularly political leaders, were able to effectively exercise their agency and shape the project trajectory despite the China–Africa power asymmetry. It argues that Chinese-financed and -constructed projects in Africa coincided with rulers’ strategies for political survival in the host countries. Instead of reducing their dependence on external economies, African rulers tend to utilize their dependent positions through foreign trade and financial support. Internationally, they strategically assess their available choices to ensure that the state receives the largest amount of foreign funding and on the most favourable terms. Domestically, they instrumentalize the Chinese-sponsored projects and Chinese loans to demonstrate their performance legitimacy and feed the patronage machines. The fragmented nature of Chinese actors in Africa further helps to balance the asymmetric relationship by diluting China’s power and enhancing African agency.
Conclusion
Authors: Wang Yuan
Published: December 2023

The Conclusion synthesizes the book’s major findings and emphasizes African agency, in particular the agency of African political leaders, in shaping Sino-African infrastructure projects. The book proposed a two-step answer to the overarching puzzle of why Chinese-financed and -constructed projects that are similar in nature develop different trajectories in different African states. First, it is the primacy of African domestic politics, rather than the ‘Chineseness’, that determines the trajectories of Chinese-sponsored projects. Second, it is the agency of African political leaders’ commitment to and intervention in the project, rather than institutional factors such as bureaucratic capacity, that define the effectiveness of infrastructure delivery; that is, the political championship theory. The chapter also suggests directions for future scholarly inquiry and offers applications of the research for policy-makers and business decision-makers.
Cosmopolitan Elites
Authors: Huju Kira
Published: December 2023

Cosmopolitan Elites narrates the birth, everyday life, and fracturing of a Western-dominated global order from its margins. It examines diplomats of the elite Indian Foreign Service, many of whom were present at the founding of this order, set out to remake it in the name of a radically anti-colonial global subaltern, but often ended up seeking status within its hierarchies through social mimicry of its most powerful actors. This is a book about the struggles of belonging: it revisits what it takes to be a recognized member of international society and asks what the experience of historically marginalized actors inside the diplomatic club can tell us about the evident woes of global order today. In interrogating how Indian diplomats learned to live under a Westernized world order, it also offers a sociologically grounded reading on what might happen in spaces like India as the world transitions past Western domination. An awkward balancing act animates the order-making of India’s cosmopolitan diplomats: despite a genuine desire to strive towards a postcolonial world founded on diversity and difference. India’s cosmopolitans have sought to leverage their cultural capital to find social parity in a politically unequal world. Cosmopolitanism operates inside this balancing act not as an international ethic upholding an equal, tolerant, or liberal global order, but rather as an elite aesthetic which presumes cultural compliance, diplomatic accommodation, and social assimilation into Western mores.
Epilogue
Authors: Huju Kira
Published: December 2023

The Epilogue considers what a reflexive sociological reading of Indian diplomats tells us about a wider set of questions about cosmopolitanism, diversity, and domination under Western-led order. It elaborates on the limits of a liberal understanding of recognition that focuses purely on formal admission, considering instead the importance of the social recognition function of actually existing cosmopolitanism. It asks whether some rendition of the cosmopolitan ideal can—or ought to—be salvaged, and how it might be reimagined for the sake of a more genuinely pluralistic world. There is nothing natural or obvious about the existence of the cosmopolitan elite, or the way that very particular readings of worldliness and inclusion in international society have come to captivate our imagination. It is the normalization of dominant Westerncentric, post-aristocratic narratives that make the social constitution of the cosmopolitan elite seem commonsensical, even inevitable. Denaturalizing and contextualizing the elite aesthetic of cosmopolitanism allows us to analyse the oxymoron inherent in the very notion of a ‘cosmopolitan elite’—and to understand how this elite reproduces itself in the face of global and local change.
Introduction
Authors: Balbi Gabriele
Published: December 2023

The introduction frames the core arguments and explains the title of the book: why is the digital revolution an “ideology”? This volume aims to tell the story of an idea, probably the most powerful idea of recent decades: that digitization constitutes a revolution, a break with the past, a radical change for human beings who find themselves living through it. This idea is so powerful that has proved capable of reaching across global societies between the second half of the twentieth century and the first decades of the twenty-first. A truly global ideology made up of discussions, which are surprisingly similar even in distant countries and cultures, of stereotypes repeated and renewed over time, of a linear vision of history that leads from an analog world to an inevitably digital one. The introduction discusses the “ideological nature” of the digital revolution, the fact that it has become a vision, a contemporary “mythology”, and a dominant paradigm of the present. At the end of the Introduction, all the chapters are summarized.
Defining the Revolution
Authors: Balbi Gabriele
Published: December 2023

This chapter aims to provide a definition, or several definitions, of the digital revolution. There are very few definitions that are widely accepted, with the exception of the famous transition from atoms to bits, especially as theorized by Nicholas Negroponte. Uncertainty prevails, starting with names and periodization. The digital revolution has been given different names over time; the three most famous ones are “the information revolution” (especially in the 1960s and 1970s), “the digital revolution” (especially in the 1990s and 2000s), and “the digital transformation” (which has become very popular since the 2010s). The beginnings and the ends of the revolution are also uncertain and, according to some “prophets,” the true digital revolution is yet to come. This uncertainty, rather than being problematic, is a crucial strategy to keep the idea attractive and sexy.
The Many Paths of Change in International Law
Authors: Krisch Nico , Yildiz Ezgi
Published: December 2023

How does international law change? This question, fundamental but empirically understudied, is the focus of the volume. This introductory chapter sets out the conceptual and theoretical framework for understanding change processes and it develops specific conjectures about how and when change occurs. It centres on an ideal-typical model of five ‘pathways’ of change through which change attempts are usually channelled, and it highlights the importance of theorizing change as the result of different stages with distinct dynamics and sets of actors involved. It also outlines four core factors influencing the likelihood of success of change processes, thereby drawing together theoretically derived expectations with insights from a wealth of cases of change over the past decades. The chapter concludes with an overview of the chapters of the volume, highlighting their particular contributions in the context of the project framework.
The Making of Lawmaking
Authors: Werner Wouter
Published: December 2023

This chapter examines the ILC Draft Conclusions on the Identification of Customary Law. The Draft Conclusions seek to discipline the way in which international law is found. This makes the Draft Conclusions, quite literally, ‘foundational’, and thus also more openly political than most of the other projects of the ILC. The Draft Conclusions are not just registrations of past practices. They construct certain practices as relevant and exemplary, while they ignore or delegitimize others. They instruct the reader where to look and how to look for role models, thus making the past ‘present again’ as a guide for the future.
The Appellate Body’s Judicial Pathway
Authors: Kucik Jeff , Puig Sergio
Published: December 2023

This chapter looks at twenty years of practice of the global trade regime to illustrate the limits of change in international law. It is noted that, despite a strong norm to follow prior rulings, the World Trade Organization’s Appellate Body modified precedent regularly—especially in the face of past non-compliance. This finding has at least two implications for the framework proposed by Krisch and Yildiz. On the one hand, judicial change is limited by the receptors of legal change. These receptors (here, respondent governments) might express dissatisfaction by failing to comply, rendering courts’ decisions and proposed changes ineffective. On the other hand, adjudicators must also be strategic with respect to the changes enabled by their decisions. Importantly, the judicial pathway is conditioned by the ability of their decisions to result in compliance. A judiciary that prioritizes change over authority might see a backlash that renders them ineffective.
And Yet It Moves
Authors: Fisher John
Published: December 2023

James Bradley’s discovery of stellar aberration established his status at the forefront of astronomical science in Europe. His work for Edmond Halley on the motions of Jupiter and its satellites, and his discovery of the gravitational resonances between the innermost three Galilean satellites prepared him, technically and theoretically, to apply his knowledge and perceptions to the counter-intuitive problems posed by the motions of the object star γ Draconis. Bradley’s account of his isolation of ‘the new discovered motion’ was addressed to his mentor Halley, the second Astronomer Royal. The Wanstead programme of observation was perfectly designed to resolve the problematic findings of the Kew experiment. The chapter discusses the reception of Bradley’s hypothesis in the Papal States.
On the Figure of the Earth
Authors: Fisher John
Published: December 2023

When Bradley was sure he was observing a lunar-induced nutation of the Earth’s axis, he sought corroboration, some clear indication that the Earth was an oblate spheroid. This led to his work with George Graham in London and Colin Campbell in Jamaica to test Newton’s earlier calculations, based on Jean Richer’s questionable observations in the 1670s at Cayenne. Meanwhile a bitter dispute in Paris led to two geodesic expeditions being sent to Lapland and Peru leading to further disputes. In reality, the arguments were about the interpretation of what counted as evidence. The Cartesians sought confirmation of evidence, whereas the Newtonians sought the establishment of new evidence based entirely on observation and experiment.
If Such a Man Could Have Enemies
Authors: Fisher John
Published: December 2023

Bradley’s appointment as the third Astronomer Royal came one day after Sir Robert Walpole lost a division in the House of Commons, the first action the outgoing prime minister made before resigning from office a few days later. As well as Bradley’s evidentially high skills as an astronomer, he had also acquired influential patrons and friends in high places, an important factor in Hanoverian society. He discovered that the state of the Royal Observatory was chaotic with most of the instruments in a dire condition. After Bradley was awarded the Copley Medal by the Royal Society in 1748 for his work on nutation, his reputation was without equal. This enabled him to successfully petition both King George II and the government to finance the commission of new instruments and the building of a ‘New Observatory’ fully equipped to modern standards.
Regressive Movements in Times of Emergency
Authors: della Porta Donatella
Published: December 2023

The introductory chapter builds on social movement studies in an attempt to illuminate the dynamics of anti-vax protests during the Covis-19 pandemic throughout the various steps of their emergence, growth, and decline. After having defined the object of the studies, it conceptualize regressive social movements, as rooted in extreme forms of individualism, and contentious politics during times of emergency, as characterized by deep disruption to everyday life and rapid structural transformations in society. In order to understand how specific strains are transformed into actions, the author consider the opportunities and challenges faced by different actors in moments of intense mobilization in which various, contrasting claims are put forward. The chapter presents then the research design and the structure of the volume.
Short Digression on Quantum Gravity
Authors: Simon Steven H.
Published: December 2023

A brief discussion of how and why Chern-Simons theory was pursued in the context of quantum gravity.
Fusion and Structure of Hilbert Space
Authors: Simon Steven H.
Published: December 2023

In this chapter we begin the detailed structure of anyon theories, or TQFTs. We introduce the concept of fusion and explain how it is related to the Hilbert space of the anyon systems. We emphasize the importance of locality as a principle for understanding anyons. Associativity is a strong constraint on possible particle fusion rules. As examples, we introduce both Fibonacci anyons and Ising anyons. We explain how the fusion rules of an anyon theory can be used to calculate the degeneracy of the ground state on arbitrary 2-manifolds.
Change of Basis and F-Matrices1
Authors: Simon Steven H.
Published: December 2023

Continuing our exploration of the detailed structure of anyon theories, we explain how one can describe the same Hilbert space with different basis sets. Changing between these bases is done with the so-called F-matrix which is a gauge dependent quantity. The F-matrices satisfy a set of consistency equations known as the pentagon equations which are “rigid” up to Gauge transformations (i.e., solutions are discrete and cannot be deformed small amounts to produce other solutions). We again use Fibonacci and Ising anyons as simple examples.
Braiding Diagrams
Authors: Simon Steven H.
Published: December 2023

We continue the development of diagrammatics now considering diagrams living in 3 dimensions. We generalize the discussion of the R-matrix for braiding (non-identical) particles around each other, and discuss the Hexagon equations which provide a consistency condition for the R-matrices. As with the pentagon, Hexagon solutions are also rigid.
Twists
Authors: Simon Steven H.
Published: December 2023

An important process (discussed already in chapter 2) is the process by which a particle twists around its own axis. For a quantum mechanical particle this accumulates a phase associated with the particle’s spin. The particle spin is related in several ways to the R-matrix, and satisfies a number of important identities, including the ribbon identity.
Nice Theories with Planar or Three-Dimensional Isotopy
Authors: Simon Steven H.
Published: December 2023

Many of the theories that one runs into most often are particularly simple in that they have a higher degree of symmetry than a generic TQFT or anyon theory needs to have. In this chapter we construct a simplified set of rules for evaluating diagrams for such simpler theories.
Further Structure1
Authors: Simon Steven H.
Published: December 2023

TQFTs, or anyon theories, have a large amount of addition mathematical structure which we explore in this chapter. We show that the quantum dimension which defines the weight of a loop in the diagram algebra is the same as the quantum dimension that describes the size of the many-anyon Hilbert space. We define the S-matrix in terms of diagrams, and the T-matrix in terms of twists. We show how the S- and T-matrices are related to the modular group of diffeomorphisms of the torus, and related further to the notion of central charge. We discuss how the many constraints on TQFTs enables one to develop a table of all possible sufficiently “small” TQFTs given certain very general conditions. We give tables for both modular and super-modular theories. We introduce the Kirby Color or Omega Strand as an important tool.
Formal Construction of TQFTs from Diagrams: Surgery and More Complicated 3-Manifolds1
Authors: Simon Steven H.
Published: December 2023

We have constructed diagrammatic rules for evaluating labeled knots and links (and graphs) embedded in S3. However, a 3D TQFT should be able to give us information about any 3-manifold. In order to describe arbitrary 3-manifolds we use Dehn surgery — a manifold is represented as a link embedded in S3. To obtain the manifold, the strands of the link are thickened to a solid torus which is excised from the manifold and replaced with longitude and meridian exchanged. The Lickorish-Wallace theorem assures us that any closed orientable 3D manifold can be obtained in this way. The link representation a 3-manifold is not unique — links related by a series of Kirby moves represent the same manifold. The Witten-Reshitikhin-Turaev invariant is a link invariant which remains unchanged by Kirby moves and therefore corresponds to a manifold invariant of the represented 3-manifold. This invariant is the formal construction of the Chern-Simons manifold invariant which does not require reference to ill-defined concepts like functional integrals. The surgery approach also gives a nice proof (using a construction known as Chain-Mail) of the Turaev-Walker-Roberts theorem that the Turaev-Viro invariant for a Chern-Simons theory is the absolute square of the Chern-Simons (or Witten-Reshitikhin-Turaev) invariant.
Introducing the Toric Code
Authors: Simon Steven H.
Published: December 2023

We introduce the toric code as an example of a quantum error correcting code. The system is a lattice of spins on a torus. We use a basis of spin up/down spins which we translate into diagrams of colored (or uncolored) edges of the lattice. We introduce commuting vertex and plaquette operators, and explain that particular eigenstates of these operators define our code-space which in the diagram language corresponds to sums over loop configuration. The code space decomposes into four orthogonal wavefunctions which are distinguished by the parity of the number of colored loops around each of the two cycles of the torus. Quantum information is stored in the coefficients of these four wavefunctions in superposition. We then turn to consider error processes. We discover that errors occur in pairs locally and are moved apart from each other by “strings” of additional error operators. We discover that it is easy to identify when physical errors have occurred and correct them before a logical error occurs. We extend the discussion to consider irregular “lattices” of spins and surfaces with arbitrary genus (and make the connection to the Shor Code). Finally we turn to consider the ZN generalization of the toric code.
The Toric Code as a Phase of Matter and a TQFT
Authors: Simon Steven H.
Published: December 2023

The Toric Code can also be interpreted as a phase of matter. The vertex and plaquette operators become terms of the Hamiltonian, and the ground state space becomes the code space. The various types of errors become the various types of quasiparticle excitations. We explore the braiding properties of these excitations and identify properties of the TQFT described by this phase of matter such as the S- and T-matrices. We also describe this anyon theory with a simple charge-flux model. We repeat the exercise for the ZN toric code.