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        The Arts
        January 2021

        There is no soundtrack

        Rethinking art, media, and the audio-visual contract

        by Ming-Yuen S. Ma

        There is no soundtrack is a study of how sound and image produce meaning in contemporary experimental media art by artists ranging from Chantal Akerman to Nam June Paik to Tanya Tagaq. It contextualises these works and artists through key ideas in sound studies: voice, noise, listening, the soundscape and more. The book argues that experimental media art produces radical and new audio-visual relationships challenging the visually dominated discourses in art, media and the human sciences. In addition to directly addressing what Jonathan Sterne calls 'visual hegemony', it also explores the lack of diversity within sound studies by focusing on practitioners from transnational and diverse backgrounds. As such, it contributes to a growing interdisciplinary scholarship, building new, more complex and reverberating frameworks to collectively sonify the study of culture.

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        June 2025

        Proxy war in Afghanistan

        The politics of state-wrecking

        by Abbas Farasoo

        This book provides a compelling analysis of proxy warfare and its far-reaching implications for statehood, focusing on the conflict in Afghanistan. Introducing the innovative concept of "state-wrecking," it bridges theory and practice to unravel how external support for insurgent actors fuels violence, undermines territorial control and sovereignty, intensifies violence, and dismantles political legitimacy. The work shifts the discourse on proxy wars from the strategies of global powers to the procedural and structural impacts within target states. Grounded in rigorous empirical research, including interviews, archival data, and conflict analysis, the book critically examines the Pakistan-Taliban nexus and the limitations of US-led interventions. By blending a robust theoretical framework with in-depth case studies, it reveals how proxy dynamics shape conflicts, disrupt governance, and challenge international security. This is an essential resource for those seeking to understand the entanglements of modern warfare and the fragility of states under external influence.

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        The Arts
        February 2022

        "I am Jugoslovenka!"

        Feminist performance politics during and after Yugoslav Socialism

        by Jasmina Tumbas, Amelia Jones, Marsha Meskimmon

        "I am Jugoslovenka" argues that queer-feminist artistic and political resistance were paradoxically enabled by socialist Yugoslavia's unique history of patriarchy and women's emancipation. Spanning performance and conceptual art, video works, film and pop music, lesbian activism and press photos of female snipers in the Yugoslav wars, the book analyses feminist resistance in a range of performative actions that manifest the radical embodiment of Yugoslavia's anti-fascist, transnational and feminist legacies. It covers celebrated and lesser-known artists from the 1970s to today, including Marina Abramovic, Sanja Ivekovic, Vlasta Delimar, Tanja Ostojic, Selma Selman and Helena Janecic, along with music legends Lepa Brena and Esma Redzepova. "I am Jugoslovenka" tells a unique story of women's resistance through the intersection of feminism, socialism and nationalism in East European visual culture.

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        The Arts
        January 2019

        Algerian national cinema

        by Guy Austin

        This topical and innovative study is the first book on Algerian cinema to be published in English since the 1970s. At a time when North African and Islamic cultures are of increasing political significance, Algerian National Cinema presents a dynamic, detailed and up to date analysis of how film has represented this often misunderstood nation. Algerian National Cinema explores key films from The Battle of Algiers (1966) to Mascarades (2007). Introductions to Algerian history and to the national film industry are followed by chapters on the essential genres and themes of filmmaking in Algeria, including films of anti-colonial struggle, representations of gender, Berber cinema, and filming the 'black decade' of the 1990s. This thoughtful and timely book will appeal to all interested in world cinemas, in North African and Islamic cultures, and in the role of cinema as a vehicle for the expression of contested identities. By the author of the critically-acclaimed Contemporary French Cinema.

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        The Arts
        June 2021

        Algerian national cinema

        by Guy Austin

        This topical and innovative study is the first book on Algerian cinema to be published in English since the 1970s. At a time when North African and Islamic cultures are of increasing political significance, Algerian National Cinema presents a dynamic, detailed and up to date analysis of how film has represented this often misunderstood nation. Algerian National Cinema explores key films from The Battle of Algiers (1966) to Mascarades (2007). Introductions to Algerian history and to the national film industry are followed by chapters on the essential genres and themes of filmmaking in Algeria, including films of anti-colonial struggle, representations of gender, Berber cinema, and filming the 'black decade' of the 1990s. This thoughtful and timely book will appeal to all interested in world cinemas, in North African and Islamic cultures, and in the role of cinema as a vehicle for the expression of contested identities. By the author of the critically-acclaimed Contemporary French Cinema.

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        Humanities & Social Sciences
        January 2026

        Surviving repression

        The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood after the 2013 coup

        by Lucia Ardovini

        Surviving repression tells the story of the Muslim Brotherhood following the 2013 coup d'état in Egypt. The Brotherhood gained legal recognition and quickly rose to power after the 2011 Arab uprisings, but its subsequent removal from office marked the beginning of the harshest repression of its troubled history. Forced into exile, the Brotherhood and its members are now faced with a monumental task as they rebuild this fragmented organisation. Drawing on extensive fieldwork and interviews with current and former members of the Brotherhood, the book explores this new era in the movement's history, emphasising first-hand experiences, perspectives and emotions to better understand how individual responses to repression are affecting the movement as a whole. Surviving repression offers a unique insight into the main strategic, ideological and organizational debates dividing the Brotherhood.

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        February 2026

        Wassili Waschbär (3). Wo immer wir zusammen sind, ist es am allerschönsten

        Eine berührende Bilderbuchgeschichte über den Wert eines liebevollen Zuhauses zum Vorlesen ab 3 Jahren

        by Julia Boehme, Stefanie Dahle

        Die Fortsetzung des Bilderbucherfolgs von Julia Boehme: eine berührende Geschichte über das Glück Geborgenheit zu erfahren. Wassili Waschbär und Sibelius, der Dachs, überlegen, wo es am allerschönsten ist. Vielleicht genau hier zusammen in der Hängematte? Eine Schwalbe hört das mit an und sagt, dass die beiden keine Ahnung haben, weil sie ja noch nichts von der Welt gesehen haben … Also beschließen die beiden Freunde, einmal selbst nachzusehen. Bei der Hummel auf der Blumenwiese ist es schön bunt, vom Eichhörnchen-Baum kann man weit gucken und bei den Fröschen ist es herrlich nass. Doch plötzlich ist Sibelius verschwunden, und Wassili beschließt, allein zurück nach Hause zu gehen. Ob hier die Antwort auf ihn wartet? Mit traumschönen Bildern in Szene gesetzt von der Bestseller-Illustratorin Stefanie Dahle. Zum Vorlesen für Jungen und Mädchen. Weitere Abenteuer mit Wassili Waschbär:Zum Glück hat man FreundeDas große Wunschzettel-Wunder

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        Humanities & Social Sciences
        March 2026

        Revolutionary anxieties

        Defending privilege in the wake of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution

        by Liina Mustonen

        Revolutionary anxieties sheds light on an unexplored dimension of the 2011 Egyptian revolution: the anxieties experienced by Cairo-based liberal elite, socialites, and cultural actors who opposed the rise of the new political actors, the Muslim Brotherhood. This book provides fresh insights into the failure of the Egyptian revolution by examining the perspectives of those who had a vested interest in maintaining the status-quo. It engages with post-colonial theory and examines the elite milieu in Cairo through the lenses of gender and race. Based on over two years of ethnographic research in various elite locations such as the Cairo Opera House, an Egyptian-European film festival, and an elite sporting club in Cairo, the book illustrates how members of Egyptian liberal upper class insisted on their privilege in a moment when the country's class hierarchies were challenged. By revealing the prevalence of counter-revolutionary sentiment among Cairo's liberal and affluent elite, the book tells an untold story of the Arab Spring.

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        Humanities & Social Sciences
        December 2024

        Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United States

        Power, identity and strategy in the Persian Gulf triangle

        by Luíza Cerioli

        This book offers a nuanced snapshot of the complex geopolitical dynamics in the Persian Gulf, underlining the interaction between Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the US. Examining their interwoven relations since the 1970s, Luíza Cerioli's framework reveals how changes in US-Saudi ties have ripple effects on Iran-US and Iran-Saudi relations and vice versa. Using a historical lens, she explores how enduring US-Saudi connections hinge on order expectations, delves into the cognitive factors shaping US-Iran enmity and traces the source of oscillation in the Saudi-Iran ties. Employing Neoclassical Realism, the book investigates status-seeking, national identities and leadership preferences, offering a deeper understanding of the region's multipolar system. By combining International Relations and Middle East Studies, Cerioli's work contributes to both fields, unravelling the intricate interplay between international structures, regional nuances and agency in shaping Persian Gulf geopolitics.

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        August 2022

        Am Ende der Straße

        Afghanistan zwischen Hoffnung und Scheitern. Eine Reportage | Mit zahlreichen Schwarz-Weiß-Fotografien vom Hindukusch | Auf der WELT-Bestenliste

        by Wolfgang Bauer

        Die afghanische Ring Road. Eine Straße, die real existiert und dennoch ein Mysterium ist. Der 2200 Kilometer lange kreisförmige Highway verbindet die wichtigsten Städte des Landes. Er versprach Einheit und Aufschwung. Seit sechzig Jahren wird an ihm gebaut, doch fertig ist er noch immer nicht. Korruption und Misswirtschaft haben riesige Summen verschlungen. Nach dem Einmarsch der westlichen Truppen wurde die Straße zu einem blutigen Schlachtfeld. Kaum ein deutscher Journalist kennt Afghanistan so gut wie Wolfgang Bauer. Der Zeit-Reporter war viele Male vor Ort, machte die Schicksale der Menschen in preisgekrönten Reportagen anschaulich. Früh warnte er vor einer Rückkehr der Taliban. Im August 2021 wurde einer seiner engsten Mitarbeiter ermordet. Nach dem Fall Kabuls kehrt Wolfgang Bauer noch einmal zurück. Er bereist die Ring Road, sucht Orte auf, die er in den letzten 20 Jahren besucht hat – und geht der Frage nach: Warum ist der Westen in Afghanistan gescheitert? Was hat dieses Scheitern mit der milliardenschweren Entwicklungshilfe zu tun? Und wie geht es weiter? Seine Reportage ist eine Parabel über Hoffnung und Scheitern am Hindukusch.

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