Sociology

The series of publications entitled “Ethik in den Sozialwissenschaften” (Ethics in Social Science) provides a forum for academic contributions to the debate on the current moral problems affecting social structures and systems. From an ethical point of view, this series focuses on addressing the question of what ef-fects social institutions and regimes have on human dignity and the welfare of communities. It discusses moral dilemmas so as to highlight general acceptable solutions to them. It takes up the challenge of using normative theories to ana-lyse sociological problems in order to develop ethical criteria for developing operable solutions to them. As a result, the series welcomes contributions from the entire range of subjects related to social science and ethics. Its goal is to constructively criticise structural contexts to which no satisfactory solutions have been found so far.

This publication series is dedicated to advancing the research on terrorism and extremism, to fleshing out possible countermeasures, and to discussing policy responses on national and international levels. By combining the different perspectives and methodologies of scientific fields like political science, psychology, religious and cultural studies or sociology, the series analyses the issue of terrorism and extremism in all its complexity. Each publication adheres to high scientific standards and presents new results in its respective academic field. At the same time, they offer relevant insights into various aspects of terrorism and extremism, and are therefore directed not only at a professional audience but equally at readers who share an interest in these important topics.

The book series addresses topical political, economic and social developments in China. It seeks to offer new insights gained from in-depth social science research undertaken by a growing community of political scientists and economists specialized on China to a larger audience in academia, business and politics. As such, the series highlights the global relevance of this emerging country for understanding and addressing the political and economic challenges of our time.

Dying, death and grief have to be regarded as fundamental aspects of cultural coexistence because humans cannot avoid dealing with them when they live with others. A diminishing circle of friends and family, the pain of loss, the transformation of a living being into a dead body, the symbols and rituals of saying farewell to the deceased, plus the contribution of medical, religious and other forms of expertise along with many other aspects reveal, on the one hand, the potential of the utter devastation a person’s death can trigger. On the other, these forms of expression and modes of behaviour also underline that dying and death are not purely natural occurrences. They transpire amid societal mechanisms which reflect a large and, at times, contradictory variety of reflective processes in addressing the finite nature of life. Death is a human’s greatest certainty in life. In this respect, the series of publications Thanatological Studies provides a forum for both theoretical and empirical works which address the social, normative, aesthetic, spiritual, bodily, psychological and other facets of death and dying, and by extension grief and remembrance, from the perspectives of different academic disciplines.

The series ”Religion – Wirtschaft – Politik“ (Religion–Economy–Politics) provides a platform for academic publications by the Centre for Religion, Economy and Politics (www.zrwp.ch ), a joint venture by the Universities of Basel, Fribourg, Lausanne, Lucerne, Zurich, and the Collegium Helveticum. The ZRWP aims to analyse the interactions between religion, economy, and politics in an inter- and transdisciplinary way by encouraging innovative research on religion. By publishing monographs and edited volumes focused on content and methods, the series contributes to a better understanding and explanation of religion in society at a local, regional, national, and transnational level in a globalizing world.

This series publishes contributions to populism research and encompasses a wide range of theoretical, intellectual and historical, and empirical approaches. In addition to publications documenting the workshops and conferences of the DVPW Populism Group, the series features monographs, edited volumes and academic essays that reflect the entire spectrum of the growing field of populism research. Authors can submit complete manuscripts or short abstracts with an outline and timetable to populismus@dvpw.de. Manuscript submissions undergo an internal review process conducted by the series editors and the advisory board.

This series addresses social, political and economic issues of South Asia, set in the context of the historical and cultural space, religions and identities of the region, and ensconced in the heritage and memories that underpin them all. The series conflates both theory and area. It welcomes scholarship on a single country or part of a country, comparative studies looking at single problems across the region and research on global issues with significance for South Asia. The series aims at the academia, politics, media and the general public interested in issues of development, security, trade or tourism that bring South Asia – from Afghanistan to the Maldives – to the attention of the world.

The series, Comparative Politics. Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft, is firmly anchored in the field of comparative political research and presents innovative studies comprising theory-guided empirical research or exploring new theoretical and conceptual ground. The series is not limited to specific theories, methods, or topics. On the theoretical side, we invite books that invoke theories such as rational choice, game theory and institutional theories as well as political attitudes, values, and political culture. Substantively, contributions to the series should belong to the field of comparative politics as it is broadly understood. Comparisons can, for example, involve countries from all regions of the world and subnational units within countries (like the German Länder or Swiss Kantone). Following a classic distinction, these comparisons can extend to polities (e.g., constitutions), politics, and policies from an array of fields such as welfare policy, foreign policy, or judicial policy. Methodologically, we are interested in books doing a rigorous empirical analysis based on the informed application of a wide range of social science methods. Thus, the series invites the submission of books using some form of quantitative analysis, ranging from simple regression to more advanced techniques such as multilevel and structural equation modeling. This will also include qualitative case studies, Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), social network analysis, manual and computer-based content analysis, and any combination of multiple methods in a mixed-method design.