As complex notation systems or script emerge in Egypt and Mesopotamia both cultures develop large bodies of written lore over the millennia addressing various areas of knowledge. Compilation, care, and transmission of these texts between 3000 BC until the turn of the eras required a high degree of specialisation. Minute familiarity with the script(s) and language(s), their structure and characteristics, as well as the methods of compilation represent the foundation of philological work. These involve, for instance, techniques for transferring knowledge over time, comparing texts and reassembling knowledge into new editions, or interpreting and commenting on texts in circulation. A main goal of this study is to make available vantage points, which allow glimpses into the primary sources, where actors, institutions, and methods engage systematically with the written lore. In doing so, the book aims to illuminate first philologies in the ancient civilisations of Egypt and Mesopotamia.

This edited volume offers expert insights into core questions of ethics, education, and religion during what is often termed the »Golden Age« of Islamic culture and intellectual history. It focuses on the scholarly oeuvre of the Muslim philosopher and historian Miskawayh (d. 1030), who is known in the contemporary Muslim world as the »founder of Islamic ethics«. Written by internationally renowned scholars in Islamic studies, the chapters trace the significance of ancient Greek, Iranian, and Arabic intellectual traditions, among others, in the Islamic educational discourse. They also show how historical research on concepts of education and ethics specific to religion and culture can help find answers to key issues in contemporary societies.

What are the most important concepts and methods of modern international macroeconomics?

Philipp Harms presents the concepts and methods of modern international macroeconomics in a comprehensive yet accessible way. He motivates the topics discussed with regard to their practical relevance and enables the reader to assess the contributions of theoretical approaches and results. Among the topics covered are the determinants of current accounts and international capital flows, the mechanisms behind the fluctuations of real and nominal exchange rates as well as the scope and limits of economic policy in open economies. Real and monetary phenomena are analyzed within a coherent analytical framework, and the theoretical results are confronted with the available empirical evidence. The English edition updates the data presented in the German version, adopts new conceptual developments, and repeatedly refers to the recent financial crises.

While Western states increasingly paint China as a »systemic rival«, African states seemingly perceive bilateral investment treaties with China (»China-Africa BITs«) as more legitimate and development-friendly than BITs with states of the Global North.

Counterspionage is caught between legal requirements, challenging official cooperation and security policy constraints. The authors of this volume analyze powers, regulatory gaps and institutional structures in order to systematically shed light on current challenges and reform approaches.

For decades, comparative constitutional law has concentrated primarily on ideas, concepts, and institutions originating in the Global North. By contrast, this volume places the Global South at the center of attention, highlighting its specific contributions to the international debate on constitutional law.
The contributors investigate how Southern perspectives shape constitutional thought and expand the methodological horizon of comparative scholarship. In the first part, Philipp Dann (Germany), Konrad Lachmayer (Austria), Pablo Riberi (South America), and Surya Deva (Asia) present cross-regional perspectives (»regards croisés«) on the lessons to be learned from the South. The second part turns to case studies: Selin Esen analyzes the implications of Southern experiences for the rule of law, while David Bilchitz examines socio-economic rights across the North-South divide.
The volume brings together all public law contributions presented at the 39th Congress of the Society of Comparative Law, held in Berlin in September 2024. Collectively, the papers demonstrate the transformative potential of constitutional thought from the Global South and its significance for a critical, transnational discourse on constitutional law.

This volume offers an introduction to the foundational issues of corporate social responsibility (CSR), an emerging field of research in company, accounting and capital market law. Taking questions of CSR in stock corporations, international standards, reporting obligations, the parent company's liability for violations of human rights by its foreign subsidiaries, employee participation, sustainable executive compensation, and the political engagement of companies, the contributions tap into the latest research in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

This volume focuses on a major theme running through Plato's writings: the nature and essence of time. Above all in Timaeus but also in other philosophical dialogues, Plato explores this theme and ponders how and whether time came into being. The contributions gathered here take a variety of philosophical and cosmological approaches, covering both ontological and ethical issues. Different stages of the philosophical reception and (critical) examination of Plato's conception of time are likewise discussed, with authors such as Philon of Alexandria, Plutarch, Numenius, Origen, Plotinus, Augustine, to the late qntique Neoplatonist Proclus encountered along the way.