The ascent of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to power in 2014 marked a significant transformation in India's sociopolitical landscape. The BJP, as the political wing of the Sangh Parivar, a network of Hindu supremacist organizations, strategically utilized the full spectrum of politico-legal systems and socio-economic institutions in its attempt to shape India into a Hindu Rashtra (Hindu Nation). This effort has gained remarkable momentum, particularly following the BJP and its alliances’ successive electoral victories and firm control over the Indian parliament. For building Hindutva (Hindu nationhood) politics, the BJP adopts a primordial perspective, defining a nation through socio-biological links or socially constructed cultural connectivity, such as language, religion, territory, and kinship (de Souza 2022; Kumbamu 2020; Shani 2021). Deeply immersed in such primordialism, the Sangh Parivar defines the nation based on the idea of oneness (one law, one culture, one religion, and one language), which aims to promote Hindu supremacy, stigmatizing and labelling those who diverge from its definition as ‘enemies’ or ‘anti-nationals’ (Banaji 2018; Chacko 2023; Frykenberg 2008; Siddiqui 2017). As a result, there is an increasing criminalization of various forms of political dissent. This includes actions ranging from targeted ‘legal’ assaults on opposition political parties and ideologies to overt threats and ‘conspiracy’ cases against activists, academics, journalists, writers, and artists.

In this political context, deep-seated concerns have emerged regarding the state of democracy, civil liberties, and the functioning of constitutional institutions.

There are no natural or neutral eligibility rules for girls’ sports. All rules say something about who and what society values. Courts and policymakers will ultimately need to decide how eligibility rules should or must be drawn. In answering these questions, they will need to decide what the social goal of sex-segregated sports is, and which eligibility rules best serve this end. This book started from the premise that transgender and cisgender girls are entitled to equal concern and respect. It then offered a pragmatic and workable framework for optimizing individual and group benefits of sports for both transgender and cisgender girls.

Beginning in the 1970s, corporatism became a key concept for analyzing state–society relations in Latin America, particularly in the context of authoritarian regimes. It offered an alternative to pluralist models, providing a lens to examine state control over interest group politics. This chapter traces the conceptual development of corporatism in the Latin American literature, highlighting two early features: (1) convergence around core definitions, and (2) a shared view of corporatism as a subtype of the broader category of interest intermediation. As scholarship progressed, conceptual innovations emerged. These included (3) revising the overarching concept to incorporate overlapping or conflicting meanings, and (4) differentiating between classical subtypes, where corporatism is present along with added traits, and radial subtypes, where a core attribute is missing. This refined conceptualization contrasts with a broader tradition that equated corporatism with an Iberic-Latin legacy of hierarchical state authority. That tradition has drawn criticism for lumping diverse cases into one category and for advancing overly broad claims. Nonetheless, the chapter urges caution in dismissing this broader usage, suggesting that while flawed, it may still hold analytical value. In all, the chapter underscores the value of conceptual precision and innovation in the comparative study of group politics.

This chapter discusses the role of men in abuse of doctors by doctors. The chapter considers the role of men at all levels including victim, bystander, perpetrator, employer or those within the regulatory and legal systems. The chapter helps us to understand and look beneath the obvious drawing on the evidence of men’s roles at all levels. It also speaks to the potential of men to positively influence for change and prevention of abuse, as well as drawing our attention to possible risks of abuse occurring. It raises our awareness of the ‘not so innocent bystander’ and the significant potential of engaging bystanders, colleagues, and system leaders into positive action.

This chapter contains an outline of fetal development, describing general organogenesis in the first trimester, and then brain development in the second and third trimesters. The effects of maternal well-being, therapeutic medication, tobacco and alcohol on the developing fetus are explored. Finally, the current format of antenatal care, screening and fetal medicine in the UK National Health Service is described. There is a glossary of common conditions that are diagnosed antenatally, which are not specific to women who take prescribed or recreational drugs. The majority of such women have normal pregnancies and give birth to healthy babies at term.