One of the chief casualties of the extended economic crisis in the EU has been democratic politics. The EU's own mechanisms for decision-making have been set aside at particular moments; a core group of countries has assumed responsibility for crisis management. This chapter examines the increasingly strained relationship between the EU and the democratic process. It argues that ethical standards and competent decision-making are becoming casualties of the democratic deficit. The crisis which rocked the EU at the end of the 1990s briefly brought to the surface the view that the then thirteen-member EU was divided on a North-South basis in its attitude to public morality. The European Parliament, briefly emboldened by having taken resolute action against abuses inside the Commission, slumped back into torpor despite acquiring some increased powers as a result of the Maastricht Treaty.

The second chapter focuses on the children born to black GIs who were kept by their mothers or grandmothers – just over half of the forty-five born during the war whose stories I am drawing on. Despite pressure from their families, priests and mother and baby homes, as well as hostility from neighbours and in some cases husbands, many mothers would not give up their babies. The children’s experiences of illegitimacy, racism, and their sense of difference are charted, including having hair that was seen as ‘unmanageable’, an inexplicably different skin tone as well as lacking a father and frequently being kept in total ignorance as to his identity. For part of their childhood, some children believed their stepfathers to be their actual fathers.

The book’s final chapter states that the fourth triangle ended when Mosul fell under ISIS control, shaking, once again, the balance of power. Yet, it argues that it is still not possible to define which contours – if any – the fifth triangle has. Thus, the chapter takes a look into the current conjuncture of the three dyads and points to some interesting horizons. First, Saudi Arabia’s empowerment in the last decade has led to a gradually less dependent position concerning the United States. While not interested in harming its relationship with Washington, Riyadh makes it clear that it will prioritise its own interests even if in opposition to the United States. Second, after almost four decades, the pattern of US–Iranian enmity remains, swinging only from stagnation in the best case or inflated tensions in the worst case, observed during President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign. Thirdly, competition between two self-perceived regional powers, Iran and Saudi Arabia, seems to be consolidating itself as the new normal in the region and will shape much of the geopolitical arrangements there. The chapter also returns to the relevance of Neoclassical Realism (NCR) to the International Relations of the Middle East (IRME) scholarship, stressing its ability to frame ideas, identities, and leadership in coherent explanative chains. It argues for the power of NCR to bring IRME closer to Global IR discussions and vice versa. The final note relates to multipolarity, the emergence of new extra-regional powers, particularly China, and the promising future research agenda in the Persian Gulf.

In addition to depicting Henry Sidney’s continued state building and reform of Irish political and administrative systems, this chapter argues that the Image also represents Sidney’s desire to promote the ceremonial aspects of the viceroy’s role, especially the newly established herald’s office. In such depictions, Derricke presents Sidney as the embodiment of vice-regal power in stark contrast to his depictions of the uncivilised Irish. And he does so especially in the various visualisations of the woodcuts, which illustrate civic imagery, civic iconography and state regalia. This chapter thoroughly analyses Plates 10 and 11 for these civic images, highlighting the role of heralds and aldermen in Sidney’s military and diplomatic achievements. Moreover, this chapter considers the distinction and overlap between English and Irish symbols in these plates.

The development of the visual economy of popular music has both helped to define the social meanings of popular music and positioned the consumption of that music firmly within the discourse and ideology of entertainment. This chapter takes issue with the approach and tenor of much of the writing about music video and MTV. The author refutes any suggestion that music videos and music television channels which exploit and promote them are in any sense 'pointless'. Whilst acknowledging those differences which mark out music video from earlier cultural forms such as the classical Hollywood musical, the chapter suggests that music video and music television 'make sense' when they are seen as part of a larger continuity, a process of aesthetic, ideological, technological and industrial convergence between popular music and the screen which has been underway throughout the century.

There are many ways that culture is good for individuals and for society. It has positive effects on health, on education, on places, and on communities. Culture has value in and of itself, irrespective of its impact on social or economic issues. The good culture can do is a key reason for cultural workers’ commitment to cultural occupations, as well as central to much government and organisational policy. This chapter looks at the ways culture is good for us, drawing on recent policy and research documents. The chapter complements the analysis of policy and research with interview data from cultural workers.By making the case that culture is good for you, the chapter introduces the problem of inequality that is the subject of the rest of the book. Inequalities in production and in consumption mean that, sadly, culture is only good for narrow and closed sections of society.