Isabell Schierenbeck – författare

"En påläst och värdig betraktelse över tysk-judiskt liv." Göteborgs-Posten

Vad är ett hem? Och hur påverkar familjens historia de val man själv gör i livet? I Vändpunkt Tel Aviv reflekterar Mellan­östernforskaren Isabell Schierenbeck över hur hennes tyska bakgrund påverkat henne. Vad är det som gör att hon känner sig så hemma redan första gången hon kommer till Tel Aviv, staden som sedan gång på gång drar henne tillbaka? Som blir hennes andra hem. Vad är det som får henne att lära sig hebreiska, ägna sitt liv åt israelisk politik?

Isabell Schierenbeck inser att Tel Avivs historia, som präglats av de tyska judarnas flykt till Palestina undan nazismen, Bauhausskolans banbrytande arkitektur och det tidiga israeliska statsbyggandet, är nycklar till hennes egen uppgörelse med sin familjs historia. Hennes farfar stred för Tyskland och Wehrmacht under andra världskriget medan farmor Hannchen väntade på brev från honom hemma i Bremen med deras lille son, Isabells pappa. Men om detta, den tyska skulden, har familjen sällan talat.

Under sina vandringar i Tel Aviv reflekterar Isabell kring det tyska arvet stadens och sitt eget. Hon funderar över offer och förövare, skuld och skam, meningsskapande och samhörighet och över hemmets betydelse i människors liv. Hur börjar man om och vad tar man med sig? Hon rör sig vant på gator och torg och tar läsaren med på rundvandringar i staden då och nu. Det är en bildande, utforskande och fängslande bok som beskriver den vita staden och en familj på ett helt eget sätt.

Boken innehåller bilder tagna av Patrik Elgström, fotograf verksam i Göteborg som länge intresserat sig för att fotografera arkitektur som ett uttryck för filosofi, politik, makt och ideologi.

"Utan förenklingar eller generaliseringar ger "Vändpunkt Tel Aviv" en uttömmande och mångfacetterad bild av såväl dagens som det historiska Israel. Ett ständigt aktuellt, komplext och omdebatterat ämne - inte minst nu - där Schierenbecks prövande, resonerande inställning är välbehövlig, som motvikt till mer dualistiska beskrivningar. Särskilt givande är partierna som behandlar skuld och försoning, och om att finna acceptans inför vem man är och vad man kommer ifrån. (...) Därutöver är boken illustrerad med fotografier av Patrik Elgström, som varsamt fångar Tel Avivs karaktäristiska gatubild." BTJ, Viktoria Parmell

"En intressant och tänkvärd mosaik." Svenska Dagbladet

"Med hög personlig närvaro låter hon sitt eget liv utgöra basen för att förstå de kulturella banden mellan Tyskland och Israel - och dem som blivit klämda däremellan. (...) en finkänslig betraktelse över tysk-judiska flyktingars öden i Israel. (...) en påläst och värdig betraktelse över tysk-judiskt liv." Göteborgs-Posten, Björn Werner

Do political leaders determine whether a polity will receive a democratic future or not? Research and advocates of democracy agree on the significance of political elites for democratization, yet there is a need for a more specific understanding of their role.

This book develops a theory of political leadership at the point of nascent statehood to explain the emergence of resilient democracies. It employs four diverse case studies to examine the role of leadership and democratic consolidation. In doing so, the book identifies certain capacities of political leaders at the critical moment of nascent statehood as decisive to the future democratic quality of their state.

This book will be of interest to students and scholars of international relations, democratization studies, state building, leadership, nationalism, Middle Eastern studies and South Asian studies.

Do political leaders determine whether a polity will receive a democratic future or not? Research and advocates of democracy agree on the significance of political elites for democratization, yet there is a need for a more specific understanding of their role.

This book develops a theory of political leadership at the point of nascent statehood to explain the emergence of resilient democracies. It employs four diverse case studies to examine the role of leadership and democratic consolidation. In doing so, the book identifies certain capacities of political leaders at the critical moment of nascent statehood as decisive to the future democratic quality of their state.

This book will be of interest to students and scholars of international relations, democratization studies, state building, leadership, nationalism, Middle Eastern studies and South Asian studies.

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This book was published as a special issue of Third World Quarterly.

Contemporary practices of international peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction are often unsatisfactory. There is now a growing awareness of the significance of local governments and local communitites as an intergrated part of peacebuilding in order to improve quality and enhance precision of interventions. In spite of this, ‘the local’ is rarely a key factor in peacebuilding, hence ‘everyday peace’ is hardly achieved. The aim of this volume is threefold: firstly it illuminates the substantial reasons for working with a more localised approach in politically volatile contexts. Secondly it consolidates a growing debate on the significance of the local in these contexts. Thirdly, it problematizes the often too swiftly used concept, ‘the local’, and critically discuss to what extent it is at all feasible to integrate this into macro-oriented and securitized contexts. This is a unique volume, tackling the ‘local turn’ of peacebuilding in a comprehensive and critical way.

This book was published as a special issue of Third World Quarterly.

Exploring the challenges and risks of social science fieldwork, this book shares best practice for conducting research in hostile environments and pragmatic advice to help you make good decisions.

Drawing on the authors’ experiences in regions of conflict and grounded in real-world examples, the book:

·        Provides practical guidance on important considerations like choosing a research question in sensitive contexts

·        Gives advice on data and digital security to help you minimize fieldwork risk in a contemporary research environment

·        Offers tools and templates you can use to develop a tailored security framework

Building your understanding of the challenges of on-the-ground research, this book empowers you to meet the challenges of your research landscape head on.

Exploring the challenges and risks of social science fieldwork, this book shares best practice for conducting research in hostile environments and pragmatic advice to help you make good decisions.

Drawing on the authors’ experiences in regions of conflict and grounded in real-world examples, the book:

·        Provides practical guidance on important considerations like choosing a research question in sensitive contexts

·        Gives advice on data and digital security to help you minimize fieldwork risk in a contemporary research environment

·        Offers tools and templates you can use to develop a tailored security framework

Building your understanding of the challenges of on-the-ground research, this book empowers you to meet the challenges of your research landscape head on.