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The last chapter begins by examining the emergence of negative perceptions about China among European public opinions in the last years, explaining how these dynamics, along with changes at the top political level both in the European Commission and within member states, would lead to a reassessment of the EU's China policy. This chapter subsequently analyses the last major blow to EU—China relations occurred in July 2008 with the decision to exclude Chinese contractors from the second phase of implementation of Galileo. With this move, the EU would put a temporary halt to satellite navigation cooperation with China and pave the way for a political readjustment of relations between the two sides. This would lend itself, in the remaining part of this chapter, to a final evaluation of the current state of EU—China relations and its future prospects.

Europe has had a significant presence in China over the last two centuries and its ideas, ideologies, and institutions contributed greatly to the development of modern China. Chinese perceptions of Europe have evolved over time, ranging from fascination to a more critical appraisal of things European. Although Sino-European ties are largely cordial, they are fraught by a gap of cognition and understanding that places significant pressure on leaders to adapt to a new spirit for conducting mutual affairs. Increasingly, Chinese political and social elites resent being lectured or placated by Europe and they criticise what they perceive to be Europe's undignified treatment of China. Assuming benign expectations of each other is insufficient for both sides to find a constructive basis for their future relationship.

This chapter outlines the core concept and measure of electoral integrity, the key yardstick used by the Electoral Integrity Project (EIP) to evaluate free and fair elections. EIP defines the idea of electoral integrity as the presence of a set of agreed-upon international conventions and global norms, applying universally to all countries worldwide through the election cycle, including during the pre-election period, the campaign, on polling day, and its aftermath. For evidence, EIP developed an expert survey of Perceptions of Electoral Integrity (PEI), which gathers information covering all independent nation-states around the world that have held direct (popular) elections for the national parliament or presidential elections, excluding micro-states (with populations below 100,000). The 213 elections in 153 nations analyzed in the latest release used in this study, PEI-4.5, fall within the period from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2016.

Gary W. Gallagher’s opening essay focuses on Grant and Lee, who occupied singular positions in their respective nations. Both were compared to George Washington, a sure indication that fellow citizens invested substantial emotional capital in their leadership. As the Overland campaign ground toward its conclusion, with escalating losses and no clear indication that either side was winning, Grant and Lee came under intense scrutiny from newspapers, civilians, soldiers in their armies, and foreign observers. This essay assesses why Grant received harsher critiques, exploring, among other factors, the different political environments in the two nations, how previous operations affected civilian perceptions, and the relationships between Grant and Lee and their soldiers.

The evidence of period diaries contrasted with post-war writings shows that Confederate veterans’ attempts at emotional expression were vastly altered by their wartime experiences. The public face of the Civil War became increasingly sanitized and reductive, while the privately expressed emotions became at once masked by public heroism and confused by private doubts and sadness.

No profession takes so many years of training yet results in a practice with so much regulation. It is not surprising that doctors might expect that after 7 to 10 years of training they will be considered sufficiently expert to wield a large degree of professional autonomy yet are often surprised to find people limiting or disputing their right to make decisions based on their perceived expertise. Lawyers trolling for plaintiffs, Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) limiting payments on the basis of performance, state licensing rules requiring Continuing Medical Education (CME) courses, patients asking too many questions when only 15 minutes have been scheduled: each of these common situations and more can create restrictions on professional judgment and become potential sources of physician stress. And that is only a tiny representation of the problems doctors face daily. It is not surprising that a number of physicians end up with drug and alcohol problems, even without the additional factor of unusually easy access to these drugs, which their profession also enables. Many American physicians see themselves by and large as an overworked and underappreciated lot; and the fact that the public sees them as relatively rich and powerful only adds to the sense of isolation or dissonance that some physicians feel.

Chapter 4, “Children,” shows how Catholic identities are implicated in the different logics underlying childrearing approaches in each parish, especially in the two groups’ different religious anthropologies, or perceptions of human nature, whichground their conceptions of childhood. These anthropologies reflect each group's Catholic identity and support local cultures that emphasize different parenting strategies. They also embody distinct visions of moral living that, although having some common concerns, also oppose one another, thereby supporting polarization among Catholics. The anthropology grounding the culture of childhood at Assumption emphasizes a perception of humans as sinful, an ethic of parental protection, and the concerted cultivation of virtue in children. At St. Brigitta, perceptions of childhood are linked to understandings of human psychological and spiritual development through the life course, leading to childrearing strategies in which parents both protect children and expose them to social settings and problems different than their own.

Public awareness of corruption fluctuates over time and is often dependent on other political and cultural factors. The definition of corruption often widens in scope as societies become more democratic. Thresholds of tolerance of corrupt activity on the part of politicians are raised or lowered according to circumstance. Thus in war time for example ‘profiteering’ is perceived to be unpatriotic and corrupt if government regulations such as rationing are contravened. Laws prohibiting corruption vary from state to state and Britain is a highly regulated state but corruption is often difficult to prosecute. Therefore measuring corruption prosecutions over time can only serve as a proxy measure and like other crimes corruption is often under-reported. It is possible to make some judgements via newspaper reportage and public opinion polls.. In the twentieth century, the development of reform critiques and therefore legislative programmes to control corruption have been slow to develop. This is despite numerous landmark cases and investigations including Tribunals of Inquiry and Royal Commissions. The attitude of British politicians and public servants has often taken comfort from the assumption, imbibed from the imperial legacy, that corruption is more prevalent elsewhere including the USA, Italy and also widely in Africa and Asia.

This chapter deals with and uses several surveys and studies that have tried to depict citizens’ (and thereby voters’) perception of what welfare states should do and what they do not support, or at least support to a lesser degree, as the responsibilities of the welfare state

This chapter seeks to understand why the death toll of the uprising, in both the settler and native societies, was highest in Semirech’e. It was the intersection of ethnic mobilization and the fear of destruction in the hands of the “enemy” group that gave rise to the mass nature of violence. Both parties to the conflict were driven in their actions by what they saw as a threat to their livelihoods and indeed their lives. Although the threat posed by groups and individuals was often exaggerated, perceptions of the threat were real. That this threat was embodied by the aggregate group – rather than certain individuals – was the chief reason behind the indiscriminate targeting of the non-combatant, civilian population by both rebels and colonists.

The seventh chapter offers in-depth assessment of how the Government of India is perceived in these conflict zones. It explores the fault-lines between the Indian military and the Naga society including the para-military and the armed groups. I tell you the story of a young Tangkhul woman, Pangamla (name changed) and how her first interaction with the armed institutions of the Indian state materialized. It is a poignant story and will affect you deeply; her apprehensions, her fears, and her vulnerability.

This chapter will show that perceptions of female drinking was a key component of the drink crisis. During the war it was believed that an increased number of women were drinking larger amounts of alcohol than ever before. Contemporary evidence differs with regard to the scale of the problem, making it difficult for the historian to come to definite conclusions. Indeed, much evidence is simply contradictory. What is known for certain, though, is that female drinking became emblematic of the broader desire to regulate certain sections of society for the supposed benefit of the war effort. The corruption of women became emblematic of Britain’s failure to regulate drinking. As a result the CCB conducted a special investigation concerning female drinking.

Corruption is an insidious cancer of national bodies politic. Corrupt practices harshly cut across classes and castes, cripple institutions, disturb communities, and infect the very structure of people’s lives. Corruption destroys nations and saps their moral fiber. Moreover, corruption is invasive and unforgiving. It degrades governance, distorts and criminalizes national priorities, and privileges skimming natural resource wealth, patrimonial theft, and personal and family gains over concern for the commonweal. In Africa, corruption is rife, with half to two-thirds of all African countries deeply compromised in this manner. Only three or four countries are non-corrupt. Beating back corruption and thus delivering economic development, improved governance, and a sustainable belief in the overarching national enterprise are goals available to any of Africa’s ruling regimes when they renounce kleptocratic and rent-seeking ambitions