Rational choice theory is a social theory of decision-making that assumes individuals, groups, organizations, and states are strategic actors and thus make rational choices based on their preferences, available information, and the expected outcomes of their actions. The theory is based on the Enlightenment idea that individuals are autonomous and should seek their own self-interest, and that we can determine how an individual should behave by understanding how they might best maximize the utility of their decisions. Game theory is an approach within the rational choice framework that models mathematically the mutual best responses of each player according to their preference orderings.

The concept of human security was first introduced formally in the 1994 UNDP Report and signaled a significant shift of focus from state security to the security of individual human beings and human communities. Unlike the abstract and theoretical debates within academia around that time about deepening and widening the definition of security, the human security approach was born from within the policy world and was policy-oriented. In the thirty years since its introduction, human security has undergone a series of reformulations, come under serious criticism, and inspired significant policy initiatives and numerous debates. Nevertheless, it remains the most formidable contender against traditional state-centered thinking around national and international security. In this chapter, we will look at the emergence and evolution of the human security approach, its core components, and its relationship with other important notions such as human development and responsibility to protect.

This chapter examines the development of a right to privacy against the press in Article 8 ECHR and the legal principles that apply in such cases. It considers the obligations that Article 8 imposes in respect of the activities of private actors, the criteria for balancing competing rights, and the role of the margin of appreciation and the ECtHR in that process. The chapter then considers the impact of Articles 8 and 10 on domestic law and the development of the tort of misuse of private information. This offers important insight into the ways in which the Convention rights and the HRA have shaped the common law. Finally, the chapter concludes with observations on prospects for the future and proposals to limits privacy rights.

Peace Science research is interested in understanding the causal relationships between independent and dependent variables. Based on prior knowledge or existing theories, they develop hypotheses about the strength and direction of impact of independent variables on dependent variables, whether they be arms races and war, economic stability and civil war, or democracy and peace. Quantitative methods provide researchers with a way of confirming or disconfirming these hypotheses.

Article 10 ECHR protects freedom of expression, but this is not absolute, and States can prohibit hate speech. There is, however, no definition of ‘hate speech’ and while this reflects its context-specific nature, the latitude that this affords gives rise to concern. It is also difficult to know where lines should be drawn and what role human rights law should play. This chapter thus begins by considering free speech theory and why using law to tackle hate speech is contested. It then examines the ECHR framework where hate speech sits at the interface between Articles 8, 10, 14 and 17 ECHR. It observes that although the initial case law concerned the compatibility of domestic restrictions on hate speech, the Court has since held that States have positive obligations to protect those who are targeted by hate speech. This raises several challenges, not least that it becomes more pressing to know what constitutes ‘hate speech’ when States are obliged to address it. The latter part of the chapter examines domestic law where hate speech laws have come under immense scrutiny in recent years and where proposals have been made for reform.

This chapter explores the behavior of random walks on graphs, framed within the broader context of Markov chains. It introduces finite-state Markov chains, explaining key concepts such as transition matrices, the Markov property, and the computation of stationary distributions. The chapter then discusses the long-term behavior of Markov chains, including the convergence to equilibrium under conditions of irreducibility and aperiodicity. The chapter delves into the application of random walks on graphs, particularly in the context of PageRank, a method for identifying central nodes in a network. It also discusses Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods, specifically the Metropolis–Hastings algorithm and Gibbs sampling, which are used to generate samples from complex probability distributions. The chapter concludes by illustrating the application of Gibbs sampling to generate images of handwritten digits using a restricted Boltzmann machine.

Human rights instruments in jurisdictions throughout the world assert the right to equality and non-discrimination. These principles lie at the heart of human rights. This chapter initially considers the meanings of equality and non-discrimination. It then examines equality and non-discrimination in the context of Article 14 of the ECHR. This includes an examination of direct and indirect discrimination and intersectionality. Examples from the Strasbourg jurisprudence illustrate the applicability of Article 14 ECHR to specific protected categories including race/ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics. Article 14 ECHR and its influence in domestic UK law is analysed. The final section considers the UK Equality Act 2010 (EqA)and the complexities raised by competing equality claims. There are case studies concerning sexual orientation and religious belief, employment law, education and a discussion of the concept of ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ in the EqA as referring to a biological woman and biological sex.

The goal of this chapter is to introduce the concepts of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. It begins with a discussion of the American Dream, the notion that the US is a land of opportunity, equality, and the rule of law, and that anyone can be successful if they work hard. This notion of the American Dream is challenged by evidence and discussed from the perspective of Naima Coster, a Black Latina award-winning author. The chapter reviews some characteristics of minoritized communities in the US, how they experience discrimination and barriers to achieve the dream, and some popular myths about racial/gender progress. The chapter defines Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, issues at the heart of demands to make the dream true. Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion represent a growing field of research, a set of initiatives, and social movements to rethink power asymmetries, how resources and opportunities are distributed, and why social hierarchies are maintained. The chapter includes a Food for Thought section on college student debt and the cycle of poverty. It ends with a discussion of Naima Coster, tokenism, and the need for structural change.

Chapter 2 explores the fundamental concept of least squares, covering its geometric, algebraic, and numerical aspects. The chapter begins with a review of vector spaces and matrix inverses, then introduces the geometry of least squares through orthogonal projections. It presents the QR decomposition and Householder transformations as efficient methods for solving least-squares problems. The chapter concludes with an application to regression analysis, demonstrating how to fit linear and polynomial models to data. Key topics include the normal equations, orthogonal decomposition, and the Gram–Schmidt algorithm. The chapter also addresses the issue of overfitting in polynomial regression, highlighting the importance of model selection in data analysis. The chapter includes practical Python implementations and numerical examples to reinforce the theoretical concepts.

The goal of this chapter is to introduce anti-Asian racism and the COVID-19 pandemic. It begins with the story of Kristina Arevalo, an Asian American scholar pursuing a PhD in developmental psychology in New York City who experienced racial discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is consistent with the history of racial scapegoating in the US, a strategy of blaming Asian Americans for health and economic crises, as well as wars, that relies on fear and hate to justify violence against them. This chapter is informed by Asian critical race theory (AsianCrit), discusses who are Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, some popular myths about them, and their place in a racial position model. It examines how anti-Asian racism is supported by the model minority myth, the Yellow Peril racist trope, the perpetual foreigner stereotype, and Orientalism. The chapter includes a Food for Thought section on the Delano grape strike and linked fate. It ends with a discussion of Kristina Arevalo and rethinking who is considered a “Real American.”

This chapter introduces the foundational mathematical concepts behind neural networks, backpropagation, and stochastic gradient descent (SGD). It begins by generalizing the Chain Rule and providing a brief overview of automatic differentiation, which is essential for efficiently computing derivatives in machine learning models. The chapter then explains backpropagation within the context of multilayer neural networks, specifically focusing on multilayer perceptrons (MLPs). It covers the implementation of SGD, highlighting its advantages in optimizing large datasets. Practical examples using the PyTorch library are provided, including the classification of images from the Fashion-MNIST dataset. The chapter provides a solid foundation in the mathematical tools and techniques that underpin modern AI.

The goal of this chapter is to introduce xenophobia against Latinx immigrants. It begins with the story of Carlos Gregorio Hernández Vásquez, a boy from an Indigenous Maya village in Guatemala, an exceptional student who migrated to the US with his sister, was separated from her, and died in custody of US Border Patrol in 2019. The story of family separation of Carlos illustrates anti-immigration policies and xenophobia against asylum seekers, refugees, and undocumented immigrants in the US. Informed by Latinx critical race theory (LatCrit), this chapter discusses who are Latinx people, some popular myths about them, and how they are treated in the US under laws such as Arizona SB 1070 that criminalized undocumented immigrants. It examines the differences between internal and international migration, voluntary and involuntary migration, and emigration and immigration. The chapter includes a Food for Thought section on 9/11, the War on Terror, and Islamophobia. It ends with a discussion of Carlos Hernández and the need for immigration reform.

Critical Security Studies (CSS) is a diverse and multidisciplinary field that approaches traditional security studies through a critical lens and examines the ways in which security discourses and practices reify and reinforce existing power relations and contribute to the marginalization, oppression, and precarity of various groups of people. CSS scholars ask whose security we center when we talk “Security,” and whose security we neglect or sacrifice, what issues are present/absent, who is afforded agency, and who appear only as voiceless victims. They examine the ways in which security and power are intertwined so that evoking security can generate power, enable various kinds of interventions, perpetuate relations of domination and subjugation, and reproduce social hierarchies. Many CSS scholars adopt an interpretivist methodology and normative approach to scientific knowledge; they are interested in analysis not just for the sake of it but for bringing about change to the status quo.