Chapter 6 addresses the critical challenge of succession in family-owned businesses, emphasizing the importance of planning and structured decision-making to ensure long-term stability. Drawing from both legal theory and real-world case studies, the chapter discusses how trusts, inheritance contracts, and carefully negotiated governance structures can facilitate smooth transitions of power. It highlights the complex interplay between family dynamics and business imperatives, illustrating how the failure to separate personal identity from leadership can jeopardize succession. Through comparative analysis, including insights from Shakespeare’s King Lear and the television series Succession, the chapter elucidates common pitfalls when leadership transitions are handled unilaterally or without sufficient stakeholder involvement. The case study of Sharp & Sharp Certified Seed exemplifies a pragmatic approach, demonstrating how early, inclusive planning and open communication between generations can overcome the challenges inherent in family business succession.

Chapter 6 will compare how shareholders in the three countries monitor management by voice from the perspective of the tradeoff between management autonomy and monitoring management. Japanese and Chinese corporate laws give shareholders wider decision-making power compared to the US corporate law. On the other hand, Japanese and Chinese corporate laws provide an ambiguous fiduciary duty of directors, which allows management to balance stakeholder interests, while the US law provides a strict fiduciary duty to shareholders. The three countries share similar disclosure regulations, both by corporate law and securities regulation. Institutionalization of stock ownership structure strengthened shareholder activism since the 1990s in the United States, and now Japan is catching up. In China, shareholder activism is historically nearly absent; however, the China Securities Investor Service Center (ISC) has raised a substantial number of shareholder activism cases and has become influential in Chinese corporate governance.

The first chapter of the book covers the context, aims and objectives of the book and situates these aims and the book’s approach in relation to both existing strands of academic scholarship and contemporary policy debates about the role of the state in sustainability transitions.

Law’s governance seemingly faces an uncertain future. In one direction, the alternative to law’s governance is a dangerous state of disorder and, potentially, existential threats to humanity. That is not the direction in which we should be going, and we do not want our escalating discontent with law’s governance to give it any assistance. Law’s governance is already held in contempt by many. In the other direction, if we pursue technological solutions to the imperfections in law’s governance, there is a risk that we diminish the importance of humans and their agency. If any community is contemplating transition to governance by technology, it needs to start its impact assessment with the question of whether the new tools are compatible with sustaining the foundational conditions themselves.

This chapter examines the philosophical and practical foundations for state regulation of the internet, focusing on the interplay between individual rights and societal interests. It argues that the digital realm introduces unique challenges that require state intervention to preserve the integrity of public discourse and democratic values. Drawing on legal theory, particularly the ideas of Lon L. Fuller, the chapter emphasises the importance of fostering trust, maintaining the rule of law, and balancing power between states, private actors, and users in internet governance. The chapter critiques the traditional view of rights as individualistic and argues for a more community-focused approach, emphasising that human rights should serve the common good. Trust is highlighted as a cornerstone of effective internet governance. The chapter underscores that moving online fundamentally alters the scope, impact, and mechanisms of regulation. Human rights law and governance frameworks must adapt to preserve trust, community, and the integrity of public discourse in the digital age.

The power that the ruling class has over institutions of authority gives them the ability to use that power to transfer income and wealth from some to others. It enables them to transfer control over resources from the masses to themselves and to transfer resources among the masses to preserve their positions in the political hierarchy by buying support. The ability of the political class to redistribute is the direct result of their control over institutions of authority. Despite the coercive institutions that enforce redistribution, citizens generally view it as a legitimate function of government, and those citizen views are supported by academic arguments that it enhances social welfare. The chapter analyzes this interaction between citizen opinion and academic support for government redistribution.

Institutions that lower transaction costs are effective only to the extent that they are enforced. Effective enforcement requires that the enforcers are able to display a capacity to use force sufficient to make people perceive that noncompliance would be futile. Institutions of authority, based on the threat of force to be used against those who do not comply, are controlled by the political elite. Once the ruling class has this authority, they can use their power to extend their scope of authority to other activities, such as producing goods and services and redistributing income and wealth. Because institutions of authority are a necessary foundation for an orderly society, there is no effective way for the masses to escape from being subject to them.

Democracy is one of India’s great achievements. However, it is undeniable that Indian democracy has been under considerable strain in recent years. Chapter 1 analyzes these trends linked to Indian democracy and their underlying determinants. In particular, the chapter emphasizes the link between growing economic inequality and India’s recent democratic decline through two mechanisms – the decline of the Congress and the rise of the BJP under Modi.

The influence of the Big Four upon law-making and public governance in the EU and the UN through multiple channels as well as their role as a regulatory intermediary can be demonstrated through publicly available data. However, genuine empirical research is necessary for assessing the exact scope, impact and reliance on external consultancy and services more closely. The publicly accessible data are insufficient.

This chapter discusses the background and characteristics of the Desolate Boedelskamer’s staff, in order to analyze how they contributed to the professionalization of insolvency procedures in seventeenth-century Amsterdam. Through a closer examination of the ways in which the institution dealt with fraud or mistakes, it will become clear how it helped to create a more professional and trustworthy insolvency procedure. Ultimately, it was the daily labor of commissioners and subordinate officials that constituted the foundation of the systemic trust generated by the Desolate Boedelskamer as a crucial means to repair broken relations between insolvents and their creditors.

Antimicrobial resistance is a multidisciplinary issue that has been high in the global agenda since the 2015 WHO Global Action Plan (GAP) and the 2016 UNGA Declaration. The Quadripartite Coalition has set up a consolidated global governance structure to coordinate AMR responses, including a Global Leaders Group, an Independent Panel of Experts and a stakeholders’ platform. At the national level, countries have set up more or less formal mechanisms to coordinate AMR management, develop and implement National Action Plans.

This chapter will draw on these pilot experiences to identify options for broader One Health governance and regulation. The chapter will examine global and regional governance and regulation of AMR – focusing on the EU as a case study – to explore possible applications to other priority areas such as zoonotic diseases.

We highlight the essential role of law and governance in advancing the transformative potential of One Health. While One Health has traditionally focused on public health and zoonotic disease, its broader application encompasses challenges such as biodiversity loss, climate change, and antimicrobial resistance. Despite its potential, One Health remains underutilised in governance and law, with much of its implementation focused on siloed scientific endeavours.

This book addresses these gaps, demonstrating how legal frameworks can embed and sustain One Health principles. It explores diverse themes, including multilevel governance, Indigenous Knowledge systems, environmental law, and emerging legal mechanisms, to showcase the interdisciplinary nature of One Health. Contributors emphasise the need for multisectoral collaboration, enforceable standards, and cross-disciplinary engagement to address governance barriers and ensure holistic, equitable outcomes.

By presenting a vision for the institutionalisation of One Health through law and policy, this volume challenges traditional approaches and offers pathways for integrating One Health into governance systems.

This chapter discusses the recent scholarly interest in the history of masculinity in Western society, particularly in early modern Europe, and places the evidence from the Selbstzeugnisse in this context. The texts the men left perform a model of masculinity that emphasizes the men’s power over the market, but also draws on other models of masculinity available in this culture, particularly “patriarchal manhood,” which endows men who successfully found and manage a nuclear household with honorable manhood.

Regulatory systems can be designed to surmount barriers and promote conditions for dealing with cumulative environmental problems using legal mechanisms that deliver four integrated functions: conceptualization, information, regulatory intervention, and coordination (the CIRCle Framework). Analyzing how a set of laws provides for these functions helps identify important weaknesses and gaps for improving laws. This chapter sets out a step-by-step guide to applying the CIRCle Framework and key design features for each function. It also highlights common themes that emerge from the book’s case studies, which center on environmental justice concerns related to groundwater in California’s Central Valley; cumulative impacts to the biodiversity of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia; and grasslands as biocultural landscapes in South Tyrol, Italy. Key themes point to the value of taking a wide view of relevant laws and available regulatory approaches and strategies and the importance of local factors, regardless of the governance scale of the problem. They show that integrating laws and functions can take time, but that evolution and improvement is possible.