This second edition of Borders: A Very Short Introduction challenges the perception of borders as passive lines on a map, revealing them instead to be integral forces in the economic, social, political, and environmental processes that shape our lives.

A vast system of prisons, camps, and exile settlements, the Gulag was one of the defining attributes of the Stalinist Soviet Union and one of the most heinous examples of mass incarceration in the twentieth century. It combined a standard prison system with the goal of isolating and punishing alleged enemies of the Soviet regime. More than 25 million people passed through the Gulag from its creation in 1930 to its dismantling in the 1950s. By presenting...

Sabrina Ragone and Guido Smorto provide a concise introduction to the field of comparative law, explaining how it is used by legislators, judges, international organizations and scholars, and demonstrating that legal comparison challenges conventional beliefs and unquestioned assumptions about law and society.