The Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn sum rule and related dispersive integrals connect real and virtual Compton scattering to inclusive photo- and electroproduction. Being based on universal principles as causality, unitarity, and gauge invariance, these relations provide a unique testing ground to study the internal degrees of freedom that hold a system together. The present contribution reviews the spin-dependent sum rules and cross sections of the nucleon. At small momentum transfer, the data sample information on the long range phenomena (Goldstone bosons and collective resonances), whereas the primary degrees of freedom (quarks and gluons) become visible at large momentum transfer (short distance). The rich body of new data covers a wide range of phenomena from coherent to incoherent processes, and from the generalized spin polarizabilities on the low-energy side to higher twist effects in deep inelastic scattering.
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