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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political activism > Armed conflict
This book examines how states justify the domestic use of military force to foreign audiences. By deploying a sociological approach to legitimacy and drawing on conceptual tools which deal directly with the dynamics of justification, it offers a novel framework for understanding the politics of international legitimacy and domestic armed action. The framework is grounded in detailed qualitative analyses of civil wars in Sri Lanka (2006-2009), and Aceh, Indonesia (2003-2005). The book shows that the meaning of legitimacy in a particular context does not flow directly from a menu of relevant rules, norms and ideas. Rather, legitimacy is always politically contested. When states justify fighting at home, the success of their claims is determined by their capacity to appeal to rules and norms but also to frame their action in ways that their audiences find compelling. Therefore, the framework offered in this book draws attention to the crucial but largely neglected role of audiences in the constitution of legitimacy. This book will be of interest to students of security studies, law, human rights and international relations.
This textbook provides a thorough grounding in the vocabulary, concepts, issues and debates associated with modern land warfare. The second edition has been updated and revised, and includes new chapters on non-western perspectives and hybrid warfare. Drawing on a range of case studies spanning the First World War through to contemporary conflicts in Syria, Ukraine, and Nagorno-Karabakh, the book explores what is unique about the land domain and how this has shaped the theory and practice of military operations conducted upon it. It also looks at land warfare across the spectrum of its conduct, including conventional campaigning, counterinsurgency, and peace support and stabilisation operations. Key themes and debates identified and analysed include: the tensions between change and continuity; the role of technology in land warfare; the relevance of culture and context; the difficulties in translating theory into effective military practice; in-depth discussions on issues of immediate contemporary significance, including hybrid warfare, emerging military technologies, and the military reform processes of the US, Russian, and Chinese land forces. This book will be essential reading for military practitioners and for students of land warfare, military history, war studies and strategic studies.
Genocide and Victimology examines genocide in its diverse features, from different yet connected perspectives, to offer an interdisciplinary, victimological imagination of genocide. It will include in its exploration critical and cultural victimologies and criminologies of genocide, accompanied by, and recognising, the rich scholarship on genocide in the fields of religion and history, theatre studies and photography, philosophy and existentialism, post-colonialism, and ethnography and biography. Bringing together theory with empirical research and drawing on a range of case studies, such as the Treblinka extermination camp, the Bosnian and Rwandan genocides, the Sagkeeng First Nation in Manitoba, Canada, and genocidal violence in Syria and Iraq, this book engages the victimological imagination towards an interdisciplinary, cosmopolitan victimology of genocide. Bundled and intertwined, the wide yet integrated variety of perspectives on genocide gives readers a victimological kaleidoscope to discover, and for victimology hitherto, unexplored theory and methodology. This way, readers can develop their own more epistemologically, theoretically, and methodologically robust victimology of genocide-a victimology of genocide as envisioned by Nicole Rafter. The book hopes to canvas an understanding and a starting point for a diverse appreciation of genocide victimhood and survivorship from which the real post-genocidal harms and sites, post-traumatic stress disorder, courts and tribunals, and overall meaningful justice will benefit. Written in a clear and direct style, this book will appeal to students and scholars in criminology, sociology, cultural studies, philosophy, history, religious studies, English literature, and all those concerned with not repeating a history of genocide.
This book explores the role of actors in determining transitional justice in peacebuilding contexts. In recent decades, transitional justice mechanisms and processes have been introduced to a variety of settings, becoming widely regarded as essential elements in the 'peacebuilding toolbox'. While it has increasingly been suggested that transitional justice is imposed by neo-imperial actors with little regard for the needs and cultures of local populations, evidence suggests that dismissing these policies as neo-imperial or neo-liberal impositions would result in grossly overlooking their dynamics, which involve a whole range of relevant actors operating at multiple levels. This book interrogates this theme through empirical analysis of three sites of peacebuilding that have seen extensive international involvement: Kosovo, East Timor and Afghanistan. It proposes a novel framework for analysing and approaching transitional justice in peacebuilding that disaggregates three broad sets of actors operating at different levels in relevant processes: external actors (international and regional levels), transitional justice promoters (local, national, international and transnational levels), and transitional regimes (national and local levels). The book argues that transitional justice in peacebuilding must be conceived of as actor-contingent and malleable due to the significance of agency and (inter)actions of key categories of actors throughout peacebuilding transition. This book will be of interest to students and practitioners of transitional justice, peacebuilding, law, and International Relations.
This collection adds to the critical transitional justice scholarship that calls for "transitional justice from below" and that makes visible the complex and oftentimes troubled entanglements between justice endeavours, locality, and memory-making. Broadening this perspective, it explores informal memory practices across various contexts with a focus on their individual and collective dynamics and their intersections, reaching also beyond a conceptualisation of memory as mere symbolic reparation and politics of memory. It seeks to highlight the hidden, unwritten, and multifaceted in today's memory boom by focusing on the memorialisation practices of communities, activists, families, and survivors. Organising its analytical focal point around the localisation of memory, it offers valuable and new insights on how and under what conditions localised memory practices may contribute to recognition and social transformation, as well as how they may at best be inclusive, or exclusive, of dynamic and diverse memories. Drawing on inter- and multi-disciplinary approaches, this book brings an in-depth and nuanced understanding of local memory practices and the dynamics attached to these in transitional justice contexts. It will be of much interest to students and scholars of memory and genocide studies, peace and conflict studies, transitional justice, sociology, and anthropology.
This book develops a constitutional theory of international organization to explain the legitimation of supranational organizations. Supranational organizations play a key role in contemporary global governance, but recent events like Brexit and the threat by South Africa to withdraw from the International Criminal Court suggest that their legitimacy continues to generate contentious debates in many countries. Rethinking international organization as a constitutional problem, Oates argues that it is the representation of the constituent power of a constitutional order, that is, the collective subject in whose name authority is wielded, which explains the legitimation of supranational authority. Comparing the cases of the European Union, the World Trade Organization, and the International Criminal Court, Oates shows that the constitution of supranationalism is far from a functional response to the pressures of interdependence but a value-laden struggle to define the proper subject of global governance. The book will be of interest to students and scholars of international organization and those working in the broader fields of global governance and general International Relations theory. It should also be of interest to international legal scholars, particularly those focused on questions related to global constitutionalism.
comprehensive monograph on the subject, covering all parts of the former Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir of interest to experts in: South Asia's political dynamics, political science, international relations, peace and conflict studies providing comprehensive knowledge on historical and contemporary dynamics of Indo-Pakistani policies and relations and the developments within both parts of Kashmir updated analysis containing the strategic dynamics in the aftermath of bifurcation of Indian-administered Kashmir
Cross-border cooperation is integral to the peace-building objective of the EU. Yet, 25 years of such cooperation has often failed to translate into connecting people across borders. This study assesses the significance of cross-border cooperation for addressing Europe's conflict wounds and examines its prospects in an enlarged EU of 28 members.
Covers the global range of historical and contemporary genocide case-studies Includes previously unpublished talks, and media interviews from one of the top scholars in the field of genocide studies.
Covers the global range of historical and contemporary genocide case-studies Includes previously unpublished talks, and media interviews from one of the top scholars in the field of genocide studies.
This book studies India's evolving naval engagements with other nations of the Indian Ocean region. It traces the growth of the Indian Navy and discusses its role as an instrument of meeting national objectives, particularly for furthering foreign policy. The volume analyses themes such as Indian Navy's (IN) transition from a brown water to blue water force, Indian maritime debates and doctrines, naval 'bridge-building' missions, and Sino-Indian maritime competitions. It examines Indian Navy's regional roles within the broader framework of its diplomatic objectives in particular regions and looks at how keen regional states are to accept India as a crisis manager and would allow it to build a regional maritime security architecture. The author also discusses state control over naval diplomatic roles and investigates if Indian Navy can effectively hedge extra-regional, mainly Chinese, involvement in the Indian Ocean. An important study of India's naval prowess, this book will be indispensable to students and researchers of political science, international relations, maritime and naval studies, strategic studies, geopolitics, defence studies, conflict studies, diplomacy, Indian Ocean studies, South Asian studies and those interested in India-China maritime rivalry.
This book critiques the dominant physical and biological interpretation of the Genocide Convention and argues that the idea of "culture" is central to properly understanding the crime of genocide. Using Raphael Lemkin's personal papers, archival materials from the State Department and the UN, as well as the mid-century secondary literature, it situates the convention in the longstanding debate between Enlightenment notions of universality and individualism, and Romantic notions of particularism and holism. The author conducts a thorough review of the treaty and its preparatory work to show that the drafters brought strong culturalist ideas to the debate and that Lemkin's ideas were held widely in the immediate postwar period. Reconstructing the mid-century conversation on genocide and situating it in the much broader mid-century discourse on justice and society he demonstrates that culture is not a distraction to be read out of the Genocide Convention; it is the very reason it exists. This volume poses a forceful challenge to the materialist interpretation and calls into question decades of international case law. It will be of interest to scholars of genocide, human rights, international law, the history of international law and human rights, and treaty interpretation.
Drawing on rich empirical work emerging from core conflict regions within the island nation of Sri Lanka, this book illustrates the critical role that women with disabilities play in post-armed conflict rebuilding and development. This pathbreaking book shows the critical role that women with disabilities play in post-armed conflict rebuilding and development. Through offering a rare yet important insight into the processes of gendered-disability advocacy activation within the post-conflict environment, it provides a unique counter narrative to the powerful images, symbols and discourses that too frequently perpetuate disabled women's so-called need for paternalistic forms of care. Rather than being the mere recipients of aid and help, the narratives of women with disabilities reveal the generative praxis of social solidarity and cohesion, progressed via their nascent collective practices of gendered-disability advocacy. It will be of interest to academics and students working in the fields of disability studies, gender studies, post-conflict studies, peace studies and social work.
Based on research in camps in Iraqi Kurdistan and among refugees in Germany, this book addresses the challenges, strategies and support systems that exist for the rehabilitation and reintegration of Yazidi women recovering from human trafficking. Through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and case studies, it gives women trafficked by ISIS their own voice to express their experiences during captivity, whilst offering an overview of the forms of support and protection available and necessary for survivors. An examination of the experiences and needs of refugee women who have undergone traumatizing experiences, Trauma and the Rehabilitation of Trafficked Women will appeal to scholars and policy makers with interests in gender studies, feminist thought, sexual violence during war, human trafficking and trauma recovery.
This volume seeks to start a revival of the field of disarmament law scholarship. Law is a fundamental component of disarmament, yet today, most perspectives on the wide range of disarmament issues that exist come primarily from political, diplomatic and public advocacy angles. The aim of this book is to revive the field of disarmament law building on earlier, important and still relevant contributions by international lawyers to the subject. The collection brings together international scholars on various aspects of disarmament. The contributions range across a variety of weapons types, adopt different approaches - doctrinal, historical and critical - to the issues being discussed and taken together, constitute a snapshot of the ideas, concerns and issues that currently occupy disarmament law scholars. The book will be essential reading for academics, researchers and policy-makers working in the area of disarmament.
This book explains how and why the transatlantic relationship has remained resilient despite persistent differences in the preferences, approaches, and policies of key member states. It covers topics ranging from the history of transatlantic relations, North Atlantic Treaty Organization and security issues, trade, human rights, and the cultural sinews of the relationship, to the impacts of COVID-19, climate change, think tanks, the rise of populism, public opinion, and the triangular relationship between the United States (US), Europe, and China. The book also conceptualizes resilience as a quality arising from myriad forms of interdependence. This interdependence helps shed light on the Atlantic partnership's capacity to withstand serious disagreements, such as those that occurred during the Reagan, George W. Bush, and Trump presidencies. With a principal focus on the US and Europe, the contributors to the volume also employ Canadian case studies to provide a unique and useful corrective. This book will interest all intermediate and senior undergraduate as well as graduate courses on relations between the US and Europe, American foreign policy, and European Union foreign policy. A specialist readership that includes academic and think tank researchers, policy practitioners, and opinion leaders will also benefit from this timely volume.
This book explains how and why the transatlantic relationship has remained resilient despite persistent differences in the preferences, approaches, and policies of key member states. It covers topics ranging from the history of transatlantic relations, North Atlantic Treaty Organization and security issues, trade, human rights, and the cultural sinews of the relationship, to the impacts of COVID-19, climate change, think tanks, the rise of populism, public opinion, and the triangular relationship between the United States (US), Europe, and China. The book also conceptualizes resilience as a quality arising from myriad forms of interdependence. This interdependence helps shed light on the Atlantic partnership's capacity to withstand serious disagreements, such as those that occurred during the Reagan, George W. Bush, and Trump presidencies. With a principal focus on the US and Europe, the contributors to the volume also employ Canadian case studies to provide a unique and useful corrective. This book will interest all intermediate and senior undergraduate as well as graduate courses on relations between the US and Europe, American foreign policy, and European Union foreign policy. A specialist readership that includes academic and think tank researchers, policy practitioners, and opinion leaders will also benefit from this timely volume.
This book investigates the challenges related to civil-military cooperation (CIMIC) and offers a new perspective by examining the social role of NATO CIMIC soldiers. The intertwining of the civilian and military spheres has become a significant part of the contemporary security environment. However, the relationship between the military and civilian actors is often troubled, filled with misunderstandings and rivalry. In their duty to provide a link between the military and diverse civilian environment, soldiers involved in CIMIC are exposed to varied, often-conflicted expectations that make up their social role and put stress on their performance and the effectiveness of CIMIC. By drawing on analysis of NATO CIMIC documents and a series of interviews with CIMIC soldiers, the author is able to, first, identify the elements of the CIMIC role and, second, diagnose the inherent role conflict and describe methods of dealing with it. Looking at civil-military cooperation through this lens reveals new layers of challenges that impact its effectiveness and a better way to understand the complexity of civil-military interaction. This book will be of much interest to students of military studies, military sociology, peacekeeping, security studies, and international relations, as well as military practitioners.
In this highly provocative and documented book, Thibault Muzergues describes how war in Europe is now more likely than it has been for at least the past 30 years, how it might come back to Europe and what Europeans can do to avoid getting drawn again in fratricide conflicts. Many consider Europe a continent of peace, with NATO guaranteeing its security and the EU providing the political glue for a Europe Whole and Free. But what if this was not the case anymore? What if, after a decade of crisis, today's Europe was much more fragile than we thought? The author challenges our assumptions about peace in Europe and forces us to face the realities of a world that has become much more dangerous. Far from being apocalyptic, this book serves as an advance warning to the dangers, both internal and external that are now closing in on Europe - and suggests solutions to avoid them. This book will be key reading for those interested in European politics and history, the European Union, security, and strategic studies, and more broadly to current affairs and international relations.
This new textbook provides an introduction to humanitarian protection, a field of study concerned with international responses to armed conflict, political violence, and humanitarian crisis. The book engages with a wide range of empirical and normative questions, providing an overview of the academic literature whilst simultaneously discussing the policies and practices associated with protective responses to conflict and humanitarian emergencies that put the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable populations, including civilians, refugees, and minority groups, at risk. Divided into three parts, covering the origins of the humanitarian protection regime, the range of actors involved, and the responsibilities of these actors, the book offers an accessible entry point into the major contemporary debates, providing readers with the conceptual tools for understanding core issues. Key points are reinforced and illustrated through the deployment of selected case studies, and a comprehensive glossary is provided for key terms. Each chapter ends with a summary of key points, questions for further reflection, and a list of recommended reading. This book will be of much interest to students of human protection, humanitarianism, the Responsibility to Protect, human security, peacekeeping, and International Relations in general.
Domingo explores the potential of cyber capabilities for small states in the Asia-Pacific, the most active region for cyber conflict. He develops a systematic explanation for why Brunei, New Zealand, and Singapore have developed or are developing cyber capabilities. Studies on cyber conflict and strategy have substantially increased in the past decade but most have focused on the cyber operations of powerful states. This book moves away from the prominence of powerful states and explores the potential of cyber capabilities for small states in the Asia-Pacific, the most active region for cyber conflict. It develops a systematic explanation of why Brunei, New Zealand, and Singapore have developed or are developing cyber capabilities despite its obscure strategic value. The book argues that the distribution of power in the region and a "technology-oriented" strategic culture are two necessary conditions that influence the development of cyber capabilities in small states. Following this argument, the book draws on neoclassical realism as a theoretical framework to account for the interaction between these two conditions. The book also pursues three secondary objectives. First, it aims to determine the constraints and incentives that affect the utilization of cyber capabilities as foreign policy instruments. Second, the book evaluates the functionality of these cyber capabilities for small states. Lastly, it assesses the implications of employing cyber capabilities as foreign policy tools of small states. This book will be an invaluable resource for academics and security analysts working on cyber conflict, military strategy, small states, and International Relations in general.
It is commonly said that democracies very seldom fight each other. This book asks whether the assumption of a "democratic peace" is valid and seeks to explain why. Explanations explored include the accountability of democratic leaders to domestic institutions; the norms of democratic competition which influence international affairs; and the common interests which democracies have pursued.
This is a unique publication; though criminology is often interested in those who cause social harm, biographies are very rare (beyond some of the seminal text of the 1930s). This offers something new to the field, while still situating itself in contemporary debates on social harm and narrative criminology. The author had unparalleled access to his subject, and this biography is based on extensive interviews that took place over Skype. This book will find a wide market across criminology, sociology, critical security studies, international relations and those engaged with the arms industry.
Horizontal inequalities are root causes of violent conflict in Africa. Yet, people take actions not because of statistical data on inequalities, of which they might not be aware, but because of injustices they perceive. This volume analyses the results of original surveys with over 3,000 respondents in African cities and towns, exposing clear discrepancies between objective inequalities and people's subjective perceptions. The contributors examine experiences in country pairs and probe into the reasons why neighbouring countries, sharing common historical traits, sometimes took contrasting pathways of peace and violent conflict. Combining quantitative analysis and qualitative anatomy of historical experiences of conflict and reconciliation in Rwanda, Burundi, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and Nigeria, the study brings forward a set of policy recommendations for development practitioners. This work further addresses the issue of institutional choice and reveals how sustainable power-sharing and decentralisation contribute to political stability in Africa.
This book investigates why Chile suddenly confronted a violent social revolt in October 2019, after almost thirty years of political stability, during which time the country was broadly regarded as Latin America's most successful nation. Since democratic restoration in 1990, Chile's relatively high levels of political stability, increasing prosperity and social modernisation have stood out in a region shaken by political convulsion and economic malaise. In early October 2019, President Sebastian Pinera confidently claimed that Chile represented a true 'oasis' of political stability and economic vitality in Latin America. However, just weeks later, the announcement of a small increase in the price of Santiago's underground transport system unleashed an unprecedented wave of violent anti-government protests in the country, with protestors ultimately demanding Pinera's resignation and the end of neoliberalism and the 1980 Constitution, among many other demands. This book analyses the causes of Chile's socio-political upheaval, arguing that the fast social and economic modernisation produced by the neoliberal system led to a series of destabilising socio-political processes in the country. At a time when much analysis of the October uprising tends to be superficial or polarised on ideological grounds, this book provides a much-needed sociological and institutional analysis of the crisis. It will be an important read for scholars of Latin American politics and development, as well as those with a broader interest in state legitimacy, social movements and political contestation against neoliberalism. |
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