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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political activism > Armed conflict
In the light of NATO's humanitarian war in Kosovo is it possible to understand or explain wars as an outcome of perceptions of rights? How did rights, be they divine rights in the Middle Ages, territorial rights in the eighteenth century, or human rights today, become something that people are willing to fight and die for? To answer these questions, this book explores the linkage between concepts of rights and the practice of war in the international arena. Alkopher describes how normative structures of rights have shaped different practices of war from medieval to modern times, through the lens of social constructivism. From the eleventh to the thirteenth century, concepts of divine rights and institutionalized practices of the Crusades to the Holy Land fostered the prevailing ideas of international rights and war. In the eighteenth century, the institutionalization of states' rights and territorial wars shaped international conflict. This view held until the late twentieth century when the institutionalization of human rights coupled with the emerging practice of humanitarian war, particularly NATO's war in Kosovo, engendered new norms of international conduct. The author concludes that rights have the power to constitute an international order that will be either cooperative or conflictual and the choice of outcome is very much in our hands. This book will be essential reading for international relations and political science scholars and students but also philosophers, legal and sociological historians and international lawyers.
This book, first published in 1985, examines the Cold War risks of superpower confrontations, mainly in the Third World, resulting in war in Europe. European security is usually analysed in the context of East-West relations in Europe, where though tensions often ran high, actual war seemed remote. The risks of war were much greater in other parts of the world, where the United States and the Soviet Union confronted each other using proxies. This book analyses these proxy confrontations, and the risks that they posed to the security of Europe.
This book, first published in 1980, presents the findings of the SIPRI-organized 1979 international symposium on the destruction and conversion of chemical weapons. Thirty experts from 14 countries discussed the destruction and conversion of present stockpiles of chemical warfare agents and munitions; the destruction and conversion of CW research and development facilities; verification of compliance, and confidence-building measures facilitating verification; and the environmental and occupational health hazards involved in maintaining and in disposing of stockpiles of CW agents and munitions.
This book ambitiously weaves together history and politics to explain all of the major situations where mass atrocities have occurred, or been prevented, over the 15 years since the 'Responsibility to Protect' (R2P) was adopted at the 2005 UN World Summit. The author provides a history of human rights, mass atrocities and the principle of the R2P from the perspective of someone whose day job has been to work with the UN Security Council, various governments and civil society to help ensure the international community does not fail those who face the threat of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity today. It examines the implementation of the controversial principle of R2P since 2011 and how we end the politics of impunity, indifference and inaction once and for all. Using case studies from Iraq, Syria, Myanmar and Libya, the book offers a unique perspective regarding how we make 'never again' a living principle, rather than a cliche and how we end the politics of impunity, indifference and inaction once and for all. It will be of especial interest to scholars, students and policymakers working in the fields of international politics or concerned about human rights, atrocities, the United Nations and international justice in the world today.
This book ambitiously weaves together history and politics to explain all of the major situations where mass atrocities have occurred, or been prevented, over the 15 years since the 'Responsibility to Protect' (R2P) was adopted at the 2005 UN World Summit. The author provides a history of human rights, mass atrocities and the principle of the R2P from the perspective of someone whose day job has been to work with the UN Security Council, various governments and civil society to help ensure the international community does not fail those who face the threat of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity today. It examines the implementation of the controversial principle of R2P since 2011 and how we end the politics of impunity, indifference and inaction once and for all. Using case studies from Iraq, Syria, Myanmar and Libya, the book offers a unique perspective regarding how we make 'never again' a living principle, rather than a cliche and how we end the politics of impunity, indifference and inaction once and for all. It will be of especial interest to scholars, students and policymakers working in the fields of international politics or concerned about human rights, atrocities, the United Nations and international justice in the world today.
This book, first published in 1961, is an analysis of the great struggle of the twentieth century, the Cold War. It carefully examines the conflict's origins in the Russian Revolution of 1917, and follows the thread of antagonism between west and east all the way up to 1960. These were the key years of the Cold War, when it seemed that the prospect of nuclear confrontation was a real one, and this book offers a close reading of the main events of those years. This volume concentrates on the European theatre, and Volume Two focuses on the Cold War in the East.
This book, first published in 1961, is an analysis of the great struggle of the twentieth century, the Cold War. It carefully examines the conflict's origins in the Russian Revolution of 1917, and follows the thread of antagonism between west and east all the way up to 1960. These were the key years of the Cold War, when it seemed that the prospect of nuclear confrontation was a real one, and this book offers a close reading of the main events of those years. This volume concentrates on the Cold War in the East, and Volume One focuses on the European theatre.
This book, first published in 1989, is a comprehensive examination of the profound impact of World War II on Soviet military affairs. It systematically assesses the costs and lessons of the war and their substantial impact on Soviet military and Party leaders in the Cold War era and particularly in the 1980s. Starting with the experiences of the war and its influence on the development of Soviet military thinking, the book addresses the relationship between the military and the Soviet political system, threat perception, decision making, and crisis and risk assessment. Also discussed are the war's influence on the structure and operations of the military in the 1980s, focusing on doctrine, conventional forces, the defence industry and historiography.
This book, first published in 1985, analyses the factors that have shaped the militarization of space. By examining in great detail the determinants of U.S. policy, it explains why for over 25 years space did not become the scene of an arms race, and why this began to change in the late 1970s. Both superpowers did, however, develop a limited anti-satellite capability in the 1960s, and these programmes are also discussed.
This book, first published in 1981, offers an analysis of the ways in which one strategic situation in Cold War politics impinged on another, and the interplay of historical forces and trends shaping national policies and the world pattern of power. Bringing together a wealth of factual and analytical material about the alliance systems built around the two superpowers, it examines the areas that seem most dangerous to the peace of the world, particularly in the Middle East, Asia and Latin America.
This book, first published in 1975, analyses the three tools which the Russians used for attaining their political objectives: war, peace and neutrality. This study shows how they have evolved a clear-cut view, based on Marxism-Leninism, of the origins of war, the categories of war, the ways in which it can be made to serve the Marxist revolutionary interest, and the circumstances in which it is profitable to use it. As for peace, both Lenin and Khrushchev described it as a 'temporary, unstable armistice between two wars'. In the Leninist view, peace is a tool for attaining political objectives just like war, while neutrality is essentially ridiculous: 'he who is not with me is against me'. Nevertheless, there are occasions when neutrality is a concept acceptable to the Soviet leaders, and this study examines instances of this, alongside war and peace.
This book, first published in 1988, analyses the interests and activities of the Soviet Union in the northern Atlantic. It gives particular attention to the growth in exploration and exploitation of resources and to the problems presented by jurisdictional disputes. The responses of NATO, the United States and the Nordic countries to the expanded Soviet military presence are examined in detail.
This book, first published in 1983, analyses the technical and political developments in the two decades after the 1972 Soviet-American ABM treaty. It signposts the route for discussion of the antiballistic missile question - with its shared tacit assumption that nuclear war is for deterring and not fighting - and examines the dangerous tendency to conduct the ABM debate of the 1980s with the technical and political assumptions of the 1960s.
This book, first published in 1985, examines the questions of European security that lie at the heart of the confrontation between the superpowers. It concentrates on ways of achieving defence by conventional means rather than a reliance on nuclear or chemical weapons, and at the same time focuses on possible force reductions.
This book, first published in 1991, examines Britain's defence and foreign policy of the 1980s , and explores a variety of alternative roles for Britain in the radically changed circumstances of the 1990s. The authors analyse the full range of major British security issues and developments, including the use of force and the role of conventional forces, the significance of the Anglo-American special relationship, relations with Europe, the Third World and the Soviet Union, and the unique problem of Northern Ireland. They particularly address the question of whether international policy in 'the Thatcher years' has marked a decisive break with earlier post-war policy or has rather been marked by shifts of emphasis within an essentially stable framework.
This book, first published in 1986, analyses a number of emerging, enduring and neglected issues that affected European security and the stability of the Atlantic Alliance at the end of the Cold War. It provides a comprehensive review of the major political, social and economic issues that shaped the course of European security. It offers a thorough assessment of such critical questions as European views of the US Strategic Defense Initiative, the contribution of new technologies and tactics to NATO's conventional defence capabilities, and domestic factors that influenced security policy. It also provides original analysis of a number of issues, such as economic dimensions of security, the quest for a European defence identity, and protection of Western interests outside the NATO area. It provides a review of the nuclear question and of the German security debate in the aftermath of the initial US INF missile deployments.
This book, first published in 1985, analyses the polarization of popular opinion over NATO defence policies during the latter years of the Cold War. In many countries, the domestic consensus that once supported Allied policies came close to collapsing, and this study examines the question of the democratization of defence policy. It explores four themes for each of the Allied countries: views of the Soviet Union; deterrence; security; and the Allies. A rigorous and systematic analysis of the raw data allows for easy cross-national comparisons.
This book, first published in 1985, analyses the choices made by NATO's northern allies during the 1970s and 80s, as well as the factors that produced these choices. Each country study investigates the historical background of the decision to align, the existence of specific enduring security preferences, and the way in which these have - to the extent they have - been reconciled in policy. The studies then examine defence policy priorities during tranquil periods, detail the factors responsible for promoting change in the way each country has formulated security priorities, and look at the way in which disputes have been played out in domestic political life. Finally, the studies analyse the broad outline of future priorities at the end of the Cold War.
This book, first published in 1954, is a key analysis of the guiding policies, basic assumptions, fundamental principles and methods of the Red Army, in many respects the most powerful force in the Cold War. This analysis examines the strategy and tactics, weapons systems, training, discipline and political doctrine of the Red Army, as well as focusing on the political control of the USSR and its satellite states.
This book, first published in 1989, analyses the effect that interdependence has had on the defence industrial base, concentrating upon those defence industries situated at the hi-tech end, and paying particular attention to the procurement decisions that affect the production of sophisticated military aircraft. Interdependence raises questions of importance to international relations, strategic studies and defence economics, and Western industrialised states have an ongoing dilemma over the degree to which they should subject their defence industrial bases to the forces of economic interdependence. Despite worries over strategic vulnerability, most Western states have been showing increased interest in arms collaboration, with the aim of maximizing the amount of weaponry available for defence. As this book shows, such a goal becomes increasingly important s the technological sophistication of weapons grows.
This book, first published in 1983, examines weapons standardisation as one aspect of NATO's efficiency. It analyses the economic arguments for weapons standardisation, the limitations of the analysis and the available evidence. A political economy or public choice approach is used, with its emphasis on policy developments in the political market place of voters, political parties, bureaucracies and interest groups. These agents are central to understanding the function of weapons procurement policy within the Alliance.
This book, first published in 1956, analyses the Red Army's strategic planning for a war involving nuclear weapons - whereby the front line is thinned out to protect it from nuclear attack and replaced by large-scale offensive operations in NATO's rear. This new warfare technique had been successfully practised in WWII by Soviet partisan and guerrilla forces, and this book examines these foundations of Soviet secret services doctrine, and the principles by which they would operate.
This book, first published in 1975, is a comprehensive examination of specialised strategic studies, and deals with the theoretical and policy aspects of the topic. It argues that military power is an intrinsic part of the international system, with strategy being the means by which military power may be used to achieve political objectives. Hence, given the destructiveness of modern weapons it is the prime aim of the strategic doctrines of the major powers not to wage war, but to use their military potential to further their interests by less catastrophic means. However, outside the Cold War superpower confrontation, strategy exhibits many of its traditional aspects. This book analyses both types of strategy variations.
This book, first published in 1991, provides a major analysis of the prelude to the US's Cold War maritime strategy, showing how NATO's maritime forces were organised in the period. It examines how the United States Navy and allied navies, particularly the Royal Navy, were incorporated into the Alliance's nuclear and conventional deterrent forces. It looks at the structure of the main naval commands, the growth of Soviet maritime forces and the impact of the flexible response strategy on NATO's naval posture in the 1970s. Drawing upon many declassified documents, this account fills an important gap in postwar literature on American seapower and its relation to European security. It also addresses important aspects of NATO strategy and organisation.
This book, first published in 1997, examines the forced merger between national security interests and environmental policy makers arising from the Chemical Weapons Convention and its requirement to safely dismantle the world's chemical weapons stockpiles. The two groups had to find a way to intersect and work together, and this book analyses the problems and politics involved. |
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