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Books > History > Asian / Middle Eastern history
An authoritative study of food politics in the socialist regimes of
China and the Soviet Union During the twentieth century, 80 percent
of all famine victims worldwide died in China and the Soviet Union.
In this rigorous and thoughtful study, Felix Wemheuer analyzes the
historical and political roots of these socialist-era famines, in
which overambitious industrial programs endorsed by Stalin and Mao
Zedong created greater disasters than those suffered under
prerevolutionary regimes. Focusing on famine as a political tool,
Wemheuer systematically exposes how conflicts about food among
peasants, urban populations, and the socialist state resulted in
the starvation death of millions. A major contribution to Chinese
and Soviet history, this provocative analysis examines the
long-term effects of the great famines on the relationship between
the state and its citizens and argues that the lessons governments
learned from the catastrophes enabled them to overcome famine in
their later decades of rule.
"Britain in the Middle East" provides a comprehensive survey of
British involvement in the Middle East, exploring their mutual
construction and influence across the entire historical sweep of
their relationship. In the 17th century, Britain was establishing
trade links in the Middle East, using its position in India to
increasingly exclude other European powers. Over the coming
centuries this commercial influence developed into political power
and finally formal empire, as the British sought to control their
regional hegemony through military force. Robert Harrison charts
this relationship, exploring how the Middle East served as the
launchpad for British offensive action in the World Wars, and how
resentment against colonial rule in the region led ultimately to
political and Islamic revolutions and Britain's demise as a global,
imperial power.
This volume approaches the topic of mobility in Southeast Europe by
offering the first detailed historical study of the land route
connecting Istanbul with Belgrade. After this route that diagonally
crosses Southeast Europe had been established in Roman times, it
was as important for the Byzantines as the Ottomans to rule their
Balkan territories. In the nineteenth century, the road was
upgraded to a railroad and, most recently, to a motorway. The
contributions in this volume focus on the period from the Middle
Ages to the present day. They explore the various transformations
of the route as well as its transformative role for the cities and
regions along its course. This not only concerns the political
function of the route to project the power of the successive
empires. Also the historical actors such as merchants, travelling
diplomats, Turkish guest workers or Middle Eastern refugees
together with the various social, economic and cultural effects of
their mobility are in the focus of attention. The overall aim is to
gain a deeper understanding of Southeast Europe by foregrounding
historical continuities and disruptions from a long-term
perspective and by bringing into dialogue different national and
regional approaches.
The Vietnam War is one of the defining conflicts of the twentieth
century: not only did it divide American society at every level;
the conflict also represented a key shift in Asian anti-colonialism
and shaped the course of the Cold War. Despite its political and
social importance, popular memory of the war is dominated by myths
and stereotypes. In this incisive new text, John Dumbrell debunks
popular assumptions about the war and reassesses the key political,
military and historical controversies associated with one of the
most contentious and divisive wars of recent times. Drawing upon an
extensive range of newly accessible sources, Rethinking the Vietnam
War assesses all aspects of the conflict - ranging across domestic
electoral politics in the USA to the divided communist leadership
in Hanoi and grassroots antiwar movements around the world. The
book charts the full course of the war - from the origins of
American involvement, the growing internationalization of the
conflict and the swing year of 1968 to bitter twists in Sino-Soviet
rivalry and the eventual withdrawal of American forces. Situating
the conflict within an international context, John Dumbrell also
considers competing interpretations of the war and points the way
to the resolution of debates which have divided international
opinion for decades.
Chinese Buddhists have never remained stationary. They have always
been on the move. In Monks in Motion, Jack Meng-Tat Chia explores
why Buddhist monks migrated from China to Southeast Asia, and how
they participated in transregional Buddhist networks across the
South China Sea. This book tells the story of three prominent monks
Chuk Mor (1913-2002), Yen Pei (1917-1996), and Ashin Jinarakkhita
(1923-2002) and examines the connected history of Buddhist
communities in China and maritime Southeast Asia in the twentieth
century. Monks in Motion is the first book to offer a history of
what Chia terms "South China Sea Buddhism," referring to a Buddhism
that emerged from a swirl of correspondence networks, forced
exiles, voluntary visits, evangelizing missions,
institution-building campaigns, and the organizational efforts of
countless Chinese and Chinese diasporic Buddhist monks. Drawing on
multilingual research conducted in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore,
China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, Chia challenges the conventional
categories of "Chinese Buddhism" and "Southeast Asian Buddhism" by
focusing on the lesser-known-yet no less significant-Chinese
Buddhist communities of maritime Southeast Asia. By crossing the
artificial spatial frontier between China and Southeast Asia, Monks
in Motion breaks new ground, bringing Southeast Asia into the study
of Chinese Buddhism and Chinese Buddhism into the study of
Southeast Asia.
Exhaustively researched and updated, South Asia 2021 is an in-depth
library of information on the countries and territories of this
vast world region. General Survey Essays by specialists examine
issues of regional importance. Country Surveys Individual chapters
on each country, containing: - essays on the geography, recent
history and economy of each nation - up-to-date statistical surveys
of economic and social indicators - a comprehensive directory
providing contact details and other useful information for the most
significant political and commercial institutions. In addition,
there are separate sections covering each of the states and
territories of India. Regional Information - detailed coverage of
international organizations and their recent activities in South
Asia - information on research institutes engaged in the study of
the region - a survey of the major commodities of South Asia -
bibliographies of relevant books and periodicals. Additional
features - biographical profiles of almost 300 prominent
individuals in the region.
That Indonesia's ongoing occupation of West Papua continues to be
largely ignored by world governments is one of the great moral and
political failures of our time. West Papuans have struggled for
more than fifty years to find a way through the long night of
Indonesian colonization. However, united in their pursuit of
merdeka (freedom) in its many forms, what holds West Papuans
together is greater than what divides them. Today, the Morning Star
glimmers on the horizon, the supreme symbol of merdeka and a
cherished sign of hope for the imminent arrival of peace and
justice to West Papua. Morning Star Rising: The Politics of
Decolonization in West Papua is an ethnographically framed account
of the long, bitter fight for freedom that challenges the dominant
international narrative that West Papuans' quest for political
independence is fractured and futile. Camellia Webb-Gannon's
extensive interviews with the decolonization movements' original
architects and its more recent champions shed light on complex
diasporic and inter-generational politics as well as social and
cultural resurgence. In foregrounding West Papuans' perspectives,
the author shows that it is the body politic's unflagging
determination and hope, rather than military might or influential
allies, that form the movement's most unifying and powerful force
for independence. This book examines the many intertwining strands
of decolonization in Melanesia. Differences in cultural performance
and political diversity throughout the region are generating new,
fruitful trajectories. Simultaneously, Black and Indigenous
solidarity and a shared Melanesian identity have forged a
transnational grassroots power-base from which the movement is
gaining momentum. Relevant beyond its West Papua focus, this book
is essential reading for those interested in Pacific studies,
Native and Indigenous studies, development studies, activism, and
decolonization.
Over the last few decades there has been growing recognition of the
importance of a peaceful and stable South China Sea for
Indo-Pacific security and development, a recognition that has been
underlain, paradoxically, by the increasingly precarious situation
in this body of water that straddles critical shipping lanes from
the Indian to the Pacific Ocean. This book informs its readership
of the most recent developments in the South China Sea with
insightful and prescient analyses from both legal and international
relations perspectives. It delves into the policy perspectives and
deliberations of the various relevant regional and extra-regional
actors in the South China Sea dispute, the exercise of
international law in the context of the changing regional political
landscape, and the promise and pitfalls of past, current, and
potential initiatives to manage and settle the dispute. Written by
some of the most well-known scholars and knowledgeable insiders in
the fields South China Sea studies, the collection offers a wide
array of diverse views that should help enrich the ongoing global
discussion on conflict management and resolution in the South China
Sea.
This revised edition examines North and South Korea's political,
socio-economic, and cultural history from the Neolithic period to
the early 21st century, including issues of recent political unrest
and preparations for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Korea continues to
be featured in the news, especially after the succession of Kim
Jong-un as leader of North Korea and his threats of nuclear attack.
Yet the reported instability of the North is contrasted by the
rapid modernization revolution of the South. Author Djun Kil Kim
analyzes how tragic experiences in the regions' collective
history-particularly Japanese colonial rule and the division of the
country-have contributed to the dichotomous state of affairs in the
Koreas. This comprehensive overview traces the development of two
contradistinctive nations-North and South Korea-with communism in
the north and democracy and industrialization in the south
transforming the geopolitical and geo-economic condition of each
area. Author Kim explores specific doctrines that revolutionized
Korea: Buddhism and Neo-Confucianism in the mid-7th and the late
14th centuries; and communism and American functionalism in the
20th century. The second edition includes an updated timeline, new
biographical sketches of notable people, and an additional chapter
covering the events of 2004 through the present day. Includes an
expanded bibliography with additional print and electronic sources
Provides updated accounts of both North and South Korea's more
recent events that enable readers to grasp the global significance
and power of both nations
This title provides a succinct, readable, and comprehensive
treatment of how the Obama administration reacted to what was
arguably the most difficult foreign policy challenge of its eight
years in office: the Arab Spring. As a prelude to examining how the
United States reacted to the first wave of the Arab Spring in the
21st century, this book begins with an examination of how the U.S.
reacted to revolution in the 19th and 20th centuries and a summary
of how foreign policy is made. Each revolution in the Arab Spring
(in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Bahrain, and Yemen) and the Obama
administration's action-or inaction-in response is carefully
analyzed. The U.S.' role is compared to that of regional powers,
such as Turkey, Israel, and Iran. The impact of U.S. abdication in
the face of pivotal events in the region is the subject of the
book's conclusion. While other treatments have addressed how the
Arab Spring revolutions have affected the individual countries
where these revolutions took place, U.S. foreign policy toward the
Middle East, and President Barack Obama's overall foreign policy,
this is the only work that provides a comprehensive examination of
both the Arab Spring revolutions themselves and the reaction of the
U.S. government to those revolutions. Stands as the only academic
book that specifically considers U.S. foreign policy with regard to
the Arab Spring Presents the Arab Spring as a pivotal event, the
U.S. reaction as a watershed, and an understanding of this
interplay as vital to understanding international politics in our
time Traces the often roundabout paths to the creation of U.S.
policy during the Arab Spring and examines the effects of those
policies Serves as an essential text for academics studying the
Middle East, U.S. foreign policy, the progress of revolution, and
politics in the developing world; policymakers wishing to
understand how the Obama administration dealt with the most complex
crisis of its eight years; and interested readers
This book is an intimate account of an ordinary individual's
extraordinary life journey that transcends both cultural and social
boundaries. Th e author was born and lived in Korea during his
formative years, and has been living in the United States for the
following 47 years. Th is individual's unique story of his
environment is informative and his approach to his life time
challenges highlights every passage of the book. Th e book is
thoughtprovoking as well as enlightening...a rare gem in its
subject, style, and exposition. This book enlightens and entertains
its readers at the same time eff ortlessly.
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They Must Go
(Hardcover)
Rabbi Meir Kahane, Meir Kahane
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R758
R674
Discovery Miles 6 740
Save R84 (11%)
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The Sasanians were the last of the ancient Persian dynasties, and
the preeminent practitioners of the Zoroastrian religion. From its
foundation by Ardashir I in 224 CE the Sasanian Empire was the
dominant force in the region for several centuries until its last
king, Yasdegerd III, was defeated by the Muslim Arabs in the 7th
century. In this clear and comprehensive new book, Touraj Daryaee
provides an unrivalled account of Sasanian Persia. Using new
sources, he paints a vivid portrait of the empire's often neglected
social history and examines the development of its political and
administrative institutions. The author also explores, for the
first time in an integrated book on the Sasanians, their
descendants' attempts for more than a century after their defeat to
establish a second state. "Sasanian Persia" is a unique examination
of a period of history that still has great significance for a full
understanding of modern Iran.
How should failed states in Africa be understood? Catherine Scott
here critically engages with the concept of state failure and
provides an historical reinterpretation. She shows that, although
the concept emerged in the context of the post-Cold War new world
order, the phenomenon has been attendant throughout (and even
before) the development of the Westphalian state system.
Contemporary failed states, however, differ from their historical
counterparts in one fundamental respect: they fail within their
existing borders and continue to be recognised as something that
they are not. This peculiarity derives from international norms
instituted in the era of decolonisation, which resulted in the
inviolability of state borders and the supposed universality of
statehood. Scott argues that contemporary failed states are, in
fact, failed post-colonies. Thus understood, state failure is less
the failure of existing states and more the failed rooting and
institutionalisation of imported and reified models of Western
statehood. Drawing on insights from the histories of Uganda and
Burundi, from pre-colonial polity formation to the present day, she
explores why and how there have been failures to create effective
and legitimate national states within the bounds of inherited
colonial jurisdictions on much of the African continent.
This study examines how China has developed a diplomatic mechanism
to expand its international influence through the establishment of
strategic partnerships. These strategic partnerships have sparked a
debate among analysts. On the one hand, some optimistic studies
applaud the win-win objective of China's foreign policy and portray
China as a successful model for developing countries. On the other
hand, more skeptical studies depict China as a rising imperial
power that represents a competitive threat to Latin America. This
book focuses on China's strategic partnerships with Argentina,
Brazil, Mexico, and Venezuela within the oil sector. It stresses
how Chinese strategic partnerships with each of these four
countries have diverged across cases over time (1991-2015). The
study finds that the strategic partnerships are asymmetrical in
which China benefits more than four Latin American countries in a
variety of aspects. I suggest Latin American countries to push for
greater diversification of export agenda toward China, to develop
new productive partnerships beyond traditional sectors and to
increase the competitiveness of firms. Meanwhile, China's
diplomatic actions toward Latin America are more than likely to
result in forms of change, particularly across my four country
cases, and where strategic partnerships are concerned.
This study uses a comparative analysis of the Malayan Emergency,
the American experience in Vietnam, and Operation IRAQI FREEDOM to
examine the role and effectiveness of artillery units in complex
counterinsurgency environments. Through this analysis, four factors
emerge which impact the employment of artillery units: the
counterinsurgency effort's requirement for indirect fires;
constraints and limitations on indirect fires; the
counterinsurgency effort's force organization; and the conversion
cost of nonstandard roles for artillery units. In conclusion, the
study offers five broadly descriptive fundamentals for employing
artillery units in a counterinsurgency environment: invest in
tactical leadership, exploit lessons learned, support the
operational approach and strategic framework, maintain pragmatic
fire support capability, and minimize collateral damage. Finally,
the study examines the role of education for leaders in a
counterinsurgency, and its influence on these imperative
fundamentals.
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