The revised edition of this comprehensive survey follows the political, military, religious, economic, and diplomatic history of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from pre-Muhammad times to the present day. With its huge oil reserves and notoriety regarding human rights issues, Saudi Arabia has long been a country in the global spotlight. This book traces the long history of this desert region, from the times before the creation of Saudi Arabia, to the political activities of the modern Saudi state, to recent developments in Arab and Muslim culture, enabling readers to grasp the country's key importance in 21st-century global politics. Educator and author Wayne H. Bowen provides a comprehensive and accessible overview of Saudi Arabia's history that makes clear this nation's political and economic significance as well as its vital role in the history and development of Islam. The second edition includes the most notable events from the past 10 years, such as King Abdullah's economic reforms after the 2011 Arab Spring protests and the passing of a law allowing women to vote. Organized chronologically, the revised edition contains updated appendices, an expanded bibliography featuring electronic resources, and new photographs and maps. Features an introductory chapter on Saudi Arabia today Includes new entries on notable figures and additional chapters on recent events Makes the subject easy to understand for readers with little background knowledge on the topic through concise, straightforward language

Belonging across the Bay of Bengal discusses themes connecting the regions bordering the Bay of Bengal, mainly covering the period from the mid-19th through the mid-20th centuries - a crucial period of transition from colonialism to independence. Focusing on the notion of 'belonging', the chapters in this collection highlight themes of ethnicity, religion, culture and the emergence of nationalist politics and state policies as they relate to the movement of peoples in the region. While the Indian Ocean has been of interest to scholars for decades, there has been a notable tilt towards historicizing the Western half of that space, often prioritizing Islamic trade as the key connective glue prior to the rise of Western power and the later emergence of transnational Indian nationalism. Belonging across the Bay of Bengal enriches this story by drawing attention to Buddhist and migrant connectivities, introducing discussions of Lanka, Burma and the Straits Settlements to establish the historical context of the current refugee crises playing out in these regions. This is a timely and innovative volume that offers a fresh approach to Indian Ocean history, further enriching our understanding of the current debates over minority rights and refugee problems in the region. It will be of great significance to all students and scholars of Indian Ocean studies as well as historians of modern South and Southeast Asia.

After the Armenian genocide of 1915, in which over a million Armenians died, thousands of Armenians lived and worked in the Turkish state alongside those who had persecuted their communities. Living in the context of pervasive denial, how did Armenians remaining in Turkey record their own history? Here, Talin Suciyan explores the life experienced by these Armenian communities as Turkey's modernisation project of the twentieth century gathered pace. Suciyan achieves this through analysis of remarkable new primary material: Turkish state archives, minutes of the Armenian National Assembly, a kaleidoscopic series of personal diaries, memoirs and oral histories, various Armenian periodicals such as newspapers, yearbooks and magazines, as well as statutes and laws which led to the continuing persecution of Armenians. The first history of its kind, The Armenians in Modern Turkey is a fresh contribution to the history of modern Turkey and the Armenian experience there.

Asian industrial competition, from Japan, China but also India, attracted greater public attention in Europe during the inter-war period than ever before. Indian industrial employment became the subject not only of extensive official enquiries, intensified legislation, a growing number of academic studies and of more popular writings, but also of debates within and between European trade unions.

"Contemporary Japan: History, Politics and Social Change since the 1980s" presents a comprehensive examination of the causes of the Japanese economic bubble in the late 1980s and the socio-political consequences of the recent financial collapse. Represents the only book to examine in depth the turmoil of Japan since Emperor Hirohito died in 1989, the Cold War ended, and the economy collapsed Provides an assessment of Japan's dramatic political revolution of 2009 Analyzes how risk has increased in Japan, undermining the sense of security and causing greater disparities in society Assesses Japan's record on the environment, the consequences of neo-liberal reforms, immigration policies, the aging society, the US alliance, the Imperial family, and the 'yakuza' criminal gangs Selected as a 2011 Outstanding Academic Title by CHOICE

The presidency of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (2004-14) was a watershed in Indonesia's modern democratic history. Yudhoyono was not only the first Indonesian president to be directly elected, but also the first to be democratically re-elected. Coming to office after years of turbulent transition, he presided over a decade of remarkable political stability and steady economic growth. But other aspects of his rule have been the subject of controversy. While supporters view his presidency as a period of democratic consolidation and success, critics view it as a decade of stagnation and missed opportunities. This book is the first comprehensive attempt to evaluate both the achievements and the shortcomings of the Yudhoyono presidency. With contributions from leading experts on Indonesia's politics, economy and society, it assesses the Yudhoyono record in fields ranging from economic development and human rights, to foreign policy, the environment and the security sector.

This book places Li Ji (the Book of Rites) back in the overall context of "books," "rites" and its research history, drawing on the interrelations between myth, ritual and "materialized" symbols to do so. Further, it employs the double perspectives of "books" and "rites" to explore the sources and symbols of the capping ceremony (rites of passage), decode the prototypes of Miao and Ming Tang, and restore the discourse patterns of "people of five directions." The book subsequently investigates the formation and function of the Yue Ling calendar and disaster ritual, so as to reveal the human cognitive encoding and metalanguage of ritual behavior involved. In the process, it demonstrates that Li Ji, its textual memories, archaeological remains and "traditional ceremony" narratives are all subject to the latent myth coding mechanism in China's cultural system, while the "compilation" and "materialized" remains are merely forms of ritual refactoring, interpretation and exhibition, used when authority seeks the aid of ritual civilization to strengthen its legitimacy and maintain the social order.

Insightful and well-researched, this book is the first-ever comprehensive account of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's activities in Europe. On 19 January 1941, Subhas Chandra Bose escaped in disguise from British surveillance in Calcutta to Kabul. There, he established contact with the German and Italian foreign ministries, thereby beginning a long period of collaboration with the Axis Powers to counter British rule in India. This led to the setting up of the Free India Centre, the radio station Azad Hind, and the Indian Legion - in which 4,500 Indian volunteers were trained by German experts to fight for the freedom of their nation. While his compatriots resisted colonial rule on native soil, Bose spearheaded the cause of freedom in Europe. Using Machiavellian tactics, he discreetly played the Axis leaders off against each other and courted considerable public favour through his transmissions on Radio Azad Hind. Netaji in Europe pieces together information from official records, diaries and military archives in Germany, Italy, Britain and India to give a comprehensive account of the daily negotiations between Bose, and foreign offices, diplomats and double agents, during the Second World War. These efforts resulted in a declaration of India's independence long before 1947, and the formation of the first Indian army. The first work to narrate the story of Netaji in Europe, this insightful book closes an important gap in research on Bose's biography.

Colonial agents worked for fifty years to make a Japanese Taiwan, using technology, culture, statistics, trade, and modern ideologies to remake their new territory according to evolving ideas of Japanese empire. Since the end of the Pacific War, this project has been remembered, imagined, nostalgized, erased, commodified, manipulated, idealized and condemned by different sectors of Taiwan's population. ""The volume covers a range of topics, ""including colonial-era photography, exploration, postwar deportation, sport, film, media, economic planning, contemporary Japanese influences on Taiwanese popular culture, and recent nostalgia for and misunderstandings about the colonial era. "Japanese Taiwan" provides an inter-disciplinary perspective on these related processes of colonization and decolonization, explaining how the memories, scars and traumas of the colonial era have been utilized during the postwar period. It provides a unique critique of the 'Japaneseness' of the erstwhile Chinese Taiwan, thus bringing new scholarship to bear on problems in contemporary East Asian politics.

Based on extensive research on the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, this book closely examines the claims and controversy surrounding the 'Nanjing Massacre', a period of murder in 1937-1938 committed by Japanese troops against the residents of Nanjing (Nanking), after the capture of the then capital of the Republic of China, during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Focusing on weighing up arguments denying Nanjing Massacre, this book considers the Japanese 'Illusion' school of thought which contests the truth of the Nanjing Massacre claims, including the death toll and the scale of the violence. The Nanjing Massacre remains a controversial issue in Sino-Japanese relations, despite the normalization of bilateral relations, and this book goes to great lengths to examine the events through comparative narratives, investigating different perspectives and contributings to the debate from the extensive research of the Tokyo Trial Research Centre at Shanghai, as well as volumes of Chinese and Japanese historical documents.