A History of International Oil Politics is both an argument for multi-theoretical pluralism and a proposal for a theory-synergetic approach in international relations. Murad Gassanly, a distinguished international relations scholar and rising British politician, explores how international relations paradigms could be utilized in approaching the vital field of international oil politics, specifically historical issues of international energy politics and comparative case studies of energy transmission networks - the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline and the Southern Gas Corridor. This highly original study explores the historical timeline of global energy to demonstrate how a theory-synergetic analysis might offer a deeper and more holistic understanding. As an academic discipline, international relations now offers a maelstrom of competing epistemological, ontological, and normative contestations. Gassanly, however, argues that theoretical diversity has knowledge-producing and maximizing potential and that pluralism does not impede academic progress. Applying different theoretical models to oil politics reveals different realities, but the synergetic whole is greater than the sum of its constituent paradigmatic parts. Empirical convergences between theoretical accounts provides a broad analytical framework for active theoretical synergy.

Cultures of Uneven and Combined Development seeks to explore and develop Leon Trotsky's concept of uneven and combined development. In particular, it aims to adapt the political and historical analysis which originated in Trotsky's Russia for use within the contemporary field of world literature. As such, it draws together the work of scholars from both the field of international relations and the field of literature and the arts. This collection will therefore be of particular interest to anyone who is interested in new ways of understanding world literary texts, or interested in new ways of applying Trotsky's revolutionary politics to the contemporary world order. Contributors: Alexander Anievas, Gail Day, James Christie, Kamran Matin, Kerem Nisancioglu, Luke Cooper, Michael Niblett, Neil Davidson, Nesrin Degirmencioglu, Robert Spencer, Steve Edwards.

This volume takes a comparative approach to understand general tendencies in post-Communist transition in Russia and China. Bringing together perspectives from Political Science, Sociology and IR, it analyses three arenas of social change: socio-economic systems, political systems, and foreign policies.

Mediation, the facilitated discussion of disputes and conflicts, is a flexible approach that can be used at all levels of intervention to move us toward a global peace that is both inclusive and fair. Moving Toward a Just Peace: The Mediation Continuum, edited by Jan Marie Fritz," " brings together mediators, scholar-practitioners, and a veteran diplomat to discuss the life and times of mediation in very different settings.

The 13 chapters include three essays about culture, creativity, and models/theories/approaches. And there are ten chapters about practice: community mediation, mediation by police, special education mediation; interventions on behalf of widows in Nigeria; capacity-building work in Burundi; mediation in Israel; the creative facilitation of meetings; community conferencing; UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (Women and Peace and Security) and the role of civil society organizations in peacebuilding.

This volume discusses the expanding roles (from prevention through societal transformation) assumed by mediators and the urgent need for mediators working at different intervention levels to learn from each other. This volume is a must read for the scholars, researchers, policymakers, civil society representatives and practitioners with interests in effective dispute and conflict intervention. It particularly is recommended for those managing dispute and conflict intervention processes."

With the concept of 'Atomic Anxiety', this book offers a novel perspective on one of the most important and longstanding puzzles of international politics: the non-use of U.S. nuclear weapons. By focusing on the fear surrounding nuclear weapons, it explains why nuclear deterrence and the nuclear taboo are working at cross purposes in practice.

Violent behavior has become deeply integrated into modern society and it is an unavoidable aspect of human nature. Examining peacemaking strategies through a critical and academic perspective can assist in resolving violence in societies around the world. The Handbook of Research on Examining Global Peacemaking in the Digital Age is a pivotal reference source for the latest research findings on the utilization of peacemaking in media, leadership, and religion. Featuring extensive coverage on relevant areas such as human rights, spirituality, and the Summer of Peace, this publication is an ideal resource for policymakers, universities and colleges, graduate-level students, and organizations seeking current research on the application of conflict resolution and international negotiation.

In the first book to explore the cultural politics of Cuba's epic military engagement in the Angolan civil war, Christabelle Peters shows how the internationalist mission profoundly influenced Cuban thinking on the African cultural element in national identity. Drawing from multiple sources, including films, political speeches, literature, and autoethnography, Cuban Identity and the Angolan Experience reveals the underlying mythological context for Operation Carlota. By tracing the evolution of slave iconology during the first five--most ideological--years of the intervention, Peters reveals a parallel shift in Cuba's regional identification from Latin American to Caribbean.

Sea level rises pose a greater long term threat to Australia's coastline and major capital cities than a military attack by a foreign power. Citizens are more likely to experience a pandemic virus than a nuclear threat. Food shortages have already occurred as a result of flood or drought, and the tentacles of international trade in drugs, money laundering and human trafficking already reach far into Australian communities. Why Human Security Matters argues that Australian external relations needs to treat the 'soft' issues of security as seriously as it treats the 'hard' realities of military defence, but also the many complex situations in-between, whether it be civil war, political upheaval, terrorism or piracy. Australia needs to do this first and foremost in our region, but also in relation to the unresolved regional and global security issues as we confront an increasingly uncertain and turbulent world. With contributions from leading thinkers in foreign policy and strategic studies, Why Human Security Matters is essential reading for anyone seeking a thoughtful and thought-provoking analysis of Australia's place in an age of transition.

From the Cold War to the Persian Gulf War, the high drama of America's contemporary foreign policy crises comes to life in this collection of primary documents designed for use by high school and college students. The comprehensive work dramatizes, through memoirs and diaries of the major players as well as key public documents, eight major crises: The Origins of the Cold War, the Berlin Blockade of 1948-49, the Korean War, the Berlin Crises of 1958 and 1961, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, the Iranian Hostage Crisis of 1979-80, and the 1991 Persian Gulf War with Iraq. The selection of documents for each crisis dramatizes the tension between the opposing nations and illuminates the process of decision-making by U.S. policymakers. Meticulously culled from a wide variety of sources and voices, many of the 382 documents are available in no other resource. Following a general introduction on contemporary American foreign relations, each crisis begins with a narrative introduction and chronology of events. The story of each crisis unfolds through chronologically organized documents, each of which is preceded by an explanatory headnote. The section on each crisis concludes with a suggested reading list. Among the variety of voices heard are memoirs and official statements of every president from Truman to Bush, and memoirs, diaries, and reminiscences of key players including General Douglas MacArthur, Dean Acheson, Robert Kennedy, Henry Kissinger, Nikita Krushchev, Andrei Gromyko, the Shah of Iran, and Generals Norman Schwarzkopf and Colin Powell. The variety of documents includes government reports and policy statements, private correspondence and memos, laws, speeches, positionstatements of interest groups, treaties and agreements, CIA directives, and interviews with key players. This basic research tool provides students with a rich panoply of voices, viewpoints, and key public documents that illuminate a crucial period in American and world history.

Presenting the reader with provocative articles that critically examine the morality of the war on terrorism as it has evolved over the past eight years, this book consists of articles that effectively address specific aspects of the war on terrorism that are missing or underrepresented in ethical discourse since 9/11. The book includes a mix of article types: theory, lecture, research, battlefield journalism, investigative reporting, as well as excerpts from international law and a military leadership manual.

With theoretically-rich contributions from an international group of political scientists, historians, and economists, this volume addresses the puzzle of why the Middle East has produced no single dominant and acknowledged regional power, despite contenders such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Israel, and Turkey. Rich, theoretically-engaged case study chapters address a gap in the vibrant international academic discussion on the role of (new) regional powers in global politics. Furtig offers powerful insights into both the unique nature of the Middle East region, with its dispersed power structures and competing centers, and probable new power constellations.

Based on sources still unavailable in the West, this first English language study of Russian-Kazakh relations provides unorthodox interpretations of many events and introduces new concepts in analysis of contemporary relations. Because political thought found itself a little behind the rapid political change that engulfed the former USSR, a process of adjustment of concepts and development of new approaches is now underway. Examining the complex nature of Russian-Kazakh relations immediately prior to and after the collapse of the USSR, the book examines four major groups of issues in Russian-Kazakh relations: status of ethnic Russians in Kazakhstan; Kazakh and Russian attitudes to post-Soviet integration; bilateral military relations; and Russian and international competition for Kazakhstan's energy resources. Beginning with research on Gorbachev's time in office, the book analyzes the effect of Moscow's policies on Kazakhstan and the factors which propelled the republic to independence. Next, one sees how Kazakhstan and Russia tried to establish a new, post-imperial basis for their relations during the first six months after the break-up of the Soviet Union. Subsequent chapters move from historical to structural analysis. With his inside knowledge of the mechanisms of Russian foreign policy formulation, the author pays particular attention to such controversial problems as Kazakh policy in the creation of a nation and its effects on Kazakhstan's Russian population; the concept of Eurasian Union, Custom's Union, and other integration initiatives supported by Kazakhstan; Kazakh nuclear disarmament; the Caspian Pipeline Consortium; and the legal status of the Caspian Sea.

Troy analyses how the understanding of religion in Realism and the English School helps in working towards the greater good in international relations, studying religion within the overall framework of international affairs and the field of peace studies.

This new discipline proposes a systematic understanding of the customs, moral attitudes, and cultures of foreign populations to enhance the efficacy of national security initiatives. The book offers an in-depth analysis and conceptualization of a much needed intelligence discipline, Sociocultural intelligence (SOCINT). SOCINT means observing and analyzing such elements as the land, the people, and their communities. Customs, moral attitudes, and culture of foreign populations are integrated into the analysis of the information gathered to maximize the efficiency of security initiatives. A key tool in intelligence and covert operations, SOCINT can mostly be used for non-lethal operations that require a thorough understanding of networks and systems. Simply, by understanding the behavioral aspects of relationships and systems, we will have a greater opportunity for 'success' by knowing who, what, where, when, why, and how to influence within the systems themselves. Not only a tool for war fighting, SOCINT is needed for multiple uses, such as law enforcement operations and business. Written by an international expert, this unique book combines theoretical analysis with practical application to present and advocate for the systematic use of SOCINT to students and practitioners in intelligence studies, intelligence communities, and national security. "The Continuum Intelligence Studies Series" presents new research to enhance both the study and practice of intelligence. The volumes in CITS will focus on theory, concepts, teaching methods, new research, methodologies, best practices, and more across all fields of intelligence studies. The focus will be on contemporary issues and new research. Composed of coursebooks, monographs, practical guides, and reference works written by scholars and experts, the series is geared toward students in intelligence and security studies, as well as practitioners and policymakers.

"This book is a solid overview that is more concerned with what happened than why it happended, and a work that can be a starting-point for those who want an introduction to US-Central American relations or a dependable reference for the more knowledgeable. Although primarily concerned with getting the most important facts recorded, Findling knows when to stop and present interpretative insights (as in his page on the New Deal, which he handles critically and well). Comets come and go, but this book should have a good life as an analysis that serves as a useful reference to a relationship that remains, unfortunately for Central Americans and US foreign policy, too little understood." The International History Review

French President Charles de Gaulle (1958-1969) has consistently fascinated contemporaries and historians. His vision conceived out of national interest of uniting Europe under French leadership and overcoming the Cold War still remains relevant and appealing. De Gaulle's towering personality and his challenge to US hegemony in the Cold War have inspired a vast number of political biographies and analyses of the foreign policies of the Fifth Republic mostly from French or US angle. In contrast, this book serves to rediscover de Gaulle's global policies how they changed the Cold War. Offering truly global perspectives on France's approach to the world during de Gaulle's presidency, the 13 well-matched essays by leading experts in the field tap into newly available sources drawn from US, European, Asian, African and Latin American archives. Together, the contributions integrate previously neglected regions, actors and topics with more familiar and newly approached phenomena into a global picture of the General's international policy-making. The volume at hand is an example of how cutting-edge research benefits from multipolar and multi-archival approaches and from attention to big, middle and smaller powers as well as institutions.

This book is an introductory study of the complex security relationship that exists between the United States and Taiwan. It explains how U.S. security policy toward Taiwan has been steered primarily by Cold War calculations and how the U.S. has sought to respond creatively to the constraints on military support for Taiwan imposed by the normalization of relations with the People's Republic of China. Hickey suggests that, with the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the time has arrived for adjustments in the U.S.-Taiwan relationship. These modifications should not, however, include a change in American security policy, which should continue to serve U.S. interests in the post-Cold War environment.

With the vague intention of winning hearts and minds in Afghanistan, the US government has mismanaged billions of development and logistics dollars, bolstered the drug trade, and dumped untold millions into Taliban hands. That is the sobering message of this scathing critique of our war effort in Afghanistan. According to this book, America has already lost the war. While conducting extensive research and fieldwork in Afghanistan's war zones, a drumbeat of off-the-record and offhand remarks pointed the author to one conclusion: "We blew it." The sentiment was even blazoned across a US military fortification, as the author saw at Forward Operating Base Mehtar Lam in insurgency-wracked Laghman Province: "I glanced over at a concrete blast barrier while waiting for a helicopter," Wissing says. "Someone had spray-painted in jagged letters: 'The GAME. You Lost It.'" The author's vivid narrative takes the reader down to ground level in frontline Afghanistan. It draws on the voices of hundreds of combat soldiers, ordinary Afghans, private contractors, aid workers, international consultants, and government officials. From these contacts it became glaringly clear, as the author details, that American taxpayer dollars have been flowing into Taliban coffers, courtesy of scandalously mismanaged US development and counterinsurgency programs, with calamitous military and social consequences. This is the first book to detail the toxic embrace of American policymakers and careerists, Afghan kleptocrats, and the opportunistic Taliban. The result? US taxpayers have been footing the bill for both sides of a disastrous Afghanistan war.

Colonel David T. Twining and his colleagues look at the impact of glasnost and the collapse of the Soviet system on the military. The case study approach used allows for in-depth examination of a number of key issues. Within the former USSR, the remarkable record of sacrifice and valor by women in wartime has not been matched by equal opportunity during peacetime, where they are effectively excluded from meaningful military careers. The KGB, the world's largest security and intelligence organization, proved to be among the most resistant to reform, and this, the book contends, appears to have hastened its doom. The adoption of the rule of law was widely resisted in the Soviet armed forces, and reforms in military service have come from demands by parents and relatives that the military change its lethal ways. Soviet foreign military affairs have also been affected by glasnost. The volume looks at the influence of the war in Afghanistan in the reversal of Moscow's Middle East policy. Equally important, but unheralded, has been the re-establishment of ties with China. Together, the essays in this collection illustrate the impact of a stressed political system struggling to adapt to changing circumstances, caught between the exigencies of reform and revolt. Students and scholars involved in Soviet studies as well as contemporary military studies will find much to ponder.

Japan and China look back on a history of friendship as well as friction, particularly in recent decades. As the People's Republic of China's economy began to grow in the 1990s, so did its political weight within Asia and its economical relevance for Japan. Covering the years from 1989 to 2005, this book looks at Sino-Japanese relations through film and television drama in the crucial time of China's ascent to an economic superpower in opposition to Japan's own ailing economy. It provides an overview of how Japan views China through its visual media, offers explanations as to how oppositions between the two countries came to exist, and how and why certain myths about China have been conveyed. Griseldis Kirsch argues that the influence of visual media within society cannot be underestimated, nor should their value be lessened by them being perceived as part of 'popular culture'. Drawing on examples from a crucial 16 years in the history of post-war Japan and China, she explores to what extent these media were influenced by the political discourse of their time. In doing so, she adds another layer to the on-going debate on Sino-Japanese relations, bringing together disciplines such as media studies, history and area studies and thus filling a gap in existing research.

The book sheds new lights on the evolution of Russian space activities with a focus on their strategy of international cooperation. This analysis is carried out in relation to the evolution of the domestic and international dynamics that have been impacting the country's direction in space, with the ultimate goal of providing an assessment on their impact for current and foreseeable Europe-Russia space relations. Russia has traditionally been one of the two main strategic partners for Europe in its space endeavor. Hitherto, long-standing cooperation has been nurtured between the two actors in various areas, from scientific research to space transportation and human spaceflight. In recent years, however, a number of endogenous and exogenous developments has triggered significant changes in Russia's space posture. These changes are evident in the adjustment of Russia's space policies and programmatic goals, in the restructuring of the domestic space industry as well as in the attitude towards international space partnerships.

A Reader in the History, Culture, and Politics of Modern East Asia presents readings that encourage students to explore issues related to modernization, nationalism, the state, and national identity in China, Japan, and Korea. The reader's Introduction examines the "Washington Consensus" and its competitors, and the 21st century shift in global economic power from the Anglo-American West to China. Each of the three parts that follow is focused on a particular country. Part I explores the Chinese concept of tianxia through interpretation of the hit 2002 movie, Hero; China's household registration (hukou) system and its impacts upon migrant children in Chinese cities; and continuity and change in East Asian patterns of marriage and family. Part II examines aspects of Japanese modernization, nationalism, and state-building from the Meiji era to the present; contemporary challenges at the national level; and the vitality of local politics in this unitary state. Part III considers Korea's and China's movement from "tribute" to "treaty" relations in the 19th century; the development of Korean national identity through sport from the colonial era to 1988; changing South Korean perceptions of North Korean immigrants; and competing models of North Korea as a state. The Conclusion offers a diplomat's overview of the politics of history in East Asia. Students are then provided with a Glossary of terms and concepts. A Reader in the History, Culture, and Politics of Modern East Asia is an excellent resource for undergraduate courses in political science and Asian studies.

Image Warfare in the War on Terror provides an innovative re-examination of the war on terror. It argues that since 11 September 2001 image warfare has replaced techno-war as the dominant warfighting model. Roger suggests that it is a form of warfare in which Al Qaeda currently dominates while the West is still playing catch-up. By dealing frankly with the deployment of disturbing images generated by the 9/11 attacks - from bin Laden videos, suicide terrorism and hostage executions to prisoner abuses, Roger provides us with a new vocabulary through which these acts can be discussed and understood.

This book offers the first comprehensive assessment, from an International Relations perspective, of image warfare. Through engagement with IR, Media Studies and Visual Culture literatures, Roger introduces three new conceptual terms 'image munitions', 'counter-image munitions' and 'remediation battles'. These terms are then explored in chapters about political communications concerning Bush, Blair and bin Laden; suicides; executions and abuses.

Did the West win the Cold War? Was it a genuine or a contrived conflict? When did it begin? How was its cause related to its end? These are among the questions considered by the contributors of this volume. Asked to assess the combination of socio-political forces and events they attribute to ending the Cold War, they have come up with diverse theories that challenge the self-serving orthodoxy that claims Western military prowess, economic strength, and ideological superiority produced the triumph. The contributors consider a range of views from the contention that the West's military resolve and economic capacity forced the Soviet Union into submission to arguments focusing on U.S. and West European peace movements and East European dissent movements. Between these diametric positions, they weigh the significance of such factors as the new thinking in the Soviet Union and the intelligentsia of Eastern Europe. Through a range of many views, they provide a broad interpretive framework for understanding the Cold War's end, and suggest how that understanding is related to the solving of future conflicts.

Public Administration in the Global Village offers a global and comparative approach to the study of public administration. It examines the ongoing international changes in the field of public administration; it defines the emerging new world order and the promises and challenges that it holds for public administration; and it stipulates the effects and side effects of these changes on developing countries. The volume seeks to promote a global and comparative perspective on public administration to counter the continuing parochialism and ethnocentrism in the field.