![]() |
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
|
Your cart is empty |
||
|
Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > International relations > General
The decisions to negotiate in the South African and Israeli/Palestinian conflicts can be understood in terms of changed perceptions of threat among political elites and their constituents. As perceptions of an imminent threat to national survival receded, debate over national security policy became a focus of internal politics on the government sides in each case and prompted changes of leadership. The new leaders, F.W. de Klerk and Yitzhak Rabin, faced emerging threats at the national and international levels that made negotiation seem advantageous. Lieberfeld analyzes the decisions of the opposition ANC and PLO in terms of changing threat perceptions and incentives for compromise. Lieberfeld also evaluates developments since the breakthrough agreements. He concludes by identifying revised indicators of conflicts' ripeness for negotiated settlement and discussing their applicability to other cases of intense, protracted conflict.
Providing a coherent and current account of how the U.S. manages to 'pivot to Asia' amid a rising China, this book provides an insightful glimpse into China-US relations, and the complexities of the two nations' economic and defense issues as China asserts is financial and military might in Asia and beyond.
At a time when our national security and defense is being hotly debated, this intriguing new book boldly challenges the pivotal concepts underlying much of the arguments on both sides of the debate. In a path-breaking economic analysis that presents the foundations of true security policy, The Ultimate Deterrent argues that both the United States and the Soviet Union are inherently secure from invasion, nuclear blackmail, or domination by each other. According to the author, their competitive process is a stable one because they have only limited zones of interest near their own borders, making strategic military defense unnecessary and provocative. Using economic analysis to define the superpower's true spheres of interest, the book develops a new meaning for national interest, recognizing the futility of self-destructive defense, as illustrated by Vietnam and Afghanistan.
The dangerous, decades-long arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War begged a fundamental question: how did these superpowers actually plan to survive a nuclear strike? In Armageddon Insurance, the first historical account of Soviet civil defense and a pioneering reappraisal of its American counterpart, Edward M. Geist compares how the two superpowers tried, and mostly failed, to reinforce their societies to withstand the ultimate catastrophe. Drawing on previously unexamined documents from archives in America, Russia, and Ukraine, Geist places these civil defense programs in their political and cultural contexts, demonstrating how each country's efforts reflected its cultural preoccupations and blind spots, and revealing how American and Soviet civil defense related to profound issues of nuclear strategy and national values. This work challenges prevailing historical assumptions and unearths the ways Moscow and Washington developed nuclear weapons policies based not on rational strategic or technical considerations, but in power struggles between different institutions pursuing their own narrow self-interests.
A collection of documents from 1941 to 1951 stating America's foreign policy.
While the rise of China has long been an accepted fact of international economic and political relations, the more recent rise of India as an economic power has provoked intense global interest. This book presents a Chinese assessment of how China and India see themselves each in relation to the other, focusing on their experiences of modernization and economic reform and their ramifications on each country's role in global affairs. Eschewing the geo-political idiom of competition and rivalry between emerging Asian giants, the book seeks to understand the parallel, complementary, convergent and divergent development experiences from a more self-consciously geo-civilizational perspective, contextualizing developments in both the short-term framework of independent nationhood, against the more immediate background of nationalist and anti-imperialist struggles, and in the longue duree of shared, continental histories.
Criminalized power structures (CPS) are illicit networks that profit from transactions in black markets and from criminalized state institutions while perpetuating a culture of impunity. The book articulates a typology for assessing the threats of CPS and for implementing appropriate strategies to achieve sustainable peace effectively and efficiently. The international case studies address interventions undertaken either to support the implementation of a peace agreement (i.e., a peace operation) or to stabilize a country entangled in an internal conflict in the context of a power-sharing agreement among key protagonists (i.e., a stability operation). In each of these cases, at least one of the parties to the agreement was a criminalized power structure that was a leading spoiler. The final chapter identifies strategies that are most effective for each type of CPS, including the ways and means (or tools) required for effective conflict transformation. A companion volume, Combating Criminalized Power Structures: A Toolkit, provides practitioners with the means of coping with the challenges posed by CPS.
This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on bloomsburycollections.com. This book studies the processes which lead to explosion of civil strife and tries to spell out the policy options available to address the challenges faced by post-conflict economies. It calls for a more integrated policy approach which can gradually repair trust in public institutions as it addresses the vulnerabilities and grievances that helped start the process. Usually, such societies do not have the luxury of meeting the goals of security, reconciliation and development in a measured or sequenced manner: to avoid an immediate return to violence they must begin the recovery process on all fronts simultaneously.
This text analyzes the foreign policy decision-making processes of Presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama during military intervention by way of contemporary foreign policy decision-making models (FPDMs).
In 1992, Vasili Mitrokhin, a former KGB archivist, snuck out of Russia carrying with him a vast cache of transcriptions of top-secret KGB intelligence files. The FBI later described his trove of documents as "the most complete and extensive intelligence ever achieved from any source." Renowned historian Christopher Andrew had exclusive access to both Mitrokhin and his archive. In 1999, they published the explosive bestseller The Sword and the Shield, which provided a complete account of KGB operations in Europe and America. In The World Was Going Our Way, Andrew now chronicles the KGB's extensive penetration of governments throughout the Third World-the battlefield on which the U.S.S.R. sought to achieve global supremacy. Andrew's definitive account fundamentally revises the history of the Cold War, and sheds new light on the state of the world today. The KGB worked tirelessly for decades to foster anti-Americanism in the developing world, making this book essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the intractable hostility America faces in the ongoing war on terror.
In the depths of the Cold War and in the wake of Britain's announcement of its intention to withdraw 'East of Suez' by the end of 1971, Britain was faced with the stark reality of a Marxist rebellion in the Dhofar province of Oman. This rebellion, whose explicit aim was to 'liberate' the oil-rich Gulf region, confronted the British with the challenge of securing a political order in Oman conducive to protecting Britain's remaining interests in the midst of its military withdrawal from the region. 'State Building and Counter Insurgency in Oman' offers a nuanced picture of Britain's response to the challenges posed by this withdrawal, through an examination the complex Anglo-Omani relationship at this vital juncture in Middle East and Imperial History. James Worrall offers an examination of how officials in London and the Gulf defined British interests in Oman, and the debates that raged throughout Whitehall, under the successive governments led by Wilson and Heath, about how to best tackle the growing insurgency in Oman.The means by which this challenge was to be met (including the extent of both overt and covert support for the Sultan) in the post-Suez era, posed a number of challenges for decision-makers in Whitehall. The military, economic and diplomatic assistance given to the Omani government to re-establish Sultanate control and crush the rebellion in Dhofar is thus analysed within the context of a complex balancing act, as British politicians and officials tried to reconcile their attempts to create effective and centralised Omani administration and security bodies whilst maintaining the image of strategic withdrawal and the sovereign independence of Oman. Drawing extensively from newly released archival records and interviews with former officials and high-ranking officers, this book provides a systematic re-examination of the Anglo-Omani relationship during the critical years of Oman's transformation into a modern state. It will therefore provide vital information and analysis for students and researchers of Middle East History and Politics, the decline and end of empire and the policymaking processes at the heart of an imperial and military withdrawal.
In the major literature on early modern Japan, the sakoku (closed country) edicts lurk in the background, and while scholars are generally aware of the major tenets of the policy, for example, the inability of Japanese to travel abroad or the clampdown on Christianity, the specifics of the edicts have yet to be studied in detail despite its potential to reveal much about this era of Japan's history. This work seeks to clarify the seventeen-article sakoku edicts of 1635 as well as to situate the edicts in the general foreign policy of seventeenth-century Edo Japan. This book will also examine a number of other policies that evolved in the first half of the seventeenth century to complete what is commonly (and somewhat erroneously) referred to as the "closed-country period." A great number of works on European and Chinese interactions with Japan have appeared over the past few decades, and most of them have done a fine job of dispensing with the myth that Japan was somehow hermetically sealed from the outside world. Scholars are aware that the Dutch played a large role in keeping the shogun informed about affairs in Europe, and that the Chinese were coming to Japan in ever greater numbers. They are also aware of the relationship between Japan and Korea. However, the fact remains that the Tokugawa did take pains to regulate the interactions of Europeans with Japan, and these measures are generally found in the various edicts passed by the bakufu in the first half of the seventeenth century. This book translates and illuminates the specific machinery of Japan's foreign relations, especially as it pertained to European trade and Christianity. In so doing, this study will situate the edicts--which are largely taken for granted, even though little has been studied--in Japan's early modern history. There are two insights this book presents. First of all, the study will demonstrate that the sakoku edicts were not a monolithic piece of legislation, but rather they evolved over time. The edicts against Christianity, the expulsion of the Spanish and the Portuguese, and the establishment of the machinery to regulate foreign trade were all responses to historical stimuli, and as such evolved in response to Japan's interactions with Europe and European trade and ideas. Second, this work will show that, ironically, the Tokugawa control of Japan's foreign policy was meant to strengthen its domestic control, especially vis-a-vis the powerful daimyo of western Japan, who traditionally profited with relations with the West. Therefore, there is much more to the sakoku edicts than simply the regulation of Japan's relations with foreigners. This book will appeal to the wider academic community working on pre-modern and early modern Japan. It will also be of value to those whose work involves the expansion of Europe into Asia, as well as European-Asian interactions. Written in a highly accessible style, this book will be of interest to even the casual reader of Japanese history.
This comparative work examines the political role played by armed forces in South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Taiwan. The work brings together theory and empirical study, analyzing how security threats have shaped the military's organization, doctrine, and domestic political role at various stages of political development, from the state-building period to today's post-democratization era. Using four representative case studies, Woo sets to answer: What determines the armed forces' political influence? How does it affect political development? How do democratically elected leaders establish civilian control over them? The book first looks at how security threats led to military expansion and authoritarianism at the onset of the Cold War. Next, it examines military dictatorial rule, followed by a study of the military's withdrawal process during democratization. Lastly, it focuses on contemporary civil-military dynamics in the four countries, discussing the obstacles faced by civilian authority and what maybe the most desirable model for civil-military relations in post-democratization Asian societies. "Security Challenges and Military Politics in East Asia" will be an essential resource for anyone studying Asian political development, civil-military relations, and comparative democratization.
Innovation in the world's institutions and global politics as well as in the physical environment and practices of the contemporary societies has raised the need for specific and up-to-date knowledge about the politics and policies of relief, aid and reconstruction. This book advances the political analysis of international disaster policies which have been mostly in the domain of other social sciences. Exploring the formation of this field of study, this collection analyses the most recent disaster events including the Haiti earthquake, the tsunami in the Pacific Ocean and the genocide in Rwanda and Former Yugoslavia. Broadly linked to constructivism and neo-institutionalism, this book also looks at the impact of these cooperation policies on the governance of the present global system.
Gardner explores the global ramifications of the NATO-Russian relationship. He argues that NATO enlargement into Central Europe risks the overextension of NATO's political consensus and could provoke Russia and other states that do not expect to become full members of the alliance. He concludes by proposing an alternative system of security for the region. Gardner explores the global ramifications of the NATO-Russian relationship. He examines NATO's Partnership for Peace initiative as it relates to Russia, and he argues that NATO risks provoking Russia and other states that do not expect to become full members of the alliance. He contends that if NATO and Russia cannot reach a compromise over a new system of security in Central and Eastern Europe, then Russia could adopt an increasingly assertive Eurasian stance by more closely aligning with potentially anti-Western states such as Belarus, China, India, Iraq, and Iran. Likewise, the possibility of a renewed division of Europe cannot be ruled out. Gardner asserts that it is absolutely necessary to draw Russia into a concerted relationship with the United States and the European Union. He concludes by formulating a viable system of cooperative-collective security for all Central and Eastern European states backed by conjoint NATO, European, and Russian security guarantees. This is a thoughtful and provocative analysis of great interest to policymakers and students of international relations and contemporary defense issues.
Anglo-Irish relations in the 20th century can be described as being close but tortuous. This paradox is fused with Ireland's geographical: both isolation from Europe and proximity to the main island of the British archipelago. Using a geopolitical analysis, based on the theories of Sir Halford MacKinder, this text offers an understanding of the strategic imperatives that have driven British policy throughout the events of the 20th century. It presents a different perspective on the reality of Irish neutrality, and the importance of Northern Ireland in the Battle of the Atlantic during the Second World War. Furthermore, using US archival material, it gives an insight into Ireland's geopolitical importance in the First World War, and her contribution to victory against the German U-boats.
The first English-language monograph on the Slovak-Polish border in 1918-47 explores the interplay of politics, diplomacy, moral principles and self-determination. This book argues that the failure to reconcile strategic objectives with territorial claims could cost a higher price than the geographical size of the disputed region would indicate.
This volume analyzes changing patterns of authority in the global
political economy with an in-depth look at the new roles played by
state and non-state actors, and addresses key themes including the
provision of global public goods, new modes of regulation and the
potential of new institutions for global governance.
Combining theoretical and empirical insights, this book provides an in-depth analysis of South Asia's transition in the areas of democracy, political economy and security since the end of the Cold War. It provides a close scrutiny to the state of democracy and political economy in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Tadjoeddin uniquely explores four types of violent conflicts pertinent to contemporary Indonesia (secessionist, ethnic, routine-everyday and electoral violence), and seeks to discover what socio-economic development can do to overcome conflict and make the country's transition to democracy safe for its constituencies.
The book challenges the idea that processes of globalization are leading to an increasing homogenization of news on a worldwide scale by focusing on two defining crises of our time--9/11 and the War in Afghanistan. The empirical analysis combines process-tracing, as well as both quantitative and qualitative content analysis of governmental discourses and news coverage of eight elite newspapers across the US, France, Italy and Pakistan. It develops a new multidisciplinary framework to explain news that brings together previously distinct levels of analysis: the micro level of the individual decisions made by journalists, the organizational environment of the news organization, national social and political contexts, the macro level of international relations. The book is going to be of interest primarily to academics and researchers, postgraduate students across communications, media studies, journalism, politics and international relations, as well as journalists, media practitioners and officials involved in public communication.
This volume is the second book based on comparative and comprehensive data from the 2003 representative European Union Company survey of Operating hours, Working times and Employment (EUCOWE) in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom. The EUCOWE project is the first representative and standardised European company survey which covers all categories of firm sizes and all sectors of the economy. This volume complements and builds on the first book published in 2007, in which the methodology and the descriptive national findings as well as some first comparative analytical results were presented. In this second book the EUCOWE research team presents in-depth cross-country analyses of the relationship between operating hours, working times and employment in the European Union. Six empirical chapters of this volume provide detailed comparative analyses of the determinants and consequences of the duration and flexibility of opening hours and operating times.
After one of the most controversial and divisive periods in the
history of American foreign policy under President George W. Bush,
the Obama administration was expected to make changes for the
better in US relations with the wider world. Now, international
problems confronting Obama appear more intractable, and there seems
to be a marked continuity in policies between Obama and his
predecessor.
How have long-standing and unconscious secular assumptions about religion shaped the post-9/11 climate and its wars? Stacey Gutkowski explores this little-examined, yet crucial, element of British perceptions of and policy towards Jihadism over the last decade, to draw critical conclusions about the relationship between war and the secular. She points to a surprisingly coherent body of secular beliefs that have fuelled policies in Iraq, Afghanistan and counter-terrorism, and that have had mixed results - responsible for both positive strategies and tragic errors. The theory Gutkowski develops on the impact of this secular approach to warfare holds a broader global significance, and cannot be viewed as just a British phenomenon. This book addresses ongoing and critical debates, such as the 'overreach' of Western liberal interventionism in the Middle East, and speaks to policy-makers, security analysts and students of IR, Foreign Policy and Security Studies. |
You may like...
The Asian Aspiration - Why And How…
Greg Mills, Olusegun Obasanjo, …
Paperback
|