The globalized world has witnessed the development of a number of economic integration projects, including at least two Eurasian projects: the Eurasian Union and the Belt and Road Initiative. These initiatives blur the European Union Global Strategy adjusted in 2016 to be an attempt to reconsider and enhance the role and place of the European Union as the leader in the global arena. These initiatives must be studied and considered further to understand the numerous benefits, opportunities, and challenges they face. Regional Economic Integration and Global Competition in the Post-COVID-19 Era: European Union, Eurasian Economic Union, and the Belt and Road Initiative provides insight into the reasons and consequences of the discrepancy in the legal restrictions, institutional policies, and mutual skepticism on the economic integration progress. The text is also useful in defining and promoting a regional strategy of economic integration and the creation of mutual trust. Covering a range of topics such as international trade, environmental risk management, and globalization, this reference work is ideal for policymakers, government officials, strategic decision makers, practitioners, researchers, scholars, academicians, instructors, and students.

Over the past 20 years the global political economy has experienced its most profound shifts since the onset of the industrial revolution. In South Africa and the World, Mills Soko reflects on some of the salient issues that have pervaded public discourse during this time, analysing them within the context of the contemporary South African political economy and of the country’s position in the world.

Arranged thematically, the essays were all written during a defining period in recent history, a period that has witnessed, among others, the accession of China to the WTO, the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the US, the invention of the iPad, the birth of Facebook, the 2008/9 global financial crisis, Brexit and the global coronavirus pandemic which began at the end of 2019. The turbulent multipolar world demands visionary political and economic leadership, supported by institutions well attuned to contemporary conditions. Such leadership is in short supply. Nor is the existing institutional architecture sufficiently equipped to deal with a complex array of economic, social, environmental, technological and demographic challenges.

Mills Soko highlights what has not worked in terms of politics, leadership, foreign policy, the economy, the African development trajectory, corporate ethics, international trade, global governance, and the thread which underlies all these issues – the importance of strong, decisive and accountable leadership. He counters his criticism with what has worked and offers views on how some of the problems that have constrained progress in South Africa and the world can be solved.

A central message emerges from his writings: leadership and governance matter, whether in the national or international context. It is a message that permeates all the chapters in the book. And it goes to the heart of what South Africa has gone through over the past two decades and where it is today.

Although China has been an important external actor in South Asia since the middle of the last century, it is only in the 21st century that China became a decisive influence on the region's evolution. The emergence of China as the world's second largest economy had naturally made it the largest trading partner for most of the South Asian countries. China's rapid military modernisation, facilitated by its expansive economic growth, had a major impact on the region's security politics. China's political and diplomatic weight is now visible sharply not only in the economic, foreign and security policies of the South Asian nations but also in their domestic politics.Meanwhile, India has emerged, albeit at a slower pace than China, as a major power over the last two decades. Like Beijing, New Delhi's geopolitical aspirations too have steadily risen during that period. This has set the stage for growing strategic friction between the India and China. The friction has enveloped many regional and global domains, but its greatest expression has been in the shared South Asian neighbourhood. India is determined to sustain its traditional primacy in the region and China is determined to consolidate its growing influence in South Asia. The sharpening friction has also begun to intersect with the growing great power tensions, especially between the United States and China. Many elements of these new dynamic have drawn academic engagement, in particular from the major power perspectives. However, the voices of the smaller South Asian nations have not been sufficiently heard or analysed. This volume seeks to address that major gap in the current discourse on the Indian subcontinent and its changing role in great power politics.This volume brings multiple regional voices to assess how the various South Asian nations are dealing with the growing rivalry between India and China. Many of the chapters in this volume were initially published as shorter essays by the Institute of South Asian Studies in its South Asia Discussion Papers series in 2020. Those essays have been updated and expanded in this volume. Additional contributions have also been commissioned to enrich the special perspectives that this volume presents.

In Neutrality as a Policy Choice for Small/Weak Democracies: Learning from the Belgian Experience, Michael F. Palo has three main objectives. First, he employs a counterfactual approach to examine the hypothesis that had permanent neutrality not been imposed on Belgium in 1839, it would have pursued neutrality anyway until war broke out in 1914. Secondly, he analyses why, after abandoning obligatory neutrality during World War I, the Belgians adopted voluntary neutrality in October 1936. Finally, he seeks to use the historical Belgian case study to test specific International Relations' Theories and to contribute to Small State Studies, especially the behaviour of small/weak democracies in the international system.

In turbulent global times, your study of this subject is increasingly necessary and urgent. Featuring a new chapter on critical theories, and revised to take a less Eurocentric approach to concepts and case studies, this new edition allows you to tackle global politics' important concepts, debates and problems: -How can theories help us to understand the politics of a global pandemic? -Do we live in a 'post-truth' world of 'fake news' and disinformation? -Does international aid work? -Does the United States remain a global hegemon? -What is the Anthropocene and how does it shape global politics? -Are global politics constrained by a 'North-South' divide? -What are the possible futures of global politics - and the politics of outer space? Delving into topics as diverse as anarchy, intersectionality, Confucianism, and neoconservatism, boxed features give you confidence in political analysis: -Focus on: learn more about the global colour line or the tragedy of the commons -Key figures: discuss the ideas of Hans Morgenthau, Frantz Fanon or bell hooks -Debating: argue whether the United Nations are obsolete, or whether nuclear weapons promote peace -Global politics in action: apply your learning to the migration crisis in Europe or the Arab Spring -Approaches to: consider human rights or the Covid-19 pandemic from the perspective of realist, liberal, postcolonial, Marxist, feminist, constructivist and post-structuralist theory -Global actors: understand the significance of Black Lives Matter, Amnesty International or the International Monetary Fund. Spanning the development of global politics, from the early origins of globalization through to the return of multipolarity in the twenty-first century, this is an essential text for undergraduates studying global politics and international relations.

Today more than one hundred small, asymmetric, and revolutionary wars are being waged around the world. This book provides invaluable tools for fighting such wars by taking enemy perspectives into consideration. The third volume of a trilogy by Max G. Manwaring, it continues the arguments the author presented in "Insurgency, Terrorism, and Crime" and "Gangs, Pseudo-Militaries, and Other Modern Mercenaries." Using case studies, Manwaring outlines vital survival lessons for leaders and organizations concerned with national security in our contemporary world.
The insurgencies Manwaring describes span the globe. Beginning with conflicts in Algeria in the 1950s and 1960s and El Salvador in the 1980s, he goes on to cover the Shining Path and its resurgence in Peru, Al Qaeda in Spain, popular militias in Cuba, Haiti, and Brazil, the Russian youth group Nashi, and drugs and politics in Guatemala, as well as cyber warfare.
Large, wealthy, well-armed nations such as the United States have learned from experience that these small wars and insurgencies do not resemble traditional wars fought between geographically distinct nation-state adversaries by easily identified military forces. Twenty-first-century irregular conflicts blur traditional distinctions among crime, terrorism, subversion, insurgency, militia, mercenary and gang activity, and warfare.
Manwaring's multidimensional paradigm offers military and civilian leaders a much needed blueprint for achieving strategic victories and ensuring global security now and in the future. It combines military and police efforts with politics, diplomacy, economics, psychology, and ethics. The challenge he presents to civilian and military leaders is to take probable enemy perspectives into consideration, and turn resultant conceptions into strategic victories.

Do we have moral duties to people in distant parts of the world? If so, how demanding are these duties? And how can they be reconciled with our obligations to fellow citizens? Every year, millions of people die from poverty-related causes while countless others are forced to flee their homes to escape from war and oppression. At the same time, many of us live comfortably in safe and prosperous democracies. Yet our lives are bound up with those of the poor and dispossessed in multiple ways: our clothes are manufactured in Asian sweatshops; the oil that fuels our cars is purchased from African and Middle Eastern dictators; and our consumer lifestyles generate environmental changes that threaten Bangladeshi peasants with drought and famine. These facts force us to re-evaluate our conduct and to ask whether we must do more for those who have less. Helping students to grapple with big questions surrounding justice, human rights, and equality, this comprehensive yet accessible textbook features chapters on a variety of pressing issues such as immigration, international trade, war, and climate change. Suitable for undergraduate and graduate students alike, the book also serves as a philosophical primer for politicians, activists, and anyone else who cares about justice.

The third in a new series, the Contemporary Archive of the Islamic World (CAIW), this title draws on the resources of Cambridge-based World of Information, which since 1975 has followed the politics and economics of the region. Kuwait's documented history begins in the mid-19th Century. Its location established it as an important entrepot at the head of the Arabian Gulf. Notionally under Ottoman rule, it became a de facto protectorate of Great Britain. The discovery of oil changed Kuwait beyond recognition. It gained full independence in 1971 and was long considered the most developed state in the Gulf. Coveted by Iraq, it was invaded in 1990. It also played a part in the2003 invasion of Iraq.

Covering from 1915 to the present, this book deals with the role that artists and intellectuals have played regarding projects of European integration. Consciously or not, they partake of a tradition of Euroskepticism. Because Euroskepticism is often associated with the discourse of political elites, its literary and artistic expressions have gone largely unnoticed. This book addresses that gap. Taking Spain as a case study, author Luis Martin-Estudillo analyzes its conflict over its own Europeanness or exceptionalism, as well as the European view of Spain. He ranges from canonical writers like Unamuno, Ortega y Gasset, and Zambrano to new media artists like Valeriano Lopez, Carlos Spottorno, and Santiago Sierra. Martin-Estudillo provides a new context for the current refugee crisis, the North-South divide among EU countries, and the generalized disaffection toward the project of European integration. The eclipsed critical tradition he discusses contributes to a deeper understanding of the notion of Europe and its institutional embodiments. It gives resonance to the intellectual and cultural history of Europe's ""peripheries"" and re-evaluates Euroskeptic contributions as one of the few hopes left to imagine ways to renew the promise of a union of the European nations.

The Cold War did not culminate in World War III as so many in the 1950s and 1960s feared, yet it spawned a host of military engagements that affected millions of lives. This book is the first comprehensive, multinational overview of military affairs during the early Cold War, beginning with conflicts during World War II in Warsaw, Athens, and Saigon and ending with the Cuban Missile Crisis.
A major theme of this account is the relationship between government policy and military preparedness and strategy. Author Jonathan M. House tells of generals engaging in policy confrontations with their governments' political leaders--among them Anthony Eden, Nikita Khrushchev, and John F. Kennedy--many of whom made military decisions that hamstrung their own political goals. In the pressure-cooker atmosphere of atomic preparedness, politicians as well as soldiers seemed instinctively to prefer military solutions to political problems. And national security policies had military implications that took on a life of their own. The invasion of South Korea convinced European policy makers that effective deterrence and containment required building up and maintaining credible forces. Desire to strengthen the North Atlantic alliance militarily accelerated the rearmament of West Germany and the drive for its sovereignty.
In addition to examining the major confrontations, nuclear and conventional, between Washington, Moscow, and Beijing--including the crises over Berlin and Formosa--House traces often overlooked military operations against the insurgencies of the era, such as French efforts in Indochina and Algeria and British struggles in Malaya, Kenya, Cyprus, and Aden. Now, more than fifty years after the events House describes, understanding the origins and trajectory of the Cold War is as important as ever. By the late 1950s, the United States had sent forces to Vietnam and the Middle East, setting the stage for future conflicts in both regions. House's account of the complex relationship between diplomacy and military action directly relates to the insurgencies, counterinsurgencies, and confrontations that now occupy our attention across the globe.

In 1992 David Owen was appointed the EU Co-Chairman of the International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia, working alongside the UN's Co-Chairman, Cyrus Vance. The papers collected here provide fascinating primary source material and an insider's account of the intense international political activity at that time, which culminated in the Vance-Owen Peace Plan (VOPP). At a time when the international community is looking again at whether and how the Dayton Accords and the 1995 division into two entities should be adjusted in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Owen highlights elements of the VOPP which are of continuing relevance and which can guide political debate and decisions in 2012 and thereafter. Sadly, Bosnia-Herzegovina is still deeply divided, a direct consequence of not imposing the VOPP. The book reminds the international community and the people of Bosnia-Herzegovina that a unified structure for their country is still achievable.

In the new world order, conflicts between countries are increasing. Fluctuations in the economy and imbalances in the distribution of scarce resources to developing countries can result in wars. The effect of the recent COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis has caused changes in the strategies and policies of countries. Technological changes and developments have also triggered cyber wars. Despite this, many countries prefer to fight on the field. The damage to the international economy of wars, which kills civilians and causes serious damage to developing countries, is a current issue. The Handbook of Research on War Policies, Strategies, and Cyber Wars examines the factors that lead to war and the damages caused by war strategies and policies. It is a guide for future generations to develop constructive policies and strategies for living in a peaceful world. Covering topics such as geopolitical consequences, civil liberty, and terrorism, this major reference work is a dynamic resource for policymakers, strategists, government officials, politicians, sociologists, students and educators of higher education, librarians, researchers, and academicians.

This book presents thirteen chapters which probe the "tales less told" and "pathways less traveled" in refugee camp living. Rohingya camps in Bangladesh since August 2017 supply these "tales" and "pathways". They dwell upon/reflect camp violence, sexual/gender discrimination, intersectionality, justice, the sudden COVID camp entry, human security, children education, innovation, and relocation plans. Built largely upon field trips, these narratives interestingly interweave with both theoretical threads (hypotheses) and tapestries (net-effects), feeding into the security-driven pulls of political realism, or disseminating from humanitarian-driven socioeconomic pushes, but mostly combining them. Post-ethnic cleansing and post-exodus windows open up a murky future for Rohingya and global refugees. We learn of positive offshoots (of camp innovations exposing civil society relevance) and negative (like human and sex trafficking beyond Bangladeshi and Myanmar borders), as of navigating (a) local-global linkages of every dynamic and (b) fast-moving current circumstances against stoic historical leftovers.

'For centuries, it was taken for granted that the West determined the rules of the global game. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, it was the Europeans. In the 20th century, it was the Americans. Now we find ourselves at the dawn of an epochal, worldwide transformation. For the first time, the global center of power is shifting towards Asia.'Frank Sieren Future? China! is the first book that comprehensively examines the influence of a new superpower on all continents and aspects of life. The book explains how China is changing the western-dominated world order to a multi-polar world order - from the perspective of a European who has been living in China for almost three decades. The book argues that the times in which the West sets the standards are over. For the first time in centuries, an Asian country is assuming the position of being a world power. The Chinese are already questioning values that we consider to be universal.China, the new superpower, already contributes to well over 30 percent of the global economic growth. The author believes China is only at the beginning of its ascent. He explains how the Middle Kingdom is expanding its influence throughout the world: whether in the automobile industry, which China is revolutionizing thanks to electric mobility and autonomous driving; or in the field of digitalization and artificial intelligence, where China is on a level-pegging with the USA; whether in Africa, where China has long since been investing in mineral deposits, infrastructure but also in light industry and creating trillions of jobs; or on the scale of the new Silk Road, a one trillion-dollar project, which reaches up to Duisburg and for which China has won the support of numerous Eastern European states.

This book addresses the possibilities of analyzing the modern international through the thought of Michel Foucault. The broad range of authors brought together in this volume question four of the most self-evident characteristics of our contemporary world-'international', 'neoliberal', 'biopolitical' and 'global'- and thus fill significant gaps in both international and Foucault studies. The chapters discuss what a Foucauldian perspective does or does not offer for understanding international phenomena while also questioning many appropriations of Foucault's work. This transdisciplinary volume will serve as a reference for both scholars and students of international relations, international political sociology, international political economy, political theory/philosophy and critical theory more generally.

The early 20th-century world experienced a growth in international cooperation. Yet the dominant historical view of the period has long been one of national, military, and social divisions rather than connections. International Cooperation in the Early Twentieth Century revises this historical consensus by providing a more focused and detailed analysis of the many ways in which people interacted with each other across borders in the early decades of the 20th century. It devotes particular attention to private and non-governmental actors. Daniel Gorman focuses on international cooperation, international social movements, various forms of cultural internationalism, imperial and anti-imperial internationalism, and the growth of cosmopolitan ideas. The book incorporates a non-Western focus alongside the transatlantic core of early 20th-century internationalism. It interweaves analyses of international anti-colonial networks, ideas emanating from non-Western sites of influence such as Japan, China and Turkey, the emergence of networks of international indigenous peoples in resistance to a state-centric international system, and diaspora and transnational ethno-cultural-religious identity networks.

A Journey with Margaret Thatcher is an extraordinary insider's account of British foreign policy under Margaret Thatcher by one of her key advisers. Providing a closeup view of the Iron Lady in action, former high-ranking diplomat Robin Renwick examines her diplomatic successes - including the defeat of aggression in the Falklands, what the Americans felt to be the excessive influence she exerted on Ronald Reagan, her special relationship with Mikhail Gorbachev and contribution to the ending of the Cold War, the Anglo-Irish agreement, her influence with de Klerk in South Africa and relationship with Nelson Mandela - and what she herself acknowledged as her spectacular failure in resisting German reunification. He describes at first hand her often turbulent relationship with other European leaders and her arguments with her Cabinet colleagues about European monetary union (in which regard, he contends, her arguments have stood the test of time better and are highly relevant to the crisis in the eurozone today). Finally, the book tells of her bravura performance in the run up to the Gulf War, her calls for intervention in Bosnia and the difficulties she created for her successor. While her faults were on the same scale as her virtues, Margaret Thatcher succeeded in her mission to restore Britain's standing and influence, in the process becoming a cult figure in many other parts of the world.

Bridging East and West explores the literary evolution of Ol'ha Kobylians'ka, one of Ukraine's foremost modernist writers. Investigating themes of feminism, populism, Nietzscheanism, nationalism, and fascism in her works, this study presents an alternative intellectual genealogy in turn-of-the-century European arts and letters whose implications reach far beyond the field of Ukrainian studies. For feminist scholars, Bridging East and West makes accessible a thorough account of a central, yet overlooked, woman writer who served as a model and a contributor within a major cultural tradition. For those working in Victorian studies or comparative fascism and for those interested in Nietzsche and his influence on European intellectuals, Kobylians'ka emerges in this study as an unlikely, but no less active, trailblazer in the social and aesthetic theories that would define European debates about culture, science, and politics in the first half of the twentieth century. For those interested in questions of transnationalism and intersectionality, this study's discussion of Kobylians'ka's hybrid cultural identity and philosophical program exemplifies cultural interchange and irreducible complexities of cultural identity.