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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > International relations > General
This book examines the political economy of the states of Pacific Asia, stretching from Japan to Burma since the end of WWII. "Governance in Pacific Asia" offers a comprehensive account of the diverse experiences of the states in Pacific Asia. Organized thematically around government and business relations in the main sectors of the economy, chapters cover the historical, social, and cultural contexts for such policies as well as the social and political consequences of rapid economic development. They also discuss the increasing economic integration of the region as well as its impact on global affairs and the reverse effect of globalization upon particular political systems. Each chapter contains case studies and examples from anywhere in the region, with some countries appearing more regularly, such as China, Japan, newly industrialized economies, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam. "Governance in Pacific Asia" provides an in-depth comparative survey of a key region in world politics and political economy. An essential text that includes sources from the region in at least three languages (Chinese, Japanese, and Indonesian/Malay), it will be of interest to students and faculty in international relations, developmental politics, Asian politics, and political economy.
The twin categories of the state and nature collectively embody some of the most fundamental reference points around which our lives and thinking are organized. Despite their combined significance, however, the complex relationships that exist between modern states and nature remain under-theorized and are relatively unexplored. Through a detailed study of different sites, moments, and framing strategies The Nature of the State challenges the ways in which geographers and social scientists approach the study of state-nature relations. The authors analyse different instances of state-nature interaction from all over the world, considering the geo-politics of resource conflicts, the operation of natural history museums, the organizational practices of environmental departments and ministries, the regulation of genetic science, and contemporary forms of state intervention within issues of climate change. Introducing original research into the different institutional, spatial, and temporal strategies used by states to frame the natural world this book provides a critical overview of the latest political and ecological theories and addresses a wide range of pressing socio-environmental debates.
This book focuses on the implementation of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a multi-billion-dollar infrastructure development project intended to connect Asia with Europe, the Middle East and Africa. By introducing a new analytical approach to the study of economic corridors, it gauges the anticipated economic and geopolitical impacts on the region and discusses whether the CPEC will serve as a pioneer project for future regional cooperation between and integration of sub-national regions such as Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, and Gilgit-Baltistan. Further, it explores the interests, expectations and policy approaches of both Chinese and Pakistani local and central governments with regard to the CPEC's implementation. Given its scope, the book will appeal to regional and spatial sciences scholars, as well as social scientists interested in the regional impacts of economic corridors. It also offers valuable information for policymakers in countries participating in the Belt-and-Road Initiative or other Chinese-supported development projects.
This book represents a unique endeavor to elucidate the story of Kosovo's unilateral quest for statehood. It is an inquiry into the international legal aspects and processes that shaped and surrounded the creation of the state of Kosovo. Being created outside the post-colonial context, Kosovo offers a unique yet controversial example of state emergence both in the theory and practice of creation of states. Accordingly, the book investigates the legal pathways, strategies, developments and policy positions of international agencies/actors and regional players (in particular the EU) that helped Kosovo to establish its independence and gradually acquire statehood. Although contested, Kosovo, and its quest for statehood, represents a unique example of successful unilateral secession. The book therefore explores and analyses patterns of state formation and nation-building in Kosovo, and its transition to democracy. It presents a three-level assessment. First, seen from a historical perspective, the book examines the validity of the right of Kosovar-Albanians to self-determination and remedial secession. Second, from a legal positivist perspective, it scrutinizes all of the legalist arguments that support Kosovo's right to statehood, and claims that both traditional and legality-based criteria for statehood remain insufficient to determine whether Kosovo has achieved statehood. Third, from a post-factum perspective, the book analyzes the scope and extent to which the internationally blended element was decisive in Kosovo's state-formation and state-building processes. It explains how the EU's involvement as an 'internationally blended element' in Kosovo's efforts to achieve statehood was instrumental and played a crucial role in shaping the emerging state. In particular, the book elaborates on how the EU was able to streamline its mode of intervention in the context of state-building and reform.
This work is a unique single source for information on the foreign policy-wars, treaties, initiatives, and doctrines-of all 43 presidents of the United States. From George Washington's isolationism to the Monroe Doctrine of hemispheric right to domination to Teddy Roosevelt's imperialism through George W. Bush's global war against terror, U.S. foreign policy has charted a varied course. As the area where the president has the most freedom of action, foreign policy can, and often does, change precipitously, according to the incumbent's view of the world. No other branch of government rivals the president's role in America's rise from liberal republic to global superpower. This work brings together the scholarship of leading historians and political scientists to present in-depth examination of the foreign policy of each president of the United States. This thorough presentation covers all aspects of international relations; although the work is not primarily interpretive, it does not shy from pointing out both notable successes and failures. The book's 43 essays present quick access to the whole of the history of American foreign policy. 42 essays-one per president-from leading historians and political scientists Primary source documents such as Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural address, John L. O'Sullivan on manifest destiny, and James K. Polk's war message A detailed chronology provides a convenient overview of the whole history of American foreign policy A bibliography following each section gives access to additional resources for more extensive research
"War presidents" are hardly exceptional in modern American history. To a greater or lesser extent, every president since Wilson has been a War President. Each has committed our country to the pursuit of peace, yet involved us in a seemingly endless series of wars--conflicts that the American foreign policy establishment has generally made worse. The chief reason, argues Angelo Codevilla in "Advice to War Presidents," is that America's leaders have habitually imagined the world as they wished it to be rather than as it is: They acted under the assumptions that war is not a normal tool of statecraft but a curable disease, and that all the world's peoples wish to live as Americans do. As a result, our leaders have committed America to the grandest of ends while constantly subverting their own goals. Employing many negative examples from the Bush II administration but also ranging widely over the last century, "Advice to War Presidents" offers a primer on the unchanging principles of foreign policy. Codevilla explains the essentials--focusing on realities such as diplomacy, alliances, war, economic statecraft, intelligence, and prestige, rather than on meaningless phrases like "international community," "peacekeeping" and "collective security." Not a realist, neoconservative, or a liberal internationalist, Codevilla follows an older tradition: that of historians like Thucydides, Herodotus, and Winston Churchill--writers who analyzed international affairs without imposing false categories. "Advice to War Presidents" is an effort to talk our future presidents down from their rhetorical highs and get them to practice statecraft rather than wishful thinking, lest they give us further violence.
The collapse of the Ottoman Empire resulted in the birth of new nation states in the Balkans in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. "Conflicting Loyalties in the Balkans" explores the effects of the Ottoman reform era upon Balkan societies in order to shed much-needed light on the history of this region during the early nation-state period. Focusing on developments which go beyond the over-researched dimension of political or elite discourse, this book offers insights into the complex ways in which Balkan societies were transformed from different regional viewpoints -- focusing on the interplay between Great Power politics, state reforms and social dynamics on the ground. A thorough investigation of the conflicting loyalties which has shaped the political framework of the post-Ottoman Balkans, this is an important and fascinating insight into the logic and contradictions of daily life in a crucial period of Balkan and Ottoman history.
“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia” – Winston Churchill, 5 March 1946 Following the Allies’ victory in World War II, the European continent was soon divided into two broad zones of influence, with Eastern Europe coming under communist Soviet control, and the west under the oversight of the liberal democracies led by the United States. What developed over the next 40 years was a military and ideological stand-off that defined Europe and much of the world until 1989. In countries such as Germany, the Cold War divided families between the two zones of control. The two opponents competed for global dominance, building up ever greater arsenals of nuclear weapons, funding and fighting costly proxy wars in Southeast Asia, Africa and Central America, deploying espionage and trade embargoes, and even seeking technological advantage in space exploration, which became known as the “Space Race”. The Cold War provides a pictorial examination of this crucial era in 20th century history, offering the reader an instant understanding of the key events and figures in this 40-year period through 150 dramatic photographs.
A critical tool for the study of U.S. history, this volume offers an analysis of important documents and decisions in U.S. foreign policy from George Washington to Barack Obama. The study of historical primary documents provides a uniquely beneficial and insightful view into history. To that end, U.S. Foreign Policy: A Documentary and Reference Guide presents and interprets important documents from throughout U.S. history, from the administration of George Washington to that of Barack Obama. Examining U.S. foreign policy through this lens identifies the ideals of the United States during different periods, illuminates the intent behind its military actions, and reveals how each American president interpreted his moral responsibilities as leader of one of the most powerful nations in the world. Organized to allow readers to examine the historical evolution of U.S. foreign policy, the book includes treaties, speeches, and other documents that illustrate important doctrines and decisions over the more than two centuries of American history, covering all presidential doctrines to the current administration. It also highlights various phases of foreign policy, from regionalism to westward expansion, from the Cold War to a New World Order. In addition to the documents themselves, the authors provide invaluable analysis and commentary that will help students understand what the documents mean-both in the context of their time, and in terms of their broader historical significance. A comprehensive list of U.S. foreign policy documents Primary documents such as treaties and speeches with each chapter Sidebars detailing events during the period under discussion References, including Internet sites, for each chapter Indexes of major documents organized under various themes, such as "alliances" and "arms reduction treaties" A comprehensive list of web-based resources
Two decades ago, the idea that a "radical right" could capture and drive Israeli politics seemed highly improbable. While it was a boisterous faction and received heavy media coverage, it constituted a fringe element. Yet by 2009, Israel's radical right had not only entrenched itself in mainstream Israeli politics, it was dictating policy in a wide range of areas. The government has essentially caved to the settlers on the West Bank, and restrictions on non-Jews in Israel have increased in the past few years. Members of the radical right have assumed prominent positions in Israel's elite security forces. The possibility of a two state solution seems more remote than ever, and the emergence of ethnonationalist politician Avigdor Lieberman suggests that its power is increasing. Quite simply, if we want to understand the seemingly intractable situation in Israel today, we need a comprehensive account of the radical right. In The Triumph of Israel's Radical Right, acclaimed scholar Ami Pedahzur provides an invaluable and authoritative analysis of its ascendance to the heights of Israeli politics. After analyzing what, exactly, they believe in, he explains how mainstream Israeli policies like "the right of return" have served as unexpected foundations for their nativism and authoritarian tendencies. He then traces the right's steady rise, from the first intifada to the "Greater Israel" movement that is so prominent today. Throughout, he focuses on the radical right's institutional networks and how the movement has been able to expand its constituency. His closing chapter is grim yet realistic: he contends that a two state solution is no longer viable and that the vision of the radical rabbi Meir Kahane, who was a fringe figure while alive, has triumphed.
Written by an international team of leading political and legal theory scholars whose writings have contributed to shaping the field, Migration in Political Theory presents seminal new work on the ethics of movement and membership. The volume addresses challenging and under-researched themes on the subject of migration. It debates the question of whether we ought to recognize a human right to immigrate, and whether it might be legitimate to restrict emigration. The authors critically examine criteria for selecting would-be migrants, and for acquiring citizenship. They discuss tensions between the claims of immigrants and existing residents, and tackle questions of migrant worker exploitation and responsibility for refugees. The book illustrates the importance of drawing on the tools of political theory to clarify, criticize, and challenge the current terms of the migration debate.
With the announcement of his resignation from the World Bank, the ongoing saga of Paul Wolfowitz, played out in the front pages of the world's newspapers, came to a dramatic conclusion. Paul D. Wolfowitz, as columnist George F. Will wrote in the Washington Post (May 12, 2005), "has never been elected to office or served in a president's cabinet, but he has mattered much more than most who have." A longtime State Department hand (Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Ambassador to Indonesia), a leading scholar/intellectual (Dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies), Deputy Secretary of Defense for four years, and one of the architects of the Bush Doctrine, Wolfowitz is a crucial figure in post-Cold War foreign and security policy. He most recently served as President of the World Bank. In each of these roles, he has stood out for his neoconservative and often uncompromising positions. It is no wonder that he is often vilified by the Left and lionized by the Right. In this first full-length biography of Wolfowitz, Solomon attempts to capture him not by delineating the quotidian details of his career, but by tracing his intellectual development and bureaucratic influence at key points along the road to Baghdad and beyond.
Paul explores both how and why U.S. military intervention decisions are made. Pursuit of that inquiry requires the identification of decision participants, thorough examination of the decision making processes they employ, and recognition of several factors that influence intervention decisions: the national interest, legitimacy, and the legacies of previous policies. This book provides chapter length treatment of each of these issues. The research is based on detailed historical case studies for the four U.S. Marines on the beach military interventions in Latin America since World War II: The Dominican Republic (1965), Grenada (1983), Panama (1989), and Haiti (1994). Additional cases (notably Afghanistan and Iraq) enter the discussion when considering findings with broader implications. Of the existing theories of governance that compete to explain government policy making, Paul finds that elite theory provides the best general model for intervention decision making, but that the notions of both pluralist and class theorists contribute to a complete explanation, and sometimes in an unexpected way. Findings also indicate considerable contribution from and constraint by institutional sources. However, far from finding that institutional factors are wholly deterministic, this research offers support for a choice-within-constraints model. Conclusions suggest that top decision-makers (especially the president) enjoy wide latitude in framing the national interest and in choosing where to and where not to intervene.
While the president is the commander in chief, the US Congress plays a critical and underappreciated role in civil-military relations - the relationship between the armed forces and the civilian leadership that commands it. This unique book edited by Colton C. Campbell and David P. Auerswald will help readers better understand the role of Congress in military affairs and national and international security policy. Contributors include the most experienced scholars in the field as well as practitioners and innovative new voices, all delving into the ways Congress attempts to direct the military. This book explores four tools in particular that play a key role in congressional action: the selection of military officers, delegation of authority to the military, oversight of the military branches, and the establishment of incentives - both positive and negative - to encourage appropriate military behavior. The contributors explore the obstacles and pressures faced by legislators including the necessity of balancing national concerns and local interests, partisan and intraparty differences, budgetary constraints, the military's traditional resistance to change, and an ongoing lack of foreign policy consensus at the national level. Yet, despite the considerable barriers, Congress influences policy on everything from closing bases to drone warfare to acquisitions. A groundbreaking study, Congress and Civil-Military Relations points the way forward in analyzing an overlooked yet fundamental government relationship.
This book focuses on the Indonesian Financial Service Authority (FSA), which is a newly established authority within Indonesian financial services institutions that has emerged as the ultimate decision-maker for portfolio investment liberalization. In doing so, the book elaborates on how the emergence of the Indonesian FSA has resulted in implementation gaps in Indonesia, in the area of portfolio investment liberalization. The book reveals that the endowment of an 'independent and free' status, as well as the FSA's power over the Indonesian financial sector, has allowed agents in the FSA to provide different positions or responses to the already agreed ASEAN financial liberalization initiatives. Contrary to the expectations of most writers that the independent status of an institution would advance financial liberalization, this book shows that the 'independent and free' status of the Indonesian FSA has actually stymied financial liberalization. To achieve this, the book employs a modified account of the historical institutionalism approach, or 'the agents-in-context' approach, examining how and why the Indonesian FSA has emerged as an independent authority. The insights drawn from applying a modified historical institutionalism approach to the case study of Indonesian portfolio investment liberalization critiques and complements existing works in the regionalism literature in general, and ASEAN financial integration particularly.
The political economy of Iran underwent the fundamental transition from feudalism to modernity from the early 19th to the 20th century: a period which was a vital watershed in Iran's historical development. This book provides a critical analysis of Iran's economic, social, and political development and shows how the path to modernity, far from smooth, was hindered by both internal and international factors. These included a powerful monarchy with little interest in administrative and economic reform, a large aristocracy frequently holding vital provincial governorships and frustrating effective central government and a failure to create a modern civil service, military, banking, finance, or communications - the essential infrastructure for economic development. Reformers were marginalized and business suffered. And the all-powerful ulema were a further brake on modernization. On the international front, the rivalry of Britain and Russia compounded the problems: both acting to control Iran and to further their own interests. Hooshang Amirahmadi explores the roots of present-day challenges to modernization and progress and, using a wealth of primary sources and original research, has produced a work which is invaluable for students of modern Iranian history, politics, and Iran's political economy
In every culture, ethos is an important aspect of life as it informs opinions on nearly everything from law to religion. However, while the existence of ethos may be universal, the details often vary from culture to culture. Ethical Standards and Practice in International Relations is an essential research publication that explores the relationship between ethics and global and intercultural interactions. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics, such as ethical behavior, business ethics, and transformational leadership, this publication is geared toward academicians, researchers, and students seeking current research on global ethics and the interaction of those ethics between countries and cultures.
Now, more than ever, we need to avoid nostalgia in thinking about the Good War. This collection of essays reveals some of the challenges that Americans' commitment to the rule of law faced during the Second World War. As a total war, World War II required an unprecedented mobilization of society and growth of the federal government. The American state survived as a government of laws, not men, but in a very different form than its prewar counterpart. Using examples from the war era, this study demonstrates that major wars can imperil and transform one of our most deeply held values, the notion that public officials are constructed by law. As a result of total war, the political landscape changed, and, with it, Americans' notions of what law could do. Supreme Court justices endangered their reputation as being above politics through their behind-the-scenes relations with FDR, and in several important constitutional decisions they relinquished the judicial supremacy that many Americans had considered a crucial safeguard of freedom. The national government's power to tax was dramatically expanded in ways that left tax resistors looking like cranks rather than freedom fighters. When New Dealers tried to realize the potential of law as a vehicle of social organization, they fell prey to conservative rivals in the federal bureaucracy and Congress, but this defeat did nothing to slow the overall expansion of the administrative state, which continued under the formal oversight of the federal judiciary.
The Darfur conflict has presented the international community with a number of challenges. How can the fighting be stopped in Darfur? What can be done to save lives and help the two million people displaced by the conflict? And how to help bring about peace, while ensuring that the peace agreement for the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983 - 2005) is implemented? Drawing on original research, and tracing the history of international responses to the conflicts in Sudan, Richard Barltrop investigates what has determined the outcomes of international mediation and relief in Sudan. In the process, he shows that Darfur must be seen within the wider context of conflict in Sudan, and that lessons should be drawn both for Sudan and for the effective practice of conflict resolution. |
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