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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > International relations > General
This reference provides detailed facts and figures on the bodies
that encourage international peace and security, and greater
cooperation in economic, social, cultural, and humanitarian areas.
Details are provided on the history and legislative framework of
international organizations, helping to provide the necessary
background information to aid your understanding of international
cooperation. The Europa Directory International Organizations
contains a thorough and informative introductory essay on the
developing role of international organizations and the challenges
facing the international community in the 21 century. This source
also contains texts of significant international charters,
treaties, and documents; biographical information on the leading
officials of international organizations; an extensive list of UN
Security Council and General Assembly resolutions; a Calendar of
Observances; and a comprehensive index.
Although nearly every country in the world today holds multiparty
elections, these contests are often blatantly unfair. For
governments, electoral misconduct is a tempting but also a risky
practice, because it represents a violation of Although nearly
every country in the world today holds multiparty elections, these
contests are often blatantly unfair. For governments, electoral
misconduct is a tempting but also a risky practice, because it
represents a violation of international standards for free and fair
elections. In Defending Democratic Norms, Daniela Donno examines
how international actors respond to these norm violations. Which
governments are punished for manipulating elections? Does
international norm enforcement make a difference? Donno shows that
although enforcement is selective and relatively rare, when
international actors do employ tools of conditionality, diplomacy,
mediation and shaming in response to electoral misconduct, they can
have transformative effects on both the quality and outcome of
elections. Specifically, enforcement works by empowering the
domestic opposition and increasing the government's incentives to
reform institutions of electoral management and oversight. These
effects depend, however, on the presence of a viable opposition
movement, as well as on the strength and credibility of the
enforcement effort itself. The book shows that regional
international organizations possess unique sources of leverage and
legitimacy that make them the most consistently effective norm
defenders, even compared to more materially powerful actors like
the United States.
Drawing on an original dataset from almost 700 elections and
incorporating case studies from the Dominican Republic, Serbia,
Armenia, Kenya and Cambodia, Defending Democratic Norms is a bold
new theory of international norm enforcement that demonstrates the
importance of active international intervention in domestic
politics.
Since Gideon Rose's 1998 review article in the journal World
Politics and especially following the release of Lobell, Ripsman,
and Taliaferro's 2009 edited volume Neoclassical Realism, the
State, and Foreign Policy, neoclassical realism has emerged as
major theoretical approach to the study of foreign policy on both
sides of the Atlantic. Proponents of neoclassical realism claim
that it is the logical extension of the Kenneth Waltz's structural
realism into the realm of foreign policy. In Neoclassical Realist
Theory of International Relations, Norrin M. Ripsman, Jeffrey W.
Taliaferro, and Steven E. Lobell argue that neoclassical realism is
far more than an extension of Waltz's structural realism or an
effort to update the classical realism of Hans Morgenthau, E.H.
Carr, and Henry Kissinger with the language of modern social
science. Rejecting the artificial distinction that Waltz draws
between theories of international politics and theories of foreign
policy, the authors contend neoclassical realism can explain and
predict phenomena ranging from short-term crisis-behavior, to
foreign policy, to patterns of grand strategic adjustment by
individual states up to long-term patterns of international
outcomes. It is, therefore, a more powerful theory of international
politics than structural realism. Yet it is also a more intuitively
satisfying approach than liberal Innenpolitik theories or
constructivism. The authors detail the variables and assumptions of
neoclassical realist theory, address various aspects of theory
construction and methodology, lay out the areas of convergence and
sharp disagreement with other leading theoretical approaches -
liberalism, constructivism, analytic eclecticism, and foreign
policy analysis (FPA) -- and demonstrate how neoclassical realist
theory can be used to resolve longstanding puzzles and debates in
international relations theory.
While much has been written about Gandhi and Martin Luther King,
Jr., never before has anyone compared the social and political
origins and evolution of their thoughts on non-violence. In this
path-breaking work, respected political theorist Bidyut Chakrabarty
argues that there is a confluence between Gandhi and King's
concerns for humanity and advocacy of non-violence, despite the
very different historical, economic and cultural circumstances
against which they developed their ideas. At the same time, he
demonstrates that both were truly shaped by their historical
moments, evolving their approaches to non-violence to best advance
their respective struggles for freedom. Gandhi and King were
perhaps the most influential individuals in modern history to
combine religious and political thought into successful and dynamic
social ideologies. Gandhi emphasized service to humanity while
King, who was greatly influenced by Gandhi, pursued religion-driven
social action. Chakrabarty looks particularly at the way in which
each strategically used religious and political language to build
momentum and attract followers to their movements. The result is a
compelling and historically entrenched view of two of the most
important figures of the twentieth century and a thoughtful
meditation on the common threads that flow through the larger and
enduring nonviolence movement.
Climate change will have a bigger impact on humanity than the
Internet has had. The last decade's spate of superstorms,
wildfires, heat waves, and droughts has accelerated the public
discourse on this topic and lent credence to climatologist Lonnie
Thomson's 2010 statement that climate change "represents a clear
and present danger to civilization." In June 2015, the Pope
declared that action on climate change is a moral issue. This book
offers the most up-to-date examination of climate change's
foundational science, its implications for our future, and the core
clean energy solutions. Alongside detailed but highly accessible
descriptions of what is causing climate change, this entry in the
What Everyone Needs to Know series answers questions about the
practical implications of this growing force on our world: * How
will climate change impact you and your family in the coming
decades? * What are the future implications for owners of coastal
property? * Should you plan on retiring in South Florida or the
U.S. Southwest or Southern Europe? * What occupations and fields of
study will be most in demand in a globally warmed world? * What
impact will climate change have on investments and the global
economy? As the world struggles to stem climate change and its
effects, everyone will become a part of this story of the century.
Here is what you need to know.
In The Political Power of Bad Ideas, Mark Schrad uses one of the
greatest oddities of modern history--the broad diffusion throughout
the Western world of alcohol-control legislation in the early
twentieth century--to make a powerful argument about how bad policy
ideas achieve international success. His could an idea that was
widely recognized by experts as bad before adoption, and which
ultimately failed everywhere, come to be adopted throughout the
world? To answer the question, Schrad utilizes an institutionalist
approach and focuses in particular on the United States, Sweden,
and Russia/the USSR.
Conventional wisdom, based largely on the U.S. experience, blames
evangelical zealots for the success of the temperance movement. Yet
as Schrad shows, ten countries, along with numerous colonial
possessions, enacted prohibition laws. In virtually every case, the
consequences were disastrous, and in every country the law was
ultimately repealed. Schrad concentrates on the dynamic interaction
of ideas and political institutions, tracing the process through
which concepts of dubious merit gain momentum and achieve
credibility as they wend their way through institutional
structures. He also shows that national policy and institutional
environments count: the policy may have been broadly adopted, but
countries dealt with the issue in different ways.
While The Political Power of Bad Ideas focuses on one legendary
episode, its argument about how and why bad policies achieve
legitimacy applies far more broadly. It also extends beyond the
simplistic notion that "ideas matter" to show how they influence
institutional contexts and interact with a nation's political
actors, institutions, and policy dynamics.
The rise of China is the most significant development in world
affairs in this generation. No nation in history has risen as
quickly or modernized as rapidly as has China over the four
decades. This sixth edition of The China Reader chronicles the
diverse aspects of this transition since the late-1990s. It is
comprehensive in scope and draws upon both primary Chinese sources
and secondary Western analyses written by the world's leading
experts on contemporary China. Perfectly suited as both a textbook
for students as well as for specialists and the public alike, the
volume covers the full range of China's internal and external
developments. During the past three decades China dramatically
modernized its economy and taken a positon as one of the two major
powers in the world. Its mega-economy has skyrocketed to being the
second largest in the world, and will soon surpass the United
States on aggregate. The physical transformation of the country has
been extraordinary to witness, with infrastructure development
unparalleled in human history. Modern cities featuring futuristic
architecture have literally risen from farmland across the country.
As China has developed domestically, it has also taken its place as
a major power on the world stage. Whether in its relations with
other powers-the United States, Russia, and European Union-with its
neighbors in Asia or other countries across the world, China is now
a major factor in international relations. Its businesses are
"going global" and its people are establishing their footprint from
Antarctica to outer space. For all its newfound prowess, China's
rise has not been a smooth process. Domestically, the nation's
juggernaut economy has produced numerous negative social and
environmental side-effects. Its political system remains
anachronistic and authoritarian, with substantial repression.
Externally, Beijing's rapid military modernization and regional
territorial claims have alarmed China's neighbors. Its relationship
with the United States is complex and increasingly strained. And
its "soft power" remains limited. Still, the rise of China is the
story of the current era. The China Reader is a perfect window into
the complexities of this historic process.
How pro-Israel lobbying groups influence the Middle East policies of Britain, the US and others.
In 1896, a Jewish state was a pipe dream. Today the overwhelming majority of Jews identify as Zionists. How did this happen?
Ilan Pappe unveils how over a century of aggressive lobbying changed the map of the Middle East. Pro-Israel lobbies convinced British and American policymakers to condone Israel’s flagrant breaches of international law, grant Israel unprecedented military aid and deny Palestinians rights. Anyone who questioned unconditional support for Israel, even in the mildest terms, became the target of relentless smear campaigns.
Lobbying for Zionism on Both Sides of the Atlantic shows us how an unassailable consensus was built – and how it might be dismantled.
The Beauty Trade takes seriously the frequently maligned and
trivialized beauty economy, just as it has become one of the most
important worldwide industries. Through the lens of beauty
products, practices, and ideas of youth in Guadalajara, Mexico, the
book analyzes whether and how beauty norms are changing in relation
to the globalizing beauty economy. It looks at who benefits and who
loses from beauty globalization and what this means for gender
norms among youth. Weaving together fascinating ethnographic
research on beauty practices, global political economy, and
feminist analysis, the book presents a feminist analysis of the
global economy of beauty. Rather than a sign of frivolity, the
beauty economy is intimately connected to youth's social and
economic development. Cosmetic makeovers have become a modern rite
of passage for girls, enabling social connections and
differentiations, as well as entrepreneurial activities. The global
beauty economy is a phenomenon generated by young people, mostly
women, laboring in, teaching, and consuming beauty. Globalization
in the beauty economy is a phenomenon propelled by youth, eager for
belonging and originality, using every mechanism at their disposal
to look good. Contrary to popular wisdom, globalization in the
beauty economy is not homogenizing beauty standards to a Western
ideal; it is diversifying beauty standards. The Beauty Trade
explains how globalization, combined with youth's desires for
uniqueness, is enabling the spread of a diversity of beauty
cultures, including alternative visions of gender appropriate looks
and behavior.
Scholars have argued that the end of the Cold War and the War on
Terror have radically changed the context of war and defense,
diminished the role of nation-states in favor of multi-lateral
defense activities, and placed a new focus on human security.
International peacekeeping has superseded the traditional act of
war-making as the most important defense strategy among wealthy,
liberal-democratic nations. And, per UN Security Council Resolution
1325, adopted in 2000, all member nations must consider the needs
of women and girls during repatriation, resettlement, and
post-conflict reconstruction efforts.
Gender, Sex, and the Postnational Defense looks at the way that a
postnational defense influenced by SC 1325 and focused on human
security affects gender relations in militaries. Interestingly,
despite the successful implementation of gender mainstreaming in
training, the number of women involved in military peacekeeping
remains low. Contradicting much of the gender mainstreaming
literature, Annica Kronsell shows that increasing gender awareness
in the military is a more achievable task than increasing gender
parity.
Employing a feminist constructivist institutional approach,
Kronsell questions whether military institutions can ever attain
gender neutrality without confronting their reliance on masculinity
constructs. She further questions whether "feminism" must always be
equated with anti-militarism or if military violence committed in
the name of enhancing human security can be performed according to
a feminist ethics. Kronsell builds her theoretical argument on a
case study of Sweden and the E.U.
The explosive, behind-the-scenes story of Donald Trump's
high-stakes confrontation with Beijing, from an award-winning
Washington Post columnist and peerless observer of the U.S.-China
relationship Now with a new afterword featuring an interview with
former President Trump There was no calm before the storm. Donald
Trump's surprise electoral victory shattered the fragile
understanding between the United States and China and immediately
brought to a boil their long-simmering rivalry. By the time the
COVID-19 pandemic erupted in Wuhan, Trump's love-hate relationship
with Chinese president Xi Jinping had sparked a trade war, while
Xi's aggression had pushed the world to the brink of a new Cold
War. From award-winning Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin, Chaos
Under Heaven uncovers the explosive, behind-the-scenes story of how
the Trump administration upended the U.S.-China relationship, with
reverberations that will be shaking the world for years to come.
Grounds of Judgment reopens the question of consular jurisdiction
and extraterritoriality in China and Japan. The book combines
recent findings in Qing history on the nature of ethnicity and law
with the history of the treaty ports in both China and Japan,
especially Shanghai, Yokohama and Nagasaki. Extraterritoriality was
not implanted into East Asia as a ready-made product, but developed
in a dialogue with local precedents, local understandings of power,
and local institutions, which are best understood within the
complex triangular relationship between China, Japan and the West.
A close reading of treaty texts and other relevant documents
suggests that a Qing institution for the adjudication for
Manchu-Chinese disputes served as the model for both the
International Mixed Court in Shanghai and the extraterritorial
arrangements in Sino-Japanese Treaty of Tianjin in 1871. The
adaptability of Qing legal procedure provided for a relatively
seamless transition into the treaty port era, which would have
momentous consequences for China's national sovereignty in the
twentieth century. There was no parallel to this development in the
Japanese case. Instead, Japanese authorities chose not to integrate
consular courts and mixed courts into the indigenous legal order,
and as a consequence, consular jurisdiction remained an alien body
in the Japanese state, and Japanese policymakers were determined to
keep it that way.
Breaking into the Russian market has always been a challenging
task, particularly for Western organisations, and personal networks
play a crucial role in achieving this. However, personal networks
that exist in Russian business remain a mystery. The aim of this
book is to address the role of informal relations and trust in
Russian society and business. Our findings provide a deeper
understanding of the relationship between Russian business and
personal relations, thus helping foreign practitioners and
investors to enter the Russian market and develop strong
business-stakeholder relationships. With the intention not to
criticise or dress up the image of Russia but to provide coherent
analysis and discussion on how things work in Russia or describe
"the rules of the relationships game", this book discussed ten
personal networks existing in Russian society and business, nature
and structure of relations, local social norms and codes, trust
development process, knowledge and information sharing, entry and
exit rules, and provides practical suggestions. This book is
essential for anybody intending to do business in Russia and
particularly suitable for practitioners, investors, researchers and
business students.
Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not
used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad
quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are
images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to
keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the
original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain
imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made
available for future generations to enjoy.
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