With a mature intellectual tradition and intensive educational provision since the sixteenth century, Jaffna had an edge over the rest of the country, not only in the matter of educational attainment, but also in other inter-related areas, such as a favourable socio-cultural and socio-economic ethos, as well as political awareness to organise themselves. With the attainment of independence in 1948 in the wake of the liberation of India, Jaffna witnessed a gradual decline in all areas, especially with the steady upsurge of ultra-religious and ultra-nationalist chauvinism, and the substitution of demagogic rule for genuine democracy, made possible by a constitution ill-suited to the needs of an emergent nation. While analysing the situation in the light of available evidence, the book goes on to argue the case for decentralisation of government and devolution of centralised power in the interest of the nation.

"Tea from Ceylon "-those were the words that still ring in my ears from advertisements in the 'fifties, and they always evoked a picture of a magical, exotic island world with acres of rich green tea bushes somewhere beyond the swelling rollers of the Indian ocean. Today "Sri Lanka" doesn't sound as romantic-but if I were to visit that land, I would be sure to take with me a copy of Dr Paramothayan's book. The title "Edge of the Lagoon" are words, once again, to conjure with And indeed, the book takes one to the heart of that magical, though turbulent land with its ancient myths and rich mixture of cultures.

This is a meticulous, academic, well-researched study or exploration, especially of Jaffna, that region in the northern apex of that triangular land just 22 miles from the southern tip of India, and is well supported by meticulous and accurate footnoting and quotations from the people who have shaped the country.

-Charles Muller, Diadem Books

While much of the work in this field focuses on individual psychology or radical ideology, Bosi, O Dochartaigh, Pisoiu and others take a fresh, innovative look at the importance of context in generating mobilisation and shaping patterns of violence. The cases dealt with range widely across space and time, from Asia, Africa and Europe to the Americas, and from the Irish rebellion of 1916 through the Marxist insurgency of Sendero Luminoso to the `Invisible Commando' of Cote d'Ivoire. They encompass a wide range of types of violence, from separatist guerrillas through Marxist insurgents and Islamist militants to nationalist insurrectionists and the distinctive forms of urban violence that have emerged at the boundary between crime and politics. Chapters offer new theoretical perspectives on the decisive importance of the spatial and temporal contexts, and supportive milieux, in which parties to conflict are embedded, and from which they draw strength.

Mental Maps in the Era of Detente and the End of the Cold War recreates the way in which the revolutionary changes of the last phase of the Cold War were perceived by fifteen of its leading figures in the West, East and developing world.

At great cost and risk to the American and world economies, consumers are ripped off billions of dollars every day by oil interests and their malevolent influence on market pricing mechanisms. It's essential Americans and oil consumers throughout the world understand where the money they pay for oil's downstream products goes-including the money paid at the pump, the money paid to heat their homes, and the money paid for the array of other petroleum-based products. In Ruminations on the Distortion of Oil Prices and Crony Capitalism, author Raymond J. Learsy not only discusses the distortion of oil pricing, but also focuses on effects of the crony capitalism that has enriched a select few and left Main Street in the lurch as a result of government mismanagement, moneyed influence, and craven oversight. This collection of previously published writings shows how speculators ratchet up the prices of basic material goods essential to daily lives. Learsy describes how ceding the determination of those prices not to the laws of supply and demand but predominantly to gambling dens on the trading floors of commodity exchanges as well as the price fixing collusion of producer nations (OPEC) is crippling to the world's economy.

Focusing as well on Wall Street's corrupting influence on the price of oil, gasoline, and other commodities, Ruminations on the Distortion of Oil Prices and Crony Capitalism provides an overview of the basic and important theme: the United States' enslavement to oil and the moneyed interests inextricably tied to it.

This volume represents a comprehensive analysis, by the best known experts in the field on both sides of the Atlantic, of how and why Germany and the United States found themselves at war against each other in 1917 and how the end of their confrontation in 1918/19 paved the way for an era of renewed cooperation. Perspectives offered go well beyond the diplomatic and military aspects of the German-American relationship and include cultural and economic questions.
Germany and the United States of America: The Krefeld Historical Symposia

Mutual Perceptions and Images in Japanese-German Relations, 1860-2010 examines the mutual images formed between Japan and Germany from the mid-nineteenth to twenty-first centuries, and the influence of these images on the development of bilateral relations. Unlike earlier research on Japanese-German relations, which focused on the similarity of these countries' historical trajectories, this publication presents a more nuanced picture. It relativizes perceptions of a special "spiritual relationship" between Japan and Germany as well as their commonalities of "national character" through an exploration of previously untapped historical visual and textual sources. With essays by sixteen leading scholars in the field, this collection is an invaluable contribution to the historiography of modern Japan and Germany, and to the field of international relations. Contributors are: Hans-Joachim Bieber, Fukuoka Mariko, Hakoishi Hiroshi, Iwasa Takuro, Kato Yoko, Kawakita Atsuko, Gerhard Krebs, Kudo Akira, Heinrich Menkhaus, Danny Orbach, Peter Pantzer, Sven Saaler, Sato Takumi, Volker Stanzel, Suzuki Naoko, Tajima Nobuo, Tano Daisuke, and Rolf-Harald Wippich.

Reintegration programmes for ex-combatants are supposed to support the wider peace process. This study, based on detailed fieldwork, looks at the way they were carried out in Sierra Leone and Liberia and assesses the degree to which they were conducted in a participatory way.

In the Post-Cold War Era, the possibility of large-scale military conflict between the superpowers has been replaced by the probability of a series of minor—and perhaps not so minor—regional ones. Many, if not most of those, will take place within reach of seaborne expeditionary forces. France organized such an expedition at the close of World War II, in 1945-1946, to return to Indochina. This account of that expedition provides a good case study of what such expeditions involve and, moreover, illustrates many politico-military lessons—and warnings—for those like the U.S., who would project power from the sea east of the Suez today.

South Africa's post-apartheid foreign policy has been a bundle of contradictions and ambiguities. The accession by leading fractions of the African National Congress to the ongoing discourse of neo-liberalism has led to the policy making elite playing to two distinct audiences: its Leftist-inclined constituency within the Government of National Unity and externally oriented domestic and international capital. This second audience is increasingly integrating the GNU elite into a group which more and more reflects the concerns, aspirations, and demands of a transnational class elite. This move mirrors South Africa's ongoing incorporation into the international political economy as a global middle-power, a bridgebuilder between the global hegemons and those reluctant to follow their lead.

Taylor's fundamental theoretical approach that underpins the study--namely a neo-gramscian interpretation of the global political economy and the importance of middle powers--sets it apart from other studies of contemporary South African foriegn policy making. He also provides a useful source for Africanists and South Africa specialists in particular. This is partly because of the accessible style of presentation. But it is also because he has chosen case studies of interaction with multilateral groupings and organizations. This approach marks the volume out as being different from the normal assessment of South African foreign policy--particularly the specific multilateral agencies that he has chosen to focus on.

In the early 1990s, Singapore, the Malaysian state of Johor, and the Riau Islands in Indonesia sought to leverage their proximity, differing factor endowments, and good logistics connections to market themselves as an integrated unit. Beyond national-level support in all three countries, the initiative had the support of state and provincial leaders in Johor and Riau, respectively. Now, however, the situation is markedly different. The Malaysian government and its Johorean equivalent have invested considerable resources in encouraging closer integration with Singapore. For its part, the Indonesian central government has been promoting special economic zones and export-oriented activities. However, the provincial government of the Riau Islands has turned away from export-oriented industrialization, preferring instead to promote cultural sub-nationalism and traditional economic activities such as fishing and small-scale farming. This development is counter-intuitive. Traditional fiscal federalism theory argues that decentralization encourages competition between provinces for investment, jobs, and growth. While Indonesia has undergone one of the world's most far-reaching decentralization reforms, Malaysia has pursued a consistent centralization campaign at the expense of state governments. Thus, we would expect the Riau Islands entrepreneurial drive to be unleashed, and Johor's to be smothered. However, Johor's drive for capital is undiminished, while the Riau Islands pursuit of investment has dissipated. This monograph will explore the reasons for this paradox.

Federalism and International Relations is the first comparative study of an increasingly important phenomenon: the international role and activities of component units of major liberal democratic federal States. The first part of the book identifies common concepts and themes and explores the reasons for the proliferation of paradiplomatic activities by these non-traditional actors on the international scene. The subsequent chapters focus on the international role of subnational units in individual countries: Austria, Australia, Canada, the Federal Republic of Germany, Switzerland, and the USA; the authors also consider the case of Belgium, not formally a federation, but operating to all intents and purposes like one. They examine in detail the nature and history of foreign-policy federalism of these units and the scope and variety of their international activities. They also explore such topics as the constitutional and institutional contexts in which paradiplomatic activity by component units takes place and the factors which motivate these international activities in each federal State. Finally they assess the implications of the paradiplomatic activities for the conduct of foreign policy in each federation.

Written as a primary text for introductory courses in foreign policy, but also for the attention of the informed general readers, this volume proposes the concept of national interest as the organizing principle of American foreign policy. Arguing that foreign policy can only be successful if it takes into account both the international and domestic environments, von Vorys shows that by developing national interest as a pre-policy standard--rather than using it as a post-policy justification--foreign policies can be made and implemented that are not only successful abroad but are also widely supported at home. The author offers a general framework of national interest, spells out the hierarchy of national interests that should guide foreign policy, and identifies and classifies the range of appropriate policy options. Von Vorys also shows how in this new post Cold War era national interest can become the standard by which our international relations can be impartially evaluated.

Following an introduction that reviews twentieth century American foreign policy and sets forth the basic concept of national interest, von Vorys examines in turn the three levels of national interest that determine foreign policy options: challenges to our national existence, challenges to our friends and allies, and challenges to the international order. In considering challenges to our national existence, the author addresses such issues as deterrence by strategic offense, the Strategic Defense Initiative, and the SALT treaties. Turning to an examination of challenges to friends and allies, von Vorys analyzes the special obligations inherent in allied relationships, the military and political problems posed by NATO, and the question of hemispheric solidarity. Finally, von Vorys explores basic challenges to the international order. He traces the evolution of the traditional method of hegemony, the balance of power system, the attempt at a decentralized world order, and, recently, detente. Throughout, by blending the practical demands of power and the imperatives of morality, von Vorys demonstrates that by using national interest as the underlying concept, we can identify interests for which we should be ready to fight as well as those for which we should be willing to pay, to work, or, in some cases, to do nothing.

In the last three decades, Turkey has attempted to build close relationships with Russia, Iran and the Turkic World. As a result, there has been ongoing debate about the extent to which Turkey's international relations axis is shifting eastwards. Ozgur Tufekci argues that Eurasianist ideology has been fundamental to Turkish foreign policy and continues to have influence today. The author first explores the historical roots of Eurasianism in the 19th century, comparing this to Neo-Eurasianism and Pan-Slavism. The Ozal era (1983-1993), the Cem era (1997-2002) and Davutoglu era (since 2003) are then examined to reveal how foreign policy making has been informed by discourses of Eurasianism, and how Eurasianist ideas were implemented through internal and external socio-economic and political factors.

The knowledge disseminated by universities and mobilized by states to govern populations has been globally dominant for more than a century. It first emerged in the early modern period in Europe and subsequently became globalized through colonialism. Despite the historical and cultural specificity of its origins, modern Western knowledge was thought to have transcended its particularities such that, unlike pre-modern and non-Western knowledges, it was "universal," or true for all times and places. In this bold and ambitious book, Sanjay Seth argues that modern knowledge and the social sciences are a product of Western modernity claiming a spurious universality: that what we treat as the "truths" discovered by social scientific reason are instead a parochial knowledge. Drawing upon and deriving its critical energies principally from postcolonial theory, Beyond Reason traverses many disciplines, including science studies, social history, art and music history, political science, and anthropology, and engages with a range of contemporary thinkers including Butler, Habermas, Chakrabarty, Chatterjee, and Rawls. It demonstrates that while global in their impact, the social sciences do not and cannot transcend the Western historical and cultural circumstances in which they emerged. If the social sciences are not explained and validated simply by the fact that they are "true," it becomes possible to ask what purpose they serve, what it is that they "do." A defining feature of modern knowledge is that it is divided into disciplines, each with its own object of inquiry and corresponding protocols, and thus asking what such knowledge "does" requires asking what purpose disciplines serve. It also requires asking what ways of understanding the world they facilitate and what they disallow. Beyond Reason proceeds to anatomize the disciplines of history and political science to ask what representations and relations with the past and with politics these academic disciplines enable, and what ways of understanding and engaging the world they foreclose.

This accessible introductory text explains the political, economic and religious developments since the formation of the Islamic Republic in 1979 and provides an analysis of the domestic politics of Iran. It identifies the ways in which the country, often imagined as 'isolated', is actually integrated into the global capitalist economy. It also explains the often-heated relationship of the regional powerhouse with the outside world, especially with West Asian neighbours and the United States. Both rigorous and readable, the book covers: * Iran's unusual path of capitalist development; * The relationship between politics and religion in what is known as 'God's Kingdom'; * The international and domestic factors that shape Iranian politics and society. Assuming no prior knowledge, this book is an ideal starting point for students and general readers looking for a thought-provoking introduction to contemporary Iran.

Established in 1969, Cyril Wecht's Legal Medicine series has, in the words of a review of the 1982 volume, helped validate and develop the field which it reports. Legal Medicine's format assembles articles by experts dealing with a range of topics in the field of legal medicine and forensic science. The contributors provide balanced coverage of timely and practical issues.

Sitting around one oval table for the first time at the Madrid Conference in 1991, historic Arab and Israeli enemies pledge to work toward regional peace and security. From Madrid onward, Middle East diplomacy has been pursued on two tracks--between Israel and its immediate neighbors, and among all the countries of the region. This book reveals, for the first time, an insider's account of the true significance of the Madrid Conference and how a revolution in Middle Eastern affairs was wrought there.

"Making Peace" details the debates, doubts, reversals, and accomplishments that crystallized at the Madrid Peace Conference in October 1991. In the months leading up to this historic event, Eytan Bentsur, today Director-General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, worked closely with his counterparts from other countries to find a formula that might bridge the bitter and seemingly intractable rivalry between Israelis and Arabs. This formula was to become known as the famous two-track approach and is an important source of the incredible progress made toward regional peace and security in recent times. Arguing persuasively that the Middle East peace revolution was triggered by the Madrid gathering, Bentsur sheds new light on the leading personalities and ideas that made the conference a success and a foundation for future progress.

An Israeli official who belonged to an avowed peace group within a hesitant government, Bentsur devised new formulas that made the advantages of peace more palpable to a national leadership and public that were sometimes obsessed with the problems of the peace process. The book elucidates the origins, rationale, and impact of the two-track approach. It is a gripping, behind-the-scenes account of diplomatic efforts in the cause of peace in a war-torn part of the globe.

The subjects covered in this collection will appeal to a range of scholars, specialists, and general readers. The contributions of the Japanese scholars will not go unnoticed either for they draw on many primary sources in Japan that have yet to be translated into English and therefore offer a unique perspective on the events and individuals discussed in the essays. By focusing on both the US and Japan, this work provides easy access to the competing perspectives of the two nations, a competition that is enhanced by examinations of individuals and events, which have often been overlooked. The evolution of Japanese strategic goals prior to WWII, for example, was not limited to the vision of Yamamoto any more than the post-war relationship that emerged was defined exclusively by Douglas Macarthur. The Cold War has ended, but the relationship shared by the US and Japan plays a central roll in the GWOT. Overall, the range of topics covered by these essays adds depth to any understanding of the strategies and relations pursued by the two countries while providing a foundation for understanding the relationship as it continues to evolve today.

Polls show that a sizeable portion of the American population believes that troops found WMD in Iraq and that Saddam Hussein was somehow responsible for the attacks of September 11. Even after the 9/11 Commission Report and numerous other reports have concluded that our intelligence was flawed, people in the freest nation on earth continue to be misinformed about something that could not be more vital to understand—the reasons for sending troops into harm's way. This insightful analysis argues that the media should have done a better job of performing its traditional role of skeptic and watchdog, and it examines what went wrong. There are, of course, many people whose support for going to war in Iraq was not contingent on the existence of WMD or a connection to al-Qaeda. But many others based their support for the war on misinformation. Dadge explores why the media did not aggressively investigate the claims made by the administration and intelligence agencies; in short, why they did not do their job: to fully inform the citizenry to the best of their ability. He examines pressures from the Bush administration, pressures from corporate consolidation of media ownership, patriotism and self-censorship, and other factors. He concludes with recommendations for ways in which the media can improve their reporting on government.

Bukowski, Rajagopalan and their contributors seek to cross both analytical and geographic boundaries in the study of why and how authority shifts both within and beyond the modern nation-state. They develop a conceptualization of the re-distribution of authority, that is, when the capacity of governmental and societal units involved in carrying out the tasks and responsibilities of governance change over time, relative to each other. They argue that this is a more comprehensive alternative to extant conceptualizations used to study the shifting of authority, such as decentralization, regionalism, or federalism. Nine diverse cases are then presented: Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, the United States, Russia, Spain, Portugal, Senegal, and South Africa. Each case addresses the questions: Which are the factors that explain the re-distribution of authority? Under what conditions are some of these factors more important than others?

Despite the diversity of the cases in both geographic location and levels of economic and political development, four major explanatory factors emerge as common across all nine cases: identity-related claims, economic imperatives, considerations of administrative efficiency, and political agency. Moreover, discerning the complex interaction of these factors is necessary in understanding the re-distribution of authority in both its centralizing and decentralizing forms, across all levels of governance. Of particular interest to scholars, students, and policy researchers involved with international relations, comparative politics, public administration, political development, and state formation, and ethnonational politics.

Fatima Meer, a South African academic, public intellectual, and activist, was a tireless fighter for social justice and human rights—for which she various suffered banning and detention by the apartheid government. After the end of apartheid, she declined a parliamentary seat, choosing instead to continue her advocacy work. She did, however, subsequently serve the ANC government in several capacities. She died in 2010, at the age of 81. In Fatima Meer, Shireen Hassim deftly weaves a narrative in which Meer's distinctive individuality unfolds. This serves as an apt context for the second part of the book, which presents Meer's ideas in her own voice and makes palpable her belief in a common humanity.

The Mexican expropriation of British and American properties in March 1938 marked the first time any oil-producing country successfully stood up to foreign companies who claimed to own oil properties in that country and who had the support of their respective governments. Totally reliant on overseas oil at a time when war seemed imminent, British officials responsible for policy toward Mexico immediately emphasized the importance of preventing other oil-exporting nations from following Mexico's lead. Washington also sought to make an example of Mexico--one that would guarantee respect for U.S. businesses operating abroad.

Although both Washington and London wanted to return to the pre-expropriation status quo, Washington was unwilling to work with London to achieve this goal, and Washington's attitude paralleled its reaction to British efforts to get U.S. support on certain defense issues during this critical period. The resulting Anglo-American strife over how to handle Mexico was also consistent with Anglo-American commercial competition and the oil rivalry in Mexico early in the century.

The issue of prisoners in war is a highly timely topic that has received much attention from both scholars and practitioners since the start of the military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq and the ensuing legal and political problems concerning detainees in those conflicts. This book analyzes these contemporary problems and challenges against the background of their historical development. It provides a multidisciplinary yet highly coherent perspective on the historical trajectory of legal and ethical norms in this field by integrating the historical analysis of war with a study of the emergence of the modern legal regime of prisoners in war. In doing so, it provides the first comprehensive study of prisoners, detainees and internees in war, covering a broad range of both regular and irregular wars from the crusades to contemporary counterinsurgency campaigns.
The book revolves around two major developments: First, there has been a continuous increase in the political relevance of prisoners in war, in particular since the emergence of POW camps in the nineteenth century. Secondly, and related, the growth in the legal regime pertaining to prisoners had contradictory consequences. Whilst it enhanced the protection of prisoners in regular conflicts, its state-centric bias tends to exclude combatants who do not fit the template of regular inter-state war. Detainees in the 'war on terror' embody both tendencies, the development of which, however, is by no means a novel phenomenon.
This book is a project of the Oxford Leverhulme Programme on the Changing Character of War.