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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > International relations > General
British attitudes towards Arab unity have frequently been a source of controversy. Younan Labib Rizk here provides a coherent Arab perspective derived from considerable in-depth research into British archives, covering the period 1919 to 1945. His analysis reveals how British government policy was formed in this period and concludes that repeated British administrations were consistent in their concern and hostility towards the notion of Arab unity. While this conforms with traditional Arab views of British policy in the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula, the importance of Rizk's work lies in his meticulous research through which he is able to document British attitudes and motivations. As he quotes the internal correspondence between departments and individual officials in the Foreign Office and its Eastern Department, the Colonial Office and several British Cabinets, Rizk shows that divisions within the Arab world -- of which there were plenty -- were nurtured by British officials, only eventually to acquire their own dynamic. This book enhances our understanding of how the international politics of the region evolved during a critical phase in the modern history of the Middle East.
This is the first study to examine Nazi German foreign policy towards the Union of South Africa from 1933-1939. Making extensive use of unpublished primary source German documents, Robert Citino focuses on the activities of the German embassy and consulates within South Africa in order to answer four basic questions: What role did race and racial theory play in German foreign policy towards South Africa? Did Germany attempt to exploit South African yearnings for international respect, and, if so, how? Did the Germans seek to take advantage of deep divisions within South African society between British and Afrikaners? Finally, to what extent was the German Foreign Office Nazified in the 1930s? By concentrating on the policies and views of German diplomatic personnel within a single country--rather than on Hitler's grandiose proclamations and speeches on world affairs--Citino offers a closer look at Nazi German foreign policy operations than is usually available. The study is organized chronologically and begins with an overview of German-South African relations before 1933. Subsequent chapters address early tensions and South African domestic developments in the years leading up to the outbreak of war. Specific topics covered include the role played by the former German colony of Southwest Africa in relations between the two states, the hostile attitude of much of the South African press towards Nazi Germany, the boycott of German firms by the South African Jewish community, the Smuts-Hertzog fusion, the rise of Malan and his Purified nationalist party, the growth of anti-Semitism in South Africa and the concurrent growth in Afrikaner national consciousness, and South African attitudes towards the major European crises of the 1930s. Citino concludes by analyzing Germany's inability to keep South Africa neutral in 1939 and the entry of the Union into the war at England's side. Students of modern German, South African, and twentieth century diplomatic history will find Citino's work an enlightening contribution to the literature of Nazi Germany's foreign relations.
The 1970s were a period of dramatic change in relations between Japan and the People's Republic of China (PRC). The two countries established diplomatic relations for the first time, forged close economic ties and reached political agreements that still guide and constrain relations today. This book delivers a history of this foundational period in Sino-Japanese relations. It presents an up-to-date diplomatic history of the relationship but also goes beyond this to argue that Japan's relations with China must be understood in the context of a larger "China problem" that was inseparable from a domestic contest to define Japanese national identity. "The China Problem in Postwar Japan" challenges some common assertions or assumptions about the role of Japanese national identity in postwar Sino-Japanese relations, showing how the history of Japanese relations with China in the 1970s is shaped by the strength of Japanese national identity, not its weakness.
There are a number of factors that elevate Turkey's status in the international arena and make it an important regional actor. As a longstanding member of the western world, a candidate country to the European Union, a "staunch" ally of the United States, and a frontline state in the fight against terrorism, Turkey plays a key, yet often overlooked role, in world affairs. Proper understanding of how decisions regarding foreign and security issues are being taken within the state apparatus in Turkey is crucially important, especially when "unexpected" developments take place. Mustafa and Aysegul Kibaroglu examine the issues that drive Turkish foreign policy decisions in this crucial region. This reference work chronicles the factors which have shaped the mindsets of the makers of Turkey's foreign and security policies from the foundation of the Republic in 1923. The authors provide not only meaningful explanations of past events, but also useful insights into current issues at the center of Turkish regional and foreign policies. The authors provide not only meaninful explanations of past events, but also useful insigts into the current issues at the center of Turkish regional and foreign policies. The authors provide a concise overview of Turkish foreign policy and assess the position of the nation within the context of the war on terror, globalization, and more. Their narrative is supplemented by biographies of key decision makers, policies, and documents that illustrate the choices that comprise Turkey's past and present.
This book examines the governability crisis faced by Israeli governmental institutions. For a long period of time, observers of Israel's government have reported the same phenomena: instability in most political positions not allowing for proper policy design, enhanced control of the bureaucracy over the policy making process, and complete uncertainty regarding the implementation of policies by the bureaucracy. However, while one expects that with such a toxic combination of all the wrong policy making components Israel would collapse, Israel has been able to achieve quite impressive landmarks in its overall performance. During the first decade of the 21st century, Israel became an OECD member and enjoyed high growth when the world was facing stagnation and economic collapse. Israel's government, which regularly faces quandaries in a variety of policy fields, is able to initiate large scale policies when needed. Yet, this same government refrains from initiating large-scale reforms in institutional structures. Hence, for analysts of political institutions, the Israeli state of affairs is one of choice: while initiating changes to reform and overhaul the Israeli institutional system is possible it is also perilous. To cope with that duality Israeli political leadership on all sides has developed a variety of mechanisms that allow them to provide the policy output needed so as to maintain the status-quo. This book examines these mechanisms as they exist in different facets of government work and explains their output and persistence. Examples include coalitional making and breaking, the ways in which ruling coalitions maneuver in parliament, and policy design and implementation. The book also explores the problem that exists in Israel's governability: the lack of a strategic high-order far sighted decision making. Finally, it offers a method of electoral reform that can address both of these systemic maladies.
Covering 1816-2016, this book deals extensively with the international system as well as the territorial outcomes of several key wars that were waged during that time period, providing an instructive lesson in diplomatic history and international relations among global powers. Based on an in-depth review of the leading theories in the field of international relations, International Relations Theory of War explains an innovative theory on the international system, developed by the author, that he applies comprehensively to a large number of case studies. The book argues that there is a unipolar system that represents a kind of innovation relative to other systemic theories. It further posits that unipolar systems will be less stable than bipolar systems and more stable than multipolar systems, providing new insights relative to other theories that argue that unipolar systems are the most stable ones. The first chapter is devoted to explaining the manner of action of the two dependent variables-systemic international outcome and intra-systemic international outcome. The second chapter presents the international relations theory of war and its key assumptions. The third chapter precisely defines the distribution of power in the system. The fourth chapter examines the theory's two key phenomena. The fifth and last chapter presents the book's conclusions by examining the theoretical assumptions of the international relations theory of war. Presents an innovative theory of war that covers the major superpower conflicts of the past 200 years Provides the tools necessary to understanding current events and shows how they are relevant to the future of international relations Emphasizes the competitive aspects and conflicts of international politics Answers the key question of why certain time periods are more prone to war than others Explains why certain superpower wars end with territorial expansion whereas others end in the contraction or maintaining of territorial status
Most historical writing on the relations between the United States
and its European allies in the post-war period has concentrated on
the development of the Cold War and the beginnings of European
integration. An equally significant question is how relations
between an increasingly self-confident Europe and a United States
used to its leadership role developed after this period. This book
investigates the successes and failures, as well as the diversity,
that constituted both the strength and weakness of the
transatlantic alliance. It looks at crucial areas of conflict, such
as economics and trade, nuclear weapons, the language of power, and
key personalities, as well as the very concept of a special
relationship. How did Europe and the United States respond to
economic emergencies such as the 1973-4 oil crisis and how were
issues of power and control reflected in the language used by
officials to describe foreign nations and statesmen? Who controlled
the nuclear button and how did fears and feelings of inferiority
influence European-American nuclear interdependence in NATO? How
did American officials attempt to walk successfully in European
corridors of power and how did Europeans network in Washington?
What are the qualities that make relationships such as the
Anglo-American or the German-American one special and what strains
do they place on other members of the alliance?
The harsh reality of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is that it has been traumatic for the Israelis as well. But before we can evaluate the possibility of peace in the Middle East, we must understand the facts. Author Alan B. Katz defends the Israeli cause by revealing its side of the story. Beyond the headlines and talking heads lies a complex reality that the media studiously avoid. The Israelis are not the monsters that journalists have made them out to be. Indeed, "more sinned against than sinning," they are a compassionate, fair, and law-abiding nation who have faced far more pain and desolation than the world has been led to believe. With no wish to seek a public relations victory, the Israelis let nature take its course. In Fighting Back: Letters from the Diaspora, Mr. Katz humanizes the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to show the sacrifices, pain, and courage of the Israelis, and exposes the hypocrisy of the media and the true nature of the Palestinians. Through a series of letters to the editor and personal essays, Katz delves into the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and brings a deeply human element to the images the world views on television. Fighting Back: Letters from the Diaspora is a timely contribution to the events happening in the Middle East today and brings a perspective sorely lacking in the current debate.
This book provides a succinct and accessible interpretation of the major event and ideas that have shaped U.S. foreign relations since the American Revolution-historical factors that now affect our current debates and commitments in the Middle East as well as Europe and Asia. American Foreign Relations since Independence explores the relationship of American policies to national interest and the limits of the nation's power, reinterpreting the nature and history of American foreign relations. The book brings together the collective knowledge of three generations of diplomatic historians to create a readily accessible introduction to the subject. The authors explicitly challenge and reject the perennial debates about isolationism versus internationalism, instead asserting that American foreign relations have been characterized by the permanent tension inherent in America's desire to engage with the world and its equally powerful determination to avoid "entanglement" in the world's troubles. This work is ideally suited as a resource for students of politics, international affairs, and history, and it will provide compelling insights for informed general readers.
This uniquely interdisciplinary volume analyzes the challenges posed by the heterogeneity of the world where radically different players are crammed into increasingly limited political, commercial, social, and ecological space. The rapid rise of Communist Party-ruled China is posing serious challenges to the postwar politico-economic architecture dominated by the United States. Russia, once expected to become a partner of the liberal Western international order, has started behaving in an increasingly unilateral fashion. The developing world is more characterized by failed governance rather than convergence to liberal democracies as was hoped by many Western authors. Given links provided by low-cost carriers, the Internet, and trade and investment, we simply cannot shield ourselves from influences, whether benign or malign, from neighbors on this planet.The authors, including political scientists, economists, social physicists, and experts on complexity theory and informatics, examine how interactions among actors with different properties can cause problems, and they analyze risks resulting from the interactions. While employing a variety of approaches to address topics such as economic interdependence among democracies and authoritarian states, the development assistance regimes, internal conflicts in developing countries, and cyber security, the whole volume presents a clear overview of challenges and risks the world is facing. This work makes a valuable contribution to students of social sciences as well as to practitioners interested in the emerging global order.
In this collection of refreshing and provocative essays, the contributors to Theorizing Foreign Policy in a Globalized World reflect on the game-changing political impact of globalization, outlining the situation as it currently stands and suggesting strategies for analyzing foreign policy and global governance.
The lines of armed conflict, and the catastrophic perils they portended, were shaped with shocking clarity in the immediate aftermath of World War II. Less clear is the role religious ideology played in the conflicts that defined the Cold War era. All too often, beliefs held sacred by some became tools to motivate action or create friction. In Religion and the Cold War, Philip Muehlenbeck assembles an international team of specialists to explore how religion informed the ideological and military clashes across the globe in the second half of the twentieth century. Students and scholars will find in this volume a level of comprehensiveness rarely achieved in Cold War studies. Each chapter reveals that the power and influence of ideas are just as important as military might in the struggles between superpowers and that few ideas, then as now, carry as much force as religious ideology. As Muehlenbeck and his contributors demonstrate, no area of the world, and no religious tenet, was safe from the manipulations of a powerful set of players focused solely on their own sphere of influence.
One of the most prevalent and dangerous American misperceptions is the image of Japan as a faceless, impersonal, corporate entity. In "The Human Face of Japan's LeadershiP," Weinstein gives a human face to the leaders who will lead that nation into the next century. In doing so, he gives the reader a better idea of what makes these men tick, of the experiences which have shaped their values, and their views of Japan and the world. Weinstein conducted approximately 100 hours of taped interviews with 12 internationalized Japanese leaders in their 40s and 50s, including four members of the Diet, four bureaucrats, and four businessmen. These interviews form the core of the book: 12 biographical portraits, presented as oral histories and largely in the participant's words. These are individual, personal accounts which begin with family and regional background and include childhood and youth in World War II and the Occupation: educational experiences and views of Japan's future. These accounts also shed light on how the system of educational meritocracy and family interact to produce Japanese leaders. Japan's leadership includes a relatively high proportion of people, who while insiders and members of their Establishment, are at the same time knowledgeable and at ease in foreign languages and cultures. These internationalized leaders are committed to successful interaction with the outside world. Weinstein's book will help Americans gain a more accurate, balanced view of their most important overseas trading partner and ally in the Pacific. It could easily serve as a supplementary text in many courses on Japan, ranging from history and politics to business and management.
This volume presents the critical perspectives of feminists, critical race theorists, and queer and postcolonial theorists who question the adoption of European norms in the postcolonial world and whether such norms are enabling for disenfranchised communities or if they simply reinforce relations of domination and exploitation. It examines how postcolonial interventions alter the study of politics and society both in the postcolony and in Euro-America, as well as of the power relations between them. Challenging conventional understandings of international politics, this volume pushes the boundaries of the social sciences by engaging with alternative critical approaches and innovatively and provocatively addressing previously disregarded aspects of international politics. The fourteen contributions in this volume focus on the silencing and exclusion of vulnerable groups from claims of freedom, equality and rights, while highlighting postcolonial-queer-feminist struggles for transnational justice, radical democracy and decolonization, drawing on in-depth empirically-informed analyses of processes and struggles in Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. They address political and social topics including global governance and development politics; neo-colonialism, international aid and empire; resistance, decolonization and the Arab Spring; civil society and social movement struggles; international law, democratization and subalternity; body politics and green imperialism. By drawing on other disciplines in the social sciences and humanities, this book both enriches and expands the discipline of political science and international relations. Primary readership for this volume will be academics and students concerned with globalization studies, postcolonial theory, gender studies, and international relations, as well as political activists and policy-makers concerned with social and transnational justice, human rights, democracy, gender justice and women's rights.
Now the second largest oil-consuming country after the US, China's growing need for resources will affect its development as well as that of its neighbors and other developing countries. "China's Energy Relations with the Developing World" examines China's access to the energy resources of the developing world and its impact on Chinese foreign relations. Contributed by experts in international relations and Chinese politics, the essays look at China's expanding relations with the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, Latin America, India; the security implications of China's quest for energy resources; and, its impact on relations with world powers such as the US. The book also asks whether China's competition for energy resources will foster cooperation or conflict with other energy-consuming great powers. "China's Energy Relations with the Developing World" provides is an accessible text that will appeal to students, faculty, and policy makers seeking to understand Chinese politics, energy policy, and the factors that may lie beneath key future geopolitical and security issues.
Based on new and existing research by a world-class scholar, this is the first book in 20 years to examine the entire dynamics of the American-European relationship since 1945. Lundestad examines how the relationship between the United States and Europe is becoming increasingly strained, and offers a topical view of the future of this relationship.
This is a study that examines United Nations' efforts against terrorism in the 1970s and how West Germany came to influence and lead them. It is also an account of several hostage and hijacking crises as well as a look at German domestic terrorism.
More than three decades have passed since the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979. In that time, theories of modern revolution would suggest a retreat from ideological goals, heralding a phase of institutional development. However, Hamad Albloshi argues that Iran is unique: the current rhetoric of conservative Iranian leaders implies the regime has not left its revolutionary stage. Through an examination of the hardline conservative ideology in Iran-personified by the former president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad-this book explores how the usual development seen in revolutions from radical discourse to pragmatic rhetoric has not been the case in Iran. Albloshi explores the evolution of the hardline conservatives and their main ideas about the nature of the Iranian regime, their position toward other groups within the system, and their approach to the international community. By doing so, he sheds new light on the group's position in the country and the ideological roots of major shifts that occurred in Iran's internal and external policies in the period between 2005 and 2013.
This book explores the process of policymaking and implementation in the finance, energy and security sectors in the United Arab Emirates. It looks at the role of informal advisory networks in a nascent private sector, federal politics, and historical ties in foreign relations.
Andrew A. Michta examines the security of Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary in the aftermath of the 1989 collapse of communism and the Soviet empire in Eastern Europe. He reviews the old geopolitical dilemmas in the region as well as the new conditions in Europe as it approaches the remainder of the decade, and offers a country-by-country discussion of security policies and military reforms underway in the region. The analysis is set against a background discussion of the region's history as well as a review of the key events leading to the disintegration of the Warsaw Treaty Organization, including the reformulation of Soviet security policy in the late 1980s. Michta concludes with an assessment of security challenges facing the Triangle states of Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary as they work to join Western Europe by the end of the decade. He argues that the Triangle will remain in a gray security zone in Europe for the foreseeable future, with an implicit security commitment from NATO, but without explicit formal security guarantees.
To ensure its protection from enemies both foreign and domestic, a government must invest resources and personnel toward the goal of homeland security. It is through these endeavors that citizens are able to live out their lives in peace. Cases on Research and Knowledge Discovery: Homeland Security Centers of Excellence presents a series of studies and descriptive examples on the US Department of Homeland Security and related research. Through its investigation of interesting challenges and thought-provoking ideas, this volume offers professionals, researchers, and academics in the fields of security science, engineering, technology, and mathematics an in-depth discussion of some of the issues that directly affect the safety, security, and prosperity of the nation.
By positioning the late Edward Said's political interventions as a public intellectual on behalf of Palestinian populations living under Israeli occupation as a form of intellectual resistance, Abraham moves to consider forms of physical resistance, seeking to better understand the motivations of those who choose to turn their bodies into weapons.
During the division of Germany, law became the object of ideological conflicts and the means by which the two national governments conducted their battle over political legitimacy. Legal Entanglements explores how these dynamics produced competing concepts of statehood and sovereignty, all centered on citizens and their rights. Drawing on wide-ranging archival sources, including recently declassified documents, Sebastian Gehrig traces how politicians, diplomats, judges, lawyers, activists and intellectuals navigated the struggle between legal ideologies under the pressures of the Cold War and decolonization. As he shows, in their response to global debates over international law and human rights, their work kept the legal cultures of both German states entangled until 1989.
Shavit's historical dictionary addresses the critical need in academic libraries for reference sources that provide undergraduate and beginning graduate students of American foreign policy with introductory information on the persons, events, and institutions that have influenced US relations with other nations. . . . a useful dictionary. "Choice" Contact between the United States and Asia began in the 17th century when several Americans went to India as employees of the East India company. A myriad of sea captains and merchants, missionaries, consuls and diplomats, travelers, journalists, businessmen, engineers, naturalists, educators, and authors and artists followed, establishing a gamut of relationships between the United States and Asia. This volume provides, in alphabetical format, information about those individuals, institutions, and events that most affected the relationships between the United States and Asia. The dictionary focuses on individuals who contributed in a significant way to U.S.-Asian relations, especially those who left a written record of their experiences. The book covers all countries of Asia, except those of the Middle East, which are in a separate volume by Shavit. Shavit has succeeded in making the information highly accessible as well as comprehensive. The front matter includes a list of abbreviations, place names, and a chronology. A short introduction then leads into the dictionary itself. References at the end of each entry note whether the subject is covered in general biographical dictionaries and list books and articles on the subject. A system of asterisks cross-references people, events, and institutions that have their own entries in the dictionary. Two appendixes--a list of the chiefs of American diplomatic missions to Asia from 1843 to 1989, and a list of individuals organized by profession and occupation--are added handy reference materials. A bibliographical essay and index complete the book. This impressive new historical dictionary is a useful reference guide for any student of American relations with Asia.
The story of the British Empire at its maximum territorial extent. On Saturday 29 September 1923, the Palestine Mandate became law and the British Empire now covered a scarcely credible quarter of the world's land mass, containing 460 million people. It was the largest empire the world had ever seen. But it was beset by debt and doubts. This book is a new way of looking at the British Empire. It immerses the reader in the contemporary moment, focusing on particular people and stories from that day, gleaned from newspapers, letters, diaries, official documents, magazines, films and novels: from a remote Pacific island facing the removal of its entire soil, across Australia, Burma, India and Kenya to London and the West Indies. In some ways, the issues of a hundred years ago are with us still: debates around cultural and ethnic identity in a globalised world; how to manage multi-ethnic political entities; racism; the divisive co-opting of religion for political purposes; the dangers of ignorance. In others, it is totally alien. What remains extraordinary is the Empire's ability to reveal the most compelling human stories. Never before has there been a book which contains such a wide spread of vivid experiences from both colonised and coloniser: from the grandest governors to the humblest migrants, policemen and nurses. |
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