Since the Libya War in 2011 it has been widely suggested that NATO's role in US security policy has diminished, because Washington gives Europe less and Asia more strategic priority (a tendency that is reinforced by budget restraints), and because the US is no longer interested in always leading NATO activities that mainly concern European conditions. Several experts have suggested that the US expect that the European security challenges primarily should be handled by NATO's European allies in a new transatlantic burden sharing model, and that the US role should principally be Article V-focused. This book investigates to what extent these claims are valid, and what consequences they may have for European and international security.

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, NATO's middle powers have been pressured into shouldering an increasing share of the costs of the transatlantic alliance. In Sharing the Burden? Benjamin Zyla rejects the claim that countries like Canada have shirked their responsibilities within NATO.

Using a range of measures that go beyond troop numbers and defense budgets to include peacekeeping commitments, foreign economic assistance, and contributions to NATO's rapid reaction forces and infrastructure, Zyla argues that, proportionally, Canada's NATO commitments in the 1990s rivaled those of the alliance's major powers. At the same time, he demonstrates that Canadian policy was driven by strong normative principles to assist failed and failing states rather than a desire to ride the coattails of the United States, as is often presumed.

An important challenge to realist theories, Sharing the Burden? is a significant contribution to the debate on the nature of alliances in international relations.

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, NATO's middle powers have been pressured into shouldering an increasing share of the costs of the transatlantic alliance. In Sharing the Burden? Benjamin Zyla rejects the claim that countries like Canada have shirked their responsibilities within NATO.

Using a range of measures that go beyond troop numbers and defense budgets to include peacekeeping commitments, foreign economic assistance, and contributions to NATO's rapid reaction forces and infrastructure, Zyla argues that, proportionally, Canada's NATO commitments in the 1990s rivaled those of the alliance's major powers. At the same time, he demonstrates that Canadian policy was driven by strong normative principles to assist failed and failing states rather than a desire to ride the coattails of the United States, as is often presumed.

An important challenge to realist theories, Sharing the Burden? is a significant contribution to the debate on the nature of alliances in international relations.

IEG s evaluation shows that the World Bank Group remained an important partner for the government in addressing many key policy challenges. The World Bank adapted its program effectively to meet shifting country needs, which shifted to subnational government support in the mid-2000s. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) provided useful advisory support for structuring public-private partnership projects and trade finance during the 2008 09 global financial crisis. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) concentrated its activities on the electricity transmission subsector. IEG rates the overall outcome of the Bank Group program as moderately satisfactory, with some important variability across themes. The Bank Group made significant contributions when it served as an advisor, providing analytical input and exchanging views on relevant policy issues. Advisory support for structuring public-private partnership projects leveraged IFC s global expertise in project financing. The Bank Group s convening power provided diverse stakeholders with a platform to examine issues and trade-offs that cut across organizational boundaries. In addition, the Bank helped reduce deforestation in the Amazon through support for a major expansion of protected areas and indigenous territories, as well as for building the capacity of national and state environmental agencies. Results were less satisfactory in addressing infrastructure bottlenecks, particularly in logistics and the cost of doing business. These areas remained critical constraints to Brazil s growth and a key government concern. A question regarding the overall country strategy is whether the use of a few very large operations with opportunity cost relative to the IBRD exposure limit was appropriate. The strong demand for Bank Group financial and knowledge support in Brazil is likely to continue. To ensure efficient use of operational resources, the Bank Group must maximize its contribution per dollar loaned and per dollar of Bank Group budget resources. IEG recommends that the Bank Group make catalytic impact a major criterion in the design of its future strategy in Brazil. This means that in selecting the programs and projects to support, the emphasis should be on those with benefits beyond the individual intervention."

Scholars and policymakers in EU foreign policy lament the EU's inability to assert itself on the world stage. This book explains this weakness by arguing that EU foreign policy is burdened by various internal functions, and systemizes the analysis of internal functionality, pushing the study beyond the concern with effectiveness.

ASEAN has an abiding interest in peace and stability in this region and in freedom of navigation in and overflight above the South China Sea. Much of ASEAN's commerce, including its members' traded food and energy resources, passes through or over the South China Sea. The stakes for ASEAN and its members in the South China Sea are very high.

The increasing visibility of individuals engaging in small-scale business enterprises outside formal wage employment has been a topic of debate for many years, in many countries. The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is no exception. In fact, the informal economy has become a persistent feature of the region's economic landscape and has been thriving, as documented by leading Caribbean scholars. Informal Commercial Importers in CARICOM is the first book to examine the various dimensions of informal commercial importing from an aggregate CARICOM perspective, emphasizing the economic dimensions and providing three empirical surveys of informal commercial importing in Guyana, Dominica and Jamaica. Roger Hosein and Martin Franklin provide a rich survey of the literature on shuttle trading, which aids in contextualizing the range of factors that has given rise to shuttle trading in CARICOM and enabled its longevity. They discuss the possible effects of formalizing the informal trade in CARICOM economies and propose strategies that can aid in this formalization process. While this book is written to appeal to an academic audience, it also provides essential reading for policymakers, research scholars and practitioners alike, and it provides a foundation for further studies of the shuttle trade in a changing Caribbean.

The world is on the cusp of a global turn. Between 1500 and 1800, the West sprinted ahead of other centers of power in Asia and the Middle East. Europe and the United States have dominated the world since. But today the West's preeminence is slipping away as China, India, Brazil and other emerging powers rise. Although most strategists recognize that the dominance of the West is on the wane, they are confident that its founding ideas-democracy, capitalism, and secular nationalism-will continue to spread, ensuring that the Western order will outlast its primacy. In No One's World, Charles A. Kupchan boldly challenges this view, arguing that the world is headed for political and ideological diversity; emerging powers will neither defer to the West's lead nor converge toward the Western way. The ascent of the West was the product of social and economic conditions unique to Europe and the United States. As other regions now rise, they are following their own paths to modernity and embracing their own conceptions of domestic and international order. Kupchan contends that the Western order will not be displaced by a new great power or dominant political model. The twenty-first century will not belong to America, China, Asia, or anyone else. It will be no one's world. For the first time in history, an interdependent world will be without a center of gravity or global guardian. More than simply diagnosing what lies ahead, Kupchan provides a detailed strategy for striking a bargain between the West and the rising rest by fashioning a new consensus on issues of legitimacy, sovereignty, and governance. Thoughtful, provocative, sweeping in scope, this work is nothing less than a global guidebook for the 21st century.

During the 13th ASEAN Summit in November 2007, ASEAN Leaders endorsed the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint, which laid the foundation of creating a ""single market and production base"" among the ten Southeast Asian economies. Soon after that, ASEAN faced great uncertainties in the light of the 2008 global financial crisis and continues to remain cautious in the face of the ongoing global economic weakness. Despite this, the region is forging ahead with its commitment to carry out economic liberalisation and cooperation as stipulated in the AEC Blueprint. The official AEC scorecard, published in March 2012, stated that ASEAN had achieved 68.2 per cent of its targets for the 2008-11 period. The official AEC scorecard is expected to track the implementation of measures and the achievement of milestones committed in the AEC Strategic Schedule. However, the scorecard, in its current form, is too brief and general to be useful for the ASEAN citizens. This book attempts to fill this gap and evaluates the current status of and the progress towards the milestones of the AEC Blueprint. The overall message of the book is that even though ASEAN may miss some of its integration goals by 31 December 2015, it will certainly deliver some of the key initiatives - tariff elimination, establishing the ASEAN Single Window, laying the foundation of the regional investment initiative, advancing tourism services, moving ahead with ASEAN connectivity and the realisation of ASEAN 1 free trade agreements. AEC's goal of forming an equitable and competitive regional economy will continue to be a work in progress. AEC 2015 is going to be a historic milestone that will raise ASEAN's profile and will help the region to maintain its centrality in the international community.

In My Voice Is My Weapon, David A. McDonald rethinks the conventional history of the Palestinian crisis through an ethnographic analysis of music and musicians, protest songs, and popular culture. Charting a historical narrative that stretches from the late-Ottoman period through the end of the second Palestinian intifada, McDonald examines the shifting politics of music in its capacity to both reflect and shape fundamental aspects of national identity. Drawing case studies from Palestinian communities in Israel, in exile, and under occupation, McDonald grapples with the theoretical and methodological challenges of tracing "resistance" in the popular imagination, attempting to reveal the nuanced ways in which Palestinians have confronted and opposed the traumas of foreign occupation. The first of its kind, this book offers an in-depth ethnomusicological analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, contributing a performative perspective to the larger scholarly conversation about one of the world's most contested humanitarian issues.

In "My Voice Is My Weapon," David A. McDonald rethinks the conventional history of the Palestinian crisis through an ethnographic analysis of music and musicians, protest songs, and popular culture. Charting a historical narrative that stretches from the late-Ottoman period through the end of the second Palestinian intifada, McDonald examines the shifting politics of music in its capacity to both reflect and shape fundamental aspects of national identity. Drawing case studies from Palestinian communities in Israel, in exile, and under occupation, McDonald grapples with the theoretical and methodological challenges of tracing "resistance" in the popular imagination, attempting to reveal the nuanced ways in which Palestinians have confronted and opposed the traumas of foreign occupation. The first of its kind, this book offers an in-depth ethnomusicological analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, contributing a performative perspective to the larger scholarly conversation about one of the world's most contested humanitarian issues.

In "Containing Russia's Nuclear Firebirds," Glenn E. Schweitzer explores the life and legacy of the International Science and Technology Center in Moscow. He makes the case that the center's unique programs can serve as models for promoting responsible science in many countries of the world.
Never before have scientists encountered technology with the potential for such huge impacts on the global community, both positive and negative. For nearly two decades following the Soviet Union's breakup into independent states, the ISTC has provided opportunities for underemployed Russian weapon scientists to redirect their talents toward civilian research. The center has championed the role of science in determining the future of civilization and has influenced nonproliferation policies of Russia and other states in the region. Most important, the center has demonstrated that modest investments can encourage scientists of many backgrounds to shun greed and violence and to take leading roles in steering the planet toward prosperity and peace.
Schweitzer contends that the United States and other western and Asian countries failed to recognize the importance, over time, of modifying their donor-recipient approach to dealing with Russia. In April 2010 the Russian government announced that it would withdraw from the ISTC agreement. After expenditures exceeding one billion dollars, the ISTC's Moscow Science Center will soon close its doors, leaving a legacy that has benefited Russian society as well as partners from thirty-eight countries. Schweitzer argues that a broader and more sustained movement is now needed to help prevent irresponsible behavior by dissatisfied or misguided scientists and their patrons.

"NATO and Terrorism" posits that the post 9/11 war on terrorism has had a profound effect on NATO's post Cold War structure and military missions. "NATO and Terrorism" focuses on the decades from 1989 until 2009, during which NATO underwent two major transformations. The first was the expansion from sixteen to twenty-six member states. This section traces the evolution of the new member states from communist enemies to democratic partners, looking at their differences and similarities, the reactions of their publics to membership, and their involvement in NATO activities. The second was the radical shift in the missions of the alliance and the book analyzes the military operations in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq as well as the new issue of the Missile Shield for Europe. Both sections also look at how inclusion of more states is predicated on the conclusion that their geopolitical position makes them a barrier against terrorism centered further east and how the missions involve the struggle against several varieties of terrorism.

From the war on terror to the global financial crisis, traditional concepts of world politics are being challenged on a daily basis. In these uncertain times, the study of international relations and the forces that shape them have never been more important.

Written specifically for students who are approaching this subject for the first time, "World Politics" is the most accessible, coherent and up-to-date account of the field available. It covers the historical backdrop to today's political situations, the complex interactions of states and non-state actors, the role of political economy, human security in all its forms, and the ways in which culture, religion and identity influence events.

"World Politics" takes a new approach that challenges traditional interpretations, and will equip students with the knowledge and the confidence needed to tackle the big issues.

This book is about how the WTO functions as a public organization. It analyzes and evaluates the WTO from a public administration perspective which is absent from the current debate on WTO reforms dominated by the traditional view that only nation states matter, not international organizations.

The United Nations is a vital part of the international order. Yet this book argues that the greatest contribution of the UN is not what it has achieved (improvements in health and economic development, for example) or avoided (global war, say, or the use of weapons of mass destruction). It is, instead, the process through which the UN has transformed the structure of international law to expand the range and depth of subjects covered by treaties. This handbook offers the first sustained analysis of the UN as a forum in which and an institution through which treaties are negotiated and implemented. Chapters are written by authors from different fields, including academics and practitioners; lawyers and specialists from other social sciences (international relations, history, and science); professionals with an established reputation in the field; younger researchers and diplomats involved in the negotiation of multilateral treaties; and scholars with a broader view on the issues involved. The volume thus provides unique insights into UN treaty-making. Through the thematic and technical parts, it also offers a lens through which to view challenges lying ahead and the possibilities and limitations of this understudied aspect of international law and relations.

This report shares results of a regionwide survey undertaken in late 2007 among over 2,000 students from leading universities across ASEAN member countries. The survey addressed questions on whether youths today consider themselves to be citizens of ASEAN; whether the region's youth are enthusiastic or skeptical about ASEAN; how well the region's youth know ASEAN and its members; and their concerns for the Association and the region. Survey findings indicate a nascent sense of ownership and stake in ASEAN, despite some clear differences in knowledge and opinions on the grouping. It is interesting to note that the students agreed on the importance of economic cooperation and addressing poverty and development needs; and share a desire to know more about the region. Responses from the survey provide a useful source of information for ASEAN policy-makers on promoting awareness about ASEAN and the challenges and opportunities the region faces in pursuing regional integration.

Written by 27 World Bank experts, this book draws on the Bank's unique global capabilities and experience to promote an understanding of key global issues that cannot be solved by any one nation alone in an increasingly interconnected world. It describes the forces that are shaping public and private action to address these issues and highlights the Bank's own work in these areas. Covering four broad themes (global economy, global human development, global environment, and global governance), this comprehensive volume provides an introduction to today's most pressing global issues from poverty, conflict, and migration to climate change, international trade, education, health, and corruption. With its straightforward presentation of complex topics, use of real world examples, and suggestions for further reading on-line and in the literature, this unique volume will be an invaluable resource for students in international relations, global business, public policy, international development studies, sociology as well as other interested readers."

"Know Your ASEAN" sets down, in clear and simple language, the basic facts about the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. It does so in the form of 40 questions and their answers. It is among the contributions of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies to the observance of the 40th anniversary of ASEAN's founding on 8 August 1967.The booklet provides facts on ASEAN's establishment, membership, financing and decision-making. It recalls the association's contributions to regional security. It explains what ASEAN is doing to integrate the regional economy and promote regional cooperation on the environment, infectious diseases, counter-terrorism, poverty reduction, and natural disasters. It clarifies such issues as non-interference and human rights. It touches on ASEAN's relations with other countries and international institutions.Through this booklet and its other work, ISEAS hopes to contribute to the expansion of public understanding about ASEAN, recognizing the fact that regional solidarity, integration and cooperation will be possible only with sufficient public support. The publication's design and the cartoons in it are by Miel, Senior Executive Artist and cartoonist of the "Strait Times".

Globalization has increased the need for global international organization, as more global activity has demanded greater global management. Paradoxically, this has also often strengthened the case for regional arrangements, as a way of supporting globalization. International Organization in the Age of Globalization examines how the relentless process of globalization has affected the world's international organizations. The author primarily focuses on the United Nations and the wider UN system, but he also examines the involvement of the WTO, the World Bank and regional organizations such as the EU, ASEAN, ASEM, NAFTA, and MERCOSUR in these processes. This wide ranging study concentrates on three key areas - the maintenance of peace and security, the management of economic and social activity, and the protection of individual welfare - which provide illustrations of the changing relationship between international organizations and individual states, a central interaction in global organization. Clearly and provocatively written, this book will be essential for anyone interested in processes of globalization. Students and researchers in international relations, politics, economics and sociology will benefit from the author's insights into the changing nature of international organization in the twenty-first century.

The transatlantic relationship is under serious strain. The end of the Cold War, Europes continuing integration, and the new array of threats confronting the West have led Americans and Europeans alike to question the durability and utility of the Atlantic alliance. The transatlantic rift that opened over the war in Iraq significantly intensified these concerns. This Task Force, established by the Council on Foreign Relations, examines the sources of recent tensions between the United States and Europe and lays out an agenda for renewing the Atlantic partnership. Led by Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, the former secretary of state and national security adviser, and current chairman of Kissinger Associates, Inc., and Dr. Lawrence H. Summers, the former secretary of the treasury and current president of Harvard University, the Task Force concludes that the United States and Europe should take advantage of their compatible interests and complementary capabilities to guard and extend the values and principles that continue to define the Atlantic community and to meet threats to their common purpose. The Task Force, directed by Council Senior Fellow and Director of European Studies Charles A. Kupchan, makes specific recommendations for bridging the transatlantic divide, such as reaching agreement on new rules of the road governing the use of military force; forging a common policy toward irresponsible states; increasing cooperation through multilateral institutions; developing a common approach to the greater Middle East; adapting NATO to new geopolitical realities; and liberalizing and expanding the global economy.

Almost fifteen years after the end of the Cold War, the process of creating a "Europe whole and free" is incomplete and likely to be so for the foreseeable future. In this volume, a group of highly distinguished contributors from both East and West examines the complicated and multi-faceted process of NATO and EU enlargement in the context of the changed global situation since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. This book examines the enlargement processes not only from the perspective of the West and western institutions, but also from the point of view of the former communist countries. If an enlarged NATO and EU are to be stable and successful in the long run, they must take account of the wishes and interests of both their new, former-communist members and those European states that will not become members of either NATO or the EU in the foreseeable future Contributors include Christopher Bobinski (Unia & Polska), Vladimir Baranovsky (Institute of the World Economy and International Relations), Heather Grabbe (Center for European Reform), Karl-Heinz Kamp (Konrad Adenauer Foundation), Charles King (Georgetown University), Alexander J. Motyl (Center for Global Change and Governance), Zaneta Ozolina (University of Latvia), Alexander Sergounin (Nizhny Novgorod Linguistic University), William Wallace (London School of Economics), and Leonid Zaiko (Strategy Center).

For the most part, political and scholarly debates about the future of the North Atlantic Alliance embrace enlargement and military conflict management as crucial factors. Yet another set of determinants lies in the political relationships within the Alliance itself and vis-a-vis other international institutions. The Madrid 'Enlargement Summit' of July 1997 and a proclaimed 'new' NATO notwithstanding, those issues continue to have a strong impact on NATO's performance and on North Atlantic Alliance politics. Enlargement not at all terminates their relevance. It sparks a second wave in shaping NATO's future, but the first wave remains, and it remains critical. The subject matter of the present analysis is this first wave of NATO's adaptation between 1990 and mid-1997, an institutionalist approach beyond the narrow scope of the common neorealist-neoliberal debate providing the frame of reference. One lesson for the 'new', enlarging Alliance is that it should refrain from adopting too diffuse political responsibilities and claiming a too broad spectrum of functions in post-strategic security politics.

Globally respected as one of the world's leading reference sources, this 43rd edition contains: * Detailed surveys of over 250 countries and territories * A comprehensive listing of over 1,650 international organizations * Access to the very latest statistics, directory information and current analysis * An in-depth and up-to-date focus on world-wide affairs. * Widely praised by reference librarians International OrganizationsA comprehensive profile of over 1,650 international organizations. Coverage of countries and territories from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe An introductory survey of recent history and economic affairs, details of location, climate, language, religion, flag, capital, government, defence, education, public holidays and weights and measures. An extensive statistical survey provides an invaluable and comparative record of figures from official sources on area and population, health and welfare, agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, industry, finance, external trade, transport, tourism, communications media and education. A comprehensive directory of invaluable contact names, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, e-mail and internet addresses, and other useful facts about the constitution, government, head of state and legislature, political organizations, diplomatic representation, judicial system, religion, the press, publishers, broadcasting and communications, finance, trade and industry, utilities, transport and tourism.