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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > International relations > Geopolitics
During four decades of fast-paced economic growth, China’s ascent
has reverberated across the full social spectrum, from
international relations to technology, from trade to global health,
from academia to climate change. Despite disrupting the
long-established cultural and political constructs of the postwar
liberal international order, Beijing’s power remains uneven and
limited internationally, whereas the rise of China has been the
object of much frenzied reaction within Western civil society. The
hostility and new cold war with the United States is a major factor
in fuelling debate and speculation. This book explores the
uncertainties and dilemmas China’s rise has fuelled for both the
US-sponsored liberal order and the Chinese communist elites that
are responsible. It provides the tools to understand the
contemporary political and media turmoil about China, its causes
and its trajectories. It interprets the rise of China through the
lenses of global politics and the uneven and combined development
of capitalism and its encounter with the authoritarian, one-party
system of the Chinese polity.
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement marked the end of Sudan's second
civil war between the North and South. But in creating an
autonomous southern region and a pathway toward statehood, it
failed to resolve the effects of rebel factionalism, party
infighting, and corruption in the South. In South Sudan's Fateful
Struggle, Steven C. Roach analyzes these persistent effects of the
South-South war, showing how they disrupted the transition to
statehood and divided the transitional government of national unity
in South Sudan. Throughout, he stresses the centrality of elite
mismanagement and the durable dynamics of war which have shaped the
country's troubled political destiny. The government, plagued by
patronage-fueled corruption and patrimonialism, continues to rely
on the threat of violence to govern the country and to delay the
transition to a new government of national unity. Roach argues that
in naturally sowing division and distrust, government elites must
ultimately learn to engage civil society to achieve long-term
peace, accountability, and justice. Along with providing an
overview of the country's trajectory in this century, Roach traces
its state of war to colonial times and uses the notion of
militarized patronage to describe the distinct nature of South
Sudan's patronage networks. He shows how the Sudan People's
Liberation Movement came to dominate the country's affairs to
become a powerful deterrent to democracy, security, justice, and
national unity. He then discusses the promising efforts by civil
society actors to advance hybrid justice by pressuring the
government to implement a truth commission, a war crimes court, and
reparations commission. Comprehensive in scope, the book represents
the first systematic examination of South Sudan's quandary both
before and after its civil war.
Following the Arab Uprisings, new ways of understanding
sectarianism and sect-based differences emerged. But these
perspectives, while useful, reduced sectarian identities to a
consequence of either primordial tensions or instrumentalised
identities. While more recently ‘third way’ approaches
addressed the problems with these two positions, the complexity of
secatarian identities within and across states remains unexplored.
This book fills the gap in the literature to offer a more nuanced
reading of both sectarian identities and also de-sectarianization
across the Middle East. To do so, the volume provides a comparative
account, looking at Iraq, Bahrain, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon. It
examines the ways in which sect-based difference shapes regional
politics and vice versa. The book also contributes to burgeoning
debates on the role of protest movements in sectarianism. Chapters
are split across three main sections: the first looks at sects and
states; the second traces the relationship between sects and
regional dynamics; and the third examines de-sectarianization, that
is, the contestation and destablization of sectarian identities in
socio-political life. Each section provides a more holistic
understanding of the role of sectarian identities in the
contemporary Middle East and shows how sectarian groups operate
within and across state borders, and why this has serious
implications for the ordering of life across the Middle East.
A Vanishing West in the Middle East covers the history of Western
cooperation in the Middle East and North Africa since the end of
the Cold War. Based on more than fifty interviews with diplomats
and experts as well as consultations of the academic literature, it
describes the operational and political frameworks through which
the United States and European countries have intervened in the
Arab world, and how their relations with the region have changed.
Practitioner testimonies and detailed case studies illuminate U.S.
successes and failures in enlisting allies for campaigns in Iraq,
Syria, and Libya. This analysis goes to the heart of the American
debate on “endless wars” but also questions the very concept of
Western intervention in a region where the Arab Spring and
subsequent uprisings have profoundly changed the geopolitical
landscape. Today, whereas the United States wishes to pull back
from the region, Europe understands it must become more involved.
Whatever their particular motivations, both must adapt to an
increasingly fragmented Middle East, influenced specifically by
more assertive Chinese, Russian, Iranian, Emirati, and Turkish
foreign policies.
Across the developing world, governments still lack the fiscal
capacity to fund critical public goods, alleviate poverty, and
invest in economic development. Yet, we know little about how to
effectively build strong states in these settings. This book
develops and tests a new theory to explain why fiscal capacity in
African states is low. Drawing on work in psychology and behavioral
economics, this book argues that taxation leads citizens to demand
more from leaders as they seek to recover lost income from
taxation. It then argues that governments' willingness to tax will
depend on the extent to which they can satisfy citizens' demands
while maintaining rent extraction. Rent-seeking leaders of
low-capacity states will strategically underinvest in fiscal
capacity in order to avoid the higher demands they face under
taxation. Contrary to many existing theories, Martin shows that
this can actually lead to lower taxation in democracies compared to
autocracies, as citizen accountability demands pose a bigger threat
to rulers. The book uses multiple empirical approaches to test the
theory. Laboratory experiments in Uganda and Ghana, combined with
Afrobarometer data, demonstrate that taxation increases citizens'
demands on leaders. Global cross-national panel data show that
democracy can actually lead to lower taxation in low-capacity
states. When taxation is sustainable, however, it is associated
with better governance. Case studies in Uganda, based on the
author's own fieldwork and original survey data, provide additional
support for the theory. These findings provide new framework for
understanding the challenges to building state capacity, especially
fiscal capacity, in modern developing countries.
Overcoming the Oppressors traces southern Africa's long walk to
freedom, the overturning of colonial rule in the northern
territories, and the dissolution of backs-to-the-wall white settler
suzerainty, first in what became Zimbabwe and then in South Africa.
Chapters on the individual countries detail the stages along their
sometimes complicated and tortuous struggle to attain the political
New Zion. Rotberg explains how and why the Federation of Rhodesia
and Nyasaland failed, how and why apartheid eventually collapsed,
and exactly how the various components of this heavily white
conquered, and later white oppressed, domain transitioned via
diverse fits and starts into today's assemblage of proud,
politically charged, and still mostly fragmented nation-states. But
what did the new republics make of their hard-won freedoms? Having
liberated themselves successfully, several soon dismantled
democratic safeguards, established effective single-party states,
closed their economies, deprived citizens of human rights and civil
liberties, and exchanged economic progress for varieties of central
planning experiments and stunted forms of protected economic
endeavors. Only Botswana, of the new entities, embraced full
democracy and good governance. The others, even South Africa, at
first tightly regimented their economies and attempted to severely
limit the degrees of economic freedom and social progress that
citizens could enjoy. Corruption prevailed everywhere except
Botswana. Today, as the chapters on contemporary southern Africa
reveal, most of the southern half of the African continent is
returning, if sometimes struggling, to the patterns of probity and
good governance that many countries abandoned in the decades after
independence.
The Third UN is the ecology of supportive non-state
actors-intellectuals, scholars, consultants, think tanks, NGOs, the
for-profit private sector, and the media-that interacts with the
intergovernmental machinery of the First UN (member states) and the
Second UN (staff members of international secretariats) to
formulate and refine ideas and decision-making at key junctures in
policy processes. Some advocate for particular ideas, others help
analyze or operationalize their testing and implementation; many
thus help the UN 'think'. While think tanks, knowledge brokers, and
epistemic communities are phenomena that have entered both the
academic and policy lexicons, their intellectual role remains
marginal to analyses of such intergovernmental organizations as the
United Nations.
A new concept of `Indo-Pacific` has entered into the geopolitical
discourse and the lexicon of International Relations. There is no
unanimity of views on the definition of the emerging concept of
Indo-Pacific. Yet, Indo-Pacific region as a new geopolitical
concept appears to have come to stay. Three major developments have
taken place in recent years leading to emergence of the concept of
`Indo-Pacific` that does not replace but subsumes the geopolitical
construct, hitherto known as the `Asia-Pacific`. The newest
development, of course, is the rise of India as an economic
powerhouse and influential political actor in world affairs,
particularly in Asian affairs. Second most important development is
China`s assertive foreign policy and use of military strength to
assert its sovereignty on disputed islands in the South China Sea.
The third important development is erosion of self-confidence of
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that used to display
its image as a triumphant political grouping in a region, despite
diversity in terms of political system, economic philosophy,
religious beliefs and socio-cultural traditions. The present book
is a by-product of two days of intense deliberations among large
number of scholars on various issues and challenges faced by the
countries of the Indo-Pacific region. The book includes the
perspectives of major powers in the Indo-Pacific, analyses critical
regional security issues, such as sovereignty issues in South China
Sea, the rise of QUAD, role of soft power, challenges to ASEAN
centrality and regionalism, and examines the non-traditional
security threats, such as terrorism, nuclear proliferation,
environmental degradation, drugs trafficking and health hazards.
EXPERT ANALYSIS OF AN ILLEGAL AND IMMORAL PRACTICE The Bush
administration detained and tortured suspected terrorists; the
Obama administration assassinates them. Assassination, or targeted
killing, off the battlefield not only causes more resentment
against the United States, it is also illegal. In this
interdisciplinary collection, human rights and political activists,
policy analysts, lawyers and legal scholars, a philosopher, a
journalist and a sociologist examine different aspects of the U.S.
policy of targeted killing with drones and other methods. It
explores the legality, morality and geopolitical considerations of
targeted killing and resulting civilian casualties, and evaluates
the impact on relations between the United States and affected
countries. The book includes the documentation of civilian
casualties by the leading non-governmental organization in this
area; stories of civilians victimized by drones; an analysis of the
first U.S. targeted killing lawsuit by the lawyer who brought the
case; a discussion of the targeted killing cases in Israel by the
director of PCATI which filed one of the lawsuits; the domestic use
of drones; and the immorality of drones using Just War principles.
Contributors include: Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Phyllis Bennis,
Medea Benjamin, Marjorie Cohn, Richard Falk, Tom Hayden, Pardiss
Kebriaei, Jane Mayer, Ishai Menuchin, Jeanne Mirer, John Quigley,
Dr. Tom Reifer, Alice Ross, Jay Stanley, and Harry Van der Linden.
Hong Kong is in turmoil, with a new generation of young and
politically active citizens shaking the regime. From the Umbrella
Movement in 2014 to the defeat of the Extradition Bill and beyond,
the protestors' demands have become more radical, and their actions
more drastic. Their bravery emboldened the labor movement and
launched the first successful political strike in half a century,
followed by the broadening of the democratic movement as a whole.
The book also sets the new protest movements within the context of
the colonization, revolution and modernization of China. Au
Loong-Yu explores Hong Kong's unique position in this history and
the reaction the protests have generated on the Mainland. But the
new generation's aspiration goes far beyond the political. It is a
generation that strongly associates itself with a Hong Kong
identity, with inclusivity and openness. Looking deeper into the
roots and intricacies of the movement, the role of 'Western Values'
vs 'Communism' and 'Hong Kongness' vs 'Chineseness', the cultural
and political battles are understood through a broader geopolitical
history. For good or for bad, Hong Kong has become one of the
battle fields of the great historic contest between the US, the UK
and China.
A Vanishing West in the Middle East covers the history of Western
cooperation in the Middle East and North Africa since the end of
the Cold War. Based on more than fifty interviews with diplomats
and experts as well as consultations of the academic literature, it
describes the operational and political frameworks through which
the United States and European countries have intervened in the
Arab world, and how their relations with the region have changed.
Practitioner testimonies and detailed case studies illuminate U.S.
successes and failures in enlisting allies for campaigns in Iraq,
Syria, and Libya. This analysis goes to the heart of the American
debate on “endless wars” but also questions the very concept of
Western intervention in a region where the Arab Spring and
subsequent uprisings have profoundly changed the geopolitical
landscape. Today, whereas the United States wishes to pull back
from the region, Europe understands it must become more involved.
Whatever their particular motivations, both must adapt to an
increasingly fragmented Middle East, influenced specifically by
more assertive Chinese, Russian, Iranian, Emirati, and Turkish
foreign policies.
The South Caucasus is the key strategic region between the Black
Sea and Caspian Sea and the regional powers of Iran, Turkey and
Russia and is the land bridge between Asia and Europe with vital
hydrocarbon routes to international markets. This volume examines
the resulting geopolitical positioning of Georgia, a pivotal state
and lynchpin of the region, illustrating how and why Georgia's
foreign policy is 'multi-vectored', facing potential challenges
from Russia, int ernal and external nationalisms, the possible
break-up of the European project and EU support and uncertainty
over the US commitment to the traditional liberal international
order.
This book is a compilation of papers presented at a day-long
conference organized in Chennai, on March 28, 2019, by the Chennai
Centre for China Studies (C3S) in partnership with the National
Maritime Foundation (NMF) and the Department of Defence and
Strategic Studies, University of Madras, and supported by the
Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard on the theme, “Securing
India's Maritime Neighbourhood: Challenges and Opportunities”.
Contributors included a whole galaxy of luminaries from the serving
and veteran echelons of the Indian Armed Forces, the diplomatic
community, maritime industry, doyens of Indian academia, and
distinguished personalities from the Fourth Estate. A number of
facets of seminal importance to national security were addressed in
the book. These included conceptual, geopolitical, economic,
environmental, and technological issues.
Why and how will the fourth industrial revolution impact great
power politics? Here, Glenn Diesen utilizes a neoclassical, global
approach to great power politics to assess how far the development
of AI, national and localized technological ecosystems and
cyber-warfare will affect great power politics in the next century.
The reliance of modern economies on technological advances, Diesen
argues, also compels states to intervene radically in economics and
the lives of citizens, as automation radically alters the economies
of tomorrow.
Daesh is worse than the Taliban, which is now trying to bring a new
ideology as Daesh-ism which is anti – Islam. This book brings out
the alarming situation of the presence of Daesh in Pakistan and its
expanding activities. It serves the international community as a
reminder of the role they need to play in crushing this monster.
"The Book is a window on Indian cultural diplomacy, which is set
against the backdrop of its ethos of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' (The
World is a Family). It is pivoted to the 'Idea of India' that gets
manifested through acceptance of diversity and celebration of
pluralism. The Book in 15 chapters under 8 sections provides a
comprehensive picture on the concept of cultural diplomacy; its
relationship with public diplomacy and soft power; its place in the
diplomatic architecture and its growing centrality. Unlike soft
power, cultural diplomacy is not in the paradigm of power. The Book
also provides an in depth study on the origins and evolution of
Indian cultural diplomacy over the years. It reviews the role of
the Ministries of Culture and External Affairs and the Indian
Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). It examines various
instrumentalities, such as Cultural Agreements, Festivals of India,
Cultural Centres and Chairs of Indian Studies, used by India, to
achieve its objectives. The role played by Education, Media and
Diaspora, as bridge builders is evaluated. The Book peeps into
global cultural hubs, like the Smithsonian Institution in
Washington DC and the working of cultural diplomacy at grassroots
level at Chandigarh and Chicago. Two chapters in the Book look at
the operation of cultural diplomacy in the Indian diplomatic
missions and foreign diplomatic missions in India. This adds a
practical dimension to the conceptual framework, as seen by
practitioners of diplomacy. The final chapter provides an overview
on the existing reality. A section on 'The Way Ahead' makes a
number of practical recommendations in five clusters, to take
cultural diplomacy to a higher plateau. Finally, it raises a set of
pertinent issues and points for consideration by theoreticians and
practitioners of cultural diplomacy. The Book would serve as a
useful reference point for further studies, as it fills the
existing void in the literature on cultural diplomacy."
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