This timely book offers an in-depth exploration of state partitions and the history of nationalism in Europe from the Enlightenment onwards. Stefano Bianchini compares traditional national democratic development to the growing transnational demands of representation with a focus on transnational mobility and empathy versus national localism against the EU project. In an era of multilevel identity, global economic and asylum seeker crises, nationalism is becoming more liquid which in turn strengthens the attractiveness of 'ethnic purity' and partitions, affects state stability, and the nature of national democracy in Europe. The result may be exposure to the risk of new wars, rather than enhanced guarantees of peace. Included is a rare and insightful comparative assessment of the lessons not learned from the Yugoslav demise, the Czechoslovak partition, the Baltic trajectory from USSR incorporation to EU integration, and the impact of ethnicity in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Beyond their peculiarities, these examples are used to critically assess the growing liquidity of national identities and their relationship with democracy. Those seeking a deeper understanding of the European partition experience will find this an immensely valuable resource.

For Ukraine, the signing of the Association Agreement and the DCFTA with the European Union in 2014 was an act of strategic geopolitical significance. Emblematic of the struggle to replace the Yanukovych regime at home and to resist attempts by Russia to deny its 'European choice', the Association Agreement is a defiant statement of Ukraine's determination to become an independent democratic state. The purpose of this Handbook is to make the complex political, economic and legal content of the Association Agreement readily understandable. This second edition, published two years into the Agreement's implementation, adds new value, charting Ukraine's progress in putting the Agreement into effect. Two teams of researchers from leading independent think tanks, CEPS in Brussels and the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting (IER) in Kyiv, collaborated on this project, with the support of the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida). This Handbook is one of a trilogy examining similar Association Agreements made by the EU with Georgia and Moldova.

The fifth volume in the Mathematical Cognition and Learning series focuses on informal learning environments and other parental influences on numerical cognitive development and formal instructional interventions for improving mathematics learning and performance. The chapters cover the use of numerical play and games for improving foundational number knowledge as well as school math performance, the link between early math abilities and the approximate number system, and how families can help improve the early development of math skills. The book goes on to examine learning trajectories in early mathematics, the role of mathematical language in acquiring numeracy skills, evidence-based assessments of early math skills, approaches for intensifying early mathematics interventions, the use of analogies in mathematics instruction, schema-based diagrams for teaching ratios and proportions, the role of cognitive processes in treating mathematical learning difficulties, and addresses issues associated with intervention fadeout.

It has been over fifteen years since the 1999 Intervention into East Timor, led by Australia with the International Force for East Timor (INTERFET). This collection of essays brings together a wide range of participants in the momentous events of 1999 and provides a timely reflection on how they see it - reflecting on the meaning, the consequences and the implications arising from the Timor intervention. East Timor Intervention encompasses eye-witness accounts of events on the ground as well as in the political sphere, including: Major General Mike Smith; Professor Hugh White, then Deputy Secretary Strategy in the Department of Defence in Canberra; Admiral Chris Barrie, Chief of the Defence Force at the time; General Sir Peter Cosgrove; Retired Indonesian Major General Kiki Syahnakri who stoutly defends Indonesia's role; and Professor Damien Kingsbury who spells out the scale of the crimes committed. His Excellency Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao seeks to rise above the enmity of the past and focus on the significance of INTERFET to East Timor and the path of reconciliation to the future. This is the landmark collection of work on the events of the INTERFET intervention.

This work examines the Iranian Crisis of 1946 and its active role in shaping the Cold War that followed. It is intended to serve as a case study of how the United States was able to successfully flex its short-lived atomic monopoly and achieve its international objectives in the early postwar era. This writing engages with the robust academic field of U.S. foreign relations that over the past number of years revisited and reimagined the origins and driving forces of the Cold War. The Soviet Union's violation of a troop withdrawal agreement at the conclusion of the Second World War, coupled with its active support of Kurdish and Azeri separatist movements, aggressively tested the new and evolving international order. The primary objective of this work is to understand how the international community achieved a relatively peaceful withdrawal of Soviet forces from Iranian territory. I contend that: 1) Iran possessed, due to its wartime role and latent economic potential, a degree of leverage in negotiations with the United States and Russia that other nations did not; 2) that the Iranian prime minister, Ahmad Qavam, shrewdly manipulated both superpowers with his own brand of masterful statecraft while pursuing his own "Iran-centric" objectives; 3) that the United States used its preponderance of military, economic, and diplomatic might to effectively achieve its postwar aims; and 4) the primary actors in the crisis solidified the legitimacy of the United Nations and its Security Council, which had previously been in jeopardy. While lesser known than the Berlin Airlift or the Korean War or the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Iranian Crisis revealed for the first time what a superpower clash might look like. This event provides a stunning example of crisis management by the primary participants. The Iranian Crisis was indeed the birth of the Cold War, and it established a model for state actions during and after this long conflict. The Crisis also provides a powerful example of how third-party entities outside of Europe, despite possessing relatively meager military and economic might, had the ability to alter and occasionally manipulate superpower behavior.

The Fetish of Peace: The Myth of Transformational Peace is a critical theoretical exploration of the ways in which the concept of peace is utilized and managed by the international arena and statist systems, distinctive in that the concept of peace is consistently employed in various performances by the state, and international systems, to address serious issues/problems in the international community. Despite all the rhetoric of peace and actions taken in the name of peace, we find ourselves within the same cycle of violence.

A better understanding of regime changes, and their drivers, is vital to understanding the root causes of conflict and instability. In doing so, national and international actors can develop appropriate strategies to address, curb and prevent escalations of violence when these transitions occur. This innovative book explores the motivations and impacts of regime change and political transition in the contemporary era. Systematically examining the drivers, formats and long term impacts of transitions, the contributors seek to identify patterns, commonalities, and disjunctures between them. Bringing together leading scholars and practitioners with longstanding relationships to the conflicts they have covered, this book provides systematic cross-case examinations of regime change. It examines the structural and immediate triggers of transitions both external and internal, as well as shedding light on the ways in which everyday life is changed by them --? for better or worse. Providing a framework for typological and comparative analysis, this book provides ontological and epistemological perspectives on 14 case studies of regime change following civil wars, secessionist conflicts, popular revolutions, military rule and foreign intervention. This book is a vital tool for academics and students of political science, development, history, regional, peace and conflict studies. Reflecting on regime change processes spanning different regions and types of transition, The Elgar Companion to Post Conflict Transition is an accessible way to cover key debates. Contributors include: A.-G. Abdulai, B. Austin, R.K. Bhandari, E. Blakaj, U. Bozkurt, G. Crawford, G. Culaj, N. Dzuverovic, C. Emery, B. Engels, G. Gabusi, H.J. Giessmann, F. Kuhn, R. Mac Ginty, A. Mazrreku, S. Pogodda, R. Read, S. Robins, S. Ruzza, C. Seifert, G. Tepsic, M. van Leeuwen, A. Weber

This book offers an accessible and rigorous introduction to the context, diplomacy, and law of the European Union's response to Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The book explores how the EU responded to the war in the initial months, and is based on research carried out on Russian and European political, diplomatic, and legal texts. Presenting a unique interdisciplinary perspective, the book delves into topics such as the EU diplomatic response, the Ukrainian application for membership of the EU, the policy and legal aspects of EU sanctions against Russia and Belarus. Additionally, the book examines the significance of the EU's unprecedented political response for the constitutional structure of the EU, and for the strategy toward the Russia of the future.

This book explores the ways in which the EU features overlapping spheres of authority. Using territorial ideas prevalent in the Medieval Period, Andreas Faludi offers ways to rethink the current debates surrounding territorialism in the EU. Challenging contemporary European spatial planning, this book explores how modern planning puts the democratic control of state territories and their development in question. The notion of democracy in an increasingly interconnected world is a key issue, and as such Faludi advocates a Europe where national borders are questioned, and ultimately transgressed. Progressive and timely, this book is an invaluable read for academic and practicing planners concerned with European planning and co-operation. Critical social and political geographers will also benefit from the revolutionary insights Faludi offers.

For Ukraine, the signing of the Association Agreement and the DCFTA with the European Union in 2014 was an act of strategic geopolitical significance. Emblematic of the struggle to replace the Yanukovych regime at home and to resist attempts by Russia to deny its 'European choice', the Association Agreement is a defiant statement of Ukraine's determination to become an independent democratic state. The purpose of this Handbook is to make the complex political, economic and legal content of the Association Agreement readily understandable. This second edition, published two years into the Agreement's implementation, adds new value, charting Ukraine's progress in putting the Agreement into effect. Two teams of researchers from leading independent think tanks, CEPS in Brussels and the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting (IER) in Kyiv, collaborated on this project, with the support of the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida). This Handbook is one of a trilogy examining similar Association Agreements made by the EU with Georgia and Moldova.

This is beautifully slipcased presented collector' s edition of the best selling title, The Lost World of Bletchley Park, a comprehensive illustrated history of this remarkable place, from its prewar heyday as a country estate, its wartime requisition and how it became the place where modern computing was invented and the German Enigma code was cracked, to its post-war dereliction and then rescue towards the end of the twentieth century as a museum. Removable memorabilia includes: 1938 recruiting memo with a big tick against Turing' s name Churchill' s ' Action this day' letter giving code breakers extra resources Handwritten Turing memos Top Secret Engima decryptions, about the sinking of the Bismark, German High Command' s assessment of D-Day threat and the message announcing Hitler' s suicide A wealth of everyday items such as call-up papers, security notices and propoganda posters Newly redesigned interiors with 25% new content, high end slipcase package featuring removable facsimile documents, this is an essential purchase for everyone interested and wanting to experience the place where code-breaking helped to win the war.

Jihad (struggle) is a holy war to defend Islam against non-believers and non-Muslims. Jihadists are holy warriors. The intellectual father of jihadist Islamism, Sayyid Qutb, who was executed in Cairo in 1966, made the message crystal clear: Jihadism (jihadist terrorism) is a "permanent Islamic world revolution" aimed at decentering the West to establish "Hakimiyyat Allah," or God's rule, on a global scale. This book narrates the evolution of jihadism (jihadist terrorism) in the past centuries and its impact on the world as an existential threat to the humanity in view of worldwide terrorist attacks with its aggression, barbarity, burning alive of human beings, kidnapping, and savagery while imperiling the democracy, secularism, plurality, freedom, and security of the civilized world. In the last seventy years, radical Islamists have won in many places and many times because of the two world wars and the Cold War. But the recent years have shown new levels of gruesome and ghastly activity. Most Muslims of the world (numbering 1.6 billion people total) condemn these atrocious deaths and are peaceful. They feel their religion is hijacked by a few radicals. After September 11, 2001, the former president George Bush declared "the face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don't represent peace. They represent evil and war." The leading Muslim country, Egypt, is fighting terrorism unrelentingly with full force. However, the rise of Islamic terrorism in the UK, Belgium, France, Somalia, the Philippines, Afghanistan, and other places in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa is a great threat to the mankind. The radical Islamists consider the American invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003 to be a war against Islam. These events helped to create a resurgence of radical Islam from Indonesia to Iran to secular Turkey. Jihad in the Muslims' holy book, the Koran, refers to inner strife, but for centuries radicals have misconstrued it to mean a violent, brutal war against nonbelievers. The Taliban, Al Qaeda, ISIS terrorists claim they are true Islamic jihadists.

Despite all efforts to create a political union capable of improving European citizens' quality of life, there are several barriers to the European Union's (EU) expansion to the Balkan Region. The EU enlargement and expansion to the Balkan Region is one of the Union's greatest challenges and political objectives in recent years. In the turmoil of economic, social, and sanitarian crises, where is the space to debate the enlargement of the EU? Challenges and Barriers to the European Union Expansion to the Balkan Region presents the EU's structure, the process of enlargement, and the challenges related to the Balkan reason. This book addresses critical issues and challenges in the EU and the emerging trends for the EU's future. Covering topics such as enlargement policy, integration, NATO, and political challenges, this book is a valuable resource for post-grad students of political science and international affairs, faculty of higher education, researchers, academicians, politicians, world leaders, and policymakers.

In 1963, a frustrated President Kennedy turned to the Pentagon for help in carrying out subversive operations against North Vietnam- a job the CIA had not managed to handle effectively. Thus was born the Pentagon's Special Operations Group(SOG). Under the cover name"Studies and Observation Group," SOG would, over the next eight years, dispatch numerous spies to North Vietnam, create a triple-cross deception program, wage psychological warfare by manipulating North Vietnamese POW's and kidnapped citizens, and stage deadly assaults on enemy soldiers traveling the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Written by the country's leading expert on SOG, here is the story of that covert war-one that would have both spectacular and disastrous results.

US Foreign aid is one of the most misunderstand functions of our federal government. Consuming less than 1% of the federal government budget, it has nonetheless played an outsized role in political debate. At the center of this controversy and misunderstanding has been the U.S. Agency for International Development, or AID, the government agency created during the Kennedy administration to administer America's foreign assistance programs, an often-conflicted behemoth with a presence spanning the globe. In this book, journalist and foreign policy expert John Norris provides a compelling and rich story of AID, warts and all. There have been moments of enormous triumph: the eradication of smallpox, the Green Revolution, efforts to bring family planning to millions of women for the first time. There have also been florid, headline-grabbing failures in places like Vietnam and Iraq, missteps born out of ignorance and ethnocentrism, and money that flowed into the coffers of despots like President Mobutu in Zaire. In totality, the work of AID has touched millions and millions of lives in ways that have been truly profound, both good and bad. On the Eve of AID's 60th anniversary, Norris shares history on an almost epic scale that remains largely untold.

Middle East Politics for the New Millennium: A Constructivist Approach looks at the politics of one of the world's most dynamic and challenging regions using the insights offered by constructivism. By analyzing the role of ideas and repeated interaction, the authors offer a refreshing long view analysis of the region's politics that differs from the crisis-centric approach which is often utilized. Covering the countries from the Persian Gulf to Turkey, Egypt and across North Africa, as well as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Middle East Politics for the New Millennium will aid students and analysts alike in understanding Middle East politics.

Twenty-five years after the introduction of European citizenship, it seems as though the EU has overreached itself. In its current state the EU provokes much negative political reaction among its citizens. Conversely, interest in European issues has increased during the crisis, pro-European social movements have emerged and new debates on reforms of the Union?s architecture are flaring up. Through updated and integrated multidisciplinary research this book reconsiders the contradictions and constraints, as well as the promises and prospects, for the future of EU citizenship. With chapters from leading researchers in the field, Reconsidering EU Citizenship is an innovative contribution to the lively debate on European and transnational citizenship. Bringing together policy research and reflections from political theory, this book offers an up-to-date critique of the current state of EU citizenship as well as new insights for its future. As citizenship rights issues become more prominent on the EU policy-making agenda, Reconsidering EU Citizenship will be an invaluable resource to students of EU policy as well as policy-makers and practitioners in the field. Contributors include: F. Cheneval, H. Dean, O. Eberl, M. Ferrin, V. Hlousek, M. Hoogenboom, J. Komarek, V. Koska, M. Prak, S. Seubert, C. Strunck, P. van Parijs, F. Van Waarden

Civil casualties and collateral damage have been long considered as an undesired outcome of military activity that has to be reduced. While most of the contemporary discourse on this topic has been primarily concentrating on three main factors: the legal aspects of causing civil casualties, the impact of war on local population, and different factors of military professionalism required to avoid disproportional harm to civilians; this book asks an entirely different question. As the subject of civil casualties during military operations seems to be highly politicized, this book takes this discourse out of its usual niches and suggests that the indirect responsibility rests with the politicians and the public, which they represent. When a society, in the beginning of the 21st century, sends its troops to a battle, does it really care about the enemy civilian casualties? To answer this question, this book traces the political and cultural factors that have led to the failure of Non-Lethal Weapons - the great promise of the 1990s, which was intended to make the war significantly less lethal than it was known before. Examining three different cases, this study explains that the idea of minimizing civil casualties is no more than an illusion, and, in fact, neither politicians, nor societies, feel really stressed to change this situation.

This book examines how Africa can secure a 'just transition' to low-carbon, climate-resilient economies.