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Books > Reference & Interdisciplinary > Interdisciplinary studies > Peace studies
This timely book presents a critique of binary majority rule and provides insights into why, in many instances, the outcome of a two-option ballot does not accurately reflect the will of the people. Based on the author's first-hand experience, majority-voting is argued to be a catalyst of populism and its divisive outcomes have prompted countless disputes throughout Europe and Asia. In like manner, simple majority rule is seen as a cause of conflict in war zones, and of dysfunction in so-called stable democracies. In order to safeguard democracy, an all-party power-sharing approach is proposed, which would make populism less attractive to voters and governments alike. In geographically arranged chapters, well-tested alternative voting procedures (e. g. non-majoritarian Modified Borda Count) are presented in case studies of Northern Ireland, Central Europe, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Russia, China, North Korea and Mongolia.
This book looks with hindsight at the Arab Spring and sheds light on the debates it triggered within North African societies and the alarming developments in women's rights. Although women played a key role in the success of the uprisings that wiped out long ruling oligarchies across the region, they remain excluded from decision-making circles and the formal political and electoral apparatus. Women's rights are written off constitution drafts, and issues of gender equality are hardly addressed. The chapters that compose this volume present research and reflections from different perspectives to help the reader get a better picture of the profound turmoil that beset this part of the so-called "Arab" World. Adopting an interdisciplinary perspective, the contributors discuss a host of questions related to women and gender in the Arab world and address the broader question of why women's efforts and momentum during the revolution did not seem to pay off the same way they did for men. This book provides an assessment of the situation from the inside. It is intended to help the general public as well as the academic world comprehend the significance of what is going on in this key part of the Islamic World.
Ankersen examines Canada's civil-military cooperation efforts in Kosovo, Bosnia, and Afghanistan through the lens of Clausewitz's 'Remarkable Trinity'. The book reveals how military action is the product of influences from the government, the armed forces, and the people at home.
This issue of the Unesco Yearbook focuses on World War II, a war which raises a number of issues for peace research and for social science research in general. One issue concerns the extent of the war which, although centered in Europe, also involved large parts of North Africa and Southeast Asia as well. Conflict outside of Europe can be traced to underlying problems of colonization and decolonization. In Europe, the war can be related to the aftermath of World War I and the subsequent inability of the League of Nations to arbitrate between opposing interests. The economic depression of the 1930s and the rise of fascism are also key factors; the rise of fascism, in turn, can be traced in part to the desire on the part of Germany and Italy to retrieve ingredients of their cultural past. In Japan, however, militarism was incurred less by the rise of fascism, than by Japan's semifeudalized, militarized industrial development. Perhaps the most significant issue is the watershed nature of World War II, which was marked by the impact of the atomic bomb in changing the nature and implications of warfare and by the emergence of the United States and the Soviet Union as major powers with new alliances which drastically altered the geopolitical balance of power. The essays in this collection represent the contributions of international authorities on these critical issues. They deal with European currents of war such as the rise of fascism; the psychological mobilization of the German people; the policies of the Third Reich towards Jews, Gypsies, and Slavs; the Polish Resistance; the impact of the German and Italian occupation of North Africa; and Irish neutrality. They also treat movements in Asia, including the impact of militarism on Japanese society before and during the war; China's resistance against Japan and the founding of a new China; and the impact of the war on independence movements in Asia. The final sections of the volume contain the 1985 update of Unesco activities relating to peace and disarmament, and regional and national develolpments. The international perspectives of this volume's contributors make this a valuable contribution to peace studies and the study of the impact of World War II. It will provide enlightening reading for political scientists and for courses in peace studies and government policy.
This important new volume, sponsored by the Indiana Center on Global Change and World Peace, brings together academicians and practitioners in comparative politics and international relations to examine the impact of civil-military relations on the process of democratization. Contributors take an unprecedented look at current and emerging patterns of linkages between civil-military relations and democratization, especially in areas which have embarked on the path of democratization since the 1980s. They also challenge or refine many of the concepts and models that have figured prominently in discussions of civil-military relations and democratization. These include the notion that democratization requires adoption of the traditional Western model of civil-military relations.
Drawing parallels between tribal behavior and international relations to demonstrate that societies are not inherently aggressive but are led into conflict when pride or in-group pressures push people to fight, this profound look at the chilling reality of cold war and its arsenal of nuclear destruction offers valuable new insights into how prejudices and stereotypes contribute to what may seem like an inexorable drift to war. Yet the authors conclude that war is not inevitable, as they offer suggestions for an end to the arms race in the nuclear age. Based on original research, this is a long overdue contribution to the study of war and peace in our time and a text for newly emerging courses on the subject.
This book begins from a critical account of the final months of the Sri Lankan civil war, tracing themes of nationalism, discourse and conflict memory through this period of immense violence and into its aftermath. Using these themes to explore state crime, atrocity and its denial and representation, Seoighe offers an analysis of how stories of conflict are authored and constructed. This book examines the political discourse of the former Rajapaksa government, highlighting how fluency in international discourses of counter-terrorism, humanitarianism and the 'reconciliation' expected of states transitioning from conflict can be used to conceal and deny state violence. Drawing on extensive interviews with activists, academics, politicians, state representatives and international agency staff, and three months of observation in Sri Lanka in 2012, Seoighe demonstrates how the Rajapaksa government re-narrativised violence through orchestrated techniques of denial and mass ritual discourse. It drew on and perpetuated a heightened majoritarian Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism which consolidated power under Sinhalese political elites, generated minority grievances and, in turn, sustained the repression and dispossession of the Tamil community of the Northeast. A detailed and evocative study, this book will be of special interest to scholars of conflict studies, political violence and critical criminology.
This important volume tackles the potential problems of international military disarmament. Distinguished scholars across several disciplines discuss possible negative economic and social consequences, including unemployment, conversion costs, and the related hampered growth of research and development, associated with the conversion from a military industrial economy to a civilian complex. The authors present techniques for managing sectoral and regional economic imbalances and conclude that disarmament would ultimately release resources for foreign aid to close the gap between the world's haves and have-nots. Divided into three parts (Models of Disarmament and Conflict Analysis, Economic Conversion, and Management of Peace), this volume addresses specific topics such as techniques of management conflict, factors affecting military expenditures, new prospects for an East-West relationship, American strategic policy and NATO, defense expenditure and economic conversion, Third World arms production, and regional conflict in the wake of superpower convergence. These analyses and discussions will be of particular interest to scholars of Peace Studies, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, and Military Studies.
Armed conflict, on domestic or foreign soil, impacts people's daily lives and shapes policy around the world. Millions live with the threat of terrorism, whether from random sources or known enemies. And the acceptability of torture is debated by politicians and public alike. The International Handbook of War, Torture, and Terrorism synthesizes historical backgrounds, current trends, and findings from the Personal and Institutional Rights to Aggression and Peace Survey (PAIRTAPS), administered in forty countries over nine global regions. Contributors examine the social, cognitive, and emotional roots of people's thinking on war and national security issues, particularly concerning the role of governments in declaring war, invading other countries, or torturing prisoners. By focusing on the cultural traditions and colonial histories of broad regions rather than of individual nations, the book demonstrates how context shapes ordinary citizens' views on what is justifiable during times of war, as well as more nebulous concepts of patriotism and security. The Handbook: Introduces the PAIRTAPS and explains the methodology for analyzing responses. Defines war-related concepts from the unique perspectives of Western Europe, U.K./U.S., Middle East, Gulf States, Russia/Balkans, Africa, Latin America, South/Southeast Asia, and East Asia. Provides an integrative summary of definitions and points of view. Situates results in terms of social engagement/disengagement theory. Considers implications for peace and reconciliation. As a reflection of the changing global landscape, the International Handbook of War, Torture, and Terrorism deserves to be read by a wide range of researchers in peace psychology, political science, sociology, and anthropology.
Williams explores the effectiveness of various types of responses and strategies available to states when faced with demands for territorial revisions. She examines the situations surrounding the 19th-century unification of Germany, the breakup of Yugoslavia and the strife in Bosnia and Kosovo, and the ongoing struggle over the fate of Kashmir. The type of demand for territorial revisions, she argues, and the responses determine whether the outcome will be peace or war. While states should deter those states or groups that are imperialist, she points to the utility of pursuing a firm-but-flexible strategy toward those that are consolidationists. This analysis will be of considerable value to scholars, students, and policy makers involved with issues of contemporary nationalism, ethnic politics, and international relations.
Enforced disarmament has often been ignored by historians, diplomats, and strategic analaysts. Yet the democracies have imposed some measure of disarmament on their enemies after every major victory since 1815. In many cases, forced disarmament was one of the most important, if not the most important, of their war aims. The demilitarization of Germany and Japan, for example, was one of the most significant post-war measures agreed by the Soviet Union, Britain, and the USA in 1945, whilst the debate on the disarmament measures imposed on Iraq after the Gulf War continues to rage. The efficacy and durability of enforced disarmament measures, and the resistance they are likely to encounter are thus issues of central strategic and political importance. Philip Towle examines the most important peace settlements from the time of Napoleon to Saddam Hussein, in the first major history of this fascinating subject.
This volume is about the discourse and practice of intervention and non-intervention in international relations. The product of a dialogue between theorists of politics and international relations, it argues that intervention is endemic in world politics but that we need to move beyond traditional accounts of such practices. In moving towards a more encompassing approach, it explores traditional and post-modern perspectives on our understanding of sovereignty, the state and the state system; conceptions of power, identity and agency; and universal, particularist and contingent justifications for intervention and non-intervention.
Through an examination of the critical junctures in postcolonial Sri Lankan politics, this book refines and advances our understanding of the dynamics underpinning violent and nonviolent "ethnic" conflict. It enables us to understand how the ebb and flow of relations within ethnic groups affects relations between groups, for good or for ill.
This outstanding collection of essays is the product of a symposium on peacemaking and peacekeeping, sponsored by the National Committee for the Bicentennial of the Treaty of Paris. The original papers included in this volume were written by leading scholars from the United States, Great Britain, and Canada to assess themes related to the prerequisites and consequences of peace. The emphasis is on peaceful outcomes and the preservation of peace, rather than the causes of war, and the writings reflect a penetrating awareness of the many facets of peacemaking and peacekeeping. Included are thought-provoking discussions on the impact of war and promise of peace on women, the American perception of peace as an opportunity for profit and as a private political issue, the avoidance of war, and the possible obsolescence of war in our own era.
Although the Falklands War of 1982 had a decisive outcome in respect to the restoration of British control, it failed to resolve the basic cause of the war: the Anglo-Argentine dispute over sovereignty. Relations between the two countries remain unstable, whilst a series of events throughout the past three decades have emphasised the sensitive and important nature of the international problem. First published in 1988, this book stresses the dispute's significance as both a domestic and an international problem, with important consequences for other governments and such international organisations as the United Nations, as well as the two key players. The book shows an equal concern for the obvious and immediate problem of sovereignty, and for the long term future of the South Atlantic and Antarctic region. Discussing issues that remain of major political relevance, this reissue will be of particular value to students of politics, international relations and diplomatic history with an interest in the key developments within and background to the Anglo-Argentine dispute.
This book provides an insight into some of the main issues that arise in post-conflict economic and social reconstruction, and offers examples of what works, and what does not. It will be of interest to all working on economic and social reconstruction in post-conflict countries, as well as those working on peace and development.
Much has been written about the influence of religion on the Northern Ireland conflict and the part played by ex-combatants in the peace process. Yet we know very little about the religious outlook of ex-combatants themselves. Are they personally devout? Is religion important to their political identity? Did faith play a role in their decision to take up arms, or lay them down? And now that their war is over, does religion help them cope with the past? Based on original interviews with ex-combatants from across the political and religious divide, this book addresses these questions, shedding new light on the interplay of religion, identity and violence in Ireland. It also shows how the case of Northern Ireland illuminates the current international debate around religion and peacemaking. Arguing that advocates of religious interventions in transitional justice often naively exaggerate its influence, a theoretical model for understanding the role of religion in transitional justice is proposed.
This volume comprehensively covers a range of issues related to
dynamic norm change in the current major international arms control
regimes related to nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons; small
arms and light weapons; cluster munitions; and antipersonnel mines.
Arms control policies of all of the key established and rising
state actors are considered, as well as those of nonaligned
countries, nongovernmental organizations, and international
governing bodies.
Re-issuing books originally published between 1921 and 2001, this set includes volumes on guerilla warfare, terrorism in Europe, the USA and Africa as well as discussion on the role of armed forces in modern counter-insurgency.
First published in 2004 in the immediate wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, this is an accessible commentary intended to provoke thought and debate on the topic of terrorism. In a collection of challenging essays, questions consider the causes of terrorism and why post-modern terrorism is different. The essays are divided into three key sections, first investigating the civilizational roots and dimensions of contemporary terrorism, next examining the Bush administration's approach, and finally, considering the complex and changing relationship between fear and freedom. Written by a leading scholar in Middle East and Asian Studies, this comprehensive reissue will be of particular value to students of international relations and terrorism studies, as well as the more general reader with an interest in the global issues faced in the age of contemporary terrorism.
Decision makers in managerial and public organizations often encounter de cision problems under conflict or competition, because they select strategies independently or by mutual agreement and therefore their payoffs are then affected by the strategies of the other decision makers. Their interests do not always coincide and are at times even completely opposed. Competition or partial cooperation among decision makers should be considered as an essen tial part of the problem when we deal with the decision making problems in organizations which consist of decision makers with conflicting interests. Game theory has been dealing with such problems and its techniques have been used as powerful analytical tools in the resolution process of the decision problems. The publication of the great work by J. von Neumann and O. Morgen stern in 1944 attracted attention of many people and laid the foundation of game theory. We can see remarkable advances in the field of game theory for analysis of economic situations and a number of books in the field have been published in recent years. The aim of game theory is to specify the behavior of each player so as to optimize the interests of the player. It then recommends a set of solutions as strategies so that the actions chosen by each decision maker (player) lead to an outcome most profitable for himself or her self."
This book examines recent cinematic representations of the traumatic legacies of national and international events and processes. Whilst not ignoring European and Hollywood cinema, it includes studies of films about countries which have been less well-represented in cinematic trauma studies, including Australia, Rwanda, Chile and Iran. Each essay establishes national and international contexts that are relevant to the films considered. All essays also deal with form, whether this means the use of specific techniques to represent certain aspects of trauma or challenges to certain genre conventions to make them more adaptable to the traumatic legacies addressed by directors. The editors argue that the healing processes associated with such legacies can helpfully be studied through the idiom of 'scar-formation' rather than event-centred 'wound-creation'.
This book documents recent and historical events in the theoretically-based practice of peace development. Its diverse collection of essays describes different aspects of applied philosophy in peace action, commonly involving the contributors’ continual engagement in the field, while offering support and optimal responses to conflict and violence. This study has never been timelier, as the omnipresence of conflict and the widespread opportunities to respond to them with nonviolence and peace practices. |
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