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From the foreword: "Dr. Demarest's book gives students and
practitioners a pragmatic start point rooted in the classic
principles of war and simultaneously in the jurisprudential
principles of impunity and culpability concepts that apply across
the entire plane of human conflict. Demarest reminds us that
success in warfare requires control of land, and so an empirical
knowledge of geography, both physical and human (if the two could
actually be separated) is vital. The study of the spectrum, or
firmament, of conflict and how principles of war apply across that
firmament requires an unconventional approach. This is not a
standard book. Student and teacher can pick up this book and start
at the beginning, middle, or end. No matter the start point, the
reader will find convention challenged and see that normal is no
better than the cycles of a washing machine."
First published in 2000. Abstract: "India is prone to natural and
man-made disasters. The number has been increasing every year
because of the mixture of various factors such as adverse weather,
population growth, urbanization, and industrialization. How the
Republic of India organizes for managing significant natural and
man-made disasters, its capacity for effective response, and its
ability to achieve unity of effort among governmental and
non-governmental organizations are the elements of analysis here.
This is of interest because India is an emerging world power; it is
currently the second largest country in the world in population,
and by 2050 it will have surpassed China as the largest. The number
of Indians affected by disaster events shows a steady upward trend.
Disasters have been taking a heavy toll of human and animal lives.
Floods have proven to be the most devastating type of natural
disaster in India, causing the maximum number of deaths and damage
to property (cyclones have taken a heavy toll of lives and caused
widespread devastation). At the same time, droughts affect a large
segment of population, resulting in loss of employment and
migration to other regions. Earthquakes have caused a comparatively
lower amount of damage, but landslides are likely to increase in
frequency in the coming years because of deforestation and over
development on hillsides. Conurbation and industrialization have
combined to create a dangerous synergy that now presents a
significant hazard to India's people. In responding to these kinds
of hazards, India's disaster management officials and professional
humanitarians conduct disaster planning and response generally
within a paradigm of three phases: Pre-disaster; Emergency (or
Disaster Impact); Post Disaster (or Recovery). There is a strong
emphasis in government policy and planning to encourage mitigation,
i.e., actions taken prior to the occurrence of a disaster,
including preparedness and long-term risk reduction measures."
The success of a society depends on formal, liberal property
regimes. The West's property regimes are successful because of the
high quality of evidence of everyday rights, the capacity of
citizenry and governments to implement the meaning of that
evidence, and because the basic rules which determine what can be
owned and who can be owners are liberal in measure appropriate to
the common understanding of justice. Formalized property
information feeds conflict resolution mechanisms by clearly
identifying owners, claimants, rights and duties; creates
stakeholders willing to support the rule of law; produces
landowners who are less inclined to engage in illegal behavior
because they risk forfeiture; and the records associated with
formal property provide a powerful forensic tool with which to
support peaceful conflict resolution processes, restitution
programs, and bring violators to justice. Outside the lines of
formal property lies possession by force. The gamut of societal
choices is few - formal property, internal violence, or tyranny.
People should not be led to choose tyranny over violence because
the condition of formal property has not been offered. This book
argues that the quality of foreign real-property systems be made a
priority issue in US thinking and strategy. A polity that does not
formalize ownership rights and duties, especially to land, will not
enjoy peace. Comprehensive, precise and transparent expression of
real property is a necessary precondition of peace. If by success
of a society we mean parallel improvement in freedom, material
prosperity and social peace, then construction of formal, liberal
property regimes and land-use systems is as important as elections
or prosecuting human rights violators. The process of formalizing
property, moreover, illuminates power and power relationships. It
also exposes the otherwise invisible lines of communication and
sanctuary that power over places provides.
The importance of Central Asia to three major powers the United
States, China, and Russia is well understood but not widely
recognized or discussed. Involvement in the region by the United
States has been spotty and uneven over many years, but since 9.11
has taken on renewed importance in the War Against Terrorists.
Russia views the region as its traditional sphere of influence, and
the many strong ties between Russia and countries in Central Asia,
especially Kazakhstan, reinforce this view. China has had a
presence in the region via trade routes for centuries, but has only
recently made a concerted effort to apply its influence. Key issues
for the area include the following: terrorism/transnational
crime/drug trafficking, energy resources (oil and gas), trade,
stable governance, border disputes, the role of cooperative
security organizations (mainly the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization, but there are a score of others), and, particularly,
cooperation by the major powers. The August 2005 Central Asian
Symposium, held in Monterey California, was a way for the Foreign
Military Studies Office (FMSO) to gain a different and uniquely
Chinese perspective on the area's problems and potential solutions.
The timing and topic of the symposium are important, for China is
growing more interested in Central Asia and its resources by the
day. The region is less contentious than the Taiwan issue, however,
and this factor increased the level of open discussion and value of
the symposium dramatically. FMSO invited several top-rank Chinese
researchers and analysts to attend the symposium, and also younger
analysts/researchers with fresh perspectives on the region.
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