China is the rising power of the early 21st century. In recent years, its economy has turned into a driving locomotive for the entire Asian continent. Undoubtedly, the country has become an important factor in global politics and economics with a tremendous impact on the political, social and economic development of all other states on our planet. Today's emerging new world order is unimaginable without China playing a crucial role in it. The general aim of this book is to study in detail this transformation process and the respective changes in China's relationship with other major political and economic powers. The articles compiled in the book were written by researchers from think-tanks, diplomatic institutions and academia. This publication easily guides interested readers through the general landscape of Chinese external relations.

Since the end of World War II, security and defense have played a major role in European politics. With the European Union's increasing role on the global stage and with today's war on terrorism, security and defense issues have dramatically gained weight and importance in international politics. This compelling volume provides an interdisciplinary look at the development and current status of the European security system as well as selected key issues on today's security agenda. As such, it provides an excellent reference resource for those wishing to make sense of the complexities of defense and security issues in the European Union at a time of global change.

Die NATO nimmt seit ihrer Grundung im Jahr 1949 eine zentrale Rolle fur die Sicherheit Europas ein. Aufgrund der neuen Bedrohungsbilder und die dadurch entstandenen geopolitischen Herausforderungen erfolgte ab 1994 eine neue geografische Ausrichtung der Allianz. Der Raum zwischen Marokko und Pakistan ist fur das Bundnis inzwischen zum besonderen Aufgabenfeld geworden. Mit der politischen und militarischen Transformation hat sich die NATO ein neues Fundament fur ihre weitere Existenz geschaffen. Dieses Buch setzt sich zum Ziel, nicht nur das Wesen und Wirken des Bundnisses umfassend zu erlautern, sondern auch die aktuellen Herausforderungen fur die NATO - wie Afghanistan, die Transformation, den Dialog mit islamischen Staaten und die US-Raketenabwehr - zu analysieren und zu diskutieren.

This collection examines the theory, practice, and application of state neutrality in international relations. With a focus on its modern-day applications, the studies in this volume analyze the global implications of permanent neutrality for Taiwan, Russia, Ukraine, the European Union, and the United States. Exploring permanent neutrality's role as a realist security model capable of rivaling collective security, the authors argue that permanent neutrality has the potential to decrease major security dilemmas on the global stage.