|
Showing 1 - 19 of
19 matches in All Departments
Since 1945, mercenaries have earned an especially bad name for
themselves in the Third World. From Colombia to the Congo, Angola
to Papua New Guinea they have followed their dubious calling,
hiring themselves out for blood money, training the war bands of
drug barons, or assisting civil wars. They have gained a reputation
for greed, racialism and brutality. Now, a phenomenon is emerging
in the form of independent corporations with names such as
"Executive Outcomes" or "Sandline" offering to sell every kind of
military expertise and threatening to become powers in their own
right. This book looks at the subject.
Mercenaries have been employed as auxiliaries since early times, but in the post-1945 world they have operated, almost exclusively, in weak Third World countries. From Columbia to the Congo, Angola to Papua New Guinea, Cambodia to Nicaragua, they have appeared: training the drug cartel armies, assisting rebellions or civil wars, acting as the agents of the major powers. In the Congo crisis (1960-1965) they earned an especially unsavory reputation for greed, brutality and racism; it is a reputation that has stuck to the mercenary and on the whole justly. During the 1990s a new phenomenon has emerged in the form of the mercenary corporations such as Executive Outcomes or Sandline. These corporations offer a range of military expertise and weaponry, have the covert support of governments in the countries from which they come and are rapidly becoming a power to themselves, ultimately far more dangerous than the individual freebooters of the past.
Examines the abuse of drugs in the West and the scope and value of
the illegal drugs business, and the failure of the drug enforcement
programmes either to curtail the supply of drugs or to persuade
users to abandon their habit.
For a relatively short war, the Crimean War holds an important
place in history. Finally, a resource that provides a historical
overview of the war from a number of different angles including,
the causes, the motivations, the course, and the consequences. The
A to Z of the Crimean War fully explores the main engagements, the
principal political figures and rulers, the military leaders and
naval commanders, and the events leading up to the conflict. This
Dictionary is an excellent window into the political, national, and
military intrigue that surrounded one of the most costly campaigns
of all time. Includes a chronology, maps, and a comprehensive
bibliography full of primary sources, as well as classic sources
and histories that will allow researchers to trace the changing
perception of the war through history.
Drugs have been used in many ways since antiquity - for relaxation,
as aphrodisiacs, for medical purposes, as stimulants and for pain
relief. In this book the author examines the abuse of drugs in the
West and the social problems that arise from their use; the value
of the illegal drugs business which is now one of the four largest
money-earners in the world; the involvement of governments (openly
or covertly) in this lucrative trade; and the failure of drug
enforcement programs either to curtail the supply of drugs or to
persuade users to abandon their habit. Particular chapters examine
the major sources of drugs - cocaine from South America; heroin
from the Golden Triangle and the Golden Crescent in Asia; the
constantly changing routes used for the distribution of drugs; the
growth of African involvement in drug trafficking; the role of
Europe as both a major drug consuming region and source of drugs in
the ecstasy group; the problem of money-laundering. Finally, the
author examines the impact, success or failure of anti-drug
programs and looks at alternative ways of dealing with the problem.
This guide is intended to show how inter-African relations work.
There are many continental institutions that between them create a
framework within which African states can solve their problems and
assist one another with regional economic development,
peacekeeping, or political cooperation. The guide provides an
historical setting for the institutions that are examined and also
gives examples of how they operate in practice.
"World Strategic Highways" provides a detailed examination of
approximately 50 of the most important "strategic highways" in the
world. These highways may take the form of roads, railways, rivers
and canals, or air and sea routes. They have one thing in common:
they are of special significance because, throughout history, they
have acted as major trade routes for a number of countries; have
military or strategic significance; act to bind a country or
countries together; or, in the case of rivers, act as boundaries
between two or more countries. They include the Suez and Panama
canals, the Rhine and Amazon rivers, the Trans-US Railway, the
Khyber Pass and Maputo Corridor, the Silk Road, the Cape sea route
and the Pacific sea route. Location maps are provided throughout
the book.
We are witnessing the new age of empowered customers, armed with
online reviews, five-star ratings and social media, never has it
been more important to manage your reputation and referrals.This
book is for anyone who wants to systematically build their
reputation and increase their referral sales whilst delivering a
consistent and continually improving customer experience. Put
together in a simple, clear, no nonsense way, with step by step
instructions on what to do along the journey. The information is
based on over 10 years coaching, advisory and training experience
in the area of feedback, customer experience and referrals, and all
the advice is underpinned by real life experience and examples
...and continued doses of common sense!
"The Resources of the Third World" provides a comprehensive survey
of those countries that are considered to belong to the Third World
or "less developed countries," those that the World Bank classifies
as low- or middle-income economies. The book analyzes the
contribution that possession of resources makes to economic
development. Guy Arnold defines "resources" in broad terms--not
only the traditionally analyzed resources of agricultural and
mineral wealth but also the less well studied resources of
infrastructure and, especially, population, and the talents,
education, and training of that population. In Part I, Overview,
Arnold examines these resources and defines the relationship
between the advanced economies of the North and the developing
economies of the South. In Part II, Country Surveys, he provides
individual analysis of some 144 countries of the South in an effort
to define their potential and probable development during the first
few decades of the 21st century.
" The Resources of the Third World" will be an essential text for
any researcher, librarian, or student with an interest in Third
World studies.
George Borrow - brilliant linguist, expert on gypsy culture and
author of "Wild Wales" (1862) - remains an enigmatic character
whose fiction and travel writing mix autobiography and invention.
From 1835 to 1840, he worked as an agent of the British and Foreign
Bible Society, attempting to distribute Protestant Testaments in
fiercely Catholic Spain. The outcome of this controversial and
risky enterprise is - though not the one that his employers
expected - as "The Bible in Spain", an account of his wanderings
published in 1843. The book, a classic of travel and observation,
has been in print ever since. A century and a half later, Borrow
enthusiast Guy Arnold followed in the footsteps of the restless and
eccentric Bible salesman, tracing his route through Spain and
Portugal. Visiting the same places, staying where possible in the
same inns, and taking the same roads, Arnold explored the varied
landscapes and cities of the Iberian Peninsula in a journey that
took him through Madrid, Lisbon, Toledo, Seville, Cadiz, Salamanca
and Segovia as well as many small towns and villages. Braving
blisters, angry dogs and over-inquisitive hoteliers, Arnold walked
over a thousand kilometres, taking buses and trains where Borrow
had used horses, mules and carriages. In the course of his journey,
he looked at cathedrals and churches, palaces and convents, castles
and ruins. He also encountered a broad cross section of humanity,
Spanish and foreign, on the long road. "In the Footsteps of George
Borrow" brings to life the scenery and culture of Spain as well as
the complex personality of the man who described it in the 1830s.
In the course of his travels, Guy Arnold considers Borrow's
ambiguous religious beliefs, his avowed taste for the social
lowlife and his mysterious liaison with a widow from Norfolk. He
also compares modern Spain with that of Borrow's time and finds -
civil war and brigandage apart - that much remains surprisingly the
same.
Foreign aid, whose growth coincided with the years of the Cold War,
is now an accepted part of international relations. This dictionary
documents every aspect and phase of aid: the power and influence of
the World Bank and IMF; the impact of OPEC; individual government
departments responsible for aid; regional and political
organizations; the United Nations; and the role of Non-Government
Organizations (NGOs). In his wide-ranging introduction, Arnold
illustrates the development of foreign aid as a policy tool
beginning with the U.S. Marshall Plan and the subsequent
development, with the Colombo Plan of 1950, of a new principle in
international relations: that the rich, developed countries had a
duty and a self-interest in providing economic assistance for poor,
less developed countries. Includes bibliography and chronology.
Constant migration is a worldwide phenomenon that creates sharp
divisions between those who accept the need for migrants and
welcome the contributions they make and those who oppose them on
xenophobic grounds. Guy Arnold provides a comprehensive survey of
the consequences of migration. Arnold studies both the massive
internal migrations in China and India that drive economic
development and the influx of cheap labor into the advanced
economies of the USA and EU. He shows that migrants are essential
to advanced countries, filling skills gaps and to bolstering aging
and static populations. He argues that the constant flow of people
in all directions should be welcomed as a positive assault upon
outdated, narrow nationalism. Packed with statistics that support
the argument that migration is a force for positive change,
Arnold's analysis will be an excellent resource for journalists,
policy makers and students of sociology, human geography and
anthropology.
A magisterial and sweeping history of modern Africa. The end of the
Second World War signalled the rapid end of the European African
empires. In 1945, only four African countries were independent; by
1963, thirty African states created the Organization of African
Unity. Despite formidable problems, the 1960s were a time of
optimism as Africans enjoyed their new independence, witnessed
increases in prosperity and prepared to tackle their political and
economic problems in their own way. By the 1990s, however, the high
hopes of the 1960s had been dashed. Dictatorship by strongmen,
corruption, civil wars and genocide, widespread poverty and the
interventions and manipulations of the major powers had all
relegated Africa to the position of an aid 'basket case', with some
of the world's poorest and least-developed nations. By exploring
developments over the last fifteen years, including the impact of
China, new IT technology and the Arab Spring, the rise of Nigeria
as Africa's leading country and the recent refugee crisis, Guy
Arnold brings his landmark history of modern Africa up to date and
provides a fresh and insightful perspective on this troubled and
misunderstood continent.
Britain's political and military elite has for decades nurtured the
idea that enduring ties bind the interests of London and
Washington, in good times and bad. Irrespective of the end of the
Cold War, the 9/11 attacks and the economic rise of the East, these
links are allegedly impregnable. But how accurate a picture is
this? Are the British engaged in a monumental act of self-delusion?
Guy Arnold investigates the 'American disease' at the heart of
Whitehall, which, he argues, has tied British policies too closely
to those of Washington. The 'special relationship' became a Foreign
Office priority and gave Britain the illusion of power it no longer
enjoyed. As Churchill put it acidly, 'the British and the Americans
were stuck with each other - a junior partner and a senior partner
respectively'. For the Americans it provided a way of keeping
Britain 'on side' but in return Washington accelerated Britain's
imperial decline. The Americans always saw Britain in Europe as a
Trojan Horse to safeguard their interests and as a military outpost
for their global ambitions. They derided or ignored the 'special
relationship', even in their dealings with Thatcher and Blair, and
latterly the Foreign Office has failed to convince President Obama
of its unique importance.
With nuclear stalemate holding the superpowers in check during the
Cold War, violence proliferated in the Third World. Sometimes this
took the form of colonial liberation wars as the old European
empires disintegrated after the Second World War (Algeria 1954-1962
or Kenya 1952-1959); sometimes the violence was between Third World
countries such as the Iran-Iraq War, and sometimes it involved the
major powers directly: the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Soviet
intervention in Afghanistan. Certain regions - Central America,
Southern Africa, the Horn of Africa or the Middle East - have been
in more or less perpetual turmoil for thirty years and more. But
whatever form the violence has taken -protracted guerrilla activity
against the central government or short, sharp border war - the big
powers have always been involved. They have provided arms to one or
both sides, they have supported their ideological proteges and,
more generally, have manipulated such wars to their own advantage.
This book examines five broad categories of war: colonial
liberation wars, big power intervention wars, wars between Third
World countries, the special area of Israel and its neighbours, and
civil wars.
What is it that allowed countries as diverse as Brazil and India,
Kuwait and Grenada, Nigeria and Fiji to be labelled as Third World?
Generously illustrated with maps, charts and tables, The Third
World Handbook encapsulates in one volume the chief developments,
achievements, problems and attitudes which between them have
produced what we call the Third World up until the early 1990s. The
book further covers topics such as the end of the European-ruled
empires; the role of the United Nations; the Non-Aligned Movement;
the development of aid agencies, the advent of OPEC and the growth
of oil power; and population, resources and exploitation.
Ever since the end of World War II, and even more so since 1960,
when 17 African colonies became independent of colonial rule, the
African continent has been ravaged by a series of wars. These wars
have ranged from liberation struggles against former colonial
powers to power struggles between different factions in the
aftermath of independence. They have ranged from border wars
between newly independent states to civil wars between ethnic
groups. As with many conflicts, outside forces were drawn into
these wars, and major powers outside the continent intervened on
one side or the other for a variety of reasons: political ideology,
Cold War considerations, ethnic alignments, and stemming the flow
of violence. Whether referring to Algeria's struggle for
independence from French colonial rule, Nigeria's internal
struggles to achieve a balanced state after the British departure,
the Rwandan genocide of 1994, or the current ethnic cleansing in
Darfur, The A to Z of Civil Wars in Africa covers all of the wars
that have occurred in Africa since independence. This is done
through a chronology broken down by country, an introductory essay,
a bibliography, and cross-referenced dictionary entries covering
the wars, conflicts, major political and military figures, child
soldiers, mercenaries, and blood diamonds.
|
|