Effective diplomacy remains fundamental to the conduct of international relations in the twenty-first century, as we seek to define and manage a challenging new world order peacefully. New Perspectives on Diplomacy highlights the importance of diplomacy in political and military crises, featuring details of life as a diplomat, the importance of alliance building, managing failure and diplomatic negotiations with armed groups. Using regional case studies from Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Russia and Asia, the second volume demonstrates that the importance of diplomacy and diplomats remains undiminished.

The release of Nelson Mandela from twenty-seven years imprisonment in 1990 and the free elections which followed four years later were among the most dramatic events of the twentieth century. David Welsh and J. E. Spence here examine the complex forces which lay behind that drama. They chart the rise and decline of apartheid ideology in South Africa, the internal insurrection and increased international isolation which characterised the 1980s and the political roller-coaster ride of the period after 1990 as constitutional negotiations got underway. Based on extensive interviews with those involved, Ending Apartheid traces the negotiating process in penetrating detail, noting the political skills of de Klerk and Mandela in keeping their potentially unruly constituencies in line and avoiding the major violence that many had predicted. Reaching agreement on a democratic constitution was a major achievement that surprised many sceptical observers, but the book ends on a more sombre note. Reviewing the period subsequent to the transition, it argues that while progress has been made, the future of South Africa's democracy is still far from assured. Written by two eminent scholars with decades of experience teaching in the field, Ending Apartheid is an invaluable resource for all students of South African politics seeking a deeper understanding of a defining episode in recent history.

The turbulent class conflict attendant on Allende's presidential campaign and his Unidad Popular coalition's attempts to create a socialist state spawned efforts to change the traditional judicial system in Chile. Though the UP failed to legislate a nationwide system of neighborhood courts staffed with lay judges, two decentralized courts did emerge. One employed professional judges, who held weekly informal court sessions for poor residents of their jurisdictions; the other was established illegally by a highly organized squatter settlement. Bearing the imprint of Chile's competing ideologies, the two courts were deeply affected by the dramatic events of the Allende years, and their history sheds light on those years. Moreover, the contrasting strategies and processes of the courts provide insights into the general problem of decentralization of urban institutions and the particular problems of urban dispute resolution.

I originally became interested in the law and society nature of this research project through a law school and then graduate political science educational background. This led me to consider courts in a number of settings, including the popular tribunals in Cuba. Before going to Chile, I wrote a lengthy paper comparing local court institutions in tribal, peasant, urban U.S. and Cuban settings. As that paper was being completed, Allende had been elected and proposals for neighborhood courts were in the air. This coincided with the above interests and with the urban political and Latin American foci I had in graduate school.

Effective diplomacy remains fundamental to the conduct of international relations in the twenty-first century, as we seek to define and manage a challenging new world order peacefully. New Perspectives on Diplomacy examines the implications of the shifting international landscape upon how states interact with one another. Reflecting on the significant changes to the system of states over the past 50 years, including the end of the Cold War, the rise of transnational networks, challenges to borders, growth in national populism and the increasing difficulties presented to diplomats by radical transparency, the first volume presents the global context against which contemporary diplomacy is conducted.

The release of Nelson Mandela from twenty-seven years imprisonment in 1990 and the free elections which followed four years later were among the most dramatic events of the twentieth century. David Welsh and J. E. Spence here examine the complex forces which lay behind that drama. They chart the rise and decline of apartheid ideology in South Africa, the internal insurrection and increased international isolation which characterised the 1980s and the political roller-coaster ride of the period after 1990 as constitutional negotiations got underway. Based on extensive interviews with those involved, Ending Apartheid traces the negotiating process in penetrating detail, noting the political skills of de Klerk and Mandela in keeping their potentially unruly constituencies in line and avoiding the major violence that many had predicted. Reaching agreement on a democratic constitution was a major achievement that surprised many sceptical observers, but the book ends on a more sombre note. Reviewing the period subsequent to the transition, it argues that while progress has been made, the future of South Africa's democracy is still far from assured. Written by two eminent scholars with decades of experience teaching in the field, Ending Apartheid is an invaluable resource for all students of South African politics seeking a deeper understanding of a defining episode in recent history.

Effective diplomacy remains fundamental to the conduct of international relations in the twenty-first century, as we seek to define and manage a challenging new world order peacefully. New Perspectives on Diplomacy examines the implications of the shifting international landscape upon how states interact with one another. Reflecting on the significant changes to the system of states over the past 50 years, including the end of the Cold War, the rise of transnational networks, challenges to borders, growth in national populism and the increasing difficulties presented to diplomats by radical transparency, the first volume presents the global context against which contemporary diplomacy is conducted.

Bill Bond, an affable, outgoing, gentleman who envisions himself a romanticist decides to retire to the Middle Atlantic beach town of Delmarva. Not wanting to give ground to his advancing years he hangs out at the beach cafes flirting with the ladies. These places are swarming with Eastern European girls and women hired by managers to take the hundreds of temporary summer jobs. One hot, sultry, July evening while Bill was dining with friends a vivacious Russian woman appeared at their table and she would be their waitress. Bill wasted little time getting introduced and she was more than happy to respond positively to Bills flirting ways. Her name was Olga Kornakova and she extended to Bill an invitation to accompany her on private excursions on her days off. Just 23 of age her intellect and beauty, along with her beguiling smile and sexy walk, she was more than special, and Bill considered himself the luckiest old guy on the planet. What follows that summer

"Yelena" is the follow-up novel to Jac. K. Spences first book titled, "Bill and Olga." Vasily Sokolov, now forty three years of age learns from his dying Russian mother, Galina, that his biological father was an American by the name of Bill Bond, not Vitali Sokolov as he was led to believe. Vasily, a successful Russian bureaucrat, becomes a driven man as he sets out to learn all he can about his now deceased father. The journey he embarks upon leads him into situations so unimaginable and at times so sensual his ability to cope is severely tested.

Effective diplomacy remains fundamental to the conduct of international relations in the twenty-first century, as we seek to define and manage a challenging new world order peacefully. New Perspectives on Diplomacy highlights the importance of diplomacy in political and military crises, featuring details of life as a diplomat, the importance of alliance building, managing failure and diplomatic negotiations with armed groups. Using regional case studies from Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Russia and Asia, the second volume demonstrates that the importance of diplomacy and diplomats remains undiminished.