Deconstructing India-Pakistan Relations
This book examines the complex dynamics of India-Pakistan relations, by situating the same in the postcolonial setting of the subcontinent. In pursuit of this, the book analyses the impact of the linkages between the postcolonial processes of state-making and the structuring of political communities, upon the evolution of the probl矇matique of state security in South Asia.For the purpose of undertaking this task, the author deconstructs the countries' colonial history, with an aim to mapp its impact on the making of the foreign policy of Pakistan. Drawing primarily from colonial discourse theory and historical sociology, the book links the trajectory of Pakistan's international politics, to its domestic politics and "weak state" inheritances. By doing this, it offers a stimulating treatment of the history of the country's troubled postcolonial relations with India. This has been done in the book, by presenting the modes by which the religio-military and politico-bureaucratic classes that constitute the power elite in Pakistan, tended to have moulded an India-centred State security probl矇matique.This book will be of interest to researchers studying South Asian security, India-Pakistan relations and the defence and foreign policy of Pakistan.
The Integration of Refugees in the Education and Labour Markets
This book sheds light on the improvements and downfalls over time in two of the five indicators of refugee integration after the post-Arab Spring migration/refugee crisis, namely education and employment.Within the context of the need for a common policy response in the field of migration governance, it includes case studies from first-line immigration countries of the Mediterranean region. The book also reflects on the situation in Central Europe, Scandinavia, and Africa and considers the perspectives of different actors, including migration and integration governance stakeholders, NGOs, governments, refugees, and others. Covering a wide geographical spectrum and a diverse spectrum of integration experiences and models, it reveals collaboration between different actors and how they operated simultaneously on regional, national, and international levels in order to achieve the inclusion of refugees in the host communities.This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of migration studies, social policy, public policy, international relations, European studies, law, economics, and sociology.
The Jamaat Question in Bangladesh
The Jamaat Question in Bangladesh addresses the complex intersection of global politics and local dynamics in Bangladesh, particularly in relation to Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami (Jamaat).With multidisciplinary insights and perspectives, the contributors to this volume provide an objective socio-historical analysis of Islam, politics and society in Bangladesh. Separating fact from fiction, they attempt to uncover the truth about Jamaat, the largest Islam-based political party in the country. Suppressed and marginalized by the BAL regime, Jamaat remains active in the social landscape of Bangladesh. What makes Jamaat so resilient against all odds? Can it peacefully coexist with rival political parties in a polarized nation such as Bangladesh? This book seeks to answer these crucial questions.An essential read for those interested in Bangladeshi politics and political Islam.
(In)visible European Government
This book questions the theoretical premises and practical applications of transparency, showing both the promises and perils of transparency in a methodologically innovative way and in a cross-section of policy instruments. It scrutinizes transparency from three perspectives - methodologically, theoretically, and empirically - both in the specific context of the EU but also in the wider context of modern society in which transparency is embraced as an almost unquestionable virtue. This book examines the ways in which transparency practices can make institutions visible and stands out for its methodological self-reflection: to fully understand the irresistible call for transparency in our governing institutions, we must reflect on our own relationship with it. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of transparency studies, democratic legitimacy, global governance, governance law, EU studies and law and public policy more widely.
Global Heating and the Australian Far Right
Global Heating and the Australian Far Right examines the environmental politics of far-right actors and movements in Australia, exploring their broader political context and responses to climate change.The book traces the development of far-right pseudo-environmentalism and territorial politics, from colonial genocide and Australian nationalism to extreme-right political violence. Through a critical analysis of news and social media, it reveals how denialist and resignatory attitudes towards climate change operate alongside extreme right accelerationism, in a wider Australian political context characterised by reactionary fossil fuel politics and neoliberal New Right climate change agendas. The authors scrutinise the manipulation of environmental politics by contemporary Australian far- and extreme-right actors in cross-national online media. They also assess the political-ideological context of the contemporary far right, addressing intergovernmental approaches to security threats connected to the far right and climate change, and the emergence of radical environmentalist traditions in 'New Catastrophism' literature. The conclusion synthesises key insights, analysing the mainstreaming of ethnonationalist and authoritarian responses to global heating, and potential future trajectories of far-right movements exploiting the climate crisis. It also emphasises the necessity for radical political alternatives to counter the far right's exploitation of climate change.This book will be of interest to researchers of climate change, the far right, neoliberal capitalism, extremism and Australian politics.
Exploring Russia's Exceptionalism in International Politics
This book explores Russia's sense of its own uniqueness and the impact this has had on Russia's conduct of international relations. Examining concepts such as Russia's special civilising mission, its difference from the West, its proneness to conduct violent warfare, and more, and discussing these concepts in relation to Russia's history and its present behaviour, and also in relation to other countries' views of themselves as exceptional, the book highlights Russia's sense of its own identity as a key factor shaping current international events.
Palestinianism
Palestinianism is not only the newest manifestation of anti-Semitism; it also poses grave threats to peace, human rights, and democratic values. Its dangers must be exposed and challenged in the marketplace of ideas. It is the purpose of this book to pose that challenge and to put Palestinianism on trial for the moral crimes of bigotry, incitement to violence, and destroying any prospects for peace. By "Palestinianism," Alan Dershowitz does not mean merely supporting a Palestinian state or the rights and well-being of the Palestinian people. Those are entirely reasonable positions to take. He means only the obsessive focus on the claims of Palestinians and their supporters--to the exclusion or minimization of the claims of other, more deserving, groups. This singular focus on the "rights" of Palestinians is coupled with an equivalent singular focus on the alleged "wrongs" of only one country--Israel, the nation-state of the Jewish people. It is the coupling of these biases that constitutes the new "Palestinianism" that we are now experiencing on university campuses, in international organizations, among hard-left politicians, and in many media. In Palestinianism, Dershowitz explores the sources of contemporary Jew-hatred, Israel demonization, and other threats to Jewish communities around the world. He demonstrates why he believes things are likely to get worse, as they did in Germany during the late 1930s. He does not believe they will culminate in another genocidal holocaust but that when the young bigots who so fervently rally behind Palestinianism grow into influential adults, they will increase the hatred against Jews and their nation-state. He argues that Jews and their state must become more self-reliant, and less dependent on the approval, support, or selection by others.
In Search of Poland
Arthur Rachwald concludes that Solidarity was the weight that tipped the scales toward democracy as Poland balanced precariously between democracy and Marxist-Leninist totalitarianism. That appearance in Poland of Solidarity--the first independent and self-governing labor union in the Soviet bloc--was an international event that met strong reactions in the East and West. Moscow perceived Solidarity as the most destabilizing challenge to its imperial order in Eastern Europe since Titoism in 1948. Rachwald's timely book details the extraordinary events that led to the June 1989 semifree elections, which placed the government of Poland in the hands of a Solidarity-led coalition, and culminated in the self-dissolution of the Polish Communist party. Using documents and reports in Polish, Russian, and English, Arthur Rachwald compares U.S., Soviet, and Polish authorities' reactions to events in Poland during the 1980s as well as analyzes U.S.-Polish relations and their effect on the Polish government's domestic and foreign policies. The author gives careful attention to the complex relations among the political players, particularly the communist authorities and the Roman Catholic Church. Exploring one of the most critical political developments of our time, he discusses the pivotal position, politically and geographically, that Poland occupies in Eastern Europe.
Britain's 'mr X'
Over four decades as a diplomat, Sir Frank Roberts dealt with headline issues, including policy towards Germany during the years of appeasement, the Second World War alliance with the Soviet Union, the origins of the Cold War, NATO affairs, the Berlin and Cuban Missile Crises, European integration, and relations with the Federal Republic of Germany. Collaborating with the renowned American diplomat, George F. Kennan (the cryptonymous author 'X' of an influential 1947 article), his despatches from Moscow in 1946 shaped Britain's Cold War strategy. In 1954 he played an integral part in the diplomacy behind the rearmament of the Federal Republic and her incorporation into NATO, helping to build an enduring structure of transatlantic security. Roberts' career sheds new light on British foreign policy across an era in which Britain slipped from global pre-eminence to regional power status.
Okinawa
Okinawa is a tiny island of huge geopolitical importance. Located between the tip of Japan's mainland and Taiwan, it hosts key US military bases, which have played a contested and controversial role on the island. In addition, the sovereignty of some of Okinawa's outlying territory is disputed by China and its future is tied closely to the competing strategies over Taiwan. It is also a potential target for North Korean missiles aimed at American military assets on the islands. In this short and revealing book, Ra Mason explores why and how this island paradise and the waters around it could trigger great power conflict.
Okinawa
Okinawa is a tiny island of huge geopolitical importance. Located between the tip of Japan's mainland and Taiwan, it hosts key US military bases, which have played a contested and controversial role on the island. In addition, the sovereignty of some of Okinawa's outlying territory is disputed by China and its future is tied closely to the competing strategies over Taiwan. It is also a potential target for North Korean missiles aimed at American military assets on the islands. In this short and revealing book, Ra Mason explores why and how this island paradise and the waters around it could trigger great power conflict.
States Without People
The horizon of emancipatory politics is in ruins, scarred by defeats and ongoing conflicts. Under the auspices of technocapitalist elites and their political allies, a reactionary turn tightens its grip on the world. Civil wars and regional conflicts are surging. The Middle East has become the regional laboratory for a global reconfiguration of power. States Without People explores how revolts that preceded the outbreak of war have fostered a right-wing political culture. In a nuanced discussion of the defeat of popular revolts and the rise of mythological politics, hypermilitarism, and ethnosupremacism, Billie Jeanne Brownlee and Maziyar Ghiabi take readers into the phenomenological depths of citizen politics in Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Egypt, across the Arabian Peninsula, and beyond. The book highlights three pivotal moments: the outbreak and defeat of popular revolts, the ensuing civil wars, and the complex displacement that has forced millions from their homes. States Without People advances a paradigm shift in state-citizen relations from the vantage point of the Middle East. In the state without people, there is no ideological space for a heterogeneous or self-contradictory citizenry - only for partisans, whose interests overlap with the state's, and for enemies.
Herder-Farmer Conflicts in Africa
This book seeks to deepen empirical understandings of herder-farmer conflicts in Africa from the perspective of peacebuilding. Thus, the focus of the book is on the manifestations, causes, consequences and management of these conflicts (responses) by both state and non-state actors and lessons for sustainable peacebuilding. By adopting a comparative approach spanning five countries (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Nigeria, Sudan and Togo), our study seeks not only to fill the gap, but also expand the frontier of knowledge on the subject, exploring important cross-cutting issues such as human rights, rule of law, gender and youth. The interconnections between these conflicts and security, safety and development at all levels underscore the urgency and pertinence of this study.
Enforcement of Actions in Corporate Law by Non-Shareholder Constituencies
This book argues that corporate law ought to empower non-shareholder interests and that non-shareholder constituencies must be protected by a complementary enforcement framework.
The Great Betrayal
How the Middle East can achieve political change and social progress The Middle East is in upheaval: a widening chasm between state and society, the failure of governing elites to address citizens' genuine grievances, massive economic mismanagement--all made worse by repeated interventions by Western powers. Why has political change been so difficult to achieve? In The Great Betrayal, Fawaz Gerges argues that the convergence of political authoritarianism, meddling by the West, and the effects of prolonged regional conflicts have produced political paralysis and economic stagnation. The agency of everyday people has been thwarted by an authoritarian status quo that is maintained by a powerful partnership of external and internal forces. Gerges traces more than a century of consequential events in the region, from the end of the Ottoman Empire and the European carve-up of the Middle East to the Iranian Revolution and the Arab Spring uprisings. He shows how the people of the Middle East have been systematically denied self-determination, political representation, and effective government. Gerges finds that the region, with its diversity, variability, and volatility, defies abstract grand theories; previous accounts that have attributed the Middle East's problems to any one cause such as modernism, ignore the complexity and specificity of the issues. What can we learn from the Middle East's vexed history? Gerges is optimistic, declaring that the region's future will be determined not by dictators and their superpower patrons but by a growing population of Arab and Muslim youth who demand to be treated as citizens and not as subjects.
New Labour, New Britain?
A bold and balanced re-appraisal of New Labour in power. Rewriting the story of New Labour, Glen O'Hara challenges the prevailing narrative to present a more balanced and positive assessment. New Labour, New Britain? is the first book to examine both the intentions behind New Labour's domestic policies and their real-world effects, moving beyond the entrenched left-right debates that have dominated the party's legacy. The period from 1997 to 2007 marked a pivotal moment in modern British history, as New Labour sought to reshape Britain into a more cohesive and forward-thinking society. It saw the rise of socially liberal attitudes and flourishing public services under a government committed to rebuilding and investing in them. Yet New Labour's track record was far from flawless and its legacy remains complicated and contested. Through interviews with key players and rigorous archival research, O'Hara offers a new perspective on Tony Blair's years in power. Painting a fuller picture of New Labour's successes and challenges, he highlights its lasting impact on Britain and offers a thoughtful reassessment of its place in history.
Paradiplomacy
The book sheds light on how paradiplomacy as a concept evolved over centuries. The book delves into thinkers and theories in paradiplomacy for their significant contribution to modern diplomatic studies. The book gives inquisitive insights into cities' increasing involvement in foreign policy; making it a global trend. The book studies India's paradiplomatic endeavors and its growing practice in foreign policy discourse. The book makes inquiries into paradiplomatic strategies adopted by countries like China and Brazil; and lessons drawn for India.Dr. Devanshi Shah pursued her Ph.D. in International Relations at Pandit Deendayal Energy University (PDEU). She completed her post-graduation from PDEU. She has interned with Centre for Air Power Studies in Delhi, National Institute of Advanced Studies and Janes in Bangalore. She is a freelance foreign policy analyst and has several publications in School of Liberal Studies Journal, South Asian Voices and Indrastra. She is currently a visiting faculty at PDEU.
Thirty Years of ASEAN-India Relations
India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are civilisational partners and belong to a shared geography. They not only share land and maritime borders, engagements between India and ASEAN have expanded from trade and investment to culture, science and technology, connectivity and sustainable development. The year 2022 marks the 30 years of partnership between ASEAN and India. In the last three decades, ASEAN and India have elevated their relations from the sectoral level to summit level to comprehensive strategic partnership level.The book Thirty Years of ASEAN-India Relations: Towards Indo-Pacific, presents rich prescriptions for the future. It covers a wide range of topics in the fields of economics, geography, history, archaeology, international trade, tourism, migration, and infrastructure for transport. The authors of the chapters are from diverse fields of academic disciplines from India and the ASEAN. Published to commemorate the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-India relations, this book is a valuable resource for practitioners and scholars who are interested in economic integration.Print edition not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Bhutan)
Leaders of the Nation: Kazakhstan During the Twilight of the Nazarbayev Era and the Russo-Ukrainian War
This book provides an overview of the major developments in Kazakhstan over the past decade. In analyzing a series of challenges (such as the need on behalf of the current Kazakh president - Kassym-Jomart Tokayev - to restore legitimacy in the government in the aftermath of "Bloody January" as well as Astana's managing of relations with Russia, China, and the West), this book offers readers a timely understanding concerning how power has been wielded, mishandled, and reasserted in this country. This book explores the achievements of Kazakhstan's modernization drive, the government's prolonged initial political transition, the rise of a local civil society, the events of January 2022, and Kazakhstan's relations with Russia and the West. Written by a political scientist who previously worked at the country's flagship university, Leaders of the Nation: Kazakhstan during the Twilight of the Nazarbayev Era and the Russo-Ukrainian War outlines why Kazakhstan warrants our earnest attention.
Vladimir Putin’s Version of War and Peace
For Putin, the home front is a second front. His government's efforts to create and maintain a patriotic, or at least obedient, citizenry is the main subject, along with Moscow's necessary pivot to the East for political and economic succour.
Autocracy 2.0
In Autocracy 2.0, Jennifer Lind reveals how China's leaders defied expectations and propelled the country to innovation-superpower status--and what that means for the balance of power and global struggle between democracy and authoritarianism. In 2008, the world watched in awe as 2,008 men pounded Fou drums in unison at the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony--a spectacle that heralded China's arrival as a global powerhouse. Yet even as China's economy skyrocketed, skeptics scoffed at its ability to lead in tech, arguing that its authoritarian institutions smother true innovation. Lind dismantles this assumption, showing that China has not just kept pace; it has, in fact, surged ahead. Coupling hard data with razor-sharp analysis, Lind shows that China's ascent was fueled by what she calls "smart authoritarianism" a model of governance in which autocratic leaders temper tight political control with inclusive economic measures. By balancing proinnovation policies with tools of repression, China's leaders have obtained political control and economic growth. These smart authoritarians, Lind observes, are not the brass-knuckled dictators of the past--they are their polished Savile Row-clad progeny, and they are found not only in China but also in authoritarian regimes worldwide. Compelling and incisive, Autocracy 2.0 is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand China's meteoric rise and how today's autocrats are reshaping the technological frontier, governance, and the global balance of power.
China's Self-Conception and the Security Environment in East Asia
China's economic, technological, political, scientific, and military rise has significant implications for both the international system and the regional dynamics in East Asia. The People's Republic views this development as a resurgence, a return to a leading global position. This study reflects on this process and discusses the concepts and strategies that the international community might adopt in response to China's growing self-confidence.
Flawed Strategy
Why did Volodymyr Zelensky doubt that Russia was preparing a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022? Why did British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain decide to 'do business with Herr Hitler' in Munich in 1938? And how was it that Israeli elites dismissed intelligence warnings of the Hamas attack in 2023? Had they not learned their lesson from the Egyptian‒Syrian attack on Yom Kippur fifty years earlier? In all these cases, smart decision makers misjudged their adversaries, largely because they failed to understand how their enemies' actions and strategies were shaped by different values and beliefs to their own. We may think such beliefs are irrational merely because we do not share them. They may appear confusing and ill judged. But as Beatrice Heuser ably shows in this pithy book, strategy making is a tricky business, marred by bias, irrationality, bureaucratic politics, colliding government interests, and complex procedures and structures. Assessing our adversaries as not only irrational but also illogical is a dangerous game that can lead to flawed and, on occasions, catastrophically bad decisions. This book explains why.
Under the Rainbow
From late 1994 to June 1997 Fine Gael, Labour and Democratic Left were a coalition government led by John Bruton, arguably the most left-wing government in the history of the state. Shane Kenny provides the reader with the ultimate fly-on-the-wall insider account of this crucial period in Irish politics: one which contained highly significant breakthroughs in the Northern Ireland peace process, the most high-profile murder in the history of the state (Veronica Guerin), the establishment of the 'payments to politicians' tribunal which finally exposed the sources of former Taoiseach Charles Haughey's wealth, and a divorce referendum which heralded a changing Ireland.This is also a story of tragedy, both political and human; of those who died and were injured needlessly by the resumption of IRA violence; of a government with good potential which fell; of timing which was wrong, and of an economic disaster that could have been averted, or at least substantially mitigated.
Shifting Protracted Conflict Systems Through Local Interactions
This volume explores the evolution of theoretical and practical approaches to intervening in protracted conflicts, following the work of Herb Kelman.Interactive problem solving, as developed by Kelman and others, sought to increase understanding about the microprocesses of international relations. Kelman early on emphasised the centrality of an interactive approach for constructing new identities, new narratives, and new ways forward. Transforming conflict systems requires strategic attention to the interactions between agents of change that provide stability or induce shift. This volume on interactive conflict approaches includes both critical reflections and new ideas from scholar-practitioners who have developed, revised, and expanded these approaches. Contributors take up important issues, from the shape and likelihood of solutions in intractable conflicts to how individuals can exist in realities with seemingly irresolvable inner and outer conflicts. The volume represents the best of current thinking about how the mechanisms, theoretical framework, and application of interactive problem solving should be moved into the twenty-first century context of increasing complexity, increasing uncertainty, and increasing polarisation.This book will be of interest to students of peace studies, conflict resolution, and international relations.
Neutral Europe and the Creation of the Nonproliferation Regime
Lottaz, Iwama, and their contributors investigate the role of neutral and nonaligned European states during the negotiations for the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).Focusing on the years from the Irish Resolution of 1958 until the treaty's opening for signatures ten years later, the nine chapters written by area experts highlight the processes and reasons for the political and diplomatic actions the neutrals took, and how those impacted the multilateral treaty negotiations. The book reveals new aspects of the dynamics that lead to this most consequential multilateral breakthrough of the Cold War. In part one, three chapters analyze the international system from a bird's eye perspective, discussing neutrality, nonalignment, and the nuclear order. The second part features six detailed case studies on the politics and diplomacy of Ireland, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Austria, and Yugoslavia. Overall, this study suggests that despite the volatile and dangerous nature of the early Cold War, the balance of the strategic environment enabled actors that were not part of one or the other alliance system to play a role in the interlocking global politics that finally created the nuclear regime that defines international relations until today.A valuable resource for scholars of nonproliferation, the Cold War, neutrality, nonalignment, and area studies.The Open Access version of this book, available at http: //www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.
The Practical Role of The EU's Values in Diplomacy with China
Delivering a ground-breaking analysis of the EU's diplomatic meetings (or dialogues) with China, this book reveals how the EU's values rarely feature in exchanges, due to ingrained cultures of complacency and self-censorship amongst EU officials.Based on extensive interviews, and focusing on individual perceptions and practices, the book also highlights how intercultural misunderstanding and unreflective beliefs contribute to this troubling status quo with serious implications. Furthermore, these dynamics run contrary to the Lisbon Treaty (2009) - where the EU states that its values inform its external relations - threatening the rules-based order that upholds the universal values and international norms the EU shares. At a time of flux in EU-China relations and geopolitical instability, this book's timely insights will be of great interest and value to scholars and practitioners alike.This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of European (Union) foreign policy and diplomacy, EU-China relations, Chinese foreign policy, human rights diplomacy, sustainable development, trade policy and more broadly in European and Asian Studies, and International Relations.
Nuclear Conundrum of Iran and North Korea
This book examines Iran and North Korea from a non-proliferation lens. It highlights how these two countries stand out as nuclear challenges vis-?-vis the NPT and unpacks their nuclear history, recent developments, nuclear resolve in the times of the pandemic and future challenges in a comprehensive manner. It shows how these two issues remain similar, distinguished, dynamic but static so far progress on non-proliferation is concerned.The book will be a valuable read for students, scholars, academicians, policy practitioners and anyone invested and interested in nuclear issues.
The Geopolitics of China's Belt and Road Initiative
This book argues that China's Belt and Road Initiative should be seen more as a geopolitical project and less as a global economic project, with China aiming to bring about a new Chinese-led international order. It contends that China's international approach has two personas - an aggressive one, focusing on a nineteenth century-style territorial empire, which is applied to Taiwan and the seas adjacent to China; and a new-style persona, based on relationship building with the political elites of countries in the Global South, relying on large scale infrastructure projects to help secure the elites in power, a process often leading to lower democratic participation and weaker governance structures. It also shows how this relationship building with elites leads to an acceptance of Chinese norms and to changes in states' geopolitical preferences and foreign policies to align them with China's geopolitical interests, with states thereby joining China's emerging international order. Overall, the book emphasizes that this new-style, non-territorial "empire" building based on relationships is a major new development in international relations, not fully recognized and accounted for by international relations experts and theorists.
Ancient Society; Or, Researches in the Lines of Human Progress from Savagery, through Barbarism to Civilization
Unlock the Secrets of Human Progress with a Timeless Classic! Dive into the groundbreaking work of Lewis Henry Morgan with ""Ancient Society; Or, Researches in the Lines of Human Progress from Savagery, through Barbarism to Civilization."" This seminal book, which has been out of print for decades, is now available once again, republished by Alpha Editions for the curious minds of today and tomorrow. Morgan's insightful exploration of human development takes you on a captivating journey through the stages of societal evolution. From the raw beginnings of savagery to the structured complexities of civilization, this book offers a profound understanding of the forces that have shaped our world. Whether you're a history enthusiast, a student of anthropology, or a collector of rare editions, this is more than just a book-it's a collector's treasure. Rediscover the wisdom of the past and gain a fresh perspective on the progress of humanity. Don't miss the chance to own a piece of intellectual history that continues to inspire and enlighten. Secure your copy today and be part of the legacy that has shaped our understanding of human society!
Flawed Strategy
Why did Volodymyr Zelensky doubt that Russia was preparing a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022? Why did British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain decide to 'do business with Herr Hitler' in Munich in 1938? And how was it that Israeli elites dismissed intelligence warnings of the Hamas attack in 2023? Had they not learned their lesson from the Egyptian‒Syrian attack on Yom Kippur fifty years earlier? In all these cases, smart decision makers misjudged their adversaries, largely because they failed to understand how their enemies' actions and strategies were shaped by different values and beliefs to their own. We may think such beliefs are irrational merely because we do not share them. They may appear confusing and ill judged. But as Beatrice Heuser ably shows in this pithy book, strategy making is a tricky business, marred by bias, irrationality, bureaucratic politics, colliding government interests, and complex procedures and structures. Assessing our adversaries as not only irrational but also illogical is a dangerous game that can lead to flawed and, on occasions, catastrophically bad decisions. This book explains why.
Nuclear Power in Asia Post Fukushima
The 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster led many to believe that the nuclear era was coming to an end. More than ten years since, Asia is leading the global nuclear sector. Contributing to two-thirds of the global construction of reactors and exhibiting its technical prowess in the nuclear research and development arena, the future of nuclear power in Asia appears to be on a positive trajectory. This development is driven by a mix of urgent necessity, aided by the realisation that benefits offered by nuclear power are not just environmental in character but also economic and strategic.In this context, the book examines the energy trends and the current state of nuclear power in the Asian continent and endeavours to answer the much-deliberated question of whether Asia is witnessing a nuclear renaissance again. To address this question, the book explores the policy responses by Asian countries to the Fukushima disaster. It attempts to map the future trajectory of nuclear power in Asia and tries to identify the factors that may accelerate or limit its growth.Print edition not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Bhutan)