A Korean Peninsula Free of Nuclear Weapons
This book focuses on three main subjects: the DPRK's inability to survive as a nuclear state; the importance of China's role in encouraging denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula; and the possibility of an alternative political organization for the DPRK including a transition to a market-economy in exchange for giving up its nuclear weapons. The book approaches North Korean issues from the perspective that the regime cannot survive without nuclear weapons which, rather than being a genuine danger to other states, are bargaining chips for security and survival. The book includes views from prominent academics and practitioners, including a former British ambassador to North Korea, putting forward an ambitious set of recommendations and analyses based on hands-on experience in the region.
Finding Gender Equality in the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda
This book explores the trajectory of gender equality in institutions' engagement with the Women, Peace, and Security agenda at the intersection of global, regional, and national governance, shedding light on opportunities and challenges for a meaningful change in peace and security.
Non-Aligned Movement Summits
Using newly declassified documents from Serbian, British, Indian, Chinese, Myanmar, U.S., and Soviet archives, Non-Aligned Movement Summits shows how the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) gradually evolved into the third force of Cold War politics, enveloping most of the post-colonial and non-bloc world. Jovan Cavoski follows the evolution of the NAM through its summits and other gatherings, during which major political decisions pertaining to the destiny of the Third World were made. These events were scrutinized by all major powers and had a corresponding effect on their policies. From the Belgrade Conference in 1961 until 1989, all major Third World and non-bloc nations met to demonstrate to the Eastern and Western Blocs that they were independent, active and respected participants in world affairs. Cavoski shows how these summits were also closely related to events occurring in the relationship between the two blocs, providing opportunities for non-bloc actors to influence the global balance of power. By moving the focus of 20th-century international history away from the bloc nations, and instead giving developing nations in Africa and Asia due attention, this book provides a fresh perspective on Cold War history and fills a significant gap in the literature. It is an important study for all students and scholars of the Cold War and international history.
Iranian Strategic Influence
Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the strategic culture of resistance has dominated Iran's strategic objective and foreign policy preference formation. Iran is a revisionist state that lacks overwhelming military and economic dominance in its near abroad, as such two pillars have emerged to support and export their strategic culture of resistance. These are Adaptive Resistance (pragmatism) and Designed Redundancy (deniability and insulation). These two themes of resistance provide content and structure to their strategic Influence campaigns, where "strategic Influence is the use of the elements of national power--diplomatic, military, economic, with and through information--to shape the information and operational environment in order to erode the will of the enemy.... This 'new' way of war is predicated on building narratives, activating identities, mobilizing proxies, and disorienting targets through the use of information in service of strategic goals." Strategic influence is the way in which elements of the strategic culture of resistance are executed in Iran's near abroad. To combat and defeat strategic influence campaigns, it is necessary to understand both the strategic cultural factors at play and the strategic influence campaigns that Iran deploys.
Spoils of War in the Arab East
Post-conflict scenarios are often proposed for Arab countries that have witnessed significant changes and civil wars. Yet the plans for reconciliation, transitional justice, and the return of the displaced often overlook the real conditions that make these recommendations impossible. This book provides a critical analysis of current post-conflict frameworks for Syria and Iraq. Drawing on empirical research, the book shows that reconciliation and reconstruction scenarios need to be considered alongside the realities on the ground. It argues that Iraq and Syria exist in a condition of 'conflict transformation' rather than of 'conflict termination', because the extreme changes that accompanied these countries into war continue long after the conflicts end. Furthermore, the chapters highlight why experts should not seek solutions in culturalist terms and ancestral enmities, or rely on the wartime status quo. Rather, they should look to the specific military, political, economic and socio-cultural conditions that require different solutions. A critical analysis of existing post-conflict frameworks, their applicability and their potential outcomes in Iraq and Syria, the book is a vital contribution to post-conflict studies. It highlights the need for new approaches to reconstruction and peacebuilding in Arab countries and points to how they should be found.
Diplomatic Strategies of Rising Nations in the Global South
At a time of change in the international system, this book examines how non-traditional leading nations from the Global South have fared to date and what the chances are of their rise to continue. In the second decade of the twenty-first century, the enthusiasm of observers of the international scene about the "rise of the rest" is waning as many countries that were expected to lead the evolving multipolar order are experiencing economic contraction and governance problems. In order to predict further developments, the contributors to this volume focus on the types and sources of the diplomatic strategies that must be executed by rising states if they are to preserve domestic advances as well as gain influence regionally and internationally. Through a comprehensive examination of case studies from Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, they show that while there are commonalities among these rising states, unique domestic conditions, values, and traditions impact and predictdiplomatic strategizing and the ability for sustained projection on the international scene.
Dynamics of the Ukraine War
This book offers a contemporary, cutting-edge, and advanced critical analysis of the first twenty months of the war between Russia and Ukraine. Following a realist approach and with a focus on political discord, economic sanctions, and media limitations, the book sheds light onto the deadlock between the conflicting parties. It dissects the diplomatic endeavors and missteps, varying political perspectives, Western support strategies, and the intricate global dynamics that triggered this existential crisis.The critical assessment of political antecedents, including the Budapest Memorandum, the Bucharest Summit Declaration, and the Minsk Agreements 1 and 2, uncovers hidden political motives aimed at setting the stage for a proxy war. Additionally, the book scrutinizes the financial dimensions of the conflict, strategies for post-conflict reconstruction, and the emerging Zeitenwende phenomenon reshaping the geopolitical landscape of the Global North.This book's insights suggest a potential shift towards a new multipolar global order, representing a significant realignment in the distribution of geopolitical and geo-economic influence. A must-read for scholars and academics seeking a profound understanding of this pivotal conflict and its far-reaching implications.
The Gulf Monarchies After the Arab Spring
The post-Arab Spring collapse of decades-old regimes inaugurated a decade of re-shaping for the geopolitical order in the Middle East and North Africa region. A multipolar disorder ensued, solidified by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Amid general bewilderment, the small monarchies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) spent the decade between 2011 and 2022 trying to re-shape regional equilibria as protagonists. This book applies an original theoretical framework to unpack the threat perceptions and strategic calculus driving the behaviour of these new impactful regional players. Six chapters look at the six GCC monarchies individually. The author challenges commonly held narratives and goes beyond attention-grabbing headlines and thus provides reading keys to the past, present and future of policy-making in the Gulf monarchies, middle powers destined to play an oversized role in the new multipolar world.
Centers of Power in the Arab Gulf States
How are authority and influence accumulated and wielded across the six Gulf states? Mixing theoretical and empirical insights, and utilising both historical and contemporary examples, this book offers a comparative analysis of military, political, economic and religious power in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as well as of the power of narrative. While many volumes examine each of these states individually, Centers of Power in the Arab Gulf States assesses the Arabian Peninsula as a whole, filling a significant gap in the literature. It surveys the myriad factors which have influenced the emergence of these states, societies and political economies, which have become increasingly assertive actors in today's global order. Exploring domestic, regional and transnational pressures, Kristian Coates Ulrichsen sheds light on the varying concepts of power and authority, the different forms they take, the ways they are projected, and the practical constraints on their exercise. From whom does power derive? Is it something different from influence and ambition? Is decision-making top-down or bottom-up, or a mixture of both? From bureaucrats to scholars, and from royals to opposition figures, Coates Ulrichsen uncovers the power relations shaping the Gulf today.
The Third Option
Loch Johnson explores the subject of covert action, often referred to as a "Third Option" between America's use of diplomacy and warfare--a shadowy approach to international affairs based on the controversial use of secret propaganda, political activities, economic sabotage, and paramilitary operations (whether clandestine warfare or assassinations). The three major instruments that guide United States foreign policy are the Treaty Power, the War Power, and the Spy Power. Within the category of Spy Power is the "Third Option" the use of covert action. Ever since the creation of the Central Intelligence Agency in 1947, the US has often turned to the third option in the conduct of its international relations. This controversial approach includes covert propaganda campaigns, subversive political activities, economic sabotage, and paramilitary operations ranging from clandestine warfare to the assassination of foreign leaders. From the beginning of the Cold War to the present day, America's intelligence and national security agencies have employed all of these "third option" tools in order to advance America's global interests. In The Third Option, the eminent national security scholar Loch Johnson provides a history of American covert warfare from 1947 to the present. In particular, he focuses on the morality and consequences of America's heavily veiled attempts to shape global affairs through its covert actions. Over the course of the book, a fundamental question comes into focus: Of what value has the Third Option been to the US as a complement to the nation's more open battlefield and diplomatic initiatives? Just as importantly, Johnson exposes the conflict between this controversial approach to achieving America's international objectives and the ideals that the US has always propounded: democracy, human rights, and liberalism. The Third Option closes with a sharp assessment of the policy, measuring its failures versus its successes. A richly detailed synthesis of America's covert action program ever since it became the world's preeminent power, this book serves as an ideal introduction for anyone interested in US foreign and national security policy.
The Sabotage
"The Sabotage" comprehensively examines the geopolitical competition between China and the United States. It focuses on these powers' strategic initiatives and manoeuvres to assert their global influence.Introduction: The book outlines the intensifying global competition, with China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as a focal point. This monumental project, envisioned by Chinese President Xi Jinping, aims to enhance connectivity, trade, and infrastructure development across vast regions. The United States, perceiving China's growing influence as a threat to its supremacy, has adopted multifaceted strategies to counter the BRI, including developing the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC) as an alternative trade route​​​​.The Rise of China's Belt and Road Initiative: This chapter delves into the BRI's origins, objectives, and implications. The initiative aims to re-establish economic links along the historic Silk Road and expand connectivity and partnerships across new regions. It represents China's ambition to reshape global trade and governance, but it has also sparked concerns among Western powers, particularly the United States.The USA's Countermove - The India-Middle East-Europe Corridor: In response to the BRI, the United States focuses on developing the IMEEC. This initiative is crucial for the USA to reclaim its global position and counterbalance China's dominance. The IMEEC hinges on strategic partnerships with India, the Middle East, and Europe. The USA's strategy includes strengthening partnerships, infrastructure development, digital connectivity, and regional security and stability initiatives. These efforts promote connectivity, trade, and economic ties among participating nations while ensuring regional security.In conclusion, "The Sabotage" presents a detailed analysis of the dynamic and complex geopolitical struggle between China and the United States. It highlights these global powers' strategic moves and counter-moves as they vie for influence, shaping the emerging world order. The book underscores the significance of the BRI and IMEEC in this global power play and their broader ramifications on regional and international politics.
40 Years of Reform and Opening-Up
This book consists of studies on China's economic development since China carried out the reform and opening-up strategy, including China's economic restructuring, economic operational mechanism, socialist market economy, inflation, the reform of the urban housing system, the economic impact of WTO entry, the future potential growth rate, global economic governance, structural fiscal and taxation reforms, the rapid growth of China's financial industry, and more. These studies explores China's successful experience of economic growth in the past and will shed some light on China's economic development in the future, providing value to economists and Chinese scholars.
Al-Qadeaism in the Context of Civil War
Al-Qaedaism in the Context of Civil War: The Nexus between Terrorism and Support explains how al-Qaeda as a terrorist organization has misappropriated the political theory of a Sunni paradigm, developing what is called al-Qaedaism, in order to supply more civilian participation and recruitment and to attain global legitimacy in the context of a civil war. It includes a comprehensive analysis of the political, religious, and social practices of al-Qaeda, through writings of key ideologues and an examination of the original strategies of the political, social and religious practices of al-Qaeda.
Covid-19, Public Management, and Survival of East European Democracies
COVID-19, Public Management, and Survival of East European Democracies centers initially on the development of democracy in fourteen states of Eastern Europe, with an emphasis on the distinction between the seven Baltic and East Central European states in the north and the seven Balkan states in the south. Examination of key events of the political history of the two regions reveals that a participant political culture as the anchor of democracy was more developed in the north than in the south. Important measures of democracy as well as election results during the 2020-22 period of the COVID-19 outbreak demonstrate and reinforce the same distinctions between the two regions. Further, this detailed study of public administration problems such as corruption, accountability, trust, and the number of deaths from COVID-19 also disclose that such problems characterized both regions but were more pronounced in the southern states. In addition, the rise of populism and authoritarianism injected severe challenges in the midst of administrative preoccupation with the many harmful effects of the virus.
Cabo Verdeans in the United States
This edited collection centers the Cabo Verdean Community in the United States in the last thirty years and explores topics such as race, identities, health, culture, gender relations, education, and immigrant community solidarity from new, critical perspectives.
Tilt
Kavya is an Indian-American professor and single mother struggling with debilitating panic attacks. Bombarded by flashbacks of cruelty and violence that disrupt her everyday life, she is left with no choice but to confront the intergenerational trauma tormenting her. At first, Kavya finds some relief in piecing together the legacies of her family's experiences with colonialism, colorism, and casteism. But just as she starts to recover, explosive confessions threaten to bring her world crashing down.Tilt is an unflinching feminist novel about the devastating histories that haunt us and the unexpected beauty of facing our pasts.
Tilt
Kavya is an Indian-American professor and single mother struggling with debilitating panic attacks. Bombarded by flashbacks of cruelty and violence that disrupt her everyday life, she is left with no choice but to confront the intergenerational trauma tormenting her. At first, Kavya finds some relief in piecing together the legacies of her family's experiences with colonialism, colorism, and casteism. But just as she starts to recover, explosive confessions threaten to bring her world crashing down.Tilt is an unflinching feminist novel about the devastating histories that haunt us and the unexpected beauty of facing our pasts.
Sh璽maran
Sh璽maran: The Neolithic Eternal Mother, Love and the Kurds covers one of the earliest ancient figures of Mother Earth, Sh璽maran, of the Zagros Mountains, which is at the crossroads of Iran, Anatolia, and Mesopotamia, and has historically been a melting pot of diverse groups, contributing to the formation of the Kurdish nation. This unique convergence has played a pivotal role in shaping the rich history, culture, language, and the very essence of their homeland, Kurdistan.Sh璽maran is the significant religiocultural symbol, serving as a poignant embodiment of this heritage. The book meticulously documents, deconstructs and interprets Sh璽maran's myth and her Neolithic image, recognizing their profound significance as manifestations of the Mother Earth Goddess.The study details the philosophy and symbolism of her faith, deciphers the content in the region within the existing pre-Islamic Kurdish religions namely Alevism, Yarsanism, and ?zidism and Kurdish culture as a whole.
Poverty and Pacification
This groundbreaking book powerfully humanizes the little-known urban workers who have been left behind in China's single-minded drive to modernize. Dorothy Solinger traces the origins of their plight to the mid-1990s, when the Chinese government found that state-owned factories were failing in large numbers in the face of market reforms just as the country was about to enter the World Trade Organization. Under these circumstances, leaders urged firms to lay off tens of millions of previously lifetime-employed, welfare-secure, under-educated, middle-aged employees. As these dislocated people were left without any source of livelihood, the regime settled on a tiny welfare effort, the Minimum Livelihood Guarantee (dibao), to provide some support and, most important from the viewpoint of the leadership, to keep them quiet so that enterprise reform could proceed peacefully. Solinger explores the induced urban poverty that resulted and relates the painful struggle for survival of these discarded laborers. She also details the history and workings of the dibao and its missteps, as well as changes in policy over time. Drawing on dozens of interviews, this book brings to life the urban workers who have been relegated to obsolescence, isolation, and invisibility by China's quest for modernity.
Erdogan’s Path to Authoritarianism
Michael M. Gunter explains why Recep Tayyip Erdogan--the current populist, charismatic, but divisive president of Turkey and arguably the most consequential Turkish leader since Kemal Ataturk--was again reelected in May 2023 despite so many negative factors working against him such as a terribly faltering economy, deadly earthquake, and authoritarian reputation, among others. Gunter analyzes how several different domestic and especially foreign initiatives contributed to his continuing electoral success. Gunter introduces succinctly Erdogan's storied advancement to authoritarianism, how, although an Islamist, he triumphed by eventually humbling the long-ruling, secular Kemalists and even more powerful military who had up to then been the ultimate arbitrator of Turkish politics. Erdogan's Path to Authoritarianism: The Continuing Journey will introduce the consequences of the long-running Kurdish PKK problem, the failed coup attempt in July 2016, neo-Ottomanism, transnational Islamist organizations and pro-Turkish militias such as the Diyanet and SADAT, as well as back to the Kurds, although this time in Syrian Kurdistan, also known as Rojava. In addition, this book analyzes Erdogan's many other foreign initiatives regarding Iraq, the EU, Arab Spring, Israel, NATO, Cyprus, Greece, Russia, Azerbaijan, and Iran, among others. The final chapter specifically analyzes the May 2023 presidential elections and how Erdogan won.
Diplomats at War
For two Americans in Saigon in 1963, the personal and the political combine to spark the drama of a lifetime Before it spread into a tragic war that defined a generation, the conflict in Vietnam smoldered as a guerrilla insurgency and a diplomatic nightmare. Into this volatile country stepped Frederick "Fritz" Nolting, the US ambassador, and his second-in-command, William "Bill" Trueheart, immortalized in David Halberstam's landmark work The Best and the Brightest and accidental players in a pivotal juncture in modern US history. Diplomats at War is a personal memoir by former Washington Post reporter Charles Trueheart--Bill's son and Nolting's godson--who grew up amid the events that traumatized two families and an entire nation. The book embeds the reader at the US embassy and dissects the fateful rift between Nolting and Trueheart over their divergent assessments of the South Vietnamese regime under Ngo Dinh Diem, who would ultimately be assassinated in a coup backed by the United States. Charles Trueheart retells the story of the United States' headlong plunge into war from an entirely new vantage point--that of a son piecing together how his father and godfather participated in, and were deeply damaged by, this historic flashpoint. Their critical rupture, which also destroyed their close friendship, served as a dramatic preface to the United States' disastrous involvement in the Vietnam conflict. Winner of the American Academy of Diplomacy Douglas Dillon Award
Dersim as an Internal Colony
Dersim is a region within Turkey that has deep meaning for Alevis, Armenians, Kurds, and Zazas. Even the Hittites seemed to have had difficulty governing this mountainous region where today Turkish military drones target suspicious activity. Dersim as an Internal Colony: The Turkish Civilizing Mission (1927-1952) explores how the region had a deep history of autonomy and autarky that was challenged and then crushed by the forces of union and progress trying to keep together and perhaps give rebirth to a dying empire. It focuses on what happened after the Tertele of 1938, also known as the day on which the world ended, and what, was this so-called "Turkish civilizing mission" in action during the First Internal Colonial Period (1927-1952). Did the state in fact bring civilization to this region's people that it had just terrorized? What were the achievements of this Turkish civilization in this historically independent land of high mountains, torrential rivers, oak forests, and goats? This book aims to answer these questions with a critical reading of reports written by the then representative of Tunceli in the Grand National Assembly of T羹rkiye.
Theorization of Ex-Criminal Tribes
This book is based on intense research work and consultation conducted over a long period, presents circumstances under which certain tribes in Andhra Pradesh are placed to keep on living through criminal activities. It explains why particular tribes become crime-prone and why and how they have been branded and notified as criminal tribes. It deals with the structure of the village criminal-tribe settlements and approaches the problem of tribal criminology from a structural perspective. It studies the criminal behaviour that could be related to social situations that prevail in the two ex-criminal settlements in Andhra Pradesh and examines the structure and organization of this group as well as changes that have been taking place as far as their criminal activities are concerned. The analysis in this book focuses on the sociological and anthropological circumstances under which the criminal tribes become criminals and continued to be called as criminals although most of them as a group have since stopped criminal activities.
Statelet of Survivors
A remarkable examination of an understudied aspect of the Syrian conflict that traces the genealogy of one of the most radical social experiments in self-governance of our time. Syrian Kurds and their Arab and Christian allies have embarked on one of the most radical experiments in self-governance of our time. In defiance of the Assad regime, the Islamic State, and regional autocrats, this unlikely coalition created a statelet to govern their semi-autonomous region. In Statelet of Survivors, Amy Austin Holmes charts the movement from its origins to what it has become today. Drawing from seven years of research trips to northern and eastern Syria, Holmes traces the genealogy of this social experiment to the Republic of Mount Ararat in Turkey, where a self-governing entity was proclaimed in 1927 based on solidarity between Kurds and Armenian genocide survivors. Founded by survivors of modern-day atrocities, the Autonomous Administration does more to empower women and minorities than any other region of Syria. Holmes analyzes its military and police forces, schools, the judicial system, the economic model it has implemented, and strategy of empowering women who were once enslaved by ISIS. An in-depth examination of the region Kurds call Rojava, this book tells the remarkable story of the people who both triumphed over ISIS and created a model of decentralized governance in Syria that could eventually be expanded if Assad were to ever fall.
Free Speech and Turbulent Freedom
A brisk, practical defense of free speech in America's digital public square that calls on the courts to reject the censors' absolutism, enforce enduring First Amendment principles, and restore a vigorous and robust marketplace of ideas. A vast censorship regime has smothered America's digital marketplace of ideas, squelching free speech on vital policy issues ranging from public health to electoral politics. Its supporters regard its benefits as morally and politically beyond question. They contend it's carried out by private social media platforms, not governmental authorities. And they insist their partnership is voluntary, not coerced. In Free Speech and Turbulent Freedom, Michael J. Glennon offers a timely and incisive response. The censors are short-sighted, he argues. Quibbling over outdated distinctions misses the real threat--which is the fusion of public and private power into a modern-day cartel able to overleap longstanding constitutional safeguards. American democracy, he argues, rests on a decentralized marketplace of ideas independent of the government. In crisp, trenchant terms, Glennon shows how concrete practical concerns justify protecting admittedly harmful online speech--even speech that advocates violence or embraces hatred or apparent falsehood. The intellectual journey of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. from absolutist to skeptic, he suggests, illuminates the value of political pluralism and the perils of the censors' delusory certitude. To safely self-correct, democracy requires open channels of political communication. Glennon calls on the courts to unblock those channels--to measure such speech against enduring First Amendment precepts rather than pliable international norms--and to protect the speech interests not merely of the government and Big Tech, but of all participants in the marketplace of ideas. That includes what's often overlooked: Americans' right to hear. Without robust judicial protection, the specious attractions of censorship--and the absolutist certitude that drives it--will destroy America's marketplace of ideas and, with it, any hope of political self-renewal.
Crowded Orbits
Space has become increasingly crowded since the turn of the century, as a growing number of countries, companies, and even private citizens have begun operating satellites and become spacefarers. Crowded Orbits offers readers a valuable primer on space policy from an international perspective, examining technology, diplomacy, commerce, science, and military applications. This second edition is thoroughly updated to cover events of the decade following the book's original publication in 2014, when the pace of the competition to exploit space has accelerated dramatically. James Clay Moltz examines the ongoing tension between competition and cooperation in space, tracing the geopolitical and policy consequences of key developments. Drawing on decades of experience, he considers possible avenues for collaboration among the growing number of actors as well as the forces driving potential space-related conflicts. Moltz examines the challenges to existing treaties and other governance mechanisms that have struggled to keep up with the spread of technology. He provides policy recommendations to enhance international collaboration, further scientific exploration, and restrain harmful military activities. This edition features analysis of a range of topics, including the ongoing commercialization of space by SpaceX, Planet, and other start-up companies; new capabilities to monitor Earth from space; renewed tensions between the United States and rivals China and Russia in military activities; and emerging multinational competition on the Moon.
Crowded Orbits
Space has become increasingly crowded since the turn of the century, as a growing number of countries, companies, and even private citizens have begun operating satellites and become spacefarers. Crowded Orbits offers readers a valuable primer on space policy from an international perspective, examining technology, diplomacy, commerce, science, and military applications. This second edition is thoroughly updated to cover events of the decade following the book's original publication in 2014, when the pace of the competition to exploit space has accelerated dramatically. James Clay Moltz examines the ongoing tension between competition and cooperation in space, tracing the geopolitical and policy consequences of key developments. Drawing on decades of experience, he considers possible avenues for collaboration among the growing number of actors as well as the forces driving potential space-related conflicts. Moltz examines the challenges to existing treaties and other governance mechanisms that have struggled to keep up with the spread of technology. He provides policy recommendations to enhance international collaboration, further scientific exploration, and restrain harmful military activities. This edition features analysis of a range of topics, including the ongoing commercialization of space by SpaceX, Planet, and other start-up companies; new capabilities to monitor Earth from space; renewed tensions between the United States and rivals China and Russia in military activities; and emerging multinational competition on the Moon.
A concise practical book on diplomacy
A Concise Practical Book on Diplomacy is a concise and easily digestible book that encapsulates the author's extensive experience as a diplomat in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Divided into five parts, this gem of wisdom uncovers the inner workings of embassies, sheds light on diplomatic correspondence, and provides indispensable advice for those involved in high-level politics. Part 1 paints a vivid picture of what an embassy truly represents and introduces you to the remarkable individuals who dedicate themselves to this noble profession. You'll gain a deeper understanding of the embassy's significance and the people who shape its diplomatic endeavors. In Part 2, the author shares profound insights and practical advice garnered from their years in the field. Their recommendations, tailored for officials responsible for shaping national policies, will undoubtedly leave a lasting impact on the way you approach diplomatic challenges. Part 3 serves as your guide to crafting effective diplomatic correspondence. You'll discover the art of writing eloquent and influential letters, fostering productive relationships with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the host country, and engaging with fellow embassies residing in the same nation. As you progress to Part 4, you'll uncover the intricacies surrounding the appointment of new Ambassadors, the formation of delegations for crucial meetings, and the proper procedures for recalling former Ambassadors. This section serves as an indispensable resource for anyone involved in the diplomatic sphere. To ensure you're well-versed in the diplomatic lexicon, Part 5 presents a comprehensive glossary of essential diplomatic terms. This reference will prove invaluable as you navigate the complexities of international relations.
The Digital Double Bind
The digital has emerged as a driving force of change that is reshaping everyday life and affecting nearly every sphere of vital activity. Yet, its impact has been far from uniform. The multifaceted implications of these ongoing shifts differ markedly across the world, demanding a nuanced understanding of specific manifestations and local experiences of the digital. In The Digital Double Bind, Mohamed Zayani and Joe F. Khalil explore how the Middle East's digital turn intersects with complex political, economic, and socio-cultural dynamics. Drawing on local research and rich case studies, they show how the same forces that brought promises of change through digital transformation have also engendered tensions and contradictions. The authors contend that the ensuing disjunctures have ensnared the region in a double bind, which represents the salient feature of an unfolding digital turn. The same conditions that drive the state, market, and public immersion in the digital also inhibit the region's drive to change. The Digital Double Bind reconsiders the question of technology and change, moving beyond binary formulations and familiar trajectories of the network society. It offers a path-breaking analysis of change and stasis in the Middle East and provides a roadmap for a critical engagement with digitality in the Global South.
Pathways of Autocratization
Pathways of Autocratization addresses one of the most important questions in contemporary global politics: how does a country regress from a democracy to an autocracy?
Confucian Governmentality and Socialist Autocracy in Contemporary China
In October 2022, the 20th Party Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) concluded, extending Xi Jinping's leadership indefinitely, which many view as a one-party dictatorship. Exploring Confucian and socialist principles, this book examines the relationship between the citizens and leaders in the Chinese autocracy. By applying a Foucauldian twist to a range of topics - from discussing the politics of love and pandemic nationalism to analysing Xi's personality - it challenges the binary of authoritarianism and democracy. Interdisciplinary in nature, it will appeal to scholars and students working in the fields of politics, international relations, culture studies and critical theory.
The Anglo-American Military Relationship
The Anglo-American Military Relationship explores military cooperation since the end of the Cold War. Much of the literature on the Anglo-American 'Special Relationship' has focused on the personal linkages between American Presidents and British Prime Ministers. This book argues that much of what is special between the two countries has resided in their military cooperation. This has provided the ballast that has underpinned other aspects of the political and economic relationship and given it durability. The book focuses on how the British armed services have worked alongside a superpower, in both peacetime and conflict. This military cooperation has been a challenging task, not least because it has occurred within a dynamic strategic context in which the nature of conflict has been evolving. British armed forces have engaged with their American allies in high intensity warfare, as well as in developing military doctrines to address insurgency, peace enforcement, and nation-building tasks. Working so closely with the US military has generated risks as well as benefits for Britain's armed forces. It has led them to engage in tasks that have weighed heavily upon their resources and has resulted in numerous tensions between the two sides.
Youth and Development in Cuba
As young people constitute the future development of Cuba, constant analysis of their diverse life experiences is necessary in new and diverse publications by a variety of researchers. This book examines how youth practices intersect with and are influenced by development - economic, human, psychological, social - and how young people negotiate and influence development trends in Cuba. The point of departure for Youth and Development in Cuba is a pluralistic understanding of youth(s) - that is, juventud(es) in Spanish - seen as an active generational subject, influenced sociohistorically, as a kind of collective identity. The collection of chapters from international scholars addresses issues relevant to young people, their experiences and participation in a variety of contexts and explores the diversity of factors that intervene in and shape the current probl矇matiques of young people in Cuba's eastern province of Holgu穩n
The Legacy of Serbia's Great War
In the winter of 1915, following the invasion of Serbia by the Central Powers, the Serbian Army retreated across the mountains of Albania and Montenegro together with thousands of civilians. Around 240,000 lost their lives. Today, the story of the retreat is little known, except in Serbia where it is represents the heroic Serbian sacrifice in the Great War. In this book Alex Tomic examines the centenary events memorializing the First World War with the retreat at its core, and provides a persuasive account of the ways in which the remembrance of Serbian history has been manipulated for political purposes. Whether through commemorations, ceremonies, or grass- root initiatives, she demonstrates how these have been used as distractions from the more recent unexamined past and in doing so provides an important new perspective on the cultural history of commemoration.
The Political Thought of XI Jinping
An authoritative examination of "Xi Jinping Thought"--now the official dogma of the Chinese Communist Party--that marshals Xi's personal words and writings to reveal his plan to make "the China Dream of national rejuvenation" a reality in the coming decades. Over the course of the last half dozen years, China's supreme leader Xi Jinping has made extraordinary changes which have profound implications not only for the Chinese people but nations throughout the world. Given how swiftly and fundamentally China's relations with the rest of the world are changing under Xi's rule, it is imperative that we know what Xi Jinping Thought is, how it evolved, and why it is so important. In The Political Thought of Xi Jinping, Steve Tsang and Olivia Cheung provide an authoritative overview of what "Xi Jinping Thought" is and is not and what it means for both China and the world. Xi, now effectively leader for life, has worked to ensure that "Xi Jinping Thought" becomes cemented as the new state ideology. Clearly inspired by the doctrine of "Mao Zedong Thought," which shaped the parameters of acceptable thinking for a quarter century, Xi wants his doctrine to define what he calls the "China Dream of national rejuvenation" and serve the pathway to its fulfilment by 2050. As Xi conceives it, the China Dream is about making China great again, or restoring China to the height of its power, influence, and international standing in the mythical era of grandeur in its long imperial history. Drawing from original research of Xi's speeches, writings, and policies, Tsang and Cheung conceptualize Xi's vision independently from interpretations provided by the Chinese Communist Party or other sources. They further examine and explain how Xi seeks to transform this vision into reality. An authoritative analysis of the leader-driven ideological revolution that is currently transforming China, this book will be essential reading for anyone interested in where China might be headed in coming years.
European Union in the Global Context
The European Union in a Global Context is an engaging text, incorporating anecdotes and contemporary arguments, and presenting different perspectives on European integration and globalisation. It provides essential foundations in these areas, while using stimulating arguments to prompt further discussion.
European Union in the Global Context
The European Union in a Global Context is an engaging text, incorporating anecdotes and contemporary arguments, and presenting different perspectives on European integration and globalisation. It provides essential foundations in these areas, while using stimulating arguments to prompt further discussion.
Fiscal Federalism in Canada
Featuring insights from some of the top specialists in the country, Fiscal Federalism in Canada unpacks numerous complexities of fiscal federalism in Canada. The book features key regional and provincial perspectives, while taking into account Indigenous realities, the three territories, and municipal affairs. The contributing authors go beyond the major federal transfers to examine the financing of education, cities, infrastructure, and housing.This volume shows that fiscal federalism is much more than simply an aggregate of individual programs and transfers. It highlights the role of actors other than the federal and provincial governments and recalls the importance of territoriality. The book pays close attention to the political dimension of fiscal federalism in Canada, which is at the heart of how the federation functions and is essential to its governance. Fiscal federalism is central to the funding of critical programs through intergovernmental transfers, but it is also the focus of political debates on territorial redistribution. In tackling essential questions, Fiscal Federalism in Canada contributes to the so-called second-generation fiscal federalism literature, taking stock of the critical sociological and political issues at its core.
Brothers of Italy and the Rise of the Italian National Conservative Right Under Giorgia Meloni
This book is an in-depth study of Fratelli d'Italia, the party led by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. After providing a concise history of the neo-fascist and post-fascist parties to which Fratelli d'Italia is heir, the book examines its founding, statutory rules and internal organisation. The authors explore Meloni's communication style and the national conservative ideology she has embraced, Fratelli d'Italia's international network of alliances and its place in EU politics, and the composition of the electorate that led to the success of her and the party in the 2022 parliamentary elections. Through well-documented, rigorous and impartial analysis, the book offers insights into the path Fratelli d'Italia has taken and the identity it has built in its first ten years - explaining why a political tradition that seemed destined for extinction has come to power and is now attempting to change coalition politics in the EU. In doing so, the authors challenge several entrenched assumptions about populist and radical right-wing parties. The Italian edition of the book was reviewed in national newspapers and other media, garnering praise from a wide range of political perspectives.
Social Status and Political Participation of Rich and Poor Citizens in Africa
This book seeks to explore a fundamental obscurity in electoral behavior literature: while socioeconomic status is typically robustly and positively associated with a higher propensity for voting worldwide, the relationship in Africa is either negative or non-existent. Building upon the author's previous works relating to political participation, behavior and electoral processes, this work focuses specifically on 35 sub-Saharan African political system case studies and analyzes why resource-poor Africans tend to display greater electoral participation than their more comparatively affluent counterparts. Drawing from a methodological-theoretical framework utilizing Afrobarometer data and group mobilization theories such as the civic voluntarism model, electoral clientelism, democratic quality, preference theory and institutional perspectives, this book makes an original contribution to analyzing African regions less well-examined in existing comparative participatory political science literatures.
Necropolitics, Habitus, and the Kashmiri Resistance: We Are Here Still
This book engages the concept of necropolitics to present a vision of how to understand the physical body as a space of power and resistance to social order, in the context of the Kashmir resistance. The author sheds new light on the relations between India and Pakistan, with a focus on tensions over the Kashmir region, in order to better understand the emergence and stabilization of the narrative that criminalizes and thus justifies the population that rebels against state actions in the region. The research draws from archival and interview research and presents the reader with new insight into both conceptual and material dimensions of necropolitics.
Western Elites and Societies in Twenty-First Century Politics
This book focuses on threats to the continued viability of Western institutions and practices for which it is not easy to conceive remedies consistent with the Western tradition. Higley argues that structural difficulties in postindustrial societies, particularly the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and elsewhere, threatened troubles that political manipulation by elites might not be sufficient to contain or resolve. Struggling against lethal climate change, politically explosive waves of migrants and refugees, the likelihood of further pandemics, populist nationalism, and destabilizing effects of social media, elites must consider new demographic, economic, social, political, and international policies. Higley offers a powerful and provocative analysis of the elite's ability to sustain Western societies in their current social and political forms.
The Geography of Trade Liberalization
This book answers why anti-trade forces in developing countries sometimes fail to effectively exert pressure on their governments. The backlash against globalization spread across several Latin American countries in the 2000s, yet a few countries such as Peru doubled down on their bets on free trade by signing bilateral agreements with the US and the EU. This study uses evidence from three Latin American countries (Peru, Argentina, and Bolivia) to suggest that geography can play a significant role in shaping trade preferences and undermining the formation and clout of distributional coalitions that seek protectionism. Because trade liberalization can have uneven distributional impacts along regional lines, trade liberalization losers can find themselves in unfavorable conditions to associate and engage in collective action. Under these circumstances, few coalitions emerge to battle for protection in the policy arena, and when they do, geographic distance from decision-makers in the capital city can be a significant barrier to realizing their interests. As a result, even where a majority of the population living in regions that have not benefitted from trade elect a leftist president, trade reform reversal will not occur unless protectionist interests are close to the capital city. The contrast between Peru, on one side, and Argentina and Bolivia, on the other, highlights the powerful influence geography can have on reversing trade policy or preserving the status quo.
Youth and Sustainable Peacebuilding
Sustainable peace involves more than simply including youth in official peacebuilding mechanisms or recognizing their local peacebuilding work; it requires a transformation in thinking about the youth as actors in the world of security and peace. Using case studies from around the globe, the contributors to this volume analyse why states are afraid of their young people, why 'youth participation' in formal peace processes matters but is insufficient, and ways that young people are working outside of official systems to create and nurture peace on their own terms. The volume offers guidance for ways to bridge the disconnect that exists between institutional assumptions and expectations for youth as peacebuilders and the actual sustainable peace leadership of youth. Throughout, it emphasises a critical approach to peacebuilding with, for and by youth.
Youth and Sustainable Peacebuilding
Sustainable peace involves more than simply including youth in official peacebuilding mechanisms or recognizing their local peacebuilding work; it requires a transformation in thinking about the youth as actors in the world of security and peace. Using case studies from around the globe, the contributors to this volume analyse why states are afraid of their young people, why 'youth participation' in formal peace processes matters but is insufficient, and ways that young people are working outside of official systems to create and nurture peace on their own terms. The volume offers guidance for ways to bridge the disconnect that exists between institutional assumptions and expectations for youth as peacebuilders and the actual sustainable peace leadership of youth. Throughout, it emphasises a critical approach to peacebuilding with, for and by youth.
Peace and the Politics of Memory
This important book provides new understandings of how the politics of memory impacts peace in societies transitioning from a violent past. It does so by developing a theoretical approach focusing on the intersection of sites, agency, narratives, and events in memory-making. Drawing on rich empirical studies of mnemonic formations in Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rwanda, South Africa and Cambodia, the book speaks to a broad audience. The in-depth, cross-case analysis shows that inclusivity, pluralism, and dignity in memory politics are key to the construction of a just peace. The book contributes crucial and timely knowledge about societies that grapple with the painful legacies of the past and advances the study of memory and peace. An electronic edition of this book is freely available under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND) licence.
Drone Imaginaries
The book demonstrates how cultural and emotional knowledge, made salient in aesthetic drone imaginaries, can provide an understanding of the effects of drone technology on human communities. Each chapter raises questions about the political function of art that engages with drone technology surveillance and automation, as well as drone warfare.
Migration Diplomacy in the Middle East and North Africa
Migration diplomacy provides the first systematic examination of the foreign policy importance of migrants, refugees and diasporas in the Global South. Tsourapas examines how emigration-related processes become embedded in governmental practices of establishing and maintaining power; how states engage with migrant and diasporic communities residing in the West; how oil-rich Arab monarchies have extended their support for a number of sending states' ruling regimes via cooperation on labour migration; and, finally, how labour and forced migrants may serve as instruments of political leverage. Drawing on multi-sited fieldwork and employing a range of case-studies across the Middle East and North Africa, Tsourapas identifies how the management of cross-border mobility in the Middle East is not primarily dictated by legal, moral, or human rights considerations but driven by state actors' key concern - political power.
