This volume of essays on the Gulen, or Hizmet (service) movement, a Turkish, Sufi Muslim, and humanitarian civil society group, looks at the recent activities of its followers to practice their form of Islam and carry out collective interfaith projects at the international level. It adds to the newly burgeoning discourse by focusing on the ways in which participants challenge ideological and sectarian boundaries. Included are essays which discuss how the movement is organized, structured, and institutionalized in many parts of the world, explore Turkey’s global influence, evaluate criticisms of the movement, and suggest directions for further research. While most previous scholarly attention has focused on the theological and philosophical ideas of Fethullah Gulen, the movement’s ins...

Oil and God is an unabashed realpolitik analysis of U.S. oil geopolitics and Saudi Arabia’s symbiotic attachment to Wahhabism. Oil and God contends that oil hegemony is world hegemony. The U.S. has protected the al-Sauds since 1945. Some 35,000 U.S. soldiers are in regional air and naval bases to protect the oil fields and ruling sheikhs. In Washington’s hands, Saudi oil is a non-lethal WMD. Not even the 9/11 atrocities could make Washington punish Riyadh. Oil and God investigates why Iraq was destroyed, why Iran was allowed to dominate Baghdad, and why Shi’ite/Sunni wars continue to burn. Once oil is replaced by green energy, Washington will abandon Riyadh, Saudi cash will dwindle, and Wahhabi terror will diminish.REVIEWS Elie Elhadj provides a deeply researched analysis of how the...

Situated in the triangle between South Asia, Southeast Asia, and China, Burma is a country of 50 million people struggling under the oppression of one of the world's most brutal military regimes. Yet, the voices of its people remain largely unheard in the international arena. Most of the limited media coverage deals with the non-violent struggle for democracy led by Nobel laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi or the Army's repression of university students and urban dissidents, but these only form a small part of the story. This book presents the voices of ethnic Karen villagers to give an idea of what it is like to be a rural villager in Burma: the brutal and constant shifts of forced labor for the Army, the intimidation tactics, the systematic extortion and looting by Army and State authoriti...

How is the process of democratization different in those countries influenced by the United States? Being so close to this world power, the Latin Caribbean should have been one of the first regions, and not one of the last, to become democratic. An intersection between Comparative Politics and International Relations, the book portrays democratization not as a purely domestic process but as a regional one. It also shows the limits of US influence; US power distorted regime trajectories, without being sufficient to determine their outcomes. This book is central to understanding the impact of US efforts to promote democracy and the international dimension of regime transitions. It is also useful to grasp the configuration of the Latin Caribbean as a distinct sub-region.

Understanding International Counter Terrorism is one serious effort to lay out a comprehensive strategy of how to deal with a whole gamut of possible terrorist incidents by using a language that any person or first responders like policemen, security personnel, firemen, paramedics, etc. can understand. This guide covers everything from bombings and hostage- taking, to NBC (Nuclear, Biological and Chemical) Terrorism, what needs to be done before, during, and after an event. This manual combines what minimally needs to be understood about Operational Counter- Terrorism by the government- level policy maker, while at the same time helping the personnel on the first responder level who are planning to cope with what must at least initially seem like an overwhelming attack. Terrorism i...

In The Delusion of Progress Pierre-Auguste Chomat portrays a young individual who gradually becomes an unconditional believer in progress and a full member of an industrial society that sets almost no limits to its material development. The case presented by the author defines Western Society as a whole. Industrialized countries take for granted that Progress characterizes Man and is a natural movement of his being. We have faith in Progress. We do not question its values. Progress “exists” the way God “exists.” We have become fundamentalists of Progress. Our societal behavior has some severe flaws. Most critically, it is exhausting the resources on which it is based and the damage that it is inflicting on Earth is often irreversible, putting life as we know it in jeopardy. The...

Americans have long believed that they live in a democratic nation--where government is responsive to the people and where wealth and happiness are available to all. In fact, as this work explores, the American government has never sought equality and is often more loyal to business and affluence than to the aspirations of the average citizen. This book delves into the violations of democracy, uncovering the pandering to corporations, the cultural manipulations of people, the violations of fundamental rights.

Here is the first in-depth analysis and comparison of U.S. policy in two seminal conflicts of our recent history: the Cold War and the Global War on Terrorism. Unlike previous publications, which deal with each conflict separately, Two American Crusades treats the two as a seamless web, from the passions of the medieval Crusades through the long twilight struggle of the Cold War to the campaign against al Qaeda and ISIS stemming from the rise of radical political Islam. National security and foreign policy professionals, members of the academic community, and general readers alike will benefit from the insights revealed in this book that exert a profound influence on current international affairs and America’s role. Two American Crusades also illustrates why a peace dividend continues ...

The book sets out the development of gender politics before and after the revolution of January 25, with a particular focus on the period between January and August 2011 in order to analyse how women’s rights have been progressing during the transitional period. The book locates the Egyptian case in a broader analytical framework derived from a brief comparative analysis of women’s activism in revolutionary struggles or independence movements in countries such as Algeria, Morocco, Iran, South Africa, and Chile. This enables the research to underscore and highlight which strategies adopted by women have enabled them to be recognized and included politically in the transitional and post-transitional periods of their countries. The book also reports the historical perspective of the ...

The impact of continuous coastal development, reclamation, destruction of corals, overfishing and increased maritime traffic places all of us on the front lines of preserving our oceans. Marine biologists, who share a common language that cuts across political, economic and social differences, recognize that the sea’s remarkable coral reefs, which provide food, jobs and protection against storms and floods, have suffered unprecedented rates of destruction in recent decades. Dispatches from the South China Sea’s blend of participatory research and field reportage paves the way for a transformation of policy and, provides a basis for the eventual resolution of some of today’s major maritime conflicts. From overfishing, illegal and unregulated fishing, coral reef destruction and re...

The Kurdish question started to be discussed especially after the establishment of Republic of Turkey in year 1923. This problem has many different aspects, as well as sociological and political problems. PKK, the terrorist organization, constitutes another dimension of this problem. The peace process for the sustainable peace regarding with the Kurdish question and PKK took place in year 2009. This process aimed to end the PKK terrorism and to solve the Kurdish question from its roots through effective and permanent methods. However, the solution process begun in year 2009 by the AKP government in Turkey could not be resolved but it turned to a stalemate because of inconclusive and abstracts steps followed in the process, as well as the foreign difficulties. This research will examine ...

This study is the product of a long view of space exploration and the conversations about space in China. It locates the multiple conversations about space exploration and utilisation as they are in the Peoples’ Republic of China (PRC), within other conversations about space culture in the world. China is viewed by Western researchers though many lenses which are examined here critically. In previous studies, writers explain away China‘s space programme with the easy answers of a "Space Race" and a "China Threat", in which the space programme is seen as merely an example of global competition, or threat, but this thesis challenges those barriers to Western understanding of the Chinese public conversation of space culture. In this study, critical theory and an underlying epistemology wi...

This Proceeding is a direct product of the Center for Refugee Studies Annual Conference-- Documenting the Undocumented: Redefining Refugee Status, which took place on April 16-17, 2009 at York University, Toronto, Canada. It is a compilation of 11 scholastic essays ranging from a wide variety of topics related to "undocumented people" - domestic workers, internally displaced people, non-status students, environmental displacement, resettlement, refugees, and more. These thought provoking, yet unconventional pieces will attract academics, non-academics, policy makers, practitioners, lawyers, policy makers and others.

Engaging Terror: A Critical and Interdisciplinary Approach is a collection of select extended papers drawn from The Human Condition Series (THCS) conference on Terror that took place in May, 2008. The international scope of the conference drew participants from twenty-three countries including Brazil, Columbia, Cuba, France, Israel, Lebanon, Lithuania, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The thirty-five essays presented here are a representative sample of the interdisciplinary discussion which sought to analyze popular concepts like 'terrorism' and 'terrorist' as social, political, and psychosocial phenomena. Engaging Terror seeks to reveal the diverse forms of terror that persist in contemporary societie...

This book is about Iranian boundaries at a time when crisis of various nature are occurring around Iran, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan, with immediate effect on the Iranian borderlands and substantial effect of Iran’s relations with her neighbours. Furthermore, issues like the legal regime of the Caspian Sea and the UAE claims on the Iranian-owned and Iranian-held islands of Tunbs and Abu Musa in the Persian Gulf create a situation in Iran’s neighbourhood, which influence her foreign relations and engage the country in matters of international importance. Occurrence of all these issues on and around the boundaries of Iran and a thorough study of the unexplored foundation and evolution of these issues within the framework of the study of the Iranian boundaries make this book timely...

Denial and Deception: A Study of the Bush Administration's Rhetorical Case for Invading Iraq delivers a refreshingly objective snapshot of the relationship between President George W. Bush's misleading statements, public opinion, and the war in Iraq. Using statistical analysis, Alan Kennedy-Shaffer presents the first academic study of how President Bush bullied the nation into invading Iraq and why the White House no longer controls public opinion. By mapping the major rhetorical and military developments in the war in Iraq, Kennedy-Shaffer paints a contextual picture of the Administration's rhetoric and the impact of casualty rates on public opinion. This book is essential reading for every scholar of presidential rhetoric and public opinion in an era of denial and deception by ...

In The Political Economic Foundation of Democratic Capitalism, Dr. Alan Ertl traces the development of the modern notions of Democracy and Capitalism, specifically the unique and seemingly at-odds combination of the two ideas that has grown to form the political-economic system of democratic-capitalism. An understanding of this system is essential to political and economic studies; the studies of those nations currently striving to develop Capitalism as their economic base would benefit from the separate analyses of Democracy and Capitalism, how the two concepts compare and contrast, and how the two ideas have combined to form a complex system of government.

In broad 21st century, without cause nor reason, a peaceful and honest citizen, Prosper Avril, a former president of Haiti, was imprisoned during 1011 days in a lugubrious cell by the only will of one man, an other president of this country: Jean-Bertrand Aristide Prosper Avril is the author of "Le Livre Noir de l’Insécurité" already presented in English language under the title "The Black Book on Insecurity", a book that had created the event in Haiti in the year 2001 when President Aristide made him arrested while he was signing his work to the public. His fight to recover his freedom is the source of his new work: "La Justice face au Pouvoir Politique en Haiti (2001 - 2004)" published after his release from prison. This book is offered now in its English version : "Justice versus P...

One of the intriguing questions of the post-Cold War era has been whether the EU will play a major global role in world politics as non-traditional threats and challenges came to the forefront. Launching new policies such as the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the European Security and Defence Policy and the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) have been considered important steps in the EU?s evolution as a regional and possibly global actor. Neighborhood Challenge analyzes critical aspects of the European Union's relations with its neighbours, by extending its analysis beyond the ENP. Unlike existing books on the subject, the volume covers the entire neighborhood from Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus to North Africa; from the Western Balkans to the South Caucasus and Central Asia. Such an ...

The pursuit of national security is normally dominated by an overaching ideology that takes into account the political, economic, social and military paradigms that face a nation. In the history of the Soviet Union this ideology was more thaqn normallyinfluenced by political activism that demanded the continuation of the 'Workers' Revolution' into other parts of the world. Since the military forms an integral part of the governmental apparatus, its utilisation in the pursuit of securing national security is considered a legitimate and normal action. The Soviet Union built up the world's largest military force in an effort to ensure that the nation would have the necessary 'super power' status to counter-balance the growing power and influence of the United States of America. The ideologies...

This book covers criminal justice and terrorism topics, with some related political studies. It consists of a collection of essays and research studies designed for academic audiences. This is a useful guide for high schoolers, college students, professors, and teachers. The reader will learn about terrorism topics and political conflicts and grasp how these fields are tied together. The readings will serve as good reference tools for those who are interested in understanding how conflicts develop, and are willing to resolve some of the problems brought on by international and domestic terrorism.

The founding of American jurisprudence can be traced to the debates that occurred between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson early in the history of our nation. A Defining Political Debate explores the core tension between the two men over the ability of the judiciary to preserve the core values of republican government. The author takes you through the normative dimensions of the Hamilton and Jefferson debates and provides an analysis of what this means for our current state of affairs.

Washington’s “War on Terrorism” has used democratization of the Arab World as a justification and a weapon. The Islamic Shield contends that genuine religious and political reforms in the Arab World are sheer fantasy: they are not expected for a very long time, if ever. The Islamic Shield argues that democratic ideology cannot defeat Islamic theology. A culture of blind obedience to autocratic authority at home, school, mosque, and work place has been turned into a form of piety by the ulama clerics. The Islamic Shield focuses on the interaction between political Islam and world politics. The book analyses the likely consequences of Arab resistance to political and religious reforms in the Middle East and beyond, especially the Arab-Israeli conflict and the U.S. project in Iraq. ...

The Citizen Soldier in War and Peace is a is a short historical look at the use of firearms in America and throughout the world this book appeals to anybody who believes in the Second Amendment or who is interested in the historical use of firearms. It begins with the use of guns for hunting and self-protection ad well as personal property and of course national defense early in our country‘s early history . It also analyzes the philosophical standpoint of the idea of the armed citizen and its relationship to freedom. A freeman with a gun, an armed citizenry means a free country The book also does a thorough job of examining other countries and other philosophical aspects of arming the citizenry. This book clearly defines the Militias in other countries. It touches on China and the Sovie...

With the end of Cold War discipline the world has entered a new era. Parameters have changed; new handicaps as well as new opportunities have been created for countries. Turkey as a neighbor of former USSR, a member of NATO and located at the center of a sensitive region covered by Caucasus, Balkans and Middle East, has been affected by the end of Cold War radically. Turkey has lost some of her bargaining cards in the new era and therefore has needed new arguments. This need encouraged Turkey to take active steps in Post Cold War era. This book analyzes Turkey s relations with US, EU, Balkans, Middle East, Caucasus, Central Asia, Russia, China and Japan. At the same time, effects of economic crises and domestic developments on foreign policy, Turkish model in Turkish foreign policy, water ...

Laser isotope separation (LIS) is an emerging technology that uses relatively small, widely-available lasers to achieve civilian or weapons grade concentration of fissile material to fuel nuclear reactions. To date only a few, limited proliferation risk analyses of LIS technology have been conducted. This paper provides a historically and technically informed update on the current state of LIS technology and it explains the high likelihood of increased global LIS adoption. The paper also explains how international rules governing nuclear energy are ill-equipped to handle such new technology. It traces the current limitations to broader issues in international relations theory, especially the incomplete accounts of the role of technology in the proliferation dynamic in the dominant neoreali...

This study will attempt to answer the question of how can the rise in social violence since the 1980s be explained in the oil-rich nation of Venezuela? The once relatively peaceful nation of Venezuela has seen a dramatic rise in social violence over the last three decades that has placed her amongst some of the world's most dangerous countries. A review of the relevant literature will reveal that the study of a social phenomenon such as violence, in a nation such as Venezuela, is a complicated task because there are a number of different, but in many cases interlinked, variables that contribute to the formation of this social phenomenon. Therefore, the conceptual framework will consist of a multi-variable analysis so that this study may go about to formulate an appropriate explanation base...

This book looks at how international treaties can be used to establish successful national programmes. It is concerned specifically with national mine action programmes, focusing on the capacity of the national governments (also referred to as "the state") to implement the "Convention on the prohibition of the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines and on their destruction." The Convention, which is also referred to as the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) or "Treaty", was finalised on September 18, 1997 in Oslo. Ten years after its creation, the Treaty has proven a successful tool to address the humanitarian disaster caused by landmines, yet most of the mine affected country signatories to the MBT have not been able to meet their clearance deadline. This book examines th...

The book investigates efforts of the international community to keep peace and rebuild states after these have overcome internal war. Over the past 20+ years, UN peace missions have gradually become more ambitious, with an increasing number of military and civilian peacebuilders on the ground who take on a wide range of responsibilities. Contradicting calls for ever more international commitment to post-war countries, the author argues that more of everything is not in all cases the adequate approach and does not necessarily produce better outcomes in terms of security and statehood in war-torn countries.

The Lisbon Treaty is the latest and most crucial reform to the European Union. As the successor to the much-debated and innovative Constitution, it represents the culmination of the unification process, for it aims to simultaneously enhance efficiency and cover the democratic deficit inherent in the outdated decisionmaking mechanisms of the past, as a consequence of excessive enlargement and deepened integration. Thus, the first question is the extent to which the Lisbon Treaty renders the Union more democratic and according to what criteria that may be evaluated. Another question is related to the fact that the Treaty is the result of a fundamental debate on the very nature of the European Union: Is the latter to become an authentic political union or a mere free-trade area with second...