Book categories

Suffering in Silence

The Human Rights Nightmare of the Karen People of Burma

by Claudio O. Delang

2000

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...

In the Shadow of the United States

Democracy and Regional Order in the Latin Caribbean

by Giancarlo Soler Torrijos

2008

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.

The Delusion of Progress

A Fallacy of Western Society

by Pierre A. Chomat

2008

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 momentu...

Understanding International Counter Terrorism

A Professional’s Guide to the Operational Art

by A. Hunsicker

2006

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...

Reassessing Democracy

A Rebel's Guide

by Gregory Shafer

2004

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.

Engaging Terror

A Critical and Interdisciplinary Approach

by M. Vardalos, G.K. Letts, H.M. Teixeira, A. Karzai, J. Haig (editors)

2009

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...

Documenting the Undocumented: Redefining Refugee Status

Center for Refugee Studies 2009 Annual Conference Proceedings

by Veronica P. Fynn (editor)

2010

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.

Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton

A Defining Political Debate

by K. Anthony Scott

2007

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.

Neighborhood Challenge

The European Union and Its Neighbors

by Birgul Demirtas-Coskun & Bezen Balamir-Coskun

2009

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 ...

Studies in Criminal Justice, Terrorism, and International Political Conflicts

by Frank Fuller

2009

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.

Boundary Politics and International Boundaries of Iran

A Study of the Origin, Evolution, and Implications of the Boundaries of Modern Iran with its 15 Neighbors in the Middle East, the Persian Gulf, the Caucasus, the Caspian Sea, Central Asia, and West Asia by a Number of Renowned Experts in the Field

by Pirouz Mojtahed-Zadeh

2007

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, sp...

Denial and Deception

A Study of the Bush Administration's Rhetorical Case for Invading Iraq

by Alan Kennedy-Shaffer

2006

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 ...

The Political Economic Foundation of Democratic Capitalism

From Genesis to Maturation

by Alan W. Ertl

2007

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.

Justice Versus Politics in Haiti (2001 - 2004)

by Prosper Avril

2007

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 Polit...

Red Air

Politics in Russian Air Power

by Dr. Sanu Kainikara

2008

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...

The Islamic Shield

Arab Resistance to Democratic and Religious Reforms

by Elie Elhadj

2008

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 bo...

Turkish Foreign Policy in Post Cold War Era

by Idris Bal

2005

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 ...

The Intermarium

Wilson, Madison, & East Central European Federalism

by Jonathan Levy

2007

This thesis proposes an alternative governance structure for east central Europe – the Intermarium. The Intermarium is based on the development of a supplementary federal structure capable of controlling factionalism and nationalism utilizing concepts from James Madison’s Tenth Federalist. In particular, James Madison’s approach to mitigating and preventing the formation of dangerous factions is found to be compatible with preexisting notions of federalism in east central Europe and offers a potential regional political solution that merits further study. In reaching the above proposal, the concepts of Wilsonian national self -determination, Pan European federalism, functionalism and historical east central European variants of federalism are explored along with their leading personaliti...

The Information Age and Diplomacy

An Emerging Strategic Vision in World Affairs

by Amir Dhia

2006

Advances in the field of information and communication technologies have substantially affected most segments of our life, leading to the Information Age or Information Revolution. On both individual and state scale, 'information' has become a vital 'commodity' by which one measures levels of knowledge, skills, well-being, prosperity and development. This academic work traces the evolution of the Information Age and the emerging trends of diplomacy and politics in today's world. It signals potential opportunities and threats, while strategically forecasting current and future implications. Including three major chapters, the work is divided into eleven significant themes. It reviews the emergence of knowledge-based societies and highlights their main features. The course of globalizati...

The New World Order

An Economic Global Regime

by Carlo James

1999

The New World Order -- far from being anything "new" -- is an order which has been evolving for more than one hundred years. This thesis begins with the idea for an elite establishment of one late 19th century individual, Cecil Rhodes, and shows how it has developed into the several organizations that make up the Global Regime today. Although the term "New World Order" has been a buzzword since the Bush era, the majority of people around the world remain uncertain of the meaning. This thesis will demonstrate that it is an order with an underlying economic agenda. This is illustrated by examining various reports written by members or the Regime which reveal their goals and intentions, and also by examining detailed studies done on policies they have implemented. Finally, this thesis su...

Johnson, McNamara, and the Birth of SALT and the ABM Treaty 1963-1969

by John M. Clearwater

1999

The purpose of this book is to examine the birth of bilateral strategic arms control between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Johnson Administration, from 1964 to 1969. It is about the time and the place of the birth of bilateral strategic arms control as it came about in the United States through the efforts of President Lyndon Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara in the 1960s. This is the time of the birth of what quickly came to be known as SALT, or the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. This inquiry firstly considers whether the move towards bilateral strategic arms control was institutional or personal. It then looks for the motivating factors: both theoretical and substantive. As few things have only a single cause, it is likely that we shall find th...

Terrorist Groups Are Aligning To Conduct Global Terrorism

by John R. Fraser

2003

Terrorism was once a topic limited to certain sectors of the world, such as the Middle East or South Africa. However, in recent years, it appears that no one is safe in any part of the globe. A growing number of countries must take measures to protect citizens and visitors from the threat of terrorism. The Unites States of America is the latest addition to this list. It has become evident in recent years that terrorism is no longer a localized event, but rather an increasing global problem. It has also become obvious that terrorism requires a global solution as well. Evidence has been mounting that terrorist groups are beginning to connect and form alliances. This gives them greater strength and greater resources. It seems they are finding common ground and are beginning to coordinate effo...

Africa and the Democratic Option

A Quest for Effectiveness and Legitimacy in Governance

by Austin O. Ogunsuyi

2004

The prospect for democracy in Africa is the central concern of this study. The factors that contribute to the existence of undemocratic or autocratic governments in most of Africa, therefore, become our major focus for evaluation.An analysis of the pre-colonial, colonial and postcolonial political history of Africa attribute autocracy in Africa to irreconcilable differences between the African traditional institutions and the imposed colonial political and economic systems. This socioeconomic and political disharmony, orchestrated by the colonial economics of exploitation, set the tone for neocolonial African states fraught with economic and political instability.Our research strategy involved a qualitative technique of collecting and analyzing a significant body of data relating to the po...

The Voices of Amerasians

Ethnicity, Identity, and Empowerment in Interracial Japanese Americans

by Stephen L H Murphy-Shigematsu

1999

Amerasians are persons of American and Asian ethnic heritage who have appeared as a group mainly in the past forty years. Beginning with the massive involvement of the United States in the Occupation of Japan, thousands of Amerasians have been born from Japan to Vietnam. In the U.S. they are the children of approximately eighty thousand American/Asian couples who have come here since that time. This study sought to examine the lives of Amerasians in the United States. The primary research questions centered around finding the nature of Amerasian issues and concerns which are encountered in growing up in the U.S. How Amerasians attempted to resolve these issues and concerns was a major focus of the thesis. Data was analyzed for themes using grounded theory. Themes of early experi...

Tokyo Phantasmagoria

An Analysis of Politics and Commodity Capitalism in Modern Japan Through the Eyes of Walter Benjamin

by Kenny Loui

2008

As the sun set on the 20th century, a new age dawned in Japan. This new era, symbolized by the postmodern city of Tokyo, has ushered in not only technological innovation and economic prowess, but changing attitudes and values among Japanese young people. This transformation is not an uncommon or even new phenomenon, but simply the result of modern life. And one of the symptoms of modernity is the prevalence of an “ethics of materialism,” the ever-increasing concern for the acquisition of wealth and commodity goods, sometimes at the expense of the concern for human life itself. Walter Benjamin (1892-1940) was a German-Jewish philosopher whose writings examined topics including, but not limited to, art, history, and politics. His life’s work, published posthumously as The Arcades ...

State Sovereignty versus Individual Human Rights in the Case of the Rwandan Genocide of 1994

by Kayumba P. David

2008

This study entitled ‘State sovereignty versus individual human rights’ is a critical reflection of the relationship between sovereignty and (individual) human rights especially as it related to the Rwandan genocide in which about a million people perished in only 100 days. The fact that Rwanda government conducted a genocide against its citizens and continued to enjoy the benefits of sovereign rights of independent states such as the protection from foreign interference, well knowing that peoples rights were being violated, moved me to question the legitimacy of state sovereignty of an abusive government. The purpose of this study was to find out whether the people’s sovereignty has been hijacked from the Rwandans by the state, and misused as a shield to mask violations of individual righ...

Toward an Understanding of Europe

A Political Economic Précis of Continental Integration

by Alan W. Ertl

2008

For the earnest student of Europe, this unique work brings together a basic review of essential segments of intellectual thinking. In this volume, pertinent conceptual relationships, substantial relevant particulars, and an array of specific mechanics are all intertwined and used as a focus to examine the ongoing complex European integration process. By defining important parameterizations, this text develops a paradigm probing the current-day international activities which are rapidly leading to meta-national European supra-nationality. The most basic substantive of the integration process is the collective various peoples of Europe with their individual diversities. The origins of these collective diversities, the defining historical nationhood precedent, is herein examined, revealing ...

The Politics of Neighborhood Governance in China

by Jianfeng Wang

2009

For the nearly three decades of coexistence between economic liberalization and political authoritarianism, China remains as an anomaly to the liberal mantra of our time. This book explores a segment of the China Paradox, the state-society interaction channeled by the Residents Committee. Being the largest urban neighborhood organization, the committee deserves study because of its controversial status between ordinary residents it claims to represent and the authoritarian state. The committee enters the discourse as a directly congruent example of the same paradox that the whole China displays, when it is endowed with important, yet tension-changed statutory functions ranging from social control to service provision and neighborhood self-governance. How, and under what conditions, does t...

Managing Intercollective Conflict

Prevailing Structures & Global Challenges

by Anna J. Borgeryd

1999

How does the state system measure up to today's realitites when it comes to managing conflict? To what extent are efforts to manage conflict successful, and for whom? Prevailing structures designed to deal with conflict between collectives -- sovereign states supported by militaries, military industry, and the United Nations -- operate mainly on principles that are hundreds of years old. Conditions for conflict and its management have changed radically since this state system was constructed. There is a risk that institutional inertia produces growing disparity between real-world problems and the institutions that are supposed to manage them. Realism and legalism are found to form a double idological support for the state system. The study compares the state system's realist a...

Institutional Change in the Horn of Africa

the allocation of property rights and implications for development

by Sandra F. Joireman

1997

Traditional theories of property rights change have posited an evolutionary progression of property rights towards private property in response to changes in the relative price ratio of land compared to the other factors of production. Using case studies from two areas of Ethiopia and one area of Eritrea the dissertation demonstrates the role of political factors such as interest group preference and state intervention in directing property rights development away from a linear path. The case studies trace the development of three separate systems of property rights throughout the twentieth century up to the Ethiopian revolution of 1974. Analysis of history and litigation in the three areas demonstrates that in none did property rights evolve spontaneously towards privatization. In one are...

UK Aid Policy and Practice 1974-90

An Analysis of the Poverty-Focus, Gender-Consciousness and Environmental Sensitivity of British Official Aid

by Christopher C. Erswell

2001

This thesis provides a detailed analysis of UK Aid policy over the period 1974-90. Its focus is primarily upon the extent to which official aid was concerned with poverty alleviation. This theme permitted a comparison to be made between the records of the Labour administration of 1974-79 and the Conservative administration of 1979-90. A quantitative comparison is made of the two aid programmes. The philosophical, moral and ideological aspects of the British aid programme are explored. Two themes in particular are studied in depth: aid and gender and aid and the environment. The influence of lobby groups is considered, including those representing political, commercial, gender, environmental and "human development" interests. The implications of conditionality are also considered. Asses...

Party Mobilization, Class and Ethnicity

The Case of Hawaii, 1930 to 1964

by Gary G. Aguiar

1997

This study seeks to explain the types of strategies party elites use to attract voters. How do party elites decide which kinds of incentives to offer, at what period, in what way, and to which groups? This study investigates the efficacy of competing and overlapping class and ethnic cleavages. Incentive theory suggests that organizations will offer three types of appeals: material (tangible rewards), solidary (enjoyment through participation), and purposive (policies and programs). First, using U.S. Census data, this study examines the social context of Hawaii in terms of ethnic and class characteristics. Second, using interviews with party elites, it explores the kinds of appeals new Democrats used. Third, using precinct-level election results and neighborhood c...

Militarization and State Power in the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Case Study of Israel, 1948-1982

by Eligar Sadeh

1997

A set of propositions and an accompanying theoretical framework that explains the cause-effect linkages between intrastate and interstate power realization that are characterized by militarization are developed. This model establishes the foundation for an explanation of how such power is used to deal with the state's Janus-faced security dilemma. To this end, the model provides the tools needed for such an inquiry from a conceptual and typological standpoint. The goal is to explain how the internal aspect of state power shapes the external one. It was determined that Israel and the primary Arab confrontation states provide important test cases based on the intense interplay prevalent between militarization processes and state power.

The Conservative Mind

A New Model for Government

by James E. Snyder, Jr., J.D.

2004

The Conservative Mind consists of four parts: The Conservative Manifesto; The Conservative Solutions; The Conservative State; and, The Conservative Challenge. The Conservative Manifesto consists of five chapters which serve to connect past conservative philosophies with future conservative aspirations and which compare and contrast the liberal mindset with conservative ideals for government. The largest portion of the book consists of nineteen chapters, in each of which is discussed respective national and international issues. To a lesser degree, state government is discussed in the penultimate chapter. Hardcover edition: US $32.95

Haïti 1995-2000

Le Livre Noir de l'Insécurité (Deuxième Edition)

by Prosper Avril

2004

Sommaire La parution de ce livre a provoqué d'énormes remous en Haïti. Lors de sa présentation le 26 mai 2001, le gouvernement Aristide procéda violemment à l'arrestation de son auteur, Prosper Avril, un ancien président de ce pays. Au sujet de cet incident, Yves Colon, du Miami Herald, écrit ceci dans la livraison du 31 mai 2001 de ce journal : "En sa qualité d'ancien président et de général d'armée, Prosper Avril représentait une figure importante en Haïti. Aujourd'hui, ce grand-père de 64 ans se trouve dans le pénitencier bondé de Port-au-Prince... La semaine dernière, il s'était rendu dans un restaurant prisé d'une banlieue de la capitale pour signer des copies de son livre : Haïti: 1995-2000 -Le Livre Noir de l'Insécurité. L'ouvrage attribue une récente vague d'enlèvements, de hold-u...

Oil Addiction

The World in Peril

by Pierre Chomat

2004

Totally addicted to oil, Man in his industrial adventure has transformed nearly all the Earth’s ecosystems into “egosystems” designed to serve only his own needs and desires, at the expense of all other species. He persists despite the irreversible damage he is causing to the environment. He has already disrupted the Earth’s thermostats. Western society has reached the “Age of Excess,” which will last only as long as there is still fossil energy to fuel it. The Earth cannot keep up with Man’s demand for natural resources. Her hydrocarbon reserves are shrinking rapidly and by 2010, global production will begin to decrease, setting off a period of unprecedented planetary disorder and turmoil. Today the United States must import most of the oil it ...

Democratic Peace

In the Spectrum of Conflicts in Sub-Saharan Africa

by Cage Banseka

2005

This text marks a little milestone in the understanding of the democratic peace theory in transitional states. It brings in a much needed perspective on the achievements and limitations of democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the role it plays or could play in the search for solutions to conflicts in the sub-region. The author provides a differentiated view of the traditional Western notions of democracy and its role in the search for political stability and nation-building. A series of fragile democratic developments in contemporary politics in the continent have set in processes of change in governance patterns and understandings about the idea of a nation state. However, these processes have been unable to stem the tide of conflicts that continue to raise their bloody heads in the c...

Development for Peace

In Search for Solutions to Conflicts in Sub-Saharan Africa

by Cage Banseka

2005

This book offers not only a comprehensive analysis of the conflicts in Africa but also a milestone suggestion of what could be a breakthrough in attempts at resolving them. It suggests that underdevelopment lies at the genesis of most of the conflicts. The herein enunciated Developmental Peace Theory offers a more tenacious solution to the conflicts than the traditional Democratic Peace Theory. Conflicts would be avoided if Africans could concentrate on developing those aspects that protect them from preventable morbidity and sporadic hunger. This book is an interesting expose of the often neglected development approach to African conflicts. It contrasts the African democratisation process and development, while providing case study analysis to illustrate the real effects the phenomen...

Security-Based Approach to Development

Global Insecurity and Issues of Personal Identification

by Dr. Upali M. Sedere

2005

“Security Based Approach to Development” (SBA) is a new vision to development by addressing security and development issues simultaneously. It merges the global security issues with the "Rights Based" and "Needs Based" approaches. The book provides an in-depth analysis of Identity and Power. In today’s context identity and security issues are two sides of the coin. SBA has recognized the issue of ‘personal identification’ as a pre-requisite to empowerment. Analysis attributes the deteriorating law-and-order, rigged elections, corruption, socioeconomic disparity, harboring of terrorists, lack of transparency and poor governance to lack of personal identification systems. The book stresses that unless the development investments and insecurity issues are addressed simultaneously the glo...

Writing on the Wall

Scenario Development in Times of Discontinuity

by Philip van Notten

2005

Although the significance of ‘9/11’ is subject to debate, it is symbolic of a general sentiment of discontinuity whereby society is vulnerable to undefined and highly disruptive events. Recent catalysts of this sentiment are eye-catching developments such as the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and bird flu outbreaks, the Enron and Parmalat scandals, political assassinations in Sweden and the Netherlands, regime changes in Iraq and Afghanistan, and terrorist attacks in Bali, Istanbul, Madrid, and various parts of the Middle East. However, recent discontinuities should not be seen as evidence that discontinuities occur more frequently now than they did before. Looking back in history we see that disruptive processes are common. For example, 25 years ago few Europeans would ha...

Turkish-U.S. Relations

Perspectives From Ankara

by Ralph H. Salmi & Gonca Bayraktar Durgun

2005

This book provides a unique and timely window into the views and opinions of a wide segment of the Turkish society on the subject of contemporary Turkish-U.S. relations. Based on interview data collected and analyzed largely by Turkish academicians, this study focuses on the opinions and attitudes of Turkish citizens across nine different sectors of Turkish society. Ranging from military officers to university students to the labor and media sectors, the depth and breadth of this multi-sectoral survey, looked at carefully by a group of scholars from broad academic backgrounds and public service expertise, serves as an important contribution to the literature. Serving as a "snap-shot" of contemporary views being expressed in Turkey, this work serves to identify and address those issues a...

The Politics of Transnational Television

Beyond the Cultural Imperialism Question

by Austin O. Ogunsuyi

2004

The central focus of this study is to provide an improved basis for articulating the politics of transnational television and its potentials for improving relations among nations. In this context, the politics of transnational television means the decision-making process that determines the degree of freedom of the press tolerated by individual governments and how that could affect broadcasting mode and attitudes toward other nations.The motivation for this research stems from a conviction that the cultural imperialism perspective on the nature and modes of transnational television are erroneous and therefore susceptible to a wide and often misleading theoretical assumption, with wide ranged implications.In reevaluating the concept of cultural imperialism, some fundamental questions are ...

Haiti (1995-2000)

The Black Book on Insecurity

by Prosper Avril

2004

Written by the former President of the Republic of Haiti. This book was the cause of a great event in Haiti. At the moment of its presentation on May 26, 2001, the Aristide government illegally ordered the arrest of its author, Prosper Avril, a former president of this country. Yves Colon wrote about this incident in the May 31, 2001 issue of The Miami Herald: "As a former president and army general, Prosper Avril once cut a powerful figure in Haiti. Now the 64 year old grandfather sits in an overcrowded National Penitentiary in Port-au-Prince... Last week, he went to an upscale restaurant in a suburb of the capital to sign copies of his book, Haiti: 1995-2000 -The Black Book on Insecurity. The book attributes a recent wave of kidnappings, holdups, robberies and killings to the inefficie...

Across the Landscape

Selected Political Writings and Speeches on Liberia--1978-2001

by H. Boima Fahnbulleh, Ph.D.

2004

A selection of writings and speeches on the political evolution of the West African Republic of Liberia from 1978 to 2001 by a Liberian political activist who has been at the centre of the political developments in that country during the period covered.

The Transition from Technocracy to Aristocracy in Japan, 1955-2003

by Christopher Titus North

2007

The core issue underlying the bulk of scholarly research into the Japanese political economy is the relationship between the bureaucracy and the politicians. My study investigates whether there has been a relative decline in bureaucratic influence and whether politicians are displaying more independence in the policy making process than they did during previous decades. My main hypothesis is that the loss of bureaucratic influence has largely been a function of the declining position of former bureaucrats within the ruling Liberal Democrat Party (LDP), and that it has largely been politicians who were able to enter the Diet at a young age due to hereditary recruitment who have gained influence. Their ability to build up seniority has placed them at an advantage in promotion to key party...

Economic Sanctions as an Instrument of U.S. Foreign Policy

The Case of the U.S. Embargo against Cuba

by Helen Osieja

2006

Economic sanctions have been used as an instrument of American foreign policy ever since the Taft administration adopted the Dollar Diplomacy. This dissertation analyzes the trade Embargo the United States imposed upon Cuba after the Revolution from different perspectives: from the political, considering the main guidelines of American foreign policy toward Latin America, especially during the Cold War, and from the juridical, considering different perspectives of customary international law. Since the embargo was imposed only after American property had been expropriated without compensation, the dissertation analyzes the legality of expropriation, seen from the perspective of both capital-importing and capital-exporting countries, and the legality of economic sanct...

Japan's Yasukuni Shrine: Place of Peace or Place of Conflict?

Regional Politics of History and Memory in East Asia

by William Daniel Sturgeon

2006

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo five times over five years while Prime Minister. As a result, Japan's relations with China and Korea have declined to their worst state since the end of World War Two. However, Prime Minister Koizumi has accused the two of meddling in Japan’s internal affairs – he does not see this as an international issue. For China, Korea, and others the fact that the shrine also includes 14 Class A War Criminals makes the Prime Minister’s visits to the Shrine, official or not, an issue of international concern. Why is there such a rift not only between Japan and its neighbors but also between the way Koizumi sees his visits and the way in which China, Korea, and other countries perceive these visits? What d...

Good Military Wives Stay in the Closet

Obstacles to Openly Opposing Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)

by Monica K. Henry

2007

Women and men are socialized to accept and perform certain gendered roles – generally man as warrior/protector and woman as caretaker/protected. The United States Military depends on the wives of servicemen to embrace these gendered roles in order to carry out military operations such as Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF.) The conservative nature of the military, its demand for obedience and loyalty, the dependency of military wives on the military community for financial and social support to cope with the hardships of military life contribute to the reluctance of those opposed to OIF to publicly express this opposition and/or contribute to their negative perceptions of the antiwar movement. Although large-scale opposition to OIF among military wives is unlikely, to avoid further alien...

Law Enforcement

The Game Between Inspectors and Inspectees

by Hans de Bruijn, Ernst ten Heuvelhof and Marieke Koopmans

2007

This book deals with the practice of enforcement. It focuses on the position of enforcement professionals: inspectors attempting to induce inspectees to adopt norm-compliant behaviour. What strategies do inspectees use to evade rules and enforcement? How do inspectors respond? What are 'counter-strategies´? In addition to this game between inspectors and inspectees, there is the game between inspectors, managers and politicians. What influence do politicians and managers have on inspectors and what patterns do we see developing in this relationship? The book also covers a number of themes surrounding enforcement: zero tolerance, information-sharing between inspectors, regulation in network-based sectors and the meaning of several types of risks in risk analyses. The book discusses the re...

Trillion Dollar Scam

Exploding Health Care Fraud

by Saul William Seidman, MD, FACS

2008

Fraud is the result of government and insurance company control of health care. The growth of bureaucracy is a precursor to incompetence and soaring costs of medical care. A lack of clinical diagnosis and a dependence on expensive testing has increased costs while decreasing the doctor's competence. The FBI and the attorneys general of all states are dealing with exploding health care fraud. The result is a trillion dollars in waste and deception. Trillion Dollar Scam details the origin of this fraud and waste, and offers solutions to fixing the broken U.S. health care system.