MEA Library
Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India

Human rights refers to "the basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled, people sometimes take advantage of these, often held to include the right to life and liberty, freedom of thought and expression, and equality before the law." The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood." The idea of human rights descended from the philosophical idea of natural rights that are provided by God; some recognize virtually no difference between the two and regard both as labels for the same thing while others choose to keep the terms separate to eliminate association with some features traditionally associated with natural rights. This book presents new ideas on human rights issues from an international standpoint

The economic ascent of India and China is transforming the dynamics of globalization. The momentum of economic progress in these two nations will bring about the next major shift in geopolitics. This book analyzes the economic experience of both countries in the context of development and globalization, and offers insights that could be crucial for development thinking.

India is not only the world's largest and fiercely independent democracy, but also an emerging economic giant. But to date there has been no comprehensive account of India's remarkable growth or the role policy has played in fueling this expansion. India: The Emerging Giant fills this gap, shedding light on one of the most successful experiments in economic development in modern history. Why did the early promise of the Indian economy not materialize and what led to its eventual turnaround? What policy initiatives have been undertaken in the last twenty years and how do they relate to the upward shift in the growth rate? What must be done to push the growth rate to double-digit levels? To answer these crucial questions, author offers a brilliant analysis of India's economy over the last fifty years--from the promising start in the 1950s, to the near debacle of the 1970s (when India came to be regarded as a "basket case"), to the phenomenal about face of the last two decades. The author illuminates the ways that government policies have promoted economic growth (or, in the case of Indira Ghandi's policies, economic stagnation), and offers insightful discussions of such key topics as poverty and inequality, tax reform, telecommunications (perhaps the single most important success story), agriculture and transportation, and the government's role in health, education, and sanitation. The dramatic change in the fortunes of 1.1 billion people has, not surprisingly, generated tremendous interest in the economy of India. Author offers the first major account of how this has come about and what more India must do to sustain its rapid growth and alleviate poverty. It will be must reading for everyone interested in modern India, foreign affairs, or the world economy

World focus is a widely read monthly journal of discussion, completing twenty eight years of publication by December 2007. World Focus brings out a discussion on current affairs economic diplomacy, foreign policy and national security issue. The magazine is quite popular among general readers especially students and research scholars.

It is true and everyone agrees that India has not had good neighborly relations. Our larger neighbors have all wanted to show their distinct identity to demonstrate how different they were from India. There is still some reluctance of course but given time they are likely to get abroad.

This book defines the geo-politics of the world's most rapidly evolving economies and nation states, and assesses the challenge to America's global economic and military leadership posed by the emerging Asian superpowers. It is not just, as many seem to argue, a question of the rise of China.For the first time in history, Asia will not be dominated by just one country or by outside powers. It will contain three large, economically powerful countries, all with interests and ambitions that range across the whole region, and the world. The future of the world economy will be determined by the competition between these three countries, as will world politics. "Rivals" looks at: How the power struggle between China, India and Japan will shape our next decade, will explore the legacies of history, the likely future trajectories of China, Japan and India, and the potential collisions and intersections between them which will shape the 21st century.

The book examines the social and social psychological processes that led up to the Partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947. It works from a dual corpus: the historians' for medieval and modern India, the sociologists' for Indian society. It moves back and forth between evidence and general, or theoretical, understanding, and focuses on social and psychological processes, placing the strictly political domain on the margin. It recognizes long-term continuities in the idiom of conflict (as well as of cooperation), and shows that, by 1900, the conflicts and the animosities were gathering a self-aggravating momentum.

The book arose out of the outrage expressed by Senator D.P. Moynihan at the author's statement that the? Cold War was the greatest intellectual failure of history?. In a reaction, Prof. Stephen Cohen renewed his suggestion to compile the author's occasional writings. Stephen Cohen made the selection and grouped them into the following five parts: ?With Nehru?, ?The Cold War and its Shadow?, ?Fresh Water Diplomacy? ?Diplomacy between Unequal and Equal Neighbors?, and ?Looking Ahead?. On the express suggestion of J.N. Dixit, the volume also includes a letter the author write on his book War and peace on India's relations with Pakistan. The three-part essay on Non-proliferation was written at different times, but the last one after the US Congress approved the Bush-Singh Agreement on Civil Nuclear Cooperation. What binds these essays, written over twenty-five years, is that the consequence of technological gallop was not contemporaneously comprehended. Bog countries and small aggravated the handicaps for two-thirds of mankind by their misperceptions. The author argues that in a nuclear world, professional diplomacy demands a more consistent adherence to the vision of a socially just and peaceful world. The old arrogance of size and conventional or nuclear military superiority has lost the old coercive capability. In the twenty-first century, democracy and transparent accountability has to supplement traditional means of security

In this book, author examines the tentative initial discovery of armed power as an instrument of state policy in 1947-48; its degradation from 1949 to the national humiliation of 1962; and its resurgence in 1965. In the next two works, national security from 1966-2007 and the internal and external dynamics of India as an emerging power, will be examined.

This book addresses the paradox of political mobilization and the failings of governance in India, with reference to the conflict between secularism and Hindu nationalism, authoritarianism and democracy. It demonstrates how the Internal Emergency of 1975 led to increased support of groups such as the BJS and the RSS, accounting for the rise of political movements advocating Hindu nationalism - Hindutva - as a response to rapid political mobilization triggered by the Emergency, and an attempt by political elites to control this to their advantage. Vernon Hewitt argues that the political disjuncture between democracy and mobilization in India is partly a function of the Indian state, the nature of a caste-class based society, but also - and significantly - the contingencies of individual leaders and the styles of rule. He shows how, in the wake of the Emergency, the BJP and the RSS gained popularity and power amid the on-going decline and fragmentation of the Congress, whilst, at the same time, Hindu nationalism appeared to be of such importance that Congress began aligning themselves with the Hindu right for electoral gains. The volume suggests that, in the light of these developments, the rise of the BJP should not be considered as remarkable - or as transformative - as was at first imagined.

Sixty years after Independence, the Idea of India has become part of the very fabric of our democracy and nation-state. Yet much remains to be done to manage the upsurge of diversities that this democracy has nourished, and to confront the challenges and opportune ties the presents. In this book, Varghese takes a broad-brush view of some of the country's pressing concerns today: insurgency and Naxalism in Bihar, Middle India and Andhra; issues of language and culture, Dalits and caste, revivalism and fundamentalism, tribals and minorities; conflicts over land, forests, urbanization, industrialization and globalization; and global warming that demands lifestyle changes. Tracing the roots of these long-standing and recent troubles and the State's varying responses to them--often insensitive and repressive--the author shows us how colonial history, self-perceptions, social differentiation, divergent world views, paucity of human rights and dignity, as well as socio-economic imperatives have shaped these present problems. Many layers of such emerging insecurities, Varghese says, have to be negotiated with patience and understanding to achieve a sense of common good. Accepting the volatile ground realities-whether in Manipur, Andhra, Chattisgarh, in SEZs or Singur, Nandigram and Kalinganagar--he pleads strongly for eschewing populist and polarized positions, rooted in nostalgia and dead habit, and for seeking solutions that could lead to ordered change and stability, while fostering diversity.

This book provides an in depth picture of all aspects of this devastating and brutal conflict. It also provides numerous examples of how different conflict theories can be applied in the analysis of real situations of tensions and violence, illustrating the mutually reinforcing nature of mass level sentiment and elite agency, and the rational and emotive influences on those involved. This book will be of interest to researchers in Asian Studies, conflict resolution and religious violence.

The book presents a series of documents, nearly all of which are published here for the first time, accompanied by both overview and commentary sections. The central objectives of this collection are twofold. First, it seeks to build on existing scholarship on intelligence in deepening our understanding of its impact on a series of key events in the international history of the past century. Further, it aims to explore the different ways in which intelligence can be studied by bringing together both scholarly and practical expertise to examine a range of primary material relevant to the history of intelligence since the early twentieth century

This book looks at economic sanctions, using a political economy foundation. The author investigates the effectiveness of sanctions and the human suffering caused by them from a political and economic vantage, addressing political decisions, case studies, and game theory explanations, as well as discussing the future of sanctions as statecraft.

This volume analyzes changing patterns of authority in the global political economy with an in-depth look at the new roles played by state and non-state actors, and addresses key themes including the provision of global public goods, new modes of regulation and the potential of new institutions for global governance.

This book analyzes a new phenomenon in international law: international organizations assuming the powers of a national government in order to reform political institutions. After reviewing the history of internationalized territories, this book asks two questions about these 'humanitarian occupations'. First, why did they occur? The book argues that the missions were part of a larger trend in international law to maintain existing states and their populations. The only way this could occur in these territories, which had all seen violent internal conflict, was for international administrators to take charge. Second, what is the legal justification for the missions? The book examines each of the existing justifications and finds them wanting. A new foundation is needed, one that takes account of the missions' authorization by the UN Security Council and their pursuit of goals widely supported in the international community. Includes the full history of international territorial administration, making this a unique reference source First complete examination of the legal basis for the UN Security Council assuming the powers of a government, which explores the under-analyzed question of the limits of its powers First explanation of how international administration relates to widely-noted trends in international law.

This book examines how the UN Charters prohibition of force restrains the actions of the major powers, treating the Charter as both an instrument of international peace and international order. Since the Charter came into effect in 1945, there have been numerous incidents in which one or more of the five major powers have violated the Charters Article 2(4) prohibition of force. Given the frequency of these illegal uses of armed force, how does the Charters prohibition of force function as a restraint upon the actions of the major powers? The recent Iraq War and other incidents have demonstrated the major powers continued willingness to use armed force against other states, but the effects that the Charters prohibition of force has had in such incidents have not been examined thoroughly. International Law and the Use of Armed Force examines five historical cases: US intervention in the Caribbean 1953-61, Franco-British intervention in Egypt in 1956,Soviet intervention in Hungary in 1956, US-British intervention in Iraq 1990-98 and US-British intervention in Iraq 1999-2003.

This book is devoted to critically exploring the past, present and future relevance of international law to the priorities of the countries, peoples and regions of the South. Within the limits of space it has tried to be comprehensive in scope and representative in perspective and participation. The contributions are grouped into three clusters to give some sense of coherence to the overall theme: articles by Baxi, Anghie, Falk, Stevens and Rajagopal on general issues bearing on the interplay between international law and world order; articles highlighting regional experience by An-Na'im, Okafor, Obregon and Shalakany; and articles on substantive perspectives by Mgbeoji, Nesiah, Said, Elver, King-Irani, Chinkin, Charlesworth and Gathii. This collective effort gives an illuminating account of the unifying themes, while at the same time exhibiting the wide diversity of concerns and approaches.

Ethics and International Relations offer a comprehensive introduction to the philosophical issues raised by international politics. Presupposing no prior philosophical knowledge and deliberately avoiding the use of technical language, it is ideally suited for use on political philosophy, applied ethics and international relations courses. The author begins by setting the international scene and discusses the dispute between cosmopolitan ideals and national sovereignty, and the moral scepticism of the political term "realism" which has been so influential in the study of international relations. Subsequent chapters explore the practical applications of ethical theories to issues of global importance. Including suggestions for further reading in each chapter as well as a full bibliography, this book not only introduces readers to material that has attracted critical discussion, but also offers a complete general survey of the principle issues in ethics and international relations. Revised and updated, new material includes coverage of the war on terror and on the impact of globalization on environmental sustainability and ideas of cosmopolitan governance.

Conflicts involving religion have returned to the forefront of international relations. And yet political scientists and policymakers have continued to assume that religion has long been privatized in the West. This secularist assumption ignores the contestation surrounding the category of the "secular" in international politics. The Politics of Secularism in International Relations shows why this thinking is flawed, and provides a powerful alternative. Elizabeth Shakman Hurd argues that secularist divisions between religion and politics are not fixed, as commonly assumed, but socially and historically constructed. Examining the philosophical and historical legacy of the secularist traditions that shape European and American approaches to global politics, she shows why this matters for contemporary international relations, and in particular for two critical relationships: the United States and Iran, and the European Union and Turkey. The Politics of Secularism in International Relations develops a new approach to religion and international relations that challenges realist, liberal, and constructivist assumptions that religion has been excluded from politics in the West. The first book to consider secularism as a form of political authority in its own right, it describes two forms of secularism and their far-reaching global consequences.

Authors have made a significant contribution to our contemporary understanding of global politics. This collection contains some of their classic essays and many unpublished articles which have been edited into a coherent and stimulating collection. Subjects covered include: Theory and method in global politics; the role of values and the postmodern challenge; The complex roles of actors in global politics 9/11 and its aftermath; and, The changing nature of war US unilateralism, hegemony and empire

Bellamy (a researcher analyst at the Parliamentary Library, New Zealand Parliament) and DeRouen (political science, U. of Alabama, US) present 48 country-specific chapters (with the exception of two covering the former Soviet Republics and Oceania) reviewing contemporary human security matters. Each chapter provides basic information on country location, jurisdiction, natural resources, level of development, and environmental issues. Each outlines a brief history of the country from settlement and provides profiles of demographics, basic infrastructure, economy, and social indicators. Key issues of current politics are covered alongside information on political and legal institutions and crime statistics. Information on foreign affairs is included in reference to development and economic cooperation. Security organizations are profiled and issues of justice and human rights are addressed. The prominence of the United States in the title of the reference appears to be justified partly by the selected countries being ones of relatively current concern to the United States (e.g. Afghanistan, China, Colombia, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, North Korea, Taiwan, Venezuela, etc.) and partly because each chapter includes discussions of relations with the United States and connected security issues.

International Trade and Economic Development: Essays in Theory and Policy International trade does not guarantee unmixed benefits to nations suffering from deep structural distortions. Addressing trade, development and related issues, this volume systematically analyses the adjustment problems faced by a developing country as it confronts markets in the rest of the world. Using simple models and addressing topics that have influenced literature mainly in the last three decades, the volume focuses on: pattern of trade and related issues; trade and income distribution; trade, migration, and unemployment; protectionism, foreign capital and welfare; international technology transfer; and international joint ventures and strategic foreign investment. Published over the last twenty years, these essays provide the missing link between popular concerns of a developing country and the analytical domain of theoretical economics.

Since his election, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran has reversed the more moderate and pluralistic policies of his predecessor and projected himself onto the public scene with headline-grabbing speeches regarding Jews and the state of Israel, open defiance of the UN Security Council on the nuclear issue, and an apparent vision of his country becoming the dominant power in the Middle East. Iran's nuclear ambitions are in direct conflict with the wishes of the United States, the European Union, and many of the governments of the Middle East, leading to consequences that remain uncertain. Iran is a focus of attention in the most recent war in Lebanon, expanding its influence as a (the?) major supporter and supplier of Hezbollah. And Iran is cited in the most recent annual U.S. State Department report on terrorism as the country that is the "most active sponsor of terrorism." This book documents Ahmadinejad's background and rise to power. It explains the current structure of the Iranian revolutionary government--the competing centers of power and the major players. In separate sections it details the terrorist groups funded and armed by Iran, primarily Hezbollah and Hamas. And it provides a comprehensive picture of Iran's apparent aspirations to acquire nuclear weapons, as well as the related implications for regional and global security concerns. There is little reason to believe that Ahmadinejad will leave the scene anytime soon, or that Iran's behavior will change in the near term.

Iraq's Armed Forces: An Analytical History presents a comprehensive study of the evolution of the Iraqi military from the British mandate era to post-Saddam Iraq. Despite its prominent role in three major conflicts, no single, comprehensive work on the Iraqi forces has been published before. This new book is key to understanding Iraq today and also makes a major contribution to the field of civil-military relations. Based on captured Iraqi military documents from the 1991 Gulf War, this research was allegedly plagiarized by the British government prior to the 2003 Iraq war. It shows how the Iraqi armed forces, at one time the worlds fourth largest military, engaged in the longest conventional war in the twentieth century and challenged a superpower on two separate occasions. Ibrahim al-Marashi shows how the insecurity that plagued Iraq after the 2003 Iraq war can be attributed to the failure to create a new military that does not serve as a threat to a future government, yet is strong enough to deter rival factions in Iraq. As the US is mired in the reconstruction of post-Saddam Iraq, reconstituting its armed forces will be a prerequisite for an American withdrawal from Iraq. While the Bush administration praises the progress of the new Iraqi army, immense challenges lay ahead, as these forces are being built from scratch in the middle of an intense insurgency.

The first book of its kind to chronicle the reasons behind Iraq's descent into guerilla war, warlord rule, criminality, and anarchy, No End In Sight is a shocking story of wholesale incompetence, recklessness, and venality. Culled from over 200 hours of footage collected for the film, the book provides a candid and alarming retelling of the events following the fall of Baghdad in 2003 by high ranking officials, Iraqi civilians, American soldiers, and prominent analysts. Together, these voices reveal the principal errors of U.S. policy that largely created the insurgency and chaos that engulf Iraq today-and what we could and should do about them now. No End In Sight marks the first time Americans will be allowed inside the White House, Pentagon, and Baghdad's Green Zone to understand for themselves the disintegration of Iraq- and how arrogance and ignorance turned a military victory into a seemingly endless and deepening nightmare of a war.

Time magazine listed him as one of its "100 People Who Shape Our World." Newsweek featured him on its cover under the headline "How Al-Sadr May Control U.S. Fate in Iraq." Paul Bremer denounced him as a "Bolshevik Islamist" and ordered that he be captured "dead or alive." Who is Muqtada al-Sadr, and why is he so vital to the future of Iraq and, arguably, the entire Middle East? In this compellingly readable account, prize-winning journalist Patrick Cockburn tells the story of Muqtada's rise to become the leader of Iraq's poor Shi'ites and the resistance to the occupation. Cockburn looks at the killings by Saddam's executioners and hit men of the young cleric's father, two brothers, and father-in-law; his leadership of the seventy-thousand-strong Mehdi Army; the fierce rivalries between him and other Shia religious leaders; his complex relationship with the Iraqi government; and his frequent confrontations with the American military, including battles that took place in Najaf in 2004. The portrait that emerges is of a complex man and a sophisticated politician, who engages with religious and nationalist aspirations in a manner unlike any other Iraqi leader. Cockburn, who was among the very few Western journalists to remain in Baghdad during the Gulf War and has been an intrepid reporter of Iraq ever since, draws on his extensive firsthand experience in the country to produce a book that is richly interwoven with the voices of Iraqis themselves. His personal encounters with the Mehdi Army include a tense occasion when he was nearly killed at a roadblock outside the city of Kufa. Though it often reads like an adventure story, Muqtada is also a work of painstaking research and measured analysis that leads to a deeper understanding both of one of the most critical conflicts in the world today and of the man who may well be a decisive voice in determining the future of Iraq when the Americans eventually leave.

Perhaps no other Western writer has more deeply probed the bitter struggle in the Muslim world between the forces of religion and law and those of violence and lawlessness as Noah Feldman. His scholarship has defined the stakes in the Middle East today. Now, in this penetrating book, Feldman tells the story behind the increasingly popular call for the establishment of the shari'a--the law of the traditional Islamic state--in the modern Muslim world. Western powers call it a threat to democracy. Islamist movements are winning elections on it. Terrorists use it to justify their crimes. What, then, is the shari'a? Given the severity of some of its provisions, why is it popular among Muslims? Can the Islamic state succeed--should it? Feldman reveals how the classical Islamic constitution governed through and was legitimated by law. He shows how executive power was balanced by the scholars who interpreted and administered the shari'a, and how this balance of power was finally destroyed by the tragically incomplete reforms of the modern era. The result has been the unchecked executive dominance that now distorts politics in so many Muslim states. Feldman argues that a modern Islamic state could provide political and legal justice to today's Muslims, but only if new institutions emerge that restore this constitutional balance of power. The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State gives us the sweeping history of the traditional Islamic constitution--its noble beginnings, its downfall, and the renewed promise it could hold for Muslims and Westerners alike.

In two previous books, Osama's Revenge and The Al Qaeda Connection, seasoned investigative reporter Paul Williams revealed the alarming potential for nuclear terrorism on U.S. soil and the sinister connections among organized crime, illegal immigrants, and al Qaeda. Now, Williams broadens his focus beyond al Qaeda to provide readers with newly uncovered information on terrorist activities in Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, other Muslim countries--and our neighbor Canada! What emerges is a harrowing picture of international terrorist activities, all aimed at the destruction of the United States and the collapse of the Western world. This cataclysm will usher in "the Day of Islam," the dream of radical Muslims to see all of humankind fall in submission before the throne of Allah. Based on the "forgotten testimony" of the FBI's "Confidential Source One," as well as other sources, Williams first presents evidence of Osama Bin Laden's purchase of highly enriched uranium in Sudan and nuclear devices from the Chechens and the Russian Mafia. He then offers further information on the workings of Pakistani scientists and technicians from the A. Q. Khan Research Facility to maintain and upgrade al Qaeda's "bespoke nukes" (with explosive yields in excess of ten kilotons) for the "American Hiroshima." This information comes with empirical proof that should dispel any doubts that these weapons not only have been developed but have also been forward-deployed from the seaport at Karachi to strategic locations within the Western world. Keeping the focus on Pakistan, he predicts a nightmarish scenario if President Pervez Musharref should be overthrown and his arsenal of sixty-eight nuclear weapons falls into the hands of radical mullahs. Williams also examines the role of the Iranians both in sponsoring terrorism and in planning the American Hiroshima. In addition, he uncovers many unreported and startling accounts of the terrorist activities of Hezbollah in America and presents evidence that the marriage between Hezbollah and al Qaeda has been consummated. Finally, he presents intelligence showing that grave threats to America come, not from just our southern border, but from Canada and its amazingly open policies regarding radical Islam. The greatest threat of all, he concludes, comes from within --not only from the radical mosques within every major American city but also the Islamic paramilitary compounds in rural areas throughout the country, including Islamberg in New York State, where new recruits are trained for the great jihad against the United States under the very nose of FBI and Homeland Security officials

Why has the West disbursed vertiginous sums of money to the Palestinians after Oslo? What have been donors' motivations and above all the political consequences of the funds spent? Based on original academic research and first hand evidence, this book examines the interface between diplomacy and international assistance during the Oslo years and the intifada. By exploring the politics of international aid to the Palestinians between the creation of the Palestinian Authority and the death of President Arafat (1994-2004), Anne Le More reveals the reasons why foreign aid was not more beneficial, uncovering a context where funds from the international community was poured into the occupied Palestinian territory as a substitute for its lack of real diplomatic engagement. This book also highlights the perverse effects such huge amounts of money has had on the Palestinian population and territory, on Israeli policies in the occupied Palestinian territory, and not least on the conflict itself, particularly the prospect of its resolution along a two-state paradigm. International Assistance to the Palestinians after Oslo gives a unique narrative chronology that makes this complex story easy to understand. These features make this book a classic read for both scholars and practitioners, with lessons to be learned beyond the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

The state of Israel is one of the most controversial countries in the world. Yet, its unique creation and rise to power in 1948 has not been adequately explained either by its friends (mainstream Zionists) nor by its detractors (Arabists and post-Zionists). Using a variety of comparative methodologies; from contrasting the Jewish state to other minorities in the Ottoman Turkish Empire to the rise of the four Tigers in Asia to newly independent countries and revolutionary socialist countries in Europe and Asia, Author examines how Israel has gained the strength to overcome great obstacles and become a serious regional power in the Middle East by 2007. Themes addressed include: how the creation of Israel is strikingly different from that of most new states, as undetermined by the major structural forces in the world in the twentieth century how voluntarist forces, those of individual choice, will and strategy, played a major role in its creation and success in-depth analysis of the creation of a revolutionary party, government, army and secret police as critical to the success of the socialist revolution (1881-1977) he enormity of the forces aligned against the state; from major international and religious organizations representing billions of people, international reluctance to helping Israel in crisis, and internal Israeli and Jewish issues the tremendous impact of revolutionary (socialist and semi-capitalist nationalist) factors in giving Israel the strength to survive and become a significant regional power over time. Author provides a fresh perspective to view one of the most controversial states in the world and avoids the highly charged ideological descriptions that often plague such discussions. Understanding the rise of Israel, a central state in the region, helps to explain a great deal about the Middle East today

The Israel Defense Force (IDF) plays a key role in Israeli society, and has traditionally been perceived not only as the guardian of national survival, but also as a 'people's army' responsible for the custody of national values. This volume analyses the circumstances currently undermining these perceptions, and explores both the changes occurring in Israel's military framework, and their potential implications. The book highlights the influence exerted by massive shifts in both Israel's external strategic landscape and in the country's domestic and cultural environments, which have compelled the IDF to undertake major programmers of structural reform, technological adaptation and doctrinal revision. This book argues that these changes have lead the public to subject the armed forces and their conduct to unprecedented critical scrutiny. The way in which Israelis and their army resolve these tensions is of crucial importance not only for Israel, but for the Middle East as a whole.

This volume analyzes the conduct of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) counter-insurgency operations during the two major Palestinian uprisings (1987-1993 and 2000-2005) in the Territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It employs primary and secondary resources to produce a comprehensive analysis on whether or not the IDF has been able to adapt its conventional conduct of warfare to the realities of the Israeli-Palestinian low-intensity conflict and achieve any sort of victory over the Palestinian insurgents. Sergio Catignani provides new insights into how conventional armies struggle with contemporary insurgency by looking in particular at the strategic, operational, tactical and ethical dilemmas of the IDF over the last two decades. By examining the way in which the IDF and the Israeli security doctrine were formed and developed over time, he explores the extent to which Israeli security assumptions, civil-military relations, the organizational culture, command and control structure, and conduct of the IDF have affected its adaptation to the contemporary Israeli-Palestinian low-intensity conflict. Israeli Counter-Insurgency and the Intifadas will be of much interest to students of low-intensity conflict and counter-insurgency, the Israeli army, the Middle Eastern conflict and strategic studies in general.

This book brings together an inter-disciplinary group of Palestinian, Israeli, American, British and Irish scholars who theorize "the question of Palestine." Critically committed to supporting the Palestinian quest for self determination, they present new theoretical ways of thinking about Palestine. These include the "Plasticization" of ethnic and racial conflicts, the theorization of Palestine as camp, ghetto and prison, the tourist/activist gaze, the role of gendered resistance, the centrality of the memory of the 1948 Nakba (catastrophe) to the contemporary understanding of the conflict, and the historic roots of the contemporary discourse on Palestine. This book brings together an inter-disciplinary group of Palestinian, Israeli, American, British and Irish scholars who theorize "the question of Palestine." Critically committed to supporting the Palestinian quest for self determination, they present new theoretical ways of thinking about Palestine. These include the "Palestinization" of ethnic and racial conflicts, the theorization of Palestine as camp, ghetto and prison, the tourist/activist gaze, the role of gendered resistance, the centrality of the memory of the 1948 Nakba (catastrophe) to the contemporary understanding of the conflict, and the historic roots of the contemporary discourse on Palestine.

This book provides a detailed examination of Japan's diplomatic relations in the 1950s, an important decade in international affairs when new structures and systems emerged, and when Japan established patterns in its international relationships which continue today. It examines the process of Japan's attempts to rehabilitate itself and reintegrate into a changing world, and the degree of success to which Japan achieved its goals in the political, economic and security spheres. The book is divided into three parts, each containing three chapters: Part I looks at Japan in the eyes of the Anglo-American powers; Part II at Japanese efforts to gain membership of newly forming regional and international organizations; and Part III considers the role of domestic factors in Japanese foreign policy making. Important issues are considered including Japanese rearmament and the struggle to gain entry into the United Nations. In contrast to much of the academic literature on post-war Japanese diplomacy, generally presenting Japan as a passive actor of little relevance or importance, this book shows that Japan did not simply sit passively by, but formed and attempted to instigate its own visions into the evolving regional and global structures. It also shows that whilst Japan did not always figure as highly as its politicians and policy makers may have liked in the foreign policy considerations of other nation states, many countries and organizations did attach a great deal of importance to re-building relations with Japan throughout this period of re-adjustment and transformation.

Many people in the West portray Japan as being fixed in its ways, and unable to change, and consequently risking national decline and international loss of prestige. However, in fact, Japan is at present in a significant transition period, comparable to the Meiji Restoration of 1868 or the period immediately after the Second World War. This transition period comes with a mixture of events and situations which are difficult to interpret both for foreign as well as domestic commentators and decision makers. In this book a range of senior experts from inside Japan outline the many considerable changes currently taking place in a wide range of fields, including the economy, business and technology, politics, governance and international relations, and a wide range of social issues - the media, the position of women, nationalism and national consciousness, and religion. Overall, the book provides a corrective to misplaced Western and Eastern views; it aims to redirect stereotyped thinking about contemporary Japan both inside as well as outside the country. In addition it gives a summary overview of contemporary Japan, its current changes and problems- in short the inside story of the second strongest national economy in the world which is in the process of fundamental re-engineering and which will continue to have a huge impact globally going forward.

In July 1993, President Bill Clinton visited the Republic of Korea as part of a tour in Northeast Asia. Looking across the Demilitarized Zone that separates North and South Korea, President Clinton described the terrain he saw as one of the scariest places on earth. Now, well into the first decade of the 21st century and several years after the end of the Cold War, President Clinton's observation remains accurate. In fact, the argument can be made that the Korean peninsula is even more dangerous than it was in 1993. How did this happen when, throughout most of its more than 2,000 year history, Korea was one of the most homogeneous countries among the world's nation states, with its people sharing a common language and ethnicity? Since the end of World War II and primarily through the actions of external powers, the Korean peninsula has been divided-with North and South Korea engaged in a competition for the heart and soul of the Korean nation and international legitimacy. Some experts have referred to the peninsula as one of the last vestiges of the Cold War. Global Security Watch-Korea compares the ways in which the two Koreas have developed their respective political and economic systems over the past 50 years, as well as the competition between them. The focus then shifts to the North Korean nuclear weapons program and an examination of some of the reasons North Korea has been willing to expend economic and political resources to build this program. Berry analyzes the challenge to peace and stability represented by a nuclear-armed North Korea and the only marginally successful efforts of the United States and other countries to convince North Korea to terminate this program, an effort complicated by policy differences between the United States and South Korea regarding the Pyongyang regime. The handbook concludes with predictions of possible outcomes in this volatile area.