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Book Alert, September - October 2015
01.   Hostile intent and counter-terrorism: human factors theory and application/ Stedmon, Alex, Ed - England: Ashgate, 2015
Abstract: This volume brings together research from around the world to explore a range of topics within the project of detecting terrorist activities. It is divided into six key themes: conceptualising terrorism, deception and decision making, social and cultural factors in terrorism, modelling hostile intent, strategies for counter-terrorism, and future directions. Twenty four chapters explore the spectrum of detecting terrorist activities, hostile intent, crowded public spaces and suspicious behaviour. A variety of disciplines are represented, including ergonomics/human factors, psychology, criminology, cognitive science, sociology, political theory, engineering and computer science.
02.   How Modi won it: notes from the 2014 election / Khare, Harish - Gurgoan: Hachette , 2014
Abstract: Marked by deep ideological divisions, a massive advertising blitz and an election campaign that could claim to rival the US presidential polls, the 2014 general election has been called 'historic' for its verdict, which marked the first time in three decades a political party received a majority in the Lok Sabha. In this personal, partisan and superbly perceptive narrative of how the dice rolled through the last 4 months leading up to 16 May 2014, Harish Khare - journalist, columnist, scholar and former media advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh - provides an honest, impassioned record of India's greatest democratic exercise. Through a meticulous account of what he saw, heard and read, Khare elucidates how the different political stakeholders kneaded into their day-to-day campaign rhetoric the latent cultural angst, economic anxieties and political expectations of a nation that has changed irrevocably over the past decade to persuade the Indian voter. From the brilliant and flexible campaign pitch made by the BJP to the jaded and outdated Congress rhetoric, from openly expressed middle-class aspirations to rural India's hopes, and from communal polarization to shifting caste equations, How Modi Won It provides brilliant insight and an incisive assessment of one of the most memorable elections in recent history.
03.   In and out of Suriname: language, mobility and identity/ Carlin, Eithne B., Ed - Boston: Brill, 2015
Abstract: This title will be available online in its entirety in Open Access In and Out of Suriname: Language, Mobility and Identity offers a fresh multidisciplinary approach to multilingual Surinamese society, that breaks through the notion of bounded ethnicity enshrined in historical and ethnographic literature on Suriname.
04.   Incitement in international law / Timmermann, Wibke K - London: Routledge , 2015
Abstract: This book offers a comprehensive study of incitement in its various forms in international law. It discusses the status of incitement to hatred in human rights law and examines its harms and dangers as well as the impact of a prohibition on freedom of speech. The book additionally presents a detailed definition of punishable incitement. In this context, Wibke K. Timmermann argues that incitement should be recognized as the crime of persecution, where it is utilized within a system of persecutory measures by the State or a similarly powerful organization. The book draws on the Nahimana case before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, as well as jurisprudence from German and other courts following World War II to provide support for this proposal. The work moreover provides a comprehensive analysis of public incitement to crimes; solicitation or instigation; and the related modes of liability aiding and abetting and commission through another person.
05.   India and South Asia: exploring regional perceptions/ Chandra, Vishal, Ed - New Delhi: Pentagon Press , 2015
Abstract: Perceptions play a very significant role in South Asian politics. They have largely shaped and influenced state policies and politics among the South Asian countries, especially in relation to India, over the years. State policies have at times been hostage to negative or adversarial perceptions, well-entrenched in the popular psyche. The perception formation in South Asia is an extremely dynamic process and has evolved differently in different countries. Perceptions are not static and often change with the shift in domestic as well as regional and global politics. There are myriad stakeholders—with diverse sectional interests - explicitly or implicitly shaping and influencing perceptions among countries in South Asia.
06.  India and the nuclear non-proliferation regime: the perennial outliner/ Kumar, A. Vinod - New Delhi: Cambridge University Press , 2015
Abstract: The book is a comprehensive study of India's relationship with the non-proliferation regime, and its transformative evolution from a perennial outlier to one seeking greater integration with the regime and its normative structures. The highlight of this study is its incisive conceptual analysis of the regime as a functional system and its structural complexities, which brings forth new insights on the regime's core ideas like non-proliferation and counter-proliferation. The book also provides an extensive non-Western narrative on the concept of counter-proliferation and its conceivable role and influence in the regime. It breaks new ground in explaining India's quest for an anti-proliferation strategy, which could determine its status and future in the emerging global nuclear order. It will be a substantial contribution to the literature on India's approach towards non-proliferation, counter-proliferation and disarmament, and will enhance the understanding of the impact of the regime's normative structures on India's nuclear decisions.
07.   India-EU People mobility: historical, economic and regulatory dimensions/ Chanda, Rupa, Ed - Delhi: Cambridge University Press , 2015
Abstract: “The mobility of people lies at the heart of economic advance, and creates large gains not only to the migrants themselves but also too many in the countries of origin and destination. India and the EU are natural partners and this book offered a rich multi-dimensional analysis of the history and structure of the flow between them; it contains several highly informative sectoral studies and recommendations for policy. It is an important piece of scholarship and a ’must read’ for anyone interested in mobility in general or in India-EU relations.”
08.  Indonesia’s ascent: power, leadership, and the regional order/ Roberts, Christopher B, Ed - New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015
Abstract: As Indonesia's economy grows, it is increasingly being referred to as a rising middle power and there is mounting speculation that Indonesia might eventually join the ranks of Asia's great powers. Regardless of just how far Indonesia will rise, its government and the will of its people will become increasingly influential in terms of its regional leadership and the values and the norms Jakarta espouses. What are the domestic opportunities and constraints that inform Indonesia's rise and how will various domestic contexts affect Indonesia's foreign policy and the values it espouses? This volume provides a timely analysis of the key domestic and transnational opportunities and challenges associated with Indonesia's ascent. The contributors explore a range of issues including Indonesia's economic resources, political institutions, identity and independence, as well as Jakarta's regional relations, leadership and the exercise of hard and soft power. The book examines the likely directions for Indonesian foreign policy following the election of President Joko Widodo in 2014 and this collection also offers an assessment of the potential trajectory of Indonesia's future.
09.  International Environmental Law: a modern introduction/ Dupuy, Pierre-Marie - New York: Cambridge University Press, 2015
Abstract: This textbook provides a concise, conceptually clear, and legally rigorous introduction to contemporary international environmental law and practice. Written in an accessible style, the book covers all the major multilateral environmental agreements, paying particular attention to their underlying structure, their main legal provisions, and their practical operation. The material is structured into four sections: (I) Foundations, (II) Substantive regulation, (III) Implementation, and (IV) International environmental law as a perspective. The presentation of the material blends policy and legal analysis and makes extensive reference to the relevant treaties, instruments and jurisprudence. All chapters include a detailed bibliography along with numerous figures to summarise the main components of the regulation. It covers emerging topics such as foreign investment and the environment, environmental migration, climate change and human rights, technology diffusion, and environmental security in post-conflict settings.
10.  The international law of the sea / Tanaka, Yoshifumi - New York: Cambridge University Press, 2015
Abstract: The law of the sea is a complex and fascinating subject. This textbook explores the subject from the perspective of public international law, covering all the key topics from the legal regimes governing the different jurisdictional zones, to international co-operation for protection of the marine environment. Students interested in international environmental and natural resources law will find chapters on emerging issues such as the conservation and the protection of natural resources and biodiversity in the oceans. It includes student-friendly features such as chapter overviews, conclusions, figures and tables and further reading sections. Clarity of expression, engaging analysis and comprehensive coverage make this book essential reading for all students of the law of the sea.
11.   International relations of the middle east / Valbjorn, Morten, Ed - London: Sage Library of International Relations, 2015
Abstract: Now in its second edition, this popular textbook presents a comprehensive and balanced analysis of the international politics of the Middle East. Part I gives an historical framework, Part II looks at major themes in international relations and applies them to the area, and Part III examines region-specific conflicts and issues. The book has been fully revised and updated, with two new chapters on the nature of Islam and the war in Iraq. International Relations of the Middle East is accompanied by an Online Resource Centre, which includes: For Students: News feeds Interactive time line Web links Chapter exercises.
12.  Intimate rivals: Japanese domestic politics and a rising China / Smith, Sheila A. - New York: Columbia University Press, 2015
Abstract: No country feels China's rise more deeply than Japan. Through intricate case studies of visits by Japanese politicians to the Yasukuni Shrine, conflicts over the boundaries of economic zones in the East China Sea, concerns about food safety, and strategies of island defense, Sheila A. Smith explores the policy issues testing the Japanese government as it tries to navigate its relationship with an advancing China. Smith finds that Japan's interactions with China extend far beyond the negotiations between diplomats and include a broad array of social actors intent on influencing the Sino-Japanese relationship. Some of the tensions complicating Japan's encounters with China, such as those surrounding the Yasukuni Shrine or territorial disputes, have deep roots in the postwar era, and political advocates seeking a stronger Japanese state organize themselves around these causes. Other tensions manifest themselves during the institutional and regulatory reform of maritime boundary and food safety issues.
13.   Irregular migration and human security in East Asia / Song, Jiyoung, Ed - London: Routledge, 2015
Abstract: Across East Asia, intra-regional migration is more prevalent than inter-regional movements, and the region’s diverse histories, geopolitics, economic development, ethnic communities, and natural environments make it an excellent case study for examining the relationship between irregular migration and human security. Irregular migration can be broadly defined as people’s mobility that is unauthorised or forced, and this book expands on the existing migration-security nexus by moving away from the traditional state security lens, and instead, shifting the focus to human security. With in-depth empirical country case studies from the region, including China, Japan, North Korea, the Philippines, Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand and Singapore, the contributors to this book develop a human security approach to the study of irregular migration. In cases of irregular migration, such as undocumented labour migrants, asylum seekers, internally displaced people, trafficked persons, and smuggled people, human security is the cause and/or effect of migration in both sending and receiving countries.
14.  ISIS exposed: beheadings, slavery, and the hellish reality of radical Islam/ Stakelbeck, Erick - New Jersey: Regnery Publishing, 2015
Abstract: The terror masters of ISIS are determined to get America's attention. They’ve humiliated the Iraqi Army we trained and seized territory in Iraq that we had secured at the cost of so many American lives. They’ve beheaded American journalists on camera in a direct challenge to the power and resolve of the United States. And now ISIS is calling for "city wolves" across the United States to act on their dedication to the Islamic State’s blood-drenched ideology and murder innocent American citizens at random. Who is ISIS? Where did it come from, and what is driving its successful campaign of murder and conquest? Our government and our media alike seemed to be blindsided by the Islamic State’s blitzkrieg-like advance, which forced American troops back into Iraq. ISIS has conquered a territory roughly the size of the state of Indiana, rules over eight million terrorized souls, and has even revived the practice of legal slavery.
15.   Israelis and Palestinians in the shadows of the wall: space of separation and occupation / Abdallah, Stephanie Latte, Ed - England: Ashgate, 2015
Abstract: Shedding light on the recent mutations of the Israeli separation policy, whose institutional and spatial configurations are increasingly complex, this book argues that this policy has actually reinforced the interconnectedness of Israelis and Palestinian lives and their spaces. Instead of focusing on the over-mediatized separation wall, this book deals with what it hides: its shadows. Based on fieldwork studies carried out by French, Italian, Israeli, Palestinian and Swiss researchers on the many sides of the Israeli-Palestinian divide, it highlights a new geography of occupation, specific forms of interconnectedness and power relations between Israeli and Palestinian spaces. It offers a better understanding of the transformation of people’s interactions, their experiences and the ongoing economy of exchanges created by the separation regime. This heterogeneous regime increasingly involves the participation of Palestinian and international actors. Grounded in refined decryptions of territorial realities and of experiences of social actors’ daily lives this book goes beyond usual political, media and security representations and discourses on conflict to understand its contemporary stakes on the ground.
16.   Japanese diplomacy: the role of leadership/ Envall, H.D.P - New York: Suny Press , 2015
Abstract: A political leader is most often a nation’s most high- profile foreign policy figure, its chief diplomat. But how do individual leadership styles, personalities, perceptions, or beliefs shape diplomacy? In Japanese Diplomacy, the question of what role leadership plays in diplomacy is applied to Japan, a country where the individual is often viewed as being at the mercy of the group and where prime ministers have been largely thought of as reactive and weak. In challenging earlier, simplified ideas of Japanese political leadership, H. D. P. Envall argues that Japan’s leaders, from early Cold War figures such as Yoshida Shigeru to the charismatic and innovative Koizumi Jun’ichirō to the present leadership of Abe Shinzō, have pursued leadership strategies of varying coherence and rationality, often independent of their political environment.
17.   Making and unmaking nations: war, leadership, and genocide in modern Africa/ Straus, Scott- London: Cornell University Press, 2015
Abstract: In Making and Unmaking Nations, Scott Straus seeks to explain why and how genocide takes place-and, perhaps more important, how it has been avoided in places where it may have seemed likely or even inevitable. To solve that puzzle, he examines postcolonial Africa, analyzing countries in which genocide occurred and where it could have but did not. Why have there not been other Rwanda’s ? Straus finds that deep- rooted ideologies-how leaders make their nations-shape strategies of violence and are central to what leads to or away from genocide. Other critical factors include the dynamics of war, the role of restraint, and the interaction between national and local actors in the staging of campaigns of large-scale violence. Grounded in Straus's extensive fieldwork in contemporary Africa, the study of major twentieth-century cases of genocide, and the literature on genocide and political violence, Making and Unmaking Nations centers on cogent analyses of three non genocide cases (Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, and Senegal) and two in which genocide took place (Rwanda and Sudan).
18.   Making diplomacy work: intelligent innovation for the modern world/ Hare, Paul  Webster - London: Sage , 2016
Abstract: Living Diplomacy promises to take a fresh look at the actual practice of diplomacy, setting diplomacy in its contemporary context and analyzing the major factors that have changed the nature of the intelligent conduct of diplomacy. Unlike other books on the market which are written by academics, Living Diplomacy is written from the vantage point of someone who not only knows and teaches about the scholarly underpinnings of diplomacy, but who has lived that experience himself. Ambassador Hare provides a thorough, critical survey of how diplomacy has evolved, the way its institutions have been created, and, crucially, new challenges to its operations. It examines not just the fundamentals -- state to state relations, negotiation, and key diplomatic institutions -- but also considers the role of non-state actors, the impact of modern communications technologies, the effect of transnational issues, and globalized international business practices. Bringing diplomacy to life for students, every chapter of the book is full of many real world examples from contemporary diplomacy, including events from the author's own experience. Chapters also feature extended case studies, covering topics like diplomatic immunity and privileges, the achievements and failures of institutions like the UN, successes and failures in diplomatic negotiations, the effectiveness of international law and its impact on diplomacy, and more.
19.   The making of Indian Diplomacy: a critique of eurocentrism/ Datta-Ray, Deep K - London: Hurst & Company, 2015
Abstract: Founded on unique research within India's Ministry of External Affairs, this book overturns much of the accepted wisdom about Indian diplomacy being simply a derivative of European colonial models, in the process shedding new light on the nature of the Indian state. Datta-Ray argues on the basis of observed practices, and informal interactions and interviews with ministers and diplomats, that the core of Indian diplomatic practice is to be found in the national epic, the Mahabharata, whose influence he traces from pre-Mughal times to the present. Moreover, the durability of the Mahabharata's influence on Indian diplomacy was secured by India's most significant relationship of the modern political era, that between Mohandas Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. The epic inspired Gandhi's innovative conception of terminating violence non-violently, or satyagraha.
20.   Making war, making peace: conflict resolution in South Asia/ Manchanda, Rita - London : Sage , 2015
Abstract: The SAGE Series in Human Rights Audits of Peace Processes provides an overview of peace-audit study and explores why many peace processes fail. It provides comparative analyses of peace processes in South Asia drawn from field-based audit exercises in four regions: Northeast India; Balochistan, Pakistan; Madhesh, Nepal and Chittagong Hills Tracts, Bangladesh.
21.   Maritime power building: new 'Mantra' for China's rise/ Agnihotri, Kamlesh K, Ed - New Delhi: Pentagon Press, 2015
Abstract: The growth of China’s maritime prowess has been a key facet marking the ascendency of its comprehensive national power. A fact amply indicated both by the articulation of the Chinese leadership and empirical evidences, it flows from Beijing`s realisation of the growing salience of the oceanic realm and the attendant imperative of being strong at sea for China to attain the status of a global power. In recent years, the scale and speed with which, the erstwhile continental power has accreted all facets of its maritime capacity- both civilian and military - has surpassed the best practitioners of the `maritime trade-craft`, worldwide. In this book titled `Maritime Power Building: New `Mantra for China`s Rise’, ‘Mantra’ is an Indian word denoting a sacred utterance, believed to have spiritual power.
22.  The Modi effect: inside Narendra Modi's campaign to transform India/ Price, Lance - UK: Hodder & Stoughton, 2015
Abstract: Political parties in Britain, Australia and North America pride themselves on the sophistication of their election strategies, but Modi's campaign was a master-class in modern electioneering. His team created an election machine that broke new ground in the use of social media, the Internet, mobile phones and digital technologies. Modi took part in thousands of public events, but in such a vast country it was impossible to visit every town and village. The solution? A 'virtual Modi' - a life-size 3D hologram - beamed to parts he could not reach in person. These pioneering techniques brought millions of young people to the ballot box - the holy grail of election strategists everywhere - as Modi trounced the governing Congress Party led by the Gandhi dynasty. Former BBC correspondent and Downing Street communications expert Lance Price has been granted exclusive access to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his team of advisers. With complete freedom to tell it as he finds it, he details Modi's rise to power, the extraordinary election victory and its aftermath. The Modi Effect: Inside Narendra Modi's campaign to transform India lifts the lid on a whole new box of tricks, where message-management and IT wizardry combined to create a vote-winning colossus of awesome potency.
23.   The mystery of contemporary Iran / Shirali, Mahnaz - London: Transaction Publishers, 2015
Abstract: The mystery of how an Islamic dictatorship came to power remains more than thirty years after the Islamic Republic’s inception in Iran. The precise nature of a regime that calls itself both a republic and Islamic but is neither is little understood. The ayatollahs’ unpopularity may have reached unprecedented heights, but their power seems more secure. Such paradoxes weigh heavily and judgments diverge. While public opinion wonders how an archaic theocratic regime could survive so long, some explain it in terms of Iran’s continued modernization and the clergy’s ability to reconcile itself with politics. Understanding the modernization process propelled by the Constitutional Revolution is difficult and raises questions. How and why could ideological Islam continue to dominate Iranian society since the late 1970s? How did it gain power and influence and overcome the reforms molded by the Constitutional Revolution? Mahnaz Shirali analyzes twentieth-century Iranian history to understand the Shiite clergy’s role in a modernized country’s social and political organization. She explains what enabled the clergy to take over prevailing political forces and gain control of the state.
24.   Narcissism and politics: dreams of glory/ Post, Jerrold M. - New York: Cambridge university Press, 2015
Abstract: In this age of narcissism, the proliferation of politicians with significant narcissistic personality features is dramatic. Driven by dreams of glory, they seem to find the spotlight that the arena of politics provides irresistible. This book analyzes narcissism and politics and systematically explores the psychology of narcissism - the entitlement, the grandiosity and arrogance overlying insecurity, the sensitivity to criticism, and the hunger for acclaim - illustrating different narcissistic personality features through a spectrum of international and national politicians. It addresses the power of charismatic leader-follower relationships, as well as the impact of age and illness on leaders driven by dreams of glory.
25.   National climate policy: a multi-field approach/ Boasson, Elin Lerum - London: Routledge, 2015
Abstract: Failed attempts at producing ambitious global climate commitments and instruments have made it increasingly important for nation states to deliver climate policies. This in turn requires a better understanding of national climate policymaking.  In this book, Elin Lerum Boasson develops an innovative and well-grounded analytical framework for assessing national climate-policy development. Why do national climate policies emerge and change? This question is underpinned by the role played by different actors and the kind social mechanism at work. Boasson asks, to what extent and how is the emergence and change of climate policy influenced by: politicians and the national political fields; business and organizational fields; EU policy and the European environment; social and entrepreneurial mechanisms?
26.   Negotiating water governance / Norman, Emma S., Ed - England: Ashgate, 2015
Abstract: Those who control water, hold power. Complicating matters, water is a flow resource; constantly changing states between liquid, solid, and gas, being incorporated into living and non- living things and crossing boundaries of all kinds. As a result, water governance has much to do with the question of boundaries and scale: who is in and who is out of decision-making structures? Which of the many boundaries that water crosses should be used for decision-making related to its governance? Recently, efforts to understand the relationship between water and political boundaries have come to the fore of water governance debates: how and why does water governance fragment across sectors and governmental departments? How can we govern shared waters more effectively? How do politics and power play out in water governance? This book brings together and connects the work of scholars to engage with such questions. The introduction of scalar debates into water governance discussions is a significant advancement of both governance studies and scalar theory: decision-making with respect to water is often, implicitly, a decision about scale and its related politics.
27.  Networks in contention: The divisive politics of climate change/ Hadden, Jennifer - New York: Cambridge university Press, 2015
Abstract: How do civil society organizations mobilize on climate change? Why do they choose certain strategies over others? What are the consequences of these choices? Networks in Contention examines how the interactions between different organizations within the international climate change movement shape strategic decisions and the kinds of outcomes organizations are able to achieve. First, it documents how and why cleavages emerged in this once-unified movement around the time of the 2009 Copenhagen Summit. Second, it shows how an organization's position in the movement's network has a large influence on the tactics it adopts. Finally, it demonstrates how the development of new strategies within this network has influenced the trajectory of global climate politics. The book establishes the ways in which networks are consequential for civil society groups, exploring how these actors can become more effective and suggesting lessons for the future coordination of activism.
28.   The new nuclear disorder: challenges to deterrence and strategy/ Cimbala, Stephen J. - Engalnd: Ashgate, 2015
Abstract: In the twenty-first century, the United States confronts an international system of great complexity and shifting security challenges. Among these challenges are those posed by nuclear weapons. Instead of becoming obsolete or being marginalized by the end of the Cold War and the demise of the Soviet Union, nuclear weapons have become more important to present and future international stability and peace but the relationship is paradoxical. On one hand, the spread of nuclear weapons to additional states with unsettled grievances or hegemonic ambitions threatens to destabilize local balances of power and set off regional arms races. In addition, the possible acquisition by terrorists of nuclear weapons or fissile materials creates a threat that may be ‘beyond deterrence’ according to hitherto accepted concepts. On the other hand, nuclear weapons in the hands of other states can contribute to stable deterrence and help to prevent nuclear proliferation to international miscreants. Certain cases loom large in the short run that highlight this book’s relevance, including the possible acquisition and deployment of nuclear weapons by Iran and the continuing tensions created by North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. The Obama ‘pivot’ of national security and defense emphasis to Asia reflects not only the growing economic importance of that region, but also the growing number of security dilemmas in a region that is already awash in nuclear forces. The management of nuclear crises and even the possible need to terminate nuclear wars before they expand beyond a single region are among the possible challenges facing future U.S. and allied policy makers and military leaders.
29.   Nigeria / Falola, Toyin - England : ABC-CLIO , 2015
Abstract: Nigeria is Africa's most populous country and the world's eighth largest oil producer, but its success has been undermined in recent decades by ethnic and religious conflict, political instability, rampant official corruption and an ailing economy. Toyin Falola, a leading historian intimately acquainted with the region, and Matthew Heaton, who has worked extensively on African science and culture, combine their expertise to explain the context to Nigeria's recent troubles through an exploration of its pre-colonial and colonial past, and its journey from independence to statehood. By examining key themes such as colonialism, religion, slavery, nationalism and the economy, the authors show how Nigeria's history has been swayed by the vicissitudes of the world around it, and how Nigerians have adapted to meet these challenges. This book offers a unique portrayal of a resilient people living in a country with immense, but unrealized, potential.
30.   Oil, illiberalism, and war: an analysis of energy and US foreign policy/ Price-Smith, Andrew T. - London: The MIT Press, 2015
Abstract: The United States is addicted to crude oil. In this book, Andrew Price-Smith argues that this addiction has distorted the conduct of American foreign policy in profound and malign ways, resulting in interventionism, exploitation, and other illiberal behaviors that hide behind a facade of liberal internationalism. The symbiotic relationship between the state and the oil industry has produced deviations from rational foreign energy policy, including interventions in Iraq and elsewhere that have been (at the very least) counterproductive or (at worst) completely antithetical to national interests. Liberal internationalism casts the United States as a benign hegemon, guaranteeing security to its allies during the Cold War and helping to establish collaborative international institutions. Price-Smith argues for a reformulation of liberal internationalism (which he terms shadow liberalism) that takes into account the dark side of American foreign policy. Price-Smith contends that the "free market" in international oil is largely a myth, rendered problematic by energy statism and the rise of national oil companies. He illustrates the destabilizing effect of oil in the Persian Gulf, and describes the United States' grand energy strategy, particularly in the Persian Gulf, as illiberal at its core, focused on the projection of power and on periodic bouts of violence. Washington's perennial oscillation between liberal phases of institution building and provision of public goods and illiberal bellicosity, Price-Smith argues, represents the shadow liberalism that is at the core of US foreign policy.
31.   Origins and evolution of the US rebalance toward Asia: diplomatic, military, and economic dimensions/ Meijer, Hugo, Ed - New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015
Abstract: This book provides a multifaceted analysis of the so-called US 'rebalance' (or 'pivot') toward the Asia Pacific. Most existing literature has focused almost exclusively on the military dimension of the US pivot toward Asia, depicting this as a US 'grand strategy' to contain a rising China. In contrast, this book brings to light the breadth and complexity of what is a diplomatic, military and economic repositioning of the United States toward (and within) the Asia Pacific region. The first section of the volume assesses the international and domestic drivers and policy objectives underlying the US rebalance toward Asia by analyzing the multiple diplomatic, military, and economic dimensions at play, as well as their mutual linkages. The second section examines regional reactions to this composite policy shift in Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, Russia, and Europe.
32.   The Pakistan paradox: instability and resilience/ Jaffrelot, Christophe - India: Random House, 2015
Abstract: Pakistan was born as the creation of elite Urdu-speaking Muslims who sought to govern a state that would maintain their dominance. After rallying non-Urdu speaking leaders around him, Jinnah imposed a unitary definition of the new nation state that obliterated linguistic diversity. This centralisation - 'justified' by the Indian threat - fostered centrifugal forces that resulted in Bengali secessionism in 1971 and Baloch, as well as Mohajir, separatisms today. Concentration of power in the hands of the establishment remained the norm, and while authoritarianism peaked under military rule, democracy failed to usher in reform, and the rule of law remained fragile at best under Zulfikar Bhutto and later Nawaz Sharif. While Jinnah and Ayub Khan regarded religion as a cultural marker, since their time the Islamists have gradually prevailed. They benefited from the support of General Zia, while others, including sectarian groups, cashed in on their struggle against the establishment to woo the disenfranchised.
33.   Pakistan's enduring challenges / Fair, C. Christin, Ed - Philadelphia: Penn University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015
Abstract: From the start of the U.S. war in Afghanistan in 2001 to the withdrawal of U.S. troops in 2014, Pakistan's military cooperation was critical to the United States. Yet Pakistani politics remain a source of anxiety for American policymakers. Despite some progress toward democratic consolidation over the last ten years, Pakistan's military still asserts power over the country's elected government. Pakistan's western regions remain largely ungoverned and home to the last remnants of al-Qaeda's original leadership as well as multiple militant groups that have declared war on the Pakistani state. The country's economy is in shambles, and continuing tensions with India endanger efforts to bring a durable peace to a region haunted by the distant threat of nuclear war.
34.   Pakistan's nuclear policy: a minimum credible deterrence/ Khan, Zafar - London: Routledge, 2015
Abstract: In May 1998, in reaction to India’s nuclear weapons tests, Pakistan tested six nuclear weapons. Following this, the country opted for a policy of minimum deterrence, and within a year Pakistan had altered its policy stance by adding the modifier of minimum ‘credible’ deterrence. This book looks at how this seemingly innocuous shift seriously impacted on Pakistan’s nuclear policy direction and whether the concept of minimum has lost its significance in the South Asian region’s changed/changing strategic environment. After providing a brief historical background exploring why and how Pakistan carried out the nuclear development program, the book questions why Pakistan could not sustain the minimum deterrence that it had conceptualized in the immediate aftermath of the 1998 test. It examines the conceptual theoretical framework of the essentials of minimum deterrence in order to question whether Pakistan’s nuclear policy remained consistent with this, as well as to discover the rudimentary factors that are responsible for the inconsistencies with regard to minimum deterrence conceived in this study. The book goes on to look at the policy options that Pakistan had after acquiring the nuclear capability, and what the rationale was for selecting minimum deterrence. The book not only highlights Pakistan deterrent force building, but also analyzes closely Pakistan’s doctrinal posture of first use option. Furthermore, it examines the policy towards arms control and disarmament, and discusses whether these individual policy orientations are consistent with the minimum deterrence.
35.   Peaceful intervention in intra-state conflicts: Norwegian involvement in the Sri Lankan peace process/ Talpahewa, Chanaka - England: Ashgate, 2015
Abstract: Have we reached an end to the era of peaceful third party intervention in conflict management and resolution? In the 1990s, with the ending of the Cold War, the intervention of third parties as a non-violent means of negotiating settlements of intra-state conflicts gained prominence but the emphasis in the twenty-first century has been increasingly on military responses. Peaceful Intervention in Intra-State Conflicts; Norwegian Involvement in the Sri Lankan Peace Process is an in-depth, impartial discussion on the background, decision making processes and procedures and related actions in the Norwegian facilitated peace process in Sri Lanka that gradually shifted towards a military solution. It provides the reader with evidence based comprehensive analysis on the attempts of peaceful third party intervention in a complex ethno-separatist intra-state conflict.
36.   Political economy of India's North-East border / Datta, Sreeradha, Ed - New Delhi: Pentagon Press , 2015
Abstract: "Trade across India's North-East Region (NER) is an essential component of India's Look East Policy (LEP), an integral initiative in the reformulating of India's foreign policy in accordance with the global reconfiguration of post-Cold War international politics. This is in tune with India's own national interest, which mandates the economic development of the NER. The development of trade at India's North-Eastern borders with neighbouring countries is conceived as a necessary precondition of the economic development of the NER in particular and the country in general. In order to fully harness the potential of the NER it is imperative to advance trade through its borders."
37.   Political Islam in post-revolutionary Iran: Shi'i ideologies in Islamist discourse/ Mohammadi, Majid - New York: I.B. Tauris, 2015
Abstract: The relationship between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Western World is fraught with challenges and tensions. In order to generate the capacity for greater engagement and dialogue, there is a need for the West to better understand the complex ideological developments that are central to Iran. Majid Mohammadi charts the central concepts and nuances of the ideological map of post-revolutionary Iran, and examines the rise and development of Shi'i Islamism. He recognizes that the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iranian political discourse are the outcome of contesting perspectives and ideologies: identity-oriented, socialist, nationalist, authoritarian, Shari'a, scripturalist, mystical, militarist and fascist. This is a comprehensive, comparative contribution to one of today's most important topics: that of the relationship between Political Islam and the West.
38.   Politics & culture in contemporary Iran: challenging the status quo/ Milani, Abbas, Ed - London: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2015
Abstract: Despite the relative calm apparent in Iran today there is unmistakable evidence of political social and cultural ferment stirring beneath the surface. The authors of Politics and Culture in Contemporary Iran a "a unique group of scholars activists and artistsa" explore that unrest and its challenge to the legitimacy and stability of the present authoritarian regime. Ranging from political theory to music from human rights law to social media their contributions reveal the tenacious and continually evolving forces that are at work resisting the status quo.
39.   The Politics of subjectivity in American foreign policy discourses / Solomon, Ty - USA: University of Michigan Press, 2015
Abstract: Why are some discourses more politically efficacious than others Seeking answers to this question, Ty Solomon develops a new theoretical approach to the study of affect, identity, and discourse-core phenomena whose mutual interweaving have yet to be fully analyzed in International Relations. Drawing upon Jacques Lacans psychoanalytic theory and Ernesto Laclaus approach to hegemonic politics, Solomon argues that prevailing discourses offer subtle but powerfully appealing opportunities for affective investment on the part of audiences.Through empirical case studies of the affective resonances of the war on terror and the rise and fall of neoconservative influence in American foreign policy, Solomon offers a unique way to think about the politics of identity as the construction of common sense powerfully underpinned by affective investments. He provides both a fuller understanding of the emotional appeal of political rhetoric in general and, specifically, a provocative explanation of the reasons for the reception of particular U.S. foreign policy rhetoric that shifted Americans attitudes toward neoconservative foreign policy in the 1990s and shaped the post-911 war on terror.
40.   The politics of transatlantic trade negotiations: TTIP in a globalized world/ Morin, Jean-Frederic, Ed - England: Ashgate, 2015
Abstract: By focusing on the wider process of negotiations, this novel volume presents the first systematic analysis of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The authors include outstanding scholars and relevant practitioners from across disciplines and various academic institutions around Europe and North America, but also from outside of the transatlantic basin. While presenting a thorough examination of the process of TTIP negotiations, the volume is divided into four parts with each part examining a broader theme and offering three or four shorter exploratory chapters that are accessible to academics, students, policy-makers and a wider audience
41.   Public purpose in international law: rethinking regulatory sovereignty in the global era/ Martinez-Fraga, Pedro J. - New York: Cambridge University Press, 2015
Abstract: This text explores how the public purpose doctrine reconciles the often conflicting, but equally binding, obligations that states have to engage in regulatory sovereignty while honoring host-state obligations to protect foreign investment. The work examines the multiple permutations and iterations of the public purpose doctrine and concludes that this principle needs to be reconceptualized to meet the imperatives of economic globalization and of a new paradigm of sovereignty that is based on the interdependence, and not independence, of states. It contends that the historical expression of the public purpose doctrine in customary and conventional international law is fraught with fundamental flaws that, if not corrected, will give rise to disparities in the relationship between investors and states, asymmetries with respect to industrialized nations and developing states, and, ultimately, process legitimacy concerns.
42.   R & AW: then and now/ Thakur, C.P - New Delhi: Neha Publishers & Distributors, 2015
Abstract: The Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW or RAW) is the primary foreign intelligence agency of India. Thus R&AW was formed in September 1968 under the guidance of its first Director, Rameshwar Nath Kao. RAW and Pakistan's spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), have been engaged in covert operations against one other for over three decades. The ongoing dispute in Kashmir continues to fuel these clashes, but experts say Afghanistan may be emerging as the new battleground. Islamabad sees India's growing diplomatic initiatives in Afghanistan as a cover for RAW agents working to destabilize Pakistan. The primary function of R&AW is gathering foreign intelligence and counter-terrorism. In addition, it is responsible for obtaining and analysing information about foreign governments, corporations and persons to advise Indian policymakers. The internal structure of the R&AW is a matter of speculation, but brief overviews of the same are present in the public domain
43.   Rethinking international law and justice / Sampford, Charles, Ed - England: Ashgate, 2015
Abstract: General principles of law have made, and are likely further to make, a significant contribution to our understanding of the constituent elements of global justice. Dealing extensively with global headline issues of peace, security and justice, this book explores justice arising in specific areas of international law, as well as underlying theories of justice from political science and international relations. With contributions from leading academics and practitioners, the book adopts an interdisciplinary approach. Covering issues such as international humanitarian law, and examining the significance of non-state actors for the development of international law, the collection concludes with the complex question of how best to rethink aspects of international justice.The lessons derived from this research will have wide implications for both developed and emerging nation-states in rethinking sensitive issues of international law and justice. As such, this book will be of interest to academics and practitioners interested in international law, environmental law, human rights, ethics, international relations and political theory.
44.   Saudi Arabia in transition: insights on social, political, economic and religious change / Haykel, Bernard, Ed - New York: Cambridge University Press, 2015
Abstract: Making sense of Saudi Arabia is crucially important today. The kingdom's western province contains the heart of Islam, its two holiest mosques in Mecca and Medina, and it is the United States' closest Arab ally and the largest producer of oil in the world. However, the country is undergoing rapid change: its aged leadership is ceding power to a new generation, and its society, which is dominated by young people, is restive. Saudi Arabia has long remained closed to foreign scholars, with a select few academics allowed into the kingdom over the past decade. This book presents the fruits of their research as well as those of the most prominent Saudi academics in the field. The fifteen chapters in this volume focus on different sectors of Saudi society and examine how the changes of the past few decades have affected each. Many of the authors have conducted archival and fieldwork research in Saudi Arabia, benefitting from the recent opening of the country to foreign researchers.
45.   The silence of the many: the fallout of operation blue star/ Eapen, George P. - New Delhi: Viva Books, 2015
Abstract: Even into seven decades of political independence the Indian nation strives to achieve social freedom for its masses. Among the various kinds of social malaise the most debilitating is the occurrence of periodic communal violence. In the Indian context the fault lines straddle religious, caste, ethnic, linguistic or economic class contours. This book is a testimony to the depravity of 1984 in the country extending too many years thereafter, following army action at the Golden Temple complex. The author strives to present a balanced and objective narrative of events at the national level interspersed with his own experiences. He is convinced that apportioning total blame on a community, group or party for the ignominious events will be as subversion of truth. It is often the insidious few who act with diabolical intent in shedding blood. He exhorts the majority not to remain silent when faced with a crisis beyond their boundaries. The book is a testament of faith that the nation one day will emerge as a place where peace, justice and harmony prevail.
46.   Successful strategies: triumphing war and peace from antiquity to the present/ Murray, Williamson, Ed - New Delhi: Cambridge University Press, 2015
Abstract: Successful Strategies is a fascinating new study of the key factors that have contributed to the development and execution of successful strategies throughout history. With a team of leading historians, Williamson Murray and Richard Hart Sinnreich examine how, and to what effect states, individuals and military organizations have found a solution to complex and seemingly insoluble strategic problems to reach success. Bringing together grand, political and military strategy, the book features thirteen essays which each explores a unique case or aspect of strategy. The focus ranges from individuals such as Themistocles, Bismarck and Roosevelt to organizations and bureaucratic responses. Whether discussing grand strategy in peacetime or that of war or politics, these case studies are unified by their common goal of identifying in each case the key factors that contributed to success as well as providing insights essential to any understanding of the strategic challenges of the future.
47.   Super Economics: America, India, China & the future of the world/ Bahl, Raghav - London: Penguin Books , 2015
Abstract: Our times are characterized not by estranged Superpowers building formidable arsenals but by engaged societies building a robust global economy. Emerging countries are redefining the geo-economic (and geopolitical) dynamic; in the new world order, a soaring GDP and a booming population are the true indicators of a nation's strength. The twenty-first century will be led, Raghav Bahl says, by a handful of Super Economies-large, prosperous countries with a high growth rate, ranking among the world's top trading partners, commanding 15 to 20 per cent of global GDP, having nuclear arms but using economic leadership to effect significant change. The USA and China qualify automatically as the two existing Super Economies. // With its demographic advantage, a surplus of skilled labour, a GDP that is expected to jump from $2 trillion to over $5 trillion by 2025, a strategic geographic location and a new, decisive political leadership, India has every chance, Bahl argues, of becoming the third Super Economy. As the world's largest democracy, its arrival will enhance global stability and ensure that the balance of power remains free, fair and representative of the people. Drawing on history, current affairs and political and economic analyses, Super Economies projects how India can soon become a world leader and help secure a future of peace and prosperity for all.
48.   Tajikistan in the 21st century: society politics and economy/ Warikoo, K. Ed - New Delhi: Pentagon Press, 2015
Abstract: Tajikistan is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia with Afghanistan bordering to its South, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the North and China to the east. Tajikistan also lies adjacent to Pakistan and the Gilgit-Baltistan region, separated by the narrow Wakhan Corridor. Due to its common borders with Afghanistan, Tajikistan has become a strategic frontline in the region being directly affected by the spillover effects of cross-border terrorism, religious extremism and drug trafficking.
49.   Terrorism and political violence / Kennedy-Pipe, Caroline, Ed - London: Sage, 2015
Abstract: This book introduces you to the key issues in contemporary studies on Terrorism. Its interdisciplinary approach provides a unique intellectual rigour which introduces readers to cutting- edge research. Bringing together chapters contributed by members of the Terrorism and Political Violence Association network, it offers an insight into a variety of traditional and critical perspectives. It also equips Undergraduate and Postgraduate students with the study skills needed to succeed in coursework and assignments, especially dissertation work.
50.   Terrorism in cyberspace: the next generation/ Weimann, Gabriel - New York: Columbia University Press, 2015
Abstract: The war on terrorism has not been won, Gabriel Weimann argues in Terrorism in Cyberspace, successor to his seminal 2006 book, Terror on the Internet. Even though al-Qaeda’s leadership has largely been destroyed and its organization disrupted, terrorist attacks take 12,000 lives annually worldwide and jihadist terrorist ideology continues to spread. How? Largely by going online and adopting a new method of organization. Terrorist structures, traditionally built of loose-knit cells, divisions, and subgroups, are ideally suited for flourishing on the Internet through websites, email, chat rooms, e-groups, forums, virtual message boards, YouTube, Google Earth, and other outlets. Weimann addresses terrorism’s arrival online; recent trends-such as engaging children and women, promoting lone wolf attacks, and using social media-and future threats, along with ways to counter them. He analyzes content from more than 9,800 terrorist websites and selects their most important kinds of web activity, describes their background and history, and surveys their content in terms of kind and intensity, the groups and prominent individuals involved, and their effects.
51.   Theorizing foreign policy in a globalized world / Hellmann, Gunther, Ed - New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015
Abstract: In an increasingly globalized world, the classic image of foreign policy as a political practice conducted by sovereign states has become increasingly inadequate. However, rather than tackling the transformation of foreign policy as a process of both scholarly and immediate political interest, foreign policy analysis and International Relations theory have become separate fields of study over the past decades, co- existing in a state of mutual and more or less benign neglect. In Theorizing Foreign Policy in a Globalized World, prominent authors address this issue, offering solutions to the analytical deadlock that are both provocative and innovative.
52.   Transboundary water politics in the developing world / Mirumachi, Naho - London: Routledge, 2015
Abstract: This book examines the political economy that governs the management of international transboundary river basins in the developing world. These shared rivers are the setting for irrigation, hydropower and flood management projects as well as water transfer schemes. Often, these projects attempt to engineer the river basin with deep political, socio-economic and environmental implications. The politics of transboundary river basin management sheds light on the challenges concerning sustainable development, water allocation and utilization between sovereign states. Advancing conceptual thinking beyond simplistic analyses of river basins in conflict or cooperation, the author proposes a new analytical framework. The transboundary Waters Interaction NexuS (TWINS) examines the coexistence of conflict and cooperation in riparian interaction. This framework highlights the importance of power relations between basin states that determine negotiation processes and institutions of water resources management. The analysis illustrates the way river basin management is framed by powerful elite decision- makers, combined with geopolitical factors and geographical imaginations. In addition, the book explains how national development strategies and water resources demands have a significant role in shaping the intensities of conflict and cooperation at the international level.
53.   The UNECE convention on the protection and use of transboundary watercourses and international lakes: its contribution to international water cooperation / Tanzi, Attila, Ed - Leiden: Brill Nijhoff, 2015
Abstract: The UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes provides invaluable insights into the contribution of this international agreement towards transboundary water cooperation via its legal provisions, accompanying institutional arrangements and subsidiary policy mechanisms. Contributing authors - experts on key aspects of the Convention - address a broad range of issues, primarily concerning its: development and evolution; relationship with other multi-lateral agreements; regulatory framework and general principles; tools for arresting transboundary pollution; procedural rules; compliance and liability provisions; and select issues including its Protocol on Water and Health.
54.   United States-China-India strategic triangle in the India ocean region / Fernando, Sithara, Ed - New Delhi: KW Publishers, 2015
Abstract: While the strategic dynamics in the IOR are complex and involve many powers there is little doubt that the "strategic triangle" involving the US, China and India is one of the key traditional security issues facing the IOR. Given Sri Lanka's geopolitically significant location in the IOR this strategic triangle is bound to have an impact on its national interests and security. The central questions raised by this volume are the following: 1) What are the prospects of competition and cooperation within the strategic triangle? 2) What structure or pattern will the triangular relations assume? 3) How can stability be maintained in the triangular relationship in the interest of peace in the IOR? 4) What would be the impact of this strategic triangle on a small country such as Sri Lanka situated in a geopolitically significant location in the IOR? The dynamics of the US-China- India strategic triangle in the IOR will be complicated, containing elements of both competition and cooperation. The research contained in the substantive chapters of this volume present a multiplicity of views on the possible patterns that the strategic triangle can assume.
55.   US missile defense strategy: engaging the debate/ Mayer, Michael - London: First forum Press, 2015
Abstract: Why has the United States continued to develop ballistic missile defenses in an era of irregular warfare and asymmetric terrorist threats? How does missile defense contribute to US global strategy? Can the BMD system achieve the goals that lay behind its creation? Michael Mayer addresses these questions in his balanced approach to the contentious debate over the strategic value of missile defense. Mayer surveys the grand strategies of the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations, methodically comparing them with each president s missile defense policies. He also demystifies the fundamentals of the BMD system. Seeking to change the terms of the debate, he cogently challenges much of the conventional wisdom touted by both supporters and detractors of ballistic missile defense.
56.   Wars from within: understanding and managing insurgent movements/ Schnabel, Albrecht, Ed - London: Imperial College Press, 2015
Abstract: Wars from Within brings together an international and multidisciplinary group of academics and practitioner-researchers specializing in the study of insurgent movements in order to provide a deeper understanding of the violent manifestations of insurgencies in different parts of the world. In doing so, the book adopts both a functional and regional approach. Firstly, thematic chapters discuss the typology of insurgencies (ethnopolitical, religious and ideological), past and potential responses to them, as well as the impact of advance communication technology on insurgent activity. The book then presents a series of case studies assessing the successes and failures of managing contemporary insurgencies. These are drawn from European, Asian and Middle Eastern insurgencies, as well as the global al-Qaeda network that typifies the post-9/11 challenge posed by internationally operating terrorist organizations. The case studies highlight factors and conditions that trigger, escalate, de-escalate and ultimately end insurgent campaigns. The book concludes with an assessment of how the international community at large has responded and should respond to insurgencies in the future.
57.   The Washington connection and third world fascism/ Chomsky, Noam - London: Pluto Press, 2015
Abstract: The Political Economy of Human Rights is an important two volume work, co-authored with Edward Herman – also co-author of the classic Manufacturing Consent – which provides a complete dissection of American foreign policy during the 1960s and '70s, looking at the entire sweep of the Cold War during that period, including events in Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and Latin America. For those looking to develop a broad understanding of American foreign policy during the 20th Century this work has been a vital resource and is now available to a new generation of scholars and activists. For too long now, many important books by Noam Chomsky have been left to languish. Introducing Pluto’s 'Chomsky Perspectives' series: a collectible, beautiful new list, with cover design by David Pearson. Including both enduring favourites and neglected essentials, these books will appeal to the serious Chomsky reader.
58.   Which European union?: Europe after the Euro crisis/ Fabbrini, Sergio - New York: Cambridge University Press, 2015
Abstract: Sergio Fabbrini argues that the European Union (EU) is made up of states pursuing different aims, rather than simply moving in the same direction at different speeds. He describes the alternative perspectives on the EU (an economic community, an intergovernmental union, and a parliamentary union), that led to multiple compromises in its structure and shows how the Euro crisis has called them into question. The book argues that a new European political order is necessary to deal with the consequences of the crisis, based on an institutional differentiation between the EU member states interested only in market co-operation and those advancing towards a genuine economic and monetary union. Such a differentiation would allow the latter group to become a political union, conceptualised as a compound union of states and citizens, while preserving a revised framework of a single market in which both groups of states can participate.
 
 
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