This book addresses major theoretical issues in the fields of public administration and comparative politics. It discusses the role which ideology played as a unifying force for at least parts of the German state bureaucracy in Wilhelmine Germany . The examination of a modernizing ideology in the German case is useful for an understanding of the political dynamics of state-led modernization and industrial strategy in many contemporary societies and the author explains political behaviour a...

A Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist examines how America's war on terror led from the September 11th attacks to a war in Iraq.Since September 11, 2001, Seymour M. Hersh has riveted readers—and outraged the Bush Administration—with his explosive stories in The New Yorker, including his headline-making pieces on the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Now, Hersh brings together what he has learned, along with new reporting, to answer the critical question of th...

"One of America's most astute revealers of Iranian culture and identity."-Reza Aslan, The AtlanticHailed as one of the year's best foreign policy books, Hooman Majd's latest offers dramatic perspective on a country with global ambitions, an elaborate political culture, and policies with enormous implications for world peace. Drawing on privileged access to the Iranian power elite, Majd "gives a harrowing description of the aftermath of the 2009 presidentia...

In A History of Thailand, Chris Baker and Pasuk Phongpaichit reveal how a world of mandarin nobles and unfree labour evolved into a rural society of smallholder peasants and an urban society populated mainly by migrants from southern China. They trace how a Buddhist cosmography adapted to new ideas of time and space, and a traditional polity was transformed into a new nation-state under a strengthened monarchy. The authors cover the contests between urban nationalists, ambitious generals, ...

The Hawks of Peace. Notes of Russian Ambassador is a unique analytical edition where Russian Deputy Premier Dmitry Rogozin shares his notes on personalities and events that shaped the history of post-Communist Russia, believing that without those it would be impossible to understand the past and envisage the future of his country. Permanent Representative of Russia to NATO until recently, in his political dairy Dmitry Rogozin contemplates on the complex relationship between Russia and the ...

Index of AbbreviationsIntroductionChapter 1: Varying focus of the NATO enlargementChapter 2: The Claimants to the NATO membershipChapter 3: Russia in the Second-Wave Area:Between Longing and CapacitiesChapter 4: Ukraine as a Key Factor of Security in EuropeChapter 5: Seeking for ConsensusLiteratureAppendix A. Ukrainian History Digest Up to Independence LossAppendix B. Ukraine's Development Rate in Comparison with Russia, German...

This essay questions whether the United Nations has the capacity for taking objective, independent action to maintain international order. Written during the 'new world order', that brief period of co-operation between the United States and the USSR, it concludes the UN's capacity to enforce collective security on an objective basis will always be curtailed by the interests of the Security Council's permanent members, its lack of a monopoly on the use of collective force and its inability ...

Washington’s strategic pivot to Asia and Beijing’s pursuit of new strategic and security interests in the region have led to increasing tensions between the two powers. US leaders have stressed that their increased interest in Asia is driven by a desire to benefit from the thriving regional economies, as well as to play the leading role in maintaining peace and stability in the region. However, Beijing is particularly concerned about US efforts to consolidate its alliances and deepen secur...

Why and how did Islam become such a political force in so many Muslim-majority countries? In this book, Jocelyne Cesari investigates the relationship between modernization, politics, and Islam in Muslim-majority countries such as Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan, Tunisia, and Turkey - countries that were founded by secular rulers and have since undergone secularized politics. Cesari argues that nation-building processes in these states have not created liberal democracies in the Western mold, but hav...

With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992, American citizens were promised a "peace dividend", i.e. less money for war, more for peace and a good life for all. The U.S. military under misguided leadership has attacked eight countries since then. The defense budget has exploded, buying a lot of junk that doesn't work and military hardware we don't need.This is not pocket change. The fraudulent wars and waste by the military amounts to no less than $4.82 trillion! This is money U...

Terrorism is increasingly at the forefront of political agendas. Events world-wide have led to an increased awareness and response to this global phenomenon. The focus of this volume is on examining the fundamental causes of alienation and rebellion that underlie the use of terrorism as an instrument of violence.This title includes:essays, each of around 8,000 words in length, providing in-depth analysis of topics of relevance in the subject...

The book breaks new ground in understanding the role of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Africa. The book historicizes NGOs using the Rockefeller Foundation as a case study, looking at its tripartite paradoxical roles as an agent of colonialism, globalization and development/underdevelopment. It deploys interdisciplinary devices to show how the RF projects have engaged in marginalization, patronage and ‘othering’ of African values and customs and the ensuing controversies. Using gl...