International relations Books

Book SynopsisThis book analyses the dubious role of the so-called Democratic Antifascist Youth Movement 'Nashi' in contemporary Russia. Part and parcel of the Putinist project of political stabilisation, Nashi dominates state-sponsored youth politics in Russia, communicating demands from official discourse to a young audience. Idealising the past, present, and future of Putin's Russia, Nashi mobilised young Russians through its emotional appeal, skilful use of symbolic politics and the promise for professional self-realisation. However, the movement's impact remains limited -- mostly due to its internal contradictions. Based on original and meticulous research, Ivo Mijnssen skilfully picks apart the dynamics underlying Nashi's influence and furthers a deeper understanding of state-sponsored youth politics in early 21st century Russia.Trade ReviewMijnssen clarifies the role that historical consciousness plays in the construction of security politics against domestic and external enemies as well as the translation of these constructions into concrete actions with precise conceptual thinking and clear language. This is an excellent study! -- Heiko Haumann, Professor Emeritus of East European History, University of Basel"For the Kremlin likes NAA" as an instrument of power had its haben.Ivo Mijnssens study, however, is precisely because still relevant, that the national patriotic orientation in the russiandischen youth policy continues seamlessly." -- Eastern Europe, 12/2013

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Book SynopsisThe so-called Democratic Antifascist Youth Movement "Nashi" represents a crucial case of a post-Orange government-organised formation whose values have broad support in Russian society. Yet, at the same time, in view of the movement's public scandals, Nashi was also a phenomenon bringing to the fore public reluctance to accept all implications of Putin's new system. The Russian people's relatively widespread support for his patriotic policies and conservative values has been evident, but this support is not easily extended to political actors aligned to these values. Using discourse analysis, this book identifies socio-political factors that created obstacles to Nashi's communication strategies. The book understands Nashi as anticipating an "ideal youth" within the framework of official national identity politics and as an attempt to mobilise largely apolitical youngsters in support of the powers that be. It demonstrates how Nashi's ambivalent societal position was the result of a failed attempt to reconcile incompatible communicative demands of the authoritarian state and apolitical young.Trade Review"The findings presented here suggest that further studies of Nashis rank and file members or regional organizations would provide even greater insights into the evolution of Putinism and youth policy." -- Regina Smyth, Anthropology of East Europe Review, no. 31, Spring 2013"[B]oth volumes succeed admirably in providing insightful portraits of the language, politics, and agenda of Russias youth movements during the Putin years." -- The Russian Review (Volume 72, No.4, October 2013)"Die Studie bemüht sich um eine tiefgehende Auseinandersetzung mit dem Phänomen Nai im Russland der Nullerjahre, wobei der Autor sehr interessantes empirisches Material verarbeitet." -- Osteuropa, 12/2013

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Book SynopsisThis timely book examines how the regime of President Aliaksandr Lukashenka has used the 'Great Patriotic War' (1941-45) as a key element in state and identity formation in Belarus. The campaign was discernible from 2003 and intensified after a rift with Russia that led to a re-examination of the earlier policy of close political and economic partnership. David R. Marples focuses in particular on the years 2009 and 2010, which commemorated two 65th anniversaries: the liberation of Minsk (3 July 1944) and the end of World War II in Europe (9 May 1945). Using a variety of sources, this unique book critically examines the official interpretations of the war from various angles: the initial invasion, occupation, the Partisans, historic sites and monuments, films, documentaries, museums, schools, and public occasions commemorating some of the major events. Relying on first-hand research, including books recommended by the Ministry of Education, state-controlled media and examinations through personal visits to the major historic sites and monuments of Belarus, Marples explains and measures the effectiveness of Lukashenkas program. In outlining the main tenets of the state interpretation of the war years, the book highlights the distortions and manipulations of historical evidence as well as the dismissal of alternative versions as 'historical revisionism'. It assesses the successes and weaknesses of the campaign as well as its long term effects and prospects.

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Book SynopsisThis timely book offers a multifaceted analysis of EU-Russian relations, drawing on the investigation of competing models of international society. Makarychev argues that the huge variety of interest-based and normative models is best explained through the study of foreign policy and identity discourses. His approach defies simplistic explanations of EU-Russian relations as either destined for cooperation or doomed to constant collisions. Instead, Makarychev unveils multiple alternatives that both the EU and Russia face in their policies toward each other. Assessing the repercussions ongoing EU-Russian discord has on Europe and the world, Makarychev's volume reveals the interconnectedness of the discourses dominating the EU and Russia while also accounting for the deep-seated disconnect between them.

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Book SynopsisThis astonishing book explores the delusional imaginings of Russia's past by the pseudo-scientific 'Alternative History' movement. Despite the chaotic collapse of two empires in the last century, Russia's glorious imperial past continues to inspire millions. The lively movement of 'Alternative History', diligently re-writing Russia's past and 'rediscovering' its hidden greatness, has been growing dramatically since the collapse of Communism in 1991. Virtually unknown in the West, these pseudo-historians have published best-selling books, attracted widespread media attention, and are a prominent voice in Internet discussions about Russian and world history. Alternative History claims that Russia is much older than Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome; that the medieval Mongol Empire was in fact a Slav-Turk world empire; and that, in the twentieth century, duplicitous foreign powers stabbed Russia in the back and stole its empire. For its followers the key to Russia's greatness in the future lies in ensuring that Russians understand the true wealth of their past. Alternative history has become a popular therapy for Russians still coming to terms with the reality of Post-Soviet life. It is one of the forces shaping a new Russian nationalism and an important factor in the geopolitics of the twenty-first century.

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Book SynopsisThis timely book investigates the complex relations between the Republic of Poland and the Slovak Republic in the context of ongoing processes in the European Unions political and economic system. The basic assumption of the study is that Polish-Slovak relations are affected and shaped not only by the interaction between the two of them but also by the dynamics of the European and global international environment. The authors explore different aspects of the interconnectedness of Warsaw and Bratislava. This includes the analysis of political, economic, and social dimensions of bilateral relations in the multilateral context. One of the goals of this volume is to define areas and spheres of Polands and Slovakias common interest, as well as to point out those areas with the highest potential for development. It also defines and analyzes problematic issues in common relations that could be seen as obstacles in developing cooperation in specific areas and politically strategic areas like foreign and security policy. Moreover, the book seeks to measure the extent to which Polish-Slovak relations are affected by the European integration process.

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Book SynopsisConflict Resolution holds the promise of freeing approaches and policies with regard to politics of identity from the fatalistic grip of realism. While the conceptual literature on identity and conflicts has moved in this alternative direction, conflict resolution practice continues to rely on realist frames and acts as an unwanted auxiliary to traditional International Relations (IR). Perpetuation of conflict discourses, marginalization, and exclusion of affected populations are widespread. They are caused by the over-reliance of conflict resolution practice on the binary frames of classic IR paradigms and also by the competitive and hierarchical relationships within the field itself.Philip Gamaghelyan relies on participatory action research (PAR) and collective auto-ethnography to expose patterns of exclusion and marginalization as well as the paradoxical reproduction of conflict-promoting frames in current conflict-resolution practice applied to the Nagorno-Karabakh and Syrian crises. He builds on the work of post-modernist scholars, on reflective practice, and on discourse analysis to explore alternative and inclusive strategies with a transformative potential through reflections and actions customary for PAR.The IR discipline, that has dominated policy-making, is only one possible lens, and often a deficient one, for defining, preventing, or resolving contemporary conflicts wrapped in identity politics. Other conceptual frameworks can help to rethink our understanding of identity and conflicts and reconstruct them as performative and not static phenomena. These transformative frameworks are increasingly influential in the conflict resolution field and can be applied to policy-making.

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Book SynopsisAccording to general Realist premises, after the end of the Cold War, the United States took an interest in remaining the only super power. Accordingly, it was attempting to maintain and manage unipolarity. The pursuit of this Grand Strategy, however, required the U.S. to adapt its various strategies to the various receiving states. Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus played very unalike roles in that configuration: Whilst Poland was labeled Americas best friend by President George W. Bush, Belarus was not seeking alignment with the U.S., whereas Ukraine-U.S. relations were subject to many ups and downs. The three countries diverging attitudes towards Washington led to very different policy approaches from a U.S. vantage point. As this study shows, the U.S. did not have an overall strategy for the region. Rather, Washington managed its relations with European states through a set of mainly bilateral relations. Madeleine Albright once described the tools of foreign policy as including everything from kind words to cruise missiles. This book is a comparative case study of the United States use of these tools in its approaches towards Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus after the end of the Cold War. As the only remaining superpower, Washington played a key role in the formation of post-communist Central and Eastern Europe. Yet, its actions and policies have received comparatively little attention. This book contributes to filling that gap by providing three in-depth case studies.

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Book SynopsisEven before the Ukrainian crisis, neither Russia nor the EU were content with their relationship. Despite economic interdependence, strategic partnership, official declarations of belonging culturally and historically to the same European family and in spite of Russias stated interest in establishing an economic community stretching from Lisbon to Vladivostok, the two actors found it difficult to agree on important issues. The conflictual atmosphere between the EU and Russia has three main dimensions: the normative issue, energy relations, and the shared neighbourhood with the latter being particularly salient after the launch of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) in 2009. The former Soviet space is at the core of Russian foreign policy. Moscows special interest in this area results from economic factors, diaspora issues, and, most importantly, from its perceived security need. Obsessed by a fear of being encircled by enemies, Russia sees its hegemony over the former Soviet republics as paramount to the protection of its own borders. Therefore, the rapprochement of any other actor towards this region is regarded with high suspicion.Against this background, Vasile Rotaru analyzes EU-Russia relations with a particular emphasis on the impact of the EaP on Moscows relations with Brussels. He argues that the EaP represented a turning point in EU-Russia relations, determining Moscow to revise its attitude towards the Union. Rotaru explains that, even if the EaP was Brussels initiative, the Partnership met the aspirations of the six former Soviet republics. Moreover, despite its opposition towards the EUs initiative, Russia itself acted involuntarily as a propeller of the EaP. By aiming to keep the former Soviet republics close, Moscow often conducts an assertive, aggressive policy in the near abroad. This strategy, however, had mostly opposite effects, causing Russias neighbors to look elsewhere for support of their sovereignty. From this perspective, the rapprochement of Moldova, Belarus, Ukraine, and the three Caucasus republics with the EU has not been determined only by Brussels prosperity and soft-power attractiveness but also by existential fears in the former Soviet republics.The book appeals to a wide range of students, researchers, and professors specializing on Russia, the EU, and the former Soviet space in the fields of International Relations, Foreign Policy Analysis, and Security Studies as well as to think-tank analysts and policy makers.

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Book SynopsisIn Statu Nascendi is a new peer-reviewed journal that aspires to be a world-class scholarly platform encompassing original academic research dedicated to the circle of Political Philosophy, Cultural Studies, Theory of International Relations, Foreign Policy, and the political Decision-making process. The journal investigates specific issues through a socio-cultural, philosophical, and anthropological approach to raise a new type of civic awareness about the complexity of contemporary crisis, instability, and warfare situations, where the stage-of-becoming plays a vital role. Issue 2018:1 comprises, amongst others, the following articles: · Corporate Instrumentalization of Deliberative Democracy in Global Governance · Being Transgender and Transgender Being · A Comparative Study between Levinas and Kierkegaard on Subjectivity and the Self · The Kremlins Reaction to the St. Petersburg Metro Attacks seen through the Prism of Russian Intervention in Syria · Donald Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia, Saudi-Iranian Relations, and the Future of the Iranian Nuclear Deal · The United Kingdom on the Verge of a Constitutional Crisis: Between the Possibility of a Second Referendum on the Membership in the European Union and a Potential Second Vote on Scottish Independence.

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Book SynopsisAnalysis of strategic culture facilitates a comprehensive understanding of a nations security identity and patterns of policy conduct. Though strategic culture changes over time, why and how these mutations take place has not been researched much so far. This book sheds light on the reasons why specific features of a countrys strategic thinking remain rigid while others transform. The national strategic cultures of post-communist Eastern Europe have been exposed to a panoply of shocks and shifts. Romanias communist regime cultivated a uniquely thorny relationship with the Soviet Union, which facilitated the development of a national security narrative legitimizing a highly isolationist foreign policy. These factors have heavily weighed on Romanian post-communist strategic thinking and complicated the transition process. At first glance, Romania went through an astonishing adaptation to novel security challenges. Ultimately, however, its traditional national strategic thinking remained in some ways constant. Core features of Romanias strategic culture -- such as the state-nation constellation -- were the most resilient to change. In contrast, the intermediary features -- such as the understanding of security and role conception -- as well as outer layers -- such as the foreign policy orientation and guidelines to using force -- of strategic culture were more prone to influence by shocks, shifts, and norm entrepreneurs.

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Book SynopsisThe book explores transformations of the apocalyptic figure of the Antichrist in various post-Soviet discourses, including ecclesiastical and political writings, conspiracy theories, and literary texts. Drawing on the extensive research into diverse materials published in the Russian Federation after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it demonstrates how an initially religious idea has penetrated secular discourses and what implications this entails. By applying the innovative analytical category of ideomyth, the book successfully answers the question of how and why the figure of the Antichrist is employed within the Russian post-Soviet semiosphere, with a special focus on texts that emerged within nationalist and religious milieus.Table of ContentsIntroduction; Is the Antichrist a Russian Ideomyth?; Antichrist? More than Two Millennia of Antichrist; The Antichrist and His Plot Against Russia; Without Doubt, the Antichrist is a Real Political Possibility of Our Times: Russia, the Antichrist, and Political Theology; The Antichrist: New Incarnations; Ultimate Fight: Orthodox Russia Against the Antichrist; Conclusions; Bibliography.

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Book SynopsisThe study of migration in political science, and particularly in international relations, has tended to focus on the study of immigration. However, sending states are increasingly institutionalizing their policies and programs to include emigrants living outside the national territory. In her monograph, Isabel Rosales Sandoval focuses on the factors that influence the implementation of the policies that sending states have adopted to reach out to their citizens abroad. Specifically, she investigates why and how sending states implement transnational emigrant policies. Her comparative study of three Central American sending states -- El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras -- identifies four policy categories that these states have developed: 1) recognizing the emigrant community through the creation of institutions; 2) cultivating loyalties in the emigrant community through symbolic policies; 3) extending emigrant rights; and 4) extracting resources by incorporating migrants into the national economy. However, the motivation for the policies does not exactly correspond to the assumptions and typologies of existing theories on the subject, which tend to focus on international factors. The argument the author presents is that the characteristics of these three cases are better explained by domestic political factors. These are: 1) the importance of the size and potential impact of the emigrant communities; 2) party system competitiveness; and 3) the sending states institutional capacity to implement policies.Trade ReviewThis is a thought-provoking, insightful, and well-designed study, which will no doubt make a significant and original contribution to the knowledge in the field of migration and emigration policies in Central America and beyond. -- Detlef Nolte, Professor of Political Science, University of Hamburg

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Book SynopsisThis book delves into the complex and often contradictory relations between the Southern Caucasus and European Union (EU). It covers the three periods of this relationship: the early contacts in the 1990s, the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP), and the Eastern Partnership Programme (EaP) that started in 2009. The book employs Europeanization theory and uses a mixed rationalist-constructivist framework as a complementary analytical instrument to decipher the two sides' behavior.The study's findings show that the complex relationship between the EU and Caucasian states cannot be explained through either a purely constructivist or a purely rationalist theoretical framework. Both, material and social motives are discernible. Thus, rationalism and constructivism are complementary tools for explaining the relations between the EU and South Caucasus countries.The rationalist perspective explains actors' preferences towards maximizing material utility and calculations by EU policymakers as to which strategy is most likely to advance the immediate interests of the EU in a given situation. This argument needs to be supplemented, however, with insights from constructivism. This approach emphasizes the universal nature of the values of the EU which are linked to internal dynamics in the EU and manifest themselves in the Union's relations with neighboring countries. The book finally illustrates how rational considerations, related to Russia's political and economic activities in the region, have determined the stances of the South Caucasus countries towards the EU.

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Book SynopsisThis book breaks into the black box of Russian cultural diplomacy's ideological underpinnings and modi operandi. Relying on publicly accessible sources such as annual reports, news from official websites, social media posts, and other pertinent materials, the contributors examine the three most significant state-affiliated or full-fledged state institutions operating in this field. Their organization and management, budget and financial details, links to oligarchs, the government and other institutions, most important activities, as well as overall geographical presence are analyzed. The discourses of these organizations during the Russia-Ukraine War, including after 24 February 2022, are given special attention.The collection discloses how the Kremlin's foreign propaganda institutions support the Russian authoritarian regime and its expansionist policies.

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Book SynopsisThis collection of essays and articles, written between 2019 and 2023 for such outlets as The Daily Beast and The Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), illuminates recent Russian international affairs through the lens of Moscow's propaganda tactics. For more than two decades, the Kremlin's agitators have been tasked to lay, in advance, the groundwork for various domestic and foreign actions by the regime of Vladimir Putin. Thus, Russian state-controlled media provides crucial clues for deciphering theoften sinistergoals that the government of Russia was and is planning to pursue abroad, from election interference to military invasions. The goal of the sum of these activities is the establishment of a new world orderwith Russia at its helm. Before the large invasion of 24 February 2022, Russian state media portrayed the West as incapable of opposing Russian aggression. Putin's propagandists cheered for war against Ukraine, predicting it would be quick and victorious. Misreading th

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Book SynopsisUntil the February 2004 gas crisis when Gazprom cut off all gas flows via Belarus, the issue of Belarus as a gas transit route was not addressed seriously despite this country's transiting around 20% of Russia's gas exports to Europe. The gas crisis threatened the reliability of gas supplies to Europe. It demonstrated the necessity of bringing Belarus back into focus, explaining how and why the seemingly amicable Russian-Belarussian relationship had deteriorated to such an extent, and suggesting how the problem might evolve in the future. This book shows that the reliability of the Belarussian gas transit routes is influenced by changes in the intensity of the Russian-Belarussian integration and explores whether Belarus is in a position to manage (or, indeed, survive) within the new, 'commercial' framework to which the gas issues had shifted following the failure to establish political union. The book predicts that the mainstay of Belarussian welfare is bound to deteriorate as Russia continues to increase its domestic gas prices at 20% annually as part of its energy strategy and in line with WTO requirements - thus, also making Belarus's independent stance vis-a-vis Gazprom unsustainable. In order to secure gas prices at the level of, at least, Russian domestic prices, Belarus is likely to return to negotiating a joint venture operating the Belarussian transit network together with Gazprom. Yet, even if such a joint venture were to be formed, it would not eliminate the main reason of the unreliability of gas transit via Belarus - the weakness of the national economy. Therefore, unless Belarus embarks on reforms leading to substantial gas conservation, it will continue to be tempted to resort to unauthorised gas off-takes and non-payments undermining the reliability of transit.

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Book SynopsisThe Crimea was the only region of Ukraine in the 1990s where separatism arose and inter-ethnic conflict potentially could have taken place between the Ukrainian central government, ethnic Russians in the Crimea, and Crimean Tatars. Such a conflict would have inevitably drawn in Russia and Turkey. Russia had large numbers of troops in the Crimea within the former Soviet Black Sea Fleet. Ukraine also was a nuclear military power until 1996.This book analyses two inter-related issues. Firstly, it answers the question why Ukraine-Crimea-Russia traditionally have been a triangle of conflict over a region that Ukraine, Tatars and Russia have historically claimed. Secondly, it explains why inter-ethnic violence was averted in Ukraine despite Crimea possessing many of the ingredients that existed for Ukraine to follow in the footsteps of inter-ethnic strife in its former Soviet neighbourhood in Moldova (Trans-Dniestr), Azerbaijan (Nagorno Karabakh), Georgia (Abkhazia, South Ossetia), and Russia (Chechnya).Trade ReviewThe material in Kuzio's book will be of interest to those with a strong interest in Crimea, and readers can benefit considerably from some of the author's insights, based on many years of research and writing on Ukraine. -- John (Ivan) Jaworsky, University of WaterlooTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Abbreviations List of Tables Introduction 1. Borders: Theory and Practice 2. Regionalism and Separatism in Ukraine 3. Russia-Ukraine: The Border Issue 4. Ukraine-Crimea-Russia: Triangle of Conflict 5. Ukrainian Policies to the Crimea in the 1990s 6. Elections and Constitution Making in the Crimea, 1994-2002 7. Crimea and Security Forces Bibliography on Nation Building and Inter-Ethnic Relations in Ukraine and the Crimea

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Book SynopsisAmidst the vast sea of literature that exists on the diplomatic history of the world between the two World Wars, J.C. Johari''s book stands out as a remarkable piece of work. Reflecting through research and analysis, it has been revised and enlarged in order to include the history of the Middle East and the Far Eastern Countries like Japan and China. An account of the interwar period may be called a study of the diplomatic history of the major European powers. The major countries of the West were involved in various forms of commitments and negotiations. In a way, these efforts started the trend of global negotiations, which the governments of the major countries practised in order to achieve their ends, not only during the times of war but also during the times of peace. It is hoped that this book will serve the requirements of students offering this course for graduate and post-graduate examinations as well as for competitive examinations.

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Book SynopsisOn the banks of Tigris and Euphrates rivers famous ancient civilisations flourished. In this area, modern Iraq was created by Britain but was virtually kept in a land-locked position. Successive Iraqi rulers have staked their claims on Kuwaiti territory to be able to be free from Iranian hegemony. Soon after the 1958 revolution Qassem claimed Kuwait which led to Baghdad''s isolation but was partly repaired by the Arif brothers. The Baathist regime, since 1968, revived Iraqi claims over Kuwait. The author examines the reasons why Kuwaiti rulers were so determined in rejecting Iraqi demands. The Iranian revolution and the eight year war brought Saddam Hussein none of the gains he was expecting. The author believes that just as there is a direct link between the Iranian Revolution and the Iran-Iraq war, the 1990-91 Kuwaiti crisis would not have erupted but for the same. Soon the UN sanctions began to slowly strangle Iraq. The author reasons that Saddam Hussein and his regime survived since 1991 due to his resourcefulness and his capacity for survival. Although many states began to normalise ties with Iraq, the US was determined to bring down Saddam Hussein and his Baathist regime mainly to control the Iraqi oil. By 2003, the UN sanctions had reduced Iraq from a booming nation to a shadow of its former self. These and many other crucial issues are presented in an impassioned and penetrating analysis. This book has both historical relevance and contemporary significance.

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Book SynopsisOne of the most significant and helpful developments in the study of the subject of international relations and politics, in the period following World War II, has been the intensification of conscious and deliberate attempt to arrive at an understanding of international political reality through theoretical investigations. In an important way, the growing emphasis of this study in a conceptual framework has overshadowed the form of a diplomatic history of some major Western powers. Though it is widely realised that an orderly and comprehensive study of the relevant aspects of international relations and politics in a theoretical perspectives has not yet appeared, and it is also suspected that such endeavours may not have the desired success, yet a very large number of scholars, particularly in the United States, have been engaged in advanced academic pursuits so as to offer a plausible explanation of their involvement with the issues of why to theorise and how to theorise. The developments of the Post-Cold War era have stimulated the scholars of this discipline to revisit old concepts, re-evaluate traditional assumptions, and invent new strategies and paradigms for the sake of better and updated study of international relations and politics. This discipline now has a ''new agenda'' embracing a vast range of policy issues and covering a host of new themes such as security, order, freedom, equality, justice, welfare, etc., which ought to prevail in the new global political and economic order. It is all the more necessary in the present age of globalisation and liberalisation. The startling point is that the study of this discipline is now growing like a profoundly normative enterprise at the expense of realism that had dominated in the era of the Cold War. The author has taken note of all these developments and ventured to tread the path with a view to make the task of the readers easier and more interesting.

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Book SynopsisWhere Borders Bleed is a keenly observed and anecdotal account of a factious landscape that has long engaged global attention the Indo Pak region. Covering almost seventy years of conflict, it chronicles the events leading up to Partition, reflects on the consequent strife and provides a fresh, discursive perspective on the figures who have shaped the story of this land from Lord Louis Mountbatten and Muhammad Ali Jinnah to Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh. Covering historical, diplomatic and military perspectives, where borders bleed is intrepid, engaging with a range of contentious issues that have shaped Indo Pak relationsn water sharing, Kashmir and Article 370. Equally, it is speculative. It asks would terror have affected the world the way it has, if ''PakIndia'' had been a benign single entity? What if India and Pakistan were to reunite, much like East and West Germany? As the now-largest nation in the world, would the mammoth PakIndia radically change the globe''s geo political framework? These questions combined with the author''s own diplomatic access to rare archival material and key leaders across borders make this a one of a kind book on the story of India and Pakistan.

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Book SynopsisEver since its independence in 1947, Pakistan has been running away from its rootsdirectionlessand has consistently traversed a myopic, self-destructive path. It has been overly obsessed with its more powerful neighbour India, which singularlyoomsarge, albeit illogically, in all its politico-strategic formulations. Constantly whipping up tensions with India has been an existential self-defeating mission for Pakistan and its Deep State. That Pakistan, over the years, has earned the dubious distinction of being the epicentre of global terror, is an outcome directly attributable to its Deep State.Tryst with Perfidy analyses the motivations and machinations of Pakistan''s Deep State and unravels the reasons that propel it to adopt policies and stratagems which, by conventional wisdom, are hard to fathom. It gives a fascinating insight into the policies pursued by the Deep State and its implications for regional and global security.In this authoritative volume, Gen Davar strikes the perfect balance between surgically precise argument and a sharp writing style. It is essential reading for anyone interested in Pakistan or South Asian politics as a whole.

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Book SynopsisThe book is a select documents and important speeches of 2003, compiled in collaboration with National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), India, on security and diplomacy. It is hoped that the compilation will prove useful to researchers, analyst, and students of international affairs.

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Book SynopsisSays that the downsizing of America originated the day that George Bush declared the second Iraqi war over. By then, the world was in turmoil because Bush has made "war on terror" an official American policy.

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Book SynopsisInsurgency in North-East India: The Role of Bangladesh

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Book SynopsisThe recent initiatives taken from both sides have born quite productive and fruitful results, and India relation with Canada have since made a noticeable headway in various aspects of foreign trade.

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Book SynopsisThis general analysis gives readers a chance to evaluate the value of ASEAN and their interaction pattern globally. Special mention had been made about ASEAN Japan, ASEAN Korea, ASEAN China, and ASEAN Russia relationship.

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Book SynopsisThe nuclear issue is examined in this work from many perspectives, such as the prospect of strategic stability in nuclear environment. The author argues that India's interest lies in pursuing universal nuclear disarmament, even whilst developing a minimum credible deterrent.

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Book SynopsisThis book essentially draws on a collection of articles presented at the two day International Conference on 'Reconstruction Process in Afghanistan', held in New Delhi, on April 23-24, 2008. The conference was sponsored by the Ministry of External Affairs and Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and was attended by scholars, activists, NGOs practitioners, government officials, Diplomats, Ambassadors and the Ministry of External Affairs. Covering a wide range of issues ranging from economy and society to strategic and security concerns, the book gives a deep insight into the ground realities of Afghanistan. India has been one of the fore runners in the reconstruction process of Afghanistan and is among the top five countries who are actively participating in the reconstruction process. India's pledge towards Afghanistan's reconstruction process has now reached to the tune of 1.2 billion US$. Nevertheless human security continues to be a haunting problem in Afghanistan even today. The tremendous loss of lives, the continued food insecurity, the displacement of approximately six million people and the disabling of three million, in addition to the severe reduction in social services, continue unabated. It is exactly seven years since the Bonn Agreement was signed. What are the ground realities today? How far have the objectives been met with? How secure is Afghanistan today? What are the major security concerns and how to address these? These were some of the issues which were deliberated at the international conference and have been captured through articles meticulously presented by international and national scholars of repute. This book will be of immense use to the researchers, academicians and the policy makers.

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Book SynopsisTheir threat perceptions are different, being informed by their unique historical experience. These geo-strategic particularities have molded their security postures. Both these regions are distinguished by the presence of adersarial dyads-North Korea-South Korea and Pakistan-India. These countries have single-mindedly pursued their quest for nuclear weapons, except for South Korea, that was dissuaded in its own nuclear endeavor by the United States. Consequently, the focus in this volume has been narrowed to the nuclear dimensions of the competition within these two adversarial dyads. Furthermore, attention has also been focused on the peace initiatives pursued by the two Koreas and between India and Pakistan, albeit with very limited success. Naturally, it is not possible to ignore the interactions of these adversarial dyads with the other countries in the two regions. China and Japan in Northeast Asia, and Afghanistan in South Asia are the important regional actors, apart from the United States, that inscribes a significant presence in both regions. This comparative study of the underlying security dynamics and peace processes in Northeast and South Asia has yielded useful lessons to guide them, but is also valuable for similarly placed adversarial dyads in the international system, at present, and in future.

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Book SynopsisThe two-millennium contacts between India and Vietnam brought them closer to take a common stand on various issues of international significance and stood their diplomatic relations in good stead during the bipolar Cold War era and the contemporary phase of globalization. India’s integration with the ASEAN process has made India and Vietnam to reinforce the contours of their strategic partnership which owes much to their common concerns and interests in the Asia-Pacific region rather than compulsions of time. The views expressed and the inferences drawn in this anthology are coherent and thought-provoking for the policy-makers and scholarly community concerned with the Indian-Vietnam burgeoning partnership in the context of prospects for the emerging New Asia and Asian Century. Being acquainted with the developments in the Southeast Asian and Pacific regions for over four decades. I am fully convinced that this compendium is timely as it is being published when India-Vietnam multifaceted relations are poised for a leapfrog.

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Book SynopsisWith Central Asia and the Caspian region having emerged as vital source of energy supply, there has been a new quest for alternative and shortest transportation routes to export oil/gas from this region to other countries, especially the South Asian countries. The Middle East being in a flux, particularly after the Iraqconflict, the ongoing Iran imbroglio and now the war in Libya, energy-importing countries have been diversifying their sources of supply. Whereas Europe is looking towards Russian supplies, Japan and Chinaare keen to tap the Russian Far East, Siberia, Kazakhstan and the Caspian region for their growing energy needs. China needs to boost its energy consumption by about 150 per cent to maintain its economic growth rate. For India, with its huge demand for energy, Central Asia in its extended neighbourhood presents a potential source of energy. Being the sixth largest energy consumer in the world, India's crude imports are expected to double in a decade. India is facing logistic hazards due to lack of common border with Central Asian countries. The North-South Transport Corridor which seeks to restore the historic trade of conventional commodities between South Asia and Central Asia by facilitating faster and cheaper movement of goods from South Asia to Europe, and establishing a strategic transport link between Asia and Europe via Central Asia, Iran and Russia, is also beset with certain problems on the ground.

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