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`In a concise and intellectually engaging manner, European Security since the Fall of the Berlin Wall succeeds in illuminating real changes in European security, as well as consequent changes in academic thinking. Frederic Merand, Martial Foucault, and Bastien Irondelle clearly and precisely link the different theories and levels of analysis found throughout these essays to develop a convincing new research agenda for complex security phenomena. Readers will easily identify common themes and perspectives in this creative and appealing contribution to research.' Markus Kaim, Head of the International Security Division, German Institute for International and Security Affairs `Right from its introduction, European Security since the Fall of the Berlin Wall will generate significant interest for readers. Each essay contained in this collection represents an excellent piece of scholarship and an accessible and vital contribution to thinking about contemporary international security problems.' Sean Kay, Department of Politics and Government, Ohio Wesleyan University
By defining international communities of practice (CoPs) as domains of knowledge, this book investigates the adoption of new international practices via collective learning—that is, the redefinition of what is acceptable and feasible. Explaining how inclusive practices at the World Bank became institutionalized, it shows that while changes in presidents can influence practices of international organizations, shifts in collective thinking are even more important to understand world ordering. Collective learning happens at the boundaries between CoPs when practitioners interact with others inside or outside the formal walls of an organization—through processes of boundary encounters, bound...
"Jean Monnet (1888-1979) is often viewed as the chief architect of the European Coal and Steel Community, which over time evolved into today's European Union. Monnet spent his early years working as an agent for his father, a cognac producer. It was this experience that took him to Scandinavia, England, the United States, and most importantly Canada, where he was exposed to the country's unique form of federalism. Drawing on a wide variety of empirical sources, including unpublished documents, correspondence, and original historical data extracted from archives both in Canada and Europe, Trygve Ugland's Jean Monnet and Canada argues that the extensive period of time Monnet spent in Canada between 1907 and 1914 had a formative influence on the achievements of his later years, particularly on the institutional 'construction of Europe.'"--Publisher description.
The wars since 9/11, both in Iraq and Afghanistan, have generated frustration and an increasing sense of failure in the West. Much of the blame has been attributed to poor strategy. In both the United States and the United Kingdom, public enquiries and defence think tanks have detected a lack of consistent direction, of effective communication, and of governmental coordination. In this important book, Sir Hew Strachan, one of the world's leading military historians, reveals how these failures resulted from a fundamental misreading and misapplication of strategy itself. He argues that the wars since 2001 have not in reality been as 'new' as has been widely assumed and that we need to adopt a more historical approach to contemporary strategy in order to identify what is really changing in how we wage war. If war is to fulfil the aims of policy, then we need first to understand war.
Andaman & Nicobar Islands located over 1200 km to India’s East are nature’s bounty inherited by India during the process of our Independence. Located on the strategic Sea Lines of Communication connecting the Indian Ocean to the Asia-Pacific region and sitting at the entrance of the Malacca Straits, they provide India with strategic reach and could act as a launch pad in the geographical vicinity of South-East Asia. In this book, the authors have brought in their nuanced views on issues of geopolitical reality of the 21st century, the importance of these islands, and the contribution that these islands could make to the security of mainland India. The book initially provides an insight into the present global strategic environment focusing especially on the Indian Ocean Region, the Chinese ‘String of Pearls’ strategy as well as China’s ‘Malacca Dilemma’. It further brings out the strengths of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, their strategic significance and recommends a way ahead for their development. It finally suggests a set of comprehensive set of policy recommendations.
While Greece's debt crisis continues to dominate international headlines, the country has received remarkably little scholarly attention – especially in comparison to other European Union members. Europeanizing Greece explores the developments that resulted from Greece's European integration between 1989 and 1999, which played a crucial role in shaping the country's current conditions. Focusing on changes made to the Greek administrative and political system based on EU structural policy, Nancy Vamvakas contends that EU involvement was not the only reason why these modifications were implemented. Vamvakas points out serious flaws in the Greek system and demonstrates how Greece's approach to reform has been inextricably linked to the perceived level of crises. Europeanizing Greece serves as a perceptive case study of the EU's continual enlargement and resulting regional challenges.
"The difficult and continually evolving operations in Iraq and Afghanistan show the complexities of what is now termed irregular warfare and highlight the need for new approaches to the security challenges with which the United States is now contending and will likely confront in the future. The research reported in this monograph focused on answering a rather straightforward, but thus far largely unanswered, question: What can the U.S. military learn from other militaries about how better to prepare for full-spectrum operations and deployments? To this end, RAND was asked by the OSD for Personnel and Readiness to examine the militaries of China, France, the UK, India, and Israel."--P. xiii.
This Research Agenda provides a broad and comprehensive overview of the field of multilevel governance. Illustrating theoretical and normative approaches and identifying prevailing gaps in research, it offers a cutting-edge agenda for future investigations.
Parliamentary questions are a feature of almost all national legislatures. Despite this, we know very little about how questions are used by MPs and what impact questions have on controlling the government. This volume advances our theoretical and empirical knowledge of the use of questioning in a number of different parliamentary settings. The propensity of parliamentarians to ask questions indicates that the interrogatories are an important tool for measuring an individual legislator’s job. Ultimately, how a parliamentarian chooses to use the questioning tool provides a unique insight into legislator behaviour and role orientation. Many of the chapters in this volume provide new empirica...