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"Shifting Grounds brings together the existing social constructivist research in International Relations (IR) and political geography, and examines the interactive relationship between territory and war from conceptual, theoretical, and historical perspectives. The central premise is the following: territory is what states and societies make of it. Put differently, states and societies have adhered to different forms of territoriality across time and space, and territory as well as territorial control meant different things in different time periods and regions. Shifting Grounds makes two claims. First, how state elites conceive territory within and beyond their domains affect their military...
The Syrian Crisis, the bloodiest front of the Arab uprisings and one of the main determinants of policies of regional and global powers, has been dominating international politics for the last five years. Having caused the death of more than 300 thousand civilians and forced relocation of more than 7 million Syrians, it is one of the direst international problems that the global powers must deal with. It began as a local issue, but after a very short period of time it morphed into a proxy war between regional and global powers. “Redlines” drawn by regional and global actors were crossed, yet there has been no tangible reaction to these violations. Among others, chemical weapons were used, crimes against humanity were committed, fundamental human rights were repeatedly violated. Over time, the crisis has revealed limitations and maladies of the actors involved.
A sober analysis of IS's media and propaganda output, essential for understanding what drives the movement.
This book aims at exploring the logic of political survival in Turkish politics studying the case of the AKP and using evidence from elite interviews, party documents, public speeches, and developments and changes for exploring AKP’s political survival in the chapters. These evidences indicate that there are four independent variables of dependent variable which is AKP’s political survival; -- the legitimization of AKP’s conservatism (2002-2007), AKP’s power struggle with Kemalist elites (2007-2011), AKP’s populism and authoritarianism (2011-2014) and the instrumentalization of Islamism and nationalism under Erdogan’s leadership (2014-2018) -- within the AKP’s four terms. In ot...
This volume investigates the nature and changing roles of the non-state armed groups in the Middle East with a special focus on Kurdish, Shia and Islamic State groups. To understand the nature of transformation in the Middle Eastern geopolitical space, it provides new empirical and analytical insights into the impact of three prominent actors, namely ISIS, YPG and Shia Militias. With its distinctive detailed and multi-faceted analyses, it offers new findings on the changing contours of sovereignty, geopolitics and ideology, particularly after the Arab Uprisings. Overall this volume contributes to the study of violent geopolitics, critical security studies and international relations particularly by exploring the ideologies and strategies of the new non-state armed actors.
A major theoretical statement by a distinguished political scholar explains why a policy of liberal hegemony is doomed to fail It is widely believed in the West that the United States should spread liberal democracy across the world, foster an open international economy, and build international institutions. The policy of remaking the world in America's image is supposed to protect human rights, promote peace, and make the world safe for democracy. But this is not what has happened. Instead, the United States has become a highly militarized state fighting wars that undermine peace, harm human rights, and threaten liberal values at home. In this major statement, the renowned international-rel...
The East Romans of Byzantium and the Sasanian Persians competed as geopolitical rivals for over four centuries between 224 to 628 AD. Through a series of intractable conflicts these two great empires would develop a dual hierarchy that sought to divide the known world between them. Despite competing claims to universal rule, mutual spheres of interest arose as both empires sought to create rules, norms, and standard practices of diplomatic behaviour to regulate their inter-imperial rivalry. Defined by contemporaries as the 'Two Eyes' of the Earth, this suzerain order aimed to hierarchically organize those considered as 'barbarians'. This period of late antiquity is rarely considered within the discipline of International Relations (IR) but, through an English School approach, Blachford examines the diverse suzerain order of late antiquity as 'barbarous' nomadic tribes challenged the hierarchical ambitions of two rival empires who both claimed a unique role in the maintenance of world order.
This book examines ten reasons for global jihad today. Specifically, the reasons are (1) radicalization, (2) group dynamics and socialization, (3) social alienation, (4) religious motivations, (5) legal motivations, (6) political motivations, (7) a Clash of Civilizations, (8) economic conditions, (9) transformative learning, and (10) outbidding and internal rifts. To investigate these points, all chapters include the historical background, specific case studies (both past and current), statistics, and theoretical approaches to the subject of global jihad. The main purpose of jihad is to achieve global domination—through any means, including violence—and establish the Caliphate. The Caliphate is a Muslim system of world government that seeks to establish a new world order by overthrowing the current order, effectively creating an all-encompassing Islamic state.
Since 1979, few rivalries have affected Middle Eastern politics as much as the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran. However, too often the rivalry has been framed purely in terms of 'proxy wars', sectarian difference or the associated conflicts that have broken out in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Bahrain, and Yemen. In this book, Simon Mabon presents a more nuanced assessment of the rivalry, outlining its history and demonstrating its impact across the Middle East. Highlighting the significance of local groups, Mabon shows how regional politics have shaped and been shaped by the rivalry. The book draws from social theory and the work of Pierre Bourdieu to challenge problematic assumptions about 'proxy wars', the role of religion, and sectarianism. Exploring the changing political landscape of the Middle East as a whole and the implications for regional and international security, Mabon paints a complex picture of this frequently discussed but oft-misunderstood rivalry.