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Supporting three wives, twelve children, and assorted relatives, Mohan Rai is a thoroughly modern man, convinced he's escaped an outmoded duty to follow his father as shaman to his Bhutanese village. But the gods and spirits, ancient protectors of the tribe, have other ideas. Dishonored and vengeful, they enter his dreams and haunt his days, destroying his business, his health, his sanity, and finally, his freedom. Based on Mohan's letters from prison, this true account by his first Western initiate will transform your worldview. "Ellen's retelling of Mohan Rai's first-hand account of his shamanic apprenticeship in Bhutan is a valuable contribution to the preservation of this ancient knowled...
Since its independence in 1991, Russia has struggled with the growing pains of defining its role in international politics. After Vladimir Putin ascended to power in 2000, the country undertook grandiose foreign policy projects in an attempt to delineate its place among the world’s superpowers. With this in mind, Robert Nalbandov examines the milestones of Russia’s international relations since the turn of the twenty-first century. He focuses on the specific goals, engagement practices, and tools used by Putin’s administration to promote Russia’s vital national and strategic interests in specific geographic locations. His findings illuminate Putin’s foreign policy objective of reinstituting Russian global strategic dominance. Nalbandov argues that identity-based politics have dominated Putin’s tenure and that Russia’s east/west split is reflected in Asian-European politics. Nalbandov’s analysis shows that unchecked domestic power, an almost exclusive application of hard power, and determined ambition for unabridged global influence and a defined place as a world superpower are the keys to Putin’s Russia.
This collection is the first book-length study of NATO's bureaucracy and decision-making after the Cold War and its analytical framework of 'internationalization' draws largely on neo-institutionalist insights.
Foreign Policy: From Conception to Diplomatic Practice represents an original and important contribution to the study of foreign policy, uniquely framed by the experiences of small and new countries. Ambassador Ernest Petri? artfully brings together academic expertise and years of diplomatic experience to provide a thorough treatment of national and international environments, the foreign policy decision making process and an original analysis of the means of foreign policy and diplomacy. The role of the United Nations, the EU, strategic actors and the role of foreign policy as a diplomatic instrument are examined. Finally a reflection of the foreign policy concerns of small and new countries, with special attention to Slovenia and legal aspects are offered.
This volume represents a historical comparison of the American and the EU European constitutional experiences and lessons to be derived therefrom for the present time. It is designed to deepen the understanding of the historical and political dimensions of constitutional designs and practises on two continents. Hopefully, such historical depth charts will expand the horizon of debates among experts and decision-makers. The first part concentrates on the historical dimension. It deals with the experiences and perceptions of basic American political principles, developments of international and humanitarian law, and the historical dimension of constitutional debates. The second part of the boo...
This volume provides the first geographically and thematically comprehensive study of the evolution and current state of the national security and defence policies, strategies, doctrines, capabilities, and military operations, as well as the alliances and security partnerships, of European armed forces.
Every time that something happened in Austria after 1918, the country was under observation: as German-Austria, the First Republic, the Corporative State, the Alpine and Danubian Gaue of the Greater German Reich, the Second Republic – right up to the present day. People looked, heard and generally did not keep silent, and this has not changed. As though Austria were still the same testing ground for the end of the world that Karl Kraus described it as. A gripping and varied overview of Austrian history over the last 100 years.
The question of how effective political tools actually are is among the most hotly debated in contemporary IR theory. There is no unanimity how to even measure the effectiveness and impact different political measures produce. This book comprehensively introduces social science students and scholars to the various fields of effectiveness and impact research in the study of international relations.
"While the major trends in European integration have been well researched and constitute key elements of narratives about its value and purpose, the crises of integration and their effects have not yet attracted sufficient attention. This volume, with original contributions by leading German scholars, suggests that crises of integration should be seen as engines of progress throughout the history of European integration rather than as expressions of failure and regression, a widely held assumption. It therefore throws new light on the current crises in European integration and provides a fascinating panorama of how challenges and responses were guiding the process during its first five decades."--Publisher's website.
In 2005, Austria celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of its liberation from the Nazi regime and the fiftieth anniversary of the State Treaty that ended the occupation and returned full sovereignty to the country. This volume of Contemporary Austrian Studies covers foreign policy in the twentieth century. It offers an up-to-date status report of Austria's foreign policy trajectories and diplomatic options. Eva Nowotny, the current Austrian ambassador to the United States, introduces the volume with an analysis of the art and practice of Austrian diplomacy in historical perspective. Ambassador Wolfgang Petritsch analyzes recent Balkans diplomacy as an EU emissary in the Bosnian and Kosovo cris...