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Shaken by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and staggering after the COVID-19 pandemic, the global political order is entering a new era of volatile uncertainty that may roll back the gains of the last century. Open democracies, where opponents respect one another even as they contest for power, are under threat from the rising tide of populism. In this stark new world, political opponents are enemies to be destroyed by fake news, and independent institutions are being used as tools to perpetuate power. In societies as diverse as Argentina, the Philippines, Tanzania and Hungary, populists have taken power, promising to restore accountability to the people. But, once in office, they have sought...
Increased stability and security have renewed investment confidence in Colombia, which, with vast natural resources, a strengthened fiscal policy following reform in 2012, and a number of new free trade agreements, is well positioned to continue experiencing growth. The extractive industries, alongside the financial, infrastructure and retail sectors are particularly dynamic as the government pursues diversification strategies and the middle class expands.
World Politics Review features are original, in-depth analyses of key public-policy issues by leading experts. This feature focuses on civil-military relations in China, Turkey and Colombia. The relationship between a country’s civilian leaders and its military command is the product of a distinct national history and political trajectory. In China, the People’s Liberation Army, historically a symbiotic branch of the Communist Party, is progressively emerging as a specialized force divorced from domestic politics. In Turkey, the ascendance of the political sphere under the AKP has transformed the societal role of the military, but the outcome remains fragile and unstable. And in Colombia, the prospect of peace after decades of war underscores the need for broad changes in the military’s role in domestic security.
Plan Colombia and the Mérida Initiative represented an unprecedented effort by Washington to stabilize fragile democracies in Latin America by shoring up the Colombian and Mexican security forces, respectively. From Peril to Partnership evaluates the extent to which the US government achieved its stabilization objectives. US assistance was more helpful to Colombia than Mexico, which adopted a more militarized approach. This book highlights the importance of the private sector, party system, and security bureaucracy in facilitating progress-and how their absence obstructs it.
"Democracy Works asks how we can learn to nurture, deepen and consolidate democracy in Africa. By analysing transitions within and beyond the continent, the authors identify a 'democratic playbook' robust enough to withstand threats to free and fair elections. However, substantive democracy demands more than just regular polls. It is fundamentally about the inner workings of institutions, the rule of law, separation of powers, checks and balances, and leadership in government and civil society. It is also about values and the welfare and well-being of its citizens, and demands local leadership with a plan for the country beyond simply winning the popular vote. This volume addresses the polit...
How have the character and technology of war changed in recent times? Why does battlefield victory often fail to result in a sustainable peace? What is the best way to prevent, fight and resolve future conflict? The world is becoming a more dangerous place. Since the fall of Kabul and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the US-led liberal international order is giving way to a more chaotic, contested and multipolar world system. Western credibility and deterrence are diminishing in the face of wars in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, tensions across the Taiwan Strait, and rising populism and terrorism around the world. Can peace, mutual respect and democracy survive, or are we destined to a n...
Brand warfare is real. Guerrilla Marketing details the Colombian government’s efforts to transform Marxist guerrilla fighters in the FARC into consumer citizens. Alexander L. Fattal shows how the market has become one of the principal grounds on which counterinsurgency warfare is waged and postconflict futures are imagined in Colombia. This layered case study illuminates a larger phenomenon: the convergence of marketing and militarism in the twenty-first century. Taking a global view of information warfare, Guerrilla Marketing combines archival research and extensive fieldwork not just with the Colombian Ministry of Defense and former rebel communities, but also with political exiles in Sw...
This book, Global Peace and Security, is a collection of reviewed and relevant research chapters offering a comprehensive overview of recent developments in the social sciences. It is written by various researchers and edited by an expert active in global peace and security research. All chapters are complete in themselves but united under a common research study topic. The book provides a thorough overview of the latest research efforts by international authors on global peace and security, opening new possible research paths for further novel developments
Across the world, most people are well aware of ordinary criminal harms to person and property. Often committed by the powerless and poor, these individualized crimes are catalogued in the statistics collected annually by the FBI and by similar agencies in other developed nations. In contrast, the more harmful and systemic forms of injury to person and property committed by powerful and wealthy individuals, groups, and national states are neither calculated by governmental agencies nor annually reported by the mass media. As a result, most citizens of the world are unaware of the routinized "crimes of the powerful", even though they are more likely to experience harms and injuries from these...