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Armed groups operating beyond the state have become the most important actors in most contemporary wars and violent conflicts, from Iraq and Afghanistan to Colombia and Somalia. They come in a dizzying array of forms: some informally linked to the state and state power, others in opposition to the state; some pursuing classic political goals, others primarily predatory and large-scale criminal enterprises. All groups, however, challenge the state’s Weberian monopoly of the legitimate use of force, yet their origins, evolution, violent dynamics, and relations with state power are poorly understood. This interdisciplinary collection includes both conceptual and empirical studies of contempor...
Indicators and rankings are widely used by governments and organisations to assess the effectiveness, efficiency, and success of policy decisions. This book evaluates the creation of indicators, their impact on policy decisions, and the implications of their use.
There is much speculation about whether democracy is still advancing around the world and the influence that leading authoritarian or semi-authoritarian regimes such as Russia are starting to have on the trends. This collection assesses global trends in democratisation, reviews the condition of international democracy promotion and enquires into whether serious competition in the form of autocracy promotion is now a major possibility. The influence of international politics on national political regimes is explored in more detail for Russia’s resistance to democracy promotion and Russian influence on regimes in Central Asia in particular, along with an Indian perspective on India’s reluctance to push for democracy abroad and concerns that democracy promotion itself should be considered more critically if it undermines democratisation in foreign aid-dependent states. The book concludes by briefly addressing the potential significance of the 2011 ‘Arab spring’ for these themes. This book was published as a special issue of Contemporary Politics.
Drawing together international experts on research methods in International Relations (IR), this Handbook answers the complex practical questions for those approaching a new research topic for the first time. Innovative in its approach, it considers the art of IR research as well as the science, offering diverse perspectives on current research methods and emerging developments in the field.
Traces the shared history of Russia and Islam in expanding compass; from the Tatar civilization within the Russian heartland, to the conquered territories of the Caucasus and Central Asia, to the larger geopolitical and security context of contemporary Russia on the civilizational divide. The study stresses political and geopolitical relationships.
Straddling Europe and Asia, the Russian Federation is the largest country in the world and home to a panoply of religious and ethnic groups from the Muslim Tatars to the Buddhist Buryats. Over the past 40 years, Russia has experienced the most dramatic transformation of any modern state. The second edition of Historical Dictionary of the Russian Federation provides insight into this rapidly developing country. This volume includes coverage of pivotal movements, events, and persons in the late Soviet Union (1985-1991) and contemporary Russia (1991-present), This second edition of Historical Dictionary of the Russian Federation contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 700 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Russia.
An expansive investigation of the efficacy of trade agreements, economic sanctions, and other economic strategies for promoting peace
The ambitious 15-year agenda known as the Sustainable Development Goals, adopted in 2015 by all members of the United Nations, contains a pledge that “no one will be left behind.” This book aims to translate that bold global commitment into an action-oriented mindset, focused on supporting specific people in specific places who are facing specific problems. In this volume, experts from Japan, the United States, Canada, and other countries address a range of challenges faced by people across the globe, including women and girls, smallholder farmers, migrants, and those living in extreme poverty. These are many of the people whose lives are at the heart of the aspirations embedded in the 1...
To shed light on the global reassertion of authoritarianism in recent years, this volume analyses transnational diffusion and international cooperation among non-democratic regimes. How and with what effect do authoritarian regimes learn from each other? For what purpose and how successfully do they cooperate? The volume highlights that present-day autocrats pursue mainly pragmatic interests, rather than ideological missions. Consequently, the connections among authoritarian regimes have primarily defensive purposes, especially insulation against democracy promotion by the West. As a result, the authors do not foresee a major recession of democracy, as occurred with the rise of fascism during the interwar years. The chapters in this book were originally published in a special issue of Democratization.