"A unique and timely study of the political economy of small states in Asia Pacific in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, economic (de)globalization, and US-China rivalry." —Gang Guo, University of MississippiBoth the spread of Covid-19 and the intense US-China rivalry have been sources of stress for national economies throughout Asia Pacific. The authors of Asia-Pacific Small States, eschewing the usual focus on the region's powerhouses, turn their attention instead to the coping strategies of the smaller economies. Showing how these smaller states have been navigating the current turbulent times, they shed light not only on national experiences and recovery strategies, but also on the importance of so-called marginal players in today's geopolitical competition among major powers.

“Highly recommended.” —Choice"A most insightful, well-structured, and readable book that comprehensively explains the Western reaction to China's Belt and Road Initiative." —Klaus Larres, University of North Carolina at Chapel HillBy March 2022, a remarkable 144 countries had signed onto the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)—China's massive investment and infrastructure development program—with significant implications for US foreign policy. Edward Ashbee explores how the US has reacted to this global expansion of Chinese power, tracing the arc of policy responses to the BRI from its inception in 2013 through early 2022.

“The holistic approach of this book provides precious insights not only for students and scholars but also for policymakers.” —Elena Potitò, International Spectator "Multifaceted, rigorously researched, and thoughtful..

This latest volume of South African Foreign Policy Review assesses South Africa's foreign policy during the presidency of Cyril Ramaphosa. Focusing on such themes as foreign policy leadership, policy architecture, diplomacy, national interests, and the country's bi- and multilateral relations, the authors also consider how South Africa can maintain—and even increase—its role both in the region and internationally.

“The authors conduct an expert autopsy of some of the most fraught gender issues in US politics.” —Anna Mahoney, Perspectives on Politics "The authors document U.S. public policy in a way that contextualizes the progression of women’s rights from the early 1800s through the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade.... they offer an accessible text for navigating the evolution of public policy.” —Liz Grauel, Resources for Gender and Women’s Studies“Especially valuable for students.... The authors are able to cover substantial policy ground in their exploration of both the historical origins of policies impacting women’s rights and contemporary developments.” —Sara Chatfield, Political Science Quarterly"Offers keen insights on contentious public policy issues that affect the status of women. The focus on the 'revolving door' toward progress highlights the complicated interactions among all three branches of government in the policymaking process." —Laura van Assendelft, Mary Baldwin UniversityDespite women's many gains in the political, economic, and social spheres, equality remains elusive—and in some areas, ground is being lost. Why? Why does the pay gap between women and men persist? Why is sexual harassment and assault so prevalent in schools and universities? Why are efforts to diminish women's individual autonomy, restricting their access to reproductive health care, succeeding?Susan Mezey and Megan Sholar address these disturbing questions, tracing the struggle for women's equal rights and opportunities in the US across more than a century.

“A concise, thoughtful and surprisingly helpful addition to the literature.” —Herman T. Salton, International Affairs "Historically rich, detailed, and practice focused. ... Provides an in-depth account of all the important issues that the UN is engaged in, as well as a discussion of how these emerged over time." —Matthias Hofferberth, University of Texas at San Antonio"Unique in both its breadth and depth of coverage of the United Nations.... An invaluable resource."—Rebecca McCumbers Flavin, Baylor UniversityThe United Nations has a vast outreach through its many agencies, funds, and programs—but that very fact can make it difficult for "outsiders" to understand.Among the questions that arise: How can the UN promote human rights when its charter prohibits its intervention in the domestic affairs of sovereign states? Why do the five permanent members of the Security Council have veto power? Can a dysfunctional Security Council be circumvented? How is consensus on policy ever reached? Where does the money to run this enormous system come from? The list goes on. In response, this new text clearly explains the UN's history, functions, and day-to-day operations.Ranging from development to disarmament, from electoral assistance to finance, the authors unveil the processes involved as diplomats and practitioners navigate the challenges of serving the common good while balancing opposing interests.

“A worthwhile and important contribution.” —Amber R. Reed, African Studies Review “A masterful study of policy successes in Africa…. This book is much more than a specialized monograph—it is a model for the application of the comparative method…. Highly recommended.”—Choice"Hern provides a robust analysis of key questions in African politics and development…. Well written and engaging, her book pushes conventional thinking about the region. Students and scholars alike will benefit from its insights." —Amy Patterson, University of the SouthWhat does it take for African countries to achieve political and economic successes? Scholarship on Africa tends to focus on the barriers to reaching desired outcomes. While recognizing that these barriers are very real, Erin Hern takes a contrary, unabashedly optimistic approach: rather than treating countries that perform well as "miracles," she seeks to normalize their success, analyzing the performance of those that have made good choices in the face of adverse circumstances.Hern shows how most-similar and most-different cases can be used to test major explanatory theories. Making the topic accessible to nonexperts, in each of five issue chapters she highlights two countries that have performed well, evaluates which theories can best explain their successes, and then turns to two shadow cases (countries that have not performed as well) to evaluate whether those theories remain plausible. Including an opening chapter that introduces the theory and methods of comparative politics, this provocative book is ideal for classroom use.

Since the 1990s, deliberative democracy has been the focus of increased scholarly attention, as well as the locus of initiatives intended to directly engage the public in matters of public concern. Geared to bringing the core tenets of public deliberation to bear onto different contexts within the public sphere, deliberative processes have been implemented in a range of forms, from citizens’ juries to national issue forums, from deliberative opinion polls to participatory budgeting. Ever more frequently, public deliberation has also gained traction in the field of public bioethics. Seizing on their intrinsic dialogic nature, scholars have proposed to harness deliberative processes as a means to address moral disagreement in the public sphere, in order to manage the ensuing and often irreconcilable conflicts around topics of bioethical sensitivity that challenge contemporary liberal democracies. Building upon these premises, this volume aims to reconstruct the theoretical as well as empirical processes of cross-pollination between deliberative democracy and public bioethics.

Russia’s Muslims, numbering some 15 million, constitute far from a homogeneous sociopolitical group. So ..

“Bruneau’s arguments and policy recommendations are compelling..

“Frederking’s rigorous data-making effort produces concrete, social-scientific understandings of how liberal institutions have worked in the past..

“An important and salutary memoir.” —Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs "A fascinating and clear-sighted book about the UN, the United States, and Iraq, and what happens behind the closed doors of power. "—Evin Ismail, Svenska Dagbladet [Swedish Daily News]"The quest to disarm Iraq took place between two wars—one justified and right, the other a dreadful mistake, a violation of international law that led to hundreds of thousands of deaths." With these unvarnished words, Rolf Ekéus begins his political-thrilleresque story of the disarmament of Iraq—and the machinations that ultimately led to the fall of Saddam Hussein and the rise of ISIS.After Saddam's invasion of Kuwait and the war that followed, the UN Security Council ruled that Iraq must rid itself of all weapons of mass destruction. The difficult, politically sensitive, and dangerous task of accomplishing this rested with the UN Special Commission (UNSCOM), led by Ekéus, one of Sweden's most seasoned diplomats. This was a radical experiment in UN governance—essentially conveying to one individual the power to conduct a disarmament program, with oversight only by the Security Council.What followed were a succession of tense conversations with the Iraqi leadership, often-dangerous inspections, complex destruction processes, negotiations with Security Council representatives, and diplomatic maneuvering by world leaders. The recounting of these events lies at the heart of Ekéus's personal narrative of disarmament history in the making, a narrative that adds substantially to the evidence that UNSCOM's mission was successful and the 2003 war clearly illegal.Crafted not in the interests of a political agenda, but rather for the sake of historical accuracy, Iraq Disarmed serves today as a sobering cautionary tale.

Since the end of World War II, the United States has come to dominate the world economically and politically, leading many to describe the United States as an empire. Scholars have analyzed how the US government has worked through international financial institutions, its Central Intelligence Agency, and outright warfare to achieve its will. In this book, Timothy M. Gill spotlights how the US government also worked through democracy promotion to undermine governments abroad, including in Venezuela. President Hugo Chávez, who ruled from 1999 until his death in 2013, was among the democratically elected Latin American state leaders who embraced socialism and challenged the idea of US global power. Gill shows how US government agencies funded and trained opposition parties and activists, and how such intervention often was justified in neocolonial and racist terms. Through analysis of documents obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests, embassy cables, and interviews with US government and Venezuelan nonprofit members, Gill details such operations and the imperial thinking behind them.

What constitutes Europe today? Is there an identifiable European culture that transcends state boundaries? How do the various national political, economic, and social structures and institutions work? To what extent does the European Union influence policy in the region for members and nonmembers alike? Stephen Wright’s comprehensive discussion of contemporary European politics addresses these fundamental questions in a book that notably encompasses all of Europe, from the UK to the Russian Federation.Both thematic and comparative, with numerous examples used to illustrate key points, Politics and Society in Contemporary Europe integrates political, economic, and social factors to provide a thorough—and accessible—text.

This volume examines the rise and apparent fall of 'neo-liberalism', whose historical roots and theoretical implications are explored throughout. This begins with today's current climate, dominated by a range of political mediatic populisms that run across the contemporary political scene, and a critical comparison with the seminal analysis of Ernesto Laclau. The volume also analyzes the failure of the multicultural paradigm in terms of the Lockean concept of tolerance in light of the theses developed by the political theorist Wendy Brown concerning the civil and social dynamics of de-democratization. From this point of view, an original concept of post-hegemony is proposed, which - attempting to go beyond Antonio Gramsci and his modern followers - focuses on the subject of desire and enjoyment within a Freudian and Lacanian framework, a subject whose drives are incompatible with the systemic grid of contemporary hyper-capitalism. Finally, following a provocative analysis of violence and terrorism in the globalized world, the volume proposes - on the basis of Judith Butler's analysis - a paradigm of a "democracy of bodies" as an alternative to and salvation from the decline of the "political" in the present era.

Attempts to transform the Russian Federation into a nation state, a civic state, or a stable imperial state have failed, argues Janusz Bugajski. Paradoxically, though Vladimir Putin assumed power to prevent Russia's disintegration, he may be remembered best for precipitating the country's demise.Bugajski considers the factors contributing to a possible Russian state collapse, among them lack of economic growth, stark socioeconomic inequalities, distrust of government institutions, regional and ethnic revivals, and most recently, the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Considering the significance of such a rupture regionally and beyond, he suggests strategies for the US and other Western powers to employ in managing the impact of a Russia in decline.