The People’s Army of Vietnam’s decision to utilize armor as part of its warfighting strategy was a product of various geopolitical factors that surrounded Hanoi during various parts of the Vietnam War. During the First Indochina War, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) emerged as the foremost communist benefactor of North Vietnam. The Soviet Union however, largely stood by. While worried by the PRC’s and Soviet Union’s actions during the Geneva Conference of 1954, Hanoi still felt the need to maintain good relations with both countries. This was reinforced when the Sino-Soviet split occurred in 1956 and Hanoi was forced to walk a tight rope between Beijing and Moscow. As the United States escalated its war in Vietnam, Moscow (now under new leadership) sought to increase its material support for Hanoi.As the war progressed, Hanoi sought to fight larger battles against the Americans and their South Vietnamese allies. In order to fight larger battles, the PAVN needed more modern military equipment that only the Soviet Union could provide. This, paired with the chaos of the ongoing Cultural Revolution in China, led Hanoi to lean more towards Moscow in the latter years of the Vietnam War.As part of this newly blossomed relationship, Moscow began to furnish the PAVN with more modern weapons including Soviet armor. Initially, the PAVN’s use of armor at Lang Vei (1968) and Laos (1971) was met with some success. However, in 1972, Hanoi panicked as the United States began to reach “détente” with Beijing and Moscow. This led to fears of another Geneva and thus lead Hanoi to pursue a rushed “Easter Offensive” in March 1972 which saw ill-trained PAVN tank crews fall prey to poor planning and bad strategy. This changed in 1975 when following the Paris Peace Accords and subsequent combined arms training in the Soviet Union, the PAVN victoriously drove its Soviet armor into Saigon.

This richly illustrated and superbly designed book explores its author’s life and work against the backdrop of 40 years of transformation and conflict across the Arabian Gulf and Islamic world. A doctor-turned-artist, Ahmed Mater has continually confronted his traditional context. Here he explores Arab and Islamic society in an era of globalization and social upheaval to uncover the unofficial histories that have shaped the present. Mapping his life and work on a historical timeline, the book offers an unprecedented insight into changes forged by and in the Kingdom, and its significance in world religion, culture, and geopolitics. Celebrating 20 years of Mater’s art-making, organizing, and activism, this book is not only a mid-career survey of an essential artist, it is an urgent prognosis of a society in dramatic transition.

"Mandel rightfully challenges the conventional wisdom that AI is limited to efficiency enhancements or low-level cognitive tasks and offers a commendable focus on the political and bureaucratic challenges in early warning systems." —Michael Frank, Seldon StrategiesFrom the September 11 attacks to the coronavirus pandemic, recent deficiencies in early warning systems have been jolting, reflecting startling failures of intelligence and security decisionmaking. Can technological innovation remedy the flaws in threat detection? If so, how? Robert Mandel argues that the answer lies in a hybrid system—"human-in-the-loop" artificial intelligence—and demonstrates through diverse case studies when and how such a system can facilitate the right security-maximizing choices to meet both intelligence and defense needs.

“Fills a void in the comparative study of foreign policy…. Jesse’s book systematically analyzes the differing foreign policies of states, allowing [students] to assess the practical decisions made by states and their foreign policy decisionmakers” —Timothy J. White, Xavier University"Neal Jesse's book stands out within the study of comparative foreign policy, providing an 'outside in' rather than 'inside out' take on how states formulate and pursue their foreign policy objectives. Jesse places a premium on the rank hierarchy of states as a conditioning factor that shapes not only behaviors but also interests. The result is a rich depiction of how the prevailing global order affects the conduct of foreign policy across a cross-section of states." ―Michael Butler, Clark UniversityClearly written, authoritative, pedagogically sound ... This new text effectively links cases and theory to provide students with a thorough understanding of the ways that foreign policy is crafted and carried out in diverse countries around the world. Grounding his approach in dominant IR theories—and ranging from great powers to small states—Neal Jesse provides the comparative perspective needed to make clear the connections between theory and practice in the conduct of foreign affairs.

"Current and comprehensive…. Readers will find cutting-edge information essential for anyone interested in homeland security. This book should be a cornerstone resource for upper-division and graduate courses, libraries, and analysts. " —Christopher Bellavita, Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and SecurityWhat is the role of intelligence in the homeland security enterprise? How have its practice and function evolved since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security more than two decades ago? What accounts for the changes? As they address these questions, the authors of this comprehensive volume investigate the critical issues that remain unresolved and consider what lies ahead.

The emergence of Latin America and the Caribbean as an arena for US-China competition raises a number of important questions: What are China’s goals in LAC? Is its presence there a good thing for the region? What challenges does it create? How is the US responding? Enrique Dussel Peters responds to these questions from a fresh perspective, exploring the dynamics of new triangular relationships.

"A rich and compelling comparative analysis of the UAE and Qatar's divergent but similar trajectories."—Marc Lynch, George Washington UniversityIn the years following the turmoil of the Arab Spring, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates jockeyed for power, becoming significant forces—and rivals—in regional politics. Emma Soubrier unpacks the nuts and bolts of these two small states' rise to prominence, exploring how their diverging foreign and security policies have enabled both of them to become power players in the Middle East and beyond.

Though for decades South Korea was considered the quintessential homogeneous nation-state, the more recent influx of significant immigration has given rise to intensely debated questions about the nature of the country's national identity. Who is a "real" Korean? Who has a right to be a member of South Korean society? Which immigrants are acceptable? Who qualifies for citizenship? How should the diaspora be considered? And more fundamentally, how well does the concept of ethnic nationalism serve as an analytical concept for explaining and predicting the contours of identity, belongingness, and citizenship?The authors of South Korea and the Politics of Ethnic Nationalism engage with these debates, highlighting the factors and processes that complicate the many issues involved.

“A valuable contribution.” —Daniel Volman, African Studies Review"Provides timely and essential research on an understudied topic..

"Houghton systematically unpacks Beijing's strategy in the Gulf…. Persistent rivalries and conflicts across the region will ensure that this work remains timely and relevant for years to come." —Robert Mogielnicki, Arab Gulf States InstituteChina's foreign and security policy in the Gulf region has been characterized by the cultivation of strong positive relationships with all of the Gulf states, irrespective of their domestic politics and the ubiquitous rivalries between neighbors. Has this "hedging strategy" proven fruitful? Or has it had negative consequences? Addressing this issue, Benjamin Houghton explores the contours of China's hedging strategy in the Gulf from the time of the 1979 Iranian revolution through early 2024.

"Impressively melds together a vast array of material to show the direction in which Israel is moving and how it is by turns similar to and distinct from other countries. This is a book that can profitably be understood and discussed on many levels."—Paul Scham, University of Maryland"An important and timely look at Israel's democratic backsliding under the leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu. ... Oren's comparative perspective on populist and antidemocratic trends and practices is especially welcome." —Gregory Mahler, Earlham CollegeDiscussions of democratic backsliding typically include examples from Hungary, Poland, Turkey, and even the United States, but rarely a mention of Israel. Neta Oren asks: Should scholars include Israel in this list? Should Benjamin Netanyahu be considered a populist leader? Are there lessons about populism and democratic decline to be learned from the Israeli case? Answering yes to each of these questions, Oren analyzes the related phenomena of populism and the erosion of Israel’s democracy during Netanyahu’s long tenure as prime minister. Her book contributes to an enhanced understanding of not only contemporary Israel, but also democratic backsliding and populism overall.

“An indispensable, lucid guide to the origins and recent development of the European Union…. Judicious and authoritative in his curation of historical facts and details about the individuals, social forces, and geopolitics that shaped key developments of the EU, Dinan provides deep insights and clarity about the EU’s accomplishments and its shortcomings…. This up-to-date history of the EU is unparalleled—eloquent and engaging in its narrative and compelling in its final analysis that ‘the EU is worth fighting for. ’” —Vicki L. Birchfield, Georgia Institute of Technology“This is modern European history at its best…. Dinan offers a balanced and up-to-date narrative of European integration from its inception in the post–World War II period to the present, with special emphasis on the contemporary European Union, its institutional and legal structures, the management of the crises it has encountered, its continuing relevance, and its future. His book will establish itself as one of the best concise introductions to the EU for not only students, but also any other readers interested in a deeper understanding of contemporary European affairs.” —Yannis A. Stivachtis, Virginia Tech University What explains the remarkable evolution of the European Union since its emergence in the early 1990s? How has the EU coped with a series of severe shocks, ranging from the euro crisis to Brexit to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? How is it dealing with the rise of illiberal democracy in some of its member states? And why is it more contested, while at the same time more relevant, than ever before?Addressing these questions, this concise text—authoritative, engaging, and well written—traces the development of the EU from its inception to the present. It is ideal for use in the early weeks of courses on European or EU politics, as well as for the EU portion of courses on contemporary European history.

In this edited volume, authors seek to document and analyze how state and non-state actors leverage digital rhetoric as a twenty-first-century weapon of war. Rhet Ops offer readers a chance to focus on the human dimension of rhetorical practice within mobile technologies and social networks: to reflect not only on the durable question of what it means to conduct oneself ethically as a speaker or writer, but also what it means to learn the art of rhetoric as a means to engage adversaries in war and conflict.

The volume examines the process of globalization from a genealogical point of view. By doing so, it offers a contribution to the understanding of the deep and critical spatial transformation reshaping our world from both a political and a conceptual point of view, taking into consideration recent developments including Brexit and the politics of Donald Trump. Focusing his analysis on the natural element of “air”, Vegetti provides an original approach to globalization. Following in the the footsteps of the German jurist and political theorist Carl Schmitt, Vegetti defines our global age as characterized by the transformation of the air into a concrete social space, first through the advent of airplanes, radio waves, and radar and now in the present-day structure of global networks.

At the conclusion of WWII, no part of the world experienced a more dramatic transformation than East Asia. The region's political stability throughout the postwar period prompted exponential economic growth that ultimately established South Korea, Japan, and China as East Asia's most important powers. While many citizens of these nations now live in a time of unprecedented prosperity, the arrangement that supported this region's transformation is fragile. With the second largest economy and a burgeoning military sector, China is widely acknowledged as the preeminent rising world power. The onus of maintaining balance in the region now rests primarily with South Korea and Japan in partnership with the United States. However, because of long-standing weaknesses in South Korea–Japan relations and an inconsistent US commitment to the region, the possibility that China could usher in a more uncertain era of revisionism has never been more likely.In Strengthening South Korea-Japan Relations: East Asia's International Order and a Rising China, Dennis Patterson and Jangsup Choi address the historical roots of this weak alliance. Combining decades of research with current public opinion data, the authors warn that the tendency of these nations to rely on the United States to maintain the status quo has become dangerously unstable. A new strategy, one of cooperation and collaboration, is needed to prevent China from upending the region's current liberal international order.

How can we approach the world and guide our thinking in the face of profound, myriad challenges? This is the ambitious question that animates the current volume. The book seeks to formulate these challenges and develop ways to tackle them through a set of wide-ranging interviews with leading intellectuals of our times, including Nancy Fraser, Seyla Benhabib, Michael Walzer and Etienne Balibar. Contributing fresh perspectives on current events – from the liberation of women’s voices to the crisis of secularism; from populism, the pandemic, and the rise of conspiracy theories to new forms of resistance – these essays show a refusal to lapse into rigid and reductive oppositions, instead providing critically nuanced interpretations of contemporary events and struggles. The collection brings together original and accessible points of view, selected by researchers from the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory at the University of Belgrade, in the pursuit of and safeguarding intellectual freedom.