Suchergebnisse

"Childhood Deployed examines the reintegration of former child soldiers in Sierra Leone. Based on eighteen months of participant-observer ethnographic fieldwork and ten years of follow-up research, the book argues that there is a fundamental disconnect between the Western idea of the child soldier and the individual lived experiences of the child soldiers of Sierra Leone. Susan Shepler contends that the reintegration of former child soldiers is a political process having to do with changing notions of childhood as one of the central structures of society.For most Westerners the tragedy of the idea of "child soldier" centers around perceptions of lost and violated innocence. In contrast, Shepler finds that for most Sierra Leoneans, the problem is not lost innocence but the horror of being separated from one's family and the resulting generational break in youth education. Further, Shepler argues that Sierra Leonean former child soldiers find themselves forced to strategically perform (or refuse to perform) as the"child soldier" Western human rights initiatives expect in order to most effectively gain access to the resources available for their social reintegration. The strategies don't always work--in some cases, Shepler finds, Western human rights initiatives do more harm than good.While this volume focuses on the well-known case of child soldiers in Sierra Leone, it speaks to the larger concerns of childhood studies with a detailed ethnography of people struggling over the situated meaning of the categories of childhood.It offers an example of the cultural politics of childhood in action, in which the very definition of childhood is at stake and an important site of political contestation"--

This book examines the long, complex experience of American involvement in irregular warfare. It begins with the American Revolution in 1776 and chronicles big and small irregular wars for the next two and a half centuries. What is readily apparent in dirty wars is that failure is painfully tangible while success is often amorphous. Successfully fighting these wars often entails striking a critical balance between military victory and politics. America's status as a democracy only serves to make fighting - and, to a greater degree, winning - these irregular wars even harder. Rather than futilely insisting that Americans should not or cannot fight this kind of irregular war, Russell Crandall argues that we would be better served by considering how we can do so as cleanly and effectively as possible

"The book explores how the United States' war on terrorism, in both Iraq and Afghanistan, has required the US military to employ thousands of contracted civilians working for US and foreign Private Military and Private Security Companies (PMSCs). The actions and operations of unsupervised PMSCs creates an environment that has the potential to not only negatively influence tactical US objectives, but could also harm strategic local capacity-building initiatives. Given the military and political importance of US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, this project provides a much-needed analysis of the interaction between commercial entities, military operations, and policy objectives. This analysis will also identify the reactions and policy responses to these security issues faced by the United States military today"--

"In 1964 Malcolm X was invited to debate at the Oxford Union Society at Oxford University. The topic of debate that evening was the infamous phrase from Barry Goldwater's 1964 Republican Convention speech:"Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice; moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." At a time when Malcolm was traveling widely and advocating on behalf of blacks in America and other nations, his thirty minute speech at the Oxford Union stands out as one of the great addresses of the civil rights era"--

Introduction Larry Diamond, Marc F. Plattner -- I. Democracy and liberty: universal values? -- Democracy as a universal value Amartya Sen -- Buddhism, Asian values, and democracy His Holiness The Dalai Lama -- Confucianism and democracy Francis Fukuyama -- Muslims and democracy Abdou Filali-Ansary -- How far can free government travel? Giovanni Sartori -- Democracy and liberty: the cultural connection Russell Bova -- From liberalism to liberal democracy Marc F. Plattner -- II. Consolidating democracy -- Toward consolidated democracies Juan J. Linz and Alfred Stepan -- Illusions about consolidation Guillermo O'Donnell -- O'Donnell's "illusions": a rejoinder Richard Gunther, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, and Hans Jürgen Puhle -- Illusions and conceptual flaws: a response Guillermo O'Donnell -- What is democratic consolidation? Andreas Schedler -- III. Foundations of successful democracy -- What makes democracies endure? Adam Przeworski, Michael E. Alvarez. José Antonio Cheibub, and Fernando Limongi -- Party systems in the third wave Scott Mainwaring -- What makes elections free and fair? Jørgen Elklit and Palle Svensson -- Federalism and democracy: beyond the U.S. model Alfred Stepan -- Markets, law, and democracy Charles Fried -- Free politics and free markets in Latin America Jorge I. Domínguez -- New jurisprudence for Africa H. Kwasi Prempeh -- How democracies control the military Richard H. Kohn -- IV. Prospects and challenges for democracy in the new century -- Quarter-century of declining confidence Susan J. Pharr, Robert D. Putnam, and Russell J. Dalton -- Latin America at the century's turn Abraham F. Lowenthal -- Postcommunist divide Jacques Rupnik -- Putin's Russia: one step forward, two steps back Michael McFaul -- Will China democratize? Michel Oksenberg -- Is Pakistan the (reverse) wave of the future? Larry Diamond

"This path-breaking book explores the new European energy policy, highlighting the significance of environmental policy concerns, instruments, and objectives vis-à-vis competing security and market dimensions in order to achieve an all-embracing EU energy policy perspective for the future. While the past years have witnessed unprecedented development of EU energy policy, the understanding of this process has lagged behind. Alongside the scarce literature on this emergent policy, there is also a gap regarding the attention paid to its different components. The study stems from the perception of a mismatch between the valuable debate that certain dimensions of energy policy - namely, energy security and the market and competition framework - have triggered and the neglect of its environmental and climate change dimensions."--Back cover

Rules of engagement -- Finally, Terry meets the pirates -- Piracy 101 -- Best management practices -- Should merchant ships be armed? -- Crime without punishment -- To pay or not to pay -- Attack on the Maersk Alabama -- Hostage in the lifeboat -- The rescue of Captain Phillips -- Chopstick diplomacy on the high seas -- Strategy and tactics -- A course to steer.