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In the post-Soviet era, democracy has made little progress in Central Asia. In Chaos, Violence, Dynasty, Eric McGlinchey presents a compelling comparative study of the divergent political courses taken by Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan in the wake of Soviet rule. McGlinchey examines economics, religion, political legacies, foreign investment, and the ethnicity of these countries to evaluate the relative success of political structures in each nation. McGlinchey explains the impact of Soviet policy on the region, from Lenin to Gorbachev. Ruling from a distance, a minimally invasive system of patronage proved the most successful over time, but planted the seeds for current "neo-patrimonial" governments. The level of direct Soviet involvement during perestroika was the major determinant in the stability of ensuing governments. Soviet manipulations of the politics of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in the late 1980s solidified the role of elites, while in Kyrgyzstan the Soviets looked away as leadership crumbled during the ethnic riots of 1990. Today, Kyrgyzstan is the poorest and most politically unstable country in the region, thanks to a small, corrupt, and fractured political elite. In Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov maintains power through the brutal suppression of disaffected Muslims, who are nevertheless rising in numbers and influence. In Kazakhstan, a political machine fueled by oil wealth and patronage underlies the greatest economic equity in the region, and far less political violence. McGlinchey's timely study calls for a more realistic and flexible view of the successful aspects of authoritarian systems in the region that will be needed if there is to be any potential benefit from foreign engagement with the nations of Central Asia, and similar political systems globally

Foreword / Reza Aslan -- Introduction / Jeff Birkenstein, Anna Froula, and Karen Randell -- (Re)creating language. Fear, terrorism and popular culture / David L. Altheide -- The aesthetics of destruction : contemporary US cinema and TV culture / Mathias Nilges -- 9/11, British Muslims, and popular literary fiction / Sara Upstone -- Left behind in America : the army of one at the end of history / Jonathan Vincent -- 9/11, manhood, mourning, and the American romance / John Mead -- An early broadside : the far right raids Master and Commander : The far side of the world / Jeff Birkenstein -- The sound of the "war on terror" / Corey K. Creekmur -- Visions of war and terror. Avatars of destruction : cheerleading and deconstructing the "war on terror" in video games / David Annandale -- The land of the dead and the home of the brave : Romero's vision of a post 9/11 America / Terence McSweeney -- Superman is the faultline : fissures in the monomythic Man of steel / Alex Evans -- The tools and toys of (the) War (on Terror) : consumer desire, military fetish and regime change in Batman begins / Justine Toh -- "It was like a movie" : the impossibility of representation in Oliver Stone's World Trade Center (2006) / Karen Randell -- The contemporary politics of the western form : Bush, Saving Jessica Lynch, and Deadwood / Stacy Takacs -- Prophetic Narratives. Governing fear in the Iron cage of rationalism : Terry Gilliam's Brazil through the 9/11 looking glass / David Price -- -- Cultural anxiety, moral clarity and willful amnesia : filming Philip K. Dick after 9/11 / Lance Rubin -- Prolepsis and the "war on terror" : zombie pathology and the culture of fear in 28 days later / Anna Froula -- Afterword / John Cawelti

"For eight years the president of the United States was a born-again Christian, backed by well-organized evangelicals who often seemed intent on erasing the church-state divide. In Europe, the increasing number of radicalized Muslims is creating widespread fear that Islam is undermining Western-style liberal democracy. And even in polytheistic Asia, the development of democracy has been hindered in some countries, particularly China, by a long history in which religion was tightly linked to the state. Ian Buruma is the first writer to provide a sharpeyed look at the tensions between religion and politics on three continents. Drawing on many contemporary and historical examples, he argues that the violent passions inspired by religion must be tamed in order to make democracy work. Comparing the United States and Europe, Buruma asks why so many Americans - and so few Europeans - see religion as a help to democracy. Turning to China and Japan, he disputes the notion that only monotheistic religions pose problems for secular politics. Finally, he reconsiders the story of radical Islam in contemporary Europe, from the case of Salman Rushdie to the murder of Theo van Gogh. Sparing no one, Buruma exposes the follies of the current culture war between defenders of 'Western values' and 'multiculturalists, ' and explains that the creation of a democratic European Islam is not only possible, but necessary. Presenting a challenge to dogmatic believers and dogmatic secularists alike, Taming the Gods powerfully argues that religion and democracy can be compatible--but only if religious and secular authorities are kept firmly apart"--Provided by publisher.

Cover -- MILESTONE DOCUMENTS IN WORLD HISTORY Exploring the Primary Sources That Shaped the World -- Title -- Copyright -- CONTENTS -- EDITORIAL AND PRODUCTION STAFF -- PUBLISHER'S NOTE -- ADVISERS AND CONTRIBUTORS -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- READER'S GUIDE -- INTRODUCTION -- TEACHERS' ACTIVITY GUIDES -- VOLUME 1: 2350 BCE-1058 CE -- REFORM EDICT OF URUKAGINA -- CODE OF HAMMURABI -- HITTITE LAWS -- DIVINE BIRTH AND CORONATION INSCRIPTIONS OF HATSHEPSUT -- EGYPTIAN-HITTITE PEACE TREATY -- MIDDLE ASSYRIAN LAWS -- VICTORY STELA OF PIANKHI -- "MANDATE OF HEAVEN: THE NUMEROUS OFFICERS" -- TWELVE TABLES OF ROMAN LAW -- FUNERAL ORATION OF PERICLES -- PLATO'S "ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE" -- CONSTITUTION OF SPARTA -- CONSTITUTION OF CARTHAGE -- ATHENIAN CONSTITUTION -- CANON OF FILIAL PIETY -- ROCK AND PILLAR EDICTS OF AŚOKA -- DISCOURSES ON SALT AND IRON -- LAW OF CAESAR ON MUNICIPALITIES -- DEEDS OF THE DIVINE AUGUSTUS -- POPOL VUH -- LAWS ENDING PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE -- THEODOSIAN CODE -- CODE OF JUSTINIAN -- PRINCE SHŌTOKU'S SEVENTEEN-ARTICLE CONSTITUTION -- NEW YEAR'S DAY TAIKA REFORM EDICT -- CAPITULARY OF CHARLEMAGNE -- HAN YU'S "MEMORIAL ON THE BUDDHA'S BONES" -- II AETHELSTAN, OR THE GRATELY CODE -- WANG KǑN'S TEN INJUNCTIONS -- RUSSKAIA PRAVDA, OR JUSTICE OF THE RUS -- AL-MĀWARDĪ'S "ON QĀḌĪS" -- VOLUME 2: 1082-1833 -- KAI KAUS ON THE PURCHASE OF SLAVES -- DOMESDAY BOOK -- NIẒĀM AL-MULK'S BOOK OF GOVERNMENT -- OR, RULES FOR KINGS -- URBAN II'S CALL TO CRUSADE -- CONSTITUTIONS OF CLARENDON -- USAMA IBN MUNQIDH'S "A MUSLIM VIEW OF THE CRUSADERS" -- GREAT YASA OF CHINGGIS KHAN -- MAGNA CARTA -- BONIFACE VIII'S CLERICIS LAICOS AND UNAM SANCTAM -- MARCO POLO'S DESCRIPTION OF HANGZHOU -- IBN KHALDŪN'S "SOCIAL SOLIDARITY" -- CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS'S LETTER TO RAPHAEL SANXIS ON THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA -- NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI'S THE PRINCE.

Britain's precipitous and ill-planned disengagement from India in 1947--condemned as a shameful flight by Winston Churchill--had a truly catastrophic effect on South Asia, leaving hundreds of thousands of people dead in its wake and creating a legacy of chaos, hatred, and war that has lasted over half a century. Ranging from the fall of Singapore in 1942 to the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in 1948, Shameful Flight provides a vivid behind-the-scenes look at Britain's decision to divest itself from the crown jewel of its empire. Stanley Wolpert, a leading authority on Indian history, paints memorable portraits of all the key participants, including Gandhi, Churchill, Attlee, Nehru, and Jinnah, with special focus on British viceroy, Lord Louis Mountbatten. Wolpert places the blame for the catastrophe largely on Mountbatten, the flamboyant cousin of the king, who rushed the process of nationhood along at an absurd pace. The viceroy's worst blunder was the impetuous drawing of new border lines through the middle of Punjab and Bengal. Virtually everyone involved advised Mountbatten that to partition those provinces was a calamitous mistake that would unleash uncontrollable violence. Indeed, as Wolpert shows, civil unrest among Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs escalated as Independence Day approached, and when the new boundary lines were announced, arson, murder, and mayhem erupted. Partition uprooted over ten million people, 500,000 to a million of whom died in the ensuing inferno. Here then is the dramatic story of a truly pivotal moment in the history of India, Pakistan, and Britain, an event that ignited fires of continuing political unrest that still burn in South Asia.

Do you ever wonder why conservative pundits drop the word "faggot" or talk about killing and then Christianizing Muslims abroad? Do you wonder why the right's spokespeople seem so confrontational, rude, and over-the-top recently? Does it seem strange that conservative books have such apocalyptic titles? Do you marvel at why conservative writers trumpeted the "rebel" qualities of George W. Bush just a few years back? There is no doubt that the style of the political right today is tough, brash, and by many accounts, not very conservative sounding. After all, isn't conservatism supposed to be about maintaining standards, upholding civility, and frowning upon rebellion? Historian Kevin Mattson explains the apparent contradictions of the party in this fresh examination of the postwar conservative mind. Examining a big cast of characters that includes William F. Buckley, Whittaker Chambers, Norman Podhoretz, Irving Kristol, Kevin Phillips, David Brooks, and others, Mattson shows how right-wing intellectuals have always, but in different ways, played to the populist and rowdy tendencies in America's political culture. He boldly compares the conservative intellectual movement to the radical utopians among the New Left of the 1960s and he explains how conservatism has ingested central features of American culture, including a distrust of sophistication and intellectualism and a love of popular culture, sensation, shock, and celebrity. Both a work of history and political criticism, Rebels All! shows how the conservative mind made itself appealing, but also points to its endemic problems. Mattson's conclusion outlines how a recast liberalism should respond to the conservative ascendancy that has marked our politics for the last thirty years

Philosophising in Mombasa provides an approach to the anthropological study of philosophical discourses in the Swahili context of Mombasa, Kenya. In this historically established Muslim environment, at the dawn of the twenty-first century, philosophy is investigated as social discourse and intellectual practice, situated in everyday life. This is done from the perspective of an 'anthropology of philosophy', a project which is spelled out in the opening chapter. Entry-points and guidelines for the ethnography are provided by discussions of Swahili literary genres, life histories, and social debates. From here, local discourses of knowledge are described and analysed. The social environment and discursive dynamics of the Old Town are portrayed, firstly, by means of following and contextualising informal discussions among neighbours and friends at daily meeting points in the streets; and secondly, by presenting and discussing in-depth case studies of local intellectuals and their contributions to moral and intellectual debates within the community. Taking recurrent internal discussions on social affairs, politics, and appropriate Islamic conduct as a focus, this study sheds light on local practices of critique and reflection. In particular, three local intellectuals (two poets, one Islamic scholar) are portrayed against the background of regional intellectual history, Islamic scholarship, as well as common public debates and private discussions. The three contextual portrayals discuss exemplary issues for the wider field of research on philosophical discourse in Mombasa and the Swahili context on the whole, with reference to the lives and projects of distinct individual thinkers. Ultimately, the study directs attention beyond the regional and the African contexts, towards the anthropological study of knowledge and intellectual practice around the world.

Intro -- Cover -- Half-Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Notes on Contributors -- Introduction -- Part I Genealogies -- Introduction: Genealogies -- 1 'It's All About the Benjamins': Economic Determinants of Third Wave Feminism in the United States -- 2 Contests for the Meaning of Third Wave Feminism: Feminism and Popular Consciousness -- 3 Feminist Dissonance: The Logic of Late Feminism -- 4 'Feminists Love a Utopia': Collaboration, Conflict, and the Futures of Feminism -- 5 Interview with Elaine Showalter -- Part II Sex and Gender -- Introduction: Sex and Gender -- 6 Kristeva and the Trans-missions of the Intertext: Signs, Mothers and Speaking in Tongues -- 7 On the Genealogy of Women: A Defence of Anti-Essentialism -- 8 'You're Not One of Those Boring Masculinists, Are You?' The Question of Male-Embodied Feminism -- 9 Finding Ourselves: Postmodern Identities and the Transgender Movement -- 10 Qu(e)erying Pornography: Contesting Identity Politics in Feminism -- Part III Popular Culture -- Introduction: Popular Culture -- 11 'Wake Up and Smell the Lipgloss': Gender, Generation and the (A)politics of Girl Power -- 12 (Un)fashionable Feminists: The Media and Ally McBeal -- 13 'Kicking Ass is Comfort Food': Buffy as Third Wave Feminist Icon -- 14 'Wham! Bam! Thank You Ma'am!': The New Public/Private Female Action Hero -- 15 Neither Cyborg Nor Goddess: The (Im)Possibilities of Cyberfeminism -- Part IV Challenges -- Introduction: Challenges -- 16 Wa(i)ving it All Away: Producing Subject and Knowledge in Feminisms of Colour -- 17 Muslim Feminism in the Third Wave: A Reflective Inquiry -- 18 Ecofeminism as Third Wave Feminism? Essentialism, Activism and the Academy -- 19 What Happened to Global Sisterhood? Writing and Reading 'the' Postcolonial Woman.

Intro -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Note on Transliteration -- Introduction / Nikki R. Keddie -- Part I: Overviews -- 1. Iranian Culture and South Asia, 1500-1900 / Juan R. I. Cole -- 2. Beyond Translation: Interactions between English and Persian Poetry / Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak -- 3. Turk, Persian, and Arab: Changing Relationships between Tribes and State in Iran and along Its Frontiers / Thomas J. Barfield -- Part II: The Safavid, Qajar, and Pahlavi Periods -- 4. The Early Safavids and Their Cultural Interactions with Surrounding States / Abolala Soudavar -- 5. Suspicion, Fear, and Admiration: Pre-Nineteenth-Century Iranian Views of the English and the Russians / Rudi Matthee -- 6. The Quest for the Secret of Strength in Iranian Nineteenth-Century Travel Literature: Rethinking Tradition in the "Safarnameh" / Monica M. Ringer -- 7. Cultures of Iranianness: The Evolving Polemic of Iranian Nationalism / Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet -- 8. Foreign Education, the Women's Press, and the Discourse of Scientific Domesticity in Early-Twentieth-Century Iran / Jasamin Rostam-Kolayi -- Part III: Culture in the Islamic Republic in Relation to the World -- 9. International Connections of the Iranian Women's Movement / Nayereh Tohidi -- 10. The Presentation of the "Self" and the "Other" in Postrevolutionary Iranian School Textbooks / Golnar Mehran -- 11. Cinematic Exchange Relations: Iran and the West / Hamid Naficy -- Part IV: Political-Cultural Relations with the Muslim World -- 12. The Failed Pan-Islamic Program of the Islamic Republic: Views of the Liberal Reformers of the Religious "Semi-Opposition" / Wilfried Buchta -- 13. Revolutionary Iran and Egypt: Exporting Inspirations and Anxieties / Asef Bayat and Bahman Baktiari -- 14. The Iranian Revolution and Changes in Islamism in Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan / Vali Nasr.

Where China meets Southeast Asia : social and cultural change in the border regions -- Contents -- Contributors -- Introduction: The Disappearing Frontier? by The Editors -- 1. Where Nothing Is as It Seems: Between Southeast China and Mainland Southeast Asia in the "Post-Socialist" Era by Peter Hinton -- 2. The Southern Chinese Borders in History by Geoff Wade -- 3. Ecology Without Borders by Su Yongge -- 4. Negotiating Central, Provincial, and County Policies: Border Trading in South China by Kuah Khun Eng -- 5. The Hmong of the Southeast Asia Massif: Their Recent History of Migration by Jean Michaud and Christian Culas -- 6. Regional Trade in Northwestern Laos: An Initial Assessment of the Economic Quadrangle by Andrew Walker -- 7. Lue across Borders: Pilgrimage and the Muang Sing Reliquary in Northern Laos by Paul T. Cohen -- 8. Transformation of Jinghong, Xishuangbanna, PRC by Grant Evans -- 9. The Hell of Good Intentions: Some Preliminary Thoughts on Opium in the Political Ecology of the Trade in Girls and Women by David A. Feingold -- 10. Cross-Border Mobility and Social Networks: Akha Caravan Traders Mika Toyota -- 11. Cross-Border Links between Muslims in Yunnan and Northern Thailand: Identity and Economic Networks by Jean Berlie -- 12. Trade Activities of the Hoa along the Sino-Vietnamese Border by Chau Thi Hai -- 13. Cross-Border Categories: Ethnic Chinese and the Sino-Vietnamese Border at Mong Cai by Christopher Hutton -- 14. Regional Development and Cross-Border Cultural Linkage: The Case of a Vietnamese Community in Guangxi, China by Cheung Siu-woo -- 15. Women and Social Change along the Vietnam-Guangxi Border by Xie Guangmao -- Index.

Verlagsinfo: This is the first history of Mozambique from the 15th century to the present. The Mozambican people have had contact with Muslim and European traders for nearly 1000 years, and their history is given a unity by the influence of commerce and seaborne trade. Indeed Mozambique itself consists of a series of ancient sea and river ports with their commercial hinterlands. Through 21 chapters the book traces two major themes: the gradual development of forms of overall political control - by the Karanga and Maravi ruling dynasties, Afro-Portuguese feudal families, the Nguni military monarchies and the chiefs and sheikhs who ran the slave trade - and the periodic crises that led to disintegration and social dislocation. Disintegration, often associated with drought and ecological disaster, led to a recurring pattern of banditry, and the breakdown of society into warring factions. Although its frontiers were drawn in 1891, Mozambique did not become a unified state till the 1930s, and many of these themes continued during the colonial era, the large concession companies taking over from Nguni and Afro-Portuguese chiefs in providing a form of feudal political control. Under the Portuguese colonial administration Mozambique provided railway and port facilities for South and Central Africa while large areas became in effect labour reserves. A thriving plantation economy also developed, the country becoming a leading producer of cash crops. An extended final chapter looks at Mozambique since independence, when the country's development fell victim to South Africa's attempts to destabilise its neighbours, and its fragile institutions were broken down once again by banditry and drought.