Download or read book The Politics of Operations written by Sandro Mezzadra and published by Duke University Press. This book was released on 2019-02-14 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Politics of Operations Sandro Mezzadra and Brett Neilson investigate how capital reshapes its relation with politics through operations that enable the extraction and exploitation of mineral resources, labor, data, and cultures. They show how capital—which they theorize as a direct political actor—operates through the logistical organization of relations between people, property, and objects as well as through the penetration of financialization into all realms of economic life. Mezzadra and Neilson present a capacious analysis of a wide range of issues, from racial capitalism, the convergence of neoliberalism and nationalism, and Marx's concept of aggregate capital to the financial crisis of 2008 and how colonialism, empire, and globalization have shaped the modern state since World War II. In so doing, they illustrate the distinctive rationality and logics of contemporary capitalism while calling for a politics based on collective institutions that exist outside the state.

Download or read book Turning Operations written by Mary Dietz and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-01-28 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Through the re-interpretation of influential thinkers such as Arendt, Weil, Beauvoir and Habermas, Mary G. Dietz weds the concerns of demcratic thought with that of feminist political theory, demonstrating how important feminist theory has become to democratic thinking more generally. Bringing together fifteen years of commentary on critical debates, Turning Operations begins with problems central to feminism and ends with a series of reflections on the "the politics of politics," inviting the reader to think more expansively about the expressly public nature of political life.

Download or read book The Politics of Military Force written by Frank Stengel and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2020-12-08 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Politics of Military Force examines the dynamics of discursive change that made participation in military operations possible against the background of German antimilitarist culture. Once considered a strict taboo, so-called out-of-area operations have now become widely considered by German policymakers to be without alternative. The book argues that an understanding of how certain policies are made possible (in this case, military operations abroad and force transformation), one needs to focus on processes of discursive change that result in different policy options appearing rational, appropriate, feasible, or even self-evident. Drawing on Essex School discourse theory, the book develops a theoretical framework to understand how discursive change works, and elaborates on how discursive change makes once unthinkable policy options not only acceptable but even without alternative. Based on a detailed discourse analysis of more than 25 years of German parliamentary debates, The Politics of Military Force provides an explanation for: (1) the emergence of a new hegemonic discourse in German security policy after the end of the Cold War (discursive change), (2) the rearticulation of German antimilitarism in the process (ideational change/norm erosion) and (3) the resulting making-possible of military operations and force transformation (policy change). In doing so, the book also demonstrates the added value of a poststructuralist approach compared to the naive realism and linear conceptions of norm change so prominent in the study of German foreign policy and International Relations more generally.

Download or read book Laws of Politics written by Alfred G. Cuzán and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-08-23 with total page 155 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing on classic and contemporary scholarship and empirical analysis of elections and public expenditures in 80 countries, the author argues for the existence of primary and secondary laws of politics. Starting with how basic elements of politics—leadership, organization, ideology, resources, and force—coalesce in the formation of states, he proceeds to examine the operations of those laws in democracies and dictatorships. Primary laws constrain the support that incumbents draw from the electorate, limiting their time in office. They operate unimpeded in democracies. Secondary laws describe the general tendency of the state to expand vis-à-vis economy and society. They exert their greatest force in one-party states imbued with a totalitarian ideology. The author establishes the primary laws in a rigorous analysis of 1,100 parliamentary and presidential elections in 80 countries, plus another 1,000 U.S. gubernatorial elections. Evidence for the secondary laws is drawn from public expenditure data series, with findings presented in easily grasped tables and graphs. Having established these laws quantitatively, the author uses Cuba as a case study, adding qualitative analysis and a practical application to propose a constitutional framework for a future Cuban democracy. Written in an engaging, jargon-free style, this enlightening book will be of great interest to students and scholars in political science, especially those specializing in comparative politics, as well as opinion leaders and engaged citizens.

Download or read book Civil Military Relations in Indonesia written by Muhamad Haripin and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-09-04 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines military operations other than war (MOOTW) of the Indonesian military in the post-Suharto period and argues that the twin development of democratic consolidation, marked by ‘stable’ civil–military relations from 2004 to 2014 under Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s presidency, and internationalization of the military have not yet entirely de-politicized the armed forces. This book shows how peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and counter-terror missions have been reinvented by the Indonesian military (Tentara Nasional Indonesia, TNI) to adhere to its politico-institutional interests rather than to divert military attention from politics. In contrast with conventional arguments about the rationale of MOOTW in promoting military professionalism, this book provides the first critical analysis of the development of these missions and correlates them with TNI’s concerted effort to preserve territorial command structure – a military network that parallels the civilian bureaucracy down to the village level. The book argues that the military in Indonesia remains domestically political amidst high intensity of international activism. A detailed investigation of civil–military relations in Indonesia, this book will be of interest to scholars in the fields of Southeast Asian studies and Asian politics, and more generally to those interested in civil–military relations, military politics, and MOOTW.

Download or read book The Darkest Sides of Politics I written by Jeffrey M. Bale and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-09-04 with total page 587 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines a wide array of phenomena that arguably constitute the most noxious, extreme, terrifying, murderous, secretive, authoritarian, and/or anti-democratic aspects of national and international politics. Scholars should not ignore these "dark sides" of politics, however unpleasant they may be, since they influence the world in a multitude of harmful ways. The first volume in this two-volume collection focuses on the history of underground neo-fascist networks in the post-World War II era; neo-fascist paramilitary and terrorist groups operating in Europe and Latin America in the 1960s and 1970s; and the manipulation of those and other terrorist organizations by the security forces of various states, both authoritarian and democratic. A range of global case studies are included, all of which focus on the lesser known activities of certain secular extremist milieus. This collection should prove to be essential reading for students and researchers interested in understanding seemingly arcane but nonetheless important dimensions of recent historical and contemporary politics.

Download or read book Covert Regime Change written by Lindsey A. O'Rourke and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2018-12-15 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: States seldom resort to war to overthrow their adversaries. They are more likely to attempt to covertly change the opposing regime, by assassinating a foreign leader, sponsoring a coup d’état, meddling in a democratic election, or secretly aiding foreign dissident groups. In Covert Regime Change, Lindsey A. O’Rourke shows us how states really act when trying to overthrow another state. She argues that conventional focus on overt cases misses the basic causes of regime change. O’Rourke provides substantive evidence of types of security interests that drive states to intervene. Offensive operations aim to overthrow a current military rival or break up a rival alliance. Preventive operations seek to stop a state from taking certain actions, such as joining a rival alliance, that may make them a future security threat. Hegemonic operations try to maintain a hierarchical relationship between the intervening state and the target government. Despite the prevalence of covert attempts at regime change, most operations fail to remain covert and spark blowback in unanticipated ways. Covert Regime Change assembles an original dataset of all American regime change operations during the Cold War. This fund of information shows the United States was ten times more likely to try covert rather than overt regime change during the Cold War. Her dataset allows O’Rourke to address three foundational questions: What motivates states to attempt foreign regime change? Why do states prefer to conduct these operations covertly rather than overtly? How successful are such missions in achieving their foreign policy goals?

Download or read book The Security Archipelago written by Paul Amar and published by Duke University Press. This book was released on 2013-07-12 with total page 325 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Security Archipelago, Paul Amar provides an alternative historical and theoretical framing of the refashioning of free-market states and the rise of humanitarian security regimes in the Global South by examining the pivotal, trendsetting cases of Brazil and Egypt. Addressing gaps in the study of neoliberalism and biopolitics, Amar describes how coercive security operations and cultural rescue campaigns confronting waves of resistance have appropriated progressive, antimarket discourses around morality, sexuality, and labor. The products of these struggles—including powerful new police practices, religious politics, sexuality identifications, and gender normativities—have traveled across an archipelago, a metaphorical island chain of what the global security industry calls "hot spots." Homing in on Cairo and Rio de Janeiro, Amar reveals the innovative resistances and unexpected alliances that have coalesced in new polities emerging from the Arab Spring and South America's Pink Tide. These have generated a shared modern governance model that he terms the "human-security state."

Download or read book Peace Operations written by Paul F. Diehl and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-08-26 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Peacekeeping has gradually evolved to encompass a broad range of different conflict management missions and techniques, which are incorporated under the term "peace operations." Well over 100 missions have been deployed, the vast majority within the last twenty years. This book provides an overview of the central issues surrounding the development, operation, and effectiveness of peace operations. Among many features, the book: Traces the historical development of peace operations from their origins in the early 20th century through the development of modern peacebuilding missions. Tracks changes over time in the size, mission, and organization of peace operations. Analyses different organizational, financial, and troop provisions for peace operations, as well as assessing alternatives. Lays out criteria for evaluating peace operations and details the conditions under which such operations are successful. As peace operations become the primary mechanism of conflict management used by the UN and regional organizations, understanding their problems and potential is essential for a more secure world. Drawing on a wide range of examples from those between Israel and her neighbors to more recent operations in Somalia and the Congo, this book brings together the body of scholarly research on peace operations to address those concerns. It will be an indispensable guide for students, practitioners and general readers wanting to broaden their knowledge of the possibilities and limits of peace operations today.

Download or read book On War written by Carl von Clausewitz and published by . This book was released on 1908 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book EU Foreign Policy and Crisis Management Operations written by Benjamin Pohl and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-03-21 with total page 231 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the drivers of the EU’s recent forays into peace- and state-building operations. Since the Union’s European (now Common) Security and Defence Policy (ESDP/CSDP) became operational in 2003, the EU has conducted more than 20 civilian and military operations that broadly served to either deter aggression in host countries, and/or to build or strengthen the rule of law. This sudden burst of EU activity in the realm of external security is interesting from both a scholarly and a policy perspective. On one hand, institutionalised cooperation in the field of foreign, security and defence policy challenges the mainstream in IR theory which holds that in such sovereignty-sensitive areas cooperation would necessarily be limited. On the other hand, the sheer quantity of operations suggests that the ESDP may represent a potentially significant feature of global governance. In order to understand the drivers behind CSDP, EU Foreign Policy and Crisis Management Operations analyses the policy output in this area, including the operations conducted in the CSDP framework. Up until now, many studies inferred the logic behind CSDP from express intentions, institutional developments and (the potential of) pooled capabilities. By mining the rich data that CSDP operations represent in terms of the motives and ambitions of EU governments for the CSDP, this book advances our understanding of the framework at large. This book will be of much interest to students of European Security, EU policy, peacebuilding, statebuilding, and IR.

Download or read book Administrative Burden written by Pamela Herd and published by Russell Sage Foundation. This book was released on 2019-01-09 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the 2020 Outstanding Book Award Presented by the Public and Nonprofit Section of the National Academy of Management Winner of the 2019 Louis Brownlow Book Award from the National Academy of Public Administration Bureaucracy, confusing paperwork, and complex regulations—or what public policy scholars Pamela Herd and Donald Moynihan call administrative burdens—often introduce delay and frustration into our experiences with government agencies. Administrative burdens diminish the effectiveness of public programs and can even block individuals from fundamental rights like voting. In AdministrativeBurden, Herd and Moynihan document that the administrative burdens citizens regularly encounter in their interactions with the state are not simply unintended byproducts of governance, but the result of deliberate policy choices. Because burdens affect people’s perceptions of government and often perpetuate long-standing inequalities, understanding why administrative burdens exist and how they can be reduced is essential for maintaining a healthy public sector. Through in-depth case studies of federal programs and controversial legislation, the authors show that administrative burdens are the nuts-and-bolts of policy design. Regarding controversial issues such as voter enfranchisement or abortion rights, lawmakers often use administrative burdens to limit access to rights or services they oppose. For instance, legislators have implemented administrative burdens such as complicated registration requirements and strict voter-identification laws to suppress turnout of African American voters. Similarly, the right to an abortion is legally protected, but many states require women seeking abortions to comply with burdens such as mandatory waiting periods, ultrasounds, and scripted counseling. As Herd and Moynihan demonstrate, administrative burdens often disproportionately affect the disadvantaged who lack the resources to deal with the financial and psychological costs of navigating these obstacles. However, policymakers have sometimes reduced administrative burdens or shifted them away from citizens and onto the government. One example is Social Security, which early administrators of the program implemented in the 1930s with the goal of minimizing burdens for beneficiaries. As a result, the take-up rate is about 100 percent because the Social Security Administration keeps track of peoples’ earnings for them, automatically calculates benefits and eligibility, and simply requires an easy online enrollment or visiting one of 1,200 field offices. Making more programs and public services operate this efficiently, the authors argue, requires adoption of a nonpartisan, evidence-based metric for determining when and how to institute administrative burdens, with a bias toward reducing them. By ensuring that the public’s interaction with government is no more onerous than it need be, policymakers and administrators can reduce inequality, boost civic engagement, and build an efficient state that works for all citizens.

Download or read book The Politics of Space and Place written by Bob Brecher and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2013-01-03 with total page 295 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What might an analysis of politics which focuses on the operation of power through space and place, and on the spatial structuring of inequality, tell us about the world we make for ourselves and others? From the national border to the wire fence; from the privatisation of land to the exclusion and expulsion of persecuted peoples; questions of space and place, of who can be where and what they can do there, are at the very heart of the most important political debates of our time. Bringing together an interdisciplinary collection of authors deploying diverse perspectives and methodological approaches, this book responds to the pressing demand to reflect on and engage with some of the key questions raised by a political analysis of space and place. Its chapters chart the ways in which inequality and exclusion are played out in spatial terms, exploring the operations of power and resistance at the micro-level of the individual home and small community, analysing modes of securitisation and fortification utilised in the interests of wealth and power, and documenting the ways in which space and place are being transformed by changing socio-economic and cultural demands. As well as analysing the ways in which forms of exclusion and persecution are manifest spatially, the chapters in this book also attend to the forms of resistance and contestation which emerge in response to them. Resistance is found in the persistence of those who build and rebuild their homes and communities in a world which seems bent on their exclusion. At the same time life on the peripheries can give rise to new conceptions of citizenship and public space as well as to new political demands which seek to (re)claim space and contest the dominant order. Bringing together scholars working in fields as diverse as political science, geography, international studies, cultural anthropology, architecture, political philosophy and the visual arts, this book offers readers access to a range of contemporary case studies and theoretical perspectives. Relevant, timely and thoroughly accessible, this text offers an integrated approach to what can be a dauntingly diverse area of study and will be of interest not only to those working in fields such as architecture, political theory and geography but also to non-specialists and students.

Download or read book Command written by LAWRENCE. FREEDMAN and published by . This book was released on 2023-12 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Using examples from a wide variety of conflicts, Lawrence Freedman shows that successful military command depends on the ability not only to use armed forces effectively but also to understand the political circumstances in which they are operating. Command in war is about forging effective strategies and implementing them, making sure that orders are appropriate, well communicated, and then obeyed. But it is also an intensely political process. This is because of the importance of war aims and how they are set, as well as the need to work with other command structures, including those of other branches of the armed forces and allies. In this innovative study, Lawrence Freedman explores the importance of political as well as operational considerations in command with a series of vivid case studies, all taken from the period after 1945. Over this period the risks of nuclear escalation led to a shift away from great power confrontations, and towards civil wars. The chapters cover defeats as well as victories. Pakistani generals try to avoid surrender as they lose the eastern part of their country to India in 1971. Iraq's Saddam Hussein turns his defeats into triumphant narratives of victory. Osama bin Laden escapes the Americans in Afghanistan in 2001. The UK struggles as a junior partner to the US in Iraq after 2003. We come across insubordinate generals, such as Israel's Arik Sharon, and those in the French army in Algeria, so frustrated with their political leadership that they twice tried to change it. At the other end of the scale Che Guevara in Congo in 1966 and Igor Girkin in Ukraine in 2014 both try to spark local wars to suit their grandiose objectives.

Download or read book Globalization A Very Short Introduction written by Manfred B. Steger and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-05-28 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We live today in an interconnected world in which ordinary people can became instant online celebrities to fans thousands of miles away, in which religious leaders can influence millions globally, in which humans are altering the climate and environment, and in which complex social forces intersect across continents. This is globalization. In the fifth edition of his bestselling Very Short Introduction Manfred B. Steger considers the major dimensions of globalization: economic, political, cultural, ideological, and ecological. He looks at its causes and effects, and engages with the hotly contested question of whether globalization is, ultimately, a good or a bad thing. From climate change to the Ebola virus, Donald Trump to Twitter, trade wars to China's growing global profile, Steger explores today's unprecedented levels of planetary integration as well as the recent challenges posed by resurgent national populism. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Download or read book Lie Machines written by Philip N. Howard and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2020-05-01 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Technology is breaking politics – what can be done about it? Artificially intelligent “bot” accounts attack politicians and public figures on social media. Conspiracy theorists publish junk news sites to promote their outlandish beliefs. Campaigners create fake dating profiles to attract young voters. We live in a world of technologies that misdirect our attention, poison our political conversations, and jeopardize our democracies. With massive amounts of social media and public polling data, and in depth interviews with political consultants, bot writers, and journalists, Philip N. Howard offers ways to take these “lie machines” apart. Lie Machines is full of riveting behind the scenes stories from the world’s biggest and most damagingly successful misinformation initiatives—including those used in Brexit and U.S. elections. Howard not only shows how these campaigns evolved from older propaganda operations but also exposes their new powers, gives us insight into their effectiveness, and shows us how to shut them down.

Download or read book The Dilemmas of Statebuilding written by Roland Paris and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2009-01-13 with total page 636 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the contradictions that emerge in international statebuilding efforts in war-torn societies. Since the end of the Cold War, more than 20 major peace operations have been deployed to countries emerging from internal conflicts. This book argues that international efforts to construct effective, legitimate governmental structures in these countries are necessary but fraught with contradictions and vexing dilemmas.. Drawing on the latest scholarly research on postwar peace operations, the volume: addresses cutting-edge issues of statebuilding including coordination, local ownership, security, elections, constitution making, and delivery of development aid features contributions by leading and up-and-coming scholars provides empirical case studies including Afghanistan, Cambodia, Croatia, Kosovo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and others presents policy-relevant findings of use to students and policymakers alike The Dilemmas of Statebuilding will be vital reading for students and scholars of international relations and political science. Bringing new insights to security studies, international development, and peace and conflict research, it will also interest a range of policy makers.