Download or read book Slow Anti Americanism written by Edward Schatz and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2021-01-26 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Negative views of the United States abound, but we know too little about how such views affect politics. Drawing on careful research on post-Soviet Central Asia, Edward Schatz argues that anti-Americanism is best seen not as a rising tide that swamps or as a conflagration that overwhelms. Rather, "America" is a symbolic resource that resides quietly in the mundane but always has potential value for social and political mobilizers. Using a wide range of evidence and a novel analytic framework, Schatz considers how Islamist movements, human rights activists, and labor mobilizers across Central Asia avail themselves of this fact, thus changing their ability to pursue their respective agendas. By refocusing our analytic gaze away from high politics, he affords us a clearer view of the slower-moving, partially occluded, and socially embedded processes that ground how "America" becomes political. In turn, we gain a nuanced appreciation of the downstream effects of US foreign policy choices and a sober sense of the challenges posed by the politics of traveling images. Most treatments of anti-Americanism focus on politics in the realm of presidential elections and foreign policies. By focusing instead on symbols, Schatz lays bare how changing public attitudes shift social relations in politically significant ways, and considers how changing symbolic depictions of the United States recombine the raw material available for social mobilizers. Just like sediment traveling along waterways before reaching its final destination, the raw material that constitutes symbolic America can travel among various social groups, and can settle into place to form the basis of new social meanings. Symbolic America, Schatz shows us, matters for politics in Central Asia and beyond.

Download or read book Rural Environment and Social Development Strategies for the Europe and Central Asia Region written by and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2000-01-01 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report proposes a World Bank strategy for assisting the rural, environmental, and social development of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. It has been produced for a general audience partly for consultation purposes, and is therefore a work in progress. Each of the three areas of development is examined in separate chapters, and each summarises the World Bank assistance strategy in that area. The conclusion is that the challenge posed by the objectives of this report are far beyond the World Bank's abilities to achieve on its own.

Download or read book Refocusing Central Asia written by Frantz Grenet and published by Collège de France. This book was released on 2016-03-17 with total page 27 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The notion of Central Asia emerged at a late stage, replacing that of “Tartary”, often associated with the Mongol Terror, in 1825 only. Two twentieth-century archaeological currents profoundly contributed to the revival of studies on this region: the French school led by the Délégation archéologique française en Afghanistan, and the Soviet school characterized by large multidisciplinary expeditions. The rediscovery of the region’s two main languages, Sogdian and Bactrian, has significantly furthered research on this cultural area encompassing Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan and Afghanistan.

Download or read book Environmental Crises in Central Asia written by Eric Freedman and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-10-23 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Environmental conditions do not exist in a vacuum. They are influenced by science, politics, history, public policy, culture, economics, public attitudes, and competing priorities, as well as past human decisions. In the case of Central Asia, such Soviet-era decisions include irrigation systems and physical infrastructure that are now crumbling, mine tailings that leach pollutants into soil and groundwater, and abandoned factories that are physically decrepit and contaminated with toxic chemicals. Environmental Crises in Central Asia highlights major environmental challenges confronting the region’s former Soviet republics: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. They include threats to the Caspian and Aral seas, the impact of climate change on glaciers, desertification, deforestation, destruction of habitat and biodiversity, radioactive and hazardous wastes, water quality and supply, energy exploration and development, pesticides and food security, and environmental health. The ramifications of these challenges cross national borders and may affect economic, political, and cultural relationships on a vast geographic scale. At the same time, the region’s five governments have demonstrated little resolve to address these complex challenges. This book is a valuable multi-disciplinary resource for academics, scholars, and policymakers in environmental sciences, geography, political science, natural resources, mass communications, public health, and economics.

Download or read book Critical Approaches to Security in Central Asia written by Edward Lemon and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-05-21 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Central Asia remains on the periphery, both spatially and in people’s imaginations. When the region does attract international attention, it is often related to security issues, including terrorism, ethnic conflict and drug trafficking. This book brings together leading specialists from a range of disciplines including geography, anthropology, sociology and political science to discuss how citizens and governments within Central Asia think about and practise security. The authors explore how governments use fears of instability to bolster their rule, and how securitized populations cope with (and resist) being labelled threats through strategies that are rarely associated with security, including marriage and changing their appearance. This collection examines a wide range of security issues including Islamic extremism, small arms, interethnic relations and border regions. While coverage of the region often departs from preconceived notions of the region as dangerous, obscure and volatile, the chapters in this book all place emphasis on the way local people understand security and harmony in their daily lives. This book will be of interest to students and researchers of Central Asian Studies as well as Security Studies and Political Science. The chapters were originally published in the journal Central Asian Survey.

Download or read book Private Sector Participation in the Power Sector in Europe and Central Asia written by Venkataraman Krishnaswamy and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2003 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Development in Central Asia and the Caucasus written by Sophie Hohmann and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2014-06-25 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After the final collapse of the Soviet Union, the so-called 'last empire', in 1991, the countries of Central Asia - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan - and of the Caucasus - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia - became independent nations. These countries, previously production centres under the socialist planning system of the Soviet Union, have made enormous economic adjustments in order to develop - or attempt to develop - along capitalist lines. As this study will show, however, inequality in Central Asia and the Caucasus is widening, as the Soviet systems of healthcare and state provisions disappear. Rejecting the Cold War-era East/West paradigm often used to analyse the development of these nations, this study analyses development along the North-South lines which characterise the migration patterns and poverty levels of much of the rest of the developed world. This opens up new avenues of research, and helps us understand why it is, for instance, that this region is better characterised as a 'new South' - as skilled workers flood out of the territories and into Russia and Western Europe. Development in Central Asia and the Caucasus draws together detailed analyses of the development of migration economics as the region's oil wealth further enhances its strategic and economic importance to Russia, the US, the Middle East and to the EU.

Download or read book Corruption as a Last Resort written by Kelly M. McMann and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2015-02-06 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why do ordinary people engage in corruption? Kelly M. McMann contends that bureaucrats, poverty, and culture do not force individuals in Central Asia to pay bribes, use connections, or sell political support. Rather, corruption is a last resort when relatives, groups in society, the market, and formal government programs cannot provide essential goods and services. Using evidence from her long-term research in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, McMann shows that Islamic institutions, secular charities, entrepreneurs, and banks cannot provide the jobs and credit people need. This drives individuals to illicitly seek employment and loans from government officials.A leading cause of this resource scarcity is market reform, as demonstrated by McMann's analysis of these countries as well as of Uzbekistan and global data. Market reform without supporting institutions, such as credit registries and antimonopoly measures, limits the resources available from the market and societal groups. McMann finds that in these circumstances only those individuals who have affluent relatives have an alternative to corruption.By focusing on ordinary people, McMann offers a new understanding of corruption. Previously, our knowledge was largely restricted to government officials' role in illicit exchanges. From her novel approach comes a useful policy insight: supplying ordinary people with alternatives to corruption is a fundamental and important anticorruption strategy.

Download or read book Anthropologists in the SecurityScape written by Robert Albro and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-06-16 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the military and intelligence communities re-tool for the 21st century, the long and contentious debate about the role of social scientists in national security environments is dividing the disciplines with renewed passion. Yet, research shows that most scholars have a weak understanding of what today's security institutions actually are and what working in them entails. This book provides an essential new foundation for the debate, with fine-grained accounts of the complex and varied work of cultural, physical, and linguistic anthropologists and archaeologists doing security-related work in governmental and military organizations, the private sector, and NGOs. In candid and provocative dialogues, leading anthropologists interrogate the dilemmas of ethics in practice and professional identity. Anthropologists in the SecurityScape is essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand or influence the relationship between anthropology and security in the twenty-first century.

Download or read book Improving Economic Instruments for Water Resources Management in the Republic of Buryatia Lake Baikal Basin written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2016-11-15 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A major challenge facing the Republic of Buryatia, subject of the Russian Federation, is how to balance the task of protecting Lake Baikal – a unique water object and ecological system included in the UNESCO list of World Natural Heritage Areas – with the need for dynamic and sustainable ...

Download or read book Thinking Strategically written by Robert Legvold and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first volume in a series focusing on security challenges posed by the former Soviet Union, addresses the economic, political, and security interests at stake in Kazakhstan for Russia, the US, China, Europe, and Japan.

Download or read book The New Players in Life Science Innovation written by Tomasz Mroczkowski and published by Pearson Education. This book was released on 2011-07-07 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The global center of gravity in life sciences innovation is rapidly shifting to emerging economies. In The New Players in Life Science Innovation, Tomasz Mroczkowski explains how China and other new economic powers are rapidly gaining leadership positions, and thoroughly assesses the implications. Mroczkowski discusses the sophisticated innovation strategies and reforms these nations have implemented: approaches that don't rely on market forces alone, and are achieving remarkable success. Next, he previews the emerging global "bio-economy," in which life science discoveries will be applied pervasively in markets ranging from health to fuels. As R&D in the West becomes increasingly costly, Mroczkowski introduces new options for partnering with new players in the field. He thoroughly covers the globalization of clinical trials, showing how it offers opportunities that go far beyond cost reduction, and assessing the unique challenges it presents. Offering examples from China to Dubai to India, he carefully assesses the business models driving today's newest centers of innovation. Readers will find up-to-date coverage of bioparks, technology zones, and emerging clusters, and realistic assessments of global R&D collaboration strategies such as those of Eli Lilly, Merck, Novartis, and IBM. With innovation-driven industries increasingly dominating the global economy, this book's insights are indispensable for every R&D decision-maker and investor.

Download or read book Still Ours to Lead written by Bruce Jones and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2014-03-17 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is the United States still a “superpower”? How are the rising powers establishing themselves in international politics and security? What is the future of global stability? For over a decade, Bruce Jones has had a front-row seat as the emerging powers—principally China, India, and Brazil, but also Turkey, Indonesia, Korea, and others—thrust themselves onto the global stage. From Delhi to Doha to Beijing to Brasilia, he’s met with the politicians, diplomats, business leaders, and scholars of those powers as they craft their strategies for rising influence—and with senior American officials as they forge their response. In Still Ours to Lead, Jones tells a nuanced story of American leadership. He artfully examines the tension between the impulse to rival the United States and the incentives for restraint and cooperation among the rising powers. That balance of rivalry and restraint provides the United States with a continued ability to solve problems and to manage crises at roughly the same rate as when American dominance was unquestioned. Maintaining the balance is central to the question of whether we will live in a stable or unstable system in the period to come. But it just so happens that this challenge plays to America’s unique strength—its unparalleled ability to pull together broad and disparate coalitions for action. To succeed, America must adapt its leadership to new realities.

Download or read book Central Asia Monitor written by and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 490 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book A Rising China and Security in East Asia written by Rex Li and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2008-11-21 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Rising China and Security in East Asia provides a systematic and in-depth analysis of the security discourse of Chinese elites on the major powers in East Asia, namely the US, Japan and Russia, and how China perceives their global security strategy.

Download or read book Understanding NATO in the 21st Century written by Graeme P. Herd and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-02-15 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Understanding NATO in the 21st Century enhances existing strategic debates and clarifies thinking as to the direction and scope of NATO’s potential evolution in the 21st century. The book seeks to identify the possible contours and trade-offs embedded within a potential third "Transatlantic Bargain" in the context of a U.S. strategic pivot in a "Pacific Century". To that end, it explores the internal adaptation of the Alliance, evaluates the assimilation of NATO's erstwhile adversaries, and provides a focus on NATO’s operational future and insights into the new threats NATO faces and its responses. Each contribution follows a similar broad tripartite structure: an examination of the historical context in which the given issue or topic has evolved; an identification and characterization of key contemporary policy debates and drivers that shape current thinking; and, on that basis, a presentation of possible future strategic pathways or scenarios relating to the topic area. This book will appeal to students of NATO, international security and international relations in general.

Download or read book After Empire written by Jed C. Snyder and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1997-02 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When the Soviet Union collapsed, no states were less prepared for independence than the 5 republics of Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan. This book includes papers and discussions presented at a conf. of scholars from the U.S., Russia, Europe, and the Middle East who gathered to examine the region's political, economic, social, and security evolution since 1989. The papers are arranged by themes: the struggle for identity; the roots of Islam in Central Asia: a brief primer; Moscow's security perspective, the commonwealth, and interstate relations; and security implications of the competition for influence among neighboring states.