SUP Security Studies

SUP Security Studies http://www.sup.org/rss/security.xml The latest titles from Stanford University Press en-us Copyright 2008 Stanford University Press webmaster@www.sup.org (Webmaster) In the Wake of War: Democratization and Internal Armed Conflict in Latin America In the Wake of War: Democratization and Internal Armed Conflict in Latin America Edited by Cynthia J. Arnson "This book is invaluable and there is a need for it. It is important to try to assess the longer-term legacy of civil war in Latin America."—Cynthia McClintock, George Washington University "The authors pull together rich and detailed insights from the most remote corners of Latin America, which are complemented by comparative analyses and regional perspectives."—David Shirk, University of San Diego <center><a href="http://www.sup.org/book.cgi?id=21413">To buy this book or view bibliographic details, click here.</a></center> In the Wake of War assesses the consequences of civil war for democratization in Latin America, focusing on questions of state capacity. Contributors focus on seven countries—Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru—where state weakness fostered conflict and the task of state reconstruction presents multiple challenges. In addition to case studies, the book explores cross-cutting themes including the role of the international community in supporting peace, the explosion of post-war criminal and social violence, and the value of truth and historical clarification. This book completes a fifteen-year project, "Program on Comparative Peace Processes in Latin America," which also led to the 1999 publication of the book Comparative Peace Processes in Latin America. Cynthia J. Arnson is director of the Latin American Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. http://www.sup.org/rss/book_rss.cgi?id=21413 http://www.sup.org/rss/book_rss.cgi?id=21413 Over the Horizon Proliferation Threats Over the Horizon Proliferation Threats Edited by James J. Wirtz and Peter R. Lavoy "Anyone seriously interested in the problem of proliferation—practitioners in the world's defense and arms control establishments, participants in the NGO world, senior scholars, and newcomers to these questions—will want and need to keep a copy of Over the Horizon Proliferation Threats at hand."—Edward Rhodes, Dean, School of Public Policy, George Mason University <center><a href="http://www.sup.org/book.cgi?id=20372">To buy this book or view bibliographic details, click here.</a></center> In every decade of the nuclear era, one or two states have developed nuclear weapons despite the international community's opposition to proliferation. In the coming years, the breakdown of security arrangements, especially in the Middle East and Northeast Asia, could drive additional countries to seek their own nuclear, biological, or chemical (NBC) weapons and missiles. This likely would produce greater instability, more insecure states, and further proliferation. Are there steps concerned countries can take to anticipate, prevent, or dissuade the next generation of proliferators? Are there countries that might reassess their decision to forgo a nuclear arsenal? This volume brings together top international security experts to examine the issues affecting a dozen or so countries' nuclear weapons policies over the next decade. In Part I, National Decisions in Perspective, the work describes the domestic political consideration and international pressures that shape national nuclear policies of several key states. In Part II, Fostering Nonproliferation, the contributors discuss the factors that shape the future motivations and capabilities of various states to acquire nuclear weapons, and assess what the world community can do to counter this process. The future utility of bilateral and multilateral security assurances, treaty-based nonproliferation regimes, and other policy instruments are covered thoroughly. James J. Wirtz is Professor of National Security Affairs and Dean of Graduate Studies at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey. Peter Lavoy is Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. http://www.sup.org/rss/book_rss.cgi?id=20372 http://www.sup.org/rss/book_rss.cgi?id=20372 Beyond Great Powers and Hegemons: Why Secondary States Support, Follow, or Challenge Beyond Great Powers and Hegemons: Why Secondary States Support, Follow, or Challenge Edited by Kristen P. Williams, Steven E. Lobell, and Neal G. Jesse "Beyond Great Powers and Hegemons examines how secondary and tertiary states respond to the policies of primary states, a still understudied topic of immense contemporary importance. Drawing on diverse historical and regional cases, the authors provide compelling insights for the management of America's international power."—David A. Lake, University of California, San Diego <center><a href="http://www.sup.org/book.cgi?id=18673">To buy this book or view bibliographic details, click here.</a></center> This book adds a new dimension to the discussion of the relationship between the great powers and the weaker states that align with them—or not. Previous studies have focused on the role of the larger (or super) power and how it manages its relationships with other states, or on how great or major powers challenge or balance the hegemonic state. Beyond Great Powers and Hegemonsseeks to explain why weaker states follow more powerful global or regional states or tacitly or openly resist their goals, and how they navigate their relationships with the hegemon. The authors explore the interests, motivations, objectives, and strategies of these 'followers'—including whether they can and do challenge the policies and strategies or the core position of the hegemon. Through the analysis of both historical and contemporary cases that feature global and regional hegemons in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and South Asia, and that address a range of interest areas—from political, to economic and military—the book reveals the domestic and international factors that account for the motivations and actions of weaker states. Kristen P. Williams is Professor of Political Science at Clark University. Steven E. Lobell is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Utah. Neal G. Jesse is Associate Professor of Political Science at Bowling Green State University. http://www.sup.org/rss/book_rss.cgi?id=18673 http://www.sup.org/rss/book_rss.cgi?id=18673 Looking for Balance: China, the United States, and Power Balancing in East Asia Looking for Balance: China, the United States, and Power Balancing in East Asia Steve Chan "Looking for Balance compellingly argues for serious change in prevalent American foreign policy thinking about power dynamics in world affairs, and thus for how to deal with China and East Asia. It should cool the zealots for additional U.S. pursuit of military dominance in distant regions."—Davis B. Bobrow, Emeritus Professor of Public and International Affairs and Political Science, University of Pittsburgh <center><a href="http://www.sup.org/book.cgi?id=21177">To buy this book or view bibliographic details, click here.</a></center> Debate surrounding "China's rise," and the prospects of its possible challenge to America's preeminence in international relations in East Asia, has focused on two questions, rooted in power-balancing theory: whether the United States should "contain" or "engage" China; and whether the rise of Chinese power has inclined other East Asian states to "balance" against Beijing by alignment with the United States. By drawing on alternative theoretic approaches—most especially "balance-of-threat" theory, political economic theory, and theories surrounding regime survival in multilateral rather than bilateral contexts, Steve Chan is able to create an explanation of what is in motion in the region that differs widely from the traditional "strategic vision" of national interest. He concludes that China's primary IR aim is not to match U.S. military might or the foreign policy influence that flows from that power, and that its neighbors are not balancing against its rising power. This is because, in today's guns-versus-butter fiscal reality, balancing policies would entail forfeiting possible gains that can accrue from cooperation, economic growth, and the application of GDP to nonmilitary ends. Instead, most East Asian countries have collectively pivoted to a strategy of elite legitimacy and regime survival based on economic performance. Steve Chan is Professor of Distinction at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He is the author of China, the U.S., and the Power-Transition Theory: A Critique. http://www.sup.org/rss/book_rss.cgi?id=21177 http://www.sup.org/rss/book_rss.cgi?id=21177