by Marc Edelman and Joanne Kenen (1989)
Contains primary source material. "The wide range of materials in this volume includes many original contributions, essays by Costa Ricans published for the first time in English, and secret memos by Oliver North's operatives. These readings provide a full, perceptive, and otherwise unavailable perspective of this diminutive but important Central American democracy."--Back cover.
Jan Nederveen Pieterse
For over a century now, America has dominated global politics and the global imagination. Yet as the dollar declines, inequality increases, rates of consumption are unprecedented and American unilateralism comes under fire, such hegemony is increasingly unsustainable. In this provocative new book, leading sociologist Jan Nederveen Pieterse asks whether it?s possible for America to chart a different course.
Maria Raquel Freire and Roger E. Kanet
This volume explores Russia's re-emergence as a major actor in Central Asia and the Caucasus - a re-emergence which is limited by the involvement and influence of external state and non-state actors, including China, the USA and foreign energy companies.
Helmut Schmidt
"Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (German pronunciation: [hlmt mt]; born 23 December 1918) is a German Social Democratic politician who served as Chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982. Prior to becoming Chancellor, he had served as Minister of Defence (1969?72). As Minister of Finance (1972 to 1974), he gained credit for financial policies that consolidated the Wirtschaftswunder (economic miracle), giving Germany the most stable currency and economic position in the world. He had also served briefly as Minister of Economics and as acting Foreign Minister. As Chancellor, he focused on international affairs, seeking "political unification of Europe in partnership with the United States". He was an energetic diplomat who sought European co-operation and international economic co-ordination. He was re-elected chancellor in 1980, but his coalition fell apart in 1982 with the switch by his coalition allies, the Free Democratic Party. He retired from Parliament in 1983, after clashing with the SPD's left wing, who opposed him on defence and economic issues. In 1986 he was a leading proponent of European monetary union and a European central bank. He is now fully retired. On the 9th of April 2010 he became the oldest surviving German Chancellor in history, when he exceeded the lifespan of Konrad Adenauer, who died in 1967, having lived for 91 years and 15 weeks. He received the prestigious Hanns Martin Schleyer Prize in 2013."--Wikipedia.
Bill Park
The withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Iraq at the end of 2011 left behind a set of unresolved problems in the relationship between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), and the Federal Government in Baghdad -- notably relating to the disputed boundaries of the KRG, and the extent of its autonomy. Tensions have since been compounded by the discovery of significant quantities of oil and gas in the KRG area, and Erbil's pursuit of an energy policy independent of and in opposition to Baghdad. Turkey, uneasy with the increasingly sectarian and authoritarian flavor of the Shia-dominated government in Baghdad, has since moved closer to the KRG, not least with respect to energy issues, deepening Turkish-Iraqi tensions still further. Added to the mix is the increasingly sectarian standoff in the region as a whole, in large measure as a consequence of Syrian developments, which has further pitted Ankara against Baghdad and its ally Iran; and the emergence of a bid for autonomy by Syria's Kurds, which has complicated the stance of both Ankara and Erbil toward Syria and towards each other. Washington is in danger of being left behind by the fast-paced events in the region, while the ethnic Kurds of the region may be approaching a decisive moment in their long struggle for self-determination.