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The 2011 Arab Spring protests seemed to mark a turning point in Middle East politics, away from authoritarianism and toward democracy. Within a few years, however, most observers saw the protests as a failure given the outbreak of civil wars and re-emergence of authoritarian strongmen in countries like Egypt. But in Delta Democracy, Catherine E. Herrold argues that we should not overlook the ongoing mobilization taking place in grassroots civil society. Drawing upon ethnographic research on Egypt's nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the wake of the uprisings, Herrold uncovers the strategies that local NGOs used to build a more democratic and just society. Departing from US-based democra...
Using original, difficult-to-gather survey data, Zeira advances a new theory of participation in anti-regime protest that focuses on the mobilizing role of state institutions.
By focusing on the construction and practice of democracy aid, this book shows how democracy aid can reinforce, rather than challenge authoritarian regimes.
A critical look into how and why the U.S. military needs to become more adaptable. Every military must prepare for future wars despite not really knowing the shape such wars will ultimately take. As former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates once noted: "We have a perfect record in predicting the next war. We have never once gotten it right." In the face of such great uncertainty, militaries must be able to adapt rapidly in order to win. Adaptation under Fire identifies the characteristics that make militaries more adaptable, illustrated through historical examples and the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Authors David Barno and Nora Bensahel argue that militaries facing unknown futur...
A definitive study on the decades-long run of high public confidence in the military and why it may rest on some shaky foundations. What explains the high levels of public confidence in the US military and does high confidence matter? In Thanks for Your Service, the eminent civil-military relations scholar Peter D. Feaver addresses this question and focuses on what it means for the military. Proprietary survey data show that confidence is partly based on public beliefs about the military's high competence, adherence to high professional ethics, and a determination to stand apart from the bitter divisions of partisan politics. However, as Feaver argues, confidence is also shaped by a partisan...
In a time where US deployments are uncertain, this book shows how US service members can either build the necessary support to sustain their presence or create added animosity towards the military presence.The United States stands at a crossroads in international security. The backbone of its international position for the last 70 years has been the massive network of overseas military deployments. However, the US now faces pressures to limit its overseas presence and spending. In Beyond the Wire,Michael Allen, Michael Flynn, Carla Martinez Machain, and Andrew Stravers argue that the US has entered into a "Domain of Competitive Consent" where the longevity of overseas deployments relies upon...
As increasingly contentious politics in the United States raise concerns over the "politicization" of traditionally non-partisan institutions, many have turned their attention to how the American military has been--and will be--affected by this trend. Since a low point following the end of the Vietnam War, the U.S. military has experienced a dramatic reversal of public opinion, becoming one of the most trusted institutions in American society. However, this trend is more complicated than it appears: just as individuals have become fonder of their military, they have also become increasingly polarized from one another along partisan lines. The result is a new political environment rife with c...
"Deploying Feminism tells the story of how the military has been delegated authority to advance gender equality while tackling increasingly complex threats. NATO, the world's foremost alliance, has embedded these ideas in the planning and execution of its missions. Indeed, Women, Peace and Security norms are being integrated into military processes, but not necessarily as intended. Armed forces value one thing above all else: operational effectiveness; they are trained to stay focused on mission objectives and lines of efforts. For troops deployed on NATO missions, this means seeking out women in their operating area to improve intelligence gathering activities. This helps the mission, surely, but are the women better off? Through military implementation, the focus on gender equality fades, there is a consistent distortion of Women, Peace and Security norms. Based on fieldwork in Iraq, Kosovo and the Baltics, this book details why and how these norms are militarized and put at the service of NATO's operational effectiveness"--
A bold re-conceptualization of the fundamentals driving behavior and dynamics in cyberspace. Most cyber operations and campaigns fall short of activities that states would regard as armed conflict. In Cyber Persistence Theory, Michael P. Fischerkeller, Emily O. Goldman, and Richard J. Harknett argue that a failure to understand this strategic competitive space has led many states to misapply the logic and strategies of coercion and conflict to this environment and, thus, suffer strategic loss as a result. The authors show how the paradigm of deterrence theory can neither explain nor manage the preponderance of state cyber activity. They present a new theory that illuminates the exploitive, rather than coercive, dynamics of cyber competition and an analytical framework that can serve as the basis for new strategies of persistence. Drawing on their policy experience, they offer a new set of prescriptions to guide policymakers toward a more stable, secure cyberspace.
In The Long Game, Rush Doshi demonstrates that China is in fact playing a long, methodical game to replace America as a global hegemon. Drawing from a rich base of Chinese primary sources, including decades worth of party documents and memoirs by party leaders, he traces the basic evolution of Chinese strategy, showing how it evolved in response to changes in US policy and the US's position in the world order.