You may have to register before you can download all our books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
Analyzes the dynamics that facilitate the emergence and mobilization of paramilitary groups, and provides a framework to develop effective policies aimed at making these organizations less of a danger.
IR: Seeking Security, Prosperity, and Quality of Life in a Changing World presents a comprehensive approach to understanding world politics through the lens of security, prosperity, and quality of life in a rapidly evolving global environment. The book not only acquaints students with events, but also broadens the context to analyze larger patterns, making the experience immersive and engaging. Thoroughly updated, the Fifth Edition incorporates new theoretical perspectives, coverage of important events and trends of recent years, and current data and research. This title is accompanied by a complete teaching and learning package. Learning Platform / Courseware Sage Vantage is an intuitive le...
The third edition of Democratic Latin America retains its classic institutional approach to understand contemporary Latin American politics. Each chapter focuses on a different institution and compares how they are constructed differently across countries. Placing a premium on accessibility, the chapters open with a story and end with a detailed country case study, making use of contemporary examples to feed student interest in current events, with comparison-based tables and box features interspersed throughout to stimulate analysis. Every chapter finishes with a set of questions and recommended readings. This approach allows for a very practical approach to politics that encourages critica...
Contemporary Cuba is opening up to the rest of the world. Its colonial past and the Communist revolution have left a lasting imprint on society, yet there is a tangible sense of rapid change which is reflected in the island's national cinema. New screen technologies and digital distribution media have supported the efficacy and global reach of Cuban filmmakers whose work, somewhat in lieu of adequate distribution and traditional screening facilities in Cuba itself, is often disseminated via 'flash' (USB memory sticks).Channelling an energetic DIY attitude through grassroots movements and ad-hoc resourcefulness, the new filmmakers of Cuba have inspired the editors of this book to embrace thei...
In Egypt, something that fails to live up to its advertised expectations is often called a watermelon: a grand promise that later turns out to be empty talk. The political transition in Egypt after protests overthrew Husni Mubarak in 2011 is one such watermelon. Stacher examines the uprising and its aftermath to show how the country’s new ruling incumbents deferred the democratic dreams of the people of Egypt. At the same time, he lays out in meticulous fashion the circumstances that gave the army’s well-armed and well-funded institution an advantage against its citizens during and after Egypt’s turbulent transition. Stacher outlines the ways in which Egypt’s military manipulated the...
This book examines the phenomenon of paramilitarism across Latin America and the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia, offering a nuanced perspective while identifying key patterns in the way paramilitary violence is implicated in processes of capital accumulation, state-building, and the reproduction of social power. Paramilitary violence, a key modality of coercion in the era of globalization, has been pursued by states and dominant classes in the Global South, to reproduce or extend their power over subaltern groups. Paramilitary groups are responsible for atrocities, including extrajudicial executions, disappearances, torture, rape, and forced displacement. The book integrates emp...
This is a comprehensive, detailed and humane account of the thousands who came into custody during the years of the Northern Ireland conflict and how they lived out the months, years and decades in Irish and English maximum security prisons. Erupting in 1969, the Northern Ireland troubles continued with terrible intensity until 1998. The most enduring civil conflict in Western Europe since the Second World War cost almost 4,000 lives, inflicted a vast toll of injuries and wrought much destruction. Based on extensive archival research and numerous interviews, this book covers the jurisdictions of Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and England, providing an account of riots, escapes, st...
Six years after publication of the first edition of the best-selling Encyclopedia of Terrorism, much has changed on the national security scene. Despite the dark promises of Osama bin Laden following the 9/11 attacks, the United States has not experienced any major domestic terror incidents. Al-Qaeda itself is believed to be a severely crippled organization. But while U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq--not to mention the arrival of the Obama administration, a new balance of power within Congress, and an increasingly fragile economic picture--have significantly affected the national security picture, the threat of economic chaos and massive loss of life due to terror attacks has not abated. I...
The Zetas' origins -- The Zetas' war -- A transnational criminal corporation -- Paramilitarization of organized crime and a "war on drugs" -- The new paramilitarism in Mexico -- Mexico's modern civil war -- The Zetas' war and Mexico's energy sector -- Energy and security in Tamaulipas, ground zero for the Zetas -- Who benefits from the Zetas' war? -- Conclusion. Four successful business models in an era of modern civil wars -- Appendix I. Energy reform and the Zetas' expansion (timeline) -- Appendix II. History of organized crime in Tamaulipas : timeline of key events -- Appendix III. Criminal paramilitaries and natural resources in Mexico (map) -- Appendix IV. El Disfraz de la Guerra (the war's disguise) : communiqué by residents of La Riberen̋a -- Appendix V. Organizational charts : constellis holdings, LLC and Los Zetas Inc -- Appendix VI. Areas of dominant influence of major TCOs in Mexico, 2015
From the deserts of Sudan to the jungles of Colombia, and from the streets of Belfast to the mountains of Kurdistan, paramilitaries have appeared in violent conflicts in very different settings. Paramilitaries are generally depicted as irregular armed organizations that carry out acts of violence against civilians on behalf of a state. In doing so, they undermine the state's monopoly of legitimate violence, while at the same time creating a breeding ground for criminal activities. Why do governments with functioning police forces and armies use paramilitary groups? This study tackles this question through the prism of the interpenetration of paramilitaries and the state. The author interpret...