Raymond A. Zilinskas and Philippe Mauger

In March 2012, at a meeting convened by the recently reelected Russian president Vladimir Putin, Minister of Defense Serdyukov informed Mr. Putin that a plan was being prepared for "the development of weapons based on new physical principles: radiation, geophysical wave, genetic, psychophysical, etc." Subsequently, in response to concerns expressed both in Russia and abroad, the Russian  More >

Amy L. Freedman and Ann Marie Murphy

With the countries of Southeast Asia increasingly challenged by a plethora of nontraditional security issues—climate change, food and water security, infectious diseases, and migration key among them—a number of important questions have emerged: What national and regional efforts are being made to address these issues? Why have some approaches proven more successful than others? How do  More >

Li Xinfeng, translated by Shelly Bryant

Some six centuries ago, the great Chinese explorer and diplomat Zheng He set sail to blaze a trail across the Indian Ocean to the east coast of Africa. In 2002, Li Xinfeng set out to find traces of Zheng's several journeys in Africa. The result is the compelling China in Africa: In Zheng He’s Footsteps. Beginning on Kenya's Pate Island, Li's comprehensive research led him to  More >

Vusi Gumede

What can—and should—be done to achieve effective development in Africa? Addressing this fundamental question, the authors offer specific suggestions emphasizing the need to both radically transform global power relations and to reform domestic socioeconomic policies.  More >

Thokozani Simelane and Lavhelesani Managa, editors

At the heart of China's Belt and Road Initiative lies the creation of not only an economic land belt linking countries on the original Silk Road through Central Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, but also a maritime "road" linking its port facilities with the African coast. In Belt and Road Initiative, contributors from China and Africa consider how China's vision could support  More >

Johannes Gerschewski and Christoph H. Stefes, editors

What makes autocratic regimes vulnerable? Why, in times of crisis, do some of these regimes break down while others weather the storm? This is the puzzle addressed in Crisis in Autocratic Regimes. Taking a long-term perspective, the authors focus not on sudden shocks and ruptures, but instead on gradual processes of disintegration as they unfold over time.  More >

David L. Helfert

From developing effective messages to working with the news media, from writing speeches to tweeting, from crisis communication to the ethics of political communication, and everything in between, Political Communication in Action takes the reader step-by-step through the process. This approachable text: • Covers both theory and real-world practice • Uses examples and case studies  More >

Joe Foweraker

Amidst the many lamentations about the problems of democracy, Joe Foweraker turns his attention to specific questions: Is democracy incompatible with stark social inequalities? Why are so many democratic governments deemed unaccountable and beset by populist pressures? Perhaps most fundamentally, why does democratic theory have no answers to these questions? Foweraker argues that finding  More >

Jocelyne Cesari

Honorable mention for ISA's Religion and International Relations Section Book Award! The debate continues unabated: Is political Islam decipherable through the tenets of the Islamic tradition—or is it a tool of secular actors who shrewdly misuse religious references? Is it an expression of modernity, or a return to the past? Eschewing these dichotomies, Jocelyne Cesari demystifies the  More >

Stephen J. Cimbala

Can we avoid nuclear war? Why are we more at risk today than at the end of the Cold War? Can the world powers work together to ensure international stability? Stephen Cimbala provides a comprehensive assessment of these complex issues, ranging from the prospects for nuclear abolition, to the management of nuclear crises, to the imperative need for nuclear arms control worldwide.  More >