From the beginning of the Ba'th regime in 1968 to the end of the Iran-Iraq war in 1988, Iraq was an important ally of the Soviet Union in the Middle East. Haim Shemesh explores the evolution of this Soviet-Iraqi relationship—one that Moscow often exploited—concentrating on the impact of the 1969-1975 and 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq conflicts on the fluctuations in Soviet-Iraqi ties and    More >

Three Soweto playwrights. Three distinctive theatrical styles. Each using plays to communicate messages of humanism, Black Consciousness, and Black solidarity. Andile Xaba traces the history of community theater in Soweto, South Africa, during the turbulent years of 1984–1994. Showing how township theater became a popular avenue for political and cultural expression, he places the    More >

Why have special operations forces become a key strategic tool in the conduct of modern warfare? How do these specially trained and equipped elite units function? What types of missions do they conduct?  Special Operations: Out of the Shadows addresses these questions and more in a comprehensive survey of special ops, encompassing cutting-edge research, current debates, and critical case    More >

Following a century dominated by global conflict—and despite the unchanging nature of the human suffering it causes—the nature of war itself, argues Colin McInnes, has been transformed for the West. Spectator-Sport War considers the key developments that have led to this metamorphosis, ranging from new geopolitical relationships to new technological advances. McInnes shows that,    More >

This fascinating case study focuses on shamanism and the healing practices of the Taman, a formerly tribal society indigenous to the interior of Borneo. The Taman typically associate illness with an encounter with spirits that both seduce and torment a person in dreams or waking life. Rather than use medicines to counter the effect of these discomforting visitors, the shamans—called    More >

In contrast with traditional scholarship, which has seen a more or less uniform middle-class response to the political and economic crises of the age of fascism, this comparative study of the politics and ideology of the urban lower middle classes in Europe from 1918 to 1939 stresses the diversity and splintering of middle class constituencies under the pressures of the interwar period. Looking    More >

Initiated in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks, have the reforms of the US intelligence enterprise served their purpose? What have been the results of the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and a reorganized FBI? Have they helped to reduce blind spots and redundancies in resources and responsibilities ... and to    More >

What makes a national community out of a state? Addressing this fundamental question, Rajagopalan studies national integration from the perspective of three South Asian communities—Tamilians in India, Sindhis in Pakistan, and Tamils in Sri Lanka—that have a history of secessionism in common, but with vastly different outcomes. Rajagopalan investigates why integration is relatively    More >

As China's reforms take root, the differences between the traditional value of harmony and the socialist norm of class struggle are becoming increasingly obscured. Chinese citizens are, in fact, theoretically allowed—even encouraged—to be socialist and profit-driven at the same time. Chih-yu Shih looks at this precarious dyad, demonstrating what reform has done to the    More >

Now Available in Paperback! Although it typically is taken for granted that African economies perform poorly, it is less well known that there are a small but significant number of success stories on the continent. What accounts for Africa's average stagnation, and for the wide regional variations in developmental fortunes? Englebert argues with compelling statistics and the liberal use of    More >