Человеку, как известно, свойственно ошибаться, и государственные деятели — не исключение. Самой серьезной ошибкой президента Буша, приведшей к тяжелейшим последствиям и для самих Соединенных Штатов, и для всего мирового сообщества, Джордж Сорос считает доктрину «войны с террором», выдвинутую после 11 сентября 2001 г. Как получилось, что американцы приняли эту доктрину и до сих пор ее не отвергли? Что произошло со старейшим в мире открытым обществом? Почему Америка перестала быть лидером свободного мира? Что угрожает мировой экономике? Можно ли исправить положение и если да, то как? На страницах книги автор задает все эти вопросы и честно пытается на них ответить.

In this critique of security studies, with insights into the thinking of Heidegger, Foucault, Derrida, Levinas and Arendt, Michael Dillon contributes to the rethinking of some of the fundamentals of international politics, developing what might be called a political philosophy of continental thought. Drawing on the work of Martin Heidegger, Politics of Security establishes the relationship between Heidegger's radical hermeneutical phenomenology and politics and the fundamental link between politics, the tragic and the ethical. It breaks new ground by providing an etymology of security, tracing the word back to the Greek asphaleia—meaning not to trip up or fall down— and a unique political reading of Oedipus Rex. Michael Dillon traces the roots of desire for security to the metaphysical desire for certitude, and points out that our way of seeking that security is embedded in 20th century technology, thus resulting in a global crisis.

The Geography of Ethnic Violence is the first among numerous distinguished books on ethnic violence to clarify the vital role of territory in explaining such conflict. Monica Toft introduces and tests a theory of ethnic violence, one that provides a compelling general explanation of not only most ethnic violence, civil wars, and terrorism but many interstate wars as well. This understanding can foster new policy initiatives with real potential to make ethnic violence either less likely or less destructive. It can also guide policymakers to solutions that endure. The book offers a distinctively powerful synthesis of comparative politics and international relations theories, as well as a striking blend of statistical and historical case study methodologies. By skillfully combining a statistical analysis of a large number of ethnic conflicts with a focused comparison of historical cases of ethnic violence and nonviolence--including four major conflicts in the former Soviet Union--it achieves a rare balance of general applicability and deep insight. Toft concludes that only by understanding how legitimacy and power interact can we hope to learn why some ethnic conflicts turn violent while others do not. Concentrated groups defending a self-defined homeland often fight to the death, while dispersed or urbanized groups almost never risk violence to redress their grievances. Clearly written and rigorously documented, this book represents a major contribution to an ongoing debate that spans a range of disciplines including international relations, comparative politics, sociology, and history.

Pakistan and the United States have been locked in a deadly embrace for decades. Successive American presidents from both parties have pursued narrow short-term interests in the South Asian nation, and many of the resulting policies proved counterproductive in the long term, contributing to political instability and a radicalized public. This background has helped set the stage for the global jihad confronting much of the world today. In "Deadly Embrace," Bruce Riedel explores the forces behind these developments, explaining how and why the history of Pakistan-U.S. relations has unfolded as it has. He explains what the United States can do now to repair the damage and how it can avoid making similar mistakes in dealing with extremist forces in Pakistan and beyond. Riedel is one of America's foremost authorities on U.S. security, South Asia, and terrorism, and he helped to craft President Obama's 2009 speech referring to the Pakistan-Afghanistan borderlands as the "most dangerous region of the world." He follows up "The Search for al Qaeda," his influential 2008 analysis of the terror network's ideology and leadership, with a sober, authoritative, and sometimes alarming look at the history, importance, and current role of Pakistan, epicenter of the global jihad movement, beginning with the history of U.S.-Pakistan relations since the partitioning of the subcontinent in 1947. The relationship between Pakistan and America is a fascinating yet muddled story, meandering through periods of friendship and enmity, symbiosis and distrust: it's no wonder that people in both nations are confused. "Deadly Embrace" explains how the United States, on several occasions, actually helped the foes of democracy in Pakistan and aided in the development of the very enemies it is now fighting in the region. The book seeks to unravel this paradox, revealing and interpreting the tortuous path of relations between two very different nations, which remain, in many ways, stuck with each other.

Один из авторов этой книги, российский учёный-экономист с мировым именем, стал очевидцем кровавых событий в Ливии и Сирии. Он своими глазами видел то, о чём нам рассказывали с телеэкранов. Но его слова повергают нас в шок. Он доказывает на фактах, что так называемая «Арабская весна» - это ни что иное, как серия захватнических войн последнего времени. И что следующей в очереди стоит Россия! Может ли в России начаться гражданская война? Что общего между Ливией, Сирией и Россией? Кто на самом деле воевал против Каддафи и Асада? Как и почему начинаются войны в XXI веке? Какие последствия они несут для мирных жителей? Каковы технологии войн нового времени? Авторы подробно исследует динамику зарождения и развития самых ужасных военных конфликтов последних лет - и сравнивает их с происходящим в России. Книга снабжена большим количеством уникальных фотографий и личных свидетельств русских очевидцев. Эта книга о том, что нам нужно знать уже сегодня, чтобы выжить и сохранить человеческое достоинство завтра.

Why did the nation-state emerge and proliferate across the globe? How is this process related to the wars fought in the modern era? Analyzing datasets that cover the entire world over long stretches of time, Andreas Wimmer focuses on changing configurations of power and legitimacy to answer these questions. The nationalist ideal of self-rule gradually diffused over the world and delegitimized empire after empire. Nationalists created nation-states wherever the power configuration favored them, often at the end of prolonged wars of secession. The elites of many of these new states were institutionally too weak for nation-building and favored their own ethnic communities. Ethnic rebels challenged such exclusionary power structures in violation of the principles of self-rule, and neighboring governments sometimes intervened into these struggles over the state. 'Waves of War' demonstrates why nation-state formation and ethnic politics are crucial to understand the civil and international wars of the past 200 years.

Since the end of the Cold War, conventional militaries and their political leaders have confronted a new, brutal type of warfare in which non-state armed groups use asymmetrical tactics to successfully fight larger, technologically superior forces. In order to prevent future bloodshed and political chaos, it is crucial to understand how these unconventional armed groups think and to adapt to their methods of combat. Richard H. Shultz Jr. and Andrea J. Dew investigate the history and politics of modern asymmetrical warfare. By focusing on four specific hotbeds of instability—Somalia, Chechnya, Afghanistan, and Iraq—Shultz and Dew conduct a careful analysis of tribal culture and the value of clan associations. They examine why these "traditional" or "tribal" warriors fight, how they recruit, where they find sanctuary, and what is behind their strategy. Traveling across two centuries and several continents, Shultz and Dew examine the doctrinal, tactical, and strategic advantages and consider the historical, cultural, and anthropological factors behind the motivation and success of the warriors of contemporary combat. In their provocative argument, Shultz and Dew propose that war in the post-Cold War era cannot be waged through traditional Western methods of combat, especially when friendly states and outside organizations like al-Qaeda serve as powerful allies to the enemy. Thoroughly researched and highly readable, Insurgents, Terrorists, and Militias examines how non-state armies fight, identifies the patterns and trends of their combat, and recommends how conventional militaries can defeat these irregular yet highly effective organizations.

On May 2, 2011 a ten-year manhunt drew to a deadly end as the men of the US Naval Special Warfare Development Group (a.k.a. SEAL Team Six) closed in on their prey, Osama Bin Laden, the fanatical mastermind of the terrible attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Flown from Afghanistan by Army Special Operations Command’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) and evading detection by the Pakistani military, two US helicopters flew towards the compound where they believed Bin Laden to be. Forty minutes later one helicopter had crashed and five men were dead, including the al-Qaeda leader, whose body was taken away and quietly buried at sea. In this book the story of the raid is told, from start to finish, using specially commissioned full-colour artwork, photographs and maps. The operation, codenamed Neptune Spear, is expertly analysed and the events are told in a concise and clear account of its build-up, execution and aftermath, demonstrating the skill and courage of the men who carried it out.