A Delicate Relationship

In 2012, Barack Obama became the first U.S. president ever to visit Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. This official state visit marked a new period in the long and sinuous diplomatic relationship between the United States and Burma/Myanmar, which Kenton Clymer examines in A Delicate Relationship. From the challenges of decolonization and heightened nationalist activities that emerged in the wake of World War II to the Cold War concern with domino states to the rise of human rights policy in the 1980s and beyond, Clymer demonstrates how Burma/Myanmar has fit into the broad patterns of U.S. foreign policy and yet has never been fully integrated into diplomatic efforts in the region of Southeast Asia. When Burma, a British colony since the nineteenth century, achieved independence in 1948, the United States feared that the country might be the first Southeast Asian nation to fall to the communists, and it embarked on a series of efforts to prevent this. In 1962, General Ne Win, who toppled the government in a coup d’état, established an authoritarian socialist military junta that severely limited diplomatic contact and led to a period in which the primary American diplomatic concern became Burma’s increasing opium production. Ne Win’s rule ended (at least officially) in 1988, when the Burmese people revolted against the oppressive military government. Aung San Suu Kyi emerged as the charismatic leader of the opposition and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. Amid these great changes in policy and outlook, Burma/Myanmar remained fiercely nonaligned and, under Ne Win, isolationist. The limited diplomatic exchange that resulted meant that the state was often a frustrating puzzle to U.S. officials. Clymer explores attitudes toward Burma (later Myanmar), from anxious anticommunism during the Cold War to interventions to stop drug trafficking to debates in Congress, the White House, and the Department of State over how to respond to the emergence of the opposition movement in the late 1980s. The junta’s brutality, its refusal to relinquish power, and its imprisonment of opposition leaders resulted in public and Congressional pressure to try to change the regime. Indeed, Aung San Suu Kyi’s rise to prominence fueled the new foreign policy debate that was focused on human rights, and in that climate Burma/Myanmar held particularly large symbolic importance for U.S. policy makers. Congressional and public opinion favored sanctions, while U.S. presidents and their administrations were more cautious. Clymer’s account concludes with President Obama’s visits in 2012 and 2014, and visits to the United States by Aung San Suu Kyi and President Thein Sein, which marked the establishment of a new, warmer relationship with a relatively open Myanmar.

This book is about all of the kinds of relationships people can have. It is a very insightful book about how relationships emerge. But it is also about how indispensable they are to our ongoing sense of being who we are in the worlds we inhabit. We have relationships with various people. But we also have relationships with our possessions, with our pets, and with our pens and car keys. We have relationships with the foods we eat, the places we go, and the diversions we take. We have relationships with the news we attend to, the gossip we consume, and the places we are familiar with. We have relationships with our clothes, our lotions and potions, our grooming equipment, our computers and our snow shovels. Taken together, all of the relationships we have had, have today, and will have in the future attach us to our worlds in an admixture of pushes and pulls on our attention and our behavior. Metaphorically, it might visually look much like an intricate circular spider web, with us individually stuck at the core. We use the singular relationship here because we want to explore what it is that all relationships have in common: relationship. Relationships are sticky. They are far easier to fall into than to escape from. They are often demanding, requiring our attention when we wanted to devote our attention elsewhere. The drama of misplaced keys or a balky computer can take over our lives. We have hopes for certain relationships. We can be disappointed in how they turn out. But most of the myriad relationships that affect our lives just sort of happen. If they dont serve our purposes as we think we deserve, we drop them. A piece of clothing that just doesnt look right in the light can be dropped. Thats something you cant do with your own baby. You have a relationship with your body. If youre rich, you can get a remodeling job. If youre not, you may be stuck with the body youve got. Some relationships bring us down. Other relationships lift us up. In this book, you will learn how to create the kinds of relationships you need to get to where you want to go. The relationship you have with yourself is key. This book reveals to you how, if you get that right, most of the other relationships you live in, and by, will fall into place.

The perfect gift for both parents and their adult children—”a wonderfully wise and constructive intergenerational guide” that will keep you connected to the people you love most. “Read it and learn.”—New York Times bestselling author Judith Viorst We raise our children to be independent and lead fulfilling lives, but when they finally do, staying close becomes more complicated than ever. And for every bewildered mother who wonders why her children don’t call, there is a frustrated son or daughter who just wants to be treated like a grownup. Now, renowned author and editor Jane Isay delivers real-life wisdom and advice on how to stay together without falling apart. Using extensive interviews with people from ages twenty-five to seventy, Isay shows that we’re far from alone in our struggles to make this new, adult relationship work. She offers up groundbreaking insights and deeply moving stories that will inspire those in even the toughest situations. Isay’s warmth and wit shine through on every page as she charts an invaluable course through the confusing, and often painful, interactions parents and children can face. Walking on Eggshells is the much-needed road map that will keep you connected to the people you love most.

Lucidly explaining the legal principles of Admiralty Law in a modern context, this new edition has been fully revised and updated to include recent case law and legislation, including extensive treatment of developments within the EC. Examining the law within a commercial perspective with suggestions for how legal risks should be managed, this is the ideal text for postgraduates studying admiralty or shipping law as well as professionals within the shipping industry. The intricate rules of the Brussels/Lugano Conventions are explained alongside conflict of jurisdictions, and the application of the forum non-conveniens, doctrine and forum shopping. Breach of jurisdiction agreements and remedies are also discussed and the vexed issues of anti-suit injunctions are dealt with comprehensively. Modern Admiralty Law analyses the corporate structures of ship owning companies and the circumstances in which the corporate veil may be pierced; suggestions for legitimate corporate structures for the purpose of risk management are also put forward. The consequences of non-compliance with the ISM Code are considered (such as potential criminal liability, the effect of non-compliance upon insurance contracts and limitation of liability), alongside an update of further measures being taken by the EC and the IMO on safety of ships and cleaner seas. An ideal reference tool, the new edition of this popular and comprehensive text includes summaries of the principles and case law and encourages further investigation. The practical and commercial orientation of this book will be of great benefit to readers studying the subject as an academic discipline as well as those who work in the area. From admiralty jurisdiction to limitation of liability, all aspects of admiralty law are thoroughly investigated, with recent developments providing new insights for this modern approach to admiralty law. This new edition is essential reading for postgraduates, practitioners, ship owners and managers, and a wide range of professionals within the shipping industry.

This book offers critical analysis of everyday narratives of Iranian middle class migrants who use their social class and careers to "fit in" with British society. Based on a series of interviews and participant observations with two cohorts of "privileged" Iranian migrant women working as doctors, dentists and academics in Britain—groups that are usually absent from studies around migration, marginality and intersectionality—the book applies narrative analysis and intersectionality to critically analyse social class in relation to gender, ethnicity, places and sense of belonging in Britain. As concepts such as "Nation," "Migrant," "Native," "Other," "Security," and "Border" have populated public and policy discourse, it is vital to explore migrants’ experiences and perceptions of the society in which they live, to answer deceptively simple questions such as ​"What does class mean?" and "How is class translated in the lives of migrants?"