Economic Causes And Consequences Of Defense Expenditures In The Middle East And South Asia

This book presents a detailed and rigorous quantitative economic assessment, analysis, and interpretation of the causes and consequences of regional defense expenditures in countries in the Middle East and South Asia. It examines the relationship between defense spending and budgetary allocations.

This book investigates the role and the impacts of armies and military regimes in the Middle East. It argues that one of the main causes of the slow and stagnated economic development in the region is high military expenditure perpetuated by strong grips of armies on the politics of the region.

Divided into three sections, the Handbook of US-Middle East Relations provides a thorough and up-to-date overview of contemporary US-Middle East relations in historical perspective. With chapters contributed by leading experts in the field, this Handbook will be of use to academics, students and researchers in international relations, policy analysts, media professionals and government officials. Part I: Factors Affecting US Relations contains essays including Globalization, Energy Security, Wars and Revolution, Peace Processes, US Foreign Aid Policy to the Middle East, and US Relations with Islamic Groups in the Middle East. Part II: Perceptions of US Relations contains essays on how US policies are viewed, including The View from the Arab Street, The View from Palestine, The View from Pakistan and The View from Kurdistan. Part III: US Relations at the Country Level comprise essays detailing relations between the USA and countries and areas in the Middle East and North Africa, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Israel, Tunisia, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Algeria and Bahrain. A comprehensive index completes the volume.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of Iran's political economy since the 1979 revolution and examines the country's energy sector.

First published in 1998, this volume examines East Asia, especially Northeast Asia, which has been a region of considerable political security of importance for several key reasons. It features several great and medium powers: China, Japan and Russia, as well as North and South Korea. Even though no arms race is yet discernible among these states (with the partial exception of the two Koreas), it is conceivable that one might commence. If it did, the level of militarization could become quite alarming, if only because of the tremendous and rapidly growing economic potential of the regional states. Even though relations among regional sates (except the two Koreas) are currently peaceful, the region features several unresolved issues (e.g. concerning territory) and a historical legacy of enmity between several states. To prevent such conflicts of interest from erupting into armed conflict is of the utmost importance. A stabilizing factor is that the military potentials in the region are still predominantly defensively oriented, i.e. most states lack the requisite power projection or invasion capabilities to inflict serious harm on each other. However, this might change in the not-so-distant future. Hence the importance of confidence-building measures; of an institutionalization of regional relations; and of a strengthening of commitments to defensive military strategies and postures.

"The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic marks the most significant, singular global disruption since World War II, with health, economic, political, and security implications that will ripple for years to come." -Global Trends 2040 (2021) Global Trends 2040-A More Contested World (2021), released by the US National Intelligence Council, is the latest report in its series of reports starting in 1997 about megatrends and the world's future. This report, strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, paints a bleak picture of the future and describes a contested, fragmented and turbulent world. It specifically discusses the four main trends that will shape tomorrow's world: - Demographics-by 2040, 1.4 billion people will be added mostly in Africa and South Asia. - Economics-increased government debt and concentrated economic power will escalate problems for the poor and middleclass. - Climate-a hotter world will increase water, food, and health insecurity. - Technology-the emergence of new technologies could both solve and cause problems for human life. Students of trends, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, journalists and anyone eager for a glimpse into the next decades, will find this report, with colored graphs, essential reading.

A decade after the War for Kuwait and two decades after the Iran-Iraq War, the wider Gulf region remains mired in internal, regional and international conflicts. Iran, Iraq, and the Arab Gulf States presents analytical perspectives - including solution-oriented assessments to identify major causes for actual and potential conflicts throughout the Gulf. The twenty-six papers assembled in this volume identify trends for the next decade. Studies on Iranian, Iraqi, Saudi and Arab Gulf States' political agendas on the domestic, regional and international fronts are included, along with assessments on pending legal issues, including border disputes, relations among the Gulf states themselves, as well as their complex and evolving ties with several Western powers. The study closes with four 'trends' chapters looking at the 2000-2010 period.

Preface; Introduction - Erik André Andersen and Birgit Lindsnæs; 1. Global public goods - concepts and definitions: The state and the citizen: Natural law as a public good - Peter Wivel; Public goods: Concept, definition, and method - Erik André Andersen and Birgit Lindsnæs; On human rights - Lone Lindholt and Birgit Lindsnæs; The global and the regional outlook: How can global public goods be advanced from a human rights perspective? - Birgit Lindsnæs. 2. Peace and security: Peace as a global public good - Bjørn Møller; International institutions for preserving peace and security - Erik André Andersen; The law of war - Rikke Ishøy; The case of Bosnia and Herzegovina - Erik André Andersen; 3. State and citizen, Is good governance a global public good? - Hans-Otto Sano; Legal protection and the rule of law as a global public good - Hans Henrik Brydensholt and Kristine Yigen; Curbing corruption: A global public good, The potential of international cooperation - Kristine Yigen; Access to global public goods for socially and economically vulnerable groups - Rie Odgaard and Kristine Yigen; 4. Access to information, The right to know - Anders Jerichow; Internet access as a global public good - Henrik Lindholt and Rikke Frank Jørgensen; Research, global public goods and welfare - Peder Andersen; Education as a global public good - Diego Bang; 5. Examples of implementation, Health is global - and a moving target - Poul Birch Eriksen, Ellen Bangsbo, Jens Kvorning, Lene Lange, Esben Sønderstrup, Uffe Torm and Ib Bygbjerg; (Fresh) water as a human right and a global public good - Jannik Boesen and Poul Erik Lauridsen; The international trade system - Christian Friis Bach; The global responsibility of private companies - Henrik Brade Johansen, Helle Bank, Jørgensen and Jens Kvorning; 6. Conclusion, Problems and potentials in the application of global public goods - Erik André Andersen, Peder Andersen and Birgit Lindsnæs; Appendices; Index.