The Ashgate Research Companion To Us Foreign Policy

Examining the past, present and future formulation and implementation of US foreign policy, this research companion provides a range of interpretations of the topic so that the reader comes away with a clear knowledge of the academic and policy debates that define the field. The volume focuses on American foreign policy from both historical and political science analytical perspectives and divides into three sections: -

This volume provides a state of the art review of current thinking on the full range of trade policy issues, addressing the economic and political dimensions of international trade policy. The volume contains a systematic examination of: - specific trade policy instruments (such as tariffs, non-tariff barriers and trade rules) - sectoral concerns (in agriculture, manufacturing and services) - trade linkages (to issues such as the environment and labour standards) - systemic considerations (what role for the WTO?) The organising theme of the volume is that open markets for trade and investment yield large potential gains in human welfare as long as trade policy is conducted as an integral part of broader domestic economic management and regulatory reform, and as long as the particular challenges facing developing countries are effectively addressed. This 'case' is presented on the basis of rigorous analysis of first principles and of empirical experience among key trading nations. An integrated set of original and comprehensive perspectives from a diverse group of experts, linked by a common organisational thread. The contributing authors create an ideal mix of internationally recognised experts together with younger specialists making their mark in trade policy analysis; academics as well as trade policy practitioners; and representatives of both developed and developing countries.

This new in paperback edition provides a comprehensive, state-of-the art review of current research in the field of New Public Management (NPM) reform. Aimed primarily at a student readership with a special interest in contemporary public-sector reforms, The Ashgate Research Companion to New Public Management offers a refreshing and up-to-date analysis of key issues of modern administrative reforms. Designed as a one-stop reference point and revision guide, this textbook comprises 29 chapters divided into six thematic sessions, each with chapters ranging across a variety of crucial topics in the field of New Public Management reforms and beyond. The principal themes addressed are: • Processes and driving forces. Basic theoretical foundations are discussed as well as the importance of institutional environments, copying, diffusion and translation of reform ideas and solutions among countries • The question of convergence or divergence among countries. Four families of countries with different state traditions are examined: Anglo-Saxon countries, Scandinavia, Continental Europe and Asian countries. • Developments in the 'soft' welfare sectors of hospital systems, universities and welfare administration, and the 'harder' sectors like regulation of utilities in areas such as telecommunications and energy. • The effects and implications of NPM reforms, both the more direct and the narrower effects on efficiency and the broader impact on democracy, trust and public sector values. • What new trends are occurring beyond the NMP movement, such as whole-of-government initiatives, Neo-Weberian models and New Public Governance as a new trend. Covering not only the NPM movement in general but also the driving forces behind the reform and its various trajectories and special features, this important contribution is essential reading for students and anyone wanting to expand their knowledge of administrative reform.

This Companion brings together 29 essays from leading theorists and historians on the origins of wars, their immediate causes and consequences and the mechanisms leading to the breakdown of peaceful relations. The essays are arranged thematically in four parts and include analysis of significant conflicts and consideration of long term, systemic conflicts and highlight the need for interdisciplinary approaches to the study of war as a global phenomenon.

This book seeks to debunk the popular myth of an all-powerful pro-Israel lobby. Here, Kiely demonstrates how discourses surrounding American Identity and US foreign policy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has deep roots in American historicity, have constructed an understanding of the conflict which is inherently more susceptible to the Israeli narrative. Kiely argues that the so-called power of what other researchers, such as Mearsheimer and Walt (2006, 2007), call ‘The Israel Lobby’ are limited by these discourses. It is the author’s contention that groups such as The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) serve to amplify and reproduce existing representations within these discourses which align the United States and Israel in terms of cultural, historical and political values while simultaneously reinforcing dominant representations of the Palestinian ‘Other’.

A comprehensive overview of the latest research in religion and conflict resolution, this collection of twenty three essays brings together leading scholars in the field examining the contribution religious actors have made and are making towards peace and resolving. The Ashgate Research Companion to Religion and Conflict Resolution is primarily aimed at readerships with special interest in conflict resolution, international security, and religion and international relations, and will also serve as a valuable resource for policy makers and conflict resolution practitioners. The collection comprises five thematic sections, each with chapters on vital and mainly contemporary topics in the field of religion and conflict resolution. The principal themes include: ¢

Borders are the complex spatial and social phenomena which are not static or invariable, but which are instead highly dynamic. This title brings together a multidisciplinary team of leading scholars to provide a review of all aspects of borders and border research.

Deliberately eschewing disciplinary and temporal boundaries, this volume makes a major contribution to the de-traditionalization of political thinking within the discourses of international relations. Collecting the works of twenty-five theorists, this Ashgate Research Companion engages some of the most pressing aspects of political thinking in world politics today. The authors explore theoretical constitutions, critiques, and affirmations of uniquely modern forms of power, past and present. Among the themes and dynamics examined are textual appropriation and representation, materiality and capital formation, geopolitical dimensions of ecological crises, connections between representations of violence and securitization, subjectivity and genderization, counter-globalization politics, constructivism, biopolitics, post-colonial politics and theory, as well as the political prospects of emerging civic and cosmopolitan orders in a time of national, religious, and secular polarization. Radically different in their approaches, the authors critically assess the discourses of IR as interpretive frames that are indebted to the historical formation of concepts, and to particular negotiations of power that inform the main methodological practices usually granted primacy in the field. Students as well as seasoned scholars seeking to challenge accepted theoretical frameworks will find in these chapters fresh insights into contemporary world-political problems and new resources for their critical interrogation.