Documents and analyzes the vast array of peace initiatives that have emerged in Colombia. This title explores how local and regional initiatives relate to national efforts and identifies possible synergies. It examines the multiple roles of civil society and the international community in the country's complex search for peace.
Building on the success of her prior book, Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses, author Dorothy Devney Richmond helps learners attain a strong working vocabulary, no matter if they are absolute beginners or intermediate students of the language. She combines her proven instruction techniques and clear explanations with a plethora of engaging exercises, so students are motivated and hardly notice that they are absorbing so much Spanish. Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Vocabulary also includes basic grammar and structures of the language to complement learners’ newly acquired words. "Vocabulary Builders" help students add to their Spanish repertoire by using cognates, roots, suffixes, prefixes, and other "word-building" tools.
This book deals with the question how institutional reform can contribute to peacebuilding in post-war and divided societies. In the context of armed conflict and widespread violence, two important questions shape political agendas inside and outside the affected societies: How can we stop the violence? And how can we prevent its recurrence? Comprehensive negotiated war terminations and peace accords recommend a set of mechanisms to bring an end to war and establish peace, including institutional reforms that promote democratization and state building. Although the role of institutions is widely recognized, their specific effects are highly contested in research as well as in practice. This book highlights the necessity to include path-dependency, pre-conflict institutions and societal divisions to understand the patterns of institutional change in post-war societies and the ongoing risk of civil war recurrence. It focuses on the general question of how institutional reform contributes to the establishment of peace in post-war societies. This book comprises three separate but interrelated parts on the relation between institutions and societal divisions, on institutional reform and on security sector reform. The chapters contribute to the understanding of the relationship between societal cleavages, pre-conflict institutions, path dependency, and institutional reform. This book will be of much interest to students of peacebuilding, conflict resolution, development studies, security studies and IR.
Sociologist Elise Boulding offers a collection of essays that emphasize her study of civil society during the second half of the 20th century. She revisits her theme of connection among family, community and government, offering perspectives and advice on how to fuel the process of peace.
ÒU.S. residents are largely unaware that Mexicans also view their northern border with concern, and at times even alarm. Border communities, such as Ciudad Ju‡rez and Tijuana, have long been subjected to heavy criticism from Mexico City and other interior areas for their close ties to the United States, a country viewed with apprehension and suspicion by the Mexican citizenry.Ó Oscar Mart’nezÕs words may come as a surprise to those who associate the U.S. southern border with banditry, racial strife, illegal migration, drug smuggling, and official corruptionÑall attributed to Mexico. In Troublesome Border, now revised to reflect the dramatic changes over the last two decades, a distinguished scholar and long-time resident of the border area addresses these and other problems that have caused increasing concern to federal governments on both sides of the border. This second edition of Troublesome Border has been updated and revised to cover dramatic developments since the bookÕs first publication in 1988 that have once again transformed the region in fundamental ways. Martinez includes new information on migration and drugs, including the extraordinary rise of violence traced largely to the rampant illegal drug trade; the devastating effects of U.S. Border Patrol ÒblockadesÓ that have resulted in thousands of deaths; and the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).