International Political Earthquakes

International Political Earthquakes

Author: Michael Brecher

Publisher: University of Michigan Press

Published: 2008-08-25

Total Pages: 360

ISBN-13: 9780472070015

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International Political Earthquakes is the masterwork of the preeminent scholar Michael Brecher. Brecher, who came of age before World War II, has witnessed more than seven decades of conflict and has spent his career studying the dynamics of relations among nations throughout the world. When terrorism, ethnic conflict, military buildup, or other local tensions spark an international crisis, Brecher argues that the structure of global politics determines its potential to develop into open conflict. That conflict, in turn, may then generate worldwide political upheaval. Comparing international crises to earthquakes, Brecher proposes a scale analogous to the Richter scale to measure the severity and scope of the impact of a crisis on the landscape of international politics. Brecher's conclusions about the causes of international conflict and its consequences for global stability make a convincing case for gradual, nonviolent approaches to crisis resolution. Michael Brecher is R. B. Angus Professor of Political Science at McGill University.


Understanding Global Political Earthquake

Understanding Global Political Earthquake

Author: Manoj Soni

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-05-23

Total Pages: 185

ISBN-13: 042977849X

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Published in 1998, this text presents two theoretical frameworks for understanding the post-Cold War international systematic transition, and Indo-US relational patterns. The frameworks explain the casual determinants of the current international systematic transition and foreign policy in a comparative perspective. It aims to provide tools not only to gauge the present transition but also to develop warning systems to decipher symptoms of any future international systematic transition of foreign policy behaviour.


Systemic Earthquake and the Struggle for World Order

Systemic Earthquake and the Struggle for World Order

Author: Ahmet Davutoğlu

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2020-01-23

Total Pages: 331

ISBN-13: 1108618820

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Using the analogy of a devastating series of earthquakes, Davutoğlu provides a new theoretical approach, conceptualization, and methodology for understanding crisis in the post-Cold War era. In order to grasp the scale and scope of the ongoing crises we are experiencing today, Davutoğlu conceptualizes them as 'aftershocks', following in the wake of the four great 'quakes' that have shaken the world in recent times - namely, the geopolitical earthquake triggered by dissolution of the Soviet Union, 1991; the security earthquake, post- 9/11, 2001; the economic earthquake associated with the global economic crisis, 2008; and the structural earthquake of the Arab Spring, 2011. By contextualizing international order as being impacted by a number of intertwined processes, the book then looks to the possible futures ahead. Following his analysis of the ongoing systemic crisis, Davutoğlu forges a vision for a new order of global democracy, built from the rubble of the systemic earthquake.


Chinese Politics as Fragmented Authoritarianism

Chinese Politics as Fragmented Authoritarianism

Author: Kjeld Erik Brødsgaard

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2016-10-04

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 1317245407

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This book explores how far the concept of fragmented authoritarianism remains valid as the key concept for understanding how the Chinese political process works. It contrasts fragmented authoritarianism, which places bureaucratic bargaining at the centre of policy-making, arguing that the goals and interests of the implementing agencies have to be incorporated into a policy if implementation is to be secured, with other characterisations of China’s political process. Individual chapters consider fragmented authoritarianism at work in a range of key policy areas, including energy issues, climate change and environmental management, financial reform, and civil-military relations. The book also explores policy making at the national, provincial, city and local levels; debates how far the model of fragmented authoritarianism is valid in its current form or whether modifications are needed; and discusses whether the system of policy making and implementation is overcomplicated, unwieldy and ineffective or whether it is constructive in enabling widespread consultation and scope for imagination, flexibility and variation.


Fault Lines

Fault Lines

Author: Giacomo Parrinello

Publisher: Berghahn Books

Published: 2015-05-01

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 1782389512

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Earth’s fractured geology is visible in its fault lines. It is along these lines that earthquakes occur, sometimes with disastrous effects. These disturbances can significantly influence urban development, as seen in the aftermath of two earthquakes in Messina, Italy, in 1908 and in the Belice Valley, Sicily, in 1968. Following the history of these places before and after their destruction, this book explores plans and developments that preceded the disasters and the urbanism that emerged from the ruins. These stories explore fault lines between “rural” and “urban,” “backwardness” and “development,” and “before” and “after,” shedding light on the role of environmental forces in the history of human habitats.


The Political Economy of Disaster

The Political Economy of Disaster

Author: Mats Lundahl

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 466

ISBN-13: 0415816084

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Haiti, one of the least developed and most vulnerable nations in the Western Hemisphere, made the international headlines in January 2010 when an earthquake destroyed the capital, Port-au-Prince. More than a year later, little reconstruction has taken place, in spite of a strong international funding commitment. Mats Lundahl has written several seminal works on Haiti, and this volume brings together the best of his past work on Haiti’s economic and political history, along with a comprehensive introduction and two new chapters which bring the story right up to the present day. Together, the volume provides both historical background and explanation as to why Haiti was so badly affected by the earthquake, and to why reconstruction efforts have been ineffective this far. Lundahl argues that the two main causes can found in the interaction between the growth of the population and the destruction of the arable soil on the one hand, and in the creation of a predatory state during the nineteenth century, which still exists to this day. This book provides a comprehensive analysis, which charts these themes from the time of the arrival of Columbus in the island in 1492, to the present day. The book also deals with contemporary market and policy failures, as well as the crucial recent elections, and considers the path ahead for this impoverished nation. This book will be of huge relevance and interest not only to students and researchers in economic history, but also for all those working on development economics, development studies and American and Caribbean Studies more generally.


Disaster Diplomacy

Disaster Diplomacy

Author: Ilan Kelman

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2011-08-26

Total Pages: 181

ISBN-13: 1136653732

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When an earthquake hits a war zone or cyclone aid is flown in by an enemy, many ask: Can catastrophe bring peace? Disaster prevention and mitigation provide similar questions. Could setting up a flood warning system bring enemy countries together? Could a regional earthquake building code set the groundwork for wider regional cooperation? This book examines how and why disaster-related activities do and do not create peace and reduce conflict. Disaster-related activities refer to actions before a disaster such as prevention and mitigation along with actions after a disaster such as emergency response, humanitarian relief, and reconstruction. This volume investigates disaster diplomacy case studies from around the world, in a variety of political and disaster circumstances, from earthquakes in Greece and Turkey affecting these neighbours’ bilateral relations to volcanoes and typhoons influencing intra-state conflict in the Philippines. Dictatorships are amongst the case studies, such as Cuba and Burma, along with democracies such as the USA and India. No evidence is found to suggest that disaster diplomacy is a prominent factor in conflict resolution. Instead, disaster-related activities often influence peace processes in the short-term—over weeks and months—provided that a non-disaster-related basis already existed for the reconciliation. That could be secret negotiations between the warring parties or strong trade or cultural links. Over the long-term, disaster-related influences disappear, succumbing to factors such as a leadership change, the usual patterns of political enmity, or belief that an historical grievance should take precedence over disaster-related bonds. This is the first book on disaster diplomacy. Disaster-politics interactions have been studied for decades, but usually from a specific political framing, covering a specific geographical area, or from a specific disaster framing. As well, plenty of quantitative work has been completed, yet the data limitations are rarely admitted openly or thoroughly analysed. Few publications bring together the topics of disasters and politics in terms of a disaster diplomacy framework, yielding a grounded, qualitative, scientific point of view on the topic.


The Aftermath of Earthquakes in Syria

The Aftermath of Earthquakes in Syria

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2023

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789294663962

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The earthquakes of the 6 February impacted around 8.8 million people in Syria and resulted in massive destruction and damage to infrastructure, including health facilities, schools and residential buildings in the Idlib, Aleppo, Lattakia and Hama governorates. There was a large imbalance in the volume of humanitarian assistance and speed of emergency responses by regional and international actors in favour of the Syrian regime compared to rebel-held areas in the northwest. The Syrian regime instrumentalised the humanitarian crisis and its destructive effects to regulate, or at least influence, the organisation and delivery of humanitarian assistance in the country. In the areas under its control, Damascus intervened to oversee the organisation of humanitarian assistance through its institutions and networks of power to enhance its rule over society. Regime officials also tried to exploit the evolving humanitarian crisis to reduce Syria's political isolation and enhance normalisation processes with regional and international actors. This has been partially successful, although mostly limited to the humanitarian field. A potential reconstruction process in the areas affected is very much linked to the progress of Damascus's normalisation process. This process could take place at the regional and international levels in the short and medium terms, but significant obstacles exist.


Between Two Earthquakes

Between Two Earthquakes

Author: Sir Bernard M. Feilden

Publisher: Getty Publications

Published: 1987-10-01

Total Pages: 102

ISBN-13: 089236128X

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This handbook addresses three areas of concern for the museum administrator concerning the protection of historic buildings, monuments, and archaeological sites located in seismic areas. It proposes pre-disaster measures such as taking accurate and complete documentation (photogrammetry is discussed in one of the 13 appendixes), risk awareness, planning, maintenance and inspections, etc. Second, when an earthquake strikes, the immediate emergency steps necessary to protect life and property are indicated; and after the earthquake, the strengthening of valuable cultural property (based on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale, also in an appendix) should be included in the general program of prevention maintenance along with the repairs discussed in detail applicable to each architectural element, and to the site as a whole.


From Relief to Recovery: Supporting good governance in post-earthquake Haiti

From Relief to Recovery: Supporting good governance in post-earthquake Haiti

Author: Martin Hartberg

Publisher: Oxfam

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 25

ISBN-13: 1848147864

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The humanitarian response undertaken in Haiti after the earthquake that struck on 12 January 2010 has been one of the most complex ever. However, as the first anniversary of the quake approaches, the Haitian state, together with the international community, is making little progress in reconstruction. The Haitian authorities need to show greater strategic leadership and take decisions that reflect the priority needs of the Haitian population. They need to initiate public infrastructure projects that put people to work and build skills; support people to return home or allocate land for new houses; and invest in agriculture. The international community should do much more to support these efforts by increasing the capacity and accountability of Haitian institutions.