Much of the world reaped a peace dividend with the end of the Cold War; yet Asia has seen little reduction in tensions and military spending. Three Cold War era conflicts-those dividing China and Taiwan; North and South Korea; and India and Pakistan-remain unresolved. Other regional powers; as well as the United States; continue to be concerned about these volatile disputes. North Korea's nuclear and long-range missile development; China's opposition to Taiwan's pursuit of independence; and Pakistan's longstanding dispute with India have all received increasing media attention. This is the first volume using a common approach to examine post-Cold War changes in these three volatile dyads.The book's case studies detail the evolution of each country's security policy and its shifting mix of alliances. The authors analyze U.S. interests and discuss how U.S. intervention affects strategic calculations of the conflicted states. This mechanism allows gives the readers a truer understanding of the conflicts and how they interact within the Asian security system in general. Each of the dominant theoretical frameworks of international relations-neo-realism; neo-liberalism; and constructivism-offer crucial insights into this complicated situation.
#3772137 in Books 2015-11-17Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .69 x 6.00l; .0 #File Name: 0271060344248 pages
Review
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Those wacky monksBy JoeyJust when you thought all monks did was lead boring lives in musty monasteries transcribing manuscripts; along comes this book expressing the belief that some of them studied occult practices.The monastery of St. Augustine in Canterbury had a selection of controversial books having to do with magical practices. By labeling the rituals; beliefs and practices in these books "natural magic"; the monks were convinced that certain acts of magic were merely part of the natural world; and thus; not illicit. Of course many theologians would have disagreed; but the privacy of the Abby allowed the monks to study in relative isolation.These texts dealt with such ideas as drawing down spirits into talismans; receiving knowledge from angelic visions; and the creation of miraculous/composite creatures using sperm; blood and animal parts! Ewwww.With other books in the Magic and History series; reading can be a bit dry in places since these are academic volumes ( don't expect the author to translate books with Latin titles into English for us poor slobs who don't know Latin ). But the book is rewarding if you stick with it.
