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1. The Cosmopolitan Epics of 2004: A Case Study

Author:
Saverio Saverio Giovacchini
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:
Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:
In 2004 Hollywood produced three purportedly blockbuster epic films: Troy, King Arthur and Alexander. Many critics suggested a direct link between the 1950s “sword and sandal” epic and this new crop of movies. Similarities between the two cycles certainly exist but in this essay I want to emphasize a crucial difference between the contemporary, cosmopolitan, epic and the previous, more nation-bound, 1950s cycle. Rather than being in tune with key elements of American foreign policy, the new cycle of “sword and sandal” films offers a somber assessment of American imperial adventures. I shall contend, in fact, that the new crop of epic films had to choose between two generic conventions that are, at present, not compatible. On the one hand, epic films had traditionally been the bearers of the foreign policy vision of the country that produced them. On the other, their inflated budgets made them dependent on an international market. Deeply aware of a globalized and rising opposition to US foreign policy and of the fact that foreign box office now exceeds the domestic take of a blockbuster, it may be no wonder that the makers of these films chose to craft them into citizens of the world.
Topic:
Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
United States and America

2. Adeed Dawisha Iraq: A Political History from Independence to Occupation

Author:
Paolo Chiocchetti
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:
Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:
The historical trajectory of the Iraqi nation-state has been profoundly marked by its role as a political-institutional laboratory of grand imperial projects. Its first master, United Kingdom, first forged Iraq from the three former Mesopotamian provinces of the Ottoman Empire (1918) and then experimented different forms of governance, from direct rule (1918-1920 and 1941-1945) to indirect rule as a Mandate power alongside of the Hashemite monarchy (1921-1932) to informal influence on an independent state (1932-1941 and 1945-1958). Its second master, the United States, treaded down the same path from direct rule through the CPA of Paul Bremer (2003-2004) to indirect rule alongside democratically elected governments (2004-2010) to Obama's envisioned informal rule after the alleged departure of all combat troops (from 2010). The commonality between the two cases cannot be limited to the attempt to exert a political/economic control over the Iraqi territory; in both cases the foreign powers endeavoured to create a self-sustainable nation-state which could serve as a model to all other countries in the region and in the global South: autonomous, yet pro-Western and liberal-democratic.
Topic:
Government
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, and United Kingdom

3. Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy, and Why It Matters for Global Capitalism

Author:
Stan C. Weeber
Publication Date:
07-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:
Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:
This book appeared against the backdrop of a near meltdown in the U.S. economy and the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States. Because candidate Obama championed stimulus spending to repair the economy, there was anticipation that the release of Animal Spirits would coincide with a renewed enthusiasm for the economics of John Maynard Keynes inside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Topic:
Economics
Political Geography:
United States

4. Hard Line: The Republican Party and U.S. Foreign Policy Since World War II

Author:
Dustin Dehez
Publication Date:
07-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:
Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:
Colin Dueck's superbly written history of Republican American presidents since the end of World War II is a fine introduction to American conservatism and American presidential politics alike. Most historians and political scientists focus their attention on a single administration and try to describe changes within a single or between two or three consecutive administrations. That is quite fine of course, but what is often missing is the evolution in a particular brand of a political party's approach to a specific area over a prolonged period of time, a longue durée so to speak. This lack of attention to changes in the long run has contributed to the misperception that there is one Republican or Democratic angle to foreign affairs. Dueck therefore tries to complement the history by focusing on the evolution of Republican foreign policy over the past six decades and though the book's title suggests a consistent Republican approach to foreign affairs, he excels in describing the different angles by which American Republican presidents have perceived international relations and formulated their policies. The author does not hide his general sympathy for a conservative stance on foreign policy but manages a critical evaluation where it is being called for. The book's narrative does not necessarily add anything new to the existing body of research, but it is, nonetheless, a rather apt description of American conservative thought and Republican politics alike. Dueck brilliantly conflates the recent history of political thought, the emergence of new and powerful lobbies, party and domestic politics, and public diplomacy with the performance of Republican presidents. And wherever convenient Dueck pays sufficient attention to developments on the side of the Democratic party as well.
Topic:
Development
Political Geography:
United States and America

5. The Faces of Terrorism: Social and Psychological Dimensions

Author:
Dylan Kissane
Publication Date:
07-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:
Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:
In the decade since the 9/11 terrorist attacks there have been countless books and articles published that have sought to explain Islamist terrorism and explore policy responses to terrorism from the Muslim world. A smaller sector of the literature has sought to place Islamist terror in its international political context, drawing parallels with terrorism in the Basque country, Northern Ireland and domestic groups in the United States. A smaller sector again seeks to explore not only to describe such terrorism and explore policy responses to it but also to dig deeper and uncover the motivations that drive terrorists and those that respond to acts of terrorism to. Such works are, by necessity, interdisciplinary, drawing, of course, on political science and international relations but also sociology, psychology, economics and public policy studies, among many other fields. This sub-segment of the much broader field of terrorism studies offers the reader a chance to understand all aspects of terrorism in a variety of contexts, from what motivates a Tamil Tiger suicide bomber in Sri Lanka to what explains Irish Republican Army tactics in the mainland United Kingdom, from how military power is used to counter sub-state terrorist elements to how those terrorist actors are recruited in the first place. Broader in its conception of the notion of terrorism and wise to the complexities that terrorism should engender in policy debates, books that fall into this sub-segment of the field are both the most challenging to read and, when well executed, the most rewarding for the scholar of international politics.
Topic:
Economics
Political Geography:
United States, United Kingdom, and Sri Lanka

6. Emerging Markets: Theory Practice / Turkey's Reforms Post 2001 Crisis

Author:
Duygu Uckun and Mark Doerr
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:
Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:
The global financial downturn of 2001 affected broad swaths of the increasingly interconnected global economy. The global effects of the economic downturn in the U.S. in 2008 showed that decoupling had not occurred to the extent many thought, and showed that indeed emerging market countries, including Turkey, were not immune from economic trouble in America. This paper addresses the question, whether the fiscal, financial, and regulatory reforms in Turkey after the 2001 economic crisis cushion the global financial crisis world is facing toward the end of the decade. In doing so we analyze the policies implemented by Turkey before and after the 2001 global economic crisis and identify the successes as well as failures of those reforms. The results of our research show that despite significant reforms in key economic and regulatory areas in the post-2001 crisis period, vulnerabilities remained; especially concerning the large current account deficit, volatility of exchange rates, increased private sector indebtedness, and persistent unemployment. These vulnerabilities will be visible in the deteriorating liquidity conditions in the global financial markets. We conclude by recommending infrastructure, education and health spending as well as restructuring of the economy to further attract FDI and avoid reliance on speculative foreign capital in order to achieve a more balanced and sustained growth in the long run.
Political Geography:
United States, America, and Turkey