The European Union is facing the worst existential crisis in its 60-year history. At the same time, it is confronted with old and new challenges in its environment that call for joint action. But how do matters stand with the EU's capacity to act? Does the EU manage to effectively combine the different components of its external relations-such as trade, development aid, and security policy-better than it did in the past? How is the EU's external action determined by the internal socio-economi...

With unrivalled coverage of a wide range of issues - from terrorism, inter-state conflict and nuclear deterrence, to environmental security, health, and transnational crime - Contemporary Security Studies is the definitive introduction to Security Studies. Bringing together contributions from leading scholars, it provides a student-friendly guide to traditional and critical theoretical approaches, as well as the most important contemporary issues that dominate the modern security field. The s...

Introduction to International Relations and Global Politics provides students with a complete understanding of theory and how it applies to the real world. With comprehensive coverage of all major classical and contemporary theories and approaches, the text focuses on the connections between theory and current issues in international relations.

Welfare states vary across nations and change over time. And the balance between markets and government; free enterprise and social protection is perennially in question. But all developed societies have welfare states of one kind or another - they are a fundamental dimension of modern government.

And even after decades of free-market criticism and reform, their core institutions have proven resilient and popular. This Very Short Introduction describes the modern welfare state, explaining its...

Based on a detailed study of 35 cases in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and post-communist Eurasia, this book explores the fate of competitive authoritarian regimes between 1990 and 2008. It finds that where social, economic, and technocratic ties to the West were extensive, as in Eastern Europe and the Americas, the external cost of abuse led incumbents to cede power rather than crack down, which led to democratization. Where ties to the West were limited, external democratizing pressure was w...

This is a practical guide to the historical study of international politics. The focus is on the nuts and bolts of historical research--that is, on how to use original sources, analyze and interpret historical works, and actually write a work of history. Two appendixes provide sources sure to be indispensable for anyone doing research in this area.

The book does not simply lay down precepts. It presents examples drawn from the author's more than forty years' experience as a working historian....

'I'm a fairly calm fellow; I don't usually get het up about things. But I was, let's say, concerned when I tuned into the Moscow Echo radio station and heard that the Kremlin had put a price on my head. The announcement didn't quite say 'dead or alive'. But it came close...' Mikhail Khodorkovsky, March 2021

Mikhail Khodorkovsky has seen behind the mask of Vladimir Putin. Once an oil tycoon and the richest man in Russia, Khodorkovsky spoke out against the corruption of Putin's regime - and was...

International Political Economy in the 21st Century offers students an engaging and coherent foundation to the subject. It considers traditional and alternative approaches to IPE, and in doing so elucidates key concepts, assumptions and the intellectual and historical context in which they arose and developed.

This best-selling textbook continues to lead the way in providing an approachable and wide-ranging introduction to politics. It covers the key concepts, theories and debates, actors and institutions that drive politics, exploring their application and relevance to contemporary political developments. This sixth edition's new co-author, Matthew Laing, builds on previous editions and provides significant revisions to chapters covering populism, elections, global policing, security and governanc...