In retrospect, historical change often appears to be both logical and inevitable. Yet, as a process, as a series of moments, it is by nature open-ended. The protagonists are unaware of the potential consequences of their choices, as well as the meaning of their actions in the greater scheme of things. An individual, in real time and in the middle of events, has little scope for understanding the whole. The dynamic of a regime change involves a journey away from a particular past towards a chosen future, while the practices of the old regime are called into question. The competing visions for a better future often include a reactionary option, looking back towards an older period, perceived as a golden age waiting to be restored. In the aftermath of a regime change the new cadres, seeking to consolidate their power, form the new conservative bloc of the society. When revolutionary forces again begin to gather, the regime disintegrates, and the cycle begins again. So far, regime changes have been analysed as unique, one-off events. This book traces what such processes, regardless of their ideological colour, have in common. How does political power change hands? What are the mental and material tools of change? From the last stages of World War I to the present Crimean crisis, the case studies in this book offer timeless insights for understanding ideological and military conflicts, including the undercurrents of the present Russo-Western relations.

Europe endured such incessant political discord throughout the twentieth century that some historians refer to the period's conflicts as the Long War. During the Balkan wars of 1912–1913, regional fighting in southeastern Europe ignited conflict across the continent that continued through both world wars and the Cold War. In Consumed by War: European Conflict in the 20th Century, Richard C. Hall illuminates the complex diplomatic and military struggles of a region whose instability, rooted in a nineteenth-century nationalistic fervor, provided a catalyst for the political events that ensued. From the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 to the incarceration of Radovan Karadzic in 2008, this narrative history appeals to general readers and scholars interested in a fresh interpretation of a complicated and brutal era.

All over the world countries struggle with water stress. Problems vary from water scarcity and a degrading water quality, to floods and a rising sea level due to climate change. The European Union adopted a Water Framework Directive to improve the sustainability of water management in its member states. Water management should be coordinated at the level of river basins as a whole. Interests of various user groups should be better represented. River basin visions should take into account the impact of all human activities on the status of the resource. Water legislation needs streamlining and more focus on its implementation. The European Union advocates regulating water prices by charging the costs of water services on the basis of full cost recovery and the polluter pays principle. This book examines the development of water management in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy and Switzerland. It is based on the European research project EUWARENESS. The authors apply a theoretical framework for the analysis of institutional regimes, water governance and property rights. The evolution of national water resource regimes is described over a period of almost 200 years (1800-2000). The long-term perspective enables the reader to see the conditions under which regime transformation and paradigm change are made possible. The book also includes a critical analysis of policy making by the European Union, and a comparative review and analysis of regime development in the six countries involved. This book is followed by another volume published with Kluwer Academic Publishers on "Integrated Governance and Water Basin Management", edited by Hans Bressers and Stefan Kuks.

A rigorous and comprehensive account of recent democratic transitions around the world From the 1980s through the first decade of the twenty-first century, the spread of democracy across the developing and post-Communist worlds transformed the global political landscape. What drove these changes and what determined whether the emerging democracies would stabilize or revert to authoritarian rule? Dictators and Democrats takes a comprehensive look at the transitions to and from democracy in recent decades. Deploying both statistical and qualitative analysis, Stephen Haggard and Robert Kaufman engage with theories of democratic change and advocate approaches that emphasize political and institutional factors. While inequality has been a prominent explanation for democratic transitions, the authors argue that its role has been limited, and elites as well as masses can drive regime change. Examining seventy-eight cases of democratic transition and twenty-five reversions since 1980, Haggard and Kaufman show how differences in authoritarian regimes and organizational capabilities shape popular protest and elite initiatives in transitions to democracy, and how institutional weaknesses cause some democracies to fail. The determinants of democracy lie in the strength of existing institutions and the public's capacity to engage in collective action. There are multiple routes to democracy, but those growing out of mass mobilization may provide more checks on incumbents than those emerging from intra-elite bargains. Moving beyond well-known beliefs regarding regime changes, Dictators and Democrats explores the conditions under which transitions to democracy are likely to arise.

This ground breaking volume offers a range of alternative approaches to political science, highlighting problems too rarely confronted by “mainstream” political scientists. Ranging from Gunfighter Sagas to the changing faces of an imaginary Mars, the innovative chapters introduce whole new ways of rethinking politics, stirring up the all too conventional ways of the discipline. “Klaus von Beyme, one of the most erudite members of our profession, in his introduction conclusively demonstrates the book’s crossdisciplinary merits. I believe this valuable work will be a powerful boost to an international, comparatively informed, pluralist political science.” Theodore J. Lowi (Cornell University), former President, International Political Science Association

Political instability is nearly always accompanied by fuller prisons, and this was particularly true during the “long” Second World War, when military mobilization, social disorder, wrenching political changes, and shifting national boundaries swelled the ranks of the imprisoned and broadened the carceral reach of the state. This volume brings together theoretically sophisticated, empirically rich studies of key transitional moments that transformed the scope and nature of European prisons during and after the war. It depicts the complex interactions of both penal and administrative institutions with the men and women who experienced internment, imprisonment, and detention at a time when these categories were in perpetual flux.

An encyclopedic guide to 20th-century communism around the world The first book of its kind to appear since the end of the Cold War, this indispensable reference provides encyclopedic coverage of communism and its impact throughout the world in the 20th century. With the opening of archives in former communist states, scholars have found new material that has expanded and sometimes altered the understanding of communism as an ideological and political force. A Dictionary of 20th-Century Communism brings this scholarship to students, teachers, and scholars in related fields. In more than 400 concise entries, the book explains what communism was, the forms it took, and the enormous role it played in world history from the Russian Revolution through the collapse of the Soviet Union and beyond. Examines the political, intellectual, and social influences of communism around the globe Features contributions from an international team of 160 scholars Includes more than 400 entries on major topics, such as: Figures: Lenin, Mao, Stalin, Ho Chi Minh, Pol Pot, Castro, Gorbachev Events: Cold War, Prague Spring, Cultural Revolution, Sandinista Revolution Ideas and concepts: Marxism-Leninism, cult of personality, labor Organizations and movements: KGB, Comintern, Gulag, Khmer Rouge Related topics: totalitarianism, nationalism, antifascism, anticommunism, McCarthyism Guides readers to further research through bibliographies, cross-references, and an index

This title was first published in 2001. As economic integration touches ever more areas of society, more and more people are confronted by the bewildering complexity of the functioning of the European Union. Rather than merely focusing on the description of EU policies, this study of the economics of European integration seeks to: select the most relevant aspects and developments; place the wide variety of issues in a robust conceptual structure; integrate theoretical developments with the results of empirical research and of policy analysis; explain the logic of the dynamic processes; describe the structural features of the European economy; highlight the response of private companies to changes in the regulatory environment; depict the historical developments so as to give a sound basis for the understanding of the present situation and the likely future development; and set the European developments in the light of global developments. In practice Western Europe is the focus of major parts of this book.

In the early twentieth century, the Chinese state made strenuous efforts to broaden and deepen its authority over rural society. This book is an ambitious attempt to offer both a method and a framework for analyzing Chinese social history in the state-making era. The author constructs a prismatic view of village-level society that shows how marketing, kinship, water control, temple patronage, and other structures of human interaction overlapped to form what he calls the cultural nexus of power in local society. The author's concept of the cultural nexus and his tracing of how it was altered enables us for the first time to grapple with change at the village level in all its complexity. The author asserts that the growth of the state transformed and delegitimized the traditional cultural nexus during the Republican era, particularly in the realm of village leadership and finances. Thus, the expansion of state power was ultimately and paradoxically responsible for the revolution in China as it eroded the foundations of village life, leaving nothing in its place. The problems of state-making in China were different from those of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Europe; the Chinese experience heralds the process that would become increasingly common in the emergent states of the developing world under the very different circumstances of the twentieth century.

Some scholars emphasize the importance of a hegemon in creating a regime and giving it momentum. This is called the hegemonic stability theory. The United States, for example, has been instrumental in creating the Bretton Woods system, with organizations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The rationale is that a hegemon, being the dominant actor in international politics and economics, often stands to gain the most from the creation of global standards. For instance, while other countries might benefit from it, U.S. companies like Microsoft, Universal Studios, and Pfizer would be among the greatest beneficiaries of a strict global intellectual property regime. As the hegemons use their power to create regimes, their withdrawal similarly can also threaten the effectiveness of regimes. Regimes serve crucial functional needs in international relations. Powerful regimes are considered by some scholars as independent actors in international politics. Although ultimately states create and sustain regimes, once institutionalized, regimes can exert influence in world politics that is practically independent of state sovereignty. The International Atomic Energy Agency, for instance, has certain rights, given to it by states themselves, to monitor nuclear energy activity in countries. Insofar as they are organized by means of treaties among countries, regimes provide an important source of formal international law. Regimes themselves can also be subjects of international law. This book tries to unravel that ideology and to create an alternative vision of a just and democratic world over. Contents: • International Regime • Theories of International Regimes • Applying Regime Theories • Regime Change • State Cartel Theory • Critiques of the Theory of International Regimes • Conspiracy Theories • World-systems Theory • New International Economic Order • Unchanged Role of Nation-States