At any given time, a limited number of national currencies are used as instruments of international commerce, to settle foreign trade transactions or store value for investors and central banks. How countries whose currencies gain international appeal choose to use this status forms their strategy of currency statecraft. In different circumstances, issuing governments may welcome and promote the internationalization of their currency, tolerate it, or actively oppose it. Benjamin J. Cohen offers a provocative explanation of the strategic policy choices at play. In a comprehensive review that ranges from World War II to the present, Cohen convincingly argues that one goal stands out as the primary motivation for currency statecraft: the extent of a country’s geopolitical ambition, or how driven it is to build or sustain a prominent place in the international community. When a currency becomes internationalized, it generally increases the power of the nation that produces it. In the persistent contestation that characterizes global politics, that extra edge can matter greatly, making monetary rivalry an integral component of geopolitics. Today, the major example of monetary rivalry is the emerging confrontation between the US dollar and the Chinese renminbi. Cohen describes how China has vigorously promoted the international standing of its currency in recent years, even at the risk of exacerbating relations with the United States, and explains how the outcome could play a major role in shaping the broader geopolitical engagement between the two superpowers.

How did it come to pass that, not so long after 9/11 brought the free world to our side, U.S. foreign policy is in a shambles? In this thought-provoking book, the renowned peace negotiator Dennis Ross argues that the Bush administration's problems stem from its inability to use the tools of statecraft—diplomatic, economic, and military—to advance our interests. Statecraft is as old as politics: Plato wrote about it, Machiavelli practiced it. After the demise of Communism, some predicted that statecraft would wither away. But Ross explains that in the globalized world—with its fluid borders, terrorist networks, and violent unrest—statecraft is necessary simply to keep the peace. In illuminating chapters, he outlines how statecraft helped shape a new world order after 1989. He shows how the failure of statecraft in Iraq and the Middle East has undercut the United States internationally, and makes clear that only statecraft can check the rise of China and the danger of a nuclear Iran. He draws on his expertise to reveal the art of successful negotiation. And he shows how the next president could resolve today's problems and define a realistic, ambitious foreign policy. Statecraft is essential reading for anyone interested in foreign policy—or concerned about America's place in the world.

An alphabetical reference with more than 1,500 entries that trace symbols to their cultural, religious, or mythological origins, and explain the hidden or encoded meaning that lies concealed beneath objects' and concepts' ordinary, outward appearance.

Despite Rousseau's legacy to political thought, his contribution as a constitutional theorist is underexplored. Drawing on his constitutional designs for Corsica and Poland, this book argues that Rousseau's constitutionalism is defined chiefly by its socially directive character. His constitutional projects are not aimed, primarily, at coordinating and containing state power in the familiar liberal-democratic sense. Instead, they are aimed at fostering the social conditions in which a fuller sense of freedom – understood broadly as non-domination – can be realised across all social domains. And in turn, since Rousseau views domination as being deeply embedded in complex social practices, his constitutionalism is aimed at fostering a radical austerity – social, economic and cultural – as its foil. In locating Rousseau's constitutional projects within his social and political theory of servitude and domination, this book will challenge the predominant focus and orientation of contemporary republican theory. Leading republican thinkers have drawn on the historical republican canon to articulate a model of constitutionalism which is, on the whole, 'liberal' in focus and orientation. This book will argue that the more communitarian orientation of Rousseau's constitutionalism – that is, its socially-directive focus – stems from a sophisticated and compelling account of the sources of unfreedom in complex societies, sources which are ignored or downplayed by the neo-republican literature. Rousseau embraces a communitarian social politics as part of his constitutional project precisely because, pessimistically, he views domination as being deeply embedded in the social relations of the liberal order.

First published in 1986, The Politics of the Communications Revolution in Western Europe deals with the political implications of the communications revolution, specifically with impacts on political debate and agenda, the policy process, the role of the state, and European integration. The communications revolution in Western Europe combined radical changes in the fields of computing, broadcasting and telecommunications, converging in the new media, and is intimately linked to the wider information technology revolution. The economic and social implications of the communications revolution are wide-ranging and include: the electronic office, tele-banking and tele-shopping, decentralisation of economic activities, major transformations in the labour markets, and the strategic role of the electronics industry. This book will be of interest to students of European studies, history and media studies.

With a focus on the three-month period following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, marketing consultant Fraim explains how American symbols are created, communicated, managed, and understood. He discusses the emergence of symbols from their traditional residence in religion, art, dreams, and particular cultures to a new ubiquitous global status and argues that future wars will be increasingly fought over and won through the use of symbols. Distributed by Continuum. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

The Routledge Handbook of Soft Power (2nd Edition) offers a comprehensive, detailed, and ground-breaking examination of soft power – a key factor in cultural diplomacy, cultural relations, and public diplomacy. Interrogating soft power as influence, the handbook examines manifestations in media, public mind, policy, and theory – in a fraught geopolitical climate, one demanding reconceptualization of soft power’s role in state and civic society behaviour. Part I provides important new conceptualization and critical analysis of soft power from international relations, philosophical, and other social theoretical perspectives; analyses multiple methods of soft power measurement and makes proposals; and connects soft power innovatively with other concepts Part II addresses soft power and contemporary issues by examining new technology and soft power intentions, soft power and states’ performance during the global pandemic, and soft power and values Part III investigates cases from China, France, Greece, Israel, Japan, Kazhakstan, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Türkiye, and the United States – some in combination. This innovative handbook is a definitive resource for inquirers into soft power desiring to familiarize themselves with cutting-edge debates and research. It will be of interest and value to students, researchers, and policy makers working in cultural relations, international communication, international relations, public diplomacy, and contiguous fields.

Randolph shows how "engaging" political symbols were grounded in a revolutionary way in amorous discourses that drew on metaphors of affection, desire, courtship, betrothal, marriage, homo- and hetero-eroticism, and procreation."--BOOK JACKET.

Natural Symbols is one of the most important works of modern anthropology. First published over thirty years ago, the work presaged many of the most controversial areas of intellectual debate, exploring themes such as the social meaning of natural symbols and the image of the body in society and religious cosmology. Bringing anthropology into the realm of religion, Natural Symbols enters into the ongoing debate in religious circles surrounding meaning and ritual. Written against the backdrop of student uprisings of the late 1960s, the book took seriously the revolutionary fervor of the times, but instead of seeking to destroy the rituals and symbols that can govern and oppress, Mary Douglas saw instead that if transformation were needed, it could only be made possible through better understanding. Expressed with clarity and dynamism, the passionate analysis which follows from this remains one of the most insightful and rewarding studies of human behavior that has been written. -- Publisher description.

This book approaches economic sanctions as a form of statecraft in order to better study the oft used but not well understood policy. The chapters study a variety of historical and current cases involving the use of economic threats and promises. Their authors come from both academic and policy making fields, as well as different disciplinary backgrounds (political science and economics). They apply different research approaches (case studies, statistical analysis, formal economics) to increase our understanding of the sanction puzzle.