This book offers a historical analysis of the geopolitical and geoeconomic competition between the USA and Russia, which has recently heated up again due to the eastward expansion of NATO. The analysis departs from an exploration of the USA’s foreign policy and geopolitical ambitions by illustrating the influence of Wall Street and the military-industrial complex on the country’s political decision-making. The historical review covers a wide timespan, from the Second World War and the birth of NATO, to the wars against Iraq and Afghanistan, to the rebellions that erupted in Eurasia, Northern Africa and the Middle East in the 2010’s, as well as the wars in the Ukraine and in Syria. By doing so, it reveals the influence of US neocons, the US intelligence services and the military complex on the Arab Spring, the Color Revolutions and the armed conflicts in Ukraine and Syria. Ultimately, the book depicts a new era of worldwide instability and disorder, dominated by violence and arbitrariness.

A Brookings Institution Press and Chatham House publication The Russian annexation of Crimea was one of the great strategic shocks of the past twenty-five years. For many in the West, Moscow's actions in early 2014 marked the end of illusions about cooperation, and the return to geopolitical and ideological confrontation. Russia, for so long a peripheral presence, had become the central actor in a new global drama. In this groundbreaking book, renowned scholar Bobo Lo analyzes the broader context of the crisis by examining the interplay between Russian foreign policy and an increasingly anarchic international environment. He argues that Moscow's approach to regional and global affairs reflects the tension between two very different worlds—the perceptual and the actual. The Kremlin highlights the decline of the West, a resurgent Russia, and the emergence of a new multipolar order. But this idealized view is contradicted by a world disorder that challenges core assumptions about the dominance of great powers and the utility of military might. Its lesson is that only those states that embrace change will prosper in the twenty-first century. A Russia able to redefine itself as a modern power would exert a critical influence in many areas of international politics. But a Russia that rests on an outdated sense of entitlement may end up instead as one of the principal casualties of global transformation.

This volume commends itself to the reader to provoke thought about what governments and international organizations ought to do when faced with the responsibilities of a given peace operation. Equally important, it suggests what we as citizens in the world community ought to demand of our governments and that community in the current world disorder. The intent is to help decision-makers, policy makers, opinion-makers and students understand the nature of the problem that is likely to provide the greatest challenge to international security management into the next century.

Following on from Custom Maid Spin, Peter de Krassel turns his unique international perspective and controversial pen onto the business of war. In the course of reviewing the conflicts of the 20th century and today, he argues that to end, or at least minimize, the cycle of 21st century violence humanity is inflicting on itself, America must lead the peaceful charge for change. To do so Americans need to learn and understand the reasons for war and how future wars can be stopped. War is no the answer to hunger, oil, territorial expansion, ethnic cleansing or the survival of America. On the contrary it is its escalating destructive downfall. He points to China's re-emergence as a global power as America's greatest challenge - and one that must be resolved peacefully. America must keep in mind the warning by the Greek historian Thucydides, more than 2,000 years ago, that belief in the inevitability of conflict can become one of its main causes. In other words, America cannot afford to become a victim of its own political spin " Peter de Krassel's treatment on war reads like a journalistic account of Heart of Darkness. We are like Marlow, journeying down a political river, with each chapter forcing us to shed another layer of ignorance in order to acquire new insight. But this work also brings with it a sense of hope, for we the people are capable of molding our own destiny, as long as we have the wisdom and courage to change things." Brandon Royal, Author, The Little Red Writing Book "An anecdotal and passionate polemic on modern history. An unabashed racy weltanschauung that would not sit well on a White House shelf."Stuart Wolfendale, Columnist, The Standard Peter deKrassel was born in England of a Russian father and Palestinian Jewish mother. He has lived all over the world, including Switzerland, Israel and the United States. Currently he lives in Hong Kong. He has a unique perspective on world events both from the influences of the places he's lived in and the people he has met, as well as from his varied career in the law and the media.

We the Maids, For the Maids, By the Maids - we are the maids that clean up and pay for America's geopolitical mess. A political manifesto for our difficult and troubled times, Custom Maid Spin for New World Disorder is a trenchant analysis of the political, social and moral ills that beset the United States. This is a book written for anyone with a stake in the future of America. Filled with witty personal anecdotes drawn from his experiences as a lawyer, a businessman and a political activist, de Krassel argues that America desperately needs to reform. He takes particular aim at the country's career politicians, sensationalist media and jingoistic culture. And he suggests ways in which America can put its house in order. The first chapter, The Hypocrisy of Fake Morality with Real Orgasms, examines how American journalists have increasingly focused on frivolous stories about the sex lives of public figures rather than the real issues affecting the country. In the years leading up to the 9/11 attacks, for example, more time was spent by the American media chasing the Monica Lewinsky affair than tackling difficult topics like the rise of Islamic extremism abroad or the long overdue need for campaign finance reform. Further chapters cover racism and bigotry, religion, America's great opportunity in the new millennium, the breakdown of family structures, spin and disinformation. The book concludes with an exhortation to a return to the principles of the Founding Fathers. A new millennium offers a unique opportunity for change. It is a chance for Americans to retake control of their political system and reassess their values in an increasingly religious, stressed-out, debt-laden, consumerist society. Peter de Krassel was born in England of a Russian father and Palestinian Jewish mother. He has lived all over the world, including Switzerland, Israel and the United States. Currently he lives in Hong Kong. He has a unique perspective on world events both from the influences of the places he's lived in and the people he has met, as well as from his varied career.

Is the world entering a period of breakdown or breakthrough? As Suter makes clear, globalization is reducing the role of national governments, but it is not yet clear what will follow the current world order. He explains the process of globalization and uses the technique of scenario planning to examine alternative forms of global order and disorder. The current world order is ending. The old order has been based on nation-states, or countries, with centralized national governments. As Keith Suter makes clear, the process of globalization, which is now the most important factor in world politics, is undermining that world order and leading to world disorder. Globalization is the process of the erosion of the nation-state as the basic unit of world politics, the declining power of national governments, and the reduced significance of national boundaries. Global change is running ahead of governments' abilities to manage it. Economics is only a part of that process. Suter also deals with other vital concerns: war, crime, environment, and health. Therefore, while Suter examines the growth and impact of transnational corporations, he also takes in many other matters that comprise globalization. The process of globalization is not reversible. Therefore, there has to be a search for a new order rather than vain efforts to patch up the system of the nation-states. Suter concludes by exploring alternatives to the current world order using the technique of scenario planning. A provocative analysis that will be of interest to scholars, students, researchers, and the general public concerned with international relations, law, and economic issues.

Political commentator Peter de Krassell contends that globalization was a 19th Century model of economics that was based on scarcity and actually died in the last decade of the 20th Century when the whole World was in surplus. In this fast paced geopolitical journey across America, China, the Middle East and beyond, de Krassell looks at the history of the major empires of the last 150 years (including that of the USA), their achievements, shortcomings and religious failures that all lead to globalization. Learning from the past he posits "interlocalism" as the successor to globalization. This latest book in his Custom Maid series offers a completely revolutionary new approach to contemplating our future and is must read material for anyone with an interest in understanding the political and economic situation now and wanting to see how the future might look.

A world which, like ours, has been ravaged by some sixty wars in recent decades, can rightly be described as the scene of global disorder. Even today, the same world is traumatized by hot and cold wars, proxy wars, and repeated outbursts of blood-filled mayhem, not to mention the threat of a nuclear holocaust unleashed by big power rivalries. These are not mere statistics, but wounds in the body of humanity, calling for healing and reconciliation. In biblical terms, human beings are not meant to be the owners or the destroyers of the world, but rather its custodians or caretakers. This collection is a summons to responsible care-taking, and it approaches the subject from an intercultural perspective in a variety of fields, including religion and politics. The topics covered range from accounts of major global calamities today to explorations of possible political, economic and societal reforms, and to the invocation of basic religious and philosophical resources needed for the recovery of a world beyond global disorder.

This book makes an original contribution to Russia-EU literature by analyzing constructions and trans-formations of the Russian ‘Self’ in relation to the European "Other". It provides an orientation towards understanding Russian foreign policy discourse under Putin and offers a thorough analysis of the actions of key policy actors to ground the Russian discourse ideationally, historically, psychologically, and politico-sociologically. Providing a rich analysis of how Russian foreign policy toward the EU evolved from cooperation to competition and ultimately conflict, the author argues that to understand these changes and continuities we must explore concepts of sovereignty and balance of power central to the drafting of Russian foreign policy. Primarily situated in the fields of International Relations and Russian foreign policy, this book will also be of interest to scholars in the fields of Foreign Policy Analysis, Post-Soviet Studies, Eurasian Studies, Historical International Relations, Critical Security Studies, Political Sociology, and Political Psychology.

(ACADEMIC PAPERBACK DESCRIPTION) Long one of the fieldOs most distinguished thinkers, Hoffmann brings together in this volume his important recent work on international politics. Many published here for the first time, these essays offer incisive reflections upon the reemergence of nationalism and ethnic conflicts in Europe, the redefined role of military intervention, and other uncertainties brought on by the demise of the Cold War. New to this edition is a current analysis of the Kosovo conflict. Woven throughout are his clear-eyed assessments of contending approaches to the study of international relations. (LONG TRADE CLOTH) Stanley Hoffmann has remarked that OIt wasnOt I who chose to study world politics. World politics forced themselves upon me.O A rootless child of World War II; Austrian, French, and later American, he has always maintained a unique balance and perspective on global affairs. Long one of the fieldOs most distinguished thinkers, Hoffmann brings together in this volume his important recent work on international politics. Many published here for the first time, these essays offer incisive reflections upon the reemergence of nationalism and ethnic conflicts in Europe, the redefined role of military intervention, and other uncertainties brought on by the demise of the Cold War. Hoffmann weighs the influence on theory and policy of such disparate figures as John Rawls, Hedley Bull, and George Schultz. Woven throughout are his clear-eyed assessments of contending approaches to the study of international relations.