Books about Adelphi from Amazon.com

Syria entered a new phase with the death of its long-serving leader, Hafiz al-Asad, and the accession of his son Bashar in 2000. While the new president has disappointed much of the hopes for political opening which he himself ahs created, Syria is clearly undergoing a process of change. This book provides a detailed examination of economic and political change in Syria and Syria's position in the Middle East. The author has a wide and in-depth knowledge of Syria, which has been gained from first-hand experience of its political scene and demonstrated in his previously published works..
Price: $28.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This book examines the role of civilian police in peace operations which has expanded greatly since the early 1990s and has culminated in international policemen assuming responsibility for law and order in Kosovo and East Timor. It looks at the way civilian police play a critical role in reforming local police forces and at times enforcing the law themselves..
Price: $31.94 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) was initiated by US President Bush on 31 May 2003. Its purpose is to prevent elements of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) from reaching or leaving states or sub-state actors of proliferation concern. Such states include first and foremost North Korea, but also Iran, the Sudan, Syria and Cuba. Countries publicly adhering to its Principles have grown from a core of 11 to more than 20, including in Asia, only Japan and Singapore.

Most WMD traffic moves by sea. The focus of the PSI is on interdictions and seizures. There have been 11 successful intercepts so far. This includes an intercept of WMD related materials to Libya that purportedly forced Libya to abandon its WMD programs. Moreover Liberia, Panama, the Marshall Islands and Croatia have signed bilateral WMD boarding agreements with the United States.

Although the PSI has made considerable progress, its aggressive promotion and implementation has created considerable controversy. It hasbeen criticized for lacking sufficient public accountability, stretching if not breaking the fundaments and limits of existing international law, undermining the UN system, limited effectiveness, and being politically divisive. Moreover, countries that are key to a successful PSI ---like China, India, Indonesia and South Korea---have not publicly joined the activity despite US pressure to do so, and Japan and Russia seem to be rather reluctant participants. Each is weighing the pros and cons of public participation.

The PSI has been cast upon already stormy political seas. In both Northeast and Southeast Asia, Cold War relationships and alliances are being stressed as the region's countries re-adjust to each other, the United States and the new security environment. China's rise, Japan's drive to become a 'normal' country, and big power competition for influence in Southeast Asia set the political context. Within this context, maritime security issues are rising to the forefront of national concerns. Jurisdiction is creeping seaward and perceptions of threat and concepts of sovereignty are diverging, greatly elevating maritime sensitivities.
Options for increasing PSI participation and enhancing its effectiveness include changing existing international law; expanding existing conventions or developing a new one; obtaining an unambiguous empowering UN Security Council Resolution; obtaining NATO endorsement; arguing pre-emptive self-defense; and building a coalition of countries willing to perform such interdictions on each other's ships and aircraft or in or over their territorial seas. However each of these options has obstacles and limitations that must be overcome. The PSI has some ways to go before it becomes the comprehensive effective tool its founders envisioned..
Price: $14.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Protracted refugee populations not only constitute over 70% of the world's refugees but are also a principal source of many of the irregular movements of people around the world today. The long-term presence of refugee populations in much of the developing world has come to be seen by many host states in these regions as a source of insecurity.
In response, host governments have enacted policies of containing refugees in isolated and insecure camps, have prevented the arrival of additional refugees and, in extreme cases, have engaged in forcible repatriation.
Not surprisingly, these refugee populations are also increasingly perceived as possible sources of insecurity for Western states. Refugee camps are sometimes breeding grounds for international terrorism and rebel movements. These groups often exploit the presence of refugees to engage in activities..
Price: $36.02 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Over the last decade, the failure of countries to emerge from conflict and the rise of 'failed states' has focused attention on state security sectors. External actors involved in 'protectorates' such as Kosovo and East Timor and peace agreements such as Cambodia, El Salvador or Bosnia have come face to face with the problems exposed by factionalized, wrong-sized, dictatorial and non-professional security sectors. Consequently, international institutions, the UN or World Bank, for example, and individual government ministries in countries such as the UK, USA and Germany have been increasingly concerned with promoting security sector reform (SSR).

This paper argues, however, that while there is much discussion about capabilities for SSR and its technical requirements, there has been insufficient analysis of how to mobilize such resources. Three central questions, therefore, are examined: how have the external approaches to SSR evolved and what do they entail; what specific problems does the SSR agenda face operationally; and what concrete policy recommendations for engagement can be drawn from reform experiences to date..
Price: $22.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]