East Timor at the Crossroads

East Timor at the Crossroads
Author: Peter Carey
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Total Pages: 284
Release: 1995-09-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780824817886

In a rapidly changing post-Cost War world, where many age-old conflicts and injustices are at last being put to rights, East Timor stands out as a still unresolved tragedy. In the past twenty years (1975–95), this former Portuguese colony has been under Indonesian military occupation, an occupation responsible for the death of over 200,000 of its inhabitants (a third of its pre-1975 population) and the destruction of much of its indigenous society. Yet, despite enormous odds, the people of East Timor continue to fight for the independence which was denied them in the mid-1970s. Twenty years on, there is now a very real chance for a new beginning in East Timor. This book, which brings together contributions by both East Timorese and Western specialists of East Timor, provides a compelling account of the process by which a once isolated and traditional society has been forged into a nation with a deep sense of its own identity rooted it its unique religious, cultural, linguistic, and historical heritage. Indonesia is at last beginning to realize the cost of Third World colonialism, and its Western allies are becoming less tolerant of its ‘security state’ methods. The last section of this book considers the new diplomatic initiatives which are currently in train, under the auspices of the UN, to bring about a resolution to the Timor problem without jeopardizing the integrity of the Indonesian Republic. An extensive bibliography of titles on East Timor published between 1970 and 1994 will prove especially useful for scholars.

Eurasian Crossroads

Eurasian Crossroads
Author: James A. Millward
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 472
Release: 2007
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780231139243

Presents a comprehensive study of the central Asian region of Xinjiang's history and people from antiquity to the present. Discusses Xinjiang's rich environmental, cultural and ethno-political heritage.

Genocide and Resistance in Southeast Asia

Genocide and Resistance in Southeast Asia
Author: Ben Kiernan
Publisher: Transaction Publishers
Total Pages: 365
Release: 2011-12-31
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1412809150

Two modern cases of genocide and extermination began in Southeast Asia in the same year. Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge regime ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, and Indonesian forces occupied East Timor from 1975 to 1999. This book examines the horrific consequences of Cambodian communist revolution and Indonesian anti-communist counterinsurgency. It also chronicles the two cases of indigenous resistance to genocide and extermination, the international cover-ups that obstructed documentation of these crimes, and efforts to hold the perpetrators legally accountable. The perpetrator regimes inflicted casualties in similar proportions. Each caused the deaths of about one-fifth of the population of the nation. Cambodia's mortality was approximately 1.7 million, and approximately 170,000 perished in East Timor. In both cases, most of the deaths occurred in the five-year period from 1975 to1980. In addition, Cambodia and East Timor not only shared the experience of genocide but also of civil war, international intervention, and UN conflict resolution. U.S. policymakers supported the invading Indonesians in Timor, as well as the indigenous Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. Both regimes exterminated ethnic minorities, including local Chinese, as well as political dissidents. Yet the ideological fuel that ignited each conflagration was quite different. Jakarta pursued anti-communism; the Khmer Rouge were communists. In East Timor the major Indonesian goal was conquest. In Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge's goal was revolution. Maoist ideology influenced Pol Pot's regime, but it also influenced the East Timorese resistance to the Indonesia's occupiers. Genocide and Resistance in Southeast Asia is significant both for its historical documentation and for its contribution to the study of the politics and mechanisms of genocide. It is a fundamental contribution that will be read by historians, human rights activists, and genocide studies specialists.

Criminal Justice at the Crossroads

Criminal Justice at the Crossroads
Author: William R. Kelly
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 418
Release: 2015-05-05
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0231539223

Over the past forty years, the criminal justice system in the United States has engaged in a very expensive policy failure, attempting to punish its way to public safety, with dismal results. So-called "tough on crime" policies have not only failed to effectively reduce crime, recidivism, and victimization but also created an incredibly inefficient system that routinely fails the public, taxpayers, crime victims, criminal offenders, their families, and their communities. Strategies that focus on behavior change are much more productive and cost effective for reducing crime than punishment, and in this book, William R. Kelly discusses the policy, process, and funding innovations and priorities that the United States needs to effectively reduce crime, recidivism, victimization, and cost. He recommends proactive, evidence-based interventions to address criminogenic behavior; collaborative decision making from a variety of professions and disciplines; and a focus on innovative alternatives to incarceration, such as problem-solving courts and probation. Students, professionals, and policy makers alike will find in this comprehensive text a bracing discussion of how our criminal justice system became broken and the best strategies by which to fix it.

Critical Theory at a Crossroads

Critical Theory at a Crossroads
Author: Stijn De Cauwer
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2018-07-31
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0231546831

We are living in an age of crisis—or an age in which everything is labeled a crisis. Financial, debt, and refugee “crises” have erupted. The word has also been applied to the Arab Spring and its aftermath, Brexit, the 2016 U.S. election, and many other international events. Yet the term has contradictory political and strategic meanings for those challenging power structures and those seeking to preserve them. For critics of the status quo, can the rhetoric of crisis be used to foment urgency around issues like climate change and financialization, or does framing a situation as a “crisis” play into the hands of the existing political order, which then seeks to tighten the leash by creating a state of emergency? Critical Theory at a Crossroads presents conversations with prominent theorists about the crises that have marked the past years, the protest movements that have risen up in response, and the use of the term in political discourse. Tariq Ali, Rosi Braidotti, Wendy Brown, Maurizio Lazzarato, Angela McRobbie, Jean-Luc Nancy, Antonio Negri, Jacques Rancière, Saskia Sassen, and Joseph Vogl offer their views on contemporary challenges and how we might address them, candidly discussing the alternatives that new social movements have offered, alongside an exchange between Zygmunt Bauman and Roberto Esposito on theories of community. Sparring over crucial developments in these past years of catastrophe and the calamity of everyday life under capitalism, they shed light on how crises and the discourse of crisis can both obscure and reveal fundamental aspects of modern societies.

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia
Author: Clark D. Neher
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2010
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780875806419

This accessible text provides a useful introductory look at the history, cultures, and politics of Southeast Asia, an area that is home to more than 400 million people. Neher offers an overview of the region, which comprises eleven nations: Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. He investigates the diversity of these countries and their people, including their varied ethnic groups, languages, religions, and traditions. While exploring the dichotomies between urban and rural, Buddhist and Muslim, modern and ancient, Southeast Asia takes readers on an exciting journey through these countries' pasts, presents, and futures. Neher also touches on the region's prominent leaders, economies, family structures, and more. Discussion questions and suggestions for further reading round out each chapter and encourage readers to continue learning about the topic. High school students, undergraduates, and those simply interested in this fascinating part of the world will find this solid introduction engaging and informative.

History of Timor-Leste

History of Timor-Leste
Author: Frédéric Durand
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2016
Genre: History
ISBN: 9786162151248

The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, a former Portuguese colony occupied by Indonesia from 1975 to 1999, became in 2002 the first new sovereign state of the twenty-first century. Its modern nationhood belies its ancient history. Archaeological data found on the island can be traced back at least 42,000 years, beyond most ancient European artifacts. The book provides an engaging overview of the history of the country from the earliest legends and first traces of human habitation through the defining events that led to independence. The text is richly illustrated with over two hundred maps, engravings, and photographs. A detailed historical time line follows the text.

South Korea at the Crossroads

South Korea at the Crossroads
Author: Scott A. Snyder
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 203
Release: 2018-01-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 0231546181

Against the backdrop of China’s mounting influence and North Korea’s growing nuclear capability and expanding missile arsenal, South Korea faces a set of strategic choices that will shape its economic prospects and national security. In South Korea at the Crossroads, Scott A. Snyder examines the trajectory of fifty years of South Korean foreign policy and offers predictions—and a prescription—for the future. Pairing a historical perspective with a shrewd understanding of today’s political landscape, Snyder contends that South Korea’s best strategy remains investing in a robust alliance with the United States. Snyder begins with South Korea’s effort in the 1960s to offset the risk of abandonment by the United States during the Vietnam War and the subsequent crisis in the alliance during the 1970s. A series of shifts in South Korean foreign relations followed: the “Nordpolitik” engagement with the Soviet Union and China at the end of the Cold War; Kim Dae Jung’s “Sunshine Policy,” designed to bring North Korea into the international community; “trustpolitik,” which sought to foster diplomacy with North Korea and Japan; and changes in South Korea’s relationship with the United States. Despite its rise as a leader in international financial, development, and climate-change forums, South Korea will likely still require the commitment of the United States to guarantee its security. Although China is a tempting option, Snyder argues that only the United States is both credible and capable in this role. South Korea remains vulnerable relative to other regional powers in northeast Asia despite its rising profile as a middle power, and it must balance the contradiction of desirable autonomy and necessary alliance.

At a Crossroads

At a Crossroads
Author: María Marta Ferreyra
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 387
Release: 2017-05-18
Genre: Education
ISBN: 146481015X

"Higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean has expanded dramatically in the past 15 years, as the average gross enrollment rate has more than doubled, and many new institutions and programs have been opened. Although higher education access has become more equitable, and higher education supply has become more varied, many of the 'new' students in the system are, on average, less academically ready than are their more advantaged counterparts. Furthermore, only half of higher education students, on average, complete their degree, and labor market returns to higher education vary greatly across institutions and programs. Thus, higher education is at a crossroads today. Given the region's urgency to raise productivity in a low-growth, fiscally constrained environment, going past this crossroads requires the formation of skilled human capital fast and efficiently. 'At a Crossroads: Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean' contributes to the discussion by studying quality, variety, and equity of higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean. The book presents comprehensive evidence on the recent higher education expansion and evolution of higher education labor market returns. Using novel data and state-of-the-art methods, it studies demand and supply drivers of the recent expansion. It investigates the behavior of institutions and students and explores the unintended consequences of large-scale higher education policies. Framing the analysis are the singular characteristics of the higher education market and the market segmentation induced by the variety of students and institutions in the system. At this crossroads, a role emerges for incentives, information, accountability, and choice."

Japan's Peacekeeping at a Crossroads

Japan's Peacekeeping at a Crossroads
Author: Hiromi Nagata Fujishige
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2022
Genre: Asia
ISBN: 9788303088505

"This carefully researched book offers fascinating insights into three puzzles: why Japanese governments expanded their contributions to UN peacekeeping since the early 1990s; why Tokyo withdrew its military engineers from South Sudan in 2017; and what this means for future (limited) Japanese engagement in UN and other peace operations." - Stephen Baranyi, University of Ottawa, Canada "This book is the most comprehensive review to date of Japan's post-Cold War peacekeeping history. It should be essential reading for everyone who wants to understand Japan's contribution to UN peacekeeping." - Cedric de Coning, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Norway "This book is a timely examination of the trajectory of Japanese contributions in this area of global security. The volume analyses Japan's changing international strategic and domestic motivations to engage in peacekeeping. It takes a fresh and critical approach and fills an important gap in the extant literature." - Christopher W. Hughes, University of Warwick, UK This open access book examines why Japan discontinued its quarter-century history of troop contribution to UN Peacekeeping Operations (1992-2017). Japan had deployed its troops as UN peacekeepers since 1992, albeit under a constitutional limit on weapons use. Japan's peacekeepers began to focus on engineering work as its strength, while also trying to relax the constraints on weapons use, although to a minimal extent. In 2017, however, Japan suddenly withdrew its engineering corps from South Sudan, and has contributed no troops since then. Why? The book argues that Japan could not match the increasing "robustness" of recent peacekeeping operations and has begun to seek a new direction, such as capacity-building support. Hiromi Nagata Fujishige is Associate Professor in the School of International Politics, Economics and Communications at Aoyama Gakuin University, Tokyo, Japan. Yuji Uesugi is Professor of Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding in the School of International Liberal Studies and the Graduate School of International Culture and Communication Studies, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan. Tomoaki Honda is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Chukyo University, Aichi, Japan.