Walter C. Clemens Jr. - Böcker

Why isn't the Baltic region like the Balkans? Why have the Baltic republics not experienced ethnic cleansing, border wars, authoritarian rule, and social chaos? Instead, peace, democracy, and market economies have taken root since the fall of communism. Walter C. Clemens, Jr. here uses complexity theory, which analyzes the role of self-organization in complex adaptive systems, to explain the 'Baltic miracle.' He argues that the theory is a vital tool for understanding the remarkable strides made by Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania since 1991 in coping with the transition to partnership with the new Europe. The Baltic peoples have adapted well to the demands of democracy, a market economy, and a constructive role in world affairs. The achievements of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in the past decade are the more amazing when considered against the hundreds of years they were dominated by Teutonic knights, Hanseatic merchants, Sweden, Russia, and the USSR. Clemens uses this history as a springboard to analyze how Balts self-organize today to meet the challenges of transition. One of the first books to apply complexity theory to a major sphere of world politics, The Baltic Transformed will provoke constructive debate with its ambitious and well-grounded analysis of not only Baltic developments but European security more generally. Despite its theoretical foundation, the book is written in a clear and accessible style that will make it invaluable for courses on comparative politics, political development, international relations, security, or transition studies.

A Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist teams up with a noted political commentator. For everyone who loves to hate the Bush administration and is ready to laugh about it! Ambushed! recounts the exploits of the Bush administration, at home and abroad, 2001 to 2008, through the lens of a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist for the Miami Herald and the analysis of a leading political scientist at Boston University and Harvard University. The book begins with the ways in which American voters were ambushed in two presidential elections and ranges widely among the ensuing disasters from Enron to Katrina to the budget deficit to the economy and finally to the "global war on terror" that lost America many friends and inspired enemies worldwide. Contrasting the Bush administration's lofty promises with its policy failures-from Baghdad to New Orleans-the book suggests that this has been not only the least effective but the most destructive presidency of the past century.

Applies complexity science to the study of international politics.Why did some countries transition peacefully from communist rule to political freedom and market economies, while others did not? Why did the United States enjoy a brief moment as the sole remaining superpower, and then lose power and influence across the board? What are the prospects for China, the main challenger to American hegemony? In Complexity Science and World Affairs, Walter C. Clemens Jr. demonstrates how the basic concepts of complexity science can broaden and deepen the insights gained by other approaches to the study of world affairs. He argues that societal fitness-the ability of a social system to cope with complex challenges and opportunities-hinges heavily on the values and way of life of each society, and serves to explain why some societies gain and others lose. Applying theory to several rich case studies, including political developments across post–Soviet Eurasia and the United States, Clemens shows that complexity science offers a powerful set of tools for advancing the study of international relations, comparative government, and, more broadly, the social sciences.

Applies complexity science to the study of international politics.Why did some countries transition peacefully from communist rule to political freedom and market economies, while others did not? Why did the United States enjoy a brief moment as the sole remaining superpower, and then lose power and influence across the board? What are the prospects for China, the main challenger to American hegemony? In Complexity Science and World Affairs, Walter C. Clemens Jr. demonstrates how the basic concepts of complexity science can broaden and deepen the insights gained by other approaches to the study of world affairs. He argues that societal fitness-the ability of a social system to cope with complex challenges and opportunities-hinges heavily on the values and way of life of each society, and serves to explain why some societies gain and others lose. Applying theory to several rich case studies, including political developments across post–Soviet Eurasia and the United States, Clemens shows that complexity science offers a powerful set of tools for advancing the study of international relations, comparative government, and, more broadly, the social sciences.

President George W. Bush had pinned North Korea to an "axis of evil" but then neglected Pyongyang until it tested a nuclear device. Would the new administration make similar mistakes? When the Clinton White House prepared to bomb North Korea's nuclear facilities, private citizen Jimmy Carter mediated to avert war and set the stage for a deal freezing North Korea's plutonium production. The 1994 Agreed Framework collapsed after eight years, but when Pyongyang went critical, the negotiations got serious. Each time the parties advanced one or two steps, however, their advance seemed to spawn one or two steps backward. Clemens distils lessons from U.S. negotiations with North Korea, Russia, China, and Libya and analyses how they do-and do not-apply to six-party and bilateral talks with North Korea in a new political era.

President George W. Bush had pinned North Korea to an "axis of evil" but then neglected Pyongyang until it tested a nuclear device. Would the new administration make similar mistakes? When the Clinton White House prepared to bomb North Korea's nuclear facilities, private citizen Jimmy Carter mediated to avert war and set the stage for a deal freezing North Korea's plutonium production. The 1994 Agreed Framework collapsed after eight years, but when Pyongyang went critical, the negotiations got serious. Each time the parties advanced one or two steps, however, their advance seemed to spawn one or two steps backward. Clemens distils lessons from U.S. negotiations with North Korea, Russia, China, and Libya and analyses how they do-and do not-apply to six-party and bilateral talks with North Korea in a new political era.

A Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist teams up with a noted political commentator. For everyone who loves to hate the Bush administration and is ready to laugh about it! Ambushed! recounts the exploits of the Bush administration, at home and abroad, 2001 to 2008, through the lens of a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist for the Miami Herald and the analysis of a leading political scientist at Boston University and Harvard University. The book begins with the ways in which American voters were ambushed in two presidential elections and ranges widely among the ensuing disasters from Enron to Katrina to the budget deficit to the economy and finally to the "global war on terror" that lost America many friends and inspired enemies worldwide. Contrasting the Bush administration's lofty promises with its policy failures-from Baghdad to New Orleans-the book suggests that this has been not only the least effective but the most destructive presidency of the past century.