Empire of Difference: The Ottomans in Comparative Perspective
Published Monday, 23 June 2008
Barkey, Karen. Empire of Difference: The Ottomans in Comparative Perspective . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
This book is a comparative study of imperial organization and longevity that assesses Ottoman successes as well as failures against those of other empires with similar characteristics. Barkey examines the Ottoman Empire's social organization and mechanisms of rule at key moments of its history, emergence, imperial institutionalization, remodeling, and transition to nation-state, revealing how the empire managed these moments, adapted, and averted crises and what changes made it transform dramatically. The flexible techniques by which the Ottomans maintained their legitimacy, the cooperation of their diverse elites both at the center and in the provinces, as well as their control over economic and human resources were responsible for the longevity of this particular "negotiated empire." Her analysis illuminates topics that include imperial governance, imperial institutions, imperial diversity and multiculturalism, the manner in which dissent is handled and/or internalized, and the nature of state society negotiations.
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All the Names of the Lord: Lists, Mysticism, and Magic
Published Thursday, 01 May 2008
All the Names of the Lord: Lists, Mysticism, and Magic. Izmirlieva, Valentina.
University Of Chicago Press, May 2008 (expected).
Christians face a conundrum when it comes to naming God, for if God is unnamable, as theologians maintain, he can also be called by every name. His proper name is thus an open-ended, all-encompassing list, a mystery the Church embraces in its rhetoric, but which many Christians have found difficult to accept. To explore this conflict, Valentina Izmirlieva examines two lists of God’s names: one from The Divine Names, the classic treatise by Pseudo-Dionysius, and the other from The 72 Names of the Lord, an amulet whose history binds together Kabbalah and Christianity, Jews and Slavs, Palestine, Provence, and the Balkans.
This unexpected juxtaposition of a theological treatise and a magical amulet allows Izmirlieva to reveal lists’ rhetorical potential to create order and to function as both tools of knowledge and of power. Despite the two different visions of order represented by each list, Izmirlieva finds that their uses in Christian practice point to a complementary relationship between the existential need for God’s protection and the metaphysical desire to submit to his infinite majesty—a compelling claim sure to provoke discussion among scholars in many fields.
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Base Politics: Democratic Change and the U.S. Military Overseas
Published Wednesday, 30 April 2008
Cooley, Alexander A. Base Politics: Democratic Change and the U.S. Military Overseas. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2008.
In Base Politics, Alexander Cooley examines how domestic politics in different host countries, especially in periods of democratic transition, affect the status of U.S. bases and the degree to which the U.S. military has become a part of their local and national landscapes. Drawing on exhaustive field research in different host nations across East Asia and Southern Europe, as well as the new postcommunist base hosts in the Black Sea and Central Asia, Cooley offers an original and provocative account of how and why politicians in host countries contest or accept the presence of the U.S. military on their territory.
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The Legacy of Ancient Rome in the Russian Silver Age
Published Friday, 20 July 2007
Frajlich, Anna. The Legacy of Ancient Rome in the Russian Silver Age. Amsterdam, New York: Rodopi, 2007.
For poets throughout the world Rome was the world. This is particularly true for Russian poets, owing to the anagrammatical relation of the words Rome and mir (Rome and world). The legacy of ancient Rome has always constituted an important component of the Russian cultural consciousness. The revitalization of classical scholarship in nineteenth-century Russia and new approaches to antiquity prompted many of the Russian Symbolists to seek their inspiration in ancient Rome. Vladimir Solovyov, Dmitry Merezhkovsky, Valery Bryusov, Vyacheslav Ivanov, Maksimilian Voloshin, Vasily Komarovsky, and Mikhail Kuzmin all made significant contributions to what is often referred to as the "Roman text." The Legacy of Ancient Rome in the Russian Silver Age analyzes the forms involved in creating the Roman image and explores its functionality within the given poetic system. In addition to the formal analysis, the background and the stimulus leading up to the composition of a particular poem are explored, as well as allusions to legends, myths and Rome's geography and architecture. Moreover, this study considers the function of the Roman text in Russian Symbolist poetics and the works of the individual poets. Finally, the relation between the Roman and Petersburg texts of Russian literature is explored, since many of the Russian Symbolist poets found in Rome a perfect metaphor for their studies of the city and "urban" poetry.
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Non-State Actors in the Human Rights Universe
Published Wednesday, 30 May 2007, 8:06pm
Non-State Actors in the Human Rights Universe Eds. George Andreopoulos, Zehra F. Kabasakal Arat, and Peter Juviler. Kumarian Press, Inc., 2006.
Despite the widespread acceptance of human rights at the normative level, actual progress toward the realization of human rights globally has been far from satisfactory. Concerned with human rights outcomes, this book departs from analyses that focus on the role of the state in human rights promotion and urges the study of the entire human rights universe. Transcending as well the literature on the role of NGOs, the book examines a broad range of non-state actors engaged in various activities that violate, promote or protect human rights. Contributing authors examine several important issues, such as bioethics, armed conflicts, and welfare reform, while stressing the need for accountability and mechanisms for curbing human rights violations.
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The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History
Published Thursday, 01 February 2007
Bulliet, Richard W., Pamela Kyle Crossley, Daniel R. Headrick, Steven W. Hirsch, Lyman L. Johnson, David Northrup. The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History. 4th ed. Houghton Mifflin Company College Division, 2007.
A textbook.
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Russian foreign policy in the twenty-first century and the shadow of the past
Published Thursday, 01 February 2007
Russian foreign policy in the twenty-first century and the shadow of the past Legvold, Robert, ed. New York : Columbia University Press, c2007.
Because the turbulent trajectory of Russia's foreign policy since the collapse of the Soviet Union echoes previous moments of social and political transformation, history offers a special vantage point from which to judge the current course of events.
In this book, a mix of leading historians and political scientists examines the foreign policy of contemporary Russia over four centuries of history. The authors explain the impact of empire and its loss, the interweaving of domestic and foreign impulses, long-standing approaches to national security, and the effect of globalization over time.
Contributors focus on the underlying patterns that have marked Russian foreign policy and that persist today. These patterns are driven by the country's political makeup, geographical circumstances, economic strivings, unsettled position in the larger international setting, and, above all, its tortured effort to resolve issues of national identity. The argument here is not that the Russia of Putin and his successors must remain trapped by these historical patterns but that history allows for an assessment of how much or how little has changed in Russia's approach to the outside world and creates a foundation for identifying what must change if Russia is to evolve.
A truly unique collection, this volume utilizes history to shed crucial light on Russia's complex, occasionally inscrutable relationship with the world. In so doing, it raises the broader issue of the relationship of history to the study of contemporary foreign policy and how these two enterprises might be better joined.
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Culture and Customs of the Central Asian Republics
Published Saturday, 30 December 2006
Abazov, Rafis. Culture and Customs of the Central Asian Republics. Greenwood Press, 2006.
The Central Asian Republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan won their independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Now they are emerging from the shadow of dominance and are subjects of intense interest from the West. The modern culture and customs of the various peoples in these geopolitical hotspots, straddling the far reaches of Europe into Asia, are revealed to a general audience for the first time. This will be the must-have volume for a broad, authoritative overview of these traditional civilizations as they cope with globalization.
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Advances in Functional Linguistics: Columbia School Beyond Its Origins
Published Wednesday, 20 December 2006
Advances in Functional Linguistics: Columbia School Beyond Its Origins. Joseph Davis, Radmila J. Gorup, Nancy Stern, eds. Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2006.
This collection carries the functionalist Columbia School of linguistics forward with contributions on linguistic theory, semiotics, phonology, grammar, lexicon, and anthropology. Columbia School linguistics views language as a symbolic tool whose structure is shaped both by its communicative function and by the characteristics of its users, and considers contextual, pragmatic, physical, and psychological factors in its analyses. This volume builds upon three previous Columbia School anthologies and further explores issues raised in them, including fundamental theoretical and analytical questions. And it raises new issues that take Columbia School “beyond its origins.” The contributions illustrate both consistency since the school’s inception over thirty years ago and innovation spurred by groundbreaking analysis. Languages analyzed include Byelorussian, English, Japanese, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish, and Swahili.
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International Politics: Enduring Concepts and Contemporary Issues
Published Friday, 23 June 2006
International Politics: Enduring Concepts and Contemporary Issues. Art, Robert J. and Robert Jervis, eds. 8th ed. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2006.
Edited by two of the most respected scholars in the field, this best-selling collection places contemporary essays alongside classics of the discipline and includes divergent views to ensure a balanced perspective. The presentation of alternative perspectives provides students with challenging material in the language of the field. The anthology presents clear, theoretical works that inspire a deeper understanding of the forces that shape today's world.
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