Politics at Continuum

Saudi Arabia

The AP reported today (Friday, November 6) that Saudi Arabia carried out airstrikes against "infiltrators" from Yemen but limited to areas within Saudi territories. For the full article, click here.

Continuum will be publishing International Relations of the Gulf Cooperation Council States, written by Christian Koch.

The Gulf region is a key center of international politics and security, and the GCC states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE) are carving out a role for themselves, not only to promote economic development, but also to develop concerted foreign policies. The book looks at the policymaking process and the role of the GCC as an international institution. Case studies highlight key regional and international relationships, e.g., with Iraq, Iran, Yemen, the US, Russia, Asia, and the EU.  

Christian Koch is Director of International Studies at the Gulf Research Center in Dubai. His unique and thorough analysis of the GCC states will be a key text for those studying Arab politics and for policymakers who need to understand the dynamics shaping the Gulf region.

In you are interested in the region, you may also want to look at these two published titles:

Arabs by Mark Allen click here to go to our website. 

Arab Media by Kai Hafez click here to go to our website. 

 

Berlusconi

  The highest court of Italy has overturned the law granting Berlusconi's immunity from corruption charges. If you  are interested in italian politics and especially the Berlusconi era, you may want to check our new title:

Resisting the Tide: Cultures of Opposition Under Berlusconi (2001-06)
edited by Daniele Albertazzi, Charlotte Ross, Clodagh Brook, and Nina Rothenberg

"This volume provides a  very valuable catalogue of the opposition to Berlusconi which has formed over the last 15 years in Italian politics, society, and the cultural and entertainment industries. Its examination is as accurate and exhaustive as it is fragmentary; exactly like the opposition itself. It is a useful contribution for helping us understand not just  that there isn't only Berlusconi in Italy, but also why his political success continues to grow." --Ilvo Diamanti, Professor of Political Science at the University of Urbino "Carlo Bo"

"The high and long-lasting tide of berlusconismo seems almost irresistible. Perhaps this is because Berlusconi really does represent large sectors of Italian society. As many of the contributors to this indispensable book document and argue, cultures of opposition in Italy are fragmented and prove unable to coalesce into serious political and parliamentary opposition. This excellent collection of essays focuses on all types of cultural, intellectual, and media resistance to the popular-populist tide." --Gianfranco Pasquino, Professor of Political Science at the University of Bologna and at the Johns Hopkins Bologna Center

Coming Soon: Major Conservative and Libertarian Thinkers - Volume 5 - 10

The next five of our 20-volume series, Major Conservative and Libertarian Thinkers will publish next month as follows:

Vol. 6     Edmund Burke (by Dennis O’Keeffe)
Vol. 7     Alexis de Tocqueville (by Alan S. Kahan)
Vol. 8     Michael Oakeshott (by Edmund Neill)
Vol. 9    The Salamanca School (by André Azevedo Alves and José Manuel Moreira)
Vol. 10.  Ayn Rand (by Mimi R. Gladstein) 

Some early feedback:

"Kahan's ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE is a small gem of a book written by one of the acknowledged masters of Tocqueville scholarship. The volume, organized in an original and elegant way around the themes of democracy and freedom, is remarkably clear and concise; yet it manages, in a brief format, to treat with insight Tocqueville's major sources, concepts and works. It is one of the best short introductions to Tocqueville's thinking and writing that we now have." James Schleifer, Emeritus Dean of the Library and Professor of History at the College of New Rochelle and has been a Visiting Lecturer at Yale University.

"An invigorating account that repeatedly places Burke in a context that is relevant for the present day. Written in an accessible style, O'Keeffe's book offers a reading that is at once academic and infused with a powerful moral strain." --Jeremy Black

For more information on the entire series, please visit our website by clicking here.

The British Conservative Party and One Nation Politics

The British Conservative Party and One Nation Politics by David Seawright will be published in November.

"The label, One Nation, has been central to the politics of British Conservatism for nearly 150 years. Often used as code in internal conflicts or as short-hand for a complex electoral strategy, it has seldom been analysed systematically. David Seawright’s book addresses and remedies this by exploring the evolution of the concept of One Nation politics, locating it in the party’s history and demonstrating its continued importance in contemporary Conservatism. The British Conservative Party and One Nation Politics is a significant contribution to our understanding Conservative politics in Britain." --Andrew Taylor, Professor of Politics,University of Sheffield.     

"David Seawright knows his subject backwards. His book is a persuasive blend of history and social science: it demonstrates definitively that One Nation politics, far from being some kind of centrist alternative to Thatcherism, has always been a microcosm of the creative tensions that have made the Conservative Party, at its best, Britain’s natural party of government." --Tim Bale, author of The Conservative Party from Thatcher to Cameron

"David Seawight’s new book offers an important contribution to understanding the Conservative Party in Britain as it returns to centre stage.  Meticulously researched, the book sets the party into historical context focussing on the idea of One Nation.  But One Nation Conservatism discussed here is presented in a new, more sophisticated and nuanced way.  More than a scholarly work, it presents the challenges that David Cameron will have to meet, especially in the difficult economic and financial context he is likely to inherit.  This book should be read by anyone interested in where British politics is heading over the next decade" --Professor James Mitchell, Author of Conservatives and the Union

Series: International Relations for the 21st Century

International Relations for the Twenty First Century is a series of coursebooks aimed at upper-level undergraduate and graduate students.

Volumes in the series will focus on the security issues that befuddle us all in the post-Cold War and post- 9/11 era. All of the books in the series will address at least one facet of the confusing mix of security issues we face today. Authors will include scholars and practitioners.

The series is edited by Chip Hauss, Professor at George Mason University and Government Liaison for the Alliance for Peacebuilding.

Titles being considered for the series include:

- Rethinking Military Security

- New Challenges for Security

- Intervention

- Global Migration

- and more!

If you would like to contribute a volume, please contact me at mantoine@continuum-books.com

Marie-Claire Antoine
Acquisitions Editor, Politics & IR

Norman Podhoretz

Norman Podhoretz has been in the news lately, following the publication of his new book, Why Are Jews Liberal? (You can read the review from the New York Times Book Review, 9/13 by clicking here.

In November 09, Continuum will publish Norman Podhoretz and Commentary Magazine: The Rise and Fall of the Neocons, by Nathan Abrams.

In this unique scholarly work, Abrams asks what does the term “neoconservative” mean? Who are we talking about and where did they come from? Abrams answers those very questions through a detailed and critical study of neoconservatism’s leading thinker, Norman Podhoretz, and the magazine he edited for 35 years, Commentary. Podhoretz has been described as “the conductor of the neocon orchestra” and through Commentary Podhoretz powerfully shaped neoconservatism.

Rich in research, the book is based upon a wide range of sources, including archival and other material never before published in the context of Commentary magazine, including Podhoretz’s private papers.

It does not indulge in hagiography. It punctures, where necessary, the mythology that surrounds the movement and its magazine. It argues that much of what has been said about neoconservatism is the product of willful distortion and exaggeration both by the neoconservatives themselves and their many enemies.

From this unique perspective, Abrams examines the origins, rise, and fall of neoconservatism. In understanding Podhoretz, a figure often overlooked, this book sheds light on the origins, ideas, and intellectual pedigree of neoconservatism.

Nathan Abrams was educated at the Universities of Oxford and Birmingham where he graduated with a PhD in American Studies. He is currently a Senior Lecturer and Director of Graduate Studies at Bangor University in Wales.

Coming Soon: British Conservative Party and One Nation Politics

The British Conservative Party and One Nation Politics, by David Seawright, will be published in November 2009.

"The label, One Nation, has been central to the politics of British Conservatism for nearly 150 years. Often used as code in internal conflicts or as short-hand for a complex electoral strategy, it has seldom been analysed systematically. David Seawright’s book addresses and remedies this by exploring the evolution of the concept of One Nation politics, locating it in the party’s history and demonstrating its continued importance in contemporary Conservatism. The British Conservative Party and One Nation Politics is a significant contribution to our understanding Conservative politics in Britain." --Andrew Taylor, Professor of Politics,University of Sheffield.

"David Seawright knows his subject backwards. His book is a persuasive blend of history and social science: it demonstrates definitively that One Nation politics, far from being some kind of centrist alternative to Thatcherism, has always been a microcosm of the creative tensions that have made the Conservative Party, at its best, Britain’s natural party of government." --Tim Bale, author of The Conservative Party from Thatcher to Cameron

For more information on this title, visit our website at http://www.continuumbooks.com

New at Continuum: Emergency Response to Domestic Terrorism

Emergency Response to Domestic Terrorism: How Bureaucracies Reacted  to the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing by Alethia Cook, East Carolina University, will be published in November 2009.

"The 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing forced the population in the interior of the United States to recognize that the “heartlands” were not immune from a massive terrorist attack. In the period following the bombing understandable emotion often clouded an objective analysis of how the authorities responded to the tragedy. Alethia H. Cook has  taken advantage of the passage of time to develop an excellent analytical framework and an impressive empirical approach largely based on interviews to provide an important anatomy of the crucial first twelve hours after a major terrorist incident.

Emergency Response to Domestic Terrorism should be required reading for policy makers, organizations and  operational personnel that are responsible for responding to terrorists attacks and other major catastrophes. It should also be an essential part of any scholar or student who is involved in the increasingly vital and growing field of emergency management."

-- Stephen Sloan, Lawrence J. Chastang Distinguished Professor of Terrorism Studies, Office of Global Perspectives, The University of Central Florida; Professor Emeritus, The University of Oklahoma

New Series: Continuum Intelligence Studies

Continuum is launching a new series, called Continuum Intelligence Studies.

The aim of the series is to present new research to enhance both the study and practice of intelligence.

The volumes cover theory, concepts, teaching methods, new research, methodologies, best practices, and more across all fields of intelligence studies. The focus is on contemporary issues and new research.

Composed of coursebooks, monographs, practical guides, and reference works written by scholars and experts, the series is geared toward students in intelligence and security studies, as well as intelligence practitioners.

The first volume to be published will be a textbook called Sociocultural Intelligence: A New Discipline In Intelligence Studies by Kerry Patton. This unique text offers an in-depth examination of sociocultural intelligence (SOCINT), a discipline that proposes using the social sciences to gain a systematic understanding of the customs, moral attitudes, and cultures of foreign populations in order to enhance the efficacy of national security initiatives. 

There are  more volumes in the works, too! If you are interested in contributing to the series, please contact me at mantoine@continuum-books.com.

Looking forward to it!

Marie-Claire Antoine
Acquisitions Editor, Politics & International Relations

Adam Smith

James Otteson, author of our upcoming book, Adam Smith, was quoted in an article from Investor's Business Daily. You can read the article at http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=483382.

Adam Smith is a volume in our Major Conservative and Libertarian Thinkers series, which will be published in September 10. For more information, you can visit our website at http://www.continuumbooks.com/books/detail.aspx?BookId=130995&SearchType=Basic

Coming soon: Putin's Oil by Martin Sixsmith

PUTIN’S OIL is the story of Russia’s energy wars and their consequences for Moscow and the world. The struggle to control the country’s oil wealth sparked a titanic conflict between Vladimir Putin and private business that changed the political course of the nation.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the oligarch owner of the country’s biggest oil firm, Yukos, was the richest and one of the most powerful men in Russia. But in October 2003 President Putin sent machine gun carrying troops to intercept his plane on a Siberian airfield and haul him back to Moscow in handcuffs.

Putin had flexed his political might, but Khodorkovsky held the key to Russia’s economy with control over a vast part of its oil resources. Now the two men were at war – Putin wanted the oil back, and Khodorkovsky wanted to be president.

In the months before his arrest, Khodorkovsky had bought into nearly every party in Russia’s parliament and was talking of a bid for power. He had begun negotiations to sell Yukos and its oil to American interests, and in a stormy confrontation in the Kremlin he had insulted Putin and accused him of corruption.

Putin knew that crushing Khodorkovsky would make him look like a tyrant and scare away Western investors, but he also knew that oil was crucial for his country’s future. Later, he would use it as a means to blackmail other states, and in the 2008 elections he would ensure his continuing hold over Russian politics.

Putin’s Oil investigates the complex world of Kremlin politics, with its conspiracies and conspiracy theories; suspicions of betrayal and double agents in the Kremlin and in Yukos; murder charges against Khodorkovsky’s partners, and the KGB defector who claims they were carried out by Kremlin agents.

Martin Sixsmith, former BBC Moscow Correspondent, has gained unprecedented access to many of the players in the drama. The resulting book is both a thriller and an analysis of the defining moments of Putin’s presidency and their ongoing impact in Russian and world politics.

For more information, visit our website by clicking here.

Coming Soon: China Against the Tides, 3rd Ed.

China Against the Tides, 3rd Edition by Marc Blecher will be published in November 2009.

    “Marc Blecher moves ahead of the introductory texts and general surveys by providing four analytical approaches to understanding China's realities.He then leaves the others far behind by proposing that China is a new type of political regime. He carries the reader along, whether student, observer or specialist,by the sheer excitement of his presentation. A distinctive achievement.”  -- Robert Benewick, Emeritus Professor of Politics, University of Sussex

    "The best textbooks combine scope with more than a dash of 'attitude.'  Marc Blecher's China Against the Tides is just that sort of effort.  Blecher masterfully interprets China's turbulent 20th century and points readers toward questions that will bedevil China's leaders for years to come. History, politics, social and economic change, international relations: it's all here, deftly woven into a compelling narrative that also has real analytical bite." --Kevin J. O'Brien, Alann P. Bedford Professor of Asian Studies and Political Science,University of California-Berkeley, and editor of Popular Protest in China (Harvard, 2008)

For more information, please visit our website at http://www.continuumbooks.com/

International Relations Titles in the Works

2009-2010 will see a recrudescence of Continuum titles in the fields of International Relations, including:

China Against the Tides, 3rd Edition by Marc Blecher

International Conflict Resolution, 2nd Edition by Charles Hauss

The International Relations of Sub-Saharan Africa by Ian Taylor

Conflict Resolution of the Boruca Hydro-Energy Project by Warren Haffar & Jurgen Carls

For more information on the politics list, please visit our website at www.continuumbooks.com

Widgets!

Continuum is continually expanding its marketing efforts, making the most of new technology. We are now pleased to announce that are developing widgets for most of our books.

What is a widget and what does it do? Basically, it acts as a weblink. Included in an email or website, one click on the link brings up all the information on a new title, including table of contents and sample chapters. For textbooks, its allows the entire text to be accessible for 90 days.

What does it mean for your book? It means greater visibility as well as increased advertising opportunities. Scholars in your field will not have to request a review copy. Instead they will get an email from us which will give them free access to the contents electronically for 90 days. You can also add it to your blog, website, or email to garner interest. With widgets, we can reach many more people in no time at all.

A sample widget will be included soon on the blog. In the meantime, of course, you can always contact me at mantoine@continuum-books.com

Cheers!
Marie-Claire Antoine
Acquisitions Editor, Politics & IR

New Academic Catalog

Our Fall 09 Academic Catalog is in press, but you can see it in avant-premiere! Click on the link below to access and browse through the PDF file.

Download Fall 09 Academic Cat

Just In: Major Conservative and Libertarian Thinkers Volumes 1-5

The first five of twenty volumes that make up Continuum's Major Conservative and Libertarian Thinkers series are published. They are:

1. Thomas Hobbes by R.E.R. Bunce
2. John Locke by Erick Mack
3. David Hume by Christopher Berry
4. Joseph A. Schumpeter by John Medearis
5. The Modern Papacy by Samuel Gregg

For more information, visit our website at: http://www.continuumbooks.com

"The volumes in this timely series comprise the most comprehensive body of material on conservative and libertarian thought yet published in a single project devoted to the subject. The series will prove an indispensable tool not only for those concerned with the history of political thought but also for those who confront the challenging task of constructing a viable contemporary conservative identity. Professor Meadowcroft had a difficult editorial task, to which he has responded with a judicious choice of thinkers and topics." -- Noel O'Sullivan, Professor of Political Philosophy, the University of Hull, UK.

And coming this October:
6. Edmund Burke by Dennis O'Keeffe
7. Alexis de Tocqueville by Alan S. Kahan
8. Michael Oakeshott by Edmund Neill
9. The Salamanca School by Andre Alves and Jose Manuel Moreira
10. Ayn Rand by Mimi Gladstein

Coming Soon: Answering Back

Answering Back: Liberal Responses to Conservative Arguments
David Coates

Answering Back brings together in one place the arguments for and against the main issues in dispute between the Republican and Democratic Parties in the wake of the 2008 election. Answering Back aims to lift the quality of political discourse in the United States by bringing together the best conservative and the best liberal arguments on the eight key policy issues now in contention between the parties: trickle-down economics and the role of public spending, the desirability of welfare reform, the future of social security, the establishment of health care for all, the possibility of comprehensive immigration control, religious issues and the social agenda, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the causes of the financial meltdown. It has been written as a response to the unevenness and superficiality of much contemporary political coverage. Conservative arguments are widely disseminated these days by right-wing media outlets and think tanks, but liberal counter-arguments are less widely disseminated or so coherently presented. In each of its chapters Answering Back responds to that unevenness by initially laying out the popular conservative case and then presenting a point-by-point liberal response. Those counter-points are organized from the simplest to the more complex. Each stage of each argument is labeled for easy memorization, and the language used is deliberately non-academic, in order to make the material as accessible as possible to a general readership. The sources of both conservative and liberal arguments (and their supporting evidence) are also listed in footnotes, to enable the concerned reader to see the underpinning research material and to explore further if they wish.

The book has been designed to be popular, accessible and crisp – with a lay out that makes its material easy to follow and readable in discrete parts – so that the whole book can be marketed a comprehensive handbook of arguments, data, sources, and things to follow up. But though the language used in this book is simple, the scholarship underpinning the writing is not. On the contrary, the text has been designed to tackle in a straightforward and simple way the full complexity of the arguments currently in dispute between the parties, and it draws on the best available scholarship for that purpose It has also been designed to be updated regularly and to link to a website of more complex material established and run from Wake Forest. The whole idea is to put into the public domain clear high quality summaries of present disputes, to which the general reader can turn for clarification and guidance – a genuine “guide to the issues” that can raise the quality of public debate as a key election approaches.

Coming Soon: Resisting the Tide

Resisting the Tide: Culture of Opposition Under Berlusconi (2001-06)

Edited by:
Charlotte Ross
Daniele Albertazzi
Clodagh Brook
Nina Rothenberg

"This volume provides a  very valuable catalogue of the opposition to Berlusconi which has formed over the last 15 years in Italian politics, society, and the cultural and entertainment industries. Its examination is as accurate and exhaustive as it is fragmentary; exactly like the opposition itself. It is a useful contribution for helping us understand not just  that there isn't only Berlusconi in Italy, but also why his political success continues to grow." -- Ilvo Diamanti, Professor of Political Science at the University of Urbino "Carlo Bo"

For more information on this title, visit our website.

Political Theory Titles in the Works

I am thrilled to announce a few of our political theory titles in the works:

Norman Podhoretz and Commentary Magazine: The Rise and Fall of the Neocons by Nathan Abrams

The Poetics of Fear: A Human Response to Human Security by Chris Erickson

Who Speaks for Roma? Political Representation of a Transnational Minority Community by Aidan McGarry

Groundless Existence: The Political Ontology of Carl Schmitt by Michael Marder

British Conservative Party and One Nation Politics by David Seawright

Struggling for Recognition: The Psychological Impetus for Democratic Change by Doron Shultziner


Against the Personification of Democracy: A Lacanian Critique of Political Subjectivity by Wesley Swedlow


Transitional Justice and Subjective Life: Trauma Testimony as Political Theorizing in the Work of Jean Améry by Magdalena Zolkos

If you would like to submit a proposal, please contact Marie-Claire Antoine , Acquisitions Editor, Politics & IR.

New Titles

Hello!

Here are a few of the many politics titles that will publish this year

Five more volumes in the Major Conservative and Libertarian Thinkers series
    - The Salamanca School  by Andre Azevedo Alves & José Manuel Moreira
    - Ayn Rand by Mimi Gladstein
    - Edmund Burke by Dennis O'Keeffe
    - Alexis de Tocqueville by Alan S. Kahan
    - Michael Oakeshott by Edmund Neill

Putin's Oil: The Yukos Affair and the Struggle for Russia by Martin Sixsmith
An examination of Vladimir Putin's struggle to control Russia's valuable stores of oil through political maneuvering, conspiracy, deception, betrayal, and espionage --by one of the world's leading experts on contemporary Russia.

China Against the Tides, 3rd Edition by Marc Blecher
A textbook that looks at the evolution of Chinese politics, including environmental policies, political economy, and international relations

Emergency Response to Domestic Terrorism: How Bureaucracies Reacted to the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing by Alethia Cook
This coursebook examines emergency response, using the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995 as a case study.