Using humanistic principles to strip away the jargon and narrowness inherent in much of modern-day political scholarship, this historical encyclopedia reclaims the breadth of vision, the privileging of factual evidence over theory, and the moral tenor prevalent in classical political inquiry. Over 6,000 alphabetically arranged entries accompanied by 29 maps make this single-authored set the definitive desktop reference work on international relations and international history. The book's primary focus is upon the rise of the Great Powers and the course of world civilizations, their formative wars and diplomatic, political and economic relations. But a serious effort is made to cover all of the smaller and less powerful regions and their local history, along with how progressive inclusion into the modern state system affected them, both for good and ill. Written with elegant clarity and leavened by healthy doses of professional skepticism and humor, this thoroughly cross-referenced work addresses general as well as specialized readers seeking clear and concise sketches of the topics, simple and complex, that have shaped political and historical developments in our world. The work takes firm stands on important issues. It is not morally neutral on the meaning of historical persons or events. But it is eminently fair: its standard of objectivity and judgment has been to write about all nations, religions, and events as a historian without country or religion, in the words of John Quincy Adams. While remaining deeply serious and cognizant of the role of the tragic in human history, this book often displays biting wit and overall personality--a great benefit of the single-author approach. Whether or not readers agree with a given interpretation, they are always paid the deep respect of having their intellect minds and moral consciousness engaged with the deeper meaning of the history of international public affairs.

Annotation. "The rise of the Great Powers and the course of world civilizations, their formative wars and diplomatic, political and economic relations, are the primary focus. But tremendous steps are made to cover all of the smaller and less powerful regions, their local history, and how progressive inclusion into the modern state system affected them, both for good and for ill. This cross-referenced work addresses the educated lay reader, as well as specialists seeking clear, concise sketches of the topics that have shaped political and historical developments in our world."--BOOK JACKET. Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Using humanistic principles to strip away the jargon and narrowness inherent in much of modern-day political scholarship, this historical encyclopedia reclaims the breadth of vision, the privileging of factual evidence over theory, and the moral tenor prevalent in classical political inquiry. Over 6,000 alphabetically arranged entries accompanied by 29 maps make this single-authored set the definitive desktop reference work on international relations and international history. The book's primary focus is upon the rise of the Great Powers and the course of world civilizations, their formative wars and diplomatic, political and economic relations. But a serious effort is made to cover all of the smaller and less powerful regions and their local history, along with how progressive inclusion into the modern state system affected them, both for good and ill. Written with elegant clarity and leavened by healthy doses of professional skepticism and humor, this thoroughly cross-referenced work addresses general as well as specialized readers seeking clear and concise sketches of the topics, simple and complex, that have shaped political and historical developments in our world. The work takes firm stands on important issues. It is not morally neutral on the meaning of historical persons or events. But it is eminently fair: its standard of objectivity and judgment has been to write about all nations, religions, and events as a historian without country or religion, in the words of John Quincy Adams. While remaining deeply serious and cognizant of the role of the tragic in human history, this book often displays biting wit and overall personality--a great benefit of the single-author approach. Whether or not readers agree with a given interpretation, they are always paid the deep respect of having their intellect minds and moral consciousness engaged with the deeper meaning of the history of international public affairs.

Annotation. "The rise of the Great Powers and the course of world civilizations, their formative wars and diplomatic, political and economic relations, are the primary focus. But tremendous steps are made to cover all of the smaller and less powerful regions, their local history, and how progressive inclusion into the modern state system affected them, both for good and for ill. This cross-referenced work addresses the educated lay reader, as well as specialists seeking clear, concise sketches of the topics that have shaped political and historical developments in our world."--BOOK JACKET. Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

An indispensable reference that will help students understand the major ethnic conflicts that dominate the headlines and shape the modern world. Since World War II, significant conflicts have most often taken the form of acts of violence between ethnic or national communities inside individual states. This two-volume work uses case studies to explore some four dozen of those conflicts, making it an ideal first-stop reference for students and others who wish to quickly gain an understanding of ethnic struggles. Content from the first edition is updated and new entries on recent conflicts have been added. The set's geographical range, which encompasses nearly every continent, is matched by the diversity of the conflicts explored. These include internal conflicts such as those experienced by African Americans in the United States and Muslims in France, as well as separatist movements of groups like the Chechens in Russia and Bosnians in Yugoslavia. Headline-making conflicts—for example, those in Mali and Syria—are covered as well. The book is organized alphabetically by country and region. Each essay begins with a timeline and then explores the historical background, evolution, efforts to manage, and significance of the conflict. Suggestions for follow-up research and appendices of relevant, primary source materials are also included.

Presents information about housing construction, beginning with the homes of the first European settlers to the North American colonies, and concluding with the latest trends in construction and design of houses and apartments in the United States.

Designed for students and general readers, this massive encyclopedia authoritatively reviews the folklore and folkways of cultures from around the world.

Islam in International Relations: Politics and Paradigms analyses the interaction between Islam and IR. It shows how Islam is a conceptualization of ideas that affect people’s thinking and behaviour in their capacity to relate with IR as both discipline and practice. This approach challenges Western-based and defined epistemological and ontological foundations of the discipline, and by doing so contributes to worlding IR as a field of study and practice by presenting and discussing a broad range of standpoints from within Islamic civilization. The volume opens with the presentation and discussion of the international thought of a major Muslim leader, followed by a chapter that addresses the ethical practice of IR, from traditional pacifism to modern Arab political philosophy. It then switches to applying constructivism as a tool to understand Islam in world affairs and proceeds to address the issue of how the ethnocentric approach of Western academia has hindered our understanding of world affairs. The volume moves on to address the ISIS phenomenon, a current urgent issue in world affairs, and closes with a look at Islamic geopolitics. This comprehensive collection will be of great interest to students, scholars and policy-makers with a focus on the Muslim world.