The convergence of civilizations Del Sarto, Raffaella; Crawford, Beverly; Bicchi, Federica ...
The convergence of civilizations,
2006, 20060908, 2006, 2015, 2006-01-01, 2006-12-15, 20060101
eBook
The Convergence of Civilizationswill be an important tool for meeting the current global challenges being faced by nation-states as well as those in the future.
Resurgent Asia analyses the phenomenal transformation of Asia, which would have been difficult to imagine, let alone predict, fifty years ago, when Gunnar Myrdal published Asian Drama. In doing so, ...it provides an analytical narrative of this remarkable story of economic development, situated in its wider context of historical, political, and social factors, and an economic analysis of the underlying factors, with a focus on critical issues in the process of, and outcomes in, development. In 1970, Asia was the poorest continent in the world, marginal except for its large population. By 2016, it accounted for three-tenths of world income, two-fifths of world manufacturing, and one-third of world trade, while its income per capita converged towards the world average. However, this transformation was associated with unequal outcomes across countries and between people. The analysis disaggregates Asia into its four constituent sub-regions—East, Southeast, South, and West—and further into fourteen economies—China, India, South Korea, Indonesia, Turkey, Taiwan, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka—which account for more than four-fifths of its population and income. This book enhances our understanding of development processes and outcomes in Asia over the past fifty years, draws out the analytical conclusions that contribute to contemporary debates on development, and highlights some lessons from the Asian experience for countries elsewhere. It is the first to examine the phenomenal changes that are transforming economies in Asia and shifting the balance of economic power in the world, while reflecting on the future prospects in Asia over the next twenty-five years. A rich, engaging, and fascinating read.
In South Korea, the contentious debate over relations with the North transcends traditional considerations of physical and economic security, and political activists play a critical role in shaping ...the discussion of these issues as they pursue the separate yet connected agendas of democracy, human rights, and unification.
Providing international observers with a better understanding of policymakers' management of inter-Korean relations, Danielle L. Chubb traces the development of various policy disputes and perspectives from the 1970s through South Korea's democratic transition. Focusing on four case studies -- the 1980 Kwangju uprising, the June 1987 uprising, the move toward democracy in the 1990s, and the decade of "progressive" government that began with the election of Kim Dae Jung in 1997 -- she tracks activists' complex views on reunification along with the rise and fall of more radical voices encouraging the adoption of a North Korean--style form of socialism. While these specific arguments have dissipated over the years, their vestiges can still be found in recent discussions over how to engage with North Korea and bring security and peace to the peninsula.
Extending beyond the South Korean example, this examination shows how the historical trajectory of norms and beliefs can have a significant effect on a state's threat perception and security policy. It also reveals how political activists, in their role as discursive agents, play an important part in the creation of the norms and beliefs directing public debate over a state's approach to the ethical and practical demands of its foreign policy.
As the Nazis swept across Europe during World War II, Jewish victims wrote diaries in which they grappled with the terror unfolding around them. Some wrote simply to process the contradictory bits of ...news they received; some wrote so that their children, already safe in another country, might one day understand what had happened to their parents; and some wrote to furnish unknown readers in the outside world with evidence against the Nazi regime.Were these diarists resisters, or did the process of writing make the ravages of the Holocaust even more difficult to bear? Drawing on an astonishing array of unpublished and published diaries from all over German-occupied Europe, historian Alexandra Garbarini explores the multiple roles that diary writing played in the lives of these ordinary women and men. A story of hope and hopelessness,Numbered Daysoffers a powerful examination of the complex interplay of writing and mourning. And in these heartbreaking diaries, we see the first glimpses of a question that would haunt the twentieth century: Can such unimaginable horror be represented at all?
Europe in crisis Hewitson, Mark; D’Auria, Matthew
2012., 20121015, 2012, 2015-06-30, 20120101
eBook
The period between 1917 and 1957, starting with the birth of the USSR and the American intervention in the First World War and ending with the Treaty of Rome, is of the utmost importance for ...contextualizing and understanding the intellectual origins of the European Community. During this time of 'crisis,' many contemporaries, especially intellectuals, felt they faced a momentous decision which could bring about a radically different future. The understanding of what Europe was and what it should be was questioned in a profound way, forcing Europeans to react. The idea of a specifically European unity finally became, at least for some, a feasible project, not only to avoid another war but to avoid the destruction of the idea of European unity. This volume reassesses the relationship between ideas of Europe and the European project and reconsiders the impact of long and short-term political transformations on assumptions about the continent's scope, nature, role and significance.
In one of the most iconic images from World War II, a Russian
soldier raises a red flag atop the ruins of the German Reichstag on
April 30, 1945. Known as the Victory Banner, this piece of fabric
has ...come to symbolize Russian triumph, glory, and patriotism.
Facsimiles are used in public celebrations all over the country,
and an exact replica is the centerpiece in the annual Victory
Parade in Moscow's Red Square. The Victory Banner Over the
Reichstag examines how and why this symbol was created, the
changing media of its expression, and the contested evolution of
its message. From association with Stalinism and communism to its
acquisition of Russian nationalist meaning, Jeremy Hicks
demonstrates how this symbol was used to construct a collective
Russian memory of the war. He traces how the Soviets, and then
Vladimir Putin, have used this image and the banner itself to build
a remarkably powerful mythology of Russian greatness.
Scandinavia is a region associated with modernity: modern design, modern living and a modern welfare state. This new history of modernism in Scandinavia offers a picture of the complex reality that ...lies behind the label: a modernism made up of many different figures, impulses and visions. It places the individuals who have achieved international fame, such as Edvard Munch and Alvar Aalto in a wider context, and through a series of case studies, provides a rich analysis of the art, architecture and design history of the Nordic region, and of modernism as a concept and mode of practice. Scandinavian Modern addresses the decades between 1890 and 1970 and presents an intertwined history of modernism across the region. Charlotte Ashby gives a rationale for her focus on those countries which share an interrelated history and colonial past, but also stresses influences from outside the region, such as the English Arts and Crafts movement and the impact of emergent American modernism. Her richly illustrated account guides the reader through key historical periods and cultural movements, with case studies illuminating key art works, buildings, designed products and exhibitions.
W niniejszym studium autor dokonał analizy przygotowań dowództwa niemieckiego do obrony tzw. Przyczółka Szczecińskiego (Brückenkopf Stettin) i „Festung Stettin” (Twierdzy Szczecin). Kolejna badana ...przez niego kwestia to plany i przebieg wielkiej sowieckiej ofensywy z udziałem 1 i 2 Frontu Białoruskiego oraz walk stoczonych w okresie marzec– kwiecień 1945 r. pomiędzy Gryfinem, wzdłuż biegu Dolnej Odry i na terenie szczecińskiego Prawobrzeża. Opanowanie tego terenu dawało Armii Czerwonej dogodne pozycje do przyszłego natarcia w kierunku lewobrzeżnej części Szczecina, stanowiącej historyczne centrum miasta. Sam zaś Szczecin był głównym ośrodkiem administracyjnym Provinz Pommern i początkowo kluczowym etapem ofensywy na Berlin. Jednym z istotnych elementów jest ukazanie walk Armii Czerwonej o Altdamm (obecnie Szczecin-Dąbie) i walki o zdobycie przepraw na linii Odry Wschodniej i Zachodniej. Istotnym zwrotem akcji stała się decyzja o skierowaniu sił 1 Frontu Białoruskiego marszałka Georgija Żukowa do zasadniczego uderzenia na Berlin i przejęciu głównego ciężaru walk przez 2 Front Białoruski marszałka Konstantego Rokossowskiego. To właśnie ten związek operacyjny spod Gdańska i Gdyni miał odegrać istotną rolę w spodziewanej „bitwie o Szczecin”. Od drugiej połowy kwietnia rozpoczęła się operacja mająca na celu sforsowanie Odry Zachodniej i zniszczenie niemieckich pozycji obronnych na jej linii. W ciągu kilku dni (20–25 kwietnia) siłom 2 Frontu Białoruskiego, a zwłaszcza 65 Armii gen. Pawła Batowa, udało się rozbić siły niemieckie i przejść na drugi brzeg Odry Zachodniej, co stwarzało perspektywę całkowitego okrążenia Szczecina. Na terenie południowych i południowo-zachodnich obrzeży Szczecina doszło do kilkudniowych walk (21–23/24 kwietnia) o miejscowości położone na zachodnim brzegu Odry Zachodniej (m.in. Curow/Kurów, Neu Rossow/Rosówek, Schillersdorf/ Moczyły) z siłami cudzoziemskich pozostałości dywizji ochotniczych Waffen-SS. Z czasem do walki włączyły się także siły 2 Armii Uderzeniowej gen. Fiedunińskiego. Dla dalszego rozwoju wydarzeń decydujące okazały się dni 25–26 kwietnia. Dla Rokossowskiego, wobec nowych planów ofensywy w kierunku Rostocku i wybrzeża Bałtyku, lewobrzeżny Szczecin przestał być strategicznym priorytetem. Natomiast dla dowództwa niemieckiego i partyjnego aparatu NSDAP bardzo realna perspektywa okrążenia i zniszczenia sił garnizonu „Festung Stettin” stała się podstawą do decyzji o opuszczenia miasta i jego ewakuacji bez walki. Stąd też 26 kwietnia lewobrzeżna część miasta została zajęta bez walki przez siły sowieckie ze składu 65 Armii i 2 Armii Uderzeniowej. Los tego miasta rozstrzygnął się pod względem militarnym nie w ciężkich walkach ulicznych o całość lewobrzeżnego Szczecina, lecz na jego Prawobrzeżu oraz południowym i południowo-zachodnim skraju Lewobrzeża. A zatem, de facto, nie doszło do spodziewanej, nowej, decydującej fazy „bitwy o Szczecin”, a samo to sformułowanie stanowi jedynie efektowny skrót myślowy.
