The Inner West


Book Description

The founder of the influential Gnosis magazine collects essays by some of today's finest spiritual writers to explore the West's magical and esoteric traditions. Rosicrucianism, Freemasonry, Gnosticism, The Knights Templar . . . Even before the success of The Da Vinci Code, many readers knew of these and other aspects of Western esoterica. But few understand their true meaning. In The Inner West, more than twenty essays by seventeen leading authors shine a light on some of the most mysterious and closely held aspects of the Western tradition. Its authors bring to life the symbolist and occult philosophies that populate the history and beliefs of the Western way. These same philosophies-which include variants of Christian and Jewish mysticism, and the teachings of figures like Rudolf Steiner and G. I. Gurdjieff-can present a deep and different spiritual path for today's seekers. Spiritual seekers have often looked to the East for inspiration and guidance. Yet increasing numbers of people are discovering that many helpful wisdom traditions have existed right here in the West. With the Kabbalah and Tarot cards more popular than ever, and alternative spirituality from Wicca to Sufism gaining a new audience, The Inner West is a timely book for this expanding audience







Nikkei in the Interior West


Book Description

Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Preface -- Introduction -- 1. Setting the Stage -- 2. Emigration from Japan -- 3. The Frontier Period -- 4. The Settlement and Family Periods -- 5. Cultural Interaction and Ethnic Development -- 6. Early Voluntary Associations -- 7. Later Voluntary Associations -- 8. World War II: Can Community Survive? -- 9. The Evacuees Arrive -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index




Russia, China and the Revisionist Assault on the Western Liberal International Order


Book Description

This book analyzes Russian and Chinese revisionism in the face of US and Western post-Cold War liberal international order building and asks why both powers have turned revisionist in the late 2000s. The study develops a neoclassical realist model of international order building and contestation and posits to view revisionism as a strategic choice. States go revisionist if the status quo international order threatens their vital security needs (broadly defined not only as territorial security, but also political, economic, normative and ontological) and if they have the means to challenge the undesirable status quo. Russia and China were both unhappy with the post-Cold War international order of American designs, but had to opt for accommodation in the 1990s and early 2000s (“strategic accommodation” in the Chinese case, “resentful accommodation” in the Russian case), before revisionism became even more of a necessity and a real policy option from the late 2000s onward (“constructive revisionism” in the Chinese case, “destructive revisionism” in the Russian case). The author calls for a policy of neo-containment to counter Moscow’s and Beijing’s efforts to game and erode the international order.




China's Campaign to 'Open Up the West'


Book Description

The 2004 volume examines the newly adopted Chinese government policy designed to aid the development of China's western regions. It considers the political and economic context of the campaign and then examines its potential impact in seven provincial level jurisdictions - Xinjiang, Qinghai, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Chongqing, Yunnan and Guizhou.







Sovereignty and the Denial of International Equality


Book Description

This book asks whether sovereignty can guarantee international equality by exploring the discourses of sovereignty and their reliance on the notions of civilisation and savagery in two historical colonial encounters: the French explorations of Canada in the 16th century and the domestic troubles linked to the Wars of Religion. Presenting the concept of ‘civilised sovereignty’, Mathieu reveals the interplay between the domestic and external claims to sovereignty, and offers a dynamic analysis of the theory and practice of the concept. Based on extensive archival research, this book provides an in-depth intellectual picture of the theory and practice of sovereignty in early modern France by focusing on the discourses deployed by French political theorists. Mathieu applies performativity in order to denaturalise these discourses of statehood and reveals how the domestic and international constructions of sovereignty feed into one another and equally rely on appeals to civilisation and savagery. Overall, the book questions the ‘myth of sovereignty as equality’ and reflects on the persistence of this association despite the overwhelming empirical evidence that it institutes international hierarchies and inequalities. Representing a major intervention in the existing IR debates about sovereignty, this book will be a valuable resource for researchers working on issues of sovereignty and equality in IR.




Post-Western International Relations Reconsidered


Book Description

This study offers a critique of international relations from the perspective of a pre-modern Chinese thinker, Gongsun Long. It explores both the potential and the danger of the post-Western quest for geo-cultural distinction.




Internal Self-Determination in International Law


Book Description

A clear and accessible study of the principle of internal self-determination in international law.




Non-Western International Relations Theory


Book Description

Introduces non-Western IR traditions to a Western IR audience, and challenges the dominance of Western theory. This book challenges criticisms that IR theory is Western-focused and therefore misrepresents much of world history by introducing the reader to non-Western traditions, literature and histories relevant to how IR is conceptualised.