A Small Nation's Contribution to the World


Book Description

This collection contains a selection from the papers given at the 1989 conference of the International Association for the study of Anglo-Irish Literature. The selection is broadly representative of the truly international nature of the conference, whose delegates came from every continent, and of the study of Irish literature today. It includes essays on Beckett, Joyce, Friel, Yeats, O'Casey, Parker, Clarke, Kinsella, Muldoon, Mahon, Banville, Brian Moore, Edna O'Brien, Swift and Edgeworth, as well as on critical issues, such as the uses of the fantastic in prose and drama, modernism and romanticism, Irish semiotics, social criticisms in contemporary Irish poetry and, especially appropriate for the occasion, the relationship and influence of Hungary and Ireland in one another's literature. Contributors to this volume are Csilla Bertha, Eoin Bourke. Patrick Burke, Martin J. Croghan, Ruth Felischmann, Maurice Harmon, Werner Huber, Thomas Kabdebo, Veronica Kniezsa, Maria Raizis, Aladar Sarbu, Bernice Schrank, Joseph Swann and Andras Ungar. This is the forty-fifth volume of the Irish Literary Studies Series.




Small Nations and Colonial Peripheries in World War I


Book Description

This edited volume examines the experience of World War I of small nations, defined here in terms of their relative weakness vis-à-vis the major actors in European diplomacy, and colonial peripheries, encompassing areas that were subject to colonial rule by European empires and thus located far from the heartland of these empires. The chapters address subject nations within Europe, such as Ireland and Poland; neutral states, such as Sweden and Spain; and overseas colonies like Tunisia, Algeria and German East Africa. By combining analyses of both European and extra-European experiences of war, this collection of essays provides a unique comparative perspective on World War I and points the way towards an integrated history of small nations and colonial peripheries. Contributors are Steven Balbirnie, Gearóid Barry, Jens Boysen, Ingrid Brühwiler, William Buck, AUde Chanson, Enrico Dal Lago, Matias Gardin, Richard Gow, Florian Grafl, Dónal Hassett, Guido Hausmann, Róisín Healy, Conor Morrissey, Michael Neiberg, David Noack, Chris Rominger, Danielle Ross and Christine Strotmann.




Dreams of a Great Small Nation


Book Description

"The pages of history recall scarcely any parallel episode at once so romantic in character and so extensive in scale." -- Winston S. Churchill In 1917, two empires that had dominated much of Europe and Asia teetered on the edge of the abyss, exhausted by the ruinous cost in blood and treasure of the First World War. As Imperial Russia and Habsburg-ruled Austria-Hungary began to succumb, a small group of Czech and Slovak combat veterans stranded in Siberia saw an opportunity to realize their long-held dream of independence. While their plan was audacious and complex, and involved moving their 50,000-strong army by land and sea across three-quarters of the earth's expanse, their commitment to fight for the Allies on the Western Front riveted the attention of Allied London, Paris, and Washington. On their journey across Siberia, a brawl erupted at a remote Trans-Siberian rail station that sparked a wholesale rebellion. The marauding Czecho-Slovak Legion seized control of the Trans-Siberian Railroad, and with it Siberia. In the end, this small band of POWs and deserters, whose strength was seen by Leon Trotsky as the chief threat to Soviet rule, helped destroy the Austro-Hungarian Empire and found Czecho-Slovakia. British prime minister David Lloyd George called their adventure "one of the greatest epics of history," and former US president Teddy Roosevelt declared that their accomplishments were "unparalleled, so far as I know, in ancient or modern warfare."




Handbook on Small Nations in the Global Economy


Book Description

These studies of the international competitiveness of small open economies demonstrate the critical importance of foreign direct investment as an engine of economic development: multinational enterprises are the key drivers of international competitiveness. Alan M. Rugman, University of Reading, UK Globalization has made every country small . The global economic crisis has made sure that every country has increasingly realised that it is open and vulnerable as well. This volume is both timely and relevant. Small country studies should become mainstream for scholars in business, economics and politics! Rob van Tulder, RSM Erasmus University, the Netherlands This book provides a fresh and clear-eyed view of the relationship between multinationals and location advantages of countries. It is one of the first attempts to build a constructive bridge between the theory of international business and the outstanding contribution of Michael Porter about the drivers of competitiveness. The authors address crucial issues demanding the attention of teachers, researchers, practitioners and political leaders. Philippe Gugler, University of Fribourg, Switzerland This unique, extensive Handbook illustrates that multinational enterprises can contribute substantially to the competitive advantage of small countries. It advances the notion that small nations increasingly need to rely on both home-grown and foreign multinational enterprises to achieve domestic economic success in industries characterized by international competition. The expert contributors explore the roles of firms in a range of small, successful open economies driven by such multinational enterprises across the globe. They juxtapose country data sets against Professor Michael Porter s paradigm of single diamond components and show that these single diamond components reflect merely a set of initial conditions, which can be improved upon through both inward and outward direct investment. Concluding that multinational enterprises create resource linkages between the home and host environments in which they operate, this Handbook proves to be a fascinating read for academics, students and researchers with an interest in business and management, economics and international economics.




Small Nations and Great Powers


Book Description

Introduces the geographical, historical and ethno-linguistic framework of the Caucasus, focusing on the Russian incorporation of the region, the root most conflicts; analyses individual conflicts, from their origins to the attempts at resolving them; analyses the role of the three regional powers (Turkey, Iran and Russia); and sets out a synthesis of the Caucasian conflicts and a conclusion on the place of the Caucasus in world affairs.




A Nation Among Nations


Book Description

A provocative book that shows us why we must put American history firmly in a global context–from 1492 to today. Immerse yourself in an insightful exploration of American history in A Nation Among Nations. This compelling book by renowned author Thomas Bender paints a different picture of the nation's history by placing it within the broader canvas of global events and developments. Events like the American Revolution, the Civil War, and subsequent imperialism are examined in a new light, revealing fundamental correlations with simultaneous global rebellions, national redefinitions, and competitive imperial ambitions. Intricacies of industrialization, urbanization, laissez-faire economics, capitalism, socialism, and technological advancements become globally interconnected phenomena, altering the solitary perception of these being unique American experiences. A Nation Among Nations isn’t just a history book–it's a thought-provoking journey that transcends geographical boundaries, encouraging us to delve deeper into the globally intertwined series of events that spun the American historical narrative.




Too Small to Fail


Book Description

Too Small to Fail analyzes how several successful 'small' countries, with populations under twenty million, have made a virtue out of their physical limitations. The book seeks to understand what it is they do differently, and why. What is their recipe for achieving better-educated, more egalitarian and wealthier populations? The book looks first at the forest and then the trees. It examines the characteristics shared by small countries, such as Switzerland, Ireland, Singapore, and the Scandinavian states. It draws parallels and discovers patterns shared among them that are common to each of their success stories. The book then looks at the policies of selected countries that have paved the way for remarkable improvements; and considers the individuals, corporations and institutions that have made a positive and sustainable impact. It further goes on to explain how these small countries are reshaping the World in a never before manner.




The Small Nation Solution


Book Description

In The Small Nation Solution, eminent anthropologist John H. Bodley argues that the contemporary global problems of poverty, conflict, and environmental degradation are problems of scale and power. Bodley’s solution involves keeping nations small so as to limit the power of elite directors. It is a simple idea with profound implications. He spotlights successful small nations around the world as the best working models of sustainable sociocultural systems and shows how these diverse small nations can be the building blocks of a transformed global system that could save the world.




Radio in Small Nations


Book Description

This is the first title in a new series of volumes examining different dimensions of the media and culture in small nations. Whether at a local, national or international level, radio has played and continues to play a key role in nurturing or denying – even destroying – people’s sense of ‘belonging’ to a particular community, whether it be defined in terms of place, ethnicity, language or patterns of consumption. Typically, the radio has been used for purposes of propaganda and as a means of forging national identity both at home and also further afield in the case of colonial exploits. Drawing on examples of four models of, the chapters in this volume will provide an historical and contemporary overview of radio in a number of small nations. The authors propose a stimulating discussion on the role radio has played in a variety of nation contexts worldwide.




A New Approach to Global Studies from the Perspective of Small Nations


Book Description

With emphasis on East Asian and North American examples – notably Japan and Quebec – Date, Laniel and their contributors take a new approach to the understanding of small nations and their role in the international system. Small nations, by their very nature, raise significant questions about what a nation is. Some small nations are sovereign states with relatively small populations and limited territory, others are nations within larger sovereign states, with distinctive cultures, governance structures or other features that differentiate them from their “parent” state. By focussing on non-European nations in particular, the contributors to this volume challenge our conceptions of what a small nation is and how it operates within the international system. They focus in particular on the nation-within-a-nation-state of Quebec and on Japan, supplemented by further examples from East Asia. By interrogating what these examples have to show us about the typology and character of small nations, they offer a critique of superpower and draw out the potential of small nation studies. A valuable resource for students and scholars of international relations and theories of the nation and nation state.