Focusing on civil-military relations in democratizing states, this analysis offers a comprehensive examination of various country case studies, including those transitioning from dictatorships and communist regimes, as well as postwar and postcolonial contexts. The work highlights the evolving dynamics between military forces and government authority during critical transition periods, making it a significant contribution to the understanding of these complex relationships.
Armies of Arabia is the first book to comprehensively analyze the armed forces of the Gulf monarchies. Zoltan Barany explains the conspicuous ineffectiveness of Gulf militaries with a combination of political-structural and sociocultural factors. Following a brief exposition on their historical evolution, he explores the region's six armies of the region comparatively, through the lenses of military politics, sociology, economics, and diplomacy. The book's themes come together in the last chapter that critically evaluates the Saudi and Emirati armed forces' record in the on-going war in Yemen.
The analysis focuses on Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia's preparedness for NATO membership, highlighting their political, economic, and military conditions. Zoltan Barany concludes that these countries do not meet NATO's membership criteria and emphasizes the importance of maintaining the alliance's military capabilities. He suggests that while NATO should remain open to qualified candidates, it must avoid admitting nations that would primarily consume security rather than contribute to it.
Cambridge Studies in Contentious Politics breaks apart the narrow disciplinary and subfield boundaries that have fragmented the study of both traditional social movements as well as their non-routine politics. By exploring non-institutionalized political actions, including revolutions, democratization, cycles of protest, and ethnic conflicts, the connections between a wide array of political and social phenomena are examined in national, comparative, and global perspectives.This book is the first attempt by a social scientist to explain the age-old predicament of Gypsies (or Roma), Eastern Europe's largest ethnic minority, and their relationship to the region's states and societies. Professor Barany comparatively examines the Gypsies' socioeconomic and political marginality and the policies toward them through seven centuries and in seven East European states. He illuminates the reasons why the Roma have consistently occupied the bottom of social, economic, and political hierarchies regardless of historical period or geographic location.
Offering an exclusive glimpse into the intricate dynamics of Russian military politics, this book delves into the power struggles, decision-making processes, and the influence of key figures within the military establishment. It examines how these elements shape national security and foreign policy, providing readers with a deeper understanding of the complexities and challenges faced by Russia in the modern geopolitical landscape. Through detailed analysis and firsthand accounts, it reveals the often-hidden machinations that drive military strategy and governance.
The book provides a comprehensive examination of Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia in the context of their NATO membership. It explores the political, historical, and strategic factors influencing these countries' integration into the alliance, highlighting their unique challenges and contributions. By analyzing each nation's journey toward NATO membership, the author sheds light on broader themes of security, cooperation, and regional stability in Eastern Europe.
In spite of their massive military expenditures, the Gulf monarchies remain
unable to defend themselves. This Element takes a political economy approach
and argues that structural factors inherent in the Gulf states' political
systems prohibit civilian oversight of the defense sector and are responsible
for this outcome.
An exploration of military responses to revolutions and how to predict such reactions in the future We know that a revolution's success largely depends on the army's response to it. But can we predict the military's reaction to an uprising? How Armies Respond to Revolutions and Why argues that it is possible to make a highly educated guess—and in some cases even a confident prediction—about the generals' response to a domestic revolt if we know enough about the army, the state it is supposed to serve, the society in which it exists, and the external environment that affects its actions. Through concise case studies of modern uprisings in Iran, China, Eastern Europe, Burma, and the Arab world, Zoltan Barany looks at the reasons for and the logic behind the variety of choices soldiers ultimately make. Barany offers tools—in the form of questions to be asked and answered—that enable analysts to provide the most informed assessment possible regarding an army's likely response to a revolution and, ultimately, the probable fate of the revolution itself. He examines such factors as the military's internal cohesion, the regime's treatment of its armed forces, and the size, composition, and nature of the demonstrations. How Armies Respond to Revolutions and Why explains how generals decide to support or suppress domestic uprisings.
