Titles to Note

Listed below is a select group of books recently or soon to be published that either contribute to the discussions initiated in the articles in the Australian Army Journal or on subjects that may be of interest in the near future. Some of these books may be reviewed in forthcoming editions of the Journal.

• Charles A Kupchan, How Enemies Becomes Friends: The Sources of Stable Peace, Princeton University Press, 2012, ISBN 9780691154381, 442pp, US$24.95

  Using historical case studies as evidence Kupchan contends that diplomacy is more crucial to gaining peace between adversaries than economic integration. He argues that regime type is not as important as its record of foreign policy behaviour, and that states which share similar social orders, ethnicities and religions, are more able to achieve a lasting and stable peace. In a world of conflicts, Kupchan offers timely insights into building peace.

• Jeffrey R Macris and Saul Kelly (eds), Imperial Crossroads: The Great Powers and the Persian Gulf, Naval Institute Press, 2012, ISBN 9781591144892, 235pp, US$34.95

  A compilation of papers covering historical periods from 1400 to the current day, Imperial Crossroads examines the longstanding geopolitical significance of the Persian Gulf and surrounding territories to successive powers, as well as examining the possible future of the region to emerging powers India and China. Imperial Crossroads presents a readable historical perspective on a contested region.

• Peter Ferdinand, Governance in Pacific Asia: Political Economy and Development from Japan to Burma, Continuum International Publishing Group, 2012, ISBN 9781441167590, 420pp, US$32.95

  A textbook, Governance in Pacific Asia presents a wide ranging perspective on the governance experiences of states in the Asia/Pacific region. Using a comparative approach Ferdinand explores areas encompassing historical geopolitics, social, cultural and economic development, and their effects.

• Paul Jordan, The Easy Day was Yesterday: The Extreme Life of an SAS Soldier, Big Sky Publishing, 2012, ISBN 9781921941887, 310pp, AU$29.99

  A former SAS soldier, Paul Jordan recounts the events he encountered that shaped his life. Told from the perspective of the time he spent in an Indian gaol, and covering events from his childhood, military service and time as a security consultant, The Easy Day was Yesterday is a gritty as-it-was tale.

• Roger Owen, The Rise and Fall of Arab Presidents for Life, Harvard University Press, 2012, ISBN 9780674065833, 248pp, US$24.95

  Roger Owen examines the history, regional factors, and systems of governance that brought a crop of lifelong authoritarian leaders to power in the Middle East, and why they held power for so long. Against this he shows the internal forces that shaped resistance to lifelong rule, and would eventually lead to what has become known as the Arab Spring. He concludes with a discussion of the possible future for the region.

• Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI Yearbook 2012: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security, Oxford University Press, 2012, ISBN 9780199650583, 560pp, GBP £100.00

  An annual publication by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the 43rd Edition analyses the international developments that have taken place in 2011 in the areas of security and conflict, military spending and armaments, and non-proliferation, arms control and disarmament.

• Lin Noueihed and Alex Warren, The Battle for the Arab Spring: Revolution, Counter-Revolution and the Making of a New Era, Yale University Press, 2012, ISBN 9780300180862, 350pp, US$28.00

  The Arab Spring began in 2011 and spread across the Middle East with dramatic speed, often accompanied by violence. The Battle for the Arab Spring provides an accessible analysis of how and why the events of the Arab Spring evolved and proliferated. Noueihed and Warren seek to explain the common threads that linked all the countries caught up in the Arab Spring, and how this will affect the future of the region.