"A valuable primer on foreign policy: a primer that concerned citizens of all political persuasions—not to mention the president and his advisers—could benefit from reading." —The New York Times An examination of a world increasingly defined by disorder and a United States unable to shape the world in its image, from the president of the Council on Foreign Relations Things fall apart; the center cannot hold. The rules, policies, and institutions that have guided the world since World War II have largely run their course. Respect for sovereignty alone cannot uphold order in an age defined by global challenges from terrorism and the spread of nuclear weapons to climate change and cyberspace. Meanwhile, great power rivalry is returning. Weak states pose problems just as confounding as strong ones. The United States remains the world’s strongest country, but American foreign policy has at times made matters worse, both by what the U.S. has done and by what it has failed to do. The Middle East is in chaos, Asia is threatened by China’s rise and a reckless North Korea, and Europe, for decades the world’s most stable region, is now anything but. As Richard Haass explains, the election of Donald Trump and the unexpected vote for “Brexit” signals that many in modern democracies reject important aspects of globalization, including borders open to trade and immigrants. In A World in Disarray, Haass argues for an updated global operating system—call it world order 2.0—that reflects the reality that power is widely distributed and that borders count for less. One critical element of this adjustment will be adopting a new approach to sovereignty, one that embraces its obligations and responsibilities as well as its rights and protections. Haass also details how the U.S. should act towards China and Russia, as well as in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. He suggests, too, what the country should do to address its dysfunctional politics, mounting debt, and the lack of agreement on the nature of its relationship with the world. A World in Disarray is a wise examination, one rich in history, of the current world, along with how we got here and what needs doing. Haass shows that the world cannot have stability or prosperity without the United States, but that the United States cannot be a force for global stability and prosperity without its politicians and citizens reaching a new understanding.

Although independent since 1960, Chad has proved to be one of the least viable African states. Sustained politically and financially by other countries from the outset, Chad's internal warfare has made it the prey of external powers. Yet Chad has survived–an integral element of the Organization of African Unity's Pax Africana and of a peaceful trans-Saharan Africa. Its jeopardized survival is a shaky testimony to the continuing validity of the African continent's colonial-based states-system–underwritten by the OAU and the UN–and at the same time it provides a striking example of the cumulative effects of Africa's post-independence problems. Examining the state's internal weakness and the degree and nature of its foreign involvements, the author focuses on Chad's continuing dilemma: The outside support so crucial for viability is the very thing that undermines its international standing. The roles of Libya, France, the United States, the UN, the OAU, and the trans-Saharan regional subsystem are also analyzed as the author illuminates the quandary of supporting the state without aggravating its conflicts.

It's the fall of 1941, and the depression plagued citizens of Northern California have had enough. Their region of enormous timber and mineral reserves is ignored by the political powers that be, so the populace has proposed the forming of their own government. Thus begins the STATE OF JEFFERSON revolution, a whimsical notion which swells to a wildly popular cry for independence.Enter Augie Matayzel, a below average fellow mistakenly accused of the murder of a powerful backer of the Jefferson movement. Augie is forced to launch his own probe of the crime, but, bedeviled by a drinking problem, an infatuation with the sister of his ex-wife, and an inability to suffer fools, one of whom often himself, he is ill-equipped for the task. Then, almost magically, when his lowly investigation intertwines with the turmoil of the secession, Augie realizes he may be on the right track - because someone has started shooting at him.

The Communist States in Disarray, 1965–1971 was first published in 1972. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions. Through a survey and analysis of recent developments in the communist states and in their relations with one another and with other nations this volume provides a revealing picture of a changing communist world. Indeed, as the book makes clear, it is no longer appropriate to think of the communist countries as one world, since a major development during the period covered in this study has been the disintegration of the communist monolith and the reemergence of separate national entities in Eastern Europe. The sixteen chapters by fifteen contributors provide studies of the individual communist states as well as several chapter-length discussions of general trends and patterns. The contributors also project the likely course of developments for the rest of the 1970s. Throughout the book the twin themes of an aggregation of the Sino-Soviet conflict and the spread of nationalism point to the conclusion that the communist states are now in disarray. The contents: Patters of Political change, Teresa Rakowska-Harmstone; Polycentrism in Eastern Europe, Adam Bromke; The Sino-Soviet Dispute, John W. Strong; Czechoslovakia, H, Gordon Skilling; East Germany, Melvin Croan; Rumania, Gabriel Fischer; Yugoslavia, John C. Campbell; Albania, Peter R. Prifti; Outer Mongolia, Paul F. Langer; North Korea and North Vietnam, Paul F. Langer; Cuba, C. Ian Lumsden; Patterns of Economic Relations, Philip E. Uren; External Forces in Eastern Europe, Andrew Gyorgy.

In 1935, Canadians went to the polls against a backdrop of the Great Depression and deteriorating international conditions. This election was like no other. As the Conservative government splintered under the weight of outdated policies, the opposition Liberals watched the destruction. Meanwhile, the newly minted Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and Social Credit Party transformed the electoral base, bringing working-class Canadians – and working-class issues – more directly into the political process. Although the Liberals ultimately swept back to power under William Lyon Mackenzie King’s leadership, King and Chaos demonstrates that the 1935 election marked a true turning point, ending the dominance of the two-party system and making room for additional parties to win seats and influence government policy.

“A valuable primer on foreign policy: a primer that concerned citizens of all political persuasions—not to mention the president and his advisers—could benefit from reading.” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times An examination of a world increasingly defined by disorder and a United States unable to shape the world in its image, from the president of the Council on Foreign Relations Things fall apart; the center cannot hold. The rules, policies, and institutions that have guided the world since World War II have largely run their course. Respect for sovereignty alone cannot uphold order in an age defined by global challenges from terrorism and the spread of nuclear weapons to climate change and cyberspace. Meanwhile, great power rivalry is returning. Weak states pose problems just as confounding as strong ones. The United States remains the world’s strongest country, but American foreign policy has at times made matters worse, both by what the U.S. has done and by what it has failed to do. The Middle East is in chaos, Asia is threatened by China’s rise and a reckless North Korea, and Europe, for decades the world’s most stable region, is now anything but. As Richard Haass explains, the election of Donald Trump and the unexpected vote for “Brexit” signals that many in modern democracies reject important aspects of globalization, including borders open to trade and immigrants. In A World in Disarray, Haass argues for an updated global operating system—call it world order 2.0—that reflects the reality that power is widely distributed and that borders count for less. One critical element of this adjustment will be adopting a new approach to sovereignty, one that embraces its obligations and responsibilities as well as its rights and protections. Haass also details how the U.S. should act towards China and Russia, as well as in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. He suggests, too, what the country should do to address its dysfunctional politics, mounting debt, and the lack of agreement on the nature of its relationship with the world. A World in Disarray is a wise examination, one rich in history, of the current world, along with how we got here and what needs doing. Haass shows that the world cannot have stability or prosperity without the United States, but that the United States cannot be a force for global stability and prosperity without its politicians and citizens reaching a new understanding.