Stephen Hawking wrote a book a Brief History of Time, and in a sense, this is what this book is all about, a brief history or slice out of the Afrikaner peoples existence in Southern Africa. A glimpse of their achievements, their failures and disappointments, not through the eyes of an historian but through entering into their lives, their homes, experiencing their pain, laughing at their idiosyncrasies, walking next to them in their everyday experiences at home, at work, at war and at play. After some deliberation it was decided that the best way to achieve this goal would be by using the medium of short stories, and to concentrate on the time period 1930 to 2000. It is felt that future historians will recognize this period as the most dramatic and signifi cant in the rise and fall of the Afrikaner nation as well as the birth of the so called rainbow nation.

Law, crime, and justice are among the most salient issues in any country. This is especially true for a transitional nation like Russia that is facing tremendous social, political, and economic changes, many of which create conditions conducive to crime. These ongoing changes have had profound effects on every major social institution in the country, and the transition from totalitarianism and a command economy toward rule of law and a free market is resulting in shifts in fundamental cultural values. In this environment, governmental agencies are often left without a clear mission, especially given their sometimes dubious roles during the Soviet era, and are rarely provided with the resources necessary to fulfill the difficult duties that are so vital to a functional democracy. This volume, with chapters by highly respected scholars in several disciplines, provides a comprehensive sourcebook of scholarly analysis of the effects of these changes on legal developments and rule of law in Russia, its changing patterns and nature of crime, and its criminal justice system. Contributions by: Adrian Beck, William E. Butler, Linda J. Cook, Galina N. Evdokushkina, Leonid A. Gavrilov, Natalia S. Gavrilova, Alla E. Ivanova, Janet Elise Johnson, Roy King, Robert W. Orttung, Letizia Paoli, Laura Piacentini, William Alex Pridemore, Annette Robertson, Daniel G. Rodeheaver, Richard Sakwa, Olga Schwartz, Victoria G. Semyonova, Louise I. Shelley, Peter H. Solomon Jr., Janine R. Wedel, and James L. Williams

Who thinks running guns to Africa should be a nice little earner? Who’s accidentally acquired a soccer-mad private army of child soldiers? What happened at the Glue Factory? Who forgot to switch off the fountains? Oh, and by the way... Why is Africa’s richest country so poor? A deceptive plot to take over the ‘richest country in Africa’ in the name of Democracy. An ethically-challenged businessman on a voyage of self-discovery. A glimpse into the dark heart of the ‘New Democratic Consensus’.

The new edition of this extremely well-received political biography of Vladimir Putin builds on the strengths of the first edition to provide the most detailed and nuanced account of the man, his politics and his profound influence on Russian politics, foreign policy and society. New to this edition: analysis of Putin's second term as President more biographical information in the light of recent research detailed discussion of changes to the policy process and the élites around Putin developments in state-society relations including the conflicts with oligarchs such as Khodorkovsky review of changes affecting the party system and electoral legislation, including the development of federalism in Russia details on economic performance under Putin, including more discussion of the energy sector and pipeline politics Russia’s relationship with NATO after the ‘big bang’ enlargement, EU-Russian relations after enlargement, and Russia’s relations with other post-Soviet states the conclusion brings us up-to-date with debates over the question of democracy in Russia today and the nature of Putin’s leadership and his place in the world. Putin is essential reading for all scholars and students of Russian politics.

This study examines the drivers of growth in Asian countries, with focus on the role of investment, the exchange rate regime, financial risk, and capital account openness. We use a panel data set of a sample of Asian countries over the period 1980 to 2012. Our results indicate that private and public investments are strong drivers of growth, while more limited evidence is found that reduced financial risk and higher foreign direct investment support growth. The exchange rate regime does not appear to be a strongly significant determinant of growth, but some specifications suggest that more flexible regimes are beneficial in this respect. Financial crises have a stronger dampening effect on growth in countries with more open capital accounts.

The Education of the Eye examines the origins of visual culture in eighteenth-century Britain, setting out to reclaim visual culture for the democracy of the eye and to explain how aesthetic contemplation may, once more, be open to all who have eyes to look.