No comments about National Competitiveness in a Global Economy (International Political Economy Yearbook).

No comments about Creating Industrial Capacity: Towards Full Employment.

No comments about Convergence of Productivity: Cross-National Studies and Historical Evidence.

No comments about Foundations for Local Governance: Decentralization in Comparative Perspective.

1 comments about Confronting Iraq: U.S. Policy and the Use of Force Since the Gulf War.

1. I thought this book had a great history of the events from the end of the first Gulf War to start of 2001. The author's detail out each major event and UN resolution and what the Iraq and US did or did not do as a result. It was interesting that many times, basically every time, there was a new resolution Iraq ended up first playing games and then backing down. It almost seamed to be the behavior of a spoiled brat. It was also very interesting where the authors can show that Iraq got close to having the UN stop the sanctions, but each time Saddam would do something dumb and the world would demand that the sanctions be put back in place. What also comes through is the very difficult if almost impossible position the UN is in trying to enforce resolutions when the only power they have is rented / given to them by other countries. What this has created is a situation that only resolutions heavily supported by the US get the US military backing thus have the teeth to be effective.

   The one downside of the book was the chapter long discussion on what coercion meant the definition and how the word should correctly be used. Nice info for a high school reader but it just slowed the book down for the rest of us. Overall I liked the book, it was a bit dry and could have been a bit more detailed, but it was a nice review of the past ten years. The real value is putting some facts behind what has been so talked about over the past year and what was the Iraqi position as it related to the UN resolutions. If you have been interested in this situation over the past year then you will probably enjoy this book.

1 comments about The Transnational Capitalist Class.

1. This is both a theoretical and empirical masterpiece that formulates the transformation of the dominate form of capitalism (capitalist) from nationally based to transnationally (globally based). Tons of primary source research behind this. The 'Global Capitalism School' really developed out of this work; see William I. Robinson's A Theory of Global Capitalism: Production, Class, and State in a Transnational World (Themes in Global Social Change) and Jerry Harris' The Dialectics of Globalization: Economic and Political Conflict in a Transnational World. Reading all three of these works together is insightful for understanding how connected social, economic and political change are occurring now worldwide.

1 comments about The Making of Nafta: How the Deal Was Done.

1. The best behind-the-scenes account of the NAFTA negotiations. Cameron and Tomlin have meticulously researched and analyzed all aspects of the deal, based on interviews in all three countries. Moreover, the book is written in a readable, entertaining style. The only problem with the book - which is why I dock it one star - is that the theory looks like an add-on. It has little predictive value, despite the authors' claims, and attempts to fuse theories with sometimes conflicting assumptions. Nonetheless, the empirical work is outstanding.

No comments about Political Conflict and Economic Interdependence Across the Taiwan Strait and Beyond (Studies in Asian Security).

No comments about Taiwan in The Global Economy: From an Agrarian Economy to an Exporter of High-Tech Products.

1 comments about Gender, Development and Globalization: Economics as if All People Mattered.

1. This is a great book but it would benefit readers to have a base on economics. This is NOT easy reading. For a relatively quick reader, one chapter takes well over an hour to get through. Full of valuable information-know economics and international politics.