"Analysis of the FY 2019 Defense Budget" from the CSIS Defense Budget Analysis program provides an in-depth assessment of the Trump administration's request for national defense funding in FY 2019. In addition to analyzing the request for the upcoming fiscal year and the Department of Defense's projections for the future, the report assesses long-term trends in defense funding levels by spending title and Service as well as changes in the military's...

Because authoritarian regimes like North Korea can impose the costs of sanctions on their citizens, these regimes constitute "hard targets." Yet authoritarian regimes may also be immune-and even hostile-to economic inducements if such inducements imply reform and opening. This book captures the effects of sanctions and inducements on North Korea and provides a detailed reconstruction of the role of economic incentives in the bargaining around the...

Mayor Joe Curtatone Stealing from Somerville: Death of an Urban City is an expose of abuses, a compilation of articles from Somerville News Weekly, a local newspaper. William Tauro is investigative journalist and publisher of newspaper. Tauro shows pervasive effects of Mayor Joseph Curtatone's six terms in office. Sources claim exit ramps leading to small businesses were closed to drive them out, as well as houses and properties being taken by eminent...

Economics scholars and policymakers have rung alarm bells about the increasing threat of consolidation within industrial sectors. This paper examines the importance of industrial concentration in U.S. defense acquisition in two ways: first, a direct relationship between concentration and performance outcomes; and second, a mediating relationship, where concentration influences performance through reduced competition for defense acquisition. The study...

Traditional contracting is primarily transactional, rewarding contractors when deliveries are made or certain process milestones are met. Performance-Based Logistic (PBL) contracting seeks to base contractor incentives on ongoing performance measures to achieve reliability and cost savings. Key to the success of these arrangements are the incentives that align the interests of the customer and the vendor. This report describes the incentives used...

Esta obra, resultado de una investigación desarrollada en el Departamento de Ciencia Política y Relaciones Internacionales de la Universidad del Norte (Colombia), tiene como propósito explicar las causas históricas, los componentes ideológicos y materiales, y las dinámicas políticas del fenómeno Estado Islámico. Internacionalistas, politólogos, historiadores, estudiantes de ciencias sociales y lectores en general podrán encontrar aquí...

In a vitally important book for anyone interested in nuclear proliferation, defense strategy, or international security, Matthew Kroenig points out that nearly every country with a nuclear weapons arsenal received substantial help at some point from a more advanced nuclear state. Why do some countries help others to develop nuclear weapons? Many analysts assume that nuclear transfers are driven by economic considerations. States in dire economic need,...

This book examines different domestic and international factors that lead to support for secessions. It questions why South Sudan's secession was successfully supported by Western great powers while Somaliland and Western Sahara were not supported. It argues that support for secessions and international recognition have more to do with the great powers' own interests, particularly, the U.S., rather than the fulfillment of the criteria of international...

Sacred sites offer believers the possibility of communing with the divine and achieving deeper insight into their faith. Yet their spiritual and cultural importance can lead to competition as religious groups seek to exclude rivals from practicing potentially sacrilegious rituals in the hallowed space and wish to assert their own claims. Holy places thus create the potential for military, theological, or political clashes, not only between competing...

Operations in littoral waters present numerous challenges for modern navies, challenges that are especially acute in the waters of the Baltic Sea and around Northern Europe. Russia's increasing menace above, on, and under the waves-combined with its deployment of new and upgraded maritime capabilities and considerable commercial and civilian activity in the region-calls for enhanced vigilance from the United States and its allies and partners. This...