Several prominent Elliott School faculty members recently published books dissecting urgent global issues. In four new volumes, Elliott authors cover the globe, offering insight into the plight of Palestinian refugees, Russian identity in the 21st century, the evangelical Christian movement, and the evolution of China’s foreign affairs. In case you missed the latest book-launch series, here is a round-up of writings from our world-class faculty.
llana Feldman, Life Lived in Relief: Humanitarian Predicaments and Palestinian Refugee Politics
About the Book
Palestinian refugees’ experience of protracted displacement is among the lengthiest in history. In her breathtaking new book, Feldman explores this community’s engagement with humanitarian assistance over a 70-year period and its persistent efforts to alter present and future conditions. Based on extensive archival and field research, Life Lived in Relief offers a comprehensive account of the Palestinian refugee experience in many places and across multiple generations.
Marlene Laruelle and Jean Radvanyi, Understanding Russia: The Challenges of Transformation.
About the Book
This timely book provides a balanced and comprehensive view of the multiple forces that drive contemporary Russia. While this vast nation has long inspired fear in the West, Russia itself is frightened, the authors argue. Three decades after perestroika, multiple ghosts haunt both Russian elites and ordinary citizens, ranging from concerns about territorial challenges and economic decline to worries about vulnerability to external intervention. Faced with a West that emerged victorious from the Cold War, an increasingly powerful China and struggles with former Soviet republics, Russia today often questions its identity, its path forward, and its role on the international stage.
Melanie McAlister, The Kingdom of God Has No Borders: A Global History of American Evangelicals.
About the Book
More than 40 years ago, conservative Christianity emerged as a major force in American political life. The Kingdom of God Has No Borders offers a daring new perspective on conservative Christianity, shifting the lens to focus on the world outside U.S. borders. McAlister offers a sweeping narrative of the last 50 years of evangelical history, upending much of what we thought we knew about American evangelicals.
Robert Sutter, Foreign Relations of the PRC: The Legacies and Constraints of China’s International Politics Since 1949, Second Edition.
About the Book
This cogent, comprehensive book examines the international relations of the People’s Republic of China in the decades since its founding in 1949. Sutter provides a balanced assessment of the country’s recent advances, as well as the important legacies and constraints that hamper it, especially challenged from neighboring nations — long the major focus of China’s foreign policy. Sutter demonstrates how Beijing has carefully constructed an image of a nation that adheres to morally correct policies, all the while racking up a record of inconsistent behavior and frequent episodes of violence, intimidation and coercion.