Kirjahaku

This book is Ashton Robinson's unique eye-witness account of the ISG's operations in Iraq, based at Camp Slayer, in one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces The group's task was to search for weapons of mass destruction or to account for them if they did not exist. But the ISG discovered so much more.

Robinson details the life and times of France-Albert René (1935–2019), the second post-independence leader of Seychelles who oversaw the nation’s transition to democracy after over a decade of his brutal dictatorship.René’s career was Seychelles’ history over the forty-three years from independence in 1976 until his peaceful death. Having seized power in a violent coup he presented himself as a socialist in the Cold War but transitioned to build Africa’s most successful relationship with international lenders and developed Seychelles as a major offshore tax haven. He also sustained and cultivated Seychelles’ position as a Western tourism-based economy. Robinson outlines not only René’s use of political violence and extrajudicial killing but also his unique relationship with transnational, organised crime including his links with the New York mafia, Italian organised crime interests and even helping to arm the Rwandan genocide. Nevertheless, René – a white leader of an African nation – avoided the self-isolation of Rhodesia and South Africa; endowed racial harmony; enabled women to advance politically and socially; and left Seychelles with high incomes, currency convertibility, and robust human and physical infrastructure.This is an essential read for anyone with an interest in the history of Seychelles, which will also be of great value to scholars of postcolonial states, African studies, microstates and the Indian Ocean region.

Robinson details the life and times of France-Albert René (1935–2019), the second post-independence leader of Seychelles who oversaw the nation’s transition to democracy after over a decade of his brutal dictatorship.René’s career was Seychelles’ history over the forty-three years from independence in 1976 until his peaceful death. Having seized power in a violent coup he presented himself as a socialist in the Cold War but transitioned to build Africa’s most successful relationship with international lenders and developed Seychelles as a major offshore tax haven. He also sustained and cultivated Seychelles’ position as a Western tourism-based economy. Robinson outlines not only René’s use of political violence and extrajudicial killing but also his unique relationship with transnational, organised crime including his links with the New York mafia, Italian organised crime interests and even helping to arm the Rwandan genocide. Nevertheless, René – a white leader of an African nation – avoided the self-isolation of Rhodesia and South Africa; endowed racial harmony; enabled women to advance politically and socially; and left Seychelles with high incomes, currency convertibility, and robust human and physical infrastructure.This is an essential read for anyone with an interest in the history of Seychelles, which will also be of great value to scholars of postcolonial states, African studies, microstates and the Indian Ocean region.

This book examines Australia's strategic attitude towards the Indian Ocean islands below the equator. Australian strategic theory, policy and practice have to date understandably prioritised China, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. The Indian Ocean islands filling Australia’s western flank are now changing and growing rapidly, however, with a series of new strategic challenges that pose difficulties unaddressed by Canberra’s current strategic settings. The book sees the disconnection as derived from Australia’s history and explores how Australia found itself without influence in the Indian Ocean islands and what strategic and security hazards lie in continued indifference. Drawing on an empirical analysis of island historical and anthropological sources, archival and business investment materials, interviews and strategic pieces, the book traces a long continuation of Australian behaviours towards the region and local postcolonial imperatives. It also discusses Indo-Pacific theory and the Indian Ocean gaps peppered within it. The book will be useful to academics, researchers and advanced students in the fields of security and strategic studies and international relations, especially those with an interest in Australian history and foreign policy, the growing strategic competition in the Indian Ocean, AUKUS and the QUAD.