Excerpts

Nations increasingly look to India as a rising economic power to take an active role in international affairs and contribute to resolving a range of global challenges. In his book, “Contemporary Debates in Indian Foreign and Security Policy: India Negotiates Its Rise in the International System,” Harsh Pant, who teaches at King’s College London, identifies major foreign-policy issues for the nation, and suggests that India’s political parties need to put small differences aside and determine long-term goals to develop a workable...

Immigration allows people to escape poverty, argues Philippe Legrain, British economist and journalist. Combining reporting and economic analysis, Legrain argues that relentless patrolling borders carries hidden costs while the diversity provided by low-skilled or high-skilled migrant workers offers many benefits. In the end, Legrain, who has served as special adviser to the director-general of the World Trade Organization, argues for open borders and offers recommendations for integration.

For more than a century, the Korean Peninsula has been the focus of major powers, most recently through the six-power talks, with China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States striving to convince North Korea to give up its nuclear-weapons program. Yoichi Funabashi, editor in chief of the Asahi Shimbun in Tokyo, explores the historical and security concerns of the six nations since 2002 and provides insights into future diplomacy and policymaking for the region.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to haunt the Middle East, and peace remains an elusive goal for world leaders. Journalist Mark Matthews details and analyzes the many lost opportunities for resolving the conflict in recent years, starting with George Bush’s first visit to Israel as governor of Texas and potential presidential candidate, as described in this excerpt. Matthews’ thorough reporting reveals how people affected by such conflict depend on their leaders to seek out connections, overlook cultural differences and...