{"title":"Janos Besenyo","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"minurso-united-nations-mission-for-the-referendum-in-western-sahara-book-janos-besenyo-9781804512067","title":"MINURSO - United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"This book is extremely interesting for figure and armor modelers looking for obscure projects. The illustrations and photos are very well done and give a wealth of possibilities for dioramas and unusual subjects.\" -IPMS\/USA\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e In 1975 Spain relinquished control of its former colony of Spanish Sahara following a short conflict with the Polisario, the armed movement representing many of the native Sahrawi people. In the wake of Spain's withdrawal, neighboring Morocco and Mauritania divided and occupied the territory. In a fierce guerrilla war that saw the Polisario raid deep into Mauritania and even directly attack the capital city, the latter nation gave up any claim to Western Sahara in 1979 and withdrew. Morocco, however, chose to continue their occupation, building a massive berm stretching for hundreds of kilometers in an effort to contain the Polisario, and fighting continued until a ceasefire was agreed in 1991.One key element of the 1991 agreement was that a UN supervised referendum would be conducted to determine the future of Western Sahara. To that end MINURSO (\u003ci\u003eMission des Nations Unies pour l'Organisation d'un Référendum au Sahara Occidental\u003c\/i\u003e) was created to oversee the ceasefire and organize the referendum. Over 30 years later, however, that referendum has still not taken place despite the original agreement and the involvement of some of the late twentieth century's leading diplomats, and contrary to its previous promises, Morocco is only willing to grant a \"high degree of autonomy\" in the occupied Western Sahara. The Sahrawis and Polisario refuse to accept this, thus the conflict remains unresolved and ever on the brink of reigniting.The author of the book, János Besenyő, a professor at Óbuda University in Budapest, Hungary, and who served as a peacekeeper in MINURSO, presents the history of the area, the path leading to the creation of the mission, and its operation over the past three decades, and provides a detailed description of the mission's team sites and the opposing forces of the Polisario and Morocco. This book draws upon several previously unpublished documents as well as previously unpublished photographs taken by peacekeepers. This book is recommended not only to military, foreign policy and diplomatic experts, but also to anyone interested in the history of the region, the events there, and the oldest peacekeeping operation in Africa.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49747717095697,"sku":"NGR9781804512067","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51054611562769,"sku":"NIN9781804512067","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1804512060.jpg?v=1751632729"},{"product_id":"wagner-group-private-military-company-volume-1-book-janos-besenyo-9781804516096","title":"Wagner Group Private Military Company Volume 1","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"Western media made sure that Wagner was well-known and this book pieces together disparate bits of information into one place.\" - Historical Miniatures Gaming Society\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e In the early 2010s the Wagner Group, a notorious private military company under the control of Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin, began to emerge onto the world stage. This organisation first showed its hand in Crimea, eastern Ukraine and the civil war in Syria. It quickly became apparent that it had the blessing of the very highest levels of Putin's government in Russia to act as an armed extension of the country's foreign policy before a spectacular fall from grace following the mutiny in the summer of 2023.The role of mercenary is as old as recorded human history and stretches back to the earliest days of civilisation. For those states unable to afford a standing army the mercenary offered professional services and could be viewed as a profession of honour. When the mercenary fell into disrepute in the post-colonial world of revolutions, coups and counter-coups, it was essentially banned by the Geneva Protocols in the late twentieth century. The trade of mercenary did not go away however, and instead morphed into that of the 'private military company' or PMC, a still thriving global trade in a world of clandestine operations, that may or may not be government sanctioned, offering 'plausible deniability' in a casualty-averse age of hybrid warfare.\u003ci\u003eWagner Group - Private Military Company: Volume 1 - Establishment, Purpose, Profile and Historic Relevance 2013-2023\u003c\/i\u003e looks at the profession of arms as practiced by mercenaries throughout history and the emergence of the modern private military company in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, along with the failed Slavonic Corps and Moran Security Group, often mistaken for early incarnations of Wagner. This work examines the emergence of the Wagner Group, its connection to the Russian government, security and intelligence services, and its operations in Syria, Libya, Sub-Saharan Africa and Venezuela as an extension of Russian foreign policy, often displacing Western interests, and as a private organisation primarily concerned with securing access to the world's oil and mineral resources for its owners and sponsors. Volume 2 will examine the group's role in Russian operations inside Ukraine from 2014 onwards.This volume is illustrated with original colour photographs showing the Wagner group's activities and its iconography, along with colour artworks highlighting the unusual equipment employed in many of the group's activities.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":50920650113297,"sku":"NGR9781804516096","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51391558123793,"sku":"NIN9781804516096","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52086281109777,"sku":"CIN1804516090G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1804516090.jpg?v=1751630104"},{"product_id":"amis-peacekeeping-in-darfur-book-janos-besenyo-9781804515723","title":"AMIS: Peacekeeping in Darfur","description":"A comprehensive history of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) from its inception in 2004 until replacement in 2007 by UNAMID. The Darfur region of Sudan was long beset by cultural and ethnic differences between the nomadic peoples of Arab descent and the sedentary farming populace of black African descent. After civil war erupted in 2003 between the government-sponsored Janjaweed militias on one side and the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) on the other, the African Union moved to provide a peacekeeping force for the region: the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS). AMIS was hampered by chronic underfunding and understaffing from the outset, and whilst seeking support and financing from international bodies, including the European Union, was reluctant to accept advice and non-African solutions to African problems. Furthermore, the Sudanese government was reluctant to allow foreign organisations, whether African or not, to operate on its territory, thus undermining the authority of AMIS and its ability to bring peace. Into this difficult situation stepped co-author Major János BesenyÅ, a military logistics expert from Hungary, as part of the support provided to AMIS by the European Union. BesenyÅ's first-hand experience of the situation on the ground helps to inform this account of the logistical and administrative difficulties faced by AMIS, and other supporting organisations, as it attempted to bring peace to the Darfur region of Sudan, how AMIS evolved through a number of stages continually expanding its capabilities, and ultimately transitioned to a United Nations mission as UNAMID (United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur) in 2007. AMIS: Peacekeeping in Darfur, The African Union Mission in Sudan, 2004-2006 offers a detailed background of the Darfur region of Sudan and the underlying causes of the ethnic strife found there, the causes of the 2003 conflict, and the difficulties faced in bringing peace and stability to a region where the environmental conditions were as great a challenge as the fighting. This work is illustrated throughout with original photographs and includes the @War series' signature colour artworks.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51216302768401,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51216305226001,"sku":"NGR9781804515723","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1804515728.jpg?v=1751631766"},{"product_id":"wagner-group-private-military-company-volume-2-book-janos-besenyo-9781804516102","title":"Wagner Group Private Military Company Volume 2","description":"\"...a fascinating read and I think it is critical to have such a documentary about the current events available in parallel to the TV and radio comments we see and hear about the current events involving Russia and Ukraine.\" - IPMS\/USA The Wagner Private Military Company (PMC) first appeared in Ukraine's Donbas region during the initial Russian intervention in the spring of 2014. Its fighters-lacking national insignia, Russian flags, or unit designations and always concealing their faces in public-presented an unorthodox and ambiguous presence. However, their use of Russian-made arms, equipment, and uniforms left little doubt about Moscow's involvement, reinforcing Wagner's role as a deniable yet effective force in place of poorly trained local militias. Over the following years, Wagner served Moscow's strategic interests by maintaining both ambiguity and control over various local proxies. While Wagner was not initially involved in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, a series of military setbacks suffered by the Russian Armed Forces (VSRF) led to its redeployment. Following a rapid expansion, Wagner became instrumental in achieving one of the Kremlin's first major military successes of the war-the capture of the heavily fortified town of Popasna in late April and early May 2022. From that point, under the nominal leadership of Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner grew significantly in both manpower and firepower. The group also played a central role in Project 42174, a large-scale recruitment program that enlisted Russian prison inmates as assault troops. Tens of thousands of these recruits were deployed-nearly 20,000 of whom were killed-during the brutal Battle of Bakhmut, which raged from July 2022 to May 2023. This operation marked Russia's first major military victory in nearly a year and had a lasting impact on the tactics and structure of the VSRF. Richly illustrated with rare photographs, custom-drawn artwork, and analysis based on captured Russian documents, Wagner Group Private Military Company, Volume 2 provides an in-depth examination of the group's emergence, organization, combat operations, and eventual downfall. Offering a comprehensive study of one of the most significant and controversial private military forces of modern times, this volume is essential reading for those seeking to understand the evolution of Wagner and its role in contemporary warfare.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51539829719313,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51539829752081,"sku":"NGR9781804516102","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51784889401617,"sku":"NIN9781804516102","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53482723213585,"sku":"GOR014942592","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53482991681809,"sku":"GOR014942726","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53668653236497,"sku":"CIN1804516104G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1804516104.jpg?v=1750767082"},{"product_id":"security-challenges-in-humanitarian-assistance-book-janos-besenyo-9782336439716","title":"Security challenges in humanitarian assistance","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53538858139921,"sku":"NIN9782336439716","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}]}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-janos-besenyo.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}