International Studies

Publisher:: Sage Publications, Inc.
Publication date:: 2021-08-12

ISBN:: 0020-8817

Issue Number

No. 61-1, January 2024

Latest documents

The Impact of Confucianism and Hinduism on China–India Economic Relations
The research focuses on the impact of culture on the economic relations of China and India as it is reflected in economic activities mainly in Beijing, Shanghai and New Delhi, Gurugram (Haryana) where the author conducted interviews. This cultural analysis of the Chinese and Indian economy mainly focuses on Confucianism and Hinduism as imperatives in economic choices. This research is based on qualitative analysis and the use of the interdisciplinary theory of Psycho-Culturology. It is based on the inductive method. It argues that China attaches importance to economic development and believes that economic development can promote peace. For China, developing the economy remains at the centre of its foreign policies. Characteristics such as cultural confidence and independent pursuit have essential roles reflected in India’s national behaviour. These differences have also been known to cause misperceptions and hinder the economic relations between the two countries.
The ‘Strategic Relations’ and Its Forms: An Attempt at Conceptualisation
‘Strategic Relations’ is a concept that has been used extensively in diplomatic and journalistic contexts, but it has been less investigated in scientific studies. Recently, concepts such as ‘strategic alliance’, ‘strategic coalition’, ‘strategic partnership’ and ‘strategic competition’ has been introduced to use as other forms of ‘strategic relationship’. However, the starting point of this study was composed of the following question: what is a strategic relationship and how is the concept related to a strategic alliance, coalition and partnership strategic competition? To answer this question, a descriptive-explanatory study was conducted. The data were collected through desk studies, interviews with experts by Delphi technique and inferential analysis. This study theoretically focused on concepts such as ‘cooperation’, ‘competition’ and ‘strategy’.
The Press and the Intelligence Community: The Construction of OTRAG and Cóndor as Global Threats
This article studies the way the US government through the Central Intelligence Agency, the Washington Post and the New York Times approached in tandem the development of rockets in Argentina and in two African countries (Zaire and Libya) during the last stretch of the Cold War. A qualitative analysis is carried out from primary government and journalistic sources, looking at how the media acted alongside the government and the intelligence community, providing the same information and a very similar interpretation of the facts, building common sense and a geopolitical imaginary. This is a geopolitical analysis of the construction of imagery of the dangerous identity of the OTRAG and the Cóndor II in the 1970s and 1980s. The conclusions show that both cases were construed as a geopolitical identity on non-core countries that ended in pressures, the projects be terminated, managing to build a sense by which the economic and political interests of the United States were projected hegemonically as universal interests.
Regional Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation: A Case of CANWFZ Treaty
Nuclear weapons are highly potent and devastating instruments found in the military stockpiles of contemporary nations. The immense magnitude and pace of devastation that nuclear weapons may cause, coupled with the relative ease with which governments can acquire these offensive capabilities and the inability to effectively defend against a nuclear assault, render nuclear weapons highly valuable. Against this true but bitter reality of the present world order, the author posits that creating nuclear-weapon-free zones (NWFZ) on a regional scale can serve as a beacon of hope and a significant catalyst in the global effort to achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world. To further analyse this idea, the author explores NWFZ and their relevance to regional denuclearization by focusing on the Central Asian nuclear-weapon-free zone (CANWFZ) treaty. The article is divided into four sections. The first section includes a review of contemporary literature about disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation. The second section examines the development of the CANWFZ and its commitment to the objectives of disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation. The third section involves assessing the barriers to this regional cooperation that impede its full implementation. Section four explores the potential reformative strategies that can improve the effectiveness of CANWFZ and elevate it to a model for other regional groupings in achieving a nuclear-free world.
Humanitarian Intervention in Syria: A Critical Analysis
In academic and intellectual circles, Humanitarian Intervention (HI) and the duty to protect have historically been seen as morally and ethically right because of its contentious practices have been at the forefront of international relations discourse in recent years. Having failed to come up with a consensus set of rules, parameters and principles to justify intervention, the Just War logic of Humanitarian Intervention falls flat on the face of the sovereign rights of the states. In this milieu, this article critically examines the rationale of humanitarian intervention in Syria and evaluates the concept of just war to claim that it is outdated and its application in the name of humanitarian intervention needs to be assessed. This study adopts the theory of social constructivism to decode the liberal perspective of Humanitarian Invention as a just war or socially constructed to manipulate world public opinion and address the inherent national interests of involved countries or the diplomatic failure of the United Nations Organization.
What Makes Their Relations Tick?
India and Myanmar have not always enjoyed a comfortable relation with each other ever since their independence from colonial rule. When the Burmese military suppresses the voice of civil rights movements within its sovereign territory, India, as its democratic neighbour, voices concern through verbal actions and nothing more and when non-state actors from the Northeast Indian states act against established Indian authorities on Indian soil, New Delhi talks tough with Myanmar, such that insurgents from Northeast India seeks asylum in Myanmar, and when India accuses Myanmar of such accusations and misunderstandings tend to occur, where both countries blame each other for their problems, not to mention the maelstrom of problems related to drug flow, illegal human migration, and illegal trade that occurs between the porous borders of both these sovereign Asian countries. Amidst such problems and misconceptions in their relations of the past and also the present, what are the factors that keep a thaw in their relations?
Canada’s Shift Towards the Indo-Pacific: Economic and Trade Aspects
Canada had always been considered as an Atlantic nation because of its strong traditional ties with the Europe. The paper is an attempt to analyse this conception of Canada and it tries to establish Canada as a Pacific nation. It primarily focuses on Canada’s economic and trade ties with the Asian and Pacific countries. The paper investigates the earlier Asia Pacific constructs and attempts to explain the gradual shift towards the construct of Indo Pacific. It also underlies the subtle difference between the two constructs. In an attempt to establish this the paper focuses on Canada’s potential to develop an Indo Pacific construct which is based on its position of rule of law and liberal internationalism and cooperation with like minded countries. The paper analyses Canada’s position in the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership and how this could help Canada to justify and develop its Indo Pacific narrative.
The Missing Nexus: A Historical and Contemporary Position of the United States on Climate Change Action
The international system is unstable due to the absence of a global regulating body, but countries are sovereign and independent. Although intergovernmental and multilateral organizations exist, there is no world government to regulate the behaviour of nations. In such an environment, states are highly concerned about their security and domestic interest over the idea of climate justice. However, the United States, with a firm hold on the economy, repeatedly refuses to take a suitable stand, from Kyoto to the Paris Accord, for reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and endlessly demands the developing world’s engagement in climate action. The US’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement shocked world leaders and criticized the stand of President Trump’s backpaddling, which setback climate action. It influences global emissions, at least for the time being, forcing developing economies to reduce their standard of emissions extensively. Significantly, how conscious is the United States of climate justice? How fast will the United States come back in acting the jeopardy of climate change? This article reviews the US action, shifting governments’ policy and stands on climate change from Rio Earth Summit 1992 to Glasgow Climate Accord 2021 conditions. The author has taken the 1992 to 2021 period, a blueprint for crucial climate action decided in 1992 led to the formation of UNFCCC, while the United States has re-engaged in the Paris Accord in 2021. Also, it tries to understand the shift across federal governments and the influence of local governments on climate change. Furthermore, it sheds light on the obscure image of the United States on carbon trading and tax subsidies for GHGs.
Gaming Borderless Internationalism: From International to Interlocalized System Using Ujamaa Epistemology
This article develops a proposed unifying theoretical framework for the concept of ‘interlocalization’ as an explanatory adjustment to the hegemonic concept of internationalism. This is a response to an exploratory study by Francis Onditi, published by the Futures, ‘Futuring an “Inclusive Knowledge Futures” Framework beyond IR Theories’, aimed at elucidating Afrocentric international studies scholars’ understanding of Africa’s futures that emboldens both local and global value systems. In the current article, ‘interlocalization’ is defined as a process of (re)creating a seamless linkage between African local epistemologies (ujamaa) and international knowledge systems. In this system of knowledge production and consumption, institutions and debates shift from the national scale to the global scale and downwards to the local level. In this proliferation and restless knowledge scaling, it remains blurred, whether the local African epistemologies and knowledge networks are capable of becoming simultaneously more globalized and transnational? In this article, we utilize gaming model to theoretically simulate the ‘positivity’ and ‘negativity’ of the attributes that build up a mutual global system and international order.
Evolution of Russian Strategic Planning in the Arctic and Enhancing of Integrated Security of the Fuel and Energy Complexes
The Arctic region witnessed a lot of geopolitical activism and contestation during 2008 to 2020. These activities have had direct impact on the Arctic Policy of the Russian Federation. The present article analyses the changes in the Russian Arctic policy, including security policy and their evolution and development during this period of changed economic, political and strategic environment. To identify and appreciate the changes in the policy, a comparative analysis of the Russian strategic planning documents towards Arctic has been carried out. It reveals a transformation of approach that ensures economic development and security of critical energy facilities situated in the region. The study also analyses the achievement of the goals set by the ‘Basic Principles of Russian Federation State Policy in the Arctic to 2020’ adopted in 2008 and describes the conditions for achieving the strategic goals in the Russian Arctic zone.