Jadavpur Journal of International Relations

Publisher:: Sage Publications, Inc.
Publication date:: 2021-09-06

ISBN:: 0973-5984

Issue Number

Latest documents

The Economic Logic of Strongmen Politics
Understanding Sub-State’s Agency in Regionalism: The Case of Yunnan in Bangladesh–China–India–Myanmar Initiative
Regionalism constitutes an essential unit to understanding the nature and evolution of multi-actor-dominated contemporary international relations. The ‘subnational turn’ in the regional interactions recognizes the rising role of sub-state actors such as provinces in the ‘construction’ and ‘performance’ of the ‘regionness’ to access the developmental benefits of regional and globalized capital. This paper further enriches this insight by focusing on the interaction of two components, that is, the sub-regionalism and the agency of sub-state units. It focuses on China’s Yunnan province outreach in the context of Bangladesh–China–India–Myanmar (BCIM) regionalization to critically reflect on the ‘transitioning’ agency of sub-state actors from imagining to implementing regionalism. Utilizing the analytical frameworks within paradiplomacy literature, the article emphasizes that sub-governments are substantive forces, ushering dynamic economic, political, and cultural international interactions. But, simultaneously, their power to invent and (re)define international standing is linked to larger scales of center and national. The sub-national lens on BCIM magnifies the opportunities and limitations at Yunnan’s disposal and identifies its agency as an ‘initiator’ and a ‘channel’ in the BCIM practice.
Deradicalization of Repentant Boko Haram Militants: Institutional Dilemma Between the Victims and Villains in Northeast Nigeria
Over the years, Boko Haram has taken the centre stage in Nigeria’s security concern and discourses as it consistently stands out on news headlines. After many years of counterinsurgency, Nigeria’s government realized the imperative of adopting a soft approach alongside military offensives to winning the war against insurgency. One soft approach is the institution of deradicalisation programme. Extant literature on the inadequacies of Nigeria’s deradicalisation plans, and methodologies is yet to be considered from institutional deficiency perspective as the programme is characterized by the difficulty of balancing the treatment of repentant Boko Haram militants and ameliorating the conditions of insurgency victims. Taking a cue from selected countries, the study examines the prospects of Nigeria’s deradicalisation programme. The paper therefore concludes that Nigerian authorities progressively need to set up a well thought-out structure for successful deradicalisation and reintegration of surrendered Boko Haram militants while guaranteeing the safety of victims that would co-exist with the supposed ex-members of Boko Haram sect.
‘Sovereign Democracy’: Russian Response to Western Democracy Promotion in the Post-Soviet Space
Russia became apprehensive after the outbreak of Colour Revolutions in three former Soviet republics. Post-revolution, Russia’s foreign policy in general and its outlook toward the West in particular transformed significantly. Russian response to Western democracy promotion became more pronounced. Against this backdrop, the concept of Sovereign Democracy has to be understood. It aims to not only defend the Russian regime from Western meddling but also undertake a vigorous international campaign to assert its great power status. This article deals with the meaning and rationale of Sovereign Democracy as a response to Western democracy promotion in a nuanced way. The study attempts to deal with the following research questions: How does Russia perceive and react to Colour Revolutions? How Sovereign Democracy enables Russia to restructure its foreign policy to challenge the Western democracy-promotion agenda in the post-Soviet space? How do the political institutions and historical narratives of anti-Westernism allow Russia to respond to Colour Revolutions? Lastly, whether Putin is able to reshape public opinion in Russia not only in favor of having an alternative model of democracy against the dominant Western one but also a favorable public opinion to justify Russian actions in Georgia, Ukraine, and Syria.
The Three Decades of Look East Policy and India’s Northeast Region
India has been trying to enhance overland trade and the movement of people between South and Southeast Asia through its northeast region, as well as Myanmar and Bangladesh. To materialize this, the Look East policy has been giving due emphasis on developing strategic roads and logistic facilities in the northeast region. Myanmar and Bangladesh are also crucial to achieve the twin objectives, and hence India is supporting the development of transport infrastructure. Three decades later the outcome of the policy is merely limited to the upgradation of strategic roads that are thought to have regional importance and the putting in place the modern logistical facilities at several border towns. Interestingly, the states of the region that share a border with Bangladesh are going to reap the benefit of the policy sooner as compared to the states sharing a border with Myanmar.
Ethnonationalism in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh and India’s Security Concerns in Northeast India
It is well known that ‘nation’ or nation-states are the most important organizing principles of governance, which are adopted by many states across the globe. Soon after the end of the Second World War, all the post-colonial countries followed the European model of the nation-state as a modern way of governance, which promotes cultural and political uniformity. In this context, the article has examined the effectiveness of the European nation-state model, which is adopted in post-colonial South Asian states, and in this regard, it has taken the case study of Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. The study shows that, even if Bangladesh is one of the least heterogeneous states among all South Asian countries, it is still grappling with the crisis of ethnic conflicts and violation of minority rights, and insurgency in the state. As a result, it has not only brought tensions within Bangladesh but also, it is causing security concerns too in the neighboring state of India by pushing the migration of ethnic minorities and population-made victims out of it. Like other South Asian countries, Bangladesh is also facing the crisis of ethnonationalism, which is undermining the ethos of multiculturalism and the process of nation-state building.
Brazil’s Emergence in the United States’ ‘Backyard’: Domestic Leadership and Systemic Status
This article studies Brazil’s emerging power status crisis due to policy shifts under President Jair Bolsonaro. In addition to studying the material bases, diplomatic relations and perceptions that shape emerging power status, this article also addresses how political elites shape such status. While the crisis of status is explained through domestic political and economic instabilities, this article points to the role of the United States in fomenting such instabilities. The US–Brazil bilateral relations between 2003 and 2022 are analysed through realist and power transition theory to outline the systemic dynamics of Great Power and Emerging Power interactions. Narratives of Brazil’s emergence were premised on steady economic growth, regional preponderance, and formulation of a globalist foreign policy under former President Lula. There were divergences of interests between Lula’s globalist foreign policy and the US interests in Latin America. Recent disclosures show that Lula was controversially arrested due to US interference in his trial in 2018 while he was favored to win the Presidential election. Bolsonaro secured the victory and initiated sharp policy shifts, aligning closely with the US. Bolsonaro’s policies consolidated an expansive American presence in South America, reducing Brazilian leadership roles and creating a crisis in status. This article contextualizes American interference in Brazil’s domestic politics and the erosion of status by examining the role played by individuals in impacting systemic status.
K. B. Usha (Eds.), Nation Building in Baltic States: History, Memory and Identity. New Delhi: Adroit Publications, 2018, pp. 236, ₹658 (hardcover).
India’s Role in the Indian Ocean Region and Its Links to the Indo-Pacific
The main goal of this article will be to show how India’s role in the Indian Ocean region has changed over time and how it is linked to the wider Indo-Pacific region. In the beginning, the importance of the Indian Ocean to India’s overall naval security on a historical basis is pointed out. It is shown that Indian Ocean was the main conduit for carrying out trade with the subcontinent and also for the creation of the British Raj even though it did not receive the same attention from the land-based Indian states. Following this, the article moves on to how following its independence in 1947 India slowly started to realize the importance of the Indian Ocean and later on the wider Indo-Pacific to its national security. Step by step it is shown how India’s maritime policy has evolved over the years. In this respect, the importance of the decade of the 1990s is highlighted when India began to open up not only economically but in all other ways as well. The role of the United States in India’s naval expansion is also explained in detail during both the Obama and the Trump administrations. Here specifically the article focuses on the ‘pivot to Asia’ strategy of the Obama administration and how it impacted India. After this it is described how President Trump further pushed India to take a more active stance in the Indo-Pacific region. Next, the Indo-Pacific policy of the present Modi government is studied along with a detailed analysis of the ‘extended neighborhood’ concept in India’s Indo-Pacific policy. India’s relation with the island nations of the Indo-Pacific is scrutinized in a separate section. India’s role in the QUAD forum is also properly discussed. Finally, India’s involvement in the three main multilateral initiatives in the Indo-Pacific is laid out before coming to the concluding section.
India and Human Rights Diplomacy at the United Nations: The Discourse on Torture
Building on the ideals of pacifism, in the early years, India’s foreign policy posturing at international forums demonstrated its keen interest in promoting universal human rights. The agenda of eradicating torture emerged at the United Nations (UN) in 1945 in response to the state atrocities and war crimes committed during the Second World War. The UN acted as an arena for diplomatic deliberations between multifarious actors that led to the emergence and global recognition of the norm against torture. At the UN, India was ideationally inclined toward building a robust human rights regime and actively participated in the making of corresponding international norms. However, India’s diplomatic zeal toward ‘norm-making’ at the UN was often followed by a lukewarm approach toward human rights. Taking the case of the development of the norm against torture, the article aims to evaluate India’s evolving human rights diplomacy at the UN. By tracing India’s historical stance on human rights and examining its formal interactions at the UN on the issue of torture, it seeks to evaluate India’s role in the formation of an international regime against torture. The article further seeks to critically analyze India’s evasive response at the UN and the implications of its failure to ratify the Convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (1984) or the Torture Convention.