Stosunki Międzynarodowe – International Relations最新文献

{"title":"How Indian foreign policy negotiates federalism: a case study of the role of the constituent states","authors":"S. Chatterjee, Sreya Maitra","doi":"10.12688/stomiedintrelat.17417.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12688/stomiedintrelat.17417.1","url":null,"abstract":"India’s centre-heavy federalism suffered dual downturns in the 1990s, with the tides of globalization and economic liberalization challenging the sanctity of borders and the incidence of coalition politics increasing the salience of regional equations and demands. But Indian foreign policy in the 1990s remained the almost exclusive preserve of the Centre, ruled by several coalitions of political parties like the National Front (1989-1996), United Front (1996-1998). As Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popular yet controversial regime is poised at the middle of its second term in 2022 (beginning in 2019), the continued showcasing of the Centre’s leadership in foreign policy decisions, high-profile bilateral and multilateral engagements, bold collisions with uneasy neighbours, are only matched with the unilateralism exhibited within the borders. Given the oft-reported instances of acute voices of assertions by the states on various issues ranging from illegal and forced migration, resource-sharing, or economic development involving neighbouring countries, a stock-taking is needed, to explore how genuinely federal is India’s foreign policy. In other words, the role of the constituent states in leveraging influence and bargaining for their due share of active involvement as stakeholders, merits critical academic intervention. When tested against real cases, two observations can be made. The dynamics shaping federalism and foreign policy may not just involve the Centre and the states but involve local/regional factors and influences from across international borders as well. Second, there is no causal link between the nature of the government in power at the Centre, Union-state political equations, and the imperatives across the borders between provinces and neighbouring countries. This study examines three case studies; West Bengal, Assam, and the Northeast, to reveal that foreign policy operates within the constitutionally designed structures of federalism in India by negotiating recurrent complexities of politics and deceives regional stakeholders or states with narratives of inclusiveness.","PeriodicalId":124409,"journal":{"name":"Stosunki Międzynarodowe – International Relations","volume":"88 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124029332","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"New accents in the U.S.-Iran relations. The perspective of Joe Biden’s administration","authors":"Katarzyna Czornik","doi":"10.12688/stomiedintrelat.17473.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12688/stomiedintrelat.17473.1","url":null,"abstract":"The main aim of this article is to determine the leading interests and objectives, both articulated and unarticulated, in Joe Biden’s Iran policy, as well as to present the determining factors which could lead to a potential reorientation of American policy towards this state. The article also aims to identify elements of continuity and change in Biden’s Iran strategy as compared to the Trump administration. The main hypothesis of the article assumes that contrary to the Trump administration, Joe Biden has given priority to dialogue and diplomacy with Iran. However, the dialogue is not unconditional and does not constitute a sum of compromises on the part of the United States (U.S). The paper points that the objective of Joe Biden’s administration is to introduce new accents through partial departure from the strategy pursued by the Trump administration focused on sustaining purposefully and deliberately hostile relations with Iran, intentionally presented as a backlash state, which allowed the U.S. to favour and strengthen its allies and Iran’s adversaries in the Middle East – Israel and Saudi Arabia. The two leading goals in the new administration’s policy towards Tehran are to persuade Iran’s authorities to return to compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which would become a platform for negotiating a new nuclear agreement, and to stop Iran’s support for Shia militias in Iraq and Syria. The key factor to determine the success or failure of such strategy is the victory of an ultraconservative candidate Ebrahim Raisi in the presidential election in 2021.","PeriodicalId":124409,"journal":{"name":"Stosunki Międzynarodowe – International Relations","volume":"38 3","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132468400","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The idea of a fragile state: Emergence, conceptualization, and application in international political practice.","authors":"Ryszard Ficek","doi":"10.12688/stomiedintrelat.17468.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12688/stomiedintrelat.17468.1","url":null,"abstract":"This paper studies the concept of a ‘fragile state,’ its origins, uniqueness, and the circumstances determining the changing dynamics of the presented subject, as well as the possibility of its application in the practice of International Relations (IR). The analysis of the conceptualization process, as well as the instrumental treatment of the idea of state’s fragility structures by decision-makers responsible for shaping foreign policy - especially in the context of the global development and security strategy - underlines the complexity and incoherence of the fragile state’s concept, which is currently considered as one of the most ‘wicked problems’ of the modern world, often torn by numerous brutal military conflicts. The author of the piece uses the term ‘fragile state’ to describe not only the form and conditions of disintegration of the state’s political and social ties and the dismantling of its state-legal infrastructure, but also analyzes issues related to the economic collapse, poverty, hunger, humanitarian disasters, armed conflicts, as well as numerous cases of elementary civil liberties and human rights violations. The article argues that deepening the comprehending of the fragile state’s idea, along with emphasizing its conceptual vagueness and complexity, concerning the ‘politically correct’ discourse on the problems of ‘fragility’ and states’ weakness, is necessary for a better awareness of the ambiguous and the perplexing nature of state power operating within the most politically unstable and insecure regions of the so-called ‘Third World.’","PeriodicalId":124409,"journal":{"name":"Stosunki Międzynarodowe – International Relations","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129503802","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cyber technology and the European Union’s gestaltian approach to China","authors":"Reza Hasmath, U. Bērziņa-Čerenkova","doi":"10.12688/stomiedintrelat.17431.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12688/stomiedintrelat.17431.1","url":null,"abstract":"Contemporary European Union (EU) and China relations are marked by a simultaneously beneficial, conflictual and competitive partnership. This is aptly evident in the cyber technology realm. This paper contends that the European Union’s gestaltian approach towards China can be understood with the aid of three theoretical positions: (1) an institutional perspective; (2) as a values-based actor; and, (3) a realpolitik dimension. The arguments advanced in the paper, ultimately imply that the EU’s approach towards China can provide various EU domestic and global actors’ space to exploit contradictions, notably when it comes to cyber technology diplomacy. This has the attendant effect of fostering future fissures in the EU’s overall engagement with China.","PeriodicalId":124409,"journal":{"name":"Stosunki Międzynarodowe – International Relations","volume":"15 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116917886","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The fog of enlargement and the agony of accession: the European Union and Serbia in the light of a reform document.","authors":"Slobodan Samardžić, B. Kovačević","doi":"10.12688/stomiedintrelat.17432.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12688/stomiedintrelat.17432.1","url":null,"abstract":"The 2009 public debt crisis onset triggered a fundamental constitutional transformation of the European Union (EU). What is the link between this transformation and the enlargement policy? The authors of the article seek an answer to this question. The main thesis is that the method of impersonal authoritarianism in dealing with the Eurozone crisis spilled over into the EU enlargement policy. On the one hand, we consider the systemic reasons for turning the enlargement policy into an instrument of geopolitical control of the states on the outer periphery. On the other hand, the problem is considered from the point of view of Serbia’s interest as an EU membership candidate country. The authors conclude that opening space for innovation and flexibility in relations would be in the mutual interest of the EU and candidate countries. The analysis of the new enlargement policy reform proposal examines the readiness of European leaders to open the door for a new type of relations with the candidate countries that would correspond to today’s European reality of the historical interregnum.","PeriodicalId":124409,"journal":{"name":"Stosunki Międzynarodowe – International Relations","volume":"45 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127611166","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The rise and fall of China’s ‘Peaceful Rise’: Implications for US-China geopolitical competition in the Indo-Pacific","authors":"R. Lau","doi":"10.12688/stomiedintrelat.17423.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12688/stomiedintrelat.17423.1","url":null,"abstract":"Strategic competition and rivalry between the United States and China has become a paradigm of international relations in the past decade. Central to this growing strategic distrust between Washington and Beijing is the tug of war between the US-led Indo-Pacific strategy and China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). However, the role of China’s ‘peaceful rise/ peaceful development’ strategy and assertive nationalism characteristic of Chinese foreign policymaking in creating an atmosphere of tension and misunderstanding between Beijing and Washington have been largely overlooked. This paper, therefore, seeks to understand the relationship between the rise and fall of China’s ‘peaceful rise/peaceful development’ concept, the emerging prominence of assertive nationalism in China’s foreign policy making and a deteriorating US-China relations with deepening strategic mistrust between the two major powers through a comparative-historical analysis of China’s BRI and the US-led Indo-Pacific strategy. Rather than demonstrating China’s commitment to its ‘peaceful rise/ peaceful development’ to the world, this paper argues that Beijing’s offensive to defend China’s national interests in a confrontational manner is an indication that an increasingly confident Chinese leadership no longer feels the need for reassuring the world that China's ‘rise’ is peaceful and non-threatening in nature. This could embolden Beijing to defy (if not explicitly challenge) the ‘rules-based international order’ upheld/ defended by Washington, thereby spelling the end of China’s ‘peaceful rise/peaceful development’ strategy.","PeriodicalId":124409,"journal":{"name":"Stosunki Międzynarodowe – International Relations","volume":"21 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129461691","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The transition to nuclear energy in Bangladesh: The interplay between internal and geopolitical factors","authors":"Ushan Ara Badal","doi":"10.12688/stomiedintrelat.17436.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12688/stomiedintrelat.17436.1","url":null,"abstract":"One of the significant issues in contemporary international politics is to examine the contexts of energy usage of different countries, keeping in mind the looming climate threat. Energy transition not only highlights the central role of energy usage but also exposes the vulnerability caused by it. Given the context, Bangladesh has adopted nuclear technology to meet its economic demand and environmental requirements. As a middle-income country, eyeing to graduate to a developing nation by 2041, its choice of exploring nuclear energy has exposed the country to the question of the rationality of the decision. Nuclear energy has a distinguished history that accommodates several debates about its safety and sustainability. Though many developed countries are planning for a nuclear phase-out, Bangladesh’s decision merits attention and explanation to embrace such a stand. Often, the economic priorities have been attached to Bangladesh’s decision for the energy transition, while the discussion about nuclear energy in Bangladesh ignores the geopolitical purposes and international political agenda. This paper, therefore, aims to explore the geopolitical concerns and the role of internal factors responsible for such a transition, which have remained unexplored in the existing literature.","PeriodicalId":124409,"journal":{"name":"Stosunki Międzynarodowe – International Relations","volume":"123 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124254832","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The shape of the international order: the case study of AUKUS","authors":"R. Zaman, Lailufar Yasmin","doi":"10.12688/stomiedintrelat.17420.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12688/stomiedintrelat.17420.1","url":null,"abstract":"This article argues that in the 21st century, international order has not only become unstable but also short-term in nature and issue-based, which has led to the emergence of a number of alliances whose functionality can be questioned. A number of alliances are being formed and are in existence but without any clear goals and objectives. This hypothesis is applied to understand the nature of the recently formed AUKUS—Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States’ alliance in the Indo-Pacific region. The paper, taking the framework of international order, argues that AUKUS would be one such alliance that has started with a lot of promises but its fundamental proposition to counter the rise of China in the Indo-Pacific region—although it does not mention the name of the country—is impractical. Given the economic rise of China as well as the example of the Five Eyes (FVEY) of intelligence sharing mechanism of the Anglophone countries formed during the early years of the Cold War, the AUKUS may survive the test of time but it also may exist as an example of the patterns of the current international order—that is another alliance without a clear path. This article also takes into account of the reaction of the Southeast Asian nations and criticisms against AUKUS in Australia. It points out how Australia’s security should be viewed more comprehensively.","PeriodicalId":124409,"journal":{"name":"Stosunki Międzynarodowe – International Relations","volume":"14 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132444991","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Regional dimension of international environmental cooperation: the European Union environmental policy and its relations with its neighbors in the case of Russia.","authors":"Natalia Zaslavskaya","doi":"10.12688/stomiedintrelat.17413.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12688/stomiedintrelat.17413.1","url":null,"abstract":"This article aims to examine factors influencing the development of international environmental cooperation and the roles of particular actors participating in environmental cooperation. In general, the majority of international actors agree with the importance of environmental protection but demonstrate different visions in terms of necessary measures. The final result depends on their capability to find common ground. It is assumed that the EU, with its strong environmental policy, realizes the importance of transborder coordination of environmental measures and tries to promote environmental cooperation. Russia was a serious challenge to the EU in terms of environmental security due to its geographic proximity, its severe environmental problems, and its harmful influence over environmental situation in the EU member states. The EU policy towards Russia demonstrates how the EU promotes environmental cooperation and ensures improvement of the environmental situation in the neighboring states. This paper will answer the following research questions: what factors determine the motivation of international actors participating in environmental cooperation; how the EU environmental traditions and decision-making procedures influence its external environmental activities; and how the EU tries to influence Russian environmental policy.","PeriodicalId":124409,"journal":{"name":"Stosunki Międzynarodowe – International Relations","volume":"31 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125738546","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Improving national strategic foresight with the use of forecasting tournaments and its implications for the study of international relations","authors":"J. Kleňha","doi":"10.12688/stomiedintrelat.17424.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12688/stomiedintrelat.17424.1","url":null,"abstract":"Improving national strategic foresight can help the formation of more robust and informed policies, including foreign policy. Predicated upon the theory behind peer-prediction elicitation methods such as Reciprocal Scoring, we combined two foresight methods - Forecasting tournaments and a Delphi method - into a design in which a forecasting tournament predicted the results of a Delphi. Experts in a Delphi could take into account the arguments of participants from a prior forecasting tournament and thus make better-informed decisions. This methodological article aims to validate the feasibility of this design. It describes how we implemented it for identifying and prioritizing global megatrends as part of a strategic foresight project for the Czech government. We found this design practically applicable, while the forecasting tournament also seems to improve the ability of participants to predict a group consensus. Similar combinations of foresight methods could be used to enhance the study of international relations.","PeriodicalId":124409,"journal":{"name":"Stosunki Międzynarodowe – International Relations","volume":"5 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121119501","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}