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Japan-France Relationship under Abe: An Analysis of Security Trends for the Indo-Pacific Region

Abstract Since the Meiji Restoration, Japan and France have experienced a special relationship led by strong cultural and economic ties. The present paper analyses their relationship during the second administration of the former prime minister of Japan, Abe Shinzō. The paper focuses on their respective...

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Theorising Systemic Appeasement in International Politics

Abstract   The current state of the relations between Russia and the ‘West’ presents curious similarities with the ’30s appeasement of Germany. These include the change in the international order, the (late) emergence of a system-challenger after an ‘intermediary’ period that followed the change,...

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Military Defection During the Collapse of the Soviet Union

Abstract How did armed forces behave in response to dissent, political instability and territorial disintegration during the collapse of the Soviet Union? To date, substantial attention has been cast on the 1991 August coup attempt, yet our understanding of other potential instances of defection remains...

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Past-Oriented Foreign Policy: Japanese State-Identity and South Korea Discourse 2009-2012

Abstract Upon its 2009 General Elections victory, the Democratic Party of Japan defined the Republic of Korea as the core of its Asia-focused foreign policy. Despite initial enthusiasm, the resurgence of controversies like the Dokdo/Takeshima dispute and the Comfort Women issue pulled bilateral relations...

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Canadian Discourse and Emotions on Terrorism: How Canadian Prime Ministers Speak about Terrorism since 9/11

Abstract This paper analyses the character of the discourse and emotions invoked in speeches delivered by prime ministers of Canada from the 9/11 terrorist attacks up until now. There is increased recognition in academic literature of the need to study emotions, because people are not rational beings...

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Strange Bedfellows: Relations between International Nongovernmental Organisations and Military Actors in Preventing/Countering Violent Extremism in Northeast Nigeria

  • Christian Ezeibe,University of Nigeria
  • Nnamdi Mbaigbo,University of Nigeria
  • Nneka Okafor,University of Nigeria
  • Celestine Udeogu,University of Nigeria
  • Adolphus Uzodigwe,University of Nigeria
  • Usman S Ogbo,Kogi State University
  • Chika Oguonu,University of Nigeria
Abstract Previous studies have examined the impact of the relationship between international nongovernmental organisations and the military on peacekeeping operations and humanitarian programming. However, how relations between international nongovernmental organisations and military actors affect preventing/countering...

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Embracing the Maverick: The Evolution of President Donald Trump’s Management of Foreign Policy-Making

Abstract Research on the American presidency reveals that all presidential advisory systems follow a similar pattern of change over time from standard, formal interagency structures to informal structures in which decisions are made outside the traditional interagency processes. We employ a longitudinal...

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Examining the Role of Trust and Ideological Disparities in India-EU Negotiations: The Case of the Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA)

  • Malcolm Katrak,O.P. Jindal Global University
  • Blanche Devos,independent researcher
Abstract Negotiations between India and the EU for a Broad-Based Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) have proven to be a complex and protracted affair. Despite both parties realising the importance of a trade agreement, neither of them intend to provide any concessions to the other party....

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Explaining the Absence of a Regional Hegemon in the Central African Sub-region

 Abstract The end of the Cold War saw a shift in power dynamics globally, changing the security dynamics of many regions globally including those in Africa. With the security void left by these great powers in Africa, regional hegemons have played significant roles in promoting regional peace and...

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Conceptualising the Arctic as a Zone of Conflict

Abstract The Arctic has been conceptualised as a zone of geopolitical competition, an international zone of peace and the dreamlike realm for extractive industries. While states such as Russia and the United States have commenced a militarisation and nuclearisation of the Arctic, other Arctic states...

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Refugee-Related Political Violence in Asia and Africa

  • Lucie Konečná,Masaryk University, Faculty of Social Studies, Department of Political Science
  • David Mrva,Masaryk University, Faculty of Social Studies, Department of Political Science
Abstract This work focuses on the analysis of one of the most discussed phenomenon of recent years, the reception of refugees. The authors of this work examine refugee-related political violence, a phenomenon that has not been explored in the last twenty years. The aim is to describe the occurrence...

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Global Maritime Fulcrum: Indonesia’s Middle Power Strategy Between Belt And Road Initiatives (BRI) and Free-Open Indo Pacific (FOIP)

  • Fadhila Inas Pratiwi,Universitas Airlangga, Department of International Relations
  • Irfa Puspitasari,Universitas Airlangga, Department of International Relations
  • Indah Hikmawati ,Universitas Airlangga, Department of International Relations
  • Harvian Bagus,Universitas Airlangga, Department of International Relations
Abstract The purpose of this article is to correlate Indonesia’s global maritime fulcrum (GMF) as Indonesia’s middle power strategy to its response to the two geopolitical strategies of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) of China and the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) of the Quad (the United States,...

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Indivisible Security and Collective Security Concepts: Implications for Russia’s Relations with the West

  • Artem Kvartalnov,Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO University)
Abstract The indivisible security principle was first set out in the 1975 Helsinki Final Act and since then has been included in numerous international treaties and national strategic documents. However, the concept remains ambiguous and has not received due attention. The collective security concept...

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Revisiting the Causes of Russian Foreign Policy Changes: Western Recognition and Russia's Ontological Security-Seeking

Abstract This paper examines the relationship between international practices of recognition and state quest for ontological security, on the one hand, and Russia's most recent identity makeover as well as increasingly aggressive foreign policy, on the other. I argue that in order to understand Russia's...

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Practical Geopolitics in Cinematic Narratives of Marvel’s The Avengers Film Franchise

Abstract This article implies that cinematic narratives project practical geopolitical discourses by using the example of Marvel Cinematic Universe’s success – The Avengers film franchise. The conceptualisation of imaginary threats in the films that follow the main storyline of the Avengers assembly,...

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Conditions of External Military Interventions in African Internal Conflicts: Complexity of Conflict Intensity, Social Dislocation and Raw Materials

Abstract External interventions are one of the most important aspects of intrastate conflicts since a majority of them are significantly internationalised, especially in Africa where the interventions most often occur. Factors that lead to the military intervention remain, however, puzzling. The authors...

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Towards a New Concept of Constructivist Geopolitics: Bridging Classical and Critical Geopolitics

Abstract ‘In Space We Read Time’. This essay deals with the question to what extent perspectives of classical and critical geopolitical thought are suitable for analysing geopolitical structures of world politics. The following article discusses the potential that opens up a constructivist perspective...

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Expanding European Integration towards the Western Balkans in Times of Crises: A Neo-Functionalist Examination

  • Özer Binici,Metropolitan University Prague, Department of International Relations and European Studies
Abstract This article examines the political practices of the European Union (EU) in the Western Balkans and, in particular, the EU-Kosovo relations by adopting the revisited neo-functionalism approach to the study of EU enlargement. This research draws on the descriptive and explanatory assumptions...

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Trump and the Image of the United States in Latin America

Abstract In our research, we focus on the image of the United States in Latin America. We use mainly data from Latinobarómetro, and we analyse Obama’s last year and Trump’s first year in the presidency in 18 countries in Latin America. We use logistic regression to reach conclusions. We also analyse...

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Just War and Just Battle: The Examination of North Korea’s Attack against the ROKS Cheonan Based on the Just War Principles

  • Kil Joo Ban,Korea Institute for Maritime Strategy, Seoul
Abstract In March 2010, a North Korean submarine fired a torpedo against the South Korean ship Cheonan, which resulted in the deaths of 46 sailors. Is its surprise attack justified? The academic examination has rarely been made over whether North Korea’s use of military force is justified in this battle....

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Pakistan’s ‘Mainstreaming’ Jihadis

  • Vinay Kaura,Department of International Affairs and Security Studies, Sardar Patel University of Police, Security and Criminal Justice, Rajasthan, India
  • Aparna Pande,Hudson Institute’s Initiative on the Future of India and South Asia
Abstract The emergence of the religious right-wing as a formidable political force in Pakistan seems to be an outcome of direct and indirect patronage of the dominant military over the years. Ever since the creation of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in 1947, the military establishment has formed a...

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Rethinking the Budapest Memorandum from the Perspective of Ukrainian-Russian Relations in the Post-Soviet Period

  • Alina Shymanska,Seoul National University, Department of Political Science and International Relations
Abstract The Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine was adopted in 1990 and declared Ukraine a non-nuclear state. However, Kyiv was not eager to surrender the nuclear arsenal that it had inherited from the Soviet Union. It is possible to divide Ukraine’s denuclearisation process into two different...

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State Building Jihadism: Redefining Gender Hierarchies and “Empowerment”

  • Hamoon Khelghat-Doost,Üsküdar University, Department of Political Science and International Relations
Abstract Since the establishment of the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq (ISIS), there was a surge in women’s incorporation into the organization. Traditionally, nationalist and leftist militant movements utilised women only during periods of mobilization and political struggle. Upon the periods of state...

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Conceptualizing Soft Balancing Beyond Cold War. What’s Changed, What Remains the Same?

  • Mila Larionova,Metropolitan University Prague
Abstract This article is a systematic inquiry into the nature and role of soft balancing in the contemporary theory and practice of international relations. By wading into the contentious debate concerning the place and legitimacy of soft balancing, the article explores the theoretical prominence of...

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Making It Personal? A Comparative Study of Institutional Constraints on Foreign Policy in Russia and China

  • Joel Petersson Ivre,Yonsei University
  • Eugene Lee,Sungkyunkwan University
Abstract By treating militarism and personalism as institutional constraints on foreign policy, this article examines the role and influence of these constraints on the foreign policies of Russia and China. By looking at empirical evidence the authors argue that domestic institutional constraints in...

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The Role of the Qods Force in the Foreign Policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran

  • Ardavan Khoshnood,Lund University
Abstract The establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) in 1979 had a great impact on the question of security in both the region and outside of the Middle East. The foreign policy of the new republic would show hostility and aggression as terrorism became its modus operandi. In order to safeguard...

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Pseudo Neutrality in Intra-State Conflict: Myanmar’s Official Discourse on Rakhine

  • Kenneth Houston,Webster University Thailand
Abstract Although the most recent manifestation of conflict in Rakhine can be traced to the coordinated attack on Myanmar security forces in August 2017 by Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (hereafter ARSA), it goes without saying that the problem has a longer history. For this paper a corpus of official...

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S. P. Huntington’s Civilizations Twenty-Five Years On

  • Jan Slavíček,The Institute of History of the Czech Academy of Sciences
Abstract The study is based on the concept of Huntington's civilizations. They were used as a methodological basis for an analysis of the changes in their geopolitical power between 1995–2020 with the following conclusions: 1) The large population growth of 1995-2020 has been driven primarily by African,...

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Sino-Qatari Relations after the ‘Qatar Blockade’ in the Context of the Regional Implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative

  • Radka Havlová,CEVRO Institute, Prague
Abstract The article examines the development of the relations between China and Qatar since the ‘Qatar blockade’ in June 2017. Both Qatar and China view themselves as strategic partners and their relations are developing on the diplomatic and political level as well as in the field of economy...

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NGOs in Global Governance: Securing Role through Engagement at the United Nations? (Case Study – Global Policy Forum)

  • Jaroslava Bobková,University of Economics, Prague
Abstract What is the role of NGOs at the United Nations, and, by extension, in global governance? With limited possibilities to measure it directly, this article adopts discursive analysis as an innovative approach to the issue. Analysis of three texts by Global Policy Forum represents an important...

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