Editor's Note

Abstract

As of this issue, AUSTRAL presents eight articles, with authors from countries not yet represented: Oman, Jordan, Vietnam and Peru. The first two are general in nature, addressing the Sino-American hegemonic shift through Giovanni Arrighi’s accumulation cycles and the power of American digital technology multinationals. Afterwards, the role of China in the stability of the Taliban’s Afghanistan is analysed and then, in the same region, the role of the Sultanate of Oman in the Yemen Civil War. Next, there is an article on Maritime Security in the Indo-Pacific, based on the perception of analysts from the region itself. Another innovative topic, in the context of slow and interminable negotiations between the European Union and Mercosur, is a historical analysis of the contradictions between the European Community and Latin American integration in the late 1980s. Also original is the discussion on the civilizational divide of the far-right from the perspective of German politics. Finally, Mozambique’s foreign policy under the presidencies of Samora Machel and Joaquim Chissano receives an exciting overview.