Cooperation Forum Research Articles

Organizing for Ontological Security: Rethinking Authoritarian International Organizations

Abstract Why do authoritarian countries form authoritarian international organizations (AIOs) when there is an abundance of democratic-dominant international organizations (DIOs) that provide similar forums of cooperation? Existing literature views AIOs in positivist terms. In this paper, I supplement the existing literature by bringing to bear the ontological dimension of authoritarian cooperation. Adopting the concept of ontological security, I theorize that establishing international organizations provides an avenue for authoritarian states to remedy their ontological insecurities—induced by critical events such as major geopolitical shifts—through routinizing relationships with strategic partners. Focusing on the case study of China in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), I draw from archival sources to conduct discourse analysis of selected texts and synthesize key themes. I propose that establishing the SCO was a Chinese initiative to alleviate the ontological insecurity that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union. The nature of this ontological insecurity was preemptive and derivative, but it nevertheless prompted the routinization of interstate relations and the construction of threats. Specifically, the SCO provided a forum for routinizing relations with states significant to China’s ontological security. The framework of ontological security yields important policy implications for democracies wishing to counter the proliferation of the authoritarian model.

India-APEC trade relations: prospects for cooperation in the Asia Pacific region

India has expressed interest in joining the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum since 1991. Over the past two decades, India’s trade relations with the APEC region have increased significantly. The trade relationship between India and APEC is examined using a gravity model of international trade. The gravity equations have been analysed separately for advanced and emerging and low-income developing economies of APEC by utilising both the poisson pseudo maximum likelihood (PPML) and ordinary least squares (OLS) estimators with several panel specifications. The results show that the majority of the underlying variables exhibit statistical significance. The study suggested that there is an increasing importance of the APEC region for India to promote its export-led growth strategy, as it provides enormous potential for its trade expansion. India’s membership in the APEC would not only boost India’s trade competitiveness in the region, but also provide an opportunity to reform its trade regime.

An Analytical Perspective on India’s Evolving Role in the G20

The Group of Twenty (G20) is the premier forum for international cooperation on the international economic and financial agenda, playing a crucial role in shaping and strengthening the global architecture and governance of all major international economic issues. Since its accession to the G20, India has played a significant role, frequently voicing its opinions at G20 Leaders’ Summits and contributing to global economic governance with its suggestions and strategies. This article will review India’s actions and contributions within the G20 and analyze its role.

The effectiveness of the logistics systems of the APEC countries

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum is an international union for collaboration in the field of regional trade, simplification and liberalization of investments, which serves the interaction of countries and their economic sectors with various stages of development. Transport and logistics systems are necessary to offset the shortcomings caused by issues with safety, usefulness and, most importantly, supply efficiency. The forum's management regularly works out strategies to solve these problems without noticeable losses for resource bases such as financial security and labor. Significant differences in the development of the association countries require an analysis of the effectiveness of logistics as a tool for the growth of the participating economies, ensuring conditions for constant progress and adaptation of the best foreign experience. The authors concluded that the degree of infrastructure quality affects the effectiveness of logistics services, confirmed the close relationship between the level of economic competitiveness of the country and the degree of its logistics efficiency, found out that the criteria for logistics efficiency are based on indicators of the pace of digitalization of transport activities. It is also established that Russia is one of the regions that can be characterized as catching up with the rest in terms of logistics efficiency, therefore, domestic transport industry specialists should study and, depending on the conditions, introduce technologies from the world's leading global players, creating a comparative advantage over other participants.

Interconnectedness and return spillover among APEC currency exchange rates: A time-frequency analysis

By combining TVP-VAR Model (time domain connectedness) and TVP-VAR based Baruník and Křehlík model (frequency domain connectedness), this study analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapse on the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum currency exchange rates. The results reveal that APEC currencies have time-varying effects (tend to cluster in appreciation and depreciation patterns in both the short and long term) and have generated higher total return spillover during COVID-19 (in the time domain) than the Russia-Ukraine war and SVB collapse. During COVID-19 (87.18 %) (total return spillover), impacts were more severe than the Russia-Ukraine crisis (79.49 %) and the Silicon Valley Bank collapse (75.55 %). Moreover, the South Korean won, Thai Bhat and Australian Dollar are identified as consistent shock transmitters, and Malaysian Ringgit, Philippine peso, Indonesian Rupiah, and Chinese Yuan as consistent shock receivers in the time domain. The findings have substantial repercussions for financial regulators and investors.

The Role of International Organizations in Global Governance: Challenges and Opportunities

International organizations play a crucial role in global governance, serving as forums for cooperation and coordination among nations to address shared challenges and opportunities. This article explores the multifaceted role of international organizations in global governance, focusing on the challenges they face and the opportunities they present. Employing a qualitative approach, this study conducts an extensive literature review and library research to examine the contributions, limitations, and evolving dynamics of international organizations in the realm of global governance. Through the review of existing literature, various roles of international organizations are identified, including policy formulation, norm setting, capacity building, conflict resolution, and humanitarian assistance. Additionally, the study assesses the challenges faced by international organizations, such as political polarization, resource constraints, legitimacy concerns, and institutional inefficiencies. Furthermore, the study identifies opportunities for international organizations to enhance their effectiveness and relevance in global governance, including promoting multilateralism, fostering partnerships with non-state actors, harnessing digital technologies, and addressing emerging global issues. The findings highlight the importance of international organizations as key actors in shaping the global governance landscape and emphasize the need for continuous adaptation and innovation to address complex global challenges effectively. By elucidating the challenges and opportunities faced by international organizations, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of the dynamics of global governance in the contemporary world.

Financial Flows of the Blue Continent


 This paper proposes a collaborative effort between India, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Fiji to pilot a payments system using the infrastructure underlying India's Unified Payments Interface framework. This aims to catalyse the creation of an open, interoperable, and efficient regional payments system in the Pacific that enfranchises all stakeholders. While cost is a central factor, existing funds within the Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme, Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation, Pacific Islands Forum, India-UN Development Partnership Fund, or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue can be leveraged. Frank dialogue about the financial needs of Pasifika peoples and their countries is critical, and open-source protocols can allow for tailor-made, sovereign solutions without vendor lock-in. Current efforts to strengthen regulatory frameworks and address money laundering risks should also continue in concert with this endeavour. More broadly, this paper demonstrates India's potential to collaborate with Australia – and others – to create positive outcomes for low-income states. The policy recommendation in this paper exemplifies how such collaborations can drive positive change globally and accelerate progress for the developing world, such as in the Pacific Islands.

Blue Economic Beacon: Red And White Leads The Way Through Niche Diplomacy

This research has a specific objective to analyze the Indonesian government's strategy in realizing sustainable marine development based on its role as a middle power country. The author uses the theoretical framework of middle power identity and niche diplomacy to analyze the problems in this study. This research is a type of qualitative research that is explained using the explanatory method. Based on the results of the research, the Indonesian government's strategy is to prioritize sustainable marine development in national marine policy and also commit to contributing to the world's sustainable marine development with the blue economy principle. This commitment will be realized by increasing cooperation in the marine sector at the bilateral, multilateral and regional levels. Specifically, the form of the realization of this commitment is that Indonesia has become the strategy of the Indonesian government to realize sustainable marine development is to become the initiator of the formation of cooperation forums (coalition building), to become the contact person for countries in the interest of sustainable marine development (bridge builder), and to uphold international norms in the marine sector for the common good (catalyst).

Mexico and the forum for economic cooperation, Asia-pacific, 1990-2019: Determinants of the sustainable productivity of the wood industry

The purpose of this research is to identify the determinants of the productivity of the wood industry for the economies that make up the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APECF) in the period 1990-2019. As a dependent variable, a sustainable productivity index is created to measure this productivity. Using the econometric method of panel data, the impact of employment, capital stock, and innovation on the sustainable productivity of the wood manufacturing industry is found. The variable capital stock (SC) is estimated using the Perpetual Inventory Method (PIM) and incorporating an adjustment factor for the absence of the first observation. The findings indicate that there is a significant relationship between the sustainable productivity index and the variables employment, innovation, and capital stock. The study's findings demonstrate that productivity exists when there is a balance in the use of resources or public goods. The contribution that is made to the literature is about authentic productivity that promotes the improvement of the quality of life of the population as well as the responsible use of finite resources. This research examines the practical implications of sustainable forest resource utilization, specifically focusing on sustainable productivity.

Trade and Labor-Allocation: Evidence from Sectoral Embodied Labor Transfer between China and Africa

Under the influence of international trade, labor flow not only exists in the waves of international labor migration but is also embodied in international products and services. This paper focused on members of the China–Africa Cooperation Forum (FOCAC). We computed and analyzed the sectoral embodied labor transfer between China and Africa from 2000 to 2015 based on the Multiregional Input-Output Method. Our results are as follows: (1) Both China and Africa play roles as labor suppliers in the global supply chain. By ameliorating the trade structure, both China and Africa can better utilize their labor surplus. (2) China and Africa share complementarity in sectoral labor allocation. In short, the embodied labor transfer via international trade between China and Africa has, to some extent, relieved the labor shortage on both sides. (3) Africa has transformed into a net exporter of industrial labor since 2011. By analyzing the embodied labor flow from the global perspective, this paper beats a new path in depicting the effect of international trade on labor allocation, enriches the evaluation of embodied labor transfer between China and Africa, and also provides a beneficial supplement to Multiregional Input-Output analysis in the field of factor flows.

Bimbingan Teknis Pendirian Koperasi Bagi Calon Anggota Koperasi di Kabupaten Garut

Community service through technical guidance for prospective cooperative members who wish to establish a cooperative is a very important program to provide knowledge and character formation for those who will later have to participate in the cooperative forum that will be formed. This technical guidance will be held on 21 and 22 October 2023 from 19.30 WIB to 11.30 WIB. The expected output, apart from the formation of solid and responsible management, supervisors and members, is the formation of a cooperative that carries out its services to members through the efforts required by cooperative members. Therefore, the presenters are experienced in theory and practice in cooperatives. The method provided in this Bimtek is by providing material in two directions and discussions related to cooperatives in practice and how to establish cooperatives. The topics given to prospective cooperative members will provide a deeper understanding of the implementation of the steps in establishing a cooperative from the initial stages to the formation of the cooperative.

Legal Certainty of Farmers' Rights in the Conversion of Use of Ill Land Into Agricultural Land

Utilization of unused land for agricultural land has an important impact on food security and community welfare. This research examines the legal certainty of farmers' rights in the context of land conversion in Indonesia. Law no. 19 of 2013 becomes a strategic framework with a focus on agricultural infrastructure, commodity prices and agricultural insurance. Farming groups have a crucial role as a forum for cooperation and production units, but agricultural land is experiencing shrinkage due to conversion. Evaluation of statutory regulations and stakeholder cooperation are needed to protect farmers' rights and ensure the sustainability of the agricultural sector. This research shows the urgency of legal clarity in land ownership, the role of village government, and protecting farmers' rights. With a focus on legal certainty and farmers' rights, this research provides in-depth insights and policy recommendations to improve legal protection and achieve sustainable development goals in the agricultural sector

Эволюция подходов Китая к экономической интеграции в АТР

The article is analyzing the latest trends in China’s participation in the integration processes in the Asia-Pacific region and their determining factors. The evolution of China’s approaches to integration processes in the region in key areas of trade, economic and investment interaction is considered. China’s integration cooperation with the Asia-Pacific countries is developing within three main multilateral formats, including the forum of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Comprehensive Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The One Belt, One Road Initiative occupies a special place in China’s policy regarding integration processes in the Asia-Pacific region. The paper analyzes the directions of development of these formats, the nature of their interaction with each other, the prospects for the integration of the Asia-Pacific countries and China’s participation in these processes. In connection with the stalled rounds of WTO trade negotiations and the postponement of the creation of a free trade area within the framework of the APEC, China’s participation in the RCEP strengthens its regional position while China has now become the leading trading partner for the countries participating in the agreement. ASEAN countries’ trade with China exceeds their trade with the United States. The article also considers trends and problems in the implementation of the Chinese One Belt, One Road Initiative. Among the problems are the discrepancies between the interests of the parties involved, the lack of investment resources, political factors. At the same time, the flexible nature of the Chinese Initiative, the absence of strict requirements for participants, and their interest in the project allows the One Belt, One Road to become the world’s largest cooperation platform operating on the principles of an open mega-partnership.

СПІВПРАЦЯ ЄС ТА РЕСПУБЛІКИ КОРЕЯ НА СУЧАСНОМУ ЕТАПІ

The article is devoted to the analysis of the features of cooperation between the EU and the Republic of Korea at the present stage. Today, the European Union and the Republic of Korea are important strategic and economic partners, sharing similar values stemming from their liberal-democratic systems. However, the intensification of primarily economic cooperation began only in the late 20th to early 21st centuries, gradually expanding into other areas. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1963, EU-Korea relations have significantly expanded over the past six decades, along with far-reaching changes and progress in our societies, economies, scientific research fields, and digital technologies. Both sides have transformed into strategic partners, sharing universal values, promoting peace, prosperity, and security, and addressing such important global challenges as climate change and the global pandemic. Korea was the first country in Asia with which the EU concluded three key agreements: a comprehensive Framework Agreement, a Free Trade Agreement, and a Framework Agreement on participation in crisis management operations. Relations between the EU and South Korea are deep and encompass around 40 regular dialogues covering economic, political, security, and cultural cooperation. There are several challenges that need to be addressed to improve relations between the EU and the Republic of Korea. The first issue is related to the implementation of agreements. Despite the fact that bilateral relations are based on three key agreements and there are numerous channels and forums for communication and cooperation, the relations still lack better and more thorough practical application of the issues discussed or agreed upon in documents. The second challenge is part of the Free Trade Agreement, which was signed in 2010, the first of the new generation agreements signed by the EU and the second largest free trade agreement in history. However, over the past decade, the world has changed. An area insufficiently covered in the agreement is e-commerce, which has grown even more significantly over the past two years of the global pandemic. Nevertheless, on October 31, 2023, during the 11th EU-Korea Trade Committee meeting, the parties agreed to start negotiations between the EU and Korea on a digital trade agreement.

Participação do Secretariado Permanente do Fórum de Macau em iniciativas de Saúde Global entre 2015 e 2022

Abstract The Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, better known as Forum Macao, founded in 2003, has been acting as a link between China and Portuguese-speaking countries for 20 years. Since 2016, the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao has published a yearbook highlighting the main activities it carried out in the previous year. This article focuses on analyzing Forum Macao's role as an organizer and mediator of Global Health initiatives by analyzing all the articles published in its yearbooks between 2016 and 2023. We found 34 articles dealing with a health-related topic, with almost two thirds related to traditional Chinese medicine, reports of frequent organization of activities that foster international cooperation in health, as well as active participation during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. Forum Macao is a multilateral platform for dialogue between China, Macao and the Portuguese-speaking world, with the health agenda and the dissemination of traditional Chinese medicine occupying a prominent place in its yearbook.

G20 Summit Coverage on Television Media: Quantitative Framing Analysis on Three National Television News Programs

Indonesia for the first time in history became the chairman and acted as the host (presidency) of the Group of 20 (G20) cooperation forum which was held in November 2022. As the holder of the G20 presidency, Indonesia's role was highlighted and received full attention from various mass media, both national and international. The media with its hegemonic interpretation can create a positive or negative image of the government and the state. In the production and dissemination of news, the media represent countries, regions, and continents by constructing concepts, images, and identities as conveyed by the selected news source. This study aims to explore how television coverage in Indonesia represented by three national news televisions (TVOne, Metro TV and Kompas TV) chooses news sources, framing, and determines the tone of news for the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia. The method used in this study is comparative content analysis with the Chi-Square test to determine whether there are significant differences among media in the use of news sources, framing, and news tone. The results showed that most of the news broadcast by the three national television media was frameless, which was 52%, while the most widely used frame was conflict and attraction in the same percentage at 15%. Most of the news content from the three television media about Indonesia's leadership in the G20 was delivered in a positive tone, and there was no significant difference between the three media in terms of news content.

Perdagangan Tanpa Batas: Open Regionalisme APEC dalam Mendorong Kerja Sama Ekonomi di Asia Pasifik

After the Cold War, economy in various countries became tense. These conditions encourage a new world order to form regionalism, and one of them is to produce trade cooperation blocks between countries. Discussion forums were used to establish this trading block and address economic concerns like dependence on free trade. APEC then emerged as one of the economic cooperation forums in the Asia Pacific region, which operates in economic cooperation. The existence of APEC is based on the view that the dynamics of development in the Asia Pacific are increasingly complex, characterized by significant changes in trade and investment patterns, financial flows, and sophisticated technology, as well as differences in comparative advantages possessed by each country. This study will analyze how APEC influences trade and economic cooperation among its member nations. This article will use the concept of open regionalism to look at the dynamics that occur in APEC.

PERAN JAM’IYAH SHALAWAT DIBA’ KUBRA TERHADAP KERUKUNAN MASYARAKAT DESA SAWIJI KECAMATAN JOGOROTO KABUPATEN JOMBANG

Abstraction This research aims to find out empirical and comprehensive information about the role of Jam'iyah Shalawat Diba' Kubra which is a forum for the community to build relationships in achieving harmony in Sawiji Village, Jogoroto District, Jombang Regency. This jam'iyah uses the traditional al-Banjari musical instrument, a traditional musical instrument that is played by hand and contains keys with the terms "lanang and wedok". This research uses a descriptive method with a qualitative approach. The data collection techniques used were interviews, observation and documentation. Meanwhile, to analyze the data, researchers carried out data reduction, data presentation and drawing conclusions. To validate the data using source triangulation techniques. The results of this research indicate that Jam'iyah Shalawat Diba' Kubra plays an optimal role in forming harmony in the Sawiji Village community. This role includes, among others, as a forum for community friendship to establish harmonious family relationships, as a forum for seeking knowledge through the advice of ulama relating to guidance in daily life as taught by the Prophet Muhammad, and as a forum for mutual cooperation that can increase harmony in society. Keywords: Diba' Kubra, Community Harmony.

Gender Mainstreaming in Indonesia’s Bilateral International Development Cooperation

Gender mainstreaming is an important subject to be mindful of in the Indonesian government’s development cooperation with bilateral development partners. Gender conflict is one of the obstacles that countries face when executing national and international development programs. Indonesia is one of the countries that uses a gender mainstreaming technique to incorporate gender problems into development initiatives. The establishment of a gender mainstreaming strategy (PUG) is vital in developing policies, particularly in carrying out bilateral development cooperation. This is significant for Indonesia as an endeavor to decrease inequality in the country, but Indonesia’s weak PUG is one of the country’s impediments to fulfilling national interests. One of the strategies undertaken by Indonesia to integrate gender mainstreaming into international development is through the Triangular South-South Cooperation Forum in order to form a strategic partnership with Afghanistan and Germany. Afghanistan is seen as a potential bilateral partner with aligned interests in promoting women’s empowerment and gender equality. Given that it is not only Indonesia that has national interests, the second-party countries must also have interests and conditions that are not always mutually agreed upon and might be detrimental to Indonesia. Therefore, the dynamics of bilateral cooperation between Indonesia and Afghanistan are interesting to identify, considering that GIZ, as the German representative, is present as a mediator bridging the partnership. Thus, this study aims to explain the strategy for gender mainstreaming in Indonesia’s international development cooperation with bilateral partners, which is also equipped with an analysis of the constraints that affect the outcome of the cooperation.

Åland, the Swedish People's Party, and the European Union: The Beginning of a Complicated Relationship

Abstract This study provides an analysis of the positioning of Ålandic political leadership vis-à-vis the demands of representation in the European Union (EU) and the corresponding reactions of the Swedish People's Party (SFP) during the referendums on EU membership. By analyzing news articles from 1994, this study shows that the SFP had already sought to establish for itself a mediating role between Ålandic expectations and the political realities on the Finnish mainland during the period leading up to membership in the EU. Founded in 1906, the SFP has traditionally branded itself as the flag bearer of Swedish interests in Finland. On face value, one would assume a lot of common political ground between the Ålandic political context and the Finland Swedish efforts to maintain equal status for Swedish as a national language in an overwhelmingly Finnish-speaking country. However, relations between the SFP and Åland have not always been smooth. Most notably, the party refused to support the Åland Movement's attempts to join Sweden between 1917 and 1921 and was firmly positioned with the other Finnish parties in supporting the claims of the Finnish state during the Åland question. While the rupture between Åland and the SFP never truly healed, they have been able to reestablish new forms of cooperation over the years. All members of parliament (MPs) elected from Åland have sat with the SFP MPs in the Swedish Parliamentary Group. Additionally, Members of the European Parliament (MEP) from the SFP that have been elected since 1995 have consistently hired political assistants from Åland and unlike the other Finnish parties, have been committed to the idea that Åland should get an MEP for itself. This study summarizes the historical modes of cooperation between the SFP and Åland, with particular focus on the SFP's positioning regarding Ålandic demands of representation during the EU membership referendum process. This article shows that EU membership has created a new forum for conflict and cooperation between Åland and the SFP through the struggle for representation in the EU organs, namely the European Parliament. This crucial historical period is analyzed through the lens of “sovereignty games,” which allows for an analysis of the paradiplomacy of an autonomous region within a nation state through a national minority party. As a result, this study highlights the need for a differentiated account of the political interdependence of the SFP and Åland and the importance of avoiding interpreting one side's perspective from the standpoint of the other.