International Dimension Research Articles

Exporting autocrat’s playbook? Diverging impacts of China and Russia on contemporary democratic backsliding

ABSTRACT The rise of illiberal powers, notably China and Russia, has stoked heated debates on their impact on democratic backsliding. However, the actual extent to which they undermine democratic governance in foreign countries remains contested. What roles do China and Russia play in contemporary backsliding? Under what conditions do they succeed or fail in spreading illiberal practices? China and Russia promote discrete illiberal practices in different places, but their efforts do not always succeed. While certain foreign policy strategies have effectively attracted and empowered like-minded foreign actors, others have obstructed political diffusion instead. We argue that the Chinese governance model of digital authoritarianism has increasingly spread to the periphery of the dominant international order after 2014. On the other hand, the Russian model of super-presidentialism, once prevalent in the former Soviet bloc, has experienced significant setbacks after 2014, when Russia increasingly came to be perceived as a security threat. We present corroborating evidence through difference-in-differences analyses and additional validation using placebo tests. This research sheds light on the international dimensions of democratic backsliding and reconciles conflicting findings in the literature by identifying distinct Chinese and Russian models, as well as the conditions under which their diffusion succeeded or faltered.

The International Dimension of Freedom: Revisiting Black Grassroots Activism during US Reconstruction

The International Dimension of Freedom: Revisiting Black Grassroots Activism during US Reconstruction

Students’ ratings to evaluate effective teaching practices of secondary schools in Bangladesh

PurposeInternational studies have emphasised the importance of effective teaching for student learning. However, few studies have investigated teaching practices in Bangladesh. The purpose of the study set out to explore the mathematics teaching behaviour of secondary school level of Bangladesh.Design/methodology/approachA convenient sampling strategy was used to collect 502 grade nine students’ perceptions from 15 mathematics classes within Dhaka Metropolitan City (DMC). A valid and reliable student questionnaire was used where the students rated their mathematics teachers' teaching behaviours identified in the dynamic model of educational effectiveness (DMEE).FindingsThe findings from the quantitative analysis of the student evaluations revealed that the mathematics teachers demonstrated structuring, modelling, questioning, teacher–student interactions and teacher dealing with misbehaviours in their daily classroom teaching.Research limitations/implicationsA small sample of mathematics classes were chosen in the study; hence, the findings may not be totally representative nor generalisable to the population of secondary mathematics teachers within Dhaka, Bangladesh.Practical implicationsThe study conducted in Bangladesh contributes to the international dimension to educational effectiveness research. The findings from the study provide partial support for teaching factors and dimensions in DMEE (Creemers and Kyriakides, 2008), and emphasise the need for further studies, particularly in cross-cultural contexts.Originality/valueThis is the first study to evaluate teaching behaviours of secondary mathematics teachers through students’ perceptions in Bangladesh. It contributes important insights about teaching behaviours to inform the development of evidence-based policy and practice on quality teaching in the region.

Advocating for environmental law – grounds for its status as an independent branch of law in Slovak legal doctrine

The article traces the historical development of environmental regulation in Czechoslovakia, and subsequently Slovakia, highlighting the transition from fragmented legal frameworks to comprehensivelegislation, notably Act no. 17/1992 Coll. on Environment. It explores theoretical debates on whether environmental law constitutes an independent legal branch, examining criteria, such as subject matter, objectives, distinct principles, regulatory methods, and international dimensions. While advocating for environmental law’s recognition as a distinct branch, the article acknowledges ongoing debates and emphasizes the need for continued inquiry to reach consensus. Overall, it provides insights into environmental law’s evolution, challenges, and potential role within legal theory and practice.

Asylum Denial Beyond Borders: The International Dimensions of British Responses to Tamil Asylum Seekers in the 1980s

Asylum Denial Beyond Borders: The International Dimensions of British Responses to Tamil Asylum Seekers in the 1980s

State capitalism in a changing global order: Brazil and China’s strategies for greater global influence

This article analyzes the shifts in the global order that occurred in relation to governments' actions and their search for an increased global status within the capitalist global system. Examining the deliberate application of governmental economic interventions, the article examines how Brazil and China leverage state capitalism to enhance their global standing. The comparative analysis of the state capitalist strategy’s implementation in Brazil and China illuminates the various forms of global status seeking and state activism in an evolving global order. By interlinking domestic and international dimensions, the article identifies the elements —preferences, geopolitics, temporality, and state capacity— that have enabled Brazil and China to pursue their global ambitions and augment their global status. The article concludes that Brazil and China adopted the state capitalist strategy; however, the Brazilian strategy was extemporaneous and centralized, whereas the Chinese strategy was planned and multilevel. The primary contribution of the article is to present a framework of analysis that delineates the relevant causes, mechanisms, and contexts for countries in the Global South to influence global politics and economics. Furthermore, the article demonstrates the challenges governments confront in implementing developmental strategies and the importance of rethinking how state activism and international dynamics might benefit Global South countries.

Communicating State Repression to the International Community: A Case Study of How China Frames Its Policies in Xinjiang Online

Abstract Regimes and their proxies seek to legitimize overt state repression abroad to avoid economic and reputational costs. Yet, few scholars have studied the international dimension of repression image management. I examine how countries communicate their repressive actions to the international community depending on the audience. Framing repression as a legitimate response to a credible threat (threat strategy) is more likely when communicating with countries facing higher levels of domestic threat. But due to in-group favoritism, when addressing in-group audiences of the repressed, governments are more likely to frame repression as necessary to protect the repressed (benevolent rule strategy). To test these claims, I collect 82,011 tweets about activities in Xinjiang published by eighty-eight Chinese diplomatic accounts from 2014 to 2020. The results suggest that regimes change their repression image management strategies depending on the audience. Chinese government accounts in countries with higher levels of domestic conflict are more likely to use the threat strategy than those in countries with lower levels of conflict, while those in countries with a similar in-group to Xinjiang (Muslim countries) are more likely to use the benevolent rule strategy than those in out-group states. This expands our understanding of the communication strategies of human rights-abusing regimes.

Три уровня международного политико-экономического анализа: новая перспектива для исследования международных проблем в эпоху многополярности

One of the key issues in current international relations studies is the structure of knowledge. The epistemological foundations of political and economic theories of international development are losing their relevance as the influence of theory on the practice of international relations wanes. The declining ability of international analysis to predict the future of world politics and economics emphasizes the need for a broader, interdisciplinary approach to the study of international relations. This study aims to explore the possibility of creating a new, practical and interdisciplinary model of analysis to address the problems of the modern international system. This approach to the systemic analysis of international relations involves broadening the scope of the study by integrating international political and economic (IPE) analysis and including three analytical levels: explanatory, normative and critical. The article defines the terminology, structure, principles and criteria of such an analysis based on the problems of modern political science. The author also points out the main difficulties in the formation of theoretical and methodological basis of the three-level analysis. Examples of analyzing problems, namely the impact of trade barriers on the instability of global supply chains and the international dimension of the energy crisis of the Federal Republic of Germany (2022 – present) are given, demonstrating the quality and consistency of the results of such analysis.

Aligning Greece’s Regulatory Governance With International Transformative Principles and Objectives: The Case of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Abstract The article highlights the importance that the international dimension of the regulatory context of draft legislation acquires for the drafting of effective regulation. It attempts to demonstrate the added value that the integrated incorporation of fundamental regulatory principles and objectives derived from influential global regulatory texts enjoying full acceptance, like the UN Resolution on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, brings to a country’s regulatory governance. From an empirical perspective, the article focuses on a thorough analysis of the degree to which Greece’s law-making process is interconnected and aligned with core regulatory principles of the 2030 Agenda, such as the principle of policy coherence, the evidence-based principle, and the principle of inclusion. It examines the key instruments, procedures, and ways in which these principles are appropriately mainstreamed into the Greek legislative process and the institutional and policy framework of the Government on which its legislative interventions are founded. As a case study, the alignment and coherence of the provisions of a specific law pertaining to tourism development with the overarching regulatory principles of the UN 2030 Agenda are examined. Τhe concluding part presents some proposals that could contribute to improving the way the SDGs are effectively mainstreamed into Greece’s legislative process.

INTERNATIONALIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION AS THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

The article analyzes the concept of «internationalization of higher education» based on consideration of various theoretical and methodological approaches to defining its essence. An overview of a wide range of concepts that determine the features of the internationalization of higher education in international and national dimensions is offered. Institutional models of internationalization of higher education have been identified. Special attention is paid to the consideration of the conceptual foundations of the internationalization of higher education in Ukraine.The impact of the internationalization of higher education on the development of international relations in modern conditions is analyzed.

A lost cause?: Great Britain’s role in the Portuguese revolution, 1974-1975

The British case has been one of the least explored in the growing literature on the international dimensions of regime change in Portugal. This article focuses on analyzing the Labour government’s foreign policy towards Portugal between April 1974 and November 1975. What was the British contribution to maintaining the international statu quo, stabilizing the political crisis in Portugal and anchoring the country in the Western community? To address these questions, the article investigates Britain’s role in channelling the Portuguese revolution in a liberal and Western direction, aligned with British geopolitical and economic interests.

Informal Life Safety Education for Students in the Context of Globalisation: Insights From International Practices

Informal education is a process of self-organised acquisition of specific competencies. Although not necessarily goal-oriented and structured, it actively contributes to expanding professional knowledge and skills and is positioned as one of the critical competencies of an individual. Informal education has gained particular significance in the era of internationalisation. The article aims to analyse the specifics of organising informal education for students in the field of life safety against the backdrop of global internationalisation, based on the experience of foreign countries. The research identifies the primary forms of informal education, including single lectures, video lessons, online consultations, and communication tools. It has been established that informal education creates preconditions for self-realisation, acquisition of new knowledge, skills, and competencies, increased motivation, and professional competence. Mechanisms for crediting the results of informal learning to formal education have been provided. It has been found that the educational environment in the era of internationalisation involves academic mobility, active international relations, projects, research initiatives, and academic programs, as well as the integration of international, intercultural, and global dimensions into higher education goals. Policies and programs appropriate to implement in response to globalisation as a tool for maximising its opportunities have been identified. An analysis of the national internationalisation of informal education in life safety, consideration of its organisational strategies through the prism of target programs and personal motivation of higher education students has been conducted. It has been proven that informal education in life safety enhancement is flexible, not limited by time frames, and does not involve certain procedural formalities. It aims to improve students’ life activities, allowing them to actively socialise and enhance their socio-economic status.

International dimensions of the China Dream: A case study of media coverage in Kenya

This paper examines media coverage of China-sponsored development projects in Kenya in order to understand more deeply China’s global soft power strategies. Kenya is a hub for China’s media presence on the African continent and also an important node in China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Examination of Kenyan news content in the period immediately following the 2012 launch of Xi Jinping’s signature concept, the China Dream, as well as regression analysis of newspaper article characteristics, finds that the China Dream concept has not been adopted in a meaningful way by host country media outlets. This highlights the challenges facing China’s leaders in shaping public narratives within countries characterized by strong independent media traditions.

Peculiarities of lobbying activities at the present stage: international legal dimension

Peculiarities of lobbying activities at the present stage: international legal dimension

International players’ perceptions of localization in their gameplay experiences

Abstract Game localization is the complex industrial process of adapting digital games linguistically, culturally and technically, seeking to deliver a gameplay experience as close as possible to that of the original. Guided by Livingston’s (2018) Review Analysis methodology combined with thematic analysis, we tap into user reviews of the Taiwanese game Detention (Red Candle Games 2017) in Simplified Chinese, English and Japanese, to gauge and compare player experiences in relation to localization, and explore the scope of review data for player-focused game localization research. Our qualitative analysis implicates culturalization as an impactful underlying factor in shaping the gameplay experience, for which translation issues remain opaque. As long as certain limitations are acknowledged, real-world data such as Steam user reviews provide an alternative source that is high in ecological validity, offering promising scope for future player-focused game localization research towards enriching the international dimension of Games User Research.

China in Africa: companies as enablers and beneficiaries? An empirical evaluation of state-business relations in the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation

Abstract China’s strong economic presence in Africa has resulted in an increased interdisciplinary debate. Our contribution is the incorporation of a business perspective by uncovering the prominence and role of business in China’s diplomatic Africa engagement. Our theoretical contribution by applying the state-business relations (SBR) literature is to examine whether established frameworks can be expanded by an international dimension through intergovernmental initiatives like the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). The paper conducts a document analysis of all declarations and Action Plans of all FOCAC conferences in the period 2000–2021, combining both a content and a thematic analysis based on an explorative and iterative coding process. Our data suggests that the prominence of businesses has increased while the scope of their activities and the number of focus sectors (especially infrastructure) has risen particularly since 2012. Companies are considered as enablers for political and economic goals in the state-driven FOCAC. We find that SBR frameworks are applicable to international contexts and propose an expanded SBR approach integrating transnational intermediary institutions like the intergovernmental FOCAC and transnational business platforms which facilitate positive state-business relations across countries and a conducive business environment.

Defending permanent sovereignty over natural resources against the obligation to freely trade: the international legal dimension

Defending permanent sovereignty over natural resources against the obligation to freely trade: the international legal dimension

Leadership in international populism: How Viktor Orbán’s Hungary shows the way

Although a burgeoning literature explores the international dimensions of populism, we still know little about how populist leaders gain international popularity. This paper describes how Viktor Orbán, the Prime Minister of Hungary, has emerged as the role model of international right-wing populism. It demonstrates that Orbán actively supplied himself as an example that like-minded politicians should follow. We draw on the concept of legitimation strategies to illustrate why Orbán markets himself as the leader of an international movement against liberal ideologues (Wajner, 2022). At the same time, populists in many countries have searched abroad for a successful model to follow. Orbán’s anti-migration policies and his defense of conservative family values constitute chapters of an illiberal playbook that right-wing populists are eager to implement. We use the concept of authoritarian learning to develop this demand-side perspective (Hall and Ambrosio, 2017). Empirically, we demonstrate our argument through an analysis of speeches delivered at a leading gathering of right-wing populists and moral conservatives: the Hungarian editions of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) that took place in Budapest in 2022 and 2023.

Exploring the Intersection of E-commerce and Healthcare: A Visual Analysis of Research Trends.

The role of e-commercein healthcare is one of the key research areas emerging from the broader digital transformation of health services and consumer interactions. This study presents the bibliometric analysis of literature on e-commerce in healthcare based on publications from1993 to 2024 in Scopus. In particular, this analysis shows trends in the publication record that have been constantly growing, with prominent increases during the COVID-19 pandemic, now hardwiring the fact that digital technologies are key in promoting global health. The study surveys the thematic evolution of key technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), which is transforming predictive healthcare analytics; blockchain, which is enhancing security in health data transactions; and telemedicine, which is revolutionizing remote patient care, alongside other emerging technologies that are reshaping global healthcare systems. The research also showcases global collaboration patterns, underlining the international dimensions of scholarly contributions to the area under review. These insights provide a foundation for understanding the current state of e-commerce in healthcare and suggest future directions for research and policy development in this fast-evolving field.

Changing Warscapes, Changing Islamists? Religion, Organization, Strategic Context and New Approaches to Armed Islamist Insurgencies

This framing essay to the Special Issue on Islamists in Warscapes argues for the value of engaging with the concept of warscapes, developed primarily by anthropologists of violence in Africa, for theorizing about armed Islamist groups in protracted conflict situations. The warscapes concept better captures the nature of many of the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, and beyond by focusing on its protracted but intermittent nature, temporal and spatial variability, international and transnational dimensions, and production of wartime orders. Within this framework, this article and Special Issue focus on armed Islamist groups, asking whether and why they perform differently than non-Islamist groups and how they evolve through embeddedness in warscapes. The article reviews literature on protracted conflict and warscapes, armed Islamist groups and jihadists, and the study of religion in conflict. It concludes by arguing that the warscapes literature can significantly add to our understanding of armed Islamist groups, and that focusing on armed Islamist groups can enrich the study of warscapes.