Foreign Intervention Research Articles

“Russian Issue” Solution by the Polish Separatists and Russian Revolutionaries” in 1861–1863

In the article the author examines the issues related to the exposure of the ideological and political content and interdependence of the “Polish” and “Russian issues” in the years of 1861–1863. Thereupon the author analyzes the three approaches to the ideological and political solution of the “Russian issue”: that of the Polish separatists, Russian radicals and extremists in Russia and that of A.I. Herzen and the emigrants united around the “Kolocol” (“Bell”) magazine published in London. He reveals the ideological principles, strategic goals and tactical methods common for the three approaches employed to sole the “Russian issue” in the context of the concluded “Russian-Polish revolutionary union”. The author shows that te ideological and political commonness of that “union” was based on the recognition of the necessity of Polish separatism victory, Russian state destruction and disintegration of large Russian nation. And the instruments for reaching those goals besides the separatist uprisings in the Kingdom of Poland and Western Russia were the peasant revolts in Central Russia provoked by “revolutionary” propaganda. The scientifi c novelty of the research consists in revealing the threat for the Russian state and Russian nation security posed by the “Russian-Polish revolutionary union”. To conclude, the author shows the reaction of Western-Russian Orthodox population and the Great Russian nation to the threat of foreign intervention, the challenge of armed rebellion and methods of the “Russian issue” solving brought about by the members of the “revolutionary” union.

Hybrid War and Colour Revolutions in Hong Kong: A Means to Achieve Regime Change in China?

Abstract Where the limits of today’s international order prevent direct and costly confrontations between great powers, hybrid war allows for the manipulation of situations from afar to achieve desired outcomes, such as through Colour Revolutions. While the concept of hybrid war has been thoroughly researched in the context of foreign interventions in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, there is no substantial literature applied to the case of Hong Kong. This article investigates China’s claims that there was a ‘black hand’ behind Hong Kong’s protests – specifically the 2014 Umbrella Movement, 2019 Anti-elab protests, and 2020 nsl protests – determining the extent and role of foreign forces there. Using a set of theoretical propositions derived from a theoretical framework and a narrative explanation of how factors affect mobilisation in social movements, a macro-causal analysis about the role of external forces in Hong Kong is determined. Ultimately, this article alludes to the fact that the U.S. and other foreign forces are waging a hybrid war against China, utilising the Hong Kong social movements to achieve indirect regime change.

Separatist Movements Influenced by International Intervention: The Case of West Papua

The West Papua issue emerged in Indonesia in 2019 as a separatist movement, influenced by international intervention from Pacific Island nations. The core factors were West Papuans' desire for self-determination, together with ethnic and cultural differences. However, previous self-determination efforts had been unconvincing. This article aims to explore how Pacific Island countries intervened internationally in West Papua issue and how did Indonesia's Jokowi Administration respond to international intervention. In response, the administration adopted a multi-faceted strategy. Domestically, it pursued peaceful dialogue, economic development and some force suppression. Internationally, it strengthened investment, trade and assistance to Pacific Islands while voicing criticism of foreign intervention. Although not completely resolving the issue, the administration upheld national sovereignty and expanded international ties using diverse approaches. This provides insights into managing similar territorial disputes by balancing sovereign integrity with nuanced foreign relations. While separatism was not fully calmed, Indonesia's strategy highlights the importance of collaborative policymaking to maintain national unity amid complex dynamics.

The Role of Foreign Intervention in Prolonging the Libyan Conflict in the Post-Gaddafi Period

ABSTRACT: This briefing evaluates the role of international intervention in prolonging the Libyan conflict, from financial, logistical, and military support. The briefing concludes that foreign interference interest was not necessarily the direct reason for protracting the Libyan conflict but played an essential role in strengthening the presence of the parties in the field. The regional countries showed different interests related to the Libyan conflict, including the interests of Egypt and the UAE, which harmonized with the eastern side led by Haftar’s forces ideologically in their hostility to political Islam. Conversely, the interests of Qatar and Turkey with the western side and political Islam contributed to supporting this party. Accordingly, the international intervention did not take a unified position, whether supporting conflict or peace. This led to the dispersion of international support between the conflicting parties, creating an imbalance of power to settle the conflict militarily. Moreover, some foreign parties tried to spoil the peace by biasing mediations such as the Skhirat Agreement and broadcasting their goals through internal spoilers, such as Haftar when he started the Tripoli war .

Trust in peacebuilding organizations: A survey experiment in Haiti

Peacebuilding organizations are important to support development in countries disrupted by conflict or disasters. However, to function effectively, these organizations need to generate trust among locals. Haiti has been flooded with foreign intervention following political upheaval in the 1990 s and even more so after the earthquake in 2010. The massive external involvement largely by-passed government institutions leading Haiti to be described as a ‘republic of NGOs’. The role of foreigners has become increasingly contested, but little is known about whether Haitians consider all interventions and interveners similarly. Our study examines variation in trust in political organizations, such as the UN, INGOs, and local community organizations, reporting on a country-wide survey experiment included about 3,000 respondents held in Haiti in the autumn of 2019. Our study finds that identifying the type of organization impacts significantly on people’s expectations and trust. Contrary to common perceptions, we find no clear evidence that local organizations are trusted more than external organizations. Local organizations are, however, seen as more capable than external organizations. INGOs are generally seen as more inclusive and least affected by corruption. In line with our expectations, Haitians view the UN as least inclusive.

Politics, power & partnerships: the imperial past and present of international education and development (BAICE presidential address 2022)

ABSTRACT This paper explores the complex relationship between academic researchers working in the area of ‘International Development and Education’ and foreign intervention in the Global South. I make the case for stronger definitional links between ‘colonialism’ and ‘development’. In this, I pay attention to how ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ sides of colonial strategy operated symbiotically and evidence parallel occurrences in Post 9/11 Western-led military/development activities. Drawing on ‘education’ examples, I reflect on our fields entanglements in the messy politics, partnerships and funding regimes of our unequal global order and the ways that we, as both researchers and practitioners, become ‘implicated’. I also explore sites of counter-hegemony that span similar timeframes, including my engagements with popular education in social movements in Colombia, and make the case for a radical educational internationalism.

Historicising Foreign Powers’ Intervention in the Nigeria–Biafra War (1967-1970)

The fratricidal war between Nigeria and Biafra ended some over five decades ago. But the lessons learned are not yet forgotten. This article attempts to historicise the role of foreign powers in the Nigeria–Biafra war of 1967-1970. Most scholars erroneously refer to the war as the Nigerian civil war, but historically it was a war fought by two “independent” countries – The Republic of Nigeria and Republic of Biafra, for There was a Country, as Achebe puts it (2012). Over the years the raison d’etre of foreign powers’ intervention in the war has not been properly contextualized. This work, then, sets out to historicise and deconstruct the determinant factors and the role played by foreign intervention in the war. The article employs both primary and secondary data to achieve its objective and reveal the national interests and foreign policy objectives – as expressed in economic, strategic and political objectives – that were factors in the foreign powers’ intervention. The fallout from the 1963 and 1964 general elections is a relevant initial cause of the Nigeria-Biafra war. The article intends to analyse and interpret the political thought processes that generated foreign intervention, and suggests that, should there be another implosion that leads to a repeat of 1967-1970, the foreign powers that politicians usually rely on for aid and assistance can be expected to respond in line with certain patterns of economic, strategic or political interest, to the detriment, needless to say, of the Nigerian people.

Ethnic Conflicts in Northeast India and Balochistan in Pakistan

This article examines the comparative study on ethnic conflicts in Northeast India and Balochistan of Pakistan focusing on the political actors and factors of the insurgencies. This article argues that ethnic conflicts in Northeast India and Balochistan in Pakistan have become institutionalized form of armed violence due to economic deprivation, political domination, cultural injustice, lack of communication, resource competition etc. Moreover, the politicization of issues like governance, political economy, colonialism, role of central government, foreign intervention and media coverage significantly promotes ethnic insurgencies into nationalist movements with a view to achieving their self-determination in their respective territories. The article looks at the representation of these political causes of ethnic conflicts as well as how and to what extent ethnic conflicts in Northeast India are different from that of Balochistan in Pakistan.

The imperial entanglements of ‘Education in Emergencies’: from saving souls to saving schools?

ABSTRACT This paper reflects historically and contemporaneously on the relationship between ‘International Education and Development’ actors and foreign intervention in our colonial past and present, with a particular focus on Education in Emergencies (EiE), a sub-field of research and practice within ‘International Education and Development’. Theoretically, this work is underpinned by a critical application of the ‘implicated subject’, Rothberg’s (2019) conceptual addition to the study of violence and injustice which seeks to go beyond binaries of ‘victim and perpetrator’ and recognise the way many others are ‘implicated’ in systems of violence and injustice. In the first section we explore this framing for researchers and practitioners in the field of EiE and the complex ways that researchers and practitioners might be understood as ‘implicated subjects’. In the second part we explore two dimensions of EiE actors as ‘implicated subjects’: Diachronic and Synchronic. In the diachronic dimension we highlight the way the colonial past hangs heavy in the present and in the synchronic dimension we explore the case of Afghanistan, and the links between military, development and education strategy. In the conclusion we reflect on their implication for improved ethical practices in EiE and in the broader field of International Education and Development.

Responding to Child Soldiering: When the Presence of Child Soldiers Attracts Mediation from Democratic Regimes

ABSTRACT Does child soldiering attract mediation from democracies? While research shows an association between human rights and foreign intervention by democracies, democratic responsiveness to children's human rights violations remains understudied. This study argues that democracies are concerned about the well-being of vulnerable populations, including children. We argue that democracies recognize the violations of children's rights in conflicts where rebels recruit child soldiers and are likely to respond by serving as mediators. Our study examines civil conflicts from 1989-2007. Findings show that while conflicts where rebel child soldiering exists are more likely to receive democratic mediation, government child soldiering has no effect.

Pendekatan Indonesia dan Amerika Serikat Terhadap Proses Demokratisasi Myanmar

Pendekatan Indonesia dan Amerika Serikat Terhadap Proses Demokratisasi Myanmar

Role Conceptions and Leadership Rivalry in the Middle East: Transforming Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Gulf Relations

In recent years, the Middle East has often been the subject of foreign interventions and the interests of superpowers. The effect of internal dynamics was pushed to the background in regional developments as a result of this situation. It is very important, however, to analyze the Middle East by understanding the power struggles between the regional powers Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Iran.
 This article examines the leadership struggle and role conceptualizations between the regional powers of the Middle East with a focus on the relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia. It argues that Turkey is not a rival to Saudi Arabia's national role conceptions in the Gulf region, but rather a favorable partner when it comes to Gulf security and economic relations. Relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia will follow a positive course with mutual normalization steps and Turkey's export-led growth and regional cooperation strategies.

AMERICAN POLICY OF INTERVENTIONISM: AN OVERVIEW

Interventionism lacks any proper definition. It is a broad term used for non-defensive proactive policy undertaken by any nation-state to manipulate an economy or society. The most common applications of the term are for economic intervention when a state intervenes in its own economy, or for foreign intervention when a state intervenes in the affairs of another nation as part of its foreign policy. Ever since the Westphalian order of 1644, which accepted the concept of the sovereignty of nation-states on their territory, with no role for external agents in domestic structures, sovereignty has never truly been violable, but in early 20th century the social purpose of the use of force began to expand and marked a new idealism in the use of war. It produced mixed opinions of critics and generated a wide discourse on whether it is a ‘mask’ to some surreptitious motives, or is a ‘Just Intent’in real world terms

Understanding the timing and outcome of the Russian Revolution: a public choice approach

The October Revolution in Russia is better understood in light of Gordon Tullock’s by-product theory of revolution. This approach entails a focus on private costs and benefits rather than on public goods. It is shown that in terms of economic development, fiscal stability, and income distribution, that is, public goods, conditions in late-tsarist Russia were improving, not deteriorating, as the revolution approached. We reinterpret the impact of the many political concessions that followed the earlier Russian Revolution of 1905 and conclude that they had ultimately increased, rather than decreased, the probability of revolution. Finally, we show that various forms of foreign intervention (financial, military, and philosophical) made the unlikely Lenin the ultimate victor in the outcome of the Russian Revolution.

Discussion of the Japanese intervention in the Far East and Siberia in the House of Commons of Great Britain on March 14, 1918 as an event of the British policy of intervention in Russia

The subject of this study is the discussion on March 14, 1918 in the House of Commons of Great Britain of the Japanese intervention in the Far East and Siberia as the events of the British intervention in Russia. In this regard, the speeches of deputies from various political forces and a high-ranking official of the Military Cabinet of the United Kingdom in the lower house of parliament are disclosed and analyzed. Thanks to the content analysis method and the system method, not only the positions and arguments of the participants in the discussion are presented in detail, but also the connection of their speeches with the military-political and international situation that developed in March 1918 and which influenced the dynamics of the discussion is revealed. The scientific novelty is that for the first time in the historiography of the Civil War and foreign intervention in Russia, a meeting of the lower house of Great Britain on the Japanese intervention in the Far East and Siberia is considered in the context of the history of British intervention policy in Russia and the significance of this event for this policy. The main conclusions of the study are that, despite the lack of a unified position in the House of Commons on the issue of Japanese intervention in the Far East and Siberia, the War Cabinet has caught the trend in favor of Japanese intervention in these Russian regions. As a result, he cautiously began to build a policy of intervention against Russia and to determine the place of Japanese intervention in it. Only large-scale events could force the House of Commons to adopt the policy that the Cabinet considered necessary to pursue in the current circumstances.

INTEGRATION DYNAMICS: THE CASE OF IRAQI REFUGEES IN SYRIA

Civil wars, foreign interventions and political instability in the Middle East have caused mass refugee influx since the end of the Cold War. Therefore, how to integrate these refugees into host countries has become a critical question. To answer this question, the existing literature mainly focuses on ethnic and religious diversities, language barriers, and limited access to fundamental services and labor markets. However, there is little focus on case-specific factors to explain the integration dynamics of refugees. This article aims to fill this gap through the analysis of case-specific factors which play a significant role in understanding barriers to integration. This study classifies these factors as follows: geographical proximity, cultural threat, acceptance processes, political rent, and limited economic resources. To understand the influence of these factors, this study assesses refugee flow from Iraq to Syria since the Iraq war of 2003. This study demonstrates that even though Iraqi refugees in Syria were comparatively advantageous in terms of sharing a common language and residing in neighborhoods with common ethnic and religious backgrounds, they could not successfully have integrated into Syrian society. This research utilizes the sources of the IOM, UNDP, UNHCR, UNICEF, and WFP to provide a unique analysis.

Foreign news, regime type, and framing of China: comparing the world’s media interpretations of the Hong Kong National Security Law

The existing literature has recognized that democratic regimes tend to allow pluralistic media content, whereas authoritarian regimes mostly permit pro-regime media content. This discussion has long focused on domestic news at the national level. However, the implications of foreign news have seldom been explored. By examining the Hong Kong National Security Law, this article compares the world’s media interpretations of China. The findings show that (1) democratic regimes mainly reported negatively, but authoritarian regimes reported pluralistically, (2) democratic regimes largely framed the Security Law as China’s intervention and the justification of foreign assistance, but authoritarian regimes framed it as a matter of China’s internal affairs and countersanctions against foreign intervention in Hong Kong, and (3) both democratic and authoritarian regimes covered Western sanctions on China more than Chinese countersanctions on the West. The conclusion strongly supports the thesis that regime type is the most significant determiner of the reporting style adopted by foreign news organizations. This article focuses on an internationally controversial case study to understand the literature on perceptions of China and regime type.

Sultan's Law and Islamic Sharia in The Ottoman Empire Court: An Analysis of The Existence of Secular Law

This article aims to describe the impact of legal dualism within the Ottoman Empire. After Constantinople was taken over, Sultan Muhammad Al-Fatih instituted a significant policy, including issuing laws and regulations for the benefit of society; then, there was also a dualism system within the Ottoman Empire, which was visible during the reign of Sultan Sulaiman I. During this time, foreign nationals were mainly recruited, and foreign traders began to gain impunity at the peak of power. This then prompted several questions, such as were the sultans free to create the laws they wanted, or was Islamic law still binding on them? Was Sultan's law an innovation from the Ottoman Empire or a legacy from the preceding dynasty in the form of Capitulation? To address those issues, the authors conducted a comparative historical analysis of various types of literature. We used a descriptive qualitative approach to Qānūn's position, which served as a springboard for foreign intervention in an Empire that was strong but weak in political policies which occasionally strayed outside the corridor of Islamic Sharia which had become customary and national culture. The tolerance separated from the corridors of Islam derailed during the crisis. This became a springboard for legal dualism in a state body with integrity in various dimensions.Keywords: Sultan's Law, Sharia, Judiciary, Ottoman

Anti-interference: redoubled focus of Chinese mainland’s Taiwan policy

International interference in cross-Taiwan Strait relations has accelerated in recent years. This article examines the intensifying, high-level, official interactions in which the US and some of its allies have worked with the Taiwan authorities to hollow out the one-China principle. This article also explores the escalating US–Taiwan military cooperation and the expanding security involvement of some states, which have disregarded Beijing’s heavy opposition and repeated warnings. Finally, this article explains the driving forces behind the internationalization trajectory involving the Taiwan issue and argues that the ever-increasing foreign intervention and involvement, combined with Taipei’s consistent endeavor to “pursue independence by reliance on foreign interference,” has put China on full alert. The internationalization momentum concerning the Taiwan issue has thus resulted in China redoubling the anti-interference focus of its Taiwan policy.

The Past is Never Dead. It's Not Even Past: History and Memory in Iraq Studies

The history of modern Iraq has been marked by violence, oppression, and foreign interventions to a degree that stands out even among other war-torn countries. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq, many retrospectives were still dominated by a US-centric navel gazing of the chattering classes inside the beltway, but more Iraqi voices and alternative viewpoints were present in op-eds and articles than a decade earlier. In this spirit this roundtable section reflects on recent Iraqi history and contemporary developments with an eye toward memory politics in the context of transforming governance mechanisms and evolving civil society actors. It builds on a conference held at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) in Hamburg in March 2023 and portrays emerging avenues for research as well as new perspectives on long running debates.