Global Politics Research Articles

Famine and food security: new trends and systems or politics as usual? An introduction.

Over the past decade, famine and food insecurity have increased, yet there have been few articles with a critical analysis of their social and political dynamics. This special issue of Disasters aims to revive such analysis and to provide new insights. The special issue contains eight articles, with topics ranging from the role of global politics and neoliberal strategies, to sanctions, war, settler-colonialism, elite capture and inequalities, actions of resistance and resilience, and the challenges of famine prevention in today's global political context. The papers provide both global and local analysis, with the latter covering Kashmir, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, and Syria.

Pendulum swings rather than paradigm shifts: Southeast Asia’s securitisations and the global war on terror

Abstract Two decades into the ‘war on terror’, attention is rapidly shifting away from terrorism. Increasing geopolitical competition between the US and China and Russia’s war in Ukraine prompted talk about a watershed moment in global politics marked by a return of great power competition. To what extent has this paradigm shift – from terrorism to ‘traditional’ considerations of military security from external invasion – taken place in Southeast Asia? Building on securitisation theory, this article argues that the war on terror did not mark a universal historical-political period as it is often presented. In Southeast Asia, so-called non-traditional threats such as terrorism have concerned states since their independence. Therefore, Southeast Asia continued to prioritise ‘traditional’ security threats alongside ‘non-traditional’ ones in what is commonly described as its comprehensive approach to security. Consequently, when the ‘return to geopolitics’ began influencing military doctrine and preparation amongst NATO countries, a similar shift was absent in Southeast Asia. We argue that the region has seen varied emphases on non-traditional versus traditional security threats but did not experience the paradigm shift suggested by the US-dominated security narrative. Southeast Asia’s comprehensive security constellation underscores the need for a more pluralistic and eclectic approach to the study of international relations.

See, Touch, Feel: Theorizing Twitter/X Images for Diplomacy

Social media images are central to the practice of digital diplomacy. Some of the most contentious political engagements involve digital images designed to challenge or reaffirm the national identity of key political players. Yet the role of touch in conditioning how social media images are seen is curiously absent from International Relations analyses of the visual politics of digital diplomacy. We know far too little about this phenomenon. This article seeks to contribute to the study of images in global politics by developing a tripartite theorization of how the visual, tactile, and emotional intersect to mediate how Twitter images are seen within the practice of digital diplomacy. The article pays attention to the tactile experience of using Twitter, bridging the gap between seeing social media images as visual objects, and the affective resonance these images have as a marker of political power. I argue that touch acts as a conduit between the embodied, material, and visual to produce an affective encounter that contributes to how users feel about Twitter images. The intertextuality of the visual, tactile, and emotional dynamics of Twitter images are important elements of visual social media practices sustaining the strategic representation of identity. This framework allows me to build a theoretically grounded skilful speculation as to how digital diplomacy crisis events such as the China-Australia Twitter spat unfold and resonate beyond the digital.

Reforming Ethiopian Bilateral Investment Treaties in Line with Domestic Development Policies: Challenges, Prospects and Simplified Reform Options

Abstract This article examines the alignment of bilateral investment treaties (BITs) with domestic development policies. The analysis reveals the presence of considerable disparity between Ethiopian BITs and the country's domestic development policies and the importance of ensuring consistency between the two. The potential options to resolve this disparity can be combined on a case-by-case basis, depending on different challenges, such as bargaining power, political commitment, procedural requirements and resistance from other treaty partners. The changing dynamics of global politics and the growing backlash against BITs have created a conducive environment for such reform.

Does habitus provide the framework for Scandinavian cooperation?

This article argues that habitus is the basis for Scandinavian cooperation. The article makes two contributions. First, it endeavours to contribute to the literature on Scandinavian cooperation by demonstrating, through the article’s empirical data, that shared habitus provides the structural framework for Scandinavian cooperation. Habitus drives together the bureaucratic, diplomatic, and political personnel of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, including those who work within, or as state representatives, at International Organisations (IOs), despite them being members of differing communities of practice. Habitus also shapes Scandinavian approaches to practices within IOs and global politics. The second contribution the article makes is a theoretical one, to International Relations practice theory literature, through demonstrating the usefulness of habitus as a conceptual tool in examining the basis for close bonds and cooperation between groups of states.

French Foreign Policy Shifts in a Multi-dimensional Perspective: The Impact and Consequences of Populism

French foreign policy has played an important role in global politics in history. As one of the core countries in Europe, France's diplomatic decisions not only affect its own interests, but also have a far-reaching impact on the political landscape of Europe and even the world. In the past few decades, the process of globalization, regional conflicts, EU internal dynamics and other factors have continuously reshaped France's diplomatic strategy. In recent years, the rise of populism has been particularly eye-catching. It not only triggered great changes in domestic politics, but also had a far-reaching impact on France's foreign policy. As a political phenomenon, populism is usually characterized by anti-elite, anti-dism and an emphasis on national sovereignty and the will of the people. In France, the rise of populism is reflected not only in the words and deeds of politicians and political parties, but also in the attitude and voting behavior of voters. The impact of populism on French foreign policy is mainly reflected in its attitude towards the European Union, its position on immigration and refugee issues, and its attitude towards international cooperation and multilateralism. This article aims to explore the foreign policy transformation of France under the influence of populism from a multidimensional perspective and analyze the consequences of this change. By comparing France's diplomatic strategies in different historical periods, people can more clearly understand the role of populism in it and its potential impact on future international relations.

Review of “Charm: How Magnetic Personalities Shape Global Politics”

Review of “Charm: How Magnetic Personalities Shape Global Politics”

Internalist and Integrationist Theories of (Global) Justice

The global justice debate has increasingly moved toward the analysis of concrete issues in global politics, such as trade, migration, or climate change. This raises a methodological question: should the demands of justice in these domains be theorized independently or in conjunction with one another? Integrationists have championed the latter approach, arguing that it is better suited to guide our practical judgments. In contrast, internalists maintain that each domain is governed by its own set of principles. This paper defends the plausibility of the internalist approach against integrationist challenges. By examining different interpretations of internalism, it first seeks to provide a clearer overview of the methodological dispute. It then analyzes various arguments for integrationism, showing that their implications are more limited than their proponents believe. Finally, it focuses on the question of practical guidance, highlighting the value of idealized domain-specific theorizing in guiding transitions toward just arrangements.

Music gonna teach: Decolonising IR through a musical exploration of knowledge

Abstract There is a growing body of literature calling for the decolonisation of International Relations (IR) theory. This literature, which includes perspectives from the Global South, Indigenous, and feminist approaches, has explained how the colonial thought and White supremacy of early IR scholars like Wilson, Reinsch, and Schmitt shaped the contemporary field and is still reflected in mainstream understandings of core concepts like peace, sovereignty, and security. The need to decolonise IR is well established, but the way to do so is not always clear. This paper explores how engaging with the global politics of Afro-Caribbean Rebel Music serves the decolonisation effort. We can understand Rebel Music as a form of knowledge that emerged in dialogue with, and continues to reproduce ideas embedded in, global and anti-colonial Black approaches to IR theory. Textually and sonically, Rebel Music critiques the nation-state as the primary agent of peace, security, and identity, imagines a transnational Black identity, and is one of the primary forms in which we can hear the voice of the marginalised communicate their understanding of world politics. Engaging with Rebel Music is thus one avenue to decolonising contemporary IR.

The Pacific Islands and Chinese power as presence, influence, and interference

Abstract Dominant debates about China’s growing presence in the Pacific Islands – through infrastructure, aid, trade, and investment – suggest that Chinese material power directly translates to influence and effective interference in Pacific states’ domestic and foreign affairs. These perspectives fail to clarify the causal link between Chinese economic statecraft and Pacific governments’ alignment with Beijing’s interests. They also deny Pacific people agency, overlooking how power relations are mediated by Pacific state and non-state actors operating across complex political and socio-economic structures. We challenge such rationalist conceptualisations of Chinese power by developing a constructivist taxonomy of power as presence (dormant capability), influence (socialisation), and interference (incentives), and applying it to the Melanesian subregion. We argue that Chinese power is not merely material, causal, and unidirectional. Chinese power can also (re)shape the identities and interests of Pacific elites and publics in a constitutive manner, potentially aligning their ideas about substantive norms, rules, and practices guiding their foreign relations with Chinese ‘core interests’ and perspectives on regional and global politics.

Cybersecurity and International Relations: developing thinking tools for digital world politics

Abstract Processes of digital transformation alter global politics. This is an issue not only for specialists in cybersecurity, but for all scholars of international relations. This introduction to a special section outlines an agenda for cybersecurity research in international relations research and practice. We argue that cybersecurity is not only a specialized subfield of International Relations (IR), but also an intellectual space in which crucial questions concerning international politics, security and digital technology can be examined. Nevertheless, we identify three biases in current cybersecurity research—a focus toward the state, the military and power as domination—that limit the field and hamper broader engagement with IR and critical security scholarship. We argue that cybersecurity and digital technology are neither optional additions to the theory and practice of international relations nor issues that can neatly be isolated from other world affairs. The goal of the special section is hence twofold. First, to provide new directions and foundations for cybersecurity studies. Second, to explore the opportunities and challenges raised by cybersecurity and digital technological phenomena in conversation with IR and critical security studies. Taken together, the special section demonstrates the need to understand cybersecurity through international relations and to understand international relations through cybersecurity.

The impacts of different types of globalization on energy security risk: Can globalization be a remedy for the energy security risk of OECD countries?

This study analyzes the impact of globalization and its sub-dimensions on energy security risk for OECD countries. In our study, annual data of 26 OECD countries for the period 1980-2018 were used. Second generation panel data techniques were used as the methodology. The results of the analysis show that economic, political and aggregate globalization increases energy security risk, while social globalization is statistically insignificant. The Dumitrescu-Hurlin panel causality test results demonstrate that there is a unidirectional causality relationship between inflation and energy security risk, and a bidirectional causality relationship between economic globalization, social globalization, political globalization, aggregate globalization, GDP and Gross Fixed Capital Formation and energy security risk. The study also analyzed how the impact of globalization on energy security risk varies across countries. The results of the analysis reveals that there are significant differences in the direction, significance and coefficient size of the relationship across countries. These findings suggest that the effects of globalization on energy security risks vary across countries. Therefore, countries should develop policies to minimize energy security risks by taking into account their own dynamics.

Religion and Climate Geopolitics

Climate politics is old: a stress test of international institutions and political systems now in its fourth decade. Climate politics is also new: nascent transnational movements, world changing technologies, and emergent authoritarianisms indicate a rapidly shifting geopolitical order. As the moral urgency of environmental crises intensify, attention to religion provides an informative window onto the dynamics of global environmental politics. This article describes three ways in which religions are both shaping and being shaped by anthropogenic climate change.

The Impact of the Russia-Ukraine Conflict on Global Economic Stability and Political Security

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has emerged as a significant geopolitical tension, with far-reaching implications for global stability and security. This paper intends to study the impact of the war on the worlds and regional economic development and political stability, and achieve some findings that may trigger further policy considerations in mitigating challenges and issues imposed by the war. Through literature reviews and comparison analysis, the findings reveal economic, political, and security consequences of the conflict. The disruption of trade flows, economic sanctions, and uncertainty have impacted both Russia and Ukraine, as well as the wider region and the world. Energy security concerns and shifts in military alliances have added to the complexity of the conflict. The expansion of NATO and increased rivalries between Russia and Western countries have further heightened tensions. Based on the findings, the paper concludes that the Russia-Ukraine conflict poses a significant threat to global economic stability and political security. It emphasizes the need for a multilateral approach to address the conflict and promote peace and stability in the region. Ceasefire agreements, humanitarian assistance, and reconstruction efforts are crucial steps towards long-term peace and development. The paper highlights the importance of prioritizing diplomatic solutions over short-term gains from the conflict. In summary, this paper intends to explore the implications of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on global stability and security, with findings that underscore the need for international cooperation and concerted efforts to mitigate the consequences of the conflict and foster a peaceful resolution.

Contesting patents on COVID-19 vaccines in the EU: the no profit on pandemic campaign

ABSTRACT This article presents and analyses the campaign behind the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) ‘No Profit on Pandemic’ which challenged patents for COVID-19 vaccines. Albeit unsuccessful, we argue that the campaign offers a unique opportunity to study the transnationalisation of European contention during the ‘emergency critical juncture’ of the pandemic. We situate the campaign within (1) the broader Europeanisation of health governance and (2) the wider ‘Access to Medicines’ movement to point to the political obstacles and discursive opportunities for anti-patent mobilisation over the period. We conclude that, despite the discursive opportunities offered, the campaign failed to break through the political push-back and the industry opposition. The article, thus, contributes to the literature on health activism, in general, and progressive social movements during the pandemic, in particular, and hopes to shed some light on the global politics of public health.

Военная сила в международных отношениях как фактор безопасности и суверенитета России на современном этапе ее развития

The study presents an analysis of Russia's international relations at the present stage of development and their impact on the state of the military-political situation in regional strategic areas, which are of paramount importance for ensuring the national security of the Russian Federation. The authors note that Russia aims to strengthen its contacts with Islamic countries in the context of international relations. It is observed that the Israel-Iran conflict has once again become a key factor in global politics. The features of the negotiation processes, the role and place of Russia in them are revealed. The desire to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, which severely affects the global economy and its major players, remains pronounced. According to the results of the analysis, negative trends have been identified that require the elimination of factors at the international level at the current stage of development, influencing which, it is necessary to stabilize the aggravated contradictions taking into account new threats. The identified threats will ensure strategic stability to confront the collective West, contributing to the construction, functioning and development of the national security system. Proposals are being made on new approaches to solving the negotiation process and the need for a set of legal support measures, as well as the use of existing potential.

How Does the Intelligent Transportation System Promote the Globalization and Digitalization of Cities: Take Tesla Autopilot System as an Example

The globalization and digitization of smart transportation and cities are facilitated by advancements like Teslas autonomous driving technology, which revolutionizes urban mobility. This article explores their interconnection through the example of Teslas system. Teslas Autopilot, based on deep neural networks, utilizes cameras and ultrasonic sensors to perceive the world around vehicles, encouraging data sharing between vehicles and driving global development of smart cities. It employs artificial intelligence to assess terrain and conditions, fostering a transportation revolution in traditional cities and advancing the evolution of smart cities. Moreover, Teslas digital impact is altering transportation solutions, increasing visibility in development, and driving global technological progress. Teslas unique autonomous driving technology, leveraging data from nearly one million Tesla vehicles worldwide, enhances global intelligent transportation systems, promoting global sharing among Tesla users, and facilitating the convenience of autonomous driving and the flow of global traffic information. Teslas autonomous driving mode and intelligent traffic system promote the development of smart cities, although a comprehensive analysis of its global political, economic, and legislative impacts is needed.

Islamic activism in Indonesia and its representation by Nahdatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah organizations

The article analyzes the phenomenon of Islamic activism in the territory of the Republic of Indonesia, broadcast by the country's leading Islamic organizations.The phenomenon of Islamic activism originated in the middle of the XIX century under the influence of the intervention of Western countries into Islamic regions. Islamic activism as a phenomenon is still not structured, but is a reaction of Muslim society to the challenges of the world. Islamic activism affects absolutely all spheres of human life, from the organization of interest groups to global politics. One of the main properties of Islamic activism is the emergence of large religious organizations that are the conductors of ideologies peculiar to the region where the organization appeared. A striking example is the Islamic organization Nahdatul Ulama, which, unfortunately, is not as studied by domestic researchers as others. The social transformations she has brought to Indonesian and world society through the promotion of Islamic social, political and economic activism are also poorly understood.

Open Systems Theory in Organizations and Geopolitics

This paper presents a theoretical approach exploring the application of Open Systems Theory within geopolitics. Traditionally, geopolitics has focused on state-centric power dynamics; however, the increasing influence of non-state actors such as multinational corporations, and transnational networks has blurred the boundaries between states and other global entities. By employing Open Systems Theory, this paper offers a new conceptual framework to understand the complex and interconnected nature of modern international relations. The study ultimately argues that Open Systems Theory provides a nuanced perspective essential for analyzing the evolving dynamics of global politics.

A new politics of international criminal justice: accountability in Ukraine and the Israel–Gaza war

Abstract Protecting civilian populations affected by violent conflict and mass atrocities is a challenge in global politics, particularly in view of the persistence of contestation over the application of the Responsibility to Protect principle and geopolitical gridlock in the UN Security Council. Over the past decade, there has been a pronounced rise in international accountability mechanisms to fill protection gaps in the multilateral system. Increasingly, international accountability mechanisms have been activated in the early phases of conflict situations to counter atrocities, promoting protection in ‘real time’. This article proposes that the deepening association between accountability and protection is best understood as an emergent human protection transnational legal order (HPTLO), a mode of decentralized governance that was driven by diverse agency across borders and aimed at solving problems of a global reach through legal ordering. The article provides an account of the formation and character of the HPTLO, demonstrates how it is operating in the context of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and identifies key risks and opportunities that these developments present to the global governance of human protection.