Interest Scores Research Articles

The Limits of China’s Sharp Power in Israel’s Academic and Media Discourse

The term ‘sharp power’ has become a widely used concept in international relations to describe external influence targeting democracies. China employs sharp power statecraft to shape public perceptions in target countries, aiming to alter opinions and behaviour, undermine political systems and create a favourable consensus by manipulating information. This study explores the nature and impact of China’s sharp power on the democratic resilience of Israeli society, particularly within academic and media discourse. The main argument is that China has attempted, albeit with limited success, to establish influence and shape public opinion in Israel through manipulation and censorship. However, these efforts have failed mainly due to the Israeli public’s scepticism and growing awareness of China’s broader geopolitical ambitions. Additionally, China’s pro-Palestinian stance and its alignment with Iran and the ‘axis of resistance’ have further hindered its ability to gain support, as these positions conflict with Israel’s core interests and values.

Explaining interest group position-taking across partisan policy dimensions

ABSTRACT Some interest groups have policy positions on one or more policy dimensions in partisan policy space while others do not. In this paper we examine explanations for differences in interest group position-taking across policy dimensions. While group characteristics are likely to explain parts of such variation in interest group position-taking, we hypothesise that the salience and polarisation among parties and citizens of the respective policy dimension also matter. By utilising novel survey data on interest group positions (within a predefined policy space) in six different countries as well as survey data on citizen and party positions, we investigate interest group position-taking across policy dimensions. The analysis shows that interest groups with more resources, core interests linked to the examined policy dimensions and a connection to the traditional party system are more likely to have policy positions than other groups. Furthermore, we find evidence of groups supplementing citizens and parties in policy space by articulating positions on policy dimensions that the average citizen and party pays less attention to. Moreover, when party polarisation increases on a dimension, greater party salience is negatively associated with group position taking.

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.

Working for the Workers? Infonavit’s Creation and Its Foundational Motivations, 1972-1976

As Mexican society urbanized rapidly from 1950 to 1970, housing became a major issue for city inhabitants. This article contributes a specific focus on Infonavit as a major social housing project of the Mexican government. I argue that the Echeverría government created Infonavit in 1972 as one of its social welfare packages for three key reasons: (1) to rejuvenate the PRI’s claim to revolutionary legitimacy, (2) to resolve the perceived ills of mass urbanization and to create ideal urban citizens, and (3) to support economic development. However, I also demonstrate that Infonavit operated as an institution with a core interest in improving the conditions of Mexican workers that was also informed by the goal of creating ideal citizens. Although the politics of Infonavit’s creation was closely linked with PRI legitimacy, Infonavit staff built an institute that was motivated to serve the housing needs of low-income Mexican workers.

Territorializing the Pearl River Delta: “state entrepreneurialism” in the cultural facility boom

ABSTRACT This research delves into the remarkable surge in cultural facilities within the Pearl River Delta (PRD) spanning the last forty years. It unveils the intricate interaction between entrepreneurial urban strategies and state-driven territorial authority. We reconceptualize these facilities as entrepreneurial tools serving the ideological goals of the Party-state. While expected to achieve economic sustainability through the synergy of symbolic assets and augmented land value, cultural facilities redirect urban entrepreneurialism to foster national pride, fortify internal cohesion, disseminate state dominance, standardize regional identity, or extend territorial influence. Thus, the emergence of the cultural facility boom in the PRD is not the outcome of a singular policy objective; rather, it is a confluence of diverse core interests of the Party-state, and the interplay between entrepreneurial practices and ideologies varies across historical periods. This thesis bridges a gap between China’s political-economic conditions, cultural facilities, and territorial power, thereby augmenting the “state entrepreneurialism” approach.

China–Canada negotiations on the establishment of diplomatic relations and the government of Pierre Trudeau’s early China policies

This article presents an original and detailed account of the negotiations between China and Canada on the establishment of diplomatic relations in Stockholm during Pierre Trudeau’s early government, using a wide range of primary sources from both countries, including declassified governmental documents, memorandums, telegrams, and memoirs, which provides a comprehensive understanding of the sociopolitical dynamics involved. It highlights the significance of Canada’s diplomatic efforts in recognising China before the United States, representing an independent diplomatic stance. The Canadian way had become a model for subsequent countries to establish diplomatic relations with China. The establishment of diplomatic ties had opened a new chapter in the development of bilateral relations. The mutual respect and compromise shown by the two sides while adhering to their own core interests in the negotiations have provided useful lessons for the two governments to deal with current rigid bilateral relations.

China’s Marine Political Economy in the South China Sea and Its Development Strategy under the Belt and Road Initiative: Opportunities, Challenges, and Trends on the 14th Five-Year Plan

To assure a brilliant and prosperous future of China, the Chinese government has been deliberately and continuously designing and promulgating a series of national plans and grand strategies. The implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and every Five-Year National Plans become absolutely important momentum to lift up China’s economy, which is seen as “Xiconomics.” To better realize the goals of these grand projects and national plans; the Chinese government also has smartly invented different institutions and regimes such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the Silk Road Fund, forums, dialogues, or the establishment of strategic partnerships. As on China’s power expansion, the South China Sea definitely is one of the most important regions and areas for searching marine energy and resources. As on the BRI, that is to say, the “twenty first Century Maritime Silk Road,” the South China Sea is a critical route for ships from China’s coastal ports to the Indian Ocean, and then to European States. It is also a strategic route for ships to the South Pacific from China. Beijing firmly claims that the South China Sea is one of its national core interests without suspension and incredulity. Coincidentally, as on China’s National 14th Five-Year Plan (14th FYP), building a “Beautiful China” by 2035 is one of its goals of sustainable development and enhancement of people’s wellbeing. Thus, the South China Sea has occupied a very important position and national development for future sustainable development and marine economy. This paper aims to examine China’s marine political economy in the South China Sea as well as to scrutinize its strategic considerations and layout since 2021.

13Popular Culture

Abstract Scholarship on the creation and circulation of forms of popular culture has always been concerned with questions of audiences and reception. Initial theorizations of audiences as overly credulous, easily swayed masses have long been significantly complicated to account for more active participation. One of the key drivers of this move of framing audiences from passive to active has been the emergence of the discipline of fandom studies. Today, the field is truly multidisciplinary, encompassing popular culture and media studies, literary studies, communication studies and psychology, marketing and tourism studies, amongst others. Additionally, while fan communities have always been transnational and transcultural, the explosion of cross-cultural phenomena like the Korean Hallyu Wave (the worldwide popularity of Korean media texts and celebrities) has brought renewed attention to the interconnected nature of the contemporary global mediascape. Even as it has expanded, one of the main challenges to the discipline has been criticism that it has overemphasized aspects of fan identity, such as gender identity and sexual orientation, while neglecting the role of race. This critique challenges the structure of the field, whereby certain critical genealogies, methodologies, and even fandoms themselves, are granted a canonical and universal status while others are seen as tertiary. This review of published works in popular culture studies focuses on studies of fandom that aim to break these silos, selecting three publications that address different aspects of today’s globalized fandom mediascape to underline the necessity for fandom scholars to expand their understanding of how these spaces are interconnected. Thematically, the review considers how these publications address and extend three core interests of fandom studies: 1. Digital Platforms and Politics; 2. Identity and Community; and 3. Transcultural Flows.

Impact of Social Media on Academic Performance: A Study of University Students during COVID-19

Adults are becoming more responsive to social media nowadays. The phenomenon is offering entertainment communication platforms and becoming a source of information as well. Social media has become an important element which is affecting the academic performance of adults. The gratification theory and survey method/technique are used for analysis. The study sample was 300 students, and data were collected from the three main universities of Islamabad through a convenience sampling technique. This study showed that social media had a positive impact on university students’ performance. The result of the study also describes that if the students spend more time on their studies, their academic performance will increase, and if more time is spent on social media, their academic performance will decrease. The first and greatest disadvantage of study is that it ignores online media habits; an abundance of use may prompt harm and redirection from the core interest. Just a single scholarly foundation was engaged in the examination. The task can't be summed up completely along these lines. The investigation uncovered considerable positive results in view of the way that college understudies frequently utilize web-based media and cell phones for delight, yet additionally for instructive targets.

'We thought supporting was strengthening': re-examining the role of external assistance for health systems strengthening in Zimbabwe post-COVID-19.

Zimbabwe has received substantial external assistance for health since the early 2000s, including funding earmarked for, or framed as, health systems strengthening (HSS). This study sought to examine whether external assistance has strengthened the health system (i.e. enabled comprehensive changes to health system performance drivers) or has just supported the health system (by increasing inputs and improving service coverage in the short term). Between August and October 2022, we conducted in-depth key informant interviews with 18 individuals and reviewed documents to understand: (1) whether external funding has supported or strengthened Zimbabwe's health system since the 2000s; (2) whether the experience of COVID-19 fosters a re-examination of what had been considered as HSS during the pre-pandemic era; and (3) areas to be reconsidered for HSS post COVID-19. Our findings suggest that external funders have supported Zimbabwe to control major epidemics and avert health system collapse. However, the COVID-19 pandemic showed that supporting the health system is not the same as strengthening it, as it became apparent at that time that the health sector is plagued with several system-wide bottlenecks. External funding is fragile and highly unsustainable, which reinforces the oft-ignored reality that HSS is a sovereign mandate of country-level authorities, and one that falls outside the core interests of external funders. The key positive lesson from the pandemic is that Zimbabwe is capable of raising domestic resources to fund HSS. However, there is no guarantee that such funding will be maintained. There is a need, then, to reconsider government's stewardship for HSS. External funders need to re-examine whether their funding really strengthens the national health system or just supports the country to provide basic services in their areas of interest.

Verbal behavior and the future of social science.

Natural language processing (NLP)-previously the domain of a select few language and computer scientists-is undergoing an unprecedented surge in popularity across disciplines. The ubiquity of language data, alongside extremely rapid methodological innovations, has magnetized the field, attracting researchers with the promise of measuring, forecasting, and understanding the most central questions in business, psychology, biology, sociology, the humanities, and beyond. The power of language analysis to reveal insights into human thought, feeling, and behavior has become a core interest emerging from recent technological advances, which are being probed to unearth deeply embedded truths about the human condition. However, NLP research has reached a critical juncture, sitting at the cusp of societal transformation in many aspects of daily life. The details of how NLP research develops over the next 3-5 years will define this transformation. In this emerging, near-infinite space of NLP-driven research, we provide a critical frame of reference for how, when, and why these technologies should evolve in a particularly transdisciplinary manner. Specifically, we discuss (a) the urgency of pairing existing and emerging NLP research with existing scientific knowledge, theory, and principles from the behavioral sciences; (b) the coevolution of NLP technologies; and (c) the practical implications and ethical consequences of expanding language analysis using broader psychosocial theories of the human condition. While our discussion focuses principally on using language as a window in the individual mind, this topic holds substantial implications for other disciplines and lines of inquiry, including the dynamics of social interaction and beyond. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Group Ownership, Group Interests, and the Ethics of Cultural Exchange

AbstractIn this essay, we address an important problem in the ethics of cultural engagement: the problem of giving a systematic account of when and why outsider use of insider cultural material is permissible or impermissible. We argue that many scholars rely on a problematic notion of collective ownership even when they claim to be disavowing it. After making this case, we motivate an alternative framework for thinking about cultural exchange, which we call the core interests framework. We conclude with some reflections on how this framework helps to raise interesting questions about the most promising accounts of wrongful cultural appropriation.

The Creative Role of the National Judge in Providing the Civil Protection from the Environmental Damages

The primary objective of the fact sheets about environmental access to justice is to furnish readily available guidelines for initiating a review process before an autonomous judicial institution or an administrative entity. Judges have always been vital in creating and enforcing effective environmental and justice laws. Judges have had to combine principle with practicality when drafting and applying such regulations, and progress has been slow. Critics have criticized them for not adhering to judicial bounds, especially in political conflicts and economic wealth distribution. With UN Environment Programmed support, judges have led efforts to improve environmental legal competency and knowledge sharing. While legal systems vary, certain concerns and their remedies are worldwide. Despite this restriction, international environmental litigation against businesses is possible when serious environmental degradation affects core human rights and interests. Such victims may utilize environmental violations to strengthen their claims.

Cybercrimes: An Emerging Category of Offenses within the Frame of the International Criminal Court Jurisdiction

In our interconnected society, crime persists, demanding joint efforts by national and international authorities to detect, prevent, and prosecute criminal activities. Jurisprudential evolution mandates lawmakers to possess a comprehensive legal vision, adapting laws to changing social contexts and emerging criminal methods, especially in technology, including computer technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI). This article comments on the escalating vulnerability of sovereign states and their economies to cyber-attacks. The radical evolution of computer systems has led to new modes of aggression, targeting not only traditional legal assets but also individuals familiar with advanced technology. The emergence of "cyberwarfare" prompts inquiries into potential categorizations within international legal frameworks. Recent global conflicts highlight the potential classification of cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure as war crimes or acts of aggression, urging the International Criminal Court (ICC) to consider incorporating cybercrimes into its core interests. While normative references may lack in existing conventions, the Martens Clause emphasizes treating attacks using technology as equivalent to conventional means. Article 51 of the United Nations Charter implies that cyber weapons could be deemed equivalent to conventional weapons under international law. The article stresses the importance of education and advanced training for legal personnel skilled in identifying cybercrime perpetrators, challenging the ICC to recruit or train individuals with the necessary legal and technical expertise for effective cybersecurity responses. The article briefly explores challenges in conceptualizing and categorizing cybercrimes within existing legal frameworks. The intersection of law and technology necessitates harmonious collaboration between legal and technical experts, acknowledging the intricate web of cyberspace and the implications of cyber threats on global stability and security. In conclusion, the article advocates a fundamental shift in the approach to justice, recognizing the ICC's imperative evolution in addressing cybercrimes. Integrating cybercrimes into the ICC's purview aligns with international law principles, emphasizing the equivalence of cyber weapons to conventional arms. Collaboration between legal and technical experts is essential in navigating the complexities of cybercrimes, ensuring accountability, and upholding justice in the digital age. The article concludes by highlighting the proactive role of the ICC in shaping the future of global justice amid emerging cyber threats.

India’s Foreign Policy during Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee

This paper examines Indian foreign policy under Atal Bihari Vajpayee in terms of realistic pluralism. It argues that since the 1998 nuclear test, India has developed a slightly different style of realistic foreign policy as a means to achieve its core interests. It is characterized by an emphasis on engagement with contemporary challenges such as neoliberal globalization, terrorism, the issue of disarmament, coping with the changing international order, the decline of multilateral institutions, and new regionalism, etc. To deal with all these issues, India adopted realistic pluralism to accelerate India's economic development and security interests, as well as enhance its status as an emerging power in the international system by continuously promoting its cherished values. This paper explains how a party with its rightist ideology occupies power at a time when Congress fails to deliver people's aspirations. It analyses the key arguments that have been presented in this framework and the way Bajpayee put them into practice. It concludes with the assessment of Bajpayee strategies and future prospects that it will deliver for Indian foreign policy.

An introductory review of swarm technology for spacecraft on‐orbit servicing

AbstractThis review paper presents a comprehensive evaluation and forward‐looking perspective on the underexplored topic of servicing target objects using spacecraft swarms. Such targets can be known or unknown, cooperative or uncooperative, and pose significant challenges in modern space operations due to their inherent complexity and unpredictability. Successfully servicing space objects is vital for active debris removal and broader on‐orbit servicing tasks such as satellite maintenance, repair, refueling, orbital assembly, and construction. Significant effort has been invested in the literature to explore the servicing of targets using a single spacecraft. Given its advantages and benefits, this paper expands the discussion to encompass a swarm approach to the problem. This review covers various single‐spacecraft approaches and presents a critical examination of the existing, although limited, body of work dedicated to servicing orbital objects using multiple spacecraft. The focus is also broadened to include some influential studies concerning the characterization, capture, and manipulation of physical objects by general multiagent systems, a subject with significant parallels to the core interest of this manuscript. Furthermore, this article also delves into the realm of simultaneous localization and mapping, highlighting its application within close‐proximity operations in space, especially when dealing with unknown uncooperative targets. Special attention is paid to the benefits that this field can receive from distributed multiagent architectures. Finally, an exploration of the promising field of swarm robotics is presented, with an emphasis on its potential to revolutionize the servicing of orbital target objects. Concurrently, a survey of general research directly engaging swarms in the orbital context is conducted. This review aims to bridge the knowledge gap and stimulate further research in the underexplored domain of servicing space targets with spacecraft swarms.

Technological power, complex systems, and boundary objects in global energy transitions

This study makes a case for why the field of political ecology (PE) would benefit from deep engagement with technological power, and exemplifies this within the domain of energy studies and the ongoing transformation of the energy sector. Technology is not among the core interests or traditional topics of PE—and is therefore often disregarded or treated as a black box. The argument presented in this study asserts that this omission undermines the analytical power and the relevance of the field. Technology is the central mechanism whereby socionatures evolve and how relationships are negotiated and enacted. The attitude towards technical things is partly based on the idea that technologies are just artefacts of little interest. Cross-field dialogue is also hindered by perceived ontological conflicts. This study draws upon research from the philosophy of technology and sociotechnical systems theory to introduce a dynamic understanding of technological power. Seeing what technology does and has the potential to do requires looking beyond the common emphasis on dominance and control, to the myriad ways in which technologies shape our everyday lives, ontologies, and imagining of the future. Taking on a contentious concept, I advocate for the use of “systems” as a boundary object suitable for cross-field dialogue. As an analytical construct without inherent scale, it works as a framing device for moving power and knowledge claims to the forefront, while also allowing dialogue outside academia.

A bridge over sustainable water: Politicians' perceptions about the preconditions for collective action.

Sustainable water resource management is a core interest for all societies. As water systems are often common resources, the management of water systems requires coordinated action among actors along the water. For flowing water, a complication for coordination is upstream-downstream relations where what happens upstream affects downstream, but not the other way around. In this study we present results from a survey experiment with politicians in Sweden, focusing on whether and to what extent their willingness to cooperate is affected by their placement upstream or downstream along a fictive water system. Our findings indicate that politicians from upstream and downstream municipalities share the view that upstream politicians bear greater responsibility for undertaking preventive actions and are willing to assume remedial responsibility for problems caused by them. These results challenge the notion that self-interest is the primary obstacle to resolving environmental collective action problems.

Monetary momentum and risk management in stock market

Purpose- This study aims to investigate the relationship between monetary interest rate decisions, liquidity mechanisms and risk management issues. As a core interest the significance of a structural change in the data around the FOMC meetings is analyzed. By the help of continuous time models we analyze the kind of dynamics, which can be observed in the stock returns, i.e. conditional volatilities and jumps. A further central interest is given to investment decisions and risk management issues. This encompasses the elaboration of the hedging strategies to achieve higher performance. Methodology- The study employs GARCH-Ito and GARCH-Ito-Jump models to analyze the stock market returns and their related volatilities on the day of a FED interest decision announcement. The continuous time GARCH model setting allows to model stock market returns with a high flexibility, therefore these models are abled to capture jump dynamics in the stock returns. Findings- The analysis reveals that persistence in conditional volatilities change according to alternative stocks. These stocks can be classified according to alternative market capitalization sizes. Mega market capitalization stocks are better governed by no jump GARCH-Ito models regardless the monetary policy changes, that is, changes in interest rates or not. Conclusion- Based upon the analysis, it may be concluded that risk management applications effectively might perform under the consideration of stock types in terms of market sizes. The persistence in the conditional volatility massively decreases if a jump component is introduced into the model. Since most of the mega market cap stocks perform better without a jump part component, it might be conjectured that persistence in the conditional volatility for mega cap stocks play a more important role compared to large cap stocks. Regardless the case whether there is an interest rate change or not, the persistence in conditional volatility remains in mega cap stocks, and thus, these stocks are prone to the involvement of prices jumps. Keywords: Monetary policy, risk management, jump detection, investment decisions JEL Codes: C22, E49, G11

Calreticulin P-domain-derived “Eat-me” peptides for enhancing liposomal uptake in dendritic cells

Discovering new ligands for enhanced drug uptake and delivery has been the core interest of the drug delivery field. This study capitalizes on the natural “eat-me” signal of calreticulin (CRT), proposing a novel strategy for functionalizing liposomes to improve cellular uptake. CRT is presented on the surfaces of apoptotic cells, and it plays a crucial role in immunogenic cell death (ICD). This is because it is essential for antigen uptake via low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor-mediated phagocytosis. Inspired by this mechanism, we interrogated CRT’s “eat-me” feature using CRT-derived peptides to functionalize liposomes. We studied liposomal formulation stability, properties, cellular uptake, toxicity, and intracellular trafficking in dendritic cells. We identified key peptide fragments of CRT, specifically from the hydrophilic P-domain, that are compatible with liposomal formulations. Contrary to the more hydrophobic N-domain peptides, the P-domain peptides induced significantly higher liposomal uptake in DC2.4 dendritic cells than cationic DOTAP and anionic DPPG liposomes without inducing toxicity. The P-domain-derived peptides led to enhanced liposomal uptake into DC2.4 dendritic cells compared to the standard DPPC liposomes. The uptake can be partially blocked by the receptor-associated protein (RAP). Upon internalization, P-domain-peptide-decorated liposomes showed higher co-localization with lysosomes compared to the standard DPPC liposomes. Our findings illuminate CRT's operational role and identify P-domain peptides as promising agents for developing biomimetic drug delivery systems that can potentially replicate CRT's “eat-me” function.