International Relations Perspective Research Articles

Hybrid War: Theory and Ethics

Terrorist attacks against the United States and some European states, and the war against terrorism characterised the end of the 20th century from the perspective of international relations. In harmony with this, military theoretical and ethical research aimed at terrorism, insurgency war in general and counterterrorism in this period. Some years later, however, at the beginning of the 21st century, some further questions joined these problems, like the theoretical and ethical issues of hybrid war. This essay deals with the theoretical and philosophical features of hybrid war in order to develop an ethical theory for it.

Taiwan’s Regional Identity under the New Southbound Policy

Abstract Discussion of Taiwan’s identity usually focuses more on its domestic identity in terms of a dichotomy between Chinese and Taiwanese identity than its regional identity. But the New Southbound Policy provides space to discuss Taiwan’s regional identity due to its emphasis on Taiwan’s relations with its southern neighbours. Adopting a constructivist perspective of International Relations, this article explores the construction of Taiwan’s regional identity and the influence of Taiwan–Southeast Asia relations. I point out two key findings: (1) Taiwan’s changing perception of Southeast Asia is critical for the construction of Taiwan’s regional identity, including this region as a ‘significant other’ for Taiwan’s role identity; and (2) Taiwan’s regional identity under the New Southbound Policy integrates both personal and role identities, and covers both domestic and regional dimensions.

Political Invisibility: Structural Realism and The Kahnawà:ke Mohawk Nation

This research critically examined the intersection of structural realism, normativity, and political invisibility, with a particular focus on its implications for peripheral actors in international relations (IR), exemplified by the Kahnawà:ke Mohawk Nation. Based on the assumption that structural realism governs Western foreign policy, the research investigated the possibility of political invisibility not as an indication of weakness but as a strategic method for political liberation. Through a theoretical analysis that contrasted the normative assumptions of structural realism with critical theory, a qualitative methodology, integrating a critical literature review and a case study analysis were employed in the research in order to dissect the dynamics of political invisibility and its potential as an emancipatory force. The results indicated that political invisibility, when utilised effectively, can function as a subversive instrument enabling marginalised actors such as the Kahnawà:ke Mohawk Nation to maneuver through and capitalise on the normative oversights of structural realism. This subversion challenges conventional IR perspectives by demonstrating how marginalised groups can assert agency and sovereignty despite systemic exclusion from central dialogues and decision-making processes. The scientific novelty of this study lay in its focused critique of structural realism through the lens of political invisibility and the politics of refusal, offering a unique perspective on the agency of peripheral actors in IR. Its practical significance emerges from the potential applications of these insights in fostering a more inclusive and equitable global political discourse, emphasising the strategic potential of invisibility for political mobilisation and emancipation. By positioning political invisibility as a catalyst for emancipatory politics, this research contributed to a broader discourse on power dynamics within IR, challenging established norms and suggesting a paradigm shift towards recognising and leveraging the political agency of marginalised actors.

Theoretical and Methodological Approaches to Studying Artificial Intelligence in the Context of International Relations and International Law

This article addresses one of the pressing issues regarding the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in international relations and international law. The research question revolves around defining the theoretical and methodological approaches applicable to the strategic analysis of AI utilization in these fields. In the contemporary world, there is a demand at both interstate and societal levels to define the role of AI in the political and legal spheres. This is because AI development affects crucial areas of state relations such as security, international law, ethical norms, and dependencies. The prospective use of AI technologies without corresponding legal regulation may disrupt the already fragile balance of the world order, which could be exacerbated by state competition in AI technologies and AI applications in the military domain, a grey area in international law. Analyzing this issue from the perspective of international relations and international law theory allows for examining AI's impact on state interactions and developing new application strategies. Similarly, it helps understand how international law regulates state relations, including aspects related to AI applications. By examining various theoretical concepts and methodological approaches necessary for understanding AI's impact on global affairs, including its influence on diplomacy, security, and governance structures, as well as legal and ethical issues, this article contributes to Kazakhstan's evolving discourse on AI governance and its implications for state actors.

Artificial Intelligence: Opportunities and Challenges for the Global South with a Focus on Nepal

Artificial intelligence is a relatively new and contemporary technological tool that also figures significantly in the current discourse of international relations. AI stems from its ability to mimic human cognitive functions, allowing machines to perform tasks that previously required human intelligence. AI systems can analyze massive amounts of data, identify patterns, and make data-driven decisions by utilizing advanced algorithms, machine learning, and data processing capabilities. The primary goal is to improve efficiency, accuracy, and automation across multiple domains, including healthcare, finance, manufacturing, and transportation. Furthermore, AI has the potential to address complex challenges, innovate solutions, and contribute to scientific advancements, making it an effective tool for supplementing human capabilities and driving progress in a variety of fields. However, ethical considerations and responsible development are essential for ensuring the responsible and beneficial integration of AI into society. Concerns regarding AI have also been expressed from the viewpoint of foreign policy, national security, data privacy, and the possible replacement of humans by machines. This is expected to pose additional difficulties for developing nations like Nepal as it may be very expensive to use AI in various development endeavors that aim to address global issues on an equal footing with developed nations. Because most of the countries in the Global South are developing or least developed, AI may therefore present more challenges than opportunities to them.
 Hence, this article attempts to incorporate the various dimensions of AI in terms of the different perspectives that are encountered in this changing context of the AI world, as well as the real impacts that may be opportunities or threats to Nepal from the perspective of international relations and diplomacy.

Japan’s relations with China and Korea in the Muromachi era

The article describes the main stages and characteristics of Japanese-Korean and Japanese- Chinese relations in the Muromachi era (1333–1573). From an international relations perspective, it is an extremely important period – after six centuries, formal relations with China (Ming) and Korea (Choson) were reestablished (relations with the Korean state of Silla were interrupted in 779; the last Japanese embassy to Tang China was sent in 838), and East Asia in general experienced an explosive growth of international trade. In the early Muromachi period, Japan maintained overseas relations only with Ryukyu. Despite the sincere desire of the Ashikaga shoguns to reestablish formal relations with China (Ming) and Korea (Choson), it happened only at the beginning of the 15th century. The article deals with the main reasons why the restoration process turned out to be so long and complicated. Japan-Ming and Japan- Choson relations had both similarities and their own characteristics. There were also dramatic turns in both Japanese-Chinese and Japanese-Korean relations: breaking of diplomatic relations with Ming China under Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimochi, and even a military invasion of the Tsushima Island by Korean fleet in 1419. In Russian historiography, this topic is almost not developed, and therefore, at this stage, it seems important to characterize the key events and features of the Japanese interaction with the outside world using the example of its main partners, China and Korea. Meanwhile, a number of features of Japan’s interaction with the outside world during the Tokugawa period are rooted in the Muromachi period or inherit common East Asian cultural patterns.

The cross perspective of international economic law and international relations for global financial governance: SIEPUESM

The cross perspective of international economic law and international relations for global financial governance: SIEPUESM

Bangabandhu’s Bangladesh Foreign Policy

In the intricate milieu of the Cold War, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the architect of Bangladesh, played a pivotal role in shaping the foreign policy of the newly independent nation following the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, which was of utmost importance in establishing Bangladesh's identity and securing international recognition. This article investigates the foreign policy of Bangladesh during the tenure of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman through the perspective of International Relations. However, Bangabandhu's foreign policy efforts and activities have been assessed utilizing secondary data. The study finds that Bangabandhu was quite successful in creating and implementing Bangladesh's foreign policy in securing national interest of Bangladesh, which is still applicable in Bangladesh's current situation in conducting international relations.

Dynamics of Border Conflict Resolution Between Indonesia-Timor Leste

Border areas are areas that are geographically directly adjacent to other countries. The border area is also one of the strategic areas, where the area that nationally concerns the lives of many people, both in terms of political, economic, social, cultural, and hankam interests. Border conflicts are usually particularly vulnerable if the contested territory has excellent natural and economic resource potential. The purpose of this study is to describe the factors that cause conflict and the urgency of boundary affirmation and describe efforts to resolve boundaries through regulation and non-regulation. The method used is a qualitative method with a type of descriptive approach through literature study. Based on the results of the study, it is understood that the settlement of Indonesia's border with Timor-Leste will be carried out peacefully, without the threat of violence, and with full respect for international law. This article seeks to understand the Indonesia-Timor Leste border dispute from the perspective of international relations. Three strategies can be taken by Indonesia to resolve this dispute, namely military confrontation, the use of formal institutions such as international organizations, and the use of informal institutions namely norms, beliefs, ideas, and values. This article argues that to resolve the dispute between Noel Besi/Citrana and Bijael Sunan/Oben it is not enough to rely on international treaties alone, Indonesia needs to put more emphasis on the importance of understanding the norms, beliefs, ideas, and values of indigenous peoples living in the disputed area. The role of the government in efforts to maintain the integrity of the country's territory through bilateral communication and cooperation can then be utilized by local actors to resolve conflicts and participate in defending the territory.

The Global Politics of African Identity: Pan-Africanism and the Challenge of Afropolitanism

Abstract This paper uses the 20th anniversary of the founding of the African Union (AU) to examine the role of race and identity in Pan-Africanism, from the perspective of International Relations (IR). Pan-Africanism played a crucial role in the decolonization of the African continent and remains the ideological basis for the AU, which leads on issues of continental governance. The paper examines the development of Pan-Africanism, and foundational ideas of race, modernity, and identity that remain as important elements of some strains of the ideology. This is further explored by examining the relationship between these ideas and the rise of nativism, demonstrating the ways that essentialist conceptions of African identity can justify violence and authoritarianism. Finally, the paper stages an engagement between Pan-Africanism and Afropolitanism, examining the ways that Afropolitan approaches provide an important critique of nativist forms of Pan-Africanism, as well as offering more productive ways of engaging with African identity. This is important both for theoretical debates around identity in IR and for the future of the AU, as the institutional home of Pan-Africanism. The argument takes both Pan-Africanism and Afropolitanism seriously as approaches to IR, focusing on the ways that Africa and African ideologies can be viewed as central both to the formation of modern political thought and to conceptualize the future of international politics and global order.

Positive Peace in the Islamic Perspective of International Relations: The Case of Iran’s Foreign Policy

The characteristics of the interpretation of the concepts of “positive” and “negative” peace within the framework of the Islamic paradigm of international relations, as well as the application of Islamic approaches to conflict settlement by the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) are analyzed. The relevance of the study is due to the need to rethink approaches to peacekeeping and move away from Western peace strategies and initiatives, since these approaches have demonstrated their inadequacy over the past 50 years. Based on the hermeneutic method of studying the Islamic sacred texts and comparative analysis, as well as the approach to “negative” and “positive” peace of the Norwegian sociologist J. Galtung, the authors justify the existence of two strategies for achieving peace, based on Islamic ideals - “resistance strategy” and “non-violence strategy,” using as an example of the first one the foreign policy activities of the Islamic Republic of Iran to resolve regional conflicts, taking Syria, the Palestinian problem and the Hormuz Peace Initiative as examples. The authors come to the conclusion that Islam considers only “positive peace” to be true peace, capable of ensuring security, a fair world order and universal equality. Iran, guided by the ideological attitudes generated by the Islamic Revolution of 1978-1979 (spirituality, the fight against corruption and economic injustice, the protection of the ‘oppressed’ and the fight against the ‘oppressors,’ the rejection of violence in social movements, the elimination of social discrimination, governance based on the people’s decision), seeks to introduce Islamic principles into its foreign policy practice, particularly in the Middle East. However, with a number of Arab countries in the region pursuing anti-Iranian policies, some of Tehran’s initiatives remained unrealized and did not gain support. Nevertheless, in the current context where the Western-centric world order is being revised, it is more relevant than ever to explore alternative approaches to conflict resolution and to identify their advantages and significance, based on practical examples that already exist.

Ege Hava Sahası:Türkiye ve Yunanistan Sorunları

Discussions on the width of the national airspace have been a frequent topic on the agenda of Turkish-Greek relations after 1974. Discussions on this issue arise, in particular, from the difference between the width of the Greek national territorial sea and the width of its airspace. The rules of international law, while regulating the rights related to the sovereignty of the states, stipulated that the sovereignty of the state covers the territorial lands, the territorial seas forming the coasts of these lands, and the airspace over these regions as a whole. In short, the territorial sea border of a state and the width of its national airspace must be the same; It is accepted that the state has exclusive sovereign rights over these areas. Although airspace problems are not a problem that directly affects the relations between Turkey and Greece, they come to the fore at various times as a secondary problem among other problems. Airspace issues, which is a problem of international law, is a research subject that is suitable for obtaining many findings related to international politics. There are previous studies on this subject in Turkey. However, in this study, it has tried to deal with the issue from the perspective of international relations as much as possible. Keywords: Turkey, Greece, International Law, Airspace, Aegean Sea

Latin American structure and Pan-Am Games: analysing the medal table from International Relations

This paper studies Latin American sport from an International Relations perspective. Considering that systemic imperatives are overlooked in most sports studies and that power is not conceived as a comprehensive element that drives state action, the focus here is to study the relationship between the international power structure and sports performance, analysing the correlation between the World Power Index (WPI) and the medal table of the Pan-American Games from the edition of Mexico City 1975 to Lima 2019. The results show that there is a positive and strong correlation in the different periods of time evaluated, but even with that, we do not defend that there is an automatic conversion of national power into the medal tables at the Pan-American Games. In conclusion, this article argues that from International Relations, the International Structure configures the medal plans of countries, namely, where they want to be positioned in the final rankings, which in the end, shapes the medal table of sports competitions.

The term 'Indo-Pacific' as conceptualised in the language of international law

This paper is dedicated to scrutinising the problem of how the term “Indo-Pacific” is conceptualised in the international law from both linguistics and IR (International Relations) perspectives. The relevance of the topic is defined by a growing number of corresponding legal documents adopted by regional and external actors, which in turn has an impact on the realm of international law. The goal of the study consists in tracing back the peculiarities accompanying the described process of conceptualisation. A brief literature review demonstrates a clear lack of related analyses in the legal dimension; the academic novelty can thus be substantiated by the fact that the groups of sources of law introducing the “Indo-Pacific” concept are categorised in a hierarchical manner. From a methodological point of view the paper is aimed at adding linguistics and international law to the mix of disciplines that can assist in comprehending the relatively recent phenomenon of “Indo-Pacific”, political science already being paramount among these. As for the findings, it has been shown that bridging the gap between the designated areas is in principle possible thanks to an interdisciplinary approach, allowing thereby to create a multidimensional image of the macroregion. Another associated inference concerns the dynamics of how exactly the notion under discussion has been rooting in the sources of international law: namely, this happened due to a transfer from national legislation. The article is concluded with the discussion on the evolution stages of incorporation of the term “Indo-Pacific” in the international law, as well as recommended directions of further research.

Some Notes on Sun Yatsen’s “Alliance with Russia” Policy

Alliances are one of the most effective ways for states to preserve and gain power. The study of alliance formation has long been a prominent issue in international politics. This article examines the factors that influenced the alliance between Sun Yatsen’s regime and the Soviet government through the lens of alliance theory, taking the “alliance with Russia” of the Guangdong government led by Sun Yatsen in the early 20th century as the subject of study. The scientific innovation lies in the analysis of historical events and their causes from the perspective of international relations. Due to the complexities of the Chinese situation, the southern regime under Sun Yatsen coexisted with the Beijing government, but was not recognized as the official government of China. As a result, Sun Yatsen needed to use an “alliance approach” to seek the backing of external forces in order to keep his own regime secure. After several failed attempts to enter into alliances with Britain, the United States and Germany, Sun Yatsen eventually elected to join forces with the Soviet Russia. According to the alliance’s conclusion, four major factors influenced Sun Yatsen’s “alliance with Russia” policy: balance of threat, diplomatic assistance, ideology, and political infiltration. Among them, balance of threat was the main motivation for Sun Yatsen’s alliance with Russia, and while ideology was not an important factor influencing the alliance, the ability to provide assistance to Sun Yatsen’s regime played an important role in the establishment of the alliance, considering the huge power gap between the two sides. The Soviet political penetration of Sun Yatsen’s regime helped the alliance’s establishment, but also led to its final dissolution.

The Geopolitics of Culture: Museum Proliferation in Qatar and Abu Dhabi

ABSTRACT In recent years, Qatar and Abu Dhabi have experienced a proliferation of museums symbolically embedded in a trilateral dialogue between the ruling families, the population, and international audiences and partners. This proliferation brings together the local and the global, the physical and the virtual, the tangible facets of politics, economics and security, and the immaterial and ideational ambitions of identity-building and country branding. By analysing the proliferation of museums in the two Emirates from an International Relations perspective and through the lens of critical geopolitics, we show that this phenomenon is an exercise in geocultural power, as ruling families use museums to make sense of the world, to define and defend their place within it, and to transform themselves.

Ideological polarization, policy continuity: back to the majoritarian principle?

ABSTRACT This introduction to the Italian Politics 2023 special issue gives an overview of the main events characterizing Italian politics during a year of large-scale policy reforms, presidential and parliamentary elections, and the unexpected Russian invasion of Ukraine. The authors pose three questions concerning Italian politics during the year gone by. First, from an institutional viewpoint, they ask whether the revival of majoritarianism as a principle of government formation represents the prelude to a return to enduring party-system bipolarity. Second, from an electoral and public policy perspective, they ask whether the formation of a government led by what many perceive as a radical right party betokens the start of a correspondingly radical shift in Italian public policy. Third, from an international relations perspective, they ask about the extent to which the Meloni government’s attitude to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and more generally to Italy’s position on the world stage and in international affairs, is likely to differ from that adopted by Draghi. The chapter elaborates on the three questions by tracing how the events of 2022 generated much more continuity than expected.

Disaster Mitigation and Human Security Study: Jayapura City Community on Earthquake Disaster Mitigation Perspectives

Disaster mitigation and human security are two things that cannot be separated in relation to saving people as an important subject of the state. This paper aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the importance of disaster mitigation within the framework of human security from the perspective of international relations. The method used is a qualitative research method in which primary data is obtained through samples provided to residents via Google forms and also through secondary data, namely news, newspapers and other internet sources. The primary and secondary data obtained are then processed and get an accurate analysis to then be used as valid data. The output of this study is that so far there has been no socialization related to disaster mitigation in the city of Jayapura and most of the respondents agree that they get disaster mitigation lessons through themselves by reading and watching through television or cellphone media. In international relations, when this situation occurs, human security in this region is actually very vulnerable, so it is necessary for the government to pay attention to socializing and learning about disaster mitigation for Jayapura city residents.

THE FACTORS DRIVING SUCCESS IN SOUTH KOREAN EXPORTS: A CASE STUDY OF SAMSUNG ELECTRONINCS

South Korea is one of the prosperous countries because it rose from its economic crisis in the 1990s. This ginseng country has made many efforts to maintain stability and economic development by using diplomacy in international relations. South Korea carries out diplomatic activities to communicate with other countries, one of which is economic diplomacy. South Korea's diplomacy is their tool to promote exchanges that increase trade, culture, wealth and knowledge. One is expanding and improving their exports through multinational companies such as Samsung Electronics. This study identifies the elements contributing to South Korea's export success. Currently, South Korea is an example of a country in the East Asia Region those economy can increase yearly. This study uses qualitative research methods with literature studies to collect and analyze data or research objects written from the international relations perspective. The theory used in this study is the Porter-Diamond model and the concept of Export Oriented Development. The results of this study indicate that Samsung's global market dynamics have positively influenced South Korea's export success through Samsung's technological prowess, marketing approach, supply chain management, then political and international economic factors, as well as South Korea's economic diplomacy, which built and all are interconnected and strengthened.

French colonial rule of Laos from the perspective of international relations

French colonial rule of Laos from the perspective of international relations