Islands Dispute Research Articles

Iran's Power in Context

Iran–US relations – strained at the best of times since the 1979 Iranian revolution – have never been worse than during the past six years, due to the much more intense interaction between the two ...

Resolving China’s Island Disputes: A Two-Level Game Analysis

Although territorial disputes have been much studied, the application of “two-level game” analysis in peace research and conflict resolution is still relatively unexplored. In this essay, I seek to use the analytical propositions derived from this “two-level game” bargaining framework to explain the success, failure, or partial resolution of sovereignty negotiations over China’s island claims to the disputed islands of the Diaoyu/Senkaku, Amur/Ussuri rivers, and South China Sea. This essay will focus on the interaction between governments and domestic nationalist groups, the role of institutions, and the strategies of negotiators to explain the development of the territorial disputes. I will evaluate how different political and social preferences, historical memories, economic priorities, side payments, and institutional constraints affect inter-state bargaining behavior and relations between the government and different segments of society. Basically, I am interested in finding out what significant roles national, sub-national and transnational actors can and do play in aggravating, minimizing, terminating or preventing conflicts over island claims involving China.

History, Chinese Nationalism and the Emerging Sino–Japanese Conflict

Anti-Japanese popular nationalism is rising high in China today. Little evidence to date proves that it is officially orchestrated. Nonetheless, Chinese popular nationalism still has deep roots in the state's history propaganda which has implanted pernicious myths in the national collective memory. Fueling mistrust and exacerbating a mutual threat perception, popular nationalism could be a catalyst for future Sino–Japanese conflict over the Taiwan problem, island disputes, and maritime resource competition. The increasingly liberalized but often biased Chinese media, the role of nationalist sub-elites, and the government's accommodation have all contributed to the strength of anti-Japanese nationalism, which cannot be mitigated by bilateral economic interdependence. To rid bilateral relations of the negative historical legacy, the two countries need the vision and determination to remove nationalistic myths and promote a shared history through mutual critique and self-reflection in transnational historians' dialogues.

Application for Revision of the Judgment of 11 September 1992 in the Case Concerning the Land, Island and Maritime Frontier Dispute (El Salvador/Honduras: Nicaragua Intervening)

1International Court of Justice — Procedure — Finality of judgment — Application for revision of a judgment — Statute of the Court, Article 61 — Admissibility of request — Discovery of “new fact” — Whether new fact of such a nature as to be a decisive factor

Gullah Island Dispute Resolution

Restorative justice has been suggested as a means to deal with disproportionate minority confinement and other social problems within communities of color, specifically the Black community. However, scholars and practitioners have pointed out cultural concerns that must be addressed in the restorative justice process. Afrocentric theory and its principles have been suggested as a way to deal with the cultural concerns within the restorative justice process. This article examines the contemporary and historical means of informal dispute resolution in the Gullah Islands of South Carolina. These strategies of dispute or conflict resolution were used to deal with crime, delinquency, civil matters, community grievances, and other social wrongs outside the traditional common and civil legal systems. Through on-site in-depth interviews, focus groups, and an analysis of archival documents, the research determined that the strategies used on the Gullah Islands fell within the Afrocentric restorative justice model.

Painful choices: a theory of foreign policy change

List of Figures and Tables ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 CHAPTER 1: Surprise, Anticipation, and Theory 10 The Case for a Decision-Based Theory of Behavior 18 The Case for a Theory of Foreign Policy Change 23 CHAPTER 2: A Theory of Foreign Policy Change 30 Building Blocks 31 A Loss-Aversion Theory of Foreign Policy Change 45 Devils in the Details 51 CHAPTER 3: Useless Islands Disputes 72 Las Islas Malvinas 73 The Northern Territories 95 Crucial Differences 113 CHAPTER 4: American Boys in an Asian War 117 Background 118 Turning Points 129 The Johnson Escalation 134 Nixinger and the Endgame 147 How Do the Hypotheses Fare? 160 CHAPTER 5: Free Trade with the United States: Two Funerals and a Wedding 168 Overview and Background 169 Laurier and the Reciprocity Agreement of 1911 177 King and the Reciprocity Nonagreement of 1948 185 Mulroney and the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, 1988 193 Analysis 206 CHAPTER 6: Conclusion 216 Works Cited 233 Index 265

II. Application for Revision of the Judgment of 11 September 1992 in the Case concerning the Land, Island and Maritime Frontier Dispute (El Salvador/Honduras: Nicaragua Intervening), El Salvador v Honduras). Judgment of 18 December 2003

II. Application for Revision of the Judgment of 11 September 1992 in the Case concerning the <i>Land, Island and Maritime Frontier Dispute</i> (<i>El Salvador/Honduras: Nicaragua Intervening</i>), <i>El Salvador v Honduras</i>). Judgment of 18 December 2003

Sino-Japanese Contention Over the Diaoyu Islands/Senkakus: A Hypothetical Analysis

There are still some hot, sticky issues in Northeast Asia, including one which involves the Diaoyu Islands/Senkakus (Senkaku Retto/Gunto)/Pinnacle Islands, which are rich in fish, oil reserves, and other valuable natural resources. Many recent developments deserve closer observation, as they have some bearings on the Diaoyu Islands dispute. The article provides various scenarios, detailing the circumstances in which Japan will fire the first shot in the Diaoyu Islands (Senkakus) waters and those in which it will not. Of course, there could be ambivalent circumstances. The author argues that before 2010, Tokyo will probably not fire the first shot. It is easier to find reasons to support the argument that the JSDF would not fire the first shot in the Diaoyu Islands. The hotline set up since October 10, 2000 between Tokyo and Beijing supports such an argument. Given that we are mainly talking about possibilities/situations, is this intellectual exercise of determining who fires the first shot worth doing? The answer has to be yes, because by examining the issues and analyzing the facts, one gets a deeper understanding of the whole situation. Such an exercise on the Diaoyu Islands perhaps can also be applied to the even more complicated situation in the South China Sea (SCS), if not elsewhere.

Chinese Acquisition of the Spratly Archipelago and Its Implications for the Future

In this study, I first examine the place of the Spratly Islands dispute at the heart of interstate relations between China and its regional neighbors around the South China Sea. In doing so, I trace the varied historical claims and periodic disputes over the archipelago, along with the current state of affairs, which is increasingly dominated by the need for more and cheaper sources of oil and natural gas. This background lays the groundwork for the core of this study, which is a simulation analysis looking at the potential ramifications of a more aggressive Chinese position in the South China Sea. Using computer simulation techniques, I compare the desirability of two scenarios related to Chinese policy in the area. The findings suggest that a more aggressive Chinese policy on the Spratlys would be beneficial in some ways, especially in the areas of energy production and imports over the following forty years. At the same time, there are several potential drawbacks as well, including increased environmental degradation and renewed energy supply problems in the second half of the century. I conclude by examining the implications of both conflictual and peaceful Chinese approaches to policy in the South China Sea, in light of China's obvious ascension as the leading state in East and Southeast Asia, as well as its rapidly improving global position.

Security in the Persian Gulf: Origins, Obstacles, and the Search for Consensus

The Historical Pattern of Gulf Security J.E.Peterson The Gulf's Ethnic Diversity: An Evolutionary History M.Izady The Erosion of Consensus: Perceptions of GCC States of a Changing Region I.A.Karawan The Regional Security System in the Persian Gulf S.Lotfian On the Persian Gulf Islands: An Iranian Perspective J.Roshandel The Islands Question: An Arabian Perspective H.Al-Alkim The Islands Dispute: A Commentary R.Schofield The New Generation in Saudi Arabia: Cultural Change, Political Identity, and Regime Security M.Yamani The Coming Generation in Iran: Challenges and Opportunities H.Semati Mutual Realities, Perceptions and Impediments Between the GCC States and Iran: GCC Views A.K.Al-Shayji Looking for Deliverance: Iraq and the Gulf R.Alkadiri Mutual Perceptions in the Persian Gulf Region: An Iranian Perspective B.Khajehpour-Khouei

The Chinese Traditional Maritime Boundary Line in the South China Sea and Its Legal I Consequences for the Resolution of the Dispute over the Spratly Islands

AbstractChina's traditional maritime boundary line, commonly known as the U-shaped line in the South China Sea, has been queried frequently in various circles, whether governmental or academic, on its real meaning. This article addresses the legal implications of this line for the Spratly Islands dispute, including, inter alia, the origin and evolution of the line, China's attitude towards and practice relating to the line, reactions from other South China Sea countries, the relevance of the line to the concept of historic waters and other law of the sea concepts, and the potential role to be played by the line in the future delimitation of maritime boundaries in the South China Sea.

The Spratly Islands Dispute: Rethinking the Interplay of Law, Diplomacy, and Geo-politics in the South China Sea

The Spratly Islands Dispute: Rethinking the Interplay of Law, Diplomacy, and Geo-politics in the South China Sea

A Historical Reevaluation of America's Role in the Kuril Islands Dispute

A S RECENTLY as December 1995, Japanese Minister of State Masaki Nakayama announced that, from a legal standpoint, Russia and Japan are still in a state of war.' A formal peace treaty ending World War II has continued to elude Moscow and Tokyo, even though both sides have expressed confidence that a treaty terminating Russo-Japanese hostilities will be signed before the turn of the century. One of the primary factors impeding progress on the peace talks has been the territorial dispute over which islands actually constitute the Kuril Island chain. As background to the Kuril Islands dispute, this article will first examine the early history of the Kurils, when Japan initially gained legal possession over them, and then the World War II negotiations. These negotiations led to the Soviet annexation of the entire Kuril Island chain as well as the Habomai Islands and Shikotan Island, formerly considered an indivisible part of the island of Hokkaido. The article will then consider the SovietAmerican exchanges between Stalin and Truman over the exact wording of the United States' General Order No. 1. Finally, it will discuss the pitfalls such as the so-called Threat Incident surrounding the Kuril negotiations between Moscow and Tokyo during the 1950s, negotiations that have yet to be completed. Based on declassified U.S. government documents from the W. Averell Harriman collection at the Library of Congress and the John Foster Dulles collection at Princeton University, this article will conclude that the United States never condoned the permanent cession of all of the Kuril Islands to the Soviet Union. Rather, Washington's policy from the Yalta Conference onward merely agreed that Moscow could negotiate directly with Tokyo to arrive at a mutually acceptable solution. In an attempt to assist Japan in these negotiations, John Foster Dulles even suggested in 1956 that Japan linkAmerica's planned return of Okinawa to the Soviet return of the disputed Kuril Islands. According to the American viewpoint, in the absence of a Russo-

The Spratly Islands Dispute: Rethinking the Interplay of Law, Diplomacy, and Geo-politics in the South China Sea

AbstractThe Spratly Islands archipelago has become pivotal as a strategic, economic and political asset in the South China Sea. This situation has become particularly evident since the end of the Cold War, as the Spratlys have been used by six littoral states as legal basepoints to project claims over strategic sea-lanes, fishery waters and submarine hydrocarbon resources in the South China Sea. The claimant state having predominant military and economic influence in the region is China, which has used military force on occasion to substantiate its claims. It is not inconceivable that the dispute over the Spratlys could lead to military conflict. Successful settlement of sovereignty disputes for the Timor Gap area, Antarctica and the Svalbard archipelago provide models for creating a joint resource development authority to promote regional co-operation among Spratly claimants. The most critical ingredient for mitigating tensions in the South China Sea is the political willingness of Spratly claimants, especially China, to make dispute settlement happen.

The Spratly Islands dispute

The Spratly Islands, in the southern reaches of the South China Sea, have become the focus of an unstabilising territorial dispute. Five of the sea's littoral states or political entities lay conflicting claims to all or part of the island group and have set up military outposts in them as prospects of significant hydrocarbon resources in the sea floor mount. After a 1988 armed clash between Vietnamese and Chinese forces, the claimants have sought ways to manage the conflict peacefully through informal workshops and ASEAN resolutions. Meanwhile, troubling military build‐ups by claimant countries continue and petroleum exploration activity has increased, shifting the emphasis of the dispute from island claims to maritime jurisdiction. Island claims must be settled, however, before the Law of the Sea Convention can be brought to bear. The unique complexity of this dispute makes resolution of sovereignty unlikely and points to multilateral co‐operative resource exploitation.

China, its Navy and the South China Sea

China's words on and actions in the South China, Sea in recent times have given rise to some unease among her neighbours in the region and more widely among analysts for what it tells, us about which way China will develop as a major power into the next century. But a study of the South China Sea/Spratly Islands dispute shows up just how difficult it is to really grasp the trur direction of China's foreign policy intentions. In his analysis of the issue, Professor Till discusses the differing theories as to China's motives in the area, the Chinese perspective and the question of strategic and resource gains He explores the developments and pressures of the Navy to expand its maritime role and rights, while pointing out that plans for modernisation will still take some time to come to fruition, concluding that, although the South China Sea appears high in China's priorities, it seems unlikely that historical claims to power and military adventurism will take precedence over stability and economic interdependence.

Building North-east Asian maritime regimes: Will Japan take the lead?

There are several factors favouring a prominent role for Japan in a future North-east Asian maritime regime for fisheries and the environment: its economic and technological dominance, its knowledge and experience, its web of bilateral agreements with neighbouring countries, and its lack of the political dichotomies which hamper China and Korea. Leadership of such a regime might benefit Japan by delaying the implementation of EEZs by China and South Korea and the escalation of boundary disputes which would inevitably result. Benefits would also include conservation of fisheries resources, protection of the environment, elimination of the transaction costs and frustration entailed in annual bilateral fishing quota negotiations, and enhancement of Japan's status in the region. However, for the foreseeable future, there are strong factors mitigating against Japan assuming a leadership role. Internationally, the Kurile Islands dispute, the memories of Japan's expansionist wars, and Japan's propensity for placing economic gain above all else constrain its regional leadership possibilities. Bureaucratic inertia, resulting from the need for consensus among Japan's many domestic political entities forces Japan into a reactive rather than proactive role when maintenance of the status quo becomes no longer tenable. Nevertheless, the rapidly increasing density of unilateral, bilateral and multilateral pronouncements and agreements involving Japan show a distinct trend towards a nation which is becoming more comfortable with a larger role in the region.

Papal Diplomacy in the Modern Age ed. by Peter C. Kent, and John F. Pollard

Papal Diplomacy in the Modern Age. Edited by Peter C. Kent and John F. Pollard. (Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers. 1994. Pp. xiv, 288. $59.95.) nineteen essays in this volume were originally presented at a symposium, The Holy See in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, held at the University of New Brunswick in 1991. In their introduction the editors assert that modern papal diplomacy is unique because the Holy See is unlike other international actors in its organization, objectives, and methods. While the subsequent essays vary in the degree to which they develop of even address this thesis, they provide a useful if necessarily episodic, survey of the Vatican's place in the diplomatic history of the first two centuries. contributions range chronologically from the Congress of Vienna to the fall of the Berlin Wall and geographically from North America to Southeast Asia by way of Nicaragua, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Yugoslavia, Israel, and Lebanon. Some of the ground has been plowed before, but several essays explore new territory. In separate papers Roberto Perin and Phyllis Leblanc consider the way in which issues of language and ethnicity drew the Holy See into Canadian affairs at the turn of the century. John Conway offers several thoughtful insights into the contentious debate over the Vatican's response to Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. Describing Pope Paul VI's futile efforts to mediate the Vietnam War, Roy Palmer Domenico demonstrates that the war marked a significant reappraisal by the Vatican of its tacit alliance with the United States against communism. Finally, the late Peter Hebblethwaite provides an interesting appreciation of the Holy See's role in post-Ostpolitik Europe. scope of any collection such as this is necessarily Limited by the research interests of the contributors, and the editors certainly make no claim for comprehensive coverage of their subject. Still, given the title of the work a reader might be surprised by certain omissions. twenty-five-year pontificate of Leo XIII is represented only by the above mentioned papers on ecclesiastical affairs in Canada. One might expect greater interest in a pontificate which sought to reclaim for the Papacy a significant role in international affairs and whose engagement in such areas as the Caroline Islands dispute, the Spanish-American War, the First Hague Peace Conference, and the French ralliement represented the Papacy's most ambitious diplomatic agenda in more than a century. treatment of papal diplomacy during World War I as little more than an introduction to the diplomacy of the 1920's is curious, especially since historians have hardly begun to mine the riches of the wartime files of the Secretariat of State and the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs which are now entirely open for study. …

The South China sea: From conflict to cooperation?

This article provides a comprehensive review of the latest developments with respect to the Spratly Islands disputes in the South China Sea. By studying the national policies behind the evolution of these events it examines in particular some of their implications on regional relations and the future of the South China Sea, with special emphasis on China's policy toward the issue.

Land, Island and Maritime Frontier Dispute

Land, Island and Maritime Frontier Dispute