Major Foreign Policy Research Articles

The Membership in the Schengen Area as a Strategic Objective for the Republic of Bulgaria

Abstract Until the escalation of the Covid-19 pandemic, joining the Schengen area was between the major foreign policy priorities for Bulgaria and Romania. Now, when having more clear view of the way out of the crisis, it is time to reopen that issue. The accession to the Schengen area will be associated with both internal and external political consequences, as well as economic ones. Despite all the benefits and advantages, the Bulgaria and Romania, in their perspective of future members of the Schengen area, have a huge responsibility arising from the forthcoming assumption of functions at the external border to ensure the security not only of Bulgarian and Romanian, but also of all European countries.

The Eurasian landbridge: Implications of linking East Asia and Europe by rail

Since 2011 regular freight rail services have been established between the European Union and China. This article analyses the development of these links – the Eurasian Landbridge – and argues that its origins were market-driven in response to demands of lead firms in Eurasian value chains. The rail services are consistent with EU and Chinese hopes for improved connectivity, reflected in major foreign economic policy announcements by the Chinese President (The Belt and Road Initiative) and by the European Commission (Connecting Europe and Asia). The resulting connectivity is likely to survive any bilateral political debacles because the economic foundation is strong.

ТЕНДЕНЦІЇ ФОРМУВАННЯ ЗОВНІШНЬОПОЛІТИЧНОГО КУРСУ ВЕЛИКОЇ БРИТАНІЇ ПІСЛЯ BREXIT

The article deals with the peculiarities of forming the new trends in the British foreign policy, due to the results of the referendum on Brexit and the country’s withdrawal from the European Union. Formation of the strategic priorities for the UK foreign policy course is becoming one of the most important tasks for the political, diplomatic and expert circles. The refusal to develop a common foreign policy of the EU as a result of Brexit, sets the essential challenge for Britain: to maintain existing influence and allied relations with continental European states (primarily, due to the strengthening of bilateral relations and the preservation of the Euro-Atlantic alliance), and at the same time to establish itself as an independent center of influence, not limited to the collective will of the EU. The main provisions of the “Global Britain” concept, presented in 2016 as the doctrinal basis of the foreign policy dimension of Brexit, are analyzed. The most significant of them are the next: the promotion of the UK`s economic and security interests around the world as the basis of foreign and security policy; alliance with the United States as a major foreign policy and security priority; rethinking the partnership with the EU and giving it a new depth in the name of protecting the international order and common values; the development of cooperation within the Commonwealth to strengthen Britain’s international presence and global influence. The author identifies the key foreign policy positions of London, which are not reflected in the concept presently, but will be of key importance for the European and global securities in the short and medium terms. The positions of leading regional and world players are analyzed, the risks of aggravation of relations with Russia and China are assessed. It is summarized that because of the new global threats and risks (first of all COVID-19 pandemic and its global impact and economic consequences) the “Global Britain” concept is still in its forming.

ФАКТОРИ ІДЕНТИЧНОСТІ У ФОРМУВАННІ ЗОВНІШНЬОПОЛІТИЧНОГО КУРСУ ДЕРЖАВ БАЛТІЇ У 1991–2014 РР.

Foreign policies of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in post-Soviet decades have been prominent for their continuity and consistency. Since identity is usually considered as one of the major factors of consistency and continuity of politics, the goal was set to examine the role of different identity factors in formation of foreign policies of the three Baltic states in the period from international recognition of their independence in August 1991 to the Ukrainian Crisis of spring 2014 in European politics. The analysis of literature and sources suggests some assumptions on how identity-related factors influenced foreign policies of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, They could be summarized in a hypothesis that making of the Baltic foreign policies was deeply influenced by “ethnocratic” nature of political regimes, establishedin Baltic states, ideological constructs based on their historical memories and memory politics as well as geopolitical identities of being “small states” and being influenced by the “Baltic unity” idea. Examining of these assumptions allows to conclude that effects of some identity factors, like ethnic identities, are often overestimated, while others really played very important, sometimes decisive, role in developments of major foreign policy vectors of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.The deterioration of their relations with Russia in the period under review was largelydetermined by ideological constructs of legal state continuity and Soviet occupation deeply rooted in the XX century historical memories of Baltic states. While Western vectors of their foreign policies and first of all their relations with the USA developed in line with the logic of securitization based on self-perception of Baltic political elites of being “small states”.

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE EU INTEGRATION PROCESS OF ALBANIA AND KOSOVO

Having their populations add up to over 80% of Albanian ethnicity, Kosovo and Albania can be conceptualized as being closely intertwined namely when it comes to their foreign policies. This article will primarily focus on the foreign policies of Albania and Kosovo through the lens of their major foreign policy goals and their connections with the European Union. The path of the contemporary existence of Albania and Kosovo has been marked by various events such as the dissolution of Kosovo from Serbia. Their primary efforts include building and maintaining a democratic society that would enable the two countries to gradually flourish and establish closer ties with neighboring countries as well as Europe and the EU if successful. This research provides a comparison of the two foreign policies through a lateral method by also focusing on one of the three levels of analysis, the individual, state, and system. Within the individual level emphasis is laid on crucial individuals such as Rama, Pacolli, Cakaj, and Meta. This level of analysis and the outline of influential decisionmakers statements and actions can confirm the idea that the two countries of Kosovo and Albania can survive only in case of successful cooperation amongst each other as well as through Euro Atlantic integration namely with the European Union.

The Role and Logic of Nontraditional Security in China's Engagement in Global Governance Mechanisms under Xi Jinping's Regime.

With the emergence of a series of global security incidents, scholars and observers have placed increasing importance on nontraditional security (NTS). Since 2012, Xi Jinping’s regime has emphasized NTS issues and cooperation, which begs the question “What is the role of NTS in China’s foreign policy, and how is it shaped?” This study analyzes articles that include the term “nontraditional security” (“非传统安全”) in The People’s Daily newspaper since its first mention in 2001. Focusing particularly on the period between 2012 and 2019, the study explains China’s securitization process and its motivations toward NTS issues. By analyzing case studies of the NTS issues of terrorism, environmental issues, and cybersecurity, and further summarizing the logic in common behind the Chinese government’s process of securitizing NTS issues, this paper highlights the correlation between the characteristics of China’s NTS and China’s major foreign policy initiatives that play an active role in leading international efforts to enhance global governance and exploring new models of cooperation. Based on an analysis of China’s emphasis on promotion of NTS and provision of public goods, I argue that NTS has played an increasingly important role in China’s pursuit of greater influence in global governance mechanisms.

Impact of Economic Factors on Egyptian Foreign Policy between 1978 and 2010

This article attempts to further theoretical and empirical understanding of the extent to which the economic factor had been critical in determining the Egyptian foreign policy between 1978 and 2010. While the following 32 years recorded major shifts in Egypt’s domestic, regional and international affairs, the larger parameters of its foreign policy were forged in the 1970s when specific economic pressures largely determined in which direction Cairo would move. Thus, this analysis seeks to substantiate the argument that the primacy of the domestic sphere has remained recurrent. It also is contended that while economy may have been the catalyst of major foreign policy shifts in Egypt, it was indeed regime security that was—and remains—the primary determinant of the Egyptian foreign policy. The article, hence, concludes that Egypt’s foreign policy was thus determined by economic factors only to the extent that it did not endanger the security of the regime.

Russia’s Foreign Policy Evolution in the New Balkan Landscape

The article reflects on the issue of the foreign policy strategy of modern Russia in the Balkans region. One of the most significant aspects of this problem is the difference in views between Russia and the West. Authors show how different interpretations of the events in former Yugoslavia in the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s predetermined the sense of mutual suspicion and mistrust which spread to other regions such as the post-Soviet space. Exploring differences between the Russian and the Western (Euro-Atlantic) views on the current matters, authors draw attention to fundamental differences in terminology: while the Western narrative promotes more narrow geographical and political definitions (such as the Western Balkan Six), traditional Russian experts are more inclined to wider or integral definitions such as “the Balkans” and “Central and Southeast Europe”. Meanwhile none of these terms are applicable for analysis of the current trends such as the growing transit role of the Balkans region and its embedding in the European regional security architecture. Therefore, a new definition is needed to overcome the differences in vision and better understand significant recent developments in the region. Conceptualizing major foreign policy events in Central and Southeast Europe during the last three decades (the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s), authors demonstrate the significance of differences in tools and methods between the Soviet Union and the modern Russia. Permanent need for adaptation to changing political and security context led to inconsistence in Russian Balkan policy in the 1990s. Nevertheless, Russia was able to preserve an integral vision of the region and even to elaborate new transregional constructive projects, which in right political circumstances may promote stability and become beneficial for both Russia and the Euro-Atlantic community.

Conceptual bases of the strategy of formation and implementation of state policy in the sphere of European integration of Ukraine

The newest policy of Ukraine should be to develop such state concepts, strategies and programs that would contribute to the European integration of the country, taking into account the current challenges of today.
 The purpose of the article is to define the conceptual foundations of the strategy of formation and implementation of state policy in the sphere of European integration of Ukraine in modern conditions.
 The conceptual framework of the national strategy for the European integration of Ukraine is a general concept of the country’s long-term actions, a certain model of the mission realization and achievement of long-term goals, which defines its development prospects, main directions and priorities of activity in the European integration sphere. Such a generalized European integration concept of Ukraine is reflected in the relevant state documents, laws and by-laws, and within the framework of the state strategy, strategies for development of various spheres, sectors and sectors of economy and public life are developed and implemented in accordance with the existing requirements, rules and regulations of the euro framework documents.A significant event in the European integration of Ukraine into the EU was the introduction of amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine (concerning the strategic course of the state for the acquisition of full membership of Ukraine in the European Union and in the Organization of the North Atlantic Treaty). In addition to the issues related to the implementation of the Association Agreement, further progress on the European integration of Ukraine should also take place in the following areas: associations with the Schengen area; accession to the EU customs union; accession to the EU Energy Union; the entry into force of the common aviation space; joining the digital market, etc.Integration with the EU is an important component of Ukraine’s foreign policy. However, conceptually, European integration should be seen first and foremost as a comprehensive domestic state policy aimed at introducing reforms and transformations that are necessary and important for Ukrainian society, and only then, as a component of foreign state policy, which depends largely on the political will of the EU on the pace and full integration with our country.
 Thus, the strategy of Ukraine’s integration into the European Union should ensure the country’s accession to the European political, legal, economic, informational and security space. Obtaining full EU membership in the medium term on this basis should become a major foreign policy priority of Ukraine’s policy formulation and implementation policy in the face of contemporary challenges of today.

THE Foreign policy, National Assembly and the Hangovers of Colonialism; 1900 - 1978

Globally, parliament’s role in influencing policies is immense. In Kenya, the role of the national assembly in determining the direction and results of foreign policies, although, blurred cannot be underestimated. Kenya became a British protectorate in 1895 with a limited representation of Africans in the legislative Council (LegCo). The role of this minority group in influencing foreign policy, though, rarely documented need not be underestimated. The group threw Kenya into the world map and between 1900-1963, major foreign policy debates in the Council revolved around when and how Kenya was to become a self-governing entity. After gaining independence, new members of parliament had a herculean task of dealing with immediate local needs and debating and most importantly influencing important foreign policies including policies on health, education, debt burden, settler issues and representation of minority groups including whites in the House. With a change of guard from a white-dominated to an almost all African-black faces, the national assembly played an important role in ensuring that policies on health, education, security, trade as well as crafting the path on which foreign policy would take. This paper begins by tracing the evolution of parliament in the colonial administration and reviews the role that Kenyan Parliament played in influencing foreign policy from 1900 to 1978. The paper identifies the actors, their roles and the political context within which these actors and structures operated.

An analytical framework for postmortems of European foreign policy: should decision-makers have been surprised?

ABSTRACTThis paper develops a novel theoretical framework for the conduct of postmortems after major foreign policy surprises for the European Union and its member states. It proposes a taxonomy of surprise which elucidates how officials or organisations experience both sudden and slower-burning threats. It argues that foreign policy surprises in European settings require a closer look at who was surprised, in what way, and when. The paper outlines six vital performance criteria and three key attenuating factors, allowing us to better ground judgements about foreign policy performance as well as to advance realistic recommendations on how to improve.

A Text Mining Analysis of US-Chinese Leaders on Trade Policy

Using the methodologies of text mining, this paper examines the implications of US and Chinese policies on bilateral trade. Official speeches by political leaders of the U.S. and China on the issues of trade were collected and analytically examined for US-China gaps in major foreign policies, such as bilateral trade and the Belt and Road Initiative. In this paper, a term frequency-inverse document frequency word cloud, a network similarities index, machine learning-processed latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA), and structural equivalence are applied to examine the meanings of the speeches. The main arguments in this paper are as follows. First, the document similarity between the speeches of Chinese and US leaders appears to be completely different. Also, while the documents from Chinese leaders are considerably similar, the documents from US leaders differ by far. Secondly, LDA topic analysis indicates that China concentrates more on international and collaborative relationships, while the U.S. has more focus on domestic and economic interests. Third, from a word hierarchy analysis, the basic words used by American and Chinese leaders are also completely different. Agriculture, farmers, automobiles, and negotiations are the basic words for American leaders, but for Chinese leaders, the basic words are planning, markets, and education.

Energy, security and democracy: the shifting US policy in Azerbaijan

Since the 1990s, US policy in Azerbaijan has gone through several important shifts in the areas of energy, security and democracy promotion. How can we make sense of these decisive shifts in the orientation of US policy? In this paper, I identify major shifts in US policy in Azerbaijan based on relative weight given to energy, security and democracy issues. I divide US policy into four different time periods: 1994 to 2001, 2001 to 2007, 2007 to 2015 and 2015 to present. I analyze the changes that took place in US policy in the dimensions of energy, security and democracy. Then, I provide plausible explanations that can account for shifts in US policy. To do so, I utilize foreign policy analysis theory that focuses on domestic and international parameters that bring major foreign policy shifts. My explanation is not monocausal, and focuses on several factors that have influenced US policy in Azerbaijan.

Xi Jinping's China: On the Road to Neo-totalitarianism

Xi Jinping's China:On the Road to Neo-totalitarianism Jean-Philippe Béja (bio) more than a whole cycle of the chinese zodiac has elapsed since the special issue of Social Research, "China in Transition," was published in 2006. After 12 years, China's transition is not towards democracy but towards a kind of neo-totalitarianism. During this period, Liu Xiaobo, who had written in that issue on the growing influence of civil society, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and died in prison, while his wife was placed under house arrest for almost a decade. The year 2008 was a watershed, as the financial crisis dealt a serious blow to the Washington Consensus, while the successful organization of the Olympic Games by Beijing impressed the world. The Chinese leadership used this opportunity to become more assertive on the international scene, presenting its regime as a credible alternative to Western democracy and the market economy that had led the world to an unprecedented crisis. Liu Xiaobo's dream of a strong civil society capable of putting an end to the Communist Party's dictatorship has vanished. Donald Trump's election, the success of populist candidates in Central and Eastern Europe, and the advent of a coalition government in Italy that includes the far right have dealt a further blow to liberal democracy: Francis Fukuyama's expectation of "the end of history" has faded. Whereas in the wake of the demise of the Soviet Union, there had been an attempt at reconstructing an international order according to the principles of democracy and multilateralism, since the beginning of the twenty-first century, conflicts have multiplied, [End Page 203] multilateralism has lost its luster, and the rise of nationalism in many parts of the world has challenged the mere idea of an international community. The ascents to power of Vladimir Putin in Russia, Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey, and Viktor Orbán in Hungary have signaled the rise of a new era of authoritarianism. Xi Jinping's rule is one of the best examples of this new trend. Since Xi became the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) head in 2012, the international situation has been very favorable for China. Trump's decision to withdraw from the leadership of the Western world in order to "make America great again" has paved the way for Xi's achievement of the "China Dream" (Zhongguo meng)—an appeal to patriotism with the promise that he would restore China's position in the world. Putting an end to Deng Xiaoping's foreign policy, which consisted in China biding its time, Xi has adopted a proactive attitude in order to establish an international order more favorable to his country's interests. While Trump was denouncing globalization and multilateralism, the leader of the world's second largest economy presented himself as the champion of open markets and free trade, attracting the support of Europe and Canada (Xi 2017a). Since his ascent to power, he has developed relations with many African nations, organizing summits with heads of state (the latest in September 2018) and opening a military base in Djibouti. His major foreign policy initiative, the equivalent of his China Dream on the international scene, has been the launch of the Belt and Road initiative, the goal of which is to put China back at the center of the world. It consists of huge (at least nominally) infrastructure projects, especially (high-speed) railways, which are supposed to promote development and trade between Central Asia, Africa, and Europe. "Beijing consensus," "Chinese model," "Chinese solution"—Xi's leadership has gone to great lengths to popularize his mixture of state capitalism and authoritarianism (even neo-totalitarianism) as a solution to the quandary of development. The People's Republic has thus achieved an impressive degree of success, especially in Africa. [End Page 204] Since 2008, not only has China become the second largest economy in the world, but it has also begun to assert itself as a great power (Economy 2018), extending its influence beyond its immediate geographical environment, developing an increasingly strong navy, and playing an important role in the resolution of the conflicts that shake the world. Its positions on the environment, on...

Turkey and the changing energy geopolitics of Eurasia

While Turkey's geographical location is usually viewed as a major advantage in the energy sphere, since many countries in its immediate neighbourhood require active Turkish collaboration in order to export or import oil and natural gas via economically feasible pipeline projects, the ongoing political, economic and military conflicts between the same global and regional actors not only negatively affect the development of the energy transportation routes in Eurasia, but also present a major foreign policy challenge for Ankara that has traditionally sought to maintain a careful balance in its relations with the West and Russia. The goal of this article is to elaborate on the influence of such geopolitical factors in evaluating Turkey's role in terms of the oil and natural gas pipelines that are either planned or already under construction to connect the various sub-regions of Eurasia. Employing a traditional geopolitical approach, it seeks to understand what kind of geopolitical factors come into play regarding Turkey's role in the changing energy geopolitics of Eurasia and in what ways these geopolitical factors strengthen or weaken Turkey's objective to be perceived as a regional energy hub by other actors.

The Trump Administration and U.S.–Russian Relations

President Trump’s controversial foreign policy performance, particularly in relation to Russia, raises the question of his administration’s stance towards U.S.–Russian relations. While the President has displayed initial intentions of reaching out to Moscow, his administration’s overall view of the world sets U.S.–Russian relations in a competition-based framework. This “global arena” perspective is reflected in official national security policy documents and by major foreign policy decisionmakers as well. Thus the Trump Administration not only maintains its predecessor’s initiatives countering Russia but enhances them by further emphasizing deterrence and containment measures in Europe through an increased European Deterrence Initiative (EDI) budget, addressing Russian violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, and arming Ukraine with lethal defensive weapons.

Unhelpful Fixer? Canada, the Euromissile Crisis, and Pierre Trudeau's Peace Initiative, 1983–1984

ABSTRACTThis article provides the most rigorous international history to date of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's 1983 peace initiative, one of Canada's major foreign policy ventures of the Cold War, examining both Trudeau's motives and the reception of his initiative among Canada's allies. Drawing on newly declassified sources in Canada, it uncovers the two-track strategy behind this initiative, aiming to mobilise Western European leaders to exert pressure on the Reagan Administration on the one hand, while quietly urging European allies to call for a review of NATO strategy on the other. Based on previously unavailable archival materials from seven different countries, this article also reveals how the Canadian initiative was received by the world leaders Trudeau sought to win over. It reassesses the Canadian initiative, revealing that it borrowed heavily from existing proposals from other countries, and that NATO leaders viewed the initiative as a mere electoral ploy to help Trudeau win re-election rather than a serious project to ease East–West tensions. This article concludes that with this initiative Canada was not in fact playing the role of a ‘helpful fixer’ and that the initiative constituted part of a wider and understudied trend in government responses to the ‘Second Cold War’.

Nagy, Zsolt Great Expectations and Interwar Realities: Hungarian Cultural Diplomacy, 1918–1941 (review)

SEER, 96, 2, APRIL 2018 380 and also ‘expose world views, aspirations, professional self-awareness, and ideological and aesthetic attitudes’ (p. 280). Photographs, architectural plans and documents illustrate the text appropriately. As for Kelly’s title, I am not sure that these places of worship can easily be described as ‘Socialist Churches’. At least when they were in the hands of religious communities, such communities would mostly have baulked at the idea that their places of worship were ‘socialist’, while the state would scarcely have welcomed them as part of its political establishment that this implies. Was the Soviet Union indeed ‘socialist’? But this is a minor quibble. Kelly has ranged widely to find materials recounting the fate of one Soviet city’s places of worship and thought hard about the competing impulses that destroyed some and left others standing in varying states and under various usages. The book illuminates a neglected aspect of the history of a city and its life, and of the religious communities that sought to survive under an uncongenial regime. London Felix Corley Nagy, Zsolt. Great Expectations and Interwar Realities: Hungarian Cultural Diplomacy, 1918–1941. Central European University Press, Budapest and New York, 2017. xvii + 341 pp. Illustrations. Tables. Notes. Bibliography. Index. $65.00: €58.00: £50.00. Not many Western readers will have any great expectations of a book about the disparity between revisionist propaganda and political reality in Hungary after the First World War. The subject of frontier revision has a prominent place in the historiography of Central Europe, and there is no shortage of books in English on the futile Hungarian endeavours to alter the territorial settlement, which contributed to major foreign policy failures on the country’s part. Yet, true to one of the endorsements on its handsome dust jacket, this scholarly volume does provide ‘a fresh look at Hungarian revisionism’. Rather than focusing on the official conduct of Hungarian diplomacy, the author examines the oblique attempts by an authoritarian regime to change negative foreign perceptions of a country and its people, with recourse to ‘munitions of the mind’: cultural production, image projection and public diplomacy. Admittedly, much of the analysis by Zsolt Nagy dwells on Hungary’s efforts to elicit sympathy from the United States. By comparison, the treatment of British-Hungarian cultural relations is somewhat cursory, as is the discussion of the reception accorded to Hungary’s propaganda by France, Italy and Germany. In a few respects, the monograph has the feel of a published doctoral thesis. The mini-conclusions at the end of the five chapters read formulaically REVIEWS 381 and disrupt the narrative flow. The engagement with academic argot, such as ‘image cultivation’, ‘nation-branding’ and ‘perception management’ (p. 2), may also rile some readers. More fundamentally, the application of so overused a political science concept as Joseph Nye’s ‘soft power’ to an early twentiethcentury case study of Hungarian foreign policy seems misplaced. After all, how much power — soft or hard — could a small defeated, isolated successor state of the Habsburg Monarchy be said to have? In any event, these minor shortcomings do not diminish the value of this incisive original work. The author gives detailed coverage of Hungary’s ‘cultural-diplomatic campaign’ (p. 3), which sought to improve the place of this vanquished, dismembered country in the post-war international order. Nagy concentrates his attention on ‘the intersection of diplomacy, national identity construction, and cultural production’ (p. 2), arguing that the selling of a positive national image beyond Hungary’s borders was seriously hampered by uncertainties concerning Hungarian cultural identity. A measure of these uncertainties is that prominent members of the Magyar intellectual elite were still openly debating what it meant to be ‘Hungarian’ on the eve of the Second World War. Clearly, it was never going to be easy to educate public opinion abroad about the merits and true European character of Hungarian culture whilst opinion makers at home were unceasingly at odds. Whether this was an element in the eventual failure of the revisionist strategy is another matter altogether. Foreign perceptions of Hungary and of Hungarians were barely influenced by the ill-tempered internal squabbles between urbánus and népi writers, to...

The Philippines: Hedging in a Post‐Arbitration South China Sea?

One of the major foreign policy decisions that then newly sworn‐in Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte had to make was on the implementation of the 12 July 2016 Arbitral Tribunal's Award on the Philippines v. China case on the South China Sea, amid China's adamant position that it does not recognize the ruling of the tribunal. This article explores how the strategy of hedging is the optimal choice in pursuing the Philippines’ foreign policy particularly in a post‐arbitration environment, in light of current developments and geopolitical realities in the region. In particular, it provides insights on why betting on multiple alternative positions that include both returns‐maximizing and risk‐contingency measures can best serve the Philippines’ interests and be vehicles to promote compliance with the Award.

China-US Climate Cooperation: Creating a New Model of Major-Country Relations?

Building “a new model of major-country relations,” particularly with the United States, has become one of China’s major foreign policy objectives. Yet, outside of China, the concept is often seen as an empty slogan with no practical utility. By examining both the concept of the new model of major-country relations (NMMCR) and China’s climate cooperation with the United States, I argue that the concept and initiative of NMMCR—with its emphasis on a common fate and shared futures, viewed as a means of achieving cooperation rather than conflict to achieve common goals— reflects well the changing environment of the twenty-first century and is thus a positive new development in China’s foreign policy.