National Foreign Policy Research Articles

Greatness and decline: national identity and British foreign policy

Greatness and decline: national identity and British foreign policy

International Activities of Subnational Actors and Foreign Policy of the Nation State: Models of Interaction and Interpretations

The article examines the options for the interaction of paradiplomacy of subnational units – subjects of federations and territorial autonomies – and the national foreign policy of the central governments. The author identifies three main types of interaction: parallel, conflict, synergistic. It is noted that initially the term “paradiplomacy” referred to such external relations of subnational actors of international relations, which developed separately from the foreign policy of the federal level (that is, within the first or second type). It is shown that the development of interaction between foreign activity at the national and subnational levels has led to the expansion of the concept of “paradiplomacy” and the emergence of alternative terms. The author of the article proposes the synthetic term auxiliary paradiplomacy to describe such a type of synergistic interaction between the international activity of the center and the subnational unit, when the latter acts as a tool for achieving national goals.

General Introduction of the Shura Council in Saudi Arabia and Parliamentary Diplomacy

Aim: The thesis aims to evaluate the role of the Shura Council in Saudi Arabia's transition and identify if Shura Council can be a catalyst for change in the nation's foreign policy. Saudi's economy is over-relying on oil production, which increases the Kingdom's vulnerability due to uncertainties in the oil markets and other risks. Saudi's vision 2030 aims to decrease Saudi Arabia's dependence on oil and expand the Kingdom's economic resources. The vision 2030 is anchored on three pillars: solidifying the Kingdom's locus in the heart of the Arab and Islamic nations; the quest to become an international investment powerhouse; the Kingdom's strategic site with the capacity to be a hub that connects three continents Africa, Asia, and Europe.Method: The thesis adopts literature review as the main method to establish the composition and effectiveness of the Shura council its design functions.Findings: As currently constituted, the Shura council cannot freely champion effective foreign policies and regulations that support the Kingdom's goals. Shura council is fully under the kings' absolute power, denying them the opportunity to meet their democratic mandate.Concision: The Shura studies and interpret the laws, development plans, and the annual reports of Ministries and Government Sectors. Hence, the council also proposes and amend laws. As long as the Shura Council Members are still King's appointees, the political, social, and economic reforms that Saudi Arabians are eagerly waiting for will take decades to come by. Human rights violations are still evident.Recommendations: The study recommends constitutional monarchy adoption, need for human rights, and fundamental freedom laws to be upheld and allow public participation in legislative process. Strengthening the parliament's oversight roles require the Kingdom to grand Shura Council's independence granting power to partake a vote of no confidence, hearing, interpellation and make committees of inquiry where need be to help Saudi to attain vision 2030 goals.

Biden’s Climate Office and Paris Agreement

Abstract. The subject of the analysis is the initiatives of the new US administration in the field of global efforts in the field of climate change and national climate policy. The author analyzes in detail the main provisions of the Biden administration's climate policy and provides a forecast of the impact of this policy on the nature of the ongoing negotiations on the Paris Agreement. The article analyzes fundamentally new issues, including putting the climate agenda at the forefront of the national domestic and foreign policy and security policy of the United States. The article examines the organizational innovations and management decisions implemented by the Biden administration to implement a new type of climate policy, and their connection with personnel changes in the administration and management of leading federal ministries and departments, which are expressed in a sharp increase in the climate competence of senior personnel. The forecast of areas of greatest activity of the US in negotiations under the Paris agreement and formed for Russia in this context, risks and challenges. The study of possible retaliatory measures from the Russian side is given

How China Builds the Credibility of the Belt and Road Initiative

ABSTRACT Despite persistent skepticism towards the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), many countries have signed on to the program and even more countries have come to believe in its transformative potential to development finance and the global order. How has the illiberal Chinese government succeeded in convincing the world, particularly the Global South, about its commitment and BRI’s future success? Exploring the credibility puzzle, this article argues that the Xi Jinping administration has relied on an all-in strategy tying the BRI to China’s national development and foreign policy, promoting the BRI through select international institutions, and launching a series of flagship mega-projects. With mounting sustainability challenges on both economic and geopolitical fronts, however, the BRI now has to scale back its ambitions while China reevaluates its strategic opportunity.

A tengerek biztonságáról, különös tekintettel a Guineai-öböl térségére

A tengeri közlekedés és szállítás biztonsága – különösen Afrika viszonylatában – látszólag távol eshet a magyar közérdeklődéstől, valamint a rend- és honvédelmi szervezetek mindennapos feladataitól. A déli iránnyal is bíró nemzeti kül- és külgazdasági politika, illetve Magyarország NATO- és EU-tagsága miatt is azonban immár szélesebb keretben kell biztonságunkat értékelni. Az interdependencia és a globalizáció korában a földrajzilag távoli térségekben zajló folyamatokat is érdemes figyelemmel kísérni és elemezni, hogy időben adekvát válaszlépések születhessenek, ha szükséges. A Guineai-öböl az elmúlt években a legveszélyesebb területté vált a kalózkodás szempontjából, de a szervezett bűnözői tevékenység és kábítószer-csempészet mértéke és társadalmi beágyazottsága is aggasztó – mivel összefüggenek és táplálják a Nigériában és a Száhel övezetben működő, az itteni államok működőképességét aláásó szélsőséges szervezetek harcát. A Maliban növekvő szerepet vállaló Magyar Honvédség szempontjából sem mellékes, hogy ezek a csoportok a forrásaiktól elszigetelődjenek, marginalizálódjanak, ezzel pedig a tartós rendezéshez szükséges biztonsági feltételek megteremtődjenek.

Роль научного дискурса в трансформации стратегии национальной безопасности Великобритании

The research is devoted to the influence of scientific discourse on international relations. Three levels were identified - national foreign policy, interstate and supranational. This article focuses on a national-level study using the example of the UK. The withdrawal of the UK from the EU led to the transformation of the country's foreign policy identity. Today, in a new form and under new conditions, W. Churchill's idea of three equivalent roles for the UK – influence in Europe, in the Commonwealth and cooperation with the USA – is being re-incorporated into it. The scientific and expert community occupies an important place in the process of forming UK's foreign policy identity. Due to the authority of a number of British think tanks and the deep involvement of scientists in the process of national strategic planning, it plays a significant role in the planning of UK government policy. In the research, using the method of discourse analysis, the example of seven leading think tanks, and the approaches of the scientific and expert community to understanding the key problems and transformation of the UK national security strategy were studied. The analysis revealed a split in the positions of British researchers both on the problem of the UK’s future place in the world, and on the issue of government measures necessary to implement the most beneficial scenarios for the country's national interests. The impossibility of accurately predicting the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and relations with the EU in the field of security gives rise to polar points of view about the UK's future foreign policy subjectivity. According to the author, all the think tanks use the methodology of political realism in their research, which determines the primacy of the factors of power in the British scientific discourse. This limits the possibilities for long-term planning of foreign policy. The author sees the mostly tactical, adaptive and reactionary nature of the approaches of the British political elites to foreign and defense policy. However, the 2021 Comprehensive Review revealed a tendency towards a clearer understanding and formulation by political elites of the country's place in the world, which, including thanks to scientific political discourse, will continue to develop.

СТРАТЕГІЯ НАЦІОНАЛЬНОЇ БЕЗПЕКИ РОСІЙСЬКОЇ ФЕДЕРАЦІЇ 2021 В КОНТЕКСТІ СТРАТЕГІЧНОЇ КУЛЬТУРИ ДЕРЖАВИ

Abstract. On 2 July 2021 Russian President Vladimir Putin adopted the National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation. This is one of the most important strategic security document of the state, which presents the key threats and challenges for Russia in changing socio-political realities. The document is also a part of Russian external as well as internal strategic communication. This article seeks to analyze the new NSS in the context of the state’s strategic culture and its narratives. Russian strategic culture makes a large impact on the state’s identity, which is also affecting Russia’s foreign and security policies. New NSS is an informative source of knowledge about the current Russian security culture, which helps to predict the Russian future policy direction. Keywords: Russia’s 2021 National Security Strategy, strategic culture, identity, strategic communication, foreign and security policy.

Foreign economic cooperation between St. Petersburg and Denmark in the 21st century: Main trends, problems, prospects

Russian-Danish economic cooperation has a long and rich history, in which St. Petersburg, due to its geographical location, has always played an important role. The study of the role of large megacities in national foreign economic policy is now of great scientific and practical importance. The authors of this article attempt to examine the economic sphere of paradiplomacy based on the example of St. Petersburg. The article analyzes the legal framework for economic cooperation between St. Petersburg and Denmark, trade and investment cooperation, determines the place of St. Petersburg in the total trade turnover of Russia with Denmark, and the importance of Danish exports and imports for St. Petersburg’s economy. Special attention is paid to the period 2014–2020, namely, the impact of the sanctions regime on Danish and St. Petersburg economic cooperation, as well as the new role of the Danish autonomous regions — the Faroe Islands and Greenland. The authors determine that there were no drastic changes in the economic interaction between St. Petersburg and Denmark after the introduction of sanctions. Although the counter-sanctions reduced the supply of Danish food products, the export of St. Petersburg goods to Denmark increased. The vacuum created by the reduction in the supply of Danish products was filled by enterprising residents of the Faroe Islands, who are not members of the European Union (EU). St. Petersburg has become one of the key centers of consumption of Faroese fish and seafood. The main obstacles to the development of economic cooperation between St. Petersburg and Denmark remain: value differences between the Russian Federation and the EU, the sanctions regime, an outdated regulatory framework, and a high degree of distrust between partners, which is beginning to affect the pragmatic sphere of the economy. The global economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic also has a negative impact on economic cooperation between St. Petersburg and Denmark. However, the epidemic opens up new opportunities for cooperation in areas that were on the periphery of Danish-Russian economic relations: digitalization of the economy and education, urbanism and the implementation of the ideas of a “smart city”, cooperation in the field of pharmaceuticals and medical technologies, and cybersecurity.

Indonesia between the United States and China in a Post-Covid-19 World Order

executive summary: This essay examines the changing relationship between the U.S. and China, the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on both their relationship and each country's external influence, and the implications for Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia. main argumentThe tension between the U.S. and China had already begun to rise before the Covid-19 pandemic, as China has been challenging U.S. global leadership for some time. But the pandemic has worsened this rivalry by reducing trust between the two powers. The U.S. has blamed China for what it sees as Beijing's mishandling of the pandemic's outbreak, and the new Biden administration is likely to maintain a hostile policy. China, on the other hand, will keep deflecting such accusations because accepting the blame will set back its ambition to be global leader and undermine the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party domestically. The pandemic has already cost China dearly, as states now see the country as less trustworthy. The post-Covid-19 world will be one that is far more dangerous and conflict-prone due to this lack of trust between great powers and between states in general. The adverse impacts will be strongly felt by Southeast Asia, and especially Indonesia, whose leadership in ASEAN could be eroded. policy implications • With rising tension between the U.S. and China, both countries will try to pull Southeast Asian states into their orbits. • In the case of China, its ham-fisted policies in the South China Sea will prevent the country from rallying Southeast Asian states fully to its side. • Given the strategic importance of Southeast Asia in the Sino-U.S. rivalry, the U.S. needs to prioritize rebuilding its relationships with regional states that were neglected by the Trump administration. • Indonesia has a difficult role to play in balancing the interests of both the U.S. and China while maintaining its informal leadership of ASEAN. Therefore, it needs to leverage its position within ASEAN to craft a common policy to achieve its national foreign policy objectives, notably maintaining regional stability, especially in the South China Sea.

После Брекзита: к обновлению глобальной роли Британии

In the middle of March, 2021, the UK prime minister presented to Parliament the integrated review of security, defence, development and foreign policy of Britain. The vision it pictures amounts to the final renunciation of the famous Churchill’s three circles doctrine. To better explain this thoroughgoing paradigmatic change, it might be useful to consider the meanings assigned of it by those immediately involved. In this article, it is argued that Brexit was in no small part the result of the UK being unable to turn round the development of the regional integration process on the European continent in directions, corresponding to British preference. With the withdrawal of the country from the EU having been accomplished, the reappraisal of its global role became an existential problem for London. In particular, conspicuous divergence between the foreign policy courses of Britain and the EU appears unavoidable in the observable future. Paradoxical, seemingly irrational nature of this experience, inter alia, prompts its interpretivist analytical treatment. Thus, in the article, rationale and reflection delivered by British key politicians and foreign policy experts, as concerns the ideas of “Global Britain”, “Anglosphere” and “Indo-Pacific tilt”, are contemplated not as direct assertions of intent, but as important reference points for timely modification of national foreign policy strategy. Talking about “Anglosphere” comes across like searching for a substitution to the European Union to serve as a framework for British foreign policy, while the “Indo-Pacific tilt” narrative comes laden with hopes for making Brexit a true story of success. The Conservative government perceives the country as a liberal and cosmopolitan middleranking power with exceptional foreign policy potential, soaring to new global heights amidst multilateral networks and bilateral partnerships it is precast to further cultivate.

Executive Order 13928 on Blocking Property of Certain Persons Associated with the International Criminal Court

On June 11, 2020, President Donald J. Trump issued Executive Order 13928 Blocking Property of Certain Persons Associated with the International Criminal Court under the authority vested in him by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and other federal statutes. Although the Trump Administration had earlier threatened aggressive action against the International Criminal Court (ICC), the issuance of the E.O. followed a ruling by the ICC Appeals Chamber authorizing the Prosecutor to commence an investigation into the situation in Afghanistan, which might implicate U.S. persons. The E.O. declared the ICC's “illegitimate assertion of jurisdiction” over U.S. personnel and the personnel of “certain of its allies” to be “an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States” within the meaning of IEEPA. It is a sweeping measure, blocking all property within the United States owned by designated natural or legal person (section 1); barring any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services to, or for the benefit of, designated persons (section 3), including even the donation of food, clothing, or medicine (section 2). The E.O. also authorized the imposition of certain immigration restrictions, including suspension of entry into the United States of ICC officials and their immediate family members (Section 4).

Sanctuary Cities: What Global Migration Means for Local Governments

Cities have become active participants in implementing migration policies, thereby expanding the meaning of the word “global” with regard to the activity of local governments. International movement tends to flow toward and converge on metropolitan areas. This paper discusses the role of cities in immigration policy by taking into consideration legitimacy, authority, and public governance. Under Donald Trump’s crackdown on sanctuary cities, this study sheds light on implementation policies worldwide, and on the role of social demands in opening cities to migrants. Finally, the sovereignty-free approach explains why cities like San Francisco and Barcelona have opposed national foreign policy.

Realist theories in search of realists: The failure in Europe to advance realist theory

The realist theoretical tradition has never enjoyed a strong position in Europe. During recent decades, although it is commonly claimed otherwise, it even seems to have lost its limited traction and most of its relatively few representatives. The aim of the article is to analyse this evolution, highlight how realist theorists have contributed limited conceptual or theoretical innovation, been unable to adjust their research agenda to current analytical challenges, and produced relatively few comprehensive empirical studies informed by one or more realist theories. Instead, we observe three main activities. Some realists do meta-studies on realist theory. Others do retrospectives, for instance, (re-)discovering the qualities of classical realist scholars or classical concepts such as the security dilemma. Still others practice ideology that may enjoy certain functions in legitimising national foreign policy orientations but has limited theoretical quality. Thus, textbooks are probably the only remaining context in which realism is presented as constituting a dominant orientation; a fact that highlights the complex and problematic relationship between reality and representation.

Identifying Existing Positive Disharmonies for Reconstructing Teaching Practice: A Case Study in Japan

The purpose of this paper is to report outcomes of the study regarding the professional development of a Japanese teacher of English (JTE) helping her to meet the recent national English foreign language curriculum policy in Japan. The policy requires teachers to basically conduct classes in English. An action research framework was used. The participant, in collaboration with the author, went through praxis-oriented cycles built on planning, doing reflecting and revising. Data were collected and analyzed using grounded theory methods. A three-stage coding process led to the emergence of two core themes to encapsulate the data: Existing Positive Disharmonies (EPD), a disruptive zone leading to possibility of change; and Reconstructing Teaching Practice (RTP), in which the participant experienced changes that worked in her lessons. This led to the advancement in her teacher development to meet the demands of the new curriculum policy. The paper demonstrates that shedding light on positive disharmonies within teaching practices was useful in the participant’s professional development helping her to make instructional adjustments required by policy changes. It is plausible that the outcomes of this study may be transferable to teachers working in other similar teaching environments. Accordingly, a model for teacher development is presented to help JTEs and other teachers in their teacher development.

American security strategy towards terrorism after September 11 attacks

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine evolution of the American strategy toward terrorism in the aftermath of the events of September 11, 2001. In other words, this study revolves around a key question: How and why the American security strategy toward terrorism evolved in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001? Based on the neorealist approach in international relations, this paper attempted to answer that question: first, through defining the concept of terrorism and how the Americans perceive it; second, via pinpointing the characteristic of the American counter-terrorism strategy before September 11 attacks; and third, through examining the effects of those terrorist attacks on that strategy. Design/methodology/approach The nature of the subject of this study calls for reliance on the analytical descriptive approach to highlight the role and strategy of the USA in the fight against terrorism following the events of September 11, in addition to the use of the system analysis methodology, which can identify the inputs and outputs of the system that had an impact in formulating the US counter-terrorism strategy. Findings This study has come up with seven findings. The first finding was that the 9/11 attacks served as a turning point of the US counter-terrorism strategy and restructured its agenda. Confronting the communist threat had been its primary objective, until terrorism came to the fore and became its first and foremost priority. The USA vowed that terrorism is its enemy and waged the war on terror to thwart its risk as a global threat. The second finding revolves around the idea of double standards in the American foreign policy. True to its long-standing tradition of favoring its own interests, in complete disregard of the interests of any other party, the USA continued to uphold the double-standards policy. Originality/value This study adds a new study to the Arab Library in the field of counter-terrorism studies, national security strategies and American foreign policy. In addition, the researcher seeks to complete the scientific effort to study the US strategy against terrorism, with a clear impact on the development of the situation in the region. This study contributes to the study of how one of the great powers in the international system, the USA, deals with the terrorist organizations that have become widespread in the Arab region.

OPINION JOURNALISM ACTIVITY OF VOLODYMYR SALSKYI

The main directions of journalistic activity of the Major General, Minister of Military Affairs of the Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR), and the Ukrainian People's Republic in exile Volodymyr Salskyi, which became an integral part of his social and political activity, are considered. Passion for journalism was typical of many prominent personalities of the early 20th century. V. Salskyi considered opinion journalism an essential element of educational activities, and under the war conditions – an effective method of ideological influence on the people, the formation of its national consciousness and patriotism. The military-political figure's first attempts in opinion journalism occurred in 1920, stimulated by his own experience of participation in World War I and the Ukrainian National Revolution, difficult domestic and foreign policy circumstances in Ukraine, and the struggle against Bolshevik Russia. The top of his journalistic career was the emigration period, especially in the second half of the 1920s. The publications with which V. Salskyi collaborated were considered, in particular, «Tabor», «Hurtuimosia», «Tryzub», «Za Derzhavnist». The minister's articles were united around national-state issues, the propaganda of patriotism, sincere faith in the Ukrainian cause's success, and, finally, the building of an independent united Ukraine. The central leitmotif of almost all publications is the army, the history of its formation, heroism in the national liberation struggle of 1917–1921, as well as the role in the further struggle for the realization of the national idea. V. Salskyi's articles are analyzed. His articles demonstrated the author's remarkable writing talent; his publications on military-political and military-historical topics showed in-depth knowledge of political science, theory and practice of military affairs, and international politics. V. Salskyi's opinion journalism played a significant role in popularizing the Ukrainian national idea and the development of cultural, educational, and national life of Ukrainians in exile. Keywords: Volodymyr Salskyi, Minister of War, journalism, «Tryzub», national idea.

ЦИФРОВІ ІНСТРУМЕНТИ КООРДИНАЦІЇ ДІЯЛЬНОСТІ ОРГАНІВ ДЕРЖАВНОЇ ВЛАДИ У СФЕРІ ЗОВНІШНІХ ЗНОСИН

The revolutionary development of information and communication technologies affected almost any sphere of human life in the 21st century. The globalization and swift spread of new communications have helped to deepen international cooperation as well as to reduce costs in various spheres of social life. Nowadays due to the influence of information and communication technologies, the governance system of external relations is transformed, it is becoming more and more branched, multileveled, networked. Presently, leaders of states and governments, ministries and parliamentary institutions directly contact their foreign vis-a-visas, thereby demonstrating the new reality of international relations as well as different levels of influence on the formation of national foreign policy courses. A significant increase in international actors, including national ones, and the acceleration in time of all processes, are the challenges for the governance system of external relations of any state in the world. At the same time, securing the “unanimity” of state foreign policy is becoming more difficult under the existing approaches. As for Ukraine, which is facing unprecedented challenges and threats as a result of Russia’s aggression of a hybrid nature as well as the current turbulence of international security environment, the inconsistency of the actions of various state authorities in the international arena leads to significant negative consequences and image losses. The paper explores the facilities of using new digital tools in governance to improve the coordination of the activities of public authorities of Ukraine in foreign policy, based on the study and analysis of the experience of the leading countries in this field.

Türk Yerel Yönetimlerinin Uluslararası İşbirlikleri

In unitary states like Turkey, international relations traditionally are not within the interests of local governments. As a matter of fact, international organizations and states are the main actors in this field. However, developments in the international field and Turkey’s European Union membership perspective has enabled local governments to engage in international activities. Within this context, local administrations can develop international cooperation with foreign state’s local and regional administrations in their fields of competence, providing that it is not contrary to national foreign policy. This international cooperation is not a special competence of local administrations, but it is a special method that local administrations can execute their local competence given by national legislation. This study tries to explain the legal sources, features and the legal tools that Turkish local administrations use and can use in international cooperation within this framework. The aim of the study is to evaluate the usability of two partially new institutional cooperation tools based on European Law by Turkish local governments, by giving point to that the unitary state structure does not prevent local administrations from developing international cooperation.

TURKEY’S CHANGING SECURITY ENVIRONMENT AND TRANSFORMATION OF TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY

Turkey’s security-oriented foreign policy during the 1990s, which changed dramatically by the 2000s towards a more liberal mode and which can also be considered as the “Europeanization of Turkish foreign policy”, returned to its re-securitized phase in the 2010s by resorting to hard power. This article aims at explaining this reversal by analysing changes in the intensity of Turkey’s internal and external threats. In this analysis, it will mainly concentrate on the ongoing civil war in Syria, as an enabling factor for the revival of PKK terror in Turkey and terrorist attacks from ISIS. Consequently, the unstable political and security environment surrounding the South-eastern borderline of Turkey has led to the use of hard power in national foreign policy. In contrast with the previous decade, the use of military power has become inevitable in the pursuit of national security interests against intra-country and cross-border terror threats.