Power Ambitions Research Articles

India-Africa Political Relations: Issues and Perspectives on Global Political Dialogue, Democracy and Good Governance

Abstract This paper explores India’s relations with African countries which date back to the time when Indian traders began to engage with countries along the eastern coast of Africa. These relations took a new turn by the end of the 20th century, with many drivers and rallying points of 20th century such as de-colonization and racial discrimination disappearing. By the turn of the Century, with a prospered economy and a population of more than I billion people India ceased to belong to the same group as the African states. Due to this change in status India’s priorities also changed and it is now playing in the bigger league which presents India with different realities and preoccupation. At strategic level, India’s determination of becoming an influential global power requires the support of African countries, especially in securing a seat at the United Nations Security Council and for the overall expansion and democratic governance reforms of the Council. This paper interrogates the question: given its current status and strategic interests in global affairs, what areas should India engage with African states in order to realize her global power ambitions?

Unraveling the Social Meaning of Community Members to the Covid-19 Outbreak (Pandemic) in East Java, Indonesia

This study aims to understand the social meaning of some community members for the occurrence of the covid-19 outbreak (pandemic). The method used to reveal the social meaning is descriptive qualitative. In practice, the writers use Max Weber's theory of social action based on "verstehen" and analyzed by Mile, Huberman and Saldana's interactive model to reveal the social meaning of several community members in East Java, Indonesia. The results of this study are as follows: Some community members believe that this covid-19 outbreak (pandemic) is truly seen as a test from God. Some other members of the public think that the COVID-19 outbreak (pandemic) is an engineering or scenario by certain countries to weaken the nations of the world, including Indonesia, for the sake of mere (material) power ambitions. Several other members of the public assumed that this COVID-19 outbreak (pandemic) did exist but had been engineered in such a way that it tends to be exaggerated as a form of terror to the community and tends to blame the government. And, some other community members consider this a disaster and indeed the time has come for the calamity to come during the twin year, 2020 AD.

Feminist foreign policies (FFPs) as strategic narratives: Norm translation in Sweden, Canada, France, and Mexico

AbstractDrawing on the IR theories of norm translation and strategic narratives, this article focuses on how states translate international norms to their own advantage by producing strategic narratives to advance their soft power ambitions abroad. Using the example of feminist foreign policy (FFP), the article compares Sweden, Canada, France, and Mexico in their attempts to translate international feminist norms into their countries’ strategic narratives. This comparison is based on three strategic narrative types (issue, national, and international system narratives) and two types of feminism (liberal, intersectional). Issue narratives reveal that Sweden and Mexico give more priority to social policies, while France and Canada emphasise the role of the market in addressing gender inequality. International system narratives demonstrate that Sweden and Mexico perceive global challenges as drivers of gender inequality, while France and Canada see gender inequality as a cause of global problems. National narratives show that Sweden and Mexico refer to other FFP countries to ‘back up’ their feminist initiatives, while France and Canada do not relate to other states. Finally, while liberal feminism dominates all four FFPs, each state either prioritises particular aspects of it (legal, market, security, rights-based) or incorporates elements from intersectional feminism.

Analytical Study of Power Generation by Photovoltaic System for Al-Riyadh and Al-Jubail Regions in Saudi Arabia

This paper presents an analytical study of photovoltaic (PV) power generation of two regions in Saudi Arabia. Renewable energy resources have recently been acknowledged as a vital component of global economic stability, particularly in countries like Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is a vibrant country that is experiencing significant population increase, which has resulted in high electricity usage. Because of the strong solar radiation, huge rainless area, and lengthy sunlight, Saudi Arabia has a bright future in terms of using solar energy more broadly. As a result, the Saudi Arabian government has invested billions of dollars in large-scale renewable and sustainable energy projects around the country, backed by strong funding. Saudi Arabia wants to boost solar power output to meet a large amount of the country's prospective energy needs. Various installations and research projects are currently being carried out throughout the kingdom to meet its solar power ambitions. As a result, it is critical to keep up with the latest developments in the solar business in the country. Development and Research (R&D). In this work a simulation (PVsyst 7.1) software program to simulate the installation of PV cells on two regions of Saudi Arabia including Al-Al-Riyadh and Al-Jubail regions. Also, the possibility of using the tracker system to track the sunshine and generate more power from PV systems is discussed. This paper presents, however, is a partnership and it intends to examine the existing state, growth, potential, resources, sustainability performance, and prospects of renewable energy in Saudi Arabia in accordance with Saudi Vision 2030.

Vaccine diplomacy: nation branding and China’s COVID-19 soft power play

As a global crisis, COVID-19 has altered how nation-states project influence. Public health has risen to the top of every agenda as individuals, societies, and nation-states focus on a common goal. With the advent of COVID-19 vaccines, home-grown national vaccines when distributed all over the world can play an integral role in nation branding as a technique for projecting soft power. This paper applies the theoretical lenses of nation branding and soft power to examine China’s bilateral vaccine diplomacy efforts, specifically the motivations and outcomes. The findings suggest that Chinese vaccines are used not only for image repair and for expanding Beijing’s great power ambitions, but also to reinforce and leverage existing soft power programs, and to capitalize on new economic and geopolitical opportunities. Vaccine diplomacy is a natural extension of Chinese soft power including prior engagement in health diplomacy. Sentiment analyses of social media and international media coverage suggest that where vaccines go, influence may follow. Although international sentiments are not all positive—with concerns over Chinese vaccines’ efficacy, safety, and data availability, Beijing reaped substantial soft power dividends through its ability to project influence in scientific prowess and civic virtue by providing the vaccines as International Public Goods through aid and gifts to countries left behind by the vaccine inequity.

Revisionism as a characteristic of authoritarian ex‑empires

Revisionism is one of the main drivers of international conflict in the 21st century. Sensing the weakening of US global leadership, countries with regional or great power ambitions, especially former empires, increasingly resort to threats and the use of force to alter the status quo in their favour. In some cases, this involves military occupation, and even annexation of foreign territory. This article takes a closer look at neo‑Ottomanism, Turkey’s revisionist foreign policy, and its gradual transition from a soft‑power to a hard‑power approach, which eventually led to Ankara’s military incur‑ sion and occupation of parts of neighbouring Syria.

Sino-Indian Strategic Balancing in Nepal

This article examines Sino-Indian power balancing in Nepal to explore Kathmandu’s policy options for security. Traditionally, both regional giants have sought to co-opt Nepal in a bid to outflank the other in the Himalayan region. India has exercised greater leverage profiting on ethnic and economic connections. Presently, China’s rise has offered Kathmandu a window of opportunity to substitute the Indian foothold in Nepal. China’s strategic leverage has increased due to the up-gradation of Sino-Nepalese political and economic connections. Nepal’s tilt towards Beijing has led New Delhi to seek reassurances from Kathmandu. Sino-Indian overlapping cultural and competing politico-strategic objectives has increased Kathmandu’s volatility to foreign intervention. The interplay of Sino-Indian regional balancing has constrained policy options for its security. Within this context, the article seeks to analyse the following questions: a.) What are Sino-Indian power ambitions and policy objectives in Nepal? b.) How has China’s expansion of influence impacted on Nepal-India relations and Kathmandu’s policy options for security? The theoretical cushion of neo-classical realism, employing qualitative techniques of content analysis has provided a befitting context to study Nepal’s security challenges. The article argues that Kathmandu’s security drive has to tread on a thin rope of power balancing caught in between India and China. Nepal balances between its tightly knit historic ties with India and the new opportunity dawned in building connections with Beijing. Nepal’s approach marks philosophical approach of Kautilya’s Raja Mandala as an expression of expedient move to win security.

Unleashing Nepal’s Demography as Soft Power

For small powers like Nepal, enhancement of soft power to achieve national interests and economic aspirations is important. For this, however, the aspect of Nepal’s demography has not been considered as a source for advancing Nepal’s soft power. Owing to the same research gap, this study emphasises how Nepal’s demographics can be a significant facet to enhancing Nepal’s soft power. With the same objective, this paper has essentially explored the unexplored territories of demography, migration and also women’s contributions to Nepal’s economy to boost up Nepal’s soft power ambition. Stressing on the changed narrative away from the conventional notion of “yam between two boulders”, the study introduces the idea of “Global Nepali” as a component to enhance Nepal’s soft power, considering the changing demography of Nepal. Also, by shedding light on the contribution of Nepali women in Nepal’s economic growth and its potentiality to advance Nepal’s soft power, this study reiterates that the soft power of a country like Nepal lies in the hearts of its people and what they have to offer to the world.

The time for realism? Assessing US and Russian foreign policy in the Syrian war from realist perspectives

ABSTRACT When the people from Tunis to Aleppo protested against repression back in 2011, Fukuyama's classic promise seemed to materialize. Yet, rather than an extension of the liberal world order, we were to witness its very demise in the region. Syria became the prime example for the return of power politics and proxy wars. Spiralling into chaos, it is now the arena of different actors with great power ambitions. Realist approaches were widely criticized for their seemingly limited explanatory power and lack of analytical consistency. However, they seem to provide the right analytical tool kit for the current situation in the Middle East. Within the framework of this case study, we compare the varying analytical perspectives and explanatory power provided by realism's branches. We discuss our findings in the light of the ongoing debate about the consistency of realist theory and their implications for studying international politics in times of crisis.

Expanding Role of PLAAF in China’s National Security Strategy

China’s great power ambition and actions have been fuelled by its spectacular economic growth and military modernization. The need to sustain the economy and energy flow makes the East and South China seas vital to it. Its vulnerabilities also lie on its seaboard. To dominate the maritime spaces, it needs to own the contiguous airspace as well. The prescient Chinese leadership has transformed its Air Force into a strategic instrument of power, to protect its economic lifelines, geo-political interests and regional dominance. An analysis of the PLAAF’s transformation and its employment philosophy provides insights into how it has leveraged airpower for furthering its strategic interests.

RESULTS OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE FOR EURASIAN STATE AND LEGAL SPACE (COMPARATIVE STATE STUDYING ANALYSIS)

European Union aiming at accelerated integration has done a lot of strategic and tactical mistakes. The most serious among them are liberal immigration policy and expansive judge-making of the European Court of Justice. Eurasian Economic Union has a chance to avoid pernicious mistakes of the EU. It´s important to limit the power ambitions of the executive organs and its Court. Cosmopolitan liberalism must be curbed and ideology of national self-esteem is necessary to cultivate.

Demonization and violence as tools of institutional power: the social cage of Thailand

ABSTRACT Demonization has been used as tool for the maintenance of ruling regimes throughout history. Institutionalized, it becomes regime policy, exemplified in the extreme by the German Nazi regime’s demonization of Jews. Dehumanized imagery is used to distinguish ‘others’, i.e. social, cultural, political, and/or economic out-groups, from ‘normal’ members of society and to support the power and control ambitions of those who hold or seek to hold dominant societal positions. Demonization is institutionalized through interaction among a variety of cultural carriers including religion, news media, and popular culture. It is used as an excuse for social exclusion and violence. It is most dangerous when it receives tacit acceptance or active support by central societal institutions, including government. The current article considers the processes and products of demonization in Thailand as it has appeared in national politics. Demonization has proven to be a strategic tool deployed by Thailand’s ‘social cage’ to harm those who have sought political change and threaten its established institutional interests.

Профспілки та безпека праці у призмі політичних викликів «відлиги».

The article studies the political aspects of the trade unions’ activities in the field of labor safety. It is argued that the basis for the politicization of this aspect was the state ownership of the means of production. The power of the Thaw, using a blatant disregard for the problem of safe working conditions by its predecessors, tried to attract the attention of the society in every possible way. At the same time, Khrushchev’s government stressed its own concern for labor security with the inaction of Stalin’s team, trying to gain political support from the workers. The latter is driven by the author from the specifics of the ruling team’s coming to the political leadership and the state of its permanent struggle with the supporters of Stalin.According to the researcher, the mechanism of realization of power ambitions and the conquest of a new number of sympathizers was hidden in the development of the idea to expand trade unions’ powers. For the ruling team their “struggle” for safe working conditions was only one of the fragments of the political strategy. The official assignment of unions to state powers and legalization of their numerous competencies were subordinated to the overall strategic line formulated in the New CPSU Program. It is concluded that in the society the new government created an atmosphere of continuous struggle for improvement of labor safety in all production units, which created the illusion of the authorities’ concern for workers and positively influenced its political image.

China’s global power ambition: expectations, opportunities, and challenges

China’s global power ambition: expectations, opportunities, and challenges

İngiliz Feminist Oyunlarındaki Thatcher’cı Kadınların Sosyal Feminist Açısından Okunması

This study focuses on the representation of women in British feminist drama that challenges gender roles and gets stuck in having obsessive power as an outcome of the policy of the first British woman Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The study discusses excessively ambitious women who question patriarchal order and subvert gender roles to get power and finally left alone on the top like Thatcher. Marlene in Caryl Churchill’s play Top Girls, Marion in Churchill’s play Owners, Mary Traverse in Timberlake Wertenbaker’s play The Grace of Mary Traverse are discussed throughly. Marlene, Marion, and Mary are the representatives of the destructive effects of the ambition for power that characterize Thatcher’s Britain. Socialist/materialist feminism is applied to the plays both to criticize selfish Thatcherite powerful women figures and to express the lack of collaboration among women to improve their position.

Russian foreign policy: From ‘new thinking’ to multidirectional strategy

This article is devoted to the description and analysis of the Russian foreign policy as it has evolved from a more pro-Western line after 1991-1992 to a more balanced and nationalistic version by the mid-1990s. In addition, as a part of this article certain projections are made for the future of Russian relations with the West. The author argues that in many ways the foreign policy of the new Russia during the early 1990s was continuation of the Gorbachev’s ‘new thinking.’ Gorbachev had hoped to put the Soviet Union on the path of partnership with the Western alliance through clearing away the military and political baggage of Stalinism-Brezhnevism. This strategy enjoyed full support of the pro-western democratic movement headed by Yeltsin. The Russian democrats saw Western nations as their chief ideological and political allies, and a possible source of economic aid and a model for Russia’s economic development. However, over time, a number of internal and external factors started to influence the original Yeltsin’s strategy. Internally, the failure of ‘shock therapy’ led to the weakening of democrats and strengthening of the communists and nationalists. Furthermore, Yeltsin’s foreign policy became the target of intense criticism. Moreover, as a result of the internal and external influences and specifically the national debates, Russia’s foreign policy was gradually modified. Russia again puts an emphasis on security, and on the strength of its armed forces, and forging strategic partnerships in various parts of the world. In addition, nationalism would be expressed through the protection of the Russian diaspora, the glorification of Russia’s imperial past, and the scaling down the policy of repentance for the misdeeds of the Communist regime. Russia’s great power ambitions could be observed through Russia’s attempt to play pivotal role throughout the former Soviet Union, and a desire to show the Russian flag across the world. Moreover, ideology does not influence Kremlin’s relations with other states anymore, instead economic interests encourage Moscow to restore cooperation with many Third World nations. It can be expected that Russia will continue to compete for predominance with the West in the post-soviet republics and in the field of security and at the same time Russia will promote its partnership with China and other non-Western actors. However, despite these shifts, a multidirectional strategy will likely be preserved.

Patience as Art to Hide Intolerance, or the Muslim Brotherhood’s Long-term Strategy to Change the Middle East

Muslim Brotherhood is listed as prohibited organization in a number of countries, including Russia. Nevertheless, in different periods and in different countries of the MENA region it turned out to be well represented in the legal political field. The temporary failures of this largest branch of political Islam of a radical nature have not yet led to a fatal loss of the organization in the competition between different Islamic groups, or to defeat as a result of repression. The author explores the problem of such stability of an extremist organization for many decades. He defends the hypothesis of its long­term strategic action planning along with the accepted tactics of waiting for a convenient moment for the realization of power ambitions. To analyze the strength of the social base, a variant of the deprivation theory is proposed, which was considered in detail in other works of the author. The historical origins of the organization are identified using published as well unpublished archival documents. A historical retrospective substantiates the assumption that a prototype of this structure used to be existed in Istanbul and Damascus back in the period immediately following the Young Turks revolution in the Ottoman Empire. The strongest external factor in the development of MB is emphasized. It is support throughout the history of the movement from forces outside the region, which have seen and continue to see the possibility for themselves of a tactical alliance with the Islamists of this direction to realize their own ideas and pursue their interests in the East.

Güney Kore’nin Afrika’da Artan Gücü: Ticaret, Politika ve Kalkınma Yardımları

Relations between Africa and South Korea, officially Republic of Korea (ROK), started during the 1960s. In the Cold War years, Seoul’s Africa pol- icy has been shaped by its diplomatic competition with Pyongyang. Despite Seoul’s attempts to initiate closer relations with African countries, Africa occupied a secondary status in Korean foreign policy. Following the end of the Cold War, Africa became more marginalized in Korea’s policy priori- ties. Starting from 2000s, increasing concerns over food security and energy needs compelled Seoul to review its Africa policy. This article argues that recent Korean interest towards Africa is driven mostly by economic consid- erations including the quest for energy security and alternative export mar- kets. On the other hand, engagement with Africa is expected to serve Korea’s middle power ambitions.

How to challenge an international order: Russian diplomatic practices in multilateral security organisations

Many policy and academic debates focus on the extent to which Russia is a revisionist power challenging the ‘liberal world order’. However, there is little agreement on the primary motives explaining the behaviour of Russia, some pointing to her unsatisfied great power ambitions and neo-imperial ideologies, and others to genuine security concerns. Adjudicating those claims is important because of their policy implications for engagement and/or deterrence towards Russia. This article contributes to this debate through a theoretical contribution to practice-based approaches to International Relations. Using De Certeau’s understanding of practices, it analyses Russian diplomatic practices in multilateral security organisations and illustrates how this helps infer foreign policy motives, contrary to the field-specific relationalism of Bourdieu-inspired practice approaches. Empirically, it builds on 126 interviews and participant observation in three multilateral security organisations (the United Nations, the NATO–Russia Council and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe). The article shows that at least since 2014, Russian diplomats in the three organisations consistently defend policies and use narratives that reveal more interest in status recognition, sometimes at the expense of security concerns.

Competition short of war - how Russia's hybrid and grey-zone warfare are a blueprint for China's global power ambitions

China is set to build an empire where its economic, strategic and security interests in Asia, the Pacific, Europe and the Arctic will be safe guarded for generations to come. Using the concepts of ...