Regional Balance Research Articles

The Arab League and the crisis of Westphalian sovereignty in the Arab world after 2011

The Arab League’s observance to the norm of Westphalian sovereignty has witnessed significant transformation since the 2011 Arab uprisings. Historically, the Arab League had acted as the primary institutional expression and guardian of the Arab sovereign state system as the core constitutive principle of the Arab regional order. However, in an unprecedented setback to the norm of Westphalian sovereignty in the Arab world, the Arab League has moved, in the aftermath of the Arab uprisings, in the direction of endorsing the principles of regime change and intervention in the domestic affairs of Arab countries as acceptable norms in Arab regional politics. This transformation in the politics of the Arab League, the article contends, has been triggered by concurrent changes in the global and regional balances of power, both of which have been instrumental in bringing the politics of the Arab League under the dictate of a strategic alliance of global and regional actors.

Spatial transition dynamics of urbanization and Rohingya refugees’ settlements in Bangladesh

Urbanization needs to conceptualize land use policy beyond the city boundaries. It might be explained by exploring complex and interconnected interdependencies in regional key driving factors that can have tele-coupling effects during sudden shocks. Over one million Rohingya have settled in the rural/forest area in Cox’s Bazar for locational proximity and comparatively easy escape from Myanmar after domestic conflicts. This study aims to explore the spatial dimension of urbanization in a regional transition context focusing on the newly built refugee settlements in the south-eastern coastal area of Bangladesh. Additional, we also identify further research scopes and gaps in the context of the case study. Analysis of openly available global data products from historical built-up expansion from 1975 to 2021 suggests that refugee settlements impact spatial development intensity (annual rate ⁓2.55 ha/year) and population density (annual rate ⁓9431 person/year) dimensions, which have a transition (rural-to-urban) of a greater regional scale than local urbanization. Our results from the expert-based key informant interviews have a broad agreement with the quantitative findings; however, the environmental: deforestation, economic: increasing business and employment opportunities and daily living expenses; and socio-cultural impacts: increasing conflict between host and refugee communities due to prostitution, drug dealing, and insecurity, are more local than findings from the geospatial analysis. Therefore, the local development policies need an urgent adjustment to comply with the local and regional balances in the above factors, along with that international development actors may also need attentive measures in the policy formulation. Further investigations in scenario-based urbanization dynamics are required to avoid an urban desert initiated in the absence or relocation of refugee settlement. Similar kinds of studies may also be replicated even in prosperous global North countries in order to conceptualize the spatial transformative process of rapid migration influx on urbanization with innovative open data in the absence of up-to-date official datasets and adoptions of mixed methods approaches with related actors including policymakers.

Sunni And Shia Communities’ Transformations In Lebanon: Changes In The Balance Of Power

The paper focuses on the transformations going on in Sunni and Shia communities in Lebanon within the framework of the current changes in the regional balance of power. The analysis of the transformations of the mentioned communities in Lebanon and of their impact on the internal and external levels provides one of the most relevant examples of the "sectarianization" of the Middle East, especially after 2011, which was also characterized by the struggle between Sunnis and Shiites. The confessional contradictions are deeply rooted in Lebanon, based on its confessional political system, but, despite the public rhetoric, both communities tend to have more pragmatic and accommodating attitudes instead of deepening confessional confrontations. While it is true that each community has witnessed the radicalization of certain positions and that, especially after 2011, major changes are taking place, which have been fuelled by the narrative that is mostly emerging at the regional level. Have regional developments influenced the national Lebanese ones? Has confessionalism been used as a tool of realpolitik in Lebanon? These are the main questions that are going to be examined.

Elevated strategic partnership between India and Japan in the context of the rising power of China

ABSTRACT The growing India-Japan engagements are not only focused on economic issues, but also cover a wide range of interests, including regional security, political, and maritime security concerns. Both countries are consolidating strategic partnerships to address the risks and vulnerabilities posed by the evolving regional balance of power. Through their embeddedness with China, both India and Japan form an intrinsic part of the Indo-Pacific geopolitical security architecture. The key transformation of relations between these two states in the region is in response to the geopolitical change brought about by China’s rapid ascension. In this regard, the article further explains how both countries are systematically strengthening a strategic partnership and gradually reinforcing economic, political, security, and strategic cooperation against China. This article seeks to address how both states would restrain rising China’s strategic maneuvering in the Indo-Pacific region through an analysis of the India-Japan alignment, with the main focus of this study being on analyzing how both India and Japan are now investing in a long-term strategy to balance China’s hegemonic policies.

Alterations of BDNF, mGluR5, Homer1a, p11 and excitatory/inhibitory balance in corticolimbic brain regions of suicide decedents

BackgroundDeveloping biological based approaches for preventing suicide has become a priority. In recent years, there has been a surge in studies investigating the role of the glutamatergic system in suicide, although it remains unclear. MethodsWe evaluated changes in the gene expression of the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) and its scaffolding proteins Homer1a and p11 in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), amygdala (AMY), and hippocampus (HIP) of 28 suicide decedents (S) (with no clinical psychiatric history or treatment with anxiolytics or antidepressants) and 26 controls (C) by real-time PCR (qPCR). Indeed, we measured BDNF gene expression and VGluT1 and VGAT immunoreactivities in the HIP by qPCR and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Cases and controls matched for age (C: 48.6 ± 11.6 years; S: 46.9 ± 14.5 years) and postmortem interval (PMI; C: 20.1 ± 13h; S: 16.9 ± 5h). ResultsIn DLPFC, S had lower p11 gene expression levels, but no differences were found in mGluR5 or Homer1a. In the AMY and HIP, mGluR5 and Homer1a were increased, p11 and BDNF were reduced. In the HIP, there were less VGAT-ir and more VGluT1-ir. LimitationsFuture studies are necessary to evaluate protein levels, and determine the cell types and potential compensatory mechanisms in a larger sample including S diagnosed with psychiatric disorders, females and different ethnicities. ConclusionsThis study identified significant alterations in mGluR5, Homer1a, p11, BDNF and excitatory/inhibitory balance in corticolimbic brain areas of S. These results further characterize the biological basis of suicide, contributing to the identification of potential biomarkers for suicide prevention.

The Southern Vector in the Spatial Development of Post-Soviet Russia: the Main Factors and Manifestations

Modern geopolitical and geo-economic processes are accompanied by a radical transformation of the determinants and trends of the spatial organization of Russian society, initiating a revision of the previously established system of regional balances and priorities, sometimes interpreted and discussed as geographically oriented (in the logic of the rhumb approach) vectors of the country’s development. The article is devoted to the southern vector, its dynamics, as well as multidimensional factors and manifestation characteristic of the post-Soviet period. The geopolitical (including ethnopolitical) and foreign economic (transport, logistics and agro-industrial) prerequisites for the growing importance of the territories of its south (South of Russia) for the Russian Federation are identified. The scale is revealed and the specific territorial effects (and problems) of the trend shift of demographic and partly economic potential in favor of the southern regions of the country (in fact, three dozen of the largest southern Russian cities and agglomerations formed on their basis) are evaluated. The steadily continuing importance of the southern vector in the system of federal regulation is emphasized (with a relay race of focused priorities: the Chechen Republic – Krasnodar Krai – the subjects of the Crimea – the new regions of the Russian Federation).

DIGITAL SERVICES AND PORTALS FOR MIGRANTS IN THE SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM

DIGITAL SERVICES AND PORTALS FOR MIGRANTS IN THE SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM

Australia’s Archipelagic Deterrence

Australia’s 2023 Defence Strategic Review has inaugurated a new era of ‘archipelagic deterrence’. Despite Australia’s often forward-leaning rhetoric, it has turned away from making significant military contributions in Northeast Asia or globally, and instead is building a secure bastion across its northern approaches while inviting the United States to radically expand its military presence on Australian soil. The aim of archipelagic deterrence is to deter and deny China from a coercive maritime presence in the zone from the eastern Indian Ocean, through maritime Southeast Asia and into the South Pacific. It is hoped this will help stabilise the regional balance of power. This new model of alliance cooperation better reflects enduring differences in size and interests between Washington and Canberra, and should provide a stable and effective foundation for the United States’ presence and activity in the southern Indo-Pacific.

Japan's smart power strategy and securing the US-led order

ABSTRACT What is Japan's strategy to secure the US-led order from the heightened China challenge? This article argues that Japan is pursuing a smart power strategy made up of two complementary strands. The first is the use of hard power resources, involving internal and external balancing measures, to assist the US and other partners and friends to secure the region's balance of power in favour of the US-led order. The second strand refers Japan's use of soft power resources to reinforce the multilateral orders in East Asia and the Indo-Pacific regions in support of the US-led order. It focuses on the promotion of norms that advocate for a regional rules-based order outlined in the Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy/vision. The article concludes that the smart power strategy has been successful in facilitating Japan's objective of securing the US-led order given its internal constraints and unique position between the US and China.

Эволюционный путь внешней политики современной Венгрии

Introduction. The foreign policy of modern Hungary has passed through several stages of development since the fall of socialism. The purpose of this article is to clarify the qualitative characteristics of the points of evolution that have determined the content of Hungarian foreign policy. Today, it is not enough to define the image of Hungarian foreign policy solely in terms of pan-European or North Atlantic solidarity. A more careful and thoughtful study of the dynamics of the foreign policy doctrine of Budapest is required. Methods and Materials. Our main task is to clarify the periodization of the process of Hungary’s foreign policy development. The proposed periodization is carried out in a complex manner, based on several reasons and correlating their influence on each of the allocated time periods. The information array was composed of news for April 2010 – August 2022, based on a digest of news from Hungarian news agencies. Analysis. The author identifies five main periods in the development of Hungary’s foreign policy: the transitional period; the imperative period; the period of Euro-Atlantic romanticism; the period of seeking regional balance; and the period of Euroscepticism and Easternization. Each of these periods is characterized by an assessment of the conceptual content of international politics, the continuity of the foreign policy course, and the change in emphasis of the current policy. Results. Obviously, the current period of development is nearing its end, and in the medium term, Hungarian foreign policy itself will take the form of several relatively balanced concentric circles in the process of forming a polycentric world. At the same time, the European and American orientations will continue to be of paramount importance for Hungary. The growing inertia of the decline in the intensity of Russian-Hungarian relations seems to be the main characteristic of the interaction between the two countries.

The Influence of the Osmotic Potential on Evapotranspiration

Climate change is expected to affect the quality of soil and water, resulting in a significant impact on soil water balance in various regions around the world. Soil water potential plays a significant role in influencing evapotranspiration (ET), which is a crucial component of the soil water balance. The matric potential and the osmotic potential are the main components of the soil water potential. The osmotic potential is particularly important in dry soils, salt-affected soils, coastal lands, or when low-quality water is utilized for irrigation. Despite its importance, the impact of osmotic potential on ET has not been well-studied compared to other factors. Therefore, we conducted a study to investigate the impact of osmotic potential on ET from small-scale lab lysimeters planted with grass and equipped with scales and data loggers connected to computers. To create different osmotic potential levels, we irrigated the lysimeters with two different water qualities: distilled water and 4.79 dS.m−1 NaCl solution. The lysimeters were kept in well-watered conditions, and daily ET was monitored. Our results indicate a strong correlation between osmotic potential and ET. After three months of applying the treatments, the lysimeters with lower osmotic potential had a 39% reduction in cumulative ET compared to those irrigated with distilled water. Moreover, the osmotic stress affected plant health, leading to a notable decrease in the leaf area index and exerting a significant influence on evapotranspiration partitioning components, including transpiration and evaporation.

The South China Sea International Disputes with the ASEAN Area (in International Maritime Law)

In history, the sea has been shown to have had various functions, including as a source of food for mankind, as a trade highway, as a means of conquest, as a place for battles, as a place for fun and recreation, and as a means of unifying or separating nations. nation. As one of the regions with a high degree of heterogeneity, the Asia Pacific region is often considered a region that is very vulnerable to conflict on the basis of a fragile regional balance. The purpose of this study is to find out that one of the territorial conflicts in the Asia Pacific is the South China Sea conflict which involves several countries including China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam. This research uses a normative approach in accordance with international maritime regulations, especially UNCLOS and the UN Arbitration Council. The results of this study indicate that she said the South China Sea entered a new chapter by submitting a dispute over the issue of territorial claims to the Arbitration Court in The Hague, Netherlands. The Philippines in January 2013 has officially brought the territorial dispute in the South China Sea to the international arbitration body. Political disputes have been stopped and entered a new phase, namely legal settlement. The issue that arises is whether legal settlement can be the key answer to this territorial dispute, then whether legal settlement can create justice for the disputing countries. Furthermore, whether a legal settlement can dampen and create stability and security in the region. It may be very far if a legal settlement can fulfill some of the questions above.

Examining the Relationship between Transportation Infrastructure, Urbanization Level and Rural-Urban Income Gap in China

The development of transportation infrastructure plays a pivotal role in the regional economy from multiple dimensions. The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between transportation infrastructure development and income inequality in urban and rural areas of China. The study utilizes panel data from 30 provinces, spanning the years 2010 to 2020, and employs the spatial Dubin model to measure and test the impact of transportation infrastructure on the urban-rural income gap. Furthermore, an intermediary effect test method is used to investigate the potential mediating effect of urbanization in this relationship. The results indicate that transportation infrastructure has a significantly negative direct, indirect, and total effect on the urban-rural income gap, with the indirect effect being greater than the direct effect. This suggests that transportation infrastructure can effectively reduce income disparities, with a noticeable spatial spillover effect. The level of urbanization plays a significant intermediary effect on the effect of transportation infrastructure on the urban-rural income gap, highlighting the role of transportation infrastructure in improving urbanization and narrowing income disparities. These findings underscore the importance of enhancing both the level of urbanization and cooperation between neighbouring regions in order to maximize the benefits of transportation infrastructure development for reducing income disparities and promoting regional balance in China.

Southeast Asia amid Sino-US Competition: Power Shift and Regional Order Transition

Abstract Most observers agree that, for Southeast Asian countries, the prospect of Sino-US competition presents an epic challenge. There is, however, broad disagreement on exactly how great power rivalry would affect the region. This article aims to examine the ongoing debates and discussions and demonstrates that they revolve around four key issues: (1) how the regional balance of power would shift; (2) how Sino-US competition would affect Southeast Asian countries’ strategic choices; (3) what role the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) would play in the evolving regional order; and (4) how regional order would evolve. This article argues that certain disagreements may be resolved through rigorous conceptualisation and operationalisation of key variables, such as power and hedging. However, there is profound disagreement over whether China’s economic ascent would continue and whether China can compete with the USA on all fronts. Furthermore, the interplay of systemic and domestic pressure adds uncertainty to these regional countries’ strategic choices, which require further theoretical construction. Most studies agree that ASEAN centrality is likely to diminish due to great power politics and ASEAN’s internal weakness, apparent in a low level of institutionalisation. As to the evolving regional order, however, scholars have offered competing perspectives, ranging from a dual structure to the balance of power, great power concerts, and a hegemonic order dominated either by China or by the USA.

How does internet development drive the sustainable economic growth of China? Evidence from internal-structural perspective of green total-factor productivity

Clarifying internal-structural transmission paths of internet development on China's green total-factor productivity (GTFP) is of great significance for understanding China's economic growth in the era of digital transition. In this paper, GTFP is decomposed by three-hierarchy meta-frontier DEA into technology, industrial structural, regional balance development, scale, and management efficiencies based on China's provincial data. Then, dynamic GMM models are applied to investigate the internal-structural effect of internet development on GTFP. The results illustrate that internet development significantly improves GTFP by promoting technology, optimizing industrial structural, and advancing scale efficiencies. But it inhibits regional balance development and management efficiencies. Based on the results, this study offers new insights and valuable policy implications for China to promote sustainable economic growth.

The Politics of State Mergers in the Qaddafi’s Foreign Policy: Utopia, Pan-Arabism, and Survival Strategy

Qaddafi’s unpredictable foreign policy always attracted attention from academics and politicians. However, very few works were devoted to examine an important part of the Libyan leader’s diplomacy: The staunch and fervent Arab nationalism directed to promote the creation of state unions with neighboring (and sometimes even far) countries in the perspective of pan-Arabism. Adventurism, limitless ambitions, and irrational projects also hid a pragmatic approach that had its roots in the quest for regional balance of power in the Arab world and the constant search to limit or break the isolation that surrounded Libya, considered a pariah and a rogue state.

Great Powers, The Middle East, and The Cold War (Case Study – Islamic Republic of Iran and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)

The Middle East is a highly dynamic and unstructured regional system in which power relations are fluid, competitive, and volatile. Inevitably, the fluidity of power and the competition of a regional hegemonic power have invited external intervention. Furthermore, the region’s dynamism not only has exacerbated the subsystem’s fragmentation into sub-regions but also has afforded opportunities for the better-endowed small Arab states to play in the greater game of regional power politics. Due to its geopolitical importance, any inter-and intra-state conflict in the Middle East has the potential not only of destabilizing the region as a whole or upset the regional balance of power but also to affect global stability. For these reasons, the Middle East has been a major center of world affairs; an economically, politically, and culturally sensitive area. The purpose of this analysis is to provide an account of international relations and the concept of power in the contemporary Middle East. To address the question of regional order, attention will focus on the policies of the main actors such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, Yemen, the United States, and other non-state actors.

The importance of interactions between snow, permafrost and vegetation dynamics in affecting terrestrial carbon balance in circumpolar regions

Permafrost dynamics can drastically affect vegetation and soil carbon dynamics in northern high latitudes. Vegetation has significant influences on the energy balance of soil surface by impacting the short-wave radiation, long-wave radiation and surface sensible heat flux, affecting soil thermal dynamics, in turn, inducing vegetation shift, affecting carbon cycling. During winter, snow can also significantly impact soil temperature due to its insulative effect. However, these processes have not been fully modeled to date. To quantify the interactions between vegetation, snow, and soil thermal dynamics and their impacts on carbon dynamics over the circumpolar region (45–90° N), we revise a sophisticated ecosystem model to improve simulations of soil temperature profile and their influences on vegetation, ecosystem carbon pools and fluxes. We find that, with warmer soil temperature in winter and cooler soil temperature in summer simulated with the revised model considering vegetation shift and snow effects, the region will release 1.54 Pg C/year to the atmosphere for present-day and 66.77–87.95 Pg C in 2022–2100. The canopy effects due to vegetation shift, however, will get more carbon sequestered into the ecosystem at 1.00 Pg C/year for present day and 36.09–44.32 Pg C/year in 2022–2100. This study highlights the importance to consider the interactions between snow, vegetation shift and soil thermal dynamics in simulating carbon dynamics in the region.

Local attributes and migration balance – evidence for different age and skill groups from a machine learning approach

AbstractMany European regions are currently experiencing a significant population decline and, related to this, are increasingly confronted with labour shortage. Migration is a main driver of changes in regional labour supply and the local level of human capital. A region's ability to attract residents thus becomes more and more important for its growth prospects. We use a large panel dataset for the period 2003 to 2017 to investigate the relationship between local attributes and the migration balance of regions in Germany. In particular, we examine whether the factors that determine the migration balance of regions significantly differ across age and skill groups because their contribution to regional human capital likely varies. Our econometric specification can be understood as an aggregate formulation of a two‐region random utility model. The dataset includes 30 factors that might potentially influence a region's migration balance. Given this large number of explanatory variables and significant multicollinearity issues, we apply machine learning techniques [least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), complete subset regression] to identify important local characteristics. Our results point to a robust negative relationship between the net migration rate and population density, yet locations in close proximity to large urban centres seem to be rather attractive destination regions, and the size of the effects differs significantly across age and skill groups. Moreover, labour market conditions and some amenities are significantly correlated with the region's migration balance. However, the former and, in particular, facilities for vocational training matter primarily for young workers.

Kazakh-China Relations: Balancing in Preventing Regional Domination

As Kazakhstan and China celebrated thirty years of establishment of bilateral relations recently, a brief analysis of the bilateral state-to-state relations indicates to the overall stability and forward momentum. Several significant developments were witnessed both in China and in Kazakhstan and in the bilateral relations, specifically in their respective material capability build-up, exertion at the regional levels, expanding economic ties and strengthening institutional contacts, but also to the rising popular discontent on several issues. This article recounts first the major developments in these two countries and how the bilateral state-to-state relations flowered in different areas of diplomacy, economy and energy fields. Nevertheless, several problems also beset the bilateral relations, including regional balancing efforts, rising nationalism, Uighur issue, cross-border river sharing, rising debt and others, the resolution of all of which could determine future trajectory of these ties. It is argued here that following its “multi-vector” policies, Kazakhstan has been balancing both the traditional player Russia and a rising China to see that no single power is able to dominate the regional security situation. Key words: Kazakhstan, China, bilateral Relations, Belt and Road Initiative, economic Relations