Reliable Allies Research Articles

The Watersheds Speak: The Voice of Ecosystems in Northern New York's Environmental Movements☆

AbstractThis paper explores how connectivity to place has brought life to contemporary environmental struggles in what is now known as New York State. Layers of memory, colonization, and stewardship are embedded within a community's relationship with their environment. By focusing on two case studies, the authors will illustrate how this relationship shaped successful place‐based resistance. Throughout our work, we offer the alternative methodology of ecocentric storytelling and artistic representation to elevate the voice of both ecosystems and all their inhabitants. Both case studies are centered on environmental/social movements that foreground the inherent personhood of the natural world. The first will focus on the Ashokan Reservoir, in the Catskill Mountains, on land guarded by the Lenape. It is a location that has suffered multiple waves of colonization and successfully resisted a large damming operation. The second case study will be centered on the Upper St. Lawrence River/Kaniatarowanénhne Watershed, Haudenosaunee Territory, where rural communities are uniting to grant Rights to the Rivers that bring life to their communities. Both cases exemplify the story of communities that defended their livelihoods and environments by uniting with their most reliable allies, the Water, and all their more‐than‐human guardians.

Strategic partnership Ukraine – Poland: challenges and achievements of wartime

One of the most important directions of modern development of Ukraine is bilateral relations with leading European countries. This policy paves the way for the recognition of its European identity and creates broad opportunities for international cooperation on a mutually beneficial basis. The Republic of Poland was and remainsone of the partners and reliable allies of Ukraine in wartime conditions. Accordingly, the proposed article examines the specifics of the development of the strategic partnership between Ukraine and the Republic of Poland in the conditions of a large scale war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine. The fundamental principles and principles on which the strategic partnership of Ukraine and Poland is based have been clarified. The specificity of state and non-state aid of the government and people of Poland to forced migrants from Ukraine has been revealed. The joint information policy of opposing Russian propaganda and disinformation is substantiated. The specifics of forming a mutually beneficial security strategy are summarized. The factors of acceleration and optimization of the process of European integration of Ukraine with the assistance of the Polish leadership have been identified. It was found that in the conditions of the war, the Ukrainian-Polish strategic partnership turned into a real form of full-fledged cooperation between the two states. Poland proved to be a reliableally and arbiter in the provision of military aid. Therefore, the prospects for military cooperation are related to the gradual strengthening of these relations, which can become the basis of a military-political union and unification of countries that consider confronting the Russian threat as a priority strategic task. The interaction between Ukraine and Poland in the political, economic and social spheres has also intensified to a great extent, which is a guarantee of the common future of both countries. In order to further understand the development offriendly relations between Ukraine and the Republic of Poland, it is important tounderst and the process of institutionalization of common security policy and to counter hybrid threats, to determine priorities in all areas not only for the medium term, but also for the long term, which requires the consolidated efforts of states men, scientists and the public of both friendly countries. Key words: Russian-Ukrainian war, strategic partnership, mutually benefi cialcooperation, forced migration, countering disinformation, security strategy, European integration of Ukraine.

The Status of Studies on the Korean Independence Movement in the U.S.

The Republic of Korea has been among the United States’ most reliable allies over the past seventy years. The two countries have developed a security alliance and an economic relationship that is mutually beneficial; for example, the United States has armed forces stationed on the Korean Peninsula, and South Korea is America’s sixth largest trade partner. However, despite the closeness of the two nations, American society has remained Eurocentric. As a result, most Americans know little about South Korea, its history, or its struggles against Japanese colonialism, which are critical to Korean nationalism. This essay is an assessment of what Americans know about the Korean independence movement and how to rectify American ignorance of the Korean struggle for freedom.

Education of Montenegrins in the Russian Empire as a Tool of Political and Cultural Influence (By the Example of the Activities of the MFA and slavic charity committees)

The article is dedicated to the issue of the participation of the officials and public organizations of Russia in the selection of candidates for education in our country among Montenegrin youth in schools and higher educational institutions. Russian officials were interested in creating a number of specialists in the Slavic lands of the Balkan Peninsula, connected with Russia, who knew and loved Russian culture. Today, such a policy is called “soft power”, and in the XIX and early XX centuries this was a manifestation of pragmatism and strategic calculation in the foreign policy of the empire. Montenegro, which received international recognition after the Berlin Congress of 1878, became a privileged partner and client of Russia. Monarch Nikola Petrovich managed to convince the Russian government that in case of military complications in the Balkans, the Montenegrins would be able to assist Russia in the hostilities. In the last third of the XIX — early XX centuries Russian autocracy paid substantial subsidies to the Montenegrin authorities for the modernization of the state apparatus and the armed forces. Benefits were constantly increased and added up to huge sums. However, the ruler of Montenegro turned out to be an obstinate ward, inclined to forget about the support provided and ignore the political recommendations of the Russian tsar and his entourage. At the beginning of the twentieth century relations between the two countries were strained, and the behavior of Nikola Petrovich often seemed unpredictable. He easily broke his own promises, from time to time he showed a willingness to change Russian patronage for the friendship of Western Europe. Many Russian diplomats and public figures saw a way out of this impasse in preparing as many highly educated specialists as possible for Montenegro, who would join the political elite of the principality and become more reliable allies than the greedy older generation. Moreover, in Montenegro, which had recently switched from a tribal way of life to state life, there was neither a complete secondary school in the European sense, nor higher educational institutions. The calculations of the Russian leadership were only partially justified. However, in this small Balkan country, graduates of Russian educational institutions, sincerely grateful and devoted to Russia, did live and work.

Islamic Solidarity on Sale: the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict in the context of Azerbaijan’s Nation-Branding Endeavors

To reach their political goals, countries try to craft an image acceptable to the international community as reliable allies standing for similar values. Since its independence, Azerbaijan has been actively working on its branding as a country that bridges the West and the Islamic world. To do this, Azerbaijan creates its image as a secular, multicultural state and a leading state among Islamic countries with a firm support of Islamic solidarity. Positioning Azerbaijan as an advocate of Islamic solidarity, Ilham Aliyev then embarks on the next step of his plan to demand the Islamic world’s solidarity about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Thus, nation branding in the case of Azerbaijan is not only about creating an image of a possible investment place or touristic destination; official Baku “sells” its solidarity pursuing the political goal of getting the support of Islamic countries against Armenia․

Soviet Aggression in Afghanistan (1979–1989) and American – Pakistan Relanions

The impact of the Soviet aggression in Afghanistan in 1979–1989 on US–Pakistan relations on the basis of predominantly American-Pakistani documents and memoirs has been examined in the article. Soviet intervention in Afghanistan led to the deterioration of Soviet-American relations, the curtailment of “détente” and the escalation of the Cold War. One manifestation of this was the United States’ full support for the Afghan opposition. The USA needed Pakistan as allies in this policy but it was sandwiched between Soviet-occupied Afghanistan and unfriendly India, so it needed reliable allies. In addition, the Afghan opposition parties’ headquarters, Mujahedeen training camps were located in Pakistan with almost 3 million settled refugees. The USA and Pakistan were mutually interested in close cooperation.
 The conditionality of changing the format of US-Pakistani relations by the civil war in Afghanistan and the involvement of the USSR on the side of the ruling People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan have been proved. The relations between the USA and Pakistan in the 1980s developed in two directions: official and covert but under the Afghan crisis influence the United States gave in to its principles. Despite the dictatorial regime, violation of the conditions of nuclear non-proliferation the USA has significantly expanded its military-technical and economic assistance to Pakistan. This significantly strengthened the country's defense capabilities and position of M. Ziyaul-Haq’s regime and Pakistan has become in general one of the main allies of the USA in their support of the Afghan crisis opposition. The secret cooperation between the CIA and the Pakistani Interagency Intelligence in financing and supplying military property to the Afghan Mujahedeen, providing them with intelligence, assisting in the production and dissemination of propaganda materials was important. This had a marked effect on the Afghan war outbreak, greatly strengthened the Mujahedeen’s ability to resist Soviet troops, and significantly increased the disastrous consequences of the Afghan adventure for the USSR. After the Soviet troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, Pakistan lost strategic importance to the USA, and most programs of US-Pakistani cooperation were curtailed.

Влияние стратегического партнерства АУКУС на геополитическую ситуацию в Индо-Тихоокеанском регионе

The purpose of the AUKUS strategic alliance is to develop cooperation between the member countries (U.S., UK and Australia) in the field of security and defence in the Indo-Pacific region. The agreement provides for the supply of submarines powered by nuclear reactors to Australia. The emergence of this new strategic alliance was caused by the following factors: the increased power of China in the region; the weakening of the U.S. position in the Indo-Pacific; the desire of the UK to implement the “global Britain” strategy in practice; and the need for the U.S. to have reliable allies to contain China. These factors reveal the true purpose of AUKUS—containment of China and opposition to its active policy in the region. In this article, the author uses comparative analysis to reveal the different goals and geopolitical interests of the AUKUS countries. The systematic approach helps to describe the essence of the complex developing geopolitical system of the Indo-Pacific region.The theories of new institutionalism and constructivism make it possible to identify both continuity and gaps in the security policy and foreign policy of regional actors. Australia’s participation in the AUKUS allows it to: strengthen its political ties with influential partners—the United States and Great Britain; receive additional security guarantees from them in the context of increased activity of Chinese policy in the region; raise the country’s status in the regional hierarchy; and strengthen its defence capability. Australia’s entry into the AUKUS means the formation of a new, anti-Chinese strategy in the region. For the UK, membership in the AUKUS allows it to: expand its naval presence in the Indo-Pacific region; strengthen its special relations with the United States; improve its image, which was shaken after the country’s exit from the EU; and restore traditional ties with Australia. For the United States, AUKUS is the implementation of the strategy of “pivot” to Asia and the creation of a new alliance that has greater opportunities for military-strategic cooperation in the face of the threat from China to use the Pacific Ocean to oust the United States from a leading position. There are some possible geopolitical consequences of creating AUKUS for the region. They are escalation of tension and the nuclear arms race of the opposing parties; a new cold war with China; expansion of the club of nuclear powers because of Australia; imbalance of geopolitical forces in the region; undermining transatlantic unity; and a common strategy in the foreign policy of European countries and the United States.

Влияние стратегического партнерства АУКУС на геополитическую ситуацию в Индо-Тихоокеанском регионе

The purpose of the AUKUS strategic alliance is to develop cooperation between the member countries (U.S., UK and Australia) in the field of security and defence in the Indo-Pacific region. The agreement provides for the supply of submarines powered by nuclear reactors to Australia. The emergence of this new strategic alliance was caused by the following factors: the increased power of China in the region; the weakening of the U.S. position in the Indo-Pacific; the desire of the UK to implement the “global Britain” strategy in practice; and the need for the U.S. to have reliable allies to contain China. These factors reveal the true purpose of AUKUS—containment of China and opposition to its active policy in the region. In this article, the author uses comparative analysis to reveal the different goals and geopolitical interests of the AUKUS countries. The systematic approach helps to describe the essence of the complex developing geopolitical system of the Indo-Pacific region.The theories of new institutionalism and constructivism make it possible to identify both continuity and gaps in the security policy and foreign policy of regional actors. Australia’s participation in the AUKUS allows it to: strengthen its political ties with influential partners—the United States and Great Britain; receive additional security guarantees from them in the context of increased activity of Chinese policy in the region; raise the country’s status in the regional hierarchy; and strengthen its defence capability. Australia’s entry into the AUKUS means the formation of a new, anti-Chinese strategy in the region. For the UK, membership in the AUKUS allows it to: expand its naval presence in the Indo-Pacific region; strengthen its special relations with the United States; improve its image, which was shaken after the country’s exit from the EU; and restore traditional ties with Australia. For the United States, AUKUS is the implementation of the strategy of “pivot” to Asia and the creation of a new alliance that has greater opportunities for military-strategic cooperation in the face of the threat from China to use the Pacific Ocean to oust the United States from a leading position. There are some possible geopolitical consequences of creating AUKUS for the region. They are escalation of tension and the nuclear arms race of the opposing parties; a new cold war with China; expansion of the club of nuclear powers because of Australia; imbalance of geopolitical forces in the region; undermining transatlantic unity; and a common strategy in the foreign policy of European countries and the United States.

Alliance Reliability and Dispute Escalation

States form defensive alliances hoping to deter adversaries and avoid war. However, scholars and policy analysts often worry that if an alliance fails to deter the promise of military support will encourage escalation, pushing disputants closer to war. We show that in many cases this concern is unwarranted. We use a game-theoretic model of alliance reliability and crisis bargaining to show that the same factors that indicate unreliability and provoke disputes also encourage alliance members to make concessions rather than risk war. We test this hypothesis using a sample of militarized disputes initiated against members of defensive alliances, where recent shifts in military capabilities represent changes in challengers’ estimates of alliance reliability. Less-reliable alliances are less likely than reliable allies to deter disputes, but they also decrease the probability of escalation relative to reliable alliances. Unreliable alliances need not encourage war; rather, they can discourage it.

Who delays climate action? Interest groups and coalitions in state legislative struggles in the United States

Gridlock and rollback in Washington have led to a turn to the states for action on climate change in the U.S. The state of Massachusetts presents a particularly puzzling case, since it was an early leader with binding emissions targets, but the succeeding dozen years saw most ambitious efforts stalled or watered down. We collected 1187 pieces of legislative testimony, 4126 reported lobbying visits, and interviews with and input from over fifty experts. Based on their lobbying reports and testimony in legislative hearings, we systematically characterize the legislative interests of nine main coalitions engaged in Massachusetts energy politics. We find that climate and clean energy advocates have few reliable allies and face four coalitions of opponents from the utilities, real estate, power generators, and fossil fuel and chemical industries. Our analysis indicates the central role utilities play in blocking the most ambitious clean energy legislation, and how they remodel those bills that survive the process into forms favorable to their interests.

Where Caciques and Mapmakers Met: Border Making in Eighteenth-Century South America

Where Caciques and Mapmakers Met: Border Making in Eighteenth-Century South America

“Different Islam from the One We Know in the Middle East”: Perceptions and Transformations in Early Israeli-Sahelian Relations, 1958-1965

The article examines the early interactions between Israel and the Sahelian states of Mali and Chad. Initially, the Sahelian states viewed Israel as a unique model of development and socialism, while Israel hoped to find a moderate and accepting version of Islam. Israeli perceptions of the benign yet malleable nature of African Islam prompted efforts to protect it from negative 'Arab' influences. Nevertheless, these early assumptions quickly faded. Many Sahelians became disillusioned with Israel and sought more reliable allies, while Israel increasingly reverted to forging alliances with non-Muslim minorities and pro-Western forces in the region. Investigating early Israeli-Sahelian relations highlights the complexity of the global discourse about African Islam, illustrates the role of perceptions and expectations in shaping international relations, and adds an important layer to the analysis of African-Israeli contact in the era of decolonization.

Thracians in the Second Macedonian War (200–197 B.C.)

Abstract This article presents and analyzes all of the available evidence on Thracian participation in the Second Macedonian War. It is demonstrated that contingents (lightly armed infantrymen) from Thrace fought (as auxiliaries, and probably as mercenaries) on the side of the Macedonians, remaining reliable allies throughout the war. During the war, Roman diplomacy succeeded in organizing attacks on Macedonia by land from the west, north, and south, but not from the east; this observation proves Philip V’s strong positions in Thrace. Due to incomplete data, it is not possible to determine the exact number of Thracians in the Macedonian army or whether the number varied during the war. The article ends with a suggestion that the good awareness of the Romans about the geopolitical situation in the Balkans, demonstrated by T. Quinctius Flamininus, implies their acquisition (probably for the first time) of information about Thrace and the Thracians.

Development of the US Plans for Post-War Japan during World War II

Signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on September 2, 1945 had formally ended the most destructive and bloody war in the history of mankind. Even before that a new balance of power on the international arena began to form, that would persist for almost half a century. At the same time, it was obvious from the outright that the Allies had very different views on how the post-war world order should look like. Traditionally, both Russian and foreign academic literature focused on their disputes regarding the German question. This paper provides a brief overview of the US Department of State planning and recommendation process for the post-war reconstruction of Japan in 1939–1945, which had eventually led to the formation of the socalled San Francisco subsystem of international relations. The first section of the paper outlines the challenges faced by the State Department when it came to planning the post-war architecture of the Far East. In that regard, the author pays particular attention to the staff shortage, which forced the Department of State to strengthen partnership with private research organizations and involve them in long-term planning.The author emphasizes that if before the United States entered the war the US planners adopted a rather tough stance on Japan, after the attack on Pearl Harbor their approaches paradoxically changed. The second section examines the contradictions and tensions between those politicians and experts who believed that in the establishment of the post-war order in the Far East the US should cooperate with China, and those who promoted rapprochement with Japan. These groups were unofficially referred to as the ‘Chinese team’ and the ‘Japanese crowd’ accordingly. The paper shows that as the end of the war approached, these contradictions gradually faded into the background. The needs to promote the interdepartmental cooperation and to reconcile the positions of the State Department, the Military and Naval Ministries on the future of Japan came to the fore. This work resulted in a series of memoranda, which laid the foundation for the US post-war policy towards Japan. In conclusion the author provides a general assessment of the strategic decision-making process in the United States during wartime and emphasizes its consistency, thoroughness and flexibility. As a result, it enabled the US to achieve what seemed impossible: to turn Japan from an ardent adversary of the United States in the Pacific into one of its most reliable allies, and it remains such today.

From a Spouse to a Citizen: The Gendered and Sexualized Path to Citizenship for Marriage Migrants in South Korea

Morality has been a key factor in naturalization. However, defining what constitutes good moral character has never been specified, leaving interpretation of the good moral character requirement to the discretion of immigration officials and judges. Based on an analysis of court cases filed by marriage migrants, this article expands our understanding of the legal interpretation of the “good morality” requirement in two significant ways. First, by examining the nature of the morality requirements applied to marriage migrants applying for citizenship, we identify that controlling sexual morality is one of the key mechanisms of gendering the path to legal citizenship. Second, our analysis questions the fairness of the judicial rulings and shows that judges are not reliable allies for immigrant spouses. South Korean judges tend to show great deference to the administrative branch and rarely rule against the decisions of the immigration officials. Further, the rulings tend to follow cultural and gendered, rather than legal, understanding of “good” wives and husbands. Ultimately, in the case of South Korea we show that that marriage migrant moral jurisprudence deviates from the developing jurisprudence that decriminalizes intimate choices and challenges the traditional gender roles within a family.

Trump’s trade wars: America, China, Europe, and global disorder

Both before and during his presidency Donald Trump held fiercely negative views of America’s global rivals and economic competitors. Trump became ever more critical of China and the European Union (EU), including not least Germany, Europe’s leading economy. While at times Trump was willing to cooperate with China to contain North Korea, since late 2017/early 2018 he did not hesitate to impose increasingly larger tariffs and unleash a trade war with Beijing while also moving into the same direction toward Europe. This essay examines Trump’s motives and procedures, considers the internal discussions within his administration and analyzes the reaction of both China and the EU Commission. Trump brought transatlantic relations to near breaking point. He incentivized China to embark on a “charm offensive” toward the EU and caused a reluctant EU to move closer to China. At present, however, the EU countries still believe that it is in their interests to uphold the transatlantic relationship and their position as America’s most reliable allies. Due to Trump’s lack of interest in Europe, this stance, however, threatens to become the view of a minority among the EU countries.

Палестинская проблема в ближневосточной политике СССР/России

The article reveals the stages in the formation of the USSR policy in the field of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict resolution, the features of the developed policy and practical conclusions that could be useful in advancing the current Middle East policy of the Russian Federation. Initially, the Soviet Union perceived the Palestinian theme primarily from the point of view of the problem of refugees. However, Moscow increasingly felt the need for reliable allies in the region. The movement for cooperation between the Palestine Liberation Organization and the USSR was bilateral: the PLO departed from revolutionary romanticism and began to follow a pragmatic line to expand contacts with opponents of Israel. Moscow began to consider the activities of the PLO as part of the national liberation movement, took a sharply anti-Israeli stance. Such a distortion led to a loss of freedom of maneuver in the region and to the announcement of deliberately non-constructive proposals for a Palestinian-Israeli settlement. Only since 1985 the USSR returned to a more flexible position, which sought to combine the interests of the Palestinian people and Israel. At the present stage, Russian diplomacy uses Soviet experience and connections, especially in the sphere of personal contacts. But Russia’s role in the Middle East conflict resolution has decreased due to subjective and objective reasons. Against the backdrop of the Arab Spring and the Civil War in Syria, Palestinian issues have become secondary in the agenda of Moscow, which, however, can lead to a new surge of violence and tension. Special relations with the Palestinian national liberation movement have always been an advantage of Soviet and then Russian diplomacy. The authors believe that this advantage should be used more actively to strengthen Russia’s positions in the region.

Religious motivation for mitigating human-forced climate change

Purpose – Religious organizations are among the non-government groups in the USA that are addressing climate change phenomena from their various faith perspectives and, despite the differences in their traditions and practices, are collaborating with one another to achieve their mutual goal – the establishment of policies that will mitigate the real and anticipated perils scientists are forecasting. If sufficiently motivated by their faith, informed by climate science, and politically astute, these groups may be reliable allies for climate change decision-makers to tap as they strive to achieve their mutual goal. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Focusing on the Coalition on Environment and Jewish Life, the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change, and Interfaith Power and Light, the author explores the diverse religious faith-based motivations underpinning their efforts, the extent to which they remain cognizant of the latest climate science, the structures through which t...

RICHARD S. KIM. The Quest for Statehood: Korean Immigrant Nationalism and U.S. Sovereignty, 1905-45.

Only in the last decade have “area studies” and “ethnic studies” begun to converge in new and critical ways. Until then, a rigid disciplinary bifurcation produced a complimentary set of Cold War narratives that tended to emphasize overseas “modernization” (rather than anti-democratic authoritarianism) and domestic “assimilation” (rather than racialized disenfranchisement). Joining a growing number of scholars who now question these American- and white-centric stories, Richard S. Kim, building on transnational approaches to the study of diaspora and its relationship to state building, brings together Korean and Korean American histories to present a more complex account that exceeds the conventional paradigms of “development” and “acculturation.” The Quest for Statehood reads primarily as an institutional history of the individuals who, as a result of Japan's colonization of Korea (1905–1945), left the peninsula in search of better employment, educational opportunities, and a firmer base from which to launch nationalist politics. However, Kim's account also reveals how the white supremacy of their adopted American home shaped this particular branch of diasporic nationalism, one that mobilized an exilic state to conduct moderate tactics of anticolonial resistance. Indeed, one of the author's most valuable contributions is to show how these U.S.-based immigrants, although barred from citizenship, engaged with “liberal” institutions of American politics to pursue their goal of national emancipation. Rather than being “assimilated” into a politics of pluralism, these stateless actors used their knowledge and expertise to create a “civic society” in the interstices of the U.S. and Japanese imperial nation-states. In addition to fund-raising activities and the exchange of information, parastatal groups such as the Korean National Association (KNA) and the Korean Commission (KC) continually pressured policy and opinion makers to support their cause, which they actively connected to the history of the United States' own revolution. Kim argues that these national politics of the homeland (rather than those of their adopted country) enabled Korean Americans to acquire a politicized identity as an ethnic minority. In practice, however, their unofficial status as a deterritorialized organization made it nearly impossible for immigrant leaders to find reliable allies. As the opening anecdote about the Hemet incident of 1913 suggests, even their seemingly “liberal” American hosts failed to suppress racist treatment of Asian immigrants and, as citizens of an imperialist power, showed little interest in supporting the anticolonial politics of Korean Americans, at least until Japan threatened to become a Pacific hegemon. As the rivalry with the Soviet Union intensified, U.S. national interests continued to take precedence over Korean decolonization, leading to the peninsula's arbitrary division in 1945 and subsequent interventions into a civil war that cost the lives of millions.

On the Core of Agents Interactions in a Spontaneous Networked Organization

In many dynamic open systems, social interaction plays an important role for the development of social capital. These interactions may not be secure from self-interested agents. For that, each agent must be capable of identifying reliable interaction allies. In light of this, the focus is on developing a different type of interaction among the agents inside a spontaneous networked organization (SNO). It helps to overcome such a problem through applying a broad range of service level agreements (SLAs). SLA and its role amongst the agents in the SNO will be discussed. We will present a policy of negotiation to accelerate the execution process of the fittest task provided by the organizer. Moreover, by applying collaborative filtering (CF), we examine different types of data to show how agents interact implicitly or explicitly and how these interactions affect the social capital. This method obtains a high performance of interaction and can help to control the spontaneous flow of behaviors and knowledge to be more accurate when agents communicate rationally since trust is recorded in such a distributed organization.