Strategic Ambitions Research Articles

Educational management in personnel training of hydrometeorological services: world experience

Introduction. The relevance of the presented study is determined by the fact that the acceleration of climate change on the planet has a significant impact on almost all spheres of economic and social life of mankind, which imposes new requirements both on the information provided by hydrometeorological services and on the personnel of managers and specialists providing it.Purpose setting. The purpose of the presented studies is to summarize the world experience in the development of promising requirements for the skills and competence of managers and specialists of national meteorological services in the interests of forming a system of requirements for staffing and training of managers and specialists of hydrometeorological services of the Roshydromet system.Methodology and methods of the study. The methodological base of the research consists of well-known scientific works devoted to the promising requirements for the skills and competencies of managers and specialists of the hydrometeorological service. Results. The novelty of the obtained results lies in the fact that, based on the generalization of world experience in the development of promising requirements for the skills and competence of managers and specialists of national hydrometeorological services, it was found that when forming personnel management strategies, on the one hand, requirements are put forward for a wide range of competencies of personnel who own both traditional technologies and innovative technologies for processing and interpreting information based on IT. On the other hand, hydrometeorological services impose increased demands on themselves, which is manifested in strategic aspirations to form a holistic motivation system for their employees, covering all levels of human needs, according to substantive theories of motivation – from economic competitiveness to opportunities for training, development and self-expression.Conclusion. The practical significance of the obtained results lies in the possibility of using world experience in developing promising requirements for the skills and competence of managers and specialists of national meteorological services when forming strategies for personnel management of hydrometeorological structures of the Roshydromet system.

The Philippines’ diplomatic strategy toward the US and China: From theory to reality

China and the Philippines have a long history of relations. This relationship has developed and achieved many significant milestones despite many ups and downs. China’s rise began approximately 2010 when it surpassed Japan to become the world’s second largest economy after the United States. This has drawn the attention of countries in the region seeking opportunities from China’s development. Moreover, to realize its strategic ambitions as a great power in the 21st century, China had to set strong goals, with the economy as the driving force behind all development activities. The Philippines, a neighboring country with many characteristics suitable for China’s political, economic and diplomatic goals, became an important factor in China’s rise. In implementing a policy of closer relations with China, the Philippines could not ignore the influence of the United States. The Philippines is one of the United States’ Asian allies, along with Japan, South Korea and Australia, and is a driving force behind the United States’ policy of increasing dominance in the Asia-Pacific region. This article will focus on the impact of the United States on China and the Philippines, as well as the process of Philippine–China relations in many fields, with a focus on politics–diplomacy, economy and security–defense in the first two decades of the 21st century.

Geopolitical strategies and transnational environmental governance: A comparative study of international NGOs in Cambodia

Geopolitical strategies and transnational governance can synergistically interact to meet strategic ambitions and environmental targets. International NGOs and their transnational operations are the heart of these entangled dynamics. This study reveals how geopolitical strategies influence international NGOs and their transnational activities. Drawing on empirical insights from a comparative study of international NGOs (Japanese and Chinese) in Cambodia, we developed two models to elucidate the nature of this relationship. The “tight coupling” model is exemplified by Japanese NGOs that are closely aligned with the Japanese state’s geopolitical focus on soft power in Southeast Asia. This alignment results in strong state support in terms of resources and networking capabilities, enabling the NGOs to conduct long-term environmental work and build relationships with Cambodian communities through deep engagement. The “loose coupling” model is exemplified by Chinese NGOs whose alignment with China’s dominant geopolitical strategy (the Belt and Road Initiative) is relatively weak. Consequently, these NGOs receive limited state support, which restrict their ability to engage with local communities and achieve a sustainable impact. This study breaks new ground by weaving together the fields of geopolitics and transnational environmental governance, offering new insights regarding how to incorporate geopolitical perspectives in examining the roles of non-state actors in global environmental politics.

Strategic ambitions of external RDI funding in Finnish universities of applied sciences

ABSTRACT This article explores the strategic external funding goals and plans of action of Finnish universities of applied sciences (UASs) as articulated in their institutional strategies using the ecology-of-games metaphor. UASs are pressured to expand external funding sources compared to their previous student number-based funding history. The UASs’ institutional strategies reveal the objectives and actions to acquire external RDI (research, development and innovation) funding and potential externalities. UASs underscore cooperation, partnerships and expanding RDI and institutional images. Few UASs set goals for specific funding sources; instead, UASs’ strategies demonstrate commitment to their public RDI mission. UASs’ unique internal features are not prominently reflected in external funding goals and plans of actions. This study suggests that UASs’ strategies significantly align with the government’s core funding formula and implemented public funding cuts. Global pressures and increased performance competition have even led to new ownership structures, where traditional universities primarily own UASs in five cases. This introduces a new dynamic to Finnish universities and UASs, with implications for both sectors. This study’s main contribution is its conceptualisation of multiple strategic external funding goals and plans of action in Finnish UASs’ governance and funding contexts.

History is written by the losers: Strategy and grand strategy in the aftermath of war

ABSTRACT Strategy is a theory of victory; grand strategy is a theory of security. In the ideal, a state’s strategy and grand strategy are mutually reinforcing. Wartime decisions should leave the state more secure in the aftermath, and peacetime decisions should put the state in a good position in the event of future conflict. Yet for various reasons, strategy and grand strategy often drift apart. This article focuses on one type of decoupling. Victorious states tend to expand their grand strategic ambitions, yet nostalgia encourages them to retain increasingly outmoded strategic concepts. Losers, by contrast, are more likely to have frank conversations about the real opportunities and limits of state power, and the ways in which military action can provide meaningful support. I illustrate the argument with case studies from the British experience in the American War of Independence, and the American experience in the first Persian Gulf War.

Unraveling the Nagorno-Karabakh Conundrum: Deciphering Russia’s Southern Caucasus Strategy

Following the Nagorno-Karabakh War, a ceasefire agreement was signed by Azerbaijan and Armenia. However, the path towards a comprehensive peace accord still needs to be solved with some challenges. The unresolved status of Nagorno-Karabakh and the fate of its Armenian inhabitants remain critical points of contention. Additionally, the difficulties of Armenian Prime Minister Nicol Pashinyan in executing provisions related to the proposed transportation corridors outlined in the Ceasefire Pact add another layer of discord. External actors further complicated this situation. Armenia’s domestic opposition and Iran’s strategic ambitions within the region played significant roles. Conversely, Russia has taken a central role in overseeing peace negotiations and advancing its interests in the Southern Caucasus. This article delves into the entrenched disputes between Azerbaijan and Armenia and examines the potential trajectory of their relations. Moreover, it provides insights into Russia’s intricate agenda, which shapes the evolving dynamics of the Southern Caucasus region. In essence, this study analyzes the intricate web of challenges, interests, and influences that intersect in this geopolitical landscape, shedding light on the intricate interplay between internal and external factors.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar’s Quest for Power in the Arab Gulf: Role of Ideational Factors and Economic Rivalry in Diverging Foreign Policy Choices

In a quest to emerge as the Arab Gulf’s ‘Top Gun’, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are striving to maintain a balance of power while simultaneously making concerted efforts at curbing Qatar’s political and strategic outreach in the region. Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, two major Arab powers, often depict synchronicity in their foreign policies but Saudi’s reluctance to relinquish its status of dominance and the underlying quest for an influential political and economic position have turned Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, into rival allies, opting for diverging foreign policy choices in the Middle East and abroad. Pursuing a bold and unconventional foreign policy in the region, Qatar’s linkages with regional militias, its close proximity to Turkey, Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood are the significant drivers of its approach to regional politics. The contrasting policies of Abu Dhabi and Doha towards the Muslim Brotherhood, the role of political Islam and cross-culturalism in the Arab World have long served as the bone of contention. However, depicting a pacifist stance towards political Islam, the Saudi-Qatar rivalry is mostly strategic in nature. This paper adopts a comparative approach to understand the foreign policy choices, influencing the behavioral patterns of the three contending actors in the Gulf. Drawing upon the role of ideational factors, strategic aspirations and the role of external actors namely the U.S., Turkey, and Iran, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the persisting security dilemma and the quest for relative gains among Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Doha driven by the notion of security and survival in an anarchic international system.

ESG as a key pillar of investment strategy

In this paper we delve into the importance of environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations as a cornerstone in investment strategies. The discourse takes the reader through a transformative journey, from understanding key pillars that need to be addressed to truly succeed in ESG integration to setting the level of strategic ambition to incorporate it effectively into investment processes, focusing particularly on integration and management. We explore key steps in an investment process, such as strategic allocation, security selection, portfolio construction with a particular emphasis on risk assessment, stress testing and investment compliance. Specific examples are provided to elucidate how ESG considerations can be seamlessly incorporated into these critical steps to achieve fully aligned portfolios. Upon completion of the paper, readers can expect to gain a robust understanding of the ESG landscape, insights on how to integrate ESG considerations into their investment decisions and tools to future-proof their portfolios. The knowledge and skills acquired will be invaluable for asset managers, investors and other finance professionals looking to align their strategies with the emerging realities of the current investment landscape.

Mind the gap – a comparative analysis of (in-)congruences in HRD role perception

ABSTRACT Inspired by role conceptualisations and calls to rethink and reshape activities and competences of professionally qualified HRD practitioners, we examine HRD’s role and its associated activities through established versions of role theory. We ask: To what extent is there congruence in role expectations of HRD practitioners and other stakeholders? We study this question by interviewing 71 HRD practitioners and non-HRD managers across 16 organisations in three countries (US/UK/NL) and by analysing their responses on HRD role expectations and perceptions, congruences and incongruences. We map our findings on a 2 × 2 matrix and find that only a small number of organisations see professional HRD practitioners as strategic partners; most organisations find themselves within a more operational HRD role definition, or somewhere ‘on the fence’, with mixed ideas of role perceptions. Yet, a few organisations struggle to find alignment on HRD’s strategic aspirations and how those play out in practice. While our findings highlight the progress that HRD practice has made towards strategic partnership, we conclude that many HRD practitioners struggle to gain a seat at the table. We close our paper by discussing implications for HRD practice and scholarship.

Evolution of business physiology in the wine industry: insights from the Stra.Tech.Man Scorecard in the Cephalonian Robola sector

ABSTRACT This study explores the physiological evolution of entrepreneurship in the Robola PDO wine sector in Cephalonia, Greece, utilizing the Stra.Tech.Man Scorecard as a diagnostic tool. Focusing on micro-firms producing and marketing the Robola PDO wine variety, the research provides insights into the executives’ self-assessments of their strategic, technological, and management adaptation efforts from 2017 to 2021. The findings indicate that these firms exhibit a strong strategic ambition to improve their competitiveness, but encounter obstacles in technology and networking operations, as well as limitations in developing their human resources and their overall management methodologies. Furthermore, the study reveals that the companies’ innovation potential was enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study highlights the potential for developing a sophisticated regional wine brand and underscores the role of innovative entrepreneurs and government support in fostering a competitive and sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem.

CONCEPTUALISING THE ROLE OF INDIA IN NORTH KOREA`S DENUCLEARISATION

The US and its allies perceive North Korea's acquisition of nuclear weapons as a significant strategic challenge in the region. Diplomatic efforts have been made to persuade the Kim regime to abandon its nuclear programme, but they have failed. The DPRK considers nuclear weapons capability vital for deterrence against external threats and strategically crucial for national defence. India, a key US ally in containing China, has taken a stiffer stance towards Pyongyang's nuclear programme while enhancing its role in contributing to North Korea's denuclearisation. It represents itself as a staunch opponent of nuclear proliferation and the development of sophisticated weapons. This paper explores India's role in North Korea's perceived denuclearisation. It highlights that India has adopted a dual-standard approach to nuclear proliferation and sophisticated weapons and is also trying to create a technological nexus between Pakistan and North Korea, allegedly to achieve strategic ambitions in South Asia and assert pressure on Pakistan with the help of the US and its Western allies. Bibliography Entry Kakar, Sher Ali and Muhammad Adil Khan. 2023. "Conceptualising the Role of India in North Korea’s Denuclearisation." Margalla Papers 27 (1): 166-175.

The 'decolonization of global health' agenda in Africa: harnessing synergies with the continent's strategic aspirations.

The 'decolonization of global health' agenda in Africa: harnessing synergies with the continent's strategic aspirations.

Universities and Metropolitan Strategic Planning: The Case of Sydney, Australia

AbstractUniversities are increasingly identified by planning authorities as catalysts for urban change. At a local scale, planning policy often positions the development of university sites as a way to reconfigure the social, economic, and built characteristics of an area. At a city‐wide scale, the development activities of universities emerge as central to wider metropolitan strategic ambitions. This is especially the case in cities, such as Sydney, Australia, where multiple universities are dispersed across the city. Increasingly universities have been identified in strategic planning policy as vital infrastructure able to influence the structure and function of the city. This paper reviews recent strategic planning processes in Sydney. Specifically, the paper reveals how universities emerge as central in pursuing global city status and economic performance, supporting existing centres and corridors, establishing new specialised centres and shaping a new urban spatial structure.

The Spectrum of Strategic Autonomy in EU Defence Supply Chains

ABSTRACT The Strategic Compass aims to strengthen the resilience of defence-industrial supply chains and complements the long-term strategic ambition of enhancing the EDTIB. Impetus for restructuring the EU’s supply chains may be provided by the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the associated increase in defence budgets, and the promotion of joint projects and cross-border M&A. Since the prospect of achieving strategic autonomy also depends on how ‘local’ current supply chains are, we offer an in-depth investigation of three dimensions related to foreign dependency (company ownership, tender success, supply chain participation). Despite mean scores of non-EU ownership in the range of 25-30% for the EU’s largest defence firms, foreign ownership does not necessarily threaten the EU’s security of supply. Nevertheless, the participation of non-EU firms concerning M&A with high relevance for the EU defence industry increases, as does the share of defence-related EU tenders that are won by non-EU firms. An assessment of four multinational military aircraft programmes further exemplifies that the EU’s defence R&D and production capabilities may critically depend on outside suppliers. We thus find that the importance of non-EU actors for the EU’s defence industry is large and may not easily be mitigated, particularly if commodity imports are considered.

Profiting from Crisis? Catholic Traditionalism during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract During the COVID-19 pandemic, traditionalist Catholic communities have been able to draw worshippers from mainstream parishes that restricted services, thereby profiting from the crisis. In addition, they have used pandemic conditions to advance an ultra-conservative strain of Christian theology that foregrounds the role of believers in the Ecclesia militans or “militant Church” by rejecting (in part) state-imposed measures against the pandemic and propagating a critique of vaccination in line with decades of mobilization against abortion and secularism. The paper focuses on the largest of these communities, the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X and the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter. Focusing mainly on Austria, it details how these communities have sought to leverage the crisis to court worshipers from mainstream parishes and advance their long-term strategic ambitions to destabilize the post-Second Vatican Council status quo within the Roman Catholic Church.

The Roadmap of India’s Foreign Relations and U.S.A Geo-Politics Interests in the New World Order

Over the past two decades, India-USA relations have expanded in almost every conceivable dimension, though not as companions but as bilateral relations on parallel journeys. How should India’s emerging role in the international system and India’s growing contribution to the strength and stability of the global order be viewed? What are the issues and challenges that stand against India’s growing international role and what opportunities should it take advantage of as India continues to transform itself into an important global role? The strategic state of relations between India and the USA provides a useful look at these questions. Despite India’s undeniable regional and global importance to American interests, for several decades the USA was unwilling to consider key areas to further deepen bilateral and regional cooperation. The main reason for this was that India had nuclear weapons but in the early years after the year 2000, the USA began to see an active and constructive partnership with India as necessary to move forward on many issues. For example, America’s global war on terror was joined by India’s fight against its threat of organized terrorism. It gave both countries a practical platform for greater cooperation in intelligence, law enforcement and military relations. Cyber security cooperation between the two countries has steadily increased in recent years. Furthermore, the US has realized that it is necessary to increase cooperation with India to counter the growing China as China is already exercising significant economic and political influence at the regional level and beyond. India, on its part, recognized long ago that China’s main strategic goal was to replace the USA as the most important security force in Asia and above all to destroy the current international global order set by the USA to challenge. Along with this, India also knows that America’s strong regional and global position is important to bring under control of China’s strategic ambition. As in the October 2019 edition of Foreign Affairs Magazine, Robert D. Blackville and Ashley J. Tellis wrote: “As far as China is concerned, American and Indian national interests are parallel to each other. The USA sought to maintain stability in Asia through an arrangement based not on Chinese domination but on the security and autonomy of all countries in the region. India, because of its fear of Chinese supremacy, supported America’s approach to China.’

The crises of a crisis: The impact of Covid-19 on localised decarbonisation ambitions in the United Kingdom

Responding to crises leads to a shift in priorities and actions, with this affecting the achievement of longer-term strategic ambitions. This paper contributes to understandings of governing crises by exploring the tension between short-term crisis response and the achievement of longer-term policy goals, through the discussion of the Covid-19 pandemic and localised decarbonisation ambitions in Greater Manchester. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Greater Manchester outlined ambitions to achieve carbon neutrality by 2038 through the use of a place-based approach. Greater Manchester has been subject to a range of lockdown restrictions throughout the pandemic, with all aspects of society being impacted including decarbonisation ambitions. Thus providing a useful case study for understanding the impact that Covid-19 has had on the development and implementation of Greater Manchester's decarbonisation ambitions. Within this focus is placed on the opportunities and constraints experienced.A total of 22 semi-structured interviews were conducted with stakeholders associated with Greater Manchester's decarbonisation ambitions between October 2020 and April 2021. Stakeholders interviewed included regional and local government, academics, community organisations, non-profit organisations and activist groups. Novel insights obtained through the stakeholder interviews highlight how Covid-19 has simultaneously constrained and provided opportunities for decarbonisation in Greater Manchester. Based upon the experiences of the stakeholders interviewed, 4 crises which have affected the achievement of longer-term decarbonisation ambitions have been identified – a communication crisis, an engagement crisis, a participation crisis and crises of temporality. The crises identified and discussed either emerged or intensified as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Although these crises are discussed in relation to the impact of Covid-19 on decarbonisation, the learnings identified can be applied to other crises and long-term strategic ambitions.

Research Infrastructure Contact Zones: a framework and dataset to characterise the activities of major biodiversity informatics initiatives.

The landscape of biodiversity data infrastructures and organisations is complex and fragmented. Many occupy specialised niches representing narrow segments of the multidimensional biodiversity informatics space, while others operate across a broad front, but differ from others by data type(s) handled, their geographic scope and the life cycle phase(s) of the data they support. In an effort to characterise the various dimensions of the biodiversity informatics landscape, we developed a framework and dataset to survey these dimensions for ten organisations (DiSSCo, GBIF, iBOL, Catalogue of Life, iNaturalist, Biodiversity Heritage Library, GeoCASe, LifeWatch, eLTER ELIXIR), relative to both their current activities and long-term strategic ambitions. The survey assessed the contact between the infrastructure organisations by capturing the breadth of activities for each infrastructure across five categories (data, standards, software, hardware and policy), for nine types of data (specimens, collection descriptions, opportunistic observations, systematic observations, taxonomies, traits, geological data, molecular data and literature) and for seven phases of activity (creation, aggregation, access, annotation, interlinkage, analysis and synthesis). This generated a dataset of 6,300 verified observations, which have been scored and validated by leading members of each infrastructure organisation. The resulting data allow high-level questions about the overall biodiversity informatics landscape to be addressed, including the greatest gaps and contact between organisations.

Examining the EU Reaction to a Humanitarian Emergency from a Network Perspective: The Response to Cyclones Idai and Kenneth

AbstractThis article examines the European Union (EU) involvement and co‐ordination of a humanitarian emergency response overseas. In particular, this article will examine the reaction to Cyclones Idai and Kenneth. By combining an exponential random graph model (ERGM) with semi‐structured interviews, this article will also apply resource dependence theory in order to identify actor characteristics that conditioned exchanges within the network that responded to this incident. Hence, it provides novel empirical evidence regarding de facto responses to humanitarian emergencies that increases understanding of social dynamics among the actors involved in these efforts. The findings of this study show that the co‐ordination of the EU response generally followed a multilateral logic. However, the limited empowerment of the local community throughout the response was less consistent with the strategic aspirations of the EU. For their part, donors tended to show less activity within the network than financial aid recipients.

Introduction

Introduction Rachel Bernstein (bio) [End Page 1] Over the last decade, China's presence on the global stage has shifted dramatically: the country is now an economic powerhouse and increasingly influential in international organizations. As China rises, questions also arise pertaining to its strategic objectives toward many regions and in many domains. China appears to be seeking a "loose, partial, and malleable" hegemony over the global South—making the African continent a strategic priority for Beijing.1 This Asia Policy roundtable is a result of a current research initiative at the National Bureau of Asian Research, "Into Africa: China's Emerging Strategy," which aims to better understand China's strategic ambitions in Africa and assess how the continent fits into China's envisioned global order. The first three reports in this project to date have examined China's expansion into Africa from Beijing's perspective, often relying on Chinese-language sources to draw conclusions and analyze China's strategy.2 Yet, only looking at Beijing's viewpoint to get a fuller grasp on China-Africa relations would be a gross oversight that would provide an incomplete impression of China's engagement with the continent. Africa is a continent with 54 countries and a population of more than 1.3 billion people. China's engagement with the continent, of course, does not have the same level of impact or influence in all these countries, and not all states share the same opinion regarding China's presence. This roundtable seeks to share, highlight, and examine African perspectives regarding China's engagement with and influence on the continent. The essays here provide both regional and functional case studies examining different facets of the China-Africa relationship from the perspective of African [End Page 2] states, ranging from medical diplomacy and infrastructure development to smart cities in Kenya and the Digital Silk Road to local responses to China's growing influence and image campaigns in Zambia and Mauritius. Cobus van Staden evaluates China's medical diplomacy as the Covid-19 pandemic becomes endemic. While China's mask diplomacy in the early phases of the pandemic was effective and garnered positive responses, its later vaccine diplomacy suffered setbacks. Although Beijing appeared to overpromise and underdeliver, he concludes that vaccine and medical diplomacy can be considered a diplomatic victory for China, compared to the West's disappointing and underwhelming response. Looking at another area of diplomacy and outreach, Mandira Bagwandeen discusses China's infrastructure investments and application of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in African countries as well as key outcomes from the Eighth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in November 2021. Amid accusations of debt-trap diplomacy and the financial pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic, she finds that China has demonstrated some willingness to negotiate debt-relief measures with African states. Discussions at FOCAC, however, indicated that China intends to begin re-directing its development assistance away from financing infrastructure development through large loans and toward trade facilitation. Also under the BRI umbrella is the Digital Silk Road, which is focused on improving states' infrastructure for information and communications technology and digital capabilities. As Ovigwe Eguegu explains, the Digital Silk Road is attractive to many African governments, including Ethiopia, Senegal, Gambia, and Zimbabwe, due to China's emphasis on digital sovereignty, which aligns with their development priorities. However, obstacles, such as a lack of digital infrastructure, still must be overcome before the Digital Silk Road becomes fully popularized in Africa. Bulelani Jili also addresses technology development in Africa, focusing particularly on smart cities in Kenya as a case study. He argues that China's "no strings attached" lending practices, especially for technology development, create opportunities for technology to be abused in societies where few data and privacy regulations exist. Jili asserts that it is not necessarily the sharing of the technologies that is worrisome, but the local governance conditions that can enable unjust surveillance practices in smart cities and using smart technologies. Obert Hodzi examines the effect of China's rise and presence in Africa on democracy and development, looking specifically at Zimbabwe, Rwanda, and Ethiopia. He argues that while China does not promote [End Page 3] its authoritarian model, by highlighting...