Study Of International Relations Research Articles

What Defines a Discipline and How We Teach and Study It? The Changing Scope and Role of the Subject Benchmark Statement for Politics and International Relations (IR) and Its Implications For the Teaching and Study of Politics and IR in Higher Education

The paper asks whether there is a typical Politics and IR curriculum before reviewing the content and design of the revised fifth edition of the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) Politics and IR Subject Benchmark Statement that was launched in March 2023. The paper examines the manner by which the most recent edition differs from earlier subject benchmark statements and reflects on the implications of the strategic direction taken by the QAA to include new content areas that primarily focus on the development of disciplinary statements on Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), Accessibility and sustainability and Enterprise and entrepreneurship education (EED). The paper explores the implications of benchmark statements, given that while they are not a regulatory requirement, they nevertheless seek to define what can be expected of a graduate and are drawn upon by Higher Education Institutions (HEI) to inform the development and revision of Politics and IR undergraduate provision.

Friends and partners: Estimating latent affinity networks with the graphical LASSO

The notion of affinity among countries is central in studies of international relations: it plays an important role in research as scholars use measures of affinity to study conflict and cooperation in a variety of contexts. To more effectively measure affinity, I argue that it is necessary to utilize multidimensional data and take into account the network context of international relations. In this paper, I develop the deep affinity concept and introduce a new algorithm, the three-step graphical LASSO (GLASSO), to infer and recover latent affinity networks. This technique leverages the abundance of monadic and dyadic state-level data to identify the presence or absence of affinity links between pairs of countries. Directly incorporating network effects and using a variety of multidimensional data inputs, I used the three-step GLASSO to estimate latent affinity links among countries. With these data, I examined the implications of affinity for international conflict and foreign direct investment, and found that the measure of affinity generated with the three-step GLASSO outperformed alternative affinity measures and was associated with decreased conflict and increased economic interaction.

Pendulum swings rather than paradigm shifts: Southeast Asia’s securitisations and the global war on terror

Abstract Two decades into the ‘war on terror’, attention is rapidly shifting away from terrorism. Increasing geopolitical competition between the US and China and Russia’s war in Ukraine prompted talk about a watershed moment in global politics marked by a return of great power competition. To what extent has this paradigm shift – from terrorism to ‘traditional’ considerations of military security from external invasion – taken place in Southeast Asia? Building on securitisation theory, this article argues that the war on terror did not mark a universal historical-political period as it is often presented. In Southeast Asia, so-called non-traditional threats such as terrorism have concerned states since their independence. Therefore, Southeast Asia continued to prioritise ‘traditional’ security threats alongside ‘non-traditional’ ones in what is commonly described as its comprehensive approach to security. Consequently, when the ‘return to geopolitics’ began influencing military doctrine and preparation amongst NATO countries, a similar shift was absent in Southeast Asia. We argue that the region has seen varied emphases on non-traditional versus traditional security threats but did not experience the paradigm shift suggested by the US-dominated security narrative. Southeast Asia’s comprehensive security constellation underscores the need for a more pluralistic and eclectic approach to the study of international relations.

Toward a “pluriversal” international relations studies in Indonesia

Toward a “pluriversal” international relations studies in Indonesia

Cybersecurity and International Relations: developing thinking tools for digital world politics

Abstract Processes of digital transformation alter global politics. This is an issue not only for specialists in cybersecurity, but for all scholars of international relations. This introduction to a special section outlines an agenda for cybersecurity research in international relations research and practice. We argue that cybersecurity is not only a specialized subfield of International Relations (IR), but also an intellectual space in which crucial questions concerning international politics, security and digital technology can be examined. Nevertheless, we identify three biases in current cybersecurity research—a focus toward the state, the military and power as domination—that limit the field and hamper broader engagement with IR and critical security scholarship. We argue that cybersecurity and digital technology are neither optional additions to the theory and practice of international relations nor issues that can neatly be isolated from other world affairs. The goal of the special section is hence twofold. First, to provide new directions and foundations for cybersecurity studies. Second, to explore the opportunities and challenges raised by cybersecurity and digital technological phenomena in conversation with IR and critical security studies. Taken together, the special section demonstrates the need to understand cybersecurity through international relations and to understand international relations through cybersecurity.

Practical course in professionally oriented interpretation: Chinese language in preparing senior students of non-linguistic universities for professional activities

Introduction. Author's materials - texts and exercises for the new textbook "Chinese in the field of professionally oriented interpretation" are an innovative methodological means of organizing the educational process, allowing for an effective process of teaching transformational techniques of translation from Chinese into Russian and from Russian into Chinese. The purpose of the work is to develop effective methodological materials for teaching types of consecutive interpreting and written translation activities to students of non-linguistic universities based on authentic materials and test their effectiveness with a pedagogical experiment in the framework of preparing the textbook “Practical course of professionally oriented interpretation: Chinese language” for publication. Materials and methods. The experiment took place in two non-linguistic universities: on the basis of the scientific and educational center “East-West” at the department of “International Relations and Regional Studies” of the Novosibirsk State Technical University as part of translation courses. The study involved third- and fourth-year students with basic knowledge of the Chinese language (N=70). To test the effectiveness of using materials for publishing a practice-oriented textbook, participants in the experiment worked on new materials developed by the authors. Students in the control group studied by the traditional method. The objects of control were four types of translation activities: written translation of text from Chinese into Russian; written translation from Russian into Chinese, volume; consecutive interpreting of sentences from Chinese into Russian and oral consecutive interpretation of sentences from Russian into Chinese. Data analysis was performed using Student's t-test. Research results. It was revealed that the author's materials and the sequence of exercises developed for publication in the textbook have proven their effectiveness in the formation and development of skills in various types of translation. Translation of written text from Chinese into Russian (450 characters/hour) (t=2,33; p<0,01), translation of written text from Russian into Chinese (1000 characters/hour) (t=2,69; p<0,004), consecutive interpreting of sentences from Russian into Chinese (400 characters) (t=2,60 at p<0,006). At the same time, statistical analysis of the data did not confirm the improvement in indicators for the development of skills in consecutive interpreting of sentences from Chinese into Russian (250 characters) (t=1,41; p<0,07), which can be explained by the fact that students are proficient in non-linguistic universities with translation skills at an average level by the beginning of a pedagogical experiment within the framework of a verifiable lexical and grammatical transformation of the source material. Conclusion. The obtained results can be used in developing methods for teaching translation skills using original exercises to students of non-linguistic universities.

The Place of World Economy Research in the Heterodox Analytics of Eurasian Integration

Aim. The article shows the increased productivity of heterodox approaches in the part of economics that studies the problems of the world economy, including regional integration.Methods. Illustrations of the apparent paradoxicity (for representatives of the economic mainstream) of geopolitical and world economic dynamics after 2022 are used to explain the importance of analyzing economic processes in the world economy, taking into account approaches of related social disciplines. The connection of some important scientific results of Russian scholars in the field of economics with the achievements of historians, orientalists and cultural scientists, representatives of economic and political geography and studies of international relations is shown.Results. The article describes the boundaries of the mathematization of the considered segment of heterodox analysis related to the unreliability of world economic statistics, with examples of the successful application of approximate (in a broad sense relative to mathematical terminology) calculations to assess shifts in foreign trade and foreign direct investment in contemporary Russia. The author demonstrates that the heterodox approach reveals the absence of contradiction between Russia’s intensification of Eurasian economic integration (including within the narrow limits of the EAEU) and our country’s efforts to build a more equitable polycentric world order, including strengthening the BRICS format. Greater interdisciplinary transparency for heterodox economists against the background of representatives of the mainstream, among other things, makes it possible to intensify fruitful cooperation between scientists and practical analysts representing analytical centers — think tanks of the post-Soviet space and neighboring countries in the interests of developing integration projects.Conclusions. The proposed methodological framework can enhance the effectiveness of the work of the analytical community of Russia and its friendly countries in obtaining new applied conclusions in the economic sphere, especially in terms of enhancing the effectiveness of integration efforts in Greater Eurasia. At the same time, heterodox economists are more receptive to cooperation with historians, political scientists and other analysts who have focused on Eurasian economic integration.

Studying Narratives in International Relations

Abstract Many scholars in international relations (IR) share an interest in narratives. With few, notable exceptions, IR scholars seem to lack clear methodological guidelines on how to conceptualize and study narratives in IR. We therefore develop a minimal definition of narratives and introduce a conceptual framework that shows how narrative analysis can be applied to questions and concepts within IR. We introduce narrative analysis as a multi-modal approach, which also draws on methodological insights from visual analysis, discourse analysis, and practice theory. The aim of the article is pedagogical, namely to translate insights from narratology to studies in IR and to show how everyday sources of the political, such as pop culture or social media, can be meaningfully analyzed. We argue that such an interpretive analysis implies adopting a critical and reflective stance to explore how narratives are shaped, how they appeal to specific political audiences, and whose interests are served by dominant political narratives. Such a perspective strongly resonates with current research debates in IR on practices, discourse, visuality, and emotions and puts a strong emphasis on power relations.

Три уровня международного политико-экономического анализа: новая перспектива для исследования международных проблем в эпоху многополярности

One of the key issues in current international relations studies is the structure of knowledge. The epistemological foundations of political and economic theories of international development are losing their relevance as the influence of theory on the practice of international relations wanes. The declining ability of international analysis to predict the future of world politics and economics emphasizes the need for a broader, interdisciplinary approach to the study of international relations. This study aims to explore the possibility of creating a new, practical and interdisciplinary model of analysis to address the problems of the modern international system. This approach to the systemic analysis of international relations involves broadening the scope of the study by integrating international political and economic (IPE) analysis and including three analytical levels: explanatory, normative and critical. The article defines the terminology, structure, principles and criteria of such an analysis based on the problems of modern political science. The author also points out the main difficulties in the formation of theoretical and methodological basis of the three-level analysis. Examples of analyzing problems, namely the impact of trade barriers on the instability of global supply chains and the international dimension of the energy crisis of the Federal Republic of Germany (2022 – present) are given, demonstrating the quality and consistency of the results of such analysis.

Ideas and Methods of Cognitive Science in the Studies of International Relations and Foreign Policy

International studies have recently witnessed a renaissance of interest in the study of decision-making patterns related to the influence of individual and group actors and the resulting need to understand their deep psychology, the nature of their incentives and motivations. Such studies update the application of behavioral and cognitive sciences in the field of international relations and foreign policy, and encourage the adaptation of the methodology of specialized disciplines to solve complex socio-political problems. The present paper is an attempt to inventory key research subject areas and related literature, as well as to demonstrate the application of existing theories to the analysis of current political issues.

Evaluation of Energy Security Submits on Climate Change; Kyoto Protocol and Copenhagen Accord

The rise and incessant increase of Industrialization, modernization and advance technology have attributed to a greater challenge in contemporary international politics. It has brought about a shift in major discuss and study of international relations and politics from the anarchical nature of nation states to climate change. This research work focuses on the hypocrisy in United Nation, a case study of the Kyoto Protocol and Copenhagen submit. It highlights the various submit held to find solution to climate change, the discrepancy and hypocritical politics or decision in the United Nation, solutions agreed from various submit and as well the United nation contribution to climate change. It adopted a qualitative method of research with data’s from written literature and journals from different scholars and UN articles. Realism was adopted as theoretical frame work which shows that sates will go to any extents to defends her interest not minding the global disaster, which has influenced the decisions and as brought about rational and immoral decisions from some advance or rich nations. It concludes that, the hypocritical nature of some states has posed more threats to the issues at hand, due to the use of fossil fuels, every wealthy nation today became wealthy, the world's largest development agencies refuse to support the use of fossil fuels, which poor countries may employ to escape poverty at the insistence of wealthier nations not minding the fact that they contribute more to global emission than the poor nations. The study therefore recommends that, a legal frame work need to be set, nation states need to forget political and ideological differences and rather corporate to find solution to the gory situation. Lastly, advance countries who contributed more to global emission should be held accountable and should as well finance poor countries to implement the policies.

Beyond hedging: China’s strategic ‘outbidding’ strategy in the semi-hierarchical Gulf region

The prevailing analytical approach within international relations scholarship has primarily framed China’s growing involvement in the Gulf region through a hedging strategy. Although this framework offers explanatory value, it misses the impact of China’s search for international hierarchy and Sino-US rivalry for subordinates in shaping China’s strategic policy choices in the Gulf. This article, anchored in hierarchy studies in international relations, posits that the intensifying global competition between the United States and China for influence over subordinate states has driven China to pursue an ‘outbidding’ strategy. In applying this approach, China provides Gulf states with more appealing economic, military, and technological incentives than the United States. Since Xi Jinping’s ascension to power in 2013, China has considerably expanded its regional influence by investing heavily in this strategy. However, the long-term effectiveness of this strategy hinges on overcoming two key constraints inherent to the semi-hierarchical order of the Gulf: the distinct strategic considerations of US allies and non-allies and the balancing dilemma that China confronts. This article substantiates its claims by analyzing official statements, policy documents, and academic literature on China’s Gulf policy.

Identifying Cultural Diplomacy and Sustainable Development in Sister Province Cooperation of Bali, Indonesia

While States have traditionally formed the focus of International Relations studies, the contributions of local government actors have become increasingly important in both influencing and responding to the forces of global politics, including in the Global South. In this vein, this preliminary study explores the practice of the local government in initiating sister province cooperation in Bali, Indonesia. This study uses three conceptual frameworks: paradiplomacy, sustainable development, and critical discourse analysis. Primary data were collected through interviews with relevant local government officials in Bali and secondary data were gathered from academic articles, official websites, and online news items. This paper identified two most prominent sectors of this cooperation, namely: tourism and culture. These two areas align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While clearly connected with governmental and international goals, challenges remain in implementing sister province cooperation, achieving continuity among the parties involved, and dealing with funding limitations.

Ideas and Methods of Cognitive Science in the Studies of International Relations and Foreign Policy

Ideas and Methods of Cognitive Science in the Studies of International Relations and Foreign Policy

Not Everyone Will Be Taken into the Future? The Role of Forecasting in International Relations Theory

The 2010s witnessed intensified debates in international academia on the relationship between theory and forecast, but Russian scholarship remained detached from these discussions. This article intends to examine the contribution of theory to forecasting in IR, identifying prospects for combining the prescriptive, explanatory, interpretive and predictive functions of science. It reveals the origins of both theoretical skepticism about prediction and the countercriticism of futile theorizing. The article reveals the limitations of both the hypothetico-deductive model of scholarship, which dominates the discipline, and the statistical inductivism that opposes it. The analysis begins by identifying the different classes of theories in international relations studies. It demonstrates that the basic assumptions of normative, deconstructive, and interpretive theorizing are poorly compatible with prediction. The article further scrutinizes the ambivalent attitude of explanatory theories towards the matter, claiming the fundamental unpredictability of social interactions. It explores the growth in expectations since the late 2000s that the accumulation of big data and the advancement of methods for processing them will provide predictions without relying on explanatory inferences. Nevertheless, the value of scholarship for foreign policy practice requires a combination of theoretical explanations and predictive studies. This article suggests that for theory to play a major role in forecasting, forecasts must play a major role in theorizing. In this sense, reluctance to test their logical inferences with predictions exemplified by scholars poses a barrier to the development of IR studies.

In the Western Orbit: Turkish Approaches to the Study of International Relations

In the Western Orbit: Turkish Approaches to the Study of International Relations

Track-II Diplomacy in the Format of Situational Analysis: The Experience of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences

This paper examines the practice of implementing Track-II diplomacy as practiced by the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IORAS) in the form of situational analysis, a methodology developed by Academician Yevgeny Primakov. This approach represents an effective tool for resolving international conflicts and enhancing global security by combining science with diplomacy. Special attention is given to a series of three expert discussions on the Concept of Collective Security in the Persian Gulf region, held at IORAS from 2019 to 2023. These discussions demonstrated the method's ability to bring together a broad range of experts for in-depth interdisciplinary analysis of complex international situations. The practical focus of the results from these situational analyses makes them valuable for both policy recommendations and long-term strategic planning. The application of this method fosters the creation of trustful relationships between conflicting parties and the establishment of sustainable mechanisms for international security. The paper also highlights the significance of this practice for the development of Russian foreign policy strategy and its contribution to the interdisciplinary study of international relations.

Central Europe: bringing a forgotten realm to Global International Relations

In recent decades, intensive attempts emerged to introduce a new Global International Relations (GIR) research programme related to the post-colonial critique of western dominance and its efforts to overcome the current geopolitics of knowledge. Even though several regional and national approaches have been included in GIR, the integration of semiperipheral IR thinking is only in its early stages. Some of them still remain almost neglected within the GIR context. In response to this challenge, this paper aims to introduce the IR thinking produced in Central Europe (CE) by four semi-peripheral nations – Czechs, Hungarians, Poles and Slovaks – into the GIR framework. It highlights the specifics of the region that should be reflected in GIR as a genuinely global discipline. We address the specific position of Central Europe close to the West but, for various reasons, never fully integrated into its core and the related epistemological uncertainty of how to study regional realities. Simultaneously, we search for those regional CE ideas that would be more generally applicable in the study of international relations and, at the same time, mirror the unique experience of an area with not only close ties to the West in terms of civilisation but also a long tragic history.

PKM PUSKESMAS CURUGBITUNG: PENINGKATAN KUALITAS TUMBUH KEMBANG ANAK USIA DINI BERBASIS WEBSITE UNTUK MENDUKUNG PENCAPAIAN SDGS POIN 4

Lebak Regency has the second-highest prevalence of stunted toddlers in Banten, at 27.3%. The causes are not only malnutrition among pregnant women and toddlers but also a lack of maternal understanding of parenting practices that support the development of early childhood (0-6 years). Child development encompasses physical, cognitive, social, and emotional changes from birth to adulthood. At the Curugbitung Public Health Center (Puskesmas), midwives have not been equipped with comprehensive knowledge about child development, such as the Stimulation, Detection, and Early Intervention of Child Development (SDIDTK) program from the Indonesian Ministry of Health. The focus of midwives has remained limited to the 'Growth' aspect, such as height and weight, without considering the 'Development' aspect, which includes cognitive, social, emotional, and language development. Additionally, midwives are unable to provide age-appropriate developmental stimulation due to limited knowledge, time, and facilities. The solution offered by the Community Service team (PKM) from the International Relations Study Program of Universitas Budi Luhur is training to improve the quality of early childhood development based on a website to support the achievement of SDGs goal 4. This training aims to enhance midwives' knowledge and skills in early childhood care and development, with a holistic and integrative website-based learning module. This module facilitates midwives in providing counseling to parents, thereby improving the quality of early childhood education. The outcome of this activity is an increase in knowledge, skills, and the quality of health services, as well as the transfer of knowledge and technology to the community of Curugbitung, Lebak, Banten.

China’s Promoting of Authoritarian–Westphalian Democracy and Its Implications for the Liberal International Order

China is seen as undemocratic, illiberal, and autocratic by many who live outside it, and the terms “democracy” and “China” are often difficult to reconcile. Nonetheless, Beijing has been actively employing the concept of democracy both domestically and on the international stage in recent years. This paper aims to critically examine how Beijing conceptualizes and advocates for democracy at home and abroad. It also endeavors to explore the implications for the country’s domestic and global governance, particularly in relation to the US-centered liberal international order in the context of critical international relations studies. In so doing, this paper will focus methodologically on Beijing’s official documents and state media outlets, presenting an argument that is twofold. First, by promoting its unique form of democracy known as “whole-process people’s democracy,” Beijing domestically intertwines democracy with authoritarianism, hierarchy, and dictatorship. This whole-process people’s democracy appears to function at home as a tool of regime security that is characterized by a rule that is of and for the people but not by the people. Second, China on the international stage has adopted Western-style liberal values to advocate for enhanced democracy in international relations. Through its strategic adoption of these liberal values, Beijing accuses the United States of a hegemonic liberal hypocrisy in international relations while appearing to aspire to a world that is fragmented into essentially different entities.