Facing Challenges and Shocks with Rationality

The Iraqi War breaking out on March 20, 2003 undoubtedly marks a turning point in current international relations. The international disputes around this war is not only an embodiment of differentbeliefs and positions on the issue of war and peace, but more importantly a demonstration of the deep skepticism and worry throughout the international community on the possible outcome of the war, as well as the future development of American diplomatic and military policies. All these will exert a profound and extensive influence on the trend of development of international relations in the future.     

Features of World Military Security Situation

The current global military security situation is characterized by rising uncertainties and interlocked traditional/nontraditional security threats with militaries deploying in advance for the unpredictable future in a bid to build a favorable environment through a functional transformation of their respective armed forces.     

Looking at the 2015 South Asia Regional Hot-spots

The regional hotspots of South Asia in 2015 may be looked at from two angles.In the first place,the reconstruction process in Afghanistan has run into serious difficulties,with several major transitions"uncompleted,"casting ambiguity on the future of the Kabul regime.In 2014,Afghanistan,together with the international community,tried hard to advance its political,economic and security reconstructions.Although some achievements have been made,the three transitions have not been completed,leaving"unfinished projects"for 2015.First,in security,despite the fact that the Afghanistan War,led by the U.S.and NATO,was over,the chaos that has ensued from this war is far     

Afghanistan Reconstruction

The Karzai regime has made some progress over the past four years and a half in the post-war reconstruction.However, Taliban's destruction and drug economy are still having serious impacts on the security and stability of Afghanistan.Hence the settlement of the two problems has become a crux of affecting the country' s future.Moreover, the Karzai regime is yet to handle a series of hot potatoes in the fields of central government' s authority, military and police building-up and foreign relations as well.     

China-Japan Security Relations and China's Countermeasures

Security relations are crucial in China-Japan relations.Since the "nationalization" of the Diaoyu Islands by Japan in 2012,mutual trust between China and Japan has been declining,and bilateral security relations have reached a low point.China-Japan security relations are typified by ongoing dispute over the Diaoyu Islands,lack of mutual trust exacerbated by various actions by Japan,and the delay of China-Japan security dialogues.The evolution of China-Japan security relations derived from the Diaoyu Islands dispute is clearly beyond the scope of the dispute itself,with deep-rooted internal and external factors.In the near future,China-Japan security relations will face more challenges than opportunities.China should take measures,including enhancing mutual trust in politics and security between the two countries,to impose necessary pressure on Japan to change course,to win over neighboring countries so as to avoid pretext for Japan's intervention in regional issues,and to strengthen interpersonal communication and understanding between people of the two countries in order to stabilize security relations.     

The Difficulties of Common Security: On the Need for Value Consensus as a Basis for International Security

The essence of international security is common security, which relies heavily on basic consensus on security concepts and strategies among nations. However, since the beginning of the 20 th century, such a consensus or value basis has become very “thin” as a result of the following four factors: the inception of the global international system along with its cultural diversity; the great changes in political, economic and military arenas; the rise of nationalism and popular politics; and the emergence of superpowers and their antagonistic ideologies. Within strategic culture, there is juxtaposition between confrontational culture and cooperative culture. In security concepts, people have different preferences for national, international or global security. In terms of security strategies, there exist several competing models such as hegemonic stability, balance of power and institutional cooperation. The primary aims of international security remain: avoiding major wars, maintaining the stability of the international system and safeguarding the integrity of the nations. There are two new challenges: promoting global economic justice to avoid any domestic or international conflicts caused by an imbalanced international economic order; and meeting the challenges of various non-conventional security issues affecting human life on a global scale. In an era of security interdependence, the international community must make joint efforts to rebuild the consensus on security in light of the fundamental values of common security and cooperative security, and to practice a truly “international” security strategy so as to break away from the security dilemmas inflicted by each nation’s reliance on its own self-help and competing “national” security strategy.     

The Pacific Ocean Is Wide Enough For All Thoughts on Building a TPSCA Research Group,CICIR

Foreword
Our planet is wimessing the onset of a new stage in globalization, multipolarity and IT application. As a result of this, a fresh reshuffle is underway, coupled with the shifting sands of geo-politics and geo-economics. This has led to major challenges in the established international system and world order.1 The same is also true for the regional picture. Indeed, the turmoil in Ukraine, the unrelenting crisis in the Middle East, and the vortex in the Asia-Pacific, have led to unusual activity in the three blocks of Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific. Under the disguise of an apparent absence of interconnectivity, in-depth interactions are actually at work between them on the question of the future peace and stability of the international community as a whole.     

Amid Turmoil,the Middle East Is Reshaping

Turmoil in Iraq reached a new level when ISIL seized Mosul after the Iraq security force collapsed on June 10.Although ISIL,the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant,took over Fallujah in early 2014,this latest development has deeper repercussions.On June 29,ISIL declared a large territory between Iraq and Syria a new state.The leader,a Baghdadi who is wanted by the U.S.,was appointed as caliph.Together with the situation in Syria,the whole region is in tumult and remapping of borders is threatened.The Iraq government is fighting back with limited gains while the international community reacts with only noisy discussions.     

Shared Security: Chinese Perspectives on Non-Traditional Security

As mankind faces a growing number of “common threats,” “common crisis awareness” has emerged within the international community. People have begun to realize the very nature of non-traditional threats and their impact on the global village, and to demand responses to those threats in the form of “shared security.” Based on traditional security theories and contributions in the fi eld of peace studies, a constructivist “transitional form” of Western theories has taken shape. Various “independent forms” of non-traditional security theories have subsequently been created, and they all share the common value orientation of “constructed security.” The key to achieving “shared security” lies in how to deal with “heterogeneous” phenomena in the international community. China’s security ideals and diplomatic style are unique when compared with those of the Western world. Chinese concepts such as “Bao He Tai He”(great harmony is preserved in union), “Wan Guo Xian Ning”(the myriad states all enjoy repose), “He Er Bu Tong”(harmony but not sameness), and “Tian Xia Da Tong” (unity of the entire world) all embody rich intellectual resources and the core values for “shared security.” Recently, Chinese scholars have contributed to the growing discourse on “shared security” by proposing such theoretical frameworks as the “New Tian-Xia Doctrine,” “the Common Security of Human Beings,” “the Common Security of Multiactors,” and “the Deepening of Global Governance.” Finally, the author proposes a reexamination of China’s diplomatic practices and argues that “shared security” is not only theoretically valid for non-traditional security but also very feasible in practice.     

Peace at a Price: Strategic Studies of Current International Security and War Issues

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of the World War II and the victory of the Anti-Fascist War. The WWII is an unprecedented disaster for humanity and, however, it can never be guaranteed that world wars will not break out again in the future. Just as wars can be classified as cold wars and hot wars, peace can also be defined as cold peace and real peace. Cold Peace, as an unstable state in the international relations, may bring misleading perception of peace, where peace is taken for granted, and potential crises may lead to international conflicts/ wars. This is clearly reflected in concerns of western scholars as exemplified by what is called Kissinger’s Worry and Haass’s Question. This paper approaches the question from a strategic and historical perspective and draws the following three conclusions: 1) historically, it takes a long time for people to realize the negative impacts of wars; 2) currently, we are in a dangerous stage of cold peace in terms of international security; 3) the Sino-US and Sino-Japanese relations will be crucial to the major power relations that affect China’s the national security in the future. China should find ways to deal with the two major relations and play its role in maintaining the world peace.