China＇s Neighboring Diplomacy Demands Top-level Design

Prresident Xi Jinping＇s recent attendance at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization （SCO） and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation （APEC） Summits, visits to Central Asian and Southeast Asian nations, together with Primer Li Keqiang＇s visits to South and Southeast Asia, followed with his attendance at the China-ASEAN Summit, and coupled with China hosting top leaders from neighboring countries, have all sent a strong signal to the outside world of the greater priority accorded to China＇s sun＇ounding areas by the new leadership. Needless to say, such a flurry of diplomatic activities is far from enough. In the future, China needs to turn this priority into a top-level design for a long-term program propped up by an unswerving management.     

Strategic Prospects for Russia from the Perspective of Its Modernization Strategy

Russia＇s Modernization Strategy, advocated by President Dmitry Medvedev, aims at attracting Western capital, technology and human resources, and building a stronger Russia by making its politics more democratic and its economy more creative. This strategy, different from that of Vladimir Putin＇s, underlines Medvedev＇s earnestness to modernize Russia with the assistance of the West, and triggers suspicion that his strategy is one of emerging from Putin＇s shadow before the next presidential election. Uncertainty is once again defining Russia＇s strategic prospects.     

The Inherent Logic behind Rising China-Japan Tensions

Regardless of the basic principles governing bilateral relations over -the past four decades and the possible damage to the interests of the people of the two countries, the Japanese government has deliberately touched China＇s raw nerve frequently over delicate issues in disputes over the past couple of years. In 2010, the Naha prefectural court attempted to put on trial a Chinese boat captain detained for fishing near the disputed Diaoyu Islands. In 2012, under the pretext of preventing Tokyo Governor Ishihara Shintaro from ＂purchasing＂ these islands, the Yoshihiko Noda cabinet attempted to ＂nationalize＂ them. In 2013, flying in the face of world opinion, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe insisted on paying a visit to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine, where the ashes of Class A war criminals are enshrined, and hinted at similar action in the future. Are these all the action of individual political leaders？ If not, what is Tokyo up to？ What of bilateral relations？     

俄格冲突对国际关系的影响探析

俄格冲突是苏联解体后俄罗斯军队第一次在境外作战。学界对此进行了各种分析评论,总体上担心这场冲突会导致"新冷战"开场,怀疑国际格局发生了重大变化。从实际情况看,俄罗斯是在格鲁吉亚突然袭击受维和部队保护的南奥塞梯后被迫采取的军事行动,仅仅是为了阻止北约继续东扩的步伐。这场冲突既没有改变"美强俄弱"的总体国际环境,甚至也没有改变"美攻俄守"的欧亚地区格局。俄格冲突是对冷战结束以来美国在世界各地推行强权政治的"反动",引发人们对冷战后国际关系准则一再遭到破坏的深刻反思。     

中国地缘政治的"123……"

纵观历史,但凡大国在兴起之时,或将周边国家建成自家后院,与其结为利益共同体;或在周边地区构建战略缓冲区,避免与潜在敌对国家的直接碰撞.这种地缘政治版图的构建,既为正在崛起的大国延长了安全纵深,也为其经济发展拓展了广阔空间. 19世纪20年代,当美国正在崛起之时,推出了"门罗主义",强调"美洲是美洲人的美洲",反对美洲以外国家干涉美洲事务.经过几十年的苦心经营,美洲逐步成了"美国人的美洲",成了美国的后院,为美国日后的迅速崛起和不断扩张奠定了厚实的地缘政治基础,建立了强大的战略后方.美国之所以至今仍保持超级大国地位,其不可或缺的条件之一就是它仍保留对整个美洲的主导地位.     

Shifts in Leadership Will Create New Uncertainties in Northeast Asia

2012 is a year of elections throughout the world and in Northeast Asian countries in particular marks a year of shifts in leadership. Will the new leaders change previous policies towards the Korean Peninsula?How extensive will these adjustments be and in what direction will they lead? Such questions point to major changes in 2012.     

＂Color Revolutions＂ and Beyond

Astring of media-coined "color revolutions" broke out in Georgia, Ukraine and Kirgyzstan one after another inside the Commonwealth of Independent States since October 2003,reminiscent of the drama of collapse of the former Soviet bloc at the turn of the 1990s. Why those upheavals came hot on the heels of the Soviet disintegration merely a dozen or so years ago? Are we expecting more Domino effects down the road? What geographical repercussions will they spark? We have invited some experts over from the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations to air their views on these interesting issues.     

俄罗斯是20国机制不可或缺的成员

俄罗斯对20国集团态度积极,领导人不仅积极参加峰会和财长会,而且总带来一些建设性意见.俄罗斯这种立场是出自它对国际格局变迁的基本判断.普里马科夫1996年出任俄总理后,做出了世界朝多极化方向发展的基本判断,并将外交方针确定为使俄成为未来多极世界中有影响力的一极而创造条件.     

U.S.-Russian Relations Difficult to Revive

On March 6, 2009, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressed together the ＂reset button＂ in Geneva, signifying that both sides wanted to thaw their bilateral ties since it hit an all-time low over the Russia-Georgia conflict in August, 2008. Although there were some positive signs in improving US-Russian ties, bilateral relations are hard to revive in the near future.