Jiang Zemin's military thought and legacy

Nearly for 15 years as the Chairman of China's Central MilitaryCommission, Jiang Zemin, albeit lack of real military experience,has gradually developed his military theories and principlesin the process of consolidating military authority. Unquestionably,Jiang is not only the core of the third generation leadershipin China, but also the most powerful man in China's militaryuntil now. That makes researchers interested in exploring militarythought of this man controlling the largest armies in the world.In this paper, Jiang's basic military framework, ‘FiveSentences’, including ‘Politically Qualified’,‘Militarily Tough’, ‘Attitudinally Excellent’,‘Strictly Disciplined’ and ‘Materially Guaranteed’will be separately discussed. With interpretations of ‘FiveSentences’, the author will thereafter provide personalcomments and analysis.     

A Profile of Poverty for Palestinian Refugees in Jordan: the Case of Zarqa and Sukhneh Camps

This is one of few known studies on poverty and poverty relatedissues among Palestinian refugees in Jordan. The camp refugeehouseholds identified in this research represent concrete manifestationsof the ways in which the political and historical legacy translatesinto economic hardship today. Poverty among the refugees inJordan represents a legacy of the refugees’ inabilityto generate sufficient income in order to provide for themselvesthe ‘minimum basic needs’. Therefore, poverty shouldbe understood not only in terms of the social and economic circumstancesof Palestinian camp refugees but also as a particular consequenceof various policies pursued by the state over the past fivedecades, including the Jordanization of public and militarysectors of employment, the provision of public services, andwage determination policy. In this context, the paper examinesthe causes of poverty and considers how various ‘implicit’policies contribute towards luring and ‘locking’a large number of camp refugees in poverty.     

Ethnic Riots in Kosovo: What Went Right?

The world was shocked when deadly riots broke out in Kosovoduring March 2004, after nearly five years of involvement andfinancial support by NATO and the United Nations. But, despitethe widespread nature of the rioting, violence did not spreadinto communities of return that had benefited substantiallyfrom direct international financial aid and interventions inthe same way that riots infected the wider province. This wasthe experience of communities assisted by at least two internationalNGOs, both of which used the ‘Do No Harm’ methodologyof enhancing ‘connectors’ while minimizing ‘dividers’between ethnic groups. American Refugee Committee's programmeis described and displacement data are presented. In those communitiesassisted by American Refugee Committee, 85 per cent of the returneesdid not flee during the riots. It is concluded that communitiesof return succeeded in thwarting violence because they had astake in peace.     

Why do states join US-led military coalitions?: The compulsion of the coalition's missions and legitimacy

Why do states join US-led military coalitions? The war/dispute-diffusionliterature suggests that opportunity and willingness are crucialdeterminants of coalition participation (Siverson and Starr, 1990,1991). A state joins a coalition if it has a strong interestin war and enough capability to send armed forces abroad. Alliancestudies connect coalition participation problems with the reliabilityof allied countries (Leeds, 2003; Gartzke and Gleditsch, 2004).These studies seem to provide a fairly good picture on the question;however, they are not free of problems. In particular, theystudy only coalitions for interstate war and militarized disputesbut ignore coalitions for other purposes. Coalitions can beformed for military operations other than war (Kober, 2002).There are coalitions for humanitarian intervention, peacekeeping,and even for the evacuation of noncombatants. This article showshow difference in operation-types and collective legitimacyaffect the decision of a state to participate in US-led coalitions.A coalition with United Nations' authorization may appear tobe a legitimate international ‘police’ act and attractmore partner states. A coalition for intervention into domesticaffairs may be less attractive to possible participants becauseof the violation of the noninterference norm of internationallaw. Statistical analysis on United States coalition partnersfrom 1950 to 1999 suggests that how and for what purposes coalitionsare formed cannot be overlooked. Coalition participation isnot fully explained by the existing perspectives found in war/dispute-diffusionliterature and alliance studies, and there is a need to invoke‘the compulsion of the coalition's missions and legitimacy’. Received for publication November 16, 2005. Accepted for publication April 20, 2006.     

The second face of security: Britain's 'Smart' appeasement policy towards Japan and Germany

Most states have numerous paths to create security for themselves.Foreign policy-makers must recognize that their own securitypolicy will initiate a process that structures the nature ofthe domestic competition over domestic and foreign policy inother countries. I contend that one state's security alternativecan empower or weaken domestic actors and interest groups inopposing foreign powers. I term this process the ‘secondface of security’ since it entails a less direct and morenuanced method of creating security (in contrast to the ‘firstface of security’). I apply this model to explain theintent of Britain's ‘smart’ or targeted appeasementpolicy during the 1930s – to strengthen conservative business,government officials, and economic circles in banking, lightindustry and finished goods, and even heavy industry in orderto steer Tokyo and Berlin away from rearmament and extreme autarky.     

Conclusion: On the possibility of a non-Western IR theory in Asia

In the conclusion, we seek to ascertain the possibility of anon-Western International Relations theory (IRT) in Asia. Wefind while there is a good deal of writing that can be regardedas ‘pre-theoretical’, these have not been fullyexploited or exported to other parts of Asia and beyond. Thereis certainly little that can be called an Asian IRT. This isnot because scholars in the region accept that Western IRT isunchallengeable nor that it has found all the answers to themajor problems of international relations. Nor is it becausenon-Western theories are ‘hidden from the public eye’.It is rather due to a lack of institutional resources, the head-startof Western IRT, and especially the hegemonic standing of WesternIRT. At the same time, the case studies point to the existenceof abundant intellectual and historical resources that couldserve as the basis of developing a non-Western IRT that takesinto account the positions, needs and cultures of countriesin the region. There is room in Asia for the development ofnon-Western IRT, but not an ‘Asian School of internationalrelations’ (although national perspectives such as a ‘ChineseSchool’ are possible) which would assume a degree of convergenceof perspectives and interactions among Asian scholars, whichclearly does not exist. This development should and could gobeyond simply ‘joining in to the existing game seekingto add local colour and cases to existing theory’, ordeveloping a localist exceptionalism (‘Asian values’)or organizing local thinking into rebellions against prevailingorthodoxies (especially realism and liberalism) in the mannerof the dependencia theory. Western IRT does not need to be replaced,but can and should be enriched with the addition of more voicesand a wider rooting not just in world history but also in informedrepresentations of both core and periphery perspectives withinthe ever-evolving global political, economic and social order. In the conclusion, we first offer some generalizations fromthe four case studies with a view to addressing the main questionposed in the introduction: the apparent absence of IRT in Asiaand possible explanations behind it. We then reflect on whetherthe question of a non-Western IRT in Asia is a meaningful one,and whether the way it is approached in this special issue couldresult in a productive debate that would advance the disciplineof IR. Although our empirical focus is on Asia, we suggest someinsights that have more general relevance for non-Western IRT. Received for publication May 16, 2006. Accepted for publication June 27, 2007.     

Trade liberalization and the new regionalism in the Asia-Pacific: taking stock of recent events

In the aftermath of the regional financial crisis of 1997–98,many Asian economies have underscored the need consciously andaggressively to explore alternative liberalization paths or‘fallback positions’. This is where the ‘newregionalism’ or new regional trade agreements (RTAs) becomerelevant. This paper explores some of the primary rationalebehind, and main concerns regarding, the proliferation of bilateraland plurilateral trade pacts in the Asia-Pacific region. Italso considers the ‘dynamic time path’ of AsianRTAs. Do they facilitate or hinder multilateral trade liberalization?     

The transformationalist perspective and the rise of a global standard of civilization

The ongoing process of globalization is transforming the world.States, the principal actors in international systems, are theprivileged subjects of this transformation. State identitiesare changing and state sovereignties are challenged. Some scholarsrefer to this as a ‘Grotian moment’. I argue thata meaningful analysis of contemporary international politicsneeds to consider seriously questions related to the identitiesof actors and the quality of anarchy. Furthermore, I argue thatthe rise of a ‘global standard of civilization’reflects the transformation of the world and is affecting statesovereignty. Finally, I argue that only a truly democratic cultureis able to construct durable, peaceful and generative co-operation.     

Islamism in the Diaspora: Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon

In recent years there has been increasing academic interestin Islamism in the Middle East, not least in Palestinian Islamismchampioned by groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, whichare waging a war of attrition against the Israeli occupationof the West Bank and Gaza. There has been less concern withIslamism among the Palestinian refugees dispersed in MiddleEastern countries such as Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. The articleoutlines the sources of Islamism (‘political Islam’)among Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. The rise of Islamismis a complex mix of contingent factors that is fuelled by socialand political deprivation and shaped by divergent views on Palestiniannationalism (secular vs. Islamist), the Islamist revival inLebanon and ‘strategic localization’ that turnsrefugee camps into battlefields between Palestinian factions.The Islamist groups cater for narrowly defined segments of therefugee population and have been unable to attract wider support.Instead, they cater for minor, camp-based constituencies whichcompete with secular groups for internal control of the campsand, by implication, of the Palestinian nationalist cause itself.     

Japan's conciliation with the United States in climate change negotiations

This paper attempts to analyze Japan's conciliation with theUnited States regarding national targets on greenhouse gas emissionsin the multilateral climate change negotiations (1990–2001)for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Changeand for the Kyoto Protocol to the Convention. Japan's conciliatoryproposals had nothing to do with bilateral pressure from theUnited States. Why, then, did Japan make special efforts toconciliate with the United States, and offer lenient proposals?I focus on three factors: concern for international status,the costs of the climate change regime and domestic politics.My main argument is that the Japanese Ministry of InternationalTrade and Industry used ‘conciliation’ with theUnited States in its favor as an excuse for making proposalsthat would emasculate the climate change regime and as a meansof receiving support from the United States for differentiationof national targets on greenhouse gas emissions.     

Forced Migration Studies: Could We Agree Just to 'Date'?

This essay questions the soundness of a scholarly shift awayfrom ‘refugee studies’ in favour of ‘forcedmigration studies’. It contends, first, that subsumingrefugee studies into the broader framework of forced migrationstudies may result in a failure to take account of the specificityof the refugee's circumstances which are defined not just bymovement to avoid the risk of harm, but by underlying socialdisfranchisement coupled with the unqualified ability of theinternational community to respond to their needs. Second, itargues that forced ‘migration’ (rather than, forexample, forced ‘migrant’) studies encourages afocus on a phenomenon rather than on the personal predicaments,needs, challenges, and rights of refugees themselves. It maythus contribute to a lack of criticality in relation to policieswhich subordinate refugee autonomy to the pursuit of more systemicconcerns. The first concern is illustrated by reference to theemergence of the ‘internally displaced persons’category, the second by reference to the determination to findand mandate ‘durable solutions’ to forced migration,including to the movement of refugees.     

ASEAN's diplomatic and security culture: a constructivist assessment

In the wake of the Asian financial crisis and the subsequentviolence that built up and then tore apart East Timor in 1999,serious criticisms were levelled at the Association of SoutheastAsian Nations (ASEAN) and its diplomatic and security culture.This article examines to what extent members of ASEAN –after the Hanoi Summit in 1998 until mid-2001 – collectivelyembraced new understandings in relation to norms associatedwith the ‘ASEAN way’. This question is exploredwith respect to four initiatives: the initiation of the retreatof ASEAN foreign ministers, the participation of ASEAN membersin United Nations missions in East Timor, the adoption of theASEAN Troika concept, and the passing of rules of procedureof the ASEAN High Council. It is argued that due to concernsabout ASEAN's image and reputation, some of the shared understandingsintrinsic to ASEAN's long-standing diplomatic and security culturehave been relaxed, particularly the principle of non-interference.While this development reaffirms the value of constructivisttheorizing in international relations, the article also demonstratesthat the aforementioned initiatives and agreements do not yetamount to a radical change in ASEAN's diplomatic and securityculture. The main reason for this is that norms associated withthe ‘ASEAN way’ are still perceived to serve theimportant and necessary function of helping to mediate estrangementand insecurity among ASEAN leaderships, as well as limitinginterference by non-ASEAN states.     

If not a clash, then what? Huntington, Nishida Kitaro and the politics of civilizations

The debate surrounding Samuel Huntington's influential Clashof Civilizations thesis has been focused too narrowly on theaccuracy of his categorization of civilizations. This focushas left the problem of the alleged inter-civilizational orderincompletely theorized. In particular, two theoretical issueshave been overlooked: first, can we really assume that civilizationsare capable of and prone to clashing as if they were statesand, second, surely a theory of global civilizations must besubject to itself, as a product of one such civilization. Thispaper explores the model of the inter-civilizational order theorizedoutside the ‘West’, by Nishida Kitarô in interwarJapan. A comparison with Huntington's vision demonstrates someradical differences in these models and their consequences forthe role of Japan in the so-called ‘new world order’of the 21st century. The conclusion suggests a need to theorizeinter-civilizational relations as seriously as inter-nationalrelations, but on different philosophical foundations, sincethe two describe qualitatively different aspects of coincidentworld orders. In particular, this paper calls attention to thespecial practical importance of non-Western traditions of politicalthought in an inter-civilizational world.     

Multilateralism in a unipolar world: the UN Security Council and Iraq

The end of the cold war brought a new era in international politicsthat had the potential for creating a more cooperative and peacefulworld. At the heart of this ‘new world order’ wasto be the United Nations Security Council, which would finallybe able to fulfill its obligations under the UN Charter. Inthe immediate post-cold war years it appeared that this optimismwas well founded as the Security Council became increasinglyactive in authorizing peacekeeping and peace-building missions.Just over a decade later, however, the crisis over Iraq againbrought serious concerns regarding the UN's purpose and legitimacy.This article examines the circumstances surrounding the recentUN Security Council dispute in order to illuminate the meritsof multilateral cooperation. It also asks, more fundamentally,whether multilateralism can be sustained in a unipolar world.     

Widening the Protection Gap: The 'Politics of Citizenship' for Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon, 1948-2008

Lebanon has been a reluctant host to Palestinian refugees since1948. A mainstay of Lebanese policies vis-à-vis the Palestinianrefugees has been preventing their permanent integration andsettlement in the country. The question of naturalizing refugeesis one of the most contentious political issues in Lebanon today.Palestinian refugees tend to live in conflict-ridden environments,often at the margins of the host society. This first of allapplies to the camp-based refugees, who languish in dilapidatedand overcrowded camps. Unable to return to Palestine and marginalizedby the host society, they are caught in a legal limbo. In orderto understand the complex legal regime that governs their refugeestatus, it is necessary to examine their rights as refugeesin international law, regionally as hosted by Arab League statesand nationally as residents of Lebanon. The rights regime iscomplex and contributes to a critical ‘protection gap’for the refugees. This article demonstrates how this protectiongap was created and widened by historically contingent, international,regional and national legal rights regimes.     

Cultural and Spiritual Constructions of Mental Distress and Associated Coping Mechanisms of Tibetans in Exile: Implications for Western Interventions

The Tibet-TPO project in Dharamsala, North India aims to provideculturally sensitive psychosocial support to Tibetan refugees.In this study we have examined the cultural and spiritual constructionsof mental distress of Tibetan exiles from a secondary analysisof previously published data. Tibetans refugees' constructionsof mental distress were intimately linked to cultural, religiousand political factors. Family and religious support were regardedas key coping strategies, yet many new refugees lacked bothfamily support and detailed knowledge and understanding of TibetanBuddhism. Not all of those interviewed were positive about ‘westernapproaches’ to dealing with mental distress, but thoseusing the service seemed to do so in a pragmatic and integrativeway. We conclude that culturally sensitive psychosocial supportcan usefully ‘fill a gap’, especially for new refugeeswho lack both family support and access to, or understandingof, traditional religious coping mechanisms.     

Taking the 'taken-for-grantedness' seriously: problematizing Japan's perception of Japan-South Korea relations

The existence of acrimonious relations between Japan and itsimmediate neighbour, South Korea, is a familiar theme in theliterature on the international relations of the Asia-Pacific.Public discourse in Japan treats this acrimony as the startingpoint for the formulation of diplomatic policy towards Seoul.While not suggesting that such an outlook is wrong, characterizingthe bilateral relations as ‘tough’ has become ‘taken-for-granted’.By focusing on the representation of Japanese collective identitywithin the public discourse, and treating it as a foreign policyspeech act, this article argues that taking the ‘taken-for-grantedness’seriously allows us to unpack the intersubjective structureof Japan–South Korea relations, enabling us to appreciatefully the recurring invective across the Tsushima Straits.     

Japan's cautious new activism in the Middle East: a qualitative change or more of the same?

This article analyses Japanese policy towards the Middle Eastin the post-Cold War era. The article argues that Japanese policyhas begun to move beyond the reactive diplomacy of the ColdWar years. The focus of this new approach has been Japan's growingcontribution to ‘soft’ security in the region. However,Japan retains a tendency to focus on its narrow interests withoutfully taking into account the broader strategic consequencesof its policies. Yet, in order to protect its overall interestsin the region, Japan needs to recognize the diminishing utilityof this ‘free rider’ approach and adopt a more activerole regarding ‘hard’ security issues. Even allowingfor the domestic constraints on Japanese policy, there is muchJapan can do in this regard, especially in coordination withthe US.     

Malaysia's 2005-2006 refugee stand-off with Thailand: a security culture analysis

In September of 2005, Malaysia–Thailand relations werestressed by an incident in which 131 Thai Muslims fled acrossthe Southern Thai border to seek refuge in Malaysia. The Malaysiangovernment initially refused to return these ‘asylum seekers,’and eventually chose to internationalize the situation by callingon the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR). Malaysia'sdecision to internationalize the issue points to potential instabilityin Malaysia-Thailand bilateral relations and reflects severalinternal political problems faced by United Malays NationalOrganization (UMNO) central decisions makers. This paper seeksto explain the Malaysian central government's security perspectiveon the northern border region. To do this, I employ MuthiahAlagappa's framework for security culture analysis in an attemptto understand Malaysian security culture from the perspectiveof that culture's central decision makers themselves. (Alagappa,M ed., (1998) Asian Security Practice: Material and IdeationalInfluences. Stanford: Stanford University Press.) Received for publication September 15, 2006. Accepted for publication October 10, 2007.