Security relations in the Black Sea region: Russia and the West after the Ukrainian crisis

The Ukrainian conflict – as all post-Soviet conflicts – has three interrelated dimensions – global, regional and local – with deep implications for international security including the Black Sea region. The strategic interdependence between Russiaand West during the last decade became not only anaemic but antagonistic. The regional implications of that can be compared to the boomerang effect: problems at the strategic level affect the regional level and return to the originators. Generally speaking, Commonwealth of Independent States conflicts can be viewed as the product of the Soviet legacy and the patchy collapse of the USSR as well as the ill-conceived policies and mistakes of the involved parties, Russia and external actors – USA, NATO and EU.     

泰国传说与郑和神话——兼驳J.WADE否定郑和的一条论据

本文通过历史考察和分析,指出《东西洋考》等著作中有关郑和的许多论述源于泰国传说而并非历史事实。文章还批驳了新加坡大学J.WADE博士蓄意利用《东西洋考》的“论据”,丑化和贬低“郑和下西洋”历史作用的错误。     

Preaching politics: Islam and Christianity on the Kenya coast

Focusing on the Kenya coast, this article analyses the developing contrast between the place of Islam and Christianity in public politics. It argues that Islam’s association with criticism of the political order contrasts with Christianity, but that this is not the result of inherent difference between the religions. Both have previously provided a language, and space, for political commentary and activism in Kenya. The contrast is rather the contingent result of particular circumstances in Kenya. Christianity has become increasingly associated with affirming clientelism and the accumulation of wealth in a way which is avowedly non-political but in practice legitimates the current political order. Meanwhile, although individual Muslims are more likely to enjoy high political office than was previously the case, Muslims are also more likely to locate their experience as symptomatic of a wider pattern of exclusion in Kenya and link this sense of local injustice to global inequalities.     

"东盟方式":现实与神话

对"东盟方式"的赞誉和批评都有着一定的历史背景,因此"东盟方式"也有其一定的现实性与神话性.前东盟秘书长舒云路所强调的法制以及著名学者阿查亚的"本土化"概念都为观察东南亚地区合作的发展提供了有益的新视角,作者主张使用历史和动态的眼光看待和评价"东盟方式".     

Burma,China and the Myth of Military Bases

Abstract

Since the advent of a new, more outward-looking military government in 1988, Burma has come to occupy a position of considerable importance in the Asia-Pacific strategic environment. Burma's burgeoning relationship with China has attracted particular attention, not least because of the stream of reports in the news media and, to a lesser extent, academic literature, claiming that China has established several naval bases and intelligence collection stations in Burma. This apparent intrusion by China into the northeast Indian Ocean has strongly influenced the strategic perceptions and policies of Burma's regional neighbors, notably India. The reported facilities have also been cited as evidence that Burma has become a client state of China, and as proof of Beijing's expansionist designs in South and Southeast Asia. A close examination of the available evidence, however, suggests that there are no Chinese military bases on Burmese soil, a fact conceded by senior Indian officials in 2005. China still has a strong strategic interest in developing its bilateral relations with Burma but, based on this analysis, it would appear that China's presence in Burma, and its current influence over Burma's military regime, have been greatly exaggerated.     

Eastern industrialization and its effects on the west

There have always been factions within the Chinese Communist Party. Four recent books on China show that the pragmatic basis for the Party's continuing rule is the success of its economic policies and the preservation of law and order. Economic progress has been remarkable, but the political system is not well suited to cope with popular resentment at corruption and the abuse of power by officials. Nor is the concept of. Human Rights well understood. But with more and more |Chinese students studying overseas and the influence of the internet, ideas and influences from abroad are bound to be reflected in the increasing debate about the future of the political system. The recent dismissal and disgrace of Bo Xilai lifts the curtain on the realities of the struggle for power at the top. But a far greater challenge would arise if there were to be any marked and prolonged slowing of economic growth.     

Crimea and the quest for energy and military hegemony in the Black Sea region: governance gap in a contested geostrategic zone

Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its destabilization of Eastern Ukraine have radically altered the European security order, with the Black Sea region becoming an acutely contested geostrategic zone. Russia’s strategic interests in the Black Sea region, especially in terms of energy and military presence, collide with those of Ukraine, Turkey, the European Union and the United States, among others, and expose the governance gap left by the existing conventions and institutions in dealing with the region. It is argued that Russia’s move to annex Crimea was a strategic decision made irrespective of the destructive effect on the post-Cold War order. Furthermore, until a new normal has been accepted by the main players, there is no hope of revising the existing conventions and institutions pertaining to the basin.     

Will Japan go nuclear? Myth and reality

Predominant international relations theory holds that a state will stop at nothing to protect itself and survive in a basically anarchic international environment. Matake Kamiya confronts recent speculation that Japan is unlikely to be an exception to this rule. To convince others, he states, Japan must show specifically why the choice to remain nonnuclear serves its national interests, despite its latent capability to develop nuclear weapons. Kamiya is Assistant Professor of International Relations at the National Defense Academy of Japan; recently, he also served as Distinguished Research Fellow at the Centre for Strategic Studies in New Zealand.     

恐怖、帝国神话和资本过程

后冷战时代,有一种观点认为,在和平和发展这个主题之外,恐怖和帝国构成了全球化的一个副主题.孱弱的恐怖活动以庞大的资本帝国为攻击目标,资本帝国以反恐为工具,二者在全球化过程中相互对抗,是全球体系的腐败区域所孳生的孪生物.从这个角度看,恐怖和帝国在本质上都是失败者.全球性本体的生成和全球社会的确立是全球化所要到达的终极目的地,而恐怖和帝国必将在到达这一目的地的过程中最终消亡     

论朝鲜古典小说中的檀君神话母题

《檀君神话》中的天降母题和熊女母题,作为神话的遗传基因,在后世的小说作品中得到了重新整合,以更加饱满的形式呈现在了读者面前。具体而言,率领民众建立理想国的洪吉童、神仙文昌星投胎转世的杨昌曲、风流学士杨少游等朝鲜古典小说中的典型形象与桓雄和檀君的形象存在着很多相似性;而谢贞玉、春香、沈清等被朝鲜民族世代歌颂的女性形象则与熊女有着颇多相似之处。可以说,朝鲜古典小说有意无意地把传统的神话母题融入进来,以艺术加工再现了神话的永恒魅力。