Russia's economic and strategic interests in North-East Asia

  Since the middle of the 1990s and especially after Vladimir Putin assumed the presidency Russia started to pursue an active foreign policy in North East Asia, an area considered vital for Russian national political, economic and strategic interests. While continuing to use every available method to conduct this policy Moscow placed special emphasis on promoting economic cooperation with the neighboring states, not in the least because of the development needs of Siberia and the Russian Far East. The current trends on the world energy market as well as the growing energy requirements of Russia's neighbors help to make at this stage exploration of Russian rich energy resources in East Siberia and around the Sakhalin Island to be one of the most attractive areas of regional economic cooperation. Even though these developments help to meet some of the current Russian requirements in foreign investments and modern technologies Russia is clearly interested in extending the scope of regional cooperation to other areas as well. In particular, Russia is interested in promoting its industrial exports. Another prospective area of its cooperation with regional states may cover joint transport projects – from construction of international gas and oil pipelines to linking Russian and Korean railway systems.     

中国—东盟自由贸易区的影响分析——经济利益与战略关系

中国-东盟自由贸易区是双边关系发展到一定阶段的产物,但同时又表达了双方的某种超越性经济利益的诉求。自由贸易区的框架安排说明其是一个渐进性的综合安排,其妥协因素将会影响自由贸易区效果的迅速释放。总体来看,自由贸易区建成将会促进双边经济相互依赖,但其对于双边关系的促进作用或许将下降。     

European participation in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank: making strategic choice and seeking economic opportunities

This paper asks why half of the members of the European Union (EU) have chosen to join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in defiance of substantial pressure from Washington. If the AIIB is too good an economic opportunity for Europe to ignore, then why did the rest of the EU turn its back on this organization? To account for this apparent variation in the attitude of European countries, I argue that, ceteris paribus, changes in the strategic situation involving Europe, the USA, and China, as well as differing expectations of economic opportunities in a developing Asia, have led European countries in different directions. Those countries which are getting increasingly friendly with China, which results from increasing level of alliance security dilemma with the USA, and are highly dependent on the potentially gigantic Asian market are the most likely to follow China’s lead. Countries that are not so geared toward China or Asia are least likely to join the AIIB. Where only one of these factors is present, the country will remain hesitant. I test this argument using both quantitative and qualitative analysis. This includes probit analysis for 31 countries and three in-depth case studies involving Germany, Belgium, and Romania. These countries have a high, median, and low chance of joining the bank, respectively. The findings of both types of analysis support the proposed analytical framework.     

Understanding EU crisis diplomacy in the European neighbourhood: strategic narratives and perceptions of the EU in Ukraine,Israel and Palestine

ABSTRACT

This Special Issue seeks to better understand the role of communication and perception in EU crisis diplomacy. In a recent Special Issue in this journal, Catarina Kinnvall, Ian Manners and Jennifer Mitzen argue that, “?…?the greatest security challenge facing people across Europe is not physical, despite the threats of Putin and ISIS, but is a sense of fear and anxiety over their daily lives” [2018. Introduction to 2018 Special Issue of European Security: “Ontological (in)security in the European Union”. European security, 27 (3), 249–265]. We take an interdisciplinary approach to widen the scope of studies on European security and offer new avenues for further research into how citizens in the EU’s neighbourhood understand the security challenges they face and the role the EU plays in addressing these. Through this, we aim to bring theoretical and methodological innovation to understanding the role of the EU as an external actor.     

Unity in the face of threat? Exploring the empirical relationship between strategic threat perceptions and public support for a common European army in Germany

ABSTRACT

Perceptions of threat from Russia’s military activities in Ukraine and President Trump’s critical attitude towards NATO have put the idea of a common European army on the agenda of European politics. Do these strategic threat perceptions also influence public support for the creation of a common European army? Previous research has largely overlooked strategic threat perceptions as individual-level determinants of public support for a common European army. This article explores the empirical relationship between strategic threat perceptions and support for a common European army at the individual level of analysis with representative German survey data from 2018. The multivariate analysis shows that perceiving Russia’s military activities in Ukraine as a threat to Germany’s security, and U.S. foreign and security policy as a threat to the cohesion of NATO significantly increases support for the creation of a common European army, even when the influence of numerous other determinants is controlled for. The findings highlight the importance of considering strategic threat perceptions in future analyses of public opinion on European defence cooperation and integration.     

Being European by Joining Europe: Accession and identity politics in Lithuania

Desire to belong to 'Europe', expressed primarily through the integration into the European Union, has been the dominant theme in the Lithuanian political discourse after the end of the Cold War. Remarkably, despite the perceived threat to sovereignty and further exposure to Western culture, Lithuanians have remained largely positive about the project. This article aims to explore the national identity constructions vis-a ¤ -vis Europe in this newly independent country where European integration has been largely perceived to anchor the processes of transformation. First, I analyse how European integration has been accommodated into the dominant version of national identity. Secondly, I look at the emerging conceptualisations of the EU and its future in the Lithuanian debate. Finally, I consider the debates about costs the integration process, particularly in relation to Ignalina nuclear plant and Kaliningrad oblast. This article concludes with a look at the future of the debate.     

Fighting terrorism in Africa by proxy: the USA and the European Union in Somalia and Mali

The French intervention in Mali in early 2013 emphasizes that the decision-makers in Paris, Brussels, and Washington considered the establishment of the radical Islamist regime in Northern Mali a threat to their security interests. The widespread instability including the rise of radical Islamist groups in Somalia was perceived as a threat to western interests. It is the core argument of the paper if western powers decide to provide security in Africa, they will be inclined to use proxy instead of deploying own troops. Security provision by proxy in African means that African troops are doing the actual fighting and peacekeeping on the ground while western powers basically pay the costs, the logistics, and the training of local African troops. The paper concludes that the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in Somalia and The African-led International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA) in Mali are proxies for the USA and the European Union.     

二战后泰国华人参政历程及原因分析

世人对海外华人的印象之一是他们政治态度冷漠 ,与其辉煌的经济成就相比 ,其政治作为乏善可陈。但是泰国华人却是一个例外。历史上部分泰华精英就曾得到政府的重用而被封官授爵 ,现在泰华享有与泰人同等的公民权利 ,不仅可以担任公职、当选议员 ,甚至出任政府部长乃至当选总理 ,其政治参与的活跃情景非他国华人所可比拟。本文阐述二战后泰国华人的政治参与历程 ,浅析影响其参政的各种因素 ,进而分析由此带来的社会影响 ,证明参政是促进海外华人与当地民族融合的一种较佳模式。需说明的是 ,文中使用“华人”一词 ,不仅指已加入泰国籍的第一代…     

新罗宾贡生的汉诗与唐代格律诗

朝鲜从初唐时期开始就通过新罗宾贡生接受了中国格律诗的影响。其诗作集中表现了感时伤事、思乡、惜别、人生无常的情感;讲求押韵、平仄、对仗,同时用典灵活自然,注重运用隐喻手法;另外,其诗作深受晚唐唯美主义诗风的影响,但崔致远和朴仁范则体现出淡雅、通俗直白、叙事与议论相结合的现实主义诗风。     

关于中国企业开拓俄建筑市场的思考

现在，中国建筑企业主要作为装修工程的分包商进入俄罗斯市场，也有一些中国建筑企业开始承包工程，完成土石工程和构件安装。为了提高中国建筑企业在俄的竞争力，降低企业经营风险，进一步扩大市场份额，中俄两国政府有关部门应在建筑工程企业资质互认、市场监管、质量监督等方面加强合作，提供工程建设全程服务。     

Differences in the usefulness of communication channels,as experienced by gender and ethnic groups during their university selection process

Abstract

Recruiting students to enrol at a particular institution is becoming a competitive and challenging process for higher education institutions. Therefore, institutions should create efficient and effective ways of providing relevant information to prospective students during their process of selecting an institution. The major communication channels that prospective students consult during their selection process, and the usefulness thereof for students, are important knowledge imperatives for higher education institutions. In this study, 12 different channels of communication, considered by students during a typical higher education institution selection process, were investigated. A non-probability convenience sample of 1 241 first-year students from six higher education institutions in South Africa was drawn. Findings suggest that female students attach a significantly higher value to nine of the 12 communication channels, compared to their male counterparts. There were also differences between the ethnic groups in terms of the usefulness of events on campus, high school teachers, open days and campus visits, as well as university publications. Higher education institutions can use the results to develop communication strategies that are more student oriented, in order to reinforce their image and to reach students more effectively through the appropriate communication channels.