Opportunities and Challenges Confronting Northeast Asia

In February 2007, a breakthrough came as a surprise beyond all expectations at the six - party talks once a- gain, which may herald a major change in the situation on Korean Peninsula, and very likely a historical transfor mation as well. As far as Northeast Asian region is concerned, it means not only an important historical opportuni ty , but also a big challenge of whether a dramatic turn is in the making.     

Response to Climate Change： China＇s Actions and Cooperation with EU

Along with the fast growth of world economy, industrialization in particular, global issues such as climate change have become common concerns of the international community. Climate diplomacy is also gradually becoming a hot topic on the international agenda. Climate change is a common challenge to the world and every country bears the responsibility to address this issue. China is highly concerned about climate change and hopes to work with EU and the rest of the world to meet this challenge.     

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.     

Strategic Competition between the Major Powers against Changing Global Conditions

The world is experiencing complicated and profound changes of historical significance. How to regard and define this situation of immense change remains a question for the international community. Does it signify the formation of a new international strategic structure and world order? The author of this essay believes that there     

A Changing World and the New World Order

Ⅰ Believe it or not,the world has changed not due to worldwide wars but in a reformative,progressive,inconspicuous way.Though there is no clear-cut division between quantitative change and the qualitative one,after the alternations of the Westphalian System,the Versailles-Washington System and the Yalta System,world order is being restructured for a fourth time,a historical moment unprecedented in the last 400 years.Dramatic,at times devastating,changes of order were once linked to globe-wide wars (hot or cold),but the current change in world order stems from regional conflicts such as those in Afghanistan,Iraq and elsewhere,nuclear crises in the DPRK and Iran,the Ukraine crisis,and friction over East China and South China seas.Rising new economies,sluggish Western economies with changing demographics,emerging non-state actors,and interlocking problems contest the West's leadership of the international system.     

Russian Foreign Policy in Putin Presidency

Valadimir Putin assumed office as President of Russia on 7th May. It is a signfor Russia to enter into a new era. Attention is called to how Russia will imple-ment its foreign policy during Putin presidency, and what is the prospect. I Mr. Putin has started readjusting Russian foreign policy early as Acting Presi-dent. According to the newest version of the "Concept of National Security" andthe "New Foreign Doctrine", it is obvious that Russia will carry on pragmatic for-     

Climate Change and the US Security Sector: the Securitization of Climate Change

This preliminary study traces how climate change came to be viewed as a security issue in the United States through a review of policy documents and reports prepared for and by the US security sector. The paper draws upon the ideas of constructivist schools of security studies to provide an analytical framework for understanding the meaning of the securitization process as it has occurred in the United States. It then refl ects upon the adequacy of those frameworks to interpret the securitization of climate change. In the US, new knowledge of the phenomenon of climate change was fi rst constructed in the research sector, in the fi elds of meteorology and atmospheric science. Environmental and Earth sciences then became a locus of research, and climate change fi rst entered security discourse as a topic of environmental protection. As the implications of climate change and its potential impact on water resources, food production, diseases, infrastructure, and human migration came to the attention of the security sector, this knowledge stimulated an internal discourse, where each new document functioned both as a new securitization statement and as a policy response to prior documents in a chain of discourse. Actors in this securitization process included not only “speakers” making a securitization claim (knowledge claim) and “audiences” that accept or reject a claim. Importantly, it also included actors who were instrumental in translating knowledge between research and security sectors. This brief consideration suggests that social science theories that center on practice are more robust than those that center on discourse for interpreting the securitization of climate change. Improved analytic frameworks need to better account for actors whose role is to transfer and translate knowledge from one sector to another.     

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.     

Abstract

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The Historical Context of the Ukraine Crisis and Its Revelation, by Ding Yuanhong, Former Chinese Ambassador to EU and Former Director of Policy Research Department of the Foreign Ministry, PRC. The Ukraine crisis has quickly evolved into a fierce contention over Ukraine between Russia on the one side and the U.S. and Europe on the other side, and resulted in Crimea merging with Russia. This is a significant event in recent years that would further change the global political pattern and have ensuing effects on the future world. The outbreak of the Ukraine crisis has its profound historical roots and cultural background, which was coupled with internal political, economic and social dismays as well as the intervention of the West.     

“Tibetan Independence” Means Restoration of Theocracy

The theocratic system of government, a political form featuring the marriage of state power and religious authority, has been cast off by history as it is in conflict with such values as political democracy, civil rights, individual freedom as well as science and civilization, pursued by modern society. In essence, “Tibetan independence” or “autonomy of a Greater Tibet region”, advocated by the Dalai clique, means none other than the restoration of the theocratic system that reigned in Tibet 59 years ago to deprive the emancipated Tibetan serfs and slaves of their political rights and individual freedom and negate the results achieved in the democratic reform launched in Tibet after the Dalai Lama fled abroad in 1959, a reform designed to separate church from government. It is an attempt to bring about a retrogression of history in Tibet against the historical trend of human progress.     

Seeking Strategic Balance in Complicated Situation

More than 170 years after the Opium War,China is returning to a more central role in international relations.The major global emergencies in 2014 indicate an historical course alteration is happening now,and China’s strategic choices will determine much of the final destination of the change.The interim period poses challenges to China’s national security and greater uncertainty in international systems.China’s rise,coupled with internal problems brought about by social transition and relatively insufficient strategic means,will make it more difficult for China to secure its interests.Provided China succeeds in this period of insecurity,the overall environment for the country will incrementally improve.Provided several factors are properly balanced,a period of relative"stability"will ensue as the negative effects brought about by China’s rise disappear.     

Is China Threat a Hoax？

The Beijing Olympics has focused unprecedented worm attention on China this year. Many people hail the Games as an occasion that showcases China＇s growing contribution to world development and harmony. But intent on politicizing this global event, a few modern Cassandras still cling to the flawed China Threat theory. In this paper, the author traces the origins of this fallacious theory. He sees it as a product of Western empiricism viewed through an historical and philosophical prism. He argues that the assertion of threat arises from a generalization of historical facts. The assertion links China＇s growing clout with declining Western dominance in international affairs. Starting with the myth that peace is possible only among democracies, the theory predicts the inevitability of conflict between the West and China, a country with an alleged expansionist tradition and under an authoritarian system.     

China and the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea

After nine years of negotiations by 155 countries and international entities,the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Hereinafter referred to as the "Convention") was opened for signature on December 10,1982 in Montego Bay,Jamaica.The Convention lays down a comprehensive regime of law and order in the world's oceans and seas,establishing rules that govern all uses of the oceans and their resources.It is known as the "constitution for the oceans" and its historical position is second only to the United Nations Charter.2012 is the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Convention and the 18th anniversary of its entry into force.It is also the 30th anniversary of China's accession to the Convention and the 16th anniversary of its entry into force for the country.At this monumental moment in history,it is worthwhile to review China's contribution to the achievement of the Convention and reflect on the pros and cons of China vis-à-vis the Convention,so as to better explore ways and means of addressing future problems.     

中美应对气候变化合作:进展与问题(英文)

<正>In the present era of accelerating globalization and ever-closer crossborder exchanges,climate change,otherwise known as global warming,is exerting a profound influence on the natural environment on which humanity depends for a living as well as the sustainable economic and social development,and is becoming one of the greatest challenges to the international community.Considering that China and the United States remain the world’s     

Lessons Learned from the Past Can Serve as a Guide for the Future——Marking the 60^th anniversary of the victory over fascism Zhong Yanhong

A period of 60 years is not a short one, but the historical facts still come up vividly before peoples’eyes, as if happened yesterday. Over 60 years ago,fascists in Germany, Japan and Italy carried out policies of aggression and expansion, so as to contend for world hegemony and provoked the Second World War.     

Russia-Georgia Conflict and Beyond

Yet another Post 9/11 historical event indicating a significant turning point in the Post-Cold War era, Russia-Georgia conflict represents a remarkable change in the international strategy of a resurgent Russia. It also signifies that former Soviet republics are still groping for a new identity and that a new round of realignment will persist in the vast Eurasia region. The conflict reveals declining U.S. global control, flawed European integration, and NATO embarrassment. To a certain extent, it exposes chaos brought about by international nonpolarity and world governance vacuum. It also highlights what serious consequences can a double standard inflict on the principles of international law. A reasonable arrangement for global security and economic growth is therefore challenging the resolve and wisdom of international strategists. Actually fierce geopolitical rivalry for energy resources is at work behind the Russia-Georgia conflict. This will further compound the international energy strategic environment.     

“Sovereignty as Responsibility”: Intellectual Sources, Evolving Paths, and Theoretical Debates

“Sovereignty as Responsibility” or “Responsible Sovereignty” has emerged as a new issue in IR and sovereignty studies. On the one hand, its emergence stems from the historical logic of sovereignty and its inherent legitimacy requirements; on the other hand, it is also a theoretical choice for dealing with current global issues and puzzles. In essence, “Sovereignty as Responsibility” is not a direct challenge or straightforward deviation from traditional sovereignty theories. During its transfer from Right to Responsibility, “Sovereignty as Responsibility” is actually a consequent product of sovereignty traditions (like Great-Power Responsibility). At the same time, it is also a developing term that enriches its meanings and contents in the process of concept building. Its connotation expands from the functions of “protection” and “prevention” to the function of “building” and even “care.” In general, studies of “Sovereignty as Responsibility” have gradually diverged into two different approaches; Libertarianism and Communitarianism. As a new-born framework, “Sovereignty as Responsibility” has demonstrated several theoretical characteristics in terms of structure, logic, standard, as well as content and levels. However, it also confronts some disputes in terms of theory and challenges in practice.     

Historical Opportunity of Economic Globalization and China''''s Peripheral Strategy for Regional Integration

In 21st century, along with the continuously rising tide of economic globalization, there has been a growingtrend towards the regional integration among the countries surrounding China. So far as China is concerned, howto identify the nature of the relationship with its neighboring countries in the new era and, further on, how to con-form to the new historical trend of the times and establish a more stable system of international cooperation withthe peripheral countries have become an importan…     

Issues Related to EU''s Foreign Policy

The European Union (EU) is widely regarded as an important international actor, and usually referred to as a big power like the U. S. , Russia, China and Japan. So naturally the foreign policy of the EU has caught attention of both officials and scholars over the world. However, the EU is also a combination of sovereign states, its foreign policy is different from others, and perhaps this is often ignored. For instance, unlike a single nation state, the EU's influence and power are different in various policy fields due to its different ways of decision-making and implementation. Also, different from the common currency, the forming of the common foreign policy of the EU doesn't mean the disappearance of respective member state's foreign policy. Only seeing or emphasizing one respect will lead to a misunderstanding of the EU. Moreover, as a unique "supranational and intergovernmental" organization in the world, the EU has too many complex institutions, names and terms. Of course, the situation is not better in the field of foreign policy, and it easily leads to confusion and misunderstanding. It is also necessary to point out that the EU is still in the process of evolvement, and in particular, as one of the major reforms of the EU in recent years, the foreign policy-making mechanism has been in the center of change and adjustment. It is no doubt that this adds to the difficulties of studying and understanding the EU's foreign policy. In a word, the author thinks it is necessary to raise some major issues related to the EU's foreign policy and delve into it in connecting with the EU's current development.     

Defining Russia

Russia is a state stretching over the Eurasian land mass and with a mixture of both East and West cultures. During the historical process of its shaping, particularly sea changes took place, Russian leaders and the elites as well have always asked the following questions about the definition and orientation of their country: ““Who am I?““ ““How to do?““ and ““Where to?““