Making Sense of the Sacred

In this note I examine the concept of sacred values. Some commentators have recommended avoiding the question or postponing negotiations until other issues have been settled, whereas others have suggested that few sacred values cannot be rendered into some form of trade‐off (i.e., they are pseudosacred). Here, I follow Scott Atran and Robert Axelrod and argue that ritual and the sacred can be an important component of negotiation and, when addressed effectively, have great potential to break impasse. I first examine the notion of the sacred and its near synonyms, the priceless and the intrinsically valuable. I then look at the issue of valuing life and show that although society places limits on lives as a matter of policy, it paradoxically funds heroic acts, such as mine rescues, which defy economic justification. These acts turn out to fulfill an important symbolic and ritualistic function. Finally, I draw out three implications of the framework for negotiators: negotiators should engage in some form of values clarification among the parties, material compromise by one party does not necessarily indicate that that party's values were not ultimate or that these have been relinquished, and considerable weight should be placed on ritualistic and symbolic gestures with regard to values.     

理解当代中国的安全哲学

通过分析安全主体在安全政治中的思维逻辑和行为方式,可以抽象出其所信奉的安全哲学。以当代中国的安全哲学为例,自改革开放以来,基于自身关于和平与发展是当今时代主题的战略判断,中国提出与之相匹配和呼应的新安全观,并且分为互信、互利、平等、协作的新安全观,以及共同、综合、合作、可持续的新安全观两个阶段。同时,中国所主张的新安全观与旧安全观在政治基础、安全结构、安全战略、争端因应、和平保障五个方面形成鲜明对比。以此为线索,当代中国安全哲学的具体内涵可以被理解和概括为一体安全、兼容安全和发展安全,倡导树立忧患意识与发扬斗争精神。当然,当代中国的安全哲学还面临包括启动成本、维持成本和机会成本在内的成本问题,包括不对称问题和道德风险问题在内的行动问题,以及包括安全感问题、实践转化及其效力问题和他者问题在内的竞争力问题等现实困境和理论困难,这也是当代中国的安全外交需要作答和完成的理论命题与实践课题。     

Making Sense of Turkey’s Reaction to the Qatar Crisis

ABSTRACT

When the Qatar crisis erupted in June 2017, Turkey quickly sided with Qatar, sending tons of food supplies and deploying troops in the Emirate. Yet, from a purely geopolitical and economic perspective, Turkey would have been expected not to take sides given its much larger trade relations with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and their political clout in the region and beyond. It seems that the path dependence in bilateral relations between Turkey and Qatar pre-ordained the former’s reaction. More specifically, by the time the Gulf crisis erupted, Turkey and Qatar had already developed a special relationship, which strongly affected Turkey’s pro-Qatar stance.     

Making Sense of Citizen Diplomats: The People of Duluth, Minnesota, as International Actors

What is citizen diplomacy and how do we assess its significance? These are important questions because of the recent upsurge in international activity of this kind, and because how we answer them says a great deal about how we do IR. By examining citizen diplomacy in Duluth, Minnesota, this paper offers a typology of citizen diplomats organized around the ideas of who or what they are representing and to whom. Assessing the significance of citizen diplomacy is a more difficult problem since individuals tend to generate a priori answers to it based on our respective theoretical orientations to IR as a whole. As a solution to this problem, the paper proposes a diplomatic approach which focuses on both the representation of differences to one another and the professional commitment which diplomats have to maintaining the practices and institutions which make such relations possible.     

中非关系与欧非关系比较

从历史和现实的角度看,中非关系和欧非关系的内涵与外延有不同特点.中非交往历史悠久,并一直以和平方式在平等的基础上交流,尽管这种交流缺乏持久性和经常性;近代以后,欧洲与非洲建立了十分紧密的关系,但这种关系建立在暴力的基础上,且是一种不平等关系,因此,双方之间存在许多矛盾和斗争.进入现代以来,发展中国家的共同属性把中非关系推上新台阶,在双方共同努力下,新型战略伙伴关系的建立将使中非关系不断发展;欧洲有关国家在战后虽然失去宗主国地位,但是仍对非洲保持很大的影响,由于欧洲的传统思维依旧存在,欧非之间建立真正的平等关系还需时日.中非关系与欧非关系都是重要的国际关系,寻找和扩大共同点,加强合作,是中国、欧洲、非洲处理彼此关系的最佳途径.     

试析印日关系及其对中印关系的影响

近年来,随着中日关系的不断恶化,日本逐渐将其亚洲外交的重心转移到印度,印日关系不断升温,两国关系正在进入蜜月期。印日关系的不断发展,将给中印关系带来潜在的影响。本文试对印日关系的发展对中印关系的影响进行分析。     

印美关系展望

冷战结束后,印度和美国的关系逐渐发生变化,近几年来两国关系不断升温。今年３月,克林顿总统访印使印美关系进入一个“新阶段”。本文试图对印美关系变化的背景以及今后的发展趋势作一些分析与探讨。一、印美关系变化的时代背景印美关系几十年来一直处于不很稳定的状态。２０世纪９０年代初起,国际形势和印度国内形势都发生了重大变化,为印美关系的发展带来了历史性的机遇。首先是国际形势的变化。冷战时期,在美苏争霸的态势下,印度和苏联建立和保持了“特殊关系”,特别是在８０年代苏联入侵阿富汗问题上的立场与美国立场大相径庭。作为不结…     

俄与北约关系发展历史沿革

5月28日,俄罗斯与北约首脑正式签署关于建立“新型战略关系”的罗马宣言,宣布成立北约—俄罗斯理事会,以“20国机制”取代“19+1机制”。对此,双方均称俄与北约关系进入了一个崭新合作的新时代。     

引人注目的印度与以色列的关系

印度根据形势及时调整自己的外交格局 ,与以色列建起了紧密关系 ,使本国的军力大增。但印度做事并不糊涂 ,损害它的利益的事并不做 ,在政治上它坚持独立。     

更加务实的双边关系——析伊拉克战后的印美关系

伊拉克战争后,印美两国虽然存在着分歧,但两国战略伙伴关系仍然得到继续发展,特别是防务合作关系得到了显著发展.这是因为两国从实现各自长远战略利益出发,以更加务实的态度对待这些分歧.因此,目前两国之间的分歧并未阻碍两国将战略伙伴关系继续推进.     

Contemporary International Relations

About Us Contemporary International Relations (ISSN1003-3408), a policy-oriented research journal, was inspired by the need for international communication in a period of rapid Chinese development; it has been published by China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations since 1990. Originally produced as a single-paper pamphlet, in     

论中美俄关系

中美苏“三角关系”，曾给“冷战”时期国际关系格局带来举足轻重的影响。冷战结束后，中美俄关系呈现出新的形态，再用传统的“三角关系”概念审视三国关系已不合时宜。进入新世纪，我们应“与时俱进”，努力推动并行不悖的中美、中俄“双边”关系，以促进世界的和平与发展。     

越美关系浅论

越美建交10周年(1995.7.12-2005.7.12)前夕,越南政府总理潘文凯应邀于2005年6月19-25日率团正式访问美国。越南政府首脑首次访美,掀开了越美两国关系的新篇章,引起世界舆论的广泛关注。越美关系正常化10年来的发展历程及今后的演进走向,由此成为人们关注的焦点。     

Sino-EU Security Relations

There are two levels of security relations between China and the EU. The first level is that of China and the EU as a whole. The second level is that between China and member states of the EU respectively. Because the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the EU is still in an initial phase, defense relations between China and the EU have mainly been at the second level.     

Emerging Sino-Indian Relations

China and India are the two most populous countries in the world and both have the fastest growing economies.The implications of this relationship and the significant geopolitical impact it has had on Asia and the wider world have attracted widespread attention.     

Contemporary International Relations

About Us Contemporary International Relations (ISSN1003-3408), a policy-oriented research journal, was inspired by the need for international communication in a period of rapid Chinese development; it has been published by China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations since 1990. Originally produced as a single-paper pamphlet, in 1992 it was established as a regular monthly