Preventive diplomacy in historical perspective

The perils and difficulties of recent great power efforts to defuse and contain small power disputes have been much remarked upon. This paper justifies and operationalizes comparative investigation of eight nineteenth- and twentieth-century preventive diplomacy cases directed to small power ethnic conflict, to document the interplay between such conflict and great power behaviour under a variety of conditions. The purpose is to seek differentiated, historically grounded generalizations, and more sustainable foundations for contemporary policy. Similarities and divergences initially uncovered between the cases are described, and it is argued that these remain relevant despite apparently unique contemporary developments.     

Italian renaissance diplomacy

A renewed interest in Italian fifteenth-century diplomacy and the publication of extensive sections of the diplomatic archives of the Italian states justify a new assessment of the significance of Italian Renaissance diplomacy. The conclusions of this essay are threefold, that Italian developments were less unique and less isolated from the European scene than used to be thought; that too much emphasis has been placed on a transition from occasional to continuous diplomacy; and that the emergence of the resident ambassador has to be seen in the context of changing decision-making mechanisms and bureaucratic structures. The differences between the diplomatic institutions and personnel of the princely and republican Italian states are particularly emphasized.     

俄罗斯地缘外交中的格鲁吉亚

独立以来,随着对外政策的调整,俄罗斯加强了对独联体的外交和军事介入。在这种情况下,以解决格鲁吉亚阿布哈兹共和国和南奥塞梯自治州要求独立而爆发的武装冲突为起点,俄罗斯和格鲁吉亚的双边关系开始缓和。但很快,格鲁吉亚在对俄罗斯失望之余,在美国和北约等外部强大势力对格鲁吉亚的介入下,俄格之间因俄驻格军事基地、往来签证和阿布哈兹等问题矛盾不断,双边关系很快冷淡下来,几乎爆发武装冲突。     

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.     

透析俄罗斯能源外交的地区实践

2008年7月,俄联邦总统梅德韦杰夫签署命令批准了《俄联邦外交政策构想》,成为俄罗斯与各区域国家开展能源合作的指导性方针和依据。近年来,俄罗斯全面运筹能源外交,在全球层面广泛参与国际多边能源合作,在地区层面继续深化与各能源主体的能源对话和双边合作,通过外交手段支持本国公司平等参与国际能源合作以维护自身的对外经济和地缘政治利益。透彻分析俄罗斯对外能源合作在各地区的实践活动,有助于把握俄对外能源政策走向,在全球化和国际金融危机背景下全方位地保障我国的能源安全。     

Reflections on the history of Japanese diplomacy

Japan and the Wider World: From the Mid‐Nineteenth Century to the Present, Akira Iriye. London: Longman. 1997. viii, 213pp. ISBN: 0–582–21053–4

The Clash: U.S.‐Japanese Relations Throughout History, Walter LaFeber. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. 1997. xxii, 508pp. ISBN: 0–393–03950–1

Hands Across the Sea?: U.S.‐Japan Relations, 1961–1981, Timothy P. Maga. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press. 1997. x, 183pp. ISBN: 0–8214–1210–8     

Reflections on the history of Japanese diplomacy

Japan and the Wider World: From the Mid-Nineteenth Century to the Present, Akira Iriye. London: Longman. 1997. viii, 213pp. ISBN: 0-582-21053-4

The Clash: U.S.-Japanese Relations Throughout History, Walter LaFeber. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. 1997. xxii, 508pp. ISBN: 0-393-03950-1

Hands Across the Sea?: U.S.-Japan Relations, 1961-1981, Timothy P. Maga. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press. 1997. x, 183pp. ISBN: 0-8214-1210-8     

EU-China relations and the limits of economic diplomacy

This paper addresses a key problem in EU-China economic relations: the capacity of the EU to exert leverage through its economic diplomacy in the context of key economic trends, policy dilemmas, and processes of governance. The paper begins by identifying key elements of the EU’s economic diplomacy and their relationship to key functions: deliberation, representation, communication, and negotiation. It continues by reviewing key trends and challenges in EU-China economic relations, in terms of trade, finance/investment, and broader issues of economic performance, with special reference to the problems emanating from the current economic turbulence both in the EU and in the broader global political economy. It then identifies a number of key policy dilemmas for the EU in areas such as trade defense/trade promotion, environment/development, security/commercial priorities, investment/sovereignty, and explores these in terms of three key concepts: orientation, coordination, and effectiveness. In pursuing this analysis, the paper relates these trends and dilemmas to attempts to govern EU-China economic relations: public/private, bilateral/multilateral, and regulatory/political. In the final section of the paper, these efforts are evaluated in the context of the EU’s economic diplomacy, with relation to key actors, processes, and outcomes and to the key functions of deliberation, representation, communication, and negotiation.     

Japanese diplomacy towards Korea in multipolarity: history and trend

This article shows that in situations of multipolarity Japan has been active and adroit in dealing with the developments on the Korean peninsula, which is a microcosm of the strategic situation in Northeast Asia. It shows such a dynamic by examining two periods of multipolarity in East Asia: the era of the Russo-Japanese War and the détente era of the early 1970s. Japanese diplomacy in the 1970s was carried out under the constraints of its peace constitution and under United States protection. But, even subject to such conditions, Japan actively worked to diplomatically promote its position on the Korean question. Though mainly a historical review, this article provides evidence that supports a realist explanation for Japan's activist foreign policy. This trend also helps to explain the recent activist initiatives in Japanese diplomacy towards Korea in the post-Cold-War era.     

Sport diplomacy between the United States and Iran

America and Iran have not had diplomatic relations for two decades. In May 1997 the election of Mohammad Khatami, a reformist, to Iran's presidency provided an opening for a cautious rapprochement. Khatami advocated people-to-people contacts between the two nations to break the ice, and the United States agreed. After critically evaluating the idea of people-to-people contacts and discussing the role of the large Iranian diaspora in America as a mediator between the peoples of the two countries, this article examines the sports diplomacy that resulted from Khatami's initiative. It concludes with a comparison with the ping pong diplomacy that heralded the thaw in US-Chinese relations.