Feminist international relations and women militants: case studies from Sri Lanka and Kashmir

This paper presents women's militant activities outside the binary framework of ‘victimhood’ and ‘agency’ and invokes postmodern feminist international relations analyses to engage with women's material and ideological contribution to militant activities and political violence. Women who support and indulge in both discriminate and indiscriminate violence against institutions of the state and unarmed civilians not only redefine notions of nationalism, gender and religious identity, but also highlight their complex and problematic relationship with feminism. To what extent does participating in militant activities and armed combat provide women with opportunities to transcend conventional gender roles? In other words, do they remain the ‘other’ within ‘the other’? How are militant women influenced by these political movements and how do they influence these movements? What happens when the ‘protected’ and ‘upheld’ become the ‘protectors’ and ‘upholders’? How does/should feminist international relations approach these militant women? I attempt to address these questions through a study of women militants and their constructions as gendered political subjects in Kashmir and Sri Lanka.     

Politicizing connectivity: beyond the biopolitics of information technology in international relations

The traditional way of politicizing information technology (IT) in international relations is to raise questions concerning access. Rarely is the question posed of what IT does to people, how becoming connected subjectifies peoples, constituting them as a socius distinguished by properties and capacities of connectivity. Thus does this article address the biopolitics of connectivity; the implication of IT in liberal governance; the evolutionary posthumanism that has inspired faith in the governance properties of IT; and, crucially, the war and violence that are legitimated internationally on account of this faith. Following this critique it asks how to constitute an alternative politics of connectivity. How can we rework the concept of connectivity to conceive of alternative political horizons and possibilities? Exploring questions of the quality and intensity of connectivity, at expense of disciplinarily hegemonic ones of equality and quantity, the article engages with the rhizomatic theory of connectivity as advanced by Deleuze and Guattari.     

中国-东盟经济关系20年：回顾与展望

2011年是中国与东盟建立对话伙伴关系20周年。20年来,随着中国与东盟战略伙伴关系的确立和中国-东盟自由贸易区的全面建成,中国与东盟经济关系呈现出一系列新的格局变化。展望未来,中国与东盟经济关系发展将面临新的机遇和挑战。     

Bridging the communication gap in EU-China relations: policy,media, and public opinion

Asia Europe Journal - Over the past decade, the series of crises in the EU, the rise of China, and the outbreak of the global pandemic have complicated contemporary EU-China relations. In this...     

Reintegration and the relevance of social relations: the case of Lebanon

The DDR process that took place in Lebanon after the internal wars (1975–89), based on the Ta'if Accord (1989), was not co-ordinated by any international organisation. This paper assesses the reintegration of a number of combatants of one of the militias, the Lebanese Forces, placing particular emphasis on the context in which it unfolded. A programme of reintegration into the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) was proposed to the ex-combatants, but because of the high number on one side and because of the situation within the LAF itself (a pluri-religious organisation under reorganisation) this programme had little effect on the process. Instead the majority of the ex-combatants came to rely on their family and network established within the militia for their social and economic reintegration. This study finds that there has been little rupture between life as combatants and life as civilians. Three contextual factors were particularly important: the small size of the country, the rhythm of the war where periods of combat alternated with periods of calm, and the close contact combatants managed to keep with their family, work, schools and universities. A key lesson for DDR processes more generally stems from the study: DDR initiatives are likely to be most effective when they work alongside and augment indigenous positive social processes contributing to reintegration.     

Sanctions and public opinion: The case of the Russia-Ukraine gas disputes

The Review of International Organizations - Economic sanctions usually fail, sometimes even provoking the opposite of the intended outcome. Why are sanctions so often ineffective? One prominent...     

EU public diplomacy in Asia: a case study of the EU Center in Taiwan

Since 2004, the EU has created 11 EU centers and two center-modeled programs in East Asia as an integral part of its public diplomacy in order to “promote the study, understanding, and support of the EU and its policies.” All of these centers were jointly established by the EU and local universities, and more than 50 % of their funding is offered by the EU institutions. Among these centers and programs, the EU Center in Taiwan (EUTW) distinguishes itself from the others in two ways. On one hand, similar to the EU Center in Singapore, it acts as a national center rather than a university center. On the other hand, it was jointly inaugurated by a consortium of seven universities rather than one or two universities across the island. Therefore, this paper aims to evaluate the EU public diplomacy in Asia with the help of soft power theory and an in-depth case study of the EUTW. I will firstly review the development of the EU Studies and EU-related communities in Taiwan before the EUTW was formally inaugurated in May 2009. In the second part, I will present an in-depth analysis of the structure and functioning of the EUTW in terms of EU public diplomacy on the island. In the third part, the work of EUTW in the promotion of study, understanding, and even support of the EU and its policies will be evaluated with help of an institutionalist framework. In the end, I will give a balance sheet of the EUTW in terms of EU public diplomacy before drawing into some conclusions.     

A conceptual framework of corporate online communication: A marketing public relations (MPR) perspective

Abstract

This study identifies attributes that are perceived by online communicators as contributing to the effectiveness of corporate online communication. A marketing public relations (MPR) perspective is applied to assess the contribution of credibility, trust and long-term relationships to effective corporate online communication.

Q methodology is used as the research method and Q sorting as the means of data collection. Credibility, trust, long-term relationships and their composite factors are tested among 20 communicators and 20 receivers of corporate online communication. The participants' sortings of statements are first compared by means of Q factor analysis and then analysed. Four factors are ultimately identified that are perceived to contribute to effective corporate online communication by communicators and receivers: trust, responsibility, efficiency and meaningful relationships.     

Assessing information technologies and telecommunications services: the case of developing countries

The great challenge for policy research is to explain the complex set of interrelations among policy areas that were previously thought to be reasonably discrete and separable, and thereby to provide a better understanding of the environment in which informed policy decisions must be made (Melody 1990a: 16).     

Two Complementary Settings of Peace-making Diplomacy: Political-Elite Diplomacy and Public Diplomacy

In terms of the question, “how to create an effective peace-making process in the Israeli–Palestinian case,” this article argues that the answer is a multidimensional approach to peace-making diplomacy that contains two main settings: political-elite diplomacy and public diplomacy. Political-elite diplomacy suggests various modes of peace-making interactions between political-elites. Public diplomacy provides instruments to involve the people in the peace-making struggle, prepares them for a change, and presses the leadership to reach agreements. The analysis suggests establishing an institution for the operation of public diplomacy—a major Israeli-Palestinian public negotiating congress. The congress is a democratic peace-making institution that invites representatives of the opposing societies to discuss, debate, and negotiate solutions to their struggle. The article also presents the concepts of political-elite diplomacy and public diplomacy as competitive settings that should be regarded as complementary. It includes lessons from the “Minds of Peace Experiment”—a small-scale Israeli–Palestinian public negotiating congress—which has been conducted in different places around the world.     

Bilateral diplomatic and economic relations between East Asia and the new EU members: The case of Latvia

As the result of historical, political and geographical reasons, Latvias relations with the East Asia are a new field of study. Even though the diplomatic and economic relations between Latvia and the East Asian countries have not been significant, the volume of trade and cooperation in other fields has been increasing particularly with China, Japan and Singapore. Latvias joining the EU will impact this cooperation in different ways. Mostly it will give more opportunities for Latvia to build fruitful diplomatic and economic relations with the East Asian countries. This explorative research will examine the current state of the bilateral diplomatic and economic relations between Latvia and the East Asian countries (ASEAN, Japan, China, and South Korea) as well as clarify future trends, particularly related to the effects of the accession of Latvia to the EU. This is one of the first researches in this field and is intended for those interested in bilateral relations between the new EUs members and the East Asian countries, as well as for those analyzing the consequences of the EUs enlargement on these relations.     

The external-domestic interplay in democracy promotion: a case study on public administration reform in Croatia

In this contribution we conceptualize the under-investigated interplay between external and domestic actors in democracy promotion. We first propose a typology of the instruments and means used both by external and domestic actors to influence reform outputs and then trace these instruments' effects on outcomes, thereby expanding the existing concepts of domestic agency. Although democracy promotion continues to be a rather asymmetric relationship between the “donors” and “receivers” of aid and advice, domestic actors employ a wide array of instruments to manage external demands for reform, including diplomacy, take-over, slowdown, modification, resistance, and emancipation. The article draws on a case study of European Union democracy promotion within two reform initiatives in the field of Public Administration Reform (PAR) in Croatia.     

Media,democracy and the public sphere: towards a reconceptualisation of the public sphere

ABSTRACT

This article brings a synthesis of the recent literature about the role the media have played for the transformation of the public sphere. Departing from this literature, a general research framework for a critical political economy of the public sphere is presented. The central thesis of this approach is that a political economy of the public sphere shouldn't be restricted to an analysis of its institutional configuration and the actual labour process, but must extend its radius of action from the production of media messages to a political economy of reception and its signification.     

Interregional relations and legitimacy in global governance: the EU in ASEM

This article explores the ramifications of the European Union’s (EU) internal legitimacy debate for its external relations. It applies the Asia–Europe Meeting (ASEM) as a case study to examine the EU’s attempts to promote legitimacy in global governance, more specifically in interregional institutions. The article’s theoretical framework draws from the EU’s legitimacy debate. It identifies three key sources of legitimacy, namely, (i) input legitimacy or democratic control and accountability, (ii) output legitimacy or performance and achievement of core purposes, and (iii) the degree of common identity as externalised through collective representation and the articulation of shared norms and values. The empirical analysis thereafter leads to three observations. First, the EU’s presence has contributed to an increased democratic involvement by ASEM’s different stakeholders including parliaments and civil society. Second, purely from an institutional legitimacy perspective ASEM achieves its purpose as a forum to ‘constructively engage’ with Asian countries and address issues relating to global governance. Third, ASEM reveals the EU’s dual identity as an intergovernmental grouping and an organisation with a gradually increasing capacity of collective representation. However, the advancement of the EU’s normative objectives through ASEM has been problematic, leading to a more interest-based and pragmatic policy path. The article concludes that the EU’s legitimacy debate has had a bearing on relations with Asia and, in particular, with ASEM. Importantly, and given the EU’s setbacks, some elements of the ‘EU’s way’ have proven successful in promoting democratic notions of legitimacy beyond the state.     

Taking production relations seriously: the role of defence firms in armaments cooperation

ABSTRACT

Coordinating defence-industrial relations towards harmonising and facilitating procurement policies, production processes and the joint operability of their member-states’ national defence sectors, International Armaments Organisations (IAOs) play an important role in armaments cooperation. How can we explain their institutional development? Existing literature tackles this question using International Relations theories to mid-range theories of institutions and integration. However, they adopt overly state-centric viewpoints, assume actor interests as given, and disregard the changes in the global economic landscape that constitute the backdrop of armaments cooperation. In response, we shift the focus onto a key group of actors: the defence firms. Using a Neo-Gramscian Historical Materialist approach, we investigate how the globalisation of the defence market has created a transnational defence-industrial class in Europe, and demonstrate how its economic interests have fundamentally shaped the institutional frameworks of European IAOs. We focus on the Organisation for Joint Armaments Cooperation (OCCAR) and the European Defence Agency (EDA) to illustrate our argument. Our conclusions have implications for the study of armaments cooperation, particularly highlighting how the economic nature of this policy domain necessitates a closer look at the global and regional production relations, and the agency of the defence firms.