The paradox of petrodollar development: Chad’s military diplomacy in regional and global security

This paper examines the Chadian government’s overwhelming preoccupation with state security, rather than individual security, as evidenced by its huge expenditure on arms rather than on poverty-alleviating development projects following the unprecedented influx of petrodollars in the years since production began in 2003. This overemphasis on state security demonstrates a mismatch between the availability of natural resource wealth and ongoing low levels of socioeconomic development in Chad. The country has instead used its enormous oil wealth to boost its standing in the turbulent Central African and Sahelian regions where terrorism is rife. The country’s international diplomacy, which consists of deploying its well-equipped military in international peacekeeping missions and in the fight against terrorism, is a strategy of achieving international recognition while simultaneously diverting the international community’s attention from the country’s democracy deficit and poor human rights record. Internally, authoritarianism and political instability are accompanied by conflict, poverty and underdevelopment, which in turn perpetuate the challenges facing the country.     

Ubuntu and sumak kawsay: The Inter-Parliamentary Union and the search for a global South humanist paradigm of development

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) continuously seeks to assert itself as a voice of the peoples of the world in global debates, where geopolitical interests of states, often representing political and economic elites, dominate. This article critically analyses one of the latest contributions to norm setting and idea-generation by the IPU: the concepts of ubuntu and sumak kawsay (also known as buen vivir in Spanish and living well in English) as the basis for the international response to the challenge of failed development strategies globally. This proposal from the IPU arises from the exhaustion of the dominant discourses and concepts underpinning international development. These discourses are based on the colonial model of power and are increasingly being challenged by calls from subaltern voices for ‘unthinking, rethinking and delinking’ from hegemonic illusions. Further, the article argues, the proposed ideals of ‘living well’ and ‘human solidarity’ cannot be implemented within the current colonially inspired humanist paradigm, but require a ‘decolonial’ orientation of global humanism.     

澜湄合作的动力机制--基于“利益-责任-规范”的分析

尽管中国主导创设的澜湄合作机制是湄公河地区国际合作机制的后来者,但在过去四年多的时间里其取得了较好的发展成绩,已成为次区域合作的典范。对澜湄合作理论层面的研究与澜湄合作快速发展的现实是不相称的。本文试图搭建一个分析框架来研究中国创设地区机制的动力,认为澜湄合作是中国推动自身利益与湄公河国家利益相适应、在“共同但有区别的责任”原则指导下发挥力所能及的作用、积极构建“利益—责任—规范”三位一体的地区规范的过程。然而,目前增强澜湄合作发展动力还面临着区域内国家之间的利益分歧、“中国责任”与“他方期待”不对称、地区规范建构缓慢等因素的制约。澜湄合作要在众多地区合作机制中脱颖而出,需要关注更高层面的制度设计和集体认同的建设。而建立相对稳定的合作机制和保持制度的灵活性将是未来澜湄合作保持其生命力的重要问题。     

胡锦涛构建和谐世界思想的基本特征论析

胡锦涛构建和谐世界思想是新时期我国处理国际关系的重要方针和指导外交工作的崭新理念,具有突出的现实针对性、浓郁的民族性和鲜明的与时俱进性。当前,在构建社会主义和谐社会的新形势下,学习和探究胡锦涛构建和谐世界思想的基本特征,具有极其重要的理论意义和实践意义。     

战败之后：是复仇对抗还是追随结盟？

区域主导权战争后,战败国的行为通常可以被抽象归并为四种类型：积极复仇、僵持对抗、平静隐退和追随结盟。古典现实主义外交政策理论认为,这种差异性选择取决于和平条约缔结过程中战胜国对战败国的宽宥程度。但本项研究发现,战败国行为选择差异化与和约缔结过程中战胜国宽宥程度之间并没有直接关系。结构性要素与情势性要素的叠加效应才是战败国行为选择差异化背后的激励因素。结构性要素体现为战败国自认为双方是否仍处于同一力量等级,情势性要素则体现为战败国周边是否还存在牵制其力量投送的其他战略敌手。在逻辑同一性框架下,上述两大变量不同组合的叠加效应,构成了战败国选择偏好呈现多元差异性的根源。从战胜国角度讲,厘清主导权战争后战败国行为选择背后的因果机制,对于规避与前战败国陷入周期性对抗与复仇泥沼、促成前战败国走向善意中立或追随和预判特定地区主导权战争后的大国关系走向均能提供有益的启示。     

习近平外交思想与中国外交哲学的新境界

习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想是21世纪的马克思主义。习近平外交思想是习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想的重要组成部分,集中反映了当代中国化马克思主义在外交和国际关系领域的最新思想理论成果。习近平外交思想在价值取向上彰显鲜明中国特色,即旗帜鲜明地坚守中国共产党领导中国人民走中国特色社会主义道路与追求共产主义远大理想的初心,推动构建人类命运共同体,积极为人类现代化事业贡献中国智慧和中国方案。使坚持中国特色社会主义的初心与倡导涵盖资本主义国家的人类共同体意识形成理论自洽,是中国共产党人运用马克思"两个必然"思想与"两个决不会"思想,对当代世界与中国发展大势进行深刻洞察得出的重要理论结晶,是习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想和习近平外交思想从历史哲学高度对21世纪马克思主义做出的重大理论贡献,体现出深刻的理论思辨与理论创新精神。习近平外交思想富于鲜活的时代精神,集中体现在高扬和平与发展的时代主旋律、敏锐洞察百年未有之大变局的历史脉动、以新型全球化理念积极引导全球治理等方面。习近平外交思想使中国外交在理论和实践上得到升华,开辟了中国外交哲学的新境界,是新时代中国特色大国外交的强大思想武器与行动指南。     

习近平首脑外交与中国白俄罗斯“一带一路”合作

自习近平成为中国领导人以来,在外交领域积极发挥关键性的领导作用,首脑外交已成为中国外交的最高形式。习近平外交思想强调党对外交工作的绝对领导,强调维护首脑对外交工作的核心领导。习近平主席对于中白合作的倡议得到卢卡申科总统的认同和支持,首脑外交已经成为中白“一带一路”合作快速发展的关键性因素。中白克服了空间距离远、产业合作条件不佳的困难,在白俄罗斯首都明斯克市郊建设中白工业园,并被纳入“一带一路”建设框架内,目前该项目的进展迅速。中国与白俄罗斯的“一带一路”合作是远高于一般意义上的经济合作,是一种基于政治互信的合作。从中白合作中我们得出一个结论:因势利导和差异性的合作形式是“一带一路”建设的新特点。“一带一路”绝不仅仅是一条交通物流走廊,更是一种全球经济合作的新模式,是中国参与经济全球化的一种制度创新。     

Economic Sanctions and the Politics of IMF Lending

What effect do economic sanctions have on the IMF lending decisions? Though countries under economic sanctions often face significant economic and financial difficulties, no comprehensive research to date has explored whether the IMF as a de facto lender of last resort intervenes in those countries in need. We posit that economic coercion is likely to hinder the target’s access to IMF credits as sanctioning (sender) countries are likely to use their political influence in the IMF to deny funds to the destabilized target economies. To assess the empirical merits of the hypothesis, we combine data on the IMF lending with the economic sanctions data for 120 emerging market economies from 1975 to 2005. Results indicate that target countries are less likely to receive IMF funds, especially when under sanctions by the United States and international institutions. Our findings contradict the conventional wisdom that the IMF is tasked with providing lifelines to member governments in need of help to ease their short-term balance of payment problems. Further, as much as IMF loans can be used as positive inducements to acquire a country’s strategic cooperation, we show that they might also be used by sender countries as a punishment tool against target countries to amplify the impact of sanctions regimes.     

试论美国的文化价值观与外交

文化价值观在很大程度上是指人们对其周围事物的认识,通常具有相对的稳定性和持久性。美国的文化价值观主要包括宗教信仰观、“一体化”文化观、“使命”观以及个人主义价值观。美国外交政策的制定和出台无一不受到这些价值观的影响,全面了解美国的文化价值观,将有助于我们更深刻地剖析和理解美国的外交政策。     

俄罗斯政治经济形势及外交走向

本文论述了普京执政以来的俄罗斯政治经济形势及外交走向.政治形势趋向稳定,经济形势有所好转,外交走向日益明朗.俄罗斯开始进入一个由乱转治的历史转折新时期.在政治方面俄罗斯实现了新旧政权的平稳过渡,调整了政权结构,打击了车臣分裂主义势力,缓解了社会矛盾,维护了国家统一;在经济方面修正了经济改革路线,调整了经济政策,治理并改善了经营和投资环境,促进了经济增长;在外交方面维护了叶利钦后期外交政策的连续性,寻找了自己在世界多极化新格局中的位置,以本民族利益为中心调整了外交政策,加强了与独联体国家的联系,改善了同西方大国的关系,推进了与东方国家的关系.但是,由于普京的内外政策尚未完全定型,改革的道路崎岖不平,经济缺乏增长的坚实基础,此外,国力锐减又限制了与西方大国外交活动的空间,所以俄罗斯的社会经济发展仍会遇到一定的阻力与困难.