The East Asian financial meltdown

In view of China's economic growth and rising international status, Latin American and Caribbean countries will accord increasing priority to their relations with the Asian giant. China's permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council is also a factor to reckon with. Today, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and Mexico have established strategic partnerships with China. While the vast distance between China and Latin America generates difficulties in transportation and mutual understanding, it also means that both parties have no serious conflicts of strategic and political interests. Their Third World orientations in diplomacy contribute to a 95% concurrence in their votes in the United Nations. While the Chinese leadership seeks to promote multipolarity to curb US unilateralism, it appreciates its limitations in Latin America. In addition, China and the Latin American and Caribbean countries value good relations with the US. In the foreseeable future, China will increase its investment in Latin America and more Sino-Latin American business joint ventures will be formed. These trends may well reduce trade frictions associated with China's economic expansion.     

BRICS corporates: In collaboration or in competition in Africa? Case studies from the South African mining industry

Framed by the 5th BRICS Summit in South Africa in March 2013, this analysis examines economic ‘South-South’ linkages on a company level. A qualitative case study focuses on a small number of private corporations operating in the South African mining and minerals sector. It looks at their reactions to increasingly competitive markets in the regions of Southern and West Africa, thus on their agency, defined as the ability to act in complex uncertainty. Findings present how the South African cases' engagements with strategically selected partner companies from the other BRICS economies can succeed. This contribution attempts to examine entrepreneurial rationale that can be taken as anecdotal evidence of a new ‘economic diplomacy’ at corporate level. The examples illustrate how agency enables certain adaptations of strategies for creating competitive synergies from collaboration with new actors from the other BRICS economies in Africa.     

International assistance to promote independent media in transition and post-conflict societies

This article focuses on an important but neglected area of democracy assistance: international aid to build and strengthen independent media in transition and post-conflict societies. The purpose of such assistance is to promote democratization by facilitating the free flow of information, transparency, accountability in the government, and economic growth. The article describes the origin of media assistance, examines the focus of media programmes, and presents some of the most important policy and programmatic lessons derived from fieldwork in seven locations: Afghanistan, Bosnia, Central America, Indonesia, Russia, Sierra Leone, and Serbia. The article ends with a plea for further research by the academic community on the subject.     

金融危机与美国霸权战略的调整

战后以来,强大经济实力始终是美国霸权政治的基础,金融则扮演了美国经济"晴雨表"的角色。2007年后的金融危机和债务危机削弱了美国霸权的经济"实力",使美国霸权战略不得不进行一系列调整:在经济领域,奥巴马政府实施了经济优先战略,推动美国霸权战略的"国内化"转向,力图夯实美国在世界政治经济格局中的霸主基础;在国际政治领域,加速推进"转型外交"进程,倡导多边主义和国际协作;在军事领域,采取相对收缩的军事战略,适时调整海外军事布局,全力应对国际金融危机。     

俄罗斯对外能源战略和中俄能源博弈

俄罗斯对外能源战略具有一贯性,即使用"能源武器"开展对外能源合作。但与苏联和叶利钦时期相比,当前的俄罗斯对外能源战略更为灵活和务实。俄罗斯不仅要利用能源来壮大自身经济实力,还要运用能源武器提升自己的大国地位。中俄能源合作有着广阔的前景,但由于俄罗斯追求"国家利益"最大化,以及采取"捆绑式"能源外交,使中俄石油管线的修建一波三折,天然气合作依旧处在初级阶段。中国应加强对俄罗斯对外能源战略的研究,认清两国能源合作中存在的问题,以此推动双边和多边的能源合作。     

中国的对日政策及其国内背景

2012年是中日邦交正常化40周年。40年来,特别是近20年来,日本政局动荡,政策多变。与此相比,中国对日本政策则具有较强的稳定性与连续性。当然,在不同时期、不同情况下,中国对日本政策重点和具体做法也会有所调整。这些主要是针对日本方面发生变化所作出的反应,同时也与中国国内外一些因素的变化有关。相关研究通常是日本专家学者热衷研究的题目,但往往是仁者见仁、智者见智。为增进相互理解,中日两国互不为敌,相互支持对方的和平发展,符合两国共同的根本利益。     

毛泽东国家文化安全思想提出的背景与得失

毛泽东虽然没有直接提出"文化安全"的概念,但是他提出了一系列蕴含着丰富的国家文化安全思想理念的观点。本文认为,近代以来帝国主义侵华给中国人民带来的屈辱历史和文化伤害,是毛泽东思考新中国文化安全的历史起点;捍卫共产党安身立命的信仰系统和价值追求,是毛泽东对国家文化安全的现实考虑;维护民族利益,捍卫国家文化主权,是毛泽东提出文化安全思想的深层涵义。由于毛泽东对文化安全形势的估计过于严重,反而导致了新的文化不安全。     

The Mechanics of Cultural Diplomacy: A Comparative Case Study Analysis from the European Context

The National Institutes for Culture have not attracted much scholarly attention examining their managerial practices. The aim of this article is to explore how the state expresses its agency over the Cultural Institutes of six European countries: the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Sweden, and Greece. Agency presents varying modalities, making instrumentalism more multifaceted than has been implied so far. The authors are introducing here a framework of five “touchpoints” to capture and analyze instrumentalism in cultural diplomacy. Funding, agenda setting, evaluation, hierarchy, and appointment power constitute the typical system of interactions between the Cultural Institutes and their reporting authorities.     

"第二轨道外交"与东盟地区论坛

作为"东盟方式"的延伸,东盟地区论坛与"第二轨道外交"有着千丝万缕的联系.本文从东盟地区论坛的成立及运作两个层面分析了"第二轨道外交"与东盟地区论坛的相互联系,文章指出,"第二轨道外交"促成了东盟地区论坛的产生并成为论坛体系不可分割的一部分.     

经济外交:范畴、背景及中国的应对

冷战结束后 ,经济因素已成为维系国与国之间关系的重要纽带 ,经济外交工作有力地推动了中国与世界各国和地区经济技术合作和贸易交往的加速发展。当今时代 ,正确利用经济外交的特点和优势 ,更好地服务于经济建设和社会发展 ,提高我国的综合国力 ,对积极推动我国整体外交的发展有着重要的现实意义。