scholarly journals The Arctic as a “Strategic” and “Important” Chinese Foreign Policy Interest: Exploring the Role of Labels and Hierarchies in China’s Arctic Discourses

2021 ◽  
pp. 186810262110186
Author(s):  
Patrik Andersson

Research confirms that China is becoming more engaged in the Arctic. However, international relations scholarship often extrapolates from relatively few instances of activity to wide-ranging claims about Chinese priorities. Fortunately, Chinese political discourse is organised by labels that allow us to study how the Arctic is classified and ranked along China’s other foreign policy priorities. This article analyses two such classifications – “important maritime interest” and “strategic new frontier,” exploring how they have come about, what they mean, and how they add political priority to the Arctic. It argues that hierarchies are constructed in two ways: by adding gradients and by including/excluding categories of priority. It views categories as performative: they not only convey information about character and relative importance of interests but are also used for achieving different objectives. By focusing on foreign policy classifications, the article contributes to a more nuanced and precise understanding of China’s Arctic interests.

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 113-129
Author(s):  
V. A. Avatkov

The article considers the role of ideology and values in the formation and implementation of the current foreign policy of the Republic of Turkey. Taking into account the increasing role of regional actors such as Turkey in international politics, studying their tactics and mechanisms of influence on the global political environment is necessary to explain the further transformation of the international system.The study reveals the strengthening role of the ideology and values in world politics in general and in individual states, such as Turkey, in particular. Under the rule of the Justice and Development Party headed by the current President R.T. Erdogan the country began a gradual transition from «Kemalism», which includes the preservation of secularism, ProWestern democratic values and a gradual departure from the Ottoman heritage, to a more conservative domestic and foreign policy, characterized by the strengthening of Islamist and nationalist sentiments, as well as the transition to the policy of «neo-Ottomanism», «neo-pan-Turkism». The return of the idea of «aggrandizement» of the country to the official political discourse has affected the conduct of Turkey's foreign policy towards both the regional states and the world arena as a whole.The Republic not only began self-restoration as an autonomous actor of international relations in the eyes of the key world powers, but also started to spread its own values and ideas among the population of both the Middle East and among the states which constitute a national interest for Turkey (Russia, the post-Soviet space, etc.), thus influencing them at various levels and involving them in its orbit of influence – both politically, economically and from a humanitarian point of view.Using «hard power» abroad no longer meets the current Turkey’s policy. Instead it relies on forging humanitarian ties, combining initiatives in the cultural, educational and scientific fields to achieve a long-term influence. The Republic of Turkey is trying to spread the following values among the world community:«Justice». International relations must be just and fair. For Turkey it means conformity with its national interests.«Religious fatalism». Government actions both at home and abroad are legitimized through references to religion and fate.«Democratic values». The Republic of Turkey considers itself the most democratic state in the world and contrasts itself with “Western democracies”, which, according to the Turkish leadership, are spreading hegemony rather than democracy.«State-centrism» and collectivism. The interests of the state, society, and especially the Muslim Ummah, are placed above the values of the individual.«Traditional values». Given the Islamization and conservatism of Turkish society as a whole, traditional values also begin to play a major role in the general political discourse of the state.«Culture». Turkey also makes adjustments to the concept of «culture» in very inclusive terms, presenting its culture as a «melting pot» that can turn anything into Turkish.«Respect». In the eastern tradition, it is customary to show respect to elders, as well as neighbors and guests. Turkey uses a demonstration of respect in foreign policy instrumentally and pragmatically. An example of this is the address of the President of Turkey in relation to the leaders of other states: Nursultan Nazarbayev – «aksakal» of the Turkic world, Vladimir Putin is a «dear friend».


2018 ◽  
Vol 235 ◽  
pp. 735-757 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audrye Wong

AbstractMost analyses of China's foreign and security policies treat China as a unitary actor, assuming a cohesive grand strategy articulated by Beijing. I challenge this conventional wisdom, showing how Chinese provinces can affect the formulation and implementation of foreign policy. This contributes to existing research on the role of subnational actors in China, which has focused on how they shape domestic and economic policies. Using Hainan and Yunnan as case studies, I identify three mechanisms of provincial influence – trailblazing, carpetbagging, and resisting – and illustrate them with examples of key provincial policies. This analysis provides a more nuanced argument than is commonly found in international relations for the motivations behind evolving and increasingly activist Chinese foreign policy. It also has important policy implications for understanding and responding to Chinese behaviour, in the South China Sea and beyond.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 120-128
Author(s):  
D. E. Lyubina

The growing integration processes in the Eurasian space confirm the geopolitical place and role of this region in modern international relations. Thus it becomes more important to understand the basic postulates of the Eurasianism concept for the development of national and geopolitical interests of Russia, as well as to study the process of evolution of the main provisions of classical Eurasianism in the foundations of modern Russian neo-Eurasianism, as well as to determine the main stages of this process.The work is based on the analysis of publications of Russian neo-Eurasianism representatives, scientific works of foreign and domestic researchers of this phenomenon in the Russian political discourse.The geopolitical vector of the Eurasian concept is becoming the most relevant at the present stage in the context of increased interest in the geopolitical discourse and research of interaction, the “clash of civilizations”.For the modern Russian political discourse, the Eurasian theme has become one of the most promising foreign policy vectors. At present, we can observe how the theoretical concept of classic Eurasianism is reflected in Russia’s foreign policy. The Eurasian project began to be implemented from theory into political practice.


Author(s):  
V. Mikheev ◽  
S. Lukonin ◽  
Y. Safronova

This paper raises the problem of the place determination and the role of the Popular Republic of China in the context of the modern multipolar world. The author reveals this question in the light of Chinese experience of political development in the XXth century, modern achievements as well as problems and contradictions in its foreign and domestic policy. The article also analyses “problem points” of the Chinese foreign policy and the contemporary international relations system which are China’s greatest concern for they threaten global stability. The author expounds and elucidates Chinese foreign policy strategy in the XXIth century and China’s mission in a changing world.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (0) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
Christer Pursiainen ◽  
Chris Alden ◽  
Rasmus Bertelsen

The article discusses China’s policies in and towards the Arctic and Africa within a comparative perspective. To what extent is China’s policy adaptable to different conditions? What does this adaptability tell us about China’s ascendant great-power role in the world in general? What is the message to the Arctic and Africa respectively? The article concludes that China’s regional strategies aptly reflect the overall grand strategy of a country that is slowly but surely aiming at taking on the role of leading global superpower. In doing so, Chinese foreign policy has demonstrated flexibility and adaptive tactics, through a careful tailoring of its so-called core interests and foreign policy principles, and even identity politics, to regional conditions. This implies that regions seeking autonomy in the context of great power activism and contestation should develop their own strategies not only for benefiting from Chinese investment but also in terms of managing dependency on China and in relation to China and great power competition.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 382-394
Author(s):  
Tatyana Ivanovna Ponka ◽  
Mirzet Safetovich Ramich ◽  
Yuyao Wu

The subject of the study is the new course of the PRC information policy, which was launched by the Fifth generation of the PRC leaders after the 18th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in 2012. As a result, after the 18th Congress of the CPC was started the implementation of the Strong cyberpower strategy, which implies not only ensuring cyber security in the country, but also the usage of network resources to develop the national economy. Chinas new information policy was caused by the sharply increased role of information and communication technologies in international processes and the shift in the focus of international relations to the Asia-Pacific region. The PRCs information policy is based on the most advanced technologies in the IT sphere and the cooperation with private companies on regulating external and internal information security. The relevance of the research topic is due to the increasing role of ICT in international processes. In this context, the most important are the positions of the leading countries of the world to regulate this area, as well as the mechanisms and tools used by them. The Peoples Republic of China is one of the leaders in the field of scientific and technical developments and actively uses its achievements to accomplish tasks in the field of domestic and foreign policy. In this regard, the purpose of the study is to analyze and compare the development strategies of the PRC information policy and the resources that are necessary for their implementation. The unique network landscape, which was formed under the influence of government policy on control over published content and the sharing of digital services market among the three largest information corporations (Baidu, Tencent and Alibaba), has become an essential part of the countrys information security system and requires detailed study. The purpose of the article is to identify the evolution of Chinas information policy development strategy and resources for its implementation. This article also discusses the threats to the information security of the Peoples Republic of China and analyzes the approaches to ensuring it. The results of the study are the conclusions that show the role and place of information policy in the PRC foreign policy, the structure of the information security system and strategic approaches to the regulation of international relations in cyberspace.


Author(s):  
Zikriya ◽  
Naushad Khan ◽  
Asif Salim

The development of International relations together with forces like globalization and technology has brought the world closer to each other. Friendly ties and relations with states create massive challenges during times of conflict. The focus of the paper is on the crisis evolving in the Middle East region and the role of Pakistan in solving those crisis considering relations with its closest allies, political and financial circumstances, and its foreign policy principles. A qualitative research approach with desk analysis technique has been applied to analyse the role of Pakistan as a mediator for the conflict resolution among Middle Eastern countries. The research highlights how the disputes created great problems for Pakistan but it is still striving to resolve conflicts among Middle Eastern countries because maintaining peace and prosperity in the Muslim world has always been a top priority of Pakistan’s foreign policy.


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