THE EVOLUTION OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS BETWEEN MALAYSIA AND NORTH KOREA

This paper aims to analyse the aftermath of Kim Jong Nam’s assassination on the diplomatic relations between Malaysia and North Korea along with the historical evolution of diplomatic relations between both countries since Malaysia’s independence. Little is known about the nature of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and North Korea, especially when public perceptions dictate that both countries barely share any similarities. In appreciating the implications of the murder case from the perspective of international law, an analysis is carried out on the history of diplomatic relations between Putrajaya and Pyongyang. A further study is conducted on the factors which attract Malaysia and North Korea to forge and strengthen their diplomatic relations. Malaysia’s inclusive foreign policy is highlighted via her participation in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in 1970 which promotes peaceful engagement with all countries regardless of their political allegiance, including the Communist-led regime in North Korea. The task of preserving regional safety and bolstering economic prosperity are top on Putrajaya’s priority list. With the volume of bilateral trade between Malaysia and North Korea is steadily increasing and Pyongyang’s continuous provocations of her Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), peaceful engagements with the aim of repairing the damaged diplomatic relations is the best option for both countries. This study concludes that although the relationship between the two nations is severed, it is crucial for Malaysia to consider reviving and enhancing bilateral relations with North Korea, hence benefiting Putrajaya in outlining Malaysia’s future foreign policy.

The Two Faces of Opposition to Chemical Weapons: Sincere Versus Insincere Norm-Holders

Prominent research holds that the use of weapons of mass destruction is taboo. But how strong are these norms? Investigating this question among the mass public, we argue that some citizens actually support taboo policies in private but are unwilling to express counter-normative opinions openly due to fear of social sanction. These insincere norm-holders are difficult to identify empirically because they are observationally equivalent to sincere norm-holders in direct-question surveys. To overcome this challenge, we use a list design, which allows survey respondents to indirectly express sensitive opinions. The results from three list experiments show that between 10% and 17% of Americans falsify their preferences over chemical weapons use when asked directly. In an extension, we explore our framework in the realm of nuclear weapons and elite behavior. Our findings advance a specific debate on the strength of weapons taboos, while our conceptualization of insincere norm-holders and methodological application have broader implications for how scholars might think about and measure norms in international politics.

Protection of the environment in times of international armed conflict: الحماية الدولية للبيئة من التلوث في زمن النزاعات المسلحة

The study aims to identify the most important international principles for protecting the environment in times of armed conflict, Whereas the environment is an ecosystem that consists of an interconnected group that differs in size and type of organisms and organic and inorganic elements that are balanced in a relatively stable manner. Since man is one of the most important living creatures, which necessitates human protection to preserve the environment and its balance, the international community has set controls for the use of military force, since wars are an inevitable evil, Among the most important of them is the principle of balance between military necessity and humanitarian considerations. And we used the analytical method in the study by analyzing and studying the principles of international humanitarian law. And from the above, we divided the study into three demands, the first demands dealt with the concept of military necessity in international humanitarian law, while we discussed in the second demands the concept of the principle of balance in international humanitarian law, and in the third demands we dealt with the principle of balance between military necessity and humanitarian considerations. One of the most important findings of this study is that the principle of military necessity protects the natural and civilian environment through its association with the principle of humanity, which constitute the principle of balance between military necessity and humanitarian considerations, The principle of balance between military necessity and humanitarian considerations regulates the use of weapons during armed conflicts and prohibits the use of weapons of mass destruction to protect the environment during armed conflicts. The researcher recommends that the United Nations Organization renew international agreements prohibiting the use of weapons of mass destruction in line with modern science and developments in scientific fields.

Collective violence

War and other forms of armed conflict cause many adverse effects on health and the environment, including morbidity and mortality due to weapons; damage to the health-supporting infrastructure of society; contamination of air, water, and soil; forced displacement; violation of international agreements and human rights; diversion of resources; and promotion of additional violence. While conventional weapons account for the vast majority of fatal and non-fatal injuries during war, weapons of mass destruction (including nuclear and radiological weapons, chemical weapons, and biological agents) as well as antipersonnel landmines and unexploded ordnance pose additional threats. Public health workers and other health professionals can help to minimize the health and environmental consequences of war and other forms of armed conflict and to help end war itself. Categories of preventive measures include documentation; education and awareness-raising; advocacy and support for policies and programmes to minimize the consequences of, and help to reduce the risks of, war and other forms of armed conflict; and provision of preventive services. Public health frameworks of prevention can be useful in identifying opportunities for prevention and designing, implementing, and improving policies and programmes. These frameworks include levels of prevention (primary, secondary, and tertiary) and the host-agent-environment model.

Economics of Arms Trade: What Do We Know?

Taking an economic perspective, and underpinned by a literature review, this chapter analyses the development of explicit sets of relationships between dependent and independent variables in the international arms trade from 1995 onwards. We distinguish five main categories within the markets of military and dual-use goods and services, comprising weapons of mass destruction, major weapon systems, small arms and light weapons, dual-use goods, and services. Per category, papers are ordered by research type and methodology. Based on our findings thus far, the final section of the chapter offers a research agenda for further studies.

Export Control Regimes—Present-Day Challenges and Opportunities

The system of export control regimes is an important instrument to prevent the proliferation of both weapons of mass destruction and conventional weapons. However, this system faces several structural and recent challenges. The regimes are informal, and consequently, their measures are non-binding upon states. Second, the regimes consist of a selective group of countries, excluding some dominant arms exporters. New technology is rapidly changing the military field, and it is difficult for the export control regimes to keep up with these developments. Further, most of the regimes were designed when states were the most important international actors while currently legitimate and illegitimate non-state actors play an ever-increasing role for export controls. In addition, it is unclear how the regimes will advance with the multipolar world order of the twenty-first century. All new developments could lead to the proliferation of weapons, making efforts to prevent proliferation more relevant than ever. There are several opportunities to reform and strengthen the export control regimes. Cooperation could help the regimes to remain relevant. The sharing of good practices can help the regimes to find the least disruptive and effective non-proliferation measures. Setting up a paradigm-based regime instead of a weapon-based regime may be more suitable for the future. In addition, a revision of the decision-making process would help the regimes to respond swiftly to developments in the field.

Improvement of regulatory and legal support of financial monitoring in Ukraine

In the publication according to the results of the analysis of the main international and national regulations of financial monitoring on the basis of the historical approach the directions of improvement of normative – legal maintenance in the field of prevention and counteraction to legalization of illegal incomes in Ukraine are outlined. The peculiarities of the main historical stages of the formation of the financial intelligence unit in Ukraine – the national center for analysis of information on suspicious transactions and other information on money laundering, terrorist financing, and financing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction are discloses. The issues of implementation of the provisions of international normative acts regulating the sphere of counteraction to legalization (laundering) of proceeds from crime, financing of terrorism and financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction at the international level are highlighted, in particular, the standards developed by the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) and the Directives of the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, United Nations documents, international conventions ratified by Ukraine. Considerable attention is paid to the need for further harmonization of national and international legislation in the field of financial monitoring. It is proposed to take into account the conceptual principles of behavioral economics when improving the regulatory and legal support of financial monitoring (bylaws), in particular regarding the application of risk-oriented approach when analyzing and identifying suspicious financial transactions and identifying the ultimate beneficial owner of the client. The necessity of scientific research in the researched field in the traditional professional directions: “Money, finance and credit” and “Administrative law and process; finance law; information law”, and in related scientific specialties: “Economics and management of the national economy” (in the field of “Economic security of the national economy”), and “Accounting, analysis and audit (by type of economic activity)” (in the areas of “Organization of auditing: the specifics of formation and the functioning of audit services”, and “Accounting and analytical operations, their standardization and unification”) is substantiated.