A Data-Driven Analysis on Sustainable Energy Security

This study provides a data-driven analysis that illustrates a clear renewable energy depiction in sustainable energy security and unveils the regional issues due to the literature solely occupies energy security concept in the descriptions view, and renewable energy differences related to regions are rarely discussed. A hybrid method is proposed to valid those indicators and shows the trend of future studies. This study enriches the challenges and opportunities by contributing to understand the fundamental knowledge of renewable energy in sustainable energy security frontier, conveyance directions for future study and investigation, and assessment on global renewable energy position and regional disparities. There are valid 19 indicators, in which energy demand, energy policy, renewable resources, smart grid, and uncertainty representing the future trends. World regional comparison includes 115 countries/territories and categorized into five geographical regions. The result shows that those indicators have addressed different issues in the world regional comparison.

Mental health and wellbeing of Indonesian medical students: A regional comparison study

Background: Our previous research found very high levels of burnout and mental health problems among medical students across Indonesia, in line with rates in many other countries. This study further analyses the data by comparing six different regions of Indonesia to determine any differences between them on such measures and to look for possible explanations. Results: Our sample of 1,729 students reported high levels of burnout and ‘mild’ psychiatric illness across all six regions. There were however significant differences between some regions. Sumatran students reported the lowest scores for both the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) and General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ12) scales. Sources of stress also varied among regions, with relationships and study the most reported. Further exploration of possible cultural differences is needed as well as prompt mental health support for medical students.

The internationalization of TCM towards Portuguese-speaking countries

With the increasing demand for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in Portuguese-speaking countries (PSC), local regulatory systems and relevant legislation are still insufficient and lagging, even blank in some of them. This kind of unbalanced pace either makes users of TCM exposed in potential risk or eventually obstructs the long-term development of TCM in PSC. Despite existing tremendous studies on the internationalization of TCM, there are few studies specific to PSC. Thus, by a comprehensive desk review and typical case study, this article aims to summarize current situation of TCM in PSC by a cross-regional comparison, to identify various critical challenges, and further to provide an insightful reference to impel the development of TCM in PSC.

Confronting the Past Abuses: Indonesia and Southeast Asia

This article examines the politics of reconciliation in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. It focuses in particular on the case of Talangsari killings in Indonesia and makes a regional comparison with Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines and Myanmar. The Indonesian experience illustrates some of the complex issues that arise when attempts are made to dealing with past abuses, especially in the context of the constraints and possibilities faced by new democracies. In a comparative perspective what is being experienced in Indonesia is not new in the sense that, as argued by scholars elsewhere, new democracies also have to face this kind of situation.1 This article argues that dealing with the past human rights abuses brings about real power struggles among the contending actors and power holders and it reflects the power structures within and outside the country. It is suggested that there is no “universal” model for dealing with past human rights abuses but some form of accountability which brings together the elements of prosecution, reconciliation and forgiveness could be considered.

Varieties of citizenship in regional organisations: A cross-regional comparison of rights, access, and belonging

This paper explores the variation of citizenship in eight regional organisations (ROs). Since the 1980s, ROs have increasingly served as spaces for developing, regulating, and providing citizenship. However, current literature primarily takes a rights-based approach and focuses on a narrow set of cases without providing an account for the variation of citizenship in ROs. This paper offers a broad, conceptual approach to the study of regional citizenship and deploys a three-tiered conceptual framework consisting of rights, access, and belonging, to analyse how citizenship varies across different ROs. It challenges the current theorisation of regional citizenship, which is primarily rooted in the study of the EU’s rights-based approach. The analysis contributes to citizenship studies and comparative regionalism. It shows how citizenship varies across ROs, thus providing the first comprehensive cross-regional comparison. The empirical findings lead to the following insights. First, citizenship in regional organisations can be conceptualised as constitutional or practice-based. Second, there are different pathways to regional citizenship where practices might precede law or where citizenship in ROs remains a practice-based concept. Third, there is variation in the link between national and regional citizenship and how ROs provide access to regional citizenship.

Bridging Regionalism and Secessionism: Territorial Autonomy Movements in the Iberian World

In comparative works on nationalism, Latin America is usually portrayed as a world region that is devoid of nationalist and separatist movements, while in Europe nationalist movements seeking greater self-determination or separate statehood can be easily observed. This article takes a different perspective. Applying the concept of territorial autonomy movements, it pursues a cross-regional comparison of Santa Cruz in Bolivia, Guayas in Ecuador, and Catalonia in Spain to show that movements strikingly similar with regards to their core claims, diagnostic frames, and tactics do in fact exist across the Iberian world. The chapter then draws on social movement theory to account for the recent intensification of territorial autonomy mobilizations in these cases. We argue that in all three substate units (1) threats of political exclusion emanating from contestations over established power-sharing arrangements triggered territorial grievances; (2) the formation of dense associational networks and new alliances with subnational party and state representatives enhanced the organizational resources of territorial challengers; and (3) broader protest cycles, and their concern with direct democracy and/or multicultural group rights, provided territorial challengers with new framing strategies to justify their demands.