Determinants of Political Stability to Support Foreign Investment in Indonesia

What investors often consider before deciding to invest in various countries is the political situation. The risks faced by investors in the event of political instability are regulatory changes, legal disputes, forced takeovers of companies, disruption to regional stability, policies against acts of terrorism, and changes in state ideology. The purpose of this study is to find a determinant of political stability in Indonesia that will be useful for investors and multinational companies, and the government in maintaining political stability. Systematic secondary data sampling from January 2015 to December 2019 was used for explanatory study purposes and to build a model. This study concludes that the rule of law, control of corruption, and oil prices have a significant effect on political stability in Indonesia, while the inflation rate does not have a significant effect on political stability in Indonesia. The novelty of this research is the formation of a political stability model for Indonesia and why an increase in control of corruption actually has a negative effect on political stability in Indonesia.

The uneven geography of innovation in Turkey: Visualizing the geography and regional relatedness of patent production

Economic geography studies revealed that regional economies are heavily dependent on path-dependent network-based complexities. Innovation and technology are the key concepts for regional economic growth and the uneven geography of innovation is quite decisive for the regional stability of the countries. In this regard, the network topology of the regional relatedness of patent production is embedded on unequal population cartograms in order to better display the uneven geography of innovation in Turkey. The study reveals that the geography of the patent production has a dynamic pattern that it spreads from patent-producing hubs to their surrounding regions that have never produced. Besides, an increasing variety of classes indicates that new technologies are emerging in some regions. Istanbul covers almost 60% of the patent production of the country. There are around 10 industrialized secondary hub regions existing which the two out of them (Adana and Gaziantep, cities of the east closest to the West and Mediterranean zone) are located in eastern Turkey. Eastern regions have medium size connections with the western hub regions which they are attaching to existing major nodes.

Threats, deportability and aid: The politics of refugee rentier states and regional stability

In 2012, 2016 and 2018–2019, Pakistan threatened to expel Afghan refugees and in 2015, 2016 and 2019, Kenya threatened to demolish the Dadaab camp and expel Somali refugees. Following the threats, the governments extracted more than $300 million aid, combined. Why did these states succeed in extracting aid despite their relatively weak status and not bordering the target of their blackmail? This article first situates refugee expulsion within the literature on refugee policies, migration diplomacy and refugee rentier states. Second, in two cases – Somalis in Kenya and Afghans in Pakistan – I show how states used the threat of expulsion to construct and leverage the deportability of their refugee communities as a foreign policy tool. States used the legal uncertainty around deportability to channel threats and violence toward refugees, but the primary audience of the threats were not refugees, but the international community. Officials in Kenya and Pakistan used threats paired with six-month or one-year delays as negotiation tactics to extract aid. Surprisingly, states that were generous hosts to refugees become strategically important because of their role in providing regional stability, which turned otherwise weak states into important allies that could threaten expulsion and extract aid from superpowers.

A Generation at Risk: The Impacts of Lebanon's Escalating Humanitarian Crisis on Children

Lebanon is in the midst of a rapidly escalating, unprecedented humanitarian crisis that is plunging the country deep into poverty and threatens population well-being, economic development, social welfare and national and regional stability. The dire situation is due to the compounding effects of the August 2020 Beirut blast, massive economic collapse and the COVID-19 pandemic, in a setting of longstanding entrenched political corruption and a dysfunctional, mismanaged crisis response by the state. This current emergency occurs on the background of a turbulent history and complex regional geopolitical context – including the Syrian refugee crisis, the ongoing influence of foreign actors and their local proxies, the United-States-imposed sanctions, endemic corruption, a culture of nepotism and entitlement among the political dynasties, dysfunctional power-sharing and deep-seated sectarian divides. With over half the population now living in poverty, a generation of children are among those at risk. This Perspective provides a brief overview of Lebanon's current complex humanitarian crisis, discusses the impacts of the evolving situation on youth and proposes a suite of recommendations to mitigate the effects.

Role of India in Rohingya Crisis: Humanitarian Role and Geopolitical Interest

Globally considered one of the most persecuted minority groups, the Rohingyas are a predominantly Muslim ethnic group in northern Rakhine who have fled Myanmar in a large-scale exodus since August 2017. More than 700,000 refugees fled to Bangladesh after a military crackdown on Rohingyas last August, following the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army’s attack on Myanmar’s military posts. This massive refugee outflow of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar into Bangladesh has created a humanitarian crisis that carries implications on regional stability and security and also outrage among the international community. As a neighbor country, Bangladesh expects India’s respond promptly to support the government. This paper briefly examines India’s approach towards the Roh-ingya crisis and explores ways for India through its role in humanitarian and geopolitical including diplomatic, domestic political compulsions, security and economic interest. It also analyses India’s response to the Rohingya crisis focusing on India-Myanmar relations and also India’s need to counter China’s growing influence in its neighborhood. The paper also argues that as a neighbor friend and partner of Bangladesh, the role of India in Rohingya crisis has become a global expectation for peace and conflict resolution.

Sovereignty Sensitivities and the Kosovo Crisis: The Impact of Domestic Considerations on Canada’s Foreign Policy

In 1999, Canada participated in NATO’s Operation Allied Force, a seventy- eight-day bombing campaign against Yugoslavia meant to end the ethnic cleansing of Kosovar Albanians. Officially, Canada’s interests in developing its foreign policy toward Kosovo were humanitarian and regional stability considerations. These were shared with the rest of its NATO allies. Thus, on the surface, it would seem that Canada and its NATO allies had similar concerns during the decision-making process around Kosovo. Digging deeper, an analysis of the primary sources available suggests that Canada did, in fact, have additional and unique considerations during the Kosovo crisis, namely national unity. This analysis amply illustrates the close interconnection between domestic issues and Canadian foreign policy. During the Kosovo War, Canada had to balance sovereignty sensitivities with humanitarian concerns. From the first time Kosovo was mentioned in Parliament on 18 November 1991 to the end of the Kosovo War on 11 June 1999, Canadian parliamentarians attempted to distinguish what Canada’s views on Kosovo were. Historians have likewise been occupied with the same task: distinguishing the Canadian contribution and position. Like the parliamentarians, not one of the Canadian historians who has written on the topic has questioned the official government version of what motivated Canada’s policy in Kosovo. They all credit a combination of humanitarian and regional concerns. Therefore, there was consensus at the time, and has been since, about what motivated Canada’s policy toward Kosovo. However, an analysis of the primary sources reveals that Canada did in fact have an additional and unique consideration during the Kosovo crisis: national unity. Canada’s domestic national unity issue influenced Canadian foreign policy toward Kosovo at every stage.

The Quad in Relation to China and ASEAN: Geopolitical Irritant, Stabilizing Shock Absorber, or Springboard to the Future?

This paper traces the evolution of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) from its inception in an ad-hoc manner in 2004 to its current, more formal iteration, beginning in 2017. It asks whether the regional cross-currents, ranging from trade tensions to competing territorial claims in the South China Sea, will give the Quad scope to play a constructive stabilizing role or whether the grouping will simply exacerbate frictions. The interests of the Quad members, together with those of ASEAN and China, are highlighted in assessing the extent to which they can be reconciled or leveraged for the benefit of regional stability, security and development. The paper postulates a continuum running from the Quad as irritant to shock absorber or, ideally, springboard to the future and further explains how a broader mission for the Quad, focusing on (i) operational interests and flexible cooperation among like-minded states rather than (ii) “security” and formal membership per se, may be most consistent with the modern approach to balancing sovereignty and collective action and to advancing in real terms the needs and interests of the region.