Racist Attachments: Dakko-chan, Black Kitsch, and Kawaii Culture

This article explores the ties between anti-Black racist kitsch and kawaii culture through the history of the Dakko-chan doll. In what came to be called the “Dakko-chan boom” of 1960, tens of thousands of Japanese people lined up to purchase an inflatable blackface doll with a circular red mouth, grass skirt, and winking hologram eyes. Dakko means “to hug,” and Dakko-chan's astronomical popularity resulted in part from the way the doll could be worn as an accessory, attached to the body by its hugging arms. This article asks what it meant for Japan, a nation still recovering from World War II and the American occupation, to quite literally embrace American blackface in the form of an embraceable doll. Rejecting the claim that blackface loses its significance in a Japanese context, this article argues that Dakko-chan cannot be considered devoid of racist meanings. Emerging amid the political turmoil surrounding the revision of the US-Japan Security Treaty, Dakko-chan came to express a wide range of contradictory feelings about race, sex, and nation, illustrating how affective attachments to racist forms have accrued rather than dissipated through their movement into new cultural contexts.

From the Belovezhskiye Agreements to the Eurasian Economic Union: 30 Years of Experience

The article examines the reasons for the collapse of the USSR and the signing of the Belovezhskiye Agreements. The thirty-year experience of Eurasian integration in the post-Soviet space is summarized. There is an analysis of role of the Commonwealth of Independent States in the processes of regional economic integration carried out in the last decade of 20th century, in the context of the separation of the post-Soviet republics. It is shown that the members which are states of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Collective Security Treaty Organization fully fulfill the obligations assumed within the framework of the Belovezhskaya Agreements upon secession from the USSR. The article reveals the objective conditionality of the participation of the CIS countries in anti-Russian, pseudo-European projects by a policy of different directions. New economic priorities of Eurasian integration, institutional problems and prospects of the Eurasian Economic Union are investigated.

Russia and allies seek damage limitation with Taliban

Significance Since May the Taliban have taken control of almost all areas adjoining Central Asian borders. A remaining stretch between Turkmenistan and north-western Afghanistan is likely to follow soon. Disrupted trade and a possible refugee influx are not the only worries for regional governments; the presence of Central Asian jihadists in areas captured by the Taliban is cause for concern. Impacts Uzbekistan and Tajikistan may review their refusal to host a US military base, but have many reasons to avoid going ahead. The Uzbek presidency says there are no plans to join Russia's Collective Security Treaty Organisation. Even the most reluctant Central Asian policymakers will have to engage with the Taliban to press them to keep other jihadists in check.

The Effect of Changing Political Contexts on Public Opinion in Japan, 1945–2020

The role of public opinion in Japan has changed dramatically in response to major shifts in party politics over the past seventy years. This chapter explains how the creation and disintegration of a dominant pattern in elite political discourse shaped people’s understanding of and response to public affairs. It also describes how polling and the electorate developed side-by-side in a newly democratic Japan. During the early postwar period, Japanese people were preoccupied with achieving economic security. The party system was initially very unstable, but constitutional revision and the security treaty with the US became central issues due to the Korean War and other Cold War conflicts. A bipolar political competition over these issues drove public opinion from 1955 to the mid-1990s. The “conservative” and “progressive” ideologies were diametrically opposed over constitutional revision and the US-Japan Security Treaty. This ideological divide was institutionalized in a decades-long conflict between two political camps in the legislature. Ordinary people understood public affairs through the rhetoric of these two ideologies. In the current post–Cold War, post-reform era that began in the mid-1990s, the conflict between the conservative and progressive ideologies no longer provides signals for understanding politics. Political parties differ mostly in the fact that one group is in government and the others are in opposition. Without guiding principles to organize political discourse, short-term policy concerns and perceptions of incumbent government performance influence public opinion the most. At the same time, whether a government remains in power depends on public approval more than ever before.

Penolakan European Convention On Cybercrime Oleh Rusia Dalam Mempertahankan Kepentingan Nasional

Cepatnya perkembangan teknologi dan komunikasi memunculkan sebuah dunia baru, yaitu dunia cyber atau cyberspace. Hal ini memiliki dampak kepada pembuatan kebijakan negara. Cepatnya perkembangan teknologi dan informasi tidak dapat diikuti oleh negara-negara menyebabkan diperlukannya kerjasama antar negara untuk memperkokoh dan mengharmonisasikan kebijakan didalam dunia cyber. Kejahatan yang terjadi didalam dunia cyber termasuk kedalam kejahatan internasional karena tempat pelaku melakukan kejahatan tidak sama dengan target yang dituju. Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk melihat bagaimana kebijakan Rusia didalam menangani ancaman dunia cyber dan menolak menandatangani European Convention on Cybercrime. Rusia memiliki perbedaan pendapat terhadap dunia cyber dimana Rusia melihat dunia ini adalah sebuah ancaman negara. Rusia tidak mengikuti penandatanganan Convention on Cybercrime yang membuat Rusia melakukan kerjasama dengan negara yang memiliki pemikiran yang sama dalam dunia cyber Selain itu Rusia juga ikut didalam Shanghai Cooperation Organization dan Collective Security Treaty Organization didalam pertahanan Cyber untuk melakukan harmonisasi kebijakan dunia cyber di wilayah regional. Dengan melihat hal ini, Rusia meskipun memiliki pandangan yang berbeda dengan negara lain, memiliki kebijakan cyber dalam negeri dan luar negeri yang mumpuni dalam mempertahankan negara dalam ancaman yang berada dari dunia cyber.

The Destruction of Statehood and the Color Revolutions under Russian International Law Doctrine

Has Russian international law doctrine changed in relation to the post-Soviet states since the annexation of Crimea? This paper analyses two interdependent concepts of the contemporary Russian international law doctrine - the ‘color revolutions’ and the ‘destruction of statehood’ - in the context of geopolitical competition over the post-Soviet space. In brief, the term color revolution is used by Russia to describe events that it categorizes as illegal regime-changes used to remove pro-Russian politicians from power under the guise of democracy. In the same context, Russia has developed another key concept, i.e. the ‘destruction of statehood’. First referred to in 2008, it has since 2014 become a more encompassing and innovative legal doctrine to counter color revolutions in Russia’s neighboring states. Under this doctrine, Russia reserves a right to ‘un-recognize’ a target state if it categorizes the situation as an illegal regime change that has destroyed the target’s statehood. Controversially, this results in Russia no longer being bound by its treaty obligations with this state. Especially since 2014, Russia has developed political and legal tools in multilateral documents to counter future color revolutions. While it has been unable to convince the international community to accept its new interpretations, it has been more successful within its closest allies in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and, to a lesser extent, in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). This may have significant political consequences in the future.

Polityka Francji i Niemiec wobec niepodległej Ukrainy. Wokół stabilizacji i bezpieczeństwa

This essay provides the shaping of the leading EU countries’ policy towards independent Ukraine. It examines that it was influenced by several factors: including the history of relations between each country with the Russian Empire and the USSR, and the lack of experience in cooperation with Ukraine as an independent state, and geopolitical interests of each state. The German political circles and the media as well as the French ones have been expressed their concern over the possible proliferation of nuclear weapons by Ukraine, which in turn has led to political and economic pressure on Ukraine’s stance on its nuclear status. The essay proves that the issue of nuclear technologies was not limited to the discussion of the former existence of a nuclear arsenal in Ukraine. France and Germany take an active part in the activities in the Chernobyl zone. Leading EU countries in the 1990s hoped there will be democratic changes in Russia, transparency and the development of civil society. Ukraine’s multi-vector policy was incomprehensible to Western countries, as was the security vacuum felt by Ukraine, which was gradually trapped in the geopolitical grip of two defense blocs: NATO in the West and Collective Security Treaty Organisation (Tashkent Pact) in the East. Since 2014, France and Germany have been mediators in the resolution of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in Donbas in the framework of Normandy format, but so far there is no progress in resolving this low-intensity conflict.

CSTO: at the Close of the Second Decade of Its History

Following the events of 1991, Russia established either bilateral or multilateral relations with most of the independent states that emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union. In each individual case, these relations were characterized by a specific set of advantages and disadvantages. The article explores the evolution of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) through the lens of this fundamental duality. This overview in no way claims to be a complete or exhaustive study on the subject. However, its relevance is supported by the fact it moves beyond the purely descriptive approach which still dominates the study of the CSTO and the crisis that has gripped the organization. There is a demand for a clearer structural and theoretical framework explaining the difficulties Russia has faced in promoting its integration efforts in the post-Soviet space. The undeniable advantage of the bilateral approach is its institutional simplicity. In a multilateral system or a block of states, it is far more difficult to coordinate the interests of every individual nation, especially if they maintain membership in a number of integration groups at the global or regional level. One of the strengths of the multilateral format, which involves a stricter adherence to collective obligations, is that it serves as a structural framework for major integration projects that can have a significant positive effect on the international standing of those who initiate them. The author concludes that in 2002–2008, during the early period of CSTO’s existence, cooperation was predominantly multilateral in nature, with the participating countries – those representing the Central Asian core of the organization – rallying around Moscow, unified by the commonly perceived threats generated by the U.S. intervention in Afghanistan. However, even at this early stage, there were signs within the CSTO foreshadowing a shift from multilateral military-political cooperation to a more basic format – that of a collection of bilateral ties between Russia and its allies. The past 20 years of Russia’s relations with its neighbors have demonstrated that the historical momentum for convergence is, in fact, not strong enough to offset the centrifugal forces pulling nations away from one another.

Peacekeeping Potential of the Collective Security Treaty Organization

The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), as an international regional organization, unites states that have common principles for ensuring collective security in the post-Soviet space. In addition to military, political, anti-terrorist, anti-drug, migration aspects, the Organizations practical activities provide for the implementation of peacekeeping missions in the region, as well as beyond. Over the past decade, the CSTO has been systematically raising the level of its readiness to respond to various types of threats, interacting with both states and other international organizations in this area. The purpose of this article is to assess the current state of the CSTO peacekeeping activity, to identify its strengths and weaknesses, and possible ways to increase the effectiveness of peacekeeping. The scientific novelty of the research lays in the consideration, on the basis of a retrospective analysis, of the actual state of the political, military, information components of the Organizations peacekeeping, which at the present time, obviously, have not yet reached their maximum efficiency. The author examines the reasons for the creation of the CSTO, the historical stages of the Organizations interaction with the UN, the practical aspects of their cooperation. Special attention is paid to the existing relationship between the member states within the Organization itself, to the political problems of the perception of the CSTO by other subjects of international law as an equal partner. It notes its complete political ignorance on the part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the presence of bilateral contacts with most member states. In conclusion, the author comes to the conclusion that the Organization is currently experiencing an identity crisis and does not show sufficient efficiency in the context of the implementation of close allied relations in the system of ensuring regional security.

The Impact of Regionalization on Eurasian Integration: Economic and Political Factors

This article discusses the legal aspects of regional integration processes in Eurasia. It argues that these processes are driven by both political and economic factors, which in particular include the desire on the international stage of a number of post-Soviet nations for regional peace and security as well as to create a greater and more effective economic system. It is often claimed that in the sense of two different yet strongly linked international organizations - with the same similar composition - the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) and the EurAsEC, officially turning into the Eurasian Economic Union, unitedited Eurasia is hierarchical. The article then provides the history to CSTO and EurAsEC and discusses how they are to be combined. It also discusses the structural structure of these relationships and describes their goals, values, and main collaboration zones. Finally, the paper contains closing remarks aimed at highlighting problems and assessing opportunities for incorporation processes in Eurasia.