Xia Yan and the Chinese School of Film

A revolutionary, film theorist, and screenwriter, Xia Yan (1900–1995) is known as one of the pioneers of Chinese cinema. Xia’s pursuit of a national style and international status for Chinese cinema and his aspirations for the prosperity of the Chinese nation are in line with the basic ideas and goals of the nascent “Chinese School of Film.” In the context of the under-theorized and problematic production practices of current Chinese cinema, it is high time to revisit Xia’s professional and academic contributions to cinematic art, which shed light on the construction of both the “Chinese School of Film” and “shared aesthetics.”

Thriving in Graduate School as an International Student: How to Combat the Hidden Costs and Barriers

International students face various hidden costs that pose potential barriers to thriving in graduate school. In this chapter, we lay out several types of hidden costs: (1) higher expenses and time needed for the international status, (2) adjusting to living in a new country and its cultural differences, and (3) biases and racism. We emphasize that the success and happiness of international students depend on the department and the committee’s understanding of these hidden costs. We highlight strategies that international students can take as well as point-by-point advice for the supporters of international students.

Results of Russian Occupation and Economic Crisis in Georgia's Conflict Areas in the Case of Abkhazia

The present study analyzes the historical background of the formation of the Abkhazian economy and geographical-resource potential and the economic situation of Abkhazia before and after the Russian-Georgian war of 1991-1992. Special attention was paid to the recognition of the international status of the Republic of Abkhazia by the Russian Federation, in gross violation of international norms, the results of which did not have a significant positive impact on the economic or social well-being of the local population. However, it confirmed Russia's imperialist intentions concerning occupation of Georgian territory with the status of “peacemaker” in 1992-1993 and the fact of misleading the international community. In the chapter, the criminal nature of the economy of occupied Abkhazia is substantiated. Also, the chapter analyzes the mechanisms/levers of economic pressure management in the Russian-occupied territory and its negative consequences for the population living in the area.

The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Emergence of Vietnam as a Middle Power

Limited capability and political will have caused the great powers to fail to demonstrate their global leadership in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, which has created greater room to manoeuvre for other countries to influence international affairs. Preliminary achievements in the fight against the COVID-19 crisis have buttressed the rising global status of small and medium-sized states, including Vietnam. Although Vietnam has recently been recognised as an emerging middle power, scepticism looms regarding whether this higher international status is beyond its capacity. We argue that the pandemic may act as a catalyst for Vietnam to further elevate its strategic role as a middle power on the international stage in the medium and long term.

International legal and methodological support of road traffic safety: concepts and essential features

The article aims to learn about international legal and international methodological support of road traffic safety and transport operation. A number of statistical indicators, which testify to the catastrophic state of road traffic safety both in the world in general and in Ukraine in particular, are presented. The development of the definition of this concept is proposed to carry out in the classical way: by highlighting its corresponding essential features. These include: object, subject, system and purpose. The object is the sphere of road traffic of the motor transport specifically. The subjects are the international institutions (UN, WHO, World Bank, etc.) and international public associations. The system of such support is classified into eight main groups according to the sphere of regulation of the relevant legal relations within the general sector of road traffic safety. In turn, the international methodological support in this sphere is classified into seven types according to its focus. The main international conventions, resolutions and other decisions, first of all, the UN’s ones, and the international agreements forming the system of the international legal support of road traffic safety are presented. The purpose of this support is to increase road traffic safety around the world. Hence, the international legal and methodological support for road traffic safety is a set of regulations of an international nature, information materials issued with the participation of official institutions with international status, as well as international public associations aimed at ensuring traffic safety, reducing mortality and road traffic injuries in different countries of the world.

East Asia at the Crossroads of Cooperation and Rivalry at the Regional and International Levels: Editorial Introduction

The rise of new powers throughout the 2000s and the 2010s augurs the end of the unipolar system that has persisted since the end of the Cold War. In no region is this transition more compelling than in East Asia. Economic revitalization of this region and a steady redistribution of power related to it is a dynamic process characterized by intense changes in foreign policy strategies, practices, and orientations of China, Korea, and Japan. The proposed special issue seeks to critically assess the emerging developments of Chinas, Japans, and Koreas core international perceptions and policies. More specifically, the special issue addresses two complex and interrelated questions. Firstly, how do China, Korea, and Japan adapt to the changing international landscape? Secondly, how do China, Korea, and Japan respond to the challenges inherent to the pursuit of the enhanced international status? The contributions to this special issue aim at scrutinizing Chinas cybersovereignty and industrial policy; exploring the strengths and limitations of Koreas public diplomacy; and examining Japans contributions to regionalism. The special issue also discusses Russias relations with East Asia and its role in regional politics.

Canon Studies in China: Traditions, Modernization, and Revisions in the Global Context

Though particular texts have long held culturally foundational authority, debates over the idea of a canon and the texts that are to compose it are a much more recent phenomenon, one that originated in the United States and quickly spread to other countries. The present article situates China in the international trend of canon studies by tracing how the Chinese conceptualization of the canon was modernized in the 1990s by Western ideas when canon studies were introduced to China by Dutch scholar Douwe W. Fokkema. While embracing the Western notion of the canon as always in a dynamic process of change that involves aesthetic qualities as well as a power mechanism, Chinese scholars, under the influence of culturally specific practices of literary criticism, the Confucian principle of the golden mean, and the more recent Marxist teaching of dialectical thinking, refuse to replicate Western discourses, instead adhering to a more dialectical treatment of the mutually antagonistic positions. Moreover, China's rising international status and its pursuit of wider global influence have led Chinese scholars to approach literary (re)historiography as an opportunity to showcase Chinese scholarship and to enhance China's national image.

Russia’s Vaccine Diplomacy in Central Europe: Between a Political Campaign and a Business Project

Drawing on the concept of vaccine diplomacy, the article analyses Russia’s efforts to promote its Sputnik V vaccine and the repercussions this had in two Central European EU member states which authorized the use of the Russian vaccine. The authors argue that for Russia, Sputnik V promotion was significant both as a business project and as a political enterprise, as it was supposed to enhance Russia’s international status and help it in overcoming its post-Crimea isolation from the West. The results were mixed, however, as Russia’s international credibility had been undermined by its previous policies. Thus, in Hungary the vaccine managed to gain some traction thanks to a government that preferred importing non-EU certified vaccines as part of its larger policy of fostering closer ties with the authoritarian great powers in Eurasia. In Slovakia, the vaccine deal with Russia caused a political crisis but eventually resulted in a very poor performance of Sputnik V as compared to EU-certified vaccines.