The Decline of Indonesia’s Leadership Role in ASEAN: Systemic and Domestic Constraints of Jokowi’s Foreign Policy Alterations

This article addresses how systemic stimuli and domestic constraints, specifically on the perception of foreign policy executives, influence Indonesia’s leadership decline in ASEAN under Joko Widodo’s first presidential term. Through the lens of neoclassical realism, it is concluded that Indonesia’s leadership decline in ASEAN is attributed to the changing geopolitical landscape of Asia, with the assertive rise of China and the need to find other models of grand strategies in facing the regional hegemon. Furthermore, there is a unified perception of the irrelevance of maintaining a leadership role in ASEAN, and how the foreign policy executives of the Indonesian President and the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs have concluded to this approach. Implementation of this research is the contribution to the foreign policy framework in facing certain systemic stimuli in the region of Asia, and to understand the role of a unified perspective among foreign policy executives to the actual output of foreign policy. This article contributes to the discourses of; (1) neoclassical realism, specifically on the role of systemic stimuli and elite perceptions as intervening variables in understanding alterations in foreign policy behavior, and (2) empirical analysis of Indonesia’s leadership role in ASEAN during the presidency of Joko Widodo. Received: 16 August 2021 / Accepted: 25 October 2021 / Published: 3 January 2022

Internationalization in Times of Uncertainty

This chapter aims to explore the uncertainties that the COVID-19 pandemic induced in internationalization. In this regard, the COVID-19 pandemic challenges companies worldwide as global value chains were interrupted and business models were contested. The theoretical background describes the internationalization processes and the specific role of foreign direct investments (FDI), but also the basics of uncertainty in doing business. Because of the scope of internationalization and the peculiarities of the COVID-19 pandemic, a descriptive analysis of secondary data from global databases was conducted. This includes macroeconomic data and also global research reports. With a focus on European-Asian relations, the results reveal an interruption in the flows of goods and services in Eurasia, but more importantly, also in FDI. Further on, there is a correlation between uncertainty and FDI flows. Finally, this chapter discusses future directions in internationalization, including resilience, regionalization, and the rise of China in global economics.

The Rise of China, Inc.

Leveraging its absolute power, low human rights advantage, and tolerance by other countries, the Chinese Communist Party has transformed China into a giant corporation. Living and working is not a right, but a privilege granted by the party. State-owned firms are business units or subsidiaries, private firms are joint ventures, and foreign firms are franchisees of the party. 'China, Inc.' enjoys the agility of a firm and the vast resources of a state. Meanwhile, foreign firms competing with Chinese firms can find themselves matched against the mighty Chinese state. The Rise of China, Inc. will interest many readers: it will compel business scholars to rethink state-firm relationships; assist multinational business practitioners in formulating effective strategies; aid policy-makers in countering China's expansion; and inform the public of the massive corporate organisation China has become, and how democracies can effectively deal with it.

AUKUS Pact in the Perspective of Security Dilemma

Indo-Pacific is one of strategic region with complex political interest because of huge area and many involved country including major countries such as China and United States. The increase of China’s power in the region caused security dilemma for other countries. United States is one of major power that feels threatened with the rise of China. United States have a lot of cooperation with other major countries and the newest one is trilateral cooperation with Australia and United Kingdom in AUKUS Pact. AUKUS Pact caused a different reaction from countries in Indo-Pacific region. In the perspective of security dilemma, AUKUS Pact is one of United States’s security dilemma because of the rise of China. The AUKUS Pact point is help Australia to have a nuclear submarines. AUKUS Pact is not an arms race but at some point AUKUS Pact can escalated arms race in Indo-Pacific region.

The European Union–Azerbaijan high-level transport dialogue: A timely reaction to the structural changes?

The European Union (EU) and Azerbaijan high-level transport dialogue is the continuation of the long period of cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan in the area of transport since the early 1990s. The geopolitical and geo-economic maps of Eurasia, the South Caucasus, and the regions around have significantly changed since then thanks to rise of China, India, and other regional actors. These actors in their turn began to initiate competitive logistical and transportation projects to define terms and conditions of the making of Eurasian transport and trade routes. The ultimate goal is to have a share in controlling global flows passing through the strategic spots of Eurasian landmass. The EU’s recent transport dialogue with Azerbaijan reflects and is reaction to those changes that happened in the wider Europe, in Eurasia, and in the globe. This paper tries to place the EU and Azerbaijan transport dialogue to a broader picture to find out what changes conditioned and necessitated the upgraded dialogue between the EU and Azerbaijan. To do so, it traces the EU and Azerbaijan’s transport policies and cooperation since the early 1990s.