Bücher der Reihe Contributions to International

This book puts forward a new angle of understanding the society of states in the milieu of the contemporary world. The absence of a regulatory mechanism, i.e., anarchy, has been the fundamental issue of international relations. This book explains how the normative imperatives, information and communication technology (ICT) and nuclear deterrence generated ambiance have poised the states in a society where they are bound to follow certain normative imperatives that dilute the color and meaning of anarchy and obliges the states to act in a certain way. It develops a theoretical proposition with regard to state power defined in terms of the capability of determining the outcomes. The proposition first elaborates how international institutions foster normative imperatives; then, in line with this ontology, it narrows down the focus solely on the power of the states in the contemporary world. It explains how the power that can determine the outcome today is holistic in nature, comprising both materialistic and normative factors. In the next step, it tailors the proposition in a way so as to employ it for a specific empirical work. The book does not end just positing the theoretical proposition; the proposition is testified through some case studies with regard to climate negotiations under the UNFCCC.The empirical part not only serves to examine the plausibility of the theoretical proposition, but it also presents the logic of the major actors and the politics with respect to some of the major issues of climate change, i.e., mitigation, funding policy and mechanism and adaptation. The scholars in this arena, climate activists and climate-conscious people in general would find this book worth reading as it kindles a different angle to understand the issues in the context of the contemporary world and as it elaborates the logic, framing process, and mechanism of reaching outcomes through complex negotiation process. No other work has so far analyzed the issues covering the entire period of 21 apex UNFCCC negotiations that led to the Paris Agreement. Apart from university libraries, this book, thus, has the prospect to be sold in the markets targeting the academicians, climate change experts, bureaucrats, negotiators and the common readers.

This book analyzes two main trends of prevailing populism and nationalism in China and Southeast Asian nations and rising tensions in the South China Sea (SCS) by experts from China and Southeast Asia. The book involves the most recent developments and indicates future trends. This is the first book which goes deeply into the SCS dispute from the perspectives on populism and nationalism and thus highlighting their significance in Asian politics. The broad approach adopted in the book with focus on all important countries expands the scope of readership beyond specific academic community. The book interests academics, policy makers, journalists, general reader, and students of Asian politics. The main body of this book is divided into 8 parts, in which the first section briefly introduces the aims and scope of this book. The following 7 parts look at the new development of populism and nationalism in China and ASEAN claimant states and some important non-claimant states mainly including the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, and its multiple effects on the SCS dispute.

This book focuses on Chinäs foreign strategy and policy toward Central and Eastern Europe via the ¿China-CEEC¿ Cooperation Mechanism. It discusses the formation and evolution of the mechanism, concentrating on Chinäs leading role in this process, and covering a range of issues related to the mechanism¿s organizational development. This discussion includes the broad context of Chinäs foreign policy, a coherent framework analysis of institution and cooperation issues, the internal aspects of the heterogeneity, external aspects of its asymmetry interactions, and finally, its emphases on cooperation in the two primary dimensions of great powers engagement and localization.After the end of the Cold War and the sudden and shocking collapse of the Soviet Union, the geopolitics of Central and Eastern Europe begins to undergo dramatic changes. Since then, an increase in public discussion in China about the transformation from the planned economy to market economy became very visible. Moreover, this part of the world perceives as the gate to Europe through almost forget Silk Road. Both factors have played a crucial role in shaping Chinäs interest in the region of Central and Eastern Europe. Following the points mentioned above, Chinäs interests in Central and Eastern Europe are due to several factors, including its frontier stability, national security, economic expansion, and search for new sources of energy and new markets for made in China products. Recognition of the importance of the region culminates in the recent Chinese grand strategy of ¿Belt and Road,¿ which highlights Central and Eastern Europe as the essential link in Chinäs plan New Silk Road strategy. In this regard, the ¿China-CEEC¿ Cooperation Mechanism has a crucial role in Chinäs ¿Go West¿ strategy.

This book presents cutting-edge research and exploration of the role of nation-state when big tech firms present themselves as new participants in contemporary international relations that act on an equal footing with nation-states. The general research goal of this book is to identify the justifications that nation-states have adopted to regulate the big tech firms and the impacts of this process on international trade in the main economies in the world.With the massive instrumentation of data, big tech firms have become actors with the capacity to intervene not only in economies but also, above all, in the politics of different countries with different systems. The emergence of big tech firms has transformed the approach to the concepts of national security, information management and access to new technologies among nation-states. The principles and fundamentals of cyber sovereignty have become one of the bases of states in the contemporary system of international relations. Today, the influence of big tech firms in different societies in the contemporary world is one of the main forms of power. This book tries to collect and present the recent state of the art in studies on the relationship between big tech firms and nation-states in the literature. It also addresses how governments such as those of the US, China and the EU are changing their legislation, creating control and data security mechanisms, imposing entry restrictions on foreign companies, and regulating the actions beyond the cloud of big tech firms inside and outside their borders.

This book explores the relationship between the ¿human constant¿ (Jen) of the four large-scale civilizational societies¿China, the USA, Japan, and Indiäand their international behavior, response patterns, and interaction with the international system. The book analyzes the characteristics and limitations of the current international system, as well as the way it is related to the Western type of ¿human constant¿. It also analyzes the challenges facing China in its integration into the international system. This book aims to explore international relations from the combined psychological and cultural perspective. The key concept of this book is ¿Jen¿, which contains a distinct Chinese cultural experience, into the theory of international relations. Unlike other IR books to treat state as the main political actor, the book analyzes both the political aspects of state as an ¿organizational entity¿ and its civilizational aspects as a ¿civilizational entity¿; hence, it proposes a new ontology of international relations. By integrating the concept of ¿Jen¿ based on the unique Chinese cultural experience into the theory of international relations, the book reveals the interactive nature of relationship between the international system and ¿human constant¿. The book explains the causal relationship between state¿s behavior and its ¿human constant¿, analyzes the cultural characteristics of state actors and the international system, and tries to provide a new theoretical framework for understanding culture and modernity.