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What does international hierarchy look like? The emerging literatures on hierarchy and international orders remain overwhelmingly focused on the contemporary era and on the great powers that comprise the top of the hierarchy. This article addresses that gap by examining diplomacy, war, and domestic politics in the premodern Vietnam–China relationship under the hierarchic tributary system. Specifically, we construct a unique data set of over 1,200 entries, which measures wars and other violence in the region from 1365 to 1789. The data revealed the stable and legitimate nature of tributary relations between formally unequal political units. The Vietnamese court explicitly recognized its unequal status in its relations with China through a number of institutions and norms. Vietnamese rulers also displayed very little military attention to their relations with China. Rather, Vietnamese leaders were clearly more concerned with quelling chronic domestic instability and managing relations with kingdoms to their south and west.

Up to beginning of the XXI century political contradictions in Sino-Japanese relations had little influence on strong economic ties. However, since early 2010s several unstable elements that existed between the countries have been tending to discharge from political sphere into economics complicating bilateral cooperation. One of the sources of contradictions in Sino-Japanese relations is referred to differences in perception of each others' strategies and intentions. China and Japan view each other as potentially offensive while depicting themselves as defensive. The growth of defense capabilities on one side is perceived as a potential threat on the other side. Another reason for deterioration of political situation is Japan's efforts to give a proper reaction to the rapid rise of China's economical and political might. On the other hand, it is China's willingness to defend its growing interests. The escalation of nationalism in both countries adds to instability in Sino-Japanese relations. Sino-Japanese contradictions in economical, political, ideological and military spheres became intertwined in the territorial dispute of the East China Sea. Different expectations towards the US involvement in the potential conflict around the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands makes the situation even more difficult as it leads to the growth of military spending in both countries. Low levels of trust, the absence of clear dispute settlement and preventive diplomacy mechanisms, narrow opportunities for negotiations increase the probability that the cooling of Sino-Japanese relations will continue in future.

The articles for this special issue were selected from the papers presented at the International Conference on Contemporary Social and Political Affairs held in 2019 in Surabaya, Indonesia. Although the themes of the conference were more general, most of the papers presented focused on gender relations and women's positions in Indonesia and in the global context. Therefore, we entitled this special issue "Gender Equality, and Social Inclusion in Local and Global Societies." Numerous existing articles and past studies on Indonesian gender relations in international journals were written by authors or scholars from outside Indonesia, providing some foundations and insights on the topic. However, more research and articles written and conducted by Indonesians using their insiders' perspectives are important for enriching the field and providing different perspectives. The voice, experience, and positionality of the authors serve as important factors affecting how they approach certain topics. This special edition offers various voices and positionalities of Indonesian researchers and authors from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities that will enhance our understanding of gender relations in Indonesian societies.