Suchergebnisse

Important issues are arising in the relationship between bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) & economic regionalism in Southeast Asia. Both forms & levels of integration have made significant progress over recent years. Region-wide integrational projects at the macro-level have included the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), Initiative for ASEAN Integration (LAI) & the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). This has been underpinned by micro-level regionalisation (e.g. international production networks) & meso-level sub-regional projects such as 'growth polygons'. Singapore & Thailand have been ASEAN's 'pathfinder' states in developing bilateral FTAs with various trade partners. It is argued that FTA bilateralism poses certain complications with regard to advancing regional community-building in Southeast Asia because, unlike region-wide projects like AFTA & the IAI, there are not based on the principles of inclusion & equity of interest. Moreover, while multi-level economic integration is the reality in Southeast Asia, bilateral FTAs have the potential to significantly exacerbate the development divide in the region, & as well as stir tensions in infra-ASEAN relations generally. Tables, Figures, References. Adapted from the source document.

This book addresses one of the core concepts across the social sciences: territory. Social theory has struggled to conceptualize territorial space in the nexus between the 'state' and 'global change'. This innovative book argues that the discussion of territorial change remains trapped within a dual tension between subjectivist and objectivist accounts of space, and a flawed dichotomy between global and territorial space. In order to address these problems, this book analyzes the history of cartography as a way to understand the nature of modern political space. From the 15th to the 17th century European cartography underwent a transformation establishing a new reality of space that conditioned the possibility of developing centralised sovereign territorial states within a unified global framework. This so-called modern cartography produced space as an autonomous sphere based on abstract mathematical principles. To understand the relationship between territory and globalisation we have to understand that both depend on a cartographic reality of space. This has profound implications for our understanding of political identity, changes associated with globalization, and explains why state territory has proven such a persistent dimension in global politics. -- Back cover

Culture & knowledge are interdependent & fundamental productive systems in the validation of human lives that must be carefully conceptualized -- as opposed to being viewed simply as aspects of unequal global resource distribution -- if a critical project of opposition to the hegemony of Western culture & knowledge is to be mounted. A postmodern view of culture as plural, primary, & productive seems preferable to conservative, liberal, & Marxist frameworks. Challenges to the standard epistemologies, especially of science, technology, & development, by philosophers of science, feminists, & Third World writers again suggest the need for a plural & political conception of knowledge. From there, a moral/political project based on the work of writers such as Michel Foucault can be taken up. In order to make universities forums for discussion & social change rather than the conduit pipes for monoparadigmatic forms of culture & knowldege that they are today, intellectuals need to involve themselves in political projects that aim to both oppose the hegemony of the dominant discourses (diremption), & to identify, produce, & legitimate subjugated knowledges & cultures (redemption). AA

The literature contains much discussion on the contemporary differences between neorealism and neoliberalism, especially in the context of international relations. However there have, as yet, been limited attempts to investigate how these international relations theories fare in explaining state responses to the COVID‐19 outbreak. This study reviews the conceptual frameworks underpinning neorealism and neoliberalism and applies them to key state behaviors during the COVID‐19 outbreak. Some examples of neorealism attached to the current pandemic include: criticism of the role of the World Health Organization, the closure of international borders, international competition to collect pharmaceutical products, bans on exports, richer states protecting their national interests, the international misuse of power during emergency orders, restrictions placed on the international media, and the deployment of military forces. By contrast, neoliberalism's focus on international cooperation is noted in U.S., Chinese, and other countries' attempts to distribute knowledge and aid internationally, as well as in the efforts of key international organizations like the World Health Organization and the global Covax initiative. I offer an evidence‐based conceptual framework using neorealism and neoliberalism to show how both have informed international behavior during the COVID‐19 outbreak—although continued emphasis on the former shows few signs of abating as the pandemic approaches its third year.