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"Competition and conflict in the South China Sea involves many nations due to its resources and vital sea lanes. However, it is China which increasingly serves as a common denominator of intensifying anxiety for its South China Sea maritime neighbours due to the aggressive scope of its claims to the sea and its islands. Among those states, Vietnam is most affected as it is first in the path of Chinese ambitions - ambitions which authorities fear would give China significant tactical military and economic advantage. For China, there are similar fears over threats to the sea lanes and sea bed resources. Leaders of both states also perceive their diplomatic and martial actions in the sea in historical terms as well. However, enforcement actions taken by either state may lead to a worsening security dilemma in which reactive security strategies could dangerously destabilise relations. This article discusses the motivations and strategies of both states as well as the consequences of such and applies realism, its tenets of defensive and offensive realism, and neoliberalism to examine their security concerns and perceptions. The article further proposes that the most valuable insights can be provided by defensive realism and neoliberalism, which together can encourage security, cooperation and conciliation in order to best promote the improvement of relations." (author's abstract)

Many commentators refer to the U.S. overseas network of military installations as an "empire," yet very few have examined the theoretical and practical significance of such an analogy. This article explores the similarities and differences between the basing network and imperial systems. We argue that American basing practices and relations combine elements of liberal multilateralism with "neo-imperial" hegemony. Much, but far from all, of the network shares with ideal-typical empires a hub-and-spoke system of unequal relations among the United States and its base-host country "peripheries." But Washington rarely exercises rule over host-country leaders and their constituents. Historical examples suggest that this combination of imperial and non-imperial elements has rendered the United States vulnerable to political cross-pressures, intermediary exits, and periodic bargaining failures when dealing with overseas base hosts. Moreover, globalizing processes, especially increasing information flows and the transnational networking of anti-base movements, further erode U.S. capacity to maintain multivocal legitimation strategies and keep the terms of its individual basing bargains isolated from one another. Case studies of the rapid contestation of the terms of the U.S. basing presence in post-Soviet Central Asia and post-2003 Iraq illustrate some of these dynamics.

The Chinese migration to Surabaya can be traced back to the 14th Century. Among the push factors that forced the Chinese to migrate to Surabaya, poor conditions of living in their home country caused by natural disasters, warfares, and inhospitable environment were notable. In addition, the Chinese migrants in the 19th century were attracted by employment opportunities in colonial mines and plantations. Initially, there were no problems occuring between the Chinese and the indigenous peoples in Surabaya. The Chinese interacted with the indigenous people through marriage, religion, cultural performances, language, and food. However, their relations began to break down with the strengthening of the Dutch colonial rule in Indonesia. In the 19th Century, the colonial government began to introduce a number of regulations that effectively segregated the Chinese from the rest of population, namely the "wijkenstelsel", an ethnic-based identification system (passenstelsel) and the establishment of Chinese schools. The postcolonial policies further disrupted the relations between the Chinese and the indigenous people. The policies included the Ekonomi Benteng, PP 10/59 which prohibited the Chinese and others identified as foreigners from engaging in village retail trade. Several additional policies established by the East Java Pepelrada (Regional Military Authority to Implement Dwikora) also discriminated against the Chinese in Surabaya.Keywords: assimilation, the Chinese, the indigenous people, Surabaya

Competition and conflict in the South China Sea involves many nations due to its resources and vital sea lanes. However, it is China which increasingly serves as a common denominator of intensifying anxiety for its South China Sea maritime neighbours due to the aggressive scope of its claims to the sea and its islands. Among those states, Vietnam is most affected as it is first in the path of Chinese ambitions – ambitions which authorities fear would give China significant tactical military and economic advantage. For China, there are similar fears over threats to the sea lanes and sea bed resources. Leaders of both states also perceive their diplomatic and martial actions in the sea in historical terms as well. However, enforcement actions taken by either state may lead to a worsening security dilemma in which reactive security strategies could dangerously destabilise relations. This article discusses the motivations and strategies of both states as well as the consequences of such and applies realism, its tenets of defensive and offensive realism, and neoliberalism to examine their security concerns and perceptions. The article further proposes that the most valuable insights can be provided by defensive realism and neoliberalism, which together can encourage security, cooperation and conciliation in order to best promote the improvement of relations.

After sixty-five years of pursuing a grand strategy of global leadership -- nearly a third of which transpired without a peer great power rival -- has the time come for the United States to switch to a strategy of retrenchment? According to most security studies scholars who write on the future of U.S. grand strategy, the answer is an unambiguous yes: they argue that the United States should curtail or eliminate its overseas military presence, abolish or dramatically reduce its global security commitments, and minimize or eschew efforts to foster and lead the liberal institutional order. Thus far, the arguments for retrenchment have gone largely unanswered by international relations scholars. An evaluation of these arguments requires a systematic analysis that directly assesses the core claim of retrenchment advocates that the current 'deep engagement' grand strategy is not in the national interests of the United States. This analysis shows that advocates of retrenchment radically overestimate the costs of deep engagement and underestimate its benefits. We conclude that the fundamental choice to retain a grand strategy of deep engagement after the Cold War is just what the preponderance of international relations scholarship would expect a rational, self-interested leading power in America's position to do. Adapted from the source document.

Competition and conflict in the South China Sea involves many nations due to its resources and vital sea lanes. However, it is China which increasingly serves as a common denominator of intensifying anxiety for its South China Sea maritime neighbours due to the aggressive scope of its claims to the sea and its islands. Among those states, Vietnam is most affected as it is first in the path of Chinese ambitions -- ambitions which authorities fear would give China significant tactical military and economic advantage. For China, there are similar fears over threats to the sea lanes and sea bed resources. Leaders of both states also perceive their diplomatic and martial actions in the sea in historical terms as well. However, enforcement actions taken by either state may lead to a worsening security dilemma in which reactive security strategies could dangerously destabilise relations. This article discusses the motivations and strategies of both states as well as the consequences of such and applies realism, its tenets of defensive and offensive realism, and neoliberalism to examine their security concerns and perceptions. The article further proposes that the most valuable insights can be provided by defensive realism and neoliberalism, which together can encourage security, cooperation and conciliation in order to best promote the improvement of relations. Adapted from the source document.

Although interests are obviously part of inter-regional relations, the European-Latin American partnership is not mainly interest- but value-driven. Since the early 1980s, when nearly all Latin American countries abandoned military regimes, democracy and human rights have had a prominent place in EU-Latin American relations. Today, the mutual commitment to democracy and human rights is stressed in all official documents and cooperation accords between the EU and Latin America. Nonetheless, other regional priorities and the return to electoral democracy began to undermine the common values discourse and marginalize the political role of the EU in Latin America. This article is based on three major arguments: First, the EU's democratic engagement in Latin America still focuses on traditional authoritarian regimes (Cuba) and has not developed into a strategy towards the new political challenges of democratic backlash; second, the substance of democracy promotion mainly consists of technical governance issues and socio-economic support; and third, Spain is still a major actor in EU policy and its low priority of democracy promotion influenced the EU's profile. Based on these assumptions and following a short discussion on underlying principles, this article will address EU's priorities in democracy assistance in Latin America, particularly with regard to the most problematic countries in terms of democracy, such as Cuba, Colombia, and Venezuela.

This introductory article discusses comparative approaches and research topics explored by contributors to the issue's special section "Comparing Arab Diasporas." The article reassesses debates about early meanings of the term diaspora that reveal the potentials of comparative research in the study of diasporas. The article also reviews the body of contemporary work on diasporas and its use of comparative analytical approaches. It discusses in more detail the contributions to this special section with regard to major topics in the field of comparative diaspora studies, including the complex relations between diasporas and host countries, their majority populations, and the identity politics involved in these processes. Based on the case studies assembled in this special section, the article contrasts internal divisions in the Hadhrami and Syro-Lebanese diasporas, their institutionalization in formal organizations, and the role of trade in their integration into host societies and examines how relations to their homelands changed over time. Finally, the article pays special attention to Hadhrami and Syro-Lebanese diasporas after 9/11, analyzing forms of othering, discrimination, and stereotyping in various (inter)national and local contexts. By comparing the Hadhrami and Syro-Lebanese cases located in the Americas and Southeast Asia, this introductory article traces the spread of the global war on terror to different corners of the world and thus demonstrates how this war became a genuine "global" military and ideological venture.

"Political interest in the concept of soft power, introduced to the international academic community a few decades ago, has recently been revitalized after a series of mass uprisings in a number of countries in North Africa and the Middle East. Arguably, the substantive issues raised by the Arab Spring cannot merely be reduced to either energy matters or to the application of military force by the anti-Gaddafi coalition. The essence of these developments is profoundly normative, and this is how they were perceived by most European analysts, who were keen to raise a set of value-laden questions: how effective has the EU been as a 'normative power' in its relations with neighboring autocratic regimes? Can other emerging powers - above all Turkey - become a better model for the Arab world? Can we expect the revolutionary virus to spread to other areas overwhelmed by authoritarian regimes, including the Caucasus and Central Asia? Against this dynamic background, it appears that the whole gamut of soft power issues - including the role of identities, norms, and values - will increasingly shape the EU's complicated relations with its neighbors. The largest of them, Russia, often seems to mimic Europe's soft power, and yet paradoxically this has not brought Moscow and Brussels closer to each other." (author's abstract)

Spanish-American cultural relations during the period between the end of WWII and the signature of the Military Alliance in 1953 were conditioned by the State Department's policy towards Spain and the corresponding attitude of Franco-Spain. These cultural intercourses were reported in American periodicals, and this paper has mainly made use of these periodicals as its main research source. In spite of the almost unsurmountable difficulties to attain normalcy in cultural relations, steps were taken so that a number of Spaniards got in touch with American society, culture and values, and conversely, an increasing number of Americans, mainly students, visited Spain. ; Las relaciones culturales entre España y los Estados Unidos en el período comprendido entre el final de la Segunda Guerra Mundial y la firma de los Pactos de Madrid de 1953 estuvieron supeditadas a la estrategia política diseñada por el Departamento de Estado norteamericano y la actitud del régimen franquista. Estas relaciones tuvieron su reflejo en la prensa norteamericana coetánea, siendo el cuerpo principal de nuestra investigación. En esos años había que superar las dificultades que existían para poder establecer unas relaciones culturales permanentes, a pesar de ello, se registraron algunas iniciativas que permitieron mantener un flujo de españoles que entraron en contacto con la cultura, vida y sociedad estadounidense y, simultáneamente, grupos de norteamericanos, principalmente estudiantes, visitaron España.

Attempt has been made to examine China's trade with sub-Saharan countries and its impact on African's development as a financing mechanism. To achieve this main objective a systematic literature review is carried out. Literature review reveals that China's financing in Africa is based on bilateral cooperation. China's aid makes the African continent more attractive: Firstly because like any other western agencies China's aid does not impose political and economically conditional requirements. Secondly China is investing in the areas because western aid-giving agencies and private investors have since long neglected to provide this region with like physical infra-structure, industry and agriculture. In 2006, China formulated its African Policy Paper, wherein China-Africa bilateral cooperation was focused on: (i) political and economical development, which covers high level visits for trade, investment, finance and natural resources, (ii) human resource developments with focus on education, science, and technology, and (iii) peace and security focusing on military, and conflict settlement. Africa represents an enormous market and urgently needs infrastructure development, which is one of it's main concentrated objective in aid relations. As a result, their relation is expected to achieve lasting impact on the continent's development and would transform the commercial engagement between the region and the Asian economic giant.

The next article is based on a complete historiografic review to demonstrate the strong economic relationships developed between Chilean and Bolivian businessmen between 1973 and 1990. The adoption of neoliberalism as a primary economic model, allowed the extension of such relation and create economy networks that tending to strengthen the external image of the Chilean military regime. In the 80`s, the business diplomacy was present in the state groups, taking risks aimed at externalizing a successful economic model for internal economic sectors. Although Chilean international isolation influenced its international relations, the economic networks that it was able to establish with Bolivia remained separate from political conflicts. ; El presente artículo está estructurado sobre la base de una revisión historiográfica para demostrar la profunda vinculación económica desplegada por los empresarios chilenos y bolivianos entre 1973 y 1990. La adopción del neoliberalismo como modelo económico primario permitió prolongar dicha relación y significó articular redes económicas interesadas en fortalecer la alicaída imagen externa del régimen militar chileno. En los años ochenta, la diplomacia empresarial estaba presente en los estamentos estatales, asumiendo riesgos y liderazgos tendientes a externalizar un modelo económico exitoso para los sectores económicos internos. Aunque el aislamiento internacional chileno influyó en sus relaciones internacionales, las redes económicas que pudo establecer con Bolivia fueron suficientes al margen de los conflictos políticos.