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AbstractThe interactions between religious and secular elites differ across societies, and those interactions may evolve differently even in the face of similarly controversial issues. What explains variation in relations between religious and secular elites in comparative settings? We highlight the links between religious change, political incentives, and the level of conflict or cooperation between religious and secular actors in public life. We illustrate distinct patterns of religious-secular relations with a paired comparison of two democracies with an intertwined history: the United States and the Philippines. In the United States, religious-secular relations have becoming increasingly conflictual as political incentives have changed in response to religious change. In the Philippines, in contrast, religious and secular actors maintain cooperative ties in part because relative religious stability has diminished political incentives to stoke religious-secular tensions.

The article covers the security aspects of international relations in Eastern and Central Europe in the context of Russian aggression against Ukraine. This region is seen by Russia as an area of its domination in which it is ready to fight by all means, including military aggression. The status and prospects of the Intermarium project are determined, the role of the Bucharest Nine in counteracting Russian expansion is outlined, the specific features of the current aggressive policy of the Russian Federation are shown. Russia's aggression against Ukraine and Russia's hybrid actions against the West have put on the agenda the need to strengthen strategic solidarity in Eastern and Central Europe. For all Eastern and Central European countries, the ability to protect oneself from hostile external influences and the ability to guarantee sustainable development are critical. That is why it is important to strengthen the allies' relations in the region with NATO. Strategic communication mechanisms are of key importance in the conditions of Russia's aggressive policy, providing activities aimed at creating public support for democracy, the rule of law, human rights protection, public transparency and long-term democratic orientation in foreign policy. The countries of Eastern and Central Europe are in fact at the epicentre of the struggle between Western and Moscow civilizations. There is no evidence that the Russian leadership is regarding the opportunity to reconsider its approach to relations with the outside world. On the contrary, Russian officials continue to accuse the EU and NATO member states, as well as their allies and partners, of being hostile to Russia, particularly in its recent ultimatums. Moscow blames the West for trying to use the former socialist countries and some former Soviet republics in its policies against the Russian Federation. The challenge to the democratic world from the Russian Federation includes international legal, economic, political, and informational aspects. The consolidation of ...

Since the end of the first World War, a turn in the trade balance of the United States toward an import surplus has been prophesied or advocated repeatedly. According to these prognostications and beliefs, the United States has been moving into the position of an "old creditor nation" and therefore is likely, or will be obliged, to carry a passive trade balance financed by a net inflow of earnings on, or repayments of, capital from abroad.1 Fulfillment of such an obligation has often been regarded as a contribution to domestic welfare and international order.

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Foreword -- Preface -- Introduction -- 1. Prolegomenon -- 2. Security and Freedom -- 3. Economy and Equality -- 4. The Intangibles of Governance -- 5. The International Executive -- 6. The International Legislature -- 7. The International Judiciary -- 8. Where to Begin? -- Notes -- Index

This article analyses Sino–Indian security relations in the bilateral, external and regional contexts. It first argues that the boundary question and the Tibet issue are the most immediate elements in bilateral security relations. While both sides have started the process of resolving the border dispute from a political perspective through special representatives, and have reached a consensus on the political position of Tibet (and Sikkim), the sensitive part of the two issues—'east-west swap' and Tibetan government-in-exile respectively—are still awaiting a breakthrough. India continues to regard Pakistan as the principal external factor in its relations with China. China pays more and more attention to the India-US strategic partnership and its implications for its relations with India on the other hand. With the dual rise of Beijing and New Delhi in international society, their respective interests and influence will inevitably encounter each other in the Asian subregions. The article concludes that more China-India cooperation than competition will be sequentially seen in Central, Southeast, and South Asia in the future.

Objective. The objective of this article is to explain judicial decision making at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia by analyzing the impact of individual, national, & international factors. Methods. We use regression & probit analysis of data on the verdicts & sentences handed down by the judges. Results. We find that international factors best explain judicial decision making, especially regarding sentencing. Conclusions. International tribunals & courts are becoming increasingly important & prevalent & it is critical that scholars better understand how their judges make decisions. 2 Tables, 34 References. Adapted from the source document.

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THESIS ABSTRACT This thesis investigates the impact of the interactions between states, donors and INGOs on outcomes in international development. States, donors and INGOs form the central framework of international development in what is essentially a closed system. The interactions between them are crucial to the effectiveness of this system in improving the well-being of the up to three billion people in developing countries who are its intended beneficiaries. Research which sees international development as an economic, technocratic and universalistic process has strongly shaped understanding of these interactions. Ongoing questioning of the success of the development project has given rise to a literature arguing that understanding the political dimensions of the development process is necessary for successful outcomes. However, there is little field evidence of the goals, strategies, motivations and capabilities that shape states, donors and INGO's interactions in particular situations. The focus of this research is on the interactions between states, INGOs and donors in the disability sector of Cambodia between 1990 and 2006. It analyses data collected through semi-structured interviews, primary documents and secondary sources, using the establishment of the Disability Action Council, a semi-autonomous body set up in response to issues in disability service provision, as a key event. The fieldwork was designed to collect information on the goals, capabilities, motivations and strategies of donors, states and INGOs in the sector. The data was then analysed to establish how these factors shaped interactions between the three groups of actors and what the effects of these interactions were on development outcomes in the disability sector. The research demonstrated that interactions of the state, donor and INGOs in the disability sector contributed to dysfunctional development outcomes, which failed to meet the needs of people with a disability in Cambodia. Of the actors involved, the state was the most successful in achieving its goals. The research argues that a major factor in these outcomes was the failure of donors and INGOs to understand the political dimensions of development and to operate effectively within them. These findings are consistent with calls in the literature to strengthen research on development as a political process and for INGOs and donors to recognise the need to engage with the political sphere and develop the knowledge, theory and skills to do so effectively.

How does the international system impact a civil war? Does polarity affect the war's outbreak, character and how long it lasts? Systemic Realists argue multipolarity makes inter-state war more likely, but is this also true of intra-state war? Using the Syria conflict (2011-present) as a case study, this article suggests a connection can be found. It argues that the end of US-dominated unipolarity, and its interaction with a new multipolarity in the Middle East region impacted the behaviour and calculations of foreign states involved, contributing to the outbreak of war and how it progressed. The same interacting multipolarity paradoxically also shaped Russia's decision to intervene in 2015, ultimately edging the war towards a conclusion, something that Systemic Realists would not expect. This study of the systemic effects in the Syria conflict suggests that the Neo-Realist concept of polarity continues to have relevance and can be useful in understanding intra- as well as inter-state conflict. It points to the importance of the interaction between regional and global systems in generating these effects, and it suggests a reconsideration of the Neo-Realist view that multipolarity always makes wars harder to end.

This article examines how the institutional design of borders affects international trade. The authors explore variation in the effects of borders by comparing new international borders that follow precedent and thus have a prior institutional history with new international borders that lack such an institutional history. The former minimally disrupt—or restore—previous economic networks, while the latter fundamentally disrupt existing economic networks. A variety of empirical tests show that, consistent with this institutional perspective on borders, new international boundaries that follow precedent are associated with significantly faster recovery and greater increase in subsequent trade flows. By contrast, when new international borders are truly new, they disrupt local economic networks, introduce new transaction costs, and impose higher adjustment costs on states, which the authors show to have long-term deleterious effects on trade.

International audience ; The concept of hegemony, at the heart of Antonio Gramsci's research, is inseparable from a fundamental reflection on religion. Religion in Gramsci sometimes designates historical religions, in particular Catholicism, sometimes a conception of Marxism as the heresy of liberalism resulting from subordinate groups. From his Turin years, Gramsci described socialism as a religious faith replacing the supernatural horizon of Christianity with a concrete and rational project. The rise of fascism forces him to confront more directly Catholic institutions and culture, their function of intellectual and political leadership, especially among the peasant masses. This confrontation prepares the decisive turning point for Gramsci during the Concordat of 1929 between the fascist state and the Catholic Church. Starting then to write his Cahiers de prison, he studies through this politico-religious news the relationship of reciprocal influence between economy, culture and politics. To this end, he finds in the editorial, militant and missionary praxis of the Society of Jesus the paradigm of a hegemonic conquest carried out on multiple fronts. The "indirect power" of the Jesuits thus asserts itself as a model and a counter-model, admired for its efficiency but condemned for its authoritarian rigidity. Gramsci therefore opposes the disciplinary drift of Jesuitism with a modern political party carrying an actively religious hegemony, that is to say, associating the subordinates in the development of a collective conscience. ; Le concept d'hégémonie, au coeur de la recherche d'Antonio Gramsci, est indissociable d'une réflexion de fond sur la religion. La religion désigne chez Gramsci tantôt les religions historiques, en particulier le catholicisme, tantôt une conception du marxisme comme hérésie du libéralisme issue des groupes subalternes. Dès ses années turinoises, Gramsci décrit le socialisme comme une foi religieuse substituant à l'horizon surnaturel du christianisme un projet concret et rationnel. La ...