Summary Zhou Enlai held the first Premiership of China from 1949, and was the chief executive of Chinese diplomacy until 1976. He set out the communist ideology and the doctrine of realpolitik in light of a calculation between core interests and a flexible approach to the issues. He opined that diplomacy remained a constructive means, even though no immediate fruits were present. Zhou's negotiating calibre was noted at the Geneva Conference (1954), his persuasive tactics were proven at the Bandung Conference (1955) and his pragmatic approach was recognised during his safari in Africa (1963-1964). This article explores how Zhou convinced his foreign counterparts that China had no intention of challenging the status quo while pursuing its legitimate rights in the world order. Given this, Zhou's legacy should serve as a policy guide as well as a personal eulogy for the peaceful rise of China today.
Summary Recent years have seen China trying to play the role of a responsible power. It has made great efforts in this regard, including actively participating in international peacekeeping operations, collaborating with other countries to deal with the climate change and trying to help in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. However, China's efforts have met with stiff resistance from the West, especially from the Donald Trump-led United States. How does one explain this turn of events? This essay argues that the speed of China's rise; the Western perception of China's domestic development; the failure to address domestic problems on the part of some major Western countries, especially the United States; and the role that the Trump administration played provide important clues to such a development.
In the context of contemporary peacekeeping operations, NATO states established civil-military cooperation (CIMIC) – a military function aiming at maintaining contact between the NATO armed forces and other civilian and military actors present in an area of military operations. As a result of their tasks, CIMIC soldiers are confronted with various expectations pertaining to their behaviour, principles and values. This pool of normative requirements includes contradictory expectations formulated by civilian and military reference groups, leading to the emergence of a role conflict. Building on the theoretical assumptions of structural symbolic interactionism and the division into a "warrior" and "peacekeeper" role of a soldier, this article presents expectations that comprise the role of a CIMIC soldier and the areas of role conflict experienced by members of CIMIC units. It also offers a reflection on the role of a contemporary soldier. The article is based on interviews with CIMIC soldiers, observations and content analysis of NATO CIMIC documents.
This thesis is a critical analysis of the constitutional and legal order of the Republic of North Macedonia, following the chronological process dating from the gaining of the county's independence, through the armed confl ict in 2001 that brought constitutional changes, to today. The first decade after the breakup of Yugoslavia was crucial for the North Macedonian state and its citizens. The writing/creation of the constitution of the new, independent state was not an easy process and it did not pass peacefully nor did it pass without any problems. The complex social process and relations have initiated the need for amendments to the Constitution, which, since its adoption in 1991 until today, has been changed 32 times in order to adapt to new, emerging situations and to give constitutional and legal responses to the inherent challenges. Of course, proper changes also occurred in the political system itself as a result of numerous factors, which have more or less influenced its character and shape.
The world, and everything on it, is changing. Local and global justice movements have developed to demand action on issues such as climate change, environmental justice and social justice, drawing attention to systemic mismanagement and abuse. It is becoming increasingly clear that new and creative approaches to peacebuilding is needed. This research draws inspiration from the concept of "permaculture", a systems design approach to sustainable farming and living, in order to create an alternative "permaculture peace framework". To aid this, the research uses a case study approach to allow for the exploration of how a small NGO in Kosovo makes use of permaculture in their work. GAIA Kosovo and their "3peas: Permaculture as a path to peace" project is at the heart of this study, as they navigate social and ethnic divides while trying to address issues of climate change and environmental justice. The study uses elements from ethnographic content analysis and critical discourse analysis, to analyze the content available on the websites of GAIA Kosovo and 3peas. The case study found that much of the work and events had connection to the 3 ethics and 12 principles of permaculture, and the use of creative ideas and events can create alternative and local approaches to peacebuilding. It was further found that, despite the war in Kosovo ended in 1999, social and ethnic divides are still an everyday reality, but that small and local civil society initiatives can alleviate such divides. Taking inspiration from the case study, the research concludes with the adaptation of the original 12 permaculture principles, to create 11 principles as the foundation of the tentative "permaculture peace framework". The framework aims to give people working with peacebuilding, as well as regular civilians, an inclusive and creative approach that acknowledges the inherent value of people, that can be utilized all levels of society.
In the years leading to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, Liberia's economic performance was already weak. Since 2014 a series of severe shocks stopped in its track the growth momentum that had been spurred by the Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2003. The economy was buffeted by the devastating Ebola outbreak, a collapse in iron ore and rubber prices, and the drawdown of United Nations peacekeeping forces. Monetary and exchange rate policy remained tight in 2020, with the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) exercising caution in view of uncertainties about the economic impact from Coronavirus (COVID-19). The cash shortages have made headlines and prompted the CBL to provide explanations. Fiscal space can be increased by improving the efficiency of current expenditure. The government needs first and foremost to reduce the very high level of current spending and strengthen domestic revenue mobilization to generate savings for public investments financing. Liberia should remain prudent on external borrowing in its quest to meet the large investment required by the Pro-poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD). Finally, Liberia should improve the efficiency of its public investment through better planning, project preparation and management, and better alignment with PAPD priorities.
This study aims to determine the role of the village government in overcoming the problem of security and social order in Pulutan Village, Kec. Pulutan Kab. Talaud Islands. This study uses a qualitative research method, which aims to obtain an overview of the role of the village government in overcoming security and security issues. Judging from the role of the Pulutan village government, it has not met the expectations of the community because until now the security and social security problem has not been able to be overcome optimally, there are still many security and social security problems that occur there is no serious action from the Pulutan village government in handling cases of security and social security problems because the perpetrators of the problems are still often cause trouble even though there have been many reports from the public who feel restless. So the researchers concluded that the role of the Pulutan village government in overcoming the security and social order problem was not maximized, because until now there are still many security and social security problems that occur, there is no firmness from the village government. Thus, to increase the role of the village government seriously and decisively it will certainly be able to make the community safe and peaceful living in the neighborhood.
We use detailed information on the location of agricultural and mining production to approximate international trade for different ethnic groups in order to study its impact on ethnic conflicts in Africa between 1993 and 2010. The goal is to go beyond the income effects of trade to study the residual effects of globalization on conflicts. We find that once we control for income but also for a wide variety of different factors in conflicts (using political variables and fixed effects), the international trade by ethnic groups has a pacific impact on conflicts. While this peaceful impact of trade is mainly found in the trade in agricultural products, it does not have a significant impact in the international trade in mining products. Finally, we propose an original two-step analysis showing that exports significantly reduce conflicts by affecting time-varying national characteristics. We interpret this result as an indication that globalization in Africa has participated in the formation of new national identities with peaceful effects between ethnic groups.
Italy was the first European democracy to be hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. The government's response, especially in the first wave, was confused, dilatory and inadequate, and the country found itself in an unprecedented public health crisis, leading to a national lockdown between March and May. The easing of restrictions in May and an improved situation in the summer did not prevent cases rising again from the autumn onwards, and Italy finished the year in a series of mini-lockdowns. The government was confronted with a debate over Italy's high death toll and the role of the executive's own failings in it. Yet, the pandemic did not prompt a political crisis. Rather, it had the effect of blunting the frontal opposition of the League and strengthening the standing of the government with the public. This especially applied to the Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, whose personal ratings soared, as the public rallied behind a leader facing the greatest challenge of any peacetime Italian prime minister.
Shrinking civic space is a global trend in governance impeding citizens' enjoyment of the fundamental freedoms of association, expression and peaceful assembly. While deeply affected by this phenomenon, civil society organizations and collectives in Lebanon have cultivated a series of non-sectarian opposition movements that warrant an assessment of how these may contribute to reconciling deeply divided identities. The authors examine the specific challenges imposed on civil society in Lebanon's hybrid democratic setting, where power and resources are allocated along confession-based cleavages. Additionally, they discuss the strategies through which Lebanese civil society collectives push back against government pressures and defend, as well as expand, their available room for manoeuvre. The strategies of two recent opposition movements are analysed: (i) the coalition 'Kollouna Watani', a crossover into politics for the 2018 Lebanese elections by actors originally associated with civil society organizations, and (ii) the mass protest movement starting in October 2019. The findings highlight these non-sectarian movements' potential to promote cooperation among the fragmented realms of civil society, as well as the hardships of challenging well-established elites and their interests via formal politicization. In doing so, they also show the potential and agency of civil society to counter the phenomenon of shrinking civic space.
Shrinking civic space is a global trend in governance impeding citizens' enjoyment of the fundamental freedoms of association, expression and peaceful assembly. While deeply affected by this phenomenon, civil society organizations and collectives in Lebanon have cultivated a series of non-sectarian opposition movements that warrant an assessment of how these may contribute to reconciling deeply divided identities. The authors examine the specific challenges imposed on civil society in Lebanon's hybrid democratic setting, where power and resources are allocated along confession-based cleavages. Additionally, they discuss the strategies through which Lebanese civil society collectives push back against government pressures and defend, as well as expand, their available room for manoeuvre. The strategies of two recent opposition movements are analysed: (i) the coalition 'Kollouna Watani', a crossover into politics for the 2018 Lebanese elections by actors originally associated with civil society organizations, and (ii) the mass protest movement starting in October 2019. The findings highlight these non-sectarian movements' potential to promote cooperation among the fragmented realms of civil society, as well as the hardships of challenging well-established elites and their interests via formal politicization. In doing so, they also show the potential and agency of civil society to counter the phenomenon of shrinking civic space.
The Covid-19 pandemic has occasioned a dramatic increase in the economic role of the state. During 18 months of varying degrees of lockdown that required many businesses to shut and made heavy demands on the NHS and other public services, the state paid the wages for nearly 9 million workers, increased welfare provision for the working age poor, and increased spending on public services. Government spending accounted for well over half of the economy in 2020/21, its highest ever level in peacetime. But even now that lockdown is over, the government has unveiled tax and spending plans that imply that public spending will account for a higher proportion of GDP than it has done on a sustained basis at any time since the 1970s, not least thanks to increased spending on health, social care and welfare. Meanwhile, the tax take will be at its highest since the early 1950s. Whereas the government's response to the economic and fiscal shock occasioned by the 2008–9 financial crash was to rein in public spending, this time it has apparently come to the conclusion that the state needs to play a more active role – in the hope that this will enable the country to 'build back better'.
This common country assessment update for the Philippines underpins the sustainable development partnership framework for the Philippines and the United Nations (UN). Taking off from the analysis of the national baseline on sustainable development goals (SDGs) and progress in the SDGs, this report employs UN's approach of framing the sustainable development outcomes under three pillars, namely, people, prosperity and planet, and peace. The report dissects the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) impacts and trajectories of the sustainable development outcomes under each pillar. COVID-19 impacts are anticipated to result in a regression in human development capacities and opportunities. These are also expected to thwart economic prosperity, change consumption behavior, and affect the environment. Delays in peacekeeping activities and fiscal resources realignments might also affect the communities that are trying to recover from violence and armed conflicts, especially in Mindanao. To mitigate further regression in development, the report recommends the following, among others: for the people pillar, governance improvements in areas such as social welfare programs delivery to vulnerable groups; for the prosperity and planet pillar, science-based policy strategies that will consider the current problems exposed by the pandemic, as well as incorporate the timeliness of the policy responses; and for the peace pillar, the continued cooperation between the national government and the Bangsamoro government in ensuring that the recently gained peace dividends are protected and stakeholders do not slide back on their commitments.
In: International journal of legal information: IJLI ; the official journal of the International Association of Law Libraries, Band 49, Heft 2, S. 102-129
AbstractThere are three types of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs)—nuclear, chemical, and biological. Of the three WMDs, biological weapons are arguably the most dangerous as they are the most indiscriminate, the least controllable, and the least expensive to create. The seminal treaty for establishing legal constraints on this vital issue is the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC).2 Article I of the BWC specifically outlaws State acquisition of "microbial or other biological agents, or toxins whatever their origin or method of production, of types and in quantities that have no justification for prophylactic, protective or other peaceful purposes . . ."3The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties4 (VCLT) provides the general rule for how to interpret treaty language: "a treaty shall be interpreted in good faith in accordance with the ordinary meaning to be given to the terms of the treaty in their context and in the light of its object and purpose."5 Problematically, by reading the BWC in light of this general rule, because the BWC only prohibits acquisitions that have "no justification," the ordinary meaning of the text creates a wide loophole through which States may argue the acquisition of a potentially prohibited material has some justification, however minor, and therefore is not prohibited.The Comment first reviews the background of biological weapons and regulation of their use. In this section, the Comment also describes the VCLT requirements for treaty interpretation and the evolutive approach to interpretation. Next, the Comment conducts a global analysis of State practice in regards to biosafety and biosecurity regulatory measures. It then analyzes the BWC using the various treaty interpretation methods—including addressing how subsequent state practice has affected this interpretation, and how an evolutive approach to interpretation changes the meaning of Article I of the BWC. Lastly, in recognition of this evolution in the law, this Comment recommends how to update enforcement mechanisms to accurately reflect the new state of the law.
This ethnographic study is devoted to the reindeer herders and hunters of Arctic Yakutia who live in the mountainous taiga and tundra landscapes and engage in social relationships with other than humans beings, specifically wolves. This dissertation explores how these interspecific relationships, which are based on aggressive interaction and peaceful existence, intermingle and account for the complexity of the cohabitation of humans and predators in the shared landscapes. Furthermore, this thesis aims to demonstrate how human-predator cohabitation in Arctic Yakutia can be shaped by reciprocal interaction and interspecific communication through signs. To give a deeper understanding of contemporary interactions of wolves and the reindeer herders/hunters of Arctic Yakutia, this study also explores the animistic worldview of the herders/hunters and examines the interspecific relations from historical, socio-economic, political and spatial viewpoints.