Issues in International Relations

Definisi anak yang diterima secara internasional adalah anak yang berusia di bawah 18 tahun.  Maka dari itu, setiap perkawinan di mana salah satu pihak berusia di bawah 18 tahun dianggap sebagai perkawinan anak. Pernikahan anak merupakan suatu fenomena dimana seorang anak perempuan akan dinikahkan dengan seorang laki-laki yang selisihnya usianya terpaut jauh dengan pengantin wanita. Pernikahan anak telah terjadi di berbagai negara yang ada di dunia, tetapi terutama terlihat di Asia Selatan, Afrika, dan Amerika Latin. Salah satu negara yang melakukan pernikahan anak yaitu India. India menjadi negara yang paling banyak terjadi pernikahan anak. Terdapat laporan menyatakan bahwa sekitar 43 persen wanita berusia 20 hingga 24 menikah sebelum usia 18 tahun di India. Beberapa penyebab pernikahan anak di India yaitu kemiskinan, melindungi anak mereka, diskriminasi gender, kurangnya akses pendidikan, dan kurangnya implementasi kebijakan. Adapun pernikahan anak berdampak buruk bagi kesehatan, fisik, intelektual, psikologis dan emosional yang kuat, berkurangnya peluang pendidikan dan peluang pertumbuhan pribadi baik untuk anak perempuan dan anak laki-laki.

The article deals with objectives and results of Russian consulates’ political work in Outer China (Xinjiang, Outer Mongolia and Manchuria) in the middle of the XIX– early XX century from the perspectives of national security, regional security and the “power balance” in the international system.
The majority of the consulates in Western China and Outer Mongolia were established in the second half of the XIX century, in accordance with Sino-Russian treaties of 1851-1881, while consulates in Western Mongolia and Man-churia opened only in the early XX century, after Russia’s defeat in the Russo-Japanese war. Russian consulates’ status in Outer China used to be very specific. Firstly, they possessed an exterritorial right and consular jurisdiction. Secondly, since the consulates as well as the Imperial Legation in Beijing were the only Russian official institutions in Qing Empire until the beginning of the XX century, so the sphere of consular competence was both diverse and extensive. Besides fulfilling traditional consular functions (protection of Russian citizens’ rights, assisting development of Russian trade, etc.), the consuls served as diplomatic representatives and political agents. Thirdly, the consuls were quite autonomous in decision-making, therefore the level of Russia’s influence and effectiveness of Russian policy implementation in Outer China were to high extent dependent on them.
In spite of numerous difficulties faced by diplomats in the remote districts of China, Russian consular institute in Outer China in the period under study succeeded to provide appropriate protection of the Empire’s commercial and political-strategic interests. Their work made a significant contribution to strengthening the “multi-factor equilibrium” in Russia-China interaction, regional security in Central and North-Eastern Asia and maintaining the “balance of power” in the international system.

This article offers a fresh critique of the work of political scientists and historians who have propagated the Eurocentric history of democracy. The paper argues that such work can be dissected and critiqued along several key lines: their reliance on a distinctly patriarchal discourse riddled with prejudices; the assertion that one can understand the history of democracy via the etymology of the word itself; and the deeply Eurocentric
roots of the study of democracy’s past embedded in the canon of Western political thought. The paper concludes by calling on contemporary political scientists and political historians concerned with the history of  democracy to be careful in re-iterating this deeply flawed history of democracy and to instead work towards a history of democracy that retrieves the silenced histories and the forgotten democratic moments that lay behind the roar of Western power.

The status of ‘international law’ is examined critically. In the first section, the basis of (national) legislation is described. This consists of an inquiry into a credible meaning of ‘natural law’. It is focused on the question whether universal principles exist and, if so, of what kind. Section 2 deals with the issue of enforcement. National legislation invariably realizes this, but this is not obvious at the international level. Section 3 deals with human rights. It is discussed whether their presence points to the existence of ‘international law’. To this end, a possible reason for these rights to have developed is expounded.

The Legacy of Iraq critically reflects on the abject failure of the 2003 intervention to turn Iraq into a liberal democracy, underpinned by free-market capitalism, its citizens free to live in peace and prosperity. It argues that mistakes made by the coalition and the Iraqi political elite set a sequence of events in motion that have had devastating consequences for Iraq, the Middle East and for the rest of the world.

Today, as the nation faces perhaps its greatest challenge in the wake of the devastating advance of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and another US-led coalition undertakes renewed military action in Iraq, understanding the complex and difficult legacies of the 2003 war could not be more urgent. Ignoring the legacies of the Iraq war and denying their connection to contemporary events could means that vital lessons are ignored and the same mistakes made again.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss China’s sources of regime insecurity, its impact on world peace and conflict and how the regime addresses these challenges. How does China’s regime insecurity affect international relations, peace and conflict and how is it responding to such challenge in order not to disturb international peace and cooperation? How do China’s public reactions affect international relations, conflict, peace and cooperation? It argues that China’s regime insecurity caused by strong nationalist emotions and domestic discontent is a potential source of impediment on world peace than its external strength. By using foreign policy initiative and primary sources, the paper shows that, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is one course of action the Chinese regime addresses its challenges. Specifically, China is strengthening regime security and external peace through foreign policy – providing for the international dimension of the domestic threat – by trying to decre...

This paper discusses how useful international relations theory is for analysing international issues, topics and policy problems.  How do international relations theories connect to the practice of international relations?  Is there a clear relationship between theory and practice in international affairs?  How does international relations theories help provide us practical solutions to real international problems

A roundtable review on Zhang Feng's Chinese Hegemony: Grand Strategy and International Institutions in East Asian History (Stanford, 2015) with Victoria Hui, Ja Ian Chong, James Holmes, and Yongjin Zhang, with a response from the author. Published by H-Diplo and the International Security Studies Forum (ISSF).

Dinamika hubungan internasional menjadikan dunia semakin kopleks dan berbanding lurus pada teori-teori dan perspektif yang digunakan di HI. Teori-teori yang muncul digunakan para akademisi untuk mengkaji fenomena-fenomena dan isu-isu hubungan internasional yang terjadi. Teori klasik fenomenal yang ada didalam hubungan internasional sendiri yaitu liberalisme,realisme dan marxisme. Teori-teori tersebut tentu memiliki turunan dalam relevansinya untuk mengkaji teori hubungan internasional, teori turunan tersebut yaitu neo-liberalisme, neo-realisme dan neo-marxisme. Fokus utama pembahasan penulisan ini adalah implementasi teori neoliberalisme dalam hubungan internasional. Sejarah kemunculan serta relevansi teori neoliberalisme sendiri adalah kegagalan teori sebelumnya dalam mengkaji fenomena internasional. teori neoliberalisme meyakini bahwa peperangan seperti perang dingin dapat berakhir secara damai dan adanya diplomasi atau kerjasama yang diciptakan diatas sistem anarki dunia. Sehingga dengan demikian tidak menutup kemungkinan bahwa negara dapat mencapai hegemoni diatas sistem dunia yang anarki. Teori neo-liberalisme memfokuskan diri pada soft power pada isu-isu internasional dan kaitanya isu yang sangat anarki saat ini adalah fenomena krisis HAM yang muncul ditatanan masyarakat internasional yaitu pada etnis Rohingya di Myanmar.

「現代化」與「對外」主權的興起：華夏政治觀面對國際現實的一刻

「對外主權」，在今天中國政治思想中佔了一定的地位。任何有中華文化背景的政治實體，都不自覺地為了本身的權益，竭力訴求主權自主，限制或杜絕外來勢力干預，及確保國際間法律平等待遇。這反映了它們在「對外主權」觀念上的基本共識。

為什麼要用「對外主權」這個名詞？確切地說「主權」是個雙面的觀念，它有「對外」和「對內」兩方面的功能：對內，它是一個行政體制，在明確的地理範圍之內擁有絶對的統治權，如立法、施政、司法、警察和國防等；對外，它代表境內人民及各個團體，處理境外事物。

事實上，今天國際上所遵守的「對外主權」，是從一系列不同的概念沿革而成，如「明訂版圖界線」、「版圖界線的不可侵犯」、「政治行為自主」、「各國法律平等」等。而以上的概念，在廿世紀前，「前現代」中國政治思想中卻非常罕見。當時「對外主權」的概念，是源自十七世紀的歐洲，然後隨著辛亥革命、五四運動、北伐、國共內戰等社會、政治、思想「現代化」的過程逐漸發展演變，成為今天中國政治的主流思想。無論是處理疆域問題、國際交流、或尋求國際認同的時侯，强調「對外主權」幾乎成為「現代」中國政治的一個特徵。這套產生在三百多年前的觀念，究竟如何飄洋過海，滲入中華文化及華人社會，以至今天產生如此重大的影響，是本文所關注的要點。

本文計劃以廿世紀初的思潮和政治辯論為主要題材，設法深入瞭解「對外主權」的觀念，在廿世紀中國政治中的形成，立足和發展。並探討，它如何在現代中國政治中，取得如此重要的地位。本文將以「現代」具有中華文化背景政治實體處理對外關係的方式為重點，並不打算以「現代民族主義」的觀點審視，介時希望能提出不同的見解。

為擅明以上過程，必須略述廿世紀初中國的大環境，列強壓境，中國不得不攺變一貫對外政治架構，從宗主國的地位驟然降到倍受强權欺凌的劣勢。當時羣情激憤，對外關係構想層出不窮，包括主權外交、共產國際、投靠列強、甚至無政府主義等。最後，行使的是以「對外主權」為概念的主權外交。

本文將從以下三個角度，研析這個概念在中國的興起。第一，因為無法抗拒當時的國際形勢，被迫接受一個由西方列強擬定，以照顧它們利益為主旨的外交框架。第二，純粹出於提升行政以及經濟效應。第三，知識份子和政治菁英追求「現代化」的結果。

本文希望經過研習和觀察，能進一步理解「對外主權」的概念，和它在以中華文化為背景的政治實體上的地位和影響，並能提出看法及意見。

ABSTRACT 

The 21st century revolves around the clashes between the countries successful in technology, weaponries, manpower and the military backups. Realists argue on military and economic development being the prime focus of the states to gear up their power. The end of the cold war eventually led to the onset of the unhealthy competition among the powerful states to gallop the world, both economically and politically backing their strategy with the military forces. The establishment of foreign military bases overseas has become the catalyst for great powers to maintain their hegemony sowing the seed for wars and directly hitting on the sovereignty of the state. Therefore, in the name of addressing the peace and prosperity, people’s expectation and their rights have been disrupted.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss China’s sources of regime insecurity, its impact on world peace and conflict and how the regime addresses these challenges.  How does China’s regime insecurity affect international relations, peace and conflict and how is it responding to such challenge in order not to disturb international peace and cooperation? How do China’s public reactions affect international relations, conflict, peace and cooperation?  It argues that China’s regime insecurity caused by strong nationalist emotions and domestic discontent is a potential source of impediment on world peace than its external strength. By using foreign policy initiative and primary sources, the paper shows that, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is one course of action the Chinese regime addresses its challenges. Specifically, China is strengthening regime security and external peace through foreign policy – providing for the international dimension of the domestic threat – by trying to decrease domestic discontent through securing international commercial activities with its BRI, to stem horizontal inequalities and regime insecurity.  I base the theoretical argument on the Diversionary Theory of War. The paper helps fill the gap in the discussion of China and international security which has been dominated by China’s rise in power capabilities.

The death sentences on Nigerian writer Kenule Saro‐Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists in November 1995 overshadowed all other matters at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Auckland. Their execution while the assembled heads were pleading for their lives was a reckless defiance of Commonwealth and world opinion. Nigeria has been a central figure in Commonwealth affairs since its independence and had become a important financial cornerstone of the organization. But the country's political problems and the military regime's human rights abuses had taken their toll and before the 1995 Commonwealth summit there was mounting international anger and pressure for sanctions. But the regime was, apparently, unaware of the extent to which the international community had lost patience. Suspension from membership was greeted with defiance by the Nigerian foreign ministry, betraying a poor understanding of the workings of the international system. But sanctions were limited to threats and gestures and the Nigerian government escaped with its intransigence unchecked. In November, at the Heads of Government Meeting in Edinburgh, Commonwealth leaders are obliged to review the Nigerian situation. The Commonwealth's credibility in the international community may be determined by the decisions they take.