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  • A New Phase in China-Latin America Economic Relations?

    Chinese, Latin American, and other observers of the China-Latin America relations largely agree that the relationship is entering a new phase. Although much remains the same, there is evidence of remarkable divergence from China’s model of engagement with the region over the past two decades. Continuity in the China-Latin America dynamic is most evident in macroeconomic analysis of the relationship. Recent reports confirm that China-Latin America trade still primarily …
  • Why is South Africa Leaving the International Criminal Court?

    On 20 October the South African government officially confirmed that it would be withdrawing from the International Criminal Court (ICC). This follows in the wake of last year’s dispute between South Africa and the court, after the government’s refusal to arrest Sudanese President Al-Bashir while he was in the country attending an African Union (AU) summit. While the announcement has not come as a surprise, there is concern about the fact that it has not been endorsed by …
  • Energy Security in the South China Sea

    Forget about the Middle East, Syria, or renewed NATO tensions with Russia over the Arctic or Ukraine. When you Google search ‘World War 3 in …’ it auto-completes either as China, or the Pacific, or the South China Sea. This is the result of a proliferation of op-eds and reports that predict a renewed superpower conflict in the region, potentially spilling over into a wider, systemic confrontation. There are several reasons why such analyses are proliferating. Territorial …
  • Divisions Haunt Rising Powers as They Organise Themselves as BRICS

    With India reiterating that all five BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) member states were united in acknowledging the global threat posed by terrorism, and that those who perpetrate acts of terror are no more dangerous than those who support them, the latest edition of BRICS summitry came to an end last week in the Indian resort state of Goa. The BRICS leadership tried to move the agenda forward a bit by declaring their intent “to establish (a) BRICS …
  • Forging Ties in Different Pathways: Developing Iranian-Asian Relations in the Aftermath of the JCPOA

    The Islamic Republic of Iran is rapidly embarking on a new phase in its post-sanctions era. Upon the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s confirmation that Iran has fulfilled the relevant requirements under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, or the Iran Nuclear Deal), on January 16, 2016, all nuclear sanctions on Iran were lifted by the United Nations, the European Union, and the United States, excluding the latter’s primary sanctions on Iran. Amidst …
  • Philanthropy in Development: Undermining Democracy?

    The word philanthropy dates back to the Greek word φιλανθρωπία, which means the love of humanity. Today the OECD defines private philanthropy as non-official development assistance (ODA) to developing countries. Such assistance can be through large philanthropic foundations such as the Rockefeller or Clinton Foundation, or through ‘direct giving’ platforms such as Global Giving or Kiva. But does what we call philanthropy today deserve its name? Rather than focusing on …
  • Emerging States… onto Emerging Analyses?

    ‘Global IR’ is in flux, reflecting profound, continuing changes in the global political economy. This new online quarterly journal is to be welcomed because it advances the globalization of IR & IPE, symbolized by its base in Turkey. Our new five-year old PhD in Boston also seeks to focus on such changes, leading to novel forms of responsive, non-state, transnational ‘regulation’. I anticipate synergies between ‘Rising Powers in Global Governance’ …
  • Lacking Global Leadership

    So the Hangzhou G20 Summit has come and gone and now the eighth BRICS leadership conference hosted again by India, but this year in Goa as opposed to the previous India BRICS Summit in New Delhi is just about upon us. This BRICS Leaders’ Summit will take place on October 15th and 16th. So where are we in determining the state of global order leadership and the Liberal Order that has been so prominent since the end of the Cold War? A sweep of editorials and reviews …
  • The Nexus between the Emerging Powers and the Existing World Order: Interdependent Hegemony

    The Concept of “Interdependent Hegemony” Since the global financial crisis in 2008 with the decline of the hegemonic dominance of the US-led world order, the rise of emerging powers has successfully penetrated into some power areas in terms of economic competition, capital accumulation, political and economic influence as well as technical and material capacities. China in particular is performing outstandingly in terms of its global share of high-tech manufacturing …
  • What Next for the G20? Hangzhou to Hamburg and Beyond

    The Group of Twenty (G20) has received poor reviews in recent years, so expert reactions to the Hangzhou G20 Summit of September 4-5, 2016 were hardly surprising. Several published commentaries gave negative assessments, summarized well by Tristram Sainsbury. Next year I will participate in a conference panel called “The G20’s Mid-life Crisis,” which neatly reflects the prevailing belief that the forum is not living up to earlier hopes. The principal reason for such …