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The mainstream literature on global cities tends to explain the internationalization of cities almost exclusively from the perspective of recent developments in global capitalism, developments that have put cities at the heart of an increasingly globalized, financialized, and deregulated world economy. The internationalization of these so-called global cities is seen as a response to, and is conditioned by, external, and mainly economic, exigencies. Research on the foreign relations of city governments has followed in this tradition, with a predominant focus on the global drivers and manifestations, as well as the systemic implications of this phenomenon. Little academic attention has been given to the domestic contexts within which city governments develop and exercise their international agency. This paper is inspired by the emergence of alternative accounts in the global cities literature, which have underscored the importance of the domestic context in making sense of the contemporary internationalization of cities, to analyze the domestic sources of the City of Johannesburg's foreign relations from 2011 to 2016. While acknowledging Johannesburg's global cities ambition as a major driver of the city government's international relations during this period, we identify and analyze a set of local and national factors that equally inspired and conditioned the city's foreign engagements. These include the huge socio-economic and spatial divide that continues to define the city, the influence of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and its doctrine of progressive internationalism, as well as the then mayor's internationalist outlook and domestic political ambitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India's coastal cities have been playing a pivotal role in international relations through culture, commerce, and connectivity since the hoary past. In modern times, coastal cities such as Mumbai (formerly Bombay) on the Arabian Coast and Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) on the Bay of Bengal have been active actors in international affairs. While Mumbai has been the hub of international trade and commerce, Kolkata has been the junction of cultural bonhomie with Bangladesh and Southeast Asian countries, which gained more traction due to cross-border movements of technology, information, education, trade and finance, and artistic tools bolstered by the New Economic Policy beginning in the early 1990s. Indian states and metropolitan cities are enhancing their positions in international affairs with tangible gains. Mumbai is referred to as India's financial capital and the home to the headquarters of great global business houses and financial organisations. Similarly, Kolkata is known as the cultural capital of India (Sri Aurobindo, Tagore, Shanti Niketan, Bengali folk art and culture etc.) and a destination for foreign tourists, artists and curious researchers. This paper examines the growth and impact of city diplomacy in India through the prism of federalism in advancing local interests in international politics. It attempts to assess the role of Indian cities from a comparative perspective in the conduct of city diplomacy from economic and cultural aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China’s economic resurgence augurs the possibility of a recalibration in the global balance of power. Many contend that this process is already underway in East Asia – specifically in relation to the South China Sea. In other parts of the world, China’s growing footprint is discernible through infrastructure projects, under Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative. Does China leverage its economic power to realise its interests by forcing smaller nations to accept conditions and agreements which are not in the latter’s interests? This paper examines whether evidence to this effect is visible through a case study of Sri Lanka. The island’s geographic location – astride the Indian Ocean Sea Lanes of Communication – continues to draw the attention of regional and extra-regional powers. Sri Lanka’s constraints in size and poor pace of economic development also grants leeway for India (the regional hegemon) and China to leverage bilateral ties in their interest. Is there evidence to suggest that China has utilised port infrastructure to realise its national interests at the expense of Sri Lanka? Or, has Sri Lanka managed to thread a fine line between the two Asian powers: the neighbouring regional hegemon – India; and the resurgent great power – China? Does the truth lie somewhere in between? This article delves into these questions by examining the approaches and stances which Sri Lanka has adopted towards both nations, particularly during President Gotabaya Rajapakse’s government, from 2019 leading up to the end of 2021. By doing so, it aims to shed light on how Sri Lanka handled bilateral ties with both Asian powers as well as the degree of Sino-Indian competition visible within the island’s port infrastructure landscape. It concludes that the decisions reached with regard to port infrastructure projects represent a mixed picture. A key finding is the ability of domestic interest groups to shape Sri Lanka’s foreign policy during this period, which has significantly dented the island’s ties with other regional allies such as Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National governments are keenly aware of the need for investment in space. Canada, as a formal cooperating state in the European Space Agency (ESA), and Germany, as a leading member state of ESA, are interlinked in Europe's space endeavours. Beyond ESA, Germany and Canada additionally have a strong history of bilateral cooperation on a range of space projects. This paper discusses the novel interdependencies between clear national and now supranational space policies, using the examples of the Canada-European Union (EU) Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). The agreement covers most aspects of the EU-Canada bilateral economic relationship and includes space. The paper focuses on international space policies, strategic bilateral co-operation, and technical accomplishments. It takes a closer look at German-Canadian collaboration in space programs and offers some reflection on the effect of both the EU and ESA's transatlantic involvement in space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National governments are keenly aware of the need for investment in space. Canada, as a formal cooperating state in the European Space Agency (ESA), and Germany, as a leading member state of ESA, are interlinked in Europe’s space endeavours. Beyond ESA, Germany and Canada additionally have a strong history of bilateral cooperation on a range of space projects. This paper discusses the novel interdependencies between clear national and now supranational space policies, using the examples of the Canada-European Union (EU) Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). The agreement covers most aspects of the EU-Canada bilateral economic relationship and includes space. The paper focuses on international space policies, strategic bilateral co-operation, and technical accomplishments. It takes a closer look at German-Canadian collaboration in space programs and offers some reflection on the effect of both the EU and ESA’S transatlantic involvement in space.

This paper will present the author’s views on the use of outer space, and the impact of space activities on terrestrial undertakings. The main focus of this essay will be on satellites, which have radically changed the way we communicate, and also how we perceive our planet. The influence of South American countries on space activities and space policy will be surveyed. The military use of satellites will not be considered in depth, except to provide a context for the development of satellite technology. Rather, this paper focusses on satellites – Earth observation / remote sensing and communications, on the impact they have had, and continue having in our daily lives.

The paper explores potential and actual applications of space technology, particularly satellites in the context of sustainable development. The introduction explores the concept of sustainable development from a multilateral perspective and the framework of Rio+20 and the post-2015 development agenda. The paper then introduces space technology and its uses in economic growth, energy, food security, environmental surveillance, including coastal regions, with special emphasis on environmental disasters and the concept of resilience, and the social and welfare uses of humanitarian tele-medicine and tele-education and ways to overcome the digital divide. The conclusion gives recommendations to improve satellite capacity and an analysis of the systemic synergies between space technologies and “green industries” that may lead to tandem growth.

Constructivist approaches to regionalism underscore the role of identity and institutions in explaining the unfolding of regionalist projects. Constructivism emphasizes relationships of mutual reinforcement between collective identity and regional institutions once these institutions are created. Identity and institutions are often seen as mutually constituted and caused, but constructivist analyses of regionalism conceptualize these relationships in different manners. Through revising the ontological differentiation between relationships of constitution and causation, this paper shows that constructivism faces serious challenges in providing explanations for the unfolding of regionalism. This paper reviews a number of constructivist approaches that conceptualize in different ways the relationships of constitution and causation between collective identity and regional institutions. While some approaches suggest that regional institutions can be caused by a pre-existing collective identity, some others assert that collective identity can be caused by the creation of regional institutions, where the causes of such creation remain open to other factors. The aim of this paper is to reflect on the capability of constructivism to simultaneously provide constitutive and causal explanations for the unfolding of regionalism. The paper shows that constructivist approaches to regionalism tend to be confusing in the differentiation between constitution and causation, and the consequence is that constructivism usually falls into ‘under-explanation’ or ‘under-specification’ in meeting the end of ‘explaining’ why and how regionalism unfolds. In turn, the paper suggests that constructivism needs to broaden and specify more deeply the conceptualization of causal relationships in this case in order to provide better explanations for the ways in which regionalism develops.

The paper analyzes the European Union's global role as a main international actor on the basis of the components of power, the dimensions of global governance and its prospects as a regional project to manage to have a reading of their participation in the future international system. Within these future prospects, the role of the soft power of the EU will be highlighted as a civilian and normative power in global governance with new actors, interests and divergent values. his work is based on the hypothesis that the relational shift of power in international society is causing geopolitical and geo-economic dynamics conflicting with approaches to an effective multilateralism. hen the paper tries to answer or at least tries to shed some light on questions such as: Can the EU maintain its relevance as an international player in this changing world? Will it maintain relevance in their values and interests as a regional project? Should European international advocacy strategy be based simply on the field of soft power and effective multilateralism? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The member States of Mercosur are currently negotiating a Trade Agreement with the EU, as part of the process towards a comprehensive bi-regional Association Agreement. In 2016, the EU and Mercosur members exchanged offers, followed by a negotiation round. The next round will be held in October 2017; while awaiting for political developments, it is worth anticipating some challenges to come, especially from a legal perspective. Both actors have a multilayered system for decision-making, requiring the consensus of a multiplicity of governmental actors and thus enabling them to convey. Furthermore, current dialogues consider a broad range of issues, which were also covered by different EU’s agreements with other trading partners. These agreements received critiques from the civil society, which are worth to reflect upon, considering that the trade agreement is due to impact the general negotiation for the bi-regional Association Agreement. The paper develops this reflection from a twofold perspective: that of the institutional nature of EU and Mercosur and that of the democratic deficit in the overall negotiation process.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has received a lot of criticism for its too little, too late performance to ease market pressures during the economic crisis. At the same time, the ECB and the Federal Reserve (FED) have managed the new economic realities that have emerged in the international context differently. Despite the criticisms, the European Central Bank is the European Union institution that has assumed more control due to the new model of economic governance of the EU. Why did the Federal Reserve act so nimbly and quickly to calm the markets, while the ECB was so cautious in managing monetary policy? The aim of this paper is to perform a comparative analysis of the management of interest rates and other monetary policy measures undertaken by the Central Bank and the Federal Reserve during the economic crisis, as well as to understand the changes in the context of the ECB and the emergence of its authority within the European Union’s economic governance model since 2011. Thus, in order to carry out a scrupulous exposition, we will also limit the time frame of this study to the 2007-2014 period.

The technological benefits of space hardware are universally recognized. One is hard pressed to find an area of the world where satellite dishes for television reception, satellite use for data transmission, or the Global Positioning System (GPS) for multiple purposes are not utilized. But utilization of commercial or of other countries’ space assets does not equate to being a space-faring nation. Space-faring nations have, to varying degrees, their own capabilities. The importance of status as a space-faring nation comes from two sources: not having to rely on others for access to the benefits of space assets, and prestige that can translate into geopolitical influence. Beyond users and space-faring nations, there are those countries actively asserting space leadership in some form, whether regional or global. What pushes countries to go beyond being a spacefaring nation and assert leadership potential, including potentially engaging in an implicit or explicit space race, is techno-nationalism, which for the purposes of this paper refers to nationalism that becomes the impetus for technology development as an indicator of geostrategic power. It is often triggered by a threat or perception of a threat, including a threat to perceived leadership. Techno-nationalism carries with it an inherent quest for leadership, by some definition.

Asymmetry in warfare is not a new phenomenon. Historically, it has been observed that on various occasions there has been a marked difference in the relative military power and strategy of the warring states. However, in the post 9/11 era, it has been observed that the character and nature of war itself is changing particularly amid the wars between state and non-state actors. The usage of unconventional tools and tactics, be it guerrilla warfare or terrorism or irregular warfare or any other forms are becoming more synonymous with non-state entities. All this is leading to a composition of warfare in which a non-state actor is using asymmetric methods to target the state’s vulnerabilities to achieve disproportionate effect. This paper debates the notion of Asymmetric Warfare, the characters of actors involved and the nature of the state’s response in the 21st century.