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Several education hubs have emerged in Asia and the Middle East in recent years with a specific focus on cross-border higher education. Through considerable efforts in policy planning and generous funding, these hubs aim to transform a country or city into an eminent destination for education, research, and training. The inherent design of these hubs raises many questions about higher education's contribution to international relations as large numbers of local and foreign actors congregate. Specifically, some education hubs are leveraging cultural heritage and colonial legacy as an instrument of soft power by emphasising shared cultural identities and values. By engaging in cultural diplomacy, education hubs seek to exert influence on the international stage. However, assumptions about shared identities and values as well as the prevailing political climate of the local society present serious challenges for policy implementation. Alternatively, an education hub can also engage with international actors based on an enduring faith in the venture of science to propel the knowledge economy--another kind of norm that underpins soft power. This paper compares Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong as education hubs that engage in soft power and cultural diplomacy.

This paper is a review of scholarship found in the pages of The Pacific Review over the last 30 years. It does so in three ways: (1) it highlights issues in the theory and practice of the international relations, strategic studies, political culture and political economy of the Asia Pacific region. (2) It looks at change in the region over time by an analysis of the shifting fortunes of the major regional powers, namely Japan, China and Indonesia and the challenges they, and China in particular, post to US regional hegemony. (3) It looks at regional process reflected in the fate and fortunes of the regional integrative project in the key policy domains of trade, finance and the environment. The paper concludes with a reflection on the strains on the regional political and economic orders by the rise in nationalist politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bio-medical model of 'mental health' and 'mental illness' that relates to the relationship between wellbeing and distress informs psychopathology and dominates conceptualisation in many Western Educated Industrialised Rich Democratic (WEIRD) populations. This paper aims to critique the model, questioning the appropriateness of psychopathology as a conceptual framework when working as a Western trained clinician with populations such as in China, Japan, Asia, the Middle-East and Africa. The paper also considers the cultural appropriateness of western notions of psychopathology when working inter-culturally in relation to the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings, and the Review of the Implementation of the IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the ties between Latin America and Asia by moving beyond the homogenisation of the two regions through elevating the importance of opposition to a third party, in this case an "imperialist" and developed North. In contrast to normative analyses based on outmoded conceptions of world history, it proposes an intellectual exercise that problematises the interregional bond by placing the emphasis on heterogeneities rather than broad bush approaches that ignore the complex and diverse national and regional realities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of international and collaborative publication trends in prominent behavior‐analytic journals has been a topic of interest for behavioral researchers. This paper focuses on publication trends from 1997 through 2020 in three prominent journals: Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (JEAB), Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA), and Perspectives on Behavior Science (PBS). The variable of interest was the percentage of articles published per geographical category—Australasia/East Asia, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, North America, and Africa. The results showed that 79, 96, and 87% of the published articles in JEAB, JABA, and PBS, respectively, were conducted by researchers with a North American affiliation. Furthermore, 12, 4, and 4% of the articles in JEAB, JABA, and PBS, respectively, were coauthored by at least two researchers from different geographical categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There had been constant efforts by nation-states to explain the States’ behaviour and the complexities of the international political system. Realism and Liberalism emerged as notable theories to understand these complexities. Realism focused on power acquisition, Liberalism stressed economic development and cooperation. As the global political landscape became more complex during the cold war days as a result of the emergence of new states- different theories and ideas were marked obscure. The academic insights of neorealism and new liberalism set new parameters to evaluate the state’s behaviour during the cold war days. There were again more practical efforts in post-cold-wars days by the academic community of international relations to restudy the changing behaviour of states with a new lens of analysis. It paved the way for both offensive and defensive realism. This paper investigates. Mearsheimer’s offensive realism as the offshoot of neorealism. It further develops a critical appraisal based on deductive research methodology to evaluate the reliability of this theoretical offshoot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

East Asia's security environment is changing rapidly. Over the past five years or so, the security order has become increasingly unsettled as it is buffeted by a complex array of forces. The region is entering a period of growing rivalry and animosity states are uncertain over the strategic intentions of great and rising powers, nationalism is an increasingly pervasive force, and military spending has been ramping up in many countries over the past decade. That the security environment is changing is unarguable. But what is the extent of these changes? And what are the implications of these shifts for regional states? This paper introduces the special issue "East Asia's Contested Security Order". It begins by discussing the broad contours of the changing East Asian security order and what is at stake for regional powers. It then introduces the seven articles in this edition that challenge existing conceptualisations of the East Asian security order, articulate diverse perspectives on that order held by regional, middle and smaller powers, examine their complex and different security strategies that contribute to shaping the regional order, and consider the extent to which the regional security order may be said to be "contested". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

East Asia's security order is experiencing significant change as it moves from a stable and peaceful geopolitical setting into one of increasingly open contestation. There is no scholarly consensus about the core character of East Asia's old security order, thus making analysis of this period of change especially challenging. The aim of this paper is two‐fold. Firstly, it seeks to provide some order to the broader debate about East Asia's regional security environment. Secondly, it provides a novel account of East Asia's security order that better captures the key dynamics at play in the region than the literature currently does. The paper's first part discusses the different types of security orders identified by scholars and analysts. The second examines the ways in which scholars have attempted to explain East Asia's security order and explores the key forces that they have argued shaped their form. The third part develops a distinctive account of Asia's security order which focuses on the interplay of domestic and international factors and argues that it was the political consensus that existed across the region about its structure and purpose that made the region stable and it is the breakdown of that consensus that is destabilising East Asia today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The past decade has witnessed an increasing nexus between the European Union's trade and foreign policy toward Asia. On the one hand, the EU has sought to deepen economic cooperation with its key Asian partners since this region has become central to the EU's economic growth. On the other hand, the EU has increasingly used its trade policy as a foreign policy tool to pursue its geopolitical interests in Asia. Against this background, the paper seeks to examine the dynamics of trade relations between the EU and its Asian partners by adopting the role theory. Using this theory, this paper aims to provide a holistic understanding of how the EU's changing role in the EU-Asia trade relations has affected its pursuit of economic as well as geopolitical interests in Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though many African and Asian countries share a common history of European colonialism and thus a model of economic development shaped within the aegis of center-periphery analysis, many Asian countries have been able to ride through the burden of center-periphery economics and built more successful political economies than most African countries. This state of affairs has often led many African analysts to point to Asian success stories like China and South Korea for comparative analysis and often see these Asian countries as models of socio-economic and socio-cultural success to emulate. In particular, Africans in the Diaspora, especially Africans in China, tend to compare very frequently the socio-economic and socio-cultural conditions of their host countries with those of their source countries. This paper outlines and discusses how a group of Africans living in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia see Korea and Korean culture through the prism of Korean television dramas, which constitute a popular cultural phenomenon among Hong Kong/Asian youths. Through qualitative and quantitative survey methods, participant-observation, and questionnaire surveys, the paper reports on how African community members of Hong Kong and others think of Koreans. We show that Africans draw a lot of comparisons between Korean and African ways of conceptualizing the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the context of EU-Asia relations, the EU has tried to export its regional integration model for decades. As regards this, the ASEAN has been the natural partner of the EU. This article gives an overview on how the EU has linked its regional integration efforts with the intention of transforming regional conflicts in the (East) Asian region in the past and today. It shows that the EU has in the past relied on active model setting and positioning in order to 'export' its regional integration approach. Recent developments, however, show that this approach has been abandoned. Although there has been a recent increase in EU policy papers on the region, the EU is currently embracing a rather soft approach based on socialization efforts when it comes to East Asian conflict issues. The paper concludes by stating that this is both the result of a cautious EU 'shying away' from adopting any precise position on pressing Asian security issues and of an adaptation of the EU approach towards a more modest modus operandi of mutual 'sharing of experiences and best practices.' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schools provide an ideal setting for early, accessible intervention according to research conducted in developed countries for adolescents experiencing adverse mental health (MH). Many schools in South Asia, however, lack structured and standardized school counselling services. Research indicates that where services do exist, students are reluctant to access them due to perceived high risks and low benefits in MH help seeking. This paper explores the challenges experienced in MH provision from the perspective of school counsellors. A qualitative approach was chosen, and three main themes emerged from the data using the thematic analysis: negative perceptions of MH and counselling, the unwillingness to invest in MH services, and the challenges inherent in the system itself. The findings reveal cultural implications behind these challenges and suggest grassroots level initiatives that can be implemented within schools to reduce the barriers to service provision without the need for legislative changes at a national level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper engages critically with the increasing importance of South–South cooperation and the shift from African–European to African–Asian interaction. It argues that South–South cooperation is too often framed in a spatial logics of regional integration and transregional cooperation and thus reproduces spatial understandings that are characteristic for African–European relations but misplaced in the context of African–Asian relations. Moreover, it analyses perceptions about the difference of European and Asian cooperation partners amongst political and societal elites in Kenya and Tanzania, arguing that instead of a shift from African–European to Afrasian spaces of interaction, the two mutually coexist and fulfil complementary functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Regulatory convergence and cooperation among medical product regulatory authorities are essential to delivering safe and efficacious products quickly to patients. The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the urgent need for streamlined regulatory approval processes—which can be achieved in part through regulatory convergence and cooperation—both to accelerate availability of COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and diagnostics and to maintain the availability of the existing medical products unrelated to COVID-19. Methods: The Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Life Sciences Innovation Forum (LSIF) established the Regulatory Harmonization Steering Committee (RHSC) in 2008 to advance regulatory convergence among APEC's 21 member economies. Key performance indicators (KPIs) were developed in 2018 to measure convergence. Results: This paper reports survey results collected from KPI tracking in March 2020 from medical product regulatory authorities in all 21 APEC economies concerning areas of regulatory practice in which they could converge and cooperate. For example, from 2008 to 2020, there was a 14.3% increase in the number of APEC member economy regulatory authorities sharing Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Certificates and a 28% increase in the number of regulatory authorities accepting multisite licenses in that same period. In addition, this paper explores how APEC economies could realize a maximum level of regulatory convergence and cooperation. Conclusions: Convergence efforts within APEC can accelerate availability of medical products including that related to COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and diagnostics, while maintaining the availability of the existing medical products unrelated to COVID-19 vaccines and treatment. New KPIs and capability building are to be considered to enable a new era of innovation ushered in by COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the evolution of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), focusing in particular on newly endorsed institutional provisions for the common gas market (CGM) of the EAEU. The article is organized as follows. First, it outlines a conceptual framework informed by institutional theory. Second, it incorporates necessary insight into manifold developments related to integration among those post-Soviet economies which up to this point have been less definite in setting their agenda for formal economic association with the EU and examines the determinants for Eurasian integration. Third, it explains the principal institutions and model for the proposed CGM. Fourth, the paper discusses institutional complementarity and institutional change as they relate to the process of the CGM's formation. The study demonstrates that institutionally homogeneous EAEU economies display their intention to model the CGM by exploiting their existing complementarity in the gas sector, but assume the necessity of some institutional changes. The article concludes that institutional conversion and institutional drift (as they relate to market structure and pricing, respectively) will be the types of changes required to enforce complementarity in the process of materialization of the proposed CGM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows how alliance networks have affected defence industrialization policies and processes in countries in the Asia-Pacific region. In countries that enjoyed security assurances from the United States like Japan and South Korea, they are primarily focused industrialization and technology development in civilian sectors, and consequently, defence industrialization is a secondary priority. On the other hand, defence industrialization was/is of higher priority for states that face acute security threats such as China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. In contemporary industrialization processes, the paper concludes that the preference between commercial and defence industrialization is now closing, leading towards an integrated model from which both sectors can benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Much of the scholarship around the workings of education policy has focused on the global West and has taken for granted the state's limited abilities in the control of policies as both text and discourse. Drawing upon policy texts from the Singapore Ministry of Education and ethnographic data collected in a Singapore school, this paper explores the enlarged but by no means unproblematic role of strong states and their provision and regulation of education policy in Asia. The paper begins by providing an overview of the major emphases and research trajectories taken up by the field of education policy. This is followed by an elaborated account of the nature and politics of the strong state in Asia in general and particularly in Singapore. These theoretical and contextual remarks then pave the way for a closer look at how the Singapore state functions as a major mediator and recontextualizing agent of education policy. The discussion foregrounds the enlarged role of the state in prescribing, translating, and regulating how a national curriculum policy on critical thinking finds its way into the practice of local schools and classrooms. The paper concludes with a number of remarks on the deparochialization of research and how recent work on 'Asia as method' may provide a fortuitous approach to critiquing hegemonic systems of knowledge production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that health policies should transcend national boundaries yet should not reach the supranational level. Along with multinational global health efforts, such cross-national health policies are essential to leverage joint efforts by countries learning from their peers that experience similar health system challenges. In our analysis, we used World Bank Health, Nutrition, and Population (HNP) data from 1995 to 2014 for East Asia Pacific (EAP) countries to explore health system comparability across member nations. We applied a hierarchical cluster analysis using Ward's method and a squared Euclidean distance approach to classify 24 EAP countries into four relatively stable clusters based on their (dis)similarities over nine selected health expenditure and health system performance related indicators. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to assess the discreteness of the formed clusters. Each cluster had unique characteristics based on the included indicators and health system performance of the member countries. We present transnational health policy recommendations for the EAP region based on both our use of robust methodology and the resulting comparative clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This analysis tackles a previously understudied topic-the ebb and flow of ideas towards the European Union (EU) as a 'Normative Power' found in an external society. It asks three questions. How can particular visions about a foreign policy actor-the EU in our case-be activated and disseminated in societies beyond the Union's borders? Who are the key local actors who facilitate the spreading of these ideas? And how might the personal views towards the EU and its 'Normative Power (NPE)' identity of these key actors influence the activation of 'NPE' ideas in a given society? In answering these questions, this analysis brings together two theoretical models previously not linked-the NPE analytical approach (Manners, J Common Mark Stud 40(2):235-258, ) and the 'cascading activation' framing theory (Entman, Polit Commun 20(4):415-432, , ). Empirically, this paper employs data from 74 face-to-face semi-structured interviews on the perceptions of the EU as a normative power. Interviews were held among the leading newsmakers from influential national media-news writers (journalists, columnists, reporters) and media gatekeepers (editors, news directors, publishers and news producers) from seven Asian countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to reveal the impact made by the Russian and US policies on the Central Asian regional security complex (RSC) in the 1990s and 2000s. It traces the evolution of post-Soviet Central Asia from a proto-complex to a fully fledged RSC, analysing major security trends and discovering the consolidation of the RSC's boundary, polarity and social construction. The analysis has not shown much divergence in the way US and Russian policies have influenced the Central Asian RSC. It is argued that Moscow and Washington have made a significant impact on the consolidation of the RSC's boundaries, with the effects of US and Russian policies on its polarity and social construction being rather limited. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

National power has been an important discriminative signal for the evolution of great power competition and international patterns in recent years, not only in terms of the relative resource scale of the state but also in terms of the efficiency of resource use. Based on the two levels of national resources and conversion mechanisms, this article uses the entropy method to establish national power comprehensive assessment index systems covering 144 countries and 38 indicators from 1990–2020. At the same time, based on power transition theory (PTT), this article uses quadratic assignment procedures to verify the relevance and interpretation of international bilateral relations in the national power gap. The conclusion is that technology and economic elements are especially important for national power, and the conversion mechanism is icing on the cake rather than a decisive factor. The competition among great powers is transformed into nontraditional competition rather than an arms race; the international pattern has gradually developed from one superpower to a multipolar trend, and the global economic and geopolitical center has transitioned to Asia. The rise of China and the recession in the U.S. are factual; as the gap between the two countries' power narrows, their international relations become increasingly tense, confirming power transition theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All the excitement around the great possibilities that the opening of the Northwest Passage could offer the shipping industry -- and Canada -- could not last. Just a few years ago, as sea ice in the North seemed to be steadily melting away, observers were eagerly tallying up the savings in time, fuel and costs that a reliably ice-free route across the top of the planet would provide for shippers. A couple of trial runs only confirmed that for shipments from Asia to Europe or North America, or the other way around, the route could shave thousands of kilometres off each trip, compared to journeys through the Suez or Panama canals. Rapid growth in shipping traffic across the Northwest Passage and its sister route, the Northern Sea Route, seemed not just inevitable, but imminent. Just a short while later, it now seems neither imminent nor inevitable. The retreat in sea ice may persist, but it is evident that due to regular fluctuations in ice coverage, the Northwest Passage will not be reliably ice-free for many, many years, if ever. Shipping may be more possible through the Northwest Passage than it was in the past, but it will not be consistently unobstructed. The challenges of ice combined with Arctic weather conditions may well mean that any shipping through the passage is slower than expected. Other complicating factors include uncharted or poorly charted sea lanes and the difficulty in securing insurance for Arctic shipping. At the same time, the competition from alternate routes is only becoming more intense, with expansions in both the Suez and Panama Canals and the potential for a new canal across Nicaragua. Regarding the Northwest Passage, Canada lacks much of the infrastructure in the North that would make Arctic passage a strong competitor, including multiple ports enroute and sufficient icebreaking equipment. There are still advantages that might draw some shipping away from traditional routes to the northern passages, particularly for the movement of western resources to growing Asian markets. But even moderate levels of shipping through the Northwest Passage do have the potential to change Canada's relationship with its Asian trading partners, especially China. The Canadian and Chinese governments share a number of priorities regarding the Arctic, including environmental protection, safer navigation and resource development. These will provide opportunities for more dialogue and engagement between the two countries. While the Northwest Passage may not become the important trans-shipment route to Asia once imagined by enthusiastic observers, the most meaningful impact that a more useful route may provide is to alter, and improve, the course of Canada's relations in the Asia-Pacific region. This paper seeks to examine likely developments and trends in Arctic shipping given the shrinkage of the polar ice cap, and to situate these trends in the broader context of changing global maritime and trade realities with particular focus on their impact on trade with Asia. There are implications for Canada and its relations with Asia, especially China, that flow from these developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As many challenges exist for access to diabetes care in developing countries, the International Insulin Foundation developed a Rapid Assessment tool and implemented this approach to identify barriers to care and propose concrete recommendations for decision makers. The objective of this paper is to identify the factors that contributed to informing and influencing policymakers with regards to this work.Methods: A documentary review comprised Stage 1. Stage 2 used an online questionnaire to gain insight from users of the Rapid Assessment results. Based on Stages 1 and 2, Stage 3 comprised in-depth interviews with a total of nine individuals (one individual each from the six participating countries; two individuals from the World Health Organization; one "Global Diabetes Advocate"). Interviews were analyzed based on a list of themes developed from Stage 2.Results: Stage 1 led to the identification of various types of documents referring to the results. The online questionnaire had a response rate of 33%. Respondents directly involved in the assessment had a "Good" or "Very Good" appreciation of most aspects and scored these higher than those not directly involved. From the interviews, formalized methods and close collaboration between the international team and local partners were strengths. Trust and a relationship with local partners were also seen as assets. All stakeholders valued the results and the credibility of the data generated. Local partners felt that more could have been done for dissemination.Conclusion: This study shows the importance of specific results from the different assessments. In addressing complex issues having external experts involved was seen as an advantage. The uptake of results was due to the credibility of the research which was influenced by a mix of the people involved, past assessments, trusted local partners, and the use of the results by knowledge brokers, such as the World Health Organization. Through these brokers, others gained ownership of the data. The methods used and the fact that this data was grounded in a local context also reinforced its value. Despite limitations, this study offers a unique perspective where a similar research approach was taken in six countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Article 21 of the Treaty of Lisbon mandates the European Union (EU) to foster its values (democracy, the rule of law, social rights, gender equality, etc.) in its external relations. The core concern of the EU's multi-faceted relations with Asia is economic relations with rising markets. EU relations with the region have focused on the facilitation of trade and investment through the negotiation of free trade agreements (FTAs) with a number of Asian partners. EU FTAs are accompanied by a Political Cooperation Agreement (PCA), which links core EU values to trade through the 'standard clause', whereby under certain circumstances, human rights' abuses can trigger a suspension of trade preferences. Using a qualitative case study methodology, and drawing on policy documents and interviews, this paper addresses the question of whether, and how, the EU can balance its internal legal obligations with its economic interests and its partners' demands. The article provides a legal background of the EU's obligations in terms of international value promotion. It then reviews EU trade policy strategies and reveals an absence of a concerted approach to the inclusion of values. The article investigates the sources of resistance to EU attempts at linking its trade policy with broader values including social rights with Asian partners. The analysis reveals that Asian resistance is centred on the legalistic approach of the EU rather than the values and suggests that a more effective norm export might be achieved through other means. The article concludes that the EU's failure to push forward social issues in FTAs ultimately casts serious doubts about the EU's international 'actorness' in the area of social rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the past two years, the Asia-Pacific seems to have returned to the back seat in U.S. foreign policy priorities because of crises in Europe and the Middle East, and Washington's own fiscal problems. Given both global and domestic developments, it is a legitimate question to ask whether the U.S. rebalance to the Asia-Pacific is still valid. This paper asserts, "Yes, it is." Washington has made steady progress across military, diplomatic, and economic realms of the rebalancing. It has strengthened and expanded military ties with regional states and prepared for its naval forces to operate more intensively. It has become a member of major multilateral institutions and expanded support for appropriate organizations. And it is striving to complete the most important trade deal in a generation, the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Despite budget pressures, the Obama administration has kept the Asia-Pacific high on its foreign policy agenda, and the rebalance has enjoyed bipartisan support. While the high-profile rebalancing moves have been relatively modest so far, the Obama administration's achievements should not be understated. More balancing effort is certain to come. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Article Type: Research paper Purpose--The potential value of multilateralism has been widely advocated by international relations theorists as a desirable code of conduct in Northeast Asia. However, they do not adequately explain the causal path to multilateralism by overlooking emergent properties of multilateralism. This article explores the path to multilateralism by relying on the novel concept of path emergence. Design/methodology/approach--This theory presents a theoretical framework of path emergence that incorporates morphogenetic fields, self-organized criticality, social resonance and coevolution as key components of multilateralism. From this theoretical perspective, the Helsinki process in Europe and the Six-Party Talks in Northeast Asia are comparatively examined as examples of path emergence. Findings--As theoretically supported, the fundamental difference between the two processes is that the former is a historical showcase of path emergence while the latter is a potential, yet unrealized, possibility of path emergence. This analysis shows that the international dynamics in Northeast Asia are very complex and transient enough that when and how path emergence unfolds in the region is unpredictable. Practical implications--Path emergence theory is useful for analyzing institutional origin, change and transformation in long-term historical context. Originality/value--This research offers a new approach to the research of multilateralism and breaks a new ground for international relations theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Asia Pacific (AP) region is diverse and dynamic. It comprises over 40 economies, with about 24 markets that are relatively more active in terms of promulgating and implementing regulations that impact the biopharmaceutical industry and advance drug development. Although many country- and territory-specific regulations, often driven by the local economy and market dynamics, exist, the overall trend in the AP region is toward international harmonization and global convergence. More markets are now participating in the International Council on Harmonization (ICH), and there is growing interest in identifying and incorporating best practices from competent regulatory agencies. These include expedited pathways to speed access to new medicines, and incentives and other means to encourage innovation. In this paper, we provide a summary of recent activities in select AP markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today the established cooperation between China and Kazakhstan has reached the strategic partnership level. Also, the two neighboring countries are partners in the international large-scale projects as the SCO and the New Silk Road Initiative. This paper claims that these projects are mostly lead by China. Moreover, it is argued that the SCO is aimed to solve the security issues and the New Silk Road Initiative embodies the economic agenda of the bilateral relations. Kazakhstan's role and position is significant due to different reasons, while the Kazakhstani public remains cautious about the Chinese activity in Kazakhstan. The two named mechanisms are eventually focused on economical and cultural leadership of China among the secured multilateral cooperation in the continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-central governments in Canada have become increasingly active on the world stage, most notably in the Asia Pacific region. The scholarly works on Canada's foreign policy in Asia tend to focus either on the federal government as the main actor, or on the "other diplomacies" of non-governmental actors; little attention has been paid to the increasing role of non-central governments in Asia. This article, therefore, contributes to the discussion by documenting and evaluating Canadian provinces' international activities in the Asia Pacific. It also situates these activities within Canada's foreign policy in the region, and assesses how important provinces have become in Canada-Asia relations. This paper first reviews the literature on non-central governments and foreign policy to expose the key forces pushing and pulling Canadian provinces to be increasingly active internationally. It then details the provinces' international activities in Asia, and locates them within Canada's foreign policy in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the international reserve accumulation behavior of emerging and developing economies facing "keeping‐up‐with‐the‐Joneses" externalities. I first document empirical evidence for a significant Joneses effect, which has been particularly persistent in Asia and Latin America since the late 1990s. This peer‐pressure motive could encourage excess reserve hoarding, providing a rationale for cooperation. I then develop a theoretical model of the borrowing economy featuring the Joneses effect and the interdependence between reserves and domestic capital investment. Numerical results show that international cooperation can effectively internalize negative externalities associated with competitive reserve hoarding and induce welfare‐enhancing resource allocations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In most of the historical records of the Silk Route there is reference to Ladakh, and many viewed it as an extension of it. Ladakh acted as an important gateway in the exchange of men, material and ideas through the ages. Leh the capital of Ladakh was the meeting point for traders from South Asia and from Central Asia. Ladakh as a conduit between India and Central Asia played an important role in the political, commercial and cultural domains both in the ancient and medieval times. Due to its geographical proximity to Central Asia and linkages to old Silk-Route, Ladakh became the transit emporium in the bilateral Indo-Central Asian trade. The present paper is intended to study the glimpses of historical links of India and Central Asia through Ladakh along with the present geopolitical and geostrategic location of the region. Moreover, the revival of ancient routes of Ladakh and its benefits has also been discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discourse analysis of different languages of newspapers in Kazakhstan reveals that Kazakhstanis’ views towards China and the Chinese are divided. The official discourse in both state-sponsored Russian and Kazakh newspapers is in accordance with the country's policy towards further engagement with their rising Chinese neighbour. However, negative stereotypes of China and the Chinese, as well as sinophobia, are pervasive in private Kazakh language newspapers. Private Russian newspapers have a more nuanced view towards China, with a hidden inclination towards being critical of that country and its people. Although the majority of these societal voices do not have a direct impact on changing the national policies of Kazakhstan, they are important in the sense that Kazakhstan's ruling elite must continue to gauge social views and to placate differences in order to secure the stability and legitimacy of the regime. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

India has used civilizational discourses as part of its foreign policy to articulate its rise and rightful place in the world order. This article primarily examines India's civilizational arguments in south Asia. India's civilizational arguments in the region demand scrutiny as the neighbourhood is a theatre of contestation between territorial India and the claims of its civilizational space. Analysing historical accounts on Indian civilization, official documents and domestic narratives in India about south Asia, the article makes three points. First, India's civilizational articulation oscillates between two paradigmatic and contrasting representations of Nehruvianism and Hindutva variants. Second, it is argued that despite the ascendancy of Hindutva 's civilizational symbolism since 2014, India's south Asia policy shows no paradigmatic change. Finally, it points to how the Hindutva project may be detrimental to India's self-image and dealings in south Asia. The article argues that while there is no official corroboration of Hindutva 's claims in India's south Asia policy, the increasing salience of the domestic discussions around Akhand Bharat (undivided India) invites complications for India in its neighbourhood. India's Hindutva -driven civilizational claims raise anxieties of an Indian cultural hegemony in an asymmetric region splintered across territorial and nationalistic lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past studies have shown that disease threat increases people's hostility towards immigrants. However, in our survey (N = 9571) conducted in five advanced Asian economies during the outbreak of COVID‐19, we found that COVID‐19 vulnerability was positively associated with support for immigration. Drawing on insight from policy feedback theories, we propose that the positive association is caused by the presence of widespread border crossing restrictions, which have changed the meaning and cost implications of COVID‐19. As the outbreak expands, the pandemic has become not just a threat to people's health but also a barrier to globalization. Consequently, people who are worried about the disease may see globalization processes, including migration, as signs of pandemic relief. We find supportive evidence in our analysis. First, the positive association between COVID‐19 vulnerability and support for immigration is more salient among respondents who considered restrictions on international travel to be stringent. Second, the positive association between COVID‐19 vulnerability and immigration attitude was mediated by perceived economic threat from the pandemic and contribution by immigrants towards the containment of the pandemic. These findings suggest that disease control measures adopted at the global level may alter certain widely accepted effects of disease threat on immigration attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Socioeconomic trends herald what many describe as the Asian Century, whereby Asian economic, political and cultural influence is in global ascendency. Broadening relevant ties between Australia and Asia is evident and logical and may include strengthening alliances in mental health systems. Aim: We argue the importance of strengthening Asian mental health systems and some of the roles Australian mental health workers could have in promoting strengthening the Asian mental health system. Methods: This paper is a narrative review which sources data from reputable search databases. Results: A well-articulated Australian strategy to support strengthening the mental health system in Asia is lacking. While there are active initiatives operating in this space, these remain fragmented and underdeveloped. Coordinated, collaborative and culturally respectful efforts to enhance health education, research, policy, leadership and development assistance are key opportunities. Conclusion: Psychiatrists and other mental health professionals have a unique opportunity to contribute to improved mental health outcomes in Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This reseat ch applies a neoclassical realist framework to explore the causes and consequences of Russia's recent "reorientation to Asia." Based on an analysis of publications and fieldwork conducted in Russia, the paper examines both the international systemic and the Russian domestic factors that have conti ibuted to this important change in Russia's foreign policy. At the system level, Russia's turn to Asia can be understood as a part of its longer campaign of balancing against American unipolar domination. At the unit level, economic demands to develop Russia's eastern territories, together with the complex socio-political processes of post-Soviet identity formation, generated a political environment that was conducive to Asia-oriented policies. Russia s reorientation to Asia implies not only comprehensive strategic cooperation with specific Asian powers, such as China, South Korea, or Japan, but also a "reinvention" of Russia as a Eurasian power. Given Russia s cross-continental spread and economic and military capabilities, its reorientation to Asia may have significant implications for the balance of power in the current world system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given extensive trade ties, Asia is critical not only for the prosperity of the European continent, but also for the secure flow of goods and services. Unsurprisingly, the EU has repeatedly stated that the EU's essential interests are closely tied up with developments in Asia, and with the foreign and security policies of the region's main players. But how much of this rhetoric has been translated into actual security alignments and cooperation between the EU and Asian partners? It is the aim of this article to examine existing security alignments between the EU and Asia in three ways. One is to examine the forms (inter-regional, sub-regional or bilateral) by which EU-Asia security alignments are advanced. The second is to explore the security areas (military versus non-military ones) in which alignment has either been advanced or not and to what extent. The third is to assess how existing EU-Asia security alignments are affected by geo-political changes, such as through the increasing technological, political and military strength of China, the growing political and military Sino-American rivalry, and the post-Covid environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses Kazakhstan's vision of long-term development and its ambitious goals. After revising the history of the infrastructure projects in the country during the tsarist period and the Soviet era, it sets out the plans of the Kazakh president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, to turn the country into a logistical hub between East and West by 2050. Later, the paper puts Nazarbayev's vision in the context of the political and economic reality of Kazakhstan, focussing, specifically, on how the government's multivector foreign policy fluctuates between Russia's regional integration projects and the Chinese push westwards to develop Xinjiang province along the new Silk Road. As a conclusion, it identifies the multiple goals that may put the future of this plan in doubt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article will analyse factors which, since the end of last century, have made interregional relations very important to understand the world geopolitical and economic order. Interregional relations are defined as those which pertain to relations between regions or between a given state and a given region, or within a megaregion. This evolution results from: the growing demand in the emerging economies and the interaction among them, a new framework of interregional economic relations, and the development of new commercial channels. Finally, this paper will introduce the different articled included in this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of the US pivot to the Asia-Pacific on Canada's strategic thinking and maritime posture. It highlights elements of the US rebalance before examining Canada's recent past, present, and future strategic and military engagement. Canada wants to be able to contribute to crisis de-escalation if regional tensions lead to conflict, yet the Royal Canadian Navy has less deployment capacity today than it has had in 25 years. To contribute to mediatory influence, and provide warfighting capability, a recapitalized navy should increase deployments to the region, forward deploy some naval assets, and ensure interoperability with its US counterpart. In the event of a crisis, a choice might have to be made between a neutral, honest-broker stance and a more likely decision to contribute forces to a US-led coalition. The first step in either case is to be in the Asia-Pacific region with capable and credible naval forces. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Strategic links between Japan and Europe during the Cold War were limited. During this period the IISS helped bridge the gap between the two, exposing its membership base to the international affairs of Asia and Japan and providing Japanses scholars, strategists and diplomats with a platform from which to amplify their voices in the West. Analyses by these experts often appeared in IISS publications, but the Institute also gained key insights through its well-established conferences and lecture series. These initiatives illuminated Japanese strategic thinking and perspectives on contemporary critical issues in Japan's and Asia's foreign, security and defence policy. This Adelphi book, through its collection of earlier analysis, helps the reader to understand the evolution of Japanese strategic thought from the 1960s until today, and shines a light on the continuities and changes in this thinking. New, original analysis of the material seeks to identify areas where such thinking was prescient and remains relevant to the contemporary strategic environment, and other areas where predictions failed or assumptions were proved wrong. These new essays were also informed by interviews of Japanese senior scholars and diplomats who spent time with the IISS. This book seeks to frame, educate and guide strategic thinking on the most pressing issues of today, both in and outside Japan and Asia, and will be of great interest to analysts, practitioners and students of international affairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strategic links between Japan and Europe during the Cold War were limited. During this period the IISS helped bridge the gap between the two, exposing its membership base to the international affairs of Asia and Japan and providing Japanses scholars, strategists and diplomats with a platform from which to amplify their voices in the West. Analyses by these experts often appeared in IISS publications, but the Institute also gained key insights through its well-established conferences and lecture series. These initiatives illuminated Japanese strategic thinking and perspectives on contemporary critical issues in Japan's and Asia's foreign, security and defence policy. This Adelphi book, through its collection of earlier analysis, helps the reader to understand the evolution of Japanese strategic thought from the 1960s until today, and shines a light on the continuities and changes in this thinking. New, original analysis of the material seeks to identify areas where such thinking was prescient and remains relevant to the contemporary strategic environment, and other areas where predictions failed or assumptions were proved wrong. These new essays were also informed by interviews of Japanese senior scholars and diplomats who spent time with the IISS. This book seeks to frame, educate and guide strategic thinking on the most pressing issues of today, both in and outside Japan and Asia, and will be of great interest to analysts, practitioners and students of international affairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As China rises, its influence on other states' policy choices will depend partly on the extent of its ''structural power.'' This article examines China's role in Asian monetary affairs and argues that deficient structural power has contributed to a significant gap between China's waxing economic resources and its policy influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This introductory article provides rationales and contextual background for the special issue which examines how weak states in Asia actualise and exercise their agency in the twenty-first century regional or global environments. The article opens with a consideration of why attention is drawn to the agency of the weak. Weak states are often treated as 'objects' of international politics rather than 'subjects', and their foreign policy actions are commonly taken to be 'reflexive' of external constraints, such as fluctuations in the balance of power in the international system. We disagree with this view. We argue that weak actors can demonstrate varieties of agency regardless of their position in the international system in terms of material capabilities. To clarify this point, the article reflects on the changed and changing global and regional environments and order. Rather than seeing them through the lens of great power politics and its signature concept of 'polarity', the article offers an alternative notion, namely a 'multiplex' world, and identifies the key nature of order therein: multiplicity and fluidity. Both material and normative power have already and continue to become fragmented, decentralised, and dispersed within and across states. While emphasising that such a multifaceted and fluid world opens up a wide avenue of agency for weak actors, this article also notes that the weak has varieties of agency as potentials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

East Asian countries are historically tied to each other, and sport mega-events provide an important venue in which we can observe the contemporary and changing relations between countries and their people. This study illuminates how the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics provided concentrated exposure to encountering Asian countries and athletes in both mediated and personal ways. It examines how the PyeongChang Olympics contributed to transforming South Korea's structures of feeling towards its neighbouring countries. By analyzing Korean news reports and online comments on the Olympics, it explores South Korea's changing attitudes, responses, and reactions to North Korea, Japan, and China. An analysis of the media representation and online responses both configures and reflects the changing characteristics of nationalism in Korea in tandem with the growing importance of its regional connections under the influence of globalization. This study shows that the PyeongChang Olympics serves as a platform for crystallizing regional connectivity and sensitivity both in positive and negative ways. It contends that the national-regional-global frame is both useful and necessary for understanding the impacts of sport mega-events not only on the reconstituted national and regional identities of the local society and people but also on societal and political relations in contemporary East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past few decades, South Korean popular culture has not only attracted a great deal of interest in neighbouring Asian countries, but has also penetrated the West, becoming a global phenomenon. This is not the first time that the world has experienced a cultural wave from the Korean Peninsula. The Asian martial arts craze that swept the West in the 1970s and 1980s would have been incomplete without such Korean contributions as Taekwondo, Hapkido and others that introduced the world to Korean culture long before the Hallyu of the late 1990s and early 2000s. With this in mind, a closer examination of the Korean martial wave can be instrumental in understanding the country's current cultural interactions with the rest of the world. This article analyses the forces behind this wave by dividing them into two dichotomic categories: those originating from Korean culture and society (the transmitter), and those generated by cultural and social processes in the rest of the world (the receiver). The article concludes that the transmitter's promotional efforts contributed to the overall success of Korean martial arts expansion to a far greater extent than the forces on the receiving side. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's capabilities and prestige in the Sui and Tang dynasties (581–907) were stronger than the Koguryo Kingdom, but Koguryo resisted China's tributary system more than other countries during 598–668. This article unpacks the unique role of the tributary system within Chinese foreign policy toward Koguryo, and it shows how the symbolic concept of political prestige affected China's decisions to go to war against Koguryo during the Sui and Tang dynasties. It highlights the role of status and legitimacy that the Chinese emperors attached to China's tributary systems, and argues that these status concerns, rather than the material factors emphasized by offensive realism and defensive realism, drove Chinese behavior. China's capabilities were rising compared to those of the Koguryo kingdom, so there were no incentives for preventive war, and political discourse among China's political elites showed great concern over status. Their justifications of military expeditions and heated debates in the Chinese court provide strong evidence illustrating this consistent struggle to reclaim supremacy in Northeastern Asia. The finding of the study indicates that Asian history should not simply be treated as empirical data to test Western international relations (IR) theory; rather, Asian history can contribute to theory building in IR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is important to consider cultural implications in the development and manifestation of psychopathy because this construct is often understood in reference to behavioral deviance from social norms. This study examined the construct of psychopathy as it relates to three psychological constructs that are shaped by sociocultural contexts: collectivism-individualism, Zhongyong thinking, and dialectical self-concept. The authors recruited 636 participants from four nations and examined differences between Western English-speaking populations and East Asian Chinese-speaking populations. The results showed that collectivism and Zhongyong thinking negatively correlated with the maladaptive aspects of psychopathy (affective/interpersonal and behavioral), whereas individualism and dialectical self-concept positively correlated with the behavioral aspect of psychopathy. Dialectical self-concept also negatively correlated with Boldness. The majority of these associations did not differ significantly between the Western and East Asian samples. This finding suggests the potential universality of the psychological processes of psychopathy in relation to cultural values and thinking styles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ming Empire entertained relations with countries all across Asia and beyond. To deal with these many different polities, Ming China relied on a range of foreign policy instruments, among them the granting of special trading rights, the dissemination of cultural objects, and the use of military threats. This article puts the spotlight on the diversity of these foreign policy means. Building on the literature, it takes as its purview all relations that the Ming Empire entertained with foreign polities, exploring the many means that the Ming employed to further their interests. It does so by classifying the instruments into four categories—economic, diplomatic, cultural, and military—showing that the Ming made full use of instruments belonging to each of them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the commercial relationship established between New Spain and Asia, mainly by means of the trade route, Manila Galleon. Topics discussed include foreign relations establishment between New Spain and the Asia; flexibility of trade promoted by the Spanish crown, along with mentions the authorization granted by the Spanish crown in 1765.