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This paper explores how China's assistance to countries in the Western Balkans during the pandemic boosted their reputation in the region, through the case studies of Serbia, Macedonia, and Albania. The COVID-19 crisis has tested EU's reputation of solidarity and partnership to the Western Balkans, with Balkan political leaders accusing the bloc of selfishness due to its decision in 2020 to restrict exports of medical equipment to candidate states and the perceived neglect of the region during the vaccine distribution in early 2021. Simultaniously, China sent planes containing tonnes of medical supplies, respirators, medical personnel, and later vaccines, that would be received with great pomp and live media coverage, in a powerful public diplomacy and vaccine diplomacy offensive. This paper argues that this helped improve public opinion and reshape narratives on China in the Western Balkans. Still, attitudes vary between states, with Serbians having the most favourable views on China as a foreign partner. On the other hand, while public perceptions on China have seen a positive shift in Macedonia and Albania, this has not translated in a change in their pro-EU stance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers the author's insights on the search of New Zealand for a comfortable relationship with the U.S. under the collective security agreement Australian, New Zealand, and U.S. (ANZUS) treaty. Topics discussed include the prohibition of nuclear-armed vessels by former New Zealand Prime Minister David Lange, the vision of diplomat Alan Watt, and the global diplomacy with Washington, District of Columbia.

The Eurovision Song Contest has long served as a platform for cultural diplomacy among its participants. This paper examines how Russia and Ukraine have approached cultural diplomacy in and around the Eurovision Song Contest in the wake of the Russo-Ukrainian war. Following an outline of pertinent events from 2014 to 2022, including the Song Contest and the respective countries' selected entries as well as the public discourse surrounding them, two distinct types of cultural diplomacy—culturalist versus neo-propagandist—are employed in a congruence analysis. The findings show that Russia employed a largely neo-propagandist approach to cultural diplomacy characterized by their projected image of peacefulness, innocence, and strength to alter their situational image. Ukraine has employed a mostly culturalist approach mainly focused on mutual recognition and the representation of national culture. The conscious instrumentalization of the platform to counter misconstrued perceptions of Ukraine shaped by the Kremlin's rhetoric also adds neo-propagandist elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the literature on simulations-based teaching in the discipline of international relations and associated social science fields, tracing the development of frequently used simulations platforms over the last half-century. It then examines the application of the Council on Foreign Relations' Model Diplomacy program in three courses, International Crisis Simulations, Political Development, and Politics of Asia, at a small liberal arts college in the South from 2018 to 2019 and considers the effectiveness of simulations-based teaching in achieving desired learning outcomes, such as critical and analytical thinking, oral and written communication, and collaboration. Finally, the paper provides practical steps and suggestions for the integration of Model Diplomacy and other simulations into an array of Asian studies courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientists and diplomats have significant differences in professional skills, activity time and work content, but they should work together. With the deepening impact of science and technology (S&T) on socio-economic development and international relations, S&T has become a crucial component of national strategies, particularly for diplomacy. There is a need for scientific evidence and advice, meaning that mastering more knowledge and skills in S&T would be helpful in negotiations. This paper analyses the ideas of S&T diplomacy, including a review of its 40-year history in China, its definition (with detailed connotations) and its characteristics. The paper focuses on the significant role of people-to-people communication in S&T, which may inform future work. Five suggestions are given to strengthen the strategic planning of S&T diplomacy: (1) A more clarified, strategic goal of future-oriented S&T diplomacy is required; (2) It is important to build a theoretical system for China to describe S&T diplomacy; (3) The creation of a global S&T cooperation map that adapts to the new type of international relations would be valuable; (4) Fairness and justice shall be maintained, while a reform of the global S&T governance system is promoted; (5) It is a must to adhere to bottom-line thinking and strengthen risk prediction and emergency responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the need for a comprehensive biography of Norman Kirk, the fourth Labour prime minister of New Zealand, emphasizing the lack of insights on Kirk's dynamics with key officials, Frank Corner and Bill Gilbert, in recently published biographies. It suggests that future biographers should delve into Kirk's extensive papers at Archives New Zealand and explores specific topics not covered in existing biographies, focusing on Kirk's global diplomacy and foreign policy.

This paper aims to divert from the conventional understanding of diplomacy and foreign policy, which is conditioned by postmodern realities. These emerging realities, which transcend national borders, strongly consider science, technology, climate, environment, and security. Thus, the postmodern age, characterized by fragmentation, uncertainty and risk, requires a shift from conventional multilateral and/or bilateral diplomacy to cosmopolitan diplomacy and foreign policy. This paper will apply Ulrich Beck's theory of cosmopolitanism, reflexivity and risk on Türkiye's diplomatic relations with the Western Balkans countries. A brief analysis of Turkish relations with the Western Balkans countries shall expand to the common questions of climate, environment, digitalization, and security. What could be the role of involuntary enlightenment, enforced communication across different borders, political catharsis, enforced cosmopolitanism, global system of governance, international legalism, and digitalization in framing Türkiye's cosmopolitan diplomacy towards the Western Balkans? How the focus on environmental diplomacy, health diplomacy, migration diplomacy, reconciliation diplomacy, digital diplomacy, youth diplomacy and education diplomacy could encounter an exclusive Western Balkans focus on emancipatory politics, ethnonationalism, narratives and ideologies? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the underlying factors that pushed Russia, the European Union (EU), Türkiye, and somehow the U.S. to offer mediation to settle the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The eruption of the fierce clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia ended the war that happened in 2020 when Russia brokered the ceasefire. However, Russia's war in Ukraine was signaling renewed fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh. Hence, some actors started to step into the hostility to facilitate diplomatic efforts to lower the temperatures of the conflicting parties. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan made a military assault on Artsakh in 2023 and gained a final victory over Nagorno-Karabakh. Amid tension, the EU, Russia, and Türkiye will hold a responsible role and bring hopes that diplomacy may bring Azerbaijan and Armenia closer to peace, and an eventual settlement will ensue. The research demonstrates that a new geopolitical change has been taking place in the South Caucasus region, which is causing complexities amid some options set by the mediators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, an increasing number of EU countries have diversified their foreign policies. The new directions aimed to maintain the benefits of Western alliances but sought to attract non-Western partners. The paper argues that not only domestic factors triggered these strategic shifts, and the systemic emergence of multipolarity, which forced states to respond to the rise of new powers. The study aims to identify how selected countries (Hungary, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus) located in the EU's eastern flank have responded to the multipolar transition and what foreign policy acts they have adopted. Findings reveal that sample states did not follow the expected straightforward selection of foreign policy acts, starting with bandwagoning during the unipolar momentum, continuing with hedging when non-Western actors emerge, and ending with balancing in times of external security threats. On the contrary, they applied multiple strategies simultaneously. The paper labels this hybrid foreign policy as adaptive diplomacy which seeks to capture the needs of small states to constantly adapt, but also indicates that EU and NATO members can apply proactive diplomacy to navigate between great power interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

This paper aims to describe analytically Indonesia and Russia's bilateral relations, particularly concerning the defense cooperation between the two countries in the Southeast Asian region. Historically, at the beginning of the Cold War, the government of the Soviet Union (currently the Russian Federation) recognized and fully supported the independence of the Republic of Indonesia on August 17, 1945. The Soviet Union has never abandoned Indonesia in obtaining international recognition of its independence. The establishment of informal relations between both countries since the first years of the existence of the UN. Postnational reform in 1998, Indonesia has always put forward the concept of a defense strategy without having enemies from any country. A qualitative method and primary data were gathered through interviews with informants from several government institutions. Literature, journals, and related documents are utilized in supporting data analysis. In fact, for more than seventy years' diplomatic relations between the two countries have been established, and importantly, bilateral defense cooperation still needs to be further strengthened, apart from the current sustainable economic cooperation. It has so far been carried out through the procurement of the defense system equipment (alutsista), in line with efforts to increase the capacity and capability of the Indonesian armed forces. Russia recognizes Indonesia's leadership in Southeast Asia and fully supports Indonesia's role in maintaining peace and world order. This study revealed that Southeast Asia's regional stability is secured and has a good impact on international harmony. The role and contribution of defense cooperation between Indonesia and Russia in Southeast Asia need to be developed and empower further to boost mutual understanding and trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has shown a crystal-clear warning that nobody will be safe until everybody is safe against the pandemic. However, how everyone is safe when the pandemic's fat tail risks have broken every nerve of the global economy and healthcare facilities, including vaccine equity. Vaccine inequity has become one of the critical factors for millions of new infections and deaths during this pandemic. Against the backdrop of exponentially growing infected cases of COVID-19 along with vaccine in-equity, this paper will examine how multilateralism could play its role in mitigating vaccine equity through Global Health Diplomacy (GHD). Second, given the most affected developing countries' lack of participation in multilateralism, could GHD be left as an option in the worst-case scenario?. Methods: In this narrative review, a literature search was conducted in all the popular databases, such as Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed and Google search engines for the keywords in the context of developing countries and the findings are discussed in detail. Results: In this multilateral world, the global governance institutions in health have been monopolized by the global North, leading to COVID-19 vaccine inequities. GHD aids health protection and public health and improves international relations. Besides, GHD facilitates a broad range of stakeholders' commitment to collaborate in improving healthcare, achieving fair outcomes, achieving equity, and reducing poverty. Conclusion: Vaccine inequity is a major challenge of the present scenario, and GHD has been partly successful in being a panacea for many countries in the global south. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the critical questions for the future of the Metaverse is whether it will be global and singular –or multiple, company or country based. This question is yet to be answered, but unique metaverse universes, which will be built based on regional integrations rather than McWorld monopolization, will gain value in the future for the healthy operation of the Metaverse. The Organization of Turkic States (OTS), which was developed into an international organizational structure through the initiative of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan last year, offers a form whose effectiveness is increasing daily in the global system, in keeping with the 2040 Vision of the Turkic World. Under Türkiye’s leadership, the Turkoverse, a unique Metaverse universe in which the members of the OTS will interact, can be built. By integrating the capital cities of the member states into this structure, their geographical distance will be eliminated, and the free movement of labor and money within the Turkic World will be possible. Ultimately, this step will protect Türkiye and other Turkic states from uncertainties about the future of the larger Metaverse. This paper investigates the extent to which the Metaverse is the next big thing in diplomacy and how Türkiye can impact the formation of a new norm that will eventually affect the global system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beyond imaginary, or clichés, beyond often rhetoric declarations without impact, the often enough dramatic actuality of oriental Christians makes it possible to come back to the position they have in French diplomacy. The paper aims at describing the history of French preoccupation for the Holy land’ Christians (currently Israel and the Palestinian territories) as well at listing the tools of French diplomacy, in Paris and on the spot, with a focus on the Latins (Catholics) and the united Christians, which embody the main clientele of this religious diplomacy. At the end of the paper it is contemplated to evaluate the success, or not, of this policy and its actuality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a product of globalization and as a fruit of new public diplomacy, digital diplomacy is considered one of the major trends of the twenty-first century in diplomatic communication. Being under the influence of the extraordinary advances in ICT, the internet and social media, the way of realization and presentation of diplomacy has been radically changed and is increasingly removed from the traditional diplomatic elements. The importance of digital diplomacy is based on the usage of ICT, the internet and social media, which at the same time represent its base, for the strengthening of the diplomatic relations. Therefore, knowledge about the role and importance of digital diplomacy is indispensable. This paper will offer information on the definition, goals, evolution and effectiveness of the digital diplomacy. Meanwhile, the main focus of the research lies in the classification of its benefits and risks. For international actors is more than clear how useful is exploitation of digital diplomacy benefits for achieving their goals in the international arena. However, the process of digitization is unseparated from cyber risks, as well as the freedom of the internet and social media is abused for various purposes that state and non-state actors may have. Although coupled with benefits on the one hand and risks on the other hand, the risks of digital diplomacy are still covered by benefits, making digital diplomacy a key element for the realization of diplomatic activities. Based on all the information over the features of the topic, the primary goal of the paper is to provide sufficient arguments for verifying the abovementioned hypothesis, which is also the general hypothesis of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting with the Lisbon Treaty, which establishes the new European diplomatic landscape structure, this paper analyses the difference between the objectives expressed in the treaties governing the European Union's foreign policy, and the diplomatic European and international reality. The main objective of this paper is to reveal the extent in which the European Union runs a coherent and unified foreign policy, especially highlighting the problems faced by these institutions in the current international environment, after five years since the creation of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, as well as the European External Action Service The results of this paper show that, although from a legal standpoint it was attempted to clearly outline how the Union's external policies should work, on a practical level, this area still faces difficulties in performing at its full capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: ‘Community of common destiny’, a new concept in China's diplomacy, has been increasingly used by the Chinese government, especially President Xi Jinping, on international occasions. Given the paucity of academic research on the concept, this paper aims to fill the gap and examine three aspects: meaning, motives and implications. Building upon the author's long observation of China's foreign policy, the paper argues that this concept of ‘community of common destiny’ is vague in meaning and loosely used by China. While initially proposed by China to mend ties with neighbouring states in the context of escalating territorial disputes, the concept constitutes part of China's long‐term strategy to maintain a peaceful ‘period of strategic opportunity’ in the first two to three decades of the 21st century to further develop itself. However, the ambiguity of the concept poses a main challenge for China to promote the acceptance of this concept by the developing world, let alone developed countries. This process demands more transparency, commitment and concrete actions from China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a response to a 2018 call for greater understanding of how previous examples of marine science diplomacy could help shape present day efforts to draft a new law of the sea that protects marine biodiversity and conserves the marine environment. It tackles this through analysis of the various twists, turns, and challenges of early science diplomacy efforts in marine science during the early twentieth century. It looks in turn at questions of defining and agreeing on research objectives, how backchannel science diplomacy can become official government diplomacy, and finally, how careful science diplomacy brought Germany back to the international research arena so as to successfully put in place marine conservation measures during the 1920s. In doing this, it argues that the foundation of the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas in 1902 represented a revolutionary moment where supra-national scientific research, coordination, and conservation politics for the ocean first emerged; with International Council for the Exploration of the Sea becoming a key model for all subsequent marine science diplomacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to present some partial results of research about asymmetry in international relations, focusing on the EU's Common Position on Cuba and its consequences for the links between both players. The paper examines the EU's loss of the channels of influence, the persistent fractures and competition between the European supranational strategy and the national diplomacies of the Member States, and the underestimation of the contextual and relational factors that acted in favour of Cuba. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the thought of Brazilian statesman Rui Barbosa (1849–1923) on foreign policy and international relations from the vantage point of doctrinal reflection. In recent years, scholars have thoroughly sought to find the existence of a distinct Brazilian national thinking, building on the premise that there is no great diplomacy without a consistent foreign policy perspective. Thus, it would be mandatory to search for ideas and reflections that had assisted the foreign policy construction of the country, considered by many as well succeeded in most respects. In this context, the paper seeks to identify the possible foundations of Rui Barbosa's vision on foreign policy and international relations, which is highlighted by a strong moral and religious foundation and settled on his contemporary conceptions on the pursuit of international peace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turkey is conducting an increasingly active energy diplomacy and in order to understand the role and strategies of Ankara in energy geopolitics, it is important to apprehend Turkey's behaviours at international level. In this respect, Turkey's energy ties with international (energy) organizations have key importance. Hence, this paper seeks to analyze the energy relationship between Ankara and the BSEC. Turkey attends activities of the organization in order to increase its visibility at international level, become a leader in the Black Sea region, and boost its political and economic ties with member states. However, due to the limited effectiveness of the organization in general and in the field of energy in particular, its contribution to the Turkish energy sector has remained modest. [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]

In the literature on Foreign Policy Analysis, there is a flourishing debate on whether the administration of the Workers' Party represented a discontinuity in Brazil's foreign policy. By examining how food security was allocated in the external agenda, this paper claims that the rise of the Workers' Party did represented a rupture. Secondly, that social gains in reducing hunger were used as a tool to boost Brazil's soft power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper investigates how the role of public relations practice in public diplomacy is undergoing a transformation as a consequence of the influence from nation branding. A case study of the Danish government''s response to the so-called Cartoon Crisis illustrates how the threat from international terrorism to national security initially served as a catalyst for new public diplomacy initiatives. But as the initiatives were implemented within a framework of nation branding the focus on risk reduction became subjected to a marketing logic and a new focus on economic objectives took over. The paper points to a possible future status of public diplomacy under the influence of nation branding: Public diplomacy may maintain a function pertinent to national security but as this function is incapable of managing real risks it will only serve as auto-communication that legitimizes security policy towards a domestic audience. In the public diplomacy efforts towards transnational publics the link to national security will completely disappear whereby the public relations of states is transformed to the marketing of states. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper will examine the development of the fledgling diplomatic ties between the new Irish state and the recently established Spanish legation based in Dublin. It will analyse the formal establishment of political, cultural and social links developed in contemporary times between the two old historical allies that had previously been limited to polite lip-service; conditioned, in part, as they were by monarchical Madrid's caution in regard to London and previous Spanish reluctance to engage with a rebellious state. 1931 signified a volte face in the relationship developing between Dublin and Madrid since the establishment of a Spanish consulate in Dublin in March 1924, facilitated by their commitment to the League of Nations, to which both were strongly committed in the 1920s. This paper will illustrate how the declaration of the II Republic in Spain was a crossroads in the relationship between these two nations. The roles of 'rebel' and 'traditionalist' state had been instantly switched. The Church and much of the new political elite in Ireland viewed republican reforms in Spain with ever growing and public distaste creating conflict among Irish republicanism, post-independence. The main Spanish republican representative in Ireland in this 1931-33 period, Emilio Sanz y Tovar, became very sensitive to these schisms as he tried to cement political and socioeconomic ties with his Irish hosts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses the nature and features of the Knowledge Regions and their emergence in the international system as strategic players in the process of glocalization, strongly anchored in the creation of dense knowledge networks and the development of an active paradiplomacy which enables the regions to project externally their specific interests and to reinforce their influence in the process of multilevel governance functioning as strategic brokers between the global and the local. In this context the paper discusses the implications of the paradiplomacy of sub-national governments to the foreign policies of central governments and argues that not only paradiplomacy does not present a risk to the coherence of foreign policy but constitutes a major factor for the consolidation of the soft power of states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing upon ideas from critical geopolitics, this paper compares the role that the British government plays within the contemporary transatlantic alliance with that played by Churchill's government during the Second World War. It argues that the Blair government's approach to foreign policy has parallels with Churchill's – that it should act as a bridge between the US and European governments. From this basis the paper reflects upon geopolitical change since 1945, re-evaluating the reasons for foreign policy failures during the Iraq War. Belying the assumption that these were caused by Blair's failures at diplomacy, it argues that failure was the result of an outdated geopolitical strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little research has examined public diplomacy as a comparative education issue, particularly regarding social-psychological, economic and political fears or personal and national insecurities. This paper discusses American public diplomacy as a mostly Cold War strategy adapted to post-9/11 national security interests, fears and desires. It further explores differences, similarities, and debates in Canadian media, policy documents and academia, in response to American political, economic and military pressures or demands for a 'North American' (i.e. joint American-Canadian) security approach. From a critical pedagogy perspective the paper argues that modern public diplomacy has been a dubious, pseudo-educational, fear-mongering concept nurtured by academics, politicians and military leaders as part of an American foreign policy, military security and propaganda strategy. The paper further shows that post-9/11 Canada, problematically, adapted its own public diplomacy policies to serve American interests. Further research is needed to examine more closely public diplomacy's impacts on Canadian education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the efforts made by the international community for the independence and unification of Korea, the role of the United Nations in the process, and the prospects for Korean unification. Close attention is given to the result of the first political conference on Korean unification held in Geneva from April-June 1954, an event whose importance should not be underestimated despite the passage of time. This paper affirms that the conclusion of a peace treaty ending the Korean Armistice will legally restore peace to Korea from a state of war. The next step would be to work toward the peaceful unification of Korea in accordance with longstanding U.N. principles based upon the genuine self-determination by the Korean people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to review and re-examine the concept and practice of public diplomacy in light of the incredible pace of change in global politics and communication, and to discuss implications for future research. It first explains the significance of national reputation and its linkage to public diplomacy. It then surveys and assesses a broad range of literature on public diplomacy, characterized by three basic discourses: public diplomacy as policy-driven rather than relationship-based, the primacy of nation-state governments in the structure and process of public diplomacy, and an emphasis on mass media communication. The paper finally suggests and outlines further research efforts based on the existing literature and the evolving contexts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The island province of Orkney played a crucial role in Norway's overseas expansion during the Early- and High-Middle Ages. Located just offshore from mainland Scotland, it provided a resort for westward-sailing fleets as well as a convenient springboard for military forays into Britain and down the Irish Sea. The establishment of a Norwegian-Scottish peace and the demarcation of fixed political boundaries in 1266 led to a revision of Orkney's role in the Norwegian realm. From that point until the its pledging to the Scottish Crown in 1468, Norway depended on Orkney as a hub for diplomacy and foreign relations. This paper looks at how Orkney figured in Norwegian royal strategies in the west and presents key examples which show its transition from a tool of war to a forum for peace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Integrations plan is a process that requires work, time and institutional commitment. The mobilization of all bring the success of acceptance into the Euro-Atlantic, which is main intention of the Republic of Kosovo to be part of European Union, NATO, etc.. In the phase where the new republic is found in Europe, is initial stage, figuratively speaking "as a child in the first steps of walking." The commitment of the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, especially the Ministry of Integration and Foreign Ministry, is not missing, even though is required work and cooperation from the other ministries, also by the citizens themselves, diaspora, businesses, etc.. As the newest state without any political and diplomatic influence, the Republic of Kosovo should strengthen the sector of public diplomacy which mobilizes all institutional structures, non-governmental organizations, individual citizens, etc.. Public diplomacy is seen as a way of achieving the goals by smaller states which do not have influence on other forms. This diplomacy also sends to achievement of goals for integration, and my suggestion about the fulfillment of conditions for integration is to use public diplomacy, about forms and methods that should be used by the Republic of Kosovo, I have explore and explain in the continuing of the paper [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This brief research paper is in the same time a study of modern world history, but also that of compared imagology. The researched theme can be regarded as an unprecedented one because the study presents the image of a West European country reflected in the main Transylvanian newspaper from the modern period, "Gazeta de Transilvania". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In per capita terms, Portugal is one of the most significant European contributors to international peacekeeping operations around the world. It presently ranks 45th in a list of 115 countries contributing to the United Nations (UN) peace operations and 7th in the European Union (EU). The multiplicity of forces used, as well as the diversity of the locations of deployment, reflect the ambition and effort made by the Portuguese governments in the last 20 years. Portuguese participation in peacekeeping missions has been seen as a vehicle for strengthening Portugal's position in the world: the involvement under the flag of international organisations raises the profile of Portuguese foreign policy and diplomacy. In this paper, we argue that Portuguese involvement in peace missions reflects Portugal's pursuit of its national interest and foreign policy. The aim is to bolster Portugal's capacity to influence the decision-making process in major international fora, such as the UN, NATO and the EU. The goal established since the late 1980s aims to strengthen the visibility and specific weight of Portugal in the multilateral framework. The country's contribution to peacekeeping operations has increased the bargaining power of Portugal, which has become an active partner with a more audible voice within those organisations. That voice led to gaining a better position when it came to negotiating major international posts and policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the Department of Defense's use of corporate strategies to manage U.S. overseas military bases and concludes that the Department of Defense's continued use of these corporate strategies--which have negatively impacted the United States' relationship with host nations--depends on the Department of Defense's ability to successfully strike a balance between efficiency and diplomacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the problem of Romanian Jews' emigration in Israel as revealed by a few historical writings and in published documents. The Romanian Jews' emigration in Israel was a continuous process in spite of the communist regime established in Romania after the war and it was one of the main priorities of Romanian - Israeli diplomatic relations. The research focused on the years 1945 - 1953. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that during a crisis, unitary rational states have an incentive to misrepresent their true resolve and willingness to go to war. This theoretical result has been taken to imply that diplomacy, interpreted as pre-bargaining communication, can have no effect on the way crises play out. This paper shows an intuitive way that diplomatic cheap talk can matter in a single crisis between countries, especially when the bargaining game has multiple equilibria. In particular, if after 'diplomacy' states can choose to either fight a war directly or bargain in hopes of reaching a peaceful settlement, then it is possible to find an equilibrium, where diplomacy influences whether there is war or peace. Importantly, the cheap talk diplomacy does three things the standard model says it cannot: it coordinates actions, it reveals information, and it changes the ex ante probability of war. This result demonstrates an easy way of reconciling the discrepancy between the obvious empirical observation that diplomacy often does influence the path of a crisis with the rationalist model of war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to challenge the view that Indonesia's geographical and population size account for its rising regional and global profile. Instead, it makes three inter-related arguments. First, the manifestations of Indonesia's foreign policy and global profile have always been based on its ability to harness the country's normative and moral voice. Second, while democratization since 1998 has allowed Indonesia to restore its reputation in world affairs and provided it with a new source of "soft power", it has also complicated foreign policy-making. Third, Indonesia's large geographical size and population have been a source of persistent internal security threats, and because the government has been unable to meet national defence requirements, the growth in its defence diplomacy activities reflect the country's continuing strategic weakness rather than its strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the whole Inter-institutional Agreements (AI), established between Mexican non central government entities and their counterparts in People's Republic of China (PRC), [which are 25 in totals, according to the Inter-institutional Agreements Register (IAR), of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of our country]; its aim is to identify the nature, thematic orientation and scope thereof. It is argued that since the rise and projection of the PRC as a world power in the twenty-first century, our country needs a linking strategy that strengthens the interaction between non central governments of both countries and promotes trade, investment and employment opportunities. Since this process requires the study of the conditions under which develop non central governments international activities in both Mexico and China, this text also reviews historical and conceptual references associated with this dynamic as analysis elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a growing pressure on foreign policy-makers in Canada and other societies to pay more attention to religion as they study international relations, formulate policies, conduct diplomacy, and deliver programs abroad. This pressure is multifaceted and has both domestic and international sources. Yet, for a variety of reasons, 'negotiating the religious dimension' abroad carries important caveats. The purpose of this paper is to review the rationale for including religion in the policy process and to work through some of the methodological and normative challenges this endeavour represents for scholars and practitioners. It argues for a modest facilitative approach to creating safe and inclusive forums within which ideas with religious dimensions could be broached and contested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper complements the previous ones with a study about the Portuguese-Romanian diplomatic relations. Walking on the footsteps of representative personalities of the Portuguese diplomacy, Martinho Teixeira Homem de Brederode de Cunha, I tried here to present the Romanian foreign policy, in the western politician view. He surprised an unstable landscape in Romania, aggravated by frequent changes of government, factionalism of parties and the transition from one party to another. The internal policy of the inter-war Romanian state obviously influenced the external policy, which Martinho de Brederode surprises in his reports sent to Lisbon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The image of a nation is crucial in the conduct of international relations (Wang, J. (2006). Managing national reputation and international relations in the global era: Public diplomacy revisited. Public Relations Review, 32, 91–96). A favorable image plays a critical role in asserting one''s influence (Benoit, W. L., & Brinson, S. L. (1994). AT&T: “Apologies are not enough”. Communication Quarterly, 42, 75–88; Wang, J. (2006). Managing national reputation and international relations in the global era: Public diplomacy revisited. Public Relations Review, 32, 91–96). Often, strategic communication tools like public relations and media diplomacy are used to enhance a nation''s image (. News agencies, national images, and global media events. Journalism Quarterly, 77, 8–21). In 2007, China''s reputation as “the workshop of the world” (. China: A workshop of the Cd and a market for Europe. At: http://ideas.repec.org/a/cii/cepill/2005-245.html. Accessed on 14 May 2009) came under severe threat with a series of product recalls. This was arguably the first time that allegations of product deficiencies were targeted at a country. Using the image repair theory, this paper examined the strategies used and the image these strategies generated for China. Findings showed that the initial defensive strategies generated an image of a hurried and harried country. After it was willing to confront the crises through corrective action, a surer and more determined image emerged. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The paper belonging to a broad survey is a brief analysis of the history of the European diplomatic relations at the end of WWI, that is, the diplomatic relations between Portugal and the young Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians. Several issues are approached: the context of the issue, political relations and particularly the economic relations that are prominent in our research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores when and why private communication works in crisis diplomacy. Conventional audience-cost models suggest that state leaders must go public with their threats in international crises because leaders cannot tie their hands if signals are issued privately. I present a crisis bargaining game where both the sender and the receiver of signals have a domestic audience. The equilibrium analysis demonstrates that a private threat, albeit of limited credibility, can be equally compelling as a fully credible public threat. The analysis suggests that secrecy works in crisis diplomacy despite its informational inefficacy. Secrecy insulates leaders from domestic political consequences when they capitulate to a challenge to avoid risking unwarranted war. The logic of efficient secrecy helps shed light on the unaccounted history of private diplomacy in international crises. The Alaska Boundary Dispute illustrates this logic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper seeks to provide an historical reflection on the central purpose of U.S. public diplomacy through an examination of the manifest mandate of the three major institutional settings for such international communication programs, i.e., the Committee on Public Information, the Office of War Information, and the United States Information Agency, and to shed light on the current public diplomacy endeavor spearheaded by the Department of State. The review demonstrates that U.S. public diplomacy has been principally an ad hoc instrument of American foreign policy to meet wartime exigencies and has been underscored by the promotion of American values of democracy and freedom. Over the years, it has expanded to encompass multiple modes of engagement, while at the same time there has been constant tension concerning the role of public diplomacy as a strategic, policy function versus merely as a “mouthpiece” within the foreign affairs apparatus. All of these themes continue to reverberate in the contemporary practice of public diplomacy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article analyzes factors compelling ASEAN to relax its non-interference policy regarding members and intervene in Burma's internal affairs. The paper argues that the factors include pressure from individual members, ASEAN as a group, and the international community. The situation in Burma has led ASEAN to review this policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From 1958 onwards, the Amsterdam–Jakarta dispute on the determination of sovereignty over the western half of New Guinea began to be affected by the developments of Indonesia's civil war and the tug of war between the US and the Soviet Union over Indonesia. This paper explains how this influenced Australia's WNG diplomacy. It argues that the major impact of Indonesia's internal war and of the US–Russian tug of war was that they destroyed Australia's assumption that the Dutch would maintain its presence in the Pacific permanently. The second principal impact was that Indonesia's internal war and the Washington–Moscow tug of war urged Canberra to set another new objective in relation to the WNG dispute, and produced a new policy for the achievement of this objective. With the outbreak of an Indonesian–Dutch war over Netherlands New Guinea becoming a real possibility, Australia set the avoidance of the war and the prevention of Indonesia falling into the communist orbit as another new objective. In order to keep a war from occurring in the Southwest Pacific, Canberra developed a policy of appeasing Jakarta. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores whether ASEAN's approach toward Myanmar since May 2003 and the agreed ASEAN Security Community (ASC) concept can be seen to represent major developments in ASEAN's diplomatic and security culture. The article explains that ASEAN'S recent diplomatic practice vis-à-vis Yangon qualifies as "enhanced interaction ". It also shows that the Declaration of ASEAN Concord II and related documents underscore the collective commitment among ASEAN states to pursue a limited refinement of ASEAN's normative terrain. However, in view of the limits of "enhanced interaction" as well as the opposition to the original Indonesian proposal to develop an ASC, the paper concludes that it is best to view both ASEAN's recent diplomatic practice and efforts to stake out a larger role for A SEAN in preventing, managing and resolving intra-state conflicts and inter-state disputes as not only being in line with, but also as reaffirming the norms and practices of ASEAN's diplomatic and security culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is part of a series of inquiries being made to ascertain the extent and practical usefulness of the part played by Asian nations in their individual and collective contribution to the norms-formulating functions of Asian States as members of the global community. The current paper is confined to the three areas of jurisdictional immunities in the practice of States under contemporary international law. The first part relates to Asian practice and the practice of other nations affecting Asian communities in regard to the Immunities of States and their Property from the jurisdiction of other national entities. The second part deals with the current practice of diplomatic and consular immunities, available also to ad hoc or Special Missions. The third part concerns the immunities accorded by States to international organizations or in connection with the exercise of their official functions. The final part contains concluding observations calling for meticulous care and attention to find a practical approach to the nature and extent of immunities needed and the necessity to maintain a delicate balance between the interests of the donors and recipients of immunities so as to avoid possible abuses. Asian and non-Asian nations alike are equally grantors and beneficiaries of immunities under review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]