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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 Nature and Scope of Diplomatic History" is an article that explores the field of diplomatic history, which focuses on the interactions between states and their representatives. It discusses the nature of diplomacy and its role in shaping international relations, as well as the study of treaties, alliances, war and peace, and the influence of non-state actors. The article also acknowledges the challenges and limitations faced by diplomatic history, such as its focus on state actors and official sources. It highlights the interconnectedness and evolving nature of history, diplomacy, and diplomatic history, and emphasizes the multidisciplinary approach of the field. While there are criticisms that diplomatic history can be Western-centric and state-centric, it is recognized that the field provides a comprehensive understanding of international relations by considering various factors and perspectives. [Extracted from the article]

Until recently, Australia's cricketing past has been coloured by an anglocentric bias. Australian cricket writers, players and administrators mainly have deemed Australian series with subcontinental countries of much lesser importance than Ashes contests. In surveying Australia's cricketing relations with the subcontinent from the 1880s until Australia's first fully fledged official tour of the region in 1959–1960, this paper seeks to redress this imbalance. The paper explores how initial cricketing relations were viewed within the prism of Australia's traditional cricketing ties with England. This did not alter with India's attaining official Test match status in the 1930s. Australian tours of India were confined to unofficial teams, and it was not until 1947–1948 that the first official exchange occurred. As this paper documents, the importance of subcontinental cricket tours increased after the war, as both Labor and Liberal Coalition governments encouraged the use of cricket to foster diplomatic ties at a time of increasing decolonisation and when Indian and Australian external relations were ideologically opposed. The governments' efforts were not fully supported by many Australian cricketers and administrators. While some, such as the Australian captain Ian Johnson, embraced cricketing diplomacy, many of his colleagues coloured these new cricketing worlds with old Australian prejudices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers an introduction to the following papers, which represent the results of a round table at the Nordiska Historikermöte 2004 in Stockholm. It discusses the renewed interest in the study of diplomacy and international politics. This revival during the past few decades is sometimes not more than a reinvention of the old diplomatic history. However, it is also influenced by the history of ideas, as elaborated by Anglo‐American historians, and modern cultural sociology. The history of diplomacy seen from the perspective of cultural transfer offers new insights into early modern diplomacy based on a new reading of well‐known material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diplomacy of Japan towards its Asian neighbours has always been a complex issue. Throughout the years, the foreign policy of Japan has witnessed severe alterations specifically after the Second World War. Since then, new challenges and opportunities have risen which have formed a new, adapted Japanese diplomacy, albeit not disconnected from its traditional aspects and its past. The current purpose of the paper is to highlight these evolutions and challenges of the post WWII Japanese diplomacy. The focus will be on the two main neighbours and traditional partners of Japan, the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Korea. There will be an effort to highlight the challenges that Japan experiences with the aforementioned countries, its diplomatic approaches and how these could be evolved in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses the largely neglected papers of Sir Henry Bulwer, British minister at Madrid between 1843 and 1848, as a prism through which to view the fourth Earl of Aberdeen's handling of Anglo-French relations, in general, and in Spain over the marriages of Queen Isabella and her younger sister the Infanta Luisa Fernanda, in particular, during a critical period. It highlights the fact that developments in the historiograhical context and the recent availability of important private papers have created an opportunity for a detailed and much-needed re-examination of Aberdeen's foreign policy, Conservative foreign policy, and British policy towards Spain in the 1840s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The post-9/11 world has brought public diplomacy back into the spotlight; yet the burden of winning the hearts and minds of foreign publics can no longer solely fall on the national government. Building upon the literature in international relations and communication, this paper discusses the vital importance of sub-national actors' engagement in the process of public diplomacy and nation branding. It explains the rationale for such involvement as well as delineating the possible roles they may play in the communication process. It argues that public diplomacy must be pursued at multiple levels, with sub-national participation being most effective in building mutual understanding and relationships. The analysis and propositions are not only theoretically important in the debate on the role of public diplomacy in nation branding and communication, but also have public policy implications in the design and execution of these programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores concessions made by Australian concerning Japanese immigration during the era of the White Australia Policy in the early twentieth century. Australia’s Immigration Restriction Act was introduced in December 1901. As the major piece of legislation in the White Australia Policy, the act made it virtually impossible for non-Europeans to migrate to Australia. However, Japanese people enjoyed a special position among non-Europeans under the White Australia Policy thanks to Japan’s growing international status as a civilised power at the time, as well as its sustained diplomatic pressure on Australia. While the Commonwealth was determined to exclude Japanese permanent settlers, it sought ways to render the policy of exclusion less offensive to the Japanese. In the early 1900s, two minor modifications to the Immigration Restriction Act were implemented in order to relax the restrictions imposed on Japanese citizens. Moreover, in the application of Commonwealth immigration laws, Japanese people received far more lenient treatment than other non-Europeans and were afforded respect and extra courtesies by Australian officials. Nevertheless, these concessions Australia made to Japanese citizens were minor, and the Commonwealth government maintained its basic policy of excluding Japanese permanent settlers from Australia. This paper shows that, despite continued diplomatic efforts, Japan was fundamentally unable to change pre-war Australia’s basic policy regarding the exclusion of Japanese permanent settlers.

In 1266, Norway and Scotland entered into an agreement aimed at pacifying a long tradition of competition over control of the islands and waterways along Scotland’s seaboards. This paper examines how the two kingdoms developed diplomatic strategies aimed at regulating social, economic and political developments along their common maritime frontier, and seeks to show how effective diplomacy was in ensuring long-term peace and stability in the region throughout the Late Middle Ages. It focuses on three issues which were addressed more explicitly in Norwegian–Scottish accords: first, the question of dominion over the islands around Scotland’s seaboards; second, the question of mobility to and from those islands; and third, the question of how to protect and limit the threat of piracy in and around those islands. Although largely unprecedented in a Northern European context, this case reveals emerging concepts and strategies of maritime sovereignty in the Late Middle Ages. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Romanian Journal for Baltic & Nordic Studies/Revista Romana de Studii Baltice si Nordice is the property of Sciendo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

While medieval diplomacy in general has lately attracted the attention of several German scholars, the more specific subject of political relations between Islamic and Christian powers is far less studied and has not yet received the same attention in Germany as it has elsewhere. One of this article's aims is therefore to open up the field of intercultural diplomacy for future research by surveying recent scholarship and approaches. More importantly, the paper focuses on five systematic questions: Did the quality of political relations between Christian and Islamic powers in the Eastern and Western Mediterranean undergo long-term shifts? Did religion play a significant role within this sphere, either as an obstacle or as a facilitator? Which particular traits distinguished interreligious diplomacy from intra religious political relations? To what extent were these particularities due to the specific conditions of the medieval Mediterranean? And did this historical region therefore make a distinct contribution to the history of diplomacy? Although religion undoubtedly presented an important normative framework for intercultural relations, functional pragmatism, the creation of intermediary institutions and the prominent role of certain societal groups must be seen as equally important features. The medieval Mediterranean thus presents itself as a source of innovative impulses for the field of premodern political relations, which deserves further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The period of the first crusades has been intensively debated in both Romanian and foreign literature, at its various levels: religious, economic, political, social, cultural and demographic. This epoch led to the intensification of relations between the West and the Byzantine and to the rediscovery of the Byzantine Empire by the Western nations. The meeting between the two cultures and civilizations and the manner of perceiving the other are highlighted particularly by the episode of the diplomatic receptions given by the Greek sovereign at the court of Constantinople. This study is based on the general assumption that diplomatic ceremonial, as full expression of imperial Byzantine ideology, becomes the meeting place between the splendor, opulence and diplomatic strategies characteristic to Easterners and the honor, chivalrous ideal and the simplicity characteristic for Westerners. The profound implications of this protocol are reflected in the divergent interests of the two sides. The acceptance or rejection of the diplomatic ceremonial by the Latin seniors represents a proof that they understood more or less the meaning and symbolism of these diplomatic meetings. This paper analyzes the main episodes in which the West appreciated positively the imperial protocol, thus contributing to effective collaboration with the Byzantines in the spirit of the ideal Christian brotherhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1960–1980s were the golden age of Taiwanese golf. Among the few people playing, some caddies were able to become golf professionals and attended international golf tournaments. After the Chinese civil war, Chiang Kai-Shek and his regime retreated to Taiwan in 1949 and were severely discredited by Mao Ze-Dong. Moreover, Taiwan withdrew from the United Nations in 1971 and broke off its diplomatic relations with the USA. The main goal of the Taiwanese golf players was to compete in the name of the ‘Republic of China’; some even played the role of diplomats. The life story of Liang-Huan Lu exemplifies the development of golf in Taiwan. The following text asks the question whether a golfer can be successful promoting informal international relations, engaging in so-called ‘practical diplomacy’ instead formal political diplomacy. This paper adopted the methods of document analysis and oral history to describe how Liang-Huan Lu, who started as a golf caddie, became an international golfer and promoted the national interests of Taiwan. The conclusion is that the social and economic capital of golf players can be transformed into the symbolic capital of their country to gain greater international recognition. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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]

The events of the Slovak-Hungarian “Little War” are closely connected to the circumstances of Hungary’s re-annexation of Sub-Carpathia in March 1939, which took place under the motto of re-establishing a common Hungarian-Polish border. Corps belonging to the Carpathian section of the Hungarian army advanced into Sub-Carpathia and then proceeded to attack Slovak territories. Hungaryʼs official explanation for its occupation of Sub-Carpathia ran as follows: since Slovakia has become an independent state and thus Czechoslovakia no longer exists as a state, the Viennese arbitration is no longer valid. Hungary has won the right to exercise its claim to Sub-Carpathia. The military conflict between Slovakia and Hungary came to an end when Germany intervened and ordered the two parties to conduct bilateral negotiations with a view to reaching an agreement. At the negotiations on March 28, 1939, the parties agreed to end hostilities and to establish a neutral zone between the two armies. They also agreed that Hungarian troops might remain at their occupied positions. On March 28 the Slovak delegation announced claims on Hungarian territory by way of compensation, but the Hungarian government rejected these claims. Germany offered no support to the Slovaks on the border issue; indeed, on April 7 Slovak troops were even required to withdraw from various settlements on the Slovak side of the demarcation line. On April 3, 1939, the German Ambassador to Budapest, Otto von Erdmannsdorff, paid a visit to the Hungarian foreign minister, István Csáky; in the course of their discussions, the two men touched upon the issue of the border established with Slovakia. The Ambassador informed Csáky that the Slovak government had turned to Germany for support, but that it had been told that under the circumstances any attempt at the full restoration of the old border, which was Slovakia’s wish, would be futile. The German Ambassador then asked Csáky whether the Hungarian government would be willing to make certain territorial concessions. Csáky responded that this would be inconceivable — “where Hungarian soldiers have trodden, they will stay”. Hungary could keep the 60-kilometre long and 20-kilometre wide strip of land that it had taken from Slovakia. The Hungarian authorities attached the area of land Sub-Carpathia, of which it remained a part until 1944. In 1945 the newly re-established Czechoslovakia was obliged to surrender the railway line between Csap and Ungvár as well as the Ung line: the Czechoslovak-Soviet border — today’s frontier between Slovakia and Ukraine — was drawn ten to fifteen kilometres further west. During its engagements with the Slovak armed forces from March 23–28, 1939, the Hungarian army suffered 25 fatal and 56 non-fatal casualties; it captured 360 Slovak and 211 Czech/Moravian soldiers.

The relevance of the subject matter is conditioned primarily by the desire to achieve the national interests of Ukraine and the need to fight russian military aggression for the right to pursue an independent foreign policy. In this regard, the purpose of the study is to reveal the issue of the restoration of Ukraine’s activities in the political sphere as a result of the establishment of the United Nations. The main methods of research of this problem are: analysis, induction, deduction, and synthesis, which allow describing and highlighting the most important aspects of the development of Ukraine’s foreign policy, as well as diagnostic, comparative, system and structural methods. The paper examines the process of resumption of Ukraine’s foreign policy after the establishment of the United Nations. The role of Ukraine in the founding of the United Nations is considered, and its activities in the organisation are evaluated. The prerequisites and historical traditions of Ukrainian diplomacy are revealed. The activities of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and independent Ukraine in the United Nations bodies are investigated. The main modern achievements of Ukraine’s foreign policy are considered. It is determined that one of the main goals of Ukraine’s work in the UN Security Council was to inform council members and the international community about any attempts to escalate the situation in the temporarily occupied Crimea and Eastern Ukraine by russia. The main ways of the modern foreign policy of Ukraine were described, namely: preserving the supremacy of the state on its territory, independence in international relations, territorial integrity, and Euro-Atlantic integration. The materials of the study are of practical and theoretical value for political scientists, historians, other representatives of the scientific community, and researchers of the topic of restoring Ukraine’s foreign policy, who are interested in the features and aspects of this state activity, and study the role of Ukraine in the process of founding the United Nations

Copyright of Intus-Legere Historia is the property of Intus-Legere Historia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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 article provides information on the paper concerning the history of diplomacy in medieval and early modern Europe. It has been noted that diplomacy contributed to the development of multiple other discourses that structured in the country during the medieval and early modern periods. The history brought out a consciousness of diplomatic agency to develop on other areas of cultural and political practice in the country. Furthermore, several investigations and studies have been established beyond the national histories that continue to dominate most treatments of premodernity.

Under President Xi Jinping's leadership, Chinese foreign relations have moved from keeping a low profile, to a more assertive bid for international leadership that is beginning to take form in the 'belt and road initiative' (BRI). This initiative focuses on connectivity in policy coordination, facilities, trade, finance and people-to-people relations, in order to connect China to key parts of Asia, the south Pacific, east Africa and Europe. Networked capitalism and the national unit, which are often seen as spatial opposites in the global political economy, are both exercised through the BRI in mutually supporting ways. Networked capitalism is not challenging the national spatial unit, nor vice versa. Rather, they conglomerate to reinforce Chinese government narratives which portray China as the new trailblazer of global capitalism—thus illustrating and justifying a new Sinocentric order in east Asia. Likely winners of this constellation, if it is successful, are megalopolises in Eurasia, and most of all the Chinese Communist Party. Likely losers are countries that are not included in the BRI, most notably the United States. In a context where President Donald Trump is signalling a more protectionist stance and the United States is withdrawing from free trade pacts like the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Trump may ironically enable Xi's dream of making China great again. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines Zambia's engagement with the Middle East conflict from 1964–73 as a window into the political strategies and ideological ambitions of Kaunda's government in the first decade of independence. At the start of independence, Kaunda's domestic agenda led him to establish ties with Israel and to advance a program for cooperative development based on Israeli technical assistance. However, broader international concerns, filtered through the struggle against white minority regimes in southern Africa, ultimately led Kaunda to embrace a leadership role in international protests against Israel's policies towards its neighboring states. Zambia's foray into Middle East diplomacy in the first decade of independence enables a focused examination of Kaunda's presence in the international arena, while also revealing the compromises he made in the face of conflicting interests. Zambia's role in the Middle East conflict highlights this era as a time of confidence and claim-making by African leaders, but also one of concessions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article examines the maritime territorial dispute between North and South Korea. Topics include the strategic challenge that North Korea poses to the U.S. and its allies if it has an operational nuclear weapons capability, the history of the maritime dispute in the Yellow Sea, and several measures that may reduce tension. Also discussed are North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's advancement of their nuclear weapons program, the U.S.' alliance with South Korea, and the unwillingness of North and South Korea and the U.S. to risk war.

The article argues against South Korea's potential engagement toward North Korea as of October 2017. Topics include North Korea's policy on Seoul during the South Korean sunshine policy that aim to reunify the Koreas from 1998 to 2008, and the failure of Seoul's sunshine policy to change North Korea's foreign policy and domestic politics. Also discussed are the history of the relationship between the two Koreas, the U.S.'s stance on the issue, economic interdependence, and the economic and social interactions between the Koreas.

There is a growing view that the emerging brand of Chinese regional diplomacy in recent years is increasingly assertive. This article attempts to make better sense of this perceived more forceful Chinese diplomacy. It argues that Chinese regional behavior is more profitably understood through the lens of a two-pronged foreign policy strategy that combines two particular aspects. One is a tougher and more uncompromising approach toward issues that China regards as concerning its core interests. The other is a more flexible and cooperative position toward interests that, while significant, are of secondary importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A bitter conflict between the Spanish and Ottoman empires dominated the second half of the sixteenth century. In this early modern "global" conflict, intelligence played a key role. The Duchy of Milan, home to Simon Sacerdoti (c.1540-1600), a Jew, had fallen to Spain. The fate that usually awaited Jews living on Spanish lands was expulsion--and there were signs to suggest that King Philip II (1527-1598) might travel down that road. Sacerdoti, the scion of one of Milan's wealthiest and best-connected Jewish families had access to secret information through various contacts in Italy and North-Africa. Such intelligence was highly valuable to Spanish forces, and Philip II was personally interested in it. However, this required Sacerdoti to serve an empire--Spain--with a long history of harming the Jews, and to spy on the Ottomans, widely considered as the Jews' supporters at the time. This article offers a reflection on Simon Sacerdoti's story. Examining how a Jew became part of the Spanish intelligence agency helps us understand how early modern secret information networks functioned and sheds new light on questions of Jewish identity in a time of uprootedness and competing loyalties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the historical role and legacy of the foreign establishment in China's temporary capital Chongqing during the Chinese War of Resistance against Japan and the Second World War. This extraordinary episode, lasting from 1938 to 1946, ushered in a new era for China's foreign diplomacy and laid the foundation for its rise to world-power status. Placing Chongqing at the very heart of this epochal chapter in modern Chinese history, this article describes the major events, trends, and actors that directly or indirectly were instrumental to China's wartime transformation from a partitioned, de facto colony to a first-rate global power with a permanent seat among the ‘Big Five’. Seventy years after the end of the Second World War, this article presents fresh perspectives on a near-forgotten episode of China's war experience. Moving beyond the traditional typecasting of ‘Chungking’ as a primitive backwater in China's remote hinterland, this article reappraises wartime Chongqing as a major international centre at the spearhead of global change and as an important cradle of the modern power that China is today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few grassroots-based coalitions from a “peripheral” region have affected high international politics to the degree of creating a global domino effect. However, the process that led to Brazil’s declaration of Palestinian state recognition on 3 December 2010, followed by regional and worldwide echoes of similar actions, provides a pertinent illustration. This analysis examines the winding road to the declaration, focusing on the domestic circumstances that conditioned this Brazilian policy. Using process tracing and content analysis techniques, it describes how a pro-Palestinian Transnational Advocacy Network grew in its degree of institutionalisation, political access, and popular mobilisation, managing to constrain Brazilian policy-makers’ preferences. The findings suggest some novel insights about the changing nature of diplomacy and the role of civil societies in the “Battles for Legitimacy” that characterise contemporary global politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does Narendra Modi bring anything substantively new to Indian foreign policy? This article assesses Modi's record towards Pakistan and China, arguing that he has significantly changed the course of India's diplomacy, at two levels--bilateral diplomacy and coalition diplomacy. India has traditionally followed a policy of slow-to-anger, prudential bilateral diplomacy and, in the name of non-alignment, reluctant coalition-building against both powers. Under Modi, New Delhi has adopted a more assertive stance bilaterally and has actively sought to recruit third parties into a diplomatic coalition against Pakistan and China. Modi's assertive bilateralism has translated into an insistence that anti-terrorism is the only subject of discussion and that the Kashmir dispute with Pakistan is off the table. In the case of Beijing, assertive bilateralism has meant reversing India's traditional stance of normalization of relations leading to a border settlement by arguing that quicker progress on a settlement must be the condition for any further diplomatic normalization. Modi's coalition diplomacy has entailed an active engagement with the US, the Gulf countries and even China against Pakistan, and with the US, Australia, Japan, Vietnam and the Indian Ocean states against China. The objective is not alliance-building but rather the application of diplomatic pressures against India's two rivals. Modi's diplomacy has been marked by a cooperation--defection cycle with both powers, signalling a willingness to cooperate on India's terms and defect when it does not get its way. Not surprisingly, relations with both Pakistan and China have come under considerable strain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores China's economic statecraft as of January 2017. Topics include China's goal of becoming a global economic leader, President Xi Jinping's efforts to defend various aspects of globalization and free trade, and China's economic statecraft objectives under Xi Jinping. Also discussed are China's One Belt, One Road economic development initiative, economic diplomacy, relationship with the U.S., the history of its economic statecraft, and the domestic constraints challenging the country's economic statecraft.