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Relying on a larger body of updated Chinese sources, Li re-evaluates many key issues in post-Mao Chinese Sovietology, arguing that the Chinese views on the Soviet Union had been influenced and shaped by the ups-and-downs of Sino-Soviet (and later Sino-Russian) relations, China’s domestic political climate, and the political developments in Moscow. By researching the country of the Soviet Union, Chinese Soviet-watchers did not focus on the USSR alone, but mostly attempted to confirm and legitimize the Chinese state policies of reform and open door in both decades. By examining the Soviet past, Chinese scholars not only demonstrated concern for the survival of the CCP regime, but also attempted to envision the future direction and position of China in the post-communist world.
Relying on a larger body of updated Chinese sources, Li re-evaluates many key issues in post-Mao Chinese Sovietology, arguing that the Chinese views on the Soviet Union had been influenced and shaped by the ups-and-downs of Sino-Soviet (and later Sino-Russian) relations, China’s domestic political climate, and the political developments in Moscow. By researching the country of the Soviet Union, Chinese Soviet-watchers did not focus on the USSR alone, but mostly attempted to confirm and legitimize the Chinese state policies of reform and open door in both decades. By examining the Soviet past, Chinese scholars not only demonstrated concern for the survival of the CCP regime, but also attempted to envision the future direction and position of China in the post-communist world.
Despite the centrality of this juridical-political phenomenon in Latin America, it is hardly known to the Anglo-Saxon public. This book seeks to fill this gap. In an accessible style, the authors deconstruct the judicial language and the main problematics of lawfare, calling attention to the fact that it might end up demolishing the rule of law for the sake of fostering the most cruel forms of neoliberalism.
Despite the centrality of this juridical-political phenomenon in Latin America, it is hardly known to the Anglo-Saxon public. This book seeks to fill this gap. In an accessible style, the authors deconstruct the judicial language and the main problematics of lawfare, calling attention to the fact that it might end up demolishing the rule of law for the sake of fostering the most cruel forms of neoliberalism.
Abstract
Expatriate citizens of countries under authoritarian rule have been increasingly engaging in protest against repression in their home countries. Whether such diaspora protests can boost social uprisings inside authoritarian countries, however, is yet to be analysed. I hypothesise that diaspora protests inspire protest against authoritarian rulers inside the home country by reducing political repression or providing the dissidents with a perception of political opportunity. To test this hypothesis, I use Iran as a case study of an authoritarian regime with a sizeable diaspora and notable protest surges in recent decades. Using daily protest data from 1996 to 2018, results show that protests against the Iranian regime by Iranian expatriates were followed by a significant increase in the chance of protest incidence inside Iran. This association is robust to a variety of modelling specifications and independent of the role of transnational organisational links between activists, which has been documented in the literature previously.
Summary
The European Union (EU) has become a key player in space, second only to that of the USA. This article discusses what type of diplomatic actor the EU is in space by exploring whether it contributes to peaceful co-operation or if the EU — due to increasing geopolitical competition on Earth — is developing into a traditional realist actor. For this purpose, it applies three analytically distinct models of EU space policies, applicable also to other Global Commons areas. It finds that the EU does not treat space as an area of geopolitical competition. Instead, it contributes to space diplomacy through its focus on regulating and institutionalising space activities. However, rather than being driven by ‘the space flight idea’, the EU is committed to the peaceful development of space mainly for economic, strategic and societal purposes, in line with what one would expect of a liberal institutionalist actor.
Summary
This article explores the role of materiality in space diplomacy through the example of orbital docking technology by tracing its evolution from the early days of the space age to the International Space Station — and beyond. Drawing on the use of assemblage theory in political geography, this article argues for a ‘more-than-human’ approach to space diplomacy to supplement and provide an alternative to conventional approaches to diplomacy studies. By conceptualising the International Space Station as a diplomatic assemblage with which the multinational partners become enmeshed, we investigate how materials, specifically androgynous orbital docking technology, fostered co-operation and peace in the wake of the Cold War and which continues today.