DOCSLIB.ORG

Association of Studies, Research and Internationalization in Eurasia and Africa

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Association of Studies, Research and Internationalization in Eurasia and Africa ISSN 2532-845X ASRIE Association of Studies, Research and Internationalization in Eurasia and Africa GEOPOLITICAL REPORT Volume 3/2018 GEOPOLITICS OF EURASIA International relations, security issues and economic projects ASRIE Geopolitical Report Volume 3/2018 ISSN 2532-845X Geopolitical Report Geopolitics of Eurasia International Relations, security issues and economic problems Volume III Anno 2018 A publication of the Association of Studies, Research and Internationalization in Eurasia and Africa Online ISSN: 2532-845X Pag. 2 ASRIE Geopolitical Report Volume 3/2018 ISSN 2532-845X Pag. 3 ASRIE Geopolitical Report Volume 3/2018 ISSN 2532-845X Geopolitical Report A publication of the Association of Studies, Research and Internationalization in Eurasia and Africa (ASRIE) The third volume of Geopolitical Report titled Geopolitcs of Eurasia. International relations, security issues and economic projects aims at analysing the current political, economic, socio-cultural dynamics in Eurasia through a series of paper written by Italian and foreign experts, scholars and young researchers. Website: www.asrie.org Email: [email protected] Registered at the Italian Revenue Agency, Fiscal Code 97759360585 Online ISSN: 2532-845X Date: May 2018 Author(s): Alessandro C. Mauceri, Amedeo Maddaluno, Antonciro Cozzi, Clemente Herrero Fabre- gat, Daniele Garofalo, Domenico Caldaralo, Edoardo Corradi, Emanuele Aliprandi, Emanuele Pie- trobon, Francesco Balucani, Francesco Generoso, Giampiero Venturi, Giuliano Bifolchi, Igor Milič, Kaleriia Kramar, Luca Fortini, Ilenia Maria Calafiore, Michele Carretti Scope The aim of the Association of Studies, Research and Internationalization in Eurasia and Africa (ASRIE) is to promote international relations and business among Italy and foreign countries and further the study of and teaching on the geopolitical, economic, cultural and social characteristics processes and developments in different areas of the world. The Association is the result of shared experience and knowledge by professionals, geopolitical analyst, journalists, businessman and schol- ars willing to promote the intercultural exchange between Italy and the countries in the Eurasian Region and Africa, creating a link among the world of Business, Academy and Research. The association’s publication, Geopolitical Report, aims at investigating the current geopolitical and sociocultural events and trends which are shaping the world of international relations, business and security creating a debate by allowing scholars and professional experts to share their views, perspec- tives, working results, reports and research findings. One can submit manuscripts, analytical reports, critical responses, short articles, commentaries, book reviews to [email protected]. At www.asrie.org is it possible to find information about the association’s goals, activities, projects and publications which could be freely downloaded. Copyright © 2018 ASRIE All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied Pag. 4 ASRIE Geopolitical Report Volume 3/2018 ISSN 2532-845X in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at [email protected]. Pag. 5 ASRIE Geopolitical Report Volume 3/2018 ISSN 2532-845X Introduction The term “Eurasia” refers to a joint continental landmass of Europe and Asia which extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east and from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Indian Ocean in the south. Because the sepa- ration between Europe and Asia derives from historical social theory, it is possible to consider Eurasia as only one geographical entity with no distinctive physical division between the two continents. Around 5 billion people live in Eurasia, approximately 75 percent of the human population, and this continental landmass is rich in natural resources. These are two reasons why Eurasia is strategically important and has played a significant role in the world of geopolitics and international relations. In 1904 Halford Mackinder in his The geographical pivot of history affirmed that “Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland; Who rules the Heartland com- mands the World Island; Who rules the World Island commands the World.”. The Heartland was identified as a geographical region in the centre of Eurasia whose con- trol allows the dominion of the world. Successively Nicholas John Spykman criticising Mackinder's Heartland theory stated that “Who controls the Rimland rules Eurasia, who rules Eurasia controls the destinies of the world.” In his approach, Spykman described the strip of coastal land that encircles Eurasia called Rimland as a fundamental geopolitical region. Zbigniew Brzezinski in his book The grand chessboard: American pri- macy and its geostrategic imperatives noted that: “… A power that dominates Eurasia would control two of the world’s three most advanced and economically productive regions. A mere glance at the map also suggests that control ‘Eurasia’ would almost automati- cally entail Africa’s subordination, rendering the Western Hemisphere and Oceania geopolitically peripheral to the world’s central continent.” Pag. 6 ASRIE Geopolitical Report Volume 3/2018 ISSN 2532-845X All these theories elaborated in different periods emphasised the central role of Eurasia in the field of international relations and geopolitics. Therefore, the third volume of Geopolitical Report aims at analysing the geopolitics of Eurasia con- sidering international relations, security issues and economic problems. Domenico Caldaralo opens the discussion regarding Eurasia focusing the atten- tion on the Belt and Road Initiative, the Chinese strategy which promotes human and commercial interconnection between Europe and Asia. As underlined by the author, the Belt and Road Initiative wants to inaugurate a “space revolution” in the Eurasian continent with the purpose of changing the geopolitical balances in the region and be- ginning a new season of economic growth. The success of the Belt and Road Initiative relies on the stability and security of Eurasia. Nowadays, ethnic conflicts, geopolitical interests and the rise of the terrorist threat are potential menaces for the Chinese strategy. Indeed, a great accent in this volume has been given to the role of Islam in Eurasia in an era characterised by radi- calism, extremism and terrorism. Ilenia Maria Calafiore underlines the rise of Islamisation in the post-Soviet coun- tries describing the different approaches that central governments have adopted to con- trast or regulate Islam. As noted by Calafiore, in some countries the central authority decided to counter the Islamisation of the society, in others Islam began to play a deci- sive role in the national identity, while only a few countries have demonstrated their ability to exploit the Islamisation to reorient foreign and economic policy. Emanuel Pietrobon identifies radical Islam as the main threat to security and stability of Eurasia which is the continent most affected by Islamist terrorism since the 1980s. Pietrobon highlights as fundamental the cooperation between the different ac- tors in Eurasia to contrast the rise of terrorist organisations which have interested those countries characterised by large Muslim communities such as India, Philippines, China, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pag. 7 ASRIE Geopolitical Report Volume 3/2018 ISSN 2532-845X Francesco Balucani in his paper notes that jihadist propaganda is now merging with other types of extremism and supremacism, making terrorism a far more complex phenomenon than it was fifteen years ago. In his paper the author analyses terrorism in Eurasia and underlines that although an intense international cooperation is the only way to cope with transnational terrorism, there are both vexing impediments and high risks when signing bilateral or multilateral agreements on these issues. Speaking about Tajikistan, Luca Fortini discusses the rise of the terrorist threat in the Central Asian country which borders to Jihadist hotspots such as Afghanistan. The author recognises in the historical and political process of Tajikistan after the col- lapse of the Soviet Union and the birth of the republic as one of the causes of the radi- calisation process in the country. Economic and social problems together with political instability are destabilising factors which created a vacuum of power and distrust among the local population filled by jihadist organisations. Kaleriia Kramer analyses the case of Russia in the fight against terrorism with particular attention to the Informational Space. The author compares the ways of coun- teraction to terrorism in the information space in Russia and other countries of the world and considers the current international situation, which is characterised by in- creasing tension. In her article, Kramer underlines that it is fundamental the coopera- tion among the international actors and governments to counter the rise of terrorist threats. Unfortunately, the confrontation between Europe and Russia after the Ukrain- ian crisis and the cold relations between the Kremlin and the White House are among the reasons of a possible
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Violent Repression in Burma: Human Rights and the Global Response
    UCLA UCLA Pacific Basin Law Journal Title Violent Repression in Burma: Human Rights and the Global Response Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/05k6p059 Journal UCLA Pacific Basin Law Journal, 10(2) Author Guyon, Rudy Publication Date 1992 DOI 10.5070/P8102021999 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California COMMENTS VIOLENT REPRESSION IN BURMA: HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE GLOBAL RESPONSE Rudy Guyont TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ........................................ 410 I. SLORC AND THE REPRESSION OF THE DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT ....................... 412 A. Burma: A Troubled History ..................... 412 B. The Pro-Democracy Rebellion and the Coup to Restore Military Control ......................... 414 C. Post Coup Elections and Political Repression ..... 417 D. Legalizing Repression ........................... 419 E. A Country Rife with Poverty, Drugs, and War ... 421 II. HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN BURMA ........... 424 A. Murder and Summary Execution ................ 424 B. Systematic Racial Discrimination ................ 425 C. Forced Dislocations ............................. 426 D. Prolonged Arbitrary Detention .................. 426 E. Torture of Prisoners ............................. 427 F . R ape ............................................ 427 G . Portering ....................................... 428 H. Environmental Devastation ...................... 428 III. VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW ....... 428 A. International Agreements of Burma .............. 429 1. The U.N.
    [Show full text]
  • Balochistan Economic Report Background Paper on Social Structures and Migration
    First Draft - Do Not Cite TA4757-PAK: BALOCHISTAN ECONOMIC REPORT Balochistan Economic Report Background Paper on Social Structures and Migration Haris Gazdar 28 February 2007 Collective for Social Science Research 173-I Block 2, PECHS, Karachi 75400, Pakistan [email protected] The author gratefully acknowledges research assistance provided by Azmat Ali Budhani, Sohail Javed, Hussain Bux Mallah, and Noorulain Masood. Irfan Khan provided guidance with resource material and advised on historical references. Introduction Compared with other provinces of Pakistan, and Pakistan taken as a whole, Balochistan’s economic and social development appears to face particularly daunting challenges. The province starts from a relatively low level – in terms of social achievements such as health, education and gender equity indicators, economic development and physical infrastructure. The fact that Balochistan covers nearly half of the land area of Pakistan while accounting for only a twentieth of the country’s population is a stark enough reminder that any understanding of the province’s economic and social development will need to pay attention to its geographical and demographic peculiarities. Indeed, remoteness, environmental fragility and geographical diversity might be viewed as defining the context of development in the province. But interestingly, Balochistan’s geography might also be its main economic resource. The low population density implies that the province enjoys a potentially high value of natural resources per person. The forbidding topography is home to rich mineral deposits – some of which have been explored and exploited while yet others remain to be put to economic use. The land mass of the province endows Pakistan with a strategic space that might shorten trade and travel costs between emerging economic regions.
    [Show full text]
  • The Geopolitics of Change in Burma Bertil Lintner
    Asian Studies Centre, St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford Southeast Asia Seminars Wednesday 20th January, 2 p.m. Deakin Room, Founder’s Building, St Antony's College The Geopolitics of Change in Burma Bertil Lintner Independent Journalist and Author The United States and the West did not change their policy of isolating Burma because of their concerns were primarily with the lack of democracy and human rights. It was "the China factor". Burma was becoming a vassal of China, which was seen as a threat to the status quo and regional stability. At the same time, Burma's military was also concerned about China's growing influence and realised that it has to reach out to the West to avoid being absorbed by Chinese political, economic and strategic interests. But in order to "woo the West" they also realised that they had to liberalise the country's rigid political system - but not in a way that would jeopardise their hold on power. Bertil Lintner was born in Sweden in 1953 and left for Asia in 1975. He spent 1975-79 traveling in the Asia-Pacific region (the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia and New Zealand). He has been living permanently in Thailand since December 1979, working as a journalist and author. Mr Lintner was a freelance journalist until March 1988, when he was employed by the Far Eastern Economic Review of Hong Kong (for which he began writing on a free-lance basis in 1982) as its Burma correspondent. Later, he also covered a wide range of issues for the Review such as organized crime, ethnic and political insurgencies, and regional security.
    [Show full text]
  • Balochistan Review 2 2019
    - I - ISSN: 1810-2174 Balochistan Review Volume XLI No. 2, 2019 Recognized by Higher Education Commission of Pakistan Editor: Abdul Qadir Mengal BALOCHISTAN STUDY CENTRE UNIVERSITY OF BALOCHISTAN, QUETTA-PAKISTAN - II - Bi-Annual Research Journal “Balochistan Review” ISSN: 1810-2174 Publication of: Balochistan Study Centre, University of Balochistan, Quetta-Pakistan. @ Balochistan Study Centre 2019-2 Subscription rate in Pakistan: Institutions: Rs. 300/- Individuals: Rs. 200/- For the other countries: Institutions: US$ 15 Individuals: US$ 12 For further information please Contact: Abdul Qadir Mengal Assistant Professor & Editor Balochistan Review Balochistan Study Centre, University of Balochistan, Quetta-Pakistan. Tel: (92) (081) 9211255 Facsimile: (92) (081) 9211255 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.uob.edu.pk/journals/bsc.htm No responsibility for the views expressed by authors and reviewers in Balochistan Review is assumed by the Editor, Assistant Editor, and the Publisher. - III - Editorial Board Patron in Chief: Prof. Dr. Javeid Iqbal Vice Chancellor, University of Balochistan, Quetta-Pakistan. Patron Prof. Dr. Abdul Haleem Sadiq Director, Balochistan Study Centre, UoB, Quetta-Pakistan. Editor Abdul Qadir Mengal Asstt Professor, International Realation Department, UoB, Quetta-Pakistan. Assistant Editor Dr. Waheed Razzaq Assistant Professor, Brahui Department, UoB, Quetta-Pakistan. Members: Prof. Dr. Andriano V. Rossi Vice Chancellor & Head Dept of Asian Studies, Institute of Oriental Studies, Naples, Italy. Prof. Dr. Saad Abudeyha Chairman, Dept. of Political Science, University of Jordon, Amman, Jordon. Prof. Dr. Bertrand Bellon Professor of Int’l, Industrial Organization & Technology Policy, University de Paris Sud, France. Dr. Carina Jahani Inst. of Iranian & African Studies, Uppsala University, Sweden. Prof. Dr. Muhammad Ashraf Khan Director, Taxila Institute of Asian Civilizations, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, Pakistan.
    [Show full text]
  • Gulawar KHAN 2014.Pdf
    WestminsterResearch http://www.westminster.ac.uk/research/westminsterresearch Politics of nationalism, federalism, and separatism: The case of Balochistan in Pakistan Gulawar Khan Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities This is an electronic version of a PhD thesis awarded by the University of Westminster. © The Author, 2014. This is an exact reproduction of the paper copy held by the University of Westminster library. The WestminsterResearch online digital archive at the University of Westminster aims to make the research output of the University available to a wider audience. Copyright and Moral Rights remain with the authors and/or copyright owners. Users are permitted to download and/or print one copy for non-commercial private study or research. Further distribution and any use of material from within this archive for profit-making enterprises or for commercial gain is strictly forbidden. Whilst further distribution of specific materials from within this archive is forbidden, you may freely distribute the URL of WestminsterResearch: (http://westminsterresearch.wmin.ac.uk/). In case of abuse or copyright appearing without permission e-mail [email protected] POLITICS OF NATIONALISM, FEDERALISM, AND SEPARATISM: THE CASE OF BALOCHISTAN IN PAKISTAN GULAWAR KHAN A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Westminster for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2014 Author’s declaration This thesis is carried out as per the guidelines and regulations of the University of Westminster. I hereby declare that the materials contained in this thesis have not been previously submitted for a degree in any other university, including the University of Westminster.
    [Show full text]
  • Regional Political Parties& Democracy: a Case Study of Balochistan
    219 Bi-Annual Research Journal “JOURNAL OF EDUCATION & HUMANITIES RESEARCH” ISSN: 2415-2366 Institute of Education and Research (IER), UOB, Quetta Pakistan VOL.5.NO 1, 2018 Regional political Parties& democracy: a case study of Balochistan Fazli Subhan, M.Phil scholar Political Science Department, University of Balochistan, Quetta. Dr. Adil Zaman Kasi, Associate Professor, Political Science Department, University of Balochistan, Quetta. Abstract This paper is intended to study the regional political parties of Balochistan. Regional political parties play a prominent role in the politics of democratic countries. These provide services to thepeople at the doorsteps. Regional political parties in Balochistan play a great role in the politics of the region. Principal among them is National Party, Balochistan National Party (M), Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, Awami National Party, Balochistan National Party (A), Balochistan National Movement, and Jamhoori Watan Party. All the above parties were analyzed to see whether they follow the basic democratic processes. Among them, National Party was found to be the most democratic party. PkMAP has been successful to a large extent by getting seats in Balochistan Assembly, but in terms of intraparty democracy party leadership remained the same throughout the years and party constitution is found to be not up to the mark. All other parties though play a prominent role but were found to be least democratic. These parties have left a space for the parties like PMLN, PMLQ, and PPP etc which the latter have filled. Regional parties in Balochistan have to strive hard to consolidate their position. Key Words: Balochistan, Regional parties, democracy, National Party, Jamhoori Watan Party, Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party.
    [Show full text]
  • 4. Leftist Politics in British India, Himayatullah
    Leftist Politics in British India: A Case Study of the Muslim Majority Provinces Himayatullah Yaqubi ∗ Abstract The paper is related with the history and political developments of the various organizations and movements that espoused a Marxist, leftist and socialist approach in their policy formulation. The approach is to study the left’s political landscape within the framework of the Muslim majority provinces which comprised Pakistan after 1947. The paper would deal those political groups, parties, organizations and personalities that played significant role in the development of progressive, socialist and non-communal politics during the British rule. Majority of these parties and groups merged together in the post-1947 period to form the National Awami Party (NAP) in July 1957. It is essentially an endeavour to understand the direction of their political orientation in the pre-partition period to better comprehend their position in the post-partition Pakistan. The ranges of the study are much wide in the sense that it covers all the provinces of the present day Pakistan, including former East Pakistan. It would also take up those political figures that were influenced by socialist ideas but, at the same time, worked for the Muslim League to broaden its mass organization. In a nutshell the purpose of the article is to ∗ Research Fellow, National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research, Centre of Excellence, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 64 Pakistan Journal of History and Culture, Vol.XXXIV, No.I, 2013 study the pre-partition political strategies, line of thinking and ideological orientation of the components which in the post- partition period merged into the NAP in 1957.
    [Show full text]
  • Enforced Disappearances by Pakistan Security Forces in Balochistan
    Pakistan “We Can Torture, Kill, HUMAN RIGHTS or Keep You for Years” WATCH Enforced Disappearances by Pakistan Security Forces in Balochistan “We Can Torture, Kill, or Keep You for Years” Enforced Disappearances by Pakistan Security Forces in Balochistan Copyright © 2011 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 156432-786-8 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor New York, NY 10118-3299 USA Tel: +1 212 290 4700, Fax: +1 212 736 1300 [email protected] Poststraße 4-5 10178 Berlin, Germany Tel: +49 30 2593 06-10, Fax: +49 30 2593 0629 [email protected] Avenue des Gaulois, 7 1040 Brussels, Belgium Tel: + 32 (2) 732 2009, Fax: + 32 (2) 732 0471 [email protected] 51, Avenue Blanc 1202 Geneva, Switzerland Tel: +41 22 738 0481, Fax: +41 22 738 1791 [email protected] 2-12 Pentonville Road, 2nd Floor London N1 9HF, UK Tel: +44 20 7713 1995, Fax: +44 20 7713 1800 [email protected] 27 Rue de Lisbonne 75008 Paris, France Tel: +33 (1)43 59 55 35, Fax: +33 (1) 43 59 55 22 [email protected] 1630 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 500 Washington, DC 20009 USA Tel: +1 202 612 4321, Fax: +1 202 612 4333 [email protected] Web Site Address: http://www.hrw.org JULY 2011 1-56432-786-8 “We Can Torture, Kill, or Keep You for Years” Enforced Disappearances by Pakistan Security Forces in Balochistan Map of Balochistan .......................................................................................................................... i Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 1 Key Recommendations ......................................................................................................................... 6 Methodology .................................................................................................................................. 9 I.
    [Show full text]
  • Inside Balochistan's Forgotten Conflict
    Inside Balochistan’s Forgotten Conflict Understanding Pakistan’s Repressive Policies & Human Rights Violations 1 2 Balochistan’s Forgotten Conflict Pakistan’s Repressive Policies & Human Rights Violations 3 4 Balochistan’s Forgotten Conflict Overview: I. Balochistan: An Introduction 07 II. Human Rights Violations in Balochistan 09 III. Enforced Disappearances 14 IV. Political Assassinations and Targeted Killings 28 V. Mass Killings 38 VI. Abduction, Arrests & Detentions 39 VII. Displaced Baloch 45 VIII. Restrictions on Freedom of Expression 48 IX. Restrictions on Freedom of Association 53 X. Gender-Based Human Rights Violations 56 XI. The Neglected Region 59 XII. Development & Militarization 65 5 Balochistan’s Forgotten Conflict 6 Balochistan’s Forgotten Conflict Balochistan: An Introduction Balochistan is divided between Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. It strategically bridges the Middle East and Southwest Asia to Central Asia and South Asia, and forms the closest oceanic frontage for the land-locked countries of Central Asia. Balochistan is the largest among Pakistan's four provinces, comprising 43 per cent of land area. Around 13 million people inhabit Balochistan (both in Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan). Despite being the richest province in terms of energy and mineral resources, Balochistan remains one of the most under- developed and impoverished regions. The Baloch therefore have long been demanding the national right to self- determination and control over their land and resources. Although the Balochistan crisis pre- dates General Parvez Musharraf’s military regime, it still remains unaddressed. The denial of the fundamental right to self-determination has been a major cause of the ongoing conflict. Pakistani intelligence and security forces are using brute and suppressive policies to silence moderate Baloch nationalists.
    [Show full text]
  • Bertil Lintner GPO Box 79, Chiang Mai 50000, Thailand Mobile Phone: +66 86 911 3348 E-Mail: [email protected] and Bertil
    Bertil Lintner GPO Box 79, Chiang Mai 50000, Thailand Mobile phone: +66 86 911 3348 e-mail: [email protected] and [email protected] website www.asiapacificms.com CURRICULUM VITAE I was born in Sweden in 1953, left for Asia in 1975 and spent 1975-79 travelling in the Asia- Pacific region (the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Hongkong, Japan, Australia and New Zealand). I have been living permanently in Thailand since December 1979, working as a journalist and author since 1980. I was a free-lance journalist until March 1988, when I was employed by the Far Eastern Economic Review of Hong Kong (for which I began writing on a free-lance basis in 1982) as its Burma correspondent. Later, I also covered a range of other issues for the Review such as organized crime, ethnic and political insurgencies, and regional security. After the Review was closed down in October 2004, I began working as a senior analyst for Jane’s Information Group in the USA. From 1995 to 2014 I was also the East Asia correspondent for the Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet, and from 1995 to 2003 the Southeast Asia correspondent for Politiken of Denmark. I am now a full-time correspondent for the Hong Kong-based news agency Asia Pacific Media Services and I write regularly for Asia Times (http://www.atimes.com/), The Irrawaddy (https://www.irrawaddy.com/) and other, mainly local websites and publications. In addition to my media work, I served as President of the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT) from January 1993 to January 1995.
    [Show full text]
  • Old Friends, New Partners, and Troubled Times: North Korea's
    International Journal of Korean Unification Studies Vol. 26, No. 2, 2017, 1−34. Old Friends, New Partners, and Troubled Times: North Korea’s Relations With Southeast Asia Brian Bridges Taking a broad historical perspective, this article examines the charac- ter of North Korea’s relationships with the individual member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as well as with ASEAN as a regional organization. North Korea, with its limited experience of interact- ing with regional cooperation organizations, has approached Southeast Asia in terms of individual bilateral relationships that can be leveraged through historical and ideological linkages. It was not until the 1990s that North Korea took ASEAN seriously, but even then its focus remained pri- marily on preventing a unified position from being sustained. However, the continued nuclear and missile tests have pushed ASEAN into taking stronger critical actions against the North, despite ASEAN’s aspiration to play a mediating role. Keywords: North Korea, ASEAN, Legitimacy, Security, Development In March 2016, Le Luong Minh, Secretary-General of the Associa- tion of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), received the credentials of the new Ambassador from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, or North Korea hereafter), An Kwang Il. During their exchange of courteous remarks, Ambassador An explained that his country looked forward to ‘expanding and developing cooperation with ASEAN,’ while Le mentioned that he specifically hoped for ‘greater and active participation’ by North Korea in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). Notably, however, Le also reaffirmed the ASEAN posi- tion on the ‘importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Korean peninsula and the wider region.’1 This caveat reflected the fact that only 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Arming Nonalignment: Yugoslavia's Relations with Burma and the Cold
    WORKING PAPER #61 Arming Nonalignment: Yugoslavia’s Relations with Burma and the Cold war in Asia (1950-1955) By Jovan Čavoški, April 2010 THE COLD WAR INTERNATIONAL HISTORY PROJECT WORKING PAPER SERIES Christian F. Ostermann and Mircea Munteanu Series Editors This paper is one of a series of Working Papers published by the Cold War International History Project of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. Established in 1991 by a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Cold War International History Project (CWIHP) disseminates new information and perspectives on the history of the Cold War as it emerges from previously inaccessible sources on “the other side” of the post-World War II superpower rivalry. The project supports the full and prompt release of historical materials by governments on all sides of the Cold War, and seeks to accelerate the process of integrating new sources, materials and perspectives from the former “Communist bloc” with the historiography of the Cold War which has been written over the past few decades largely by Western scholars reliant on Western archival sources. It also seeks to transcend barriers of language, geography, and regional specialization to create new links among scholars interested in Cold War history. Among the activities undertaken by the project to promote this aim are a periodic BULLETIN to disseminate new findings, views, and activities pertaining to Cold War history; a fellowship program for young historians from the former Communist bloc to conduct archival research and study Cold War history in the United States; international scholarly meetings, conferences, and seminars; and publications.
    [Show full text]