The analysis is undertaken to evaluate the lumbering state of nuclear deterrence in South Asia. It ponders to foresee the veracity of India-Pakistan strategic stability by deliberating upon the equivocal doctrines and ambiguity on nuclear weapon postures at both ends. Communication, Command and Control Systems (C3S), traditionally considered as a robust feature of nuclear apparatus, faces an extraordinary challenge in the age of cyber propaganda and disinformation. The escalating tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad over the Kashmir dispute are deemed alarming for the international community as the two countries particularly India possess no ceding traits within its present foreign policy behaviour. The successful working of nuclear deterrence depends upon the rationality of state leadership. It is questionable whether it may be so in the case of ruling Bhartiya Janata Party whose war-mongering anti-Pakistan fervour continues to be inspired by religious fanaticism and jingoism. The animus surviving for several decades in India-Pakistan bilateral coalesce has the potential to transform the South Asian region into a nuclear cauldron - the consequences of which would be appalling for states in the region and beyond.
{"title":"Pakistan's Perspective on Nuclear Deterrence in South Asia","authors":"Ramla Khan, Zaeem Hassan Mehmood","doi":"10.22452/mjir.vol8no1.2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22452/mjir.vol8no1.2","url":null,"abstract":"The analysis is undertaken to evaluate the lumbering state of nuclear deterrence in South Asia. It ponders to foresee the veracity of India-Pakistan strategic stability by deliberating upon the equivocal doctrines and ambiguity on nuclear weapon postures at both ends. Communication, Command and Control Systems (C3S), traditionally considered as a robust feature of nuclear apparatus, faces an extraordinary challenge in the age of cyber propaganda and disinformation. The escalating tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad over the Kashmir dispute are deemed alarming for the international community as the two countries particularly India possess no ceding traits within its present foreign policy behaviour. The successful working of nuclear deterrence depends upon the rationality of state leadership. It is questionable whether it may be so in the case of ruling Bhartiya Janata Party whose war-mongering anti-Pakistan fervour continues to be inspired by religious fanaticism and jingoism. The animus surviving for several decades in India-Pakistan bilateral coalesce has the potential to transform the South Asian region into a nuclear cauldron - the consequences of which would be appalling for states in the region and beyond.","PeriodicalId":33531,"journal":{"name":"Malaysian Journal of International Relations","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45147362","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Malaysia's Membership at the United Nations Security Council 2015-2016: Successes and Setback","authors":"Murni Abdul Hamid","doi":"10.22452/mjir.vol8no1.6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22452/mjir.vol8no1.6","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":33531,"journal":{"name":"Malaysian Journal of International Relations","volume":"48 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90544642","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This commentary tries to explain the dimension of elites’ discourse and power struggle within Timor’s heroic struggle to determine its maritime boundary and oil-to-Timor. It aims to discuss the most elementary form of a power struggle of the elites behind the discourse of oil-to-Timor and the establishment of a new maritime boundary with Australia. This commentary concludes that the aspirations of Total-Complete Independence secured by the formula of oil-to-Timor and the establishment of the permanent maritime boundary with Australia is totally a fetishist delusion and resides precisely in self-serving desires of nationalist elites searching for the preservation of power, privilege and recognition; and the discourse itself serves as a moral and political mobilisation of the politico-economic elites.
{"title":"Oil-Boundary and Total-Complete Independence: Elite’s Power Struggle and the Power Discourse","authors":"Fernando A. T. Ximenes","doi":"10.22452/mjir.vol8no1.9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22452/mjir.vol8no1.9","url":null,"abstract":"This commentary tries to explain the dimension of elites’ discourse and power struggle within Timor’s heroic struggle to determine its maritime boundary and oil-to-Timor. It aims to discuss the most elementary form of a power struggle of the elites behind the discourse of oil-to-Timor and the establishment of a new maritime boundary with Australia. This commentary concludes that the aspirations of Total-Complete Independence secured by the formula of oil-to-Timor and the establishment of the permanent maritime boundary with Australia is totally a fetishist delusion and resides precisely in self-serving desires of nationalist elites searching for the preservation of power, privilege and recognition; and the discourse itself serves as a moral and political mobilisation of the politico-economic elites.","PeriodicalId":33531,"journal":{"name":"Malaysian Journal of International Relations","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47270632","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-22DOI: 10.22452/mjir.vol8no1.10
Soon Thean Bee
{"title":"Max Abrahams, (2018). Rules for Rebels: The Science of Victory in Militant History. New York: Oxford University Press","authors":"Soon Thean Bee","doi":"10.22452/mjir.vol8no1.10","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22452/mjir.vol8no1.10","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":33531,"journal":{"name":"Malaysian Journal of International Relations","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68662987","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
COVID-19 pandemic, a disaster for humankind in the twenty-first century, has posed a significant impact over the already established US-centred global order. This established order has been challenged by the rise of China, particularly due to some uneven trade war between the two global giants: the United States and China. This US-China dichotomy is further enhanced due to the outbreak of the current COVID-19 pandemic. The inward policy of the United States during the pandemic and the growing cooperation of China in preventing the pandemic is establishing China as a savior to the coronavirusaffected countries. Considering the rivalry between the United States and China amid the pandemic, the main objective of the paper is to find out their global responses to COVID19 and how they maximise their opportunities to lead the post-COVID-19 global order. This article argues that China’s ‘One Belt, One Road (OBOR)’ policy could be one of the forefront issues for Chinese leaders to lead the post-COVID-19 global order due to Trump’s inward ‘America First’ policy. Finally, the article examines the challenges of China to formulate its desire to changing global order having the US-China dichotomy and geopolitical barriers as well.
{"title":"United States-China Dichotomy and Its Impact on Post Covid-19 Global Politics: A Critical Analysis","authors":"Md. Saifullah Akon","doi":"10.22452/mjir.vol8no1.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22452/mjir.vol8no1.1","url":null,"abstract":"COVID-19 pandemic, a disaster for humankind in the twenty-first century, has posed a significant impact over the already established US-centred global order. This established order has been challenged by the rise of China, particularly due to some uneven trade war between the two global giants: the United States and China. This US-China dichotomy is further enhanced due to the outbreak of the current COVID-19 pandemic. The inward policy of the United States during the pandemic and the growing cooperation of China in preventing the pandemic is establishing China as a savior to the coronavirusaffected countries. Considering the rivalry between the United States and China amid the pandemic, the main objective of the paper is to find out their global responses to COVID19 and how they maximise their opportunities to lead the post-COVID-19 global order. This article argues that China’s ‘One Belt, One Road (OBOR)’ policy could be one of the forefront issues for Chinese leaders to lead the post-COVID-19 global order due to Trump’s inward ‘America First’ policy. Finally, the article examines the challenges of China to formulate its desire to changing global order having the US-China dichotomy and geopolitical barriers as well.","PeriodicalId":33531,"journal":{"name":"Malaysian Journal of International Relations","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45012338","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
One important but understudied political reform under President Xi Jinping since 2012 is the revival of contact points (lianxi dian) as a means for Chinese Communist Party (CCP) cadres to establish and maintain close ties with specific constituencies. The revival of contact points has the potential to disrupt dominant patterns of patronage in China and to enhance Party legitimacy. We analyse government claims about the impact of cadre contact points on national Party discipline and personnel, as well as on grassroots poverty reduction schemes and anti-corruption initiatives. Drawing on official sources, we find that contact points are framed as pragmatic government reforms with limited connection to Party ideology. The current reforms in China combine traditional state investigative powers and bureaucratic imperatives with heavily circumscribed channels for civic engagement. Party cadres appear to be given degrees of freedom to take their own policy initiatives at contact points, which create risks, but generally serve to legitimize the CCP.
{"title":"The Revival of Contact Points as a Form of Party Legitimation in Contemporary China","authors":"A. Tyson, Xinye Wu","doi":"10.22452/mjir.vol7no1.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22452/mjir.vol7no1.1","url":null,"abstract":"One important but understudied political reform under President Xi Jinping since 2012 is the revival of contact points (lianxi dian) as a means for Chinese Communist Party (CCP) cadres to establish and maintain close ties with specific constituencies. The revival of contact points has the potential to disrupt dominant patterns of patronage in China and to enhance Party legitimacy. We analyse government claims about the impact of cadre contact points on national Party discipline and personnel, as well as on grassroots poverty reduction schemes and anti-corruption initiatives. Drawing on official sources, we find that contact points are framed as pragmatic government reforms with limited connection to Party ideology. The current reforms in China combine traditional state investigative powers and bureaucratic imperatives with heavily circumscribed channels for civic engagement. Party cadres appear to be given degrees of freedom to take their own policy initiatives at contact points, which create risks, but generally serve to legitimize the CCP.","PeriodicalId":33531,"journal":{"name":"Malaysian Journal of International Relations","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48376628","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The main objective of Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy is to reduce Taiwan’s economic dependence on Mainland China and seek a new engine for the economic development of Taiwan. Malaysia has the advantage of stable politics and open markets relative to other ASEAN countries. Under the “New Southbound Policy” launched in 2016 by Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen Administration to encourage local enterprises to invest in and trade with Southeast Asian countries. Malaysia as one of the most important Southeast Asian countries are attracting FDI from Taiwan with her rich natural resources, cheap labour cost, similar culture, and the easy-access sale network that connects ASEAN countries. Besides, other aspects including cultural and other societal, people-to-people, interactions also represent important foci of Taiwan-Malaysia bilateral relations under the New Southbound Policy.
{"title":"Malaysia-Taiwan Relations and Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy","authors":"E. Yeoh, Chang-Wook Lee, Zhang Yemo","doi":"10.22452/MJIR.VOL6NO1.3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22452/MJIR.VOL6NO1.3","url":null,"abstract":"The main objective of Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy is to reduce Taiwan’s economic dependence on Mainland China and seek a new engine for the economic development of Taiwan. Malaysia has the advantage of stable politics and open markets relative to other ASEAN countries. Under the “New Southbound Policy” launched in 2016 by Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen Administration to encourage local enterprises to invest in and trade with Southeast Asian countries. Malaysia as one of the most important Southeast Asian countries are attracting FDI from Taiwan with her rich natural resources, cheap labour cost, similar culture, and the easy-access sale network that connects ASEAN countries. Besides, other aspects including cultural and other societal, people-to-people, interactions also represent important foci of Taiwan-Malaysia bilateral relations under the New Southbound Policy.","PeriodicalId":33531,"journal":{"name":"Malaysian Journal of International Relations","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47789544","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This commentary discusses the impact of geography in asymmetric warfare in order to analyze how an inferior side acting from a geographical advantage can cast a challenge to the superior party in the conflict. As such, the paper focuses on the context of narrow seas, the opportunities and challenges that the geographical configuration of the seas create for adversaries, its impact on their capabilities and influence on their choices. Subsequently, it attempts to illustrate the role of geography in enhancing the efficiency of small arms tactics and unconventional warfare at seas, henceforth, realizing the spatial factor behind the rise of non-state actors as a major threat in maritime security. The commentary then discusses the case of the Houthi insurgency in Yemen to empirically explore their utilization of the geographical location of the country at the southern entrance of the Red Sea, near Bab el-Mandeb Strait in order to execute sporadic military operations against the more superior coalition led by Saudi Arabia.
{"title":"The Influence of Geography in Asymmetric Conflicts in Narrow Seas and the Houthi Insurgency in Yemen","authors":"Khaldon Ahmed Abdulla, Jatswan Singh","doi":"10.22452/MJIR.VOL6NO1.7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22452/MJIR.VOL6NO1.7","url":null,"abstract":"This commentary discusses the impact of geography in asymmetric warfare in order to analyze how an inferior side acting from a geographical advantage can cast a challenge to the superior party in the conflict. As such, the paper focuses on the context of narrow seas, the opportunities and challenges that the geographical configuration of the seas create for adversaries, its impact on their capabilities and influence on their choices. Subsequently, it attempts to illustrate the role of geography in enhancing the efficiency of small arms tactics and unconventional warfare at seas, henceforth, realizing the spatial factor behind the rise of non-state actors as a major threat in maritime security. The commentary then discusses the case of the Houthi insurgency in Yemen to empirically explore their utilization of the geographical location of the country at the southern entrance of the Red Sea, near Bab el-Mandeb Strait in order to execute sporadic military operations against the more superior coalition led by Saudi Arabia.","PeriodicalId":33531,"journal":{"name":"Malaysian Journal of International Relations","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42753033","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper sets out to present immigrants’ efforts and contributions in making Kano the largest textile trade entrepot and production centre. It covers the span of seven centuries from pre-colonial, colonial to post-colonial times. This paper argues that immigrants played a central role in the transformation of the Kano textile industry. The transformation of Kano from a tribal backwater to a remarkable textile hub was made possible through the assimilation and integration of different groups of immigrants. Importantly, it discusses the Chinese immigrants’ phenomena in the occupying Kano market, where they forcefully drew back the wheel of Kano textile growth to the disadvantage of the local economy with their competitive advantage. This paper concludes that exploitations by immigrants have changed the historical narratives of the Kano textile industry from one based on local economic growth to external power exploitation.
{"title":"The End of History: The Role of Immigrants in Kano Textile Industry","authors":"Murtala Muhammad","doi":"10.22452/mjir.vol6no1.6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22452/mjir.vol6no1.6","url":null,"abstract":"This paper sets out to present immigrants’ efforts and contributions in making Kano the largest textile trade entrepot and production centre. It covers the span of seven centuries from pre-colonial, colonial to post-colonial times. This paper argues that immigrants played a central role in the transformation of the Kano textile industry. The transformation of Kano from a tribal backwater to a remarkable textile hub was made possible through the assimilation and integration of different groups of immigrants. Importantly, it discusses the Chinese immigrants’ phenomena in the occupying Kano market, where they forcefully drew back the wheel of Kano textile growth to the disadvantage of the local economy with their competitive advantage. This paper concludes that exploitations by immigrants have changed the historical narratives of the Kano textile industry from one based on local economic growth to external power exploitation.","PeriodicalId":33531,"journal":{"name":"Malaysian Journal of International Relations","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47851070","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper looks at the latest maritime boundary dispute between Malaysia and Singapore and examines the salient issues and means of dispute settlement mechanisms open to both in resolving this quagmire. With Singapore submitting its declaration pursuant to Article 298 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982) on 12th December 2018 is not accepting any of the procedures provided for in Section 2 of Part XV of UNCLOS 1982, this effectively means that resort to adjudicative tribunals as per the said Section is now out of the equation, and the only method(s) to pursue now would be via consensual or diplomatic channels. This paper will look at the opportunities lost from this choice made by the government of the Republic of Singapore, but, at the same time will ponder upon the possibilities of resolution of the dispute by bilateral efforts, and possibly the engagement of third parties as provided under Article 33 of the UN Charter, e.g. via the ASEAN dispute settlement mechanism. With Singapore still continuing with massive reclamation works along its coast, while at the same time not recognizing any of the official maps published by the government of Malaysia, and with the change of the diplomatic ambience brought by the new government under Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, the prospect of a definitive resolution seems to be rather grim.
本文着眼于马来西亚和新加坡之间最新的海上边界争端，并探讨了双方在解决这一困境时面临的突出问题和争端解决机制的手段。新加坡于2018年12月12日根据1982年《联合国海洋法公约》第298条提交声明，不接受1982年《联合国海洋法公约》第十五部分第二节规定的任何程序，这实际上意味着根据该节诉诸仲裁庭的办法已经不可能了，现在唯一的办法将是通过协商一致或外交渠道。本文将着眼于新加坡共和国政府的这一选择所失去的机会，但与此同时，将思考通过双边努力解决争端的可能性，以及根据联合国宪章第33条规定的第三方参与的可能性，例如通过东盟争端解决机制。新加坡仍在沿海进行大规模填海工程，同时又不承认马来西亚政府发布的任何官方地图，再加上首相敦马哈蒂尔·穆罕默德(Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad)领导的新政府改变了外交氛围，达成最终解决方案的前景似乎相当黯淡。
{"title":"Malaysia-Singapore Maritime Boundary Dispute: Salient Issues, Prospects and Challenges","authors":"W. S. R. W. Jaffri","doi":"10.22452/MJIR.VOL6NO1.8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22452/MJIR.VOL6NO1.8","url":null,"abstract":"This paper looks at the latest maritime boundary dispute between Malaysia and Singapore and examines the salient issues and means of dispute settlement mechanisms open to both in resolving this quagmire. With Singapore submitting its declaration pursuant to Article 298 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982) on 12th December 2018 is not accepting any of the procedures provided for in Section 2 of Part XV of UNCLOS 1982, this effectively means that resort to adjudicative tribunals as per the said Section is now out of the equation, and the only method(s) to pursue now would be via consensual or diplomatic channels. This paper will look at the opportunities lost from this choice made by the government of the Republic of Singapore, but, at the same time will ponder upon the possibilities of resolution of the dispute by bilateral efforts, and possibly the engagement of third parties as provided under Article 33 of the UN Charter, e.g. via the ASEAN dispute settlement mechanism. With Singapore still continuing with massive reclamation works along its coast, while at the same time not recognizing any of the official maps published by the government of Malaysia, and with the change of the diplomatic ambience brought by the new government under Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, the prospect of a definitive resolution seems to be rather grim.","PeriodicalId":33531,"journal":{"name":"Malaysian Journal of International Relations","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45955847","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：