Explore the vast range of titles available.

The 'China's Dream', the name by which China's Grand Political-Military Strategy is known, continues to incite the minds of theorists. But, most of them prefer to analyse China's actions at the tactical level, omitting to show the big picture of the strategy that coordinates all these actions. Actions that aim to put China back on the imperial pedestal from which it was lowered many hundreds of years ago, due to a combination of economic, political and military factors. So, this article aims to present the ends and ways of the Grand Hegemonic Strategy to transform China into a global maritime power. Status that comes to complete China's already existing continental power, in a new hegemonic, continental-maritime format. In this regard, the article uses the geopolitical research method, which combines analysis-synthesis with retrospective and inductive-deductive analysis. The data used are exclusively from open sources, and the research design is linear, starting with the formulation of the working hypothesis, continuing with data collection, analysis and synthesis, and ending with conclusions.

This article examines the sacred biography of Phrom, a cultural and divine Buddhist hero of Yonok. It also unravels the impact of his biography on the re-construction of Yonok-Lanna political identity in Siam and Lao. It does so by tracking down on the roles of either those rulers who use the term 'phrom' as parts of their given names; or those portrayed as descendants of Phrom. These rulers include: Lanna royal members in the fourteenth century; Ayutthaya kings from U Thong (r.1351-1369) to Maha Jakkraphat (r.1548/9-1569); Lan Xang kings from Chaiyachettha (r.1547/8-1571) to Suriyavongsa (1636/7-1694); and Lanna governors under Siamese control up to the early twentieth century. Textual sources used for this research include: northern Siamese legends, royal chronicles, inscriptions, European writings, manuscripts, and royal diaries. Research findings suggest that Phrom's legends and the royal use of the term 'phrom' not only functioned to re-construct the identity of royal families and entourage in Lanna, Ayutthaya and Lao, but they established royal linkages amongst these kingdoms. This article represents the alternative view that an understanding of Siamese and Lao histories requires those of Yonok and Lanna. This challenges the nationalist, mainstream Thai view that separates Lanna from Siamese history for creating a single Siamese identity.

This article examines the role of election technology through a power-relations perspective to challenge the dominant technologically centric approach in evaluating election systems. Focusing on the e-recapitulation technology used in Indonesia's 2024 General Election, this qualitative case study draws on semi-structured interviews and process analysis of the electoral management workflow. The study shows that the ethical challenges of electoral technology extend beyond technical system compliance. Key risks, such as perceived manipulation, limited transparency, and weak communication capacity within the electoral management body, shape public trust and influence the perceived integrity of election results. These findings demonstrate that election technology is not merely a technical artifact but a contested arena of power, legitimacy, and ethical governance. The study contributes to debates on digital democracy and algorithmic governance by highlighting the need to incorporate ethical, relational, and communicative dimensions into electoral technology design. Strengthening these aspects is crucial for ensuring public trust and enhancing the quality and credibility of electoral governance in emerging democracies.

After World War II, the situation in Indochina had complicated changes. Japan surrendered to the allies and the situation was favorable for the French army to return to Indochina to continue its colonial rule as before 1945. That sparked a war, mainly between Vietnam (the Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and the French colonialists. The war took place across the entire Indochina peninsula and was one of the hot spots of the cold war. Since 1950, Vietnam received support from the Soviet Union and China. The war with greater advantages gradually tilted towards Vietnam. In 1954, despite receiving great support from the United States, the French army still failed at Dien Bien Phu. This led to a military and political settlement at the Geneva conference. During this conference, the plans and plots of major countries fully reflected the complexity that the Cold War brought. The fate of small and weak countries was not taken seriously, which resulted in persistent conflicts, sparking the next large-scale war in Vietnam and the entire Indochina peninsula from 1961 to 1975.

This study aims to contribute to the policy discourse on the Bangsamoro peace process by examining the affect, behavior, cognition and attitude of stakeholders towards the Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (OLBARMM) using the Tripartite Theory of Attitude. The study used a mixed methods research design, and conducted both survey and personal interviews. PLS-SEM and PLS-MGA determined the significant factors that affect the attitude towards OLBARMM and the significant differences by age and province. Quantitative findings of the study reveal that, in the overall model, both affect and behavior significantly and positively influence the attitude of respondents towards OLBARMM while cognition does not. This implies that feelings and actions are stronger determinants of attitude than actual knowledge of the law. Age did not emerge as a significant moderating variable, meaning that both younger and older respondents appear to follow a similar pattern with respect to attitude formation. Province however emerged as a significant moderating variable in terms of cognition, revealing that respondents from Maguindanao tend to rely on their knowledge of OLBARMM more than respondents from Lanao del Sur in deciding their overall attitude towards the law. Moreover, qualitative findings have further revealed that there is a general positive feeling towards OLBARMM however there are also critical challenges that must be addressed. The stakeholders have voted for OLBARMM but continue to harbor some apprehension and doubt as to its effectiveness. They are hopeful that it will be a tool to develop and stabilize the region. Understanding the attitudes, perceptions and knowledge of the stakeholders on the Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (OLBARMM) is important for two reasons. Primarily, it is a landmark legislation in as far as addressing one of the longest armed conflicts in the contemporary times. Secondly, and more importantly, the OLBARMM is hailed for having entrenched provisions that when effectively and efficiently implemented will lead to socially-inclusive, thus strengthening democratic governance in fragile context like the Southern Philippines. It also introduced the concept of a hybrid structure whereby a parliamentary form of government is adopted at the regional level, as an autonomous unit allowing greater fiscal and political powers yet supervised still by the national government through the office of the President. This kind of institutional design has been challenged by certain political actors within the Philippine state raises the question of constitutionality of the OLBARMM, thus makes the case of this study an interesting source of inquiry for students of social sciences, public policy, and peacebuilding experts and scholars. Noteworthy, the passage of the OLBARMM is identified as a necessary structural reform to address the persistent threat of violent extremism and terrorism in the country, and the larger Southeast Asian region.

Neoliberal economics have emerged in the post-Cold War era as the predominant ideological tenet applied to the development of countries in the global south. For much of the global south, however, the promise that markets will bring increased standards of living and emancipation from tyranny has been an empty one. Instead, neoliberalisation has increased the gap between rich and poor and unleashed a firestorm of social ills. This book deals with the post-conflict geographies of violence and neoliberalisation in Cambodia. Applying a geographical analysis to contemporary Cambodian politics, the author employs notions of neoliberalism, public space, and radical democracy as the most substantive components of its theoretical edifice. He argues that the promotion of unfettered marketisation is the foremost causal factor in the country’s inability to consolidate democracy following a United Nations sponsored transition. The book demonstrates Cambodian perspectives on the role of public space in Cambodia's process of democratic development and explains the implications of violence and its relationship with neoliberalism. Taking into account the transition from war to peace, authoritarianism to democracy, and command economy to a free market, this book offers a critical appraisal of the political economy in Cambodia. 1. Introduction: Setting the Stage for Neoliberalisation 2. Caught in the Headlights of Culture and Neoliberalism: Public Space as a Vision for Democracy and Development from Below in the Global South 3. From Genocide to Elections to Coup d’État: Public Space in Cambodia’s Transitional Political Economy 4. Cambodia’s Battle for Public Space: The Neoliberal Doctrine or Order versus the Democratic Expression of the People’s Will 5. Conclusion: Sowing the Seeds of a New Revolution? Simon Springer is Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at the National University of Singapore. His ongoing research focuses on the intersections between neoliberalism and violence.

Southeast Asia serves as an excellent case study to discuss major transformations in the relationship between states. This book looks at the changing nature of relationships between countries in Southeast Asia, as well as their relationships with other states in Asia and beyond. A diverse region in many areas, open to outside influence in many fields, but not without dynamics of its own, Southeast Asia has been through centuries the site of states with very differing levels of power and in a variety of forms. It has also been exposed to powerful neighbours, seawards empires and contending world powers. Adopting a historical approach, the book analyses state relations against the background of regional and geopolitical developments from within and without. It discusses how Southeast Asian states of the 21st century can best preserve their security in the context of the rise of China, and goes on to look at the extent to which they can preserve their autonomy of action. Offering a long-term perspective on these issues, this inter-disciplinary study is of interest to scholars and students of Southeast Asian history and politics, world history and international relations.

War, famine, poverty, organized crime, environmental catastrophes, refugees, epidemics and pandemics, modern slavery - all these affect people in the non-Western world to an increasingly disproportionate extent. It is also where wealthy governments wield economic leverage and military force to renegotiate existing norms of international relations. Under these circumstances, it is difficult to overestimate the importance and urgency of comprehending the mechanisms and motivations driving these phenomena. This book is the outcome of a decade-long effort to advance both theoretical and empirical understanding of what motivates non-Western governments' decisions to cooperate/not cooperate regionally. It starts by acknowledging the Western-centrism of prevailing international relations theories, abandoning deeply entrenched assumptions regarding the nature and roles of states, and redefining state weakness. The inquiry continues by elaborating this new concept and applying it to Southeast Asian polities while positing that it creates governments vulnerable to internal and external threats, in line with Joel S. Migdal's well-known findings on the topic. A set of regional cooperation strategies is then inferred, based on the survival needs of insecure governing elites and its empirical validity is tested against the experience of regional organizations in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. The second part of the book provides an in-depth examination of how Southeast Asian governments' shared security needs and interests shaped the emergence of the identified regional cooperation pattern and its evolution over 50 years of cooperation within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Overall, this book is a call to international relations scholars to do our part in understanding non-Western experiences and making a substantive contribution to addressing humanity's most intractable security threats.

(Un) Civil Society and Political Change in Indonesia provides critical analysis of Indonesia's civil society and its impact on the country's democratization efforts that does not only take the classical, pro-democratic actors of civil society into account but also portrays uncivil groups and their growing influence on political processes. Beittinger-Lee offers a revised categorization of civil society, including a model to define the sphere of 'uncivil society' more closely and to identify several subcategories of uncivil society. This is the first book to portrays various uncivil groups in Indonesia, ranging from vigilantes, militias, paramilitaries, youth groups, civil security task forces and militant Islamic (and other religious) groups, ethnonationalist groups to terrorist organizations and groups belonging to organized crime. Moreover, it provides the reader with an overview of Indonesia's history, its political developments after the democratic opening, main improvements under the various presidents since Suharto's fall, constitutional amendments and key reforms in human rights legislation. This book will be of interest to upper level undergraduates, postgraduates and academics in political science and Southeast Asian studies.

Why do some small, developing countries industrialize and others don't? What factors account for different economic performance among states that are vulnerable to external shocks, crony capitalism, and political instability? This book argues that the answer lies in the structuring of state power, specifically the way different sets of governing elites - political leaders and economic technocrats - are embedded in political organisations and state institutions, and the way these elites relate to each other in the economic development policy process. Conducting a comparative historical analysis of Thailand and the Philippines, the book argues that the institutional settings of governing elites influence economic outcomes. In Thailand, political power traditionally connects to state institutions in ways that has limited the impact of political turnovers and global downturns - conducive to long-term industrial activities. In contrast, Philippine state power derives from family networks that merge social and political power, suited to fast-moving, short-term commercial interests. In focusing on this political and institutional story, the author analyses the current development dilemmas of countries, weighed down by historical legacies of unstable regimes, dependency, and social conflict, and how they are likely to develop in the future.