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Remembering the Algerian War in France: The Role of Interest Groups in Framing Ontological (In)Security

  • Katharina Egle,Institut d’études politiques de Paris, Sciences Po, France
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Abstract The Algerian War occupies a particularly contentious and emotionally charged place in France’s national memory – serving as the source of a veritable war of memories that is regularly fought on various political and scholarly battlegrounds. Previous research has shown that the tension between...

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From Soft Power to Sharp Power: Weaponising Western Academic Knowledge in Russian Political Discourse

  • Otar Pareishvili,Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary
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Abstract This paper examines how Russia appropriates Western academic knowledge as a tool of influence in its communication with Western audiences. It pursues three main objectives. First, it argues that the concept of soft power has been widely misunderstood due to its intangible, non-kinetic nature,...

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The External Political Impacts of Rescheduling Iraq’s Debts Post-2003

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Abstract After 2003, Iraq underwent a profound political and economic transformation, accompanied by various challenges, including the burden of accumulated external debt. The post-regime government restructured Iraq’s debt within the framework of the ‘Paris Club’ and through bilateral negotiations...

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Understanding Terrorism: A New Perspective through Group Cohesion

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Abstract Terrorism is a paradoxical phenomenon: Despite its status as a critical global security threat, its strategic effectiveness often proves counterproductive, failing to achieve its core agendas. Therefore, why does terrorism persist as a global threat despite its frequent failure to achieve political...

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Collective Memory and National Role Conceptions: The Legacy of Violence on Foreign Policy in Austria and Greece During the Cold War

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Abstract This article investigates the influence of collective memories of violence on the foreign policies of small states, focusing on Austria and Greece as two ‘frontline states’ of the early Cold War in Europe. The article develops an analytical framework linking memory narratives to policy. Using...

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Correction to ‘Local Content Curriculum Implementation in the Framework of Nationalism and National Security’

Correction to ‘Local Content Curriculum Implementation in the Framework of Nationalism and National Security’ by Novie Indrawati Sagita, Nandang Alamsah Deliarnoor, Dian Afifah (published in vol. 13, no. 4, 2019). In the above-mentioned article, the full name of the last-listed author should be stated...

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High, Dry and Allied: The Ethics of Breaching the Collective Defence Duty

  • David Rubin,Independent Researcher
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Abstract This article adopts a normative approach to one of the most consequential issues of alliance management: the question of if and when an ally is justified in breaching its collective defence duty (CDD). An ally's CDD constitutes its formal obligation to militarily defend its ally in the event...

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From Almaty to Minsk: When Does the Collective Security Treaty Organization Intervene?

  • Alexei Anisin,Anglo-American University in Prague, Czech Republic
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Abstract This study investigates how the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) intervenes militarily in the affairs of member states. Through comparative case study and process-tracing methodology, cases of non-intervention including Kyrgyzstan, 2005, 2010, 2020; Armenia, 2021; Tajikistan-Kyrgyzstan,...

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Beyond a Single Purpose: The Complex Reasons Behind International Sanctions

  • Bohdan Bernatskyi,Vilnius University, Lithuania & European University Institute, Italy
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Abstract Sanctions are increasingly imposed in response to international crises and military conflicts. Much is known about the aims sanctions seek to achieve, such as coercion, deterrence and signalling, yet the catalysts for their imposition are often overlooked. Despite the existence of a sanctions...

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Conceptual Quality in Security and Defence Practice: The Case of Hybrid Warfare

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Abstract It has become a norm to bemoan the unending stream of new concepts in defence policy, many of which sparked a lively debate on their actual novelty, utility and, more generally, added value. Those discussions often lack a shared language or benchmarks. The paper argues that the analytical utility...

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Weaponisation of Interdependence: Unpacking European Ontological Anxieties?

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Abstract Traditional scholarship on economic interdependence assumes that economic ties primarily function as stabilising mechanisms or strategic tools for leverage. However, they neglect how identity and ontological concerns can securitise interdependence. This study addresses this critical gap by...

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Populist (Dis)Engagement with International Parliamentary Institutions: Central Europeans in the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

  • Ákos Holányi,Ludovika University of Public Service, Budapest, Hungary & ELTE Centre for Social Sciences, Hungary
  • Marko Lovec,University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
  • András Hettyey,Andrássy University, Budapest, Hungary
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Abstract How do populist politicians behave in international parliamentary institutions (IPIs)? Although there is a rapidly growing literature on the foreign policy of populist executive actors, the manifestation of populism as a thin-centred ideology in an international parliamentary setting is not...

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Populism, Sanctions and Sovereignty: The Case of Zimbabwe and the Commonwealth

  • Fatih Tuna,Social Sciences University of Ankara, Turkey
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Abstract This study examines Zimbabwe’s 2003 withdrawal from the Commonwealth of Nations under Robert Mugabe as an empirical case of populist engagement with international institutions. Mugabe’s rhetoric and actions reveal how populist figures employ anti-imperialist and nationalist narratives to challenge...

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A Tale of Two Populists: Javier Milei's and Nayib Bukele's Approach toward International Organisations

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Abstract International organisations have formed the foundation of the global multilateral order since the end of World War II. In recent years, however, they have become the target of increasing criticism from populist politicians who are trying to demolish the foundations of the liberal international...

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What Happens When Non-Western Voices Enter International Relations? Kautilya and the Politics of Access

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Abstract This paper shifts the focus from the familiar question of why is there no non-Western theory in International Relations (IR) to a process-oriented inquiry of what happens to non-Western perspectives when incorporated into IR? While critical IR scholarship has explored the way ethnocentrism,...

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China’s Normative Balancing: Global Security Initiative and Middle East Security Architecture

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Abstract This article examines China’s Global Security Initiative (GSI) as a soft balancing strategy, specifically in the form of normative balancing. It employs a qualitative approach based on data collected from the official website of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as secondary sources...

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Crossing the ‘Global South Frontier’: Mapping Latin American Presence in International Relations Publications

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Abstract Despite increasing calls to globalise and pluralise the field, International Relations (IR) remains dominated by institutions based in the Global North. This paper engages with the theme of exclusion with access by complementing ongoing critiques of the discipline’s epistemic hierarchies by...

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Navigating Borderlands: Civil Society and Relational Narratives in Georgia’s EU Candidacy

  • Szilvia Nagy,Central European University, Austria & Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany
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Abstract This paper investigates how civil society organisations (CSOs) navigate and reshape geopolitical narratives within the European Union’s evolving candidacy framework. By highlighting the performed inclusivity of EU narratives, it offers a nuanced perspective on the socio-political dynamics of...

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The Global South as ‘Europe’s Jungle’: A Postcolonial Critique of EU Foreign Policy in a Changing World Order

  • Rita Bonifert,Independent researcher
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Abstract The global world order has been transforming, becoming increasingly less Europe-centred. In this context, the paper critically examines how European Union (EU) foreign policy narratives are structured by the coloniality of power, as conceptualised by Quijano, with a focus on Josep Borrell’s...

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The Terrorist Spectacle Revisited: Assemblages of Terror from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine to the Islamic State

  • Jakub Zahora,University of New York in Prague, Czech Republic
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Abstract This article employs the assemblage thinking to further the debates on the nature of terrorist spectacle. The spectacular nature of terrorism – inducing shock on the wide part of the public – is widely regarded as one of the defining traits which distinguish it from other forms of political...

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‘Global Transformation’: Chinese Scholars Debate the International System in the Aftermath of the War in Ukraine (2022–2024)

  • Matti Puranen,Finnish National Defence University
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Abstract This article explores discussions among Chinese International Relations scholars on the effects of the war in Ukraine. While official Chinese foreign policy rhetoric is often vaguely centred around obscure slogans, scholarly debates can be used as a ‘proxy measure’ to gain insights on the prevailing...

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Unravelling Indonesia’s Failure to Implement the ASEAN Petroleum Security Agreement (APSA)

  • Alfi Kurnianingsih,Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia
  • Yandry Kurniawan,Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia,
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Abstract In 1975, Indonesia initiated oil and gas cooperation, leading to the establishment of the ASEAN Council on Petroleum (ASCOPE) in 1976. Then, the ASEAN Petroleum Security Agreement (APSA) was created to improve petroleum security and minimise the impact of emergencies experienced by ASEAN Member...

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Interwoven Resilience: Non-State Actors and Formal Institutions in Ukraine’s Urban War Effort

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Abstract This article explores the perceptions of an interplay between formal and informal institutions in sustaining Ukraine’s defence and governance during the full-scale Russian invasion. Focusing on three cities—Vinnytsia, Mykolayiv and Sumy—it examines how civil society organisations, business...

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Examining Contending Explanatory Models of Nuclear Proliferation: Theoretical and Policy Implications

  • Niv Farago,Pusan National University, Republic of Korea
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Abstract This study examines major theoretical models that seek to explain states’ pursuit of nuclear weapons programmes and decisions to abandon them. A comparative historical analysis of multiple case studies suggests that the traditional ‘security’ model cannot be supplanted by Scott Sagan’s challenger...

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Measuring Central and Eastern European Countries’ Responses to Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

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Abstract Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which started in February 2022, led to various (often confrontational) reactions of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries to Russia. The article measures the variety of responsive foreign and defence policies of CEE countries in the first twelve...

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The Role of the European Parliament in EU Foreign Policy: Parliamentary Diplomacy and the Development of the EuroNest Inter-Parliamentary Assembly

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Abstract This article examines the role of the European Parliament (EP) in EU foreign policy and parliamentary diplomacy through the lens of the social theory of functionalism. By focusing on the case of the EuroNest Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, the study discusses the forms of diplomacy developed...

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From New Humanitarianism to Total Defence: Conceptualising a New Dimension of Aid Organisations in Ukraine’s War Effort

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Abstract A new wave of organisations, primarily established after February 2022 in response to the Russian military aggression against Ukraine, provide aid to civilians while also contributing to Ukraine's military defence. This hybrid set of activities challenges the humanitarian principles of humanity,...

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Navigating Geopolitical Shocks: Comparative Strategies of the Visegrád 4 and Indonesia in Global Value Chains

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Abstract This paper explores the influence of geopolitical events on global value chains, particularly focusing on the Visegrád 4 countries (Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) and Indonesia. The objective is to analyse how these semi-peripheral nations, which are more susceptible to geopolitical...

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Slovakia-Taiwan Relations: Slovakia's Pragmatic Approach as a Model of Engagement with Taiwan

  • Kristina Kironska,Palacký University Olomouc, Czech Republic & Central European Institute of Asian Studies, Slovakia
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Abstract This article examines the evolution of Slovakia-Taiwan relations, focusing on the early 2020s (specifically 2020–2023), a period marked by a shift toward closer ties. Despite adhering to the One China policy, Slovakia has strengthened its engagement with Taiwan, driven by both regional and...

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The Growing Relations between India and the Baltic States in a New Geopolitical Environment

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Abstract The Baltic states, positioned as a conduit between Eastern and Western Europe, possess considerable geopolitical importance for numerous nations globally, including India. India views the Baltic states as a strategic entry point to Western and Northern Europe, offering significant opportunities...

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