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71. Iconography of Power of the Pagan Bulgarian Ruler: Images, Symbolism and Tradition

Author:
Oksana Minaeva
Publication Date:
07-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Hiperboreea
Institution:
Balkan History Association
Abstract:
The ideas of ruler’s power of the pagan Bulgarians and their expression are a question of debates concerning different fields of humanities such as history, archaeology, epigraphy, religious studies, and art history. The discussion proposed tends to seek the ideological basis of the ruler’s power as seen through cosmogonic, religious and political notions preserved in written historical sources, traces of rites and beliefs in mythology and folklore and in the arts. Thus, the three levels of the ruler’s ideology are considered: the written/verbal texts, ritual texts and visual texts in order to find out a set of iconographic formulae of expressing the power of the pagan Bulgarian ruler.
Topic:
Religion, History, Power Politics, and Ideology
Political Geography:
Europe, Bulgaria, and Balkans

72. Global Politics, Regional Competition: Great Power Politics in Central Asia

Author:
Artur Lakatos and András Kosztur
Publication Date:
01-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Hiperboreea
Institution:
Balkan History Association
Abstract:
This paper deals with the issue of competing great power interests in Central Asia, known for specialists in international relations as the New Great Game. The focus is in first hand on interests of the “Big Four” global powers and secondly, on the interests of a series of regional powers which can bring decisive contributions to the New Great Game. The analysis has two directions: one concentrated on strategic analysis, and the second focused on economic interests.
Topic:
Power Politics, Military Affairs, and Strategic Competition
Political Geography:
Europe and Central Asia

73. The Dynamics of Africa in World Affairs: From Afro-Pessimism to Afro-Optimism?

Author:
Sharkdam Wapmuk and Oluwatooni Akinkwotu
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Institution:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Abstract:
The article argues that Africa has never existed apart from world politics, but has been inevitably entangled in the dynamics and flow of events and changing configurations of global power. Historical records have clearly confirmed that there have been contacts, interactions and a flow of both ideas and goods between Africa, Europe, Asia and Americas. Whether the continent’s historical contacts and interactions with the rest of the world have been a ‘curse or blessing’ has been a subject of serious debate (Adekaye 2010). African affairs have contributed in shaping the world and Africa in turn, has been, and is still being shaped by international processes and structures. The study of Africa in world affairs has no doubt attracted scholarly interest. However, most studies on the continent, especially in the past two decades tend to focused on the negative narrative - crisis, war, poverty, natural disasters, corruption, diseases and famine, criminality, environmental degradation, mismanagement of natural resources and crisis of governance (Zartman 1995). Some even completely wrote-off the continent as a ‘hopeless case’, ‘dark continent’, and ‘the world’s burden’ (The Economist 2000). Africans have strongly resisted such narrative that tends to dismiss historical realities of Africa’s rape through slavery, colonialism, economic dependency and continued dominance by the international institutions of global governance (World Bank, IMF and WTO) and external involvement and influence of the great powers on the continent.
Topic:
International Relations, Power Politics, and Global Political Economy
Political Geography:
Africa and Global Focus

74. Shift of Power from West to East and Rise of China

Author:
Mushtaq Ahmed Abbasi, Ghulam Qumber, and Ahmed Saeed Minhas
Publication Date:
07-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Political Studies
Institution:
Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:
This research paper is aimed at evaluating prevailing global scenario and the dynamics of shift of power from the West to the East. Efforts have been made to analyze the economic, political, and security trends to understand important aspects of the power transition process. Currently, there is an enough literature available, which proves the existing consensus among many experts that China is playing a central role in the process of shift of power from the West to the East. Therefore, while explaining this transition process, it is pertinent to focus on the leading role of China and its possible implications. So, this study further highlights the rising power of China covering an overall picture of China, particularly its economic development process, the political and cultural aspects, and the military modernization. Efforts have been made to give an analytical view that how the rise in economic power is gradually transforming itself into political, diplomatic, and military strength of China. Besides; this research effort also focuses on how China is adjusting its foreign policy posture in the regional and global affairs, which culminates or aims at adjusting itself to globalization process.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and Power Politics
Political Geography:
China and Asia

75. Turkey After July 15 – Dawn or Disaster?

Author:
W. Robert Pearson
Publication Date:
09-2016
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
Director General of the Foreign Service, 2003-2006 United States Ambassador to Turkey, 2000-2003 July 15, 2016 will live in the minds of Turks the way 9/11 is fixed in the minds of Americans. That evening a small group of mostly military officers attempted to forcibly overthrow the government and possibly assassinate Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Air Force planes bombed Turkey’s parliament while it was in session. A FaceTime call from President Erdogan mobilized thousands of citizens, who poured into the streets, directly confronting troops participating in the coup attempt, and within a short period of time, the coup collapsed. President Erdogan described the crushing of the coup as a “gift from God.”
Topic:
Power Politics, Military Affairs, and Popular Revolt
Political Geography:
Turkey

76. State-led Nationalism In Today's Russia: Uniting The People with Conservative Values?

Author:
Veera Laine
Publication Date:
10-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
In recent years, the Russian state has been described as becoming “more nationalistic”. In the time period encompassing the Sochi Winter Olympics, the occupation of Crimea, the war in Donbas that continues to this day, air strikes in Syria, and the state seeking new legitimacy during the deepening economic crisis in Russia, many notions have been connected to growing nationalism. But nationalism as such is an ambiguous concept. Moreover, there is hardly any state in today’s global system that could be said to be totally devoid of nationalistic argumentation. Therefore, the way in which the Russian state leadership is using nationalism in order to achieve its political goals requires a critical empirical study. Authoritarianism, conservatism, and even imperialism have been discussed as “new” features of the Russian state. But the change in the self-understanding of the Russian state is not a result of one factor, such as strengthening national pride, but rather a wide range of ideas that have been reshuffled in relation to each other. This Working Paper focuses on the state-led nationalism in this changing ideational environment between the years 2012 and 2016, and how it has been received by the people.
Topic:
Nationalism, International Affairs, Power Politics, Authoritarianism, and Neoimperialism
Political Geography:
Russia

77. Presidential elections in Moldova: A sad end to a once promising story

Author:
Ryhor Nizhnikau
Publication Date:
11-2016
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
Moldova’s presidential elections offer no hope for change in a country run by a destructive and shortsighted elite. Igor Dodon won the elections, but the main victor in 2016 is the oligarch Vlad Plahotniuc, who has monopolized power in Moldova.
Topic:
Power Politics, Political Power Sharing, Elections, and Democracy
Political Geography:
Moldova and Eastern Europe

78. 25 Years After the USSR: What’s Gone Wrong?

Author:
Henry E. Hale
Publication Date:
07-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Democracy
Institution:
National Endowment for Democracy
Abstract:
A quarter century after the USSR’s breakup, the region it occupied has become more rather than less authoritarian on average. The rise has been neither steep nor steady, however, and the dominant regional pattern has been regime cycling, with movement both toward and away from authoritarianism at different points in time. Key causes are the tenacious pre-Soviet legacy of patronalism, the prevalence of presidentialist constitutions, and strong leadership popularity without the strong Western linkage and leverage that has often mitigated similar authoritarian tendencies in places like Africa and Latin America.
Topic:
Power Politics, Authoritarianism, and Democracy
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, and Latin America

79. Fostering Sustainably Resilient Communities: What Works and What is Required?

Author:
Maxime Honigmann
Publication Date:
10-2016
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
Global-local power dynamics are often framed with the phrase: “all geopolitics is local.” This adage references the convergence of global forces at the local level, presenting small communities with complex ranges of globalization-produced challenges. As more and more of these forces intersect and interact, local politics has gradually become more complex, with previously reliable patterns of demographics, environment, and economics fundamentally disrupted. From the elimination of traditional sources of livelihood to the introduction of revolutionary information technologies, local leaders everywhere have had to “sink or swim” – by either depending passively on the status quo, or taking an active, adaptive approach to confronting present and future challenges. The latter approach, while certainly requiring more investment from all actors involved, holds the key to a community’s empowerment, legitimacy, and ultimately, survival. It must be noted that communities do not always act benevolently, and their boundaries are not always clear – as Robert argues, “community is fundamentally contested ground” and exclusionary practices can be readily observed (Chaskin 2008, 73). Nevertheless, as a localized form of social organization, community governance systems are best-placed to uphold and adapt the principles of resilience to sustainably maintain the wellbeing of their populations. Resilience measures will remain at a significant disadvantage if they do not take into account input from the local communities they are addressed to. Community members know their area’s needs, offer unique streams of innovation, possess legitimacy in the discursive process, and can build and leverage beneficial social support systems intrinsic to their community. The end benefits are clear: countless studies have found flexible, nuanced, and locally-adapted resilience strategies to be most effective (cite sources here).
Topic:
Development, Power Politics, Geopolitics, and Resilience
Political Geography:
Global Focus

80. Iran’s Failed Foreign Policy: Dealing from a Position of Weakness

Author:
Thomas Juneau
Publication Date:
05-2015
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Middle East Institute (MEI)
Abstract:
In this MEI Policy Paper, Thomas Juneau examines Iran’s role in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and the Arab-Israeli conflict to explain why Iran is not a “rising regional hegemon” but rather a “mid-sized regional power frustrated at not reaching its ambitions.”
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Power Politics, Nuclear Power, and Geopolitics
Political Geography:
Iraq, Iran, Middle East, Israel, Yemen, Palestine, and Syria