Xi og Kina på terskelen til en ny tid
Etter fem år med Xi Jinping ved roret for den spirende supermakten Kina, ser verden allerede annerledes ut. Beijing har i økende grad beveget seg mot begivenhetenes sentrum i en tid hvor globale institusjoner har blitt svekket av krefter fra mange sider, og den allerede pågående maktforskyvningen østover har blitt påskyndet av Trump-administrasjonens isolasjonistiske slagside.Når så både Kinas og verdens politiske strukturer er i rask og grunnleggende endring, mens mer politisk og økonomisk makt forskyves til Kina, og makten i Kina i økende grad konsentreres hos Xi Jinping, er kunnskap om de sosiale, økonomiske og politiske prosessene innad i Kina vitalt viktige. I en slik betydningsfull periode for Kina er det dermed særdeles betimelig at fire nordiske forfattere har bidratt med nyutkomne bøker som analyserer og belyser de viktigste trendene i den påbegynte Xi-æraen. Disse verkene skiller seg noe ad, fra Stein Ringens politiske taksonomi av ettpartistaten Kina, til Börje Lundgrens encyklopediske ettbindsverk, og de to redigerte bokutgivelsene av henholdsvis Ross & Bekkevold og Ross & Tunsjø, som begge skilter med et mangfold av ledende bidragsytere. Til felles har dog disse bøkene at hovedfokuset er på Kinas interne utfordringer, det nye lederskapets rolle under Xi, og hvordan disse interne politiske prosessene kan gi seg utslag internasjonalt. De er med andre ord gode bøker til rett tid, og er verdt å motta oppmerksomhet fra så vel Kina-forskere som den jevne samfunnsborger.
A Command-Chain of Brothers: Kinship in Chinese Foreign Policy
If kinship matters as a foundational concept in international relations, and if kinship is a socially constituted concept, two key claims for which this volume argues, one would assume that when kinship is constituted differently, the concept will also frame international relations in a differing way? A tacit Eurocentric assumption is underpinning many of the treatises on the importance of kinship. The concept of brotherhood in particular, is commonly regarded as a structuring concept that is fundamental and intuitively recognizable for the entire‘brotherhood of man’. That Western concepts of brotherhood, intimately connected to the rise of the Westphalian state order, are now widespread as a frame of reference, should not preclude us from investigating how differently constituted kinship relations may be relevant, both historically and in contemporary international relations. In particular, this should hold true in a world where two of the three largest economic powers, namely China and Japan, are societies where kinship relations traditionally are constituted differently in some core aspects. This chapter investigates these questions through an exploratory study of Chinese foreign policies, and how the traditional Confucian brotherhood concept may have been intertwined with how foreign relations have been talked and thought about in two key eras of Chinese history; first in the case of imperial China’s struggle with neighbouring states demanding equal relations, second with regards to China’s long transition into the Westphalian state system. Following on this is a brief look on how Chinese kinship concepts might have relevance for even current-day Chinese foreign policy.
Korleis har Trump skove Europa og Asia tettare saman?
Ein av dei uventa konsekvensane av president Trumps ubereknelege utanrikspolitikk har vore at Europa og Asia har blitt pressa tettare saman. Det seier Fraser Cameron som besøkjer NUPI 19 September.
AVLYST: Romania i førarsetet mot eit sterkare EU
På grunn av uventa hendingar må vi dessverre avlyse dette arrangementet.
Haukene tar over i Japan
Kina er i full fart mot supermaktstatus. Hva skjer så i Japan?
PODCAST: Vennskapene som beveger verden
Kristin Haugevik dykker ned i spesielle vennskap mellom land i ny bok.
Lonely Minds: Natural Resource Governance without Input from Society
This concluding chapter draws together the threads from the 18 case studies of oil- and gas-producing countries, relating them to the theoretical concept of ‘public brainpower’ and the arguments presented in the introductory chapter. It elaborates on the concept of public brainpower in greater detail, adding important caveats related to some possible detrimental effects of public debate: volatility, polarization, populism and mock democracy. Ten tenets on how to achieve public brainpower are formulated, and a ranking of the public brainpower of 33 resource-rich countries is presented. The chapter rounds off with suggestions for further research.
Variations on Public Brainpower: Findings from Country Case Studies of Oil- and Gas-Producing Countries
This chapter sums up the 18 case-study chapters that make up the bulk of this volume and prepares the ground for the concluding chapter. It begins by reviewing and highlighting the case-study findings, followed by notes and reflections on some general challenges encountered in the preparation of the book and the research conducted for the case studies. Inaccessibility of information and lack of expertise in some countries indicate a lack of available minds and voices to record, analyse, comment on and propose changes to petroleum policy in those countries. The impact of censorship extends well beyond the borders of authoritarian states, affecting, for instance, the statements and publications of foreign experts who may fear losing access to visas and contacts in countries where they have spent their entire careers building up their professional competence.