The Abstracts of Vol.6,2014
Releasing Time：11.16.2014Source：
The Rise of Extremist Organizations of “Islamic State” and the Political Changes in the Middle East
Wang Lei
The rise of extremist organizations of “Islamic State” has complicated reasons and background, which has exerted great shock and impact on the situation in the Middle East: leading to the realignment of the political landscape and regional order in the Middle East; resulting in the adjustment of foreign policies and external strategies of the related nations; boosting the religious, power and ideological contentions in the region; and making terrorist operations enter a new and active phase. On the whole, there is a great variable in the future development of the Middle East situation, which though will be largely determined by the following three factors, namely what kind of role the big powers outside the region will play, what kind of influence the powers within the region will exert and whether or not the expansion of “Islamic States” will be effectively controlled.
The Non-State Actors and the Transformation of the International Security System
Gao Laiwang
The transformation of the international security system refers to the profound changes of the structural characteristics, relations between actors and ways of interaction in the international security system with the advance of technology and globalization, which has resulted in the transition from the bi-polar system of the Cold War into the global political system of the post Cold War period. In such system transformation, the rise of non-state actors has posed challenges to the state-centered traditional norm and caused the changes in the power, system and ideological structures of the international security system. The non-state actors have become a new growth point in security studies, which has provided the opportunity for norm change and theoretical innovation in such studies.
A Study of the US Evaluation System of its Foreign Aid and its Revelation
Wang Xinying
As one of the chief international donors of the post war era, the US has established a complex evaluation system of its foreign aid based on the practice of the evaluation agencies of the USAID, the State Department and the Millennium Challenge Corporation. As the methods of performance evaluation and impact assessment have been applied as well as the evaluation standards of effectiveness, impact, efficiency and sustainability have been established, they have facilitated the advance of the US evaluation of its foreign aid. Nevertheless, the US evaluation system is confronted with serious challenges posed by lack of clear goals for aid; limited funding, personnel and aid methods; and security factors. The US evaluation system and its characteristics have offered a valuable revelation for the construction of China’s evaluation system for her foreign aid, which includes the setting up of evaluation concepts, evaluation agencies, and the evaluation standards and methods.
The Japan-US-Australia-India Strategic Cooperation from a Bilateral Perspective
Qu Caiyun
The Japan-US-Australia-India Strategic Cooperation is an outgrowth against the background of the rise of China and India as well as the drastic changes of the alignment in the Asian-Pacific region. Although the Japan-US, Japan-Australia, Japan-India, US-Australia, US-India and Australia-India bilateral relations are separate, they are not isolated as the important basis and structure for the Japan-US-Australia-India strategic cooperation, which, in their interaction, have advanced the Japan-US-Australia-India strategic cooperation in a very distinctive way. Namely, the bilateral relations between the four countries continue to develop and deepen, and their strategic cooperation has been strengthened, which has provided the most effective route for the establishment of the framework for the Japan-US-Australia-India strategic cooperation. Although the extent of the four separate pairs of bilateral partnership is uneven, alliance is likely to be the development trend under their common goal of containing China.
The “One Belt and One Road” Strategy: India’s Response and Countermeasures
Yang Siling
The proposal of “One Belt and One Road” is in no doubt corresponding to the need of our Open Door Policy in the new era, which is an important measure to further strengthen our cooperation with the Asian, European and African countries. As India occupies an important place in our Silk Road Strategy, its attitude to our “One Belt and One Road” Strategy is worthy of our attention. Although India has some reservation of opinions in responding to China’s proposal of the “One Belt and One Road” Strategy, it is possible and feasible to have China and India cooperate under the “One Belt and One Road” framework with appropriate choice of approaches, such as probing into how to connect our “Maritime Sink Road in the 21st Century” strategy with India’s plan of “cross Indian Occasion sea lanes and cultural landscape”, pushing forward the construction of the Bengal-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor, and expanding cultural exchanges as well as mitigating the opposite public opinions in each other’s countries.
The AU’s New Agenda: Opposing the “Unconstitutional Change”
Nie Wenjuan
Since 1990s, the democratization process in Africa has been on the fast track. Although such norms as democracy, human rights and rule of law have been highly recognized and have universal legitimacy in African political discourse under the active promotion of the OAU/AU, how to put these norms into practice remains a significant historical issue for the AU. What measures the AU has taken in its practice and what are their effects? This paper will analyze the efforts the AU has made and the challenges it is faced with from the perspective of regime change.
Electricity: The Challenge and Opportunity for African Industrialization
Wang Nan
African industrial development and industrialization process is an issue much concerned with by Africa and the international community. African industrial development is not just as one wishes it to be, which is mainly the result of the inefficient power supply and backwardness of African power industry, as they pose real challenges to African industrial development and industrialization process. The inefficient power supply is not an easy issue to resolve, as it relates to issues in funding, technology, society, politics, and even diplomacy. To face the challenge the inefficient power supply has posed to industrial and economic development, many African countries have identified the power industry as their development priority and worked out electricity development plans and preferential policies for international cooperation. With the pressure of inefficient power supply gradually mitigating and the power industry growing, African industrial development and industrialization process will be boosted, and hopefully catch with the new development opportunity.
An Initial Analysis of the UAE’s Economic Development Strategy
Tong Fei
As a typical oil and gas producing country, the UAE has pursued a diversified economic development strategy since 1980s, which has resulted in welcome changes in its single product economy. Currently, non-oil income of the UAE has exceeded 60% of its GDP and its position as financial, trade and logistic hub has been further strengthened. These achievements have resulted from the timely layout and adjustment of the economic development strategies by the state at different times. In spite of the proud achievements the UAE has made in economic development, there are quite some problems and turnovers. In the short run, the economic development of the UAE can hardly stay away from the impact of the fluctuating international oil prices and the changes of the international economic situation.
The Features of the US African Policy and their Revelation
Qian Wenrong
As Africa is rich in natural resources and has important geo-strategic values, the US has seen it as an important strategic asset for its global hegemony and leadership. Over the recent years, the Obama administration has increased its attention and investment to Africa, further defined its interests in Africa and raised a series of new policy initiatives. Some of the US practices in Africa may serve as revelation for China to improve her work in Africa. Although China has competitions and contradictions with the US in Africa, they have some common interest there. So, China may selectively engage in moderate cooperation with the US in Africa, if such cooperation does not harm her bilateral relations with the African countries.
China-Africa Relationship Conducive to Raising Africa’s International Status
Zhang Yongpeng
The development of China-Africa relationship has raised Africa’s political and economic power and status, while to some extent promoted or stimulated the Western countries and countries from other regions to think highly of developing relations with Africa. On the basic level, China-Africa relationship has three direct factors that help raise Africa’s international status: first, as the fastest growing emerging economy, the largest developing country and the permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has attached great importance to the appeals and interests of and interaction with the African countries; second, the China factor has stimulated contentions of big powers in Africa, which in fact helped raise Africa’s international status; third, the Western groundless accusation of China-Africa relationship has produced some kind of “speculation effect”, which in effect helped raise the international influence of China and Africa. The interaction between China and Africa has achieved the mutual benefit and win-win result.
An Initial Analysis of the Major Factors that Affect China-US Relationship
Song Nan
China-US relationship is one of the most important and complicated bilateral relationships in the contemporary international relations, which has more and more transcended the bilateral scope and assumed global influence. To observe the development of China-US relationship, one has to review both the historical position of the two countries and the international environment they are in, and their internal factors as well as their interactions. This paper has found out more than 30 factors that affect China-US relationship, of which some may exert fundamental influence, some are just general factors, some are relatively stable normal factors and some are dynamic factors that evolve all the time.These factors have determined that the two countries in essence have difficulties in accurately positioning their relationship, as they have both common and conflicting interests in political, military, economic and cultural spheres. They can be friends in culture, partners in economy, rivals in politics and strategy, and adversaries in military and security.