Recent articles
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Navigating Geopolitical Shocks: Comparative Strategies of the Visegrád 4 and Indonesia in Global Value Chains
(2024 - Volume 18, Issue 4)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 shocks, navigate their vulnerabilities and policy options. The methodology includes a comparative analysis of two case studies: the effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on commodity value...
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Slovakia-Taiwan Relations: Slovakia's Pragmatic Approach as a Model of Engagement with Taiwan
(2024 - Volume 18, Issue 4)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 domestic factors. Regionally, the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region’s disillusionment with unmet Chinese economic promises has led to a pivot toward alternative partnerships, including Taiwan....
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The Growing Relations between India and the Baltic States in a New Geopolitical Environment
(2024 - Volume 18, Issue 4)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 to strengthen India's ties with the Eastern and Northern European regions. The looming China threat for India and the Baltic states and the growing concentration of power in the Indo-Pacific...
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India’s Beckoning of Central Europe amid Shifting Geopolitics
(2024 - Volume 18, Issue 4)Abstract For a long time, countries in Central Europe (CE) were caught in the structural rivalry of East and West, and Indian policy towards the region too remained passive. The end of the Cold War preoccupied India and the CE region alike, focusing on their economic transformation and recalibrating their respective foreign policies. India, however, with its rising political and economic clout, began an active pursuit of multialignment and thereby seeks a greater strategic engagement with the...
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Measuring Central and Eastern European Countries’ Responses to Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
(Volume 19, Issue 1)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 months of the invasion. Three main domains of activities are examined: first, direct relations with Russia; second, relations with and support for Ukraine; and third, national defence policies...
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Hungary’s Relations with the BRICS in the Context of the Changing World Order
(2024 - Volume 18, Issue 4)Abstract The paper aims to analyse Hungary’s evolving foreign policy in a changing world order since the politico-economic regime change of the early 1990s, but with the main focus on relations with the member states of the BRICS group since the initiation of Hungary’s ‘Global Opening’ policy in 2011. As such, the paper aims to offer a comparative overview of Hungary’s engagements with the five core members of the BRICS. By following the theory of poles and paying attention to the changing...
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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
(Volume 19, Issue 1)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 by the EP in its relations with the Eastern Partnership countries. The study is based on qualitative research, including involved documents analysis and semi-structured interviews (23) and conducts...
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Can China’s Developmental Peace Be an Alternative to Liberal Peace? A Critical Feminist Interrogation
(2024 - Volume 18, Issue 4)Abstract A growing body of literature within international relations (IR) has attempted to understand China’s approach to peacebuilding, so-called developmental peace, mostly in relation to critiques of liberal peace. The literature shares an assumption that developmental peace is distinct from liberal peace and discusses whether Chinese peacebuilding efforts might function as an alternative to the liberal approach. The discussion largely draws on conventional IR perspectives involving only...
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From New Humanitarianism to Total Defence: Conceptualising a New Dimension of Aid Organisations in Ukraine’s War Effort
(Volume 19, Issue 1)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, impartiality, neutrality and independence, rendering the existing frameworks of humanitarianism and new humanitarianism inadequate to describe their operations. This paper tackles these...
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The ‘Geographical Here’ and the Pursuit of Ontological Security: Spheres of Influence Narratives and Great Power Identity in Times of Threatened Status
(2024 - Volume 18, Issue 4)Abstract This article explains why self-identified great powers seek to provide a ‘sphere of influence meaning’ to geographical space when such narratives have the potential to insult the smaller actors in the space over which such powers seek exclusive influence. The article draws and expands on the ‘physical turn’ in ontological security studies by introducing the notion of a ‘geographical here’ as key to a great power that perceives its status as threatened. The argument is illustrated...