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52. Changing Dynamics of Pak-US Relations and the Challenge of Soft Power
- Author:
- Moonis Ahmar
- Publication Date:
- 05-2021
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- LSE IDEAS
- Abstract:
- There is a history of ups and downs in Pak-US relations since early 1950s till today. From the period of alliances to ostensible hostility and indifference, the changing dynamics of Pak-US relations must be analysed from a pragmatic point of view where power, national interests, security and sovereignty matter. Furthermore, mistrust, suspicions, ill-will and paranoia still influence the political, security, economic and power dynamics of relations between Pakistan and the United States. This research follows the theory of soft power due to two main reasons. First, instead of being a ‘patron-client’ relationship, PakUS relations could be transformed by focusing on diplomacy, trade and technology instead of threats and coercion. Second, President Obama’s policy of ‘do more’ for Pakistan in combating terrorism in Afghanistan proved to be counterproductive as anti-Americanism surged in Pakistan. Overcoming the bitterness of the past in Pak-US relations will be a major challenge to the Biden-Harris administration. Moving forward in Pak-US relations will require political will, determination, prudence and trust from both sides. It is up to the leadership from both countries to foster trust and take confidence building measures which can transform their relations from patron-client to partners in progress. Shift from geopolitics to geoeconomics will ensure a win-win situation for both sides in the years to come.
- Topic:
- Economics, Violent Extremism, Democracy, Geopolitics, and Soft Power
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, South Asia, North America, and United States of America
53. Authoritarian protectionism in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe: diversity, commonality and resistance
- Author:
- Luke Cooper
- Publication Date:
- 07-2021
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- LSE IDEAS
- Abstract:
- Authoritarianism has become a major buzzword of global politics today. But the public debate has often focused on headline-catching cases of democratic decline. In the European Union (EU), Hungary and Poland, have tended to dominate discussion and critique with the implication that a modern-day ‘containment’ strategy might suffice to withstand the authoritarian advance. This brings dangers for how we think about politics in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe (CESEE), involving a problematic reading of the region as a source of threat to democracy, rather than a theatre for its renewal. This new LSE IDEAS report, Authoritarian protectionism in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe: diversity, commonality and resistance, seeks to provide a wider regional contextualisation through the examination of Hungary and Poland in tandem with four other case studies in the region: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia. The paper argues that the recent histories of these states provide a vantage point for reflection on the broader tendencies driving democratic decay globally. As the populaces of these states have shown tremendous civic energy in their willingness to resist authoritarianism, often in very large numbers, these case studies also point to the need to re-frame how this topic is discussed in the European public sphere. They suggest we should highlight how events in the region may be a harbinger of new opportunities for democratic advance. The snapshot comparative analysis of these states is undertaken through the frame of what the author, Dr Luke Cooper, calls authoritarian protectionism. This emphasises the importance of a politics of ethnonational partisanship to the contemporary challenge to democracy. In the cases examined in the report, authoritarian protectionism draws particular attention to the coherence that exists amongst such actors– despite the fact the examples are drawn from the left, centre and right of the political spectrum.
- Topic:
- Politics, Authoritarianism, European Union, Democracy, Diversity, and Protectionism
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Eastern Europe, Central Europe, and Southern Europe
54. FOCAC at 21: Future Trajectories of China-Africa Relations
- Author:
- Chris Alden, Stephen Paduano, Mzukisi Qobo, Lukas Fiala, Iginio Gagliardone, Yu-Shan Wu, Gidon Gautel, and Lina Benabdallah
- Publication Date:
- 10-2021
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- LSE IDEAS
- Abstract:
- The China-Africa relationship has continued to evolve over the last years. In light of the 8th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) that will take place later in 2021, the latest report from LSE IDEAS China Foresight brings together an international team of experts to shed light on emerging and consolidated areas of engagement between China and Africa that will likely shape the relationship in the years to come.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, International Cooperation, and Engagement
- Political Geography:
- Africa and China
55. Germany and the World of Yesterday
- Author:
- Leon Mangasarian
- Publication Date:
- 01-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- LSE IDEAS
- Abstract:
- In the past six decades, the four pillars of Germany’s post-World War II security model were built and expanded: NATO, the European Union, trans-Atlanticism and free trade. This gave Germans their longest period of peace, making them fantastically rich as the world’s fourth biggest economy. Can Germany’s view of itself as a ‘big Switzerland’ be sustained? Leon Mangasarian argues not. The Biden presidency is providing Germans with a false sense of security, one which means that Germany will fail to build the appropriate policies and NATO alliances Germany desperately needs in order to build a grand strategy of its place in Europe. If that debate is not led by the chancellery then it needs to come from the Bundestag, from the country’s expanding think tank community, the universities and citizen fora.
- Topic:
- NATO, European Union, Economy, and Transatlantic Relations
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Germany
56. Coordination Failure: Risks of US-China competition in space
- Author:
- Gidon Gautel
- Publication Date:
- 04-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- LSE IDEAS
- Abstract:
- The 2020s will see a flurry of space activity, with both national and commercial programs picking up pace. Both the United States and China hold strong ambitions in telecommunications, lunar exploration, and beyond. However, currently fraught relations between the superpowers are unlikely to improve and may yet deteriorate further. On the one hand, competition between both countries may drive space activities and foster technological innovation. On the other, as both superpowers expand their activities in space, geopolitical tensions may increase the risk of harmful dynamics that could endanger the sustainable rollout of future programs. In this Strategic Update, Gidon Gautel seeks to outline and call attention to two high-risk flash points arising from the development of the US and China’s national space programmes and industries.
- Topic:
- Geopolitics, Space, Innovation, and Strategic Competition
- Political Geography:
- China, Asia, North America, and United States of America
57. President Biden’s Africa Policy
- Author:
- Rebecca Rattner and Bjorn Whitmore
- Publication Date:
- 05-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- LSE IDEAS
- Abstract:
- Joe Biden’s administration has committed to transforming America’s relationships across the globe. This period of reform presents the opportunity for a long-overdue reimagination of America’s policy in Sub-Saharan Africa. In this Strategic Update, Rebecca Rattner and Bjorn Whitmore argue a successful new relationship between America and Sub-Saharan Africa must rely on genuine partnership, support to local actors, and strong regional institutions. Their piece considers how to apply these principles in practice by examining the nuanced socio-political realities in East, West, Central, and Southern Africa.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Regional Cooperation, and Joe Biden
- Political Geography:
- Africa, United States of America, and Sub-Saharan Africa
58. Twitter and Digital Diplomacy: China and COVID-19
- Author:
- Chris Alden and Kenddrick Chan
- Publication Date:
- 06-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- LSE IDEAS
- Abstract:
- This Strategic Update explores how official Chinese foreign policy entities have used Twitter as a public diplomacy platform during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the nature of their Twitter activity, and what this means for Chinese Twitter Diplomacy in the future.
- Topic:
- Diplomacy, Social Media, COVID-19, Twitter, and Digital Policy
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
59. Facing A Strategic Endgame? The US and the Ambiguities of Strategic Thinking
- Author:
- Christopher Coker
- Publication Date:
- 06-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- LSE IDEAS
- Abstract:
- The disastrous strategic failures by the US in the past 30 years can be explained by its failure to understand what strategy actually is and how ambiguity lies at its heart. As a result it has stumbled from crisis to crisis. There is no reason to think that it is any better placed under Biden to address the challenges of a ‘post-hegemonic’ world, argues Christopher Coker.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Hegemony, Crisis Management, and Strategic Interests
- Political Geography:
- North America and United States of America
60. The Dragon Lands in Belgrade: The Drivers of Sino-Serbian Partnership
- Author:
- Vuk Vuksanovic
- Publication Date:
- 07-2021
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- LSE IDEAS
- Abstract:
- In recent years, the partnership between Serbia and China has been elevated to a historically unprecedented level. This partnership manifests itself through Chinese economic statecraft, technological partnership, security partnership, with political ties reaching an unprecedented degree during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as Vuk Vuksanovic examines, the future of this partnership will be dependent on the trajectory of China’s relationship with the West. As US-China relations are becoming adversarial, and as China’s relations with the EU are shaken, it will become increasingly difficult and risky for Belgrade to maintain its ties with Beijing. From ‘vaccine diplomacy’ to ‘debt-trap diplomacy’, this Strategic Update examines the Sino-Serbian partnership we are witnessing and what the future has in store for Serbian policymakers.
- Topic:
- Security, Foreign Policy, Economics, Partnerships, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- China, Asia, and Serbia
61. How Can America Challenge China's Political Ambitions in an Age of Deglobalisation?
- Author:
- Dimitri Zabelin
- Publication Date:
- 09-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- LSE IDEAS
- Abstract:
- COVID-19 has accelerated the trend of deglobalisation and further entrenched China into the growing political and economic fort of Asia. This has made the US less effective at implementing policies aimed at curbing Beijing’s political ambitions and strength in the region. Washington must therefore make itself indispensable in Asia and employ strategies for bringing China into a global network that can collectively reign in the Asian giant’s growing influence.
- Topic:
- Economics, Politics, Strategic Competition, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- China, Asia, North America, and United States of America
62. NATO and the Future Character of Warfare
- Author:
- Hugh Sandeman and Jonny Hall
- Publication Date:
- 09-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- LSE IDEAS
- Abstract:
- This Strategic Update is based on a discussion hosted by LSE IDEAS in June 2021 on ‘Warfare in the 21st Century: Views from NATO Members on the Future Character of Warfare’. Participants in the discussion were: General Sir James Everard, Dr Tomas Ries, Colonel John Andreas Olsen, James Sherr, Gordon Barrass, General Sir Richard Barrons, Professor Christopher Coker, Karsten Friis, Marissa Kemp, Tom McKane, Erik Reichborn-Kjennerud, Professor Rolf Tamnes, and Peter Watkins. This Strategic Update reflects points made during the discussion, but no participant is in any way committed to its specific content, and the views expressed here are attributable solely to the authors.
- Topic:
- NATO, Science and Technology, War, and Strategic Competition
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
63. Shaping the Indo-Pacific? Japan and Europeanisation
- Author:
- Yee-Kuang Heng
- Publication Date:
- 11-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- LSE IDEAS
- Abstract:
- In this Strategic Update, Professor Yee-Kuang Heng investigates European power projection and presence in the Indo-Pacific, and its converging nature with Japan’s attempt to shape the regional environment in its favour. While UK threat perceptions have converged significantly with Japan’s since former Prime Minister David Cameron’s promulgation of a “golden era” in relations with China, managing expectations of Japan’s attempt to ‘shape’ and encourage Europeanisation remains crucial. But is it fair to conclude that Japan has been successful in encouraging a stronger European presence to help it shape the Indo-Pacific order?
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, Europeanization, and Strategic Competition
- Political Geography:
- Japan, China, United Kingdom, Europe, and Indo-Pacific
64. The Russian Diaspora in the Baltic States: The Trojan Horse that never was
- Author:
- Sarah Coolican
- Publication Date:
- 12-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- LSE IDEAS
- Abstract:
- Thirty years ago this month, the world shook as one of the only two Superpowers unexpectedly collapsed, creating enormous ramifications for the 25 million ethnic Russians who found themselves as non-titular citizens outside the borders of the newly formed Russian Federation. This ‘beached diaspora’ has been left marginalised and treated with fear, by the Baltic States in their nation-building policies and has left many to think of this community as ‘ripe’ for Russian influence. This Strategic Update will analyse Russian soft power policies and the development of ‘Russkii Mir’ as a tool for utilising this diaspora to further its foreign policy. Tools, which have been seemingly unaffected to a community of autonomy seeking citizens.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Diaspora, and Regional Power
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Eurasia, and Baltic States