ABSTRACTS

3 Thoroughly Understanding and Implementing the Guiding Principles of the 20th CPC National Congress: Chinese Way to Responding to the World’s Changes

by Yu Hongjun, Dai Changzheng, Wu Zhicheng, Zhu Feng, Jin Canrong&Su Changhe

【Abstract】Right now, changes of the world, of our times and of history are unfolding in ways like never before.The complicated international environment is creating opportunities for and posing challenges to researchers studying international issues.On October 19, 2022, the Editorial Board ofInternational Forumhosted an online academic seminar themed The International Environment for the Second Centenary Goal and China’s development with the purpose of studying and implementing the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress, taking a deep dive into the progressing Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy and the external environment for China’s development, and adapting academic research to national strategic needs.The seminar brought together a number of renowned experts on international issues in China.In combination with the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress, these experts discussed in depth the peace and development which are the themes of the times and the period of strategic opportunity for China’s development, changes in the world order and China’s response, China’s diplomatic response to the competition among major countries, the external security environment affecting the peaceful development of China, and the new international strategic environment for China after the outbreak of Russia-Ukraine conflict among other topics.After the seminar, the Editorial Board invited six experts—Yu Hongjun, Dai Changzheng, Wu Zhicheng, Zhu Feng, Jin Canrong, and Su Changhe—to make a review of the speeches on this seminar, so as to facilitate the understanding of the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress in the academia and upgrade the literature on international issues.

【Key Words】global governance, peace and development, great power relations,common human values, a community with a shared future for mankind, Global Security Initiative, momentous changes unseen in a century, China’s diplomacy, China-US relations, Chinese-style modernization

34 The Power of Non-Arab Islamic States in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation

by He Siyu

【Abstract】The power of member states in international organizations consists of several aspects: the material aspect is the foundation of their power, the ideational aspect refers to the cognitive and behavioral impact ideas have on states, the relational aspect drives changes in power, the structural aspect involves the framework through which power works, and the institutional aspect refers to a path to enhancing power.Although non-Arab Islamic states matter for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in terms of collective identity, diversity and strategic value, they are still faced with multiple practical problems such as heterogeneity, divergent interests, power differentials, and different degrees of participation so that their power is still relatively weak as power is concentrated in a few large countries.The material and ideational power of non-Arab Islamic states is relatively limited, and their multiple heterogeneity and marginalization in the system impede their acquisition of relational and structural power.However, non-Arab Islamic states can obtain certain institutional power by virtue of their Islamic identity,geopolitical importance and collective advantages.Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, and Malaysia are traditionally the more powerful ones among the non-Arab Islamic states.They try to enhance their own power in the OIC, exhibiting different behavioral patterns based on their own power composition, and respective advantages and interests.As their power grows in recent years, non-Arab Islamic states, which are noted for their rising activism,initiative and discursive power, are becoming a key factor affecting the OIC’s agenda setting and organizational development.

【Key Words】Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), non-Arab Islamic states,power, Iran Pakistan, Turkey, Malaysia

54 China’s Consular Protection System: Evaluation and Policy Suggestions

by Xia liping

【Abstract】A process involving multiple parties, China’s consular protection system mainly consists of an early-warning system and an emergency response mechanism.As Chinese citizens overseas are the people China’s consular protection system seeks to serve, their feedback is very important for understanding the current state of the consular protection system and for studying how to improve it.An analysis of questionnaires and interviews administered with overseas Chinese citizens shows that China’s “five-inone” consular protection system involving “the central government, local governments,embassies and consulates abroad, enterprises and individual citizens” has achieved remarkable results.There has been widespread positive reaction by Chinese citizens overseas to the security alerts put out by the Chinese government through official channels.Chinese citizens are now knowledgeable about the basics of how to protect themselves, and are more willing to help each other.Civil society groups have worked to set up platforms for the exchange of security information and for early warning.Chinese enterprises overseas have taken multiple precautionary steps to protect the safety of their employees abroad.There are now effective channels for communication between Chinese embassies and citizens abroad so that the transmission of emergent messages can be guaranteed.Civil society groups organized by Chinese citizens overseas are playing an active part in emergent situations.In the future, China’s consular protection system can be improved upon in the following ways: establishing supervision or punishment mechanisms to strengthen the practical effectiveness of overseas security alerts; finetuning the release of overseas safety alerts, and establishing a public feedback mechanism; using data analysis to prevent overseas security risks in a more scientific way; increasing the publicity of the relevant laws and regulations and raising the profile of the 12308 Global Consular Protection and Service Emergency Hotline, and exploring the possibility of non-governmental actors taking part in the construction of the consular protection system.

【Key Words】Chinese consular protection system, Chinese citizens overseas, emergency response mechanism, early warning and prevention mechanism

69 The Changing Strategic Importance of the Indian Ocean and Its Impact on the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road

by Wang Ying

【Abstract】The Indian Ocean region (IOR), which has significant strategic and economic value, is a key region for the United States to implement its Indo-Pacific strategy.The sustained involvement of the US, India and other countries in the IOR in an effort to expand their regional influence and economic interests has led to significant changes in the region’s strategic position and security environment, impacting the IOR’s transportation of goods, maritime security and marine environment.The US seeks to not only control the sea lines of communication (SLOCs) in the Indian Ocean, but also gain support by providing public goods to its allies and partners.As a great power with important influence in the IOR, India seeks to maintain its traditional sphere of influence and obtain economic interests from the region.In addition, both the US and India share the strategic intention to exclude China from the IOR.Geographically, the Indian Ocean is an important maritime route for “the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road” (MSR)promoted by China, whose maritime influence reaches East Africa, the South Pacific and coastal Europe through the Indian Ocean.However, the US, which aims to dominate the geopolitics in the IOR with its Indo-Pacific strategy, has tried to work with India and other western maritime powers to compete with China in the Indian Ocean and its surrounding areas.This is bound to have an impact on the 21st century Maritime Silk Road.Therefore, China should strengthen in-depth cooperation with regional states and formulate corresponding countermeasures to promote the normal development of Maritime Silk Road in the IOR.

【Key Words】Indo-Pacific strategy, strategic value of the Indian Ocean, the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, US global strategy, geopolitics

93 Critiquing the Philosophical Foundation of Neorealism: The Historical Materialist Perspective

by Wang Zhengda

【Abstract】While Chinese and western academia has extensively critiqued the neorealist theory, most of these critiques fail to uncover the root of its theoretical defects, unable to dent the widespread appeal neorealism commands, because they mostly concern the technical aspects while accepting the validity of the theory.This is not conducive to innovation in international relations theory.In order to fundamentally address the root cause, this paper examines neorealism through the perspective of historical materialism, systematically scrutinizing its philosophical foundation.The fundamental reason for the many inherent flaws of neorealism lies in its wrong philosophical basis,which manifests itself in its mechanistic materialist worldview, abstract epistemology and vulgar methodology.Since it highly simplifies and generalizes states into entities that simply follow the physical laws of the atoms, devoid of any social meanings and history, neorealism presents a purely speculative logical system and becomes a theory of mechanics, divorced from the actual practice of international relations.Its lack of humanistic care and the hypocrisy of its “value neutrality” make it a tool of legitimation for certain countries to justify their international behavior.The neorealist theory turns the method of structural analysis into a structuralist rigidity, exaggerating the role of the international structure, and ignoring the agency of man and the state to shape and transform the international system.This critique of the philosophical basis of neorealism can provide insights and inspirations for the construction of a Chinese school of international relations theory.

【Key Words】neorealism, international relations, philosophical foundation, historical materialism, academic critique

120 A Review of Nuclear Proliferation Studies: Paradigms, Characteristics and Problems

by Wang Yong&Xu Haiyun

【Abstract】Nuclear proliferation, which is one of the most important issues in security studies, has become a popular academic topic as it greatly affects security at national,regional and international levels, and sits at the core of the international nuclear order and the international non-proliferation system.A review of the literature shows that academic research has clustered around four issues relating to nuclear proliferation: motivation,logic, controversy and solution.The motivation strand examines the multiple factors that motivate a country to develop nuclear weapons.The logic strand explains the market path and strategic path of nuclear proliferation, where both the supply and demand sides pursue their military and economic interests while conducting nuclear cooperation on the nuclear market.The controversy strand looks into the debate over the multiple effects of nuclear proliferation, such as optimism vs.pessimism, peace vs.conflict, and differences in nuclear identity.The solution strand suggests solutions to nuclear proliferation.With the expanding scope and depth of these studies, they have deepened our understanding of the complex implications of nuclear proliferation.However, the field is still handicapped by the difficulty in de-politicizing nuclear proliferation, the contradiction between peaceful use of nuclear energy and proliferation, the inconsistency between the security of nuclear powers and international security, and the lack of resources for study.Therefore, there is still room for improvement in the study of nuclear proliferation.As far as the current situation is concerned, the difficult problem that nuclear proliferation research has to deal with is the continuation of proliferation despite non-proliferation efforts.

【Key Words】nuclear proliferation, the market logic, motivation paradigm, international security

139 Russia’s Conservative-Values Diplomacy

by Feng Yujun&Wen Longjie

【Abstract】After Putin came to power, conservatism, whose ideological core consists in statism, populism, anti-liberalism and anti-Westernism, has gradually taken shape and become the mainstream ideology in Russia due to a rethinking of the neoliberalisminspired transformation of the Russian society and the Russian counteraction to the post-Cold War international order dominated by neoliberalism.In recent years,Russia has made full use of conservative ideas, using tools such as culture, religion,race, identity politics to gain wider international support for its domestic and foreign policies.By pursuing conservative-values diplomacy, Russia once became the center of international conservatism and accordingly gained international influence, creating a favorable environment for its foreign policy.However, Russia’s conservative-values diplomacy is tainted with not only a deep-rooted Messianic zeal, but also opportunism and instrumentalism.In particular, there is a marked discrepancy between its high-profile insistence on respect for national sovereignty and its perception and corresponding action that actually seek to “equate virtual cultural regions with actual sovereign territory.” With increasing radicalism in Russia’s foreign behavior, its conservative-values diplomacy has also caused more and more concerns and criticisms internationally.

【Key Words】Russia, conservatism, statism, populism, values diplomacy, Putin