Global Power Shift

This book examines the current phase of world order transition in the Atlantic area, focusing on Europe and Northern America, Asia, and Africa. In particular, it describes four processes of world order transition, namely the decreasing American leadership, the rising power of China, the receding effectiveness of economy and security world policies, and the continued but inadequate operation of the world policy-making institutions.

 Part one of the book presents perspectives on world order transition developed by political science schools, i.e. the world hegemony and the power transition school, and by the experts of complexity theory, a newcomer in social sciences. These theories are best suited to explain the order transition and to supply consistent, complementary data and insights on the juncture of the four processes pushing for the creation of the new world order.

 Part two looks into the impact of order transition on the Atlantic area. The authors focus on the existing tensions and the potentials for change that affect the long-time relations between the USA, the European countries, and Canada. At the same time, the interference of China into the politics and economy of Europe is analyzed, in particular through a case study of the relations between China and the Baltic states.

This book offers a comprehensive account of Turkey's foreign policy narratives in a period of global power shifts. By examining international and national historical processes, the author highlights narrative processes and traditions that describe Turkey and its position in world politics. He also analyzes how global power shifts, such as the rise of China, affect Turkey's increasingly active and confusing foreign policy and the narratives associated with it. The book covers topics such as Kemalist modernization, Islamic conservative views of the New World Order, Turkey's relations with non-Western countries such as Russia and China, and Turkish narratives of the Syrian war and the COVID-19-pandemic. It is intended for scholars of international relations and European and Middle Eastern politics, and appeals to anyone interested in Turkish history and politics.

This book analyses the expansion of The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) into the post-Soviet space after the end of the Cold War. Based on an extensive analysis of the literature and government documents, including doctrines, statements and speeches by the most influential decision-makers and other actors, it sheds new light on the geopolitical and geostrategic context of the expansion of the military alliance, and assesses its impact on international security relations in Europe. 

The first chapter introduces readers to the neo-realist approach and develops the methodological basis of the book. The following chapters provide a historical overview of the causes and consequences of two waves of eastward NATO enlargement. Special attention is paid to the annexation of the Crimea and to Russian hybrid-asymmetric warfare. Finally, thirty years after the end of the Cold War, the book notes a disturbing return to militarization in international security relations. To counter this process, the author calls for a reduction of current international tensions and a new policy of détente.

This book analyses international relations between the USA, China, and Russia and provides an overview of how the US-China-Russia triangle has evolved over time. Based on a forensic examination of primary documentation from US archives, the author illustrates how the US strategic perspectives on Chinese–Russian relations have developed since the late-19th century. The author demonstrates how US relations with the Russian and Chinese empires began expanding into greater sophistication and complexity in the 19th century, reflecting changing US concerns, priorities, and preferences vis-à-vis Sino-Russian dynamics which themselves, too, were evolving in parallel and, in some instances, in an interactive fashion. The book analyses US perceptions of Sino-Russian interactions in ways which, from the US perspective, affected US interests, either positively or negatively.

This open access book examines Russia-China relations across a variety of civilian and military areas of cooperation. Leading experts in the field present empirical case studies covering a wide range of strategic cooperation areas between Russia and China, such as technological, military, economic and political cooperation. The contributing authors shed new light on Chinese and Russian strategic goals, external push and pull factors, and mutual perception shifts, and discuss the options for Western countries to influence this development.

This book analyses the evolution of the relationship since the watershed moment of the Crimean crisis in 2014, and whether or not a full-blown military alliance, as hinted in late 2020 by President Putin, is indeed a realistic scenario for which NATO will have to prepare. It will appeal to students and scholars of international relations, political decision-makers, as well as anyone interested in Eurasian politics and the potential military-strategic impact of a Russian-Chinese alliance for NATO.

In light of recent global trends and crises, including the hasty withdrawal of Western troops from Afghanistan and the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, this book sheds new light on global power shifts in multiple areas of international relations between industrialized countries and emerging powers.

This book argues that “the global age” is rapidly supplanting “the modern age”, and that modernity is paving the way for globality. The events that are taking place in the 21^st century can no longer be effectively described, understood or explained by the concept of modernity which originated more than 500 years ago.

Further, this book challenges the academic and societal tendency to view international power-related phenomena on the basis of a dichotomy between hard and soft power. It assumes that another power source, independent of hard and soft power, does exist. Invisible, structure-manipulating, and effectively leveraged, it is precisely this “third power” that drives and shapes power phenomena in the “global age” more intensively than either hard or soft power.

This book analyses the collective security system as it now stands, focusing on strategic and normative frameworks. The old system of international collective security is based on assumptions that are inadequate in relation to current challenges. Against the backdrop of changed geopolitical constellations, democracies under siege and the challenges posed by new types of warfare, critical analysts hold that not a single multilateral institution today is fully up to the task it was created for. The UN, from its founding to the Sustained Peace Approach, represents a fascinating global process of vision-building and adaptation to reality.

Based on this understanding, the dynamics of the UN peace and security architecture are examined along with major agendas, from peacebuilding to development. In turn, reform proposals in the post-COVID-19 era are discussed.

This book provides a state-of-the-art analysis of India’s foreign and security policies, examining e.g. the country’s security, economic and trade ties and interactions with Pakistan, China, the United States, Japan, the Middle East and ASEAN. Furthermore, the contributors provide the reader with an overview and analysis of the quality and challenges of India’s regional and global trade and investment policies. While in the past India has been a reluctant and not particularly prominent foreign and security policy actor in East and Southeast Asia as well as globally, China’s resurgence and its assertive and increasingly aggressive regional security policies have led India’s policymakers to reconsider the country’s decades-old non-alignment policies and opt for expanding security and defence ties with the United States, Japan and others. The Indian-Chinese border clashes in 2020 and China’s unlawful occupation of disputed territories along the Indian-Chinese border in the Himalayas have convinced Delhi’s policymakers and the country’s security and defence elites that India is well advised to join and contribute to US-led China containment policies. The expansion of India’s security and defence ties with Japan over recent years in particular will continue to be instrumental to keeping Beijing’s territorial expansionism in Southeast and South Asia in check.

This volume analyses India’s involvement and engagement in regional and global trade and investment structures and flows in great detail. Written by a team of prolific European and Indian scholars, the book will be of interest to researchers in the fields of international relations and security studies, as well as policymakers at governmental or international organizations.

This book analyzes China's transformative political power in today's world while simultaneously addressing global issues and the reformation of world institutions. China has become known as the world's first factory and trading power, but more knowledge on China's rise is necessary to understand the world of today and the future. The main question is where China's rise is headed and how this affects the increasingly connected world that faces problems that no state can effectively address on its own.

This book analyzes both sides of the coin, that is, the problems of a world scale and the change of the world political order. China is among the major actors for global issues such as mitigating climate warming, controlling weapons of mass destruction, combating economic inequality and underdevelopment, and improving health for all. In the current setting of the new world order, all countries and especially world powers develop a general blueprint for the future, as cultural and material conditions of the present world are very different from the past. Under such conditions, China faces a review of its bilateral and regional strategies, as well as its position and actions in world institutions that have the mission of forming policy responses to issues of a global scale.

This book, therefore, provides insight into China's view of world problems and the future world order. It is a must-read for everybody interested in a better understanding of China's role in today's world and the global power shift.

This volume examines some of the major challenges and opportunities for Europe in the light of the intensifying US-China global strategic rivalry. In doing so, the book investigates European roles and behavior in the contemporary US-China-Europe triangular relationship.

While the book's focus is on Europe, the contributors originate from, or are based in, the US and China, thus presenting a unique outside-in perspective to the analysis of European conduct in the areas of security, geo-politics, geo-economics, global governance, development, and climate change. Each area is investigated by one American and one Chinese scholar, respectively, presenting the different views held on Europe’s behavior and positioning in the US and China. In addition to providing critical assessments of Europe’s roles and performance as seen through the prism of their respective country, contributors also pose concrete policy recommendations for Europe.

The book will appeal to students, scholars, and researchers of political science and international relations, as well as policy-makers interested in a better understanding of Europe's role in the US-China rivalry and its relationship to the two countries.

The internet has become a battleground for global power struggles, with nations and even terrorist organizations wielding cyber-attacks to exert control. As the absence of binding international laws and norms leaves cyberspace largely unchecked, countries are seeking to establish their Sovereign Cyber Domains (SCD) - tightly controlled cyberspaces. In this illuminating monograph, the author explores how Russia, China, Iran, and others perceive the internet as a means for the United States and its allies to maintain global dominance and influence foreign audiences, driving their pursuit of strict regulations over domestic cyber affairs and mass communication. Yet, even the United States is now susceptible to foreign cyber operations, mainly foreign influence that undermines its domestic affairs.

Even International Blocs like the European Union had expressed concerns about foreign influence and privacy rights abuses, leading to regulatory initiatives like the General Data Protection Regulation, Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act. As nations prioritize cybersecurity and sovereignty over free speech and convenience, the book predicts a future of increased regulation across all layers of the cyber domain, mirroring the historical emergence of the concept of sovereignty.

Drawing on a combination of political science, international relations, and cyber domain practices, this monograph offers valuable insights for policymakers, practitioners, researchers, and students. By analyzing existing cyber sovereignty processes and predicting future trends, the book contributes to international relations theories, sheds light on the challenges of an unregulated cyber domain, and provides guidance for a secure and controlled digital future.

This book examines the international forums in which states develop cyber norms—“rules of the road” for how governments use information and communication technologies. To understand the dynamics in this emerging field of diplomacy, the book focuses on an often-overlooked actor: Brazil. With the international debate dominated by two camps that can be broadly characterized as the West versus China and Russia, the book demonstrates that Brazil holds a key position as a bridge-builder between these two sides. It paints a rich picture of Brazil’s efforts in shaping cyber norms across such diverse forums as the United Nations, BRICS, and the Organization of American States, while contextualizing these activities in Brazilian domestic cybersecurity policy and foreign policy traditions. This rich case study paves the way for a deeper understanding of how different actors shape international cybersecurity policy.