Conference Program

The recognition that foreign policy decisions can be influenced by public opinion has led scholars to examine the important role played by the views of ordinary citizens. The rise of China in recent decades has prompted studies on mass attitudes toward the new great power, including in its surrounding countries.

Complementing works which focus on how socio-demographic characteristics and economic assessment impact citizens’ views toward China, the present study explores the role of economic and cultural beliefs on evaluations of China and its purported rival, the United States. Is China regarded more positively by those advocating greater state intervention in the economy? and by those emphasizing traditional cultural norms? Answers to these questions not only reveal how China is perceived in its neighbouring countries, but also have implications for their foreign policy stances. Furthermore, we distinguish between general attitudes toward China and the US, and preference for aligning with one of these great powers. Utilizing a survey covering fourteen Indo-Pacific nations, our results show that 1) contrary to depictions of intensifying US-China rivalry, attitudes toward both great power are positively correlated; 2) where significant relationships are found, respondents who prefer lesser state regulation and traditional values are more attracted to China; and 3) positive attitudes to China do not necessarily predict support for choosing it over the US as an alliance partner.

In this paper, I want to reflect about the causes and implications of the Israel-Hamas War by examining it from the perspective of this Section (IR in a World of Flux: Continuity, Change, and Contestation). The reflections might include reference to the following subjects: (a) the move from inter-state armed conflicts to conflicts with non-states; (b) colonialism and decolonization; (c) the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in layers; (d) continuity, change, and contestation in IR; (d) Breaking stereotypes and struggling with ignorance (and prejudices) in the IR academia; (e) the Israel-Hamas war and North-South relations.

By the way, I volunteer to participate in a roundtable about the Israel-Hamas War.

The US and the EU (formerly the EEC) have worked closely together since the end of World War II, resulting in the formation of the Transatlantic Community. After the Cold War, transatlantic ties remain strong, yet US interest in Europe has been progressively declining. The deterioration of transatlantic ties, as well as the diverging paths of the US and the EU, raise concerns and uncertainty about the future of the international liberal order underpinned by the Transatlantic Community. The purpose of this paper is to present American views of Europe and the EU twenty years after the EU's largest enlargement, that encompassed most of the former Eastern Bloc countries and ended the Europe’s division into East and West. As a research hypothesis, it was assumed that, despite ideological similarities and shared security interests, the importance of Europe to Americans is waning (in favor of Asia), resulting in weakened ties and the erosion of the international liberal order. This is demonstrated by the declining interest in European affairs among American politicians and major US think tanks, the relatively low number of European programs at American universities, and the decreasing general interest in European affairs among the American public (aside from the concerns pertaining to Russia's aggression against Ukraine). Empirical research will be carried out in the aforementioned areas to validate the hypothesis.

Since 1990s Russia led six major combat operations: in Chechnya (1994-1996, 1999-2009), Georgia (2008), Donbas (2014 - 2022), Syria (since 2015) and Ukraine (since 2022).

The official narration of Russian authorities and propaganda explaining the above mentioned conflicts was relatively similar. Russia was presented mostly as a victim of an aggression, while the ethnic Russians, Russian speakings or other ethnic groups – as targets of genocidal practices. Behind the designed enemy loomed always the real, more powerful opponent, in particular the United States and the West. The Chechens, the Ukrainians – both the political authorities and the population – were systematically dehumanized, presented as criminals, nazis, terrorists or simply parasites, which need to be destroyed.

In fact the goals of Russia were much more diversified. In case of Chechnya the territorial integrity and the position of the central power within the Russian Federation were in stake. In case of Georgia and Ukraine Russia aimed to defend its perceived zone of influence within the post-Soviet space against the Western influence. The intervention in Syria and in particular the full-scale war in Ukraine in 2022 were to change the existing international order. Finally, internal political factors (upcoming reelection of Yelstin in 1996, rise to power of Putin in 1999/2000, his falling popularity in 2014) were also an important factor that prompted Russia to launch military operations.

China's contestation of Western world order has become more assertive since Xi Jinping became the president of the mainland. As a leader, it is his main goal to promote China's position as a world power, able to project its political and military influence on a global scale, and eventually overcome the US. An area heavily developed in the last decade where they can become more involved is in the field of technology, starting with the development of their own start-ups and massive applications that are first tested in the continent before being launched in the world. The emergence of City Brain, Tiktok, Alibaba, Huawei and others has led China to develop a program parallel to the famous Belt and Road Diplomacy: the Digital Silk Road (DSR), which consists of "connecting the world" through infrastructure projects of a technological nature and controlling the "highways" of data transfer, through inter-oceanic optical fiber cables and the manufacturing of semiconductors. This paper, whose methodology is desk research, will analyze how the DSR project and therefore the technological development has become the pivot of the Chinese geopolitical project, whose technological application has been the subject of innumerable criticisms from the international community for its unethical uses.