Content Type: Journal Article - CIAO Search Results

51. Manageable Mandate or Mission Creep? The Canadian Armed Forces Assistance to Law Enforcement Agencies

Author:: David Sopotyk
Publication Date:: 03-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:: Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:: This paper examines the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) assistance to law enforcement agencies (LEA) and seeks to answer the question if CAF involvement is permitted? More precisely, is this action legal or does it represent mission creep by the CAF that should be of concern to Canada’s democracy? An analysis of CAF support to LEA via the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) is used as the case most likely to elicit legal difficulties. This analysis finds that even given NORAD’s assistance to LEA (chosen as the most likely scenario of potential mission creep for the CAF given that Canadian military are operating in the United States with US LEA), the activities were within the bounds of the National Defence Act and given approval by the Canadian national command authority (the Prime Minister). Ultimately, this paper concludes that the CAF’s assistance to LEA is not mission creep so long as the authorities and processes in place are respected.
Topic:: Law Enforcement, Armed Forces, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), and Mission Creep
Political Geography:: Canada and North America

52. From Seeds to Suffering: Herbicides, Environmental Degradation and Slow Violence

Author:: Alexandra Pacheco Hardwicke
Publication Date:: 03-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:: Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:: Warfare almost always results in the destruction of the environment, yet the devastation extends far beyond the immediate physical consequences of battle. Historically, natural environments have played an integral role in human conflict, from land disputes to armed conflict and terrorism. Starving the enemy through attacking livestock, contaminating water resources, and scorched earth tactics are a few of the many ways in which the environment has been weaponized during war. Environmental security, particularly in the context of armed conflict, is an evolving field. The incorporation of slow violence may provide a critical framework to analyze post-war impacts and long-term ecological harm in ways traditional security studies tends to overlook.
Topic:: Environment, Violence, Environmental Security, Warfare, and Herbicides
Political Geography:: Global Focus

53. Emerging Powers’ Engagement in International Organizations: The Case of Vietnam’s Multilateral Diplomacy

Author:: Tran Chi Trung and Hoang Hien Thuong
Publication Date:: 01-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:: Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:: It is widely believed that, with greater political and economic influence, emerging powers are increasingly playing larger roles within international institutions, ranging from global organisations, regional organisations, to various alternative platforms of minilateralism or coalition of the willing. Despite growing debates about the motivations of emerging powers when engaging in both new regional organisations and existing global institutions, there is limited research explaining this from the perspective of these nations. Hence, this article addresses this gap by studying the case of Vietnam’s multilateral diplomacy since 2021. The article adopts a qualitative research design, combining discourse analysis of official speeches, policy documents, and a case study of Vietnam’s participation in international and regional organisations following the new foreign policy direction of Viet Nam since 2021. We argue that while Vietnam and other emerging powers share a common aspiration for a more multipolar and equitable international order, their multilateral strategies diverge according to distinct priorities and challenges. After its 13th National Congress in 2021, Vietnam’s foreign policy focuses on leveraging multilateral institutions to heighten the country's international influence and position. Aiming to become a regional leader, Viet Nam has been more proactive in leading ASEAN’s agenda and pathways forward, advancing its convening capacity, and acting as a linchpin between ASEAN and regional and international organisations. While at the global level, Viet Nam is stepping up as a sectoral leader, focusing on new fields and domains of global governance to shape a conducive future for its national development path.
Topic:: Diplomacy, International Organization, Multilateralism, ASEAN, and Regional Organizations
Political Geography:: Vietnam and Southeast Asia

54. American Populism, American Personhood

Author:: Colin Anthony MacNairn
Publication Date:: 01-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:: Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:: Current American populism—an endogenous product of liberal capitalism— functions less as an interruption of liberal democracy than as the political form through which its contradictions are expressed. Starting from that premise, this essay traces how citizens, rendered economically superfluous and politically abstracted, reach for meaning through affective grievance—grievance that populism captures, reroutes, and converts into allegiance. By placing C.B. Macpherson’s critique of possessive individualism in dialogue with Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s analysis of moral incapacitation, A.N. Whitehead’s insights on simplified ideals, and Kant’s republican account of public right, this essay reconstructs the mechanisms by which structural dispossession is transformed into cultural antagonism. Through political-theoretical argument augmented with empirical illustrations, this essay provocatively demonstrates that American populism’s emotional economy reinforces the very structure it claims to resist and why any democratic renewal ought to begin with a reconstruction of personhood itself
Topic:: Politics, Capitalism, Populism, Donald Trump, Illiberal Democracy, Critical Democratic Theory, and New Democratic Theory
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

55. Strategic Resource Nationalism and the Role of Rare Earths in EU Economic Security

Author:: Upasna Mishra
Publication Date:: 01-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:: Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:: Rare earth elements (REEs) have become a critical factor in contemporary geopolitical and economic statecraft, particularly within the framework of strategic resource nationalism. China’s dominance, accounting for over 60% of global REE production and a larger share of processing capacity, presents a significant supply chain vulnerability for import-dependent actors like the European Union (EU). The EU’s strategic sectors—including renewable energy, defence, and digital technologies—are acutely exposed to potential supply disruptions, prompting a concerted policy response. This paper tries to examine how REE dependencies shape global trade and security. It evaluates EU initiatives like the Critical Raw Materials Act, which aims to mitigate supply chain vulnerability through diversification and strategic partnerships. The green and digital transitions intensify the need for secure REEs for key technologies. However, challenges like environmental impacts and high costs persist. This paper focuses on how the REEs could shape future geopolitical alignments and define economic stability in an increasingly competitive global landscape
Topic:: European Union, Geopolitics, Strategic Competition, Economic Security, Rare earth elements (REEs), and Strategic Resource Nationalism
Political Geography:: Europe

56. Between Realism and Constructivism: Theorising Foreign Policy Shifts After the Israel-Gaza War

Author:: Abeeta Hilal and Meha Pant
Publication Date:: 01-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:: Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:: The Israel-Gaza conflict, following the events of October 7, reignited global scrutiny of foreign policy postures, revealing a stark contrast between official state narratives and widespread public dissent. Whereas most governments resorted to a complex of realism in the reassertion of the strategic alliances and security interests, the responses of civil society, such as protests, advocacy, and media critique, emphasised the increasing pressure of a constructivist, norm-based approach to international engagement. This changing dynamic, the literature tends to present realism and constructivism as pugnacious rather than complementary paradigms, leaving a considerable gap in explaining the complexity of modern foreign policy-making. The theoretical deficit is addressed in the current paper, which examines changes in foreign policy from an integrative perspective that reconciles realist and constructivist theories. Using qualitative and historical data, the study analyses Western responses to the Israel-Gaza war, revealing tensions between strategic interests and ideological principles, requiring hybrid theoretical approaches.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Public Opinion, Realism, Constructivism, Norms, and 2023 Gaza War
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, and Gaza

57. Russia's Fragile Balance of Global and Regional Alliances: The Formation and Evolution of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

Author:: Ilias Tasopoulos
Publication Date:: 01-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:: Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:: The article examines the role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in shaping regional and international dynamics, with particular attention to Russia’s participation, drawing on insights from the Copenhagen School. It explores how the SCO advances a distinct model of regional governance, thereby influencing the political and strategic trajectories of its member states and neighbouring regions. Russia views the SCO as a platform that reflects its dual strategic orientation: engaging in regional multilateral frameworks to safeguard its immediate interests, while simultaneously seeking to assert greater status within the international system. The expansion of the SCO’s membership is evaluated, as it represents a broadening of its reach and influence. Russia’s engagement within this framework is explored, highlighting its evolving relationship with China in the aftermath of the 2022 Ukraine war. Ultimately, the article positions the SCO within the broader analytical context of international relations theory, assessing its contribution to the configuration of the global balance of power.
Topic:: Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Regional Organizations, and Strategic Alliances
Political Geography:: Russia, China, Eurasia, and Asia

58. Analysis of Emerging Powers Joining to International and Regional Organisations: Intentions and Implications

Author:: Mojtaba Eskandari, Farhad Farahani, Somayeh Hamidi, and Sara Torabian
Publication Date:: 01-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:: Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:: The significant growth of regional and global cooperation in economic, military, and ideological areas is a common feature of modern diplomacy, as states have been continuously expanding these efforts. In today's geopolitics, these collaborations are not limited to specific regions but extend to superregional and global levels; this is evident in emerging powers that seek to increase their global influence through mutual agreements and the creation of regional or international organisations. The goal of this research is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the strategic considerations behind emerging powers' involvement in multilateral frameworks. Being part of international and regional organisations allows them to coordinate efforts and play a vital role in shaping the international order. To achieve this goal, a combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis will be used, including analysis of documents, policies, expert reviews, and historical case studies.
Topic:: Diplomacy, International Organization, Regional Cooperation, International Order, and Emerging Powers
Political Geography:: Global Focus

59. Dignity, Responsibility and Reciprocity: A Framework for Non-International Armed Conflicts

Author:: Samuel Jesus
Publication Date:: 01-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:: Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:: This research aims to integrate Mario Bettati's Critical Globalist Theory within the framework of non-international armed conflicts, alongside Jean-Pierre Dupuy's ethical relationalism, particularly in the application of International Humanitarian Law. Human dignity stands as the fundamental focus of ethics amid the complexities of non-international armed conflicts. The Law of Armed Conflict faces challenges due to human objectification that arises from ruthless utilitarian armed interventions. In this context, conflicting parties must establish minimum moral limits for warfare and regulate global institutions to ensure human rights and accountability. Reciprocity, rooted in recognising globalising concepts, demonstrates that one actor's actions affect others and the global community. In this light, the isolationism, utilitarianism, and mercantilism of warfare used as state hermeneutic criteria for population protection are supplanted by dignity, responsibility, and reciprocity, thereby contributing to the renewal of global humanism and the minimum guarantee of protection within the realm of armed conflict.
Topic:: International Humanitarian Law (IHL), Armed Conflict, Dignity, and Reciprocity
Political Geography:: Global Focus

60. Understanding the Politics of the Denial of Genocide Recognition: The Case of the Rohingya

Author:: Nahian Salsabeel and Faria Ulfath Leera
Publication Date:: 01-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:: Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:: The atrocities committed against the Rohingya people by Myanmar have not translated into any unified actions by the regional and international community. This qualitative research seeks to uncover the regional and global responses that have negatively influenced the formal recognition of the genocide against the Rohingya people, as well as the limited nature of mediation efforts. To do so, this chapter will draw on established research on the geopolitics of genocide denial and the Rohingya crisis. Consequently, the authors connect the existing research gap, explaining why some state and non-state actors have been reluctant to recognise the acts of genocide against the Rohingya people in Myanmar over the decades. The paper sheds light on the international state and non-state actors influencing the geopolitics of genocide recognition, concluding that the denial of the genocide against the Rohingya community is significantly influenced by complex geopolitical situations.
Topic:: Genocide, Non State Actors, Geopolitics, and Rohingya
Political Geography:: Southeast Asia and Myanmar

61. Russia-Africa Relations amid Global Geopolitical Shifts

Author:: Wojciech Kotowicz
Publication Date:: 03-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Nowa Polityka Wschodnia
Institution:: Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
Abstract:: The article examines the dynamics of Russia’s relations with African states against the backdrop of the post-2022 transformation of the international system. The research objective is to identify the geopolitical motivations behind Russia’s engagement in Africa, assess the instruments used to implement this policy, and delineate the prospects and constraints for Russia-Africa relations under conditions of growing multipolarity. The author argues that Russia’s expansion in Africa – though catalyzed by the international isolation resulting from its aggression against Ukraine – forms part of a broader strategy to assemble an alternative, anti-Western bloc in which Africa plays a key legitimating and symbolic role. The analysis covers the historical foundations of Russia-Africa relations from the Cold War era, the geopolitical drivers of Russia’s post-2022 engagement, and the instruments of Russian policy toward Africa, with particular attention to the military, economic, and information domains. The study shows that African states – especially military juntas in the Sahel – are not passive objects of Russian manipulation but active players pursuing their own survival strategies by diversifying international partnerships. The material underpinnings of Russia’s engagement, however, remain fragile: limited investment, a focus on extractive and defense sectors, and rising reputational costs indicate that Moscow is maximizing influence at minimal cost. The conclusion holds that the durability of Russia’s presence in Africa will be tested by the Kremlin’s capacity to sustain engagement amid a protracted war in Ukraine, by the evolving expectations of African publics, and by the response of the West and other global actors intensifying the competition for influence on the continent.
Topic:: International Relations, Foreign Policy, Geopolitics, and Multipolarity
Political Geography:: Africa and Russia

62. Relations of the Russian Federation with African States in Russian Strategic Documents – Political and Military Dimension

Author:: Krzysztof Żęgota
Publication Date:: 03-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Nowa Polityka Wschodnia
Institution:: Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
Abstract:: The article examines the evolution of the Russian Federation’s relations with African states through the lens of Russian strategic documents and foreign policy practices. It argues that Russia’s contemporary engagement in Africa reflects the implementation of priorities defined in successive national security strategies since 1997. Moscow’s approach integrates political and military dimensions, aiming to restore great-power status, secure geopolitical footholds, and counter Western influence. Politically, Russia presents itself as an anti-colonial partner advocating multipolarity and sovereignty, while militarily it strengthens ties through arms trade, training, and the deployment of private military contractors. Case studies of Egypt, Mali, and the Central African Republic illustrate how Russia’s strategic narratives have been translated into concrete diplomatic and security partnerships. In conclusion, the article argues that Russia’s policy toward Africa represents both a continuation of Soviet-era ambitions and a pragmatic adaptation to the geopolitical realities of the twenty-first century. By selectively deploying limited resources and focusing on strategically significant states, Russia has managed to expand its influence on the African continent despite growing competition from other international actors.
Topic:: International Relations, Foreign Policy, National Security, Politics, and Military Cooperation
Political Geography:: Africa and Russia

63. Institutional Quality and Economic Policy Strategies as Drivers of Competitiveness in African Economies

Author:: Oleksandra Werbowa
Publication Date:: 03-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Nowa Polityka Wschodnia
Institution:: Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
Abstract:: This study examines the determinants of national competitiveness in African economies, with a particular focus on the role of institutional quality and economic policy strategies. The analysis is based on cross-sectional data for 2024 covering fifteen African countries and includes governance, competitiveness, and socio-economic indicators such as the Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG), Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), IMD Competitiveness Score, GDP per capita, Human Development Index (HDI), and inflation rate. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and K-means cluster analysis were applied to identify structural relationships and country groupings. The results reveal a strong positive association between institutional quality and economic competitiveness, indicating that countries with stronger governance frameworks tend to achieve higher competitiveness levels. The cluster analysis identified three distinct groups of countries with differing institutional and development profiles. Countries characterized by higher governance quality, lower corruption, and stronger socio-economic performance demonstrate significantly higher competitiveness, while countries with weaker institutional frameworks face greater structural constraints. These findings confirm that institutional quality is a key determinant of competitiveness and highlight the importance of context-specific policy strategies. Strengthening governance effectiveness, improving institutional capacity, and supporting socio-economic development are essential for enhancing competitiveness and promoting sustainable economic growth in African economies.
Topic:: Governance, Economy, Economic Policy, Institutions, Multidimensional Analysis, and Cluster Analysis
Political Geography:: Africa

64. Trends in Regional Minilateralism: the Case of the Horn of Africa

Author:: Olha Ivasechko, Teresa Astramowicz-Leyk, and Yaryna Turchyn
Publication Date:: 03-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Nowa Polityka Wschodnia
Institution:: Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
Abstract:: The article examines the phenomenon of minilateralism in the context of the Horn of Africa, a region known for its complex geopolitical situation, numerous conflicts and challenges. The author highlights key minilateral initiatives in the region. Among them is the Tripartite Agreement between Ethiopia, Somalia, and Eritrea, which aims to strengthen regional security and cooperation. The Horn of Africa Initiative, which focuses on economic development and integration, is also considered. Special attention is paid to the role of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) as an important platform for addressing regional challenges. The recent Memorandum of Understanding between Ethiopia and Somaliland is analyzed as an example of the latest minilateral agreements that can have a significant impact on the regional balance of power. The paper analyzes the main goals of these formations and their impact on regional security and development. Potential scenarios for the development of minilateralism in the Horn of Africa are considered. This includes the formation of competing blocs, the intensification of proxy conflicts, and the prospects for using minilateral initiatives to strengthen broader multilateral cooperation. The authors focus on exploring the key role of minilateralism in the Horn of Africa, analyzing its potential and challenges, and identifying possible ways to develop it in this critical region.
Topic:: Treaties and Agreements, Geopolitics, Regional Politics, and Minilateralism
Political Geography:: Africa, Ethiopia, Somaliland, and Horn of Africa

65. Energy Geopolitics of Africa: the Role of the Continent in the Global Energy Balance

Author:: Oleh Pekhnyk, Oleh Tsebenko, and Olha Ivasechko
Publication Date:: 03-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Nowa Polityka Wschodnia
Institution:: Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
Abstract:: The article provides a comprehensive analysis of Africa’s energy geopolitics and its role in the global energy balance. The study covers the production, export and use of the continent’s main energy resources, including oil, natural gas and renewable energy sources. Particular attention is paid to the impact of geopolitical factors, international investment and economic policy on the energy sector of African countries. The article analyses the key challenges faced by the countries, including political instability, corruption, insufficient infrastructure and environmental threats that hinder the efficient use of energy resources. An important aspect of the study is an assessment of the role of major international players, such as China, the EU and the US, in the development of the African energy sector, as well as the prospects for Africa’s integration into global energy markets. The article analyses opportunities for expanding energy production and exports, renewable energy development, and potential scenarios for Africa’s future energy landscape in the context of the global energy transition. From a geopolitical perspective, Africa is playing an increasingly important role in the global energy balance due to its rich natural resources, growing investments in energy production and processing, and the development of renewable energy. The continent itself has significant potential in oil production, gas industry and solar energy, making it an important player in global energy geopolitics. The article analyses key trends, challenges and prospects for Africa in shaping global energy policy.
Topic:: Oil, Geopolitics, Renewable Energy, Energy, Energy Security, and Natural Gas
Political Geography:: Africa

66. Natural Resources of the Western Sahara Region as a Factor of International Conflicts

Author:: Bohdana Haiduk and Yuliya Lemko
Publication Date:: 03-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Nowa Polityka Wschodnia
Institution:: Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
Abstract:: The study places particular emphasis on the role of Western Sahara’s natural resources in international relations, with special attention given to the conflict associated with the occupation by the Kingdom of Morocco. The territory of Western Sahara contains a variety of natural resources, such as phosphates, fisheries, and minor reserves of oil and gas, which are important for the energy sector, among others. These resources have become a significant factor in geopolitical processes at both regional and international levels. The paper highlights the specific features of the legal regulation regarding the use of these resources within the territory. The research examines the impact of natural resources on the political process of legitimizing Morocco’s occupation of the territory and analyzes the main export directions of these resources. Furthermore, the study characterizes Western Sahara’s resources as instruments of foreign policy. The role of the United Nations in addressing the conflict is explored, alongside an analysis of the European Union’s position on the Western Sahara dispute. Finally, the paper evaluates the involvement of international actors in the conflict.
Topic:: International Relations, Natural Resources, Conflict, and Legitimization
Political Geography:: Africa, Morocco, and Western Sahara

67. The European Union – Africa Partnership

Author:: Waldemar Tomaszewski
Publication Date:: 03-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Nowa Polityka Wschodnia
Institution:: Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
Abstract:: This article examines the current state of the EU’s partnership with African countries. It analyzes the state of political and economic cooperation, as well as cooperation in building civil society. The article’s structure encompasses the origins of EU-Africa relations, the main areas of cooperation, and the anticipated directions of their development. The research primarily utilizes institutional, legal, and systemic approaches. Historical methods are used to a lesser extent. The main goal is to determine the scale of EU assistance to African countries and the priority sectors of cooperation. The main hypothesis is: Africa’s importance in the international system is growing rapidly, which is why the European Union is redefining its partnership with Africa, recognizing the continent as an equal partner. This hypothesis was positively verified during the analysis. The article is based primarily on information contained in official documents of EU and African Union institutions. Furthermore, available literature relevant to the subject matter was utilized.
Topic:: International Relations, European Union, and Partnerships
Political Geography:: Africa and Europe

68. What’s New Is Old: The Enduring Challenge of Non-State Armed Actors in the Post-October 7 Landscape

Author:: Grace Wermenbol
Publication Date:: 05-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Cairo Review of Global Affairs
Institution:: School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
Abstract:: While these groups may not have the resources or structure of traditional states, they play a major role in the continuation, or cessation, of conflict in the region.
Topic:: Non State Actors, Hezbollah, Houthis, Hamas, Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), and October 7
Political Geography:: Iraq, Middle East, Yemen, Palestine, and Lebanon

69. From Vietnam to Campus Encampments & Anti-Ice Protests: A Legal History of Federal Cases On Student First Amendment Rights

Author:: Jacob Blau
Publication Date:: 01-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Cairo Review of Global Affairs
Institution:: School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
Abstract:: Students who have been silenced for their participation in recent protests should be aware of a deep legal history that has seen federal courts grapple with and protect the concept of student free speech.
Topic:: Protests, Free Speech, 2023 Gaza War, and Politics
Political Geography:: United States of America, Palestine, Vietnam, and North America

70. Minnesota’s Perfect ICE Storm

Author:: Zoe Carver
Publication Date:: 01-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Cairo Review of Global Affairs
Institution:: School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
Abstract:: As Minneapolis once again becomes the center of national protests, a dive into the state’s recent history of racial tensions and police violence reveals just why the North Star City has come head-to-head with the executive branch.
Topic:: Protests, Police Brutality, Immigration Policy, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
Political Geography:: North America, Minnesota, and United States of America

71. The Complexity of Mediating the Libyan Quagmire

Author:: Abdussalam Elbelazi
Publication Date:: 05-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Cairo Review of Global Affairs
Institution:: School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
Abstract:: Mediators in Libya hoping to create a mechanism to establish an egalitarian and inclusive state often find themselves challenged by factional politics, foreign interventions, and a heritage of repressive authoritarianism.
Topic:: Authoritarianism, Domestic Politics, Repression, Mediation, and Foreign Interference
Political Geography:: Libya and North Africa

72. Sudan’s Water Crisis Worsened by War, But There is Hope

Author:: Lama Elhatow
Publication Date:: 05-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Cairo Review of Global Affairs
Institution:: School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
Abstract:: As Sudan continues to face numerous obstacles, including a lack of multilateral governance for hydrological stability, water remains a potential entry point for cooperation domestically, regionally, and internationally.
Topic:: Climate Change, Water, Governance, Crisis Management, and Armed Conflict
Political Geography:: Africa and Sudan

73. The War in Sudan Is Fought Over the Bodies of Women

Author:: Tahani Abbas
Publication Date:: 05-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Cairo Review of Global Affairs
Institution:: School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
Abstract:: Women should play more than symbolic roles in any peacemaking efforts in Sudan; they must be allowed genuine political participation to protect themselves and build a more inclusive country.
Topic:: Women, Armed Conflict, Inclusion, Political Participation, and Peacemaking
Political Geography:: Africa and Sudan

74. The Dynamics of War, Politics, and Peace in the Middle East

Author:: Paul Salem
Publication Date:: 05-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Cairo Review of Global Affairs
Institution:: School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
Abstract:: The justifications, enactments, and conclusions of the various conflicts that arose in the aftermath of October 7 remain murky, but historical and modern theories of war light a path toward future stability.
Topic:: Political stability, Armed Conflict, Regional Politics, and October 7
Political Geography:: Middle East

75. Between Ambition and Abandonment: Lessons from Mediating the Syria Conflict

Author:: Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy
Publication Date:: 05-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Cairo Review of Global Affairs
Institution:: School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
Abstract:: The ruins of failed negotiations, committees, and conferences on the Syrian issue can offer guidance to future peacemakers.
Topic:: Syrian War, Negotiation, Mediation, Armed Conflict, and Peacemaking
Political Geography:: Middle East and Syria

76. Local Mediation in Southwestern Yemen Alleviates Life Under Siege

Author:: Maeen Al-Obaidi
Publication Date:: 05-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Cairo Review of Global Affairs
Institution:: School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
Abstract:: For the residents of Taiz under one of the longest military blockades in history, life became a daily struggle of days-long journeys searching for food, water, and vital medical supplies. This is the story of one Yemeni woman whose name became synonymous with bringing the warring parties together.
Topic:: Mediation, Armed Conflict, Siege, and Blockade
Political Geography:: Middle East and Yemen

77. Reconciling a Fractured Sudan

Author:: Nureldin Satti
Publication Date:: 05-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Cairo Review of Global Affairs
Institution:: School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
Abstract:: To address Sudan’s problems, the efforts of the Sudanese people and international mediators must be synchronized.
Topic:: Protests, Reconciliation, Mediation, and Armed Conflict
Political Geography:: Africa and Sudan

78. Housing Resilience Through Identity-Driven Design: The Case of Karabakh Reconstruction

Author:: Leyla Hasanova
Publication Date:: 04-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Baku Dialogues
Institution:: ADA University
Abstract:: Resilient housing is often defined in practical terms: structural safety, reliable infrastructure, and the restoration of basic services. In post‑conflict and post‑return contexts, these factors are essential. However, experience shows that resilience is not achieved through construction alone; it is also influenced by whether people returning after long displacement can recognize their surroundings, trust them, and gradually feel at home again. Karabakh brings this challenge into sharp focus. The return of IDPs to Azerbaijan’s liberated areas is not merely a logistical process; it is also an emotional and social transition. Housing can be modern, efficient, and technically successful, yet still feel anonymous. When this happens, buildings stand—but everyday belonging takes much longer to return. The current reconstruction in Karabakh is guided by officially approved urban and master plans for cities such as Aghdam and Aghdara, which envision large‑scale redevelopment through 2040. The Master Plan for Aghdam, adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers in 2022, outlines transforming the city into a sustainable regional hub with integrated infrastructure, planned residential neighborhoods, social facilities, economic zones, and inter‑urban transport links to support return and long‑term growth. Similarly, the Master Plan for Aghdara sets out expanded residential sectors, parks and public spaces, industrial and logistics areas, and the necessary social infrastructure, aligning with broader reconstruction strategies for multiple liberated cities. These master plans are published and consolidated by the State Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture of Azerbaijan (SCUPA). On the committee’s official urban‑planning portal, master plans and sectoral frameworks are made publicly accessible, including map‑based spatial regulations and planning diagrams that outline axes of movement, the hierarchy of public spaces, and zoning allocations for land use. The portal also provides planning norms, public‑space standards, and guidelines on urban morphological structuring that local administrations use to coordinate investment and construction activities across both the public and private sectors. While such frameworks are essential for reconstructing cities on a large scale—addressing land use, density, infrastructure, public sector facilities, and environmental regulation—they mainly function at the macro level of spatial planning and investment strategies. Concerning everyday spatial experience and human‑scale understanding, they offer limited guidance on how to incorporate cultural familiarity into newly designed environments. Formal master plans provide overarching roadmaps and zoning guidelines, but they often lack a clear design language or operational tools for shaping streets, squares, facades, materials, or visual cues that reflect local cultural identity. It is within this gap between macro‑scale planning and lived spatial experience that this essay positions its argument. I contend in these pages that identity‑driven design—understood as design that responds to culture rather than applying universal models—should be seen not as a stylistic or symbolic addition but as a practical component of housing resilience. Framed through an environmental‑design perspective, my argument emphasizes how urban design, architecture, and everyday objects collectively shape how people recognize, inhabit, navigate, and ultimately care for their reconstructed environments.
Topic:: Reconstruction, Resilience, Housing, and Identity
Political Geography:: Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Nagorno-Karabakh

79. Building Sustainable and Resilient Communities Among Repatriated People

Author:: Lala Jumayeva, Fidan Namazova, and Anar Valiyev
Publication Date:: 04-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Baku Dialogues
Institution:: ADA University
Abstract:: The conflict over Karabakh between Armenia and Azerbaijan, a territorial dispute that began during the late Russian Empire period, ebbed and flowed throughout the Soviet era before escalating in the late 1980s. This escalation led to the large‑scale forced displacement of the ethnic‑Azerbaijani populations in both Armenia and what was then known as the Nagorno‑Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of Azerbaijan, as well as surrounding areas now collectively called East Zangezur. Official data collected shortly after the end of the First Karabakh War in 1994 showed 209,000 refugees and 576,000 internally displaced people (IDPs), roughly 10 percent of Azerbaijan’s population at that time. In this article, we focus on IDPs, many of whom have endured nearly 30 years of displacement, often living in overcrowded public buildings and makeshift settlements with limited access to basic services and poor living conditions. This prolonged instability affected not only their socioeconomic circumstances, but also the development of community life during displacement. Over time, the absence of stable homes, reliable institutions, and long‑term development plans has restricted opportunities to build sustainable community practices among IDPs. After hostilities ended the Second Karabakh War in November 2020 and following the September 2023 counter‑terrorism operation, Azerbaijan regained full control of its previously occupied territories and launched the Great Return program, a government‑led effort to help ethnic‑Azerbaijani IDPs return to the liberated areas. While rebuilding infrastructure is a key part of this program, the long‑term success of return and reintegration equally depends on building sustainable communities that promote social cohesion, livelihoods, and institutional stability. In this context, the idea that returning populations can easily develop sustainable community practices raises an important question: How have decades of displacement affected IDPs’ ability to build sustainable communities in postconflict Karabakh? We examine answers to that question in this article by looking at the experiences of IDP communities in Baku and other regions of Azerbaijan over nearly 30 years. We explore why sustainable community practices did not develop during long‑term displacement and identify the barriers that prevented IDPs from establishing socially cohesive, economically viable, and institutionally supported communities in their places of displacement. Our findings show that such practices were largely absent among IDPs, a pattern that cannot be explained solely by community‑level factors.
Topic:: Territorial Disputes, Infrastructure, Social Cohesion, Armed Conflict, and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP)
Political Geography:: Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Nagorno-Karabakh

80. Affordable Housing in Baku: Proposals for Sustainable Urban Living

Author:: Carl Haddrell and Aysel Karimli
Publication Date:: 04-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Baku Dialogues
Institution:: ADA University
Abstract:: The current housing problem in Baku did not begin with the post‑Soviet real‑estate boom. Its roots reach back to the late Russian imperial period, when the first oil boom transformed Baku from a small‑town port into one of the empire’s fastest‑growing industrial cities. Wealth generated by oil produced a sharply uneven urban landscape: elite mansions, administrative buildings, and prestigious apartment houses rose in the central city, while the influx of workers from other parts of Azerbaijan, the empire, and surrounding states produced intense pressure for cheaper accommodation near the oil fields and industrial districts. Baku’s modern housing question, therefore, emerged at the same time as its modern prosperity. Under Soviet rule, this earlier imbalance was not eliminated so much as reorganized. From the 1920s onward, Baku became the site of repeated planning experiments, including worker settlements around the industrial periphery, new general plans for the city and the Absheron Peninsula, and later the mass construction of standardized apartment blocks. These interventions expanded access to housing and built the foundations of the residential city that still exists today. Yet they also embedded a different set of long‑term problems: heavy reliance on standard typologies, weak maintenance cultures, and a tendency to subordinate housing quality to industrial and demographic urgency. By the late Soviet period, the city had acquired large microdistricts and extensive prefabricated housing, but much of this stock was already beginning to age mechanically and spatially. The legacy is therefore double. Baku inherited from the imperial era a housing market shaped by uneven access and speculative pressure; from the Soviet era, it inherited a vast but increasingly fragile stock whose technical life and social logic were never meant to carry the full weight of a twenty‑first‑century metropolis. Despite considerable and commendable efforts by the Azerbaijani government and the city authorities, Baku is currently facing the prospect of a housing crisis marked by severe affordability constraints and significant deterioration of its pre‑1990 housing stock, which may, if not successfully addressed, lead to growing socioeconomic inequality. Housing prices substantially exceed median household income levels, and the opportunity to secure a mortgage and take the first steps toward property ownership remains a significant challenge for many. At the same time, nearly half of the city’s residential buildings face long‑term structural risk due to decades of deferred maintenance. As a result, housing in Baku functions not only as a sectoral challenge but as a systemic driver of social disparity and fiscal strain. Drawing on the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 framework (“Sustainable Cities and Communities”), this paper proposes an integrated reform agenda for Baku focused on affordability measures, large‑scale structural rehabilitation, institutional reform, and the modernization of housing data systems. Without coordinated intervention, Baku risks intergenerational inequality and accelerating infrastructure decline; however, targeted reforms could position the housing sector as a foundation for sustainable, resilient urban development.
Topic:: Urbanization, Sustainability, Post-Soviet Space, and Affordable Housing
Political Geography:: Caucasus, Azerbaijan, and Baku

81. Cities for Living: Identity at Eye Level in Azerbaijan’s Urban Transformation

Author:: Emir Huseynov
Publication Date:: 04-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Baku Dialogues
Institution:: ADA University
Abstract:: Azerbaijan’s cities are changing at a pace that has few precedents in the country’s modern history. Today, approximately 57 percent of the national population lives in urban areas, with Baku accounting for nearly one quarter of the country’s inhabitants. Annual residential construction has more than doubled over the past decade, rising from approximately 1.6 million square meters in 2010 to nearly 3 million square meters by 2023. The State Agency for Housing Construction has delivered thousands of units under social housing programs, and reconstruction in the liberated areas of Karabakh and East Zangezur is producing entirely new settlements—among them those parts of Shusha that had been disfigured during the Soviet and Armenian occupation periods, where 389 hectares are being reorganized around heritage and community structure, and Aghdam, where a city for 100,000 residents is being planned from the ground up after having been systematically devastated during the occupation period. By any quantitative measure, urban transformation in Azerbaijan is sustained, organized, and accelerating. Yet the scale of what has been built does not by itself answer the deeper question of how it is lived. Decades of Soviet urbanism systematically subordinated local identity—the neighborhood, the street, the courtyard—to a standardized built environment designed to replace rather than reinforce community roots. The post‑Soviet transition that followed, necessarily focused on economic stabilization and market construction, left this dimension largely unaddressed. Azerbaijan’s Socio‑Economic Development Strategy for 2022‑2026 places strong emphasis on improving quality of life, expanding access to services, and achieving more balanced regional development. The strategy prioritizes the diversification of economic activity beyond Baku, investment in regional infrastructure, and the strengthening of social services across the country. Taken together, these priorities implicitly point to uneven conditions in how urban environments are experienced, where differences in accessibility, public space quality, and local infrastructure continue to shape everyday life across regions. Here, is can be noted that in its 2025 Country Strategy for Azerbaijan, the EBRD indicted that livability and domestic connectivity outside Baku remain underdeveloped. Growth has been organized. Its translation into environments where communities recognize themselves is less certain. This article examines Azerbaijan’s cities from the perspective of identity experienced at eye level—through housing streets in microdistricts, shared spaces in new residential clusters, and the daily rhythms of neighborhood life. It argues that the country’s next urban challenge is increasingly qualitative rather than purely quantitative: not only how much to build, but how urban environments perform over time. Drawing on housing patterns, planning frameworks, reconstruction strategies, and emerging examples of community‑centered renewal across the country, the article examines what urban policy should now address to ensure that Azerbaijan’s cities remain places to live as well as to develop.
Topic:: Development, Urbanization, and Cities
Political Geography:: Caucasus and Azerbaijan

82. Why Baku Needs to Adjust to a Global Polarized Reality

Author:: Jahangir E. Arasli
Publication Date:: 01-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Baku Dialogues
Institution:: ADA University
Abstract:: In the 35 years since the restoration of its national independence, Azerbaijan performed a spectacular ascending trajectory. Having overcome early troubles, the country restored its full territorial integrity and sovereignty, accelerated its pace of development, and firmly entrenched itself as a “keystone state” that commands international respect and credibility. All this was not the case at first. Armenia’s full‑scale military invasion of Azerbaijan that began in the late 1980s, and the subsequent occupation of a significant share of national territory, overshadowed the initial stages of Azerbaijan’s independence, projecting insecurity, hindering domestic development, and consuming efforts, treasure, and blood. Certainly, the liberation of the occupied territories emerged as the ultimate national goal and remained so for nearly three decades. Eventually, in 2020‑2023, Azerbaijan accomplished this mission through the application of all tools of national power (military, diplomatic, and economic). However, the accomplishment of that principal mission does not mean that the state can afford to be complacent. The system of threats, risks, and challenges to national security evolves continuously and rapidly in all parts of its spectrum, ranging from geopolitics to technology. The global system has entered into а profound and turbulent period of transformation. These changes include (but are not limited to) the relative decline of status quo powers and the rise of new assertive ones, shifts in international alignments and multipolarization, mounting strategic competition and hastening alliance‑building, durable conflicts and the erosion of respect for international law, and the growing impact of novel and potentially disruptive technologies. A fragmented constellation of competitive and issue‑based state groupings now supersedes the largely unipolar post‑Cold War global architecture. A stronger emphasis on hard power, transactionalism, the weaponization of the world economy and trade, the pursuit of control over resources and logistical routes, and the mounting factor of artificial intelligence are defining and driving geopolitics and international relations. These long‑term trends will shape security dynamics worldwide in the second half of this and, at a minimum, the entirety of the next decade. As the existing global order reaches its inflection point, generating greater chaos and risk, Azerbaijan must adapt its strategic behavior to the emergent post‑”rules‑based liberal international order” era of strategic transactionalism and the return of the utility of force. Therefore, this Baku Dialogues article seeks to conceptualize and frame Azerbaijan’s strategic posture within the evolving global and regional security environment and to assess its potential future trajectories.
Topic:: Territorial Disputes, Polarization, Regional Politics, and Regional Security
Political Geography:: Caucasus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Baku, and Nagorno-Karabakh

83. The Concept of Inclusive Neighborhoods: Lessons from Vienna’s Mixed Housing Types

Author:: Silja Tillner
Publication Date:: 04-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Baku Dialogues
Institution:: ADA University
Abstract:: A historical overview of the development of the Viennese housing system provides the framework for understanding its current favorable situation, which draws many international experts eager to learn from the Vienna model. Since 1917, the Viennese housing model has evolved, with its core principles established in 1922. Even during times of financial difficulty, successive city governments resisted selling property and protected their municipal landholdings. Today, this gives the City of Vienna a significant advantage over other European cities that began selling municipal properties in the 1980s. The Viennese housing system was developed with the help of renowned architects, urban planners, and sociologists. They focused not only on designing functional and aesthetically pleasing individual buildings, but also on establishing neighborhoods with social, cultural, and technical infrastructure. This is an early version of today’s 15‑minute city concept, which advocates providing essential services within a 15‑minute walk. In the early twentieth century, the city had already envisioned establishing mixed districts with socially integrated communities by using land provision and zoning to ensure the fair distribution of social housing across the entire city. Today, the residents of Vienna benefit from the continuous stewardship and administration of Europe’s largest property manager, which is responsible for 1,800 housing complexes, 220,000 individual flats, and 5,500 business premises. In 2020, Vienna’s municipal housing celebrated its one hundredth anniversary whilst remaining true to its mission of providing affordable, high‑quality dwellings in mixed communities across the entire city for the majority of its population.
Topic:: Development, Cities, Housing, Inclusion, and Municipalities
Political Geography:: Europe, Austria, and Vienna

84. Housing at the Center: Rebuilding the Social Contract for Cities in a Fragmented World

Author:: Anacláudi Rossbach
Publication Date:: 04-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Baku Dialogues
Institution:: ADA University
Abstract:: As the world turns its attention to Baku in anticipation of the Thirteenth Session of the World Urban Forum (WEF13), a profound realization is taking hold across governments, institutions, and communities: the future of cities will be determined not only by how they grow, but by how they house their people. Across continents and contexts, housing has emerged as the defining challenge of our urban age. It sits at the intersection of inequality, climate change, economic instability, and social fragmentation. And yet, for decades, it has too often been treated as a sectoral issue—something to be addressed through discrete policies, market adjustments, or targeted programs. It is increasingly clear and consistently emphasized by UN‑Habitat that housing must be understood not as a standalone domain, but as the foundation of the entire urban system. The scale of the challenge is staggering. Over 2.8 billion people worldwide live in inadequate housing conditions. Hundreds of millions experience homelessness, often in forms that remain invisible in official statistics—people living in temporary shelters, overcrowded spaces, or precarious arrangements that offer little security or dignity. More than 1 billion people reside in informal settlements or slums, where access to basic services such as water, sanitation, and electricity is uncertain, and where tenure insecurity leaves communities vulnerable to eviction and displacement. In short, the housing crisis affects nearly 40 percent of the global population.
Topic:: Development, Inequality, Cities, and Housing
Political Geography:: Global Focus

85. Caspian Sea Water Level Decline: Drivers, Consequences, and Impacts on Littoral States

Author:: Vali Kaleji
Publication Date:: 01-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Baku Dialogues
Institution:: ADA University
Abstract:: Fluctuations in the water level of the Caspian Sea and the shoreline’s retreat are not new phenomena; they have happened repeatedly throughout the sea’s long history. My hometown is in Mazandaran Province on the southern coast of the Caspian in Iran, and I personally observed a significant rise in water levels after the Soviet Union’s implosion, during which many houses and coastal facilities were submerged. About thirty years later, I saw a notable retreat of the Caspian from its shores again. What is especially notable, however, is that the current rate of shoreline retreat—caused by a decline in the sea’s water level—is much greater than during previous historical periods. Scientific reports and empirical studies further support these observations. The average water level of the Caspian Sea has fluctuated over the past century, but has generally remained between 26 and 27 meters below the Baltic Sea level. According to the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea (signed in Aktau at the presidential level in August 2018), the sea level was officially set at ‑28 meters, meaning 28 meters below the level of the world’s oceans and open seas, using the Baltic Sea as the reference point for measuring fluctuations in the Caspian Sea. Specialists at the Volga–Caspian Fisheries Research Institute have reported that the Caspian Sea’s water level has dropped to more than 29 meters below the Baltic Sea (‑29 m), which serves as the standard reference system in Russia and several post‑Soviet states for measuring water levels in landlocked bodies of water.
Topic:: Environment, Natural Resources, and Water
Political Geography:: Iran, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Caspian Sea

86. Beyond Housing Provision for Baku: A Strategic Roadmap for Climate-Resilient Neighborhoods and Human Development

Author:: Deniz Ozge Aytac
Publication Date:: 04-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Baku Dialogues
Institution:: ADA University
Abstract:: Baku’s rapid urbanization is heightening pressure on housing, infrastructure, public services, and environmental systems. Recent reports point to a more complex urban condition shaped by affordability constraints, spatial mismatches, aging building stock, uneven neighborhood services, increased heat exposure, and declining ecological quality. Some of the effects of climate change worsen these issues, making it more urgent to adopt a policy approach that integrates the spatial, social, and environmental aspects of urban development. I argue in this article that urban policy in Baku should move beyond a narrow housing‑provision approach and adopt a climate‑resilient neighborhood concept as the primary unit of intervention. This is consistent with Azerbaijan’s broader development agenda, including Azerbaijan 2030, the Strategic Roadmap for Affordable Housing, the Baku Initiative on Human Development for Climate Resilience, and the ongoing efforts of UN‑Habitat and national institutions to make cities and communities more climate‑resilient. Taken together, these frameworks suggest that resilience should be understood not only in terms of infrastructure performance or emissions reduction, but as the capacity of people and places to sustain healthy, inclusive, safe, and adaptive urban life under changing socioeconomic and environmental conditions.
Topic:: Climate Change, Development, Urbanization, and Resilience
Political Geography:: Azerbaijan and Baku

87. Urban Redevelopment and Heritage from Below: Towards a Socially Inclusive Urban Policy

Author:: Bairam Akhundov and Leyla Sayfutdinova
Publication Date:: 04-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Baku Dialogues
Institution:: ADA University
Abstract:: Baku’s ultramodern skyline, marked by iconic architectural landmarks, has gained global recognition in recent decades. This transformation required significant investment not only in building new structures but also in beautifying and redeveloping urban spaces. While some of these projects took place in former industrial areas and public spaces, such as Baku White City and the expanded Seaside Park, others involved the redevelopment of existing residential neighborhoods. The transformation of former industrial brownfields did not cause many concerns, but the redevelopment of residential areas often met with resentment, contestation, and, at times, resistance. Displacement and conflicting views over heritage have frequently been key issues in these discussions. While the redevelopment and upgrading of dilapidated housing stock are necessary, such contestation can lead to social polarization and cleavage, and, if unaddressed, could produce fertile ground for social discontent. Against the backdrop of the ongoing transformation of the Bayir Shahar neighborhood in Baku, this article examines divergent views on heritage and urban redevelopment and argues for a more inclusive process of urban change.
Topic:: Development, Urbanization, Heritage, and Social Inclusion
Political Geography:: Caucasus, Azerbaijan, and Baku

88. The Role of the Middle Corridor in Eurasian Connectivity

Author:: Melina Torús
Publication Date:: 01-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Baku Dialogues
Institution:: ADA University
Abstract:: That part of the world that is still commonly referred to as “Eurasia” is characterized by its vast continental landmass, great diversity of natural and strategic resources, varied geography, and significant proportion of the global population. These features make it a prosperous area for trade and logistics. Large industrial centers and urban logistics hubs connect national, regional, and global markets. The Eurasian neighborhood is also home to major global and regional powers, including China, Russia, Iran, the European Union, and Türkiye, all of which have significant economic influence. In this context, connectivity has become a strategic resource and a foreign policy instrument. Multimodal corridors, which integrate various modes of transport such as rail, road and sea, are much more than mere transit routes. Growing competition between major powers and the vulnerability of supply chains have also marked a transition in international order, highlighting the importance of Eurasian corridors and alternative routes for global trade. Participation in and control of transport corridors can therefore become instruments of national power and influence. Historically, the Eurasian region has been connected by trade routes such as the Silk Road. However, these were nothing like the integrated transport corridors seen today. In addition to technological advances in transport, there is a greater degree of institutionalization today, which in turn strengthens cooperation between states. Faced with the challenge of connecting the vast Eurasian landmass, multiple corridors have emerged over time, each offering different geopolitical advantages, challenges and vulnerabilities. Initiatives such as the Northern Corridor, the International North‑South Transport Corridor (INSTC), Transport Corridor Europe‑Caucasus‑Asia (TRACECA), and the Middle Corridor are emerging in the region in response to the growing need for resilient and reliable supply chains and alternative trade routes in a context of international geopolitical tensions. Against this backdrop, the Middle Corridor is establishing itself as a viable alternative for trade between Asia and Europe. It offers multimodal transport options, diversifying routes and reducing reliance on corridors that are more vulnerable to geopolitical tensions. Since its launch in 2013, the Middle Corridor has established itself as a vital multimodal route connecting China and Central Asia with the Caucasus and Europe. It integrates road, rail, port, and digital infrastructure. As well as facilitating intercontinental trade, this corridor enables countries such as Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Kazakhstan to establish themselves as strategic logistics hubs and expand their influence in regional trade flows. Since its inception, progress has been made in legal harmonization, infrastructure modernization—especially to reduce bottlenecks—and the digitalization of processes along the corridor. In 2025, for example, the focus was on railway modernization, customs digitalization, and port expansion, reflecting a joint effort by intra‑ and extra‑regional actors to strengthen the corridor’s efficiency and resilience. These advances are taking place amid increased interest in the Middle Corridor, accentuated by geopolitical tensions in neighboring theaters, as reflected by the increased volume of cargo transported. To this end, regional cooperation is essential to ensure that this route is more resilient, reliable and attractive for international trade. This paper examines the role of the Middle Corridor in the context of supply chain reconfiguration and the key interests of those involved, such as Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Türkiye, the European Union, the United States, and China. The article is organized into five main sections. It begins by defining multimodal corridors and examining the importance of hard and soft infrastructure, as well as connectivity as a foreign policy tool. Then it analyses Eurasian corridors, identifying the chief land and multimodal routes, their history, and the associated advantages and challenges. Examples include the Northern Corridor, TRACECA, and the INSTC. Special emphasis is placed on the Middle Corridor, describing recent developments, infrastructure investments, and technological and operational advances that consolidate its operation. Moreover, the article addresses the interests of the involved parties, distinguishing between transit countries, users, and extra‑regional actors. It focuses particularly on China, the European Union, Türkiye, Azerbaijan, and the United States, and includes initiatives such as the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) in the South Caucasus. Finally, it concludes by , emphasizing the advantages that corridors offer for economic integration, regional cooperation, and diversifying trade routes. It also highlights the opportunities that corridors provide for intra‑ and extra‑regional actors within the Eurasian geopolitical context.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Infrastructure, Regional Integration, Transportation, and Strategic Competition
Political Geography:: Eurasia

89. Slipping Out of ‘Old Geopolitics’ Through TRIPP

Author:: Vasif Huseynov
Publication Date:: 01-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Baku Dialogues
Institution:: ADA University
Abstract:: For much of the post‑Cold War period, the South Caucasus was shaped by a distinct geopolitical logic in which unresolved conflicts functioned as instruments of external influence, connectivity was constrained, and stability was underpinned by interim security mechanisms and contested political arrangements, not by durable peace agreements. This old geopolitics did not seek resolution; it sought control. Frozen or semi‑frozen conflicts allowed external actors—above all Russia—to arbitrate outcomes, limit regional autonomy, and preserve leverage by keeping borders politically charged and economically inert. Order was produced not through integration or enforcement, but through managed ambiguity. The erosion of the old geopolitical order did not occur suddenly, nor has it unfolded uniformly across the region. It began in earnest in 2020, when Azerbaijan fundamentally altered the regional balance of power by liberating its internationally recognized territories that had been under Armenian occupation for nearly three decades. For the first time since the early 1990s, one of the central pillars of the South Caucasus’s old geopolitical order—territorial conflicts sustained by external oversight—was dismantled through local agency rather than external arbitration. This shift deepened in September 2023, when Azerbaijan brought an end to the Russia‑backed separatist entity in Karabakh, eliminating the last institutional remnant of the unresolved‑conflict paradigm in Armenia‑Azerbaijan relations. The withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers from Karabakh in May 2024 confirmed the strategic significance of this moment. This marked a turning point not only in the Armenia‑Azerbaijan conflict but in the wider regional balance of influence. Old geopolitics, however, has not disappeared entirely from the South Caucasus. The Georgia‑Russia conflict remains governed by old rules (i.e., military occupation, external veto power, and frozen political arrangements) and stands as one of the last strongholds of the former order in the region. It is against this backdrop that the qualitatively new character of the normalization process between Armenia and Azerbaijan must be understood. Freed from the constraints of frozen conflict management, the two states have increasingly prioritized peacebuilding, connectivity, and economic cooperation. This transformation reached a further milestone at the August 2025 White House summit of the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders, when the two countries reached an agreement on one of the most contested issues of the post‑war period: the Zangezur Corridor, a transport route intended to connect mainland Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic through Armenia’s Syunik region. The corridor’s establishment was formalized under the framework of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), with the United States assuming a direct role in its infrastructural arrangements. By embedding regional connectivity within a U.S.‑backed infrastructural framework, the TRIPP agreement effectively shifted the role of external guarantor along the corridor through Armenian territory from Russia to the United States. The reactions of Russia and Iran to the TRIPP agreement demonstrated that the South Caucasus is not entering a post‑geopolitical era. However, developments between Armenia and Azerbaijan, together with the altered geopolitical context, indicate that the region is steadily, though slowly, moving away from the older order. The most consequential conflict in the region has been resolved, and the post‑war normalization process is increasingly managed through infrastructure, legal frameworks, and reciprocal commitments that reshape incentives on the ground. While old geopolitics persists in one part of the region (e.g., the Russia‑Georgia conflict), it no longer defines the dominant trajectory of regional order.
Topic:: Geopolitics, Normalization, and Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP)
Political Geography:: Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, United States of America, and Nagorno-Karabakh

90. From Karabakh to Connectivity: The Zangezur Concept and the Remaking of Power in the South Caucasus

Author:: Onur İşçi
Publication Date:: 01-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Baku Dialogues
Institution:: ADA University
Abstract:: In recent years, few words have acquired as much political weight in the South Caucasus as “corridor.” Once a largely technical term associated with infrastructure planning and trade routes, it has become shorthand for far broader debates about power, sovereignty, and regional order. Among these stands out the proposed Zangezur Corridor—with discourse now increasingly centered on the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP)—not because it is unprecedented, but because of what it represents in a rapidly transforming geopolitical environment. At first glance, the idea appears straightforward: a transport link connecting mainland Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave through the southern Armenia region of Syunik (the Azerbaijani term for this region is Zangezur, hence the moniker), thereby creating a more direct land route between Azerbaijan and Türkiye (in contradistinction to two more circuitous ones, south via Iran and north via Georgia). Framed narrowly, this is a question of logistics, transit fees, customs arrangements, and infrastructure security. Framed correctly, however, the Zangezur concept is something else entirely. It is a test case for how connectivity reshapes power relations in the post‑Soviet space—and for whether the South Caucasus can move from a history of frozen conflicts toward a model of managed competition and pragmatic cooperation. The Zangezur concept is a test case for how connectivity reshapes power relations in the Silk Road region and for whether the South Caucasus can move toward a model of managed competition and pragmatic cooperation. The renewed focus on the Zangezur Corridor is inseparable from the post‑2020 regional landscape. The Second Karabakh War did not merely alter borders or military balances; it disrupted longstanding assumptions about immobility in the South Caucasus. For decades, the region had been defined by closed borders, interrupted transport routes, and unresolved disputes treated as permanent fixtures rather than temporary conditions. The Second Karabakh War—and the diplomatic processes that followed—forced all regional actors to confront a new reality: connectivity was no longer optional, and isolation was no longer sustainable. Yet it would be a mistake to view the Zangezur Corridor debate simply as a linear outcome of the end of the territorial conflict over Karabakh and the resulting Armenia‑Azerbaijan peace process. The corridor has gained prominence because it sits at the intersection of several overlapping trends. One is the growing centrality of geoeconomics in regional politics, where access, transit, and logistics increasingly matter as much as formal alliances. Another is the gradual redefinition of sovereignty in a world where states seek not absolute control, but strategic autonomy—the ability to make choices without excessive dependence on any single external power. Seen through this lens, the Zangezur Corridor issue is less about shortening distances than about recalibrating relationships. For Azerbaijan, it promises to consolidate territorial connectivity while reinforcing its role as an indispensable regional hub linking the Caspian basin to Anatolia and beyond. For Türkiye, it offers a tangible extension of its long‑articulated vision of deeper engagement with the South Caucasus and Central Asia—one grounded not in ideology, but in infrastructure and interdependence. Together, these dynamics elevate the Türkiye‑Azerbaijan relationship from a close bilateral partnership into a regional structuring force.
Topic:: Geopolitics, Trade, Connectivity, and Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP)
Political Geography:: Turkey, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, and Nagorno-Karabakh

91. Divergent Paths in the South Caucasus: Strategy, Survival, Retreat

Author:: Laura Linderman
Publication Date:: 01-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Baku Dialogues
Institution:: ADA University
Abstract:: When President Donald Trump welcomed Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to the White House in August 2025, the ceremony celebrated more than just the hope that decades of conflict between the two neighboring states might finally be coming to an end. The agreement initialed that day, which grants the United States long‑term development rights to a transit corridor ambitiously named the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), marked a watershed moment in the geopolitics of the South Caucasus. For the first time in modern history, a major peace process in the region had bypassed Moscow entirely in favor of Western mediation. Yet the TRIPP agreement’s deeper significance lies not in American diplomatic triumph, but in what it reveals about a regional transformation—and the limits of that transformation. Russia’s war in Ukraine has created a window of opportunity for the South Caucasus, a moment when Moscow’s strategic distraction has given regional states unprecedented room to maneuver. The question is not whether this window exists, it clearly does, but how long it will remain open, and which states have the capacity to exploit it before it closes. The answers vary dramatically. The South Caucasus has moved from what Zbigniew Brzezinski famously called the “grand chessboard,” where great powers moved regional states as pawns, to what Svante E. Cornell and Damjan Krnjević Mišković describe in the introduction to their edited volume, titled After Karabakh: War, Peace, and the forging of a New Caucasus (2025), as a “card table,” where each state holds its own sovereign hand of playing cards. But not all hands are equal. Azerbaijan sits at the card table with a strong hand, leveraging energy resources, geographic indispensability, and military victory to extract value from multiple powers simultaneously. Armenia plays a weak hand the best it can under the circumstances, having initiated much of the TRIPP process to escape isolation and avoid being further diminished by Azerbaijan; a survival strategy, but a strategy nonetheless. And one could say that it looks as if Georgia has lit its best cards on fire or eaten them, with its government seemingly choosing preservation over strategic opportunity. The scene at the metaphorical card table after the most recent hand has been dealt is not, as some Western commentators have assumed, a straightforward regional pivot away from Russia toward the West. Nor is it the emergence of a coherent new form of sovereignty. It is something messier: three states responding to the same geopolitical shock with radically different resources, constraints, and choices. The West has increasingly set aside the post‑Cold War vision of liberal internationalism, with its emphasis on open markets, multilateral institutions, and shared sovereignty, in favor of a more transactional approach to statecraft. States the world over, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, are adapting to this reality, but adaptation looks very different depending on whether you’re negotiating from strength or desperation.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Geopolitics, International Order, and Regional Politics
Political Geography:: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and South Caucasus

92. The Corridor Changing Eurasia: Connectivity, Sovereignty, and the Strategic Awakening of the Trans-Caspian Region

Author:: Eric Rudenshiold
Publication Date:: 01-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Baku Dialogues
Institution:: ADA University
Abstract:: Since (re‑)gaining independence from the Soviet Union, the countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus have been perceived by and large as flyover states of marginal interest. They were framed in geopolitical dialogue as peripheries or regions whose importance largely derived from adjacency rather than agency—from whom they bordered rather than what roles they could play. Especially in Western policy discourse, they were generally described as buffers or backyards, almost never as strategic actors in their own right. That framing is grossly outdated. Over the past four years or so, what has been unfolding in Central Asia and the South Caucasus is not simply a shift in trade routing or a reaction to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Instead, it is a deep structural reordering of Eurasia’s political economy that is in parts driven by generational change, unfettered economic ambition, and recalibrations of sovereignty. At the center of this transformation is the Middle Corridor, stretching from Central Asia across the Caspian and through the South Caucasus to Türkiye and Europe. Once a peripheral notion, it is now central to the entire region’s growth. No longer aspirational, the Middle Corridor has become a strategic instrument that binds roads, rails, ports, and policy into a single, multimodal system—one that extends beyond transportation to questions of power, choice, and sovereignty. The resulting whole is proving greater than the sum of its parts. The catalyst for this shift was crisis. When Russia invaded Ukraine for the second time in 2022, the resulting international sanctions regime effectively closed Central Asia’s licit access to the northern transport corridor that transits Russian territory. The resulting disruption derailed most of the region’s trade and exposed long‑tolerated structural vulnerabilities and dependence on Soviet‑era infrastructure still zealously controlled by Moscow. The shock and resulting transport vacuum forced Central Asian leaders to do three things. One, to make tectonic decisions that reoriented commercial and geopolitical linkages; two, to engage more pliable diplomatic postures; and three, to accelerate alternatives that had previously advanced only incrementally.
Topic:: Sovereignty, Infrastructure, Sanctions, and Connectivity
Political Geography:: Central Asia, Eurasia, and South Caucasus

93. From Conflict Zones to Supply Chain Zones: Critical Raw Materials and the Reconfiguration of Global Power

Author:: Han Ilhan
Publication Date:: 01-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Baku Dialogues
Institution:: ADA University
Abstract:: The international system is entering a period of heightened fragmentation and strategic realignment. Economic security, supply chain resilience, and industrial competitiveness are increasingly central to national strategy. Within this evolving landscape, critical raw materials (CRMs) have moved from the margins of industrial policy to the center of geopolitical and geo‑economic planning. CRMs are foundational not only to the energy “transition,” but also to advanced manufacturing, digital infrastructure, aerospace systems, and defense technologies. Their strategic relevance derives from both their functional indispensability and the concentration of processing capacity within a limited number of jurisdictions. In several key mineral value chains, supply exposure remains highly concentrated, resulting in vulnerabilities for advanced economies whose industrial bases depend on secure and predictable access. As a result, diversification of supply has become a policy priority across multiple demand‑side economies. Yet the implications of CRMs extend beyond industrial competitiveness. The geography of CRM production and processing intersects with regions historically shaped by political tension, limited economic integration, and uneven development. As global supply chains are reconfigured, CRMs have the potential either to reinforce geopolitical rivalry or to anchor new forms of economic interdependence. Whether CRMs become instruments of intensified competition or foundations of structural stability will depend not only on resource endowment, but on the architecture of cooperation between supply‑side and demand‑side economies. The defining question is therefore not simply who controls resources, but how capital, technology, and long‑term strategy are aligned around them. Understanding the evolving global CRMs landscape requires examining both the policy responses of advanced economies and the institutional models that have shaped the current concentration of supply.
Topic:: Geopolitics, Supply Chains, International System, Raw Materials, and Energy Transition
Political Geography:: Global Focus

94. Environmental and Conflict Displacement: Pathways to Sustainable Peace in East Asia and Incheon

Author:: Yonbeen Cho
Publication Date:: 04-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: International Journal of Korean Studies
Institution:: International Council on Korean Studies
Abstract:: East Asia faces simultaneous pressures from environmental degradation and conflict-driven displacement, both of which have become defining challenges for long-term regional stability. Rising sea levels, intensifying typhoons, and floods are contributing to the rapid growth of environmentally displaced populations, while unresolved geopolitical tensions continue to drive conflict-induced migration. Incheon, a coastal city mainly built on reclaimed tidal flats, exemplifies both the risks associated with climate change and the potential for leadership in regional resilience policy. This study analyzes the structural and human security implications of displacement in East Asia and argues that integrated governance, climate adaptation, and inclusive peacebuilding strategies are essential to mitigating humanitarian risks. By examining theoretical frameworks, regional case studies, and Incheon’s institutional capacity, this paper identifies recommendations to enhance long-term resilience and contribute to sustainable peace.
Topic:: Climate Change, Environment, Displacement, Human Security, Resilience, Armed Conflict, and Peacebuilding
Political Geography:: Asia and Incheon

95. Invisible Diaspora Among Koryo-saram Third Culture Kids (TCKs)

Author:: Hayoung Hwang
Publication Date:: 04-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: International Journal of Korean Studies
Institution:: International Council on Korean Studies
Abstract:: This paper explores the shifting paradigm of security in the era of globalization, emphasizing the limitations of traditional state-centric models in addressing the needs of marginalized diaspora communities. Focusing on Korean Third Culture Kids (TCKs), particularly the Koryosaram in post-Soviet regions, it examines how double marginalization, unstable cultural identity, and a lack of institutional support shape their human, cultural, and community security experiences. By analyzing existing studies and policy frameworks, the study highlights the insufficient recognition and protection of these groups within Korea’s diaspora policy. The paper argues for an expanded understanding of security that encompasses identity, cultural cohesion, and community belonging for diaspora youth, presenting recommendations for more inclusive policy measures to strengthen the security and integration of TCKs as vital contributors to Korea’s global network.
Topic:: Migration, Diaspora, Culture, Human Security, Identity, Third Culture Kids, and Social Belonging
Political Geography:: Korea and Global Focus

96. Foreword: Rising Voices for Peace and Security: Reflections on the Next Generation of Changemakers

Author:: Roland B. Wilson
Publication Date:: 04-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: International Journal of Korean Studies
Institution:: International Council on Korean Studies
Abstract:: The papers in this issue reflect the remarkable potential of a new generation of student-scholars whose voices increasingly signal a shift in how peace and security may be imagined on the Korean Peninsula and across East Asia. Mentoring undergraduate volunteers who prepared original research for the 2025 Incheon International Peace and Security Forum revealed a depth of curiosity, courage, and analytical maturity that challenges prevailing assumptions about today’s youth. While public discourse often characterizes younger cohorts as digitally absorbed, civically detached, or emotionally strained, with evidence of declining motivation, rising unemployment, and worsening mental-health indicators across many societies, the broader picture is far more complex. Even amid heightened anxiety and institutional mistrust, many Gen Z and Millennial students are demonstrating a renewed commitment to purpose, valuesdriven action, and prosocial engagement. International polling and global initiatives, including Youth2030, continue to document thousands of youth-led efforts advancing the public good, from climate resilience and cybersecurity to peacebuilding and community service.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Politics, Diaspora, Geopolitics, Polarization, and Middle Powers
Political Geography:: Asia, South Korea, and North Korea

97. Between Giants: Strategic Autonomy for East Asia’s Middle Powers in the U.S.–China Rivalry

Author:: Yoochan Kong
Publication Date:: 04-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: International Journal of Korean Studies
Institution:: International Council on Korean Studies
Abstract:: The intensifying rivalry between the United States and China places South Korea in a delicate strategic position where great-power competition pushes Seoul to choose sides. However, the concept of strategic autonomy shows that middle powers can still navigate a narrow but meaningful path of agency. This paper focuses on how South Korea can sustain strategic autonomy amid U.S.–China rivalry by recalibrating its alliance with the United States, protecting itself from Chinese economic and political coercion, and diversifying partnerships in security, technology, and diplomacy. The central research question asks how South Korea can strengthen its autonomy while managing asymmetric dependence on the United States and growing vulnerability to China. Drawing on historical alliances, the THAAD deployment, and debates over technology alliances, the paper argues that autonomy is not neutrality but, rather, proactive leadership, institutional resilience, and a commitment to democratic values. By doing so, South Korea can shift from a reactive state to a proactive actor shaping a regional order based on freedom and stability.
Topic:: Cold War, Economics, Science and Technology, Alliance, Rivalry, Strategic Autonomy, Coercion, Middle Powers, and Conflict Analysis
Political Geography:: China, Asia, South Korea, and United States of America

98. Beyond Laughter: How Political Memes Can Threaten Peace in South Korea

Author:: Shin Mo
Publication Date:: 04-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: International Journal of Korean Studies
Institution:: International Council on Korean Studies
Abstract:: This paper examines political memes as a hybrid phenomenon at the intersection of media culture and political discourse. From a communication studies perspective, memes function as cultural texts that condense complex issues into shareable, humorous, and symbolic narratives, shaping how citizens interpret events and political actors in digital spaces. From a political science perspective, memes also serve as tools of mobilization, identity formation, and contestation, amplifying grassroots activism while potentially fueling polarization and disinformation. Drawing on interdisciplinary scholarship and comparative examples, the analysis demonstrates how memes operate simultaneously as vehicles of satire, instruments of influence, and reflections of public sentiment. The paper argues that political memes are not trivial byproducts of online culture, but significant agents shaping political communication and democratic engagement in the digital era. It also highlights the potential role of Incheon and local academic institutions as important sites for researching, contextualizing, and educating about the political functions of memes in democratic and cross-cultural settings.
Topic:: Politics, Youth, Digital Culture, Polarization, Memes, and Political Participation
Political Geography:: Asia and South Korea

99. Relieving Borders: Youth, Soft Power, and the New Diplomacy for Peace in Korea

Author:: Suyoung (Sarina) Oh
Publication Date:: 04-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: International Journal of Korean Studies
Institution:: International Council on Korean Studies
Abstract:: Despite decades of summits, declarations, and symbolic gestures, the Korean Peninsula remains ideologically divided and militarized. Traditional diplomacy has struggled under cycles of hope and disappointment, constrained by entrenched geopolitical realities and threat-based discourse. This paper argues that youth participation, cultural exchange, and soft power represent an emerging form of “new diplomacy,” a concept advanced in the field of peace and conflict resolution. This approach emphasizes positive and sustained forms of both direct and indirect contact, through cultural media, inter-Korean exchanges, and youth-driven initiatives, that reshape perceptions and identities beyond formal negotiations. Incheon, with its global networks and institutions, is highlighted as a strategic cultural gateway for fostering such exchanges. By analyzing cultural diplomacy, defector narratives, and peace education initiatives, the paper suggests that meaningful progress toward peace may be less about treaties and more about cultivating shared emotions, narratives, and imagination across borders.
Topic:: Youth, Soft Power, Borders, and Cultural Diplomacy
Political Geography:: Asia, South Korea, North Korea, and Korea

100. The Case for Cybersecurity Cooperation in Northeast Asia: Songdo, Korea as a Minilateralist Model

Author:: Hyunwoo Jo
Publication Date:: 04-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: International Journal of Korean Studies
Institution:: International Council on Korean Studies
Abstract:: This paper examines the prospects for cybersecurity cooperation in Northeast Asia, where intensifying cyber dependencies intersect with great power rivalry. While claims of a “new era of warfare” are often overstated, cybercrime targeting private sectors has become increasingly widespread, and sophisticated attacks on critical infrastructure remain a pressing concern. Despite skepticism toward global “tech alliances,” minilateral cooperation offers a more pragmatic path for trust-building and information sharing. This study addresses two central questions: Can Northeast Asian middle powers foster meaningful cybersecurity cooperation despite great power tensions? And how can Korea, through Songdo, Incheon, leverage its technological capacity and middle-power identity to establish a regional cybersecurity hub? By exploring these questions, the paper highlights the potential of Songdo as a platform for shaping norms and advancing security governance in the cyber domain.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Cybersecurity, Collaboration, Minilateralism, and Middle Powers
Political Geography:: Asia and Korea

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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS