iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

New online: using the 🇺🇦/🇷🇺 war as case study, Li & Zhang examine cognitive warfare & how this asymmetric strategy is used by states to shape outcomes in their favour. ⬇️ www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.... #AcademicSky #AcademicPublishing #InternationalRelations

ABSTRACT
Cognitive warfare has become a key element of strategic competition in the twenty-first century. However, few studies systematically analyse it from the perspective of international relations theory.
This article fills this gap by exploring cognitive warfare from the perspective of offensive realism and strategic competition. It suggests that due to the rise of digital technologies, cognitive warfare constitutes a new and important statecraft enabling states to gain advantages in the information age, and that it is an asymmetric strategy particularly attractive for states disadvantaged by material power. Using the Ukraine war as an example, this study explores how Russia and Ukraine use cognitive warfare to shape the outcomes in their favour. While Russia uses disinformation, narrative manipulation, and cyber operations to undermine Ukraine's social cohesion and international support, Ukraine pursues an asymmetric strategy and uses strategic communication to construct battlefield narratives, mobilise global public opinion, and obtain international assistance. Consistent with the logic of offensive realism, both countries seek to maximise their relative power and influence to prevail in this strategic conflict. Therefore, this study reveals the growing importance of cognitive warfare as a new tool for geopolitical competition in the information age.

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Here is the correction - there was a missing graphic which has now been inserted. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

tandfonline.com

Correction

Published in Australian Journal of International Affairs (Ahead of Print, 2026)

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

New online: Lim et al use Chinese actions in the Indo-Pacific as a case study to show how the ICAD framework can help define and remove ambiguity around activities often broadly lumped into the "grey zone". ⬇️ www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky

ABSTRACT
The grey zone has been at the centre of lively debates since the concept was formalised more than a decade ago. An abundant literature has emerged over that period that has considerably improved our understanding of the "space between war and peace". Yet, grey zone operations have continued to be, in many ways, frustratingly difficult to capture fully and even more difficult to efficiently respond to. This article examines the recent proposal to overlay the grey zone with the 'Illegal, Coercive, Aggressive and Deceptive' (ICAD) framework. It argues that ICAD can fruitfully contribute to a disambiguation of the grey zone, by linking grey zone operations to known sets of behaviours and actions. In doing so, ICAD also facilitates the formulation of potentially more efficient responses, as it allows a more fine-grained identification of the challenges posed by specific grey zone operations and the mobilisation of relevant countervailing approaches.

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Readers interested in this article: be aware that the article was published with a missing graphic. Taylor and Francis are working to correct this omission, so please look out for the official notification that the article has undergone a major revision. ⬇️

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

New online: Anshu Chatterjee examines the strategic value of the Quad, finding that the Quad "offers a lesson in managing revisionist challenges within an interdependent global economy". ⬇️ www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky #InternationalRelations

ABSTRACT
The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue's institutional strategies between 2018 and 2024 compelled Beijing to alter its approach to assert regional hegemony that relied on the leveraging of economic interdependencies and low-level warfare supported by its military power. In response to Beijing's strategy, the Quad produced a counterapproach that relied on inclusive and exclusive agreements comprising neoliberal and neorealist mechanisms to uphold the liberal rules-based order and preserve the territorial status quo in the Indo-Pacific. The Quad agreements laid an inclusive path for mitigating the pressures produced by their economic interdependence on China and the perception of defence asymmetries to produce a counter to the revisionist threat in the region. These Quad strategies signalled the partners' collective capacity to exclude China from their future growth while also defending its members' territorial interests, with implications for Beijing's future growth amid economic stagnation. This research augments Kai He's explanatory framework for integrated institutional balancing in the context of US-China rivalry, focusing on the implications of economic interdependence and power distribution on balancing decisions.

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

New online: Nicholas Khoo discusses how China's increasing power projection into the South Pacific has affected New Zealand's security perspective, advancing an alternative structural realist understanding of NZ's China policy. ⬇️ www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky

ABSTRACT
For at least a decade, New Zealand's relationship with China has been characterised by the confluence of burgeoning economic interdependence and increasing security concerns. In seeking to explain this trajectory, the existing academic literature has highlighted the concept of New Zealand as an ontological trading state, drawn on Marxist theory, or adopted either a geopolitical realist, or a neoclassical realist explanation. This article contributes to the literature by advancing an alternative structural realist understanding of New Zealand's China policy, highlighting the impact of Chinese power projection in the South Pacific region on New Zealand's security. The article discusses a series of Chinese power projection initiatives in the South Pacific from 2020-2026 that have been viewed unfavourably by Wellington. These include the deployment of economic coercion against Australia from 2020-2023; military exercises in the Tasman Sea in 2025 and missile tests in 2024 and 2026; and attempts to alter regional diplomatic alignments through intervention in New Zealand's AUKUS policy discourse from 2021-2024; the Cook

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

New online: Monica Jeong asks, why is South Korea's refugee policy so out of line with its humanitarian engagement diplomacy and its "middle power" status? Jeong finds the answer in a discourse analysis of identity construction. ⬇️ www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky

ABSTRACT
South Korea is a self-identified 'middle power,' aspiring to assume greater responsibilities, including the promotion of universal values and humanitarian diplomacy. Yet, it maintains one of the lowest refugee acceptance rates among OECD members. Existing research attributes this restrictiveness to ethnic nationalism, anti-refugee sentiment, and a refugee status determination (RSD) process shaped by an institutional ethos that prioritises law and order over refugee protection. This research shifts the focus from institutional and societal constraints to identity constructions.
Adopting a critical constructivist framework, it analyzes National Assembly debates and Ministry of Justice policy discourses between 2008 and 2024 to examine how South Korea's self-understanding as a middle power is constructed and negotiated through representations of refugees as 'others.' The analysis finds that although South Korea promotes humanitarian engagement, its middle power identity is continually negotiated through the way different refugee groups are constructed (i.e. as humanitarian subjects, security threats, reciprocal contributors, or fellow nationals) in relation to the national 'self.' Ultimately, this research argues that the coexistence of competing understandings of what it means to be a humanitarian middle power rather than a cohesive national narrative, is a significant factor underlying South Korea's continued restrictive refugee policies.

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

New online: Khan et al ask, how has international education become entangled in great power rivalry and become a site of geopolitical strategic contestation? ⬇️ www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky

ABSTRACT
The evolving mobility of students between Australia and China offers a revealing lens through which to examine the intersection of international education, geopolitics, and global power dynamics. Once primarily an academic and economic exchange, international high education has become entangled with geopolitical competition, particularly amid intensifying U.S.-China rivalry. These dynamics have generated uncertainty for Chinese students overseas and destabilised long-standing educational ties with host countries such as Australia. Drawing on a systematic review of scholarly, policy and media sources, this paper situates China-Australia student mobility within its broader geopolitical context. The article maps out how international education has become a geopolitically significant domain shaped by economic interdependence, strategic statecraft, and evolving security narratives. It shows how historical soft power practices and asymmetric dependencies have transformed student mobility into a site of hidden, semi-, and overt securitisation. Integrating insights from soft power theory, complex interdependence, and adapted securitisation frameworks, the article argues that
international education has shifted from a space of cultural and educational exchange to a strategically contested arena where economic, political, and security interests increasingly converge.

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

New online: Denton-Townshend discussion paper asks, what lessons can Australian defence strategy draw from the use of drones by non-state armed groups? www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... ⬇️ #AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

New online: Munabari & Rofii consider disputed diplomatic language, comparing two case studies in Indonesia-China and Philippines-China relations, to discuss how contested language can survive domestic narrowing.⬇️ www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky

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Reposted by Australian Journal of International Affairs

Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

🚨We are pleased to report that Q2 downloads data for 2026 are in, and they show another strong increase in download numbers. The editorial team humbly thanks our authors, reviewers, our publisher, and of course, our readers. 🙏 #AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

New online: Ohn & Tan divert attention away from great-power coalitions & strategic competition in Indo-Pacific security governance discourse, to develop a "domain sensitive framework" for middle power facilitated cooperation.⬇️ www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #AcademicSky #AcademicPublishing

ABSTRACT
Minilateral cooperation has become prominent in Indo-Pacific security governance, yet debate remains centred largely on great-power coalitions and strategic competition. Less attention has been paid to how capable non-hegemonic states organise selective cooperation within ASEAN-centred regionalism or why similar pressures generate different institutional forms across issue domains. This article develops a domain-sensitive framework for assessing the institutional forms and minilateral potential of middle-power-facilitated cooperation. It applies the framework through a structured comparison of Korea-ASEAN cooperation in cybersecurity, supply-chain resilience, and defence-industrial collaboration. The findings identify institutional differentiation and redirection across domains rather than a linear decline in cooperation. Cybersecurity shows the strongest evidence of recurrent multi-actor capacity-building, but these activities remain embedded in inclusive ASEAN-led mechanisms. Supply-chain cooperation combines bilateral industrial ecosystems and ASEAN-wide frameworks with planned plurilateral capacity-building, while defence-industrial cooperation remains dominated by platform diffusion and bilateral production and sustainment relationships. Regionally dispersed bilateral or multi-actor activity therefore does not itself constitute minilateral governance. The analysis identifies a potential pathway to regional order-building through institutional layering, but direct effects on preparedness, vulnerability reduction, dependency management, and
institutional diffusion remain unverified. Korea's middle-power agency is therefore best understood as bounded facilitation rather than established minilateral convening.

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

🚨Latest edition has dropped! Articles on Laws of War; Gender Equality & Climate Change; Regional Orgs & Voting Cohesion; Pacific Islands Sovereignty; Foreign Policy in 🇰🇷& 🇨🇳#AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky # www.tandfonline.com/toc/caji20/c...

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

🚨 New online: read Thomas Wilkins' book review of Korolev's "When hedging fails: structural uncertainty, protective options, and geopolitical (Im)prudence in smaller powers’ behaviour" here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #AcademicSky #AcademicPublishing #InternationalRelations ⬇️

BOOK REVIEW
When hedging fails: structural uncertainty, protective options, and geopolitical (Im)prudence in smaller powers' behaviour, by Alexander Korolev, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2025, 72 pp., AU$36.95 (e-book), ISBN-9781009638050
Over recent times IR scholars have explored the phenomenon of 'hedging' behaviours as state responses to structural volatility in the international system. This accumulating body of literature has become a valuable addition to conventional Realist theories of balancing versus bandwagoning, by focusing on non-conformist alignment choices, chiefly among the small and middle powers. This Cambridge Elements volume by Alexander Korolev, brings us up to date with these developments, and advances them with a fresh perspective on how and why hedging strategies potentially break down.

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

🚨New online: How does Singapore deploy economic statecraft to navigate great power tech competition? See Xue Gong's analysis here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky #InternationalRelations ⬇️

ABSTRACT
This article examines how U.S.-China technological competition is reshaping the strategic choices of regional states in the Indo-Pacific, with particular attention to the ways Singapore deploys economic statecraft to navigate great-power rivalry. Existing scholarship has often portrayed small states as passive recipients of economic statecraft, largely constrained by the coercive power of stronger actors. This article challenges that view by arguing that non-great powers can exercise agency through strategic economic action in the technology sector. It shows how Singapore combines active economic diplomacy, domestic mobilisation, and strategic network development to strengthen technological capabilities, reduce vulnerability, and position itself at critical nodes of global supply chains. Drawing on interviews, policy documents, and speeches by Singaporean elites, the article demonstrates that Singapore's economic statecraft is not simply reactive. Rather, it is a pragmatic and adaptive strategy for preserving autonomy, resilience, and relevance in an increasingly fragmented geoeconomic environment. In doing so, the article contributes to the literature on economic statecraft and small and middle powers by showing how non-great powers can use
technology-centred strategies to survive and remain influential amid intensifying geopolitical competition.

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

🚨New online: Kevin Tangonan discusses how Philippine presidents have rhetorically constructed foreign policy orientations toward the United States and China across nine administrations. #OpenAccess #AcademicSky #AcademicPublishing www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... ⬇️

ABSTRACT
This study examines how Philippine presidents have rhetorically constructed foreign policy orientations toward the United States and China across nine administrations, from Ferdinand Marcos Sr. to Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (1966-2025). Using Critical Discourse Analysis and content analysis of State of the Nation Addresses (SONAs), the study maps patterns of hawkish and dovish rhetoric toward both powers. It introduces an analytical framework that combines the Hawk-Dove spectrum with [Eysenck, Hans J. 1956.
Sense and Nonsense in Psychology. Harmondsworth: Pelican Books.] political spectrum model, as adapted by [Tangonan, Kevin. 2024. "Hawks & Doves: U.S.-DPRK Foreign Policy Speech Analysis and the Perception of the Other." Journal of Global and Area Studies 8 (2): 335-358.], to analyse the relationship between ideological orientation and foreign-policy discourse. Beyond presidential rhetoric, the study examines patterns of reciprocal diplomatic signalling through official U.S. and Chinese statements and embassy communications. The findings reveal that Philippine presidents frequently depart from expected ideological patterns, with liberal and conservative leaders alike adopting both hawkish and dovish rhetorical positions toward China. These results suggest that foreign-policy discourse is shaped less by ideological identity than by leadership style, strategic context, and the highly personalised nature of political leadership in the Philippines.
Rather than replacing structural explanations such as hedging, the study complements existing scholarship by demonstrating how foreign-policy orientations are publicly framed, justified, and communicated through presidential discourse.

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

🚨New online: this discussion piece by Akbari & True examines the normalisation of gender apartheid in Afghanistan & how this has intensified insecurity, crises, and instability in the region. ⬇️ www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #AcademicSky #AcademicPublishing

ABSTRACT
Five years after the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan, gender apartheid has been consolidated into a comprehensive system of political, social, economic and legal control that extends beyond the restrictions imposed during Taliban rule between 1996 and
2001. This gender-based system is enforced because it serves critical political functions for Taliban rule, bolstering both internal cohesion and ideological legitimacy. Using the framework of gendered multilevel games, we examine how gender apartheid has become the organising logic of Taliban governance and assess the role of diplomacy and humanitarian engagement in sustaining or challenging this system. While the de facto authority has institutionalised gender apartheid, international responses have vacillated between condemnation, engagement and accommodation, contributing to the consolidation of this system. Diplomatic engagement with a de facto regime that systematically excludes women from public and political life presents myriad dilemmas. The normalisation of gender apartheid has deepened the humanitarian and economic crises, intensified insecurity, and negatively impacted the stability of the region.

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

🚨New online: this paper asks, how does ASEAN manage strategic competition and promote stability between opposing great powers? The authors propose it does so as a buffer institution, sustained by its diplomatic culture. ⬇️ #AcademicSky #AcademicPublishing www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

ABSTRACT
The geopolitical developments over the last decade in the Indo-Pacific have signalled increasing competition between China and the US, affecting regional security. For the smaller and weaker regional states, especially the members of ASEAN, the growing China-US rivalry is concerning due to the potential for conflict and the rearming of major powers' Southeast Asian military partners. This paper asks how ASEAN manages strategic
competition and promotes stability between opposing great powers? Drawing upon the English School of International Relations, we propose the concept of a buffer institution and apply it to understand ASEAN's role and position in the dynamic geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific region. While the existing literature has defined territories separating two conflicting powers as buffers, our study modifies this definition, arguing that a buffer institution is a regional society of sovereign states that builds order amid contestation between two great powers. ASEAN'S potential as a buffer institution in the China-US competition is sustained by its diplomatic culture and experience in managing relations among great powers inclusively.

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

🚨In this excellent discussion paper, Sione Tekiteki queries conceptions of Pacific regionalism. Are there different conceptions about what Pacific regionalism is intended to achieve & what should regional institutional design do? ⬇️ www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky

ABSTRACT
Pacifc regionalism has historically coordinated sovereign diversity while projecting Pacific agency outward through international law and diplomacy. Contemporary geopolitical competition is once again recasting regionalism as a project of institutional integration, in which Pacific governments coordinate their own future conduct through regional security arrangements. This these
article argues that these reflect fundamentally different conceptions of Pacific regionalism. Rather than asking how far the Pacific should integrate, it suggests that the more important question is how Pacific states can coordinate the exercise of sovereignty in ways that maximise its collective value, preserve strategic flexibility and advance the interests of Pacific peoples.

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

🚨Can all middle powers enact a grand strategy beyond multilateralism? In this paper, comparing 🇦🇺 & 🇹🇷,Lavezzo argues that not all middle powers can, and that 🇦🇺&🇨🇳have taken different trajectories. ⬇️ www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky

ABSTRACT
The growing multipolarity urges middle powers to elaborate a grand strategy that balances their regional aspirations with the systemic constraints and enhance their capabilities by relying on the partnership with fellow powers. In this context, middle powers gradually moved away from multilateralism to face great power competition. Aiming to comprehend how middle powers can actually develop a grand strategy beyond multilateralism, and seeking to comprehend whether secondary states are capable of formulating a strategic posture, the paper expands Ramon Pacheco Pardo's framework to examine whether all middle powers possess the capacity to enact a grand strategy.
Reconstructing the Turkish and Australian posture in the great power competition, respectively the Euro-Russian rivalry for Ankara and United States (US)-China rivalry for Canberra, the paper compares the grand strategy developed by the two middle powers. Arguing that not all middle powers are capable of enacting a grand strategy, the paper contends that while Turkey has embraced a transactionalist grand strategy that aims to take advantage of the rivalry to enhance its status, on the other hand, Australia has followed a US-based minilateralism, accepting the constraints of its status and capacity to the Sino-American rivalry.

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

🚨New online: have Taiwan and India developed the preconditions favourable for the development of an entente commerciale? Tkach and Banerjee argue "yes" and discuss its contours and nature. ⬇️ www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #AcademicSky #AcademicPublishing

ABSTRACT
We argue that India and Taiwan have developed preconditions favourable for the development of an entente relationship.
Ententes necessitate a common threat from a state, economic integration, and a security relationship between the states. China serves as the mutual antagonist, and the countries established cooperative informal diplomatic frameworks to facilitate economic cross-investment. We utilise the states' cell phone production cooperation as the entente's economic expression.
Mutual benefits are evident in cell phone manufacturing: India's economy provides economies of scale and reduced labour costs, and Taiwan's advanced manufacturing capabilities enable precision manufacturing. These economic ties lay the foundation for broader cooperation. The nascent aspect of entente cooperation is national security policy. We contend that sustained economic collaboration fosters trust and institutional familiarity, enabling informal defense cooperation. We evaluate cooperative steps both states have taken in the defense arena, demonstrating how mutual antagonist China, economic ties, and budding security coordination are creating an entente.

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

🚨New online: Kim and Shin analyse domestic public opinion about 🇨🇳amongst the publics of U.S allies in the Asia-Pacific region, finding increasing anti-🇨🇳 sentiment, and presenting the context for these dynamics. ⬇️ #AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky

ABSTRACT
Drawing on the alliance and identity politics literature, we argue that as the U.S.-China tensions intensify, citizens of U.S. allies tend to hold more negative views against China. This is because the strategic competition between the two powers reinforces the perceptual foundation of shared identity, amplifying perceived threats to national security and economic interests as well as values shared between the U.S. and its allies. For the same reason, we further expect public views toward China and the U.S. to be conversely related among citizens of U.S. allies as the bilateral competition grows. We test our propositions in the Asia-Pacific region, where the U.S. has several allies and its tensions with China are most acute. By analyzing the Gallup World Poll (2006-2022) and Asian Barometer Survey (Wave 3-5), we show that as the U.S.-China tensions intensify, citizens of U.S. allies tend to exhibit less favorability toward China as well as contrasting attitudes toward the two powers. However, such patterns are less likely to appear among those living in non-allies. This study provides not only theoretical implications for the study of foreign public opinion but also important policy suggestions.

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

1/ The journal has awarded this year's Boyer Prize for the best article published in the journal in 2025. A total of five papers were shortlisted for this prize. www.tandfonline.com/journals/caj...

tandfonline.com

The Boyer Prize

Explore the article collection: The Boyer Prize. Published in Australian Journal of International Affairs.

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

🚨New online: "Why has China's overwhelming economic leverage over North Korea... failed to produce the market-oriented reforms Beijing has sought for three decades?" Marco Mari presents "The Paektu factor". ⬇️ www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky #OpenAccess

ABSTRACT
Why has China's overwhelming economic leverage over North Korea—over 90 per cent of Pyongyang's foreign trade—failed to produce the market-oriented reforms Beijing has sought for three decades? This paper introduces the Paektu factor: the interaction effect produced when a personalist autocracy with an existential commitment to dynastic survival confronts a patron whose own strategic interests preclude the credible use of coercion. Two mechanisms carry most of the explanatory weight: China's inability to credibly threaten withdrawal from a regime whose collapse would damage its own security interests, and the Kim regime's narrow winning coalition, which makes resistance to structural opening a rational survival strategy. Tracing Beijing's Sunshine Policy with Chinese Characteristics across 1996-2025, the paper shows that while marketisation occurred from below and was partially institutionalised under Kim Jong-un's 'market Leninism', the regime consistently absorbed economic activity without permitting the structural opening that would have empowered alternative power centres. The COVID-19 border closure demonstrated the regime's willingness to endure near-autarky to preserve political control; the Russia pivot restored a dual-patron architecture that further diluted China's influence.
The Paektu factor represents a structural constraint on external influence that conventional models of economic statecraft systematically underestimate.

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

🚨 New online: in this discussion piece, Madhav Joshi presents 5 shifts in international peace building practices which underlie recent increases in armed conflict and the slower implementation of peacebuilding processes.⬇️ www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #AcademicSky

ABSTRACT
With 57 ongoing intrastate armed conflicts around the world, 2024 was one of the deadliest years. The end of the Cold War was followed by two relatively peaceful decades, as peace process settlements ended numerous armed conflicts. Since the early 2010s, the onset and persistence rates of armed conflict have been significantly higher than their termination rates, indicating a decline in peace agreements. This article examines five shifts in international peacebuilding practices driving this trend: a pivot in US foreign policy from peacebuilding to statebuilding, the decline in multilateral solutions to armed conflicts, an increase in
religious conflicts and a lack of culturally informed mediation support, a well-intended emphasis on inclusive peace processes that are practically difficult to implement, and a slower
implementation pace of the most recent peace agreements. The concluding section explores what could lie ahead for
peacebuilding and peace processes.

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

🚨New online: Hur and Sur chart the evolution of China & Japan's strategic partnerships with ASEAN & discuss ASEAN's proactive role in maintaining its strategic independence. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... ⬇️ #AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky #ASEAN

ABSTRACT
How have the strategic partnerships between China and Japan with
ASEAN transformed since the end of the Cold War, and what drives the divergence in their respective trajectories? This paper revisits the dominant account of great-power rivalry, contending that the evolution of these relationships is fundamentally influenced by changing perceptions held by both the major powers and by ASEAN itself, especially in relation to regional stability and economic priorities.
The study identifies two distinct
developmental paths. The China-ASEAN partnership reached a
'full partnership' status before subsequently shifting back to an
'economic partnership', as growing security tensions have eclipsed their strong economic linkages. In contrast, the Japan-ASEAN relationship has gradually progressed toward a 'full partnership, propelled by Japan's alignment of its 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific' (FOIP) strategy with ASEAN's Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP). Ultimately, this paper highlights ASEAN'S proactive role in guiding its external relations. Rather than remaining simply a passive setting, ASEAN strategically employs its institutional mechanisms and guiding principles, such as ASEAN centrality, to influence its partnerships and safeguard its strategic independence. The findings highlight that an adequate understanding of ASEAN's own policy considerations is critical for any thorough analysis of East Asia's changing regional architecture.

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Reposted by Australian Journal of International Affairs

ANU Press @anupress.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

A reminder that 'Vā Moana: Space and Relationality in Pacific Thought and Identity’ launches tonight at Objectspace. 🗓️ 2 July ⏰ 5.30 pm 📍Objectspace, Ockham Gallery. 13 Rose Road, Ponsonby, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Register 👇 www.objectspace.org.nz/events/book-...

objectspace.org.nz

Book Launch: Vā Moana: Space and Relationality in Pacific Thought and Identity — Objectspace

Join us to celebrate the launch of Vā Moana: Space and Relationality in Pacific Thought and Identity, a landmark publication conceived by the AUT Vā Moana Research Centre. The publication is a rich co...

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Teachers & readers interested in 🇦🇺foreign policy: please check out our new special virtual collection, which compiles the best recent scholarship published in the journal on Oz FP. Editorial intro and link full collection avail here: tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky

A picture of the opening words of the introduction of the virtual special collection, entitled "Teaching Australian foreign policy in the Indo-Pacific in an era of power diffusion: an introduction to a special collection," by Jack Butcher.

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

🚨New online: Haddon and Killingsworth analyse the dehumanisation of Afghans by 🇦🇺special forces & how this resulted in non-compliance with the laws of war on the ground. #OpenAccess #InternationalLaw #AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky ⬇️ tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....

ABSTRACT
The Brereton Report, and the subsequent establishment of an Office of the Special Investigator (OSI) to review the findings of the Afghanistan Inquiry present an opportunity for international relations theory to interrogate a series of complex relationships between violence and justice as they relate to: (a) the gap between acknowledged benefits of adherence with the laws of war, and a failure of battlefield effectiveness of these laws; (b) the powerful influence of transnationally constituted discourse of Afghans and Afghanistan on the actions of Special Forces personal; and (c) the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a factor informing the decision to establish the OSl. Through application of the English School of International Relations, we demonstrate that while the Australian Government's behaviour has been conditioned by the laws of war, the embeddedness of their soldiers in alternative transnational discourses about Afghans (as a people) and Afghanistan (as a place) resulted in non-
compliance and a lack of effectiveness 'on the ground'. Drawing on evidence from existing studies, the news media, and the Brereton Report, we argue that Afghans were subject to racial dehumanisation by members of the Special Operations Task Group (SOTG), and this dehumanisation was an important factor in a series of interacting variables that led to the allegations in the report.

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

🚨New online: Crandell and Stephenson examine the nexus between gender equality and climate action & argue that "Australia’s policy record on the gender-climate nexus at a domestic level is woefully inadequate." #OpenAccess #AcademicSky #AcademicPublishing ⬇️ tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....

$ABSTRACT Fragmented climate governance undermines both gender equality and climate action. Yet, despite growing international expectations for gender-responsive climate action, many states' substantive attempts to address the gender-climate nexus in foreign policy is unmatched in domestic policy. Why do states adopt markedly different approaches to the same global issue across foreign and domestic policy? This paper aims to explore gender and climate change policy divergence in a key, under-studied context: Australia. Employing a comparative content analysis of six federal policies spanning both domestic and foreign policy domains, the paper sets forth an original conceptual framework drawing off feminist institutionalism, norm translation theory, and strategic narrative theory to explain how institutional conditions "sift" international norms into divergent policy outcomes. Drawing on metaphor and conceptualised as the "Janus Sieve" ", this two-faced approach to the gender-climate nexus offers a transferable framework for tracing how international norms are refracted through institutional filters and transformed into policy outputs. Findings demonstrate that whilst projecting an image of gender-responsive climate policy internationally, underpinned by Australia's robust gender credentials, Australia's policy record on the gender-climate nexus at a domestic level is woefully inadequate. These trends may have broader resonance with other contexts globally grappling with such domestic-foreign policy dissonance.$

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

🚨New online: Susan Hutchinson analyses the experiences of Afghan women seeking refuge in 🇦🇺 & finds gaps in 🇦🇺's moral and legal responsibilities towards Afghan women. #OpenAccess #InternationalRelations #AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... ⬇️

ABSTRACT
This paper examines the Department of Home Affairs' implementation of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda through the experiences of Afghan women seeking refuge in Australia. Drawing on practitioner reflections and case studies from advocacy work supporting hundreds of high-risk Afghan women, it critically analyses the extent to which visa policies and processes address the intersecting vulnerabilities of displaced women. The paper situates this analysis within the broader feminist frameworks, highlighting how security institutions operationalise WPS commitments. Quantitative data and
qualitative cases reveal systemic shortcomings in Australia's humanitarian, family reunion, community sponsorship, and skilled refugee labour pathways, including delays, restrictive eligibility criteria, and inadequate prioritisation of high-risk women including widows, young women, and human rights defenders.
These gaps contravene Australia's obligations under CEDAW
General Recommendation 30 and undermine the stated goals of the National Action Plan on WPS. The paper argues that addressing these institutional failings requires gender-sensitive reforms to visa processing, recommitment to allocations of Woman at Risk visas, recognition of intersectional vulnerabilities, and removal of structural barriers to resettlement. In doing so, it contributes to scholarship on displacement within the WPS agenda and underscores Australia's moral and legal
responsibilities towards Afghan women after two decades of international intervention.

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

🚨New online! "Beyond recognition: the adaptive association model and postcolonial sovereignty from the Cook Islands and Niue to New Caledonia", by Muhamet Brajshori. ⬇️ #AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky #InternationalRelations www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

ABSTRACT
This article presents the Adaptive Association Model (AAM) to explain how non-sovereign polities in free association can establish international legal personality and diplomatic agency in the absence of full statehood or United Nations membership. Utilising the Cook Islands and Niue as case studies, it delineates four mechanisms (selective engagement, contextual
sovereignty,
institutional pragmatism, and systemic adaptability) through which functional sovereignty manifests. The article places the AAM within three domains of international relations scholarship: non-standard sovereignty, small states and partial independence,
and
performative approaches to statehood. It contends that free association, when it involves authentic transfers of sovereign competencies and facilitates independent institutional participation,
represents a sustainable and legitimate form of post-colonial self-determination rather than a temporary deviation. The New Caledonian case exemplifies a negative comparator, underscoring the model's limitations in the absence of its structural conditions. In general, the article goes beyond binary ideas of sovereignty and adds to discussions about graduated and functional sovereignty.

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

🚨New online! A discussion paper by Ghulam Shabbir, "The United States between deterrence and disengagement: strategic ambiguity in the Middle East". ⬇️ #AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky #InternationalRelations www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

ABSTRACT
This discussion examines the evolving posture of the United States in the Middle East, focusing on the tension between deterrence and disengagement that increasingly defines its strategic ambiguity. It builds on the recent scholarly work and the policymaking discourse to posit that the current American policy is based on having a complicated combination of forward military presence, a periodically coercive approach, diplomatic signalling, and constantly proclaiming strategic retrenchment. This ambiguity is no longer evident as an intensely tailored doctrine, as in the context of deep Iran-Israel confrontation, maritime insecurity, and proxy warfare over the region, but rather as a structural provision of US strength. According to the latest studies of Gulf politics, force posture in CENTCOM, and the post-2025 Iran-Israel crisis, the United States has been deeply entrenched in regional security despite the seeming lesser influence on regional outcomes as compared to previous times. Strategic ambiguity might carry the short-term cost of maintaining flexibility, though it is prone to miscalculation by enemies and unilateralism by allies. Rather than stabilising the Middle East, the uneasy coexistence of deterrence and disengagement risks producing a more volatile regional order in which the United States is neither fully present nor meaningfully absent.

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

🚨New online! "Trusted allies or friends with benefits? Instrumental ambivalence in Filipinos’ public appraisal of China", by Rogelio Panao and Ranjit Rye. ⬇️ #AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky #InternationalRelations www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

ABSTRACT
This paper examines how citizens in asymmetric relationships evaluate powerful states that simultaneously present economic opportunities and strategic risks. Focusing on the Philippines, we distinguish between perceptions of dependability, understood as expectations of consistent behaviour, and trust, defined as beliefs about long-term intentions under uncertainty. Drawing on seven waves of nationally representative survey conducted between early 2023 and mid-2024, we argue that these evaluations are anchored in domestic foreign policy performance, which serves as a key interpretive lens in the absence of direct access to diplomatic processes or foreign intentions. Our findings reveal a pattern of instrumental ambivalence. Higher satisfaction with government performance is associated with lower perceptions of China's dependability but higher levels of trust in its long-term trajectory. This divergence reflects attribution to domestic competence alongside greater willingness to engage under perceived state capacity, highlighting the multidimensional nature of public attitudes under asymmetry.

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

🚨New online! "Navigating the twin risks in alliance dilemma: South Korea's foreign policy during US-DPRK nuclear crises", by Kimberly Peh, Soul Park, and Seung Joon Paik. @soulpark.bsky.social ⬇️ #AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky #InternationalRelations www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

ABSTRACT
How do weaker states in an asymmetric alliance simultaneously manage the risks of entrapment and abandonment? Research on alliance management largely focuses on how stronger states manage entrapment while weaker states address abandonment.
Such arguments reflect the military imbalance and the relative dependence between asymmetric allies. However, weaker allies can fear both entrapment and abandonment simultaneously when the former threatens their interests and security. To understand how they navigate the competing risks within the alliance, we argue that weaker allies would cautiously act as conflict managers by coordinating with allies while advancing peaceful alternatives, garnering support from the international community, and offering inducements to the adversary to incentivize negotiations. We demonstrate our argument by analyzing South Korea's behaviours throughout three crises involving the US and North Korea in the post-Cold War era.

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

🚨New online! "Voting cohesion in the UNGA: do do regional organisations enhance member states’ unity beyond regional affinities?" by Thijs Stegeman. ⬇️ www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky #InternationalRelations

ABSTRACT
While voting cohesion within regional organisations (ROs) has been the subject of many papers, particularly regarding ASEAN and the EU, studies frequently overlook the broader regional context.
However, to understand if foreign policy coordination is successful, it is important to know if voting cohesion within the region is already high due to common regional affinities and interests, or if it is indeed due to successful foreign policy coordination. This paper aims to answer this question by comparing voting cohesion of six ROs, ASEAN, CARICOM, EU, AL, Mercosur, and SAARC to each other as well as their cohesion when including regional non-member states. In doing so, it finds that the gap between voting cohesion of the AL and the EU and their respective regions is widest, while it is negligible concerning the CARICOM and Mercosur. It also brings forth further evidence for successful coordination in the EU and the AL in the face of divisive issues and enlargement and shows how cohesion within ASEAN at first increased compared to its region, but the gap has tightened in the last decades, regardless of its institutionalisation of foreign policy in 2007.

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

🚨New online! Yue Wu, "Unravelling the role of foreign aid in Chinese diplomacy under the Xi administration". ⬇️ www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky #InternationalRelations

ABSTRACT
Foreign aid is a vital tool for Chinese diplomacy. Since President Xi Jinping took office, the Chinese government has changed its diplomatic paradigm. Nevertheless, existing studies have not thoroughly explored how foreign aid's role in Chinese diplomacy has evolved during Xi's presidency. This paper uses neoclassical realism in international relations theory to analyse and clarify these shifts. It finds that since 2013, China has used foreign aid to bolster the Belt and Road Initiative, promote a transformation toward international development cooperation, and align with the Global Development Initiative, responding to systemic stimuli and perceived threats. These results highlight the interrelated and evolving relationship between foreign aid and Chinese diplomacy in the Xi era, with foreign aid adjusting to meet the changing needs and goals of Chinese diplomacy. These findings indicate that adopting a dynamic perspective-integrating systemic and state-level variables—is necessary for a comprehensive analysis of Chinese diplomacy and foreign aid. In brief, this paper deepens understanding of the evolving role of foreign aid in Chinese diplomacy during President Xi's era, rather than treating it as a static diplomatic tool, and fills a gap in existing research on the Xi administration's foreign aid in this regard.

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

🚨New online! Chris Deacon, "Remembering otherwise: Japanese and South Korean counter-memories of colonial history and the transformation of the history problem". #OpenAccess ⬇️ #AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky #InternationalRelations www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

ABSTRACT
Contested memory of the history of Japanese imperialism has frequently been identified as a crucial theme of East Asian international politics. National collective memories, and the identities they constitute, are posed as conflicting in their narratives of this history and its political implications, causing diplomatic clashes. In making these arguments,
however,
International Relations scholarship often assumes the existence of a singular collective memory within each state. While allowing for a causal explanation of the East Asian 'history problem' at the inter-state level, this tendency misses the more complex, contested terrain of memory politics within each state and implies a fixity to their strained relations. In contrast, this article considers counter-memories of colonial history that contest mainstream constructions within East Asian states and theorises their potential to transform the history problem. Focusing on Japan-South Korea relations, it draws on observational fieldwork and textual analysis of activist museums, political protests and popular literature in both countries to analyse alternative historical narratives concerning wartime forced labour and the
'comfort women', their contestation of the mainstream, and their potential to transform the status quo of bilateral relations. In doing so, the article opens avenues to theorising alternative future pathways for East Asian international politics.

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

A reminder to all our readers interested in Pacific Islands affairs, and PNG in particular: this special sub-section written to commemorate the 50th anniversary of PNG independence is on #FreeAccess for a limited time only and ends soon! #AcademicPublishing #PNG www.tandfonline.com/toc/caji20/7...

tandfonline.com

Australian Journal of International Affairs

50 years of Papua New Guinea’s independence. Guest Editor: Henry Ivarature. Volume 79, Issue 6 of Australian Journal of International Affairs

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Reposted by Australian Journal of International Affairs

Australian Strategic Policy Institute @aspi-org.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

🔔 JOB ALERT 🔔 ASPI is seeking a junior subeditor for The Strategist, the leading Australian commentary and analysis website for national security. Do you have excellent attention to detail and a strong understanding of Australian defence, security and foreign policy? Apply now 👉 bit.ly/4dJaFLB

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

🚨Latest edition (80-3) is now live online. Covers geoeconomics; 🇯🇵 and Solomon Islands' foreign policy; international migration rights; the 🇦🇺-🇰🇷relationship; 🇷🇺-🇰🇵 strategic ties - and more! #AcademicPublishing #InternationalRelations #AcademicSky www.tandfonline.com/toc/caji20/8...

tandfonline.com

Australian Journal of International Affairs

Volume 80, Issue 3 of Australian Journal of International Affairs

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Australian Journal of International Affairs @austjia.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

🚨New online: "Teaching Australian Foreign Policy in the Indo-Pacific in an era of power diffusion: an introduction to a special collection", by Jack Butcher. The special collection is also edited by Jack Butcher. #AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... ⬇️

Features a screenshot of the opening paragraph of the editorial

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