BOOK REVIEW : Institutionalising Northeast Asia: Regional Steps Towards Global Governance

This book describes the current situation of integration and cooperation in Northeast Asia (China, Taiwan, South Korea, the Korean Peninsula and Japan), considered as "the most heavily militarised region in the world" (p.1). With 19 chapters by different authors, it combines several approaches to the attempts to create regional institutions, arguing that this is a process that is still in its early stages. The theoretical part of the book defines institutionalism and regionalism and includes a comparison of institutionalisation in Northeast Asia and within the European Union, showing the importance of identity building and regional leadership. The chapters of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Richard Higgott and Martina Timmermann, and Baogang He provide a framework for the empirical part of the book, which focus on different case studies and make recommendations related to Northeast Asia. There is a first section on history, ideas and identity, which starts with a question "Northeast Asian regionalism at a crossroads: Is an East Asian Community in sight?" In this chapter, Gilbert Rozman, argues that "a search for 'community' means recognition of the need to seek common values" and that "ignoring values in order to concentrate on economic integration does not offer a way forward. Instead, a joint effort in Northeast Asia should seek consensus on essential values for regionalism" (p. 96). Rozman offers some orientations on how to achieve that, rejecting a purely functionalist approach and favouring the awareness of historical and cultural differences

Perspectives on The Suspension of the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment

The decision reached by the European Parliament (EP) to suspend ratification of the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) introduced a new phase into EU-China relations. This paper examines some of the events leading up to the EP decision, and considers some of the larger consequences of the decision. When on 20 May 2021 the European Parliament passed a motion recommending a formal freeze on the CAI, it brought an abrupt interruption, and possible final conclusion, to seven years of negotiations. The decision resulted in considerable comment in the EU and China. Beyond the question of how China reacted to this unexpected block to future negotiation, and whether the EU Parliament vote could have been foreseen, the paper considers, among other topics, the role of public opinion in the EU. The paper reviews the changing evaluations of China in advanced economies, as mirrored in Pew Research Center surveys. What brought about the suspension was not investment or trade-related differences, but was directly related to human rights issues and labour law issues, and sanctions imposed upon China on members of the European Parliament, with the CAI being signed in the context of crackdowns in Xinjiang and Hong Kong. Accepting the view of Mario Teló that the CAI must be seen not only as a new investment regime, but also as a relevant international event affecting international relations, this paper examines indications of changes in Chinese attitudes towards the EU. While some of those in the EU Parliament who voted for the motion previously might have held a positive view towards developing a new framework, more recent events demonstrate that even were there to exist any resolve towards future negotiations, they could not occur at the price of fundamental European values

Editorial. Janus.net, e-journal of international relations. VOL13 N2, TD1 - Thematic dossier: Perspectives on China's International Presence: Strategies, Processes and Challenges

This thematic issue is the result of collaboration with the Macau Scientific and Cultural Centre (also known as CCCM). This issue is particularly a product of the CCCM China Conferences, which are held annually in the spring and in which the authors participated. The CCCM is a scientific research centre based in Lisbon with the mission of producing, promoting, and disseminating knowledge about Macau and China in general, acting as a platform between Portugal and the People's Republic of China, as well as between Europe and Asia. This journal contains five articles in total. The first two articles look back at developments in the first decade of the millennium, and provide important analysis that contributes to our understanding of the events that mark the present-day. The remaining three articles focus on contemporary political issues, and deal with various aspects of Chinese domestic and international politics. Each of the papers presents original research, with independent and novel findings, that will certainly be of use to the readers of the issue in understanding recent issues that concern China in the twenty-first century

Janus.net, e-journal of international relations. VOL13 N2, TD1 - Thematic dossier “Perspectives on China's International Presence: Strategies, Processes and Challenges”, December 2022. Consulted [online] on date of the last view, https://doi.org/10.26619/1647-7251.DT22.5

Small states, despite their power deficits, are able to influence large states. This paper explores how Portugal appears to have selected strategies to modulate yet improve its relations with China during the Covid19 pandemic. According to the Theory of Asymmetrical Negotiations (TAN) advanced by Habeeb, small states adopt soft strategies when they have high levels of commitment, worse alternatives available to them, and a low degree of control. During the pandemic, an increase in deficits drove Portugal’s government to seek to expand exports, attract investment, and improve its competitiveness. The authors find that Portugal has exhibited different behaviour regarding commitment, seeking alternatives, and exerting control in issues related to investment, export, and competitiveness. Portugal has flexibly employed soft strategies towards China during the pandemic, while reacting to external intervention from the US and maintaining internal compliance within the EU. With these strategies, Portugal has successfully, and without conflict, defended its interests, maintained its EU status, and limited the intensity of competition between the US and China regarding Portugal

trajetórias mutuamente reforçadas ou novas dependências?

UIDB/04627/2020 UIDP/04627/2020publishersversionpublishe

Portugal and the Settlement of the Macau Question, 1984-1999: Pragmatism in International Negotiations.

This thesis examines the manner in which the Portuguese Government formulated and implemented its negotiating strategy for the settlement of the Macau question with the People's Republic of China. The analysis is supported by theories of international negotiations. In addition to providing a detailed account of Portugal's negotiating strategy, the study highlights the impact that the Sino-British negotiations on Hong Kong had on the Sino-Portuguese negotiations. It also argues that the Portuguese side was mostly reactive: for domestic reasons, a key objective was to ensure that Macau's treatment was not worse than Hong Kong's, and in particular to ensure that Macau's transfer happened after Hong Kong. The thesis begins by examining the political background to the Macau question and the impact of the Hong Kong question on this. It then addresses the 1984-1987 Sino-Portuguese negotiations, which resulted in the signature of the "Joint Declaration of the Government of the Portuguese Republic and the Government of the People's Republic of China on the Question of Macau". Finally the thesis analyses important issues in the Sino-Portuguese negotiations during the 1988-1999 transition period, which ended with the transfer of Portuguese administration of Macau to China. Two types of issue are considered which clearly demonstrate the tensions in the Sino-Portuguese relations and show the position of the Portuguese side during the transition period: routine matters which were present in every Joint Liaison Group meeting, namely the policies of localisation, and more delicate issues. This includes (1) the arguments over the applicability of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to Macau; (2) the dispute over the construction of the Macau International Airport; and, (3) the conflict over the Orient Foundation

East Asia Today

East Asia attracts growing interest in the West. Th e region is the world’s hotbed of economic growth, led by burgeoning China aided by more advanced Asian economies investing heavily in manufacturing and trading networks involving China. Western entrepreneurs clamor to join the China wave

MAMMALS IN PORTUGAL : A data set of terrestrial, volant, and marine mammal occurrences in P ortugal

Mammals are threatened worldwide, with 26% of all species being includedin the IUCN threatened categories. This overall pattern is primarily associatedwith habitat loss or degradation, and human persecution for terrestrial mam-mals, and pollution, open net fishing, climate change, and prey depletion formarine mammals. Mammals play a key role in maintaining ecosystems func-tionality and resilience, and therefore information on their distribution is cru-cial to delineate and support conservation actions. MAMMALS INPORTUGAL is a publicly available data set compiling unpublishedgeoreferenced occurrence records of 92 terrestrial, volant, and marine mam-mals in mainland Portugal and archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira thatincludes 105,026 data entries between 1873 and 2021 (72% of the data occur-ring in 2000 and 2021). The methods used to collect the data were: live obser-vations/captures (43%), sign surveys (35%), camera trapping (16%),bioacoustics surveys (4%) and radiotracking, and inquiries that represent lessthan 1% of the records. The data set includes 13 types of records: (1) burrowsjsoil moundsjtunnel, (2) capture, (3) colony, (4) dead animaljhairjskullsjjaws, (5) genetic confirmation, (6) inquiries, (7) observation of live animal (8),observation in shelters, (9) photo trappingjvideo, (10) predators dietjpelletsjpine cones/nuts, (11) scatjtrackjditch, (12) telemetry and (13) vocalizationjecholocation. The spatial uncertainty of most records ranges between 0 and100 m (76%). Rodentia (n=31,573) has the highest number of records followedby Chiroptera (n=18,857), Carnivora (n=18,594), Lagomorpha (n=17,496),Cetartiodactyla (n=11,568) and Eulipotyphla (n=7008). The data setincludes records of species classified by the IUCN as threatened(e.g.,Oryctolagus cuniculus[n=12,159],Monachus monachus[n=1,512],andLynx pardinus[n=197]). We believe that this data set may stimulate thepublication of other European countries data sets that would certainly contrib-ute to ecology and conservation-related research, and therefore assisting onthe development of more accurate and tailored conservation managementstrategies for each species. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite thisdata paper when the data are used in publications.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio