The Baltic CAI challenge : reconciling Transatlanticism with EU solidarity

Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s).As the EU officials and their Chinese counterparts emphasised the end of 2020 as the date for a successful conclusion of the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI, the Agreement), the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were sceptical. However, after discussions, with Lithuania appearing to be the most visible opponent of CAI among the Baltic nations, all three eventually upheld the proposal. Understanding that the ratification of CAI is unlikely after the mutual exchange of sanctions between the EU and PRC in March, 2021, the report nevertheless examines the roots of the Baltic position as a case study of inter-EU bargains, inspects what factors contributed to the Baltic position on the issue of CAI, presents the national pro- and counter-arguments to CAI along the domains of geo-politics, values, and economy, and brings up the dilemmas that remain unsolved.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Conclusions: China in the Baltic States – from a Cause of Hope to Anxiety

This publication results from the project “China's Role and Perception in the Baltic States: Implications for National Security and NATO” (NATO Public Diplomacy Division's Co-Sponsorship Grant)The chapter presents a comparison of the three country chapters, data and histories of engagement with China, as well as provides a conclusion of the publication.This publication is sponsored by NATO’s Public Diplomacy Divisio

The COVID-19 Pandemic and Latvia–Russia Relations: Landscape for Desecuritization or Further Securitization?

This article revisits the traditionally jittery Latvian–Russian relations during the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of securitization. Though the pandemic might have offered less space for confrontation and possible prospects for differentiation of (de)securitization vectors, the mutual securitization processes have continued in the vein of previous years. Furthermore, they have showed no signs of easing as not only have the traditional issues remained securitized but new thematic areas both related and unrelated to the pandemic have taken center stage. All in all, the pandemic has opened new avenues for securitization, though it had no fundamental impact on the established securitization trends.publishersversionPeer reviewe

China in the Baltic States – from a Cause of Hope to Anxiety

This publication results from the project “China's Role and Perception in the Baltic States: Implications for National Security and NATO” (NATO Public Diplomacy Division's Co-Sponsorship Grant)The publication assesses the perception and the role of the People’s Republic of China (China) in Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania, with the emphasis on the implications of China for the national security of the three states and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Following a review of three decades of bilateral engagement between each of the Baltic states and China, the publication offers an analysis of the results from nationally representative surveys on Baltic attitudes toward China.This publication is sponsored by NATO’s Public Diplomacy Divisio

Ideology in the Era of Xi Jinping

Publisher Copyright: © 2018, The Author(s).After 1978, Maoism as a living mass ideological and social force in the People’s Republic of China largely died away. The Party state’s legitimacy since that time has been based on a new pillar of economic competence and the delivery of tangible economic gains. But China is still a place where, at least within the political elite, there is an identifiable ideology and associated language that links the aims of a political force, the Communist Party of China, with national prosperity, historic rejuvenation, and the delivery of the political goals promised when the Communist Party was founded almost a century ago – modernity in Chinese society. Ideology has not disappeared in this interpretation. It has just become more concealed, more nuanced, and in some spaces more flexible. For Chinese contemporary leaders, ideology is partly a body of practices, beliefs, and language which have been bequeathed to them by previous leaders, and which show that they are part of the same historic movement that runs from 1921 to 1949, and through 1978 until today. This body of practices is aimed at maintaining a sustainable system of one party rule, as well as an assertion of discipline and control in the core tactical spaces of political power. Under Xi, a group of twelve keywords maps out the discursive space that matters to the CPC today. These terms exemplify the ways in which the contemporary CPC is willing to use ideas from diverse sources, either from its own past, or from classical Chinese thinking, as a means of achieving emotional as well as intellectual impact, and to assist in the delivery of the major Party goal of the twenty-first century – the creation of a great nation with the CPC at the heart of its governance. Underlying the keywords and the ideological space they define is the larger notion of the Party, not just attending to material but also spiritual needs – and creating not just a wealthy country, but also a spiritual socialist civilization.publishersversionPeer reviewe

ĶTR 2018. gada Konstitūcijas grozījumu nozīme: politiskā diskursa analīzes piemērošana Sji Dzjiņpina “Jaunā laikmeta” naratīviem

Although opinions vary as to the degree of assertiveness of China’s leadership under the Xi Jinping rule in comparison to Hu Jintao, the fact that China under Xi has set out on a new, more persuasive discursive path regarding its historical role and position global futures has been confirmed both by analysts inside and outside of the PRC – particularly after the 2018 PRC Constitution Amendment, which introduced “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese characteristics for a New Era”, among other additions. This paper serves the purpose of explaining the meaning of the official discursive strategies behind the “New Era” concept as presented by Xi Jinping during his Report at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China by examining the grand narratives that surround it, ultimately contributing to the research of the logic behind Xi Jinping’s agenda vis-a-vis China’s desired position. A total of three overarching New Era narratives have been established: the mission narrative, the international influence narrative, and the party governance narrative. The paper argues that the main task of all three narratives is to provide arguments in support of Xi Jinping’s ideological innovation. Methodologically, the paper draws on the Political Discourse Analysis theory.Lai gan viedokļi par Ķīnas valdības pašpārliecinātības pakāpi Sji Dzjiņpina laikā salīdzinājumā ar Hu Dziņtao laiku mēdz atšķirties, faktu, ka Ķīna Sji vadībā ir izvēlējusies jaunu, pārliecinošāku diskursīvu stratēģiju attiecībā uz tās vēsturisko lomu un vietu globālajā nākotnē, apstiprina pētnieki gan ĶTR, gan ārpus tās – it īpaši pēc 2018. gada ĶTR Konstitūcijas grozījumiem, kurā tika iekļauta arī “Sji Dzjiņpina doma par sociālismu ar ķīniešu nokrāsu Jaunajam laikmetam”. Šī raksta mērķis ir izskaidrot “Jaunā laikmeta“ koncepcijas pamatā esošās oficiālās diskursīvi konstitucionālās stratēģijas izpausmes Sji Dzjiņpina ziņojumā Ķīnas Komunistiskās partijas 19. Nacionālajam kongresam, šādi veicinot Sji Dzjiņpina darba kārtības izpēti. Kopumā ir atklāti trīs visaptveroši “Jaunā laikmeta naratīvi”: misijas naratīvs, starptautiskās ietekmes naratīvs un partijas pārvaldes naratīvs. Rakstā secināts, ka visu trīs naratīvu galvenais uzdevums ir sniegt argumentus Sji Dzjiņpina ideoloģiskās inovācijas atbalstam. Metodoloģiski raksts balstās tiesiski politiskā diskursa analīzes teorijā