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France is one of the most prominent European military powers and a strong proponent of an independent European military capability. Yet, France’s actions since 2009 suggest that it may be prioritizing the transatlantic relationship over the development of the European Union’s Common Security and Defence Policy. Does this signal a fundamental Atlanticist shift in the way that France envisions its future defence and security, or does it simply signal a temporary re-evaluation of French Europeanist security ambitions? Our analysis attempts to answer whether there is presently an Atlanticist shift evident in French foreign policy, and whether any such shift is rooted in a desire to preserve French influence through international institutions such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. This paper combines elite interviews with content analysis of French media comparing the current time with the mid-1990s to determine whether there is a shift in how defence and security issues are discussed and, if so, whether that signals a fundamental change. We find that, while there is a shift, it does not necessarily indicate a more Atlanticist posture, but suggests rather a pragmatic move to further French security goals through the most effective institutional mechanisms available. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Haitian state shaped international definitions of sovereignty and national legitimacy after the Declaration of Independence in 1804. Haiti's nineteenth century was not a period of isolation and decline; its first six decades were globally connected because the country's leaders challenged their postcolonial inequality with diplomacy and state formation. This strategy aimed to establish Haiti's membership in the "family of nations," a central metaphor in European and American diplomatic, legal, and religious decision-making. In doing so, the Haitian state forced the Atlantic powers to redefine the boundaries of international relations. Haiti's decades-long negotiations with the Catholic Church were tied to the racialization of the global hierarchy. After its Declaration of Independence, the Haitian state began clearing a theoretical path toward recognized sovereignty based on the dominant narrative that a society must be considered "civilized" on the world stage. But, as it cultivated internal policies and practices that rejected the dominant racist assumptions, these discriminatory ideologies became increasingly more explicit in international law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The appointment of Chinese bishops of the Catholic Church is generally considered as the biggest obstacle in the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and the Vatican. However, due to the special nature of the identity and status of Catholic bishops, there are continuous confrontations and gaming between the Vatican and the Chinese Government as well as its religious administrative department, manifested as confrontations between religious social groups and the administrative power, between the principle of Catholic hierarchy and the principle of independence and autonomy in the self-management of the Church. The root of these confrontations lies in the competition for the leadership and appointment of future Catholic Church leaders. Therefore, in this context, the state-society relationship is strained, as reflected by the interactions between the Catholic Church in China and the government. The Catholic Church is faced with a choice between God and Caesar. Such a situation, even if China and the Vatican could reach an agreement on the appointment of bishops, will not change and confrontations are likely to occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the ASEAN Regional Forum ( ARF) has made significant progress providing confidence-building mechanisms, it remains inconsistent in moving towards a shared goal of collective defense arrangements and this raises the issue of the ARF's overall efficacy in the region. This article analyzes the reasons for the inconsistent efficacy of the ARF in improving territorial conflicts. Based upon realists' insights, this article analyzes how the role of the ARF in resolving the South China Sea disputes has changed periodically based on participation of the United States and China, which have exercised their expansionary or conservative interest goals in the region. This article pays close attention to the way in which the respective national interests of the United States and China have changed chronologically and how these adopted strategies have affected their rival's participation strategies and the ARF's role. This article argues that the ARF's ability to resolve problems has fluctuated noticeably according to the changes in the nature and level of powerful states' hegemonic interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Vatican is often cast as a marginal player in the reshaping of the European international order after the First World War. Drawing on new archival material, this article argues for a reassessment of the content and consequences of papal diplomacy. It focuses on the years between 1917 and 1929, during which time the Vatican used the tools of international law and state-to-state diplomacy to expand its power in both eastern and western Europe. The Vatican's interwar activism sought to disseminate a new Catholic vision of international affairs, which militated against the separation of church and state, and in many contexts helped undermine the principles of the League of Nations’ minority rights regime. Thanks in no small part to the assiduity of individual papal diplomats – who disseminated the new Catholic vision of international affairs by supporting anti-communist political factions – the Vatican was able to claim a more prominent role in European political affairs and lay the legal and discursive foundations for an alternate conception of the European international order, conceived in starkly anti-secular terms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]