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This paper aims to analyze the asymmetric dilemma facing the Philippines and China in the South China Sea tensions. Among American East Asian allies, the Philippines seems to stand on the frontline between two rival powers, the United States and China. Since the US declared its Pivot to Asia policy, the Philippines' foreign policy towards China has become assertive and sometimes appears reckless with some military adventures against Chinese maritime patrols and naval ships, which also further forced China to take a tougher foreign policy against the Philippines. Considering the distinctive asymmetric indicators between China and the Philippines based on military forces, economic capacity, territorial size, and population, the aggressive policy behaviors that the Philippines and China have been displaying against each other cast an inquiry on what drives the two countries into head-to-head collision. While China as the larger power vis-à-vis the Philippines as the smaller power in the relationship has aimed for control and domination of their disputed territory, the Philippines' drastic defiance has also led to China's irritation and possible frustration. Furthermore, the US' renewed attention to Asia has caused shifts of asymmetric bilateral dilemma to triangular entanglement between the US-China-Philippines. It is vital therefore to pay attention to the asymmetric interaction of states and their varying views in order to find possible solutions to the SCS tensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The papers in this special issue are the products of a conference, 'History and China's Foreign Relations: The Achievements and Contradictions of American Scholarship, ' held at the University of Southern California in February 2008. All of us, professors, policy advisors and policy-makers, think it would be helpful if there was more informed discussion among the general public of the challenges of China's rise in the world and our responses to it, but we all acknowledge that the American public sphere is a big mess, fragmented by the apparent riches of the Internet, dumbed down to the vanishing point in the major media. Can we as scholars make some beginnings in drawing on China's long and complex history of relations with other peoples to find generalizations and patterns that help to illuminate the present for the policy elite and for the concerned public? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study provides requisite information on the thorny civil war and destructive situation in the Republic of Sudan, which has led to the indictment of the sitting Sudanese Head of State in 2009. This paper will provide an in depth discussion regarding increased weapons transfers and its adverse impact on the conflict in Sudan. Additionally, theoretical frameworks regarding the foreign policies of nation-states, power, and resource conflict will be utilized to analyze the Sudanese government's relationships with China, Russia and Iran as well as its relationship with the marginalized communities of the Sudan such as Darfur and the Nuba Mountains. Information has been provided to underscore the major players in the conflict, whereby Russia, Iran and China are considered culprits in the arms race in the area. Russia, China and Iran have continued to supply arms to Sudan despite the institution of a UN arms embargo in 2004. Although the weapons procurement chain in Sudan demands a comprehensive analysis of both state and non-state actors a close examination of its relationship with various nation-states such as China, Iran and Russia will provide a greater understanding of the economic and political environment that has contributed to the increase of weapons transfers which has adversely impacted internal and regional security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on national and local news stories, newly declassified documents, u.s. prisoner of war (POW) memoirs, and popular films, this article argues that the legacy of the Korean War in the United States from 1953 to 1962 dramatically shaped how Americans imagined the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). It specifically examines how media portrayals of North Korean atrocities, the alleged misconduct of u.s. captives, and the relationship between the People's Republic of China and the DPRK affected public perceptions of "North Korea" as a subjective construct. The painful legacy of the Korean War, particularly the experience of u.s. POWS , encouraged Americans to think of North Korea as an inherently violent foe and as part of a broader "Oriental Communist" enemy in the Cold War. When the experiences of u.s. soldiers contradicted these narratives, media sources often made distinctions between 'Worth Koreans," a repugnant racial and ideological "other," and "north Koreans," potential u.s. friends and allies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vast reserves of fossil fuels make the Greater Middle East (GME) region the centre of attention in terms of security of supply considerations of all major energy-consuming countries, most notably of the United States (US), China, India, and of the European Union (EU). Although energy security is on the EU's agenda, the supranational nature of the EU inhibits it to pursue an external energy security policy in the same way as other consuming countries. Its power, mandate, and in many ways preparedness to execute a common foreign policy towards the GME, let alone as specific as a common foreign energy strategy, are limited. This article seeks to answer the questions of what role the EU wants to play in the GME region in relation to objectives of energy security, what role it can play in this respect, and whether the EU's Middle East politics can be regarded as major power politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]