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AbstractThe rise of artificial intelligence (AI), represented by ChatGPT, has triggered a new wave of technological competition between nations. Major powers like China and the United States, backed by abundant resources, dominate the discourse and hold a significant advantage in the AI field. However, as the technological rivalry between these two countries intensifies, AI represents a classic ‘double-edged sword’ for many small and medium-sized countries. Therefore, the core argument of this paper is that the AI policies of small and medium-sized countries are not simply about bandwagoning or depending on major powers. At their core, these policies represent a complex form of technological hedging. External security concerns drive small and medium-sized countries to adopt hedging as a primary strategy, while internal interest preferences influence the varying intensities of this technological hedging. The findings of this paper indicate that small countries’ technological policies can be categorized into three models: strong hedging, medium hedging, and weak hedging. Different paths of technological hedging reflect the rational balance these nations make between security and economic interests in different contexts. The case of AI development in ASEAN also demonstrates the significant imbalance between member states. Singapore is classified as a technological frontrunner, while Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam are categorized as followers. Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Brunei, and the Philippines are considered latecomers in the field of AI. In terms of specific AI policies, Singapore and Vietnam adopt a strong technological hedging strategy, seeking more cooperation and interaction with the U.S. or other countries due to caution and concerns about China’s technological security. Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines follow a medium hedging strategy, while Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Brunei adopt a weak hedging approach. The differences in hedging intensity are primarily due to varying internal legitimacy pathways and the strength of backup resources. ASEAN member states pursue different technological paths based on their own circumstances to promote AI development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does India navigate contested regional multilateral frameworks in the Asia‐Pacific? This question has important implications for India's multilateral foreign policy and diplomacy that seeks to emerge from regional to global power. The authors argue that India's foreign policy involves seeking institutional balancing and avoiding rising power dilemmas. Based on the conceptual framework of institutional balancing and rising power dilemma, the paper examines how seeking institutional balancing helps India advance its diplomatic prowess vis‐à‐vis rising China while simultaneously leveraging its multi‐alignment strategy against the United States. Furthermore, the paper discusses India's key priorities for avoiding the rising power dilemma, thus exhibiting its reluctance to conform to the US hegemony and addressing its internal and external dilemma concerning China. The evaluation suggests that India's foreign policy rationality navigates between obtaining comprehensive security and economic gains in dealing with contested regional multilateralism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wake of significant international events like the Russian invasion of Ukraine and China’s assertive diplomacy, the recently developed concept of strategic corruption has been increasingly employed to discuss how corruption infiltrates international affairs. Unlike traditional corruption, strategic corruption is commonly understood to be a sophisticated mechanism that states use to achieve geopolitical objectives, intertwining economic and security concerns. This paper explores this concept, analyzes its relationship with related phenomena, and proposes a theoretical framework to contextualize strategic corruption within national and international arenas. The framework depicts strategic corruption as a multifaceted process spanning three spheres: domestic (source), international, and domestic (target). Each sphere involves unique pathways aimed at corrupting institutions in the target domain. This approach contributes to our understanding of the complex dynamics between corruption, national security, and foreign affairs, offering a coherent tool to address these challenges within the fields of international relations and anti-corruption studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the background of complex international situation, how to build the special geo-economic space of China-Russia border lies in strengthening their foreign trade resilience against external shocks. Based on empirical evidence from ten prefecture-level China-Russia border regions in Northeast China, this paper analyzed the spatiotemporal evolution of foreign trade resilience under different shocks. Furthermore, through the Panel Regression model, the mechanism of the industrial structure on the foreign trade resilience in contraction period and expansion period was discussed. The results showed that: 1) from 2004 to 2021, foreign trade in China-Russia border regions experienced five phases. The overall foreign trade resilience was higher than expected, showing a rising volatility trend, but there was significant spatial heterogeneity in the ability of cities to cope with shocks. 2) Highly specialized clusters were mainly concentrated in Yichun, Heihe and Da Hinggan Ling Prefecture, while Mudanjiang and Yanbian performed better in related and unrelated diversification. 3) In different stages of economic system evolution, the response mode, degree and result of border foreign trade resilience to regional industrial structure showed obvious stage characteristics. During the contraction period, related diversification was more conducive to improving the resistance through risk spillovers. During the expansion period, specialization played a more significant role in improving regional resilience through self-reinforcing effect. These results are beneficial for expanding the resilience theory, ensuring border economic security and optimizing border industrial investment layout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Depression in older adults needs urgent attention. Increased education level may reduce depressive symptoms in older adults, and that economic security level and subjective memory ability may also have an impact on depressive symptoms in older adults, but the mechanisms between education level and depressive symptoms in older adults are unclear. This study endeavors to investigate the parallel mediating roles of economic security level and subjective memory ability between education level and depressive symptoms in older adults. Methods: A total of 4325 older adults people aged 60 years and above were selected from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) as the study population, and all data were analyzed using SPSS 25.0 software. Spearman correlation analysis was used to explore the correlation between the variables. Model 4 from the SPSS macro was used to assess the parallel mediating role of economic security level and subjective memory ability in the relationship between education level and depressive symptoms in older adults. Results: Education level, economic security level, and subjective memory ability were significantly associated with depressive symptoms in older adults (p < 0.01). Educational level was a negative predictor of depressive symptoms (β=-0.134, P < 0.001). Education level was a positive predictor of economic security level (β = 0.467, P < 0.001) and subjective memory ability (β = 0.224, P < 0.001). Education level, economic security level, and subjective memory ability were significant negative predictors of depressive symptoms (β= -0.039, P < 0.05; β= -0.122, P < 0.001; β= -0.169, P < 0.001). Education level influenced depressive symptoms through parallel mediating effects of economic security level and subjective memory ability, with mediating effects accounting for 42.70% and 28.30% of the total effect, respectively. Conclusions: Education level not only directly influences depressive symptoms in older adults, but also indirectly through the economic security level and subjective memory ability. Educational level can reduce depressive symptoms in older adults by increasing their economic security level and enhancing their subjective memory ability. The findings of this study emphasize the importance of improving the educational level of the population as it affects people's mental health in old age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the backdrop of global warming, intensifying regional conflicts, deglobalization, and the spread of diseases, global food security is facing severe challenges. Studying the food security situation in China and the United States in depth can provide practical experience for formulating food security policies for countries around the world and promoting global food security governance. On the basis of a meticulous review of the evolving connotations of food security, this study adopts six dimensions—quantity security, quality security, circulation security, economic security, ecological resource security, and policy security—as breakthrough points to construct a framework consisting of food security evaluation indicator system comprising 29 specific indicators. The CRITIC–MEREC–MARCOS model is applied to evaluate the status of food security in China and the United States from 2000 to 2022, while the obstacle degree model (ODM) model is utilized to identify factors impeding food security between the two countries. The results indicate that the level of food security in China has shown slight fluctuations initially, followed by a steady upward trend. The gap with the United States is continuously narrowing. However, significant differences between China and the United States still exist in terms of economic security, ecological resource security, and policy security. Furthermore, due to the limited productivity of agricultural labor, scarcity of water and soil resources, and low efficiency in the use of fertilizers and pesticides, China's food security is subject to economic and environmental constraints. The restrictions imposed by economic security and ecological resource security on China's food security are showing an increasing trend year by year. For the United States, with the obstruction of grain exports and the increasing frequency of drought disasters, the impact of circulation security and ecological resource security on food security is becoming increasingly prominent. In the future, China and the United States should join hands to address challenges, actively promote international cooperation in food security, and drive sustainable development for humanity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frequent mountain torrent disasters have caused significant losses to human life and wealth security and restricted the economic and social development of mountain areas. Therefore, accurate identification of mountain torrent hazards is crucial for disaster prevention and reduction. In this study, based on historical mountain torrent hazards, a mountain torrent hazard prediction model was established by using Bayesian Model Average (BMA) and three classic machine learning algorithms (gradient-boosted decision tree (GBDT), backpropagation neural network (BP), and random forest (RF)). The mountain torrent hazard condition factors used in modeling were distance to river, elevation, precipitation, slope, gross domestic product (GDP), population, and land use type. Based on the proposed BMA model, flood risk maps were produced using GIS. The results demonstrated that the BMA model significantly improved upon the accuracy and stability of single models in identifying mountain torrent hazards. The F1-values (comprehensively displays the Precision and Recall) of the BMA model under three sets of test samples at different locations were 3.31–24.61% higher than those of single models. The risk assessment results of mountain torrents found that high-risk areas were mainly concentrated in the northern border and southern valleys of Yuanyang County, China. In addition, the feature importance analysis result demonstrated that distance to river and elevation were the most important factors affecting mountain torrent hazards. The construction of projects in mountainous areas should be as far away from rivers and low-lying areas as possible. The results of this study can provide a scientific basis for improving the identification methods of mountain torrent hazards and assisting decision-makers in the implementation of appropriate measures for mountain torrent hazard prevention and reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sakarya Üniversitesi Türk Akademi Dergisi is the property of Sakarya Universitesi Turk Akademi Dergisi (SAUTAD) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

As a less-powerful state threatened by a rising China in both security and economic domains irrespective of increasing economic cooperation and sharing a border and political affinity with China, Vietnam is expected to warmly welcome the United States (US) -led Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS) The country, nonetheless, has remained low-key in responding to the IPS. The article argues that Hanoi is truly interested in a regional rules-based order promoted in the IPS, but it has proposed a hedging response to this strategy through cautious statements and limited engagement in into this strategy. Vietnam’s hedging response to the IPS is framed by its post-Doi Moi foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation, and diversification. The year 2023 marks a milestone in bilateral relations between the US and Vietnam as both states upgraded their diplomatic relations to comprehensive strategic partnership which is the highest level in Vietnamese diplomatic ranking. This may become a favourable catalyst for further cooperation between Washington and Hanoi under the IPS within the context of a rising China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Informacion Comercial Espanola Revista de Economia is the property of S.G.E.E.I.P.C., Secretaria de Estado de Comercio, Ministerio de Industria, Comercio y Turismo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Introduction: In China, the sustainable development of the marine is facing a prominent contradiction between ecological security and economic development, as well as unbalanced and non-coordinated regional development. Exploring the regional differences in the synergy between marine ecological security (MES) and high-quality development of the marine economy (MHQD) and its driving mechanism is the key to optimizing the spatial distribution of marine development, promoting the synergistic and balanced development of the regional marine composite system during the “14th Five-Year Plan” period. Methods: In this article, we employed the Dagum Gini coefficient decomposition model and Kernel density estimation methods to reveal the evolution of regional differences, sources, and distributional dynamics of synergistic development of the composite system from 2009 to 2020. Meanwhile, spatial econometric analyses were applied to identify the influencing factors and spatial spillover effects. Results: The level of synergistic development of composite system has a fluctuating upward trend, with a significant positive spatial correlation and a significant “polarization effect”. Inter-regional differences in the synergistic development of the composite systemare the main source of the overall differences. Factors such as innovation-driven, human capital, and opening up to the outside world are important driving factors for the synergistic development of the composite system. Discussion: The MES-MHQD composite system exhibits a low level of synergistic development, with significant differences in the level of synergy both among the 3MMECs and within each circle. We infer that the expansion trend of overall difference will constrain the exploration of a sustainable development path for China’s coastal regions in the future. It is necessary to optimize the spatial layout of the composite system, establish robust mechanisms for regional cooperation and communication, accurately identify the development bottlenecks of the regional composite systems. This study provides a theoretical basis and decision-making reference for the promotion of the synergistic development of the composite system of the Three Major Marine Economic Circles (3MMECs) in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This article delves into the broad social and economic impacts of wealth inequality, specifically focusing on its effects on happiness, as analyzed using micro survey data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS). Methods: This article employs the panel OLS regression method with time and province fixed effects for the main result and heterogeneity analysis, then uses the mediating effect and moderating effect test for the mechanisms. Results and discussion: The article presents several key findings: 1. Impact of Wealth Inequality on Happiness. The study confirms that wealth inequality significantly reduces happiness, a conclusion reinforced by a range of consistency tests and endogeneity checks. 2. Heterogeneity Analysis. Three areas of heterogeneity are examined: Hukou status, education level, and family members’ average income. The results indicate that the happiness of families with a family head holding an urban Hukou, higher education, or a higher per-member income level is less affected by wealth inequality. 3. Mechanisms Affecting Happiness. At the micro-level, the article identifies two mediating pathways—health and marital status—through which wealth inequality negatively influences happiness. At the macro-level, it is found that social security expenditure and economic development can moderate these effects and enhance subjective happiness under the same conditions of wealth inequality. The contributions of this study are specific as: 1. This study addresses some of the existing gaps in the research regarding the relationship between wealth inequality and happiness. 2. The article utilizes relative deprivation as a measure of wealth inequality, considered a more apt metric for studying happiness compared to absolute inequality. 3. This research offers insights into the mechanisms behind the observed effects, considering both micro-level (individual and family) and macro-level (societal and economic) factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]