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"Sinostan: China's Inadvertent Empire" by Raffaello Pantucci and Alexandros Petersen is a book that explores China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its expansion in Central Asia. The authors provide extensive research and firsthand accounts from their field trips to the region, capturing the experiences and reality of the BRI on the ground. The book examines China's influence in Central Asia, its historical significance, and the power dynamics in the region. It also discusses the relationship between Russia and China in Central Asia and the role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. The book concludes by addressing the potential impact of the United States' withdrawal from Afghanistan on China's goals in the region. [Extracted from the article]

The article presents practical significance for China to understand the new developments and new characteristics of transatlantic coordination on China and to analyze the underlying motivations and potential trends, in order to grasp the evolution of the China-U.S.-European Union (EU) triangle. It mentions that the U.S. Joe Biden took office, his foreign policy has been characterized by a return to alliances and multilateralism, and in coordination of their China policies.

This document is a review of two separate books. The first book, "Always Faithful," is praised for its comprehensive and diverse perspective on the evacuation of Kabul and the US war in Afghanistan. The reviewer recommends it to anyone interested in these topics or war in general. The second book, "Plato Goes to China: The Greek Classics and Chinese Nationalism," focuses on the fate of ancient Greek classics in China and the regime's campaign to discredit them. The reviewer acknowledges the political and intellectual repression in China but highlights the resilience of the Chinese people and the continued commitment to universal values. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Journal of Peace Research & Conflict Resolution / Baris Arastirmalari ve Çatisma Çözümleri Dergisi is the property of Yalova University, Research Center for International Conflict Resolution 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.)

Afghanistan has a unique and indeed, an immense significance in the strategic calculus of People's Republic of China. The geopolitics of this Chinese neighbourhood has four glaring peculiarities, which include; political, strategic, geographical, and economic. In the rapidly changing global security environment, these aspects demands a deeper cooperation not only between China and Afghanistan but also for the regional integration of all those countries eager for regional peace and harmony, based on mutual respect and sovereignty. The central argument of this research is based on the postulation that in the post 2014 scenario, 'constructive engagement with Afghanistan will serve the Chinese strategic, economic and security interests. In the academic sphere, the argument is strongly supported by the realist school of thought. It directly correlates with China's own national security stakes and economic opportunities. Indeed, a fragmented, fundamentalist and anarchic Afghanistan would stand contrary to China's interest of maintaining stability and defying the ongoing militancy in its autonomous region, Xinjiang. Though security may be the immediate objective, the long-term aim is economic and strategic cooperation with Afghanistan, driven by the liberal paradigm, which China finds as the most crucial and enduring. Such a Chinese engagement will improve security situation and bring economic development in Afghanistan; a win-win situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is there mutual benefit in a relationship between the People's Republic of China and the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO)? At first glance, China and NATO appear to have little to offer one another, and many obstacles to cooperation exist. But distinct (and different) benefits exist for both parties should they elect to pursue a relationship based on interests. NATO and China share a common interest in maintaining international security, and increased interaction can thus appeal to NATO's desire to extend cooperative security beyond the Euro–Atlantic area while offering the Chinese a means for protecting their interests on the global stage in a constructive, non-threatening manner. While both NATO and China have interests in Afghanistan, the most fertile ground for a future relationship lies in mutual interests in four ‘politically acceptable’ domains: crisis management, humanitarian assistance/disaster relief, counter-proliferation and counter-piracy. Increased interaction will present both NATO and China with risks, but these are ultimately outweighed by the potential benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this article the author discusses the use of American sea power to protect the nation and national interests abroad. The author notes that the U.S. is engaged in protracted land-based conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. A number of topics are addressed including the historic use of U.S. naval power beginning in the early 19th century, the tenure in office of Robert Gates, the U.S. secretary of defense, and the lack of defense thinking or planning that reflects the Chinese rise to economic and military power.

The article refers to the United States' plan to withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan by July 2011 and discusses how the U.S. military strategy could affect China. The discussion focuses on China's concern that political instability and terrorism could develop in the Chinese province Xinjiang which has an Uighur Muslim minority with ethno-separatist political views. China's interest in Afghanistan's Aynak copper mine in Logar province, the Chinese government's relations with the Inter-Services Intelligence Department in Pakistan, and the role of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Afghanistan are also discussed.

This article analyses the trajectory that Sino-Afghan relations have acquired since 2001. In doing so it undertakes an analysis of China’s key interests in the commercial, security and political arena in Afghanistan and the policies adopted by Beijing to secure these interests. The analysis particularly takes into account four factors which have left a crucial imprint in moulding the contours of Beijing’s engagement with Kabul, namely, the Indo-Pak equation, implications of a large US military presence in the region, consequences of growing drug proliferation and its linkages with pan-Islamist groups which in turn could potentially stir trouble in Xinjiang and adversely impact upon China’s desire to expand and secure its commercial interests in the region. The article analyses the impact that events in Afghanistan are likely to have on China’s own internal challenges in Xinjiang as also its larger interests in South Asia and argues that given Beijing’s growing international profile and the increasingly transnational nature of the events unfolding in Afghanistan, China will need to recalibrate its current strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article comprises two parts: the first in which the author examines the ramifications of the process of stabilising Afghanistan and the second in which he discusses a possible role for the Russia, India and China (RIC) trilateral. The author cites the results of a survey conducted in all thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, which mainly concerns the attitude of the people and the national mood in 2004 and 2008. The results revealed very low levels of confidence. The crux of the problem was that the war cannot be won, nor the Afghan situation addressed by the military approach. The situation is extremely complex and tense mainly because of the lack of strategic coherence within the West and their attempt to promote a Western set-up in Afghanistan without heed to, or respect for, the Afghan condition. The focus has been only on capturing the Al-Qaeda through Operation Enduring Freedom. The role of Pakistan was also quite complex and the question was whether it should be seen as part of the problem or part of the solution. The American's Afghan policy was insensitive to the geopolitical complexity in the region. Since all three countries were affected by the situation in Afghanistan, stability in this area was in the interests of all. It was necessary, therefore, to make the trilateral more relevant and the election in September 2009 provided a good occasion to look for a common agenda and adopt a proactive stance. The RIC could encourage the exploration of a new political set-up in Afghanistan by taking into account its national conditions. They could also stress a leading role for the United Nations and explore a regional approach, whereby the various organisations in the region could be interconnected to explore solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article attempts a comprehensive account of the various actors--including both regional and global powers--their motivations and the intricacies of the interactions between them in Afghanistan. Given that the democratic governments have put particular emphasis on human rights and political freedoms, there would be some implications for the dictatorships or tyrant-regimes in Central Asia. The desire of the US to push the Russians out and minimise the Chinese presence in the region could not be entirely ruled out as a factor in the increasing importance of India in the US strategy, their agreement on nuclear cooperation pointed to some changes in the US' South Asia strategy. The stand taken by the governments in the Central Asian states, particularly Kazakhstan and also Uzbekistan (which had recently withdrawn from the EU and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) was especially significant. The author pointed out that the US deployment in Afghanistan was very extensive, with the largest number of troops in the south and east; the US was also the largest aid giver. Pakistan is far from stable and India-Pakistan ties are problematic, as also Pakistan-Afghanistan relations. The Pak-Taliban linkages have been corroborated from various sources but there are some disagreements between the US and the UK on the ways and methods of dealing with the situation, the latter favouring negotiations. All these factors will have to be thoroughly analysed in reconciling the different forces and promoting peace in Afghanistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asia Pacific is a global growth engine and remaining cognizant to this fact, the US is striving to maintain its regional supremacy. China has achieved a remarkable growth in last two decades while the US was involved in its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The current transformation of China at global landscape forced the US policy makers to revisit and review their strategic priorities in Asia Pacific to harness the China's expanding political clout. Thus, Sino-US strategic engagement in Asia-Pacific is quite significant under the prevailing geo-political landscape and deems thorough research. The US-China strategic engagement in Asia-Pacific is a blend of cooperation and competition simultaneously. In keeping with the core realist theories and postulates of power transition, the US is and will remain as a dominant power. However, economically the US is giving away its some influence which is taken over by China. The US think tanks consider China as a competitor and hence managing China's rise is a test case for the US diplomacy in Asia-Pacific. China as a rising power has posed a substantial challenge to the US led global order. The research concludes that contrary to the US approaches the China is currently focusing on soft power approach and pursuing a peaceful rise to extend its economic signature across the globe to economically influence the regional geo-political order. US-China clash of geo-strategic interests in Asia-Pacific has led to regional polarization and the phenomenon is quite devastating in South Asia with two nuclear armed arch rivals India-Pakistan. Thus, the developing global scenarios merits visibility of both powers strategies so that the world may not witness another catastrophe owing to great powers engagement. Pakistan also needs to put its house in order and keep its policy open instead of aligning any power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the views of U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on several topics, examining his book "On China." It comments on his ability draw upon historical lessons, exploring his comparison of the United States' gradual withdrawal from the Afghan War to the American withdrawal in the Vietnam War. The author also reflects on Kissinger's views on China and his learning on the subject. Kissinger's views of tensions between Pakistan and India and a possible World War III are also considered.

A collection of world news briefs is provided taking the form of a time line of signal events in a number of countries taking place during January 2010. Information is provided on Afghanistan where the United Nations reported that over two thousand Afghans died in the Afghan War during 2009. In Chile Sebastián Piñera won a presidential election beating Eduardo Frei. Events in China included the fact that the country became the leading exporter of goods in the world and that Google, an internet search engine firm, announced an end of cooperation with the Chinese government.

The article discusses developments in military affairs around the world. Topics include the war in Afghanistan, the Chinese military's reaction to a 2008 earthquake in Sichuan province, violent unrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and defense-related issues that U.S. President Barack Obama will have to contend with.