Therefore, the seeker after the truth is not one who studies the writings of the ancients and, following his natural disposition, puts his trust in them, but rather the one who suspects his faith in them and questions what he gathers from them, the one who submits to argument and demonstration, and not to the sayings of a human being whose nature is fraught with all kinds of imperfection and de‹ciency. Thus the duty of the man who investigates the writings of scientists, if learning the truth is his goal, is to make himself the enemy of all that he reads, and, applying his mind to the core and margins of its content, attack it from every side. He should also suspect himself as he performs his critical examination of it, so that he may avoid falling into either prejudice or leniency. (Ibn al-Haytham)1

국제정치이론 = Theory of international politics

This article reviews the dynamics of conflict and cooperation between sub-national administrative jurisdictions in China, and assesses the implications of these dynamics for its transboundary waterways. The article argues that domestic hydopolitics can rival the international variety in both complexity and contentiousness. This is especially true in China because of its marked fiscal-economic decentralization, which creates considerable interjurisdictional conflict. These internal politics may help explain tension between China and its neighbours over transboundary rivers, and future research should attempt to more fully link the domestic and international arenas.

China’s domestic hydropolitics: an assessment and implications for international transboundary dynamics

Assessing the maturity of China's seven carbon trading pilots

Conflicts are an unavoidable part of the organization but what is important is how the organization determines the root cause of the conflicts and manages them. This study aims to investiga...

Investigation and implementation of conflict management strategies to minimize conflicts in the construction industry

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/apv.12108

Dams and state security: Damming the 3S rivers as a threat to Cambodian state security

East Asia represents a remarkable example of a region that has transformed from one of the most violent in the world, in terms of interstate wars and internationalised intrastate conflicts, towards a relatively peaceful region. What explains East Asian peace? This study adopts an institutional perspective, arguing that a crucial role in the creation and development of East Asia’s peace, and in the Mekong region in particular, has been the emergence of transnational river cooperation in the Mekong Basin. It examines the nature and drivers of such institutional cooperation. Explanations can be found in a combination of external support from third parties, and an internal economic growth imperative held by the Mekong states themselves. It provides useful policy lessons for the creation and development of peace and cooperation through institution-building.

Rivers of Peace Institutionalised Mekong River Cooperation and the East Asian Peace

There is a growing body of literature explaining agreements over international river disputes. However, beyond individual case analysis, no quantitative study has been undertaken on the role of third parties in settling river disputes in the regions of the world that are most vulnerable to global climate change. Moreover, there has been no study that combines quantitative and qualitative approaches and provides a systematic explanation within a single analytical framework. This study aims to fill these gaps by combining quantitative and qualitative methods, developing a novel theoretical framework called transcendency, and conducting the first large-n study examining the role of third parties in the emergence of river agreements in Asia and Africa during the time period 1948-2007. Through utilising new data on the role of third parties in river disputes, this study shows that third party involvement in the conflict management of river disputes increases the likelihood of reaching river agreements. Through a process tracing case studies of third party engagement in international river disputes in Central Asia, this study also identifies how and why third parties reach agreements. Drawing on the transcendency framework, I argue that third party actors facilitate riparian cooperation by addressing three transcendency problems: securitisation of river systems, legal ambiguity and credibility problems. River water has a superordinate value, therefore river issues are often perceived as zero-sum security issues. At the same time, however, river water also has utilitarian value due to its use in addressing the development and economic needs of states. One of the reasons why third parties are able to advance cooperation is because third parties can assist in the de-securitisation of the water issue and shift the focus towards the utilitarian aspects of river disputes. Secondly, third parties can address issues related to legal ambiguity and help to clarify the positions of riparian states from a normative perspective. Thirdly, where upstream/downstream relationships exist, third parties can assist in obtaining and providing the necessary information to address issues of information asymmetry and incentivise parties to commit to their agreements through promises of financial support. In addition to identifying the effect and outcome of third parties in riparian disputes, this study also explains why some riparian disputes attract third party assistance whereas others do not, although this is not the major focus of the study. The study demonstrates that a third party’s strategic interest in the resolution of a dispute as well as a riparian state’s openness to the international community, particularly a riparian state’s relationship to powerful Western states, will determine if riparian states are willing to engage third party assistance in managing riparian conflict. Given the current uncertainty around the security challenges of climate change and water stress, this research contributes to our understanding of how to…

Rivers of Peace: Third Party Conflict Management of Transboundary River Disputes

Purpose – This paper aims to fill the gaps by conducting the first large n study examining the role of third parties in the emergence of river agreements in Asia and Africa during the time period 1948-2007. There is a growing literature on what explains agreements in river disputes. However, beyond individual case analysis, little systematic study has been done on the role of third parties in settling river disputes through agreement, in particular on the regions that are mostly affected by the global climate change. Design/methodology/approach – Through utilising new data on the role of third parties in river disputes, this study shows that third party involvement in the conflict management of river disputes increases the likelihood of reaching river agreements. Findings – The findings suggest that third parties use both diplomatic and economic means to increase the likelihood of emergence of river agreements, and both strategies are equally important to induce formalised cooperation. Research limitation...

Elvira Bobekova

Papers

Rivers of Peace Institutionalised Mekong River Cooperation and the East Asian Peace

Rivers of Peace: Third Party Conflict Management of Transboundary River Disputes

Third party conflict management of transboundary river disputes