China has been considered to be a sleeping giant but is now actively playing its role in regional and world politics. There are many reasons behind the shift in China’s foreign policy from ignoring multi-lateral diplomacy to owning it, one of which is the economic rise of China due to its increasing energy demands. The “good neighbor policy” was introduced by Chinese President Hu Jintao in 2003, making China endorse interdependence regionally and internationally, instead of competition. This policy of China’s turned its surrounding regions into a trading hub. Pakistan has always had a very friendly foreign policy with its neighboring country China. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is proof of the Pak–China friendship in the 21st century. This corridor is not only advantageous for China and Pakistan but will bring stability to the South Asian region as well. This descriptive-analytical study dichotomizes the concept of “win-win cooperation” by applying it to CPEC as a win-win outcome for both China and Pakistan. The study describes that CPEC is a chance for Pakistan to become stronger as a country in the international community and will work as a booster for China in becoming the topmost economy of the world. The study highlights the key objective of CPEC by substantiating that better logistics, developed infrastructure, and improved transportation among countries are vital for economic stability and progress. Further, CPEC can revitalize the economy of Pakistan by enhancing infrastructural and social progress while giving a secure and short route to China as a replacement for the Strait of Malacca, increasing and speeding up the trading and investment activities of China throughout the world.

The President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, appointed two former military generals, Ryamizard Ryacudu (2014–2019) and Prabowo Subianto (2019–present), for the first- and second-term defence minister positions consecutively. The appointment of military officers – either retired or active – as defence ministers has been perceived as a recipe for potential democratic setbacks. Current studies on the quasi-civilian defence minister mainly focused on explaining the logic behind such appointments. On the other hand, our study attempts to test the argument about whether the decision to select former military figures to lead the Ministry of Defence undermines civilian control. This article examines: (1) the institutional arrangement of the defence establishment; (2) the composition of the Indonesian Ministry of Defence's leadership structure; and (3) the leadership activities and key initiatives. The findings are that military officers have indeed dominated the ministry's organisational structure. Nevertheless, such domination did not automatically translate into the deterioration of civilian supremacy as the institutional arrangement limits those quasi-civilian defence ministers’ manoeuvres.

To promote the “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI) in India, it is necessary to highlight the economic attributes, highlight the role of the market, cultivate new growth points of cooperation, and consolidate the foundation of common interests. Industrial cooperation is an important part not only of the “Belt and Road” construction, but also of economic cooperation between the countries. The pharmaceutical product industry is India's most advantageous industry, and it is also an industry with which India hopes to strengthen cooperation with China. In the context of “One Belt, One Road,” China–India pharmaceutical industry cooperation faces both rare opportunities and some challenges, but from the perspective of development trends, obstacles are gradually reducing. Promoting Sino–Indian pharmaceutical industry cooperation requires the joint efforts of government departments, industry chambers of commerce, and pharmaceutical companies. The key is to choose the right cooperation field and path. Strengthening China–India pharmaceutical industry cooperation is conducive to fostering new growth points for China–India economic cooperation, reducing India's concerns about the BRI, and promoting the BRI in India and the entire South Asian region.

Why do candidates enter an electoral contest? The Rational Model of Candidate Entry offers a parsimonious explanation focusing on the probability of victory, the benefit of holding office, as well as campaign costs. Quality challengers enter when there is a high probability of victory, while long-shot races attract amateurs. In most contexts, the presence of parties makes it difficult to disentangle candidate decisions from organizational recruitment strategies. To test the basic assumptions of the Rational Model of Candidate Entry, this Research Note examines candidate entry decisions in Indonesia's Regional Representative Council ( Dewan Perwakilan Daerah, DPD), the world's largest elected non-partisan assembly. An analysis of constituency-level candidate lists in all four DPD elections indicates that entry decisions are affected by the perceived probability of victory, with fewer candidates entering in constituencies with a more concentrated vote in the previous election. Potentially winnable DPD races attract a greater number of experienced challengers, partisan amateurs, and non-partisan amateurs. Only the number of non-partisan amateur candidates consistently correlates with socio-demographic variables, further underlining the importance of electoral context for ambitious, politically savvy elites. The findings affirm the broad applicability of the Rational Model and spotlight Indonesia's often-overlooked DPD as a venue of strategic behaviour.

With the dawn of the 21st century, a global political paradigmatic shift was witnessed; no longer was Europe considered to be the focal point of geopolitics. Now, all eyes were on the Asian continent; with the brewing Afghan conflict, the arguably rising global hegemony contender China, the convoluted Iranian crisis, rapidly rising economic powers in South-East Asia, the key strategic power of the Indian Ocean and India and, amidst all, the dramatically increasing footprint of the United States. Consequently, as states with opposing interests were ferociously competing for regional dominance, a great degree of political polarization was induced in the regional geopolitical structure, which in turn forced political realignments. Old foes became friends (India and the United States), whereas decades old alliances broke (Pakistan and the United States). This dramatic regional political paradigm shift has forced Pakistan to completely transform its foreign policy, from a pro-western to an eastern/regional approach. This article explores how the changing regional geopolitical dynamics is affecting Pakistan’s foreign policy. It does so by critically analysing the geopolitical realignments in the region and the myriad regional conflicts/crises, while predominantly highlighting their implications for Pakistan. A mix-approach based on descriptive and critical analytical qualitative research methods has been adopted to conduct this study.

This research aims to establish an analytical framework for the policymaking process of Thai political parties from the 2001 general election to the present. Having reviewed theories on political parties and empirical research on finding the relation between the political and economic contexts, the political parties, and their organizations, the article finds that the policymaking process of political parties consists of: 1) centralization, 2) emphasis on solving everyday life’s economy, 3) being consistent with state policy and plan, and 4) similarities with the policies of political parties with success in elections. According to analysis of political parties’ policy structures and interviews with academicians and the informants from political parties, the article finds that the executive committee of political parties plays an enormous role in the policymaking process and concentrates on solving the problems of everyday life’s economy for low-income people. Moreover, political parties are likely to make policies in accordance with the state plan and the Thai-Rak-Thai Party’s policies. The implication is that the policymaking process of Thai political parties is vertically structured and rarely open to the rank-and-file to participate in. The participatory policymaking process becomes key to improving the quality of Thai democracy in the long run.

This work contributes to the few case studies that have examined the challenges of implementing transitional justice in displacement contexts by using the specific case of the displacement trend in the Conventional Basin of Lake Chad to further underscore the dynamics of the problems involved in the issue. The work finds that lack of commitment to the implementation of regional policy frameworks and also the numerous weaknesses of the demobilization, deradicalization and reintegration (DDR) programmes implemented in the region have all had specific hindrances, especially in the social and political (re)integration of displaced persons in the region. The work therefore calls for more regional efforts that take into account clearer screening methods, accountability measures, as well as the (re)integration of displaced persons in the study area into the wider systems of their various home countries.

In the past decade, Hong Kong has undergone various large-scale protests, such as the 2014 Occupy Central and the 2019 Anti-Extradition Protests. One of the reasons for such popular grievance was that the government could not grasp the change in public sentiment and opinion. Before the handover, although the governor held the centralized power, the colonial authorities still had ways to collect public opinions to avoid departing from the citizens’ views. The model was called the ‘administrative absorption of politics’. The Chinese authorities attempted to preserve the original advisory system to depoliticize the policy-making process after the handover. This article contributes to the understanding of the development of the cooptation system in Hong Kong and its failure in the 2010s based on the insights of legislators. It also highlights the importance of participation and salient control in the cooptation system to balance public views in a semi-authoritarian society.

The paper studies the gendered impact of the pandemic in a war ravaged Afghanistan. For majority of Afghan women, the onslaught of Covid has exacerbated their already dire condition and adversely impacted their social, economical, physical and cultural aspects of life. The research also underlines that the imposition of lockdown has caused the reversal of war gains. The paper also highlights the notable works of various Afghan women carried out during the corona pandemic that has contributed to their emancipation and upliftment of the society at large. It brings forth strong and courageous women who are combatting terrorism, everyday conflicts, frequent bombings, societal restrictions and now the deadly coronavirus and yet contributing majorly in re-building the Afghan society. This paper is an attempt to dispel the dominant narrative of their state of helplessness and despondency around Afghan women before the withdrawal of American troops and Taliban takeover. Both primary and secondary sources have complemented this research.

The economic and political influence of China in the Asian region is growing amidst global geopolitical challenges. Economic corridors such as the new Silk Road have been identified as enablers of strategic growth and geo-economic power development in a context of significant political instability. Beijing's strategic approach and the importance of Pakistan and Iran to its aspiration to realise China's dream through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are examined in this comparative study. The rising role of China in the region and its engagement with Iran and Pakistan and the part that these two countries can play need careful attention. Political and economic joint interests have brought together these three countries with significant links to China's economic corridor and energy projections. But the future of the partnership is very fragile as it is characterised by historical hostilities between Iran and Pakistan that can act as a major impendiment to China's ability to progress. In addition, economic and trade figures show an unbalanced relationship that clearly favours Chinese interests. The BRI and the Chinese plans for those territories still remain blurry as any long-term crisis that characterises fragile and complex international alliances.