ABSTRACT The Indo‐Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) is an unconventional economic initiative in that it excludes tariff reductions and market access. Instead, it focuses on trade, supply‐chain resilience, sustainability, and fair practices. However, without conventional trade incentives, the IPEF may struggle to secure long‐term commitment for costly reforms, which is a paradox that requires some significant unraveling. This study contributes to the search for solutions to the paradox by attempting to apply the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) to resolve this contradiction. TRIZ identifies and addresses conflicts within systems by balancing opposing objectives. In the context of the IPEF, the challenge is incorporating trade incentives to enhance commitment without undermining its non‐traditional design. Using TRIZ's “engineering contradiction” approach, the study proposes four innovative solutions by strengthening the IPEF's effectiveness while preserving its unique structure. The findings offer strategic insights to ensure sustained engagement and drive inclusive economic growth in the Indo‐Pacific region.

ABSTRACT This study explores the impact of telephone communication, ICT use, and digitalization on healthcare performance in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA), a region facing challenges such as limited infrastructure and resources, geographical barriers, and a high disease burden. It uses panel vector autoregressive (PVAR) GMM‐style estimation, variance decomposition, and Granger causality methods, and data from 1998 to 2022. Advancements in telephone communication, measured by fixed telephone subscriptions, significantly enhance economic growth, government expenditure, and population growth, supporting the hypothesis that improved ICT infrastructure contributes to broader socio‐economic and healthcare benefits. Increased ICT metrics, including ICT goods' exports and imports, correlate with reduced malaria incidence, aligning with the hypothesis that ICT engagement positively affects health outcomes, though the effect on tuberculosis is less pronounced. Digitalization, represented by fixed broadband subscriptions, significantly reduces both malaria and tuberculosis incidences, confirming the hypothesis that digital infrastructure plays a critical role in improving health performance.

ABSTRACT This study conducts a comprehensive and critical examination of the interplay between development assistance and strategic geopolitical objectives in the European Union's (EU) engagement with African crises. Although the EU positions itself as a normative power committed to advancing peace, development, and human rights, its practices often reflect a tension between liberal ideals and realist calculations. Drawing on a multi‐theoretical framework, including postcolonial critique, structural realism, and liberal institutionalism, the article explores how development aid functions both as a soft power instrument and a mechanism for crisis management. It analyzes the deployment of conditional aid, the securitization of development, and the instrumental use of humanitarian rhetoric to secure strategic influence, particularly in North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and the Sahel region. The study also interrogates the dissonance between the EU's professed commitment to equal partnership and the persistence of asymmetrical relationships rooted in postcolonial legacies. The findings of this research reveal significant inconsistencies between the EU's discourse and its foreign policy actions on the ground. These contradictions not only erode the EU's credibility as a reliable partner but also hinder the development of authentic, reciprocal EU–Africa relations. The study ultimately proposes a reimagining of these relations, centered on decolonized aid structures, the genuine empowerment of African stakeholders, and the clear separation of development cooperation from coercive strategic objectives rooted in European self‐interest.

ABSTRACT After the Second World War and decolonization, the creation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has stood as a beacon of multilateral cooperation and a testament to the strength and resilience of Southeast Asian countries in their efforts to strengthen trade and economic development. Today, ASEAN has emerged as a global financial powerhouse, guiding multilateral cooperation, and occupying a pivotal role in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The ascent of China and India, particularly, has nevertheless stirred concerns in the West, as they reemerge to challenge their dominance in shaping global trade rules. The potential ensuing shift in power dynamics has prompted the United States to respond, launching in 2022 the Indo‐Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), and attempting to establish a new order in the Indo‐Pacific. This article aims to respond to the question of whether the rivalry between RCEP and the IPEF may produce adverse effects and influence geopolitical stability.

ABSTRACT The 2022 QUAD leaders' conference in Tokyo significantly influenced the world history of economic integration. The meeting coincided with the US initiation of a new economic forum, the Indo‐Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), which became effective in February 2024. This unconventional trade pact unites 14 member nations across four economic domains: commerce, supply chains, clean economy, and equitable economy. The Indo‐Pacific region is among the most populous and economically dynamic areas globally, encompassing four continents: Asia, Africa, Australia, and America. The primary concerns of the IPEF aims to address include bolstering resilience, augmenting sustainability, fostering inclusive economic growth, expanding commercial possibilities, and advancing equity and competitiveness among nations in the Indo‐Pacific area. This short guest editorial introduces the World Affairs special issue on the novel design and strategic importance of the IPEF and provides an overview of the ten article contributions it contains.

ABSTRACT India's simultaneous engagement with BRICS and the Indo‐Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) exemplifies its strategy of multi‐alignment in a multipolar world. This article argues that India's dual membership is a deliberate, neorealist‐informed balancing act designed to maximize strategic autonomy, counterbalance hegemonic influences, and advance its national interest. While BRICS serves as a platform to challenge Western‐dominated global governance, the IPEF functions as a strategic counterweight to China's regional dominance. Navigating the inherent contradiction of partnering with China in one forum while implicitly balancing it in another requires a sophisticated application of issue‐based alignment and pragmatic diplomacy. This article employs neorealist perspective to deconstruct India's calculus, concluding that its ability to sustain this equilibrium is central to its ambition of shaping a more diffuse and inclusive international order.

ABSTRACT Authoritarian developmentalism, like developmentalism more broadly, draws its strength from political narratives about “progress” and techno‐optimistic stories about the future. Defining ideal futures is always political, and in the digital age, these ideals are dominated by new technologies and globalized economies. This article revisits authoritarian developmentalism research to consider how it works alongside the technology sector. Through a joint case study of post‐oil development agendas in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and their tech‐focused urban boosterism schemes in Neom and Dubai, I show how authoritarian leaders draw on established patterns of promoting state capitalism, while also following global trends of promoting innovation economies and investing in the latest digital technologies like AI. And even as developmental regimes continue to frame their modernization agendas around the promise of national prosperity, today's authoritarian developmentalism is necessarily global as state leaders are pulled into the reward circuits of the technology sector's increasingly international hegemony.

Abstract This study offers a comprehensive analysis of military coups in postcolonial Africa, examining their frequency, structural causes, and evolving geopolitical implications. Drawing on historical data and case studies from Egypt, Sudan, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, and other countries, the article examines the intersection of domestic political failures, socioeconomic grievances, ethnic tensions, and international interventions. It highlights how military actors often exploit governance vacuums and legitimacy crises to justify seizures of power. The role of global powers—including Cold War‐era Soviet influence, Islamist alignments, and contemporary involvement by Russia and China—is critically examined, revealing how external backing continues to shape postcoup trajectories. While some recent coups have garnered widespread support, they frequently entrench authoritarian rule and delay democratic transitions. The study assesses regional and international responses, particularly the African Union's interventions, and highlights the significance of transitional justice and institutional resilience. It argues that durable democratization requires a holistic approach combining local reforms, regional solidarity, and principled global engagement.

ABSTRACT There is a growing discussion around the need for greater diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in academia. Several leading publishers actively foster DEI policies related to publishing because, in the academic ecosystem, physical, linguistic, social capital, and credibility resources are unevenly distributed. Paradoxically, however, journals that promote DEI might only publish a few article types, such as original research and review papers. We argue here that journals with an editorial policy of restricted article formats, or that offer “invitation only” articles, are incompatible with DEI principles insofar as these journals offer only a limited‐choice format of publication to authors. One upshot of this is that restrictive editorial policies may perpetuate epistemic injustice against authors with fewer resources and credibility, who may collectively be denied suitable fora in which to share ideas. In consequence, we underline a new structural form of epistemic injustice, complementing existing forms, and argue that a “first page free” comment forum should exist in all academic journals to mitigate it.

ABSTRACTThis article explores the understudied critical issue of life under military occupation, focusing on Berdiansk (Ukraine), a peaceful resort city now under occupation. While scholarly attention has been directed toward broader military and political consequences, the everyday experiences of people living in occupied cities have largely been overlooked. Berdiansk's transformation under occupation provides a poignant case for examining the phenomenon of “silence” in such cities—what it signifies. The study reveals hidden dynamics of life under occupation through indirect methods like oral interviews, social media analysis, and regional media outlets. This article contributes to urban studies by highlighting the resilience and adaptation strategies of occupied communities. It emphasizes the need for robust global discourse and action to restore sovereignty and revive community and urban life in these silenced cities.