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The US-China Rivalry in the Maritime Domain: The Case of South China Sea (72087)

Thursday, 29 June 2023 13:55
Session: Session 2
Room: Room A (Live Stream)
Presentation Type:Live-Stream Presentation

The US-China rivalry apart from being at the global sphere is also prevalent in the maritime domain in the South China Sea (SCS). SCS is important for the global trade and commerce that is marred by the unresolved maritime disputes between China and the Southeast Asian states, mainly Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. In the last couple of years, there has been increasing naval presence as China is asserting its position and ignoring that of other claimant states that has led to the US intervention. For the US, China’s growing naval presence poses challenge for the global trade by hampering the freedom of navigation, creates security predicaments to its allies in the region and challenges its preeminent maritime power in the Western Pacific. The paper examines the US-China rivalry in SCS that has implication on the region and aggravates the conflict.

Authors:
Juliet Susanna Lobo, Independent Scholar, India

German Security and Energy Policy and Its Change in Ukraine War (72082)

Thursday, 29 June 2023 13:05
Session: Session 2
Room: Room A (Live Stream)
Presentation Type:Live-Stream Presentation

Researchers have debated that the Ukraine War has been a struggle of "democracy vs. authoritarianism" between western countries and Russia. However, it is questionable if this view reflects the real situation. Moreover, the foregoing researches do not clarify the change of German security and energy policy from the idea level.
The presenter insists that the Ukraine war should be described as "Machtpolitik vs. post-power politics". Furthermore, he clarifies the change of German security and energy, as well as Indo-pacific and Eurasian policy of the Scholz government from the idea level.
German foreign policy militarized. Additionally, Germany escaped from dependency on Russia for energy structure. German "Leitbild" (guiding view) of foreign policy has been the integrated body consisting of ideas of "civilian power"- and "a normal great power"-These. However, it strengthened those of “a normal great power”-These during the Ukraine War, although it stands by the post-power political camp.

Authors:
Yoichi Nakagawa, Ritsumeikan University, Japan

“Fake News” Through the Lens of the State: A Thematic Analysis and Illustration of the Non-decision by the Duterte Administration (72080)

Thursday, 29 June 2023 13:30
Session: Session 2
Room: Room B (Live Stream)
Presentation Type:Live-Stream Presentation

While being regarded as the "social media capital of the world", The Philippines is also infamous for being the “patient zero" of the fake news crisis. Despite several proposals, the Philippines is yet to enact legal measures against fake news. This study presents the case of the Philippines as an illustration of non-decision and mobilization of bias by Bachrach and Baratz (1963). Thematic analysis of the news articles published by the Philippine News Agency paints a covert move by the Duterte administration to control the fake news crisis and narrative to benefit their vested political agenda. While there were calls and efforts by the state, primarily by the Presidential Communications Operations Office, in reality, these only mask the simultaneous attacks on dissidents, the press, and the opposition. Our analysis of 145 online news articles from August 2017 to June 2022, tells how the Duterte administration took advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic vis-à-vis the proliferation of fake news to justify its draconian and arbitrary rule.

Authors:
Georgeline Jaca, Osaka School of International Public Policy, Osaka University, Japan

From the Screen to the Ballot Box: Comparative Experiences of Electoral Disinformation on Social Media in Southeast Asia (72078)

Thursday, 29 June 2023 14:20
Session: Session 2
Room: Room B (Live Stream)
Presentation Type:Live-Stream Presentation

The use of social media for political purposes is not a new phenomenon. The 2016 presidential elections in the United States is an initial case of how “fake news” spread on social media platforms such as Facebook can affect electoral outcomes. Recent elections held in the Southeast Asia region have also witnessed how the propagation of political disinformation on social media can impact electoral and other democratic processes. In the Philippines, events surrounding the May 2022 presidential elections showed the biggest, most organized, and most polarized electoral use of social media in the country to date. The same observation holds true in concluded and upcoming elections within the region such as Malaysia in 2018, Indonesia in 2019, and Thailand this 2023. This paper thus seeks to compare and contrast the cases of these four countries grappling with the problem of electoral disinformation on social media. This paper focuses on enabling factors that create the environment for the cultivation and spread of disinformation, prevalent disinformation narratives within the context of elections, steps undertaken to address this problem, and the corresponding impacts of this issue on democracy.

Authors:
Maria Elize Mendoza, University of the Philippines Diliman, Philippines

The New Geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific and India-Australia Relations (72075)

Saturday, 1 July 2023 09:00
Session: Session 1
Room: Lecture Room 2
Presentation Type:Oral Presentation

The new geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific is characterized by the rise of China and the relative decline of the United States and the resultant competition between the two. The complex security situation of the Indo-Pacific compel middle powers to look beyond their traditional approaches for protecting their interests against vagaries of great power rivalry. This scenario pushes the middle powers like India and Australia into a difficult balancing, complex policy choices and security challenges. The interest of India -Australia converge at multiple levels with underlying challenges in the context of the new geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific. In this context middle power coalition between India and Australia raises a number of pertinent questions and issues related to protection of their economic, geopolitical and security interests. This paper analyses the key drivers of new geopolitics on the Indo – Pacific, perceptions, interests and policies of India and Australia, priority the areas of their cooperation, the challenges they face and the complexity of balancing between US and China in the framework of middle power coalition theory.

Authors:
Josukutty C, University of Kerala, India
SInu Kunjumon, University of Kerala, India

Consolidating People’s Voices for Participation in National Elections: An Assessment and Bridging of Identified Gaps Through ICT Initiatives (72068)

Thursday, 29 June 2023 13:55
Session: Session 2
Room: Room B (Live Stream)
Presentation Type:Live-Stream Presentation

In addressing the politically contested elitism in the Philippines, this paper discusses the idea of bridging populist demands to national governance and explores Information and Communications Technology (ICT) resources as a tool for reaching populist overtones. In the discussion, a possibility has been shown with the inclusion of ICT resources to empower local citizens in their participation of sharing their piece to national legislations as well as integrating an ICT strategy to accommodate these various demands. However, there are a lot of realities to be acknowledged like the existence of several populist idea “gaps.” This paper highlights 1) that populist demands and opinions are possible opportunities for dialogue, consultation, coordination, and collaboration with other public and private institutions and agencies; 2) a need to establish and re-build strategies for ICT inclusion even in the rural communities - a springboard to widen the work of e-governance in the country.

Authors:
Kevin John Maddela, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, Philippines

Liberal Convergence or Differential Exclusion? Path Dependency in Migration Policy (72065)

Thursday, 29 June 2023 16:15
Session: Session 3
Room: Room A (Live Stream)
Presentation Type:Live-Stream Presentation

The rapid industrialization of countries in East Asia and the resulting labor shortage is challenging established theories in research on migration policy. Studies argue that the persistence of temporary inclusion of migrants in this region contests the liberal convergence thesis, which suggests that democratization inevitably leads to more open migration policies. This article revisits the theoretical debate with attention to conceptual equivalence across time and space. In a comparative policy study of South Korea and Japan, we examine the development of temporary labor migration programs (Employment Permit System and Specified Skilled Worker program) and demonstrate how the two countries alternately intersect and diverge throughout time and across dimensions of policy. The findings challenge path dependent theories of migration policy and highlight the significance of historically informed and empirically equivalent analysis of migration policies.

Authors:
Sardar Ahmed Shah, Osaka University, Japan
Felicia Istad, Korea University, South Korea

Quantitative analysis of ICWC Bulletins on the Aral Sea (72062)

Friday, 30 June 2023 15:15
Session: Session 3
Room: Lecture Room 1
Presentation Type:Oral Presentation

This study quantifies the differences in diplomatic positions and economic concerns on problems of the Aral Sea and water resources among five central asian countries by analysing ICWC Bulletins from 1996 to 2022 with text-mining techniques such as Correspondence analysis and Co-occurrence networks

This study categorises presidential speeches and joint statements in Bulletins into 'countries with water sources' or 'countries without water sources' and also classifies them by a partner country. These classifications allow analysing the impact of "water sources of Aral Sea within their territories" and the effect of 'which country is a partner when issuing a joint statement.'

The results of the analysis possibly suggest that 'countries with water sources' are willing to use the water sources for energy production and 'countries without water sources' intend to prevent 'countries with water sources' from using water sources without consideration by emphasising bilateral cooperations or problems of the Aral Sea.

Authors:
Akira Sano, University of Tsukuba, Japan

Women’s Political Participation, Policymaking and Democracy in Indonesia (72060)

Saturday, 1 July 2023 11:00
Session: Session 2
Room: Lecture Room 1
Presentation Type:Oral Presentation

Issues related to women's political representation, especially in Indonesia, have become an important issue lately. However, what has happened so far is that the patriarchal system is still inherent in some areas. Men are considered as rulers in several parts of the history of human civilization, while women are as if only taking care of the household and belonging to men. This triggers the emergence of issues regarding the issue of gender roles and positions between men and women. In fact, many countries, especially Indonesia, adhere to a democratic political system that must involve all members of society, including women. As regulated in the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia article 19 where everyone has the right to express opinions, where women also have the right to participate in political activities and decision making. This paper will explain how women participate in world politics and explain women's representation in Indonesia.

Authors:
Dinda Kalpika Putri, Warmadewa University, Indonesia

Examining the Role of Civil Society Organizations on ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights Agenda-Setting: Projecting a Post-Pandemic Trajectory (72057)

Thursday, 29 June 2023 15:50
Session: Session 3
Room: Room A (Live Stream)
Presentation Type:Live-Stream Presentation

Prior to the 1990s, the ASEAN region was hostile to human rights civil society organizations (CSOs) and the discourse that they brought. This hostility dissipated with the end of the Cold War. ASEAN's grudging shift to soften its stance towards human rights was brought about not only by global trends and the openness of ASEAN member-states and officials. Several scholars have also noted the contribution of CSOs in this progress. With ASEAN’s shift, CSOs had been active to realize their desire to institutionalize a human rights mechanism in the region. Their campaign reached its peak with the inauguration of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) in 2009. Despite this development, CSOs’ participation in human rights institutionalization became limited. It was only in 2015 when AICHR adopted guidelines to facilitate engagement with CSOs. As of 2021, 30 organizations are affiliated with AICHR. This paper seeks to provide an initial assessment on the extent of the role of CSOs in shaping AICHR's human rights agenda. Two time-periods are examined: (1) initial years of AICHR-CSO relations (2015-2019); and (2) pandemic years (2020-2023). This is accomplished through a thematic analysis of official statements gathered from AICHR and partner CSOs during official engagements. The analysis likewise projects the post-pandemic prospects in human rights agenda-setting of AICHR-CSO relations.

Authors:
Mark Vincent Nogra, West Visayas State University, Philippines
Reymund Flores, West Visayas State University, Philippines
Lenlen Sacapaño, West Visayas State University, Philippines