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This paper will answer the question of the viability of Vietnam’s strategy for survival. How sustainable is the enmeshment and balancing strategy? Due to its geopolitical position, Vietnam has found itself on a precipice: almost all significant and regional powers find themselves seeking a partnership with Vietnam. Vietnam has also pursued these partnerships, hoping to stabilize and strengthen the state’s position. It is all the more important due to rising tensions in the South China Sea. Independence and survival are overreaching themes of Vietnamese foreign policy. The main strategy is for great and regional powers to balance each other out in the region, allowing Vietnam the greatest possible decision-making freedom. There is however a question of the viability of that balancing strategy. Certain strategic partnerships, like those with India, Japan, or the US, have been developed, but only to a degree, and their viability has yet to be tested. It is possible that this course of action, calculated to balance China’s influence in the region, might backfire in the end, returning the region to the Chinese sphere of influence as predicted by David Kang.

The purpose of this article is to analyze the dominant role of transactional drivers in India’s foreign policy towards the European Union (EU). The article hypothesizes that India is trying to use its relationship with the EU in primarily transactional ways to achieve its own foreign and economic policy goals rather than to advance shared norms and values as democratic powers. Those goals include (i) leveraging its global image and reputation as a trusted and credible international partner, (ii) gaining greater regional and global influence, (iii) attracting foreign investment and boosting Indian exports. The article begins by explaining the concept of transactionalism in foreign policies. Secondly, it identifies the main drivers of India-EU relations with a special focus on (i) the concept of non-alignment and strategic autonomy in India’s foreign policy, (ii) common norms and values shared by India and the EU, (iii) economic cooperation between India and the EU. Thirdly, it assesses the transactional dimensions of the drivers of Indian foreign policy toward the EU discussed in the preceding sections. Finally, it evaluates the significance of India’s attempts to use its relations with the EU to achieve its own foreign and economic policy goals, including with respect to the implications for the EU’s efforts to project itself as a normative power in relations with India.

The Attitude of the United States Towards the Communist Party of China (1944–1946)

The article represents the first part of a comprehensive scientific endeavor dedicated to the description and analysis of the attitudes held by high-ranking US officials towards the Chinese Communist Party from 1944 to 1949. This initial segment focuses on the period from July 1944, marking the commencement of the so-called "Dixie mission" in China, to the conclusion of March 1946, coinciding with the country's outbreak of the civil war. Within this framework, the article presents, analyzes, and underscores the diversity and changeability of American perspectives and opinions regarding the CCP. It explores their ideas, actions, and connections with Soviet Russia. A particular emphasis is placed on elucidating the alterations in these opinions over time. The central hypothesis posits that the shifts in attitudes were driven by changes in both the internal and external environments, encompassing developments within China and the global context. Furthermore, it attributes alterations to American interactions with CCP and KMT officials, leading to modifications in their identities. The article employs a constructivist approach, alongside a realist perspective, in researching international relations throughout the text.

The book under review is a collection of essays analyzing Pakistan’s past, attempting to reevaluate it in a critical, myth-debunking way, and describing the country’s present state while formulating some prescriptions for the future. Many parts of the book reveal the author’s deep insight, showing the fallacies of the official discourse in Pakistan. However, Hoodbhoy’s discourse is often flawed by his disdain for religion, resulting in shallow and biased (if not simply wrong) analyses of Islamic-based thought, and by his inability to reconcile his commitment to modernism as a foundation of good politics with democratic principles.

My Second Home China. Jan Rowiński in Memoriam

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The Role of the Belt and Road Initiative in Balancing Trade Relations between Poland and China: An Input-Output Analysis

Trade relations between Poland and China remain asymmetric. The introduction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its related formats was intended to balance trade relations between China and its trading partners. The study aims to track the value-added flows between Poland and China. Two research questions were posed: 1) whether Chinese initiatives aimed at balancing trade relations are reflected in more balanced flows of added value between Poland and China; 2) whether the role of Poland as a supplier of added value to China is growing as a result of the introduction of BRI and related initiatives. The study used Inter-Country Input-Output in input-output models. The findings show that Poland’s position in global production links with China has deteriorated in many industries and plays a minor role in the Chinese industry. On the other hand, BRI had a very limited impact on balancing the value-added flows between China and Poland only in a few industries.

Ho Chi Minh and the Vietnamese School of Diplomacy. A Pragmatic Approach to the Traditional Narrative

The aim of the article is to define and analyze the specific, traditional features of Vietnamese diplomacy that are associated with the international activities of the first Vietnamese president, Ho Chi Minh (1890–1969). The basis of the Vietnamese leader’s official rhetoric is communist (Marxist-Leninist) ideology, which, adapted to Vietnamese realities, is often referred to as hoshiminism. Alongside communist ideas in Ho’s speeches and activities, patriotism and nationalism or sovereign decision-making should be mentioned. These are reflected in the documents of the recent 13th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, a brief analysis of which in the context of contemporary diplomacy is presented in the article. The blending of global and regional trends, the ability to navigate the tangle of interests of the great powers, to extract as much benefit for oneself as possible from the contradictions of their interests, to build an image of a flexible, friendly, pragmatic state have all been adopted from the war period are characteristics reflected in the term used for Vietnam’s diplomacy today – ‘bamboo diplomacy’.

The Role of (Post)memory and Film in the South Korean National Narrative and its Impact on Relations with Japan

There seems to be a barrier in relations between Japan and South Korea that, despite shared interests and values, is an obstacle to building a lasting reconciliation. Political solutions that are supposed to be permanent and unchangeable (such as the agreement on comfort women) are being undermined. The idea of unresolved historical disputes and the lack of sufficient apologies has been ingrained in South Korea, which influences the perception of Japan as a dishonest partner. Subsequently, the brutality of authoritarian rule and the restriction of civil rights became associated with the legacy of the colonial period. Although political elites on both sides agree on the need to build future- oriented relationships, these efforts encounter internal resistance. Analysis of the role played by the collective memory of the colonial period allows us to notice antagonisms that lead to the reification of reality in which lasting reconciliation without solving historical disputes is impossible. Using the film, a post-memory with a strongly emotional tone is constructed, reinforcing anti-Japanese resentments. The analysis of the development of film narratives about the colonial period serves to capture changes in the national discourse and leads to conclusions regarding the impact not only on relations with Japan, but also on the connection between the anti-colonial discourse and the criticism of authoritarian power. The rhetorical vision presented in the films has been so deeply rooted in the national narrative that changing it seems extremely difficult - which is why it constantly threatens the building of lasting reconciliation with Japan.

Central Europe in the Chinese mirror: taking stock of impressions. Book Review: China in Central Europe Seeking Allies, Creating Tensions by Gabriela Pleschova

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Review of Daughters of the Samurai: A Journey from East to West and Back by Janice P. Nimura

Review of Współczesne społeczeństwo Azji i Pacyfiku (Contemporary Society in Asia and the Pacific region) edited by Sylwia Piechocińska-Para