ABSTRACTS

3 NATO’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy: Content, Motivations and Challenges

by Sun Chenghao & Wang Yexu

【Abstract】The Artificial Intelligence (AI) strategy of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has the twin strategic intent of increasing NATO’s defensive and technological capabilities while also taking the lead in standard-setting for AI governance.To that end, NATO will use previously accumulated data, new grant-based projects,and a transnational institutional network involving public and private sectors to enhance its defense capabilities with artificial intelligence technology, and fashion a NATOfriendly AI governance system that is based on its lead in setting standards. Three reasons drive NATO’s AI strategy. First, AI collaboration is helpful in fostering common identity among the NATO alliance. Second, AI’s military applications are beneficial to NATO’s“strategic transformation.” Third, it is informed by the US notion of competing to win in science and technology. At the moment, NATO is confronted with four challenges in advancing the policy. First, since there are still flaws in military applications of AI, this may lead to strategic risks. Second, as NATO’s planning and collaboration are relatively recent, this has not helped it gain a head start. Third, the alliance has a tight budget and insufficient strategic resources. Fourth, there is a significant disparity among allies in terms of perceptions and capabilities, making short-term cooperation problematic. Since NATO may invest more to the Indo-Pacific region and increasingly regard China as a“challenge”, its efforts to militarize AI applications and promote it among allies should be closely monitored.

【Key Words】the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, artificial intelligence strategy,artificial intelligence in millitary applications

25 Security Governance of Global Value Chains in the Age of Global Strategic Rivalry

by Guan Chuanjing

【Abstract】 The security of global value chains (GVCs) has become a critical issue for major economies due to the impact of the global COVID pandemic, great power competition and geopolitical conflicts. Rising global uncertainty has prompted major economies to pay more attention to resistance capacity in value chain governance, leading to an increase in policies on GVC security. But the market logic inherent in economic globalization also poses the challenge of how to strike a balance between efficiency and security. Given the connectivity and hierarchy of GVCs, many of the challenges that emerge in this age of great transformation not only affect the market and production linkages at the connectivity level,but also reshape the institutional foundation and embeddedness at the hierarchical level.Given the risks at these two levels, the main strategies of value chain security governance include diversification, localization, networking, and strategization, which can be combined into different governance modules that can either guide, regulate, or shape the value chains.Since 2020, major economies have shifted from a guiding module to a shaping module due to changes in value chain risks, and the aggressive US value chain policies have turned GVCs into an arena for competition between great powers. Faced with the risks brought about by structural changes in GVCs, emerging economies need to strengthen policy coordination to sustain the public good attribute of GVCs and enhance their ability to maintain economic security.

【Key Words】 globalization, great power strategic rivalry, economic security, global value chains, economic diplomacy

41 The “Non-neutrality” Algorithms in International Politics

by Zhang Tao & Yu Li

【Abstract】Although the neutrality of algorithmic techniques is the same as any technical tool, the algorithm, if used by state actors, becomes a tool for the state to pursue power and interests in an anarchical world, thus becoming “non-neutral”. Non-neutrality arises out of two pathways: “technological embedding” and “power empowerment.”“Technological embedding” refers to the increased asymmetry in global production and accessibility of information as a result of the embedding of algorithms into the information dissemination system. “Power empowerment” refers to the fact that algorithms can increase comprehensive national strength by enhancing a country’s political, economic and military power, and the asymmetry inherent in this empowerment makes it possible for great powers to advance their international political interests algorithmically. The non-neutrality of algorithms in international politics is mainly manifested in three ways.First, foreign political infiltration: countries with extraordinary algorithmic capability can use algorithms to manipulate the dissemination of information so that they can carry out political interference and ideational infiltration in other countries. Second, shift in military power: differences in states’ algorithmic ability to enhance their military power will increase the asymmetry of military power between countries. Third, the acquisition of economic benefits: algorithms can widen the development gap between countries because they can transform global productivity and relations of production. In essence,the non-neutral nature of algorithms is driven by the contest for power, and competition for security and interests between countries in international anarchy. Going forward,China should attach great importance to the strategic value of algorithms, promote the extensive application of algorithmic techniques in key fields so as to enhance national security and preserve and advance national interests.

【Key Words】algorithms, international politics, non-neutrality

58 Afghanistan and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Relations and Prospects after the Taliban’s Return to Power

by Li Xiaotian

【Abstract】In the past two decades from 9/11 to the complete withdrawal of US troops,the relationship between the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and Afghanistan has steadily progressed from initial contact to in-depth cooperation. After the Taliban returned to power, the SCO-Afghanistan relationship has undergone major changes,featuring both certainties and uncertainties. The certainties mainly come from the common positions and propositions expressed by SCO member states on the Afghanistan issue, and the positive policy signals sent by the Taliban based on its own interests. The uncertainties mainly result from the Taliban’s doubius ability and willingness to build a broad and inclusive political structure, make a complete break with terrorist and extremist forces whom they should effectively combat, and effectively govern their country through moderate and prudent domestic policies. In view of this, the future of the SCOAfghanistan relationship is unclear. The future direction of this relationship mainly depends on whether the Taliban could meet the common expectations of the outside world and gain wide international recognition, and on whether the interests of the SCO member states converge on the Afghanistan issue. Since changes in Afghanistan are closely related to the overall peace and development in the region, it is necessary for the SCO to normalize relations with Afghanistan, incorporate the Afghanistan issue into its regular agenda, and continue to promote the peaceful reconstruction and development of Afghanistan.

【Key Words】the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, changes in Afghanistan, the Taliban, external expectations, regional security

79 Sino-Irish Strategic Partnership for Mutual Beneficial Cooperation: An Evaluation

by Men Honghua & Yu Qinwen

【Abstract】 Developing partnerships is a vital part of China’s international strategies.With changes in the world and in global governance, the China-Ireland strategic partnership of mutual benefit, which has effectively promoted practical cooperation between the two sides in trade and regional governance, represents a new model for international collaboration. It is a highly coordinated bilateral relationship based on mutual benefit and undertaken through joint efforts to consolidate common interests and enhance mutual political trust. It is characterized by reciprocity, positivity, sustained cooperation and spill-over effects. Thanks to the bilateral consensus on advancing mutual benefit, the China-Ireland reciprocal strategic partnership has gone through several stages including initial exploration, comprehensive expansion and continued deepening, and has made substantial progress in the fields of politics, trade and national governance. Such progress is manifested in the stable, institutionalized strategic coordination mechanisms at the leadership level, dynamic reciprocity in the strategic partnership, and positivity embedded in the logic of mutual benefit. In the process of building a mutually beneficial strategic partnership, China and Ireland also face challenges arising from regional integration, interference by extraterritorial actors, and the transformation of the world situation. Thus, both sides need to properly handle their own national development and ideological differences between them to actively link up their development strategies.In addition, they can promote partnership, deepen political consensus, and expand common interests by guaranteeing bilateral cooperation through institutionalization and strengthening collaboration in non-traditional security and global governance.

【Key Words】Chinese diplomacy, Irish diplomacy, strategic partnership, strategic studies

100 The Transformation of African Security Governance and Its Structural Dilemma

by Zhang Kai

【Abstract】Addressing security issues by building multilateral institutions is the core approach to African security governance. With the transition from the Organization of African Unity (OAU) to the African Union (AU), African countries have gradually built up a peace and security architecture centered around the Peace and Security Council.The AU and regional economic communities/ regional mechanisms, sub-regional institutional arrangements, and the United Nations have also established a series of multilayered coordination mechanisms in the process of African security governance. These multilateral arrangements constitute a complex and pluralistic institutional framework for African security governance. Different from the OAU, the AU has the power to intervene in the internal affairs of member states with regard to security governance.With its goal focused on human security, African security governance is characterized by diverse norms and tends to be integrated with political governance. But the fragility of the African countries and the AU’s external dependence fundamentally limit the AU’s ability to solve African problems with African solutions. Since intra-state conflicts are the biggest challenge to Africa’s peace and security, this means that the institutional arrangement of African security governance should be oriented toward enhancing the authority of nation-states, and continuously improving states’ ability to provide security as a public good, in order to build a peaceful and stable security order on the continent.

【Key Words】African Union, African security, African peace and security architecture,African security governance

118 Populism and Political Development in Arab Countries

by Liu Chen

【Abstract】As a major tool to both mold and express public opinion and harness grassroots forces for political purposes, populism is the key factor that led to the Arab Spring and subsequent long-term turmoil in many Arab countries. Through an analysis of the root causes and the logic behind populism in the Arab world, this paper contends that the persistence and occasional outburst of populism in the region is primarily attributable to economic stagnation, failed democratic transition, poor social governance,and fragmentation of identity. A prominent feature of populism in the region is that different political forces have tried to construct the us-vs.-them dichotomy, carry out mass political mobilization and strengthen their legitimacy by stoking a sense of inequality, injustice and insecurity in social life, and encouraging people's trust and loyalty to charismatic leaders and longing for an Islamic revival. In the current regional context,populism which has been again closely intermingled with nationalism, authoritarianism and Islamism, has become a factor that could possibly intensify the confrontation between Arab governments and the people, social division and political violence, and will continue to stand in the way of the democratic transition, economic development and good governance in Arab countries.

【Key Words】Arab countries, populism, the Arab Spring, political development

139 The Biden Administration’s Southeast Asian Policy in the Context of the Indo-Pacific Strategy

by Wu Xiangjun

【Abstract】After Biden became president of the United States, his administration has generally continued the Indo-Pacific Strategy introduced during the Trump administration. Although Biden has not fundamentally elevated the importance of Southeast Asia in this strategy, it has made some revisions to Trump’s Southeast Asian policies and demonstrated in multiple ways the US determination to refocus on the region by giving it more attention than during Trump through increased diplomatic and economic engagement, and continued military presence. As Biden adjusts US Southeast Asian policy within the framework of the Indo-Pacific strategy, the US approach will be more methodical. The US will further expand the areas for bilateral and multilateral cooperation to enhance its influence in the region by strengthening valueoriented diplomacy, activating existing bilateral partnerships, and creating more areas for cooperation with Southeast Asia. Nevertheless, if the Biden administration does not really address the inconsistency between words and deeds in US Southeast Asian policy and truly elevate the importance of Southeast Asia in the its Indo-Pacific strategy, it will not be able to remove Southeast Asian doubts about US commitments and policy continuity,and will increase uncertainty in US- Southeast Asian relations.

【Key Words】Indo-Pacific strategy, the Biden administration, Southeast Asian policy,value-oriented diplomacy