Marcello Ciola’s Post

New Post: BRICS and the dialectic of creation and destruction in global politics - https://lnkd.in/gCPUQg6u

Are populists unilateralists? Populist governments are often considered a threat to multilateralism & international organizations 🌐. In our new #openaccess article in International Affairs, Agnese Pacciardi, Fredrik Söderbaum and I take a closer look at how exactly they challenge international institutions: https://lnkd.in/dpZg8FpP In their analyses of populist governments, #InternationalRelations researchers & pundits often focus on a few high-profile cases of withdrawals from multilateral institutions, such as #Brexit & the #Trump administration's exodus from several UN bodies & the Paris agreement on climate governance. It is true that populist governments often disengage from international institutions - but, as we show based on an analysis of the Trump administration 🇺🇸 & Hungary under Viktor Orbán 🇭🇺 , complete withdrawal is relatively rare when looking at the broad range of different institutions they participate in. Mostly, populist disengagement comes in other forms: rhetorical criticism, obstruction or extortion. Rather than presaging exit, such practices are mainly used strategically to induce reform, obtain concessions, or signal a commitment to populist ideology to domestic audiences. So: Instances of disengagement should not be read as proof of populists' unilateralism, but rather as attempts to reshape the landscape of international cooperation to suit what we call the populist script of cooperation (see also our book with Cambridge University Press https://lnkd.in/dNysWRSm 📕). According to the populist script, international institutions should be controlled by leaders, prioritize symbolic politics & allow à-la-carte cooperation according to domestic agendas. It thus goes against important features that researchers see as making institutions effective: independence, technocratic expertise & agenda-setting power. Therefore, our argument that populists are not unilateralists is not to say that their contestation of international institutions is inconsequential or unproblematic, to the contrary. But those invested in supporting existing institutions need to be extra sure they understand the motivations behind populist challenges in order to address them effectively. The journal issue contains a whole Special Section on "The Effects of Global #Populism", put together by the fantastic editorial team, Daniel F. Wajner, Sandra Destradi & Michael Zürn. Make sure to check out the other contributions as well! https://lnkd.in/dmWRy9Tc

https://www.euia.eu/theme/ The EUIA 2025 conference calls for submissions from established academics, practitioners, early-career researchers and doctoral candidates. Scholars from non-EU countries are strongly encouraged to submit proposals. The programme is open to a wide range of disciplines in the social sciences and humanities, as well as to interdisciplinary fields, in order to advance the debate on the EU's future priorities in the external dimension of its policies. Thematic areas for panels and papers include but are not limited to: the EU’s role in diplomacy, multilateral organisations, global governance, and international trade and investment and corresponding value chains; the international dimension of EU policy-making and its implementation (such as security, trade, monetary policies, energy, climate, gender, migration, digital governance and space); tools of European formal and informal foreign engagement (such as development aid, sanctions and migration arrangements) the EU’s relations with its neighbourhood as well as with other regional organisations around the world; actions and perspectives of non-European actors towards the EU

Check out my latest article in Journal of Contemporary China titled “Embedding the Party in State and Society: From Integrated to Embedded Domination during China’s COVID-19 Crisis”. The paper draws on data obtained from interviews conducted in Beijing and Shanghai, a survey of over 300 residents’ views on resident committees during the Shanghai lockdown and analysis of state media and policy documents. It argues that the COVID-19 crisis exemplified the ‘embedding’ of party networks at the grassroots as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) shifted from direct to indirect control over society. The strategy of ‘embedded’ domination involved the deployment of ad hoc party branches, “sinking down” of party cadres to communities as a campaign style of governance and leveraging residents’ committees as visible units of control in the ‘people’s war’ against the pandemic. By shifting from ‘integrated’ to ‘embedded’ domination during the crisis, the CCP mobilised civil society for Party building and state security, boosting its authority, influence and control over both state and society. Many thanks to everyone who contributed to the article in one way or another.

☀️ Don't know what to do this summer? Submit a paper or panel for #EUIA25: Europe in a Fragmenting World The conference offers 5 thematic areas for submission: - the EU’s role in diplomacy, multilateral organisations, global governance, and international trade and investment and corresponding value chains; - the international dimension of EU policy-making and its implementation - tools of European formal and informal foreign engagement - the EU’s relations with its neighbourhood as well as with other regional organisations around the world; - actions and perspectives of non-European actors towards the EU 📅 21 - 23 May 2025 📍 Brussels ✍️ Conference details and submissions 👉 https://lnkd.in/eBUqXQjs Looking forward to seeing topics from the international dimension of the EU's climate and environmental policies to the broader implications for global governance and sustainability. If you want to engage & network with experts, policymakers, and academics the #EUIA25 conference will be the place to be!

Political, institutional, financial, legal, and socio-cultural barriers make consensus among member states difficult to achieve, thus stalling efforts to enhance the UN’s relevance and effectiveness. I write in this OpEd analysis column for #ThePioneer with Dr. Dr Nanda Kishor M S. MPhil, PhD, Head of the Department of Politics and International Studies, Pondicherry University.

Academia vs real life. I'm always happy when an article comes out in the final issue of a journal with page numbers etc. This piece I've written in 2020. It was accepted July 2021... While the title now reads cumbersome. I still think the study makes an important contribution for understanding BRICS from the inside, exploring what value it offers for the five members at the time: domestic regime stability, protection against unwanted external interferences, multi-alignment foreign policy, boosting regional authority. https://lnkd.in/eae9MhnQ

☀️ Don't know what to do this summer? Submit a paper or panel for #EUIA25: Europe in a Fragmenting World The conference offers 5 thematic areas for submission: - the EU’s role in diplomacy, multilateral organisations, global governance, and international trade and investment and corresponding value chains; - the international dimension of EU policy-making and its implementation - tools of European formal and informal foreign engagement - the EU’s relations with its neighbourhood as well as with other regional organisations around the world; - actions and perspectives of non-European actors towards the EU 📅 21 - 23 May 2025 📍 Brussels ✍️ Conference details and submissions 👉 https://lnkd.in/eBUqXQjs Looking forward to seeing topics from the international dimension of the EU's climate and environmental policies to the broader implications for global governance and sustainability. If you want to engage & network with experts, policymakers, and academics the #EUIA25 conference will be the place to be!

☀️ Don't know what to do this summer? Submit a paper or panel for #EUIA25: Europe in a Fragmenting World The conference offers 5 thematic areas for submission: - the EU’s role in diplomacy, multilateral organisations, global governance, and international trade and investment and corresponding value chains; - the international dimension of EU policy-making and its implementation - tools of European formal and informal foreign engagement - the EU’s relations with its neighbourhood as well as with other regional organisations around the world; - actions and perspectives of non-European actors towards the EU 📅 21 - 23 May 2025 📍 Brussels ✍️ Conference details and submissions 👉 https://lnkd.in/eBUqXQjs Looking forward to seeing topics from the international dimension of the EU's climate and environmental policies to the broader implications for global governance and sustainability. If you want to engage & network with experts, policymakers, and academics the #EUIA25 conference will be the place to be!

☀️ Don't know what to do this summer? Submit a paper or panel for #EUIA25: Europe in a Fragmenting World The conference offers 5 thematic areas for submission: - the EU’s role in diplomacy, multilateral organisations, global governance, and international trade and investment and corresponding value chains; - the international dimension of EU policy-making and its implementation - tools of European formal and informal foreign engagement - the EU’s relations with its neighbourhood as well as with other regional organisations around the world; - actions and perspectives of non-European actors towards the EU 📅 21 - 23 May 2025 📍 Brussels ✍️ Conference details and submissions 👉 https://lnkd.in/eBUqXQjs Looking forward to seeing topics from the international dimension of the EU's climate and environmental policies to the broader implications for global governance and sustainability. If you want to engage & network with experts, policymakers, and academics the #EUIA25 conference will be the place to be!