Politics of Normative Power and the European Union’s Trans-Atlantic Public Diplomacy in Latin America: The Case of Mexico

이상보,Gilberto Javier Cabrera Trimiño,정호윤 국립부경대학교 글로벌지역학연구소 2023 Journal of Global and Area Studies(JGA) Vol.7 No.4

The diplomatic relationship between the European Union (EU) and Mexico is grounded in shared values, forming a robust foundation for collaboration. Beginning in 1975 with the Framework Cooperation Agreement, their partnership has grown through numerous agreements, including the landmark Global Agreement in 1997, expanding cooperation across political, economic, and environmental domains. The EU-Mexico Free Trade Agreement of 2000 further fortified their ties, enhancing trade and investment flows. Beyond commerce, the EU and Mexico cooperate on global challenges like climate change, human rights, and counterterrorism. Regular high-level dialogues facilitate effective coordination on international matters. The EU Delegation’s consistent public diplomacy activities in Mexico aim to strengthen the strategic partnership and promote a favorable EU image. This research employs big data analytics to scrutinize the EU Delegation’s digital public diplomacy strategies in Mexico, unraveling their communication methods and examining the projection of the EU’s normative power. Through thorough analysis of content from the EU Delegation’s official Facebook page (September 2020 to December 2021), this study employs keyword and semantic network analyses to uncover underlying patterns and connections. The findings provide an overview of the EU’s public diplomacy in Mexico, showcasing themes such as climate, diplomacy, gender, ethics, and collaboration. This aligns with the multi-dimensional approach posited by Dominguez et al. (2023), showcasing strategic engagement through enduring networks and digital diplomacy. Overall, this study argues that the EU’s normative power is effectively projected through advocacy-focused public diplomacy, fostering shared values and productive collaboration in the evolving global landscape.

A Comprehensive Analysis of Public Discourse and Content Trends in Turkish Reddit Posts Related to Deepfake

Ahmet Yiğitalp Tulga 국립부경대학교 글로벌지역학연구소 2024 Journal of Global and Area Studies(JGA) Vol.8 No.2

This study investigates the content and changes in deepfakes-related discussions on 5,220 Turkish Reddit posts from October 2019 to August 2023. Although the academic community has shown an increasing interest in deepfakes since 2017, focusing on detection methods and the technology itself, scant attention has been paid to public perceptions and online debate. The analysis reveals that 69.4% of the examined posts feature deepfake content with sexual themes, with celebrity women being the primary targets in 60.2% of cases. In contrast, 22% of the content is about politics and political figures, while 8.6% provides technical guidance on creating deepfakes. The study also observes content changes over time, noticing a rise in sexually explicit deepfake posts, particularly involving celebrities. However, in May 2023, coinciding with the presidential and general elections in Türkiye, discussions about politics and political figures have significantly increased. This study sheds light on the changing landscape of discussions, emphasizing the predominant presence of sexual content and the increasing prevalence of political content, particularly during election seasons.

A Critical Review of the New Theory of Consumer Society in Japan

강문원,류영진,정현일 국립부경대학교 글로벌지역학연구소 2024 Journal of Global and Area Studies(JGA) Vol.8 No.2

This study presents a critical review of the new theory of consumer society in Japan (Mamada, 2016, and others). The theory claims that dematerialism is starting to dominate consumption behaviors in Japan and Japanese consumers strongly demand spiritual value from consumption. This new theory is important because the optimistic view of green consumerism is spreading widely in Japan (Nomura, 2023). Our analysis reveals limitations in the practical application and theoretical foundation of this theory. In this study, based on Inglehart’s post-materialism 4- and 12-index analyses, we prove that it is wrong to claim that dematerialism dominates a significant part of consumer behaviors in Japan now. Furthermore, the theory conflates cultural consumption with the consumption of cultural goods, overlooks the material basis of information, and exhibits limitations in agent-based modeling. We further identify several illogical leaps and exaggerations in the new theory, which highlights that environmental sustainability is a research agenda that requires interdisciplinary approaches.

Analyzing integrative and instrumental motivation in Taiwanese university students' usage of English as a Foreign Language: A descriptive examination of emerging trends in the context of the Bilingual Nation 2030 Policy

Rohaiba B. Radiamoda 국립부경대학교 글로벌지역학연구소 2024 Journal of Global and Area Studies(JGA) Vol.8 No.2

This study emphasized the importance of motivation in language learning, particularly in contexts where new educational policies might lead to changes in learner behavior. It first explored the instrumental and integrative motivation towards English as a foreign language among Taiwanese university students, particularly in the context of the introduction of Taiwan’s Bilingual Nation 2030 policy. This study also aimed to understand the relationship between self-reported English proficiency, confidence, and frequency of using English as a Foreign Language, and factors such as gender, level of education, year of study, and the number of English courses taken in relation to these motivational types. Using T-tests and correlational analyses, the findings revealed that instrumental motivation was predominant among Taiwanese students, though there wasevidence suggesting a gradual shift toward integrative motivation. The study also revealed that students’ self-reported English proficiency, confidence and frequency of using English as a foreign language (EFL), and the number of English courses taken were positively correlated only with integrative motivation. The preliminary findings of this assessment provided initial empirical validation for the Taiwanese government’s top-down approach to implementing its Bilingual Education policy, as well as for its efforts to bolster internationalization programs. The paper delved into the implications and contributions of these results in greater detail.

에티오피아 종족성 정치의 성격: 에티오피아 반(反)정부 시위(2015∼2018년)의 요인과 동학을 중심으로

서지현 국립부경대학교 글로벌지역학연구소 2024 Journal of Global and Area Studies(JGA) Vol.8 No.1

In Ethiopia, a multi-ethnic country, ethnic politics have held an important place in its history. The People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front(EPRDF) regime, which ruled Ethiopia from 1991 to 2018, adopted ethnic federalism as a way to solve Ethiopia’s long-standing problem of ethnic conflict. However, the ethno-federalism of the EPRDF regime has led to the reinforcing of regionally-based ethnonationalism rather than the successful task of uniting a multi-ethnic nation-state. Thus, even after the EPRDF came to power, ethnic issues continued to be a source of conflict in Ethiopia. Against this backdrop, this study aims to understand the nature of ethnic politics in Ethiopia through the analysis of the causes and dynamics of the anti-government protests that unfolded in Ethiopia between 2015 and 2018. In order to secure the legitimacy of the political elite of the EPRDF in their rule, they advocated ethnic federalism and formed the “ethnisation of politics.” However, the EPRDF’s ethnic federalism was in fact implemented under a centralised political decision-making structure based on links between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the region’s satellite parties, which led to a crisis of its legitimacy as the opposition demanded redress. Development projects were carried out to overcome the crisis of legitimacy of the ruling party that became visible during the 2005 general elections, but in the process of deepening the development projects, the centralised decision-making structure, which differs from nominal ethnic federalism, and the authoritarian control of the government has been strengthened, leading to widespread anti-government protests against the hegemony of the EPRDF regime. In the end, the EPRDF government’s instrumentalist use of ethnicity by the ruling elite, which sought to secure the legitimacy of its rule through the “ethnisation of politics,” proved to be limited in realising actual ethnic federalism, thus paving the way for anti-government protests through “politicisation of ethnicity.”

부정적 타자로서 도구 되기: 태국 내 미얀마 출신 타자들을 중심으로

한유석 국립부경대학교 글로벌지역학연구소 2024 Journal of Global and Area Studies(JGA) Vol.8 No.1

This study examines how ethnic minorities and immigrants from Myanmar living in northern Thailand are typified. I use the concept of instrumentalization to describe various aspects of otherization. In other words, how others in Thailand are being scorned, despised, mocked, socially excluded, exploited and used as resources in a strange land. This variation of instrumentation is justified by the recreation of the others in media in Thailand. Others who are non-Thai often are described as ‘polluted beings’ unlike Thais those who are stratified as the opposite, “unpolluted.” This negative perception of the other is based on preconception formed throughout the historical process. Moreover, it is a tool for establishing the identity of ourselves, Thai-ness, by being reproduced by the media. Through this process, others in Thailand degenerate into ignorant, excluded, and exploited. It examines how these modes of scorn, disdain, ridicule, and exclusion, as well as exploitation and resourceization, are linked to the ways in which Thais and non-Thais are differentiated and othered, and how these different modes of othering are perpetuated and reproduced in combination with negative media representations of them.

그린국가이미지 형성과정에 대한 근거이론 연구: 베트남 M⋅Z세대를 중심으로

이유경,주티레융 국립부경대학교 글로벌지역학연구소 2024 Journal of Global and Area Studies(JGA) Vol.8 No.1

Country image is a complex concept that has been shaped by a variety of factors, including culture, history, and political systems. In recent years, however, the concept of country image has begun to evolve because of global changes such as climate crisis, COVID-19 pandemic, and technological advancement of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This study adopts a grounded theory approach to identify the key factors that contribute to the formation of a green country image(GCI). The study collected primary data from Vietnamese Gen M⋅Z to explore their perceptions of GCI and the factors that influence their GCI perceptions, and the qualitative data analysis program Nvivo R1. As a result of analyzing the paradigm model for the formation of GCI, ‘awareness of environmental issues and expansion of the green economy’ were derived as causal conditions that cause the formation of GCI. Next, ‘the occurrence of a global pandemic and economic growth’ was derived as a contextual condition. And the paradigm element captured as the central phenomenon in the GCI formation was ‘essential capabilities for national development and system change’. In addition, the mediating conditions were derived as ‘advanced technology development, economic and national benefits, and the action/interaction strategy of the paradigm model was ‘green national development model and GCI formation’ were derived. Lastly, as an outcome of the GCI formation, Vietnamese Gen M⋅Z shows high trust in green country products, high quality evaluations, active purchasing behavior, a strong desire to travel or visit green countries, and positive attitudes toward immigration to green countries. In conclusion, this study identifies the GCI formation process of Vietnamese Gen M⋅Z through a paradigm model and derive a situational theory model by defining the GCI concept and confirming the structure. This paper concludes by discussing the theoretical and practical implications of the research findings.

메콩 소지역의 교통 인프라와 개발격차: Greater Mekong Subregion(GMS)을 중심으로

이요한 국립부경대학교 글로벌지역학연구소 2024 Journal of Global and Area Studies(JGA) Vol.8 No.1

The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) is a project initiated by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to promote economic cooperation in the Mekong sub-region, including Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, the Philippines, and China (specifically Yunnan and Guangxi provinces). ADB considers GMS as one of the most successful cooperation programs in Asia, emphasizing the need for continuous investment in transportation infrastructure to foster economic growth and trade expansion. However, expanding transportation infrastructure may lead to widening development gaps. This study highlights that while the construction of GMS transportation infrastructure has led to increased connectivity, trade, GDP per capita, and inflow of foreign direct investment, challenges remain in alleviating development gap(disparities). Disparities in GDP and GDP per capita growth rates among GMS countries, particularly in Laos and Myanmar, have exacerbated development gaps. The trade deficit with China has expanded, serving as an example of the backwash effect, while Logistics Performance Index (LPI) and Human Development Index (HDI) clearly demonstrate development gaps. To grow as a competitive and sustainable economic integration model, efforts are needed to address the underrepresentation of low-developed countries in GMS transportation infrastructure investment and to improve human development indices. Therefore, enhancing human resource development and employment generation in low-developed countries, along with active participation in projects aimed at mitigating development gaps, is essential for all external developing partners, including Korea.

Social Capital, Trust(s), Corruption, and Public Attitudes toward Immigrants: Evidence from East and Southeast Asia

BROWN ALAN DIXON,신우진 국립부경대학교 글로벌지역학연구소 2024 Journal of Global and Area Studies(JGA) Vol.8 No.2

Asia is both the largest source of, and a growing destination for, international migrants. A mounting body of research links social capital with attitudes toward immigration. Based on the above context, the objectives of the study are as follows: First, to validate a model of the effect of trust on attitudes toward immigration, which has been tested predominantly in a Western context,by analyzing a multi-country Asian dataset. Second, to further clarify the inconsistent findings in previous research by including a broad spectrum of types of trust as well as country-level civil society participation. Third, to make a novel contribution by investigating whether corruption (individual and country-level) affects attitudes toward immigration. The results demonstrate that only certain forms of trust, in particular social trust, administrative trust, media trust, and civil society trust, had a significant positive impact on attitudes toward immigrants. Furthermore, country-level civil society participation had a significant effect on attitudes toward immigrants. Regarding corruption, both individual perceptions of corruption as well as country-level political corruption were negatively associated with attitudes toward immigrants. The study arrived at the following implications. First, the study confirmed that a social capital model is applicable not only to a Western context but also an East and Southeast Asian context. However, a regional difference exists between East Asia and Southeast Asia. Second, it is necessary to clearly define and disentangle the notion of trust and its relationship with attitudes toward immigrants. Third, not only individual social capital but also country-level social capital is important. In particular, the role of civil society participation could be reinforced through political openness and support for civil society. Fourth, reducing corruption is a likely to improve attitudes toward immigrants.

Re-Negotiating Multiple Identities: How Indonesian Chinese Mothers Define Their Identity in Taiwan Society

Yufita Ng 국립부경대학교 글로벌지역학연구소 2024 Journal of Global and Area Studies(JGA) Vol.8 No.2

This research focuses on how Indonesian Chinese mothers define their layered identity as new residents in Taiwan where they practice their citizenship. In Taiwanese multicultural society, an enormous number of Indonesian Chinese women migrated to the country through marriage. Using the concept of "self definition," this research examines how Indonesian Chinese mothers recollect their multiple identities after migrating to Taiwan and interacting with Taiwanese society. Interviews were employed to identify and interpret Indonesian Chinese mothers' identities. This research finds that Indonesian Chinese mothers had to contend with their identity when they began to integrate into Taiwanese society, which is referred to as Chinese society. The contradictory identities they faced in their native country brought up recollections of the ambiguous identities they encountered while they were threatened as a foreigner in a place where they ought to be accepted as members of society.