Revista Conjuntura Austral

Number v.10 n.52, 2019

5-16
Tamil conflict in Sri Lanka: peace after 10 years of military victory?

Authors: Geraldine Rosas Duarte, Matheus de Abreu Costa Souza

Abstract

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Number of views: 275

Between 1983 and 2009, Sri Lanka witnessed an intense separatist conflict involving the government armed forces and the Tamil ethnic group, represented by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The conflict forcibly ended in 2009 following the success of a government-launched military offensive, and therefore no peace agreement was signed to seal peace between the parties. Thus, we intend to elaborate an analysis that discusses the current impact of the military victory regarding the relationship between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil ethnic minority. To do so, we resorted to a number of follow-up reports highlighting advances and setbacks in the relationship between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil minority between May 2009 and September 2019. The evidence mobilized here points to the fact that military victory did not result in an effective resolution of the conflict, since the Tamils did not have their demands for autonomy met in the post-conflict context and, in addition, ethnic tensions remained within the country groups, as well as the marginalization and repression of Tamils in the country.

17-37
The independent Ukraine after the end of the Cold War: a geopolitical analysis (1991-2013)

Authors: Italo Barreto Poty

Abstract

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Number of views: 304

This article aims to analyze the independent Ukraine’s historical trajectory between 1991 and 2010 from a geopolitical perspective. Firstly, we will approach the theoretical basis of American geopolitics, the end of the Soviet Union and the process of independence of Ukraine. The main object of this article is the quarrel over influence in Ukraine that has been occurring since the end of the Cold War: on one hand, the expansion of the United States’ influence over the post-Soviet space after the USSR collapse through NATO and the Colored Revolutions, such as the Orange Revolution in Ukraine; on the other hand, the resurgence of Russia as a regional power since the beginning of the 21st Century, once again able to project influence on its surroundings. It happened through Europe’s energetic dependence, in which Ukraine plays a central role, and the 2008 Russian-Georgian war. This external contest over influence in Ukraine escalated the intern division of the country, in which East and South regions are closer to Russia, while the West is more connected to Europe, culminating in the 2013 crisis.

38-58
Transnational organized crime and military missions: tensions of the internal/external division in international relations

Authors: David P. Succi Junior, Helena Salim de Castro

Abstract

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Number of views: 377

The International Relations field constituted itself through the theoretical division between a pacified domestic sphere and an anarchic international system. States, as sovereign actors, are understood to have the legitimate monopoly of force within their borders, while struggle to survive in the international realm. However, certain dynamics and actors challenge this division. This paper aims to show how the political construction of transnational organized crime as a threat and the definition of the means of force employed to combat it, especially the armed forces, break with the sharp division between domestic and international. In discussing the case of combating drug trafficking in Brazil, it is understood that the definition of such activity as a threat results from a process of expansion and internationalization of the "war on drugs" policy, fostered by the United States government. The definition of crime was therefore not limited to the territoriality of the Brazilian state. At the same time, the deployment of the armed forces to combat internal crime, which is recurrent in Brazilian history, demonstrates that the theoretical division in question represents a normative principle and not a description of a historical pattern.

59-79
Global climate emergencies: sovereignty and South American environmental geopolitics

Authors: Elany Almeida de Souza

Abstract

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Number of views: 353

Environmental securitization has sparked global discussions and because of this macro aspect, regional issues are not always properly considered. In this sense, the question is: can a South American regional security complex be efficient and effective in putting together agendas suitable for the protection of socio-biodiversity? The aim is to investigate the existence of regional defense mechanisms and strategies capable of understanding securitization processes and, above all, the interests that involve environmental discussions on the international scene. The creation of the regional defense dimension in environmental matters is essential for the formation of an autonomous and strategic defense thought given the geostrategic, geopolitical and geoeconomic relevance of the Amazon. Based on a pragmatic-systemic epistemological matrix, given the systemic-complex relationship that surrounds the theme, an interdisciplinary, bibliographical and documentary research approach is adopted for better understanding. In the end it was demonstrated that the formation of a Regional Security Complex in South America presents itself as a possibility to bring together similar agendas in a concert of wills capable of producing norms and agreements that meet the region's endogenous environmental needs, using dialogue forums such as the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization /ACTO and mechanisms such as the South American Defense Council.

80-99
Porto de Gwadar: o eixo geoestratégico do corredor econômico China-Paquistão

Authors: Vinícius Lerina Fialho, Andrés Ernesto Ferrari Haines

Abstract

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Number of views: 475

This article discusses the importance of Gwadar Port. In order to do so, we first identify the regional context of the Indian Ocean, where the Port is, and its internal conditions present in the Baluchistan region. The research aims to answer how the Gwadar Port becomes an important instrument for Pakistan-China relations, which culminates in its inclusion in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and, consequently, in China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). It is assumed that, for Pakistan, the Port means a strategic alternative to the territorial proximity with India, while for China, it serves as the main access route to the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf, and the Arabian Sea, reducing Beijing's dependence on the use of the South Sea. Given this, structurally, this work is carried out from three sections. In the first place, it aims to understand the geopolitical context of the Indian Ocean. Next, it seeks to present the internal constraints of the Baluchistan region. Subsequently, the objective is to identify the importance of the Port of Gwadar. Finally, some final considerations are raised on the theme development in this research

100-119
The contradictions of Venezuela’s foreign policy towards regional integration between 2004 and 2012

Authors: Mariana Davi Ferreira

Abstract

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Number of views: 255

This article aims to analyze Venezuela’s foreign policy platform towards regional integration between 2004 and 2012, in the context of Hugo Chávez Frías government. Therefore, the focus is on the contradictions between the possibilities generated from oil revenue to finance a Latin-Americanist integration project and the limitations of its consolidation, considering the difficulties to overcome underdevelopment as a structural element of a dependent economy. In this sense, the hypothesis presented is that the Venezuelan State enforced oil diplomacy to promote its anti-imperialist and Latin Americanist integration project. The research, qualitative and exploratory in its nature, is centered on bibliographic and documental analysis: review of official documents from Ministerio del Poder Popular para las Relaciones Exteriores and economic data. The results point that Bolivarian integration occupied a central place of Venezuela’s foreign policy and that the limits to its consolidation are based on the strong linkage between its implementation and oil revenue.