Journal Of Global Strategic Studies

Donald Trump’s Spheres of Influence Strategic Doctrine

Bradley Nelson — Sat, 07 Jun 2025 08:18:57 +0700

The second Trump administration is disrupting both longstanding U.S. foreign policy and the foundations of the liberal world order. Under Trump 2.0, America has junked its strategic policy of global liberal hegemony in favor of a doctrine of spheres of influence. At bottom, Washington now pursues a coercive, rapacious, power-driven approach to the broader Western hemisphere, threatening and bullying neighbors and allies, while at the same time leaving Russia and China with the requisite space and freedom to do as they wish in their own geopolitical backyards. The dramatic transformation in U.S. foreign policy is rapidly ushering in a new global order that is grounded in a tripolar structure (U.S., Russia, and China) that privileges great power interests and aggression at the expense of the old rules, norms, and institutions of the post-WWII era. As the old order is weakened if not wiped clean away, the international system today lacks firm guardrails, and the security of the global weak is especially at risk. What can somewhat ameliorate this emerging problem is a non-aggression compact, or even a concert, among the three superpowers, as this could dampen the prospect of a hegemonic war and keep each out of the others’ sphere of influence.

Australia's Nuclear-Powered Submarine Future

Justin Khouw — Fri, 30 May 2025 00:00:00 +0700

In spite of periodic tensions, the Australia-Indonesia relationship has historically been characterized by cooperation instead of competition. However, Jakarta’s official expressions of concern in response to Canberra’s plans to acquire nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS pact in 2021 prompted a recalibration of bilateral ties. Now, amidst significant upheaval of the global geopolitical landscape, this article revisits Indonesia’s reaction to the announcement, the factors that shaped its response, and the security agreement’s enduring implications for Australia-Indonesia relations. The article contends that for Australia, AUKUS has become a necessity to reduce the capability gap between itself and China. From the Indonesian perspective, a disconnect exists between official and unofficial views on AUKUS. Within Indonesia’s policymaking circles, there is an implicit understanding, communicated through informal channels, of the agreement’s potential benefits, despite public expressions of concern. For the Australia-Indonesia bilateral relationship, which has developed from a notably low base, AUKUS ultimately portends both challenges and opportunities in the realm of defence cooperation and beyond.

Social Media Engagement & Listening

Nestor Tyrovouzis — Sun, 01 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0700

Until now, academic literature has described public diplomacy and strategic communication as two distinct; analogous; connected; occasionally conflicting or incompatible; constitutive or subordinate to the other concepts. Still, their correlation has yet to be clearly defined. Nonetheless, a strategic approach to public diplomacy communication efforts would provide PD actors with the necessary tools to better assess and evaluate input, output and the impacts and outcomes of their campaigns and policies. This article identifies four communication components with strategic value in public diplomacy: the Message, the Medium, Engagement and Listening. These components can fulfil both relational and strategic functions and provide the basis for a successful implementation of essential strategic tools, such as audience analysis, message strategy, channel choice, program assessment and measurable goals and objectives. The suggested approach could serve as a starting point for enhancing the effectiveness of applied public diplomacy or for developing new public diplomacy strategies, that would serve better the interests of both governments and their foreign audiences.

The Global South in a Multipolar World Order:

Virdika Rizky Utama — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0700

In the context of the Global South, this research examines the dynamics of relations between Indonesia and China, with a particular emphasis on economic cooperation, diplomacy, and geopolitical influence. This research primarily examines the impact of the Indonesia-China strategic partnership on the economic development of Indonesia and the ASEAN region, as evidenced by initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It also examines the potential economic dependency and geopolitical conflict in the South China Sea and the implications of this cooperation for developing countries. This study concludes that the Indonesia-China partnership can serve as a model of South-South collaboration that contributes to a more equitable multipolar global order. However, it necessitates strategic balance to prevent over-dependence. This conclusion is reached through a qualitative approach.

Indonesia's Economic Foreign Policy Towards Thailand on Cross-Border Payment

Rizka Maharani — Sat, 07 Jun 2025 08:23:02 +0700

The payment digitalisation leads to financial integration with the cross-border payment implemented by ASEAN. This implementation is being conducted bilaterally among ASEAN member states, for instance between Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by each central bank since 2022 aims to reduce the US dollar dependency which shows positive and progressive results. This issue is interesting to be studied further as the transaction of rupiah to ringgit is higher compared to baht, but Indonesia conducted the implementation of cross-border payment using QR Code for the first time with Thailand. Furthermore, there is a currency rate conversion between Indonesia and Thailand from each central bank. This article uses qualitative research methods with qualitative and quantitative data usage. Using the foreign economic policy which refers to Hiscox (2014), this article found that Indonesia has been cooperating with Thailand in using QR Code due to the exchange rate agreement between IDR and THB to maintain the stability of the exchange rates of each currency, people movement to travel that showed an increment in QR Code transactions, to perceive the mutual gains and recovery for the tourism and SMEs sectors, and private sector and independent central back involvement within this implementation.

Keywords: Cross-border payment; Indonesia; QR Code; Thailand

Security Threats In The Humanitarian Crisis In Ethiopia

Yudha Sabriansyah Sidiq, Uni Wahyuni Sagena — Sat, 07 Jun 2025 08:16:12 +0700

This study aims to explain the security threats in the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia from 2020 to 2023, this study is a descriptive study. The data of this study uses data collection techniques in the nature of library research. Qualitative data analysis is the method used. The results of this study indicate that the conflict in Ethiopia caused a humanitarian crisis. From the study reviewed using the concept of Human Security because to analyze the threat of war crimes which are divided into: security in the fields of economy, food, health, environment, and security for individuals.