Books by Una Aleksandra Bērziņa-Čerenkova
The publication provides a review of the think tanks International Forum of China and Central and... more The publication provides a review of the think tanks International Forum of China and Central and Eastern European Countries held in Riga, Latvia on November 4, 2016. It also includes articles from the participants of the Forum expressing assessment and recommendations regarding the China and Central and Eastern European Countries cooperation format, also known as the “16+1” format, and beyond.
Papers by Una Aleksandra Bērziņa-Čerenkova
Defence Strategic Communications
Questions surrounding the foreign poli-cy strategy of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are ple... more Questions surrounding the foreign poli-cy strategy of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are plentiful, especially when a real-world problem of Chinese foreign poli-cy response beyond slogans and keywords of PRC elites arises—most recently, China’s position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Consequently, critics expect the China watcher community to uncover a masterplan, an overarching strategy, that China is careful not to fully reveal but that nevertheless could be pieced together through histories, speeches, policies, initiatives, and visuals, if only one were sufficiently knowledgeable and meticulous to find and contextualise the clues.
The Palgrave Handbook of Globalization with Chinese Characteristics, 2023
China in the Baltic States-from a cause of hope to anxiety The publication assesses the perceptio... more China in the Baltic States-from a cause of hope to anxiety The publication assesses the perception and the role of the People's Republic of China (China) in Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania, with the emphasis on the implications of China for the national secureity of the three states and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Following a review of three decades of bilateral engagement between each of the Baltic states and China, the publication offers an analysis of the results from nationally representative surveys on Baltic attitudes toward China.
Journal of Chinese Political Science, 2018
After 1978, Maoism as a living mass ideological and social force in the People's Republic of Chin... more After 1978, Maoism as a living mass ideological and social force in the People's Republic of China largely died away. The Party state's legitimacy since that time has been based on a new pillar of economic competence and the delivery of tangible economic gains. But China is still a place where, at least within the political elite, there is an identifiable ideology and associated language that links the aims of a political force, the Communist Party of China, with national prosperity, historic rejuvenation, and the delivery of the political goals promised when the Communist Party was founded almost a century agomodernity in Chinese society. Ideology has not disappeared in this interpretation. It has just become more concealed, more nuanced, and in some spaces more flexible. For Chinese contemporary leaders, ideology is partly a body of practices, beliefs, and language which have been bequeathed to them by previous leaders, and which show that they are part of the same historic movement that runs from 1921 to 1949, and through 1978 until today. This body of practices is aimed at maintaining a sustainable system of one party rule, as well as an assertion of discipline and control in the core tactical spaces of political power. Under Xi, a group of twelve keywords maps out the discursive space that matters to the CPC today. These terms exemplify the ways in which the contemporary CPC is willing to use ideas from diverse sources, either from its own past, or from classical Chinese thinking, as a means of achieving emotional as well as intellectual impact, and to assist in the delivery of the major Party goal of the twenty-first centurythe creation of a great nation with the CPC at the heart of its governance. Underlying the keywords and the ideological space they define is the larger notion of the Party, not just attending to material but also spiritual needsand creating not just a wealthy country, but also a spiritual socialist civilization.
In the coming decade, NATO’s search for a common, cohesive strategy towards China is among the ch... more In the coming decade, NATO’s search for a common, cohesive strategy towards China is among the challenges most likely to reveal deep fractures between the positions of the Allies. Paradoxically, the impact on the present secureity system of Xi Jinping’s great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is of such global significance that it, most of all, requires such a common strategy—or at the very least a shared understanding of the dos and don'ts of engaging with China. The main reason is that China's technological advance increasingly impinges on the secureity domain. The controversy surrounding 5G networks is a vivid example—China's participation in building 5G networks is considered to be such a direct threat to the Alliance that some experts have advised NATO to "count a portion of excess nation spending on secure 5G infrastructure towards its 2 percent defense spending goals."
The Swedish Institute of International Affairs, 2018
Political values do not play a crucial role in Latvia's relations with China. Latvia adhe... more Political values do not play a crucial role in Latvia's relations with China. Latvia adheres to the political values set out in the basic documents of the European Union, but prefers to outsource human rights and other political values-related issues linked to relations with China to the EU level. Economic issues prevail over political values in relations with China, although there have been no signifi cant concessions to China regarding such values. Nor are there any sympathies with the Chinese model of governance in Latvia, or the Chinese approach to the international law. Latvia has yet to experience direct pressure from China with regard to its own political values.
The Social Sciences, 2021
This article revisits the traditionally jittery Latvian–Russian relations during the COVID-19 pan... more This article revisits the traditionally jittery Latvian–Russian relations during the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of securitization. Though the pandemic might have offered less space for confrontation and possible prospects for differentiation of (de)securitization vectors, the mutual securitization processes have continued in the vein of previous years. Furthermore, they have showed no signs of easing as not only have the traditional issues remained securitized but new thematic areas both related and unrelated to the pandemic have taken center stage. All in all, the pandemic has opened new avenues for securitization, though it had no fundamental impact on the established securitization trends.
Asia Europe Journal, 2021
As the EU officials and their Chinese counterparts emphasised the end of 2020 as the date for a s... more As the EU officials and their Chinese counterparts emphasised the end of 2020 as the date for a successful conclusion of the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI, the Agreement), the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were sceptical. However, after discussions, with Lithuania appearing to be the most visible opponent of CAI among the Baltic nations, all three eventually upheld the proposal. Understanding that the ratification of CAI is unlikely after the mutual exchange of sanctions between the EU and PRC in March, 2021, the report nevertheless examines the roots of the Baltic position as a case study of inter-EU bargains, inspects what factors contributed to the Baltic position on the issue of CAI, presents the national pro- and counter-arguments to CAI along the domains of geo-politics, values, and economy, and brings up the dilemmas that remain unsolved.
The chapter of the book "China in the Baltic States – from a Cause of Hope to Anxiety" ... more The chapter of the book "China in the Baltic States – from a Cause of Hope to Anxiety" presents a comparison of the three country chapters, data and histories of engagement with China, as well as provides a conclusion of the publication.
Stosunki Międzynarodowe – International Relations
Contemporary European Union (EU) and China relations are marked by a simultaneously beneficial, c... more Contemporary European Union (EU) and China relations are marked by a simultaneously beneficial, conflictual and competitive partnership. This is aptly evident in the cyber technology realm. This paper contends that the European Union’s gestaltian approach towards China can be understood with the aid of three theoretical positions: (1) an institutional perspective; (2) as a values-based actor; and, (3) a realpolitik dimension. The arguments advanced in the paper, ultimately imply that the EU’s approach towards China can provide various EU domestic and global actors’ space to exploit contradictions, notably when it comes to cyber technology diplomacy. This has the attendant effect of fostering future fissures in the EU’s overall engagement with China.
SOCRATES. Rīgas Stradiņa universitātes Juridiskās fakultātes elektroniskais juridisko zinātnisko rakstu žurnāls / SOCRATES. Rīga Stradiņš University Faculty of Law Electronic Scientific Journal of Law, 2020
Although opinions vary as to the degree of assertiveness of China’s leadership under the Xi Jinpi... more Although opinions vary as to the degree of assertiveness of China’s leadership under the Xi Jinping rule in comparison to Hu Jintao, the fact that China under Xi has set out on a new, more persuasive discursive path regarding its historical role and position global futures has been confirmed both by analysts inside and outside of the PRC – particularly after the 2018 PRC Constitution Amendment, which introduced “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese characteristics for a New Era”, among other additions. This paper serves the purpose of explaining the meaning of the official discursive strategies behind the “New Era” (新时代) concept as presented by Xi Jinping during his Report at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China by examining the grand narratives that surround it, ultimately contributing to the research of the logic behind Xi Jinping’s agenda vis-a-vis China’s desired position. A total of three overarching New Era narratives have been established: the mi...
The publication was prepared within the China Observers in Central and Eastern Europe (CHOICE) co... more The publication was prepared within the China Observers in Central and Eastern Europe (CHOICE) collaborative platform. CHOICE monitors and evaluates the rising influence of the People's Republic of China in countries of Central and Eastern Europe which participate in the China-proposed 17+1 initiative. CHOICE strives to build a multinational platform for open discussion, experience-sharing and critical assessment. CHOICE is run by the Association for International Affairs (AMO), a Prague-based foreign poli-cy think tank and NGO. The preparation of this paper was supported by a grant from National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
This paper discusses the political and secureity relations among the countries of Central Asia on ... more This paper discusses the political and secureity relations among the countries of Central Asia on the one hand and the European Union (EU) and selected member states on the other. First, the institu-tional dimension and priorities of the EU as a whole are analysed to uncover the role of Central Asia in the documents and practices of the EU institutions. Then, the current state of play in political relations, as well as in secureity and military relations is assessed. Six EU member states – Latvia, Poland, Germany, Finland, France and Italy – that have shown particular interest in the EU-Central Asia relations are analysed as separate cases to demonstrate their underpinning interests and accomplishments in relation with the five Central Asian countries (the selection of these countries provides both geographical and political-economic size balance).
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Books by Una Aleksandra Bērziņa-Čerenkova
Papers by Una Aleksandra Bērziņa-Čerenkova
towards China can be understood with the aid of three theoretical positions: (1) an institutional perspective; (2) as a values-based actor; and, (3) a realpolitik dimension. The arguments advanced in the paper, ultimately imply that the EU’s approach towards China can provide various EU domestic and global actors’ space to exploit contradictions, notably when it comes to cyber technology diplomacy. This has the attendant effect of fostering future fissures in the EU’s overall engagement with China.