NATO’s and Russian involvement in the Libyan Crisis in a view of the Post-Cold War Realism vs. Humanitarianism

Zmire,Zeljana(Zmire,Zeljana ),Sang Kyou Kim(Sang Kyou Kim) 한국세계지역학회 2023 世界地域硏究論叢 Vol.41 No.1

The study investigates NATO’s and Russian involvement in the Libyan crisis by evaluating their actions from realist and humanitarian perspectives. There have been numerous studies portraying Middle East conflicts as great power confrontations and the mere pursuit of geopolitical interests. The study counters these explanations by analyzing the actions of the US, European powers, and Russia, and demonstrates how there were specific cases during which they acted in a humanitarian manner, while at other times they acted as realist powers. The study proves that when all three powers pursued humanitarian objectives, it led to a prompt collective action. However, when one or more of them pursued realist objectives, it led to a prolongation of the conflict. Nevertheless, when NATO powers (the US and European states) acted on humanitarian motives and Russia refrained from actively pursuing realist interests, collective action was still possible. Furthermore, even when all powers pursued realist motives, collective action was possible as those motives did not collide. The study implies that the application of R2P as a newly emerging form of international law might be possible elsewhere given that certain conditions are met.

Integration of Marriage Migrants in Korea and Japan: A Comparative Analysis of Ethnic Nationalism and Citizenship

ZMIRE ZELJANA 인하대학교 국제관계연구소 2022 Pacific Focus Vol.37 No.2

Multiculturalism has been a relatively recent trend in Korea and Japan. Since the 1990s, both countries have been witnessing a rising influx of immigrants, the majority of whom were labor migrants and marriage migrants. Labor migrants have been accepted only as temporary residents. Contrary to this, marriage migrants have been seen as permanent residents, who need to integrate into the family and society. Both the Korean and Japanese governments have been providing them with relatively easy access to permanent residency and naturalization. Despite this effort, marriage migrants experience legal vulnerability, and they experience prejudice and discrimination with their families and society. This problem, even though highlighted by politicians and academics, has been persisting in society, and it has usually been researched as a policy problem or phenomenon that happens independently of its societal surroundings. However, because unequal treatment of migrants is related to social conditions as well as legal and policy issues, this study approaches the problem by examining marriage migrants' citizenship on three levels: legal, social, and identity. The study elaborates the causes behind their mistreatment through national identity and related nationalism. Both Korea and Japan possess an ethnic sense of belonging; they are perceived as ethnically homogeneous, monocultural nations. Therefore, the integration of ethnically different migrants presents a significant challenge. Ethnic nationalism in both countries manifests also in its subform, nouveau-riche nationalism. It is responsible for deep-seated beliefs in cultural superiority and evaluating people based on their country of origin and skin color. The study demonstrates the impact of ethnic nationalism on the legal level of citizenship in both countries and elaborates that this impact has been more restrictive in Japan than in Korea. Furthermore, nouveau-riche nationalism is shown to have a negative impact on the social and identity levels of citizenship in both counties, whereas in Japan social stigma and prejudices are shown to be more serious than in Korea.

NATO’s and Russian involvement in the Libyan Crisis in a view of the Post-Cold War Realism vs. Humanitarianism

ZMIRE ZELJANA,김상규 한국세계지역학회 2023 世界地域硏究論叢 Vol.41 No.1

The study investigates NATO’s and Russian involvement in the Libyan crisis by evaluating their actions from realist and humanitarian perspectives. There have been numerous studies portraying Middle East conflicts as great power confrontations and the mere pursuit of geopolitical interests. The study counters these explanations by analyzing the actions of the US, European powers, and Russia, and demonstrates how there were specific cases during which they acted in a humanitarian manner, while at other times they acted as realist powers. The study proves that when all three powers pursued humanitarian objectives, it led to a prompt collective action. However, when one or more of them pursued realist objectives, it led to a prolongation of the conflict. Nevertheless, when NATO powers (the US and European states) acted on humanitarian motives and Russia refrained from actively pursuing realist interests, collective action was still possible. Furthermore, even when all powers pursued realist motives, collective action was possible as those motives did not collide. The study implies that the application of R2P as a newly emerging form of international law might be possible elsewhere given that certain conditions are met.

Reasons for NATO’s and Russian involvement in the Syrian crisis; comparative analysis of realist and humanitarian perspectives

ZMIRE ZELJANA 사단법인 한국평화연구학회 2022 평화학연구 Vol.23 No.2

The Syrian crisis, which has been often described as a proxy war between NATO and Russia, has lasted for more than 10 years with no visible sign of an end. Most scholars explain the reasons behind NATO’s and Russian intervention with realistic motives. However, there are cases difficult to explain only from a realist perspective. For example, great power diplomatic efforts to remove chemical weapons and adopt sanctions at the cost of energy interests. These actions can be viewed as humanitarian involvement. The study argues that great powers’ motivation cannot be judged uniformly, but their actions should be evaluated separately, as some actions might be realist and some humanitarian, and some a mixture of both. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the reasons behind great powers’ involvement in the Syrian crisis by examining key decisions each power took during the war, from both aspects: realist and humanitarian. The study begins by outlining the theoretical background behind both perspectives and establishing criteria for judging a decision as realist/ humanitarian. This has been applied in reviewing the context behind five key decisions NATO (the US and European allies) and Russia made during the crisis. The study finds that one time all parties acted in a realist fashion, which produced no significant outcome. Contrary to this, one time all parties acted on humanitarian motives, which resulted in a favorable outcome. In the case when two parties, the US and Russia, acted as a realist, and the EU as humanitarian power, the EU’s efforts were insufficient to produce a favorable outcome. In other cases, when two parties, the EU and the US, pursued humanitarian motives, and Russia realist, the result depended on whether Russia pursued them actively or non-actively. In the former case, the result was ineffective to prevent further atrocities, whereas in the latter favorable outcome was still possible.

Causes of Rising Homegrown Terrorism in Europe: A Case Study of 2015 Paris Attacks

Zmire, Zeljana,김유은 한국세계지역학회 2017 世界地域硏究論叢 Vol.35 No.4

Homegrown terrorism is a growing security problem in Western Europe and a challenge for politicians and academics. In an attempt to comprehend the problem, academics have pointed out various theories, which this study categorizes as the individual level of analysis and socio-political level of analysis. While the individual level of analysis explains the individual reasons which may lead a person to become radicalized and eventually a homegrown terrorist, the socio-political level deals with recruitment led by the Islamic State (IS). This study intends to provide an answer as to which level of analysis is more suitable for a better understanding of the problem through the case of 2015 Paris attacks. This study demonstrates that the individual level of analysis is useful only to explain preconditions, while the socio-political level explains the necessary conditions for an individual to join a terrorist organization.

Reasons and Effects of EU Engagement in the Syrian Crisis

Zmire, Zeljana,김유은 사단법인 한국평화연구학회 2017 평화학연구 Vol.18 No.2

Due to the complexity and prolongation, combined with the continued inability of world powers to come to a mutual consensus, the Syrian war has become one of the biggest political challenges of the early 21st century. The war started in May 2011 with Bashar Hafez al-Assad regime’s oppression of local demonstrators. From the very beginning of the conflict, the EU expressed its unwillingness to tolerate Assad’s crimes. EU thus severed ties with Assad by terminating all bilateral agreements and imposing sanctions. A dramatic turn in EU – Syrian relations took place in August 2011 when the EU announced that president Assad has lost the legitimacy to lead the Syrian people due to the violence committed against civilians. Subsequently, another development took place on November 2012 when the EU recognized the Syrian opposition as the legal representative of the Syrian people. Apart from the canceling of bilateral agreements, imposing of sanctions and support given to the “legitimate opposition’’, the EU made notable efforts to convince the United Nations (UN) to adopt sanctions against Syria and to therefore bring about a peaceful resolution to the conflict. Even though the EU has been engaging in the Syrian crisis though only non-militarily means – such as the application of diplomatic force and sanctions to seek a peaceful transition of power in Syria - it has tried to keep its interests on equal footing with countries which are directly militarily involved in the conflict. The purpose of study is to examine the reasons behind EU’s engagement in the Syrian crisis and the resulting relations among them – including the degree of importance of each reason for the EU. Furthermore, this paper seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of the EU’s engagement in respect to its motives. This paper finds that the reasons of the EU’s engagement and its priorities in dealing with Syria are as follows: First, migration wave and terrorism; second, energy interests; and third, humanitarian reasons and the maintaining of peace in the surrounding region. In terms of the effectiveness of the applied measures to solve or alleviate the reasons, EU measures have been partially effective in mitigating the first and third problems, but ineffective with regard the second problem.

The Impact of Ethnic Nationalism and Nouveau-Riche Nationalism on Foreign Wives’ Citizenship in South Korea

Zeljana Zmire 한국학술연구원 2021 Korea Observer Vol.52 No.3

Foreign wives have been at the center of Korean multicultural policies since South Korea (hereafter “Korea”) adopted its “Grand Plan.” This plan consists of policies and programs aimed to quickly integrate foreign wives into Korean society. As a result, their legal treatment has been relatively favorable; however, some have claimed to be mistreated socially and culturally. While a variety of reasons behind such mistreatment might be highlighted, this study focuses on Korean identity and related nationalism. The study finds that Korean identity has been mainly ethnic, and as such, it is responsible for excluding foreign wives from the sense of belonging to the same nationhood. Furthermore, ethnic nationalism has affected the social context in Korea and the emergence of nouveau-riche nationalism from the 1990s onwards. Nouveau-riche nationalism has its roots in ethnic nationalism, and it asserts a belief in Korean cultural superiority over other nations, especially less developed ones. Therefore, nouveau-riche nationalism is responsible for evaluating others based on skin color and country of origin, signifying that fairer skin is associated with the Western and more developed world, while darker skin color is associated with poorer, less developed nations. As the majority of foreign wives in Korea come from less-developed Asian countries, and particularly South East Asia, they are often discriminated against because of their darker skin color and country of origin. The study found that this prevents their full integration into society and undermines the assimilation goals set by the Korean government. The study thus stresses the importance of education and raising awareness of human rights and equality to create a fairer, more inclusive multicultural society.

Joseonjok Citizenship in South Korea: Perspectives of Korean Ethnic Nationalism, Nouveau-Riche nationalism and Ethnoracism

ZMIRE ZELJANA,김상규 현대중국학회 2023 現代中國硏究 Vol.24 No.4

With the transformation of Korea from a seemingly homogeneous and mono-cultural society toward celebrating its changing demographic composition, multiculturalism has long assumed a focal point of debate in Korean society. While this transition has received significant attention from the media, politicians, and academics, no other migrant groups drew attention as much as Joseonjok (Korean Chinese). In part because they shared the presumed Korean bloodline and spoke the Korean language, Joseonjok received preferential legal treatment and became the first large-scale in-bound group as marriage and labor migrants. At the same time, many Joseonjok have suffered from socio-economical marginalization and socio-cultural discrimination. How do we understand the simultaneous preferential status and discrimination of the Joseonjok? Previous studies tried to answer this question by looking at the legal status of Joseonjok, as a result they lacked explanatory reasons as to when and why Joseonjok are treated as co-ethnics or foreigners. Some studies tried to answer this question through a narrow and simplified framework of Korean nationalism. This study draws attention to the socio-cultural perceptions of Joseonjok in Korea as a key to understanding the simultaneous preference and discrimination they receive in Korean society. This study suggests that the discrepancy in Joseonjok treatment can be better understood by combining other conceptual devices, such as nouveau-riche nationalism and ethnoracism.

Ethnic Return Migrants in Korea and Japan: A Comparative Study of Nationalism and Citizenship

Zeljana Zmire 경남대학교 극동문제연구소 2024 ASIAN PERSPECTIVE Vol.48 No.1

This study explores the complicated nature of the citizenship of ethnic return migrants from Japan and Korea, Nikkeijin and Joseonjok. It aims to contribute to the scholarship by demonstrating that racism and nationalism are layered concepts by examining the reasons why Nikkeijin and Joseonjok enjoy preferential treatment to some extent but at the same time become targets of discrimination in Korea and Japan. I draw on Christian Joppke’s position that citizenship is composed not only of legal status but also of social and identity elements and utilize two relatively novel concepts that shed new light on the complex nature of Nikkeijin and Joseonjok citizenship. One is Takeyuki Tsuda’s concept of ethnoracism, which helps capture the type of racism aimed at groups that are not racially distinct but whose ostensible background differences are essentialized as inferior. The other is Gil-Soo Han’s nouveau-riche nationalism, which argues that migrants are evaluated according to the global and developmental status of their country of origin. This comparative analysis helps demonstrate how the lives of Joseonjok and Nikkeijin are shaped by multiple layers of nationalism, racism, and status perceptions in their respective countries of residence.

유럽 내 자생적 테러리즘 증가의 원인: 2015 파리 테러 사례연구

즈미레 젤라나 ( Zeljana Zmire ),김유은 ( Youen Kim ) 한국세계지역학회 2017 世界地域硏究論叢 Vol.35 No.4

서구 유럽에서 심각한 안보문제로 대두되고 있는 자생적 테러는 정치인 및 학자들의 주요 관심 사항이다. 학자들은 자생적 테러 문제를 이해하려는 시도 속에서 다양한 이론들을 제시하고 있는데, 이들은 개인적 차원의 분석과 사회-정치적 차원의 분석으로 대별할 수 있다. 전자는 분석은 개인이 과격한 태도를 갖게 되어 결국 자생적 테러리스트로 이어질 수 있는 개인적 이유들을 설명하고 있는데 반해 후자는 ‘이슬람 국가’(Islamic State)의 테러리스트 충원 방법과 관련하여 자생적 테러리스트의 등장을 설명한다. 이 글은 2015년 파리 테러 사례연구를 통해 어떤 차원의 분석이 파리에서의 자생적 테러 이해에 더 적합한지를 고찰하였다. 개인적 차원의 분석은 자생적 테러리스트가 될 수 있는 전제조건을 설명하는 데 유용한 반면, 사회-정치적 분석은 개인 테러조직에 참여하게 되는 필수조건을 설명한다. Homegrown terrorism is a growing security problem in Western Europe and a challenge for politicians and academics. In an attempt to comprehend the problem, academics have pointed out various theories, which this study categorizes as the individual level of analysis and socio-political level of analysis. While the individual level of analysis explains the individual reasons which may lead a person to become radicalized and eventually a homegrown terrorist, the socio-political level deals with recruitment led by the Islamic State (IS). This study intends to provide an answer as to which level of analysis is more suitable for a better understanding of the problem through the case of 2015 Paris attacks. This study demonstrates that the individual level of analysis is useful only to explain preconditions, while the socio-political level explains the necessary conditions for an individual to join a terrorist organization.