Page 160 - 《国际安全研究》2020年第4期

Journal of International Security Studies
aid-security nexus has evolved from being generally correlated to being
inter-embedded and all the way up to securitization. Security considerations have
increasingly affected the process of foreign aid and exerted a dramatic impact on the
aid carrier linking together the donor and recipient countries. In view of the
securitization factor in foreign aid, this paper aims to study the complexity and
developing trend of the aid-security nexus, examine the aid carrier from a security
perspective and finally advance the conceptual framework of “aid security”. This
framework attempts to explore diversified security threats and identify various risk
sources facing financial resources, human resources and institutional resources in the
aid process from different perspectives like international structural transformation,
relations between donors and recipients, and the domestic politics of relevant
countries. Therefore, aid security can be guaranteed through technical conditionality
and transparency, budget management, security personnel training programs as well
as reforms of the global aid system.
[Keywords] foreign aid, securitization, aid security, aid carrier, development and
security
[Author] MAO Weizhun, Associate Professor at the School of Government,
Nanjing University; Research Fellow at the Centre for Asia-Pacific Development
Studies, Nanjing University (Nanjing, 210023).

59 Political Security and Governance Dilemma of Weak States in the
International Context
XUE Liang and ZHENG Xianwu
[Abstract] Political security in the international context is increasingly presenting a
“multi-flow model” featuring diversification and interconnectivity with national
sovereignty at its core. Against the backdrop of globalization, the overall influence
exerted by weak states over international security is on the rise. Given that the
political security dynamics of weak states are closely linked to the pursuit of regime
security as well as its tensions with public security, regime security, aiming at
“freeing the ruling elites and their supporting mechanisms from threats mainly from
within”, has become a label for weak states’ political security. The core logic in
weak states’ political security is formed in their response to the “governance
dilemma in political security” featuring the profound contradictions between
short-term pursuit of regime security and long-term national construction. The
handling of this dilemma is inseparable from the intelligent integration of regime
security with human security. Since this dilemma will persist for a long time, the
theoretical exploration of the political security of weak states will witness the
evolution of such issues as forging alliances among weak states and security
regionalism. A penetrating understanding will be gained by taking into consideration
the regime security patterns as well as relevant domestic and foreign policies
adopted by weak states. More efforts will be made to explore such issues as the
constant pursuit of “soft power” by weak states to enhance their political security
and the impetus given to the promotion of specific national security concepts as
required by political security of weak states.
[Keywords] political security, weak states, governance dilemma, multiple value
[Authors] XUE Liang, Master Student, Institute of International Relations,
Nanjing University; ZHENG Xianwu, Professor, Institute of International Relations,

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