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The article aims to consider the relationship between foreign investors and trade unions in forging new labour relations and workplace institutions in Polish firms. The research focuses on the role of foreign investment and the agency of workers' organisations in the transformation of workplace relations

An institutionalist approach is adopted which focuses on structural, institutional and political influences on workplace relations. The research is based on interviews with senior managers and trade unions in 15 foreign investment firms in Poland.

There is a continued presence of trade unions in brownfield foreign investments and the establishment of new trade union branches in greenfield foreign investments. Labour relations in the majority of the case study companies were characterised by managers and workers as conflictual. Efforts by foreign investors to introduce their home or global practices were contested by trade unions. A continuation of previous legacies was evident in the importance placed by trade unions on communication, negotiation and establishing agreements with management.

The sample was comprised of transnational manufacturing companies and the conclusion cannot automatically be applied to other sectors where foreign investors have a strong presence.

Insights into workplace relations in Poland are provided which will be of interest to foreign investors and European trade unions.

Trade unions have been neglected in analysing new corporate structures in Poland and this article addresses their role in the workplace and their interrelationship with foreign investors.

Economic diplomacy refers to methods and processes by which states take advantage of cross-border economic activities to achieve their national interests. It makes connections between the sphere of corporate players, who export or invest abroad, and the sphere of diplomats, who represent the state on the international scene and implement geopolitical decisions. The main purpose of this paper is to provide an overall and coherent framework for asking, classifying and discussing the main issues raised by economic diplomacy. It investigates concepts such as national interest, power and influence. It surveys the relevant literature and deals with various expressions of economic diplomacy such as export promotion agencies, economic role of embassies and consulates, or international economic sanctions. It analyzes the two-way relationship between international economics and international politics, which is at the core of economic diplomacy, and tries to answer the following questions: on the global scene, is diplomacy just accompanying the economy? Is diplomacy driving the economy?

This paper aims to examine the effects of domestic structure forces on “sub-national” foreign policy (SFP); an analytical concept provides a suitable operational framework for research on international activities of sub-national entities or regions.

The paper is carried out on the basis of a theoretical framework proposed by the author. First, the dependent variable is defined. Then, domestic structure is broken down into four variables, including legal grounds, the level of autonomy, the type of intergovernmental relations and institutionalization. A comparative method is used to examine the validity of the theoretical framework.

The paper finds out that domestic structural forces influence level and form of SFP with some regularity. The influence of these forces on SFP can be explained, as they recur and have such consistent effects that they create patterns and regularities in SFP. Such regularities can be detected through systematic analysis.

The topic of SFP is relatively controversial because of academic debate over international agency of substate actors. However, it is a worthwhile subject of research, as it has the potential to revolutionize research in foreign policy analysis. Moreover, the phenomenon of SFP is in need of theorizing and comparison as the literature on SFP is still in its infancy.

Although studies on Chinese industrial relations (IR) have examined topics such as unionization and collective bargaining, little is known about employers’ reactions to recent IR changes. In particular, researchers have not thoroughly considered foreign employers’ labor relations strategies. Amidst this background, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how a foreign employer perceives and responds to the recent IR changes in China.

This paper conducted an exploratory, inductive study of the Chinese subsidiary of one multinational corporation. The data were collected through the author’s extensive fieldwork at its headquarters and Chinese subsidiary.

This paper shows that the union of a foreign firm in China serves three major functions – a collective voice, a monopoly, and an external affairs function – and that the firm’s interpretation of these functions has changed within China’s dynamic IR environment. Further, this paper finds that an employer has initiated its own compliance strategies, such as forming a friendly union, decoupling the union’s functions, de-collectivizing employment relations through effective HR practices and stricter policies, and scaling down in size to reduce administrative burden.

By introducing an employer perspective regarding recent IR changes, this paper provides a nuanced understanding of unionization and collective bargaining implementation in China. In addition, this paper identifies an emerging pattern of employer perception and response in China, highlighting unique features that have not been addressed in the existing literature on employers’ anti-union behavior. This study’s contributions also facilitate further research encompassing different contexts.

This paper aims to examine the secessionist orientation of Kurdistan Region’s paradiplomacy in the context of two main variables: the internal structural variables in Iraq after 2003 and the nationalism variable.

This study relies on the theory of neoliberalism to explain the transformation of Kurdistan’s paradiplomacy to protodiplomacy. It also relies on legal approach through using the Iraqi constitution and the draft constitution for the Kurdistan Region.

The internal structural variables are one of the main variables to motivate the region with advanced nationalism to pursue a protodiplomacy. Secession or forming an independent state of Kurds is a historic requirement supported by the advanced nationalism of Iraqi Kurds.

This study encourages focusing on the crucial role of the internal structural variables that drive the regions, especially with the advanced nationalism to pursue a protodiplomacy. Also, this study recommends giving more focus on the external variables and Kurdistan’s secession.

This paper reveals the reality of Kurdistan’s protodiplomacy.

This research explores the intricate dynamics of national interests realised through Japan's official development assistance (ODA) to China. It aims to deepen the understanding of these mechanisms, detailing the extent to which Japan has accomplished its national interests.

The paper applies the role theory and narrative analysis to elucidate Japan's national role conception and its categories of national interests with regards to its ODA policy. It utilises both qualitative and quantitative methods to examine the success rate in achieving Japan's diplomatic objectives and how those interests have manifested over time.

The findings suggest a mixed outcome. Whilst Japan's ODA to China has helped in expanding trade and fostering mutual understanding and cooperation, it has been less successful in promoting democratic governance in China or effectively counterbalancing China's regional power. Hence, the realisation of national interests through ODA is a complex process contingent upon numerous factors.

This study stands out for its multifaceted approach in examining Japan's ODA policy towards China, integrating both quantitative and qualitative methodologies and applying the role theory in the context of international development aid. It fills a significant gap in the literature by analysing the interplay between national interests and foreign aid, providing nuanced insights into the successes and challenges of Japan's pursuit of its diplomatic objectives. The study's findings have important implications for understanding the complexity of international aid dynamics and can inform future policy decisions in the realm of international relations and foreign aid.

The purpose of this paper is to examine economic relations between Hong Kong and the UK, especially since 2012, in order to shed light on the management of Hong Kong’s external relations.

The context for the research is discussion of “grey areas” between Hong Kong’s external relations and foreign affairs. Research is based on textual analysis of British and some Hong Kong policy documents, government statements and media reports, as well as personal discussions with many involved in UK-Hong Kong ties.

The paper finds that the UK-Hong Kong economic relationship is managed autonomously, demonstrating Hong Kong’s external economic affairs and bilateral exchanges being practised with a high degree of autonomy. It also shows the importance that the British government attaches to its economic relationship with Hong Kong in its own right, and the likely increase in that importance as Brexit unfolds.

The paper engages in detailed analysis of economic relations between the UK and Hong Kong, in contrast to most post-1997 studies which have focused on Hong Kong’s ties with the USA or European Union.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of bilateral political relations on the completion stage premium of cross-border mergers and acquisitions(CSPCMA) and the moderating roles of cultural distance, trade openness and the nature of firm ownership for this relationship.

Based on a sample of 401 cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) conducted by Chinese companies from 1995 to 2019 in the Statistical Data Center (SDC), this article used weighted least squares (WLS) to empirically test the impact of bilateral political relations between countries on the CSPCMA.

The better the target country of entry’s bilateral political relations with China, the lower the premium of the transaction price paid by Chinese companies at the completion stage of cross-border M&A. Among the moderators, the study found cultural distance positively moderates the relationship between bilateral political relations between countries and CSPCMA. The degree of trade openness of the target country negatively moderates the relationship between bilateral political relations between countries and CSPCMA. The negative relationship between bilateral political relations between countries and CSPCMA is stronger when the acquirer is a state-owned enterprise (SOE).

The findings of this study not only add to the knowledge about the relationship between bilateral political relations and corporate cross-border M&A premiums, but also have managerial implications for Chinese corporate managers to sustainably reduce corporate cross-border M&A premiums.

Libraries, museums and cultural centers have long served as cultural ambassadors and foreign policy instruments, bridging diplomatic relationships among nation-states and institutions. The purpose of this scoping review is to ascertain and understand the emerging areas of research on libraries, museums and cultural centers in foreign policy and cultural diplomacy within broader research paradigms of international relations, social sciences, education and library and information studies by systematically mapping key concepts and identifying the types of studies and knowledge gaps.

Using the Joanna Briggs Institute’s (JBI) Manual for Evidence Synthesis, relevant peer-reviewed journal articles, books and book chapters that were published over a wide time period in any language from various databases were systematically examined. Two reviewers worked independently to extract the data and reached a consensus regarding the inclusion criteria using the JBI’s data charting template.

In total, 6,436 citations were screened, and 57 documents were identified as eligible for inclusion. The following sequences were reviewed and explored: study characteristics, theoretical approaches and research themes. The research themes were grouped into broader ones that included goals, actors, strategies and instruments. Finally, the concentration and clusters of ideas and gaps that emerged in the identified studies were investigated, resulting in a discussion of the recommendations and directions for future research.

This first scoping review is a useful tool for investigating the changing and novel roles of libraries, museums and cultural centers in cultural diplomacy and foreign policy. Although substantial work exists on the topic, the potential remains for interdisciplinary research to challenge and extend the current knowledge about cultural diplomacy practices in libraries, museums and cultural centers.

While propaganda was central to U.S. public diplomacy in earlier times, and remains central today, the United States must now practice true public diplomacy, which should rely, not only on political theory and the theories of international relations, but also on theories and models of public relations that are based on two‐way symmetrical communication and community‐building. A propaganda model centers the United States at the hub of the global milieu in its relationships with other nations, i.e., a diplomatic worldview in which the ‘spokes’ of America's communication and relationships radiate outward to satellites of stakeholders; in contrast, the United States is not centered so self‐importantly in a community‐building model. Rather, this model recognizes that America is only one part of a global social system. America's public diplomacy must recognize that the United States' global constituents are ‘publics,’ not ‘markets,’ and that an effective public diplomacy model must be one that is not propaganda or market‐oriented advocacy, but one that is based on two‐way symmetrical communication and community‐building.