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This research aims to examine the US–China policy shift from Obama to Biden emphasizing the centrality of Taiwan question in the geostrategic competition with Beijing and its prospect if the US strategy remains unchanged.

A conceptual framework is outlined, illustrating how the US grand strategy is driven by the ideological foundation of Exceptionalism. The paper highlights the associated US policy changes that evolved from Obama to Trump and then Biden to advance Washington's strategic interests in its rivalry with China over Taiwan.

Biden's policy led to an escalating geopolitical competition with Beijing over Taiwan to maintain US supremacy. The Biden administration is more stringent than the previous administrations on the Taiwan question and there is the conviction that the USA must not back down on Taiwan because the alternative will be a retraction of US world primacy to Beijing. With Washington's persistent hegemonic strategy, the US–China confrontation over Taiwan seems inevitable.

The research highlights how the Biden administration managed a perpetuated Ukraine crisis and forged unprecedented high-level ties with Taiwan, indicating the administration's determination to exacerbate contentions with Beijing over Taiwan rather than de-escalate.

This study predicts the growth of Africa's international trade from 2011 to 2040 by accounting for the uncertainties in the continent.

This study applies a scenario planning method (SPM) to develop multiple future scenarios considering uncertainties inherent in African socio-economies related to the success or failure of economic and industrial policies (EIPs) and economic corridor development policies (ECDPs). Subsequently, based on these future scenarios, the growth of African international trade from 2011 to 2040 is predicted using the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) model.

The predictions reveal that if the EIPs and the ECDPs are successfully implemented, Africa, as a whole, will experience a significant increase in trade, estimated at US$ 1,905 billion and US$ 1,599 billion for exports and imports, respectively, compared to the scenario in which they fail. However, the effects vary greatly by country or region and industrial sector. The results also show that African intra-regional trade is rapidly expanding and is the second-largest after trade with Europe followed by other continents.

SPM, which allows us to reflect the uncertainties affecting African international trade prediction, is applied to build the future scenarios. The study comprehensively predicts African future international trade by setting a wide range of exogenous variables and parameters (input conditions for the GTAP model) related to EIPs and ECDPs.

According to the conventional wisdom, trade is not a zero-sum game, but a positive-sum game. By allowing countries to focus on producing the goods that they can produce relatively efficiently, free trade is largely beneficial for everyone involved. Then, why are the world’s two largest economies (i.e. the USA and China) currently engaged in a trade war, which is likely to hurt their own economies? What is the driving force for the trade war between the two economic giants? The purpose of this paper is to offer an explanation of the underlying cause of the US–China trade war.

In an effort to make sense of the trade war between the USA and China, the paper draws the insights from the two international relations theories – i.e. hegemonic stability theory and power transition theory.

As China continues to threaten US hegemony in the world in general and East Asia in particular, the Sino–US competition for hegemony will intensify over time. As a result, the trade war between the two countries may persist longer than many anticipate. Further, even if the trade war between the two superpowers ends soon, a similar type of conflict is likely to occur later as long as the Sino–US hegemonic rivalry continues.

The central thesis of this paper is that “US fear” about its declining hegemony and China’s rapid rise as a challenger of US hegemony is driving a US-launched trade war with China. Since the underlying cause of the trade war between the world’s two largest economies is political (i.e. the Sino–US hegemonic rivalry) rather than economic (e.g. US attempts to improve the trade balance with China by imposing tariffs on Chinese goods), the paper contends that the full understanding of the trade war requires close attention to the importance of power competition between the two superpowers.

Transformative learning and leadership are key leverage points for supporting society’s transition towards sustainability. The purpose of this study was to identify the outcomes of transformational learning within an international sustainability leadership master’s program in Sweden. The study also prototypes a typology for transformative learning (TTL) in the context of sustainability leadership education.

Alumni spanning 15 cohorts provided answers to a survey, and the responses were used to identify the outcomes of the program. Graduates were asked to describe what transformed for them through the program. Empirical data was coded prototyping the use of the TTL in sustainability education context.

Graduates of the Master’s in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability program, described transformation with regards to their Self-in-relation to Others and the World, their Self-knowledge, sense of Empowerment/Responsibility; their Worldview became More Comprehensive or Complex, and they gained New Awareness/New Understandings which transformed their Worldview. Many described transformations in their general Ways of Being in the world. Findings suggest the TTL learning as a good basis for analysis in the education for sustainable development (ESD) context. Suggestions for the TTL include further development of the process that articulates the relational, interdependent and perhaps a priori relationships between elements that transform.

This study presents the outcomes of transformational learning within an international sustainability leadership master’s program. It prototypes the use of a TTL within the ESD context using empirical data. This combination provides practical insights to a dynamic, often theoretical and hard to articulate process.

This study presents the outcomes of transformational learning within an international sustainability leadership master’s program. It prototypes the use of a TTL in the ESD context and assesses the outcomes of a sustainability leadership program using empirical data. This combination provides practical insights to a dynamic, often theoretical and hard to articulate process.

Transformative learning (TL) and leadership are key leverage points for supporting society’s transition toward sustainability. The purpose of this study is to identify essential components of TL within an international sustainability leadership master’s program in Sweden that has been described by many students as life-changing, empowering and transformational.

Alumni spanning 15 cohorts provided answers to a survey and the responses were used to map components of TL as experienced by the students.

The survey confirms the anecdotal assertions that the program is transformational. The findings suggest that community, place, pedagogy, concepts and content, disorientation and hope and agency are essential components, combined with the synergy of those into an integrated whole that support transformational change according to many respondents.

This study provides program designers and educators with suggested components and emphasizes their integration and synergy, to support TL experiences for sustainability leaders.

Aircraft fail to meet mission capable rate goals due to a lack of supply of aircraft parts in inventory where the aircraft breaks. This triggers an order at the repair location. To maximize mission capable rate, the time from order to delivery needs to be minimized. The purpose of this research is to examine the case of three airfields for the order to delivery time of mission critical aircraft parts for a specific aircraft type.

This research captured data from three information systems to assess the order fulfillment process. The data were analyzed to determine the performance in fiscal year 2020. Using the model of that performance, the cost of reducing transportation times using publicly available commercial cost estimates was assessed against the impact on aircraft availability.

The results indicate that paying the costs for expedited shipping would have increased aircraft availability by 1.09 times the average annual aircraft flying hours for the three cases. The cost for the equivalent of an additional aircraft for the year was a third of the annual straight-line depreciation for that aircraft type.

This research assumed that the transportation time service levels publicly posted could be achieved. The weight of each mission critical part was not available, so the weight was selected from a probability distribution of mission critical part weights that was retrieved from prior research. This research provides options to enhance aircraft availability and identifies the associated costs.

Adjusting the contract with transportation providers to reduce the transportation times of mission critical parts could have a large impact on aircraft availability at relatively little cost.

This research could enhance aircraft readiness in service of the common defense.

This research provides an effective methodology for enhancing military readiness through contract adjustments with commercial partners. The value of this research is that it will serve to adjust the value proposition of mission critical parts inside the United States Transportation Command’s Next Generation Delivery Service contract.

This study aims to explore why marine development and maritime security in Pakistan are significant and what the Chinese concerns are. Therefore, the objective of this research is to analyse a growing Pak–China bilateral interests, particularly at Gwadar, to achieve the geostrategic objectives of China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The study adopts a qualitative means to discuss the significance of China’s ambitions towards the CPEC project concerning strategic deep-sea management and maritime regulations in the region, with a particular focus on the Gwadar Port.

The paper concludes that the Gwadar Port is a critical element for maritime security in the whole region. The study also provides an analysis of national and international, security and legal challenges associated with CPEC.

Most of the potential outcomes have already been discussed in public, though a limited academic discussion is available on the legal aspects. It is particularly so with regard to the development and capacity building in the maritime sector of Pakistan under this project. This study aims to explore why marine development and maritime security in Pakistan is significant and what the Chinese concerns are.