PUBLIC JURIST

This issue explores the legacy of Shinzo Abe, the longest-serving Prime Minister in Japanese history who led the nation from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020 until his resignation. Without doubt, Abe is a politician of great stature, having defied the spell of short-term premierships in Modern Japan and reshaped the country in many different ways. From Abenomics to the Tokyo Olympic Games, contributors including Dr. Amy Catalinac, Professor Takeda Hiroko, Professor Sasada Hironori, Professor Aurelia George Mulgan and Professor Fabian Schäfer, give their preliminary verdict on the Abe Administration from various angles and ponder upon Post-Abe Japan.

The Year 2020 is destined to go down in history as one of the most devastating episodes experienced by mankind. This issue of Public Jurist, unlike previous issues, does not organise itself around a predetermined theme. Rather, it is a collection of articles examining different events, theories and predictions of 2020. It begins with a Book Interview on China’s National Security: Endangering Hong Kong’s Rule of Law? conducted with the two editors – Ms. Cora Chan and Professor Fiona de Londras, and followed by other articles authored by Dr. Pavel Doubek, Professor Richard Cullen, Mr. Georgios Samaras, Professor Tomasz Tadeusz Koncewicz, Dr. Rachel M Gisselquist, Mr. Durgesh Solanki, Dr. Saskia Stucki and Mr. Tomer Kenneth.

This issue explores the future of populism under COVID-19. The rise of populism in the west is a hot topic of research in recent years. In this unprecedented time, the subject matter can be addressed in a brand new perspective, to what extent would COVID-19 upset the populists’ leadership positions? This issue inspects the topic from various angles — the possibility of establishing a causal link between the pandemic and populism, the development of populism under globalization and populist COVID-19 narratives. It also includes an interview with Professor Andrés Velasco, Former Finance Minister of Chile and now Dean of the School of Public Policy at the London School of Economics, among other articles.

This special issue of the Public Jurist is dedicated to Professor Pascal Lamy, who is currently President Emeritus of the Jacque Delors Institute and former Director-General of the World Trade Organization (2005-2013), having served two consecutive terms which was an unprecedented feat. He has also served as Chief of Staff for the President of the European Commission Jacques Delors. This special issue, based on an in-depth interview with Professor Lamy, examines international trade and multilateralism in the current world, including discussions on Brexit, American protectionism, and the troubling state the World Trade Organization finds itself in.

This issue looks at the recent rise of right-wing terrorism around the world through situating the discussion around four primary themes: its causes, characteristics, consequences and counterstrategies. Contributors include Florian Hartleb, Managing Director of Hanse Advice in Tallinn (Estonia); Gus Martin, Professor of Criminal Justice Administration, California State University, Dominguez Hills; Thomas Greven, Adjunct Professor, John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies, Freie Universität Berlin; Bethan Johnson, a PhD Candidate at the Faculty of History of University of Cambridge; Zhao Tianlang, Leona, a third-year GLaws student at HKU and Leung Ho Cheung Hugo, a second-year GLaws student at HKU.

This symposium brings together international experts to review the past presidential term of Tsai Ing-wen, and discuss the geopolitical implications of her re-election on the Taiwan Strait and beyond. Professor Harry Harding, University Professor and Professor of Public Policy at the University of Virginia was interviewed on the potential impacts of the historic 2020 Taiwanese election on the island’s interplay with Mainland China and the US. Contributors include China-Vatican relations expert Professor Sr Beatrice Leung, SPB, regional defence strategist Professor Yasuhiro Matsuda and political historian Professor Madoka Fukuda, among others.

This special issue of the Public Jurist is dedicated to Dr. Tonio Borg, currently Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Laws, University of Malta. He has held many key ministerial positions during his time as a Member of Parliament of Malta, including Minister of Foreign Affairs (2008-2012) and Deputy Prime Minister (2004-2012). He was also nominated to the position of European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy in 2012 which he held until 2014. This special issue entitled "Life as a Veteran Maltese Constitutional Statesmen" includes an interview with him in which he shared views on Malta’s constitutional reform and the future of European solidarity.

This issue of Public Jurist is dedicated to the latest book published by Dr. Enze Han, Associate Professor at the Department of Politics and Public Administration, HKU, entitled Asymmetrical Neighbors: Borderland State Building Between China and Southeast Asia. His book proposes an alternative pathway to conceptualizing the idea of state formation by viewing it as an interactive process across state borders, and applies the theoretical framework to explain why Myanmar has failed to consolidate control over its borderland region. This issue includes a review of the book launch webinar hosted by Dr. Han earlier this year and a follow-up interview in which we explored deeper issues in relation to his work.

​This issue of Public Jurist recounts the episodes that shocked the international energy sector and looks at possible solutions acceptable to both giants. Contributors are all experts in the politics and economics of the international oil market. They include Mark N. Katz, Professor of Government and Politics at George Mason University and Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council; Mamdouh G Salameh, an international oil economist and Visiting Professor of Energy Economics at the ESCP Europe Business School; Duccio Basosi, Associate Professor at Ca’ Foscari University Venice and Guy Burton, Adjunct Professor of International Affairs at Vesalius College, Brussels.

This issue addresses the tensions inherent at the intersection of art and law. To the extent that art serves as a social vanguard, artists have constantly provoked and expanded jurisprudential discourse. From the authorisation of the label of art, to the activation of the legal apparatus in artistic creation, the consortium explores how art activates, provokes and interferes with the law at the nexus of such developments. Although primarily focusing on artwork and cases within the United States, the salient issues resonate in alternative geographical and cultural contexts.

This issue of Public Jurist probes into how the Enabling Act (commonly known as the emergency coronavirus legislation) passed in late March further decimates Hungarian democracy and asks whether Viktor Orbán’s illiberal democracy has finally triumphed. Contributors include Dr. Antal Attila, Senior Lecturer, Eötvös Loránd University; Professor Attila Ágh, Professor, Corvinus University of Budapest; Professor Tímea Drinóczi, Professor, University of Pécs; Professor Umut Korkut, Professor in International Politics, Glasgow Caledonian University; and Professor Matthijs Bogaards, Visiting Professor, Central European University.

This Public Jurist explores the role and authority of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in an increasingly polarizing international political landscape, including delving into Hong Kong, China, and the United States. The issue features in-depth discussions from interviews with Professor Pascal Lamy, former Director-General of the WTO (2005-2013), Mr. Stuart Harbinson, former permanent representative of HKSAR, China to WTO, and Professor Julien Chaisse, celebrated scholar on international economic law. Renowned scholars Dr. Ge Chen and Dr. Steve Charnovitz contributed illuminating commentaries on the WTO’s legacy and future.

This issue of Public Jurist explores the political and legal implications brought by the novel coronavirus, both domestically and internationally. Illuminating insights are offered from interviews with Professor Lai Ching-lung, Chair of Medicine and Hepatology at the Li Kai Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, and Dr. Hon. Pierre Chan, Legislative Council Member for the Medical functional constituency. Moreover, remarkable articles from renowned scholars, namely former European Commissioner for Health (2013-2014) Dr. Tonio Borg, Professor Markus Kornprobst, Dr. Stephanie A. Strobl, and Dr. Sylvester Chima, explore the global significance of COVID-19.

This symposium on 2020 Russian Constitutional Amendments brings together global scholars from Russia and beyond and attempts to unearth the meanings of these amendments. Contributors include Professor Richard Sakwa, Professor Eugene Huskey, Professor Sanjay Kumar Rajhans, Mr. Punsara Amarasinghe and Dr. Emil Avdaliani. Associate Professor Alexey D. Muraviev, Associate Professor of National Security and Strategic Studies at Curtin University, Western Australia was also interviewed on the implications of the amendments towards the geopolitical strategies of Russia as well as prospects of Russian Democracy, among other topics.