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AbstractThis article explores the concept and dynamics of the newly formed, and increasingly popular, Friendship Agreements, between local councils in Australia, and their counterpart district administrations in Timor Leste. The history and purpose of international municipal links are explored and contrasted with current Friendship Agreement policy and practice. The key elements of making international municipal links a success are examined and the main impediments to forging and maintaining sustainable partnerships are discussed and contrasted with the Australian/Timorese experience. The article offers suggestions for creating sustainable, vibrant links. It argues that those Agreements built on notions of paternalism are less likely to succeed than those that are committed to relationship and trust building between and within communities in Australia and Timor Leste. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Soviet Union had tied Finland to its security system through the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance (FCMA) signed between the two in 1948. As the Soviet Union began to disintegrate at the end of the 1980s, Finland exited the Soviet sphere of influence – the region controlled through a system of bilateral and multilateral agreements. This article analyses the Soviet–Finnish negotiations to discard the FCMA treaty as a case study of the changing Soviet European neighbourhood policy. It gives important insights into the disintegration of the Soviet foreign policy mechanism during the Gorbachev era as it elaborates on both the intra-bureaucracy conflicts between the Kremlin and the Soviet foreign ministry, MID, and later between the Soviet central government and the Russian republic. As Finland was part of the Soviet security system, analysing Finland's exit from it sheds light onto the crucial change that took place in the Soviet foreign policy doctrine during the perestroika years. The Gorbachev leadership's decision not to defend its sphere of influence with force paved way for the upheavals of 1989 which led to the Cold War's end. ; Peer reviewed

30 years have passed since the full-scale renewal of relations between Russia and the countries of Central (at that time Eastern) Europe. With an error of one year plus/minus, in 1991, 1992 and 1993, fundamentally new agreements on friendship and cooperation were signed, designed for a long-term perspective and the possibility of bringing relations to a new denominator. Unfortunately, the period of ideological renewal turned out to be short-lived, taking place against the background of the deterioration of economic relations until the mid-1990-ies and in the end, it ran into a wall of lack of strategic vision in rapidly changing international realities and a narrowing space of mutual understanding. Even the exceptional pragmatism of relations with which Russia emerged from Medvedev's presidency and after Putin's Munich speech did not save these relations from almost complete destruction, where the years superimposed on the Covid-19 epidemic turned out to be particularly catastrophic and the battle with the Sputnik vaccine was followed by very real hostilities.

Does the concept of political friendship make sense, and does cultivating political friendship among peoples strengthen universal peace? This article provides an Aristotelian account of political friendship as distinct from but analogous to personal friendship. Political friendships, founded on mutual recognition and respect, are characterized by consensual agreement about the fundamental terms of cooperation. While promoting such political friendship at the global level would be a measure to strengthen universal peace, another form of friendship, politicized friendship, is to be avoided, as it is driven by rivalrous rather than equitable self-interest, and breeds political enmity and strife. Taking Aristotle's insights about political friendship to the global arena, the article considers Rawlsian peoples to be suitable subjects for political friendship. The duty of assistance and the duty to oppose outlaw states illuminate demands of political friendship among Rawlsian peoples that entail equity, power sharing and even sacrifice.

China and Pakistan share what is widely known as an 'all weather friendship'. The historical roots of this friendship can be traced to 1963, when the two countries entered into a border agreement that divided territory in Pakistan-administered-Kashmir. Since then, China has provided missile and nuclear technology to Pakistan. It has limited the potential for escalation in the time of war between India and Pakistan and is the largest economic investor in Pakistan. The benefits of this friendship for Pakistan are clear. Yet, there is little detail on what led to the making of the 'all weather friendship'. This article provides a detailed account of Sino-Pakistani relations between 1949 and 1963. It argues that whilst the 1963 agreement led to a turning point, the Pakistani establishment – military and civilian – sought to engage China since 1949. They did so to create strategic options for themselves in the event that the US and the UK – Pakistan's main allies following independence – limited or worse, ended their support for Pakistan in its troubled relations with India. This article is based on primary sources available in the US, Britain, as well as recently declassified and hitherto unused papers in India.