مطالب

The significance of having an alliance was defined in the Great War when weak European and strong countries decided to ally to fight the mighty power of the Central Powers. Afterward, fragile countries decided to join strong alliances to overcome threats from their neighbors. The Second World War was another example of being allied with strong countries to cope with threats from Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and the Japanese Empire. During the Winter War and Russia-Ukraine War, Finland, and Ukraine, respectively, resemble weak countries with limited military and economic capabilities taking on a dominant and belligerent force. Neorealism is one of the structural theories in International Relations, which states that states intend and follow the balance of power to ensure their security. Neorealism posits that security organizations and alliances are vital tools in the pursuit of balancing threats and ensuring national security. This research aims to highlight the importance of alliances with Russia's neighbors to avoid future conflicts with Russia. The main question of this research is why Russia's neighbors need to form or join alliances to hedge against Russia's aggression and assist member states in reducing the large amount of budget spent on military expenses. This research argues that Finland's position in 1939 and Ukraine's in 2022 are the consequence of self-reliance under an anarchic system without having an alliance and leading to final defeat or territory cession. This paper argues alliances can secure European countries and act as a shield from Russia's threats. This research will employ the explanatory method as its research method.

The purpose of this study is to examine the protracted border problems of Indonesia - Timor Leste, especially unresolved segments in the Noel Besi - Citrana area. The method used in this research is qualitative research with a case study approach. The findings in this study show that the protracted land boundary problem between Indonesia and Timor Leste, namely the unresolved segment Noel Besi-Citrana, is caused by differences in interpretation between Indonesia and Timor Leste of the 1904 Treaty. Therefore, the Noel Besi River and its estuary, as contained in the 1904 Treaty, are still a matter of debate between Indonesia and Timor Leste. The error in the 1904 Treaty was to define an object using two definitions, geometrically and toponymical, which caused later debate. This condition has an impact on the social conditions of border communities, to be prone to conflict due to the unclear territorial boundaries of the country.