4.50 €
Keywords: Foreign and defense policy; Futenma; military bases; decision making; prime minister role
The problem of the US military bases, including the relocation of the Futenma military air station and a construction of a Futenma replacement facility (FRF) in Okinawa, has been a difficult and contested issue in Japanese domestic and foreign affairs for decades. In November 1995 Prime Minister Murayama and Vice President Al Gore established a Special Action Committee on Okinawa for deliberation on the reduction and realignment of the military bases. In April 1996 President Clinton and PM Hashimoto decided on the relocation and construction of the FRF in the prefecture within five to seven years. As of 2015 the prospects for implementation seem dim, especially after the electoral victory of the anti–base governor Onaga Takeshi in November 2014. This article focuses on the decision–making process under two consecutive prime ministers, Murayama and Hashimoto, since it was during their premiership that the issue was set on the agenda and decided upon. The article argues that on one hand PM Murayama made several important decisions, but lacking enough experience and power as a minor coalition member, as well as due to short term in office, was not able to supervise implementation of his decisions. On the other hand, PM Hashimoto did exercise strong leadership in regard to Futenma Air Base, but as the LDP president his decisions run along the general policy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who is in charge of the foreign policy formation on daily base. Furthermore, the American side agreed to the relocation since the benefits – a new and technologically advanced facility for the US army, entirely paid by the Japanese government, outweighed the hardship of the transfer. In the entire process, the Okinawan community, demanding removal of the bases outside the prefecture, was not consulted and hence the ongoing opposition to the US bases and FRF.
More...
Keywords: development; Romania; urbanism; architecture; history
Arhitectura şi contextul urbanistic ilustrează sau conturează intr-o masură importantă caracteristica esenţială a poporului ce îi dă viaţă, ce îi dă vibraţie şi o defineşte. Aşadar arhitectura veche si nouă, dar şi constructele de urbanism sunt cu atât mai interesant de urmărit cu cât ele dezvăluie parcursul istoric al unui popor şi ne lasă să intuim proprietăţile interacţiunii sociale ale acestuia. Această lucrare işi propune să analizeze evoluţia tumultoasă a Bucureştiului din perspectiva urbanistico-arhitecturală, să parcurgă toate etapele dezvoltării pentru o mai bună inţelegere a mediului construit variat si deosebit de interesant al acestui oraş, dar în acelaşi timp îşi propune să analizeze încercarea dinamică, reuşită sau nereuişită, a “oraşului” în demersul de a deveni un organism compus atât estetic cât şi funcţional. Pentru început vom incerca sa stabilim un scurt istoric al traseului pe care arhitectura si urbanismul l-au urmat în Bucureşti. Astfel vom parcurge punctual perioadele care si-au exercitat amprenta asupra orasului, urmărind influentele aduse de fiecare si integrarea acestora în structura ansamblului citadin de astăzi. Prima etapă de dezvoltare analizată este cea medievală, predominant caracterizată de construcţia mânăstirilor şi dezvoltarea aşezărilor domneşti, dar şi prin curente şi influenţe importante precum stilul brâncovenesc, neoclasicismul sau stilul eclectic. Următoarea etapă definitorie, caracterizată de un mediu economic prosper şi de un puternic motor de dezvoltare citadină, este perioada interbelică. Ea va fi urmată de perioada comunistă, o etapă lungă care a modificat radical întreaga structură urbanistico-arhitecturală a oraşului. Nu doar prin distrugerea în masă a clădirilor cu importanţă istorică semnificativă, ci şi prin stilul funcţional şi rece al construcţiilor comuniste care le-au înlocuit, majoritatea lipsite de valoare estetică sau arhitecturală. Un alt moment important adus în discuţie este cutremurul din anul 1977. Atunci o bună parte din oraş a fost distrusă datorita seismului, însă pe de altă parte conducerea comunistă, a folosit dezastrul ca pretext pentru multe demolări şi restructurări forţate, acestea făcând obiectul unei alte părţi importante ale lucrării. Capitolul ultim al lucrării prezintă modele de referinţă din diferite oraşe importante ale Europei, acestea ilustrând punctual rezolvări reuşite ale combinării constructelor arhitecturale actuale cu cele “moştenite” şi conturând direcţii demne de urmărit şi de documentat.
More...
Keywords: Asia; China; India; Japan; Pax Americana; Pax Americana Secunda; Pax Serica; CEEC; UNCLOS
Tensions have erupted then lingered along the Western Pacific rim, widened across East Asia, expanded into South Asia. They range from the most threatening, the erratic and belligerent behavior of North Korea, to the mystifying posture of China across the East and South China Seas, to the transparent build-up of “flat top” warships by India and Japan, to a myriad of other indicators of conflict. Each of these problems is solvable, some more easily than others. Each requires cooperation among the nations along the Western Pacific, notably China, frequently absent. Each must involve the United States of America. These tensions, each individually and all collectively, may be viewed pessimistically as obstacles; they are better viewed optimistically as one grand opportunity. Emerging is an opportunity for the United States and China to join forces with their allies as partners leading the way toward global peace, a reinvigoration of what was known as the “Peace of 1945” or “Pax Americana” that can become at once a “Pax Serica” [“China Peace”] as well as what could become known as the “Pax Americana Secunda” [“Second American Peace”]. Allies in the region will have to join forces, they have little choice. This paper will address some internal Strengths and Weaknesses alongside some external Opportunities and Threats that befall each of the participants and all of them collectively. It will focus primarily on the opportunities that will burgeon if China and the United States can work together, as they began to do, seriatim, from the middle of 2017 before each country imposed tariffs on the other as a strategy.
More...
Keywords: migration; Mexico;transit migration;
In recent years the increase in crime and violence rates in Mexico and Central America which has forced the population to migrate. So the population displacements, although they have economics as main reason, it is noteworthy that violent events suffered in their areas of origin have also been a trigger to abandon their homes. Unfortunately, this situation is not recognized by the states, which prefer to see the mobilizations as a solution to joint socio-economic difficulties for some sectors of the population. Without a national protection, victims are vulnerable to organized crime and therefore they resort to external displacement, crossing the border of irregular way, which violates them for the second time. The vulnerability will increase if they decide to start an international migration process.
More...
Keywords: Wahhabism; as-Saud family; reforms; Muhammad bin Salman; ulema.
In the mid-eighteenth century, the as-Saud family concluded an agreement with Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, a rebellious preacher who promoted a very literal approach to Islamic religious precepts and was against of any deviation from the initial practices of Islam. This understanding between the Wahhabis and the As-Saud family has legitimized the latter to pursue an expansionist policy and to create a sustainable state at the beginning of the twentieth century. Therefore, the Saudi monarchy monopolized political and military action,while the Wahhabi clergy took over the religious, legal and social spheres of the newly established Saudi state. However, with the "modernizing" reforms initiated by Muhammad bin Salman (MbS) in 2017 in Saudi Arabia, such as authorizing women to drive or reopening cinemas – among others - accompanied by his statements and initiatives calling for a moderate Islam - have been interpreted by the fundamentalists as a tendency to break the historic pact between the Saudi House and the Wahhabi religious institution.In this paper we will try to see to what extent the reforms so widely circulated in the regional,international and local press, are sustainable in the long term, taking into account the importance and role of Wahhabi ulema in the Saudi society and, equally, if the "moderateIslam" model promoted by MbS could find supporters among them.
More...
Keywords: United States; Mexico; migration; migration policy;
La política migratoria que surgió a partir de la culminación de manera unilateral del Programa Bracero, propició nuevas ideologías antiinmigrante y con ello, nuevas reformas políticas por las que se vieron respaldadas; dicha política se agudizó con la construcción del muro fronterizo, el poder que se otorgó a la Patrulla Fronteriza y las interminables leyes estatales en contra de la población inmigrante. Estas leyes abarcaban temas respecto al trabajo, educación y seguridad social, que contribuyen al crecimiento del conservadurismo blanco estadounidense. Como consecuencia del flujo constante de inmigrantes mexicanos en Estados Unidos, en especial los irregulares, los lineamientos migratorios se tornan hacia el nacionalismo xenofóbico.
More...
Keywords: American writers of the lost generation; American writers of the 20th century; Beatniks; Beat Generation; Allen Ginsberg
Unconventional biographies, interesting characters and individual talents of the most important American writers born at the turn of the 1930s and 1940s and belonging to the Beat Generation. The publication presents the profiles and works of the authors who became the icons of the Beat Generation, so-called the second lost generation of the young, vulnerable Americans, rebelling for freedom like in “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg. The title Beatniks are, among others: John Clellon Holmes, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, LeRoi Jones/Amiri Baraka, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Joyce Johnson, Diane di Primy and Richard Brautigan.
More...
Keywords: State border;External borders;Internal borders;Border police;Border control;Integrated border management;
In spite of numerous changes of the contemporary concept of security, state border control still has a primacy, especially regarding the EU external borders. The European Union legal regime on external borders has been established according to the principles of Schengen agreements and, the more significantly, according to national legislation of EU Member States, as well as candidate countries and other neighboring countries. Although Schengen agreements represent an integral part of EU law, EU membership does not, at the same time, mean Schengen membership, the latter usually following after a certain number of conditions have been met. A new concept of state border control includes new legal terms or makes some changes in former legal terms and categories. In this paper, the author is trying to identify some of the legal terms important to state border control and already incorporated in the legal system of the Republic of Serbia. Since the Republic of Serbia is currently in process of accession to EU and as the external borders of EU and Serbia are partly common, border control regime of the Republic of Serbia has to meet strict conditions concerning its external borders. On the other hand, the external borders regime has to be somewhat flexible, i.e. harmonized with the internal borders regime, which will be realized with EU membership.
More...
Objectives: - To raise awareness of the main theoretical elements necessary for company communication in international business in a globalized world - To form and develop international communication competences (the necessity of plurilingualism, of using various linguistic and non-linguistic registers, of continuous professional development, etc.)
More...
Keywords: Bosnia and Herzegovina; Srebrenica; diplomacy; genocide; denial; truth; justice; reconciliation; USA; EU; Russia;
Based on the reference literature, the author observes the perception of the Srebrenica genocide in the domestic and foreign public, concluding that the Srebrenica genocide is a “blood stain on the conscience of humanity”. The author paid special attention to the views of those who deny genocide and glorify war crimes and promote the ideology of hatred. In Serbia, RS and in the international community there are political actors at all levels of state and government as well as in the academia, journalism and all other institutions who are turned in sharing revisionistic narratives about genocide in Srebrenica. Despite the campaign of denial of genocide in Srebrenica which appears in different forms with an aim to revise history and to remove the indisputable facts those efforts mostly stayed without success. Evidences, expert reports, primary sources of varying provenance support the verdicts of the International tribunal for former Yugoslavia and International residual mechanism for criminal courts in Den Hague. Based on these evidences which were thoroughly verified ICTY, Mechanism and International Court of Justice in the Hague confirmed undoubtedly that genocide was committed in Srebrenica in July 1995. The 25th anniversary of genocide in Srebrenica is still performed in the shadow of political games and on the diplomatic stage of international community.
More...
Keywords: Bosnia and Herzegovina; Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; Serbia; aggression; genocide; Bosniaks; Srebrenica;
Consideration of Serbia’s policy of denying the final judgments of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia is one of the most important issues in the scientific understanding of contemporary political processes in the Western Balkans, especially in the first two decades of the XXI century. The author analyzes the reasons, motives and course of manifestation of the anti-civilization policy of denying and minimizing the committed genocide against Bosniaks.
More...
Keywords: liberal democracy; crisis; political philosophy; theory; sources; references;
More...
Keywords: Migration Series; EU; European Union; immigrants; international policy; migration policy; refugee crisis; refugee law; refugee policy; refugees;
Gender equality is a fundamental value of the European Union (EU). TheEU Member States pledged to prohibit discrimination based on sex or sexualorientation and ensure equality between women and men in all areas byaccepting the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. In itsGender Equality Strategy 2020-2025, the European Commission declaresthat “the promotion of equality between women and men is a task for theUnion, in all its activities, required by the Treaties”1. The EU also pledged toensure a secure environment for everyone, no matter what their racial orethnic origin, religion, belief, gender, age or, sexual orientation is.
More...
Keywords: Migration Series; EU; European Union; immigrants; international policy; migration policy; refugee crisis; refugee law; refugee policy; refugees;
Securitization is a complex set of processes in which political and social relations are evaluated within the framework of security. In this context, the issue of migration has become one of the most important areas where securitization is applied today. By the end of the Cold War, migration and security phenomena has started to be associated with each other and has gained new dimensions in the meantime. In this process, many different concepts, including social security, internal security, and human security, are on the agenda. The issue of migration ranks high on the national and international agenda, which are within the scope of quite different views and goals. Therefore, at the intersection of policy objectives and public interests in two important areas, various consequences for states and individuals (immigrants and citizens) emerge.
More...
Keywords: Covid-19; Pandemic; Syrian Women Refugees; Gender Perspective; Syrian; Women; Refugees;
The last days of 2019 brought some dramatic changes in all facet of our lives. The world faced with coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which was declared as “pandemic” on March 11, 2020 by The World Health Organization and on the same date, the first case was seen in Turkey (SB, 2020; WHO, 2020). The pandemic had unprecedented impacts all over the world and undoubtedly affected each and every individual, bringing new practices and changes in social life, called “new normal” (Akca and TepeKüçükoğlu, 2020). These impacts can be seen both during the downturn and the subsequent recovery period, constituting the major aspect of the sociology of COVID-19.
More...
Keywords: relations; parents; teenager; conflicts; psychologist;
It is well known that the parent-child relationship can be considered the most important of the relationships that can generally be formed between people. In addition to being a definitive and indestructible bond, it should also be the closest and strongest possible bond between people. Nothing in this world compares to a successful relationship full of understanding, respect, and love, as is the relationship between parents and their children.
More...
Keywords: Central Europe; Romania; politics; culture; literature;
Investigations by: Anavi Adam, Pia Brînzeu, Ioan Buduca, Corina Ciocârlie, Livius Ciocârlie, Andrei Corbea, Șerban Foarță, Mandies György, Ilie Gyurcsik, Viorel Marineasa, Adrian Marino, Mircea Muthu, Virgil Nemoianu, Alexandru Paleologu, Vasile Popovici, Ion Simuț, Monica Spiridon, Vladimir Tismăneanu, Daniel Vighi.
More...