We kindly inform you that, as long as the subject affiliation of our 300.000+ articles is in progress, you might get unsufficient or no results on your third level or second level search. In this case, please broaden your search criteria.
The paper is the first part of a research, dedicated to the problem of how national identity of Kosovo is forged. It is analysed from the point of view of a particular case study – the missing persons and how their character is represented in the public discourses of Prishtina, Belgrad, and how the international community is involved.The problem of national identity building is considered in its complexity, taking into account numerous rival projects. The museum exhibition, dedicated to missing persons and cultural heritage artifacts could be regarded as case study.All the actors on the terrain apply their own ideological strategies, which could be identified in the concept of the “Missing” exhibition: how the personal memory is being domesticated and turned into history of the nation, how the transition from text to action was carried out, how memory, oblivion and history were (ab-)used as social building ideological toolkits. Particular attention was paid to the problem of the conceptualization of the recent past: how it was interpreted and attributed signs of prestige by the social actors involved in accordance to the interests of each of them.The ethnic conflict paradigm as a key concept widely used in contemporary humanities for explaining the Kosovo case as well as the disintegration of Yugoslavia is put under question. The history of the Museum of Kosovo is also involved, the debate between Belgrade and Prishtina for returning 1247 initially taken artifacts transported to Gračanica monastery and then to Belgrade in 1998 along with the withdrawal of the Yugoslav administration of the region is traced in its history and ideology, establishing references to the Kosovo myth, based on the folklore epics which were first published by Vik Karadžić in the 1820s and later became a canonized version of late medieval Serbian history.
More...
This article presents the situation that prevails in „temporary” sanctuaries known as humanitarian zones, or colloquially speaking – refugee camps managed by UNHCR in sub-Saharan Africa on the example of Kenya. The invention of refugee camps as a kind of modern refugia is increasingly being criticized in the world. „Protection” and „aid” provided there consist in controlling and keeping their residents alive without giving them the opportunity to live independently. This system is quite convenient for both host countries and the whole so-called humanitarian industry operating according to marketing logic. The system removes the burden of dealing directly with refugees from host countries and the humanitarian industry hasa kind of market of suffering and excluded refuges which legitimize its existence. It justifies the question whether the camps really provide security and help that they promise? Refugees get voluntarily to the refugee camps, but why in that case do they have a sense of imprisonment when they are there? Why the international refugee protection system that promised sustainable solutions can not solve their problems? Why do refugees in the camps often feel that they are in a trap, from which it is difficult to escape? In the text I refer critically to the existing ways of providing protection and assistance to refugees. I underline the significant discrepancies between the declarations on the part of humanitarian organizations and results of their actions. I suggest rethinking the humanitarian aid system called the „International Refugee Regime”, entangled in contradictions and helpless in the face of the suffering that he promised to remove.
More...
In this paper we present our research about the economic situation in Eastern Slovakia based on official data and on own surveys in the region of Rožňava. We also present our results concerning the economic situation in Uzhgorod region, Ukrainian Transcarpathia. Additionally we discuss the migration trends in Eastern Slovakia and the Ukrainian migration to this part of Slovakia, and especially the one originated from Transcarpathia. Our results with students at the Universities of Košice and Prešovshow the interest of the Ukrainian young people to stay in Slovakia or to emigrate to neighboring EU countries in order to have more professional opportunities, compared to Ukraine.
More...
The question of the correlation between Islam, political Islam and liberal democracy has so far been the most exposed topic in exploring the democratic capacity of political Islam and Islamic societies in general. What is particularly intriguing about the relationship between political Islam and liberal democracy is the fact of its westernized triviality that has received a pejorative tone in Islamic political circles. Simplified, the triviality of liberal democracy for the Islamic political campus implies imposing a model of democracy that cannot be fully compatible with the original Muslim notion of society and government. Hence, the following paper analyzes exactly the relations of political Islam to specific inherent categories of liberal democracy such as the rule of law, representative government, the separation of powers and secularism as diferenta specifica of liberal western democratic discourse. Through the methods of induction and deduction, the author will illustrate how appropriate tangent or divergence is illustrated and how this is reflected in the general ideological positioning of political Islam towards liberal democracy in Muslim countries through an axiological and praxeological perspective.
More...
Myanmar has crafted a neutral foreign policy since its colonial years to avoid leaning too much on any foreign power, but a spiraling political crisis at home is pushing it toward China as a buffer against international outrage. Myanmar faces charges of genocide against the Rohingya. China has backed Myanmar in the UN. In fact, China is in a similar situation. China is grappling with international criticism over perceived repression of ethnic Uighur people. Myanmar is exposed to various words and loud in the international community. So Myanmar wants to improve relations with China and is turning into an active cooperative attitude as a strategy to secure a friendly army. This paper shows how the diplomatic relations between Myanmar and China are changing, and how Myanmar’s foreign strategy toward China is approaching. Also this article analyzes the outlook of diplomatic relations and the implications of the current situation.
More...
South Sudan, which separated from Sudan in 2011 after nearly 40 years of civil war, was embroiled in a new devastating conflict at the end of 2013. This happened when political disputes coupled with preexisting ethnic and political fault lines became brutal. This conflict has mostly targeted civilians and most often, ethnic groups, and warring parties have been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The conflict has resulted in a major humanitarian crisis, mass displacement and mass atrocities against South Sudanese citizens. Notwithstanding, instability in South Sudan has made the country one of the most dangerous countries for humanitarian aid workers in the world, especially as majority of them have lost their lives during their operation. In view of this, the article seeks to interrogate the main driving forces that triggered the deadly conflict and also the ramifications brought upon the population as well as the country.
More...
Drug trafficking has become the new threat to the economic and political stability of the West Africa sub-region; by virtue of its new toga as the new transit hub for drug trafficking. 80% and 13% of seizures in cocaine transhipment annually of 60 – 250 tons to Europe and globally respectively, passes the West African maritime borderlands/coast. The informal economy based on drugs has replaces over $400 million contribution to the region’s GDP from fishing. The impacts of drug trafficking had had a long negative toll on the institutions of the states and state-building infrastructure in the region. Besides, intra-states conflicts, drug money and activities had exacerbated state failure in the region; notably in Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Guinea, etc. The West African Coast Initiative is making crawling impacts. Although, still in its pilot phase, it had enhanced coordination of intelligence in the region on drug trafficking and organized crime. However, it is still short of fundamentally addressing obvious policy gap, due to its lack of clear focus; plus, being only operational in just five West African states. This paper identified absence of comprehensive maritime coordination policy against drug trafficking in West Africa as the bane of the surge. Therefore, a tripartite approach, based on state, regional and global levels policy restructuring in the region is required.
More...
This paper analyzes the phenomenon of the seasonal workers in Europe before the Covid-19 pandemic and discusses the legislation for intermediation job intermediation agencies in several East European countries such as Bulgaria, Romania and Poland. Additionally we discuss the typical patterns for seasonal migration in European context. We also analyze the situation of seasonal workers in Scandinavia (the berry picking activity in Sweden), in Spain (the orange picking in the Mediterranean regions) as well as the Ukrainian seasonal workers in some of the Visegrad-4 countries (Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia). Finally, we briefly discuss some novel approaches which might be used as regulation mechanisms.
More...
After the onset of Western sanctions in 2014, the Russian National Card Payment System (NSPK) and its corresponding Mir bank cards launched the following year. Five years later, estimates show that 56 million people are using Mir cards, more than 20 percent of Russia’s bank card market and will be operational in twelve foreign countries. Traditionally, scholars have examined Russian soft power as aiming to integrate post-Soviet countries with Russia and Central Asian countries through promoting beneficial economic and cultural relationships. With the Mir card system, Russia is seeking primarily to become less dependent on a dollar-dominated financial system, as well as to avoid potentially increasing US sanctions and to overarchingly seek to build a multipolar system. This research will investigate the Mir card system.
More...
Despite the growing body of research on authoritarian regimes, few studies address the issues of their legitimization through exaggerating external threats and constructing enemy images. Targeting the gap in the literature, this article explores the discursive strategies of ‘evilization’ and demonization of the ‘other’, with a focus on their implications for legitimating and sustaining the authoritarian regimes in post-Soviet space. Examining the cases of Russia and Azerbaijan, the qualitative, comparative analysis presented in this article uncovers a series of essential similarities between the regimes’ legitimization strategies. Findings suggest that there has been a strong tendency in both Russian and Azerbaijani discourses to ‘externalize’ major problems facing the countries and scapegoat ‘evil forces’ as their main causes. Frequent appeals to the external threats have been accompanied by a heightened emphasis on the necessity of strong presidential power, with ‘strongmen’ that are capable of withstanding the enemies’ conspiracies. Remarkably, one of the core similarities between the two regimes is their unstoppable drive towards monarchical presidencies.
More...
It is said that Data and Information are the new oil. One, who handles the data, handles the emerging future of the global economy. Complex algorithms and intelligence-based filter programs are utilized to manage, store, handle, and maneuver vast amounts of data for the fulfillment of specific purposes. This paper seeks to find the bridge between artificial intelligence and its impact on international policy implementation in the light of geopolitical influence, the global economy, and the future of labor markets. We hypothesize that the distortion in the labor markets caused by artificial intelligence can be mitigated by a collaborative international foreign policy on the deployment of AI in the industrial circles. We, in this paper, then proceed to propose a disposition forth essentials of AI-based foreign policy and implementation, while asking questions such as: could AI become the real ‘invisible hand’ discussed by economists?
More...
The article presents the main groups of scientific explanations of jihadist terrorism, focusing on the one fundamental cause of this phenomenon. The author discusses sequentially the explanations based on: 1) religious, 2) psychological, 3) political, 4) socio-economic causes. Then he attempts to select the explanations with the greatest explanatory power. For this purpose he confronts the explanations firstly with available empirical data and then with „the fundamental problem of specificity”. The confrontation with the latter screens out the explanations that are too general and overlook the specific qualities of the jihadist terrorism.
More...
We’ve seen that living in a pandemic time is not easy at all. We had to stop our everyday lives, change the way we worked before, stay physically, but not socially distant to others, to postpone travelling for better times. Also, measures taken by states around the world, to slow the spread of the coronavirus, have shown that guaranteeing human rights and civil liberties during these times is and will be a challenge. The ongoing health crisis asked for extensive lockdowns, becoming also an economic and social crisis. It opened even deeper economic and social differences, affecting vulnerable social groups differently. States should use maximum action to save lives and slow the spread of the coronavirus, but should also minimize the negative consequences.
More...
This paper is based on the research related to the immigrant players in the national football team and the formation of national identity in Germany. Recent analyses reveal that the success of an immigrant player in the national sports team has been regarded as a useful factor to attract public attention to the contribution of immigrants to the progress of the country. During the matches, discourses coming from the fans depending on the result of the game. They target immigrant players as a scapegoat in the situation of loss. Indeed, this is visible in parallel with the increasing strong critics in the media against these immigrant players. In this paper, the case of Mesut Özil in the German National Football Team is analyzed. The case study offers evidence of whether the success of immigrant players has been an important factor for their inclusion in the national identity in Germany.
More...
Since September 2015 and the Russian military intervention in the country, the interests in Syria have been numerous and of great importance for the actors involved in this conflict. The interests in Syria are numerous and of great importance for the actors involved in this conflict. Russia, like the Allies and opponents of the Bashar Al-Assad regime, is fighting for geopolitical, geo-economic, or ideological reasons. The Middle East region finds itself shaken by the sharp resurgence of a confrontation between actors allied to the United States, other allies of Russia, and this Syrian crisis thus impacts the geopolitical configuration of the region. This paper presents an analysis of the Russian intervention strategy in Syria. We argue that Russia intervened in Syria to strengthen the already existing Russian-Syrian alliance, to curb extremist proliferation, and to take advantage of Syria's strategic position. The objective is to determine the reasons for the Russian military intervention in Syria related to energy and geo-economic interests. The Russian intervention in Syria was an ideal opportunity to draw closer to several powerful states in the region and a way to benefit from positive spin-offs on its arms market and hydrocarbon road plans. Despite the risks and costs associated with defending the Syrian regime, Moscow has secured its political and economic power in the Middle East.
More...
Mass surveillance programmes and the impact of new information technologies on privacy restriction are among the greatest threats and challenges faced by modern countries. This article aims to present the origins and functional vision of, and some critical remarks on, the Social Credit System (SCS) under development in the People’s Republic of China. The underlying research issue arising from the assumed objective was to respond to the following questions: What is the SCS developed in the People’s Republic of China? What are its origins? How exactly does it function? The following research methods were used to solve the research queries: the monograph method, the document analysis method, the literature analysis and critique method, and the analysis and synthesis methods. In view of the preliminary investigation, the author formulated the following research hypothesis: the SCS should be viewed in a broader sense than merely as a programme aimed at conducting mass supervision of the Chinese society and preventing threats of separatism, terrorism, and social riot (colour revolutions). It is one of the tools to shape a society based on traditional Chinese values and national identity: loyalty, harmony, integrity, and fairness ‒ a disciplined society which, along with a strong and innovative economy, will enable China to attain the status of global power, thus questioning the American “unipolar world order”. Although China is not a democratic country, the system’s success can contribute to implementing similar solutions in other Asian countries. Therefore, it appears justified to conduct studies focused on the SCS.
More...
The paper analyzes the activity of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on social media during the escalation of the conflict in the Gaza Strip on May 3-6 and November 12-14, 2019. The goal of the study is to determine how the Israeli army uses social media for the purpose of strategic communication. Based on a case study, the paper answers the following questions: Which themes dominate the IDF's narrative on social media? Who is the main target? How do social media serve the IDF's strategic communication? The theoretical part of the study was based on a review of literature related to strategic communication and public diplomacy. Empirical research was conducted with the use of materials published by official IDF accounts on two social networking sites. Content analysis using open coding included 150 posts published on Twitter and 55 posts on Facebook. Referring to the leading themes and categories selected in this way, the main features of the Israeli narrative on the conflict and target audience were identified, and the role of social media in the IDF's strategic communication was described. The conclusions regarding the IDF's use of social media presented in the article can be seen as a model of effective practices for other countries, as well as a basis for further research on the role of the information dimension in armed conflicts.
More...
The aim of this article is to illustrate how deeply digitisation is entering the process of managing migration in the EU. It raises the question of the stage of development of existing and new tools in this area. Against the background of the processes of digitalisation and strengthening the internal security of the Schengen area, using an analysis of the sources of European Union law, the modernisation of the three main systems used in EU migration policy will be presented: SIS II, VIS, Eurodac and 3 new systems: EES, ETIAS, ECRIS-TCN. Their development has accelerated in the last few years, as the migration crisis of 2015-2016 has highlighted the need to fill the security gaps by integrating these systems. The use of large-scale computer base is therefore a challenge to ensuring security in the EU, but it raises the question of the pace and scale of change and its impact on the protection of personal data.
More...
After becoming the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi made many efforts to consolidate his dominance in South Asia and expand India’s influence in the Indian Ocean. The “neighborhood first policy” was highlighted in India’s foreign policy. Based on historical and logical research methods and studies in international relations, the paper aims to examine the implementation of “neighborhood first policy” through bilateral relations between India and its neighboring countries. These relationships have been facing challenges from the more profound influence and interference of China as well as frequent terrorist incidents due to border disputes, which threatened regional security. Although this policy connected India with its neighboring South Asian countries, there were still challenges. It can be seen that the “neighborhood first policy” was Prime Minister Modi’s effort to nurture bilateral relationships, enhance regional connectivity, and strengthen and elevate India’s position in the region. The progress of the “Neighborhood First” policy is expected to continue more successfully in the next phase.
More...