"Vy máte iného ducha!" Žilinská deklarácia - národno-politický aspekt slovenského evanjelického reformného hnutia

Author(s): László Matus / Language(s): Slovak / Issue: 1/2015

The constitution of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Kingdom of Hungary was established by the 1891-94 synod. This constitution had a tendency towards centralization and greatly restricted the autonomy of the church. The centralized administration rendered it possible for the leaders of the church to reduce the autonomy of Slovak Lutherans, who had majority in the Cis-Danubian district, by redrawing the borders of the districts. In the new districts the Slovak Lutherans found themselves in minority everywhere, losing their influence on decision making.This lead to the Žilina Declaration, which was signed by 68 north-west Hungarian Slovak congregations at the end of 1912 and the beginning of 1913. The declaration criticised the centralization and the concomitant tendencies towards Hungarian linguistic and the ideological nationalization of the church, and it even raised the issue of forming autonomous Slovak districts.The present study analyses the political context of the above mentioned document. The author uses primary sources because the topic lacks historiographical literature. The first research question of the study is whether the co-operation of the Slovak congregations was as an ad-hoc association or, rather, the result of the mobilisation of an institutionalized group. The second research question discusses the various representations of the relevance of the aforementioned congregational co-operation in the Slovak national narrative. In order to answer these questions the author relies on both political science theories and secularisation theories.

(001) NEW WORLD ORDER: THE BALANCE OF SOFT POWER AND THE RISE OF HERBIVOROUS POWERS

Author(s): Ivan Krastev,Mark Leonard / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2007

The largest survey of public opinion in the world shows support for a more multipolar world and a greater role for ‘herbivorous powers’ – countries not widely perceived as military superpowers. There is mistrust of the Cold War powers as well as Islamist-inspired Iranian autocracy. More people want to see a decline rather than an increase in the power of Russia (29% decline, 23% increase), of China (32% decline, 24% increase), of the United States (37% decline, 26% increase), and of Iran (39% decline, 14% increase). On the other hand, there is strong support for an increase in the power of fast-developing powers such as South Africa, India and Brazil. The European Union is the most popular great power. Uniquely among great powers, more people across all continents want to see its power increase than decrease. This demand for more European power extends to many former European colonies. Whilst American soft power has declined, the rise of China has led to the resurgence in support for American power in Asia. Increasing Russian influence in Eastern Europe is paralleled by a demand for a greater American role. Outside Europe, ‘the West’ is still seen to some extent as a single actor: countries suspicious of American power tend also to be against EU power.

(RE)SHAPING POLITICAL CULTURE AND PARTICIPATION THROUGH SOCIAL NETWORKS

Author(s): Marija Andreeva / Language(s): English / Issue: 02/2019

The influence of social networks is growing intensely. They do not only influence only certain aspects of our lives, but they also influence political participation and political culture. In recent years, this influence has been very notable. We have seen a change of policies as a result of pressure, a lot of significant political movements started via social networks. This paper concentrates on the influence of social networks on political participation and political culture. The paper tries to foresee the future implications and the intertwining of social networks and political culture and political participation. It also gives conclusions for the past, present and future implications and it gives a comparison between political participation before and after the rise of social networks. It also analyses the positive and negative implications that social network could have on political participation.

(Бивша Югославска) Република Северна Македония на кръстопът в търсене на идентичност(и)

Author(s): Ivan Vinarov / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 3/2019

The current research aims is to rise the current questions about the identity of the Macedonians. Its implementation clarifies the essence of the term "identity" and the process of social engineering in Macedonia. Further content analysis of media information and statistics from indices of international organizations is used. The main conclusion is that a paradoxical process is being developed – a transformation of the past in order to restructure the future in a different way

14th EU-India Summit in New Delhi Strengthens Partnership

Author(s): Patryk Kugiel / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2017

The EU-India Summit in New Delhi on 6 October showed an increasing convergence of views on major regional and global issues and boosted the strategic partnership established in 2004. Yet, the lack of a breakthrough in negotiations of the Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) proves it remains a major challenge, along with the negative effects of Brexit, on EU-India relations. If the negotiations are protracted, the EU may consider a separate deal on investments alone. Poland should consider more actively participating in shaping EU policy on India and using existing mechanisms of dialogue to strengthen its bilateral cooperation.

1980 ASKERİ DARBESİ VE SONRASINDA ÖZAL DÖNEMİ SİYASAL ve EKONOMİK YAPILANMA

Author(s): Erhat Yalçin / Language(s): Turkish / Issue: 41/2019

In the developing third world countries where the democracy was destroyed, the army was effective in the government. He used the coup as a guardianship tool. Emerging in Turkey has taken its cue from this trusteeship concept. Impact, the basic parameters of political instability, economic and political, etc. It occurs in relation to the outage of institutions. Turkey also has spent literally blows where faltered badly in this motion. The most important blow known to the political destruction and unfair practices in the social field is the 1980 coup. In this study, the development process of the 1980 coup will be explained. Turgut Özal continued with the transformation experienced in Turkey's political and economic fields will be covered.

1980 Sonrası Ülkemiz Ekonomisinde Yaşanan Krizlerin İktisadi Yapıya Etkisi

Author(s): Zübeyir TURAN / Language(s): Turkish / Issue: 2/2018

Financial crisis is defined as sharp fluctuations of prices and quantities, occurring in financial markets reflecting as drastic economic problems with payments defaults in the banking sector, which in no way is impendent from each other. Crisis in one sector contaminates other sectors within small time intervals, which initially seems to be in periods. Many financial crises have occurred in the world since the 1970s. Although, a turning point like 1990‟s affected most countries leading to economic instability. Like in the past, most developing countries are not similar in terms of their socio-economic structure, on the other hand financial crises witnessed show several similarities. These financial crises, enlarged with the panic observed in the international investment markets, complemented with speculative attacks has diverged the financial capital flow among countries. Unemployment figures of the world have risen at the point of crisis in the end of 2008. As a result of the contraction in the foreign trade due to the crisis, the Gross Domestic Product of our country has been declining in great proportions. The effect of the crises on our country's economy has been examined in the study.

21. YÜZYILIN İDEOLOJİK GÜÇ MÜCADELESİ: ULUSLARARASI SİSTEMİN DEĞİŞEN DOĞASINI ANLAMAK

Author(s): Kaan Yiğenoğlu / Language(s): Turkish / Issue: 1/2018

The basic ideological conflict of the 20th century was between capitalism and socialism. This conflict occurred between the supporters of the capitalist ideology and those opposing the capitalist ideology. In the 21st century, this ideological clash is witnessed to be evolved. The basic ideological conflict of the 21st century is between globalists and capitalists. The conflict between globalists and capitalists is developing between different factions of capitalist ideology, not between oppositionists of capitalist ideology and their opponents. These developments need to be evaluated in the context of this new ideological conflict. In this work, the development of the international system is evaluated within the framework of different ideologies, and then the analysis of change in the ideological power struggle is being conducted in the 21st century. Finally, the conflict of ideologies and the process of unification are explained.

30 YEARS OF TRANSFORMATION AND RECONSTRUCTION. THE SECURITY OF ROMANIA IN THE POST-COMMUNIST ERA

Author(s): Roxana Olteanu / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2020

In 2020, Romania celebrates 30 years since the establishment of the first contacts with NATO and three decades since the creation of its first post-communist security institutions. If the year of 1989 is one of breakup from the communist regime, the evolution of 1990 represents, therefore, the first steps for resetting most of the areas of state functioning, including the issues related to national security. The purpose of this paper is to provide a short glimpse into Romania’s security situation in 1990, in order to reveal the progress of the 30 years of mutations and reform, and to highlight that there are areas that need further improvement and lessons to be learnt. In relation to the recent past, the study operates with three concepts: understanding (the path), consolidating (the objectives already achieved) and improving (the vulnerable areas of transformation).

A captive island: Kaliningrad between Moscow and the EU

Author(s): Jadwiga Rogoża,Agata Wierzbowska-Miazga,Iwona Wiśniewska / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2012

The Kaliningrad region can be called a 'captive island', because of its specific geopolitical location - it is part of the Russian legal, political and economic space, yet it is geographically separated from the rest of the Russian Federation, and it is particularly open to co-operation with its neighbours in the European Union. Moscow is trying to compensate the region for its separation, offering it financial support and economic privileges.At the same time, it is sensitive to any potential challenges to Russia's territorial integrity - and the centre's desire for control over the region often limits the latter's potential for cooperation and internal development. This report presents the situation in the region, and is intended to help develop a model for its effective regional co-operation with its EU neighbours.

A decisive moment for Azerbaijan

Author(s): Anna Zamejc / Language(s): English / Issue: 3-4/2016

The year 2016 may be seen as a turning point for Azerbaijan, once a wealthy country on the Caspian Sea. Faced with a decline in oil prices on the international markets, the regime of Ilham Aliyev is being forced to make a difficult choice: reform or face social protests.

A European Democracy: Why and How?

Author(s): Phillipe C. Schmitter / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

While democracy in Europe took a very long time to emerge and consolidate itself, the democratization of Europe has only just begun and remains a rather remote prospect. The competing national states that composed this part of the world were originally autocratic – with the historical exception of Switzerland, which somehow continuously managed to practice its peculiar form of democracy. Indeed, Western Europe became uniformly democratic only in the mid-1970s with the regime changes in Portugal, Spain, and Greece. And parts of the former Soviet Union have still to institutionalize the accountability of its rulers by way of competitive processes of representation.

A lakhatási válságra adott közösségi válaszok

Bérlői lakásszövetkezetek Magyarországon?

Author(s): Csaba Jelinek,Zsuzsanna Pósfai / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 27/2020

Since the crisis of 2008, housing is yet again and increasingly becoming a form of profitable financial investment. This tends to dominate over the claim that each person has the need and the right to access affordable, good quality housing. Across the globe this tendency is intensified by state policies as well. However, bottom-up initiatives organizing themselves for collective housing solutions are also gaining ground. These self-organized, „self-help” models open the possibility for economically vulnerable social groups to support each other in finding solutions for their housing problems, and also to collectively access resources that would individually be impossible to reach. This paper presents such an alternative housing solution, notably the model of rental-based housing cooperatives. Rental housing cooperatives are institutions organized in a bottom-up manner with the aim of providing affordable, good quality and stable housing for their members. We discuss two examples from Germany and from Uruguay for successful rental housing cooperative networks, which have existed for several decades. Finally, we present the steps which have been taken in the past years in Hungary and in the Eastern European region towards the establishment of such a model.

A microeconomic perspective on net working capital

Author(s): Luminița Gabriela Istrate / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 36/2016

The financial resources consist of components which are characterized by common features, but also have traits regarding their formation and use, generating social and economic effects which differ considerably from one of their parts to the other. The financing made by banks of some activities in industry, construction, agriculture, services and trade enables the companies to increase the quality and volume of their products and of the services offered. Also, there is a better orientation of these companies towards the requirements of the internal and foreign markets with beneficial effects on reducing the macroeconomic imbalances inherent in an economy in full process of catching-up with the standards of the developed countries.

A NEW FUNDAMENTAL WORKING TOOL FOR THE RESEARCH OF THE TRANSNISTRIAN ISSUE, PROVIDED BY THE LABORATORY FOR THE ANALYSIS OF THE TRANSNISTRIAN CONFLICT

Author(s): Iuliana Neagoş / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2020

”Transnistrian Bibliography”, written by Eugen Străuțiu and published by TechnoMedia in Sibiu in 2019, is a book that represents a collection of research papers (volumes, volume chapters, magazine articles, studies, reports). that conforms to form, content, documentation and methodology criteria, as well as it fulfils scientific analysis criteria, while the groundwork process, of making conclusions, is up to the standards and the criteria of the scientific analysis.The table of contents offers a systematical order of the bibliography, that refers to the Transnistrian conflict in the following categories: analytical volumes, chapters of volumes, articles of magazines, studies and reports, magazines, memoirs and at the end a collection of researches that refers to the past and present of the Romanians, that live in the Transnistrian regions (historical, demographical, economic, geopolitical, ethnographical and linguistic essays). On the whole, the book offers 88 analytical volumes, 71 volume chapters, 222 articles out of scientific magazines, 173 studies and reports, 31 master's theses and PhD dissertations, 19 designated scientific specialized magazines, and 23 memorial volumes. Apart from that, the researches, that have the topic of the communication of Transnistrian Romanians, are arranged in 30 volumes, 20 articles, and 3 specialized magazines.

A new paradigm for sharing transition experience within the EU’s contested democracy support?

Author(s): Miriam Lexmann / Language(s): English / Issue: 3-4/2016

More than a decade after the completion of the democratic transition of the Visegrad Four countries, crowned by their membership of the EU, it is legitimate to ask whether the concept of “transition experience sharing” is still relevant to either the EU’s democracy support programs or the Visegrad Four ODA1 programs. This paper seeks to provide a basic empirical account of some of the fundamental processes of transition sharing while describing its core trends. It also makes recommendations, addressed partly at the V4 governments, but mainly at the respective EU institutions, on how features of “transition experience sharing” could be incorporated into democracy support schemes, thereby tailoring them in response to actual needs.

A new Visegrad Group in the new European Union - possibilities and opportunities for development

Author(s): Mariusz Bocian,Patrycja Bukalska / Language(s): English,Polish / Publication Year: 2003

The Visegrad Group has fulfilled the tasks it was set when established. It seems unjustified, therefore, to ponder the need for it to function further. However, it is advisable to lay out new tasks, suitable for the group's operation in the new European reality - following EU accession of Visegrad countries in May 2004.

A New Vision for Least Developed Countries

Author(s): Ahmet Davutoğlu / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2012

While pursuing its own development with confidence and success, Turkey has become deeply concerned with all forms of human inequality that exist in the world, especially those forms that impact upon the dignity of the individual and the community. This concern has led Turkey in recent years to turn increasing attention to the plight of countries experiencing acute economic and ecological challenges. In this spirit it has sought to provide assistance and moral support to the people of Somalia who have remained affected by a lethal famine as well as the absence of human security as a result of sustained civil strife and uncontrolled crime. In 2011 the leaders of the Turkish government, along with their families, made a visit to Somalia as a demonstration of solidarity and engagement. It was a dramatic event in part because Somalia had been treated as off limits for world leaders due to the perception of dangerous levels of chaos and the pervasiveness of violence on the ground. This initiative was welcomed with great appreciation by the people of Somalia. Besides showing solidarity and immediate help for famine, Turkey wanted to raise consciousness in the global setting about the tragedy of Somalia so other countries would join in the emergency relief effort. While tragedy of Somalia persists, greater international attention s being given as evidenced by the February 2012 international conference held in London and May 2012 Istanbul conference. Problems of this magnitude, we believe, require not just national or regional responses, but depend on generating a global response

A PROPOSAL FOCUSED ON A METHOD FOR THE CALCULATION OF THE CONVERGENCE OF THE TWO BANKS OF THE DNIESTR

Author(s): Eugen Străuţiu / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2018

Following the armed conflict in 1992, the Moldovan society, on the left bank of the Dniester broke, from a political and administrative point of view, proclaiming itself a separate state under the name "The Moldovan Dniester Republic" – which is unrecognized until today at an international level.The negotiation process, started in 1992, did not produce significant convergence effects - although issues related to the everyday life of the population are resolved today at a faster pace than ever before.The present article aims at investigating, principally and (as much as possible) quantitatively, to what extent the political divergence has evolved over two decades and a half, and to what extent it finds itself in economic, military and civil society divergences. In conclusion, we will try to evaluate the chances of a convergence process between the two banks of the Dniester in the near future.

A quarter-century of independent Ukraine. Dimensions of transformation

Author(s): Tadeusz A. Olszański / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2017

On 24 August 1991, the Supreme Council of the Ukrainian SSR proclaimed independence, and on 1 December the same year, the Ukrainian people ratified that proclamation in a referendum. The new Ukrainian state had some very important assets, such as the peaceful path that led to its independence, the fact that its territory was uncontested and its civilian administration was established. They downside, which determined Ukraine’s fundamental weaknesses, was that like the other former Soviet republics, it had been part of the Soviet state and had no central state bodies of its own, such as a general staff, a bank of issue, or most of the necessary ministries. After nearly a quarter century of peaceful development, interrupted by the outbreak of the war in 2014, Ukraine is still weak, but at the same time it has consolidated internally and internationally, demonstrated its capacity to withstand armed aggression, and is actively looking for its place in the world. The country’s greatest success has been to raise a new generation of ‘natural-born citizens’ of Ukraine, while its greatest failure has been to succumb to the dramatic population decline with irreversible consequences, and to allow the impoverishment of the lower strata of society, typical for all the post-Soviet states. The present paper is not a history of independent Ukraine, but an attempt to present the main mechanisms by which the former Soviet republic has transformed itself into an independent state with a market economy. It is therefore mainly focused on internal developments in Ukraine.