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Rozvojová spolupráca a Slovensko v roku 2010

Author(s): Nora Beňáková ,Ján Mihálik,Peter Brezáni / Language(s): Slovak Publication Year: 0

The year 2010 was a long-anticipated milestone in the field of official development assistance. The EU donor countries committed themselves to spending the amount worth 0.33 per cent (for EU15) or 0.17 per cent of GDP (for new member states) respectively on development cooperation by 2010. Not only the financial crisis but also the long-criticized unwillingness to increase the development assistance budget in the times of enormous economic growth has led Slovakia into an embarrassing position, as roughly a half of the minimum agreed GDP percentage is spent on development assistance. Unfortunately, it is still true that instead of discussing meaningful increase and the capacity building matters, Slovakia is forced to reflect on the possible ways of maintaining at least the attained level from previous years. The fact that the agreed level has not been attained by the majority of EU countries could not pose any consolation.

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Rozvojová spolupráca Slovenskej republiky v roku 2008

Author(s): Vladimír Benč,Peter Brezáni / Language(s): Slovak Publication Year: 0

From the perspective of the official development assistance of the Slovak Republic (ODA or SlovakAid), 2008 can be seen as a very hectic year of transformation, due to the implementation of fundamental changes. The first change was that the Act on the Official Development Assistance of the Slovak Republic came into force on February 1, 2008, which modified the system transformation of development assistance management and financing. This transformation had already started in 2007, with the establishment of the Slovak Agency for International Development Cooperation (SAMRS). At the same time, the end of 2008 was devoted to preparing the new Medium-Term Strategy for the Official Development Assistance of the Slovak Republic for the years 2009-2013, which was approved by the Government on March 4, 2009. The strategy was preceded by extensive discussion on the future direction of Slovakia’s ODA. It is perhaps a shame that the ‘reform’ was not deeper.

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Oficiálna rozvojová pomoc Slovenska v roku 2007

Author(s): Eva Havelková,Nora Beňáková / Language(s): Slovak Publication Year: 0

The Official Development Assistance (ODA) is an important pillar of the Slovak foreign policy. Its importance is still growing; therefore an attempt should be made to expand its scope in the years to come. The year 2007 can be marked as a significant one for the development assistance. This article analyzes mainly the institutional and the legislative changes in the Slovak ODA and compares the territorial and sectoral focus of bilateral projects in the periods before and after these changes took effect. According to the document Slovakia’s Foreign Policy Orientation 20071 , the development assistance is an important part of the foreign policy of the European Union (EU) and its member states. Slovakia provides its official development assistance on the basis of principles of international development policy, including the EU development policy, and in line with the foreign and economic policy priorities of the Slovak Republic (SR). The goal of the Slovak ODA is to contribute to the accomplishment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the key areas, including alleviation of poverty and hunger, achievement of universal elementary education, support of gender equality, reduction of infant mortality rate, focus on the struggle against the HIV/AIDS and relief of global environmental problems. Besides the assistance itself, the bilateral development projects help to strengthen the bonds of these countries with the SR, support establishment of Slovak actors (institutions, businesses) abroad, create institutional and expert capacities in the SR and influence the public opinion.

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Pomoc pod značkou SlovakAid

Author(s): Peter Hulényi / Language(s): Slovak Publication Year: 0

Development assistance of the Slovak Republic has been receiving yet more and more attention of expert circles, media and broad public. The question is whether it is caused by the results in this field or by the generally favorable conditions and external circumstances. The answer is partially both. In 2005, Slovak ODA already recorded measurable results. The first projects starting in 2004 under the brand Slovak Aid were brought to an end and new ones started. Thus, the number of projects financed by the Slovak Republic exceeded 100. The development projects have drawn the attention of broader sphere of businesses, nongovernmental as well as governmental institutions. Moreover, the projects draw more attention of the media, as well.

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Migration as a Political and Public Phenomenon: The Case of Hungary

Author(s): Sándor Gallai,Dániel Horváth,Hanga Horváth-Sántha / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Hungary demonstrates a relatively high level of ethnic and particularly high level of cultural homogeneity. Nevertheless, due to its geographical position, Hungary has played the role both as transit and source as well as destination country for both regular and irregular migration during the past decades. In the context of the recent large-scale irregular migration towards (Western) Europe, however, Hungary has rather been a transit country, experiencing serious pressure at its southern border urging the government to take firm action. As mem-ber of the European Union since 2004 and of the Schengen Treaty since 2007, a part of Hungary’s border forms the external borders of the European Union.

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Migration as a Political and Public Phenomenon: The Case of Poland

Author(s): Anna Kobierecka,Michał Kobierecki,Robert Łoś,Michał Rulski / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

There was hardly any migration policy in Poland at the time of its political transition. The EU accession process seemed to be a natural incentive to develop a legal and institutional framework which, in the case of Poland, was more inspired by the public administration than it was a grass-roots process deriving from actual needs connected with intensive migration patterns. In 1991 Poland began to sign and respect most significant instruments of international law dedicated to the protection of refugees. In 1991, Poland became a member of the Council of Europe, in 1992 joined the International Organization for Migration and in 1993 ratified the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.1 Poland is generally perceived as an emigration country, which is a result of the increasing number of Polish emigrants since the country joined the EU.2 Until the recent migration crisis, immigration to Poland constituted only an insignificant percentage, while emigration after 2004 intensified even further.3 However, for the past couple of years, it has been taking increasing numbers of foreigners, especially from Eastern Europe.

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Introduction. Determinants of International Relations in the East Asian Context

Author(s): Karol Żakowski / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The case studies presented in this monograph indicate that the international reality cannot be easily reduced to one single dimension. Each IR theory provides only a partial truth on the factors influencing foreign policy making. International relations in East Asia resemble a mosaic of intertwining processes of globalization and regionalization, interests of global and regional powers, local social and economic conditions, national institutional arrangements, and even personal factors. Sometimes a sudden change of one small element in this mosaic suffices to influence the whole system. Instead of providing a simplified interpretation of these processes, the proposed monograph tries to illustrate them in their entire complexity.

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THE CONNECTION OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION WITH THE SOCIAL SYSTEM AND ITS SUBORDINATION WITH REGARD TO THE POLITICAL SYSTEM

Author(s): Andreea Cîrciumaru,David Ungureanu / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

For the organization and functioning of a state, it is necessary that the administration and the political power cooperate, the state administration being one of the fundamental forms of achieving political power. State administration is one of the most important activities of contemporary society, and it has to be at the heart of the concerns of the political factors. Between the system of public administration and the political parties as elements of the political system there are differentiated relations from one state to another,depending on the system of government.Another issue concerns the relation between the public administration system and the pressure groups using certain constraints on the system of public administration, when its component bodies make certain decisions affecting the interests of these organizations.

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DEVELOPMENT TRENDS FOR A 21ST CENTURY EFFECTIVE SMALL NAVY

Author(s): Alexandru Cristian Hudisteanu / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Small navies have always been in a race to keep up with a dynamic security environment. They have to overcome not only the specific problems of adapting to emerging threats and assuming new responsibilities in the maritime domain, but doing so with a limited number of assets – both in number and capabilities –, threatened by budgetary cuts or insufficient funding – with effects that prove the more sever the smaller the navy. All this happens under close scrutiny of public opinion concerning military spending and their usefulness – small navies being in general national income consumers, rather than wealth generators –, and most of the time overstretching personnel and assets to honor a full range of domestic and international commitments. This paper will highlight some development trends that allow a small navy to keep up with an ever changing security environment in and effective and efficient manner.

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GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING THE CIMIC DOCTRINE IN ROMANIA

Author(s): Eugen Popescu / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Contemporary military operations take place in complex environments populated by different civilian and humanitarian institutions and a challenging array of issues that are not precisely „military” in nature. This has increased the importance of managing the civil-military interface, particularly that between the military and the humanitarian community. This process of management is described in Civil-Military Cooperation Doctrine. The report examines the evolution of Civil-Military Co-operation Doctrine in the Romanian Armed Forces.

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DEFENSIVE STRATEGY OF SMALL COUNTRIES. THE CASE OF ROMANIA

Author(s): Marian Tuca / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

After World War I and the Great Union of 1918, Romanian leaders were required to act for the recognition of the new frontiers by the great powers, counteracting the revisionist states and building regional alliances alongside the traditional alliance with the Western powers to guarantee stability in the region. Along the same line, the Royal Romanian House engages in the same strategy through matrimonial alliances with the royal houses of Greece and Yugoslavia. Romania adopts a security strategy characteristic for small countries, suitable to respond to the threats of revisionist states.In the post-war period, Romania enters the sphere of Soviet influence and is part of the Warsaw Treaty organization for continental security. After the collapse of the communist system and the security organization, Romania is making every effort to join NATO and the EU in order to ensure national security.

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The Role of Commercial Bank in Financing Small Scale Industries

Author(s): Ruth Asantewaa Owusu / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Bank finance has been found as an important source of funds for most firms in Ghana. The study assessed the impact of GCB SME LOAN on the activities of Small Scale Industries. The study used primary data which were designed and administered to SMEs customers of GCB and staff of GCB. A sample size of 170 made up of 20 staff of GCB bank and 150 owners of SME customers who deal with the bank and have benefited from the SME LOAN SUITE. The study concluded that with the use of GCB SME LOAN, there has been improvement in the profits of both the customers and bank. Also, the study identified four main challenges which were; increased in the amount of money, reduce interest rate, advertisement and extend the period of bridge loan that militate against the GCB SME LOAN of GCB bank. It was recommended that since GCB bank is contributing more to SMEs, they should give in their best to increase the amount of the loan and to extend the period of bridge loan to help boost their outreach.

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NEW CHALLENGES TO DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE OF THE DEFENCE AND SECURITY SECTOR

Author(s): Alexandra SARCINSCHI / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The aim of this paper is to connect at a theoretical level the latest changes in the political landscape of Europe – namely the reinforcement of right-wing populism, national conservatism, Euro scepticism, etc. subsumed to the oxymoron “illiberal democracy” – to the issue of governance of the defence and security sector. Since these changes are to be considered challenges to nowadays democracy, it is obvious that the security sector might be placed under pressure by those who govern it and are not committed to the set of principles specific to this type of political leadership. The author will introduce a brief description of Europe’s political landscape, will identify some representative countries currently governed by nationalist parties and will correlate them with the most important indicators regarding governance of the defence and security sector.

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Productivity, Sustainability, and Economic Growth in Metropolises: Estimates of Long-Time Commuting Effects in Developing Countries

Author(s): Aurelio Hess,Sampson Banflo Narteh-Yoe / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

In this study, the long-time commuting patterns of workers in six of the biggest metropolises of the world were observed – New Delhi, Mexico City, São Paulo, Manilla, Nairobi, and Accra – located in very different geographic regions, and all of them coming from the developing world. The main question to be answered was whether there is scope for labor policy changes towards productivity improvements in this area. The findings brought fundamental insights to the debate about big cities' problems to avoid becoming more crowded, congested, and polluted, reducing sustainability, productivity, and economic growth. Simple random samples of workers in the Metropolitan Areas of each city were surveyed electronically, by ‘Google-Forms e-survey’ during the second half of 2019. The sample proportions were the estimators of the population proportions. Considering specific error margins – below 5 percentage points – for each city, and with a 95 percent point of confidence level, the authors used proportion (p) sample distributions to draw inferences about the population of workers. It was found that long-time commuters are between 12 and 26 percent of the workers who participated in the survey. More than 65 percent of workers in all the cities observed were interested in reducing commuting time. More than half of the workers agreed that reducing commuting time could improve labor productivity, and approximately the same share is aware of the negative effects on quality of life and health. Labor policy changes in these six metropolises have the potential of affecting more than 6.5 million workers.

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“Amazing Thailand” – Its Contribution to Growing the Country’s Competitiveness

Author(s): Ruxandra-Irina Popescu,Răzvan-Andrei Corboş / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

This paper describes and analyses the branding campaigns of Thailand from 1998 to 2011, shows how the brand has evolved, explains the best practices applied by the Thai authorities in this field and assesses the effects of the branding strategy from the perspective of the increasing number of tourists, revenues from tourism and the country’s international prestige.

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Identities of Irony and Crisis: of the New and Peculiar Processes of Re-balkanization of the Balkan

Author(s): Katerina Kolozova / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

IN THE FORM OF AN ASTUTE INTELLECTUAL AND/OR POLITICO-AESTHETIC CRITIQUE OF BITTER AND SPITEFUL HUMOR MOCKING THE EUROPEAN CIVILIZATORY PRETENTIOUSNESS, THE ALTERNATIVE ARTISTIC AND INTELLECTUAL SCENES (SPACES OF UN-SELF-CENSORED CRITIQUE) OF THE BALKANS MAKE A PROVOCATIVE TURN TOWARD THE PROMOTION AND AFFIRMATION OF “THEIR BALKAN (SUB)CULTURE/S.” THIS TURN IS A SORT OF A TURN-“BACK” OCCURRING IN SPACES THAT IN THE LATE 80S WERE (AND, IN FACT, STILL ARE) NORMALLY OCCUPIED BY THE VANGUARDS OF THE MOST RECENT IDEAS OF THE “DECADENT WEST”: ALTERNATIVE RADIO-STATIONS, MAGAZINES, GALLERIES. IT IS HOWEVER NOT THE ORIGIN OR THE ESSENCE OF “BEING BALKAN” THAT THE NEW-AND-SUBVERSIVE-BALKAN IDENTITY STRIVES TO REPRESENT, BUT RATHER – AS A RESULT OF THE SUBJECT’S DECENTREDNESS - IT IS ONE OF THE MANY IDENTITIES (OR FORMS OF SUBJECTION) OF A PERSON (SOMETIMES IN OBVIOUS CONTRADICTION WITH THE REST OF THEM; OR IN AN INSPIRING AMBIVALENCE). THE NEW BALKAN IDENTITY IS PROVISORY: IT IS AN IDENTITY WHICH DOES NOT AIM TO INSTALL AND STABILIZE ITSELF AS FIXED AND UNCHANGING. ON THE CONTRARY, IT IS AN IDENTITY OF PASSAGE (OF CRISIS: BRINGING FORTH BOTH CRITICALITY AND TRANSFORMATION), A GESTURE OF CARNIVALESQUE IRONY (MOST OFTEN, THROUGH THE WORK OF TALENTED AND ORIGINAL ARTISTS) – PURE PERFORMANCE (OF AN IDENTITY) AS A FORM OF CRITIQUE (AND ALSO SELF-CRITIQUE). IN ITS VERY INITIATION, PRECISELY BY VIRTUE OF BEING AN ACT AND SITUATEDNESS OF CRITIQUE (OR: OF UNFIXED AND CHANGING AUTONOMY), THIS IDENTITY HAS BEEN CONCEIVED AS UNSTABLE, IRRESPONSIBLE TOWARDS HISTORY AND DEPRIVED OF GREAT NARRATIVES. ONE COULD CONCLUDE THAT IT IS PRECISELY THESE “POSTMODERN” CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NEW-AND-SUBVERSIVE BALKAN IDENTITY – AMONG WHICH ARE ITS PERFORMATIVITY (AND ALSO “PERFORMANCE”), INSTABILITY, AMBIVALENCE, ETC. – THAT HAVE PRODUCED THE “MECHANISMS AND THE DYNAMICS” OF THE CONTINUOUS CRITIQUE OF THE OVERLY STABLE NATIONAL SUBJECTS IN THE YEARS OF WAR AND PEACE IN POST-YUGOSLAVIA.

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RESEARCHING NATIONAL INNOVATION INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE WESTERN BALKAN REGION

Author(s): Zoran Aralica / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The existing economic model among the Western Balkan (WB) countries with strong reliance on external financing cause macroeconomic instability within these countries, where stagnant growth rate and high rate of unemployment appear parallel with external imbalance i.e. growing external debt. The current financial crisis which characterizes denial of financing to private and public sectors in developing countries and regions like WB causes new challenges to the national innovation systems. That is requirement for increase of efficiency of use of available resources within the national innovation system. Therefore development of the innovation infrastructure in the national economies presents an important medium where innovative and inventive activities appear as indispensible elements. Acceptance of new moment (i.e. the financial crisis) on the national level requires competitive human resources within the government and the business sectors, where regional cooperation has potential to build an adequate human capacity, primarily in the government sector which may positively affect development of the national economies. Therefore the main focus of the paper to answer on two interrelated questions, first examine relation between macroeconomic performance and national innovation infrastructure among the WB countries and second explore on which way regional cooperation related to innovation economies influence innovation capacity on the national level? This is exploratory paper with the aim to contribute to the discussions on potential of regional cooperation among the WB countries in the field of innovation economics by explaining the interrelationship between institutional conditions related to innovations and macroeconomic performance that affect capacity of the regional cooperation.

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Regional Geography of Aid: Subnational Approach to Foreign Aid Allocations in Research and Education

Author(s): Zdeněk Opršal / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Foreign aid allocations have been of interest to researchers in developing economy, development studies, and development geography. Most of the available studies address development issues at countries level rather than at subnational levels within these countries. Researchers model and test the distribution of aid across recipient countries, considering recipient countries as homogenous units. This methodological approach masks an important regional heterogeneity within developing countries; therefore sub-national analyses may significantly contribute to more nuanced understanding of foreign aid. The gap in research arises from the related fact, that there has been a chronic lack of usable project-level data from developing countries. The situation has been changing only slowly over the last few years. This contribution attempts to emphasize the importance of the regional perspective in research of foreign aid allocations and to demonstrate the challenges associated with the geocoding of the Czech Republic’s foreign aid projects on the example of students’ seminar assignment on Czech foreign aid in Ethiopa.

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DEVELOPMENT STUDIES AND DEVELOPMENT GEOGRAPHY IN THE SYSTEM OF EARTH SCIENCES

Author(s): Zdeněk Opršal,Pavel Nováček / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

There is an ongoing debate on the future of geography as a science. The Earth is almost explored and therefore the space for the application of geography is relatively narrower than in the past. At the same time, there are fields of geography such as Development Studies and Development Geography which bring new impetus. Development geography deals with the study of the spatial aspects of development, or more precisely of insufficient development of economically less advanced countries. Until recently, this issue has not been an important part of teaching and research activities at Czech universities, but the situation has changed in the last decade. The paper provides an overview of recent evolution and position of Development Studies and Development Geography in the system of Earth Sciences, taking into consideration the Czech context. It reviews the debate on the mission of Development studies and development geography and considers the role of geography in our perceptions of developing countries and their problems.

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The Financial and Institutional Environment for Sustainable Economic Growth of Developing Countries: the Case of Western Balkan

Author(s): Jelena Stanković,Evica Petrović,Ksenija Denčić-Mihajlov / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The economic growth and its sustainability have attracted significant interest of academics and policy makers in recent decades. Faster economic growth observed in developing countries has been associated with capital mobility. Therefore, the first aim of this study is to examine the finance-growth link and effectiveness of financial systems in promoting sustainable economic growth in developing countries. On the other hand, developing countries have experienced vast changes in their economic and institutional environment in order to integrate with the world economy. Thus, the second aim of this study is to examine the quality of the institutional environment and its role in providing conditions for sustainable growth in developing countries. The proposed analyses are conducted on the sample of Western Balkan countries using indicators provided by the World Bank database. According to the results of panel data analysis the level of financial development, especially the level of banking sector development, significantly influences the level of economic growth. It can be concluded that international capital flows are not the main determinant of the growth rate of GDP in observed developing countries as well as that financial development leads to economic growth.

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