Predstavljanje projekta Spinning out of control: rhetoric and violent conflict. Representations of 'self' - 'other' in the Yugoslav successor states

Author(s): Jelena Vasiljević / Language(s): Serbian Publication Year: 0

This paper aims to present an interdisciplinary and international project, carried out jointly by the University in Oslo, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory in Belgrade, and Mediacenter in Sarajevo. Its purpose is to study the role of media rhetoric and discourses on the Other, in the ethnic and territorial conflicts in former Yugoslavia. In this paper, I describe the project’s aims, research organization, covered topics as well as approaches that will be used. In the conclusion, I offer some points of criticism that can be taken into account in order to enable a more adequate attainment of the project’s goals.

Russia’s best enemy. Russian policy towards the United States in Putin’s era

Author(s): Marek Menkiszak / Language(s): English

Relations between Russia and the United States are characterised by an asymmetry against Russia, whose expectations vis-à-vis the US remain unmet. The dynamics of Russia’s policy towards the US in the last sixteen years has been one of cyclic fluctuations. The recurrent scheme starts with a normalisation and positive developments in mutual relations at the onset of each new US president’s term, and end with an escalation of tensions and a crisis at the end of each presidency. Russia is too weak to be recognised by the United States as an equal partner or opponent, but too strong to be willing or able to accept the status of an inequitable, tactical ally of the US. Moreover, Moscow has hardly anything to offer the US in a positive sense, apart from possibly limiting the negative impacts of its policies on Washington’s interests. Making predictions about Russian-American relations at this moment is very risky. In the most likely scenario, the traditional pattern will again be repeated with Donald Trump’s new administration. However, that does not mean that Russia will inevitably suffer a strategic defeat, as Moscow may take advantage of the further weakening of the United States and the West.

China as a Narrative Challenge for NATO Member States

Author(s): Filip Šebok,Richard Turcsányi / Language(s): English

China is generally considered one of the greatest challenges facing NATO member states in the 21st century. Much attention has been paid to China’s decades-long meteoric economic rise which has also fueled a massive military buildup. During the 2010s, China became increasingly assertive in its geopolitical neighborhood, raising alarms in numerous capitals. In recent years, China’s growing interference in domestic affairs of countries around the world has attracted growing international attention, while Chinese technology is quickly catching up – or even leading – in key domains, such as 5G, AI, big data, surveillance, space, and others. In this paper, we delve into the area of strategic narratives, which thus far has not been at the centre of discussions about the challenges posed by China. We argue, however, that it should be placed there. As China increasingly tries to “tell its story well” to the world and seeks to amplify its discursive power, it is critical to examine what China’s story is, who is it aimed at, and how China’s narratives potentially affect its status and behaviour in the international system. Strategic narratives and visions can represent key dimensions of great power competition. Following Michel Foucault, discourse will be seen in this paper as power, and international society as an arena for discourse-power struggle. According to Miskimmon et. al., “strategic narratives can be defined as a means for political actors to construct a shared meaning of the past, present and future of international politics to shape the behavior of domestic and international actors”.

Od Jugoslavije do Dejtona – Spomenici i kultura sjećanja kroz uticaj društveno-političkih sistema, Priručnik za predavače historije/istorije/povijesti

Author(s): Nerzuk Ćurak,Edin Radušić,Amra Čusto,Amir Duranović / Language(s): Bosnian

Considering that education is important for the future of young generations, during 2017 UDIK worked on the handbook From Yugoslavia to Dayton – Monuments and the culture of memory through the influence of socio-political systems. The aim of this handbook is to contribute to building a culture of memory of the population on the war events of the nineties and to the prevention of unplanned and massive construction of monuments through education about the monuments to the victims of war that were created during that time period and after it. Five experts from the fields of history, security and peace studies, political science and communication sciences participated in the creation of this handbook, namely: Edin Radušić and Amir Duranović – Faculty of Philosophy, University of Sarajevo, Nerzuk Ćurak – Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Sarajevo, Amra Čusto – Cantonal Institute for the Protection of Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage Sarajevo and Edvin Kanka Ćudić – UDIK Sarajevo. Attached to this manual is work material intended, as well as the entire manual, for all those who work with students in order to use this handbook and use specific examples to help their students better understand the monuments and the culture of memory in Bosnia and Herzegovina and beyond.

Women in a Global World, Edition III: Empowerment and Challenges

Author(s): / Language(s): English

This book has been prepared as the third installment in the book series titled “Women in a Global World III.” All research articles that constitute this book are interdisciplinary and international comparative studies. Researchers from around the world presented their diverse perspectives on women-themed topics such as “Women’s Empowerment, Women’s Challenges in Society, Women and Literature.” The book provides a thought-provoking and informative account of the experiences and travails of women around the world. It serves as a reminder of the intrinsic value of women’s voices and stories, and advocates for their elevation to the forefront of contemporary social discourse.

Terenska praksa i socijalni rad u doba pandemije COVID-19

Author(s): / Language(s): Bosnian,Croatian,Serbian

„Rzecznik historii rewolucyjnej”. Henryka Rechowicza (1929–2004) życie publiczne i naukowe

Author(s): Maciej Fic / Language(s): Polish

The book is one of the links of research on the development of historical research during the period of Polish “people’s Republic” and the careers of representatives of the scientific community and it is a kind of case study of the operation of the “court science" community of supporters and promoters. The course of the career of Henryk Rechowicz, a historian and activist of the PZPR born in Dąbrowa Basin, has been recreated: a brilliant promotion was highlighted first (inclusion of exposed positions in the scientific community of the Katowice Voivodeship), then degradation resulting from his belonging to a group centered around the “Gierek team", and then the return to scientific and academic work, made in reality by the end of the Polish People's Republic and the beginning of the Third Polish Republic.

Focused on Survival: The Belarusian Political and Business Elite Post-2020

Author(s): Kamil Kłysiński,Piotr Żochowski / Language(s): English

The rigged presidential election in August 2020 and the violent pacification of opposition protests have provoked a deep political crisis in Belarus. This also directly affected the situation of the Belarusian political elite and business circles. The processes which were triggered at that time have resulted in a shift in the balance of power in Lukashenka’s inner circle, which in turn has significantly affected the Belarusian domestic and foreign policy model, the relations between the authorities and citizens, and the conditions for doing business.

Israel’s Palestinian Challenges: The State’s Identity, a Leadership Crisis and the “new” Middle East

Author(s): Karolina Zielińska / Language(s): English

The conflict with the Palestinian side is a long‑term existential challenge for Israel. It plays out on four levels: territory; population; national aspirations and identity; security. Each of them generates conditions that make a resolution of the dispute or its absence decisive for the future character of this state in terms of its ethnicity (will the majority of the population still be Jewish?) and political system (will it remain a democracy?), as well as its external and internal security. At the same time, the Palestinian question remains a matter of concern for the international community – particularly public opinion – which makes it a major issue in Israel’s international relations.

Forward, Into the Past! Russia’s Politics of Memory in the Service of ‘eternal’ Authoritarianism

Author(s): Jadwiga Rogoża,Maria Domańska / Language(s): English

The specific nature of the Russia’s politics of memory stems from two types of determinants. These are systemic factors originating from a particular socio‑cultural substrate, formed mainly in the course of the turbulent 20th century history, as well as the present‑day interests of the authoritarian regime. The latter results in an extreme politicisation of the issues relating to the past and leads to alternative viewpoints being excluded from the debate. The narrative of memory is meant to legitimise the authoritarian system of government as being optimal for Russia, and thus to perpetuate the model of state‑society relationship that serves the Kremlin’s interests.

The Beijing-Moscow Axis. The Foundations of an Asymmetric Alliance

Author(s): Michał Bogusz,Jakub Jakóbowski,Witold Rodkiewicz / Language(s): English

Never in history have relations between Moscow and Beijing been as close and warm as they are today. This rapprochement has been produced by three decades of consistent efforts by the political leaderships of Russia and China to strengthen mutual ties and deepen their cooperation in politics, military affairs, economy and ideology. The relationship that has emerged can be called an informal alliance. This alliance is based on the deep conviction shared by the Chinese and Russian ruling elites of the fundamental coincidence of their strategic interests and the ideological proximity between their authoritarian regimes. Hence, the nature of this alliance goes well beyond mere tactical expediency, even if it is not devoid of internal tensions.

Cinderella Became the Empress. How Merkel Has Changed Germany

Author(s): Anna Kwiatkowska / Language(s): English

Angela Merkel’s career was a phenomenon on the German political scene. At the turn of the twentieth and twenty‑first centuries, it was unimaginable that a woman from Eastern Germany, an academic, though without a degree in law, relatively young, childless, remarried, could lead a government on behalf of the Christian Democrats and, in addition, hold this position for the next 16 years.

The Long Shadow of the Treaty of Trianon. Hungary’s Struggles With the Past

Author(s): Andrzej Sadecki / Language(s): English

The 1920 Treaty of Trianon, which sealed Hungary’s loss of a third of its territory, is perceived as the country’s greatest national tragedy. The breakup of the multi-national Kingdom of Hungary, as a result of which large Hungarian-speaking populations found themselves in neighbouring countries, was a pivotal event which influenced Hungary’s national identity as well as its internal and foreign policies for the next one hundred years. Hungary responded to the Treaty of Trianon by developing various concepts to reclaim the lost territories, but also with efforts to build good relations with neighbours and develop policies towards the Hungarian minorities in other countries.

The Ethics of Outsourcing Information Conflict: Outlining the Responsibilities of Government Funders to their Civil Society Partners

Author(s): James Pamment,Anneli Ahonen / Language(s): English

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs), researchers, journalists, and the private sector are often the main actors actively countering disinformation and influence operations. While governments maintain some counter-disinformation capabilities, they tend to outsource much of the day-to-day work through, for example, programmatic funding. It is more cost-effective and credible to fund independent, non-partisan NGOs to debunk disinformation than for a government to get caught up in trying to correct the sensitive issues that disinformation often entails. Indeed, in a recent Washington Post op-ed, former Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty President Thomas Kent lauds the role of NGOs in countering disinformation and urges governments to keep finding funding for them: “Volunteer activists fight it out with trolls online, penetrate and disrupt conspiracy chat rooms, campaign for companies to stop advertising on disinformation sites, and post memes ridiculing Russian propaganda.”1 They do all the things, in other words, that governments can’t or won’t do at scale.

Understanding Strategic Communications: NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence Terminology Working Group Publication No. 3

Author(s): / Language(s): English

When the founding treaty that would bring NATO into being in April 1949 was under-written by twelve signatory nations, the world looked a very different place. The backdrop was dire. The outlook even more so. George Kennan’s ‘Long Telegram’ in 1946 had already warned of a threat from an expansionist Soviet Union intent on exporting communism to the West and depriving millions of Europeans of their freedom. US President Harry Truman had come to the aid of those European populations—afflicted with hunger, homelessness, pestilence, and national bankruptcy. By launching an unprecedented public diplomacy policy, the Marshall Plan, freedom would be preserved through a rebuilding of economies and revival of cooperation be-tween trading nations. Barely two years before the treaty signing, at the invitation of the Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek, the Mont Pelerin Society had convened a body of august economists, philosophers, and historians committed to staving off the advance of tyranny. Their alarm was palpable: ‘over large stretches of the Earth’s surface the essential conditions of human dignity and freedom have already disappeared’. Red-baiting turned into witch-hunting in the United States as the House Un-American Activities Committee went about its business. Hot wars fought in Korea and Indo-China would eventually give way to proxy wars waged on the African continent—save for one confrontation over Cuba.

Kremlin Communication Strategy for Russian Audiences Before and After the Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine

Author(s): / Language(s): English

Particularly since the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the subsequent popularization of what has frequently been mischaracterized as ‘the Gerasimov doctrine’, Russia’s behaviour in the information space has often been viewed as part of its ‘grayzone’, ‘hybrid’, or ‘sub-threshold’ activities. However, the events of late February 2022 and the ensuing months have amply demonstrated that Russia’s information activities should also be viewed in the context of the country as a conventional, above-threshold threat. February 2022 may have marked the point at which Russia’s actions left the ‘grayzone’ and entered the realm of full-scale conventional warfare, but the information environment nevertheless remains a key facet of this conflict. On the Russian side, the Kremlin’s stranglehold on television media and the proliferation of Kremlin-aligned (or, at the very least, anti-Ukrainian) Telegram accounts have ensured public support for the war, which (ac-cording to polling by the Levada Center), re-mains high, at 72%—higher even than when the war first broke out, even as sanctions bite, military failures mount, and Russia’s manpower losses surpass those of all wars it has fought since the end of World War II combined. On the Ukrainian side, tropes such as the ‘Russian warship go f*ck yourself’ exchange at Snake Island have helped ensure public support among Ukraine’s allies for aiding the country’s war effort, casting Ukraine as a plucky under-dog against a larger foe which is simultaneously deadly and incompetent.

Strategic Communications and COVID-19: Exploring and Exploiting a Global Crisis

Author(s): / Language(s): English

Choose your metaphor. It was the perfect storm. It was an accident waiting to happen. Humanity on the move–the prosperous seeking leisure, the deprived migrating en masse, the desperate fleeing from war. Global supply chains so complex as to have enmeshed national economies into an international web. While the rise of Great Power politics was daily pulling the world apart. Then along came Covid.

Ustaše na Jadranu: uprava Nezavisne Države Hrvatske u jadranskoj Hrvatskoj nakon kapitulacije Kraljevine Italije

Author(s): Nikica Barić / Language(s): Croatian

The book deals with the policy of the Ustasha movement and the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) towards the Croatian Adriatic regions. Through the Rome Treaties of May 18, 1941, the NDH was compelled to cede significant portions of these regions, especially in Dalmatia, under the control of the Kingdom of Italy. After Italy's surrender in September 1943, the NDH had the opportunity to regain control over most of these territories. Based on numerous new and previously unused archival sources, the book examines the administration of the NDH in the former annexed parts of Dalmatia. This administration lasted until late 1944 when the German army and the NDH administration withdrew from Dalmatia, and the area fell under the control of Tito's partisans. The book also illustrates how the NDH attempted to extend its authority to Sušak-Rijeka, Istria, and the Bay of Kotor after Italy's surrender.

Matica hrvatska u Nezavisnoj Državi Hrvatskoj

Author(s): Višeslav Aralica / Language(s): Croatian

The book examines the history of the Matrix Croatica (Matica hrvatska) from 1935 until the end of the Independent State of Croatia. It primarily focuses on the mutual influence and intertwining of the activities of the cultural institution and the ideology of the nationalist/Ustasha political movement, in two periods: first, when this movement was in opposition to the main political currents in the state, and second, when this movement attempted to create and organize a totalitarian state.

DILEME DEMOKRATSKE NACIJE I AUTONOMIJE - ogledi o političkoj tranziciji u Srbiji

Author(s): Jovan Komšić / Language(s): Serbian

This book comprises essays on political transition in Serbia, written in the 1997 – 2006 period. Twenty-four works are devoted to sociological and politicological-legal aspects of the great changes in the now already considerably differentiated world of post-communism. Particular attention is focused on the problems of an overdue and deformed transition in Serbia, meaning that in the centre of the analysis there are complex interactions of culture and institutional structure in a society that has not yet emerged from the grip of a deep crisis of the change and has not resolved still numerous dilemmas in the confrontation with the many “shocks of the reality”. This relationship may actually be taken as the “red thread” of the topically various reflections of political controversies and theoretic-ideological dilemmas concerning the aims, contents, pace and means of building a modern state and nation, as well as of consolidation of democracy in a heterogeneous (multicultural, pluralist) social setting of Vojvodina and Serbia as a whole. All this has, therefore, caused the essays, the majority of which have so far been published in thematic anthologies and periodicals, to be grouped in this book in five topical wholes.