Around the Bloc: Orban Proclaims Victory in Hungary’s Anti-Migrant Quota Vote
Although low turnout rendered the referendum invalid, Hungarians all but unanimously rejected EU quotas for resettling migrants.
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Although low turnout rendered the referendum invalid, Hungarians all but unanimously rejected EU quotas for resettling migrants.
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The concept of post-socialism evolved into an “area study” while its “era” content became mostly excluded from the discourse. This paper discusses the necessity of integrative approach in postsocialist studies to understand the phenomenon in depth. It offers a comparative study of the post-socialist period through the EU trajectories of the three neighboring states: Bulgaria (2007), Greece (1981), and Turkey (candidate since 1999). Comparative studies mostly dealt with intra-post-socialist states. State-socialist regimes’ differences from their capitalist neighbors are mentioned, but usually not included in comparative studies. I argue that by compartmentalization under the label of postsocialism, we miss the similarities that transcend state systems of capitalism and socialism. I argue that one of the fundamental similarities between former state social list countries and their “capitalist” neighbors is migration and citizenship regimes driven by nationalism and their politics of “unwanted” vs. “desired” populations. While the influx of refugees is currently at primary agenda of the EU politics, migration and refugees were also among the concerns of the post-socialist era in the 1990s. Postsocialist migrations had various motives, such as refugees from civil wars as in the case of former Yugoslavia, asylum seekers from destabilized post-socialist regions, and economically motivated emigrants. Through examples from Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, this paper analyzes the three countries' socio-political trajectories as well as migration and citizenship policies. I evaluate migration of the “co-ethnics” and citizenship policies in the three countries, and show how similar their motives are, how they are interrelated with each other, and finally with the dissolution of state-socialist regimes and the growth of the EU, how they produce similar effects. I argue that the EU could neither change nor even challenge the politics and discourse of “unwanted” vs. “desired” populations in the three states.
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The aim of the publication is to review strategic security of the European Union countries in 2016, and to create of a short-, medium- and long-term forecasting model, based on the model of “international scenarios”. The authors deal with both, armed conflicts (including frozen conflicts) and the problem of growing terrorist acts. It is also stressed that the migration crisis causes an increase in radical sentiment, but also creates trafficking in persons (including terrorists) and goods (including weapons used in subsequent attacks).
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This paper examines the issue of poverty and social exclusion of Roma in Slovakia. It highlights the problem of poverty among Roma communities, which together with segregation leads to absolute poverty and social exclusion. Based on ethnographic research the paper examines conditions in which inhabitants of segregated Roma communities sustain their livelihoods. In the qualitative part of our research we ask how inhabitants of segregated settlements organize and manage their livelihood and what strategies and practices they use to ensure social reproduction. Further, we assess the articulations between exclusion and social networks and other spheres of assets, including formal and informal labour, state benefits and the use of material assets. We argue that spatial segregation has an enormous impact on poverty.
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The territory of the former Yugoslavia (within all of its structures and forms during the second half of the 20th century — from FPRY, SFRY, FRY, to Serbia and Montenegro) was the subject of more or less intensive external and internal migrations. The first larger wave of emigration occurred immediately after the end of World War II, mostly due to the political events in the country that concerned ideological orientation of national-liberation war winners. In most cases, the furthest destinations o f these emigrants were overseas countries. The remoteness of the new „homelands", among other reasons, made these relocations permanent. In the beginning o f 1960’s a new wave of mass immigrations occurred due to the „liberation" of Yugoslavia’s economy and politics, and the need of labor force in the countries of Western Europe. These were the economic, so-called labor-migrations that were supposed to have a temporary character. During the period of 1964-1973, Yugoslav citizens living in Western European countries numbered approximately one million and one hundred thousand, out o f which two-fifths were Serbs. In the mid 1970’s, a migration trend seemed to slightly decline, only to increase again in the 1980’s, and especially during the 1990’s, however with the new socio-economic-political background and different characteristics than the preceding ones. It could be argued, though, that these new migrations of Yugoslav citizens sum up all the characteristics of the preceding ones, being, at the same time, very dramatic in nature considering that the migrations were most of the time, the only available option for emigrants. In general, these migrations are characterized by relocation of whole families, absence of a long-term plan considering the future (duration of stay, return to the home country), money investment in the home country, and relatively high although diverse educational level. Actually, based on comparison between censuses in 1981 and 1991, it is evident that in 1991 more people with a high school diploma, gymnasium, higher and academic education have left the country than in 1981. The available data from 2001 census consist only of a relative number of Yugoslav citizens living abroad, around 400,000, but this number does not include citizens from Kosovo and Metohija, or Montenegro. Only when the final census data come out, will it be possible to analyze and compare migrations from 1991-2001, although considering census gathering and its limitations, it is clear that many trends will remain hidden.
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Since the 1971 census and subsequent to the emigration wave into Western-European countries in the sixties of this century, the overall Croatian population has consisted of the population in Croatia and population working temporarily abroad including family members. In the context of this research, among other things, the author problematizes the statistics of analysing the duality of Croatian population, as well as the obscurities and faulty conclusions appearing if this is not taken into consideration. The key position in the research is taken by a comparative analysis of natural trends of the population present in Croatia and the population working temporarily abroad. By dividing the total number of people born between 1971 and 1991 into those born in Croatia and abroad, the aim was to establish how many people born abroad were included in the Croatian census in 1991. Exact analysis has determined part of the demographic effects of emigration.
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After the victory of the Bolshevik forces in the Russian civil war, a significant number of Russian exiles found refuge in the newly formed Yugoslav Kingdom. Vladimir Smirnov, a young civil engineering student, was among them. In the interwar period, he completed his studies in Belgrade (which he started in St. Petersburg) and worked as a respected civil engineer specialist for railway construction. Smirnov actively joined the partisan movement in 1941. During the war, he was the chief of the technical unit at the Supreme Headquarters. His name is linked to a series of war feats, especially during the Battle of the Neretva. After the war, he was the head of the Construction Directorate of the Yugoslav Army and its chief engineer. In this position, he dealt specifically with the construction of military facilities, including those for housing, and a number of military facilities for special purposes, as well as with the system of permanent fortifications of border regions. Smirnov was a prominent military writer and translator and was awarded a number of prestigious Yugoslav military decorations.
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The migration flux towards Turkey from the region in crisis has periodically been the case till the Republic was founded. Communist regime of Bulgaria has caused over 300 thousand Pomaks and Turks to migrate to Turkey in 1989. Then Saddam Huseyin’s persecution to Kurds created the similar migration wave towards Turkey with the number of half milyon people. After Syrian civil war broke out 3.5 milion Syrians migrated to Turkey as a consequence of Turkish “open door” policy. These huge amount of migrated population were either transitive immigrant or permanent immigrant. Both situation urged Turkey to launch an educational policy for immigrants.
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The paper presents the background of the unique story of children arriving from Cuba to the United States through the analysis of the events of the so called ‘Peter Pan Operation.’ The nature of the programme was largely different from today’s child migration as it took place in an organised manner, with active help from the State Department of the U.S. and the Catholic Church. Within the framework of the ‘Peter Pan Operation,’ a total of 14,048 children left their homeland in an organised way. The explosion of the Cuban missile crisis meant the end of the campaign; from then on, Cuba stopped flights to the United States. There were several reasons for starting or continuing the ‘Peter Pan Operation.’ Cuban parents began to send their children to Miami for fear of losing patria potestas (parental control) over their children. We can also put the question in the broader context of the political events of 1960–1962. From these, we can raise three main issues: 1. education reform; 2. the conduct of power over the Catholic Church; 3. the fear of communism, and the spread of a communist ideal. This study interrogates the ‘Peter Pan Operation’ phenomenon through an analysis of these three problems.
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The Orthography of Russian language was reformed by the Provisional Government in 1917, but this reform was not accepted by the people of Russia. The Bolsheviks provided the reform again in 1918 transforming the Pre-Reformed Orthography into symbol of resistance against them. After their victory in the Civil War many of Russians from various classes emigrated from Soviet Russia. In the Emigration many of them continued to use the Old Orthography because of various reasons. The Pre-Reformed Orthography was used in both secular and clerical spheres of the Emigrants’ life. This article is devoted to the theoretical justification of the symbolical role of the Pre-Reformed Russian Orthography in Emigration.
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The Bulgarian decision of the contemporary migration problems reflects the specific conditions of Bulgarian transition and the country geo-strategic position. The XXI century digital thinking chooses the wellbeing to the beliefs and values of the democratic world. Globalisation, digital communication, overpopulation and the lack of resources create world, where conflicting values co-exist. The Bulgarian decision of the contemporary migration problems means humanitarian approach, diversity and tolerance towards others, only after exhausting all the chances of getting Bulgarians back to their fatherland. EU migration policy remains a serious problem, both in financial terms and the security of member States and the Union as a whole.
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International migration is an important global issue that requires a more effective system of global governance. This paper focuses on movements of people across international borders and on governance at the global level. Managing movements of people across international borders cannot be achieved through unilateral state action alone; rather, the development and implementation of migration policy benefits from international cooperation in addressing the complex drivers and processes of migration. Global governance in the migration area still lags the systems in place to manage the international flow of capital and goods.
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Trafficking in human beings and migrant smuggling are two distinct phenomena, even if both are offenses involving the transfer of human beings for the purpose of making a profit. This paper aims to present the differences between the two phenomena. Thus, it can be seen that the purpose of human trafficking is exploitation of the victim and using it to obtain profits continue, while the aim of smuggling of migrants is illegal border crossing. Crossing international borders is a prerequisite for smuggling of migrants, human trafficking while not always require crossing international borders. One of the most important conditions of human trafficking is to control and restrict the freedom of the victim in order to exploit it, while smuggling of migrants does not require control of freedom. Trafficked person is considered to be a victim because it is constrained and exploited, while in case of smuggling of migrants, migrant consents transaction with trafficker and agrees to the conditions set by him.
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The article deals with a public debate on the institute of Jezikovno razsodišče (Linguistic Tribunal) after the Cankarjev dom incident that occurred on 22 March 1982. The first public pan-Yugoslavian debate about the nature of the Slovenian nationalism in 1980s merged the problem with the use of the Slovenian language and that of the position of immigrants who had come to the Socialist Republic of Slovenia from other Yugoslavian republics into a dangerous blend of linguistic, cultural, economic and political disagreement.
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A short reflection on the books and publications in which I have already written about religious identities in Europe is presented in the introduction. A situation with religious identities varies from one society to another, from one continent to the other. There are three types of religious identity that dominate in Europe (church, churchless and “distanced“). Have religious identities or their “folklore” aspect become stronger in Bosnia and Herzegovina since the 1990s? Then I come back to the very term and type of identity (acquired, chosen etc.) and their basic sociological characteristics. The importance of self-identification and others’ perception of our identity is discussed. Considering the multiplicity of human identities, there will be elaboration of the place of religion among multiple identities. In what social conditions does religious identity gain significance? What is the correlation between religious identity and family, national and professional identities?
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In article the attempt to analyse the Ukrainian-Jewish relations during the marked period in a paradigm of the concrete historical phenomenon - emigration of Ukrainians to the countries of America at the turn of XIX - XX centuries is made. Scientific novelty. Relationship of two peoples - Ukrainian and Jewish - has long and complicated history which needs complex and impartial scientific research. Need of such research is caused not only cognitive interest, but also political relevance. Unfortunately, the wrong or consciously distorted interpretation of the past quite often leads to a complication of the international relations. It is especially dangerous when it results from organized campaigns and appeals, actions of certain people and groups or policy of the governments which is based on ethnic nationalism.
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Review of: - Lea Nocera, Çev.: Fazıl Mat (2018). Manikürlü Eller Almanya’da Elektrik Bobini Saracak: Toplumsal Cinsiyet Perspektifinden Batı Almanya’ya Türk Göçü (1961- 1984). İstanbul: Bilgi Üniversitesi Yayınları, 308 sayfa, ISBN: 978-605-399-524-1. - Murat Sevinç (2018). Hey Garson! İstanbul: April Yayınları, 99 sayfa, ISBN: 978-605- 8108-80-6. -Salman Akhtar (2018). Göç ve Kimlik, Kargaşa, Sağaltım ve Dönüşüm. İstanbul: Sfenks Kitap, 198 sayfa, ISBN: 978-605-68005-3-5. A. Çağlar Deniz, Yusuf Ekinci, A. Banu Hülür, “Bizim Müstakbel Hep Harap Oldu” Suriyeli Sığınmacıların Gündelik Hayatı Antep-Kilis Çevresi. İstanbul: Bilgi Üniversitesi Yayınları, 2016, 228 syf., ISBN: 978-605-399-463-3.
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Along with a more rapid economic growth tension can be observed in the Latvian labour market. Number of economically active population is decreasing because of negative natural increase of the population and emigration, while number of job vacancies is rising and labour shortages become more acute. As a result wages are rising rapidly, and it, in turn causes increase in production costs and negatively affects the competitiveness of domestic firms. Changes in productivity and labour costs from 2011 to 2016 show that the increase in labour costs exceeded productivity growth more than two times in the manufacturing as well in the total economy of Latvia. Convergence of labour costs is inevitable in the conditions of free labour movement (open labour market), thus further economic growth of Latvia will largely depend on its ability to reduce the productivity gap with the advanced economies. The purpose of the research is to evaluate the dynamics of labour productivity in Latvia and its level in comparison with the EU average, as well as to reveal the most important factors limiting productivity increase in Latvia. The tasks of the research is to determine the main factors that influence labour productivity in Latvia in last 10 years, to compare productivity levels in Latvia and other EU country and to evaluate the current policy measures to increase labour productivity in Latvia. Different quantitative and qualitative research methods are used in the analysis, for example analysis of scientific literature and economic policy planning documents, statistical data analysis methods, shift share analysis etc. The results of the research show that productivity growth rate in Latvia was one of the fastest in the EU during the last five years that enhanced productivity convergence with the advanced economies. Raise of the productivity level was mostly influenced by the improved business conjuncture and optimization of the number of employees at the sectoral/firms’ level. Nevertheless, the contribution of structural transformation was insignificant on productivity growth. The main conclusion of research shows, that two mutually interconnected processes determine increase of productivity level. First, they are the entrepreneurs’ choices about competitive advantages on which their business strategies are based, which define the business management and technological decisions (to modernize production or to move resources across sectors, to other region or even other country). Second, it is the ability of the country to ensure the reallocation of the its resources to the most productive firms and sectors, i.e. to promote structural reforms or “technological upgrading”.
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The purpose of an article is to analyze the concept of «the identity» of theoretical discourse, to identify its crisis for settlers from the East of Ukraine and to search for possible ways out of the marginality zone. The methodology. To achieve this goal, the following research methods were used: semiotic analysis, the generalization of the problem under study, content analysis, systemic and historiographical methods, scientific works from the theory and history of culture, ethno-cultural science were used. Scientific novelty. The research consists in summarizing the concept of «national identity» and identifying its critical state in the context of a military conflict. Conclusions. In modern conditions, essential changes occur in the socio-cultural space and the formation of a national identity of the individual. Man, as a social being, is in constant interaction with the surrounding world, with other people and continuously identifies himself with different social groups, defines his status in society, his attitude to one or another event. Maximum consideration of historical experience and the creation of sophisticated methods for the study of ethno-national identity will contribute to the procedural nature of the concept being studied.
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The aim of the study is to analyze the place and role of archetypical cultural symbols in the formation of the cultural identity of Canadian Ukrainians. Methodology. The authors have used the descriptive, hermeneutic, cultural-historical, and integrative approaches. The scientific novelty is to attempt to substantiate the significance and outline the main objectives of the study of archetypal cultural symbols that influence the formation of the cultural identity of Ukrainian Canadians. Conclusions. Synoptic primary cultural symbols are archetypal symbols. As a meaning-creative existential-symbolic phenomenon deeply rooted in the unconscious of a particular community, they give meaning and purpose to all elements of culture. They contribute to the decoding of the plurality of cultural meanings and its unique experience translating the archetype into the language of culture. It is necessary to interact with archetypical symbols not only in the synchronous but also in the diachronic aspect taking into account the nuances of information transmission from one generation to another. Quite often, archetypical symbols act as mediators in the intergenerational space optimizing the dialogue of representatives of various generations. Archetypical cultural symbols contribute greatly to the process of national identification, being at the same time one of the ways of understanding and interpreting the surrounding world. For Canadian Ukrainians, they are embodied in the national food, artwork, and mother tongue. Due to these symbols, Ukrainians realize their belonging to a certain national and cultural group, their purpose in the world, as well as form their own life strategies.
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