The Rise of Populist Electoral Authoritarianism in Turkey: a Case of Culturally Rooted Recidivism

Author(s): İlter Turan / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2017

The trend in Turkey’s politics toward “electoral authoritarianism” is rooted in the long history of modernization. Tensions between traditional society and modernizing elites (with strong links to the military) resulted in the series of military coups in the 20th century and weak civilian regimes. The originality of the rule of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) since its coming to power in 2002 is that it has been able to consolidate the support of less privileged strata and to establish full control over the state. How durable is this system remains an open question.

Балканските войни – един гръцки поглед от началото на ХХ век

Author(s): Yura Konstantinova,Dimitar Nitsov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2017

The Balkan Wars (1912–1913) triggered in Bulgaria and Greece unseen enthusiasm and hope for prosperity, as well as for the ‘liberation of our brothers living under yoke”. In the Bulgarian society the Balkan Wars have left a deep emotional trauma. But how does the Greek society evaluate these events? How durable are the Greek military victories and do they nurture new internal or external problems? How do the people in Greece evaluate their own contribution to the success in the Wars and how do they see themselves and their neighbors? What is the relationship between tradition and modernity and what is the place of humanism in this military clash? Is the image of the war undergoing a process of democratization?Seeking for the answers of these and other questions, we decided to present a Greek album from the period. The album is dedicated to the Balkan Wars and remains poorly known. We hope that the analysis of the illustrations in it will enable us to trace the attempt of the authors of the album to influence the audience and will thus allow to see the Balkan Wars through the eyes of the Greeks from the beginning of the 20th century.

Пътища за никъде: eвропейски политики за социално включване на ромите

Author(s): Elena Marushiakova,Veselin Popov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2017

In the last years, the “Roma topic” attracts an increasing interest and takes a fopemost place in the public sphere of united Europe; hence, the Roma policies become a significant challenge on national and European level. Before analyzing the contemporary political discourses about the integration and the social inclusion of Roma, however, it is obligatory to know very well the previously existing state policies toward the Gypsies from the time of their arrival in Europe in the Middle Ages until today. Since a great number of the Roma population continues to live in the countries of Eastern Europe, the policies of the states which formed the “socialist camp” after World War II are very important. The analysis of the existing main political discourses about the Gypsies/Roma (and mostly of their results) should be the basis for the analysis of the contemporary national and European discourses about the Roma policies. Based on this, the achievements and the failures of those policies may find explanation and some prognoses about their results (or the lack of such) could be made.

Фашизъм – националсоциализъм

Author(s): Voin Bojinov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2019

After the end of the World War One the old political habits were put under a serious test. The tough consequences of the conflict led to new ideologies that offered quick and easy recipes for coming out of the aftermath of the after military crisis. The Italian fascism, for example, promoted the vision of a strong state, guided by the Fascist Party and its leader. The leader, his party embodied the state. They were its image and content. These understandings were “further developed” by the German National Socialism, which added to them the racial hatred and the idea of the superiority of the Aryan. Everybody knows what the final of these political experiments was.

THE ALEVI / ALAWITE FACTOR IN TURKEY - SYRIA RELATIONS IN THE LIGHT OF THE SYRIAN CRISIS

Author(s): Mkrtich Karapetyan / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2018

The Syrian civil war exacerbated sectarian divisions between the Alawite-ruled Syrian government and Syria’s Sunni population, straining also the relations between the Sunni majority and Alawite and Alevi minorities of the neighboring Turkey. The Alawites and Alevis of Turkey were predominantly supporting Syria’s president Bashar al-Asad, while the Turkish government greatly supported the Sunni insurgents of Syria. The paper aims at examining how Alawites and Alevis have influenced the relations between Turkey and Syria in the light of the Syrian civil war, the reasons behind the sympathy of Alevis for the Syrian government and the implications that Turkey’s Syria policy has had domestically. It finds that the Alevi / Alawite factor has had some restraining effects on Turkey’s antagonistic policy towards Syria. In the introductory part, the article touches upon the differences and the similarities between Alevis and Alawites, then it analyzes the developments in regards Turkey’s policy towards the Syrian crisis that were also reflected in Ankara’s domestic policy vis-à-vis its Alevi and Alawite minorities.

Konkurencja, zagrożenie czy ratunek dla gospodarki? Postawy Polaków wobec imigrantów

Author(s): Joanna Konieczna-Sałamatin / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2019

This article presents the attitudes of Poles towards immigrants and analyses the factors that co-exist with these attitudes. Data come mainly from the European Values Study (2017). The analyses have shown a clear impact of media discourse on the social perception of immigrants, which leads to a split image of the immigrants: „real” ones, whom Poles meet in various public places or at work and who are generally accepted, and „imagined” immigrants - „aliens”, more often causing a sense of threat. Attitudes towards real immigrants are not connected with political views and are to a small extent related to opinions on the European Union. The assessment of the „imagined” immigrants’ impact on the development of Poland is an element of a broader set of axiological orientations, the essential element of which is trying to order the social reality in the framework of traditionally understood roles and hierarchy and which are associated with a negative relationship with the European Union and even with scepticism towards democracy as a form of government and civil liberties.

NIGERIA’S REGIONAL AMBITIONS: CHANNELS AND CHALLENGES

Author(s): Aslam Khan,Lawan Cheri / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2019

Nigeria is the most populous black nation in the world, member of the UN Security Council and largest economy of Africa. In addition to its globally acknowledged qualitative oil, it also has large deposits of mineral resources including tin, coal and gypsum, gold and lead. The country is not only engaged in a passionate competition with South Africa to attain the position of a continental superpower preparatory towards becoming a globally acknowledge giant but also comfortably playing a big-brother role among Africa nations. This paper uses documentary analysis to examine Nigeria’s social, economic and global potentials of fulfilling its dreams vis-a-vis the potentials of its competitor(s). The paper found out that Nigeria faces multidimensional challenges on its path towards continental leadership ranging from domestic problems of rising crime, incessant insurgency, dilapidated infrastructure, growing unemployment, over-reliance on dwindling oil income and leadership crises among others to intense competition from other strong African countries like South Africa, Egypt and Ethiopia. The paper concludes that the country’s goal of a regional superpower status is achievable but Nigeria must address its domestic challenges to win the race of attaining continental hegemony.

(RE)SHAPING POLITICAL CULTURE AND PARTICIPATION THROUGH SOCIAL NETWORKS

Author(s): Marija Andreeva / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2019

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.

THE SOFT BALANCING OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA: BETWEEN THE EU’S NORMATIVE POWER AND EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION’S EXPANSION IN THE EASTERN EUROPE

Author(s): George Mihai Constantinescu / Language(s): English Issue: 03/2020

Having the 2014-2017 timeframe, we aim to observe the long distance duel between the EU and the EEU, the interests of the two organizations being the most visible in the Republic of Moldova, a state with a soft balancing attitude which is at the same time an observer-member of the Eurasian Economic Union, and also a signatory-member of the Association Agreement with the EU. In order of capturing as faithfully as possible this remote match, we want to analyze the European normative power in relation to the Republic of Moldova by analyzing the main changes that Moldova's trade relations with Brussels and Moscow have suffered following the signing of the Association Agreement in 2014 and the institutional crystallization of the EEU in 2015, using data provided by the Moldavian National Bureau of Statistics and analyzing the official documents which laid the foundations for the recent relationship between the Republic of Moldova and the two organizations.

CRIME OF AGGRESSION IN INTERNATIONAL LAW AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Author(s): Goran Bandov,Dorotea Ogorec / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2020

The paper focuses on the analysis of the problem of defining the crime of aggression in the international law and international relations, focusing primarily on the historical development of the term from its initial directed efforts, all the way to its modern outcomes. Observing in a historical manner, the establishment of the definition of the crime of aggression, as well as its aligning under criminal offences has encountered several obstacles which resulted in a continuous delay of clear defining what exactly would the crime of aggression encompass. In order to fully understand the matter, the importance of several international documents is undeniable, especially the Charter of the United Nations as well as the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

SOFT POWER CONTEXT OF CHINESE INVESTMENTS TO THE EUROPEAN UNION: CHALLENGES VS. OPPORTUNITIES

Author(s): Daniela Cvetanovska / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2020

This paper presents a constructivist take on soft power, by analyzing the contextual factors which influence Chinese investments (COFDI) to the EU as a relevant soft power resource. The contextual analysis shows which constraining and stimulating (internal and external) factors condition COFDI in leveraging soft power for China. Additionally, the article provides solutions for soft power optimization, since soft power resources aim to entice and foster cooperative relations toward a ‘win-win’ behavior. The issues presented here have profound implications for future studies on soft power and the political economy of Chinese investments in the EU.

THE ALBANIAN QUESTION AT THE PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE DURING 1919-1920

Author(s): Erjon Dervishi / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2020

This paper aims to bring to the public one of the most important moments in the history of modern times of Albania. After the Albanian independence on 28 November 1912 and international recognition of Albanian state on 29 July 1913, in 1919-1920, many national and international events unraveled which initially posed a real danger for Albania to become an independent state. The Paris Peace Conference, organized after the First World War by the Great Powers which win the war, and in which 27 winning states took part, became the real world center of that time. The Albanian point of view was headed directly at this Conference, with the hope to gain its independence and to win the right of self determination for its people. The main issues of the Conference were: border correction, especially in the southern part of Albania, relations between the Balkan states regarding Albania, the position of Italy, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and the position of Greece over Albania, and the real threat of secret pact during the First World War and the new role of American President, Woodrow Wilson. This paper also aims to bring the attitude of the Albanian delegation at the Paris Peace Conference and the position of Italy, France, Great Britain and Greece.

Populizm jako forma przywództwa politycznego: trzy tradycje teoretyczne i perspektywy badawcze

Author(s): Jan Pakulski / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2020

In a contemporary political sociology, experiencing a renaissance in political leadership studies, the populism – defined as a specific type of anti-establishment leadership – is quite well known not only from current „rises”, but also from former cyclic „tidal waves”. Even if there are visible parallels to former waves of populist politics, few socio-political analyses of the current „third wave” sweeping across Europe and the US benefit from the theoretical body of researches of previous waves. The current approach focuses on a shallow theoretical-historical approach to populism as a sui generis novum, as a critical backlash to contemporary development trends (ie. globalism, centralized government, neo-liberal politics, etc.). Thus this paper aims at reminding three important analyses relating to three consecutive waves of populism. All three point at populism as a manifestation of democratic trends and focus attention on leadership groups. Alexis de Tocqueville viewed populist campaigns of Louis Napoleon in France as manifestations of a „despotic democracy”. Max Weber judged European populisms he witnessed as manifestations of a „plebiscitary democracy”. Contemporary neo-elitists focus their attention both on leaders and on the structure of leadership groups as well as on relations between leaders and their „electorate”. Such leadership focused perspective is a necessary addendum to the research on contemporary populism.

National identification in a democratic society. A view from the psychosocial perspective

Author(s): Piotr Radkiewicz / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2020

As some researchers note, national identity is probably the only form of identity forwhich people are ready to give their own lives. Deprived of the experience of personalcontact, the strong sense of belonging to the national group must consist of imagining oneself as entwined with crowds of anonymous compatriots in an invisible, butrealistically experienced bond. Though, the concepts of national identity and national identification are often treated interchangeably. they are not equivalent. Group identitymeans the fact of belonging to a specific group, combined with having its cognitive representation. Identification refers to the individual-group personal relationship, and describes the strength of the emotional bond felt with other members and the importance of a given group identity. This paper presents psychological origins of national identification, linking them to the deepest and most basic epistemic, motivational and existential human needs. Awareness of identification with the national group determines the whole range of psychological phenomena from various levels of analysis. From relatively simple manifestations of affect to complex ideological orientations – they all have specific relationships with how people understand democracy and what type of democracy they prefer. The empirical evidence cited in this text proves that the strengthening of the liberal democracy and its cultural values is accompanied by the devaluation of national/patriotic identification in the utilitarian (as a socially dysfunctional phenomenon) as well as in moral sense (as a source of hostility and intolerance). However, other empirical results show national identification as a necessary component of social bonds, and a basis of social mobilization around important collective goals.

Tranzycja demokratyczna z „fałszywej demokracji”. Czy nowy paradygmat tranzycyjny?.

Author(s): Bartłomiej Nowotarski / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2020

„The third wave” of democratization had a real challenge: to disarm brutal dictatorships and enable the process of building the institutions of the liberal democracy. Political scientists scrutinized the process of democratization and created its transitional paradigm. Unfortunately, as the paradigm and the democratization process failed (the so called „fake democracies” emerged), the proponents of the liberal democracy faced a new challenge: to turn back the trends of democratic erosions and to build a more sustainable,post-liberal democracy in the future. The important question remains: what kind of a new paradigm would best encompass contemporary challenges? This essay aims at drawing such a new paradigm referring to likely transitional strategies that may end up in new kind of democratic settings (also in a form of „fake democracies”). To come up with new schemes failed transitions and new trends are discussed.

Długi marsz przez instytucje kultury. Polityka Zjednoczonej Prawicy a wymiana elit w nowym ładzie kulturalnym państwa po roku 2015

Author(s): Piotr Kulas,Paweł Śpiewak / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2020

This text aims to analyse the project of elite change implemented by the United Right in Poland in the field of cultural production. The authors argue that culture is recognized by right-wing politicians and intellectuals as a particularly important way of legitimizing its domination also in other fields. The special role of culture can be interpreted by the nature of the public sphere in Poland and the importance of the intelligentsia, who converted cultural capital into other types of capital (the political, the social, and especially the symbolic capital). The authors argue that the replacement of cultural elites serves the revision of history and assertion of power. Although, the elite change project is conducted not only within the cultural field, however, the latter is seen as a particularly important for the right-wing intelligentsia. We argue, that this exchange is based on the long-formulated announcements and is justified by the right-wing intellectuals and politicians who argue for a traditional, Polish model of culture. However, it also conceals political goals. The main goals of the replacement are to change the old elites with people favouring new order and, in the long run, to form right-wing elites, who, referring to the one-dimensional model of culture, will play a hegemonic role in the social life.

ЛЕГИТИМИЗАЦИЈА ВЛАСТИТОГ СТАТУСА МОЋИ У САМОПРЕДСТАВЉАЊУ МЕЂУНАРОДНЕ КРИЗНЕ ГРУПЕ

Author(s): Ljerka Jeftić / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 82/2023

The paper presents types of legitimization in the self-presentation of International Crisis Group (ICG), a non-governmental organization which is globally referred to as the leading source of information, analysis and high-level advocacy in the field of conflict. Given the privileged access to the world policy makers and the powerful social status of the ICG founders and the Board of Trustees’ members, as well as the ICG’s presence on the ground in the countries where conflicts occur, the paper posits that the legitimacy of the ICG’s persuasive power is grounded on authority and information as social resources. The quantitative and qualitative analysis of two self-promotional ICG brochures points to the equal contribution of both social resources in providing legitimacy for the organisation’s existence and work. Namely, it is found that legitimization by reference to personal authority, as well as commendation legitimization, are enacted not only through personal authority vested in ICG’s members on the grounds of their individual, respective (former) roles in governments, in the media, business, and in financial institutions, but through the personal authority vested in the individuals (re)commending the work and stature of ICG (high officials of the parties in conflict, as well as world’s top governments officials), whose affiliations are always stated in the analyzed corpus. Their authority gets implicitly transposed to the organization itself. The role of mythopoesis, as the type of legitimization enacted through storytelling, is to portray the organization as the hero and the voice of the world’s vulnerable. The combination of rationalization and moral evaluation provide legitimacy for the “field-centred research” and “allegiance to the facts on the ground” as components of ICG’s “methodology” in obtaining and producing information thus implicitly legitimizing the truth about a conflict that the ICG analysts may establish.

Maritime Security: The Pillar of India’s IPOI in Southeast Asia and Its Implications for Vietnam

Author(s): Cuong Pham / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2024

This article analyses the maritime security pillar of India’s Indo-Pacific Outlook Initiative (IPOI) in Southeast Asia and its far-reaching impact on Vietnam. The study utilizes the analytical framework of neorealism, liberalism, and constructivism to examine the objectives and intentions of India’s IPOI and ASEAN’s AOIP in the context of strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific. The author’s findings reveal a significant convergence of strategic interests between IPOI and AOIP, which brings numerous and tremendous benefits to Vietnam, such as fostering the Vietnam-India comprehensive strategic partnership and equipping Vietnam to tackle challenges from the rise of China. The rise of China, strategic competition among major powers, and the increasing significance of the Indo-Pacific have spurred India and ASEAN to develop their visions to adapt to the Indo-Pacific concept. However, the implementation of IPOI in Southeast Asia still faces several limitations, primarily due to the divergent understanding and goals of IPOI, which places a premium on maritime security, and AOIP, which is more focused on naval cooperation. Furthermore, differences in the perceptions of India and ASEAN on maritime security also contribute to these limitations, highlighting the need for further research and development.

Goodwill, Morality and Legislation in Restitution & Provenance Politics; a Reflection on Customary Laws and Property Ownership in Africa

Author(s): Winani Thebele / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

Calls for restitution and provenance research over colonial objects have embraced museums globally. The two theoretical undertakings complement one another. Governments, heritage institutions and individuals are reviewing the provenance of their colonial collections and returning them to descendant communities. Widely publicised return undertakings and ceremonies attest to this. Scholars and curators have revolutionised their thinking, approaches and writings with an intent to decolonize narratives associated with the colonial holdings. Conversations through seminars, conferences, workshops and political statements complement the efforts. However, the returns are usually presented as voluntary gestures, driven by morality, redress, equality, correction of colonial wrongs and calls for human rights. This article argues that there are also legal obligations as evidenced by developments in Europe and America today. The article methodologically interrogates three intertwined subjects: 1. the current state of affairs with Africa’s colonial heritage; 2. the customary laws on collective ownership of heritage by communities as a contributory catalyst to the migration of heritage; and 3. an ignored factor in the quest for repatriations and the development of national legal structures by states that hold colonial objects. The argument is that these should be balanced; the returns are not only based on morality and goodwill by hosting states, but are also enforced by legal obligations. The paper further argues that all stakeholders should be taken on board in provenance and restitutions, particularly the descendant communities, their wishes and customs. These present as part of ‘best museum practise’ and the decolonization narrative.

Recenzja książki: Elbridge A. Colby. (2023). Strategia wypierania. Amerykańska obrona w dobie konfliktu mocarstw. Polski Instytut Spraw Międzynarodowych.

Author(s): Tomasz Pawłuszko / Language(s): Polish Issue: 2/2024