We kindly inform you that, as long as the subject affiliation of our 300.000+ articles is in progress, you might get unsufficient or no results on your third level or second level search. In this case, please broaden your search criteria.

Download

THE ROLE OF TURKIYE IN THE BLACK SEA AND THE RUSSO-UKRAINIAN WAR: A SHORT OVERVIEW

Author(s): Muhamed Ali / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2022

After the end of the Cold War, the new conjuncture that appeared in the region of the Black Sea turned into an important place on the international scene. During the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Turkish diplomacy played a significant role in this region and international relations based on its new ‘active neutrality’ strategy. Turkiye's extensive efforts at a ceasefire through implementing the mediatory role between Russia and Ukraine were its more significant diplomatic endeavors throughout the war. Simultaneously, one of the more critical segments that marked the Ukrainian resistance against invasion is the success of the Turkish armed drone Bayraktar TB2. Turkiye plays a vital role in the so-called ‘grain corridor’ function with the aim of activization of Ukrainian export of grain and mitigating the world’s grain crises.

More...

4.50 €

Preview

VIOLATIONS OF THE RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION MEMBER STATES IN 2015-2019: SELF-DEFENCE UNDER A NEO-MILITANT DEMOCRACY RULE?

Author(s): Kamila Rezmer-Płotka / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2022

In 2015, a serious crisis called the “refugee crisis” took place. Migrations had already taken place before, primarily in connection with armed conflicts, but the largest number of asylum applications was received in 2015 and was therefore described as the beginning of the crisis. One of the apprehensions in the European Union Member States about the reception of migrants was cultural differences and religion. The purpose of this study is to determine violations of various types of religious freedoms in all the EU Member States. The period 2015-2019 was considered in connection with the largest influx of refugees and before the next crisis on a huge scale, i.e., the coronavirus pandemic. The study will provide an answer to the question: what religious freedoms were violated in the years 2015-2019 in the EU Member States? In connection with increased migrations, were there more violations of the types of religious freedom related to refugees? The source analysis of the United States Department of State reports was used for the study. An assessment of restrictions on religious freedom will be made at the level of what extent and against whom were supposed to protect political nations. On this basis, it will be possible to compare all countries in terms of solutions characteristic of neo-militant democracies regarding respect for religious freedom.

More...

4.50 €

Preview

RECENT MINORITIES IN SIBIU. SIMILAR PROBLEMS, SIMILAR SOLUTIONS

Author(s): Nicoleta Annemarie Munteanu / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2022

The recent minorities in Sibiu are at an early stage in the development of organizational structures, trying to make their voice heard regarding certain issues that affect its members.This policy paper aims to facilitate the offer of public policies solutions for the recent minorities in Sibiu: Arab, Bessarabian, Ukrainian, and Chinese, to identify solutions that may have a common denominator, to establish a way of cooperation, and to inspire the development of joined projects. As a result of the workshop, the policy paper will be sent to the institutions and authorities with attributions in this field.

More...

Download

ELECTORAL BONDS: A PERIL TO DEMOCRACY AND TRANSPARENT ELECTIONS IN INDIA

Author(s): D. Ananda / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2023

A democracy is built on free and fair elections. India is one of the world's most populous democratic countries. In 2018, the Indian government launched a new electoral bonds scheme to fund elections. Electoral bonds influence election funding and make it easier for corporate entities to conceal political donations by concealing the bond’s buyer and beneficiary details. The new electoral bonds scheme lures companies and facilitates money laundering. The present article critically evaluates the electoral bonds scheme by analyzing the various acts and statutes. However, the Indian judiciary evaded its role as guardian of the constitution and final interpreter of the constitution by not deciding the cases pending in court. The scheme provides an unfair advantage to the ruling party. Anonymity and secrecy harm accountability in a democracy. The new election funding scheme undermines transparency and fair elections. This new election funding scheme has exacerbated the situation in Indian democracy. This new mechanism of election funding keeps voters in the dark about whether the governing party favors corporate donations.

More...

Download

PROCESS TRACING AND PROFESSIONALIZATION OF POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS

Author(s): Pratyush Paras Sarma / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2023

Recent years have witnessed a significant inner transformation among political parties in both developed and developing democracies of the world. Different factors, such as changes in the structure of the media environment owing to the technological boom in the last two decades and changes in voting behavior, led to the transformation of the political parties in different democracies worldwide. Therefore, studying the patterns of this transformation has become an integral part of the current political science research. Early studies have demonstrated the indexes based on professionalization. However, limited studies have tried to examine the process of transformation relating to professionalization and are almost missing from the studies based on non-western democracies like India. Therefore, against this backdrop, this study tries to expand the literature by providing a theoretical framework consisting of causal mechanisms which would explain the process of professionalization of campaigns with special reference to Indian elections through the theory testing method of process tracing. The framework has been provided in a series of causal mechanisms to answer how the considered individual variables react when they come in contact. This paper concludes by justifying the conceptual framework of professionalization.

More...

Download

Nieposłuszeństwo obywatelskie w Europie w okresie pandemii COVID-19

Author(s): Ewa Bogalska-Martin / Language(s): Polish Issue: 2/2022

The purpose of this text is to take up an analysis of forms of civil disobedience, occurred during the pandemic in Europe. Referring to works of such authors as H. Arendt,J. Habermas, J. Rawls we argue that civil disobedience, more or less contextual and varying, depending on the phase of the pandemic and on the country, has lead to the crisis of representative democracy and to the crisis of the art of governing (in technical and strictly legal terms) of the expert type. In the same time, civil disobedience has been a manifestation of the vitality of a democratic life. Disobedience can be seen as a sovereign political act – a consequence of a conviction that trust agreement between the ruling and the governed has been broken. Thus the disobedience aims at fixing it. In this sense, the civil disobedience became the collective reflective moment of democratic life in the meaning of U. Beck (2001).

More...

Download

Tracing the Donbas miner movement’s role in Ukraine’s transition between 1989 and 1994

Author(s): Paweł Downarowicz / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2022

The article explores the impact of the miner strike movement in Donbas on the post--communist transition in Ukraine from 1989 to 1994. By focusing on the Donbas strike movement, its relationship with the nationalist intelligentsia, and a later co-optation of its mobilizing potential by regional elites, it provides an analysis of the agency of bottom-up social forces operating within a particular cultural framework during the transition period. The striking miners played a significant role in the reclamation of Ukrainian independence in 1991. Building on this momentum, Donbas politicians were able to politicize the already existing socio-cultural diversity of Ukrainian society and to define the fundamental political cleavage in Ukraine in self-serving, regionalist terms.

More...

Download

Polska 2023: wymiary kryzysu

Author(s): Przemysław Sadura,Jacek Raciborski,Grzegorz W. Kołodko,Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz / Language(s): Polish Issue: 2/2022

Leading political scientists discuss social and economic dimensions of the crisis of the liberal political order underway in Poland since the United Right took power in 2015. The consequences and repercussions for the civil society and the country’s politics are analyzed and an effort of a prognosis for the future is made. Democracy in Poland is in a deep crisis. Neo-authoritarianism is not inevitable yet, but the outposts of a political regime of this kind are being implanted by the ruling coalition.

More...

Download

Modern Approach to E-commerce in China Based on WeChat as an Example of an All-In-One ‘Super App’

Author(s): Karolina Wydymus / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2023

The late 1990s, when censorship was introduced in China, was a watershed moment for many Chinese companies. At that time, as many Western applications became banned in China, Chinese entrepreneurs began to develop their products at a much faster pace. An example is Tencent company which launched the WeChat application, which revolutionized the E-commerce market in China within just a few years. Chinese E-commerce differs from the Western Internet markets by the characteristics of consumer behavior, shopping platforms, or brands, which is a new co-creation model among consumers and brands. The given research paper presents a fragment of the results of own research conducted among the entrepreneurs and individuals who use the WeChat application for business or/and private purposes in China. The aim of the following study is to present the Chinese E-commerce market, and the difference between the Western and Chinese customer approaches in the example of the WeChat application. The research method used is a WeChat application case study in China. The source of the work is an analysis of the literature query in the field of E-commerce, analysis of the statistical data, and primary data, i.e., a fragment of the results of the pilot own research.

More...

Download

UNDERSTANDING VOTER BEHAVIOR AND ELECTION DYNAMICS: A CASE STUDY OF THE 2021 LOCAL ELECTIONS IN KOSOVO

Author(s): Lavdim Terziu,Besard Belegu / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2023

This study aims to analyze whether the 2021 local elections in Kosovo can be classified as first-order elections based on sufficient evidence. Employing a quantitative approach and utilizing surveys among eligible voters, the methodology allowed for observing indicators supporting the local elections’ classification as first-order. An empirical study was conducted using Google Forms, encompassing the entire region of Kosovo and involving a representative sample of respondents (n=596). The study also relies on data from the Central Electoral Commission (CEC). The research design employed a comparison approach and a deductive method. The study’s key findings reveal that despite the diverse practices and ideologies of developed countries, the most recent local elections in Kosovo should be recognized as first-order elections.

More...

Download

DEMOCRATIC BACKSLIDING IN GEORGIA AND THE ROLE OF THE RIVALRY BETWEEN THE GEORGIAN DREAM AND THE UNITED NATIONAL MOVEMENT

Author(s): Orcun Caliskan / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2023

Over the past decade, the political system in Georgia was marked by a two-party system which was mainly attributed to the flawed electoral system. This led to the prevalence of the political arena being dominated by the ongoing competition between the Georgian Dream and the United National Movement and affective polarization. However, in recent years under the leadership of Georgian Dream, the progress of democracy in Georgia slowed down and there was a rise in authoritarian tactics used by the government to suppress opposition. This study employed qualitative research techniques over a range of primary and secondary sources to explore the role of democratic backsliding, freedom of media, and the incarceration of prominent political figures in the political polarization of Georgia. The study contended that the "winner takes all" mindset of the competing parties began to undermine Georgian democracy and its global reputation as the rivalry threatened Georgia’s progress toward European integration. The study concluded that the rivalry and the polarization had significant implications for the future of politics in Georgia and its relationship with Europe.

More...

Download

NATO’S ROLE IN THE POLICY OF NON-PROLIFERATION OF WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION AND GLOBAL SECURITY: A SHORT OVERVIEW

Author(s): Alika Guchua / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2023

The purpose of this work was to determine what role NATO plays in the policy of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in the modern world. The research primarily examined the threats that come from weapons of mass destruction and how it affects global security. As for research methods, to get reliable information. The methods of policy analysis and document analysis were used to analyze and describe the challenges faced by NATO in the non-proliferation policy of weapons of mass destruction. In order to obtain reliable and objective information, a wide range of documents, strategies, and scientific papers were analyzed. The mentioned study showed us that NATO’s policy of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction faces many challenges and threats from aggressive states, terrorists, extremists, criminal groups, aggressive religious actors, and in the overall context, asymmetric and symmetric threats. The role of NATO is very important in the security policy of the alliance and the policy of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in the world. NATO should be able to protect global security from weapons of mass destruction threats through pragmatic policy and dialogue.

More...

Download

Cultural Diplomacy or Cultural Relations? Lost in Terminology and Rediscovering the Meaning of Culture

Author(s): Hilda-Hedvig Varga / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2023

When discussing such a complex concept as culture, it is forever interesting, even surprising, to find out what definitions people give to this all-encompassing notion; what better way to delve into Indian culture and the inner workings of cultural diplomacy and relations than to speak to someone most knowledgeable in the field, the Ambassador of India to Romania, Moldova and Albania, Mr. Rahul Shrivastava. His Excellency was kind enough to sacrifice his time in favor of cultural matters, despite his busy schedule.

More...

Download

XII Национален събор на народното творчество в Копривщица (5–7 август 2022 г.)

Author(s): Rosina Kokudeva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2022

Events

More...

Download

Post-Conflict Security and Peacebuilding in Rwanda: an Economic Development Approach

Author(s): Khedidja Ziani,Amira Berhail Boudouda / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2023

This text analyzes the governance strategies employed in post-civil war and genocide Rwanda for peacebuilding within the context of economic development. Rwanda, with the assistance of the international community, aimed at reconciliation and democracy. Despite challenging circumstances following the conflict, the government achieved stability and initiated internal reforms, particularly in the security sector, since the mid-1990s. The persistent power structure of the Rwandan National Front prompts an exploration into the extent to which an economic development-based approach has contributed to security and peacebuilding in Rwanda. We hypothesize that such measures play a key role in establishing resilient societies capable of preventing the recurrence of intractable conflicts through the attainment of inclusive economic development. The theory of human needs advocates for the utilization of interoperability as a conflict resolution mechanism, applicable to Rwanda as well. It posits that lasting peace is only achievable when various facets of human economic needs are systematically addressed. This article seeks to critically assess how post-genocide economic reform measures in Rwanda have contributed to achieving security and peace. Furthermore, it explores how effective leadership and engagement policies contribute to economic security in Rwanda. The article argues that post-conflict security management and peacebuilding processes require the implementation of effective economic development policies, including resource redistribution, as a critical component of a comprehensive development strategy.

More...

Download

POLITICAL PARTY PREFERENCES ON LOCAL ELECTION IN INDONESIA: HOW DOES RATIONAL CHOICE INSTITUTIONALISM WORK IN CANDIDATE SELECTION?

Author(s): Syafhendry Syafhendry,Andi Luhur Prianto,Nina Yuslaini / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2023

The rational choice institutionalism approach provides insight into political parties’ personal and institutional preferences in determining their strategic and technical-operational decisions. Institutional and personal preferences in political parties have shaped rational choices in selecting regional head candidates. Political party preferences provide rational choices based on the values they believe have shaped political responses to individuals and institutions. This study will examine selecting mayor and deputy mayor candidates in regional head elections. This study maps the preferences of political parties in determining their rational choices. The qualitative research method involves field interviews, online media analysis, and the examination of social media data. The data processing includes content analysis conducted using NVivo 12 Plus software. The study results indicate that political parties as political institutions are very centralized and pragmatic in determining the results of selecting regional head candidates. There are variations in the types of preferences of political parties in the candidates, namely systemic, practical, and normative preferences. Internal regulations support systemic preferences, practical preferences are determined by party procedures, directors, and selection criteria, and normative preferences are based on political parties’ ideology, values, and goals. Normative preferences will only become mainstream in the candidacy of political parties if party ideology strengthens and the candidate selection mechanism is transformed into a democracy-based selection.

More...

Download

CREATIVE FREEDOM AND CENSORSHIP: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR OTT CONTENTS IN THE UK, INDIA, AND CHINA

Author(s): Siddharth Kanojia / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2023

The emergence of over-the-top (OTT) services has lately revolutionized the way people consume media content. These services have emerged as a significant disruptor in the media industry in recent years. With the advent of OTT platforms, various concerns have arisen over the censorship and regulation of content on these platforms. Accordingly, this paper has examined the current trends in censorship and regulation of OTT content through the perusal of various legal and regulatory frameworks in the United Kingdom, India, and China. It has probed into cases of censorship and examined various aspects of civil and political liberties. The analysis has revealed a persuasive connection between the degree of freedom of expression and creative freedom dispensed in each region. Lastly, the paper has provided recommendations for policymakers and other stakeholders on balancing the need for freedom of expression and access to information with responsible content management and regulation.

More...

Download

GREECE AND TRIPARTITE PARTNERSHIPS IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN: A RECOMMENDED POLICY FOR GREEK STRATEGIC INTERESTS

Author(s): Dimitrios Grekos / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2023

The Eastern Mediterranean is an area of strategic importance not only in the peripheral but worldwide. In recent years, the field of the Eastern Mediterranean has entered a new dynamic since there are trends of Tripartite Partnerships between neighboring states. These partnerships are political, cultural, economic, energy (due to the hydrocarbon surveys), immigration, and especially at the level of dealing with common security threats. By conducting tripartite partnerships, Greece achieved balance while playing a major role in the region. The study examined this Greek initiative in the sectors above under the vacuum left by the great powers (Russia and the USA). Greek foreign policy, through Tripartite Partnerships, defended its strategic interests and shaped the region’s good relationships. The analysis of this policy employed the theory of neoclassical realism in order to present the international and internal (state) system and their impact on the Greek initiative of tripartite cooperation with the states of the Eastern Mediterranean. According to said method, a recommended policy for Greek strategic interests was designed, which may be utilized by other regional states.

More...

Download

“NEIGHBOURHOOD FIRST POLICY” UNDER NARENDRA MODI: INDIA’S STRATEGIC CONCERNS IN SOUTH ASIA

Author(s): Do Thanh Ha / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2023

After becoming the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi made many efforts to consolidate his dominance in South Asia and expand India’s influence in the Indian Ocean. The “neighborhood first policy” was highlighted in India’s foreign policy. Based on historical and logical research methods and studies in international relations, the paper aims to examine the implementation of “neighborhood first policy” through bilateral relations between India and its neighboring countries. These relationships have been facing challenges from the more profound influence and interference of China as well as frequent terrorist incidents due to border disputes, which threatened regional security. Although this policy connected India with its neighboring South Asian countries, there were still challenges. It can be seen that the “neighborhood first policy” was Prime Minister Modi’s effort to nurture bilateral relationships, enhance regional connectivity, and strengthen and elevate India’s position in the region. The progress of the “Neighborhood First” policy is expected to continue more successfully in the next phase.

More...

Download

RETHINKING EUROPEAN SECURITY: THE STRATEGIC NEXUS AFTER RUSSIAN-UKRAINE WAR

Author(s): Tamta Tskhovrebadze,Kakha Putkaradze,Zurab Zerekidze / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2023

This research is focused on the ongoing Russian aggression towards Ukraine, which has already resulted in a changed security architecture of Europe and, hence, increased security concerns not only in the region but also facilitated geopolitical shifts globally. Through the prism of exploratory-descriptive qualitative methodology, research strived to analyze the increased geopolitical concerns and challenges for Europe that led to significant changes in the security paradigms of the countries within the EU and increased accountability, as well as reluctance in terms of current security arrangements. Volatile military and political security and economic, social, and transnational challenges emerged as vibrant signs that European and global security will not be the same in the upcoming years.

More...