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Читалищата по време на пандемия – политики и практики

Author(s): Stela Nenova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2021

The measures for limiting the distribution of COVID-19 that have been undertaken by the state during the last months affected many institutions and people engaged with the preservation of local cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible. The article discusses the official policies towards the community centres (chitalishta) in the current complicated situation caused by the pandemic crisis. Additionally, it utilises direct observations in the field, in the media and in internet milieu, and interviews with community centre workers and representatives of communities that are successors of cultural heritage. Based on concrete examples, the study offers a general and up-to-date picture of preservation practices, developed on local level, such as the ethnographic collections at the community centres, the non-professional groups for folklore, and different initiatives related to the popularisation and socialisation of cultural heritage.

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Културната политика към българите в Молдова, Украйна и Румъния и предизвикателства на COVID-19

Author(s): Elena Vodinchar / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2021

This study is developed within the framework of the research programme Cultural Heritage, National Memory and Social Development. Without setting the goal to exhaust thoroughly the question, it starts with a survey of the cultural policy of the Bulgarian state towards the Bulgarian communities in Ukraine, Moldova and Romania before the epidemiological situation of the COVID-19 pandemic was officially announced in Bulgaria. Afterwards, in comparative perspective, the author presents the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Bulgarian state policy aiming to delineate the different points of view to the current situation. She notes the first reactions to the “new reality” and identifies some suggestions for coping with the pandemic crisis.

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Етнология и епидемии. Социокултурни измерения на пандемията от COVID-19. Съставители: Вихра Баева и Ангелина Илиева. София: Издателство на БАН „Проф. Марин Дринов”, 2021

Author(s): Valentina Ganeva-Raycheva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2021

Book review

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Proclaiming the Eucharist on Communist Stadiums? The Multiple Meanings of the Phoenix Concept-Album Cantafabule (An Experiment in Cultural History)

Author(s): Vladimir Agrigoroaei / Language(s): English Issue: 5/2021

Philologists and medievalists rarely deal with the subject of contemporary Pop-Rock or Folk music. When they do it, they usually fall prey to a certain form of medievalism. The current section of Museikon follows a completely different approach. The pairing of interviews with memoirs and the introduction shaped in the form of an actual scientific study have the sole purpose of launching an experiment in the history of culture. The case study is a 1976 album of the Romanian Rock group Phoenix. The state owned record company Electrecord made a mistake, releasing it as Cantofabule, even though its correct title was Cantafabule or Bestiar. It had traditional- and medieval inspired lyrics, but most of all, it was the result of artistic synergy. A collective work of sorts, much in the manner of the medieval manuscripts of old.

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SMALL STATE DILEMMA: CAMBODIA BETWEEN THE ASEAN AND CHINA IN THE INDO-PACIFIC CONTEXT

Author(s): Khath Bunthorn / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

As a small state, Cambodia viewed the ASEAN and China as almost equally important pillars of its foreign policy. Amid the intense strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific, Cambodia faced the dilemma of how to maintain the ASEAN centrality without diplomatic cost to its key ally China, and how to balance its national interest with regional interest. In this context, the article aimed to explain the importance of the ASEAN as a cornerstone of Cambodia’s foreign policy, examine the motivations of Cambodia’s deep political embrace of the Asian giant, and underline its implications for the Indo-Pacific from the lens of small state foreign policy. The article was based on qualitative, empirical analysis that comprises primary and secondary data pertinent to the current topic. The article concluded that Cambodia leaned more towards China than it did towards the ASEAN, thus weakening its centrality in driving the broader regional architecture and that domestic politics was the primary driving force of Cambodia’s foreign policy towards that direction. At this juncture, Cambodia should step back from the present degree of its strategic engagement with China and look for ways to diversify its relations with other major powers while getting back on the democratic path and upholding human rights.

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THE POWER OF SMALL EU MEMBER STATES AFTER BREXIT: HOW POWERFUL IS THE VISEGRAD GROUP?

Author(s): Tomáš Kajánek / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

The power of individual EU Member States has been changing over the past decades as a result of revisions to the voting systems and the enlargements of the European Union. The present article analyses the development of the voting power of individual Member States in the Council of the European Union before and after the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union. We use the calculation of the standardized Banzhaf power index to calculate the legislative power of the Member States. The calculations recorded in the table point to changes in the weights of national votes caused by Brexit. The article pays special attention to the Visegrad Group, which we define within the European Union as an informal group consisting of four Central European states - the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and the Slovak Republic. The results indicate a significant growth of the voting power in Poland and more moderate growth in the other three Visegrad Group countries which contributes to the shift in the voting equilibrium within the ordinary legislative procedure of the European Union.

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RURAL DEPOPULATION IN SPAIN: NEXT GENERATION EU AS A STIMULUS TO ACCELERATE THE TRANSFORMATION

Author(s): Marcin Roman Czubala Ostapiuk,Mónica Puente Regidor,Carlos Corullón Hermosa / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

The main objective of this study was to examine the situation of depopulation in Spain. Also, to highlight the importance of digital transformation and the funds provided through the Next Generation EU (NGEU) to fight against this phenomenon. Based on data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), an empirical investigation about the current state of population abandonment in Spain has been carried out. Moreover, the Digitization Index (DiGiX) has been used to obtain a territorial vision about the digitization degree of the Autonomous Communities (CCAA). Finally, the estimates of the Spanish executive set out in the National Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (RTRP) have been used to underline the importance of Next Generation EU resources to fight the problem of ‘empty Spain’. That was to see that mentioned country is currently at the head of the ‘demographic deserts’ of the EU. Likewise, the Recovery Plan for Europe, and its digital axe, constitute one of the key factors to combat the population abandonment of the Spanish rural areas. In other words, an important approach, which addresses the wide deficiencies in the literature on the subject, is making this research highly relevant and interesting.

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CHINA’S DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE TO THE WESTERN BALKANS AND ITS IMPACT ON DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE AND DECISION-MAKING

Author(s): Ana Krstinovska / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

China’s development assistance to the Western Balkans has been little researched and aid-funded projects are often mistermed as Chinese investments. This article aimed to shed light on specific ‘China Aid’ disbursement and management procedures by examining the signed agreements and contracted projects in five countries - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, N. Macedonia, and Serbia during the period 2000-2020. The objective was to determine the impact of China’s development assistance on democratic governance and decision-making. Attride-Stirling’s thematic networks tool was used to analyze the procedures in each project cycle phase and their compliance with the principles of good governance and aid effectiveness. The findings suggest that the assistance, shaped by Chinese rules in combination with Western Balkans domestic agency, is marked by the opacity of the procedures, lack of accountability, disregard for rules in public finance management, and public procurement. Moreover, China could use its grant and loan agreements to influence sovereign decision-making on issues that affect China’s interests. To conclude, although China’s development assistance to the Western Balkans could benefit the recipients’ economic development, it also constrains their democratic governance and decision-making and serves China’s foreign policy interests.

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RADICAL ISLAMISM: TRAJECTORIES OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AND ABUSES IN AFRICA

Author(s): Peter O. O. Ottuh,Felix O. Erhabor / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

In Africa, radical and extremist Muslims are striving to transform society through violent change, claiming that African rulers are dictatorial and anti-Islamic; as a result, many African countries are experiencing serious human rights violations and abuses. Therefore, this paper examined radical Islamism and its trajectories of human rights violations and abuses in Africa and proffered workable solutions to the dilemma. To achieve the above aim, the paper employed historical and evaluative methods. The historical method was used to critically review the scholarly literature on radical Islamism and its human rights violations and abuses antecedents in Africa. At the evaluative level, the paper critically discussed the impact of human rights violations and abuses on the African nations and their citizens. The paper revealed that radical Islamism in Africa is driven by bad political leadership, poverty, poor education, unemployment, and religious exclusivism among others. The paper concluded that good governance, economic enhancement, and religious inclusiveness are key tools in discouraging and curbing radical Islamists in African countries.

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AFGHANISTAN UNDER TALIBAN: A NEW REGIME POSES A THREAT TO INTERNATIONAL STABILITY

Author(s): Valeri Modebadze / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

The purpose of this study was to see whether the Taliban regime poses a threat to the international community. The research primarily examined the threats that the formation of a theocratic regime in Afghanistan poses to neighboring countries and the international community. With regards to research methods, a document analysis method was used to obtain valid information and to analyze and describe the complex situation in Afghanistan. A wide array of documents and scholarly articles were analyzed to obtain reliable and objective information. This research revealed that the Taliban has not changed at all and still rules Afghanistan with medieval methods and strategies. Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the economic situation has deteriorated considerably and people face severe hardship. Therefore, hundreds of thousands of Afghans want to leave their homeland and migrate to the West. The Taliban violates constantly human rights and discriminates against women, ethnic and religious minorities. The Taliban has transformed Afghanistan into a narco-state. Neighboring countries fear that Afghanistan might become a hotbed of terrorism and extremism again.

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TURKISH AND LIBYAN REFUGEE DEALS: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION’S SECURITARIAN IRREGULAR MIGRATION POLICY

Author(s): Hikmet Mengüaslan,Murat Necip Arman / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

This article critically analyzed the Turkish and Libyan refugee deals. We argued that these deals proved to be unsustainable policy frameworks by focusing on their practical outcomes regarding humanitarian objectives. We utilized the “Fortress Europe” concept to demonstrate how the European Union’s security concerns shaped the framework of these deals. Our study elaborated on two main arguments: First, these deals have undermined both Turkey and Libya’s migration management capacities. Second, these deals failed to provide adequate mechanisms supervising the enforcement of humanitarian objectives. We focus on two dynamics leading to the failure of these deals. First, the EU’s prioritization of security concerns has resulted in overlooking the irregular migration’s humanitarian and societal costs to the third countries. Second, the EU’s securitarian strategy contributed to further politicization and securitization of cooperation on migration. In conclusion, we argue that the EU should revise its securitarian strategy on irregular migration to include a more effective multi-lateral and multi-dimensional framework that focuses more on humanitarian issues while ensuring that the responsibilities will be fairly shared between the EU and third countries based on their capacities.

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POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN CENTRAL ASIA: INSIGHTS FROM KAZAKHSTAN, KYRGYZSTAN, AND UZBEKISTAN

Author(s): Aram Terzyan / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

The objective of this paper is to explore the political implications of the Covid-19 pandemic in the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Studies displayed that although these governments varied in their initial response to the pandemic, all three underwent a uniform experience as to its broader effect of amplified authoritarianism. The public health crisis was utilized as a pretext to consolidate autocratic power, suppress regime criticism, and restrict the political rights and freedoms of citizens. Of particular concern were implications on media and civil society organizational efforts, statuses of detainees, ethnic minority rights, and freedoms of assembly and speech. This paper is an in-depth case analysis that uses policy analysis and process tracing to examine the Central Asian countries’ response to Covid-19 and its effects on human rights and political freedoms in the named countries. It concludes that despite the changes in leadership and relative progress towards democratization, authoritarian patterns ensued and changed form during the pandemic period in these Central Asian countries.

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Europejska Agencja Straży Granicznej i Przybrzeżnej (Frontex) wobec oskarżeń o naruszanie praw podstawowych w działaniach na Morzu Egejskim

Author(s): Aleksandra Kusztal / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2021

The subject of the paper is to present and analyse current accusations against the European Border and Coast Guard Agency - Frontex, in connection with documented in journalistic investigation cases of violations of fundamental rights of illegal migrants, within the framework of Operation Poseidon, conducted by the agency in the Aegean Sea. As the subject of the intended research procedure is specific, the adopted methodology was based on the application of the analytical-empirical model. Among the research methods used in the cognitive-analytical procedure, the dominant role was played by qualitative methods, including institutional and structural analysis and mediated observation through the exploration of original and secondary sources in the form of documents and press materials. The quantitative methods concern the analysis of numerical data describing migratory movements around Europe in 2020. The research issues addressed in the article concern the current migration situation at the EU's external borders, the sources and documentation of accusations against Frontex, the functioning of the EU's institutional and administrative structure under crisis conditions, instruments, and legal possibilities to prevent, assess and curb possible abuses. The value of the article is its exceptional topicality and its conclusion based on the logic of deduction. It leads to the summing-up that the crisis surrounding the accusations proves that both the European Union itself and the process of European integration are currently in deep crises: political, legal, institutional, and identity.

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THE POST-TRUTH PHENOMENON INFILTRATING THE US POLITICAL SYSTEM, MEDIA, AND POPULACE: THE CRITICAL THINKING ANALYSIS ABOUT DONALD TRUMP’S POLITICAL LEADERSHIP

Author(s): Evi Aryati Arbay,Ari Santoso Widodo / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2022

Donald J. Trump, one of the 2016 US presidential candidates, is thought to have benefited from political fact-doctoring in his attempt to diminish his adversary's reputation using the post-truth phenomena. This research aimed to identify and analyze post-truth phenomena that infiltrated the political system, media, and the American people during Donald J. Trump's leadership. This study used a qualitative approach with a critical thinking analysis method. The findings found that individual rationality's post-truth disrupted and then directed to online information impulses, in which people tended to seek information that supported their own opinions, particularly on issues connected to Donald J. Trump's leadership in all sectors of policy, including irrelevant facts or reality and the use of language increasingly exploited by hyperbole without a clear basis reference.

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SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF SOFT POWER DIPLOMACY: A QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF AFGHANS’ PERCEPTIONS ABOUT INDIA

Author(s): Mohammad Reyaz,Sabir Ahamed / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2022

Before the Taliban came back to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, India and Afghanistan had cordial bilateral relations and were often described as great friends. Since 2002, India had helped build several infrastructure projects as part of its promised development assistance program of over $2 billion (later increased to $3 billion). Considering India’s investments in Afghanistan, the goodwill it enjoyed among common Afghans was understandable. However, it would be wrong to imply that these unique, multifaceted bilateral relations between the two countries were simply due to India's helping hand. This research paper is one of its kind attempt to explain the perceptions Afghans had about India based on the field survey done in Afghanistan in 2019. Using responses of over 321 Afghan participants, the paper attempts to quantitatively analyze the goodwill and positive vibes that India enticed among Afghans. However, many Afghans felt that India did not do enough during the crisis in August 2021. Based on the survey and the general perceptions of Afghans in the aftermath of the return of the Taliban, this paper argues that the soft power investments in Afghanistan helped India in its nation-branding, making it attractive and creating goodwill. However, New Delhi lacked the will to act smartly and hence did not get the desired strategic influences due to ‘soft power behavior’

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THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF INTERNATIONAL ORDER: A SHORT OVERVIEW

Author(s): Amer Ababakr / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2022

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected most of the world, adding health security as a new challenge. Instead of facing these challenges, some states move towards a system of competition and intolerance, which forms new patterns in the international order. This questions the impact of the pandemic on the strategic dynamics of the international order. This article argues that the global pandemic transforms the political system and the way of governing liberal democracy more than any other factor. It took the form of a variable, driver, and accelerator, and the established world order transformed into a new form of order. Using the descriptive-analytical method and the theories of international relations, the current study examined the impact of the pandemic on the strategic dynamics of the international order.

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FRENCH IMMIGRATION POLICY DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Author(s): Yao Xuedan / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2022

Following the start of the European refugee crisis in 2015, France had to modify its immigration and asylum policies. However, France faced two main issues resulting from the pandemic: pandemic control and refugee management. This article examined the reform and adjustment of France's immigration and refugee asylum policies before and after the pandemic outbreak. It concluded that the pandemic had aggravated the problems of refugee management in France. At the same time, refugees in France were in a difficult situation. The French government had imposed restrictions on entry and exit, leaving many refugees stranded in France, unable to return home. Moreover, the high sanitary conditions of accommodation due to the pandemic led to the fact that the health of many refugees could not be guaranteed. Therefore, the French government should enhance the guarantee of a healthy environment for refugees, which is also beneficial to the social management of France.

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UKRAINIAN FOREIGN POLICY TOWARD RUSSIA BETWEEN 1991 AND 2004: THE START OF THE CONFLICT

Author(s): Stephen Adi‬ Odey,Samuel Akpan Bassey / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2022

Akpan BasseyAfter the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine's foreign policy evolved in the geopolitical sphere of Central and Eastern Europe. As a result, the new Ukrainian interests were built on a sense of national identity. They looked to Russia and Europe to find a sense of national identity. However, Ukraine's Eurasian and Central-European ancestry caused a distinct rift in society about national identity, which influenced the formulation of foreign policy. Those trying to co-exist with Russia find it difficult to develop a Ukrainian identity completely different from Russia, justifying the togetherness through the Pereyaslav agreement. On the contrary, the nationalist-minded Ukrainians, those who want to cultivate an identity distinct from the Russians and, more specifically, look for a Central-European identity, try to influence the course of the foreign policy formation of Ukraine by citing their historicity of Europeanness with the medieval princedom of Kiev and viewing the Pereyaslav memory as disastrous for Ukraine’s independent existence. Thus, national identity is one of the main causes of the Ukrainian-Russian conflict. This study aims to uncover significant events in Ukrainian foreign policy toward Russia that led to modern-day conflict.

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Социокултурни изражения на съвременната трудова миграция от България в Италия

Author(s): Vladimir Domozetski / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2021

The article investigates contemporary labour migration of Bulgarians to Italy. An important analytical instrument for drawing a complete picture of the Bulgarian presence in the host country are the research perspectives: “from above, generalized” or “close and detailed”. The sociocultural expressions of migration are interpreted on the basis of in-depth interviews, in which sharing personal experience is of major importance. The personal experience of different groups of Bulgarian migrants is viewed as a source of information for the degree of their integration and adaptation. Some comments are suggested on the peculiarities of the communication between the interviewees and the researcher. The author problematizes notions and images of the Bulgarians in Italy through the lens of employment types and through auto and hetero stereotypes that are delineated in interviews and free conversations. Another subject of attention are the questions about the visibility of Bulgarian migrants in Italian society. The results of the study demonstrate that the Bulgarians are well adapted to the living conditions in Italy. At the same time, they do not always feel presented clearly enough in the host society.

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„Етничният синдром“ четвърт век по-късно – едно научно откровение за народа, паметта и историята

Author(s): Elya Tsaneva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2021

For almost three decades now, there is an ongoing, but also inconsistent search for a new conceptual framework for the study of ethnicities and identities. Against this background, the article offers an interpretation of a fundamental monographic text on this subject from the recent past, a contemporary evaluation of a book from the arsenal of ethnic/national dialectic theory. Written by an insightful connoisseur of culture and history, the book presented some innovative and provocative ideas about the relationship and the dynamic combination of the most important phenomena and characteristics of the ethnonational process. The author shares some thoughts about the ways in which these ideas can be interpreted from the point of view of today’s methodological explorations.

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