Transitions Online_Around the Bloc - Germany Probes Journalist’s Alleged Role in Ukraine Arson – 22 January
Did the editor of a German far-right paper mastermind the firebombing of a Hungarian cultural center, and why?
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Did the editor of a German far-right paper mastermind the firebombing of a Hungarian cultural center, and why?
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Increasingly, inequality is becoming one of the most important phenomena of our time. Recent protests (Spain, the UK, the U.S.), violent confrontations (Brazil, Israel) or even armed conflicts (India, Tunisia) are a direct consequence of polarization, which has increased significantly since the 1980s when the global dominance of neoliberal model was established. So far, mainstream one-fit-all (socio)economic solutions proved ineffective in tackling not only high levels of income inequality, but, more importantly, its multidimensional character visible in the prevalence of social exclusion (access to education, health, and social services, etc.) which is seriously constraining human capital and creating conflict potential among the 'have-nots'. In this context, diversity should be considered as a strength, although this contradicts the universality principle imposed by the liberal state and the neoliberal model, often by applying pressure, isolation or violent force.
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Ethnic conflicts after Cold War have become focus of many researchers in various disciplines. Ability to research different aspects of this problem has attracted anthropologists, ethnologists, politicologists, social psychologists, and increasingly theorists of international relations and security studies. Thereat, discussions of the causes of ethnic conflicts have become dominant in literature which refers to those issues. It has become one of the main research questions which brought together researchers from different disciplines and launch a multidisciplinary debate. As a result, voluminous literature of ethnic conflicts has emerged and it abounds with lack of clarity and coherence among the theories that explain their causes. Therefore, aim of this paper is to point out that the existing theoretical approaches, taken alone, do not provide an adequate framework for studying the causes of ethnic conflicts. As this is about a complex social phenomenon, research of their causes requires wide knowledge and approaches that go beyond narrow disciplinary and theoretical orientation.
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As one of the theories of social change, cyclic theory has not been a part of mainstream sociology. However, this does not mean that the ideas of the representatives of cyclic theory should be completely neglected and forgotten. In this paper the authors attempt to present and compare the views of P. Sorokin, A. Toynbee and O. Spengler on social conflicts, focusing on four issues: definition and classification of social conflicts, internal social conflicts (especially war), internal conflicts and the possibility of eliminating conflicts. In this comparative analysis, the emphasis is not only on sociological knowledge, but also on the ability of self-reflection and openness towards a view that is not “purely” sociological.
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The world, in terms of globalization did not become more stable and predictable. Its main characteristics today are: turbulence, insecurity, and growth potential for conflicts. The most important expression of compression of clamps of turbulence becomes events from 2011. Years, in many countries of North Africa and the Middle East, called the ''Arab revolutions''. For some, these events are coincidental and spontaneous protest ''dreamers of democracy'', while for others it is a result of the planned implementation of projects for a global reorganization of the world. Besides the difference in the value perception of ‘’colored revolutions’’, among theorists there is no agreement even on issues of their target orientation and of their relationship to democracy, social reasonableness, and especially of compatibility of goals and the methods for their realizations.
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Civil wars are the dominant type of armed conflict in today’s world. However, classical strategists who have shaped the Western understanding of war, dedicated majority of their works to the topic of inter-state wars. The goal of this research was to find out whether the theory of the most famous classical strategist is still relevant to shed light on contemporary civil wars. The author employed methods of conceptual analysis and literature review to achieve this goal. The article first discussed the problems of continuity and change in the context of civil wars. Subsequently, the author examined the theory derived from Clausewitz. The literature review was then employed to find out what does the recent empirical and theoretical research say about the relevance of Clausewitz to contemporary civil wars. The results indicate that the theory derived from Clausewitz is still relevant in its entirety. These findings can be useful for both practical decision-making in (civil) war as well as to provide ground for further research. In terms of the decision-making, the Clausewitzian theory seems to remain the best tool we have to understand the multivariate and complex nature of contemporary wars. It is hence prudent to employ it when deciding about any use of force for political purposes. In terms of the academic contribution, this study synthesized much of what we know about the relevance of Clausewitz and the findings can thus be employed for further investigation of similar research questions.
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Suicide attacks are widely applied terror method all around the world primarily in the war and conflict zones. Russian Federation, where Chechen Independence Struggle happens for years, is one of the countries in which this method is applied. This study aims to contribute to Turkish literature with regard to suicide attacks and Chechen suicide bombers. In previous studies, it is understood that there is limited Turkish research on suicide attacks. Furthermore, there has been no academic research in Turkish about suicide bomb attacks erupting in Russia conducted by Chechens. For these reasons, this research will contribute to Turkish literature. “Why people become suicide bomber” is the central question in this research. Then, the suicide attacks perpetrated by Chechens and the factors behind it will causally be examined and explained. Therefore, how the concepts in the literature overlap and diverge from the Chechen case in the conceptual framework will be surfaced.
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The aim of the paper is to comprehend ethnic conflicts through their anthropological dimension, especially through Durkheim’s differentiation of sacred and profane, as well as their ambivalence. Beside Durkheim himself, the author also bases his analysis on other theorists who more or less share Durkheim’s views. Main theoretical framework of analysis is basically an attempt to develop and “apply” to that end a very inspiring anthropological standpoint of Mary Douglas. Sociological foundations from which the empirical material is extracted and on which the value of the basic hypothesis, as well as the applied notion apparatus, are illustrated and checked, are ethnic conflicts that followed dissolution of the second Yugoslavia. While the author claims neither exhaustiveness nor completeness in the explanation of such a complex phenomena, he limits the objective to verifying the hypothesis that mixture of sacred and profane is one of the causes, and at the same time manifestations, of ethnic conflicts in ethnically and religiously heterogeneous environment, that has, besides, undergone difficult and uncertain process of transformation from socialistic to capitalistic system.
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The attack on the World Trade Center of September 11, 2001 evidenced a growing terrorist threat to the US, as well as to the European Union. It is not surprising then that the EU started to combat terrorism abroad. Afghanistan posed such a large threat that the European community decided to actively participate in the war with the Taliban, and then in a peace mission in that area. The article analyzes the evolution of the European Union’s commitment to helping Afghanistan, democratization, reconstruction of the country and its structures, creation of civil society and improvement of the quality of life. The tenets of the latest EU strategy for Afghanistan in 2017 are also considered, which put the strongest emphasis on the issues of respect for human rights, increasing the role of women in social life and ensuring peace and stability in the region.
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This paper reviews the role of ECOWAS in promoting peace, human right and security inWest Africa through the established vision 2020. The function of ECOWAS has always beencreating a peaceful and enabling environment for cooperation and regional integration as a toolto enhanced development of the West African economy. Regional integration remains the mostviable and appropriate tool for achieving and accelerating peace, human right and securityamong West African countries. With regard to the above function, the group in June 2007adopted the transformational vision 2020 focused on the free movement of the population,greater access to efficient education and health, engaging in economic activities, raising thestandard of living. This paper examines ECOWAS quest for peace, human right and stabilityon the continent within the conventional vision 2020. It highlights areas that require review tomake peace and security more effective.
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Cybercrime is clearly linked with financial relations: for some, it is profit, for others – expensesor big losses. The article contains the research of the essence, causes, consequences andcounteraction to computer fraud in Ukraine and countries of the world, as well as research offinancial flows that accompany these processes. However, the authors tried to analyze quantitativelyand qualitatively the dynamics of cybercrimes. It also focuses on bodies that providecybersecurity and normative legal documents in this area. The authors concluded that cybersecurityin Ukraine has not been sufficiently developed yet, which requires adopting the experienceof cybercrime prevention in the advanced countries of the world and enhanced cooperationbetween international law enforcement agencies.
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In December 2017 and January 2018, the Sejm and Senate, thanks to the votes of the deputies of ruling party Law and Justice, passed hugely controversial law amending inter alia Polish Electoral Code. Its adoption was opposed by the parliamentary opposition, by the electoral administration bodies and by many experts, however unsuccessfully. The enactment of this law destabilises the electoral system without a clear or evident need and treats the electoral code as a political instrument. Secondly, it does not provide the sufficient time for adaptation (vacatio legis), which may jeopardise free and fair local elections and the stability of the political system. Thirdly, the bill contains numerous unclear provisions and is in many parts written in a careless and contradictory way. Such amendments do not correspond with the European standards, described in the Venice Commission’s Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters.
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The aim of the article is to analyse Russian active measures in the context of psychological warfare. Active measures are defined as the actions of political warfare conducted by Russian secret service. In case of Russian Federation they are the core of psychological operations that are tools of realising international and domestic policy priorities. Active measures include disinformation campaigns and supporting insurgency in opponent states. Regarding the context of psychological operations active measures are designed to model the mental sphere of opponent society. Active measures are aimed at weakening the unity of the European Union as well as common trust in NATO. Creating favourable atmosphere for Russian activity is the main goal of implementing active measures. Therefore active measures are considered as a great part of Russian interpretation of psychological warfare. Although active measures can support the military activity they are designed to influence the mental sphere of opponent society and are used to create opinions and interpretations that match Russian interests. Those measures are difficult to identify and therefore are threats that are not easy to counteract.
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The author attempts to define amnesty and describe conditions that must be met for amnesties to be in accordance with international law. This in turn involves an analysis of legality of amnesties. The paper also examines motivation for granting amnesty and desirability as well as the future of granting amnesties. In the end a nuanced approach is adopted highlighting the fact that amnesties are neither conditio sine qua non for a lasting peace solution nor ticking time-bombs for peacebuilding. This reflects the idea of this paper that justice is not an absolute and sometimes it might be necessary to let go and combine judicial and non-judicial mechanisms (including the disclosure of truth and reparations for the victims) in order to achieve sustainable peace.
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The Ukrainian crisis of 2014 has been a popular theme of journal and media articles for obvious reasons. Its “Chinese”, or rather Sino-Russian dimension has been less so, though the Chinese reaction to the Ukrainian crisis and the implications of this reaction represent interesting political phenomenon. This article tries to fill this gap and uses the description of Russia and China policies during the crisis as a case study of Moscow and Beijing political behavior on the international scene in general. Its thesis is that the Ukrainian crisis represents a great case study of these behaviors. Moreover, this case is also a supplement to the general discussion in the field about the state of Russia-China contemporary political relations.
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In spite of defining the role of various measures of security policy implementation the weight of one has been quite unequivocally assessed for the current policy. The main position for contemporary Poland is to be taken by the armed forces.Under these conditions, the Polish Army has become a basic element of the defense system of Poland not only in terms of image. It is not surprising then that currently the armed forces have received a wide range of tasks regarding security – both internal and external. President Duda and the government of Law and Justice proudly show the 2 percent of GDP spent on defense and an even higher target, at the latest in 2030. However, this does not create a perspective that would allow “hurray” optimism. The key to describing the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland seems to be their ability to respond to the revolution in the field of military and the ability to modernize.Despite the plans of the Ministry of National Defense and declarations given in media, this process faces a number of difficulties. Not only do we create “abstract” visions of needs for the current policy, but we also offend our partners and those that are still our allies.The arms policy, so important from the point of view of this “self-sufficiency”, was brought to the accusations of lobbying, corruption, and fraud; not only do we not pay attention to our own needs, but we also create innovative concepts for the current policy that cause us to wander in dilettantism.It seems that the shape of the implementation of the modernization of the Armed Forces is affected not only by the current policy. To a large extent, the condition of the Polish arms industry is also a decisive factor in the absorption of modernization.
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Russia and China are terraforming the maritime environment as part of their warfare. In both cases the actions are illegal and the performance is offensive to its actual nature. In the case of China, the practice is construction of artificial islands in the South Chinese Sea and in the case of Russia it is about the infamous bridge built over the Kerch strait, Ukraine. Neither Russia nor China expects an armed conflict with the West in the near future. That is a reasonable assumption, which is weaponized at the political-strategically level. The attack of this weaponized situation is that the trust in the West. Primarily the EU (European Union) and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), is eroded for every day which these countries challenges the international system which the western democracies say that they present and defend. China and Russia offer their authoritarian systems as a replacement and there are a lot of pseudo-democratic or even out-right authoritarian regimes on the sideline watching this challenge unfold. The article highlights the difference for the NATO-countries in logic of practice when it comes to the political social field on one hand and the military political field on the other hand. The article uses material from a previously unpublished survey made on NATO-officers then attending courses at NATO Defense College (NDC).
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Experts on information competition between Russia and Western countries are convinced that president Vladimir Putin plans a war against the West as a long-term operation. It is directed on two fronts: internal and the more effective external one. Both can be developed in every country of the World; the opponent may be a compatriot but the ally may be a foreigner. Fortunately, in the West the effectiveness of these operations is lower. Confrontation with the West the Kremlin has many advantages: parental and controlled informational space, technical implements, huge experience based on expert knowledge, likewise a longstanding practice in conducting informational operations. Those actions are strongly concentrated and there are widely used digital platforms and also, they popularise the contents in harmony with Russian Federation politics. Their aim is not only forming internal and external public opinion properly and in line with the Kremlin’s interests, because as the annexation of Crimea has demonstrated that their aim is construction of a new reality of the world. Paradoxically, in the Russian Federation’s policy, media freedom and political pluralism are considered as a weakness of the West. Many communities which have different benefits are sensitive to the Kremlin’ s propaganda.
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Izraz „etničko čišćenje“ ulazi u širu akademsku upotrebu u poslednjoj deceniji zamenjujući ranije izraz „prisilno iseljavanje stanovništva“ i noviji „etničko proterivanje“. Ovaj izraz je u neposrednoj vezi s opštijim pristupima regulisanju nacionalnih i etničkih sukoba. U širem smislu, etničko čišćenje je generički pojam koji uključuje različite oblike kršenja individualnih i kolektivnih prava pripadnika jedne ili više etničkih grupa. U užem smislu, ovaj pojam označava samo jednu od više jasno razgraničenih strategija regulacije nacionalnih i etničkih sukoba. Režimi koji se nalaze na početku demokratizacije češće sprovode etničko čišćenje nego stabilni autoritarni režimi. Mada organizatori etničkog čišćenja smatraju da će dugoročno „rešiti“ pitanje etničkih sukoba, posledice su obično njegovo produžavanje i zaoštravanje sukoba.
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Socijalni dijalog, odnosno konfliktno socijalno partnerstvo rada i kapitala , u koje su na određenim ravnima uključeni i predstavnici vlasti, ključani su elementi modernih, pluralističkih odnosa – industrijske demokratije. Svrha dijaloga je postizanje dogovora o razvoju i zapošljavanju što ima stabilizirajuće demokratske, ali bi moralo istovremeno dati i uspešne razvojne učinke. Predmet analize posebno su skromni i nedovoljni efekti već decenijskog pokušaja razvoja socijalnog dijaloga u Srbiji, kao i aktuelna nastojanja njegovog oživljavanja u dominantnom, predizbornom političkom ključu.
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