Transitions Online_Around the Bloc-13 May
Highlights from our coverage region: asylum seeker abuse in Croatia; opening up in Uzbekistan; Telegram abandons blockchain; stunning fossils in Bulgaria; and a friendly reminder for Georgia.
More...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.
Highlights from our coverage region: asylum seeker abuse in Croatia; opening up in Uzbekistan; Telegram abandons blockchain; stunning fossils in Bulgaria; and a friendly reminder for Georgia.
More...
Migration from poor countries is constantly increasing, but at the same time it is becoming more difficult to legally enter and seek asylum in the European Union. Fences were erected in several countries, such as Hungary, Slovenia, Macedonia and Austria. Due to the lack of opportunities, thousands of desperate people are forced to embark on a dangerous journey across the Mediterranean Sea, considered one of the deadliest seas in the world. For the past fifteen years, Italy has been increasingly affected by the phenomenon of migrants and applicants for international protection arriving by sea, departing from the coasts of Libya, Tunisia and Egypt. These flows incremented significantly in 2011 related to the political changes in the countries of North Africa (especially in Tunisia and Libya), called the "Arab Spring," and with the intensification of the conflict in Syria. Since the Arab uprisings, the Mediterranean region has been confronted with unprecedented refugee and migratory fluxes: in 2014 over 170.000 people arrived by sea, of which more than 42.000 Syrian citizens fleeing the war.As a consequence of their geographical position and the implementation of the Dublin Regulation – which sets the procedures for asylum applications in the European Union – countries of first arrival such Italy, Greece, and, to a lesser extent, Spain have been most affected. This paper analyses the Italian’s center-left government decision to launch the Mare Nostrum operation, opening the path for the Search and Humanitarian missions. Mare Nostrum was a year-long naval and air operation initiated by the Italian government on October 18, 2013 after the greatly mediatized Lampedusa shipwrecks of 3rd and 11th of October 2013 near the island of Lampedusa when 636 migrants died off the Italian coast. The Italian operation aimed to identify boats in distress and to launch a proactive “Search and Rescue” operation with a policing and anti-smuggling component, covered an area of 70.000 square kilometers, and operated close to the Libyan coast. Leading this military-humanitarian operation, Italy succeeded in raising the awareness of EU member states’ governments and public opinion that the Mediterranean migration crisis affects all EU member states - not just Italy or other South-European countries. The Mare Nostrum operation ended suddenly, after a series of harsh critics, largely because of a lack of European Union supported being considered a „pull factor” for migration, but its consequence was that it paved the way for a greater humanitarian response to this complex phenomenon that affects the economic, social and security aspects of Europe in the world of mass human movements. It was superseded by Frontex's Operation Triton, an operation which had no naval or air force of its own, instead, it had to rely on the help of the EU countries. The aim of the new European operation led by Italy as host state was not to save human lives but, basically it was a border control operation. Triton replaced also two old operations the agency used to coordinate in the South of Italy, Hermes which controlled the border along the Italian coastline, and Aeneas which controlled migrant flows from Egypt and Turkey (via Greece) to Italy. Another mission under Italian naval command and headquartered in Rome was the Sophia Operation, launched in June 2015, an anti-people smuggling mission in the Mediterranean Sea, ended in March 2019. The ending decision relates to Italy's reluctance to allow rescued people to disembark in its own ports.
More...
The article is dedicated to the Greek refugees, political emigrants, who arrived in Bulgaria in the middle of the twentieth century because of the Civil War in Greece (1946–1949). The author studies the reasons for the formation of the new community of people of Greek origin and the organizational structures that this community established with the cooperation of the Bulgarian state. Attention is drawn to the characteristic features and peculiarities of the community and the ways in which they influence its development. The focus is on the approaches for preservation and transmission of cultural tradition. The study also dwells on the development of specific set of regulations that allowed the development of amateur art among the Greeks in Bulgaria by the foundation of an educational structure and a network of clubs in the country. These activities are presented in relation with the cultural policies of the Bulgarian socialist state.
More...
The subject of the article concerns security at airports using modern technologies. The most advanced safety inspection devices were discussed in the study. A very important aspect affecting airport security was discussed, such as procedures and organization of work at security checkpoints. The challenges faced by modern security control operators have been taken into account. The latest generation devices have been described, including 3D X-ray scanners, magnetic gates with hazardous objects location, and manual metal detectors.
More...
Terrorism with religious ideological background today is a serious global threat. The modern infrastructure and the communications of movement allowed terrorist organizations to be able to attack everywhere in the world. The issue that is a point of interest of this paper is the current situation of returning the foreign terrorist fighters to their home country or third countries and the security consequences that may arise if they are not treated properly. For a more detailed perception of this problem through the case analysis – an operative police action related to the foreign terrorist fighters, the functional aspects of the criminal prosecution bodies of the Republic of North Macedonia will be better perceived and studied. Also, a special emphasis will be placed on the strategy for the fight against violent extremism and the financing of terrorist fighters.
More...
The complex relationship between international and municipal law has been the bone of significant scholarly contention. In the Indian context, despite a formal commitment to dualism, courts have effected an interpretive shift towards monism by espousing incorporation of international law. The case of Mohammad Salimullah v. Union of India, which involves the issue of deportation of Rohingya refugees from India, represents a challenge in this regard owing to the lack of clarity as to India’s obligations under the principle of non-refoulement. The paper uses the Supreme Court’s recent interim order in the said case as a case study to examine India’s engagement with international law. It argues that the order inadequately examines the role of international law in constitutional interpretation and has the unfortunate effect of ‘refouling’ Rohingyas by sending them back to a state where they face imminent persecution.
More...
This study examines the effects of the proliferation of SALWs on the security of the Nigerian state. Although this issue has seldom been tackled in regular or academic literature, it reflects the author’s keen awareness that, in an era of globalization, migrants have been identified as important agents in the proliferation of SALWs into third-world countries. The paper seeks to provide an insight into the socio-economic and political variables operating in the source and destination of such movements, with particular emphasis on migrants and arms proliferation. The study uses the qualitative approach for data analysis, it relies on upon, data gathered through secondary sources, and is reinforced with the argument on the liberal theoretical framework of analysis. The paper concludes that, while weapons play a significant role in intensifying conflict that exerts enormous human and economic costs, the causes of such conflicts lie in political, economic, ethnic, and religious differences and disparities. Finally, the paper looks at the appropriateness of examining the full implications of SALWs as a border management theme and the role of complementary measures for facilitating border control.
More...
Egypt and Turkey makeup about half of the whole population of the Middle East and are the two leading nations in the eastern Mediterranean, including Iran as a whole. Both countries are now recognized as the two most tremendous modern military forces in the Middle East. Besides, Cairo and Ankara are major Muslim centers: the Al-Azhar Mosque in Egypt is the largest Islamic University in the world and a significant feature of Egyptian soft power; the historical association between Turkey and the last Islamic Caliphate is viewed in the region with great nostalgia. Given these similarities, a deep rivalry between the two countries exists around the world, while Ankara and Cairo have increasingly prevented overt aggression or conflicts. After the Arab Spring, tensions have intensified and, in effect, impacts Libya, Sudan, and the Eastern Mediterranean region. Along with the increased risk of an overt war between the two nations, the rivalry between Turkey and Egypt also challenges the delicate security of the Middle East. It indicates that it needs an international mediator to answer this thorny problem.
More...
The paper aims to analyze the development of national and liberation organizations in Baluchistan. The author attempts to answer the following questions: Why had pakistanyiat become obligatory to all people wanting to live in Pakistan? What were the reasons behind the formation of the Baluchistan National Movement, the Baloch Liberation Front, and the Liberation Army? What does the Baloch society expect from the authorities? The study was based on a critical review of the literature and other available and valuable sources such as Jinnah’s speeches. Another method used in the study was a synthesis that allowed the author to form conclusions. Studying Baluchistan means limited access to sources and materials since traveling to the land of Baluchistan is restricted by specific rules, and one can only visit the place under certain circumstances. Research on Baluchistan is relevant for studies of national liberation movements and current internal conflicts.
More...
Fight against international terrorism is also led by a regional organization such as the Commonwealth of Independent States, which demonstrates the experience of effective counter-terrorism in the format of cooperation between CIS member states. This is done on the basis of the Treaty on Cooperation in Combating Terrorism (1999) drawn up in the provisions of the Protocol on the procedure and implementation of joint counter-terrorism measures on the territories of the CIS member states. Programs to combat international terrorism and other manifestations of extremism, for example, developed for the period 2020-2022, come to coordinate the efforts of the CIS states. With the understanding of the extent of the real threat of terrorism, the idea of creating a coordination center arose in the CIS, which later materialized through the creation of the CIS Anti-Terrorism Center (2000). The CIS is in a state of constructive dialogue with various international organizations to find effective ways to combat terrorism.The article will highlight the activities, the political and legal framework of the Commonwealth of Independent States as a regional security organization in the field of combating and preventing terrorism. The priority areas of cooperation between the CIS and other international organizations in the field of combating terrorism will be also analyzed.
More...
In this article the author attempts to describe the social and political reasons of the authoritarian shift in Poland under the Law & Justice (PiS) coalition government. The nationalist and catholic ideology is at the root of dismantling the institutions of the state of law. Unfulfilled economic and social aspirations of large segments of the society were the real reason for the approval of the populist and antidemocratic actions of L&J government. Secondly, the disastrous presidential and parliamentary campaigns of the Civic Platform in 2015 opened the door to power for L&J. There were several self-organized spontaneous protests against antidemocratic policies of the L&J government, but the followers of the governing party have been and still are big enough in number thanks to the support of the Catholic Church hierarchy for the government. Polarization of the Polish society has never been bigger, but prodemocratic attitudes have also been growing recently. Strong prodemocratic local governments and the unanimous support of the majority of the population for the Ukrainian refugees are among the factors of hope for the democratic shift in the Polish electorate, but the opposition parties must undertake a more united and determined action.
More...
The subject of the research, the results of which are presented in this article, was the ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022. The aim of the research was to analyze the course of hostilities and identify the causes and consequences of Russian failures. The article tries to answer the following questions: How do Russian actions present themselves in the context of the concept of new generation war? What mistakes did Russia make, and What were their consequences? What factors determined the failure of the first phase of the Russian operation? In the course of the conducted research, it was established that the Russians did not fully exploit the potential of the concept of new generation warfare. It was proved that the Russian operation in Ukraine was conducted inconsistently with the canons of the art of war. It was assessed that there was a set of key factors that had a decisive impact on the failure of the first phase of the Russian operation in relation to its strategic objectives, as outlined in February 2024. It was shown that the first of these was a critical error of misjudging the enemy's potential while overestimating the potential of their own troops. It was established that the Russians prepared and executed the invasion of Ukraine contrary to the canons of the art of war. It was shown that financial resources were misallocated during the implementation of the State Armament Program in 2020. Moreover, it was proved that corruption and wastefulness, underlying the de facto autocratic system of power existing in Russia, are responsible for the actual, different from propaganda, general state of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In the article, the method of critical analysis, to which the available source material (articles, reports, monographs) was subjected, and the method of historical analysis made it possible to analyze the evolution of the Russian concept of a new generation of war were used. Also, the method of induction was used to draw general conclusions from a number of specific observations, the method of deduction was used in the process of moving from general rationales to specifics, and the method of synthesis helped to examine cause-and-effect relationships concerning the subject matter addressed and made it possible to formulate the conclusions. A significant difficulty in the research process was the issue of using Russian sources in a situation where articles with a clear propaganda character are posted in trade journals and other available sources, making their substantive value low. Therefore, the article refrains from citing Russian sources.
More...
The article aims to investigate the impact of the migration phenomenon in the European Union (EU). It briefly examines the concept of smuggling of migrants and the main routes of illegal migration as well as the measures adopted by the EU institutions, in view of the priorities set by the EU institutions and the Member States, to step up efforts to establish an effective, humanitarian, and safe European migration policy. The article also pays particular attention to the illegal nature of this phenomenon and highlights the multiple and far-reaching implications of the activities surrounding illegal migration which generate and reinforce numerous other criminal activities.
More...
The paper presents the fundamental guidelines issued by the reform part of the Croatian state-party leadership in the early 1970s regarding the issue of the increasing number of labour migrants from the Socialist Republic of Croatia in Western Europe. In this context, an analysis of the aforementioned trend within the Communist Party of Croatia was made, which was oriented towards spreading the autonomy of the Socialist Republic of Croatia within Yugoslavia. It limited the introduction of market mechanisms in the Yugoslav economy, and abolished the patterns of operation and behaviour of state-party officials, the roots of which lied in the Yugoslav unitarism or the idea of Greater Serbia. Since the reform movement had been ended in Croatia by force, it was not even attempted to implement a part of the planned policies. Although several policies continued to be advocated, there was no genuine wish or possibility for the implementation. For the purposes of comparison, the paper illustrates – using selected documents from the second half of the 1970s and the 1980s – the relationship of the Yugoslav communist regime to labour migrants, in particular the ones from the Socialist Republic of Croatia, and the main characteristics of the return-emigrant trends in the labour migrant population on the relation Yugoslavia – Western Europe. Nevertheless, in this period, further mass exodus was halted, and even a part of labour migrants returned. This was what the reform part of the Croatian state-party leadership strived to achieve, yet the principal reason lied in the suppressing factors in Western Europe. On the other hand, however, those labour migrants, who managed to keep/get employment in Western Europe in the midst of crisis, were joined by their family members. This radically reduced their chance of return. The Yugoslav authorities claimed in public, and their officials in many closed meetings, how very dedicated they were to the return of labour migrants, although the regime suffered from major difficulties in the context of employment, even of the persons who were forced to return. During the 1960s and in the early 1970s, the Yugoslav diplomatic, consular and other officials abroad continued to maltreat, humiliate and deprive labour migrants of the Croatian nationality of the recognition of their national identity.
More...
Since Poland started the transformation from a country of emigration to a country of immigration, the legal environment related to the employment of foreigners has been constantly changing. These changes seem to be of a bumpy nature, although they implement in a relatively consistent manner certain assumptions that can be called systemic. This article will analyse main directions of legal changes related to the employment of foreigners in Poland, specifying at the same time the objectives that the legislator intended to achieve when introducing them. This will make it possible to show the organisational priorities of labour market regulation and the values that the national legislator aims to protect. Such an analysis, in turn, will make it possible to assess legislative actions and (in the case of their approval) to indicate further necessary improvements made in the spirit of the existing ones or (in the case of their criticism) to set new directions of actions.
More...
The concept of work-related security is associated with seven forms of security, as described in ILO’s Socio-Economic Security Program . This paper aims to analyze how the lack of seven forms of work-related security influences the decision to migrate, focusing on the case of Albanian citizens who have migrated to different Western European countries. The migration of people in work active age from the Republic of Albania to Western countries, associated with a frenetic population decline, is the biggest concern nowadays in Albanian society. The present paper shows the results of a qualitative study. The study highlighted that the lack of one or more forms of work-related security plays a very important role in motivating people to emigrate. The present study results can orient other quantitative studies that lead to measuring the impact of work-related security forms in the decision to emigrate. This study also sheds light on the way policies should consider work-related security to normalize the phenomenon of migration from Albania to Western countries.
More...
In this paper, we have chosen to discuss the topic of illegal migration from the perspective of the authorities responsible for maintaining law and public safety in Romania. Specifically, we will explore their approach to this threat and propose solutions within national strategies for law and public safety.Following an extensive analysis of the current social context, the evolution of criminality, the effects of antisocial acts, as well as the prevention and combat methods employed by other entities within the country and the European Union, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is seeking solutions to reduce the negative impact of these threats on public order. The objectives of national public order strategies vary from country to country, but they all share the common goal of ensuring a safe and secure environment for citizens. Considering factors such as increased mobility (including policies that promote it), legal and illegal migration, the dynamics of the international security environment, interstate relations, and cross-border criminality, cooperation in ensuring public order becomes imperative.National public order strategies are essential tools for preventing and managing events that may disrupt the harmony and stability of nations. They contribute to maintaining the safety of citizens, protecting individual rights and freedoms, and promoting social cohesion. A well-developed and implemented national strategy has a significant impact on the quality of life for citizens, creates opportunities, attracts foreign investments, and thus fosters economic development and social progress.This article provides an overview of the most important aspects considered relevant for the analysis and planning of illegal migration. It aims to review previously developed public order and security strategies, identifying parallels to assess the dynamics of the related criminal phenomenon and the evolution of preventive and counteraction procedures.
More...
The military confrontation which started in Ukraine on 24th February 2024, designated a new era in European and world history. The landscape of ensuring security in Europe has significantly transformed and continues to evolve, affecting various aspects of daily life. The need to adapt to these changes has become crucial in ways that were previously unimaginable. A notable development during this period is the influx of Ukrainian refugees who have fled their homeland in search of a more peaceful future. This situation underscores the dynamic and complex challenges faced by European nations in the realm of security and migration. Their movement to the EU in large numbers has raised multiple questions and challenges for the EU Member states, which had to find new ways to address and solve them. Despite the tremendous number of hardships that needed to be overcome in the process the cooperation and collaboration in the EU among Member states has not slowed down but on the contrary has tightened, consolidated, and reached a new level of existence in line with the liberal theory of International Relations.
More...
The article is aimed at seeking an answer to the question about the place of Polish immigrant organizations centered around cultural activities, Polish artists residing abroad and the general immigrant community within the organizational field focused on the promotion of Polish culture abroad. To answer the question, the author analyses key documents underpinning cultural policy and policy towards diaspora, describes the structure of organizational field including various kind of organizations engaged in promotion of Polish culture abroad. The policy analysis covered the presentation of assumptions on the role the diaspora should play both – as an addressee and the “tool” of public policies. Findings on positioning of organizations representing Polish diaspora in organizational field stemming from the analysis of documents were confronted with the results of state programs analysis. The author focused on 15 state programs ran between 2017 and 2022 – their goals and beneficiaries. The study reveals that immigrant organizations and Polish artist residing abroad had limited access to structural support for their projects, despite policy makers’ positive evaluation of diaspora resources. Members of diaspora are positioned at the periphery of national branding organizational field. Therefore, the resources of numerous members of Polish diaspora – dispersed around the whole world – are still underestimated and unused.
More...