Transitions Online_Around the Bloc-Czech Government Agrees to Buy Roma Holocaust Site
The question of Czech responsibility for the wartime treatment of the Roma continues to rankle.
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The question of Czech responsibility for the wartime treatment of the Roma continues to rankle.
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The abrupt move was a reaction to what Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said were ‘offensive actions’ planned against his country’s interests.
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NATO rejects Belarusian invitation to observe next month’s Russian-led military exercises.
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Bulgaria and Macedonia sign a historical treaty that could prove a key turning point in a region riddled with identity questions.
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Hungary’s eagerness to join Russian-led projects runs counter to EU energy strategy.
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The paper analyzes the situation resulting from the adaptation of educational, cultural, healthcare institutions to a market economy. It is noted that the crisis in these areas is caused, to a great extent, by the inability of the state, under conditions of economic difficulties, to maintain budgetary funds at the required level in order to finance the socio-cultural sphere and also by the fact that the latter was inherited by modern Ukraine from the times of planned economy.The analysis of organizational and functional structure of state administration in the field of human development made it possible to identify priority areas for improvement of its activities, including:- enhancing the prestige of the executive agencies, responsible for humanitarian policy, which in turn will reduce the occurrence of destructive tendencies in society, uncontrollable local and asocial processes;- improving the standards of living;- a clear development strategy of the organizational and functional structure of state administration;- working on the development strategy of the regions and the whole country by the budget and tax systems;- the presence of intellectual potential in all areas.Internal and external environment factors and obstacles were highlighted, namely:- forming and implementation of the high standard of living; - civilizational guidelines of humanitarian development of Ukraine;- achievements and needs in the humanitarian field;- implementation of European standards in the legal support of national humanitarian sector;- reforming of the Ukrainian education system in the context of major trends in the European Higher Education Area;- culture as a factor of the formation of European identity and the growth of the human potential of the country;- actualization of Ukrainian heritage as an integral part of the European heritage;- modernization dimension of cultural policy;- integrated management model of cultural and information space of Ukraine.The article states that our country is among the countries with high scientific potential, so priority activity of public authorities should comprise the creation of conditions that provide not only an increase of such potential, but, above all, its maximal realization for the public interest. The state has to become a leader of innovation and direct investment development and an organizer of research and development in advanced areas of scientific and technological progress and to facilitate their implementation in all spheres of economic activity.The article analyzes the existing the following problems: inconsistent of legislation in the field of innovation and investment; significant reduction of the innovative activity of enterprises and general deterioration of innovation of culture; ineffectiveness of legal protection of intellectual property; an appropriate forecasting system of scientific and technological development and innovation has not been created; widespread practice of ignoring the law or suspension of the articles of laws concerning financial support of innovation.Despite the fact that the basic constituents of humanitarian spheres – education, culture, science, and health – are investigated more than by one generation of scientists and researchers, social policy itself has become the object of attention and learning in our country not long ago. A practical interest to itself, this sphere of social activity has retuned just the last decade – since the development and establishment of independent democratic Ukrainian state. The article deals with the concept of humanitarian policy and human development.It was determined and analyzed 1) the nature of humanitarian policy as a system of principles, objectives, mechanisms, consistent measures aimed at creating conditions for the development of the humanitarian community; 2) social dynamics of education, science and culture; 3) providing intellectual and spiritual security of a person; 4) implementation of humanitarian and spiritual needs of a person; 5) formation and enrichment of people's creative potential; 6) comprehensive fulfillment of the essential powers of a person, his/her spirituality.The article examines humanitarian policy not just as a one-sided mechanism to ensure human development, but also as a mechanism of interaction between a person, society and a state, which appears, on the one hand, to focus on people, improving the conditions of life, and on the other hand – to attract people to the state processes, and in a broader sense – to the world cooperation and development, which is now so important for the humanitarian development of the Ukrainian state.
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The main objective of the article is to determine the territorial scope of the Great Moravian territory of Nitra based on an analysis of archaeological sources. Specific cultural manifestations identified in the focal area of the Danube lowland delimit the studied territory from the settlement of adjacent regions of Slovakia and from the central settled territory in the Morava River basin. An interpretation of the results, supported by a comparison with written sources and linguistic data a new view of the social-political identity of the Nitra population.
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The aim of this study is to clarify evolution of life and traditions of Circassian society in a historically comparative perspective. It is based on published travelogues and diaries of European travellers who visited various parts of Caucasian Circassia from the 16th century to the half of the 19th century. Although they had described various aspects of life of this varied mountain ethnic group, the study focuses on just a few of them: anthropological appearance, language, religion, clothing, traditions, social activities and social structure of the Circassians. This data shows that Circassia embodied tribal formation that was split, speaking different languages without existence of any mutual language of interethnic communication. Despite this fact, different tribes had been somehow connected. This variedness was based on the Circassians mentality and religious issues as well. Isolation of the Circassia area, underdevelopment of external relations, absence of migration processes and peculiarities of the population mentality conditioned weak development of craft, industry, trade and character of social activities at all.
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The Byzantine mission led by st Constantine-Cyril and his brother st Methodius, which reached Great Moravia in 863, had several dimensions. The central theme of this work is to look at how the message of Great Moravia and the Cyrillo-Methodian cult have been spread, mainly in the modern history of Slovakia. After establishing the Hungarian Kingdom, the relations of the local church representatives towards the Methodius‘s followers weakened significantly. By the end of the 10th century, there was again pressure aimed at eradicating the residues of their activities and influence. The Cyrillo-Methodian literary tradition came to a standstill and the application of liturgic habits introduced by the holy brothers was disrupted for a long period of time. It is commonly known that the whole era of the Slovak national revival was fueled by the development of the Cyrillo-Methodian tradition. The cultural value cultivation of the Great Moravian figures in the religious, national, and cultural life of the Slovaks started already during the national revival and flourished in the 20th century. The intensity of spreading the cult of the Thessalonian saints has been different in various Slovak regions. Following the development of the Great Moravian era interpretations that were subject to political pressure, as well as to the limited actual knowledge, gives us the answers regarding the future orientation of the research.
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The paper focuses on developments that took place after November 2013, starting with Euromaidan (a challenge against the supremacy of the Russia) and the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014. The crisis continued with the escalation of tension between Russia and Turkey in 2015, originating from the fact that the two countries provided support to opposing sides in the Syrian civil conflict. Tension was further increased with the establishment of a missile defense station in Romania in 2016. These incidents, which took place over a three year period, worsened the security situation of the Region. The factors behind them are investigated through the prism of the multiple hierarchy model developed by Douglas Lemke and Randal Schweller’s arguments on international security. I conclude that a spill-over effect of an on-going civil war in a nearby region may lead to an immediate but short term crisis among regional actors while the incompatibility between the efforts of the dominant country to maintain the status-quo and the efforts of the dissatisfied states to change the order and other non-regional great powers’ support to the latter group of states are the basic causes of the tension in the Black Sea Region. Revisions regarding these two models are suggested in terms of the clarification of the status-quo, measuring satisfaction of the regional states, different stances towards the regional and the global hegemons, factors behind the efficiency of the great power interference and the effects of the balance of dissatisfied and satisfied states on security.
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In many political and sociological studies, in the recent years are being treated problems related to cultures, civilizations, integrations, assimilation, etc. In such commentaries with priority are ranked problems that have to deal with tolerance and religious understanding as well as differences and contradictions through cultures and contradictions among civilizations. In these studies from different research standing points, when it is about civilization, in European circumstances such topics are being focused in the differences among western cultures, catholics, Islam, Slavic Orthodocs etc. The economic process intensification and technological modernization, as if sometimes remains outside the current topicality, beside conceptual dilemmas that are created from some scholars and some political personalities in their approaches, for the differences and inter-religious contradictions,or, for the tendencies of incitement of such a revival of inter-religious contradictions. If they insist to build the future of a nation in present time, relying on the mythology, you can suspect that there is something wrong in that nation and its political elites.Euro-culture of the Muslims in Europe, led by the Islamic principles, (without inventing a deviant Islam, or 'traditional' Islam) could have enabled all Muslim people in Europe to develop a common religious culture. They could promote cultural and historical values which once presents a common value for all the Muslims belonging to different national preferences for the newcoming Muslims. In this Muslim Euro-culture, intellectual European Muslim elites, including the European citizens who accepted Islam will have an important role.The messages of the wise men, should be guidence to understand religious, national, linguistic and racial differences, raising consciousness and awareness that one can become a complete human being, only through a real obedience to God.The concept of the interdependence in creating of economic, political relationships, of social and cultural security between people, states and businessmen is a paradigm of the time, thus integration projects must subdue to the need to interact, based on mutual interests, as a human being dependent on each other, as Almighty God has created us.
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Since the declaration of independence of Kosovo in 2008, the Albanians are the people controlling two states. The subject of the article is the circumstances of the existence of both Albanian states, their geopolitical significance, and possible further consequences of the political and military assistance that the West grants the Albanians. Albanian expansion in the western part of the Balkans is shown as an element of the geopolitical rivalry of the West with the East, and the pursuit of Western civilization to gain a foothold on the eastern side of the Adriatic. The authors suggest that none of the competitors will win. On the other hand, the rivalry will help to facilitate and speed up the expansion of Islam, which is the main religion for the Albanians. The context for the analyzes carried out is the extensive criticism of the foundations of Albanian national identity, namely Skanderbeg's history, the so called Illyrian hypothesis, and the role of the Catholic Church in the development of Albanian language and literature.
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After the collapse of the Soviet Union many researchers claimed that an ideologicalvacuum had occurred in Russia. The article points out that the communist ideology hasbeen replaced with the eclectic mix of geopolitical doctrines, Russian conservatism andOrthodox religion. Geopolitics has become not only the tool useful for formulation theforeign policy objectives, but also an effective instrument of mobilization of the Russiansociety around defined aspirations, as well as a means of influencing external policies. Aparticular recipient of Russian geopolitics is so-called close abroad (this term refers to theindependent republics which emerged after the dissolution of the Soviet Union) and theRussian minorities living there.
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In the article author analyzes the impact of siloviki on the main ideological orientationof Russian imperial geopolitics. Siloviki are the main group that supports the antiWesternideology at Kremlin. Moreover they are still perceived as a nobility, the elite inRussian political system. They are also important in maintaining the stability of theRussian political regime. In the article Russian secret services are analyzed as anideologically powerful group that exerts influence not only on ideology but also on thesociety. They are also understood as the main tool of reaching the political priorities ofRussian Federation in the international environment. The article emphasizes that thesiloviki are the main ideological background of the anti-Western Vladimir Putin’srhetoric
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Although indigenous peoples are an important and large group of citizens in Latin America, the region seemed to be neglecting them for many decades. This has changed recently, thanks to both internal and external factors. The agenda for indigenous peoples found its place also in Latin American regional organizations. The paper focuses on two of them: the Andean Community (CAN) and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur). The aim of the research is to compare their policies on indigenous peoples by answering the following research questions: 1) What share of the population of the member countries of CAN and Mercosur do autochthonous inhabitants constitute?; 2) What actions for indigenous peoples were undertaken in the member countries of CAN and Mercosur?; 3) Since when and to what extend have CAN and Mercosur been working on the agenda for indigenous peoples?; 4) Which of the two organizations is more active in the abovementioned field and what are the probable causes of the differences in their engagement? The research uses a comparative approach, and it is mainly based on critical analysis of primary and secondary sources.
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The article addresses the issue of operational code in foreign policy studies, from the point of view of an individual decision-maker. It presents the conceptualisation of operational code as an instrument of foreign policy analysis, its evolution and application in studies of the decision-making process. By identifying the convictions that constitute the operation code of political leaders, including through the implementation of computer software, we could explain the choices and decisions that individuals take in the process of decision-making in foreign policy. The article includes a case study in which operation code has been used as an instrument to establish the system of convictions of UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, which determined his decisions taken with regard to the Iraq War in 2003.
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Utilitarianism had big influence on the consolidation of the principles of economic thought – especially the development of its axiomatic position: the idea of the nature of man as a politically and economically free, rational and egoistic individual; a product of European philosophy and history: the Enlightenment, positi vism, utilitarianism, the French Revolution or British empiricism and liberalism. The adoption of the concept of ‘homo oeconomicus’ was the starting point for reflection on economics for the classical school, for the neoclassical school, and to this dayit keeps shaping the understanding of economic phenomena. The classical fathers of utilitarianism: Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Francis Edgeworth, were all eminent economists. Those principles, typical of the ‘Western’ civilisation, became the cornerstone of the newly forming principles of political economy. The extent to which the principles of utilitarianism interfered with the development of economics as a science determined the direction of this development, at the same time providing a methodological and terminological instrument explicating the nature and mechanics of economic phenomena. The utilitarian doctrine introduced the notion of happiness into economics, defined in this discipline as utility – the foundation of the marginal revolution; it is considered the source of welfare economics and the distribution theory; it directly shaped the concepts of state and law in economics, it developed the theory of international trade, and its consequentialism provides a direct link between economic actions and moral rules. Given all the above, utilitarianism is a very handy instrument for understanding and explaining economic phenomena, especially in the sphere of culture, which gave rise to it and where it developed. It allows for a fuller examination of the international reality in the sphere of trade, finance or the flow of the factors of production.
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This article focuses on the functioning of OPEC, which was the first attempt at unification of oil extraction and at imposing global control on it. Taking ad - vantage of the considerable demand for energy resources, it was able to exert considerable pressure on the market and even to use the ‘black gold’ as an instrument in the economic struggle faced with unfavourable policy of foreign countries.It seems, however, that the trends in world economy and the constantly improving and more consciously conducted energy policy of importing countries have contributed to the marginalisation of OPEC, which has proven unable to regulate the current excess oil supply crisis on its own. Additionally, the emergence of new players in the market, especially the United States, contributed to the end of ‘oil prosperity’ and transformation of the producer market into a consumer market, where prices are shaped by demand and not as it used to be – by supply. The author further describes the emergence of the organisation in order to present the evolution that took place over almost six decades.
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The Transatlantic Alliance has played a key role in establishing a world order based on the principles of integrated markets and the free flows of people, goods and money. Now, the long movement towards market liberalisation has stopped, borders are being fortified, national sentiments are on the rise, and globalisation is commonly contested in the political debate in both Europe and the United States. The position of the transatlantic actors was historically founded on the successful implementation of the global framework, so the question arises whether the retreatfrom globalisation will end their pre-eminence in global affairs. This article sheds light on the recent political and social changes in Europe and in the United States, which have been wavering between partnership and rivalry as they are confronted with global issues beyond their bilateral agendas.
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