Transitions Online_Middle Europa-Systemic Infection
To understand coronavirus, we need to consider its effects on freedom and democracy, with Hungary at the forefront.
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To understand coronavirus, we need to consider its effects on freedom and democracy, with Hungary at the forefront.
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TOL’s regional roundup: Russian prisoners at risk; Poland and Gazprom; phone tracking in Armenia; Hungary criticized by MEPs; and Tajikistan vs. RFE.
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Today’s regional roundup: help for the Kazakh economy; Ukrainians stranded in conflict zone; coronavirus in Romania; Eastern Partnership countries and the EC; and brainstorming in Bulgaria.
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The period of Great Purge in the USSR was an important moment for the officers of the Red Army, a moment in which their declared nationality became particularly contractual. It did not depend on their individual choices, but on subjective assessments of the RKKA party and personnel authorities as well as the Soviet state police – the NKVD. It was these institutions that ruled, quite freely interpreting the facts, what nationality any given person was. This often decided person’s dismissal from the ranks of the armed forces but could also be a pretext for much more serious repression – imprisonment and even death. It resulted from the fact that the Great Purge quickly acquired strong national feature. Representatives of the nations who inhabited Russia, and later the Soviet Union, and after the first world war their countries became a part of “capitalist camp”, turned out to be particularly suspicious and therefore, were the first victims of oppression. It was easier for the political bodies of the Red Army and functionaries of the NKVD to consider the representatives of non-Soviet nations as suspects of various offenses.
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The inclusion of minorities in decision-making and their effective participation in public life can be implemented through various forms and degrees of territorial and non-territorial autonomy. In this paper, I present the theoretical framework for these two concepts. By summarizing the different approaches of the concept to autonomy, I present the possibilities that can be applied in the case of territorially compact or dispersed communities, that is, the difference between territorial and non-territorial autonomy. The study covers in detail the historical roots of non-territorial autonomy and its conceptual diversity. I interpret the different concepts (personal, cultural, functional and administrative autonomy) and discuss the variety of non-territorial autonomy from consultative bodies to cultural and educational institutions, political representation, and various forms of self-government. Finally, I try to answer the question whether the various concepts of autonomy help to appropriately map, understand and address minority issues, and thereby become an independent paradigm in our discipline.
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This paper tries to reflect on the issue of the self-organizing Hungarian political elite in Transylvania during the period of changing sovereignties between 1918–1922. By the autumn of 1918, it became clear that the Austro-Hungarian Empire had lost the war, and in 1920, the Treaty of Trianon awarded Transylvania to the Romanian Kingdom. Several international and internal political processes rendered the chronology of 1918–1920 especially intense and cluttered. The Empire suffered not only a military but also a political collapse. With the dissolution of the dual monarchy, the regime change was followed by the change of political rule. Furthermore, as a result of Wilson’s 14 points, various national demands made their appearance. Proposing a democratic system, the Károlyi government dealt unsuccessfully with the national issue. The Hungarian community living in Transylvania had to come up with different political strategies to adapt with the changed situation. One of these strategies was to hold national assemblies (similar to the Romanian assembly on 1st December at Gyulafehérvár/Alba Iulia), in Marosvásárhely (Târgu-Mures), and Kolozsvár (Cluj), but both proved to be unsuccessful because of the Romanian military presence. The second political attempt was to integrate and interact with the Romanian political system, as fast as possible (starting in 1919), however, this approach did not have the necessary support of the majority of the Hungarian political elite. The final debate followed the signing of the Trianon treaty, and resulted in giving up political passivism. This led to the 1922 elections, which resulted in the Hungarian community’s organization its own legitimate national Hungarian Party.
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We present the relationship between the homeland commitment and its relationships to mobility for study purposes. The survey compares the sense of national identity and commitment to motherland of Transcarpathian Hungarian students who attended the International Preparatory Institute. It compares those students who returned to Transcarpathia and former students who settled in Hungary or abroad. We examine the link between Hungarian consciousness, commitment to the homeland and student mobility. In this section we focus on the mobility of Transcarpathian students. The study found that academic mobility shows an increasing tendency in the case of those programs that cannot be studied in Hungarian in Transcarpathia. Furthermore, the study examines the sociocultural and demographic factors affecting these decisions. As a conclusion, the results and implications of the survey are presented.
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Millions of Poles living outside of their native lands, that is members of Polish diaspora, were recognized by the Polish authorities as a reservoir of strong support for the homeland. The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs conducted activities aimed at turning them into a useful tool in the hands of the government. Polish diaspora, mainly understood as Poles permanently living abroad, formed the basis for Polish intelligence activities in the interwar period. An analysis of selected intelligence networks and agents’ nationalities may lead to such a conclusion. This phenomenon applied not only to “small fries” in the intelligence cycle, that is thousands of people gathering meaningless information, but also to the most prominent agents, who – although less often – were of Polish origin.
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As COVID-19 cases spike in Turkey – and now surpass China – some medical workers clash with government assertions over the level of preparedness in the country’s hospitals.
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Today’s regional news: Slovak government pledges; North Ossetians and Bosnians protest lockdowns; a hot spot flares in Estonia; and world press freedom rankings.
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News from around the bloc: Saakashvili’s back again; fire at Polish national park; COVID strikes Ukrainian monastery; fines in Romania; and a birthday party on Red Square.
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Our news roundup: Russian cathedral to celebrate the military; Polish mines close amid dozens of COVID-19 cases; the fight against dirty money in Armenia; outbreak at Belarusian orphanage; and ending transgender in Hungary.
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Amid the pandemic, Russia, China, and others find time to debate the timing of the beginning and end of World War II and other details of years long past.
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The wave of virus disinformation underlines and magnifies the continued crisis among earnest tellers of “truth” to power.
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The paper highlights the effects of the link between budgetary allocations to the public health system and quality of life in Turkey using data from OECD. Over the years, Turkey's healthcare system has undergone numerous reforms, private insurance has grown, even so an old problem from the past, hemoglobinopathy is not disappearing. The Ministry of Health seemed to be very involved in current issues and established several programs, plans or founding distinct institutions that are on his control. It is revealed that, despite the growing population in Turkey, the budgetary allocations for the health system are declining. It remains to be indicated the initiatives dedicated to counteract cardiovascular disease, infant death, and what causes a surplus of antibiotics on their pharmaceutical market.
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The main objective of this paper is to identify how fiscal policy decisions influence the flow of foreign direct investment and how sensitive is the level of FDI to changes in tax rates applicable to companies. The case study was conducted on the Romania case for the period 2005-2016. The conclusion of the study reveals how a set of restrictive fiscal policies, materialized in a higher level of tax obligations applied to companies, leads to a decrease in the level of foreign direct investment.
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The health system is facing many challenges lately due to changes in the system (lack of quality / involvement, under-funding, rigidity of rules). An econometric analysis was performed at national level, with the role to establish the influence of certain variables (healthy life years, health spending and poverty line). Also, the investigation results of financial and medical indicators. of seven hospitals in Romania are included in the paper. A comparison was made between hospitals with the aim to highlight performance results helping to respond to certain overall problems of the system that influence the performance of hospitals.
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The implementation of new investment projects is the main engine of a company's development. In order to rigorously substantiate the investment decision, it is imperative to carry out a feasibility study, especially in the case of complex investments, with a high degree of risk, such as the one consisting in creating and offering to the market a new product. The company Antibiotice Iași, one of the strongest in the pharmaceutical industry in Romania and an important player worldwide, aims to expand production through a new technological line. This new production process aims to patent and manufacture a new assortment of cream, considered as an innovative product in the sector. To substantiate the investment decision, we used both classical methods of risk assessment and modern methods. This study also contains a basis for the financing decision considering the financial analysis conclusions and opportunities in the field.
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Investment and financing decisions are the basis of any development strategy, both at micro and macro level. Drawing up a feasibility study is an indispensable tool for any company that wants to rigorously substantiate an investment, especially in the case of large investment projects. The study presents the results of the feasibility analyze for an investment to expand the company OMV Petrom through the construction of a new fuel depot in the North-East region of Romania, respectively in the city of Botosani. By conducting the feasibility study, it is highlighted the performance and risks corresponding to this investment which aims to strengthen the position of OMV Petrom regionally, without affecting existing relationships with its own stakeholders, being compatible with its internal structure. To substantiate the investment decision we used both classical evaluation indicators, such as NPV, RIR, RIRM, TR and IP, as well as modern methods, such as sensitivity analysis and scenario technique. Also, this study contains a substantiation of the financing structure, starting mainly from the conclusions provided by the financial diagnosis of the company.
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