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The general task of the project ‘Russia’s (Dis)Information Activities Against the Nordic-Baltic Region’ is to provide an assessment of Russia’s influence on the information environment of the Nordic-Baltic countries (NB8). An analysis of the information environment requires a comprehensive understanding of the major elements of Russia’s grand strategy and their impact on the region, because the information environment reflects all major spheres of interaction between the NB8 countries and Russia. For the purpose of this study, the grand strategy is defined as the integrated use of all military and non-military means to pursue the interests of the state in the international system.4 What are Russia’s interests, and what implications do they have for the NB8 region in general—and for its information environment in particular? How do these interests translate into narratives promoted by Russia? To answer these questions, an analysis of the following documents has been conducted: Russia’s Concept of Foreign Policy (2016), Russia’s Military Doctrine (2014), Russia’s National Security Strategy (2015), and Russia’s Information Security Doctrine (2016). To understand the meaning of the documents, they are viewed in the context of actual events, research data, and the rhetoric of Russia’s top officials. The study is structured around four dimensions of analysis: political, military, economic, and informational. These dimensions cover all major power instruments that states use to advance their national interests. The political dimension includes such areas of influence as diplomacy, geopolitics, and involvement in the domestic policies of foreign states.
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The article discusses the evolution and functioning of the Common Security andDefence Policy of the EU in 2018. The authors start with an analysis of externaland internal determinants of cooperation within CSDP, with particular attention tothe impact of transatlantic relations and US approach to the European initiativesas well as of internal tensions in the EU. Then they discuss the implementation ofthe decisions from December 2017 on the initiation of PESCO, which constitutesthe central topic of the paper. The functioning of European Defence Fund is alsoanalyzed, as well as the essence and implications of the French proposal of EuropeanIntervention Initiative (E2I). In the last part of the article, operational engagementof the EU is briefly presented, including a discussion of modifications of CSDPand ways of implementing them, namely Civilian CSDP Compact (CCC), and thedebates over the future of maritime activities of the EU in the Mediterranean. Theauthors conclude with an assessment of the results of the development of PESCOand EDF in the last year and of the perspectives of future cooperation.
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The article presents the activities of the UN Security Council in 2018 in lightof the Secretary General’s statements concerning the state of the world. The firstpart is devoted to drafts of resolutions on the Middle East, which were vetoed bypermanent members of the Security Council. The second one is focused on decisionsconcerning African states such as the Republic of Central Africa, Sudan, SouthSudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, and Somalia; as well as on thematicresolutions concerning peacebuilding, protection of civilians and children in armedconflicts, the role of youths for peace and security. In the third part, basic data on peacekeeping are presented and some violations of peacekeeping rules described.A separate part is devoted to Poland’s activities within the SC and in particular itsengagement in promoting international law.
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The aim of the article is to present the major armed conflicts – the wars in threeMiddle East countries: Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The selection criteria includenot only geographic factors, but also the nature of the conflicts, i.e. they are allcivil wars and have become internationalized as a result of involvement of externalpowers, i.e. the military forces of several countries. In Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan the enemy has been the so called Islamic State; in Syria it was the main enemy. Thethree countries were the most impacted by terrorism.
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After several years in which the reports from the Middle East were dominated bynews on the fight against the Islamic State, in 2018 there was a significant change.A series of failures of IS in 2016-2017 led to the situation in which the basic questionconcerning the Middle East focussed not so much on the way to overcome theorganization, but rather on the essence of the new international order, shaped asa result of clashing interests of different states and political forces. In Syria, plungedinto civil war since 2011, the scale of victory clearly shifted to the side of the forcesfaithful to President Bashar al-Assad. In Iraq, after a period of cooperation of differentpolitical forces faced with IS expansion, ethnic and confessional divisions revivedagain. At the same time, mechanisms for seeking effective ways to eliminate threatsto the stability of the country have been introduced. Conflicts in Libya and Yemenare still far from settled. Both countries have no governments that can effectivelycontrol the situation in their territories and external actors get involved to furthertheir particular interests. Local conflicts thus become a playing field for competingregional and global powers, hindering stabilization processes.
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Parte integrantă a spaţiului geografic românesc, teritoriul dintre Prut şi Nistru a parcurs aceleaşi etape istorice pe care le‑a cunoscut întreaga evoluţie a românilor, din cele mai vechi timpuri şi până la începutul secolului al XIX‑lea, când a fost cotropit de Imperiul Rus. Acesta, profitând de conjunctura politico‑militară favorabilă determinată de „Criza orientală”, a ocupat Principatele Române şi „prin înşelăciune şi intimidare, a determinat Poarta otomană să recunoască încorporarea la Rusia a spaţiului românesc de la est de Prut, deşi turcii nu stăpâneau efectiv acest teritoriu şi nimic nu le dădea dreptul să facă această cesiune teritorială."
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Atunci când, arareori, istoriografia – fie că ne referim la cea românească postcomunistă, finlandeză sau occidentală – s-a oprit asupra cazului Finlandei şi al României în perioada celui de-al Doilea Război Mondial, aceasta a remarcat faptul că cele două state au fost victime ale Pactului Ribbentrop-Molotov, s-au văzut obligate la dureroase cesiuni teritoriale, motiv pentru care acestea au devenit „camarazi de arme” în Războiul din Răsărit (1941-1944).
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This article focuses on the way the most important events during the war in Kosovo (1998-1999) are presented in the primary and high history textbooks in Kosovo. The article aims to analyse the presentation of the political/military groups of Kosovo Albanians during the war, their political goals, the meetings, agreements, and collaboration of the political and military representatives of the Albanians with their Serb counterparts, and the war crimes committed by both sides. The article is divided in four parts: the peaceful and the military factions; war crimes, the Rambouillet Conference; and the NATO intervention. The primary and high history textbooks of Kosovo and Serbia, published by the Libri Shkollorpublishing house (Prishtina), and by Zavod za udžbenike (Belgrade), approved by the respective ministries of education, serve as the primary source for this article. In addition to that, works by foreign scholars, who have analysed the events in Kosovo in this period are taken into consideration with their respective arguments.
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The paper analyses the nature and role of the National Security Strategy within the national security of the United States of America in different historical periods of the country’s development and international relations. The US national security strategies since the end of the Second World War up to the present day have been studied and, on this basis, it is concluded that today the scope of the strategy’s purposes have been expanded, which further increases the importance and role of this fundamental document for the national security of the country.
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The Black Sea region has become one of the key geopolitical spaces for the competition between Russia and the West on which the very future of Europe ultimately depends. The Kremlin wants to keep the Black Sea in its sphere of influence through a strategy of regional destabilisation based on a special military operation against Ukraine, the illegal annexation of new territories, historically considered to belong to Russia, and the strengthening of the military presence in these territories or the direct military threat to the states in the region in order to limit as much as possible the possibilities of their accession to the Euro-Atlantic structures. On the other hand, the West is trying to respond to Russia’s expansion with an advanced defence strategy in which the Black Sea occupies a central place. Thus, the Black Sea region, which has traditionally been treated as a less important area, acquires new strategic features becoming a much more militarised, unstable and contested region, a region that is in dire need of a new regional status quo in order to stabilise. Considering this state of facts, this article has as its main objective the geopolitical analysis of the Black Sea region, given that Russia has become the main destabilising factor in the region, as well as the identification of solutions to achieve regional stability based on the increasingly consistent involvement of the North Atlantic Alliance.
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Almost in parallel with the withdrawal of the Axis troops from the Taman area in the Caucasus, the Soviets prepared a bold landing action on the Kerch peninsula in Crimea. The landings, carried out in two areas, south and north of the city of Kerch, were aimed at supporting the offensive from the north of the Sea of Azov and capturing Crimea. The present study focuses on the naval actions that took place predominantly in the area of the southern bridgehead, where the Axis naval forces were able to block the supply of enemy troops.
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The purpose of this article is to highlight the aspects of the evacuation operations from Bulgaria, executed by the Romanian troops participating in the military campaign in the summer of 1913, a chapter of the national military history less researched. The article is based on the documents studied in the national archives. In the summer of 1913, in the face of an unstable Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece decided to conclude a defensive alliance, a process completed on 19 May/1 June 1913, which aimed to establish their own interests in Macedonia against the Bulgarian ones. Moreover, to the tensions between the former Balkan allies were added the armed incidents near the outposts of the three armies that had the mission of preserving the conquered positions. In this context, Romania’s position became a very important one, in relation to the obligations assumed by the treaties concluded at international level, which is why Romania had to make a decision regarding participation in the ongoing war.
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This has been going on for 6 months now and the last period has been almost a stalemate. However, there have been other events taking place elsewhere, particularly in the case of China. They were very angry with the US Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, a senior member of the administration, deigning to visit Taiwan against their wishes. They threw a tantrum and gave a military demonstration of their short-term aim to absorb the island which they consider as a breakaway province, in no way an independent country.
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We in Britain are just getting over a lengthy mourning period for Queen Elizabeth II, and saying goodbye to the longest reigning monarch in British history. Perhaps Vladimir Putin waited, as a mark of respect, before he addressed the Russian people to give them the next phase of his plans for his ‘special military operation’. It was hard to witness his drive in the streets of London in an open-topped limousine smiling, beside the Queen, some twenty years ago! Relationships with Russia have certainly soured since then.
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With its swift and full-scale invasion from three fronts into Ukraine, Russia is turning the tables on the U.S.-led West by controlling the strategic buffer state. The change will likely be a worst outcome for the Ukrainians, though some geopolitical adjustment is inevitable in the not-so-distant future as a consequence of the evolving grand power shift consequent on conspicuous U.S. hegemonic decline. By achieving an overwhelming military victory, Russia will put Ukraine tightly in its orbit, probably, through a pro-Russian regime change involving external reorientation from the West to Russia. This will probably necessitate Ukraine to be semi-sovereign thorough demilitarization and neutralization, including complete elimination of the potential for nuclear armament[2].
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People across the world have been shocked by the happenings in Ukraine. A glance at all of the morning newspapers had the events there as the main headline, with Vladimir Putin, the Russian President’s name appearing prominently, Russia seldom. The television coverage is extensive. When the Swedish Vikings, who were known as the Rus, were ‘invited’ to put some governing stability into the region, in a comparatively short time, some twelve hundred years ago, Kyiv, after a few decades, became the capital. It was ideally situated for the Rus longboats, being on the River Dnieper coming from the Baltic. An early strong ruler was called Vladimir.
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The early parliamentary elections in the Republic of North Macedonia will be held on 15 July 2020. Based on the system of proportionality, a little less than 1.8 million voters will have the right to vote for the Macedonian parliament (Sobranie), which has 120 seats. The leading parties at the upcoming elections will be the SDSM (the ruling social-democrat party), VMRO-DPMNE (conservative opposition), the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI – ethnic Albanian party in the ruling coalition), the Alliance for Albanians (ASH – ethnic Albanian opposition party), and political parties of ethnic minorities such as Turks, Roma, Bosniaks, Serbs and others, which are traditionally represented in the Macedonian parliament.
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It is evident that, almost two decades passed after the end of cold war period, and the world is divided into two main camps to name; the Centre and the Periphery. At the beginning of this article, it may be useful to look at the position of the states like Bulgaria and Romania from a broader perspective, which once were the members of the periphery in the Communist Block. Throughout the new reformation and restructuring phases of the global age, new world order has dictated certain unnamed rules that are vital for the future of global order and mankind. Current world order is completely different and the political, geographical or cultural principles of the cold-war era to classify the states into different groups are not relevant anymore. Description of south, north, west, second world, and third world has changed dramatically. Centre is composed of economically and militarily strong states, basically the representatives of hegemonic liberalism, no matter at which geographic location they occupy on the planet. On the other hand, Periphery is made by the states who were once the members of Second (communist block) or Third Worlds and some other states that are excluded from the centre for cultural, religious or ideological reasons. Now, there is a struggle among the peripheral states, trying to be a member of centre at all costs. The expansion of NATO and EU towards east to the expense of old Soviet territories in general and Russia in particular, need to be evaluated through the principles of a broader security perception.
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