Around the Bloc: Around the Bloc - Moscow Slaps Sanctions on Ukraine
Despite icy relations, economic ties remain tight, with Russia now Ukraine’s biggest trading partner.
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Despite icy relations, economic ties remain tight, with Russia now Ukraine’s biggest trading partner.
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In the United States and in European democracies most citizens feel disoriented when required to vote, as shown by high electoral volatility, reduced turnout, and the successes of unconventional candidates, or brand-new parties. The purpose of this article is to look at political disorientation under a new angle, as a phenomenon that has striking similarities with the physical disorientation created by an alien landscape.
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Regarding the contemporary role of mass media, especially television, and rising allegations of trivialization of the political life it is worth to consider how these opinions are justified. It evokes the question whether we are dealing with a situation in which public debate through the media seems to be based not on rational and logical conclusions, but on the competition, whose participants focus exclusively on creating their own images and pursuing symbolic politics. These trends cause that democracy evolves towards mediocracy, and the nineteenth-century ideologies lose their attraction to the simple message, free of thought. This phenomenon is considered in this paper in the meme theory context. The theory, introduced by Richard Dawkins, refers to a unit of cultural transmission, and in politics can be interpreted as short, blunt message, image or symbol, catchy enough to take over the imagination of the recipient. It is characterized by aggressive persuasion, apparent ambiguity and it is aimed to falsify the reality. Besides, its emotional assessment excludes any rational debate. It seems interesting, therefore, the trend of contemporary democracy, and question whether the public debate limited to an exchange of simplified, emotional arguments involves the danger of civil society erosion.
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The political culture in the Polish media coverage, due to its low level, is one of the most difficult issues in the public debate. Today, media culture (and the culture in media) is determined by the mutual behavior of politicians and journalists. Especially journalists, who are more deeply dependent on politicians and topics bounced by their for public pseudo-discussion. The quality of journalists work is in straight relation to the language of contemporary politics and the media issues are created based on even the most trivial impulse, which is sent to them. Thus, the language of the media is reduced to the level imposed by the language of politics and the culture in the media undergoes the dictates of political life. Therefore, the overriding problem is the transfer of information based on the criterion of social (not political) interests, and not the implementation of the communication chain of artificial issues, which, thanks to the political signals become part of media culture.
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The article explores the semantic content of the concept of «ideology» in the postmodern paradigm and analyzes ideology as an instrument of political action.It is proved that the 20th century has set the task for the European community to solve which is very difficult – to orientate and find oneself in the landscape of absolute worldview freedom, to resist the «terror of complete freedom» (Z. Bauman), because the total pluralism of postmodernity is most clearly manifested in the ideological sphere of social consciousness, where the faith of the Modern Age and the socialist-communist dogma are denied. Humanity is compelled to build its own ontological reality not only materially, but also symbolically – by word and idea. World outlook problems turn into means of political influence.This results in awareness of the need to develop the most comprehensive picture of the world, overcoming the ideological deficit, building a world outlook «foundation», which will ensure the possibility and effectiveness of public consensus, will allow the information of multiple world pictures to the generally accepted model. Humanity finds the way out of this worldview crisis in the topos of ideology, which is designed to try on the coexistence of different worldviews in the conditions of the autonomization of the political sphere.It is argued the thesis that lining around the central mythologeme, ideology is capable of implosion of other, additional, politically significant meanings, thanks to which it is possible to turn the population into an electorate.It is proved that the specificity of ideologies in postmodern conditions is that both left and right ideologies have arhizomatic nature, due to which the emphasis is made depending on the situation or on the conceptual or emotional component, they both are declared substantively equivalent in the intellectual dimension of the political sphere. That is why modern ideology often has a mystifying, illusory character (K. Manngheim), carries out a hidden, non-reflective influence, calls for romantics, and the pragmatists are the first to distribute the results of their struggle.
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Following the installation of the Communist regime in Romania, intellectuals, politicians of the old regime, members or sympathizers of the Iron Guard were chased by the new power. To avoid the harsh punishments, they had to leave their homes and to go in exile. Franco's Spain, due it's anticommunist policy, was chosen by an important number of Romanian exiled, especially by the members of the Iron Guard. Once settled, the Romanians stared an intense activity of founding and publishing journals and newspapers. Its main aim was to maintain the unity, the identity and the culture among the exiled. But above all, the papers were used as a mean of the resistance through culture and anti-communist propaganda. This article proposes to introduce the reader in the their world via a few representative journals of the Romanian exile in Spain: „Libertatea Românească", „Libertatea", „Carpații", „Destinŗ and „FAPTA".
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In this article we speak about the application of marketing in the field of politics. We want to analyse the transposition of customer's behaviour in politics and the transposition of the influence of the brand on customer's behaviour as well as the influence of the brand on elector's behaviour. As method, we have chosen the abductive approach: the deduction approach at the beginning in order to see the parallel between the customer and the elector and then the induction approach (examples from politics). In this study we used direct documentation on the reality, the observation and the bibliography. We want to show, through in examples, the implication of the perceptions, attitudes, emotions and electors' satisfaction within choosing a candidate.
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The repertoire of forms of address can be considered as one of the determinants of the discourse genre, which makes it possible to capture its evolution and cultural variations. From such comparative, intra- and intercultural perspective, adopting an interactive approach in the analysis of political discourse, we will look at the practice of addressing one another in the French and Polish politicalmedia discourse. While in both languages the linguistic norm recommends the use of the polite forms of address in official situations, the cases of the use of the familiar pronoun tu / ty in media interactions between politicians are not rare at all. Whether it is an informal talk of politicians caught by the media, a television pre-election debate, or a meeting of the heads of state, addressing the other person by the familiar forms is a manifestation of a deliberate blurring of the boundaries between the front-stage and backstage in political discourse in order to create the impression of intimacy and equality between the interlocutors.
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The authors are presenting and interpreting the data on Croatian citizens’ attitudes on regulating hate speech, contentious symbols and public commemoration. The data was collected in two nation-wide surveys conducted in 2016 and 2018. The data is analyzed within a normative framework of militant democracy versus anti-democratic tendencies. In the conclusion the authors, invoking the available data, advocate a minimal model of regulating public speech by focusing on public utterances of direct and symbolic hate speech.
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In this paper we analyze the influence of populist ideas on the emergence and organization of new political parties in Serbia after the elections in 2007 and 2008. These elections represent the turning point in the development of the party system because only after the pro-European consensus among Democrats and Socialists was formed, the division within Serbian Radical Party occurred and the ideological space occupied by the relevant parties has narrowed. On the other hand, high level of distrust in politics among the citizens and lowering of the state of democracy facilitate the emergence of new actors who are, almost by rule, under the influence of the growing wave of populism in the world. In this paper, we apply the ideational approach to populism and, using the new actors as example, we aim to identify ideological and organizational variations which can develop under the influence of populism, as well as differences which emerge from the interpretation of populism in Serbia compared to some other countries.
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´When I say yes to President Putin, then we do it,’ Serbian president boasts.
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Savet za borbu protiv korupcije Vlade Republike Srbije analizirao je mogući uticaj institucija javnog sektora na medije putem plaćanja usluga oglašavanja i marketinga za period od 2011. do 2014. godine i sastavio o tome izveštaj sa 24 preporuke koji je dostavljen na postupanje Vladi Republike Srbije. Savet je od 124 državne institucije tražio dostavu informacija o uslugama marketinga, oglašavanja, PR uslugama, uslugama promotivnih i medijskih kampanja, usluga izrade i održavanja veb sajtova, sponzorstava/donatorstava ili poslovno-tehničke saradnje koje su ugovorene i realizovane počev od 2011. do kraja 2014. godine. [...]
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Problem setting. Among the democratic freedoms defined by the Constitution of Ukraine is the freedom of speech, which is considered not only in itself, but also as freedom of the press. But legally declared freedoms in a democratic society necessarily require the existence of real mechanisms for their implementation in various spheres of public life, as well as the state’s ability to protect them from any encroachment.Recent research and publications analysis. The problem of press freedom is very interesting for scientists and the public. In addition, the situation with the development of freedom of speech in Ukraine is the subject of monitoring of domestic and international organizations.Paper objective. The purpose of the article is to investigate the factors that influence the degree of development of freedom of the press in Ukraine, as well as to show the interdependence of the level of freedom of the media and the state of democracy in the country.Paper main body. Based on the structure of press freedom, one can analyze the extent of this freedom.Economic independence of the media. Most of the media in Ukraine is privately owned and controlled by a small group of wealthy people who use their resource to ensure personal interests.This, in turn, could threaten society by limiting the pluralism of ideas, the principles of freedom of speech and the press.Legal component. Constitutional and legal regulation of media in Ukraine is one of the most progressive in Eastern Europe, despite the fact that legal guarantees of media activities are not always implemented in practice. The rights and obligations of the media are regulated by a number of legislative acts, as well as resolutions of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the government of our state, presidential decrees.Legal protection of journalistic activity freedom. Freedom of the press becomes real where the legal protection of freedom of journalistic activity is implemented. Ukraine remains one of the most dangerous countries for journalists and journalistic activities - physical attacks on journalists, arbitrary detention and intimidation, kidnapping, murder of journalists and media workers do not promote the principles of freedom of the press and create psychological pressure on domestic media workers.Political aspect. An indicator of freedom of speech and freedom of the press is the presence/absence of censorship in relation to the media itself and to the materials distributed. The Constitution of Ukraine emphasizes the prohibition of censorship, while there are certain limitations that can sometimes be motivation for sanctions, broadcasting stops, ban of certain media and internet pages.Freedom of the media is a necessary element of the functioning of a democratic political regime. The state of freedom of the press directly influences the level of development of democracy in the state. “Partly Free” Ukrainian Media is one of the reasons “hybrid political regime” in the ranking of countries in terms of democracy.Conclusions of the research. It should be noted that press freedom in Ukraine as one of the indicators of democracy in general strengthened its position. At the same time, there remain reasons for concern: the monopolization of media markets, the concentration of private media in the hands of a small group of wealthy businessmen (and the possibility of their influence on political processes), different methods of reacting to pro-Russian propaganda and violence against journalists in the country, especially in the East.
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The important, interesting, or just downright quirky news from TOL’s coverage region. Today: The Hague arbitrates between Russia and Ukraine; Moldova’s uncertain political future; a controversial Polish award recipient; large protests in Prague; economic slowdown expected throughout the region.
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Since the beginning of 20th century the so-called political Islam has acquired diverse and at the same time enigmatic shapes. This could have various causes like being an underground movement or cultural policies of the Western countries. However, it is quite clear that, in contrast to some expectations,1 since the beginning of 21st century and especially since the rise of terroristic organization Islamic state in the Middle East, military jihad movement of political Islam has gained profound attention. Almost countless atrocities performed by Islamic state and the excessive brutality of it has diverged focus from the ideological and religious foundations of the group.2 The slip of focus has created impression that violence is purely senseless and just a means without any end. Such viewpoint lacks justification, even though it is easily understandable as the victims can hardly distance themselves just to spot any ideas.
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Poststructuralist tradition of discourse analysis has strongly influenced political science, including theories of international relations, European identities and mass media analysis. The following paper shall use discourse theory and critical discourse analysis (CDA) to show how discourse‐dialectical theory of discourse is an aspect of social media which contributes to the theoretical and methodological behavior found in social media and in political studies. Moreover, the internet has proven to be a revolutionary way to tap into the voice of the people, the mythical “general will” because it purports to represent a global ecosystem of social interaction. However, social media’s increasingly influential impacts, and the maturation of strategic uses of online platforms to influence voters for political gain have altered discourse with the rise of far-right political parties. The authors utilize a comparative analysis to observe the use of social media by far-political parties and movements in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in a contemporary approach of CDA reproducing political power, power abuse and/or domination through political discourse that as a topic fits the theme of the conference while offering practical experience in the field of marketing, media and communication.
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This article analyzes the money spent by the Bulgarian parties during the election campaigns and the institutional advertising in the media during the period 2003 – 2018. The purpose of the study is to examine public funding of state institutions, and the task is to track the cost of the so- „Institutional advertising“ and the different funds invested in various electronic and printed media. Thus, the fundamental problem of the public funding of Bulgarian political parties is based on the understanding of the essence of political advertising. Specific results are given in the funding of the parties and the media in Bulgaria, which is supported by empirical material. The relevant conclusions drawn from the factual data, as well as some recommendations for improvement of party financing in the country, were also made. The limitations of the study range over a 15-year period (2003 – 2018). The value of the development is characterized by the fact that this problem is one of the first to be analyzed in Bulgarian political science.
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The author presents the press as the fourth force or arm of government - after the legislative, executive and judiciary - and outlines the rise in its significance from the first half of the nineteenth century up to the Cuban crisis in the early 1960s. He expounds the emergence of a "mass-communication society" in the second half of the nineteenth century, which was based on a rapid and evenhanded dissemination of information, as a result of technological progress in printing techniques as well as favourable political circumstances during the liberalist period that allowed for the development of free press and printing. Press freedom became synonymous with political freedom. Technological progress made newspapers cheaper and available to the masses. What took place in the last quarter of the nineteenth century was, in fact, a mass-media revolution. Newspapers became the "factories of public opinion" and an instrument in the hands of politicians to "guide and control public opinion and will". According to the author, the mass-media revolution which took place in the second half of the nineteenth century and in the first three decades of the twentieth, show that the history of media should be treated primarily as part of the history of politics.
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Years of 1940s in the Turkish History had been an era that had been observed various societal developments related with social and political aspects. By this view, II. World War years in the first half of the 1940s caused different and concrete effects on the Turkish intellectual, economical and political life. Those developments in line with the Western- and US-oriented socio-political and economical effects observed at the second half of the 1940s could be accepted as one of the most important thresh-holds of the Republican history. It is due to the situation that Turkey has commenced to engage into a total integration with the Western World during this period regarding socio-economical, cultural and democratization aspects. However, years of the 1940s had been actually years of destabilization and multi-faceted effects stemming from the reasons due to social and political areas. While situations, effects, approaches and pressures had realized for every sides and classes in the society, the relations between society and politics in Turkey during the years of 1940s have a great value in examining the issue in line with the acceptance that those years could act as mirror for current times. Therewithal, the main aim of this study is to examine the relation between society and politics in Turkey during the years of 1940s.
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In March 2018, the presidential elections in Russia ended with an unchallenged victory of Vladimir Putin with 76.69% of votes and 67% of voter turnout. The main propaganda instrument that helped to increase his popularity was television, which had to show Putin as the only possible candidate and at the same time, decrease the percent of opposition`s support. To achieve these goals there were used interviews and presidential election debates, which were organized in a way to minimalize any voice of opposition in Russia. The work is based on qualitative analysis of TV content in two TV channels from November 2017 to March 2018. The aim is to show the mechanism of mass media, which was formed to use these elections in a favor of the current regime: from tidily selected candidates, who had to increase the magnetism of such an event, format of debates itself, to instruments of black PR which are present in every election campaign in Russia. The result of this article is the extension of knowledge about the functioning of the media system in the Russian Federation and the opening a discussion about the political-media relationship on the example of a chosen country.
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