BENEDIKT XVI. POSLJEDNJI RAZGOVORI S PETEROM SEEWALDOM. PRILOZI ZA PORTRET BENEDIKTA XVI.
Review of: Peter Seewald "Razgovor s Peterom Seewaldom"; Split: Verbum, 2016 by: Franjo Topić
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Review of: Peter Seewald "Razgovor s Peterom Seewaldom"; Split: Verbum, 2016 by: Franjo Topić
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The article examines the transformation of modern narodnopisennoyi of culture Lemko immigrants, highlights the dynamics of extinction and their folkloru in Ukraine in the current period.
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Regions and regionalism are rather flourishing in Europe. But what do regionalism and the expression „Europe of regions” exactly mean? There are three approaches to the question: 1.) the concept of cross-border interregionality between the Member States of the European Union; 2.) the effort to make regions the basic building blocks of European integration instead of states; and 3.) the objective to introduce a three-tier structure to the European Union which would extend the already existing tiers of the European Union and the Member States with a third one, the territorial units within nation-states. The first approach (interregional cooperation) has long been adopted; the second approach (the vision of Europe made up of regions instead of states) is rather utopian. The third one is subject to fierce debates: a three-tier European Union with European, nation-state and regional levels.
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In the socialist era corruption was an organic part of the political, economical and social sphere. Since 1989 public discourse about this previously taboo topic has increased. Our aim is to highlight how the inhabitants of Slovakia perceive the present situation. Available data measuring the level of Slovak corruption show that despite much-proclaimed effort of the responsible officials and despite some strategies trying to lower the level of corruption, the Slovak reality is far from exemplary. In public research about corruption Slovak people consider it one of the essential social problems. They especially point out the widespread corruption in national, regional and local levels. They clearly identify all societal branches as being involved in corruption (judiciary, health system, police, policy, state administration). Recently the level of percieved corruption has fallen, yet it still reaches a very high level. On one hand the whole social climate of Slovakia is anticorruption, however, there is a contradiction to everyday practice. In real life corruption patterns and norms are widespread. A large amount of people have admitted having been asked to pay a bribe and even more people have given it. This individual and social schizophrenia appears in a) a low number of people willing to pursue corruption, b) general feeling that anti-corruption institutions are massively corrupted, c) feeling that accepting corruption supports it, and especially in d) contradiction between proclaimed and real behavior. The social atmosphere in Slovakia can be characterized as corrupted for these reasons.
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Smart defense is a concept which was formed to be a solution for an old issue within the Alliance - burden-sharing - in the framework of the negative impact of the global financial crisis. In this sense, Rasmussen named the concept in 2011. Smart defense has been made into a fundamental element of the Alliance’s defense planning policy over time, by making many programs connected such as cyber defense, Connected Forces Initiative, missile defense systems which are components of the Alliance’s military transformation. The aim of this article is to examine the smart defense which is a significant concept in terms of the future of the Alliance as well as the policies and processes which have been hugely influential on the creation of this concept. In this study, the concept is evaluated as a reflection of the changes of US foreign policy to NATO.
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AK Party government, which came to power in 2002, has pursued a more active foreign policy in the Middle East. Until 2012, it is observed that there is a harmony between foreign policy principles of the Western countries and those of Turkey about the Middle East. However after the emergence of internal fighting in Turkey, the western countries and experts have begun to cricitize the Turkey’s Middle East policy in a radical way. The Western countries and experts do not approve the Turkey’s New Middle perspective, its relations with the Syrian radical groups (like al-Nusra), its negative attitude toward the PYD and its close contacts with regional Sunni groups (like Muslim Brothershood). Although Turkey do not agree with these criticisms, its some behaviors have reinforced their perceptions. Nonetheless, deterioration of the bilateral relations is temporary. Fundamentally USA continues to see Turkey as its strategically important regional ally.
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In the post-Cold War era, with democratic peace theory on the rise, efforts to promote democracy around the world have flourished. Western and Western democratic values-oriented states in particular have acted on the belief that democracy promotion would contribute to world peace. Yet this process is not as utopian as described; it is also highly contingent, with no single prescription for success nor common idea of what the end result should look like. This study elaborates the problematic aspects of democracy promotion by examining the case of US and EU democracy promotion in the Western Balkans. The problems uncovered in this analysis fall into three categories: 1) those stemming from the very nature of democracy promotion as an exercise, 2) those specific to the promoters of democracy and 3) those relating to the particular characteristics or circumstances of the target state or region. Based on the analysis, this study concludes that such problems will continue to arise so long as the promoters of democracy continue to approach the process monolithically, without sensitivity to, and synchronization with, the cultural and political realities on the ground in target states.
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From the 1990s onwards in particular, much significance has been given to theatre that is themed around the dual relationship between the mind and exposing the hidden memory, or re-animating what has been erased from memory. The aim of this paper is to uncover and defend the existence and future existence of a dystopic world in terms of how the mind relates it with reality in two post-modern plays, Escaped Alone (2016) and Far Away (2000), by one of British theatre’s most prominent of playwrights Caryl Churchill. Churchill, who is familiar negative direction that the world within which she lives is going, makes mention of a world that is leaning towards an unpredictable chaos by putting violence, death, and political events at the forefront. Within the frame of Jeanette Malkin’s Memoy-Theatre theory, the notion of the hidden memory emerges as Churchill uses the art of over-representation. In Far Away, how memory is changed and re-created as well when and how it affects the persona is emphasized through the use of three characters. Escaped Alone, which is about four women in their 70s who are reminiscing while gathered around in a backyard, the concept of time mangled into a state of complexity, bits and pieces of memories merge together, and global mayhem is projected before people’s eyes. Savagery and barbarianism are at the helm of each of these two plays. Churchill paints the future with a bleak sense of hopelessness and leaves her works open-ended.
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The author's purpose in this article is to describe and report the resonances and his countertransference reactions while performing the ethnographic and psychoanalytic research tool: Young Child Observation according to the Tavistock Model via the examined child "Ercan" (at the age of 5), which was observed by the author 1 hour per week from September 2010 to June 2011 a total of 26 hours in a Kindergarten in Vienna. Parts of this paper are based on the single case studies, carried out at the University of Vienna in the context of the interdisciplinary research project “Language acquisition and everyday life multilingualism in the kindergarten” in collaboration with the Institute of Educational Sciences and Linguistics. In addition, we shall try to describe the research project and the observation method. The objectives of this paper are firstly, to show the significant countertransference reactions, intrapsychic experiences, uncontrolled process and involuntary reactions of the observer via the observed people, especially via Ercan. Finally, we shall discuss briefly the methodological benefits of becoming aware of the countertransference process for researchers and practitioners.
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This study analyzes the performance and financial credibility of six Turkish banks for the period of 2005-2016. The sample comprises two state-owned deposit banks, three private-owned deposit banks, and one foreign bank. As one of the most popular methods for measuring banking performance, CAMELS method is used to analyze the performance of the banks. CAMELS stands for Capital Adequacy, Asset Quality, Management Efficiency, Earning Quality, Liquidity, Sensitivity respectively. When the average rates of 2014, 2015 and 2016 ratios –for each one of these mentioned categories- separately examined, none of the banks is found to be superior to the others. As for the composite rate for CAMELS though, Ziraat Bank has the highest rate (29.32%) and Halkbank stands at the last row (21.94%). Overall, the values of the CAMELS ratios for 2016 seem to be quite close to each other. However, when the yearly analysis is conducted, some significant differences in the categories of CAMELS ratio are observed. In addition, ANOVA test results state that the means of CAMELS ratios are significantly different over the years. Finally, comparison of CAMELS ratings with institutional ratings shows that the latter does lag the financial indicators of the companies and even can be not reflective of the current financial condition of the company. On the other hand, the trends of the institutional ratings and of financial indicators are consistent over a long period of time.
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With reference to the activities of the German Cultural and Social Association (NTKS) in Wrocław, this article discusses the changes in the position of Lower Silesian Germans following the political changes of 1989. Changes in the lives of Germans, and also Polish society, came about against the backdrop of the then prevailing geopolitical situation and in relation to the new opening of Polish-German relations. Support for the German community stemming from the newly united Germany together with the new legal possibilities appearing in the now democratic Poland led to the rapid development of the cultural and organisational life of the German minority in Poland and the developing of its structures. The article makes reference to part of the author's own research concerning the reconstruction of cultural activities and presents a summary of the organisational achievements of NTKS in Wrocław post 1989.
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The Opolskie Voivodeship is a distinctive departure region, characterized for many years by a very intense outflow of people. It is an area where the scale of foreign migration, both in the period before and after the political transformation of the country in the early 1990s and also currently, remains high. It is also a region where the negative balance of net migration diverges noticeably from the national average. It is estimated that from the 1950s to the end of the 1990s over 200 000 people emigrated which accounted for the entire natural population increase from 1975 to 2000. Currently, the scale of permanent and „temporary” emigration is approximately 105 000 people, and so-called incomplete emigration for work purposes (shuttle and seasonal) – 115 000. The significant scale of emigration and its permanent character has a definitive impact on the demographic and economic situation in the region. This, in turn, largely influences the potential for regional development.
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The aim of this study is to examine the short and long term relations between exchange rate and consumer confidence index. In the study, two variables in total are discussed as consumer confidence index and dollar selling rate and a data set consisting of 95 observations in a monthly frequency spanning the 2003:12-2011:12 period is applied for each variable within the analysis. The consumer confidence index is based on the index prepared by Turkey Statistics Institution (TSI) and Republic of Turkey Central Bank (RTCB). As for exchange rate the monthly average value of the Dollar selling rate is taken as basis. Examined the empirical findings obtained, it is observed that there is both a short-term and a long-term relation between consumer confidence index and exchange rate within the period investigated in Turkey. The findings can be interpreted in a way as that the exchange rate is one of the factors that shape consumers’ expectations regarding the future of the economy.
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The issue is discussed over "Art ..." titled a painting installation project application and exhibition in graduate art education, as a method examination of how is art and whether to the definition of today's art as one of the conditions of human existence within the framework of the main themes known contemporary art philosophy . With the union of opposites- holistic approach in study, intellectual analysis associate with the issue are made over the practices by New –Wittgensteinism ; views art as an open concept and the basic elements of Wittgenstein philosophy; against the definition of art, as a stance against all identification(institutional, historical, traditional). The purpose of the research is to investigate over the case of "Art ..." titled an art project application in the postgraduate art education area carried out in 2016, Wittgenstein's philosophy, also known as the grammar of silence and its philosophy of bringing to the fore again some basic elements of Neo - Wittgensteinism light is still under investigation, cannot be done whether a holistic definition of art. As a result, those who today live in thought and practice, as well as definitional at this point, the question cannot be made in the definition of art, one of the conditions of human existence, is no longer necessary and obligatory question. Current artistic discussions, always be open-minded to criticism against expanding the definition of art and the latest situation with a holistic perspective to better evaluate the need has been demonstrated in the art project application.
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This paper comes as a critical review on the internal democracy of the Albanian political parties in these 20 years. Trying to contribute to: what are the indicators for measuring internal democracy, why is it necessary and what shows about the state and the parties having or not, internal party democracy. Studied the statutes of the main parties to the Albanian scene today reveals all the modalities that they modify the internal democracy. What I noticed is that “de jure” these parties are democratic. On the other hand we see the practice of treating them thought otherwise, the exemptions and creation of new parties from factions and it results that “de facto” this parties are not democratic. For this reason, I suggest certain long-term solutions that can lead to de facto implementation of internal party democracy in Albania.
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EU annual Progress Reports are the cause of much media debate and political discussion. They can also serve as the battlefield or war weapon in the hands of Albanian politicians. The war is usually for the appropriation of the process of integration as well as for securing the monopoly over its meaning. This article builds on qualitative research, which focuses on the construction of social and political identities through the representation of the EU annual Progress Reports of October 2011 in Albanian daily press. Building on Critical Discourse Analysis, this article explores the way that press contributes to the formation and consolidation of party identities, as well as national identity vis-a-vis other markers such as ‘European’ or ‘Balkanic’.
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Since the first years of the democratic transition and in the later period of consolidation, media and politics in Albania have faced dramatic challenges and transformations. The relation between the two raises many concerns for the course of post-communist transition. However, no special attention has been given to the role of the media in this area and few researchers have attempted to map out the degree of intrusion of media into the political domain under such conditions. By examining the case of Edi Rama, former Mayor of Tirana and actual Chairman of the Socialist Party as the first fully ‘media-crat’ who performs his style-politics through media in post-communist Albania, this paper endeavors to map out the role of the media regarding both the personalization and the ‘mediatization’ of politics in the special context of a young and developing democracy. Edi Rama represents one of the most significant examples in this regard. By and large, it indicates the growing intrusion of media into the political domain. Accordingly, this paper will argue that the media could significantly shape the course of Rama political rise and the consolidation of his stature in the Albanian political arena, with significant implications for political parties in the context of a new democracy. A former painter and artist, Rama used to be in fact the challenger of power-holders and the ardent critic of political parties in Albania. He belonged to the group of intellectuals who, after the fall of communist dictatorship, came to define themselves against political parties and politicians. Such an anti-political project which was to some extent discursively construed in the media arena, was picked-up and developed more closely by Edi Rama, while would finally penetrate the political process as a pure political act. This paper provides a short literature review of media politics approaches, underlining the role of the media in shaping the course of political processes, especially in post-communist countries. Its focus is on the mediatization process of the profile of Edi Rama as a celebrity politician in the period between 1998 and 2008. When considering such recent developments in new democracies, we endorse a critical position, suggesting that ‘unregulated media and political communication in newly democratizing contexts may actually be more disruptive than productive in the formation of stable institutions and patterns of citizen participation’ (Bennett, 1998). Critical scholars assert that democracy requires social networks and political filtering organizations (whether parties, unions, or other social institutions) to anchor and deliberate about the political communication received from suddenly distant and noisy channels.
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Tëhuajtësimi i shqiptarëve ndaj ndaj demokracisë dhe partive politike në përgjithësi ka njohur veçse rritje gjatë këtyre dy dekadave të pluralizmit politik në Shqipëri. Partitë politike shqiptare kanë punuar sistematikisht për inkurajimin e këtij fenomeni të tëhuajtësimit, duke mos toleruar asnjë referendum popullor, asnjë zgjedhje direkte në postet e larta shtetërore si dhe duke mbështetur një sistem zgjedhor, i cili nuk inkurajon më zgjedhjen e deputetëve direkt nga zgjedhësit, por paraprakisht nga partia. Artikulli i mëposhtëm reflekton në lidhje me mundësitë konkrete për ta nxjerrë demokracinë shqiptare nga statusi i saj teatral e autoreferencial dhe për ta transformuar atë në një system që lejon përfaqësim direkt dhe i përgjigjet problemeve afatgjata të shoqërisë.
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In light of recent international developments, which precipitated in the September 11 tragic events and the onset of the war in Iraq in the spring of 2003, it is of interest to analyse the structure of the current system of international relations as well as the role of the great powers in this system. Focusing on the structure of the present global system and contextualizing the treatment of this issue historically and geopolitically, the following analysis aims to help better understand the dynamics of present international relations as well as the nature of the global system that will characterize the 21st century.
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