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Islamic State, as the name suggest, is going to be perceived and treated not as a mere terrorist organization, but rather as a caliphate, Islamic state. In the last decades many violent non-state actors have propagated the idea of caliphate but none of them have never accomplished the idea. Islamic State can be treated as the first organization, which declare and what is more important create state structures, responsible for administrating conquered territory. To some extent Islamic State fulfills thecriteria for statehood listed in the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States, 1933. But the basic question is whether it can be recognized as a state in the light of international law?
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The following paper focuses on the importance of the inherited administrative culture which is believed to define the character of the administration system in the years to come. Moreover, administrative culture strongly influences the way organizations operate, including the acceptance or rejection of new policies and directives. This study highlights the power of the hegemonic cultural paradigm and the resistance it shows toward possible changes. The countries of Greece, Italy, and Spain are used as case studies, since they follow the Napoleonic administrative tradition. Additionally, these countries continue to present vivid features of the respective tradition, despite the numerous changes that have been imposed during the reform period from 1980 until 2000. The aim of this study is to put the New Public Management doctrine into a new perspective, by questioning its ability to be successfully implemented to national administrative systems and deliver positive results.
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The value of the World Ocean is so important that it is extremely difficult to appreciate it. Scientists have proved that the life can exist only on planets where a large part of the surface is occupied by water. For many years, protection and preservation of the World Ocean during the operation of transport vehicles has been limited only to purification of the waters polluted by oil. However, the scientific research carried out in many countries of the world has managed to prove that biological pollution can cause much more destructive consequences because of its irreversible character. Discharge of ballast water by ships is considered as a type of such pollution. More than 7000 invasive alien species of microorganisms, which successfully survive and adapt to new living conditions, are transferred every day with ballast water from one region to another. Every vessel transporting and discharging ballast water can be considered as a source of potential danger. Therefore, governments around the world actively discuss this problem. Despite internationally coordinated actions do not cover all areas, there are examples indicating that constructive solutions to the problem can be achieved. Reasons for the protracted signing of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments (BWМ Convention, 2004), as well as a number of measures to be taken in the shortest possible time, are considered.
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The paper is devoted to the study of ambassadorial law and the status of ambassadors in Ancient Rome during the 8th – 3rd centuries BC. The methodology of the paper is based on the principles of historicism, i.e., all events are considered in their historical dependence. The general principles of historiographical analysis are used: identification of the research issue, analysis of theoretical and methodological perspectives. The formation of ambassadorial law and the status of Roman ambassadors in other communities and states, as well as those of foreign ambassadors in Rome are examined. Firstly, the legal regulations enabling the activities of ambassadors in Rome are analyzed. Secondly, terms referring to ambassadors in Rome are considered. Thirdly, it is discussed how ambassadors were sent and received in Rome. The activities of ambassadors were regulated by ambassadorial law (ius legatorum) and law of nations (ius gentium). There were three terms to refer to ambassadors in Rome depending on the status of the messenger: legates (legati), speakers (oratores), and envoys of peace (caduceatores). The basic rituals developed in the Royal period, changes occurred in the period of the Republic when real power was in the hands of the Senate. The position of embassies was significantly dependent on from which state they came – friendly or hostile. In the first case, they were allowed into the city. In the second case, ambassadors were placed outside the city walls and their movement was limited. The obtained results are important for reconstruction of Roman diplomatic activity.
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The involvement of new Christian religious movements (NRM) in the political life and “color revolutions” is considered by the example of Ukraine in this paper. Christian NRM parties and pastors–politicians have become a common phenomenon in Ukraine’s political life. The tendencies toward politicization of NRM from the late 1990s to 2014, as a result of which neoreligions developed their own political doctrines, are traced based on the specific material. New religious communities participated most actively in the Orange Revolution of 2004 and the Eurorevolution of 2014. It is shown that Ukrainian parties and politicians were interested to use so-called NRM during the election campaign as a platform for political agitation. Parliamentary elections and elections to various councils have become a site for the political realization of NRM. Due to the absence of resources and support in the population, NRM were not able to create their own political parties and supported the major political blocks to pass in the Ukrainian parliament. It is emphasized that participation in the political life of Ukraine allows NRM to extend their influence on various social and public spheres. Thus, NRM followers rejected their pacifist ideas and played an active role in the demonstrations and coercive protests.
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The paper attempts to identify the factors influencing the development of a region on the example of Lubuskie voivodeship. The paper places particular emphasis on the decisions taken by local authorities who have a decisive impact on the functioning and development of the region. Shaping a positive image and creating conditions for the development require the development of specific solutions and determining courses of action, which the authorities should follow to promote a positive image of the region.
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Media represents an important part of society, while in different ways it is involved in its formation and development. In addition to the traditional media, the importance of digital media in society is growing. The latest trends are also in the interest and attention of politicians, who maintain their popularity by using new technology. So nowadays we can observe in the current policy different forms of digital interactions between the political entities on the one hand and citizens on the other. The rate of interaction between these actors is intensifying with the approach of elections.
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Katyn crime, also known as the Katyn massacre, was one of those historical factsthat were kept secret for a very long time. From 1943 when it was revealed to 1990the soviet Union denied their responsibility for the massacre. Eventually, publishingthe original documents on the order of Borys Jecyn and handing themdown to Poland on 14 October 1992 definitely confirmed the perpetrators of thecrime. In the historic consciousness of both Polish and Russian societies there arestill many questions and doubts about “the background of the picture” of Katyncrime. Therefore I found it very sensible to analyze the problem of Katyn crime invarious history course books in Poland and Russia.After the collapse of the communist political system both countries Polandand Russia introduced new history course books in all types of schools. The newcourse books not only mention the problem of Katyn crime but also say who wasresponsible for it. However, the Russians try to neutralize the crime by so calledanti-Katyn, emphasizing the death of several thousands of Soviet soldiers imprisonedin Poland in the war of 1920 and after it.
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The naturalization principle plays a major role in the institutional development of the Romanian Kingdom. Any approach to the history of the ethnic minorities of this state must start from the claim that, far from being ignored by historians, Romanian scholarship treated this issue as a marginal topic until very recently. The concepts of citizenship and national identity in the Romanian Kingdom are far more challenging. They cannot be limited to the interpretation of the Romanian legislation drawn up in the second half of the 19th century, to the Jews’ status in Romanian Kingdom and that of the population in Dobrudja after this province had been annexed by the Romanian state. A prosopographical study of the applicant for Romanian citizenship turns out to be indispensable on the background of scarce information provided by statistics. Regrettably, such a study remains a real challenge for Romanian historians.
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Article is about Armenian history in 20th century. Author concentrate on main subject: Armenian Genocide between 1915 and 1920 in Turkey; Armenians trouble in USSR; Armenian minority in Lebanon, France, USA, Poland and Turkey; Armenian Independence.
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The share of national and ethnic minorities in political elections is one of the indicators of integration and a sense of equality in the society. The fundamental issue is therefore the answer to the question whether and to what extent ethnicity is manifested by representatives of minorities in the local elections in 2014.
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Representatives of the Vietnamese minority for the first time in its history in Poland took part in the local elections in 2014. This event is another element in the process of integration and equality of minorities in the country of residence. In the present text, I take issues related to the functioning of minority candidates Vietnam’s image in the media, along with the characteristics of the factors affecting its shape during the election campaign.
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The aim of this text was to compare policy of Central European towards national and ethnic minorities over the period of fifteen years (1989–2004). Besides Poland, Czechoslovakia (since 1993 Czech Republic and Slovakia) and Hungary are countries of quite different ethnic and national structure. Poland is a unique country due to its’ almost mono-ethnic population when comparing to Czech, Slovakia and Hungary, countries with a large Romani and in case of Slovakia also Hungarian minority. The period of communism 1945–1989 in all fields of political, social and economic life was under the dictate of Soviet Union. This applied to minorities issues as well. The changes which started in 1989 was a freely chosen way of political elites and societies of Czech, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Although the membership criteria of the EU (so-called Copenhagen Criteria) consisted inter alia of a criterion in favour of respecting the rights of national, ethnic and language minorities. It was a kind of “double standards” by the EU. The text analyses the impact of EU and other international actors on policies of Prague, Bratislava, Budapest and Warsaw in the field of national minorities rights during the accession preparations. It was significantly reduced after the full membership of Czech, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia after the 1st of May 2004.
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This article is an attempt to analyse and interpret the position of the representatives of the Austrian School towards the political activity of politicians associated with the US Republican Party in the second half of the 19th century. This article proves that in the opinion of the representatives of the one of the most radical and uncompromising social and economic science school the US Republican Party was a political group which supported centralisation of power, mercantilism, subsidies for big business and realisation of the model of state which would be compatible with their religious beliefs. The author shows that the Republican president Abraham Lincoln was critically perceived by adherents of the Austrian School, who accused him of limiting liberties, especially in the economic aspect.
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The European integration processes have had over the years many shapes, faces and, masks. European politicians noticed, as late as at the turn of 70s and 80s of 20th century that culture can significantly influence the social life, economy, as well as international relations. At that time, however, they did not formulate any proposals of specific activity which could have lifted culture to supranational position, and the culture remained in the realm of national policies. In the early 80s, Ministers of Culture of the European countries, dissatisfied with cultural policy of the European Community, or rather lack of it, informally established intergovernmental Council of the Ministers. The council was announcing resolutions and recommendations for the European Commission, European Parliament, and European Council. The objective of this paper is analysis of the pioneering role of Ministers of Culture in integration processes at culture level. The research reveals that the intellectual and political work and influence of Ministers played a pivotal role in formulating the first paradigm of the Community’s cultural policy. They were also instrumental in creating first programmes directed to culture and cultural operators in Europe.
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When discussing European integrations through women’s human rights prism and in the context of Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is very important to distinguish between formal and legal framework and public policies which mostly follow European standards on one hand and their implementation and every-day practice which has been pushed into the background of ethnic and national divisions in the long-afterwar Bosnia and Herzegovina on the other hand. In this regard, marginalization of women on a regular basis in all spheres of life in Bosnia and Herzegovina is evident; Women are largely underrepresented and discriminated in public and political life, there are no adequate governmental programs of support for economic empowerment of women, violence against women is not adequately sanctioned and State’s services designed for supporting women victims of violence are insufficient, poorly managed and inadequate, women victims of sexual violence during the 1992-1995 war are facing statutory discrimination in two BiH entities, and women with disabilities, women from rural areas, Roma women, lesbian, bisexual and transgender women, and women victims of human trafficking are alarmingly invisible and disempowered. There is also no adequate statistical data on most of these issues. In short, women in Bosnia and Herzegovina live beyond their human rights and freedoms which the State has pledged to protect and improve.
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Već treću godinu zaredom izrađuje se i objavljuje Godišnji izvještaj o stanju ljudskih prava žena u Bosni i Hercegovini. Ovo je ujedno i jedini nama poznat izvještaj koji objavljuju organizacije civilnog društva, a koji na sveobuhvatan način tematizuje prava žena, trudeći se pokriti što više pitanja iz ove oblasti. Prva dva izvještaja su nastala samostalnim radom Sarajevskog otvorenog centra, dok ovaj izvještaj izlazi kao rezultat zajedničkog rada Sarajevskog otvorenog centra i Fondacije CURE, a u ime Ženske mreže BiH. Jako nam je drago što ovogodišnji izvještaj potpisuju tri mlade aktivistkinje – Dalila Mirović, Inela Hadžić i Edita Miftari. Ovaj se izvještaj velikim dijelom naslanja na prošlogodišnji. Autorica izvještaja za 2013. godinu, Esther Garcia Fransioli, kojoj se zahvaljujemo na značajnom doprinosu pri izradi i ovogodišnjeg izvještaja, vrlo je opširno i temeljito opisala trenutno stanje u oblasti ljudskih prava žena, pri tome se osvrćući i na godine prije 2013. Imajući to na umu, ovogodišnji izvještaj se u potpunosti nadograđuje na informacije koje su iznesene u prošlogodišnjem izvještaju te preporučujemo da se oba izvještaja čitaju uporedno kako bi se dobila sveobuhvatna slika stanja prava žena u Bosni i Hercegovini. Prošlogodišnji izvještaj je dostupan na: http://soc.ba/ godisnji-izvjestaj-o-stanju-prava-zena-u-bosni-i-hercegovini-tokom-2013-godine/ Godina 2014. se ne može pohvaliti značajnim napretkom kada su u pitanju prava žena. Opći izbori i poplave, ali i pitanje porodiljskih naknada, egzemplarno svjedoče o odnosu države i društva prema ženama. U 2015. godini potrebno je sistematski raditi na poboljšanju položaja žena u društvu, a posebno se posvetiti pitanjima marginalizovanih grupa žena kao što su povratnice, žene žrtve rata, Romkinje, žene s invaliditetom, samohrane majke, žene žrtve nasilja, lezbejke, biseksualne i trans* žene, koje su u velikoj mjeri diskriminisane, marginalizovane, a u određenom broju i u potpunosti društveno isključene. Nadamo se da će ovaj izvještaj biti od koristi za sve one koji/e rade na pravima žena. Radujemo se vašoj povratnoj informaciji!
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This is the second Alternative Progress Report on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s path towards the EU membership. The report is a joint effort of dozens of individuals and organizations whose common goal was to show the current state of integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the perspective of civil society organizations. Having in mind that the official Progress Report on Bosnia and Herzegovina is a political report of the European Commission, we believe that the publication of the Alternative report can affect its content. Because of this, we are publishing this Alternative Progress Report nearly three months before the publication of the official one, hoping that it will have an impact on the formulation of the formal report. The report completely relies on the so-called political criteria, focusing on the following questions: - Democracy and the functionality of the State, - Rule of law and corruption, - Human rights, especially the rights of minorities and vulnerable groups, and - Transitional Justice During the 2013 and 2014, we have witnessed that no relevant progress has been achieved. The process of implementation of the Sejdić and Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina ruling is completely displaced from the Parliament. Performance of the democratic parliaments and governments on state, entity and cantonal levels is extremely low. The work of the institutions is characterized as unstable, inefficient and with notable lack of transparency. The decisions of the constitutional courts are still not implemented. No significant and systematic policies to combat human rights violations have been adopted. Judicial reform has been stopped and Structured Dialogue on Justice between B&H and the EU does not show any progress. Not a single significant case of corruption has been processed. Minority and vulnerable groups still live in difficult conditions. Discrimination and violence are all-present, and the law on prohibition of discrimination did not show the expected results, having in mind that five years after the enactment of the law, only two final judgments were passed. Comprehensive anti-discrimination policies for social integration either do not exist, or are almost never applied. Floods additionally hit the most vulnerable groups in society. Furthermore, the most vulnerable groups in society have been affected by the recent floods. The prosecution of war crimes and dealing with the past, as prerequisites for creating a healthy environment and building a common state, represent an additional problem. Political support for war criminals by the leaders of political parties only further divide the already highly fragmented society. We hope that the general elections in October of 2014 (although held by discriminatory rules) will bring more stable political structure, ready to face different problems. Initiative for the Monitoring of the European Integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina will certainly advocate change, in terms of adopting new laws and policies, and the implementation thereof. We also hope that the BiH authorities and the EU institutions will support a stronger representation of civil society within the various forums within the EU integration. Civil society must become the third actor in this process along with the State and EU institutions.
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Women in Bosnia and Herzegovina are still facing multiple layers of discrimination and are not equal to men in their abilities to access and exercise their rights. Over the past years, formal legislative and public policy frameworks related to the protection of women’s rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina have significantly improved. There is a Law on Gender Equality (2003, 2009 with consolidated version from 2010) and a new Gender Action Plan (2013-2017) at the BiH level (adopted in September 2013); a 40% gender quota has been included in the BiH Election Law (April 2013), and there is new entity-level legislation and public policies for preventing and combating domestic violence. In addition, Bosnia and Herzegovina has signed and ratified all major international documents in the sphere of women’s human rights, including the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention) in 2013. However, real change in practice is very slow; women remain deprived of the possibility of enjoying human rights in both the private and the public sphere, and the dialogue and partnership between the government and nongovernmental organizations to advance and protect women’s human rights is still far from satisfactory. there is a serious problem of gender-based inequalities and discrimination in women’s access to the labour market, combined with structural stereotyping and the problem of unpaid work, which aspects women disproportionately. The current employment strategies do not seriously address the issue of female participation in the labour market, the improvement of which would contribute to reducing poverty. All these combined factors are rejected in the low number of employed women in 2013: only around one third (37.3%) of all the employed people in BiH are women, which means that there was not a significant improvement in 2013 in comparison with previous years. It is also alarming that there are twice as many women than men with university degrees who are unemployed. In 2013, the situation of parental rights also remained stagnant, since maternity leave is regulated differently in different parts of BIH and there are places where women don’t even have access to maternity leave pay or are left jobless after becoming pregnant. In the public and political sphere, women are still underrepresented; the situation is even worse for women that belong to any of the various groups that face double discrimination and are at higher risk of social exclusion. For these groups of women, there is still the significant problem that the available quantitative and qualitative gender data is disaggregated (e.g. there is no data available regarding women with disabilities). It is also alarming that in 2013, the needs of women were not specifically expressed in many of the existing action plans that were revised and that still have not been granted su¬ cient funds for their implementation (e.g. Revised Action Plan of BiH on the Educational Needs of Roma from 2010). In 2013, a 40% gender quota was introduced into the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an increase from 33%. Real progress will be seen if this law is properly implemented in the 2014 elections because currently, women are underrepresented in all political fields. The following initiatives took place in 2013: the women’s caucus of the House of Representatives of the FBiH was established (March 2013), several NGOs created the Women’s Platform for Constitutional Reform from a Gender Perspective and the first Memorandum of Understanding to monitor the implementation of Action Plan of the UNSCR 1325 was signed (October 2013). The results of these initiatives will be observed in the next few years. Violence against women and girls continues to be a serious issue in BiH. New data available starting in 2013 in the field of domestic violence will hopefully provide a good basis for future prevention and intervention measures with survivors. Findings indicate that almost half of the women in BiH older than 15 have been subjected at least once in their lifetime to some kind of violence and that women are exposed to a high risk of violence, first in her immediate, intimate environment of relationships with her partner and family, and then in the broader community. Another long-lasting and serious issue for BiH is the wartime sexual violence suffered by tens of thousands of women twenty years ago. These women are still in need and seek justice and reparation. The visit in 2013 of the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Representative for Sexual Violence in Conflict confirmed that BiH has made scandalously little progress in dealing with these cases and there is a need to develop a comprehensive approach to improve the status and position of all female victims of the war, including by combating stigma attached to sexual violence, and expand the provisions of compensation, support and rehabilitation measures and benefits, and ensure equal access to such services for all female victims irrespective of their place of residence. Regarding human trafficking, effective victim identification procedures – especially concerning women and girls from Roma communities and internally displaced women, who are increasingly affected – is a pending issue. Cooperation between state institutions and nongovernmental organizations engaged in prevention of human trafficking has not improved in the last years. This human rights paper seeks to put a spotlight on the status of women rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2013 – to point out the progress that has been made so far, as well as to highlight the marginalization and systematic discrimination that women continuously experience. This paper contains information based on a desk review of the most relevant and recent documents issued by governmental institutions, nongovernmental and international organizations recent data from local and national research on women’s issues and observations from the field.
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