Етика и екология – проблеми на интердисциплинността

Author(s): Nikolay Mihaylov / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 4/2016

The article explores the different approaches to defining environmental ethics. The author examines the emergence and historical development of ecological ideas in ethics and their impact on ethics. The article focuses on anthropocentrism as a basic ethical principle and attempts to address it in the construction of a new type of moral philosophy. Important works by Bulgarian and foreign authors on the subject are reviewed and compared. The author examines the place of environmental ethics in the structure of ethical philosophy.

Education and the Labour Market in Bulgaria in 2015: Imbalances and Main Challenges

Author(s): Emilia Chengelova / Language(s): English Issue: Special/2016

The paper is focused on the key labour market problems arising in the context of the still ongoing negative effects of the global financial crisis (2008/2009). By mid-2015, all regions of Bulgaria experienced sharp imbalances between labour force demand and supply. Analyses reveal that the main reason for the identified imbalances is the highly inadequate performance of the education system (particularly vocational training) with regard to the objective needs of the real economy. Vocational education by regions does not correspond to the branch structure of regional economies, and instead of training the needed specialists, the education system systematically reproduces and exacerbates imbalances between labour force supply and demand – both at regional and national levels. Deeper analysis shows that the real problem of the labour market seems to be the severe discrepancies between education results/products and the qualification profiles and expectations of those who enter the labour market.

ФАЛШИВИТЕ НОВИНИ – МАНИПУЛАЦИИ И МИСТИФИКАЦИИ В КОНТЕКСТА НА ПРЕЗИДЕНТСКИТЕ ИЗБОРИ В САЩ (НОЕМВРИ 2016 Г.)

Author(s): Svetlana Stankova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 5/2017

The article is focused on the mystifications and manipulations spread by fake news in the social networks during the 2016 presidential election campaign in the USA. The main hypothesis concerns the influence these might have had on the outcome of the vote in favor of Donald Trump. The author also considers the background history of the distortion of truth for purposes of political benefits in the context of the technological development of media. The methods used in the argumentation of the article include discourse analysis, and rhetorical and interpretative analysis. The data used in the article are from a study conducted in 2017 by Stanford University and the independent digital media company BuzzFeed News.

„Икономиката в сянка“ като девиантна практика: теоретични начала и проблематизиране

Author(s): Emilia Chengelova,Lyuba D. Spasova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 5/2017

: Proceeding from the view that shady economic practices are specific forms of deviant behaviour motivated by economic objectives, the article presents some of the leading theories and concepts of social deviation, and discusses them in their application to the origin of shadow economy practices, seen as socio–economic activities that are legally authorized but in intentional viola-tion of the legal framework and economic regulations. By theorizing shady practices in the wider perspective of the concepts of social deviations (behav-iours that deviate from the norms of a given society at a given time), the authors are able to take the study beyond the purely economic mechanisms and reveal elements in the genesis and reproduction of shady practices that are common to most deviations, as well as elements specific to the analysed phenomenon

Етиката в рекламната комуникация

Author(s): Nikola Vangelov / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 4/2019

With the expansion of globalization, more and more companies are considering ways to ensure success through effective marketing. But is it always possible to create a worldwide uniform brand image? Many companies have realized that even the universal needs of consumers are determined by differing attitudes and mental patterns of thought, behavior and communication. Of all marketing tools, advertising is the one most dependent on cultural codes, language and symbolism, for its purpose is to give social meanings to products. On this basis, the rule “think global, act local” ensures better communication and more powerful presentation because understanding in communication is based on shared cultural knowledge. This comparative study analyzes the transformations of brand slogans in Bulgaria and other markets, and points out many fundamental socio-cultural features. Evidently, not only the content of the message, but also its rhetorical diversity is determined by differing cultural values and expectations.

Economic essays (part two): toward a realistic concept of choice

Author(s): Frederic B. Jennings Jr. / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2020

The previous three essays (Jennings 2019) and the first in this second series were originally drafted 30 years ago in 1988-1990. They aimed to present a more realistic concept of choice in economics. These four essays serve as a precursor to my subsequent work. The first three essays (Jennings 2019) addressed these issues. Essay One started with the notion of ‘opportunity cost’ and the ‘problem of invisibility’ as a case for open discourse. The second essay introduced two metaphors for economic behavior: the ‘neighborhood store’ and the ‘chessboard’, to raise issues of incomplete knowledge, time and social process. The third essay focused on interdependence: a ‘transport’ metaphor shows a balance of substitution and complementarity, opening institutional questions of competition and cooperation. These three essays set up an ethical theory of planning horizons. The fourth essay outlines a theory of ethics based on rational bounds. The endless interdependence of choice makes rational limits essential; surprises show the border of prior awareness of radiant outcomes. Our ethics align private with social incentives; wherever relations show affinity, competition is self-defeating: cooperation is more efficient, especially in education. Learning extends horizons, suggesting the failure of rivalrous systems. How incentives shape planning horizons is central to social well-being. The fifth essay develops this view with regard to institutions. Where substitution is not the basic character of our relations, competition fails. We see rivalry as productive and think ‘collusion’ is suspect, on an assumption of opposition with no room for consilient aims. But am I discomfited by your success or enriched thereby? Substitution may not be so general, if cooperation expands our horizons in a complementary way. The sixth essay poses a horizonal research agenda. How incentives shape behavior is central to well-being. Substitution and competition lead to fragmentation, when nothing complete can be understood through isolated design. Everything connects, so we must approach understanding thus. Economics – severed from honor, ethics, civilization, climate and ecological loss – cannot grasp these horizonal issues. Our short attention spans bring harm; competitive frames support a myopic culture in self-destruct mode. This is where substitution has failed; a cultural evolution is needed, starting with realistic concepts of choice.

Review of Craig Smith, Adam Smith, Cambridge / Medford MA, Polity Press, 1st Edition, 2020, 210 pp., pb, ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-1823-4

Author(s): Sergiu Bălan / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2020

Review of Dumas, Lloyd J., Building the Good Society. The Power and Limits of Markets, Democracy and Freedom in an Increasingly Polarized World, Emerald Publishing, 2020, xiv+228 pp., hb, ISBN 978-1-83867-632-2

Author(s): George Şerban-Oprescu / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2020

Review of Mark Thornton, The Skyscraper Curse: And How Austrian Economists Predicted Every Major Economic Crisis of the Last Century, Auburn, Alabama, Mises Institute, 2018, 275 pp., pb, ISBN 978-1-61016-684-3

Author(s): Alexandru Pătruţi / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2020

Review of Andrea Komlosy, Work. The Last 1000 Years, translated by Jakob K. Watson with Loren Balhorn, London, Verso, 2018, 265 pp., hb, ISBN 978-1-78663-410-8

Author(s): Valentin Cojanu / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2020

Ukraine's Hollow Decade

Author(s): Ilya Prizel / Language(s): English Issue: 02/2002

One of the most unsettling experiences for anyone traveling in Ukraine in the summer of 2001 was the sight of the country's cemeteries with many of their crosses and tombs stripped of their metal ornaments. Clearly, the poverty that has befallen the people of Ukraine has reached a nadir where even stealing from the dead has become a strategy for survival. The 10-year point seems an appropriate time to assess Ukraine's experience as an independent state, to explore why Ukraine has ended up as the third poorest country in Europe, and, finally, to ponder its future as Ukraine enters its second decade as an independent nation. [...]

The Socio-economic Impact of Regime Change in Eastern Europe: Gypsy Marginality in the 1990s

Author(s): Zoltan Barany / Language(s): English Issue: 01/2001

The objective of this article is to gauge the socio-economic changes among Eastern Europe's Romani (Gypsy) population brought on by the post-socialist regime transitions. More specifically, I am interested in two broad questions. First, how have the East European Gypsies' socio-economic conditions changed since 1989? Second, how have inter-ethnic relations between the Roma and dominant populations changed in the same period ? I argue that in both respects the transformation from state-socialist regimes to nascent democracies has had profoundly negative effects on the region's Romani communities. [...]

The Communist Taboo Against Unemployment: Ideology, Soft Budget Constraints, or the Politics of De-Stalinization?

Author(s): Phineas Baxandall / Language(s): English Issue: 03/2000

State socialism and the eradication of unemployment are strongly associated with one another. But how did the eradication of unemployment become a central pillar of legitimacy in the first place? At least in Hungary, the absolute elimination of unemployment was not a constant feature of state-socialist regimes. The Communists' inter-war focus on the ills of unemployment gave way once they seized power in 1947. Pockets of involuntary joblessness persisted and were openly admitted, but despite this period's being the "classical" era of hard-line Stalinism, unemployment received little political attention. The eradication of unemployment assumed greater political importance only with the softening of the regime and the failed uprising in 1956. [...]

IZAZOVI MIGRACIJA ZA EUROPSKU DEMOKRACIJU

Author(s): Pavo Barišić / Language(s): Croatian Issue: 1/2020

The issue of migration has become a paramount political concern. In this context, one can look at the emerging challenges that liberal democracy faces today, especially in Europe. Similar cases of democratic turbulence can be observed in America. Non-democratic countries are in a different situation. They do not have to deal with resistance from public opinion in the same way. Migrations, therefore, impose new realignments in democratic politics and obscure some older political divisions and tensions. This article examines the key political paradigm shifts that drive and open up migration to democratically organized societies in Europe. It starts with the fact that Europe has become the largest refuge for migrants in the world. With migrants comprising 10.4% of its population, the proportion of migrants in Europe is three times higher than the world average of 3.5%. From 1990 to 2017 the figure increased from 6.8% to 10.4%. Every third migrant in the world lives in Europe. The impact of globalization on increasing economic migration is also presented. Since 2010, politics in Europe has abandoned the desirable model of multiculturalism and turned to the concept of inter-culturalism. In this short span of time, political parties that use anti-immigrant views have taken off. The article draws particular attention to the situation in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The message from citizens is that migration is a serious and highly inflammatory political issue and that anti-immigrant sentiment in European societies has become politically radicalized. Political forces that advocate for more radical solutions have stepped into this space and exploited it. The ‘mainstream’ parties no longer underestimate or ignore the issue of illegal migration. It is increasingly entering the compulsory corpus of their programs.

SAVREMENI SIGURNOSNI IZAZOVI KAO FAKTOR MODELIRANJA NOVE SIGURNOSNE POLITIKE BOSNE I HERCEGOVINE

Author(s): Amila Planinčić / Language(s): Bosnian Issue: 1/2019

Since the end of the armed conflict on its territory, the political system of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has been going through a very complex post-conflict development of its civilian and security structures. Since 1995 Bosnia and Herzegowina had a political reform process that required implementation of the security sector reform as well. According to numerous authors, reform of defense system has been one of the best implemented in so-called „postconflict Bosnia and Herzegovina“. One of the highpoints of the aforementioned reform was drafting and adoption of Security Strategy of BiH in 2006. The peculiarities of this document lies in the sociopolitical era during which it had been created, and it sets down the fundamental strategic directions and guidelines about the organization of the national security system of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Apart from defining aims and tasks in domain of national security, this document underlines local, regional and global security challenges that could endanger or inhibit independency, sovereignity or stability of BiH. Considering the fact that since the period Security Strategy of BiH was adopted, many security challenges appeared on global, regional and local level, it is indispensable to reconsider the necessity for Security Strategy update, so it could be effective and in accordance with the changed security environment. The present work aims to present the relation between the emerging security issues from national to global level and the current Security Strategy of BiH, as well as to emphasize those security issues that act as a key factor of redefinition of the current Security Strategy of BiH.

Modernization Theory Revisited: The Case of Bulgaria

Author(s): Rossen Vassilev / Language(s): English Issue: 03/1999

Before starting its rocky transition to democracy, Bulgaria was one of the economically more successful Soviet-bloc nations. Its postwar social and economic record supports the insights and lessons of modernization theory. The Bulgarian case attests to the causal relationship between socio-economic development and political democratization. Between 1945 and 1989, the communist government modernized Bulgaria through a combination of accelerated economic growth, industrialization, urbanization, and mass education. The postwar Bulgarian economy was transformed from an overwhelmingly rural and agricultural one to a predominantly urban-industrial and service economy. [...]

TERÖRİZMİN SABİT SERMAYE YATIRIMLARI ÜZERİNDEKİ ETKİSİ: TÜRKİYE ÖRNEĞİ

Author(s): Süleyman UĞURLU,Kerem Karabulut / Language(s): Turkish Issue: 22/2020

Terrorism has been perceived as the main problem of some countries in the world for many years; however, it has started to be seen as an international threat affecting almost all countries after 9/11. This threat changed the economic power of countries and their ways of using the resources and prevented them from reaching the desired level in growth and development. Terrorism has been one of the most important reasons why Turkey’s socio-economic development would not be realized. Policymakers give more importance to the policies that promote prosperity, in countries where terrorism is not seen much, yet Turkey, with its national security policy, has had to spare much from its sources to fight against terrorism. Therefore, it becomes very important to investigate the effects of terrorism on macroeconomic indicators from the perspective of economic literature. For this purpose, effects of terrorism fixed capital formations were investigated with the help of time series analysis and the annual data from 1982-2017 of Turkey’s economy. According to the finding obtained from the study, it is seen that terrorism has a negative effect on fixed capital formations.

MUSLIMANI KAO PORESKI OBVEZNICI U OSMANSKIM DEFTERIMA DŽIZJE: STUDIJA SLUČAJA ZA VILAJET BROD U DRUGOJ POLOVICI 17. STOLJEĆA

Author(s): Fahd Kasumović / Language(s): Bosnian Issue: 69/2020

This paper aims to deconstruct the traditional narratives on the Ottoman financial and political strategies towards non-Muslim and Muslim subjects in the Western Balkans by re-examining the foundation, extent and consequences of the central government’s policy of demanding a payment of jizya tax not only from non-Muslims, as stipulated in the classical Sharia law, but from the Muslim population as well. Although academic community is aware of the existence of Muslim jizya payers in several regions of the Ottoman Empire, this paper argues that historiographic knowledge on the mentioned phenomenon is rather rudimentary as present studies on this topic are based on a very limited data while official financial records that contain information on Muslim jizya payers, such as the jizya registers from the Ottoman Bosnia, have still not been thoroughly analysed. Recognizing the need to include financial records into the account, the main research strategy of this paper was to identify and examine records of jizya payers which contain a significant number of Muslims in a taxpayer role as well as to compare and interpret this data with other financial, administrative and legal texts that could help us gain better insight into the phenomenon of Muslim jizya payers in the Ottoman practice. The main primary source for the analysis provided in this study was a register of jizya payers from the vilayet of Brod, in central parts of the Ottoman Bosnia, from the 1679, which have not been previously used in historiographic studies. On the basis of this financial register, it has been concluded that more that 90% of all jizya payers in the territory covered in the mentioned register were Muslims, which is an important and interesting fact that has still not been recorded in any other part of the Ottoman Empire.

Power and the Logic of Distribution in Poland

Author(s): Michael D. Kennedy,Ireneusz Białecki / Language(s): English Issue: 02/1989

"Who gets what and why?" is the central problem of stratification research. Distribution also figures prominently in descriptions of socialism. "Effectiveness" and "egalitarianism" are supposed to be the factors determining socialism's logic of distribution. This account of socialism's inequalities leaves out power, a dimension most nonfunctionalist theorists find essential to explaining other forms of inequality. In what follows, we consider the relationship between power and the logic of distribution in Poland. Drawing on recent Polish social research to illustrate our thesis, we argue that power resources are constrained through a system of vassalage and their translation into privilege is distorted through the operation of a generalized market. [...]

Homage to a Transylvanian Peasant

Author(s): Katherine Verdery / Language(s): English Issue: 01/1988

On May 22, 1987, the last pulse of life faded from a man named Petru Bota, known to all in his village as "Bade Petru," or "Uncle Peter. " He was 93 years old, and he was lucid until the moment of his departing. Petru Bota was not the sort of fellow to be widely known beyond the borders of the Transylvanian village in which he spent most of his life. He was born and died a small farmer, his holdings at their maximum amounting to no more than six hectares, in soils of middling quality. But the life stretching across the span of his 93 years bridged a tremendous span in the life of his country and his people. [...]