We kindly inform you that, as long as the subject affiliation of our 300.000+ articles is in progress, you might get unsufficient or no results on your third level or second level search. In this case, please broaden your search criteria.
The processes occurring in the world politics of the first half of the 20th century, which were the result of the First World War serious consequences, were reflected in Transcaucasia, including Georgia. Even in the course of peace conference new tendencies were outlined in Batumi. The imperialistic policy of Turkey became unacceptable for Germany. Such changes in foreign policy of Germany had been caused by the fact that Georgia carried out the function of the bridge between Europe and Asia.on June 4, 1918 an agreement on peace and cooperation was signed between the governments of the Democratic Republic of Georgia and the Ottoman Empire in Batumi In it the Georgian-Turkish border was determined in accordance with the state borders existing before the Russo-Turkish war in 1828-1929. The Turkish government took the advantage over the hard political situation in Europe caused by World War I and having violated the international Law and the Brest-Lithuanian Treaty taxed Georgia with hard conditions. As a result 9500 sg.m. of the area with 350 000 population was cut off the entire territory.With the assistance of the German government Georgia achieved its way in the results of the Batumi conference to be reconsidered. However, the conference was finally never held. The reason was the defeat of Germany and its alliance. The Turkish government well knew that on the coming place conference its territorial claims would appear inconsistent and it would have to cede most of its occupied territories.Consequently it applied to certain diplomatic methods. Namely, in order to make the union of Batumi-Karsy-Artaani regions a legal document, the Turkish government decided to hold a referendum in these regions.The referendum was held but with significant violations. According to the data of the Turkish side 83 thousand people voted in their favor but only 2 thousand-against them. On the other hand, according to the data of the Bolshevik press of that periods, 11 thousand people participated in the referendum, out of which 8500 voted in favor of the Turkish government.Today it is difficult to trust either of these data but one is clear – neither of them expressed the will of the population or the real situation.
More...
The US - Turkish relations are more important, more difficult and simultaneously less predictable in the modern stage than before. Today the relationship between the two countries is characterized by prevailing uncertainty, which is caused by the following circumstances:1.the political views of Turkey-the USA on the ways and methods of such conflict resolutions as, for example, the Cypriot conflict, or contradictions existing between Greece - Turkey and Turkey – Armenia;2. Turkey has shown that it will not support the US on the issue with Syria, as well as the war in Iraq and the Kurdish conflict;3. Turkey tries to implement a foreign policy independent fromWashington.Nevertheless, the interests of the United States and Turkey are very close to each other or just coincide. Geenerally, the Turkish-US cooperation is based on the following:1. It should become the force restraining Russian and Iranian geopolitical ambitions in the region, what is unanimously recognized by the Turkish elite;2. Ankara is interested in participating in the development of European Defence System.It strives to become a full-fledged member of the EU and it is greatly supported by the US;3. The US-made weapon comprises 80 percent of Turkey's military arsenal, what indicates to a close cooperation of these countries in this field;4. By cooperating with America Turkey tries to ensure successful implementation of such big projects as "Baku-Ceyhan", at the same time it strives to increase its influence on the region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, which is quiet rich with energy deposits;5. Turkey is ready to install the US missile defense system on its territory, as it will not only provide additional resources in the country and increase its military security, but also strengthen its importance in the region.Assessing Turkish-American relations, it is better to mention the term "strategic partnership". For example, since 2002 Turkey has been trying to conduct "zero problem with neighbors" policy and in this context it took steps of friendship and economic cooperation towards Syria and Iran, to which America is not so well-disposed.These steps do not exclude a strategic partnership, but in 2003 Turkey did not allow the US armed forces to use the Turkish military bases for Iraqi warfare, which is essentially contradicting the basic principle of "strategic partnership".After this fact, Americans did not mention the "strategic partnership" for a long time. And after the warming of relations, American politicians started using this term again. On November 5, 2007 during the visit of the Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the US, the President of America George Walker Bush mentioned this term again.However, an attempted coup d'etat,committed on 15 July 2016 in Turkey, caused the period of uncertainty between the two countries.In general, it is interesting to observe how the current policy of Turkey is reflected on the relations with the US. Erdogan's foreign policy almost questioned the issue of partnership between Turkey and the United States.And nowadays, when the relations with Russia have almost been regulated, Turkish policy towards Russia is largely dependent on the cooperation the United States will have with Ankara. We consider that stable relations with the US will not cause Turkey the desire to seek such an ally as Russia.On the issue of the Middle East, regarding to the Syrian problem, Turkey has become an involuntary participant of the big countries - on the one hand, the United States, and on the other hand, Russia. After the US recent bombardment in Syria the positions of Turkey tend toward the US.In this case, we could say, Turkey fixes an indecisive position. However, in the Syrian war, due to the problem with the Kurds, Turkey has its own interests, which are the part of the Ankara new course.Turkey could not manage to gather Turkish-speaking countries around it and head them; it also failed neither tobe the leader of the Islamic world, nor to accelerate the adoption to the EU. Nevertheless, it coulduse the problem of refugees in relations with the European Union, but there is still a lot to do and not everything is clear.If Turkey aims to become a country of "the first world economy" and liberal democracy, it should strengthen ties with the US, which would partly demand to alter its foreign policy priorities and to keep some distance from the Muslim world.
More...
Principles and practical implications of Russia’s current policy toward the post-Soviet states are presented in this paper. On the basis of Russia’s domestic legal and regulatory documents, as well as public statements of the leadership, it was concluded that the Kremlin has laid out a new foreign policy strategy and a corresponding foreign policy doctrine – “the new doctrine of limited sovereignty” (the “Putin Doctrine”), the main element of which is the concept of “limited sovereignty”. During the Cold War, that was also a major component of the “Brezhnev Doctrine” – the USSR’s foreign policy doctrine regarding the states of “People’s Democracies”. The main provisions and characteristics of the doctrine are provided.
More...
An important part of Russia’s grand strategy since the 1990s has been the use of conflict zones across the post-Soviet space for geopolitical aims. Moscow’s battle with the West over the borderlands – i.e., the regions that adjoin Russia from the west and south – has involved keeping Moldova, Ukraine, and the South Caucasus through at times deliberate stoking of separatist conflicts. This policy has been successful so far, as the EU and NATO have refrained from extending membership to Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. However, over the past several years, Russia has started to face long-term problems: financing the entities; attaining a wider recognition for the separatist regions; inability to reverse the pro-Western course of Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine; and the failure to produce a long-term political or economic development vision for the unrecognised territories.
More...
The US elections and the Brexit referendum in 2016 marked a peculiar milestone of informational and quasi-political confrontation. Not only the results of the said events were surprising for the general public, but they also revealed specific peculiarities of the capacity of hybrid influence and interference in domestic democratic processes of other countries. Russian state agents conducted a large-scale disinformation campaign aimed at British and US populations in order to influence the results of the vote. Such activities should be viewed in the context of a greater Russian strategy of hybrid meddling in democratic processes of the West. The purpose of this paper is to identify and define the strategies of the Russian hybrid aggression against Western democracies.
More...
A constantly changing international environment and a fast-paced advancement of information and communications technologies (ICTs) essentially modify the traditional ways of diplomacy. In the digital age, the use of e-tools has become a daily routine for diplomats, and the developments in the cyber realm define the global political agenda, transforming the mechanisms of multilateral cooperation. Meanwhile, the digitalisation of diplomatic interactions is intrinsically tied with cyber risks. The lack of a solid legal framework for regulation of the virtual space inevitably leads to conflicts. This article highlights new features that cyber diplomacy brings into international relations, raising the issue of online security, appropriate response to cyberattacks, and a right for self-defence.
More...
Parliamentary elections of 2019 in the Republic of Moldova became a turning point in modern history of this country. The winners’ inability to form a coalition and a government led to a political crisis, which was resolved by creating an alliance of two political forces with diametrically opposite political positions – the pro-Russian Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova and pro-European political bloc ACUM. These political opponents united against the ruling Democratic Party of Moldova and its leader, tycoon Vladimir Plahotniuc. The crisis was resolved thanks to a common position of main external actors – the USA, Russia, and the European Union. This created a fundamentally new reality not only for Moldova but also for Ukraine. There was the actualization of old challenges, including Moldovan pro-Russian forces’ return to power and the creation of conditions for the Transnistrian settlement according to the Russian model.
More...
The paper presents a study of Italy’s OSCE Chairmanship in 2018, in particular how Italy is trying to navigate its OSCE priorities while complying with its own political interests. In 2018, Italy received a chance to check whether it can play the role of a mediator in the dialogue between the West and the East. The focus of the article is within a comparative analysis between the Mediterranean region and Ukraine, prioritized in Italy’s agenda for 2018. What is interesting here is how much the statements about maintaining peace and security in Europe could have been and are realized given that some of the OSCE participating countries – Italy and the Russian Federation – were in preparation for elections in 2018.
More...
The Irish conflict was generally perceived as intractable, rooted in the question of identity. Given the stringent ‘positions’ framed by identities, no solution seemed possible. When attention was paid to addressing the interests underlying the conflict, the identity issue faded away. The popular perception of an identity crisis notwithstanding, the Ukrainian conflict is also rooted in socio-economic and geo-political interests. Drawing lessons from Ulster, a solution in Ukraine is possible. However, Ukraine should remain careful about not copying the consociationalist outcome of Ulster, for a power-sharing arrangement will establish a false sense of a divided society in East Ukraine.
More...
Despite the negative impact that the Ukrainian Crisis has had on bilateral relations with Astana, in terms of mutual trade, it has become a reference point to enhance cooperation in different areas, including aviation industry, infrastructure, fuel and energy complex, agriculture and tourism. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s official visit to Astana in October, 2015 outlined prospects and mutual benefits for Kazakhstan-Ukraine relations against the backdrop of the ‘Russian factor’.
More...
Slovakia and Ukraine are geographic neighbors, which have independently sought a path for integration with the rest of Europe and strategic partnerships. While Slovakia successfully integrated joining the European Union, the Eurozone, and NATO, Ukraine is still involved in the process. The main research questions the author covers in the article are the relations Ukraine has had with the Slovak Republic since 2014, with the illegal annexation of the Crimea by Russia, and continued unrest in the Donbas region following. What, if any, regional cooperation exists between the two nations? And how much Slovakia aids Ukraine?
More...
The Ukrainian crisis was unpredictable for many politicians and experts from its very beginning, and it continues to be a complicated issue for analysis and solution management. Eminent politicians and experts are trying their best to come up with various scenarios, including examples of peaceful accords and arrangements such as Finlandization or Bosnization. In this article, the author compares the situation in Ukraine and in Bosnia after 1995, including the Dayton Peace Agreement’s impact on its further development, and what lessons Ukraine can learn from this process and its results.
More...
This article aims to bring out the main factors for the successful realization of the knowledge triangle, and an attempt is made to define the place of the state. Fruitful and successful work in the knowledge triangle is a process based on the deeply realized need of all stakeholders. Awareness in question is a natural and slow process that could not be implemented administratively, but this does not mean that it should not be actively supported. Against this background, the increase in the cost of innovation would have a positive but disproportionate effect. No less important than the provision of financial resources is the creation of conditions and prerequisites for effective work in this direction. The conditions and prerequisites in question include: a long-term vision that does not suffer from political turmoil, a legislative, regulatory and regulatory framework where, in our view, the state should find its place and role.
More...
The article discusses the concepts of interior exile, dissidence and nostalgia starting from the ideas of John Neubauer, attempting to draw similarities and typologies in the larger picture of 20th century European political and cultural immigration. The cases of Central-East European writers such as Thomas Mann, Frank Thiess, Imre Kertesz or Ferenc Fejto or the Russians Victor Şklovsky and Joseph Brodsky (offered as examples by Svetlana Boym) are considered relevant.
More...
The article deals with the main trends of geopolitics of the Russian Federation concerning Moldova and reflects the means of their implementation. Geopolitical and geo-economical interests of Russia presuppose the restrictions on cooperation of Moldova with the NATO and the EU, ensuring the preservation of the neutral and non-aligned status of the country. The Russian Federation's geostrategy aims to strengthen its geopolitical position in Moldova and involve it in Eurasian integration structures. The geopolitical model of Moldova as a pro-Russian ‗buffer‘ of the country, which will serve for interaction between Russia and the EU, is in the best interests of the current Russian leadership. The current geopolitics of the Russian Federation regarding the Republic of Moldova uses mainly ‗soft power‘ tools. The Russian government exerts its largely latent influence on Moldova through interconnected political, economic, cultural, informational and other means. Pro-Russian political forces and ‗agents of influence‘ in Moldova are receiving mixed support from the Russian leadership. Transnistria is very important for Russia, particularly in strategic sense. The Russian government exercises indirect comprehensive control over Transnistria and maintains a military contingent in the region as a lever of political influence over Moldova. The geopolitical interests of the modern Russian Federation correspond to the preservation of the sphere of its latent influence in Gagauzia.
More...
Despite the existence of state programs and privileges in Ukraine aimed at supporting veterans, there are a number of obstacles to their implementation. The current state of legislative regulation of charity in Ukraine does not ensure access of people to charitable assistance and does not ensure observance of the right to social protection and support, health care, safe life and health, etc. The purpose of this article is to highlight the peculiarities of taxation by value added tax the transactions for provision (obtaining) of charitable assistance by participants of Anti-Terrorist Operations (Joint Forces Operation), as well as developing directions for improving VAT taxation. The low level of business stimulation for volunteering or targeted charity reflects the lack of such activity at some of Ukraine's largest enterprises. An analysis of the status of provision by material assistance to combatants and members of their families pointed out the need to develop new directions of business stimulation or increase the number of state programs to support citizens who protect the territorial integrity of Ukraine. After examining the norms of the Tax Code of Ukraine regarding the taxation of VAT transactions, the main areas of economic activity of business entities that are exempt from VAT are established: transactions on supply of rehabilitation equipment and vehicles for persons with disabilities, food supply transactions, provision of property, communal services, etc. in rehabilitation institutions at the expense of state funds, provision of charitable assistance by charitable organization, supply of agricultural products by agricultural producers to labor and war veterans, rehabilitated citizens, disabled persons and others. The directions of improvement of the tax system in the part of VAT are suggested by introducing a number of privileges, such as: allowing to include in the tax credit on VAT amounts paid by business entities to suppliers when purchasing services, which will later be transferred in the form of charitable assistance to ATO (JFO) participants; not to include VAT in the price of goods, works, services purchased by participants ATO (JFO) or members of the families of deceased ATO (JFO) participants.
More...
"Culture, especially under the multiethnic conditions of East Mediterranean, was produced through previous millennia as it still does, as a trans-cultural palimpsest association. Landscape apperception and landscape formative practices, in the previous mentioned territory, are thus needed to be considered under the above described, generalized concept of multiethnic cultural influences and the same could also be valid, in particular, for the successive architectural paradigms, as well as for the formation of cultural habits and social morality. Insisting on the last remark, we could however comment that analogous influences, as those related to the body culture and to body treatment, had in the past a much more extended span of transference, travelling through the ages from East Mediterranean to post Renaissance and neoteric Western Europe. It is in this context that we shall comment in general the Western orientalistic imagery of the Turkish baths. We shall present moreover, in detail, the landscape of Thermi in the Greek Lesbos Island; a natural thermal sources landscape, where successive installations of thermal baths facilities were erected, from the period of the Hellenic antiquity, though Hellenistic and Roman periods, till the early 20th century construction of the Turkish Sarligjé Palace Hotel and the end of the Ottoman control of Lesbos."
More...
Review of: Paul Dobrescu „The Dragons of Development“.
More...
This paper aims to explain how Russia used the Kosovo-precedent formula in the conduct of its aggressive foreign policy in the last 22 years after Vladimir Putin became for the first time president of Russia. At first it investigates in detail the road to independence in the case of Kosovo and takes a look at the two different theories developed in this context, the special case argument and the theory of precedent. After finding that the Kosovo question is a political rather than a legal one and that the West has failed to explain without any doubt how Kosovo does not set a precedent for other conflicts, it shows how Russia had played the Kosovo card in three defining cases for the aggressiveness of its foreign policy: the recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia after the Russian-Georgian War in 2008, the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the recognition of the two separatist republics in eastern Ukraine, Donetsk and Luhansk, followed by the Russian Invasion of Ukraine. In the end, it demonstrates that Russia had used the diplomatic inability of the West in its own favour, by violating basic international law and threatening peace and security in Europe.
More...