Around the Bloc: The Puzzle of Washington’s Russian Billionaire List
The Trump administration’s list of rich and powerful Russians released this week has led to an outbreak of head-scratching on both sides of the Atlantic.
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The Trump administration’s list of rich and powerful Russians released this week has led to an outbreak of head-scratching on both sides of the Atlantic.
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The cessation of cold war and the disintegration of the Warsaw Pact in the early ninties confronted NATO with new challenges, particularly in the reation to the countries of Europe’s East and South-East and Russia. The fact that the document “Partnership for Peace” was adopted at the start of 1994 and that it was signed by 26 countries meant the overall acceptance of the conceptual document of European security on the treshold of the 21st century. This document provides democratic countries outside NATO with the possibility of cooperating with its political and military bodies and paves the way for their full membership. If regular criteria were applied, Croatia and Bosnia and Hercegovina could count on joining “Partnership for Peace” only after they have resolved internal conflicts and frictions with their neighbours by political means.
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The conflict between the Croatian government and the Serbian minority in the UNPA zones in Croatia was deep and irreconcilable. The Croatian government tried, at any price, to bring the UNPA zones under the authority of Zagreb while the Serbian secessionists wanted to separate the UNPA zones from Croatia and bring it under the authority of Belgrade and Serbia. The conflict between Croats and the ethnic Serbs in Croatia corresponds to the concept of a deeply rooted conflict as described by John W. Burton and Donald L. Horowitz. The author analyses the process of the negotiations between the Croatian authorities and the local Serbs from the UNPA zone East in the fall of 1995. The ethnic Serbs agreed to a compromise with the Croatian government after they had found themselves in a stalemate. By this term William Zartman understands when one ethnic group sees no other way out, since all the military and political moves have been blocked for it. The author thinks this is the main reason why the local Serbs in eastern Slavonia agreed to a dialogue, accepted the compromise and signed the Erdut Accord on 12 February 1995.
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The dissolution of the former Yugoslav federation was to a smaller extent brought about by the national movements, and by a larger by the break down of the old political order. The Communist Party was the only cohesive force of Yugoslav and all other communist federations. Therefore, the collapse of communism provoked the break-up of federal multiethnic states in Eastern Europe. Democracy, political pluralism, market reforms and decentralization tendencies were the essence of the 1989 — 1991 revolution. Market reforms were the most powerful force of disintegration in former communist societies. Divergent different interests of developed and underdeveloped federal republics produced political confrontation, and stimulated nationalist movements. The new nation-states emerged as a continuation of the process of nation building, which was interrupted by either multiethnic empires or communist federations. Serbia was an underdeveloped republic of former Yugoslavia, which depended very much on federal resources. Serbian leadership opposed to both the political and market reforms, and decentralization tendencies. That policy provoked a massive nationalist response in Serbia and propelled Serbia into war against all other republics and peoples of former Yugoslavia.
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In this text the Balkan crisis caused by the collapse of the Yugoslav federation is analysed in the international context. The author inquires into the causes of the dissolution of Yugoslavia, which as well demonstrated the crisis of the European union (EU). The basis for both developments is the end of Cold war, although Yugoslavian disintegration also stems from additional internal factors which have been present from the very beginning of this state in 1918. The diagnosis is that the helplessness and discord among European countries vis-à-vis the Balkan war comes, paradoxically, from the excess of power in the EU, which is not adequately aggregated and subjected to a single command. The author concludes that the future outcome of the Balkan war will be ultimately determined by interests and mutual relations of the superpowers USA and Russia.
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In his essay the author deals with two topics: disadvantageous effects of the common Yugoslav state on the Croatian economy and misappropriation of the Yugoslav federal state property by Serbia. In the first Yugoslavia (between the two World Wars) Croatia was economically handicapped through different political practices: the monetary reform, taxing imparities, Serbian colonization in Eastern Slavonia and disadvantageous treatment in infrastructure construction. In the socialist Yugoslavia this handicap was continued primarily through a policy of industrial disinvestment. The economic reforms by Prime Minister Ante Marković in the late 1980s could not save the Yugoslav federation, they even attempted to increase centralization, which was inascceptable for Croatia. In the second part of the article the author offers a calculation of federal state property (mainly foreign currency reserves and military property) misappropriated by Serbia. On the basis of IMF methodology in calculating Croatian share in the Yugoslav GNP the author estimates that the net value of the Croatian part of federal property amounts to 17 billion USD.
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The purpose of this paper is to answer how the issue of transparency has been dealt with in the Arms Trade Treaty. Analysed provisions will also be assesed. As a point of reference other instruments regarding arms trade will be used. Uncontrolled arms trade poses a significant threat to international peace and security. The General Assembly of the United Nations has adopted the Arms Trade Treaty [hereinafter ATT]. The ATT entered into force on 24th of December 2014. For the first time in the history a global and legally binding instrument regulating arms trade has been adopted. Transparency is a key element of ATT. Firstly, observing inflows and outflows of arms allows to determine whether provisions of a treaty are used in practise. Furthermore it makes assesment of state’s intentions possible. Extensive armament is correlated with war preparations. Secondly, transparency shows if a country has implemented the treaty into its law.
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Zagrożenie państwa i jego obywateli, a także międzynarodowego bezpieczeństwa łączyło się długi czas głównie z klasyczną wojną – przez wieki legalnym narzędziem polityki. W 1945 roku użycia siły w stosunkach mię- dzypaństwowych zakazano w Karcie Narodów Zjednoczonych. Atak terrorystyczny na USA z 11 września 2001 roku nie był skierowany na jedną ze stron konfliktu. Uświadomił on jednocześnie nowe źródła i rodzaje zagrożeń oraz ich wpływ na prawo i politykę międzynarodową. Zmieniają się przesłanki i cele oraz sposoby użycia siły zbrojnej, a także niektórzy aktorzy.
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Foreign policy, including the security policy, has traditionally been considereda domain of the public policy, where lower standards of parliamentary democratic control and scrutiny can be employed. There is a belief among the policy‑makers,that in order to act effectively in this field, they should not be limited by the legislative power. This democratic deficit is even amplified on the international level, whenever an international organization is involved in implementing security policy. In spite of that fact, parliaments still retained the right to scrutinize security policies via debates, which reveal MPs approach towards state’s security policy. The main aim of this article is to analyze a case of democratic control over security policy on the international level, namely the security policy towards Afghanistan between 2005 and 2013 and its contestation in the European Parliament (EP). In order to do so a qualitative analysis of the plenary debates in the EP will be employed, which will reveal arguments used by the MEPs in order to justify certain policies, political claims directed to national and international institutions and contestation of the process of the formulation of the EU policy towards this particular security issue.
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His primary source, as a multimeaning word, term " violence" owes its roots in the audio – visual media from the definition of "culture war." Incorporating all the contradictory experience of mankind, its transformative lessons, it is no longer uniquely opposite category to the "culture of peace". Its philosophical and conceptual dimension is contradictory dialectiction, the transition from one quality to another, the dynamics of many aspects. Sociopsychological and socio- ethical aspects of these unilateral form cons screen "hero" with the aggressive nature,militaristic spirit, stereotyped image of the enemy. Concept of "culture war" was created with UNESCO Declaration on the culture of peace, the Programme of Action in the field of culture of peace. Their aim – to promote a global movement of transition from a culture of war and violence to a culture of peace. Calls to non-violence in the third millennium able to generate values such as peacefulness, peace, tolerance, non- aggressive thinking and non-aggressive behavior. This new understanding of latitude amplitude of peacekeeping, not only between the public, but also socio-cultural group of countries with the highest regard first of all cultural and national characteristics. Staying within the human society, violence successfully took its place in the mass media content. Especially the "winner" of its location appears in audiovisual production. And not only the saturation of "pictures" on the screen, and the power of this form of human activity. Unfortunately, catharsis did not sacrifice public acquisition. It is a tribute to old versions mythologizing violence. However, against the fierce mythological character "naturalization ofaggression and violence", modernity is characterized by specific manifestations of human cruelty. Erich Fromm called this situation "human passions", which are inherent to the social determinants of human being – violence. Multidirectional forms of violence caused by multitheoretical approaches to its understanding. There was some violence classification offered by Russian scientist G. Kozyrev: on violent forms of interaction, created loss, conflict subjects. Scientists identify as cultural violence "aspect of culture that can be used to legalize violence in its direct and structural forms". The genesis of the problems of violence clearly traced in the direction of contemporary audiovisual media content. The historical part of modern society, unfortunately, undoubtedly provided a constant value known as philosophical statements of Heraklit: " War – [polemos] – the father of all, the king of all: some it makes the gods, others – people, creates some slaves and some free ones", and according to Aristotle: "The violence is a coercion, and this is something that hinders and interferes in anything contrary to the wishes of necessity, so it is also harder". Political traditions, in particular, facilitate the transition to the monopolization of violence from government and law. The modern theory of violence makes an emphasis in the field of political philosophy. The world has embraced as a solid social arrangement. The philosopher Hobbes talks about the impossibility of peaceful coexistence of human existence by virtue of the nature of enmity to one another. This essence of human nature itself lies at the genetic, instinctive level. The idea that human existence is its natural law philosopher John Locke argued in "Two treatises of government". By "social contract" J. J. Rousseau theoretically grounded civil society, making an emphasis on the legal rights of the individual. Made by legal philosophers the foundation of violence laid today as the basis of the constitutional rights of many social groups. Only Kant was proclaimed the eternal law of peace and creation on the basis of its allied relations between people and nations. Here, "even the smallest state could expect their security and rights not from their own forces, but only from a great union of peoples". Dissonant sound of another philosopher actually equates the balance of world postulates on this topic: Hegel wrote: "The war keeps healthy morality of the people in relation to their indifferent certainty to their familiarity and rooting, just as the motion of the wind prevents the lake from the decay that threatens them with long-term comfort, as well as people – long, or, worse, eternal peace". J. Sorel in "Reflections on Violence" talks about proletarian violence: humanity and kindness is the promotion gimmicks that dominate market relations in society. Today, as reflected in the media and on video – modern society distinguishes its violence essence. But in fact the traditions are immutable: change only the type of offenders and their type of crime. Mass encountered in craftiness, they deserve in society more forgiving attitude. There is "a film adaptation of " artistic, journalistic, documentary works with a clear preponderance of violence in the images of intense creative images. Such "intellectuality" of the criminality was not yet known in the history of mass media, but now is widely seen in wars, terrorist attacks, social "squares". The sad conclusion of F. Furet, French historian: " If you add up the total list of famous authors who at different times were communists or sympathized with communism were the nazis or sympathized with fascism, then we get the current Gotha almanac of intellectual, scientific and literary elite". Everyday life is not worth to deduct to the dissatisfaction of culture. The new phenomenon is that modernity created between violence its hero.
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Head of Pentagon’s DARPA tech incubator says the agency is working with local partners.
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Worsening relations with Russia over the Donbas conflict are driving a wedge between the two main Orthodox branches.
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The aim of this article is to analyze attitude of the Prussian Prime-Minister – considered as the Architect of German Unification – Otto von Bismarck – towards the phenomenon of social rebellion, which in Polish history became known as the January Uprising. The intention of the Author is not to focus on issues related with wide-ranging diplomatic action of the prospective “Iron Chancellor”, which was crowned with Alsvenlabena Convention. Bismarck was in the limelight not like as well-known „real politician”, but as a political thinker whom he also was. Author analyzes a highly specific conceptual nomenclature of Bismarck, and his attitude towards the Poles, Russians, Pan-Slavism and autocracy. Introduction to the subject is an overview of the evaluations of the insurrection, which was permanently established in Polish intellectual environments, including its traditional divisions between the right wing and the left wing.
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Peacekeeping operations are nowadays an important phenomenon in international relations and especially in conflict-ridden regions. The concept and framework of such operations has been constantly evolving in the past and one of the milestones of this evolution was the fall of the communist system and the end of the cold war. In Europe, this historic moment coincided with establishment by the Maastricht Treaty of the new organism within the process of western Europe’s integration: the European Union. Both these facts triggered a reaction of the somewhat passive and hardly visible European defence organisation of the Western European Union. Its Petersberg Declaration of 1992 redefined security and sought to change peace obligations of the member states of WEU, as they accepted a broader responsibility and a broader concept of security in the European region. This was an important first step in making defence integration a part of the mainstream integration process. On the legal basis of the Petersberg Declaration, six operations were carried out. The paper discusses them, showing striking similarities, which actually comprise a special philosophy of intervention by WEU. This philosophy reflects both strengths and weaknesses of WEU’s role in the European integration.
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Migrations are the phenomenon as old as the history of humanity. For millennia individuals or entire groups are moving in search for the better standard of living, the safety and sheltering from armed conflicts, persecution or natural disasters. The XX age was in this aspect special. He was characterized from one side by two world wars caused by the huge migratory movement, collapse of multinational states, brutal ethnic conflicts, on the other whereas with wave of the economic migration, West Europe directed mainly at richest nations, the USA and Canada. Mass walks cause the long-lasting change of the domicile, i.e. migrations in which human largest groups are participating, even – however rather in exceptional cases – the entire people or them fundamental and usually the most valuable parts. We know at present, that - in practice only a part of the tribe of the nation migrated. On account of „normal” in our climatic conditions and cultural direction of the migration towards the zone of the Mediterranean civilization, the migrating part in general was in favorable terms, if it concerns noticing by world the civilization and letters, and so appears in the historic arena, while the part staying in current registered offices is also in the background of history „, into standing as if of primeval non-existence. Bonds of the blood relationship of many fragments gradually died. A herniation is a typical result of the migration from the visual field of the part not participating in the walk of the tribe.
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Power has been one of the key issues in the study of international relations since the famous words of Hans Morgentau that in world politics power is pitted against power for supremacy and survival. The attention given to its analysis within the last 65 years has been a product of such as Morthenthau’s understandings of power which see it as the most important causal force in state interactions. However, despite the amount of research on the subject, there is little agreement among scholars as to what it is and where does it come. The author briefly examines various views on the determinants of power starting from a classical realist and strictly actor-based one to a dualist approach which emphasizes the importance of international structure. He finds that all share a similar idea that power — to some extent — comes from the material capabilities of states (material determinants). Building upon previous research conducted on the validity of the democratic peace theory he then argues that it may also stem from the political system of the state (systemic determinants). Subsequently the author analyzes the significance of various material and systemic power determinants to war outcomes using nine different non-linear econometric models (polynomial logit) composed of various sets of variables relating to power determinants. He then examines the degree to which particular models explain war outcomes of interstate military conflicts between 1816 and 1991 and which of the variables seem statistically significant. The results clearly show that neither the advantage in military personnel numbers, nor in the amount of money spent on arms influences the state’s chances of victory. In the case of the total value of imports the findings are similar. On the other hand the value of the states exports, as well as certain systemic parameters such as competitiveness and openness of executive recruitment and executive constraints prove to be of statistical importance.
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The aim of this paper is to analyze the results of the referendum in Turkey in 2017, which revealed a deep polarization of Turkish society. The argument builds on the hypothesis of an identity crisis and risk of increasing protest movements of secular circles in Turkey. The paper critically reviews the religious conservatism in the country as being imposed through schools, as well as through universities – the institutions that are bound to form the mindset and views of the young generations in Turkey.
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Do najbardziej niespokojnych okresów w dziejach Wielunia i ziemi wieluńskiej należała druga i trzecia ćwierć XV w. Były to czasy wielkiego kryzysu pań- stwowości czeskiej w XV w., zapoczątkowanego przez rewolucję husycką i pogłębionego przez późniejsze walki między pretendentami do korony czeskiej. Były to również czasy długotrwałych konfliktów pogranicznych, związanych z odzyskaniem przez Polskę części utraconych w XIV w. ziem śląskich. Z racji swojego pogranicznego położenia Wieluń niejednokrotnie bywał wówczas poważnie zagrożony, ale także odgrywał ważną rolę polityczną i militarną jako lokalny ośrodek władzy oraz dobrze ufortyfikowane miasto królewskie wraz z zamkiem.
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Near the end of the 20th century, Serbia and Montenegro / the Rump Yugoslavia conducted an invasive, aggressive war against the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republic of Croatia¸, committed numerous forms of crimes against humanity and international law, including the genocide against Bosniaks,members of the national, ethnic and religious groups such. In that war, Serbia and Montenegro/the Rump Yugoslavia played a key role, especially its armed forces(YPA/YA/ ―Republika Srpska Army‖/‖Serbian Krajina Army―, special units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia and other armed units).Starting from the above facts, this article deals with the extremely complex,scientific and social problem.
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