Around the Bloc: Macedonia May Change Name
Expedient thaw in relations could lead to deal with Greece on a new name and open the way to EU and NATO membership.
More...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.
Expedient thaw in relations could lead to deal with Greece on a new name and open the way to EU and NATO membership.
More...
After targeting beards and lavish parties, President Rahmon seeks harsher punishment for witch-doctors, fortune-tellers.
More...
Putin pardoned counterintelligence officer ahead of first speech at UN in over a decade.
More...
Corporatism is a system of policy decision-making, in which representatives of trade unions and employers' organisations are included in the process of the government's economic policy formation. The system is based on political transactions. There functioned two versions of this phenomenon (classic and lean one) in the Western democratic countries in the 20th and 21st century. It seems that a new type of corporatism (illusory corporatism) has appeared in some East-Central European countries. The goal of the article is to prove that illusory corporatism has prevailed in the Czech Republic since 1993. There was investigated if the facade political exchange, which is the core of illusory corporatism, dominated the relations among the government, trade unions and employers' organisations in the Czech Republic presented in the article. The findings show that all elements of the facade political exchange (i.e., legitimisation of the government's political decisions by trade unions and employers' organizations, achievement of the benefits from these decisions by the employers due to their liberal character, trade unions' marginalisation in the workplace) repeatedly occurred in the Czech Republic. It turned out that illusory corporatism is a very convenient system of policy decision-making for the government. It enables the government to share the responsibility for its political decisions with trade unions and employers' organizations, although it makes them autonomously. This is why majority of the Czech governments supported illusory corporatism.
More...
The research of the conflict prevention has become intensive after the end of the Cold War. In that period, prevention of conflicts becomes defined goal of a high number of global and regional organisations including the EU. The article focused on the role of the EU in the formation of a more general attitude to conflict prevention and its redefinition. The effect of the EU as an international actor was given not only by its specific form of external activities, but dominantly also by its normative effect. The aim of this study was to analyse the specific position of the EU as a normative actor vis-á-vis conflict prevention paradigm and to find out whether it has any potential to co-establish this paradigm. The presented study attempted to identify the EU as a power sui generis, where conflict prevention could be considered as one of the important characteristic features of identification of the EU as a normative power. The theoretical framework was also based on the constructivist concept assuming the ability of the actor to influence and socially establish the security paradigm. The study explored if the EU acts as a normative power in external relations and, as a result, if it is able to exercise influence not only in its real behaviour but also in relation to redefining the paradigm of the approach to conflict prevention as such. Strategic pro-active concept based on conflict prevention could be one of the ways in which the EU can address the need for greater clarity about its goals and methods as a global security actor.
More...
On the 6th and 7th of April 2016, the Faculty of Political Science and International Relations of Matej Bel University hosted an international conference organised within the framework of the Jean Monnet European Research Network entitled Identity, Culture, and Multilingualism Exchanges (EUROMEC). In times of identity crisis in the European Union, the conference aimed to analyse situations, perceptions, attitudes and activities of the citizens of the European Union with respect to identity dynamics and exploration of the bottom-up community building. It also aimed at analysing the impact of policies, programmes, cultural, educational, social, economic, geopolitical, and geo-economics activities of the European institutions on the identity mechanisms of the top-down identity building.
More...
The article elaborates on political thought of Jan Bobrzyński (1882‑1951), the Polish conservative politician, journalist, writer and philosopher. The paper is divided into three main sections. The first chapter provides biographical information. The second chapter describes the development of Bobrzyński’s ideas in the period of 1925‑1929. The third is devoted to the 1930s. One of the crucial themes of Bobrzyński’s journalism was a critique of democracy. In the 1920s, he became disappointed with an unstable parliament and supported the idea of a strong head of state. To a large extent, it was a result of his fascination with fascism. Bobrzyński was also involved in organising the Polish monarchist movement. He was promoting his ideas especially through his monthly magazine, „Nasza Przyszłość”. Moreover, his views on the political system can be gauged from the two projects of the Polish constitution he has published. The article shows how various views can be combined within the political views of one philosopher.
More...
The aim of the article is to identify the scope and boundaries of the ‘foreign policy research’ sub-discipline. The term used in this article is ‘foreign policy research’ instead of the commonly applied ‘foreign policy analysis’ (analiza polityki zagranicznej) because this implies the application of scientific research procedures. Therefore, the article focuses on the following issues: the historiography of foreign policy research from the end of World War I to the present time; the ontological premises that were used to delimit the scope of research; the epistemology of foreign policy research. The conclusion addresses the concept of ‘foreign policy research’ as a sub-discipline of international relations. Taking into account the ontological criteria, the scope of foreign policy research is narrower than that of international relations. They are, however, interrelated, if we refer to the subject–structure criterion. The two areas are studied using the same theories, but research questions are formulated differently in each case.
More...
After the end of World War II the United States achieved a hegemonic position in the international system, and despite a relative decrease in its power and the growth in importance of other states it has kept this position until the present time. The country is active in almost all the regions of the world, but the areas it considers particularly important are the Transatlantic and the Transpacific (the Asia-Pacific region) regions. Historically, the latter direction was the area through which the United States entered into grand world politics. Presently, it is considered an area of key importance to the country’s interests, for both security and economic reasons. The aim of this article is to present the United States’ relations with the countries of the Asia-Pacific and determine the US’s position in the region in terms of the last three decades, that is a period of great changes and redefinitions in the international arena. It has been assumed that in the period in question the United States played the role of the dominant power in the Asia-pacific region, which the majority of the region’s countries accepted (especially the smaller and weaker ones, fearing the domination of a single strong actor from the same region) and owing to which the United States have been able to effectively pursue its own interests.
More...
The aim of the article is to analyse the evolution of India’s international strategy in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific regions from the end of the Cold War to 2015. To understand India’s activity in these regions, it is necessary to discuss not only its actions in these areas but also the strategies adopted by New Delhi as well as the aims, methods and guidelines of foreign policy declared by Indian leaders. The adopted hypothesis stresses that India effected a significant transformation in defining its international identity, which is the key determinant of increased dynamism of India’s foreign policy in the Indian Ocean region. In 1985, India referred to itself as the major power in South Asia and a developing country; in 2015 it ties its identity to the Indian Ocean and the Pacific regions, defining itself as the major power of the Indo-Pacific. The structure of this article is designed so as to verify this thesis. The Indian Ocean region in Indian foreign policy will be analysed on three levels: strategic, conceptual and operational.
More...
Thanks to a combination of high economic growth, steady integration into the international market economy, the emergence of globally competitive multinationals, and a vast enhancement of defence capacities, the international status of India has radically altered over the past decade. At home, India’s leaders increasingly speak of their country as a global player, even while recognising the constraints of being a low-income country with poor infrastructure and mass poverty. The regime change in India following the parliamentary elections of May 2014 has quickened the pace of these developments. Five major changes – the centrality given to economic and technological development, the orientation of domestic and foreign policies towards this objective, the emphasis on national power including military power, stress on soft power, and a reduction in self-imposed constraints on actions that other countries may construe as inimical to their interests – have been reported in the press. The paper responds to these issues through an analysis of the evolution of India’s foreign and security policy from the early days following independence when Jawaharlal Nehru gave it the stamp of his personality all the way to the multipolar world of the 21st century.
More...
For more than half a century, apart from developing the strategic alliance with the West (especially the United States) Brazil has striven to establish itself as a major power in the world on the basis of cooperation within the global South, even if this creates problems in defining its own international identity. Africa used to be perceived as the opportunity for Brazil to diversify its external relations, but after the Cold War ended the focus of interest shifted decisively to Asia. This evolution of the Brazilian foreign policy is reflected in the Brazilian international studies. The aim of this article is therefore to show the perception of Brazilian researchers on the opportunity to raise their country’s importance through deepening cooperation with Asia. In this paper the author will attempt to demonstrate that according to Brazilian scholars, their country’s cooperation with Asian countries – primarily India and China – could create an effective counterbalance to the West, finally allowing Brazil to fulfil its aspiration to a greater role in the world. Consequently, I would like to look into three key issues: the problem of Brazil’s international identity, Brazilian scholars’ perception of the distribution of international power (on the example of Samuel Pinheiro Guimarães Neto) and Brazil’s turn towards the global South, especially under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The broad category of ‘emerging powers’, defined and (re)interpreted in various ways, encompasses China, India and Brazil. There is no doubt, however, that the last of these states considerably lags behind the other two in terms of international position and role. A number of internal and external factors have led to this, but they will not be analysed in this paper. Brazil’s lesser potential – economic, demographic and military – certainly contributes to the fact that the country is not treated equally with China or India, but it is also the consequence of Brazil adopting a decisively neoliberal course in the 1980s, which effectively brought (or rather kept) the country in the sphere of influence of the West, especially the United States.
More...
The paper seeks to map the shifting contours of IR (International Relations) research in India from its predominantly area-studies focus towards disciplinary inquiries and within that, from the traditional realist frameworks towards an engagement with critical theories ranging from constructivism and feminism to post-colonialism. With a growing Indian involvement in the domain of global governance, the scholarly research is also going beyond an Indo-centric focus to addressing the diverse problematiques of modern IR as such. The pedagogic practices of Indian IR are however, not matching the pace of such changes. The paper concludes that developing critical pedagogic practices will play a determining role in shaping the future of the IR discipline in India.
More...
The aim of this article is to present Józef Tischner’s notion about negative and positive liberty. He does not oppose the first but, in his opinion, positive liberty is complementary to negative liberty (as freedom from restraint and interference by other persons and/or the state) and it has greater importance. However, Tischner defines positive liberty differently than Berlin. Primarily, for him, it is the possibility of doing Good.
More...
The theory of international roles is not very popular in International Relations. At the same time it offers a range of methodological options which might increase explanatory, descriptive and even predictive potential of the discipline. Within AngloSaxon political sciences, Holsti, Walker and the Hermanns contributed the most to the development of this theory. In Poland, Z.J. Pietraś was one of its promulgators. Even though it may be very useful while explaining foreign policy of particular states, it should be noted that this theory does not belong to the mainstream of International Relations. In this paper main issues concerning the idea, classification and factors conditioning international roles played by the states are presented. The paper should be treated only as an attempt to introduce the problem or provoke a scientific discussion related to the merits of the theory in International Relations.
More...
In 1989 some representatives of „Tygodnik Powszechny” participated in the „Round Table” proceedings. The first non-Communist Prime Minister of Poland, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, was closely related to the „Więź” magazine. Krzysztof Kozłowski and Henryk Woźniakowski – the editors of „Tygodnik Powszechny” were included in Mazowiecki’s cabinet. „Tygodnik Powszechny” enjoyed a high status in Polish society, both in the Polish People’s Republic period and afterwards. After Karol Wojtyła had been elected Pope, the magazine became the most influential representative of the Catholic press in Poland. It has always been known not only for the high standard Catholic publications but also for its openness to a variety of authors representing liberal trends. The issue of relations between the Catholic Church and liberal democracy and capitalism were often touched on in Tygodnik Powszechny after 1989. The most important point of reference was usually John Paul II’s encyclicals „Centesimus annus”, „Veritatis splendor” and „Evangelium vitae”. „Tygodnik Powszechny” is representative of the trend in Polish Catholicism which used to be closely connected with John Paul II, arousing much interest abroad. This particular trend within Polish Catholicism is said to be non-nationalist and antitotalitarian. It subscribes to a pluralistic system of values. However, as much as the „Tygodnik Powszechny” milieu is supportive of an open Catholicism and of a liberal orientation, it never gives up an issue of Polish Catholic specificity.
More...
The paper is an analysis of the category of political thought as an element of the research field of political science. The attention focuses on three issues: 1) the concept of political thought and the conceptual network related to it; 2) fundamental sources, methods and techniques adequate to research on political thought; 3) a historiography of political thought and the development of the ways to analyze political ideas. The concept of political thought enjoys a status of an autonomous notion in the language of political science. It is constituted by all kinds of reflection on political reality, irrespective of the degree of their development, internal coherence or systemati-zation as well as of the degree of their theoretical advancement and specification. It origins as a result of political thinking. It cannot be reduced to notions such as ideology, doctrine, conception, programme, ideas, a set of values and political princi-ples or be properly defined by the recurrence to these notions. Neither does it constitute an intermediate link in the categorical chain between ideology and doctrine. Both ideas and programmes, as well as ideologies and doctrines are constitutive elements of poli-tical thought. The present author assumed that political views do not have to relate directly to politics, institutions of power or a political regime as long as they exhibit political features. In the structure of political thought the following strata can be distinguished: ideological, conceptual and pragmatic which are hierarchically interdependent. To develop a political thought is the only way for any political subject to find an answer to many fundamental questions, to define goals which make public activity meaning-ful, to delimit political facts in the reality and to group them into relationships and to distinguish the political subject – in existential terms – from other participants of social life. In the political thought of the XX century one can see the evolution concerning types of ideas dominating the political thought – from the classical political phil-osophy to a reflection related to optimal political decision-making in given circum-stances. The breakthrough occurred around the half of the XX century when political subjects in their idea-making activities ceased to focus exclusively on precise defini-tions of visions of an ideal order based on a single, true and universal principle and engaged themselves in pragmatic controversies concerning the nature of particular solutions and the organization of the process of decision-making, that is concerning political engineering. There follows from the above points that exclusive focusing in research on analyses of political activities and their results without taking into consideration the views of politically oriented communities and decision-making centers representing them, would make it impossible for political science to fulfill its basic functions effectively (from the descriptive to the instrumental one)*. Therefore we attribute such an important role to the proper methodological organization of research on political thought which still suffers from three visible shortcomings affecting the cognitive process in numerous ways: 1. a weakly developed methodological reflection on the notion of political thought and the conceptual network related to it 2. little cognitive interest in the sources, methods and techniques proper to re-search on political thought 3. lacking scientific investigations in the historiography of political thought and the development of ways to analyze political ideas.
More...
The paper presents various features of the European continent’s identity which distin-guish it from the other continents. It emphasizes cultural heritage of Europe which has been shaped over centuries by nation-states and shared traditions in philosophy, science, literature and art. It points out that within Europe there coexist in harmony permanent European values and cultural heritage of the particular European nations while a multi-cultural model of the continent’s identity is being created which preserves its “unity in diversity”. The European identity has been influenced primarily by Greek cultural-intellectual traditions, Roman civic and legal traditions as well as universalist Christian ideas. They have shaped the development of civilization in Europe and co-contributed to the more contemporary features of the European identity, such as: the rule of advanced democracies, the expanded system of protection of human rights or the development of the Conferen-ce/Organization of Security and Co-operation in Europe. The main features of the European identity influence the community of the whole continent, more strongly in its Western part, where new cultural ideas and new trends in art and European thought have been born from the ancient times to the Renaissance and the Enlightenment until nowadays. The budding identity of European integration has a special character. It unites the heritage of the continent’s nations with pan-European values in a new communitarian system which has no counterpart in other continents.
More...
The purpose of this paper is the presentation of conservatism as a stream of life and socio-political reflection. J. de Maistre, E. Burke, A. de Tocqueville, M.J. Oakesshott, R. Kirk and R. Scruton belong to the most important theorists of conservatism, while M. Thatcher, R. Reagan and P. Buchanan to the most important politicians. Conservatism is not a uniform trend. There are, for example, many substantial differences between its American and European versions, but they have some ideas in common. The author presents and describes nine essential ideas: maintenance, transcendent moral order, religion, sustainability, tradition, community, inequality, human imperfection and private property.
More...
This paper analyzes Aleksandar Ćuković's book of interviews "Contours of the horizont". It points to the genre profiling of the book as well as the main author's intellectual preoccupations, transformed into issues such as the status of literature and art, the relationships between writers and society, the crisis of books and culture, the influence that globalization has over culture and the importance and function of socio-humanities scientific insights.
More...