Around the Bloc: Saakashvili Claims Russia Behind Damaging Leaks
Georgian premier accuses former president of calling for ‘anti-state and violent actions.’
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Georgian premier accuses former president of calling for ‘anti-state and violent actions.’
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Now a Ukrainian citizen, the ex-president says the decision exposes the authorities as ‘scared and failed.’
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Activists slam bill naming President Emomali Rahmon ‘Leader of the Nation’ that would also protect his family and their property.
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Top White House aide Susan Rice says international efforts are intensifying to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine
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Police models are designed to improve safety in society. Although Estonia has not deliberately used any (combination of) police models for developing its policies of safety and its police reforms since the country regained independence, its safety has improved considerably during the last couple of decades. The scholarly discussions about police models are overwhelmingly about the possible effects of different models on safety management and about their application to particular countries. However, countries like Estonia with no consistent conceptions of police have received little attention in academic literature. We aim to fill this gap by analysing the developments of the Estonian police in its philosophical, strategic, tactical and organisational dimensions over the period between 1991 and 2013. The analysed materials include the official police development plans, legislation, statutes, training programs and statistics about the police. Our analysis shows that although safety in Estonia has improved considerably, developments of the Estonian police are characterised by internal discrepancies and inconsistencies. In view of this, we put forth some hypotheses for further studies regarding policy development in a situation where policy is not explicitly stated or where organisational reforms are seen not as “simple” or “complex” problems, but as “wicked” problems.
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Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran are two of the Middle East’s regional powers. The rivalry between these two countries has long been a determinant factor in the shaping of geopolitics in the Persian Gulf. In this complex and conflicting relation their neighboring countries have often been the battlefield of proxy wars. The Arab Spring has brought dramatic changes in the Middle East. By elevating sectarian violence to an unprecedented level, the already tense religious fragmentation of the Arab countries was further polarized. This paper will first present a review of the factors underpinning the contest between the two countries, and after that, the current developments and the ways they impact the competition for regional supremacy in the Persian Gulf.
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In the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (the Republic of Both Nations) there were few disseminators of the ideas of policism; the policist thought was developing rather slowly.While analysing the dissemination of theoretical ideas of policism in the 18th century Republic of Both Nations, we can view the influence of German and to some extent French policists and the adaptation of their ideas in the works of R. Ładowski, G. Lengnich andother disseminators of the ideas of policism. They took over theoretical postulates of German policists. The disseminators of the ideas of policism – residents of the Republic of Both Nations – accepted the German tradition of policism. Some of them (G. Lengnich, F. Naxand others) were of German origin and culture. Conversely, in the nearest German states as well as in the neighbouring German states of the Republic of Both Nations (Prussia, Saxonyor Austria) cameralism and policism were already being developed at the academic level;therefore, it was easier to take over theoretical postulates than to rely on the ideas created and developed in their own state. After the collapse of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth,the ideas and research of German scholars had further influence and were being successfully taken over in the Kingdom of Poland which was then both autonomous and dependent from Russia.
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Incumbent President Raul Khadzhimba remains in power after a referendum calling for early elections had 1 percent turnout.
More...EXPLORING UK POLICY RESPONSES TO ROMANIAN AND BULGARIAN MIGRATION
Since 2004, the UK has enjoyed a decade of experience in managing migration from EU8 countries. This time around, how well founded are the fears that 2014 will see another ‘flood’ of migrants, on par with levels experienced in 2004? This essay argues that EU2 migration, from Romania and Bulgaria, will not be a repeat of 2004. To begin, this paper will examine the reasons why there was a twenty-fold discrepancy between official estimates of expected migrants following the 2004 enlargement. Then, by using Poland as a case study of typical migration flows after the 2004 migration period, this paper will show that— contrary to predictions based on standard migration theory— mass migration outflows in 2004 is not a good predictor of events to come in 2014. Among other factors, given that those who wanted to migrate to the UK from Romania and Bulgaria already have migrated pre-accession and more countries opened their labour markets in 2014 than they did in 2004, the UK is not likely to see a mass influx of Romanian and Bulgarian migrants as it did with those of Polish origin in 2004. However, like Polish migration, Romanian and Bulgarian migration will tend to be more circular and ‘fluid’.
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The text deals with the topic of civic political competence (civic competence) as an additional criterion of the quality of the democracy. It shows both theoretical aspects of this issue, identifying some specific elements of competence and the methodological problems of the research on civic competence. The article also includes reflections on the implementation of civic competence in the processes of deliberation.
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The Bosnia and Herzegovina reclaimed the statehood during the Second World War after losing its medieval statehood and being a part of the Ottoman and Austro- Hungarian Empires and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. During the Second World War, a wide and massive national liberation and anti-fascist movement got developed in Bosnia and Herzegovina. That movement served as the birthplace of the Bosnia and Herzegovina‟s statehood. By the power of Decisions of the First ZAVNOBIH1 Session of 1943, Bosnia and Herzegovina established its statehood in the form of an equal federal state unit within the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia. During the socialist era from 1945 to 1990, Bosnia and Herzegovina achieved a high degree of economic, cultural and social development. During socialist period, the statehood of Bosnia and Herzegovina was reinforced. After the collapse of socialism in Europe and Yugoslavia in 1990, the political pluralization of Bosnia and Herzegovina was carried out. During 1991 and in early 1992 when the Yugoslav dissolution had been ongoing, the multi-party Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina shaped the idea of calling for a citizens referendum on the independent and sovereign status of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The results of the referendum of 29 February and 1 March 1992 were the basis for the international recognition of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the European Union, the United States and many countries around the world. The UN received Bosnia and Herzegovina on 22 May 1992. The Serbian Democratic Party, backed up by the Milosevic regime in Serbia rejected an independent and autonomous development of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement in 1995 ended the three and a half aggression against the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Dayton Peace Agreement provisions confirmed and strengthened international and legal subjectivity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The post-Dayton political development of the Bosnia and Herzegovina‟s is following the historic path of integration into the European Union and NATO. In that regard, reforms enabling the establishment of BH institutions to strengthen the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina are carried out. In this context, the Council of Ministers‟ capacities got strengthened and expanded, a unified armed forces and security services formed, including the Court and Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. When Bosnia and Herzegovina receives the European Union and NATO membership, its statehood and sovereignty will reach the level of equal sovereigntywith all other European Union member states.
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Contemporary Bosnia and Herzegovina is based on Dayton International Agreement, which steps out at the same time as one of the basic and fundamental postulate of state sovereignty. Based upon this, the author analyses the sovereignty problem from the aspects of philosophical reflexing, political, legal framework and state and legal development of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The problem analysis of the sovereignty has been elaborated through the analysis of independence, supremacy and legal non-determination of the authority in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Furthermore, the sovereignty problem has been explained throughout state (dis)continuity of Bosnia and Herzegovina in former Yugoslavia (federal state), which has been done through explanation of legitimacy, legality and sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina (federal unit) according to Constitutions from 1946, 1963 and 1974. The character of federal constitution of Yugoslavia points out notorious fact that sovereignty undoubtedly and exclusively belongs to federation, since the one is exclusive international subject and the bearer of disposition with Kompetenz-Kompetenz (the ability of determination of its own competency). According to that, it can be concluded that the competency of competency, as the most important sovereignty element in the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina, had been exclusively charged by Federal National Republic of Yugoslavia in accordance with the Constitution from 1946 (people‟s sovereignty). And, after that the Constitutions from 1963 and 1974 had been emphasizing for the sovereign rights to be realized in socialist republics. According to this, the author bases his analysis on the legal and political foundations in order to analyses the sovereignty problem of Bosnia and Herzegovina as an autonomous, independent and sovereign country. The culmination of the research when it comes to sovereignty problem is represented by analysis of authority organization and structure according to Dayton Constitution, which emphasizes the presence of a problem for constituting of sovereign rights in Dayton Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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Klauzule społeczne stanowią wyjątek od ogólnych zasad zamówień publicznych – umożliwiają stosowanie dodatkowych kryteriów wyboru wykonawcy z uwagi na istotne cele społeczne. Te cele to przede wszystkim zwiększanie i podtrzymywanie zatrudnienia osób, które mają trudności ze znalezieniem pracy, a także tworzenie środowiska pracy sprzyjającego pracownikom. Artykuł wyjaśnia, jakie są podstawy stosowania klauzul społecznych, na czym one polegają, opisuje polskie rozwiązania w tym zakresie oraz dotychczasowe doświadczenia we wdrażaniu tych rozwiązań. Identyfikuje także bariery w upowszechnianiu stosowania klauzul społecznych w Polsce. Ponadto wskazuje, jakim celom może służyć stosowanie klauzul społecznych i jak je można wykorzystać jako instrument rozwoju przedsiębiorczości społecznej. Określa wreszcie kluczowe warunki, które są niezbędne do tego, aby był to instrument skuteczny.
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Pakt na rzecz ekonomii społecznej jest propozycją umowy z rządem, którą chcieliby zawrzeć przedstawiciele środowiska polskiej ekonomii społecznej. Wśród części z nich, w tym autora, panuje silne przekonanie, że konieczna jest zmiana nastawienia administracji do problemów związanych z działalnością społeczną i stosowania instrumentów gospodarczych do rozwiązywania problemów społecznych. Dotychczasowe interwencje publiczne nie wykorzystały szansy, jaką dawały spore środki z funduszy europejskich. Kontynuacja dotychczasowej polityki publicznej w tym obszarze nie wróży nic dobrego. Dlatego pakt jest testem – zarówno dla samego środowiska ekonomii społecznej, jak i administracji. W tekście opisano nadzieje, z jakimi wiąże się praca nad zapisami paktu, pokazano rozwiązania, które mogą spowodować, że pakt przyczyni się do rzeczywistej zmiany. Czy to się uda nie zależy jedynie od tego, czy pakt zostanie zawarty. Jednak jego podpisanie mogłoby się znacząco do tej zmiany przyczynić.
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Artykuł jest podsumowaniem analizy dotyczącej wsparcia sektora ekonomii społecznej w ramach Programu Operacyjnego Kapitał Ludzki na lata 2007-2013 (Poddziałanie 7.2.2 Wsparcie ekonomii społecznej). Analiza została przeprowadzona na czterech poziomach: I – strategicznym: Program Operacyjny Kapitał Ludzki, II – strategiczno wdrożeniowym: Szczegółowy Opis Priorytetów PO KL; System Realizacji PO KL, III – wdrożeniowym: Plany Działań, IV – projektowym: Dokumentacja konkursowa, projekty. W opracowaniu opisano warunki dotyczące wsparcia ekonomii społecznej, które stworzono w ramach PO KL na etapie programowania poprzez zapisy PO KL oraz Szczegółowego Opisu Priorytetów PO KL. Analiza dotyczy także procesu implementacji programu w zakresie planów działania, dokumentacji konkursowych, kryteriów wyboru, a także przykładowych projektów. Autor wskazuje, że dotychczas wydatkowane środki pozwoliły na zrealizowanie szeregu indywidualnych projektów, jednak nie przyczyniły się do stworzenia funkcjonalnego systemu wsparcia ekonomii społecznej. Podkreśla także zasadność – z punktu widzenia efektywności wydatkowania środków publicznych – zbudowania, wdrożenia i wypromowania takiego systemu wsparcia ekonomii społecznej, który na terenie całego kraju pozwoli na korzystanie ze zbliżonego katalogu usług przy zachowaniu minimalnych standardów.
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Udział w projektach finansowanych ze środków unijnych bywa postrzegany jako czynnik wymuszający zmiany w kulturze organizacyjnej NGO. Zakłada się, że zmiany obejmują dwa obszary: zarządzanie (z uwagi na przechodzenie organizacji pozarządowych na model projektowego zarządzania swoją działalnością) oraz relacje z otoczeniem społecznym (z uwagi na wymóg partnerstwa lokalnego). Z perspektywy kilku lat doświadczeń można stwierdzić, że skala zmian jest dosyć ograniczona. Po pierwsze, ekspozycji na ten czynnik zmiany jest poddana jedynie część sektora pozarządowego, zdolna spełnić wszystkie kryteria dostępu do tych źródeł finansowania. Po drugie, zderzenie specyficznej kultury organizacyjnej NGO ze sformalizowanymi wymogami zarządzania projektowego wywołuje dwojaki skutek: wymuszony proces profesjonalizacji zarządzania (rozumianej jako adaptacja wzorów zarządzania z sektora rynkowego) przy równoczesnym wykorzystaniu (z sektora publicznego) zabiegów"neutralizujących" te wymagania, które odbierane są jako najbardziej sprzeczne z kulturą organizacyjną NGO.
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The main aim of this article is to present the legal and organisational aspects of the functioning and management of the property of Kielce poviat (poviat – the second tier administrative unit). In addition to an extensive review of the literature, the paper also presents an analysis of the method of owning and sharing the poviat real property and shows the distribution of the resources of Kielce poviat considering the current legal status of plots divided into municipalities. The authors of the article have also analysed the structure of income from assets owned by the poviat. The study covers the period from 2011 to 2014. In the paper the method of static analysis and the analysis of sources are used.
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Municipal housing is highly capital-intensive and therefore the majority of local government units (LGUs) in Poland cannot afford to provide council housing fast enough to shorten the waiting lists. Strengthening and development of municipal or affor
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The author analyses several selected speeches of Italian politicians: the founder of the Forza Italia party, Silvio Berlusconi; founder and leader of the Movement Five Stars, Beppe Grillo; and the current Prime Minister of Italy, Matteo Renzi. The study makes it possible to evaluate whether the conditions for the ideale Sprechsituation of Jürgen Habermas is fulfilled in analyzing public discourse. Particular attention will be given to the relationship between the persuasiveness of communication and the problem of legitimacy.
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With the new frozen confl ict in the separatist region of Donbas, the popular discourse about Ukraine as a ‘divided nation’ looks like a self-fulfi lling prophecy. This discourse juxtaposes the Ukrainian-speaking pro-European west and the pro-Russian, Soviet-nostalgic east as two historical and cultural entities, informed by conflicting collective memories and antagonistic identities, that have little chance of coexisting peacefully as a united country. The armed confl ict in the east of the country appears now as a logical outcome of this deep cultural and political division of the Ukrainian nation. This article attempts to break the vicious circle of Ukrainian debates on national identity and seeks to reconsider the role of identity politics in the current Ukrainian crisis. It shows how Ukraine’s divided political elite has used identity politics as a tool for mass mobilization, and how Russia has profi ted from the ‘war of identities’ in its efforts to prevent the country’s orientation to Europe. The article also outlines the main shifts in collective identities after Maidan and the annexation of Crimea, and the dilemmas of a new identity politics.
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