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The Arctic has been affected by the climate change stimulated institutionalisation of cooperation among ‘Arctic nations’, and the Arctic Council has been influential toward a peaceful future. The purpose of the paper is to analyse the Council as a regional intergovernmental organisation facilitating nonviolent cooperation and collaborative solutions toward the Arctic, preserving its ecosystems and natural environment. The research questions are how the Council deals multidimensionally with the Arctic and what is conflict potential due to security developments. The thesis is that the Council is effectively performing its missions as a cooperation forum despite differing agendas among members and observes. One of the reasons is that the military aspect is not included in the agenda. The paper is based on qualitative research founded on academic papers and official documents, including member states and observer nations’ perspectives and positions toward the region and Council. The assumption is that the Council must distinguish between individual national and shared goals to preserve peaceful cooperation. The teamwork is essential but is increasingly complicating as of differing nations’ agendas. The paper is contributing to systematise the perception of the Council and the challenges it is facing.
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The subject of the article is the assessment of statistical data on the operational activity of British and Polish secret services against the background of perception of terrorist threats and current case law of courts and tribunals. The purpose of the article is to present a socially important problem, which is the correlation between the perception of terrorist threats by citizens and their awareness of the degree of violation of human and civil rights and freedoms in the name of combating terrorism. The main research methods used in this work include the dogmatic and legal methods and statistical data analysis. The conclusions of the conducted research are observations of changes in the perception of terrorist threats, which result to a large extent from the problem of the migration crisis and from the experience of a given country in carrying out terrorist attacks on their territory. The article, through the analysis of domestic and international case law, indicates the need for further development of research on limiting the rights and freedoms of the individual in order to ensure security.
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The concept of network-centric activities was created in the 20th and 21st century as a result of striving to increase the combat capabilities of army in a manner allowing to dominate the opponent. Numerous scientific analyzes, practical methods and operating schemes have mostly made it possible to meet these needs. This article is a continuation of considerations on network-centric activities and focuses on the indication of their nature and methods of conducting Network Centric Warfare.
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Preamble: The pandemic with COVID-19 that we have been experiencing globally for almost one year now brings continuous challenges on many levels, the built environment being an important one. Social distancing meant that during this period housing has been requested differently, first as a shelter, now as a space in which we have to work or learn. Objectives: The research aims to identify dwellings parameters that need reconsideration from the pandemic experience with COVID-19, how these can be adjusted in order to meet safety and comfort requirements to ultimately maintain well-being. Prior work: The paper investigates the latest written documents on the influence of the pandemic with COVID-19 on the built environment, including published articles, peer-reviewed articles, digital blog posts, expert opinions. Approach: The research is of narrative review type and interdisciplinary investigation of the specialized literature but at the same time it is also a reflection of the personal experience of the authors during COVID-19 pandemic. The following parameters of the home are analyzed: areas, dimensions, functions, finishes, accesses, lighting, relationship with the outdoor. Results: Health, safety and comfort are 3 aspects that were tested during the quarantine period and are essential when we talk about housing and pandemic dwellings. It is estimated that there will be changes in the design of new residential buildings, collective and individual. Homes will need versatility, more generous spaces, functional expansions so as to cover both living and work or learning areas. There is talk of a living architecture but at the same time of touchless technology. The post-pandemic COVID-19 architecture will emphasize the user's well-being, but with much more emphasis on safety issues. Implications: The challenges of the pandemic will influence the design process with possible changes in regulations, with an impact on architects, verification requirements, and contractors but also costs for the beneficiary. The architecture of post-pandemic housing will be an interdisciplinary collaboration between architect and specialists such as medical doctor, biologist, psychologist, engineers. Value: The paper highlights the importance of the need for an interdisciplinary approach in the design of housing, a new aspect catalyzed by the pandemic with COVID-19.
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Surabaya, East Java is one of the cities in Indonesia which is well known as a Smart City. This achievement can not be separated from the breakthroughs and innovations that the local City Government (Pemkot) has made. The city government of Surabaya has also received various awards from within and outside the country, especially in the field of smart city. One of the awards is the 2018 OpenGov Recognition of Excellence. However, when the smart city was being helded, a pandemic emerged that attacked almost all parts of the world. This study aims to identify obstacles and steps to deal with Covid-19 without disturbing the stability of Surabaya towards a smart city. The data were obtained from social media from the Surabaya municipal government and the smart city parameters were taken from academic papers. The concept of smart city according to Surabaya begins with Smart Government, namely by implementing an internet-based government system which is also known as e-procurement. Other parameters are smart branding, smart economy, smart living, smart society, smart environment. This paper focuses on discussing smart environment without neglecting other parameters. Unfortunately, since the Covid-19 pandemic Surabaya has become the city in Indonesia with the most corona cases after Jakarta and Bogor with confirmed positive data up to November 1, 2020, amounting to 15,973 cases. The Surabaya City Government (Pemkot Surabaya) has implemented various efforts in order to prevent or break the chain of the spread of COVID-19. Consists of promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative efforts.
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The complex relationship between international and municipal law has been the bone of significant scholarly contention. In the Indian context, despite a formal commitment to dualism, courts have effected an interpretive shift towards monism by espousing incorporation of international law. The case of Mohammad Salimullah v. Union of India, which involves the issue of deportation of Rohingya refugees from India, represents a challenge in this regard owing to the lack of clarity as to India’s obligations under the principle of non-refoulement. The paper uses the Supreme Court’s recent interim order in the said case as a case study to examine India’s engagement with international law. It argues that the order inadequately examines the role of international law in constitutional interpretation and has the unfortunate effect of ‘refouling’ Rohingyas by sending them back to a state where they face imminent persecution.
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The article aims to analyze Brexit from the perspective of the Visegrad Group countries in the context of the future of the European Union. Addressing this issue is important from the point of view of assessing the role of the EU for the Visegrad countries. The main thesis of the research is that Brexit will not lead to a reform of the EU in the coming years, which is what some of the Visegrad Group countries are trying to do. The article is provocative, because, during the migration crisis, the Visegrad Group was shown as a brake on the European integration process. After Brexit, it was considered that some of EU Member States could follow Great Britain and leave the EU. The article complements the scientific achievements in this field, as it presents the view from the country of Central and Eastern Europe.
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The development of new technologies is considered a revolution because it has interconnected micro and macro cultures, has influenced socio-economic developments, and is gradually transferring our social life to the virtual one. Today, life without information technology is unimaginable and every communication is done through new technologies. On the other hand, the privacy and misuse of personal data are directly endangering personal freedom. The Balkan countries are as well part of this technological development but are also heavily challenged by different unidentified risks. Kosovo has a young population and is considered to have the youngest population in Europe. About 96.4% of households have access to the internet. This paper aims to analyze the development of new technologies in societies in transition, especially in Kosovo, the challenges, the issue of privacy, and the future of information technology. The methodology applied within this paper is the study of literature and the development of qualitative research. The findings demonstrate that Kosovo has quickly embraced information technology, digitized its public services, and installed some of the region's most cutting-edge technologies, such as 3D printers, but it is also highly vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
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The Social Credit system (SCS) in China is being applied in an increasing number of areas of everyday life. This system is built around rewarding and punishing specific forms of social behavior. The question arises whether this system is a new challenge to the right to privacy. The study, which is supported by literature, sheds light on how novel this thought is. This paper uses the comparative method, normative method, and legal-logical methods of induction and deduction. According to the research, the SCS in basic is a state project. The key distinctions between the SCS and similar systems in Western countries include the impact on individuals, state dependency, punitive policy, the breadth of consequences, and cultural differences. In addition, one of the tools of the SCS in China is ‘shame’, which is focused on maintaining harmonious relations within a society. In the West, the focus is more on the citizens’ rights.
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Terrorism has emerged as one of the major challenges for the Eurasian regional peace, security, and cooperation. Keeping these challenges in perspective, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was established to eliminate the menace of terrorism, fundamentalism, and secessionism. Against this background, the main objectives of this paper are to examine how terrorism emerged as a major determining factor in the Indo-Pak relations and how the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), was failed to play its effective role in the Indo-Pak conflict given the Pulwama terror attack. For this research, descriptive and analytical methods were used and the data was collected from secondary sources. The major findings of this article are that terrorism has emerged as one of the major determinants of Indo-Pak relations and the same has become a major challenge for the SCO to resolve the issue. Against the background of terror attacks, it was anticipated that the SCO would play a crucial role to pacify the situation. However, the role played by the SCO in this situation proved marked as a Whack-a-Mole.
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The primary language of international relations and diplomacy is English. The representatives of international bodies communicate in the English language. It is vital to establish English as the official language for international organizations in facilitating more efficient collaboration internationally. English dominance in international communication becomes increasingly apparent. This study aimed at gaining a more in-depth understanding of the significance of the English language. It also aimed at identifying, describing, and explaining the importance of the English language in public diplomacy and international relations. The researcher used the descriptive research method in the study, notably; secondary data were used for collecting reliable conclusions for the research. The findings suggested that the adoption of formulaic language, particularly, idioms and idiomatic expressions to further embellish the phrases used in the arena of international relations or policy is a peculiarity of the English language. The study concluded that formulaic language and the adoption and usage of idioms is a distinguishing feature that diplomats and those who have a career in international law and international relations should master.
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The COVID-19 pandemic is an opportunity for many marginal political groups to increase their popularity and enter the mainstream with their narrative. This is also the case with the Polish far-right. The research discussed in the following text concerned the message of the Polish extreme right during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020), both what changed in this message and what remained unchanged. Using data from social media, online and offline publications, reports from events, and interviews with key informants, the author sought to understand how COVID-19 has changed the behaviour and narratives of far-right groups in Poland. The analysis was structured around two meta-narratives: one anti-liberal and the other geopolitical, each containing several sub-narratives. As a result of this analysis PiS and its closest allies from the world of politics and media turned out to be one of the leading promoters of various anti-liberal concepts and social and systemic solutions, especially those concerning reproductive and LGBT rights created in the far-right circles. PiS politicians often drew their slogans and ideas from the ideological resources of the far-right, directly copying their language and rhetoric and often even immediate solutions.
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This research aimed to analyze the Albanian parliamentary elections held in 2013, 2017, and 2021 in order to evaluate the process of development of representative democracy in Albania, one of the post-communist countries of the Western Balkans. The analysis was based on assessing the dynamics of the Electoral Integrity Index (PEI) as a quantitative indicator that reflects the level of fulfillment of international standards for democratic elections. The PEI was evaluated using the average perception values for 11 indicators reflecting the election process. Based on the value of the PEI2013 (54.1 scores), PEI2017 (53.3 scores), and PEI2021 (57.7 scores), the parliamentary elections in Albania were considered as processes that do not exceed the ‘moderate’ level. The non-significant difference between 2013, 2017, and 2021 PEI (p>0.05) demonstrated low progress in developing democratic performances in Albanian society.
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The article presents the methods of influencing particular groups of the revolutionary “Supraciu” movement in Belarus. The subject of the research is to verify the goals of the "Supraciu" movement as an opposition to the Belarusian regime and to define its status in the structure of national liberation organizations. The main research method is the analysis of materials from various media, including social media. The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the activities of these groups. The adopted thesis is that the "Supraciu" movement is a national liberation movement that uses terror to weaken the dictatorial regime of Alexander Lukashenka. Following this assumption, the methods and effectiveness of group members of the "Supraciu" movement were presented, and the prospects for the development of this movement in Belarus were assessed.
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This article examines the Albanian political regime, as a single case study, for the period 2013-2021, as part of the Western Balkans' experience of democratic backsliding, by investigating the framework of factors linked with the formidable challenge posed by the emergence of a hybrid regime of Albania in these years. For the first time in Albania’s post-communist history, the incumbent Socialist Party of Albania won for the third time in a row the parliamentary elections of April 2021, thus making the bid for the power of the leading opposition parties much harder. This paper uses country-expert statistical data from V-Dem and qualitative data analyses. The study reveals that the over-reliance on strong leaders, the growing government control over public life, fragmentation of the opposition, its lack of appeal, organization and mobilization, the boycott of the parliamentary mandates, combined with the weakening role of media and distrust of the citizens in democratic institutions, led to the resurgence of the authoritarian mechanisms, making the liberal democratic transformation in Albania an increasingly challenging task.
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Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are now unquestionable contributors to economic development on the one side and employment creation on the other. To promote sustained growth, SMEs must meet specific prerequisites, particularly the leadership structures of this segment. Therefore, this research aims to investigate and identify the determinants that affect SMEs performance. The research employs a qualitative technique, using questionnaires containing 52 questions. The study surveyed 336 SMEs owners or managers from March to April 2022. The Multinomial Logistic Regression (MLR) empirical technique explored the influence of education level, previous experience, training attendance, business plan, consultation services, and employees' insufficient competency in SMEs performance. The research has revealed that the level of education and consultancy services positively impact SMEs performance. In contrast, neglect of training and employees' insufficient competence harm SMEs performance. The study encourages SMEs owners and managers to take advantage of professional training opportunities and to invest in existing personnel through training to acquire acceptable competence, which will be reflected in management performance. From the perspective of the contribution, it provides the most recent evidence in the context of Kosovo's economy, employing the logistic regression analysis.
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At the time of the outbreak of the migration crisis in Europe, the Visegrad Group gained the status of the EU troublemaker due to its opposition to the solidarity and cohesion mechanisms adopted on the European level. The migration strategies (not only) of the individual states of the grouping proved insufficient and unfeasible in times of crisis. However, in the case of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and the Slovak Republic, the absence of national mechanisms and solutions was partially replaced after 2015 by joint declarations and statements rejecting active cooperation in resolving migration and asylum pressures within the EU Single Market. Despite failing to manage migratory pressures since 2015, four Central European countries have not learned their lessons and will face unprecedented crises in 2022 again. This time, however, Visegrad countries became the first-line countries affected by the refugee crisis. The migration and asylum agenda is thus becoming an extremely complex problem within the Visegrad Group region due to the initially intense politicization of the topic by the government elites in individual states. The paper analyses the migration strategies of individual states and the migration and asylum management-related positions after the migration crisis in 2015 and the sequence of events associated with the outbreak of armed conflict in Ukraine in early 2022.
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Porous borders continue to be the principal source and conduit for small arms and light weapons (SALWs) throughout Africa, particularly Nigeria. Presently, Nigeria’s security environment is severely endangered by the operations of the Boko Haram insurgent group, which often uses smuggled firearms and ammunition. Scholars have paid little attention to analyzing the smuggling problem in SALWs and their threat to Nigeria’s internal security amid the Boko Haram menace. This study addresses the SALWs smuggling, and Boko Haram challenges to Nigerian security by using the Benin-Nigerian Porous Border as a case study. This paper discovers that the porous Nigeria-Benin border and the lackadaisical attitude of both governments have enabled transnational crime of the Boko-Haram sect. The paper recommends adequate coordination between security services and residents to battle the scourge of cross-border proliferation of small guns and light weapons between Benin and Nigeria. This study recommends a West African regional security network structure to regulate borders and coordinate security to curb SALWs and other criminal activities.
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