The United States and National Self-Determination of Minorities in the ‘Russian Space,’ 1914–1920

Author(s): Vladimir Romanov / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2019

The article discusses the political course of President Wilson’s administration regarding issues of national self-determination in Russia during the First World War and 1917 revolution. It was a period when almost every national minority in the ‘Russian Space’ declared its desire for self-determination, and it seemed that this desire was fully consistent with Wilson’s philosophy and foreign policy aims. His approach, however, was significantly different from that of the Russian authorities, as was already evident during the discussion of the ‘Jewish’ and ‘Polish’ questions. The real prospects for national self-determination for minorities in the territory of the former Russian Empire opened up only after the overthrow of Tsarism. However, only the Poles and Finns gained real independence. Despite all disagreements with the Provisional Government and the Bolsheviks, Wilson nevertheless outlined his goal to safeguard the territorial integrity of almost the entire former imperial space. Moreover, the American administration in 1917-1920 refused official recognition not only of the Bolsheviks, but also of a number of nation states that had declared their independence. This policy was enshrined in the key document known as Colby’s note (1920). The author substantiates the argument that Wilson wanted to preserve a united and democratic Russia as a strong partner of the United States in the international arena after the end of the First World War.

Canada and the Problem of Protection of Minorities in the League of Nations

Author(s): Nataliia Zhukovskaya / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2019

The problem of minorities was one of the most acute throughout the existence of the League of Nations. The outcome of the First World War largely changed the map of Europe. New borders and old scores between the states only exacerbated national problems. While the Great Powers allowed their own interests to influence any possible solution of the issue, the Canadian approach to the protection of minorities is more interesting. In the first half of the twentieth century, Canada did not have any major influence on world politics. Canada could not dictate its terms to the member states of the League, and they, in turn, were reluctant to listen too much to the British Dominion, even when it tried to speak. However, the problem of the protection of minorities proved an important exception to the usual hierarchy. Elected in 1927 as a non-permanent member of the Council of the League, Canada itself had no direct interest in resolving national disputes in Europe. On this issue, however, Canada fought ardently and persistently. As a multicultural state, Canada felt strongly the need to protect the rights of national minorities. Its voice was heard and, as a result, the League of Nations changed its approach to the national minority dispute procedure, making the process more open to all parties. This article will consider how Canada, which had no serious foreign policy weight, managed to make progress in such a complex issue as the protection of the rights of national minorities in Europe.

The Thököly Uprising in Hungary and the Timing of the Nine Years’ War and the Glorious Revolution

Author(s): György Borus / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2019

The Glorious Revolution of 1688–89 has been regarded primarily as an episode in English domestic politics and has rarely been considered as a European event. Since the tercentenary of the Revolution, a lot has been done to correct this picture. Now it is clear, for example, that without Prince William’s powerful military intervention, which was carried out with the full support of the States General of the United Provinces, the Revolution would have been impossible. It should also be pointed out, however, that if William had succeeded in organising a powerful anti-French alliance during the early 1680s, he may not have intervened in England at the end of the decade. The timing and circumstances of William’s intervention can only be understood within the context of European events, which should not be confined to Western Europe. This article seeks to explain the interrelationships between the parallel events of the 1680s in the eastern and western parts of the Continent. It argues that the Thököly Uprising played a major part in frustrating William’s plans of organising a powerful anti-French coalition and delayed the Nine Years’ War (King William’s War) against France until 1688.

English Common Law, Extraterritoriality and Parsi Law: A Case in 1930s’ China

Author(s): Matteo Miele / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2019

The paper analyses the request of an Indian Parsi, living and working in the Republic of China, to the British consul in Peking to register his Chinese wife and their three children as British subjects in 1937. To a first marriage, that had been conducted according to the Chinese tradition in 1919, a second marriage followed in 1934. This was celebrated after the conversion of the couple to Catholicism. Of the three children, two sons had been born before the Catholic wedding, while the youngest one, a daughter, was born in 1935. The marriage of an Indian Parsi and a Chinese woman who later converted to Catholicism and married again is certainly an extremely rare event (if not a single one). The archival documents allow a better understanding of various aspects related to the issue of extraterritoriality of British subjects in the Republic of China, as well as the relationship of British institutions and English Common Law with the traditions of religious communities — and in this specific case, the Parsi Zoroastrian community — of the British Raj.

The King-Byng Affair and Transformation of the Role of Governor-General in Canada

Author(s): Martin Šubrt / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2019

The study focuses on an analysis of the King-Byng affair, Canadian constitutional crisis of 1926. During the government crisis in Canada, the British Governor-General Lord Byng of Vimy denied the request of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King to dissolve parliament and declare new elections. Lord Byng chose a different procedure instead, as a result of which he interfered significantly in internal Canadian politics. This incident contributed to a precise definition of the new office of Governor-General in dominions during the Imperial Conference in London in 1926. The Governor-General lost his office as representative of the British government and he became only the representative of the British monarch. The aim of this paper is to focus on what role the King-Byng affair plays in this transformation of the conception of Governor-General and in the process of establishment of the independence of Canada from its mother country.

Дипломатските активности на Кралството Србија за отворање училишта во Велес и во неговата околина на крајот од XIX век

Author(s): Silvana Sidorovska-Chupovska / Language(s): Macedonian Issue: 1/2020

Introduction of Serbian educational propaganda in Veles and its surrounding began by sending Serbian teachers from the mid-19th century. Serbian schoolbooks and books were sent by the Ministry of Education and Science and the Committee for the Promotion of Serbian Education in the Ottoman Empire areas in order to make the implementation of propaganda easier. The successful implementation of the propaganda was in competence of the Royal Diplomatic Mission in Constantinople and the Serbian consulates in Skopje, Salonica and Bitola. Obstructed by the actions of Greek and Bulgarian propaganda, the Vilayet of Salonica and the Kaymakam of Veles, the Serbian educational propaganda faced difficulties to penetrate in this part of Macedonia. Receiving approval for оpening Serbian Schools in the Vilayet оf Bitola and Salonica, the activities of Serbian diplomacy for opening schools in Veles and its surrounding were strengthened. The persistence of the Serbian diplomacy bore fruit by the end of 1899, when the coveted permission for opening of Serbian schools was finally received.

РАСТКО ПЕТРОВИЋ И АМЕРИЧКА КУЛТУРА

Author(s): Predrag Ž. Petrović / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 3/2020

As many other Serbian writers from the beginning of the last century, Rastko Petrovic was also a diplomat. After spending several years in Yugoslavian embassy in Rome, in November 1935. Rastko came to United States, where he worked in consulates in Chicago and New York, and then in the embassy in Washington, where he was Charge d’Affaires. Rastko Petrovic continues to build his literary opus and artistic interests in America. His most significant work was the second volume of his novel Day sixth. Main character of the novel Migrations by Milosh Crnjanski, Vuk Isakovich, dreams of the magnificent russian steppes through which he will ride horses and live a free and authentic life. The hero of Rastko Petrovic’s novel finds such happiness in land-scapes of America, far away from war torn Europe. While writing the second part of the novel Day sixth, Rastko Petrovic beggins to show great interest in expressive possibilities of another art form – movie. From spring to late autumn of 1939, Rastko made several short amateur documentary films with his camera. The value of this footage is documentary rather than artistic. However, the fact that their author is a great writer, certainly adds to their importance. These films represent some of Rastko’s interests that are important for understanding his literary opus. Since his arrival to America, Rastko became interested in customs, dances and songs of Native Americans. Just like before, when he wrote about folk customs of eastern and western Serbia and about ritual dances of African natives, in America Rastko directed his interests to studying life and traditions of Native Americans.

SOVIET PERSONALITIES IN THE ROMANIAN PARLIAMENT DEBATES (1919-1937)

Author(s): Radu Filipescu / Language(s): English Issue: XII/2011

During the post-war period, Romanian MP’s were generally informedabout Soviet personalities. Some of the information about the Soviet realities,especially the predictions about the leaders of the neighbouring state, waswrong. But these wrong predictions are explicable; the public opinion inWestern Europe, and even the Soviet citizens, believed them. At one moment,Lev Trotski and Grigori Zinoviev were considered the possible V. I. Lenin’successors and V. Stalin was an anonymous person. Stalin’s victory againstLev Trotski was initially saluted by some Romanian MPs, who provided a newmoderate Soviet regime. The „Iron Man” dictatorship was understood andrevealed only in the years 1936-1937. It was also during these years thatRomanian politicians warned about a possible leadership change at Kremlin,the appearance of a pro-Nazi Soviet ruler. The Soviet personalities ofRomanian origins especially generated internal debates.

ПИСМО СИМЕ АНДРЕЈЕВИЋА ИГУМАНОВА РУСКОМ АМБАСАДОРУ У ЦАРИГРАДУ НИКОЛАЈУ ПАВЛОВИЧУ ИГНАТИЈЕВУ

Author(s): Slavenko Terzić / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 8/2019

In 1868 the Serbian philanthropist Sima Andrejević Igumanov sent a letter to the Russian ambassador in Constantinople Nikolay Pavlovich Ignatyev in response to reports of the closing down of the Russian vice-consulate in Prizren. The viceconsulate had been opened two years before, in 1866. The letter highlights the difficult position of the Serbian people in Old Serbia, who were suffering terror and violence at the hands of the Albanians and Turks as well as the negligence of the representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Old Serbia. Igumanov also informed Ignatyev of his own personal contribution. Without the vice-consulate’s support, Igumanov claimed, the Serbian people would easily fall prey to Islamization or Catholic conversion.

ПЕСМА „ЈУГОСЛАВИЈА-ИЗРАЕЛ!“ Југославија и Блиски исток (1948-1952)

Author(s): Milan Radovanović / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 1/2022

Az Egyesült Államok külpolitikájának történelmi áttekintése

Author(s): Esztella Varga / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2022

The United States of America is the sole superpower remaining after the end of the Cold War, and her activity and behavior in foreign politics is still highly influential in the 21st century. During the many administrations following the war of independence, a pendulum-like movement was to be observed in the foreign policy of the US, where liberal or conservative (or idealist or realist) and introverted or extroverted approaches have regularly shifted the pendulum and influenced the foreign policy. The aim of this study is to overview the history of American foreign policy while it analyzes the different administrations from this point of view.

Molnár Andrea (szerk.): Teleki József. Tanulmányok az Akadémiai Könyvtár alapítójáról és a Magyar Tudományos Akadémia első elnökéről

Author(s): Krisztián Bodnár / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 3/2022

Teleki believed in the possibility of creating a bourgeois Hungary, he was committed to national culture, and as the first president of the Academy and a passionate bibliophile he did much for the development of Hungarian culture. He was in tune with the spirit of the times, recognised the task imposed on him by history and undertook to carry it out.

Mirovne misije Ujedinjenih nacija i savremeni izazovi

Author(s): Željko Jović / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 1149/2013

This paper will briefly consider some of the contemporary challenges connected with the processes of globalization and their effects on UN peace missions. UN Peace missions have become their most visible concept, witnessed significant growth since the last decade of the 20th century, and have evolved into the cornerstone of the international community as a response to the international crisis. Globalization has entered a turbulent period and emerged as a significant threat to international security, stability and prosperity. If organization is to be a meaningful part of an international mechanism to deal effectively with global security challenges, then UN must understand and take them in consideration during the performing peace missions.

Moguća stanja diplomatskih odnosa

Author(s): Boban Dašić / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 1147/2012

The article deals with the political nature of diplomatic relations, stressing possible states of them as following: normal or correct relations, good relations, neighborhood and good neighborhood relations, allied relations, amicable or friendly relations, brotherhood relations, privileged relations, cordial relations, reciprocal relations, neutral relations, cold relations, imposed relations, deteriorating relations, tense relations, strained relations, downgraded relations, interrupted or broken relations, retorsion, ceased relations, suspended relations, re-established or normalized relations, intermediary relations, indifferent relations, informal relations or de facto relationships

Martin Krpan – od nacionalnog mita do ad hoc diplomate

Author(s): Milan Jazbec / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 1145/2012

Martin Krpan is the most important Slovene myth that surpasses the framework of literature, art, and history. The simple story sets up an example of how one should write; amongst other things, one must”wrap the truth in a pleasant joke”. It contains many layers of meaning, reaches beyond its time and is appealing as well as educational. We take a new understanding of the story and try to interpret Martin Krpan as an ad hoc diplomat. Krpan possesses a number of characteristics, which define diplomats: he is realistic, clever, experienced, reliable, masters protocol and the art of negotiations and knows when to speak indirectly and when to stand up directly for his own interests. In spite of all these aspects, we would say that Krpan was not a diplomat. However, he provides a role model for it, which is applicable in different social and international circumstances.

Transformacijska diplomacija u primjeni: nova diplomacija za novo doba? Arhitektura prijelazne strategije

Author(s): Maja Sahadžić / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 1142/2011

The paper investigates recondite and some explored transformational diplomacy concept that was presented and initiated by the United States of America. Emergence of this concept is fairly associated to international legal and geopolitical changes, and by which USA endeavors to affect modern international system transformation on the basis of cooperation. There has been usual methodology of legal and social science used, on the strength of which results and conclusions stand upon, and have regard to conditions for emergence, essence and elements of transformational diplomacy that are exhaustively analyzed. Further on, transformational is juxtaposed to traditional diplomacy. Finally, discouragements in transformational diplomacy employing and eventual future enforcement possibilities have been researched

Od Garašanina do Milovanovića: pedeset godina geostrateškog promišljanja u Srbiji XIX veka

Author(s): Duško Lopandić / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 1137/2010

The article “From Garašanin to Milovanović – Fifty years of geopolitical thinking in XIX Century Serbia“ deals with two important texts written by two well known Statemen and diplomats in Serbian foreign policy of XIX Century. The “Nacertanije” (The Project) was the work of Ilija Garasanin, a long-term serving Serbian Prime minister and Foreign afairs minister in the middle of XIX Century. It was the “secret project” designed at the foreign activities of Serbia and having in aim the liberation and unification of Serbian and South Sčavs lands. This policy had a crucial role in Serbian history until the 1th World War. Milovan Milovanović was Serbian Foreign afairs minister in the beggining of XX Century, during the well-known “annexation crisis” of Bosnia and on the wake of two Balkans wars (1908–1912). Milovanović’s article “Our foreign policy” from 1894. represents the continuity of geostrategic thinking in Serbia of that time, which have been started by the ”Nacertanije”. Milovanović have anticipitated in detail the context in which Serbia will find itself two decades later – in the wake of 1th World War: coallition with Russia, conflict with Austria-Hungary, the key issue of relationship between Serbia and Bulgaria for the outcome of the “Eastern question” in the Balkans. In conclusion, the text shows the flexibility of Milovanović’s diplomatic pracice, which, put in the context, may be compared with some aspects of today’s Serbian international situation (claim for application of interantional law and legality in international relations, struggle by peaceful means for interests of a small country, facing sceptical great powers, etc)

Intellectual factor in African diplomatic history: Sokoto and Borno sultanates, 1786-1817

Author(s): Mukhtar Umar Bunza / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2018

Most Western writers consider the history of Sub-Saharan Africa in the pre-colonial period as records of dark accounts, conflicts and wars, which had virtually nothing to contribute to societal development and refinement. However, a close historical scrutiny of some aspects of history of the ancient states and empires of the region unfolds entirely new historical evidence negating such unfounded, but widely spread views. The emergence and evolution of diplomacy and foreign policy of the ancient states of Ghana since the tenth century, followed by empires of Mali, Songhai in western Sudan, and Hausa states, as well as the Kanem Borno and the Sokoto Caliphate in the central Sudan reveals excellent, constructive, bilateral and beneficial inter-state relations within the sub-region, and beyond to North Africa, Middle East and Mediterranean Europe. The focus of this paper will be on the ability of two African states to resolve their inter-state differences through dialogue and recourse to intellectual and diplomatic expertise instead of violence, massacre and butchery. These two states were the Sultanates of Borno and Sokoto, which emerged in the 14th and 19th centuries respectively, and jointly survived till the British occupation in the early 20th century. The use of dialogue and application of intellectual debate in addressing differences between the two states is a legendary historical antecedent worthy of note and emulation by the so-called civilized countries of today who use excessive military threat as a determining factor in their foreign relations. The unimaginable losses in human and material resources in contemporary period could have been so amicably averted following the example of these ancient African cum Islamic alternatives. These and many other lessons that could be derived from the African Islamic diplomatic history will be addressed in this paper.

Magyar diplomáciai források az azeri–örmény viszályról

Author(s): Kornél Nagy / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 3/2023

Seres Attila – Kőszegi Margit – Bottlik Zsolt: A karabahi konfliktus árnyékában. Bp., ELTE TTK Társadalom- és Gazdaságföldrajzi Tanszék – Veritas Történetkutató Intézet és Levéltár, 2022. 238 p.

OFICIALI CONSULARI AUSTRIECI ÎN ORAȘE ROMÂNEȘTI DIN REGIUNEA MOLDOVEI: REPERE BIOGRAFICE ȘI PROFESIONALE (1833 – 1923)

Author(s): Ionel Constantin Mitea / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 1/2024

During 1833 – 1923, the Habsburg Empire (Austro-Hungarian) stood out with an intense consular activity in the Romanian cities of the Moldavian region, having representative offices in Iași, Galați, Botoșani, Focșani, Bârlad, Ismail and Cernăuți. The diplomats posted to these offices were members of some noble families in the Empire, graduates of higher studies from the Oriental Academy (reputed institution in Vienna, dedicated to the training of diplomats), speakers of several foreign languages and having a rich professional experience in the areas of the entire world map. According to the principle relating to the need for a good knowledge of the realities in our country, we must highlight the policy of rotating consular representatives between the offices operationalized in Romanian cities. After the end of the First World War hostilities, Vienna restricted its consular activity from the Romanian provincial cities.