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2. State Politics of Memory in Ukraine After the Euromaidan
- Author:
- S. Belov
- Publication Date:
- 01-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Affairs: A Russian Journal of World Politics, Diplomacy and International Relations
- Institution:
- East View Information Services
- Abstract:
- THE POLITICS OF MEMORY is a necessary and very important tool used in shaping statehood, consolidating society around a set of state- forming ideas and interpretations. In practice, these are activities by the state and other interested parties to manipulate social groups by adjusting or changing their values and their images of the past. The symbols that are employed to this end are signs that are clear and easily recognizable within social subgroups, and that embody certain values/qualities, standards of behavior, or goals. By appealing to ideas of a collective past, efforts are made to alter people’s behavior in the present. As a rule, historical events are presented to the public in a simplified, uncontradictory and thus generally accessible manner – in the form of mythologemes. Myth is created by means of signs and symbols and by regular rituals that employ these symbols. Rituals recreate the past, fill it with emotional meaning, and allow participants to “re-live” particular historical events.
- Topic:
- Politics, Memory, Revolution, Identity, and Euromaidan Revolution
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Ukraine
3. The Legality of the Restrictions of the Civil and Political Rights in Poland During the First Wave of the Coronavirus Pandemic
- Author:
- Anna Utrata
- Publication Date:
- 06-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Polish Political Science Yearbook
- Institution:
- Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
- Abstract:
- This article aims to answer the question about the legality of the selected measures implemented by the Polish government during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, which resulted in constitutional rights and freedom restrictions. The study focuses on examining selected restrictions implemented in the spring of 2020 in the light of the Polish Constitution, especially in the light of Article 31 (3), which defines the premises of limitation of citizens’ rights and freedoms. It indicates the lack of legal basis and incompatibility with constitutional premises of many restrictions. The study further examines the premises of the introduction of the state of emergency, indicating that the government's decision not to impose such a state was legal and why. The study considers legal status from March 13 to May 16, 2020.
- Topic:
- Politics, Civil Rights, Pandemic, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Poland
4. "I Am Not Going”: Determinants of Social Activity before Poland’s Ghost Election
- Author:
- Kamila Rezmer-Płotka
- Publication Date:
- 09-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Polish Political Science Yearbook
- Institution:
- Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
- Abstract:
- The article analyses political opposition toward the date of presidential elections and conducting them in the correspondence form on May 10, 2020, in Poland. The study is embedded in the theories of quasi-militant democracy and the emergence of social movements. The method used in the study is the qualitative analysis of media messages of the main news websites in Poland. Mainly in terms of the activity and arguments of citizens against the elections in the form of correspondence. The presidential elections revealed the imperious relationship between the government and citizens in Poland’s becoming quasimilitant democracy. The emphasis was on the elements regarding the organisation of elections on May 10 that could impact a social movement’s emergence. The most significant role in stopping the May 10 elections was played by institutional opposition in the form of local self-governments’ civil disobedience and the Senate’s action, which efficiently blocked the party’s initiative. The article accounts for how election matters determined the social mobilisation and activity of the new social movement. This paper’s main finding is that institutional opposition may prevail over the social one in the pandemic.
- Topic:
- Politics, Elections, Democracy, and Social Order
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Poland
5. The Balkan Kettle: Russia’s policy towards the Balkans
- Author:
- Bogusław Jagiełło
- Publication Date:
- 09-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Security and Defence Quarterly
- Institution:
- War Studies University
- Abstract:
- The purpose of this article is to identify the policy orientations of Russia in the Balkans. The historical aspects of Russia’s political and cultural ties with the Balkan region and Russia’s policy towards the Balkans during the USSR period will feature. As the Balkans are an important factor in Russia’s geopolitical game to retain influence in Europe, the author analyses Russia’s contemporary policy in the Balkans, its interests and the measures taken to achieve its specific goals. It can be concluded that Russian involvement in some Balkan countries is exhausting the elements of a hybrid war. Two possible models of geopolitical behaviour in relation to Russia can be distinguished. The first is to continue trying to stay as far away from Russia, the second is to build effective mechanisms for socioeconomic cooperation. It can be implied that Russia will not hesitate to repeat the hybrid war scenario from Ukraine in order to maintain its political influence in the region. Only the EU returning to a consistent policy of enlargement involving the Balkan countries and the economic strengthening of the Member States from the Balkan region can weaken Russia’s political influence in the region.
- Topic:
- Energy Policy, Politics, Religion, History, and Regional Integration
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, and Balkans
6. Economic Well‐Being under Plan versus Market: The Case of Estonia and Finland
- Author:
- Anna Bocharnikova
- Publication Date:
- 01-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Cato Journal
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- This article investigates the dynamics of individual economic well‐being in Estonia and Finland over three periods: (1) 1923–1938, when both countries were similarly situated; (2) 1960–1988, during which Estonia was under Soviet control; and (3) 1992–2018, after Estonian independence. Economic well‐being is calculated using the purchasing power of wages in terms of the affordability of a minimal food basket. The results show that, in 1938, the purchasing power of wages in Estonia was 4 percent lower than in Finland; in 1988, it was 42 percent lower; and, by 2018, the gap had fallen to 17 percent. Consequently, as measured by the purchasing power of wages, well‐being in Estonia and Finland was similar before the Soviet occupation, widely diverged during Soviet rule, and converged after Estonian independence, with the transition from plan to market.
- Topic:
- Economics, Markets, Politics, History, and Culture
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Finland, and Estonia
7. Behavioural Data in Credibility Assessment: Case Study of Kaja Godek’s Explanatory Statement of Anti-LGBT Law
- Author:
- Patryk Wawrzyński
- Publication Date:
- 12-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Nowa Polityka Wschodnia
- Institution:
- Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
- Abstract:
- The paper explores the application of behavioural data analysis in the credibility assessment of a speaker. It presents how researchers investigate non-verbal communication, expressions of emotions or indicators of arousal to evaluate congruency using audiovisual material. Furthermore, the case study of Polish political activist Kaja Godek’s explanatory statement of an anti-LGBT bill on October 28, 2021, suggests possible ways, in which the automated system FaceReader (and Facial Action Coding System as its theoretical background) may enrich methods of social science. As a result, it offers an example of an innovative approach towards political communication and the credibility of an argument.
- Topic:
- Politics, LGBT+, Legislation, Behavior, Case Study, and Credibility
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Poland
8. Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Relations Between Government and Parliamentary Opposition in Spain
- Author:
- Agata Rydzewska
- Publication Date:
- 01-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Polish Political Science Yearbook
- Institution:
- Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
- Abstract:
- The COVID-19 strongly affected the states all over the world in several aspects, Spain, being an inglorious leader in terms of the number of infections in Europe, was highly afflicted by the coronavirus and further consequences. After problems with forming the government, which was caused by substantial political polarization, a new incumbent coalition needed to face new challenges, which was strictly connected with managing the coronavirus crisis. The article’s main aim is to present how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the political situation in Spain by analyzing the relations between the ruling government and the parliamentary opposition.
- Topic:
- Politics, Legislation, Public Health, Pandemic, COVID-19, and Parliamentarism
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Spain
9. Dispute over the Powers of the President of the Czech Republic
- Author:
- Marcin Czyżniewski
- Publication Date:
- 01-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Polish Political Science Yearbook
- Institution:
- Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
- Abstract:
- This article aims to analyze disputes and discussions on the powers of the President of the Republic, which have been happening since the establishment of the Czech Republic in 1993. These occurred when the President tried to interpret the provisions of the Constitution, took actions beyond their framework, or considered that his powers did not impose an obligation to act automatically. The disputes over the President’s powers were, therefore, not the result of theoretical discussions on the constitutional order of the Czech Republic, but were the result of the President’s involvement in the political life of the country, and above all, the decisions that did not correspond to the opinions and actions of the government. Disputes did not have an impact on a permanent change in the constitutional order. For example, there was no reason for an amendment to the Constitution that would extend, restrict, or clarify those powers.
- Topic:
- Politics, Governance, Constitution, Leadership, and Executive Power
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Czech Republic
10. Conciliatory and Conflictual Ethnopolitical Concepts in the Republics of the Russian Federation: Tatarstan and Chechnya
- Author:
- Andrzej Wieberzbicki and Sylwia Gorlicka
- Publication Date:
- 01-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Polish Political Science Yearbook
- Institution:
- Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
- Abstract:
- Russia is a state with a multi-ethnic federal structure inherited from the USSR. Implementing an ethnic policy that would unite and integrate its citizens is one of its most important goals. Among Russia’s federal subjects are also national republics pursuing their own ethno-political concepts, either conciliatory or conflictual. Tatarstan and Chechnya are examples of such republics. With the use of the comparative method, the article is an attempt at demonstrating many factors that have an impact on the shaping and implementing of the ethnic policy through such criteria as the status of the republics, the concept of the nation, and ethnocentrism, historical memory, the role of Islam and its politicization, and the language policy. The article also outlines their consequences and possible future scenarios.
- Topic:
- Politics, Governance, Ethnography, and Federalism
- Political Geography:
- Russia and Europe
11. Beyond Borders: Middle East in Empire, Diaspora, and Global Transitions (Harvard Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Policy, Spring 2021)
- Author:
- Reilly Barry
- Publication Date:
- 04-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Harvard Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Policy
- Institution:
- The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
- Abstract:
- The Middle East saw its share of globe-altering events in the last year. While JMEPP seeks to offer original analysis beyond the headlines, almost all major contemporary regional developments have been addressed in the present edition. The list, of course, is not exhaustive, but includes the Abraham Accords and increasing international marginalization of Palestinians, the renewed fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh between Armenia and Azerbaijan, continued protests amidst crises and weakening state institutions in Lebanon, and the rise of Turkey’s aggressive imperial foreign policy, to name a few. While there are major global transitions afoot as relates to the region, there is also a lack of transition— sadly, the 10-year anniversary of the Syrian revolution marks little change for those living under the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad. Likewise, the humanitarian crisis in Yemen persists. The edition discusses what may become of newly inaugurated President Biden’s policies toward the region, including the challenge of renegotiating the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran. And finally, the edition would be remiss to not address how Covid-19 has impacted the region.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Politics, Diaspora, Refugees, Social Media, Alliance, Conflict, Protests, Peace, Houthis, COVID-19, and Polarization
- Political Geography:
- Iraq, Europe, Iran, Turkey, Middle East, Israel, Yemen, Palestine, Georgia, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, United States of America, and Nagorno-Karabakh
12. Ideological Interventions in the COVID-19 Health Crisis in Turkey By Power, Politics, and Religion
- Author:
- Bayram Balci and Sumbul Kaya
- Publication Date:
- 09-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
- Institution:
- Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
- Abstract:
- This article aims at analyzing the various ideological interventions, prompted by the pandemic in Turkey, in the fields of power, politics, and religion. In a country and a context where politics and religion are closely connected, and a particular Turkish experience with few parallels in the Muslim world, our investigation will be two-fold: how to calculate the ongoing impact of Covid-19 on the Turkish political field, and secondly, how has the religious world reacted in backing up politics in its response to this crisis. We are seeking to understand the effects of the crisis on the established power, and on the orientations of national and international policy in the context of a health crisis. Lastly, we need to examine the role of religion in the management of the crisis
- Topic:
- Politics, Religion, Governance, Ideology, Public Health, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Turkey, and Asia
13. Northern Ireland’s 100th Birthday
- Author:
- Brendan O'Leary
- Publication Date:
- 09-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Institution:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Abstract:
- On 23 December 2020, Northern Ireland turned one hundred years old— that is, if its birthday is dated by the ratification of the Government of Ireland Act by King George V. Officially titled “An Act for the better Government of Ireland,” it became known to Irish nationalists and republicans as the partition act.1 The U.K. Parliament passed the act without a single vote in its favor from a member of Parliament elected in Ireland. The proposed British “solution” to Ireland’s right to self-determination was the invention of two Irelands, “Northern Ireland” and “Southern Ireland,” each scheduled to be a devolved government within the Union of Great Britain and Ireland. The proposal was enacted during what we Irish call the “War of Independence.”2
- Topic:
- Politics, History, and Territorial Disputes
- Political Geography:
- Europe and North Ireland
14. Is the “show-the-flag” strategy relevant for Visegrad countries in securing the EU?
- Author:
- Hana N. Hlaváčková
- Publication Date:
- 10-2020
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
- Institution:
- Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
- Abstract:
- The European security environment has changed and the EU has become more independent in its security policy. New threats faced by the EU in 2014 (the migration crises) and other remaining threats (such as terrorism, organised crime, piracy) need solving by its greater involvement in the region. One problem that the EU tries to solve is the inconsistency of member states in security issues. In this article, we focus on the V4 group and their opinions towards EU security. This article examines strategies adopted by small/new EU member states to protect European borders and European territories and regions outside the EU that affect their security. For a long time, the V4 countries only participated sporadically in EU missions. The article shows what changes took place and what were the reasons for the decision to participate or not in the EU activities. The article raises the question of whether the showthe-flag strategy adopted by the V4 countries and their participation in EU missions is relevant for ensuring European security nowadays.
- Topic:
- Security, NATO, Politics, and European Union
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and United States of America
15. Memory and Politics of Memory in Terms of the Memes Theory. With Reference to an Example of the Idea of Polish Heroism
- Author:
- Anna Ratke-Majewska
- Publication Date:
- 01-2020
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Polish Political Science Yearbook
- Institution:
- Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
- Abstract:
- The purpose of the article is to verify the hypothesis that the idea of Polish heroism constitutes an effectively duplicating and spreading meme, and stories of the past constructed in the framework of Polish politics of memory will be effective precisely when they refer to memes duplicated most often in the community. The article proves therefore that the Polish state politics of memory should be shaped on the basis of memes that replicate the most in Polish society, because only then does it have a chance to achieve its goals. What is more, this principle can also be applied to other countries that pursue a politics of memory. It was possible to obtain answers to the research questions raised in the text (in order to verify the hypotheses) due to the use of mutually complementary research methods: analysis of narrative structures and content analysis. The article presents the results of the author’s own research with comments and conclusions.
- Topic:
- Politics, Memory, Community, and Heroism
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Poland
16. Political Process, Crisis and Legitimacy in Poland
- Author:
- Hector Calleros
- Publication Date:
- 01-2020
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Polish Political Science Yearbook
- Institution:
- Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
- Abstract:
- The paper examines the conflict over the control of the integration of Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal (CT) that evolved into a constitutional crisis in October 2015 - and has extended for more than two years. It identifies issues that help understand how the Polish Democracy does not impede the erosion of constitutional democracy as the conflict has undermined the CT and the function of judicial review (JR). The article examines issues of legitimacy that emerge from the crisis; it also examines the extent to which the institutional settings condition the operation of the JR function; in particular, it looks at the role of executive actors (the Government and the President), and the role of the political/parliamentary party in bridging the separation of powers.
- Topic:
- Politics, Democracy, Constitution, Legitimacy, and Justice
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Poland
17. The Issue of Ideological Changes in the Context of the Polish Political Parties - Theoretical Models and Their Exemplifications
- Author:
- Michal Niebylski
- Publication Date:
- 01-2020
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Polish Political Science Yearbook
- Institution:
- Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
- Abstract:
- The article aims to present and discuss five theoretical models explaining the issue of ideological changes in Polish political parties. The paper is to shed light on an ideology’s dynamic nature and the process of building ideology in the political parties’ environment. The article features a discussion on the circumstances favoring the implementation of ideological changes and the methods used by parties to implement changes in their ideologies. The paper adopts two research hypotheses: 1) party ideologies are developed and modified by political parties in response to the changing (social, political, economic) circumstances in the inter-party rivalry. 2) The process of ideological changes serves political parties to lead an effective inter-party rivalry. The paper establishes that the factors with scientifically documented impact on party behavior in ideological terms are as follows: electoral result (parties that achieved a result below their expectations are more eager to revise their ideologies), political competition’s activity (parties react to ideological changes of their direct rivals), electorate preferences (political forces can change their approach in crucial issues to reflect the dominant views in their electorates) and acceptance of free-market principles by the main political actors. An analysis of Polish parties’ behaviors and the gathered source material also demonstrates that the parties’ inclination to implement ideological changes depends on organizational factors.
- Topic:
- Politics, Ideology, Models, and Party System
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Poland
18. Unintended Consequences of EU External Action
- Author:
- Olga Burlyuk and Gergana Noutcheva
- Publication Date:
- 03-2019
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- There is a gap in IR and EU scholarship concerning unintended consequences in an international context, leaving this important phenomenon understudied. To fill this gap, a conceptualisation of unintended consequences is offered, and a set of common research questions are presented, highlighting the nature (what), the causes (why) and the modes of management (how) of unintended consequences of EU external action. The Special Issue contributes to the study of the EU as an international actor by broadening the notion of the EU’s impact abroad to include the unintended consequences of EU (in)actions and by shedding new light on the conceptual paradigms that explain EU external action.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Europe and European Union
19. A New Cold War: Personal Reflections Regarding Russia’s Missed Opportunities with NATO, Ukraine and Its Western Neighbors
- Author:
- Keith C. Smith
- Publication Date:
- 02-2019
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- American Diplomacy
- Institution:
- American Diplomacy
- Abstract:
- President Boris Yeltsin’s imperial views on the “near abroad,” and President Vladimir Putin’s regarding Russia’s alleged “sphere of influence” has left Russia considerably weaker than it would have been otherwise, and the world much more endangered.
- Topic:
- Arms Control and Proliferation, Cold War, Diplomacy, Economics, Politics, Armed Forces, Reform, and Gas
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, Ukraine, Soviet Union, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, United States of America, and Baltic States
20. A Vision of the State’s Political System in the Political Thought of the National Party between 1928 and 1939
- Author:
- Maria Curie-Sklodowska
- Publication Date:
- 01-2019
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Polish Political Science Yearbook
- Abstract:
- Views of the National Party (1928-1939) merit special attention, given both the Party’s prominent role in the political life of interwar Poland and the interesting combination of various elements derived from diverse ideological trends within the Party’s programme. The ideological legacy of the National Party reflected, to a large extent, the key constituents of the National Democracy’s political thought, such as nationalism, representation of all social classes, national integrity and the concept of the nation-state. The National Party underwent major evolution and was subject to internal divisions which makes the image of its political thought much more complex. Based on an analysis of the National Party’s political thought, several conclusions can be formulated. The National Party developed its own views regarding political systems. These were, to a large extent, determined by their own system of values based on the national idea. The National Party’s political system projections were mainly inspired by (1) the successes of the “new type” states; (2) pressure from totalitarian systems; and (3) the influence of the economic and spiritual crisis. The National Party leaders wanted to make the political system more efficient. Nonetheless, views in favor of directly imitating any foreign political systems could hardly be found in the Party’s political thought. The National Party’s ideologists and journalists invariably stated that there was no pre-defined political system, but its form had to be adjusted to the specificity and unique character of a given national body. Although inspiration was drawn from external political systems, the Party’s political thought did not lose its independence.
- Topic:
- Nationalism, Politics, Ideology, and Political System
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Poland
21. Turkey’s View of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Visit to Poland in 2017. Prospects and Conclusions
- Author:
- Joanna Marszalek-Kawa and Ahmet Burak
- Publication Date:
- 01-2019
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Polish Political Science Yearbook
- Institution:
- Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
- Abstract:
- On October 17, 2017, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan paid an official visit to Warsaw upon the invitation of the President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda. The main subject of the talks was political, economic and cultural cooperation. Issues of security were also addressed. President Erdoğan had last visited Warsaw during the NATO summit on July 8–9, 2016. During the meeting in October, the two presidents signed five bilateral agreements. This paper provides an analysis of the effects of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit and prospects regarding the development of friendly relations between Poland and Turkey from Ankara’s perspective. In the paper we applied the test analysis method, the historical method and the institutional and legal one. We pose a thesis that the aim of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit was to identify mutual relations in the economic, political and cultural dimension. According to the Turkish government, these relations are beneficial for both sides. What should be particularly important for Poland is the prospect of opening new cooperation opportunities in the economic sphere. Turkey, in turn, apart from defining the broad framework of business cooperation, is undoubtedly determined to find a partner which could be its ally in the European Union.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Politics, Bilateral Relations, Elections, and Democracy
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Turkey, and Poland
22. Frozen Conflicts: The EU and Future of Cyprus (Interview)
- Author:
- George Vasilliou
- Publication Date:
- 06-2018
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
- Institution:
- School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
- Abstract:
- Interview with Former President of the Republic of Cyprus George Vassiliou.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Politics, European Union, and Conflict
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Cyprus, and European Union
23. Remembering 1962: The Turkish constitutional referendum in context a series on Turkish constitutionalism, part 1
- Author:
- Mason Hill
- Publication Date:
- 01-2018
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Harvard Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Policy
- Institution:
- The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
- Abstract:
- This is the first in a three part series on Turkish constitutionalism one year after the 2017 constitutional referendum. Constitutions are nations’ mission statements, and articulate pre-political commitments that turn residents into citizens, and borders into a nation. In Turkey, generations of political leaders have used constitutional reform as an opportunity to set their political agenda and highlight their priorities. The 2017 referendum must be understood in the context of a democracy where voters have experienced successive constitutional reforms aimed at complementing the mission each new generation of leaders gives itself. A view of modern Turkish history reveals the tendency of leaders to use constitutional reform to address deficiencies in their respective administrations, and reflects the latent tension between populism, military intervention, and constitutional integrity.
- Topic:
- Politics, History, Law, Reform, and Constitution
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Turkey, and Middle East
24. Turkey’s constitutional referendum, one year later – a series on Turkish constitutionalism, part 3
- Author:
- Mason Hill
- Publication Date:
- 01-2018
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Harvard Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Policy
- Institution:
- The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
- Abstract:
- This is the third in a three part series on Turkish constitutionalism one year after the 2017 constitutional referendum. the 2017 Constitutional Referendum have only entrenched that reality. Erdogan’s dominance in Turkish politics should not obscure the fact that the individual office holder rather than an ideologically-grounded bloc is now the fulcrum upon which Turkish politics shifts. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) that came to power promising reform, religious pluralism and market-friendly economic policies has become a vehicle for Erdoğan’s personal ambition. After the Gezi Park protests and amid allegations of his son’s corruption, Erdogan became an increasingly polarizing personality in Turkish politics who weighed down the AKP brand in the 2015 parliamentary elections. Yet Erdoğan’s popularity returned during the pivotal moment of the 2016 coup attempt, when he appeared in a live interview with a reporter via Facetime. By the time 2017 referendum campaign, Erdoğan personally rather than AKP parliamentarians was the medium around which responses were polarized. The extension of Erdoğan’s personal control over the levers of power was particularly apparent in the referendum’s changes to the structure of the legislative and judicial branches of the Turkish government, granting legal justification to Erdoğan’s de facto force of personality regime. Developments over the past year have made clear that Turks are increasingly casting votes for and against candidates rather than parties.
- Topic:
- Politics, Elections, Constitution, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Coup
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Turkey, and Middle East
25. In Turkey, the cult of Ataturk gives way to the cult of Erdogan
- Author:
- Arega Hovsepyan
- Publication Date:
- 01-2018
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Harvard Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Policy
- Institution:
- The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
- Abstract:
- After the attempted coup d’état of 15 July 2016, discussion inside expert circles about the construction of a “new” Turkey took on a new urgency. The result of the 2017 constitutional referendum remade Turkey’s political institutions, but the events of the 2016 coup attempt also catalyzed changes to the symbolism of the state. The ruling Justice and Development Party, whose slogans had long promised “a new Turkey,” was at the forefront of the surge in hardened messaging. The cornerstone of this “new Turkey” is а classical concentration of political power in the hands of one person, specifically President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Kemalism, Turkey’s founding ideology, is in the process of being replaced by the new ideology of the new president. Although it is still early to characterise this new ideology in Turkey as “Erdoğanism”, the similarities and contradictions of Kemalism and Erdoğanism lend insight on the structure of Turkish politics. The era of Erdoğan has been unleashed in Turkey, and moreover, its eponym is eager to not only replace the personality cult of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, but also to surpass the historic founder’s titanic image.
- Topic:
- Politics, History, Authoritarianism, Ideology, and Coup
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Turkey, and Middle East
26. Stalled Europeanization in Post-Sovereignty EU? Greek Politics in Hard Times
- Author:
- Kostas A Lavdas
- Publication Date:
- 10-2018
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Institution:
- International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
- Abstract:
- This paper focuses on stalled Europeanization as a field of practices, institutions and discourse connected with a process of ambivalent reform. The absence of a consensual national strategy of adaptation to a particularly challenging environment, i.e., participation in the eurozone, produced dramatic consequences when confronted with the financial crisis after 2009. It is argued that the country’s sluggish Europeanization reached a critical turning point in 2009 when the urgency of the crisis brought to the fore a number of issues and vulnerabilities. Asymmetric policy adjustment – limited in some areas, extensive in others – has been the combined result of perceived necessity, insufficiently designed and implemented reform packages, party-political repositioning, and plain politicking. Europeanization in Greece became a stalled process in 2015; restarting the stalled process since 2016 leads to ongoing but sluggish Europeanizing interactions, involving shifts in the roles of domestic politics, institutional traditions and interest groups while reshaping the patterns of political contestation.
- Topic:
- Politics, Sovereignty, Reform, and Europeanization
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Greece
27. British–Russian Convention and Ottoman Empire in the Context of Polarization Politics
- Author:
- M. Volkan Atuk
- Publication Date:
- 06-2018
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Institution:
- International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
- Abstract:
- The British-Russian Convention of 1907 was seen as a joint effort by Britain and Russia to reconcile their areas of influence in Asia but apart from this purpose, it represented the last ring of the emerging tripartite blog that included France against Germany and its allies. The agreement, which mainly came into agenda for partitioning Iran, was handled by the Ottoman Foreign Affairs as a text about Asian affairs. The Ottoman statesmen, who considered only the part of this agreement concerning Afghanistan, Tibet and Iran, couldn’t realize that this was an important part of the polarization politics that pushed world to a general war.
- Topic:
- Politics, Treaties and Agreements, History, Ottoman Empire, and Polarization
- Political Geography:
- Britain, Afghanistan, Russia, Europe, Iran, Eurasia, and Tibet
28. The Chinese People’s Republic Investment Engagement in Belarus and Ukraine after 2010
- Author:
- Patrycja Rutkowska and Adam Adamczyk
- Publication Date:
- 03-2018
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Nowa Polityka Wschodnia
- Institution:
- Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
- Abstract:
- The purpose of this article is to present and compare China’s economic, political and military involvement in Ukraine and Belarus, with particular emphasis on their role in the global expansion of the PRC. China after the opening of the economy to the world in the early 1980s, immediately became one of the most important elements of the global economy. The article will attempt an analysis of Chinese investments on the Dnieper, but also the political and military aspects of this cooperation.
- Topic:
- Politics, Economy, Investment, and Army
- Political Geography:
- China, Europe, Eurasia, Ukraine, Asia, and Belarus
29. Ideology, Political Agenda, and Conflict: A Comparison of American, European, and Turkish Legislatures’ Discourses on Kurdish Question
- Author:
- Akın Ünver
- Publication Date:
- 01-2017
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace
- Institution:
- Center for Foreign Policy and Peace Research
- Abstract:
- Combining discourse analysis with quantitative methods, this article compares how the legislatures of Turkey, the US, and the EU discursively constructed Turkey’s Kurdish question. An examination of the legislative-political discourse through 1990 to 1999 suggests that a country suffering from a domestic secessionist conflict perceives and verbalizes the problem differently than outside observers and external stakeholders do. Host countries of conflicts perceive their problems through a more security-oriented lens, and those who observe these conflicts at a distance focus more on the humanitarian aspects. As regards Turkey, this study tests politicians’ perceptions of conflicts and the influence of these perceptions on their pre-existing political agendas for the Kurdish question, and offers a new model for studying political discourse on intra-state conflicts. The article suggests that a political agenda emerges as the prevalent dynamic in conservative politicians’ approaches to the Kurdish question, whereas ideology plays a greater role for liberal/pro-emancipation politicians. Data shows that politically conservative politicians have greater variance in their definitions, based on material factors such as financial, electoral, or alliance-building constraints, whereas liberal and/or left-wing politicians choose ideologically confined discursive frameworks such as human rights and democracy.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Politics, European Union, Conflict, Legislation, and Kurds
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Turkey, and United States of America
30. Hard Power versus Soft Power or a Balance between the Two?
- Author:
- Peter Volten
- Publication Date:
- 07-2016
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace
- Institution:
- Center for Foreign Policy and Peace Research
- Abstract:
- Many things have changed in Turkey within the last decade, but also in Brussels as to the political practises. This commentary seeks to answer whether Turkey and the EU can find and maintain a sensible balance between toughness and empathy, between considerations of hard power and soft power. Turkey is obviously an essential, regional player both economically and militarily. Geopolitics may not appear high on the agenda of the EU, but the situation in the Middle-East simply could not and cannot be ignored as a geopolitical challenge, one that might beg for acting in concert with Turkey. On the other side, Europe represents an attraction and example based on a long history and struggle for material wealth, technological and scientific progress as well as for the accomplished degree of democracy and the rule of law. More recently, however, EU soft power suffers a number of setbacks. We disown our most basic values of soft power and will lose impact in promoting a just, democratic order in the world. If the EU and its member states fail to recover from this set-back, we risk to fall back in the hard power game, also with potential and aspiring states.
- Topic:
- Politics, European Union, Democracy, Geopolitics, Rule of Law, and Soft Power
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Turkey, Middle East, and Mediterranean
31. Ukrainian Identity: Changes, Trends, Regional Aspects
- Author:
- Valeriya Klymenko
- Publication Date:
- 01-2016
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- National Security and Defence
- Institution:
- Razumkov Centre
- Abstract:
- The Razumkov Centre has been studying the identity of Ukrainian citizens since 2005, when for the first time in history of an independent Ukraine distinctions between the society’s different identity groups have created a foundation for a large-scale socio-political conflict known as the Orange Revolution. These studies, conducted in the period of 2005-2009 in Ukraine and its separate regions, including Crimea, uncovered a number of special features of Ukrainian identity, the major ones being: contradictions in the process of forming a common, national civic identity and vagueness of its prospects; presence of an opposing trend – formation of regional sub-national identities on the basis of regional localisation of different linguistic, cultural, national and ethnic, denominational identities of citizens in various parts of Ukraine. The studies have also found interdependence and cross impact between different identity distinctions, in particular linguistic and cultural, and the civic identity.1 Subsequently, starting from 2010, a whole number of events of different scale have taken place in the history of Ukraine due to internal and external factors. These events have, on the one hand, significantly influenced national identity formation in Ukraine and, on the other hand, have themselves become the consequence of the existing trends. In particular, the Razumkov Centre has expressed warnings that since a common national identity of Ukrainian citizens has not been fully formed yet, there is a risk of sub-national identities of some communities integrating with other foreign national identities. Unfortunately, this came true, with such tragic consequences as annexation of Crimea by Russia, attempts by several Eastern and Southern regions to split away from Ukraine (known as the “Novorossiya project”) and the armed conflict in Donbas with thousands of casualties. Results of opinion polls conducted in 2014-2015 demonstrate changes in different dimensions of Ukrainian citizens’ identity. Along with this, due to the circumstances, these changes are of different, at times inconsistent nature, and consequently may bring different outcomes for further development of Ukrainian society and statehood. This creates a need for deeper comprehensive study of Ukrainian identity, changes that occurred during 2006-2015, current processes and trends. The Razumkov Centre’s Project “Identity of Ukrainian Citizens: Changes, Challenges and National Unity Prospects” aims to solve these tasks. A national opinion poll was conducted as part of this project.2 The presented informational and analytical materials contain main results of this poll in terms of different aspects of citizens’ identity3 (“identities”) and their attitude to major topical problems in the society,4 and also describe aspects of identity of citizens from different regions and social groups.
- Topic:
- Politics, Citizenship, Language, and Identity
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Ukraine
32. Greece and the European Project: Canary in the Coal Mine?
- Author:
- Daniel V. Speckhard
- Publication Date:
- 09-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Council of American Ambassadors
- Abstract:
- After serving for two challenging years in the chaos of a war zone as the Deputy Chief of Mission in Iraq, I received word that I would become the next Ambassador to Greece. To be quite honest, I had mixed feelings. I looked forward to the challenge, but I imagined the post would be too sedate compared with the adrenalin-charged days and world-shaping events in Iraq. It was anything but. Within a year of my arrival, the streets were aflame with violent protests over a police shooting of a teenager. A year later, snap elections brought a socialist government to power. And soon thereafter, the onion was further peeled to expose a financial crisis and a crumbling economic foundation built on a corrupt, oligarchic, and debt-addicted system fed by billions of dollars of public and private EU loans and grants.
- Topic:
- Corruption, Economics, Politics, Financial Crisis, and European Union
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Greece
33. Malcolm X at Oxford Union: Racial Politics in a Global Era, Saladin Ambar
- Author:
- Felix Germain
- Publication Date:
- 01-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Political Science Quarterly
- Institution:
- Academy of Political Science
- Abstract:
- In this well-written book, Saladin Ambar adds substance to the extensive literature on Malcolm X. Retracing the steps of Malcolm X in France and England, where he debated at the Oxford Student Society, Ambar contends that the debate comprises the foundation of Malcolm X's political philosophy, particularly the one he espoused at the end of his life. Indeed, during this important debate, not only did Malcolm X outline a notion of humanity based on a universal principal of equality, but he also described the struggle for equality in the United States, Europe, and Africa as an emancipatory process for both the oppressor and the oppressed. - See more at: http://www.psqonline.org/article.cfm?IDArticle=19336#sthash.O9m49nRo.dpuf
- Topic:
- Politics
- Political Geography:
- Africa, United States, Europe, and England
34. Linda Overland and Mikkel Berg-Nordlie, Bridging Divides: Ethno-Political Leadership among the Russian Sami
- Author:
- Emel Elif Tugdar
- Publication Date:
- 02-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Central European University Political Science Journal
- Institution:
- Central European University
- Abstract:
- The term “indigenous” refers to the ethnic minorities within a state but without a state. Generally, the indigenous groups are located across neighboring states. The Roma people in Europe are one of the significant examples of indigenous people that are located across Central and Eastern European states without a state of their own. As the indigenous groups have unique social, cultural, economic and political characteristics, they are distinct from those of the society in which they live. Their language, knowledge systems and beliefs differ from the society as well. Due to their cultural differences, the diverse indigenous peoples share common problems also related to the protection of their rights. They strive for recognition of their identities, their ways of life and their right to political representation and participation. As a result, a special set of political rights have been set to protect them by international organizations such as the United Nations. The United Nations have issued a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to guide state policies in order to protect the collective rights of indigenous peoples, such as their culture, identity, language, and access to employment, health, education and natural resources.
- Topic:
- Economics, Politics, and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- Russia and Europe
35. Political Parties in Multi-Level Polities: The Nordic countries compared
- Author:
- Maria Shagina
- Publication Date:
- 02-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Central European University Political Science Journal
- Institution:
- Central European University
- Abstract:
- As the result of changes in European governance, the environment in which national parties operate has been unambiguously modified. The complexity of European structures has put additional pressure on national parties and forced them to adapt to new challenges. The emergence of sub-national level has created new arena for national parties to perform their customary functions such as candidate selection, formulation of party manifestos, government formation etc. Yet, the sub-national level stipulated by other institutional structure differs significantly from the national one. The democratic deficit intrinsic to the EU institutions affects and changes the internal organization of national parties. Aylott, Blomgren, and Bergman aim to fill this research gap by investigating the impact of European integration on democratic accountability within Nordic political parties. The authors seek to uncover “the black box of party organization” (p. 2) through the lens of modified delegation and accountability procedures on both national and European levels.
- Topic:
- Environment, Government, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Europe
36. The Concept of the Political
- Author:
- Ciprian Negoita
- Publication Date:
- 02-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Central European University Political Science Journal
- Institution:
- Central European University
- Abstract:
- The Concept of the Political , translated from the 1933 study – La Notion du "politique" et la théorie des différends internationaux , represents a significant contribution for the European public specialized in the field of international relations. While this text may at the first sight seem different from other versions of realism and more related to international relations theory today, in fact, the core assumptions addressed in this study are connected to political realism. The translation of this book represents the first initiative to make Morgenthau's European writings more accessible to students of international relations, particularly to English-speaking researchers. This endeavor both in French and English is relatively little known compared to his major and successful textbook Politics Among Nations , published in 1948 and considered one of the leading writings of the realist school. As the title indicates, this book is constructed around the complex and controversial “concept of the political”, a concept whose correct understanding Morgenthau, and many others before him, considered essential for any theory of political life. Thus, the purpose of this book is to provide an understanding of Morgenthau's oeuvre and worldview and to emphasize the ontological and epistemological commitments of the author, which influenced his later works.
- Topic:
- International Relations and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Europe
37. The International Relations of Local Authorities. From Institutional Twinning to the Committee of the Region: Fifty Years of European Integration History
- Author:
- Francesca Romana Bastianello
- Publication Date:
- 02-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Central European University Political Science Journal
- Institution:
- Central European University
- Abstract:
- At a moment when the European Union is having an identity crisis, it is pertinent to remember the motivations, and the efforts of the men who dedicated their lives to its creation and who established the means and the organizations necessary to involve the citizens in the bottom-up part of this process. This book focuses on the role played by local authorities, the first to use the establishment of twinning – the development of cultural, political and economical bonds between two cities or villages belonging to different nations – as a parameter of real international policy and to view it as an essential phase of the establishment of a united Europe.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Development, Economics, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Europe
38. The Crisis of the E/xceptional/ U/nion
- Author:
- Ivan Krastev
- Publication Date:
- 02-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- The European elections failed to mobilise public support for the European project. Despite the strong showing of populist parties in the European Parliament, there are indications that the European Union would rather be transformed than destroyed by the current political crisis.
- Topic:
- Politics
- Political Geography:
- Europe
39. Why a British referendum on EU membership will not solve the Europe question
- Author:
- Andrew Glencross
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- This article scrutinizes the merits of holding a referendum over UK membership of the EU. It queries the assumption that direct democracy can somehow resolve the longstanding Europe question in British politics. To do this, the analysis traces the existence of an exceptionalist approach to the EU within Britain, now associated with re-negotiating UK membership in the shadow of a referendum. The article argues that the prospects for a radical reconfiguration of the UK's treaty obligations are slim, thereby increasing the risk of a vote to withdraw. Yet withdrawal would be the opposite of a simple solution to the Europe question. Political and economic interests dictate lengthy politicking over a highly complex post-Brexit settlement revisiting free movement of goods, services, capital and people. Such negotiations undermine any mooted cathartic benefits of a popular vote, while Eurosceptics will remain dissatisfied in the event of a yes, a result likely to further destabilize the Conservative Party. Consequently, the simplicity and decisiveness that a referendum—particularly one that spurns the EU—promises is merely a mirage as relations with the EU necessarily form part of an enduring British political conversation.
- Topic:
- Politics
- Political Geography:
- Britain and Europe
40. More Women – But Which Women? The Rule and the Politics of Gender Balance at the European Court of Human Rights
- Author:
- Stéphanie Hennette Vauchez
- Publication Date:
- 05-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- Building on the heightened attention that the optic of judicial selection receives in the world of international courts, this article focuses its attention on one particular criterion that is gaining in importance in that respect: gender. By choosing the European Court of Human Rights as a case in point, the article provides a unique analysis of the history of the 2004 Resolution of the Council of Europe's parliamentary assembly that formulated a rule of gender balance on the list of candidates presented by states for the post of judge at the Court. It first unearths the dynamics that allowed the adoption of the rule as well as all of the fierce opposition it triggered as well as the ways in which counter-mobilization eventually prevailed and watered down the initial rule, with the help of states, the Committee of Ministers and the Court itself (which delivered its first advisory opinion on the topic in 2008). It then looks beyond the static analysis of the rule as a mere constraint and addresses in a more dynamic fashion the multiple interpretations, strategies and, ultimately, politics it opens up. By providing a unique qualitative, comparative and exhaustive analysis of the curriculum vitae of all the 120-odd women who were ever listed as candidates to the Strasbourg judicial bench (1959–2012), the article delivers original data and analyses both the features that women candidates put forth when listed for the job and the strategies of states with regard to the gender criterion. It concludes that while there is a strong proportion of candidates that support the notion that states do not differentiate according to gender or require different qualities from men and women candidates, there is a comparable proposition that contrarily indicates that the world of international judicial appointments is far from gender neutral.
- Topic:
- Human Rights and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Europe
41. New Energy Strategy of Ukraine Until 2020: Security, Energy Efficiency, Competition
- Author:
- Valeriya Klymenko and Hanna Pashkova
- Publication Date:
- 01-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Security and Defence Quarterly
- Institution:
- Razumkov Centre
- Abstract:
- The proposed “New Energy Strategy of Ukraine until 2020: Security, Energy Efficiency, Competition” (hereinafter referred to as NES 2020) is a comprehensive document for reforming the energy complex of Ukraine for the period until 2020. At the same time, NES 2020 defines, above all, the goals and algorithms for energy sector development, and thus will also remain relevant for creating further long-term strategies and sectoral programmes. Target figures mentioned in the document only demonstrate the general trajectory of energy resources demand and offer development. These figures are to have a more expanded and detailed presentation in the developed action plan of the CMU for implementation of NES 2020. Usually, a strategy, being a document that is the result of target-based programme planning and forecasting in a certain sphere of activity, covers a longer period of time – 10-20 years. However, serious challenges currently faced by Ukraine as a state, given the fact of external aggression and the burden of unresolved issues accumulated during the period of independence with reforming of the national energy complex, require a document with such status for a shorter period of time. The NES 2020 stipulates that by the end of its implementation term the restructuring of the energy complex of Ukraine will be complete, including its transition to modern market models of operation, and that the main safety and energy efficiency targets will be achieved. After 2020, Ukrainian energy sector will move on to a new level of its development – complete integration with the EU energy sector and innovative rebuilding. Thus, implementation of tasks in the energy sector after 2020, will require rather different approaches than those defined by NES 2020, which means – development of a new strategic document. During the development of NES 2020, proposals were considered regarding the content of the suggested document from such respected international organisations, as the International Energy Agency, Energy Community Secretariat, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, World Bank, Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, etc. At the final stage of public consultations regarding NES 2020 draft, an expert discussion was organised, which involved representatives of leading scientific research institutions, companies working in the field, international organisations and NGOs, domestic and foreign experts, media, and based on results of which, the final draft of NES 2020 was created. This document was developed by the Razumkov Centre and other leading nongovernmental, public organisations and scientific research institutions of Ukraine, with support of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Fuel and Energy Complex, Nuclear Policy and Nuclear Safety. Therefore, the draft of NES 2020 can be rightfully viewed as a result of joint effort of Ukraine’s expert community and reputable international institutions.
- Topic:
- Security, Economics, Politics, Strategic Competition, and Energy
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Ukraine
42. Cosmos, chaos: finance, power and conflict
- Author:
- Harold James
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- A spectre is haunting the world: 1914. The approaching centenary of the outbreak of the First World War is a reminder of how the instability produced by changes in the relative balance of power in an integrated or globalized world may produce cataclysmic events. Jean-Claude Juncker, the veteran Prime Minister of Luxem-bourg and chair of the Eurogroup of finance ministers, started 2013 by warning journalists that they should take note of the parallels with 1913, the last year of European peace. He was referring explicitly to new national animosities fanned by the European economic crisis, with a growing polarization between North and South. Historically, the aftermath and the consequences of such cataclysms have been extreme. George Kennan strikingly termed the 1914–18 conflict 'the great seminal catastrophe of this century'. Without it, fascism, communism, the Great Depression and the Second World War are all almost impossible to imagine.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Communism, Economics, Politics, and War
- Political Geography:
- Europe
43. Chinese Scholarship on Iran and the Middle East
- Author:
- Nadia Helmy
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Iranian Review of Foreign Affairs
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic Research (CSR)
- Abstract:
- In the past three decades, Chinese Iranian and Middle East Studies have become more and more systematic, which is reflected not only in the great volume of publication, but also in the varied research methodologies and the increase in Iranian and Middle East academic journals. The development of Chinese Middle East studies have accelerated in particular after Arab Spring revolutions and the political changes in the Middle East (2000- 2013). Research institutes evolved from state-controlled propaganda offices into multi-dimensional academic and non-academic entities, including universities, research institutes, military institutions, government offices, overseas embassies and mass media. At the same time, publications evolved from providing an introduction and overview of Iran and Middle Eastern states to in-depth studies of Middle East politics and economics in three stages: beginnings (1949- 1978), growth (1979- 1999), and dealing with energy, religion, culture, society and security. The Middle East-related research programs' funding provided by provincial, ministerial and national authorities have increased and the quality of research has greatly improved. And finally, China has established, as well as joined, various academic institutions and NGOs, such as the Chinese Middle East Studies Association (CMESA), the Asian Middle East Studies Association (AMESA) and the Arabic Literature Studies Association (ALSA). However, Chinese Middle East Studies remain underdeveloped, both in comparison with China's American, European, and Japanese studies at home, and with Middle East studies in the West.
- Topic:
- Security, Energy Policy, Government, Politics, Religion, Culture, and Authoritarianism
- Political Geography:
- Japan, China, America, Europe, Iran, Middle East, and Arabia
44. Book reviews on Chilean democracy, the region's commodity boom and the politics of redistribution.
- Author:
- Maria de los Angeles Fernandez and Peter M. Siavelis
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Americas Quarterly
- Institution:
- Council of the Americas
- Abstract:
- Commentary on Chilean democracy has evolved from praise to concern since conservative President Sebastián Piñera moved into La Moneda Palace in 2010, bringing the Right to power for the first time in over 50 years. The praise was well-earned. Piñera's victory not only showed the Right's vote-getting ability; the peaceful alternation of power in Chile offered conclusive demonstration of one of the continent's most successful democratic transitions. Nevertheless, the Right's victory, which ended 20 years of government by the center-left Concertación, also coincided with a challenge to perceptions about Chile as a paragon of fiscal discipline and political stability. Contemporary Chile is convulsed by social mobilization, and by demands for redistribution and deep reforms to the economic and social model that was once heralded across the region.
- Topic:
- Government and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Latin America
45. Policiers et militaires en Allemagne : le nouvel agencement
- Author:
- Jean-Paul Hanon
- Publication Date:
- 04-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Cultures & Conflits
- Institution:
- Cultures & Conflits
- Abstract:
- La restructuration des polices en Allemagne depuis le milieu des années 1990 et, parallèlement, la redéfinition des missions de la Bundeswehr constituent les développements marquants d'une politique étrangère allemande qui s'inscrit délibérément dans le cadre plus général de la politique européenne de sécurité commune, avec cependant quelques interrogations remarquables.
- Topic:
- Politics
- Political Geography:
- Europe
46. Is Flexible Integration Harming the Prospect of a Common Acquis?
- Author:
- Filippa Chatzistavrou
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- In the post-Lisbon era and especially since the outburst of the financial and European sovereign debt crisis, the EU has been changing significantly, to the extent that the meaning and the process of integration are being affected. While constitutional asymmetry is a longstanding feature of the EU polity, the real challenge today is the expanding scope and fragmented character of newly established forms of flexibility, and how they are being used politically. The flexible configuration of integration reinforces a trend toward fragmented integration. Flexibility within the EU could become an end in itself, a device to serve a wide range of strategic visions and preferences in sectoral politics.
- Topic:
- Politics and Sovereignty
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Lisbon
47. "Just Freedom: A Moral Compass for a Complex World" by Philip Pettit
- Author:
- James Bohman
- Publication Date:
- 09-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- In Just Freedom, Philip Pettit undertakes significant revisions of some of his republican commitments. The book has many new and innovative ideas, but most of all this work sharpens Pettit's thinking on the role of democracy in republicanism, and on the often positive interaction between the two. Above all, it seems to me that Pettit's own account of basic freedoms has become broader and wider, and now includes a cosmopolitan conception of what we owe other human beings, whoever they are.
- Topic:
- Politics
- Political Geography:
- United States and Europe
48. Table of Contents
- Publication Date:
- 10-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of International Relations and Development
- Institution:
- Central and East European International Studies Association
- Abstract:
- Sovereignty at sea: the law and politics of saving lives in mare liberum Tanja E Aalberts and Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen When 'blurring' becomes the norm and secession is justified as the exception: revisiting EU and Russian discourses in the common neighbourhood Eiki Berg and Martin Mölder Foreign policy analysis, globalisation and non-state actors: state-centric after all? Rainer Baumann and Frank A Stengel Regional integration and the challenge of overlapping memberships on trade Mwita Chacha Practicality by judgement: transnational interpreters of local ownership in the Polish-Ukrainian border reform encounter Xymena Kurowska.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Globalization, Politics, and Sovereignty
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, and Ukraine
49. The Crisis and Governance of Religious Pluralism in Europe
- Author:
- Ian Morrison
- Publication Date:
- 10-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Insight Turkey
- Institution:
- SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
- Abstract:
- In recent years, religious pluralism has become the focus of intense debate in Europe - from controversies regarding religious clothing and symbols in the public sphere, to those related to limits on religious speech and the accommodation of religious practices - owing to the perception that pluralism has failed to contend with the purported incommensurability of Islam and European society. This article examines this purported crisis of religious pluralism in Europe and argues that while it is often depicted as resulting from the particularities of Islamic culture and theology, recent controversies point to a deeper crisis born of a historical failure to resolve the question of the governance of religious subjects.
- Topic:
- Politics
- Political Geography:
- Europe
50. Political Identity Building in the EU: A Constructivist Approach
- Author:
- Suavi Aydın
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Academic Inquiries
- Institution:
- Sakarya University (SAU)
- Abstract:
- The EU is an important economic and political figure in global politics and its sui generis presence has been analyzed both from a rationalist approach and by integration theorists. Despite the rationalist material ontology, when we examine the social constructivist reading, the EU has achieved many gradual improvements that foster and strengthen its position as an actor; in particular, the Treaty of Lisbon has emphasized the political identity of the EU. These developmental steps have mostly been constructed on civilian concepts rather than traditional material oriented approaches. This civilian ground has been reinforced by EU treaties and other forms of legislation, giving flesh and bones to the political identity. As a consequence, these efforts have formulated the political identity of the EU; moreover, the EU has begun to export these political identity components, which are fundamental freedoms and the rule of law and democracy, towards other countries. The addressee states generally have some historical or cultural bonds to the EU. Therefore, this research will try to examine which integration theory best answers the EU’s political identity setting and its representation. This paper argues that first the Copenhagen Council in 1993 and then the Treaty of Lisbon have acted as starting points for EU’s self-image; in legal terms, these political steps have given the EU a stable political identity. This consensus in political identity has consolidated the actor profile on the international stage. When considering this progress from a theoretical perspective, traditional integration theories fail to comprehend and clarify this formative process, as they are immersed in the early economic integration process. Interestingly, although this shaped political identity became a robust and constant part of the EU, in recent years the EU has come face to face with the Eurozone economic crisis. In this context, a social constructivist approach, which makes use of social relations as a tool and references social ontology, seems the best approach to intervene the EU political identity and its presence, particularly after the EU gained legal status.
- Topic:
- Politics, European Union, Identity, and Social Constructivism
- Political Geography:
- Europe