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41. Extradition in the Criminal Procedural Legislation of Ukraine:" Compliance With The European Standards

Author:
Victoriia Rohalska, Oksana Bronevytska, and Gediminas Buciunas
Publication Date:
02-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:
Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:
The importance of legal regulation of extradition in the system of legal aid in criminal proceedings is determined both by the national interests of states and the interests of international cooperation in combating transnational and international crimes. The objective of this paper was to get the answer to the main question of this research - Did the provisions of the law on extradition in Ukraine meet international standards? A set of general and special scientific, and philosophical methods of scientific research were used while preparing this article, to clarify the approaches to the extradition procedure of different countries and in practice. The results of the research suggested that the current criminal procedure legislation of Ukraine in the sphere of extradition generally meets European standards. Although, there are some gaps in the national legal regulation of extradition that may adversely affect the observance of the rights and freedoms of persons to whom it is applied.
Topic:
Human Rights, International Cooperation, International Law, European Union, and Extradition
Political Geography:
Europe and Ukraine

42. The Current Stage of Basel III Application And Its Consequence On Financial Stability: Evidence From Kosovo

Author:
Muhamet J. Spahiu
Publication Date:
02-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:
Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:
The study aims to explore the divergences around the implementation of the Basel III agreement, since this agreement is considered the core of the international regulatory response to the financial crisis, setting the strictest criteria for capital structure and risk assessment. This paper explains the current level of legislation that applies in Kosovo, as well as possible divergences with the criteria set by Basel III. It is argued that the national authority, explicitly the CBK, to decide on the implementation of Basel III, had to agree on three aspects and potentially conflicting between them: the stability of the banking sector, competition, and care for economic growth. Finally, the study concluded that Kosovo is implementing Basel III regulations with greater ease and attention, contributing to banking sector stability, competitiveness, and economic growth.
Topic:
Finance, Risk, Financial Stability, and Banking
Political Geography:
Europe and Kosovo

43. The Power of Small EU Member States After Brexit: How Powerful Is the Visegrad Group?

Author:
Thomas Kajanek
Publication Date:
02-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:
Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:
The power of individual EU Member States has been changing over the past decades as a result of revisions to the voting systems and the enlargements of the European Union. The present article analyses the development of the voting power of individual Member States in the Council of the European Union before and after the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union. We use the calculation of the standardized Banzhaf power index to calculate the legislative power of the Member States. The calculations recorded in the table point to changes in the weights of national votes caused by Brexit. The article pays special attention to the Visegrad Group, which we define within the European Union as an informal group consisting of four Central European states - the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and the Slovak Republic. The results indicate a significant growth of the voting power in Poland and more moderate growth in the other three Visegrad Group countries which contributes to the shift in the voting equilibrium within the ordinary legislative procedure of the European Union.
Topic:
Regional Cooperation, European Union, Brexit, Regional Power, and Regional Politics
Political Geography:
Europe, Poland, Hungary, and Czech Republic

44. Post-Pulwama Indo-Pak COnflict: Reconnoitering The Role of Shanghai Cooperation Organization

Author:
Bawa Singh, Aslam Khan, Jagmeet Bawa, and Balinder Singh
Publication Date:
02-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:
Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:
Terrorism has emerged as one of the major challenges for the Eurasian regional peace, security, and cooperation. Keeping these challenges in perspective, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was established to eliminate the menace of terrorism, fundamentalism, and secessionism. Against this background, the main objectives of this paper are to examine how terrorism emerged as a major determining factor in the Indo-Pak relations and how the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), was failed to play its effective role in the Indo-Pak conflict given the Pulwama terror attack. For this research, descriptive and analytical methods were used and the data was collected from secondary sources. The major findings of this article are that terrorism has emerged as one of the major determinants of Indo-Pak relations and the same has become a major challenge for the SCO to resolve the issue. Against the background of terror attacks, it was anticipated that the SCO would play a crucial role to pacify the situation. However, the role played by the SCO in this situation proved marked as a Whack-a-Mole.
Topic:
Security, Diplomacy, Terrorism, Hegemony, Conflict, and Rivalry
Political Geography:
Pakistan, China, India, and Asia

45. Rural Depopulation in Spain: Next Generation EU As A Stimulus To Accelerate The Transformation

Author:
Monica Puente Regidor, Marcin Roman Czubala Ostapiuk, and Carlos Corullon Hermosa
Publication Date:
02-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:
Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:
The main objective of this study was to examine the situation of depopulation in Spain. Also, to highlight the importance of digital transformation and the funds provided through the Next Generation EU (NGEU) to fight against this phenomenon. Based on data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), an empirical investigation about the current state of population abandonment in Spain has been carried out. Moreover, the Digitization Index (DiGiX) has been used to obtain a territorial vision about the digitization degree of the Autonomous Communities (CCAA). Finally, the estimates of the Spanish executive set out in the National Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (RTRP) have been used to underline the importance of Next Generation EU resources to fight the problem of ‘empty Spain’. That was to see that mentioned country is currently at the head of the ‘demographic deserts’ of the EU. Likewise, the Recovery Plan for Europe, and its digital axe, constitute one of the key factors to combat the population abandonment of the Spanish rural areas. In other words, an important approach, which addresses the wide deficiencies in the literature on the subject, is making this research highly relevant and interesting. Downloads
Topic:
Regional Cooperation, Population, European Union, and Rural
Political Geography:
Europe and Spain

46. China's Development Assistance to the Western Balkans and Its Impact on Democratic Governance and Decision-Making

Author:
Ana Krstinovska
Publication Date:
02-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:
Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:
China’s development assistance to the Western Balkans has been little researched and aid-funded projects are often mistermed as Chinese investments. This article aimed to shed light on specific ‘China Aid’ disbursement and management procedures by examining the signed agreements and contracted projects in five countries - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, N. Macedonia, and Serbia during the period 2000-2020. The objective was to determine the impact of China’s development assistance on democratic governance and decision-making. Attride-Stirling’s thematic networks tool was used to analyze the procedures in each project cycle phase and their compliance with the principles of good governance and aid effectiveness. The findings suggest that the assistance, shaped by Chinese rules in combination with Western Balkans domestic agency, is marked by the opacity of the procedures, lack of accountability, disregard for rules in public finance management, and public procurement. Moreover, China could use its grant and loan agreements to influence sovereign decision-making on issues that affect China’s interests. To conclude, although China’s development assistance to the Western Balkans could benefit the recipients’ economic development, it also constrains their democratic governance and decision-making and serves China’s foreign policy interests.
Topic:
Development, Diplomacy, International Cooperation, and Hegemony
Political Geography:
China, Europe, Asia, and Balkans

47. Radical Islamism: Trajectories of Human Rights Violations and Abuses in Africa

Author:
Peter O.O. Ottuh and Felix O. Erhabor
Publication Date:
02-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:
Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:
In Africa, radical and extremist Muslims are striving to transform society through violent change, claiming that African rulers are dictatorial and anti-Islamic; as a result, many African countries are experiencing serious human rights violations and abuses. Therefore, this paper examined radical Islamism and its trajectories of human rights violations and abuses in Africa and proffered workable solutions to the dilemma. To achieve the above aim, the paper employed historical and evaluative methods. The historical method was used to critically review the scholarly literature on radical Islamism and its human rights violations and abuses antecedents in Africa. At the evaluative level, the paper critically discussed the impact of human rights violations and abuses on the African nations and their citizens. The paper revealed that radical Islamism in Africa is driven by bad political leadership, poverty, poor education, unemployment, and religious exclusivism among others. The paper concluded that good governance, economic enhancement, and religious inclusiveness are key tools in discouraging and curbing radical Islamists in African countries.
Topic:
International Law, Violent Extremism, Radicalization, and Human Rights Violations
Political Geography:
Africa

48. Collective Memory In The Context of Content Reconfiguration: The Anecdotes of the Soviet and Post-Soviet Era

Author:
Nataliia Komykh and Yatoslav Zharko
Publication Date:
02-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:
Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:
he article considers the phenomenon of collective memory as a resource of social interaction, legitimization of social practices. In particular, attention is paid to aspects of reconfiguration of the content of the collective memory of the Soviet and post-Soviet periods. Societies remember differently. Ukrainian society has a traumatic social experience gained as a result of the transformational processes of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the formation of an independent state, a democratic politicalorder. The phenomenon of memory is considered in more detail on the example of the results of the study of collective memory reflected in anecdotes. The authors noted that the anecdote is a mechanism for translating cultural meanings intothe memory of societies. The anecdote represents the symbolic systems of objective manifestations of collective memory. Based on the analysis of the results of the research by the method of content analysis using the online program Voyant Tools, reconfigurations of the content of anecdotes were recorded: from political to private; from local toponymic discourse to global; from ridiculing the policy of the state to the experience of society through the humor of the historical events of the formation of independent Ukraine.
Topic:
Memory, Social Order, Identity, and Post-Soviet Space
Political Geography:
Europe and Soviet Union

49. Afghanistan Under Taliban: A new Regime Poses a Threat to International Stability

Author:
Valeri Modebadze
Publication Date:
02-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:
Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to see whether the Taliban regime poses a threat to the international community. The research primarily examined the threats that the formation of a theocratic regime in Afghanistan poses to neighboring countries and the international community. With regards to research methods, a document analysis method was used to obtain valid information and to analyze and describe the complex situation in Afghanistan. A wide array of documents and scholarly articles were analyzed to obtain reliable and objective information. This research revealed that the Taliban has not changed at all and still rules Afghanistan with medieval methods and strategies. Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the economic situation has deteriorated considerably and people face severe hardship. Therefore, hundreds of thousands of Afghans want to leave their homeland and migrate to the West. The Taliban violates constantly human rights and discriminates against women, ethnic and religious minorities. The Taliban has transformed Afghanistan into a narco-state. Neighboring countries fear that Afghanistan might become a hotbed of terrorism and extremism again.
Topic:
Security, Economics, International Cooperation, Governance, Taliban, and Political stability
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and Middle East

50. The Challenges of Public Administration Reforms in Kosovo in the Context of Eurointegration Process

Author:
Artan Fejzullahu and Besard Belegu
Publication Date:
02-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:
Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:
The phase of transition and the ambition for EU membership has caused the administration and the Government of Kosovo to act differently, allowing it to address a variety of issues that have brought Kosovo's state administration closer to the European family. Kosovo has not remained indifferent to its claim to join the EU, therefore it has undertaken the public administration reform. The results of the reform are being felt slowly. Problems in administration reform over the past few years have been; political influence on public administration recruitment and independent decision-making, size of administration, lack of professionalism, etc. The objectives of this paper consist of a) reflecting the real situation of the public administration reform process, b) analyzing the results of the administration reform over the years, c) analyzing the harmonization of legal acts and the transformation of the public administration of Kosovo with acts legal and EU policies. The research methods used in this study were normative, analytical, and statistical methods. Reforming and modernizing the public sector remains one of Kosovo's most pressing challenges on the road to EU membership.
Topic:
Regional Cooperation, Reform, European Union, and Public Policy
Political Geography:
Europe and Kosovo