The topic of research was a hypothesis concerning the impact of cohesion policy on the quality of governance and bureaucratic efficiency in the context of socio-cultural conditions. The units of ...observation were the nations and regions of Central and Eastern Europe. The cultural factors were described in terms of the historical evolution of the correlates of social capital. Calculations were performed using international databases for nations and regions. Quality of governance was measured using: QoG (Quality of Governance) and the regional quality of governance indicator: EQI (European Quality Index). Quality of governance measured by QoG is a function of social capital and the financial resources of public administrations. In Poland, the modification of the separation of powers that began in 2015 has not yet affected governance indicators. However, in Hungary, the change in government and subsequent decline in the quality of government was preceded by a deep crisis of civil society. Cohesion policy was treated as a distinct case of a cultural import. Regional studies based on EQI have shown that cohesion policy funds have led to improved functioning of public administration bodies, but did not result in a better EQI rating. The significance of changes in socio-cultural factors on improved bureaucratic efficiency is uncertain. Changes in external factors (social capital) promote improved functioning of public administrations in Central and Eastern European countries. However, the style of leadership may present a clear barrier to these influences. This cultural import has not brought about any visible transformation in organizational culture.
The deteriorated security situation in Europe has contributed to a renewed focus on Nordic defence cooperation. Recent political statements indicate an increased interest among the Nordic states to ...strengthen regional security cooperation in times of peace, crisis and conflict. Nonetheless, the main obstacles preventing close integration remain in place, in particular the different strategic orientations when it comes to NATO and EU membership among the Nordics. While this is well known among scholars, less emphasis has been on the lowerlevel challenges Nordic defence cooperation initiatives has met. Bureaucratic mismatches and diverging industrial interests can have an important negative impact on politically endorsed projects. Governance entrepreneurs can not only undermine a specific project, but may also contribute negatively to the larger political climate between states. This article will illustrate the argument with several cases of botched Swedish-Norwegian cooperation, with particular emphasis on the Archer artillery project. This was a politically prestigious joint procurement project which failed, with significant souring of political relations as a result.
Since its very origins, the importance and desired impacts of international organizations are among the prominent issues of the International Relations discipline. Although much has been written on ...their contribution to governance in various fields of international politics, including human rights, the individual participation, motives and efforts of states and their transformative effects still remain understudied. Inter alia, this is also true for the elected mandates of states in the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), which not only affect the international community but also the states themselves. To fill in the gap, the article first attempts to combine the existing tools used for the analysis of the impacts of a state’s engagement within this body on its external and domestic policies into a more comprehensive analytical framework. In the empirical sections, the activities of the Czech Republic during its UNHRC mandate in the period of 2011–2014 are examined. The analysis draws primarily on the data from the Reports of the UNHRC on its regular and special sessions during that period. In addition, a comparison is also employed of the key foreign policy documents with the voluntary pledges and commitments adopted as an integral part of the candidacy to the UNHRC. The article concludes that the Czech Republic used the mandate primarily for the fulfilment of its foreign policy goals. Opportunities for changes in the national legislation, as well as for the extension of Czech human rights foreign policy with some aspects of economic and social rights, were missed.
The paper considers the book Fangevoktere i konsentrasjonleire: En sosiologiska undersøkelse av norskefangevoktere i “serbienleire” i Nord-Norge i 1942–43, which has recently been published in ...Serbian language. It highlights the scientific significance, currency and relevance of the book at the time when it was written, as well the name and significance of author. It reflects the author’s opinion оn the development of theory and understanding of the phenomenon of concentration camps. This paper emphasizes the great importance of the book being translated into the Serbian language, not only because of its significance for the reasons
previously stated, but also because it touches upon the Serbian camps in North Norway, in which some of the most tragic episodes in the history of the Serbian people occurred.
The text answers the following question: what is the point of conducting political science research? The research can make a lot of sense when you are strongly motivated and, motivation is just as ...important as your knowledge how to do it. In the latter case, you must proceed in the correct order. Firstly, the boundaries of the research field should be set, and secondly, original and unconventional research problems and hypotheses should be defined. Thirdly, the proper selection of primary and secondary sources is necessary. Fourthly, you choose appropriate research methods and techniques, and then construct a research tool or tools. After the determining of the level of accuracy and relevance of data collected, it is possible to proceed to the verification of hypotheses. The more thorough the process and the more inquisitive researcher, the more interesting research results are obtained.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, migration policy has always been an all-important issue for Russian
authorities. It is one of the major migrant-receiving countries in the world and according ...to some assessments,
international migrants constitute up to 25 per cent of total workforce in the country. After becoming an independent state,
the authorities quickly realized that the Soviet-style immigration laws had to undergo huge changes in order to regulate
the incoming massive migration effectively. This article presents a general overview of Russian immigration law at
different stages of its development. It also elaborates on how toughening migration policy has produced reverse effect by
creating more illegal migrants in the country, in addition to resulting in "domino effect" towards migrants.
In this research work, the author focuses on the analysis of the directions of developmentof the new Chinese ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ (BRI) or ‘One Belt, One Road’ (OBOR) as a projectlaunched by ...China to develop countries and improve global connectivity. First unveiled in 2013 byChinese President Xi Jinping, the initiative continues to grow in scale and popularity. The initiative isfocused on creating networks that will allow for a more efficient and productive free flow of trade aswell as further integration of international markets both physically and digitally. BRI is comprised ofthe ‘21st Century Maritime Silk Road’ and the ‘Silk Road Economic Belt;’ together they will connectmore than 65 countries making up over 62% of the world’s population, around 35% of the world’s tradeand over 31% of the world’s GDP. It will take the form of a series of highways, railways and ports aswell as facilities for energy, telecommunications, healthcare and education. It must be emphasized thatthe initiative merges both the land-based Silk Road (from China via Central Asia to Turkey and the EU)with the Maritime Route (via the Indian Ocean and Africa to Europe). Both routes were created with theintention of developing transportation infrastructure, facilitating economic development and increasingtrade. This 21st-century initiative is not merely for China to romanticize its historical legacies: it carriesmajor strategic economic and geopolitical calculations. The EU must decide now if and how to engagein these emerging processes. The main aim of the article is to present the directions of development ofthe new Chinese ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ (BRI) as a project, launched by China to develop countriesand improve global connectivity.
Energy dependence of the world trade centres has been the subject of extensive research. With regard to the European Union, research questions have inevitably focused on the dominant role of Russia ...as its key supplier of primary energy sources, as well as on the inevitability of cooperation between Russia and the EU regarding fossil fuels supply. The present study addressed the issue of energy dependency in the European Union and provided a detailed analysis the role of Russia as the main supplier of the primary energy sources to the EU. Furthermore, the study highlighted the importance of mutual energy relations between the EU and Russia, which have wider consequences. Methodologically, the study analysed the current EU energy situation, accentuating the energy mix of the EU and a vision of the EU strategy. The limited production capacities of the EU together with the potential of proven primary energy reserves were analysed. The Russian position including export orientation and the source possibilities were examined in a similar way. The synthesis of the findings evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of mutual cooperation for the EU and Russia. It can be said that due to high mutual dependency of both parties and not only in the energy segment, energy relations of the EU and Russia should fully continue to develop. This development can be expected due to the importance of energetics in the economic structure.
The article is a proposal to look at the category of patriotism as a factor that can play an important role in a process of building a civil society in a post-communist state. The main objective is ...to describe and explain how strong (and to what extent) the patriotism of Polish students affects the likelihood of undertaking civic, pro-social and pro-democracy behaviors. In search of an answer to this question, the author verified a number of hypotheses assuming a relationship between patriotism (understood in various ways) and behaviors or views that are functional from the point of view of the quality of democracy. The analysis was based on data from a nationwide survey conducted among students from
14 universities in Poland in the period between January and May 2018 (N = 980). The results of the statistical analysis lead to the general conclusion that patriotism is a relatively weak but important predictor of civic attitudes.
