Content Type: Journal Article / Political Geography: Europe

701. Rise and Fall of Jacob Zuma

Author:: Vladimir Shubin
Publication Date:: 06-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:: Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:: In May 2014 I suddenly received a telephone call from the South African Embassy in Moscow, then an official invitation signed by Jacob Zuma followed: he wanted me to be present at his second inauguration. Unfortunately I failed to do it, I was still recovering from a surgical operation, but the very fact was significant, not because I had been involved, but because it symbolized friendly relations that existed between the South African president and those in Russia who took part in supporting the long struggle against the apartheid regime.
Topic:: Apartheid, Diplomacy, International Cooperation, and Race
Political Geography:: Africa, Russia, Europe, and South Africa

702. Turkish Image in the West During the Ottoman Empire: Historical Facts and Present Day Connotations

Author:: Ali Evler and Mehmet Topli
Publication Date:: 06-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:: Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:: Throughout history there have been opposing forces, one of which is the conflict between ‘West and East’ as Huntington claims. One of the earliest, major competitions, in this matter, has been the one with Ottoman Empire, representing Islam and European countries, followers of Christianity. These forces have been clashing in the form of several means and for reasons to predominate each other if they can achieve it at all. How has such a ‘clash’ begun between civilizations and what is the present status of it between Turkey and Western countries? This study aims at highlighting the background from a historical point of view beginning with the capture of Jerusalem by Ottoman Turks and how Turkish Image is created and portrayed in Early English Plays in relation to the rise and fall of Ottoman Empire as depicted in The Sultan Speaks by Linda McJannet. Since the core of the Ottoman Empire is modern Turkey today, the recent changes in their image on the way to full membership to the EU as well as to ‘interreligious/intercultural dialog’ in an attempt to bring peace to both parties in question for a sustainable and amicable future. It is concluded that there are still concerns between the global signatories. It will take some more time and effort to mature the thinking that they could live harmoniously developing their countries economically and their democracies for a mutual understanding.
Topic:: Religion, European Union, Conflict, and Sustainability
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, Asia, and Ottoman Empire

703. The Mobilization of the Defense Industrial Base in South America Through the Brazilian Admission in the NATO Catalog System

Author:: Sabrina Evangelista Medelros and William de Sousa Moreira
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:: Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:: This article aims to describe and analyze the conditionalities and side effects of Brazil’s inclusion in NATO´s Catalog (NATO Codification System- NCS) for the national Defense Industrial Base and the country’s development (the agreement dates back to April 1997). The central hypothesis is that, through this process, there was a progressive conditioning of the national defense industry, and correlates, in favor of protocolization, which extended the internationality and scope of national agents, both as buyers and sellers, within this system and subsystems. The analysis of the process of inclusion of Brazil in the NSC and the characteristics and purposes involved and the analysis of the repercussions for Brazil.To do this, before the analysis of the repercussions, there is an explanation of the method used, once the objectives of the article consolidate through a medium-term prospective vision.
Topic:: Defense Policy, NATO, Military Spending, and Defense Industry
Political Geography:: Europe, North Atlantic, Brazil, South America, and North America

704. The Migration/Refugee Crisis and the (Un/Re) Making of Europe: Risks and Challenges for Greece

Author:: Dimitris Keridis
Publication Date:: 10-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:: International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:: The migration and refugee crisis that erupted in 2015 landed recession riven Greece with a series of humanitarian, political, social, and financial as well as foreign policy and security challenges. Following a near disastrous open-borders policy steeped in leftist ideological parochialism, Athens aligned itself closely with Germany in support of the EU-Turkey deal that drastically reduced the human flows from Turkey into the EU and invited NATO naval forces to help monitor the implementation of the agreement. This paper is structured around two parts: the first part describes the immigration and refugee crisis itself, from a global, European and national-Greek perspective; the second part analyzes the risks to and policy responses of Greece and how they relate to the country’s overall geostrategic position, at a time when Europe is being redefined as it struggles to respond to a multitude of challenges.
Topic:: NATO, Economics, Migration, and Refugees
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, and Greece

705. The Greek Crisis and Its Repercussions on the Balkan Neighbourhood: The End of the Myth

Author:: Marilena Koppa
Publication Date:: 10-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:: International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:: This article explores the role of Greece in the Balkans since the end of Communism and the impact of the sovereign debt crisis that followed. Since the beginning of the 1990s, while Greece failed to accomplish its vocation at the political level, at the level of the economy the country acted as an important regional actor. The article examines the dynamics of the Greek crisis on the Balkan economies and analyses the major challenges for Greece in this new reality. At the same times, it tries to identify the triple crisis faced currently by Greece: at the level of credibility and status, at the level of mediation between the region and the EU and, finally, at the level of the gradual peripherisation of the country.
Topic:: Debt, Economics, Migration, European Union, and Crisis Management
Political Geography:: Europe, Greece, and Balkans

706. 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

707. When the Greek Political System Clashed with Europe: Why the Greek Sovereign-Debt Crisis is Taking so Long to End

Author:: Constantine A. Papadopoulos
Publication Date:: 10-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:: International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:: The central argument of this essay is that, in order to understand the reasons behind the Greek economy’s inability to recover sooner from its 8-year recession, analysis must focus on the institutional, political and cultural traits of the country rather than take a primarily “economistic” approach and simply blame “excessive austerity” and/or the euro. In fact, it will be argued that Greece’s positive performance under the euro (until government actions derailed the economy) is generally underappreciated, suggesting that if the country’s institutional weaknesses are addressed, the economy will grow. If they are not, the country’s long-term economic potential will almost certainly remain unfulfilled.
Topic:: Debt, Economics, Financial Crisis, Reform, Global Financial Crisis, and Austerity
Political Geography:: Europe and Greece

708. Land Grab Processes in Romania and Bulgaria: A Historical Continuity Perspective

Author:: Nazif Mandaci
Publication Date:: 06-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:: International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:: Although they are positioned in the periphery of the Western economic core, Romania and Bulgaria are different from the Third World countries that were exploited and colonized by the Western powers in the preceding centuries, where currently land grab processes are at work. However, it is observed that because of their geographical and political standings those countries are also influenced by the ongoing global land grab processes, albeit in different ways. The externalities of processes of enclosure, primitive accumulation or accumulation by dispossession as defined in general by the critical literature have continued to inflict particularly small landholders, as did in other societies in different parts of the world. However, upon their accession to the European Union, land grab processes in those countries entered into a new historical phase discerned by incoming new actors such as equity funds, and the unique dynamics such as the transformation of land into a speculative asset and an energy source.
Topic:: International Relations, History, European Union, Land, and Enclosure
Political Geography:: Europe, Bulgaria, and Romania

709. Worlding the Study of Normative Power: Assessing European and Chinese Definitions of the “Normal”

Author:: Emilian Kavalski and Young Chul Cho
Publication Date:: 06-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:: International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:: This study contributes to the nascent worlding of the study of normative power by undertaking a parallel assessment of Normative Power Europe (NPE) and Normative Power China (NPC). There seems to have been a qualitative change in the EU’s and China’s international standing. While in the immediate post-Cold War period the EU was asserting its ability to set the range of legitimate international behavior and China appeared to be a reactive adopter of such norms, in recent years China is positioned as a normative entrepreneur and the EU’s ability has been challenged both in Europe and internationally. This study claims that such change in fortunes is not merely a result of recent developments, but pivots on the distinct repertoires of NPE and NPC – acquis communautaire for the EU and guanxi for China. The acquis communautaire suggests a “rule- based” framework for setting what passes for “normal” in global life, while guanxi offers a “relational” one. Such distinct points of departure have led to the evolution of distinct concepts and practices of normative power. The comparative study of NPE and NPC concludes by drawing attention to the nascent struggle for recognition of normative powers in global life.
Topic:: International Relations, Cold War, Power Politics, and Norms
Political Geography:: China, Europe, and Asia

710. 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

711. Transforming Turkey? Putting the Turkey-European Union Relations into a Historical Perspective

Author:: Galip L. Yalman and Asuman Göksel
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:: International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:: This article aims to provide an alternative critical reading of Turkey-European Union (EU) relations, by contending that Turkey’s EU accession process has been instrumental in changing the contours of the transformation of Turkish economy and its governance as part of its neoliberal restructuring. However, the “transformative power” attributed to the EU’s enlargement strategy by the EU Commission has been somewhat debatable since the 2008 global financial crisis as reflected in the slowdown of the accession process. With the rising authoritarian tendencies in its domestic governance, the protracted saga of Turkey’s quest for the EU membership is back to square one, as the proposal for the modernisation of the Customs Union underlines “respect for democracy and fundamental rights” as an indispensable basis for the future of the relations.
Topic:: Government, History, Bilateral Relations, Authoritarianism, European Union, Neoliberalism, and Global Financial Crisis
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, and Mediterranean

712. The Populist Challenge to Liberal Democracy

Author:: William A. Galston
Publication Date:: 04-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Democracy
Institution:: National Endowment for Democracy
Abstract:: Across the West, economic dislocation and demographic change have triggered a demand for strong leaders. This surge of populism is more than an emotional backlash; it encourages a political structure that threatens liberal democracy. While populism accepts principles of popular sovereignty and majoritarianism, it is skeptical about constitutionalism and liberal protections for individuals. Moreover, populists’ definition of “the people” as homogeneous cannot serve as the basis for a modern democracy, which stands or falls with the protection of pluralism. Although this resurgent tribalism may draw strength from the incompleteness of life in liberal society, the liberal-democratic system uniquely harbors the power of self-correction, the essential basis for needed reforms.
Topic:: Corruption, Democracy, Populism, and Liberal Order
Political Geography:: Europe and North America

713. Explaining Eastern Europe: Orbán’s Laboratory of Illiberalism

Author:: Peter Kreko and Zsolt Enyedi
Publication Date:: 07-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Democracy
Institution:: National Endowment for Democracy
Abstract:: The reelection of Fidesz leader Viktor Orbán’s government in Hungary in April 2018 has entrenched a hybrid regime within the European Union. This article discusses some of the most crucial factors that have led to Hungary’s democratic backsliding and supplied the institutional and cultural bases of Fidesz’s rule. The authors particularly focus on phenomena that contributed to the party’s third landslide electoral victory, including the rhetoric of identity politics, conspiracy theories, and the fake news industry. While an idiosyncratic sequence of particular events led to the ascendance of illiberal rule in Hungary, the causal factors involved are virtually omnipresent and could therefore lead to similar outcomes elsewhere.
Topic:: Authoritarianism, Elections, Democracy, and Illiberal Democracy
Political Geography:: Europe, Eastern Europe, Hungary, and Central Europe

714. Explaining Eastern Europe: The Crisis of Liberalism

Author:: Jacques Rupnik
Publication Date:: 07-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Democracy
Institution:: National Endowment for Democracy
Abstract:: Thirty years ago in Central and Eastern Europe, belief in an open society and a sense of reasserted national and indeed European identity seemed to go hand-in-hand. Today this has changed: Through the combination of the rise of “illiberal democracy” and heightened concerns about identity in the face of the migrant wave, the authoritarian and sovereigntist turn in Central Europe has revealed a rupture in the fabric of the European Union. This draws to a close the post-1989 liberal cycle, but perhaps also the longer cycle associated with the Enlightenment, which is now more than two-hundred years old.
Topic:: Nationalism, European Union, Democracy, Liberal Order, Post Cold War, and Illiberal Democracy
Political Geography:: Europe

715. Understanding Authoritarian Regionalism

Author:: Alexander Libman and Anastassia V. Obydenkova
Publication Date:: 10-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Democracy
Institution:: National Endowment for Democracy
Abstract:: This article examines the goals, methods, and implications of regional organizations founded and dominated by autocracies—including the Commonwealth of Independent States (spearheaded by Russia), Shanghai Cooperation Organization (China), Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (Venezuela), and Gulf Cooperation Council (Saudi Arabia). It shows the role that these organizations play in preserving and promoting autocracy and the different tools they use for this purpose: rhetorical endorsement; the redistribution of resources to support weaker authoritarian states; and even military interventions to suppress revolution. The existence of authoritarian regionalism poses an important challenge for Western states and institutions in democracy promotion around the world.
Topic:: Regional Cooperation, Military Strategy, Authoritarianism, and Democracy
Political Geography:: Russia, China, Europe, Middle East, Asia, South America, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela

716. EU's Refugee Crisis: From Supra-Nationalism to Nationalism?

Author:: Dogachan Dagi
Publication Date:: 02-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:: Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:: The refugee crisis of 2015-2016 revealed the strength of the idea of “national sovereignty” within the Member States of the European Union indicating that not only supra-nationalism is still nascent thinking in the Union but also inter-govermentalism readily transforms into a “self-help” mechanism to opt-out from “common European” destiny in times of crisis. As such it seems that the recent refugee crisis has awakened nationalistic populism in Europe with a disintegrative impact on the Union. Despite the controversial EU-Turkey joint action plan of March 2016 that effectively served to reduce the number of refugees crossing into the EU area the intergovernmental and supranational division on how to reconcile national concerns with that of the EU rules and regulations as well as humanitarian responsibility still persist.
Topic:: Nationalism, Treaties and Agreements, European Union, Refugee Crisis, and Populism
Political Geography:: Europe and Turkey

717. The Scope of Application of the Charter’s Right to Good Administration of the European Union

Author:: Irena Cuculoska
Publication Date:: 02-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:: Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:: Article 41 of the Charter for Fundamental Rights of the EU guarantees the right to good administration as a fundamental right of the EU citizens. It seems from the wording that Article 41 applies only to the institutions, bodies, and agencies of the Union, without mentioning the Member States. This gives it a narrower scope than that given in Article 51.1 concerning the scope of the Charter as a whole. This paper discusses the question of applicability of the right to good administration regarding the implications of Article 41 in this respect. The doubt that stems from this is whether the content of 51.1 prevails or, on the contrary, it must be ignored and taken as reference to the particular provision in Article 41.
Topic:: Human Rights, Treaties and Agreements, Governance, European Union, and Political Rights
Political Geography:: Europe

718. Journal of Advanced Military Studies: Superpowers

Author:: Ed Erickson, Christian H. Heller, T. J. Linzy, Mallory Needleman, Michael Auten, Anthony N. Celso, Keith D. Dickson, Jamie Shea, Ivan Falasca, Steven A. Yeadon, Joshua Tallis, and Ian Klaus
Publication Date:: 09-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Advanced Military Studies
Institution:: Marine Corps University Press, National Defense University
Abstract:: There are a variety of reasons to study geopolitical rivalries, and analysts, officers, and politicians are rediscovering such reasons amid the tensions of the last several years. The best reason to study geopolitical rivalries is the simplest: our need to better understand how power works globally. Power not only recurs in human and state affairs but it is also at their very core. Today’s new lexicon—superpower, hyperpower, and great power—is only another reminder of the reality of the various ways that power manifests itself. Power protects and preserves, but a polity without it may be lost within mere decades. Keith D. Dickson’s article in this issue of MCU Journal, “The Challenge of the Sole Superpower in the Postmodern World Order,” illuminates how fuzzy some readers may be in their understanding of this problem; his article on postmodernism calls us to the labor of understanding and reasoning through the hard realities. Ed Erickson’s survey of modern power is replete with cases in which a grand state simply fell, as from a pedestal in a crash upon a stone floor. Modern Japan, always richly talented, rose suddenly as a world actor in the late nineteenth century, but the Japanese Empire fell much more quickly in the mid-twentieth century. A state’s power—or lack thereof—is an unforgiving reality. This issue of MCU Journal, with its focus on rivalries and competition between states, is refreshingly broad in its selection of factors—from competing for or generating power. Dr. Erickson recalls that Alfred Thayer Mahan settled on six conditions for sea power, all still vital. Other authors writing for this issue emphasize, by turns, sea power (Steven Yeadon, Joshua Tallis, and Ian Klaus); cyberpower (Jamie Shea); alliances (T. J. Linzy and Ivan Falasca); information (Dickson); and proxies (Michael Auten, Anthony N. Celso, and others).
Topic:: Security, Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, NATO, Islam, Terrorism, War, History, Power Politics, Military Affairs, European Union, Seapower, Cities, Ottoman Empire, Hybrid Warfare, Cyberspace, Soviet Union, and Safavid Empire
Political Geography:: Britain, Russia, Europe, Ukraine, Middle East, Lithuania, Georgia, North Africa, Syria, North America, and United States of America

719. Studies in Poland’s Foreign Policy: the case of Poland-Russia Relations

Author:: Marijus Antonovic
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Warsaw East European Review (WEER)
Institution:: Centre for East European Studies, University of Warsaw
Abstract:: his article will analyse the academic literature on Poland’s Foreign Policy by focusing on its used theoretical approaches. It will be done through the analysis of the example of Poland’s relations with Russia, which it is believed depicts the broader tendencies in the aca- demic literature on Poland’s Foreign Policy. Three approaches will be identified – lack of a clear theoretical or methodological perspective, historical perspectives and constructivism. The pa- per concludes that overall Poland’s relations with Russia are understudied, and this opens up opportunities to conduct new research on Poland’s foreign policy and to bring new findings on the factors driving it.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Military Strategy, and Conflict
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, and Poland

720. Shaking the Foundation: the Trump Administration and NATO’s East

Author:: Metthew Bryza
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Warsaw East European Review (WEER)
Institution:: Centre for East European Studies, University of Warsaw
Abstract:: This is a very powerful place for me to be, here at the University of Warsaw, I am totally Polish by background, 100 percent. I was looking in front of my hotel today, at the monu- ment to the victims of Soviet repression and the deportations, it is very powerful. I looked at all the towns that victims came from, and I thought about my grandmother’s region – Sambor, She was only from a small village, but you know, it made me think that had she, like so many other Poles, not taken a very difficult decision at that time I probably would not exist, would not be here speaking before you, and the changes that this country has gone through, would have never have happened. Fundamentally, my talk, is going to end up being optimistic, but it’s going to start pessimistic, because the title is, U.S. relations with NATO’s East under Trump: Shaking the foundation. But before that I just want to build on some other things that were said already and thank all the excellencies who are here, the ambassadors, the other members of the diplomatic and academic communities. Professor Micgiel referred to my new life outside of diplomacy. I have a joint venture with a Finnish company, Lamor Corporation, which is the world’s largest oil spill response company. I am on their global board – a fantastic en- vironmental technologies company, and it’s really fun to be involved in entrepreneurial en- deavor, even if it’s scary, because, well, all my meager savings are on the line and I have to succeed. So, it’s very nice to be back here and have a chance to think and stretch my mind in the way I did in my previous career, to be here with you in a place that my grandparents may have never been able to enter. So it’s a very powerful moment for me, thank you. And also to be an opening speaker, together with Secretary of State Szczerski and with my favorite boss of all time, Ambassador Daniel Fried closing the conference. Dan taught me so much about this part of the world, which I’ll get to in a moment, enabled me and my dear friend Kurt Volker, who is now the new special representative for Ukraine, to make it, to move through the State Department system, when there were all sorts of bureaucratic obstacles, If you go back and google us, you will see we were attacked by The Washington Post, when we were brought to the State Department from the White House in 2005. There is a position in the State Department called DAS – Deputy Assistant Secretary. That’s the first level at which things get serious, where you actually can have an impact on policy. And, we were called the baby DASes, because we were brought over at younger age than normal, thanks to Secretary Rice and Ambassador Fried, and Dan suffered because of that, inside the bureaucracy, a lot of people disliked him because he enabled Ambassador Volker and me, and then another ambassador, Mark Pekala, a Polish American guy as well who became ambassador to Latvia. I remember, Mark at that time was 50, and he said: “Boy, only in the State Department and in Washington could a 50-year-old guy be criticized for being a baby”. So, it’s great to be outside Washington, it really is. I live in Istan- bul now, by the way.
Topic:: NATO, Diplomacy, Regional Cooperation, and Military Strategy
Political Geography:: Europe, North Atlantic, North America, and United States of America

721. EU Public Diplomacy and the Eastern Partnership: Some Reflections on Goals, Determinants and Constraints

Author:: Barbara Curylo
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Warsaw East European Review (WEER)
Institution:: Centre for East European Studies, University of Warsaw
Abstract:: The aim of this article is to show public diplomacy using the example of the Euro- pean Union, which by its very nature is perceived as an actor with a natural potential to conduct public diplomacy. In a more detailed perspective, the analysis concerns EU public diplomacy towards the states of the Eastern Partnership, which is both an addressee of its objectives and a catalyst for its difficulties and constraints. The article consists of three parts. In the first part, the definitions’ section of public diplomacy was briefly presented. In the second part, the aims and objectives of public diplomacy in the understanding of the European Union were presented. An important element of this section concerns the justification for why the European Union is per- ceived as an actor predestined to conduct public diplomacy. In the third part, the starting point for the analysis was the assumption that the EU’s goal in public diplomacy is to define its image and its role in its international environment, which is conducive to the EU taking on many interna- tional efforts, including the establishment of the Eastern Partnership. At the same time, analysing EU public diplomacy through the prism of this initiative offers a research opportunity to look closely at the limitations of EU public diplomacy in general, which can be strategic in terms of as- sessing the EU’s efficiency and effectiveness in achieving its objectives in international relations. .
Topic:: Diplomacy, Regional Cooperation, and European Union
Political Geography:: Europe

722. Defending the Free World

Author:: Daniel Fried
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Warsaw East European Review (WEER)
Institution:: Centre for East European Studies, University of Warsaw
Abstract:: ne week ago President Trump spoke at Plac Krasińskich and gave the best foreign policy address of his presidency. He spoke of a community of nations, an alliance of coun- tries united by values, among those values the rule of law, freedom of expression, freedom of speech. He spoke of a strong alliance of free nations. He spoke a strong Europe. He then mentioned that Russia is acting in Ukraine and other ways, as a destabilizing factor in the world. And therefore reaffirmed America’s Article 5 commitment to Poland and to all the other NATO members. As I said, I think this was the best foreign policy speech of President Trump’s new presidency. He reaffirmed in essence America’s commitment to the free world. The free world is sometimes termed the liberal world order but I really don’t like the phrase “the liberal world order,” because there are many people who don’t describe themselves as liberals, who belong in it, not outside it. I prefer “the free world”. And in re- committing the United States to the free world, President Trump was following a centu- ries-old tradition in the West. In Europe, the notion of a just international order, rooted in transnational values, is at least as old as Erasmus. Emmanuel Kant elaborated the theory of perpetual peace between states committed to the rule of law and republican values. As my country, as America, emerged as a world power at the end of the 19th century, we developed our own American Grand Strategy, our version of the free world. We thought of ourselves as distinct from the European empires and spheres of influence of the time. In contrast, America sought an open, rules-based world, more just and simultaneously more profitable for ourselves and for others, because we Americans recognize that our interests, our prosperity and our security are tied to the prosperity and security of other nations. We believe that the advanced democracies of the world should set the global agenda along the lines of this vision. An objective, ambitious, but also generous vision, because we un- derstand America’s national interests in broad, not narrow terms. In his memoirs, Kurier z Warszawy, Jan Nowak-Jeziorański writes of astonishment at American humanitarian as- sistance to Poland in 1920 and wondered what sort of nation helped others and asked nothing for itself. But America understood that as we helped others, we in fact advanced our own interests, because America could not do good business with poor countries. We wanted to make the world a better place so we could all get rich. That was our American ambition and confidence. My nation developed the outlines of this grand strategy starting in 1900, but my country failed to apply it in the 1930s when Europe needed us most.
Topic:: NATO, Diplomacy, International Cooperation, and Military Strategy
Political Geography:: Europe, North Atlantic, United States of America, and North America

723. Round Table I – Regional Security

Author:: Graeme P. Herd
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Warsaw East European Review (WEER)
Institution:: Centre for East European Studies, University of Warsaw
Abstract:: I am delighted to be in Warsaw on this panel. In 1994 when I graduated with a PhD, and held my first academic post, the first international conference I went to was in Wrocław, and obviously I had to travel through Warsaw. So, it’s really nice to be back in Poland and have the opportunity to present in the capital when older and wiser. Today, I am going to try and look at how we understand the rationality, the logic of Russia’s foreign policy, particularly the destabilization efforts against neighbours and come to a conclusion has to how sustainable and long-term this approach will be. Will it gradually diminish or is it set to stay as it is or even increase? To try and understand Russia’s foreign policy, we need to look into the domestic eco- nomic, political, and social system created by a system-forming figure that is President Vladimir Putin. The two key data points here really are two strategic vulnerabilities that Russia has to deal with. The first is the hydrocarbon dependence, 50% of GDP and 70% of exports, and 98% of corporate tax. The vulnerability is that Russia is dependent on hy- drocarbon revenues but cannot affect the price of oil globally (which sets the price of gas). Oil can be priced at $110pb or at $25pb and the shift can take place over a matter of months. The second vulnerability is the popularity of the president. When Putin has de-modernized Russia, de-institutionalized and de-globalized Russia it means that if his popularity decreases then you have an existential crisis within the federation. The destabi- lizing question is: “If not Putin, then whom?” There are no contingency plans, no succession mechanism to replace the leader. So, essentially we are looking at Russia’s foreign policy operating in a context where the economy is in the toilet as reflected in a 0.2% average GDP growth since 2009; 2012 – 0% growth and since 2012 when Kudrin resigned from the government. Normally, the popularity of a president – as was the case in the first 8 years of Putin’s presidency from 2000 to 2008 – tracks the economy, or maybe lags a little bit behind. As economic performance increases and revenues distributed to the population, so the popularity of the president. So, this is very abnormal politics.
Topic:: Security, Foreign Policy, Regional Cooperation, and Military Strategy
Political Geography:: Russia and Europe

724. Between Kosovan and Georgian Breakaway Regions’ Conflicts. Historical Analysis of the Differential Aspects of These Conflicts in the Post-Soviet Period

Author:: Kakhaber Kalichava
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Warsaw East European Review (WEER)
Institution:: Centre for East European Studies, University of Warsaw
Abstract:: The end of the Soviet era gave birth to various conflicts throughout the world. Each of these conflicts has its own peculiarities, but also shares certain similarities. The inter- pretation of each conflict in the post-Soviet space – as well as throughout the history of man- kind – has always been dependent on the particular political viewpoints and vectors of various belligerent, or non-belligerent, parties. The case of Kosovo and that of the Georgian breakaway regions, also have their similarities and differences, also rooted in the political interests of each belligerent party. These conflicts, as well as most post-Soviet era conflicts, are characterised by third party involvement derived from the Cold War period, when the world was divided into the two political camps of East and West..
Topic:: Geopolitics, Conflict, and Post-Soviet Space
Political Geography:: Europe, Kosovo, Georgia, and Post-Soviet Europe

725. Change of the Security Environment in the Transatlantic Region and its Impact on the Evolution of Foreign and Security Policy of the State

Author:: Valeriy Kravchenko
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Warsaw East European Review (WEER)
Institution:: Centre for East European Studies, University of Warsaw
Abstract:: The analysis report includes research of the main trends and their components of relevant change in the European security environment; considers political steps of the main international actors within the sphere of the security architecture of the region. The author de- scribes the possibilities of enhancing a regional cooperation, an implementation of multilateral initiatives in the context of modern security challenges. The report reviews the effect of these changes on the defense policy of Ukraine, suggests and substantiates appropriate recommen- dations for Ukrainian public authorities on the need for more active involvement in the forma- tion of the new sub-regional security system.
Topic:: Security, Foreign Policy, Military Strategy, and Multilateralism
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, and Ukraine

726. Hybrid War Activities of Russian Intelligence Services Abroad: The Case of Ukraine

Author:: Yevhen Kutsenko
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Warsaw East European Review (WEER)
Institution:: Centre for East European Studies, University of Warsaw
Abstract:: The term ‘hybrid warfare’, which is widely understood as mix of conventional/ unconventional, regular/irregular, as well as information and cyber warfare, appeared at least as early as 2005 and was subsequently used to describe the strategy used by the Hezbollah in the 2006 Lebanon War. Since then, the term “hybrid” has dominated much of the discussion about modern and future warfare, to the point where it has been adopted by senior military leaders and promoted as a basis for modern military strategies. But after Russian aggression against Ukraine in 2014 the term has gone beyond the discussion in small circles of experts and became a starting point for the formation of the new hybrid world order. And its main political agenda is Russian’s attempt to bring under control as much independent countries as possible. Since Ukraine became the first (and we sincerely hope the last) hybrid victim in Europe, it is useful to analyze some hybrid war’s tactics, that have been used against Ukraine by Russia to predict their usage in other countries, especially in the countries of the Central and Eastern Europe region, where the Russian Intelligence services are especially active.
Topic:: Intelligence, Military Strategy, Conflict, and Hybrid Warfare
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, and Ukraine

727. Hybrid Aggression: A Multi-Pronged Attack

Author:: Yevhen Mahda
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Warsaw East European Review (WEER)
Institution:: Centre for East European Studies, University of Warsaw
Abstract:: The author tries to show and explain some key features of Russia’s hybrid ag- gression in Europe as a multi-pronged attack. Among them are military challenges, refugee challenges, cultural, informational, gender challenges, the impact on the inner policy of Euro- pean countries. The author also shows possible ways to answer these challenges and counter the aggression.
Topic:: Military Strategy, Sanctions, Agression, and Hybrid Warfare
Political Geography:: Russia and Europe

728. Value Orientations and Social Status Aspirations of Frontier Teenagers in Eastern and Central Europe

Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Warsaw East European Review (WEER)
Institution:: Centre for East European Studies, University of Warsaw
Abstract:: This research deals with a comparative sociological analysis of values and social-status aspirations of adolescents who live at the border areas in Central and Eastern Europe in Ukraine, Poland and Hungary. The key issues of the article are based on a com- parative survey of teenage youth of Ivavo-Frankivsk’s graduates (n=774) on the one hand and Ukrainian citizens on the other hand. Additionally, a comparative study of social-status aspira- tions of adolescents from Ukraine – Kharkiv (n=428), Drohobych (n=392)), Poland (Zielona Gora (n=336); Rzeszow (n=294)) and Hungary (Nyiregyhaza (n=359) -- based on the international study «Youth on the border of Central and Eastern Europe» is analysed. The paper investigates the trend of European-oriented identity of teenagers’ values. It shows that there are more common characteristics of value orientations than differences among Ukrainian, Polish and Hungarian teenagers. It concludes that it is conditioned by the characteristics of their youthful age, includ- ing modern educational influence on their consciousness and communicational experience determined by the fact of living at “the borderland of cultures and peoples”. The prospects for further study of the subject are also discussed.
Topic:: Borders, Values, Frontier, and Social Status
Political Geography:: Europe, Eastern Europe, and Central Europe

729. Power-Sharing as a Peace-Building Solution for Ukraine

Author:: Uliana Movchan
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Warsaw East European Review (WEER)
Institution:: Centre for East European Studies, University of Warsaw
Abstract:: The institutional arrangement in Ukraine is a game with zero-sum: a strong president (winner) takes all. In the case of the ongoing conflict in the East of Ukraine and the consequences of such a conflict, it forces us to look for a solution to overcome the existing problem, especially, where each part of Ukraine can feel its impact on the political process (or decision-making). When comparing the power-sharing situation in Ukraine (like a president from one political party, and a prime minister from the opposite, or from another patron-client network, or a coalition consisting of opposite parties) it has been found that democracy is much more likely to occur in these situations, and Ukraine which is in the process of democratic trans- formation can come closer to other European countries. Therefore these findings open the door to thinking about not just how to reform the existing majoritarian model of democracy, which produces a winner-takes-all outcome, but to look for a model which would share something between each substantial segment of society, and would give a better chance for Ukraine to be a democratic country and a real part of the European community. Such a model could become the power-sharing model suggested by Arend Lijphart, which presupposes systems with inter- est accommodation and power sharing among significant segments of society.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Political Power Sharing, Conflict, and Peace
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, and Ukraine

730. Fake History as a Tool of Russian Propaganda

Author:: Teimuraz Papaskiri
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Warsaw East European Review (WEER)
Institution:: Centre for East European Studies, University of Warsaw
Abstract:: The paper covers three aspects of Russian Fake History which became a strong tool of the Russian propaganda: 1. The history of the Second World War; 2. The history of the Georgian historical provinces of Abkhazia and Samachablo (so-called South Ossetia); 3. The history of Ukraine.
Topic:: History, World War II, Propaganda, and State Media
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, Ukraine, and Georgia

731. Round Table I – Regional Security

Author:: Matthew Rhodes
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Warsaw East European Review (WEER)
Institution:: Centre for East European Studies, University of Warsaw
Abstract:: I will try to talk about a little bit about what NATO in particular as a core part of this community has been doing to respond. A starting point is to recognize that this confer- ence is taking place at almost exactly the one year anniversary of NATO’s summit here in Warsaw. I had an opportunity to participate during this summit at the parallel Warsaw Summit Experts Forum that was organized by NATO together with the Polish Institute of International Affairs here in Warsaw. While the adults were meeting in the Warsaw National Stadium about 300 other professors and experts such as myself were meeting in a circus tent across the parking lot. Sometimes this felt a little bit silly but it was very interesting to hear firsthand from many of the people attending the main summit and one of the open- ing speakers there was President Duda. One thing that stuck with me was his remark that for him this summit was the second most important thing that had happened for Poland since the end of the Cold War and the only thing that topped it was Poland’s entry to NATO itself, so for him this was really a big deal. What I will try to do in my time is to talk a little bit about why the Warsaw Summit was so important for President Duda and other leaders of the alliance, and try to reflect on where we are a year after that summit and what remains to be done for NATO to respond to the Russian threat especially of hybrid warfare.
Topic:: Security, NATO, Diplomacy, Regional Cooperation, Military Strategy, and Conflict
Political Geography:: Europe, Poland, and North America

732. Turkey and East Central Europe: Idealism, Pragmatism, Misperception or Clash of Interests?

Author:: Konrad Zasztowt
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Warsaw East European Review (WEER)
Institution:: Centre for East European Studies, University of Warsaw
Abstract:: urkey is focused on Russia in its policy vis-à-vis the Black Sea region, Cauca- sus, Ukraine, Balkan countries as well as, at least to some extent, Central European countries, including Poland. This priority has its impact on Ankara’s relationship with Eastern and Central European countries, which remain in the shadow of Turkish policy towards Russia. However that negative impact is not powerful enough to spoil Turkey’s cooperation with Eastern and Central European countries. It certainly limits the scope of such partnerships or alliances. Turkey contin- ues to cooperate with the region’s countries, but often rejects their Euro-Atlanticism. In Turkish perception the EU’s enlargement in Central Europe was unjust (as Turkey has been applying much longer for the EU’s membership without any significant progress, whereas post-commu- nist countries were accepted relatively quickly). NATO enlargement in the East in Turkey’s view was always a ‘risky adventure’. At the same time, from Ankara’s point of view the Middle East is strategically more important than Turkish northern neighbourhood. Moreover, Turkey wants to be an equal interlocutor in dialogue with Russia, the U.S. and the EU, whereas it often conceives post-communist and post-Soviet countries merely as a zone of influence for the Kremlin and Washington or their battleground in Cold War 2.0.
Topic:: NATO, Cold War, Diplomacy, Regional Cooperation, Military Strategy, and Conflict
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, Turkey, Poland, North America, and United States of America

733. Kremlin Propaganda and Disinformation in Georgia: Tools, Channels, Narratives

Author:: Małgorzata Zawadzka
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Warsaw East European Review (WEER)
Institution:: Centre for East European Studies, University of Warsaw
Abstract:: The aim of this paper is to present the Kremlin’s propaganda and disinforma- tion mechanism based on a case study of Georgia. The importance of information security has been present in Russian strategic documents since the very beginning of the Russian Federa- tion, however the role of information as a weapon, not as a goal, was developed and publicly voiced much later. Although geopolitical goals in Georgia have remained the same, the switch to non-military means changed the targets, objectives and tools used to achieve them. This paper, following the research and media monitoring conducted between September 2016 and September 2017, analyses Kremlin channels, tools and narratives in the Georgian information sphere and evaluates its effectiveness.
Topic:: Media, Propaganda, Disinformation, and State Media
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, Caucasus, and Georgia

734. American Constitutional Theory and History: Implications for European Constitutionalism

Author:: Roger Pilon
Publication Date:: 10-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: It is perhaps not impertinent to suggest that American constitutional theory and history, owing to the longevity of the document that is their subject, hold lessons for constitutionalism everywhere, but especially for European constitutionalism—the more recent and ever evolving treaties that serve as a “Constitutional Charter” for the European Union. An American constitutionalist looking east today, seeing everything from Brexit to Grexit plus the reactions in European capitals, must be struck by the tension in the EU between exclusion and inclusion in its many forms, including individualism and collectivism. Those themes underpin my discussion here. The issues surrounding them are universal. They are at the heart of the human condition.
Topic:: Markets, History, European Union, and Constitution
Political Geography:: Europe, North America, and United States of America

735. Insidious Threats to Academic Freedom in the US and Abroad

Author:: Michael Ignatieff and Craig Calhoun
Publication Date:: 03-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Centerpiece
Institution:: Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:: n the division of labor that Craig Calhoun and I agreed upon, he's going to deal with the insidious threats, the subtler ones, the ones that are perhaps characteristic of American or North Atlantic academic life, and I'm going to deal with the straight on, in your face, “boom boom” threats that have arisen where I am in Hungary. I'm going to tell you a little narrative about what's happened to Central European University (CEU), and then I'd like to talk about a characterization of these kinds of societies. The relationship between a place like Hungary and a place like here is complex. There is a collusive relationship, a disturbingly collusive relationship between liberal democratic societies, which enjoy full academic freedom, and societies which do not. And it's that collusive relationship that I think we need to think about. That will be my headline. Most of you will know that CEU is a graduate institution offering masters and PhDs, accredited in New York state and by Middle States. We offer degrees that are accredited also by the Hungarian administration. So we're a kind of European-American institution. We're one of almost thirty institutions of higher learning around the world that have no domestic US campus. But note, this is the geostrategic implication: these institutions are now implanted all over the world in authoritarian societies where their capacity to operate freely is very much in question. So my story about Hungary is not just a story about Hungary. It's potentially a story about Egypt, about Russia, about Abu Dhabi—about all the places where American norms of academic freedom are suddenly under challenge because of the emergence of these kinds of regimes.
Topic:: Authoritarianism, Populism, Academia, and Atlantic World
Political Geography:: United States, Europe, Hungary, North America, and Central Europe

736. Britain’s Post-Colonial Foreign Policy Towards the Persian Gulf Security (1971-1991): An Alternative Approach

Author:: Esra Cavusoglu
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Journal of Middle Eastern Studies
Institution:: Sakarya University (SAU)
Abstract:: British withdrawal from the Persian Gulf in 1971, started a new era in the region with new political order and new security map. Iran and Saudi Arabia emerged as the guardians of the status quo to be filling the power vacuum left by the British in behalf of the West. Britain adopted a new post-imperial role in the region along with new post-colonial foreign policy in the post-withdrawal context. British policy towards the regional security is analysed in this article with central focus on the shift emerged in the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution in the British policy. After 1979, Iran, no longer a Western ally, has been defined as the major internal threat for the regional security following the major external threat of the Soviet expansion in the British foreign policy. This paper argues that the shift in the British policy came along with a sectarianist approach towards the region. The sectarianization emerged with the securitization of the Gulf based on “Iran threat” within the determinants of the Anglo-American alliance on the regional security. The sectarianist discourse adopted by the British foreign policy was employed as an effective tool of the securitization of the Gulf that was deepened during the regional conflicts, the Iran-Iraq War and the Gulf War.
Topic:: Security, Foreign Policy, Military Strategy, and Sectarianism
Political Geography:: United Kingdom, Europe, Iran, Middle East, and Persian Gulf

737. Framing a Presidential Foreign Policy in a Parliamentary System: Erdoğan and Mukhtars’ Meetings

Author:: Murat Ulgul
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Journal of Middle Eastern Studies
Institution:: Sakarya University (SAU)
Abstract:: During the period between his election as the Turkish president in August 2014 and the constitutional referendum that introduced a presidential system in Turkey in April 2017, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan tried to demonstrate that he would not be a symbolic political figure in Turkish politics as many former Turkish presidents had been. Instead, he would keep shaping the domestic and foreign agenda of the country, as it would happen in a presidential system. One of the main ways he did this was through a series of mukhtars’ meetings, which began in January 2015. From that point, until the desired changes to the constitution were approved through public referendum, Erdoğan held thirty-seven mukhtars’ meetings. In these meetings he gave speeches about Turkish domestic and foreign policy directly to a group of mukhtars but, more importantly, indirectly to the Turkish public and foreign actors. This article will analyze Erdoğan’s foreign policy messages through his discourse in the mukhtars’ meetings and try to answer two controversial questions regarding his foreign policy ideology: Whether he is an Islamist and whether he is shifting the foreign policy axis of Turkey.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Military Strategy, Leadership, and Ideology
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, and Asia

738. Formation of Kurdish Nationalist Movement in Turkey: From Social Movement Theories Perspective

Author:: Rahman Dag
Publication Date:: 07-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:: Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:: Current politics in Turkey proves that the roots of the Kurdish question have to be taken under strict examination in order to diagnose the problem so that a permanent solution might be found. With this in mind, this paper tries to explain the emergence of the pro-Kurdish nationalist movement, the PKK, via social movement theories. What makes this paper significant is that it examines the process of emergence in three phases via three different social movement theories. For Turkey’s single party era (1923-1950), relative deprivation theory is applied. In the second phase, political opportunity theory is matched with the onset of the multi-party system under the rule of the Democrat Party (1950-1960). Finally resource mobilization theory is applied to the time period between 1960 and 1980. In general, the theoretical approaches chosen are selected in accordance with certain socio-political realities of Turkey. This helps to explain how an ethnic minority ended up with a socially – but not legally – representative organization when they are relatively deprived and obstructed politically. If not all, a certain amount of mobilization of the Kurdish people could result in a social movement, be it is legal or illegal.
Topic:: Nationalism, Social Movement, Minorities, and Community
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, and Asia

739. Effective Leadership in Russia and Ukraine: Phenomenological Inquiry

Author:: Artem Kliuchnikov and Mihai Bocarnea
Publication Date:: 03-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Studies of Changing Societies Journal (SCS)
Institution:: Studies of Changing Societies Journal (SCS)
Abstract:: Russia and Ukraine are two countries that have shared much history together and are sometimes understood as one unified entity. However, these are two different countries with two different cultures, languages, and mentalities. While Russia has been in the focus of leadership research, there are no organizational leadership studies on Ukraine. The purpose of this qualitative inquiry was to explore, describe, and define attributes of an effective leader in Russian and Ukrainian organizations through the lens of Russian and Ukrainian employees and leaders in national organizations and then to compare attributes of an effective leader in Russian and Ukrainian organizations. The research employed phenomenological qualitative inquiry as it focused on the essence of leadership phenomena in Russia and Ukraine and safeguarded against the predetermined understanding of leadership. This research resulted in the development of 10 effective leader attributes that are common both for Russia and Ukraine: (a) authoritarianism, (b) paternalism, (c) professionalism, (d) intellect, (e) laissez-faire, (f) charisma, (g) enthusiasm, (h) morality, (i) trust, and (j) freedom—and two attributes particular to Ukraine only: (a) organizational skills and (b) responsibility. However, the main layer of differences was discovered in the categories that comprised the attributes.
Topic:: History, Bilateral Relations, Authoritarianism, and Leadership
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, Eurasia, and Ukraine

740. Where Fools Rush In: Why Armed Intervention Failed to Create Political Reconciliation in Somalia

Author:: Joseph P. Alessi
Publication Date:: 03-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Studies of Changing Societies Journal (SCS)
Institution:: Studies of Changing Societies Journal (SCS)
Abstract:: To be successful in today's world, leaders must understand the idea of culture. When the word culture is associated with leadership, many might first think of the culture that leadership creates within the framework of an organization. But for leaders who must operate in a tumultuous world connected by modern media, the word literally refers to the understanding of the people and places where they intend to inject themselves. Where Fools Rush In is a study of the failed U.N. and U.S. interventions to create stability and political reconciliation in Somalia from 1992 to 1995, due to the cultural misunderstanding of U.N. and U.S. leaders that created flawed mission objectives. World leaders must make difficult decisions when intervening in the political and social strife of nations when faced with the reality of human catastrophe and genocide. The questions will always remain as to if, how much, and what kind of intervention must occur. The choices are simple: standby, do nothing and watch, or intervene. What international leaders must understand is that, regardless of the boundaries and governmental systems implanted in former colonial and Cold War territories, the people developed their own systems of social organization and governance that predated European or U.S intrusion. When chaos erupts in these areas and the vestiges of these former systems collapse, the indigenous people more often than not return to their deeply entrenched cultural systems to create stability in these regions. Therefore, it is paramount for intervening parties to fully understand these cultural systems and implications if they hope to achieve any level of success. Ultimately, U.N. and U.S. leaders failed in Somalia because they failed to understand the people and their culture. Rather, they ignored it and viewed the situation from purely an ethnocentric western political perspective.
Topic:: International Law, United Nations, Humanitarian Intervention, Conflict, and Violence
Political Geography:: Africa, Europe, North America, Somalia, and United States of America

741. Decolonizing Leadership Studies: Overcoming Obstacles Toward an Intercultural Dialogue Between Knowledges

Author:: Toni Jimenez-Luque
Publication Date:: 03-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Studies of Changing Societies Journal (SCS)
Institution:: Studies of Changing Societies Journal (SCS)
Abstract:: The academic discipline of leadership has developed in Western countries over the past decades with a US/Western Europe-centered perspective, implying that leadership theory is universal regardless of different cultural perspectives that go beyond the Western canon. In fact, current mainstream leadership theories are rather ethnocentric and local, and many of them still reflect a Eurocentric colonial mentality of dominance and power. Therefore, the purpose with this paper is to explore the effects of Modernity and colonialism on society’s relationships to identify the causes that hinder an effective intercultural dialogue in postcolonial contexts. This paper considers Decolonial Leadership as a new model that goes beyond Eurocentric approaches in the field and points to further research that is needed to fully develop a broader and more inclusive paradigm of leadership.
Topic:: Post Colonialism, Leadership, Decolonization, Academia, and Intercultural Dialogue
Political Geography:: Europe and United States of America

742. 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

743. The Legal Dimensions of Rule of Law Promotion in EU Foreign Policy: EU Treaty Imperatives and Rule of Law Conditionality in the Foreign Trade and Development Nexus

Author:: Till Patrik Holterhus
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:: The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:: This article demonstrates that Arts. 21 and 3 (5) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) as well as Arts. 205, 207 (1), 208 (1), 209 (2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), legally oblige the European Union (EU) to promote the rule of law in its foreign trade and development policy. Furthermore, it is shown that, in the context of such promotion, the EU applies not a rudimentary but a sophisticated concept of the rule of law – quite similar to the concept of the rule of law that has developed within the Union. To fulfill the legal obligation to promote the rule of law abroad, the EU employs, as a key instrument, the legal mechanism of conditionality, not only through autonomous instruments but also in its contractual international relationships (carrot-and-stick policy). The EU’s foreign policy in the trade and development nexus, in particular when it comes to the promotion of the rule of law, can, therefore, be considered a process, to a large extent, determined and organized the of law.
Topic:: International Law, International Trade and Finance, Sovereignty, and European Union
Political Geography:: Europe

744. The Dawn of Article 18 ECHR: A Safeguard Against European Rule of Law Backsliding?

Author:: Floris Tan
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:: The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:: This article examines an underexplored avenue for the protection of the rule of law in Europe: Article 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This provision prohibits States from restricting the rights enshrined in the European Convention for any other purpose than provided for in the Convention. In this contribution, the author argues, based on a combination of textual, systematic and purposive interpretations of Article 18, that the provision is meant to safeguard against rule of law backsliding, in particular because governmental restrictions of human rights under false pretenses present a clear danger to the principles of legality and the supremacy of law. Such limitations of rights under the guise of legitimate purposes go against the assumption of good faith underlying the Convention, which presupposes that all States share a common goal of reinforcing human rights and the rule of law. Article 18 could therefore function as an early warning that European States are at risk of becoming an illiberal democracy or even of reverting to totalitarianism and the destruction of the rule of law. The article then goes on to assess the extent to which the European Court’s case-law reflects and realizes this aim of rule of law protection, and finds that whereas the Court’s earlier case-law left very little room for an effective application of Article 18, the November 2017 Grand Chamber judgment in Merabishvili v. Georgia has made large strides in effectuating the provision’s raison d’être. As the article shows, however, even under this new interpretation, challenges remain.
Topic:: Human Rights, International Law, and Rule of Law
Political Geography:: Europe

745. Reality, Ideology and Terminology: between Radicalization, Political Violence and Jihadi Terrorism / Realidad, ideología y terminología: entre la radicalización, la violencia política y el terrorismo yihadista

Author:: Hana Jalloul Muro
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
Institution:: International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
Abstract:: Avoiding violent radicalization is one of the great debates and challenges that we find today in Western societies. Although not all radicalization must be linked directly to violence or terrorism, we must prevent a priori radicalization so that it does not lead to the aforementioned processes. In the same way, the implementation of adequate and effective measures to deal with de-radicalization processes is something very necessary. The knowledge of the terminology is of vital importance to understand the meaning, development and reality of the terms presented in this publication, in order to prevent its political manipulation by state and non-state actors.
Topic:: Conflict Prevention, Political Violence, Terrorism, Radicalization, Ideology, Violence, and Islamism
Political Geography:: Europe and Global Focus

746. Energy Security from a European Union scope: the role of Russia / Seguridad energética en clave de la Unión Europea: el papel de Rusia

Author:: Nuria G. Rabanal
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
Institution:: International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
Abstract:: The aim of this work is to show the energy situation of the European Union (EU) across the analysis of its energy policy focusing in energy security. The facts show the important role of Russia as energy player and its influence in the design of energy strategy of the EU. As a reply of the strong dependency of Russian imports, European institutions have developed a strategy structured in two dimensions; internal and external one with the aim to guarantee the international cooperation with third countries, the increasing of internal energy market integration, the promotion of energy save, and the search of effective alternatives to conventional sources. The EU Strategy has designed a joint of measures that includes the increasing in the efficient use of conventional sources combined with higher levels in energy Investment, Innovation and technological Development (I+D+I), and the promotion of renewables. This is the way to change the classical energy model to a new one more compatible with the environment and a sustainable economic growth but also that implies a significant reduction of energy dependence.
Topic:: Security, Economics, Energy Policy, and European Union
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, and Eurasia

747. The Eastern Dimension of European Neighbourhood Policy in the Framework of New Global Strategy / La Dimensión Oriental de la Política Europea de la Vecindaden la nueva estrategia global

Author:: Victoria Rodríguez Prieto
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
Institution:: International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
Abstract:: “The Global Strategy Foreign Policy and Security of the European Union” has triggered significant measures in comparison with previous framework, which was elaborated in 2003 and updated in 2008 by then High Representative J. Solana. Those measures aim to promote more security in response to all vulnerabilities which tests stability, especially in European neighbourhood. Likewise, new European response should be understood in the framework of Lisbon Treaty´s innovations. The latter have let European Union (EU) provide with a more ambitious action in tune with external context. Regarding European neighbourhood, changes in Southern but also Eastern regions remains as main concern. While this is true that major challenges are in the southern area due to civil war in Syria, failed-state Libya, presence of Daesh and other extremist groups in the area. Meanwhile, to the East, context has undergone in the last few years owing to the Ukrainian crisis but also the Belarus dictatorship headed by V. Lukashenko, high levels of corruption in Moldova, recent political and social riots in Armenia, non-changes in Azerbaijan or the increase violence in Nagorno-Karabakh region. New strategy seeks to address these challenges through measures based on a great reinforcement of European normative dimension. Concerning neighbouring states, principle of pragmatism and resilience are the most relevant. All this strengthens by principle of differentiation, co-ownership and more flexibility embedded in the recent revised ENP, which facilitates their implementation. Our main purpose lies in analyzing innovations’ global strategy with regard to the Eastern neighbouring states whose relations with EU are within the so-called Eastern Partnership. This article argues that, to a certain extent, those have a certain impact on Eastern Partnership. However, significant results will become more visible in the mid-long term.
Topic:: Security, Foreign Policy, European Union, and Partnerships
Political Geography:: Europe, Eurasia, and Middle East

748. NATO and Postmodernity. An Organization not too well Understood and Geopolitically Necessary / La OTAN y la postmodernidad. Una organización poco comprendida y geopolíticamente necesaria

Author:: Federico Aznar Fernández-Montesinos
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
Institution:: International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
Abstract:: NATO is an organization hindered by its 20th century success; in addition, it is not well understood in a postmodern world despite having been transformed by increasing its political aspect and reduced its military weight through the simple re-reading of its founding treaty. A "Hard" power institution in a postmodern and "Soft” world. However, risks and threats have only faded and, although they have lost some of their intensity, they have gained in specter. Paradoxically, NATO dissolution with the end of the Cold War would have led to the disappearance of a forum for dialogue, to the unraveling of the security space and, thus, to the rearming of Europe. Russia is the continent nation heir to the USSR, the reason for the creation of NATO. But Russia is not the USSR in geopolitical or ideological terms, even though its recent action has brought back the shadows of the Cold War. The complexity of the approach to the problem of its relationship with the West cannot be reduced to the dichotomous and exclusive enemy friend key (it is a partner, supplier, supplier ... more than a strategic rival). Its correct definition comes from the resolution of the problem of its identity. In this context, NATO remains a geopolitically necessary organization, not in vain is today the only bridge that links exclusively Europe and the United States while contributing to the stability and structure of the West. And it serves to find a place for Russia too. His eventual tensing is a proof of the vigor of his health and the need to find channels of understanding among its members. In general, it is not good to blow up bridges already built despite it is legitimate to want to change them.
Topic:: Defense Policy, NATO, Geopolitics, and Military Spending
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, and United States of America

749. NATO's Adaptation in an Age of Complexity

Author:: Denis General Mercier
Publication Date:: 11-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: PRISM
Institution:: Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
Abstract:: Next year NATO will celebrate its 70th anniversary. Through decades of a sometimes tumultuous existence in an ever-evolving and challenging security environment, the transatlantic Alliance has managed to remain a cornerstone of stability, peace, and security in the Euro–Atlantic region. Comprising 29 nations since the accession of Montenegro in 2017, NATO is grounded on the same values that presided at its creation, to: safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilisation of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty, and the rule of law, to promote stability and well-being in the North-Atlantic area.1 In the aftermath of World War II and in the early phases of the Cold War, this preamble could be read as an unambiguous will to preserve peace and security by all means necessary, and to prevent the resurgence of massive conflicts such as those that had twice ravaged Europe and the rest of the world during the previous 30 years. The menace to peace then identified has changed and evolved ever since, but the principles still stand as valid. The 1949 Treaty of Washington is quintessential in this regard, because it goes to the absolute essentials of what an alliance is—should it have to be rewritten today, changing a single word would probably be close to impossible. Though its values have remained constant, NATO the organization has evolved to meet new challenges and to adapt to a changing security environment. Indeed, NATO’s durability is closely connected to its ability to change, and to the collective resolve of its members to preserve the Alliance as an international security hub.
Topic:: Defense Policy, NATO, International Cooperation, and Military Strategy
Political Geography:: Europe and North America

750. High North and High Stakes: The Svalbard Archipelago Could be the Epicenter of Rising Tension in the Arctic

Author:: Michael Zimmerman
Publication Date:: 11-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: PRISM
Institution:: Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
Abstract:: 500 nautical miles north of the city of Tromsø, off of the northern cape of Norway, lies the Svalbard Archipelago; a collection of islands nearly one fourth the size of continental Norway with a unique history and an even more unique status under international law. Since its official discovery in the mid-1500s Svalbard has generally been an area of peace and cooperation due in large part to its location on the fringes of civilization. However, Svalbard’s tranquility has been punctuated by periods of competition and conflict when profitable resources are at stake. From whaling in the 1700s, coal in the late 1800s, and fishing in the present, profit from natural resources has been a consistent driver of instability in the area. Outside of resource-driven tension, the island chain spent most of its pre–20th century existence as a de facto “no man’s land” or global commons, ungoverned by any one nation.
Topic:: International Cooperation, Territorial Disputes, Maritime, and Conflict
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, Canada, North America, Arctic, and United States of America

751. The Private Life of Family Matters: Curtailing Human Rights Protection for Migrants under Article 8 of the ECHR?

Author:: Alan Desmond
Publication Date:: 01-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: This article critically examines the evolving practice of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) towards the definition and use of the concepts of family life and private life in cases involving migrants who seek to resist deportation by invoking Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The examination reveals an approach on the part of the Court that has the effect of shrinking the protection potential of Article 8 for migrant applicants, allowing state interest in expulsion to carry the day. This is symptomatic of Strasbourg’s deference to state sovereignty in the realm of migration. While the ECtHR has issued a number of landmark rulings roundly vindicating migrants’ rights, these are the exception to the rule of Strasbourg’s deference to state powers of immigration control. This approach has far-reaching implications for migrants in the member states of the Council of Europe. The article concludes by highlighting the tools at the Court’s disposal that could be employed to construct a more human rights-consistent approach in this strand of jurisprudence, which is an issue all the more relevant in light of the growing number of migrants seeking to establish a life in Europe.
Topic:: Human Rights, International Law, Migration, Sovereignty, and Courts
Political Geography:: Europe and France

752. Maritime Legal Black Holes: Migration and Rightlessness in International Law

Author:: Itamar Mann
Publication Date:: 04-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: This article explores the trope of the ‘legal black hole’ to reveal questions of legal theory arising from contemporary migrant drownings. The theme was popularized during what was then called the ‘war on terror’, but its trajectory is longer and more complex. Its material history, as well as its intellectual history within legal scholarship, suggest three distinct ‘legacies’ of legal black holes: the counterterrorism legacy; the migrant-detention legacy; and the legacy of the maritime legal black hole. The tripartite division provides a conceptual typology of instances where persons are rendered rightless. While the two former types are characterized by de facto rightlessness due to a violation of international law, the latter exposes a seldom acknowledged, yet crucial, characteristic of international law; the age-old doctrine on the division of responsibilities between states and individuals at land and at sea is now creating the conditions in which some people are rendered de jure rightless. Moreover, the typology sheds light on the specifically legal reasons for the seeming failure to end mass drowning of migrants and refugees in the Mediterranean Sea. Tracing the ways in which people become de jure rightless is ultimately suggested as a broader research agenda for scholars of international law.
Topic:: Human Rights, International Law, Migration, and Maritime
Political Geography:: Europe and Mediterranean

753. The Return of Cultural Genocide?

Author:: Leora Bilsky and Rachel Klagsbrun
Publication Date:: 04-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: Cultural genocide, despite contemporary thinking, is not a new problem in need of normative solution, rather it is as old as the concept of genocide itself. The lens of law and history allows us to see that the original conceptualization of the crime of genocide – as presented by Raphael Lemkin – gave cultural genocide centre stage. As Nazi crime was a methodical attempt to destroy a group and as what makes up a group’s identity is its culture, for Lemkin, the essence of genocide was cultural. Yet the final text of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention) does not prohibit cultural genocide as such, and it is limited to its physical and biological aspects. What led to this exclusion? In this article, we examine the various junctures of law, politics and history in which the concept was shaped: the original conceptualization by Lemkin; litigation in national and international criminal courts and the drafting process of the Genocide Convention. In the last part, we return to the mostly forgotten struggle for cultural restitution (books, archives and works of art) fought by Jewish organizations after the Holocaust as a countermeasure to cultural genocide. Read together, these various struggles uncover a robust understanding of cultural genocide, which was once repressed by international law and now returns to haunt us by the demands of groups for recognition and protection.
Topic:: Genocide, International Law, History, Culture, Courts, and Holocaust
Political Geography:: Europe and Germany

754. The Legacy of the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda and Their Contribution to the Crime of Rape

Author:: Alexandra Adams
Publication Date:: 07-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: The article analyses the over 20 years’ jurisprudence of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda with respect to the crime of rape. It discusses how the attitude towards the prosecution of sexual crimes has changed since the Tribunals work began and what impact its jurisprudence has had on other attempts to define rape (elements of crime [EOC]). The article explores in depth the various definitions of rape given by the different chambers of both Tribunals. Consequently, it examines if the ultimate definition of the Kunarac chamber will prevail in international law. Not only are the weaknesses of the Kunarac definition that followed a pure consent approach revealed but the EOC of rape that opted for a combination of the coercion approach with one aspect of the lack-of-consent doctrine (incapacity) also face criticism. This leaves only one response – namely, that the elements of rape in international criminal law today can only be based upon a newly conducted comparison of national laws, thereby reflecting the general principles of the major legal systems of the world. The strongest accomplishment of both Tribunals concerning the crime of rape therefore lies not in the clarification of the elements of rape but, rather, in the revelation of a law-finding method, which is indispensable to the rudimentary field of international criminal law.
Topic:: International Law, War Crimes, Gender Based Violence, Courts, and Rape
Political Geography:: Europe, Yugoslavia, and Rwanda

755. Changing State Behaviour: Damages before the European Court of Human Rights

Author:: Veronika Fikfak
Publication Date:: 10-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: Regardless of the efforts undertaken through the many reforms of the European Convention on Human Rights system, non-compliance with the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) remains a major problem for the Council of Europe. This article asks how we can change state behaviour and what role, if any, could damages play in this context. First, the article focuses on how the choice of remedy affects compliance and why aggravated or punitive damages look like an ideal option to nudge states into compliance. I explore recent arguments by scholars and judges who argue that the ECtHR should actively shift its approach (or perhaps already has) to nudge state behaviour towards compliance and prevention of future violations. Based on my empirical research, I show that the current case law presents several obstacles to the introduction of such damages. Building on the economic analysis of the law and insights from behavioural sciences, I reveal how the Court’s approach fails to comply with any of the elements needed to incentivize states to change their behaviour. I finally question to what extent aggravated or punitive damages can be efficient within a system that relies on voluntary compliance.
Topic:: Human Rights, International Law, Reform, and Courts
Political Geography:: Europe and France

756. Analysis of Constitutional Changes Concerning Justice

Author:: Valeria Klymenko and Hanna Pashkova
Publication Date:: 06-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: National Security and Defence
Institution:: Razumkov Centre
Abstract:: Independent judiciary is an essential attribute of a democratic government and an important factor in establishing the Rule of Law. Events of the late 2013 and early 2014 confirmed the presence of serious problems in the Ukrainian judiciary. Not only it was inable to resist the arbitrary rule but also condoned and encouraged manifestations of autocracy. This objectively angered the society, which was receptive to immediate measures aimed at restoring confidence in the judiciary and the right to a fair trial. As these measures failed to deliver tangible positive results, the judiciary remained disoriented and demoralised. The need to reform the constitutional basis of the functioning of the judiciary became apparent. The Constitutional Commission established by the President of Ukraine has developed draft amendments to the Constitution (concerning justice), which on 2 June 2016 were adopted by the Parliament. Implementation of constitutional changes through necessary regulatory mechanisms was translated into action by adoption of several important laws – “On the Judiciary and the Status of Judges”, “On the High Council of Justice”, “On the Constitutional Court of Ukraine”, “On Agencies and Persons Performing Compulsory Enforcement of Court Decisions and Decisions of other Authorities”, and “On Amendments to the Commercial Procedure Code of Ukraine, the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine, the Code of Administrative Justice of Ukraine and other Legislative Acts”. The process of implementing amendments to the Constitution concerning justice and the status of the Constitutional Court implies introduction of their provisions and legal mechanisms in the practice of establishing the judiciary bodies, appointment of judges and improvements in legal proceedings based on the new framework. The Constitutional Court, in turn, should gain genuine social recognition and respect by improving important elements of its status through exemplary adherence to its constitutional powers. In these processes, it is vital to promptly identify problems linked to inadequacy and unconstitutionality of certain provisions of the above laws, as well as the means of their application. This analytical report and all the materials presented in this publication are part of these efforts.
Topic:: Law, Public Opinion, Reform, Constitution, Justice, and Judiciary
Political Geography:: Europe and Ukraine

757. Ukraine on the Eve of Election Year: Public Demand, Positions of Political Actors, Outline of the New Government

Author:: Valeriya Klymenko and Hanna Pashkova
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: National Security and Defence
Institution:: Razumkov Centre
Abstract:: Year 2019 is not going to be easy. Apart from challenges caused by Russian military aggression against Ukraine, the presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for March and October will be the main internal political factors further aggravating the situation in the country. The 2019 elections will take place in a challenging environment. First of all, this concerns the ongoing war with Russia, which will try to influence the elections results in efforts to bring loyal political leaders and parties to power in Ukraine. Other negative aspects include the society’s disappointment with current government, coupled with low public support of its institutions, individual political leaders and pro-government political forces. The nature and results of the upcoming election will be further affected by the division of supporters of Ukraine’s European path and the political forces declaring the same course into two camps, depending on their attitudes towards the current government. The rise of radicalism in the activities of some opposition parties, as well as significant growth of populism are quite alarming trends in the Ukrainian politics. Holding both elections in one year with brief interval between them is likely to escalate political struggle, which may result in reduced efficiency of the government with further suspension of the reform processes in anticipation of successive change of the President, the Parliament and the Cabinet of Ministers. The results of 2019 elections should give answers to the following key questions: will Ukraine continue its European integration course approved by the people of Ukraine during the Revolution of Dignity? Will newly elected institutions continue reforms? Which political leaders and forces will assume responsibility for the reforms and their results? Answers to these questions primarily depend on the Ukrainian voters, as well as on candidates and political forces competing for public confidence. The Razumkov Centre’s project “Ukraine on the Eve of Election Year: Public Demand, Outline of the New Government, and the Future of Reforms” aims at exploring current sentiments of citizens who will cast ballots on the one hand, and analysing readiness of political actors and suitability of their political “supply” for society’s “demand” on the other. By doing so, the project is set to outline the new Ukrainian government and its potential policies.
Topic:: Government, Public Opinion, Elections, Domestic Politics, and Campaigning
Political Geography:: Europe and Ukraine

758. A Sociological Approach on Kin Marriages in Turkey

Author:: Kadir Canatan
Publication Date:: 04-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Academic Inquiries
Institution:: Sakarya University (SAU)
Abstract:: This paper intends to do a sociological analysis of kin marriage, a subject matter of sharp discussions both in Turkish society and in European public. Traditionally, to some extent, practiced and largely approved by the society in Turkey, this type of marriage was opened to discussions during the second half of the last century. The discussions started to be gradually dominated by a medical discourse that focuses on bio-medical results of kin marriage and treats it as a risk factor. Although such views are widely accepted in society, kin marriage insistently keeps its existence. Based on a sociological perspective, this paper aims to analyze the factors leading to the existence of kin marriage despite wide spreading disapproval thoughts and attitudes against it.
Topic:: Sociology, Medicine, Marriage, Attitudes, and Kin Marriage
Political Geography:: Europe and Turkey

759. Polish-Ukrainian military units in the years 1991-2018

Author:: Marek Żyła
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Security and Defence Quarterly
Institution:: War Studies University
Abstract:: The history and traditions of Polish-Ukrainian military contacts are as rich as the relations between the two nations. Intensive military cooperation dates back to the mid-16th century and is connected with the pursuit of the military capabilities of the Cossacks. The next chapter of Polish-Ukrainian military cooperation started just after the end of the First World War. The state authorities, analysing the political and military situation, noticed the importance of Ukraine for the future balance of power in Europe and its impact on Poland’s security in the east. The leader of the Ukrainian National Republic (UNR), ataman Symon Petlura, had a similar approach. The need for joint action in the face of growing threat led both parties to intensify negotiations and to sign a political and military agreement. The findings made on 14 January 1992 during the visit of the Minister of Defence of Ukraine, Colonel Konstantin Morozov, to Poland should be regarded as the beginning of contemporary military contacts with Ukraine. In formal terms, the legal basis for cooperation was the agreement on this matter, signed on 3 February 1993 in Kiev. In its framework, both parties agreed to develop, inter alia, training and training-operational cooperation. It was intended to be implemented through contacts between units stationed in the border regions, transferring the main effort to the lower levels of command.
Topic:: Bilateral Relations, Peacekeeping, Cooperation, Military, and Stabilization
Political Geography:: Europe, Ukraine, and Poland

760. Security policy of the Baltic states and its determining factors

Author:: Sławomir Piotrowski
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Security and Defence Quarterly
Institution:: War Studies University
Abstract:: The history of the nations living in today’s Baltic States is marked by fighting against stronger neighbours: Russia, Poland, Sweden, Denmark and the German settlers in their territories. Unlike Lithuanians, Estonians and Latvians failed to create their own statehood before the 20 th century. The Lithuanians created their own state, a powerful one, which then became a part of an even wider state organism – the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. As a result, the security policy of Lithuania was identical to that of the First Republic of Poland. Although there were tribes living within the area of current Estonia and Latvia for many centuries up to the outbreak of World War I, the lands of Latvia and Estonia had been changing owners and had been under the rule of almost all neighbouring countries. As a result of the positive outcome of the First World War, but also thanks to their efforts, the Baltic States regained independence in order to lose it after only 20 years, as a consequence of another war. After restoring independence with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Baltic States realised that even acting together they were unable to defend themselves against a potential aggressor. As a result, they decided to follow in the footsteps of other countries of the former Eastern Bloc (e.g. Poland and Slovakia) and to integrate with Western European structures such as NATO and the EU. Following NATO inclusion, the security strategies of the Baltic States have been revised in line with the changes in their surrounding geopolitical environment.
Topic:: Security, History, Regional Politics, and Regional Security
Political Geography:: Europe and Baltic States

761. The Balkans and non-military security threats – quality comparative analyses of resilience capabilities regarding hybrid threats

Author:: Miroslav Mitrovic
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Security and Defence Quarterly
Institution:: War Studies University
Abstract:: The contemporary security environment indicates non-conventional, asymmetric and hybrid security threats as potentially the most accurate threats to global and regional security. Conflict risks in the regional frame strongly depend on strategically aimed non-military, but hybrid acts. The great powers mostly attempt to achieve their own interests’ goals in fulfi llment of self-orientated strategic dominance. The Balkan region is a crossroads of strongly exposed interest spheres of regional as well as global powers. The article aims to determine areas of infl uence in the Balkan States that could become targets of predominantly non-military but hybrid infl uences. Multi-Value Quality Comparative Analyses (mvQCA) of state power, stability and resilience capacities were used in the research. The methodology used was based on the approach with multi-valued sets of variables and conditions. A theoretical framework was based on contemporary theories of state power and hybrid warfare concept. Used databases were brought together from generated open source databases of approved international academic or think-tank organisations. Based on a hypothesis regarding hybrid security threats, a theoretical framework of understanding of power and analysing a wide spectra of databases, the article aims to contribute a rational and objective understanding of two main indicators: the potential to become a target and the resilience capacities of countries in the face of hybrid security threats. Its findings indicate that most countries in the Balkan region are potentially under unarmed influences and have very low resilience capabilities against possible hybrid infl uences. The conclusions reached help to clarify that the Balkan States are vulnerable to hybrid security threats.
Topic:: Security, Conflict, Resilience, and Non-Traditional Threats
Political Geography:: Europe and Balkans

762. Types of Security Education in Poland. Selected examples

Author:: Marlena Zadorożna
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Security and Defence Quarterly
Institution:: War Studies University
Abstract:: The purpose of the article is to examine selected examples of types of security education in Poland. At the beginning of the 20th century, national security was centered on military and political aspects, but recent decades have seen the successive shifting of the focus from the military-political plane of security to other areas. It seems that educational concepts adapt to emerging challenges. This thesis is confi rmed by the concept of global education, the idea of military classes, as well as the military training of pro-defensive organisations within the framework of the Passport Program. All of these educational concepts were covered in the study. One of the most important conclusions of the article will be to emphasise the correlation between the evolution of the understanding of security, the transformation of threats and changes in the field of educational concepts.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, Education, Training, and Military
Political Geography:: Europe and Poland

763. National defence training of public administration personnel in Poland

Author:: Bogdan Grenda and Andrzej Soboń
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Security and Defence Quarterly
Institution:: War Studies University
Abstract:: National defence training of public administration personnel can be broadly defined as a set of activities undertaken at all levels of public administration, aimed at preparing staff to perform official duties concerned with state defence. This paper opens with the presentation of essential areas of national defence training. The subsequent section provides an overview of implementations of national defence training at various levels of public administration and at Higher Universities. The final part of this analysis describes the assumptions of a new didactic framework of courses in defence for public administration and national authorities at the Faculty of National Security of War Studies University in Warsaw.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, Training, Personnel, and Administration
Political Geography:: Europe and Poland

764. Military education for students within the framework of the Academic Legion: A pilot project

Author:: Przemysław Wywiał
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Security and Defence Quarterly
Institution:: War Studies University
Abstract:: The paper presents assumptions about the new model of military training for students within the framework of the Academic Legion. It also discusses the traditions of military training of students and graduates in the Second Polish Republic and following the transformations of 1989, with special focus on the tradition of the Academic Legion. Furthermore, it examines assumptions about the pilot project of military training of students that was implemented in the academic year 2017/2018 and highlights the training curriculum for the theory course and for the practical military drills during holidays.
Topic:: Education, Armed Forces, Training, Students, and Military
Political Geography:: Europe and Poland

765. Gaming for peace: Gender awareness training and the Polish military

Author:: Anne Holohan, Justyna Pyz, and Kamila Trochowska
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Security and Defence Quarterly
Institution:: War Studies University
Abstract:: Despite regulatory and legal changes, women are persistently underrepresented in military organisations on peacekeeping missions. This article argues that part of the reason for this can be found in persistent stereotypical ideas about gender roles, and looks at the attitudes and experience of Polish military personnel who have been deployed on peacekeeping missions as evidence of this. However, witnessing other militaries stance on gender, where such stereotypes are still there, but not as entrenched, can cause personnel to contextualise if not question their own organisation’s stance on gender. Sixteen Polish military peacekeepers were interviewed in-depth about their experiences on peacekeeping missions as part of a European H2020 project, Gaming for Peace (GAP). The interviews were used to build scenarios for a digital role-playing game to develop soft skills among peacekeeping personnel, and these soft skills included gender awareness. This article analyses the interviews to explore the experience of gender for both men and women in the Polish military, and shows that there is an urgent need for the type of training in gender awareness that is part of GAP.
Topic:: Peacekeeping, Women, Training, Peace, Stereotypes, Gender, and Military
Political Geography:: Europe and Poland

766. Contemporary challenges in military logistics support

Author:: Marta Pawelczyk
Publication Date:: 09-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Security and Defence Quarterly
Institution:: War Studies University
Abstract:: Nowadays, the most important factors that cause global market activity and have a big influence on logistics processes are: globalisation and rapid development of new technologies. In that environment, military logistics are operating incessantly alongside the supply of goods in times of war, peace and crisis. These logistics are focused on finding solutions for being more effective and economically profi table. Because of this, logisticians try to reduce costs and supply good faster, as well as trying to provide the right quality and service.. The current challenges in military logistics support have changed. The biggest challenge for all logistics processes is to provide services according to the 7R formula (right time, right product, right quantity, right condition, right place, right customer, and right price). A logistics leader is important for every operational mission. Thanks to the leader making quick and smart decisions, successful termination of a mission is possible. The article is based on the example of logistics support for the Polish contingent in Kosovo. In the light of the above, the aim of the article is to identify and estimate the situation of military logistics. The research problem is as follow: What are the biggest determinants of logistics processes in military area?
Topic:: Security, Logistics, Supply Chains, and Military
Political Geography:: Europe, Poland, and Kosovo

767. Increasing operational capabilities of NATO in the face of modern challenges and threats

Author:: Bogdan Grenda
Publication Date:: 09-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Security and Defence Quarterly
Institution:: War Studies University
Abstract:: This paper explores the issue of improving NATO’s operational capabilities. The initial sections overview changes that have already been introduced and are expected in the international security environment in the forthcoming years. This perspective is subsequently adopted to identify the present developments in the strategic concepts of NATO with the view to formulation of appropriate operational capabilities of the North Atlantic Treaty.
Topic:: Security, NATO, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:: Europe

768. An analysis of popular justice on Polish Facebook discussion groups

Author:: Bartosz Płotka
Publication Date:: 06-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Security and Defence Quarterly
Institution:: War Studies University
Abstract:: The subject of this article is the efficiency of popular justice as the informal mechanism of public safety production on the example of Polish users of facebook.com. The investigation was based on the empirical data collected from Polish public discussion groups on the facebook website. The qualitative analysis of digital data allowed a presentation of what forms popular justice takes today and what kind of reconceptualisation it undergoes in comparison to its previous forms. The theory that backed up the study was the concept of informal institutions which allowed the most important characteristics and their changes to be demonstrated. The results show that popular justice is an ineffective mechanism of public safety production because of its selectivity and the high level of emotions related to judging people, which makes a just judgment impossible.
Topic:: Social Media, Justice, Facebook, Qualitative Research, Public Security, and Informal Institutions
Political Geography:: Europe and Poland

769. Central Europe after 1918. A short outline

Author:: Dariusz Miszewski, Franciszek Dabrowski, Marek Deszczyński, and Grzegorz Wnętrzak
Publication Date:: 06-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Security and Defence Quarterly
Institution:: War Studies University
Abstract:: This paper analyses changes in the region’s states, and the evolution of Central Europe’s (CE) position in the international environment. Since forming in 1918, the new CE independent states have remained a focus for neighbouring powers and Western powers. The paper looks at the background for the historical, political, economic, demographic, cultural and geopolitical importance of Central Europe. Th ree essential periods can be distinguished, the first being the post-WW1 period, when after the downfall of Austria-Hungary and the weakening of Germany, Russia and Turkey, a number of independent states emerged. The lack of Western assistance and insufficient mutual cooperation meant that CE countries became subject to aggression from Berlin and Moscow. After WW2, the region was forcefully reintegrated into the Soviet Union – and its states were subjected to political, social, economic and cultural degradation. The downfall of the Soviet Union and democratic transition in the states of Central Europe contributed to the regional economic and security integration. EU membership and close ties to the USA forged significant possibilities for development and becoming a subject of European policy. Historical experiences show that Central Europe has had a significant impact on international security in Europe. The region’s states of increasing signifi cance have the capability potential to forge their own concepts of close regional political and economic cooperation.
Topic:: Security, History, Alliance, Regional Integration, and Regional Politics
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, and Central Europe

770. The role of reservists and reserve associations today

Author:: László Ujházy
Publication Date:: 06-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Security and Defence Quarterly
Institution:: War Studies University
Abstract:: In this paper, the role of reservists is both discussed and analysed by the author. At the same time – based on the experience of NATO member states with a history and tradition longer than ours in this context – the author outlines the alternative options for possible participation by a reserve association in efforts aimed at supporting the volunteer reserve system and national defence as a whole in Hungary.
Topic:: NATO, Peace, Civil-Military Relations, and Military Reserves
Political Geography:: Europe and Global Focus

771. The “Right to Remain Here” as an Evolving Component of Global Refugee Protection: Current Initiatives and Critical Questions

Author:: Daniel Kanstroom
Publication Date:: 01-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal on Migration and Human Security
Institution:: Center for Migration Studies of New York
Abstract:: This article considers the relationship between two human rights discourses (and two specific legal regimes): refugee and asylum protection and the evolving body of international law that regulates expulsions and deportations. Legal protections for refugees and asylum seekers are, of course, venerable, well-known, and in many respects still cherished, if challenged and perhaps a bit frail. Anti-deportation discourse is much newer, multifaceted, and evolving. It is in many respects a young work in progress. It has arisen in response to a rising tide of deportations, and the worrisome development of massive, harsh deportation machinery in the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Australia, and South Africa, among others. This article’s main goal is to consider how these two discourses do and might relate to each other. More specifically, it suggests that the development of procedural and substantive rights against removal — as well as rights during and after removal — aids our understanding of the current state and possible future of the refugee protection regime. The article’s basic thesis is this: The global refugee regime, though challenged both theoretically and in practice, must be maintained and strengthened. Its historical focus on developing criteria for admission into safe states, on protections against expulsion (i.e., non-refoulement), and on regimes of temporary protection all remain critically important. However, a focus on other protections for all noncitizens facing deportation is equally important. Deportation has become a major international system that transcends the power of any single nation-state. Its methods have migrated from one regime to another; its size and scope are substantial and expanding; its costs are enormous; and its effects frequently constitute major human rights violations against millions who do not qualify as refugees. In recent years there has been increasing reliance by states on generally applicable deportation systems, led in large measure by the United States’ radical 25 year-plus experiment with large-scale deportation. Europe has also witnessed a rising tide of deportation, some of which has developed in reaction to European asylum practices. Deportation has been facilitated globally (e.g., in Australia) by well-funded, efficient (but relatively little known) intergovernmental idea sharing, training, and cooperation. This global expansion, standardization, and increasing intergovernmental cooperation on deportation has been met by powerful — if in some respects still nascent — human rights responses by activists, courts, some political actors, and scholars. It might seem counterintuitive to think that emerging ideas about deportation protections could help refugees and asylum seekers, as those people by definition often have greater rights protections both in admission and expulsion. However, the emerging anti-deportation discourses should be systematically studied by those interested in the global refugee regime for three basic reasons. First, what Matthew Gibney has described as “the deportation turn” has historically been deeply connected to anxiety about asylum seekers. Although we lack exact figures of the number of asylum seekers who have been subsequently expelled worldwide, there seems little doubt that it has been a significant phenomenon and will be an increasingly important challenge in the future. The two phenomena of refugee/asylum protections and deportation, in short, are now and have long been linked. What has sometimes been gained through the front door, so to speak, may be lost through the back door. Second, current deportation human rights discourses embody creative framing models that might aid constructive critique and reform of the existing refugee protection regime. They tend to be more functionally oriented, less definitional in terms of who warrants protection, and more fluid and transnational. Third, these discourses offer important specific rights protections that could strengthen the refugee and asylum regime, even as we continue to see weakening state support for the basic 1951/1967 protection regime. This is especially true in regard to the extraterritorial scope of the (deporting) state’s obligations post-deportation. This article particularly examines two initiatives in this emerging field: The International Law Commission’s Draft Articles on the Expulsion of Aliens and the draft Declaration on the Rights of Expelled and Deported Persons developed through the Boston College Post-Deportation Human Rights Project (of which the author is a co-director). It compares their provisions to the existing corpus of substantive and procedural protections for refugees relating to expulsion and removal. It concludes with consideration of how these discourses may strengthen protections for refugees while also helping to develop more capacious and protective systems in the future.
Topic:: Human Rights, International Cooperation, Border Control, Refugees, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:: Africa, United States, Europe, France, South Africa, Germany, Australia, Mexico, and Global Focus

772. Matching Systems for Refugees

Author:: Will Jones and Alexander Teytelboym
Publication Date:: 01-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal on Migration and Human Security
Institution:: Center for Migration Studies of New York
Abstract:: Design of matching systems between refugees and states or local areas is emerging as one of the most promising solutions to problems in refugee resettlement. We describe the basics of two-sided matching theory used in a number of allocation problems, such as school choice, where both sides need to agree to the match. We then explain how these insights can be applied to international refugee matching in the context of the European Union and examine how refugee matching might work within the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States.
Topic:: International Cooperation, Refugees, and Resettlement
Political Geography:: United States, United Kingdom, Europe, Canada, and North America

773. Exported as a Commodity: North Korean Workers Officially Dispatched Overseas

Author:: Greg Scarlatoiu
Publication Date:: 04-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: International Journal of Korean Studies
Institution:: International Council on Korean Studies
Abstract:: North Korea officially dispatches over 60,000 workers to a minimum of 20 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. The regime confiscates much of the USD 200 million earned by these workers annually. Despite the known exploitation and hardship, North Koreans continue to covet these positions, which provide rare opportunities to spend time outside the world’s most isolated dictatorial regime and send small amounts of money to their families at home. Only those deemed loyal to the regime as measured by North Korea’s songbun system have access to these jobs. Even those with “good songbun” frequently bribe government officials to secure one of the few positions available. Once overseas, workers labor under harsh and dangerous conditions that border on slavery. North Korea’s pervasive security apparatus continues to survey all activities while spouses and children serve as de facto hostages to prevent defections. The Kim Family Regime’s dispatch of workers amounts to exporting its subjects as a commodity. Efforts to address this issue must be based on applicable international standards. Governments bound by international agreements should first seek redress, as difficult as it may be, before terminating the contracts that cover North Korea’s overseas workers.
Topic:: Human Rights, Labor Issues, Economy, and UN Security Council
Political Geography:: Africa, Europe, Middle East, Asia, and North Korea

774. Navigating the Unknown: Barriers to Evidence-Based Defence and Security Policy in the European Union

Author:: Benedict Wilkinson, Erin Montague, and Maria Giulia Amadio Viceré
Publication Date:: 03-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The International Spectator
Institution:: Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:: At a time when Europe faces numerous crises, there is a real need for rigorous evidence to underpin effective policymaking. However, a gap between academia and policy creates clear obstacles in the use of evidence in policymaking. Many of these enduring obstacles are manifest in the inherent differences between separate communities: academics have difficulty communicating research in an applicable manner, and policymakers, in turn, tend to focus on operational motivations. The gap widens considerably when foreign, security and defence policy within the complex institutional structures of the European Union is considered. In addition to these well known barriers to evidence-based policy, there are two more obstacles in the defence and security space: sovereignty and dispersed decision-making. A dialogue of best practices must be opened up to broker knowledge in the EU context.
Topic:: Security, Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, and Academia
Political Geography:: Europe and European Union

775. he Economic forces of victory versus those of defeat: The case of the Greek-Turkish war (1919-1922).

Author:: Ioannis Salavrakos
Publication Date:: 09-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:: Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:: The intellectual aspiration of the paper is to cast light on one of the most neglected conflicts in history, that of the Greek-Turkish war of 1919-1922. The paper analyses the Greek defeat pointing out that it was the outcome of the following factors: 1) economic factors, 2) tactical errors at the war theatre, 3) inability to have the support of Great Powers. The paper also highlights the Turkish strengths as opposed to Greek weaknesses
Topic:: Diplomacy, War, Economy, and Conflict
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, Greece, Asia, and Mediterranean

776. The Extent and Effects of German-Boer Collaboration During the First World War: A Comprehensive and Chronological Analysis

Author:: Christian De Jager
Publication Date:: 09-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:: Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:: The Boer Rebellion of 1914 provides a fascinating example of how ethno-linguistic bonds can directly influence the development and formation of pragmatic military and political alliances. What had begun in the late nineteenth century as reciprocal perceptions of shared ethnic heritage had, by the fall of 1914, developed into an official military and political alliance between the German Empire and the Boers of South Africa. Contributing to scholarship in colonial military and cultural history, this essay offers an original interpretation of the often misrepresented and under-studied extent and effects of German-Boer collaboration during the First World War. The author makes use of sources in English, Afrikaans and German to provide a comprehensive account of the events, concluding that German-Boer collaboration was remarkably extensive and ultimately decisive for the course of the South-West Africa campaign and demonstrating the important link between military decision-making and cultural and political structures.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Military Strategy, Alliance, and Cultural Diplomacy
Political Geography:: Africa, Europe, South Africa, and Germany

777. The Role of Universities in Our Changing Economy

Author:: Jefferey Bleich
Publication Date:: 03-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Ambassadors Review
Institution:: Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:: We grew up in a century defined by the Second Industrial Revolution. Today, that revolution is being eclipsed by a Digital Revolution. The uncertainty that we are experiencing in every aspect of our society is the same disorientation that occurred between 1870 and 1910 when the first Industrial Revolution ended and a second one began. It eventually vaulted nations like America and Australia to the top of the world order. But it also produced the Gilded Age, labor unrest, mass migrations, the Great Depression and two world wars. That era is closing, and we are now experiencing the new great disruption that Silicon Valley promised. Digital technology—while solving crucial problems—is creating or compounding others. It has outstripped the capacity of government to control it and amplified the collapse of public confidence in democratic governments. It has inflamed rivalries between those who benefit and those who don’t. It has undermined standards—of altruism and of civility—that are necessary for us to find common ground. To appreciate this, we have to see where we’ve come from. A hundred and fifty years ago, we went through the same thing. Changes in technology revolutionized media, global integration and demographics. The changes were profound. In 1879, during a three-month period, both the electric light and a workable internal combustion engine were invented. Those two inventions alone produced over the next 40 years a dizzying number of new technologies. The telephone, phonograph, motion pictures, cars, airplanes, elevators, X-rays, electric machinery, consumer appliances, highways, suburbs and supermarkets—all were created in a 40-year burst from 1875 to 1915. Technology fundamentally transformed how people live. We’ve known for a while that the structures created by this Second Industrial Revolution were running their course, at least in advanced economies, and that it was being replaced by a new revolution, the digital revolution. Recently, the pace of these advances has started to build exponentially, and the pressure has been mounting. Everyone who has had to throw out their CD player for a DVD player for an iPod for an iPhone for Spotify knows what I mean. Further, the pace at which our world is being changed just keeps accelerating. Every year a new massive theory of disruption emerges: “the digital economy,” “the social network,” “the Internet of things,” “sharing economy” and “big data.” Last year, “machine learning”—where machines teach themselves things we do not know—was the buzzword. The word in Silicon Valley this year is “singularity”—where our species itself is altered by technology (gene-editing, bionics, artificial intelligence), creating a new hybrid species.
Topic:: Economics, Education, Digital Economy, Higher Education, and Digital Revolution
Political Geography:: United States, Europe, Australia, and North America

778. How Ukraine Views Russia and the West

Author:: Steven Pifer
Publication Date:: 09-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Ambassadors Review
Institution:: Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:: Following the Soviet Union’s collapse, Ukraine and Russia maintained relations that at times were testy, but their differences largely appeared manageable. That changed in 2014, when the Kremlin used military force to seize Crimea and then supported armed separatism in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. As a result, attitudes within Ukraine toward Russia have hardened to a considerable degree, and the appeal of Western institutions such as the European Union and NATO has grown.
Topic:: NATO, Imperialism, European Union, and Conflict
Political Geography:: Russia, United States, Europe, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe

779. Twenty Years of the U.S.-Romanian Strategic Partnership

Author:: Hans Kiemm
Publication Date:: 09-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Ambassadors Review
Institution:: Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:: When Bill Clinton came to Bucharest in 1997, he made history as the first U.S. President to visit Romania since the fall of communism. Speaking to the Romanian public, he announced, “Your President and I have agreed to establish a strategic partnership between our nations, a partnership important to America because Romania is important to America—important in your own right and important as a model in this difficult part of the world. Romania can show the people of this region and, indeed, people throughout the world that there is a better way than fighting and division and repression. It is cooperation and freedom and peace. Our friendship will endure the test of time. As long as you proceed down democracy’s road, America will walk by your side.” This year marks the 20th anniversary of that U.S.-Romania Strategic Partnership, which President Donald Trump, during a meeting with President Klaus Iohannis this past June in Washington, said is now “stronger than ever.” The Partnership is unique because it is not based upon any written agreement, treaty, or compact, but by mutual respect and understanding, strengthened continuously over time. It is a friendship based on shared values and aspirations, including democracy, freedom, respect for human rights, and the rule of law. While usually invoked when speaking of government-to-government bilateral relations, the Partnership extends to people-to-people ties as well. More than 90 percent of the Romanian public rates relations with the United States as good or very good, and overall, associations between the two countries expand far beyond diplomatic obligation.
Topic:: NATO, Diplomacy, Military Strategy, and Diaspora
Political Geography:: United States, Europe, Eastern Europe, Romania, and North America

780. A comparative study: Where and Why does the EU Impose Sanctions?

Author:: Christian Hörbelt
Publication Date:: 01-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
Institution:: Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
Abstract:: The use of the EU instrument of political and economic sanctions has continually been rising since 1987. However, the sanctions are used differently according to geographic vicinity, political motivation, and which security objectives the EU promotes. Clara Portela explored the European sanction regime for the period 1987-2003 and showed that the EU has different political motivations and objectives for each region and that, in particular, geographic vicinity plays a significant role for the application for sanctions. This article relates to Portela´s analytic approach from 2005 and verifies her hypotheses for the period 2005-2015. In summary, the article shows that the EU still focuses on geographic vicinity and security relevance. Only the area of sanction application has changed, moving from Eastern Europe to the Middle East.
Topic:: International Relations, Security, Foreign Policy, Sanctions, and European Union
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, Eastern Europe, and Mediterranean

781. Between Supranationalism and Inter-Governmentalism in the European Union’s Foreign Policy: A Principal-Agent Approach of the Sanction Policy in the CFSP Framework

Author:: Constance Barbou des Courières
Publication Date:: 01-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
Institution:: Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
Abstract:: Integration in the EU Foreign Policy domain has been sporadic, preventing the EU from gaining traction internationally. However, the imposition of international sanctions has generated a great degree of member state cooperation at the EU level. From establishing a common sanctioning practice, to institutionalising the instrument as part of the CFSP toolbox, the EU sanction policy constitutes a fascinating example of delegation of foreign policy powers from the national to the supranational level. This article uses the Principal-Agent model in an attempt to make evident, as a result from the allocation of such powers to the EU, the power struggle between the national and supranational levels for the control of the sanction-making process. The analysis reveals that in spite of EU supranational bodies acquiring greater control over time, the member states have set up control mechanisms in order to limit the room for manoeuvre of the former.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Sanctions, European Union, Intergovernmentalism, and Supranationalism
Political Geography:: Europe

782. February 2017 Issue

Author:: Georg Heil, Brian Dodwell, Don Rassler, Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, Robin Simcox, Shashi Jayakumar, and Andrew McGregor
Publication Date:: 02-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: CTC Sentinel
Institution:: The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:: In an extensive interview, General John W. Nicholson, commander of Resolute Support and U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, stresses the importance of preventing the country from again becoming a platform for international terrorism, noting counterterrorism operations have almost halved the fighting strength of the Islamic State’s local affiliate. He also outlines the ongoing effort to empower Afghan efforts against the Taliban, saying: “They’re at a bit of a stalemate. The government holds about two-thirds of the population. The enemy holds a solid 8 to 10 percent. … We think [if] we get to about 80 percent or more, we start to reach a tipping point where the insurgency becomes more irrelevant.” Our cover story by Georg Heil focuses on the deadly truck attack this past December in Berlin by Anis Amri, a Tunisian extremist suspected of links to Islamic State operatives in Libya. Investigations have made clear the danger posed by the radical network he belonged to in northwestern Germany led by an Iraqi preacher named Abu Walaa. It is believed to have recruited dozens to travel to join the Islamic State, communicated extensively with Islamic State operatives in Syria and Iraq, and encouraged attacks on German soil. Heil argues the high level of interconnectedness between these radicals in Germany and the Islamic State has potentially grave implications for European security. Aymenn al-Tamimi looks at the implications of the recent realignment of rebel and jihadi groups in Syria, which created two potentially conflicting power centers revolving around an enlarged Ahrar al-Sham and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, a new al-Qa`ida-aligned umbrella grouping. Robin Simcox finds Islamic State plots by pre-teens and teens are increasing in the West, with plotters in contact with the group in a majority of such cases. Shashi Jayakumar examines the growing Islamic State threat to Southeast Asia, arguing the group may pose as big a threat in the future in the East as in the West. Andrew McGregor warns growing clashes between Fulani Muslim herders and settled Christian communities in Nigeria could be exploited by terrorist groups and potentially destabilize the entire Sahel-West Africa region.
Topic:: Terrorism, Counter-terrorism, Islamic State, Youth, Syrian War, and Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)
Political Geography:: Afghanistan, Europe, South Asia, Middle East, Germany, Syria, Southeast Asia, and Sahel

783. May 2017 Issue

Author:: Paul Cruickshank, Frank Straub, Jennifer Zeunik, Ben Gorban, Franc Milburn, Michele Groppi, John Horgan, Mia Bloom, Chelsea Daymon, Wojciech Kaczkowski, and Hicham Tiflati
Publication Date:: 05-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: CTC Sentinel
Institution:: The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:: In the early hours of June 12, 2016, an Islamic State-inspired gunman carried out the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil since 9/11, shooting dead 49 people in an Orlando nightclub. The attacker was finally killed after a three-hour hostage standoff, leading to questions raised in the media over the police response. One year later, Frank Straub, Jennifer Zeunik, and Ben Gorban look at the lessons learned from the police response to the Orlando and San Bernardino terrorist attacks based on critical incident reviews they conducted for the Police Foundation. In our cover article, they outline how regular police units who were first to respond to the attacks were faced with chaos and “unimaginable devastation … with victims begging for help, people dying, and others who were already deceased” as well as adversaries armed with powerful weapons with explosives or making threats to use them against hostages. The authors argue that with the Islamic State calling for attacks in all 50 U.S. states, police forces across the country need to adapt their training and equipment to prepare for IED, suicide bombing, and hostage situations. Their review found that while Orlando police followed current best practices designed to avoid the deaths of hostages and unreasonable danger to police, new protocols may be necessary for terrorist hostage attacks. In our interview this month, James Gagliano, a former counterterrorist operator for the FBI Hostage Rescue Team, argues that with Islamic State-inspired hostage-takers seeking to kill as many as possible before being killed themselves, the new guidance in these cases should be for law enforcement to more quickly or immediately implement rescue plans to save as many hostages as possible. John Horgan, Mia Bloom, Chelsea Daymon, Wojciech Kaczkowski, and Hicham Tiflati examine the Islamic State’s older fighters. As the group finds it increasingly difficult to replace its fighters, preliminary evidence documented by the Georgia State University researchers suggests an emerging and increasingly aggressive role for older adults, especially as suicide bombers. Michele Groppi warns the terrorist threat to Italy may come to resemble that in France because of growing societal tensions. Franc Milburn provides an overview of Iranian Kurdish insurgent groups, who he argues may emerge as significant players in the region.
Topic:: Terrorism, Insurgency, Counter-terrorism, and Kurds
Political Geography:: Europe, Iran, Middle East, Italy, North America, and United States of America

784. August 2017 Issue

Author:: Aaron Brantly, Charlie Winter, Devorah Margolin, Michael Knights, Kristina Hummel, and Raffaello Pantucci
Publication Date:: 08-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: CTC Sentinel
Institution:: The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:: After a respite from mass-casualty terrorism for more than a decade, the United Kingdom this past spring suffered three such attacks in the space of just 73 days, making clear it faces an unprecedented security challenge from jihadi terrorism. In our cover article, Raffaello Pantucci outlines what investigations have revealed so far about the March attack on Westminster Bridge, the bombing at a pop concert in Manchester in May, and the June attack on London Bridge and Borough Market. The early indications are that the Westminster attacker, Khalid Masood, had no contact with the Islamic State and the Manchester and London Bridge attackers were, at most, loosely connected to the group. The current threat environment, Pantucci writes, continues to be mostly made up of individuals and smaller scattered cells planning lower-tech attacks with very short planning and operational cycles—sometimes remotely guided by the Islamic State—rather than cells trained and dispatched by the Islamic State to launch large-scale, Paris-type attacks, but this could change as more British Islamic State recruits return home. Our interview this month is with Edward You, a Supervisory Special Agent in the Biological Countermeasures Unit in the FBI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate. While the full liberation of Mosul last month effectively ended the Islamic State’s caliphate pretensions, Michael Knights warns the Islamic State and other jihadis are already bouncing back in several parts of Iraq and more strongly and quickly in areas where the security forces are either not strong enough or not politically flexible enough to activate the population as a source of resistance. As the Islamic State transitions from administering territory to a renewed campaign of terrorism and insurgency, Charlie Winter and Devorah Margolin examine the Islamic State’s apparent lifting of its moratorium on using women as suicide bombers. In a commentary, Aaron Brantly argues that creating back-doors in encryption, or banning it, would create significant societal costs without stopping terrorists from accessing the technology.
Topic:: Gender Issues, Science and Technology, Terrorism, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Insurgency, Counter-terrorism, Women, Islamic State, and Encryption
Political Geography:: Iraq, United Kingdom, Europe, Middle East, and Global Focus

785. October 2017 Issue

Author:: Paul Cruickshank, Derek Henry Flood, John Mueller, Rajan Basra, Peter R. Neumann, Andrew Zammit, and Columb Strack
Publication Date:: 10-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: CTC Sentinel
Institution:: The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:: In our October cover article, Rajan Basra and Peter Neumman explore the strong nexus between crime and jihadism in Europe. With a significant proportion of European foreign fighters having criminal backgrounds, they outline how the Islamic State is going out of its way to depict crime as helpful to its cause and to recruit criminals for terrorist enterprises. Our interview this month is with Lisa Monaco, President Obama’s chief counterterrorism advisor during his second term. In July, police in Sydney, Australia, discovered alleged plots by two brothers to detonate a bomb on a passenger jet and release poison gas on a target such as public transportation. Andrew Zammit outlines why it set off alarm bells in counterterrorism agencies worldwide. An Islamic State cybercoach in Syria allegedly arranged for a partially constructed bomb with military-grade explosives to be air-mailed to the plotters from Turkey and provided sufficient instructions for them to build a fully functioning device. This ‘IKEA-style’ approach to terrorism could be a game-changer because untrained Western extremists have hitherto found it difficult to make high explosives. The Islamic State cybercoach also transmitted know-how on making a poison gas dispersal device to the Australian cell. Columb Strack looks at the evolution of the Islamic State’s chemical weapons efforts in Syria and Iraq and the possibility that the group could export chemical terror to the West. John Mueller examines the degree to which the cybercoaching of terrorists should be cause for concern, arguing that in many cases cybercoaches have little control over their amateurish charges. Finally, Derek Flood, recently back from the frontlines, outlines how the capture of Hawija, the Islamic State’s last remaining urban stronghold in northern Iraq, exposed faultlines between Baghdad and Erbil, which set the stage for the dramatic events unfolding in the Kirkuk area.
Topic:: Crime, Terrorism, Counter-terrorism, Islamic State, Homeland Security, Jihad, and Chemical Weapons
Political Geography:: Europe, Middle East, and Global Focus

786. November 2017 Issue

Author:: Jason Warner, Caleb Weiss, Andrew McGregor, Daisy Muibu, Benjamin P. Nickels, Paul Cruickshank, Mohammed Hafez, Colin P. Clarke, and Phillip Smyth
Publication Date:: 11-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: CTC Sentinel
Institution:: The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:: The Islamic State’s caliphate project has ended in abject failure, with the group now holding a small vanishing portion of the territory it once controlled in Syria and Iraq. In our cover article, Mohammed Hafez argues the Islamic State is just the latest example of a “fratricidal” jihadi group predestining its own defeat by its absolutism, over-ambition, domineering behavior, and brutality. He argues that the Islamic State’s puritanical ideology blinded it to learning lessons from the GIA’s defeat in Algeria in the 1990s and al-Qa`ida in Iraq’s near defeat in the 2000s. In all three cases, these jihadi groups “managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory” because of their innate inability to show restraint and pragmatism. Our interview is with Angela Misra, the co-founder of The Unity Initiative (TUI), a British Muslim community group widely viewed as one of the most effective in countering violent extremism. Misra describes her increasingly high-stakes efforts to transform the mindset of women convicted of terrorist offenses and recent female returnees from the Islamic State. With the Islamic State recently moving toward embracing combat roles for women, she warns there could be a surge in female terrorism in Western countries. Colin Clarke and Phillip Smyth document how the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is working to transform Shi`a foreign fighter networks into transnational proxy forces capable of fighting both asymmetric and conventional wars. Andrew McGregor outlines the security challenges in Libya’s southern Fezzan region, warning it could emerge as a major new base for jihadi operations with serious implications for European security. Jason Warner and Caleb Weiss look at why the Islamic State has, so far, failed to pose a significant challenge to al-Shabaab. In the wake of a double-truck bombing last month in Mogadishu that killed over 350, Daisy Muibu and Benjamin Nickels examine the local expertise factor in al-Shabaab’s increasingly deadly IED campaign.
Topic:: Science and Technology, Terrorism, Counter-terrorism, Islamic State, Jihad, Al Shabaab, Foreign Fighters, and IED
Political Geography:: Africa, Europe, Iran, Middle East, Libya, and Somalia

787. Brexit, the EU and Strategic Uncertainties: Short, Medium and Long Term Implications for Sub-Saharan Africa

Author:: Yoslán Silverio González
Publication Date:: 06-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Institution:: Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Abstract:: The European Union (EU) has been a fundamental actor in the economic and political relations with the African countries. EU’s foreign policy towards Africa has been particularly affected by French and British colonial past. The history of the economic relations between the European Economic Community (EEC) and the African continent has been shaped by a series of multilateral agreements – the Yaoundé Conventions, adopted under French influence, and the Lomé Conventions, starting on 1975 –, and, with the entry of the UK in the EEC (1973), the community had to renegotiate the ancient commercial agreements to incorporate the former British territories as “beneficiaries” of these agreements
Topic:: International Relations, Foreign Policy, Treaties and Agreements, European Union, Economy, Brexit, and Trade
Political Geography:: Britain, Africa, and Europe

788. Amendments to the Governance Structure of the Holy See and Canon Law during the European Migration Crisis

Author:: Lóránd Ujházi
Publication Date:: 12-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: American Diplomacy
Institution:: American Diplomacy
Abstract:: Because of the current migration crisis the central organizations of the Catholic Church were forced to reflect upon more directly about the humanitarian, pastoral and policy aspects of the refugee issue. However, neither the annual speeches delivered by the pope at the annual World Day of Migrants and Refugees, nor other “ad hoc” communications by the representatives of the Holy See at multiple liturgical and diplomatic events led to any systematic legal and structural changes. These exhortations are not laws in the strict sense, instead they provide guidance to church organizations and pieces of advice for international and national authorities which must, by law, manage the whole migration crisis. The situation has changed with the emanation of a motu proprio titled Humanam progressionem on 31 August 2016, which led to the foundation of the new “Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development” inside the Vatican. This new document has amended the governance structure of the Holy See and other relevant regulations. In this paper we focus on the historical and political background which motivated the legislator to modify the existing legal framework. We analyze the new law and the new administrative system in the context of current Canon Law and its influence upon the operations of other Holy See offices.
Topic:: Religion, Refugee Crisis, Catholic Church, and Religious Law
Political Geography:: Europe and Vatican city

789. Africa and the Politics of Possibility

Author:: Louis S. Segesvary
Publication Date:: 12-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: American Diplomacy
Abstract:: According to the IMF, the 2016 GDP per capita estimate for Eritrea was only $771 per annum; for Ethiopia $739; for Gambia $435; and for Nigeria, sub-Saharan Africa's most populous country with major petroleum reserves, it was $2,930, or around $244 a month. According to a comprehensive report prepared by the African Development Bank Group, the number of impoverished people in sub-Saharan Africa had doubled from 1981 to 1998, with the number of people living on less than US $1 per day in the region, "reaching 290 million in 1998, which is over 46% of the total population." According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, in 2014/2015 some 153 million individuals in sub-Saharan Africa, about 26 percent of the population or one out of four individuals above 15 years of age, was "hungry but did not eat or went without eating for a whole day because there was not enough money or other resources for food." [...]a case can be made that all this aid has contributed to fostering a culture of dependency in which foreign aid grants become a form of entitlements that governments rely on to maintain a status quo, as opposed to attracting the type of private sector investments that grow economies.
Topic:: Development, Migration, Poverty, and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:: Africa and Europe

790. Angola – an ambassador’s daily diary

Author:: Antonio Pinto da France
Publication Date:: 10-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: American Diplomacy
Institution:: American Diplomacy
Abstract:: Angola – O dia-a-dia de um embaixador Angola – an ambassador’s daily diary by Ambassador Antonio Pinto da France Edicao de Livros e Revistas, Lisbon 2004 (Translation by Ed Marks). I was the third Portuguese ambassador to Angola and therefore still able to bear witness to some aspects of the early days of independence. I was destined to live a period of Angolan history that will not reoccur. It seemed to me, therefore, that as in Guinea-Bissau, I had an obligation to bear testimony to this unique period.
Topic:: Diplomacy and Memoir
Political Geography:: Africa, Europe, Portugal, and Angola

791. The Roots of Ethnic Cleansing in Europe, by Zeynep Bulutgil

Author:: Benjamin Lieberman and Zeynep Bulutgil
Publication Date:: 07-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Fletcher Security Review
Institution:: The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Abstract:: In The Roots of Ethnic Cleansing in Europe, Zeynep Bulutgil questions prevailing interpretations of the origins of ethnic cleansing and provides an innovative interpretation that will itself prompt further debate about the balance between factors that might block ethnic cleansing as well as active causes of cleansing. The work poses an important and often overlooked question: instead of focusing on factors that have caused ethnic cleansing, why not instead also chart factors that have precluded ethnic cleansing?
Topic:: Ethnic Conflict, History, Book Review, and Ethnic Cleansing
Political Geography:: Europe, Eastern Europe, Soviet Union, and Yugoslavia

792. Merchants of Men: How Jihadists and ISIS Turned Kidnapping and Refugee Trafficking into a Multi-Billion Dollar Business, by Loretta Napoleoni

Author:: Loretta Napoleoni and Karen Jacobsen
Publication Date:: 07-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Fletcher Security Review
Institution:: The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Abstract:: This book is a lively journalistic read, filled with stories and details of encounters between jihadists, smugglers, organized crime, drug smuggling across the Sahara, kidnapping of rich tourists, and European ransoms. The author, an Italian journalist, describes herself as a ‘chronicler of the dark side of the economics of globalization’ and has written several books on ISIS, terrorist financing, and money laundering. In Merchants of Men, Napoleoni argues that the proliferation of failed states and the breakdown of law and order in regions like the Sahel, accelerated by the burgeoning cocaine business in the region, have enabled a rapid increase in trafficking and kidnapping. The profits of these merchants of men have flourished, aided by the secrecy of European governments surrounding the ransoming of their citizens (notably, the U.S. does not, publicly at least, pay ransoms). Napoleoni raises these and a number of intriguing issues in the preface. She points to the “false sense of security about the globalized world” that allows both “young, inexperienced members of the First Nations Club” and humanitarian aid workers to explore the world and bring aid to conflict zones — and become the primary target of kidnappers. She gives (unsourced) statistics about the growth of the kidnapping industry and its mirror, private security companies, and asks whether “the economics of kidnapping are immune from the laws of economics,” because as competition has increased between kidnappers and private security firms, prices have gone up instead of down. She argues that when the migrant crisis erupted in Europe in 2015, the business of hostage taking — already set up with “a sophisticated organizational structure in place and plenty of money from trading hostages” — switched to trafficking in migrants and refugees. The profits of these merchants of men have continued to increase since then.
Topic:: Crime, Refugees, Islamic State, Book Review, and Journalism
Political Geography:: Iraq, Europe, Middle East, Syria, Global Focus, and United States of America

793. CANDIDATE SELECTION PROCESS AS A TOOL TO SHAPE A PARTY'S DOMINANT COALITION: THE CASE OF THE AKP IN TURKEY

Author:: Gül ARIKAN AKDAĞ
Publication Date:: 06-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternative Politics
Institution:: Department of International Relations, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Turkey
Abstract:: Since its first incumbency after the 2002 general elections Turkish politics has witnessed considerable changes in the policies of the AKP in economic and political realms. Academics have tried to understand the nature and possible causes of these policy changes mostly focusing on the electoral concerns. This study provides a different dimension to the debate by focusing on the party organization as a possible dynamic preventing / enabling this kind of a policy change. As such, it relates the policy changes of the AKP to the changes in the inner structure of the party organization. This kind of change is tracked through the analysis of the social and political backgrounds of the members of the party's main decision organ-the Central Decision and Administrative Committee.
Topic:: Elections, Democracy, Political structure, and State Building
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, Asia, and Ankara

794. The Global Exchange (Summer 2017)

Author:: David J. Bercuson, Hugh Stephens, Robert Hage, Robert Huebert, Stefanie Von Hlatky, Lindsay Rodman, Stephen M. Saideman, Hugh Segal, and Vanja Petricevic
Publication Date:: 06-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Global Exchange
Institution:: Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI)
Abstract:: The Global Exchange is the Canadian Global Affairs Institute’s quarterly magazine featuring topical articles written by our fellows and other contributing experts. Each issue contains approximately a dozen articles exploring political and strategic challenges in international affairs and Canadian foreign and defence policy. This Summer 2017 issue covers trade deals, human rights, defense, cybersecurity and more.
Topic:: Defense Policy, NATO, Human Rights, Territorial Disputes, Cybersecurity, Trans-Pacific Partnership, Free Trade, Transparency, and Deterrence
Political Geography:: China, Europe, Canada, North America, and Arctic

795. Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses (CTTA) – Volume 9, Issue 04: ‘Countering Jihadist Ideology: The Crucial Battlefront’

Author:: Muhammad Haniff Hassan, Nodirbek Soliev, Mohammed Sinan Siyech, and Mohd Mizan bin Mohammad Aslam
Publication Date:: 04-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Counter Terrorist Trends and Analysis
Institution:: Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:: The Islamic State (IS) terrorist group faces setbacks on several fronts as it continues to come under heavy pressure from the US-led coalition forces, the Russians and Syrians. On the military front in Iraq, it is slowly losing western Mosul while in Syria, its de facto capital Raqqa is being surrounded for the inevitable showdown. On the propaganda front, it is experiencing a decline in the output and quality of its media products, such as videos and publications. It fares no better on the religious front where it remains marginalised within the Islamic world and faces continuous denunciations from mainstream religious leaders for its exploitation and misrepresentation of Islam. It has failed to gain legitimacy and has in fact been branded as un-Islamic, deviant, even heretical. As IS loses its lustre and appeal with the loss of territories and impending collapse of its so-called caliphate, counter-ideology efforts should be intensified to further delegitimise IS’ theology of violence and debunk its misinterpretations of religious texts. IS’ hard-core ideology encompassing violent jihad, suicide bombing, takfirism (excommunication) and hijrah (migration), among others, have to be exposed as unquestionably flawed, transgressing Islamic legal principles and juristic process and methodology. This issue of CTTA features a critical examination of one of the principal tenets of IS’ jihadist ideology – takfirism – by Dr Muhammad Haniff Hassan. His article contrasts IS takfiri doctrine with mainstream Sunni position on the subject, exposing IS’ deceptions and deviations from true Islamic teachings. Despite the evident errors and distortions, IS ideology has gained some traction among the disillusioned and alienated. This issue is examined by Mohd Mizan bin Mohammad Aslam who focuses on the impact of IS ideology on some university students in Malaysia. He explores what causes students to join or sympathise with an extremist group such as IS, and how the government should respond to this phenomenon. Social media platforms and chat applications as well as religious discussion groups are among tools used by IS to cajole and lure students to IS activities. The author proposes the formation of a critical partnership between the government, security officials and parents to curb the radicalisation of students. Mohamed Sinan Siyech in his article analyses the relatively syncretic nature of Salafism in India and stresses the need to distinguish such Salafist groups from those that preach extremism and violence. Established Salafist organisations and non-Salafist groups are facing challenges from the spread of intolerant strands imported from the Middle East and coming through the Internet. He calls for greater attention to be paid to self-radicalised social media-savvy youngsters who are divorced from their community, draw inspiration from IS ideologues online, and take orders from IS operators in Syria and elsewhere. From India the focus shifts to Turkey where in the last one year, it has become the central target of IS’ overseas terrorist campaign; Turkey suffered the largest number of IS attacks outside Iraq and Syria. Nodirbek Soliev argues that Turkey‘s capability to fight terrorism is crucial to contain the growing threat domestically and globally. Major and regional stakeholders should closely work with Ankara to boost the effectiveness of its counterterrorism efforts. In the long term, there is a need for sustained measures by Turkey to disrupt cross-border movement of foreign fighters and to dismantle IS supply and support networks in the country.
Topic:: Terrorism, Counter-terrorism, Political stability, and Conflict
Political Geography:: Europe, Central Asia, Middle East, East Asia, North Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Global Focus

796. Cape Verde and the Atlantic Scope

Author:: Francisco Garcia
Publication Date:: 06-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:: Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:: This paper seeks to show that the centrality of the Atlantic continues to be a reality, above all, by maintaining the geo-economic importance of the European Community, by the new dynamism of the transatlantic link but mainly by the interest shown by emerging and re-emergent powers in the South Atlantic. In this context, Cape Verde plays in the Atlantic an interesting integrating role.
Topic:: Regional Cooperation, European Union, Transatlantic Relations, and PanAfricanism
Political Geography:: Africa, Europe, South America, North America, and Cape Verde

797. Structure and Agency in International Relations: State-Building and the Evolution of the International Political System

Author:: Marco Cepik and Pedro Taxi Brancher
Publication Date:: 06-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:: Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:: Conflicts are intrinsic to social systems and constitute an irreducible part of their development. This article analyzes the conflict between states and its effects on the evolutionary dynamics of the international political system. We discuss the ontology of each object of analysis and the causal mechanisms that connect their respective evolving trajectories. Then, the analytical model is evaluated regarding to the processes of formation of the Qin Empire in China and the construction of Nation-States in Europe. The working hypothesis is that the interactions among the strategies chosen by the agents to cope with the structural constrains and competition conditions they encounter cause changes in the international political systems, as well as on the actors themselves.
Topic:: Development, Nationalism, State Formation, and State Building
Political Geography:: China, Europe, Asia, and Global Focus

798. British Geopolitics and the Internationalization of the Pound Sterling

Author:: Mauricio Metri
Publication Date:: 06-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:: Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the historical process of ascent of the pound sterling to the condition of the international monetary standard in the late nineteenth century. It intends to show that England, led by its geostrategy, diplomacy and war, was able to build a colonial empire and negotiate favorable international treaties, at the same time that it constructed a monetary international territory based on its currency.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Military Strategy, Monetary Policy, and Empire
Political Geography:: United Kingdom, Europe, and England

799. UK Policy Options and the South Atlantic

Author:: Martin Robson
Publication Date:: 12-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:: Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:: This article utilises International Relations role theory to analyse a number of potential roles for the United Kingdom as an actor with vested interests in the South Atlantic. It assesses the contemporary context of the UK’s trading relationship with the South Atlantic in light of the ongoing dialogue between the EU and the UK with regard to BREXIT. It also recognises the strategic realities of the South Atlantic and the UK’s Overseas Territories in the region. It posits that the UK, as a strategic actor in the South Atlantic, is limited in its role choices and that the role of ‘Opportunistic Partner’ in terms of its relationship with Argentina, offers the most scope as the basis for future mutually beneficial trading relations to normalise further political relations between the two countries.
Topic:: Diplomacy, International Trade and Finance, European Union, and Brexit
Political Geography:: Africa, United Kingdom, Europe, South America, and South Atlantic

800. The External Dimension of European Union Counter-Terrorism Discourse: Good Governance, the Arab “Spring” and the “Foreign Fighters”

Author:: Beste Işleyen
Publication Date:: 10-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:: International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:: The central objective of this article is to contribute to studies on EU counter-terrorism discourse by bringing the “external dimension” in. To that end, it borrows concepts of the Discourse-Historical Approach and provides an in-depth linguistic examination of the international aspect of the EU’s counter-terrorism discourse. The article identifies good governance and the Arab “Spring” as two central themes of this discourse and illustrates the linguistic means in which the two topics are made “natural” and “normal” by reference to counter-terrorism. The analysis also discusses the political and normative effects of EU discursive construction of counter-terrorism.
Topic:: History, Governance, European Union, Counter-terrorism, and Arab Spring
Political Geography:: Europe and Middle East

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