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The Western Balkan countries have been both a popular subject matter for diachronic analysis and a 1990s favorite. The significant changes that followed the most recent times of conflict in the region mostly evolve around the process of Europeanization. Despite the plethora of analyses, most approaches to the Western Balkans suffer from theoretical stagnancy, ex parte political practice, and detachment of politics from societal needs. This volume is the work of a team of theorists and practitioners who attempt a multidisciplinary approach to Western Balkans reality. An Agenda for the Western Balkans offers a critical view on issues that have been over-analyzed in mainstream terms and opens a discussion that will occupy researchers and practitioners for years to come. It addresses novel topics and engages in innovative approaches that cut across disciplines of social sciences (political science, international relations, sociology, historiography, geography, political economy) and levels of analysis (local, national, regional, European, global). This collection is a pioneer theoretical and practical guide towards a sustainable future for the Western Balkans

Intro -- Contents -- 1 The Social Construction of AIDS Issue and Its Significance -- 1.1 Why AIDS Becomes an "Issue"? -- 1.1.1 Conflicting Conceptions on AIDS and Its Social and Cultural Significance -- 1.1.2 The Game Behind the "Highest Political Positioning" -- 1.1.3 "AIDS Issue": A Symbol of Social Restructuring in China -- 1.1.4 Prospects for Solving the Problem: Promoting the Process of Social Restructuring in China -- 1.2 Fear of AIDS: The Ultimate Weapon Against the Sexual Morality -- 1.2.1 Illnesses Are Always Reduced to Political Tools -- 1.2.2 Panic is Bound to Aggravate the Spread -- 1.2.3 Argument Against Our Present Understandings of AIDS Patients -- 1.2.4 The Proper Understanding -- 1.2.5 The Social Significance of the Fight Against AIDS: A Responsibility for the Lives of Citizens -- 1.3 The Values of AIDS Prevention and Control in China -- 1.3.1 Political Values: From "Defense" to "Taking Responsibility" and then to "Rights Protection" -- 1.3.2 Social Concepts: From "Departmental Cooperation" to "Social Mobilization" and then to "Community as the Main Body" -- 1.3.3 Cultural Concepts: From "High-Risk Groups" to "De-stigamatization" and then to "Individual Rights Assertion" -- 1.3.4 Life Notions: From "Keep Your Integrity" to "Participate in the Society" and then to "Take Civic Responsibility" -- 1.3.5 Core Concepts: From "National Salvation" to "Health" and then to "Happiness" -- 2 The Cause of AIDS Prevention and Control-A Romance of the Three Kingdoms -- 2.1 Bi-Directional Conflict of Action Logic: Tripartite Construction of AIDS Patients' Orientation Towards the Response -- 2.1.1 Why Do Infected People React Negatively? -- 2.1.2 Self-Positioning of Infected Persons and the Conflict of Their Action Logic -- 2.1.3 Different Action Logic Between Policy Makers and Infected People.

Discussed are territorial divisions officially acknowledged by the state under law. The political, legal, & sociological aspects of the division of European socialist states is the focus. Common principles of socialist states for elaborating territorial divisons are examined. The adoption of more rational grounds than historical ones for divisions is noted. The principle of democracy is examined. The tendency to abandon the three-level division in favor of the two-level division is discussed. The problems of territorial division created by a nationally differentiated population are discussed. Integration centers of subareas within the divisions which are adopted for administrative purposes are studied. The fostering of folklore is discussed & it is noted that the younger generation views this as antiquarianism. A. Rubins.

The traditionally well-developed "social sphere" refers to the services delivered by Russian companies at the workplace. Privatizing firms has raised questions about the ownership, liability, management... and future of this sphere. Its transfer toward local authorities started in 1993, and took the form of "municipalization" - a transfer toward urban authorities - in late 1994. Far from being simple and linear, municipalization is still a partial, heterogeneous process. It has served as a litmus test for relations between cities and firms and, in some cases, has led to redefining their roles in providing welfare and social services to the local population.

Examines NATO's entry into the Kosovo conflict, objective and psychological factors behind the Serbian expulsion of Albanians from Kosovo, and arguments for and against NATO's intervention.

This paper analyzes the relationships between selected aspects of human security-poverty and health security, social justice and sustainable development in Nigeria, representing the African continent. Human security, an emerging paradigm for understanding global vulnerabilities, is widely defined as consisting of seven key areas. However, the aspects of poverty and health security are selected for this study because of the overlapping effects on all the other aspects. Data for the conceptual and theoretical section of the paper are drawn from secondary sources and complimented by data from primary sources. These include events analyses by the author and content analyses of documents such as United Nations (UN) Human Development Index (HDI), Legatum Prosperity Index and Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) for a selected period. Research methodology is case study based.The paper's main finding centres on the levels of poverty and threats to health security that have confronted majority of ordinary Nigerians in the past two decades despite the country's huge material endowments. In the light of this, the focus of knowledge in the country's immediate and distant future should be human security and not state-centric security.

This article will argue that an important prerequisite for the successfuldevelopment of Georgia is the harmonious coexistence ofdifferent cultural representatives, this will be possible if the interculturaleducation will be fostered. Educational systems and institutionsare socially responsible for the creation of such teachingprocess which will prepare persons to be tolerant towards peopleof different nationalities and to increase their value of differences.An intercultural education is the obligatory precondition toachieve these goals.This paper analyzes the legislative and on-the-ground situation ofintercultural education in Georgia. The main research questionsare what progress has Georgia made in this direction and what arethe main challenges?The research is partially based on secondary source analysis: articlesof various researchers, reports of different non-governmentalorganizations which work to enhance multiculturalism and interculturaleducation on Georgia, and the analysis of various books.