Transitions, democratization and recent democratic backsliding in CEE provide a rich context for examining the meaning and shifting of civic activism and how people participate and organize in civil society today. This article offers a fresh and comparative analysis based on empirical data on the question of what motivates formal and informal activism, and the potentially transformative role of civil society that has recently faced such challenges as democratic backsliding, shrinking public space and polarization. It looks specifically at the responses of Polish and Hungarian activists and advocacy CSOs to these new challenges. Their strategies bring an important lesson on how civil society actors can adapt, continue their mission, or even turn challenges into opportunities. These new trends indicate that civic space in CEE is shifting which is further influenced by the reactions to new forms of social, economic and political crises. It is argued that this shift and the new trends in civic activism require not only fresh empirical data, but also a revision of normative and methodological approaches that have so far been used in civil society and social movement research.
The following editorial offers a reflection on the situation of Central and Eastern Europe with a special focus on the European Union's Eastern Neighbourhood and Russia. In the past few years, we have witnessed the divisive impact of neoliberalism, economic recession, Britain's departure from the EU, the refugee and migrant crisis which further shattered societies along cultural lines, the aggressive expansionism of Russia exploiting the weakness of the West, and more recently, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic with an unprecedented impact on societies, global health and economy. The editorial reflects on how Central and Eastern Europe scores among the imaginative geographies and how these imaginative geographies translate into geopolitics concerning hard and soft power application in the Eastern European Neighbourhood.
Agrarian transformations in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe have both common features and national peculiarities. Studying the experience of market reforms in the agrarian sector of these countries is important for revealing the tendencies and patterns of transformation of agrarian relations, as it will allow to develop a well-balanced strategy and tactics of further market reforms in the agrarian sector of Ukraine and more fully take into account the negative factors that took place in the conditions of transformation processes in agriculture in countries with economies in transition. The subject of the study is the patterns and contradictions in the formation of a new system of economic relations in the agrarian sector of transition economies as a result of its market transformation. To clarify and disclose these questions, dialectical and systematic approaches, historical method, methods of analysis and synthesis, generalizations, and others were used. The purpose of the article is to find out the specifics and regularities of the transformation of agrarian relations in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, to determine the contradictions of the transformations carried out. Conducting agrarian reforms in the transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe can be divided into three periods: at the first stage - the strategic task was the structural reform of the agricultural sector, which was based on the privatization of land; at the second stage there was a radical change in the direction of internal agricultural policy in the direction of policy of maintaining prices and markets, export and import restrictions; At the third stage (and in some countries it has already taken place), preparations for accession to the EU took place. The purpose of agrarian reforms in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe was to transform the agrarian sector of their national economies into a market-oriented sector of the economy. To achieve this goal, the following tasks were set: privatization of ...
The objective of the work was to analyze integration theories such as federalism, functionalism, neofunctionalism, the multilevel governance model and the interstate concept. Using the systemic-integral method, we analyze the main interpretations of modern integration models. The study also used special methods typical of international relations theory. The interstate concept is the most effective, because without denying the importance of integration, it focuses on the preservation of cultural and economic diversity. The experience of Poland, the Czech Republic, and the Baltic States, in particular Latvia, is a valuable integrating example for Ukraine. The results summarize that the countries analyzed received several advantages for the economic and military spheres through integration processes. It is concluded that in the experience of integration of the Balkans and the central-eastern countries, the importance of European integration processes is evident. The comparison of Ukraine and Latvia showed the importance of being a member of the North Atlantic Alliance for security guarantees and political consolidation. At the same time, the Czech Republic's accession to NATO has contributed to the reform and modernization of military affairs.
The fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 and the economic and political changes that since then have been taking place in Central and Eastern Europe have had a great influence on the European migration movements. The opening of borders, the economic crisis, the political instability and the ethnic conflicts have accelerated the migratory currents. The great number of immigrants registered in the first years caused that Western countries feared a possible avalanche of persons fleeing from misery and hunger. Nevertheless, it has been verified that the flow has been modest and it has also been noticed there have been notable changes in recent dates. Thus, the permanent emigration diminishes and the temporary and short-tem displacements increase at the same time that Central and Eastern Europe receives emigrants from very diverse origins, many of them moving towards Western Europe and North America. The European Union has required from the future associates the adoption of norms that comply with the migratory policies in force in Western Countries. ; La caída del muro de Berlín en 1989 y los cambios políticos y económicos que desde entonces se han sucedido en Europa central y oriental han tenido una gran incidencia en las migraciones europeas. La apertura de fronteras, la crisis económica, la inestabilidad política y los conflictos étnicos han acelerado las corrientes migratorias. El gran número de inmigrantes registrado en los primeros años hizo temer a Occidente una avalancha de personas huyendo de la miseria y el hambre. Sin embargo, se ha comprobado que el flujo ha sido modesto y que ha experimentado cambios notables en fecha reciente. Así, disminuye la emigración permanente y aumentan los desplazamientos temporales y de corta duración, al tiempo que Europa central y oriental recibe emigrantes de muy diversa procedencia, muchos de ellos en tránsito hacia Europa Occidental y América del Norte. La Unión Europea ha exigido a los futuros socios la adopción de normas acordes con las políticas migratorias vigentes en Occidente.
Energy security is indisputably one of the pillars of national security and it is of paramount importance for both the political stability and the economy. Dissolution of the USSR in 1989 left many states in Central and Eastern Europe dependent on Russia in terms of energy. All of these countries commenced difficult and time consuming process of building their own energy security. After more than thirty years since the beginning of this process it is worth analyzing how these countries have coped with this challenge and what strategies of shaping energy security have been applied. For the purpose of this article three countries were analyzed: Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. The selection of these three particular states is justified by the fact that they vary in terms of population, economic potential and geopolitical situation. They have been implementing different models of energy security and this gives a solid base for assessment of their effectiveness. ; Bezpieczeństwo energetyczne państwa jest bezsprzecznie jednym z filarów bezpieczeństwa narodowego i ma fundamentalne znaczenie zarówno polityczne, jak i gospodarcze. Rozpad ZSRR w 1989 r. postawił szereg państw Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej w obliczu uzależnienia energetycznego od Rosji. Każde z nich rozpoczęło trudny i czasochłonny proces budowania bezpieczeństwa energetycznego. Po ponad 30 latach trwania tego procesu warto dokonać analizy, jak kraje poradziły sobie z tym wyzwaniem oraz jaką strategię kształtowania bezpieczeństwa energetycznego przyjęły. Na potrzeby niniejszego artykułu dokonano analizy trzech krajów regionu: Polski, Litwy oraz Białorusi. Wybór był nieprzypadkowy, gdyż państwa te są zróżnicowane pod względem liczby ludności, potencjału ekonomicznego i sytuacji geopolitycznej. Realizują różne modele bezpieczeństwa energetycznego, co daje podstawę do oceny ich efektywności.
Energy security is indisputably one of the pillars of national security and it is of paramount importance for both the political stability and the economy. Dissolution of the USSR in 1989 left many states in Central and Eastern Europe dependent on Russia in terms of energy. All of these countries commenced difficult and time consuming process of building their own energy security. After more than thirty years since the beginning of this process it is worth analyzing how these countries have coped with this challenge and what strategies of shaping energy security have been applied. For the purpose of this article three countries were analyzed: Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. The selection of these three particular states is justified by the fact that they vary in terms of population, economic potential and geopolitical situation. They have been implementing different models of energy security and this gives a solid base for assessment of their effectiveness. ; Bezpieczeństwo energetyczne państwa jest bezsprzecznie jednym z filarów bezpieczeństwa narodowego i ma fundamentalne znaczenie zarówno polityczne, jak i gospodarcze. Rozpad ZSRR w 1989 r. postawił szereg państw Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej w obliczu uzależnienia energetycznego od Rosji. Każde z nich rozpoczęło trudny i czasochłonny proces budowania bezpieczeństwa energetycznego. Po ponad 30 latach trwania tego procesu warto dokonać analizy, jak kraje poradziły sobie z tym wyzwaniem oraz jaką strategię kształtowania bezpieczeństwa energetycznego przyjęły. Na potrzeby niniejszego artykułu dokonano analizy trzech krajów regionu: Polski, Litwy oraz Białorusi. Wybór był nieprzypadkowy, gdyż państwa te są zróżnicowane pod względem liczby ludności, potencjału ekonomicznego i sytuacji geopolitycznej. Realizują różne modele bezpieczeństwa energetycznego, co daje podstawę do oceny ich efektywności.
Review of the book from Mario Munta, EU Socio-economic Governance in Central and Eastern Europe: The European Semester and National Employment Policies, Routledge, 2021, 261 pp. ; Recensión del libro de Mario Munta, EU Socio-economic Governance in Central and Eastern Europe: The European Semester and National Employment Policies, Routledge, 2021, 261 pp.
The aim of the article is to analyse the possibility of establishing a regional gas transmission and trade center in Poland, the so-called gas hub. The gas hub is described in many strategic documents adopted by the Polish authorities in recent years. For its creation, several key elements must be met. First of all, a strong, competitive, and diversified (energy sector, heating sector, industry, individual customers) natural gas market should be established in Poland. The natural gas distribution and transmission network should be able to balance supply and demand. Domestic production of natural gas should be supplemented by stable and diversified supplies. The domestic gas markets in the region should be integrated and the connection between the systems (interconnectors) should enable the gas transmission in both directions (import/export). The purpose of this article is to verify the possibility of establishing a regional natural gas transmission and trade center in Poland and to define the potential for cooperation with selected countries of our region. Keywords: natural gas, gas hub, gas infrastructure, regional cooperation Streszczenie: Celem artykułu jest analiza możliwości utworzenia w Polsce regionalnego centrum przesyłu i handlu gazem ziemnym, tak zwanego hubu gazowego. Aby koncepcja, która opisana jest w szeregu strategicznych dokumentów przyjmowanych przez polskie władze w ostatnich latach, mogła zostać zrealizowana, musi wystąpić kilka kluczowych elementów. Przede wszystkim powinien powstać w Polsce silny, konkurencyjny, zróżnicowany (energetyka zawodowa, sektor ciepłownictwa, przemysł, klienci indywidualni) rynek handlu gazem ziemnym. Sieć dystrybucji i przesyłu surowca powinna móc równoważyć popyt z podażą surowca. Krajowe wydobycie gazu ziemnego powinno być uzupełnione przez stabilne i zdywersyfikowane dostawy. Krajowe rynki gazu w regionie powinny być zintegrowane, a połączenia między systemami (interkonektory) powinny umożliwić przesył surowca w obie strony (import/export).
The fall of the Iron Curtain liberated the great migratory potential of Central and and became the main factor for a profound transformation of the patterns of geographical mobility. In addition, those migratory patterns were also affected since 2004 by the accession to the European Union of eight former socialist countries. This article describes the evolution of the international mobility of the population of Central and Eastern Europe, in the economic and political context of defined by the two above-mentioned historical events. ; La caída del Telón de Acero liberó un gran potencial migratorio de las poblaciones de Europa Central y Oriental y fue el principal factor de una profunda transformación de las pautas de movilidad geográfica. Otro hecho histórico que ha tenido una importancia fundamental en la configuración de las nuevas tendencias migratorias en Central y Oriental fue la adhesión de los ocho antiguos países socialistas a la Unión Europea en 2004. El propósito de este artículo es describir la evolución de las pautas de movilidad internacional de las poblaciones de Europa Central y situándolas en el contexto político y económico marcado por los dos sucesos mencionados.
A review essay on a book by Hans-Dieter Klingemann, Ewa Kuleza, & Annette Legutke [Eds], The State of Political Science in Central and Eastern Europe (Berlin: Sigma, 2002).
The educational system of Ukraine is at the stage of active reformation and entry into a single world educational space. The regulation of the legislative framework, the development of pedagogical theory and practice, the active use of valuable pedagogical experience of the leading countries of the world promotes the integration of Ukraine into a single educational space. In recent years, adult education is gaining in popularity in Ukraine. Adult population of the Ukrainian state is convinced that education acquired in youth, whether higher or technical, today does not satisfy their needs. In the article, the scientific and pedagogical justification of the concept «adulthood» has been analyzed, the theoretical foundations and approaches to the definitions of the concept «adult learner» in the pedagogical theory and regulatory documentation of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Ukraine) have been disclosed. Different approaches to understanding of the above mentioned concept have been represented. They are social, economical, legal, biological, psychological. The tree stages adulthood (young adult, middle aged and senior) have been generalized. We have compered the age when people can be officially recognized adults with a real period of their mental, physical and social maturity. The indicators of been an adult are: biological age; mental, physical and social maturity; civil capacity which is recognized by the state and society; involment in working activity. Debating points in understanding the concept «adulthood» in psychological and pedagogical literature of different countries have been represented. The approaches to understanding and possibilities to identify the concepts «adulthood» and «maturity» on the example of the European countries. Adult person is a person who has reached the physiological, psychological and social maturity, has a certain life experience, is aware of the self and his identity, participates in such spheres of life as work, family life, social activity.Keywords: adulthood, adult, adult learner, adult learning, countries of Central and Eastern Europe. ; У статті здійснено аналіз поняття «дорослість», висвітлено теоретичні основи та підходи до визначення дефініцій «доросла людина» та «дорослий учень» у педагогічній теорії й нормативно-правових документах країн Центральної та Східної Європи (Австрія, Болгарія, Німеччина, Польща, Румунія, Чехія, Україна). Відображено різні підходи до розуміння зазначених понять, зокрема соціальний, економічний, юридичний, біологічний, психологічний. Представлено дискусійні аспекти у розумінні поняття дорослості в психолого-педагогічній літературі різних країн. Розглянуто підходи до розуміння та можливості ототожнення понять «дорослість» і «зрілість» на прикладі європейських країн.Ключові слова: дорослість, доросла людина, дорослий учень, освіта дорослих, країни Центральної та Східної Європи. В статье проведен анализ понятия «взрослость», освещены теоретические основы и подходы к определению дефиниций «взрослый» и «взрослый ученик» в педагогической теории и нормативно-правовых документах стран Центральной и Восточной Европы (Австрия, Болгария, Германия, Польша, Румыния, Чехия, Украина). Отображены различные подходы к пониманию указанных понятий, в частности социальный, экономический, юридический, биологический, психологический. Представлены дискуссионные аспекты в понимании понятия взрослости в психолого-педагогической литературе разных стран. Рассмотрены подходы к пониманию и возможности отождествления понятий «взрослость» и «зрелость» на примере европейских стран.Ключевые слова: взрослость, взрослый человек, взрослый ученик, образование взрослых, страны Центральной и Восточной Европы The educational system of Ukraine is at the stage of active reformation and entry into a single world educational space. The regulation of the legislative framework, the development of pedagogical theory and practice, the active use of valuable pedagogical experience of the leading countries of the world promotes the integration of Ukraine into a single educational space. In recent years, adult education is gaining in popularity in Ukraine. Adult population of the Ukrainian state is convinced that education acquired in youth, whether higher or technical, today does not satisfy their needs. In the article, the scientific and pedagogical justification of the concept «adulthood» has been analyzed, the theoretical foundations and approaches to the definitions of the concept «adult learner» in the pedagogical theory and regulatory documentation of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Ukraine) have been disclosed. Different approaches to understanding of the above mentioned concept have been represented. They are social, economical, legal, biological, psychological. The tree stages adulthood (young adult, middle aged and senior) have been generalized. We have compered the age when people can be officially recognized adults with a real period of their mental, physical and social maturity. The indicators of been an adult are: biological age; mental, physical and social maturity; civil capacity which is recognized by the state and society; involment in working activity. Debating points in understanding the concept «adulthood» in psychological and pedagogical literature of different countries have been represented. The approaches to understanding and possibilities to identify the concepts «adulthood» and «maturity» on the example of the European countries. Adult person is a person who has reached the physiological, psychological and social maturity, has a certain life experience, is aware of the self and his identity, participates in such spheres of life as work, family life, social activity.Keywords: adulthood, adult, adult learner, adult learning, countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
