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This article analyses the international conditions during the disintegration of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It is an outline of a broad research problem, a historical analysis from the perspective of the decades-long evolution of Yugoslavia's international position. After its expulsion from the Eastern Bloc in 1948, the country balanced between East and West, becoming one of the founders and leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement. The author focuses on the aspect of Yugoslavia's role in the politics of the West, especially the US and the EEC, during and at the end of the Cold War. It was the West that could, possibly, have played a role in preventing the disintegration of the country in the early 1990s, in contrast to the USSR, which had its own internal problems at that time. What factors influenced Western support for the SFRY during the Cold War? How did Yugoslavia's position in Western politics change when the Cold War rivalry ended? The author points out the temporal connection between the disintegration of the SFRY and, among other things, the collapse of the Eastern Bloc and the Soviet Union, the democratisation process in Eastern Europe, German reunification, European integration, and the crisis in the Middle East. In the end, there was a lack of real and coherent action by Western countries to bring about a peaceful solution to the crisis in the Balkans. The consequence of this would be the disintegration of the SFRY and several years of war in the former Yugoslavia.

Most of the previous revolutions in the post-Soviet sphere were concentrated around two dimensions: reluctance to challenge abuses of power and the will to redirect the external trajectory. The Armenian Velvet Revolution marked the change of the axiology of revolution. Civil disobedience was only focused on the corrupt political system based on clientelism and patronage. It was not addressing any issues related to the international situation. In statements, activists avoided references to foreign policy and change of geopolitical direction. The purpose of the paper is to identify convergent and separate features characterizing the Velvet Revolution in comparison with breakthroughs classified as revolutions in the post-Soviet space after 1989. The research question is how the Armenian Velvet Revolution's features stand out from previous revolutionary changes of power in the post-Soviet space, and to what extent they are convergent. The theoretical framework is based on multi-dimensional academic reflection on the factors characterizing particular revolutionary waves in post-Soviet space. Using comparatively the rich achievements of study on the Autumn of Nations, Color Revolutions, and Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity, this essay aims to inscribe the unique and modular factors characterizing the Armenian Velvet Revolution into a broader spectrum of theoretical and practical considerations on political breakthroughs in post-Soviet space.

The study elaborates essentials, in the author's opinion, of the answer to the following query formulated at the outset: is the formation and the development of contemporary crisis phenomena related, and to what extent, to the present policies of infrastructure developement and to its attained level. A decision to elaborate this subject can be justified, on the one hand with prevalent disturbances of the economic developement in European States and on the other, with the weight attributed to infrastructure as a substantial determinant of economic changes. Relations between infrastructure and a developement of capitalist states can be characterized by means of presentation of three crucial moments. The first one incidental to the 19 c. industrial revolution, the second, resulting from Keynsian assumptions and the third one, started, in the author's opinion, in 1973 along with the oil crisis and a process of the EEC extension. As far as the socialist States are concerned, the author indicates at the significant reasons of apparent tendencies in economic practice in those States, they are rooted in the views on understanding a socialist economy, still vivid in the theory and present in the practice of economic life (e.g. identifying it with one giant enterprise), on principles and conditions of development (e.g. a tendency to allow a preferential treatment to accumulation in a distribution of national income), as well as on a practical interpretation of goals of socialist economy. Many conclusions and theses could be illustrated on account of a wide employment of statistical data on a state and a pace of transformations of economic infrastructure of the 20 European states, on utilization of infrastructure services in relation to the gained effect of GNP and on assessment of interactions between a level of infrastructure developement and a general stage of developement. ; Digitalizacja i deponowanie archiwalnych zeszytów RPEiS sfinansowane przez MNiSW w ramach realizacji umowy nr 541/P-DUN/2016

The revolution in the Ukraine in 2014 brought about transformation of the political system in the direction of the parliamentary form of government. The issues associated with the process of the formation of the political system are not only the problem of Ukraine. In the first period of the independence of Ukraine, defining the desired shape of the political system was the priority. During the works on passing of a new constitution, the possibility of inserting a model of the parliamentary republic was being considered. However, the constitution of Ukraine from 1996 implemented a model closest to the solutions of a presidential parliamentary republic. The conversion from the presidential parliamentary republic into a parliamentary presidential republic in 2006 was characterized by enhancing the position of the govern- ment, in particular of the prime minister, at the cost of a distinct limitation of the powers of the President. It quickly became one of the causes of more and more frequent conflicts within that triangle of power. Current attempts to change the political regime for a parliamentary system were made in a con- text of a political crisis. In case of Ukraine, the change of the political system will not bring the nation any solution of the fundamental issues with which Ukraine has struggled with.

In the introduction the author underlines the importance and role of the foreign trade in the socialist economy. The rate of increase in the trade with abroad in CMEA countries ought to undergo a considerable acceleration and surpass the rate of increase of the national income and industrial production. In the course of the last years the socialist countries have done and still do big efforts aiming at extension and deepening of the profits of economical relations with highly developed West European countries. These efforts were expressed in active cooperation in bilateral talks that were to lead to liberalization of export to CMEA and EFTA countries, to the membership of GATT reacted by some of the socialist countries and in finished negotiations under the name of Kennedy Round. In that way we theoretically reached the approach to western markets — that in general depends on the quality of exported goods, their attractive price, short terms of delivery and profitable sale conditions for foreign contractive parties — this fact however does not solve the problem. Liberalization of import to CMEA and EFTA countries secures the approach to the west markets only in formal and legal terms. But there exists still another aspect of the problem. These markets got under control of the state and international concerns. The introduction of a new competitor is very difficult in that situation. A solution could be found in creating such a situation in which our presence on the West markets would be not only a competition but simultaneously a form of cooperation, profitable for our partners. Cooperation in the international scale would be the required form. Further on, the author discussed in the article three forms of cooperation: licence agreements in the branch of building and exporting machines, gadgets and agreements for cooperation with West enterprises in the aim of supplying on the markets of the third world. The author dealt as well with forms of scientific and technical cooperation and discussed profits of cooperation for both sides. Finishing the article the author put forward the thesis that cooperation helps to enliven the economical relations between East and West. Of course only under the condition that it will be only economical form of international cooperation with no political strings. ; Digitalizacja i deponowanie archiwalnych zeszytów RPEiS sfinansowane przez MNiSW w ramach realizacji umowy nr 541/P-DUN/2016

Podważenie pozycji ustrojowej Trybunału Konstytucyjnego przez większość rządzącą po 25 października 2015 r. wpisuje się w ciąg zdarzeń głównie o charakterze ustawodawczym, które w istocie przekreślają status Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej jako państwo prawa. Rządzący, na czele z prezydentem, podejmują liczne działania i zaniechania stawiające ich ponad Konstytucją. Tryb i tempo uchwalania przez Sejm regulacji dotyczących ważnych dziedzin życia państwowego, takich jak ustawy: o policji, o mediach elektronicznych, o służbie cywilnej czy o prokuraturze, bez społecznych konsultacji i w atmosferze lekceważenia praw opozycji, niweczy demokrację proceduralną i rodzi najwyższy niepokój o cele, które rządzący stawiają przed sobą. Towarzyszące temu ruchy personalne na wysokich stanowiskach w administracji państwowej, w policji czy w agencjach rządowych, spółkach Skarbu Państwa i mediach publicznych, sprawiają wrażenie niekontrolowanych w pełni – ich gwałtowne nasilenie może wywołać chaos w życiu publicznym i pokusę wprowadzenia rządów autorytarnych. ; The undermining of the political position of the Constitutional Tribunal by the ruling majority seen since 25 October 2015 is one of a sequence of events, of largely legislative character, which in fact put an end to the status of the Republic of Poland as a state governed by the rule of law. The government, as well as president, is, by taking numerous measures or omitting to take others, putting itself above the Constitution. The manner as well as the speed at which the Seym passes resolutions concerning major spheres of public life such as legislative acts with respect to the police, electronic media, the civil service, or the prosecutor's office, which are being adopted without public consultation and in an atmosphere in which the rights of the opposition are ignored, is a blight on procedural democracy, stirring deep concerns about the goals that the current government is setting itself. The accompanying movement of personnel in high official positions in the state administration, the police, government agencies, companies with State Treasury participation and public media would seem to escape full control and the intensity with which it is forcedthrough may lead to chaos in public life and result in a temptation to impose authoritarian rule.

Introduction / Aleksandra Wiktorowska -- Patricia Campos Mello, excerpts -- Women and literary war journalism in Brazil : from Sylvia Arruda Botelho Bittencourt to Patricia Campos Mello / Monica Martinez -- Euclides da Cunha, Consiglieri Sá Pereira, Mário Neves and Rodolfo Walsh, excerpts -- Iberian and Latin American literacy journalism under dictatorships : connections, origins and the literary journalist in action / Manuel João de Carvalho Coutinho -- Gabriel García Márquez and Rodolfo Walsh, excerpts -- Telling stories of survivors : Gabriel García Márquez, Rodolfo Walsh, and the question of narrative authority / Liliana Chávez Díaz -- Antonio Callado, excerpts -- Covering the peasants' war in Pernambuco : Antonio Callado's literary journalism / Lilian Martins, Marcelo Bulhões -- Ryszard Kapuściński, excerprpts -- Ryszard Kapuściński in Latin America, Latin America in Kapuściński's writing / Aleksandra Wiktorowska.-- Leila Guerriero, excerpts -- From ¡Basta ya! to Nunca más : Latin American literary jourrnalists, regional wars, and post-conflict societies / Roberto Herrscher -- Charles Bowden and Judith Torrea, excerpts -- La crónica como reflejo del confiicto social en Ciudad Juárez / Antonio Cuartero Naranjo, Juan Antonio García Galindo -- Óscar Martínez, excerpts -- Imaginarios apocalípticos en la crónica contemporánea / Patricia Ponblete Alday

Following the defeat of the revolutions in France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Hungary in 1848 and 1849, many participants of the liberal movements had to flee to escape retaliation. In Europe, Britain was the only safe haven for the refugees: in London perhaps the most interesting group of idealists of many nationalities convened − with the major link between them being their unsuccessful clash with the forces of monarchy in their homelands and their grandiose plans for re-starting the freedom fights. For Marx, Kinkel, Hecker, Kossuth, Mazzini, Ruge London, as one of them put it, offered little bread, but did provide the necessary freedom of speech and that of press. Many deemed it crucial that they succeed in the mobilization of the United States in support of their struggles. In order to mobilize the American public, and, of course, to collect donations for their cause, these (ex-)leaders of the revolutions traveled to the United States sometime in the 1850s and organized extensive lecturing and fundraising tours: Gottfried Kinkel (September 1851 to March 1852), Amand Goegg (December 1851 to July 1852), Kossuth (December 1851 to July 1852), Alberto and Jessie White Mario (October 1858). This paper aims to analyze the historical significance of the lecturing tours by seeking answers to the following questions: 1.) Why did the revolutionary spokespersons unanimously turn to America for inspiration? 2.) What practical benefits did the individual fundraisers hope to gain from their trips? What specific target audiences did they choose for their campaign, and why? 3.) What was the reaction of the American public? 4.) What was the relationship between the travelling revolutionaries themselves? 5.) How can the results of the tours be evaluated from the perspective of the a) individuals b) the ethnic group/political issues they represented c) American general public/political groups?3,99zł

he recent years of the Trotskyite movement have seen the intensification of two tendencies. The first one involves a new perception of the radical social demands made by the Trotskyite candidates in local, parliamentary and presidential elections. The other one involves the functional incorporation of a broad range of youth and alternative issues into the Trotskyite movement. Similar elements are also present in the program of the Ukrainian Union 'Struggle', established in 1999. The 'Struggle' shares the opinions on the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 and the reasons for its failure with all other Trotskyite organizations. It has also developed quite a detailed approach to the issue of Ukrainian independence and the Orange Revolution. In the opinion of Ukrainian Trotskyists V. Yushchenko and V. Yanukovych repre- sented the clans of oligarchs, who had the single aim of destroying the Ukrainian econ- omy by privatizing national property and stealing what the former government did not manage to take away from the nation. The choice was not between Europe and Russia but between American capital waving a European flag and American capital waving a Russian flag. The 'Struggle' assumes though that the Orange Revolution has brought advantages as well: the judiciary is trusted, the nation no longer dreads corrupted bureaucracy and political processes raise social interest. It is doubtful that the nearest future will bring any significant changes in the influence of the Trotskyite movement. It is possible, however, that it will manage to contribute new elements to the growing anti-globalist movement. In terms of the Ukrainian future it may be justifiably assumed that society will become 'disappointed' with the new government. Then, radical groups with clear views, such as Trotskyists, are likely to participate in the government

The purpose of this paper is to seek the organizing principle of China's Belt and Road Initiative in terms of the People's Republic of China's overall foreign policy objectives, and, in order to do this, an understanding of the leadership of the Mid¬dle Kingdom becomes imperative. There are five generations of Chinese leaders since the proclamation of the PRC and obviously each of them has had distinct attitudes when it comes to foreign policy and the decision making process, since their actions have been the outcome of specific historical, social and geopolitical conditions. Notwithstanding, we see a continuity of grand strategies and application of the same principles of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, inherited from one establishment by the other. The current leader Xi Jinping, soon after getting to be General Secretary of the Communist Party in late 2012, expressed what might turn into the hallmark of his administration: "The Chinese Dream – the great re¬juvenation of the Chinese nation." Some months later the New Silk Road Strategy was proclaimed; the proposed revival of a great trade route which, two thousand years ago, bridged Eastern and Western cultures across the Eurasian continent, becomes in the 21st century the fulcrum of the Belt and Road Initiative and the blueprint of the actual Chinese foreign policy. ; Publication is a part of the project: Regional Center for International Debate in Lodz 2017–2018 Project co-financed by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The article describes the regulation of execution proceedings in administration of the selected European socialist States. The analysis is limited to the legislations of those States, where the execution proceedings has been more completely regulated. It is the case of Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Yougoslavia, Poland and Hungary. In the remaining States the execution proceedings occupies a secondary position and is fragmentarily regulated in various legislations of detailed problems of state's administration. Various normative models adopted in the socialist States can be specified on the grounds of varying modes of regulating the procedure. The author focused on the problem of safeguarding legally protected interests of citizens in the execution proceedings in the compared legislations. The very fact of legislating the proceedings by means of parliamentary acts has the essential effect upon the protection of citizen's interest. Out of detailed questions the following were analysed: mode of regulating some execution means (substituted execution, immediate enforcement), principles of execution proceedings and the system of appeals. The author concludes that the priority is attributed to the protection of State's interest in the specific collission of State's and citizen's interest which is observed in legislations of execution proceedings in the socialist States. Polish legislation however, can effectively protect the interest of citizens in the execution proceedings. The author indicates at the necessity of further actions aiming at more effective citizen's interest protection by means of submitting decisions given in the execution proceedings under judicial control of administrative decisions. ; Digitalizacja i deponowanie archiwalnych zeszytów RPEiS sfinansowane przez MNiSW w ramach realizacji umowy nr 541/P-DUN/2016

Foreign relations between the Soviet Union and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) during the Cold War were based on support of the North Korean regime and a distrustful attitude toward Kim Il‑sung, who remained neutral in the Soviet‑Chinese split. After the political transformation, the Russian Federation is pursuing pragmatic policy toward the DPRK. Moscow seeks to deepen economic cooperation in order to maintain security in Northeast Asia. The aim of this article is to analyse the USSR's and Russia's relations with the DPRK. The author describes events before, during and after the Cold War. The article draws attention to the extent to which national interests and the foreign policy of the Russian Federation coincide and differ from those pursued by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.