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The article discuses the problem that was recently raised in the Lithuanian historical literature & public discourse by G. Beresnevieius, A. Bumblauskas, S. C. Rowell: was the medieval Lithuanian state (Grand Duchy of Lithuania; GDL) an empire? Important reason for the emergence of this problem was the partial rehabilitation of the very concept of "empire" due to the dissolution of the the USSR (reputed as "last empire") & the search for common legacies by the historians of the countries involved in the construction of the European Union as a transnational political community. There were important reasons for the traditional historiography to abstain from the use of the concepts of "empire" & "imperialism" in the work on GDL. For Non-Marxist Russian historians, GDL was simply another Russian state, so there could not be Russian imperialism against Russians. For Marxist historians, imperialism was a phase in the "capitalist formation," immediately preceding the socialist revolution & bound to the specific period of world history, so the research on precapitalist empires & imperialism was suspect of anachronism. For the opposite reason, deriving from the hermeneutic methodology, the talk about medieval Lithuanian empire & imperialism was an anachronism for Non-Marxist Polish & German historians too, because they considered as Empires only polities that claimed to be successors to Roman Empire: the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation, Byzantine Empire, Moscow Empire. Lithuanian political elite never raised such claims, although theory of the Lithuanian descent from Romans (Legend of Palemon) could be used for this goal. Starting from path-breaking work by S. N. Eisenstadt "The Political Systems of Empires" (1963), comparative politics, history, sociology, anthropology & theory of international relations witnessed the emergence of the field of interdisciplinary studies that can be described as comparative studies of empires & imperialism. Second section of the paper provides the survey of the theoretical work in this field in search of the ideas useful for the analysis of the peculiarities of the medieval Lithuanian state. This survey includes into its scope the work of S. N. Eisenstadt, I. Wallerstein, A. Motyl, B. Buzan, R. Little, A. Watson, M. Beissinger, Ch.Tilly & M. Doyle, whose book "Empires" is considered as the most important contribution to the theorizing of empires & imperialism up to this date. Adapted from the source document.

The paper explores the epistemic fruitfulness of the contemporary theories of modern relations for historical research about the relations between premodern polities. The author suggests to replace the concepts of "international system" and "international society" by the broader notions of "interpolity system" and that of "interpolity society". It is demonstrated that A. Wendt's thesis that in the premodern times international politics was dominated by the Hobbesian culture of anarchy disregards historical evidence about the "Lockean" realities of the dynastic politics in the medieval Europe and other places. The author also criticise H. Bull's concept of international society because of its assumption that Westphalian peace treaty of 1648 was the date of birth of the international law and international society as historical reality. Paper includes a case study about the changing roles and challenges of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) as the subject of interpolity relations in XIII-XV centuries. It focuses on the rise of GDL from the polity playing the role of the barrier (but not that of buffer) polity, separating Central European and Eastern European interpolity systems and belonging to both of them, to the regional empire and suzerain polity of the Eastern European interpolity system by the early XVth century. However, Lithuanian hegemony in Eastern Europe lasted only very few years. After 1430, the Eastern European interpolity system was about to transform itself from the suzerain polity system into a multipolar sovereign interpolity system of the type that consolidated in the Central and Western Europe after 1648 and survived for 300 years. However, the political leadership of GDL failed to meet the challenge to maintain an emerging multipolar balance of power in this system. Adapted from the source document.

The article analyses the European studies in Lithuania since the reestablishment of independence in 1990. It discusses the main issues researched and their dynamics. First, what factors have been behind the changing subjects of European studies in Lithuania & how do they compare with the European studies in Western academia. Second, what have been the dominant subjects of European studies in Lithuania since 1990 & how do they relate to political developments between the EU and Lithuania as well as the nature of academic community in Lithuania. Third, taking into account the experience with European studies so far, to suggest possible future developments of this academic field in Lithuania, in such a way providing a map of potential subject of future research. Adapted from the source document.

The article deals with the main preconditions for the application of the EU conditionality. It argues that the experience of the Western Balkan & the ENP countries could be used to assess the preconditions of the success of the Europeanization in Central & Eastern Europe. It also provides arguments for the critical assessment of the role of the EU membership perspective in the success of the domestic reforms. Three main conditions are identified & suggestions for further research are made. Adapted from the source document.

It is a common perception that 20 years after the fall of communism, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CCEE), even though they have joined the EU, belong to the group of post-communist countries. This article analyses whether a clear distinction in the quality of democracy between the CCEE, which are new member states of the EU, and the old member states still could be made. The analysis has been performed by comparison of the democracy indicators of the countries of Southern Europe, Nordic countries and the CCEE. The research has revealed that the scores of democracy indicators of the countries of Southern Europe and the CCEE do not differ significantly, and in some cases, the scores of the group of the CCEE correspond to a better quality of democracy. The scores of democracy indicators of the individual countries of the two groups overlap in most cases. However, the analysis has exhibited a considerable difference of the democracy indicators between the countries of Southern Europe and Nordic countries, although these countries belong to the group of the old member states of the EU. Thus, the difference in the scores of democracy indicators inside the group of the old member states of the EU is bigger than the difference between the CCEE and the countries of Southern Europe. This means that the requirements for the quality of democracy, which are applied to mature Western democracies, have to be applied to the CCEE. Adapted from the source document.

The article analyzes the concept of national state & the meaning of national independence. Political independence has proven to be a much greater challenge to the nations of Eastern & Central Europe. The population of the region is not merely aware of the fact that political independence is difficult to gain; they believe that it is far more important to handle the tasks related to moral & cultural justification of independence. The said aspects do not vanish from the horizon of philosophical, moral & political reflections of the nations within the region. Links with the Western culture is one of the topical subjects in Eastern & Central Europe. However, from the vantage point of political independence the Western culture tends to undermine the spirit of the nations within the region rather than uplift it. The ailments of the Western culture, when brought to the region, are perceived as the factors destroying the meaning of independence. Adapted from the source document.

The aim of this article is to review & evaluate the condition & the development perspectives of the relations between the EU & its Eastern neighbors. The problem is analyzed in the context of the recent discussion on the "Broader Europe" concept. The current dominant model of the relations between the EU & Eastern Europe countries is described in the article using the "circular discourse" & "circular interaction" terms. This article is aimed to reveal the initial theoretical & geo/political preconditions that helped this model to become the dominant theoretical & practical approach in the field of EU -- East Europe relations, to uncover the logics of its functioning & the implications of its realization to Lithuania & the other new EU member states. Adapted from the source document.

Straipsnyje poeto, mistiko, diplomato Oskaro Milasiaus (1877-1939) palikimas nagrinejamas is politiniu ideju perspektyvos. Keliamas klausimas, kaip autorius supranta Europos vienybe, siekiama vienijimosi prielaidas isvesti is publicistiniu rastu politinemis temomis bei metafiziniu poemu 'Ars Magna' ir 'Slepiniai'. Milasiaus izvalgos galimo Europos saliu susivienijimo klausimu analizuojamos to meto idejiniame lauke, pabreziant bendrumus ir isryskinant Milasiaus savituma. Svarstoma, ar ir kokiu laipsniu poeto, rasiusio apie Jungtines Europos Valstijas, idejos galetu buti priskiriamos kuriai nors tarpukariu egzistavusiai federalistu stovyklai - liberalams paneuropistams ar katalikams. Milasiaus Europos vienybes samprata analizuojama trimis aspektais - tikslo, budo ir pagrindo. Daroma isvada, jog Milasius kritikuoja faktine Europos bukle po Pirmojo pasaulinio karo ir kaip alternatyva siulo vienybe ir dvasiniu, ir politiniu poziuriu. Teigiama, kad poetas siekia atsakyti i savo epochos klausimus savitu budu, pasitelkdamas ne tik geopolitinius, bet ir mitologinius bei mesianistinius argumentus The article examines the heritage of poet, mystic and diplomat Oscar Milosz (1877-1939) from the point of politically significant ideas. The aim is to grasp the understanding of the unity of Europe from the selected political articles 'Deux messianismes politiques' as well as metaphysical poems 'Ars Magna' and 'Les Arcanes'. The premises of Milosz are situated in the intellectual context of European unity ideas of his contemporaries. The analysis shows that Milosz is critical about the situation of interwar Europe that he faces. As an alternative to this he suggests the unity in spiritual and political sense. It is argued in the paper that poet tries to capture the main questions of his epoch, although in a very exclusive manner, by lumping together geopolitical, mythological, messianistic arguments. Adapted from the source document.

The paper deals with the specific features of the construction of an international identity by the EU & Lithuania. We do this by comparing the narrative of "Normative Power Europe" to that of "Lithuania, the regional center." The term "Normative Power Europe," though in use for some two years, still has no clear-cut place in the studies of European integration. So in the paper we first try to explicate its content by drawing a contrast with the more familiar concept of "civil power." We show that the term is an attempt at a new conceptualization of a problem that has been on the agenda of constructivist international relations studies for some time already, namely, that of the power of ideas in international politics. "Normative Power Europe" is defined as a discursive practice, as a narrative shaping the EU as a unique political institution which, by realizing itself via free exchange of ideas & opinions, is capable of changing the "normalcy" perception in international relations. In the EU political discourse the identity of EU as a normative power is constructed via the contrast of EU/USA politics, with America conceived as Europe's "Other." Next, in analyzing Lithuania's foreign politics in the context of the EU New Neighborhood Policy, we draw the parallels in the narratives made use of in constructing the identities of EU & Lithuania. A brief examination of the narrative "Lithuania, the regional center" shows its similarity to the narrative of "Normative Power Europe." First, the "Normative Power Europe" & the "Lithuania, the regional center" are both discursive constructions of their international identity. Second, both narratives are promoting a normative model, based on similar values & principles. Third, in both narratives regionalization is held a major instrument in spreading the values conducive to the creation of a common identity. Finally, both narratives perceive the common regional identity as a major security guarantee. The conclusion is that the narrative of "Lithuania, the regional center" is merely a nationalist replica of the "Normative Power Europe," with some peculiarities to be explained by differences in historical context & Lithuania's specifics in domestic politics. These are mainly due to Lithuania's attempt at reconciling her nation state identity & the ambitions of an active actor of the EU Common Foreign & Security Policy. Adapted from the source document.

This article is an attempt to overview the recent state of European studies in Lithuania & some problems arising in this field of research. Because of the 'constructivist' essence of contemporary science, the social sciences, including European studies, are exposed to a threat of losing 'a sense of reality.' If this ever growing tendency gets stronger & becomes irreversible, the knowledge acquired in the course of those studies would become only 'doxical' knowledge reflecting daily realities & needs of short-term political conjuncture. One of possible ways to solve the problem of a loss of 'a sense of reality' in the field of European studies is to expand the research horizons by paying more attention to European history & especially to its religious & philosophical heritage. Adapted from the source document.

The article introduces three historical and linguistic approaches to political thought: Anglophonic history of ideas, German conceptual history and French history of political. It is claimed, that these schools could offer new tools for Lithuanian political sciences and help for better understanding of Lithuanian political thought and tradition. The article identifies main similarities and differences between all three approaches, and also shows what kind of questions could be raised and answers given while using different approaches in studies of political. The last part of article presents context of current studies of political thought in Lithuania and indicates possible trends for future studies while using more historical approaches to political. Adapted from the source document.