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This article aims to draw the attention to a field that has been widely acknowledged worldwide but can be considered as rather new in Lithuania -- to the methods of foresighting & future studies. Foresighting can serve as a supplement to analytic research & can be applied as a significant methodological instrument in numerous fields of political science. Authors state that foresighting is particularly relevant to the research of international relations. As actors of the international system are competing for power & attempting to formulate strategies to expand their power, foresighting & construction of future scenarios becomes an inherent part of the strategic processes. A scenario constructing process & examples are presented in the article. Adapted from the source document.

This article is devoted to the Open Method of Co-ordination (OMC) as a method of the European Union (EU) governance. First, the article presents the method, its characteristics & the rationale behind its application in the EU. This is followed by an analytical framework, which includes the factors of EU & national level (independent variables), influence mechanisms of the OMC as well as public policy & institutional change (dependent variables). This analytical framework was used for structuring & summarizing the results of the OMC research in Lithuania. The main conclusion of this article is that the OMC is not effective in Lithuania due to its weak mechanisms of influence. Although according to its definition the OMC is attributable to "soft" forms of governance, its inadequate application reduces its effectiveness in Lithuania. These factors constrain the implementation of necessary reforms in Lithuania & reduce its contribution to economic growth & employment of the EU. Adapted from the source document.

The primary aim of this article is to analyze how the interpretation of "universal" geopolitical ideas, especially those related to images of US power, depend on national, publishing & rhetorical interests. By comparing various predominant intellectual stances, one can see that even after the end of the Cold War its' rhetorical tropes still propel further disputes. As a result, national interests & ambitions of some politicians merge & the lines between political realism & ideologies become blurred. For example, phrases such as "the new world order," but even more often, "the new world disorder" are used indiscriminately in hundreds of titles promising accounts of the international system & its events. Thus instead of seeing rhetoric & reality as mutually exclusive opposites (which happens whenever the rhetoric is relegated to the field of myths & lies), new studies of the Cold War now generally recognize the rhetorical component of reality. This article uses Pierre Bourdieu's concept of "cultural fields" & his theoretical focus on the international circulation of ideas to discuss the rhetoric of "soft power.". Adapted from the source document.