Suchergebnisse

The title of this text is based on images taken from a conversation between the late Lotman and the Estonian culturologist Peeter Torop, recorded in 1992. They appeared not on their own, but in response to the question about the destiny of the Tartu school, about its current state, about its place and role in science. Through the military metaphor of the late Lotman, who contrasted the rear and forefront, the article shows some current trends in the development of structural and semiotic studies. The author does not identify the methodological approach of the Moscow-Tartu Semiotic School (MTSS) and its embodiment in the work of its most prominent representative, but does not tear them apart, like those of modern critics who see in the post-structuralist sensitivity of the late Lotman an overcoming of the structuralist dogmatism of the school. Moving away from black-and-white assessments, the author shows the deployment in Lotman's work of new (albeit attributed by him to the school as a whole) problems – multilingualism, cultural dynamics, openness of semiosis in space and time. The author sees the most interesting and philosophically significant conceptual move in Lotman's interpretation of translation, where misunderstandings and un­translatabilities are no longer considered as obstacles to cognition, but as sources of new cultural meanings.

In the first part of the paper, the author talks about the unilateral declaration of the Macedonian Orthodox Church as autocephalous at the third Macedonian Church-People's Assembly on July 18, 1967, and the church St. Kliment in Ohrid vand the denial of the autocephaly of the MPC by its mother, the Serbian Orthodox Church. In the second part of the paper, the author talks about the donation of autocephaly by the Holy Council of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church to the Macedonian Orthodox Church - Ohrid Archdiocese. The decision on autocephaly of the MPC-OA was ceremoniously and administratively confirmed at the Holy Liturgy in the Cathedral Church in Belgrade on June 5, 2022, by the awarding of the Tomos on AutocephalyMacedonian Orthodox Church - Ohrid Archdiocese from the hands of His Holiness. Serbian Patriarch Porfirije (Perić) to the head of the MPC-OA Archbishop Stefan (Veljanovsko) of Ohrid and Macedonia. The author of the paper argues the point of view that the recognition of the autocephaly of the Macedonian Orthodox Church - Ohrid Archdiocese is historically and canonically valid and that it is significant both for Orthodoxy in the Balkans and beyond, as well as for the collective national Macedonian identity and the further affirmation of North Macedonia as a sovereign state with international legal subjectivity.

This article is the second in a series of author's articles devoted to the mechanism of non-federal justice . According to the author, after the adoption of the Federal Law "On magistrates in the Russian Federation" in 1998, almost all 23 amendments and additions to it led to the federalization of the Justice of the peace. The author suggests returning to its origins, roots, traditions – the time of the Judicial reform of the Russian Empire in 1864, when the world justice system was first created – based on a soundly developed legislative foundation. It is proposed to change the current vector of development of the legislative regulation of world justice from its federalization to its autonomization, its complete separation from the federal mechanism of justice. In particular: to transfer to the jurisdiction of magistrates the consideration of "minor" economic disputes; in sparsely populated areas to introduce mandatory election of magistrates; in all procedural codes to introduce provisions on simplification of judicial procedures for magistrates; the appellate and cassation instances should be created in the form of the appellate chamber of the district and the cassation chamber of the subject of the Russian Federation, consisting of magistrates who administer justice, respectively, in the district and the subject of the Russian Federation, etc.

The paper looks at the military use of burgeoning technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in designing the visual regime of the drone as a tool for control of combat efficiency in twenty-first-century warfare. The author posits his analysis in critical theory and critical war/military studies with focus on the operationally relevant use of technical properties of the visual regime of drone observed through a wealth of video material uploaded to YouTube and related to the ongoing war in Ukraine. While many analyses delve into the combined practices of intelligence gathering, targeting, and killing aimed at the enemy, the author investigates how recent combat practices unveil the potential for an emerging role of drone surveillance: the scrutinization of combat performance of one?s own soldiers. In the age of a highly professionalized and industrialized warfare, inherent to the politics of military interventionism aimed at maintaining liberal peace across the globe, the shift towards a pervasive control over the combat ?assembly line? reconstitutes technological character of the drone so that it becomes an apparatus of domination. The author concludes that the drone as mobile platform for surveillance displays hidden potentials to reinforce the existing relations of domination and cautions that the advent of nano-drones could socially constitute far more intrusive and intimate control of ground troops.

The article summarizes the factors of the successful post-war recovery of the Republic of Croatia. The author characterizes the process of peaceful reintegration of territories and the role of international organizations in this process. There were identified models of reconstruction of the territories that were under occupation, which needed institutional and financial state support in the return of refugees and activation of entrepreneurship. The stages and features of reforming public administration and state institutions are highlighted. The reasons for the constitutional reform and the consequences of the implementation of the administrative-territorial reform in Croatia are revealed. The process of political democratization and liberalization of the economy is analyzed. The author also clarifies the characteristic features of the modernization of the law enforcement, judicial and anti-corruption systems, which became the key to the inflow of investments, economic growth, European and Euro-Atlantic integration. A governmental and parliamentary structure with appropriate powers was identified, which coordinated the country's European integration efforts. The author is arguing that the post-war recovery in Croatia manifested itself not only in the reconstruction of the infrastructure, but was also accompanied by a complex of institutional changes, which ultimately made it possible to significantly reduce the level of corruption, improve the quality of management decisions, and develop a strategy and priorities for the country's long-term development.

Among the numerous interpretations of Walter Benjamin, the short sketch "Naples" – collaboration with Anna Lācis or Asja – has become particularly renowned. However, Asja as a co-author has frequently been overlooked. This article makes an attempt to provide an interpretation on the collaboration of Asja and Benjamin by using the method of reading proposed in the conclusion of Borges's short story "Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote", which allows one to re-read "Odyssey" as if it were written after "Aeneid". Likewise, we might analyse "Naples", looking at it from the perspective of Benjamin's unfinished work "The Arcades Project". Thus, a great number of notes relevant to the methodology of "The Arcades Project" can be seen fully implemented in the seemingly superficial travel description of "Naples". Asja's influence on Benjamin might be related to the theatre, and the theatricalism of the life in Naples is brilliantly conveyed in their text. Likewise, the Italian author Kurzio Malaparte builds the scene of the description of the stairs of Gradoni di Chiaia in Naples in his typical surreal style, as a tragicomic farce, and that is yet another view of Naples, which highlights the significance of Asja and Benjamin's work. Part of this significance is the influence of Asja's theatrical thinking on Benjamin's methodology, which, in all likelihood, is never to be fully verified.

The article addresses the discussions in the European Union that broke out after closing of the Conference on the future of Europe. The author consistently analyzes the positions of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, while identifying differences between both EU institutions and Member States. The stumbling block is the prospects for the EU institutional reform, which can be carried out both by changing the Treaty on the European Union and without convening the Convention, but only by applying the «passerelle» clause, which provides an opportunity to move from unanimity to voting by qualified majority in the Council on a number of important issues. The author emphasizes that an additional motivation for the European Parliament to call for cancelling of unanimity was the threat of blocking sanctions against Russia by certain countries. The second part of the article examines the development of European Political Community (EPC), the idea, which was put forward by French President Macron at the end of the Conference. The author argues that the plans to create the EPC as a «light legal structure with decisionmaking powers» are directly related to implementation of institutional reform, namely, unanimity cancelling. Thus, scientific and political discussions are conducted around fundamental directions – the ratio of deepening and expanding European integration.

PurposeIn contemporary business and marketing literature luxury is mainly approached from the perspectives of production, communication and consumption. The author argues that to understand the phenomenon in the future, different, more contextualized and human-focused lenses and methodologies are needed. He ventures out into philosophy, sociology and anthropology to broaden the perspective on the matter and proposes resonance, the theory of successful world relations, as an alternative view on luxury and luxury consumption.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on the authors' reflections and an extensive review of literature, including contributions from different academic disciplines.FindingsWith introduction of resonance the author provides an alternative theoretical and practical lens on a multifaceted and dynamic phenomenon that nurtures lucrative markets which must adapt and fundamentally redefine themselves in response to changing social, ecological, technological and economic circumstances and evolving customer needs pointing towards a new social paradigm.Originality/valueThe author presents a critical view on luxury and enriches the discussion in the marketing and business-related literature with the perspectives of philosophy, sociology and other disciplines, linking the phenomenon to resonance theory and the notions of rebellion and escape. The paper suggests new ways of intellectually, scientifically and commercially engaging with the notion luxury and aims at serving as a springboard for further research.

The article is timed to closing of the Conference on the Future Europe, which united the proposals of EU institutions and Member States, and most importantly, ensured direct participation of the EU citizens in discussion of the EU's priority tasks in the medium term. The author compares the positions of the European Parliament, the Commission and the Council on the eve and during the Conference. The analysis of the final report on the results of the Conference allows to conclude that the EU citizens wish to deepen integration, in particular, when they propose the institutional reform, which would strengthen the supranational element of governance in the EU. On the other hand, the author observes no desire to spill back integration even from the Member States, although finds among them opponents of the institutional reform. The article explains the complex organizational structure of the Conference by the initial differences in the EU institutions' views on the principles of its work, which reflects the existing inter-institutional tension. The author identifies the main stumbling block of the discussions – the EU Treaty change, which is needed to implement the institutional reform proposed by the participants: the European Parliament insists on the amendments, while the Council express no enthusiasm about this

The article continues the studies of the series of cult pendants and crafts from the Upper Paleolithic site of Malta, dated 23–19 kya. The article uses materials from the Malta collections of the State Hermitage Museum. The author considers rod-shaped crafts, buckles and pendants in the form of "eight" as a particular abstract form of Paleolithic art. Analyzing the art objects of Malta, the author classifies figurines and handicrafts as belonging to a stylized manner of depiction. Image stylization being one of the techniques of artistic abstraction is not an initial generalization and convention resulted from the peculiarities of our perception, but rather from a symbolic system of the mythological genre, revised and recorded by means of symbolic codes. A special role in symbolic symbols is given to ornamental elements those create separate structures of symbols and decorative compositions. Any selected ornamental elements (modules) in various combinations can carry different semantic loadings. In this respect it is important to analyze the use of ornamental patterns and their correlation with specific kinds of craft items and decorations. The author notes that the preservation of the material and traces of biogenic effects on objects during their staying in soil horizons (manganese dendrites, traces of plant roots an microorganisms) give a strong distortion of decorative elements.

The article is devoted to the main gaps in international law, impeding the realisation of the right to self-determination. The current stage of development of international relations entails the need to search for new approaches to resolving conflict situations and to improve existing legal mechanisms, including those related to the realisation of the right of peoples to self-determination. The author analyses the categories of subjects of the right in the issue and the forms of its implementation envisaged for each of them. Special attention in this article is paid to the international law concerning the relationship between the principle of territorial integrity and the right of peoples to self-determination. On basis of conducted analysis the author also formulates the thesis under which the principle of territorial integrity cannot be considered applicable to states that pursue a discriminatory policy against certain peoples living on their territory (primacy of the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples in cases where discriminatory policy is conducted against them). Further the author identifies related problems of realisation of the right to self-determination and comes to the conclusion that it is necessary to legally define such subjects at the international level through the adoption of a comprehensive international legal act on the right to self-determination.

This article is devoted to the analysis of such a concept as social tension. In this work, the main characteristics of social tension are considered, basic approaches to its definition are identified, and the opposite determinants of social life, such as social trust and social solidarity, are indicated. The author has analyzed the key factors influencing tension in society and events, the most significant of which has recently become the COVID-19 pandemic. An important place in this article is occupied by the definition of such a concept as ESG principles. The author describes the key elements of this phenomenon, indicates the importance of the process of applying these principles for social development. At the same time, the principles of sustainable development are important not only for improving the social structure, but also for the companies themselves using the described provisions in their strategies, as well as for potential investors. The article describes the mechanism of influence of the application of ESG principles on the level of social tension. This may be a direct reduction in social tension or an indirect impact on the opposing indicators, such as social trust and social solidarity. The author points out the need to spread the application of ESG principles among organizations to increase social sustainability.

Introduction. The article deals with the U.S. Middle East Policy of the Eisenhower Administration in 1958–1960 and determines the part the Kurdish Question played in it. Methods and materials. The study is based on the latest U.S. declassified documents, interviews, memoirs, etc. The author does the problem-chronological analysis to describe the stages of the U.S. Policy toward Iraqi Kurds during the period specified. Analysis. The article is focused on the U.S. diplomatic and intelligence activities aimed at developing approaches to the "communist crisis" and disagreements that arose in the expert community regarding policy decisions. The author considers the U.S. relations with their regional partners (Turkey, Israel, Iran, etc.) on the issues of the "Iraqi crisis" and the Kurdish liberation movement. The paper describes Washington's attitude to Mullah Mustafa Barzani – the Kurdish movement leader – and the KDP activities during Iraq's post-Revolution instability. The author analyzes and summarizes the reasons why the U.S. was reluctant to involve in the domestic conflict between Qasim's followers, Nationalists, Nasserites, Communists and Kurds. Results. The article shows that the CIA and the State Department often misjudged Qasim's relationship with the Iraqi Communist Party and the national Kurdish movement and, as a result, did not have enough time to respond to the rapidly changing political situation, thus adopting the policy of benevolent neutrality.

There is a common perception that Chinese students are proficient test takers, but less adept at critical thinking. There is conflicting evidence to support this claim. In this article, the author first briefly traces the development of critical and independent thinking in Chinese history and outlines the situation in Chinese education today. Secondly, he presents his personal experience of encouraging the development of Futures-oriented and critical thinking in a Chinese tertiary education setting, via the creation and teaching of China's first extended Critical Futures Studies courses. The criticality component of the program was modified specifically for the Chinese context. An ethnographic approach is taken in the latter part of this article as the author shares details of that curriculum, as well as successes and shortcomings gleaned from the experience. The purpose of this sharing is to assist other Critical Futures Studies educators in setting up Critical Futures Studies courses in China, or in similar environments where Futures thinking and critical thinking have not been emphasized within the culture and/or educational curricula. The article also posits suggestions on how to develop such programs and related critical thinking processes in broader school curricula. Finally, the author reflects upon his/her role as a critical futurist in China, using Inayatullah's (2018) Causal Layered Analysis.

In this article, the author investigates the concept of "war" during the Akkadian period (ca. 2234–2154 BCE) through fragments and clay tablets that have remained from that period in history more than 4,000 years ago. Given the special place that the divine realm took in the Akkadian worldview, manifesting even in everyday interaction, the author reworks the well-renowned trinity from the Prussian military theorist Carl von Clausewitz. The author argues that Clausewitz's analysis of war, which relies on the main trinity of the people, the government, and the armed forces, is not applicable to the beginning of human history in Mesopotamia due to the specific circumstances that societies then faced. The main method of inquiry herein will be a textual analysis of Akkadian scriptures that relate to the campaigns of Sargon, the first ruler of the Akkadian Empire, and his reign in constituting the first empire of humankind, as well as sources that explain the role of religion in this historical epoch. Although many of Sargon's groundbreaking military innovations—such as establishing a standing professional army, securing lines of communication and supplies, and fortifying strategic positions—can be analyzed in a purely descriptive way, the focus of this article will be on his constructed relation to the Akkadian pantheon, which had a direct influence on the way warmongering was perceived.