Abstract: Political Culture in the Baltic States. Between National and European IntegrationEglė Kesylytė-Alliks (researcher at Institute of International Relations and Political Science, Vilnius University) reviews Political Culture in the Baltic States. Between National and European Integration written by Kjetil Duvold, Sten Berglund and Joakim Ekman.
Emil Edenborg (Swedish Institute of International Affairs and Department of Ethnology, History of Religions and Gender Studies at Stockholm University) reviews The Shortest History of Russia: From the Vikings to the Present Day (Den korteste historien om Russland: fra vikingene til våre dager) by Peter Normann Waage (published in 2020 by Wigmostad & Bjorke).
Critical discourse analysis (CDA) is previously not a homogenous model, nor a school or a paradigm, but at most a shared respective in doing linguistics, semantics, or discourse analysis. The objective of CDA is to perceive language use as social practice. The researchers in this paper have done this at the 58th session of the UN General assembly, New York. The theoretical framework used for the analysis is Fairclough's model, 1992. This research paper has analysed the data qualitatively. This research work has explained and clarified the intellectual and invulnerable strategies, ideologies of President Musharraf, Pakistani president for global, political, economic, social and cultural development not only for his own country but for the entire world, especially developing countries. CDA of G-P-M speech shows that his motto is peace, security and development of human rights, implementation of international law, social justice for everyone and multilateral diplomacy by the support of the war on terror and cooperation with the international community. Pervaiz Musharaf has presented a positive and soft image of Pakistan.
This article begins by examining strategic culture studies, in particular Alan Bloomfield's concept of different sub-cultures in strategic culture. It then focuses on the border between Russia and Finland and how Finnish EU membership was made possible by Finland's decision not to challenge the WWII border treaty with the Soviet Union after the Soviet collapse. Next, it investigates the debates and public opinion relating to Finland's 1994 EU referendum, to see how the dynamics changed three strategic cultural sub-groups: "self-defence", "Westernisers" (including Western international organizations) and "Reassurance and Dialogue with Russia". In conclusion, it is argued that EU membership altered the hierarchy of these strategic culture sub-groups in Finland, as well as their substance. These changes were, however, more evolutionary than revolutionary.
Abstract: EU Actorness in the South Caucasus: Possibilities and LimitationsDespite significant institutional changes and refinements since its creation in 2004, the ENP (European Neighborhood Policy) remains a major tool available to the EU for providing incentives for reform and stability in non-member states through the diffusion of its norms and rules. Earlier studies, drawing on the Europeanization conceptual framework, have been mostly concerned about how and by which mechanisms compliance with EU rules takes place, rather than focusing on whether and to what extent it occurs. By contrast, this article assesses the actorness of the EU in three countries of the South Caucasus (Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan), viewing actorness as composed of three dimensions – capability, opportunity, and presence – enabling and constraining the aspirations of the EU to be an international actor in the South Caucasus.
Includes bibliographical references. ; Presented at the Building resilience of Mongolian rangelands: a trans-disciplinary research conference held on June 9-10, 2015 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. ; Heavy livestock losses from severe winter conditions (dzud) in Mongolia in recent years have prompted a variety of interventions by government and development agencies, aiming to reduce herders' vulnerability to severe weather and other climate factors. Unfortunately, many of these interventions have not systematically diminished risk to herders. In this paper we identify several strategies deployed by herders for managing dzud risks and impacts through informal mutual aid networks. We contrast these strategies to interventions taken by international donor agencies operating in Mongolia, which have largely focused on the household as an independent socio-economic unit. We conclude that risk mitigation can be improved through recognition of informal mutual aid networks, and through support to mutual aid institutions.
Aksel V. Carlsen arbetade som forskare vid Institutet för internationella arbetarrörelsen under de två sista decennierna av den sovjetiska eran. I boken IMRD – min arbejdsplads i Moskva berättar han om kollegor, forskningsprojekt och den komplicerade relationen som institutet hade till den politiska regimen i det auktoritära sovjetsystemet. Ett intrikat nätverk mellan "sextitalisterna", som strävade efter socialistiska reformer av systemet, och de toppstyrda rigida politiska maktstrukturerna omgav och definierade IMRD:s verksamhet.
During the two final decades of the Soviet era, Aksel V. Carlsen worked as a researcher at the Institute for the International Labor Movement (IMRD). In IMRD – min arbejdsplads i Moskva (IMRD: my workplace in Moscow) he writes about colleagues, research activities and the institute's complicated interaction with the authoritarian Soviet regime. An intricate network existed between members of the 'sixties generation', who aimed at reforming the Soviet system, and the centralized rigid power structures – a network that enveloped and determined the work of the IMRD.
The amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation adoped after a 2020 referendum included a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. This is a recent manifestation of the turn to 'traditional values' in Russian politics and society, the best-known expression of which is the 2013 ban on 'propaganda for non-traditional sexual orientation'. This development cannot be understood as solely reflecting 'traditional' attitudes of the Russian population, nor as a backlash against LGBTQ activism. The turn to 'traditional values' must be considered in the context of a global pattern of increased pro-family mobilization, which opposes LGBTQ rights, feminism and the alleged undermining of gender as biologically determined and strictly binary – described by researchers as 'anti-gender mobilization'. Traditionalist politics in Russia should be analysed in a transnational and international perspective, but conservative mobilization is not a monolithic phenomenon. Using the concept of 'discourse coalition' developed by Maarten Hajer, I show how the identification of shared storylines enables a range of actors to act in similar ways, sometimes coordinating their actions, despite ideological, religious or strategic disagreements, on the domestic as well as the global arena.
Da president Vladimir Putin kom til makten i Russland på tidlig 2000-tallet, var en viktig del av hans statsbygging å skaffe seg kontroll over medielandskapet hjemme. Evnen til å forme egne innbyggeres oppfatning av virkeligheten har stått sentralt siden, og utover 2010-tallet har dette også inkludert et internasjonalt publikum. Irina Grigor gir oss i sin doktorgradsavhandling i kommunikasjon fra Universitetet i Helsinki, et nærmere innblikk i russisk bruk av media og strategiske narrativer, med et særlig fokus på bruk av visuelle virkemidler i russiske medier i ulike case i løpet av perioden 2012–2016.
Since President Putin came to power in the early 2000s, he has increasingly seized control of the domestic media landscape. In addition to Moscow's focus on shaping Russian domestic opinion, there have been similar control attempts aimed at an international audience. In her doctoral dissertation in communications from the University of Helsinki, Irina Grigor provides valuable insights into Russia's use of the media and strategic narratives. Using a case-study approach, Grigor devotes particular attention to the application of visual tools by the Russian media in the 2012–2016 period.
India and Pakistan both are South Asian nuclear states, having a historical animosity that mainly stems from unresolved Kashmir issue. Both states realized the importance of peace therefore went for the negotiations after every battle. However, neither war nor negotiation could lead to the permanent solution. This article presents a critical analysis of the talks and negotiations held from 1998 to 2004 in order to restore peace and to resolve conflicts between both neighbors. The official documents i.e. declarations, agreements and recommendations of the CBMs have provided quite solid material for analytical discussion. Though a great desire of resolving all issues peacefully, including the issue of water and Kashmir through dialogue on both sides have been explored from this analysis, however the resilient elements prevail and deteriorate the peace process on both sides. The role of media has also been found negative in making public opinion. If the international law is implemented and the people of Kashmir are given their right of self-determination under the UNO resolutions both countries can live in peace and address their other issues
Abstract: Who is responsible for the protection of human rights in Kosovo?Human rights are central in the international community's missions in Kosovo. Moreover, Kosovo's 2008 Constitution lists eight directly applicable human rights instruments, along with detailed instructions on how they are to be interpreted in line with developments at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). And yet, human rights protection is lacking in the region. Potential violations attributable to the local authorities can be adjudicated, but only through the national courts, which raises questions of independence and impartiality. Meanwhile, NATO's Kosovo Force (KFOR) and the European Union's Rule of Law Programme (EULEX) enjoy immunity against prosecution by the domestic courts while still wielding some executive and judicial power. EULEX has an internal human rights panel, modelled on the less-than-successful panel established to hold the UN's Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) accountable, while KFOR has no similar judicial body. This article maps which options individuals have for addressing human rights violations in Kosovo and where the system still has its weaknesses. Additionally, it traces how the jurisdictions have changed in the past 15 years and proposes a way forward to fill the lacunae that remains.
: Energy diplomacy as a country's foreign policy agenda in securing access to international energy sources. The significance of energy for a country can always be a cause or proxy for its foreign policy or even its military actions. The plan for the development of nuclear power plants in Indonesia in support of the climate change program is based on global agreements and is able to provide a deterrent effect on national defense. However, until now the role of defense diplomacy in achieving national interests has not been optimal and its achievements are still limited to defense issues only (Sudarsono et al., 2018). This study aims to analyze the role of diplomacy on energy and defense, where diplomacy provides a first treat on energy, thereby realizing national energy security supported by defense diplomacy. This study uses a literature study to collect relevant data related to energy diplomacy, nuclear power plant development plans to support the NDC program, and defense diplomacy. The results of the study indicate that a diplomacy synergy is needed in achieving the national interest. Defense diplomacy can be synergized with energy diplomacy, which in this case is able to accelerate the development of nuclear power plants in Indonesia which provides a multiplier effect both in terms of energy security in the issue of climate change, even to the deterrent effect of Indonesian defense. The effect of diplomacy on energy indicates that diplomacy has a significant role in politics and the economy that a country's energy can create.
This article explores the significant role that the state is still expected to play in initiating and implementing the energy transition. In this regard, it is laid out in three parts. Part I focuses on the premise of the role that derives from constitutional law. This role is considered classic, because it is based on different functions of the state, and the legitimate constrain that distinguishes it from other social actors, including non-state actors. Tremendous materials are offered by the analysis either from the perspective of sociology or law studies when it comes to the specific situation of French-speaking African states. The scope of analysis is broadened with the energy law approach. With a focus on African English-speaking countries, the article examines both the way the state is enforcing statutes aiming to design its own transition scheme and exercising its discretionary power through its energy policy. Beyond the functions of the state—deriving from its sovereign power—these elements set out the direction in quest of a specific role the state can play in the energy transition as a process in Part II. As such, the energy transition, if it is to lead to coherent social change, requires strong and dynamic leadership, including clear, nuanced, and forward-looking direction on the broad sections of the overall process, and the environmental justice issues that necessarily cluster around them. For this reason, the role of the state is construed as both a steering role, and an integrative role for environmental, economic and social issues. Part III provides a rationale for the necessary and strong support of international cooperation—to the state—in order to achieve the paradigm shift smoothly. In Part IV, I emphasize the African Union's transition initiatives in the run-up to COP 25, which I hold out as an inducement for states' efforts. In fact, this article seeks to address these issues. Taken together, they could help build a coherent pattern of the role that African states play in the energy ...
