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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.

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.

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.

Accounting for nearly 80% of the global population and occupying three quarters of the world' area, the developing countries are affirming their roles in the global progress. However, the independence and sovereignty of these countries are often faced with many challenges stemming from upheavals in the international security environment, globalization, violence policies of big countries and power competition among them. In this context, in order to preserve their independence and sovereignty, the developing countries need to build democratic and progressive states, improve their real national strengths, struggle against the "peaceful evolution" of the powerful nations. This paper analyzes factors which influence the independence and sovereignty as well as the current process of struggling and defending the independence and sovereignty of the developing countries ; Chiếm khoảng 80% dân số và ¾ diện tích toàn cầu, các nước đang phát triển đang khẳng định vai trò, vị thế của mình trong đời sống quốc tế. Tuy nhiên, độc lập, chủ quyền của các nước đang phát triển luôn đứng trước nhiều thách thức đến từ những biến động của môi trường an ninh quốc tế; chính sách cường quyền của các nước lớn; quá trình toàn cầu hóa; sự cạnh tranh quyền lực của các nước lớn. Trong bối cảnh đó, để giữ được độc lập, chủ quyền, các nước đang phát triển cần xây dựng một nhà nước dân chủ, tiến bộ; tăng cường thực lực quốc gia; đấu tranh chống "diễn biến hòa bình" của các nước lớn. Bài viết phân tích những nhân tố tác động đến độc lập, chủ quyền và quá trình đấu tranh bảo vệ độc lập, chủ quyền của các nước đang phát triển hiện nay.

Import and export activities have contributed greatly to the development of the Lao People\'s Democratic Republic over the last years. By means of descriptive statistical analysis, comparison, comtrast, synthesis, and generalization of the data released by the National Statistical Bureau and world's financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or the World Bank (WB), this paper will clarify the successes in the economic developments of Laos, the successes and shortcomings of import and export activities, the impacts of the results of the import and export activities on the country\'s economic growth. Finally, the article will make implications of the country\'s import development policies of the Lao People's Democratic Republic in the years to come. ; Hoạt động xuất nhập khẩu đóng góp rất lớn vào sự phát triển của nước Cộng hòa Dân chủ Nhân dân Lào trong những năm qua. Bài báo này bằng phương pháp phân tích thống kê mô tả, so sánh, đối chiếu, tổng hợp và khái quát hóa các số liệu của Tổng cục Thống kê nước này và của các định chế tài chính thể giới như Quỹ tiền tệ thế giới - IMF hay Ngân hàng thế giới WB. Từ đó bài báo đã làm rõ được những thành công trong phát triển kinh tế của Lào, những thành công và yếu kém của hoạt động xuất nhập khẩu, tác động từ kết quả của hoạt động xuất nhập khẩu tới tăng trưởng kinh tế của quốc gia này. Nội dung cuối cùng của bài viết là các hàm ý chính sách phát triển xuất nhập khẩu của nước Cộng hòa Dân chủ Nhân dân Lào trong những năm tới.