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In 2004, the Council of Europe established, through an unprecedented method, the European Roma & Travellers Forum as a consultative assembly to represent Roma & similar groups on the pan-European level. The body has a unique hybrid nature. It has been established as a non-governmental organization, but it still functions as a body of the Council of Europe, the intergovernmental organization to which it is linked by contract & by which it is financed. The article discusses in detail these extraordinary developments. Taking as a starting point the multilevel governance approach, it uses distinct explanatory models -- the ideational theory & republican liberalism at the international level & the transnational advocacy networks approach at the infranational level -- to analyze these events. Adapted from the source document.

This paper argues that the contemporary state of the conceptualization of the non-state actor is no longer sufficient in the context of recent developments of non-state actors, and calls for a reconceptualization. We thus present the concept of the hybrid actor, that is, an actor which combines the features and activities of different traditional types of non-state actors. On the basis of the typological framework we can define it as the kind of actor which has both political and economic aims and at the same time a type of inner organization that is characterized by features of different kind of structures. The process of hybridization is, among other things, influenced by the possibility of transnationalization and cooperation with other actors. This kind of actor has specific characteristics to such an extent that it gives a reason for the creation of a new category of non-state actors. The process of the hybridization of the non-state actor, according to an analysis of contemporary salient trends, will rather grow in its volume, even more underscoring the importance of the reconceptualization. Adapted from the source document.

As a result of stability in the field of international relations & the absence of acute security threats in many countries & regions of the world (this applies to the EU as well), & as a consequence of the influence of globalization in particular, the importance of the economic dimension of foreign policy is more accentuated at the beginning of the 21st century. Therefore, commercial diplomacy is more important as well, & at the same time, the character of its functions changes, which is the main object of research in this study. In the first part, a brief historical survey of functions of commercial diplomacy, from their very beginnings to their present shape, is drafted. In the second chapter, the term commercial diplomacy is defined, & related terms are described as well. In the third part, the following basic functions of commercial diplomacy (as implemented in contemporary practice) are analyzed: trade promotion & development, investment promotion, economic-information functions, political-legislative functions, development aid assistance & state promotion. The fourth part of this work is focused on the issue of transnational companies (TNCs), whose number rose dramatically in the last few decades, & at present, this subject is considered to be one of the most important factors influencing the character of commercial diplomacy both currently & in the future. The author concludes that commercial diplomacy will be focused particularly on small & medium sized enterprises in the future. At the same time, the complexity of functions of commercial diplomacy will rise, particularly as a result of a diffusion of the economic & political dimensions of foreign policy. Adapted from the source document.

The article deals with the question of who is to be represented within the institutions of modern representative democracy and systemizes the answers on the basis of fundamental approaches in political theory which address this problem. The exploration is contextualized within recent debates on transnational democracy, where the issue of political representation acquires renewed relevance. The article first outlines the liberal theory of representation, identified primarily as having an individualistic nature although it does incorporate certain elements of group representation in the setting of the modern state. Subsequently, the article explores the conservative and communitarian theory of representation, which builds upon the notions of representation of collectivities as morally relevant subjects endowed with distinct interests of their own. Finally, it covers the radical democratic theory of representation, which emphasizes chiefly the themes of acknowledging group difference and the necessity of recognizing the claims of disadvantaged groups in the area of political representation. The article concludes by assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the respective approaches with regard to democratic functioning on the transnational level. Adapted from the source document.

The article addresses issues related to the growing importance of non-governmental organizations & social movements in world politics. The key question that the article deals with is whether there are structures of global political activism in the making? In other words, is a "global civil society" being constituted? If yes, how does this "global civil society" relate to local actors? Are global actors partners in the building of local activism? In addition, how do the actors of the "global civil society" relate to states? Do they transcend the confines of the state? In order to answer these questions, the article first describes the evolving debate around the issue of transnational relations. During the last decade this issue has become an important research problem in at least two social scientific disciplines -the theory of international relations & the theory of collective action. Moreover, the attention paid to transnational social movements & net-works of non-governmental organizations has influenced debates in certain fields of political theory where actors described as "global civil society" came to be perceived as the manifestation of reformist hopes associated with globally organized civic activism. This activism is believed to hold the promise of future global democratization. In sum, the issue of transnational relations & transnational political action is an interdisciplinary problem. The aim of this article is to answer the specified questions above. It reflects the most important aspects of the debate on transnational political action. The ambition of the article is to critically assess both empirically oriented approaches & normatively motivated explorations of the possibilities for global democratization through political involvement of transnational movements & non-governmental organizations. The paper maintains that the concept of "global civil society" is applicable for the description of political action "beyond borders" only under the condition that it is not understood as an alternative to the institutions of the modern state & that it is not used in an ideological way. References. Adapted from the source document.

The author of this article focuses on the theoretical framework of the concept of care as a critical category of social inequality in order to outline possibilities for a redefi nition of the relationship between work and care. Gender inequalities as well as inequalities that are based on other social categories, such as class, ethnicity, nationality, geopolitical location, marital status, and so on are incorporated in the social organisation of care which retrospectively reinforces them. Feminist debate has thus far formulated demands for the recognition of caring persons mainly at the national level, but the author of the article, referring to Arlie Hochschild and Allison Weir, shows that the current challenges of global capitalism point to the need to articulate these demands in a transnational context and to embed care in the discourse of transnational justice. She critically addresses the challenges that efforts to attain recognition for caring persons by including care as a labour-market activity are confronted with owing to the current changes in the social organisation of care under global capitalism, which involves among others the employment of marginalised groups of women and women immigrants in the caring professions. Drawing on the work of Nancy Fraser, the author formulates two normative criteria for reconceptualising care as a social engagement without subjecting it to the logic of market valuation.