Suchergebnisse

This article provides an overview of some of the most prevalent topics in post-Yugoslav memory politics as well as on some of the scholars working on these issues, focusing on the commemorative practices of the Second World War and the wars of the 1990s. Thirty years after the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's disintegration, the discourse of post-war memory politics continues to dominate nearly all of the successor states, even though two of them have seemingly left the past behind to join the European Union. While the wars of the 1990s created an entirely new memoryscape in the region, they also radically transformed the way in which each country commemorated the Second World War. Although the article examines in-depth the collective remembrance of sites of memory, such as Jasenovac, Bleiburg, and Knin, trends across the broader region are also addressed. The work of young scholars, as well as experienced researchers, who have introduced innovative approaches in memory studies in the former Yugoslavia, is highlighted to show how new studies focus on the cultural reproduction of dominant narratives in addition to top-down political discourse.

The role and importance of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) in solving global problems, developing human rights, democratic principles, reforms, modernizing public life and developing a global civil society is constantly increasing. INGOs have become new actors in the system of world politics and international relations. There was a need to study the activities of INGOs around the world in the field of history, law, sociology, philosophy, political science. In recent years, many INGOs have appeared in the world, and they work in all countries of the world in such priorities as ensuring human rights, freedom of speech, the economy, the social sphere, the environment, etc. Today, there is an increasing need for a comprehensive study of the activities of INGOs, trends in their increase in the number and rapid growth, influence on the domestic and foreign policies of states and in shaping the global political agenda. The emergence of global problems and the lack of strength and political will of some countries to solve them slow down the integration processes around the world. Especially, there is a need for cooperation in the issues of democratization, liberalization and modernization of public administration and public life. Therefore, today the role and participation of INGOs in solving such issues is increasing. An important result of INGO activity is constructivism and pragmatism.

In the paper I present an analysis of the critical approach to the phenomenon of modern bureaucracy by Hannah Arendt within the theoretical framework of cultural evolution. Bureaucracy, understood as the thoughtless rationalization of human behavior, is a process leading to the minimization of the public sphere, understood as the domain of freely performed politics, and consequently to the creation of impersonal tyranny. Contemporary concepts of cultural evolution allow to search for a new model of explanation of this phenomenon, which transforms the understanding of politics and man himself in the contemporary world.

Spatial and social mobility in an increasingly globalized world is associated with new challenges for social sciences, including political science. This also applies to methods and methodology. The article aims to reveal the cognitive potential that lies in the use of multi–sited ethnography for research on politics and on the study of political behaviors (das Politische). The utility of this approach is illustrated on the basis of the research on social and spatial mobility of small town residents conducted with the use of this method.

The aim of the paper is to analyze how Europeanization is used as an instrument of the European Union's foreign policy in the field of promoting democracy in the world. This fi rst requires an indication that all EU activities, including its relations with the international environment, are based on specific normative foundations. They include the so-called European values regarding, generally speaking, the promotion of democracy and broadly
understood human rights, as well as strengthening peace in international relations. "European values" are not only political and ideological guidelines, but also legal norms enshrined in EU treaties, so the promotion of democracy is one of the basic goals of the EU's foreign policy. Analysis of the EU's promotion of democracy requires the presentation of the main categories used to study this issue, i.e. showing what is understood by Europeanization, as well as by the associated concepts of democratization and socialization. Then mechanisms of europeanization are examined, as well as its results and evaluation of its effectiveness is provided. In this respect the case study is very helpful, in that it examines the results of
Europeanization in relation to the EU partner countries covered by the Eastern Partnership. The paper ends with fi nal remarks constituting a summary of the studied issues.

European Union and Indian Union signed the cooperation agreement in 1994 and a strategic partnership 10 years later. Europe was feeling safe and secure, which was well-described in 2003 in the European Security Strategy, so the approach to the relations with India stressed their economic aspects. In 2007, both sides have started negotiations of the Free Trade Agreement. They still have not concluded but in the meantime the world has changed dramatically. In the current international "disorder" both India and Europe are looking for new partners and vectors of influence, defending multilateralism and democratic values. The paper analyses 5 factors which severely influence these relations. They can bring both sides closer and make the strategic partnership stronger: Rise of China as a global power; Increase of American-Chinese competition and rivalry; Russia's coming back to the international game of power; Rise of India as a regional power and global player, the world largest democracy and a counterbalance to China; Brexit and internal dynamics in the EU. The text is based, among others, on research and discussions taken under umbrella of the India-EU Think Tank Twinning Initiative - the project implemented by 10 best European and Indian think tanks.

The development of the information society has initiated the need for creating new instruments with the help of which the authorities can reach out to citizens. Therefore, cyberspace has recently become a place of activity of a number of entities including state and international organizations (together with the European Union). The result of this phenomenon is the creation of the so-called digital diplomacy as new quality in the so-called diplomacy of the EU. The EU diplomacy currently uses a number of e-tools, among others, Facebook, MySpace, Daily Motion, YouTube, etc. These tools are a very good method to improve and warm up the image of the Union in the international arena. This kind of diplomacy was only formed at the beginning of the twenty-first century and has a great prospect of development, thus, it is worth considering in which direction its evolution should follow. Digital diplomacy is a de facto response to the problem of the EU communication with the outside world and the growing number of Internet users.

The article presents the analysis of the relation between two concepts, namely cosmopolitan democracy and agonistic multipolar order, whose author is Chantal Mouffe, in the context of the dispute about the preferred shape of global democracy. Both approaches are presented in the literature as opposing. The main thesis of the present article is the possibility of connecting them, but according to dialectical principles. The point is not about a smooth consensus but about the fact that the contradictions between those views can be treated as a condition of their interweaving. To this aim, I use two theoretical concepts: of antagonistic cosmopolitanism by Tamara Caraus and of antagonistic global constitutionalism by Christof Royer. On this basis I claim that Mouffe's rejection of cosmopolitanism is not thoroughly coherent with her own assumptions. I acknowledge her argumentation that cosmopolitan democracy might lead to pluralism without antagonism but at the same time I suggest that Mouffe's postulate of the multipolar order can lead to pluralist antagonism without agonism. It is only the establishment of cosmopolitan institutions and rules that will allow for really agonistic and radically pluralized global politics, thanks to which it will be possible to solve the contemporary world problems effectively. For these reasons agonistic cosmopolitanism can be regarded as the most optimal variant of global democracy.