Suchergebnisse

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 had a profound impact on the Republic of Moldova. The aftermath witnessed an unprecedented influx of Ukrainian refugees, a significant rise in inflation, a decline in political stability, and a deepening energy crisis. The root causes of political instability in Moldova are diverse, with issues of identity and memory playing a central role in the nation-building process since the Soviet Union's collapse. Moldova, situated between its Romanian roots and Russian- Soviet heritage, confronts numerous challenges in reconciling its past and navigating its future. The Russian occupation of its neighboring country has accentuated these challenges, serving as a crucial test for Moldova's European-oriented government. The response to this new geopolitical reality, however, has led to some measures that intensified ideological divisions within the population, particularly regarding matters of memory and identity. The contested memorial heritage in Moldova was notably evident during the May 9 celebrations, coinciding with Europe Day and Victory Day. While many European Union countries consider Europe Day a peripheral holiday promoting European values, Moldovan politicians and the public are increasingly giving it attention, with a growing belief that it should replace the Soviet-style Victory Day. Using the "struggle" over the significance of May 9 as a case study, this article explores contemporary Moldovan memory politics influenced by the realities of war.

The article presents the author's reflections on the 2014-2022 Russia-Ukraine war

Introduction. The article examines the features of the combat condition of the units of the CzechSlovak Corps in 1917 – early 1918. It is legitimate to assert that the history of the formation and participation in hostilities of the Czech-Slovak Corps occupies a prominent place both in the history of the First World War and the Revolution, and in the history of the Civil War in Russia in 1914–1920. Methods and materials. The study is based on unique documentary evidence from the archives of the Czech Republic, not previously introduced into scientific circulation. They apply both to individual military units and subunits, and to the corps as a whole. Despite the rather large volume of publications in Russian historiography, the military-political history of the corps during the Civil War cannot yet be considered sufficiently studied. Analysis. The article gives an assessment of the real combat condition of the corps units in late 1917 – early 1918, in the period preceding the anti-Bolshevik action.The factual data presented in the article significantly correct the point of view currently prevailing in terms of Russian historiography and historical journalism, according to which the Czech-Slovak units located along the TransSiberian railway from Penza to Vladivostok were distinguished by large numbers and were well armed. The article analyzes the weapons and ammunition available in the arsenals of the corps, assesses the military training of its various units. In fact, we can say that the numerical strength, as well as the degree of combat readiness of the corps units were not high enough. Results. Therefore, based on this aspect of the history of the Czech-Slovak Corps, it is impossible to say unequivocally about a pre-prepared and carefully planned speech. Nevertheless, the events that took place undoubtedly contributed to the escalation of the Civil War in Russia.

The aim of the article is to analyse how the interests of political parties were reflected in interwar Czechoslovak–Latvian relations. The article focuses on the analysis of both objective and subjective reasons why the cleavage between the relevant Latvian political parties – the Farmers' Union and Social Democrats – was reflected in Czechoslovak policy. Both political parties maintained transnational contacts with ideologically related political parties in Czechoslovakia. The article examines if there were systemic or rather specific subjective reasons for the influence of the political parties on bilateral relations, resulting from the specifics of the interwar Czechoslovak–Latvian relations.

This essay challenges assumptions about the root causes of jihadist terrorism that prioritize political, religious, or economic factors. Drawing on the author's anecdotal experience interviewing hundreds of accused jihadist terrorists, along with survey data collected from subject matter experts in countering violent extremism (CVE), the essay offers an interpretation for terrorism's causes and cures that emphasizes social factors. Contrary to narratives popular in the U.S. – both in media and government circles – the lure of terrorism is not a result of political marginalization, economic disadvantage, or even religious indoctrination. It is foremost a sociological phenomenon, created by individuals who seek the insulating security of group identity and affiliation. The real reason why people are drawn to join terrorist groups is the innate need for camaraderie, identity, and a sense of belonging – the pursuit of social satisfaction, not the expression of political or economic frustration, much less the fulfilment of a religious imperative. CVE research that exclusively focuses on the political, economic, or religious causes of terrorism will, at best, over-appraise their significance, and, at worst, distract policymakers from understanding more influential motivators and responding to them accordingly. New directions for research lie in further exploring the sociological underpinnings of jihadist terrorism, as well as validating the effectiveness of social-centred CVE policies already in place.

The Czechs have given the world many important personalities, including pedagogues. In addition to the well-known Jan Amos Komenský (1592 – 1670), we can also name Gustav Adolf Lindner (1828 – 1887). But for a long time another important pedagogue personality of the 20th century, Přemysl Pitter, remained unknown to the world. In today's world of intolerance it's worthwhile to pay attention to the activities of a man who cherished the values by which he lived his life: "Without love, without human compassion with one another, nothing will stand" (Pitter 1974). These are the words of the humanist Přemysl Pitter, a Czech Protestant-oriented thinker, educator, writer, publicist, radical pacifist, and social worker. He founded the famous Prague educational institute "Milíč Houseˮ during the Second World War, and despite strict prohibitions, he visited and supplied the Jews during that time. After the war, he applied for confiscated castles around Prague, where he took care of impoverished German, Jewish, Polish, Czech, and other children. There was no word of him for many years. But why was his birth declared a UNESCO anniversary? Why did he receive one of the highest state awards of the Czech Republic from President Václav Havel? This text addresses such questions.

Disciplination of the population in the medieval and early modern city may have been complicated by the presence of an alien element, which in the bourgeois environment was the nobility. In many cases, the nobility was able to acquire town houses and sometimes even managed to have them exempted from the jurisdiction of the municipal authorities and registered in the land tables. Be that as it may, these houses constituted legal enclaves of their kind. The study examines the legal conditions of these enclaves against the background of the legal developments in the Kingdom of Bohemia and Margraviate of Moravia in the fourteenth–seventeenth centuries and tries both to summarize the existing knowledge and to draw attention to some better though lesser-known sources that document this issue. URL: https://www.upjs.sk/filozoficka-fakulta/katedra-historie/10984/

This article aims to analyze the rise and electoral success of the (Northern) League in Italy, for the period 2008-2018. The purpose of this analysis is to determine whether the economic difficulties encountered by the electorate or other factors, such as political and cultural ones, have influenced the growth and electoral success of the League in Italy. By analyzing both demand and supply-side data, the analysis shows that the League has had better electoral results in the years after the crisis when the economy has been improving than in the years when there has been a major economic shock. Regarding survey data on the supporters of the League, the analysis shows that the economy is among the least influential factors for them to support a right-wing populist party. On the contrary, the analysis shows that the main triggers for radical right populist mobilization have more to do with group values, identity issues, ethnic and cultural affiliation, xenophobic sentiments, skepticism towards foreigners, multiculturalism, and forms of Euroscepticism.

The paper adds to the body of recent scholarly literature that emphasizes the role of domestic publics in public diplomacy – a field until recently examined with only minor attention to the domestic realm. It suggests conducting an analysis of the domestic dimension of public diplomacy on three levels: individual, organizational, and national. By doing so, we are able to understand in a complex manner the environment from which public diplomacy practice grows, and thus also its specific dynamics. Applying this model of analysis to the case of Israel, the paper describes major domestic factors shaping Israeli public diplomacy: the culture of individual engagement (individual level), the clash of organizational ethea of institutions responsible for public diplomacy (organizational level), and the intertwining of public diplomacy and nation-building (national level). The analysis also allows us to better grasp the dilemma faced by Israeli public diplomacy between efficiency and democratic character

Bringing together distinguished Polish scholars and researchers, the book Poland's Security: Contemporary Domestic and International Issues presents different aspects of security of present-day Poland. The volume's primary intent is to "emphasize the complex, multi-faceted, dynamic, and evolutionary nature of the subject, the multiplicity of problems in the area of security, and the diversity of its determinants". Attention is paid not only to the military (or "hard") security, but also to other sectors, such as economic, societal or energy security. A specific gap, which the editors set out to cover, is the scarcity of a practical application of theoretical considerations in the respective field.

The paper is based on an analysis of Czech anti‑communism. It starts with a brief definition of anti‑communism. Then it presents six possible typologies of anti‑communism based on various questions: type of political mission, political background, actual political function, proposed cure, and spatial scope. There then follows a presentation of various phenomena that are framed in an anti‑communist way: the Communist Party, Social Democrats, liberals, the young generation, but also the contemporary West with its "progressivist" tendencies. In the two final sections the paper focuses on comparison in the Central European context. It shows that in the Czech context the transfer of German experience was (in)adequate for different reasons than in the Polish and Hungarian cases, namely because of the dynamics connected with the different trajectories of post‑communist political subjects.