Suchergebnisse

More than three decades ago Bulgaria embarked on the path of democratic transformation. During this period, the internal political life of the country went through several stages of development. In the 1990s, it was characterized by the competition of two opposing political camps. The 2000s were marked by the rise of populist parties, the emergence of which twice (in 2001 and 2009) led to a sharp change in the balance of power among parliamentary factions. Much of the 2010s passed under the sign of dominance in the political arena of one hegemonic party (GERB), which was almost continuously in power with the help of «floating majority» tactics. In the 2020s the beginning of a new stage is observed, accompanied by internal political instability and a series of parliamentary elections. This article analyzes the general patterns of development of political processes in Bulgaria, which were observed throughout all of the above stages.

Many studies focus on the COVID-19 pandemic, response mechanisms and response design. At the same time, it becomes more and more obvious that not only the study of economic policy and decisions made by the government in connection with the pandemic is acquiring relevance. As the spread of the disease continues, social problems and difficulties that political elites will have to deal with are exposed in Canadian society. Despite the fact that the government has taken unprecedented measures to expand assistance and social protection to the most vulnerable groups – low-income families, women, senior citizens, young people and children, low-skilled workers, self-employed, people with disabilities, etc. – the pandemic, however, has had a profound impact on society. The government will be forced to adapt its policies in the field of social protection and labor relations, in the field of health and education. This article seeks to explore the key social dimensions of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as factors that can influence the political decisions of the Canadian elite in the near future.

In an era of great changes and much uncertainty, such as the revival of an active Russia, buoyed by increasing energy wealth, a U.S. mired in Iraq and Afghanistan, rising China and India, as well as Japan moving towards normalization, ASEAN needs to closely monitor great power trends and thinking. This timely and topical book provides insights into various issues high on the regional agenda. The rise of China is closely observed in three chapters in this book. On Russia-ASEAN relations, three authors offer their perspectives. Energy issues are scrutinized. The ongoing efforts to build an East Asian Community are analysed. At a time when Russia has an active profile in Southeast Asia with its arms sales to Indonesia and its nuclear technology assistance to Myanmar, this book offers useful and authoritative discourses on its relations with ASEAN, building on an earlier volume published by ISEAS

In 2021, the European Union (EU) is entering a new phase of energy transition, reducing the use of fossil fuels to achieve climate neutrality by the mid-century. For a qualitative assessment of the impact of the EU gas market's green policy, transaction cost theory and the concept of asset specificity is referenced in this article. During the first stage of market development, the level of asset specificity was high, while a decline can be observed with market liberalization. However, at the current stage, a radical transformation of specificity in the context of energy transition can be seen. Assets that used to guarantee higher profitability (gas pipelines, gas processing plants, liquified natural gas (LNG) terminals) will soon be disqualified. In this article, the long-term prospects for the natural gas market in Europe, and what will happen to key assets if the climate agenda dominates the issue of energy security, are considered; qualitative assessment of the changes and of the future of the assets on the European gas market is undertaken.

This article begins with a brief discussion of the background of the USSR/Russia rapprochement with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade/World Trade Organization (GATT/WTO) and some of the acute problems of the negotiation process. It is argued that the Russian Federation has received acceptable, balanced conditions of membership. The advantages gained during the first years of WTO membership are listed, both for the national economy and in the foreign arena. However, it is shown that, 10 years later, the benefits of membership are significantly lower in comparison with initial projections. This gap is attributed to the state of the Russian economy and the extinction of the continuing economic model based on the extraction and export of raw materials. The Russian economy needs real structural reforms and modernization, which would change the structure of exports in favour of finished products and modern services. Only in this case can the benefits of WTO membership increase significantly, justifying the original forecast. The article concludes with a discussion of current challenges in the world economy and trade, the crisis experienced by the WTO, and the active position of the Russian Federation on the future reform of the WTO.

The article addresses a set of problems pertaining to nuclear deterrence, strategic stability, and missile defense. The author states that as a derivative of nuclear deterrence strategic stability can only be applied to military-strategic relations between Russia and the United States. This concept "does not work" in all other cases, including the multilateral format of relations. Nuclear deterrence is more universal and impacts, among other things, the decision-making process in relatively strong and weak nuclear states that oppose each other. The effectiveness of nuclear deterrence is not determined solely by the balance of opposing forces. No less important is the assessment by a potential aggressor of all the negative consequences of its decision to strike first, which creates the "self-deterrence" effect that outweighs even the aggressor's absolute confidence in the complete military success of its nuclear attack. The author also insists that missile defense is undeservedly considered a "destabilizing" weapons system, because the baseline scenario involving a massive exchange of nuclear strikes, which is used for estimating the effectiveness of nuclear deterrence and the level of strategic stability, is completely far-fetched.