Suchergebnisse

The article deals with the reasons of two years political crisis in Northern Ireland. According to the author, it became possible due to Belfast Agreement power-sharing system which means joint government on a cross-community basis between representatives of protestant and catholic traditions. If one of the side ceased to hold office by any reason, the other shall cease to function immediately. The main reason for political crises in February 2022 was the demand of the Democratic unionist party to reconsider the Northern Ireland protocol – part of the Brexit Agreement, and their refusal to hold office. The absence of the Executive led to economic destabilisation, have a negative impact on social situation. Lengthy negotiations between DUP, British, Irish governments and EU resulted in step-by-step changes in protocol and resumption of work in Stormont in February 2024. To avoid further crises it's required to reform the political institutions.

This article deals with several conflicts between Flemish cities in the fourteenth century that concerned export-oriented drapery. The focus is made on the contradictions between one of the powerful Flemish cities, Ypres, and two of the smaller neighbouring towns, the monastic town of Poperinge and Langemark that produced drapery resembling that manufactured in Ypres. The author also draws a comparison with a similar conflict between Saint-Omer and the monastic town of Arques in the county of Artois. The study of these contradictions is mostly based on documental sources and gives an opportunity to find out what measures the cities resorted to in order to protect the well-being of their artisans and drapers. For example, Ypres and Saint-Omer obtained privileges over their neighbouring regions with monopoly rights to produce cloth meant for export; their rivals (Langemark, Poperinge) made attempts to get excluded from such "monopolies"; the cities in question also used legal methods of regulation (arbitrage, appeals to supreme courts) and sometimes employed force to convince smaller towns to observe their "monopoly", especially during revolts. Additionally, the author defines various forces that took part in the process of balancing the interests of the rival cities and towns: the count, the lords of the towns, urban authorities, supreme courts (the Council of Flanders, the Parliament of Paris), and deans of the craft guilds of the cities. The measures used by the rival towns often brought no durable results, but the search of means to protect their interests in long-time conflicts itself shows the high level of self-organisation reflected in what urban authorities, city craft-guilds, and the urban communities did.