Suchergebnisse

The article examines the phenomenon of mediation as a value of a developed civil society from the ideological and methodological positions of the anthroposociocultural approach. The general historical conditions of the emergence of mediation and its anthroposociocultural code, paradigmatic types of mediation and the most important properties of each of them are analyzed. The article reveals the value nature of mediation as a Copernican revolution in ideology and methods of constructive resolution of conflicts between individuals and their communities. The conclusions are substantiated that: mediation belongs to the genus of anthroposociocultural values as their qualitatively distinguished type; mediation is functionally related to fundamental universal human values - human rights, the rule of law and pluralistic democracy - as a tool for their protection by human beings themselves in the form of a joint solution of interpersonal conflicts by their own carriers with the help of professional mediators; modern science distinguishes at least two paradigmatically different types of mediation - traditional mediation and narrative mediation; mediation of the first type as a value is applied mainly to the solution of interpersonal conflicts, and mediation of the second type is mainly applied to the solution of conflicts between human communities in polyidentical societies.

The authors argue that the Czech Republic's integration into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has become an important factor in shaping the security system of Central and Eastern Europe and is a part of the vital interests of NATO candidate states and Washington's policy on the European continent. The asymmetry of potentials and the lack of formation of the Czech security sector, as well as the other CEE states, allowed Washington to fill the niche of the so-called "security guarantor" and create an image of a long-term strategic partnership, strong ties between NATO and the United States who were the world leaders at the time. Guarantees of the collective security system of all members of the Alliance, according to Art. 5 of the Washington Treaty, were "attractive" to a post-communist state that distrusted its Western partners (in connection with the events of 1938 and 1968) and did not have sufficient resources and defense capabilities to build security on its own. We believe that in terms of the security policy of the Czech Republic, the partnership and cooperation with the United States in the transition phase has created the conditions and tools for the integration of the Czech Republic into the European and transatlantic security system.

The article considers one of the important elements of the child's world and discovery process through the games and the toys. These toys and games play an important role during child's life and are an important element and the way of education and upbringing. Nevertheless, the researchers have paid little attention to this category of artifacts, hardly referring to them in their publications. Clay zoomorphic and anthropomorphic toys took an important place in the culture of the ancient population. In the researched area, explorers have found a clay figurine of an animal and a clay horseman figurine which are the examples of the graphic toy type. Clay Easter eggs (pysanka) and bone whistles belong to the rattling toys. The children's tableware and «coins» belonged to the category of household items. Various games also played an important role in the upbringing of children and their daily life. For researchers, they are of special interest, since they were not meant just to entertain children, but had a symbolic and magical meaning. Archaeological materials are of great importance due to the small number of extant written sources. The artifacts that were found in the explored area indicate the existence of the chess game. There is also evidence of using the astragalus and dice in the games. We have more opportunities to learn about the life and culture of the local inhabitants of the medieval period in the northern part of Bukovina by studying children's toys and play accessories.

The article discusses one of the components of the spiritual culture of the ancient Rus population of the northern part of Bukovina, namely the funerary rite, since it is the most stable and hereditary features in the development of culture can be traced through it. The local population at the end of the 10th century adhered to the rite of corpse-burning on soil burial grounds. As a result of the processes of the formation of the old Rus state and the annexation of the territory under study, a new type of inhumation burials appears here on the ancient surface under mounds. Such necropolises testify to the presence of Kiev-Rus warriors and members of their families in the study area. With the formation of the powerful Old Rus state, the process of Christianization acquired a wide scope. All investigated burials in the territory of the northern part of Bukovina were Christian. Structurally, the graves of the studied area are divided into five types: simple (without coffins), complex (with coffins), under-slab, in sarcophagus and in charnel houses. On the territory of the northern part of Bukovina, several burial grounds were also found belonging to the Pechenegs, Cumans, and Yatvingian burials, reflecting the military-political or trade processes that took place in the studied territories during the 10th—14th centuries. An analysis of the funerary sites in the studied area shows that the evolution of the funerary rite practiced by the local population followed all-Rus trend and was typical for the entire Old Rus state.

The article examines the ways of development and specialization of animal husbandry in a particular region, namely the northern part of Bukovina, over a fairly long period from the formation of East Slavic tribal reigns to the Ancient Rus state and the Mongol-Tatar invasion. The development of animal husbandry, the species composition of the herd of domestic animals, depending on the influence of the physical-geographical, natural-climatic and socio-economic conditions of the region is analyzed based on osteoarchaeological material. Such material from the settlements of the study area makes it possible to state the presence of several types of economic specialization of animal husbandry and conclude their quantitative ratio in the study area. So in the Middle Dniester, pig breeding prevailed, followed by sheep breeding and raising cattle (the first type of animal husbandry). On the left bank of the Prut River, with its turf-podzolic loams, preference was given to the breeding of big cattle — small ruminants — pigs (the second species). The third species is presented in the following sequence: cattle — pig breeding — sheep breeding. Hunting products played an important role in the diet of the local population. The species composition of wild game animals, hunting methods, and tools used in this process are analyzed. The study showed a fairly high level of development of animal husbandry and hunting among the local population.

One of the most vulnerable spheres of life of any individual is his / her private and family life. Therefore, this issue could not slip the attention of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 1950 (hereinafter - the Convention) (Council of Europe, 1950). In fact, there have always been some prejudices within this issue, as it is not a secret that accusations of violating an individual's right to privacy often provoke discussion in the public sphere. For example, when the UK Special Forces eliminated three terrorists (who were no longer resisting) on the territory of Gibraltar (Case of McCann and Others v. the United Kingdom, 1995), the media did not particularly intend to protect the right to life of these criminals. On the other hand, quite a few liberal media sources have resonantly responded to the interference with private life, when a group of stockbrokers and bankers were prosecuted for sadomasochism in a private residence. A similar behavior of the press was observed when discussing the mandatory use of seat belts. However, when considering the issues related to the violation of Article 8 of the Convention (Council of Europe, 1950), it is important to find answers to a few rather essential questions: Has there been an interference with private life under Article 8 § 1 of the Convention (Council of Europe, 1950)? If so, then – Is this interference sufficiently justified in the light of Article 8 § 2 of the Convention (Council of Europe, 1950), namely: Was the interference lawful? If yes, then – Did the interference have a lawful purpose? If yes, then – Was the interference necessary for a democratic society (can it be regarded as an adequate response to socially urgent necessity)? In case there arises a question concerning state's positive obligations, it will no longer belong to the jurisdiction of paragraph 2, but will touch upon the analysis of the issue whether state's positive obligation exists at all.

The paper deals with politicization of ethnic awareness of the society over the period of transformational changes, what especially negatively revealed in the Balkans. Permanent, relentless conflicts, which loomed large in the region in the 90s of the previous century, occasionally emerge nowadays. However, the state despite all events which take place in the neighboring countries and complexity of internal political, social and economic situation managed to avert apparent social confrontation. The analysis of the transformational process in Bulgaria gives us reasons to conclude that the state lacks a clear program of ethnic policy development, while manifestations of nationalism were enough to commence the changes. After joining the EU and NATO situation in the country experienced a vast improvement.

The way of the Slovak Republic (SK) towards democracy and market economy appeared to be very hard. Starting position for implementation of reforms objectively was less favorable in comparison with the neighboring countries. The fundamental law of the SK guaranteed political pluralism, civil rights and liberties for citizens. In 2004 the state became a full member of the EU and NATO. In 2005 main macroeconomic indices of the state reached a threshold level, established by the Maastricht Treaties, and as to the rate of GDP increase and direct foreign investment Slovakia joined the EU leaders. Along with the achievements in the political life of the country there are also serious continuous problems. Among them are: irredentist attitudes among the Hungarian minority which fuel conflict potential in the Slovak-Hungarian relationship; hardships of social integration of the Roma population. An acute problem is corruption, the level of which is higher than in other Visegrad countries. Aiming at formation of conditions for stable continuous growth Slovakia carries out a "reset" of the economic policy. Large-scale reforms of the social system and social policy in SK have been implemented.

the paper focuses on interrelations between two countries in the sphere of European integration policy, Poland's assistance and support to Ukraine on its way to the EU. The author analyzes Poland's external policy in regard to Ukraine over the last ten years after the former joined the EU, points out the attempts to force integration of Ukraine to the EU under V. Yushchenko, to commence dialogue with V. Yanukovych and compel the latter to start reforms, and over the last years – these have been the attempts to support democratic transformation of Ukraine. However, the fact is that despite friendly relations with Ukrainian leaders and lobbying Kyiv's interests in the European Union, at none of the stages could Warsaw succeed in achieving its objectives concerning Ukraine. Nevertheless, Poland does not give up on implementing its vision of the "Eastern policy" as to Ukraine. Nowadays, Poland pursues efforts within the program of the eastern partnership, to make its main "mission in the east" – strategic partnership with Ukraine – an imperative for the EU foreign policy, despite all rageful changes, which have taken place in the post-Soviet territory or as a result of them.

Theoretical aspects of development of political transformation and democratization in scientists' researches