Suchergebnisse

The discussion of the energy security of Europe is focused mainly on Russia. However, Russia -- Central Asia energy relations became very important in Eurasia after the dissolution of the USSR. While its reserves of strategic raw materials (especially gas) are not comparable with those in Russia, Central Asia could be an additional source for supplying these raw materials to Europe. Europe should be involved in "The Great Game" for Central Asian gas. The significance of Central Asia regarding the increasing demand for gas in Europe cannot be overestimated. On the other hand, due to the growing interest of China & other Asian powers in Central Asia, maintaining a local gas pipeline network which would move gas in the direction of Europe (rather than in the direction of other Asian countries) should be a priority for both European countries & Russia. The rivalry between Russian & non-Russian pipeline projects for delivering gas is secondary in this context. Adapted from the source document.

The article explores the energy relations between the European Union and the Russian Federation. The focus is, however, not on the technical and institutional aspects of the relationship, but rather on the discursive formations that determine the prevailing interpretation of the relationship by each party. Building on the discourse analysis of 74 textual units produced by EU leaders and institutions, the article discovers the three most salient discursive formations, which centre respectively around three concepts: a) integration, b) liberalization, and c) diversification. The text goes on to assess the main features of these formations, their possible overlaps, and their influence upon EU-Russian energy ties. Adapted from the source document.

The aim of the article is to introduce contemporary Russian discussion on the USSR and Russia in broader political and publicist context. Both positive and negative interpretations of the Russian/Soviet history will be presented. The text does not pretend to provide exhaustive list of the particular "schools" and "movements" nor does it offer historical dynamics or institutional background of the discussion. The author rather intends to single out certain basic schemes and arguments that circulate in the discussions, place them in broader frames and anticipate their potential political consequences. Particularly, the text concentrates on various versions of the patriotic thinking that has been receiving broad popularity in today Russia. As the author is convinced, due familiarity with the contemporary Russian debate may help to better understand Russian internal as well as foreign policy nowadays: as it becomes clear, rise of patriotism in academia, society and politics are inseparable phenomena. Secondly, some of the arguments promoted by the contemporary Russian authors may enrich Western (non-Russian) sovietology and debate on socialist experiments as such. Last but not least, both content and form of the Russian academic discussion convincingly point at cultural conditionality of social and historical sciences. To some extent the discussion reminds perpetual Russian debate on national identity; cardinally new context in which it takes place however justifies attention paid to it.

This article seeks to explain the significant variation of the levels of European NATO member states' contributions to Afghan combat and reconstruction operations. The first part presents the theories used in the study and six hypotheses, which are tested using a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). This sophisticated method, which was introduced to the social sciences by Charles Ragin, uses a special software to find combinations of independent variables which may explain the dependent variable with a given probability. The findings are presented in the second part, followed by three short case studies of Greece, the Netherlands and Estonia which provide a further insight into the issue. The study concludes that the most plausible explanation of high level of involvement in Afghanistan is a conjunction of allegiance to the 'new Europe' and dependence on importation of Russian gas. Adapted from the source document.

The Central Asian region is often interpreted in European discourse as an arena of clashes between the "West" & Russia, particularly over energy resources. The significance of China in the region remains an underrated subject of research. At the same time China is expanding its influence in the region through "soft diplomacy" at the expense of Russia & (above all) other powers interested in local resources. The article analyses the Chinese presence in the region since 1991, emphasizing the first decade he Central of the 2111 century. The relations between Central Asia & China are researched from the Asian point of view & with a focus on the political, economical (stressing energy factors) & institutional (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) level. In sum, it seems that the growing Chinese influence over the region has its limits as well & that the "Chinese expansion" is overestimated to a large extent. Adapted from the source document.

Among the most important factors influencing the pre-war (not only Transatlantic) debate on Iraq were the close economic ties between Saddam Hussein's regime & those countries opposing military action against it. The most notable aspect of these links was the extensive arms trade. Analysis of Iraq's arms programs reveals that the most resolute opponents of military action against the Iraqi regime were those most extensively involved in arms deals with Iraq -- supplying Iraq with both weapons & weapons technologies. The Iraqi nuclear program received significant assistance from French & German firms. German firms were also among those helping Iraq with their chemical weapons programs. SCUD missiles -- key carriers for weapons of mass destruction -- were supplied by the USSR (later Russia), & their further refinement was mainly due to contributions by German experts. The main suppliers of conventional weapons to Iraq under Saddam Hussein were the USSR (later Russia), France, China, Czechoslovakia & Poland. Compared to this, the role played by the USA & United Kingdom in Iraq's arms programs (both for conventional weapons & weapons of mass destruction) was insignificant. Adapted from the source document.

With the outbreak of famine in the mid-1990s, the DPRK has become a recipient of humanitarian assistance. Immediately after the inception of aid flows, an extensive diversification of donors arose. The most important donor duo was the Republic of Korea and the USA. Japan, Russia, and the European Union all had important roles in the matter, and Switzerland had a very specific role in it. Meanwhile, the Chinese assistance obtained an entirely unique position. There was a temporary suspension of China's assistance in the mid-1990s, but then it started again, and today, China is the DPRK's patron. The aim of this article is to provide a comparison of the donors' strategies and to outline the main trends of the assistance to the DPRK in the framework of the period of 1995-2012. The strategies of donorship have divergent tendencies, and in most of the cases, the donors preferred to make a strong effort to reach their political goals in the DPRK while providing humanitarian aid to it. Adapted from the source document.

The presented analysis deals with the issue area of missile defense (MD) from the perspective of strategic studies. There are several objectives set for the text, & these in turn shape its structure. First, the analysis investigates the relationship between deterrence & MD. It debunks the myth claiming that the former is replaced by the latter; instead, their juxtaposition is acknowledged & demonstrated. This is made possible by a nuanced discussion of deterrence that goes beyond its flawed identification with the MAD logic. Subsequently, the Third Pillar of the US MD project is examined. It is investigated both within a wider discussion of bilateral US-Russian relations & in the context of the accompanying multilateral processes in NATO. The last tackled issue is a future link between the Third Site & the Sino-US strategic dynamics. The argument is summarized in the conclusion. Adapted from the source document.

The article deals with the former US President Bush's plan for the so-called third pillar of the American missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic in the context of American-Iranian and American-Russian relations. We assess the explanatory power of different but interconnected (neo)realist conceptualizations of security dilemma and deterrence. Specifically, the study evaluates the relative importance of classical security dilemma versus imperialist security dilemma and the explanatory power of three different modalities of deterrence. The paper further shows how Iran and Russia balanced the United States. We also argue that the American missile defense system was not primarily motivated by defensive realist worries about security, but rather by an offensive realist struggle for power and gains at the expense of others. Adapted from the source document.

This study analyses the causes of the fall of the Chechen state after its de facto independence (1996-1999) following the so-called First Russian-Chechen War (1994-1996). The failed incursion of the (predominantly Wahhabi) Chechen-Dagestani guerillas in Dagestan (August 1999), designed to inflame a regional rebellion against Russia, resulted in the current Second Russian-Chechen War. The Chechen state's failure was mainly caused by internal factors, primarily the 'clanish' division of Chechen society & customary legal norms (eg., blood feuds), but also the spread of political Islam & the expansion of North Caucasian Wahhabism. Considering recent attempts to extend the conflict over Chechnya's borders, this field continues to be of immense import. In Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria & elsewhere, processes similar to those being studied may be better understood following this study. Adapted from the source document.

The article focuses on the differences in political participation among post-communist countries. First, it explores the variation in the level of political participation among post-communist states. Second, it deals with the differences in the determinants that account for political participation in individual countries. The second objective is met by introducing a three-dimensional explanatory model of political participation: individual resources, motivations, and social networks. In an empirical analysis political participation in nine post-communist countries is examined using data from the International Social Survey Programme 2004. Results show that the countries under study vary in the level of political participation both at the aggregate and individual levels. The most active citizens are in the former East Germany and Slovakia. Polish and Hungarian citizens participate in politics the least. Further, two modes of political participation – protest activity and contacting – are identified and used as dependent variables in further analysis. In the second part of the article, the explanatory model is tested against data from individual countries. The analysis shows that there is a difference in the factors that account for political participation in various post-communist countries. Generally, the three-level model of political participation works best in Hungary, Bulgaria, and East Germany. It explains very little variation in Russia and Poland.

This study argues that due to a lack of attention paid to the national interest of actors in international politics the mainstream international conflict resolution studies fail in their prescriptive & descriptive aspects; particularly when conflicts are complicated by geopolitics. The case study of the long-standing conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh is used to highlight the strengths of geopolitical analysis, aimed at a proper understanding of a conflict's causes & the identities & interests of the actors directly & indirectly involved. This understanding is a prerequisite for coordinated international action directed towards the creation of the structural conditions for peace which would lead the prime actors of the conflict to choose peaceful resolution as a means to escape the hurting stalemate situation. In the case of Nagorno-Karabakh -- a conflict whose resolution has been impeded mainly by Azerbaijani & Armenian ethnic nationalism, coupled with fierce competition between the major powers in Central Eurasia -- a geopolitical analysis leads to the conclusion that the key to the resolution of the conflict lies in the hands of Russia. Such a resolution therefore presupposes a redefinition of Russia's interests, which would be based on the rational calculation that a deliberate destabilization of the South Caucasus will, in long term, hurt her interests. Adapted from the source document.

Article describes the books of two authors, who try to compare Russian and Iranian revolutions and political development generally. Whereas Ghoncheh Tazmini uses Hegelian structuralist approach, that sees these revolutions as an inevitable result of modernization from above, another Iranian political scientist Zhand Shakibi puts stress on the role of human actor – pre-revolutionary monarch and his (miss)management of the situation in explaining the origins of revolution. Shakibi applies the human agency perspective to the analysis of the character of pre-revolutionary monarch and his modus operandi. According to Shakibi the structural variables did not by themselves cause the revolution, they create only potential for revolution. The revolutions must be explained by describing complex interactions between structural variables and modus operandi of the monarchs.