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Recent experience of Presidencies in the Council of the European Union was characterised by direct participation of V4 countries: the Czech Republic (2009), Hungary (2011) and Poland (2011). Lessons learned also suggest that Member States of the European Union might remain in the spotlight even after completion of their Presidencies. Moreover, in the (geo)strategic regional context, the European Union and its enlargement process open up to the potential and synergies of regional initiatives. Multidisciplinary appl...

Discourse plays an important role in political systems, especially during the electoral period and electoral campaigns. National politicians often used a wide range of themes that are related to any level of the political system, just to be elected once again. In such a competitive world, discourses and buzzwords play an important role in framing behaviour and relations. The themes of regionalization, good governance, autonomy, decentralization and reforms are very popular words of politicians at national level wh...

The main purpose of this paper is to reveal main characteristics of the conflict interaction between a business and authorities in Russia. Another purpose is to verify analytical possibilities of several concepts of the conflict studies for their usefulness in the examination of our subject in the post-Soviet Russia. This analysis gives us opportunities to solve an analytical problem of the conflict analysis in Russia and to describe the content of the new business development in Russia. There are specific ties be...

Robert Fico's candidacy in the Slovak presidential election in 2014 from the position of the Slovak Prime Minister may be perceived as a challenge to restructure the functioning of the executive power. Fico's authority and political past would be in the presidential office in sharp contrast with previous directly elected presidents, who at the time of taking the Office were the small political parties chairmen. Robert Fico as the president of the Slovak Republic could actualize the government system transformation...

Improvement of social situation of Roma citizens in Slovakia has been task for Slovak political elites for decades. It seems like no government or municipality is able to prepare real solution with long term effect. The problem also existed during totalitarian era in former Czechoslovakia. The most visible and the most intensive attempts to solve the issue were those from the late 60s and early 70s of the last century. The goal was to identify the main areas that were the cause of the exclusion of the Roma citizen...

The primary objective of the drafters of the Constitution should be the drafting of a real constitution that takes into account the actual social reality of a country, its real development objectives, the report of the social forces and ensure its implementation in practice. The makers of the constitution on the occasion of the drafting of each article of the constitution should think how it complies with reality, and whether it can be implemented in practice. To devise a realistic and functional constitution mean...

This article is the pilot study of the research focused on ethical values, virtues and character values of students. The main purpose is explain research aimed at investigating university students' perceptions of ethical values, including their importance, application, usefulness, origin, benefits and need for education. For students is necessary to accept ethical values benefits in all aspects of their life and then, to be aware of these advantages and to start applying and developing them in our daily activities...

Romania and Hungary, two countries of the former Soviet Bloc, have started on their post-communist project having pretty many similarities. In the beginning they adopted the same soviet model of social organization and similar institutional framework, but, until the end of the regime they matured following divergent paths. One of the most obvious differences between the two was their different attitude towards nationalism. While the western neighbour was constantly trying to avoid it, at least at the official leve...

It is well known that the gravest dangers to international security are no longer military threats from rival great powers, but trans-border threats emerging from the world's most vulnerable countries. The key connection between weak and failing states, on the one hand, and transnational threats, on the other, is undeniable. Political thinkers such as Francis Fukuyama hold that “since the end of the Cold War, weak and failing states have arguably become the single-most important problem for international orderвЂ...

In the broadest sense, the concept of sustainable development is a set of activities pursuing the long-term trends in the social, economic, and environmental development. Its implementation is subject to voluntariness in approach, the selection of objectives itself, the way of their implementation, and the necessary partnership of all involved. Sustainable development at the regional level in the Czech Republic applies to the regions which have a legal obligation to take care of the versatile development of their ...

The concept of social conflict is within the field of social knowledge, explaining the principles of the society as a system of the integration of elements that are constantly disintegrated by their conflict interests. The article deals with the theory of socio-political order conflict nature, genesis and ideological basis of socio-political order, and the interrelation of conflict as a means of needs satisfaction and socio-political order. Authors conclude that a modern society represents, as a matter of fact, th...

Arab spring almost unaffected Morocco and as result are changes in its constitution, such as Berbers language recognition as an official, and official gender equality. Herein, some possible explanation of this result is presented. Significant factors are location on the margin of islamic world, relations with Europe, belief to join EU, and Berbers support of ruling King as well. Unique aspect of Moroccan King Mohammed VI as not only political leader, but also spiritual one. Finally, King Mohammed VI did not undere...

The submitted paper is a case study dealing with the criteria of statehood stated in the Montevideo Convention of 1933. The Convention sets four criteria of statehood: permanent population, defined territory, government and the capacity to enter into relations with other states. On the basis of these criteria, the submitted paper is divided to four chapters, where each chapter deals with one of the criteria of statehood applied to the case of Abkhazia. The resulting text primarily draws on resources from field res...

The main purpose of this paper is to analyse the electoral reforms that have been performed in Romania in the last 25 years, in order to identify their effects, which have been, in some cases, harmful to the already difficult process of transition to democracy. We base our working hypothesis on the assumption that the large number of these reforms, as well as, in some cases, their ambiguity and/or complexity, represented important criteria which led to a constant decrease in the population's voting participation a...

In an earlier paper titled “European Union Enlargement to the Western Balkans applied to the Acapulco typology of agenda-setting: Focus on Montenegro, Serbia and FYROM revisited” (čiderova, Fejesova & Kovačevic, 2015) interactive matrix of the Acapulco typology of agenda-setting was stretched to the context of the European Union external relations (namely, macro-regional strategies of the European Union and regional cooperation initiatives) and enlargement (particularly the Western Balkans). Fulfillment of t...

The prevention of a terrorism in the frame of civil and environmental protection getting to be more important within the last decade. Ongoing intensive industrial development and production of chemical substances provides new opportunities and tools to modern terrorist groups, which may represent the major threats to the citizens and the environment. Common - industrially produced - chemicals, which are classified as toxic or highly toxic, can be quite easily abused (in the forms of improvised chemical weapons) fo...

The main research question in this paper refers to top-down Europeanization of subnational government levels, in the context of implementing the open government policies. In the last few decades, democratic deficit and growing passivization of citizens in political life keep denoting the European countries. Therefore, it seemed important to explore all options for increasing democratic legitimacy of the public authorities' actions and decisions. This paper is focused on citizens' participation in public life on su...

The aim of the paper is to motivate the Government and local authorities to manage and plan the development of urban communities in the next 5 – 10 years through public policies. Globalization, as an external factor accelerated the movement of population towards great cities and developed countries several times. Nowadays, ¾ of European population live in cities. This tells us that these kinds of movements are a result of human instinct in search for a better life. The city offers better living and working cond...

Transparency is considered as one of the key features of good governance and an essential prerequisite for accountability. In simplified terms, transparency means openness of the system, clear processes and procedures and easy access to public information. By doing so, it is contributing to ethical awareness in public service by information sharing, which ultimately ensures accountability for the performance of the individuals and organizations handling resources or holding public office' (Suk Kim et al 2005: 649)...

Creation of Common foreign security policy is determined by many factors. The aim of this paper is to analyze and recognize the populist tendencies in foreign policy making. Foreign policy is one of the most important policies of countries. After the Lisbon Treaty there were the biggest changes in the competences of foreign policy. The main objective of the policy is to keep peace around the world. The process of creation in the policy is difficult because of the member states status. Populism is notable in this c...

Vatican diplomacy will play important role in international relations, where is a significant source as a soft power. As follows from casustics herein, the Pope might be a great mediator in some stages of conflicts. However, we have to take into consideration some limitations. The Pope's power is not equally all over the world due to particular religion strength. If we are talking about Vatican diplomacy, it is necessary to define, what it is. Unfortunately, differences between Vatican City State and the Holy See ...

The paper deals with a broader emphasis on sustainable environmental policy and for the fact, that security and safety of the citizens from disasters of natural and anthropogenic origin could not been done only through the classic concepts of population protection, but also through the protection of the Environment and its specific parts (atmosphere, water, biota, soil). On the basis of researches of this challenge and growing importance of environmental security all over the world, two Czech teams of experts (VSB...

While respecting the variety of inter-group conflicts, most of them have a tendency to be related to political power, i.e. state power. That is because political subjects try to gain the biggest share of power possible, i.e. gain the possibility to influence its distribution, achieve certain goals and advance certain interests against the will of others. These efforts are common for individuals, groups within states, or among states. Clash of interests and opposition of goals occur and led to a political conflict....

The transformation process of the Slovak Republic from a socialist state into a democratic republic left scope and considerable potential for the creation and establishment of the charismatic leadership in terms of emerging young democracy. The development of Slovak political system after the fall of communism was the least linear in all the surrounding countries undergoing these transitions. The aim of this work will therefore mean serving an analysis of meciarism period and its main protagonist- Vladimir Meciar ...

The paper devotes to the problem of client-initiated occupational violence against workers in public administration. In Slovakia, this issue is still lacking proper attention from academic and political perspective. The aims of study: 1. To make out the extent forms and frequency of client-initiated occupational violence against public officials (in period of previous year). 2. To assess how Guidelines for prevention of third party violence and harassment at work have been adapted in branches of public administrat...

The structure of contemporary international relations is multilateral in nature and stage of the international system is rather of entropy. Changes in the system of international relations in the last two decades regrouped states as basic elements of the system, and states are now looking for a new place in the emerging new temporary balance. The symmetry of relations between the great powers is changing and radius of action of medium and small states in international relations has diminished. What are now possibi...

According to estimations of relevant institutions, the private sector, experts, citizens, public administration shows lack of administrative capacity in the implementation of constitutional and legal functions. It is intense of all countries claiming to be members of the EU countries improve their governance and efficiency as a prerequisite for achieving the economic and political objectives in the functioning and in providing services to the citizens. The Government of the Republic of Macedonia should come out fr...

Whereas the concepts of human living is the fulfilment of needs, interests and values to achieve greater benefits, so the conflict is a natural part of human existence and communication, and it is therefore impossible to avoid all conflicts and their consequences. In intercultural context as well as in international relations, conflict is defined as the perceived or actual incompatibility of values, expectations, processes, or outcomes between two or more parties from different cultures. Intercultural conflict typ...

This paper will deal with issues related to social distance between ethnic groups in Macedonia. Our intention is to define the development of democracy, 20 years after pluralism. The questions which this paper tends to answer are: Based on the social aspect is Macedonia transforming to state of citizens, as were the expectations of the majority or is it becoming state of one ethnicity? How much is social justice oriented to service the needs of citizens? Is there discrimination on ethical basis? Based on their pre...

Given that it is the most representative government component of any public administrative system, we have proposed in this paper, to analyze how government is organized and invested in several European countries. Constitutions of various countries governing find distinct features and in terms of organizational structure or incompatibilities regime. Regarding the appointment of the Government, it is determined by the existing constitutional or parliamentary system, constitutional monarchy or semi-presidential regi...

Discourse plays an important role in political systems, especially during the electoral period and electoral campaigns. National politicians often used a wide range of themes that are related to any level of the political system, just to be elected once again. In such a competitive world, discourses and buzzwords play an important role in framing behaviour and relations. The themes of regionalization, good governance, autonomy, decentralization and reforms are very popular words of politicians at national level wh...

Overall geostrategy of the European Union seeks global stability, economic security and environmental sustainability. In contrast with occurring interpretation of „geostrategy” in security/defence terms, we are prone to perception of geostrategy in the context of competitiveness driven by geopolitical and geo-economic developments that are shaped by the political and economic environment. Multidisciplinary relevance of our insight into the issue derived from the primary concept of geo-heterogeneity – and app...

The electoral systems represent a very important element of the entire political process which connects the people`s choices to the types of politics promoted by the governments. They are chosen and sometimes modified by political actors and, once functional, exercise political consequences over these actors. A state`s politics is profoundly influenced by its electoral system. In the last decades, more and more states have opted to modify, either partially or entirely their electoral systems, the main reason being...

In an earlier paper titled “European Union Enlargement to the Western Balkans applied to the Acapulco typology of agenda-setting: Focus on Montenegro, Serbia and FYROM revisited” (Ciderova, Fejesova & Kovacevic, 2015) interactive matrix of the Acapulco typology of agenda-setting was stretched to the context of the European Union external relations (namely, macro-regional strategies of the European Union and regional cooperation initiatives) and enlargement (particularly the Western Balkans). Fulfillment of thi...

Good governance and the quality of public administration is a key aspect in ensuring a country's long-term competi¬tiveness and well-being. In 2001, the European Commission underlined in its “White paper on Governance” that five principles combine to form the basis of good governance: openness, participation, accountability, effectiveness and coherence. Europe 2020 strategy emphasizes that to achieve transformational change towards a smart, sustainable and inclusive growth it is required a strong governance f...

The goal of this paper is to describe and analyze the transatlantic relationship, why it is important to strengthen it not only within the common security and defense policy, but also within the international political and economic system, and to point out the future scenarios of transatlantic relations. Even with the rise of other economic powers, including the emerging growth markets, the United States and the European Union remain the fulcrum of the world economy, each other's most important and profitable mark...

Unrecognized states represent an interesting anomaly in the current international system which is based exclusively on the project of sovereign states. Although not internationally recognized, or only recognized by a few states, they are able to conduct a certain degree of administration over their territories for a relatively long time and according to the Freedom House Index, some of them have become more democratic in last few years. This is an important signal that international recognition is not necessary fo...

Election management is concerned solely with administrative infrastructure required to support the democratic process of elections. Successful elections do not happen without preparation and planning. They are big and costly events, resulting in the completion of a large number of big and small jobs, including a large number of people, where everyone should be aware of their responsibilities in the electoral process and to give account for their actions on the basis of the law. Election management has to do with s...

While some scholars see compatibility between Islam with the concept of democracy, many of them disagree by manifesting great concern for the problem of how to assure that democracy could be developed in a way compatible with liberty. Best illustration is a number of Muslim societies possessing the outward forms of democracy but yet operating as authoritarian regimes. Democracy cannot exist without a functioning civil society that lies outside from the political sphere. Historically religion (Islam) for majority o...

As much as guns and warships, maps have been used as tools of imperialism. Nations and empires are not natural features within the landscape. They are social constructs, created in order to convert the Earth into a huge real-estate market. The Russian-Ukrainian conflict is not fought only in Ukraine, but also on every map, that shows Crimea. Cartography was coined as a science of princes, as it was these elites who used maps to take land and natural resources from those without power – local people. In the last ...

Modern public administration in the implementation of public administration intends to serve citizens' and this is a starting point of any administrative reform, even from the experience of the European countries. Public administration in Republic of Macedonia is mainly understood as centralized administration and disconnected in relation with citizens and the requirements for modern administration and service. The state is the largest employer within the society and in this context the public administration is a ...

Abkhazia and South Ossetia represent specific cases of disintegration of the Soviet empire. Owing to an extensive support of Russia, they managed to effectively separate from Georgia and to get formal recognition of their independence from Russia. However, in fact, Russia conducts full control over both of these republics, which is significantly different from other republics in the post-Soviet space existing de jure. Both of these separatist republics are under direct economic, political and military control of R...

Political aspects in general can be considered as one of the key determinants not only the structure but also the philosophy of public administration of every modern and democratic state. It should be noted, however, that the degree of their influence on the final result (structure and operation) vary from state to state. In the case of modern democratic political systems it is usual that the impact of the political aspects on the system of public administration is displaced by existing civil society. Where civil ...

In October, the Responsibility to Protect will be celebrating 10-year anniversary. This doctrine was developed from a report reflecting the incapability of international community to prevent and effectively react on terrible events of the 90s, such as Rwanda or Srebrenica. However, even after the 10 years of its official existence within the UN institutional system, the operationalisation of the doctrine falls short on several fronts. Why are states reluctant to rely on Responsibility to Protect? What prevents it ...

An underlying thesis of the issue is defined in the causes of the historical failure of direct democracy and on the causes of the factors responsible for the victory of the principle of representative governance in modern political system. Presented paper is based on authorВґs attempt to generalize the views of various authors of modern political science and practical political and historical experience. Organizational difficulty, numerousness of political community, economic or financial questions, the need for p...

Interest of the contribution is nationalist populism in terms of local government of Slovak Republic. The concept is closely related or is identical to the national populism, nationalism, in many cases to extremism. The nationalist populism in the Slovak Republic is studied at two levels. It occurs not only at national level but also at the local level. Profiling actors at the national level establish their ideological orientation also in regional level, and vice versa. Pluralism of interests, which is typical for...

The article reviews the historic experience in forming the regional Executive Authority during the 1990-ies of the XXth century in the Kemerovo, Novosibirsk and Tomsk regions. The 1990пЂ­2000 period, which is marked with establishing and developing the new Russian statehood on the basis of the concept of separation of powers, can be divided into two main periods of establishing the regional Executive Power in Russia, i.e. 1990пЂ­1993 and 1994пЂ­2000. Each period has had a decisive influence on formation of governa...

The conflict resolution and prevention is still developing challenge for the Diplomacy. The Concept of The Multi Track Diplomacy concentrates attention to the role of media. The main role of the media is through the press, television and electronic media to inform and involve the public in discussions on peace and conflict resolution. This Track of the Multi Track Diplomacy Concept is based on the assumption that the engagement in national conflicts, it is necessary to inform the public about the state and develop...

The study provides an outline comparison of the political culture of the countries of Central Europe, on the example of the Visegrad countries - the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. The regionalization and possibly interregionalization of those countries have for strengthening their international position undoubtedly great importance, both inside and outside the EU. Countries of Central and Eastern Europe we can still rank among countries in political transition. Those countries have much in common an...

The European Union is perceived as a great promoter of human rights not only within its borders, but also in its external action. Have they, however, been integrated into the structures of CDSP yet? The paper will focus on the development of the ECDP which will be demonstrated on the EU missions in crisis situations defined as threats to international peace and security by the UN Security Council. On this terms, the EU is a solid partner to the UN, however, the pattern on the mission choice is rather based on real...