World Order after Caucasian War

Author(s):  
V. Sheinis

The world order based on Yalta and Potsdam decisions as well as on two nuclear superpowers infighting has filed as a history. What is coming up to take its place? A correlation between power and law in international policy, national sovereignty and supranational institutions, territorial integrity of states and the right of nations to self-determination, bloc infighting atavisms, so called "double standard" and international interventions – these are critical debating points that the author develops his own approach to. The role of the U.S. in world policy, and the foreign policy choice of Russia are also examined.

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergey Markedonov ◽  
Igor Okunev

This article analyses the phenomenon of states with problematic sovereignty, which has arisen in recent decades, primarily in the former Yugoslavia and the USSR (but not only). The existing model of the world order, in which only UN member countries are recognised as participants in international relations, does not reflect a real picture of the world. At the beginning of the study, the authors examine theoretical approaches (A. Yannis. A. Tsutsiev, A. Sebentsov, V. Kolosov) to typologising entities with problematic sovereignty and territorial principles of national self-determination (i. e. the realisation of the right to self-determination) as well as re-conceptualising sovereignty approaches (J. Agnew and N. Dobronravin). Next, the authors describe how these topics are embedded in the logic of the developing crisis of relations between Russia and the West and lead to a diplomacy of double standards. It is especially emphasised that at different periods and depending on the political state of affairs, both sides in the present-day confrontation supported separatist projects and the preservation of territorial integrity and state unity. This results from contradictions in the system of international law, vague criteria for recognising newly formed independent states, and attempts to use conflicts instrumentally to realise strategic interests. According to the authors, a way out of this impasse could be an agreement between the West and Russia on some general rules of the game, including clearer criteria for the recognition of new states, the legality/illegality of secession, and the preservation of territorial integrity, as well as possible procedures for transition to a new status. However, this is unlikely to happen without reaching a comprehensive compromise or modus vivendi between the main stakeholders. The result of the article is a demonstration on the theoretical and applied levels that in the modern system of international relations, the concept of “territoriality” has become more complicated as a basic characteristic of the state. It now requires new legal and diplomatic approaches to resolve the contradiction between the principles of territorial integrity and the right of nations to self-determination. These new approaches should be developed by the expert community in the course of an unbiased analysis of the contemporary architecture of international relations.


2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-76
Author(s):  
Serges Djoyou Kamga

Established in 1964, the G77 is the largest intergovernmental organisation representing developing countries in the United Nations. It was established to ensure a just world order and to ensure the realisation of the controversial right to development (RTD). The aim of this article is to explore the role of the G77 in fostering this realisation. To this end, it examines the platforms on which the G77 operates at the UN and beyond to explore the likelihood to lead to the achievement of the RTD. It finds that the UN Second, Third and Fourth Committees provide opportunities where the G77 can use its number to vote on various issues related to the realisation of the RTD. However, the G77 faces challenges related to the non-binding feature of the right, the constant opposition of many powerful Western countries that take important RTD decisions away from the UN, such as the World Trade Organisation, the International Monetary Fund and the G8 and the G20. To mitigate these challenges, the article calls on China’s influence in these fora to claim the RTD.


2012 ◽  
Vol 279 (1736) ◽  
pp. 2269-2274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel P. Bebber ◽  
Mark A. Carine ◽  
Gerrit Davidse ◽  
David J. Harris ◽  
Elspeth M. Haston ◽  
...  

Discovering biological diversity is a fundamental goal—made urgent by the alarmingly high rate of extinction. We have compiled information from more than 100 000 type specimens to quantify the role of collectors in the discovery of plant diversity. Our results show that more than half of all type specimens were collected by less than 2 per cent of collectors. This highly skewed pattern has persisted through time. We demonstrate that a number of attributes are associated with prolific plant collectors: a long career with increasing productivity and experience in several countries and plant families. These results imply that funding a small number of expert plant collectors in the right geographical locations should be an important element in any effective strategy to find undiscovered plant species and complete the inventory of the world flora.


2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Franceschet

The United Nations ad hoc tribunals in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda had primacy over national judicial agents for crimes committed in these countries during the most notorious civil wars and genocide of the 1990s. The UN Charter granted the Security Council the right to establish a tribunal for Yugoslavia in the context of ongoing civil war and against the will of recalcitrant national agents. The Council used that same right to punish individuals responsible for a genocide that it failed earlier to prevent in Rwanda. In both cases the Council delegated a portion of its coercive title to independent tribunal agents, thereby overriding the default locus of punishment in the world order: sovereign states.


Author(s):  
Frank Sejersen

Frank Sejersen: Arctic people as by-standers and actors at the global stage For centuries, the indigenous peoples of the Arctic have been perceived as isolated from the rest of the world. The article argues that secluded Arctic communities do not exist and that Arctic peoples are integrated into numerous political, cultural and economic relations of a global extent. The pre-colonial inter-continental trade between Siberia and Alaska and the increased militarization the whole circumpolar region are but two examples. Throughout history, indigenous peoples of the Arctic have been players on the global stage. Today, this position has been strengthened because political work on this stage is imperative in order to secure the welfare and possibilities of local Arctic communities. To mention an example, Arctic peoples’ hunting activities have been under extreme pressure from the anti-harvesting movement. The anti-harvesting organizations run campaigns to ban hunting and stop the trade with products from whales, seals and furbearing animals. Thus, political and cultural processes far from the homeland of Arctic peoples, have consequences for the daily life of many Arctic families. The global stage has become an important comerstone in indigenous peoples’ strive to gain more control over their own future. The right to trade, development and self-determination are some of the rights they claim.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 238-255
Author(s):  
Hryhorii M. Kalachyhin ◽  

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is one of the leading institutions involved in global economic regulation. Its purposes are to ensure multilateral cooperation on the liberalization of international trade, harmonize existing standards and requirements, and peacefully resolve trade disputes between countries. Since 11 December 2019, dispute resolution has been handicapped due to the consistent blocking of the appointment of members to the WTO Appellate Body (AB) by the United States. This has reduced the multilateral trading system’s (MTS) predictability and threatens its final decay. In this article, the fundamental and formal causes of the collapse are described, and its circumvention mechanisms and effectiveness are discussed. At the same time, an assessment is given of the possibility to overcome the collapse in 2021, considering the change of the U.S. president and other events. Special attention is paid to Russia’s position and its current and potential losses. Finally, the issue of dispute resolution through regional trade agreements is proposed for discussion. The fundamental reasons for the collapse were the shifting balance of power in the world order and the WTO’s inflexibility in adjusting the rulebook and its procedures. The main reasons for the U.S.’ dissatisfaction are objective but based on formalities; the blockage of the AB is an overreaction. Moreover, the U.S.’ position on this issue has not changed with the new president. As a result, there is abuse of the current situation as WTO members file appeals “into the void.” Existing tools to circumvent the collapse are partial and not yet popular among WTO members. Russia needs to resume the AB’s work to complete previously started high-profile disputes and to defend its interests in the future.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-302
Author(s):  
Dzhamal Z. Mutagirov ◽  

It will soon be 75 years since the United Nations Charter proclaimed the equal rights of peoples including their right to self-determination, as well as the obligations of countries — members to protect these rights collectively. In 1966, the International Covenants on Human Rights were signed and entered into force in 1976. So began with the confirmation of the right of peoples to self-determination and clarification of the content of this right. In subsequent decades, the UN and continental organizations have adopted hundreds of international agreements on certain as- pects of people’s rights (to choose a social system, study in native languages, to development and progress, etc.). However, many ethnic groups still cannot use their lawfully granted rights due to reasons which are beyond their control. The author of the article provides an explanation of the reasons preventing people from realizing the selfdetermination right recognized by the world community on the example of the Kurdish people. The theoretical and methodological aspects of the problem may be equally applicable to other peoples who, against their will, find themselves in multinational states.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-109
Author(s):  
Piotr Urbanowicz

Summary In this text, I argue that there are numerous affinities between 19th century messianism and testimonies of UFO sightings, both of which I regarded as forms of secular millennialism. The common denominator for the comparison was Max Weber’s concept of “disenchantment of the world” in the wake of the Industrial Revolution which initiated the era of the dominance of rational thinking and technological progress. However, the period’s counterfactual narratives of enchantment did not repudiate technology as the source of all social and political evil—on the contrary, they variously redefined its function, imagining a possibility of a new world order. In this context, I analysed the social projects put forward by Polish Romantics in the first half of the 19th century, with emphasis on the role of technology as an agent of social change. Similarly, the imaginary technology described by UFO contactees often has a redemptive function and is supposed to bring solution to humanity’s most dangerous problems.


2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Nitz ◽  
Øyvind Ihlen ◽  
Jessyna Egge ◽  
Stacy Sobolik

Abstract The U.S. Presidential election of 2004 was an exciting reprise of the 2000 election and was closely watched by numerous observers across the world. The election held significant ramifications for world issues such as the war in Iraq and the war on terror. Norwegian media in particular followed the election with great interest. The strong social and familial bond between Norwegians and Americans was a foundation for an interest in the role that social issues such as abortion, gay marriage, and religion played in the campaign. This article was an exploratory case study based on data from three major Norwegian newspapers. The article used framing theory as a tool to examine the way in which these newspapers covered the 2004 U.S. Presidential election. A key focus was the importance and influence of culture in this framing process. Results are presented and implications for the role of framing theory in international contexts are discussed.


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