scholarly journals The problem of unification of the Romanian principalities in 1859 in Romanian historiography

Author(s):  
Kristina V. Tsurkan ◽  

The study aims to describe one of the key and crucial events in the national history of modern Romania from the Romanian historiography's perspective. The author analyses the creation of a unitary state as a result of the unification of the Romanian Principalities of Moldova and Wallachia in 1859 under the leadership of Alexandru Ioan Cuza, who was elected as the ruler in each of those regions. This research provides valuable information on the issue of the Romania-Russia relations in the period of 1858–1862, when according to the Paris Convention of 7/19 August 1858 objective external conditions were created not only for the unification of the Romanian principalities, but also for the administrative reorganization and expansion of independence of the unitary Romanian state. The unification of the Romanian principalities, which in foreign policy terms was accompanied by a clash of interests of major powers (the Austrian, Ottoman, Russian Empires, Great Britain, and France), took place in those specific conditions that were not suitable for Russia's positions in Southeastern Europe and the Balkans. Nevertheless, the historiography does not question the role of Russian foreign policy as a factor that contributed to the international recognition of the young Romanian state, as well as the significance of the diplomatic activities of the Russian consuls in Bucharest and Jassy. That is why the introduction of Russian diplomatic reports that reflect the attitude of Russian consuls to Prince Cuza's policy and their connection with the Romanian elite is still a crucial task for historiography.

2020 ◽  
pp. 74-86
Author(s):  
Alexandra Arkhangelskaya

The history of the formation of South Africa as a single state is closely intertwined with events of international scale, which have accordingly influenced the definition and development of the main characteristics of the foreign policy of the emerging state. The Anglo-Boer wars and a number of other political and economic events led to the creation of the Union of South Africa under the protectorate of the British Empire in 1910. The political and economic evolution of the Union of South Africa has some specific features arising from specific historical conditions. The colonization of South Africa took place primarily due to the relocation of Dutch and English people who were mainly engaged in business activities (trade, mining, agriculture, etc.). Connected by many economic and financial threads with the elite of the countries from which the settlers left, the local elite began to develop production in the region at an accelerated pace. South Africa’s favorable climate and natural resources have made it a hub for foreign and local capital throughout the African continent. The geostrategic position is of particular importance for foreign policy in South Africa, which in many ways predetermined a great interest and was one of the fundamental factors of international involvement in the development of the region. The role of Jan Smuts, who served as Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 to 1924 and from 1939 to 1948, was particularly prominent in the implementation of the foreign and domestic policy of the Union of South Africa in the focus period of this study. The main purpose of this article is to study the process of forming the mechanisms of the foreign policy of the Union of South Africa and the development of its diplomatic network in the period from 1910 to 1948.


2020 ◽  
Vol 56 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 179-199
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Entina ◽  
Alexander Pivovarenko

The article reflects on the issue of the foreign policy strategy of modern Russia in the Balkans region. One of the most significant aspects of this problem is the difference in views between Russia and the West. Authors show how different interpretations of the events in former Yugoslavia in the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s predetermined the sense of mutual suspicion and mistrust which spread to other regions such as the post-Soviet space. Exploring differences between the Russian and the Western (Euro-Atlantic) views on the current matters, authors draw attention to fundamental differences in terminology: while the Western narrative promotes more narrow geographical and political definitions (such as the Western Balkan Six), traditional Russian experts are more inclined to wider or integral definitions such as “the Balkans” and “Central and Southeast Europe”. Meanwhile none of these terms are applicable for analysis of the current trends such as the growing transit role of the Balkans region and its embedding in the European regional security architecture. Therefore, a new definition is needed to overcome the differences in vision and better understand significant recent developments in the region. Conceptualizing major foreign policy events in Central and Southeast Europe during the last three decades (the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s), authors demonstrate the significance of differences in tools and methods between the Soviet Union and the modern Russia. Permanent need for adaptation to changing political and security context led to inconsistence in Russian Balkan policy in the 1990s. Nevertheless, Russia was able to preserve an integral vision of the region and even to elaborate new transregional constructive projects, which in right political circumstances may promote stability and become beneficial for both Russia and the Euro-Atlantic community.


2020 ◽  
pp. 30-40
Author(s):  
Z. Z. Bahturidze ◽  
D. S. Rachkova

The article is devoted to identifying the current image of Russia in the mirror of the German media after the Ukrainian crisis. The role of the media is noted, the crisis situation in Ukraine is characterized. Analyzed publications in the leading print media of Germany on the topic of Russian foreign policy in Ukraine and the role of the Russian Federation in the political crisis in Ukraine (2013–2014). The authors have identified and identified key approaches in the formation of German society a certain idea of Russia and its foreign policy. As conclusions, it is noted that both for objective reasons, and not least thanks to the German media, which use a lot of negative characteristics when constructing the image of Russia, relations between the Russian Federation and the Federal Republic of Germany go through a zone of mutual exclusion. However, relations between the Russian Federation and the Federal Republic of Germany can go to a new level, taking into account the possible pragmatic cooperation of the two states, and provided, among other things, a reduction in the degree of anti-Russian rhetoric in the German media.


Author(s):  
Shakhnoza Akramjanovna Azimbayeva ◽  

This article examines the role and place of British think tanks in the design and development of the country’s foreign policy towards the Central Asian region. This issue is studied in combination with an analysis of the history of the formation of British think tanks, the positions of these centers in relation to Central Asia in the early 90s of the twentieth century after the collapse of the USSR and the state of modern think tanks that study Central Asia and their influence on the decision-making process in Great Britain.


2021 ◽  
pp. 803-815
Author(s):  
Tatiana A. Ornatskaya ◽  

The article highlights the process of formation of the Korean Department of the Eastern section of the ICCA under the conditions of existence of the buffer state — the Far Eastern Republic. It was to strive for geopolitical compromise in face of the Civil War and the Allied Intervention. The paper discusses conditions for establishment and reasons for further expansion of the Korean section. On the basis of documents from central and regional archives that are being thus introduced into the first scientific use, the contradictions of the national section formation are shown, the positions of the warring parties and the role of Soviet Russia representatives in the settlement of conflicts are highlighted. The conclusion is made about further directions of work with Korean communists. The past provides an opportunity to take a critical look at the events of a century ago, while the opening of the Comintern archives allows the open press to saturate its content with new data. The main body of unpublished documents on the activities of the Communist International is contained in the fond 495 of the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History, however, information on some aspects may be found in other federal and regional archives. It is no secret that foreign communists played their role in the foreign policy of Soviet Russia, and their help was big. However, the process of bringing them to work in the interests of the RSFSR has not yet been fully studied. Expediency, cost, and consequences of their work may be arguable, but only one conclusion is allowed: this page of national history should not be forgotten, it has to find its researchers. Recently, the study of the activities of departments and sections of the Communist international has not been popular among researchers either. The notions of ideological work have fallen by the wayside, pushed away by the Soviet past of the Comintern departments and sections. However, in our view, some aspects of the activities of divisions and sections of the Comintern remain relevant.


Author(s):  
Bill Jenkins

The introduction sets the scene by exploring the role of Edinburgh as a centre for the development and propagation of pre-Darwinian evolutionary theories. It gives essential background on natural history in the Scottish capital in early nineteenth century and the history of evolutionary thought and outlines the aims and objectives of the book. In addition, it explores some of the historiographical issues raised by earlier historians of science who have discussed the role of Edinburgh in the development of evolutionary thought in Great Britain.


Author(s):  
Erin Twohig

This chapter considers a transformational moment in Algerian history: the first days of the independent school, when students could look forward to studying their own national history and literature. One of the primary preoccupations of novels in French and Arabic that depict this moment was how the school would contend with the memory of the most controversial and taboo aspects of colonialism. Official governmental discourse depicted the Arabized school as a “clean slate” that would fully reject French influence, yet many novels argue for the classroom as a space to renegotiate, rather than erase, the history of French education in Algeria. Maïssa Bey’s Bleu blanc vert (Blue white green) describes the deleterious effects of memory erasure on a generation of young French-educated students, while Abdelhamid Benhedouga’s Nihayat al-ams (The End of Yesterday) features the debate over harkis (Algerians who collaborated with the French) and their place in the classroom. The discussion of memory in these novels forms part of a larger debate about the role of literature in preserving the memories suppressed by the school.


Author(s):  
J. Andrew Dearman

This chapter explores plot and theme in the book of Ruth as an example of narrative analysis. The book is identified as a short story with a dilemma facing the family of Elimelech from the town of Bethlehem and the tribe of Judah. The family history of Elimelech and the role of the Moabite Ruth in it are examined first as a self-contained narrative and then in the context of Israel’s national history. The family dilemma is resolved with the birth of an heir for the family of Elimelech and the contribution of the family to the tribe of Judah to Israel’s national storyline is further revealed in the kingship of David, a descendant of Elimelech and Ruth.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document