THE INITIATIVE «ONE BELT, ONE ROAD» AND THE BALKANS: THE ASSESSMENTS OF THE EXPERT COMMUNITY AND THE MEDIA OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE (2017-2020)

2021 ◽  
pp. 59-83
Author(s):  
Artem Ulunyan
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Global Strategy ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
One Belt One Road ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Atlantic Community ◽  
Expert Community ◽  
Party State

The article examines the assessments of the global strategic concept «One Belt, One Road» of the PRC by the representatives of the Central and Eastern European expert community and by the Albanian media. After the Cold War, the formation processes of national states in the post-Yugoslavian space have started in the Balkans, and the region has come under tight probe of the Euro-Atlantic community, of Russia and Turkey as well as of the Peoples Republic of China, which had not displayed earlier such a keen interest in this region. In the context of the global strategy outlined by the party-state leadership of mainland China, the Balkans and Central Eastern Europe have turned into important connecting link in the Chinese geostrategic concept «One Belt, One Road». In the 2010 s, the PRC has begun to establish a wide-range network of transport corridors, designed to start a «new edition» of the historical «Silk Road» and to serve as an instrument for the economic advancement of the PRC on a transcontinental scale. This policy of economic expansion of the PRC, encompassing regions and continents on its way, is being actively discussed in the expert community of Central and Eastern European states from the standpoint of identifying both specific mode of actions engaged by the party-state leadership of the PRC, as well as local conditions, interests and probable results of the implementation of the Chinese project. The author notes that expert assessments range from positive to sharply negative, which indicates the absence of a definitive opinion on this issue. In Albania, a Balkan state closely linked to both Central and Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans, especially due to the presence of a large Albanian ethnic component in a number of countries of the region, the participation in the implementation of the project «One Belt, One Road» was strongly influenced by economic and political relations with the Euro-Atlantic community.

Explaining Peaceful Change in Central and Eastern Europe

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Tabachnik ◽  
Benjamin Miller
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
State Capacity ◽  
The State ◽  
National Identities ◽  
Great Power ◽  
Soviet System ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Independent Variables ◽  
Two Independent Variables

This chapter explains the process of peaceful change in Central and Eastern Europe following the demise of the Soviet system. It also explains the failure of peaceful change in the Balkans and some post-Soviet countries, such as the Ukrainian conflict in 2014. The chapter accounts for the conditions for peaceful change and for the variation between peaceful and violent change by the state-to-nation theory. The two independent variables suggested by the theory are the level of state capacity and congruence—namely the compatibility between state borders and the national identities of the countries at stake. Moreover, according to the theory, great-power engagement serves as an intervening variable and in some conditions, as explained in the chapter, may help with peaceful change.

scholarly journals The State of Rural Sociology as Presented in Four Periodicals – Rural Sociology, Sociologia Ruralis, Journal of Rural Studies, Eastern European Countryside

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Zabłocki
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Rural Population ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
World Wide ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Rural Sociology ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
Rural Studies

Abstract This article is an analysis of differences and similarities between four Englishlanguage journals on rural sociology. The comparison covered topics discussed in about 600 articles published in the journals in the years 1995-2010 and the regional affiliation of their authors. In the comparison, all articles and texts on empirical research published in this period in Eastern European Countryside were considered. In total, 141 texts were published in this annual journal. Out of the three other journals (Rural Sociology, Sociologia Ruralis, Journal of Rural Studies) 50 articles for each of three periods: 1995-1996, 2002-2003, 2008-2009, were selected. Results of the comparison show that the journals have strictly regional profiles, and that present rural sociology does not seem to be the science on social phenomena in world-wide rural areas. Rural sociology used in the four studied journals does not develop the knowledge that would be useful in solving problems of the rural population. In the three journals under study (Rural Sociology, Sociologia Ruralis, Journal of Rural Studies) almost exclusively sociology of rural areas in Western Europe and Northern America was developed, and their contributors were almost always authors from the two regions. The fourth journal - Eastern European Countryside - was concerned, adequately to its title, with rural phenomena in Central and Eastern Europe

scholarly journals Economic Development and Growth in Central and Eastern Europe

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 69-84
Author(s):  
Csilla Polster
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
European Union ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Migration Activity ◽  
Member States

The study investigates the economic growth in Central and Eastern Europe in the last 25 years. The economy can be regarded as a substantial topic in any country, but it is even more interesting in developing countries. One of the basic ideas of the European Union is the convergence between member states, namely the reduction of development disparities, which can be achieved through faster economic growth in less‑developed countries. Growth theory is one of the main topics in economics. Its significant importance is because the desire for development is one of the main driving forces of mankind. The aim of the study is to reveal the crucial differences and common features between the growth paths of the eleven Central and Eastern European member states of the European Union. After presenting growth theories, the growth performance of the examined Central and Eastern European member states is pinpointed. During the research, GDP per capita, population, migration, activity rate, employment rate, unemployment rate, foreign direct investment and foreign trade openness are considered.

scholarly journals Backwardness of Central and Eastern Europe as a Heritage of the Soviet Period

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (338) ◽  
pp. 61-66
Author(s):  
Sandris Ancans
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Communist Regime ◽  
European Region ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Planned Economy ◽  
Command Economy ◽  
Centrally Planned Economy ◽  
Communist Countries ◽  
The Eu

AbstractThe economy of Latvia lags behind economically developed nations approximately fourfold in terms of labour productivity in the tradable sector, which is the key constituent of a modern economy, thereby affecting future sustainable development in the entire country, including the rural areas. The economic backwardness is characteristic of the entire Central and Eastern Europe. This is the heritage of a communist regime that lasted for about half a century and the economic system termed a (centrally) planned economy or a command economy. However, such a term for the communist-period economy is not correct, as it does not represent the purpose it was created for. Accordingly, the paper aims to assess the effect of the communism period on the economic backwardness of the Central and Eastern European region of the EU. A planned economy that existed in all communist countries, with the exception of Yugoslavia, was not introduced to contribute to prosperity. It was intended for confrontation or even warfare by the communist countries under the guidance of the USSR against other countries where no communism regime existed, mostly Western world nations with their market economies. For this reason, it is not correct to term it a (centrally) planned economy or a command economy; the right term is a mobilised (war) economy. An extrapolation of a geometric progression for GDP revealed that during the half a century, Latvia as part of the USSR was forced to spend on confrontation with the West not less than EUR 17 bln. (2011 prices) or approximately one gross domestic product of 2011. The research aim of the paper is to assess the effect of the communism period on the economic backwardness of the Central and Eastern European region of the EU.

Problematic Terminology in a Tentative Research Methodology for the Visual Culture of the Balkans

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (Special Issue) ◽  
pp. 67-78
Author(s):  
Anita Paolicchi ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Culture ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Research Methodology ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
South Eastern Europe ◽  
Methodological Problems ◽  
Western European ◽  
Interpretative Framework

"The aim of this paper is to highlight and briefly discuss some of the most problematic terms and concepts that recur in art historiography: for example, the words Byzantine, post-Byzantine, Eastern, Western and Local. These concepts are used in a misleading way not only by American and Western European authors, but also by Eastern and South-Eastern European ones: in fact, the “Balkan” art historiography based itself on the Western-European one, adopting its periodisation, terminology and interpretative framework, which led to a number of methodological problems that researchers are now trying to identify, discuss and, if possible, solve. Keywords: art historiography, South-Eastern Europe, silverwork, Byzantium. "

Central and Eastern Europe: The New Core or the Periphery of Europe?

2020 ◽  
pp. 162-181
Author(s):  
Ireneusz Paweł Karolewski
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Policy Fields ◽  
Visegrad Group ◽  
The Eu

This chapter focuses on Central and Eastern European (CEE) member states of the EU, and how they positioned themselves in the new constellation of conflicts within the EU in the aftermath of the multiple crisis. It deals mainly with the Visegrad Group (V4) and explores its ‘repositioning’ in regard to two crisis-ridden policy fields of the EU: controversies about the rule of law and the refugee crisis. With regard to the former issue, the chapter discusses Poland as the most prominent case among the CEE countries. Against this background, it highlights two specific aspects of domestic politics: the memory games that the V4 countries play with their past and the Euroscepticism of government circles as well as a broader public.

Central and Eastern Europe & The Republics of the Former Soviet Union: Guide to Current Sources of Laws and Other Documents in English

1994 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-190
Author(s):  
Marta Kiszely
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Electronic Format ◽  
Rapid Changes ◽  
English Translations ◽  
Foreign Materials ◽  
Eastern European Countries

Due to the rapid changes in the legal systems of Central and Eastern European countries and the republics of the former Soviet Union, the question that researchers and librarians nowadays face is how to get current foreign materials in English in a reliable published form. Only two years ago the problem was that there were no comprehensive, consistent, and current sources in English translations. Today the problem is not so much finding sources as being certain of the reliability and continuity of the available sources. There is a boom in new publications and services (both primary and secondary, both in paper and in electronic format), but one cannot always count on them for timely, regular publication, and consistent scope of coverage.

Meanings of Independence and Manifestations of Neoliberal Nationalism during the ‘Refugee Crisis’ in Central and Eastern Europe

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aija Lulle
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Eastern Bloc ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Human Suffering ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
Social Transformations ◽  
Almost All ◽  
The Eu

The Eastern European political and para-political responses to the ‘refugee crisis’ demonstrate a schism between the ‘old’ and the ‘new Europe’. Hostile attitudes reveal how unresolved post-imperial pasts currently manifest themselves in a seeming inability to show solidarity and empathy for the human suffering of others. To address this question critically, I utilize the notion of ‘independence’ to disentangle the specific neoliberal political mentality that has developed in the Central and Eastern European region, along with a variety of ethno-nationalisms which relive their own past wounds. In countries which have wiped away almost all reminders of their socialist past, solidarity and collectivity are not widely subscribed-to values. Apart from the immediate need to act alongside other European countries and help to accommodate current refugee flows, the Eastern Bloc has a long and necessary journey ahead. This is to negotiate and address their own social and cultural pluralities, which have been deliberately ignored in the rush to join the club of the worlds’ wealthiest democracies in the EU. During this formally accelerated political process, insufficient attention has been paid to social transformations in these new EU countries, including their reluctance to take in and accommodate new migrants and refugees.

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