Squaring the Circle: The EU’s Operational Impact in the Black Sea Region

Views on the institution of direct democracy have changed during the period of democratic transition. The various advantages and positive effects of direct democracy have been confirmed by the practice of some democratic countries. Its educational and political activation value for society was also noted, without which civil society cannot form. The referendum is especially treated as the purest form of correlation between the views of society and the decisions of its representatives. In a situation where two representative bodies are present – the parliament and the president – a referendum is considered a means of resolving disputes between them in important state affairs. The referendum is nowadays becoming more than just a binding or consultative opinion on a legislative act, especially a constitution. First and foremost, it is important to see the extension of the type and scope of issues that are subject to direct voting. Apart from the traditional, i.e., constitutional changes, polarising issues that raise considerable emotion have become the subject of referenda. Problems of this type include, in particular, moral issues, membership in international organisations, and so-called ‘New Policy’. This article presents the role and importance of the referendum as an institution shaping the democratic systems of the Black Sea Region.

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Geology and Geoarchaeology of the Black Sea Region: Beyond the Flood Hypothesis

10.1130/9780813724737 ◽

2011 ◽

Keyword(s):

Black Sea ◽

The Black Sea ◽

Black Sea Region

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Analysis of potential seismic sources of tsunamis in the Black Sea region, using data from various catalogues

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-8278 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Emil Oynakov ◽

Liliya Dimitrova ◽

Lyubka Pashova ◽

Dragomir Dragomirov

Keyword(s):

Black Sea ◽

Scientific Evidence ◽

Active Faults ◽

Active Regions ◽

The Black Sea ◽

Earthquake Catalogues ◽

Crimean Peninsula ◽

Black Sea Region ◽

Global Science ◽

Using Data

Low-laying territories along the Black Sea coastal line are more vulnerable to the possible high (long) waves due to tsunami events caused by strong earthquakes in the active seismic regions. Historically, such events are rare in the Black Sea region, despite some scientific evidence of tsunamis and their recordings through continuous sea-level observations with tide gauges built in certain places along the coast. This study analyses seismic data derived from different international earthquake catalogues - NEIC, ISC, EMSC, IDC and Bulgarian national catalogue (1981 - 2019). A catalogue of earthquakes within the period covering the historical to the contemporary seismicity with magnitudes M &#8805; 3 is compiled. The data are processed applying the software package ZMAP, developed by Stefan Wiemer (http://www.seismo.ethz.ch/en/research-and-teaching/products-software/software/ZMAP/index.html). The catalogues' completeness is calculated to assess the reliability of the historical data needed to assess the risk of rare tsunami events. The prevailing part of the earthquakes' epicentres are in the seismically active regions of Shabla, the Crimean peninsula, the east and southeast coast of the Black Sea forming six main clusters, which confirmed previous studies in the region. In these areas, several active and potentially active faults, which can generate tsunamigenic seismic events, are recognized.Acknowledgements: The authors would like to thank the Bulgarian National Science Fund for co-funding the research under the Contract &#1050;&#1055;-&#1057;&#1045;-&#1050;&#1054;&#1057;&#1058;/8, 25.09.2020, which is carried out within framework of COST Action 18109 &#8220;Accelerating Global science In Tsunami HAzard and Risk analysis&#8221; (AGITHAR; https://www.agithar.uni-hamburg.de/).

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Georgian Historians and the Ideological Confrontation Between East and West

Scientific knowledge - autonomy, dependence, resistance - Balkanistic Forum ◽

10.37708/bf.swu.v30i1.9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 153-164

Author(s):

George Gotsiridze

Keyword(s):

Soviet Union ◽

Cultural Values ◽

Black Sea ◽

The Black Sea ◽

Black Sea Region ◽

The Soviet Union ◽

Long Time ◽

Science And Culture ◽

East And West

The work, on the one hand, highlights the mission of Europe, as an importer of knowledge, which has for centuries been the center of gravity for the whole world, and, on the other hand, the role of the Black Sea Region, as an important part of the Great Silk Road, which had also for a long time been promoting the process of rap-prochement and exchange of cultural values between East and West peoples, until it became the ‘inner lake’ of the Ottoman Empire, and today it reverts the function of rapproching and connecting civilizations. The article shows the importance of the Black Sea countries in maintaining overall European stability and in this context the role of historical science. On the backdrop of the ideological confrontation between Georgian historians being inside and outside the Iron Curtain, which began with the foundation of the Soviet Union, the research sheds light on the merit of the Georgian scholars-in-exile for both popularization of the Georgian culture and science in Eu-rope and for importing advanced (European) scientific knowledge to Georgia. Ex-change of knowledge in science and culture between the Black Sea region and Europe will enrich and complete each other through impact and each of them will have unique, inimitative features.

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Synagogue as Infrastructure in Everyday Life of Batumi Jewish Community

Journal of Religion in Europe ◽

10.1163/18748929-bja10056 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (3-4) ◽

pp. 323-338

Author(s):

Nino Abakelia

Keyword(s):

Everyday Life ◽

Jewish Community ◽

Black Sea ◽

The Black Sea ◽

Culturally Specific ◽

Sacred Place ◽

Black Sea Region ◽

The Subject ◽

Ethnographic Data ◽

And Function

Abstract The subject under scrutiny is Sephardic and Ashkenazi synagogues in Batumi (the Black Sea Region of Georgia) that reveal both universal and culturally specific forms. The paper is based on ethnographic data gathered during fieldwork in Batumi, in 2019, and on the theoretical postulates of anthropology of infrastructure. The article argues that the Batumi synagogues could be viewed and understood as ‘infrastructure’ in their own right, as they serve as objects through which other objects, people, and ideas operate and function as a system. The paper attempts to demonstrate how the sacred edifices change their trajectory according to modern conditions and how the sacred place is inserted and coexists inside a network of touristic infrastructure.

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Identification and Morphological-Physiological Characterization of Astaxanthin Producer Strains of Haematococcus pluvialis from the Black Sea Region

Applied Biochemistry and Microbiology ◽

10.1134/s0003683818060078 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 54 (6) ◽

pp. 639-648

Author(s):

E. S. Chelebieva ◽

N. V. Dantsyuk ◽

K. A. Chekanov ◽

I. N. Chubchikova ◽

I. V. Drobetskaya ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Black Sea ◽

Haematococcus Pluvialis ◽

The Black Sea ◽

Black Sea Region ◽

Physiological Characterization ◽

Producer Strains

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Evaluation of ecotourism sites: a GIS-based multi-criteria decision analysis

Kybernetes ◽

10.1108/k-10-2017-0392 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 47 (8) ◽

pp. 1664-1686 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Cihan Çetinkaya ◽

Mehmet Kabak ◽

Mehmet Erbaş ◽

Eren Özceylan

Keyword(s):

Black Sea ◽

Real Data ◽

The Black Sea ◽

Second Phase ◽

Content Type ◽

Black Sea Region ◽

Evaluation Approach ◽

Third Phase ◽

Proposed Model ◽

Promethee Method

Purpose The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential geographic locations for ecotourism activities and to select the best one among alternatives. Design/methodology/approach The proposed model consists of four sequential phases. In the first phase, different geographic criteria are determined based on existing literature, and data are gathered using GIS. On equal criteria weighing, alternative locations are determined using GIS in the second phase. In the third phase, the identified criteria are weighted using analytical hierarchy process (AHP) by various stakeholders of potential ecotourism sites. In the fourth phase, the PROMETHEE method is applied to determine the best alternative based on the weighted criteria. Findings A framework including four sequential steps is proposed. Using real data from the Black Sea region in Turkey, the authors test the applicability of the evaluation approach and compare the best alternative obtained by the proposed method for nine cities in the region. Consequently, west of Sinop, east of Artvin and south of the Black Sea region are determined as very suitable locations for ecotourism. Research limitations/implications The first limitation of the study is considered the number of included criteria. Another limitation is the use of deterministic parameters that do not cope with uncertainty. Further research can be conducted for determining the optimum locations for different types of tourism, e.g. religion tourism, hunting tourism and golf tourism, for effective tourism planning. Practical implications The proposed approach can be applied to all area that cover the considered criteria. The approach has been tested in the Black Sea region (nine cities) in Turkey. Social implications Using the proposed approach, decision-makers can determine locations where environmentally responsible travel to natural areas to enjoy and appreciate nature that promotes conservation have a low visitor impact and provide for beneficially active socioeconomic involvement of local individuals. Originality/value To the best knowledge of the authors, this is the first study which applies a GIS-based multi-criteria decision-making approach for ecotourism site selection.

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