„Zrodzona z kryzysu, pogrzebana przez katastrofę”. Europa Środkowa jako projekt skazany na porażkę [“Born Out of Crisis, Buried by Catastrophe”: Central Europe as a Project Doomed to Failure]

“Born Out of Crisis, Buried by Catastrophe”: Central Europe as a Project Doomed to FailureIn her paper, the author examines images of Central Europe created in various popular genres (campus novels, quasi-guidebooks, films, essays) as well as interpretations of the Central European myth from countries of the region. The aim is to reflect on two main Central European narratives. One is a vision of retrospective utopia of lost harmonious coexistence of cultures, religions and nations. The other – an image of the “misery of small Central European states”, of a backward region, immersed in never-ending ethnic conflicts. The author seeks to address the question of how these narratives influence the interpretation of the systemic transition process and of contemporary problems that the region is facing. „Zrodzona z kryzysu, pogrzebana przez katastrofę” Europa Środkowa jako projekt skazany na porażkęAutorka przygląda się obrazom Europy Środkowej tworzonym w różnych obiegach kultury popularnej (satyryczne powieści z nurtu akademickiego, quasi-przewodniki, filmy), a także narracjom na temat mitu Europy Środkowej tworzonym w państwach tego regionu. Przedmiotem artykułu jest namysł nad dwoma modelami opowiadania o tym obszarze – nad wizją utraconej utopii harmonijnej egzystencji kultur, wyznań i narodów oraz nad obrazem „nędznych państw”, obszaru zacofanego cywilizacyjnie, pogrążonego w nieustających konfliktach etnicznych i sprzyjającego dyskryminacji wielu grup społecznych. Główne pytanie dotyczy kwestii, jak te narracje wpłynęły na sposób ujmowania przemian związanych z transformacją ustrojową w regionie oraz współczesnych problemów, z którymi się on mierzy.

Three Propositions to Unify Circular Economy Research: A Review

Transitioning into a circular economy (CE) has been recently proposed as an agenda for reconciling global industrial systems with natural equilibria, but the current understanding of CE is ambiguous among scholars. Informed by recent growing CE literature, this study summarizes through three key propositions a set of indisputable insights emerging from the CE debate. In particular, the paper: remarks how CE takes stock of concepts of other schools of thought to drive policy interventions; depicts CE as a systemic transition of global industrial systems; and highlights the role of eco-effectiveness to upgrade business-centered approaches to sustainability. The proposed propositions are expected to contribute to reducing ambiguities in the CE debate and to convey coherence to future research.

The Prospects of Russia and India Jointly Leading a New Non-Aligned Movement

The ongoing global systemic transition is transforming international relations from its erstwhile unipolarity to what experts agree is either multipolarity or, less popularly, bipolarity. However one chooses to describe the present world order, it's clear that the US and China are the main global players, which places Russia and India – decades-long strategic partners – in a junior position vis-a-vis both of them, especially their mutual Chinese neighbor with whom they share membership in BRICS and the SCO. The neorealist school of International Relations Theory preaches the need to pursue national interests, which sometimes align with others', and it is argued in the article that it is with this idea in mind that both countries have a motivation to jointly improve their strategic positions relative to the People's Republic, albeit in a non-hostile manner that avoids the risk of inadvertently triggering a security dilemma and reversing the recent gains made in Eurasian integration.Two articles published by Russia's Valdai Club in 2019 indicated the possibility of creating a new Non-Aligned Movement, with the most recent one proposing that it be jointly led by Russia and India in order to advance the aforementioned neo-realist objective of balancing China. This suggestion is very intriguing and deserves some further elaboration, to which end the present research was conducted in order to place the new Non-Aligned Movement proposal in a strategic context relevant to the ongoing global systemic transition. Nearly a dozen articles and reports by Russian experts were analyzed, resulting in the conclusion that the proposal is a promising one but requires much more research into its challenges and opportunities in order to become more than just a proposed concept. In the event that any tangible progress is made on it, however, it must be done so extremely carefully in order for China not to misunderstand its intentions.