Europäische rechtsgeschichte, immer noch ein projekt

The article describes the state of European Legal History as a discipline such as it has developed since the end of the Second World War. Major determinants were the Europe – euphoria of the Fiftieth, subsequently the gradual coalescence of the European Union, and eventually the return of the East – and South-East-European Nations to the free world. Yet”European Legal History“ as a well-defined discipline still is but a project. Perspectives of the future could be the following : To overcome nationalistic views when investigating pre-nationalistic periods of time, furthermore to join together sub-disciplines that define themselves by their respective sources (Roman Law, Canon Law, ius patrium), finally to extend the traditional legal history beyond civil law to the entire territory of law including non-state systems of norms. The aim should be twofold : To work out the particularities as well as the divergences of individual legal cultures in Europe, and to attempt at relating European and non-European legal cultures by means of historical comparison.

Municipality Strategic Prospects in the Post-COVID Time

The municipalities development planning consists of two main streams—the spacial planning and the strategic planning—intents, objectives, and tactics of which are coordinated with various successes and outputs. The strategic planning has been implemented into the East European municipalities' management since the end of the 1990s. It had to respond to many oncoming circumstances. Economic, security, environmental, and other crises, both national and global, occurred. But the COVID-19 disease pandemic has brought wholly new challenges in the life management in the societies all over the world. The chapter intends to investigate how the value priorities within the municipalities strategic objectives changed during the pandemic, taking the Czech Republic (one of the European COVID-19 most affected countries) as an example.

Experiences of patients advising on mental health research: qualitative study in South-East European countries

Background Although patient and carer involvement in research is well-developed in many countries, this area has been largely overlooked in South-East European countries. Aims To explore experiences of patients participating in newly set up lived experience advisory panels (LEAPs) within a European Commission funded, large-scale, multi-country mental health research project that focused on improving treatment of individuals with psychosis. Method Twenty-one mental health patients were individually interviewed across five countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. Topic guides covered the experience of participating in LEAPs and their sustainability. Data were analysed by framework analysis. Results Seven themes were identified about participating in LEAPs: predominantly positive evaluation, high levels of participant motivation, therapeutic benefits for participants, few challenges, various future perspectives, positive appraisal of the research project and mixed reflections on mental healthcare. Overall, patients’ experiences were positive and enabled them to feel empowered. Patients expressed interest in remaining involved in advisory panels. Additionally, they felt that they could potentially contribute to the work of non-government organisations. Conclusions This study is among the few studies exploring patient participation in research projects, and the first such study conducted in South-East European countries. Patients are highly motivated for this engagement, which has the potential to empower them to take on new social roles. Significant efforts at the national level are needed in each country, to make patient involvement in research standard practice.

Loneliness and Social Networks in Europe

The paper analyses social causes of loneliness in Europe using cross-national data from the 2017 International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) module “Social Networks and Social Resources” from 13 countries categorised as Northern Europe, Continental Europe, and Central and Eastern Europe. The paper aims to examine loneliness with regard to three specific groups of predictors, related to network, sociocultural and sociostructural aspects. The results suggest that sociability patterns and personal networks are the most important predictors of loneliness. While the frequency of contacts with family members and close friends and the overall number of contacts showed significance, loneliness was primarily related to the quality of personal relationships. Considering sociocultural factors, the obtained findings showed that social trust is consistently associated with lower levels of loneliness. Furthermore, people from Continental Europe were, in general, less lonely than North and East Europeans. Age was an important factor here as respondents from younger age groups were lonelier in Nordic countries than in the other two blocs of countries, while older respondents were lonelier in Central and East European countries. Finally, sociostructural indicators in general showed less predictive value compared to sociability patterns and sociocultural variables. However, when it came to socioeconomic exclusion, this aspect showed a stronger connection with loneliness for the individuals from the Nordic group of countries. The findings of this paper contribute to the vibrant field of contemporary scholarship on loneliness with a fresh perspective based on comparing three large blocs of European countries and an integrated approach to various predictors of loneliness.

Serbia and Southeastern Europe between Global and East European History

Drawing on a half century of Balkan research and publication that started in Belgrade, John Lampe reviews three new Western histories of the region and their attention to Serbia from prominent Western historians. Germany’s Calic examines only Southeastern Europe, while Connelly from the US and Bideleux and Jeffries from the UK include the Balkans in their volumes on Eastern Europe.

Ecogenesis and primary soil formation on the East European Plain. A review

Numerous published studies have shown that soil formation, including primary pedogenesis, is closely connected functionally, energetically and operationally with ecogenesis as a key biogenic exploration mechanism of the Earth’s surface by living organisms. The ontogenetic stage of soil evolution, especially in the initial phases, is determined by geogenic conditions and the intensity and trends of biogenic-accumulative processes in the developing ecosystem. Primary soils are considered critical in the rapid development of the initial ancient biosphere, supporting multiple environmental possibilities for ecosystems in that stage of their formation. Currently, similar models of correlated soil formation and ecogenesis are actualised when new substrates appear suitable for biogenic-abiogenic interactions, which occur in both natural and anthropogenic landscapes. Biotic factors during primary pedogenesis have accumulative and transformative effects on the edaphic component complex. At this stage, the initial pedon is a key functional stage in the evolution of terrestrial ecosystems (biogeocenosis). When restoration of natural ecosystems occurs during the independent growth of exposed substrates, the natural regeneration mechanisms normally occur. These processes are based on the biogenic development of the substrate through the accumulation and transformation of organic matter.

Privatizations Spark Socialist Backlash: Evidence from East Germany’s Transformation

The fall of the Berlin Wall marks one of the largest transformations of the 20th century. At its core, the year 1990 brought two new systems to Eastern Europe: capitalism and democracy. Yet, to this day, Eastern Europeans show distinctly negative attitudes toward the Western world order, and democratic and market institutions across the region are far from perfect. What explains this unsuccessful transformation? This paper points to the rushed privatization of East European economies as one plausible driver of citizens’ discontent with capitalism and democracy. Using micro-level data from East Germany, we show that firm privatizations led to a marked resurgence of the successor of the former Socialist Unity Party as early as 1994. We argue that this effect is likely due to perceived injustice: Socialist voting thrived whenever firms were sold to Western elites, which local residents took as a sign that capitalism is not meritocratic.