A DIAGNOSIS OF RUSSIA'S MILITARY CAPABILITY IN A SITUATION OF AN ESCALATION OF HOSTILITY IN UKRAINE AND POSSIBLE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE SAFETY OF THE EASTERN NATO FLANK

The paper presents the results of research, whose main goal is to evaluate the aviation and rocket capability of the armed forces of the Russian Federation and Ukraine in terms of a possible launch of regular warfare. The authors primarily focus on changes in the military doctrine of the Russian Federation, which have created legal determinants of the use of armed forces outside the country’s territory in defense of national minorities, illustrated by taking control of Crimea. The authors also stress Russia’s military plans, including the development directions of the potential of armed forces as well as a possible threat to the security of the eastern NATO’s flank in the event of a conflict in Ukraine. In this respect, the capabilities of the air defense of countries on the eastern NATO flank, particularly Poland’s capability, were analyzed.

Reproduction of Artworks in the Lippmannian-Frankfurtian Debates During Advanced Technology Era

The development of technology leads to mechanical reproduction of artworks. This tendency brings the paradox whether mechanical reproduction of artworks enlightens or blinds society. Optimistic perspective of Walter Benjamin and Lippmannian school on reproducibility faces pessimistic view of Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer. Thus, the main aim of this paper is to compare W. Lippmann, W. Benjamin, T. Adorno and M. Horkheimer’s views and summarize by checking suitability of two schools’ perspectives in advanced technological century.

Interpreting Alexander Chayanov’s Peasant Utopia since 1991

Composed in 1919 as a rebuke to Bolshevik rule, Alexander Chayanov’s utopian story about a future, peasant-dominated Russia has fascinated scholars from a wide variety of disciplines. This article provides a critical overview of the Russian- and English-language scholarship on Chayanov’s peasant utopia that has emerged over the last three decades. The intellectual and ideological contexts in which the text has been situated are explored and compared. The article also discusses how the utopia has been understood in ideological and political terms, and how scholars have wrestled with ambiguities arising from its relativism, parodic qualities and potentially dystopian elements.

The Image of Poland in Bulgarian Mass Media in 1990–1998 in the Light of Documents from the Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland

In this article, the image of Poland in the Bulgarian mass media was analyzed. This image was presented on the basis of reports that were made by employees of the Polish Embassy in Sofia and sent to the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Polish Embassy in Sofia had the biggest impact in promotion of the Polish themes in the Bulgarian mass media. Polish issues have been present in the Bulgarian mass media from the beginning of political transformation, although the media presented information from Poland with varying frequency. The popularity of Polish issues in the Bulgarian media grew significantly when important political and economic events took place in Poland, or when there were meetings on the highest level between representatives of both states. During this period, the mass media created a positive image of Poland, mainly regarding economic issues. Poland was recognised as the leader in the process of political and economic transformations among Central and Eastern Europe countries.

Politics of Memory in Cities Divided by State Borders: Theoretical and Methodological Framework of Research

In the article the author attempts to outline theoretical and methodological framework used in analyzing the phenomenon of specific history politics in cities divided by state borders – places where sometimes radically different history narrations meet or even clash. The article is composed of three parts. The first one specifies the concept of history politics in nationwide dimension (“history politics”). The second part analyzes history politics in local dimension (“local politics of memory”). With reference to these two concepts – levels of history politics and politics of memory – the author indicates: goals, subjects, methods and tools of history politics/politics of memory. The final section of the paper aims at capturing the specificity of history politics in cities divided by state borders and indicating models of relations between different kinds of politics of memory in cities divided by state borders.

Agriculture and Rural Development as a Main Objective of Polish Cooperation and Development Aid for the Republic of Moldova

Agriculture and development of rural areas are important sectors of Polish-Moldovan cooperation and development aid. Importantly, both of them constitute structural problems, similar to those which faced agriculture in Poland in the 1990s. Through Polish aid and development cooperation, various measures are initiated which increase the competitiveness of Moldovan agricultural production, improve sanitary and phytosanitary conditions, bring technological innovations in agricultural farms, ensure modernization of rural infrastructure, providing support to small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, cooperatives, and agricultural consultants, along with professional activation of the Republic’s residents.

The dynamics of the party system in the Czech Republic

The article examines the changes that took place in the Czech party system from the moment of the political transformation of 1989/1990 to the last parliamentary elections in 2017. It is based on a survey of data on the results of the elections to the Czech National Council and the Chamber of Deputies. The interpretation of the data allows answering several research questions: is the Czech party system stable, and if so, is it possible to determine it model? Are the inevitable model changes sudden or evolutionary as a consequence of an observable trend? Is it possible to distinguish and define the stages of functioning of the Czech party system? To what extent does the party system of the Czech Republic have roots in the party system of Czechoslovakia and did the disintegration of the federal republic significantly affect its change?

Elitist Democracy as the Root of Populist Counter-Revolution: A Theoretical Approach

The article aims to critically discuss elitist democracy as one of the possible causes of the contemporary crisis of liberal democracy. The research problem is the question about the essential elements of the concept of elitist democracy, which potentially account for the populist counter-revolution aimed at changing the political systems formed after 1989. The theoretical background of this paper is provided by the studies on the crisis of democracy, which have been conducted in recent years and presented by Jan Zielonka, or the duets of Ivan Krastev and Stephen Holmes as well as Roger Eatwell and Matthew Goodwin. The analysis makes it possible to state that relations between elites and non-elites are crucial for elitist democracy, and they include the process of elites distancing themselves from non-elites, depreciating the needs of non-elites and their importance within the political system, and privileging the position of the elites. In turn, the indicated features of elitist democracy constitute the areas of populist criticism of liberal democracy.

Relations between the Republic of Turkey and the United States at the Present Stage and Their Impact on Georgia

At the beginning of the 21st century, Turkish-American relations attracted serious attention of the international community. Since the end of the Cold War, relations between the Turkish Republic and the United States have focused on security. The foreign policy of the two countries from time to time pursued common and sometimes very different goals. In parallel with this, periods of ups and downs were observed in economic relations. It was the goal of achieving security that determined the cooperation between these two countries. On the one hand, there was the leader of one of the two poles during the Cold War – the United States, and on the other – Turkey, a country with significant influence in the Middle East, but strongly dependent on the United States. In the 2000s, disagreements between Turkey and the United States, two NATO members, were not in Georgia’s interests. Turkey and the United States are Georgia’s partner countries. The United States is Georgia’s strategic partner and Turkey is one of its largest trading partners. Despite tensions between Turkey and the United States, the latter is not expected to harm Georgia’s bilateral relations. According to Washington, Georgia’s rapprochement with Iran will be a more serious problem than the issue with Turkey, especially if Georgia violates sanctions against Iran.

Strategic Partnership in the Shadow of History

The article analyses selected problems in the implementation of the Polish-Ukrainian strategic partnership assumptions. The aspects of bilateral relations that undoubtedly made it difficult to engage in a constructive dialogue in the 21st century, were outlined. It was also pointed out that the implementation of foreign policy assumptions in both countries is often the result of a historical politics and a mythologized image of a neighbouring country. In addition, putting the historical discourse over political, economic and social took part in the events. Kwaśniewski recalled then “the bravery and merits of those soldiers problems may result in lowering the standards of democracy, and the expectation from the other side to accept a specific vision of the past may indicate that politicians are focused on domestic politics at the expense of the country’s position on the international arena.