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Over the course of less than a quarter of a century, two Brazilian Heads of State – Fernando Collor in 1992 and Dilma Rousseff in 2016 – have been removed from office by impeachment. There has been much controversy surrounding both proceedings, particularly the latter. The article seeks to discuss briefly the history of the proceeding of impeachment in Brazil and its significance for the country’s political life after 1988. Through an analysis of the impeachment cases of President Fernando Collor and President Dilma Rousseff, and overview of the literature on impeachment in Latin America, the paper will address the similarities and differences present in both cases in which a Brazilian Head of State was removed from office. The last part of the article will further discuss the disputes among Brazilian jurists triggered by differing evaluations of this legal measure and, in particular, the more recent case of its implementation in Brazil.

The main aim of the article is to trace an evolution of Turkey’s foreign policy towards African countries. Assuming that during the rule of the Justice and Development Party a qualitative change took place in Turkey’s approach to this area, the paper will analyse its particular importance in the process of shaping the new identity of Ankara’s foreign policy after 2002. In addition, the ambition of the submitted paper is also to indicate the reasons for the change that took place in the way of building relations with some countries of the region, so characteristic for overall Turkey’s international activities during the rule of R.T. Erdoğan and his political party. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of this paper is showing mainstream economic theory as an important factor shaping the evolution of political liberalism. The role of the economic theory in this process seems underestimated. The paper analyses the writings of two classical liberal thinkers – John Stuart Mill and Herbert Spencer, the former a pioneer of egalitarian liberalism, the latter of laissez-faire liberalism. Both Mill and Spencer were the followers of the classical political economy accepting the classical theory of distribution. Both saw the distribution of wealth as a spontaneous process, seeing no possibility correcting it for the people’s sake without disturbances or damages. According to the classical theory of wage fund, workers would get higher incomes only through accumulation of capital by owners and repressing their own fertility. Such statement was fundamentally opposite to all postulates of the workers’ movement. Workers always claimed bigger share in social income and legislation favoring laborers. The inevitable result of this contradiction was a conflict between liberal and democratic ideas. Mill and Spencer proposed two different solutions. J. S. Mill found a specific compromise and proposed enlarging franchise on working class, but with a still dominant position of the educated classes. Mill was against equal franchise for the working class because he did not conceive them as liable, rational and sober people. This position results from the wage fund doctrine; according to it, abundant workers’ fertility is wasteful for them and only sexual restraint (or chastity) would make their wages higher. Spencer in his early writing was an enthusiast of democracy, supposing the working class’ affinity to free market solutions. His later disappointment with democracy turned him into a strong critic of democratic parliamentarism from the standpoint of laissez-faire individualism. The case of these two liberal thinkers shows fundamental difficulty in reconciliation between the ideas of democracy and free market. We could choose democracy accepting welfare state or choose free market solution and become unambiguous critics of democracy. Spencer was a forerunner of all later ‘neoliberal’ critics of welfare state. Mill’s opinion was halfway between laissez-faire liberalism and modern egalitarian liberalism. Democracy and equal voting rights became acceptable by mainstream economist only when they had abandoned the wage fund doctrine and other constructs of the classical political economy. Thus changes in the economic theory had a significant impact on the evolution of political liberalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 pandemic has been a real challenge and severe test of International Relations. It has been also a chance to gain or lose points in inter-power rivalry in Africa, which is full of contradictions. On the one hand, rich in human and natural resources, including energy ones. On the other hand, full of poverty, poor infrastructure (including health infrastructure), internal conflicts and political and economic instability what have a bad influence on the world economy and security. China, which nowadays is perceived as one of the most aggressive competitors in Africa, seems to conduct highly consistent policy towards this continent without any break, even in time of COVID-19 pandemic. This paper is an attempt to analyse Chinese activities in Africa at that time in context of global competition in this area and to evaluate how much they can influence China’s position there. Thus, after a brief historical background, it presents the most significant formal events and declarations between both partners, along with Chinese “mask and vaccine diplomacy” towards Africa from early 2020 until the beginning of 2023. The elements like soft power actions were especially under consideration in this analysis as these ones that are the most effective in the contemporary global policy, or at least equally fruitful as hard power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), founded in February 1976 in the territory of the former Spanish Sahara, belongs today to the so-called unrecognised states category that do not meet all the criteria of the statehood. In the case of the SADR, it enjoys the recognition of several dozen UN members, as well as the most important international regional organisation on the continent – the African Union, however, the Sahrawi government controls only about 20% of the territory it claims rights for. Therefore, the axis of the SADR foreign policy is the constant struggle for international recognition, together with the attempts to exert indirect pressure on Morocco, which could persuade it to adopt the Sahrawi resolution to the protracted conflict over Western Sahara. Both of these goals seem increasingly distant, due to the events of the last three years: the Guerguerat crisis that ended the ceasefire between the POLISARIO Front and Moroccan forces, the decision of the administration of President Donald Trump to open a US consulate in the city of Dakhla in the Moroccan-controlled territory contested by the SADR, and the change in the position of the Spanish government – currently expressing support for the Moroccan plan for Western Sahara autonomy. The article is an attempt to analyse the foreign policy of an unrecognised state such as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in the context of international conditions in the region (in this case Maghreb), challenges it faces and the possibility of achieving its goals. The paper is largely based on qualitative data collected during field research over the years 2016-2023 conducted during study visits to Algeria and Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper problematizes the collective dimension of social control in oral societies, focusing mostly on nomadic communities of hunters-gatherers and tribal segments. The author analyzes conditions for effective control considering the functions of existential conditions (economic co-dependence of society members, flexibility of camp groups, forms of residence, the strength of leadership) and social attitudes (communality, control and punishment acceptance). The paper also reconstructs basic instruments of social control: critique, social distancing, and executions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research aim of the paper is to analyze the objectives of the European Union (EU) climate policy and the instruments for their implementation, as well as to present the challenges on the way to achieving climate neutrality by the EU. In 2015, during the 21st UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, an agreement was agreed, the purpose of which is to limit global warming, aiming, among other things, for limiting the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and preferably to no more than 1.5°C. All EU Member States have ratified the above agreement, while agreeing to take action to make the EU the world’s first climate-neutral economy and society by 2050. To achieve this, the “European Green Deal” strategy was adopted, followed by the European Climate Law and the “Fit for 55” package of legislative proposals. In addition, a more ambitious EU climate target for 2030 has been agreed, namely a reduction of net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% compared to 1990 levels. Based on this, the following research hypothesis should be put forward, assuming that if all initiated projects, climate programs and mechanisms are fully implemented, the EU will become the first climate neutral continent by 2050. The first part of the article focuses on the goals of the European Green Deal and their implementation. The second part discusses the assumptions of European Climate Law and the elements of the “Fit for 55” package, as well as presents the most important financial instruments of the EU climate policy. The third part contains an analysis of the challenges standing in the way of the EU achieving climate neutrality by 2050, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian aggression against Ukraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to present Germany’s position during the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU/CSU/SPD coalition: 2018-2021) and Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD/Alliance 90/Greens/FDP coalition: from 2021) towards changes in climate policy (understood as reform) introduced by the European Green Deal and the Fit for 55 package of legislative proposals, with particular emphasis on the issue of CO2 emission standards for new passenger cars and new light commercial vehicles. Germany’s support for increasing the level of ambition in the field of climate protection in the EU was largely the result of the belief that the success of the German transformation of the energy sector and achieving climate neutrality by 2045 also depends on the progress of the energy transformation process and the climate neutrality policy in the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of the paper is to analyze the multidimensional phenomenon of crime and violence in Honduras in the context of the militarization of security. It shows mechanisms and manifestations of some activities of the transnational organized crime networks and the street gangs, emphasizing the significance of identity and a sense of belonging that are crucial to understand why some young people decide to join these criminal groups. The paper is also focused on the most important programs and initiatives implemented by the central authorities to face these challenges in the 2000s and 2010s. The main finding of this study recognizes the role of the military forces in the domestic policy and strategy against crime in Honduras and the challenges for democracy and human rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Persuasion, disinformation, manipulation, censorship, which are elements of propaganda, can be regarded as central terms of the language of politics, especially during conflict situations and wars. The question of interest is in what ways the specific language techniques are used by the Russian Foreign Affairs Department for the purposes of propaganda in the context of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The paper analyzes the official statements of Maria Zakharova, the Director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation that are available on the web page of the Embassy of Russia in Berlin. The following examinations are confronted with the well-documented nature of the persuasive language in Nazi propaganda before and during World War II. The aim of such analysis is to examine in what ways and to what extent the specific propaganda techniques they are used to justify the war that Russia has started by invading Ukraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 began the modernisation of state security systems in the Baltic Sea region. A pioneer in the creation of comprehensive security was the Republic of Estonia, which began to implement the total defence strategy as early as 2008, after the political crisis caused by the Russian minority. The protests have disrupted the functioning of Estonian public institutions and the private sector, which are threatened by cyberattacks. The Russian Federation could use not only military but also hybrid means. Therefore, Estonia has decided to implement a completely new version of the total defence strategy. The paper seeks to assess the Estonian concept of holistic security, with particular emphasis on solutions for civil defence in crisis situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adopting the model of neoclassical realism and elements of the American-centric nationalist paradigm, the paper examines both systemic factors stemming from the Sino-American power rivalry and internal ones referring to the populist traditions of American foreign policy. The main goal of America regarding Taiwan was to use its relationship with the island in its policy of containment of China by emphasizing Taiwan’s right to decide its future and preventing China from taking over the island by force. Along with deepening bilateral cooperation, the administration used multilateral mechanisms to promote the concept of peace and security across the Taiwan Strait as an essential element of the global order, which increased the number of countries interested in maintaining the status quo. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine heightened concerns about the possibility of PRC’s attack on Taiwan, prompting the Biden administration to intensify pressure on Taipei to accelerate military reform. However, the accentuation of closer relations between Washington and Taipei was interpreted by China as a provocative crossing of more “red lines,” leading to an intensification of repressive measures against Taiwan and the consolidation of bellicose rhetoric directed against both Washington and Taipei. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to present the Taiwan’s policies and actions relating to climate change. Despite the exclusion from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Taiwan has voluntarily ratified global climate conventions and has implemented a number of legislative, technical and organizational measures to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gasses and reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Tackling both climate change and minimizing its effects is a priority for Taiwan. In order to achieve the sustainable development goals Taiwan treats renewable energy as a critical solution in combating climate change and ensuring energy security by adding diversity to an overall electricity mix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary Taiwan is one of the leading democratic countries in Asia. The authorities in Taipei, under the leadership of President Tsai Ing-wen and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party have actively conveyed this message to the international community through their foreign policy since 2016. The objective of this paper is to examine the concept of “democracy diplomacy” in Taiwan, analyzing both scholarly discourse and observing Taiwan’s foreign policy. This strategic approach greatly bolsters Taiwan’s position among other nations that uphold democratic values, especially in the face of rivalries between major powers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows the dynamics of topical, aesthetical and political changes in the world-known contemporary dance group – Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan (Yunmen Wuji), created by Lin Hwai-min in 1973. Those metamorphoses are observed in a broad socio-political and cultural context, in the rapidly changing reality of Taiwan, Mainland China and the whole world at the turn of the 20th and 21st century. Short analyses of the most iconic dance compositions by Lin Hwai-min make it possible to trace the direction of the changes, starting from search for Chinese cultural identity, through the quest for definition of Taiwanese cultural and national identity, gaining the feeling of being rooted in traditional Chinese aesthetics and finally confirming the importance of local Taiwanese tradition as an equally meaningful source of creative inspiration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A great majority of Taiwanese people declare themselves to be Taiwanese only (61% in 2022) or Taiwanese and also Chinese (additional 31%), which gives an impression of ethnic and national unity. However, the divisive factors of (sub) ethnic grouping, language diversity and historical consciousness are still present. Taiwanese nationalism, which in its civilian form is organized around present state of Republic of China (ROC) as opposed to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). However, ROC, although de facto an independent state is not de iure a Taiwanese state, as can be seen in its national symbolism. The paper analyses this enthosymbolical dimension of Taiwanese national identity, discussing four main symbolical spheres: the memory of the 2-28 Incident; memory and idealization of the Japanese colonial period; strong presence of local languages, used alongside the official northern mandarin standard; and finally, the presence of the Aborigine people and their cultures. All these spheres are important in Taiwan symbolical space, and their importance is further strengthened by the actions of the state (public commemorations, protecting the cultural relicts of Japanese period, removing the ones connected with authoritarian regime of Chiang Kai-shek etc.). However, the author remains doubtful if they have enough emotional and symbolical power to unite Taiwanese in the face of the Chinese threat. Closely related question is the future effect of the recommendations of the report of the Commision of Transitional Justice about the monuments of the KMT period, whose fate is a strongly contested issue, and which needs further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LEGAL AND POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF JUSTICE OF 6 SEPTEMBER 2017 IN THE CASE OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC AND HUNGARY V COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION ON THE ACTION FOR ANNULMENT OF DECISION (EU) 2015/1601 The subject of the paper is the analysis of the judgment of the Court of Justice in joined cases C-643/15 and C-647/15 annulment of Council Decision (EU) 2015/1601 of 22.09.2015 establishing provisional measures in the area of international protection for the benefit of Italy and Greece. The Republic of Poland intervenes in the allegations raised in the complaint against the Council of the EU. The study will present the context, genesis and content of the contested decision, as well as the arguments of the parties and the assessment of individual allegations by the Court. The decision was taken in response to the migration crisis in the Mediterranean, which prompted the EU institutions to take solidarity measures in favour of frontline countries. The decision provides, e.g., for the relocation of persons who have applied for international protection from Italy and Greece to the territory of other Member States. The aim of the paper is to examine the impact of the judgment of the Court of Justice on the shape of immigration policy manifested in the practice of EU Member States and EU institutions. The study mainly uses the legalanalytical method. Selected acts of primary and secondary EU law and judgments of the Court of Justice were subjected to legal analysis.

This paper examines the contemporary condition of teaching at universities. It argues that university is endangered by losing its identity. The difference between school and university is introduced as a representative example of the problem. The main argument refers to the Gadamerian concept of conversation and it suggests that high quality education is dialogical in its tenor. Unfortunately, tertiary educational quite often differs in practice from what we understand in current European pedagogy as an educational experience. In the first part of this paper, the question on the pedagogical potential of conversation is raised. The second and third parts provide a description of university as a place where education as a dialogical experience still prevails, particularly in lecturing as a form of teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper focuses on Aleksandar Petrov’s novel Kao zlato u vatri, originally published by this Serbian author in 1998. The novel’s main characters represent diverse ethnic groups inhabiting the Balkans (Jews, Serbians, Russians), and their fortunes intertwined with the tumultuous events of 20th century history, namely WWII and the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s. The primary objective of the article is to address the question of whether it is feasible to apply Michael Rothberg’s model of multifaceted memory in a scenario involving distinct memory communities (such as Serbs, Croatians, and possibly Jews), characterized by a specific proximity (primarily territorial, historical and rooted in past coexistence within one national entity) and where relations are predominantly shaped by unresolved past grievances and mutual accusations of guilt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to analyze contemporary symbols and signs associated with radical and extremist systems, political movements and paramilitary organizations in Ukraine, especially in the context of the events in Cracow in 2021, when the monument to Józef Piłsudski and the Legion Quartet were vandalized. The letter „N” was painted on the pedestal of the monument to Józef Piłsudski and Four legionnaires were painted yellow and blue – colors of the Ukrainian flag in reverse order. There was also a piece of cardboard left with the inscription “Poland – not only for the gentry” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an attempt to clarify the relationship between the elite theory and the idea of the deep state. Both approaches address similar questions about how concentrated political power is created in the state, and both offer similar answers. An analysis of the historical context based on Italian and Turkish experiences with deep-state entities like mafia and intelligence agencies helps us understand dysfunctional elites in action. Consequently, the article explores research possibilities and theoretical solutions combining elitists view of politics with historical data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

THE IMPORTANCE AND ROLE OF AFRICAN COUNTRIES FOR TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY UNDER THE RULE OF THE JUSTICE AND DEVELOPMENT PARTY (AKP) The main aim of the article is to trace an evolution of Turkey’s foreign policy towards African countries. Assuming that during the rule of the Justice and Development Party a qualitative change took place in Turkey’s approach to this area, the paper will analyse its particular importance in the process of shaping the new identity of Ankara’s foreign policy after 2002. In addition, the ambition of the submitted paper is also to indicate the reasons for the change that took place in the way of building relations with some countries of the region, so characteristic for overall Turkey’s international activities during the rule of R.T. Erdoğan and his political party.

The main objective of this paper is to analyse the increase of significance investment instruments in regional policy of the European Union after 2014. The reasons of this phenomenon have been pointed out in the context of the European Union structural funds. They refer to political interests, economic, social environmental challenges faced by the EU regions under conditions of limitation the EU expenditure on regional development financing. Solutions in the following areas: objectives, priorities and rules of intervention of the structural funds have been presented – those which have an investment dimension. Investment approach is going to be carried on in the next Multiannual Financial Framework after 2020. The paper has been elaborated based on using method of institutional analysis the key EU regional policy legal regulations and existing scientific literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How to Dispel Them In this paper I will argue that within the decades since the Velvet Revolution of 1989, the mutual perception of the liberal and leftist political formations negatively affected the prospects of their possible cooperation. A failure of the Polish liberals to cooperate with Poland’s Left was among the main reasons for the inability to form a progressive alliance. More importantly, it left a fertile ground upon which populist and authoritarian movements were able to grow. As a result, Poland, initially presented as a role model of the transition from the conditions of the “real” socialism, has become an oppressive despotic regime, just like Turkey and Hungary. I will attempt to explain the emergence of the non-liberal democracy in Poland by stressing in particular the failure of the Polish liberals to take seriously the problems of social and economic exclusion resulting from the economic shock therapy applied during the transformative decades. Pointing to the tradition of the egalitarian liberalism, largely overlooked in Poland, I will argue that there are both doctrinal resources and practical models which could be tapped by Polish liberals in order to establish a fruitful cooperation with the Poland’s Left. Such a programme would have a chance to succeed on the condition of dispelling the phantom of neoliberalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the article is to analyse the actions taken by the European Union towards the Western Balkans in the context of the migration crisis. The study assumes that the migration crisis was an important factor accelerating the accession process of the Western Balkan countries to the European Union. In order to fulfil the research goal, an analysis of sources (European Union documents) was conducted. The paper uses elements of the theory of the regional security complex as a theoretical framework. Firstly, the activities of the European Union before the migration crisis are discussed. Next, the paper focuses on presenting the course of the crisis on the Western Balkan route. The further part of the study discusses the actions taken by the EU towards the countries of the Western Balkans in response to the migration crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses post-memory narratives concerning the loss of the eastern provinces of the Reich as well as the flight and expulsion of their German inhabitants as found in the novels of German writers born in the 1950s and 1960s: Hans-Ulrich Treichel's 'Der Verlorene' (1998) and 'Anatolin' (2008), Reinhard Jirgl's 'Die Unvollendeten' (2003) and Ulrike Draesner's 'Sieben Sprünge vom Rand der Welt' (2014). These stories showing far-reaching consequences of the 'expulsion from the East' examine complex mechanisms through which traumatic knowledge about the past is handed down from generation to generation. Consequently, the paper focuses on how the German authors make use of motifs characterizing post-memory or post-traumatic discourse about mourning and loss, and the way the key figures of that discourse structure their texts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to present the results of an analysis of the content of strategic documents on national security adopted by the United States and Poland between 2001 and 2020. The choice of the research field was determined by the place these documents occupy in the hierarchy of strategic texts related to state security. Due to the cooperation between both states and the Polish perception of the United States as the most important ally, the research task is to determine whether there is a convergence in the content of strategic documents issued by the Rzeczpospolita in relation to US documents. Furthermore, the paper examines to what extent the links between the two countries are reflected in the form and content of official strategic documents and in the description of threats. The text consists of three parts. The first is theoretical and focuses on describing the hierarchy of strategic documents in both countries. The second section presents a comparative analysis of the formal aspect and, therefore, how documents are adopted in the United States and in Poland. The last part of the article contains the conclusions of the analysis of the threats identified in the documents of both countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the Author analyzes new social movement labeled the “Inquisitives”. It apparently has its roots in political thought and in philosophy of “the right to know”. New Zealand adopted the Official Information Act in 1980 to give citizens the formal right to inquire about the public affairs. As society has evolved under constant technological pressure so has evolved the way in which people get information. The information society strives for information about political issues, and about political-public affairs. The Author of this paper suggests that a new social movement has been operating globally, considering the particular case of the Inquisitives movement in New Zealand. The paper aims to explore its genesis, background, roles, functions, political values, motives and goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research objective of the paper is to highlight the prospects for the implementation of the main directions of the reform of the Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) of the European Union until 2025. The caesuras of the work are marked by two events: the adoption of the Global Strategy for the Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union by the European Council on 28 June 2016 and the decision of the European Council of 24 March 2022 on the adoption of the Strategic Compass for Security and Defense. First of all, the research hypothesis should be established that the full implementation of CSDP reform, which was initiated with the adoption of the Global Strategy for the Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union, and the resulting projects can significantly strengthen the position of the EU in the international arena. This will lead to the establishment of the European Security and Defense Union and the EU Rapid Reaction Force (5,000 troops) by the end of 2025. However, since many of the planned reform elements have not yet been completed or initiated, much will depend on the political will of individual member state governments, the level of spending on reform implementation by member states and the EU, and the progress of other reforms already underway (including addressing the economic and social consequences of the pandemic crisis and implementing eurozone systemic reform). The following research questions should then be asked: (1) How has the implementation process of the Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy gone so far? (2) How has the implementation of new projects (including the European Defense Fund, PESCO, and the Strategic Compass) affected EU-NATO relations? (3) How do selected EU member states assess these projects? (4) To what extent can the project to establish a European Security Council with the participation of Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Poland compete with and usefully complement the EU Strategic Compass project? The first part of the analysis presents the implementation process of the Global Strategy for the Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union until 2022. The second part analyzes the goals, priorities, and assumptions of the Strategic Compass, the implementation of which is intended to lead the EU to strategic autonomy by 2030. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global crisis events like the coronavirus pandemic can have an effect on the media and the habits of their audience. The need to find information about the virus and imposed restrictions, as well as the intensity of the COVID-19 coverage and the need to verify the truthfulness of news, make people use many different sources of information. People use media in different ways depending on where they live and the type of political regime and model of media system in their country. This paper aims to analyze whether the model of media system affected people’s selection of sources of information on the virus in Poland, Italy, France, Czech Republic, Sweden and the United Kingdom, and if the pandemic could have changed the media consumption. Based on an online survey conducted with 9541 respondents from six countries, and reports on media use in Poland in 2019 and 2020, we argue that the model of media system did not determine the changes we observed in media use. The nature of the pandemic was more important in this respect, and, as our research shows, led to an increase in media use in the studied countries – especially websites and social media. The case of Poland also showed that the use of public service increased, which can be interpreted as the need for the public to learn about the government’s opinions and restrictions, and to verify news found online. The increase in online media and public service use are the most noticeable changes in media consumption in Poland during the pandemic compared to 2019. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper takes up the issue of “depoliticization” through dehumanization. The starting point is the belief that phenomena of “politicization” and “political” are relatively well recognized in scientific literature, however the problem of depoliticization have not yet been adequately explored. The concept of depoliticization refers to the conditions, criteria, and mechanisms that are key to reducing or depriving a given phenomenon of its political status. Depoliticization does not mean (or at least does not have to mean) an effective removal of the phenomenon from the political sphere, but rather circumstances or actions whose political impact is not obvious. The article focuses on the issue of depoliticization through dehumanization, and more specifically, on how denial of full humanness of groups allows to reduce their status as a political subject, and thus to recognize their claims or interests as not proper or not adequate to political debate. The issues of relations between the processes of humanization and political subjectification as well as dehumanization and political objectification are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the author analyzes the new social movement labeled „The Inquisitives”. It apparently has its roots in political thought and in philosophy of „the right to know”. Poland adopted the Act on Access to Public Information (2001) to give citizens the formal right to inquire about the public affairs. The information society strives for information about political issues, and about political-public affairs. The author of this paper has stated two hypothesis that (1) a new social movement - the Inquisitives has been occurring in Poland and (2) access to public information has been used for political struggle. The author aims to explore aims, genesis, background, roles, functions, and political values of The Inquisitives within categories such as political scandals, corruption, interest groups, power concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of climate change has started to be implemented in official strategic documents of the United States (US) in the first decade of the 21st century. This paper describes briefly the hierarchy of the US national security documents and climate change-related definitions. In the main part it makes an analysis of how climate change-related issues were introduced into the US national security strategic documents by the three 21st century American presidents. The paper comes to a conclusion, that climate change is treated as a national security threat and therefore reflected in a number of the US strategic documents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to provide an analysis of the question of violations of human rights during the last military dictatorship in Argentina (1976-1983) and the impact of this problem on bilateral relations with the United States. The article will focus mostly on the presidency of James "Jimmy" Earl Carter. The political line he adopted, known as "the Carter doctrine" or "human rights policy" was the basis of restrictive attitude towards the Argentine dictators. In order to provide a complete analysis, the topic of the paper was treated broadly, covering not only bilateral, American-Argentine issues, but also multilateral forms of exerting pressure on Argentina, mainly from the United Nations and Organization of American States. The article also provides an analysis of the human rights policy itself, as well as of the state terror introduced by the Argentine military, known as the "Dirty War". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to supplement the findings made by the doctrine of constitutional law regarding the requirements of the majority of votes for amending the 1997 Constitution of Poland at the parliamentary stage of that procedure. The following issues will be analysed in particular: the significance of constitutional amendment rules in a democratic system of government and their impact on its rigidity and durability; the role of the quorum as a factor contributing to the majority of votes’ requirements and some political dilemmas associated with that matter; the reasons and consequences of adopting different levels of the majority of votes for amending the Constitution in the Sejm and the Senate and their relation to the form of the relationships between those chambers. Regulations regarding amending the 1997 Constitution of Poland will be presented against a background of contemporary constitutions of European states. The important interpretative context will be constituted by the issues of axiology of democracy, parliamentary bicameralism and legitimization of power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the principle of separation of powers in Serbia has been regulated following the parliamentary model in the span of three decades, it has in practice functioned most often as a semi-presidential system. This paper analyzes two groups of factors that are the cause of presidentialization. Institutional factors that systematically create an environment suited for presidentialization include shortcomings in the constitutional design, the proportional electoral system and oligarchic tendencies in the party system. Direct election gives the President of the Republic strong legitimacy, and by retaining the position of party leader, in an electoral system with closed electoral lists and weak intra-party democracy, the head of state can easily control the parliamentary majority, the government and the parliament, thus upsetting the balance of power. Another group of factors that strongly affect the action of the aforementioned institutional aspects are a political culture with a strong authoritarian tradition and a lack of respect for the constitution and the democratic tradition. The consequences are strong authoritarian and populist tendencies and a departure from the liberal concept of democracy. The options proposed by the academic and political public as a solution to the situation blocking the consolidation of democracy in Serbia include the normativization of the incompatibility of office of the head of state and party leader, the abolition of direct elections, and a semi-presidential system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is devoted to the analysis of the origins and development of a social initiative, the so-called Treni della felicità (Trains of happiness) and its impact on shaping civil society and sense of national community in the post-war Italy. This project, initiated by the Union of Italian Women (Unione Donne Italiane, UDI) and then promoted mainly by the Italian Communist Party (Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) assumed the transfer of tens of thousands of children from families in need from southern Italy to relatively more developed north-central regions of the country in order to provide them better living conditions after World War II. This example of the fight against poverty and inequalities seems to be a forgotten symbol of solidarity and renewal of the idea of civil society in post-totalitarian Italy. Moreover, this action for children is not only an example of civic activity, but also an important element in the debate on the traditional division of Italy into North and South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transition from totalitarian to post-totalitarian type of society requires profound changes not only within institutional frames but also in the mentality of a society. In the case of Russia it is not the matter of coming back to the civil society mechanisms but creating them from anew, as the kind of citizen – state relations had not been spread to the whole society before the Soviet Union times. Intelligentsia could be an agent of the changes towards post-totalitarian state and social order. In this paper questions about the intelligentsia’s status and role in the Russian society were posed. The idea of civil society coined in the times of the Decembrist was confronted with the mobilized type of governing. Intelligentsia, as perceived by the Russian society and experts on the one hand and its self portrait on the other hand were discussed. An important question concerned the role of the Russian political opposition as the intelligentsia’s ethos continuation. The conclusions were that the intelligentsia repeats the pattern which was first developed at the beginning of the 19th century: its idealistic members are ready to struggle for the common good but without common social support. The status of intelligentsia is perceived as high if about education and morality, but it diminishes when its leadership is concerned. In the Russian post-totalitarian society the state is still an agent to be followed. It takes Russians towards totalitarianism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

POLITICAL ECONOMY AND DEMOCRACY IN THE WRITINGS OF CLASSICAL LIBERALS – JOHN STUART MILL AND HERBERT SPENCER The main aim of this paper is showing mainstream economic theory as an important factor shaping the evolution of political liberalism. The role of the economic theory in this process seems underestimated. The paper analyses the writings of two classical liberal thinkers – John Stuart Mill and Herbert Spencer, the former a pioneer of egalitarian liberalism, the latter of laissez-faire liberalism. Both Mill and Spencer were the followers of the classical political economy accepting the classical theory of distribution. Both saw the distribution of wealth as a spontaneous process, seeing no possibility correcting it for the people’s sake without disturbances or damages. According to the classical theory of wage fund, workers would get higher incomes only through accumulation of capital by owners and repressing their own fertility. Such statement was fundamentally opposite to all postulates of the workers’ movement. Workers always claimed bigger share in social income and legislation favoring laborers. The inevitable result of this contradiction was a conflict between liberal and democratic ideas. Mill and Spencer proposed two different solutions. J. S. Mill found a specific compromise and proposed enlarging franchise on working class, but with a still dominant position of the educated classes. Mill was against equal franchise for the working class because he did not conceive them as liable, rational and sober people. This position results from the wage fund doctrine; according to it, abundant workers’ fertility is wasteful for them and only sexual restraint (or chastity) would make their wages higher. Spencer in his early writing was an enthusiast of democracy, supposing the working class’ affinity to free market solutions. His later disappointment with democracy turned him into a strong critic of democratic parliamentarism from the standpoint of laissez-faire individualism. The case of these two liberal thinkers shows fundamental difficulty in reconciliation between the ideas of democracy and free market. We could choose democracy accepting welfare state or choose free market solution and become unambiguous critics of democracy. Spencer was a forerunner of all later ‘neoliberal’ critics of welfare state. Mill’s opinion was halfway between laissez-faire liberalism and modern egalitarian liberalism. Democracy and equal voting rights became acceptable by mainstream economist only when they had abandoned the wage fund doctrine and other constructs of the classical political economy. Thus changes in the economic theory had a significant impact on the evolution of political liberalism.

The concept of memory laws has been gaining attention for the past few years. It is commonly defined as legal provisions governing history, including repressive measures against the denial of past crimes. Memory laws also include stateapprovedinterpretations of crucial historical events, the law establishing state holidays and commemoration of victims of past atrocities. The laws have a big part in transition and reconciliation, however, they may also lead to a distortion of historical truth. The main purpose of the paper is to analyse the coexistence between memory laws and the right to the truth in the context of human rights violations and international crimes. For that reason, firstly, the legal nature of the truth and memory under international law is evaluated. Secondly, the Rwandan legal provisions on genocide are analysed and comments are made on the elements of the Rwandan traditions concerning the past. That example serves to show the danger of the politicization of memory laws. Finally, the paper is an attempt to answer the question whether the conjunction of the right to the truth and memory laws is necessary.

Josiah Warren is portrayed as the father of American individualist anarchism and the first American anarchist. This paper investigates his contribution to the development of educational theories and his educational practices, since for Warren, as many anarchists, education is the main path to create a new society. Warren’s educational theories and experiments originated mainly from his stay in New Harmony between 1825 and 1827, where he encountered innovative method of teaching that nurtured children’s independence, invented by Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi. Therefore, the aim of this text is to trace how Warren’s philosophy of education was shaped to become an essential element of his theory of stateless political and legal order and how Warren combined concepts of extreme individualism with his economic theories, such as equitable commerce and cost the limit of price. The knowledge of Warren’s New Harmony experience where he encountered William Maclure and Pestalozzian social reformers will enable the reader to better understand the framework of his own concept of education that he practiced at the Spring Hill School in Ohio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Separatist aspirations in Europe are now a captivating issue. Regions like Scotland and Catalonia deserve special attention. The aim of the article is to show differences in the perception of both cases, due to their frequent comparing in journalistic papers. The study consists of two parts that concern Scotland and Catalonia. In each of them the institutional and legal positions of the regions were taken into the consideration. In addition, the course of events in Scotland and Catalonia in 2014 and 2017 was considered in the context of the independence referendums carried out in these regions. The summary of this article consists of comparison of the factors which show that there are no grounds for adapting analogy between Scotland and Catalonia. Factors that have been taken into account are: the legal order and the regulations used to define the legal status of the regions, and also the relations between central and subnational (regional) levels in Scotland and Catalonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is devoted to the problem of Predappio as a place of contested memory. Benito Mussolini’s hometown is presented in literature as a symbolic site of the divided memory of the fascist regime. In what follows, I will examine the process of shaping the image of Predappio from the fascist period to the present day, as well as strategies implemented by local authorities to overcome the legacy of this difficult heritage and build a positive narrative of the city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the case of Bolzano as a border city situated between Italy and Austria that had to deal with the unresolved issue of “difficult history” and “difficult heritage” after World War II. A particular emphasis is placed on the fascist Victory Monument as a symbol of the antagonism between the Italian and German-speaking population of the city, and the exhibition “BZ ‘18-’45: One Monument, One City, Two Dictatorships” as an example of dealing with “difficult heritage”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decline of paganism in Late Antiquity contributed to the transformation of culture of the roman society. With the victory of Christianity, which became firstly a dominant and later the only accepted religion, the objects of the classical culture became a problematic heritage. The aim of the paper is to present the Christians’ shifting attitude towards the material remains of the pagan culture and the way in which they influenced and shaped the identity of the Christian community. These processes are analyzed on the example of Rome in the period from the 4th to the 6th century. Special attention is paid to the area of the Roman Forum, which was characterized by exceptional accumulation and density of the monuments which constituted the pagan heritage. Since it was the central and representative space, the symbolical character of the forum was very important for the leaders of the local community and its transformations reflect very well the changing attitude of the Christians towards the pagan heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities play a very important role in contemporary international relations. We introduce the concept of city diplomacy in this paper. Many important themes addressed by cities within the framework of city diplomacy are those related to history. Cities often build their promotional narratives around them. We look at selected contemporary cities and their policies in the area of cultural diversity, taking into account the historical perspective. For many cities, the building of a community of memories and the running of a coherent narrative using history are becoming very important elements in strengthening their identity and image. The article will point to museums as an example of such activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than 25 years have passed since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Despite that, political scientists until now have used the category of 'post-Soviet countries', meaning that the Soviet past still determines the direction of the evolution of the political systems of the republics that won their independence in 1991 and that they still share some common features of the political design and have failed to successfully complete the transformation to democracy. The main goal of the following paper is to present institutional conditions that make post-Soviet authoritarian regimes relatively stable and limit the alternation of power. Main conclusions of the paper are the following: firstly, the power in post-Soviet authoritarian countries is held by their presidents who create informal groups of relevant politicians and businessmen that can be treated as neo-patrimonial clients. Secondly, presidential or parliamentary elections are regularly held but are just a facade that is meant to hide and legitimize authoritarian practices of these regimes. Thirdly, in such countries significant role the political life is played by the so-called 'parties of power' - non-ideological parties whose only goal is to support the president. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the potential of a constructivist approach in analysing the European Union's security strategy area. It focuses on the new EU Global Strategy (EUGS), which was adopted by the Council at the end of June 2016. First, the methodology is explained, followed by discussing the consequence of using the document's language for EU identity. The paper then focuses on the new title of the strategy that shows a new approach to security strategies within the European External Action Service's staff. The consequences of building a narrative about the "threatened" but also "needed" and "influential" European Union are underlined here. Furthermore, the new role of the EU in the international scene is described, focusing on the shift from the EU as a civilian power to the EU as a normal power, with an emphasis on the importance of the preservation of the EU as a normative power. The conclusions from using a constructivist approach to examine the EUGS are then presented, which show that mechanisms of the logics of appropriateness, consequence, and persuasion are observed within the document. Moreover, the language of the EUGS could have an influence on EU identity and role on the global stage. The constructivist approach proves that the EU external actions are continuously under construction, and the EUGS is the next step in achieving a more coherent and effective European foreign and security policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article remarks about the „adherence” of the past to the present in the context of the film, Demon directed by Marcin Wrona showing that the influence of fiction on memory brings about a lot of changes in the cognition of the relations between the past and the present. The author of the paper suggests that we could or should treat fiction as the cognitive frame of the relations between the past and the present. To be able to strengthen his hypothesis, he analyzes and interprets the film created in the horror genre, which shows complicated JewishPolish relations. The article is a short introduction to the theory of fiction as the cognitive frame of memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a post-memory oriented analysis of the movies Bent (1997) and Paragraph 175 (2000), both referring to the so-called pink triangles—homosexual men persecuted by the Nazis. The author reverses Marianne Hirsch’s key concept in order to introduce a new one, “the generation of homosexual post-memory”. Theoretical categories of dignity, shame, and profanation are used contextually, to comment on the main themes of the movies and their common interpretations. Seen through the post-memory perspective, films under discussion become substitutes of direct, familial narratives, which for years remained inaccessible due to binding law, social taboos, “institutional homophobia”, and sustained “days of masquerade”. Even though it may not seem obvious at first, the text presents that both titles have the potential to activate the process of trauma transfer and create homosexual post-memory as such. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]