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This article aims to outline main directions of the security strategy of the People’s Republic of China basing on the analysis of the Defence White Paper of July 2019, the political practice of the Beijing authorities as well as internal and international situation. Having analysed the above mentioned areas, the author concludes that the contemporary strategy of the PRC is internally subordinated to maintaining territorial, political and social integrity, including primarily legitimization of the power of the Communist Party of China. Externally, the strategy is oriented at reversing the unfavourable balance of forces in the Asia-Pacific region and weakening of the US military advantage. Those two directions determine the activities of the Chinese state in such specific areas as: modernization of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the relations with Taiwan and claims concerning South China Sea. The Defence White Paper is aimed at contrasting the unilateral and hegemonic policy of the United States (as the authors of the document see it) with the defensive and moderate activities of China. The narration serves to convince international players to remain neutral or engage in collaboration with China in the face of intensifying military, economic and political pressure on the part of the USA. China has entered a “critical moment” of its development and the response of the Beijing authorities to the challenges of internal development and external pressures will determine whether in the 21st century it will become a superpower.

POPREBEL Working Paper series POPREBEL (Populist rebellion against modernity in 21st-century Eastern Europe: neo-traditionalism and neo-feudalism) is a large Horizon 2020-funded research project on the rise of populism in Central and Eastern Europe. The aim of the project is to describe the phenomenon, create a typology of its various manifestations, reconstruct trajectories of its growth and decline, investigate its causes, interpret its meanings, diagnose its consequences and propose policy solutions. This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 822682. The POPREBEL consortium comprises six universities – UCL (co-ordinating institution), University of Belgrade, Charles University, Corvinus University of Budapest, Jagiellonian University and University of Tartu – and Edgeryders, a social enterprise. This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 822682. 2 No. 10 Working paper is entitled: Russian (hidden and overt) economic, political and cultural influences in Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro

This article examines the industrial wastes and environmental effects of Soviet technological development through the history of the Karelian Isthmus, a border territory that had previously been Fi...

The 2017 Foreign Policy White Paper identifies major themes and recommends preferred strategies in Australia’s engagement with the world. These themes and strategies relate to geopolitics, economic...

This contribution discusses the vital role of paper in the context of an early modern Mediterranean island-state. From a commerical, but also from a political perspective, the increased amount of seaborne communication not only characterised statehood but indeed made it possible. Paper-based communication was the main channel of formal but also of informal communication, with the latter comprising the exchange of news, rumours, and hearsay between the geographically isolated community and the rest of the Mediterranean and beyond. Such paper transactions comprised manuscript but also increasingly printed genres. The role of these and of other typologies of printed commercial literature went beyond a purely utilitarian one, as very often such forms included decorative iconographical representations asserting either political sovreignity or religious power. Paper-based communication enabled such an island community not simply to receive news but also to be a net distributer of it.

In the article discussed history of building Astrakhan and Selenga paper and cardboard mills. The author on base archival materials is analyzing the impact of expert commentary on the building paper and cardboard mills. The main purpose of the article is to show, on the example of the construction of the CCC, the process of relations between scientific expert groups and government representatives on the issue of environmental safety in the design and location of the country's production facilities. In addition, the author emphasizes that for the Soviet leadership, issues of the environmental component of enterprises often became secondary, departing from economic necessity. At the same time, the scientific community itself did not in some cases have a single position on a particular issue, since a conflict arose between representatives of departmental and scientific academic structures, which was most pronounced during the construction of the Selenginsky pulp and cardboard plant. In the case of the Astrakhan pulp and cardboard plant project, it is shown that underestimating the capabilities of the resource base of production can lead to environmental problems. Author marked that despite of scientific and technological inspection, scientific opinions was ignored by government leaders in cases large technological objects.

The currency note is a piece of paper uses for officially maintain a flow of funds according to the financial principles of a country. Every state in the world prints currency notes and they include artistic designs as symbols of richness and power of the country. This article focuses on the currency notes in Sri Lanka while assessing archaeological heritage and traditional decorations depicted on them. This paper further aims to highlight the Sri Lankan archaeological heritage and traditional decorations depicted in connection with the categories of currency notes established by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, and to describe reasons for depicting them on currency notes. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka issued eleven series of currency notes as of 2018 under different themes to illustrate Sri Lankan archaeological heritage. This study is based on a field survey that facilitated to obtain data and information. The currency notes available at the museum in the Central Bank of Sri Lanka were inspected, and each kind of currency notes printed from 1948 to the end of 2018 were studied. Published literature were critically reviewed. In addition, discussions with experts from the Central Bank and Bank Museum in Sri Lanka were undertaken. The use of features related to archaeological heritage and the use of traditional decorations on the notes can be considered as a prominent theme of Sri Lankan paper-currency-notes. Main reasons behind this choice coincide with the idea of representing the native heritage-identity, but not just as a medium of value exchange.

The project management profession has evolved from being a simple technical approach to planning to becoming a full-fledged profession that plays an essential role within the global economy. This paper, which is the second of three under the general heading Project management in Iceland, looks at the importance of project management within Icelandic organizations and the Icelandic economy. The paper explores the developmental path of the project management profession, looks at the current state of affairs, and identifies possible future trends though two surveys conducted Iceland. This study reveals the importance of project management in Iceland, a developed Nordic country, as a proportion of its economy. The study indicates that close to one third of the Gross Value Added (GVA) in the Icelandic economy is based on project-related work. The study, furthermore, indicates that the importance and application of project management will increase in the near future. This sends a clear message to both industry and the public sector on what kind of strategic and tactical alignments and what kind of professional competences are needed for future economy and society. Furthermore, the study describes - and deploys - two methods that can be used to measure the importance and trends within the project management profession and as indicators of what has been named “projectification" of society.