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Introduction. The aim of the article is to evaluate the consumption and frequency of drinking wine in the countries of the Visegrad Four. Materials and methods. The data were obtained from the sources: Standard EU Alcohol Survey / Deep Seas, DATACube, Public Database VDB, Wine Consumption per Capita in Hungary, Wine Consumption per Capita in Poland. The following methods were used: The Kruskal Wallis test, Analysis of Variance Kruskal Wallis and Mann-Whitney test. Results and discussion. Wine consumption in the individual countries of the Visegrad Four varies. Hungary has achieved the highest consumption in the last period, where the average consumption of wine in pure alcohol for the last decade (2010-2021) is 3.2 liters. The analysis shows that when evaluating all age categories in terms of frequency of wine drinking, the largest group (18.42%) are wine consumers who drink wine 2-5 days a year. The second largest group (16.58%) are wine consumers who drink wine 1-2 days a week. The third group are consumers (16.38%) with a frequency of drinking 2-3 days a month. From the point of view of the comparison of individual countries, it follows that in all four analyzed countries consumers consume wine occasionally but the most in Poland. From the point of view of regular consumption, the Czech Republic stands out. Wine consumers in Hungary and Slovakia have the same behaviour in contrast to the Czech Republic and Poland. On the other hand wine consumers in the Czech Republic and Poland have similar consumer behaviour. Among other comparisons of the states, there are significant differences in wine consumption in terms of the frequency of alcohol drinking. Conclusion. Czech, Slovak and Hungarian winemakers who are starting to expand into the Polish market have a chance. Hungary has recorded the highest wine consumption in recent years, with an average consumption of 3.2 liters of pure alcohol per capita. Due to the globally decreasing area of vineyards, the demand as well as the prices of wine will increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2016 the Visegrad states' political representatives were seemingly more comfortable with the election of Donald Trump than their Western EU counterparts. Though this geographical rift among EU members in accepting the Trump administration can be viewed partly through ideological proximity of contemporary Visegrad governments to the Trump agenda, this article argues that the matter should be analyzed through the prism of status enhancement. The V4 states are still perceived as new members and even "junior partners" within the Transatlantic community, burdened with the post-communist semi-peripheral position in the global economy, and have felt deprived of attention from their most significant peer partner—the US—during previous presidential administrations. The Trump administration presented a unique window of opportunity for the Visegrad states to remind the USA of their persisting partnership and contribution to the survival of the Transatlantic community through various substantive initiatives. On the case of status-enhancing behavior of the Visegrad states during the Trump presidency, the paper introduces three attention-seeking mechanisms—agenda co-option, ideational alignment and partnership concessions—employed by the respective governments. The paper argues that the V4 states individually sought attention from the Trump administration, which hence served as a social reinforcer of their relevance and worth for the Transatlantic club, but also as part of domestic political legitimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we investigate the capital structure determinants of the Visegrad group, namely the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland for small- and medium-sized enterprises (S.M.E.s) from 2011 to 2018. We compare the capital structures of S.M.E.s across all mentioned countries and define how these may impact capital structure choices. The results show S.M.E.s in these countries determine their capital structure in similar ways and all the factors analysed in this study (except for growth opportunity) provide robust explanatory power for companies across all four countries. We find that profitability, liquidity, firm size, assets structure, and non-debt tax (depreciation of total assets) have a significant negative impact on capital structure for all four countries. Our study should be of interest to policymakers and companies who want to optimise their capital structure in order to improve company performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During Angela Merkel's term as Chancellor, Germany did not play a leading role in the realm of security and defense; moreover, estrangement with the German government's allies based on its attitude towards Putin's Russia slowly grew. Since Russia's war against Ukraine began, the situation has changed dramatically. This article will show the different reactions of the Visegrád 4 (V4) countries (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary) to the Zeitenwende [turning point] in Germany, focusing on Germany´s relationship with Russia, its energy security policy, defense, and support for Ukraine. The question is whether Germany is shaping the Zeitenwende into a 180° turnaround in policy or a 360° pirouette resulting in continuity of its former policies and further mutual loss of trust. Germany is unlikely to become a pre-eminent military leader but can make positive contributions if it implements the Zeitenwende and regains the trust of its eastern partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is focused on Kremna, a village in Western Serbia close to the Serbian-Bosnian border where a series of prophetic pronouncements, recorded and publicized in the early 20th century, gained momentum during the demise of Yugoslavia and are undergoing a process of heritage-making. It builds on two kinds of ethnography: visits of the field “site” which is the Museum/Memorial of the Prophecy”, and an ethnography of a main road which crosses the state border and relates two former Yugoslav countries. The first and longer part of the paper is dedicated to Kremna, its prophets, the prophecies and to those promoting it as the “Serbian Delphi”. It first outlines the local context and the history of the purportedly prophetic pronouncements subsequently known by the name of the village. It uncovers the logic and the circumstances in which the Kremna prophecies have been brought to public knowledge, to become a banner of Serbian national aspirations and during the last decades, of nationalism. A special section is dedicated to the legitimation of local prophets and the inscription of their work in the longue durée history as well as in cosmic processes. The second part evolves around the ethnography of the road Užice-Višegrad, Kremna being half way from both. It helps to grasp the overall landscape of history- memory- and heritage sites, the dynamics of their intertwining, and the creation of a kind of symbolic grammar of events, personae and cultural items which impacts the historical imagination. Throughout the paper, attention is paid to the importance of border and of boundaries broadly speaking in the microareas where outspoken national prophets are born and have lived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decade, the popularity of electric vehicles has grown significantly. Today, there is a wide range of electric vehicles available, from small city cars to sports cars and large sport utility vehicles (SUVs). Each new generation increases the total energy of the battery, thereby extending the range of electric vehicles. Modern electric vehicles often achieve a range of more than 400 km on a single charge. However, as their popularity grows, there have been increasing reports of higher life cycle emissions compared to conventional vehicles. These higher life cycle emissions are often associated with the ever-increasing size of the battery. This study aims to point out the main sources of emissions in the life cycle of an electric vehicle and compare them with conventional vehicles with internal combustion engines. Furthermore, our objective is to determine the ecological viability of electric vehicles in the Czech Republic compared to the other Visegrad Four countries. Based on extensive research, it has been calculated that electric vehicles have the potential to reduce emissions by 29%–69% (46% in the Czech Republic) compared to their petrol equivalents and by 19%–60% compared to their diesel equivalents (39% in the Czech Republic). Even in the worst-case scenario (Poland), an electric vehicle with a 64 kWh battery is more environmentally friendly than a petrol vehicle after driving 48,343 km. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Commission of individual and mass crimes against values protected by international law, including the crime of genocide, was also directed towards changes in ethnic and demographic structures of population. All these are the features of fascistic, great state ideologies and policies. The most severe and most brutal forms of the implementation of the great state projects took place in the territory of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992-1995. Namely, the great-Serbian genocidal ideology and policy has in continuity for more than two centuries practiced mass crimes against values protected by international law, including the crime of genocide against Bosniacs. Already in 1992, and independent, sovereign and internationally recognised Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was exposed to a brutal armed aggression by the neighbouring Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). The objective of the aggression was fulfilment of several century long great state goal, and/or final completion of the space in which Serbs would dominantly live – the great Serbia. This goal was not possible without execution of grave forms of war crimes, namely in final destruction Bosnia and Herzegovina as a state and society. Impacts of such approach are particularly visible in the aspect of changes in demographic structure of population. Strategically important space for great-Serbian genocidal ideology and policy was and is the space of Bosnian Podrinje. Crime committed against Bosniacs in 1992-1995, including those committed in Višegrad, are essential part of the enforcement of the great-Serbian genocidal plan on making ethnically “clean” territories. According to 1991 census, there were 21,199 residents of Višegrad, of which 13,471 Bosniacs (63.54%) and 6,743 Serbs (31.80%). The Bosniacs of Višegrad were, especially in spring and summer of 1992, subjected to different forms of crimes, including mass murders, setting on fire, incarceration in camps, rapes, and persecution of civilians. Regardless of huge extent of crimes, the genocidal ideology was not given up even after the signing of the Dayton peace agreement. Adapted to peacetime conditions, even today, thirty years since the aggression, different forms of psychological and physical violence against Bosniacs have been used in Višegrad. Frequent attacks and harassment of returnees are followed by, for example line-up of members of the Ravna Gora Chetnic movement, a symbol of crimes against Bosniacs of Podrinje area in the WWII, or celebration of the Day of Russian Volunteers, who took part in the attacks and crimes against Podrinje Bosniacs during the aggression. Open discrimination and dehumanisation of Bosniacs returnees, permanent celebration of crimes and criminals are everyday events. All of this negatively affects continuation of the process of return of Bosniacs to their historic residence. The analysis of the contents of the relevant archives, especially two relevant censuses in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1991 and 2013) shall elaborate the demographic changes, which took place in Višegrad in this relevant period. It is the fact that the Bosniacs are today the absolute minority in Višegrad, which is the result of the committed crimes, including the genocide against Bosniacs, which ultimately resulted in the altered ethnic demographic structure of population. Višegrad is also subjected to a fast process of ageing, both due to the reduced number of returnees and due to the emigration of biologically productive population. Even all the other demographic indicators suggest that Višegrad is becoming the town of old people and general societal hopelessness, which shall be also detailed in the paper. This is also one of the ways to fully implement the practice of ethnically clean “Serb” territories. Nowadays, the political leaders of the smaller BiH entity and municipality Višegrad are preoccupied with the policy of denial of Bosniacs identity markers and provision of hopelessness for returnees, which finally brings no good to population in general, regardless of their ethnic background.

This paper investigates the effect of the change in the economic structure on economic growth in Visegrad and South Caucasia. The Shift Share Analysis (SSA) method measures the direct effects of structural change on productivity growth. Fully Modified OLS (FMOLS) regressions evaluate the indirect effect of the advanced sectors on economic growth. SSA finds that within sector productivity is the main driver of economic growth in both regions and the manufacturing sector is the engine of within sector productivity growth in Visegrad countries. Expansion of the modern business services sector produced a positive reallocation effect in all countries but the lack of growth dynamism in the productivity of this sector undermined the positive reallocation effect in Hungary and Slovakia. The FMOLS regressions show that manufacturing export has a positive effect on economic growth while business service production does not. The general structure of Visegrad economies is similar to advanced countries and they can achieve further development by upgrading their production within advanced sectors while South Caucasian countries can develop their economies by expanding the high-value sectors and channeling the excess labor in low-value sectors to relatively higher value activities. Both strategies require investment in human capital and upgrading their domestic capacity.

This paper investigates the effect of the change in the economic structure on economic growth in Visegrad and South Caucasia. The Shift Share Analysis (SSA) method measures the direct effects of structural change on productivity growth. Fully Modified OLS (FMOLS) regressions evaluate the indirect effect of the advanced sectors on economic growth. SSA finds that within sector productivity is the main driver of economic growth in both regions and the manufacturing sector is the engine of within sector productivity growth in Visegrad countries. Expansion of the modern business services sector produced a positive reallocation effect in all countries but the lack of growth dynamism in the productivity of this sector undermined the positive reallocation effect in Hungary and Slovakia. The FMOLS regressions show that manufacturing export has a positive effect on economic growth while business service production does not. The general structure of Visegrad economies is similar to advanced countries and they can achieve further development by upgrading their production within advanced sectors while South Caucasian countries can develop their economies by expanding the high-value sectors and channeling the excess labor in low-value sectors to relatively higher value activities. Both strategies require investment in human capital and upgrading their domestic capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Ottoman Legacy Studies (OMAD) / Osmanlı Mirası Araştırmaları Dergisi is the property of Journal of Ottoman Legacy Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In addition to the author's scientific work, the study -based on pragmatic experiences -analyses the factors that characterized Central European countries before the change of regime (1990) and then the foreign economic model through which Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia ("Visegrád 4") reached EU membership in 2004. The study highlighted that, with different depths, in all countries concerned economic policies were characterized by liberal bankruptcy regulations and strict conditions of competition, so that they could prove their ability to meet the condition of a functioning market economy for EU membership1. The export-oriented model, built on efficient inflow of foreign direct investment and high-tech in the early 1990s, was implemented by the late 1990s to demonstrate that these states were ready to meet another condition of EU membership, namely to meet the challenges of the internal market.2 This transformation represented a problem for the current account balance in the 1990s (mainly due to the loss of traditional national export capacities) only in the middle of the decade, and it was only at the end of the decade that trade balances showed surplus with the EU. The total external equilibrium of the Visegrád countries was maintained by the fact that the inflow of FDI had not yet started to conclude in the withdrawal of profits from recent investments in Central Europe, and the countervailing effect of EU net transfers, which began to arrive later parallelly with the start of the withdrawal of FDI dividends. The CEFTA co-operation concluded in 1992 followed the economic liberalization timetable of that of the Visegrád Four with the EU parallelly but did not go beyond its depth for political prudence, thus providing full opening to each other only after and through EU membership, more precisely the liberalisation in services or in sensitive agricultural trade. The CEFTA treaty was expanded to the Balkans after 1995 and has been and is still a good example for countries that do not want to stay in an ex-Soviet or ex-Yugoslav economic integration but is a good method for them to prepare for the earliest possible EU membership.

This article examines the role of Jewish Diaspora considerations in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's policy towards the states of Central and Eastern Europe. Israel has traditionally sought to attain both its state-centred national goals and those of the Jewish Diaspora. Under the Netanyahu governments (2009–21) a major change took place whereby the Diaspora's existence was viewed as dependent on Israel's continued survival and success; hence only a strong Israel can help the Diaspora. The security and wellbeing of the Jewish Diaspora thus remains a central Israeli goal, but it is to be pursued via Israel's strengthening on the one hand, and the deepening of Jewish identity and awareness among Diaspora Jews, on the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper analyses the relationship between gross domestic product and public expenditures in nominal terms. The analysis is being done by using the standard Peacock-Wiseman specification of the Wagner’s law and provides the results for the Visegrád Four countries, i.e. the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary. We aim to answer a question concerning the existence of a long and/or short-term relationship between the nominal GDP and nominal public expenditures, which consist of current and capital expenditures. To address this question, we employ the VAR model, the Johansen Cointegration test and the VEC model. We study a period between the first quarter of 1999 and the second quarter of 2019 and find out mixed results for the Visegrád Four countries.

Main goal of Serbian ideology, policy, practice, starting from the late XVIII until the beginning of XIX century is creation of a clean, pure and ethnic Serbian country so called Great Serbia. In such country idealists also included the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Meanwhile that is achievable only by committing heinous crimes including the Bosnian Genocide. Because of the Visegrads Geostrategic position the city is crucial for Serbian plans, aggressors and criminals tried by any means to form ethnically clean territory, not choosing the means or tools in the attempt of achieving that goal. Highest point of those crimes happened during the second world war 1941-1945, also in the time of aggression on Republic Bosnia and Herzegovina 1992-1995. Numerous mass and individual killings, extermination, enslavement, deportations and / or forcible transfer of the Bosniak population, imprisonment and other forms of deprivation of liberty committed in violation of basic rules of international law constitute a long and sad list of criminal and genocidal acts committed against Bosniaks in the Drina Valley, and in the name of the so-called project Great Serbia. In this cycle and history of chetnik misery and inhumanity, the culmination of human malice, evil blood and moral dishonor was against the Bosniaks of Eastern Bosnia. Thanks to the hard work of the community and people of the country this evil plan and evil intentions of Serbs ideologists did not come through. Yet they do not give up, furthermore they use new means and methods. In that contest targeting wider area of Visegrad, as a starting point for commencing Great Serbian goals and ideas. That gave birth to the idea that Visegrad is continuously in focus to the leaders and actors of the ideology of Great Serbia, therefore creation of ethnically clean Serbian areas. All this, for a consequence, had a permanent acts of numerous crimes against humanity and international human rights among Bosnians in wider area of Visegrad, from the period of World war 2 and in the time of aggression on Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In this area number of heinous crimes were committed. One of the consequences of the horrific crimes committed against Bosniaks is a radical change in the ethnic structure of the population in the Visegrad area during the 1992-1995 aggression. In relation to the 1991 Census, when there were 13,471 Bosniaks, according to the 2013 census, 1,043 Bosniaks have registered residence in Visegrad. Still, the area wasn’t ethnically cleansed as in accordance to Serbian ideologists, so this shameful project that’s grounded on crime, continued by new means and methods. Analysis confirmed key marks of aggressive attempts of ideology and policy in creating ethnic clean Serbian territory within area of Visegrad. Research is focused and timely determined on three periods: First during the Second world war 1941-1945, Second, Aggression on Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, third period after signing of Dayton’s 1995. still this day. For the purpose of proving the general hypothesis of the research, the methods of analysis and synthesis, the hypothetical-deductive method and the comparative method will be used, and for the purposes of obtaining data, the method of analysis (content) of documents and the case study method. Serbian ideologist still tries to remove all Bosnians from the wider area of Visegrad and by doing so make that town the starting point for the next phases of ethical cleansing of non-Serbian population from walleyes of Drina Conclusion would be under any price secure at first economic conditions for survival of Bosnians on those areas, take a set of measures on economically strengthening Gorazde, as a center of gathering non-Serb population in the walleye of Drina.

İvo Andriç’in, 1961’de Nobel ödülüne layık görülen ve bir bölümünde Bosna’daki Osmanlı hâkimiyetinin de ele alındığı Drina Köprüsü isimli romanı, literatürde daha ziyade kimlik ve milliyetçilik meseleleri ekseninde tartışma konusu edilmektedir. Oysa bir açıdan bir tarih belgeseli niteliğinde olan bu eserin sosyal bilimcilere sunduğu malzeme, bundan çok daha fazlasını içermektedir. Nitekim pre-modern/pre-kapitalist toplumların modern/kapitalist toplumlara dönüşüm süreciyle ilgilenenler açısından roman, konuya dair literatürdeki kuramsal ve tarihsel çalışmalara paralel bir okumaya da olanak sağlamaktadır. Bu makalede, Andriç’in rehberliğinde, uygarlığın bilhassa XIX. yüzyılda ivmelenen ve kısa sürede tüm dünyaya sirayet eden bu büyük dönüşümünün (modern/kapitalist çağın doğuş sancılarının), belirli bir yerellikte; Bosna’daki Vişegrad kasabası özelinde nasıl yaşandığı incelenmektedir. Bu itibarla bu çalışma, ‘bütün’ün (modern dönemde uygarlığın yaşadığı büyük dönüşümün) bilgisinin, ‘parça’da (Vişegrad’ın yaşadığı dönüşümü betimleyen bir roman üzerinden) izlenme çabası olarak tarif edilebilir. Bu amaçla, uygarlıkların modernleşme/kapitalistleşme süreçlerine dair sahip olduğumuz evrensel bilgiler ile romanda konu edilen gelişmeler, karşılaştırmalı biçimde ele alınmaktadır. Bu karşılaştırma, romanda işlenen konuların ağırlıklarına göre seçilen belirli temalar etrafında gerçekleştirilmektedir. Bunlar, (I) modern dönemde ideolojik düzeyde gerçekleşen başlıca dönüşümler, (II) kapitalistleşme süreçlerinin temel bazı etkileri ve (III) devlet organizasyonlarının ve devlet ile toplum arasındaki ilişkilerin dönüşümüdür.

The so-called dual food quality played a very important role in the Visegrad Group countries, including in the local European Parliament election campaigns. Therefore, it is also addressed in this study, which focuses primarily on the legal and political science aspects thereof. The main research questions that I try to answer are whether it is legal under European law to market a product with the same or similar packaging with different ingredients and what role dual food quality played in the campaigns of political parties in the Visegrad Group countries during the European Parliament elections. In the introduction, I define the concept of food quality as well as the so-called dual food quality, which both European and Member States’ legislation (including the Visegrad Group countries) are only getting acquainted with. In the main chapters, I deal with the development of legislation on dual quality at the EU level, listing concrete steps taken by the EU within the common market and analysing the campaigns of Czech political parties in the European Parliament election as a case study. In addition, the programmes of parties standing for election and their other public presentations in the campaign are analysed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the unemployment policy of Central-East-European countries applying mixed methods. First, fuzzy set analysis is used to determine the efficiency of unemployment measures for reducing the poverty gap. Three causal conditions are measured: the net replacement rate of unemployment benefits, labour law regulations related to job security, and public spending on labour-market programs. This analysis reveals two possible pathways: governments may either provide a high level of job security, or spend on active and passive labour-market measures. Second, the fuzzy set analysis was completed with a comparative legal analysis covering the Visegrad countries that examined the policy choices the Visegrad countries made after the economic crisis. The paper argues that due to the different approaches to the welfare state, any potential EU initiatives for regulating unemployment benefits under the European Pillar of Social Rights might put divergent adaptation pressure on the V4 states. The differences are significant, as they would not only challenge effective social integration but also hamper the envisioned political cooperation of the V4 countries in this policy area. Building on previous literature, this paper is written to contribute to research on the European Social Model and social integration within the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to fill the geographical gap in the literature about the militarization of COVID-19 through a comparative exploration of how the pandemic was handled in militarized ways in Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. Drawing from official government and military statements, media articles, and expert interviews with defense intellectuals, we examine two interconnected areas -- that of discourse and that of military domestic assistance. By viewing the developments through the lens of militarization and military-society relations scholarship, we argue that rather than serving as a 'portal' for civilian resilience, the pandemic constituted an unprecedented 'return of the troops' to Visegrad states and societies in terms of its size, scope, and duration, thus strengthening the pressure for re-militarization in the region that has been recorded in the last decade. The paper presents a number of analytical findings: first, it identifies the emerging gap between right-wing populist rhetoric that relied on warspeak and the human-centered communication of the armed forces; second, it reveals that military domestic assistance functioned as a military 'band aid' on systemic vulnerabilities, as well as incidentally converged with illiberal patterns of governance; third, it shows how the pandemic aided re-militarizing pressures, resulting in a significant boost to the defense sector, a positive public opinion about the armed forces, and military-society relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and objective. Systematic monitoring of physical activity of young populations from different regions may be useful for making international comparisons, better understanding trends in physical activity and designing public health interventions to increase physical activity. Thus, the aim of the study was to comprehensively review studies examining the level of physical activity of children and adolescents from the Visegrád countries, and indicate the percentage of children and adolescents meeting the recommended level of physical activity. Materials and method. A systematic search of the published literature was conducted. Included were reports with original research that consisted of the proportion of children and adolescents who met physical activity recommendations or guidelines. To provide a current picture of physical activity of children and adolescents, the review was restricted to studies published between January 2015 – November 2018. Results. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity recommendations were met by between 7.5% – 69.4% of children and adolescents. Vigorous physical activity recommendations were met by between 33.6% – 64.5% of children and adolescents. Daily recommendations for the number of steps taken were fulfilled by between 11.6% – 69.0% of children and adolescents. Differences between age categories, genders and countries were observed. Conclusions. Public health interventions to increase physical activity are required to decrease insufficient levels of physical activity in children and adolescents, especially in girls. The review also highlights the need for studies with representative random samples that use validated measurement methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper evaluates key points in the Visegrád activities in 2018 during Hungarian and Slovak presidencies. The author tried to show that the events held by the representatives of these countries corresponded to the logic of previous actions of this regional cooperation. This was expressed primarily in the discussion of issues that did not raise objections from their side. Thus, it is possible to speak about the sequence of the V4 course, which is characterized not by the discovery of new facets of cooperation, but by confirmation of the approaches and principles developed earlier.

The article provides an overview of the main principles and activities of the Slovak Presidency in the Visegrad group (July 2018-June 2018) which are being present in the Presidency Program. The author comes to a conclusion that this document demonstrates adherence to the course which was previously planned by the other members of V4 and could be characterized as a pro-European position

Emancipatory narratives and acts often emerge in struggle against injustice and marginalisation. This article shows the ease with which they can be employed to justify the denial of rights. The space-time is 'post-socialist' Eastern Europe, more specifically, the Visegrad platform set up in the 1990s to facilitate entry of three such states into the European Union (EU). The ethnography begins in 2015, when Arab and/or Muslim refugees appeared in Europe in what most EU politicians deemed as unsettling numbers. I read moments from conversations with policymakers and activists, as well as archive material, through lenses of solidarity and sovereignty. This approach allows us to see that delegitimisation of others' rights can well be a product of relational insecurity, in this case, frustration in the Visegrad's 'policy world' with the region's recent Westernisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper investigates the Vilina Vlas hotel in Visegrad city of Bosnia and Herzegovina which was used as a former rape camp for torturing, raping, beating, and killing innocent civilians, mostly Bosnian Muslim women. The main problematic and ethical issue of this paper regarding Vilina Vlas hotel is that it functions as a tourist place and tourists still accommodate and sleep in the same beds which women were attacked. The hotel receives high support from the Visegrad mayor, Republika Srpska entity's Tourism Ministry, and from Serb ethnicnationalist politicians. These politicians and the local community of Visegrad constantly deny these crimes or erase any traces that can be used as evidence against them. Therefore, this research paper takes a new approach for trying to solve this denialism at the state level such as using OHR's (Office of the High Representative) possible interventions (Bonn Powers) through building a monument near the hotel and definitely terminating all tourism activities of the hotel. This paper also highly values the suggestions of Vilina Vlas survivors during the creation of a memorial for victims. Thus, it asks the main research question of "What do survivors of Vilina Vlas demand from the current High Representative of BiH (Bosnia and Herzegovina) to commemorate the rape victims of Vilina Vlas Hotel in Visegrad?" It proposes the combination of two theoretical frameworks which are conflict reconciliation and Alexander Wendt's constructivism for stressing to construct "collective identity and shared ideas" against rape, beatings, and killings of innocent civilians. The paper's main argument is that the former rape camp of Vilina Vlas hotel must be closed and a monument must be built to remember all victims. The Serbian government has no choice rather than cooperate positively with the BiH government for closing Vilina Vlas hotel since they have a high historical responsibility for committing these crimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Journal of Faculty of Letters / Edebiyat Fakultesi Dergisi is the property of Hacettepe University Faculty of Letters and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A dynamic and growing manufacturing sector is critical for growth as this sector is globally known as the 'engine of growth'. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of macro-economic variables, including economic growth, producer price index (PPI), and exports on the manufacturing sector of the Visegrád countries, from 1995 to 2018. A quantitative research methodology was utilized via a panel data analysis to assess the long- and short-run relationships between the variables using econometric methods such as the Fisher-Johansen co-integration test, FMOLS and DOLS, and Granger causality tests. The main results indicated a long-run relationship between all the variables, with economic growth having the highest impact on manufacturing, while an increase in exports was also found to enhance the sector. Therefore, governments in the Visegrád group should endeavour to stimulate economic activities in support of the manufacturing sector by means of stable macro-economic policy implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years the seemingly firm historical ties between Warsaw and Berlin have become increasingly strained. This results from a growing political asymmetry between the two countries. Germany moved into a semi-hegemonial position under the conditions of the triple crisis of banking, economy and sovereign debt in the eurozone. Consequently, German chancellor Angela Merkel was in a strong enough position to implement ordoliberal reforms of the eurozone's governance architecture, which were promoted as an approach without alternatives. Merkel maintained her uncompromising stance during the migration crisis in the summer of 2015, when she demanded implementation of compulsory migrant distribution quotas across the EU. Poland and the Visegrád countries had initially strongly supported German leadership in resolving the eurozone crisis. The alienation from Germany's European agenda however became significant under the conditions of the migration crisis. Here the firm opposition of Poland and the rest of the Visegrád Group towards Germany's preferences shows a strategic mismatch between the EU's liberal core, which is spearheaded by Germany, and the concept of the "illiberal" state, which Poland has embraced under the PiS government. The willingness to resolve these differences will be crucial in determining the future shape of Polish-German relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The name Benelux is a commonly known abbreviation of the European organisation formed by three states: the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Duchy of Luxemburg. The Benelux Union started in 1944 as a tariff union, which was finalised by a treaty establishing the Benelux Economic Union in 1958. The new Benelux Treaty was signed on 17 June 2008 in The Hague. Since then, the cooperation has been focused on the following main areas: the internal and the economic union market, sustainable development, justice and internal affairs. The mission of Benelux is the best possible cooperation between the member states and ensuring the welfare of the citizens of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemburg. After Poland's accession to the European Union, Polish politicians' interest in the functioning of the Benelux states decreased although the present democratic Poland's governments use the common achievements of all its member states. Polish governments' foreign policy towards the Benelux states is at present carried out within the Visegrad Group in the V4+ (plus) format. On 19 June 2017, after 16 years' break, the Visegrad Group and Benelux states' Prime Ministers met in Warsaw. The debate on the future of the European Union was the impulse to return to talks at the prime ministers' level. Actually, two issues divide the V4 and the Benelux states. The Benelux Union states are for the quota solution, which the V4 states oppose. The issue of the European integration within the 'multi-speed idea' constitutes another division line. As far as this is concerned, there are differences within the V4 but most members are against it. The Visegrad - Benelux cooperation nowadays consists in attempting to form coalition with the Benelux states in the EU voting in order to achieve trans-regional agreements. The experience prescribes maintaining scepticism about predicting agreements between the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland and the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg and Slovakia. The meeting in Warsaw proved that the debate on the future of the European Union to a great extent would first take place in regional groups and then formally in the EU forum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of soil research in Austrian pine (Pinus nigra Arn.) forest communities in the Višegrad area, carried out to determine the basic soil characteristics and eco-production potential of forest habitats as an important basis and framework for the successful management of these forests on the principles of sustainable development. Austrian pine forests in this region are an important and ecologically valuable community. The complexity of the geological structure and relief dynamics are dominant environmental factors that condition the expressed variability of soils in the study area. Forest communities of Austrian pine are formed on the peridotites and serpentinites, eutric ranker (haplic leptosol), eutric cambisol (haplic cambisols) and pseudogley (haplic planosol), dense granular and marl limestones calcomelanosol (mollic leptosol), rendzina (rendzic leptosol) and calcocambisol (leptic cambisol). The productivity of these soils is highly correlated with depth and texture composition, and the impact of these factors is linked with soil type, climate and other site conditions. In the research area, soil types with low production potential such as rankers, rendzinas, limestone and dolomite calcomelanosol are dominant. Deeper variants of eutric cambisol, pseudogley and calcocambisol can be classified as soils with moderate to high production potential.

Recent developments in security environment in the last two years re-opened crucial European debates such as the reform of the NATO architecture to address resurgent Russia to the East and as finding common European solution to migratory pressures that test both national capabilities and European solidarity. Even through the Visegrád countries do not always share common interests, the V4 manifests that it can play indispensable role in reaction to these developments. However, V4 still lacks actually proactive regional approach that would accommodate polish interests in order to keep informal leader Poland invested in this cooperation format. Polish elections mean one more challenging test for the V4 to coordinate positions before the crucial NATO Warsaw summit. Should this endeavor be unsuccessful, Poland could look to other formats that mirror its interests and threat perception more closely meaning that V4 would take a back seat with regard to NATO agenda. The task for the Czech V4 presidency is to produce practical results in ongoing ambitious project in defence cooperation so that is demonstrates the cooperation’s ‘added value.

Increasing support for Eurosceptic parties and movements can be observed in the European Union's (EU) member states since 2009, when the economic crisis heavily affected the continent. This process has happened also within Central and Eastern European countries, especially in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary (collectively referred to as the Visegrad Group countries, or V4 for short). The goal of this paper is an analysis of far-right Eurosceptic politicians and their attitudes towards EU external actions. Using the Thomas Diez concept of discursive nodal points (DNPs) and examining European Parliament (EP) debates, literature about V4 Euroscepticism and media reports, this paper attempts to give answers about their attitudes to aspects of EU external actions. First, the notion of Euroscepticism is examined and the main difficulties with the definition are briefly discussed. Then, the methodology of this research and the concept of DNPs are laid out. The following section pays attention to V4 Eurosceptic politicians' (V4E) attitudes towards five areas of EU external actions: EU-Russia relations, EU defence policy, environmental policy, development assistance policy, and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) issue. In the conclusion, the author summarises that V4 Eurosceptics are divided in their positions towards EU external actions. Paradoxically, they are linked not in the being in opposition towards the EU, but rather in having pro-Russian attitudes and being against any EU activity that would violate Kremlin's interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Visegrad Group needs success stories if its defence co-operation is to develop. The recent differences between Poland and the rest of the region, as well as the closing window of opportunity to improve interoperability through the ISAF mission, make the hunger for concrete examples of co-operation even more urgent. Education and training projects are not only comparatively easily to implement in terms of time and money, but also represent a way of bringing the region’s civilian and military leaders closer together in terms of strategic thinking. Regional defence collaboration is also one of the ways to materialize NATO’s Smart Defence agenda. For the whole region, the way to keep Visegrad defence cooperation alive is not straightforward and certain, but it is likely to prove rewarding in the long term. It presents not only a chance to keep the whole region better prepared militarily, but also to build a more cohesive strategic awareness, thanks to intensive communication at all levels.

The goal of this paper is to analyze the dynamics of cooperation of Ukraine with the Visegrad countries with the aim to integrate into the political, economic, legal and humanitarian space in Europe and build the benchmark for system reforms to modernize Ukraine. Therefore, the study of problems of Euroregional cooperation is essential, given the complex circumstances surrounding the modern integration processes. The need to take into account the experience of regional policy of the Visegrad countries in the context of globalization and expansion of the EU influence is undeniable. Multilateral cooperation of Ukraine with the countries of Visegrad during the last decade is characterized by significant achievements. The close historical ties and common foreign policy goals of modern Ukraine and Visegrad laid the foundation for effective development of good neighbourly relations at the present stage and created opportunities for further large-scale cooperation in the future. It is safe to say that Visegrad-Ukrainian relations are rather balanced, thanks to the successful implementation of bilateral and multilateral agreements achieved after the regular meetings at all levels. All this creates a solid foundation for further expansion of this cooperation on the basis of the joint account of the interests of the parties.

This paper aims to identify the impact of a "deep" (economic union) and "shallow" (Common Commercial Policy) integration on 4 Visegrad countries' trade with the EU and non-EU industrialized countries. Trade flows are analysed on the basis of sectors over the period of 1995-2011: the gravity model also utilizes sectoral value-added and sectoral output as proxies for the market size. The impact of regional trade agreements (RTAs) is evaluated for 17 WIOD sectors based on the research methodology developed by Baldwin (2006), Flam and Nordstrom (2003) and Fernandes (2006). Contrary to the mentioned research studies, this paper uses a more advanced econometric technique - the Poisson pseudo-maximum-likelihood method displayed in Silva and Tenreyro (2006). This paper concludes that both "deep" and "shallow" trade arrangements have a more pronounced effect on Visegrad high value-added product exports than on Visegrad low value-added product exports. Common Commercial Policy's trade effects on RTAs, for instance in the case of Mexico and Turkey, are comparable to its trade effects with EU countries. The Common Commercial Policy's effect on RTAs is almost absent in low-value-added product sectors of Visegrad countries. Thus, we conclude that integration with the EU influenced Visegrad countries' trade of higher value-added goods with both the EU and non-EU industrialized countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates stock market reactions to ICT investment announcements in three transition economies: Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia and compare them to results obtained for Poland within thestudy by Dobija et al. (2012) in order to find some similarities and differences among countries forming ‘Visegrad’ region. Our results indicate that the biggest difference in stock reaction is between Slovakia and Hungary, and on a contrary we found many similarities between Czech Republic and Slovakia. Within all tested hypotheses, only the market condition showed significance in all three transition economies. On the other hand, no significant reaction related to the status of ICT investment was found.

All relevant sources indicate high resistance of tourism as an economic sector, even during the global financial crisis, which is also reflected in the BiH economy. Institute of Economics of School of Economics in Sarajevo has published a number of research projects on this topic, Institute of Economics, University of Banja Luka made the Tourism Development Strategy of the Republic of Srpska, BiH municipalities sites are flooded with local strategies, the big cake (at least as far as the development of projects in the Balkans) is held by the New York Horvat. And electronic and print media in recent days, as in all previous election periods, have shown continually "our" smiling political candidates talking on BiH tourism industry (and agriculture) as well as development opportunities of almost every local community). Unfortunately, most of these studies, projects and promises has no practical use. One example, where "some concrete work and building is done" is Andrićgrad, a project of the Government of the Republic of Srpska, the municipality of Višegrad and our famous film director Emir Kusturica. That iss why we have chosen this example for an economic analysis that could be of practical use to other stakeholders.