Słowa kluczowe

Streszczenie

The aim of this article is to propose an analytical framework of the EU as a laboratory of paradiplomacy in context of international and domestic determinants of the regions’ foreign activities. The article shades some light on the definitions of paradyplomacy, which allow to understand the ambiguity of the status of regions in international relations. Firstly, the dimensions and types of paradiplomacy are identified. Secondly, the discourse concerning international and domestic determinants of international engagement of regional governments is identified. Then, the framework of the EU as a laboratory of paradiplomacy is explained in the three subsequent parts. Firstly, the EU is referred to as an intermestic determinant of paradiplomacy, what results from the specific nature of the EU that corresponds with the international and domestic determinants of paradiplomacy in general. Secondly, the EU is addressed as an arena of paradiplomacy where various patterns of regional governments’ presence in Brussels are tested. Finally, paradiplomacy in the EU is addressed as a scholarly challenge for the further research.

Słowa kluczowe

Streszczenie

The purpose of the article is to try to outline whether the EU is still an attractive actor in international relations, which is conceptualised as a specific soft, normative and the same transformative power and the centre of attraction for states located outside this organisation. The credibility of the European Union on international arena was undermined by global changes taking place in the 21st century, including emergence of new non-European powers, and particularly a series of crises (financial, migration, identity) that have affected the EU recently. In the article the following analysis will be made: the basic components consisting of attractiveness of the EU and evolution of its perception on the international arena, and the main challenges that the EU has to cope with in order to become a significant power again. It is assumed that the European Union certainly lost its attractiveness and prestige as a result of recent transformations that affected it within the system, but also due to the dynamics of the international environment.

Słowa kluczowe

Streszczenie

The article explores the potential for new research into issues of state non-conformity as a result of increasing euro-skepticism in Europe. Relying on the Polish example, it suggests that a new attitude towards the EU has arisen which escapes traditional classifications and warrants a rethinking of established theories on sources of non-compliance. This attitude gives new context to the Commission’s existing enforcement practice and calls for a fresh look at its compliance instruments not only with respect to infringement cases but also in its dispute with Poland over the rule of law principle where the conduct of both parties seems to be symptomatic of their more general approaches.

Słowa kluczowe

Streszczenie

The objective of this article is to identify, analyse and assess the European Union (EU) and NATO’s roles in international disaster response operations. The article adopts a broad approach and deals with mechanisms that could apply to so-called “natural” and “man-made” disasters. It considers instruments that may contribute to fulfil the rights of people stricken by disasters in Europe and beyond. The use of NATO’s disaster response capabilities has drawn limited attention in scientific literature so far. The main hypothesis stipulates that NATO provides added value in international disaster response in relation to the United Nations (UN) and EU actions. NATO with its transatlantic dimension and its military capabilities can assist when a stricken nation, its neighbours and/or other international organization(s) capacity or measures cannot cope with the potential negative consequences of a natural or man-made disaster. However, EU and/or NATO disaster response actions do not substitute a stricken country actions but complements their efforts in this area.

Słowa kluczowe

Streszczenie

The European financial and economic crisis made Germany a leader trying to introduce the principles of order to the Economic and Monetary Union in line with the ideas of German governance policy (Ordnungspolitik), which is explained by ordoliberalism. However, there is strong relativism visible in constructing European reality, resulting from the fact that the adopted ordoliberal assumptions do not fit into the macroeconomic, diversified space of the eurozone, and, what is more, cannot be implemented during the recession, because their effectiveness is determined by the long-term perspective and national identity. Moreover, the role of the leader does not comply with the principles of Ordnungspolitik. On the other hand, the partnership with France, which is necessary to maintain stability of the eurozone, causes a move away from the conceptual assumptions of ordoliberalism. The aim of the article is to draw attention to Germany’s ambivalence in solving the economic problems of EMU, as well as to show ambivalent attitude of other Member States towards Germany.

Słowa kluczowe

Streszczenie

The author aims to investigate the position of OLAF in the multi-level governance system (MLG) of the European Union with specific inter-institutional consequences of such location, assuming that OLAF is not a classical supranational institution. In the research subject an important role is played by the European Commission (EC), which established OLAF and gave it specific competences to act. These facts are fundamentally important for further considerations, so they can have a major impact on the precise determination of OLAF’s position in the MLG. If OLAF as an agent and supervisor has control powers over supranational institutions, including its principal, a supranational European Commission, it is unlikely that it would also be a supranational institution. This article demonstrates, that OLAF is not a classic supranational institution because it exhibits strong features of a supra-supranational institution operating in a multi-level EU governance system. A helpful theoretical and methodological research tools we consider the Principal/Agent Theory (PAT) and its combination Principal/Supervisor/Agent Theory (PSAT) on the one hand, and the concept of multi-level governance (MLG) on the other hand.

Słowa kluczowe

Streszczenie

The foundations and the operating framework of the institutions of the European Union and its Member States are determined by legal acts established at the EU level. The legal bases at the EU level contain key standards in the scope of protection of the financial interests of the European Union and are the main determinants for the individual EU countries when their legal institutions create legal bases at the national level. The aim of this article is to present the main legal basis for the protection of the financial interests of the European Union at the EU level, which will help to examine the impact of these provisions on detecting irregularities and fraud in the EU.

Słowa kluczowe

Streszczenie

One of the most remarkable features of regional development in Eurasia is the competition between the European Union (EU) and Russia within the so called “contested neighborhood”, e.g. the post-Soviet space. Originated in the 1990s it gained the special momentum in 2000s after the beginning of the Russia-led “Eurasian integration process”, leading to the creation of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in 2015. That fact brought the competition between the EU and Russia to the new level, e.g. the “integration race”, which had the strong impact on the whole post-Soviet space. The most obvious outcome of that process is the outburst of the Ukrainian crisis in 2013, which on the one hand contributed to further exacerbation of the EU-Russia relations, on the other – it paved the way to elaboration of the new forms and tools of the integration activities. However, it failed to bring the “integration race” between the EU and the Russia-led EAEU to the standstill. Being in the latent “crystallisation” phase, this process goes further with the covert competition between the integration blocks. Its actors are not only the non-aligned post-Soviet states, but also the existing members of the integration structures. All the mentioned above factors makes the “new edition” of the “integration race” rather dangerous because further acceleration of such a competition can lead to the large-scale rivalry between the EU and the EAEU, which may cause unpredictable consequences.

Słowa kluczowe

Streszczenie

The aim of this paper is to follow and analyse the public discourse on religious minorities in Turkey after the failed coup d’état of 15th July 2016. However either Turkish state’s policy or social attitudes towards these groups have always been controversial and their real position has always differed from their legal status, the author decided to put a hypothesis that the coup attempt is indeed what has significantly affected the way they are being perceived by mass media in Turkey and hence, by Turkish public opinion. Thus, the purpose of this analysis is to study the chosen media content concerning religious minorities and to answer the question how the post-coup reality affects the situation of persons belonging to these groups. In order to achieve this goal several research methods specific for political science and humanities are applied and Polish, English and Turkish language sources are widely referred in the article.

Słowa kluczowe

Streszczenie

Hate speech has become a key element of contemporary political discourse. It has also changed the very structure of communication. With the access to public sphere provided by social media, hate speech engages people in connective action, which allows it to construct and deconstruct collective identity. By doing this, hate speech undermines the idea of multicultural society. In order to succeed, such a society needs to engage its members in inclusive intercultural dialogue while hate speech strongly excludes all dissident voices, deepening political polarisation. This article presents an extensive analysis of hate speech from the perspective of intercultural communication. Drawing from available research and literature, the author puts forward the thesis that hate speech is a communicative phenomenon that not only disrupts intercultural dialogue, but also leads to the disintegration of multicultural society.

Słowa kluczowe

Streszczenie

This article elaborates the influence of sports and music on the diplomatic position of Kosovo. Despite being a new country and struggling with political recognition and diplomatic relations, Kosovo has gained popularity through the global success of its citizens in sports and music. An analysis of international media has shown that there is a significant correlation between the success of individuals in changing diplomatic approaches towards Kosovo and redefinition of constraints towards its citizens. Moreover, the image of a country built through success stories of individuals has a significant effect on the general international public and has changed the negative perception of the country. Kosovo here is used as an example to illustrate how sports and cultural diplomacy have been more successful than classical diplomacy.