The relations between European Union (EU) and South Asia are not new. However, South Asia is one of the fastest growing economies of the world; the EU’s development policy has given less attention to this region. This paper aims to elucidate and evaluate the EU engagement towards South Asia through development policy and generate an argument on reasons for the EU to strengthen its strategy in the region. Pursuing its comprehensive attention towards the region, the EU intends to address different development- related challenges under its ‘Agenda for Change’ initiation. The main question addressed in this research is ‘Why South Asia is important for the EU?’ The discussion below attempts to incorporate empirical analysis regarding challenges and prospects for the EU in the region. In terms of theoretical approach, this paper follows a neoliberal perspective to analyse the EU development policy. The main findings of the research is that however the EU has strengthened its development partnership with South Asia, the EU is still not considered as a main actor in the region.
{"title":"Strengthening the Development Partnership between the EU and South Asia: A Contemporary Analysis","authors":"Simant Shankar Bharti","doi":"10.34135/SJPS.200205","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34135/SJPS.200205","url":null,"abstract":"The relations between European Union (EU) and South Asia are not new. However, South Asia is one of the fastest growing economies of the world; the EU’s development policy has given less attention to this region. This paper aims to elucidate and evaluate the EU engagement towards South Asia through development policy and generate an argument on reasons for the EU to strengthen its strategy in the region. Pursuing its comprehensive attention towards the region, the EU intends to address different development- related challenges under its ‘Agenda for Change’ initiation. The main question addressed in this research is ‘Why South Asia is important for the EU?’ The discussion below attempts to incorporate empirical analysis regarding challenges and prospects for the EU in the region. In terms of theoretical approach, this paper follows a neoliberal perspective to analyse the EU development policy. The main findings of the research is that however the EU has strengthened its development partnership with South Asia, the EU is still not considered as a main actor in the region.","PeriodicalId":36889,"journal":{"name":"Slovak Journal of Political Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44519174","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The multifaceted nature of political participation has led to various ways of measuring it. This, in turn, has led to conflicting outcomes (even when applied to the same problem) in the research field. What are the contemporary challenges of measuring political participation? The main objective of this paper is to identify current challenges of measuring political participation that are common in the existing literature and empirical findings. This review paper examines different methods of measuring both online and offline political participation and shows current problems that are crucial to deal with methodological challenges in the emerging era of Web 3.0. Drawing from a careful analysis of 86 published (2012–2019) empirical research on new media and political participation, the present study finds that self-reported measures, different question-wordings, misuse of Likert scales and time frames, and the lack of clear concept of political participation are current problems of measuring political participation. In so doing, it contributes to research on political participation (1) attempting to gather various measurements and their common problems as well as (2) urging the importance of these challenges.
{"title":"The Contemporary Challenges of Measuring Political Participation","authors":"Yerkebulan Sairambay","doi":"10.34135/SJPS.200202","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34135/SJPS.200202","url":null,"abstract":"The multifaceted nature of political participation has led to various ways of measuring it. This, in turn, has led to conflicting outcomes (even when applied to the same problem) in the research field. What are the contemporary challenges of measuring political participation? The main objective of this paper is to identify current challenges of measuring political participation that are common in the existing literature and empirical findings. This review paper examines different methods of measuring both online and offline political participation and shows current problems that are crucial to deal with methodological challenges in the emerging era of Web 3.0. Drawing from a careful analysis of 86 published (2012–2019) empirical research on new media and political participation, the present study finds that self-reported measures, different question-wordings, misuse of Likert scales and time frames, and the lack of clear concept of political participation are current problems of measuring political participation. In so doing, it contributes to research on political participation (1) attempting to gather various measurements and their common problems as well as (2) urging the importance of these challenges.","PeriodicalId":36889,"journal":{"name":"Slovak Journal of Political Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46788228","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper endeavours to deliver a comprehensive spatial depiction of Slovakia’s presidential election held on 16th and 30th March 2019. At first, the text briefly considers electoral and institutional framework of presidential elections and its background. Within the context of the first round, the paper subsequently analyses the electoral support of four key candidates who had obtained at least 10 per cent in order to clarify the overall electoral support. At the municipal level, the analysis of aggregated data then brings a complex mapping of regional electoral support towards the presidential candidates. Our negative binomial regression models, based on socio-economic variables and the results of the 2016 parliamentary election, yield no satisfactory results. Nonetheless, among others, it was revealed that the final two contenders did not lose their voters from the previous round. In comparison to Šefčovič, Čaputová succeeded in acquiring lower levels of new electoral support (up to 20 per cent) but across the whole country. Afterwards, the Hungarian minority was proved a determinative factor for the win, contrarily to the socio-economic indicators as explicative variables of which the university degree and age were found the most significant.
{"title":"Where Were the Voters? A Spatial Analysis of the 2019 Slovak Presidential Election","authors":"Ľubomír Zvada, Martin Petlach, M. Ondruška","doi":"10.34135/SJPS.200201","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34135/SJPS.200201","url":null,"abstract":"This paper endeavours to deliver a comprehensive spatial depiction of Slovakia’s presidential election held on 16th and 30th March 2019. At first, the text briefly considers electoral and institutional framework of presidential elections and its background. Within the context of the first round, the paper subsequently analyses the electoral support of four key candidates who had obtained at least 10 per cent in order to clarify the overall electoral support. At the municipal level, the analysis of aggregated data then brings a complex mapping of regional electoral support towards the presidential candidates. Our negative binomial regression models, based on socio-economic variables and the results of the 2016 parliamentary election, yield no satisfactory results. Nonetheless, among others, it was revealed that the final two contenders did not lose their voters from the previous round. In comparison to Šefčovič, Čaputová succeeded in acquiring lower levels of new electoral support (up to 20 per cent) but across the whole country. Afterwards, the Hungarian minority was proved a determinative factor for the win, contrarily to the socio-economic indicators as explicative variables of which the university degree and age were found the most significant.","PeriodicalId":36889,"journal":{"name":"Slovak Journal of Political Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43334034","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mihálik, J. (2019). Storočie českej a slovenskej krajnej pravice 1918 – 2018. Bratislava: IRIS – Vydavateľstvo a tlač, 2019. 280 pp. ISBN 978-80-8200-052-1.","authors":"Boris Kolman","doi":"10.34135/SJPS.200207","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34135/SJPS.200207","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":36889,"journal":{"name":"Slovak Journal of Political Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44893706","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Tat-Kei Ho, A., de Jong, M., Zhao, Z. (2019). Performance Budgeting Reform. Theories and International Practices. New York/Oxon: Routledge, 2019. 316 pp. ISBN 978-1-138-48329-3.","authors":"D. Klimovský","doi":"10.34135/SJPS.200206","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34135/SJPS.200206","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":36889,"journal":{"name":"Slovak Journal of Political Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43471521","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The third industrial revolution, the digital revolution, affected economy and thus labour relations, too. Now the so-called fourth revolution, the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, will cause further massive changes in the labour market. This is not just about the caution that robots will replace all employees, but this also raises a question about new skills the labour market requires the employees to have. Scientific literature and the EU policy documents do not cover the AI – labour market issues in a unified approach, however welcoming the development of new technologies on the one hand, with concerns about weakening the labour force by jobs loses, on the other hand. The article elucidates the AI revolution and analyses the AI influence on labour market, specifically identifying the new skills required, based on relevant scientific literature and the EU policy documents. Considering the AI impact on labour relations, continuous alteration of skills and knowledge offered should be of special concern– it is not only about a labour relation per se, new models emerge all the time in the labour market. The authors also investigate the impact of AI on the Estonian labour market, i.e. whether the AI´s effects appear as disastrous as expected or simply a welcome development for the welfare of the state. The article discusses how AI impacts labour relations and which professions fall in a greater risk of disappearing and, more specifically, the AI´s influence on the Estonian labour market.
{"title":"Artificial Intelligence and Its Impact on Labour Relations in Estonia","authors":"Kristi Joamets, Archil Chochia","doi":"10.34135/SJPS.200204","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34135/SJPS.200204","url":null,"abstract":"The third industrial revolution, the digital revolution, affected economy and thus labour relations, too. Now the so-called fourth revolution, the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, will cause further massive changes in the labour market. This is not just about the caution that robots will replace all employees, but this also raises a question about new skills the labour market requires the employees to have. Scientific literature and the EU policy documents do not cover the AI – labour market issues in a unified approach, however welcoming the development of new technologies on the one hand, with concerns about weakening the labour force by jobs loses, on the other hand. The article elucidates the AI revolution and analyses the AI influence on labour market, specifically identifying the new skills required, based on relevant scientific literature and the EU policy documents. Considering the AI impact on labour relations, continuous alteration of skills and knowledge offered should be of special concern– it is not only about a labour relation per se, new models emerge all the time in the labour market. The authors also investigate the impact of AI on the Estonian labour market, i.e. whether the AI´s effects appear as disastrous as expected or simply a welcome development for the welfare of the state. The article discusses how AI impacts labour relations and which professions fall in a greater risk of disappearing and, more specifically, the AI´s influence on the Estonian labour market.","PeriodicalId":36889,"journal":{"name":"Slovak Journal of Political Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41599643","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Kosárová, D. (2018). Zlyhávajúce štáty a islamský terorizmus – kauzálne súvislosti. Banská Bystrica: Belianum, 2018. 198 pp. ISBN 978-80-557-1456-1.","authors":"Ondřej Filipec","doi":"10.34135/sjps.200108","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34135/sjps.200108","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":36889,"journal":{"name":"Slovak Journal of Political Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69807298","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The paper inquires divergences in electoral programs of four Czech political parties (the ČSSD, KDU-ČSL, KSČM, and the ODS) as delivered for all the previous European Parliament elections. The aim of this study is to compare the use of national and European themes as delineated in programs. It is assumed that, in many cases, the programs contain topics and aspects which are specific and valid for elections on the national level instead. Thus, the paper elaborates on one of the characteristics of the second-order elections theory as exemplified in the Euro-elections. Results of the analysis showed a significant superiority of national affairs over the European issues in the examined samples. Although the number of political parties varies in individual periods, the study has also confirmed the assumption drawn from the theory of second-order elections. Therefore, political parties utilize political programs for the European Parliament elections as of national interest with domestic affairs, not European. Furthermore, the study considers dissimilarities among political parties in positive and negative attitudes toward the EU. Hence, sundry approaches to European affairs may be identified across the Czech political parties.
{"title":"The European Parliament Elections and Czech Political Parties: Much Ado About Nothing?","authors":"Ondřej Mocek, Martin Petlach, Zuzana Hudečková","doi":"10.34135/sjps.200101","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34135/sjps.200101","url":null,"abstract":"The paper inquires divergences in electoral programs of four Czech political parties (the ČSSD, KDU-ČSL, KSČM, and the ODS) as delivered for all the previous European Parliament elections. The aim of this study is to compare the use of national and European themes as delineated in programs. It is assumed that, in many cases, the programs contain topics and aspects which are specific and valid for elections on the national level instead. Thus, the paper elaborates on one of the characteristics of the second-order elections theory as exemplified in the Euro-elections. Results of the analysis showed a significant superiority of national affairs over the European issues in the examined samples. Although the number of political parties varies in individual periods, the study has also confirmed the assumption drawn from the theory of second-order elections. Therefore, political parties utilize political programs for the European Parliament elections as of national interest with domestic affairs, not European. Furthermore, the study considers dissimilarities among political parties in positive and negative attitudes toward the EU. Hence, sundry approaches to European affairs may be identified across the Czech political parties.","PeriodicalId":36889,"journal":{"name":"Slovak Journal of Political Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69807406","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
With the recent rise of a new confrontation between the East and the West, the convergence of different understandings of brainwashing emerges as a problem of political communication and poses a challenge for information security. The principle objective of this paper is to present a contemporary understanding of brainwashing, determine its propaganda potential, and provide educated guesses about successor concepts, which could be traced back to the origins of brainwashing. Therefore, the article describes the ‘classical’ Western understanding of brainwashing; looks for the potential equivalents of brainwashing on the other side of the Iron Curtain; reveals the rebirth and transformations of the concept in post-communist countries during the period of time, when brainwashing in the West had already came out of fashion; notes to the potential misunderstandings between the new and old democracies, which arise because of the different interpretation of brainwashing.The contemporary comprehension of brainwashing continues to alternate between instrumental and political understanding. The broadened concept becomes more blurred, although the lack of precision compensates the potential loss of mystery and allows the brainwashing to preserve an image of an almighty technique.
{"title":"The Conspiracy of Brainwashing: the Experiences of the First and the Second Cold War","authors":"Gintaras Aleknonis","doi":"10.34135/sjps.200105","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34135/sjps.200105","url":null,"abstract":"With the recent rise of a new confrontation between the East and the West, the convergence of different understandings of brainwashing emerges as a problem of political communication and poses a challenge for information security. The principle objective of this paper is to present a contemporary understanding of brainwashing, determine its propaganda potential, and provide educated guesses about successor concepts, which could be traced back to the origins of brainwashing. Therefore, the article describes the ‘classical’ Western understanding of brainwashing; looks for the potential equivalents of brainwashing on the other side of the Iron Curtain; reveals the rebirth and transformations of the concept in post-communist countries during the period of time, when brainwashing in the West had already came out of fashion; notes to the potential misunderstandings between the new and old democracies, which arise because of the different interpretation of brainwashing.The contemporary comprehension of brainwashing continues to alternate between instrumental and political understanding. The broadened concept becomes more blurred, although the lack of precision compensates the potential loss of mystery and allows the brainwashing to preserve an image of an almighty technique.","PeriodicalId":36889,"journal":{"name":"Slovak Journal of Political Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69807185","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The 2018 “Velvet Revolution” in Armenia has renewed scholarly interest in post-Soviet revolution studies. This paper explores the core narratives underlying post-Rose Revolution and post-Velvet Revolution identity construction in Georgian and Armenian political discourses. More specifically, it examines the core narratives employed by the Georgian and Armenian revolution leaders Mikheil Saakashvili and Nikol Pashinyan in constructing the political identities of “New Georgia” and “New Armenia.” The findings suggest that the core narratives dominating Saakashvili’s discourse on post-revolution Georgia are as follows: “democratic Georgia” and “laboratory of democratic reforms,” “stereotype breaker,” “European Georgia,” “peaceful Georgia,” “powerful Georgia” and “security contributor,” determined to homecoming to Europe. Pashinyan’s discourse has revolved around the notion of “proud Armenians,” who established “people’s government” capable of carrying out an “economic revolution.” In contrast to Saakashvili’s emphasis on escaping post-Soviet geopolitical space and gaining centrality in the EU-driven socio-political order, Pashinyan’s discourse does not suggest foreign policy U-turns. It concludes that while the 2003 “Rose Revolution” marked fundamental shifts in self-other conceptions within the Georgian political discourse, the post-revolution Armenian discourse has not experienced dramatic identity-driven transformations.
{"title":"Post-Soviet Revolutions and Post-Revolution Discourses: Explaining the Construction of Political Identities in Post-Rose Revolution Georgia and Post-Velvet Revolution Armenia","authors":"A. Terzyan","doi":"10.34135/sjps.200107","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34135/sjps.200107","url":null,"abstract":"The 2018 “Velvet Revolution” in Armenia has renewed scholarly interest in post-Soviet revolution studies. This paper explores the core narratives underlying post-Rose Revolution and post-Velvet Revolution identity construction in Georgian and Armenian political discourses. More specifically, it examines the core narratives employed by the Georgian and Armenian revolution leaders Mikheil Saakashvili and Nikol Pashinyan in constructing the political identities of “New Georgia” and “New Armenia.” The findings suggest that the core narratives dominating Saakashvili’s discourse on post-revolution Georgia are as follows: “democratic Georgia” and “laboratory of democratic reforms,” “stereotype breaker,” “European Georgia,” “peaceful Georgia,” “powerful Georgia” and “security contributor,” determined to homecoming to Europe. Pashinyan’s discourse has revolved around the notion of “proud Armenians,” who established “people’s government” capable of carrying out an “economic revolution.” In contrast to Saakashvili’s emphasis on escaping post-Soviet geopolitical space and gaining centrality in the EU-driven socio-political order, Pashinyan’s discourse does not suggest foreign policy U-turns. It concludes that while the 2003 “Rose Revolution” marked fundamental shifts in self-other conceptions within the Georgian political discourse, the post-revolution Armenian discourse has not experienced dramatic identity-driven transformations.","PeriodicalId":36889,"journal":{"name":"Slovak Journal of Political Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69807246","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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