Abstract ▼

Today, based on a large number of relevant indicators, we can assume with great certainty that the People\'s Republic of China (China) is one of the most important geopolitical and geoeconomic vectors of the multipolar international order. However, China\'s foreign policy has always been hard to understand to a number of experts in the field of international relations coming from the so-called western schools of thought for the simple reason that it was never shaped according to the \"rules\" of Enlightenment rationalism. Therefore, their methods, paradigms, theories and indicators, in response to the key question on the impact of peaceful development on Chinese geopolitical (re) positioning in the international order, give a partial and value-subjective answer. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the Chinese discourse of peaceful development between 2003 and 2012 when Hu Jintao was the head of China and to answer the question raised from a different angle. In the first part of the paper, the issue of the economic rise of China, its demographic, diplomatic and geopolitical power in the eyes of the Western states will be discussed in the light of the potential challenges for the already established norms of state behavior in the international environment. The second part of this paper will be devoted to the critical explanation of the concept of peaceful development in light of the way in which it is created, while the third part deals with its essential importance in practical confirmation and execution through China\'s foreign and political activities.

Abstract ▼

The Federal Republic of Germany is one of the pillars of the modern European Union. As the most populous country in the EU with 82 million inhabitants whose economy is on the pedestal among the European economies, its impact on the functioning of the European mechanism in times loaded with the various crises crushing the Union, is, unavoidably, extremely great. The increasing power of Germany, as a consequence of its economic power, has influenced many Europeans to begin to perceive Germany again as a potential European hegemon. The main task of this paper is to determine whether the claims about the alleged German hegemonism in the EU are based on realistic assumptions on the case of 3 crises whose repercussions affect not only the EU but also the entire European continent. The crises include the Eurozone crisis, the migrant crisis, as well as the Ukrainian crisis. All of these crises have shown Berlin has a potential to lead the EU, while also pointing to the challenges it faced in an attempt to direct the rocking EU boat to a safe port. Although Germany is undeniably the strongest state of the European Union in economic terms, such degree of domination has not been achieved in the political sphere.

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The current geopolitical moment in which we can undoubtedly feel the rhythms of the First World War has imposed for decades the consideration of the unstable situation in Southeastern Europe and the Middle East, provoking interest in the real causes of such events. The question arises as to why the former Yugoslavia was, and now Syria is the most malignant conflict on the planet? The insight into the constitution of the Kingdom of SHS and the Kingdom of Syria through the prism of diplomatic, military and economic and political processes that almost a century ago resulted in the formation of \"artificial\" unsustainable state structures in space of strategic importance for preserving the domination of the great powers, can shed some light on the contemporary processes in these territories.

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According to many, the Pinochet case is one of the most important guiding processes in international law. Besides the international law factors, the case was \"coloured\" by the influence of high international and domestic politics, activism, NGOs and other fighters for human rights, as well as personal characteristics and biographies of some judges and other authorities in the process. In addition to the problem of the jurisdiction of the British courts, the central issue of the process was the question of General Pinochet’s immunity. Another indication of the importance of the case is the dispute about the \"supremacy\" of two international legal obligations with the character of ius cogens during this process – the obligation to respect the immunity of the head of state in relation to the obligation to prosecute criminal acts of torture. This is why this process should represent a turning point in international law regarding the prosecution of criminal acts committed by senior state authorities towards their citizens.

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The key subject of this article is the phenomena of bicultural identity’s transformation in the context of its integration into a wider multicultural entity. The term “cultural” is for the purpose of this article narrowed to a direct relation with territorialized ethnic identity. The article is focused on embedding bicultural identities into the process of intercultural communication and multicultural entities. This process is analysed on the case study of the Western Balkans states in the context of eurointegration, with emphasis on the example of building the independent Montenegrin state. The main hypothesis of this article is that the process of intercultural communication and multicultural society as a precondition has the opposite process - previously clear distinction of particular identities. In other words, the process of integration of different national identities into a wider community actually tends to sharpen distinctions between them than to relax the differences on their common path towards a new “super-identity.”

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The authors outline the role of BRICS in contemporary global relations, i.e. global relations at the beginning of the XXI century. The paper covers the entirety of the BRICS life cycle to date. It starts with the conception of the very term and concept, then examines practical linking between the BRICS countries and the establishment of permanent structures of cooperation, all the way to the newest challenges of institutionalization of this group. In conclusion, the authors explore the different possibilities of defining BRICS in the light of the latest trends in global relations.