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Criminal, Religious and Political Radicalisation in Prisons: Exploring the Cases of Romania, Russia and Pakistan, 1996-2016
Issue:
2016 - Volume 10, Issue 3
Abstract: Ironically, prison and imprisonment plays a significant in role in the development of radicalised and extremist individuals and movements—a point highlighted by the recent enquiry into the radicalisation process of Islamists in Europe. The fact that prison might act as a ‘school of crime’ is...
European Union at Risk: The Judiciary under Attack in Romania
Issue:
2016 - Volume 10, Issue 3
Executive Summary
Many of the methods used by the Communists in Romania pre-1989 to create a politicised system of justice and law enforcement are still in existence in contemporary Romania.
The control of judicial institutions and the subordination of the rule of law by the Romanian executive...
Dynamics of Middle East Peace Process in the Era of US Hegemony: 1950-2000
Issue:
2016 - Volume 10, Issue 2
Abstract: This article begins with the observation that the US has over the course of the 20th century, exerted an unrivalled influence on international affairs. In exerting this influence, which is manifested within various dimensions (military, economic and technological), successive American...
The Concept of Border Security in the Schengen Area
Issue:
2016 - Volume 10, Issue 2
Abstract: This article contributes to the discussion about border security in the Schengen Area, particularly regarding the dramatic increase of illegal immigration since 2013. It first outlines the competency of the European Union regarding protection of Schengen’s external borders and identifies the...
Why did the 2011 Egyptian Revolution Fail?
Issue:
2016 - Volume 10, Issue 3
Abstract: This article examines why the Egyptian revolt of January 2011 was not a revolution. It shows that the revolt did not change the fundamental political structure of the country, which eventually ended up under military rule. Several theories of revolution will be presented and reasons for the...
Regional Power Competition and the Middle East Regional Order, 1945–2010
Issue:
2016 - Volume 10, Issue 3
Abstract: To understand the current character of the Middle East, a clear picture of the context in which the prevailing order was formed is necessary and the relationships between parties, the dominant behaviour patterns of the entities and institutions that created and shaped the regional order and...
Revolution and Democracy: Socio-Political Systems in the Context of Modernisation
Issue:
2016 - Volume 10, Issue 3
Abstract: The stability of socio-political systems and the risks of destabilisation in the process of political transformation are among the most important issues of social development; the transition to democracy may pose a serious threat to the stability of a respective socio-political system. This...
Urban Counterterrorist Sieges: The 2008 Mumbai Attack and Police (In)Capacity
Issue:
2016 - Volume 10, Issue 2
Abstract: The Mumbai terrorist attack of 2008 exposed key vulnerabilities in India’s defences against urban terrorism. Not only did it reflect an unprecedented degree of sophistication on the part of jihadist planners, but the attack also demonstrated that the Indian policing system was woefully inadequate...
Inconsistencies between Libya and Syria? Pragmatic Revisionism and the Responsibility to Protect
Issue:
2016 - Volume 10, Issue 2
Abstract: The on-going debate on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) concept revolves around its problematic and inconsistent implementation, particularly while comparing the military intervention to protect civilians in Libya (2011) and the inadequate response to the Syrian crisis. The article traces...
The Implementation of Sanctions Imposed by the European Union: A Comparison of the Czech and Slovak Republics’ Compliance
Issue:
2016 - Volume 10, Issue 1
Abstract: This study focuses on the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic, two countries which do not carry out autonomous sanctions, but are, nevertheless, obliged to implement sanctions adopted by international organisations because of their membership commitments. The study explores the fulfilment...
The “Black Widow” Media Discourse: “Desperation, Irrationality and Vendetta” in Dagestan
Issue:
2016 - Volume 10, Issue 1
Abstract: This work examines how the media representation of the female self-martyrs of Dagestan and Chechnya, often dubbed “Black Widows,” portrays them as irrational, hysterical and/or desperate. The replication of the “Chechen Black Widow” narrative, applied to any female self-martyr striking on Russian...
How Criminals Infiltrate Public Procurement: Organised Crime and Corruption in Legal Markets and Public Sectors
Issue:
2016 - Volume 10, Issue 1
Abstract: Criminal infiltration in the legal economy – particularly public procurement and corruption – are among the most pronounced challenges facing European states. This work analyses the strategies and methods used by organised criminal groups to tamper with the procedures for the execution of public...
Is Gazprom Pushing East?: Exploring Gazprom's Behavioural Patterns in the Asian Market
Issue:
2016 - Volume 10, Issue 1
Abstract: This article examines whether the Russian Eastern Energy Policy (EEP) corresponds to the widely shared perception that Russia uses energy resources as part of its domestic and foreign policy goals and to assess the role of Gazprom in Russia’s overall governmental strategy. For this purpose,...
The European Union as an Actor in Energy Relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran
Issue:
2015 - Volume 9, Issue 4
ABSTRACT: The final phase of the nuclear negotiations with Iran has coincided with a profound crisis in the EU-Russia relations. Due to the crisis in Ukraine, the uncertainty about European energy security has increased significantly. Against this background, Iran, with its vast natural gas resources,...
What is the Threat Perception of the Slovak Republic?
Issue:
2016 - Volume 10, Issue 1
ABSTRACT: This work examines security threats as perceived by the independent Slovak Republic based on the analysis of official state security documents and offers a reflection of the evolution of the security environment and how the Slovak Republic has confronted these. The conducted research led to...
Criminal Governance and Insurgency: The Rio de Janeiro Experience
Issue:
2015 - Volume 9, Issue 4
ABSTRACT: The issue of governance by non-state armed groups has been gaining increasing attention from a range of social scientists. This study considers the territorial governance and authority of armed gangs in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, applying a notion of insurgency as competition for the support...
The Limits, Dilemmas and Challenges of European Security in Uncertain Times
Issue:
2016 - Volume 10, Issue 1
ABSTRACT: This article assesses the current state of European security and its future prospects against the backdrop of several key processes: the rising political and economic power of non-western actors, US and European economic problems, the dynamic of the changing security environment and threats—especially...
Constraining or Encouraging? US and EU Responses to China’s rise in East Asia
Issue:
2015 - Volume 9, Issue 4
ABSTRACT: China’s consolidation of power in East Asia has been reshaping regional security dynamics. This has challenged US regional leadership and confronted Asian states with a new strategic dilemma of major power rivalry. Similarly, China’s rise has confronted the EU with challenges to its strategy...
The Nature of Separatism and Its Weak Reverberations in the Americas
Issue:
2015 - Volume 9, Issue 3
ABSTRACT: Secessionism opens up a myriad of interesting debates related to the very ontology of borders and states and the nature of the international system. The main aim of this study is to shed light on the under-scrutinised phenomenon of separatism by problematising and theorising on it. To this...
A Place with None and a number of Frontiers: Changes and Continuities in Interethnic and Power Relations in 19th Century South-Western Amazon
Issue:
2015 - Volume 9, Issue 3
ABSTRACT: This study presents a range of research into interethnic and power relations in the upper Madeira area in the southwest Amazon over the course of the 19th century. After providing a preliminary evaluation of the impact of both international treaties and internal political changes at the end...
Operation MANUEL: Prague as a Transit Hub of International Terrorism
Issue:
2015 - Volume 9, Issue 3
ABSTRACT: This work examines several aspects of the cooperation between the Cuban and Czechoslovak secret services in the 1960s. The Cuban Revolution caused a fundamental redefinition of ideological boundaries, which, among other things, brought geographically remote areas closer to each other. The island...
Conceptualising Borders of Authentic Healing of Gambling Addiction among Western Apaches
Issue:
2015 - Volume 9, Issue 3
ABSTRACT: This study examines the process of identity formation in a present-day Western Apache reservation community. It explores how member identities have been shaped by various postcolonial social and political boundaries and how these translate into concepts of mental health—specifically in the...
The Body as Border? Arizona’s SB1070 as a Case Study for Re-Thinking the Spatiality of the US-Mexico Border
Issue:
2015 - Volume 9, Issue 3
ABSTRACT: Arizona’s SB1070, or the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighbourhoods Act, is a piece of US immigration legislation which was passed in 2010, making it one of the first of a number of state-level immigration bills in the US in recent years. The cornerstone of SB1070 is the requirement...
Rethinking the Borders inside Latin America and the Clash of Social Imaginaries: The Role of Intercultural Universities in Ecuador and Mexico
Issue:
2015 - Volume 9, Issue 3
ABSTRACT: In order to speak about “borders” in Latin America, it is necessary to take an approach that reflects the specific interethnic realities of this region where autonomy is a key emerging issue. The concept of autonomy is often mistakenly linked to forced political and administrative changes that...
On Border and On Murder: Juárez Femi(ni)cides
Issue:
2015 - Volume 9, Issue 3
ABSTRACT: Employing critical methods of postcolonial literary studies and feminist theories, this paper investigates Juárez femi(ni)cides arguing that they are not just a massive heinous crime but a result of a socio-economic system of structural inequalities pertaining to cultural and social constructions...
Emigration and displacement in Ciudad Juárez, México
Issue:
2015 - Volume 9, Issue 3
ABSTRACT: This work presents the emigration phenomenon of Ciudad Juárez which rose sharply between 2007 to 2012 because of an increase in public insecurity and unemployment in the city. The work discusses the emigration flows to El Paso Texas, and some municipalities of Veracruz, México. Analysis focuses...
So Far from God, So Close to the United States: Current Dynamics of Mexican Migration to the United States
Issue:
2015 - Volume 9, Issue 3
ABSTRACT: This work examines the development of US immigration policy with a focus on border enforcement, migrant removals and the effects on human security at the US-Mexican border. My research considers three stages in the journey of the unauthorised migrant: clandestine crossing, detention in the...
From Imagined Communities to Bordered Societies? Bordering Processes in the Americas in the late 20th and early 21st Century
Issue:
2015 - Volume 9, Issue 3
ABSTRACT: This study explores the meaning of borders in the late 20th and early 21st centuries in the Americas. It argues that borders can best be understood as the result of bordering practices which are socially defined and constructed. Following the theoretical framework proposed by Popescu, I analyse...
Incremental Escalation as a Cost-Avoidance Instrument in International Conflicts
Issue:
2015 - Volume 9, Issue 2
ABSTRACT: How do states involved in international conflict decide on the quality and quantity of force to use? Traditional understandings of military threats and force in international relations emphasise its quality as an instrument for achieving victory in a dyadic dispute. However, changes in the...
Afghanistan and the Privatisation of Security in the Czech Republic
Issue:
2015 - Volume 9, Issue 2
ABSTRACT: The Czech Republic has its own, specific, experience with the privatisation of security. The Czech private security market and available private security services has typically been limited to domestic sectors. This article explores the potential Czech private security actors have abroad and...