Volumen 14 (2018): Edición 1 (June 2018)

This article seeks to shed more light on Ukraine’s parliamentary elections by considering campaign tools that were derived from values in the electorate and used in elections between 2006 and 2012. The influence of political values on the electoral process was pointed out by American political scientists in the mid-20th century. My research demonstrates, however, that the political choices of Ukrainians in the 2006–2012 elections gave rise to campaign techniques that were not based on “classic” political values like freedom, human rights and democracy. Instead, their source was national identity-related values including the importance of a common history, culture and language along with religious and geopolitical preferences. These values differed between the western and central regions of Ukraine on the one hand and the southern and eastern parts of the state on the other. This regional polarisation did not seem very dangerous, however, until the emergence of election campaigns based on political ideology. As ideology gradually lost its mobilising potential, there was a need for an effective new system of political influence. Manipulative techniques were deployed to incite artificial clashes between citizens with different political identities. This article analyses specific uses of these techniques and uncovers links between their application and the destruction of the electoral space in Ukraine as well as the division of the country’s real political arena.

The article analyses through qualitative textual analysis and manual coding Czech singers known for their critical attitudes to the “migration crisis”as presented on their Facebook walls (2015–2017). This major focus on the singer’s Facebook posts was reinforced by the analysis based on the two theoretical concepts – celebritisation of politics and post-truth politics. In sum, analyses across theoretical approaches found that a majority of singers – although not all of them – have been judging the problem through the lenses of a black -and -white “Clash of Civilizational” approach. Only a few singers run for political office and political agenda-setting linked to the “migration crisis” was not frequented as expected. Many of the investigated singers expressed support or political endorsement to xenophobic and anti-islamic political parties. Although the “Russian footage” could be denied, the style and characters of communication via Facebook revealed that in many aspects the singers’ strategy is in consonance with current Kremlin propaganda.

This article aims to analyse and evaluate the implementation of Greek local government reforms based on the surrounding economic and political situation. The main two reforms in question, the Kapodistrias and the Kallikrates programmes, both tried to modernise the state under the influence of Greece’s European Union membership. Though revolutionary for its era, the Kapodistrias programme soon reached its limits. The newer Kallikrates reform, adopted under pressure from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund due to the economic crisis, has sought to reduce public spending and create a leaner state. Nevertheless, largely because of its external origins, even this more recent reform has failed to improve the deteriorating Greek local government sector.

The aim of this article is to highlight challenges to European integration by raising key concerns and generating debate about potential responses. This discussion is intended to be a starting point for further research and the development of more policy-specific recommendations to tackle these challenges successfully. I begin by explaining the need for a clear and realistic integration mission and then turn to the example of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), one of the most tangible achievements of European integration policy. The EMU also highlights the critical importance of clarity and realism in any approach to integration. My analysis moves next to the challenges that the EU is facing today and considers how the European Commission has evaluated and reacted to these challenges. Finally I propose some key elements of – and make the case for – a constructive practical approach.

Like other types of humanitarian intervention before it, the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) has suffered in practice from a pervasive lack of political will. This represents a failure of moral motivation, but also a failure to accept the often steep political, material and human costs associated with intervening to try and halt mass atrocity crimes. In order to ease this second barrier to intervention, we need a reform agenda that will limit the prevalence, intensity and duration of mass atrocities as well as the crisis situations that make them possible, thereby reducing the various costs associated with any specific intervention. This can be achieved through certain aspects of the work of cosmopolitan philosopher Thomas Pogge.