Volume 11 (2017): Issue 1 (July 2017)

This paper is devoted to the fulfillment of the concept of transnational citizenship achieved by New Zealand toward the Pacific Island countries, mainly through their constitutional relations, and the paper analyzes the fundamental question of what aspects comprise the core of the transnational aspect of this community. The aim here is to put forward the key aspects and steps in the building and development of a functioning model of transnational communities, with emphasis on the legal instrument of regional identity building, namely, the introduction and development of dual citizenship as the adaptation of the historical heritage of the colonial past (British citizenship) to the conditions of a globalized world while taking all the problems that the region faces now into account. We see transnational communities to be an important expression of contemporary globalization, as they have also been historically, as proved by New Zealand and the Pacific Island countries.

This paper discusses the competing processes between Moldovan and Romanian identities for the creation of a national identity in the Republic of Moldova. The issue of a common national identity for the people of the Republic of Moldova has been a problem since the beginning of this state’s independence. Throughout the 25 years of independence, different concepts of a Moldovan nation have competed in public, scientific, and political discourse. As a result of the historical context, the region has a linguistic specificity, which is based on the example of the Romanians, Moldovans, and Russians living in this region. Through archival research, field research, and interviews with Moldovan intellectuals and officials, this study recognizes the need for a national identity in the creation of unity and a sense of nationalism for Moldovan citizens.

The study deals with Taiwan’s engagement in international relations from the viewpoint of practical performance of its foreign activities. It is stressed that Taiwan’s foreign activities may be divided by their nature into two basic groups: the official diplomatic activities that Taiwan carries out in relation to those foreign states with which it has established diplomatic relations, and unofficial quasidiplomatic or paradiplomatic activities that Taiwan carries out in relation to the states with which it does not have diplomatic relations. In the study, the diplomatic and quasidiplomatic or paradiplomatic activities of Taiwan are compared, especially with emphasis on their institutional backgrounds, legal regulations, and other conditions for their practical performance. It is concluded that the differences between the diplomatic and paradiplomatic dimensions of Taiwan’s foreign activities are rooted mainly in their formal and protocolar aspects, whereas from the viewpoint of their organization and practical performance, these differences are minimal.

This article seeks to shed light on the curriculum of the Arab College in Jerusalem established by the British Mandate Government in 1918. The curriculum of the college was similar to the educational program of an English public school and was overwhelmingly geared toward English language and literature, with special emphasis on British history, in addition to Arabic, Latin, geography, science, and mathematics. The curriculum was also geared toward teachers’ training, in order to create a class of professionals to occupy managerial positions in the Mandate government and help in the administration of the country by working in schools, banks, and the Postal Service. This article examines and analyzes the curriculum of the Arab College, including textbooks and final examinations. It will also look at the role of the British Mandate Government in the improvement of the education system and the personal interviews with present graduates from the Arab College. It also examines the influence of the educational program on the writings of one of its graduates, Jabra Ibrahim Jabra (1920–1994). The literary works of Jabra, mainly in novel, poetry, and translation, represent an example on how the Arab College promoted the British culture among the Palestinian graduates of the college.

The migration crisis has not only influenced the societies of Europe, their governments, and decisions taken by them but also affected the work of media. As soon as the migration crisis began to escalate in Europe, the old continent has continuously tried to cope with the influx of refugees from the war-threatened Middle East; not only individual statements of politicians and influential individuals but also communication flows themselves, which have created content and expanded context within networks, have become the center of interest. We can assume that in the previous months (especially in the case of the Slovak Republic), political and media discourses influenced societal and individual opinions and attitudes toward the migration crisis. The main aim of this article is to compare the various contents in the Slovak printed media in the context of the migration crisis. The dominant focus will be on analyzing media messages in the analyzed period in the context of creating political (media-based and electoral) discourse on the refugee crisis. We assume that over time, the main political discourse changed, and that the rhetoric of the main political actors also changed over time. The reason for this shift was the national election in March 2016.