Journal of Social Sciences (International Black Sea University)
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Linking defence policy and strategy to the defence budget: the case of Georgia
Get PDFDefence budgets should be prepared in compliance with the guidance provided by the national security and defence policy and strategy documents. The aim of this article is to review Georgia‘s current defence policy, strategy, and planning hierarchy and suggest ways to streamline it, increase its effectiveness, and ensure a clearer link between defence policy, strategy and the defence budget. As a result of the study, it was proposed to carefully reconsider the existence of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) document in its current form (as an agency level document of the Ministry of Defence of Georgia), especially when there is a National Defence Strategy (NDS) document in the defence policy, strategy, and planning documents hierarchy. An updated hierarchy of Georgia‘s defence policy, strategy, and planning documents was proposed to provide a clearer link between defence policy and strategy and the defence budget. It does not matter much the presence of a large number of various specially (sometimes colourfully) entitled national security and defence policy and strategy documents. Rather, it is important to have a logical, simple, and understandable hierarchy of docu-ments that define, outline, and agree on national priorities and the expected role of defence and the military
Impact Of Herders And Crop Farmers Conflicts On Rural Livelihoods In selected Rural Communities In Ogun State, Nigeria
Get PDFThis study examined impact of herders and crop farmers conflicts on rural livelihoods in selected communities in Ogun state, Nigeria. Descriptive survey design was adopted and purposive sampling method was used to select two hundred and eighty seven respondents for the study. An adapted instrument “ Herders-Crop Farmers Conflicts and Rural Livelihoods Scale (HCFCRLS)’’ with Cronbach Alpha internal consistency of 0.73 was administered. Data were analysed using descriptive statistical tools and correlation matrix at 0.05 level of significance. Correlation analysis showed that there were negative significant relationship between herders and crop farmers conflicts and productive assets (r= -0.703), productive activities (r= -0.831), income (r= -0.795), social assets (r= -0.804) and capability (r= -0.616) respectively. It also showed that there was a negative significant relationship between herders and crop farmers conflicts and livelihoods (r=-.8635) in the study area. Therefore, the two null hypotheses were rejected at 0.05 level of significance. It was concluded that herders and crop farmers conflicts have caused significant negative impact on the livelihoods of victims. It is recommended that government should regulate herders and crop farmers activities, improve access to ownership of land resources for any agricultural productive activitie
Double-Headed Eagle Symbol, The Russian Imperial Emblem and Local Replica in The Kingdom of Georgia
Get PDFThe article focuses on iconic symbols of “Eagles” in the Georgian context from the early Antiquity to the Medieval and Modern periods. It explores the implication of the symbol and its functions to establish meaning in the society. The paper explains the process of interaction among meaning, style, content, and receivers, as well as provides a framework to understand how historical memory can serve as a constitutive, relational, and purposive content for collective and state identities. Acknowledging that heritage is a highly political process, susceptible to the needs of power, the research draws on a number of examples to underline that the symbols of the past portrayed in various media legitimate political symbolism in fact represent political standpoint.
Keywords: eagle, memory, national identity, imperial symbols, symbols of powe
International Tourism and its Impact on World Politics and World Economy
Get PDFInternational tourism is one of the most dynamically developing forms of international trade. In the economy of a particular country, it performs a number of important functions: it is a source of foreign exchange earnings and a means of providing employment for the population; contributes to the balance of payments; contributes to the diversification of the economy, providing stimulating effects on industries serving the tourism sector; increases the attractiveness of the country as a sphere of international entrepreneurship and business cooperation; creates incentives for the inflow of foreign capital into the national economy.
The main feature of international tourism is the crossing of state borders. The greater the differences between states, the greater the obstacles to the free movement of people. The simplification (tightening) of formalities has an impact on international tourist flows, providing (or, conversely, hindering) the movement of people. The complex and confusing procedure for issuing travel documents, violation of the deadlines for their consideration or arbitrary deviation, the introduction of severe restrictions on imports and currency exchanges, which determine the level of consumption of goods and services by tourists, do not contribute to the development of international tourism. From this point of view, customs declarations and inspections act as a deterrent and lead to a reduction in tourist trips.
Another feature of international tourism is economic in nature and is revealed through the impact it has on the country's balance of payments. Foreign tourists, paying for goods and services, ensure the flow of currency into the budget of the host country, thereby activating its balance of payments, which is why the reception of foreign tourists is called active tourism. On the other hand, the departure of tourists abroad is associated with an outflow of currency from their country of permanent residence. International payments for tourism operations of this kind are reflected in the liability of the balance of payments of the country supplying tourists, and tourism itself is characterized as passive. The division into active and passive, based on the characteristics of the reflection of the financial results of tourism activities in the balance of payments, is inherent only in international tourism and does not apply to domestic tourism.Keywords: Tourism, World Tourism Organization, Recreation, Visitor, Statistics, World Politics, World Econom
An Assessment of Good Governance and Development in Nigeria: A Study of Bayelsa State 2012-2019
Get PDFGood governance and development are dimensions of democracy for fostering equity and inclusiveness, accountability, rule of law, transparency, and the attainment of national development among others. The major purpose of the research is to examine good governance and development were institutionalized and achieved by the Bayelsa State government under Henry Seriake Dickson from 2012-2019. The study adopted structural-functional theory, descriptive research design, secondary sources of data collection and content analysis. The study among others discovered that from 2012-2019, the fundamental liberal politico-administrative values of good governance and development such as equity and inclusiveness, rule of law, accountability, vis-à-vis socio-economic and political development were not adequately addressed by the Bayelsa State government. Based on this, the study recommended that, Bayelsa State government should pursue an inclusive, people-oriented and participatory democracy to address the challenges inhibiting good governance and open up opportunities for developmen
The Global North-Global South Relations and their reflection on the World Politics and International Economy
Get PDFThe concept of Global North and Global South (or North-South relations in a global context) is used to analyze a grouping of states along with socio-economic development and political parameters. The Global South represents a term frequently used to identify the regions of Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. It is one of a family of names, including “Third World” and “Periphery”, that determine territories outside Europe and North America, in most cases (though not all) low-income and often politically or culturally marginalized countries on one side of the so-called divide, the other side being the countries of the Global North (often equated with developed countries). As such, the term does not inherently refer to geographical south; for example, most of the Global South is geographically located within the Northern Hemisphere, and on the contrary, some countries from the Global North – particularly Australia, New Zealand, and the South African Republic are located in the Sothern Hemisphere. The determination as used by governmental and developmental institutions was first introduced as relatively open and value-free alternative to “Third World” and similarly, potentially “valuing” terms like developing countries. The States of the Global South have been described as newly industrialized or in the process of industrializing, and most of them appeared on the world political map as independent states as a result of the process of decolonization, which occured during the cold war period in the second half of the XX Century.In its turn, Global North correlates with the Western world—excluding Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Israel (among others)—while the South is largely associated with the developing countries (previously called «Third World”) and the Eastern world. The two groups are often defined in terms of their differing levels of wealth, economic development, income inequality, democracy, political and economic freedom, as defined by freedom indices. Countries, that are generally considered as part of the Global North tend to be wealthier and less unequal; they have developed states, with strong democratic institutes, which export technologically advanced manufactured products and where the biggest part of the economically active population is employed in the service sector. Southern states are generally law-income developing countries with younger, more fragile democracies heavily dependent on primary sector exports and generally, they share a history of colonialism imposed on them by Northern states. In most of those countries, the biggest part of the economically active population is involved in the sector of agriculture. Nevertheless, the divide between the North and the South is at times challenged.
Based on the socio-economic parameters, as of the two decades of the 21st century, the share of the North—with one-quarter of the world population— comes four-fifths of the income earned anywhere in the world. 90% of the manufacturing industries are owned by the companies that are located in the North. Inversely, the South—with three-quarters of the world population—has access to one-fifth of the world’s income. As nations become economically developed, most probably they will be associated with the concept of “North”, regardless of geographical location; similarly, nations that do not qualify for “developed” status are in effect deemed to be part of the “South”
The contemporary authoritarianism in the post-Soviet space (case study of Belarus and Georgia under Saakashvili rule)
Get PDFThe paper describes the very essential dilemma of democracy building in the post-Soviet area: the role of elites and popular support in the absenceof institutional constraints on executive power; these tools can be used both in favor of democracy building and against it, and ultimately for the sakeof regime to maintain its power. Many post-Soviet incumbents, among them Saakashvili and Lukashenko, managed to become authoritarian rulersbecause, and not on the contrary of mass support. Divide and rule strategy helped them to overcome the resistance of plural elites and to suppressthem in the name of modernization, good governance and stability. In particular, it shows how the constraints on power can be used by the newlyelected rulers against each other and how their removal leads to power consolidation and concentration in one hand. From this perspective comparingSaakashvili and Lukashenko makes sense and reveals the shallowness of democratization approaches and rhetoric, in which these two leaders arealways considered to be at the different poles of democracy building. In the meantime, it focuses on the role of society and the phenomenon of a“good” autocrat who at the early stage can be useful for the country modernisation and then drive to the authoritarian rule, thus retaining power by allavailable means. The research also discusses the role of external powers in the observed processes and particularly Russia as sponsor and promoterof autocratic regimes in the neighbourhoo
Integration of Post-Soviet Republics into NATO: Comparative Analysis of Euro-Atlantic Integration of Estonia and Georgia
Get PDFEstonia and Georgia, the two former Soviet republics, at the time of the collapse of the USSR, had quite a similar experience of statecraft: they bothlived under communist rule, did not have any experience of democratic development and market relations, were approximately at the same levelof development among the 15 Soviet republics and also experienced the same pressure on awakening national identity and orientation towardsEuropean values. However, with the collapse of the USSR, very distinct tendencies emerged in these two states. If Estonia, together with otherpost-Soviet Baltic countries, took a course towards deep reformation of the country and integration with Europe and ensuring security through joiningthe North Atlantic alliance, then Georgia, under the newly elected nationalist government of Gamsakhurdia, chose the path of confrontation withnational minorities and its closest neighbors, and the building of a Common Caucasian Home (primarily with the North Caucasian republics beingpart of the Russian Federation), which led the country to a civil war, self-isolation and alienation from the West. This led to two completely differenttrajectories in the conduct of these countries in the international arena in the next three decades. The paper compares the two Euro-centric post-Sovietstates, Estonia and Georgia, in the context of NATO integration. By drawing a variety of parallels, the research refers to both historical experiences,transformational abilities, the readiness of political elites to carry out radical reforms and explores several reasons explaining differences in the Euro-Atlantic international path of Estonia and Georgia. At the same time, the article examines several external factors and particularly the Russian one,that influenced the integration path of these countries: in one case, giving the green light to joining the alliance (a case of Estonia) and, in the other,all kinds of opposition to NATO membership (a case of Georgia)
Cyber warfare – New threat for national and international security and transformation of the conflicts under the conditions of the new geopolitical order
Get PDFThis research paper, based on the methodology of political realism, will be discussed the transformation of conflicts in the context of the newgeopolitical order and how important this methodology is in international cyber politics.Within the paper, virtual threats are discussed where not only cyber-attacks and cyber wars are considered. Information, propaganda and disinformationmanipulations, brief history, and development in cyberspace are analyzed. The focus is on fake news and these issues are supported by variousexamples. It analyses how all this works in relation to Georgia and cites the 2016 NDI survey. Furthermore, the research presents the classificationof cyberspace and discusses the black market, which is a major threat worldwide. From the book by Kenneth Knapp, a cyber-security specialist theinformation provided on “Cyber Security and Global Information Assurance - Threat Analysis and Response Solutions”, published by the US Air ForceAcademy in Colorado, deals with the black market in cyberspace.At the same time, the research is devoted to the analysis of the impact of modern high technologies on international security processes. It is notedthat the development of technology and the Internet has had an impact on international security processes. It is discussed in the framework of theforce balance method, or force balance methodology. Numerous examples are given of Russia’s cyber-technological capabilities, as well as thoseof the United States, China, and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Attempts by Russian hackers to intervene in various elections, including the 2016 USpresidential election, as well as examples of Chinese cyber-attacks, which are of great political importance internationally and an important elementin the balance of power, are discusse
Never Waste a Crisis” Post 2019 Pandemic Regional Architecture of the Black Sea Region
Get PDFAfter the Covid-19 global pandemic, the geopolitical significance of the Black Sea Region (BSR), with changing resources and distribution of power,has changed opening renewed scope of engagement to both internal and external actors. Since 2019 as the epidemiological crisis has been strengtheningnation-states, showing the weakness of international organizations, and raising doubts about the extent to which international society is fulfillingits declared values and principles of human rights and ethics, it has spread new perspectives for countries around the Black Sea.This article explores the strategic importance of the BSR for the six coastal states of Georgia, Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and theirpolicies since 2019. It further explores the strategies that they are using vis-à-vis each other to assert their influence in the region. The article arguesthat the BSR, due to its strategic and transit location, being the subject of interest of several actors has been affected by an unequal distribution of thebalance of power since 2019. Russia, Turkey, the United States of America (US), NATO and the European Union (EU) member states, being particularlyactive, continue playing significant roles in the region affecting its political milieu. The interplay of these policies is reflected in coexistence as wellas confrontation among the BSR countries. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia’s power, standing out from other actors, with its aspirationswithin the region is increasing after the Covid-19 pandemic. Along with Russia, Turkey has also relative strength and a military advantage comparedto other countries in the region. Pandemic has opened up additional opportunities for Russia’s domestic and foreign engagement in its near abroadof the BSR, making it one of the principal architects of the post-crisis world order. “Never waste a good crisis” – these words attributed to WinstonChurchill are relevant for the BSR today as never before reflecting Russia’s policy that neither Russia nor other state has missed during the systemiccrisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic in terms of rethinking their regional and global policies.Considering this constellation, the first part of this article discusse