Civil service policy constitutes a central component of public policy and administrative science and gained renewed importance in Georgia after 2014, when civil service reform was closely linked to Europeanisation and democratic governance following the signing of the Association Agreement with the European Union. This article aims to examine the key features of policy design and implementation related to civil servants, with a focus on understanding the underlying factors shaping these policies. The study employed qualitative methods, combining expert interviews with document analysis. The results highlight a gap between design and its implementation, hampered by limited institutional and political readiness, and the enduring influence of the Soviet administrative legacy
Road transport plays a crucial role in the European Union's transition toward climate-neutral mobility; however, significant differences persist among Member States in terms of sustainability performance. This study evaluates the sustainability performance of road transport systems in 26 EU countries to understand their comparative positions in this transformation process. Using a comprehensive dataset from 2021, an integrated Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) approach was employed, combining the Entropy method for objective criteria weighting and the EDAS method for performance ranking. The analysis reveals that Traffic Accidents, GDP, and Vehicle Usage are the most influential factors driving sustainability scores. Among the evaluated nations, France, Czechia, and Denmark achieved the highest performance rankings. The original contribution of this study lies in its application of an entropy-EDAS multi-criteria framework to evaluate the 2021 sustainability performance of road transport systems in 26 EU countries, providing a systematic, data-driven basis for comparing Member States' performance.
This article explores the commodification of lifestyle as a mechanism of individualization in the context of late capitalist transformations in Ukraine. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with middle-class respondents, the study demonstrates how consumer practices shape self-definition, group belonging, and identity construction under conditions of uncertainty and crisis. The findings reveal the ambivalent role of consumption as both an adaptive and compensatory resource, encompassing not only material goods but also symbolic and ideological domains. The research contributes to debates on individualization, highlighting the constructivist potential of consumption in transitional societies.
The doctrine of unconstitutional constitutional amendments is a polemic topic. This article shows argues that depending on the context it can either help protect democracy or advance authoritarianism. The article puts forward 3 approaches from comparative constitutional law that can be used to halt abuse of the doctrine. From domestic perspective fragmentation of the appointment process of judges, entrenching these procedures in the constitution and criticizing judges publicly might be an option. From international perspective imposition of sanctions could halt the abuse. The third option would be resorting to the transnational constitutional law. However, I argue that each of these approaches has it setbacks.
This study investigates the practices of participatory rural development in Khulo Municipality, focusing on livelihood transformation through Local Action Group (LAG) roles and the "Women's Room." Despite efforts to foster community-driven development, challenges persist, including limited institutional capacity, sectoral bias in economic programs, center-periphery division, and infrastructural and information spread deficits that hinder participation, particularly for marginalized groups. The research highlights barriers such as insufficient information dissemination, skepticism toward municipal initiatives, and weak implementation of decentralization policies. However, it also emphasizes the potential of participatory mechanisms to enhance inclusivity, promote collaboration, and empower local communities. Strengthening institutional frameworks, investing in infrastructure, and improving outreach can transform Khulo into a sustainable rural mountain development model, showcasing how participatory approaches can address socio-economic vulnerabilities in mountainous regions.
This article examines the Polish American vote in the 2024 US presidential election. First, it examines the history of the Polish American vote and considers whether there is still such a thing as a Polish American electorate. Then, utilizing a theory of identity priming, we test whether then-Vice President Kamala Harris's direct appeal to Polish American voters worked. The sample utilized consists of 1,278 students at a large Midwestern university, of whom nearly ten percent identify as Polish American. The results suggest some significant political differences between the Polish American and other respondents, including reactions to the Harris appeal. The paper concludes with a discussion of how the Polish American identity is maintained, through a theory of latent ethnicity.
The article presents a critical analysis of the phenomenon of artificial intelligence (AI) in the context of Industry 4.0 development, with a focus on expertise and forecasting. It examines the conceptual foundations, technological achievements, and risks associated with the implementation of AI in various fields-education, business, security, and geostrategy. Particular attention is given to the instrumentalization of human consciousness, the problems of algorithmic bias, and the consequences of AI use for democratic governance and global security. The article analyzes ongoing debates on the prospects of forming superintelligence and the potential emergence of a singleton as a model of global AI governance, assessing its philosophical, ethical, and geopolitical dimensions. The authors argue that despite the transformational potential of AI in improving local decision-making and optimizing human activity, there are significant risks associated with autonomy, control, and the preservation of humanistic values in the digital age. Effective AI development requires a balance between innovation and ethical considerations to ensure its role as a tool for positive change rather than a threat to autonomy and social stability.
Following the global financial crisis, several European countries introduced taxes on banks' balance sheet items, commonly referred to as bank levies. These measures were designed both to recover public expenditures associated with bank bailouts and to strengthen the stability of the banking sector. This paper investigates the fiscal significance of bank levies as wellas their impact on the profitability of Slovak banks, measured by return on assets (ROA). Employing panel data for the largest Slovak and Czech banks over the period 2010-2024, we apply a difference-in-differences approach, with Slovak banks forming the treatment group and Czech banks serving as the control group. The findings indicate that, while bank levies constitute a meaningful source of public revenue, their introduction in Slovakia was associated with a statistically significant decline in banks' profitability. These results highlight a potential trade-off for policymakers between generating fiscal revenues and maintaining the profitability, credit supply, and long-term resilience of the banking sector. Despite the relatively limited dataset, this study contributes novel empirical evidence to the literature on bank levies in small open EU economies and represents, to the best of our knowledge, the first study focused specifically on the Slovak Republic.
With the outbreak of full-scale war in Ukraine, the media sphere became more active. The information space has been flooded with misinformation and, as a result, fact-checking resistance. However, as of today, it seems that the struggle for high-quality journalism has automatically turned into a fight against it. The disappearance of reporting (in the narrow sense of the word) should be considered a symptom of this situation. Under the pressure of military legislation (Order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine & numero; 73 (from 03.03.2022)) in the field of practical journalism reporting was distorted into essays or feature stories (incidentally renamed as artistic reporting). Ukrainian educators went further and removed reporting from curricula and programmes. Since that was the only option for live broadcasting, the media sphere was engrossed with uncontrolled fake news. In this publication we trace the history of the rise and fall of reporting as a genre, a method of gathering information and a type of direct (spontaneous) fact-checking by using modelling, reception, content analysis, comparison and other methods. In the course of our research, we use our own databases: students' reports from the video portal "Nivroku" and the author's work from the repository of Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University library, curricula for a master degree in specialty 061 Journalism (educational and professional program Journalism and social communication) and for a bachelor degree (educational program Journalism and cross-cultural communication), academic workload cards of a teaching staff member, data and work of the non-governmental organisation "Alternative Journalism" etc. Thus, we cover the theoretical, practical, methodical and methodological levels of defining, processing and assimilating a report, focusing on verification, which, as it turns out, follows the pattern of classical scientific activity: the object of research, competent sources and axiomatic evidence base, experts' testimony and commentary, logical conclusion.
Media in political communication processes shape the way citizens perceive politics, which translates into political attitudes, opinions, and behaviours. Recognised as one of the main political actors, they serve as a tool for conducting politics. Public media, in particular, are expected to maintain reliability and pluralism. The purpose of this article is to present how legal regulations in Poland concerning equal access of politicians to public media are reflected in practice. As a case study, the weekly political commentary programme "Och, ta polityka" ('Oh, That Politics'), broadcast on TVP Gda & nacute;sk, was selected. It constitutes an important space for discussions on Polish and international politics, involving representatives of various parliamentary parties.
This article addresses the methodological challenges of conducting social research during wartime, with a focus on the Russian-Ukrainian War in Ukraine. The complexities of military operations, large-scale internal and external migrations, and the absence of up-to-date demographic data due to the lack of a population census since 2001 significantly hinder the collection of representative data. Researchers have been compelled to adapt their methodologies, employing alternative techniques such as web-based surveys, and use social media recruitment to reach respondents in otherwise inaccessible areas etc. However, these methods come with limitations, including non-representative samples and potential biases. The article also underscores the ethical considerations in wartime research, emphasizing the protection of data and safeguarding respondent confidentiality. Despite numerous obstacles, Ukrainian sociologists have demonstrated remarkable adaptability and creativity, applied innovative methodologies and responded flexibly to the shifting context. This study makes an important contribution to the understanding of conducting sociological research in zones of military conflict, stressing the need for methodological flexibility and ethical diligence. The challenges encountered not only present obstacles but also open new opportunities for refining research approaches and deepening our understanding of social dynamics in war-affected societies.
This article explores the issues of development and effectiveness of the Code of Ethics of the Parliament of Georgia between 2004 and 2024. The aim of the research is to identify the institutional, social, and cultural factors that hindered its practical implementation. The findings indicate that the lack of political will, deep political polarization, lack of trust among political actors, and the devaluation of moral and ethical values rendered the Code merely formal and nonfunctional. Consequently, it has not become an effective mechanism and does not have a substantial influence on parliamentary activities.
This research investigates the complex process through which consumer culture, attitudes, and awareness are transformed into sustainable intentions among new entrepreneurs. Employing a conceptual synthesis approach, this study research a theoretical model based on an integrative literature review, validated through semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs and academic experts from Ukraine and India. The results reveal that this pathway is not a guaranteed virtuous cycle but is frequently disrupted by two key sets of barriers: consumer-side obstacles, such as scepticism and the attitude-behaviour gap, and entrepreneurial-side obstacles, including institutional constraints and conflict with the profit motive. The study's primary contribution is a revised process model that serves as a diagnostic framework, identifying the critical "points of disruption" where the transition to sustainability is most likely to fail. Based on this framework, the paper offers specific, actionable recommendations for entrepreneurs in the areas of product design, marketing strategy, and organizational culture to overcome these barriers and bridge the gap between consumer interest and sustainable business practice.
The main goal of the paper is to reveal regional (geographical) characteristics of statistical anomalies in voter turnout of 2024 parliamentary elections in Georgia. The research findings are primarely based on the analysis of official data of 2024 parliamentary elections and demographic statistics provided by the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat). The research shows that the biggest election irregularities happened in Western Georgia, particularly in mountainous districts. However, statistical anomalies in election results should be carefully considered, as they may not solely indicate election fraud but could also stem from deficiencies in statistical database, particularly when outdated or inaccurate voter list is used.
This study is part of a research project aimed at exploring the challenges of students with disabilities at Georgian universities. The present paper focuses on the perspectives of students with disabilities. Qualitative research was conducted at four Georgian universities, involving 13 students with disabilities from the target universities. Data collection utilized semi-structured faceto-face interviews and focus group discussions. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Triangulation of the primary data, relevant university documentation, and local and international publications were applied. The research reveals that despite a strong legislative framework, students with disabilities face significant physical and social barriers globally; these challenges are more pronounced in countries like Georgia, where higher education systems are underfunded, disability-related services are limited, societal awareness of disability issues is low, and educators lack competencies in inclusive education. The study underlines that Georgian Higher Education Institutions experience systemic barriers to inclusion, underrepresentation and invisibility of students with disabilities, and a lack of institutional support systems. To enhance the accessibility and inclusivity of higher education institutions in Georgia, it is essential to address the interrelated factors of university, educational, and social policy, which currently hinder the realization of inclusive education.
In 2020, the European Union reacted to the coronavirus crisis in an unprecedented way which has affected Europe and the world. The base is a stimulus package worth EUR 2.018 trillion in current prices (EUR 1.8 trillion in 2018 prices). It consists of the EU's long-term budget for 2021 to 2027 of EUR 1.211 trillion (EUR 1.074 trillion in 2018 prices), topped up by EUR 806.9 billion (EUR 750 billion in 2018 prices) through NextGenerationEU. This initiation represents a temporary instrument to power the recovery of EU countries. The funds are being used to address the most important challenges facing Europe and support those in need. In the aftermath of Russia's aggression on Ukraine, the EU budget was mobilised to provide emergency assistance and support, in Ukraine and in the EU countries, and to alleviate the humanitarian consequences of the war. The allocation of the grants was based on criteria set by the European Commission. It has been divided on a seven to three basis for the period 2021 to 2022 and for 2023. In this context, the aim of our work is to present the current status of the Recovery Plan for Europe with regard to the Recovery and Resilience Facility and to analytically assess, using OLS regression analysis, the criteria adopted for the distribution of the funds of this Facility. We investigate whether other criteria related to the economic situation may be related to the amount of grants received by EU countries. The results of the work show that more funds were allocated to countries with higher population, higher unemployment rates and higher loss in real GDP.
The Sykes-Picot Agreement is undoubtedly one of the most important agreements of modern history. During the negotiations that started in November 1915, Britain and France agreed on the text of the agreement, which was later expanded to include Russia in March 1916. The agreement, which was finalised with the approval of Russia, was signed by Sir Mark Sykes, François Georges-Picot, and Sergey Sazonov on 16 May 1916. For this reason, the agreement is also referred to in many Western sources as the Sykes-Picot-Sazonov Agreement, a designation derived from British and French diplomats Sir Mark Sykes and François Georges-Picot, who drafted the memorandum, together with the formal assent of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Sazonov. However, the publication of the agreement by Bolsheviks on 23 November 1917 caused significant repercussions worldwide. In this context, the disclosure of the agreement to which Russia was a party by Russia represents a subject that has not been sufficiently researched. The aim of this study is to elucidate the rationale behind Russia’s decision to disclose the Sykes-Picot agreement. To this end, the study analyses the main factors that shaped Trotsky’s decision, such as Russia’s demands from its allies, its secret agreements, and the relevance of the development to the Palestinian Question. It also examines Russia’s ideological stance and its impact on the publication of the agreement.
The paper explores the role of the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC) in Georgia's Europeanization path by answering the question of how the alignment between the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC) and the Georgian Dream government in supporting the "Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence" - the so-called "Foreign Agents' Law" affected Georgia's EU integration prospects. The paper is based on the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Process Tracing methods of analyzing all statements made in 2023-2024 of the church and state in tandem to explore the resisting actions of civil society, opposition, and the international community. The study reveals that the alignment of the ruling party with the GOC around the "Foreign Agents' Law" by framing the civil society and media as threats to national sovereignty, identity, and religious values, was one of the key triggers of Georgia's decision to suspend the accession talks with the EU.
The article presents an analysis of the Ukrainian experience in using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in military operations in the context of potential impact on the territory of the Republic of Belarus and its critical infrastructure. It examines the possibility of using unmanned aerial vehicles to strike strategically important targets on Belarusian territory, including airfields, oil refineries, gas pipelines, warehouses, and other key elements of critical infrastructure. The starting point is a study of similar impacts on the Russian Federation in the context of attacks on airfields, oil refineries, gas pipelines, and warehouses. Hypothesis of this work is the statement that Ukraine may have a significant impact on the Republic of Belarus through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). These capabilities are largely limited by the potential risks of such impact. The article presents the results of computer modeling of military operations using unmanned aerial vehicles, which provide insights into the likelihood of such operations, allowing for the assumption and determination of both the operation's effectiveness and the potential response.
