The aim of this article is to examine the evolution of Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA). It is argued that provision of ODA has been closely linked with promotion of Tokyo’s national interests, though its use evolved over time. During the Cold War, ODA was taken advantage of to gain access to Asian markets and bolster Japan’s economic growth. In the 1970s, greater emphasis was put on stabilizing situation in the region through humanitarian aid. After the end of Cold War, in turn, Tokyo started using ODA to exert political pressure on countries that posed a challenge to the regional security system, such as China. The strategic dimension of ODA was emphasized after revision of ODA rules in 2015, which allowed financing projects with participation of armed forces involved in development cooperation for non-military purposes. Taking advantage of institutional and legal analysis as well as comparative method, the article examines the securitization of Japan’s ODA through the lens of the evolving international environment. Overcoming the limitations of partial explanations of determinants of Japan’s ODA that refer either to economic interests and humanitarian concerns or to security considerations, such approach enables a comprehensive analysis of Tokyo’s motivations behind ODA in different periods.
The article focuses on the development and implications of the European Union’s Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP), with a specific emphasis on the EU Strategic Compass adopted in 2022. The Lisbon Treaty in 2009 initiated the formal framework for the CSDP, which was further advanced by the EU Global Strategy in 2016. This strategy emerged in response to various geopolitical challenges, including the Russo-Georgian war, the economic crisis of 2007-2009, the Arab Spring, and Russia’s annexation of Crimea. The Strategic Compass aims to address these threats through a structured plan centered around four pillars: Act, Secure, Invest, and Partner. The article employs a comprehensive review methodology, examining formal documents, strategic frameworks, and scholarly analyses. The primary focus is on understanding the goals, proposed actions, and potential impacts of the Strategic Compass on EU security and defense policy. The results indicate that the Strategic Compass is a significant step towards achieving EU strategic autonomy in defense, though its success hinges on effective implementation and the political will of member states. The document provides a detailed action plan but reveals gaps in addressing economic conditions, geographical focuses, and the synchronization of initiatives. The Ukrainian-Russian war has validated many initiatives of the Strategic Compass, highlighting the importance of swift troop deployment, effective cyber defense, and comprehensive intelligence. The conflict also revealed areas needing improvement, such as better coordination and financial mechanisms. The analysis also underscores the necessity for continuous adaptation Although the Strategic Compass is a significant step towards the EU's strategic autonomy in defense, its success depends on the commitment of individual member states to actions supporting the EU's security and defense autonomy.
Purpose: The aim of this article is to examine whether there were asymmetric price transmissions between the market prices of crude oil and wholesale prices, as well as between wholesale and retail fuel prices in Poland between 2007 and 2024. Methodology/approach: Cointegration analysis was conducted to determine the presence of a stable, long-term relationship between market, wholesale, and retail prices of liquid fuels (diesel and gasoline) in Poland. Additionally, asymmetric error correction models were estimated to assess whether retail and wholesale prices respond differently to increases and decreases in wholesale and market prices. Findings: The analysis confirms the presence of asymmetric price transmission from wholesale to retail fuel prices in Poland. Retail prices exhibit a stronger response to wholesale price increases than to decreases. Specifically, retail diesel prices rise 2.91 times more when wholesale prices increase than they fall when wholesale prices decline, while for gasoline, this effect is even stronger (4.42 times). Notably, no asymmetry is observed in the transmission from crude oil to wholesale prices. These findings suggest that price rigidity in the retail market contributes to slower price reductions, potentially due to market power or demand inelasticity. Originality/value: This study contributes to the literature by providing new insights into asymmetric price transmission in Poland’s liquid fuels market, which is characterized by a dominant state-owned enterprise and strong political influences. By analysing an extended time series (2007–2024), it confirms the presence of asymmetry in retail price adjustments to wholesale price changes while finding no such effect between market and wholesale prices, refining prior mixed evidence.
Cooperation between Russia and selected countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (including Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Brazil) has been developing since the 2000s. For the Russian Federation, the primary value of this region lies in its geographical proximity to the United States. In the last two decades Russia has played roles such as an investor in the energy sector, a supplier of arms and armaments; it also provided the Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19. For Latin American countries, relations with Russia afford greater autonomy compared to those with the US, as well as diversification of their export markets. The objective of this article is to analyze the main dimensions of mutual cooperation and relations between Russia and its key partners in LAC region and to demonstrate how the Russian invasion of Ukraine has altered these dynamics. Russia has forged lasting partnerships with three authoritarian regimes in the region: Nicaragua, Cuba, and Venezuela. Furthermore, Brazil, a member of the BRICS alliance, plays a pivotal role in Russia's strategy to challenge U.S. dominance in the region and promote a multipolar world order. Since the beginning of its invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, Russia has been intensifying its efforts to gain partners and bolster its image as a global power. The analysis revealed that after two years of full-scale war Russia’s relations with its key partners in Latin America remain more political or geopolitical than commercial in nature, yet these relations are mutually beneficial. Futhermore, despite the heterogeneous nature of LAC countries, Russia enjoys considerable political support for its actions in this region.
The turbulences in the global geo-political relations impact the geo-economical ones as well and vice versa. The interrelations of the mentioned issues influence the said ones on the supra-national, continental, national and regional levels. The sphere of agricultural and food products trade is extremely vibrant to such fluctuations as help fulfil the lack of food or its shortage, giving consumers access to the products of bigger variety and quality at lower prices. The following methods of scientific research were used, while conducting the research, as empirical, comparative and statistical analyses, including data mining, cleaning and processing, methods of correlation measuring like Pearson, Spearman and Kendal correlation tests, the method of exclusion, as well as textual and tabular methods as well as the ones for data visualization, etc. Together with the changes in the political relations, the economic and trade ones for the analysed subjects changed as well, redirecting the Ukrainian agricultural products imports from the Russian Federation and Belarus to the Central Asian and Caucasian countries. The research results showed, that the agricultural products imports to Ukraine from the following countries pairs appeared to be correlated: Armenia with Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Uzbekistan; Azerbaijan with Georgia and Uzbekistan; Belarus with Georgia and Tajikistan; Georgia with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan; Kyrgyz Republic with the Russian Federation. The research and its results would be of interest for the public administration officials, dealing either with the agricultural production or trade, small farmers and big agro holdings managers, small and big agro traders, politicians and decision makers, academic society representatives as well as the statisticians and data analysts.
