European State System Research Articles

THE CONCEPT OF “JUST WAR”: HORIZON, STRUCTURE, CRITICISM

The concept of “just war” has become politically and scientifically relevant due to the collapse of the “European international system of sovereign states”; in the modern situation of “world disorder” (R. Haas), it becomes an instrument of public rhetoric; the inevitable consequence is the degradation of meaning - philosophical research, thus aimed at the formation of the concept, becomes relevant. Understanding the structure, meaning and scope of the concept of “just war” involves putting it in context; the goal, therefore, is to construct a horizon. The main task is to clarify the meaning of the concept of “just war” as a phenomenon of modernity. The concept of “just war” belongs to the field of ideas, that is, understanding presupposes going beyond the methodological framework of disciplinary science - the trans-boundary can be ensured by using methods developed by philosophical hermeneutics to analyze and identify the meaning of ideas and concepts, as well as understanding the ways in which they have power and determine reality. It is revealed that the reduction of the political to morality and the direct application of moral principles to politics necessarily leads to the degradation of war: the rejection of the “non-discriminatory concept of war” in favor of the concept of “just war” removes any restrictions from armed violence. It is demonstrated that war remains necessary on its periphery as normalization, police operation, “humanitarian intervention; the concept of ’just war’ is a tool for ensuring security. It is concluded that the anti-terrorist war as a police operation to ensure the security of the global liberal political order is the conceptual core of the modern concept of “just war”.

PECULIARITIES AND TASKS OF CIVIC EDUCATION IN UKRAINE IN THE CONTEXT OF ARMED AND INFORMATIONAL AGGRESSION

The article examines the role and significance of civic education in the context of socio-cultural development of society and strengthening the international status of the state. The main attention is paid to the historical aspect of civic education, its impact on the formation of a citizen in accordance with the standards of the democratic European state system. The article highlights different interpretations of civic education at different stages of history, from ancient times to modern times. A separate section is dedicated to the analysis of civic education in the modern socio-humanitarian discourse, in particular its place in the fields of philosophy, pedagogy and political science. The final part emphasizes the challenges that civic education poses to various sectors of society in the modern world.The article also emphasizes the importance of civic education as a tool for transferring values and cultural heritage from one generation to another, the role of education in strengthening the authority of the state at the international level and its influence on the formation of a conscious citizen in the conditions of changing geopolitical realities. Through the prism of the analysis of different historical contexts, it is investigated how civic education reflects the ideals, standards and values of different eras, its role in social integration and strengthening of national identity.Looking at education through the prism of philosophy, we can see it not only as a process of imparting knowledge, but also as a dialogic practice, where each participant is not just a consumer of information, but also an active participant in the process of learning. Also, in the context of modern globalization, it is important to pay attention to the intercultural dimension of education. How can we ensure that the educational process promotes mutual understanding between different cultures, instead of separating and dividing them? The answer to these questions requires not only philosophical reflection, but also pedagogical innovation. The philosophy of education should serve as a bridge between theory and practice, prompting rethinking and improvement of the educational process at all its levels.The final part of the article emphasizes the urgency of reforming the system of civic education in modern conditions, taking into account globalization processes and the growing need to train educated, critically thinking citizens who are able to adapt to the rapidly changing conditions of the modern world. This need is especially felt in the context of armed and informational challenges that Ukraine has faced in recent years.Keywords: civic education, values, cultural heritage, philosophy of education, historical context.

Invisible social Europe? Linking citizens' awareness of European cohesion funds, individual power resources, and support for the EU.

In the twentieth century national social policies stabilized the European state systems, favouring domestic concordance and citizens' support to the nation-building process. Welfare institutions have historically served this key political function also in federal systems, where social citizenship has been used as a tool to foster unity. In contrast, even though the EU devotes a consistent part of its (however limited) budget to social cohesion and inclusion programmes, it takes little credit for such efforts. Building on original survey data on public opinion collected in 2019 across ten EU countries, this article shows that, indeed, only a limited number of citizens are aware of the social role played by the EU in their local community. On the other hand, it demonstrates that citizens' awareness of EU programmes strengthens the individual perception of power resources stemming from euro-social initiatives, the feeling of 'being heard' by the EU and, ultimately, the support for the European integration project as a whole. By implication, increasing the relevance and visibility of euro-social programmes could possibly reinforce the very foundations of the EU.

Analysing The Diverse Perspectives On Balance Of Power

The concept of the Balance of Power has long been a significant factor in the realm of international politics. This article examines the evolution of power dynamics across time, starting with its inception in the early modern European state system and extending to its expansion on the global scale. The study delves further into the intricate dynamics of power equilibrium by examining the impact of various perspectives on its implementation and perception. The Peace of Westphalia, which was created in 1648 after the end of the Thirty Years' War, introduced a framework whereby governments aimed to prevent the dominance of a single power and maintain peace via the formation of alliances and the division of power. This event served as the foundational ground for the concept of the balance of power in historical context. The notion, which was originally centred in Europe, ultimately evolved into a fundamental principle of international law. The article also investigates several perspectives on power dynamics, with a specific emphasis on the realism paradigm that prioritizes state-centred evaluations of power and self-interest. The examination also includes an analysis of the liberal perspective, which prioritizes international institutions and collaborative endeavors aimed at maintaining stability. Furthermore, it engages with the constructivist paradigm, which emphasizes the significance of ideas, identities, and norms in shaping international power dynamics and conduct.

Legal regulation of taxation of legal entities: domestic and foreign experience

The paper proves that taxation of legal entities always causes a number of heated disputes in any state. In general, the taxation of legal entities is fragmentarily similar to the tax systems of developed European states, but in practice a situation arises when the domestic tax system of Ukraine is not a tool for increasing the competitiveness of the state and does not contribute to the growth of economic activity of economic entities. In Ukraine, the scale of tax evasion is affected not so much by the size of tax rates, but by the distortion of the conditions of competition due to the uneven distribution of the tax burden; corruption; imperfection of the legislation regulating business activities, as well as non-compliance with the laws by taxpayers. In the process of reforming the taxation system in Ukraine, an important problem is not only the level of the tax burden, but also the optimal combination of direct and indirect taxes. The current system of taxation today does not satisfy either the state or taxpayers. A whole series of miscalculations and distortions that were allowed during its creation led to the fact that taxes do not fully fulfill either fiscal or incentive functions. A separate positive is the possibility of switching to a simplified taxation system, because in our country, in accordance with the norms of the Tax Code of Ukraine, in addition to the general principle of withholding taxes, a simplified system operates in Ukraine. It was determined that a particular problem is the instability of the system of taxation of legal entities, which provokes frequent changes in legislative acts regarding individual taxes, which negatively affect the development of entrepreneurial activity in our country. Fiscal direction of the tax system is also quite difficult for entrepreneurs, i.e. insufficient identification of the regulatory function of taxes. It has been proven that in order to really stimulate the investment climate in the country, it is necessary to carry out much deeper reforms and use the gained international experience. The conditions for doing business are, first of all, a favorable investment climate, which, in turn, cannot be created without a stable, predictable, moderately burdensome tax field.

COMPETENT LAW AND ORDER FOR CULPA IN CONTRAHENDO

The question arising in the legal literature about the legal nature of culpa in contrahendo has no unambiguous interpre-tation. Such different approaches to its definition as contractual, quasi-contractual or tort liability are due to the different degree of development of the concept in the legal systems of European states. The Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus prescribes certain provisions on pre–contractual liability in the context of the law of obligations, and the legal consequences associated with it – causing harm - qualifies as a tort. Since the "segment" of the civil law contract we are interested in is at the junction of contractual and non-contractual law, then only by examining the content of the tort and obligation statutes will it be possible to determine the position of the institution of pre-contractual liability (culpa in contrahendo) in terms of legal "proximity" to a particular type of obligations, and hence the range of possibilities of participants in these relations, which is the purpose of this article. The problems of the position of the institute of pre-contractual liability can be resolved through a comparative analysis of the criteria of the statutes and culpa in contrahendo, which represents the scientific novelty of the study. The author formulated the features of culpa in contrahendo, defining it as an independent legal institution, and justified the need for legislative consolidation of the provision on pre-contractual liability in the current Civil Code.

COVID-19 and the efficiency of health systems in Europe

BackgroundThis study aims at analyzing the efficiency of the health systems of 31 European countries in treating COVID-19, for the period January 1, 2020 – January 1, 2021, by incorporating some factors from a multidimensional perspective.MethodsThe methodology used in the research was Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), through which efficiency scores for health systems have been calculated. The research was performed considering three stages: the first wave (January 1–June 15), the relaxation period (June 15–October 1) and the second wave (October 1–December 31). In evaluating the determinants of the efficiency of health systems, six major fields of influence were taken into account: health care, health status, population, economic, cultural/societal and governmental issues, all covering 15 indicators. After measuring the efficiency, we used the Tobit type regression to establish the influencing elements on it.ResultsThe results for the public health systems of European states were determined for each country and period. We evaluated the efficiency of health systems in Europe against COVID-19, starting from health inputs (COVID-19 cases, physicians, nurses, hospital beds, health expenditure) and output (COVID-19 deaths). The obtained outputs show that, especially in the first phase of the pandemic, the inefficiency of the health systems was quite high, mainly in Western countries (Italy, Belgium, Spain, UK). In the relaxation phase and in the second wave, the Western states, severely affected at the beginning of the pandemic, began to take adequate measures and improve the efficiency of their sanitary systems. Instead, Eastern European countries were hit hard by the inefficiency of health systems (Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Romania). After Tobit regression, results of the study show that the influencing elements are different for the three stages: concerning the first wave, comobirdities, population age, and population density are important; for relaxation period a great influence have government effectiveness and power distance; with respect to second wave, the relevant factors are education and population density.ConclusionsThe results obtained could serve as starting points for health policymakers to perform comparative analyzes in terms of good practices in the health system and to develop national plans to better deal with health crises. At the same time, they can be used internationally to achieve a coherent and effective community response to the pandemic.

Парламентско-монархические институты современных европейских государств: перспективы и трансформации

Relevance. The institution of parliamentary monarchism, in the presence of contradictory attitudes of various social communities towards it, remains one of the typical components of modern democratic systems. However, in the conditions of post-industrial society, cardinal transformations of parliamentary monarchies in European countries are taking place, which leads to their mimicry under the influence of such factors of social relations as postmodernism and globalization. A political analysis of the noted problem is presented relevant in view of the need to clarify the signs and parameters of democratic institutions in the political systems of modern European states. The purpose of the scientific article is to consider the prospects for the development and transformation of Eu-ropean parliamentary-monarchical institutions in the context of the development of political systems of liberal democracy. The objectives of the research are: analysis of the transformations of parliamentary-monarchical institutions, clarification of the institutional parameters of modern European monarchical parliamentarism, identification of crisis trends in the development of parliamentary monarchies in European countries, identification of prospects for their development in the conditions of postmodern and globalization processes. Methodology. To solve the purpose and objectives of the study, historical, comparative methods, functional analysis were used. Results. In the 21st century, the legitimacy of parliamentary monarchies in European states began to be de-termined by a number of new trends in the political process, primarily depending on the ability of specific representatives of ruling dynasties to respond to modern challenges to the institutions of succession. Conclusions. Despite the crisis trends of the post-industrial era, the institution of monarchical rule is quite ef-fectively combined with political and economic freedoms, being included in the system of separation of powers, acting as an integral element of the rule of law, which is why the parliamentary monarchy in the medium term will retain the importance of an important institutional component of modern democratic systems.

A Priceless Grace? The Congress of Vienna of 1815, the Ottoman Empire and Historicising the Eastern Question

Abstract The budding scholarship on the Congress of Vienna has devoted limited attention to the ‘Eastern Question’ in the 1810s. Even though the issue of the (non-) involvement of the Ottoman Empire in the new European state system has previously received mention, the rational and emotional factors that informed decisions taken by the Ottoman cabinet at the time have never been analysed in detail. Using previously unexplored Ottoman, Russian, British and French archival sources, this article historicises the ‘Eastern Question’ of the 1810s, when a new transimperial order was formed. It documents the attempts to ensure the security of Ottoman territories by European public law, and demonstrates that, although involving the Russo-Ottoman disputes in the Vienna negotiations was initially an Ottoman proposal, it was again the Sublime Porte that ultimately rejected it. The article discusses why this became the case, tracing the answer to diverse relational dynamics such as the conflicts in the Ottoman cabinet, the rivalries among the Great Powers, and the European endeavours to secure commercial interests in return for warranting regional stability.

Prohibition of Discrimination on Grounds of Nationality in the Freedom of Movement of Persons within the EU in the Light of Case Law of the Court of Justice of the European Union

Prohibition of Discrimination on Grounds of Nationality in the Freedom of Movement of Persons within the EU in the Light of Case Law of the Court of Justice of the European Union

The princess at the conference: Science, pacifism, and Habsburg society.

Historians are showing increasing interest in scientific internationalism, the notion that science transcends national differences and hence advances peace and cooperation. This notion became particularly popular in the decades around 1900, the heyday of the universal expositions and the so-called first era of globalization. In this article I argue that in order to properly historicize scientific internationalism, it is imperative to understand how actors imagined science to have pacifist effects, and to relate their technoscientific to their geopolitical imaginaries. To illustrate this, I analyze the 1911 novel Der Menschheit Hochgedanken (translated as When Thoughts Will Soar) by the famous Austrian pacifist Baroness Bertha von Suttner. It tells the story of a scientific conference whose participants, by the sheer brilliance of their thought, ward off war and preserve world peace. Relating the novel to von Suttner’s own life experiences, I situate her internationalism in the social texture and international relations of the late Habsburg Empire. It appears that Von Suttner mobilized notions of the pacific effects of science with an eye to preserving both the European system of states and the position of the aristocracy.

Foreign Affairs and the Ratification of the Constitution in New York

Foreign Affairs and the Ratification of the Constitution in New York Robert W. Smith (bio) No state considered the Constitution at greater length and depth than New York. It produced more literature than any other state and thus provides the best opportunity to examine the evolution of the foreign policy argument. The traditional narrative, best articulated by Frederick Marks in Independence on Trial, has the Federalists as nationalists making foreign policy a central point of their argument, with the Antifederalists as localists avoiding it as a losing issue. Marks describes the foreign policy interests of New York, but as the local details of a national argument. More recent studies assert the primacy of foreign affairs in the drafting of the Constitution. Max M. Edling argues that the Constitution was drafted to create a fiscal and military state capable of competing with similar states in Europe. David M. Golove and Daniel J. Hulsebosch contend that the Constitution was designed to gain entry into the European state system. Eliga H. Gould advances a similar claim, that the Constitution was intended to create a "treaty-worthy" nation, in recognition that the United States was part of the European state system. To Tom Cutterham, the Constitution was necessary to reconnect the United States to the trading networks of the Atlantic world. David C. Hendrickson considers the Constitution a "peace pact" among sovereign states. However, all these works treat foreign affairs as the province of nationalist-minded Federalists, with little attention given to local implications. Hendrickson differs somewhat by discussing local interests at the Constitutional Convention but does not address the ratification debates.1 In New York, most studies pit the agrarian and [End Page 327] localist majority party of Governor George Clinton against a mercantile and cosmopolitan minority.2 The traditional view, updated by recent scholarship, is partially true, but it is not the whole picture. New York Federalism included such nationalists as John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and Robert R. Livingston. They initially made nationalist arguments based on the need for a stronger union, the decline of the American reputation abroad, defense, and the promotion of trade. However, New York best shows how the Federalists shifted the foreign policy argument to fit local circumstances. The nationalists realized that a purely national argument would not work, and they had to appeal to New York's interests. In the first phase of the debate, from the arrival of the Constitution to the beginning of 1788, the Federalists emphasized national themes. In the second phase, from the end of 1787 through the ratifying convention, they switched to a focus on local foreign policy interests, such as the eviction of the British from the northwestern forts, the defense of New York on its vulnerable frontiers, and the promotion of local trade. As the other states ratified, New York Federalists included relations with the other states as an aspect of New York's diplomatic interests. The Antifederalists did not disagree on the nature of New York's interests. Rather, they focused on the dangers the tools of foreign policy posed to domestic liberty. They believed the nation's problems were not caused by the Articles of Confederation and would not be solved by the Constitution. The Antifederalists never emphasized New York's interests. At the convention, much of the Federalist foreign policy case centered on the interests of New York and the dangers to those interests if New York did not ratify. The Federalists argued for a New York exceptionalism, that New York was either uniquely situated to prosper under the Constitution or uniquely vulnerable to disunion. It was, in the end, the Federalists' strongest case, made stronger once New Hampshire and Virginia ratified. Like other states, New York moved to secure its foreign policy interests after the war. The fur trade on the northern and western frontiers was worth some £200,000 per year. Great Britain ceded seven of the eight forts that controlled the trade to the United States in the Treaty of Paris. Of those seven, five—Niagara, Oswego, Oswegatchie, Point au Fer, and [End Page 328] Dutchman's Point—lay within New York. In March 1783 the legislature passed a resolution calling for New York...

How does self‐employment affect pension income? A comparative analysis of European welfare states

AbstractThe characteristics of self‐employment in Europe have changed profoundly in the last decades. The share of solo self‐employment has grown and individuals combine more frequently dependent employment with self‐employment at the same time, or more often switch between dependent employment and self‐employment. These developments heavily affect the pensions of the self‐employed and therefore present a challenge for the old‐age security systems of European welfare states. So far, there has been little comparative research on how periods of self‐employment in the working career affect pension income in different European welfare states and how this is linked to the institutional design of pension systems. The paper contributes to filling this research gap by investigating the effect of self‐employment in the working career on individuals' pension income in 11 European countries. The findings show that self‐employment has a negative effect on total pensions of men and women. However, country differences are not significant in men, while in women only in the case of Poland and Belgium are there significant but contradictory effects of the share of self‐employment in the working career on total pensions. These effects are due to pension regulations concerning the contribution and benefit calculation rules for self‐employed persons.

Medieval Origins of the European State System: The Catholic Church as Midwife

AbstractThe received view in international relations (IR) is that the European multistate system was created when the medieval religious order broke down in the centuries following the Reformation. This view, which sees the medieval Catholic Church as a factor that hindered the advent of the multistate system, ignores a key insight of medieval historians, namely that the deeper historical precondition for the European multistate system was that the Church challenged the notions of empire and hegemony after the eleventh-century conflict of church and state. By mining this body of historiography, this paper shows how the end of the fusion of lay and religious authority in general and the Church's persistent interest in avoiding that one secular polity outmatched the others in particular contributed to the development of the European multistate system. These insights not only question dominant historiographic assumptions of IR, but may also be said to challenge the epistemological approaches of much of this scholarship.ResumenEl criterio aceptado en Relaciones Internacionales (RI) es que el sistema multiestatal europeo se creó tras el colapso del orden religioso medieval en los siglos posteriores a la Reforma. Este criterio, que considera a la Iglesia católica como un factor que dificultó el advenimiento del sistema multiestatal, ignora un conocimiento clave de los historiadores medievales, específicamente, que la condición previa histórica más profunda del sistema multiestatal europeo fue que la Iglesia desafió las nociones de imperio y hegemonía después del conflicto entre la iglesia y el estado en el siglos XI. Al indagar exhaustivamente este cuerpo de historiografía, este informe demuestra cómo el fin de la fusión entre autoridad laica y religiosa en general y el interés persistente de la Iglesia por evitar que una forma de gobierno secular supere a las otras en particular contribuyeron al desarrollo del sistema multiestatal europeo. Estas conclusiones no solo cuestionan las conjeturas historiográficas dominantes de RI, sino que puede decirse que también desafían los abordajes epistemiológicos de gran parte de esta erudición.ExtraitLe point de vue généralement accepté dans les relations internationales est que le système multiétatique européen s'est constitué lorsque l'ordre religieux médiéval s'est effondré dans les siècles qui ont suivi la Réforme. Ce point de vue, qui voit l’Église catholique médiévale comme un facteur ayant empêché l'avènement du système multiétatique, omet une perspective clé des historiens médiévaux, c'est-à-dire que l'une des conditions historiques préalables plus profondes à l’établissement du système multiétatique européen a été le fait que l’Église avait remis en question les notions d'empire et d'hégémonie après le conflit entre Église et État du 11e siècle. En exploitant ce corpus historiographique, cet article montre comment la fin de la fusion des autorités laïques et religieuses en général, et l'intérêt persistant de l’Église à éviter qu'un régime laïque ne dépasse les autres en particulier, ont contribué au développement du système multiétatique européen. Ces perspectives remettent non seulement en question les hypothèses historiographiques dominantes, mais nous pouvons considérer qu'elles remettent également en question les approches épistémologiques d'une grande partie des recherches dans ce domaine.

Assessment of the Renewable Energy Sector Performance Using Selected Indicators in European Union Countries

Renewable energy is the key pillar and plays an important role in the energy systems of European Union member states and in mitigating climate change. It is supporting the transition towards a greener, resource-efficient and more competitive, low-carbon European Union economy. Above-average, average and below-average values of monitored indicators in member states of the European Union in 2009–2016 were ascertained by using principal component analysis. Monitored indicators of the renewable energy sector included electricity generation, electricity capacity, investments of public financial institutions, number of employees and turnover achieved from the economic activities related to production, distribution, installation, operation and maintenance of equipment (all of them per capita). Based on the achieved results, we can state that the situation changed during the period under review. Member states have moved between above-average, average and below-average levels of renewable energy indicators. However, a lack of change in the indicators was recorded in some member states throughout the eight-year period (Finland, France, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Spain did not move significantly). Renewable energy sources (hydro, wind, solar, geothermal and energy from biomass) were evaluated as a whole due to different natural, economic and legislative conditions of European Union countries.

Europa en de opkomst van Duitsland, 1830-1871

Abstract Europe and the rise of Germany, 1830-1871. The German Question in European perspective A century and a half ago Bismarck’s Reichgründung fundamentally changed Europe’s states system. It marked the end of a quest for German unity that, since the 1830s, had been a central theme of European politics. This era has so far received little attention, and only a few historians appreciate that the rise of Germany in the nineteenth century triggered not only anxiety and fear among its neighbours, but feelings of sympathy and hope as well. This article aims to chart the whole range of reactions and to reintroduce openness to this historical process. It analyses a variety of conceptions of a new European states system in order to understand how Polish, Italian, French, and British politicians and activists anticipated and tried to influence the emergence of a strong and powerful German nation state in Europe’s centre. The conditionality of their support stresses the influence of these neighbouring nations on European-German relations then and now.

EDMUND BURKE, POLAND, AND THE COMMONWEALTH OF EUROPE

AbstractThis article re-examines Burke's doctrine of intervention by analysing his decades-long interest in the ‘Polish question’. Contrary to the main thrust of existing scholarship, it argues that the French Revolution did not fundamentally transform Burke's assessment of the European state system. Rather, Burke's most famous and controversial 1790s positions on the topic were rehearsed in the previous decades through his practical engagement in long-running eighteenth-century discussions about the Polish state, which acted as a lightning rod for disagreements surrounding the nature and future of European politics. Burke was interested in the Polish state because it raised fundamental questions about the nature of European civilization, the rules of progress, and the conditions for long-lasting peace. The Polish crisis of 1772 led him to reflect on the relationship between internal and external politics, and crystallized his analysis of the Balance of Power as not only the guarantor of continental peace, but also as the very source of the unique ‘spirit’ of European civil society. It was this same framework of analysis that he applied to France in the 1790s, to argue that the expansionist ambitions inherent to democratic republicanism warranted intervention because they threatened the unique nature of European civilization.

Interaction and Integration of Control Systems

Interaction and integration between control systems that are based on different legal and non-legal elements is the main problem of globalization. The establishment of a unified control system with established uniform rules and norms is a complex and lengthy process that requires interaction between all countries, as well as proper interaction and integration between control systems. Control systems are studied and presented from different aspects in different publications and forums and a significant part of them examine these systems in terms of internal control and internal audit. Viewed through the prism of state control, control systems look different and have another scope and purpose. The main objective of this study is to examine the established control systems by revealing their distinctive aspects and features and to present the problems relating to their interaction and integration. To achieve the main objective of the study, we need to perform the following tasks: 1. To present the specifics and characteristics of the main control systems; 2. To show individual control subsystems, including financial control subsystems; 3. To characterize modern changes of control systems, their interaction and integration. Based on the established objective and tasks, it is determined that the object of study is state control systems and their subsystems. The subject of this study is limited to the determination of the practical scope and problems of control systems in their interaction and integration. The topicality of the subject is determined by the modern drive for globalization of control systems and the establishment of a unified European control system of all EU member states. The entire globalization process has advantages and disadvantages in the development of control, including in the development of financial control, as set forth below.

EQUIDAD EN LOS SISTEMAS EDUCATIVOS DE LA UNIÓN EUROPEA: UN ESTUDIO BASADO EN PISA 2015

Equity in education has recently become a hot topic for international debate and it has gained much interest in the Netherlands as well the last years. In this study, we evaluate and compare equity across the educational systems of European Union member states with a focus on the Dutch context by using PISA 2015 data. PISA 2015 considers inclusive education and fairness as important aspects of equity. Inclusive education is reflected in the segment of students that are 15 years of age and are still in school as well as those students who obtain a basic level to function well in society. Fairness relates to how well countries manage to achieve education outcomes independent of the background characteristics of students. EU countries are compared with one another on these categories using effect sizes derived from differences in PISA scores in science, reading and mathematics. Particular attention is paid to equity results in the Netherlands. Although there is still room for improvement, for many aspects of equity, the Dutch education system scores well when compared to other EU countries.

Russian Political System: New Authoritarianism or Hybrid Democracy

This study analyzes the current model of the Russian political system from the point of view of its influence on the political landscape of Central Europe (European states). Modern political system of Russia (with minor changes) has existed for almost 20 years, demonstrating amazing stability. To date, we can say that the basic principles of this system have remained unchanged throughout the entire period of its existence. An important feature is that this system is quite resistant to both external and internal challenges. Unpopular government measures such as the pension reform, raising the VAT rate, increasing indirect taxes and fees — did not lead either to the destruction of the established political model or to its revision. The economic consequences of sanctions, the permanent increase in prices and tariffs cause discontent among the population, nevertheless, the demand from the population for an alternative political model remains weak, and protest activity remains low. The stability of the existing political model of Russia and, to some extent, the success in its construction led to the fact that some politicians in European countries consider it as an alternative. This model is partially reproduced by the leaders of some European countries — Serbia and Hungary. Within the framework of the present study: I. In the first part of work, we will characterize the features of the modern political model of Russia; analyze its economic, political and ideological foundations. II. In the second part, we are going to consider the influence of this model on the political systems of European states (using the example of Serbia and Hungary)