Global Peace Index Research Articles

On the connection between real-world circumstances and online player behaviour: The case of EVE Online

Games involving virtual worlds are popular in several segments of the population and societies. The online environment facilitates that players from different countries interact in a common virtual world. Virtual worlds involving social and economic interactions are particularly useful to test social and economic theories. Using data from EVE Online, a massive online multi-player game simulating a fantasy galaxy, we analyse the relation between the real-world context in which players live and their in-game behaviour at the country level. We find that in-game aggressiveness to non-player characters is positively related to real-world levels of aggressiveness as measured by the Global Peace Index and the Global Terrorist Index at the country level. The opposite is true for in-game aggressiveness towards other players, which seems to work as a safety valve for real-world player aggressiveness. The ability to make in-game friends is also positively related to real-world levels of aggressiveness in much the same way. In-game trading behaviour is dependent on the macro-economic environment where players live. The unemployment rate and exchange rate make players trade more efficiently and cautiously in-game. Overall, we find evidence that the real-world environment affects in-game behaviour, suggesting that virtual worlds can be used to experiment and test social and economic theories, and to infer real-world behaviour at the country level.

Estimation level of public welfare on the basis of methods of intellectual analysis

In the context of globalization of economic development processes, the issue of determining the level of public welfare of economic agents is particularly burning. The object of ehis study is the process of assessing welfare of the economic entities system. The subject of the study is the instrumental and mathematical aspects of modeling and measuring the public welfare. The aim of the work is to develop the mathematical model for measuring the welfare of Ukraine using methods of intellectual analysis, namely, the theory of fuzzy sets. The output of the study is a new approach to objective estimation of public welfare of the state. It is proposed to assess the level of public welfare of the state on the basis of a mathematical model developed on the basis of the theory of fuzzy sets. Input factors of the model are international indices and indicators, such as Index of Economic Freedom, Global Peace Index, Democracy Index, Corruption Perceptions Index, Human Development Index, Prosperity Index, Global Competitiveness Index as well as an indicator that reflects the characteristic property of the Ukrainian economy, namely the minimum living wage. Developed mathematical model for assessment of the level of public welfare of Ukraine and made a prediction of the indicator by 2024 on the basis of the above indices. The results of the study allowed us to establish that the level of public welfare (units) in Ukraine on a scale from 0 to 100 will be equal to 25, 17, 32, 26, and 28 in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, accordingly.

Features of Terrorist-Oriented Criminality in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and Measures of Legal Response to Fight it at the Present Stage

This article examines distinguishing features of terrorist-oriented criminality in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, exploring quantitative indicators of certain types of crimes. It is concluded that the current level of political violence in Vietnam is low. Using a wide range of data sources on composite indicators (Global Terrorism Index, Global Terrorism Database and Global Peace Index), it is concluded that to date Vietnam has recorded a low level of political violence. The research explores basic «criminogenic» conditions or factors that lead to relevant risk of growth of political violence. It should be noted that to some extent ethnic tensions still exist in Vietnam. There is also a great concern about criminal activity of a number of domestic and international terrorist organizations, which, in the short or long term, could disrupt domestic political situation and escalate terrorism. The researchers argue that although political and religious motives (e.g. establishing an Islamic state) underlie certain terrorist activities of international terrorist organizations and the fact that Muslims in Vietnam make up about 0,1 % of the countrys population, Vietnams international commitment to counter-terrorism is likely to make it a target of retaliation by these organizations. In addition, there is a possibility that these organizations may commit terrorist acts within the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to support and fund terrorist activities in the future. We summarized that as at present in force Criminal Code of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam includes special provisions that carry liability for individual acts showing signs of terrorism (arts. 113, 299, 300 CC SRV) and norms within international obligations that cover criminal liability for other crimes of terrorist nature (crimes with indicators of terrorization). The comparative legal analysis of anti-terrorist statutes presented in the 2015 version of the Criminal Code of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam reveals legal and technical defects in certain material elements of terrorist offences. It is noted that Vietnamese legislator distinguishes two forms of terrorism: «traditional» terrorism, which pursues political aims (criminal acts against the peoples government, committed for the purpose of combating it) and terrorism aimed at creating a climate of fear in society.

Role of Sports in Peace-Building: Insights from NCAA Community

Role of Sports in Peace-Building: Insights from NCAA Community

Soft Power Determinants in the World and Implications for China

Statistical tests are here conducted on two explanations of soft power. One is Joseph Nye's argument that political values, foreign policy and cultural appeals shape soft power, and the other is the positive peace argument which suggests a significant influence of the Global Peace Index (GPI) on soft power.Two measures of soft power are employed – the favourability of major powers in global public opinion polls and the Soft Power 30 Index. The latter gauges the magnitude of soft power. When the former measure, which indicates the positiveness of soft power, is adopted the three soft power resources provide less explanatory power than per capita GDP and especially the GPI. When the Soft Power 30 Index is used, only foreign policy independent of the United States contributes positively to soft power. The GPI and non-soft power-relatedcultural exports (NSPCE) then take on a negative role because a number of nations in the index achieve very high rankings with a relatively poor GPI or small NSPCE. As far as China is concerned, its ranking in 2018 in the Soft Power 30 Index declined due to impressive improvement among other ranked nations and global public scepticism towards its foreign policy and its cultural exports.

Tourism Safety And Security In The Republic Of Armenia

The article examines the issues of security and protection of the consumer's rights of tourist services. The relevance of the chosen direction of research is due to the rapid increase in the number of trips of citizens, increasing the number of threats (terrorism, civil wars, political conflicts, revolutions, epidemics, natural disasters), which are becoming more destructive and less predictable. The purpose of the study is to analyze the current position of Armenia in international rankings and indices that assess the state of tourism safety and security. The study used methods of descriptive statistics, observation, comparison, and questionnaires. The information base of the study was data from international ratings and indices (Competitiveness Index in Travel and Tourism, Global Peace Index, Global Terrorism Index), as well as the results of a survey on the level of tourist satisfaction with services in Armenia. It is substantiated that the tourism industry helps to increase foreign exchange earnings, intensifies investment activities, influences the creation of new jobs, as well as promotes a positive image of the state in the international arena. The analysis of the rating positions of Armenia in different international reports allows us to say about its safety and security for travelers. The results of the survey indicate that about 87% of tourists consider Armenia a safe country and are satisfied with the quality of tourist services in this country. It is proposed to improve the national migration and visa policy, to promote Armenia as a safe destination for tourists and to develop international cooperation in the field of tourism. The results of the study can be useful for public administration, the private sector, as well as for researchers in the tourism industry. Keywords: tourism, safety, security, terrorism, crime, Armenia.

Will State of Happiness Assure Global Peace?

This research sought to determine the commonalities between countries with high levels of of happiness but low global state of peace. The values used were from published indices, namely, State of Global Happiness and Global Peace Index. These were analysed using nominal logistic regression in order to find the relationship between these variables. The general trend is that happy countries are peaceful countries. However, several countries did not fit this finding, namely: Israel, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Colombia, Bahrain, Russia, Libya, Philippines, Turkey and Pakistan. Indicators used in the State of Global Happiness and Global Peace Index were further analysed. Findings suggest that individuals in these countries have strong social support that enables them to consider themselves happy despite the low state of peace in their respective countries, the factors of which vary from region to region and country to country.

United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali

UNITED NATIONS MULTIDIMENSIONAL INTEGRATED STABILIZATION MISSION IN MALIThe security and political instability of West and Central African countries is influenced by several factors and is a topical issue for the United Nations UN and the European Union’s EU foreign policy. The security of the region decreased to a low level after the declaration of the war on terrorism in 2003. According to the Global Peace Index GPI, which takes into account the militarization and security of society, countries such as Mali 2.686 — 144, Central African Republic 3.236 — 155 or Libya 3.262 — 157 compared to other countries of the world have long been in the unflattering index position, which is evaluated by 163 countries. The destabilization of Libya and the consequences of the fall of the dictatorial regime of Muammar Gaddafiled to the subsequent spread of instability in the region in 2011. After the emergence of the radical organization of the Islamic State IS, as well as other organized armed groups in the Middle East and in some African Union states, fighters are rapidly expanding into Mali, Mauritania and Niger. The UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali MINUSMA was launched in July 2013. As asymmetric terrorist attacks on UN peacekeepers have increased, a UN-level debate was held to strengthen the mandate and capabilities of UN MINUSMA. Contributing countries of the African Union were aware of the fact that terrorist attacks could spread to neighboring countries and therefore called on UN Member States to become more actively involved in the mission in Mali. The pre-sented article analyzes the political and security situation of Mali and the participation of members of the Army of the Czech Republic at the UN MINUSMA. The author of the article concluded that Mali in the post-conflict reconstruction needs to implement all stages of post-conflict reconstruction and necessarily needs the presence of UN and EU troops.Participation of members of the Army of the Czech Republic should correspond to the ambitions of the Czech Republic within the EU in achieving the objectives of stabilizing the unstable territories in the neighborhood in order to prevent future potential security risks.

Significant Predictors of Henley Passport Index

Henley Passport Index (HPI) is a rank on the number of countries a passport holder of a country can travel VISA-free. Countries with high HPI ranking enjoy certain passport privileges. Little is known about the relationship between HPI and other global indices. This paper investigates the relationship between HPI and the trio of Corruption Perception Index (CPI), Global Peace Index (GPI), and World Happiness Report (WHR). The data of the country ranks of the 4 indices were obtained from the respective websites of the publishers of the indices. A final sample of 150 countries was analyzed after the cases of missing values were discarded. The result showed positive correlation between HPI and CPI (r = 0.768, p < 0.0005), GPI (r = 0.671, p < 0.005), and WHR (r = 0.775, p < 0.005), respectively. Regression analysis yielded an equation that showed that a unit increase in the country ranking of CPI, GPI, and WHR of countries increases the ranking of HPI by 0.196, 0.149, and 0.352, respectively. The coefficients of the independent variables are all significant at p value equals 0.05 and the model validation showed the absence of multicollinearity and the presence of small non-significant autocorrelation. The research concluded that countries with high passport privileges also have low corruption instances and conflicts and are perceived to be happy. The implications of this research were discussed.

“Don’t Give Up! Don’t Give in!” Gender in International Relations and “Curious” Feminist Questions

“Don’t Give Up! Don’t Give in!” Gender in International Relations and “Curious” Feminist Questions

Determinants of Global Peace and Gender Equality as an Invisible Hand: A Cross Country Analysis

This study uses a cross sectional data for 115 countries in order to examine the relationship between global peace and gender equality, by using Global Peace Index (GPI) as a dependent variable, and Gender Inequality Index (GII) and Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) as independent variables. We test whether the gender equality is related to peace and whether the impacts differ when other determinants of peace have taken into consideration. The results suggest that level of gender equality and cohesion are the most robust and significant variables affecting level of peace in a positive way among other control variables. Two indexes have been used as a measure of gender equality in order to check the robustness of the results and the same results and conclusions were obtained from the regressions. Interestingly, the study also finds that income level of the country, as a control variable, is insignificant in all regressions.

The region of Northern Europe: key sustainability and peace markers vs conceptual contradictions

This article explores the region of Northern Europe as an example of stability, economic and political development with an active civil society, rule of law, orientation on piece building and high social standards. Indicators such as the absence of long internal and international wars, a high level of GNP (according to International Monetary Fund data), the introduction of universal suffrage, the meaning of the region and regional identity (see researches of the Atlas of European Value), the indexes of positive and structural peace (due to the Report of the Institute of Economics and Peace and Global Peace Index, Australia) lean us to make a general conclusion about the great achievements of the Nordic countries in building peace in the region, sustainable development and a stable civil society. Using neorealism, neo-liberalism and constructivism, the study will show the diversity of the Northern Europe concept and the geopolitical features of each particular state in its notion. Thus, the understanding of the region is explored through UN geoschemes, geographical determinism, geopolitical struggle between the countries of the region and its neighbors, intergovernmental cooperation. The article define the concepts “North”, “Northern Europe”, “Scandinavia”, “Scandinavia”, “panscandinavism”, “Nordicism”, “Baltic Region”, “Baltoscandia”. Moreover it is analyzed the role of the UK, Germany and Russia in shaping the regional identity of Northern Europeб and such regional unions such as Nordic Council, Nordic Council of Ministers, Nordic Passport Union, Nordic West Council, Council of the Baltic Sea States. Thus, it is concluded that there is no direct link between the universal unified interpretation of the conceptual understanding of the region of Northern Europe and the indicators of peace and stability in it.

Happiness as a measurement and goal of peacebuilding

ABSTRACTThe Global Peace Index (GPI) measures how ‘peaceful’ countries are, while the World Happiness Report (WHR) index measures how ‘happy’ their citizens are. But when compared side by side, the two sets of findings conspicuously do not match – apparently indicating that people who live in peace do not always live in happiness. To grapple with this interesting dissonance, let us assume that happiness is the ultimate goal in life – as proposed by the Benthamite philosophy – and that peace is therefore an instrumental good, much like health, freedom and autonomy. Once this is taken on principle, it follows that peacebuilding’s overall goal should be to make sure conflict-affected communities are happy. This paper investigates what the results of peacebuilding would look like if they were measured using the GPI and WHR at the same time. Using the former Yugoslavia countries as a case study, it asks whether these countries’ post-conflict experiences of peacebuilding can help explain their WHR and GPI results. The intention is to start a meaningful debate on what peacebuilding’s overall objective should be – and to examine whether the measurement of happiness could be a useful starting point.

PEACE AND TOURISM: A NEXUS? EVIDENCE FROM DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

The paper empirically examines the nexus between tourism and peace. To do so, it uses in the analysis the recently developed composite Global Peace Index. The sample employed consists of 113 countries and covers the period 2008–2014. The methodology adopted includes PVAR Granger causality tests and impulse response functions. The sample was split into two income groups to allow for the possibility that the nexus differs between developed and developing countries. Findings reported herein indicate a temporary, very short-term adverse effect on tourism as a result of worsening levels of peacefulness only for the former group of countries. A peace promoting effect by tourism is established in the case of the latter group.

Africa: Risk, Security and Mapping of Human Rights Violations

Abstract Planetary interdependence makes the task of states and international organizations to guarantee security inside and outside national borders ever more urgent. The tendency is to widen the space from national to international and to conceive of security as multidimensional for the satisfaction of human needs, assumed as priority needs with respect to those of the States. The old concept of national security must today confront the new concept of human security cultivated within the United Nations, which places the fundamental rights of the individual and of people at the centre of attention and lays the foundations for overcoming the traditional politics of power. The concept of human security emphasises the security of the individual and his protection from political violence, war and arbitrariness. It takes account of the strong correlation between peace policy, human rights policy, migration policy and humanitarian policy. The contribution provides, through a series of social indicators such as the Global Peace Index (GPI), Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) and the World International Security and Policy Index (WISPI), a framework on risk, security, human rights violations in the African continent and examines some significant case studies related to sub-Saharan Africa.

Management of turn distribution in academic discourse among undergraduate science students in a Nigerian public university

The purpose of this study is to analyze the management of turn distribution in academic discourse based on three turn taking systems of taking the turn, holding the turn, and yielding the turn by some undergraduate science students of a public university in Nigeria. The participants engaged in a discussion based on a chart presented by Global Peace Index on relative peace around the world from 2015 to 2016. The discussion which was video recorded, lasted 15 minutes. The study was underpinned by Sacks, Schegloff and Jefferson (1974) Turn-taking theory. Conversation analysis, using Drew and Heritage (1992) transcription notations, was used to transcribe the data. The result indicated that ‘pleading’ was among the strategies used by some participants of this study to take a turn. Also, gaze was used by some participants of this study as a strategy for seeking information not as a sign of nominating the next speaker.Keywords: Academic discourse, conversation analysis, Turn distribution, turn taking

Peacefulness at home: impacts on international travel

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of peacefulness in the tourists’ country of origin in their main decisions and behaviours when travelling internationally. Design/methodology/approach A sample of 600 international tourists from 49 countries was divided into five groups according to each respondent’s belonging to a country with a specific level of peacefulness, assessed by the Global Peace Index, to test differences in international travel decision and behaviour patterns. Findings Travel safety is a critical issue to most tourists, while the peacefulness level of travellers’ country of origin is an important key factor for understanding different travel behaviours and safety perceptions held when going on an international trip, namely, regarding involvement, risk and safety/insecurity perceptions. Research limitations/implications This is one of the few studies investigating the impact of peacefulness in the tourist’s country of origin on travel decisions and behaviours, based on the Global Peace Index. Additionally, this study responds to the call of the Prospect Theory regarding general consumption contexts, and adds to the Experiential Consumer Perspective, here applied to tourism consumption. Practical implications This study provides guidance to destination and tourism industry managers to attract and segment their market according to tourists’ country of origin, in accordance with its respective level of peacefulness as defined by the Global Peace Index, especially in destinations more affected by terrorism, war, political turmoil, crime and other safety risks. Originality/value No published study has tested the impact of peacefulness at home on tourists’ international travel behaviours and decisions yet.

Effect of Security on Hostels’ Price Premiums: A Hedonic Pricing Approach

This article evaluates the impact of security in the hostel industry on the willingness to pay by customers. More specifically, given the importance of security in the decision to travel and in the choice of a given destination, we analyze the impact of security guest reviews on a consumer-generated website on hostel room prices. Furthermore, we investigate whether the impact of security guest reviews on the hostel room prices is higher for the hostels located in the countries with the lowest ranking in the Global Peace Index. Finally, we examine whether females and older guests are willing to pay a premium in terms of price for a hostel with a higher level of security. For this purpose, we estimate a hedonic price function for a sample of consumer reviews of 477 hostels in 22 worldwide capitals, with different levels of peace, from Hostelworld. The results highlight the importance of security on the determination of hostel room prices. We find that customers are willing to pay a higher premium in terms of price, in the least worldwide peaceful countries, for a hostel room with higher levels of security. In the case of women and older guests, the premium they are willing to pay is higher.

Determining Factors Contributory to Global Peace

This paper aimed at determining which of the Global Peace Index (GPI) indicators would significantly affect the internal and external peace of 162 countries. This was done by investigating the change of state from natural to normal. The data were obtained from the annual report of the GPI done by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) from 2008 to 2015. The result showed that the peacefulness of the countries can be attributed to the internal factors followed by the external factors. The deterioration of peacefulness can be first brought about by political instability. Various armed factions begin competing for influence in the power that lead to civil war. Violent crime, homicide rate, terrorist activities and the Political Terror Scale, followed substantially. To repress the population and fight the rebels, the government would increase the number of internal security officers, police, and army. Most of the external factors would also worsen because of these conflicts. Relations with neighboring countries would remain extremely tense. They would struggle to accommodate the flood of refugees. Interventions of United States (US) and other allied countries would have to take place.

Violence, insecurity, and the risk of polio: A systematic analysis.

BackgroundSince the introduction of polio vaccines in the 1950’s and 60’s, eradication of poliovirus from the world has been technically feasible. Progress towards this goal, however, has been uneven and influenced by social and political factors that challenge the implementation of robust immunization programs. While violence and insecurity are often cited as barriers to eradication, current global risk models are largely based on virologic and immunologic indicators measured at national levels. In this manuscript, we quantify the relevance of indicators of violence and insecurity on the risk of polio spread.Methods and findingsUsing logistic regression models and public data sources, we evaluate the relationship between measures of violence and instability and the location of poliomyelitis cases between 2006 and 2015 at the country-level, both individually and after controlling for more proximal determinants of disease, such as nearby circulating poliovirus and vaccination rates. We found that increases in a country’s Fragile States Index (FSI) and Global Peace Index (GPI), aggregate indicators of violence and instability, were associated with the occurrence of poliovirus cases in the subsequent year (p< 0.01), even after controlling for established risk factors. These effects of violence and insecurity must be mediated through immunity and exposure to poliovirus, coarse measures of which are included in our model. This also implies that in our study, and in risk models in general, the interpretation depends on the quality and granularity of available data.ConclusionNational virologic and immunologic indicators understate the risk of poliovirus spread in areas with violence and insecurity, and the inclusion of such factors improves precision. In addition, the link between violence and incidence of disease highlights the broader challenge of implementing health interventions in conflict areas. We discuss practical implications of this work in understanding and measuring the risks to polio eradication and other global health initiatives, and the policy implications of the need to reach vulnerable populations in conflict zones.