Official Texts Research Articles

Formation of a Unified Educational Space of the Union State from the Perspective of the Policy of Patriotic Education

Introduction. Awareness of the commonality of geopolitical and civilizational challenges of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus pushes for deepening integration cooperation in different directions. Close attention is paid to the problem of security, interpreted in an expanded way. Its provision correlates with the strengthening of the humanitarian dimension of the Union State, including the formation of a unified educational space. In modern conditions, its correlation with the consolidation of the policy of patriotic education in the integration field is being actualized. The purpose of the article is to identify the specifics of their coupling, taking into account the dynamics of union construction. Materials and Methods. The research is based on the methods of binary comparison, traditional and discourse analysis of official texts. An additional method is a formalized correspondence expert survey. The key materials are normative legal acts of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, interstate, intergovernmental and integration agreements, information content of the web resources of the Union State. The theoretical and methodological foundations of the research are a new political institutionalism, a multidimensional model of social action, and the paradigm of “political unification”. Results. The article describes the normative foundations of state policy in the field of education and integration guidelines in the cultural and humanitarian plane within the framework of the movement towards the Union educational space. The demanded categories of the axiological plan are revealed, referring to the relationship between education and upbringing. The key lines of discursive practices at the sites of the union institutions are shown. The understanding of the need to adapt education systems to the requirements of the time and the linking of patriotic education with the protection and preservation of common historical memory are emphasized. Discussion and Conclusion. The results of the study and expert assessments suggest the articulation of not only positive changes, but also urgent vectors for improving national approaches and integration solutions. They correspond to the elimination of conflicts, the development and adoption of new documents at the level of the Union State, the implementation of value categories and new areas of unified policy. The results obtained may be of interest to public authorities and union institutions, participants in patriotic education in the territory of the Union State.

Discourses Related to the Activities of Local Offices in the 16th—18th Centuries (The Case of Upper Silesia)

A method of discursive analysis of archival official texts offers a comprehensive view of historical material, much more in-depth than stylistic analyses. The subject of this description are Polish-language official records created in Upper Silesia between the 16th and 18th centuries, illustrating a certain stage of the formation of institutional legal discourse, present in the Polish communicative space since the Middle Ages. The surviving collections represent various types of discourse, determined by the intentions of the people approaching the office and by the role assumed by the institutional entity both in a specific event and in the formulation of a legal written document. The article outlines the two most common discourses in the collections studied: 1. the chancery discourse, that was aimed to produce documentation that would ensure the approaching parties the right to dispose of property in accordance with the established agreements and financial transaction; 2. the judicial discourse, that involved resolving disputes between community members and ensuring public order. The written forms documenting the actions of the court served a mainly informative and reporting function, and their role was extremely important in the current legal system, as they formed the basis for possible appeal proceedings.

Women’s Daily Life in the Occupation: Sexual Violence in Documents and Soviet Propaganda

The problem of sexual violence in the occupied Soviet territories during the Great Patriotic War is an under-researched and taboo subject in the Russian public sphere. It is viewed either from the perspective of collaboration in prostitution and cohabitation, or from the perspective of gender discrimination and sexual violence. At the same time, it is extremely difficult to differentiate these features of women’s everyday life under the conditions of the “war of annihilation”. Based on the documents of the Extraordinary State Commission for the Investigation of the Atrocities of the German Fascist Invaders, partisan reports, and other documents, as well as articles from the wartime periodical press, the author compares images of sexual violence with the practices of women’s everyday life under occupation. In the propaganda of the warring countries, the image of the abused female body was actively used to incite hatred of the enemy. Rape and the forcing of women under occupation to work in brothels were presented in this light. A comparison of propaganda images and specific facts of violence presented in official and ego-documents shows the existence of discrepancies between images and practices. While rape was fairly accurately portrayed in official texts, the problem of prostitution was less accurately reflected in reality. Individual women used their bodies as a means of survival and received various material benefits in return. The population did not perceive legal prostitution in the categories of propaganda and interpreted it as a betrayal. Although some decrees were passed during the war in both Germany and the USSR that treated violence against women as a crime, women were not recognised as victims in the Soviet public trials or at the Nuremberg Tribunal and did not receive compensation. During the transition to peace, the problem of sexual violence lost its pragmatic propaganda function and was excluded from the collective memory. Nevertheless, the increase in violence against women during the Second World War led to the adoption of the Geneva Convention for the Protection of Victims of War in 1949, which was ratified by the Soviet Union in 1954.

”Det känns inte jättebra”

“Doesn’t feel great” – how digital technology can promote children's telling’s in child investigations The aim was to study children’s participation in child investigations both when a digital application was used and when it was not used. Theoretically, the children’s participation was explored through positioning- and rhetorical analyses of the documentation. In investigative texts where the digital tool was not used, the children’s perspective was presented, but with a lower degree of agency. Two ways of motivating evidence have been identified. One is to alternate the official text, which contains theoretical concepts such as risk and protection factors, with more general descriptions from the child's situation. In the second approach, the genre of authority has been used together with the child’s own words so that the child is given more agency in the investigative text. The proposals for decisions are in both cases presented from the authority genre and legitimised via “the child's best interest” and “risk and protection factors” as well as through weaving in witnesses as a rhetorical resource, where children’s voices might be used as evidence. When comparing child investigations with or without the use of the digital tool, the assessments have similar illations. However, a digital tool adapted to children’s perspectives can increase participation in terms of their agency and presence in the investigative text.

The English Translation of Chinese Political Discourse from a Materialistic Dialectics Perspective

China has witnessed two rounds of large-scale translation activity over the past 40 years of reform and opening-up since 1978. And the focus of the Chinese translation community now has been shifting from “translating the world” to “translating China” after China entered the new era in 2012. Therefore, it is imperative to quicken the pace in China’s “going global” by narrating Chinese stories to the wider world. As an integral part of its global communication, Chinese political discourse represents national attitudes, stances and values. In this regard, how to improve the quality and communication effect of its translation becomes a major problem for China’s translators and global communicators. This paper lends insights into the essential role of material dialectics in its English translation from five aspects, by selecting and analyzing some important official texts and remarks in recent years, so as to provide valuable inspiration for how to better the translation of the field.

Language as a tool for creating a positive Image of the state in the system of Interstate Relations (using the example of China's Global Security Initiative)

The article examines the language tools used to create a positive image of the state in the system of interstate relations using the example of China's global security initiative. Special attention is paid to metaphors as a key element of linguistic influence. The article examines how various metaphorical techniques contribute to the formation of a favorable perception of China in the international arena. Attention is focused on the analysis of official texts related to the Global Security initiative in order to identify and interpret key metaphors. The object of our research is political discourse. The subject of the study is the image of China in the context of the representation of the Global Security Initiative. The research makes a significant contribution to the theory of intercultural communication and political linguistics, expanding the understanding of the role of language in interstate relations and the formation of public opinion. Critical discourse analysis allows us to evaluate the linguistic means of the text used, the pragmatic purpose of which includes not only an informational appeal to the world community explaining the political position of the Chinese government, but also the creation of a certain image of the country. A comprehensive analysis of the use of metaphors in official statements and documents of the People's Republic of China concerning the global security initiative is being conducted. This analysis allows us to identify specific metaphorical constructions that China uses to create a positive image in the international arena.The study deepens the understanding of how metaphors function in interstate relations and influence the perception of China as a peacemaker and stable partner. This includes studying how metaphors contribute to the formation of a positive image and strengthen trust between states. The findings of the study can be applied in the practice of international relations and diplomacy, providing recommendations on the use of language tools to improve the image of the state. This is important for developing effective public diplomacy and communication strategies. The conclusions of the article emphasize the importance of the competent use of metaphors as a tool of diplomacy and a strategic communication resource in the modern world.

Le principe de précaution en médecine : vingt ans après

ObjectivesThe precautionary principle (PP) is a risk management method in situations of scientific uncertainty. Its lack of precise definition in official texts led to numerous interpretations in the past. The PP was initially limited to the environment. The extension to human health raised fears of an increase of proceedings and an interference with innovative research. MethodTwenty-four people involved in the precautionary principle have been interviewed and a literature review has been carried out. ResultsA renewed analysis of the PP has emphasized several points: the PP is a complex process that includes a spirit of caution, rigorous reasoning, and evaluation of hypotheses and, lastly, precautionary measures. The major part of confusion raises when the PP is in danger of drifting into inappropriate precautionary measures; individual care medicine is well controlled by the “Code de déontologie médicale” (Code of Medical Ethics); biomedical research has scientific constraints and its own rules. In these two medical fields, PP is not applicable unless a major innovation raises an ethical problem; on the other hand, public health may be submitted to the PP. ConclusionConsequently, mastery of the PP implies to promote training actions devoted to medical doctors, administrative and political decision makers, educational establishments and the media.

Verbalisation of an alternative academic position in totalitarian discourse

Background. In Soviet Ukraine, academic discourse often acted as a means of implementing language planning, in particular as a tool for the transformation of the language corpus. All grammar textbooks published after 1933 broadcast the official knowledge: the vocative is not a full-fledged case, but rather a special form of address; morphological means of expressing address in Ukrainian are the “vocative form” and “nominative case.” In the conditions of total control over all areas of social life, Ukrainian linguists were faced with a choice of either 1) look for certain language devices, broadcasting the official theory, which would convince the addressee to believe in the talking points that did not fully comply with the language facts, and then anchor those points in their consciousness; 2) avoid aspects that disagree with the language practice or the logic of academic description; 3) word the findings of their research and observations of the language practice in a way that would not contradict the official theory.Contribution to the research field. The article is dedicated to the analysis of the communication practices used by Ukrainian linguists in the Soviet times to express their academic position, which did not agree with official knowledge. The object of comprehension was a unique for postcolonial societies situation in which the creators of both the official discourse and the alternative discourse opposed to it were the colonised themselves.Purpose. The aim of this research is to analyse ways and means of verbalisation of the alternative academic position held by linguists in the academic discourse of the totalitarian era, based on the materials representing the topics “The Case System” and “Address” in Ukrainian grammar books for higher education, published between 1933–1991.Methods. The research is based on the theoretical and methodological foundations of postcolonial studies, which involve a critical reading of texts that reflect the influence of various forms of authority on the life of subordinate communities. In particular, the theory of critical reading of J. Errimgton’s linguistic works and R. Vodaks’ methodology of discourse-historical approach, which has been adapted for academic discourse analysis, have been applied in this research.Results. Some linguists, who did not share the canonised theory of the vocative, implied their point of view in the official texts they had created (i.e. textbooks for higher education.) On the one hand, they used official terminology and theoretical concepts: they were consistent in naming the vocative case a “vocative form,” and presented two ways of expressing address. On the other hand, the lexical and grammatical structure of their statements levelled the postulates regarding the fact that “vocative is not a case”, and that “the nominative case is used to express address on par with the vocative.” Among the techniques used by the linguists, heavily euphemistic speech in combination with syntactic complication of the structure prevailed, as well as splitting nominations by verbalising the concept with variant naming and violation of logical connections between consecutive statements. Such individual practices of linguistic resistance replicated the practices of the official totalitarian discourse, but with the aim to broadcast the opposite meaning.Discussion. The peculiarity of the alternative academic discourse (in particular, the language education one) of the totalitarian era lies in the fact that it did not directly confront the official theory, but rather occurred within its boundaries. This gives a reason to consider some Ukrainian linguists of the Soviet period as creators of both colonial and anti-colonial discourses.

Narratives of democracy: Educated elites’ responses to democratic erosion in Indonesia

Conventional wisdom maintains that a robust educated middle class is an important factor for a healthy democracy. Recent empirical evidence, however, has shown that there is a significant variation in middle class support for democracy. How do educated elites respond to declines in democracy? To date, we know relatively little about how the educated elites view, talk, and respond as democracy erodes in their country. We address this gap by conducting a discourse analysis of government and educated elites texts in Indonesia from 2010 through 2020. We find that government and educated elites’ discourses on democracy as democracy backslides tend to diverge significantly: While official texts boast of the Indonesia's identity as a Muslim-majority democracy, materials produced by the country's educated middle class express increasing disenchantment with weak political parties, restrictions on freedom of speech, repressive measures toward government critics, and limited checks on executive overreach. Our results suggest that as democracy erodes, government officials’ narratives continue to present the country as a robust democracy, and as such, official narratives alone would not reveal the cracks in democracy in the early stages of decline. Instead, traces of decline are more visible in everyday discourses, where informed citizens express their concerns and criticisms with less fear of reprisals. Rather than standing with the ruling elites, the educated elite authors and producers in our data respond to democratic erosion by resisting and criticizing illiberal measures and demanding greater protection of rights. Our work highlights the importance of an engaged educated middle class who can perceive the subtle erosion in democratic practices and challenge it, both in Indonesia and beyond.

Słownictwo niemieckojęzycznej prasy XIX-wiecznej Łodzi w tekstowo-tematycznym kontekście

Lodzer Zeitung was the first newspaper in Łódź, established at the beginning of the second half of the 19th century. century, which over time had all the features of a modern press, as for those times. It was published in German and oriented towards contacts with other national and foreign newspaper editorial offices. It fulfilled its role at that time not only as an information medium for entrepreneurs, craftsmen and merchants about the economic situation, but also supported the German community of Łódź in the cultural and national dimension. This article presents the results of vocabulary analysis in certain types of texts and selected topics, often related to current historical events or everyday life. The analysis concerned local vocabulary in official texts; politics in telegram texts; in the field of specialized topics, and nomenclature. The article contributes and encourages further scientific exploration of the analyzed newspaper.

The Role of International Organizations in Shaping the Educational Policy for Higher Education and the First Historically Identified Evaluation Efforts of the Greek Academy of Somatic Education, in the 20th Century

This paper focuses on the presentation of data which are related on the one hand to the role of International Organizations in shaping the educational policy for Higher Education (with an emphasis on Physical Education and Sports Sciences) and on the other hand to the first historically identified efforts to evaluate a higher education institution of Physical Education and Sports Sciences in Greece. Official texts and reports of International Organizations such as International Council on Health, Physical Education and Recreation, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and Council of Europe were studied for the period 1950-1970, according to which their important role and influence in the shaping of educational policy both in Greece and in many other countries was revealed. Regarding the formulation of the educational policy for Higher Education in Greece, the results of the research demonstrate the role that International Organizations played in the initial evaluation efforts concerning the National Academy of Somatic Education which was the only public tertiary education institution for Physical Education and Sports Sciences in Greece at the time and which subsequently was upgraded into the School of Physical Education and Sports Sciences in the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

Promoting politically contested change by invisible education policies: the case of ultra-Orthodox public schools in Israel

ABSTRACT Education policies are typically anchored in official texts that provide a foundation for their enactment in schools. What are the implications of an invisible policy not anchored in any official text due to political motives? This study explores the enactment of an invisible education policy that regulates religious enclave schools. These schools’ curricula are the source of frequent conflict between states and religious enclave communities. The study draws on the case of the National Haredi Education (NHE) reform in Israel that enabled ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) private schools in Israel to affiliate with a new stream of public schools whose regulations were not anchored in any official text. The data comprised interviews with principals, teachers, and supervisors, as well as document analysis. The findings showed that the enactment of the NHE policy was primarily manifested in invisible changes, such as teacher professionalisation and pupil assessment. Curricular changes visible to the wider school community were enacted differently in different schools. Our findings also characterised the implications of the NHE policy’s invisibility. The lack of institutional recognition hindered the reform, but the autonomy of the implementing agents enabled them to promote changes within their purview and become policy entrepreneurs.

Non-State Actor's Strategy in Advocating the Movement to Reject Development Policy

Geothermal is one of the potential renewable energy sources in Indonesia. This great potential makes the government try to develop geothermal energy development, one of which is in Mount Talang. However, the development received a rejection from the community, including non-state actors. This study looks at the strategy of the YLBHI Padang Legal Aid Institute in advocating the movement against the construction of geothermal energy-powered power plants. The studying conducted for 6 (six) months. This research design uses qualitative methods. The data sources we collect are interview data, observation results, official texts or policies, journal articles, websites on the internet, newspapers, social media, and youtube. The advocacy strategies carried out by LBH YLBHI Padang are; understanding strategic issues, building opinions and facts to the public, building coalition networks with civil society such as local communities, NGOs, students, national networks, and academics, designing goals and strategies as well as monitor and assess movements. The result of the advocacy carried out by LBH YLBHI Padang was the "temporary" suspension of constructing a geothermal energy power plant in Mount Talang. This research ends with research recommendations such as the need for inclusive stakeholder involvement in the formulation of development policies and 2) the need to grow civil society in the regions to become non-structural control for the government.

Taking ideas and words seriously: explaining the institutionalization of the Lancang-Mekong cooperation

Abstract This article explores the role of China’s ideational and discursive power in shaping the interest perceptions of target states and in determining the formation of a new institution. Using the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) as a case study, this article illustrates how China framed the idea of institutionalization, and how such idea was proposed, articulated, deliberated, and accepted in the interactions with partner countries. Relying on a collection and coding of over 700 Chinese official texts on the LMC and extensive interviews, we analyze how the Chinese authorities have used ideas and discourses to garner support from states in the Mekong region for the establishment of the institution. This article demonstrates that China’s ideational and discursive power helps generate three outcomes: preference denying, preference cultivating, and preference empowering. Such Chinese power has helped align Mekong countries’ interest perceptions with China’s expectations in three ways: transforming water security into developmental issues, accepting Chinese proposals through tactical persuasion, and constraining alternative policies.

About an Unknown Letter “from the Newly Conquered City of Areshek”

A handwritten book Collection of Military Letters is kept in the funds of the Russian National Library. It is a collection containing copies of messages about the military operations of parts of the Russian Army in 1702–1710. The study of the manuscript makes it possible to establish that the collection comes from the office of Boyar T. N. Streshnev and belonged to Clerk I. P. Topilsky. On the first pages of the collection, there is a previously unknown letter with a message about the assault and capture of the fortress of Nöteborg. An analysis of the letter demonstrates that its author was P. P. Shafirov, secretary of the Ambassadorial Prikaz. He was sent to Nöteborg to negotiate the conditions for surrendering the fortress. The letter contains information about the events of the assault, the course of negotiations, an assessment of the damage to the fortifications, and reports on the losses of the Russian side. Shafirov’s letter, written the day after the assault, is much longer than the known letters of Peter I but is not a work of the editors who created the official text of the report much later. The introduction of a new source about the assault and capture of Nöteborg adds to the knowledge about one of the significant events of the initial stage of the Northern War.

Norm-forming speech acts in regional councils’ resolutions of the Middle Polish age on the example of declaratives

Resolutions adopted by regional councils in the Middle Polish age are highly valuable to a historian of the Polish language, since they are testimonies to the early Polish official style. The research leads to the conclusion that the repertoire of performative verbs used for verbalising norms was fairly extensive and contained both native words, mainly prefixal verbs (e.g. odkładać, odsyłać, naznaczać, postanowić, ustanowić, umacniać, uwalniać), and genetically Latin lexis (e.g. aprobować, akceptować, deklarować, deputować, libertować, prefigować). All declaratives in the resolutions are realised by means of indicative sentences with the predicate in the 1st person plural, less frequently in the 3rd person singular. The intentions discussed above are only occasionally expressed using impersonal forms, which prevail in the contemporary official texts.

How Icelandic Is French Law? A Few Remarks about the Discovery and Usage of Icelandic Antiquities in French Legal Historiography during the Nineteenth Century

How Icelandic Is French Law? A Few Remarks about the Discovery and Usage of Icelandic Antiquities in French Legal Historiography during the Nineteenth Century

"Big Triangle" No More? Role Expectation and Mutual Reassurance Between China and Russia in the Shifting US-China-Russia Relations

Abstract: I examine how mutual perception and role expectation evolve over time between China and Russia on each other's position in the international system and on bilateral relations in the context of shifting perceptions of the "Big Triangle" between the United States, Russia, and China since the late 1990s. Building on Role Theory in international relations, I use official texts, and experts' opinions during a series of key policy episodes to demonstrate that constantly adjusting role expectations and role enactment has become an important part of official Sino-Russian inter-state relations. Such relations have evolved from a more conservative, mutual role expectation of "do-no-harm" to more proactive expectations of joint efforts and policy coordination. This changing role expectation comes along with mutual reassurance against role mismanagement when both seek to substantiate the role of "significant others" beyond traditional military allies. During the 2010s, Sino-Russian bilateral relations started to be increasingly shaped by a discussion about the salience of US-China-Russia "Big Triangle."

Unreasonable borrowings in the metalanguage of public administration of the construction industry

Introduction. The purpose of this research is to analyze the frequency of use of foreign-language terms (in particular, anglicisms) in the modern official style, to evaluate the comprehensibility of terms, used by students majoring in public and municipal administration in their professional communication in the field of construction, and to prove the inexpediency of use of some loanwords in the speech of public and municipal government officers. The authors also investigated the availability of Russian equivalents, capable of replacing anglicisms, as well as the influence of loanwords on the quality and purity of the native language. The issue of loanwords has always been debatable in the Russian language, and it gained particular relevance after amendments to the Federal law “On the State Language of the Russian Federation” had been adopted.
 
 Materials and methods. Works addressing the reasons for and trends in (1) loanword borrowing by the Russian language, (2) official documents, published in Russian in 2000–2023, and (3) speeches delivered by representatives of public and municipal authorities, as well as (4) results of the survey, carried out by the authors among the bachelor students of the Federal State Budget Educational Institution of Higher Education “Moscow State University of Civil Engineering (National Research University)” in the field of studies number 38.03.04 “Public and municipal administration” served as the materials for the research. The authors used such methods as observation, description, survey, quantitative and statistical analysis, comparative analysis, structural analysis, semantic and stylistic analysis, method of distributive semantics, frequency analysis, etc. to draft the article.
 
 Results. The authors studied the reasons for and types of borrowings in the Russian language. Foreign words of various extents of assimilation, most widely spread in the field of public and municipal administration, are identified. Some widely spread borrowings are analyzed in terms of their comprehensiveness, relevance, extent of assimilation, existence of adequate Russian equivalents and expediency of their use. The analysis of the results of the survey, launched among the ba-chelor students, majoring in Public and Municipal Administration, confirmed the assumption about the frequent failure to fully understand the foreign-language terminology, as a result of which loanwords are used incorrectly in the formal speech.
 
 Conclusions. The results of the research let the authors make a conclusion that the decline of foreign words is impossible and unnecessary. However, there is a need to stop overusing loanwords, and to use them consciously and reasonably. That will allow avoiding incorrect or ambiguous interpretations of official texts, prevent any negative effects, and, in the end, facilitate improvement in the quality of the official language, as well as public and municipal administration in general.

Multilingualism in linguistic landscapes in Tunisia: a critical discourse analysis of language policy activities

ABSTRACT Taking a multi-level perspective on language-in-public-space policy, this study investigates the way Tunisia’s dominant languages are dealt with in three independent but interrelated activities of language policy: official texts, public talk, and the actual practices of business actors in five commercial districts in metropolitan Tunis. Detailed critical discourse analysis of these policy activities indicated considerable tension between official texts’ legislations on, and public élites’ debate about public signage and “on the ground” sociolinguistic practices. While official texts and public debates base the dominant languages on monolingual, postcolonial and highly compartmentalized language ideologies, the sociolinguistic practices within these localities are marked by the emergence of an English-leaning trend in public signage. Nevertheless, this trend is heavily qualified by the concurrent use of identifiable language clusters, creative wordplay, multiscriptal practices, the commodification of heritage, national and supranational symbols, and an overall resistance to big commercial names as well as subversion of the official legislations and public debates. The article concludes by discussing the implications of the approach to multilingualism adopted in this study for illuminating the connections between Tunisia’s dominant languages, language policy and linguistic landscapes.