This article explains the factors that have made Northern Ireland an arena of conflict, and evaluates the obstacles that for so long hindered a negotiated settlement, before exploring the factors that contributed to creating a sustainable peace process. It concludes with some general observations on what lessons might be taken from the Irish peace process…
This article addresses the overlooked issue of lack of information and communication strategies in disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration (DDR) programmes. Particularly the author is concerned with the low awareness level (25%) of Ukrainian ex-combatants about access to the reintegration programmes and benefits. The experience of a number of post-conflict African countries is analysed in an…
The analysis will compare the conflicts in the Balkans of the 1990s and the war in Eastern Ukraine: their causes, historical background, political and economic context. It will also demonstrate how the mechanisms for the Balkan conflicts’ resolution may be applied in resolving the conflict in Ukraine. In addition, it will provide recommendations regarding policies…
This article presents the results of sociological research that has a metaphorical title, “Invisible Battalion”, and demonstrates that women in the armed forces and in volunteer battalions were not given equal to their male colleagues treatment; their contributions were rarely recognized. The study was conducted in the summer and autumn of 2015. Forty-two interviews were…
The article presents a result of the number of interviews made by the author in Warsaw, Kyiv and Berlin about the role women play in the foreign policy of their respective states. The author aim to answer why, despite very clear and prominent declarations of equal opportunity, women still seem to be pushed aside and…
The political and economic fragmentation of the EU, intensified by the migrant crisis, leads to the intensification of nationalism and regionalism. In this context, East European common historical heritage as well as current economic and security challenges encourage speculations that enhanced regionalization may bring additional resources to empower resilience capacity of the regional countries. Given…
The very existence of international regions in post-Soviet space remains one of the central issues of international cooperation as lack of cohesion and collective actions manifested by weak regional institutions remain one of the features of Eurasia even twenty five years after the collapse of the USSR. With ongoing economic recession and rising security challenges,…
When newly arising challenges constantly threaten to divert European capitals’ attention from the EU Eastern Partnership (EaP) , the position of three Baltic States – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – remains unshaken. Such solidarity and assistance to democratic reforms can be compared to one of Nordic states, which invested a great deal into the post-Soviet…
Is Ukraine a Security Provider or Security Consumer in Europe? It is a rather rhetorical question. Ukraine has always been an active contributor to European and Euro-Atlantic security. Ukraine’s peacekeeping contingents and personnel participated in a huge number of NATO’ and EU-led operations as well as in numerous missions under the UN umbrella all around…
The weakening of the US global influence in recent years has led to a formation of geopolitical vacuum in various regions of the World, where old and new regional players are rushing to fill their dominance. This led to regional instability, with which the US is already unable to cope. As a result, the international…
