In this paper I investigate the energy cooperation between the EU and Russia from the political and economic points of view. The relevance of the issue is due to the growing role of energy sector, the need for security of energy supply and demand and for political and economic balance of power in the region, and closer economic integration. Two theoretical approaches, geopolitical and bureaucratic, guiding the research, explain the behavior of protagonists. To better understand the present level of cooperation I analyze the background and dynamics of EU - Russia energy trade relations. As a case study, I investigate the Nord Stream project as an example of successful cooperation of Germany as an EU member state and Russia in this field. I discuss challenges for the healthy mutual partnership in the energy sector, namely, high politicization of the issue, monopolization of Russian energy sector and low sustainability of Russian economic development, and mistrust between the protagonists. I attempt to identify possible policy changes aimed to improve this cooperation and achieve fruitful partnership, security and stability. Key words: Russia, EU, energy, cooperation, Realpolitik, international relations, oil, gas, energy dialogue, ECT, security, balance of power, geopolitics, interest groups,...

Au cours des 22 dernières années, lorsque les présidents latino-américains au pouvoir ont aspiré à se faire réélire, ils y sont toujours arrivés à moins que leur pays ne connaisse une débâcle économique. Entre 1994 et 2016, dans les 18 démocraties qui composent l’ensemble appelé « Amérique latine », il y a eu 21 tentatives de réélection présidentielle immédiate dont 20 furent couronnées de succès. La seule exception à cette tendance électorale s’est présentée en République Dominicaine en 2004, lorsque le président HIPÓLITO MEJÍA a perdu la réélection car son pays était plongé dans une profonde crise économique. L’interprétation de ces données indique que l’autorisation de la réélection présidentielle consécutive a annulé dans la région la compétitivité électorale, qui est une des conditions fondamentales pour que la démocratie puisse exister. La principale cause de ce phénomène antidémocratique est l’abus du pouvoir présidentiel à des fins électorales, qui fait du chef d’État qui aspire à être réélu un candidat invincible à cause des ressources exorbitantes dont il dispose pour manipuler le résultat des élections. On peut en outre constater une corrélation entre autorisation de la réélection présidentielle immédiate et détérioration progressive de la qualité de la démocratie au cours des deuxièmes et troisièmes mandats du même président, selon le « Electoral Democracy Index ». En définitive, la réélection présidentielle immédiate en Amérique Latine constitue un poison pour la démocratie qu’il convient de proscrire de manière renforcée dans les textes constitutionnels, par le biais de clauses immuables qui puissent garantir l’alternance dans l’exercice du pouvoir présidentiel. / In the last 22 years, whenever Latin American presidents in office sought reelection they always achieved it save in cases of national economic collapse. Between 1994 and 2016, in the 18 democracies that make up the cluster denominated “Latin America”, 21 immediate presidential reelections were attempted out of which 20 resulted in success. The only exception to this electoral pattern took place in Dominican Republic, when in 2004 president HIPÓLITO MEJÍA lost his reelection amidst a profound economic crisis. The interpretation of this data indicates that the exercise of consecutive presidential reelections in the region has ruined electoral competitiveness, which is one of the basic preconditions for the existence of democracy. The chief cause of this antidemocratic phenomenon is the abuse of presidential power for electoral gain, which turns the head of State seeking reelection into an invincible candidate because of the exorbitant amount of resources that he has at his disposal to manipulate electoral results. There is also a correlation between the exercise of immediate presidential reelections and the progressive deterioration of democratic quality during the second and third terms of reelected presidents, as noted by the “Electoral Democracy Index”. In sum, the practice of consecutive presidential reelection in Latin America is a poison for democracy that is advisable to proscribe in a reinforced manner in constitutional texts, by means of eternity clauses that guarantee alternation in the exercise of presidential power.

Après un peu plus de deux décennies d’un système de parti unique, le Cameroun a connu le retour aupluralisme politique au début des années 1990. Ce retour au multipartisme a conduit à une certaine libération de la parole, à une libéralisation politique et des revendications d’appartenances. Le nouvel espace de liberté a contribué à soulever, dans la sphère sociopolitique nationale, la problématique relative à la construction nationale postcoloniale dans un pays où cohabitent un double héritage colonial (franco-britannique) localement domestiqué et des centaines d’appartenances locales d’ordreethno régional, linguistique et religieux. La problématique de la construction nationale, dans un tel contexte de multi appartenance, constitue le propos central de cette étude et porte plus précisément sur la libération manifeste de l’expression des frustrations de la minorité anglophone du Cameroun. Il yest notamment démontré comment le Cameroun moderne, issu de la réunification entre l’ancien territoire du Cameroun sous tutelle française et la partie méridionale de l’ancien Cameroun britannique, gère son double héritage colonial dans un espace d’une diversité labyrinthique. Une gestion parfois concurrentielle, hégémonique et népotique des appartenances ou des identités, identités relatives au double héritage colonial franco-britannique, mais également identités tribales ou ethno régionales, enfin un processus de démocratisation plutôt frivole, illusoire et languissant, semblent entretenir ce qu’on nomme désormais au Cameroun : « la question anglophone » ou encore « le problème anglophone ». / In the early 1990s, just over two decades of a single-party system, Cameroon experienced a return to political pluralism. The multiparty system then led to some free speech, to some political relaxation and claims of belonging as well. The then new area of freedom conduced to the raising, at the sociopolitical level, of the issue of postcolonial nation-building in a country where a double colonial legacy (Anglo-French), locally re-appropriated, has coexisted with hundreds of local particularities of ethno-regional, linguistic and religious nature. The issue of nation-building in such a multiple belonging context is actually the very objective of this study, which focuses on the evident liberation in the manifestation of the English-speaking minority’s frustrations in Cameroon after the political relaxation in the early 1990s. The study shows how the modern State of Cameroon, resulting from the reunification of the former French Cameroon and the former British Southern Cameroons, manages its double colonial legacy in an area of a labyrinthine diversity. What has now been termed in Cameroon as: “the Anglophone Problem” seems to have been nurtured by a competitive, hegemonic and nepotistic management, at times, of heritage or identities – identities regarding the Anglo-French colonial heritage. It has also been revealed by tribal or ethno regional identities and by a democratisation process, which can be seen as rather trivial, illusive and lackadaisical.

O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar a geopolítica da Turquia após as transformações que alteraram o ambiente geopolítico em escala mundial. Desde a fundação da República da Turquia, Ancara tem desenvolvido relações preferenciais com o Ocidente, implementando diversas adaptações políticas, sociais e econômicas a fim de superar definitivamente o legado otomano e se ajustar às exigências do mundo ocidental. Durante a Guerra Fria, a Turquia passou a integrar a Aliança Transatlântica e serviu como elemento de contenção da União Soviética. Entretanto, o fim do mundo bipolar reduziu a importância da Turquia para a ampla estratégia de contenção americana, trazendo a necessidade de novos argumentos para manter o seu peso estratégico. Ao mesmo tempo, surgiram novas oportunidades para Ancara, especialmente quanto ao desenvolvimento de relações econômicas e culturais com os Estados independentes da ex-União Soviética. Os atentados de 11 de setembro e a reação norte-americana colocaram a Turquia novamente no centro da política americana como exemplo de compatibilidade entre o Islã e a modernidade ocidental e no combate ao terrorismo. Diversas interpretações do espaço geopolítico mundial destacam a importância da Turquia, desde sua importância estratégico-militar até seu papel como interlocutora entre o Ocidente e o mundo muçulmano, dentro de uma sugestão de choque entre as civilizações. Apesar disso, a Turquia ainda enfrenta sérios desafios externos em todas as direções, entrelaçados com seus problemas internos que, por muitas vezes, ultrapassam suas fronteiras e se tornam assuntos transnacionais. / The aim of this research is to evaluate Turkey\'s Geopolitics after the tectonic forces that reshaped the balance of power and the geopolitcs at a world level. Since its foundation after the Ottoman Empire break up in the years immediately following World War I, Ankara started to adapt itself in Western structures, such as NATO. The collapse of the USSR and Eastern Europe, raised some doubts about Turkey\'s importance to the West. However, the aftershocks at the beginning of the twenty-first century and the War on Terrorism launched by the US and its allies, pushed Turkey from the Western periphery to the very center of world politics, thrusting Turkey into an increasingly role in the Middle East, the Southeastern Europe, and Caucasus/ Central Asia. In addition, its geopolitcal position interpreted by some scholars reinforced its strategic and, at some extend, crucial position to the West and to the system evolution. At the same time, Turkey\'s aspiration to become a member of the European Union, its ethnic, linguistic and religious affinities to the Turkic republics combined with the energy resources issues eastwards and its security concerns in the Middle East, reveal the complexity and the challenges facing Turkey.

新興強權的崛起，勢將影響國際權力結構。自冷戰結束以來，國際體系維持著以美國為主導的單極為主多極體系，然全球化的影響，美國權力不免出現離散的下降趨勢。中共的崛起，成為可能挑戰以美國所主導的國際體系，使美中間的權力互動成為世人關切的焦點。 中共的國際戰略旨在維護和鞏固其在國際領域中的國家利益。自建政以來，歷代領導人審視國際權力結構的動態，制訂其國際戰略，俾在權力平衡的運作中，追求最大的國家利益。中共在面對「中國威脅論」的不利態勢，在16大以後，胡、溫領導以「和諧世界」戰略做為外交政策的指導原則；充滿理想主義的和諧世界戰略，能否改變國際間對中共這個新興強權的疑慮，成為全球矚目的焦點。 本文為瞭解中共和諧世界戰略與美中台間的關係發展與影響，採用歷史文獻分析法，藉由多元研究途徑，探討中共和諧世界戰略發展的歷程、背景與內涵及與美中台關係發展的影響。 研究發現，和諧世界戰略充滿理想主義色彩，但本質仍是追求權力平衡的觀點，企圖改變現階段美中權力結構的不和諧與不對等；和諧世界戰略提出後，受到主要國家的歡迎，相對的拉近美中之間權力結構的差距；但美國對中共威脅認知、雙方對權力的觀點、其他主要國家（戰略樞紐者如：俄、日、印、歐盟等）的抉擇及台灣問題的潛在衝突等，仍將影響美中台關係的未來發展。 / The rise of emerging powers is bound to affect the power structure of the international. Since the conclusion of the Cold War, a uni-multipolar system with the US as the only superpower has been dominating the arena of international politics. However, the US power diffuses and descends as a result of globalization. On the other hand, China’s rise to regional hegemony and the subsequent adjustment of its international strategy is posing a challenge to the US-dominated international political system. The interaction between Washington and Beijing has become a critical factor in the development of global politics. The PRC’s international strategy aims to secure and consolidate its national interests in the global society. Since the establishment of the Communist regime, the paramount leaders have examined the dynamics of international power structure and formulated its international strategy accordingly in order to pursue the maximum national interests in the operations of balance of power. Since the sixteenth Communist Party Congress, Hu Jintao and Wen Jia Bau has enshrined “harmonious world” as the guidelines for the country’s foreign policy. The latest international strategy sets a new direction for the development of the US-China relations. Since then whether or not the nominally idealistic “harmonious world” strategy helps reduce America’s suspicion of the potential rival has taken the limelight of international politics. This paper adopts document analysis and employs diversified research approach to explore, in terms of balance of power, the development process of the PRC’s international strategy, the contents of the “harmonious world” strategy, and the influence of the strategy upon the relations between the US- China and Taiwan. The findings of this study include the following points: The PRC’s “harmonious world” strategy is only idealistic in name but in essence, it still holds the Chinese traditional wisdom of balance of power; the strategy aims to rectify the existing discord and asymmetry in the power structure of US-China relations; and, although the strategy reduces the gap in the US-China power structure to a certain extent, America’s perception of China threat, mutual recognition of the contrast of national power, the decisions of other strategic pivots (such as the strategic hub are: i.e. Russia, Japan, India, and the European Union), and the dispute on Taiwan will continue to dictate the development of the bilateral relations between the US - PRC and the Taiwan.

本文首先討論權力平衡與政治均衡的差異。以Waltz為代表的新現實主義是力學式、演繹邏輯的國際觀；而Schroeder的政治均衡則是生物學式、整體式、歸納的國際觀。權力平衡與政治均衡構成本文的分析架構。本文採歷史研究法，以愛爾蘭為例，說明愛爾蘭在受到「國家」、「人」、「國際體系」的影響後，放棄抗衡的策略後，均衡的國際觀才為愛爾蘭帶來和平與繁榮。 愛爾蘭自十二世紀起成為英國的殖民地，累積八個世紀的恩怨情仇在二十世紀初爆發。愛爾蘭政治家de Valera採用抗衡式的經濟外交策略，即使愛爾蘭成為歐洲的乞丐也在所不惜。1959年接手主政的Lemass對國家利益則有完全不同的見解。取消閉關自守的經貿政策、大膽與英國簽訂英愛自由貿易協定，促使愛爾蘭在1973年順利加入歐洲共同體，開啟了塞爾特之虎的序幕。 文末則是回到兩岸關係的探討。台灣與愛爾蘭相似點在於，同屬小國且也同樣面對同文同種的強敵威脅。台灣或可以愛爾蘭為鏡，走出成功的小國國際政治。

Text in Afrikaans / Summaries in English and Afrikaans / The statutory definition of the lock-out encompasses certain acts (inter alia termination of contracts of employment) which must be executed by the employer with a certain purpose. The Appellate Division has recently found that the employment relationship not necessarily terminates similarly to the common law contract of employment, but may subsist after termination of the contract of employment. The industrial court does not easily accept that it has been deprived of its unfair labour practice jurisdiction where terminations of employment take place in consequence of a lock-out. The motive of the employer seems to be decisive. In line with both the trend in first world countries and principles established by the courts in South Africa, the Constitution and especially recent labour legislation significantly curtail the bargaining power of the employer because it is progressively being believed that the employer has sufficient economic power to his disposal. / Die omskrywing van die uitsluiting in wetgewing omvat sekere handelinge {onder andere beeindiging van dienskontrakte) wat deur die werkgewer met 'n sekere doel verrig moet word. Die Appelhof het onlangs beslis dat die diensverhouding na beeindiging van die dienskontrak kan bly voortduur en nie noodwendig soos die gemeenregtelike dienskontrak ten einde loop nie. Die nywerheidshof aanvaar ook nie geredelik dat hy in geval van diensbeeindiging wat volg op 'n uitsluiting van sy onbillike arbeidspraktyk jurisdiksie ontneem is nie. Die motief van die werkgewer blyk hier deurslaggewend te wees. In lyn met sowel die ne1g1ng in eerstew~reldse lande, asook beginsels reeds deur die howe in Suid-Afrika gevestig, word die bedingingsmag van die werkgewer ingevolge die Grondwet en veral onlangse arbeidswetgewing betekenisvol ingekort omrede toenemend aanvaar word dat die werkgewer oor voldoende ekonomiese mag beskik. / Law / LL.M.

O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar a geopolítica da Turquia após as transformações que alteraram o ambiente geopolítico em escala mundial. Desde a fundação da República da Turquia, Ancara tem desenvolvido relações preferenciais com o Ocidente, implementando diversas adaptações políticas, sociais e econômicas a fim de superar definitivamente o legado otomano e se ajustar às exigências do mundo ocidental. Durante a Guerra Fria, a Turquia passou a integrar a Aliança Transatlântica e serviu como elemento de contenção da União Soviética. Entretanto, o fim do mundo bipolar reduziu a importância da Turquia para a ampla estratégia de contenção americana, trazendo a necessidade de novos argumentos para manter o seu peso estratégico. Ao mesmo tempo, surgiram novas oportunidades para Ancara, especialmente quanto ao desenvolvimento de relações econômicas e culturais com os Estados independentes da ex-União Soviética. Os atentados de 11 de setembro e a reação norte-americana colocaram a Turquia novamente no centro da política americana como exemplo de compatibilidade entre o Islã e a modernidade ocidental e no combate ao terrorismo. Diversas interpretações do espaço geopolítico mundial destacam a importância da Turquia, desde sua importância estratégico-militar até seu papel como interlocutora entre o Ocidente e o mundo muçulmano, dentro de uma sugestão de choque entre as civilizações. Apesar disso, a Turquia ainda enfrenta sérios desafios externos em todas as direções, entrelaçados com seus problemas internos que, por muitas vezes, ultrapassam suas fronteiras e se tornam assuntos transnacionais. / The aim of this research is to evaluate Turkey\'s Geopolitics after the tectonic forces that reshaped the balance of power and the geopolitcs at a world level. Since its foundation after the Ottoman Empire break up in the years immediately following World War I, Ankara started to adapt itself in Western structures, such as NATO. The collapse of the USSR and Eastern Europe, raised some doubts about Turkey\'s importance to the West. However, the aftershocks at the beginning of the twenty-first century and the War on Terrorism launched by the US and its allies, pushed Turkey from the Western periphery to the very center of world politics, thrusting Turkey into an increasingly role in the Middle East, the Southeastern Europe, and Caucasus/ Central Asia. In addition, its geopolitcal position interpreted by some scholars reinforced its strategic and, at some extend, crucial position to the West and to the system evolution. At the same time, Turkey\'s aspiration to become a member of the European Union, its ethnic, linguistic and religious affinities to the Turkic republics combined with the energy resources issues eastwards and its security concerns in the Middle East, reveal the complexity and the challenges facing Turkey.

BILL, Simon. Bandwagoning with the Belt and Road: Russia's changing attitude towards the Chinese presence in Central Asia post-Crimea. Praha, 2019. 78 pages. Master's thesis (Mgr.). Charles University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of International Studies. Department of Russian and East European Studies. Supervisor Prof. Jan Šír, Ph.D. Abstract Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia has considered the Central Asian states to be a part of its exclusive sphere of influence. In recent years, however, China has also increased its presence in the region, investing heavily in the energy and transportation sectors. This is exemplified by its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), specifically its Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) component, which was launched in September 2013. As China increased its presence in the region, and Russia launched its own initiative, the Eurasian Economic Union (EaEU), the two powers seemed to be on a collision course. However, relations between the two never deteriorated as predicted. Instead, the opposite has happened. In 2015, Russia found itself internationally isolated due to its controversial actions in Ukraine and embraced China's initiative. This dissertation will seek to explain Russia's increasingly accommodating attitude towards China's growing investment and influence...

This diploma thesis will basically work with the concept of security, namely, the European secu- rity in recent years. Although Ukraine is not a NATO member, and Russia is NATO's distant neighbour, in this thesis I will prove that we should connect the events on Ukrainian border with European security. From the very onset of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, NATO was firm in its support of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. The Allies immediately condemned the illegal "legitimate annexation" of the Crimea to Russia in March 2014 and they have repeatedly stated that they would never recognize it as well. They also condemned deliberate destabilization in eastern Ukraine which was provoked by Russia with the use of its military intervention and militants' support. The crisis in Ukraine has proved to be a real turning point in Euro-Atlantic security since some senior Western politicians began to speak about changes in the guideline of European defense policy. Ukrainian crisis created new security situation in Europe and still requires attention, in- volvement and response from NATO. This crisis sharpened strategic misunderstanding between Russia and the West. It shows very clearly that Moscow and the West understand European security in...