After the Eastern enlargement in the year 2004 and 2007 the European Union is on the threshold of another expansion. Turkey and Croatia are the first countries that received the official candidate status. Turkey is the longest waiting contender for the adoption into the European Union structures; Croatia is the most anticipated candidate to receive the membership. The thesis "Comparison of preparedness of economies of Turkey and Croatia to join the European Union. " aims to compare the economic preparedness of these two countries for European Union full membership and also detects the cons and pros of possible integration. The goal of this thesis is to answer the question whether it is the theory of neo-realism or the theory of neo-functionalism that explains the current accession process of Turkey and Croatia to the European Union. In the past the European integration has overcome many obstacles, has achieved many substantial results and due to its effectiveness has managed to extend the territory of peace, stability and prosperity across the continent. The coming sixth wave of enlargement has a difficult goal but it is also a great challenge that can change again the map of European Union and extend its operation and influence into Asia Minor and the western Balkans.

Ce mémoire problématise les tenants et les aboutissants de la stratégie de développement adoptée au Brésil par le Parti des travailleurs entre 2003 et 2015, appelée néodéveloppement, compte tenu de la position périphérique qu’occupe le pays dans le système international. Elle cherche à démontrer que les gouvernements du Parti des travailleurs, même en ayant assuré la protection sociale prévue par la Constitution de 1988 et réalisé des avancées sociales significatives, n’ont pas pu rompre avec la logique néolibérale, hégémonique dans le pays depuis les années 1980. À cette fin, nous reprenons la discussion sur le développement brésilien au 20e siècle, depuis l’ère Vargas (1930) jusqu’à la fin de la dictature militaire (1985). Nous discutons ensuite de la période néolibérale — qui débute au milieu des années 1980, mais se consolide dans les années 1990 — et de ses conséquences, ainsi que de la montée au pouvoir du Parti des travailleurs et de sa tentative de reprendre le développement national. Enfin, nous aborderons l’incapacité du néodéveloppementalisme à générer des changements réels par rapport au néolibéralisme, car non seulement il cherche à se réconcilier avec la logique hégémonique actuelle, mais la renforce. / This dissertation problematizes the ins and outs of the development strategy adopted in Brazil by the Workers' Party between 2003 and 2015, called neo developmentalism, considering the country's peripheral position in the international system. It seeks to demonstrate that the Workers' Party governments, even though they have provided the social protection guaranteed by the 1988 Constitution and have made significant social advances, have not been able to break with the neoliberal logic that has been hegemonic in the country since the 1980s. To this end, we return to the discussion of Brazilian development in the 20th century, from the Vargas era (1930) to the end of the military dictatorship (1985). We then discuss the neo-liberal period - which began in the mid-1980s but was consolidated in the 1990s – and its consequences, as well as the rise to power of the Workers' Party and its attempt to resume national development. Finally, we discuss the impossibility of neo developmentalism being able to generate real changes with respect to neoliberalism, since it not only seeks to reconcile itself with the current hegemonic logic, but also reinforces it. / Esta dissertação visa discutir os avanços e limites da estratégia de desenvolvimento adotada no Brasil pelo Partido dos Trabalhadores entre 2003 e 2015, chamada neodesenvolvimentismo, considerando a posição periférica que o país ocupa no Sistema internacional. Procura-se demonstrar que os governos petistas, embora tenham assegurado a proteção social prevista na Constituição de 1988 e feito avanços sociais significativos, não conseguiram romper com a lógica neoliberal que tem sido hegemônica no país desde os anos 1980. Para isso, retomamos a discussão sobre desenvolvimento brasileiro no século XX, entre a Era Vargas (1930) e o fim da ditadura militar (1985). Discutimos então o período neoliberal no país – iniciado em meados dos anos 1980, mas consolidado nos anos 1990 – e suas consequências, bem como a ascensão ao poder do Partido dos Trabalhadores e sua tentativa de retomar o desenvolvimento nacional. Finalmente, discutimos sobre a impossibilidade de o desenvolvimentismo ser capaz de gerar mudanças reais em relação ao neoliberalismo, uma vez que ele não só procura conciliar-se com a lógica hegemônica atual, mas também a reforça.

This paper analyzes the influence of Russian elite clans on Russian foreign policy-making. The goal of this paper is to discover the missing link that connects the changes in the International System to the formation of Russian foreign policy, more specifically the Russo-Georgian War, the occupation of Crimea, and the intervention in Syria. Therefore, the theory of neo-classical realism is applied to a systematic process analysis in order to trace the chain of causal relations in which the struggle of elite clans influences foreign policy-making. The combination of neo-realism and state capacity analysis complements the approach of neo-classical realism. This paper argues that the beliefs of the elite clans play an important role in shaping Russia’s foreign policy. The elite clans struggle to establish themselves and consolidate their power within the Russian government structures, which affected the shift from pragmatism and a multipolar approach to a transimperialist approach in Russian foreign policy.

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The task of a reformed apologetics is the application of both theology and philosophy in the confrontation with unbelievers, bridging the gap between the natural man and the Gospel of Christ and trying to do justice to the multi-aspectual, existential and constitutive sides of created reality. In the Festschrift of Cornelius Van Til, two well-known reformational philosophers, Herman Dooyeweerd of the Netherlands and Hendrik Stoker of South Africa, among others, discussed with Van Til the methodology of Christian apologetics (Jerusalem and Athens 1971: viii). The investigation focus on the reflections of Dooyeweerd and Stoker on Van Til’s method, which attempted to break away from classical methods and to reform apologetics biblically. Thence, constructive criticisms, methodological integration of reformational insights and the opening up of new avenues of apologetic discourse follows after a structural evaluation of the dialogue between the three thinkers, leading to a Trinitarian, Modal-spherical method (TMSA) of apologetics, while still presupposing the biblical and triune essence of Van Til’s pressuppositional apologetics. After absorbing and integrating inter-related elements in its Trinitarian framework, the new method of apologetics will be introduced to broader Christianity via two integralist accounts of traditional Christian philosophy, both inspired by an interpretation Neo-Thomism, which in many respects correspond to the Neo-Calvinist vision. So that after non-dualistically expanding TMSA’s methodological foundation and scope of interaction non-, it can be briefly introduced to other nuances of apologetics at the final step of the thesis, in the hope of contributing for the ongoing reformation of the Church and its apologetic endevour. / MA (Missiology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The task of a reformed apologetics is the application of both theology and philosophy in the confrontation with unbelievers, bridging the gap between the natural man and the Gospel of Christ and trying to do justice to the multi-aspectual, existential and constitutive sides of created reality. In the Festschrift of Cornelius Van Til, two well-known reformational philosophers, Herman Dooyeweerd of the Netherlands and Hendrik Stoker of South Africa, among others, discussed with Van Til the methodology of Christian apologetics (Jerusalem and Athens 1971: viii). The investigation focus on the reflections of Dooyeweerd and Stoker on Van Til’s method, which attempted to break away from classical methods and to reform apologetics biblically. Thence, constructive criticisms, methodological integration of reformational insights and the opening up of new avenues of apologetic discourse follows after a structural evaluation of the dialogue between the three thinkers, leading to a Trinitarian, Modal-spherical method (TMSA) of apologetics, while still presupposing the biblical and triune essence of Van Til’s pressuppositional apologetics. After absorbing and integrating inter-related elements in its Trinitarian framework, the new method of apologetics will be introduced to broader Christianity via two integralist accounts of traditional Christian philosophy, both inspired by an interpretation Neo-Thomism, which in many respects correspond to the Neo-Calvinist vision. So that after non-dualistically expanding TMSA’s methodological foundation and scope of interaction non-, it can be briefly introduced to other nuances of apologetics at the final step of the thesis, in the hope of contributing for the ongoing reformation of the Church and its apologetic endevour. / MA (Missiology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

My thesis closely analyzes the shi poetry of the Song dynasty philosopher Zhu Xi (1130-1200). I look at its deep structure, especially the tensions embedded therein between literature and philosophy, and between his inner mind and the external world, manifested in ways different from what he taught in his philosophical works. Although his poetry itself is not considered to be aesthetically outstanding, I suggest that it is crucial to a better understanding of the evolution of Zhu’s philosophical project on the relationship between humans and the natural world. Zhu Xi wanted to establish and defend a coherent and practical self-cultivation theory, which would enable people to recognize the dao through daily experiences. Nevertheless, in his poetry production, he was facing a long-entrenched influential poetic tradition with its emphasis on the outer world described by embellished words and spontaneous overflow of emotions, while leaving an open end for the meanings or less discriminatively appealing to the Daoist or Buddhist idea of transcendence, the logic of which fundamentally contradicts that of daoxue construction. This made it impossible to achieve the dao in a this-worldly fashion. The contradiction had to be reconciled by Zhu Xi in his poems, an issue that he actually wrestled with throughout his life. Consequently, the style of Zhu Xi’s poetry was differentiated from both that of other Neo-Confucians and indeed that of any other poets in Chinese history. In his poetic texts, the tension between the outer world, inner emotions and philosophical inclination is more intensified, and the exploration of the relationship between man and nature more focused and conscious. In this thesis, I present an aesthetic world of Zhu Xi beyond all his ambiguous philosophical discussions, unfavorable comments on poetry, and his profoundly contradictory attitudes towards versifying.

Marcus Antonius Muretus, qui inde ab anno 1526o usque ad 1585m vixit, modo Latine scribendi optimo insignis et apud aequales et apud posteriores, annis 1573o et 1574o duas in Platonis Rem Publicam habuit orationes. Quarum contextus in hoc opusculo editur commentariisque instruitur, quo facilius a lectoribus hodiernis sententiae Mureti legantur ac intellegantur. In praefatione quam huic opusculo adiunximus tractantur etiam res nonnullae quae ad Muretum et ad has orationes de Platone habitas pertinent: videlicet Mureti vita, sententiae eius ad artem rhetoricam pertinentes, controversiae Ciceronianae, studia Graeca, philosophia Platonica, denique ratio quam ad hanc editionem perficiendam adhibuimus. Marc-Antoine Muret (1526-1585), known for his excellent Latin style both in his own time and afterwards, gave two inaugural speeches on Plato's Republic in 1573 and 1574. This thesis contains an edition of these speeches together with a commentary aimed at readers comfortable in classical Latin but perhaps new to Muret and to Renaissance studies. In a preface to this edition and commentary, several subjects are discussed that are essential for understanding Muret and the context of these speeches: Muret's life; his views on rhetoric and the imitation of Cicero; Greek studies in the Renaissance; Platonic philosophy; and finally the text of the speeches and other matters specific to this edition.

Opus cui titulus est "Carthago Indiarum obsessa sed non expugnata" est carmen divulgatum sine nomine auctoris saeculo duodevicesimo ad celebrandam vic- toriam quam Hispani a Britannis Carthagenae Indiarum anno 1741 in bello auris illius Ienkins (vulgo, the War of Jenkins’ Ear) reportaverunt. In hac thesi tractantur modo satis compendiario res gestae huius proelii quo melius lectores carmen ipsum possint intellegere. Necnon hic inveniuntur ea quae spectant ad huius opusculi genus, indolem et momentum litterarium. Postremo, praebetur hic editio critica, paraphra- sis Latina, commentarius in hoc carmen scriptus. Ex hoc carmine potest conspici quomodo litterarum Latinarum patrimonium pertineat ad omnes aetates, ad omnes gentes, ad omnes patrias. The work Carthago Indiarum obsessa, sed non expugnata ("Cartagena de Indias, Assailed but not Captured") is an eighteenth century anonymous poem that celebrates the Spanish victory over the English at Cartagena de Indias during the War of Jenkins’ Ear in 1741. This thesis presents a summary of the battle in order to contextualize the significance of the poem. It further presents a literary analysis of the poem’s genre, characteristics, and literary importance, as well as a critical edi-tion, a paraphrase in Latin prose, and a commentary. From analyzing this poem, one can see some ways in which the Latin literary patrimony brought from the ancients pertains to all ages, peoples, and nations.

For a long time, Roman ideal sculptures have primarily been studied within the tradition of Kopienkritik. Owing to some of the theoretical assumptions tied to this practice, several important aspects of Roman visual culture have been neglected as the overall aim of such research has been to gain new knowledge regarding assumed Classical and Hellenistic models. This thesis is a collection of three studies on Roman ideal sculpture. The articles share three general aims: 1. To show that the practice of Kopienkritik has, so far, not produced convincing interpretations of the sculpture types and motifs discussed. 2. To show that aspects of the methodology tied to the practice of Kopienkritik (thorough examination and comparison of physical forms in sculptures) can, and should, be used to gain insights other than those concerning hypothetical Classical and Hellenistic model images. 3. To present new interpretations of the sculpture types and motifs studied, interpretations which emphasize their role and importance within Roman visual culture. The first article shows that reputed, post-Antique restorations may have an unexpected—and unwanted—impact on the study of ancient sculptures. This is examined by tracing the impact that a restored motif ("Satyrs with cymbals") has had on the study of an ancient sculpture type: the satyr ascribed to the two-figure group "The invitation to the dance". The second article presents and interprets a sculpture type which had previously gone unnoticed—The satyrs of "The Palazzo Massimo-type". The type is interpreted as a variant of "The Marsyas in the forum", a motif that was well known within the Roman cultural context. The third article examines how, and why, two motifs known from Classical models were changed in an eclectic fashion once they had been incorporated into Roman visual culture. The motifs concerned are kalathiskos dancers, which were transformed into Victoriae, and pyrrhic dancers, which were also reinterpreted as mythological figures—the curetes. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 1: Accepted. Paper 3: Accepted.</p>