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The image of the medieval and Renaissance demon attracts the interest of historians, philosophers, anthropologists, and many other scholars because of its huge impact on significant social and political phenomena and because of its relation to many philosophical and intellectual movements. Nevertheless, such researches are focused predominantly on the Western evil spirit. Its Byzantine 'colleague', on the other hand, has been somehow neglected, even though Byzantinology is at least a century-old field of research. This book attempts to shed light on a subject which has not been previously in the focus of such exhaustive research. The image of the demon will be presented in a very different and much more obscure epoque, for which the main sources are numerous, but not so well-known. The so-called Byzantine 'Dark centuries' are marked by political and social instability and theological crises. Nevertheless, during these troubled centuries one literary genre flourished. The Lives of the Saints, unlike the works of the 10th century humanists and encyclopedists, do not shine with the archaic light of the Hermogenean style or with the well-built reasoning of Procopius; they are vivid reflections of the real life, of the beliefs and the superstitions of ordinary people. The Evil and the demons are constantly present in this world and they deserve their own history and 'archaeology.'

This timely book provides a detailed analysis of Russia's national interests in the Arctic region. It analyzes Russia's domestic discourse on the Far North's role among national priorities as well as Moscow's bi- and multilateral relations with major regional players, including energy, environmental, socio-cultural, and military policies in the Arctic. In contrast to the internationally widespread stereotype of Russia as a revisionist power in the Far North, this book argues that Moscow tries to pursue a double-sided strategy in the region. On the one hand, Russia aims at defending legitimate economic interests in the region. On the other hand, Moscow is open to co-operation with foreign partners that are willing to partake in exploiting the Arctic natural resources. The general conclusion is that in the foreseeable future Moscow's strategy in the region will be predictable and pragmatic rather than aggressive or spontaneous. The authors argue that in order to consolidate the soft power pattern of Russia's behavior a proper international environment in the Arctic should be created by common efforts. Other regional players should demonstrate their responsibility and willingness to solve existing and potential problems on the basis of international law.

Issue 2023:1 of In Statu Nascendi comprises, amongst others, the following articles: - Ethics of AI and Robotics from a non Anthopomorphical and Zoomorphical Perspective- The Self and Mental Health Studies: A Postmodern Introduction- Gödel's non-completeness theorems as hermeneutic questioning in Mathematics- Integrating Ontology in statu nascendi in the Main Currents of International Relations Theory Content analysis through text mining: an empirical approach of understanding international political integration theories in practice

After their Shreds of War: Fates from the Donbas Frontline 2015-2019, Eperjesi and Kachura uncover in this second volume effects of the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia. Oleksandr managed to visit the peninsula not long after its occupation by Russian troops. While doing interviews with local people, he was threatened by the authorities yet managed to escape with his exclusive stories of teachers and students, pensioners, children and their parents, market vendors and businessmen, homeless people, health care employees and their patients, the so called "cotton wool people," and Ukrainian patriots. Many of them told him about how hopeful they were in early 2014, and how disappointed they have become as their expectations were not met by the "Russian world." This concerns the banking system of Crimea, propaganda and censorship of the Russian state, and failed tourist seasons. People still living or somehow related to Crimea tell us about the dramatic days of the illegal annexation. They explain what led to the tragedy and what mistakes were made by the Ukrainian authorities. Ordinary people, soldiers, journalists, heroes and traitors, emigrants, Crimean Tatars, Russian soldiers, Cossacks and the members of the so called "Crimean Self-Defense" disclose how they contributed to the historic events on the peninsula. Finally, the famous Crimean film director Oleh Sentsov shares with us how he managed to survive his illegal imprisonment by Russia and what impact it has had on his life.

This book analyzes security developments in Lithuania since 1988, a period marked by liberation from nearly fifty years of Soviet occupation, the collapse of the USSR, and the integration of the country into NATO. Furmonavicius focuses on how Lithuania achieved liberation and how the country's integration into the European and Transatlantic security framework has influenced both its own and transatlantic security development.

The war in Ukraine has been fought with, among others, irregular armed groups since 2014--volunteers, paramilitaries, and mercenaries. Based on interviews in the Russian-controlled Donbas and with Ukrainian combatants, the contributions to this volume disclose various micro-dynamics of the mobilization, group formation, and fighting. Who were these fighters and who organized them? Russia has been increasingly employing mercenaries as a way to conduct undeclared, but ruthless wars beyond her borders. Ukraine's formation of irregular armed groups in 2014 was a response to the army's initially glaring inability to counter Russia's military intervention. Most of the irregular battalions acted from the beginning under governmental orders. They have never operated autonomously, but compensated for operational weaknesses of regular armed groups. The initially high power of irregular battalions derived from state support, the capabilities of commanders, social networks, and the faculties of the fighters.

Retired US Ambassador John J. Maresca draws on his personal papers to offer a first-hand account of his role in negotiating the end of the Cold War with the USSR. As a special American Ambassadorial envoy, he symbolically opened direct US diplomatic relations with each of the newly independent states from the former USSR following its dissolution. He recounts the situation in the region during that period, and how it has evolved into the situation of today. Maresca analyzes Putin's role and objectives, and concludes that the USA and the West in general must steadfastly oppose Putin's on-going effort to re-assemble Moscowʼs control over the full geographic scope of what was the USSR, starting with Ukraine.

Drawing on theories of political myth and concepts of nationalism, Jardar Østbø analyzes the content and ideological function of the myth of Russia as a Third Rome. Through case studies of four prominent nationalist intellectuals, Østbø shows how this messianic myth was used to reinvent Russia and its allegedly rightful place in the world after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Though it exists in many radically different versions, the Third Rome myth in general embodies particularism and rabid anti-Westernism. At best, it portrays Russia as an essentially isolationist country. At worst, it casts the country as superior to all other nations, divinely elected to rule the world.

On 24 February 2022, Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He declared a 'special military operation', expecting a quick victory. The Ukrainian army countered with a spirited defence that foiled his political aims. Putin's special operation descended into a brutal slogging match of massacres. The horror of Bucha, rapes, looting, and the mass kidnap of children were discovered in the wake of Russian retreats. Reversals shattered Russia's army, forcing Putin to unleash his bandit hordes--Chechen thugs and pardoned murderers of the Wagner Group. Russia's artillery, the God of War, continued to hammer Ukrainian culture, cities, and civilians. Mariupol was devastated in the turmoil of mechanized genocide. In the first year, western experts filled social media with analogies of irrelevant wars and false predictions of Ukraine's progress. The authors of this volume challenged institutional orthodoxy and pushed back against this outpouring of social media. They identified a chilling narrative of existential warfare and the struggle for survival. Putin's War--Russian Genocide will provoke intense debate, for it uncovers the latitude of Putin's violence. Readers will learn that Putin's and Russia's war comes from a powerful urge to destroy Ukraine. This is the greatest horror of the 21st Century.

The war in Ukraine is putting Germanyʹs political and economic actions to the test. For decades, Ukraine, the second-largest state in Europe, was overlooked and Russia was courted. With fatal consequences. Germany has failed, as Sabine Adler states, an expert on Eastern Europe. Her analysis focuses not only on Ukraine and the current war, but above all on Germanyʼs role--in economic, political, and media terms--in relation to the country invaded by Russia. As a long-standing and clear-sighted observer, she gives a critical assessment: Political omissions, lobbyism, double standards, and a mendacious pacifism were dominant for long periods. Time for the West to learn from the bad example of Germany and to follow a sensible policy!

Ukraine has often been called a laboratory when it comes to global challenges in the spheres of environment, information, and security. The site of the worst nuclear catastrophe in history, the primary target of the Kremlin's troll farms and disinformation campaigns, the country to spark the collapse of the Soviet Union and to stand up to its neo-imperialist successor: Ukraine has been the first to face and, at times, set in motion processes that have worldwide consequences. After Russia's full-scale invasion has compromised the global system of security, the value of Ukrainian knowledge and experience can no longer be dismissed. The urgency to learn with and from Ukraine is now existential for the rest of the world. This unique collection presents creative nonfiction essays by emerging authors from Ukraine and the UK which employ cross-cultural dialog and the art of storytelling to open up Ukrainian perspectives on the challenges facing humanity worldwide.

This timely book seeks to contribute to the debate on the transfer of values, rules, and practices by European actors to former Soviet countries. The actors in focus include multilateral organizations, such as the European Union, the Council of Europe, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, as well as European governments and non-governmental organizations. The contributions in this collection address different aspects of the export or transfer of values, such as democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, as well as rules and practices in the fields of education and migration management, examining the motives, mechanisms, and effects of European engagement.

This book delves into the complex and often contradictory relations between the Southern Caucasus and European Union (EU). It covers the three periods of this relationship: the early contacts in the 1990s, the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP), and the Eastern Partnership Programme (EaP) that started in 2009. The book employs Europeanization theory and uses a mixed rationalist-constructivist framework as a complementary analytical instrument to decipher the two sides' behavior. The study's findings show that the complex relationship between the EU and Caucasian states cannot be explained through either a purely constructivist or a purely rationalist theoretical framework. Both, material and social motives are discernible. Thus, rationalism and constructivism are complementary tools for explaining the relations between the EU and South Caucasus countries. The rationalist perspective explains actors' preferences towards maximizing material utility and calculations by EU policymakers as to which strategy is most likely to advance the immediate interests of the EU in a given situation. This argument needs to be supplemented, however, with insights from constructivism. This approach emphasizes the universal nature of the values of the EU which are linked to internal dynamics in the EU and manifest themselves in the Union's relations with neighboring countries. The book finally illustrates how rational considerations, related to Russia's political and economic activities in the region, have determined the stances of the South Caucasus countries towards the EU.

Projects can go over budget, exceed deadlines, or deliver restricted features and quality, which can result in economic damage for companies and their clients. Difficulties arise at the source, and established metrics and management methods slow projects down by creating conflicts in operations and decision making. Introducing a radically new approach that features simple, constraint-oriented management; clear, robust priorities; company-wide optimization; and a focus on speed, this volume shows how to complete more projects with the same amount of resources, reliably deliver all projects to specs, and significantly shorten project lead times.

This book breaks into the black box of Russian cultural diplomacy's ideological underpinnings and modi operandi. Relying on publicly accessible sources such as annual reports, news from official websites, social media posts, and other pertinent materials, the contributors examine the three most significant state-affiliated or full-fledged state institutions operating in this field. Their organization and management, budget and financial details, links to oligarchs, the government and other institutions, most important activities, as well as overall geographical presence are analyzed. The discourses of these organizations during the Russia-Ukraine War, including after 24 February 2022, are given special attention. The collection discloses how the Kremlin's foreign propaganda institutions support the Russian authoritarian regime and its expansionist policies.

This book investigates the making of Ukraine's foreign policy towards the European Union and Russia between February 2014 and February 2015. To contextualize the events of the first year of the Russian-Ukrainian War, Nychyk lays out the history of the EU-Ukraine-Russia triangle since 1991 and draws lessons relevant for the 2022 Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The book is based on her doctoral research and rests on a game-theory-inspired approach to foreign policy analysis. It relies on 38 elite interviews, official documents, and media reports. Nychyk uncovers various mutual misperceptions in EU-Ukraine-Russia relations. Looking at Ukraine's 'side of the story', her analysis shows how Russian assertiveness and the EU's passivity, but also Ukrainian leaders' limited crisis management experience and erroneous policy decisions contributed to worse outcomes for Ukraine. The latter included poor analysis of foreign interlocutors, trust in their good intentions, and corruption. After 2015, a persistence--although with certain changes--of some of these pathologies left Ukraine in a weaker position in the face of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Why is it that even after two centuries of formal political independence and after the implementation of policies that were supposed to lead them to development, Latin American countries have not managed to overcome underdevelopment, poverty, and dependency? Why are the contradictions inherent to capitalism exacerbated in Latin America, in such a way that this region appears as the denial of the civilising promises inaugurated by capitalist modernity? Why do the asymmetrical relations in the world system and labour super-exploitation tend to deepen in the region, instead of being reduced? Why do the main social processes that challenge the capitalist relations of exploitation and domination take place in the 'periphery' of the system, not in its imperialist core? The essays collected in this book present the answers that Marxist dependency theory has formulated to these and other questions, by highlighting the processes and relations that characterise the heterogeneous deployment of capitalism as a world system and that define the particularities of Latin American dependent capitalism: the super-exploitation of labour-power, unequal exchange, the rupture in the cycle of capital, among others. It also highlights the relevance of the perspective inaugurated by Marxist dependency theory to explain the current problems of Latin America.

This collection of essays explores malign Russian influence operations that aimed to advance Moscow's strategic and tactical objectives in European countries as well as particular African states. These operations were conducted in the framework of Russia's anti-Western political warfare and involved attempts to exploit divisive social issues, sow confusion and fear, encourage dissention and polarisation, undermine democratic institutions, and corrupt political forces.

Evangelos Koumparoudis offers a unique philosophical perspective on various aspects of medical practices in our post-consumerist society. Through an exploration of political philosophy, specifically the works of Lyotard, Baudrillard, Bauman, and Gungov, he sheds light on the ways in which meaning and sense are produced, and how mechanisms of manipulation are at play. By drawing upon phenomenology, hermeneutics, and post-structuralism, Koumparoudis offers a deeper understanding of these concepts. In addition to these philosophical approaches, he also explores the intersection of neuroscience and artificial intelligence with classical phenomenology, and presents formalizations through which being can attain exteriority. By examining Kuhn's ideas on paradigmatic shifts, Koumparoudis offers insights into the two models of medical reasoning: the biomedical and the humanistic. Moreover, Koumparoudis delves into the creation and management of Big Data in medicine, and discusses the need for molecular-based categorization. The author also explores the concept of patient safety as articulated by Gungov, and the interdisciplinary approach to medical sciences advocated by Schmid and Mambrini-Doudet. Through the lens of Levinas and Derrida, he examines the relationship between doctors and patients. The book concludes with an examination of the idea of new forms of embodiment as they relate to political philosophy and the posthumanist and transhumanist traditions. Overall, Koumparoudis provides a fresh and comprehensive analysis of medical practices that is sure to appeal to scholars and researchers across various fields.

The introduction of consociational power sharing as a post-war political system has become one of the international community's preferred post-conflict devices. In situations where warring polities are internally divided by ethnic, religious, linguistic, or national identity, consociationalism guarantees the inclusion of all groups in the political process and prevents a 'tyranny' of the majority over one or more minorities. However, if international actors keep intervening in the political process, the advantages of consociationalism are turned upside down. In this exceptional book, Adis Merdzanovic develops a theoretical and empirical approach to understanding consociational democracies that include external intervention. Using the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the consociational Dayton Peace Agreement ended the three-year war between Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks twenty years ago, it elaborates on the different approaches used in the past and gives practical recommendations for future state-building exercises by the international community.

This timely book offers an integrative and critical approach to the conceptualization of diversity of social ties in contemporary urban migrant populations. It explores the informal relationships of migrants in London and how the construction and the dynamics of their social ties function as a part of urban sociality within the super-diversity of London. Based on the results of a qualitative study of Russian-speaking migrants, it targets the four main themes of transnationalism, ethnicity, cosmopolitanization, and friendship. Acknowledging the complexity of the ways in which contemporary migrants rely on social relationships, the author argues that this complexity cannot be fully grasped by theories of transnationalism or explanations of ethnic communities alone. Instead, one can gather a closer understanding of migrant sociality when adding the analysis of informal relationships in different locations and with different subjects. This book suggests that friendship should be seen as an important concept for all research on migrant social connections.

Renewable energy sources became a key research focus in the field of global environmental governance. Within this context, new technical innovations seek to overcome challenges resulting from volatile renewable energy production and lacking storage capacities. Blockchain, a distributed ledger technology using cryptography, gained prominence as an integral component within the increasingly decentralized and digitalized global energy infrastructure. Against this background, Alexander Freier argues that the application of blockchain technologies represents a viable option to both enhance the efficiency and balancing of renewable energy as well as to subsequently reduce GHG emissions if the following three components are met: the ongoing implementation of technological advancements, an adequate global normative framework, and general trust on behalf of key market actors to promote blockchain in the energy sector on a global scale. Departing from an analysis of the relationship between climate change and energy, Freier conducts a legal analysis to explore possible ʼbottom-upʼ perspectives for the implementation and transfer of technological innovation derived from climate contracts. This analysis examines the technological infrastructure surrounding blockchain energy as well as its application to the Brooklyn MicroGrid in the US and the WindNODE trading platform in Germany from an International Relations perspective.

This is a selection of essays and dispatches from a veteran observer of the development of Ukrainian culture and politics over the course of a decade. The volume deals with the issue of Ukrainian-Jewish relations and its historical legacy in the context of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. It charts the events that took place in Ukraine after the 2013-2014 Euromaidan Revolution and focuses on the place of Ukrainian Jewry within a quickly developing Ukrainian political nation.

The Orphic I: A Philosophical Approach to Musical Collaboration starts from the premise that music is a realm of intersubjective human experience. Drawing on ideas common to both hermeneutic and pragmatic aesthetics, it examines forms of collaboration involving those who create, perform, and listen to music. A new interpretation of the Orpheus myth suggests a model for thinking about creative interactions where composer and performer adopt each other's perspectives. This imaginative transfer of self--the Orphic I--has significant implications, both for the listener's perception of authenticity in musical performance, and for the interactions of performers within a musical ensemble. Empathy and entrainment emerge as seminal animating forces in group music-making, providing a non-verbal basis for ethical decision-making among group members.

This timely collection offers fresh perspectives to the analysis of the 'New Great Game' - the fight for access to the Caspian Sea region's energy resources. To date, the export of the Caspian crude oil and natural gas has only been assessed geopolitically, which oversimplifies the political dynamics of the region and neglects to acknowledge the Caspian countries as actors in their own right.

This anthology brings together scholarship in the field of Friendship Studies. In recent decades, friendship has been a site of analysis for understanding the connections between people and groups, and as a fabric for holding the political and social together. Starting with the theoretical debates about how to conceptualize friendship as a political idea, the anthology then looks at friendship's relationship with justice, the state, and civic relations. The collection presents cutting-edge research which moves the theorization of friendship beyond western confines to consider the themes in cross-cultural and decolonized contexts.

This book views the Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity, from a broad systemic perspective, as an ongoing process in which societal, economic, political, and institutional developments are intertwined. The Euromaidan and further developments, especially the Russian aggression, accelerated the westward reorientation of the economy, strengthened institutional checks and balances (for instance, through decentralization), changed the main social cleavage from an ethnolinguistic one to a division between urban creative and "oligarchic" classes, reshaped identity towards formation of a political nation, and increased the role of modernizing forces, especially civil society. However, so far, the Revolution has failed to bring about, despite some progress, a critical mass of changes regarding the rule of law while much of the economy remains rent-oriented. If modernizing forces are prudently managed, Ukraine has a chance to move forward on an evolutionary path. Otherwise, new conflicts are possible.

Die Studie von Marina Denisova widmet sich der Kohärenz von (Teil-)- Sätzen in einem komplexen sprachlichen Ausdruck und einem sie verknüpfenden Konnektor. Das sind vor allem die Satzkomplexe mit dem dt. weil-V-2, sonst und dem ru. a ¿¿ sowie mit anderen, weil-V-2, sonst und a ¿¿ nahe stehenden Konnektoren der gesprochenen und zum Teil auch der geschriebenen Sprache. Der Untersuchungsgegenstand ergibt sich daraus, dass zwei unterschiedliche deutsche Konnektoren (weil-V-2 und sonst) in einem russischen Konnektor (a ¿¿) zusammentreffen (können). Die vorliegende Arbeit ist aber viel mehr als nur eine sprachvergleichende funktionale Beschreibung der deutschen und russischen Konnektoren. Dadurch dass das ¿ ¿¿ der direkten und der (rückwirkend) alternativen Motivation (ru. ¿ ¿¿) als ¿ ¿¿ "weil" und ¿ ¿¿ "sonst" auftreten kann, erweist sich das Ineinandergreifen von Kausalität, Konditionalität und Konklusivität (sowie anderen verwandten Kategorien) als zentral. Vor dem Hintergrund von weil-V-2, sonst und a ¿¿ behandelt Marina Denisova auch einige Phänomene der gesprochenen Sprache und den Sprachwandel. So leistet die Autorin nicht nur einen wichtigen Beitrag zur Erforschung von einschlägigen Phänomenen, sondern legt auch praxisorientierte, auf den Fremdsprachenunterricht und die Übersetzungswissenschaft anwendbare Erkenntnisse vor.

Die Verbesserung des gesundheitlichen Verbraucherschutzes in Bezug auf die Lebensmittelsicherheit ist - auch aufgrund zahlreicher Lebensmittelskandale der jüngeren Vergangenheit - derzeit hochaktuell. In der vorliegenden Studie wird mit der Analyse der Fusarium-Mykotoxin-Problematik (¿Schimmelpilze") ein in der Öffentlichkeit bislang eher unbekanntes Thema aufgegriffen, dem jedoch von Expertenseite eine hohe Bedeutung beigemessen wird. Dies beruht einerseits auf der starken Zunahme der Fusarium-Problematik in jüngerer Vergangenheit, andererseits auf der Tatsache, dass Fusarium-Mykotoxine insbesondere in Lebensmitteln auf Weizenbasis und somit einer Vielzahl wichtiger Grundnahrungsmittel enthalten sind. Mykotoxine wirken bereits in sehr geringen Konzentrationen toxisch auf Menschen und Tiere. Die Gesundheitsrisiken des in dieser Arbeit schwerpunktmäßig behandelten Fusarium-Leittoxins Deoxynivalenol werden dabei insbesondere in seinen Auswirkungen auf das Immunsystem gesehen. Katharina Raupach erarbeitet auf der Basis von Laien- und Expertenbefragungen die derzeitige Risikowahrnehmung von Mykotoxinen sowie die jeweiligen Prioritäten hinsichtlich Regulierung und Management der Mykotoxinproblematik und stellt die Ergebnisse nachvollziehbar aufbereitet dar. Insbesondere die Entwicklung effektiver Risikomanagementoptionen zur Verbesserung des gesundheitlichen Verbraucherschutzes steht dabei im Fokus. Raupach zeigt, dass die Anwendung wissenschaftlich fundierter Risikokonzepte mit entsprechender Evaluation auf der Basis von Expertenmeinungen einen Beitrag zum effektiven Umgang mit der Problematik liefern kann. Hierfür wurde insbesondere das vom Wissenschaftlichen Beirat der Bundesregierung Globale Umweltveränderungen (WBGU) im Rahmen des Jahresgutachtens 1998 entwickelte Risiko-Konzept als Basis genutzt.