As an interdisciplinary field of scholarship, transitional justice is still in its pre-theoretical stage, focusing mainly on the case and comparative studies, supported by general considerations concerning justice in the times of transition. To entrench the field as a distinct area of studies, a theory of transitional justice needs to be formulated. The article explores the possibility of making a step towards such a theoretical basis with the use of the tools of analytical philosophy, methodology and legal theory. First, drawing on Leszek Nowak’s procedure of idealisation, three basic models of responses to a painful past are formulated. Then, distinct transitional justice values are attributed to each of the models. Finally, with the use of Jerzy Kmita’s concept of humanistic interpretation, the article seeks to conceptualize the way in which these values – among other factors, such as the need to uphold the rule of law or to preserve the stability of a democratic system – influence the choice of a model of transitional justice response. Thus, the aim of the presented models – which I described in more detail elsewhere (Krotoszyński 2017) – is to provide a sound theoretical basis for some of the fundamental claims formulated in the field of transitional justice.

Recognition that societies will not be able to build a future as long as they do not face the ‘demons of the past’ has become a kind of universal truth over the last decades of the 20th Century (Gibney et al., 2008, p. 1). This view, though challenging and ambiguous, is reflected in the globally present attempts to improve or rebuild relations within and between different communities at the domestic and international level. The question concerning, on the one hand, the essence and most essential elements and, on the other hand, the instruments and the limitations of rebuilding relations, as well as the political implications of those processes have become the broad area of interest and the discourse leading to significantly different ideas and solutions. The article aims at presenting different approaches referring to dealing with the conflicted and traumatized past both at the domestic and international level. Some selected instruments and methods which enable movement from a divided past towards a common future are discussed namely the strategy of engagement with the past versus the strategy of avoidance of the past. The special attention is paid to the notion of reconciliation understood as a process of rebuilding of relations through the multi-dimensional transformation of former adversaries after the period of violence and repression.

The main aim of the paper is to analyse the potential transitional justice mechanisms, directed at reintegration of Donbas, a territory temporarily occupied by pro-Russian separatists, being under the combination of a direct and indirect control of Kremlin, with Ukraine. In the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity and a remove of ex-President Viktor Yanukovych as a consequence of Euromaidan protests held in Kyiv, in the Winter 2013/14, Ukraine became a state involved in the international armed conflict covering its Eastern provinces as a result of an external aggression of the Russian Federation. Furthermore, since early-2014, Moscow is continuously using pro-Russian militants to form and uphold unrecognised, de facto regimes of the so-called ‘Donetsk’ and ‘Luhansk People’s Republic(s)’ affecting the territorial integrity of the Ukrainian state. It is argued that Kyiv shall take into consideration some of the peace and restoration models applied in similar conflict or post-conflict environments, such as the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES) or the experience of numerous disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) programs, filled with the transitional justice component. Moreover, by emphasising the context of a military (semifrozen) conflict in Eastern Ukraine, the paper is going to shed more light on the possible application of transitional justice tool-kit in the ongoing conflicts scenarios and its potential contribution to the shift from a conflict to the postwar environment.

Transitional justice is resorted to within the framework of transition from armed conflict to peace and from authoritarian regimes to the democratic ones. To reach the aims of transitional justice and to better integrate the needs and perspectives of the indigenous peoples that very often are victims of serious human rights violations in the transitional context, as well as the colonisation context, indigenous instruments of justice may be utilised. As such they may be treated as complementary to other transitional justice mechanisms. The article aims to find a new perspective on the complementary role of the indigenous justice and the State justice systems within the framework of transitional justice as well as to take into account the indigenous peoples’ needs and customs. The overall aim of the paper is to answer the question whether it is desirable for such indigenous justice instruments to complement the State justice systems through a better integration of the needs and customs of indigenous peoples. In the concluding remarks, a model of complementarity model of transitional justice that includes indigenous instruments will be proposed.

Germany is an example of a country which has been implementing transitional justice for decades and is still active in this field. What is more, contemporary Germans have recently come to terms with their not-so-distant past and their negligence in this area by showing the falsehood, backwardness, and injustice as negative foundations of the young Federal Republic. This article evokes the person of Fritz Bauer, the prosecutor in the state of Hessen. His struggle for human dignity and the memory of his achievements after his death exemplify an accomplished case of transitional justice and the memory of it. During his lifetime he contributed to bringing to trial numerous Nazi criminals, even at the cost of habitual threats and disregard. Forgotten for a few decades, Bauer and his legacy have been recently rediscovered and studied. Eventually, Bauer became a movie character and was finally brought back to the collective memory of Germans. The belated, but a well-deserved wave of popularity of Fritz Bauer in the German culture memory proves that reflections on the transitional justice are still topical and important.

Nowadays, the common denominator of involvement of the EastCentral Europe in the international arena, and above all, the premise determining community of interest expressed in the European Union is the migration crisis. Despite the different circumstances of activity in the context of the migration crisis, states in the region express similar opinions on the consequences of immigration for security in the region. Above all, they emphasise the implications of immigration for the internal security of states. Given the complex nature of migration, this article focuses on the phenomenon of immigration in the EU, determining the causes of the escalation of the influx of immigrants and, above all, identifying the consequences for the security of states of East-Central Europe.

The article gives general characterisation of the ways in which these organizations use modern communication technologies. Currently, every major terrorist organisation maintain robust media wings, which focus on producing videos, publishing magazines and sharing them with the public via the Web. The empirical system of reference is based on the activity of al-Qaeda, her franchise AQAP (al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula) and ISIS (the so-called Islamic State). While analysing the media of terrorist organisations, the Lasswell model was applied. This formula is a standard research procedure used for investigating acts of communication by answering the questions: who, says what, in which channel, to whom, with what effect?. The author also present typology of videos produced by jihadist organisations, characterised the most important and active media actions of terrorist organisations and a typology of recipients of such messages. The article presents a number of reasons why the Internet has become such an important tool for terrorists.

Privatisation of security did not appear in the process of revolution. Under conditions of deepening international relations, as well as integration and globalisation processes, security of the state, as well as other entities, is subject to a number of dependencies. The article casts some doubt on how much states are prepared to take such actions, while not losing the attribute of monopoly on violence. Moreover, the article presents doubts about the ranks of modern armed forces. Private Military Firms (PMFs) are new actors the actions of which affect the security. The contemporary image of the PMF functioning is a phenomenon on a global scale. In the twenty-first century, small businesses can have a huge impact on the reality and international affairs. Leaving military firms without state control proves that they do not understand the dynamics, range, risks and challenges posed by cooperation with entities that are allowed to use force. Furthermore, despite devastating consequences that occurred during the state stabilisation operations, these firms continued to outsource services to contractors, while not creating any legal control over them.

In this research work, Author focus on the current analysis trends in foreign trade theory and policy. Accordance with the foreign trade policy theory further trade liberalisation and improved framework policies would increase trade and promote growth. It must be emphasized that openness to trade is associated with higher incomes and growth and there is the need for new approaches to trade cooperation in light of the forces that are currently re-shaping international business. What indicates the importance and innovativeness of the research is the presentation of the new models of the foreign trade policy and trade interests. First of all, it must underline that in the new theoretical terms in demand for trade policy very important is factor specificity. The low specificity of factors means that factor returns are equalized throughout a region’s economy. On the other hand, some factors are stuck in their present uses; therefore, factor returns are not equalized throughout a region’s economy but are industry specific. The main objective of the research task is to give a comprehensive analysis of current trends in foreign trade theory and policy and in particular models of foreign trade policy, trade interests indicated by export orientation and import sensitivity, foreign trade policy in different types of authoritarian regimes, protectionist pressures in different political system, the level of protectionist pressures, the tendencies to bilateralism in the foreign trade policy. It should be stressed that free trade in itself is not responsible for economic growth, but more significant are the determining macroeconomic stability and increasing investment.

In 2017 statistics showed that Chinese Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in Poland for 2016 amounted to a more than half of all Chinese FDI in Poland for the 2000–2016. Yet the overall amount of Chinese FDI remains modest in comparison with Western Europe or even with Hungary. Despite much proclaimed Sino-Polish rapprochement in 2015–2016 and high hopes for OBOR/BRI initiative in Poland, cooperation with China has not been a breakthrough for Poland in terms of economic results. There have not been ground-breaking Sino-Polish projects and Polish government’s desire to strengthen ties with China loosened in late 2016/early 2017 (though it may revive now).There are several reasons for that, from the perception of Poland as non-attractive for majority Chinese investments, via lack of overall Polish strategy of attracting these investors to discrepancies of economic interests between Poland and China.

The People’s Republic of China currently possesses the second biggest national economy in the world, smaller only to that of the United States. It is also a matter of time for China to become the greatest economic power, at least regarding share in aggregated global GDP and the sphere of international trade. Growing engagement of China in global economic development and its dependence on other participants of trade exchanges have made this country a  more ‘responsible shareholder’ of the international economic system. China has a  great development interest in upholding a  stable world economic situation, and especially in proper economic relations with the United States and the European Union, on whose markets its healthy development largely depends. Whether China will soon become a “mature, responsible and attractive superpower” depends to a significant degree not only on its efforts but also on proper relations with major trade and investment partners around the world. It seems that mutually beneficial economic relations between the PRC and the European Union (founded on mutually beneficial and strategic cooperation and not on serious and opaque competition) constitute one of the key factors determining this scenario’s validity. Unfortunately, for the time being, many problems arise in this relationship. They come from both sides requiring a proper diagnosis, as well as a scientific analysis including both assessment and prognosis. The presented scientific article tries to meet these expectations.

While the scope of the paper is to assess the actions undertaken by the European Union towards the FSU-CIS (the former Soviet Union, Commonwealth of Independent States) which was manifested through the Eastern Partnership Initiative in the years 2008–2014, the focus will be centred on theoretical concepts and their ‘explanatory power’ rather than actions undertaken by European or Russian decision makers. Taking that into the account, this essay will critically assess the explanatory power of the neorealist school of thought which although overtly criticized, still remains a viable tool in explaining the processes occurring in international relations.

In recent years, armed conflicts have changed in nature (civil war, ‘terrorism’) and the means used are increasingly technological (robotisation, cyberwar). Faced with these developments, some would claim International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is outdated. While these technological innovations present new challenges in the application of IHL, it still constitutes a relevant legal framework for armed conflicts and the conduct of hostilities. Indeed, the flexibility of IHL allows it to adapt to contemporary conflicts. Therefore, this shows that the statements about its obsolescence are primarily political in nature.

The author analyses the dynamics of the Polish party system in the light of the outcomes of the parliamentary elections in the Third Republic of Poland (since 1989). He exposes especially the last element of that evolution – the 2015 parliamentary election. It resulted in the victory of Law and Justice (PiS) party. For the first time in the history of democratic Poland, the victor was able to create a government without having to negotiate with coalition partners. The success of PiS seems to be a result of the combination of several factors. It would be mistaken to portray an emerging situation as a simple rightist win. PiS to some extent represents a social attitude, typical for the socialist (social-democratic) parties, with some part of the program including a populist message, but with the combination of a conservative approach to several issues and nationalistic stand on a perception of patriotic mood. The important meaning has a support of PiS by the Catholic Church, especially at the grass-roots level. The victory of PiS and forming of the majority government have an important meaning for the functioning of the political parties’ system in Poland. For the first time since 1989, there were not balancing of power situation which the coalition governments have brought about. The political parties, creating the opposition in parliament, must offer a new strategy of behaviour in such circumstances, especially dealing with challenging the PiS policy to compromise a democratic system based on the 1997 Constitution, e.g. division of power, position of the Constitutional Tribunal and functioning of the judiciary

Coal is the primary energy source affecting Poland’s energy security. It is because deposits of this raw material are available in Poland. Unlike natural gas or oil reserves, which are limited in the country. The high cost of extracting Polish coal in comparison with coal prices on the world market has made it necessary to adopt Polish mining to functioning in market economy conditions. The paper presents the evolution of Polish government policy towards the activity of coal mines in the years 1990–2015. This article aims to present government policy on restructuring coal mining after 2015 and showing its effects. The stages of consolidation of the power industry with the mining industry are shown. The above issues are presented in the context of the European Union’s energy and climate policy, paying particular attention to the share of renewable energy sources in the energy and fuel balance and the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.

In the very beginning of this particular paper, an author is trying to determine and describe who Millennials actually are. Then, the basis of Millennials definition is analysing corporation’s activity over the past years regarding this age group. The main goal of the thesis is to bring their specific futures out and describe what corporations on Polish job market are doing to encourage them to work in their offices. Especially in Poland within the last years, it is observed that big multinational companies are paying special attention to Millennials and trying to hire them before competitors will do so. As a part of this paper, an author will describe corporate politics and practices on Thomson Reuters and BNY Mellon examples. Within this work, an author is also discussing key features and differences between this generation and Millennials parent’s generation. Additionally, there is a reference to corporate social responsibility concept and work-life balance issues.

Conference Report: Workshop Power and Politics of Mundane Memories. Tracing, Templating and Transforming Everyday Life. London (March 24, 2017), King’s College London.

The Łódź PPSY International Seminar Transitional Justice: Between Redemption and Retribution. Łódź (June 6, 2017), University of Łódź, Professor Czesław Mojsiewicz International Cooperation Fund and the Editorial Board of the Polish Political Science Yearbook.

The 9th Conference of the Australia, New Zealand and Oceania Research Association Oceania – Centre of the Pacific Rim. Kraków, (October 21, 2017), The Institute of Middle and Far East Studies and the Australia, New Zealand and Oceania Research Association (ANZORA).

The paper is a methodological review essay of Michael Bernhard and Jan Kubik’s comparative study of politics of memory and commemoration in seventeen Central and Eastern European states twenty years after the fall of state socialism. The goal of the essay is to critically examine Bernhard and Kubik’s volume, with a particular focus on the comparative methods they applied to explain how some political and cultural factors at the time of the collapse of communism affected a memory regime in the post-communist democracies. This analysis critically examines four aspects of the study, being: the central theoretical assumptions and contribution in comparative and memory politics; case selection; methodology and data analysis; main findings. Each part includes a summary of the particular aspect of the book, the main strengths and weaknesses, and possible improvements. The review essay emphasis is particularly novel and innovative comparative methodology in studying politics of memory and its universality, suggesting, however, severe problems with a lack of clear and consistent discourse analysis methodology which could affect the quality of final results.

Review Essay: Michael Bernhard & Jan Kubik (Eds.), Twenty Years after Communism: The Politics of Memory and Commemoration. New York: Oxford University Press 2014 (pp. 384). ISBN 9780199375134. Price: £79.00.

Book Review: Adam Burgos, Political Philosophy and Political Action. Imperatives of Resistance. Rowman & Littlefield International: Lanham 2017 (pp. 211). ISBN 978–1-78660–009–7. Price: 39.95 USD.

Book Review: Wolfgang Sofsky, Ustrój terroru: obóz koncentracyjny. Warszawa: Żydowski Instytut Historyczny im. Emanuela Ringelbluma 2016 (pp. 383). ISBN 978–83–65254–21–4. Price: PLN 49.00.

Book Review: Heinz-Dietrich Fischer, Coverage of Political Occurrences in Asia. Pulitzer Prize Winning Articles, Cartoons and Photos. Berlin–Munster–Wien: LIT Verlag 2015 (pp. 234). ISBN 978–3-643–90592–5. Price: 89.90 EUR.

Book Review: Adam Wielomski, W poszukiwaniu Katechona: Teologia polityczna Carla Schmitta. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Von Borowiecky 2016 (pp. 472). ISBN: 978–83–60748–92–3. Price: PLN 54.90.

Book Review: Pierre Verluise, Geopolityka granic Wspólnoty Europejskiej. Toruń: Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek 2014 (pp. 211). ISBN 978–83–8019–016–0. Price: PLN 31.40.