Markets, countries and politics. Selected political and economic problems of the Middle East in the modern world

Control and access to resources and trade routes have always conditioned and determined the position of a given country on the world stage and its wealth. For many centuries, the Middle East region has been one of the most important regions in the world, both due to its geographical location, as a link between East and West, and natural resources available to individual countries. Despite the enormous diversity of Middle Eastern countries and the danger of over-generalization, it is worth looking at the whole area, which in the future may become an important center in the global economy and an important point of world politics.

Saudi Arabia: Stories of Selected Epidemics and Royal Prerogative in the Fight against Coronavirus

In the text, the author presents shows a short history of epidemics that took place in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and also discusses political decisions and a possible fight with epidemic of coronavirus. After analyzing the most important sources and information on the topic of coronavirus, the author proposes a thesis that Saudi Arabia is ready for an epidemic of coronavirus diseases.

A Concept of “Intermarium” in the Foreign Policy of Poland

The paper tackles the problem of the most important Polish geopolitical concept - “Intermarium” (“Międzymorze”). The attention was paid to the historical roots, the evolution in the mid-war period and after WWII. It also discusses the current state of this conception and its links with a project “Three seas’ initiative”, actively run by Polish authorities since 2016. The paper consists of four main chapters. It starts with presenting scientific roots of the “Intermarium”, that was developed at the beginning of the XX century by a famous geographer Eugeniusz Romer and included in Polish political discourse in the mid-war period. The “Inermarium” was planned to be an alliance of Central European countries to oppose the influences of stronger neighboring countries - the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. Then the paper discusses the concept of “ULB”, that in the period of “cold war” to some extend revived the concept of Intermarium”. Authors of the “ULB” Jerzy Giedroyc and Juliusz Mieroszewski paid particular attention to the reconciliation and mutual understanding among nations of Central and Eastern Europe. Consecutively, the paper discusses the current state of “Intermarium”. Under the national-conservative government of the Law and Justice Party, since 2016 this concept is for the first time in its history implemented as an official part of Poland’s foreign policy. However, there are significant changes in the concept, starting with its name - “Three seas initiative”, that refers to Baltic, Black and Adriatic Seas. Within the concept, Poland is strengthening relations with other countries of Central Europe. Therefore, it can be understood as a new “North-South” geopolitical axis, that, to some extent should replace an “East-West” geopolitical axis, that for ages has played a crucial role in Polish foreign policy. The final conclusion of the paper is that currently Poland’s geopolitical interests are evolving into the North-South axis and the Eastern direction is losing its previous importance. Nevertheless, the future success or failure of the implementation of the concept will depend on the involvement of other Central European countries as well as of the interests of external political actors (USA, Russia).

China as a Strategic Economic Partner in the Concepts of Russian Foreign Policy in the 2020s

The article presents an idea of the possible Russian - Chinese strategic economic partnership at the beginning of the 21st century. The author indicates the main factors influencing Russian Federation foreign policy towards China from the perspective of a neoclassical realism.The author stands that according to J. Rosenau, the main factors determining the Russian foreign policy are idiosyncratic and role. Then he analyses the Russian documents of foreign policy, economic data and geopolitical ideas. On that ground, he makes a simple analyse using the neoclassical realism model, that’s integrates Foreign Policy Analyse and International Relations Theory, joining independent and intervening variables, to support the article’s hypotheses. That hypotheses say that, firstly, The Peoples Republic of China (PRC) plays a role of diversification of Russia’s international economic ties; and secondly, The PRC status as a Russia’s strategic partner is at issue, despite the official declarations of both sides.

From Economic to Geopolitical Policy: The Middle East on the Silk Road

The article aims to present and evaluate the activities and politics of the People’s Republic of China in the Middle East, and to define its objectives through the Silk Project. It will provide an overview of the most important changes in the Chinese foreign and political policy, and the importance of the Middle East, particularly the Silk Road to China, and it will try to answer the following questions: How important is the Middle East for the Silk Road? Will the Chinese project bring stability to the region in light of the fierce competition between the great powers? The article adopted the hypothesis that China’s involvement in the Middle East will deepen the conflict between the countries of the region among themselves, and thus become a fertile ground for international conflicts to the international conflict.

Socio-political Reforms in Uzbekistan during the Presidency of Shavkat Mirziyoyev

The paper aims to present various aspects of the reform process initiated and implemented by Shavkhat Mirziyoyev, the president of the Republic of Uzbekistan, since 2016. The main subjects of consideration are vectors of political change in the spheres of institutions of political power, economy and foreign policy in the broader context of the legacy of the first president Islam Karimov’s reign and the heritage of the Soviet period. The fundamental reforms have embraced democratization of political system, fight against corruption, extension of civil rights and abandoning of isolationism in international relations, and are sometimes decribed as the „Uzbek Thaw”. However they seem to be very meaningful, one will be able to evaluate their significance for the statehood of the independent Uzbekistan only from the perspective of future decades.

Systemic Geopolitical Analysis in the research of power distribution in Eastern Europe

The article presents Systemic Geopolitical Analysis, which as a scientific method can be an important tool for studying the distribution of power in Eastern Europe, supporting the assumptions of structural realism with an element of quantitative research. This region, as a place where spheres of influence and the ensuing economic and potentially military conflicts meet, is an area where the knowledge of the most precise distribution of power may be a crucial element in the analysis of the genesis of conflicts, the shifts in power distribution during their course, as well as in the prediction of future flashpoints. Being the first attempt to correlate Systemic Geopolitical Analysis with the issue of conflicts in Eastern Europe, the paper contains a hypothesis that Systemic Geopolitical Analysis is a research method that enables an effective analysis of the geopolitical reality in the region because of: 1) the conflicts occurring in the system due to differences in power distribution; 2) the nature of the components of power, measurable by the means of Systemic Geopolitical Analysis. Confirming the above hypothesis, the article points to the economic aspect, linked to the Russian natural gas exports, and the military aspect, by taking into account the characteristics of contemporary tensions in the region, which reduce the role of supra-systemic reserves.

The role of Kaliningrad Region in Lithuanian-Russian relations after the dissolution of the Soviet Union

The process of dissolution of the Soviet Union has led not only to the geopolitical changes in Europe and in the world, but also to the fact that the issue of the Kaliningrad Region became the subject of interest from Baltic states. The Russian exclave has been the subject of debate and political controversy both in Russia and in Lithuania. Initially it was a result of the militarization of Kaliningrad Region and speculation regarding the change in its status. Later, the issue of Kaliningrad Region appeared primarily in the context of the enlargement of the European Union to the east. The importance of the Russian enclave for Lithuania should be considered not only in terms of geopolitical location, but mainly in the context of political, economic and military conditions.

The conducted research indicates the elements characteristic of power relations among states in Eastern Europe by describing them in mathematical terms. Using existing assumptions and resulting universal powermetric models, the study adapts them to the specifics of the region, enabling the implementation of the negative role of the imports of Russian energy resources in calculating the power of individual states. The role of trade links based on the two main energy resources – natural gas and crude oil – has been indicated. Imports of these raw materials from Russia, which constitute a significant part of the balance of resources used in the energy sectors of the importing countries, are the source of reduction of the geopolitical position of these states in the region, in relation to the position held by the Russian Federation. By taking into account the negative impact of trade in energy resources due to their use by the Russian Federation as a tool in achieving geostrategic goals, the conclusions obtained in the study allow for an increase in the accuracy of existing powermetric models in research on power distribution in Eastern Europe.

Geopolitical Importance of the Intermarium in Polish-Turkish Relations

Currently, the Republic of Türkiye increasingly claims to be a regional leader and simultaneously tries to strengthen its influence on world politics using its advantageous geopolitical position at the crossroads of important international roads. For historical reasons, Poland occupies a unique place on the map of Europe. It is a regional centre of political contacts, a state integrating with the West and open to cooperation with the East, and having a real opportunity to modify these relations precisely because of its geopolitical potential. Türkiye and Poland remain hostages of geopolitics and history in their respective regions. It is also evidenced by the activity, goals, and interests of the foreign policy pursued by these countries. Nevertheless, one of the current geopolitical projects implemented by Poland in Europe is the “Intermarium”. It is a bloc of anti-Russian states in the area from the Baltic to the Black Sea. In front of this reality, it is substantial to pose the following question: Why does Türkiye need the Intermarium bloc? Although Türkiye does not officially appear to be in this union, it is certain that it is in a state of cooperation. Türkiye is trying to establish a South-North economic-military axis in the Black Sea-Baltic region. Parallelly, Ankara sells weapons, such as Bayraktar TB2 attack UAVs, to Poland and Ukraine. Also, Türkiye signs military agreements with these countries. The study analyses the improvement of the Polish geopolitical idea of Intermarium. Furthermore, it deals with the role that Türkiye will play in the Intermarium project.