Floor-crossing: peculiar features of party switching in Ukraine

The paper considers the meaning of the term “floor-crossing”, its basic kinds, legislative regulation and features of party switching in Ukraine since its independence. It has been found out that crossing the floor, change of political orientations and, as a consequence, adjustment of pre-election promises, the reality the Ukrainian politician face. Floor crossing in the Ukrainian Parliament has become a phenomenon that altered coalitions, generated opportunism and political corruption. It has been established that in modern practice there are two possible ways of influencing the process of inter-party switching: a legislative ban or a purely formal condemnation of the deputy’s/party’s actions on the part of the electorate and party members. To reduce the number of switching between factions, Ukraine has a so-called imperative mandate (a special version of it). It applies only to the deputies who are elected from the lists of political parties. Consequently, the problem lies in the partial legislative regulation of the problem of “floor-crossing”, which should be enshrined in new regulations /normative acts/. This acquires particular significance in the context of Russian military aggression and possible subversive activity of pro-Russian politicians, whose activities should be ruled out by such legislative acts. Any attempts to discredit the country on the part of deputies, making advances to the aggressor, should have legal consequences and the possibility for the electorate to influence the politician being elected. It has been found that frequent party switching discredits electoral and parliamentary system and shows flaws in the selection of personalities and why they go into politics; in addition, it can also indicate the strength or weakness of political parties. It has been proven that excessive and nontransparent motivated floor-crossing of deputies is becoming rarer with each new convocation, indicating a positive trend in the qualitative selection of candidates for deputies among party members. The final consolidation of the proportional system with open lists in the Electoral Code and the legislative regulation of inter-party/inter-factional switching should be the basis of qualitative deputy composition and commitment to declared political ideas.

International scientific cooperation of Ukraine in the Antarctic

The article focuses on Ukraine’s international scientific cooperation in the Antarctic, which is part of the realization of Ukraine’s national interests in the region and the country’s Polar interests in general. The study makes an analysis of the main international treaties that create the legal field for international cooperation and form the basis of the Antarctic Treaty System. Author try to find out the state of adaptability of international legal norms that regulate international relations in Antarctic to Ukrainian legislation. The study shows the process of establishing Ukraine as a full-fledged subject of the International Antarctic community from obtaining its own Antarctic research station to acquiring the status of a Consultative Party with the opportunity to make decisions and accession to the main international organizations of the Antarctic Treaty. The research pays attention on the Great Britain’s role in this process. The article highlights that the galleries of corporation between Ukrainian scientists and foreign colleagues, in particular, participation in the international projects in the context of today’s challenges for Ukraine and the whole Antarctic Treaty System.

The fight against disinformation in the European Union, using the example of the war in Ukraine

Disinformation, meaning false information disseminated to mislead or deceive the audience, is gaining prominence in social and political life. This article aims to analyze the Russian disinformation narrative regarding the war in Ukraine and to present the European Union’s response to this false narrative. The study was carried out based on literature on the subject, source documents, and content posted on the EUdisinfo.eu. The analysis shows how dangerous the Russian disinformation narrative is for international relations and how important it is to constantly analyze content published on the Internet and expose irregularities.

Polish-Ukrainian cooperation in the field of education based on the example of cooperation between the Donbas State Pedagogical University and Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań

In the article, the author describes Polish-Ukrainian cooperation in the field of higher education through the prism of cooperation between the two universities, focusing on the years 2021–2024. Gives examples of implemented and planned activities, which are based on the comprehensive support of representatives of Ukrainian higher education. The article aims to acquaint the reader with the activity of the Polish university in the Ukrainian aspect and the scope of support for Ukrainian partner higher educational institutions.