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.

The Russian National Security Strategy of 2015 aims at achieving autarky from Western influences on global security, the rule of law and global trade. Russia aims at attaining this by applying a holistic mix of military, political and economic means to weaken the West and to strengthen its own role as a global player. The Russian approach builds on a strategy of reflexive control which as such is an old method, but the outcome of the application of this approach results in hybrid warfare which as such is a new emerging concept of warfighting. This short article looks at one particular aspect of this Russian strategy, namely using Hybrid, or non-linear, Warfare against its Western direct neighbours in particular and the West in general. We will discuss the underlying cultural logic in Russia’s actions and will reflect on the impact of Russia’s utilization of the existing cultural asymmetry as a form of warfare in regard to the West. The examples used in this text are taken from the context of the conflicts of Ukraine and Syria, but have to be seen as constituting a part of an on-going global conflict aimed at NATO and the EU. The text builds on years of research within the hybrid threat, warfare respectively, context by both authors. 

The paper aims to analyse how information warfare can be conducted in cyberspace and to look at this issue from the perspective of Central and Eastern European Countries. It argues that this form of hostile actions will be increasingly utilized in the region. The main assumption, following Alvin Toffler’s theory, is that “information” – as an increasingly important element of modern societies and as their strategic resource – also serves as a significant tool of modern conflicts. Since information is nowadays strongly related to new technologies, mainly the aspects connected to cybersecurity are analysed. The article looks closer at different aspects of cyberthreats and explains their possible consequences. It may serve as good material for further research and recommendations on countermeasures that may increase security in Europe. 

Author analyzed the programs of all Czech political parties which have their representatives in the Chamber of Deputies in the parliamentary term 2013–2017, assuming that political programs are a reflection of the public discourse, and of the public eye. Security is one of the most important categories in the programs of Czech political parties, in some literally the most important, however, this importance is determined through quantitative, not qualitative, perspective. Diagnosis and solutions are similar in all cases, what allows to conclude that security is not a factor differentiating the Czech political scene. 

The current EU migration and asylum policy crisis has been perceived to constitute one of the most serious challenges for European security. The attitude of fear and reluctance towards admission of cultural others (including: refugees, asylum seekers and the immigrants) has been particularly visible in the V4 countries. The aim of this paper is therefore to examine the grounds of such a position with reference to general European tendencies as well as specific features of attitudes of Poland and Slovakia as the representatives of V4 countries in the light of their particular economic and social situation. Due to volume limitations the author will focus mainly on the two presented States. The decision regarding choice of Poland arises from the fact that as the only V4 State it has voted in favour of the mandatory quota of relocation of 120.000 refugees. Instead Slovakia constitutes the most vivid example pro-European parties changing rhetoric for more national which is quite transparent for the V4 countries. The whole analysis has been conducted in the specific context of relocation of the symbolic division of Europe an replacement of ideological Iron Curtain with cultural Velvet Curtain which leads to the phenomenon of culturalisation. 

The national security strategy adopted in 2007 provided a detailed definition of security and identified its threats. The key threat to the Armenian state was considered to be the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The document indicated the Collective Security Treaty Organisation main guarantor of security, with Russia being Armenia’s main partner in bilateral relations. The second position in the strategy was assigned to cooperation with the NATO and the OSCE. One of the priorities identified was to intensify the economic and trade connections with the European Union and participation in the European Neighbourhood Policy as a step towards integration with European structures. As to bilateral relations, the most significant were Armenia’s contacts with Georgia and Iran. If we compare the assumptions of the strategy with the policy pursued by Armenia after 2007, it is clear that the measures taken are in line with the provisions of the document. By the end of 2016, the most serious threat to Armenia – the Nagorno-Karabakh issue – remained unresolved. Russia reinforced its position as Armenia’s strategic ally. The talks conducted between Armenia and the NATO are of little significance in view of the obligations assumed by Armenia. The same goes for the talks with the European Union after Armenia’s withdrawal from signing the association agreement, accession to the Eurasian Economic Union on 01 January 2015 and signing bilateral agreements with the Russian Federation. 

This paper aims to explain that the stable situation of Belarus is important for Western Europe and why any fluctuations may present a challenge for European integrity and stability. Belarus, since the beginning of its independence in 1991 seems to show a great willingness to cooperate closely with Russia, claiming Western Europe and NATO as a potential enemy. In reality, the Belarusian position is much more complicated and ambiguous. Despite it’s close military cooperation with Russia, different tensions between Minsk and Moscow regularly happen and Belarusian authorities are still looking for new foreign partners and new energy suppliers (what was clearly visible in the last months of 2016 and the first period of 2017). Russia, old Belarusian partner, may actually even pose a threat for Belarus, so the country’s authorities have a hard challenge to maintain its stability. Western countries may be open for a new chapter of cooperation with Minsk but any rapid changes in Belarusian foreign preferences may result in unpredictable results and Moscow reaction that – in turn – would be very challenging for the whole European stability and security. 

The aim of the article is to examine whether Nordic area can be regarded as a homogenous and successfully cooperating region, which is providing one unified political front. Considering many similarities between Nordic states, as for example shared values (equality, women rights, common love of democracy, peace and welfare state), one could say that Nordic states constitute a single and unitary area. What is more, the linguistic, cultural and historical closeness of those states is a fact, but at the same time many differences can be pointed, especially considering their security and foreign policies. Those aspects seem to be the main obstacle in introducing full cooperation in the region. Nevertheless, it is worth noticing that current international developments and appearance of new threats to security are influencing the Nordic states which, as a result, are changing their attitudes towards security policy. Those factors could lead to introducing new dimensions of their cooperation. 

The Amsterdam Treaty has established the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (AFSJ). Since then, it is an example of a policy-making area creating its way quickly and comprehensively. However, in this paper the main dilemma is to what extent the Schengen development has modified the framework of AFSJ and how it adapts in this policy while being an example of enhanced cooperation and differentiated integration model. Developments in this area are part of a realisation that European states need to act together to better face new challenges to peace and internal security, while ensuring respect for democracy and human rights. It is important to add, that cooperation in the Area of Freedom Security and Justice has been driven by forces different from that seen in other policy areas.

China is a country that has been using sport in order to reach political goals for many years. Lately such political exploitation of sport is directed at shaping the desirable international image of this country. This is done most of all through hosting sports events, but also through sports victories. The last aspect is the subject of this research. The aim of the article is therefore to investigate the issue of utilization of performance in international sport in order to enhance international image of a China. The research presented in the article is a case study concerning sport as a tool of nation-branding. Its main objective is to analyse motivation of China’s decision-makers to use sports performance in order to enhance the country’s international perception, and to observe how this goals is executed. The main hypothesis to be tested states that China perceives sports performance as an important tool of enhancing its international image. 

The paper aims to introduce the concept of constitutional liability of the President, and the institutions of the President’s constitutional liability. The author presents the liability and its relations with other types of head of state’s liabilities. The presented analysis includes all European countries. 

The aim of this study is to demonstrate the validity of the thesis that in Indonesia one can find institutions that characterize two power-sharing models which are considered opposites of one another in political theory – centripetalism and consociationalism. In consequence, the Indonesian power-sharing system should be viewed as a hybrid, or mixed, system, and not a typically centripetal system as is usually the case in the literature. At the beginning of this article, a short analysis of Indonesia's political situation is given for the purpose of defining the factors which determined the introduction of inter-segmental power-sharing solutions in that country. This is followed by a description of the specificity of consociationalism and centripetalism. The article goes on to discuss specific institutions of both power-sharing models which exist in Indonesia and ends with some concluding remarks on the thesis advanced at the outset. 

Nowadays peace became scarce. Expanding conflicts, terrorist attacks and the uncertainty so common to today's times put in question the value that was won after many years of war. The Constitution is free from regulations treating directly about peace. There are only few references to it. Perhaps, peace is a luxury for which we have to fight, and neither a right that must be protected nor freedom which we can/should use. Maybe it is not supposed to be talked about the right to peace, but about some kind of a privilege. Therefore, it would be necessary to admit, that there is a mistake done already in the subject of this paper. This area seems also to be interesting especially, when moving the optics and focusing on the actions and declarations of heads of states while implementing the common political objectives that are at odds with objectives of other/opposite countries. The word war is used like a substitute for terms ‘peace, freedom and prosperity’, or even worse, like a way to it. 

The paper investigates legal funding of the right to petition in Poland. It starts from a comparative background and it introduces the institution in a wider context, as a transparent and accessible for citizens legal solution, that has become an essential instrument of contemporary direct democracy and civic society. The author discusses regulations of the 2014 Acts on Petitions with reference to the Constitution of Poland and organisation of the Sejm and the Senate proceedings. Moreover, the study has placed the right to petition in a fieldwork of Polish system of human rights protection and Polish legal system in general. Finally, the paper presents results of opinion polls on direct democracy and civic engagement in Poland to discuss them with reference to previously presented construction of the right to petition as a legal institution. The author concludes with a relevant question on its further development in times of deep polarisation of Polish politics and during the Constitutional Crisis in the county. 

This article deals with public, political discourse over One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative in Poland. OBOR has recently become very popular in Poland as it encapsulates the noticeable fascination on China and on geopolitics among parts of Polish society. This article describes this phenomenon and delaminates the mainstream political discourse over OBOR into two main strands: great geopolitical and/or geoeconomic chance (pro-OBOR discourse) and security threat (anti-OBOR). The advocates of the former see the project as a great geopolitical and economic opportunity for Poland; the supporters of the latter find it a threat to Polish security and/or economic interests. This discourse echoes internal divisions within current Polish government on its China policy and can be observed against the background of China’s dynamic enter to Central and Eastern Europe, particularly to Czech Republic, Hungary and Serbia. 

There has been an increased interest in the field of informational and psychological warfare conducted by the Russian Federation directed at Western countries and their allies following the intensification of the conflict in Ukraine. The most visible example of this are the activities in the field of propaganda, disinformation and psychological operations accompanied the annexation of the Crimea and manipulate the American public during the presidential election in 2016. Trolling as one of using tools of such activity is a highly visible manifestation in which users or automatic comment generation programs manipulate online discussions. This phenomenon is visible and widely discussed in the media discourse. Efforts are being made to develop academically rigorous systems of identification and description. This paper presents the results and main conclusions reached through the application of the author’s method of analysing key words supported by corpus-based analysis in exploring this phenomenon. 

Midrash, a Polish social and cultural profile magazine (published since April 1997), is a monthly journal that is a representative of the so-called ‘minor press’. The magazine is connected with the Midrash Library publishing house. Its founder was Konstanty Gebert and the current editor is Piotr Paziński. The articles of Midrash magazine give answers to such questions as: How are women described and treated in modern patriarchal Judaism culture? In what context is it possible to talk about issues connected with women and Zionism. Midrash magazine also deals with a positive interpretation and presentation of women via the multitude of interviews and articles concerning strong, talented, and determined women. Despite their hard lives these women were and are able to create successful careers and wonderful families. Their voices are an important element in discussions that refer to culture, faith, and historical heritage. The image of the woman as presented by Midrash will be confronted with the cultural recognition of the woman in the Jewish community. This article will use quantitative analysis (the linguistic method and literature studies) with help from the qualitative case study research method. 

The paper is presenting the examination of the cyberwarfare phenomenon in its legal context. The cyberattacks are increasingly effective measures of modern combat and would probably become the most crucial dimension of forthcoming armed conflict. The role of the international humanitarian law is to determine whenever the cyberattack is reaching the threshold of an armed conflict. The aim of the article is to present the existing framework of ius in bello in terms of its temporal scope of applicability, especially in the light of the Tallinn Manual on the International Law Applicable to Cyber Warfare. It supported conclusion that the international law requires an revision of the armed conflict definition to sufficiently addressed the challenges arising from growing cyber activity. 

After 2008, European governments undertook austerity measures to come out of the global financial crisis. The policies were imposed to reduce the states’ debts and deficits, increase their economic competitiveness, and restore business confidence. Inevitably, the results of their implementation were socially noticeable and triggered the occurrence of new social movements which became a powerful player on a political scene. In some states, the stakeholders of anti-austerity movements used physical political violence while in the other they settled for mental. The article introduces findings of the comparative study on the relationships between patterns of culture of political violence and intrastate, regional, and colonial explaining factors. By applying statistical analysis, it tests empirically Negussay Ayele’s explanatory model of militant culture of political violence for a theory-verification purpose. As a result, it makes a contribution to the structure of explanation encompassing the particular configurations of indicators. 

Remembrance is a powerful instrument of social mobilisation, identity construction and political competition. Its impact on individual and shared beliefs or attitudes makes it an object of government’s interest, because remembrance can be used to legitimise ideologies or policies. Theoretical considerations of a government’s role as a narrator lead us to the general definition of the government’s remembrance policy, which we understand as a complex of narratives and interpretations presented to influence citizens’ attitudes, behaviours, beliefs and identities. The paper develops the definition with five theoretical hypotheses on the effectiveness of remembrance narratives. It argues that the government’s remembrance policy is myth-motoric, non-scientific, emotional, based on commitment and that it is a type of social influence. The study is an initial verification of theoretical approach, and I believe that my arguments will motivate other researchers to investigate different aspects of a government’s desire to narrate past events. 

During the codification of the new Hungarian Criminal Code, the Hungarian Legislator passed amendment of several criminal offences. Among other criminal offences, this rethinking concerned the regulation of acts of terrorism. The number of terrorist offences relating to illegal migration has increased in the past few years in the territory of the European Union, therefore the attitude of the Member States – including Hungary, as well – has changed with reference to the statutory definition of the acts of terrorism. The connection between irregular border crossings and terrorism was recognized by the European Union. Terrorist offences have proved the vulnerability of the European Union and the democratic, rule-of-law States. Furthermore, the last few years have also clearly proved that Europe cannot cope with the influx of refugees set out for the Western Europe from various parts of the world. In this respect, illegal migration cannot be only a tool, but also a catalyst for terrorist offences. It means that case conflicts and violent affairs are caused by the migration, and the illegal entry and the integration of terrorists are supported by migratory networks at the same time. In 2015 and 2016, the European Union experienced a massive number of casualties caused by terrorist attacks. The most affected Member State was France. It had to cope with attacks which caused 148 citizens’ death and more than 350 people injured only in January and November 2015 (TE-SAT 2016, p. 5.). For the abovementioned recognition, many regulations (included but not limited to the Fundamental Law of Hungary, the Hungarian Criminal Code and the Act on Criminal Procedure) were passed in 2016 by the Hungarian legislator in order to stop illegal migration and to strengthen the fight against the new forms of terrorism. In the context of the present paper, the Act LXIX of 2016, which came into force on 17 July 2016, is of importance. Not only the General Part, but also the Special Part of the Hungarian Criminal Code was amended by the above Act. However, many new rules may be challenged from the perspective of the rule of law and the European commitments of Hungary. The aim of the paper is to describe the new regulations regarding the Hungarian statutory definition of acts of terrorism, and to analyse them within the Hungarian criminal legal frame and the abovementioned European requirements. Therefore, the characteristic of the paper will be the analytical method with the aim of creating de lege ferenda proposals for the Hungarian legislator, as well. In our paper, we are going to deal with the new European directive, as well, which will replace the Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA and will amend the Council Decision 2005/671/JHA from 20 April 2017. 

The report presents theoretical framework of relationships between terrorist organisations and media, and it describes them as an interactive modelling of a message. It introduces the concept of mediatisation of terrorism, and it offers a definition of this process. Moreover, the report develops it with six theoretical hypotheses related to: influence of media on selection of terrorists’ targets, adaptation of an act of terror to the ‘logic of media communication’, personalisation of terrorism and celebritisation of terrorists, creation of biased and oversimplified stereotypes, transformation of terrorist objectives into catch-phrases, as well as a role of political violence in agenda-setting of main news broadcasts. The presented concept will be verified in the ongoing comprehensive, quantitative-and-qualitative study on mediatisation of terrorism in American television, that will investigate the process between September 11, 2001 and the Boston Marathon Bombing in 2013. 

The 9^th International Conference of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland Systems of Protection of Human Rights in Europe and in Australia & Oceania. Warsaw, (April 24-25, 2017), Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce and the Polish Parliamentary Association. 

Book Review: Agnieszka Bień-Kacała, Jiři Jirásek, Lubor Cibulka, Timea Drinoczi (Eds.), Kategorie bezpieczeństwa w regulacjach konstytucyjnych i praktyce ustrojowej państw Grupy Wyszehradzkiej. Toruń: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika 2016. (pp. 397). ISBN 978-83-231-3538-8.Price: PLN 42.00. 

Book Review: Zbigniew Ścibiorek & Zenon Zamiar (Eds.), Teoretyczne i metodologiczne podstawy problemów z zakresu bezpieczeństwa: Podręcznik akademicki. Toruń: Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek 2016 (pp. 346). ISBN: 978-83-8019-455-7. Price: PLN 38.64. 

Book Review: Marc Goodman, Zbrodnie przyszłości. Jak cyberprzestępcy, korporacje i państwa mogą używać technologii przeciwko Tobie. Gliwice: Helion, (pp. 504). ISBN: 978-83-283-1729-1. Price: 49.99 PLN. 

Book Review: Uri J. Huppert, Izrael w cieniu fundamentalizmów. Toruń: Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek 2016 (pp.230). ISBN 978-83-8019-497-7. Price: 33.81. 

Book Review: Beata Klocek di Biasio, Bohdan Michalski & Felix Münch (Eds.), What Europeanness Means Today. Toruń: Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek 2015 (pp. 235). ISBN 978-83-8019-003-0. Price: PLN 33.81. 

Book Review: Maria Pierzchała, Dyplomacja od podstaw w opowieściach ekspertów. Toruń: Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek 2016 (pp. 205). ISBN 978-83-8019-308-6. Price: 27.00 PLN. 

Book Review: Jerzy Kornaś & Łukasz Danel, Polski system polityczny z perspektywy 25 lat. Wybrane problemy. Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, Torun 2015 (pp. 222). ISBN: 978-83-8019-331-4. Price: 30,19 PLN. 

Book Review: Mirosław Matyja, Dysfunkcjonalność szwajcarskiej demokracji bezpośredniej. Toruń: Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek 2016 (pp. 212). ISBN 978-83-8019-494-6. Price: 31,14 PLN.