The aim of this article is to explain current definition and application of punctuated equilibrium theory, which is as influential as any conceptual framework concerning policy process in political science, stimulating thought and research over the last two decades. Baumgartner and Jones borrowed the concept from studies of the evolution of species, but – as author shows – without operationalized definition, and turned it into a metaphor that can have mostly pedagogical use.
Author explains how punctuated equilibrium is useful for analyzing policy change in political systems other than the United States, but in the European political systems, political parties and their preferences must be taken into account. It is also presented how punctuated equilibrium is in fact a much-improved version of the incrementalism theory, rather than an application of biological insights to politics. Author differentiate successful application of the punctuated equilibrium in the description of the policy process from the explanation of Baumgartner and Jones about how those identified patterns in modern democracies were caused.

Migration processes in Sub-Saharan Africa

The peculiarities of migration flows in Sub-Saharan Africa, the appearance of conflicts and the process of their arrangement are described in the article. The author examines the main migration trends, reasons, directions, specific features of migration in this region, attempts to show the intercommunication between migration and conflict on the example of the region and determines the degree of mutual influence. The author focuses on the fact that Sub-Saharan Africa is a complex structural system consisting of politically independent elements that frequently interact according to the orderly process. The elements of the system such as states, IGOs, NGOs and politicians cooperate with each other in public relations, create its structure and strengthen the system’s integrity.