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This essay tries to place the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) within the context of China's experiences with Central Asia. I argue that while this emphasis on Central Asia is new, we see, too, that the SCO's attempt to project Central Asia as an area of prime concern in global politics reveals China's historic obsession with this “near other”. I trace this obsession with Central Asia to Chinese foreign policy from the Song through the Yuan (Mongol) and Ming periods. In its history, China has always played off its northern border -symbolised by the Great Wall - against the maritime border which is, by its very nature, fluid and expansive. The SCO actually reveals once again China's fear perception of its northern border. History and memory cast long shadows, even in strategic studies which deny long-term trends in history. How long before China starts a similar exercise for the Indian Ocean, an exercise for which Shanghai has a locational advantage?
Kléruchiák és határkövek
Az athéni külpolitika vallási aspektusai a Kr. e. V. században
Athén hódításaiból nemcsak az athéni polgárok, hanem maguk az istenek is profitáltak. A Kr. e. V. század során ugyanis Athén a meghódított, olykor kléruchiává szervezett területeken a konfiskált földekből az isteneknek is (Athéné, Apollón, Poseidón stb.) dedikált parcellákat. Erről számos esetben tanúskodnak az adott területen (Aigina, Chalkis, Samos, Kós) talált határkövek (horoi), amelyek jelzik, hogy a földterület az istenség szentélykörzetének a részét képezi, akár úgy is, mint mezőgazdasági művelés alá vont temenos. Ezeket a földbirtokokat gyakran bérbe adták, és a befolyt bérleti díjat az istenség kultuszhelyének a finanszírozására fordították. A tanulmány az athéni expanzív külpolitika ezen vallási aspektusait vizsgálja a rendelkezésre álló irodalmi és epigráfiai források tükrében.
This article would like to serve as an addition to the perceived historical picture of Hungary in the Anglo-Saxon world, relying on articles published in British but mainly in American daily newspapers and magazines in the 1920s and 1930s. While some of the articles were by Hungarian authors or authors with Hungarian origins, the majority was not and, so they give a good indication about the impressions that Anglo-Saxon peoples were both having and getting about Interwar Hungary. One can find voices from both the Left and Right of the political spectrum, positive and negative interpretations of Hungary alike in such well-known periodicals as The New Republic and Foreign Affairs, or lesser known outlets as The Living Age or Current History. In addition, the study invites the opinion of several American ministers who served in Hungary in the examined period. There unpublished opinions about their host country add further nuances to the picture of Hungary and Hungarians in American minds. These opinions together, ranging from domestic policies to the foreign policy issues that all sprang from the Paris peace treaties, also contributed to the larger understanding of Hungarian political and cultural issues. This picture is a colorful one, spanning from politics to economics, from cultural to psychological aspects.
For two decades Hungary, like the other Eastern European countries, followed a general policy of establishing and strengthening the institutions of democracy, rule of law, and a market economy based on private property. However, since the elections of 2010, when Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party came to power, Hungary has made a dramatic U-turn. This article investigates the different spheres of society: political institutions, the rule of law, and the influence of state and market on one another, as well as the world of ideology (education, science and art), and describes the U-turn’s implications for these fields and the effect it has on the life of people. It argues against the frequent misunderstandings in the interpretation and evaluation of the Hungarian situation, pointing out some typical intellectual fallacies. It draws attention to the dangers of strengthening nationalism, and to the ambivalence evident in Hungarian foreign policy, and looks into the relationship between Hungary and the Western world, particularly the European Union. Finally, it outlines the possible scenarios resulting from future developments in the Hungarian situation.
Political liberalisation in Jordan was launched as a regime survival strategy in 1989 by the late King Hussein. In spite of his efforts, 18 years later the Jordanian monarchy is considered as a semi-authoritarian system. This article explores the prospects for further political liberalisation under King Abdullah II, whose vision on the development of Jordan is full of enthusiasm. The author argues that Jordan is one of the most-advanced countries in the region in terms of political reform, but it has performed poorly in comparison to other developing states. King Abdullah promotes the “Jordan model” in order to win the support of the international audience: Western-oriented foreign policy, economic liberalisation allowing multinational companies to invest in Jordan, launching the Ministry of Political Development, and holding general elections in 2003. Political developments in Jordan echoed with the so-called “developmental state” paradigm, prioritising economic reform first, while postponing political transformation. National elections are expected to be held at the end of this year under a controversial election law. The recently passed political parties law is a proof of a de-liberalising monarchy, which is trying to preserve the loyalty of independent candidates, while marginalising the role of political parties. This paper deals with the external and the internal factors of political liberalisation in Jordan.
Beard, Ch. (1934): The Idea of National Interest: An Analytical Study in American Foreign Policy . New York: Macmillan, 1934. Beard Ch
The Treaty of Trianon was the peace settlement that the victors of World War I imposed on Hungary after the war. The treaty's severity was unprecedented in modern European history. By dismembering the multi-ethnic “historic Kingdom of Hungary” the treaty left Hungarians less than a third of their former territory and transferred 3.3 million of them to neighboring states. Not surprisingly, Trianon came as a shock to the Hungarian people and constituted an enduring blow to the Magyar national psyche. During the next quarter century, Hungarians were obsessed with the idea of reversing this dictum and the primary objective of their foreign policies was the creation of international conditions in which the revision of Trianon could become possible. For this purpose the regime in Budapest sought allies, as this aim could be attained only with outside help. By the first half of 1941 this search had led to Hungary's entanglement in an alliance with Nazi Germany. Once Hungary became a partner in the Nazi war, the danger emerged that if the country did not toe the German line, Hitler would reverse the frontier adjustments that he had rendered earlier in Hungary's favor. Already during the late summer of 1941 some of Hungary's statesmen realized that the Third Reich might not win the war, but their plans to limit their contribution to the Nazi war effort and to prepare for defection from the Axis were frustrated by the fear that, if they abandoned or weakened the alliance with Berlin, no more “lost” Hungarian lands could be regained and lands already recovered might be forfeited again.
. Åslund , A. ( 2013 ): Paul Krugman’s Blind Spot. Foreign Policy , November 8. Åslund , A. ( 2015 ): Revisiting the Latvian and Greek Financial Crises: The
Kosovo Crisis . London : Pluto Press . Herman , E. ( 1993 ): The Media’s Role in US Foreign Policy . Journal of International Affairs 47 ( 1 ): 23 – 45
Bűnügyi együttműködés a közel-keleti országokkal
International cooperation in criminal matters with Middle East and North African countries
Összefoglalás. A bűnügyi együttműködés joga jelentős fejlődésen ment keresztül az uniós tagállamok egymás közötti viszonyaiban az integráció utóbbi 25 évében. Legfőbb jellemzője e fejlődésnek az együttműködési formák „eljogiasodása” és formalizálása, valamint genuin, új uniós jogintézmények megszületése, amely a tagállamok kölcsönös bizalmán alapul. A közel-keleti országokkal való együttműködés szükségessége egyre nyilvánvalóbb, azonban az ezekre a viszonyokra vonatkozó jogszabályi háttér nem létezik, vagy legfeljebb minimális, ami az egyén – akit érinthet az államok közötti bűnügyi együttműködési eljárás – számára e lehető legnagyobb biztonsági kockázatot hordozza. A tanulmány feltérképezi azokat a hatásokat, amelyek az uniós fejlődésből a harmadik államokkal való együttműködésre vonatkoznak (extraterritoriális hatások), és kimutatja, hogy az uniós jog többletkövetelményeket támaszt a tagállamok felé még ilyen, az uniós jog hatálya alá (látszólag) nem tartozó kérdésekben. Kitér a munka arra is, hogy az Európa Tanács jogfejlesztő tevékenységének hol van a helye ezen a spektrumon, valamint arra is, hogy az ENSZ bűnözéskontroll egyezményei miként játszhatnak szerepet a jelen témakörben.
Summary. For centuries, the issue of judicial cooperation has been part of the foreign policy of the state as a means of promoting the political interests of the rulers (governments) and its actual judicial or legal content could not be identified. Cooperation between law enforcement and judicial authorities of different countries is therefore the oldest form of action against internationally ‘mobile’ offenders or crimes of transnational nature. The original aim was to prevent the perpetrator from escaping prosecution, and cooperation was therefore exercised against the interests of the person concerned. It was only in the second half of the 20th century that academia recognised that a person involved in extradition proceedings (and any other form of international criminal cooperation) may have individual rights and interests that are separate from those of the state. Thus, the individual (accused, victim, witness) emerges as a third actor in the context of cooperation between two states – based on international law and sovereignty – and, especially with the firm establishment of human rights protection regimes, also takes a place in these proceedings. Thus, international cooperation now involves three interests: the State requesting assistance, the State providing assistance and the person concerned. The law on cooperation in criminal matters has evolved considerably in the EU Member States’ relations with each other over the last 25 years of integration and pursues new paths that are completely divorced from traditional thinking as described above. The main feature of this development is the ‘juridification’ and formalisation of forms of cooperation and the emergence of genuine new EU legal institutions based on mutual trust between Member States. The need for cooperation with the countries of the Middle East and North Africa is becoming increasingly apparent, but the legal framework for these relations is non-existent or minimal at best, which poses the greatest possible security risk for the individual who may be affected by the inter-state cooperation procedures in criminal matters. The study explores the implications of EU developments for cooperation with third states (extraterritorial effects) and shows that EU law imposes additional requirements on Member States even in such matters as they can be covered by EU law. Accordingly, the inter-state horizontal impact of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the extraterritorial impact of EU crime control instruments and the explicit agreements on criminal cooperation are briefly discussed. The work also discusses the place of the Council of Europe’s law development activities in this spectrum: the European human rights protection, in particular with regard to extradition, entails additional requirements that Member States must comply with even when cooperating with a state outside the Council of Europe. Furthermore the role of the UN conventions on crime control is addressed by the study briefly.
