Montenegro,NATO and the divided society

In this paper we are investigating the political and social effects of Montenegro joining NATO. This issue is highly controversial and follows the political divisions in Montenegro, which motivated us to apply social cleavage theory. As method, we applied logistic regression clustered for standard error. We found that besides socio-demographic variables (ethnic division between Montenegrins and Serbs), the main line of the cleavage indicated by support of, or opposition to NATO membership falls along the issues of the independence of Montenegro, its relationship with the EU vs. Russia, as well as the attitude toward political power and party identification.     

The Transformation of ‘Holiday’ in Post-Soviet Space: Celebrating Soviet Victory Day in Latvia

This article discusses the celebration in Latvia of the victory of the Soviet Union in World War II. Since the restoration of Latvia’s statehood, 9 May has not been an official holiday, but it has become—as ‘Victory Day’—the most important history-linked celebration for the Russian-speaking community in Latvia. The post-1991 history of ‘Victory Day’ makes it possible to track changes in: policies toward history and memory in Russia and Latvia; how political groups have used these celebrations to further their own agendas; and the organisation of events on public holidays.     

Exporting EU integrated border management beyond EU borders: modernization and institutional transformation in exchange for more mobility?

The external dimension of European Union (EU) border management cooperation has recently been developed, in particular through the promotion of integrated border management (IBM). The European Commission has been keen to foster IBM, an attempt to reach EU standards in the absence of an EU common border service. Integrated border management is regulated under the Treaty of Lisbon, and the Stockholm Programme calls for its further development. This article analyses and compares the policy instruments promoting IBM standards beyond EU borders, namely the European Agency for Operational Cooperation at the External Border of the Member States of the EU (FRONTEX) (with the signature of Working Arrangements with the border services of third countries) and the activity of the EU Border Assistance Mission to the Republic of Moldova and to Ukraine (EUBAM) at the Ukrainian–Moldovan border. Moreover, it provides an empirical account of IBM activity carried out in the Eastern Partnership and Russia, and explains the reasons underlying the lack of IBM promotion in the southern Mediterranean countries.     

Families and households of the poor: The 19th-century Slovenian gostači

The present study examines the position of day laborers, a social category still awaiting comparative study by family historians. In 19th-century Slovenian sources these laborers, called gosta?i, were a very mobile group that did not own property; they could be married or single and could be involved in various occasional jobs, agricultural or industrial, skilled or unskilled. By comparing two communities (one agrarian, the other centered on iron production), the study shows that the living and working arrangements of gosta?i were profoundly affected by the economy and by natural resources. They therefore developed different residential patterns, though in neither case did their families constitute a part of the owner's sub-household in the Laslettian sense. The study concludes that in the 19th century this poor social group should not be treated as a homogenous workforce but as flexible and dynamic.     

Slovakia

European Journal of Political Research -     

Public perception of energy security in Lithuania: between material interest and energy independence

The issue of the energy security in social sciences research area is mostly prevalent in political sciences. The sociological research of the issues of energy is rather scarce. The reasons of the lack of concern about sociology of energy security could be related to the specific geopolitical context of post-Soviet states. The energy policy of new democratic post-Soviet states are pressed to reconstruct the entire energy system of former Soviet Union. This is not only technological or political, but maybe, first of all, social issue directly related to the consumption of users of gas and electricity and their prices. The societies and different social groups become an important social actors in the stressful energy policy. There is a lack of attention not only to social determinants of perception of energy security but also a lack of deeper analysis of public opinion in Lithuania. This article aims to improve our understanding of the Lithuanian public perception of energy security. This article focuses on two aspects: (a) An analysis of public opinion on the most important aspects of energy security and the social factors influencing them. The hypothesis is that public perception of energy security is related to value orientations. (b) An analysis of how public opinion on energy policy executed by the government and confidence in the government are intertwined with the concept of energy security.