Abstract ▼

The subject of this paper is the causes and consequences of the Ukrainian crisis. The armed conflict between the two Slavic peoples is a tragic epilogue of decades of processes in the relations between Russia and the United States. NATO\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s expansion to the east, despite the promises made, has permanently exacerbated the conflict between the two leading military powers. The aim of this research is to discover the essence and cause of the conflict that led to armed actions as well as the theoretical foundation of current geopolitical processes. The concepts of Western geopoliticians, contained in the works of Mackinder and Spikeman, offer an explanation of the ambitions and strategic goals of Anglo-Saxon geopolitics that have not changed since the 19th century. The basic hypothesis is that the long-term economic goals of the dominant geopolitical forces lie behind the Ukrainian crisis. The evolution of Ukraine\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s geopolitical position, which has been torn between East and West since independence, has been followed chronologically. The permanent deterioration of relations with Russia will eventually lead to an armed conflict. The consequences will be felt most by Ukraine but also by Russia, on which unprecedented sanctions have been imposed. However, there will also be consequences for the European Union, which is deprived of Russian energy and raw materials, world stability, and the overall world economy, which is significantly lowering growth rates. The solution to the deepest political, economic, and military crisis since the Second World War will be reached when the United States and Russia agree on it, with or without the participation of Ukraine.

Abstract ▼

The paper addresses the ongoing international health regime reform, which should end in 2024 with the adoption of a new pandemic treaty or a revision of existing international health regulations. This process has not gone too far in its current stage of development. However, there is certainly an agenda to centralise global health governance, which includes various public and private interests and actors. Using a structural-institutional approach, the author assesses the degree of development of transnational centralisation of the international health regime, focuses attention on its important agency, actors, and interests, and indicates omissions in terms of governmental accountability and human rights manifested in this process.

Abstract ▼

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump’s politics of unilateralism had cast a shadow on the global role and leadership of the US. The COVID-19 pandemic is the first global crisis since the Cold War in which the US has not led the global response. On the other hand, global actors, like China and Russia, have been using the pandemic as a strategic opportunity. Medical supply donations and vaccine diplomacy have become very important tools for China and Russia to improve their global role and influence. These states have enlarged their influence in the Balkans, Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific region and improved their position as global actors. The paper examines why the US lost its global role during the pandemic and what the Biden administration can do to regain global leadership. The author considers that Trump’s handling of the pandemic has created division and confusion rather than an effective strategy on a national and global level. The author concludes that embracing the multilateralism of the Biden administration is a necessary step forward. Rejoining the WHO, cooperating with COVAX and Gavi, and forming the Quad Vaccine Partnership may be the best strategies for the United States to reclaim its global role and leadership in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract ▼

The article is based on the doctoral dissertation: “International Development Aid as an Instrument for Achieving the Foreign Policy Objectives of France and Germany”. The main hypothesis of this article is that development aid is being used as an instrument for achieving foreign policy objectives and that it is, in this sense, primarily beneficial for donor countries. The article analyses the developmental inequality in the modern global capitalist order and the impact of corporations and development aid on the maintenance of such a system. The article focuses on two main EU member states: the Republic of France and the Federal Republic of Germany. By shifting the paradigm from the one in which less developed countries benefit the most from development aid policies to the one in which, in the long run, the countries that initiate these policies benefit the most, the article shows that larger and politically and economically more powerful countries use development aid policies to promote their own interests and achieve their foreign policy goals.