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On the Geopolitical Aspects
of the Conflict over Crimea
--Anton Bebler
Since 2014, a new ‘frozen’ conflict has appeared in Europe—a Ukrainian-Russian dispute over Crimea. It partly represented a delayed consequence of the Soviet model of ethno-federalism which greatly contributed to the breakdown of the Soviet Union in 1991. The annexation of Crimea by Russia poisoned its relations with Ukraine, worsened its relations with the West and has been followed by a war of mutual sanctions between USA, EU and Russia.
© 2017 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
India-Lithuania Cultural Interactions:
A Contemporary Perspective
--K B Usha
Lithuania established diplomatic relations with India in 1992 after regaining independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991. The Lithuanian political leadership endorsed that Indians and Lithuanians have similarities in culture, language, customs and ancestry while attempting to promote relations with India. The Indian leadership in the early twentieth century viewed Lithuania as a distinct cultural entity with linguistic and cultural traditions similar to that of India. It has also been observed in India that the Baltic states, including Lithuania, had a strong fascination towards India, which is the oldest among the world civilizations, under the influence of Europeans, especially Germans from classical antiquity. It is interesting to know that they had a very nostalgic and emotional feeling towards Indian people, religion, spirituality, language and culture. India remains predominantly a mystical, exotic cultural notion in the minds of people of Lithuania. Understanding about modern India is deficient among Lithuanians. In contemporary India-Lithuania relations, culture and past interactions are being used by both countries as an important foreign policy instrument for promoting bilateral cooperation and mutual understanding among people. Hence, this paper is a search for the possible interactions between Indians and Lithuanians in the past, which is almost an unfamiliar subject in India, with a contemporary perspective.
© 2017 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
The Rise of China and India-Japan
Strategic Partnership
--Syeeda Khatoon
India believes in the peaceful emergence of the Asian region, but China has not declared its clear vision about the region. In November 2013, China announced Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea over the Senkaku/Diayou Island, meaning thereby that any plane passing over the Island has to take the prior permission of Chinese authorities. Some of these assertive gestures by China impinge on India to search for new strategic partners at global level like USA and Australia and maintaining smooth relationship with old friend and ally Russia because of the rise of China as uncertain power, but simultaneously India also abstains from any grouping which is anti-China. India wanted to see the peaceful rise of China in the interest of the region and world at large. In the paper, an attempt has been made to explore the India global strategic partnership with special focus on India-Japan strategic partnership in the field of East Asian security, maritime security, energy, defence, space and cooperation at global forums. These two countries are emerging as good strategic partners at bilateral, regional, multilateral and global issues. To strengthen this strategic partnership, there is a need for more and more economic engagement between the two countries, which is still lagging behind the optimum level.
© 2017 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Political Change in Greece:
An Analysis of Future Prospects
--Emmannouil Mavrozacharakis
and Stylianos Ioannis Tzagkarakis
It has been more than 40 years since the restoration of democracy in Greece, and a peculiar prosperity, which was consciously cultivated by the leaders of political and economic elites, was promoted before the onset of the financial crisis. However, from the beginning of the financial recession, the temporal illusions have been revealed and the need for a complete transformation of the financial policies has been expressed, while a significant transformation of the entire political culture has started. Parties such as SYRIZA, Independent Greeks (ANEL) and Golden Dawn took advantage of the growing social discontent by propagating themselves as champions of ordinary people and of their concerns or their fears, as the expression of resistance against an avoidable sellout of public values. However, the crisis has exposed a number of truths which were elaborately hiding in the underbelly of the detaining political and socioeconomic system. These truths were exteriorized once it became clear that the foundations on which the Greek society was based after the restoration of democracy, were weak and insufficient to guide the country’s way towards a modern future.
© 2017 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
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