Issue No. 47

2025 Issue No. 47 / April

1. Beata Piskorska, PhD, Monika Dorota Adamczyk, PhD THE CHALLENGE OF SOCIAL SECURITY IN THE CONTEXT OF AN AGEING EUROPEAN UNION – FORECASTS AND IMPLICATIONS

Abstract
According to the latest research on socio-demographic trends, global demographics will continue to change in the period to 2030, influenced by increasing life expectancy, declining fertility and rising levels of education. These changes will alter the structural foundations of the global economy: the ageing of the world’s population could have a major impact on both developed and emerging economies. The current demographic situation also has important implications for the social, economic and territorial cohesion of the European Union. It is therefore important for the EU to take demographic aspects into account in all its actions and policies, bearing in mind that the working-age population (people aged 15-64) is expected to decrease significantly, from 333 million in 2016 to 292 million in 2070, while the number of people aged 80 and over is projected to rise to 14.6 %. In an era of ageing societies in the European Union, the analysis of the impact of this process should coincide with the implementation of activities aimed at developing a model of social security in which individual and social needs are compatible with the socio-economic development of these societies. The authors of the article will focus on several issues. Firstly, the analysis of existing data and key indicators illustrat-ing the process and evolution of demographic change in Europe; secondly, the embedding of the issue in the socio-demographic determinants of ageing processes in the context of social security. Thirdly, the coordination of social security in the European Union. Finally, the projections and implications of ageing for the European Union.

  • Keywords: social security; social protection; sustainable development; ageing society; European Union.
  • DOI: 10.24193/OJMNE.2025.47.01

2. Alexander D. Klein, PhD, Rastislav Funta, PhD THE ROLE OF SOCIAL NETWORKS IN THE CREATION OF DEMOCRATIC OPINION

Abstract
The importance of “virtual” publics is growing in the age of the ubiquitous Internet. This is a new space for democratic debate, and it provides new channels for content dissemination for all actors. It also applies to the “average citizen,” who, regardless of time or place, has the ability to influence public opinion formation at the micro level through social networks and the personal public sphere. As a result, social networks create a virtual space in which individuals can grow socially and communicatively, as well as participate in democratic opinion formation. However, there are risks associated with such a broad range of potential. In addition to government intervention, measures taken by social network providers (“platform operators”) can limit an individual’s freedom of communication. The following article is intended to provide a look on the Internet’s new structural change in the public sphere and social networks. Therefore, the issue of whether and to what extent a platform operator may enforce communication standards in “his” social network in a democratic social order is addressed. The article concludes with a summary of the viewpoints supported by the arguments presented in the previous parts of the paper.

  • Keywords: democratic opinion; platform operators; social networks.
  • DOI: 10.24193/OJMNE.2025.47.02

3. Jacek Wojnicki, PhD, Piotr Swacha, PhD SOCIAL AND POLITICAL UPHEAVALS IN SOCIALIST STATES (THE CASE OF YUGOSLAVIA AND POLAND AT THE TURN OF THE 1960s AND 1970s)

Abstract
The aim of this article is to compare the socio-political upheavals that occurred in the People’s Republic of Poland and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This period witnessed events that were to some extent part of the general social unrest which also affected capitalist countries (the student protests of 1968), as well as events that were entirely specific to the countries included in this analysis, such as the post-March anti-intellectual and anti-Semitic campaign in the People’s Republic of Poland, the December 1970 workers’ protests on the Polish coast, and the so-called ‘Croatian Spring’ in Yugoslavia. Relying primarily on the comparative method, the authors analyse the influence of systemic factors (the system of govern-ment, the ruling elites, reform attempts or failures), social factors (the social structure, the sense of national distinctiveness), and cultural factors (efforts to preserve national culture and language, opposition to actions of the censorship apparatus) on the emergence and progress of events that took place in both countries in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The article also looks at how the governments reacted during these ‘upheavals’, what methods they adopted to end/suppress them and what political consequences followed.

  • Keywords: Croatian spring; students; 1968; workers’ protests; mass movement; comparison.
  • DOI: 10.24193/OJMNE.2025.47.03

4. Fatma Mounir Nouby, THE EU RESPONSE TOWARDS SECESSION OF SUB-STATE NATIONS: A COMPARA TIVE ANALYSIS OF THE CASES OF CATALONIA AND SCOTLAND

Abstract
The study aims to examine the EU attitude towards secession resulted from the rise of nationalism at the sub-state level by focusing on the rising of nationalist secessionist tendencies in the sub-state nations, namely the cases of Catalonia and Scotland. The study relies on the comparative case study approach, which helps to observe, describe, and interpret different statuses through its application to specific models. This study depends on reviewing the diverse literature, EU treaties, documents, and political statements regarding the secession of sub-state nations. Also, this study contributes significantly to stress on the differences between the two case studies and presents an important analysis of the EU attitude towards the nationalist calls for secession in both cases. This study seeks to clarify that the EU response towards the secessionist cases of Scotland and Catalonia differs based on the situation of each case, which represents a challenge to the EU attitude while dealing with the sub-state nations.

  • Keywords: nationalism; sub-state nations; secession; Catalonia; Scotland.
  • DOI : 10.24193/OJMNE.2025.47.04

5.  Olha Ivasechko, PhD, Oleh Tsebenko, PhD, Yaryna Turchyn, PhD, Olena Havrylechko, Postgraduate Student EU GLOBAL LEADERSHIP IN TERMS OF CLIMATE CHALLENGES*

Abstract
The study of the global leadership of the EU considering the climate challenges is a relevant theme of research in view of the dynamism of modern international challenges and threats related to both the direct problems of climate change (being the consequence of industrial activity) and the purposeful creation of climate issues to achieve absurd goals, which we currently see in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war, i.e., using the climate as a weapon, creating large-scale environmental problems, etc. It was found out that global leadership is interpreted as the efforts aimed at changing the limitations and opportunities obtained from social interaction, the direction by one subject of the behavior of others over a long period of time, and the social role formed in the process of interaction between the leader and the followers. The EU has recognized climate change as a global challenge and has shown global leadership precisely in solving climate change issues. This resulted in the adoption by the EC of the European Green Deal (EGD) course in 2019, the main objective of which is to achieve climate neutrality and the new European strategy Global Gateway in 2021, which is implemented through the projects in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific region, as well as in sub-Saharan Africa. The aim of the Global Gateway is to unite the world via investment and partnership. The carried out studies showed that the EU has the potential for global leadership of a mixed type with a clearly expressed projection of the practical application of leadership, that is, via precise effective actions. The dominant types of the EU leadership are the exemplary (e.g. EGD) and the entrepreneurial (e.g. Global Gateway). The EU has the capacity, experience and legitimacy to influence the external players.

  • Keywords: global leadership, European Green Course, climate diplomacy, green diplomacy, environmental policy
  • DOI: 10.24193/OJMNE.2025.47.05

6. Șerban-Paul BĂDESCU, PhD Student THE LIBYAN CRISIS AND THE EUROPEAN UNION: CHARTING A PATH THROUGH INSTABILITY TOWARD LASTING PEACE

Abstract
The article provides an extensive review of the protracted crisis in Libya, triggered in 2011 by the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi and meanwhile grown into a multi-faceted conflict with all the classic characteristic features: political disunity and foreign interventions. It traces the line of historical development from the autocratic rule of Gaddafi through the development of rival governments, subsequent civil wars, and how the country has retained a locus of instability. Key themes explored include the role of internal divisions and external actors in perpetuating the conflict, such as the involvement of countries like Turkey, Egypt, the US or Russia, alongside their various strategic interests in the region. The article also argues that despite the limited success of the UN and EU in resolving the crisis, recent geopolitical shifts— such as the reorientation of Libya’s traditional backers towards the Middle East—offer a new potential window for stabilization. Accordingly, the article reviews the prospects of the EU in playing an important role in shaping Libya’s future, assessing the opportunities and constraints it may face in the current geopolitical context and analysing the EU’s options for promoting political stability, economic recovery, and institutional reforms.

  • Keywords: Libyan Civil War, European Union, foreign intervention, migration, instability
  • DOI: 10.24193/OJMNE.2025.47.06

7. Irma Erlingsdóttir, PhD PROMOTING TRANSNATIONAL GENDER EQUALITY EDUCATION: ICELANDIC ACADEMIC AND GOVERNMENT AGENDAS

Abstract
The article discusses the origins and development of an international gender equality teaching program (GEST) at the University of Iceland, which is directed at students from low-income and post-conflict societies. By placing GEST within the historical context of gender education and feminist politics in Iceland and by engaging with the program’s philosophical and political under-pinnings, the purpose is to explore its impact on feminist thinking and practice. The program is guided by notions of transcultural understanding and cooperation—where social responsibility, collective action, and ethics of care play a significant role in promoting gender equality and social changes. While GEST is part of Iceland’s development policies with its heavy emphasis on gender equality—and funded by the Icelandic Foreign Ministry—it is not concerned with exporting a specific equality model or imposing Nordic stand-ards or policies. Every effort is made to avoid practices that favor devolution into normative relations of patronage that characterize global Northern engagements with the Global South. The premise is that by thinking of, and engaging critically with, development discourses from transnational and feminist perspectives, it will be easier to offer new ideas of transcending state borders and to facilitate inclusion and reconciliation. Finally, by focusing on teaching practical ways to implement changes, the goal is to encourage students to think about what kind of ideologies these practices produce and how they construct “femininity” and “empowerment.”

  • Keywords: The GEST teaching program; gender equality; feminist theory and praxis; development poli-tics; ethics of care.
  • DOI: 10.24193/OJMNE.2025.47.07

8. Gunnþórunn Guðmundsdóttir, PhD POLITICS OF FORGETTING AND COUNTER MEMORY IN CONTEMPORARY ICE-LANDIC LITERATURE: SJÓN AND RED MILK

Abstract
This article discusses the trajectory of cultural memory in post-war Icelandic literature and culture. It draws on works from literary scholars and historians who have shown the difference between the memorialization of World War II in Iceland and elsewhere in Europe. It shows how the lack of social and cultural discussion of the war is influenced by different political and social forces and how it has been limited in scope and ambition. The article shows that there are, however, exceptions to this and takes as its case study the work of the Icelandic writer shown and in particular his novel Red Milk which tells the story of one young Icelandic man’s fascination with Neo-Nazism in the aftermath of World War II. 

  • Keywords: cultural memory; World War II; neo-Nazism; Icelandic fiction.
  • DOI: 10.24193/OJMNE.2025.47.08
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