Baltic Region最新文献

{"title":"Estonian ‘Balticness’ as a social construct: meanings and contextual specifics","authors":"A. Chekov","doi":"10.5922/2079-8555-2023-1-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5922/2079-8555-2023-1-3","url":null,"abstract":"This paper explores the Estonian vision of Baltic identity. Estonia’s authorities have repeatedly articulated their scepticism towards the concept of a stand-alone ‘Baltic region’ and the inclusion of Estonia in it, preferring to position their state as a Nordic country. Yet, in numerous cases, they have clearly labelled Estonia as a Baltic State. To identify the contexts and meanings labelling the country as a Baltic State, this contribution provides a content analysis of official speeches given by Estonia’s political leadership. It is concluded that, despite the visibility of socioeconomic issues in the discourse, the most comprehensive image of Estonian ‘Balticness’ is constructed by interconnected narratives built around the Soviet past and the ‘security threats’ associated with Russia. The theoretical framework of regionalism, which allows one to consider the Baltics as a social construct rather than a set of material factors, provides an additional explanatory model.","PeriodicalId":43257,"journal":{"name":"Baltic Region","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71249548","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Geography of the mobile internet in the border and interior regions of Russia","authors":"","doi":"10.5922/2079-8555-2023-3-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5922/2079-8555-2023-3-8","url":null,"abstract":"Digital transformation of socio-economic processes is the basis for sustainable development of regions in the digital age. The foundation for such a transformation is the information and communication infrastructure and, first of all, the mobile Internet. The technological growth of mobile networks has provided a rapid increase in the number of users around the world, contributing to further digitalization. With the development of digital technologies, research in the field of human geography has received a new impetus. The impact of the Internet on all spheres of life has necessitated a rethinking of the existing geographical approaches to the study of physical space and the emergence of a new object of research — digital space. On the one hand, the latter is closely connected with traditional institutions and systems. On the other hand, it is characterized by its own patterns of construction and functioning. The problem of delimiting the boundaries of cyberspace makes it difficult to manage digital processes taking into account territorially determined needs and interests, while the current socio-economic unevenness of regional development results in the digital divide. Border regions, maneuvering within the dichotomy of ‘frontier — integration bridge’ models, can gain additional benefits from the development of digital infrastructure in the context of realizing their integration potential. This article assesses the geography of the mobile internet in Russia and its connection with the development of border regions. The authors use geo-information, statistical, and econometric analyses to assess the impact of mobile technologies on interregional information transfer, commodity-money flows, and migration. The study demonstrates the diversity in the availability of mobile internet access among residents in various categories of border and interior regions. Furthermore, the research establishes a link between the quantity of transmitted digital data, the import-export of goods and services, international migration, and two key metrics: the accessibility of 4G mobile internet and the number of mobile subscribers. The article pinpoints specific border regions within the Russian Federation, including Krasnodar Krai, Leningrad, Kaliningrad, Novosibirsk, Smolensk, Rostov, Chelyabinsk, Voronezh, Samara, and Kursk regions. These regions exhibit pronounced potential for executing integration functions through the advancement of digital technologies, particularly under favourable geopolitical conditions.","PeriodicalId":43257,"journal":{"name":"Baltic Region","volume":"170 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135319214","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Efficiency analysis of seaports in Russia’s Baltic basin: performance evaluation","authors":"H. Kitzmann, E. Tsyplakova, G. Sinko, A. Strimovskaya, Kseniya A. Ryumkina","doi":"10.5922/2079-8555-2023-2-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5922/2079-8555-2023-2-6","url":null,"abstract":"This research presents a comprehensive analysis of the performance efficiency of Russia’s Baltic seaports, taking into account various economic indicators and addressing investment planning and management issues. Special attention is given to the sustainable development goals and objectives of the seaports, considering their significance in transport and logistics systems. The primary objective of this work is to develop a system approach for conducting multi-­criteria studies on seaport performance efficiency. The findings obtained through the proposed methodology consider criteria at different levels of seaport management, offering valuable practical implications. Notably, this study fills a gap in the literature as no previous work has provided a comprehensive methodology for studying and analyzing ports from the perspectives of management, logistics, and macroeconomics. The system approach can also incorporate environmental considerations and innovative solutions in port infrastructure management. By proposing a new approach to interpreting statistics on Baltic seaports’ performance and presenting empirical research on sustainable development in transport and logistics systems, this study enables a multidimensional examination of seaport performance and establishes a framework for efficiency analysis and evaluation, which is crucial for effective management. The methodological scheme and algorithm for analyzing different categories of managers further facilitate the practical application of the approach. Moreover, it can serve as a strategic tool for informing regional economic policies regarding logistics and transportation.","PeriodicalId":43257,"journal":{"name":"Baltic Region","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71250063","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Expansionism in Poland’s strategic culture: historical retrospec­tive and variations","authors":"I. Loshkariov","doi":"10.5922/2079-8555-2023-2-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5922/2079-8555-2023-2-7","url":null,"abstract":"This article deals with the problem of assessing and interpreting expansionist elements in Poland’s international political behaviour. The problem is approached using the concept of the strategic culture of states, which covers beliefs, perceptions, and the language states use to describe their own and other countries’ actions. The study examines what expansionist types of strategic culture have developed in Poland, how relevant they are in the current political landscape, and describes their differences and similarities. To this end, the intellectual origins of foreign policy ideas prevalent in Poland (Rzeczpospolita) are traced, and the challenges of the external environment are correlated with the way they have been perceived in the course of Poland’s historical development. Two historically contingent expansionist types of strategic culture were identified. Firstly, as a medium-sized state that has faced military defeats, the Polish state has hardly embraced ideas bearing on the ‘besieged fortress’ concept. Secondly, the very culture of limited power politics has assumed some unique characteristics in the country: greater readiness to take risks and fascination with power actions. This state of affairs is largely a result of the contours of the regional project having been drawn for the neighbouring states mostly based on the negative type of consolidation (against the Muslims and later the Bolsheviks) and therefore never reaching a sufficient level of detail.","PeriodicalId":43257,"journal":{"name":"Baltic Region","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71250075","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Modern trends in paradiplomacy: a case of Russian-Finnish regional cooperation","authors":"Anastasiia S. Tarasova","doi":"10.5922/2079-8555-2023-3-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5922/2079-8555-2023-3-5","url":null,"abstract":"For several decades, EU-Russian regional cooperation helped effectively respond to the local challenges. The EU terminated programmes for regional cooperation with Russia and Belarus in 2022. The existing paradiplomatic structure, however, may be of interest to scholars and policymakers as a model to be reproduced by Russia in cooperation with non-EU neighbours. The study aims to identify the main trends in paradiplomacy by examining Russian-Finnish regional collaboration. It reviews theoretical approaches to paradiplomacy, conducts a case study analysis of three forms of Russian-Finnish regional interaction and defines the main trends in paradiplomacy. The author concludes that paradiplomacy intensifies globalisation and regionalisation processes. In the past years, the main paradiplomacy trends in cooperation between Russia and the Baltic Sea region states, particularly Finland, were as follows: (1) project activity gathering momentum; (2) diversification of paradiplomatic actors; (3) equal and symmetrical partnership between Russia and the European states.","PeriodicalId":43257,"journal":{"name":"Baltic Region","volume":"87 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135318491","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Information and propaganda strategies in German non-state media discourse during the COVID-19 pandemic","authors":"Julia V. Balakina","doi":"10.5922/2079-8555-2023-3-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5922/2079-8555-2023-3-2","url":null,"abstract":"This study aims to analyse the strategies supporting the German Government’s biopolitical health and life protection practices and how they were promoted in the discourse of non-state media outlets during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is assumed that non-state media used various pandemic communication strategies to achieve common biopolitical goals, striking a balance between propaganda and outreach. A comparative analysis was conducted of German publications that focused on the pandemic and appeared during the four waves (January 2020 —March 2022). A total of 54,515 texts from the German media (Süddeutsche Zeitung, Die Zeit, Die Tageszeitung) were examined. Methodologically, the study draws on the Herman-Chomsky propaganda model and Jacques Ellul’s concept. The results show that non-state media employ different communication strategies in line with the filters of the Herman-Chomsky model. All the media outlets maintained a balance between propaganda and public outreach, supporting the Government’s biopolitical programme whilst prioritising their own interests. It can be concluded that the strategies chosen by the non-state media outlets instilled a sense of confidence, prompting the public to comply with the restrictions and measures consistent with the biopolitical agenda of the state.","PeriodicalId":43257,"journal":{"name":"Baltic Region","volume":"28 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135318214","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reputation and status in Denmark’s strategic culture","authors":"Nikita E. Belukhin, Vladislav V. Vorotnikov, Svetlana Y. Dianina","doi":"10.5922/2079-8555-2023-3-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5922/2079-8555-2023-3-1","url":null,"abstract":"The primary objective of the article is to evaluate the significance of status and allied reputation within Denmark’s strategic culture. Amongst Danish international relations scholars, there is a well-established notion that one of the key motivations for the use of military force in Danish foreign policy was the aspiration to cultivate special relations with the United States and achieve the status of a privileged ally. This status would confirm guarantees for Denmark’s national security, provide the country with an opportunity for distinctive influence in decision-making and agenda-setting in NATO, the EU, and transatlantic cooperation. A qualitative content analysis of the 2017—2018, 2019—2020 and 2022 Danish foreign policy strategies was carried out to determine the effect of such expert perceptions on the texts of the guiding foreign policy documents. The analysis highlighted and confirmed the ‘super Atlanticism’ tendencies in Denmark’s contemporary strategic culture, revealing its close ties with the Danish perception of the US as the safeguard for the liberal world order and associated multilateral institutions. Denmark’s value-driven militarised foreign political activism in the post-Cold War era is thus not only pragmatic but also ideological as it seeks to promote liberal values, democracy and human rights under American leadership. The article concludes that factoring in status and reputation in strategic culture studies may complement the explanations of security community formation, alliance strategies and the dynamics behind relations within different types of alliances.","PeriodicalId":43257,"journal":{"name":"Baltic Region","volume":"42 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135318217","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The two-party tendency in Poland’s political system: manifestations, causes and prospects","authors":"I. Putintsev","doi":"10.5922/2079-8555-2023-1-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5922/2079-8555-2023-1-2","url":null,"abstract":"The article analyses the Polish political system and the increasing role of two political parties in it. This tendency has been observed in Poland for more than 15 years. We can draw a conclusion that two-and-a-half-party system has formed in Poland. Using Duverger’s phrasing, there is a “two-party tendency” in the functioning of the Polish model. The study analyses the facts that firm up this conclusion: not only the distribution of seats in the Sejm (the main criterion) but also many other quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the political system contribute to the development of the current political trend. The main goal of this article is to identify the factors that have led to the emergence and development of the tendency and assess the prospects of its further evolution, considering that both leading parties face multiple difficulties. The article concludes by pointing out that Poland is unlikely to continue strengthening its two-party tendency, and could instead return to the multiparty system with many influential parties which is more characteristic of the country historically. However, in recent years the leading role of two parties in the political system has had more positive effects rather than negative ones.","PeriodicalId":43257,"journal":{"name":"Baltic Region","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71249536","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Changes in the structure and geography of tourist flows during the COVID-19 pandemic","authors":"A. Manakov, Viliyan Krastev, I. N. Krasilnikova, I. Ivanov","doi":"10.5922/2079-8555-2023-1-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5922/2079-8555-2023-1-8","url":null,"abstract":"Tourism suffered more than many other sectors amid Covid-19 travel restrictions. This article looks at the impact of the pandemic on the territorial redistribution of tourist flows in the Baltic region. The study draws on regional annual and monthly data on international and domestic tourist arrivals between 2019 and 2021, available on the websites of the statistical offices of the Baltic Region countries. The regions earlier dependent on tourist arrivals from Russia experienced the largest drop in inbound tourism during the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet, domestic tourism burgeoned in most of the region’s countries. In 2021, the most dramatic increase in domestic arrivals occurred, year on year, in the border regions of Russia’s Northwest Federal District; the growth was also notable in Finland and the Baltic States. Domestic tourist flow compensated, partially or even fully, for the decrease in inbound tourist flow in most regions. The structure of inbound tourism changed markedly during the pandemic, with the share of tourists from the Baltic States growing. The strongest rise was in some regions of southern Finland and more modest in Latvia and Lithuania.","PeriodicalId":43257,"journal":{"name":"Baltic Region","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71249621","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Population change and the settlement system transformation in Poland, as revealed by the 2021 census","authors":"V. Martynov, I. Sazonova","doi":"10.5922/2079-8555-2023-2-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5922/2079-8555-2023-2-3","url":null,"abstract":"This article aims to analyse current geodemographic changes in Poland, based on the data of the 2021 National Population and Housing Census. Methods, traditional for socioeconomic geography, such as zoning, were employed. Poland’s population decreased during the inter-­census period (2011—2021), with the urban population declining faster than its rural counterpart. The large voivodeships aligned along the Vistula ‘axis’ — Mazowiecka, Lesser Poland and Pomerania — outperform other Polish regions in geodemographic terms. The situation is relatively favourable in Greater Poland, where the country’s main motorways converge. Districts and voivodeships where the geodemographic situation is more vulnerable can be divided into two groups: depressed and backward. The first one includes the traditionally industrial voivodeships of Southern and Central Poland; the second mainly consists of eastern voivodeships. The population decline in Eastern Poland is gathering pace: the 2021 census shows, a more or less favourable geodemographic situation is observed only in the main eastern cities and their environs. This state of affairs is largely due to the Polish government deliberately halting cooperation with Russia and Belarus, including cross-­border collaborations. Yet, this decision seems to create more problems for Poland than its eastern neighbours. If the current trends persist, the eastern voivodeships, the stronghold of the right-wing conservatives in power, may not only rapidly lose population but also face a reduction in the level of socioeconomic development.","PeriodicalId":43257,"journal":{"name":"Baltic Region","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71249460","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}