Abstract ▼

The article seeks to investigate how the practice of non-lethality, built on recent advances in armament technology, may affect the ontology of warfare in the 21st century by turning enemy soldiers and civilian population of other countries into deviant outlaws devoid of moral value “naturally” attributed to “civilised” nations gathered under the (neo)liberal global order. The author analyses the practice of non-lethality in the context of military operations within the framework of US/West policing over the global periphery. The paper hypothesises that the anticipated development of non-lethal weapons raises several controversies related to the projected moral insensitivity of interventionist troops in the treatment of enemy fighters/combatants and the civilian population. The hypothesis is addressed by the critical approach to international security and ontology of warfare, as well as by philosophy of mind and normative approach to moral agency. The author concludes that the Western vision of war as a foreign policy instrument, entirely “sanitised” of the risk of moral wrongdoings, seems to turn a blind eye on the plausible negative effects of non-lethal weapons in combat situations. Contrary to expectations and military-strategic visions, the practice of non-lethality, combined with the manhunt, is likely to eventually oust enemy soldiers and civilians from the realm of moral concerns integral to military ethics.

Abstract ▼

The article analyses the new directions of development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, examines the geopolitical reasons for their emergence, and also identifies the role and place of the SCO in the framework of the Greater Eurasian Partnership. With India and Pakistan joining the SCO, its capabilities began to expand, and new priorities appeared though not at the expense of traditional areas of responsibility – regional security and the fight against terrorism. The three-year period from 2015 to 2017 was a window of opportunity for the SCO in terms of choosing priorities for further development. The economic development begins to gain strength in the Organization. The SCO becomes the main platform for implementing economic integration in Eurasia, on the basis of which conjunction of the EEU and the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative will be implemented. On the margins of the SCO summit held in 2015 in Ufa the Development Strategy of the SCO until 2025 was adopted. This strategy focused on the economic and trade-related measures along with the issues of political interaction and cooperation in the field of security. Acting as one of the drivers of regional development, the SCO countries are making a concerted effort to create the necessary conditions for ensuring sustainable social and economic development. The new development directions of the SCO demonstrate that the Organization is able to quickly adapt to the new conditions of the changing world, while its participation in new formats of interaction is welcomed among countries of the Eurasian continent.

Abstract ▼

China has been steadily increasing the level of its investment projects in Serbia since 2010. With Serbia joining its two very important initiatives, the 17+1 and the Belt and Road, those investments have grown exponentially. The projects vary in size and are placed in different sectors, with infrastructure projects as leading ones. The main purpose of this paper is to analyse the achieved results of Chinese investment projects in Serbia connected to the Belt and Road Initiative from the economic point of view. At the same time, the author will present the list of potential risks for Serbia arising from those projects. The analysed data span from 2014 to May 2020, and they were collected from various sources and evaluated with content analysis. The risks were analysed by applying a scenario method. From an empirical standpoint, this paper will give a new perspective on the risks that Serbia is facing concerning the BRI projects, in the light of changes in the domestic and international environment, especially due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The author concludes that the BRI projects in Serbia contribute to the Serbian economic development, but at the same time, Serbia is facing two major risks – loan repayment and failure to comply with ecological standards.

Abstract ▼

The author explores complex discursive relations between the Serbian and Bosnian Muslim (Bosniak) community during their struggle for religious and educational autonomy vis-à-vis the Austro-Hungarian authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1897-1902. The starting hypothesis is that during their struggle against a common enemy over similar issues, an agonistic discursive relationship was formed between the two political elites. The Austro-Hungarian Empire sought to cut off Bosnian religious ties to Constantinople, both with the Ecumenical Patriarch and with the Caliph; and to force a state run school system on the population. This infringed on the traditional rights of ethnoreligious groups to communal autonomy regarding religious and educational matters, which resulted in the formation of the Movement for religious and educational autonomy and the Movement for Waqfmearif autonomy, among Serbs and Muslims respectively. These movements aimed at restoring their respective autonomies and coordinated their efforts, which would result in the signing of the Draft of a contract of joint struggle for religious and educational autonomy in 1902. The author concludes that Austria-Hungary placed itself in an antagonistic position towards Serbs and Bosniaks through its policies. Consequently, it played a figure of a common enemy, around which an agonistic relationship between Serbs and Bosniaks could be formed.

Abstract ▼

This paper offers a conceptual framework on how rising and revisionist powers perceive their position in the contemporary international order. The argument of the paper is focused on the structure of the unipolar order and how such order produces a hierarchy that is differently accepted by other actors in world politics. Namely, the rising powers as potential challengers to the status quo have different approaches when assessing their future position in the already established international order. However, due to the complexity of the international order and embedded interdependence of the contemporary states, revisionism as a method of altering the status quo works differently than in the previous eras of world politics. That is to say, the scope of modern revisionism is heavily limited, which is induced by the structure of the unipolar order as well as the fact that revisionists today lack ideological foundations to alter the core principles of the order. Therefore, modern revisionism is measured or soft, not directed towards changing the core principles of the order, but rather directed towards altering the established hierarchy on which the current leading power operates the international system. The paper addresses the subject from a qualitative perspective, analysing the structural constraints of the contemporary order and how it all reflects on the possible revisionist efforts. The goal of this research attempt is to present the differences between rising and revisionist powers and what strategical approaches are available for the modern revisionists in order to accomplish their geopolitical ambitions.