European View

The peaceful separation of Slovakia and the Czech Republic after the fall of Communism is an example of the uncontroversial political recognition of the cultural and historical differences in the old federation. The author describes Slovakia’s path to democracy and freedom as deeply entrenched in the Catholic Church and the people’s will to fight for religious freedom and human rights during the regime. Finally, the separate accession of Slovakia and the Czech Republic to the European Union symbolises a full recognition of their democratic path and the achievement of Slovakia’s dream of ‘Coming back to Europe’.

Politicians in their role as information managers and developers could play an important role in leading communities via agreed expectations towards achievable results, thus becoming real leaders for sustainable democracy. The first section of this article focuses on the need for development in Africa and the specific challenges faced by development operations as the foundation for sustainable democracy in Africa. It describes the need for a holistic and integrated information management model as part of the project management body of knowledge aimed at managing the information flow between communities and development teams. It is argued that information, and access to information, is crucial to development projects and can therefore be seen as a critical success factor in any development project, particularly towards sustainable democracy. The second section describes the three information areas of the holistic and integrated information management model. In the final section we suggest roles and actions for information managers to facilitate information processes integral to the model. These processes seek to create a developing information community that aligns itself with the development project and supports and sustains it.

Regional cooperation is mutually beneficial collaboration between neighbouring countries. This holds regardless of whether it is a matter of cooperation between the Benelux countries, the Nordic–Baltic states, France and Germany, or the Visegrád countries. The last-mentioned countries’ dismissive attitude to tackling the migration crisis has thrust them into the limelight. The most recent cooperative forums in the Central Eastern Europe region, such as the Slavkov Triangle and the Three Seas Initiative, evidence a new dynamic and a regrouping of forces on the basis of national interests and EU themes. Western and Eastern Europe have different approaches to the most pressing challenges, such as migration. These differences have caused deep divisions between their respective leaders. However, the disagreements on the migration issue and the future of the EU notwithstanding, regional cooperation among the Central and Eastern European countries remains valuable in areas that include the integration process, security and defence.

When a person defines his or her own identity, religious belief is a powerful, decisive factor. Throughout history, religion has often been a source of conflict. This article will show how religious communities can promote a peace process and how religion can be part of a peaceful solution.

The author presents an in-depth examination of Turkey’s development. This essay briefly covers the history of secularism in Turkey, the secular revolution of the early 1920s and today’s multi-party system. The Turkish model has both strengths and weaknesses: while the system succeeds in setting limits on authoritarian regimes, it has failed to implement a full liberal democracy.

The past year has witnessed a major shift in the relationships between the four Central European countries that make up the Visegrád Group. In matters related to migration, the members of the alliance have worked together in Brussels as a cohesive bloc throughout 2016. But in the wake of Brexit, simmering internal divisions have arisen within this regional alliance over the EU’s future. The Visegrád Group acts as an amplifier, an ad hoc coalition, reinforcing regional positions where they exist. Its diplomatic infrastructure and other structural factors are here to stay, but the key drivers of its stances are now domestic politics and the role of the countries’ leaders. In the absence of a shared vision for the future of Europe and the role of EU institutions, the honeymoon period seems to be over. A ‘conservative revolution’ in Poland has created an illiberal axis with Hungary, where a sovereigntist narrative holds sway, while the Czech and Slovak governments have maintained a more pragmatic line on the EU. The new risk is that reinventing the EU will come at the expense of (divided) Central Europeans.