Rubrics » Bridging News
Breaking the 3SI Piggybank: Wages, Inflation and Real Values
Meanwhile, from the same datasets we can observe that, even though most of the 3SI countries increased in this period their minimum hourly pay rates (on average by a quarter), an issue that dragged the rest of the brackets with them (as there is an inverted cascade into the median and high-end salaries), these actions did not necessarily translate into an overall prosperity growth, with even the hours needed to exit the poverty line increasing by approximately 10%. Despite this fact, the redistribution brought them closer to their Western counterparts, with respect to the minimum wages expressed in purchasing power standards, with the region growing faster than France, Germany, Italy of Spain in this timeframe. In turn, labour costs have grown at the same pace, while remaining lower than the EU averages, with some practitioners arguing that this can strain the operational capabilities of companies, particularly SMEs, since every minute worked by the employees is more valuable. More
The Rich Dynamic of Faith in Action
One of the most incisive analyses of the secular transformation of America’s – indeed the West’s – ruling ideology was published a century ago in 1923 by a Presbyterian theologian, J. Gresham Machen. James Kurth would later describe its evolution as “the Protestant Deformation.”[2]During the so-called Fundamentalist-Modernist controversy which began before the First World War, Machen was the most articulate critic of a theological movement known as Modernism or Liberalism: a secular religion of sentiment poached from Christianity. His critique begins as follows: “The type of religion which rejoices in the pious sound of traditional phrases, regardless of their meaning, will never stand amid the shocks of life. In the sphere of religion, as in other spheres, the things about which we are agreed are apt to be the things that are least worth holding; the really important things are the things about which men will fight. More
The 18th International Conference on Business Excellence
Business excellence is about achieving superior business results in relation to the competitors by means of developing and strengthening the management systems and processes of an organization; it is targeted at improving performance and delivering value for all the stakeholders, in a three-dimensional space characterized by uncertainty, complexity and dynamism.The first goal of this international conference is to reunite specialists from the triple-helix fields: university and research, consultancy and business, and policy making pursuant to optimizing the business added value by providing a stimulating environment for knowledge and knowhow business excellence transfers and alliance formation.The second goal of this internat More
Romania, the Highest Share of Children in Poverty or Social Exclusion in 2022
Among the EU member states in 2022, the highest share of children at risk of poverty or social exclusion was recorded in Romania, according to Eurostat data. The percentage of 41.5% (same as in the previous year) was well above those for Bulgaria (33.9%) and Spain (32.2%). On the other hand, the lowest shares were reported in Slovenia (10.3%), Czechia (13.4%) and Denmark (13.8%).Children who grow up in poverty or social exclusion encounter difficulties in doing well in school, enjoying good health and realising their full potential later in life. They also face a higher risk of becoming unemployed, poor and socially excluded as adults. More
Azimuth, Romania
The political-economic phrase “regional cooperation mechanisms” is dry enough that it brings in tow a serene attitude, which neither Romania’s voluptuous imaginaries, nor its immanent vicinities seem to pan out. Central and Eastern Europe, extruding towards the South East – the softly symbolic geographical notion which includes Romania –, has always possessed a lively geopolitical tectonic, prone to extremely brutal outbursts and worldmaking shifts (i.e., featuring as some hotspot for the two world wars), and a latent geoeconomic magnetism too (i.e., due to its fine resource pools and in spite of its dire infrastructures). These traits have remained somehow unchanged for centuries, only to be recurrently re-evaluated. More
Time for Diplomacy
On Ukraine – and on many other issues, such as how to deal with China –, the G7 members showed unprecedented unity in the consultation process organized by the Japanese Presidency in the spring. It has become clear that the Western powers do not expect Ukraine to make territorial concessions to Russia in order to achieve a ceasefire, and are even prepared to support it not to do so. And they have also made it clear that China is seen as a rival and challenge in many areas, but not an enemy like Russia. The G7 underlined that they intend to work with China both economically and in building a new world order. More
BRIC(S) by BRIC(S)
The East vs. West dilemma that has characterised the latter half of the twentieth century was put on hold following the collapse of the Soviet Union, only to be brought again into the mainstream following the Russian annexation of Crimea (and the subsequent invasion of Ukraine in 2022). However, the situation is complex and constantly evolving, the invasion itself managing to shake the way we perceive geopolitics. A paradoxical organisation is making bold announcements (in light of the recent summit), pushing rhetoric meant to represent the “Global South” as an actor, in opposition to the West, or as an up-to-date version of the Non-Aligned Movement. All this, while the Global South looks like a lucrative market for Russian exports, amidst the Western-imposed economic sanctions. Will East vs. West become North vs. South? More
Trimarium – Western Fortress or Meeting Point of Cultures?
Buongiorno, Amici!Io sono Zoltán.Io sono un padre. Io sono Ungherese. And…, in the immortal words of Joe Biden: “You know the thing.”I would like to thank the Machiavelli Institute for inviting me to the Eternal City, and I also want to thank all of you for coming to this important conference. When you walk the streets of Rome, you breathe history. This is the beating heart, the very soul of Western civilization.Since we are here and I am to speak about the Transatlantic dimensions of the Three Seas Initiative, allow me to open with a story that may be familiar to my colleagues who work in the field of geopolitics. A question I am often asked – usually by children or young adults – goes something like this: “Is America a new Rome?” What I usually say is that Rome was a great power for centuries before it became the mistress of the Mediterranean, ruled the known world for more than four hundred years, and remained a major player for a full millennium after that. The USA is a little over two hundred years old. Yes, they are the strongest power the world has ever seen, militarily and politically, but America is no Rome. They have a ways to go. More
Women in Sport – Inspirational Models That Robots Cannot Replace
The volume Women’s Strength in Sport coordinated by Andreea Paul appeared this fall at the Polirom Publishing House in Iași. It is the fourth volume in the series The Force of women in ... that Andreea Paul has delivered, thus filling the information gaps in the Romanian publishing market, but especially gaps in the collective mind of a deeply patriarchal society, despite the signs of change that have become increasingly obvious lately. Andreea Paul represents this change mainly through her efforts embodied in the Polirom series. And sure enough, as it often happens in life, the spark that set off the efforts of a small but brave team of volunteers was ignited by a simple question of the author’s daughter, a simple question that even ChatGPT couldn’t answer. More
The Connection between the Three Seas Initiative and the Middle Corridor: An Italian Perspective
It is not a mystery. The Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, intends not to renew the controversial memorandum of understanding on the Belt and Road Initiative. After all, this deal has always been risky from a geopolitical point of view and it is good that the Prime Minister is about to take such a step. Indeed, we should not forget that China is listed among the major geopolitical threats to the West. On the other hand, Rome will face significant challenges. It is in fact possible that Italy will be hit by Chinese retaliation. Meloni is aware of this. Not surprisingly, in recent months she has significantly strengthened relations with the United States and India. It is for this reason that, looking ahead, the Prime Minister should consider joining the Three Seas Initiative. More
A Midsummer Night’s Chilling Dream
Climate changes and armed conflicts – as facets of, basically, the “non-human” physical nature and of the “dehumanised” human nature, respectively –, when fatally intertwined with each other, bring us closer to Apocalypse nightmares. The mental cohabitation between ecological anguishes and the anxieties of belligerence is the product of the Cold War era’s madness (as in MAD – mutual assured destruction). A doctrine of deterrence, MAD highlights the fact that every nuclear confrontation between superpowers can only end with the annihilation of both, regardless of who was at first on the offense and who was on the defence. Such an infamous possibility also had a climate-related dimension. Either the thermonuclear explosions will broil Earth’s fluids like a boiler (some sort of a “Heat Death”), or they would release a cloud of particles in the atmosphere, blocking the solar radiation (generating an “Ice Age”), the horrific result would be a residual human-inhabited area to oscillate agonizingly between scalding and drowning, between freezing and extreme hunger. Even though the industrial rivalry, including the peaceful kind, remains the main target of the accusations that it devours the environment and disrupts the climate, war, even the regular genre (though it has been recently becoming more and more hybrid in nature) imposes itself as a research subject in relation to climate risks. More
The Three Seas Initiative – One Year after the Riga Summit: Full Steam Ahead?
We are witnessing an increased political concreteness of the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) as the September 2023 Summit in Bucharest is approaching. First of all, we should look at the goals of this Initiative. As mentioned in several other papers, this is first and foremost a regional Initiative established based on a shared sense of identity, interdependence and cooperation. Romania joined the platform without reservations from its beginning, organising in Bucharest in 2018 the third summit of this Initiative. More
