Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Studia Europaea
Latest Publications

"The aim of this study is to identify and critically assess the effects of appropriation of foreign political ideologies and practices in African political systems. This paper argues that there should be no leader, whatever his worth; look on his own personal problems to be exploited for the benefits of western’s Politics. Which will enable the African systems to develop, secondly, argues that Human Rights should be looked at to be an apportioned – responsibility, shared by both the former colonial powers and the current post-colonial political elites, rather than seeing Human rights promotion as yet another excuse to interfere or control other sovereign nations. The study will involve qualitative research involving reviewing other authors' literature, identifying current affairs, and critical assessing the ways in which neo-colonialism affects the different societies in transition from a colonial past to independence. The study is based on the fact that colonized countries, during the Cold War, suffered political oppression, economic exploitation, and social degradation, while alignment either with the capitalist or communist ideology failed. Currently there is a felt pressure to adopt a neoliberal ideology in order to access to have access to aid and investment. The study concludes with recommendations to third world leaders, to look at the people they lead as their responsibility, since no leader, whatever his/her worth, can replace the will of people. This results in a felt need to embrace democracy and such democratic values as: strong institutions, an independent judiciary and the separation of powers, individual and minority rights, and civil rights. Keywords: postcolonial politics, appropriation of foreign politics, human rights, principled values of democracy, the inability of African leaders "

"Beginning in 2013, the Central African Republic has been engulfed in a civil war pitting successive governments against a substantial number of armed groups who also compete against each other for control over territory, population and resources. Some of these groups are claiming to be defenders of religious groups in the country, with the Séléka militias fighting for the Muslim communities and the anti-Balaka groups claiming Christian roots and inclinations. Other religiously inspired armed groups such as the Lord’s Resistance Army are also present in the country. The following study is an attempt to understand how the “religious” label can be applied to such armed groups and whether it can influence their behavior, thus bringing into light a valuable, albeit lesser known example on how AGs and religion are connected in contemporary Africa. Keywords: armed groups, religion, Central African Republic, violence, civil war "

"Nowadays, more than ever, China plays a major role in economic activities in Africa. China competes aggressively with the West for control of the continent's strategic mineral resources. The great red actor considers that the imposition of Western democratic values on Africa is one of the main causes of political instability and economic stagnation, which is why he has chosen to adopt a different attitude which is has proven to be prolific in the context of globalization. The cooperation of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with China is currently considered by the Congolese people as a safety valve, an insurance against risks. Essentially, the DRC tops the list of China's strategic partners in Africa, and the DRC aims to attract China to help build infrastructure. This cooperation bears the signature of Joseph Kabila (president of the country from 2001 to 2018), his speech being a central point of this research. While the two countries boast of an exemplary model of win-win cooperation, this article aims to explore whether it is really a win-win collaboration or rather China is trying to invent a new order using a cosmetized neocolonialism. Keywords: Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, China, globalization, mineral ressources, neocoloniaslism, global order "

"Anti-communist by excellence in spirit, the painter, sculptor and illustrator Camilian Demetrescu left Romania and went to Italy, tired of the continuous persistent attempts of the Securitate to attire him into becoming a collaborator. He left Romania legally in 1969, with a passport, and when the visa expired, he asked for political asylum. His stay in a capitalist country, but most of all the depths of his cultural and political exile, reflected in the articles of the Italian printed press and in the participation to actions or congresses, determined the Securitate not only to target him informatively, but also to threaten him, fact that did not stop him from being up to the end, with stoicism and determination, a convinced and militant anti-communist, a promoter of democracy and of human rights, but also an artist, who kept in his paintings, illustrations and sculptures the emotional relationship with Romania. Keywords: anticommunism, political exile, militantism, art, democracy "

"The French State is a unitary State as opposed to federal States, in which there is one Constitution providing for provisions applicable throughout the territory of the French Republic. Unity can be found in a legal unity first, in this the unitary Law is the one that does not admit of territorial differenciation. A political and organic unity, since there is only one Parliament, one Government. A social unity eventually, which consists of the admission of a single French people. If the French tradition is based on a centralized system, the implementation of the process of territorial decentralization led to reconsider the uniformity of the Law precisely with the question of territorial differenciation and territorialisation of Law. The present study proposes to return to the consideration by unitary Law of local territories including the overseas territories with the problem of reconciling such a system with customary Law. Keywords: unitary Law, customary Law, territorial decentralization, territorialisation of Law, the overseas territories "

"The development of local entrepreneurship has become an integral part of the urban culture, creating an interest in the impact of small and medium-sized enterprises on the local economy, the satisfaction of the residents and their desire to remain in the city and bring up the next generation in their place of residence. A qualitative research approach, using semi-structured interviews with stakeholders of small and medium-sized enterprises in several cities in Israel was adopted to examine the situation of small and medium-sized enterprises from an economic, and social perspective. The findings indicated that while the local businesses fulfill a role in the social fabric of the city by connecting residents to their urban place of residence, the small and medium-sized enterprises are struggling economically, since they are faced with heavy competition from chain stores, malls and trading centers established in the peripheral regions. Keywords: small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), economy, central authority, local authority, entrepreneur "

"The paper aims to shed light on the particularities of two national liberation movements - turned political parties and how they embraced their new role after the liberation struggle had ended and majority rule had been obtained. South Africa’s ANC and Zimbabwe’s ZANU-PF are analyzed in an attempt to ultimately underline why democracy was approached distinctively by the too. We also bring some arguments as to why South Africa failed to stop ZANU-PF’s descent into autocracy, amidst internal and international pressures to intervene. After a short historical background of the two NLMs, we discuss the links between them, the particular political and social conditions which shaped their behaviours and the commonalities and differences in said behaviours. We argue that, as long as the democratic principles identified with ZANU-PF’s struggle for the empowerment of a new elite, the former were pursued; when the two no longer overlapped, stronghold politics and policies took primacy. We also argue that faced with similar contestation as ZANU-PF, the ANC might chose to sacrifice democracy for the sake of regime survival. Keywords: party-politics, international relations, regional influence, democracy, colonialism, discourse "

"Expulsion as a measure for the removal of foreigners from a State is governed by number of principles, which must be respected by the State having resorted to expulsion. First, we note that a State has the power to expel a foreigner from its territory, because of its sovereign power on grounds of public order, national security, or the illegal stay of the foreigner. But this expulsion is regulated by international law through a number of principles. However, the power of State in this matter is not unlimited. Thus, any decision to expel must be in accordance with the law, the State is not allowed to resort to collective expulsion, moreover, a State should only expel the foreigner to another State which is safe of origin which is safe, to prevent the foreigner from being subjected to torture. Keywords: principles, expulsion of foreigners, case law, UN bodies, control "

"The elections that took place in 2016 in Benin are very significant in defining the new framework of the French-African relations per se. The so-called candidate of Françafrique, Lionel Zinsou, lost the elections mainly because he promoted during the electoral campaign a vision still devoted to maintaining close connections with the former colonial power, France. On the other side, Patrice Talon fiercely advocated for a new and strong position both in what regards the domestic affairs as well as externally, portraying himself as «le candidat de la rupture». In the end, this way of positioning during the electoral campaign brought him the victory in elections, besides France’s support towards the other candidate. Taking into consideration all these elements, the main purpose of the paper is that of analysing the impact of the 2016 elections ‘result on redefining and maybe even ending the French-African relations, long time known as Françafrique. In this approach, the analysis will mainly focus on the electoral campaign itself and especially on the way in which the colonial past and the reference to France have been used by the candidates as means of winning votes from the electorate and to positioning to one another during that period of time. Keywords: Benin, presidential elections, electoral campaign, colonial history, Françafrique "

"In a world challenged by cultural diversity, this article aims to look at the great diversity of languages and cultures that coexist within the European Union. Building on the story of the Tower of Babel that explains, from a religious point of view, the cultural and linguistic diversity existing in the European Union, the authors tried to contextualize EU’s motto of “unity in diversity”, interpreted as an ideal involving a lot of effort and sometimes even many conflicts, but one that we should all fight for and strive to maintain. Keywords: linguistic diversity, ethnicity, nation, minority, majority, communication, unity in diversity"