The OSCE in Unabated Decline

This paper assesses the situation and prospects of the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) in light of the experience of the past few years and the ambitions the organisation set itself in its reform agenda. The analysis argues that, irrespective of how banal it may be, in the absence of a fundamental change in the attitude of the participating states it is highly unlikely for the OSCE to regain the role it once had. Either it continues to lose its relevance or at best muddles through as it has done since the mid-1990s. The relative decline of the OSCE has been due primarily to objective factors. The European security agenda moved away from the traditional areas in which the organisation had a comparative advantage. This resulted in the need to adapt to changed circumstances and to the emergence of an imbalance between the various fields of the OSCE’s activity. Many current concerns the OSCE must address are related to governance and state-building. If the participating states cannot agree on the domestic agenda to pursue and their disagreement also results in efforts to spread their preferred model of socio-political order there is no chance for unity among the 56 participating states and thus political disputes will prevail. The problem of belated institutional adaptation is secondary to these factors. Hence, it does not induce processes that can compensate for the shortcomings in building a political consensus

The neuropeptide PACAP alleviates T. gondii infection-induced neuroinflammation and neuronal impairment

Cerebral infection with the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is responsible for inflammation of the central nervous system (CNS) contributing to subtle neuronal alterations. Albeit essential for brain parasite control, continuous microglia activation and recruitment of peripheral immune cells entail distinct neuronal impairment upon infection-induced neuroinflammation. PACAP is an endogenous neuropeptide known to inhibit inflammation and promote neuronal survival. Since PACAP is actively transported into the CNS, we aimed to assess the impact of PACAP on the T. gondii-induced neuroinflammation and subsequent effects on neuronal homeostasis.Exogenous PACAP was administered intraperitoneally in the chronic stage of T. gondii infection, and brains were isolated for histopathological analysis and determination of pathogen levels. Immune cells from the brain, blood, and spleen were analyzed by flow cytometry, and the further production of inflammatory mediators was investigated by intracellular protein staining as well as expression levels by RT-qPCR. Neuronal and synaptic alterations were assessed on the transcriptional and protein level, focusing on neurotrophins, neurotrophin-receptors and signature synaptic markers.Here, we reveal that PACAP administration reduced the inflammatory foci and the number of apoptotic cells in the brain parenchyma and restrained the activation of microglia and recruitment of monocytes. The neuropeptide reduced the expression of inflammatory mediators such as IFN-γ, IL-6, iNOS, and IL-1β. Moreover, PACAP diminished IFN-γ production by recruited CD4+ T cells in the CNS. Importantly, PACAP promoted neuronal health via increased expression of the neurotrophin BDNF and reduction of p75NTR, a receptor related to neuronal cell death. In addition, PACAP administration was associated with increased expression of transporters involved in glutamatergic and GABAergic signaling that are particularly affected during cerebral toxoplasmosis.Together, our findings unravel the beneficial effects of exogenous PACAP treatment upon infection-induced neuroinflammation, highlighting the potential implication of neuropeptides to promote neuronal survival and minimize synaptic prejudice

Coping with global environmental change, disasters and security : threats, challenges, vulnerabilities and risks

Book : vol 5 / hexagon series on human and environmental security and peac

A posztszovjet térség: Európa békétlen keleti vége = The Former Soviet Space: The Peaceless Eastern End of Europe

Ellentétben a hidegháború végének optimizmusával, Európa nem lett sem egységes, sem békés. Míg a kilencvenes években a fegyveres konfliktusok még éppúgy jelen voltak az egykori Szovjetunió térségében, mint az egykori Jugoszláviában, a 21. században Európa háborúi és kisebb intenzitású fegyveres összetűzései kizárólag a volt szovjet köztársaságok között vagy azokon belül zajlanak. A különböző irányokból kihívásokkal szembenéző Oroszország hegemón rendszert szeretne létrehozni, amelyben vezető szerepét senki nem kérdőjelezheti meg. Ez azonban hol más államok lakosságának, hol vezetőinek, hol mindkettőnek az érdekeivel ellentétes. Ezért az erőszakba torkolló bizonytalanság nem szűnik meg tekintet nélkül arra, hogy a térségben riválisként megjelenő hatalmak hozzájárulnak-e ahhoz, hogy Oroszország ellenségesként érzékeli környezetét, vagy bizonytalansága abból fakad, hogy a társadalmak távolodnak egymástól egy emberöltővel a Szovjetunió elmúlta után. Ez a tanulmány előbb általános megfigyeléseket tesz a széttartó erőkről, a posztszovjet azonosságtudat lehanyatlásáról, majd néhány térségbeli elhúzódó konfliktus megoldatlanságán és szaporodó számán mutatja meg az egyáltalán nem megnyugtató tendenciákat, végül leszűri a következtetést: Európa Közép-Ázsiát is magában foglaló keleti vége változékony mértékben, továbbra is békétlen marad. Olyan térség, ahol a szervezett erőszak alkalmazása része a politikának. Contrary to the optimism in the end of the Cold War, Europe is neither united nor peaceful. While in the 1990s armed conflicts were still present in the area of the former Soviet Union as well as in the former Yugoslavia, in the 21st century Europe’s wars and less intense armed conflicts take place exclusively between or within the former Soviet republics. Faced with challenges from various directions, Russia wants to create a hegemonic system there in which no one can question its leading role. However, this sometimes goes against the interests of the population of other states, sometimes their leaders, sometimes both. Therefore, the insecurity that leads to violence will not go away, regardless of whether the powers that appear as rivals in the region contribute to that Russia perceives its environment as hostile, or that its insecurity stems from the fact that societies are moving away from each other inch by inch since the end of the Soviet Union. This study first makes general observations about the forces of disunity, the decline of the Soviet sense of identity, then shows the not at all reassuring trends in the unresolved and increasing number of protracted conflicts in the region, and finally filters the conclusion: the eastern end of Europe, which also includes Central Asia, to varying extent, remains unsettled. An area where the use of organised violence continues to be the part of politics

A kormány az európai szocialista államokban,különös figyelemmel a Magyar Népköztársaság Minisztertanácsára

INST: L_08