Why does cooperation work or fail? The case of EU-US sanction policy against Iran

In the article, we explore the factors which brought about the transatlantic coordination of the policy of imposing sanctions on Iran. We will mainly focus on the events in the 21st century when the new incentives for cooperation appeared due to the growing concern over the development of Iran’s nuclear programme. Considering the capabilities of using the tools of economic statecraft and diplomacy, we claim that the EU-US cooperation can be termed a co-leadership. The assessment and the reasons for the transatlantic break-up on this matter during the presidency of Donald Trump was examined using the concept of relative gains. We evaluate to what extent the initial goals were achieved in practice, and we also try to predict the possible consequences of the US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). As to whether the effectiveness of the sanctions through the cooperation has been enhanced, the answer is ambivalent. On the one hand, the cooperating transatlantic partners managed to coerce Iran through isolating the country from international economic contacts and negotiated the JCPOA. On the other hand, Trump’s renouncement of this agreement brought many negative consequences and undermined the earlier joint effort

China as the Strategic Competitor in the Debate on TPP in the United States

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was negotiated with participation of the U.S. representatives from 2008. It was discussed not only in terms of the economic consequences of it. The proponents of signing TPP claimed that it would strengthen the alliances in Asia-Pacific region, curtail the Chinese influences and let the U.S. establish the global trade rules for the future. The debate on this issue took place in the Congress, also the front runners of the presidential elections of 2016 expressed their standpoints. The attitude of public opinion will be also presented as well as the position of Donald Trump which resulted in the withdrawal of the United States from the agreement once he became the President of the U.S

Umacnianie amerykańskich sojuszy: Transatlantyckie Partnerstwo w Dziedzinie Handlu i Inwestycji i Partnerstwo Transpacyficzne

Pomysł na przygotowanie tej monografii pojawił się w związku z chęcią podsumowania bogatego dorobku naukowego samodzielnych pracowników nauki Wydziału Studiów Międzynarodowych i Politologicznych Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego. Publikacja ma na celu ukazanie eksperckiego potencjału tego zespołu, który zajmuje się bardzo szerokim spektrum międzynarodowych problemów politycznych, społecznych, ekonomicznych i kulturowych. Interdyscyplinarność jest traktowana jako ważny atut prowadzonych przez nas badań politologicznych oraz kulturowych. Jest ona jednocześnie wyrazem konsekwentnego dążenia do posługiwania się nowoczesnymi metoda mi naukowymi, łączącymi harmonijnie wiedzę z zakresu nauk społecznych, humanistycznych i ekonomicznych. Autorzy w swoich opracowaniach podjęli zarówno szczegółowe wątki związane z wyzwaniami strategicznymi występującymi w wybranych regionach świata, jak też bardziej uniwersalne rozważania nad warsztatem badawczym naukowca zajmującego się międzynarodowymi studiami politologicznymi i kulturowymi.Celem artykułu jest analiza politycznego i strategicznego znaczenia dla Stanów Zjednoczonych negocjowanych obecnie układów: Transatlantyckiego Partnerstwa w Dziedzinie Handlu i Inwestycji i Partnerstwa Transpacyficznego. Pierwszy z nich, oprócz przewidywanych korzyści gospodarczych, ma w zamierzeniu amerykańskich decydentów doprowadzić do zacieśnienia współpracy na innych polach i umocnienie sojuszu. Niewątpliwie ta konsolidacja ma również na celu stworzenie przeciwwagi dla rosnących wpływów Chin. Podobne założenie strategiczne przyświeca negocjatorom Partnerstwa Transpacyficznego. W artykule zostaną przedstawione również zagrożenia dla sojuszy Stanów Zjednoczonych związane z procesem negocjacyjnym.The purpose of this article is an analysis of the political and strategic importance for the United States of currently negotiated agreements: Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and Trans-Pacific Partnership. In addition to the expected economic benefits, the treaties are tailored to strengthen cooperation in other fields and consolidation of the existing alliances or their enlargement. Undoubtedly, the United States also aims at creating counterbalance to the growing influence of China. In the article a threat to the United States’ alliances related to the negotiating process will be also presented

Plato’s The Republic recovered. A few ethical, economic and social aspects in contemporary dialogues

The main purpose of the article is the presentation and interpretation of some ethical, economic and social aspects in the works of Plato. The division of labour, wealth, the meaning of money, use of interest and paying taxes are the most interesting problems in Plato’s vision of The Republic. There one can also find some current problems such as the attitude of citizens towards their states, the ethical standards required of the authorities or the role of women. This article was written in the form of a dialogue; the same as the works of Plato.Publication of English-language versions of the volumes of the "Annales. Ethics in Economic Life" financed through contract no. 501/1/P-DUN/2017 from the funds of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education devoted to the promotion of scholarship

The Methods of Digging for “Gold” within the Salt: Characterization of Halophilic Prokaryotes and Identification of Their Valuable Biological Products Using Sequencing and Genome Mining Tools

Halophiles, the salt-loving organisms, have been investigated for at least a hundred years. They are found in all three domains of life, namely Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya, and occur in saline and hypersaline environments worldwide. They are already a valuable source of various biomolecules for biotechnological, pharmaceutical, cosmetological and industrial applications. In the present era of multidrug-resistant bacteria, cancer expansion, and extreme environmental pollution, the demand for new, effective compounds is higher and more urgent than ever before. Thus, the unique metabolism of halophilic microorganisms, their low nutritional requirements and their ability to adapt to harsh conditions (high salinity, high pressure and UV radiation, low oxygen concentration, hydrophobic conditions, extreme temperatures and pH, toxic compounds and heavy metals) make them promising candidates as a fruitful source of bioactive compounds. The main aim of this review is to highlight the nucleic acid sequencing experimental strategies used in halophile studies in concert with the presentation of recent examples of bioproducts and functions discovered in silico in the halophile’s genomes. We point out methodological gaps and solutions based on in silico methods that are helpful in the identification of valuable bioproducts synthesized by halophiles. We also show the potential of an increasing number of publicly available genomic and metagenomic data for halophilic organisms that can be analysed to identify such new bioproducts and their producers.Publication’s printing cost was co-financed by the European Union from the European Social Fund under the "InterDOC-STARt" project (POWR.03.02.00-00-I033/16-00)

Morality, Religion and the Development of Capitalism – the View of Deepak Lal

The economist Deepak Lal researches the influence of morality and religion on the shaping of capitalism in different civilizations. His thought was confronted with the remarks of other institutionalists. Lal tries to find out what was the influence of the cost of transactions and the religious beliefs on the evolution of capitalism in chosen countries and regions. Lal claims that materialistic beliefs of agricultural civilizations had not played the key role in the economic growth. The reforms in the Church in the Middle Ages allowed to spread of the instinct of exchange and production of homo oeconomicus. As a result the individualism started to dominate over collectivism. Lal tries to prove that the individualism was not the basis of the Christian faith. The following virtues as: diligence, discipline, frugality, self-help, self-control have had secular origin and nowadays they are more common in India and China than in the West. The Asian civilizations face the dilemma during the economic expansion of the West. They had to choose the path of their development. China and India followed Japan and they modernized without westernization. They tried to find middle course between the tradition and the modernity. We tried to emphasize in the article, that none of the religions have determined the economic fate of the countries. Rather, the morality of the societies and the decision-makers’ beliefs had an influence on economic development

Fears in the Light of Zygmunt Bauman’s Liquid Post-Modernity

Main task of the paper is to recall sociologist and philosopher – Zygmunt Bauman’s observations and concepts on the fears, anxieties, and uncertainties that appear in the modern world. Main focus was directed to Europe as Bauman was particularly concerned about its future and its role in the global society. The paper is illustrated using current examples from political, social, and economic life to confirm and/or negate Bauman’s concepts. We ask: are fears stable or changeable? Are they stronger or weaker? Are they constant, coming to an end, or are they replaced by new ones? Additionally, we confront Bauman’s concepts with the ideas of other sociologists who applied the interpretative perspective

The four horsemen of the Apocalypse. Remarks on the book The great leveler. Violence and the history of inequality from the Stone Age to the twenty-first century by Walter Scheidel. Princeton-Oxford: Princeton University Press 2017 - REVIEW ESSAY

This article constitutes a review of the book “The great leveler” written by Walter Scheidel. We refer to the issue of constructing theories and pointing out the regularities in history. We present the scientific background of the author, as well as his inspirations from other publications of a similar kind, notably “Capital in the twenty-first century” by Thomas Piketty. We analyse the elements of Scheidel’s thesis that the levelling of income inequalities within the framework of states may come about only from violent shocks: mobilization warfare, transformative revolution, state failure, and lethal pandemics. We comment on each of these factors, offering a critical approach to the author’s interpretation and directions for further research. We also argue that for the studies of income disparities the estimation of data about the middle class is crucial, as the lack of or small scope of it is the most dangerous for domestic stability. The estimations of the top 1% of the richest means less in this context. We also propose a greater focus on the impact of welfare politics in democratic states. However, we highly appreciate the author’s thoroughness in compiling such a great amount of data as well as his logical argumentation, which make his work valuable, convincing, and intellectually stimulating.Esej zawiera recenzję książki Walter Scheidela “The great leveler”. Odnosimy się w nim to przedstawionej przez Autora teorii oraz dostrzegania przez niego prawidłowości w procesie historycznym. Przedstawiamy syntetycznie biografię naukową Scheidela oraz identyfikujemy Jego inspirację publikacjami, w których podejmowano podobne wątki, szczególnie pracą Thomasa Piketty’ego “Kapitał w XXI wieku”. Odnosimy się do poszczególnych elementów tezy Scheidela, który twierdzi, że wyrównywanie nierówności dochodów w ramach państwa może mieć miejsce jedynie w wyniku silnych wstrząsów, takich jak działania wojenne, rewolucje, upadek państw czy epidemie śmiertelnych chorób. Przedstawiamy krytyczną analizę twierdzeń Autora oraz proponujemy kierunki dalszych badań poszczególnych czynników. Przybliżamy również tezę, że dla badań nad nierównościami dochodów kluczowe są dane dotyczące klasy średniej, gdyż jej brak lub niewielki udział najbardziej zagrażają stabilności wewnętrznej państw. Skupienie się jedynie na 1% najzamożniejszych obywateli ma w tym kontekście mniejsze znaczenie. Proponujemy również wzięcie w większym stopniu pod uwagę polityk społecznych – państwa opiekuńczego – realizowanych w wielu państwach demokratycznych. Mimo tych krytycznych uwag, bardzo pozytywnie oceniamy skrupulatność naukową Autora, który oparł swoje badania na ogromnej liczbie danych. Na najwyższe uznanie zasługuje również logiczna argumentacja. To wszystko czyni Jego wywód przekonującym i inspirującym intelektualnie