Precious Plastics - Plastic Brick Machine Fabrication

The goal of this research is to determine the structural parameters of the recycled plastic polypropylene when molded into bricks resembling CMU blocks. To accomplish this, three mechanisms had to be assembled: the shredder, the injector, and the 1x1 mold. A tensile and compression test were to be performed on the plastic brick, and the values would be used to compare the tensile and compressive strength of PP plastic bricks, as well as their modulus of elasticity and stress vs. Strain performance. These values would be analyzed to determine whether it would be feasible to build an entire plastic wall. Unfortunately, the injector machine’s rod, which is used to eject molten plastic into the mold in high pressure levels, bent, and the team was unable to construct a brick in time. The team, however, did complete each mechanism and performed troubleshooting to account for any unaccounted obstacles. A few design changes must be implemented on the injector machine to ensure the project’s success, and the mold must be tested, however before the injector broke, it ejected a few samples of melted plastic, which demonstrate the amount of progress that has been accomplished throughout the quarter

Populism and state sovereignty in the European context

The present paper aims to discuss the problem of declining political participation nowadays in conjunction with the level of state sovereignty in Europe. Is this a phenomenon worth-worrying over? If so, for whom? Is the decline of people’s interest in politics connected with a potential decline of state sovereignty? The issue of legitimacy in policy-making is the crux of the matter for the democratic future of the European Union. The multi-level analysis aims to link international relations theory and the state sovereignty problematique to the current issues of European party systems and their subsequent interlinkage with the EU structure

Back to the geopolitical future of the Greater Middle East: What Turkey comes to remind us via its mistakes

Classical geopolitical analysis comes to remind us that it is still present as a tool for decoding the inter-state antagonisms as well as the global and the regional re-distributions of power. To be accurate, this never stopped happening; the post-Cold War ‘neo-liberal vertigo’ simply permitted many well-known figures of the greater academia to forget, to ignore and to doubt. The evolutions, during almost the last decade in the Greater Middle East, have made geopolitical analysis timelier than ever. The subsystem of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey is the operator of the geopolitical factor of the Islamist movement and, in these terms, it represents a main set of forces behind the pressures for re-distribution of power and roles in the region. The current paper refers to the systemic geopolitical analysis to focus on Turkey’s historical role in the Greater Middle East, its current ambitions and the mistakes having led its strategy to a stalemate. In this context, it is questioned which mistakes Turkey made, whether the overall neo-ottoman geostrategic policy recommendations are feasible and which elements of power are available for Turkey. Undoubtedly, power is the key towards an effective maximization of gains and a substantial increase of influence. For instance, Turkey’s emphasis on the energy reserves of its greater region is still reasonable, while their nature itself underlines the worth of geopolitical analysis since it is identified with the ontology of space and the intervening roles of group interests

The East Med pipeline project: Europe’s fourth energy artery

The evolutions regarding the energy cooperation among Greece, Cyprus and Israel have given a new boost towards the implementation of the EU principle of diversification in the field of hydrocarbons supply. The current paper aims to analyze the dynamic of the ‘East Med pipeline supply choice’ and evaluate it in terms of EU energy security. Beyond North Sea, Russia and North Africa, Eastern Mediterranean may represent the ‘fourth energy artery’ of Europe and this the main fact underlining the importance of the evolutions on the occasion of the agreement among the three partners in Tel Aviv in the 20th of March 2019. In addition, it is examined analytically why Turkey cannot become a rational option to be included in the overall planning referring to energy production in the region

The Caucasus in the post–Cold War era: From the Soviet Republics to a crucial buffer zone

The Caucasus has attracted the interest of the neighboring powers in the post–Cold War era due to its geopolitical and geoeconomic significance as well as these powers’ deep–rooted affiliations with the peoples of the Caucasus. The current paper focuses on Russia and Turkey’s historical objectives in the region, how these objectives are met during the last 25 years and the debate behind the use of historical narratives as soft power means. Both Moscow and Ankara have felt the need for legitimizing their presence in the South Caucasus, where three new independent states were established after the Cold War. On the one hand, already since 1994, Moscow has determined the ex–Soviet republics as its “near abroad” (blizhneye zarubezhye) protected by its “nuclear umbrella”. On the other hand, Turkey has never stopped to be present in the region under the cloak of soft power means. Such means have been identified with both Turkic and Islamic affiliations tried to be cultivated either by Ankara or by NGOs such as Fethullah Gülen’s ones in the past. These ideological conceptualizations are meant to reinforce Islamic–Turkish influence in countries which have been eager to look for a post–Soviet self–identification far from Moscow’s patronage. Inter–linkages of hard and soft power are analyzed and multi–level conclusions are made in the light of long–standing historical narratives and consolidated geopolitical roles. The Russo–Turkish efforts conclude to the “ideological battle” regarding the historical roots of their relations with the newly–established states. For this reason, the core aim of the research is related with examining Russia and Turkey’s grand strategies with regard to the South Caucasus as well as whether and how these are determined by historical narratives. Accordingly, it is examined whether and how such a rhetoric is transformed into an element of power or, in other words, it is included among the strategic means of the two powers. In this sense, the contribution refers to the interlinkage of miscellaneous theoretical analyses of the region and the clarification of the typology regarding the relevant historical narratives and the Russo–Turkish strategic objectives

How far is Turkey from a Mearsheimerian tragedy?

John Mearsheimer’s offensive realism has come to describe and analyze regional powers’ dilemmas before the challenge of regional leadership. Considering the vicious circle of states’ behavior throughout history, the American scholar identified this process as a tragedy leading continuously to balances and counterbalances. In this regard, international anarchy and the uncertainty about their competitors’ intentions urge states to care about their own survival, maximizing their power but at the same time provoking fear. Under this theoretical lens, this article tests the possibility of a “Mearsheimerian tragedy” for the case of Turkey and examines whether Ankara has to overcome systemic pressures as well as past strategic mistakes of its own

Conceptualizing Europeanness and European politics: Issues of Turkey’s compatibility

The current paper aims to describe aspects of the debate regarding Turkey’s compatibility with how Europeanness is conceptualized. It is hereby questioned: How is Europe conceptualized? What’s the role of history towards such conceptualizations? Which are the parameters of Europeanness? And finally, is Turkey part of Europe? These questions are found at the core of the overall problematique concerning Turkey’s bid for access into the European Union (EU) and westernization process, in general. No matter how general they are, the questions refer to a certain philosophical debate which is extended to political and strategic aspects of the future of Europe as well as the future of Turkey in it. Ankara’s bid for EU membership and the ongoing negotiations are identified with this extension from philosophy to politics and strategy. On this line of thought, the current paper examines the concept of Europeanness in correlation with Turkish identity and ends to examine practical issues with regard to the EU-Turkey continuing dialogue. With reference to significant bibliography, the whole series of stakes is presented as well as the overall rhetoric legitimizing Turkey’s historical westernization inclinations. Therefore, the concluding remarks are related to all the practical aspects setting questions regarding Turkey’s access to the EU, keeping in mind that the EU nature is absolutely different to the strategic priorities of Ankara and its policy-making practices. For this reason, with one phrase, the conclusion could be ‘compatibility under conditions’ beyond any historical and philosophical references, since the anti-hegemonic nature of the EU structure is clearly incompatible to a grand strategy of economic projects manipulation for political purposes and treaties revision under an aggressive argumentation of Ottoman-like domination. As far as the EU value system is still valid and it is diffused into politics and the framework within European Great Powers are organized, hegemony matters and it is avoidable

Power Relations And Fairtrade In Cocoa And Cotton Value Chains In The UK, Ghana And India

This thesis explores the extent to which Fairtrade (FT) might lead to a systemic shift in the way power relations are embedded and exercised in the international trading system. In doing so, it utilises power relations by positioning FT in the context of the world-systems theory, whilst arguing that FT’s ‘‘mainstreaming’’, top-down approach, principle implementation and scale have proven inadequate in modifying the international trading system. As such, by focusing on value chain ‘‘governance as power’’ (through its ‘‘buyer-driven’’ structure) and ‘‘governance as coordination’’, we highlight FT’s lack of systemic appreciation through its orientation towards only farming and consumer level by working solely with big brands. In parallel, we employ power analyses of some feminist authors in order to provide a bottom-up and horizontal dimension, which enables us to further advance the importance of FT’s farmer organisation and empowerment. As such, pursuing a qualitative approach, we use four FT GVCs as case studies: Two of them in Ghana-UK for cocoa-chocolate, in Kuapa Kokoo-Divine and Cocoa Life-Mondelez, and two in India-UK for cotton-apparel, in Chetna Organic-No Nasties and Agrocel-M&S. On this basis, our empirical findings aren’t favorable for FT’s contribution to systemic change. FT is used as a marketing tool by Mondelez and M&S, whilst leading to the dilution of FT principles and jeopardising FTI’s sustainability. FT has often proven irrelevant and ineffective due to strong government intervention, but also because of the market and governance structure advanced by TNCs. Thus, we argue that FT needs to consider going back to its fair trade roots and work with nation states instead of TNCs, whilst trying to replicate Kuapa Kokoo and Chetna as success cases, that went ‘‘beyond FT’’ through farmer ownership, forward integration, women empowerment and strong democratic processes, in order to achieve meaningful farmer empowerment and organisation in the long-run

Measurability in IR theory and Geopolitics, Issues of Orientation

The current paper gives emphasis on a neglected issue of IR theory analysis; measurability as well as whether and how this can be feasible within a qualitative analysis. Undoubtedly, the scientific main aim of IR theorists refers to their capability to measure and even predict specifying, in this way, their cause-and-effect analyses about international phenomena. Causality is fully identified with measurability and thus, it is added to the notions making the second a continuous scope to be reached. On this line of thought, certain questions are answered with regard to the ontology of the international system, the epistemological aims as well as the methodological context of IR theory and the potential contribution of an orientational approach setting aside the deterministic inclinations of mainstream IR theory but, at the same time, analyzing in correlation with the theoretical legacy of classical realist figures. In the term of “orientation” the whole spectrum of immeasurable aspects of interstate relations is summarized and so does states’ birth procedure

Beyond the gas trade: Structural determinants of the Russo-Turkish relations

The post-Cold War era has seen Russia and Turkey become close trading partners, mainly with regard to gas imported via the undersea Blue Stream pipeline. Such trade cooperation and the ensuing economic interdependence have created euphoria and optimism that this will spill-over to high politics. Many analysts have concluded that, at the least, the prospect of economic growth and increasing energy cooperation will cause political and strategic disputes in the Caucasus, the Middle East, Central Asia and elsewhere to wane. Moreover, the debate is referred to as a ‘win-win’ situation, for Turkey could find adequate quantities of cheap natural gas to sustain its flourishing industrial sector and Russia could increase its revenues via new energy exports. However, is this enough for a convergence in terms of strategic interests? The classic debate on the meaning of economic interdependence returns again and again as long as monolithic and teleological arguments keep being made. Can structural the political-strategic determinants of the Russo-Turkish energy gamble be neglected? The two powers’ policies in the Caucasus, Ukraine and Syria seem to indicate that causes of war – or strategic antagonism – arise beyond materialist convergences